Tribute to Late Shaikh Ja'afar Mahmud Adam

Early Childhood and Education Late Sheikh Ja’afar Mahmud Adam was born on February 12, 1960 in the ancient city of Daura in present day Katsina State. He started learning his Qur’anic education from Malam Haruna, the husband of his elder sister. From there he was taken to Fagge town in Kano in 1978, where he began the memorization of the Holy Qur’an under the guidance of Malam Abdullahi. His thirst for knowledge took him further to an Arabic Institution which was under the Egyptian Cultural Centre, situated at Bello Dandago Road, Kano in 1981. He was, within the same period, attending an Adult Education School, situated at Shahuci. He usually attended the Arabic Institution at noon and the Adult Education School in the evening. In 1984, he was admitted into the Government Teachers’ College, Gwale, Kano. He graduated in 1988 and in 1989, he secured admission into the prestigious Islamic University in Madinah, Saudi Arabia, where he studied for three years and graduated in 1993. Some of the famous scholars that taught Sheikh Ja’afar include Sheikh Abdul Rafi’i, Dr. Mahmud Abdul Haliq and Dr. Khald As-Sabat. When he returned from Saudi Arabia, he got admitted in the Bayero University, Kano. He however could not finish the programme due to some reasons. But nevertheless, he had his second degree from the International University of Africa in Sudan. Teaching and Da'awah Activities Upon his return from Madinah, Sheikh Ja’afar set up the Usman Bin Affan Centre which became autonomous in 1995. There, Shaikh Ja'afar taught various subjects like Tafsirul Qur’an (Qur’anic commentary) every Friday between Maghrib and Isha prayers, Nahwu on Saturdays between 8:00am and 9:30am, Sirah on Sundays at the famous Almuntada Mosque in Dorayi where he also leads Jumuah prayers, and Tafsir at the Beirut Mosque, and various other subjects at various schools and institutions across the country. He also conducted Tafsir annually in Maiduguri during Ramadhan. He was also the head of the Usman Bin Affan Islamic Trust. At various times, he represented Nigeria internationally in Qur’anic recitation competitions where he emerged victorious and did the nation proud. He is a member of the "Ulama Consultative Forum" in Zamfara and Bauchi states. He also presented various Islamic programmes on radio and television stations like Radio Kaduna, Bauchi Radio Corporation, CTV Kano, DITV Kaduna, NTA Borno, OITV Damaturu, and NTA Yola, among others. Shaik Ja'afar's Sudden Departure On Friday, 13th April 2007, at around 5:30am, Shaikh Ja'afar fell to the bullets of suspected hired assassins while leading the Subhi prayer at the Dorayi Juma’at Mosque. The assassins, numbering about five, shot Shaikh Ja'afar at close range tearing his chest and abdomen, as reported in the media. Soon after the incident he was immediately rushed to the Malam Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) where he died before he could receive medical attention. It was also reported that the gunmen had earlier stopped at his former mosque at Gadon Kaya before they finally caught up with him at the Dorayi mosque where he was murdered. Shaikh Ja'afar died at 45 and was survived by three wives and five children. Truly, the Ummah has lost a gem but the worst losers are his killers. We pray to Allah (SWT) in His Infinite Mercy to forgive Shaikh's sins, accepts all his good deeds and grant him jannatul firdaus, ameen.