In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
Allahumma Salli Ala Muhammad Wa Aliy Muhammad.
Praise be to Allah the Lord of the worlds, and the best of blessings and purest of greetings be on the one sent as Mercy to all creatures, our master and guardian Abul Kasim Mustapha Muhammad Ibn Abdullahi the last of Prophets and Messengers and on his immaculate progeny the leaders of guidance and lanterns in darkness, the Imams of the nation and saviors of mankind.
Topic: Sheikh Muhammad Mahmoud Turi's life within Muslims Brothers and the people of his society.
Sheikh Muhammad Mahmoud Turi in Brief: Sheikh Muhammad Mahmoud Turi, as usual, telling, narrating or discussing about who is he? is something very complicated to any one of us because knowing who is he required a lot of introspections from his family and especially our leader Sayyid Zakzaky (H), who I think he knows him better than any one of us. He was known through his hard work, dedication and support in the Islamic Movement in Nigeria. His position in this Movement reached to the extent that the leader of the Movement called him as his "One Eye''. However, Sheikh Muhammad Mahmoud Turi is a decent simple and straight forward person who delighted himself with intellectual and higher pursuits. He is totally decent human being. A human being that many people inrespective of religious misunderstanding still regards him as decent gold in the Islamic Movement in Nigeria. He was a truly booster of faith, peace and unity maker, courageous human being, who teaches justice, truthfulness, integrity, understanding, kindness, pity, clemency, overlooking, patience, pardon, tolerance, dedication and love. He was cerebral. He was a technocrat, a workhorse and an accomplisher. I will be very grateful to meet his honourable self.
Sheikh Muhammad Mahmoud Turi's life within Muslims Brothers: His relationship and association with Muslims brothers is of four types which includes:
1. He associte with Muslims brothers as Muslims in general as a students under the leadership of his eminence Sayyid Zakzaky (H).
2. He associte with Muslims brothers as a leader who was sent by his eminence Sayyid Zakzaky (H).
3. Again he associte with Muslims brothers as senior or a father to his children for him to guide us.
4. However, he associte with Muslims brothers as a friends in respective of age, leadership and knowledge differences he play with each other as a brother.
Sheikh Turi associate with Muslims brothers with out showing any kind of differences between them. Whether it is between brothers or sisters, what matters to him is that if you are Muslim brother or she is Muslim sister that is all he will treat you equally because you are all equal to him. That is why each Muslim brother feel as if he is more closer to Sheikh and this is due to his good attitude towards people. Again Sheikh Turi usually check in brothers especially if he used to see you in a program or mosque if he spend two days with out seeing you he will ask if all is well about you. From sisters side Sheikh Turi actually treated them as his own biological daughters because he treated them with his surft voice and he even used to readjust time and date of program because of them because they are not capable as their men counterpart. Again anyone among Muslims sisters who report her husband to him in their marital association he will make sure he bring an end to the problem through his good attitude.
However, he provides one committee of architectural works among Muslims brothers since from the time of buying a plot up to the time of finishing up the house which he assured most of the Muslims brothers who are architectures got job through this committee. Farthermost, he associate with orphans (Ya'yan Shahidai), with humble respect and sympathy as he used to say many times with out numbers that 'we have nothing to do except for us to help and take care of our orphans'. This leads to the extent that he have a special time for him to visit them and heard from them and their problems and he will make sure he provide an end to their problems sooner or later. That is why those orphans loves him so much because he replaced their fathers position. He encourage them to give this movement (Harka), their all time and property because it is the only way that lead us to the paradise. He associte with Muslims brothers equally for instance, if you come as a student he will treated you as a student, if you come to him as a son he will treate you as a son, if you come to him as a friend he will still treat you as a friend so does to anyone including his neighbors and he will make sure he did what he supposed to do for you with out showing any sign of differences because he knew how to handle his relationship with one another in respective of age, knowledge and leadership differences.
His associations with the people of his society: is A association as it was prescribed in Islamic dogma especially if we look at his truthfulness and respectfulness to one another. For instance his truthfulness lead to the extent that there was a time when his biological father gave him some amount of huge money to keep for him but as a old man the father he forget about that money which takes long time until the time Sheikh Turi reminded him about it together with the time and date for the father to remember well. Again there is book title 'Sixty blessed full years of Sayyid Zakzaky (H), (Shekaru sittin 60 Masu Albarka) page 103, I read the place were Sheikh Turi answering interviewers and in that answer he narrated the time they when to pilgrimage (Hajji), together with his eminence Sayyid Zakzaky (H) but there account which they used to feed themselves is with Sheikh Turi and it was Sayyid Zakzaky (H) who instructed him to take care of it because he knows how truthful Sheikh Turi is. However, he respected people to the extent that there was a time when his neighbor which was a Sunni follower (Dan Izala), he used to say if any human being will behave the way Sheikh Tur is behaving actually there will not be a misunderstanding between all of us as a Muslim. Because the one who was saying that he saw an example of truth, respect and a neighbor with good heart that he has never met like that before and he used to site one good example which shocked him that is when he invited Sheikh Turi to his daughter's wedding Fatiha but what surprised that his neighbor is nothing but Sheikh Turi was among the first person to be there because he came before he himself as a father to arrived at the venue.
In addition, it was in his parlour the elder people of his area organized themselves for meeting over issues concerning their problems and development of the area and he shows no single sign of difference between them despite the fact that they differ based on religious perspectives. Sheikh Turi never for one day be tied of his neighbors invitations whether wedding, naming or burial ceremony and whenever he invited his neighbors for one issues or the other they are always happy and they will make sure they attend the invitation with total harmony and respect. It was after Waqi'a we come to realized that all shroud (likkafani), in that area he was the one who bought it and he told the Imam of that area not to tell anyone about it. In this research I came across that there are some Sunni followers who are neighbors to Sheikh Turi's father in Kaduna State and very surprised they are saying 'All shi'et followers are evil and they are assured of that but Sheikh Turi is exceptional among them' so this actually shows how Sheikh Turi treated people with humble and respect.
Further more, times with out numbers Sheikh Turi used to visit his friends in and outside Kano State and whether they are in the same religious perspectives or not. For instance, there was a time he visited one of his friend who is popular scholar in Kaduna after Sheikh returned from the visitation the man also wanted to repay the visit that is why he arrange and visit Sheikh Turi. When he arrives Kano in that very day Sheikh Turi lead them to perform Zuhr prayer but for the Asr prayer Sheikh Turi asked the man to lead them because he is in his way for visiting and Allah Swt have a wonderful reward for visitors until they return their destination. He always let his visitors to lead prayer in respective of religious misunderstanding. His neighbors assured us that the best of his habit is to visit those who are patient whether at home or in the hospital and to help them with some kind of money. Research shows that mega amount of Sheikh Turi's gift it will not be less than ten or fifteen thousand especially to the people who live in his society. Again, Sheikh Turi played a pivotal role in the aspect of security in their area because as one Muslim brother told me that there was a time when Sheikh told them those who are in charge of security that 'Markaz is not the only place we will protect but the entire area at large or in generality' and that is what is happening till date. The way he is helping poor and needy it was after Waqi'a we came to realized that there is one woman who combatted to Islam years back but Sheikh Turi is the one taking care of her education and nobody knows about it.
Again, there is one family very close to Sheikh Turi's house but still he used to give them a salary of ten to fifteen thousand every month together with food stuff. Actually the rules and regulations of this competition is much that will not let me to bring about how many children Sheikh Turi provides ram for their naming ceremony one typical example is that there is one boy who was called Sheikh Turi's son (Dan Mallam Turi), and I can not bring out how may Muslims brothers that Sheikh Turi advise and encourage to go back to school and they are now very sounds in different profession. One single thing that differentiate Sheikh Turi with other people is that he usually attended children (Mauludin Nabby) birthday of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) times with out numbers because as far as they invited him he will make sure he attend and also to give them some amount of money as his contribution some time he said 'if those who invited him are children what about the one we are celebrating for'.
Conclusively, Sheikh Turi is a kind of human being that if you meet him for a single day you can see a typical representation of Islamic religion with him whether in his word or actions. He associate with people based on Islamic perspectives and every thing you see him doing is a teaching of Islam. He was a kind of person that do things as it was prescribed by Allah (SWT) and his life in general is typically a lessons for us. We pray for his short manifestation.
