Since the news of the death of Mallam Hashir was broken on Friday, July 27, 2018, lots of good things have been said about him. Here was a Great Teacher of the Religion of Islam who reached the peak in his academic career to become a Professor. There are many lessons to learn from his death as a university lecturer and Islamic studies scholar.
A common impression among students is that Islamic studies lecturers are “sadists”. This description epitomises every thing you can think of a bad, wicked lecturer. And, unfortunately, many Islamic studies lecturers do confirm this appellation as fitting of them. Unlike Mallam Hashir who was humble to a fault, most of his colleagues are extremely arrogant and when they die, unlike Mallam that is mourned and remembered for his humility, many of them would be pitied and remembered for their arrogance.
Again, unlike Mallam Hashir who is mourned with sincere prayers by every student that ever studied under him, for Allah to be pleased with his soul, some lecturers are remembered by their students, even while they are still alive, with rains of curses.
Unlike Mallam Hashir, it is typical of some non-law lecturers, especially those in Islamic studies, history, political science, social sciences, Arts and English language to have unjustified hatred for law students and do everything possible to victimise them just because they are law students. The courses studied under Mallam were usually the best of courses law students would enjoy taking outside their faculty of Law. This is why, upon getting the news of his death, every law student that passed through remembered him for good and prayed for him.
Unlike Mallam Hashir, there are lecturers in the Nigerian universities who make project/thesis supervision the most regrettable moment for their students. They always forget that one day they would die and those students would not say anything about them other than what they did to them.
Unlike Mallam Hashir, it is regrettable that most lecturers are not friendly with their students and they create useless fear in the minds of their students. Needless to say, very few lecturers, unlike Mallam Hashir, could boast of ever rendering assistance, encourgament and motivation to their students. Mallam was generous and did support some students financially.
Unlike Mallam Hashir, many lecturers do not really impact knowledge on their students and their past students can hardly remember any single thing they benefited from them to shape their thinking, view or perspective. Thus, we have hope in Allah that as long as the knowledge we benefited from Mallam Hashir continues to be useful to us, he would continue to be rewarded by Allah, as the Prophet informed us.
Unlike Mallam Hashir, very few Nigerian lecturers do mentor their students, inspire them or even guide them towards a good path in life. There were countless times I met him after many years of graduation and he would still passionately ask after my affairs and provide words of encouragement.
Unlike Mallam Hashir, many students lived for many years or even for the rest of their life to regret the day they ever met some lecturers.
Unlike Mallam Hashir, many lecturers do not have any student that sincerely take them as their mentors, role models and teachers they ever remain proud to associate with.
Unlike Mallam Hashir, there are many bad attitudes and practices among Nigerian lecturers not befitting of them. They should stop their arrogance, they should be friends and good mentors to their students, they should be bothered about impacting knowledge and not merely dishing out non-beneficial teachings. Mallam, Prof Hashir Abdulsalam has come and gone but his good deeds will remain for ever. It is good to be good. May Allah reward Mallam Hashir for his good deeds and overlook his shortcomings. May Allah support his family and give them the fortitude to bear this great loss of a Great Humble Teacher and Mentor.
