My award as Distinguished Imam is miraculous, says Sheikh Jibreel

His trip to Makkah
I give glory and honour to God Almighty for my safe trip to and from Makkah. God said that He would reward the people doing good things whether now or later. He has a way of paying back the good things that men do, and this has manifested from my trip to Makkah.

Before I say anything, I will like to console my brethren in the Lord over the tragedies that happened in Saudi Arabia. It is something that is very sad. We have to console ourselves because we did not like what happened.
God is our creator and we have to use what happened to ask of what we make us happy from God. But God has a way of paying us back with good things for such tragedies.

I condole with the families of the deceased. Many people died leaving their loves ones behind. I want you to know that it is not every trip that we embark upon that we will return. And it is not all trips that we embark on that are rewarding. What happened to those people can happen to anybody. Let us thank God for not allowing disaster to befall any of us.

How he was chosen for the award?

The people that phoned me to go for the award, I did not know them. It was a divine call from God. I cannot say this is the person that called me. No! It is just a divine way for God to make me popular. I will never forget the day that I delivered my lecture. Some of the people that I met at the occasion are people that are more influential than me, people that are my mates and those that ought to be more knowledgeable in Islam. But my own lecture had popular appeal and it was overwhelmingly received. So, people were very proud of my presentation. I became the pride of Africa.
I don’t think that anybody of my status has got that type of award before in Makkah. I thank God because it happened to me in the holy city of Makkah.

I was one of those people that were selected to go and greet the King of Saudi Arabia. The palace is another world of its own. I am proud to be so honoured to know where my father and mother did not know. It means that God has answered our prayers.

I had a handshake with the King of Saudi Arabia. He gave each one of us a ram. I believe that God wanted to do something great concerning my trip. May God let even my enemies benefit from the good things He is about to do for me.