ODE: "MAN OF LIGHT" BY PROFESSOR TIMEHIN OLUROTIMI

My own brother,

I don’t just say happy birthday—

I declare it,

With the gravity of gratitude,

And the rhythm of respect

Because, when...

A man carries light in his voice,

Wisdom in his walk,

And a universe in his ink...

We don’t just whisper celebration,

We chant it like Adhān at dawn

My own brother

You are not just a preacher 

You are a translator of the unseen,

A sculptor of silence,

A tongue that breathes life

into scripture.

Into culture,

Into questions we didn’t know...

we were asking.

From LASU's Arts Faculty

To the larger Muslim society

From the Department of Religions

To the deep corridors of souls

Your words

echo,

like prayers in marble mosques

You speak… and ignorance trembles

You write… and confusion bows.

You teach… and the dust of doubt clears

You—

Scholar of Islam, yes

But more than that:

You are a cartographer of the sacred,

Mapping meaning where anthropology meets revelation,

Where tradition speaks to now,

And now listens back.

Your field?

Not just religion—

But the whole orchestra of peace,

The dialogue between text and world,

The handshake between cultures once strangers.

And so today,

We don’t just celebrate your birth—

We celebrate your becoming:

The boy who read books under moonlight,

Now the man who builds bridges by daylight.

May your years stretch like scrolls filled with purpose,

May your nights be deep with duʿā and peace,

May your legacy ring louder than applause—

A minaret of thought in an age of noise.

You are truly a Mustafa - a chosen one

Preacher. Writer. Builder of minds.

It is your day, my brother —

But it is also our gratitude,

Echoing back to the One

Who gave us you.

Happy birthday, beloved Shaykh.

© PROFESSOR TIMEHIN SAHEED OLUROTIMI

- Nigeria 

The poet persona wishes his colleague a happy birthday. He praises his friend who is an Islamic scholar with unique legacies. The bard praises The Almighty God who created this blessed soul, Dr Mustapha Adebayo Bello.