Ilorin-born Muhammadul-Awwal named Al-Azhar’s best graduating student

By Mosunmola Ayobami, Ilorin –

Muhammadul-Awwal Babatunde, a 27-year-old Ilorin-born scholar and alumnus of Darul-Kitab Wa Sunnah College of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Gaa-Akanbi, has been named the best graduating student of Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.

Darul-Kitab Wa Sunnah College, founded nearly three decades ago by the Ubandoma of Ilorin Emirate, Sheikh Dr Abdulkadir As-Salman Oba Sholagberu—also an Imam and Khateeb of the National Mosque, Abuja—sponsored Muhammadul-Awwal with a full scholarship in 2020 to study Arabic at the Language Development Centre, Faculty of Islamic and Arabic Studies, Al-Azhar University.

The university confirmed that he graduated as the overall best student, earning the prestigious distinction: “ممتاز الأول مع مرتبة الشرف” — Excellent First Class with Highest Honours.

In an interview, Muhammadul-Awwal said he was born on 2 July 1998 into a family devoted to scholarship, religious values, and the pursuit of knowledge, which he described as shaping his early academic journey.

Although originally from Ikirun, Osun State, he was born in Kaduna, where he spent his early childhood before relocating with his family to Ilorin, which he described as “the city of knowledge.”

He completed his primary and junior secondary education at Ahbabul-Deenil-Islami group of schools in Ilorin, graduating as the best student at both levels. He subsequently joined Darul-Kitab Wa Sunnah College from JSS 2, graduating in 2017 again as the best student, before gaining admission to study Food Science at the University of Ilorin.

Muhammadul-Awwal said he spent over two years at the University of Ilorin before receiving the scholarship that enabled him to pursue his studies at Al-Azhar University. He described the faculty as rigorous but said early recognition from his professors strengthened his determination to excel.

He dedicated his achievements to the memory of his late mother, who passed away a week before his departure to Egypt, and to his father and teachers. He also expressed profound gratitude to the scholars of Darul-Kitab Wa Sunnah College, praising them as exemplars of sincere scholarship under the mentorship of Sheikh Abdulkadir As-Salman Oba Sholagberu.