High Divorce Rate: Clerics Call for Counselling Units In Mosques

Clerics have called for the establishment of marriage counselling units in central mosques to provide premarital counselling and post-marital support for Muslim couples.

The call was made at the 2026 Ajase-Ipo Annual Imams Conference in Kwara State.

Speakers urged imams to take a more active role in addressing challenges confronting Muslim families.

The three-day conference, which began on Friday and ends on Sunday, is themed “Imams and the Muslim Home.”

The Guest Lecturer and Orator of Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, Dr Haruna Sanusi Lafiagi, who spoke on the topic “Role of Imams in Sustaining Muslim Marriages and Creating Ideal Muslim Homes” noted the high rate of divorce in the society.

Lafiagi said intending couples should receive adequate counselling before marriage rather than relying on the brief lecture usually delivered during the wedding ceremony.

“I have long realised that the lectures that are delivered on the day of the marriage are often too short because there is no time, and they really do not have any effect, any positive effect, on the marriage.

“But if there is a build-up to the marriage, then it will go a long way in addressing these issues”, he said.

He called for periodic workshops and conferences for youths preparing for marriage.

Lafiagi said they should be taught the roles, duties and responsibilities of both parties.

He also urged imams to provide counselling after marriage and encouraged couples to attend marriage seminars and gatherings as an avenue for younger couples to learn from those who have spent several decades in marriage.

“When we have this interaction between the older generation and the younger one, it will go a long way in addressing many of the issues that couples face in society today,” he said.

He further charged imams to make Friday khutbahs and other mosque lectures relevant to contemporary social challenges, including gambling, drug abuse, cultism and money rituals.

Lafiagi said imams should remain abreast of developments in society and use their sermons to address issues affecting Muslims.

Muslim couples, he noted, often invite clerics to their weddings merely as a symbolic gesture, while devoting much of the ceremony to singing, dancing and lavish spending on musicians whose performances, he argued, contribute little to the spiritual and moral foundation needed for a successful marriage.

He urged couples and their families to give greater attention to the Islamic and moral dimensions of marriage, saying the resources and time devoted to wedding entertainment should instead be complemented by activities that strengthen the couple’s spiritual and moral understanding of the responsibilities they are undertaking.

Also speaking, Olupo of Ajase-Ipo, Oba Ismail Bolaji Yahaya Alebiosu, backed the establishment of dedicated marriage departments in central mosques.

The monarch said the high rate of divorce made it necessary for intending couples to understand the Islamic marriage contract and their responsibilities before getting married.

He said post-marital follow-up was also necessary to enable imams to monitor couples and offer guidance when difficulties arise.

“In every central mosque, there should be a department that oversees marriage, particularly in the aspect of premarital counselling and the aspect of post-marital follow-up, so that our marriages can stand the test of time,” he said.

The organiser of the event, Alhaja Ramat Soliu Akonsi, said the annual programme was established to address challenges affecting Muslim homes and educate members of the community.

Akonsi said the 2026 edition was the third since its commencement, adding that the programme had expanded to include a session specifically for women.

He said the women’s programme was held on Friday, while a public lecture took place on Saturday.