A Professor at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has urged Muslim students pursuing legal education to align their career ambitions with the principles of Islam, stressing that true success goes beyond material achievement.

Speaking to Muslim students of the Ghana School of Law at an event organised by the Muslim Students Association Kumasi Campus, Abdul Rahman Ahmed challenged future lawyers to rethink their aspirations within a faith-based framework.

He noted that many professional paths, including law, are often driven by the need to secure comfort such as food, shelter, and mobility, but emphasised that such goals must be guided by Islamic values.

“As a Muslim, it is always important that you recontextualise whatever aspirations you have so that they find a seed within the framework of Islam. That way, you are guided, focused, and not distracted,” he said.

Prof. Ahmed explained that Islam provides a structured legal and moral system through Sharia, describing it as a divine framework to guide human conduct.

He stressed that the ultimate purpose of Islamic law is Maslaha, the well-being of humanity, adding that any interpretation that leads to harm or injustice contradicts its foundation.

“Anything that takes people away from wellbeing or leads to cruelty cannot be part of the law, even if it is presented as such,” he said.

Addressing the students as future legal practitioners, he highlighted the importance of prioritising human life in all legal considerations.

“The main objective is the well-being of humanity. That is why, in a situation of starvation, even something forbidden can become permissible to preserve life,” he said.

Prof. Ahmed also urged the students to uphold justice and mercy in their future legal careers.

“You should always seek to protect the well-being of people. The sources of protecting that wellbeing are justice and mercy—not cruelty,” he said.

Discipline, purpose, and professional responsibility

Also speaking at the event, Patron of the association, Mujeed Ahmed Rahman, emphasised the importance of discipline in legal training.

He noted that perseverance and tenacity are fundamental principles of legal practice and urged students to remain committed.

“If we are not disciplined, then we are inconsistent with what the school expects from us,” he said.

Interior Minister, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, shared his perspective on changing perceptions of the legal profession within Zongo communities.

“There were few people in the Zongo communities who could even imagine going to law school because the community had already bastardised the profession. They made it look like when you die [as a lawyer] you will be capsized [in your grave],” he said.

He added that the responsibility lawyers carry goes far beyond what many people initially understand.

“The first lawyer in the Zongo community in Kumasi was seen as whether he knew what he was about. Today, he is one of those who are making all of us proud,” he noted.

Law requires purpose, not trend

Adding a judicial perspective, Nana Adwoa Serwaa Duaandonteng, a Circuit Court judge in Kumasi, cautioned the students against treating the legal profession as a trend.

“Law is not a fashion, trend, but a profession from the heart. When you do it exceptionally well, there is a distinction between you and someone who only joined because everybody was doing it,” she said.

She urged the students to take both their academic work and their faith seriously.

“The Islamic religion is one of focus and one of discipline, and those same tenets in the community when transferred to academics will show exceptionalism,” she added.

President of the Ghana School of Law Muslim Students Association, Kumasi Campus, Abdullah Jimba Ibrahim, reminded his colleagues of their responsibility to uphold the integrity of the legal profession.

He said that, as future lawyers, they must commit to practising the law faithfully, not for personal interest.

“We have to make sure that we follow the law as it is, practice the law as it is, and protect the law and the profession,” he said.

The engagement brought together Muslim law students to reflect on how faith, discipline, and purpose can shape their journey, with a message that the legal profession demands responsibility, resilience, and moral integrity.