THE LIFE AND CAREER OF MALAM MUHAMMADU SALGA (1869-1938)
[A Pioneer of the Most Extensive Tijani Network in
Northern Nigeria]
By: Dr. Sani Yakubu Adam (Bayero University, Kano)
Published in: The Annual Review of Islam in Africa (ARIA), Issue No. 12/13, 2015-2016 {Pages 158 - 165}
INTRODUCTION
Malam Muhammadu Salga (1869-1938) was a famous scholar of Kano who initiated a
number of muqaddams (initiators) all over Hausaland into the Tijaniyya Sufi
order, thus contributing a decisive input to the transformation of the
Tijaniyya into the most populous Sufi order of present-day northern Nigeria.1
Most of the students he trained became accomplished scholars with large numbers
of students and followers in different parts of the country. Among them were
scholars such as Malam Tijani Usman Zangon Bare-Bari, Sani Kafanga, Abubakar
Atiku and Shehu Maihula, who would later accept the spiritual authority of the
Senegalese reviver of the order, Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse (d. 1975) and become the main representatives of the
latter in Kano. Existing studies of Islam in Kano have already paid attention
to the role of Salga’s disciples in championing the cause of Ibrahim Niasse and
of his revivalist branch of the Tijaniyya. Few, however, have given sufficient
emphasis to the contribution of Salga himself. This paper will provide an
in-depth exploration of the life and career of Malam Salga and assess his
personal role in the history of Sufism and Islamic scholarship in Kano and
northern Nigeria at large.
The main reference to the life of Muhammadu Salga is a short Arabic biography
written by his disciple, Malam Abubakar Atiku. This work, titled Tahsil
al-watar fi tarjamat al-Shaykh Muhammad Salga b. al-Hajj ‘Umar (The attainment
of a goal in [writing] the biography of Shaykh Muhammad Salga, son of al-Hajj
‘Umar), is written in the style of popular hagiography, the main goal of the
author being to portray the exalted position of his teacher. Although they
usually provide only limited information on the social and political context,
such writings give interesting insights into the perceptions of Sufi disciples
on their masters and can therefore be considered, as John Renard has pointed
out, as important sources of information.2
EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
The son of Malam Umaru, the grandson of Muhammadu Jari and the great grandson of Malam Sa’idu, Muhammadu Salga was born in the year 1869 into a family of businessmen.3 Salga’s father, Malam Umaru, was a trader; he married Fatima, the daughter of Malam Jibril, who was an Islamic scholar in Katsina. Initially, Malam Jibril had prayed for God to give him a male child, so that the son could be prepared to become a scholar. However, his first born turned out to be a female child. Although at the time girls had less access to education than boys, Malam Jibril was able to train her in the major curriculum of Islamic studies of the time so that she would be fit to marry a Muslim scholar. Eventually, it was Malam Umaru who sought the hand of Fatima in marriage. Initially, the father objected to this request of Malam Umar, basing his argument on the fact that Malam Umaru was more of a businessman than a scholar.4 Finally, Fatima was betrothed to Malam Umaru on the condition that their children would be placed on the path of scholarship rather than trade. This agreement was reached in the presence of two witnesses, namely Malam Umaru and Malam Abubakar. It was out of this marriage that Muhammadu Salga was born.5 The following chart shows the genealogy of Malam Muhammadu Salga.
Chart: The Genealogy of Malam Muhammadu Salga (Source: Sani [2016])
Muhammadu Ashura, otherwise known as Muhammadu
Salga, was born in Salga (a commercial town in present-day Ghana) while his father
was on one of his business trips. Initially, his father Umaru had deviated from
the pact he had agreed with his father-in-law by placing the young Muhammadu
Ashura on the path of business. Malam Abubakar (one of the two witnesses during
the agreement mentioned earlier) later reminded Umaru about his promise.
Therefore, Umaru entrusted the young Muhammadu Salga to Malam Abubakar to look
after his studies.6 Salga was soon able to commit the Quran to memory, largely
through the help of his mother who used to monitor the progress of his studies.
He also studied Islamic (Maliki) jurisprudence under Malam Abubakar and Malam
Kisko in Katsina.7 Later in his life, Salga moved to Kano where he studied
under a number of scholars. According to Abubakar Atiku, his teachers included
the following names: Shaykh Alhaji Abubakar b. Musa, Shaykh Abd al-Rahman
Suyuti of the Madabo quarters, Shaykh Salih of Madabo, Hassan Tagwai, Shaykh
Hamza b. Jibril, and many others.8
Malam Salga died on Thursday, the 11th of the month of Dhul Hijjah, in the year 1357/1938. At the time, he was 69 years of age.9 Many
dignitaries, including the Emir of Kano at the time, Abdullahi Bayero (1926-1953), attended his funerary prayer, which was led by his
disciple and son-in-law, Mahmud Ibn al-Hassan na-Salga.10 Many elegies were
written in his honour, including one composed by his student Malam Inuwa, in
which he describes the funeral as follows:
His son-in-law and disciple came through,
Mahmud the patient and trustworthy one.
A message was dispatched calling him,
So he came, with tears flowing from his eyes.
He was the one who led his (funerary) prayer
He pronounced the four takbir
And as soon as he said the taslim
People had to struggle to sustain him from falling.11
MUHAMMADU SALGA AS A TIJANI MUQADDAM
In terms of his silsila (initiatic chain), Salga was initiated into the
Tijaniyya order by Sharif Muhammad b. al-Shaykh, a North African who had come
to Kano city in the early years of the reign of Emir Abbas (1903–1919) and who had settled in the area known as Unguwar
Dandalin Turawa. Muhammad b. al-Shaykh had received his silsila from his father
who had in turn received it directly from Shaykh Ahmad al-Tijani (d. 1815). As a consequence of this silsila, Salga had
acquired a link to the founder Ahmad al-Tijani that was more direct than in the
case of most other followers of the order in Kano at the time. Through his
life, however, Malam Salga received a number of different salasil (pl. of
silsila) from various scholars. For example, he received a silsila from another
Moroccan scholar, known as Mawla ‘Abd al-Rahman, who had visited Kano in the
early years of the reign of Emir Abbas, and in 1910, he received another one from Sharif Ujdud.12
Malam Salga met many prominent Tijani muqaddams who became very influential in
his life, such as Muhammad al-Kabir al-Alawi, Shaykh Mukhtar al-Shinqiti,
Shaykh Alfa Hashim and the Moroccan woman mystic Shaykha Khadija al-Qari‘a. In
his turn, Salga was extremely active in appointing many muqaddams of the order,
to the extent that it was speculated that most of the Tijani muqaddams in
Hausaland during the first half of the twentieth century were his disciples. In
other words, one could hardly see a Tijani leading a small group of students in
any corner of Hausaland without the latter being directly or indirectly linked
to Malam Salga.13
The most significant period in Salga’s career as a muqaddam of the Tijaniyya
was the time of the advent and stay of Muhammad al-‘Alami in Kano. It was the
latter, in fact, who appointed Salga as the imam of the newly-built Koki zawiya
(centre of Sufi devotional practices) which became the main centre of the
Tijanis in Kano in the nineteen-twenties and nineteen-thirties. Muhammad
al-‘Alami (d. 1969 in Casablanca) was a visitor from Morocco
who had come to Kano in 1923. It was after al-‘Alami’s initiative, that the
Tijani zawiya of Koki was established in 1925. Prior to the arrival of al-‘Alami, most Hausa
and Kanuri scholars of the Tijaniyya used to recite the daily Tijani litanies
in Malam Salga’s house.14 The arrival and impact of al-‘Alami in Kano is
described by Abubakar Atiku as follows:
The knower of God, the honest saint, the leader, my master, the noble
Al-Hussainy, Muhammad b. ‘Uthman al-‘Alami, came to Kano during the reign of
‘Uthman b. ‘Abdallah, on the fifteenth of Ramadan. He ordered the building of a
zawiya in Kano where scholars and muqaddams and others could meet, and preached
to them in such a way that one would break into tears. He advised the scholars
to write books, to meet regularly together and to stay united. He discouraged
them from isolation and from harbouring jealousy of one another.15
Al-‘Alami had a powerful influence on the Tijaniyya in Kano. He infused the
community with a sense of unity and of a collective venture. A factor that was
to gain significance later was that al-‘Alami had received his spiritual
authority in the order from Shaykh Ahmad Sukayraj,16 a prominent Moroccan
scholar who would later have a great influence also on Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse.
The main motive behind the establishment of the Koki zawiya was to bring unity
among the various networks of Tijanis in Kano. The fact that Malam Salga was
emerging as a popular muqaddam when al-‘Alami arrived in Kano, brought the two closer.
According to oral narratives, al-‘Alami asked Salga where the various Tijani
muqaddams in Kano were located, and Salga told him that they were scattered in
different parts of the town. It was at this point that al-‘Alami suggested the
establishment of a zawiya that would become the centre of all Tijani activities
in Kano.17 When al-‘Alami left Kano, Muhammad Salga remained as the imam of the
zawiya and this position further enhanced his status as the most popular Tijani
leader in Kano, giving him a chance to initiate many people into the order.
The career of Salga as a muqaddam, however, was not smooth. Soon after becoming
the imam of the zawiya, he started to attract the enmity of other scholars in
Kano, who were jealous of his position. These scholars seized the opportunity
provided by the association of a foreign visitor such as al-‘Alami with Salga,
to report to the British colonial authorities that the two were plotting a
Jihad against the colonial rule. After these accusations, the colonial authorities
started to believe that Salga had even written a book with the intention of
instigating an anti-colonial uprising. This can be captured from a letter
written by the office of the Lieutenant Governor to the Inspector-General of
Police of the Northern Province:
With reference to the book written by Malam Salga, it is said now to be a holy
book conducive to a jihad. When it was finished, it was taken to the Waziri so
that a title should be chosen, which proved to be Sabili al-Muhtadi, in Hausa
“Tafarkin Mai Shiriya” and in English “The Commencement of the Preparation.”18
If one looks critically at this allegation, it is easy to establish that the colonial authorities were wrong. In the first place, the title of the book was mistranslated as “The commencement of the preparation” and was wrongly interpreted as an incitement to prepare for an uprising. Instead it should have been translated as “The path of those who seek guidance.” Secondly, there was no record indicating that Malam Salga had collected weapons to launch an anti-colonial Jihad. It is interesting to note also that al-‘Alami was always presented in a poor light in the colonial reports. For example, the Secretary of the Northern Province wrote to the Resident of the Zaria Province, as follows:
I am directed by the Lieutenant Governor to forward for your secret information and investigation some notes on Sherif Alawi and Sharif Mukhtar. I am to add that it has become quite certain that the heads of Tijaniyya and Sunisiyya orders not only are concerned in but are hostile to the incendiary propaganda which was and perhaps may said to some extent propagated ostensibly under the auspices of these tariqas.19
In response to the above letter, the Resident of Zaria Province sent a note to
the Lieutenant Governor which reads inter alia:
Sharif Alawi [sic] was not really a religious man because he frequently omitted
to pray more than three times a day… He was always in the habit of drinking
alcohol… Many wealthy traders came under the Sharif’s influence in Kano
including Dantata, and they brought much money to him not less than £1,500.81.20
From his own part, the Resident of Kano wrote a letter presenting Malam Salga
and al-‘Alami in an even darker picture:
[…] He [i.e. Malam Salga] is frequently monitored in intelligent reports as the
focus of possibly dangerous new ideas. I had recently also heard that
strangers, mingling with cattle drovers, caravans and sundry roving “sharifai”
were often getting into Kano unnoticed and visiting or staying with Malam Salga
and were not reported to the Emir. Malam Salga is, of course, the Liman of the
Tijaniyya Zawiya established in 1925 under the auspices of the notorious Sharif
Alawi (or Alamiya) of Casablanca.21
The above allegations seem to be baseless. In the case of al-‘Alami, the
colonial authorities failed to establish that he was actually engaged in any
subversive activities and the allegations levelled against him were not
substantiated by any facts. The colonial administrators probably realised that
this information on al-‘Alami was unfounded, and so they failed either to
invite him for questioning or to arrest him, throughout his stay in Kano.22
As a follow-up to these allegations about Malam Salga, however, the Resident of
Kano called a meeting of the various ward heads on 1July 1929, and warned them strongly against the breach of
the security in their wards. He then held another meeting with the scholars of
Kano, in which he threatened Malam Salga on the basis of the information he had
received from some informants.23 This was followed by a thorough search of the
house of Malam Salga to determine whether he had concealed weapons. The
colonial authorities had been told that Malam Salga had connections with the
Mahdists24 and that the two groups were making preparations to wage a war
against British rule. No weapon, however, was found in Malam Salga’s residence
when it was searched.
Malam Salga was highly disappointed by the envy displayed by his enemies
because of his position of imam of the Koki zawiya; therefore, Salga
voluntarily relieved himself from that responsibility and delegated it to his
disciple, Malam Inuwa.25 Afterwards, Salga relocated from Koki to Mabuga.
Following Salga’s withdrawal, in the late nineteen-twenties, the communal
participation in the group litanies recited at the Koki zawiya declined, as
rightly captured by Abubakar Atiku:
Some jealous people began to cast suspicion upon the whole affair. Many
discontinued coming to the mosque, and only a few remained. Previously,
thousands of people congregated for the Friday zikr and hundreds for the daily
wazifa. Afterward, people deserted the mosque, and only occasionally did people
meet to do zikr.26
By that time, people in Kano were afraid of the repercussions of their
association with Malam Salga since he was on the colonial watch-list. The
decline in attendance at the zawiya, however, was only apparently a sign of
decline in the career of Malam Salga. During his last years, Salga devoted most
of his time to the close training of a selected number of disciples, who would
later change the face of Islamic scholarship in Kano, emerging as a new
generation of Tijani leaders.
MUHAMMADU SALGA AS A SCHOLAR
In addition to being a popular Tijani muqaddam, Salga was also an Islamic
scholar who contributed to the scholarly debates in Hausaland. In the first
decade of the twentieth century, Salga had studied with Malam Suyuti, the
Babban malami (senior scholar) of the Madabo school of Maliki law in Kano. To
this day, the period of study of Malam Salga in Madabo is a topic that
generates a heated debate between the two groups known in Kano as Madabawa
(i.e. the followers of the Madabo School of law) and Salgawa (i.e., the followers
of the school later established by Malam Salga. While the Madabawa emphasize
the fact that Malam Salga was a student at Madabo and owes most of his
knowledge to the Babban malami, the latter argue that Salga went to Madabo as
an accomplished scholar, seeking the benefits of a period of a study in an
established centre, rather than in search of new knowledge.27 At that time,
Madabo was the main centre of learning acknowledged by the emirate authority in
Kano. Therefore, for any scholar to be given recognition by the authority, it
was customary to go spend a period of study there.28 Within a very short period
of time, Suyuti29 realised the competence of Salga in scholarship and often
encouraged him to formulate his opinion on certain issues of law during their
reading sessions. In the following years, however, Salga gradually became very
critical of the established practice of the Madabo scholars, especially
regarding the ways in which they supported certain rituals associated with the
funerary prayers, which he deemed unacceptable. After the death of Malam Suyuti
in 1911, this criticism led to a heated debate between
Malam Salga and the community of scholars of Madabo.30
After the death of Malam Suyuti, Salga wanted to improve his mastery of the
Mukhtasar, which was regarded by the scholars of Kano of the time as being the
ultimate text in Maliki law. He therefore studied the text with some
commentaries that were then unknown in Kano, under the guidance of one Shaykh
Abd al-Salam, a Libyan who had come to Kano in the second decade of the
twentieth century. It was only after Salga had improved his mastery of Maliki
jurisprudence that he decided to establish his own school. The curriculum at
Malam Salga’s school featured certain differences from the curriculum at the
school of Madabo. While the school of Babban malami specialized almost
exclusively in Maliki jurisprudence, Salga’s school taught a wide range of
subjects ranging from jurisprudence to Sufism, from Arabic grammar to literature
and Quranic exegesis. In terms of methodology, Salga introduced the tradition
that any disciple of his school who specialized in a particular discipline
would be requested to teach his fellow colleagues his area of specialization.
It is through this process that the disciples of Malam Salga were exposed to
different branches of Islamic knowledge, overcoming the excessive
compartmentalization of knowledge that was the norm in Kano at the time. Among
Salga’s students, Muhammad Ibn al-Hassan specialized in Arabic grammar. Malam
Salga therefore decided to study the text Alfiyyat Ibn Malik under him, which
was a very unusual decision at that time, as it was perceived as being a
violation of the customary code of conduct between a student and his teachers.31
Salga would always ask his students to study Arabic grammar under Mahmud ibn
al-Hassan as well as under his friend Abba of Madabo, who also specialized in
the study of grammar.32 Another scholar, Malam Abubakar Mijinyawa was
considered to be an expert on Sufism, and most of Salga’s students were sent to
study Sufism and the Tijaniyya under him. A third scholar, Malam Sani Mai
Tafsiri, became known for his specialization in Quranic exegesis, and he taught
the subject to most of Salga’s students.
Another remarkable aspect of Malam Salga’s school was its capacity to attract
students from all parts of Hausaland, as shown in the following table.33
NAME OF STUDENT PLACE OF ORIGIN
Ahmad Na
Barde Gwandu
Muhammad Dangoggo Sokoto
Hassan Kafanga Kano
Muhammad Abba Damagaran
Mahmud Hassan Kontagora
Ibrahim Mai Riga Fata Borno
Abba Na Dan Fanna Damagaran
Sani Agades
Sa’id Banufe Sabongari
Ahmad Gabari Kano
Muhamad Rafa Kano
CONCLUSION
Malam Muhammadu Salga (1869-1938) was a prominent Tijani scholar who trained an
outstanding number of muqaddams in different parts of Hausaland. Today, many
Tijani muqaddams in northern Nigeria identify themselves with him by adopting
the identity of Salgawa. This term, which was originally associated only with
Salga’s disciples, gradually assumed a broader meaning as it refers to all the
Tijanis in Nigeria who have a direct or indirect connection with Malam Salga
and with his teachings. Salga is still remembered for his multifold legacy.
Firstly, he radically challenged the traditional ritual practices adopted by
the Madabo scholars, contributing to legal change in Kano city and in northern
Nigeria at large. Secondly, he adopted a more open approach to Islamic
knowledge, thereby stimulating a thorough renewal of religious scholarship.
Thirdly, he emerged as the most influential Tijani leader in Kano and
personally trained those who were later to become the leaders of the Fayda
(“divine flood”) movement of Tijani revival in Nigeria. Today, most of the
prominent Tijani scholars in northern Nigeria are counted among the students of
his disciples. Among many others, some scholars who come to mind are Shaykh
Dahiru Usman Bauchi, Shaykh Isma’il Ibrahim Khalifa, the late Shaykh Abul Fathi
and Shaykh Ibrahim Salih of Maiduguri. Although Malam Salga died almost eighty
years ago, his legacy is still visible in the vibrant arena of Muslim
scholarship in Kano.
NOTES
1 For more on the origin and development of the Tijaniyya Sufi order, see Jamil Abun Nasr, The Tijjaniyya: A Sufi Order in the Modern World (London: Oxford University, Press, 1965) and Zachary Wright, On the Path of the Prophet: Sheikh Ahmad Tijani and the Tariqa Muhammadiyya (Atlanta: The African American Islamic Institute, 2005).
2 John Renard, Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment and Servanthood (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2008).
3 It is very difficult to ascertain the actual
date of his birth, as there are many different reports. John Paden argues that
Salga was born in 1871 (John Paden, Religion and Political Culture
in Kano, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973, p. 6., note 4). According to Abdur-Razaq
Solagberu, he was born in 1867 (Abdur-Razaq Balogun Solagberu, A Study of
the Sufi Works of Shaykh Abubakar Atiq, PhD Thesis, Ilorin: University of
Ilorin, 2009, p. 105). According to his son Malam Abdullahi Salga, the
correct date for his birth is 1868 (interview with author). Muhammadu Nalado is
of the opinion that Salga was born in 1866 (Muhammadu Nalado, Kano State Jiya da Yau 1864-1968, Zaria: Gaskiya Corporation, n.d., p. 26). Based on my own
calculations, however, he was born in 1869.
4 Malam Abdullahi Mahmud Salga, interview with the
author, 13 June, 2013.
5 Malam Abdullahi Mahmud Salga, interview with the
author, 13 June, 2013.
6 Malam Lawi Abubakar Atiku, interview with the
author, 2 June, 2013.
7 Nalado, Kano State Jiya da Yau, p. 26.
8 Atiq, Tahsil al-watar, pp. 1-2.
9 Atiq, Tahsil al-watar, p. 4.
10 Muhammad Inuwa, Marthiyyat al-Shaykh Salga (Kano: Oluseyi Press, n.d.), pp. 6-7.
11 Inuwa, Marthiyyat, p. 8.
12 Roman Loimeier, Islamic Reform and Political Change in Northern Nigeria
(Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1997), pp. 27-28.
13 Abdur-Razaq Balogun Solagberu, A Study of the Sufi Works of Shaykh Abubakar
Atiq, p. 109
14 John Paden, Religion and Political Culture in Kano p. 87
15 Abubakar ‘Atiq, Al Fayd al-Hami (Cairo: al-Muniriyya, 1958), p. 10.
16 Shaykh Ahmad Sukayraj (1878-1944) was one of the most important leaders of the Tijaniyya in
North Africa in the first half of the twentieth century. He was a prolific
writer as he authored more than one hundred books. He was the main source of
authority in the order for Ibrahim Niasse’s father, Abdullahi Niasse.
17 Malam Lawi Abubakar Atiku, Interview with the author, 2 June, 2013.
18 Kano State History and Culture Bureau (KSHCB) Archival File, LGC 9/1929, Confidential, Subject: Malam Salga (Kano).
19 NAK “ZARPROF” Tijani File. No. c. 4013, 19 December 1934, quoted in Yasir Anjola Quadri, The Tijjaniyya in
Nigeria: A Case Study (PhD Thesis, Ibadan: University of Ibadan, 1981), p. 86.
20 NAK “ZARPROF” Tijani File. No. c. 4013, 19 December 1934, quoted in Yasir Anjola Quadri. The Tijjaniyya in
Nigeria: A Case Study, p. 86. This letter was dated March, 1925.
21 KSHCB Archival File, LGC 9/1929, Confidential, Subject: Malam Salga (Kano).
22 Yasir Anjola Quadri, The Tijjaniyya in Nigeria: A Case Study, p. 88
23 KSHCB Archival File, LGC 9/1929, Confidential, Subject: Malam Salga (Kano).
24 The British colonial authorities had bad experiences in their encounters
with the Mahdists of Sudan and northern Nigeria. That is why they were very
serious and took proactive measures against Malam Salga when he was linked to
Mahdist activism. For more information on the Mahdist movement, see Asma’u
Garba Saeed, “Kano and the Mahdiyya: Leaders of the Mahdiyya Movement, the
Emirs and the Ulama, 1946-2000,” FAIS Journal of Humanities, 2, 1, (2002), 196-219; Muhammad Al-Hajj, Mahdist Tradition in Northern
Nigeria (PhD Thesis, Zaria: Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, 1973); John Ellis Lavers, “Jibril Gaini: A Preliminary
Account of the Career of the Mahdist Leader in North Eastern Nigeria,” Research
Bulletin Center for Arabic Documentation (RBCAD) 3, 1, (1967), 16-40; Muhammad Al-Hajj, “The 13th Century Muslim
Eschatology: Mahdist Expectation in the Sokoto Caliphate,” RBCAD, 3, 2, (1967): 100-115.
25 Malam Abdullahi Mahmud Salga. Interview with the author, 13 June, 2013.
26 Paden, Religion and Political Culture, pp. 89-90.
27 The argument between the two groups is an issue that stirs much emotion, and
this was evident to me during my field work.
28 Malam Abdullahi Uwais, interview with the author, 2 July, 2013. Malam Abdullahi is the son of Malam Uwais Madabo
who was raised by Malam Salga.
29 Suyuti was born in Kano in 1829. His father died when he was six years old and so
he was raised by his elder brother, Abdullahi. After the latter’s death, he
continued his studies under Malam Salihu, until he became an accomplished
scholar in his own right. Suyuti attracted a number of students from all over
Hausaland. Most of them became popular scholars of jurisprudence, while some
distinguished themselves in other subjects. While many of his students were
Hausa, several were Fulani. Some of his prominent students include Malam
Muhammadu Salga, Malam Ibrahim Natsugune, Malam Sa’adu Yantando, Malam Abba
Madabo and Malam Ahmad Yantoro.
30 For more information about the debate between Salga and the scholars of
Madabo, see Muhammad Dahiru Fagge, Literary Life in the Intellectual Tradition
of the Ulama in Kano since 1804, (PhD Thesis, Kano: Bayero University Kano, 1997); Auwalu Anwar, Struggle for Influence and
Identity: The Ulama in Kano 1937-1987 (M.A. Thesis, Maiduguri: University of
Maiduguri, 1989); Muhammad Salga, Risalat al-su’al (Cairo:
Mustafa al-Babi al-Halabi Printing Press, 1956); A. Chindo, Hujaj al-Ulama al-Madabuwiyyin (n.
p.); Muhammad Sani Kafinga, al-Adillat al-saniyya (Kano: Government Printing
Press, 1381 AH); Ahmad al-Tijani b. ‘Uthman, Tuhfat
al-atibba‘ (n.p. 1392 AH).
31 Malam Abdullahi Mahmud Salga, interview with the author, 13 June, 2013.
32 The school in the house of Malam Abba still specializes in Arabic grammar.
The present khalifa (successor) in the house now is Malam Abdullahi Uwais.
33 Source: Paden, Religion and Political Culture, p. 87.
By: Dr. Sani Yakubu Adam (Bayero University, Kano)
Published in: The Annual Review of Islam in Africa (ARIA), Issue No. 12/13, 2015-2016 {Pages 158 - 165}
Picture Credit: Umar Muhammad 'Atiku at-Tijani
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• Section B: English & Arabic [18 to 33]
• Section C: Arabic Only [34 to 78]
SECTION A: ENGLISH ONLY
1. Who is this Shaikh “Shaikh Ibrahim Niasse Al-Kaolacky” [by Dr. Awwal Baba Taofiq]
2. Shariah and Haqeeqah: In the Light of the Qur'an and the Prophetic Traditions [by Dr. Awwal Baba Taofiq]
3. The Icon of Mystics: Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse Al-Kawlakhy [by Dr. Awwal Baba Taofiq]
4. New Life Through Sufism (An Introductory Approach to Sufism) [by Shaikh Zikrullah Okukayode Yekeen]
5. Pure Hearted (Al Qalb as-Salīm) [by Balogun Babatunde (Ubaidullah Alli)]
6. Handbook for every Tijaniyyat [by Shaikh Ahmad Bello As-Suufi Harazimi]
7. Practical Guide on the Wird(Litany) of the Tariqah Faydah Tijaniyyah (The Adherent Handbook)-(Compiled by Sayyidah Bilqis Grillo)
8. In the Meadows of Tafsir for the Noble Quran (Fī Riyādh at-Tafsīr lil Qur’ān al-Karīm) by Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse (Compiled by Muhammad ibn Abdullah Jayjubi at-Tijānī) - English Translation[1 Volume]
9. Durratu Tāj (The Crown Jewel and Fundamental Needs of the Murid, Regarding the Essentials of the Rules & Requirements of the Tariqa Tijaniyyah Spiritual Path): A Concise Instructional Handbook/Pamphlet), by Abdul-Karīm ibn al-Arabī [Translated by Shaikh Hassan Cisse & Alhaji Lawal]
10. Facts about Sufism (by Sayyid Ismaheel Abdulrauf)
11. Jawāhir al-Ma’ānī wa Bulūgh al-Amānī fī Fayd Sīdi Abī-l ‘Abbās at-Tijānī (Jewels of Meanings and the Attainment of Aspirations in the Spiritual Flood of Abu l Abbas Tijānī) by Sīdī ‘Aliyyu Harāzim Berrada -English Translation [Vol 1]
12. The Qualities and Uses of Zamzam Water (A Scientific & Islamic Exploration) by Abdul-Quadir Adeniyi Okeneye
13. Who is Shaykh Jamiu Bulala (by Ustaz Olanipekun Shittu Tunde)
14. Mukhtārāt min Mu'alafāt al-Fudiyāwiyūn [Selected Writings of the Fodios (Shaykh Usman, Abdullah & Muhammad Bello)] - 11 Vols (English)
15. Understanding the Concept of Will-Making in Islam (Fee Manzoori-l-Islam) by Abdul-Quadir Adeniyi Okeneye
16. Shaykh Ahmad Tijani and his Spiritual Path
17. Sayyida Fatima Zahara (The Rose)
SECTION B: ENGLISH TRANSLATION & ARABIC
18. Majmū’at ad-Dawāwīn (Collection of Eulogy Works) of Shaikh Ibrahim Niasse’ (Arabic text & English translation [by Dr. Awwal Baba Taofiq]
19. Al-Yaaqutatul Fareeda Fii Tariqatul Tijaniyyah (The Unique Ruby in the Tijaniya Spiritual Path), by Sheikh Muhammad Nazifi (R.A)...Translated by Sayyidi Jafaru Ibrahim
20.
Vessel of Spiritual Flood, Translation of Goran Faydah by Shaykh
Balarabe Haroon Jega (Hausa-Ajami text & English translation [by Dr.
Awwal Baba Taofiq]
21. Katsina and Kaduna Conferences (Jadhbul ahbab ila hadrat Rabbil arbab) and Mecca Conference -(Translated by Sayyidah Bilqis Grillo)
22. Mawlud lectures of Shaikh Ibrahim Niass(Translated by Sayyidah Bilqis Grillo)
23. Risalat at-Tawbah (Epistle of Repentance) of Shaykh Ibrahim Niyass al-Kawlakhi" - (Translation & Commentary by Dr. Razzaq Solagberu)
24. Al-khususiyyah Fi Mujadid Tariqah Tijaniyyah (The Distinguished Miracles of Shaikh Ibrahim Niass), Compiled & Translated by Dr. Awwal Baba Taofiq
25. Epistle to the World [The Translation of Ayyuha-l-Walad (Dear Beloved Son)] by Imam Abu Hameed Al-Ghazaali....Translated by Abdul-Quadir Adeniyi Okeneye
26. Jawahir Rasail (A Collection of Priceless Expositions via Letters "Letters 1 to 10"): Diamond Sparkles - (Arabic text, English Translation and Commentary by Sayyidah Bilqis Grillo)
27. Softcopy of Numerous Sufi Literature (Arabic & English) - (To be sent via CD & email/googledrive)
28. Kano Conferences by Shaikh Ibrahim Niasse
29. Shaykh Inyass’ Special Prayers
30. Rūh al-Adab (Spirit of Excellent Ethics) by Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse [Translated by Abdul-Quadir Okeneye]
31. At-Taiseer (Simplification): The Means of Attaining Purification Through Poetry with Allaah's Most Beautiful Names, By Shaykh El-Hajj Malick Sy [same translator]
32. Qasida al-Hamziyya (Panegyric which contains the Biography & History of Prophet Muḥammad) by Shaykh Muhammad Būsayrī [Translation & Commentary by Ibrahim Jafaru] - Arabic & English
33. Sufism “The Orthodox Path” (At-Tasawwuf “Minhāj al-Qawīm”) [Arabic text & English translations ], by Oseni Aliu Olalekan
SECTION C: ARABIC ONLY
34. Dalā’ilu l Khayrāt - Collection of prayers upon the Prophet
a) in Plain Arabic and Warsh script” (by Shaikh Sulaiman Jazūlī) – Arabic
b) in Hafs Arabic (small size)
c) in Hafs Arabic (big size)
35. Kanzul Masūn - Collections of Prayers/Supplications (by Shaikh Ibrahim Niasse) - Arabic
36. Dawāwīn as-Sitt (Six Anthologies) on Prophetic Eulogy (by Shaikh Ibrahim Niasse) - Arabic
37. Ahzāb wa Awrād (Collection of Prayers/Liturgies and Litanies) of Shaikh Ahmad at-Tijani - Arabic
38. Jihāzu Sārih wa Sā’ihi wa Sābih wal ‘Ākiful Fālihu fī Tawajuhāt bi-Salātul Fātih by Shaykh Muhammad Gibrima Ad-Dāghirī - *Arabic*
39. Al-Durra al-Kharida fī Shar’h al-Yāqūtat al-Farīda (‘The Unpierced Pearl’ in the Commentary of ‘The Unique Ruby’) - [Arabic, 2 Vols] by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wāhid an-Nazīfī
40. Jawāhir al-Ma’ānī wa Bulūgh al-Amānī fī Fayd Sīdi Abī-l ‘Abbās at-Tijānī (Jewels of Meanings and the Attainment of Aspirations in the Spiritual Flood of Abu l Abbas Tijānī) by Sīdī ‘Aliyyu Harāzim Berrada - Arabic [Single Vol 1/2]
41. Fī Riyādh at-Tafsīr lil Qur’ān al-Karīm
(In the Meadows of Tafsir/Exegesis for the Noble Quran) - by Shaykh
Ibrahim Niasse (Compiled by Muhammad ibn Abdullah Jayjubi at-Tijānī)
—Arabic [6 Volumes]
42. Kāshif al-Ilbās (by Shaikh Ibrahim Niasse) - Arabic
43. Fatihu Rabānī fīmā yahtāju ilayhi l Murīd at-Tijānī, by Muhammad ibn Abdullah at-Tijānī
44. Al-Fuyūdāt ar-Rabāniyyah fī Ma’āthar wal Awrād al-Qādiriyyah, by Sayyid al-Hajj ibn Sayyid Muhammad Sa’eed al-Qādirī
45. Sa’ādat al-Anām bi Aqwāl Shaykh al-Islām
46. Al-Budūr as-Suta’i: Shar’h al-Mur’hafati-l quta’i (by Shaikh Ibrahim Niasse)
47. Tabsirat al-Anām fī anna-l ‘Ilma Huwa-l Imām (by Shaikh Ibrahim Niasse)
48. Kanzul Awliyā fī Tawassuli bi-A’azam al-Asmā’ (by Shaikh Ibrahim Niasse)
49. Raf’u-l Malām ‘aman rafa’a wa qabada iqtidā bi-Sayyid al-Anām (by Shaikh Ibrahim Niasse)
50. Nujūm al-Hudā fī kawni Nabiyyinā afdala man da’ā ilā llahi wa hadā (by Shaikh Ibrahim Niasse)
51. Ziyādat al-Jawāhir min yawāqīt al-fāzin durari hikamin fī funūn ‘ulūm (by Shaikh Ibrahim Niasse)
52. Matrab as-Sāmi’een an-Nāzireen: Fī Manāqib ash-Shaykh Al-Hajj ‘Abdullah ibn Sayyid Muhammad (by Shaikh Ibrahim Niasse)
53. Al-Bayān wa-t Tabyīn ‘anni-t Tijāniyyati wa-t Tijāniyyīn (by Shaikh Ibrahim Niasse)
54. Tanbīhu-l adhkiyā’ fī kawn Ash-Shaykh At-Tijānī Khātim al-Awliyyā (by Shaikh Ibrahim Niasse)
55. Dīwān Sayr al-Qalb bi-Mad’h al-Mustafā al-hibb ilā Hadrat Ar-Rabb (by Shaikh Ibrahim Niasse)
56. Majmū’ Rihlāt Ash-Shaykh Ibrāhīm [Ar-Rihlat al-Hijaziyya al-ūlā, Nayl al-Mafāz al-awd ilā-l Hijāz, Ar-Rihlat al-Kanāriyya wal Kumāshiyya, Ar-Rihlat al-Kunākriyya] (by Shaikh Ibrahim Niasse)
57. Jawāhir ar-Rasā’il al-hāwī ba’ad al-‘ulūm wasīlat al-wasā’il (by Shaikh Ibrahim Niasse)
58. Tafsīr al-Jalālayni [by Jalāludeen al-Mahālī & Jalāludeen as-Suyūtī]
59. Tafsīr Ibn ‘Abbās (Tanwīr al-Miqbās) [by Abī Tāhir ibn Ya’aqūb Fairūzābādī]
60. Shams al-Ma’arif al-Kubrā wa Latā’if al-‘Awārif [by Imām Ahmad ibn ‘Aliyyu Al-Būnī]
61. Al-‘Ishrīniyya (Dīwān al-Wasā’il al-Mutaqabala fī mad’hi-n Nabiyyi) [by Wazīr Abdur-Rahmān al-Fāzāzī & Imām AbūBakr al-Muhīb]
62. Mukāshafat al-Qulūb [by Imām Abū-Hamīd al-Ghazzālī]
63. Ghāyatul Amānī fī Sīrat Sīdī Ahmad At-Tijānī [Compiled by Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan al-Mada’ū Thānī]
64. Ifādatul Ahmadiyyah: Li-Mureed As-Sa’ādat al-Abadiyyah [by Sīdī Muhammad At-Tayyib As-Sufyānī]
65. Majmu’ Qasā’id al-Mawlid an-Nabawī (by Shaikh Ibrahim Niasse)
66. al-Irshādāt al-Rabbāniyyah bi al-Futūḥāt al-Ilāhiyyah li-Sīdī Abī-l ‘Abbās Ahmad al-Tijānī ‘alā Matn al-Hamziyyah li-Abī ‘Abdullah al-Būsayrī (The Lordly Guidance by way of Divine Illumination of Sīdī Abī-l ‘Abbās Ahmad al-Tijānī: Commentary to Text of Hamziyyah by Abu Abdullah al-Busayri) [Published by Sīdī ‘Alī Ḥarāzim Barrādah] – Arabic
67. Sirrul Asraar (by Shaikh AbdulQadir Jaylani)
68. Abu Ma’shar al Falaki (by Shaikh Abu Hayyillahi al-Marzuqi)
69. Ismu-llahi al-a’azam (by Shaikh AbdulFatai Tūkhī)
70. Tansheet as Sufiyya fi’l Ahzaab al-Qaadiriyya (Shaikh Nasiru Kabara & Alfa Nda Salati)
71. Urjuzat Ruh ul Adab (Shaikh Ibrahim Niasse)
72. Al-Burdat al-madeehi(Shaikh Būsayri)
73. Tafsīr al-Qur'ān al-'Azīm "lil-Imāmayn Al-Jalālayni" - Warsh & Hafs - 2 Vols (Arabic)
74. Mukhtārāt min Mu'alafāt al-Fudiyāwiyūn [Selected Writings of the Fodios (Shaykh Usman, Abdullah & Muhammad Bello)] - 11 Vols (Arabic)
75. Natā'ij al-Asfār fī-s Salāt 'alā-n Nabiyy al-Mukhtār (by Shaykh Ahmad Abū-l Fat'h al-Yarwāwī)
76.Teebul Fā'ihi Wal Wirdu-s Sā'ihi fī Salātul Fātih (by Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abdul Wāhid an-Nazeefī)
77. Tafsīr al-Qur'ān al-'Azīm "lil-Imāmayn Al-Jalālayni" (by Imām Jalālu-Deen Al-Muhalī & Imām Jalālu-Deen As-Suyūtī) [Warsh & Hafs Scripts - 2 Vols]
78. Rūh ul-Bayān fī Tafsīr ul-Qur'ān (10 Volumes Sūfī Tafsīr/Quranic Exegesis) [by Shaikh Ismā'īl al-Haqqī al-Barūsī]
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SUFI LITANIES & SALAT ALA NABIYY (PRAYER UPON PROPHET) COLLECTION
• Ahzāb wa Awrād (Collection of Prayers/Liturgies and Litanies) of Shaykh Ahmad at-Tijani
• Kanzul Masūn [Guarded Treasure] - Collections of Prayers/Supplications (by Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse)
• Jihāzu Sārih wa Sā’ihi wa Sābih wal ‘Ākiful Fālihu fī Tawajuhāt bi-Salātul Fātih (by Shaykh Muhammad Gibrima)
• Natā'ij al-Asfār fī-s Salāt 'alā-n Nabiyy al-Mukhtār (by Shaykh Ahmad Abū-l Fat'h al-Yarwāwī)
• Teebul Fā'ihi Wal Wirdu-s Sā'ihi fī Salātul Fātih (by Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abdul Wāhid an-Nazeefī)
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