Shaykh Uthman dan Fodio And The Wider Problem Of Ignorance of Islamic History
This article of mine was initially written for Project Vanguard titled “Shaykh Uthman dan Fodio and the Wider Problem of Ignorance of Islamic History.”
“Uthman Ibn Fodio is probably the most influential Islamic scholar in the history of Islam in west Africa…”
– Dr. Abdullah Hakim Quick
Usman dan Fodio’s Life
Shehu Usman dan Fodio/Shaykh Uthmān ibn Fūdī was born on the 15th December, 1754 in the in the village of Maratta in the Hausa city-state of Gobir, in what is today northern Nigeria, to Mallam Muhammadu Fodio, his father, and Sayda Hauwa, his mother.
Through the instruction of his father, Shaykh Uthman dan Fodio became a hafiz of the Quran (memoriser of the entire Quran in Arabic) at a young age; he received qualifications in the six main books of Hadith and thereafter, along with mastering Arabic grammar and receiving a qualification in tafsir (commentary of Quran), he became a jurist in the Maliki school of thought (He also was very knowledgeable of the other 3 schools within Sunni Islam: Hanafi, Shafi’i and Hanbali). In addition, along with being a great scholar he was also a great ascetic (tasawwuf) and a great poet. He wrote over 400 poems in Arabic, Fulfude and Hausa; over 100 books on society, religion and the role of government, and highly encouraged deeply reflecting on one’s self and the purification of the heart (tasawwuf).
Moreover, he had over twenty three children to 4 wives: Maimuna, Aisha, Hawa’u and Hadiza. His most notable children included his successor and the second Sultan of the Sokoto Caliphate: Muhammad Bello from his third wife Hawa’u; Muhammad Bello’s successor and third Sultan of the Sokoto Caliphate: Abu Bakr Atiku, also from (his third wife) Hawa’u, and perhaps the most notable of his children: his daughter Nana Asma’u from his first wife Maimuna.
He was a descendant of the early Fulani settlers in Hausaland in the 15th century, and was the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate in 1809 which brought together the Hausa states and neighbouring territories together for the first time; The Sokoto Caliphate was established after the Fulani Jihad (1804-1808) and was the largest empire in Africa since the fall of the Songhai Empire in 1591. Country Studies further describes the magnitude of his empire and even alludes to his conquest having played a part in other uprisings in neighbouring territories:
“By the middle of the nineteenth century, when the Sokoto Caliphate was at its greatest extent, it stretched 1,500 kilometers from Dori in modern Burkina Faso to southern Adamawa in Cameroon and included Nupe lands, Ilorin in northern Yorubaland, and much of the Benue River valley. In addition, Usman dan Fodio’s jihad provided the inspiration for a series of related holy wars in other parts of the savanna and Sahel far beyond Nigeria’s borders that led to the foundation of Islamic states in Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast, Chad, Central African Republic, and Sudan. An analogy has been drawn between Usman dan Fodio’s jihad and the French Revolution in terms of its widespread impact. Just as the French Revolution affected the course of European history in the nineteenth century, the Sokoto jihad affected the course of history throughout the savanna from Senegal to the Red Sea.”
Pictured: A drawing of Uthman dan Fodio
(Source unknown)
Uthman ibn Fudi’s Legacy
Uthman dan Fodio is still widely remembered in Africa today, particularly in West Africa from where he originated. His conquests and his ability to socially transform society to one that was more in line with Islamic values (stamping out un-Islamic practices, encouraging the education of women, encouraging scholarship, etc) is still widely talked about today but generally speaking, though Uthman dan Fodio is popular amongst academic circles and amongst Muslims in West Africa, he is not as widely known to the average Muslim and the attention or lack thereof to Uthman dan Fodio is not an isolated case when it comes to general Islamic history and/or Islamic history in West Africa. The lack of even just basic knowledge of Islam in West Africa is even more evident and Brother Dawud Walid beautifully articulates this:
“One of the hidden treasures within the Muslim world is West Africa. In it contains a rich history of Muslim empires, arts and culture as well as resistance to colonialism. As these are aspects of Islamic civilisation in West Africa that are unknown to many non-sub Saharan Africans, equally unknown is the rich history of Islamic scholarship in West Africa which continues to inspire the faithful today. Shaykh Uthman bin Fodio al-Fulani, also known as Shehu Uthman dan Fodio, is one of those stars in the constellation in the history of Islamic scholarship in West Africa.”
Why Islamic History Is So Important
The lack of knowledge of Islamic history (particularly of Islam in West Africa) adversely affects Muslims in two ways:
(1) The ignorance that surrounds our beautiful Deen of Islam is immense and intense and they are those who claim to represent our Deen in its most orthodox form (but in actuality do not) and hence aiding the negative image of Islam which as a result means that it is imperative that Muslims are aware of their history (and not just specific to the region they/their ancestors originate from). The problems that arise from the lack of knowledge of the Deen and history are even more compounded when Muslims themselves are ignorant because this not only leads to the development of inferiority complexes amongst Muslims but even for some to leave the Deen altogether and,
(2) The more knowledge of Islamic history, of which is such an extremely diverse variety of ethnicities and racial backgrounds of those who have contributed to the Deen, would effectively and significantly assist in tackling racism and anti-blackness within our Muslim communities. Personalities like Shaykh Uthman dan Fodio hence have to be explored more, especially by the learned in our communities so as to disseminate this information not only to the Muslim communities around the world but towards non Muslims as well so as to tackle misinformation about our Deen.
The fact that many who have studied him and his teachings consider him to be still relevant to our times is a testament to the man and his legacy. May Allah have mercy on him and may Allah allow us to make the likes of him more known amongst our communities. Aameen.
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