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A richly annotated survey of writings by four of West Africa's most renowned Sufi scholars, new in paperback
Outsiders have long observed the contours of the flourishing scholarly traditions of African Muslim societies, but the most renowned voices of West African Sufism have rarely been heard outside of their respective constituencies. This volume brings together writings by Uthman b. Fudi (d. 1817, Nigeria), Umar Tal (d. 1864, Mali), Ahmad Bamba (d. 1927, Senegal), and Ibrahim Niasse (d. 1975, Senegal), who, between them, founded the largest Muslim communities in African history.
Jihad of the Pen offers translations of Arabic source material that proved formative to the constitution of a veritable Islamic revival sweeping West Africa in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Recurring themes shared by these scholars—etiquette on the spiritual path, love for the Prophet Muhammad, and divine knowledge—demonstrate a shared, vibrant scholarly heritage in West Africa that drew on the classics of global Islamic learning, but also made its own contributions to Islamic intellectual history. The authors have selected enduringly relevant primary sources and richly contextualized them within broader currents of Islamic scholarship on the African continent.
Students of Islam or Africa, especially those interested in learning more of the profound contributions of African Muslim scholars, will find this work an essential reference for the university classroom or personal library.
"[A] captivating read."—African Studies Quarterly
"[A]n excellent source of reading matter for scholars of Islam in Africa, students of Islamic studies, Sufism, and African studies. . . . an essential reference for the university classroom or personal library."—Journal of Islamic Studies
"A valuable contribution to scholarship and teaching . . . enthusiastically recommended."—Journal of African History
Rudolph Ware is associate professor in the department of history at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), and the founder and director of the IKHLAS research initiative for the study of Islamic Knowledge, Histories and Languages, Arts and Sciences. He is the author of The Walking Qur’an: Islamic Education, Embodied Knowledge, and History in West Africa (2014) and several articles on slavery in Islamic Africa and the Atlantic World.
Zachary Wright is professor in residence in the Liberal Arts Program, with joint appointments in History and Religious Studies, at Northwestern University in Qatar. He also serves as director of Northwestern’s Institute for the Study of Islamic Thought in Africa. His research concerns Islamic intellectual history, especially Sufism, in North and West Africa from the fifteenth to the twentieth centuries. He is the author of The Chronicles of Two West African Kingdoms: The Tarikh Ibn al-Mukhtar of the Songhay Empire and the Tarikh al-fattash of the Caliphate of Hamdallahi (with M. Nobili, and A. Diakite, 2025); Realizing Islam: The Tijaniyya in North Africa and the Eighteenth-Century Muslim World (2020); and Living Knowledge in West African Islam: The Sufi Community of Ibrahim Niasse (2015).
Amir Syed is assistant professor in the department of history at the University of Virginia. His research interests include issues related to the construction of religious authority, scholarly culture, and Islamic knowledge practices in West Africa. His forthcoming monograph is entitled, Sovereignty and Sainthood: Umar Tall, Islamic Knowledge, and Political Imagination in West Africa (1800–1864). He has also published articles on Arabic poetry, Jihad, and political theology in the Western Sahel region of Africa.
Acknowledgments
Note on Translation
Introduction: Zachary Wright
Four Saintly Biographies
Islamic Intellectual Production in West Africa
Islamic Law in West Africa
Philosophy and Metaphysics
Women Scholars of West Africa
Structure of the Book
Shaykh ʿUthman b. Fudi: Rudolph Ware, with translations by Aisha Bewley and Muhammad Shareef
Roots of the Religion (Kitab usul al-din)
Sciences of Behavior (ʿUlūm al-muʿamala)
Book of Distinction (Kitab al-tafriqa)
Shaykh ʿUmar al-Futi Tal: Amir Syed
Reminder for the Seekers (Tadhkirat al-mustarshidin)
Lances of the Party of the Merciful (Rimah hizb al-Rahim)
Vessel of Happiness (Safinat al-saʿada)
Shaykh Aḥmad Bamba Mbacké: Rudolph Ware
The Valiant One (al-Sandid)
Pathways to Paradise (Manasalik al-jinan)
Gifts of the Benefactor (Mawahib al-Nafiʿ)
Shaykh Ibrahim ʿAbdallah Niasse: Zachary Wright
The Spirit of Etiquette (Ruh al-adab)
The Removal of Confusion (Kashif al-ilbas)
The Jeweled Letters (Jawahir al-rasaʾil)
Poetry for the Prophet (from Diwawin al-sitt)
Conclusion: Rudolph Ware