The African Caliphate: The Life, Works and Teaching of Shaykh Usman Dan Fodio (1754-1817)

This scholarly work, The African Caliphate, focuses on the establishment in 1809, in what is today Northern Nigeria, of the celebrated Sokoto caliphate, which may well have been the last complete re-establishment, anywhere in the world, of Islam in its entirety, comprising all its many and varied dimensions. As well as giving the biography of the Shehu and a comprehensive account of the history of his movement, the book also provides an in-depth examination of his teaching and literary works. These factors are all inextricably interwoven since, in a way scarcely equalled by any other historical figure, the Shehu’s writings sprang directly out of the exigencies and requirements of his immediate situation and were what drove his movement forward and gave it its momentum. As will be seen, his sole inspiration and source of guidance in every instance were the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger # to such a point that he even died at exactly the same age. It is also astonishing how relevant the Shehu’s teachings are, in spite of the clear difference in both time and environment, to the situation of so many Muslims in the world today and the solution to many of the problems currently besetting Islam are clearly indicated within its pages.

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Malam Ibraheem Sulaiman

The author teaches law at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria, and is a research fellow at the University’s centre for Islamic legal studies, where he was the director for a decade. He has attended seminars and conferences in many different countries and presented papers on islam, shari‘a and political affairs.348 pages