Who do we have as good muslim speakers here in the UK , someone who can talk about the west africa and its history, or the african slave trade in the americaas or the benefits islam has brought to the african diaspora in the UK?

I can only think of our american brothers such as hakim quick.

Any suggestions out there.

Jazakallah

This is how one of the famous ismaic scholars from eastern Africa (Syed Omar Abdallah - born In Zanzibar and died in late 1980s) came to meet one of the greatest ismalic scholars of Western africa Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse and here how the story goes. This happened in 1960s if I am not mistaken.



[Editors note: The following article is taken from the September 1985 AFRICA EVENTS magazine, and is concerning Al Hajj Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse.



Shaykh Niasse
A Man Apart


The late Al Hajj Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse of Senegal, a

Renowned Sufi Shaykh, was a most extra-ordinary man, He

commands a large following in the whole of West Africa

and beyond, including France and the U.S. Sayyid Omar

Abdalla describes his encounters with the man.

La ilaha Illa-Llah, Mashaa Allah, La Quwwata illa Billah. I first knew of Al Hajj al-Allama Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse through a magazine, Al Arab, which used to be published in Karachi under the able editorship of an Egyptian.

I had read in the magazine that a highly spiritual man in Kaolack, Senegal was the cause for a padre (father) from Eastern Nigeria to embrace Islam. Eastern Nigeria was purely Christian and mainly Catholic. Islam was not allowed to enter there. British administrators co-operating very closely with the missionaries put up barriers against Islam entering Eastern Nigeria. Then it transpired that a well-educated padre had a dream that was to change the fortunes of Islam in Eastern Nigeria.

This is what happened, and I heard this from the padre’s own tongue. I had met him in Makkah. He was a very impressive man, very huge and wearing a Turban. His English was fluent and good. I was so much impressed with him that I had to ask him, “Where are you from?� “I’m from Eastern Nigeria�, he said. And immediately I asked, “Are you Ibrahim Niasse, the priest who was converted by Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse of Senegal and then took his name?� “Yes, indeed, I am�, came the reply. I met him again in 1965, at a conference of Muslim scholars from all over the Muslim World.

The former padre related to me his dream. In his dream, he saw very impressive people high up in the sky. With the padre there were two people, one white and the other one black. But he was surprised because the white person, whom he thought might be a European, was not in European attire but was in Islamic dress. He had never met any Arab before. The white gentleman told him, “If you want to join those people up there in the sky, the only person who can take you, who can lead you and guide you to get there is this black person�.But the black person was in Islamic dress. So the padre said to the white man, whom he later realized was the Prophet himself, “How can this man take me there? I’m a Christian, he is a Muslim�.And he was told, “That’s your business. If you want to get there, there’s no other way�. He woke up. As he was an artist he sketched the faces of the two gentlemen who were with him, and then he ignored the dream. But the dream kept on recurring until he thought it was necessary for him to go out of Eastern Nigeria to seek out the black man.

In Western Nigeria someone told him that his sketch of the black man resembled Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse of Senegal who lived in Kaolack. Having heard that, he decided there and then to go to Kaolack. He arrived at Shaykh Ibrahim’s house at 3 o’clock in the morning. He knocked at the door. The Shaykh’s children came out alarmed, thinking that he was a thief or an intruder. “I just want to see your father�, said the padre, “that’s all there is. I’m quite a peaceful person�. Incidentally, all of Shaykh Ibrahim’s children are illustrious. They all have memorized the Qur`an, they are very learned, and they combine both secular and religious education, of course in the Western sense of the dichotomy.

In Islam we don’t have the distinction between the religious and the secular. They are all one thing, all knowledge. And whatever helps you to approach God, to serve God, to develop your personality, is Islamic. Any knowledge which makes you do wrong, even if it is Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) or Tasawwuf (Islamic mysticism), is un-Islamic. And that is why you find in the Traditions of the Prophet, a prayer which says: “Allahumma a`udhubika min `ilmin la fanyaa�, O Lord, I take refuge in you against knowledge which is not useful.

There is no particular branch of knowledge that is not useful except knowledge that does not improve a person, or that does not make a person develop his personality and realize the existence of God and the unity of God and how to serve God, through serving fellow human beings. That is `Ilmin la Fanyaa (useless knowledge). No wonder Muslims in earlier times studied all sorts of knowledge, all branches of science, mathematics, they improved on them and put them on the right path, on the right way to become really scientific. But this is all digression.

Back to Kaolack. Shaykh Ibrahim came out of his house and the first thing he said to the padre was: “Join Islam, embrace Islam�.“That’s exactly what I’m here for�, responded the padre.

He then embraced Islam, stayed with Shaykh Ibrahim for sometime, learned the main principals of Islam, and the ritual practices required. After that he returned to Nigeria as a Muslim and with a new nam, Ibrahim Niasse, the name of his Shaykh, the man who helped him convert to Islam.

There were two churches in Eastern Nigeria that the padre was the responsible for looking after. But now he was a Muslim. He burned them down to make things easy. When he was taken to court for such a sacrilegious act, burning down places of worship, he told the English judge, “Mind you, I did not do that as a contempt of religion, of Christianity. I did that because I used to worship in those two churches, and I was in charge of those churches, which were built as a result of my efforts. Now I am a Muslim. I can’t pray in there. I have demolished the churches to build mosques instead so that I can go in and pray. If I were to go back to Christianity I shall burn down the mosques and build churches again�. The case was dismissed.

From what I read in Al Arab and what the man himself told me, within six months 6,000 people in Eastern Nigeria had embraced Islam. Shaykh Niasse of Eastern Nigeria was a tremendous person who made gigantic efforts with enormous enthusiasm to serve Islam, to spread Islam, and to explain Islam. And he did that very successfully.

When I read about this in Al Arab, I decided that whenever I was anywhere in Europe I would go to Senegal to see Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse of Kaolack, the man who possessed such spiritual powers. In 1961 or 1962 when I was up at Oxford, I received an invitation to go to Ghana to attend the conference on The World Without the Bomb organized by a committee in Yugoslavia and sponsored by Kwame Nkrumah.

I decided immediately, that it was an opportunity for me to go and see Ghana. It was not very easy because the Commonwealth scholarship I had did not allow people to be away from England for more than two weeks, during the teaching period and even during vacations. Anyway, I managed to get to Accra. The driver who was to take me around Accra decided that he would show me some of the buildings that the senior British administrators used to live in. He took me to one very imposing building, and outside the house I found people performing the zikr saying La ilaha illa-llah, La ilaha illa-llah, La ilaha illa-llah (There is no God but Allah).

I recalled that at one time, during the same period of Nkrumah, one of Zanzibar’s pre-independence politicians who was going to Ghana went to say good-bye to al-Imam al Habib `Umar bin Sumeyt, our Grand Shaykh. He was as Grand in East Africa as Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse was in West Africa, or probably more as Shaykh Ibrahim himself said. Sayyid `Umar said to the politician: “You’re going to Ghana. You’ll find people of our party there. When you have taken what you want to take for your party, then take for our party because you’ll find our people there�. When I saw the zikr I said to myself, “this is the party of Al Habib `Umar, the party of La ilaha illa-llah�.

The car stopped there. Someone approached and I asked him what was happening. He told me that there was a very great Shaykh inside the building. “A great Shaykh? Could I meet him?� “Let us go and inform him about it�, the man replied. Then he went inside and came out with a positive answer.

I went in and found a very impressive, highly dignified gentleman with a copy of the Qur`an in his hand. I was surprised because I thought he was a Ghanaian and I had not met any Ghanaian Muslim back in England. When I was there earlier between 1951 and 1953, I hardly met any Muslim Ghanaians, and I though that there were very few Muslims in Ghana. But of course this time I discovered that there were a lot of them. The reason why I did not see any of the educated Ghanaians who were Muslims in England was that education was left in the hands of Christian missionaries. One or two people whom risked sending their children there had them converted. Education was made a means of converting people to Christianity.

I was surprised to see that Shaykh. And I said, “Are you a Ghanaian?� He said he was not. “I am from Senegal�. I asked him if he knew Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse. He said that he knew him well because he was he. He was one of those invited to join the conference. Nkrumah used to get on very well with him. He used to take his advice because Shaykh Ibrahim knew a lot about the world and its ways. He was well versed both in diplomacy and politics and was deeply mystical. Very well read in Islamic subjects - fiqh (jurisprudence), tawhid (unity of God) and tasawwuf (mysticism). In him all sorts of learning merged in one whole. He was an internationally respected figure.

He went to China as the Shaykh of Islam of West Africa. It was during the time of Mao-Tse-Tung and he was well received. He used to get on very well indeed with King Faisal and President Gamal Abd al-Nasir. He reconciled the two of them when they fell apart. I remember to have seen him in Makkah sitting besides King Faisal at the grand Party that the King throws for all the pilgrims. I can now call to mind a picture that was taken at al-Azhar which has Gamal Abd al-Nasir sitting next to Shaykh Ibrahim. They were attending Friday prayers.

Shaykh Ibrahim was a man whose prayers have been answered. His favorite prayer was “O our Lord give us of this world the good things of this world and give us the good things of the next world and protect us from the punishment of hell-fire�.

Immediately we became very close. If I can let my audacity run away with me, I will say that we became very good friends from that particular day. We used to meet while I was in Ghana and I used to cantilate to his some religious qasidas, especially those from the anthology of al-Imam al-Mujaddid Al-Habib Abdalla ibn Alawi al-Haddad and al-Imam al-Kabir al-Habib Ali ibn Muhammad al-Habshy. I remember that he was absolutely spiritually intoxicated and he lost his balance when I recited this, “Lidh li fil `ilmi inni bil fanaa atlaqtu qaidee.� “If you know the knowledge of the knower, with knowledge of annihilation your chains are unlocked.�

This is taken from the Diwan of al-Habib al-Murshid, al-Imam al-Kabir Ali ibn Muhammad al-Habshy. I also used to recite this from the anthology of al-Imam al-Mujaddid al Habib Abdalla ibn Alawi al-Haddad, “Anaa mashghoolun bilaylaa, `an jamee`al kauni jumlahu fa’idhaa qulta min dhaa, qul huwas sabbul maulahu.�

When I recited the first he was overwhelmed, and he said he did not know in which world he was. He absolutely was out of the material world - his essence. Shaykh Ibrahim expected to keep on repeating these qasidas from the anthologies of as-Sadat al-Alawiyyah.

I asked him all about the conversion of his namesake who was in Eastern Nigeria, and who in turn converted thousands of Muslims. Shaykh Ibrahim confirmed the truth of the whole story.

I was in Senegal again to attend a conference on the teaching of economics. I was then the Principal of Muslim Academy in Zanzibar. On arrival the very first thing I did was to go to Kaolack to see the Shaykh. I was told he had gone to a neighboring country to open a mosque but would be returning to lead Friday prayers. When the time for prayers came his Khalifa took me to the mosque and put me right in front of al-mihrab (the pulpit). I found the Shaykh delivering the Friday sermon. What a pleasure it was, when while coming down from the pulpit to lead prayers, he turned and faced me. He said, “Ahlan Wassahlan, how is Shaykh `Umar�, that was the first thing he asked me. By that he meant Sayyidina al-Imam al-Habib `Umar ibn Ahmad ibn Sumeyt.

In these countries, when someone is called a Shaykh, he is really a Shaykh in knowledge, in upbringing, in training people, in guiding people on the path to God.

We went home in the afternoon, and from a rather ornate cupboard he brought out the photo of al-Habib `Umar, the very one I gave him. Then he gave it to his Khalifa, who was equally bawled over. And then Shaykh Ibrahim took the picture reverently and put it back where it was. I mentioned the incident to al-Habib `Umar, and he said “Aha! We have known him now and we shall pour into his heart spiritual endowments�.

That is the testimony to al-Habib `Umar’s great stature. For after all, Shaykh Ibrahim was a great personality in many spheres, political, diplomatic, spiritual, widely respected by people in all walks of life, and highly regarded throughout the world including China, and yet there he was paying homage to al-Habib `Umar.

Once he was passing through Rome, when someone approached him and asked him to go and see the Pope. Shaykh Ibrahim said it was a wonderful idea, but “the Pope must come to me�, he said, “I represent Muhammad, upon whom be peace and blessings of Allah, and he represents Christ, upon whom be the peace and blessings of God, and Muhammad is greater than Christ. If he won’t come to me, then I won’t go to him.� *** Copyright Sayyid Omar Abdalla Africa Events September 1985.

This article, The Eternal Islam, and The 17th Anniversary of the Disappearance of Shaykh Ibrahim were published in Newsletters of The African American Islamic Institute, in 1998, but the newsletters were not distributed. You may contact us by e:mail for copies. Insha-llah.

Editors note: The following article was taken from the Special 25 July 1992 issue of the Al Faydatou Tijaniyya magazine. It was spoken and published by Shaykh Muhamadul Maamoune Ibrahim Niasse on the anniversary of the Thirtieth year since Shaykh Al Islam sent three of his first students: Macky, Maamoune, and Hassan (Cisse), in July 1962, to pursue their studies at the Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt. It has been re-edited,]

The 17th Anniversary of The Disappearance of the Shaykh Al Islam

Al Hajj Ibrahim Niasse

1900- 1975

A Great Pioneer of African Integration



Seventeen years have already elapsed since the 26th of July 1975, the date of the disappearance of Al Hajj Ibrahim Niasse. It was like yesterday. Even if eyes have stopped shedding tears, the hearts of millions of followers continue to mourn the loss of the one whom should be considered to have caused one of the greatest peaks of contemporary Islam.

His friends in the Arab world loved to call him Sidi Ibrahim Niasse. Does he merit all of the devotion that his students avowed to him? Definitely yes, because Holy men such as he who have gathered so much “baraka� (blessing) during their spiritual course in life are very rare. He initiated programs in the areas of theological knowledge, pedagogical culture, tactical method of organization, and philanthropic education with an immeasurable amount of physical obligation and brightness, which did not take away from his Saintly countenance.

Contrary to former ideas, which have only presented Islamic Holy men as humbly dressed and effaced, the Shaykh knew how to reconcile the Truth, the Right, and the Lovable. He also knew what to do with the trilogy that his master Shaykh Ahmad Tijani loved so much to teach. In this anniversary of 1992, we have the opportunity to speak about the work of the Shaykh which has helped the expansion of Islam, and which has been conducted to the four comers of the globe making him a considerable Ambassador of Senegal. This is a fact that has enhanced brotherhood and religious work, and has brought honor to all of the people of our land and to the African continent.

The themes dedicated in this Seventeenth Anniversary will amply illustrate the amount of work achieved in 75 years by Baye Niasse. They will concern the three principal focal points of his mission: his eccentric science of Islamic initiation, which helped to bring relief from the previous chronic 30 years; his political expansion of Islam throughout the whole world (Africa, Asia, and America); and the effectiveness of his methods of education and his growing scholarly institutions.



The Initiative Science



His method of Initiative Science is a Way that leads more directly to Divine knowledge. This is an initiative science that uses “Zikr� (incantation of Allah’s Names, Highly Exalted is He) as the ultimate way by which believers honor the Creator. Did not Allah (swt) tell us to know Him..... ,for if we don’t know Him then how do we worship Him? It is nearly impossible to believe and have any amount of faith in Allah (swt), without at first deeply implanting in oneself exact knowledge of His Existence. If it is true that faith is a greenhouse plant that must regularly be maintained, it is also obvious that it should before everything else, be solidly implanted.

Since understanding and spiritual growth depends on the master, and masters are sometimes for themselves, it is important to note that the aimed objectives, the methods used, and the facility to access their teachings indicate their spiritual degree and flow from the depths of their understanding of the sciences. Therefore we will first speak about the origin of the sciences of the Shaykh Al Islam Al Hajj Ibrahim Niasse.

To speak about the work of the master amounts to speaking about the master himself and his compassion. The history of Baye Niasse (Baye, the title of ‘Father’ given to him early in life by the Senegalese) began before his birth. His venerable mother had a dream one night in which she saw the moon come down from the sky and disappear into her body. She spoke about it to her husband Al Hajj Abdullahi Niasse, the father of the future Shaykh, who in turn advised her to keep the secret. Some months after that, on the 17th of October 1900 the baby was born. Several great Saints of the time revealed their insights of the life of young Ibrahim while others predicted that he would be charged with a Saintly Mission. Of those visionaries, we cite the example of Walad ul Hajj. Walad ul Hajj left Mauritania, his homeland, conducted by a Divine light and in search of the ‘Qutbu Zamani’, the selected master of the time. According to Islamic spiritual science (Tasawwuf), in each time or age, the secret of Divine knowledge is confided to a single master, (Qutub or Ghauth) who will be its ultimate guardian. He will also be the light of his generation.

Walad ul Hajj, after having an unsuccessful search throughout Mauritania, arrived in Dakar, Senegal. But there also he found nothing. The Divine light continued to conduct him on to Kaolack. After visiting many families, he was finally lead to the house of Al Hajj Abdullahi Niasse. There he at last detected the prodigal child who was still very young. The Holy man returned to Mauritania but would return regularly to contact Al Hajj Ibrahim Niasse.

One day the Holy man sent his elder son to Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse with a message saying: “I bequeath to you all my secrets from the top to the bottom. You have inherited the virtues of Shaykh Ahmad Tijani. By your splendor you have illuminated all those whom have claimed the Fayda (flood) before you. Your advent will convince them that primarily they have only been preparing for your appearance. You will no doubt arouse unequaled jealousy and hostility because you are at the top of Tijaniyya.�

During the Shaykh’s youth, he displayed a remarkable memory and intellectual capacity, by memorizing the entire Holy Qur’an by the age of ten. This consists of learning and reciting all 114 Sura’s (chapters) of the Holy Book in the presence of scholars. At the age of 21, and a year after the disappearance of his venerable father, his first book “Ruh ul Adab�, “The Spirit of Good Morals� was published.

During the first 20 to 30 years of his life young Sidi Ibrahim was a rising shining star. His work was nearly perfect and it reached a very high peak. It was thus in 1929, at a prime age of his life, that he was announced as the “Qutbu Zamani� (the spiritual axis, or chief Saint of the current period). His ideas and works spread like a trail of powder and covered all of the corners of the country. Followers came to him from all parts of the nation. That was the Appearance, a source (flood) of spiritual knowledge, which sprang up and poured out all over.

During this time, his first (brotherhood) disciples were initiated and received the secret of divine knowledge. His commentaries were good and extensive while the part of silence was also respected. To give one a reference to his thoughts, the Shaykh surrounded himself with the works of his predecessors and published a very important and popular book explaining all of the veils about the Fayda of Shaykh Ahmad Tijani, the founder of the Tijaniyya Tariqa. The Fayda constitutes the fundamental work of the initiative science of Al Hajj Ibrahim Niasse.

The book, entitled “Kashful Albas An Faydati Khatimi Abi-l-Abas�, treats in its first part the truth of Sufism and the secret names of Allah. Several pages have been devoted to the importance of “Zikr�. The two modes of “Upliftment� in the tariqa Tijaniyya that contain the Mystic Way of “Spiritual Education� have been well spoken of. From 1930 to 1975, the year of his disappearance, the authenticity of Al Hajj Ibrahim Niasse’ religious though and teaching has never lost its power. The source of his teachings has never dried up. The flame of his order of religious brotherhood still burns constantly because its teachings have been well maintained by his Muqaddams. The effects of the appearance of Al hajj Ibrahim Niasse and his teaching methods spread not only throughout Senegal, but across its boundaries as well. An untiring Pioneer and a hardworking man tolerating difficult test and long journeys, he was always between two airplanes carrying the message of truth.



Pioneer of African Integration


Islam is a religion for all people and all nations. Its target being everyone on this planet, without distinction. Its field of action is all countries of the world. During the time of the Prophet (pbuh) as well as after his disappearance, Islam has experienced a continuous expansion.

Conveying the Divine message became therefore a Mission. Baye Niasse understood this Mission which came to him as a profession of faith. He frequently said that, “Senegal has adapted to Islam and is well served in the fields of religious information and Qur`anic teaching. Many ‘Madrasas’ (schools) are here and many Holy men live amongst them. Our duty now is to carry the light to the people still living in the darkness�.

The Gambia, being the nearest country to Senegal, was the first to be visited. Presently, the ‘Talibehs’ (students) of Shaykh Ibrahim constitute most of the fringes of the Muslim community in that country, as well as Mali, Upper-Volta (now called ‘Burkina Fasso’), Niger, Sierra-Leone, Ghana, and Nigeria. One may have the impression that it is in the last mentioned country, Nigeria, that the mission of Shaykh was most accomplished. Nearly every time he came to Lagos thousands of people ecstatically received him and gave him the greatest amount of respect. This religious zest and spirit still persist in that country.

According to statistics, the Nigerian students of the brotherhood (Tariqa) of the Senegalese religious leader are estimated as being dozens of millions. The former Nigerian head of state General Yakubu Gowon on an official trip to Senegal in 1972, in paying respect to Al Hajj Ibrahim Niasse, announced that almost half of the Nigerian population during the seventies were his followers.

Also, during a conference on Tijani Sufism held at Fez, Morocco in 1985 which was attended by delegates from seventeen Islamic countries, the Nigerian representative said that the conference was mandated by 35 million Muslims who were all followers of Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse. There is also the estimation of Mr. Histell, an Englishman and a professor based in London, who estimated the number of Shaykh Al Islam’s followers in the religious brotherhood to be about 60 million. But the forging ahead of the great master did not stop at this point. The Maghrib (Western world) and the Mashriq (Eastern world) also were on the display board. Shaykh Ibrahim also became recognized and respected by great and very famous Islamic dignitaries of the Arab world. He received honors from Morocco, Egypt, Libya, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf Emirates, and others.

The Asian continent had also not been neglected. Asia has always been very important for the propagation of the religion of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). In this respect Al Hajj Ibrahim Niasse should also receive merit

He would journey to China and stay for several months teaching and administering to Muslims, and Muslim students of his brotherhood. According to statements of his closest family members, the Chinese adherents also numbered in the millions.

The United States of America was the latest country to receive his teaching and his methods, from his grandson Shaykh Hassan `Aliyyu Cisse, who has also brought many Americans into Islam and into the brotherhood (of Tijaniyya).

All of this has been said to call to mind his teaching methods and programs, and in memory of Al Hajj Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse (the Qutub of his time) who appeared at an hour when the problem of integration of the African people needed attention most. Does not he merit the title of the Great Pioneer of the African Integration?

Let us remember that Sidi Ibrahim Niasse had received many decorations in Senegal as well as in other countries. He participated in many Islamic conferences throughout the world. He never had objections to leaving home to answer a call from the Muslim world.

He was a founder member of the Islamic Research Academy of the Al Azhar University in Egypt, of the World Islamic League, and of the first Organization of Islamic Conference (whose seat was in Pakistan and at which he accepted the functions of the vice-president). Also, he was a member of the Supreme Council For Islamic Affairs in Cairo, Egypt; and of the Association of the Islamic Universities Union whose seat was at Fez, Morocco. He was the Guest of Honor at the first congress of the Organization of Islamic Conference ‘O.I.C.’) held in Rabat, Morocco in 1969. He was given an Honorary Degree from the Libyan Islamic University.

This has been a mission which has not left any areas untouched and which utilized all of the energy of the great master who disappeared leaving to his spiritual heirs a very precious legacy: prestigious teaching, a course well designed, and well structured and organized educational institutions.



An Institute of Several Thousands of Pupils


The last theme of this 17th Anniversary concerns the teaching of scholars, and youth’s education. The importance that the Shaykh Al Islam attached to these subjects can still be seen by a visitor who sets foot for the first time in Medina Baye-Kaolack, Senegal, home of the Holy man. The religious learning, by the teaching of the Holy Qur`an and by the respect of his disciplines, is written in golden letters. The Shaykh established several schools. Each of them with programs and methods designed according to the subjects to be taught. He was a very thorough educator and innovator in the field of instruction.

The Shaykh of Islam knew very well how to adapt the traditional methods of teaching to the new demands of the modern world. He thus took advantage of the available modern instruments and structures to create and improve teaching methods. He made many trips to Islamic countries in order to establish relationships with responsible persons in Institutes, Universities, and High Schools.

For the Shaykh, two perspectives were already drawn: building a real center for teaching; and for young students whom would be able to continue their studies in foreign countries. This is how he created The Institute of Al Hajj Abdullahi Niasse, inaugurated in 1970 at Kaolack, Senegal. Its new structure had to replace his traditional schools and adapt to the manner of the necessities of the time. This was done by gathering from Islamic countries, Certified Scholars with diplomas, and integrating them into its governmental organ, thereby aiding in the expansion of Islam.

Al Hajj Ibrahim Niasse became of real importance to the younger generation. He knew how to take advantage of technological progress for them, without diminishing his faith in God or being at the mercy of the unbelievers.

The Institute of Al Hajj Abdullahi Niasse was recognized by the Senegalese government in 1975 and by the governments of many African and Arab countries. Because of the concern of offering the advantages of this scholarly structure to people and followers in distant places, it was decided to establish additional schools, either dependent or annexed. It was because of this that many of the Institute’s scholars were placed in specific villages of Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra-Leone, and The Gambia,

The Institute of Al Haji Abdullahi Niasse with its annexes has at this time been calculated to have more than 10,000 pupils at its various levels. (Until this April 1998 it was principled by an elder son of Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse, Shaykh Muhammad Nasir Niasse, who has just passed.)

Speaking about Shaykh Ibrahim’s work means to recall 75 years of achievements, (He Lived 75 years, wrote 75 books, and fathered 75 children.) He was a master who sacrificed most, if not all of his energy in the service of Islam.

Seventeen years have elapsed without any need for change in the teachings of the Shaykh, either in education or structure, which he left to his heirs. Al Hajj Abdullahi Niasse, his eldest son (and Mayor of Medina-Baye) has been able to maintain vivaciously the flame that shines, in Medina Baye, and has been aided tremendously by his brother Shaykh Muhammad Nasir Niasse, Shaykh `Aliyyu Cisse, his son Chief Imam Shaykh Hassan Cisse, and other scholarly friends and relatives. To our present day many more sincere Muslims have the possibility of receiving the initiative science.

This article, A Man Apart, and The Eternal Islam, were published in Newsletters of The African American Islamic Institute, in 1998, but the newsletters were not distributed. You may contact us by e:mail for copies. Insha-llah.

This link contains an account about the life of another great man to have emerged out of west africa The Honourable Ahmadu Bamba Mbacke he was also Senegalese.

http://khidmatulkhadim.org/Bamba.html

And there are plenty more from all parts of Africa East, west, north, south and central

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Early Wisdom

1855: Birth of Shaykh Ahmad Al Baki (Ahmad Bamba Mbacke). Learned to read, write, memorize and recite the Quran from very early childhood. Began long periods of retreat and solitude with meditation and zikr.

1865: After graduation from Quranic school, started to teach at his father's learning center.

1873: Mastered all Islamic sciences and the ancient mysteries of sufism. Used his own books as curriculum and educational material in his father's school. The young Ahmad Bamba was sent near Qadi Majaxate Kala, the Supreme Judge of Jolof Empire to further his education.

After a short period of time, the Supreme Judge of Jolof was astonished by the teenager's striking talent in the art of poetry. The result of this academic friendship as "father-son" was the judge's memorization of all the essays of the young Ahmad Bamba.

The Supreme Judge of Jolof concluded that Ahmad Bamba was the only knowledgeable man qualified to revise his judicial and legal decisions. Considered to be the finest poet of Jolof Empire, Qadi Majaxate Kala cried out at once:

"O Bamba! Once thou wast the son, now thou art the father. Once thou wast the disciple, now thou art the master. How I marvel about this man, who set out for the journey at morn; and at eve, gained access to the possessor of sublimity.

O what a marvel! Glory be to Him Who cooled mines eyes, with the sight of the light, the seal of the masters."

The Supreme Judge sworn allegiance and offered his daughter for marriage to Ahmad Bamba.

Saving Jolof Empire

The Emperor of Jolof Empire, following the footsteps of his Supreme Judge, sworn allegiance to Ahmad Bamba along with the imperial family, the nobles and the aristocracy. Ahmad Bamba revolutionized the Jolof society, asking the royal family members who joined his ranks to show humility by becoming manual laborers; a vocation unthinkable for royal families and nobles then.

When the Ceddo warriors followed and became Murid under the leadership of their King and Commander-in-Chief Lat Joor Jop, Ahmad Bamba requested that they melt down their weapons and transform them into agricultural tools. Thousands of warriors joined Islam-Al-Muridiyyah with discipline.

To the farmers, blacksmiths and other manual laborers who joined his ranks, Ahmad Bamba asked them to embrace new vocations which they were traditionally excluded from. The caste-like system based on family names and worldly wealth became useless with Islam-Al-Muridiyyah, which only regards the internal qualities and humble behaviors of a person. As everyone is able to fit into this new system of justice, countless number of people joined Ahmad Bamba.

313 more schools and settlements were established to welcome, initiate and train the new comers.

Overcoming Colonization

1886: October: First appearance on the public and religious scenes

1886: Death of King Lat Joor and the division of the Kayor Kingdom

Aug. 10th, 1888: Founding of the Holy City of Touba by Shaykh Ahmad Bamba

1888: Report of the colonial administrator M. Leclerc to the Director of French political affairs on the alleged intrigues of Ahmad Bamba

1889: Concerns of the French authorities in view of the increasing influence of Shaykh Ahmad Bamba Mbacke upon the people

July 1889: The Government of Clement Thomas initiates a Policy of reconciliation

March 1895: Letter of Shaykh Ahmad Bamba in which he declares to the French colonialist that he needs nothing from any authority in this lowly, futile and perishable world; specially from the French intruders.

Since the royal system was dismantled, Ahmad Bamba offered a spiritual and religious systems to fill the gap, rather than letting the French impose their wicked ways. He founded many more settlements to welcome his new disciples into Islam-Al-Muridiyyah

August 1895: Touba-Jolof was founded to replace the declining Jolof Empire and more people converted to Islam-Al-Muridiyyah, confident that, they will be saved in this life and the here-after.

Sept. 5th, 1895: Meeting of the "French Private Council" of Senegal on the internment of the Shaykh - statement n°1 - Deliberation n°16 21

A "French Private Council" and not a French tribunal illegally decided to send Bamba to exile. That Private Council, representing the colonial interest of the French, the British and the Vatican, formulated a "trilateral conspiracy" to either assassinate Ahmad Bamba, detain him in St. Louis or to exile him away from Touba, his sovereign land. They voted for the exile.

Triumph Over Exiles

September 1895: Shaykh Ahmad Bamba Mbacke leaves Senegal for nearly 8 years exile in Gabon: 7 years, 7 months, 7 days and 7 hours! Ahmad Bamba responded to the French Private Council's deliberation with a challenge that he will be back alive, regardless of the destination or duration of the internment.



November 11th, 1902: Triumphant return of Shaykh Ahmad Bamba to Touba, Senegal with abundant manuscripts and overwhelming popularity.

February 1903: Increase in the number of disciples who consider Bamba as the new savior. From every corner of Africa, thousands of people rushed to join Bamba once they heard the amazing news. None had ever returned from exile alive, with the exception of Shaykh Ahmad Bamba. The French colonialists became more concerned and then tried a different approach.

May 1903: Shaykh Ahmad Bamba Mbacke declined an invitation to St-Louis by the French Governor, whom he denies any authority: " I am the prisoner of Allah and recognize no other authority but His"

June 1903: French military operation on Mbacke with a detachment made up of 150 riflemen and 50 Spahis

June 18th, 1903: The Shaykh is again arrested





June 19th, 1903: He is sent under house-arrest to Guet-el-Ma, in Mauritania, near Shaykh Sidia. Surprisingly, all Arab shaykhs and Imams swore allegiance and submit themselves to Shaykh Ahmad Bamba. The French were highly disappointed about the humble behaviors of Mauritanian leaders towards the Shaykh. They thought that since some African Muslims manifest an inferiority complex toward the Arabs, Shaykh Ahmad Bamba will be docile before them. To their great surprise, all Arab shaykhs and Imams in Mauritania and surroundings accepted Shaykh Ahmad Bamba as their spiritual master. They started to serve him as a master, making his house arrest very comfortable. Bamba initiated and appointed several Sufi Masters in Mauritania. Their descendants are still Murid and perform the yearly pilgrimage to Touba with an important delegation.

1907: Victorious return of Shaykh Ahmadu Bamba Mbacke to Diourbel



Failed Colonial Corruption Attempts



April 28th, 1916: The French authorities decided to appoint Shaykh Ahmad Bamba member to the Colonial Consultative Committee of Muslim Affairs. He declined the offer and never attended the meetings.

1919: Shaykh Ahmad Bamba refuses the medal following his nomination to the "dignity of Chevalier de la légion d'Honneur" by the French administration. Another attempt to appoint the Shaykh to the Colonial Advisory Council of French West Africa, higher than the Consultative Committee of Muslim Affairs,

Shaykh Ahmad Bamba attested that he did not need honor, prestige or rewards from none but ALLAH, the Most High, who bestowed upon him, blessings and rewards greater than anything ever received by anyone. A divine privilege that will never be granted to anyone again. The French finally gave up their corruption attempts, acknowledging the spiritual and mental superiority of Shaykh Ahmad Bamba over them.

Catholic bishops and high priests were sent near Ahmad Bamba to study and analyze his behaviors. They regularly asked him questions about various subjects, finally accepting that he knows what they know not.





Spiritual Continuity



July 19th, 1927 : Shaykh Ahmad Bamba returns to Allah in Diourbel, and burial at the Holy City of Touba. He left a detailed written will and a 400 years development of Touba plan to his successors. Among the many instructions and guidance about achieving the construction of Touba masjid, he also asked his elder son, Moustapha Mbacke, to make sure that no French sees or touches his body. His instructions were punctually obeyed with diligence and in a timely manner.

18 Safar, Ever Since: Maggal Touba Celebration

A day to give thanks & praises, hospitality & charity, gifts & sacrifices in the sight of Allah, Most Beneficent and Most Merciful

The Caliphate Al Islam still continues in Touba, carried on by Shaykh Salih Al Baki who is continuing his father's spiritual heritage.



For more detailed information about the true history of the confrontation between Shaykh Ahmad Bamba against the French, the British and the Vatican, read "The Trilateral Conspiracy Exposed" by Shaykh Moustapha Mbacke, Gainde Fatma. This great-grand son of Shaykh Ahmad Bamba discloses first-hand information about the life and heritage of his great-grand father.



Listen To Selected Qassida

Another great achievement of West African Muslims
Timbuktu - city of legends


Camel caravans used to carry gold across the Sahara



By the BBC's Joan Baxter
Timbuktu, northern Mali



The fabled city of Timbuktu is not a myth - it does indeed exist - in northern Mali, on the edge of the Sahara desert.

These days, it pretty much lives up to its reputation as "the end of the world" but once upon a time, it was the centre of important trade routes.

Muslim merchants took gold north from West Africa to Europe and the Middle East and returned with salt and other goods.


This trade made the city enormously wealthy - legend has it that the lavish golden gifts dished out in 14th century Cairo by Kankan Moussa, Emperor of the ancient state of Mali, caused the price of gold to crash.

At the time, salt was worth as much as gold, pound for pound, in Timbuktu.

Tales of the city's riches were spread by the Muslim traders and European explorers who heard them dreamt of making their fortunes many times over.

But Timbuktu was also a great Islamic centre and non-Muslims - such as the explorers - were banned, adding greatly to the mystique which quickly grew up around the city - and which still exists to this day.

But during the 16th and 17th centuries, trade switched to the Atlantic Ocean and the so-called "City of 333 saints" began its long descent.

Sand dunes

Today, it is a desolate and impoverished town - renowned for its heat, isolation and sand dunes.



God may turn it all around again, and Timbuktu will once again find its rightful place

Chirfi Alpha Sane, historian

The governor of the region complains that the only roads to the north are treacherous sandy tracks, where banditry is common.

Despite a new airport in Timbuktu, flights regularly fail to materialise, stranding passengers for days.

Most trade is done with neighbouring Mauritania rather than southern Mali, and crowded riverboats from Mopti take days to reach the port on the River Niger that serves Timbuktu, 10km from the town itself.

Still, thousands of determined visitors from every continent do make their way to Timbuktu each year.

Saints

With precious few other employment opportunities, hundreds of teenage boys in Timbuktu have turned themselves into guides.

Boasting nicknames such as Ali Baba George Washington, the young guides offer tourists whatever they have come to look for in Timbuktu.

There is the standard tour of the historical landmarks of the ancient city, with fanciful tales of how former French presidents ensured their re-election by consulting with powerful saints and the holy men or "marabouts" who claim to represent them.


Timbuktu hosts a collection of ancient Islamic manuscripts


And if the clients so wish, as the guides say they sometimes do, there can also be a discreet, romantic adventure under the desert sky on the sand dunes that surround the holy Islamic town.


And they wax lyrical - in smatterings of every language from Chinese to Swedish to gangster-rap English - about Timbuktu "the mysterious".

Even if the town has fallen on difficult times, Timbuktu still holds many mysteries and marvels for visitors and also for those who live there.

The Sankore University, whose 50,000 Muslim scholars helped spread Islam across West Africa, is still functioning, albeit with reduced numbers of just 15,000.

Cybercafe

The impressive Jingereber mosque, built from mud in 1325 AD, is also still standing.

And there is the Ahmed Baba Centre, with its fantastic collection of manuscripts that capture more than a millennium of Islamic scholarship and scientific knowledge.


Some say Timbuktu is Mali's melting pot


Local cultures - Songhrai, Tuareg, Arab and Moor - have intermingled, but retained their distinct traditions.

In the town's only cybercafe, young women wearing demure indigo veils hammer away on computers, using the internet to communicate with family members who have left for other continents.

Despite the recent years of fighting that pitted ethnic Songhrai against Tuaregs, Timbuktu still has an impressive population of philosophers and Islamic scholars who maintain the city is a symbol of peace.

Astronomy

Chirfi Alpha Sane, an archivist in the Ahmed Baba Centre in Timbuktu, says there are lessons for the entire world in the 20,000 ancient Arabic manuscripts in the centre - some of which date back to the second century.

"There is everything here.

"Islamic law with lessons for peace through dialogue, as well as science, astronomy, medicine.



Timbuktu is one of the richest cities in Africa

Ismael Diadie Haidara, philosopher

"In Timbuktu these scholars said that gold came from the south, salt came from the north, money came from the lands of the white men, but they believed that wisdom and the word of God were to be found only in Timbuktu.

"That wisdom is here, in these manuscripts."

Mr Sane is a member of the Action Committee for the North, an organisation that denounces the Malian Government's "neglect" of Timbuktu and the desert north.

But he is philosophical about the future of the ancient city:

"In the Middle Ages this was almost the centre of the world.

"Then one day God turned it all around and many people started viewing Timbuktu as the end of the world.

"One day God may turn it all around again, and Timbuktu will once again find its rightful place and regain its glory."

Co-existence

Timbuktu philosopher and historian, Ismael Diadie Haidara, points out that Timbuktu, which was inhabited by Muslims, Christians and Jews for hundreds of years, has always been a centre of religious and racial tolerance.

For many years, he has been struggling to raise funds to preserve 3,000 ancient manuscripts in his library that detail the co-existence in Timbuktu of Muslims, Jews and Christians.

He himself is directly descended from Spanish forefathers with Christian origins who converted to Islam and fled to the Niger Valley in 1468 and later intermarried with African Muslims and Hebrew merchants.


The ancient city and its people have fallen on hard times


Mr Haidara says he is one of 1,000 Malians today who can claim in his ancestry Christian, Muslim and Jewish blood:

"All three groups co-existed peacefully in Timbuktu up until the end of the 19th century.

"If today Timbuktu is one of the poorest cities in Mali, and Mali one of the poorest countries in Africa, it is also a city that shows the way of the future - tolerance and co-existence.

"In this way, I think Timbuktu is one of the richest cities in Africa."

salaam, thank you for the reply. I am looking for someone islamic with a good historical knowledge of islam in west africa who can speak english.

I know of quite a few americans such as sylvian diouf or hakim quick but no one this side of the world, an european or a west african?

any ideas

You are not saying why you are looking for him.

Why do black achievements have to always be connected with slavery?
Is it because slavery is a popular topic and gets black people in the west to sit up and take notice?

Black people as a race and to that point all other races have existed in this planet for thousands of years and slavery lasted for a few hundred years why are the achivements outside this period are of so little interest and not only that just because some black people were enslaved during those 400 years it does not mean the rest of black race stood still and did nothing with their lives.
As much as slavery was and is important let us not have a tunnel vision of things.