webPulaaku / Defte

Ismael A.B. Balogun
The Life and Works of Uthmān dan Fodio
The Muslim Reformer of West Africa

Islamic Publications Bureau. Lagos, Nigeria. 1975. 98 p.

      Table of contents

Chapter Three
'Uthmān dan Fodio's Works

Location of His Writings

There have been different scholarly attempts to list the works known to have been written by 'Uthmān b. 1701. The first of such attempts is the list of twenty-eight works recorded by the author's son and successor, Muhammad Bello, in his Infāq at-Maisur 1. At the end of the list, he says that there are other books by the author which “exceed a hundred in number”. Until recently when the Arabic writings of the scholars of Western and Central Sudan started to grow in importance, particularly in the field of historiography, there were only three other lists of the author's works by Whitting 2, Vajda 3, and 'Abdullah Ilorin 4.
With the emergence of the University of lbadan, Nigeria 5 these attempts assumed greater dimension. W.E.N. Kensdale of the University Library travelled in 1954 through the Northern Region of Nigeria and collected Arabic Manuscripts for the University. He, consequently, produced A Catalogue of the Arabic Manuscrots preserved in the University Library, lbadan, Nigeria, in 1955 and also contributed three aritlces to the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 6 in which he gave a list of more works than those contained in his Catalogue. He confined the first article to the works of 'Uthmān b. Fūdī, giving a list of eighty-five titles which he had compiled from the four previous lists already mentioned, in addition to the discoveries of his own field work.
Since Kensdale's attempt, there have been many other lists of known works originating from the Western and Central Sudan, by a number of other scholars. These include H.F-C. Smith and D.M. Last, both of the Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria; J.O Hunwick and K. Mahmud, both of' the University of lbadan, Nigeria; and A.D.H. Bivar and M. Hiskett, both of the School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London 7.
All the lists so far have been concerned, in various degrees, with a number of authors at the same time. Consequently, there have been some inevitable repetitions from one list to another, and also some valuable additions. With the output of' more recent research more titles than were recorded by Kensdale have been discovered.
Unlike the general outlook of the authors on the whole of the Western and Central Sudan taken by the previous scholars, my attempt here is to present an up-to-date list of all the known works by 'Uthmān b. Fūdī based on the relevant ones among the previous attempts already noted above, and indicating as far as possible where each work can be found.
As the historiography of the Western and Central Sudan continues to grow in importance, it is becoming increasingly necessary to study separately the renowned individuals who had contributed to the history of these places. Such a study would normally be aided by a knowledge of the thoughts and aspirations of the individual concerned, through his writings. The present attempt, therefore, aims to present in a connected whole all the writings of the author of the Ihya'al-Sunna wa-Ikhmad al-Bid'a, 'Uthmān b. Fūdī, the Muslim Reformer of his age in West Africa.

Abbreviations

For the list below, the following abbreviations have been used to indicate the source of information about the titles and where to find them:

B.N.
Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, followed by the code number of the manuscript as used in the library.
B.N.H.S.
Bulletin of News of the Historical Society of Nigeria, Vol. VIII No. 4, July, 1965, p. 7.
CAD
Centre of Arabic Documentation, Institute of African Studies, University of lbadan, Nigeria; giving the accession number of the manuscript.
I.
The Library, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and the figures following are the shelf mark in the Library.
I.M.
Infāq-Maisur fī ta'rikh bilād al-Takrur, op. cit.
J.A.H.
Journal of African History, Vol. 111, 1962, pp. 333-336 Nineteenth Century Arabic Archives of West Africa by H.F.C. Smith.
J.H.S.N.
Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria, Vol. I No. 3, 1958, pp. 238-247 Source Material for the History of the Western Sudan by H.F.C. Smith.
K.
Kensdale's Catalogue … op. cit., followed by the shelf mark for the manuscript in the University Library, Ibadan, Nigeria.
K.n.
Kensdale's “Notes on Arabic Literature of the Western Sudan”, J.R.A.S., 1955, pp. 162-168. The letter/s following indicate where the manuscript can be found.
L.
The Library of Lugard Memorial Hall, Kaduna, Nigeria.
N.A.
Native Authority Arabic Library, Kano, Nigeria.
N.A.K.
National Archives, Kaduna, Nigeria.
R.B.C.A.D.
Research Bulletin, Centre of Arabic Documentation, Vol. I No. 2, January 1965, pp. 4 & 5.
S.B.N.
Supplement to Bulletin of News, Historical Society of Nigeria, Vol, VII, No. 2, 1962 Arabic Manuscript Material Bearing on the History of the Western Sudan, by J.0. Hunwick.
W.
Whitting “The Unprinted Indigenous Arabic Literature of Northern Nigeria,” J.R. A.S., 1943, pp. 20-26.

A List of His Works

  1. 'Abd al-Qādir b. Mustafā (ten questions put into verse by 'Uthmān b. Fūdī in one of his non-Arabic poems.) (I.82/290)
  2. Adāb al-'ādāt (K.n.)
  3. Adāb al-ākhira (K.n.)
  4. 'Adad al-dā 'i ilā al-din (I, 82/275 & 257)
  5. Akhlāq al-mustafā (K. n.)
  6. Al-abyāt 'alā 'Abdu al-Qādir al-Jilāni (I.82/258) 8
  7. Al-ādāb (K,n.); (n.a.)
  8. Al-ajwibat al-muharrara 'an al-as'ilat fī wathiqat Shismas (CAD/140) (I.82140/M2, & 82/465) 9
  9. 'Alāmāt almuttabi 'in li sunna rasul Allah min al-rijāl wa-al-nisā (I.82/280)
  10. Al-amr bi-al-ma al-mu'minin wa-al-munkar (I.82/255 & 273)
  11. Al-amr bi-muwalat al-mu'minin wa-al-nahy, 'an muwalat al kāfirin (K.82/51) (CAD/7) & (CAD/9)
  12. Al-'aql al-awwal (K. n.)
  13. Al-dali li-Shaikh 'Uthmān (W.)
  14. Al-farq baina 'ilm usul al-din wa-baina'ilm al-kalām (L.) & (K. 82/79) 10
  15. Al-farq baina wilayat ahl al-kufr fī wilayatihim wa-baina wilayat ahl al-islam fī wilayatihim (I. 82/397) 11
  16. Al fasl al-awwal (K. n.)
  17. Al-hamziya (K.n.)
  18. Al-jami'(K.n.)
  19. Al-jihād (K. n.)
  20. Al-khabar al-hadi ila umūr al-imam al-mahdi (R. B. C. A. D.) 12
  21. Al-masa'd al-muhimma (I.M.) (CAD/2) (K.82/86) (B.N. Arabe 5678) 13
  22. Al-niya (K.n.)
  23. Al-qasida al-daliya fii madh al-nabi (K. 82/104)
  24. Al-qawl al-mukhtasar fī amr al-imam al-mahdi al-muntazar (N.A.K.)
  25. Al-qawa' id al-zarruqiya (K. N.)
  26. Al-salasil al-dhahabiya li al-sadat al-sufiya (K. 82/114)
  27. Al-salasil al-qadiriya (K. 82/110)
  28. Al-tasawwuf (K.n.)
  29. Amr al-saa wa-ashratuha (I. 82/255 & 287) 14
  30. Anwa' mal Allah allati yajuz li al-umara' qanduha (?) wa-sadfuha (J.H.S.N.) 15
  31. 'Aqidat al-'awamm (B.N.H.S.N.)
  32. Asanid al-daif al-mutashaffi' bi al-mushaffa' Abmad Sharif (K.82/137)
  33. Asanid al-faqir (K.n.)
  34. Bayan al-adl (K. n.)
  35. Bayan al-bida' al-shaytaniya allati ahdathaha al-nas fī abwab al-milla al-Muhammadiya (K.82/52) (B.N. Arabe 5601)
  36. Bayan ruju , al-shaikh al Sanusi 'an al-tashdid wa-an al-taqlid (K. n.)
  37. Bayan wujub al-hijra 'ala al-'ibad (K. 82/53) (CAD /3)
  38. Daliyat al-mudith (A.I.) 16
  39. Da'wat al-'ibad ila kitab Allah (K.n.)
  40. Hidayat al-tullab (K. 82/128)
  41. Hukm juhhal bilād hausa (K. 82/138)
  42. Hisn al-afham min juyush al-awhan (K.82/54) (B.N. Arabe 5319)
  43. Ifham al-munkirin 'alayya fī ma a'mur al-nas bihi wa-fi-ma anhahun 'anhu fī din Allah (S.B.N.) 17
  44. Ihya ' al-sunna wa-ikhmad al-bid'a (K.82/55) (B.N. Arabe 5487 & 5489) (CAD/10) (L.)
  45. Irshad ahl al-tafrit wa-al-ifrat ila sawa al-sirat fi-fann 'ilm usul al-din (K. 82/115)
  46. Irshad al-'ibad ila hadrat al-ma'bud (K. n.)
  47. Irshad al-'ibad ila masa'il al-jihād (K. n.)
  48. Irshad al-ikhwān ila akhram khuruj al-niswan (I.82/388)
  49. Irshad al-umma (K.n.)
  50. Ittiba'al-sunna wa-tark al-bid'a (K.82/56)
  51. Kaff al-talibin 'an takfir 'awamm al-mu'minin (K. n) 18
  52. Kashf al-ghumma (K. n.)
  53. Kashf al-yasira (J. A. H.)
  54. Kashf ma alayhi al-amal (K. 82/100) (CAD/13)
  55. Khamsa kalimat nuqila min famm shaikhina 'Uthmān b. Fūdī (I.82/256) 19
  56. Kifayat al-muhtadin (K.n.) (CAD/24) (I.82/255 & 267)
  57. Kijayat al-muslimin (I.82/399)
  58. Kitāb al-mahdhurat min 'alamat khuruj al-mahdi (R.B.C.A.D.)
  59. Kitāb amr al-sa'a wa-ashratiha (B.N.H.S.N.) 20
  60. Manhaj al-'abidin li khass min asrar kalam al-Harith al-Muhasibi (I.82/259 & 344) 21
  61. Mawadi' awham al-talaba fī kutub 'ilm al-kalam li'ulama' al-milla (K. 82/119) 22
  62. Mimma yanbaghi an ya fazahu kullu man qawiya al-jihād fī sabil Allah—ashara umur (I.82/177).
  63. Mi' raj al-'awamm (K. n.) (I. 82/257)
  64. Mi' raj al-'ulum ila sama' 'ilm al-kalam (I.82/254)
  65. Mir'at al-tullab fī mustanad al-abwab li din Allah (L) (K.82/75) 23
  66. Misbab al-muhtadin (K.82/129)
  67. Misbah li ahl hadha al-zaman min ahl bilād al-sūdān (J.H.S.N.)
  68. Muddat al-dunya (R.B.C.A.D. Vol. 2 No. 1, Jan. 1966 p. 9 n. 1)
  69. Najm al-ikhwān (K.82/57) (L.)
  70. Nasa'ih al-umma al-Muhammadiya (K.82/94)
  71. Nasihat ahl al-zaman (K.82/80) (N.A.) (L.) (I.82/392)
  72. Nur al-albab (L) (K.82/58) (B.N. Arabe 5610) (I.82/385)
  73. Qat'al-khisam alladhi yaqaa baina talabat 'ilm al-kalam (K.82/118)
  74. Qawa'id al-salat (K. 82/90)
  75. Sauq al-siddiqin ila hadrat al-quds (K. 82/59) 24
  76. Sauq al-umma ila ittiba al-sunna (K.82/60 & 61)
  77. Shams al-ikhwān yastadi'una bihi fī usul al-adyan (K.n.) & (B.N. Arabe 5500)
  78. Shifa' al-ghalil fī kulli ma ashkala min kalam shaikhina Jibril (K.n.) 25
  79. Shifa' al-nufus (K.n.) (1.82/256)
  80. Siraj al-ikhwān fī ahamm wa yuhtaj ilayhi fī hadha al-zaman (K.82/62) (B.N. Arabe 5528) (I.82/169)
  81. Tabashir al-ikhwān bi akhbar al-khulafa' fī al-sūdān (I.82/169) 26
  82. Tabashir al-umma al-ahmadiya bi bayan ba'd al-manaqib al-qadiriya (K. n.) (N.A.)
  83. Tahdhib al-ikhwān (K.n.)
  84. Tahdhib al-insan (K.n.)
  85. Tahdhir al-ikhwān min iddi'a al-mahdiyja al-mau'uda akhir al-zaman (K.82/116) (N.A.)
  86. Tahqiq al-'isma li jami' tabaqat hadhihi al-umma min al-ijtima' 'ala al-dalala ila waqt qiyam al-sa'a bi-nass sarih min al-sunna (CXD/20) 27
  87. Ta'lim al-ikhwān bi-al-umūr allati kafarna biha muluk al-sūdān alladhina kanu min ahl hadhihi al-buldan wa-hum muluk hausa (I.82/254 & 257)
  88. Talkhis asrar kalam abi Hamid al-Ghazali (I.82/98)
  89. Tamyiz ahl al-sunna ansar al-Rahman baina nifaq al-din wa-fasaq ala din wa-ashras shay 'in min mata al-dunya (I. 82/257 & 281)
  90. Tamyiz al-muslimin min al-kāfirin (K.82/113) (CAD/8) (CAD/8A)
  91. Tanbīh al-ghafilin wa-tanzim al-akhbar wa-badi' al-ahtar (K.82/87) (K.82/88) (L.)
  92. Tanbīh al-ikhwān 'ala jawaz ittikhadh al-majlis li ajl ta'lim al-niswan ilm furud al-a'yan inm din Allah al-Rahman (B.N.H.S.N. p. 7)
  93. Tanbīh al-ikhwān 'ala ahwal ard al-sūdān (I. 82/212) 28
  94. Tanbīh al-umma 'ala qurb hujum ashrat al-sa'a (CAD/27) (n.a.)
  95. Targhib al-'ubbad 'fi hifz ulum din Allah (K.n.)
  96. Tariq al-janna (K. 82/78) (N.A.) (L.)
  97. Tarwih al-umma bi-bayan taisir al-milla (CAD/2N)
  98. Tarwiyat al-umma (K.n.)
  99. Tatayyub qulub al-umma al-ahmadiya bi-dhikr ba'd al qasa'id al-qadiriya (B. N. H. S. N.)
  100. Taufiq al-muslimin 'ala hukm madhahib al-mujtahidin (I.82/389)
  101. Tauqif al-muslimin (K.n.)
  102. Tibyan (K.n.)
  103. Tuhfat al-habib (K.82/117)
  104. 'Ulum al-mu'amala (K. n.) (I.82/158; 257 & 272)
  105. 'Umdat al-bayan fi- al-'ulum allati wajabat 'ala al-a'yan (CAD/11) 29
  106. 'Umdat al-muta'abbidin wa-al-muhtarifin (K. 82/126) (CAD/12)
  107. 'Umdat al-'ubbad fī ma yudan Allah bihi min jihat al-salat wa-al-saum wa-tilawat al-Qur'an. (K.82/63) (I.82/352) (CAD/5; 18 & 26), (B.N. Arabe 5669) (N.A.)
  108. 'Umdat al-'ulama' (K.82/77) (I.82/277) (L.) (N.A.)
  109. Usul al-'adl li-wulat al-umūr wa-ahl al-fadl (CAD/6 & 17) (I.82/93) 30
  110. Usul al-din (K.82/126) (CAD/25) (I.82/92; 191 & 249)
  111. Usul al-wilaya wa-shurutuha (K.82/107)
  112. Wathiqat al-ikhwān li tabyin dalilat wujub ittiba' al-kitab wa-al-sunna wa al-ijma' wa-dalil al-ijtinab (sic) al-bid'a li man yudayin (sic) bi-din al-Islā, wa al-dalil 'ala wujub ittiba' al-kitab (CAD/19) 31
  113. Wathiqat al-jawab 'ali su'al dalil man' Khuruj al-nisa' (B. N. H. S. N.)
  114. Wathiqat min Ibn Fūdī amir al-muminin 'Uthmān ila jami ahl al-sūdān wa-ila man sha' Allah min a-ikhwān fī al-buldan (I.82/399) (CAD/14)
  115. Wird… 'Uthmān b. Fūdī (K.82/124) (CAD/16).

Notes
1. Muhammad Bello. Infāq al-Maizur fī Tarikh Bilād al-Takrur, ed C.E.J. Whitting as Infaku'l Maisćri, Luzac & Co. Ltd., 1957, p. 187.
2. C.E.J. Whitting. “The Unprinted Indigenous Arabic Literature of Northern Nigeria”, J.R.A.S., 1943, pp. 20-26.
3. G. Vajda. “Contribution à la cormaissance de la litterature arabe en Afrique Occidentale”, J.S.A., tome XX, fasc. 2, 1950.
4. Adam 'Abdullah al-Iluri. Al-Islā, fī Naijiriya wa-'Uthmān b. Fūdī, Cairo, 1370/1950-51, p. 41.
5. Formerly the University College of Ibadan in special relationship with the University of London until it became fully autonomous.
6. W.E.N. Kensdale. Field Notes on the Arabic Literature of the Western Sudan. 1955, pp. 162-168; 1956, pp. 78-80; and 1958 pp. 53-57.
7. For a detailed record of the main bibliographical sources for Arabic manuscripts from the Westem and Central Sudan see R.B.C.A.D. Vol. I No. 2, January 1965, pp. 48-51; Vol. 2 No. 1, January 1966, p. 48 and Vol. 2, No. 2, July 1966, p, 32.
8. This poem was composed by 'Uthmān b. Fūdī in Fulfulde and translated into Arabic by his brother 'Abdullah b. Fūdī in his Tazyn al-waraqat, op. cit., pp. 51-54 & pp. 105-107.
9. Cf. As'islat Shismas (K.n.).
10. Cf. Al-farq baina 'ilm al-tawhid wa'ilm al-kalam (K. n.).
11. Cf. Al-farq baina wilafyat ahl al-islam wa-baina wilayat ahl al-kufr (K. n.) (n.a.) (CAD/22) (I.82/168).
12. Cf. Al-naba' al-hadi-ila ajhwal al-imam al-mahdi (B.N.H.S.N.)
13. Cf. Al-masa'il (I.82/391) & (CAD/121).
14. Cf. Kitāb amr al-sa'a wa-ashratiha, No. 59 below, written in 1223/1808. The entry above was written in 1218/1803.
15. The attribution of this work to 'Uthmān is indicated as requiring confirmation.
16. Adam 'Abdullah al-Iluri. op. cit., p. 41.
17. Cf. Ifham al-munkirīn (K.n.).
18. Cf. Kaff al-tālibīn min takfīr 'awamm al-muslimin (I.M.).
19. The compiler of these sayings is not indicated in the work.
20. This book is shown as having been written in 1223/180; but Cf. No. 29 above
21. Cf. Talkhis asrar kalam… al-Harith al-Muhasibi (K. 82/98), I-M. records two titles as follows: Kitāb al-talkhis and Kitāb at-Harith al-Muhasibi, possibly two titles for the same book.
22. I includes one Majnu'a rasia'il min al-kanami wa- 'Uthmān b. Fūdī wa-Muhammad Ballu (I.82/231).
23. Cf. Mir'at al-talib (K. n.) (L.)
24. Cf. Sauq al-Sadiqin (K.n.).
25. Cf. Shifa' al-qalil (?) … (I. M.).
26. Cf. Tabshir al-ikhwān (K.n.).
27. I includes one (Takhmis) (I.82/222. 239, & 403).
28. Cf. Tanbīh i al-ikhwān fī ard al-sūdān (K.n.), which, according to J. H.S.N. p. 246, is the same as No. 93 above.
29. Cf. 'Umdat al-bayan (K.n.)
30. Cf. Usul al-'adl fī wilāyat al-umūr wa-ahl al-fadl (K.82/93).
31. Published by the Gaskiya Corporation, Zaria (n.d.); Cf. R.B.C.A.D. Vol. 1, No. 2, January 1965, p. 64.