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The Tijaniyya Order in Tamale, Ghana: Its Foundation, Organization and Role.

By Mohammad S aani Ibrahim

A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of

Master of Arts

Institute of Islamic Studies McGill University, Montreal

August, 2002

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Canada Abstract of Thesis Author: Mohammad Saani Ibrahim Title: The Tijaniyya Order in Tamale, Ghana: Its Foundation, Organization and Role. Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University. Department: -' . Degree: M.A.

The thesis explores the historical background, activities and organization of the Tijaniyya ~üfi order in the Tamale District of Ghana. After a survey of the history of Islam's penetration of sub-Saharan Africa, and the role of ~üfi orders in this process generally, the thesis looks at the founder of the Tijaniyya, ~mad al-

Tij an! (d. 1815 A.D.), his beliefs and the spread of these beliefs in the Dagbon area and, ultimately, the Tamale District. This is followed by an overview of the order's salient doctrines, and especially those teachings that are more or less unique to the

Tamale region and that have awakened the ire of local Wahhabiyya members

(Munchires). A look at the Tijaniyya local organizations and institutions cornes next, wb.ich forms a backdrop to the discussion of the cross-section of the conflicts that have ensued between the order and its opponents in the Wahhabiyya movement. It will be seen that the Tijaniyya has had a considerable impact on the social fabric of the region, especially in terms of its ability to maintain the integrity of this fabric and its efforts at promoting non-violence between religious groups in the area. Our analysis concludes with a look at the series of reconciliation efforts made to find a lasting solution to the conflicts. Résumé

Auteur: Mohammad Saani Ibrahim

Titre: L'Ordre Tijaniyya~a Tamale, Ghana: Sa Fondation, son Organisation et

Son Role.

Département: Institut d'Études Islamiques: Université McGill

Diplôme: Maîtrise

Cette t4ese traite du contexte historique, des activités et de l'organisation de l'ordre soufi Tijaniyya du district de Tamale du Ghana. Dans cette t4ese, une étude générale de l'histoire de la progression de la foi islamique en Afrique de l'Ouest sera suivie d'une enquête sur le fondateur de l'ordre

Tijanniya, Ahmad al-Tijani(d. 1815 ap J. -C.), ainsi que sur ses croyances et la diffusion de son credo dans la région du Dagbon et finalment au district de

Tamale. Ceci sera développé par une vue d'ensemble des doctrines saillantes de l'ordre, dans laquelle les enseignements qui sont plutôt uniques va la région de

Tamale et ceux qui ont provoqué la co!ere de la population Wahhabiyya (les

Munchires) seront mis en évidence. Un aperçu des organisations et institutions de la région suivra, ce qui suscitera une discussion des conflits variés entre les membres de l'ordre et leurs adversaires dans le mouvement Wahhabiyya. Il sera démontré que l'ordre Tijaniyya a une influence importante sur la société dans lac région, surtout puisqu'il est capable de soutenir la stabilité des structures régionales, et d'encourager des rapports non-violents entre les groupes religieux de la zone. La conclusion de cette analyse porte sur les nombreuses tentatives de réconcilliation qui ont été entreprises pour résoudre définitivement les conflits.

11 Acknowledgements Where do 1 begin and where do 1 end? Space does not allow me to incIude the names of many who were instrumental in my successfully completing this study, but certain names stand out. Particularly deserving of my profound gratitude is my indefatigable and inspiring supervisor, Professor A. Uner Turgay, direct or of the Institute ofIslamic Studies. To him 1 give my warmest thanks for his constant encouragement and support throughout the hustle and bustle of writing this thesis. To Professors E. Ormsby and B. Kuspinar of the Institute go my thanks for offering me vital suggestions and cIues as to sources for my research. 1 must also thank Mr. Steve Millier for his patience and zeal in editing the thesis. My gratitude also go to Ann Yaxley, Dawn Richardson and Usha Vieira of the office of the Institute, for their perfect blend of sincere affection and calm efficiency in aIl my interactions and dealings with them. The staff members of the Islamic Studies Library especially Salwa Ferahian and Wayne St. Thomas, have my thanks for being ever ready to make needed books available to me. To my father al-I:I'iijj Ibrahim ijasan Turzon, who has always encouraged me and constantly prays for my success, 1 also offer my deepest thanks. 1 do thank Dr. Abdulai Sulemana of Comic Relief Organization in London, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, the CUITent secretary general for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and and al-ijajj Mu4ammad Amin Gomdah, President of the Islamic Center of Quebec mosque for their role in making my stay at McGill possible. 1 would like also to thank aIl my colleagues especially Zakyi and Khalil of the Institute, Amin Alhassan and Saani Habib of Concordia University for their encouragement and friendship. My siblings ijajj Alhassan and Master 'Abd Ra4man 1 offer my thanks for their support. My utmost thanks and appreciation go to my wife Kulsoom and my two daughters Saratu and Khadijah, who have given me aIl their understanding and provided a congenial atmosphere in which to pursue my research and writing. Finally, let me dedicate this thesis to my deceased, loving mother Saratu Osman, May her soul rest in perfect peace.

111 Table of Contents

Abstract i Resume ii Acknowledgements iii Table of Contents iv

INTRODUCTION 1

CHAPTER ONE: 1. ISLAM IN TAMALE 1. Northern Ghana Prior to the Coming of Islam 5 2. The Corning ofIslam to Sub-Saharan Africa 7 3. Tamale, the Case Study Area 15

- - II. THE FOUNDER OF THE TIJANIYY A ORDER: ABU AL-' ABBAS AI-:I~1~ IBN MlJ1:IAMMAD IBN AL-TIJANI 1. His Life 16 2. His initiation into ~lifism 18 3. His encounter with Prominent ~lifis 19 4. His Late Life 4.1. Pilgrimage to Mecca 20 4.2. At Medina 25 4.3. In Cairo 25 4.4. Death of Shaykh Tijani 27 Notes 29

CHAPTER TWO: - - 1. THE TIJANIYY A ORDER (NA WUN-NYERIBA), INDAGBON 32 II. The Doctrines and Practices of the Tijaniyya 36 III. Local Practices and Controversial Doctrines 38 IV. The Tarbiya in Tijaniyya 43 V. Litanies 51 Notes 56

CHAPTER THREE: 1. THE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE TIJANIYY A IN DAGBON SETTING 58 II. Discipleship (MurId) 59 III. Deputy of the Shaykh (Muqqadam) 64 1. Al-ijajj Abdulai-Baba Gomdah-Y endi 66 2. Shaykh Alhassan Na~ir al-Dln 67 3. Al-ijajj 'Umar Karachi 67 4. Al-ijajj Ablibakr Zeng 68

IV S. Shaykh al-ijajj Tahir Zogbeli 68 6. Shaykh Hamzah Muntaka 69

IV. THE SHAYKH 1. Shaykh IbrahIm Niass of Kaolack, Senegal: His Genealogy and Birth 70 2. His Ascent to the Post of Shaykh 72 3. The Convents (zawaya) 79 Notes 82

CHAPTER FOUR: 1. THE RELIGIOUS, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ROLE OF THE TIJANIYY A IN GHANA AND ITS STRUGGLE WITH THE W AHHABIYYA ORDER 1. Wedding Ceremony 84 2. Naming Ceremony 86 3. Funeral Rites 88 II. The Pkenomenon of Spiritual Healing (Tibby) 90 III. Wahhabiyya Doctrines 94 IV. Afa Ajura and Wahhabiyya Institutions in Tamale 96 V. Open Confrontations and Clashes 101 VI. Efforts at Reconciliation 107

CONCLUSION 111 Notes 119 Appendix 121 Bibliography 129

v INTRODUCTION.

In a paper delivered by Professor J. O. Hunwiek to a seminar at the

University of Ghana in 1976 entitled " The Is1amie theme in Ghanaian history ," 1 he aeknowledged that the topie of Islam in Ghanaian history cries out for researeh. To quote his aetual words:

A very real reason, and one less embarrassing to myself, is that very little has yet been attempted in this field. The entire bibliography of this subjeet, so far as I have been able to discover, runs to less than thirty items, of these only one is a full-Iength book, five are unpublished theses and of the remainder most are journal articles - sorne of only a page or two.2

From the -above, one can envisage the enormity of the challenges that

someone writing on Islam in Ghana in general, and the north of the country in particular, is bound to face, especially since the northern region has been neglected by scholars. The reason for this is that, earlier writers on Ghanaian

history, such as W. Walton Claridge and Ward viewed the Islamic aspect in the

history of this part of the country as insignificant.3 Hunwick refutes this by

asserting that Muslims had made an impact on the people of the north before the

first missionary ever set foot on the Gold Coast in 1471.4

Though a quarter of a century has elapsed since Hunwick wrote this

assessment, and although a survey of the literature might suggest that things

have changed for the better, there is still much that remains to be done,

particularly by native scholars of the region, concerning the country's connection

with Islam. What is needed is to bring an insider's perspective to the study. The

virtual silence to date may be attributed to the lack of indigenous scholars with

advanced training. The number of northern Ghanaians with access to formaI

1 education at an levels, extending from pre-school to the tertiary levels is very low, owing to the negative Socio-cultural attitude towards western education,5 and inadequate educational facilities. 6

So far those few insiders that have taken up the challenge to write on

Islamic themes have tended to misrepresent the real facts on the ground. A very clear example is Gabriel Maduka Okafor, who, in his book entitled Christianity

,and Islam in West Africa: The Ghanaian Experience, mentions that,

Both the Ahmadiyya and the Tijaniyyah were challenging the traditional basis of authority of the orthodox Muslims. The Tijaniyyah for example, represented a puritanical Islam of the Wachhabi. Movement of Saudi Arabia. The cult of veneration of saints vis-a-vis a Shyk Nyame that the orthodox rejected was practised by the Tijaniyyah .... 7

To assert that the Tijaniyya represented a puritanical Islam of Wahhabi inspiration is a gross error. For if the latter movement, founded by Mu4ammad ibn 'Abdul Wahiib in Najd, is known for anything, it is its fierce opposition to the Süfi brotherhoods, of which the Tijaniyya is the foremost example. Mistakes of this nature and a host of others no less serious are compelling enough reasons

ItO try to provide more accurate information on the history of Islam in Northern

Ghana and its status in the present day.

Dr. A.A. Iliassu and R. T. Thomas note in their joint paper delivered to the same seminar referred to earlier that early European knowledge in the 1870s about the northern region of Ghana was indirect. They cite the works of

Bodwich (1819) and Joseph Dupuis (1824) as being among the few examples.8

As a result of this indirect knowledge the probability of mispresentation of facts on the ground was high.

2 Nehemia Levtzion echoes this in another work, where he stresses the rarity of contemporary historical evidence on the Volta Basin prior to the colonialist presence in the area. In the introduction to his book Muslims and

Chiefs in West AfHca, he states that the maiden visit of European traders to this area took place only as late as 1876, while information about the place had trickled to the Europeans via the trade routes only very slowly.9 This is not to say that there was no prior attempt made to document historical facts by local

Muslim clerics. The Kitib Gonja (The Gonja Chronicle) and the Tarikh

Dagombawiyya (History of Dagombas) and other works, most notably those , written by al-I:Iajj 'Umar Karachi are examples of works undertaken by local scholars to preserve the real historical events of the time. The fact that they wrote in Arabie and Hausa makes accessibility to these valuable sources virtually impossible for those unable to read these languages. Of late, attempts have been made to collect and collate this material. At present a large portion of it is sitting on the shelves of the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana

Legon, waiting to be made available to a broader audience. Thanks are due to

Ivor Wilks and Levtzion, who have jointly taken the lead in editing and translating sorne of it, and most importantly, the Kitib Gonja, which has recently been published.

However, in order to understand fully the situation in the Islamic period, knowledge of the pre-Islamic background of the dominant inhabitants of this area and their existing religions is essential. No historical phenomenon occurs in

3 a vacuum, and it is with the intention of filling this lacuna that the following summary of the earlier period is offered.

Following this introductory survey, the thesis will evaluate the historical background, activities and organization of the Tijaniyya in the Tamale district of

Ghana. Its work in the spread of Islam will be evaluated and its approach to this task observed. The impact it has had on the social fabric of the region will be analyzed, especially in terms of the order's ability to maintain the integrity of this fabric and its efforts at promoting coexistence between religious groups in the area.

Therefore this study will remain for the most part theoretical, and will rely partially on the data fumished by Charles C. Stewart in his M.A. thesis entitled "The Tijmliyya in Ghana; A Historical Study" (presented to the

Department of African Studies - University of Ghana, 1964), and by Salifu

Abdel Seidu in his M. Phil. thesis entitled "The Influence of Islam on the

Dagbamba in the Twentieth Century" (University of Ghana, Legon, 1989).

4 CHAPTERONE

1. ISLAM IN TAMALE

1. Northem Ghana Prior to the Coming ofIslam

The dominant tribe in this area today is the Dagbamba; its members

speak Dagbani, which belongs to Mole-Dagbani group of languages in northem

Ghana. They trace their ancestry to Tohijie (the red or fair-colored hunter), who

is said to have made his way into this area from Mecca. 1O He married a woman

called Pagwolga and had a son named Kpognumbo. The son gave birth to Na

Gbewaa or Bawa, whose eight children became the founders of the northem

tribes known as the Mamprusi, Nanumba and Dagbamba. Il

Levtzion, in his introduction to Muslims and Chiefs in West Africa, has

this to say about the origins of the people in this area:

Nupe in Nigeria, Borgu in Dahomey, as well as Mamprusi, Dagomba, and Mossi in the Volta Basin are often referred to as neo-Sudanese states. The traditions of these states suggest that they are the creation of groups of invaders, horsemen from the Northeast. In the north they became acquainted with the idea of chieftaincy as opposed to the politico-ritual organization of the indigenous population, where the authority of the Earth-priest depended not on physical but on moral and religious sanctions. Because of their poli tic al and military superiority the invaders imposed their authority over the acephalous peoples, but being inferior in number they adopted the language of the indigenous popu1 a t IOn.· 12

Ladouceur draws his information on the origins of the Dagbamba from

the widespread ancient tradition. This tradition is said to attribute the founding

of the Mossi, Dagomba, Mamprusi and later N anumba to a common ancestor

named Gbewaa or Bawa, who is believed to have made his way to this region

5 from somewhere to the north of Bornu during the fifteenth century or earlier.

However, he adds that it is hard to prove the historicity of such traditions. 13

According to Levtzion, the Mamprusi, Dagomba and Mossi, all of whom c1aim common origin, also draw from the tradition that Bornu in Hausaland is their ancestral home. The Mande cultural element could have been assimilated on their journey towards the middle Volta Basin. That region, in the northeastern corner of present day Ghana, was its point of entry, and it was there that they encountered speakers of the Mole-Dagbani dialect whose language was adopted afterwards by the immigrants. Upon contact, marriage ties were formed between the Tingdamba (Earth-priest) and the would-be chiefs' ancestor, as tradition had it.

Later a political revolution ensued, during which the son-in-Iaw killed the father-in-Iaw and imposed himself over the natives. Na Gbewaa or Na Bawa, son of Kpogonumbo is the name of the legendary founder, as asserted by Dagomba and Mamprusi tradition. His offspring were tom apart by internaI wrangling over inheritance oftheir father's position. Tusugu's lineage gave rise to the Mamprusi people, while from Sitobu's lineage arose the Dagbamba and from the

Ngmantambu arose the Nanumbas. Na Nyaghsi, son of Sitobu undertook what was in effect a Tingdamba ethnic c1eansing in Western Dagbon, thereby setting the stage for solid consolidation of the Nam of Dagbon. This episode is said to have taken place between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

However, warriors of Mande origin, the Gbanya, shook the political monopoly of the Dagombas, originators of the Dagbon State. This state of

6 intermittent Gonja incursion, which led to the abandonment of the first capital

Yeni-Dabari in Western Dagomba for Yendi in Eastern Dagomba, only came to an end in the early eighteenth century.14

2. The Coming ofIslam to Sub-Saharan Africa

Islam made its way into North Africa from Egypt, its first foothold in

Africa, in 26 AH/ 647 AD. IS The religion underwent considerable political and social development in the process of spreading westward,16 eventually gaining a permanent foothold in present-day Morocco, Aigeria, Libya, and Tunisia. This region can aptly be described as the cradle of the ~ ufi orders that eventually came into being on the African continent, orders such as the Shadhiliyya,

DaraqËNViyya, Idddsiyya, Sanusiyya, and the Tijaniyya to mention just a few.

It has been suggested that Muslim traders, who might have belonged to these ~ufi brotherhoods, introduced Islam into Northern Ghana. Ivor Wilks gives most of the credit however to the Wangarawa, a tribe heavily involved in commerce with northern Ghana via the northwest trade routes. l7 The name

Wangarawa is an appellation for the Dyula of Mande origin, and is associated with the ancient Mali Empire. Hiskett says that it came to be used more widely 18 with the passage of time. The origin of the term is said to be a puzzle, but it was earlier on used to designate the Galam, Bambuk and Bure people living between Upper Senegal and the Niger. For the medieval Arabic geographers, it tends to connote go Id traders. 19 Another group responsible for the Islamization

7 of the northern Ghana was the Hausas of present day Northern Nigeria, who 20 introduced it through the northeast trade routes.

The Mande are a people of Sudanese des cent who, as a result of the

Trans-Saharan trade, interacted with North African Muslims and became islamised. The Hausas on the other hand were initiated into Islam, according to the Kano Chronicle, by the Wangarawas of Mele (Mali) in the latter part of the fourteenth century during the reign of Yeji King of Kano. 21 Professor Joseph H.

Greensberg however contends that, based on linguistic evidence, the Hausas

imbibed the influence of Islam from the Kanuri or Borno?2 In any event, as Ivor

Wilks states: "An analysis of Muslim communities in modern Ghana reveals the

existence of an ancient Wang ara substratum and a rather more recent Hausa

overlay, the former being economically correlated with the trade in gold, and the

latter with that in Kola.'m

The Wangara group made their appearance in the Volta Basin of Ghana

in around the fourteenth century. The southerly movement of these Wangara

traders, or Malinke, brought them as far down as the Volta Basin. A major trade

route was opened between the southern terminus of the Trans-Saharan trade on

the Niger Bend, Timbuktu - via Jenne -, to Bobo - Dioulasso (in Volta), Kong (in

the Ivory Coast), and Begho (in Ghana). In addition, large trading colonies were

set up at these centres.24

Having entrenched themselves at Begho,25 market cent ers in the whole of

northern Ghana were their next target. These traders formed compact

communities among the farrning populations, later to be followed by Muslim

8 missionaries of tribal background, whose interest lay in Islamization of the people. The Wangara built mosques and established affiliations with families within which profession offaith became hereditary.26

Islamization gathered momentum and acce1erated in this region between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when its influence transcended the boundaries of trading enclaves to embrace the ruling class of established centralized Kingdoms. One of the most notable results of this was the conversion of the Dagomba King Mu4ammad Zanjina into Islam,27 probably in the second decade of the eighteenth century.28 • Na Mu4ammad Zanjina's supererogatory prayer (~alit al-tatawwu') at the Sabari mosque is said to have been the event that most clearly marked the establishment of Islam in Dagbon. The drum chant narrates that, having arrived in Sabari, Mu4ammad Zanjina told Yamusa,

My mother's home is in this town, Sabari. And from you l have learned to read the Qur'an. And God has given me my father' s house (Le. the kingship). That is why l have come to you that you may beg God my master that my land may remain goOd. 29

Yamusa on the other hand is said to have summoned to Sabari the various

Muslim community heads.

Then they all assembled before Yamusa, Yari-Na ofSabari went and opened the door of the mosque, and told Na Zangina to enter inside the mosque. Na Zangina entered. Yamûsa, Yari-Na of sabari took a Qur'an and put it in the hands of Na Zangina. Na Zangina took the Qur'an and he Id Ït. He worshipped towards Hausaland, and worshipped towards the land of Ashanti, and worshipped towards Moshiland. At that time all the roads named were much used. Then no wild animaIs caught any traveler on the road any more. Then many travelers journeyed from the different roads to Dagomba. Because he worshipped that the roads nrlght

9 remain good for an travelers that is why people say that he had sought God's assistance in his activities. The mallams [clerics] opened the Qur'ans and began to read ... There were no traders on the main road to Dagomba. Na Zangina prayed to God and the roads opened and many traveled by them, and that is why the Drummers say that Na Zangina made the world wise.30

Mul].ammad Zanjina is reputed to have introduced sorne Islamic structures within the Dagbamba Kingdom. Notable among them were the creation of a NayiriLiman (chiefs Imam) and other functionaries; these came to be manifested into a Muslim hierarchy. Mallams (the Muslim religious clerics) were to have an essential role in the making of a king, the traditional festivals were replaced with Islamic ones like 'Ashura (fire festivallBugim), Maulid al-

Nabi (Damba), Laylat al-Mi'raj (Kpini) and 'Id al- Kabir (Tchimsi). He allowed

Malikllaw (law ascribed to Imam Malik) to displace customary law on issues of marriage, divorce and inheritance, and also permitted invitation to Islam so that the majority of town dwellers and an appreciable number of villagers came to embrace the religion. There was also an influx of strangers who did the same. AIl this has been attributed to Zanjina's prayer. 31

As we mentioned earlier, the second conduit of the Islamic faith in this region was the Hausas, whose influence may have begun as early as the mid- fifteenth century as a result of the development of the Kola trade, reported in the

Kano Chronicle. It is said that there was an upsurge of immigration when the

Kola trade was booming; consequently, Salaga, a new market town, in addition to its attraction for traders, drew a considerable number of clerics. However, the

Hausas are said to have made their main impact after the great jihiid of the early nineteenth century.32

10 Ivor Wilks writes:

Of more obvious consequence, however, were the Fulani revolutions that began in the Hausa lands with Uthman Dan Fodio's call for Jihad in 1804. A Dagomba Chronicle that yet is to be examined is said to speak of arrivaI of emissaries from Uthman dan Fodio in Yendi, the capital. A reference to the 'conversion' of the Dagomba King at this time is perhaps to be taken as being to his adoption ofthe cause of the mujahidin. 33

The conversion of Na Zanjina was so vital to the history of Islam in

Dagbon that both the Hausa and the Wangarawa wanted to claim the credit.

However Salifu Abdel in his analysis gives the credit to the Wangara. 34

The Hausa traders had three notable routes to Salaga. The first was the route over Kebbi and Dendi, across the Niger at Gaya, past the sparsely populated region of Gurma to Pama and Sansanne-Mango, and then to Yendi and

Salaga. The second route crossed the Niger near Say, over Fada-n-Gurma to

Kupela in Moshi territory and then to Ougadougu (both in Burkina Faso) or past

Tenkodugu and Bawku to Gambaga and Salaga. The third route went through

Nupe and then to Borgu, Djougou, Kotokoli and Dagbon to Salaga.35 All ofthese three routes pass through Dagbon territory to Salaga.

Historically speaking, the trader class of the Wangarawa is said to have accepted Islam earlier than the other professional groups, and to have subsequently diffused Islam along the caravan routes and to various cities on their trade missions. With time, many became literate in the Islamic faith and took to Islamic learning?6 The Saghanughu clan of the Wangara especially had an early interaction with Islam. Hiskett speculates that its members may have

11 belonged to the 'Ibadiyya sect, an offshoot of the Kharijiyya sect that preceded the Almoravid conquest.

However, with the inception of the Almoravid conquest, members of the clan accepted the Malikl school of thought and shouldered responsibility for the proselytization ofIslam in the Volta Basin.37 Aside from the immense impact the clan had on the economic development of West and Central Sudan, it was also influential in the inte11ectual realm. First of a11 there was its contribution to the diffusion of the Maliki madhhab, although this was of lesser significance, since the madhhab had aheady been established through the activities of clerics of

Saharan and Sudani origin.

Of greater importance, especia11y in relation to this thesis, was the clan's role in spreading an earlier form of Sufi mysticism that Hiskett postulates to have been of the Qadiriyya variety. According to hi m, the Qadiriyya was active in North Africa in the seventhlthirteenth century before the emergence of the local orders. The Saghanughu of pre-Almoravid Islamic tradition undertook its diffusion. Their kind of Sufism was of the Junaydi variety,38 which seeks

attainment of fana' (absorption) directly in God through the intermediacy of

angels. This notion was rejected afterwards and replaced with the concept of the

al-Insan al-Kamil (perfect man) mode of fana', said to be attainable through the

Prophet Mu1)ammad, the true model of 'the perfeet man' .39

In fact, the role of the Almoravids and later the Almohads was of prime

importance to the process of making Islam accessible to the non-Muslim

populace of the sub-Saharan region. They sent missions to many places including

12 Mauritania and the River Senegal area.40 The same two movements had sorne strong ~üfi elements that showed in the lifestyles of their leading figures, 'Abd

Allah b. YasIn and Ibn Tumart. R.G. Jenkins says,

Indeed, it is interesting to speculate upon the possible ~üfi influence at least during the initial phases of these two movements. Ibn YasIn certainly seems to have displayed ascetic attributes, consistent with his training in the ribiit, and, as Levtzion points out, Ibn Yasln's shaykh (Wajal b. Zallü al-Lamtl) had been initiated into the !Mlqa of al-Junayd, the leading Eastern · 41 mys t lC.

This brotherhood would also have been the Qadiriyya, which is said to be the oldest known ~üfi order in Africa south of the Sahara.

Interaction with the' ulamii' shows that the Qadiriyya was the order that produced the earliest known awliyii (saints) of the region. Notable walis of this are a, like Shaykh Tahiru Kumbungu, al-I:Iajj 'Umar Karachi and al-I:Iajj Baba

Gomda, were all adherents of the Qadiriyya, although later on they joined the fold of the Tijaniyya brotherhood. Sorne of the above-mentioned will be spoken of at greater length later in this thesis.

Thus the assertion that Islam and the brotherhoods made their appearance in this region in tandem has much to recommend it. It is also c1ear that it was the

Qadiriyya that laid the foundation there and gave the people a taste for "Süfi-

Islam. " This is why, when the Tijaniyya made its debut in the area; it did not represent a new religious concept for the local population to digest. It can therefore be said that the Qadiriyya laid the foundation upon which the superstructure of the Tijaniyya was built.

13 Hiskett has it that ~ufism in this region found a congenial atmosphere for rapid growth and expansion under the Almo.p.ads dynasty.42 He states that,

The following Almoftad dynasty was undoubtedly a milestone in the elaboration of Islamic ideology. While retaining the full orthopraxis of S unni Islam, the Almoftads added to this a metaphysical dimension. They did not create ~ufism but they certainly popularized it in North Africa and nourished its growth. Their era witnessed the establishment of the Qadiriyya and the Shiidhiliyya ~ufi ~uruCL the mystic ways or orders .43

The peoples of northem Ghana today practice a variety of religions, including African Traditional Religion (ATR), Christianity and Islam, with

Muslims currently forming the majority. Islam first came to this area in the late fourteenth century, quickly winning converts among the native population. The arrivaI of the Tijaniyya order in the nineteenth century was late in comparison, but it quickly became the most popular of the ~ufi groups active there. In fact, within a short period it completely overwhelmed the Qiidiriyya order, which had arrived there earlier. In the Tamale district, located in the center of the northem region in particular its chief rival is the Wahhiibiyya movement which was introduced there by retuming pilgrims as weIl as those scholars who competed with Tijaniyya shaykhs for the loyalty of the populace. Many reasons have been put forward for the Tijaniyya's popularity in Ghana as a whole, but there has been little analysis of the operations of the order at the ground level. It is for this reason that a study of the Tijiiniyya's growth, organization and role in the

Tamale district assumes greater importance.

Having introduced the history of the region in broader terms, let us now look at the case study area. Although 1 have demarcated its boundaries fairly

14 precisely in the following, 1 will not, however, confine myself to discussing this

area alone. For while Tamale is the religious, political and economic center of the region, activities here reflect to a great extent on the entire Dagbon traditional area. In other words, a study of Tamale indirectly encompasses the

entire Dagbon region.

3. Tamale, the Case Study Area

The Tamale district is located in the center of the northern region of

Ghana, approximately 175 km east of longitude 1° W and latitude 9° N. It shares

common boundaries with the Savelugu/Nantong, Tolon/Kumbungu, and East and

West Gonja districts (see Appendix 1).44

Topographically, Tamale is located approximately 180 met ers above sea

leve1.45 As a result of its location in the Guinea-Savanna belt, the municipality

experiences only one rainy season starting in April/March and lasting until

September/October. The dry season is usually from November to March, which

is influenced by the Eastern (Harmattan) winds. Maximum temperatures range

from 33°C to 39°C, minimum temperatures from 20°C to 22°C.

In Tamale most of the people are engaged in the informaI sector, which is

characterized by low productivity and unstable employment; as a result, the

poverty level is very high relative to other parts of the country. In terms of size,

moreover, the Tamale district is the smallest in Ghana, occupying a land surface

of only 922.28 kilometers. Yet it has a population of approximately 233,000,

15 exhibiting the nation's highest density, that is, about 250 people per square kilometers (based on 1995 population estimates).

Apart from urban Tamale, which occupies a total surface area of 130 square kilometers, the rest of the settlements are smalI villages and cover less than 2 square kilometers each. This, therefore, makes Tamale the most dominant settlement in the district. AlI the rural areas are dotted settlements. Density of settlements within the district is very high except in the eastern part, owing to the fact that this part of the country experiences frequent flooding. 46

II. THE FOUNDER OF THE TIJANIYYA ORDER: ABU AL-ABBAS

AijMAD ffiN MlMAMMAD ffiN AL-TIJANI

1. His Life

Shaykh Al),mad al-Tijan1 founded the Tijiïn1 ~ufi order at the end of the eighteenth cent ury. The founding place is Aigeria, because Tijan1 received his

spiritual realization and the command to found the order in Ab1 Samghun a desert village in Aigeria. However, Hiskett maintains that the Tijiïn1 order was

actualIy founded in Cairo.47

AI-Tijan1 was born in the zawiyya (convent) of 'Ain al-Maq.i (Algeria) in

1150-1737/8 and grew up there. His parents gave him the best of parental care

and upbringing. His father, Sayyidi Mu4ammad bil-Fat4 Ibn Mukhtar, is said to have been a scholar and a God-fearing Sunni. He is said to have had

communication with the world of the spirits. These spirits (riïhiiniyyah)

apparently even consulted him for the fulfillment of their wishes. The story has

16 it that he usually noted their requests with the excuse of not wanting to interfere with divine issues.48

AI-Tijan1's mother was 'Aisha, daughter of Bil-Rafi. She had many children, most ofwhom died. The surviving children were Shaykh Tijani himself, his brother Mu4ammad and an eider sister called Ruqayyah.49 According to

Abun-Na~r, Tijan1's name was derived from an Aigerian tribe near Tlemcen called the TIjan or Tijana. And while his patrilineal ancestors were non-Tijanas, 5o one ofhis patemal relatives did marry into that clan. His full name was ~mad bin Mu:p.ammad al-Tijan1 al-Hasani, as is indicated by the author of Bugyat al­ mustafidah, Mu4ammad al-' Arabi bin Sai 'ho According to the latter this was the name found in the Shaykh's own handwriting on certificates and treatises that he himseIf wrote. 51 In his magnum opus, the Jawahir al-Ma'anJ (Jewels of

Hidden Meaning), which he dictated to one of his top disciples by the name of

'Ali ijarazim, he is named (refers to himself as) 'Abu al-Abbas ~mad.52

Shaykh Tijan1 memorized the whole of the Qur'iin by the age of seven under the tutelage of Shaykh Ab1 'Abdallah Sayyidi Mu:p.ammad b. Hamu at­

TIjan1, a proponent of the Nafi mode of recitation.53 The author of Fati;. al­

Rabbiini has it that the Shaykh set himself the task of seeking knowledge in the religious sciences and to become an icon in the discipline. 54 He was noted for undertaking whatever he intended to do without backing out, pursuing it to its logical conclusion. 55 He then took to teaching and even giving legal opinions

(fàtawa) at a very tender age. 56 He was also noted for strong adherence to the sunna (tradition) of the Prophet and for following its ethical code of conduct

17 very strictly. He was also said to have restrained himself from indulging in what the people ofhis time were accustomed to and deemed permissible. He is reputed

to have responded to questions very cautiously.

Though he lost both his parents at the age oftwenty-one (in 1166/1753),

and on the same day, as a result of a plague that hit the locality, this did not

distract him from his quest for knowledge.57 It rather served as a tuming point in

his life towards treading the saintly (Siîfi) path.

2. His Initiation into Siîfism.

Al].mad al-Tijanl started searching throughout his region in order to meet

with and leam from saintly people (awliya). He sought the company of almost aIl

the available aq.tiïb, (Sufi poles) or masters of his day. This took him far to the

west, to Fas and its surroundings, in 1171AH. It was here that he met a man at

1abal al-zablb. He was of the fratemity of the illuminated ones (ahl al-kashiJ,

who admonished him to retum to his hometown, for what he was 100 king for was

to be found there.58

Al-Shaykh Tijanl therefore retumed to 'Ain al-Maçli. On the way

homeward he stopped at a town named Abyaq., in the middle of the desert, where

was located the site of the tomb of the great and famous Qutb al-Sayyidi Abdul

Qadiri ibn Mu1].ammad (Sayyidi al-Shaykh). He stayed there for five years

indulging in study, worship, teaching and recitation of the Qur'an. He finally

retumed to 'Ain al-Madi, convinced ofwhat he had heard from the man at 1abal

al-zablb, and went to live once again at the aforementioned zawiyya.

18 He next headed towards Tlemcen, where he stayed for the purpose of

ascetic practices, worship, teaching the science of the traditions of the Prophet

and engaging in commentary on the Qur'iin, until he was endowed with divine inspiration. From that point on, a tremendous change was seen in his life. We are told that signs of spiritual upliftment became apparent in his life, while the veils

of obstruction were parted and the gifts of miraculous deeds bestowed on him.

He continued to climb the ladder of spiritual realization until he reached the zenith ofwhat he was looking for in the realm of spirituality.59

3. His Encounter with Prominent ~üfis.

The first known figure that Shaykh Tijanl met on his joumey to Fas and

its. surroundings was Shaykh al-1,'ayyib ibn Mu4ammad ibn 'Abdallah ibn

Ibrahim (d.1180AH/ 1765AD), a native of the Habt region. He initiated Shaykh

Tijanl into his order and gave him the authorization to initiate others, although the latter never did exercise this privilege, for two reasons: firstly, he was

engrossed in his own spiritual self-development, and secondly, he was not sure of his exact position in the spiritual hierarchy at the time. 60

He also came into contact with Shaykh Still Mu4ammad ibn al-Hasan al­

WanjiIi (d.1185AH) from the Wanjal clan based in the mountains of al-Zablb.

On meeting with Shaykh Tijanl, he informed the latter that he had attained the

station of al-Shiidhi]j before he even said a word. He discoursed with Shaykh

Tijanl on esoteric issues, and even informed him of several future events in his life. 61

19 In Fas he met Sayyidi 'Abdallah ibn Sidi al-'Arabi ibn Al].mad ibn Muqammad called Ibn 'Abdallah (d.1188AH). They talked on various issues and before they had bidden each other farewell, Shaykh Tijanl prayed to God to award him the good things of this world and the hereafter. The final words from the Shaykh were "May Allah stand by you," spoken thrice.62

Shaykh A4mad Tijârii was initiated into the Qadiriyya order in Fas by the khaBIa of the order for that city, and again he was given the authorization to initiate others, although he still did not avail himself of that right. Then he was initiated into the Na~iriyya order by Shaykh Abü 'Abdallah Sidi Mul}.ammad ibn

'Abdallah al-Tizan1. His quest for saintly spiritual realization in Fas continued thus unabated for several years. 63

Shaykh Tijanl, however, eventually, left Morocco and headed towards the desert region with the intention of reaching the Zawiyya of Shaykh 'Abd al­

Qadir ibn Mul}.ammad al-Abyaq. He was put up there for a while, after which he proceeded to Tlemcen, where he stayed for sorne time. He then departed from the region altogether with the intention of performing the pilgrimage to Mecca and visiting Medina. 64

4. His Late Life

4.1 Pilgrimage to Mecca

Having left Tlemcen and on reaching Azzawawl in Aigeria, al-Tijanl visited Shaykh Abl 'Abdallah Sayyidi Mu4ammad Bil-Fatl}. ibn 'Abd al-Ral}.man al-Azhar! (d.1180AH), a shaykh of the Khalwatiyya order, who initiated him into

20 that brotherhood.65 He entered Tunisia in the year 1186 AH. There he met with sorne members of another fraternity. He stayed there for a year shuttling between

Tunis and the city of Sus. He spent most ofhis time in Tunis teaching the Book of Wisdom and its like. The ruler of Tunis requested of him that he stay and teach and that he also undertake other religious activities as well as teaches. He gave him accommodations and opened the Zaytun mosque to him to serve as a classroom, allocating him a large salary for the purpose. After carefully considering these offers, however, he decided instead to embark on a ship headed for Egypt. He was also intent on performing the pilgrimage, as well as meeting with Shaykh Ma4mud al-Kurdi, accepting his leadership and then embracing his order in accordance with all its norms. AlI of this was based on the dream he had of him in Tunis. He sent a message through an attendant to ShaYkh al-Kurdi, informing him of his intention to travel to Cairo and as king for his guarantee, which the Shaykh granted. He there and then took to the sea and reached his destination safely.

At their first encounter, Shaykh al-Kurdi, addressed Shaykh Tijanl as a beloved one of God in this world and the hereafter. Shaykh Tijanl asked him how he knew this to be true, and was informed that God was the ultimate source.

Then Shaykh Tijanl narrated fully to him the dream he had in Tunisia, in which he had seen Shaykh al-Kurdi and been told by him that his own essence was of copper, which Shaykh al-Kurdi promised to turn into gold. Then, after the elapse of a few days, Shaykh al-Kurdi asked Shaykh Tijanl of his wish. His response was the station of "Greater Qutbaniyya." The Shaykh told him that he was

21 already more advanced than the above-mentioned station. Shaykh Tijanl narrated to al-Kurdi an account of his errand and the reasons for his encounter with his master Shaykh al-Hifnl and his master's shaykh Mu~tafii al-Bakrl (r.a).66

Perhaps the highest spiritual rank that can be obtained in Sufism is that of

Qutbaniyya. According to the author of MiftiïlJ al-Sa 'iïdah al- 'Abadiyyah,

Shaykh al-ijajj Abu Bakr Zayd al-Futl, the said rank was the most sought-after in the ~ufi hierarchy of stations, and according to the Tijaniyya, A4mad Tijanl was regarded as the sole occupant of this position. Referring to SIdi A4mad

Sukayrij who in his book Kashfal-Hijiïb, is said to have narrated Shaykh Tijanl's utterances about it (which he had heard from 'Ali Harazim), we leam that

Shaykh Mu~tafii and the renowned mystic Ibn al- 'ArabI among a ho st of others, also sought to attain this position.

As the author relates in the above-mentioned work, Ibn al-' Arabi himself claimed to have achieved this rank, and felt confident that it was his. It was a position that surpassed the position of aU ranks of aqtiïb and was next in rank only to the prophets and messengers. He therefore supposedly composed a couplet relating that he was the termination of the seal of sainthood and that no one was to achieve this level after hi m, that is, that no one among the umma of the Prophet had attained such a level in knowledge and sainthood except him alone. There and then a voice called out to him and informed him that the position he was claiming was in reality not his. Rather, it belonged to a friend of

God, who was to appear in a later era.

22 Sukayrij goes on to say that Ibn al-'Arabi gave up his efforts at attaining the rank and instead concentrated on discovering the identity of the person in question. He supposedly made efforts in the realm of the unknown (ghayb) to obtain a glimpse of whom it was that was meant for this position, to find out his name, genealogy, town and condition, but he was denied access to that information. Shaykh Tijan1 himself, though, received the information about this great position from the Prophet himself. The information was that he was the designated hidden Qutb (Qu.tb al-Maktiïm), and this was apparently delivered to him in broad daylight (yaqdhatan). When asked by Shaykh Tijan1 about the , nature of the position, the Prophet answered that the one possessing it was concealed from aIl creation. Even angels, as weIl as aIl prophets except Prophet

Mu4ammad himself, would have no knowledge of him. This position, wh en compared to other kinds of Qutbaniyya, was like the relation of the sun to the moon. 67 Sukayrij's account, of course, is typical of $üfi hagiography, and is a good example of its Tijani expression. Doubtless,- Ibn al-'Arabi's followers saw him as fully qualified for the same position.

Shaykh Tijan1 arrived in Mecca safely by sea in 1187 AH after having received prayers and guarantees from Shaykh al-Kurdi for a safe retum voyage.

As usual he started his search by seeking out other $üfis in order to leam from them. He heard of Shaykh Ab1 'Abbas Sayyidi A4mad ibn' Abdallah al-Hindi, a resident of Mecca.

He established contact with al-Hindi through an intermediary who was an attendant of the Shaykh. Shaykh Tijanl benefited greatly enquiring considerable

23 knowledge and spiritual secrets (asriir). He nevertheless tumed down the request of Shaykh Tijanl to meet with him in person, due to the fad that he had not received spiritual permission to do so. He told Shaykh Tijanl that he was his successor in all that he possessed in terms of spirituality. He added a verbal message to him via his attendant, informing him that he was the one being that he had been waiting for. On hearing this, the attendant asked his master why he himself had not been accorded with that honor after his eighteen years of service.

Shaykh al-Hindi then told the attendant that, had it been left up to him, his own child would have been his choice as successor, but this was a divine affair in which he had no choice. The Shaykh then wrote a letter as king Shaykh Tijanl to show favor to his son after his demise, which he made known to him. Shaykh

Tijanl fulfilled the promise after the burial of Shaykh 'Abdallah al-Hindi.

Moreover, before his death he made available to Shyakh Tijanl the details of a secret practice that required of him seven days of seclusion, after which he would attain spiritual realization. Having achieved this he would not be permitted to meet anyone afterwards. Shaykh Tijanl did not perform the litanies, however, because of the latter condition. Just days before he left for Arafat,

Shaykh Tijanl made his final request to see the shaykh in person, but this was also tumed down. Shaykh al-Hindi gave Shaykh Tijanl the glad tidings of attaining the position of al-ShïidhiTI and also re-echoed Shaykh S1di Mu4ammad ibn al-l:lasan's prophecy ofhis attainment of Qutbaniyya.68

24 4.2. At Medina

At Medina Shaykh Tijanl performed an the rites pertaining to visitation. And, as usual, he tumed his attention towards finding other ~ufi masters. Having been informed of the presence of Shaykh as-Simani, he sought a meeting with him. Shaykh Tijanl was _/ told of what lay ahead of him in the realm of spirituality by al-Siman1. This was followed by a request from the latter that Tijiinl agree to meet with him and then spend three days in seclusion. At the end of this period he, Shaykh al-Simiinl, would instill in him full spirituality. Shaykh Tijam excused himself from this, however, and was then informed that he was to assume the rank of a "dominant Qutb." He told Shaykh Tijanl to make his request, which he did, and he was given the required assistance. Shaykh

Tijanl then left with a pilgrim's caravan and arrived safely in Egypt. 69

4.3. In Cairo

In Cairo he went to pay homage to Shaykh al-Kurdi. He was well received and was asked by his master to take a seat in front of him. He was also told to come ta his house daily. Shaykh al-Kurdi always asked Shaykh Tijiinl questions on issues of a controversial nature, which he easily resolved on the basis of his store of knowledge. As a result of this his reputation spread, and Cairo scholars, attracted by his growing reputation, sought him out in great numbers. Prior to his departure Shaykh Ma4mud offered Shaykh Tijanl permission ta enter the Khalwatiyya order and initiate others into it. He declined the offer at first, but when offered it a second time, he apparently accepted and was given a silsila (spiritual chain of initiation).70

25 Shaykh Tijan1 then left for Tunis and from there went to Tlemcen, where he stayed for a while before proceeding to Fas to paya visit to Mawlana Idris.

'Ali Harazim says that this was the occasion of his own first meeting with

Shaykh Tijan1, whom he encountered at Wajdah on his way to Fas, and whose company he joined. After a short stay in Fas, Shaykh Tijan1 returned to Tlemcen, but not before introducing 'Ali Harazim into the Khalwatiyya order. In addition he passed on to him certain spiritual secrets (asrar) and knowledge, and ilmpressed on him the need to go on seeking illumination. He also told Harazim that from Tlemcen he was planning to go elsewhere, as he did not feel quite right and had a sense of internaI discomfort. On arriving in Tlemcen, he stayed for a while and then left for the village of Ab1 Samgun.71 He then left this village for a town called Atwat, intending ta make a visit. This was in 1196/1789. While there, he met sorne awliya,n and after a mutually beneficial exchange with them, he returned to the village of Ab1 Samgun and settled there.

According ta Abun Nasr, the emigration of A4mad Tijan1 on 18 th

September 1789 from Ab1 Samgun ta Fas marked a turning point in the annals of

Tijaniyya history. It was in that town that Shaykh al-Tijiin1 is said to have seen the Prophet in broad daylight, who authorized him ta start his work of spiritual guidance (aJ-tarbiya), and gave him the litanies (awrad), thus marking the beginning of the order in the year (A.H. 1196).73

The Prophet had granted him permission ta initiate mankind into the arder. Until this point, Shaykh Tijan1 had been focusing on his own spiritual development, and had therefore felt unable ta consider himself a shaykh until

26 this permission was granted. He was commanded by the Prophet to renounce all the orders that he was affiliated to previously, and not to make visits to or request help from any other saints. After this spiritual realization (fat1!), he remained in Ab1 Samgun until 1213AH. He finally moved to Fas with his disciples. Two months after his arrivaI in Fas he gave' Ali Harazim permission to start the compilation of the order' s blueprint -- Jawihir al-ma 'ini -- said to be an order from the Holy Prophet. Even the Prophet is said to have arrogated the book to himselfby saying " 1 am the author ofthis book."74

, 4.4. Death of Shaykh Tijam

According to sorne sources, Shaykh Tijan1 died in Fas in 1815. 75 The exact date of his death is a matter of dispute, according to Dakh11 Allah. He quotes the author of Sayfal-Masliïl as saying:

With regards to his demi se there exist various traditions. In Jawihir al-ma 'inJ it has been dated to 1150 A.H. and in other books to the year 1196 A.H., while sorne say 1230 A.H.; only Allah knows best the right date. [Sorne say] probably A4mad Tijan1 never existed at all, and this is a lie. 76

Dakh11 Allah analyzes the various arguments made for each date, and arrives at a date of death on Thursday the 27th of Shawwa1, 1230 AH/1815 AD.

This is the consensus of the sources The Jawihir al-Ma 'in] never mentions any date since it was compiled during the founder's lifetime. Even the 1atest edit ion is found not to have mentioned it. 77

Moreover, Dakh11 Allah ably refutes the assertion that Shaykh Tijrul1 never existed, dec1aring this to be shying away from the truth. He buttresses his

27 point by saying that an the history books that he consulted refer to him and the events associated with his life, thus certifying his existence. AI-Zayyani, the historian and also his contemporary, even wrote on him. He ends with the rhetorical question: How could anyone refute his existence?78

28 1 1. O. Hunwick was then the head of department ofhistory in the University of Ghana Legon. 2 1. O. Hunwick edit or, The Islarnic themes in Ghanaian History, Proceedings of the seminal· on Ghanaian historiography and historical research 2dh _2~d May, 1976 (Department ofhistory: University of Ghana, Legon, 1977).240. 3 Ibid., 240. 4 Ibid., 241. 5 "Tamale Municipal Assembly Medium Term Development Plan. A District Development Plan for the Period 1996-2000" (Tamale: Tamale Municipal Assembly, May 1996.) 14. 6 Ibid. 7 G. B. Okafor, Christianity and Islam in West Afiica: The Ghana Experience, a study of the forces and influence of Christianity and Islam in modem Ghana (West Germany: Alle Rechte vorbehalten, 1997) 96. 8 A.A Ilias and R.G.Grant, "Nort hem Ghana" proceedings of the seminar on Ghanaian historiography and historical research. 124. 9 Nehemia Levtzion Mllslims and chiefS in West Afiica (Oxford: University press, 1968) xiii. 10 J. Nessibou-Kirksey, Dagomba a model for reconciliation (Ibadan: Oluseyi Press Ibadan, 1998) 8. II Ibid., 8. 12 Levtzion, Muslims, xiii 13 P. A. Ladouceur ChiefS and Politicians: The politics of Regionalism in Northem Ghana (London and New York: Longmans group Ltd. 1979) 29 14 Levtzion, Muslimsxiv. 15 M. Hiskett, The course ofIslam in Africa (Edinburgh: University press 1994) 1 16 Ibid., 33. 17 Ivor Wilks, "A note on the early spread of Islam in the Dagomba." (Unpublished paper, Northwestem University,n.d.) 2. IS M. Hiskett, The development ofIslam in West Africa (New York: Longman group, 1984) 45. 19 Ibid. 20 Wilks Ivor, "A Note on the early spread ofIslam in Ghana. "(n.p ,n.d.) 4 21 H. R. Palmer "The Kano Chronic1e 1908" Joumal of the Anthropological Institute xxxviiip. 58-59 22 J.H. Greensberg, "Linguistic Evidence from the Influence of the Kanuri on the Hausa," Joumal ofAfrican History. 1(1960) 205-12. 23 Ivar Wilks, "TheTraditian ofIslamic Leaming in Ghana," (unpublished paper, n.d.) 2. 24 Ibid., 3. 25 Begho is located on the fringes of the High Forest; and tends to be a collecting point for gold seekers. 26 Ivor Wilks, "Tradition" 4. 27 The drum chants c1early refer to him as the first Muslim to become a king, and not as first king to become a Muslim. 28 Wilks, "A Note," 4.

29 29 Ibid., 6. 30 Ibid., 6-7. 31 Ibid., 8. 32 Wilks, "The Tradition," 6. 33 Ibid., 6. 34 Salifu Abdel Seidu, "The Influence of Islam on the Dagbamba in the Twentieth Century" (unpublishd M. Phil. thesis University of Ghana, 1989) 107. 35 Levtzion, Muslims, 24. 36 M. Hiskett, The Development, 45. 37 Ibid. 38 The father of classical $ufism, at whom most of the spiritual chain of the brotherhoods terminates. 39 M. Hiskett, The Development, 46. 40 Jenkims, R.G. "The Evolution of Religious Brotherhood in North and Northwest Africa 1523-1900, in " The Cultivators ofIslam, ed.John Ralph Willis. (London: Frank Cass, 1979) 1:44. 41 "Tamale Municipal, Assembly Medium Term Development Plan. A District Development Plan for the Period 1996-2000" (Tamale: Tamale Municipal Assembly, May 1996.) 1. 42 M. Hiskett, The Course, 33. 43 Ibid. 44 "Tamale Municipal Assembly Medium Term Development Plan," 1. 45 Ibid., 2. 46 Ibid., 31. 47 Hiskett, The Development, 250. 48 'Ubayda ibn Mu4ammad al-TishitI, ]lJJzab al-Rai;.ma al-Rabbaniyya fi al-Tarbiyatu­ al-Tfjan]yya(Cairo: Mu~tafii al-BabI al-I:IalabI, 1384) 6. 49 Ibid. 50 Jamil M. Abun-Na~r, The Tijiiniyya: A Sufi Order in the Modem Wodd (London: Oxford University Press, 1995) 15-16. 51 Mu4ammad al-'Arabi ibn al-Sayih, Bughyat al-Mustafid li-Sharl;. Munyat al-Murld Morocco: al-Darul al-Bayq.a,1973.) 104. 52 M. Abdallah, al-Fath al-Rabban] fi ma Yafttiju ilayhi al- Murld at-Tijiini (Cairo:"Abdul I:IamId A4mad I:Ianafi, n.d.) 6. His patrilineal genealogy is traced thus: as Abu Abbas ~mad b. Muqammad nicknamed (Abu' Amr) b. al-Mukhtar b. ~mad b. Mo4ammad b. Salim b. al-' Abd b. Salim b. ~mad nicknamed (al-Alwani) b. ~mad b. Ali b. 'Abdallah b. ~mad Abbas b. 'Abdul Jabbar b. Idris b. Ishaq b. Zain al-'Abidin b. Mol}ammad nicknamed (An-Nafs az-Zakiyyah) b. 'Abdallah al-Kamil b. al-Hassan al-MuthnI b. al-Hassan Assib! b. 'Ali b. AbI Talib through Fatimah al-Zahra daughter of the Prophet Mu4ammad. On his matrilineal side the genealogy is also traced as follows - His mother was Aisha bint Mu4ammad b. as-SanusI at-Tijani al-Maq.aw1. 53 Ali I~arazim Barrada, Jawahir al-Ma 'an] wa-al-Bulugh al-Amiin] fi Fayd Sayyidi Ab] Abbas .al-Tijiiiîi(Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-'IlmIya, 1997) 23. 54 Ibid., 7.

30 55 Mu!}.ammad, Bughyat, 140. 56 Op.Cit., 7. 57 Ibid., 7. 58 'Ali I~arazim ,Jawiihir, Vol. 1, 27. 59 Ibid., 28-29. 60 Ibid., 35. 61 Ibid. 62 Ibid., 35-6. 63 Ibid., 36. 64 Ibid. 65 Ibid. 66 Ibid., 37. 67 Abu Bakr Zayd al-Futi, Miftiih al-Sa 'iida al-Abadiyya fi Matiilib al-Ahmadiyya (Tunis: Matba'at al-Manar, n.d.) 13-14. 68 Op.Cit., 38. 69 Ibid., 38. 70 Ibid., 39. 71 Named after the great Qutb Sidi Ab1 Samgun. 72 The plural of wall meaning a saint or a friend of Gad. 73 Abun-Na~r, The Tijiiniyya,21. 74 Ibn al-Sayi!}., Bughyat, 183. 75 Op.Cit., 20. 76 'Ali ibn Mu!}.ammad Dakh11 Allah,. Al-Tijaniyya dirasat li ahammi 'aqai'di al­ Tijaniyya 'ala ç/awi' al-Kitab wa al-Sunnah. (Riyaq:Dar Ma~r lil tiba'ah, 1981) 48. 77 Ibid .. , 49. 78 Ibid.: 49.

31 CHAPTER TWO

1. THE TIJANlYY A ORDER (NAWUN-NYERIBA), IN DAGBON 1

1. The Nawun-Nyeriba

In the wake of the death of Al}.mad al-Tijanl, his followers disseminated

Tijaniyya doctrine throughout North Africa and from there deep into West

Africa. The order's spread in West Africa is credited to al-Bajj 'Umar TaI, a

Senegalese religious leader. Throughout the nineteenth and eighteenth centuries and right up until the early 1950's, a significant number of communities in lI1umerous West African countries continued to come into the fold of the order. It was at some point during this period that it must have entered Tamale.

Melvin Hiskett has it that the main Tijanl expansion in this sub-region took place from 1308/1890 onwards, after the collapse of Sultan Al~med Segu's empire. This resulted into the dispersal of the leaders of Tijaniyya eastwards into

Hausaland, and southeast, into the counhy north of Ashanti. By 1899, three main routes of transmission had emerged in the Volta region: one from Hausaland, especially Kano and Katsina; another from Jeune via Dyulasso and Kong; and a third directly from Mecca and Medina via retuming pilgrims. At the end of the

nineteenth cent ury, Hausa traders and servicemen, police and troops who were

recruited by the colonialists, brought the larlqa into the southem Gold Coast, or

present-day Ghana. 2

Charles C. Stewart, in his The Tijiiniyya in Ghana, reiterates the

assertion that the defeat of Segu saw the flight of the leadership of Bajj Umar's

empire eastwards. This exodus heralded an active Tijanl proselytization in

32 Nigeria and Ghana, which is said to have engulfed the who le West African and sub-Saharan region. He adds that, despite the fact that members of the order had previously existed in places like Salaga, Jugu (Dahomey), and Hausaland, the major period of expansion is to be dated to after 1898 A.D. 3

Stewart notes that severallearned mallams introduced the Tijaniyya into the area of modern Ghana during the de cline of I:Iajj 'Umar Tal's empire.

However, sorne traditional sources refer to the oIder brother of one 'Moro Fut1',

as weIl as 'Moro Fut1' himself and the students of 'Moro Fut1' as being the sole introducers of the order in the region. At the same time we encounter the name of Shaykh Mal].mud Fut! or Mal].mud Jayla in other accounts of the order's introduction into Ghana.4

AI-I:Iajj Idrissou, who had contact with the "Boukari" ziiwiya of Salagah,

is also said to have contributed to the introduction of the order along the

southeast trade route through Jugu (Dahomey) to Salaga. Unfortunately, the

Tijani leaders of Tamale and Salaga, as noted by Stewart, could not remember his name. 5

The name of al-I:Iajj Isl].aq, a Segu man, is also cited as having introduced

the Tijaniyya into the western regioll of Ghana. A bearer of the same llame, al­

I:Iajj Isl].aq Wallgara, is likewise believed to have introduced the Tijaniyya into

the area surrounding Kumbungu, a village eleven miles from Tamale. It is

suggested that it could have been the same man who was responsible in both

cases. 6

33 Stewart also refers to a certain Alfa Hashim who played a similarly remarkable role in the progress ofthe Tijaniyya. Alfa Hashim was the nephew of

'Umar Fiit!, who fled to northem Nigeria and later made his way to Medina, and operated from there, initiating people into the order. Many notable Ghanaian

Tijanls have been influenced by him, one ex ample being al-I:Iajj 'Umar Karachi.

Alfa Hashim organized meetings in Medina between Tijanls from West Africa

and those from other parts of the globe who had come for the pilgrimage. He

acted in effect as the political and religious advisor to members of the fratemity

in Africa.

The popularity of the Tijaniyya in Ghana in the first two decades of the twentieth cent ury might be attributed not to the Wangara's efforts in the West,

but rather to the Hausas and the local mallams who entered from the East. These

mallams who continued to flow into the area without pause into the larger

communities -- Zongo areas -- added impetus to the widespread acceptance of

the ,tarJqa. 7 It was the 'Umarian brand of the Tijaniyya that dominated the

Ghanaian scene until the emergence of Shaykh IbrahIm Niass. IbrahIm Niass (of

whom we will provide a fuller account below) established himself as a khaHfà of

Shaykh Tijan1. His br and of the Tijaniyya has come to be known by different

appelations. John N. Paden in his Political Culture in Kano refers to it as

"reformed Tijaniyya."s Peter B. Clarke on the other hand regards this appellation

as mistaken,9 mainly because there are no visible differences in the rites or

doctrines of the order. Another name applied to this branch is the Niassene

Tijaniyya; however, the only differences between it and the 'Umarian branch lie

34 in the Niassene's abandonment of physical militancy and enthusiasm for the concept of 'Jihad of the he art , (more of a pacifist approach), and in the performance of prayer when they fold their hands across the chest ('Umarians pray by allowing their hands to hang loosely by their sides).IO

The Tijaniyya order in Ghana, as observed by Stewart, remained for the most part non-partisan and apolitical during the early part of the twentieth cent ury. The order entered Ghana devoid of its militant tradition under al-I:Iajj

'Umar and, after being popularized by the Hausas, it manifested an approach quite close to the pacifist role originally intended by A4mad al-Tijanl for his farlqa. This could be attributed to the caliber of the people who accepted it and their numerical strength. Only on two occasions did the order really take a stand, which seems to have been colored with political undertones. These two isolated instances convinced the Muslim populace to look to the Tijanls as the only organized group able to champion the Orthodox reaction to innovation. The first case was the uprising against the introduction of the A4madiyya movement in

Tamale and Wa in the early 1930' s. Il The second incident was the emergence of

Mallam Muntaka, a disciple of al-I:Iajj Abdullai of Yendi, who vehemently challenged the regional commissioner' s nomination of Afa Ajura as the new chairman of the Ghana Muslim Council for the northem and upper regions

(previously he Id by al-I:Iajj Ibrahim Gushegu). Mallam Muntaka, the disciple, accused Afa Ajura of academic incompetence and of doubtful religious piety.12

This stance of Mallam Muntaka could have emanated from the fact that Afa

Ajura was viewed against the background of the new movement which he was

35 suspected ta be nurturing against the age old Tijaniyya order. This is the point in the history of the emergence of sectarian conflict that would later on set Tamale afire with clashes and hence set the stage for the fame of Afa Ajura and the launch pad for the introduction ofWahhabiyya doctrines.

II. The Doctrines and Practices of the Tijamyya

The beHefs attributed to the Tijaniyya are numerous. We will concentrate more closely in this chapter on the core beliefs and especially those questioned and denounced by critics of the order in Tamale, known locally as the Munkirun

(Munchires) or rejecters. 13 Sorne of these doctrinal beliefs have been outlined in the article by Hiskett entitled "The 'Community of Grace' and its Opponents, the 'Reje ct ers': A Debate about Theology and Mysticism in Muslim West Africa with Special Reference ta its Hausa Expression." In this study he explores the doctrines of Jama'at al-Fayqa14 a Tijanl group, which conforms mainly with the beliefs of their counterparts in the southern part of Ghana. Hiskett relies on the work of Shaykh A1).mad Baba al-Wa'i? of Kumasi, entitled Say! al-/faqq, in formulating the following concise presentation of the order's doctrines:

1- al-istigiitha: invoking the Prophet, walis (holy men) and the Shaykhs of the Tijiiniyya, including Shaykh Ibrahim himself .

2- aJ-shata'a: the beHef in the intercession of the Prophet on the Last Day; and that this community will enter Paradise without Judgment.

3- al-ziyiira: visiting and praying at the graves of the Prophet and other shaykhs and holy men and visiting living shaykhs for the purpose of receiving their b1essings.

36 4- Awrad al-masha'ikh wal-tasawwuf: the wirds of shaykhs [daily invocations and prayers assigned by the shaykh to his disciples] and Sufism.

5- karamat miracles ofholy men.

6- al-ruqa wa ma 'adha bil-qur'an wa ghayrahEl. amulets and protection with the Koran and other things.

7- khal'al-na'l wal- inhina' lil-kabIr aw al-'alim:: taking off the shoes and bowing down for an important person or leamed man.

8- al-sadaqa li amwat al- muslimJna wal-du'a' lahum: al ms on behalf of deceased Muslims and supplicatory prayers for them.

9- akhdh al-subl}a wa -ijJalahu wa i'inabihi fi adad al­ dhikr. the use of the rosary and honouring it and using it as assistance in numbering the remembrances.

10- salat al-fitih: 'The Opener [of what is closed]' - the special prayer of the Tijaniyya.

11- al-jahar bil-dhikr fil-jama'a wa bil zawiya: the recitation of the Remembrance aloud in congregation and in the zawiya.

12- al-mawlid al-nabawi: the Prophet's birthday.

13- al-awliya' wal-aqtab wal-nujaba' wal-abdal wal­ akhyar: holy men, poles, chiefs, nobles, deputies and chosen ones [an are ranks in the ~üfi hierarchy].

14- Ru'yatu al-nabl yaq?atan wa manaman wa zuhiïruhu fi ayyi makan 'iqtacJa dhiilika wa nashru al-thawb al­ abyaç! 'ind al-dhikr: the vision of the Prophet waking and sleeping and his appearance in any place where that is required and the spreading of the white cloth at the Remembrance.

15- thubiït al-tarbiya wa falab al-shaykh al-murabbl: confirmation of the tarbiya [esoteric initiation] and the seeking of a fostering shaykh.

37 16- tai}.qlq al-ru'ya li-dhat al-barl Jalla wa 'ala : confirmation of the vision of the essence of God , may He be glorified and exalted.

17 - Khatima fi jawaz al-intiqal min madhhab ila madhhab: conclusion conceming the legality of changing from one legal rite to another. 15

To this enumeration may be added the following beliefs:

1- The belief that recitation of $alat-al-Fatil; once is equivalent in merit to

reading the whole Qur'an six thousand times;16

2- The belief that adherents of the Tijaniyya order will enter Paradise without

submitting themselves to any account or be punished for their actions on the

day of Judgments/7

3- Belief in the infallibility (isma) of Qu/b al-Aq/ab; 18

4- Beliefthat an adherent who deserts the order will apostatize before death; 19

5- Belief that without forsaking the world, they were more assured of salvation

than the ascetic Sufis who indulge in prayer and other spiritual exercises,

just to gain special favor ofthe Prophet;20

6- Belief in the presence of the Holy Prophet Mohammad, the four rightly

guided Caliphs and Shaykh Ahmed Tijanl in Haçlra (séance of Friday).21

III. Local Practices and Controversial Doctrines

While many of the above doctrines are unobjectionable in the eyes of critics, sorne Tijanl beliefs are more contentious, while others, seemingly minor beliefs and practices, are bitterly condemned by the order' s opponents. Sorne of these are:

38 1- Ru'yyat al-Nabl- the c1aim that Shaykh A4mad Tijani saw the Prophet in broad daylight has long been a favorite target of the Wahhabis. Tijani apologists however try to justify this stand by advancing the following proofs from the traditions of the Prophet and sayings of scholars and prorninent ~ufis.

Tijanis cite a tradition found in $ahlh al-Bukhari, $ahlh Muslim and

Sunan Abl Diiwiid, that it was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said

" He who sees me in a dream will surely see me in the state of awaken ness, for

Satan cannot take upon himself my resemblance." In addition al-Tabaram derived a similar 4adith through Malik ibn 'Abdallah and Abu Bakrah, as did al­

Darimi through Abu Qatada?2

Among more renowned scholars, Ibn al-Ijajj in his chapter on the vision of the prophet in state ofwakefulness from his work states that this is normally a restricted and limited access and rarely experienced except by those who are characterized with greatness in this epoch. But, for the most part, it is seen as impossible that such manifestations might appear to those great men who have been protected both intemally and extemally.23

AI-Qaqi Sharaf al-Dln Hibat-Allah ibn 'Abd al-Ra4Im al-Barizi (a

Tijaniyya scholar) in his Kitiib Tawthlq 'Urii al-Imiin, informs us that, al­

Bayhaqi said: that the souls of the Prophets are retumed unto them after death and they, like the martyrs, are alive in the presence of their Lord; that the

Prophet Mu4ammad saw a group ofthem on the night ofhis ascension, whom he spoke of upon his retum; that Allah the Most High has forbidden the earth to consume the bodies of the Prophets. Al-Barizi further says that he once heard a

39 group of awliyii', from his era and the previous one say that they had seen the

Prophet physically in a state of awaken ness after his death. 24

On the other hand evidence drawn from the aq.fiib (poles) and the

"illuminated ones" inc1ude the statement of the' Abd al-Qadir ai-Jayiani that he saw the messenger of Allah who addressed him as his son and who asked him why he was not talking. He answered the Prophet that he was a foreigner (that is, a non-native Arab ) and therefore, could not speak the c1assical Arabic of

Baghdad. The Prophet asked him to open his mouth and then spat into it seven times. He then ordered him to talk to the people and calI them to the true path with wisdom and good admonition?5

F urt hermore , the Tijanis support their position by citing Sayyid 'Ali al­

Khawwa~'s statement that "a servant's attainment of the state of spiritual realization is incomplete until he is in constant company of the messenger of

Allah in the state ofwakefulness and in direct conversation.,,26

Among those regularly supposed to have seen the Prophet in a wakeful state inc1ude al-Shaykh Abu Madyan al-Maghribi, al-Shaykh 'Abd al-Ral].lm al­

QanawI, al-Shaykh Musa al-ZawawI, al-Shaykh Abu al-I:Iasan al-ShaQ-hili and al­

Shaykh Abu al-'Abbas al-MursI, which latter used to say that, were the messenger veiled from him for a time, he would not have considered himself a true Muslim. Others were al-Shaykh Abii al-Su'iid ibn Ab1 al-'Ashiii'r, and al­

Shaykh IbrahIm al-Matbufi who according to sorne sources, used to be in constant union with the Prophet. AI-Shaykh Jalal al-Dln al-Suyu~1 used to say

40 that he saw the Prophet and was in his company in a wakeful state on over seventy occaSIOns.. 27

One sees in the above narrations a clear attempt on the part of the Tijanls to support the real possibility of seeing the Prophet. But these attempts would have carried more weight had the Tijanls been able to prove that the seeing actually occurred. However, it must be pointed out that the issue of seeing the

Prophet can only be explicable and comprehensible to practicing members of a

$ufi order like the Tijaniyya. Many who have experienced this vision have written ofwhat they underwent.

2- Belief in the Hacjra: this is the belief in the constant presence of the Holy

Prophet Mul}ammad, the four rightly-guided Caliphs, and Shaykh A4mad Tijani in Hacjra, during the recitation of Jawharat al-Kamal at the seventh time. This belief is based on the notion expressed by sorne leamed men that the Prophet is alive and makes an appearance at any place he wishes, as in the case of al-

Shyakh Jalal al-Dln al-Suyu!1 who saw the Prophet at Cairo and kissed his hands. 28

Even though this appearance is often considered spiritual, al-Suyu!!,s encounter is seen as proofthat it can be physical, due to the fact that he was able to kiss the Prophet' s hands.

3- AI-Manawl and others have stated that the Prophet is present at any place where a salutation is being invoked upon him. The Companions are also believed to be present at any place they wish to be. The reason given for this is the saying

41 of Sayyid 'Abd al-Qadir that he saw 'Ali by his side asking him why he would not talk.29

One of the Qutb al-Aqtab has explained the notion of the Prophet being present in several places at one time, claiming that it was a miracle of the

Prophet. As to how the Prophet responds to the various salutations invoked upon him from the West and East of the earth, he explains that, like the sun in the middle of the sky whose light covers a11 the Earth, so is the Prophet able to be everywhere at every time. Furthermore, a para11el is drawn between the Prophet and the angel of death, who is able to take the lives of a hundred thousand in an instant, and still at the same time be involved in the worship of God. And if that is possible, then the Prophet, who is the origin of existence, should be able do more. 30

4- On the spreading of the white cloth in the middle of the circle of dhikr

from the beginning of the recitation of Jawharat al-Kamal to the end, the

apologists stressed the importance of respecting the place of dhikr and

purification of the site where dhikr takes place by ensuring its ritual purity as

weIl as making it sweet smelling, making it emanate good scent. 31 According to

Imam al-JaIil Ab1 Maysarah, "remembrance of God should always be done in a

clean place."32 The author of TahdhJb al-Afkiir relates that it is important to

spray the place of dhikr with good perfume for the sake of the angels and the

Hnn, and things that detract from this atmosphere.33

42 From the evidence advanced, the white sheet is not placed as an object of worship as posited by the Munchires but rather as a symbol of respect for and purity of the place of worship.

5- The notion that Jawharat al-Kamal cannot be recited after dry ablution

(tayammum) has been seen by opponents to imply that it is put on a pedestal higher than the five ritual prayers, since with the ritual prayers dry ablution is permissible. However, it has been argued that it is not a question of its being considered higher, but rather that it is a special ritual that simply cannot be accepted without full ablution. This has been equated with the prohibition against performance of the Friday prayer by a person who had done dry ablution prior to the performance of an earlier prayer, according to the Maliki School of jurisprudence. This person is required to perform ?uhur prayer instead, which serves as a substitute. By the same token, Jawharat has a close substitute which is the recitation of ~alat al-Fatil]., repeated twenty times. That is why the prohibition with dry ablution.34

IV. The Tarbiya in Tij8niyya

The issue of tarbiya or spiritual education has often been the subject of heated argument among ~üfis. Most ~üfis contend that the spirit naturally harbors the pot enti alit y of divine movement, but that the evil ways of the soul

(nais) impede this progress. Hence, the need for a practice to tame and train the nais for the realization of this original and inherent goal. Since time immemorial, the phenomenon of tarbiya has been the predominant focus of aIl ~üfi orders, so

43 that each and every order has its methodology or means of approach to it. On the other hand it has also been one of the concepts that antH;üfis attack most with criticism and condemnation.

Tarbiya, as opposed to ta'fim (a gener}l term for learning and education), { - has the sense of spiritual and mystical education or training that an adept undergoes through the guidance of a Shaykh al- Tarbiya or a Muqaddam, leading him to the Gnosis of God (Ma 'rifa). HistoricaUy the concept is a legacy of the

Prophet of Islam, as its proponents implicitly believe. The meditation that

Mu4ammad embarked upon in the cave of Bira prior to the advent of his

Prophethood was the source of this phenomenon, for it is from his encounter with the Angel Jibr11 that the relationship between disciple (murld) and spiritual leader (shaykh al-tarbiya) came to be derived. The episode of the Prophet's night journey from Mecca (Isri') and his ascension into heavens (Mi'riij) is likewise seen as the zenith of this phenomenon, the point where gnosis (ma 'rifa) is attained. Thus, each stage of the process has been historically accounted for by the adherents of ~üfism.35

In the opening page of Jawihir al-ma'inl, the magnum opus of the Tijanl order, the author explains in brief the spiritual thought and practice of members of the Tijiniyya:

Know that God Almighty has attributed to all things both an external and internaI or hidden (aspects) because it is included among (created) things. That which man comprehends with the external aspect of his soul is interpreted by it through image, imagination and the senses; these are not comprehended by his inner soul at aU. That which is comprehended by the internaI aspect of the soul is knowledge, which is communicated directly to the

44 internaI soul and is distinguished by sound experiences and the secret of gnosis and the secret of tawhid... The manifestation of God Almighty through His hidden name to the internaI soul brings about perceptions through the eye of discernment and not through thought and theorizing. He who perceives through the eye of discernment is a knower of truths and of hidden meanings. No outward forrns remain with one ofwhat is perceived by the eye of discernment. Nor is there any suffering connected with it; one is relieved from the difficulty of thought. With the arrivaI of these revelations in his inner soul one masters the divine sciences, and the sciences of the secret of the internaIs (hidden) meanings ofthat, which is related to the hereafter, and of direct knowledge of the unit y of existence and the denial of anything which might be equated with God. And the secrets of tawhid and of gnosis appear to him. "36

It was around the above passage that the various branches of the

Tijaniyya wove their spiritual and practical doctrines. In his Kitib al-Rimih, al-

I:Iajj 'Umar states with regard to tarbiya that,

The intention of tarbiya is the cleansing and purification of the essence from any slackness, so that it will be capable of bearing the burden of secrecy (sin). This is not possible unless wrongdoing is eliminated from it, and unless vanity and falsehood are prohibited from coming into contact with this objective. When for a time these are separated from it, (the essence) exists with only the attributes of its true nature, and God Almighty might purify it without an interrnediary.37

Thus the Tijaniyya 'Umariyya version of tarbiya is seen to be more akin to early Sufi practice, which called for more extreme, physically enervating spiritual exercises. 'Umar Fiiti, a notable Tijanl propagator in West Africa, advocated a very rigorous and harsh forrn of tarbiya resembling the one in the above description. He is even said to have abandoned this idea of Jihad of the soul and to have adopted that of the sword instead.38 Even Cerno Bokar, a great-

45 nephew of 'Umar Taal, and a renowned nineteenth cent ury propagator of the

Tijaniyya order in West Africa, who also undertook the same mission, resorted to this strict 'Umariyyan tradition. Evidence supplied by those who underwent the initiation confirms this. According to one account,

[Cerno Bokar] was different from aIl others who gave the winJ, because only if he saw in the pers on the sign of his faith would he give it.. .. Sorne people came only so it would be said they had the wird ... but the wird is only a branch; the trunk is to be found in Islam, which has to be understood first ... 39

The conditions for initiation into or membership in the order inc1ude first and foremost adherence to the sharJ'a, especiaIly performance of the five daily prayers in congregation. Similarly, the statement by the founder that the wird should never be denied to anyone who requests it40 has led to a more relaxed policy of admission by many West African spiritual leaders of the order.

Furthermore, based on the promise by Shaykh al-Tijanl of wholesale entry into paradise without exception or accountability for aIl adherents of his order, the vast majority concentrate only on recitation of prayers and attachment of one's heart to GOd. 41 This is not to say that other exercises are left un-pursued in the struggle for spiritual advancement. In fact the muqaddam wields the discretionary power to determine the caliber of an adept. The muqaddam, based on his association with the adept, will be able to decipher which exercise can accelerate his spiritual development and stifle his egoistic tendencies. For that matter sorne are made to practice sec1usion (khalwa) or fasting or recitation of particular names of God. So the doctrine of tarbiya is toned down to a level that anyone from the Niassiyya or IbrahJmiyya branches can comprehend and

46 practice. The leadership of the Tijruliyya of the nineteenth cent ury under its

charismatic leader Shaykh IbrahIm Niass (d. 1975) is noted for adopting this

attitude and is very popular as a result. Hiskett says in his article "The

'Community of Grace'" that " .. .it is beyond reasonable doubt that Shaykh

Ibrah-im Niass's movement now represents the main thrust of the Tijaniyya in

West Africa; and that its support, in terms of numbers and influence, is

significantly greater than that of other independent branches ofthat order.,,42

According to John N. Paden in his Religion and Political Culture in Kano,

the concept of tarbiya is central to Reformed Tijiiniyya (Le., Tijaniyya

Niassiyyallbrahimiyya) beliefs.43 He says that tarbiya is built on two

suppositions according to this brancll of the order, namely, faith and love.

Consequently the preparation of a potential recipient of fayçl or the "overflowing

of God's love and wisdom to man" is to consist in spiritual discipline, which is

characterized by emotional disposition based on the faith that God is 10ve.44

Shaykh IbrahIm, in his famous book Kashf al-ilbiis, which is essentially

an exposition of tarbiya, contends that it is ineffable and can only be

comprehended through tasting (dhawq). 45 He insists that tarbiya, esoteric

initiation, should not be the prerogative of the literate alone but of the illiterate

as well. He claims that with the passage of time it has come to replace the old

~ufi tradition ofretreat (khalwa).46 This is because one does not attain it through

exoteric leaming but rather on the basis of one's spirituality. It should therefore

be the prerogative of aIl, as was khalwa. Despite this advice,however, practicing

Tijanls are known to be reluctant to tell non-members the secrets of tarbiya.47

47 t On the issue of the relationship between the rightly guiding shaykh and the adept, Shaykh Ibrahlm states that,

And [the one who enters the order] shaH throw himself in submission before his shaykh, the deputy of Shaykh A4mad al-Tijiinl- may God be pleased with him­ and his Shaykh will be with him forever as long us he mentions him in his heart and believes that he is present with him; and here is the great secret for the Tijiinl postulant.48

'Here is an indication of the emphasis that Shaykh A4mad al-Tijanl placed on his and his deputies' indispensable roles as the means of union with

God.

Each stage of tarbiya is termed a iJaqra by Tijanls. An account given by a particular Tijanl deserter provides an insight into what it is composed of and how it is manifested in the Tijaniyya Niassiyya in Ghana and Senegal:

The first hadra The muqaddam elicits from the postulant that God is One and that He has created aH things. He then elicits agreement to the proposition that if God has created everything and is one, then aH men must be part of God's creation. The second hadra The muqaddam asks 'What was Gods first creation?' The postulant is led to reply 'The Prophet Mohammed.' The muqaddam then illicit agreement to the proposition that aH created beings can be shown to be part of Mohammad The third hadra The muqaddam: 'Who issues out of Mohammad?' The postulant after prompting replies: 'Ahmad Tijani issues out of Mohammad' The muqaddam then e1icit agreement to the proposition that aH men are part of A4mad al-Tijani. The fourth hadra The muqaddam. 'Who cornes out of A1;mad al­ Tijiinl?' The postulant cannot answer and so the muqaddam asks: 'Who is $aahib al-waqt(the master of the

48 age)? The postulant, after prompting replies: IbrahIm Kaolack (Shaykh Ibriil1Jm Niass).' The fifth hadra The muqaddam now asks: "What cornes from IbrahIm NiasS!" The postulant cannot answer and so the muqaddam leads him to the conclusion that IbrahIm Niass is the present earthly manifestation of kawn dukka (Hausa from Arabie 'The whole ofbeing,).49

Initially Hiskett, who recorded this account, doubted the veracity of the information due to the position of the informant. By verifying it with other adherents, however, it was found to be true, except for the information about the fifth iJaq.ra, which was rectified. Upon correction it was made clear that the term kawn dukka meant the manifestation of Prophet Mu4ammad, Shaykh A.4mad al-

Tijani and Shaykh IbrahIm Niass as one being; each is a part of the kawn, as in

Ibn al-'ArabI's concept of the unit y ofbeing. This is very likely since, as Hiskett notes, IbrahIm Niass's concepts are not essentially origina1. 50 All the same, his achievement lies in his reinterpreting them and making them popular.

The preceding dialogue gives us an idea of what tarbiya entails among the adherents of the Tijaniyya Niassiyya in Ghana. Here the master is indirectly involved in teaching the postulant the traditional ~üfi symbolism step by step.

Each of the five iJaq.ras that the postulant transcends stands for his level of illumination. His movement to the next levels depends on the responses he gives to his master's questions. Every level has its specifie dhikr, but there is no specification of a time limit for attaining any particular stage. It is the adept's power of meditation and concentration that will give him the intuition to respond in line with the master's way of thought. Thus the muqaddam gets to know the adept's level of illumination before taking him to the next level. This

49 continues until aU the five stages are transcended. At each of the five stages the postulant goes through the stations (maqims) of Islam, faith (Iman) and Ii}san by means of performing exacting litany tasks. Eventually the adept is said to apprehend the un-teachable, to seize upon the truth intuitively.

A summary of the states of illumination associated with this concept, delivered in a public sermon by a renowned Tijanl in present-day Ghana, may give a more contemporary illustration of the procedure. Shaykh 'Abd al-Razzaq

1.'allir, a graduate of al-Azhar, was a lecturer at Ahmadu Bello University in

Nigeria and is now Ghana's ambassador to Saudi Arabia. In the sermon he quotes a l}adith from Ibn Rajar al-'Asqalani's collection ofl}adiths which is very popular among the Tijanls. The h:;tdith states that Allah is the giver and

Mul}ammad the distributor, and 'Abd al-Razzaq likens this to Allah, as the source of illumination, being a storehouse of electrical power with an infinite voltage. The Prophet MuJ.}ammad serves as the transformer and transmitter of this power. Thus Shaykh Tijanl acts as main station that taps the power from the

Prophet. The Qu.tbofthe time, who connects to this power source via Shaykh al­

Tijanl serves as a substation. Then the various muqaddams act as zonal stations.

Finally the adepts are likened to unit apartments connected to this grid. Re emphasizes that if direct connection were attempted from the source at the apartment level the whole structure would be reduced to ashes. So, ifthis scheme is equated to tarbiya, one can see the reason why the training has to take place in stages. Thus if the adept tries experiencing God directly he will be electrocuted, but as long as adequate and ample preparations are made through the graduaI

50 process of tarbiya, then this danger is eliminated. There may even come a time when direct transmission can be had without the other transformers. At this stage the adept is said to have achieved full illumination.

In sum the Tijaniyya order in general and the Tijaniyya Niassiyya in particular seem to have made the doctrine of tarbiya more understandable, attractive and approachable to all its adherents. It can also be said to have injected a kind of democracy into its dissemination since literate and illiterate, old and young, and male and female have equal acceS8 to it. It is not surprising that the order has been under the surveillance of the Wahhab1s for time immemorial, and that most of their activities and religious practices have been subjected to condemnations and criticisms.

V. Litanies

We have seen how, during his stay in Ab1 Samgün, Shaykh Tijan1 had his spiritual experience in which the Prophet granted him permission to initiate aIl of mankind into the order. 51 Until that point Shaykh Tijan1 had tumed away from mankind to enable him concentrate on increasing his spirituality. He did not even lay daim to the status of Shaykh of an order at the time. It was under these conditions that he encountered the Prophet Mu4ammad in broad daylight in a state of awaken ness and not in a dream. It was during this encounter that permission was granted him to embark on the initiation of mankind into the order, while at the same time he was given the litanies (awriid) of the order, comprised of the formulae for penitence (lstighfiir) and invocation ($aliit 'alii

51 Nabl). The provision of these litanies in fact extended over a period of time, coming to an end in 1200 A.H. with bestowal of the Kalimat al-Ikhlis (Li iliha ilallahu).52

In addition to their standard religious obligations as Muslims, it is incumbent upon every Tijanl member to recite the stipulated litanies at assigned tirnes three tirnes daily, in addition to performing the weekly séance (iJacfra) on

Fridays.53 The first two daily recitals are termed lizim and are spoken after morning prayer (~ubiJ or fajr) and late afternoon prayer (called a~r), while the third daily recital, known as wa?lfa (office), is spoken after early evening prayer

(maghrib). In both of the two performances of the liizim prayer, the istighfiir, the

Salit 'ali al-Nabl and the Li Iliha Illillih are recited a hundred times each. In the case of wB?lfa, the istighfiir and Salit 'aM al-Nabl are recited thirty and fi ft y times, respectively, while the Li Iliha Illillih is read one hundred times in addition to Jawharat al-Kami}4 which is recited twelve times. 55 This prayer was handed to A4mad Tijanl by shaykh Mu4ammad Ibn al-'Arabi al-Damraw1. 56

However, it is claimed by others that it was the Prophet himselfwho taught it to

A4mad Tijani. The text of the Jawharat al-Kamil in the translation of Abun

Na~r is as follows:

o God, send benediction upon and salute the source of divine mercy, a true ruby which encompasses the center of comprehension and meanings, the son of Adam, the possessor of the divine Truth; the most luminous lightning in the profitable rain-clouds which fill aIl intervening seas and receptacles; Thy bright light with which Thou has filled Thy universe and which surrounds the places of existence. o God, bless and salute the source of Truth from which are manifested the tabernacles of realities; the

52 source of knowledge the most upright; Thy complete and most straight path. o God, bless and salute the advent of the Truth by the Truth; the greatest treasure, Thy mysterious light. May God bless the Prophet and his household, a prayer that brings us to knowledge ofhim.57

According to Abun Nasr, it is the most exception al prayer in the Tijruli order. Among its special qualities is the fact that it cannot be recited without the performance of normal ablution. Thus dry ablution (tayammum) does not suffice as preparation for it: the only substitute in this case would be twenty repetition of Salat al-FiitilJ. Furthermore, it is a cardinal belief of the Tijrulls that on the seventh count of the recitation of Jawharat al-kamal, the holy Prophet and the four rightly-guided caliphs bless the circ1e of the wazifa till it ends. 58 In recognition of this august company, a white sheet of c10th (called izar or sifsari) ils spread in the middle of the circ1e to accommodate them. 59

The terminology for the litanies may be confusing. One opinion contends that all the prayers together make up what is termed the wird. AI-I:Iajj 'Umar on the other hand refers to aIl the prayers as adhkiir but reserves the term wird to denote the first collection of prayers which is called liizim. It is worth noting that it was this first set of prayers that Shaykh Tijanl was ordered by the Prophet to initiate people into. The other prayers were granted after a while. So for someone to be considered a member of the Tijaniyya order, his or her initiation must inc1ude issuance of the authority to recite the wird60

Sorne proofs advanced in support of the cardinal litanies by adherents of the order are as follows:

53 1) Asking Allah for forgiveness (istighmr). This is supported by numerous

Qur'anic quotations such as 57:21, which states" Be ye foremost in seeking for forgiveness from your Lord" and Qur'an 71:10, which says " Ask forgiveness from your Lord; For He is Oft-Forgiving" to mention only a few. 61 This is then strengthened by sayings of the Prophet.

2) Recitation of Li Iliha Illillih (there is no deity fit to be worshipped but

God). The i}adIth in which it is said that whosoever recites Li Iliha Illillih will enter Paradise62 is used as evidence in support of their daim, along with many other sources besides.

3) Saying Salit 'alâ al-Nam, that is offering prayers to the Prophet. This practice is based on Qur'a OTI:"tij6. which reads "Allah and His Angels send blessings on the Prophet, 0 ye that believe Send ye blessings on him and salute him With aIl respect,,,63 and on the Prophetie saying "Whoever offers one prayer on my behalf Allah will offer ten on his behalf; if he makes ten, Allah will match it with one hundred for him; if he makes it one hundred Allah will match it with one thousand times; if he makes a thousand, he will enter Paradise shoulder-to- shoulder with me,,,64 as weIl as other evidential i}adIth.

In the case of invocation of prayer to the Prophet there exist different versions ofthis prayer, the most recommended one being the ~aIat al-Fati!).. This is not to say that other formulae are unacceptable; in fact, they are equally so.

The text of this prayer as translated by Abun N a~r is as follows :

o God, bless our master Mo!).ammad, who opened what had been dosed, and who is the seal of what had gone before; he who makes the truth victorious by the Truth, the guide to Thy straight path, and bless his

54 household as is the due of his immense possession and grandeur. 65

According to Abun Nasr, the above prayer as believed by the Tijanls to have been delivered from he aven to Shaykh Mol}ammad al-Bakri (1492-1542) on

a tablet of light, which could be read from either side. In the case of A4mad al-

Tijanl, the Prophet informed him of its potency in attracting forgiveness from

Allah; hence his decision to integrate it into his wird The merits accruing to his recitation form part of the central belief system of this order, since this

information was passed to A4mad al-Tijanl by the Prophet himself.66

The third and final rite is the J;acJra or dhikr (séance), observed only on

Fridays. A while after a~r prayer, the wazllà is recited and then the séance. The

istighf8r is recited three times and $aliit al-FiitiJ; three .times; these are then

followed by repetition of Lii 11iiha 111iilliih (Hailala) a thousand and one hundred

times, if spoken by an individual, but an unspecified number of times, if recited

in a group.67

55 1 A Dagbani phrase meaning "those who see God." In faet it is a derogatory term that their opponents the Wahhabis use in referring to them. 2 M. Hiskett, The Development ofIslam in West AiHca (New York: Longman, 1984) 256. 3 Charles C. Stewart, "The Tijaniyya in Ghana: A Historieal Study"(unpublished M.A. thesis, University of Ghana, 1965) 26. /'- 4 Ibid., 29. 5 Ibid., 30. 6 Ibid., 31. 7 Ibid., 34. 8 John N. Paden, Religion and Political Culture in Kano (Berkley:University ofCalifonia Press, 1973) 69. 9 Clarke, West Africa, 207. 10 M. Hiskett, "The'Community of Graee," African Language Studies 17(1980) 100. Il A modem Muslim organisation that originated in the Indian sub-eontinent. It derives its appellation from the name ofits founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (d.1908). 12 Stewart, "The Tijaniyya," 50. I3 This is the name by whieh the opponents of the Tijaniyya are known. It is an Arabie word, whieh means rejeeters. They are also reffered to as Wahhabis. 14 This is another name by which members of the Shaykh Ibrahim Niass braneh of the Tijaniyya are known. 15 Hiskett. "The Community, " 115-116. 16 Jamil M. Abun-Nasr, The Tijaniyya: A Sufl Order in the Modem World(London: Oxford University Press, 1965) 51. 17 Ibid. 18 Ibid., 35. 19 Ibid., 39. 20 Ibid., 46. 21 Ibid., 53. 22 M. Abdallah, al-Fat1} al-RabbanJ fi ma Yafttiîju ilayhi al-Murld al- Tijiïni. (Cairo:' Abdul I:Iamld A4mad I:Ianafi,n.d.) 10. 23 Ibid. 24 Ibid., 11. 25 Ibid. 26 Ibid. 27 Ibid. 28 Ibid., 12. 29 Ibid., 30 Ibid., 13. 31 Ibid. 32 Ibid. 33 Ibid. 34 Ibid.

56 35 Hans Wehr, DictionaryofModem WrittenArabic(N.Y.1960) 324. Tarbiyaaccording to Wehr literally means education, upbringing, teaching, or instruction. 36 'Ali Harazim ibn al-'Arabl al-Barradah, Jawihiral-ma'inJ, (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al­ 'Ilmiyya, 1997),23. 37 'Umar b. Sa'1d al-Füt1, Kitib al-RlmilJ lfizb al-Ra1}Im 'ali Nuhur hizb al-RajÎm (Beirut: 1927) 132-3. 38 Hiskett, "The Community" 100. 39 Louis Brenner, West African Suti, The Religious Heritage and Spiritual Search of Cemo Bokar Saalif Taal (Berkeley: University of Califomia Press 1984) Ill. 40 Barrada, Jawihir, 1:122. 41 Futi, Kitab al-RimilJ ,2:40. 42 Hiskett, "The Community," 101. 43 1. Paden, Religion and Political Culture in Kano (Berkeley: University of Califomia Press 1973) 130. Note that Paden prefers the Shaykh IbrahIm branch of the Tijiniyyaby that name. 44 Ibid. 45 Shaykh IbrahIm Ibn 'Abdallah, Kashfal-albis(Morroco: Darul Bayda': 1353) 59. 46 Ibid .. , 18. 47 Hiskett , "The Community" 121. 48 Ibid .. , 118. 49 Ibid., 120. 50 Ibid., 119. 51 Barriida,Jawahir, 5:40. 52 Ibid., 40. 53 Abun-Nasr, The Tijaniyya, 50. 54 The most extolled of the Tijanl prayers, so extolled in fact that it cannot be recited after dry ablution. 55 Op.Cit.,51. 56 IbrahIm 'Abdallah SaI, Jawhara al-Kamal fi maqh 'ain al-ijaq sayyid al-Rijiil, (Dakar: al-Sidq wa Sidiqln Press, 2001) 6. 57 Op.Cit., 52. 58 Ibid., 53. 59 Ibid. 60 Brenner, West African Suti, 193. 61 Abdullah Y. Ali (trans.), The Holy Qur'an, revised edition (Delhi: Adams Publishers, 1996) 727. 62 http//www.geocite.comiAthens/9189/approach.htmlp. 3 of5. (04/1012001). 63 Ibid. 64 Ibid. 65 Abun-Nasr, The Tijaniyya, 51. 66 Ibid., 51. 67 Ibid., 53.

57 CHAPTER THREE

1. THE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE TUANIYYA

ORDER IN DAGBON SETTING

Süfi orders, like any other form of organization, have their owned estabHshed structures within which members operate. The character of these organizational structures, like their corresponding rites and rituals, sets the orders apart from mainstream Islamic groups or other paraUe1 or oppositional orders. For both insiders and outsiders then, the organizational structures define the nature of the administration of the orders. Inasmuch as the orders may share the same ideology, commonality of faith and saints, these structures tend to vary across geographic regions. For instance the Süfi orders in North Africa, which is the focus of Trimingham's comprehensive study,lshow certain details of organizational structure that differ in many ways from the Tijaniyya version in

West Africa, including Northern Ghana, which is the focus ofthis study.

The question of whether to classify Süfi orders as organizations or associations applies equally to the Tijaniyya in Tamale. Micheal Gilsenan in his

Saint and Sufi in Modem Egypt writes,

We shaU regard an organization as possessing a high degree of internaI stratification on the basis of differential expertise and/or efficiency. There is greater structural recognition of functional inequality, and a set of over-all, formally articulated controls with an established system of sanctions and force through a hierarchy of authority statuses. These statuses and their concomitant roles are weIl defined, as are the values, aims, and functions of the organization, and the means, which are adapted towards the fulfillment of these aims. Holders of positions will usually be full-time and salary professionals,

58 He then tends to differentiate it from an association. He adds

[The meaning of] ... associations is differentiated from the above chiefly by degree of stress. It turns to looseness of structure with a minimal development of a status hierarchy. The voluntary, often egalitarian, nature of the individual's commitment is characteristic, together with a less development division of functions and of authority. OfficiaIs are appointed for reasons of administrative convenience and are often unpaid and part-time. The patterns of values and norms is more diffuse, as, relatively speaking, the specific aims ofthe association. We also find a less elaborate defined system of sanctions.3

For Gilsenan, the ~ufi order can be placed midway between an organization and an association due to the fact that it embodies elements of both. The Tijaniyya in Tamale, as will be seen later, likewise has characteristics ofboth but is more of an association than an organization.4

The membership of the Tijaniyya order in Tamale is largely constituted of ordinary people, who form the majority in the order. For this reason, in my discussion of the organizational structure of the movement, 1 will start by describing those who occupy the lowest stratum of the hierarchy: the discples

(murlds).

II. Discipleship (Muiids)

It is the novices of the order that undergo steady and graduaI spiritual training and guidance, which leads to their elevation to the higher ranks of the order. It is therefore pertinent to outline the conditions of membership before proceeding with the discussion. The conditions are as follows:

59 1. The Shaykh who transmits the adhkar should be authorized to do so by proper initiation (talqln) from the founder or by someone who has been properly authorized to do so. 2. Those who seek initiation must free themselves from the wird of any other shaykh, which may have been required of them, and abandon such wird and never retum to it. 3. One must not visit any saint living or dead (implying that the disciple is bound to the one shaykh who has initiated him). 4. One must seek to observe the five daily E!ayers in a group and to fulfill the requirements of the Shari' ah. 5. One must ceaselessly love the shaykh until his death, and one must love the successor (Khalifa) to the shaykh and aIl that, which was close to the shaykh, such as his chosen followers and his directives, in the same way that one loved the shaykh. 6. One must not think that he is secure from the ruses of God. 7. One must not express any insult, hatred, and animosity towards the shaykh. 8. One should persevere with wird until deat~ 9. One must maintain a firm belief [in the !ariqa]. 10. One must remain free from aIl blame-worthy acts. Il. A disciple should be properly authorized to recite the dhikr through a genuine initiation (talqJn) by someone who has received a genuine authorization from the founder or from another authorized person. 12. One must gather in a group for [the recitation of] the wa~1fa and for the recitation (dhikr) of the hailala on Fridayaftemoon. 13. One must not recite the jawharat al-kamil without performing the ritual ablution with water. 14. One must refrain from any activities which might result in the rupture of good relations between himself and his feIlow-men, ~nd especially between himself and his brothers in the !ariqa. 15. One must not be negligent of the wird, such as delaying it from its proper time, except for good cause. 16. One must not presume to bestow the wird without a genuine authorization to do so. 17. One must respect everyone who has been affiliated w!!h the shaykh, especially the eminent members of the !ariqa.

60 18. [For the recitation of the dhikr] one must be concemed for the cleanliness of one's clothing and one's person; 19. One must be concemed for the cleanliness of the place where one is sitting; 20. One must sit and face the qibla unless one is traveling, one is very close to the ka'ba, or one is in a group; 21. And one must refrain from speaking [words other than the dhikr] unless absolute1y necessary. 22. If one is able, one should envision the image of the founder before him from the beginning of the dhikr until its end, one should seek assistance from him. And what is preferable to that, and more beneficial, more exalted and more accomplished, is to envi sion the Prophet. 23. One should calI to rnind the meanings of the formulations of the dhikr if any is able to understand them. 5

As already mentioned, the novice (murId) is at the lowest stratum of the hierarchy. Each and every order has its own "system of rites," which usuaBy contains two distinguishing features: the first is the initiation rites, and the second, the collection of rules and regulations binding the novice. The importance of the initiation rites is that the novice is taught the esoteric prayers and litanies of the order, or perhaps more importantly, is conferred a portion of the divine grace (baraka) of the founder. It is the status of the murId at the instant of joining the order that deterrnines the type of ritual he has to perform, that is, whether he is joining as a lay member or a professional. This stratification is believed to be peculiar to brotherhoods like the Isawiyya and

Sanüsiyya.6

From my observation of the Tijaniyya in Tamale, this stratification is non-existent. Normally when an itinerant shaykh or muqaddam visits the town a night sermon is organized for him. In this sermon he talks about the benefits of the brotherhood and invites people to join it. Those who accept the caB are given

61 sorne brief guidance and counseling by the preacher. The muqaddam officiaIly perforrns the initiation by reciting sorne secret prayer, and ends it by as king the novice to acknowledge his or her acceptance. He then closes the sermon with a number of prayers and gives each novice a handshake. In sorne instances the novices are given prayer beads. The murld is furthermore encouraged always to perforrn the wa?ifa in public. This is the litany said after the Maghrib prayers.

The rites that he observes alone, on the other hand are the rnorning liizim, which is performed after the rnorning prayer, and the late afternoon liizim, which is recited after a$r prayer. The novice, as outlined in the conditions for mernbership, has to attend congregational prayers regularly. His consistency will be a sign of his ability to take upon himself additional prayers, which consist

mainly in sorne special litanies of the brotherhood.

Having been initiated into the order the murld is under the constant,

direct surveillance of the shaykh, or sometimes the deputy of the shaykh caIled

the muqaddam. The deputy observes aIl that the murld does with a critical eye

and tries to grade him. Those who are constant in their duties and responsibilities

are noted. Later, they are given extra litanies in addition to the initial ones that

they already go by. An incrernent in litanies implies advancement on the part of

the novice to the next station (maqiim) of the ~iifi ranks, which is the rank of

muqaddam.

The murlds are the most densely populated rank in the Tijaniyya order in

Tamale. As a distinct group they aIl have roles to play within the organization.

62 In the first place they are obliged to serve those in the upper hierarchy of the order, namely the shaykh and the muqaddam. In instances where the shaykh or the muqaddam has a farm, it is the dut Y of the murlds to make sure that aU the farm work is done. This may entail tillage of the land, harrowing, seeding and weeding, and ultimately harvesting the crop. If the shaykh or muqaddam possesses lifestock it is the murlds that will take care of their grazing and milking. Similarly, if the shaykh or the muqaddam is a businessman, it is the murld that will run the business on his behalf. This arrangement in Tamale has created and nurtured a strong sense of veneration of the muqaddams and shaykhs, while at the same time serving as a recipe for religious confliet.

Secondly, the murld has to maintain a high moral character. In other words, any words and actions that might draw him into sin should be guarded against. Typical ex amples are committing sins, doing wrong, and gossiping. If these things are not avoided, people may be discouraged from joining the organization. Gossip, for instance, once started, will end up tearing apart any institution. This provision has given the Tijaniyya in Tamale a united front; indeed, it is looked up to as a force to reckon with in the event of crisis. This became manifest when the Al].madiyya movement was about to be introduced in

Tamale and Wa the capital town of the upper west region; it was the Tijaniyya that led the struggle against it, and succeeded. 7

Thirdly, the murld should be ever ready to extend the hand of assistance to those in the organization who are in need. For instance if his fellow murld or shaykh needs financial assistance, and it is within his capacity, he has quickly to

63 give it. 8 The adherents of the Tijaniyya in Tamale can be observed to be very generous in both religious and social matters. On matters pertaining to marri age and naming they are seemingly extravagant.

Fourthly, the murld has to lead an exemplary life for others to emulate.

He aiso has to be a source of inspiration and encouragement for others to follow suit.

Fifthly, it is expected of the murldthat he exhibit readiness to cooperate and help the needy. He has to pay visits to the sick among them and make contributions to the common fund for the benefit of aIl and sundry.

The murlds, ev en as they take on these responsibilities and constantly recite their litanies, are being observed. In the words of Micheal Gilsenan "in theory, he [murldJ has absolute obligations of obedience in any and every area of his life over which the murshid (guide) chooses to exercise (usually through the khaJJfa) his authority; in practice, the comprehensiveness is limited by non­ assertion of the claim to authority (influenced by situational factors) over a wide range of actions.,,9

III. Deputy of the Shaykh (Muqaddam)

The murlds that show progress have their litanies increased. From time to time questions are put to them in respect of the oneness of God (tawhld) and the true identity of the Prophet Mu4ammad, Shaykh AÇ.mad TIjanl and other leaders of the order. These questions prompt the murld to enter into a state of meditation. After a while, if he is able to respond correctly, he is said to have

64 gone through gnosis (wusiïl). Thereafter this murld is now e1evated to the rank of muqaddam. He now a1so possesses the authority to authorize the entry of others into the order. As an official, declared muqaddam he is obliged to recite even more adhkiir, and still more will be required of him until he attains the position of a khallfa. With regard to the muqaddam it is the shaykh himself who gives adhkar, for he is the spiritua11eader and guide.

For the shaykh, having a khallfà is reassuring, for he knows now that after him there is someone to take over the mantle. The muqaddam in this setup a1so has his responsibility. In the first place he is the intermediary between the shaykh and the murId AU orders and pronouncements that come from the shaykh have to pass through the muqaddam to the murid

Moreover, the muqaddam acts as the deputy of the shaykh in aU matters affecting the order. Instances can arise where the shaykh is unab1e to take up certain duties, and he delegates these duties to a muqaddam, his deputy. For ex ample the Friday haqra (séance) is 1ed by the shaykh but in the event of his absence the deputy takes over. Under certain circumstances the shaykh can be present in a gathering, but he will direct the muqaddam to deliver a particu1ar sermon. These are aIl in a bid to give the deputy the right exposure. This a1so gives members of the order the chance to eva1uate their future shaykh. For example, after dhikr he may be called upon by the shaykh to give a ta1k on a specifie topic. This puts the shaykh in a position to know the depth of the muqaddam 's know1edge.

65 The muqaddam 's position with respect to the shaykh is that of a subordinate to a superior. He is always at the service of the shaykh when and where his services are needed. With his own peers he is among equals. They are always ready to assist one another when the need arises. They render mutual respect to one another. When they are with one another the level of their conversation is high; if a murld happens to be around he will find it difficult to understand them, for the terminology and metaphors used will not be familiar to the murId On the other hand, when the muqaddam is among the rank and file of murlds, he looks upon them as brothers and offers them due respect. In talking to them the vocabulary is adjusted to the level ofunderstanding of the murld

The Tijaniyya in Dagbon has produced many muqaddams. The people there call them shaykhs. It will be appropriate to take a brief look at the few of them and their activities within the order.

1. Al-ijajj Abdulai-Baba Gomda - Yendi

The grandparents of al-ijajj Abdulai-Baba Gomda settled in Yendi, in the nineteenth cent ury, where his parents and he himself were born and bred. His

father, a local authority in the Islamic faith, gave him out to 'Umar of Karachi for studies. 'Umar was a man of wisdom and had a good number of students.

Baba Gomda studied with 'Umar Qur'an commentary, I:Iad1th and Fiqh. In later life he acquired much wealth, which he used to build many mosques and also help in the completion of others, especially in Yendi and Tamale. On becoming a muqaddam he introduced many people to the brotherhood. He also traveled

66 extensively just to propagate the religion and the Tijaniyya brotherhood, of which he was an authentic member until his death. He in fact led several delegations to Tamale. His activity may be dated mainly to the 1940s, on the basis of a statement by al-ijajj Dauda Mu~lafa Adabiyyah who went from Salaga to settle in Tamale in 1946. 10

2. Shaykh Alhassan N~ir al-Dm

Shaykh Alhassan Na~ir al-Dln was initially schooled at Zeng and later

left for Kumasi to continue his studies with al-ijajj Gariba Hakeem; he also had

the chance to study with al-ijajj 'Umar of Karachi. Observing his commit ment

and efforts while in Kumasi, his teacher asked him to join him for further studies

with his superior Mallam Awudu Dantanu in Kumasi.

Shaykh Na~ir al-Dln was apparently an unforgettable figure, who used to

travel to aIl the towns and villages - especiaIly in Dagbon -- to preach, teach and

caIl people to the brotherhood. Because of his contributions and achievements,

he gained the title "Na~ir al-Dln" from Shaykh IbrahIm Niass. It was he who

encouraged Niass to visit Dagbon. He also produced scholars like Shaykh Tahir

of Zogbeli and al-ijajj Mahammadu Billa-Changni. 11

3. Al-I:I8jj 'Umar Karachi

His complete name was 'Umar Ibn Abl Bakr Ibn 'Uthman, al-Kabaw1. 12

Known to have taught many Tijanl scholars in the first half of the twentieth

cent ury 13 , al-ijajj 'Umar was famous for emphasizing the importance of the

67 leaming and teaching of the Holy Qur'iin and I:Iadith. During his era, he was among the leaders of the Muslim community in Ghana. As a muqaddam, he commanded respect from all quart ers. 14

4. Al-ij:ajj AbübakI Zeng

Shaykh Bawah (Zeng) was the father of al-I:Iiijj Abübakr. He studied

Qur'iin commentary, 4adith and fiqh from his father. On becoming a muqaddam he introduced many people into the brotherhood. He was in charge of Nanton,

Zeng and its surrounding villages. He was a member of the brotherhood throughout his life until he passed away in the early 1970s. He was a man of princip les and was much involved in Tijiiniyya activities. Though modest, he contributed much to the development of the Tijiiniyya. One ofhis children, who is himself testimony to his contribution, is Shaykh Abdul-Raheem Abübakr of

Zogbeli. 15

5. Shaykh al-ij:iijj T8hir Zogbeli

Shaykh Tiihir Zogbeli studied at Kumasi with Mallam Awudu Dantanu, after which he came to Tamale to further his studies with Shaykh Nii~ir al-Dln.

Mallam Awudu Dantanu never followed any tarJqa but he did not advise against the practice. His pupils were aU members of this brotherhood.

His father was Shaykh Issah, who excelled in grammar. Shaykh Tiihir studied the Qur'iin from his father and later moved on to Shaykh Nii~ir al-Dln together with Yidana Dauda of Nanton. He was a muqaddamwho established an

68 Arabie school. He had a number of scholars to his credit and introduced many people to the Islamic religion and the Tijaniyya brotherhood in particular.

Before his death, he was the commander in chief in Zogbeli and more than two thirds of the population in Zogbeli belonged to this brotherhood. He also studied

Qur'anic commentary, fiqh and the 4adith. Through his efforts, this brotherhood gained much ground in the Zogbeli community.16

6. Shaykh Hamzah Muntaka

Shaykh Harnzah Muntaka championed the course of this brotherhood after returning from Nigeria. He was aiready proficient in the Qur'iin when his father died. He was sent to Nigeria where he studied the Qur'iin, tafsir ,4adith, fiqh and grammar. Before his death in the year 2001, he was the "lifeline" of the brotherhood, for though he was young he was blessed with much wisdom.

Shaykh Harnzah Muntaka made sorne innovations in the brotherhood and for that matter made it interesting and fashionable for youth in particular to embrace this brotherhood. He spent so much of his wealth on its activities that he was sometimes referred to as the coordinat or of the brotherhood. By the time of his death, he had traveled to many towns and countries to propagate the Tijaniyya, including Burkina-Faso, Nigeria, Senegal (Kaolack) and almost aIl the districts in the northern region and Ghana as a whole. He was second to none in terms of contributions to this brotherhood till he passed away.17

69 IV. The Shaykh

Local adherents of the Tijaniyya in Tamale use the term shaykh very loosely. Most often, the term is used to refer to the muqaddams who are the deputies of the leader of the order. In reality~ the term Shaykh is applied to the latter, who is the existing kha/Jfa of the founder of the order. The term was in fact long used in reference to Shaykh IbrahIm Niass of Kaolack, Senegal. He was seen and regarded as the spiritual head of the order, the "succor of the age," and a link between the murld and Allah.

Shaykh Ibr31iim Niass of Kaolack, Senegal

1. His Genealogy and Birth

Shaykh al-I:Iajj IbrahIm Niass was the son of al-Hajj 'Abdallah, who was in turn the son of Mudhimabbi son of Bakrl son of Mu1}ammad al-Amln son of

Sanbi. He was born in the year 1320/1900, in a village named Taiba-Niassene in

Senegal. His mother 'Aisha was of Senegalese birth, just as was his father. 18

According to Shaykh 'Aliyyu Sisse, who heard it from Shaykh Abu Bakr

(Sirrunbay), who heard from 'Aisha, mother of Shaykh IbrahIm Niass, during the first month of her pregnancy with Shaykh IbrahIm, she dreamt that she was standing on something and that below her was a well. Above her, towards the

East, she saw the moon split into two and faU upon her. 19

According to Leonardo A. Villalon, a story is told of the visit to

'Abdallah Niass (while yet a young man with no significant following) and his new wife 'Aisha by the marabout Thierno Alioune Deme. Due to their limited

70 resources, 'Aisha had to seek help from their neighbors to enable her to give a good reception to their gue st and obtained a chicken for their meal. Realizing the difficulties that his visit had caused them, Deme expressed his appreciation to

Niass for his hospitality and predicted that he would be blessed with a son who would be a great man. This son should be given the name IbrahIm after the prophet IbrahIm. The Deme family therefore claims a degree of credit for

IbrahIm Niass's greatness, implicitly laying claim to some ofhis baraka. 20

It was Ibrahlm's father Shaykh al-Hajj 'Abdallah Niass who provided his primary education. He was taught to recite the Qur'an according to the system of

Warsh, who had in tum preserved the system of Nafi 'u. He thus memorized the

Qur'an at a tender age. He studied other disciplines from his father, who also introduced him into the tarlqa when he was still young. He then began broadening his knowledge and seeking more acquaintance with contemporary disciplines until he became a fountain of knowledge, from whom many benefited. 21

Villalon relates that the Niass family of Kaolack is one of the two families in Senegal that have established themselves as the primary representatives ofthe Tijaniyya in that country today.22

Al-ijajj 'Abdallah Niass (ce.1850 - 1922), a Wolof cleric, established his branch of Tijaniyya in Saloum, in the town of Kaolack. Originally a blacksmith, this low-caste profession does not seem, according to Villalon, to have limited his ability to attract adherents. The family had several generations of clerics and

71 developed a reputation for erudition in the Islamic sciences and mastery of

Arabic. 23

2. His Ascent to the Post of Shaykh

Shaykh A4mad al-Tijanl said that at the end of time, when people will be

faced with tremendous difficulties, a spiritual flood (faycJ) will descend upon one

of his companions or followers, who will then lead people into the Tijaniyya

.tariqa in large flocks. From the time of this utterance up to the appearance of

Shaykh Ibrahlm, many disciples have laid claim to having received this spiritual

flood, among them Shaykh 'Umar al-Futl, Shaykh Mu4ammad al-Hafi~ al-Tijanl

and Shaykh 'Abdallah al-Shar1f al-Shinglt1. 24

In the case of Shaykh 'Abdallah al-Shar1f al-Shingltl, however, he heard a

voice, that made it perfectly clear to him that he was not possessed of the fayq

but rather that it had been bestowed on someone who had emerged in Senegal.

There and then he set off to Senegal, searching the homes of Tijaniyya khallfas

one after the other, but could not discover him. Just as he was ready to return to

Mauritania after a fruitless search he had an inspiration (ilhim) to go into a

mosque and ask for guidance in achieving his goal. He then apparently had a

vision that night, in which a voice told him to look to the sky and behold a bright

light. Then he was instructed to follow it. He exited the mosque and followed it

till it took him to 'Abdallah Niass's home. He waited until dawn when Shaykh

'Abdallah Niass came out, and then narrated the episode to him. He made it

72 known to Shaykh 'Abdallah Niass that the object of his quest was not he himself but a young boy in his house. 25

After the morning prayer and meal, Shaykh 'Abdallah Niass called his children one after the other until Shaykh IbrahIm was identified as the person in question. Shaykh 'Abdallah al-Shadf cautioned the boy's father to keep it a secret until the time came for his appearance. Upon his return to Mauritania he notified all his own children of this boy and warned them to keep it secret until

the latter had emerged on the scene. He ordered them to be among the first to declare their faith in him.26

It was not long before Shaykh 'Abdallah Niass died (1922). His friend

Shaykh 'Abdallah ai-Shingiti came to Senegal for his funeral, and asked to be put up in a building with a thatched roof. Coincidentally, Shaykh IbrahIm was living there aIready, so his eIder brother, the new Kha/Ha, made him his guest. In the middle of the night, after a long conversation, the visiting Shaykh revealed to

Shaykh IbrahIm the truth of his impending position, but that he should keep it a

secret until his (Shaykh 'Abdallah al-ShingItI's) demise, after which he could reveal himself. Exactly four years after this event Shaykh 'Abdallah ai-Shingiti passed away in the month of Rabi' al-Awwal. This coincided with the

celebration of the birth of Prophet Mu4ammad being held at Kaolack. Usually on

such occasions it was Shaykh IbrahIm that recited the poems in praise of the

Prophet, while his elder brother narrated the life story of the Prophet. On this

memorable celebration Shaykh IbrahIm unceremoniously declared hirnself the

khaDfa of Shaykh Ahmad Tijani by saying loudly,

73 Oh people, he who wants Shaykh Tijani or his grandfather Mu4ammad, peace be upon him, should come to me. This day 1 am the Khalifa of ai-Tijani a gift from AJ}.mad al-Adnan. 27

He then followed it up with the following verses,

He who loves me shall surely see me or be with me in the garden of Firdaws for this Day 1 am the khaIJfa of al-TijanI, a gift from AJ}.mad al-Adnan ...... etc. 28

After this utterance thrill ran through the spines of those present, and at first there was complete silence. Then sorne began to repeat his saying and it echoed in the minds of others. Eventually his elder brother Mu4ammad khalifa asked IbrahIm what was wrong with him. He responded that there was nothing wrong. The brother said that he suspected madness, but Shaykh IbrahIm denied it. Mu4ammad khalifa there and then called for assistance from those who could cure such a sickness. Thisled to a scene of pandemonium and the celebration ended in mayhem. Thus began the graduaI revealing of Shaykh IbrahIm's khalifahood. 29

From this point onwards he faced strong opposition from his brothers and their allies. He was soon forced to immigrate with his small group of followers to a place called Kusa, a village near Kaolack, which he later named the new city of

Kaolack. The enmity towards him grew to the extent that his brother

Mul].ammad reported him in a letter ta the then inspector general of police (IGP), who was a French expatriate. In it he stated that a man named IbrahIm Niass, was causing trouble and dissension among their people. He pointed out that they had exiled him, but that he had continued his clandestine activities, attracting

74 füllowers from near and far. Finally, he invited the police to corne and arrest

IbrahIm Niass in Kusa and thereby put a stop to his movement before it grew out of proportion.

The letter had the desired effect. A police squad was irnrnediately dispatched to pick him up, and it arrived to find him amidst his students teaching

and disseminating knowledge. He was invited to the police headquarters at

Dakar. The students at first wanted to resist but he calmed them down adding that it was in effect Shaykh Aqmad Tijani who was inviting him.30

At the headquarters the inspector general himself interrogated him. On hearing Shaykh IbrahIm Niass' answers, the inspector tumed to his colleagues

and asked them for their opinions on the responses they had heard. Their response was that he was innocent and simply a victim of hatred and jealousy.

Shaykh IbrahIm was thereupon released and a letter was irnrnediately sent to

Mul~arnrnad al-Khalifa by the inspector general. It stated that the said Ibâihim

Niass had been interrogated but was found to be innocent. Hence in the event of

any trouble or chaos Mul}arnrnad Khalifa himself and his followers would be held responsible. On reading this, the latter declared that the inspector general had been charmed by IbrahIm Niass.31

This incident was one of many that Shaykh IbrahIm faced both from within and without his following. At this point it would be useful to look at his

achievements and impact within the West African sub-region and the wider

Tijaniyya fratemity as a whole.

To begin with, Roman Lomeier states that,

75 Being a notably more dynamic and charismatic personality than his brother, Mu1).ammad, IbrahIm Niass rapidly succeeded in winning over a large part of the Niass clan and its followers. He underscored his claim to the leadership of the Niassenes in 1930 when he gave up the 2 practice of sadi . .•.

This move was to symboliz6the break with the other branches of the Tijaniyya in Senegal, a clear and emphatic demonstration of his adherence to a greater Islamic world where qabd and not sadI was the dominant practice.33

The publication ofhis major programmatic work under the title Kiishifa1-

I1biis 'an Fayejah a1-Khatam AbJ a1- 'Abbiis (The Exposer of the Yeils of

Overflowing Grace of the Seal of Abi al-'Abbas), in which he explains among other things his concept of spiritual education (a1-tarbiya a1-IbriihJmiyya a1-

Tijiiniyya), established his reputation as a scholar. This concept attracted criticisms from other religious scholars, including Abübakar Gumi of Nigeria in

1964. Niass re~ponded to the criticism with a treatise entitled Ijiibiit a1-Fatwii

(Answers to the Legal Opinion) in which he refuted allegations that the concept was bid'a, arguing that it existed even in the Prophet's era. Furthermore, he said that the prerogative of the determining right and wrong belongs to Allah alone. 34

Clarke tells us that in 1937 IbrahIm Niass undertook a pilgrimage to

Mecca, where, on meeting the Emir of Kano, 'Abdulahi Bayero, this latter accepted him as the Savior of the Age. On his return Niass traveled to Fas where the serving khalifa (leader) of the Tijaniyya there, Shaykh Sukayrij, gave an indication that he should take over leadership of the Tijaniyya. With this green light, IbrahIm Niass commenced sending his representatives all over West Africa to win converts and recognition as Savior of the Age. This is said to have

76 brought him a large following in Nigeria, particularly in Kano and the northem territories, but also among people from los, Lafia, Makurdi, Lokoja, Ibadan,

Lagos, Enugu, Onitsha, Afikpo, Nouka and Benin. He is said to have attracted followers in many other West African states, including Ghana, Guinea

(Conakry), the Gambia, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Togo, Upper Volta and Mali.

Followers from all these countries went to Medina-Kaolack where they

underwent initiation into the brotherhood before retuming home as muqaddams

or local leaders of the Tijaniyya?S

Clarke attributes his widespread support to the factor of cultural nationalism. He explains himself by stating " it was not an assertion that black people were better because they were black, but rather an assertion in terms of religion, and by extension ofpolitics, that there can be no color bar." For sorne of

those who accepted his claim to be the Savior of the Age, they saw in him the

black person who was uniquely favored and endowed by God in that era.36

Most of his teachings and philosophies were in conformity with

contemporary notion. For instance, it was his philosophy that "whatever was in

aid of Islam must be considered good in the light of the Qur'an.,,37 The use of

modem gadgets like radios, tape recorders and microphones to promote religious

activities was encouraged. He is also said to have encouraged active

participation by women and children in religious services.38 His teachings,

according to Clarke, vindicate or justify good fortune by making it clear that

material success is a gift from God. It was also believed that his prayers could

bring material prosperity as well as salvation in the hereafter.39 Above aIl, his

77 disciples believed implicitly that they would gain an immediate entry into 40 paradise without judgment.

He is credited with having revived interest in the acquisition of knowledge in West Africa, especiaUy in the Arabie and Islarnic sciences. This was in a bid to revamp their neglect during the colonial era. He is quoted as having told his foUowers in Kano, " we must confine ourselves to knowledge concerning Islam, for aU civilisation can be found in the knowledge of Islam ....

Western education is doing more harm than good and rnight destroy our spiritual beliefs in the very near future.,,41

Roman Loimeier draws attention to the fact that Niass won a reputation in the 1950s not only as leader of the most powerful religious mass movement in

West Africa but also as a leading representative of an Islamic policy of Tajdid in

Senegal. Based on this connection and by the virtue ofhis position as a leader of the strongest religious movement in West Africa, Niass was accepted as founding member of the 'fundamentalist', pro-Saudi Rabi!at al-'Alam al-Islam!

(Islamic World League) which had been created in Mecca in 1962. Niass was a member until his death, despite his ~üfi orientation. Not only did he have affiliations with the Islarnic World League but he also served as a link for his foUowers with the rest of the world through his other international connections and activities.42

Before his death in 1975 he wrote a will in which he made a surprise request. This in fact intentionaUy broke the pattern of direct inheritance. The old order of the eldest son inheriting was subverted by his decision to designate his

78 son-in-Iaw, and Imam of the Medina-Kaolack mosque, al-ijajj Alioune Cisse as his khafifa. 43

To conclude this survey of IbrahIm Niass's life, l cannot do better than

quote Clarke who declares "despite the criticisms, IbrahIm Niass attracted

millions of followers and perhaps did more than anyone else to popularise the

teaching of Tijaniyya in West Africa.,,44

The shaykh in the Tijaniyya order is therefore normally seen as a

spiritual father, whose pupil, or murld, acts on his opinion and guidance. As

~ufism is linked with purification and curing of the heart, the shaykh is seen as

the doctor of souls and hearts. He serves as a link between members of the order

and God. In congregational prayers he is a motivator, and in one-to-one contacts with a murldhe is said to possess the ability to see into the heart. AlI these roles were attributed by Tijani adherents to Shaykh IbrahIm Niass (see Appendix II for

a portrait of the latter).

V. The Convent (Zawiya)

The Tijaniyya in Northem Ghana has provided not only for its adherents but also for the entire population the means to obtain education, guidance, work,

training, security, and resources for those involved in trade.

The sense of community belongingness is manifested in the numerous

zawiya (convents) that have sprang up with it. The Tamale Municipality has many zawaya. These zawaya are a community under the Shaykh, and are

spiritually linked to one another. The muqaddams of the various zawaya who act

79 as its head foster its attachment to the "mother zawiyà' or headquarters of the order at both the local and international levels. Currently Kaolack in Senegal is being regarded as the international headquarters. Within Tamale Municipality there are about eighty-eight recognized zawaya but sorne do exist outside these numbers.

The notable ones are,

(i) Zawiya al-I:Iajj Jibril Zakaria Warizehi.

(ii) Zawiya al-I:Iajj 'Abdul-I:Iam1d Changni.

(iii) Zawiya al-I:Iajj Mahammadu Billa Changni.

(iv) Zawiya Sheikh Tahir Issah Zogbeli.

(v) Zawiya al-I:Iajj Adam Issah Aboabo.

(vi) Zawiya al-I:Iajj Sa-adu Sabonjida y oriba Mosque.

(vii) Zawiya al-I:Iajj Baba Repairer Moshie Zongo.

(viii) Zawiya al-I:Iajj Adam Ramadan Lamashegu.

(ix) Zawiya al-I:Iajj Mohammudu Panpaku Gumbihini.

(x) Zawiya al-I:Iajj Yakubu Abdallah Gumhihini.

(xi) Zawiya al-I:Iajj Amidu Zongo-Chief ofHausa- Zongo.

(xii) Zawiya al-I:Iajj Ibrahim Lamanga Gumani.

(xiii) Zawiya Kahir - Central Mosque Imam Jami'u.45

In the context of Tamale the zawiya most often refers to masques where members of the Tijaniyya congregate to offer their daily prayers and daily and

Friday litanies. The adherents are given their religious guidance and training in the se mosques.

80 Attached to these mosques are schools. These schools used to be solely pursuing only religious curriculum but with the introduction of the Islamic education unit, govemment introduced secular curriculum into the schools. This new development has raised the percent age of literacy in the area. During the night the adults use the premises for the adult literacy classes. The North is an area weIl known for its high illiteracy rate. Therefore with the latest development, the credit goes to the proprietors of these schools who are largely the muqaddamsofthe Tijaniyya order.

The zawiiyii are used as community centers. It is here that marri age ceremonies, wedding, baby naming and celebration of the birthday of the

Prophet is being performed.

81 11. Spencer, Trimingham, The Sufl Orders ofIslam (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1971) 166. 2 Michael, Gilsenan, Saint and Sufl in Modem Egypt (Oxford: Claredon Press, 1973) 65. 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid. 5 Louis Brenner, West AfTican Sufl (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984) 195- 4. ~/ , tJ Jenkins, R.G. "The Evolution of Religious Brotherhood in North and Northwest Africa 1523-1900" in The Cultivators ofIslam, ed. John Ralph Willis (London: Frank Cass, 1979) 1:53. 7 Charles C. Stewart, "The Tijaniyya in Ghana: An Historical Study."(unpublished M.A. thesis: University of Ghana, 1965.) 51. 8 Gilsenan, Saints and Sufl, 88. 9 Ibid., 87. 10 Correspondence interview with Hajj Dauda Mustapha Adabiyya, Tamale, 21 st July 2001. IICorrespondence interview with Hajj Mahammadu Billa-Chagni, Tamale, 20th July 2001. 12 Talhatu Musapha, "An Histriographical Study of Four Works of AI-I:Iajj 'Umar Ibn Ab! Bakr."(unpublished M.A. thesis: Mc Gill University, 1970.) 32. 13 Ibid., 40. 14 Correspondence interview with Hajj Mahammadu Billa-Chagni, Tamale, 20th July 2001. 15 Ibid. 16 Ibid. 17 Correspondence interview with Hajj Dauda Mustapha adabiyya, Tamale 22nd July 2001. 18 AI-Haj Sidi Hamal, "Mukhtasaratun fi Tar1kh Mawlana wa Murniduna wa Qaiduna ila Rabbina al-Shaykh Ibrahim Ibn al-I:Iajj Abdallah Niass al-Senegafi al- Tij an1," (unpublished treatise, Lagos, 1978) 5. 19 Ibid. 2°Villalon Leonardo A. Islamic Society and State Power in Senegal (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) 142 21 Sidi Hamal, "Mukhtasaratun .. ," 6. 22 Villalon, Islamic Society, 67. 23 Ibid., 68. 24 Sidi Hamal, "Mukhtasaratun .. ," 7. 25 Ibid", 8. 26 Ibid., 9. 27 Ibid., 12. 28 Ibid. 29 Ibid., 13. 30 Ibid., 22. 31 Ibid,. 23.

82 32 Roman Loimeier, Islamic Refomls and Political Change in Northem Nigeria (Evanston: Nortwestem University Press, 1997) 30. SadI means to leave one's hands hanging by the sides instead of folding them over the chest when in prayer. 33 Ibid., 35. 34 Ibid., 36. 35 Clarke, Peter B. West Afiica and Islam (London: Edward Arnold Ltd., 1982) 207. 36 Ibid." 208. 37 Ibid. 3R Ibid. 39 Ibid. 40 Ibid. 41 Ibid., 209. 42 Loimeier, Islamic Refoml, 47. 43 Villalon, Islamic Society, 141. 44 Clarke, West Afiica, 209. 45 Correspondence interview al-ijajj .A4mad Hafiz 21/7/01 and 25/7/01].

83 CHAPTERFOUR

1. THE RELIGIOUS, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ROLE OF THE TUANIYY A

IN GHANA AND ITS STRUGGLE WITH

THE WAHHABIYY A ORDER

Tijaniyya influence is predominant in West African Islam and in Ghana

in particular. This assertion is substantiated by the fact that most religious

scholars in Ghana belong to the Tijaniyya brotherhood occupies notable

positions in the community. It therefore cornes as no surprise that, in Tamale,

leadership is monopolised by adherents of the Tijaniyya. The Tamale central

mosque, for example, serves as the centre for the Tijaniyya leadership.

The Tijaniyya Afanema (clerics who can read and write Arabic) play

several roles in Dagbon society, and officiate at events such as weddings, naming

ceremonies, funerals and anniversary celebrations of the birth of the Prophet

MlÙ}.ammad.

1.. Wedding Ceremony

In Dagbon society, the wedding ceremony is a highly regarded event. In

pre-Islamic Dagbon, the ceremony conformed to traditional practice. But with

the advent of Islam, it took on a more Islamic character. Nevertheless, many

tradition al elements were retained, giving rise to accusations from religious

purists that Islamic princip les were being debased. This is often a point of

dispute between the Tij an! Afanema and the Wahhabi Afanema known as

Munchires. They both try to make sure that conditions rendering a marri age

84 valid are followed. These conditions include: proposaI and acceptance from the

male and female partners (ijiïb wa qabul); offering of the bridaI money (mahr);

having the approval of the guardians or parents; and finally, the presence of a

witness. 1

Normally, the marriage ceremony in Dagbon follows a long pro cess

before it is consummated. It begins with the two partners seeing each other and

expressing love for one another. The man sends a delegation led by an Afa to the

woman's family with the consent of the latter, and then follows this. On this first

visit, sorne cola nuts and money are taken along as a gift to the parents of the

woman. This type of visit is repeated a couple of times until consent from the

parents is secured. Then a nod is given for the 1efe to be brought and the mahr be

paid. Lere is the term commonly used in the Muslim communities in Ghana, to

signify the gifts that a bride groom gives to his bride before marri age. 2

The role of the Tijam Afanema becomes clear on the wedding day. The

Afa commences the occasion with a prayer to the Prophet (~a1iït 'a1iï nabl). All

those gathered join in the recitation. He follows this with recitation of the

opening chapter of the Qur'an (Surat a1-FiïtiiJa) and verses that are related to

marriage. Most often Qur'an 4:21 and 24:32-33 are read. The Afa gives a short

sermon, and many traditions of the Prophet on marri age are cited. The bride's

father is asked whether he is willing wholeheartedly to give up his daughter in

marri age to the bridegroom, a question repeated three times in accordance with

Prophetie tradition. If the answer is affirmative, the ceremony continues. The

85 1 officiating Afa then informs those gathered of the agreement of the bride' s

father. 3

The officiating Afa will also ask about the amount of the dowry. This

dowry is negotiable depending on the response of the bride's father. Most often,

the issue of the dowry has already been settled, and is only stated in public in

order to have as many witnesses as possible to the consent of the officiator and

parties involved.4

This ceremony is accompanied by feasting at the homes of both the bride

and the bridegroom. The women of the families traditionally organise drumming

and dancing. This aspect of the ceremony where women feature prominently has

been condernned as un-Islamic by the Munchires. The Tijanl clerics however are

indifferent to this merry-making. Consequently, they are accused of promoting a

traditional practice to the detriment ofthe purely Islamic ceremony.5

2" Naming Ceremony:

The Tijaniyya Afanema play a great role in the naming ceremony of a

child in the Dagbon. This ceremony takes place in the house of the child's father

or in a mosque nearby. The ceremony usually starts at 7am, but can take place

earlier 6r late. Sorne in fact do prefer holding the ceremony immediately after the

moming prayer.

The venue is carefully fumished with chairs and mats, although if the

ceremony takes place in the mosque, only mats and the skins of cows and sheep

are set out. When the presiding Afa arrives, the child's father puts a plate before

86 him full of cola nuts, another piled with maha (local donuts) and sorne money

(the amount depends on the financial capacity of the father). In addition, he hands over a piece of paper bearing the baby's name to the Afa. While this is going on, the local chanter (madaha) recites poems in praise of the Prophet, while people toss money at him in appreciation of his talent. The madaha

occasionally extends his praise to the rich individu aIs present, in order to get

sorne monetary gifts from them.6

The Tijanl Afa commences the ceremony with the recitation of Basmala

(Bismi liïhi raiJmiini raiJlm) This is followed by the formula of the confession of

faith (kalimat al-Shahida); the first chapter of the Qur'an (surat al-FitiiJa) and

other suitable and strong supplications that are recommended. A prayer in

Dagbani follows and the name of the child is announced. If it is a male child

three ululations are made, and for a female, four. This act has been vehemently

condernned by the Munchires as un-Islarnic. Again, however, the Tijanls see

nothing wrong with this act. They justify their stance by saying that the act has

no connection with any known idolatry practice.7

At this juncture the Afa continues with his prayer. A supplication is

offered for long life for the child's parents, grandparents and the child himself.

The prayer also covers those present at the ceremony and those unable to corne.

After the prayer, the Afa shares the money, cola nuts and maha with his

associates. Salifu Abdul describes this ceremony as "a kind of social occasion

whereby the community enjoys the extension of good wishes.,,8

87 This ceremony reaches its climax when the father of the newborn baby

presents a ram for slaughtering, in accordance with Prophetie tradition. A third

of the meat is reserved for the mother, another third is given out as alms, and the

remainder is used in preparing the celebratory feast. 9

3., Funeral Rites

The role-played by the Tijaniyya Afanema in funeral rites is also

significant in the Dagbon social set up. In Muslim communities the death of one

member becomes the concern of aIl. People come to express their sympathies,

offer their condolences and try to help where needed. Both men and women

converge on the bereaved household to share their grief. The men assist in

digging the grave, stitching the burial cloth, partaking in the prayer for the dead

and accompanying the corpse to the graveyard. 10

In a typical Tijaniyya funeral, while the corpse is being washed and

preparations are being made for the burial, the crowd chants the kalimat a1-

Shahiida. This continues until the corpse is brought out for the final funeral

prayer. Before the prayer, the officiating Tijaniyya imam enquires of the people

whether the deceased had any outstanding debts to anyone. If the deceased owed

anything, it becomes the responsibility of the family to pay it. This is done in

conformity with the Prophetie tradition. After the prayer, the chanting continues

until the procession reaches the cemetery, and then stops for the actual burial.

When the corpse is finally laid to rest, the officiating imam prays for the

deceased and the other deceased Muslims. He gives a brief sermon, reminding aIl

88 present that each and everyone shaH surely taste death. He therefore admonishes everyone to keep on doing good deeds, for it is only those deeds that can save a person in the hereafter. The sermon concludes with a prayer, after which the people will then retum to the house of the bereaved family for another prayer

session.

At the house of the deceased, an elaborate prayer session is observed. AH the notable Afanema are requested to recite special prayers for the deceased and the family. They also give short sermons on the theme of death. While the prayer

is going on, people give alms, as king God's forgiveness for the departed souls.

After the prayer, the alms are shared between the officiating Afa and his

entourage.

In Dagbon, there exists a controversy as to what should happen after the

burial ceremony. The Munchires contend that after the burial no other rites

should be performed. The prayer recited on the day of the death and burial is aH

that is necessary. The Munchires for their part go back to the home of the

deceased and announce that there will be no rites afterwards. They instead

appeal to the people for donations, and whatever amount they coHect, they

handover to the bereaved family. However, Tijaniyya adherents insist that sorne

form of organised prayer (dua) should be performed on the third, seventh, and

fortieth days after a Muslim dies. Sorne even extend it to the first

anniversary. llThis constant remembrance of the deceased, they believe, will

attract God's sympathy and forgiveness for the deceased soul.

89 Salifu Abdel describes the third, seventh, and fortieth celebrations as

follow:

On such a funeral celebration the Afanema come in their numbers to offer prayers for soul of the departed. There is usually a leader of the group but each one of them is expected to make a form of dua (prayer). While the prayer goes on moumers and relatives of the deceased pro vide money, which is put in a tray and placed before the officiating Afa. Several moumers come around to give the officiating Afa money to pray for the dead and by the end of the function, a lot of money is collected which is shared among the Afanema. Apart from presenting money, the bereaved family has to present cola nuts, maha and gumba [type of food made of pounded millet used at naming and funeral celebration]. With the tum of this cent ury, other food items are provided by the bereaved family for the function, and these include bread, doughnuts and kose [a type of cake made from bean fiour]. Besides the bereaved family has to prepare food to serve moumers who have come to sympathize with them. 12

Salifu Abdel notes in his thesis that the Tijaniyya Muslims have

introduced the act of decoration the graves of their muqaddams in Dagbon. He

asserts that a visit to the public graveyard in Tamale proves the fact. This

phenomenon began two decades ago. This also became a target of Munchire

censure, directed primarily at the Tijaniyya clergy.13

II. The Phenomenon of Tibbu. (Spiritual Healing)

Trimingham makes an interesting observation that one of the key

characteristics of ~ufi orders (and by extension, the Tijaniyya) is the emphasis on

the power of the ward of God, whence power symbolism basically derive:

The orders stressed the power of the Word of God, and hundreds of booklets have been written on the virtues and

90 properties of the names of God, of phrases like the Basmala, or Qur'anic verses (Ayat al-Kursl) or chapters - Y;- 7 ~ 14 ( sura a SIn).

What is more adherents of the Tijruliyya movement in Dagbon argue that the word can be used for any purpose provided that it is not sinful. They contend that the word of God is part of His gift to mankind, especially those who st rive in the way of Allah through the ~ufi path.

This Tijruliyya interpretation of Islam has opened the avenue for a thriving trade or profession called !ibbu in the local language. 15 Those engaged in tibbu are principally offering assistance of a spiritual nature for the solution of material problems, including medication for ailments, resolution of love and relationship problems, as well as assisting people win political or other favors in their daily endeavors. Tibbu is mostly a Tijaniyya vocation. Locally these professional men are called Afa Tibbrisi. They stay indoors most of the time, and their clients consult them in confidence with their problems. A consultation from a female client is often about winning the attention of the husband in the competitive polygynous home, where she must share the same man with one to three other women. A typical consultation with a businessperson is often about seeking the assistance of the Afa Tibbu to use the word of Allah to assist in the prosperity of his or her business. For the politician, his or her needs are often

about winning elections or political appoint ment. A sportsman or woman may

request the Afa to employ the power of the word to ensure his or her victory in competitions.

91 Another very important category of clients of the Afa Tibbu includes the chiefs or holders of traditional authority. Right to office is determined by birth or blood ties. In the competitive environment of contesting for access to power

and authority, many incumbent and potential chiefs are known to employ the

services of a full time Afa who sometimes doubles as his Imam. Such Afanema

are described as the spiritual warriors of the chiefs, who must use the power of the word to strike down those who are obstacles to the advancement of their

chief.

In aIl of the above scenarios, the Afa is weIl remunerated in the form of

material or monetary gifts. He also has a very high social prestige. This is what

makes it possible for the Afa to have a very strong social influence in the affairs

of Dagbon, ev en in non-religious issues. As a counter force to the religious and

secular influence that the practice of .tibbu has mobilized for the Tijaniyya in

Dagbon, the Munchires, led by Afa Ajura, have mounted a consistent and

virulent campaign again .tibbu and aIl that the Tijaniyya stand for as un-Islamic.

The Munchires have even developed the habit of adopting opposite position on

aU non-religious issues that happen to have a Tijaniyya patronage. One such

issue is national and local political elections as weIl as traditional chieftaincy

contests. Consequently, Dagbon has, over the last six decades, been polarized

between the two camps, even during elections.

Most non-religious social gatherings are often given a Tijaniyya against

Munchire slant, sometimes resulting in outbreaks of violent confrontation, and

even, occasionaIly, in loss of life. The degree of religious schism and the ensuing

92 in bloody conflicts was so high that in 1997, a national conference was he Id in

Tamale to promote tolerance and understanding. 16 The conference, which was held at the instance of the National ChiefImam Shaykh Usman Nuhu Sharubutu, brought together leading politicians, academics, tradition al leaders, regional

imams and local opinion leaders. Almost aIl the speakers touched on the issue of peace and tolerance and the material development of the Muslim in Ghana (for a

contemporary news paper account of the occasion see Appendix III).

At the root of the conflict in Tamale -- and indeed, whichever ~iifi

orders and the intellectuai heirs of Mu4ammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab are at close

quarters -- is the ho st ilitY of Munchirism towards ~iifi practices as a whole. In

the case of Tijaniyya, the Munchires focus mainly on the veneration of the

Shaykh, the initiation rites into the brotherhood (tarbiya), the spreading of the

white cloth during rituals and usage of prayer beads.

Opposition to ~iifi practices and belief systems has been an ongoing

phenomenon from time immemorial as noted by Trimingham. I:IanbaIi hostility

is traced to the attitude of Al).mad I:Ianbal towards al-Muhasibi, as-Sarisaqatl and

their followers. Ibn al-Jawzl (d.597/1200), in his book Talbis Iblis launched a

strong attack against their divergence from the law. Ibn Taymiyya (d.728/1328),

a renowned jurist of Syrian origin, was prominent in the rank of opposition to the

~iifi orders. He released fatwas and treatises in condemnation of eminent ~iifis,

targeting especially their practice of seeking ecstasy through music and dancing,

and their habit of visiting shrines with offerings, vows and invocations, as

contrary to the law. It may be noted however that the above mentioned scholars

93 did not unleash an outright condemnation of Süfism but only denounced things they deemed as illegalities. 17 It will be appropriate at this juncture to outline briefly the Wahhabiyya doctrines, in order to give an insight into its form and nature.

III. Wahhabiyya Doctrines

The cardinal doctrine of Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab is said to be unit Y of God

(Tawl}1d). Around this, other notions like the danger of associating partners with

God (shirk), infidelity (KufT) and the meaning ofjihiidhas developed.

The doctrine of Taw1;1d has been divided into three categories, thus: unit y of lordship, unit y of divinity and unit y of names and attributes. The first category connotes the confession of the oneness of God in His acts in terms of creation, sustenance and providence. However, Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab has asserted that the belief in this alone does not qualify one as a Muslim. This he buttresses by quoting verse 10:32 of the Qur'an, which refers to the Meccan polytheists not being integrated into the community of the believers by the Prophet, even though they had this belief. Instead, the Prophet waged war against them and llegalized the spilling of their blood and taking of their wealth. 18

The second category encompasses profession of belief in God's oneness with respect to His servant's deeds. In other words, prayer of requests, votive offerings and trust should be directed to God and only God alone. The third category covers belief in all God's attributes, as these are literally expressed in the Qur'an and Sunna, and without questioning.

94 The notion of shirj(9 is system expanded and emphasized greatly by Ibn

, Abd al-Wahhab. He classifies it under three major categories: thus the major, the minor and the hidden shirk. Major shirk is subdivided into four, first the shirk of invocation, then the shirk of intention, volition and determination, next the shirkof obedience and finaUy, the shirkoflove.

It is this notion of shirk that brings the Wahhabis and Tijanls into a headlong collision -- especiaUy the shirk of invocation and love, which the

Tijanls are accused of committing. It is the belief of the Wahhabis that praying to, supplicating or invoking anyone other than God is shirk, consequently, worship of the Prophet according to Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab is damnable and tantamount to shirk. He declared that the Prophet is to be obeyed and not worshiped.

Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, based on his conception of the shirk of love - that

is, expression or demonstration of love, which is the prerogative of Allah, to

someone else - saw shirk in the manner in which Christians show their love for

Jesus or sorne Muslims express their love and veneration of prophets and awliya

such as 'Ali. Committers of this sin have heU as their abode in the hereafter,

according to him. Hence, falling into any category of the above is considered as

infidelity (kutr).

Under the vast canopy of what Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhiib considers as shirk

and hence innovation (bid'a), faU such practices as the wearing of amulets for the

purpose of warding away evil spirits, visitation to tombs for supplication, the

95 building of shrines over graves and seeking intercession from or supplication to any being other than Allah.

Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhiib's notions of kutT and jihad have inspired his

adherents to great heights of indignation against their fellow Muslims who are of the ~üfi orders. His views on the nature of these practices are very extreme in nature, so much so that in today's parlance, he and his adherents would likely be

classified as fundamentalists or extremists. They advocate the strict observance

of the religion just as was practiced by the Prophet. They calI for interpretations

and implementations of Qur'iinic injunctions just as it is. Changes of events and

times are not made room for.

Basing his arguments on verses 2: 17 of the Qur'iin, which reads, "Fitna is

greater sin than killing," he justifies using violence against those who introduce

innovation into the faith. His major preoccupation was with the Shiites and

~üfis, while his concept of infidelity included sorne category of Muslims. Thus in

his treatise entitled Kashfal-Shubiïhat, he declares those who believe in saints (a

beHef common among ~üfis), to be unbelievers (kuffiir). His followers have

carried on this tradition throughout the world, including Tamale and other

regions of Ghana.

IV. Afa Ajura and Wahhibiyya Institution in Tamale

The scholar Afa Yusuf Ajura, who laid the foundation of the Wahhiibiyya

movement in Tamale, was born in 1913 in a town called Savelugu located

twenty kilometers north of Tamale. His father was Salifu Adjei. He began his

96 early Islamic education at Savelugu under the tutelage of imam Afa Ibrahim, and leamt how to read the Qur'an and memorize its verses, albeit without much understanding. He completed this stage in his schooling and left for Ejura, a town in the Ashanti region of Ghana, where he studied under a renowned scholar known as Mallam Baba. With the latter he studied the Qur'an and the traditions together with various commentaries. After a period of ten years engaged with these disciplines, he left for Savelugu and later went to settle in Tamale.2o

Afa Ajura, first showed open contempt for the Tijaniyya brotherhood when Shaykh IbrahIm Niass of Kaolack in Senegal made his maiden visit to

Tamale in 1952 at the invitation of one of the leading members of the brotherhood; at the time he was on a series of visits to the Gold Coast (Ghana)

and other west African countries.21 It could be that the rapturous and

unprecedented manner in which he was received in Tamale put Afa Ajura in an

uncomfortable position and hence prompted him to come out ofhis shell.

On this occasion, as Mervyn Hiskett tells us, a British administrative

officer wrote a note to the acting chief commissioner of the northem territories

which read: "Shaykh IbrahIm went to Tamale yesterday and received such an

ovation at the airport that he was in danger of injury, six thousand people met

hlm.· "22

It may be that Afa Ajura had been harboring ambitions of leadership,

which he wanted to bring to fruition at an opportune time. His later activity in

the geo-politics of the area and chieftaincy disputes goes to prove this. So with

this scenario, he might have felt that with the inauguration of the 'community of

97 Grace' (Jamaat al-Fayda), by Shaykh IbrahIm, his aspirations were at risk. In any event, after the departure of Shaykh IbrahIm, Afa Ajura expressed his discontent by breaking away from the central mosque in Tamale, following a pattern set by most Wahhabi movements in West Africa. Those who could not digest the new teaching rallied behind him. He created an improvised mosque with stones in front of his house at Sakasaka on the Bolga road, where the five daily prayers were held. In 1965, however, with his movement enjoying greater popularity there was a need for the members to hold their own Friday and 'ld prayers separately. A request to this effect was made to the chief of Tamale Gukpe-Na, but he refused to grant them permission. Nevertheless, Afa Ajura was still permitted to preach publicly.23

Most often, in his preaching, polemical verses were sung in Dagbani against the Tijaniyya beliefs in veneration and tarbiya, which he composed himself. Part of the translated text from Dagbani is as follows:

A human being cannot see the Lord in this world. It is forbidden. He who says he has seen the Lord, all his worship is in vain. Augels too cannot see the Lord. It is forbidden. The Prophet Moharnrnad did not see our Lord. It is forbidden. How much more you a dirty one see your Lord. It is forbidden To enter Tarbiya cannot make you see the Lord. It is forbidden. He who leaves it is free. Ifyou refuse andjoin it, you become a Katir. To enter Tarbiya is not Islam. Get out of it for it is forbidden. "24

98 The aftermath of the Shaykh's visit saw numerous criticisms voiced by the Munchires. Sorne claimed that Shaykh IbrahIm Kaolack was venerated to an extent that water left after his bath was an essential commodity and was hence sold to the Tijanls as a purported source of aIl the blessings of the Shaykh.

Devotees even used his spittle as ointment on their bodies. Afa Ajura again composed a polemic against this extreme veneration in Dagbani. Its translation is as foIlows:

Do not use your position as a Shaykh to boast And they use fans made of raffia to fan you in the mosque. You use your position as a Shaykh to lay traps. And trap people with your lies. You and your Lord have a case to settle on Judgment d ay. 25

Afa Ajura's concept of bid'a was extremely rigid. In his beliefs, he viewed anybody associated with the Tijaniyya as kafir. For that matter, he came out with pronouncements while preaching in public and in his mosque that aIl

Munchires had to sever links with Tijariis, be they marital, parental, educational, economic, etc. Y outh who belonged to this new sect rejected their fathers and swore to have nothing to do with them until they left the brotherhood. Fathers disowned their children; women were divorced by their husbands when these learned of their affiliation to the Tijaniyya, and vice versa. Funerals were performed based on one's loyalties. Even daily prayers were not to be performed under the imamship of a Tijanl - for the fact that they were Kuffiir would invalidate any devotion.

Codes of conduct and belief systems were molded to characterize members of the Wahhabi movement. These wore white caps -- termed the

99 Munchire hat -- and grew beards,z6 They avoided the practice of putting the right hand on the left above the navel during their daily prayers (Qabd), for it was seen as a characteristic of the Tijffi11s. They instead adopted Sadi, i.e. leaving the hands by the sides.

The traditional ethics of bowing to the elderly was seen as shirk and worship, so when greeting the elderly, or someone high in status, Munchires were not to show that respect which was part of the Dagbon culture.

The counting of prayer beads (Masbaha) was declared to be innovation,27

and supererogatory prayers - Salat al-Tahajjud during Ramadan, were thus

considered bid'a. During Ramadan, the cornrnentaries on the Qur'an (tafsJr),

done at various Tijffi11 mosques by learned Mallams were also said to be

innovation. Even the consumption of foods like yam tubers, which were not

sliced (termed jinjina in dagbani) and corn porridge served with addition al

cooked and ungrounded corn added (known locally as kukognyina) were

denounced as innovation. AlI these simply because they were in excess.

Funeral celebrations as practiced by the Tijanl in Tamale were considered particularly un-Islarnic for they were seen to be reminiscent of Wang ara and

Hausa customs. Observation of the third, seventh, and fortieth day prayer

sessions in the deceased's house was roundly condernned as innovation.28

The practice of spiritual healings (tibbu) by sorne clerics was vehemently

condernned. 29 This took the form of writing portions of the Qur'an on black

slates, which were washed with water subsequently drunk by the afflicted. Afa

Ajura included wearing of talismans in this category. Furtherrnore, wedding

100 ceremonies and naming ceremonies were to be performed at the barest minimum cost. Any additional activities like drumming and dancing were considered bid'a. 30 Observation of the celebration of the birth of the Prophet Mawlid al­

Nabiwas also considered to be bid'a.

Expressing beliefs of this sort, Afa Ajura managed by 1966 to attract an appreciable number of people into his fold. Armed with numerical power, he defiantly built his own mosque and started to ho Id Friday and 'Id prayers with a separate congregation. The Gulkpe-Na persistently threatened to demolish the mosque, but nothing was ever done about this.31

In recent times most of the beliefs that Afa Ajura propagated have been recanted. This cornes as a result of the retum of his students that have graduated from universities in Saudi Arabia. They discovered that most of their deeds and activities were mainly out of ignorance. For that matter they introduced most of them. For ex ample folding of the arms above the navel (qabd) during prayer was reverted to. So also was the organization of commentaries of the Qur'an during the month of Ramadan was introduced. The usage of prayer beads was encouraged. AU the above were prior to that considered as innovations.

V. Open Confrontations and Clashes

From the birth of Muncherism up to early 1966, no open confrontation between the majority Tijanls and the Wahhabis can be said to have occurred.

Events took a new tum over in mid-1966 when Mustapha Nowaihi, a Somali

Muslim cleric, came to preach in Tamale. Afa Ajura's faction sponsored

101 Nowaihi's first preaching session. During the session, he was asked whether the

Tijanl's concept of perception of God through tarbiya was plausible. He is said to have denounced it as Kuff. A day after, the Tijanls invited the same Nowaihi to a preaching session where the same question was put to him. He responded by affirming its possibility on the grounds that one's level of spirituality was high.

The Munchires could not tolerate this about-tum by Nowaihi, so they attacked him on the spot. The Tijanls had no alternative other than defend their guest.

This resulted into a free-for-an battle, which had to be broken up by the police.32

This event, apart from being the first of a series of faction al clashes, has the significance of being the incident from which one faction had their appellations. It is related that at the police station the following day, the Deputy superintendent, Okine made the dramatic statement: "those who say they see

God stand here" pointing his stick "and the rest there." Since then, the Tijanls have been known by the appellation Nawun-Nyeriba (Those who see God). Their antagonists were nicknamed Munchires, a corruption of Munkir in Arabic meaning "the detestable".33

This triggered off other clashes resulting in the deterioration of aIready poor relations. Notable among the major clashes were the 1975, early 1976,

October 1976, and 1998 confrontations. In 1975, the Nawun-Nyeriba faction played host to a visiting Senegalese Tijanl Shaykh. At his public sermon, the

Munchires objected that he was misrepresenting Islam and thus polluting the minds of the people. This led to a confrontation that resulted in loss of life and

102 destruction ofproperties. The Munchires were said to be responsible for the fight

(for a contemporary news paper account of the incident see Appendix IV).34

In the 1970's, Shaykh Maikano of Prang, one of the Tijaniyya notable leaders in Ghana frequented Tamale. He embarked on preaching sessions at the invitation of the Tijanls in Tamale. His success in converting sorne Muslims to the Tijanl order was viewed with alarm by the Munchires, who feared that if preventive measures were not adopted, thousands of Muslims will be won over.

Consequently, the Munchires took the law into their hands to prevent him from coming to Tamale on these missions and hence declared a jihad against him personally. According to Imoro Adam, in early 1976, the Munchires attacked

Maikano and his audience at one of his preaching sessions in Tamale. It was a brutal encounter that required the intervention of the police, whose initial absence may have resulted in the mayhem that ensued. When all was over there had been much loss of property and many human casualties. Shaykh Maikano's new automobile was written off as beyond repair. To forestall future occurrences of this nature, a ban was placed on preaching sessions in Tamale. This however was short-lived?5

There occurred another major clash in October 1976. Shaykh Maikano and his entourage were waylaid on the outskirts of Tamale, attacked and beaten mercilessly. The police were called and they intervened, arresting and detaining about 60 Munchires and their leader. With this action, confrontations subsided for a while.36

103 In March 1977, Shaykh 'Abdallah Maikano relying on assurances of maximum safety and security from the Nawun-Nyeriba defied the threats of the

Munchires and traveled by air to Tamale. He was ambushed while being driven into the center of Tamale. The car in which he rode was the main target?7

Rumors had it that Afa Ajura had demanded for the head of Maikano. The clash once again resulted in many injuries and destruction of property. This time, a combined team of police and arrny were brought in to quell the disturbances. The

Munchires freely acknowledged that they were the aggressors, but justified themselves on the basis of their obligation to wage jihiid against the introduction offoreign elements into the religion ofIslam.38

The most recent of the truly violent clashes took place on December 4,

1998 in Gumani, a suburb of Tamale. Shaykh 'Abdallah Maikano once again was invited by one of the Tijaniyya shaykh Baba Musa to be the gue st ofhonor at the celebration of birthday of Shaykh AJ}mad Tijanl - the founder of the Tijaniyya movement. The Munchires, however, revisited their age-old animosity. This time, it was not only the head of Shaykh Maikano that was demanded for but that of al-Ii-ajj H arnz a, Shaykh Baba Musa and Hajia Khadijah. The Munchires accused Naawun-Nyeriba of assuming another dimension and that is introduction of drumming and dancing in Islam encouraged fornication and adultery. News of the impending attack was said to have spread around Tamale town. According to an assemblyman of Gumani, Mr. Alhassan, he heard of the threat and went to

Afa Ajura to plead with him to stop the attack, but the latter claimed he had no hands in it. MI. Alhassan alerted the Tamale Municipal Chief Executive MI.

104 Ibrahim. He promised to do something about it. According to Mr. Alhassan, the

Northem Regional Security Council was also alerted (for a news paper article on these developments, see Appendix V).

The premises of Hassaniyya Primary School were chosen as the venue for the celebration. The proprietor al-I:Iajj Ibrahim ijasan Turzon, on hearing of the impending attack, summoned Mr. Alhassan, the host ofthe occasion Baba Musa,

Mr. Fuseini, adherent of Munchire movement and Afa Abubakri, a teacher at

Ambariyya Arabic School, to his house. He demanded to know the facts of the matter at hand. Tt was here that assemblyman Alhassan explained the steps he had taken to prevent the attack. Afa Abubakri and Mr. Fuseini also told the proprietor about what they had heard circulating in town, that is, that the planned attack was no hoax. Baba Musa there and then dismissed aIl that he had heard and declared them hollow intimidations and threats. l was personally at the meeting by the virtue ofbeing the proprietor's son.

After this meeting, plans went ahead for both events. The premise was put in readiness for the night's event. Chairs and tables were brought in.

Electrical connections and loud speakers were put in position for the occasion.

The preparations of the other faction however were also going ahead under coyer.

After night prayers, Gumani was loud with the singing of dhikr over megaphones. People started gathering for the night's vigil. At about Il :45 PM, it was expected that Shaykh Maikano would grace the occasion with his presence.

Tt was then that sounds of sophisticated machine guns were heard. The arena was

105 attacked from the Nyanshegu position. There was absolute chaos and cries of fear and agony were heard from children, women and old men. The source of power to the area was cut, and total darkness prevailed. Those gathered there ran helter-skelter for dear life and sought refuge in the houses of neighbors.

According to eyewitness accounts, the fumiture was heaped up and set ablaze.

Motorcycles, bicycles, taxis and audio equipment were also set on fire. The arena was ransacked and occupied for over half an hour. Having accompli shed their mission, however, the attackers withdrew. Sorne of them who did not know the terrain of the area weIl ran into our house, which was about 500 met ers away from the school. They were dressed in only shorts with white bands tied on their heads on which was inscribed the formula of faith. Sorne wore masks.

Hours after the incident, a mobile police and army force were sent in to bring events under control. The following moming, one dead body was found behind the school block with a white band around the head. Those with cutlass wounds went to the hospital. Those villagers, who had come for the occasion from the surrounding districts and had suffered severe knife cuts and other injuries went back to their hometowns. According to sources, sorne even had bullet lodged in their bodies.

Later in the day, arrests were made upon tip offs, particularly of the ringleaders behind the attack. It was mainly the Munchires who were arrested and detained, although later on they were released (see reproductions of news paper articles on these events in Appendices VI and VII).

106 The regional Security Council promised to discover the culprits. To this effect, members of the Security Council and the leadership of both factions convened series of meetings -- the reports from which have yet to see daylight.

VI. Efforts at Reconciliation

There have been several abortive reconciliation efforts since 1969. The reason behind their failure has been the unwillingness of both the groups to renounce any part of their belief systems. The first attempt was by Gulkpe-Na

Alhassan in April 1969. He assembled leaders of both factions to the police parade ground to argue out their cases in public and then come to a compromise.

Afa Ajura represented the Munchires and Shaykh Maikano the Nawun-Nyeriba.

The Gulkpe-na served as the arbitrator. Shaykh Maikano saw it as his task to defend the virtues of the Tijaniyya and the validity of $aliit-al-FiitifJ.. As he commenced his defense using analogical reasoning, Afa Ajura rejected his stance. At the end of the day, the gathered crowd returned home disenchanted.39

The second reconciliation attempt was the initiative of the Saudi

Ambassador to Ghana, Mr. Fuad Alfiy in March 1972. He invited the leaders of both parties to meet at the residence of the northern regional commissioner in

Tamale and appealed to them to bury their differences and try to co-exist as brothers and sisters in Islam. The imam of the Tamale Central Mosque al-I:Iiijj

Adam and al-I:Iajj Tahir Issa, a muqaddam in Zogbeli, (a suburb of Tamale) represented the Nawun-Nyeriba. The other faction had Afa Ajura as its spokesman.40

107 Initially, both sides acceded to the Ambassador's plea to restore to Islam its good image. Later, Afa Ajura reiterated his earlier stand. As he saw it, compromise let al one a complete solution, was unthinkable unless the following conditions were met:

1. Leaders of both groups should be assembled and the causes of the conflict spelt out; 2. The holy Qur'an and I:Iadith should be used in judging them; and 3. The group that is guilty should be made to accept its guilt and to stop all un-Islamic activities.41

These conditions sealed the doom of the Saudi Ambassador's effort to forge reconciliation.

The youth of Tamale, and for that matter all Dagbon, tried to find a solution to this age-oId, ubiquitous conflict a decade after. They contended that perpetrators of this conflict were the eIders, the opinion leaders and generally people of the oIder generation. They foresaw that a graduai approach should be used starting from the grass root level. Both the literate and illiterate youth should start interacting with one another irrespective of their differences. They should attend each other' s wedding, naming feasts, funerals and other ceremonies. This to sorne extent began gradually to bridge the gulf of distrust caused by the conflict.42

An Islamic non-govemmental organization, Islamic Center for Education and Development, also organized a national Islamic delegates conference at the

Tamale police park between 20th and 2lst February 1988. During this conference, another reconciliation effort was made. Advantage was taken of the Islamic dignitaries at the conference like Shaykh Mu4ammad ibn Subail, chief imam of

108 Mecca in Saudi Arabia, al-I:Iajj Hudu Yahyah, former Peoples National Defense

Council (PNDC) Northem Regional Secretary, MI. B.A.R. Brimah, head of the

Department for the study of Religions - University of Ghana; Dr. Abdallah ibn

'Abdul-'Aziz al-Missilih - Dean offaculty of Divine Law (Shari'a) and Religious

Affairs of the Imam MulJ.ammad Ibn Saud - Islamic University in Mecca Saudi

Arabia and other foreign dignitaries of the Islamic world in Ghana to try a hand

once again at reconciliation. This seemed initially to have worked because, for

the first time, members of both parties went to the other party's mosque to

observe the Friday prayer led by the chief imam of Mecca. This momentary reconciliation was reached -- according to Salifu Abdel -- due to the fact that the eIders were not involved in the organizing the conference. This was largely

because at the time, Afa Ajura and Ibrahim Mahama, both Munchires, and al-

I:Iajj Amadu Sana, a Tijanl, were in detention on the orders of the Northem

Regional Security Council they were being held as jointly responsible for

chieftaincy clashes between the Abudu and Andani factions in sorne villages near

Savelugu in which people lost their lives. On this memorable occasion, the chief

imam of Mecca appealed for the release of Afa Ajura from detention.

Consequently, he was released on April 12, 1988.43

These latter attempts yielded sorne good results, as both groups started

fasting together and observed 'Id prayers togetheI. The preaching session

organized purposely to condemn one another was stopped. To quote MI. Salifu

Abdel:

"The co-operation and understanding that is currently prevalent between the Munchire and the Tijanis

109 is a laudable experience. This achievement is a turning point in the history of Islam in Dagbon and the youth from both sides should be commended for it. Castigation, insinuations and general war of words between them now belong to the past and the year 1988 will continue to be a memorable year to generations yet unborn. A new form of Islam in Dagbon has been set in motion and what the future holds for it, according to the youth is a bright one".

110 CONCLUSION

The thesis has to sorne extent highlighted how Islam and the

Tijaniyya ~ufi order made their way into sub-Saharan Africa and in particular, to

Dagbon in Northern Ghana.

It has also attempted to give an exposition of the life of the founder of the Tijaniyya - Shaykh A.4mad TIjarii -- tracing his influence on his followers in both the short and long term. The focus then turned to sorne salient and local controversial doctrines of the order and their justification by proponents of these doctrines.

Sorne elaboration has been made of Wahhabiya doctrines as well to show how these differ from Tijanl teachings and practices and to account at least in part for Wahhabi opposition to these doctrines. This will be of interest to the scholar, but it is hoped that our exposition will also serve a wider purpose.

Equipped with a knowledge of each other's viewpoints, it is hoped that even the parties to this conflict themselves will acquire a sense of respect and tolerance for each other. The wish is to minimize, if not completely eradicate, the senseless conflicts that always result in devastating consequences for the people of Tamale municipality.

It is further hoped that this analysis will create a forum for the initiation of an inter-doctrinal dialogue. This might alleviate the culture of castigation, insinuation and mudslinging directed at one another' s doctrinal beliefs, thus averting its unpalatable consequences. The sense of dialogue is also expected to promote learning, and thus spur a quest for knowledge within the populace

111 affected. The chances of success are in fact enhanced by local conditions and cultural values that lend themselves to dialogue.

Given, for instance, the importance of the practice of litanies, the celebration of Maulid Nabi, the singing of dhikr and above aIl the practice of

/ibbu, in the Ghanaian psyche, one can draw certain conclusions based on their social significance. As stated earlier, these practices define the identity of the

Tijaniyya, both in the eyes of fellow members and non-members, be they oppositional Wahhabis (Munchires) or even non-Muslims. It must be remembered that Dagbon is a multi-religious society, even if Islam is in a dominant position. While these practices define the Tijaniyya, it is also through them that non-Muslim neighbors relate with Muslims. Given the mystery surrounding esoteric practices such as reciting litanies and .tibbu for instance, non-Muslims in Ghana as a whole tend to regard Tijaniyya followers with awe and reverence. It is common to hear someone caution another that a particular person ought to be feared because he is an Afa Tibbu. Such a social classification of Tijaniyya members mean that they are weIl placed in the society as agents of change. Within the context of Ghana, and Dagbon in particular, as a developing society, people of social standing, like the leaders of the Tijaniyya are privileged as opinion leaders whose advice and leadership counts in the development process.

In Dagbon for instance, where public health campaigns are undertaken every now and then by both govemmental and non-govemmental agencies on issues such as cholera prevention, family planning and birth control and anti-

112 drug activities, the leadership of key Tijaniyya members is often counted upon as crucial to the suc cess of such efforts. They are often engaged in public speaking activities.

When problems arise in marital relationships, not only is the Afa sometimes consulted in confidence and asked to resolve them by spiritual means, but they are also sometimes publicly engaged to undertake reconciliation of the parties involved. Obviously this is a service that is commonly performed by religious leaders in every society. But given the high social prestige that

Tijaniyya scholars seem to enjoy in Dagbon, they are often preferred to their

Wahhabi counterparts in such missions of reconciliation. The militancy and legalism of the Wahhabis often make them a nonstarter in such social responsibilities.

The Tijaniyya order in northem Ghana is therefore not just a spiritual movement, but a socio-political one as weIl. It has no explicit political hierarchy or ideology, although it always, even if only by suggestion, identifies with a particular national political party during election times. In matters of local govemment too, it frequently aligns itself openly with a particular chieftaincy faction in times of power transition. Ghana, a republic, has a mult ip art y democratic system of govemment at the national level, with presidential and parliamentary elections held every four years. Under this national arrangement is a system of district administrations (local govemment) accountable to the president and his cabinet. Parallel to this modem political arrangement however is a decentralized tradition al system of administration by chiefs and divisional

113 chiefs based on the monarchical system of hereditary of power transition. This second arrangement is of less significance in national power politics, but is of fundamental importance to cultural and ethno-linguistic groups. The mixture of these traditional and modern systems of power has combined to give nationallife the characteristic of a labyrinth of political party-cum-tribal social formation. A politician at both the national and local levels therefore must be wise enough to navigate his electoral campaign without offending these complex tribal sensibilities.

However, the Munchire (Wahhabi) movement, which still maintains its adversarial stance towards the Tijaniyya is, despite its progress in winning adherents and its great impact on Tamale Muslim society, still faced with problem of leadership after its charismatic leader Afa Ajura. Since the movement is he Id together by the charisma of the leader, there is indeed a great concern about the future of the movement. Sorne analysts see the future as not all that bright because of the impending leadership crisis. They see the whole superstructure of the movement sitting on a time bomb, which is likely to detonate after the death of the leader.

This leadership crisis has already reared its hydra-shaped head. It is foreseen that three strong contending groups are likely to emerge as well as sorne weaker groups. These groups consist of rightist conservative, leftist conservative and moderate Munchires.

The rightist conservative Munchires would love to see a transfer of the mantle of leadership to the leader's son, known as 'Abd al-I:Ianan. He is a

114 graduate of the Islamic University of Medina in Saudi Arabia. Though not the eldest of his father's children, yet, because of his educational background and sober appearance, the rightists sees him as the ideal leader for the movement.

The leader's eldest son Afa Alawaihi is not a favorite candidate for any of the groups because ofhis weak educational standing and lack of charisma.

'Abd al-I:Ianan, the heir apparent, had his basic education at the Sakasaka experimental primary school in Tamale. He attended Tamale Secondary School, the premier second cycle institution in the three northern regions. It was from there that he won a scholarship to study at the Islamic University of Medina.

After graduation, he returned to Ghana to teach in his father's institution, known as the Ambariyya Islamic Institute. He is also an imam in one of the Munchire community's mosques in a suburb of Tamale called Lamashegu.

The moderate Munchires see the leadership mantle as being the bona fide property of al-I:Iajj Abubakri Sa'id. He is another graduate of the Islamic

University of Medina. He has he Id the youth and students' leadership title since the early days of Munchirism. Later, he obtained a second degree in the Islamic sciences from the Imam Mu4ammad Ibn Sa'ud University in Riyaqh, Saudi

Arabia, although he had no secular education.

Now that Afa Ajura is suffering from increasing ill health, as a result of old age and asthma, it is Abiibakri Sa'id that has taken over the acting leadership role of the movement. He leads the daily prayers, the Friday weekly prayers and the two annual 'Id prayers in the Ambariyya central mosque. He also issues the legal pronouncements (fatawa) and serves as the deputy direct or of the

115 Ambariyya Islamic institute in Tamale. Taking into consideration his long service in the movement and the portfolios that he has held, the moderates see him as the de facto leader after Afa Ajura.

However, despite aH these credentials, both the rightist and leftist conservative Munchires disqualify him on the grounds of ethnicity. Since he is not a Dagbana by birth but rather a Mamprusi, he is considered as an outsider.

Secondly he supports a political party, which is in opposition to the leader's party. The leader supports the National Democratie Congress Party (N.D.C.), while he supports the Conservative Peoples Party CC.P.P.). This portrays him as a person of doubtfulloyalty.

The leftist conservative Munchires consider al-I:Iajj Tanko Abübakri as the most suit able future leader of the movement. He is a nephew of Afa Ajura and a contemporary of al-I:Iajj Abubakri Sa'id, the moderates choice. He is a first-degree holder from the Islamic University of Medina, in Saudi Arabia and is always ranked second after the moderates' candidate in the leadership hierarchy.

Currently he is leading the movement in the absence of al-I:Iajj Abübakr Sa'id.

He is preferred to 'Abd al-I:Ianan on the grounds of age and long service in the movement. He is very radical and does not compromise with the Tijiïnls on any issue. Though he lacks charisma, yet he maintains a high profile, which the leader himself exhibited in the prime ofhis career.

The standby prospective leader of the movement likely to emerge in the midst of the impending confusion over the leadership race is al-I:Iajj Issah 'Abd al-Mu'min. He stands in a good position to exploit the confused scenario by

116 finding supporters among the disenchanted in the other three major blocks. He is a graduate of the University of al-Azhar in Cairo, Egypt, and is currently the imam of the Moshie community from Bulkina Faso. He has a separate mosque and leads worshipers in the daily and Friday prayers. He also gives tuition in sorne of the Islamic disciplines in his mosque. During the month of fasting

(Ramadan) he also gives commentary on the Qur'an (tafslr) in his mosque. The ethnicity factor has been his weak point, as well, though. He is regarded as an outsider since he is a Moshie and not a Dagbana.

Given the above analysis, the future of the Munchire movement after the death of Afa Ajura is of interest not only to its members but also to the

Tijaniyya movement as well as the broader Tamale community. The permanent weakness of the Munchire movement is the most likely consequence, and stems from the divisive tendency that is waiting to unleash itself.

Our account of the past series of conflicts and the efforts made at reconciliation is designed to make both sides take inventory of the consequences of their actions and for that matter reassess themselves and take positive steps towards initiating a culture of tolerance. By this, sanity will restored to the society, allowing it to forge a way forward.

There are number of aspects in this subject that need to be further researched. Indeed, there has not yet been any research carried out on the

Wahhabi movement in Tamale. Once such research is undertaken the actual nature of the movement will be exposed and for that matter minimize the

117 devastating roles that ignorance plays among the northen populace in particular and the nation as a who le.

118 1 Salifu Abdel Seidu, "The Influence ofIslam on the Dagbamba in the Twentieth Century," (unpublished M. Phil. Thesis; University of Ghana, 1989) 230. 2 Ibid., 222. 3 Ibid., 227. 4 Ibid., 228. 5 Ibid., 229. 6 Ibid., 204. 7 Ibid., 205. 8 Ibid., 206. 9 Ibid. 10 Ibid., 242. 11 Ibid., 247. 12 Ibid." 250. l3 Ibid., 252. 141. Spencer, Trimingham The Sufi Orders ofIslam (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1971) 28. 15 A derivation from the Arabic word !ibb, meaning medicine 16 Daily Graphic, December 15, 1997, page 1. 17 Spencer, The Sufi Orders, 242. 18 Mohammad Ibn 'Abd Allah al-Salman, Rashld Rkja wa D'awat ai-Shaykh MuiJammadIbn 'Abd al-Wahhab (Kuwait: Maktabat al-Mu'alla, 1988) 62-63. 19 Meaning to associate partners with Allah. 20 Imoro Adam, "The Conflict of the Mosque"(unpublished B.A. Essay, University of Ghana, 1978) 13. 21 M. Hiskett, The DeveJopment ofIslam in West AfHca (New York: Longman group, 1984) 287. 22 Ibid. 23 l moro, "C on fl'IC t ... "14 . 24 Ibid. 15-16. 25 Ibid., 17. 26 Ibid., 26. 27 Seidu "The Influence ... " 300. 28 Ibid., 247. 29 Ibid., 267. 30 Ibid., 209. 31 l moro, "C on fl'IC t ... " 20 . 32 Ibid., 21. 33 Ibid., 22. 34 Ibid., 30. 35 Ibid. 36 Ibid., 31. 37 Seidu "The Influence ... " 297. 38 Ibid., 297. 39 Ibid., 324. 40 Ibid., 325.

119 41 Ibid. 42 Ibid., 326. 43 Ibid., 330.

120 LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix 1. : A map of Tamale District taken from the Tamale District

Development Plan.

Appendix II. : Photograph ofShaykh IbrahIm Niass of the Tijaniyya Order.

Appendix III. : Article from Graphie Cozporation published 1997, on the caU to

end violence by Ghanaian Islamic leaders.

Appendix IV. : Article from Ghanaian Times on the 1975 Muslim clash at

Tamale.

Appendix V.: Article from Graphie Cozporation on the 1997 Muslim sectarian

clash in Gumani, a suburb of Tamale.

Appendix VI. : Article from Graphie Cozporation on the interrogation of ten

sectarian leaders from Tamale.

Appendix VII. : Article from Graphie Cozporation on the terms of bail granted to

of sectarian leaders from Tamale.

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From IbrahIm T" 25 Sanah 'a1a Rahil a1-Shaykh (Cairo: al- Nahar, 2002) 13, APPENDIX II,

123 Ihaji Amidu Sulemana. Cpper \Yest He announced that con tri bute towards the .. upbnngmg ta prepare nal ~liniSter made this known when he . the government has maintenance of infra­ them for a happy ,d Brigadier Henry Anyidoho. Commander spent more th an ~4 bil-' structure, especially, future. • Continued on P. 3 'Stop the • Contd. tram P.t bent ,upon religious disease. leaders to co-operate :VII' Iddi emphasised muslims to fight among with government in that, it is high time mus­ violence, themselves over leader­ bringing about socio­ lims stopped wasting ship and doctrines. economic as weil as their energies on petty "What - we ·'should political development in squabbles and live up to use our energies to light the country. the task of initiating Islamic for. is to improve our­ :VII' Iddi underlined positive measures that selves economically, that muslim leaders \vill improve their mate­ politically and socially", have the biggest task to rial weil being. Dr Chambas said. perform in this regard Dr Abdulai Salifu. a leaders He 'said, muslims in view of the deplorable research fellow at the are not in the main­ position in which mus­ Savanna Agricultural stream of the Ghanaian lims lind themselves. Research' Institute society, and that they :.YIuslims in the (SARD. who is also the urge are living at the periph­ country, he said. have presiding member of the er)' and this should be a the lowest enrolment in Tamale "-Iunicioal From ,Breda Atta-Quayson & Zakaria source of worry to every schools. and this turns Assembly who spoke' on muslim.. Alhassan, Tamale to generate the high the topic. "The need to "We live in Zongos unemployment sit'.la­ educate the muslim ISLA.J.iIIC leaders throughout the and the most deprived tion in muslim commu­ child". ,aid when mus­ country' converged in the Northern areas in. all the regions nities todav. lims .get educated. they Regional capital. Tamale at the of the country, and it is The minister said. ',vould be able to con­ week,end for a two-day national about time we sit up, get muslims have failed in tribute more effecti\'eh' education, 50 that. we conference to find wavs and means most cases ta take to the COUiltrv's oOClO­ of stopping the sectarian violence can get into the main­ advantage of the oppor­ economic developmem. in certain muslim communities in stream of the Ghanaian tunities offercd by the This is bee:1Use. he the country. society instead of fight­ educational relorms ta said. \vithout education. The leaders also disc'.lssed when to ing and killing our­ acquire employable one is rendered inca­ begin the forthcoming Ramadan. one or' selves", Dr Chambas skills. pable taking part in said. or the five piilars of Islam. :\Ir Iddi therefore any national conversa­ The conference under the t[;=me: The delluty minis­ pointed out to the mus­ tion or forming sound "I"lamic unit': and de':elopment ter's speech seemed to lim leaders that. thev judgment on one's pri­ towards the :21s"t Centur/·. \Vas atTend­ have touched the con­ ha ve the dut': to encour­ vate live. ed bv the :\ational Chie'f Imam. _'Ilhaji science of the people as age their people to enrol "As muslims. let us Osman :\uhu Sharabutu. regional chier' manv of them nodded their children in solidify the teachings of . i!nams. the :\orthern Regional their heads in agree­ schools. olan their fami­ our creed and look for­ ment with :'Iinister. :\11' Gilbert Iddi: the Deputv him. lies and' ta exploit ail ward oositivelv in a When the N orthern :'limster 01' Education: Dr :'lohammed the legitimate opportu­ united 'manner -tüwards Re!;ional. ~Iinister, Mr nities to uplift them­ the next millennium". Ibn Chamoas: Dr _"bdulai Salifu. a Gilbert Seidu Iddi· took researc!1 t'ello\\': lslamic intellectuals. selves economicailv. Dr Saliîu stressed. his turn. he recounted He said musiims On [lÎs part. che chiefs. oDin ion leaders and a large num­ the recent cases of vio­ ber of m"uslims l'rom various sects. need ta l'id themselves :-';ational Chief Imam. lence in islamic eommu­ of misconceptions about _-\lhaji .\"uhu Shar::ll:JUtu The conference which took place in nities at Koforidua. the wake of relürious violence at the education of the advised muslims ta Sunvani. Sekondi. girl-ehild and to recog­ desist From violence bv Tamale and \Va, was~held at the Tamale AkiIn-Oda, Wa and Central :Vlosque am id heavy security. nise the fact that, in the resorting to dialogue. . Tamale, and said. "as golden age Islam. He said ::13 musiims. Dr Chambas. addressing partici­ human beings, we of pants told the Islamic leaders in no women were among the there is the need ta li\'e should be guided by the in harmonv with each uncertain terms. that it is useless for basic principles that learned. and that the education of women is a other because Islam sig­ • Continued on P. 3 ensure peaceful co-exis­ tence". sure step tawards riding nifies and emphasis on society of ignorance and peaceful co-existence. He said it is incum- l,two injured in jailbreak attempt '. trom P.t hit bv strav bullet3.

JUp ut \Va. In an 'interaction \Vith or'ficers 'lnd men of the Commander paid a day's Ghana _-\:rmed Forces and :lOlice oersonnel who ha':e ,m,el!' '.Vith the situation in beeo rleployed· ta malnwln law' ::Ind arder at Wo.. n:''';'!'1rl~I':''''' ...'..:-,·:~~nrlÎ }~·'1i.'.:;l(~ ~he!:l 'Dr ~tr~':~r.~ ~'Î

(From Graphie Corporation (Accra), December 15, 1997) APPENDIX III.

124 Moslems clash at Tamale ...... •i From Henry Addison, 1 bu and Bugri Sulcrnana. Th~l' • Tamale ~ have been admitted to the Tamale • . Ccntral Hospital. i : SEYEN per",ns "cre ,erillu,l~ Eyc-witllcss accounl sald the i. 1 iniured and 20 olllers arrested trouble started wheo Mallam by the police when a fil:ht broke ~bikano . .1ccompanied by a Sene- • out between Iwo Moslem factinns ~alcsc national. arrived at Tamale i here la,t Tucsdav nio.ht. A 150 ôn Tuesday night from Prang on • Mercedes BenI. c'lr. belonuing to a rciigious mission. • . one MaIlamAbdula1 1\b,kann.a i A section of the Moslcm, in ! teacher of Moslem rehglOn. was: l' tb 1 lh t 1 danuged bevond rcoalr' [own .C: 3lnUn[? " .. e VISI ors • The Dam';; of lh'o inillrcd were were fal", prophets ailegedly i given as Abubakar l'ulam. Muml1ni attacked .the home whe-re they • Moru. Mohammed Abl1bakar, \Vere staymg. • . ThursdaYi 0ay l, 1975 Mahamadu Sulemana, AIllaji Ma- This resulted in " fight in which i _____.______h_am_a_d_u:... _H_a_l_un_a_S_u_le_m_a_n_a Yaku- more (han 300 people were injured. j

(From The Ghanaian Times (Accra), May 5 (1975)) APPENDIX IV.

125 ber tn Bfake lotlo Hti fHtb LJl:l:H Il''I~IJ'''''''''b • Continued on P. 3 ~The Vice-President (dgfitj cûngratulaling 3ô-year-oid Bandi for iJelng é:lUjuuyc:u .u ....Il ..... ~• ..... __ _ Security alert at G umanl• ~..-; 0s From Zakaria Alhassan, Tamale As clash between Muslim ONE pCl'sml dicd and lIlally othcrs \\lCI'C • ~ ill.iUI'Ctl in a dash hctween memhcrs of the {5 Tijaniya and SU'lni l\1uslitn sccts at (]tllnani, sects results in fa ta lit y il suhurh of Taluale early ycstenfay IIHH~n­ i:S-< (:;. ing". ril.y fil/TeS havc hecn dcploycd 1.0 tlle sec ne of lhe he Sunnis who wielcled gllflS, matehets, st.icks .l\ 1,IXi cid. was ~1I1Hf;tH~dand tllre(! HlOtor da~hand in the Illunicipality tu JnainLain peace and otller illlplclIlcnts, were Hccn Iwading bikt!s \VL'J'e burllt durillg the dtlsh. and order. towanlH the area wherc the convention \Va~tak­ g 'l'Iw hody \\·lIieh IHiS h"en deposited at the Acconlîllg 10 an eye willlc:-;;; 'H'l'ClUlit. early illf{ place, 'l'alllaie Hegiollill lIospilal rvrorillary is yet to he ycstcrday 1l1OI"ning while mClllhers of the Tijaniya !-:ihortly allenvanls, the cyü-willIeH!i s:tid -ti gUflslwi-s und a lot of noÏ!;e w(~rehL>Hrd fi"mu that '1 C) id~~lltilit~d.No Hrn.'stti have been made yet. Sect wcre holding lheir Islalllic Collvcnlion Following tlw in('ident) per~onnelortho $(!Cll- (J"l,,"II(lt~),a large "U1l1nhero(' pU(JI'I,,~,,~liqvcd to .• Continued on P. 3 ;:',: .

?;~ i ~ f 1 ~" '. :' • "'d ..... trd5 1 Alert at Gumani 1 t'V z~ -0'1 Contd tram P1 malion on lhe exlent of tJ~ >--<(') danlilge Luth to' life ant! :><..-; directioH. as weil Ut!" propcrty. smoke, HUI110UrS were rite in :

From Breda Atta-Quayson, in-charge of specialioperations had Tamale to be rushed in to' save a young­ miln, Zakaria Issabku from being UT for the timely inter­ Iynched. ... vention of a combined He was Bupposed '10 havé said B team of soldiers and the something disparaging against the police, the Northern Regional Al-Sunnah sect. Police Headquarters would When the mob besieged the have been attacked by a mob police headquarters, Lt. Col. yesterday. . Oppong-Kyekyeku initially asked The mob besieged the Police one of the leaders to tell his people Headquarters when 10 leaders of to leave the place and he dld this the Al-Sunnah muslim sect were but to no avail. invited there for questioning in When it became apparent that connection with· the recent clash the mob would not budge, armed between them and sorne members soldiers and policemen were of the Tijaniya sect at Gumani, a brought in and they successfully suburb of Tamale. dispersed the mob. The mob was misinformed that Meanwhile, the Commissioner their leaders had been arrested. of Police in-charge of Special The authorities reacted quick­ Operation, Mr David Walenkaki Iy by despatching a combined told the invited leaders that it is team of soldiers and policemen necessary for them to help the with armoured vehicles to the police to investigate the incident to scene who successfully dispersed establish its cause so that appro­ the mob. . priate solution could be found to it. Lt. Col. Kwame Oppong­ He said after the investiga­ Kyekyeku, Commanding Officer of tions, those responsible will be the Airborne Force, Lt. Col. Hope prosecuted at the law court. Agbnuzah, Commanding Officer of Mr Walenkaki said the police­ the 6 Battalion of Infantry and will not compromise on ensuring jay. Picture by EMMNAUEL QUAYE. Nana Kwame Amponsah, Staff, that those responsible are appro­ Officer to the Police Commissioner priately puni shed.

(From Graphie Corporation (Accra) December Il (1997), 1) APPENDEX VI.

127 Lile JH":VV I.UIIlI'U ...... The President of cOllle with l'C health "The Tamale clash the COIJlJl"JlY, MI' Leslie llIonitors which check Osei, ciiscltlsed this the entir~ system of the "ner sludentB of the cOlnputer.s. School uf Ile allayed fl;ars of ,1 A d III i n i oS l r Cl l i 0 Il , owners uf cOlnpuicl's AI-Sunnah. I\l il Il age III e n l whu are using Mar1es Informalion System COlllputers that they IIVIIS) Option, will not have problellls University of Ghana, wilh t1wir docuIIlents by muslim paid a fHJlliliariHatioll - lhe year :lOOO, aB has tOllr to lhe collIpany on hecn rUllloured, -Mr, Ose; Wednesday, leaders AI-Sunnah Muslim leaders on bail - Con/d, trom P.1 'l'he statement numerous problems on bail which have so far COI1- refrain fl'om ail aets descrihed lhe condud fl'{lllted them", il From Breda Atta-Quayson, Tamale which t.reach the of the Becurily forccs slressed, peace and inslead co­ in the matter a;; "very The group 'l'liE l() AI-Sunnah Muslilll sect leaders operate with the ;;ecu­ ~inccrc and neutral" who WCI'C invited to the N""t\wrn and underscored that appealed tn the ril.y ('J1'ce~ l.o ensure Heg'Îollal Puliee IIead'luart",ts for Hegional Mini~ler, lhe the prevalence ,of lhey wel'e doing n good '1ucslÎolIÎIIg' havc heen g'I'anted hail 'l'asie Force pl!ace and stabilil.y in joh fol' which they a l'leI' statemenls WCJ'C talwn t"'UIIl deserved the support Commander and lhe m, lhe area, the l{egional Secilrily 'l'Ill' kadel's WeI''' invited li,l' question~ A slal.emenl and co-operation of ail Commiltee lo talee illg in cOlllleclÎoll wilh the recenl da:;h istilted in Accru yesler­ well meaning people of advanlage lof the bl!lwl!l!1l tht:ir t;ecl anù ,sOlIW members of day by lite grollp and lhe area, Nation'al Muslilll the Tijalliya Sed at CUlIlani, a subul'b of tiignell by ilB "Il is also illlPot,­ Tamale, tant ((li' ail lo realise Cltnference involving source ~pokeslllan, Alhaji A police lold lhe Graphie at regional inHlIlls " ula­ S,M, Sibiduw, tiaid the that lhe new Regional 1 Tamale yestcl'day lhat anothcr leader of mas and olher Islamic chiefs, e1derti, opinion Minisler, Ml' Gilbert the AI-Sunnah sed has been invited lilr 1 scholars and digni­ questiollin!j urin!jing the number to 11, leaders and youlh of Iddi, and the Special taries slaled for The source said they are being investi­ Daglj()n were O"perations Tamale t'rom Saturday ga tcd J(ll' pruvoking riot and rioting, "extremely embar- COlllmander, Ml' Deccmber 13' and [le sai.! after the investigation, al1y of rasspe! by lhe reeen!. Walenkaki particular­ 1helll lilUnd to be responsi"le f'Jr the oflencc SlInday Ikeelllber 1Il, J'l!ligiolis cUllflids in Iy e!eserve our respect will !Je prtlseculed at the law courts, I!HJ7, lo illl.enicl lite '1';lInale Hnd co-operation lo It would ue recalled that one persan adively wil.h thelll l.o Municipalily and reei pn,,:a le lhei l' died and lIlany others were injured whCl1' help fine! bctiiegcd lhe place und li COln­ Forl"l! al T'liliale was billed l",,", of' titlldier~ "n,! the police had tu Lite!" III'ollght in lo illg rtlot.ti ill tile iliU",r!.o preachlllg silll:C la~l 1", broughl in lo ditiperse the lIlo!J and kcep l"L'::)torc peace alld unit.:!'. peacel'ul n!gÎol\. Wedl,e~d"y's c1,,"1t was t he IH~"Il'U. Alh"ji SIlI"",,",,, I\t!eallwhile, lite 1he reslllt' ot' the caSl' of ln a rela!.ed develo(lmenl, the chiefs, pJ'ovocat.i Vl! I~lllgtlage 1 said t Ill: Hegiollal regi'.IIlHI lJlilli~tc~' .hw; eiders and opinioll leaderB of Dngbon in the Secllrily ('u,,"cil \vill caullooed ail rehglouB llsl!d by one ot' lhe rel i­ Norlhern Itegion have called on ail .. esi­ giollti ::;ecls. dents of Tamale, the regional capital ln nlc~tJ

(From Graphie Corporation (Accra) December 12 (1997), 1) APPENDIX VII.

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