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The Sweet Meadows Of Contemplation: An Addendudm To The Infaq Al-maysur - Culture - Nairaland

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The Sweet Meadows Of Contemplation: An Addendudm To The Infaq Al-maysur by GorkoSusaay: 4:40pm On Jul 30, 2016
The Rawdat al-Afkar (in English, the Sweet Meadows of Contemplation) was written in 1824 as an epilogue to Sultan Bello's Infaq al-Maysur [Easy Expenditure on the History of Western Sudan]. Its author is Shaykh Abd al-Qadir, son of Malam Mustafa (1804-1864).

The relationship of Abd al-Qadir b. al-Mustafa to both the Infaq al-maysur and its author is an interesting one. Muhammad Bello was, in fact, both his maternal uncle and his father-in-law. Abd al-Qadir's mother Khadija (c.1778-1856) was the eldest daughter of Shaykh Uthman b. Muhammad Fodiye (1754-1817), while his wife, also called Khadlja, was a daughter of Muhammad Bello. He was born in 1219/1804 and died in 1280/1863-4, and is best known for his so-called Rawdat al-afkar [The Sweet Meadows of Contemplation] a work of local history written in 1824. This was described by H.R. Palmer (who thought it was written by Muhammad Bello) as 'in some respects an epitome of his larger work Infak el Maisuri'. Indeed, there are uncanny resemblances, not merely in the geographical and historical scope of the work, but in the very language used by the two authors in certain passages.

Abd al-Qadir b. al-Mustafa belonged to the same Fulani group as Shaykh Uthman, the Torodbe [Toronkawa], sharing with him a male patrilineal ancestor nine generations back in Masirana b. Buba Baba. He was educated by his father and three of his uncles, Muhammad Sambo (1780-1826), Sultan Muhammad Bello (1781-1837) and[b] Muhammad al-Bukhari (c.1785-7-1840)[/b].

Barth met 'the learned Abd al Kader dan Taffa' in Wurno in April 1853 and 'drew largely' upon his 'stores of knowledge' especially his knowledge of Songhay history.

Indeed he tells us that an Arab faqih whom he had met in Katsina had described Abd al-Qadir as 'the most learned of the present generation of the inhabitants of Sokoto'. His chief intellectual pursuits other than history appear to have been philosophy, Sufism and certain kinds of esoteric knowledge.

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Re: The Sweet Meadows Of Contemplation: An Addendudm To The Infaq Al-maysur by GorkoSusaay: 4:43pm On Jul 30, 2016
Rawdat al-Afkar below

In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful. May God bless him after whom there is no prophet. In this note I have added the most recent scholars of our land to those sons of the Shaykh and others mentioned by the author of the Infaq, so as to make its usefulness more complete in all respects. I may mention some whom he mentioned, adding to his description and his biographical account [of them], by way of clarification and completion. God it is who directs to the right path.

I say: Among them is Shaykh Muhammad Sambo (c.1780-1826), mentioned by the author of the Infaq, who said: 'Among those who were distinguished among the sons of the Shaykh [Uthman b. Muhammad Fodiye] was Muhammad Sambo, the scholar, the most learned one, who conjoined sharia and haqiqa, the Sufi. However, he would sometimes become unapproachable and shut himself off, then later he would return to his normal state'.

I say, adding to what he said: He is our shaykh and our master, the scholar, the practitioner [of the faith], the pious, the Friend [of God], the gnostic. He has a high rank in waliya, and a firm stance in divine knowledge (ma’rifa), and a true state in Siddiqiyya.

He experienced divine unveilings and true mystical states. In one of his writings he mentioned that he had been granted the divine favour of walking on water and flying in the air, and that he had seen the land of the samasima24 and had entered it. The gnostics say that this land is only entered by those who have attained the rank of the forty, and the rank of the forty is well known among the folk of God. He mentioned to me regarding himself that his spiritual capacities (qabiliyyatuhu) made him eligible for the rank of ghawth. This statement was uttered by him in a state of sobriety, and this is a great rank which it is possible to recognize in the shaykh, but he knows more about this matter [than I]. The testimony to this is apparent in him to all who truly know him. Peace.

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Re: The Sweet Meadows Of Contemplation: An Addendudm To The Infaq Al-maysur by GorkoSusaay: 4:46pm On Jul 30, 2016
Also his brother [Sultan Bello], the author of the Infaq. He mentioned himself in the book and listed some of the books he had studied. I say: As he mentioned, he was, praise be to God, accomplished in all branches of learning, a savant of abundant scholarship, one of the outstanding scholars, quick to comprehend, keen of mind, a man of sagacity and shrewdness, easy in temperament, knowledgeable about human relations, little given to causing offence, very helpful, a lover of knowledge, of perfect insight, and of glowing mental faculties. He took to medicine and therapeutic wisdom, and had extraordinary insights into the Quran which no unbiased Sufi would deny.

Another of them is their brother Muhammad al-Bukhari, to whom [Muhammad Bello] did not devote a notice in the Infaq. I say: Muhammad al-Bukhari was a faqih of abundant learning and wide education (kathir al'ilm wa'l-adab), well-spoken and eloquent, of ample intelligence and high moral character, loving learning and its practitioners, quick to comprehend, highly articulate, like his two brothers. He was a man of few words, dignified, searching avidly for good and for beneficial knowledge, very shy. He was a man whose prayers were answered, and I consider him to have been granted mystical unveilings or [spiritual] states( hawa’il [sic]).

Also my father Mustafa b. Muhammad [died in1261/1845] He was one of the scholars of the age, and one of the jurists of the time, one of those in whom people sought refuge on account of his knowledge of the Sunna, the jurisprudence of the [Muslim] community, and his memorization [of texts]. In addition to his learning and his jurisprudence and his [powers of] memory, he was someone who was blessed with fine moral qualities, as well as good faith and confidence in is fellow Muslims.

Among them also is our shaykh, the man of letters, Gidado, son of the shaykh, the scholar, the ascetic Ahmad Gare. He was mentioned together with his father in the Infaq. I say: He is our shaykh, the man of letters, the philologist, the usuli [theologian/jurist], the rhetorician, the grammarian. He memorized a great deal, indeed he memorized most of the texts he transmitted. In addition he taught and gave instruction at all times, and was much occupied with that. He also engaged in other transmitted and cognitive disciplines. I say: He was of fine moral character, good-hearted. He did not tire of teaching or despair of his students. I studied a number of books with him and these will be mentioned later.

Among them also is the scholar Mudi. He was a man of culture, eminent, distinguished, intelligent, a man of letters, an usuli [theologian], a rhetorician, who also had some knowledge of jurisprudence. He also had insights into the cognitive sciences.

Another is the scholar[b] Muhammad Yero b. Ghari[/b] who was one of the shaykhs of the age, imbued with scholarship and piety, having a keenness for good deeds, and a man of accomplishment in worship and litanies. The writer of this note, Abd al-Qadir b. al-Mustafa, says: This is the end of what I have added to it, to the best of my ability, despite haste and lack of time. They are seven persons, and if time permits, I will write more about them in a [separate] compendium.

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Re: The Sweet Meadows Of Contemplation: An Addendudm To The Infaq Al-maysur by GorkoSusaay: 4:49pm On Jul 30, 2016
These seven are all Shaykhs from whom I took [knowledge] and from whom I copied [texts].

As for my father, with him I studied most of what I have transmitted and from him, I took most of what I studied. Indeed, through him, my faculties blossomed and I partook of his abundance and swelled up with it.

As for my Shaykh Muhammad Sambo, I took from him the Sufi path and transmitted from him some books of the People [the Sufis] such as the Hikam, after getting it from my father, and al-Insan al-kamil and Usul al-tariq and others. I was attached to him for long and drank from [his knowledge].

As for his brother Muhammad Bello, I studied with him al-Jawhar al-maknun and some of the [pre-Islamic] poets and some of the fundamentals of Sufism and medicine, etc.

As for Muhammad al-Bukhari, I studied with him grammar, such as al-Imrltiyya, the Mulha, the Qatr and the Khulasa and he taught me [various other] matters.

As for Shaykh Gidado, I studied with him al-Kawkab al-sati and the Nuqaya with its commentary, and al Sullam al-murawnaq on logic,and the Kafiya of Ibn Malik, and his work Kashf al-aqfa fi ilm al-amthal and other works.

With Shaykh Mudi I studied al-Ramziya on prosody.

From Muhammad Yero I took some wirds and wazifas. In sum, I copied [texts] and memorized and (unclear) [learning] from the scholars of my age.

Praise be to God. The note is ended, and completed.

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Re: The Sweet Meadows Of Contemplation: An Addendudm To The Infaq Al-maysur by Baaballiyo(m): 12:54pm On Aug 16, 2016
GorkoSusaay:
These seven are all Shaykhs from whom I took [knowledge] and from whom I copied [texts].

As for my father, with him I studied most of what I have transmitted and from him, I took most of what I studied. Indeed, through him, my faculties blossomed and I partook of his abundance and swelled up with it.

As for my Shaykh Muhammad Sambo, I took from him the Sufi path and transmitted from him some books of the People [the Sufis] such as the Hikam, after getting it from my father, and al-Insan al-kamil and Usul al-tariq and others. I was attached to him for long and drank from [his knowledge].

As for his brother Muhammad Bello, I studied with him al-Jawhar al-maknun and some of the [pre-Islamic] poets and some of the fundamentals of Sufism and medicine, etc.

As for Muhammad al-Bukhari, I studied with him grammar, such as al-Imrltiyya, the Mulha, the Qatr and the Khulasa and he taught me [various other] matters.

As for Shaykh Gidado, I studied with him al-Kawkab al-sati and the Nuqaya with its commentary, and al Sullam al-murawnaq on logic,and the Kafiya of Ibn Malik, and his work Kashf al-aqfa fi ilm al-amthal and other works.

With Shaykh Mudi I studied al-Ramziya on prosody.

From Muhammad Yero I took some wirds and wazifas. In sum, I copied [texts] and memorized and (unclear) [learning] from the scholars of my age.

Praise be to God. The note is ended, and completed.


I am glad to meet a learned of our history like you, mi yetti maassin, for adding to our knowledge.

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