9 Minutes Read Time.

3rd Year

Introduction

Traversing the treasures of 19^th century history, it is widely known that innumerable paths of history lead towards Sokoto in West Africa.

Nana Asma’u – the epitome of true scholarship and intellectual brilliance.

Asma’u bint Uthman Dan Fodio was of noble lineage and distinctive rank – her father was the founder of the magnificent Islamic empire of Sokoto. She was a respected public figure of significant authority, a prolific author and a renowned intellectual.  She has been famous within the area of West Africa for more than 150 years, yet her accomplishments remain hidden

Parents and Family

In the village Degel – north-west of Sokoto- Asma’u more commonly known as Nana Asma’u was born a twin to Maimoona and Uthman Dan Fodiya in the year 1793 CE/ 1208 AH. Going against social and cultural norms, the erudite scholar was named after the great Sahabiyyah, Asma binte Abu Bakrt.

Path of Knowledge

Nana Asma’u grew up in a house that was filled with scholars and as such the first 10 years of her life were devoted to scholarly study.  By the year 1799, the 5 year old Asma’u had already been attending one of the local schools founded by her father.

The school was African with the students transcribing verses from the Noble Quran onto wooden tablets with black ink made from vegetable resin.

At the age of 10, she had completed the memorisation of the Noble Quran.  However, when she was 11 she was forced to emigrate to escape persecution, and the Fulani Ware battles had begun. The next decade was filled with warfare and uncertainty, through which Asma’u continued furthering her education as well as writing poetic works. She also would collate her father’s manuscripts.  For the next 45 years Asma’u continued to write poetic and prose works that dealt with current aspects.

Marriage

In 1807 at the tender age of 14, Asma’u married Gidado dan Laima, who later rose up to the duty of chief adviser of the Sokoto Caliphate. At the age of twenty in 1813, she had the first of her six sons.

Asma’u’s Development of her Role

Education, teaching, propogating and the pursuit of wisdom formed a constant in the life of Nana Asma’u. Her greatest challenge and that of leaders throughout history was to discover the most efficient and effective way of closing the gap between a meaningful education and the vast amounts of people.

Yan-Taru

The Yan Taru can be considered to be a  movement that undertook the education, social welfare, and empowerment  of rural women through trained local facilitators. During the caliphate of Muhammad Bello – her brother,  the foundations of this Yan Taru sisterhood were established. The Yan Taru Sisterhood was a coalition of females that would study under a female scholar.

This system was formed due to repeated concerns and worry regarding the prevalent condition of women within her community such as women were married early and as a result was subjected to decades of domestic servitude and oppression at the hands of male relatives. Nana Asma’u  objected against the clear misapplication of The Sunnah with regards to the rights and responsibilities of women, especially those that had been committed to the institution of marriage. Another great concern, was the normalisation of female illiteracy. And thus, Nana Asma’u, a woman who was a woman of high rank and status whilst being courageous enough to make use of her influential position to empower the women in her community.

The legacy of Asma’u continues to make its mark on the world, as Yan Taru’s replication and transformation in countries as far as North America proves its universal relevance.

System of Education

Nana Asma’u’s system of education was created to benefit women who were at high risk of neglect and maltreatment in society. This included widows, divorcees and pre-adolescent girls between the ages of 8-12 years.  These women proved to be the most suitable recruits as a result of their circumstances such as fewer travel restrictions and household responsibilities. The purpose of this system was to ensure that this diversified group received an adequate education that would prepare them for a more independent and dignified presence within their communities.

The transmission of knowledge was through poetry and rhyming couplets. They would be rehearsed and memorised as part of the learning process.

This curriculum was designed by Nana Asma’u and many of her manuscripts served as the foundation for the subjects taught and memorised.

In order for the new established organisation to flourish, commitment was required. It was demanding and required both physical and intellectual skills. Despite the hardships faced, the drive to spread knowledge and to socialise women solidified their hearts and minds.

The social impact and services that the ‘Yan Taru provided to the communities and villages in which they operated, included delivering new born babies, washing the bodies of dead women, cleaning the mosques, teaching children how to read and write in Arabic, counselling women about marital affairs and instructing them how to perform their prayers properly.

Nana Asma’u continuously paid careful attention to the wellbeing and development of her students, she would also use her close relationship with her brother, Muhammad Bello – to raise awareness of the general plight and needs of the women within the cities and villages.

Once sufficiently familiar with the system of learning and qualified in the various branches of knowledge encompassed by the ‘Yan Taru, each student would be eligible to graduate and participate in a ceremony called Nadi.

The newly qualified student and soon to be instructor would be handed a red cloth to tie around her head covering, this red ribbon signified her initiation into the ranks of the Jajjis, thus qualifying her to transmit her learning onto new students.

Asma’u’s Legacy

During the period of war, when their community was faced with a great deal of uncertainty and unrest, Nana Asma’u’s role as the leader of the women in the community was acknowledged and thus she became known as “War Gari”  the Mother of All. She was considered a mother to her students and a care-giver for her society. Nana Asma’u directly influenced and contributed towards the advancement and wellbeing of the people within her community.

Nana Asma’u has been purported as the woman who stitched the world together.  Her negotiation and restorative qualities assisted in closing the gap between in the power struggle between the upper class and the large amounts of under-educated and under-privileged humans. Her limitless amounts of wisdom had earned her a role in the Caliph’s administrative and political cabinet.

Nana Asma’u also used her vast knowledge, wisdom, intellect and comprehension and understanding of various religious matters to inform and educate women about Islam. She made great strides in explanations with regards to Islamic history and furthermore wrote poetry about various articles and principles of the Islam in a manner that was simple to learn, memorise and understand.

Interesting Facts

Nana Asma’u was a polyglot and a polymath. She was fluent in 4 languages, namely Arabic, Fulfulde, Hausa, and Tamachek

She had the ability to write and lecture on countless diverse subject matter from various dimensions.

Among her amazing qualities, was her custom to continuously maintain correspondence with other female scholars as far off as Fez in Morocco. Asma’u also delved into collecting rare manuscripts from the East. These manuscripts would be simplified and translated for the benefit of her students.

From amongst her first works, “The Way of the Pious”  written in 1820 had gained popularity with the content about morality speaking to many.  Asma’u continued to write poems and prose until she passed away in 1864 CE/ 1281 AH

It has been recorded that over sixty-one of her works have been discovered, including translations of which ten are teaching poems and seventeen are elegies.

Extracts from her works

Nana Asma’u is known to be the Poetic Princess and she had lived up to this title. It is visible in the many elegies she has written.  In her compositions, it has been noted that she gravitated towards pieces on people who were forgotten by history and she focused on human qualities rather than mere achievements. This further indicates towards the fact that she valued good character, not noble status.

Her uncle Na’Inna passed away in 1854, he had no position of power and was not a man of status, however Nana Asma’u has praised him in an elegy:

“He was cheerful, loved his family to visit him

Acted likewise with his neighbours.

He told them many things.

He did not concern himself with worldly happenings.

May God forgive his sins.” –  (Elegy for Na’lnna, v. 10)

His life encapsulated the ideal, a life full of the virtues any willing

person could try to emulate.

“It would be better to ignore all worldly

endeavors since we have been told it is not our true home” – (Na’In- na, v. 4).

In another elegy, Asma’u praised Halima, one of her “very kind, good” neighbours, for living a simple and useful life:

“She was a fine woman with lots of common sense:

She loved children and adults, treating them fittingly with respect.

She was religious and kept close relationships in good repair,

Acting always with never ending patience.” – (Elegy for Halima, vv. 11-12)

Conclusion

Nana Asma’u lived a long and blessed life, filled with learning and propagating. She passed away in the year 1864 CE/ 1281 AH. She is buried besides the resting place of her father, the great Uthman Dan Fodio.

Nana Asma’u was a result of her father’s prevailing mission to establish education and enlightenment for the inhabitants of society, in an era when power was misappropriated and knowledge was monopolised. Her legacy – the golden chain of transmission that spread and multiplied the beauty of knowledge and sciences among women, as well as the systems and networks she had cultivated shall continue enriching and transforming lives through the agency of education and culture.

Bibliography

Boyd, J., 2013. The Caliph’s Sister. 3 ed. New York: Routledge .

WikiPedia, 2021. Nana Asma’u. [Online]
Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nana_Asmaʼu
[Accessed 12 02 2022].

BookShy, 2021. #100AFRICANWOMENWRITERS: 4. NANA ASMA’U. [Online]
Available at: http://www.bookshybooks.com/2017/03/100africanwomenwriters-4-nana-asmau.html
[Accessed 12 02 2022].

Ilm Feed – Nana Asma’u and the Female Scholars of West Africa – YouTube Video

Cambridge Muslim College – Nana Asma’u – Abdul Hakim Murad: Paradigms of leadership