Local Callers to Islam

There is an important matter here that I consider necessary to highlight. Throughout its long history, the African continent has been blessed, at intervals and in various places, with local callers to Islam who worked for reform. Among the most prominent and earliest of these, and among those whose call was most far-reaching, was the sultan and Salafi scholar Shaykh Uthmān ibn Muhammad, known as Ibn Fūdī al-Fulātī, who strove in Allah’s cause.

Uthmān Fūdī was born in 1169 AH and died in 1232 AH.

He began his work of reform and calling people to Islam in 1188 AH. He called people to authentic Islam, from which many had strayed, and strove for this cause, resorting to fighting when necessary. He contacted rulers and scholars who had lost their way, calling them back to what was right and to understanding and conceiving of Islam as it truly was when it first came from Allah: in belief, worship, governance, and moral conduct.

The effects of his call can still be seen in northern Nigeria, especially in the major cities that served as centres for his work and that of his sons and grandsons after him, such as Sokoto, Zaria, Jas, and others. Anyone wishing to learn about the man, his message, and his approach to calling people to Islam should read some of his writings. Among the most important is “The Lamp of the Brethren on What Is Most Needed in This Age.” Though small in size, this book is rich in knowledge and beneficial insights. It reveals its author’s learning and his deep concern for guiding people, along with his evident resolve, firmness, and frankness in explaining the truth.

Among his descendants was the Muslim martyr al-Hājj Ahmad Bello, Premier of Northern Nigeria, whose life Allah brought to a close while he was engaged in calling people to Islam. Through him, great numbers of pagans and Christians embraced Islam. We attended