Sankore' Institute of Islamic-African Studies International

09/25/2026

09/18/2026

ON THE ORDINARINESS OF THE PERFECT HUMAN - MUHAMMAD, upon him be blessings and peace

by Shaykh Muhammad Shareef bin Farid

The normality or commonness of the sage is what makes it easy to follow and adhere to their teachings. It ‎is their simplicity and the well-being expressed in their service to themselves and their families which reveal ‎the perfection of their inner character.‎

In his Akhlaaq al-Mustafa, Shaykh Abdullahi Dan Fodio said:‎

وَكَانَ يُهَيِئُ الطَّهَارَةَ مِنَ الْمَطْهَرَةِ وَالسِّوَاكِ لاَ يَكِلُّ ذَلِكَ إِلَى خَادِمِهِ إِلَّا لِضَرُورَةٍ
‎“He, the Messenger of Allah, would prepare the appliances required for purification from containers and ‎tooth brush and would not make that a responsibility for anyone of his servants, except out of necessity.”‎

‏"وَ" مَعْناَهُ أَنَّهُ مِنْ مَكَارِمِ أَخْلَاقِهِ عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ اَلَّتِي هِيَ مِنْ شُعْبِ اِلْإِيْمَانِ: "كَانَ يُهَيِئُ ‏الطَّهَارَةَ مِنَ الْمَطْهَرَةِ" أَيِّ أَنَّهُ عَلَيْهِ اِلسَّلَامُ كَانَ يَعُدُّ اَلْمَاءَ أَوْ جَهَّزَ اَلْحَجَرَ بِنَفْسِهِ لِلْاِسْتِنْجَاءِ ‏وَالْوُضُوْءِ وَالْغُسْلِ وَغَيْرِهَا مِنَ اَلطَّهَارَةِ، أَوْ كَانَ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَنْظِفُ بِنَفْسِهِ اِلْإِنَاءَ ‏وَالْحِلَابَ وَالتَّوْرَ اَلَّتِي يَسْتَعَمِلُ بِهَا فِي اِلْاِسْتِنْجَاءِ وَالْوُضُوْءِ وَالُغُسْلِ لِيَحْفِظُهَا مِنَ اَلنَّجَاسَةِ. ‏
Among his character traits, upon him be peace which are a part of the branches of faith is that: “He ‎would prepare the appliances required for purification from containers.” This means that he, upon him ‎be peace, used to personally prepare water, or make ready stones in order to perform the cleansing of the ‎private parts (istinja’), ablution, the ritual bath and other forms of purification. Or it means that the ‎Messenger of Allah, ‎صلى الله عليه وسلم‎ used to personally clean the containers, jars and receptacles which he ‎used to utilize for cleansing of the private parts (istinja’), ablution and the ritual bath. This was done in ‎order to protect these utensils from impurities (najaasa).‎

وَمَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ: "وَالسِّوَاكِ" أَيِّ أَنَّهُ عَلَيْهِ اِلسَّلَامُ كَانَ يَحْفِظُ سِوَاكَهُ وَيُهَيئُهُ وَيَنْظِفُهُ إِحْتِرَازًاً لَهُ مِنَ ‏اَلنَّجَاسَةِ، دَلِيْلاً لِتَوَاضُعِهِ وَتَعْلِيْمًا لِأُمَّتِهِ، ‏
The meaning of his words: “…and tooth brush”; is that he, upon him be peace, used to preserve his ‎toothbrush, prepare it and clean it as a way of guarding it against impurities. All this was done out of his ‎innate humility and as a way of instructing his Umma. ‎

فَقَالَ اَلْقَاضِي عِيَاضٌ فِي اِلشِّفَا: "وَيَتَوَلَّى فِي مَنْزِلِهِ مَا يَتَوَلَّى اَلْخَادِمُ مِنْ مِهْنَتِهِ" أَيِّ أَنَّهُ عَلَيْهِ ‏اِلسَّلَامُ يَقُوْمُ فِي بَيْتِهِ بِمَا يَقُوْمُ اَلْخَادِمُ فِي مَنْزِلِ سَيِّدِهِ، فَكَانَ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَفْعَلُ بِنَفْسِهِ ‏فِي دَاخِلِ بَيْتِهِ مَعَ أَهْلِهِ مَا يَفْعَلُهُ اَلْخَادِمُ فِيْهِ، فَإِنَّهُ يَفْعَلُ ذَلِكَ بِنَفْسِهِ تَوَاضُعًا مِنْهُ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ ‏وَسَلَّمَ، وَتَعْلِيْمًا لِأَصْحَابِهِ بِأَنَّهُ مِنْ سُنَّنِ اِلْأَنْبِيَاءِ عَلَيْهِمُ اَلصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ.‏
Qadi `Iyad said in his as-Shifa: “He took care of the responsibilities in his home the way a servant takes care ‎of his responsibilities.” This means that when he, upon him be blessings and peace was in the confines of ‎his home he used to act the same as a servant acts on behalf of his master. He did this by himself out of ‎humility and as a way of instructing his Companions that serving oneself is a part of the Sunnan of the ‎Prophets, upon them be blessings and peace.‎

فَقَدْ رَوَى اَلْبَيْهَقِيُّ وَعَبْدُ اَلرَّزَاقِ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهَا: "كَانَ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ‏يَخْصِفُ نَعْلَهُ وَيُخَيِطُ ثَوْبَهُ وَيَعْمِلُ فِي بَيْتِهِ كَمَا يَعْمِلُ أَحَدُكُمْ فِي بَيْتِهِ وَيَقِيْمُ بَيْتَهُ وَيَحْلِّبُ شَاتَهُ، ‏وَيَأْكُلُ مَعَ اَلْخَادِمِ وَيَعْجِنُ وَيَحْمِلُ حَاجَّتَهُ مِنَ اَلسُّوْقِ"، وَفِي رِوَايَةِ أَحْمَدٍ: "كَانَ يُخَيِطُ ثَوْبَهُ ‏وَيَخْصِفُ نَعْلَهُ وَيَعْمِلُ مَا يَعْمِلُ اَلرِّجَالُ فِي بُيُوْتِهِمْ". ‏
It has been related by al-Bayhaqi on the authority of Abd’r-Razaaq ibn Hammam on the authority of A`isha, ‎may Allah ta`ala be pleased with her who said: “The Messenger of Allah, ‎صلى الله عليه وسلم‎ used to mend his ‎socks, sew his own shirts, and perform the work in his home, just as anyone of you takes care of his home. ‎He would clean his home, milk his sheep, eat with the servants, knead bread and transport his things from ‎the market.” It is reported in another narration related by Ahmad: “He used to sew his shirts, mend his ‎socks and do what a man normally does in his own home.”‎

وَمَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ: "لاَ يَكِلُّ ذَلِكَ إِلَى خَادِمِهِ إِلَّا لِضَرُورَةٍ"، أَيِّ فِي اِلْوَقْتِ اِلضَّرُوْرَةِ كَمَا فِي حَدِيْثِ ‏أَنَس بْنِ مَالِكٍ عِنْدَ اَلْبُخَارِيِّ: "كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَدْخُلُ اَلْخَلاَءَ فَأَحْمِلُ أَنَا ‏وغُلَامٌ مِنَّا إدَاوَةً مِّن مَّآءٍ وَعَنَزَةً يَسْتَنْجِي بِالْمَاءِ". ‏
The meaning of his words: “…and would not make that a responsibility for anyone of his servants, except ‎out of necessity”; that is to say, except during times which necessitated that; as it was related in a ‎prophetic tradition of Anas ibn Malik from al-Bukhari: “When the Messenger of Allah, ‎صلى الله عليه وسلم‎ used ‎to enter the toilet, I or a young boy among us would sometimes carry a container or receptacle of water ‎with an iron tip, so that he could purify his private parts with water.” ‎

وَفِي رِوَايَةِ اِلْإِسْمَاعِيْلِيِّ مِنْ طَرِيْقِ إِبْنِ مَرْزُوْقٍ عَنْ شَعْبَةَ: "فَأَنْطَلِّقُ أَنَا وَغُلَامٌ مِنَ اَلْأَنْصَارِ ‏مَعْنَا"، وَيُفَسِّرُ بَعْضُ اَلْعُلَمَاءِ بِـ"الْغُلَامِ" فِي حَدِيْثٍ إِنَّهُ أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ لِأَنَّهُ كَانَ يَحْمِلُ مَعَ اَلنَّبِيِّ ‏صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ اَلْإِدَاوَةَ لِوُضُوئِهِ وَحَاجَّتِهِ، وَمَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ: "إِدَاوَةً" إِدَاوَةً بِكَسْرِ اِلْهَمْزَةِ إِنَاءٌ ‏صَغِيْرٌ مِنْ جِلِدٍ، فَفِي غَالِبِ اِلْوَقْتِ أَنَّهُ عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ يَخْدِمُ نَفْسَهُ، فَهَذَا مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ: ‏‏"إِلَّا لِضَرُوْرَةٍ"، بِأَنَّهُ مِنْ عَادَتِهِ عَلَيْهِ اَلسَّلَامُ أَنْ لَا يَرْفَعُ رَأسَهُ مِنَ التَّوَاضُعِ.‏
In a narration related of al-Isma`ili by way of Ibn Marzuq on the authority of Sha`ba who said: “I and ‎another boy from the Ansar used to accompany him.” Some of the scholars interpret the expression ‘boy’ ‎‎(ghulaam) to be a reference to Abu Hurayra, because he used to accompany the Prophet, ‎صلى الله عليه وسلم‎ ‎and carry the water container for his ablution and other needs. The meaning of his words ‘idwa’ (water ‎receptacle where the letter hamza is inflected with kasra), is a small container made of leather. However, ‎most of the times, he, upon him be blessings and peace used to serve himself. This is the meaning of the ‎words of the author: “…except out of necessity”, because it was a part of his custom, upon him be peace, ‎to never raise his head from the state of humility. ‎

The ordinariness and simplicity of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace was due ‎to his innate humility and his austerity from the demands of this world’s life. His exalted station as the Seal ‎of the prophets and master of the Messengers did not prevent him from behaving as the common man in ‎taking care of his personal needs, cleaning his home, mending his old clothing or shopping in the markets ‎for his family.‎

In fact, these non-essential human qualities are permissible for the Messengers and Prophets, so that they ‎can instruct humanity how to behave properly as a husband, care taker, family man, father, neighbor and ‎friend. These ordinary human qualities are considered as mandatory for many of the elite of the sages and ‎Knowers of Allah ta`ala.‎

One of Black Africa’s greatest mystics, Shaykh Abd’l-Qaadir Dan Tafa underlined this point in his al-`Uhuud ‎wa’l-Mawaatheeq (Book of Oaths and Covenants) where he said:‎

أَخَذَ عَلَىَّ الْعَهَدَ وَالْمِيثاقَ أَن أَجْرِيَ مَعَ النَّاسِ مَجْرَى الْأَمْثَالِ وَالْأَقْرانِ مَعَ لُزُومِ الْفِقْهِ وَلَحَقَّ ‏الْبَقِيَ عَلَى النَّاسِ، وَإِن ذَلِكَ لَا يَضُرَّنِي فِي شَأْنِي مَا لَمْ أَحْدِثُ حَدَثًا فِيَّ يُنَافِي الْمَقَامَ.‏
‎“I have taken an oath and covenant to follow the same course as the people, following the example and ‎customs of the generation of my age; along with what they adhere to from jurisprudence, and betaking ‎with what remains with the best habits of the people. This custom will not harm me in my affair as long as I ‎do not contrive an invention which negates my spiritual station.”‎

This is clear evidence that the sage, regardless of how perfected they have become in their character and in ‎their gnosis of their Lord; they never act or behave outside of the norm of the people. They have no ‎distinctive dress which makes them stand out from normal people. Nor does their elevated spiritual states ‎prevent them from taking care of their personal needs, cleaning their homes, gardening and maintenance ‎of their property.‎

This was the Way of the Perfect Human (al-Insaan al-Kaamil), our master Muhammad, may Allah bless him ‎and grant him peace; and it were these non-essential ordinary human qualities which made him more ‎sublime and cherished by those obligated to follow him.‎

قَالَ إِبْنِ شَقِيْقِ الْمُصَنِفُ، السُّلْطَانُ مُحَمَّدُ بَلُّو بْنُ الشَّيْخِ عُثْمَانَ بْنِ فُودِيَ فِي تَخْمِيْسِ الْبُرْدَةِ ‏الشَّرِيْفَةِ:‏
The nephew of the author, Sultan Muhammad Bello ibn Shehu Uthman Dan Fodio said in his Takhmees al-‎Burda as-Shareef; where he described the transcendent character of the Messenger of Allah hidden within ‎his simplicity and ordinariness.‎

طَابَتْ حَلَاهُ وَقَدْ نَارَتْ بَصِيْرَتُهُ ‏*‏
وَالْبِرُّ شَيْمَتُهُ وَالزُّهْدُ سِيْرَتُهُ
‎“His innate beauty is pleasantly sweet and his insight is illuminated
While benevolence is his natural disposition and austerity is his natural behavior

لَمْ تَلْتَفِتْ قَطٌّ لِلدُّنْيَا سَرِيْرَتُهُ ‏* ‏
وَأَكَّدَتْ زُهْدَهُ فِيْهَا ضَرُوْرَتُهُ
For, his inner thoughts never became entangled in the web of this world’s life - ever
And his austerity from it became more inveterate, in spite of his needs. ‎

إِنَّ الضَّرُوْرَةَ لاَ تَعْــدُوَّ عَلىَ الْعِصَمِ
For verily, needs can never overpower those who are infallible.”‎

O Allah send blessings and peace upon our master Muhammad as long as the universe revolves on its axis; ‎and make us among those who adhere to his inward and outward sunnan; and simplicity of character.‎

SOURCES:‎

Akhlaaq al-Mustafa:‎
https://www.academia.edu/26285754/matin_akhlaaql-mustafa_arabic_english_and_french

Nayl as-Safa Ijlaa as-Dujaa Arabic:‎
https://www.academia.edu/8673441/Nayl_as-Safaa_wa_Ijlaa_d-‎Dujaa_The_Attainment_of_Spiritual_Clarity_and_the_Removal_of_Spiritual_Darkness_-_Arabic_text‎

Nayl as-Safa Ijlaa as-Dujaa English:‎
https://www.academia.edu/8673367/Nayl_as-Safaa_wa_Ijlaa_d-‎Dujaa_The_Attainment_of_Spiritual_Clarity_and_the_Removal_of_Spiritual_Darkness_-_English‎

09/18/2026

INTRODUCTION TO THE DAALIYYA OF SHEHU UTHMAN DAN FODIYO

by Shaykh Muhammad Shareef bin Farid

In the name of Allah the Beneficent the Merciful, may Allah send blessings and abundant peace upon our master Muhammad, his family and Companions. All praises are due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds and abundant blessings and most perfect peace be upon the master of the Messengers and Seal of the Prophets, our master and chief Muhammad, his family, Companions, wives and descendents.

This poem (qasida) written or ending in the letter daal was composed by the Light of the Age, the Renewer of the Religion, the Reviver of the Sunna, the eleventh Righteous Caliph, Shehu Uthman ibn Fuduye, may Allah be pleased with him. He composed this poem as the poem clearly states at the end in the year 1188 A.H. (1772 C.E.) while he was at the young age of twenty. His brother, Abdullah Dan Fuduye’ counted this poem or song among the first poetic compositions of the Shehu, when he said: “My first poem of note that I can remember was the takhmees (a poem written in five verses) upon the poem of our shaykh, the Amir’l-Mu’mineen, my brother Uthman ibn Muhammad, in praise of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, of which the beginning was:

هَلْ لِي مَسِيرٌ نَحْوَ طَيْبَةَ مُسْرِعًا لِأَزُورَ قَبْرَ الْهَاشِمِـــي مُحَمَّدِ
Is there for me a way to travel swiftly towards Tayba,
To visit the tomb of the Hashimi Muhammad?

Furthermore, this was the first Arabic poem which he composed, as far as I know, …hence he who knows the date of the hijra in this poem of his also knows the beginning of this affair of his of calling the people to the religion, which was about 1188 A.H. (1772 C.E.) - this was about forty years ago.” Thus, Shaykh Abdullahi made this assertion around 1812 just before the Shehu and his jama`at relocated from Sifawa to Sokoto and after he had, as the scholars said, ‘divided up the world.’

The composition of the Daaliyya in 1772 marked the beginning of the reform movement of the Shehu in the central Bilad’s-Sudan. It also indicated a turning point in the Shehu’s spiritual development which composed of a deep spiritual insecurity, so to speak; or incapacity (`ajz), a recognition and acknowledgment of one’s inability to achieve responsibilities, attain goals, objectives, hopes and dreams. In this case, the Shehu’s spiritual state coincided with the legal concept of capacity (ist`itaa`) and incapacity as delineated in the rites of pilgrimage.

The occasion is that the Shehu had been studying at length and in depth with Shaykh Jibril ibn Umar regarding the linguistic and lexical sciences that he had learned in Egypt under the renown spiritual master the Qutb Shaykh Muhammad Murtada az-Zabidi, the author of the Taaj’l-‘Uruus. After a two year long teaching tour (as well as sabbatical with the learned judges) of the central Bilad’s-Sudan), Shaykh Jibril made the intention to make the pilgrimage to the House of Allah for a second time and to visit and be a guest of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace in al-Medina’l-Munawarra. He also intended to sit and receive transmission in the diverse sciences with the scholars of the Hijaz and Egypt, such as the above mentioned Abu’l-Fayd Muhammad Murtada az-Zabidi al-Husayni al-Waasiti.

It was during this time that Shaykh Jibril and his son Shaykh Abu’t-Tawfeeq eradiated a key spiritual station revolving around the person of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Shaykh Jibril and his son conducted lectures on the nature of the Muhammadan Reality (haqeeqat’l-muhammadiyya) throughout Hausaland, the Air and Gurma.

Shehu Uthman was among the leading students of Shaykh Jibril at that time who actually accompanied the Shaykh on his tours and learned the fine art of the transmission of learning. It was during this explosive intellectual period that the Shehu attained an extreme state of yearning to be in the presence of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace literally in terms of outward adherence to his Sunna and figuratively in terms of behaving in accordance with his sublime character and experiencing the spiritual states and stations commiserate with these noble Muhammadan traits (khisaal’l-muhammadiyya).

The Shehu received a taste of suhba (companionship) with Muhammad and longed for the kind of discipleship, companionship and prophetic eradiation achieved by the Companions of Muhammad. It was the impossibility of this objective and the nobility that it entailed which increased the inner tension of the Shehu and the heat of his desire for that station. It was this state of impotence (`ajz) and improbability which defined the inner state of the Shehu at that time. He said:

أَقْسَمْتُ بِالرَّحْمَنِ مَا لِـي مُفْضِلٌ إِلَّا حَوَى حُـــبُّ النِّبِيِّ مُحَمَّدِ
I swear by the Rahman, I possess not a single excellent trait,
I am only totally encompassed in the love of Prophet Muhammad

He also said acknowledging his impotence, sins, ignorance and incapacity; as well as a need for the redemptive miracles of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

ذَنْبِي قُيُودٌ وَالْقُيُــودُ ثَقِيلَةٌ كَيْفَ النُّهُوضُ لِمُوثَقِ وَمُقَيِّدِ
My sins are like chains and the chains are thick & heavy
How can one chained and bound ever be redeemed?

إِنِّي ذَلِيلُ بِـالذُّنُوبِ مُبَرْقَعٌ أَرْجُواْ الْخَلاَصَ بِجَاهِ هَذَا السِّيِّدِ
Verily I am debased by my sins that veil me
But I hope to be freed from them by the rank of that Chief.

أَخْفَيْتُ سُوءً وَاللَّهُ لَهُ يَرَى يَا عَالِمُ الأَسْرَارِ أَعْذِبْ مَوْرِدِ
I concealed evil actions, yet it was Allah the Unicity who saw them
O Knower of secrets, make my final destination agreeable.

إِنِّي عَدِيمٌ بِالخَطَايَـا مُكْثِرٌ لاَّ مَلْجَأٌ إِلَّا بِفَضْلِ مُـحَمَّدِ
Verily I am concealed by my errors, which have become many
There is no sanctuary except by the virtues of Muhammad.

وَإِذَا سُئِلْتُ مَن الْمُسِئُ أَقُل أَنَا لاَ طَمْعَ لِي إِلَّا بِجَـاهِ مُحَمَّدِ
And when I am asked: “Who is an evil doer?” I will say: “Me.”
Yet, there is no aspiration for me except by the rank of Muhammad.

This weak, aberrant and dependent state coincided with the outwardly legal state of incapacity (bi ghayr’l-isti’taa`) as delineated in the rites of pilgrimage. One of the prerequisites (shuruut) of pilgrimage which precludes its obligation (wujuub) is capacity (al-isti’taa`). Capacity according to the jurists, means the ability to arrive and fulfill all of the religious rites without insurmountable difficulties. It includes financial capacity or a pronounced sense of austerity (zuhd) where the lack of provision is no problem. In the absence of finances it comprises having a profession which would suffice a person throughout the journey. For the believer whose parents are alive, capacity means getting their verbal or written permission. The rights of parents, in terms of caretaking and maintenance, supersede the obligation of the pilgrimage.

This was the situation Shehu found himself in Air, when his teachers decided to make the pilgrimage. The Shehu’s father, Fuduye` Muhammad, was in Degel many days journey south of Agadez. Shaykh Jibril refused to allow the Shehu to accompany him without permission from his parents. It was impossible for him to get the verbal or written permission of his father, in the time that his teacher was scheduled to depart.

Combine this clear legal incapacity on the part of the Shehu with an intense yearning to be in the presence of the Prophet both literally and figuratively; is what caused a heightened state of tension and despondency. This is what stirred the Shehu to weep from both incapacity and yearning, as his teacher, Shaykh Jibril slowly departed for his second pilgrimage to Mecca.

The Shehu said:

غُرْدِرْتُ مُنْهِلِ الدُّمُـــوعِ مُؤَبِلاً شَوْقًا إِلَـــى هَذَا النَّبِيِّ مُحَمَّدِ
I went away bathed in tears, tears falling like a downpour,
Yearning towards that Prophet Muhammad”

In another verse he said:

وَبِشَوْقِهِ فَاضَتْ غُرُوبُ دُمُوعِنَا تُمْحَى ذُنُوبُ عُصَاتِنَا بِـمُحَمَّدِ
The withdrawing of our tears have overflowed by his love,
The sins of our disobedience are wiped out by Muhammad.

This state naturally induces two possible states: one of extreme depression, decline in faith, inaccessibility and a fall in obedience’; or a collusion of the negative vacuum energy of incapacity with an acute vacuity of yearning which ignited a fusion of energy that radiated the entire bilad’s-Sudan.

It was this burst of energy defined as tajdeed which emerged from the Shehu in 1772 and multiplied among his relatives, friends, colleagues and disciples like nuclear fission. The Shehu said about this:

نَارُ الْغَرَام تَـجُولُ بَيْنَ ضُلُوعِنَا نُدْلِي لَهُ بِمُحَبَّةٍ وَتَــوَدُّدِ
The fires of passion moves freely between our breasts,
I am snatched away towards him with love and longing.

نَخْتَانُ بَيْنَ الْعَالَمِــينَ بِفَخْرِهِ وَنَذُوبُ مِن شَوْقِ النِّبِيِّ مُحَمَّدِ
We have been sealed with his honor between all the worlds,
We are completely dissolved from devotion to Prophet Muhammad.

قَطَعَتْ رِقَابَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ سُيُوفُهُ مَن ذَا يُمَارِي فِي فَضَائِلِ أَحْمَدِ
His swords have cut the necks of the idolaters'
Who can contest the perfections of Ahmad?

اَفَلَتْ نُجُـــومُ عُلاَهُم بَعْلُّوِّهِ مَن ذَا الَّذِي يَعْلُوا عُلُوَّ مُحَمَّـدِ
The heights of the stars have set by means of his elevation,
Who can reach the exalted ranks of Muhammad?

لاَ أُنْسَ إِلَّا أَن نَّزُورَ ضَرِيـحَهُ لاَ خِصَّبَ إِلَّا فِي جَنَابِ مُحَمَّدِ
There is no intimacy except in visiting his grave,
There is no abundance except in proximity to Muhammad.

نَسْمُواْ عَلَـى كُلِّ الْوَرَى بِسُمَوِّهِ وَنَسُودُ بَيْنَهُمْ بِسُؤدَدٍ أَحْمَــدِ
We tower above all creatures by means of his eminence,
We have become chieftains among them by the power of Ahmad.

If the Shehu could not go to Muhammad, then he would make the Muhammadan realities an established fact of the central Bilad’s-Sudan in all of its manifestations and effects. Many modern scholars and academics overlook the impact that this spiritual state had on the reform movement established by the Shehu. What is ironic is that this spiritual state emerged from an assiduous attachment to the person of Muhammad, rather than any direct claim of connection to Allah.

The outsider and academic observer may assert that this is a kind of ‘hagiography’, saint worship or anthropomorphism. However, this spiritual state is higher than those who claim or even adhere to an absolute adherence to Allah ta`ala alone. The ‘salafist’ will no doubt claim ‘shirk’, predictably misclassifying something that they are intrinsically barred from.

This reality is the highest form of gnosis because nothing in existence is capable of having gnosis of Allah ta`ala as He is. The immutability of Allah means that there will always be an aspect of gnosis of Allah closed to all except Him. Thus, Allah ta`ala knowing creations’ incapacity to know Him as He should be known, created from His Light, a light whose gnosis of Allah epitomized all that creation can know of the Absolute Being.

He said on the tongue of the Perfect Human: “I was a Hidden Treasure who desired to be Known, so I created creation.”

Muhammad, is the answer to the desire of the Absolute Being to be known. It is for this reason he was named Beloved (al-habeeb), meaning that which is desired, intended and aimed at in creation. This aspect of gnosis of Allah ta`ala is more perfect than those who experience gnosis directly from the Absolute Being without intermediacy.

The latter form of gnosis can lead to spiritual madness (majdhuub) blindness (`amaa) and drowning (gharq) due to the strength and intensity of His overwhelming Self Disclosure. The reality of Muhammad is that human channel that defuses the Self Disclosure of the Absolute Being through the medium of the Names and Attributes. The Ninety-Nine Names make a Self Disclosure of the Actions of the Absolute Being throughout the dynamics which comprise and drive existence. It is the Mother of the ten thousand things, as Imam Wang Tai Yu designated it.

At the top of this awareness is humanity. The Shehu knew that the quickest and most efficient means to the Absolute Being was through the person of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. So he took that road to his Lord; and brought an entire nation and civilization with him. One physicist described it as creating a vacuum of negative energy, which is instantly filled with the positive energy of the Absolute Being.

From the perspective of the art of war, it is being inwardly impregnable while feigning outward debility. It creates a pause and stillness in action, a vacuum so to speak, inducing the opponent to fill it with his actions. The opponent believes that his actions or attacks are spontaneous and pro-active. In reality he is reacting to a pre-emptive empty action (wu wei – non action). The opponent’s actions are prearranged within in-time event; while your actions (or non action) emerge from the Present Moment. That is the advantage that you have at that moment. You should seize that moment to exhibit the principle or to strike your opponent with the blow intended from the beginning.

In the language of the Shehu, prophet Muhammad constituted the ultimate guide realized in all the matrices of human awareness and experience. It is from this reality that the concept of the Living Sunna emerges. Like the samurai, embrace the idea of death: the death of the lower passions, the death of the ego and the death of the allusion of the management of affairs.

The Shehu intended in this moment of complete incapacity and yearning to become annihilated in the Self-form of Muhammad. It was this state which induced the Daaliyya also named after its first verse: ‘hal lee maseerun…?’ One can say that this song is the anthem defining the backdrop of the spiritual, intellectual, socio-political traditions of Sokoto and African Islamic civilization.

Shaykh Muhammad Shareef bin Farid
15th Safar, 1436 (December 7th, 2014)
Back Home in the Motherland, Cotonou, Benin

DOWNLOAD THE DAALIYYA HERE:

https://siiasi.org/digital-archive/shaykh-uthman-ibn-fuduye/ad-daaliyya/

https://www.academia.edu/9671263/The_Daaliyya_Song_of_Shehu_Uthman_ibn_Fuduye

09/13/2026

ON THE TOLERANCE & PARDONING OF THE PROPHET

by Shaykh Muhammad Shareef bin Farid

فِي حِلْمِ رَسُولِ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَعَفْوِّهِ

أَقُولُ وَبِاللهِ التَّوْفِيقُ بِسَنَدٍ عَالِيَّةٍ إَلَى قَائِلِهِ قَالَ عَلامَةُ السُّودَان أَمِيرُ الْجَيْشِ صَاحِبُ بُوضِنْغَ اَلْأُسْتَاذُ عِزُّ الدِّينِ أَبُو مُحَمِّدٍ عَبْدُ اللهِ بْنُ فُودُيَ رَحِمَهُ اللهُ تَعَالَى فِي كِتَابِهِ اَلأَخْلَاقُ اَلْمُصْطَفَى وَصْفًا بِالنَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَنَّهُ: "أَحْلَمَ النَّاسِ وَأَعَفَّ النَّاسِ"

أَيِ أَصْبَرُهُمْ عَلَى اَلْمَكَارِهِ وَاَعْدَمُهُمْ الْمُؤَاخِذَةِ بَالذَّنْبِ، قَالَ اَلْقَاضِي عِيَّاضٌ فِي الشِّفَا: "وَأَمَّا اَلْحِلْمُ وَالْإِحْتِمَالُ وَالْعَفْوُ مَعَ الْقُدْرَةِ وَالصَّبْرِ عَلَى مَا يُكْرِهُ وَبَيْنَ هَذِهِ الْأَلْقَابِ فَرْقٌ، فَإِنَّ الْحِلْمَ حَالَةٌ تَوْقِرٌ وَثِبَّاتٌ عِنْدَ الْأَسْبَابِ الْمَحَرَكَاتِ، وَالْإِحْتِمَالَ حَبَسُ النَّفْسِ عِنْدَ الْأَلَامِ وَالْمُؤَذِيَاتِ، وَمِثْلُهَا الصَّبْرُ وَمَعَانِيْهَا مُتَقَارِبَةٌ، وَأَمَّا اَلْعَفْوُ فَهُوَ تَرْكُ الْمَؤَاخِذَةِ، وَهَذَا كُلُّهُ مِمَّا أَدَّبَ اللهُ بِهِ نَبِيَّهُ صلى الله عليه وسلم

فَقَالَ تَعَالَى: ﴿خُذِ الْعَفْوَ وَأْمُرْ بِالْعُرْفِ وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ الْجَاهِلِينَ﴾ الْأَيَّةُ"، وَرَوَاهُ فِيْهِ أَيْضًا عَنْ عَائِشَةَ رَضِىَ اللهُ عَنْهَا قَالَتْ: "مَا خَيَّرَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي أَمْرَيْنِ قَطٌّ إِلَّا أَخْتَارُ أَيْسَرَهُمَا مَا لَمْ يَكُنْ إِثْمًا، فَإِنْ كَانَ إِثْمًا كَانَ أَبْعَدُ النَّاسِ مِنْهُ، وَمَا أَنْتَقِمُ رَسُولُ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم لِنَفْسِهِ إِلَّا أَنْ تَنْتَهَكَ حُرْمَةَ اللهِ، فَيَنْتَقِمُ للهِ بِهَا"،

وَرُوِيَ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم لَمَّا كُسِرَتْ رُبَاعِيَّتُهُ وَشُحَّ وَجْهُهُ يَوْمَ أُحُدٍ شَقَّ ذَلِكَ عَلَى أَصْحَابِهِ شَدِيْدًا وَقَالُواْ: "لَوْ دَعَوْتَ عَلَيْهِمُ فَقَالَ: ((إنِّي لمْ أُبْعِثْ لِعَّانًا وَلَكِنِّي بُعِثْتُ دَاعِيًا وَرَحْمَةً، اللَّهُمَّ اَهْدِ قَوْمِي فَإِنَّهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ))"، فَهَذَا يَدِلُّ عَلَى حِلْمِهِ وَعَفْوّهِ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ اللهِ أَفْضَلُ الصَّلاةِ وَأَتَمُّ التَّسْلِيمِ،

قَالَ شَقِيقُ الْمُصَنِّفِ وَشَيْخُهُ الشَّيْخُ عُثْمَان بْنُ فُودُيَ رَحِمَهُمَا اللهُ:

حَبِيبٌ لَهُ نُورٌ بِيَثْرِبَ لاَئِحٌ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ بَاسِطُ الْكَفِ نَاصِحٌ

حَلِيمٌ لَهُ عِندَ الْجَمِيْعِ مَدَائِحٌ حَفِيظٌ لَهُ لِلْعَالَمِيْنَ نَصَـــائِحٌ

حَنُونٌ إِلَى الْخَيرَاتِ غَادٌ وَرَائِحٌ

الشَّيْخُ مُحَمَّدٌ شَرِيفٌ بْنُ فَرِيدٍ بَرُوكس

I say, and success is with Allah, in a high chain of authority going back to author, the most learned of the Land of the Blacks, Chief General, Mai Bodinga, the Professor `Izz’d-Deen Abu Muhammad ABDULLAHI DAN FODIO, may Allah be merciful to him said in his al-Akhlaaq al-Mustafa describing the Prophet, that he: “…was the most tolerant of mankind and the most forgiving of mankind”.

That is to say, that he was the most patient (asbir) and forbearing of people when encountering offense, and was the least of them in taking people to account for their sins.

Qadi `Iyad said in his as-Shifa: “As for forbearance, long-suffering, pardoning in spite of having the power to punish and patience in the face of offense, these are all distinct from each other. Forbearance (hilm) is a state of dignified bearing and constancy despite provocation. Long-suffering (ihtimaal) is the ability to restrain oneself in the face of pains and injuries. Patience (sabr) is similar to it, but its meaning is slightly different. As for pardoning (`afwu) it is refusing to hold something against someone.

All of these qualities are from what Allah disciplined His Prophet with, may Allah bless him and grant him peace with by His words: ‘Take the way of pardoning, command the practical and turn away from the ignorant’.”

He, Qaid `Iyad also related in it: “It has been related on the authority of A`isha, may Allah be pleased with her who said: ‘The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace was never given a choice between two matters, except that he chose the easier of the two as long as it was not sinful. If it were sinful, then he was the furthest of people from it. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace never took vengeance for himself, except when the sanctity of Allah was violated. Then he would take vengeance for the sake of Allah because of it.”

It was related that when Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace had his tooth broken and his face was cut on the day of the Battle of Uhud. This was thoroughly unbearable for his Companions, who said: “If only you would supplicate against them.” He said: “I was not sent to curse, but I was sent as an inviter to Allah and a mercy. O Allah guide my people for they do not know.” This is evidence of the extent of his tolerance and pension for pardoning.

The blood brother and spiritual guide of the author, Shehu Uthman ibn Fuduye`, may Allah be merciful to both of them said about the innate forbearance and virtue of the Prophet in his poem Ishriniyyaat:

“He is beloved, and has a Light which is evident in Yathrib

He is praiseworthy, illustrious, openhanded and a sincere counselor

He is forbearant, and has abundant praise with everything in creation

He is protecting of others, and to all the worlds he is a sincere counselor

He is warmhearted and a source of all things good, coming and going.”

[...an extract from my Nayl as-Safaa wa Ijla` ad-Dujaa a commentary upon the al-Akhlaaq al-Mustafa (the Character Traits of the Chosen One) of Shaykh Abdullahi dan Fodio]

https://www.academia.edu/8673441/Nayl_as-Safaa_wa_Ijlaa_d-Dujaa_The_Attainment_of_Spiritual_Clarity_and_the_Removal_of_Spiritual_Darkness_-_Arabic_text

https://www.academia.edu/8673367/Nayl_as-Safaa_wa_Ijlaa_d-Dujaa_The_Attainment_of_Spiritual_Clarity_and_the_Removal_of_Spiritual_Darkness_-_English