The rise of Shaykh Imam Sidi Abdellah ibn Yassin Jazouli (d. 451/1036) started with the pilgrimage to Makkah by Yahya b. Ibrahim, the chief of the Moroccan Judala Sanhaja tribe. In course of this trip the level of ignorance and the extent of unconformity with the Shari’a prevalent in his community dawned upon him more than ever before. In his return journey, Yahya b. Ibrahim took the trouble of coming through Qayrawan, attending the lessons of Sidi Abu Imran al-Fasi (d. 430/1015). From these lessons and perhaps experience during the Hajj, the Sanhaja leader realized how short the practice of Islam in his community has fallen. He requested the Shaykh to give him a scholar from among his students, who will go with him and enlighten his people on the correct practices of Islam. The choice of this scholar eventually fell on Abdellah b. Yassin, who took his assignment so seriously that it soon turned into a formidable movement which swept north through Morocco as far as Spain and south through Takrur as far as Ghana. This was the celebrated al-Murabitun movement.
There are two important points here that Hajj, the pilgrimage to Makkah, for Yahya b. Ibrahim, as indeed for many pilgrims after him, had not been only a matter of fulfilling a religious obligation. It was much more. By exposing him to the vastness of the world and the cultural and educational heights of the Muslim world, the Hajj widened his horizon and raised the level of his awareness. He could easily see the place of his community in the scheme of the Muslim world and the much that needed to be done to improve the situation. It is also clear that with all its ignorance and unconformity, the Sanhaja community on the southern fringes of the Sahara, is a Muslim community. The assignment of the teacher is clearly not to convert them as such but to teach them the correct ways of worship and conduct and alert an otherwise oblivious Muslim community to their obligations.
Unable to find an immediate hand in Qayrawan, al-Fasi gave Yahya b. Ibrahim a letter to his student Sidi Waggag ibn Zallu al-Lamti (d. 445/1030) asking the latter to provide Yahya with a teacher. It is interesting to catch a glimpse of this letter, excerpts of which Ibn Abi Zar' had taken care to preserve in his Rawd:
So the Faqih Abu Imran wrote him a letter saying: “peace be on you and God's mercy. When the bearer of this letter, who is Yahya b. Ibrahim al-Gudali, reaches you, send with him to his country one of your students in whose piety (din), blamelessness, learning and diplomacy (siyasa) you have confidence, so that he may teach them the Koran and the laws of Islam and instruct them in their religion. For that you and him will receive a great recompense, for God does not omit to reward him who does a good deed. Farewell.
Wajjaj on his part chose his student Abdellah b. Yassin for this assignment. Wajjaj's choice of Ibn Yassin must have been informed not only by his Shaykh's specifications, but also by his knowledge of the people among whom Ibn Yassin was to discharge his obligation. Indeed Wajjaj must have known the Sanhaja, with whom he enjoyed a high position of reverence, as much as he knew Ibn Yassin. Besides his modest learning, Ibn Yassin must have had a wider horizon having studied for seven years in the Andalus and familiarized himself with the terrain of the Maghreb on his way back.41 Above all, he enjoyed the full confidence of his Shaykh so it became his good fortune to initiate a movement which was to transform the Maghreb and leave its permanent imprints on western Africa.
In the year 1039-1040, Yahya b. Ibrahim arrived in the Judala country with Abdellah b. Yassin. True to his zeal, the latter did not loose time in starting his assignment. Available sources are not however explicit about the way he went about his assignment. The details are still sketchy and at times ambiguous. It is still possible, however, to sift through and reconstruct a good deal of the major events. Ibn Abi Zar's account in the Rawd, with its richness in details seems most helpful in this respect. He records:
He was Abdellah b. Yassin b. Makuk b. Sir b. Ali b. Yassin al-Guzali. When he arrived with Yahya b. Ibrahim in the land of the Sanhaja and settled in their midst and saw reprehensible actions evident and widespread among them, and encountered men who married six, seven or ten wives, or what ever number they desired, he reproached them for that and forbade it, saying: "this is not according to the Sunna; the practice (sunnah) of Islam is that a man may have four wives at once but he has freedom in respect of what his right hand possesses." then began to teach them religion and explain the law and the sunna to them command them to go good and forbid them to do evil.
Summahrizing Ibn Yassin's assignment, collated from the numerous original sources, Abun Nasr remarked:
"From the moment of his arrival with Yahya b. Ibrahim in the territory of the Judala, Ibn Yassin led a rigorous campaign against the practices which he considered incompatible with the Shari'a and proceeded to create an organized Islamic community. He established a public treasury, levied the legally prescribed Ushr and followed the Shari’a mode in the distribution of the booty. Yahya b. Ibrahim seems to have given Ibn Yassin his full support and at his behest repudiated five of his nine wives.
This collation might convey the impression that Ibn Yassin had it all smooth, but in fact, the contrary was the case. Ibn Yassin's zeal and vigour in implementing the provisions of the Shari’a to the letter, some times with little regard to their parochialism, was understandably not received well by a nomadic people who are ordinarily averse to order. Ibn Yassin seems to have faced such mounting oppositions that only the support and good will of Yahya b. Ibrahim helped to surmount. Predictably, soon after the death of Yahya b. Ibrahim, about ten years after their arrival, the Judala rebelled against Ibn Yassin and expelled him. All the major original sources from al-Bakri down to Ibn Khaldun have reported the expulsion of Ibn Yassin from the Judala. While al-Bakri was silent about the causes, only noting, "on account of events which are too long to relate"46, other sources like Ibn - Idhari, Ibn Abi Zar, and Ibn Khaldun were explicit. Ibn Abi Zar', thanks to his care for details, reported that on expulsion, Ibn Yassin made hijra to a ribat with a few disciples whose number continued to increase and later returned to attack and over power the Sanhaja tribes. Faria's meticulous and rather exhaustive study which included an archaeological survey on the proposed site of this ribat had long shown that the idea of hijra to a ribat cannot stand the body of available evidence. But interestingly, the issue of the disciples among the Sanhaja gathering around Ibn Yassin and learning very much in a ribat fashion has been reported by al-Bakri, Ibn al-Athir and Ibn Idhar among others. Though most of these sources made mention of about seventy disciples, they were silent on the content of this teaching. Here again we have to return to Ibn Abi Zar' for the details:
He began to teach them the Book and the Sunna, the ritual ablutions, the prayer, the alms giving and the like obligations which God imposed on them. When they had become versed in these matters and had become numerous, he preached to them admonished them, made them long for 'paradise and fear hell, ordered them to fear God to command good and forbid evil, and told them of God's reward and great recompense for these actions. Then he called upon them to make -Holy War on the tribes of Sanhaja who opposed them saying: "O Almoravids, you are a numerous body, the chiefs of your tribes and the heads of your clans. God has reformed you and led you to his straight path and put you under an obligation to be thankful for his grace and to command good and forbid evil and to fight the holy war for his sake."
They replied: "O blessed Shaykh, make what commands you will, you will find us obedient. Were you to order us to kill our parents we shall do so." "Go with God's blessing" said he. "Warn your people. Make them fearful of God's punishment. Tell them of His proof (Hujja). If they repent, return to the truth and ' abandon their ways, let them be. But if they refuse, continue in their error, and persist in their wrong-headedness, then we shall ask for God's help against them and wage holy war on them till God shall judge between us, for He is the best of judges.
Of course, as the majority of sources suggest, this teaching appears to have taken place prior to the death of Yahya b. Ibrahim and the consequent expulsion of Ibn Yassin. On expulsion, Ibn Yassin was reported to have raised the case with his Shaykh and master Wajjaj. Predictably, “Wajjaj' was indignant” and as Ibn Idhari continues:
He wrote to some of the Shaykhs of the Judala rebuking them for what happened to Abdellah b. Yassin through them and to what he heard of the deeds of those who rioted against him while he was staying among them. He blamed them fully for it and rebuked them severely because, having submitted to him, they had then found fault with what his enemy had (falsely) put about concerning him. When the Shaykh Wajjaj received a reply from the above mentioned Shaykhs of the Judala asking for his forgiveness for their default in giving Abdellah b. Yassin his due, he ordered him to return to those desert tribes and wrote to their Shaykhs telling them that he who was in dispute with him was in dispute with the (Islamic) Community (Jama'a).
The ease with which Ibn Yassin returned and the swiftness with which the jihad took off soon after his return, is explained not only by the no doubt overwhelming moral authority of his Shaykh, Wajjaj, but also by the fact that Ibn Yassin had disciples whom he had brought up along the spirit of the ribat. Apparently, the expulsion had convinced him that the time had come to use force. This time he aligned himself fully with the Lamtuna branch of the Sanhaja, who were apparently more amenable to his teachings, and made their chief Yahya b. Omar his commander. He then embarked on jihad against those groups who stood on the way to his reforms. The first encounter appeared to have been with a Berber tribe inhabiting the mountain range near the Lamtuna. It was far from easy, the battle was reported to have been fierce and victory for Ibn Yassin was only at the cost of nearly half of his men. It was the impressive resolve and valor of his men in this battle that was said to have made him name them al-Murabitun, an epithet denoting their attainment of the true qualities of the people of ribat.
Abdellah b. Yassin appear to have proceeded in this manner until he consolidated his position among the Sanhaja tribes. Having done this, Ibn Yassin then turned his attention north to Sijilmasa which was under the control of a particularly intransigent heretic group, the Barghawata. Ibn Yassin was already familiar with this group and the havoc they wrecked in northern Morocco, since his Andalusian days. He immediately saw it his calling to extend his mission to Sijilmasa. Before proceeding to Sijilmasa, it may be appropriate to catch a glance of the peculiar way al-Murabitun fought their battles, a point we may have cause to take up later. Here al-Bakri's account will suffice:
In fighting they displayed great vigour and bravery such as was peculiar to them alone. They preferred death to retreat and as far as memory could reach they never fled from an advancing enemy. They fought on horse back and on camels, but the majority of their fighting forces were composed of infantry men drawn up in ranks. Those in the first rank held on spears with which they jabbed and thrust. The other ranks were armed with javelins, of which every soldier carried several and threw them almost unfailingly, hardly ever missing the target. Before the first ran , they placed a man with a banner in his hand. As long as his banner is held aloft they remained standing. When it was lowered they all sat on the ground and remained firmer than mountains. They do not pursue those who fled before them. They killed all dogs and do not keep any of them.
Ibn Abi Zar' reported that Ibn Yassin and Yahya were invited to Sijilmasa by its learned and pious men, "urging them to come to their country to purify it of the evil practices, injustice and tyranny which were rife there.”54 For Ibn Khaldun, it was Wajaj himself who "wrote to them to tell them of the injustices and tyranny suffered by the Muslims in his neighbourhood at the hands of the Ibn Wanudin, the Maghrawa emir of Sijilmasa and the Muslim's eagerness to change their circumstances.” While both reports are plausible, they must not be allowed to conceal the fact that, the situation of Sijilmasa, which Ibn Yassin knew very well, is itself a sufficient motivation, given the agenda which he (Ibn Yassin) had set for the Murabitun. In the year 1055 Ibn Yassin marshalled his men for the attack on Sijilmasa, which he took over apparently with little resistance. "He remained there", Ibn Abi Zar' reports,
Until he had pacified it and put it to right and changed the objectionable practices which he found there. He chopped up the instruments of music and burned down shops were wine was sold. He abolished non-Quranic levies and taxes (maks, maghram, makhazani) and left only) what the Book and Sunna required to be left. He placed governor from Lamtuna in charge and retired to the desert.
While Ibn Yassin was in Sijilmasa, the Judala were reported to have rebelled again. He sent his commander, Amir Yahya b. Omar to contain this rebellion. It was in the year 1056 and it was reported to have been a tough battle. Yahya did eventually succeed in containing the rebellion but he lost his life in the process. His brother Abu Bakr b. Omar was immediately appointed to replace him and the struggle continued. For Ibn Yassin knew that despite the capture of Sijilmasa, the Barghawata menace was far from over since their main bases in Dar'a and northern Morocco were still intact. With out loosing much time, he mobilized his forces and made for Dar’a. Here they met in a battle the Barghawata leader, who professed prophethood, Abu Hafs b. Abdellah b. Abi Ubayd Muhammad b. Muqallad b. al-Yasa b. Salih b. Tarif al-Barghawati.58 Unlike Sijilmasa, the battles in the Dar'a were tough and protracted. The Murabitun were indeed prepared for it and eventually won. But here, however, they lost their revered Shaykh and leader. For Ibn Yassin sustained fatal wounds and eventually died in the year 1059. Before his last breath, however, Ibn Yassin was able to address the leadership of the Murabitun. Ibn Abi Zar' reports:
He was weighed down by wounds and carried to his camp and there drew his last breath. So he gathered the Shaykhs and leaders of the Almoravids and said to them: 'O Almoravids, you are in the lands of your enemies and I shall die on this day inevitably, so beware lest you loose courage and fall and loose your power. Be united in the defence of the Truth and brethren for God's sake. Beware of dissension and envy in seeking the leadership, for God gives his authority to whom he wills and makes his deputy on this earth whom he wishes of his slaves. I leave you, so consider which of you, you will put to exercise authority over you and lead your armies and make raids on your enemies and divide your booty among you and collect your alms and tithes". They agreed to put in their head the leader in war, Abu Bakr b. Umar al-Lamtuni, so Abdellah b. Yassin put him at their head by the agreement of all the Sanhaja. Abdellah b. Yassin died in the evening of that day, which was Sunday, 24th Jumada 1451/8th July 1059. He was buried at a place called Kurifala in Tamasna and a mosque was built over his grave
The Murabitun had to part company with their esteemed leader Abdellah b. Yassin. But to their good fortune, his spirit remained with them all through, boosting their moral and urging them to attain those high standards for which he was revered and adorned. This is fairly easy to understand. For during the cause of the twenty years he had been with them, his ascetic bent, his zeal and courage, his care and meticulousness, - his taste for thoroughness, and above all, his concern for learning, left an indelible mark on the personality and vision of his disciples. Indeed Ibn Yassin took particular care to develop a core of adherents on whom he inculcated the ribat philosophy of life in which asceticism is taken for granted, the pursuit of learning the principal goal and jihad a way of life.
This is clearly reflected in his last words to his disciples. He emphasized the continuity of jihad to replace heresy with orthodoxy and institute a proper Islamic state as he had the opportunity to do in Sijilmasa. He then stressed the maintenance of the high moral tone he had laboured to instill and the strengthening of the ties of Islamic brotherhood as the only means of keeping together. By declining to appoint a successor and allowing the shura to decide and warning against greed and ambition for power, Ibn Yassin had established a movement of high standards of piety, seriousness of purpose and tenacity; sets if s agenda for it and showed the way. The extent of his success is revealed by the astonishing vigour and sincerity with which they sought to maintain the standards and remain faithful to the ideals.
Under the command of Abu Bakr b. Omar, the movement proceeded north in the pursuit of its objectives. They continued their campaign against the Barghawata until the latter agreed to abandon their heretical beliefs. They pushed further north to Meknes and later matched against the ancient city of Marrakech, which was to remain their headquarters for some years. From their base in Marrakech, the Murabitun went about the business of reordering society along what they considered to be proper Islamic lines. The movement appeared to have succeeded in procuring massive human and material resources and in building a fairly elaborate if unsophisticated state machinery. In 1069 they took control of the city of Fez and proceeded to unify the city and develop it into their new capital.
In the same year Fez was completed, 1070, however, yet another rebellion was reported in the desert. Abu Bakr b. Omar left immediately to contain it, leaving behind his cousin Yusuf b. Tashfin to deputize in his absence. Having quelled the rebellion and established order, Abu Bakr returned in 1072. Yusuf b. Tashfin was however said to have indicated his interest in remaining in power.64 Abu Bakr in the spirit of the ribat, and perhaps with Ibn Yassin's last words in mind, conceded and returned to the desert to pursue the same ideals further south into western Africa. Though our main interest here is the impact which this southern wing of the al-Murabitun had in western Africa, it was the North that provided the scholars as well as the books that were to have outstanding influences in the south. We therefore need to tarry a little in the north to take stock of the intellectual developments there before returning to the south.
A movement which was started by scholars and whose very raison d'etre was to spread knowledge, develop scholarship and piety and to establish an Islamic community which conforms to the rules of the Shari’a, must certainly place a high premium on learning and scholarship. This potential was further reinforced by the fact that the Maliki scholars in the Maghreb quickly identified with the regime established by this movement. Indeed here. it had their blessings all along. For them, this was perhaps the first time there emerged a regime neither at the behest nor by leave of the monarchy of the East. It was clearly the first genuine indigenous effort of establishing Islam of its scale.65 It was not surprising therefore that this era in the history of the Maghreb produced luminaries like al-Qadi Abul Fadl Iyyad of Sabta (d. 544/1129), of whom it was said, "were it not for Iyyad Morocco would not have been mentioned". What was surprising, if understandable, was that this is all too familiar a theme to warrant a response many western scholars have portrayed this era as one characterized by intellectual rigidity and a general decline in learning.
Under the leadership of Yusuf b. Tashfin, the Murabitun, between 1082-1106 expanded their territory to incorporate the area of Algeria and the Andalus - Muslim Spain, thus augmenting their human and particularly their intellectual resources68 By restoring order and establishing justice alone, they helped to create a conducive atmosphere for learning. They appointed to posts, especially that of Qadi, men of learning and integrity. The court of b. Tashfin and that of his son and successor Ali b. Tashfin continued to be surrounded by Maliki scholars. The leadership maintained great respect for the Shari’a and its custodians, the fuqaha.
When al-Ghazall's work reached Marrakech during the reign of Ali b. Tashfin, it was the fuqaha who were asked to examine the work. Because the very conflict which the Ihya Ulum al Din sought to resolve was not existent in the Maghreb and perhaps because of the sensitivity which the Maliki fuqaha, the champions of orthodoxy, had developed for any thing which smacks of heresy, the fuqaha did not pass the work. Ali b. Tashfin with his total confidence in the fuqaha, ordered the book burned. But this state policy on the Ihya did not stop individual scholars from keeping their copies and reading them and openly too. Sufi scholars also developed their tasawwuf. The state may not have encouraged Sufism, but that could not mean that it was suppressed as Abun Nasr and others claimed. Indeed there was total reliance on the Maliki fiqh for very obvious reasons it was Maliki inspired movement and Maliki manned institutions. But the scholars were too learned not to know of alternative views and the state too considerate to oppress scholars of other opinions. In any case, with the intellectual developments in the Muslim world and the growing communication within the Ummah through trade and Hajj, the situation was bound to change.
To be sure, the intellectual developments during the Murabitun era were not restricted to fiqh only, despite the obvious prominence of the fuqaha. There were developments in literally all fields of knowledge existing at the time - philosophy, medicine, mathematics, engineering, Sufism, etc. It is beyond the scope of this chapter to go into details but perhaps some of the prominent scholars could be mentioned. There was, during this period, the philosopher and physician Abu Bakr Ibn Baja, the physician Abu Ala b. Zahr and Ibn Marrana who combined the knowledge of mathematics, engineering and fiqh. The latter in particular was said to have large number of students and numerous publications.
This same era saw the introduction of new sciences which were until then not studied in the Maghreb, like 'Ilm al-Kalam and 'Ilm al-Qiraat. Scholarship during this period was not restricted to men alone. Mention has been made of women scholars who took part in both learning as well as teaching. There was for example Zainab bint Ibrahim b. Tafilayit who many poets were said to have praised for her piety. There was also Tamima b. Yusuf b. Tashfin the sister of Emir Ali b. Yusuf who lived in Fez who was said to be famous for courtesy and generosity. Some of her works are extant, excerpts for which have been published.
In Fez, it was the more traditional sciences of tafsir, hadith and fiqh that were to have the most immediate impact. In Fez, perhaps more than any, there was, understandably, large number of scholars and numerous works. Only the major ones could earn our mention here. There was Abu Bakr b. Tawzi al-Sabti, who wrote a tafsir and a book on tawhid. There were al-faqih Ibrahim b. Ja'far al-Lawati who was one of Qadi Iyyad's teachers; al-faqih al-Qadi Abu Abdellah al-Tamimi, Abu al-Qasim al-Ma'fadi, Marwan b. Samhun and the Sufi Sidi Abul Hassan Ali ibn Harzihim (d. 559/1144). There was also the famous Andalusian faqih, Ibn Rushd, the author of the well known Bidayat almujtahid wa nihayat al-muqtasid and the grandson of the renowned Muslim philosopher, Ibn Rushd, known to the West as Averroes. Many of these scholars appear to have travelled widely in search of learning before settling down to teach and write.
By far the most prolific and perhaps for this reason most prominent and respected is Abu Fadl Iyyad b. Musa b. Iyyad al-Sabti popularly known as Qadi Iyyad. He served as Qadi for sixteen years in Sabta and later in Granada, Andalus. He is reported to have authored about twenty works covering the fields of fiqh, hadith, history and literature. These include a commentary on the Mudawwana of Sahnun, a commentary on Sahih Muslim, Tartib al-Madarik - a bibliographical work on Maliki scholars and al-Shifa 'fi ta’rif bi huquq al-Mustafa - a work on the biography of the Prophet Sidna Mohammed (peace and blessing be upon him). The impact of this later work, al-Shifa, in the Muslim World is rather astonishing, as to this day, it is widely read and forms the centre of the celebrations of Mawlid - the birthday of the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) in many parts of the globe.
The Murabitun are also credited to expand the brooders of Islam in Western Africa. When Abu Bakr b. Omar decided to return finally to the south to continue the jihad, he was said to have returned with nearly half of his men. These must have included scholars not only because the Murabitun leadership have always surrounded themselves with scholars but also because the very nature of this enterprise requires scholars for the purpose of teaching and implementation of the Shari’a - a cardinal objective of the movement. For the avoidance of doubt, he specifically requested the learned Shaykh, Imam al-Hadrami to come along with him.
On arrival to the south, Abu Bakr made a base at Azzugi a town on the edge of the Sahara, north of the Senegal River.79 Abu Bakr's return to the south, did not cut off the south from the north. Rather it enhanced communications. As the south became Islamised, it became more secure, boosting trade and guaranteeing the flow of gold northwards, enabling the Murabitun there to continue to strike "such a rich and variegated coinage in the Maghreb and al-Andalus." Certainly, trade could not be the only beneficiary of the Islamisation and pacification of the Sahel and Western Africa. There must have been scholars from the north coming to the south to give a hand in the obviously expanding teaching opportunities and perhaps students from the south going north for further studies. Dearth of written records at this stage of the history of the region will not allow us to say with certainty the volume of traffic of these scholars and students. But the ultimate transformation of the region bears a clear testimony to this scholarly traffic.
Similarly, the details of the campaigns of Abu Bakr are not available. It is easy to understand why. The level of education and literacy was low as the culture of learning was just spreading. Scholars must have been busy teaching the basics of Islam with little or no time left for the luxury of compiling chronicles and biographies. But here again the effects of Abu Bakr's campaigns and the impact of the teachings of the Murabitun scholars was to reveal itself in the speed with which Ghana and its environs became Islamised and the pagan power base withered away paving the way for the emergence of Mali with a clear Muslim power base and unmistakable Islamic leadership.
We have been assured, however, that Abu Bakr continued his campaigns non-stop until he died in the year 1087. This means Abu Bakr campaigned in the area for some fifteen years. (That he chose to return to the desert to continue the Jihad, when he realized his deputy and cousin was interested in maintaining power in Morocco, clearly shows discipline and sincerity of purpose. Though Yusuf b. Tashfin acquired enormous powers he was reported to have avoided the trappings of the Moroccan palace life and maintained his desert austerity. He was reported to have participated physically in the building of the mosque in Marrakech while fasting. His son Ali appeared to have maintained similar standard). Abu Bakr might not have done it alone; his resources may have been augmented by the neighboring Islamic state of Takrur, as was the case earlier. Our sources made vague references to Abu Bakr's campaigns against the Negroes. This along with the evidence of Ghana’s conversion to Islam tempted many historians to conclude that the Murabitun attacked and conquered Ghana. Of course, we now know that there was never such conquest. Al-Zuhri reported that the inhabitants of Ghana became Muslims in 1077 under the influence of the Lamtuna. Writing in about 1137 he said:
In former times the people of this country professed paganism (Kufr) until the year 469/1076-7 when Yahya b. Abi Bakr the amir of Masufa made his appearance. They turned Muslim in the days of the Lamtuna and became good Muslims. Today they are Muslims and have scholar’s lawyers and Koran readers and have become preeminent in these fields. Some of their chief leaders have come to al-Andalus. They have travelled to Mecca and made the pilgrimage and visited the Prophet's tomb and returned to their land to spend large sums on the Holy War.
The extent as well as the speed of this transformation of Ghana must have come about as a result of intensive teaching and proselytization. This is made particularly plausible by the fact that there has been a substantial and growing presence of Muslims in Ghana decades before the arrival of the Murabitun. This is further reinforced by Ibn Khaldun's report that "The authority of the people of Ghana waned and their prestige declined as that of the veiled people (Murabittin) (…) grew (as we have related). These Murabitun extended their domination over western Africa and pillaged, imposed tribute (Itawat) and poll tax (Jizya) and converted many of them to Islam".
These reports taken together, clearly suggest that in their efforts to spread Islam and establish the Shari’a in Western Africa, the Murabitun were not relying on campaigns alone. Rather, teaching and proselytization played a substantial if not a major role. The reports also suggest that after Ghana had become decidedly Islamic, the Murabitun extended their campaigns as indeed their teaching and proselytization in to other parts of the Ghana empire. These must have included the areas south and east of Kumbi Saleh, the capital, into the expanse of the Western Africa. But after Abu Bakr death, the campaigns in particular appeared to have tapered off, as the sources became silent on them, perhaps loosing their significance in the wake of increasing volume of teaching and proselytization. That during al-Zuhr's time students from western Africa were coming to Andalus and going to Hajj, points to the increase not only in the number of scholars available in the region but also in the level of their scholarship.
The dearth of historical records will not allow us to assess with an appreciable degree of certainty the magnitude and spread of this teaching and proselytization process. Of course the fruits were born many decades later in the form of centres of learning which sprouted and developed in Western Africa. A glimpse of this process could however be gleaned from the scanty information available on Imam al-Hadrami, the learned scholar who was brought by Abu Bakr b. Omar and made the Qadi at Azzugi. He was evidently a towering scholar and a pillar to the educational tradition instituted by the Murabitun. Having spent the last 25 years of his life in Azzugi, adjudicating, teaching and perhaps proselytizing, he must have been a model for his, no doubt, numerous students and other scholars in the region. Through the network of these students he must have spread a lot of learning and exerted tremendous influence in the region - the reminiscence of which is still echoed by oral tradition.
© 2008 Dar Sirr