The Life of Nana Asmau

Last updated on: June 1, 2016 at 9:42 pm by Hakeem Muhammad

The Life of Nana Asmau 2016-06-01T21:42:02-05:00 Hakeem Muhammad

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onewomansjihad Nana Asamu was an African Islamic scholar who was born in 18th century Sokoto (modern-day Nigeria). She was a poet, social activist, intellectual and a politician who was personally commissioned by the Caliph of this West African spiritual community known as the Sokoto Caliphate to oversee an entire educational campaign including mass literacy for women. She formed sisterhoods for the purposes of spreading and exchanging knowledge.

The influence of the Prophet(PBUH)’s wife, Aisha Bint Abu Bakr on the West African women educational circles.

We can see the influence of Aisha bint Abu Bakr (RA)on women’s education in her community, for in a poem Nana Asma’u states, “I bring all women to Aisha; Aisha, the Noble Daughter of Al-Siddiq… She was held in esteem by the Prophet. “ The purpose of such a poem in her education campaign was to call upon her community to study the life of Aisha bint Abu Bakr to foster an attitude of women’s learning and scholarship.

Nana Asma’u continues her poem, stating, “She had a mastery of learning and exceeded all women. She was the outstandingly pious women person of her time.” Aisha bint Abu Bakr is lauded by Nana Asma’u for traits such as her learning and modesty; her ability to bring all the women of the Sokoto Caliphate to Aisha was intended to motivate the women of the then newly formed Sokoto Caliphate to pursue learning. The historian Jean Boyd notes that Nana Asma’u was one of many woman scholars with a chain of sisterhoods existing throughout Africa and the Middle East. The chain of sisterhoods of women scholars was linked between West Africa and the Middle East. Jean Boyd writes that this society where women regularly pursued knowledge:

“did not spring forth full blown, but was nurtured over successive generations as an integral part of the aim of Islam: the search for communion with God through the pursuit of Truth. Education and literacy have been hallmarks of Islam since its inception..o for the Qadiriyya community to which Asma’u belonged, to deny women equal opportunity to develop their God-given talents was to challenge God’s willOne Woman’s Jihad: Nana Asma’u, Scholar and Scribe)

Nana Asma’u formed a team of Islamic scholars that would disseminate knowledge. In one poem she states, “Let us malcolmxaisha study, and keep on learning. This gives mankind all he needs. Do not stay among ignorant people.” Much of the knowledge that Nana Asma’u spread was performed through spoken word, and she was very passionate about her duties, being fluent in four different languages. Building upon the scholasticism that emerged in Timbuktu, Nana Asma’u would write a biography on the life of the Prophet Muhammad, which she then translated into various languages in order to make it accessible to a wider group of people. Nana Asma’u even weighed in on scholarly debates and also issued Islamic legal rulings declaring the usage of tobacco to be haram or impermissible.

In her work entitled “Sufi Women,” Nana Asma’u highlights several Islamic Scholars in her community and through history, stating, “I speak of Aisha…On account of her asceticism and determination. And Joda Kowuuri, a Qur’anic Scholar. Who Used her scholarship everywhere.” This reveals how women in this Islamic community were far from being restricted; they were able to publicly share knowledge. Nana Asmau’s faith guided her in her efforts to secure mass education for women, she states, ”I invoke blessings on the Prophet who brought the book, the Qur’an: he brought the hadith to complete the enlightenment. Muslim scholars have explained knowledge and used it, following in the footsteps of the Prophet.”Nana Asmau is the perfect example of a Muslim inspired by the Prophet Muhammad ,pbuh, and his legacy of furthering women’s education.

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