Bushra’u (Panegyric Poems of the Prophet)

The entire manuscript is available for download as a single PDF file. Higher-resolution images may be available upon request. For technical assistance, please contact [email protected]. Fieldwork Team: Dr. Mustapha Hashim Kurfi (Principal Investigator), Mohammed Bara’u Musa & Hauwa Usman (Local Project Managers), Adamu Mohammed, Abacha Kachalla, Abdrra’uf Abdullahi & Falmaa Madu Ibrahim (General Field Facilitators), and Haladu Mamman (Photographer). Technical Team: Prof. Fallou Ngom (Director African Studies Center), and Eleni Castro (Technical Lead, BU Libraries). These Collections of Fulfulde & Kanuri Ajami materials are copied as part of the African Studies Center’s African Ajami Library. Access Condition and Copyright: These materials are subject to copyright. All rights reserved to the author. For use, distribution or reproduction contact Professor Fallou Ngom ([email protected]). Citation: Materials in this web edition should be cited as: Kurfi, Mustapha Hashim, Ngom, Fallou, and Castro, Eleni (2019). African Ajami Library: Digital Preservation of Fulfulde & Kanuri Ajami Materials of Northeastern Nigeria. Boston: Boston University Libraries: http://hdl.handle.net/2144/38242. For Inquiries: Please contact Professor Fallou Ngom ([email protected]).Provenance / Custodial history: This manuscript is owned by Al-Ḥājj ʿUthmān Nguru (aka El-Fullaty). The manuscript is an old one, undated but the owner said that it has been with him for over 50 years. It was originally written by Shaykh ʿUthmān b. Fodio, his son, Sultan Muḥammad Bello, and his brother, ʿAbdullāh b. Fodio (Abdullahi in-Gwandu). The manuscript is unbound. No pages are missing.This manuscript is a book of panegyric poems dedicated to Prophet Muḥammad. It is locally called "Bushra’u"(meaning: good news or good omen). It is a large collection of praises dedicated to Prophet Muḥammad. Bushra’u, as the title suggests, describes the unique and unrivaled attributes of Prophet Muḥammad. It describes his character and what makes him outstanding, including being a chosen person, trustworthy, noble yet humble, generous, brave, and compassionate. Bushra’u speaks to all of mankind—illustrating the virtuous habits of Allāh’s final messenger. It argues that Prophet Muḥammad is a messenger for all mankind. The poems also discuss paradise and its marvels. Bushra’u is a very popular collection of poems among Fulfulde speakers in northern Nigeria. The poems are regularly chanted in religious events.The contents of this collection were developed with support of the Title VI National Resource Center grant # P015A180164 from the U.S. Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government

Al-Qaṣāʾid al-ʿAjamiyya (Ajami Poems)

The entire manuscript is available for download as a single PDF file. Higher-resolution images may be available upon request. For technical assistance, please contact [email protected]. Fieldwork Team: Dr. Mustapha Hashim Kurfi (Principal Investigator), Mohammed Bara’u Musa & Hauwa Usman (Local Project Managers), Adamu Mohammed, Abacha Kachalla, Abdrra’uf Abdullahi & Falmaa Madu Ibrahim (General Field Facilitators), and Haladu Mamman (Photographer). Technical Team: Prof. Fallou Ngom (Director African Studies Center), and Eleni Castro (Technical Lead, BU Libraries). These Collections of Fulfulde & Kanuri Ajami materials are copied as part of the African Studies Center’s African Ajami Library. Access Condition and Copyright: These materials are subject to copyright. All rights reserved to the author. For use, distribution or reproduction contact Professor Fallou Ngom ([email protected]). Citation: Materials in this web edition should be cited as: Kurfi, Mustapha Hashim, Ngom, Fallou, and Castro, Eleni (2019). African Ajami Library: Digital Preservation of Fulfulde & Kanuri Ajami Materials of Northeastern Nigeria. Boston: Boston University Libraries: http://hdl.handle.net/2144/38242. For Inquiries: Please contact Professor Fallou Ngom ([email protected]).Provenance / Custodial history: The owner is Al-Ḥājj ʿUthmān Nguru (aka El-Fullaty). The condition of the manuscript is intact, though old, but well-preserved. The owner, El-Fullaty is a very old man (probably in his early 90s). He had sung some of the poems and translated them in Hausa. The owner is also the distributor of the manuscript published in 1970.This manuscript is a collection of poems written by the triumvirate: Shehu ʿUthmān b. Fodio, Shehu ʿAbdullāhi b. Fodio (his brother), and Sultan Muhammad Bello (Shehu b. Fodio’s son and Shehu ʿAbdullāhi’s nephew). The majority of the poems were written by Shehu ʿUthmān and are at the beginning of the manuscript. The poems are predominantly about Islamic jurisprudence, including purification, ablution, ritual prayers, obligatory showers, menstruation, alms giving, and how to fix mistakes in ritual prayers. The second set of poems are on the Quran. They discuss the importance of reciting the Quran and sticking to its injunctions. The subsequent set of poems are written by Amir Sultan Muhammad Bello. The scribe has indicated that the set of poems on the Quran and the subsequent ones on fiqh were all written by the Sultan. Finally, there is one last poem on the oneness of Allāh and His attributes. This is the only poem that has glosses. The manuscript is written in Fulfulde Ajami but there are a few comments using Arabic phrases to explain some points.The contents of this collection were developed with support of the Title VI National Resource Center grant # P015A180164 from the U.S. Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government