Talk: Auwalu Muhammad Hassan

Literary Production, Islamic Scholarship and Religious Authority in 20th-Century Kano, Northern Nigeria: Hassana Ahmad Sufi Kano

Auwalu Muhammad Hassan (Department of History, Sa’adatu Rimi University of Education, Kano, Nigeria)

The 19th-century Sokoto Caliphate produced a prominent female author, scholar and teacher in the person of Nana Asma’u (b.1208 / 1793-4, d. 1280/1864), the daughter of Shaykh Usman bn Fodio (d.1817), founder of the Caliphate. In the subsequent 20th and early 21st centuries, however, historical research was largely centred on the role of male actors in the Hausa Muslim societies of the defunct Sokoto Caliphate as well as of the colonial and postcolonial era. A research interest for the social role of women appeared in the margin, though starting from the late 20th century there have been significant changes in the field due to the shifting interests of scholars and the emergence of feminism and gender studies. The present paper attempts to examine and explore the role and contribution of one of the outstanding female scholars and authors of 20th-century and early 21st-century Northern Nigeria, Hassana Sufi. Sufi produced her original literary works in both Hausa ajami and Arabic languages. She also engaged and contributed to Islamic scholarship and thought, transmission and knowledge production as well as to promoting Tijjaniyya tariqa (Sufi path /order) in the city of Kano. Hassana also contributed to the development of western secular schools in Kano. What factors shaped her intellectual background? Why was Hassana able to excel and contribute to literary production? What are the formats, contents and themes of her writings? To what extent did Hassana contribute to the transmission of Islamic knowledge? How did she initiate and guide her muridun (disciples)? The present paper will try to answer these questions through an interdisciplinary approach.