Graduate School

This work is a first-time examination of the Ṣūfī manuscript cultures in the twentieth-century Nguru, Nigeria. The specific focus is on the themes and contents found in the works of Sheikh Muḥammad Ghibrīma al-Dāghirī al-Ghūrāwī al-Barnāwī at-Tijânî (19.02.1902CE/15.01.1323 AH) and Sheikh ʻUthmān al-Fallātī al-Ghūrāwī al-Barnāwī at-Tijânî (1909 CE/1330 AH) who were the leading Ṣūfī figures. Although their works are famous in the Tijāniyyah Ṣūfī order in Sudanic Africa, what they wrote is almost unknown to both African and Western scholars. Most of these works were written in classical Arabic and Ajami and touched on different subjects such as Jurisprudence (fiqh), esoteric sciences and Ṣūfīsm. Some of them have been published, while the majority are still in manuscript form. By tracing their circulation and popularity, and by carrying out a critical analysis of the themes and contents of their works, this study will try to bring the Ṣūfī Manuscript Culture of Western Borno of the 20th century into the limelight. To achieve the goals, this study will adopt a multi-disciplinary approach based on the methods of anthropology, codicology, and history.