{Great Islamic Scholar & Proselytizer from the Igbo Tribe in Nigeria}
Culled from the Article: The Life and Legacy of Sheikh Ibrahim Nwagui (By Fateema B. Bello)
The life of Sheikh Nwagui is made up of many striking elements. He was originally a Christian and served as a Catechist in a church somewhere around Afikpo. In 1950 he had a dream. He saw a man with a turban carrying a rosary saying to him ‘come to me’. When he woke up he drew the man he saw in the dream carrying the rosary. A month later he had a similar dream with the same individual repeating the same words he had initially uttered. Again, a month later he had the same dream. The dream occurred three times. He resigned from the school and began to search for the individual shown to him in the dream.
Being a gifted artist, he drew the individual he had seen on a piece of paper. He went to Cameroon and showed people there the drawing he had produced. They told him that it’s a drawing of the Emir of Kano. He travelled to Kano where he met the Emir of Kano at that time, who was the grandfather of former Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi. At Kano he was told that the individual he had drawn is Sheikh Ibrahim Nyass of Kaolack, Senegal.
He was advised to travel to Senegal to meet Sheikh Nyass. The journey to locate Sheikh Nyass took him nine months. When he finally stood before Sheikh Nyass, he recognised that he was the individual he had seen in the dream. After he had accepted Islam, Sheikh Nyass named him Ibrahim Nyass Igbo. Sheikh Nwagui remained in Senegal for seven years, a period spanning 1951-1958. Sheikh Nyass told him that he is now fit to go out and propagate Islam. He returned to Afikpo in 1958 and introduced Islam to his people. “95% of the people of Enohia became Muslims. The population of the community at that time was not less than five thousand.
Anyone doing research on the Igbo Muslims of the South East, or into the story of Muslims from the South East as some prefer to be called, will very soon come across the name of Sheikh Nwagui who first took the message of Islam to Afikpo in 1958, set up the Centre for Arabic and Islamic Studies, Afikpo and played a role in spreading Islam across a large part of Nigeria’s South East. He was known in many parts of Nigeria, as well as internationally. He was well known in the Arab world, and many of his pupils enjoyed scholarships from governments and groups in Arab countries.
The Islamic centre started as a mosque which was built in 1965. After the construction of the mosque a primary school was set up. The Islamic centre had branches in Onitsha, Port Harcourt and Abiriba. Before the civil war the Islamic centre had branches in all these areas, and they were all patterned after the Afikpo centre.
The civil war 1967-1970 had negative impact on the efforts of Sheikh Nwagui in Afikpo. In the wake of the crises Nwagui had to leave Afikpo for Lagos. His house in Afikpo was demolished.
After the war Sheikh Nwagui returned to Afikpo. “After the war Sheikh was allowed to be the leader of the community. He came with bales of cloth to give to the refugees. He encouraged the refugees not minding their religion. Everybody was welcome and accommodated”.
Ibrahim Ama, a federal commissioner representing south east in the National Hajj Commsission of Nigeria (NAHCON) who passed on shortly after being interviewed, provides some additional details into the life of Sheikh Nwagui.
He says that the Sheikh was born in 1920 and that he was an orphan. At a point he was taken to Cameroon by his Uncle and he remained there for six years. While in Cameroon he continued to experience the dreams earlier referred to.
“He could not bear it again and he started telling his relatives and friends about the dream. They told him that the person you are seeing in the dream must be a Muslim. It is only in northern Nigeria that you can see people in that attire. He returned to Nigeria and travelled to Kano. That was his first time of travelling to the north. He was taken to the palace of Emir Sanusi, the grandfather of deposed Emir Muhammadu Sanusi. He showed the drawing to the Emir who told him that it is a sketch of Sheikh Ibrahim Nyass of Senegal, and everybody in the palace attested to that,” explains Ama.
Ama describes the initial meeting between Sheikh Nwagui and Sheikh Ibrahim Nyass. His words “The moment Nwagui saw Sheikh Nyass of Kaolack, he smiled. Sheikh Nyass said “I have been waiting for you. I had a similar dream that you were coming. It’s been long. He presented Islam to him and named him Ibrahim Nyass Igbo.”
Sheikh Nyass belonged to the Tijaniyya sect of Islam which emphasises mysticism. When Nwagui returned to Nigeria, he was warmly received by members of the Tijaniyya sect based in Kano and elsewhere.
Related Reading;
SŪFĪ BOOKS (ENGLISH & ARABIC COLLECTION)
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Content;
• Items 1 to 27: English Books
• Items 28 to 71: Arabic Books
SECTION A: ENGLISH COLLECTION
1. Who is this Shaikh “Shaikh Ibrahim Niasse Al-Kaolacky” [by Dr. Awwal Baba Taofiq]
2. Handbook for every Tijaniyyat [by Shaikh Ahmad Bello As-Suufi Harazimi]
3. Practical Guide on the Wird(Litany) of the Tariqah Faydah Tijaniyyah (The Adherent Handbook)-(Compiled by Sayyidah Bilqis Grillo)
4. Durratu Tāj (The Crown Jewel and Fundamental Needs of the Murid, Regarding the Essentials of the Rules & Requirements of the Tariqa Tijaniyyah Spiritual Path): A Concise Instructional Handbook/Pamphlet), by Abdul-Karīm ibn al-Arabī [Translated by Shaikh Hassan Cisse & Alhaji Lawal]
5. The Qualities and Uses of Zamzam Water (A Scientific & Islamic Exploration) by Abdul-Quadir Adeniyi Okeneye
6. Who is Shaykh Jamiu Bulala (by Ustaz Olanipekun Shittu Tunde)
7. Understanding the Concept of Will-Making in Islam (Fee Manzoori-l-Islam) by Abdul-Quadir Adeniyi Okeneye
8. Majmū’at ad-Dawāwīn (Collection of Eulogy Works) of Shaikh Ibrahim Niasse’ (Arabic text & English translation [by Dr. Awwal Baba Taofiq]
9. Vessel of Spiritual Flood, Translation of Goran Faydah by Shaykh Balarabe Haroon Jega
(Hausa-Ajami text & English translation [by Dr. Awwal Baba Taofiq]
10. Dalā’il al-khairāt wa Shuwāriq al-Anwār fī Dhikr as-Salāt ‘alā-n Nabiyy al-Mukhtār (The Indices of Virtues/The Waymarks of Benefits and the Brilliant Burst of Sunshine in the Invocation of Allah’s Blessing on the Chosen Prophet) by Imām Sulaiman Jazūlī [Re-Arranged into Arabic text, Translation, Transliteration by Alhaji Marooph Raji]
11. Risalat at-Tawbah (Epistle of Repentance) of Shaykh Ibrahim Niyass al-Kawlakhi" - (Translation & Commentary by Dr. Razzaq Solagberu)
12. At-Taiseer (Simplification): The Means of Attaining Purification Through Poetry with Allaah's Most Beautiful Names, By Shaykh El-Hajj Malick Sy
13. Qasida al-Hamziyya (Panegyric which contains the Biography & History of Prophet Muḥammad) by Shaykh Muhammad Būsayrī [Translation & Commentary by Ibrahim Jafaru] - Arabic & English
14. Sufism “The Orthodox Path” (At-Tasawwuf “Minhāj al-Qawīm”) [Arabic text & English translations ], by Oseni Aliu Olalekan
15. Facts about Sufism (by Sayyid Ismaheel Abdulrauf)
16. Hizbul Bahr (Arabic, Translation & Transliteration by Alhaji Marooph Raji):
17. Hizbu Sayfi (Arabic, Translation & Transliteration by Alhaji Marooph Raji)
18. 37 Praises in Qur'an (Arabic, Translation & Transliteration by Alhaji Marooph Raji):
19. Understanding Sufism: Transcripts of Lectures on Tasawwuf (by Olanipekun Shittu Tunde)
20. Kashif al-ilbas 'an Fayda al-khatm Abi'l Abbas (The Removal of Confusion Concerning the Flood of the Saintly Seal Ahmad al-Tijani), by Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse:
21. The Icon of Mystics: Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse Al-Kawlakhy [by Dr. Awwal Baba Taofiq]
22. Shariah and Haqeeqah: In the Light of the Qur'an and the Prophetic Traditions [by Dr. Awwal Baba Taofiq]
23. Spiritual Flood (Alūfu-l Khalqi Ma'lūf), by Shaykh 'Abdul-Quadr ibn 'Ali Al-Nupewy [Annotated Translation from Arabic info English by Dr. Awwal Baba Taofiq
24. Al-Yāqūtatu-l Fareeda Fī Tariqatu-t Tijāniyyah (The Unique Ruby in the Tijānīya Spiritual Path) — *Arabic Text, English Translation & Commentary* (Written by Sheikh Abdul-Wāhid Muhammad Nazifi. Translated by Jafaru Ibrahim)
25. An Epistle to the World. The Translation of Ayuhā-l Walad (Dear Beloved Son) [Imām Ghazālī] Translated by Abdul-Qadir Okeneye
26. Sufism & Ma‘rifa (Tassawuf & Gnosis) [by Musa Topbas]
27a. Principles of Islamic Studies: A Subtle Synopsis of the Ten Principles for 17 Islamic Sciences (By Harūn Verstaen)
27b. The Bible, The Qur'ān & Science (By Maurice Bucaille)
27c. The Great Essence in the Life of Fadilat Shaykh Nuru Hakeem (His Biography Account & Literary Works in English Language). Written by: Oseni Aliu O.
27d. Al-Jawhar al- Azeem fī Hayāt Ash-Shaykh Nūr Hakeem (His Biography Account & Literary Works in Arabic Language). Written by: Oseni Aliu O.
*S1.* *Softcopy* of Numerous Sufi Literature (Arabic & English) - (To be sent via Googledrive)
*S2.* *PDF* *Mawlid Recitations & Letters Of Baye Niasse & Shaykh Tijani (E-books)*
1. *Mawlid Al-Hajūjī*
2. *Mawlid Sukayrij*
3. *Mawlid Insān al-Kamāl (Shinqītī)*
4. *Songs for Rabī‘ al-Awwal & al-Fayd al-Ahmadi (Baye Niasse)*
5. *Selected Letters of Shaykh Ahmad al-Tijani*
6. *Selected Letters of Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse*
[Translated by Ustadh Talut Dawud]
_*SECTION B: ARABIC COLLECTION*_
28. Al-Majmū'u min Da'awatayn (Ad-Da'awat al-Mustajābāt & Sidrat al-Muntahā ad-Dā'een), by Shaykh Muhammad Gibrīma
29. Tadhyeel wa Ta'aqeeb an-Natā'ij wa As'alat al-Hawā'ij fī-s Salāt 'alā-s Sayyid al-Wujūd wa 'alami-sh Shuhūd, by Shaykh Muhammad Gibrīma
30. Natā'ij al-Asfār fī-s Salāt alā-n Nabiyy al-Mukhtār, by Shaykh Ahmad ibn Aliyyu al-Yarwāwī (Abu-l Fat'h)
31. Diwan Fat'hu-r Rahmān fi Mad'hi Sayyid al-Akwān, by Shaykh Ahmad ibn Aliyyu al-Yarwāwī (Abu-l Fat'h)
32. Teebu-l Fā'ihi wa-l Wirdu-s Sā'ihi fī Salātu-l Fatih, by Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Abdul-Wāhid an-Nazeefī
33. Dalā’ilu l Khayrāt - Collection of prayers upon the Prophet (by Shaikh Sulaiman Jazūlī) - Arabic: in Hafs Arabic (big size)
34. Kanzul Masūn - Collections of Prayers/Supplications (by Shaikh Ibrahim Niasse) - Arabic
35. Dawāwīn as-Sitt (Six Anthologies) on Prophetic Eulogy (by Shaikh Ibrahim Niasse) - Arabic:
36. Ahzāb wa Awrād (Collection of Prayers/Liturgies and Litanies) of Shaikh Ahmad at-Tijani - Arabic
37. Jihāzu Sārih wa Sā’ihi wa Sābih wal ‘Ākiful Fālihu fī Tawajuhāt bi-Salātul Fātih by Shaykh Muhammad Gibrima Ad-Dāghirī - *Arabic*
38. Jawāhir al-Ma’ānī wa Bulūgh al-Amānī fī Fayd Sīdi Abī-l ‘Abbās at-Tijānī (Jewels of Meanings and the Attainment of Aspirations in the Spiritual Flood of Abu l Abbas Tijānī) by Sīdī ‘Aliyyu Harāzim Berrada - Arabic [Single Vol 1/2]:
39. Fī Riyādh at-Tafsīr lil Qur’ān al-Karīm (In the Meadows of Tafsir/Exegesis for the Noble Quran) - by Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse (Compiled by Muhammad ibn Abdullah Jayjubi at-Tijānī)
—Arabic [6 Volumes]
40. Fatihu Rabānī fīmā yahtāju ilayhi l Murīd at-Tijānī, by Muhammad ibn Abdullah at-Tijānī
41. Sa’ādat al-Anām bi Aqwāl Shaykh al-Islām
42. Tabsirat al-Anām fī anna-l ‘Ilma Huwa-l -Imām
43. Raf’u-l Malām ‘Aman Rafa’a wa Qabada Iqtidā bi-Sayyid al-Anām [by Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse] (Arabic)
44. Nujūm al-Hudā fī kawni Nabiyyinā afdala man da’ā ilā llahi wa hadā
45. Al-Bayān wa-t Tabyīn ‘anni-t Tijāniyyati wa-t Tijāniyyīn
46. Tanbīhu-l adhkiyā’ fī kawn Ash-Shaykh At-Tijānī Khātim al-Awliyyā
47. Dīwān Sayr al-Qalb bi-Mad’h al-Mustafā al-hibb ilā Hadrat Ar-Rabb
48. *Majmū’ Rihlāt Ash-Shaykh Ibrāhīm* [Ar-Rihlat al-Hijaziyya al-ūlā, Nayl al-Mafāz al-awd ilā-l Hijāz, Ar-Rihlat al-Kanāriyya wal Kumāshiyya, Ar-Rihlat al-Kunākriyya]
49. Jawāhir ar-Rasā’il al-hāwī ba’ad al-‘ulūm wasīlat al-wasā’il (Collection of Essential Epistles of Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse) [Compiled by Shaykh Ahmad Abul Fathi] (Arabic)
50. Al-‘Ishrīniyya (Dīwān al-Wasā’il al-Mutaqabala fī mad’hi-n Nabiyyi) [by Wazīr Abdur-Rahmān al-Fāzāzī & Imām AbūBakr al-Muhīb]
51. Majmu’ Qasā’id al-Mawlid an-Nabawī
52. Al-Burdat al-madeehi(Shaikh Buusayri)
53. Tafsīr al-Qur'ān al-'Azīm "lil-Imāmayn Al-Jalālayni" (by Imām Jalālu-Deen Al-Muhalī & Imām Jalālu-Deen As-Suyūtī) [Warsh Scripts - 2 Vols]
54. Rūh ul-Bayān fī Tafsīr ul-Qur'ān (10 Volumes Sūfī Tafsīr/Quranic Exegesis) [by Shaikh Ismā'īl al-Haqqī al-Barūsī]
55. Mawridu-r Ridā fi-s Salāt 'alā-n Nabiyyi-l Murtadā (Shaykh Hassan Dem)
56. Hizbu Suwar al-Maneehi (Shaykh Gibrīma)
57. Itbaau Tazyeel (Shehu Gibrīma)
58. Jaami'u Salawaat alaa Nabiyy (Sheikh Aliyyu Harazim, Kano)
59. Sa'ādat ad-darayni fī Salāt alā Sayyid al-Kaunayn by Shaykh
Yūsuf an-Nabahānī
60. Matāliu l Masaraat bi-jalā'i Dalāilu-l Khayrāt by Imām Muhammad al-Mahdī Ibn Yūsuf al-Fāsī
61. Al-Iqtibās min 'Ulūm Ash-Shaykh Ibrāhīm Niasse (Quotations from the Body of Knowledge of Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse), by Mallam Sukayrij ibn Shaykh 'Abduwa Koki [Kano] - Arabic
62. Kashif al-ilbas 'an Fayda al-khatm Abi'l Abbas (The Removal of Confusion Concerning the Flood of the Saintly Seal Ahmad al-Tijani), by Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse (Arabic)
63. Lubbu-l Lubbi Fī Shar'h Manzūmat Rūhu-l Adab Limā Hawā Min Hikam wa Adab [The Essential Core: A Commentary on the Poem entitled "Ruh al-Adab (The Spirit of Good Morals)" — Arabic [5 Volumes]. Poet (Author): Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse. Commentator: Sīdī Mūsā Dutse
64. Diyā'u ta'aweel fī ma'ānī-t Tanzeel [Tafsīr/Qur'ān Exegesis by Sheu Abdullah Fodiyo (4 Volumes)]
65. Āfāqu-sh Shi'ir 'Inda-sh Shaykh Ibrāhīm Niasse [An Encyclopedic Collection of Poems of Shaykh Ibrāhīm Niasse] (Collected by Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Abdullah al-Jayjūbī) Arabic [9 Volumes]
66. Majmū'at at-Ta'areef bi-sh Shaykh Ibrāhīm Niasse (Radiya-llahu 'anhu) wa Faydatihi wa Muqaddamīhi [An Encyclopedic Biographical Collection of (the Life & Times of) Shaykh Ibrāhīm Niasse, his Spiritual Flood and his Representatives/Deputies] (Collected by Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Abdullah al-Jayjūbī) - Arabic [9 Volumes]
67.
68. Ziyādat al-Jawāhir min yawāqīt al-fāzin durari hikamin (Addendum to the Epistles of Baye Niasse) [Compiled by Shaykh Ahmad Abul Fathi] (Arabic)
69. Lubbu-l Lubbi Fī Shar'h Manzūmat Rūhu-l Adab Limā Hawā Min Hikam wa Adab [The Essential Core: A Commentary on the Poem entitled "Ruh al-Adab (The Spirit of Good Morals)" — Arabic [5 Volumes]. Poet (Author): Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse. Commentator: Sīdī Mūsā Dutse
70. Fī Riyādh at-Tafsīr lil Qur’ān al-Karīm (In the Meadows of Tafsir/Exegesis for the Noble Quran) - by Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse (Compiled by Muhammad ibn Abdullah Jayjubi at-Tijānī) —Arabic (NEW EDITION [10 Volumes])
71. Mawsū‘at al-Athār an-Nathriyya li-Sāhib al-Fayda at-Tijānī ‘Ash-Shaykh Ibrāhīm Niasse al-Kawlakhī (Collection of Prose Writings of the Harbinger of the Tijānī Divine Flood, Baye Niasse) [Compiled by Sīdī Muhammad ibn Abdullah al-Jayjūbī] — 10 Volumes
72. Āfāqu-sh Shi'ir 'Inda-sh Shaykh Ibrāhīm Niasse [An Encyclopedic Collection of Poems of Shaykh Ibrāhīm Niasse] (Collected by Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Abdullah al-Jayjūbī) Arabic [6 Volumes]
73. Majmū'at at-Ta'areef bi-sh Shaykh Ibrāhīm Niasse (Radiya-llahu to 'anhu) wa Faydatihi wa Muqaddamīhi [An Encyclopedic Biographical Collection of (the Life & Times of) Shaykh Ibrāhīm Niasse, his Spiritual Flood and his Representatives/Deputies] (Collected by Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Abdullah al-Jayjūbī) - Arabic [9 Volumes]
74.
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