Dan Marina

Last updated
Muhammad ibn al-Sabbagh
Ɗan Marina
Personal
Born
Resting placeDan Marina cemetery, Katsina, Katsina State, Nigeria
Religion Islam
Flourished1640–1659
Region Hausaland
Denomination Sunni
Jurisprudence Maliki school
Pen nameMuhammad b. al-Sabbagh b. Muhammad b. al-Hajj b. Baraka b. Ibrahim al-Kashnawi al-Arabi
Muslim leader
Students

Muhammad ibn al-Sabbagh (fl. 1640), also known as Dan Marina, was a 17th-century Islamic scholar from Katsina. He is regarded as one of the three patron saints of Katsina, alongside Dan Masanih, and Dan Tukum. Even today, Muslims, primarily from Katsina, continue to pilgrimage to his tomb for ziyara. [1] In the1820s, the Sokoto scholar Abd al-Qadir dan Tafa visited his tomb for ziyara while in his 1812 work Infaq al-maysur, Muhammad Bello, first Sultan of the Sokoto Caliphate, described him as al-ustadh ('the teacher'), al-mukashaf ('the one illuminated') and dihliz al-ilm ('the hall-way of learning'). His most well known work is his commentary of the book Ishriniyyat written by Abdul Rahman bn Yakhftan al-Fazazi. [2] :111 [3] :145 [4] :619

Life

Dan Marina's father, an Arab who migrated to Kano from 'the east', was hosted by a dyer named Kayaba. His mother was the daughter of Sarkin Katsina Mahmud. [5] :31

Little is known about Dan Marina's early life. According to a local legend in Katsina, his mother passed away during childbirth and was interred before his birth. After her burial, he was said to have 'emerged' from the grave. Several nights later, the owner of some dye pits in the area observed the indigo from his splattered around the ground for consecutive nights. Determined to apprehend the perpetrator, he stayed awake for one night and discovered it was a young Dan Marina playing around the pits before slipping away. Following the baby, the dyer found him sleeping beside his mother's grave in the graveyard. The dyer then took him in and raised him as part of his own family. [6] :57 [7]

During the mid 17th-century, a Muslim intelligentsia (mallamai) formed in Katsina which held considerable influence in Birnin Katsina and other urban centres. Among the influential mallamai was Dan Marina who lived in the Marina quarter of Birnin Katsina. [2] :27 He was an active scholar and produced a number of works, with his most important being his commentary of the Ishriniyyat of Abdul Rahman bn Yakhftan al-Fazazi. Another important work of his was a poem he composed to celebrate the victory of Bornu under the leadership of Mai Ali against Kwararafa. [8] [3] :22 [9] :132 This poem is one of the earliest pieces of Hausa literature composed in Arabic. [10] :308

The burial site of Dan Marina is one of Katsina state's most prominent graveyards, with many who revere him as a wali (saint) choosing to be buried close to him. Among those interred there are notable figures such as musicians, Islamic scholars, and politicians, including Umaru Yar'Adua, Nigeria's 13th President, alongside his brother General Shehu Yar'Adua, and their father Musa Yar'Adua. [7]

Related Research Articles

Shehu Usman dan Fodio. was a Fulani scholar, Islamic religious teacher, poet, revolutionary and a philosopher who founded the Sokoto Caliphate and ruled as its first caliph. After the successful revolution, the "Jama'a" gave him the title Amir al-Mu'minin. He rejected the throne and continued calling to Islam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sokoto</span> Capital city of Sokoto State, Nigeria

Sokoto is a major city located in extreme north-western Nigeria, near the confluence of the Sokoto River and the Rima River. As of 2006, it has a population of over 427,760. Sokoto is the modern-day capital of Sokoto State and was previously the capital of the north-western states. Modern Sokoto is known for trading sheepskins, cattle hides, leather crafts, kola nuts and goatskins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jihad of Usman dan Fodio</span> Military conflict in Nigeria and Cameroon (1804–1808)

The Jihad of Usman dan Fodio was a religio-military conflict in present-day Nigeria and Cameroon. The war began when Usman dan Fodio, a prominent Islamic scholar and teacher, was exiled from Gobir by King Yunfa, one of his former students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katsina</span> Capital city of Katsina State, Nigeria

Katsina, likely from "Tamashek" or mazza (men) with "inna" (mother) is a Local Government Area and the capital city of Katsina State, in northern Nigeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sokoto Caliphate</span> Islamic state in West Africa (1804–1903)

The Sokoto Caliphate, also known as the Sultanate of Sokoto, was a Sunni Muslim caliphate in West Africa. It was founded by Usman dan Fodio in 1804 during the Fulani jihads after defeating the Hausa Kingdoms in the Fulani War. The boundaries of the caliphate are part of present-day Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Nigeria. By 1837, the Sokoto state had a population of around 10-20 plus million people, becoming the most populous empire in West Africa. It was dissolved when the British, French and Germans conquered the area in 1903 and annexed it into the newly established Northern Nigeria Protectorate, Senegambia and Niger and Kamerun respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muhammed Bello</span> Second Caliph of the Sokoto Caliphate

Muhammadu Bello was the first Caliph of Sokoto and reigned from 1817 until 1837. He was also an active writer of history, poetry, and Islamic studies. He was the son and primary aide to Usman dan Fodio, the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate and the first caliph. During his reign, he encouraged the spread of Islam throughout the region, increasing education for both men and women, and the establishment of Islamic courts. He died on October 25, 1837, and was succeeded by his brother Abu Bakr Atiku and then his son, Aliyu Babba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katsina State</span> State of Nigeria

Katsina State is a state in the northwestern geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Katsina State borders the Republic of Niger to the north for 250 km and the States of Jigawa for 164 km and Kano to the east, Kaduna to the south for 161 km and Zamfara to the west. States. Nicknamed the "Home of Hospitality", both the state capital and the town of Daura have been described "ancient seats of Islamic culture and learning" in Nigeria.

Alhaji (Dr) Mamman Shata MON was a Nigerian singer.

Abdullahi ɗan Fodio, was a prominent Islamic scholar, jurist, poet and theologian, and the first Amir of Gwandu and first Grand Vizier of Sokoto. His brother, Usman dan Fodio (1754–1817) was the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate. Usman, being more of a scholar than politician, delegated the practical regency of the western part of his empire to Abdullahi and the eastern part to his son Muhammed Bello, who later became the Sultan of Sokoto after his father.

Mohammed Bello was a Nigerian Jurist who was the Chief Justice of Nigeria from 1987 to 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barewa College</span> Secondary school in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria

Barewa College is a college in Zaria, Kaduna State, northern Nigeria. Founded in 1921 by British Governor General Hugh Clifford, it was originally known as Katsina College. It switched its name to Kaduna College in 1938 and to Government College, Zaria in 1949 before settling on Barewa College. It is one of the largest boarding schools in Northern Nigeria and was the most-celebrated post-primary schools there up to the early 1960s. The school is known for the large number of elites from the region who attended and counts among its alumni include Tafawa Balewa who was Prime Minister of Nigeria from 1960 to 1966, four heads of state of Nigeria. The school is located along Gaskiya road in the Tukur -Tukur area of Zaria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hausa people</span> Ethnic group in West Africa

The Hausa are a native ethnic group in West Africa. They speak the Hausa language, which is the second most spoken language after Arabic in the Afro-Asiatic language family. The Hausa are a culturally homogeneous people based primarily in the Sahelian and the sparse savanna areas of southern Niger and northern Nigeria respectively, numbering around 86 million people, with significant populations in Benin, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Chad, Central African Republic, Togo, Ghana, as well as smaller populations in Sudan, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Senegal, Gambia. Predominantly Hausa-speaking communities are scattered throughout West Africa and on the traditional Hajj route north and east traversing the Sahara, with an especially large population in and around the town of Agadez. Other Hausa have also moved to large coastal cities in the region such as Lagos, Port Harcourt, Accra, Abidjan, Banjul and Cotonou as well as to parts of North Africa such as Libya over the course of the last 500 years. The Hausa traditionally live in small villages as well as in precolonial towns and cities where they grow crops, raise livestock including cattle as well as engage in trade, both local and long distance across Africa. They speak the Hausa language, an Afro-Asiatic language of the Chadic group. The Hausa aristocracy had historically developed an equestrian based culture. Still a status symbol of the traditional nobility in Hausa society, the horse still features in the Eid day celebrations, known as Ranar Sallah. Daura is the cultural center of the Hausa people. The town predates all the other major Hausa towns in tradition and culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turai Yar'Adua</span> First Lady of Nigeria (2007–2010)

Turai Umar Musa Yar'Adua is the widow of the former Nigerian president and former Katsina State Governor, Umaru Musa Yar'Adua. She was the First Lady of Nigeria from 2007 until the death of her husband on 5 May 2010.

For the Arab Hutaymi tribe, see Sulluba

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muhammadu Dikko</span> 47th Emir of Katsina

Alhaji Muhammadu Dikko also known as Muhammad Dikko dan Gidado, was the 47th Emir of Katsina from 9 November 1906 until his death in 1944. He was the ninth Fulani emir, as well as the first emir from the current ruling Sullubawa dynasty, succeeding Yero dan Musa, the last emir from the Dallazawa dynasty which was installed by the Jihad of Usman dan Fodio. He came to power shortly after British rule began in 1903 following the signing of a treaty between the then Emir, Abubakar dan Ibrahim, and British officials. He was a brother to Binta the paternal grand mother of Shehu Musa Yar'adua and Umaru Musa Yar'adua, he was succeeded by his son Usman Nagogo who held the title of Emir from 1944 until his death in 1981. He and his entourage were photographed on multiple occasions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Katsina</span>

The history of Katsina stretches over a millennium. It is part of the Hausa Bakwai states, believed to be founded by the descendants of Bayajidda according to legend. Throughout its history, Katsina has been governed by various dynasties, including the Wangarawa and the Dallazawa, and was a vassal to neighboring empires such as Songhai and Bornu.

Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Alhausawi al-Katsinawi was a prominent 18th century Hausa scholar, mathematician, astrologer, Arabic grammarian and jurist from Katsina, present-day Northern Nigeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hausa literature</span> Literature in the Hausa language

Hausa literature is any work written in the Hausa language. It includes poetry, prose, songwriting, music, and drama. Hausa literature includes folk literature, much of which has been transcribed, and provides a means of recording, preserving, and transmitting knowledge, especially in regard to social, psychological, spiritual, or political roles.

Abu Abdullahi Muhammad b. Masanih al-Barnawi al-Katsinawi, also known as Dan Masanih, was a 17th-century Islamic scholar from Katsina. He is regarded as one of the three patron saints of Katsina, alongside Dan Marina, and Dan Tukum. His descendents live in the Masanawa quarter of the city of Katsina. After his death, his name became a hereditary title passed down to his descendants, a tradition that continues to this day.

References

  1. Schacht, Joseph (1957). "Islam in Northern Nigeria". Studia Islamica (8): 123–146. doi:10.2307/1595250. ISSN   0585-5292.
  2. 1 2 Usman, Yusufu Bala (1981). The transformation of Katsina, 1400-1883 : the emergence and overthrow of the Sarauta system and the establishment of the emirate. Zaria, Nigeria: Ahmadu Bello University Press. ISBN   978-978-125-016-3.
  3. 1 2 Tsiga, Ismaila Abubakar; Adamu, Abdalla Uba. "Islam and the history of learning in Katsina". search.worldcat.org. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
  4. History of West Africa. Burnt Mill, Harlow, Essex, England: Longmann. 1985. ISBN   978-0-582-64683-4.
  5. John O. Hunwick, Razaq Abubakre (1995). Arabic Literature of Africa: The writings of Central Sudanic Africa. Vol. 2.
  6. Walsh, Gretchen (1970). Katsina; profile of a Nigerian city. New York: Praeger Publishers.
  7. 1 2 Ibrahim, Tijjani (2021-05-29). "Cemetery series: Dan Marina: Final home of 'Yar'aduas, prominent Katsina people". Daily Trust. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  8. Palmer, H. R. (1927). "History of Katsina". Journal of the Royal African Society. 26 (103): 216–236. ISSN   0368-4016.
  9. Hodgkin, Thomas (1941). Nigerian Perspectives An Historical Anthology.
  10. Olaniyan, Richard, ed. (1985). Nigerian history and culture. Harlow, Essex, England ; [New York]: Longman. ISBN   978-0-582-64432-8.