al-Ihtimam bi al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah bi Lughat al-Hawsa
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al-Ihtimam bi al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah bi Lughat al-Hawsa (Attention to the Prophetic Sunnah in the Hausa Language) is a contemporary treatise by Muhammad al-Thani ibn Umar Musa that examines the history, oral instruction, and written translation of Hadith literature among Hausa-speaking Muslims in West Africa .
Historical Background and Scope
The work opens with an overview of the introduction of Islam into Hausa territory between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries CE, noting the conversion of King Hume Jilmi of Kanem-Borno (r. 1085–1097 CE) and Emir Ali Yaji of Kano (r. 1349–1385 CE) . It highlights the nineteenth-century reform movement led by Shaykh Uthman ibn Fudi, who established the Sokoto Caliphate in 1812 CE, revived the adherence to the Sunnah, and promoted Arabic and Islamic learning until the British colonial conquest in 1903 CE . The text outlines the demographics of the Hausa and Fulani populations across Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Togo, Benin, and Ghana, emphasizing the status of the Sunnah as divine revelation and the second source of Islamic legislation .
Oral Instruction and Public Lessons
The first chapter surveys the transmission and teaching of Hadith in traditional study circles (halaqat) and public lectures . In traditional circles, oral translation into Hausa relied heavily on verbatim formulas inherited from teachers without independent derivation . Among the texts historically studied were:
- al-Arba'un al-Nawawiyyah by al-Nawawi, typically introduced only after students studied introductory Maliki legal manuals such as Mukhtasar al-Akhdari and al-Muqaddimah al-Iziyyah .
- Mukhtar al-Ahadith al-Nabawiyyah by Ahmad al-Hashimi .
- Later texts accompanying modern Islamic revivals, notably Bulugh al-Maram by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani and Riyad al-Salihin by al-Nawawi, which were taught to emphasize evidence-based jurisprudence alongside traditional Maliki texts such as Mukhtasar Khalil .
The book details prominent public lecture series delivered in Hausa and broadcast through mass media, including the weekly lessons on Sahih al-Bukhari by Shaykh Abu Bakr Mahmud Gumi at Sultan Bello Mosque in Kaduna (aired on Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria Kaduna), Dr. Ahmad Muhammad Ibrahim's lectures at Bayero University in Kano, and lessons by Shaykh Ja'far Mahmud Adam and Shaykh Abd al-Wahhab Abd Allah .
Written Translations and Academic Projects
The second chapter covers written translations of Hadith literature into Hausa, divided into institutional and individual efforts :
- Institutional Efforts: In June 1983, the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Bayero University launched a project coordinated by Dr. Abd al-Ali Abd al-Hamid (and later Dr. Ahmad Muhammad Ibrahim and Shaykh Abu Bakr Jibril) assigning undergraduate students to translate segments of major Hadith compilations as graduation research . The project completed translations of Sahih al-Bukhari (1983–1988), Sahih Muslim (1988–c. 1993), and the four Sunan collections, alongside master's thesis translations such as Qadi Iyad's al-Shifa .
- Individual Translations: The first printed Hadith translation in Hausa was Abu Bakr Mahmud Gumi's rendering of al-Arba'un al-Nawawiyyah in 1959, commissioned by the Northern Regional Literature Agency (NORLA) . Other individual works cited include translations of fifty Hadiths by Muhammad Dan Baba (1975), a partial translation of Sahih al-Bukhari by Muhammad Sanusi Gumbi (1984), Uthman ibn Fudi's Sawq al-Ummah ila Ittiba al-Sunnah by Bukhari Imam (1985), and Bulugh al-Maram and Sifat Salat al-Nabi by Ibrahim Abu Bakr Tofa . The author also notes his own Hausa translation of al-Ajurri's Akhlaq al-Ulama, completed in 1414 AH .
The author provides critical evaluations of published translations, analyzing shortcomings in technical accuracy and background scholarship, such as errors identified in Ibrahim Tofa's translation of Bulugh al-Maram .
Findings and Recommendations
The book concludes that oral translation has historically been far more widespread and impactful among Hausa communities than written translations, many of which remain unpublished university manuscripts . It recommends establishing specialized committees to transcribe, edit, and publish influential recorded audio lessons—such as Gumi's commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari—and creating institutional bodies to oversee, evaluate, and authenticate Hausa translations of Hadith literature .
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