THE SOKOTO CALIPHATE IN MODERN NIGERIA:
Ending it, Mending it or Reinventing it? - 3

[Preamble ]   [Formation of the Caliphate ]   [ Foundation of the Caliphate ]    [Decline of the Caliphate ]   [British Intervention ]   [Modern Nigeria ]   [The Caliphates in Modern Nigeria ]   [Ending it, Mending it or Re-inventing it? ]  Foundations of the Caliphate There appears to be three major issues on which the Sokoto Caliphate was founded and which conferred to Sokoto Caliphate its uniqueness, potency and tenacity. These are learning, hijra and justice. Learning "Everything has a foundation, and the foundation of this Caliphate is knowledge" said Muhammad Bello. This statement coming from one of the major architects of the Caliphate goes to confirm the fact that Sokoto Caliphate was essentially a product of learning, an extension of decades of the enlightenment campaign, the culmination of a mission to return to Islam in its pristine purity, was not a coincidence. It was a deliberate choice of a growing team of scholars to spread learning but not for learning sake but for a higher goal of establishing justice in society. Because this scholarship had a clear purpose these scholars were necessarily different from their contemporaries. They distinguished themselves not so much by the amount of their learning as by their sense of mission. They produced scholars who were not only learned but upright and identified with the oppressed wider society. They maintained their distance from the Sarakuna of the time; the Shehu at Magami refused to take the generous gifts of the powerful Bawa, politely declining and requesting the Sarki to release political prisoners and relieve the ordinary men of heavy taxation and allow his disciples to preach freely. They so totally devoted themselves that they hardly had any time for anything other than teaching, preaching and writing. It was not entirely surprising when the triumvirate that lead this endeavour left behind an astonishing total of nearly three hundred works between the three of them, some written in between battles, covering a wide variety of subjects, from works on fiqh, tafsir, jurisprudence, political theory, economics, history, medicine, psychology, to virtually every field of human endeavour. They held learning in very high esteem, hear the Shehu again, "A man without learning is like a country without inhabitants. The finest [qualities] in a ruler, in particular, and in people in general, are the love of learning, the desire to listen to it and holding the bearers of knowledge in great respect - this is in fact the surest way for a ruler to be beloved by his subjects. On the other hand, if the king is devoid of learning, he follows his whims and lead people astray, like a riding beast with no halter, wandering off the path and perhaps spoiling what it passes over." Hijra Too often scholars of the Sokoto Caliphate brush aside or gloss over this seemingly insignificant aspect of the process of the creation of the Caliphate. Many European scholars and those who came through their tutelage, unable to grasp the significance tend dismiss it as some gimmick on the part of the mujahideen, often with an arrogance characteristic of Western scholarship. But looking closely the significance of the hijra can be seen from the attention it was given in the writings of Sokoto mujahideen and those that were to tread their path. Shehu Usman gave the work he wrote in the heat of the early battles the tittle of Bayan Wujub al-Hijra ala al-Ibad and dealt extensively with the issue. Shehu Abdullahi made the issue of hijra the first chapter of his work, Diya’ al-Hukkam, written nearly half way through the jihad. Similarly all the Caliphate makers like Ahmad Labbo of Macina, Umar al-Futi of Segu, al-Mahdi of the Sudan went through the stage of hijra and wrote extensively on its significance. Briefly put, hijra is what essentially liberates the muhajir from attachment to a piece of land and replaces it with attachment to ideals. In its essence hijra represent the triumph of principle over expediency, the placement of faith over wealth and victory of the spirit over the flesh. The Qur’an has given it a special significance in the context of the Seerah of the prophet (SAW), the prophet himself and the Sahaba saw it as the culmination of their training in Makka without which the establishment of the Islamic state in Madina would not have been possible. The perceptive Umar b. Khattab made it a reference point of the Islamic calendar. It was absolutely essential for Muslim leadership and citizenry to be free from any form of consideration that is considered an impediment to the universal character of a Muslim whose very name Muslim, suggests that the most important feature is submission to Allah and not location, race, language, colour or possession. This powerful concept is what made the jama’a to leave their respective countries, face the hazard of loosing their property, and lives only to ensure that their faith is safe. Without this concept it was not conceivable how the Shehu and his jama’a could have resisted the Sarakuna and if the Jama’a had conceded to the demands of the Sarakuna we would not have had a Sokoto Caliphate to celebrate today. Hijra, to be sure, is not about movement, for this may not be physically feasible in this late 20th century, rather hijra is about an attitude of mind, a decision to give priority to faith over comfort, property, family and even life itself, hijra is about sacrifice for the sake of Allah and His religion. Without this sacrifice no Islamic polity can be founded and if founded it wouldn’t last a decade, for it would have had no foundation. Justice Justice, as conceived by the architects of the Sokoto Caliphate, is the raison d’être of a state or polity. Their writings are replete with the issue of justice and they hardly mince their words. The Shehu in the Bayan Wujub al-Hijra, written early in the jihad, has several chapters on this theme. He says for example, "Seeing to the welfare of subjects is more effective than a large number of soldiers. It has been said that the crown of a king is his integrity, his strong hold is his impartiality and his wealth is his subject. A king gains victory over his enemies according to his justice over his subjects and is defeated in his wars according to his injustice." He warned people in authority from creating barriers and obstacle to the access by ordinary citizens, for soon they will be insulated by sycophants, who "glorify his status, conceal his drawbacks and praise him for what he does not possess. Their only reply to him is, ‘The Amir is right.’" "O King", the Shehu continued to remind rulers, "you have kept yourself secluded from your subjects, by means of chamberlains and doors and you have set up high mountains before them, while Gods door is open to petitioners; there is neither chamberlain or door keeper there. A kingdom can endure with unbelief but it cannot endure with injustice." Leadership, Shehu Abdullahi said, in Diya’ al-Hukkam, " is a great virtue and a great burden. If he [the ruler] is just, the fear of Allah will kill in him every unjustified whim; if he is unjust, his whims will kill in him the fear of Allah. He should know", Abdullahi continued, "that he is not made ruler over them to become their master, but to serve the religious and temporal interest of his people." "The Sultan", Shehu Abdullahi stressed, "is under obligation to observe justice and goodness. Justice means that he restores to everyone his rights." He went on to say, "It is illegal [for rulers] to accept gift from any member of the common people. For such action is the door leading to all types of calamities. When gift finds its way to a man of authority, justice and goodness will find its way out of him, and what he purchases with that money, he purchases for himself a place in hell." The Imam, Shehu Abdullahi observed, must keep close watch over his public servant, constantly reviewing their affairs, "by counting their wealth before their appointment and by looking from time to time into their affairs. He shall rebuke anyone who fails in his duty, dismiss those who transgress, and replace any person against whom many complaints were made. Whosoever is found to have wealth above what he earns from his work, the ruler shall confiscate and restore it to the treasury. If he is doubtful about the origin of the wealth, he shall confiscate half of it from the employee." In the Diya’, Abdullahi concluded every chapter with the statement that, "the peak of all calamities is the creation of a barrier between himself [king or ruler] and his subject." In Usul al-Siyasat, Muhammad Bello wrote, "The prophet, may the blessings of Allah be upon him, also said, "Any servant of Allah appointed to take charge of the affairs of his people who cheats them, or refuses to give them good advice, or fails to treat them sympathetically, Allah will deny him access to paradise." He also said, who ever is appointed to take charge of Muslim’s affairs and fails to protect them as much as he would protect his own household, will certainly take his seat in hell." P7 - " The prophet ... "There are five people who incur the wrath of Allah, if He wishes, He will inflict punishment on them and they will go to hell: an emir who takes from the people what is due to him, but fails to exact justice for them from himself , and to protect them against injustice ... fails to treat the strong and the weak on equal terms, ..." P16 - He [Umar b. Khattab] also wrote to Abu Musa al-Ash’ari, saying, "The happiest ruler is he whose subject is happy with him, and the most unfortunate ruler is he whose subjects are miserable under him. So beware of injustice. For your agents will surely imitate your example. Then if you commit injustice you would be like an animal in a green pasture, which eats so much that it becomes fat. Its fatness becomes the cause of its destruction, as it is for its fat that it would be slaughtered and eaten." Such was the standard of justice which the Caliphate set for itself and strove to achieve. Even when they fail to measure up to it, it remained the ideal to be achieved and provided a justification for criticism. These three, learning, hijra and justice, formed the solid foundations of the Sokoto Caliphate and gave it life beyond specific location and time so that even after the British invasion, the Caliphate still lingers on and continues to give a lot of hope to many in this beleaguered modern Nigeria.