1. 1
Introduction
The wheel of socio-political unrest was set in motion in Hausa land. The man who masterminded
the jihad to its successful completion was a Fulani scholar Uthman Dan Fodio. In fact, Uthman
Dan Fodio was the patron and inspirer of the 19Th
century Islamic revolution that swept through
the Sudan. Sheikh 'Uthman Dan Fodio is one of the most influential Islamic scholars in the
history of Islam in West Africa.
He was both; a Mujaahid (fighter for the sake of Islam) and Mujaddid (reformer) of the place
what is historically known as the Sokoto Khalifate of West Africa. He combined in himself both
courage and devotion to the cause of Islam. He was a highly vocal preacher and a prolific writer

2. 2
Early life and education.
Uthman Dan Fodio was born at Marata in December1754 CE in Hausa (Balogun, 1981p. 27). He
lived in the city-state of Gobir until 1802 when motivated by his reformist ideas he led his
followers out of the state. His father was a learned man. Uthman first studied with him. He was
educated according to traditional system.
He received a thorough grounding in these fields and before reaching twenty he had already written
his first work in his mother tongue, reflecting not only the early intellectual maturity but also a
propensity for literary output. By the time he was twenty he had formerly finished the basic texts
for advanced studies and free to pursue a career. After finishing at home his basic education of
reading and writing Arabic, memorization and translation of the Qur’an, some knowledge of hadith
and jurisprudence, exegesis, grammar and arithmetic, Uthman obtained the advanced knowledge
of Shari`ah sciences from specialized professors of the subjects.
Sheikh Uthman's teachers not only imparted knowledge, but also as was usual in this system of
education, influenced him majorly. His teachers include Shaykh Abd al-Rahman bin Hammadah,
his maternal uncle Uthman Biddrui, Muhammad Sambo, Muhammad bin Rajab, and Jibril bin
Umar. It is not reported whether Uthman Dan Fodio himself ever traveled to Hijaz. But most of
his teachers were Madinah trained; some of them were students of al-Sindi (Sulaiman,1986, pp.10-
11).
Uthman Dan Fodio was known for his reform activities thus his educational line tree coincides
with that of Shaykh Muhammad bin Abd al-Wahhab. He was much influenced by his teacher Jibril
bin Umar. The latter had twice visited the holy places of Islam, Makkah and Madinah (ibid. pp.
28-29). It was the time when especially Madinah assumed the center of Muslim world’s most
renowned scholars who called their students to return to the original sources of Islam – the Qur’an
and the Sunnah.

3. 3
His Teachings
Convinced of his role in reforming his society and educating ignorant people, Sheikh Uthman
devoted his time, effort, and his entire life to teaching, preaching and writing. The content and
method of his preaching were geared towards achieving the desired targets. He devoted his time
to educating the masses on the fundamentals of Islam through public lectures and sermons in
Gobir and its surroundings. At the young age of twenty, in 1188/1774 at his home town Degel,
Uthman Dan Fodio started his career as a wandering teacher. He instructed people on the proper
practice of Islam. During 1790s, the emphasis of his teaching and writing gradually shifted from
personal instruction to a broader concern with social and political questions (Dallal, 1993, p. 50).
Uthman Dan Fodio was worried about the rigidity and the blind adherence of ulama to a
particular school of jurisprudence, because it included the bulk of the leadership. He appealed to
the people to accept the schools of Law (Madhaheebs) and strengthened his relationship with
Muslim Scholars.The abuses of Sufism, and ignorance among the common people their
exploitation by authorities. He directed his reform to these issues. In the opinion of Sulaiman
(1986, p. 19), ‘the Uthman Dan Fodio methods of revising the generation that brought about the
transformation of central Sudan encompasses, the three areas: the intellectual, the spiritual and
the profound training in tasawwuf’. He opposed the abuses and practices that were in variance to
Shari`ah. He criticized ulamaa who supported authorities to protect their vested interest and
tolerated all kinds of corruptions. In most of his books he addressed such ulamaa.
Achievements
Finally he emerged victorious over his adversaries. He was an advocate for education for all
(men and women) .Learning spread through the caliphate and new converts were able to read the
Qur’an.
Uthman Dan Fodio paid special attention to education and training of his people. According to
Sulaiman (1986, p. 22), ‘the imparting of the idea of tajdid, or revolution, in his students and

4. 4
involving them in the process of tajdid as a necessary part of education was perhaps, Uthman
Dan Fodio’s greatest contribution in Hausaland’.
Uthman Dan Fodio asserted that any ruling in fiqh, opposed to the Qur’an, sunnah and ijma`
must be rejected. He advocated for pure Islam and fought against extremism. For popularization
of knowledge he authored wathiqat al-Ikhwan. Along with the intellectual training, he paid
attention to spiritual development of the students. This is the subject of his work Umdat al-
Ubbad (Sulaiman, 1986, p. 24). Internal purification and spiritual training was aimed by practice
of tasawwuf.
Uthman Dan Fodio’s brother Abdullahi reports about the Uthman Dan Fodio that he called
people to the revival of the Faith, and to Islam, and good works, and to abandon customs
contrary to them (Shagari and Boyd, 1978, p. 12). He made Islamic reformation and discouraged
non Islamic practices like playing and listening to Music. He strengthened Islam in the caliphate
by giving it a new drive. Funeral dressing and eating manners changed to Islamic and people
abandoned their traditional practices
While Uthman Dan Fodio used his literary works specially written in Arabic language to reform
ulamaa, he addressed masses of common people in his Friday sermons and speeches and taught
them fundamental and original teachings of Islam. His mastery of Arabic, Hausa, Fulani, and
Tuwadic languages enabled him communicate his ideas and philosophy throughout the caliphate.
For this purpose he used local languages Hausa and Fulani. He was a gifted poet and used this
effective medium to approach the common people. He also traveled to other cities to teach and
preach among the wider circles of people. Both men andwomen were attracted to those meetings.
For women separate sitting arrangement was made (Balogun, 1981, p. 34).
Sheikh Uthman, among other things, commanded his pupils to teach their wives and children.
All the women of his household were educated. Foremost among them was Nana Asma'u - who
is well known role model, a Muslim woman scholar and poet. As well as maintaining the
household, she played an important part in reforming the society as well. He raised the social
status of the women and championed them in education.

5. 5
Conclusion
By 1810 Sheikh Uthman Dan Fodio had created a vast empire, to be administered by emirs in
accordance with Qur'anic law. High standards of public morality replaced the corruption of the
Hausa states and widespread education was achieved. Uthman Dan Fodio was a man of great
intellect and scholarship nature. He was very concerned with the ills of his society. Having
grown up in Hausa land saw the injustices perpetuated by the rulers of the state, most of whose
actions were un-Islamic, he dreamt of a theocratic state built on the foundations of Islamic laws.
Finally he was able to achieve this with the establishment of Sokoto Caliphate.
Uthman Dan Fodio divided his conquests between his brother, Abdullahi, who ruled the western
part of the kingdom, and his son, Muhammad Bello, who ruled the eastern part of the kingdom
including the Hausa city-states. By the end of Bello’s rule in 1837, the Sokoto Caliphate, with
an estimated 20 million people, had become the most populous empire in West Africa. Uthman
Dan Fodio, who had begun his life as an idealistic scholar and theologian who at first rejected the
sword, eventually became the forceful and commanding leader of a formidable military
empire. He died on April 20, 1817 in Sokoto.

6. 6
References
Balogun, I.A.B. (1981), The life and works of Uthman Dan Fodio : The Muslim Reformer of
West Africa, Lagos: Islamic Publications Bureau
Hiskett, Mervyn (1973), The Sword of Truth: The Life and Times of the Shehu Usuman Dan
Fodio. Northwestern Univ Pr; 1973, Reprint edition
H.F.C. Smith.“A Neglected Theme of West African History: The Islamic Revolution of the
19Th Century”, J. H. S. N., vol, 11, No, 2, Dec, 1961, pp. 173 ff.
Sulaiman, Ibrahim (1986), A Revolution in History: The Jihad of Usman Dan Fodio, London
http://www.whenweruled.com/articles.php?lng=en&pg=28