Muhammad al-Maghili

Muhammad al-Maghili
Personal
Born1440 CE
Died1505 CE
ReligionIslam
RegionNorth Africa, West Africa
DenominationSunni
JurisprudenceMaliki
CreedAsh'ari[1]
Main interest(s)Tafsir, Hadith, Fiqh
Muslim leader
Influenced by
  • Abd al-Rahman al-Tha'alibi, Yahya ibn Yadir al-Tadalsi
Influenced
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Muhammad ibn Abd al-Karim al-Maghili (Arabic: المغيلي), commonly known as Muhammad al-Maghili (c.1440 – c.1505) was a Berber 'alim from Tlemcen, the capital of the Kingdom of Tlemcen, now in modern-day Algeria. Al-Maghili was responsible for converting the ruling classes to Islam among Hausa, Fulani, and Tuareg peoples in West Africa.[2]

Al-Maghili toured North and West Africa, observing the state of sharia and challenging the status of dhimmis within the region. His radical views on such subjects would set him against many notable Maghrebian scholars and authorities of the time.[3][4] In the confines of his theological views, Maghili advanced his political thought in the form of legal advice at the courts of West African rulers and still practiced his crafts in the art of Islamic sciences.[3][5] Though not ushering in drastic change, Maghili played a great role in the Islamization of West Africa, his writing has been copied, studied, and implemented in West Africa ever since its conception, making him one of the most influential figures in the development of Islam in the region.[6]

Maghili's views would result in the persecution of the Jewish community in Tuat and the destruction of the main synagogue at Tamentit. This would occur at the backdrop of anti-dhimmi rhetoric by Maghili and the volatile position of dhimmis within the region.[3][4]

Most information on Al-Maghili's life can be collected from two sources, Ibn Askar's, Dawhat al-Nashir li-Mahasin man kana min al-Maghrib min Ahl al-Karn al-ashir, and Ahmad Baba al-Tinbukti's, Nayl al-Ibtihaj bi-tatriz al-Dibaz.[4] Original manuscripts of his work are available from the United Nations World Digital Library.[7]

  1. ^ "The Caliph's Law: Legality and Legitimacy in the Sokoto Caliphate". Archived from the original on 19 June 2024.
  2. ^ "Wodaabe People". University of Iowa. Archived from the original on 2005-11-05.
  3. ^ a b c Hunwick, John O. (1985). "Al-Mahîlî and the Jews of Tuwât: The Demise of a Community". Studia Islamica (61): 155–183. doi:10.2307/1595412. ISSN 0585-5292. JSTOR 1595412.
  4. ^ a b c Syros, Vasileios (2015). "Behind Every Great Reformer There is A "machiavelli": Al-Maghīlī, Machiavelli, and the Micro-Politics of an Early Modern African and an Italian City-State". Philosophy East and West. 65 (4): 1119–1148. doi:10.1353/pew.2015.0092. ISSN 0031-8221. JSTOR 43831229. S2CID 155854115.
  5. ^ Brenner, Louis (1986). Hunwick, John O. (ed.). "A Text for Another Time". The Journal of African History. 27 (3): 560–562. doi:10.1017/S0021853700023379. ISSN 0021-8537. JSTOR 181422.
  6. ^ Blum, Charlotte; Fisher, Humphrey (1993). "Love for Three Oranges, or, the Askiya's Dilemma: The Askiya, al-Maghīlī and Timbuktu, c. 1500 A.D.". The Journal of African History. 34 (1): 65–91. doi:10.1017/S0021853700033004. ISSN 0021-8537. JSTOR 183032.
  7. ^ "Askiyah's Questions and al-Maghili's Answers [al-Maghili's Tract on Politics]". 1450.