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Muḥammad al-Maghīlī

Savant

Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Maghīlī was born around 1440 in Tlemcen, in present-day Algeria, and died around 1505 in Touat, in the Algerian Sahara. A rigorous lawyer Trained in Tlemcen, he was known for his rigor in the application of the Law and his strong positions, which sparked debates with other scholars of his time. He notably exchanged in writing with Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī on the subject of logic. Travel to West Africa Around 1490, he moved south. In Kano, he advised the sovereign Muḥammad Rumfa, for whom he wrote a treatise on the duties of kings. He also stayed in Katsina, then in Gao, at the court of the askia Muḥammad, sovereign of the Songhai empire. Answers to the askia The askia Muḥammad asked him a series of questions on the way of governing according to Islam, justice, taxes and the religious practices of his subjects. Al-Maghīlī's responses, Asʾilat al-Askiya wa-ajwibat al-Maghīlī, had a great influence and were read, three centuries later, by the reformers of Sokoto, such as Ousmane dan Fodio. Photo: manuscript of the questions of the askia and the answers of al-Maghīlī.