Yoruba Muslims Research Articles

Impacts of Dacwah Activities of Selected Muslim Scholars on Social Media Platforms on Yoruba Muslims

Social media has become an integral part of Muslims' personal and public lives. Through the advancement of the Internet, Social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp, Telegram, Tik-Tok and personal blogs have gloriously allocated space for Dacwah activities. Thus, this study aims to assess the utilization of Social media platforms by selected Yoruba Muslim scholars for Dacwah activities and the impacts they have on Yoruba Muslims. Descriptive and analytical methods of research have been employed in carrying out this research. The descriptive method assists in describing how social media platforms are utilized by selected Yoruba Muslim scholars. The analytical method helps in analyzing the content of social media post by Yoruba Muslim scholars. Participatory observation, as a research tool, is used to follow some Ducāt in order to have access to their discussions and posts as well as get information on their impacts. The paper reveals that, as a result of advance in modern information dissemination, social media has provided innovative platforms for religious leaders to spread their messages and engage with various Muslims conveniently. The paper also reveals the effectiveness of religious scholars’ message in influencing attitudes, behaviors and perceptions among their followers. The paper concludes that the role of Social media in fostering unity, promoting values, and countering misconceptions about Islam cannot be underestimated. Therefore, it is recommended that the Yoruba Muslim scholars should make strategic use of Social media positively to impacts the Nigerian Muslims by disseminating knowledge fostering unity and countering misinformation.

Religion and ethnicity interaction as a predictor of male fertility in Nigeria: Evidence from a national representative sample.

High fertility constitutes a challenge to men's health conditions in Nigeria, a low-income country. Religion and ethnicity are central to the current Male Fertility (MF) level in Nigeria. This study determined the relationship between Male Fertility (MF) and Religion Ethnic Interaction (REI) amidst other socio-demographic characteristics in Nigeria. Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey data, 2018 was used. Men aged 15-59 years [n = 8,786] were sampled using a multi-stage approach. Fertility was measured by the number of Children Ever Born (CEB). REI was generated using the combination of religion and ethnic groups; Hausa/Fulani Muslim, Igbo Christian, Yoruba Christian, and Yoruba Muslim. However, Hausa/Fulani Christians and Igbo Muslims were excluded from this study because a few men in these categories were available in the original sample. Weighted data were analyzed using the Negative Binomial (NB) model (α0.05). The mean age and CEB of the men were 32.9±12.0 years and 3.18±4.4 respectively. The mean CEB among men aged 45-59 years was highest among Hausa/Fulani Muslims (x = 11.57±5.98), but least among Yoruba Christians (x = 4.44±2.67). About 33.4% of the Hausa/Fulani Muslims had had ≥5 children, while 13.7% were reported among the Yoruba Christian men (p<0.001). The fertility Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR) was higher among Hausa/Fulani Muslims, but less among Igbo Christians, and Yoruba Christians than Yoruba Muslims. Restricting the analyzed data to only monogamous men revealed no significant differences in the fertility IRR of Yoruba Christians and Yoruba Muslims, but the fertility IRR was significantly higher among the Hausa/Fulani Muslims than Yoruba Muslims. A disparity exists in MF across the REI groups with the Hausa/Fulani Muslims being the major contributors to high MF. Therefore, bridging the gap in access to fertility control measures and programmes that might have resulted from religion and ethnic differences will reduce male fertility level in Nigeria.

An Appraisal of the Practice of Sufism and Jalabi among Yoruba Muslims in Nigeria

Jalabi and Sufism are two abiding practices among Yoruba Muslims. Both have been instrumental to the consolidation and propagation of Islam across the Yorubaland. Many early Yoruba Muslims, especially the Islamic scholars, were both Jalabi practitioners and Sufi adherents. Many Muslims of later generations have, however, abused both. Hence, the coming of Salafiyyah advocates to displace the two, having been considered as innovations (bidcah) that endure among the Muslims. The Salafiyyah advocates propelled another misconception as they failed to acknowledge the parallels between the two but tarred both with the same brush. This now makes it difficult to record the necessary corrections to purge society of the evils of quacks that parade themselves in the land under the guise of Islam. Therefore, This study aims to examine the two phenomena to find their legitimacy in Islam and identify the similarities or otherwise between them. It will also determine the appropriateness or otherwise of Salafiyyah's advocacy against them. Historical and exegetical methods are adopted. The former enables the assessment of historical facts connected to Jalabi and Sufism in Yorubaland. At the same time, the latter allows assessing relevant works, especially the primary sources of Islam, to find the legitimacy for the two variables of this paper. Findings revealed that Sufism came down to Yorubaland along with Islam and that early Muslim scholar devised Jalabi as a dacwah strategy to consolidate and propagate Islam in the land. It also revealed that both exist independently, though combined by some scholars, while many Jalabi practitioners are not Sufis and vice versa. The work concluded by recommending that Salafiyyah scholars address each according to its peculiarities because Jalabi practitioners in modern times are businessmen, while the Sufis are not.

The Yoruba Muslims and the Credence in Reincarnation: An Orthodox Intrusion

Everybody knows that death is the unescapable end of man. What waves the mind of many, consciously or otherwise, is the question of what happens to man when he breaths his last breath. While some are of the opinion that after death comes judgment; a determent of whether one goes to eternal blissful domains, or into everlasting tenant; depending on whether he had lived piously or otherwise, while on earth. Another school of thought opines that the soul of the dead will reincarnate by taking abode in a new physical body, born as a new baby and live another normal life, whereby he/she has the opportunity to correct his/her wrong actions in the previous incarnation. While some are of the opinion that when the soul has gathered wisdom, knowledge and understanding through several incarnations, it becomes one with the creator; others believe that reincarnation is a continuous process without neither beginning nor an ending. The Yoruba of South-Western Nigeria, like most other Africans, believes that humans reincarnate in order to re-choose their destiny and fulfill their life ambitions which they had no chance to achieve in a previous incarnation. An examination of some Yoruba traditional songs about death and what follows, show that they believe in 'a day of reckoning' and the continuum of the life cycle. Reincarnation, generally speaking, is always thought of, and discussed as a religious phenomenon, most probably because it borders on the super-natural; an issue to which only God; the creative force, has the totally correct answer

Dynamicism in Yoruba Translation of the Quran

The appearance of a published complete translation of the Qur'an into Yoruba language was a recent occurrence phenomenon compared to the early contact of Islam with Yorubaland. This has been attributed to the fact that the early Imams and Arabic and Islamic teachers concentrated on the teaching of Arabic Language. This article discussed the activities of the Qur'an translators and examined the impact of that on the target audience. A number of grey areas in the Yoruba translations are brought to the fore for possible adjustment. The article employed historical and analytical methods in gathering information from primary and secondary sources. The translation of the Qur'an into Yoruba language remains a major intellectual contribution of the Yoruba Muslim scholars to the dissemination of Islamic teachings. However, the translators are yet to take cognizance of the conditions and prerequisites of translating the Qur'an. This has led to adverse effects on most of the translations of the Qur'an into Yoruba. The article has also brought to focus some improvements in translation of the Qur'an including the nature of the contributions, their merits and demerits. The study proposes a template for improvement so that subsequent translations will not only address contemporary needs but also benefit from an extensive circulation of the Quranic message

Effects of Superstitious Beliefs and Syncretic Practices on Yoruba Muslims: Islamic Teachings as a Way Forward

This study finds out the effects of the various levels of superstitious beliefs and syncretic practices on Yoruba Muslims. It determines the cause and effects of superstitious beliefs and syncretism on spiritual development of Muslims with a view to eradicate the menace among Muslims in Yorubaland. A self-developed questionnaire titled “Superstitious Beliefs and Its Effects on Yoruba Muslims” was adopted and administered on 110 Muslims (Male and Female). Chi-square (x2) was employed to test the hypotheses at P = 0.05; df = 3. The statistics of percentages was also used to describe the situation as implicated by the data. The result showed that all the hypotheses formulated were significant (P&lt;0.05) and thereby concluded that all the four variables were actually affects of superstitious beliefs and that they are impediments to Muslims faith in Yorubaland. Considering the findings, it was recommended that Islamic teachings should be elevated among Yoruba Muslims to understand why they should be effectively involved in the teaching and learning of Islamic studies in Schools to educate Muslims on the negative effects of superstition on their faith (Islam).

Thoughts of Shaykh Adam Abdullahi Al-Ilorī (1917-1992) on Islam and Cultural Practices among Yoruba Muslims in Nigeria

The practice of Islam in Yorubaland has posed serious challenges to many Muslims who find navigating between Islamic rules and Yoruba customary practices difficult. It has led many to Shirk (polytheism), Bidcah (heretical innovation), and Takhlīṭ (syncretism) among others with perilous effects in Islam. Unfortunately, many Muslims are unaware of these but adopted a free attitude to Islam. Shaykh Adam is one of the foremost scholars whose views are sought and relied upon by either Yoruba Muslims in their practice of Islam or by researchers who intend an assessment of the practice of Islam in Yorubaland, thus the crux of this paper is to examine his views on selected areas that are paramount to caqīdah (creed) and the general practice of Islam. Historical and exegetical methods are adopted in achieving the objectives of this paper. The former enabled the paper to assess historical facts that are related to the personality that the paper focused on, while the exegetical allowed the interpretation of relevant texts to the discourse of the paper. It is discovered that the interaction between Islam and culture in Yorubaland has necessitated both fine-tuning and abandonment of some customs. Social events like the naming ceremony, Islamic titles, and burial among others are fine-tuned, while magic, Ifa divination, bending or kneeling while greeting and a host of others are condemned and to be abandoned. The paper, therefore, concluded that Shaykh Adam remains a prominent personality whose views are driven by scholarship to liberate Muslims from the shackle of ignorance and perdition.

Shaykh Adam Abdullahi Al-Ilori (1917-1992): A Muslim Reformer of 20th Century in Yorubaland, Nigeria.

The advent, consolidation and even seamless practice of Islam in different places are greatly connected to the efforts of some individuals who took drastic initiatives that brought about cohesion and compatibility between the texts (Qur’an and Hadith) of Islam and the reality of times and places. Shaykh Adam is one of those pragmatic scholars with outstanding reforming zeal for Islam in Yorubaland. He devised different means to halt the increasing waves of ignorance and nominalism among Muslims. He also unites Muslims in the region under one umbrella. His personality and the approaches he adopted in turning Yorubaland into an abode of Islam have however received less attention from scholars, especially of English background. This paper, therefore, aims at discussing his personality and assessing his approaches in the bid to make Islam a household religion in Yorubaland. The historical method is adopted to achieve the objectives of this paper. The findings revealed that Shaykh Adam remains one of the foremost and outstanding scholars in the areas of teaching, preaching and writing across Yorubaland with accomplishments that have not been equalled or surpassed by anyone. Also, it is discovered that the nerve centre of his activities is Markaz through which he dismantled the barriers of ignorance vis-à-vis Arabic language and Islamic education in Yorubaland. He also brought Yoruba Muslims under one umbrella courtesy of Rabitah. The paper, therefore, concluded that Shaykh Adam is a scholar of note with enduring landmarks across not only the Yorubaland or Nigeria but also the Muslim world.

Globalization and Islamic Music (Asalatu) in Nigeria

Abstract This article explores Asalatu, a form of Islamic music among Yoruba Muslims in Nigeria, against the backdrop of globalization and the impact of Western music. The article points to observed changes in the music and musical possibilities within increasing secularization. Drawing on ethnographic data, the article illuminates tangential issues such as the use of the mother tongue for Islamic music as opposed to Arabic, and the introduction of dance to Islamic music to account for the changes. The article is a major contribution to knowledge in the fields of religion in Africa, Islamic studies, and popular/material culture. Globalization has closely knit nations together such that there is an acceleration of the integration of nations into the global system. Accounting for changes in Islamic music as a result of globalization helps provide insights into the nature of society, whether increasingly religious or secular.

CONTESTING NORMS

Contemporary Islamic music in southwestern Nigeria has changed in the last decade and Yoruba Muslim listeners are experiencing music in new ways. This article explores various trends in contemporary Yoruba Islamic music in southwestern Nigeria. The Yoruba are predominantly in southwestern Nigeria and extend to parts of central Nigeria and the West African coast of the Republic of Benin. The article draws on purposefully selected, recorded compositions of Yoruba Islamic artists produced on compact discs between 1979 and 2020, YouTube Videos and in-depth interviews to yield a comprehensive view of the music. It employs Vejlgaard’s (2018) trendspotting theory as a theoretical framework to analyse the texts. It examines the tendencies that shape the re-articulation of religion through the “Muslim sound” and problematises an understanding of the direction of change in contemporary Islamic music. The article argues that contemporary Islamic music in southwestern Nigeria is a product of the quest for Islamic identity and the commodification of musical and social values. This argument puts in context the many dynamics behind the transformations in contemporary Islamic music in Nigeria. Muslim singers draw on the strength of Nigeria’s thriving urban culture industry by adopting production, circulation, and marketing strategies that sustain the commercially successful Nigerian entertainment industry. This development is part of a global reality of social change and modernity transforming Islamic consciousness.

The Spiritual Consultancy (Jalbu/Jalabi) in the Religious Culture of Yoruba Muslims, Nigeria

Spiritual consultancy (Jalbu, locally referred to as Jalabi) has been the major vocation of traditional Muslim scholars in Yoruba land, Nigeria, apart from teaching and preaching. This is accentuated by the religious culture of permissiveness which allows cross-religious interaction and sharing amongst the adherents of the three religious traditions competing for patronage in this part of the country, thereby corrupting the pristine values of Islam. Understanding this conundrum, this ethnographic work, which employs both qualitative and quantitative methods, seeks to interrogate the practice of Jalabi, its methods and approaches, and its sociological impact on Islam and the religious culture of Yoruba Muslims of Nigeria. While the majority of this research interlocutors recognize Jalabi as, among others, unacceptable before the Islamic law, damaging the image of Islam, promoting reliance on fetish rather than Allah, destroying Muslim's belief, only a few support Jalabi in a positive tone, such as making Islam relevant in solving socio-economic, political, and spiritual problems.

Pragmeme of Waka Chants in selected Fidāʼu

The paper examined the discursive structure of waka chants as performed by Islamic clerics among the Yoruba Muslims at the event of fidāʼu. This attempt considers waka chants as pragmeme, with particular attention on the language and extra-linguistic cues deployed within the chants, and how the entire situational contexts which condition the waka chants regiment the language use. Eight documented waka chants in honour of some deceased Muslims in South-western Nigeria were sampled. The waka chants which were mainly in the Yoruba language as rendered by Muslim clerics were transcribed and translated to English language for the purpose of analysis. With insights from Mey’s theory of pragmeme, the paper ascertained that waka chants at the event of fidāʼu possess inherent pragmatic forces beyond their invocation to elucidate sermons and lives of a deceased Muslim. Such chants, this paper argues, perform socio-religious actions which are of immense benefits to the living.

The Modernisation of Islamic Education in Ilorin: A Study of the Adabiyya and Markaziyya Educational Systems

Poised between its Emirate heritage and the mixed-religious culture of fellow Yoruba-speakers, the city of Ilorin has long served as a centre of Islamic learning in Yorubaland. In the colonial period Yoruba Muslims became strongly aware of the need to compete educationally with Christians who had access to Western education, Ilorin also became a location for the modernisation of Islamic schooling. This article explores two pedagogical models that were successfully established in Ilorin during the colonial and post-colonial period, the Adabiyya and Markaziyya. While the emergence of these madrasa-type educational systems reflects some epistemological changes away from embodied learning, the variation between different models illustrates that there are many different ways in which Islamic education can be modernised. The article also highlights that practices of embodiment continue to play an important role in Ilorin, which demonstrates the ongoing importance of Sufi values in modern Islamic education.

“When Knowledge is there, Other Things Follow”: The Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria and the Making of Yoruba Muslim Youths

Among the religiously mixed Yoruba people of southwest Nigeria, the knowledge and values involved with being a Muslim are taught by both Muslim clerics in Qurʾanic schools and modern madrasas and by non-scholarly Muslims in different contexts. While some research has focussed on Yoruba clerics, little is known about the teaching initiatives of other Muslims. An important movement led by ordinary Muslims is the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (mssn), formed in 1954 to provide guidance to Muslim students in a predominantly non-Muslim educational environment. Since the 1950s, the mssn has engaged young Muslims in a series of socio-cultural, educational and religious activities aimed at encouraging young Muslims to engage with Islam, but which also equips them with the socio-economic skills necessary to operate in a modern, mixed religious world.

Ademilokun: Aspects of Yoruba Lingual-cultural Retentions in Abimbola Adelakun’s Under the Brown Rusted Roofs

Previous studies on nativisation of English in African literary productions have focused on literary works of first and second generation African writers such as Amos Tutuola, Chinua Achebe, Niyi Osundare among others, with little critical attention paid to nativisation of English by new Nigerian writers. This essay adds to the discourse on the subject of language in African literature by examining the language of Abimbola Adunni Adelakun, a new generation Nigerian writer, in Under the Brown Rusted Roofs. Through a close reading of the text and insights from Systemic Functional Linguistics, this paper elucidates the various Yoruba lingual-cultural features used by the new generation Nigerian writer for the promotion of Yoruba identity in the text. Data analysis revealed that Adelakun used lexical transfer, literal translation, coinages, code-mixing, proverbs, incantatory discourse, Yoruba Muslim discourse features, Yoruba advertising poetry and lineage praise poetry to nativise the literary text by giving it a Yoruba coloration. The study concludes that Adelakun’s use of the English language further enhances the African identity and shows that new generation writers are also committed to linguistic nationalism in their prosecution of their literary enterprise. Keywords: lingual-cultural, retentions, Abimbola Adelakun, nativisation, linguistic nationalism

Christian Translations of the Qur'an into Yoruba and Their Historical Background

This study considers the emergence of the Christian-led Yoruba translations of the Qur'an in south-western Nigeria. The proliferation of translations of religious texts played a significant role in Christian engagement with Islam in Africa in the nineteenth century. With their contact with the European Christians in Sierra Leone following the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, a sizable number of Yoruba recaptives returned to Yorubaland as missionaries and embarked on translating religious texts into the Yoruba language as part of Christian mission. In 1906, the Reverend M. S. Cole published the first Yoruba translation of the Qur'an, which was also the first translation into an African language. In 1965, E. K. Akinlade published the second Yoruba translation of the Qur'an. This article relates the Christian-led Yoruba translations to a larger scheme of the Christian missionary engagement with Islam and the Yoruba Muslims on a scriptural basis, which was inaugurated by Bishop Crowther in the second half of the nineteenth century. It examines the theological bases and historical circumstances that led to the publication of the early Yoruba translation of the Qur'an. The article then provides an overview of the works in an attempt to identify their aid materials and the motives for the translations.

Chieftaincy Institutions among Yoruba Muslims in Nigeria: Between The Present And Past

This paper intends to analyse the contemporary issues and challenges of chieftaincy Institutions among Yoruba Muslims in Nigeria. It delves in to the origins of Islamic chieftaincy institutions, the roles and functions of Islamic Chieftaincy title holders. The methodology employed was based on information and analysis of the data from written sources. The paper reveals that, the need to encourage believers in the propagation of Islam is a major reason for the multiplicity of chieftaincy titles. The paper recommended that for Islamic chieftaincy titles to be meaningful, preference should be given to Muslims who have the fear of Allah. While it concluded that in the early history merit and not mediocrity was the major consideration in the award of chieftaincy titles. The current trend therefore requires urgent review. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/iiucs.v8i0.20411 IIUC Studies Vol.8 December 2011: 161-174

Islam and Traditional Titles in Contemporary Lagos Society: A Historical Analysis

Lagos, an area basically inhabited by the Yoruba speaking people of South Western Nigeria and by extension some other parts of West Africa where Islam, Christianity and the African Traditional Religion are still being practised side by side till date with the Africans still being converted to the new faiths without dropping their traditional religion or cultural affiliations. This ideology is very common to the average African who still believes in his culture which has always tainted his way of life or as far as his religion is concerned should not interfere with his culture as the religion as not tacitly condemned some of these practices. This paper intends to examine the extent to which the Yoruba Muslims have been involved in syncretism especially as regards the introduction of the conferment of titles into the Muslim community.

Arabic–Yoruba Translation of the Qur'an: A Socio-linguistic Perspective

The discussion is introduced with an overview of the evolution of Yoruba ethnic identity toward the end of the nineteenth century; the role and primary motives of Rev. Samuel Ajayi Crowther in the emergence of Standard/K, oine/Literary Yoruba and its orthography as well as the various tributaries to the Literary Yoruba. Probable reasons for the delay in the appearance of Yoruba translations of the Qur'an in spite of the long contact of the Yoruba with Islam are suggested. Emphasis is laid on the contribution of Yoruba Muslim religious discourse over time to the Literary Yoruba as well as the techniques employed by Yoruba translators of the Qur' an in deriving appropriate Yoruba words through the internal dynamics of the Yoruba verbal system. The major distinguishing features of the existing translations are identified and suggestions are made for future refinement.

Education and the Growth of Religious Associations among Yoruba Muslims: The Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria

Education and the Growth of Religious Associations among Yoruba Muslims: The Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria