One Woman's Jihad: Nana Asma'u, Scholar and Scribe

by Beverly Mack, Jean Boyd

" . . . a most welcome addition to the body of scholarship on the Sokoto Jihad and Caliphate." ―Religious Studies Review

The fascinating life and times of Nana Asma'u (1793 - 1864), a West African woman who was a Muslim scholar and poet. As the daughter of the spiritual and political leader of the Sokoto community, Asma'u was a role model and teacher for other Muslim women as well as a scholar of Islam and a key advisor to her father as he waged a jihad to bring Islam to the population of what is now northwestern Nigeria.

Genres: Islam, History, Nonfiction, Religion, Africa

224 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2000

Reviews

[Sincerae Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A better subtitle for One Woman's Jihad would be Nana Asma'u: Scholar, Teacher, Poet, and Sufi. I really don't see where the title "scribe" applied to her life. The book tells nothing about that occupation. What it does tell is a generalized story about Nana Asma'u, daughter of Shehu Usman dan Fodiyo who was the spiritual and political leader of the Sokoto Sufi community. He waged a jihad in northwestern Nigeria in the early 1800s to both spread Islam and purify corrupted religious practices. "Nana" is just a title of respect. It is not Asma'u's given name.

Nana Asma'u was one of the most renowned West African female scholars and poets of her generation. Her fame reached as far north as Mauritania. Fluent in three languages Asma'u wrote poetry in Arabic, Fulfulde, and Hausa, the last two languages were also written in Arabic script. The poetry of this intellectual and Islamic scholar was not written for elite or artistic reasons, but as teaching tools for the women and men who were members of her father's and brother's religious community of the Sokoto Caliphate.

Asma'u understood and used all the poetic techniques employed for many centuries in Arabic poetry. Her poems covered subjects such as the life of the Prophet Muhammad, parallels between his life and her father's of which there were many, the sunnah (Islamic precepts), and poems praising women such as her best friend Aisha and historical Muslim women who were exemplars of how a religious woman should live and conduct herself. Nana Asma'u was a strong proponent of religious education for women and actively participated in the community to spread learning.

I gave this book just an average rating and not my usual four stars because I felt that at times the book was repetitious. Even though it's 171 pages, Nana Asma's life story only covers 91 pages. The remainder of the book is an appendix which contains some of her poetry. I finished her biography feeling that more should have been told about her life. I really wanted to learn more.

One Woman's Jihad was not a poorly written volume, but I feel it could have been much better. The biographical portion was just too short. I really wish that I could have learned more about Nana Asma'u's life.

[Nicholas Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

While Mack and Boyd's work on the translation of Asma'u's work is solid scholarship, the same can't be said for their analysis. In their glorification of Asma'u and the intellectual hierarchy of the Sokoto Caliphate, they make countless problematic declarations and implicit statements about the condition of the native Hausa. Especially concerning is their rhetoric around the enslavement and concubinage of Hausa individuals, who they treat as refugees adopted into a program of beneficent "resocialization."

This work is definitely valuable for its poetry analysis and translation, but for a socio-intellectual history of Sokoto it is deeply problematic.

[Kevin Wilcox · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of Nana Asma’u is one of great virtue amidst the ongoing struggle of change in a diverse culture. During a time when West Africa was predominantly occupied by traditional Islamic powers she redefined the roles in which women fit into society. Doing this she launched a movement that would refine how people interpret the function of women in the academic world. Nana Asma’u paved the way for post modern, West African women and served as a testament to the value of dedication. After reading One Woman’s Jihad by Jean Boyd a strong case could be made about the role of women in the institution of education.
Nana Asma’u was tireless in her efforts to communicate the customs and traditions of her people in the most simplistic way that she could. This was intrinsically motivated by her passion and desire to accurately get across the message of Islam that her ancestors had fought so hard for. Through this she enhanced the role of an educator in her era and brought new meaning to the art of teaching. It was through her own faith that she was able to reach out to insufficient people who did not have access to basic learning material and cultural literature. Being able to learn was cultivated by a rich history of Islam and the “great books” so much as America was built on it’s Judeo Christian heritage and the Bible.
In more practical applications Nana Asma’u produced numerous poems that served as an outcry for the movement her father created. From stoic creeds to passionate pieces that would often refer to the prophet Mohammed, her personal works would be revered as classics to the community. Alongside her personal works, she also would undertake the meticulous task of condensing the Koran into it’s most pure teachings so that everyone could better understand it. For the first time in this particular cultural setting, people could better comprehend Islam’s message and begin the process of restructuring life around it.
Teaching by way of Qadiriyya Sufism allowed the legitimization of the Caliphate and ensured the movements future. The old way of doing things was now challenged by a young progressive who had new ideas about the roles of women in her surroundings. Schooled in the highest manner of her time, Nana Asma'u was very intellectual because of her family's class and wealth. This allowed her to expose a broken system that had prevailed for centuries. Her intellect not only made her influential as a teacher but extremely powerful as a political leader. Obtaining this kind of position not only gave her greater aptitude but also endowed the women in the Caliphate.
Creating a new image of gender roles allowed men to adopt a greater appreciation for women and their function in education. Nana Asma'u had now opened up the window of opportunity for competition, productivity and advancement in areas where women of Islam could not pursue before. Bringing change through her personal struggle would be realized through the success of a growing culture that persevered in a time of exile. Nana Asma'u radical concepts were new and invigorating and gave women hope for the future. The overall image of women was beginning to shift in the caliphate bringing a better quality of life to families. Now that everyone was seen in the light of Qadiriyya Sufism, liberation would endure.
Nana Asma'u would continue to gain more momentum through her poetry that could be compared to today's war propaganda in America. The poetry fostered a perfect atmosphere for Jihadist alike who sympathized with the caliphate. Simple yet passionate creeds created by Asma'u were recited by supporters of the movement as well as children in the classroom who were learning to read for the very first time. These poems were being taught by women teachers who would be persecuted by loyalist if they lived just to the north where the Bornue Caliphate reigned. It was during this time that new traditions and customs were being formed as the cycle was beginning to break.
The development of the Sokoto Caliphate can be attributed to the legacy of Usman Dan Fodio and would later be carried out by his daughter Nana Asma'u. Many wars would be fought under Asma'u to protect civil and religious freedoms for the people of Sokoto. A nation literally had to be built from the ground up after being banished to the south. Asma'us efforts to establish modern feminism in Africa cannot go unnoticed. Her devotion to her fathers legacy would echo in the decades to come as young women teachers would travel throughout the Sokoto Caliphate in order to teach young families and children. Congregating in small homes, a sisterhood would be born giving birth to change.
More importantly the women of the Sokoto Caliphate were given a voice to facilitate their purpose. No longer were these Muslim women of Islam secluded and in the dark. They now stood united as one and were influential leaders of a movement. Together they sounded the war cries of a nation that yearned for change in a time of urgency. Nana Asma'u cultivated this cause by her never ending pursuit of equality and the value she placed on people. She continues to be celebrated by the women of Nigeria to this day and compliments the history of Africa as a country. Asma'u should not only be regarded as virtuous but most of all one who broke the stereotypical chains of women in Africa.

[Emily Nelson]

I got so much academic validation from my book report on this book. thanks history 130 for the ego boost.

[Yasmine Flodin-Ali · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting-ish. Not very critically presented, bascially just a glowing review of a historical figure's life. Interesting though to read about a female Muslim leader in the 19th century. Also interesting if you want to learn more about the history of Islam in Nigeria.

[Shelley Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nana Asma’u was a 19th century poet, teacher, and spiritual/community leader in the Sokoto Caliphate of present-day Nigeria. Through her poetry and community work she helped to educate women and also promote Islamic values within the new Muslim community established by her father. She wrote her work in language that was accessible to the masses and elevates the women in her community, praising them for acts of kindness, hard work, scholarship, and good neighborliness. Her life is a very important challenge to American/Western assumptions about the role of women in both pre-colonial African society and Muslim communities.

Unfortunately, despite the meticulous research that clearly went into this book, it seems incomplete. I would have liked to see more contextualization for the world in which Asma'u lived and more critique of Asma’u herself. Especially when it came to descriptions of the role of slaves and the erasure of local customs of formerly non-Muslim citizens of the Caliphate, as well as Asmau’s aims in comparing her father to the Prophet Mohammed PBUH, for example, I felt that the authors could have engaged in further critical analysis.

[Sarah Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

We owe Beverly Mack and Jean Boyd a debt for bringing the life of this extraordinary woman back to light. I was really hoping, however, to get a real sense of what her life- and the lives of educated women in general, were like in this time and place. That,unfortunately, is missing here. We get a good chronology and some interesting insights into religious life and the experience of men, but little that would truly bring us into Nana Asma'u's world and experience.

[Bruce · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a somewhat difficult read. The first half of the book sets the context for the heavily religious poems of the second half. An explanation of Sufism in Islam and of women's place therein is the main thrust of the first part. However, the first part is also a short history of the time period in which she lived and of the 'caliphate' her father established in what is now northern Nigeria.

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

Booooooooorrrrrrrriiiiiiiinnnnnnng.

[Hildegart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book, but for me it wasn't my cup of tea.