Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Fulani al-Kishnawi was a prominent 18th century Fulani scholar, mathematician, astrologer, Arabic grammarian and jurist from Katsina, present-day Northern Nigeria.^[1][2]

Al-Kishnawi studied at the Gobarau Minaret in Katsina before leaving for Cairo, Egypt in 1732, where he published in Arabic a work titled, "A Treatise on the Magical Use of the Letters of the Alphabet" which is a mathematical scholarly manuscript of procedures for constructing magic squares up to the order 11.^[3]

Life

Muhammad al-Kishnawi was a Fulani scholar born in Dan Rako in Katsina (in modern-day Katsina state). Dan Rako was known for its association with the Wangara traders from Mali, who had established a presence in the area. The town was later sacked by Muhammad Bello and it no longer exists.^[4] He was born into a Muslim family and studied the religion and its holy book, the Quran. Among his teachers were Muhamamd al-Wali al-Burnawi, a famous scholar from Kanem-Bornu, Muhammad Fudi, the father of Usman dan Fodio, and Muhammad al-Bindu "Booro Binndi", another famous scholar from Kanem-Bornu. He became famous in Hausaland and Bornu and attracted many students.^{[5]: 15 [6]: 255–257}

Sometime before 1730, he left Katsina to embark on a pilgrimage to the Hijaz. He writes:

When the Deliverer of Destiny and Sempiternal Will delivered me, and the

Usher of Divine Mercy ushered me to visit His good Prophet, upon him be the best

of prayers and most devoted salutations, and to perform the pilgrimage of His holy

sanctified House, I stayed there for some time and grew through these prayers...

[and] spent of my duty to thank Him, the Gracious for variegating an areborerum

for me, a small utterance [shaʿrat lisānan] indeed for that greatest of graces [niʿam]

that He has bestowed upon me….^[6]: 249

The journey to Mecca was arduous, and it was common for West African pilgrims to take breaks in Cairo before continuing their journey. This was a practice observed by notable figures like Mansa Musa, the famous Malian king, during his pilgrimage in the 14th century. Following a similar route, al-Kishnawi also stopped in Cairo before proceeding to Mecca and eventually settling in Medina.

During his time in the Hijaz, al-Kishnawi had the opportunity to meet and learn from scholars from various parts of the Islamic world. Around the years 1733-1734, he relocated to Cairo, where he found accommodation near Al-Azhar University. He dedicated himself to writing, and during his first four years in Cairo, he completed several notable works, including Al-Durr al-manẓūm, Bahjat al-āfāq, Bulūgh al-arab, and Durar al-yawāqī.

Al-Kishnawi became famous in Egypt, later becoming the teacher of Hassan al-Jabarti, the father of the renowned Egyptian historian Abd al-Rahman al-Jabarti.^[7] Abd al-Rahman writes that his father “learned the art of numerical and literal magic squares and the art of fractions” from al-Kishnawi.

In 1741, Al-Kishnawi died at the age of 42 in the home of Hassan al-Jabarti in Cairo. He was buried in the Hall of Scholars in Cairo.^[8]

Notable works

Many of his works are now at the al-Azhar Library in Cairo. Some are preserved in Dar al-kutub, and some archives in Morocco, Nigeria and London.^[5]: 15As words of encouragement to the readers he writes:

Do not give up, for that is ignorance and not according to the rules of this art ... Like the lover, you cannot hope to achieve success without infinite perseverance.^[9]

Some of his notable works are:

• Bulūgh al-arab min kalām al-ʿarab: a work on Arabic grammar dated to around 1736-7.
• Bughyat al-mawālī fī tarjamat Muḥammad al-Wālī: a biography of Muhamamd al-Wali al-Burnawi (one of his teachers).
• Manḥ al-quddū: a didactic poem on logic drawn from the Mukhtaṣar of al-Sanūsī.
• Izālat al-‘ubū ‘an wajh minaḥ al-quddūs: a commentary on the Mukhtaṣar of al-Sanūsī.
• A commentary on Kitāb al-durr wa’l-tiryāq fī ‘ilm al-awfāq by Abd al-Rahman al-Jurjanī on the science of letters and the great names of God, completed on 6 September 1734.
• Three treatises on Durar al-yawāqīt fī ‘ilm al-ḥurūf wa’l asmā’.
• Mughnī al-mawāfī ‘an jamī‘ al-khawāf: a numerological work on the magic square completed on 29 January 1733.
• Al-Durr al-manẓūm wa khulāṣat al-sirr al-maktūm fī ‘ilm al-ṭalāsim wa’l-nujūm: his famous commentary on the three domains of the "secret sciences", completed on 20 December 1733.^{[6]: 264–265 [10]: 141}

References