Examining the writings of Nana Asma'u:

مرکز و کتابخانه مطالعات اسلامی به زبان های اروپایی

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" Examining the writings of Nana Asma'u: "
Laurence Mazella J. O. Voll

Document Type	:	Latin Dissertation
Language of Document	:	English
Record Number	:	1103794
Doc. No	:	TLpq1013441379
Main Entry	:	J. O. Voll
	:	Laurence Mazella
Title & Author	:	Examining the writings of Nana Asma'u:\ Laurence MazellaJ. O. Voll
College	:	Georgetown University
Date	:	2012
student score	:	2012
Degree	:	M.A.L.S.
Page No	:	126
Abstract	:	Nana Asma'u, the daughter of a prominent Nigerian shaykh held a leading role in providing religious instruction to the women of the Sokoto Caliphate in the 1800s. Asma'u is an example of many Sufi women whose role and contribution have provided them the opportunity to develop pastoral connections. Those connections consist of imparting religious teachings as well as dispensing religious guidance. This thesis explores the topic by establishing the presence of Sufi women alongside men early at the beginning of Islam. Some of these women contributed in valuable ways to the growth of the Sufi way. Highlighting that point demonstrates an early involvement of women in Sufism. The subsequent chapter delves into the biographies of female Sufi saints; the nature of that discussion is to draw the saintly characteristics that are distinctly feminine. Also, by citing the examples of Sufi women's biographies, the discussion provides a basis for their important contributions not just in Sufism, but in Islam as well. The biography genre is very important in the Islamic scholarship tradition. It denotes the significance of the subject's accomplishments. In this case, it was those of women. Rabi'a of Basra, the most famous and early mystic in Islam is treated in this chapter. The central piece of the analysis is the development of pastoral connections based on the writings of Nana Asma'u, whose father had encouraged the instruction of women in his family. Later, he placed Asma'u in a leading role to promote women's education in his caliphate; she gained a lot of influence not only as religious instruction and in her political position. Her instructions reached many women across northern Nigeria thanks to her writings based on a form of poetry. Her poems are still taught today and female Sufi leaders have retained their leading role in the instructions of women. The last chapter treats the pastoral connections found among women in contemporary tariqas . Their continuing participation has not changed, but the social context where these women teach and nurture the spiritual growth of other men and women has. Yet their function has not changed and demonstrates their resilience and relevance in an ambiguous social environment. Finally, the education of women continues to evolve with the emergence of a class of well-educated Muslim women. The thesis closing remarks show how the Sufi women's involvement can be traced from the early years of Islam and how women's current involvement reflects not only Nana Asma'u's contributions, but also those of her predecessors going back to those early saints.
Subject	:	Islam
	:	Nana asma'u
	:	Nigeria
	:	Philosophy, religion and theology
	:	Social sciences
	:	Sufism