An Analytical Study of the Biography Of Sulṭān Muhammad Bello and His Book: “Infāq Al-Maysūr”

Abstract

The contribution of Sulṭān Muhammad Bello to the Jihad of 1804 and its documentation could not be overemphasized. This work aims at explaining and elaborating the main characteristics of Sulṭān Muhammad Bello bin Uthman bin Foduye (Taghammadahullahu bi Rahmatihi) among the leaders of Islamic scholarship and the main characteristics of his literary works
among the selected books of his time and beyond more especially in the field of Tārīkh (History). The works are counted as the manual of his administration, Da’awah, historiography and Islamic reforms during and after Jiihad of 1804 in Hausaland (Northern
Nigeria today) and Bilād al-Tukrūr (West Africa) at large. The methods adopted in this research are analytical and historical methods of research. The paper discovered that the book of Infāq al-Maysūr played a significant role in narrating the events and situations of Hausaland from its first contact with Islam to the time of the Jihad. This saved the history from lost. The research identifies categories of people, scholars, locations and examples of each in the study area. It is recommended that care should be given to documenting of history so as to save the important historical events from loosing. This is because history is a great source of knowledge.