Abd al-Salam of Kware

Abd al-Salam bin Ibrahim (born Mikaila; died January 1818) was a ba-Are Hausa Islamic scholar and teacher who served as one of the principal commanders in the Sokoto Jihad (1804–1808) and later led a revolt against the Sokoto Caliphate in 1817.

A noted Sufi and teacher even before joining Usman dan Fodio's community, Abd al-Salam had already gathered a following among the Arewa Hausa. After becoming one of Usman's most fervant disciples at Degel, he founded the settlement of Gimbana following his own hijra from Gobir around 1797. The Gobir attack on Gimbana in 1803/4 and later ambush by Usman's followers on the Gobir army is often cited as what began Usman's jihad. During the jihad, Abd al-Salam served as one of the few non-Fulani commanders and played an important role in the movement's expansion into Kebbi and Zamfara.

When Usman divided the new Caliphate's territories in 1812, Abd al-Salam received only a small fief in Gwandu, which he considered unfair compared to the holdings given to the other leaders who were related to Usman. His dissatisfaction deepened into open discontent under Usman's successor, Muhammad Bello, whom he accused of corruption and injustice. From his base at Kware, Abd al-Salam gathered followers and corresponded with Bello before leading a revolt in 1817. The revolt ended in early 1818 with the sack of Kware and Abd al-Salam's death from wounds at Bakura.

Bello gave a detailed account of Abd al-Salam's revolt in his Sard al-kalam (c. 1818), presenting their correspondence and quoting his six letters and three from Abd al-Salam. Abd al-Salam's descendants, known as the Gimbanawa, later established the town of Jega, which developed into a major market centre in north-western Nigeria.

Biography

Early life Abd al-Salam's original name was Mikaila, and his father's name was Ibrahim. He was Hausa from the Arewa (or 'Northerners') subgroup, identified with the Mawri people centred around Dogondoutchi in present-day Niger.

Sometime in the 1790s, he moved to Gobir to study under Shehu Usman dan Fodio, an Islamic scholar who was leading a revivalist movement in Hausaland. Some traditions claim he had studied with the Shehu earlier in his youth. Abd al-Salam set up his camp close to Usman at Degel, and called it Dār as-salām ("House of Peace") and changed his name from Mikaila to Abd al-Salam ("Slave of Peace").

In 1803/4, Yunfa, Nafata's son and successor, sent a punitive expedition to capture Abd al-Salam. Yunfa's forces, led by the Emir of Gummi, attacked Gimbana but failed to seize Abd al-Salam, who escaped to a nearby Fulani fortress allied with Usman. The Gobir forces sacked Gimbana and enslaved many of its remaining inhabitants. On their return, they were ambushed by some of Usman's followers, among whom is said were led by Usman's brother Abdullahi, who freed the captives. This angered Yunfa, who ordered Usman to leave Gobir with his family but without his wider community. Since this meant the Degel community would be forced back under state control or destroyed, Usman ultimately withdrew with all his followers to Gudu, just outside Gobir.

Though tensions had long been rising between Sarkin Gobir Yunfa and Usman's community, the Gimbana affair is often cited as what started Usman's jihad, which lasted from 1804 until Yunfa was killed in 1808. Abd al-Salam was one of Usman's few prominent non-Fulani commanders during the jihad. When the new Caliphate came to rule vast territories, as Amir al-Mu'minin Usman divided authority among his leading commanders: the east went to his son Muhammad Bello, the west to his brother Abdullahi, the north under Ali Jedo, while the south was divided between his other son Muhammad Bukhari and Abd al-Salam, who was assigned seven villages in Gwandu, including Sabiyel (in present-day Aliero).

Around this time, Abd al-Salam's Kware became a flourishing town, its population growing as people seeking refuge from Sokoto arrived. When Bello commanded Abd al-Salam - like other regional rulers - to send him troops and cease communications with all rebels, Abd al-Salam instead sent a reply declaring Bello a ẓālim (oppressor) and arguing that obedience to an unjust ruler was not required under Islamic law.

In 1821, Abdullahi allowed Abd al-Salam's son Muhammadu Bukhari to establish the town of Jega, near Abd al-Salam's old settlement of Gimbana. settled around Jega, which became a major market centre in the region. By the early 20th century, Jega's markets rivaled those of Kano, the main commercial hub of Northern Nigeria.