Abdal Jalil

Selema I (Sǝlǝma), (Several rulers of Kanem–Bornu are recorded with both Arabic and Kanuri names and scholars vary in which name is preferred.) Sǝlǝma is this ruler's Kanuri name and is, among others, preferred by Cohen. The ǝ:s in Sǝlǝma are pronounced similar to the oo sound in book or look. Sǝlǝma means "black" or "dark-skinned" in Kanuri and may be a nickname. Nachtigal (1881) (1911) Palmer (1936) Name Selma or ʽAbd el Jelíl ʽAbdallâh Abdallah ʽAbd ul Jalil Reign 4 years 62 years 4 years — Father Shú Schû Djelil Chou Mother "a woman of the tribe of the Ghemarma" — — Bure

Similar as for Selema's direct predecessor Hu, both Barth and Landeroin gave Selema a reign of only four years, which was generally accepted by later authors, such as Yves Urvoy (1941), Ronald Cohen (1966), Nachtigal's version of the king list gave Selema a considerably longer reign of 62 years, also the same length of time as Nachtigal gives Hu.

Life Most versions of the girgam present Selema as the son of his direct predecessor, Hu, Landeroin instead states that Selema was the son of a man named Djelil, with unclear relations to preceding mais.

Selema was the second Muslim ruler of Kanem, after Hu. One girgam translated by Palmer in 1912 refers to Masar as "Masar of many mosques". A girgam translated by Palmer in 1926 places Selema's death in "the land of the Gamaram (i.e. Damarghu)". Kanem is generally believed to have been founded by the Zaghawa people, who are associated with the kingdom in Arab sources from the 9th to the 11th century. In the 12th century, the Zaghawa are attested as a separate entity from Kanem, living as nomads in the northeast. Hummay's rise to power could thus be linked to a possible expulsion of the Zaghawa from Kanem. In this interpretation, Selema is then identified as the last Zaghawa ruler of Kanem.