When you think of Islamic Scholarship, which country do you think of?
Saudi Arabia? Egypt? Yemen? Oh, even Syria?
How many of you think about this country? Mauritania?
Mauritania has got to be the most interesting country.
It sits right here on the borders of the Atlantic ocean and northwestern Africa.
Ninety percent of it is made up of the Sahara Desert
and its population reflects a fusion between of Arab-berber ethnicity, language and culture.
Also, like most of Africa, it was colonised by Europeans, specifically… by the French.
But despite being groups of its resources... by the French,
that's not what this video is about.
You see, Mauritania has been one of if not the most vital countries
in contributing to Islamic scholarship in the world.
For centuries, Mauritanians and other Western African Muslims
were admired throughout the Muslim world for their enthusiasm for Islamic Scholarship.
As of the late twentieth century,
it is estimated that there were close to 30,000, yes, 30,000 manuscripts preserved
in nearly three hundred libraries in Mauritania.
But how? How did Mauritanians, living in the middle of the Sahran desert,
have access to literature from all across the Muslim world?
And more so how did Mauritanian scholarship become so sought after by the Islamic world? Let’s find out…
The story of Islam in Mauritania starts here with the ancient city of Chinguetti.
For more than 1200 years, Chinguetti has welcomed travellers seeking shelter
from the harsh Saharan heat.
Founded in the 8th century, it was originally a caravan stop
for Hajj pilgrims that blossomed into one of the biggest centres of science,
religion and mathematics in West Africa.
It is because of this city and it’s reputation that gave
the North Western African region its name ‘Bilad al-Shinqit’.
Which is why any scholar bearing the title al-Shinqiti suggests strong scholarly expertise.
As pilgrims and scholars came and went, many left religious texts,
scientific studies and historical manuscripts.
In fact, so many of these historical documents accumulated over the years
that during Chinguetti’s peak between the 13th and 17th Centuries,
this thriving city boasted 30 libraries.
Saharan families from across generations preserved book manuscripts in Saharan libraries.
This reflected the immense sources of knowledge and by extension,
power and prestige to the families who owned these libraries.
Saharan traditions of islamic knowledge in and around Saharan oases
thrived thanks to enterprising activities of Saharan scholars and their families.
Scholars were often traders which means they were also really successful
in acquiring and producing literature.
It’s fair to say that a culture of Quran memorisation, mastery of Arabic language, poetry
and the practice of Islamic Jurisprudence was fostered across Bilad al-Shinqit.
The Mauritanians understood that when the Prophet ﷺ
commanded all Muslims to seek knowledge,
it meant that they couldn’t just plant their feet in the ground
and wait for the knowledge to come to them.
They had to interact with the wider Islamic world.
Wherever they went, they would lead the world in Islamic sciences
and become the leading scholar on the Arabic language
like Sheikh Muhammad Mahmud al-Turkuzi al-Shinqiti,
who held the position of chair of Arabic at Al-Azhar university.
As a matter of fact, the political scientists Alex Thurston
and Michael Farquhar have suggested that there are more professors
from Mauritania in Saudi Islamic universities than from any other country.
Even female Mauritnians contributed greatly to all areas of classical Islamic scholarship.
Like Khadija bint Muhammad Vall al-Samsadi al-Shinqīṭī,
who was nicknamed al-Qari’a al-Shinqitiyya meaning
‘the highly persuasive women from Shinqit’,
because of her active ability to engage and win scholarly arguments against male scholars.
She would often use the Quran and Hadith to help promote women’s role in Islamic scholarship and learning.
Mauritanians and other North Western Saharan Islamic scholars
have had a profound impact on Islamic culture.
They built robust Islamic networks that were and still
are central to Islamic trends and ideas that go beyond borders.
Their mastery of classical Islamic knowledge, the Arabic language
and poetry and memorisation of the Quran cemented their authority
on transnational religious authority.
Till now, Mauritanian Islamic culture continues to exhibit rich intellectual tradition and global relevance.
May Allah bless the scholars of Mauritania who have carried the knowledge of this beautiful religion.
Ameen.
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