An Appraisal of the Practice of Sufism and Jalabi among Yoruba Muslims in Nigeria
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Date
2023
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Universitas Islam Bandung & Research Synergy Foundation
Abstract
Jalabi and Sufism are two abiding practices among Yoruba Muslims. Both have been instrumental to the consolidation and propagation of Islam across the Yorubaland. Many early Yoruba Muslims, especially Islamic scholars, were Jalabi practitioners and Sufi adherents. Still, both have been condemned recently by Salafiyyah scholars, who considered innovations (bid'ah). They even regard the two practices as synonymous. Conversely, the practitioners disagree with them and claim the legitimacy of the two practices in Islam. This study examines the two phenomena to the veracity of the two claims. Historical and exegetical methods are adopted. The former enables the assessment of historical facts connected to Jalabi and Sufism in Yorubaland. Also, the latter allows the interpretation of relevant works, especially the primary sources of Islam, to determine the legitimacy of the two variables. Findings revealed that both have credence in Islam and that early Muslim scholars devised Jalabi as a darwah strategy to propagate Islam. It also revealed that both exist independently, though combined by some scholars. The work concluded that neither can be displaced in Islam and that Salafiyyah scholars address each according to its peculiarities.
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Citation
Jalabi, Sufism, Salafiyyah, Yorubaland, Da'wah