Ahmed Baba: Timbuktu's famous scholar

--:--
Ahmed Baba was one of the great African intellectuals of the 16th century. A prolific writer and Islamic scholar, his works include a legal opinion on slavery and a number of biographies of famous jurists.

When did Ahmed Baba live? Ahmed Baba was born in 1556. Some sources locate his birth in Araouane, around 250 km northwest of Timbuktu, a city in Mali's north. It is more likely, however, that he was born in Timbuktu, then a flourishing center of Islamic learning and trade nestled on the southern edge of the Sahara. Baba taught in Timbuktu's famed mosques. After opposing the conquest of Timbuktu in 1591 by the Moroccan sultan, Ahmed Al-Mansur, Ahmed Baba was deported to Morocco. During his 12 years of exile there, he continued his Islamic studies. Ahmed Baba returned to Timbuktu in 1608 where he died in 1627.

What is Ahmed Baba renowned for? During his lifetime, he was known for his legal treatises, which dealt with issues relating to Islam and the appropriate way for Muslims to practice their religion. Today, Ahmed Baba's name is associated with the memory of Timbuktu's golden age.

What was Ahmed Baba's philosophy? Ahmed Baba strove to bring together the different ethnic groups that coexisted in Timbuktu at the time. For him, ethnic differences were less important than to knowledge. The Moroccans, despite holding Baba in open arrest, also considered him a fully-fledged scholar.


What controversy surrounds Ahmed Baba? In a treatise on slavery, Ahmed Baba wrote that Muslims couldn't be held as slaves, regardless of their origin and skin color. At the time, slaves were one of the prime commodities traded in Timbuktu. His understanding of Islamic law was seen as radical at the time, as it stressed the equality of all Muslims before God. However, Ahmed Baba didn't entirely condemn the practice of slavery as such, writing that it remained legitimate for non-Muslims.
5 Nov 2019 English Germany History · Education

Other recent episodes

Bayajida: The legend of Hausa land

Historians doubt that Bayajida existed, but the legend of Bayajida remains powerful. It refers to him as the man whose lineage founded the Hausa nation. The legend is re-enacted yearly in Daura, Nigeria. When did Bayajida live? Most of the Bayajida legend was transmitted through oral history. There is no…
5 Nov 2019 3 min

Queen Muhumuza: Fighting colonialism in East Africa

About a hundred years ago in Uganda, Queen Muhumuza stood against patriarchal, colonial and chauvinist forces. She was a spiritual leader, a military leader and a fighter for social justice. When did Muhumuza live? Queen Muhumuza's exact date of birth is not known but her life history spans from the…
5 Nov 2019 4 min

Amilcar Cabral: The collective liberation

Immersed in the pan-African struggle, Amilcar Cabral led Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde toward independence from the Portuguese colonial authorities, but was assassinated short of achieving this goal. When did Cabral live? Amilcar Cabral was born in 1924 in Bafata, Guinea-Bissau, to Cape-Verdean parents. He grew up in Sao Vicente,…
5 Nov 2019 3 min

Haile Selassie - Ethiopia's 'Lion of Judah

His Imperial Highness Emperor Haile Selassie represented a dynastic line which stretched back centuries. He was an absolute ruler and yet a modernizer who introduced the very reforms which eventually proved his downfall. When did Haile Selassie live? Haile Selassie was born Tafari Makonnen on July 23, 1892, near Harar,…
5 Nov 2019 4 min

Charlotte Maxeke, ‘Mother of Black Freedom

In segregated South Africa, Charlotte Mannya Maxeke dedicated her life to the struggle for women's rights and education for all. Her pioneering role is only now being rediscovered and more widely reported once again. When did Charlotte Maxeke live? She was born April 7, 1871, or possibly 1874, and given…
5 Nov 2019 4 min