Dr Ahmad Muhammad Bamba

Professor Salisu Shehu

حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ أَبِي أُوَيْسٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي مَالِكٌ، عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرِو بْنِ الْعَاصِ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ  ” إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَقْبِضُ الْعِلْمَ انْتِزَاعًا، يَنْتَزِعُهُ مِنَ الْعِبَادِ، وَلَكِنْ يَقْبِضُ الْعِلْمَ بِقَبْضِ الْعُلَمَاءِ، حَتَّى إِذَا لَمْ يُبْقِ عَالِمًا، اتَّخَذَ النَّاسُ رُءُوسًا جُهَّالاً فَسُئِلُوا، فَأَفْتَوْا بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ، فَضَلُّوا وَأَضَلُّوا “‏. قَالَ الْفِرَبْرِيُّ حَدَّثَنَا عَبَّاسٌ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ حَدَّثَنَا جَرِيرٌ عَنْ هِشَامٍ نَحْوَهُ.

Narrated `Abdullah bin `Amr bin Al-`As:

“I heard Allah’s Apostle saying, “Allah does not take away the knowledge, by taking it away from (the hearts of) the people, but takes it away by the death of the religious learned men till when none of the (religious learned men) remains, people will take as their leaders ignorant persons who when consulted will give their verdict without knowledge. So they will go astray and will lead the people astray.”

My first sight of Dr. Ahmad Bamba was 37 years ago in 1984 in the UMMAH MOSQUE at the Old Campus, Bayero University, Kano where I just got registered as a pre-degree student and had begun to familiarize and acclimatize with the people, routines, events and the environment in the University. Although the Central Mosque in Bayero University, Kano would always be the first sight of any visitor or newly arriving student to the University, having been strategically located near the Main Gate, the Ummah Mosque may be the first place of worship for the new resident (on-campus) student because, in its own case, it is sandwiched between the hostels and the two major and oldest Faculties of the University- The Faculty of Arts and Islamic Studies ( FAIS) and the Faculty of Education. Because of its lively nature and vibrancy-series of nasihas, ta’alims, Qur’anic study circles and Tajweed, Arabic classes and even sometimes, very hot intra-faith dialogues and debates that may sometimes prolong from Isha to Fajr Prayer time, the Ummah Mosque, therefore, would always easily capture every newly arriving young Muslim student who might have arrived the University full of curiosity as well as,  enthusiasm and zeal to learn. We, therefore, easily got hooked up to the Ummah Mosque. We would only be seen at the Central Mosque, most surely on Fridays for the Jumu’ah prayer.

It was quite rare to see non-students’ faces at the Ummah Mosque except during Zuhr and Asr prayers when some visitors and some lecturers might be around to join the congregation. There was, however, a non-student face that was very familiar in the Ummah Mosque most especially, during Zuhr prayer and seldom during Maghrib. That was Dr. Ahmad Muhammad Ibrahim Bamba. He would certainly be the first lecturer students that used to regularly attend congregational prayer in the Ummah Mosque would be familiar with because of his regular presence. Of course, another very regular face was Professor M. D.Sulaiman of the History Department. As it were, and as earlier stated, the Mosque was very close to the Faculty of Arts and Islamic Studies where Dr. Ahmad belonged. He would easily come down to join the students’ prayer congregation and there was never an instance that he made any attempt or overtures to lead the prayer or say a word. The nasihas, the ta’alims, and sometimes the debates would be taking place in his presence and to his hearing but he would not utter a word. The situation in the Mosque could actually sometimes be rancorous but it would never stop him from coming. He would, certainly, however, observe his nawafil, and would make his way out. I had a feeling but was unable to ask him, that perhaps his regularity in the Ummah Mosque was not just for the purpose of observing the regular prayer but also to keep close contact and relationship with the students for the purposes of Tarbiyyah h. It was later when I became an Imam in the mosque that I realized that he used to invite or approach imams/leaders in the Mosque to make corrections politely or offer some advice/suggestions, as the case may be.

My first countenance of Dr. Ahmad in the Ummah Mosque reminded me of my first IRK Teacher in the Teachers’ College -Sheikh Yahya Abdul’Azeez, a fully bearded Pakistani Sheikh who was to teach me again –Kitab al -Tauheed, Bulugh al-Maram and Al-Nahwu al-Wadhih in Gwallaga Mosque in Bauchi in 1984, after he transferred his services to Bauchi College of Arts and Science (BACAS). That was shortly before I got admission into Bayero University, Kano. The two were the two fully bearded Sheikhs I first met in life. On my first sight of Sheikh Dr. Ahmad in the Ummah Mosque, the memories of Sheikh Yahya Abdul’Azeez suddenly came back to my mind. At that time, Sheikh Dr. Ahmad was certainly in his late 40s while I was just beginning the third decade (early twenties) of my life as a young undergrad. More strikingly, however, the sights of the two gentlemen present to the heart a mien of piety that sometimes made you think of the countenances of the Sahaba, or so we used to think as young people that still had some elements of naivety in our thoughts.

Our admiration of Sheikh Dr. Ahmad was ceaseless whenever he came and prayed with us in the Ummah Mosque and left. But our interaction with him was no more than the Salam and typically, he would wave at you and made his way out or extend his hand for a shake when you happened to be very close to him. The first time I ever had a conversation with him or heard him spoke to me was when I was appointed as an Imam in the Mosque, which was later to become my class where I taught Tajweed for about three years up to graduation in 1988. I was certainly the youngest of the Imams, a second deputy after Sheikh Sani from Zaria. With the benefit of early background in Qur’anic learning from home, one’s mastery, so to say,  of reading the Qur’an could easily be discovered. So, right from my first year I got appointed as one of the deputy Imams. The substantive Imam then, was the late  Malam Usman Muhammad, the Chief Imam of Laranto, Jos, who was undergoing the Diploma in Arabic, Hausa and Islamic Studies.

Still, with the vestiges of adolescent exuberance and obsession for a fashionable and smart appearance, my wardrobe had more of the fashionable shirts and trousers of the time (TOBI shirts/jeans and HARA trousers) than kaftans. Invariably, therefore, the Imam in me would most of the time lead prayers in the said kinds of fashionable shirts and trousers in the Ummah Mosque. I led the Maghrib prayer one day. After the prayer, Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Bamba called me and held my hand to the outside of the Mosque. In his typical gentle manner and way he said, “Liman, yaya kokari”. I replied, “Alhamdulillah”, with a mix of exciting and nervous mien. He then said to me, “Toh liman ga karatu mai kyau, amma kuma kullum ana mana sallah kai babu hula?”. With a sigh of relief, I said , ” Na Gode Mallam, in sha Allah, za a gyara.”. It was both an awesome and joyful moment for me. But what was most instructive was the fact that that simple and gentle counsel not only made me appreciate that I was no longer just an ordinary student on campus but I was treading the path of spiritual leaders, it also changed my life in terms of personal dispositions and appearance on campus and beyond.

A second experience with Sheikh  Dr. Ahmad Bamba made me a witness to his magnanimity. It was in the case of attending his Hadith class for students offering  Islamic Studies as Special Honours. I was not one, so I could not register for that course. I offered Islamic Studies as a subsidiary course, but I was interested in attending his Special or rather advanced Hadith class. All my friends and classmates- Professor Salihu Lawal Malumfashi (present Dean of the School of Continuing Education and one of the Darul Hadith Imams), Alhaji Bashir Sheshe (now a Permanent Secretary, Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja), Dr. Ahmad Maigari Dutisin -ma (Department of Islamic Studies, Usmanu Dan Fodiyo University, Sokoto), Professor Usman Sani Abbas (Department of Islamic Studies, BUK) to mention just a few were all encouraging me to just enter the class and that they were sure Malam would not send me out. On the second or third lecture day, I joined some of these mates while being very scary. I  sat in the class with some bit of nervousness. Sheikh entered the class, conducted his lesson and alhamdulillah, he did not send me out. He definitely saw me, and he definitely knew that I was not duly registered for that course because it was a small class of fewer than 15 students. Later, I want to believe that one of those classmates of mine approached him and spoke to him about me, and Malam graciously permitted. By virtue of my Imamship in Ummah Mosque, I was already a familiar face to him. With a deep sense of appreciation, I must say that that opportunity was my first experience with not only some of the basic and essential rudiments of Ilm al-Hadith but was also the greatest inspiration for deeper and more advanced study of the field.

After graduation in 1988 and having left for the national youth service scheme to far away Bendel State (now Edo and Delta) I did not only cease to benefit from the Special Hadith class of Sheikh Dr. Ahmad but also lost sight of him for about a couple of years. I got intellectually and personally reconnected with him when I returned to Bayero University, Kano in 1991. I came back to pursue Masters in Educational Psychology. Graciously, that presented yet another opportunity for, in a way, to continue to drink from the fountain of the knowledge of Hadith that Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Bamba personified. That was the year Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Bamba started his very awesome, weekly/weekend Hadith Ta’alim Sessions, beginning with Sahih al-Bukhari in the BUK Central Mosque and subsequently Darul Hadith Mosque, a teaching cum admonishment exercise that he continued to conduct uninterruptedly with a great sense of passion, vigour, consistency and rare faith and commitment for THIRTY (30) SOLID YEARS up to the end of his life. Although I was not chanced to be present at the first and second sessions, I would want to remember that I was there in the third session.

In the Hadith Ta’alim Sessions, we did not only learn the texts of the Hadiths and elements of Mastalahul Hadith but we also learnt to be much more committed to Sunnah in terms of faith and practice. Quite instructively also, we learnt lots and lots and lots of the Aqwal ( wise or sayings) of the salafs, many aspects of Usul al-Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence), Qaw’id al-Fiqh (Jurisprudential principles and maxims) and many Islamic religious and Jahiliyyah poetries (Qasa’id and Shu’ara’ al-Jahiliyyah). I would not, therefore, end this paragraph without recalling one stanza of a poem that Sheikh Dr. Bamba used to quote very frequently, in his constant admonishment on the obligation to hold and cling tenaciously to the Sunnah of the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم). That is: “دعوا كل قول عند قول محمد فما ءامن في دينه كمغامر

It would be pertinent to mention here, perhaps also to inform those who might not know that Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Bamba did not only contribute to the knowledge of Hadith through the Ta’alim Sessions. He also  contributed to it through authorship. Within the first three years after the commencement  of the Sahih al Bukhari lessons one of his very scholarly Hadith works was released. That was his Takhreej and Tahqeeq work on Imam al-Bukhari’s “Juz al-Qira’ah Khalf al-Imam. It was a book that I unhesitatingly bought a personal copy and ‘voraciously’ read cover to cover within a couple of days.

For Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Bamba, it was a life well spent. Thirty solid years of uninterrupted teaching the Hadiths of the Prophet (s.a.w) was not just a monumental intellectual and scholarly contribution but was evidence of true love of and for our Beloved Prophet Muhammad صلي الله عليه وسلم. This reminds me of the saying of one of the Hadith scholars, quoted by the late Sheikh Muhammad Nasiruddeen al–Albani in his Sifat Salat al-Nabiyy that: اهل الحديث هم اهل الرسول وان: لم يصحبوا نفسه أنفاسه صحبوا.

The death of our most honourable Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Muhammad Ibrahim Bamba is certainly a tragic loss to the world of knowledge and Da’awah as rightly and as clearly alluded to in the Hadith above, with which we opened this tribute. Our closing words would only be fervent and sincere and hearty prayers for him.

إنا لله وإنا إليه راجعون

 إنَّ للهِ ما أخذ وله ما أعطى وكلُّ شيءٍ عنده بأجلٍ مسمًّى.

اللهم اغفر لدكتور احمد، وارفع درجتَه في المهديين، واخلفه في عقبه في الغابرين، واغفر لنا وله يا ربّ العالمين، وافسح له في قبره، ونوّر له فيه

وآخر دعوانا ان الحمد لله رب العالمين

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. May His Peace and Blessings be upon our Beloved Prophet Muhammad صلي الله عليه وسلم.

When a river dries up
All living dwellers around
Are gripped by fear,
Throats become thirsty
Leaving all far and near
In great danger.

When a river dries up
Doom and uncertainty
Pounce from the shadow
Like a lurking tiger
Hounds poor preys.

When a river dries up
All the living plants
And weeds too
Live at risk
Since clouds of sand
Only flood eyes
And rain not.

When a river dries up
Wise birds migrate
In search for new streams
As visiting flamingos
Stop coming, forever.

Oh Shiekh Dr. Ahmad,
Indeed, you are a river
Who will never dry –
Your teachings will live
With us eternally.

Dwell in Firdaus,
Pious soul!

Khalid Imam
7/1/2022

By Bin Isah

Of all events, death stands the best chance to hold the most central attention. It’s gripping, and its grasp strong. It resembles gravity, but its force is more powerful. And it always provokes shock, pain and grief. And no matter the frequency of its happening, it is still not a normalcy. Upon its occurrence, people will respond with the same reaction as ever before. Allah SWT put it as a test, a warning and a path to the final home. But some deaths hit harder than some, and some leave deeper scars than the ordinary.

On 7th of January, death had dawned upon us with its darkness. It took a light, that is what knowledge represents. A knowledgeable mind of higher erudition, a paragon of wisdom and virtue, an epitome of Islamic scholarship and understanding, Dr Ahmad Bamba, BUK, Kala Haddasana, is gone. And that means a chasm has been created, a gap that can never be refilled.

When I first heard him in our home in my more younger days, I asked about him. I was curious to know, for something about him was indeed captivating. An elder brother of ours that used to bring his audio tapes to our abode said he was a teacher to Mallam Ja’afar. That’s the description that cut a long story short. We already knew Mallam Ja’afar, so he was the teacher of teachers, a scholar that produces scholars.

Dr Ahmad Bamba, was said to have appeared as a public preacher for three decades, that is, since his return from the Islamic University of Madina in 1991. In these periods, no any occupation had seduced him away from his devotion to his Islamic teaching and preaching. And this long time of service, on the path of Allah SWT and for the guidance of the people, is sufficient to provide a picture of a man with purpose, dignity and piety. His pleasure in the work had penetrated him so much that no any stress could disrupt it.

Even at 82, Dr Ahmad did not retire. His life had no any ambition but Da’awa service, informing people on how to live in the light of Divine Pleasure under the guidance of His Prophet, Muhammad SAW. He believed that people need to lead a righteous life, and in as much as he breathed he would have no any other endeavour. And it is clear that his life has been a blessed, graceful one. The grace that Allah SWT placed in his work is apparent. He lived with his faculties in function, and with such a vigor that scares even the energetic young. His thinking remained acute, his voice sounding, and his movement full of life. It’s the blessing of Allah SWT.

And what is more wonderful about Dr Ahmad Bamba is the way his style touches upon the tastes of all ages. The young and the old, men and women will tell you they like him. His Hausa language is original, his explanation lucid, and his treatment of matters loose, and that makes people listen to him with passion. He has a special knack for making the complex simple, and his grasp of social experience puts him at another edge. And his preaching is not boring, it’s full of fun.

Whoever remembers Dr Ahmad BUK will tell you that it’s by his reading of “isnad” he recognises him. In fact, “Kala Haddasana” is another name for him. Here is the man that spent his best time at service to the Prophetic Sunnah, teaching people the times and life of the Prophet SAW, as exemplified in his words and actions, at home and at away, making the Prophet SAW more accessible to the seeker. The prophet’s relationship with Allah SWT, with his wives, with other people across different paths and faiths, etc, Dr Ahmad leaves no any aspect without a word on its meaning and value based on the acceptable accounts.

The most popular, most reliable and well documented six books of hadith that are called “kutubus sitta” have been taught by him, and with such a precision that goes within the public purview. And Scholars that learn from him never miss his technical analysis of the . Both the public and the scholars are carried along, and this could only be done by an exceptionally phenomenal teacher. And Dr Ahmad is one. And that’s the greatest achievement that no one could beat him in its regard. He is the only champion in his league. His “Mawatta Malik” is even published into a voluminous, enriching book, and in the living language of the people, and that shows that his legacy will dance to the music of time.

Sheikh Muhammad bin Othman observed a moving Khubta, with tears breaking out of his eyes, and his breath choking him at throat. He recounted the condition in which he found Dr Ahmad at hospital, and described it as the most traumatizing one, but what Allah SWT decreed is the most prevailing. He said, “I saw knowledge before me, lying on the bed —ga ilimi kwance. Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilaihi Rajiun.” I could not do anything, we could do nothing about it, he added. “Dr was not even conscious. I left with a heavy heart, and the whole night I couldn’t sleep well.” In the morning, around 10:58, he was informed that Dr Ahmad was no more. Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilaihi Rajiun.

The death of Dr Ahmad recalls to life the life he has lived, and that its mark shall remain upon the mind of the living. It is however a void that stimulates remorse at the recess of people’s hearts, because such a loss is irreplaceable. Though his knowledge shall continue, and his wisdom be applied in the art living, discussing and teaching, his absence will leave many questions unanswered and many problems unsolved when they surface. There are gifts that leave with those that bear them. And Dr Ahmad is gone.

While being interviewed after the funeral prayer, Dr Sani Umar R/Lemo described the loss as huge, a bleak sign that knowledge is precipitating. He said that people will indeed feel the emptiness occasioned by Dr Ahmad’s leaving. Of all their lives, they know Dr Ahmad with teaching and preaching. He is a guide, a father, a guardian, as Sheikh Dr Abdallah G/Kaya put it. To all scholars, he is a role model, an example to be emulated. And scholars from different parts of the world have expressed their sadness over the loss. And to Allah SWT we all belong, and to him is our return.

I was at the graveyard, close to his grave, and what I saw and felt in that moment will stay with me for a longest while. In fact, the entire experience shall be memorable. People were swallowed by grief, held by remorse and chained by love. Upon the arrival of his body, I found myself frozen with words and motions. I remained silent, only feeling the sensation of the pain that engulfed me. I shed tears, and over the fact that Dr Ahmad was truly gone. Here is a knowledge in shroud, a remarkable personality buried, a pious scholar being laid to rest. Only “Allahu Akbar” and “Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilaihi Rajiun” that filled the air held me, but I could have fallen aground. Finally, Dr Ahmad was in his grave, closed and gone, forever. Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilaihi Rajiun.

Bin Isa writes from Kano State and he’s a desciple of the late Dr Ahmad Ibrahim Bamba.

By Kabiru Haruna Isa

“The death of a scholar is the departure of knowledge”.~Yahya b. Ja’far

In the afternoon of Friday, January 7, 2022, Dr Ahmad Muhammad Ibrahim, who was popularly and variedly known as Dr Ahmad Bamba; Dr Ahmad BUK; and Кala Haddasana, succumbed to the cold hands of death. Whoever attended the Muslim traditional funeral prayer did not need to specialize in Thanatology or the assistance of any thanatologist to decipher that his passing on has shocked not only the northern Nigerian Muslims but perhaps the entire Muslim world.

Hundreds and thousands of mourners from different nooks and crannies of northern Nigeria trooped to his mosque, Darul Hadith Masjid, at Tudun Yola quarters in Kano Metropolis to observe his Salat al-Janazah (funeral prayer). Based on my personal observation, the congregants comprised adherents of different doctrinal and ideological groups who were deeply touched by his death.

Dr Ahmad was one of the elder statesmen of the Muslim North who chose to be independent-minded, honest, forthright, focused and overtly apolitical. Those who grew up in Kano can vividly remember his educational sessions in the 1990s when he read a series of hadiths (narrative records of the sayings and customs of the Prophet Muhammad), which were aired on CTV (now Abubakar Rimi Television, ARTV), Radio Kano and other broadcast media.

What distinguished his educational sessions from those of other Islamic scholars were his sonorous voice, interactive dialogue, active learning process, and the constant prodding of his audience to debate jurisprudential issues. He created a convivial and liberal atmosphere for his students to either agree or disagree with his interpretations of holy texts without necessarily derailing from the subject matter, which demonstrated his deep knowledge of theological hermeneutics. 

Even though a Salafi, Dr Ahmad was a bridge-builder between Sufis and Salafis in northern Nigeria ostensibly due to his old age, maturity, accommodation and toleration. He always tried as much as possible to avoid deployment of insulting and libellous language to either demonize or hereticize those whose doctrines differed from his.

To err is human. As a human being, he might have wronged others, especially during his formative years, but he personified moderation and toleration as a fully accomplished and elder-scholar. Muslims will surely miss his fatherly voice of moderation, reason, truth and honesty. 

Despite his erratic temperament, Dr Ahmad was a forgiving person who never intended to hold animosity beyond the grave. I remember my personal interaction with him when Malam Babangida Namadi introduced me to him sometime in 2020. I pleaded with him to document his life narrative as some scholars did, such as Shaykh Abubakar Mahmoud Gumi in his autobiography, Where I Stand.

Dr Ahmad responded that he had a lot of stories to pass on to the younger generations based on varied phases of his life, bitter and positive experiences, social networks, scholarly itineraries and odysseys, family life, marriage counselling, pedagogy, university and national politics, truce and reconciliations and intra-faith relations. He further said that he would never write an autobiography because many people offended him and had already forgiven them; therefore did not want anything that would trigger his emotions.

The death of Dr Ahmad has created a vacuum that will take time to be filled because of his dedication and contributions to scholarship and the study of hadith in the Muslim world. To produce a scholar of his calibre is not an easy task, especially in the 21st century when young people exhibit hedonistic tendencies and many societies experience a systemic educational decline.

I will conclude with a famous quote of Umar “the death of a thousand worshipers is easier to bear than the death of a scholar who has knowledge of what Allah has permitted and forbidden”.

It will take us a long time to come to terms with the departure of Dr Ahmad. May Allah admit him into Jannatul Firdaus, amin.

Gmail: khisa.his@buk.edu.ng Department of History Bayero University, Kano.