Islamic Thought in Africa: The Collected Works of Afa Ajura (1910-2004) and the Impact of Ajuraism on Northern Ghana (World Thought in Translation)

This is the first English translation of and commentary on the collected poems of Alhaj Yusuf Salih Ajura (1910–2004), a northern Ghanaian orthodox Islamic scholar, poet, and polemicist known as Afa Ajura, or “scholar from Ejura.” The poems, all handwritten in Arabic script, mainly in the Ghanaian language of Dagbani and also Arabic, explore the author's socio-religious beliefs. In the accompanying introduction, the translator examines the diverse themes of the poems and how they challenge Tijaniyyah Sufi clerics and traditional practices such as idol worship. The introduction provides a background on the translation and commentary. It describes Ajuraism, which is Afa Ajura's reform-oriented educational approach based on the concept of orthodoxy. Orthopraxy, according to Sunnah, that rejected the status quo of traditional Dagomba practices and the syncretism and innovations of Tijaniyyah Sufism. Afa Ajura's collection of handwritten poems address multiple intellectual issues and diverse socio-religious topics. This is the first English translation and commentary of the collected poems of Alhaj Yusuf Salih Ajura (1910-2004). Known as Afa Ajura ("scholar from Ejura", a town where he was born), this orthodox Islamic scholar, poet, and polemicist, grew up in Northern Ghana where he preached and composed. Upon his passing, he left behind more than 153-page collection of poems on socio-religious themes in Dagbani (Northern Ghanaian language) and Arabic. In the accompanying introduction, translator Zakyi Ibrahim examines Afa Ajura's social, religious, and intellectual background, contextualizes the environment in which Afa Ajura founded and ran his Sunni community, and assesses the impact "Ajuraism" has had on Northern Ghana. Ibrahim also explores the social and theological themes of the poems and how they challenge Tijaniyyah Sufi clerics and traditional practices such as idol worship, imploring Ghanaians to subscribe to orthodox Islamic beliefs as a means of attaining salvation in the afterlife The first book length-work on Afa Ajura and translation of his complete poems

This is the first English translation of and commentary on the collected poems of Alhaj YŠ«suf á1¢Ä?liá ̧¥ Ajura (1910–2004), a northern Ghanaian orthodox Islamic scholar, poet, and polemicist known as Afa Ajura, or “scholar from Ejura.” The poems, all handwritten in Arabic script, mainly in the Ghanaian language of Dagbani and also Arabic, explore the author’s socio†‘religious beliefs. In the accompanying introduction, the translator examines the diverse themes of the poems and how they challenge TijÄ?niyyah Sufi clerics and traditional practices such as idol worship. The first book length-work on Afa Ajura and translation of his complete poems This is the first English translation and commentary of the collected poems of Alhaj YŠ"suf á1¢Ä?liá ̧¥ Ajura (1910-2004), a Northern Ghanaian orthodox Islamic scholar, poet, and polemicist known as "Afa Ajura," or ";scholar from Ejura."; The poems were translated from the Ghanaian language of Dagbani and Arabic, handwritten in Arabic script, and explore the author's socio-religious beliefs. In the accompanying introduction, the translator examines the diverse themes of the poems and how they challenge TijÄ?niyyah Sufi clerics and traditional practices such as idol worship