Islamic Thought Among Nigerian Yoruba: The Influence of Shaykh Adam Abdullah al-Aluri

This study is an immortal and intellectual recognition of al-Aluri for his work well done in the field of Islamic da'wah, social, humanitarian and intellectual contributions in the Yorubaland in particular, Nigeria as a whole, and Africa in general. It seeks to investigate the factors or processes that led to the transformation of the Yoruba Muslim society through the influence of Shaykh Adam 'Abd Allah al-Aluri, and his influences on the Muslim-Arabic institution in Nigeria, with particular reference to the Yoruba. The study also clarifies, to a certain extent though, the conflicting views of the scholars with regard to arrival of Islam to the Yoruba in western Nigeria. The study, from the submission of 'Abd Allah al-Aluri, ascertains that Islam came to Yoruba land from Mali in the first half of the 14th century. According to Shaykh al-Aluri, the importance attached to family as a cornerstone of a healthy and balanced society, is one of the most striking features of the Muslim society, and the process of modernization essentially involves a rational structural transformation of simultaneous changes in its linguistic system and values.