Rethinking Early Islamic History

Guest Article from Ismail Kushkush

In Islamic Marcionism in Malaysia and in Linguistics, Islam and the Beatitudes as well as to a lesser extent in Connecting Hanukkah, Christmas and `Idu-l-Adha, I propose a rethinking of the connections between Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Looking at Islamic, Christian, and Jewish texts together often tells a lot, but archeological finds like the one described below are especially helpful if only in developing a rational chronology.

Sudan's Ancient Mosque Discovery

By Ismail Kamal Kushkush, IOL Correspondent

Professor Al-Shaiqi says the mosque suggests a connection to a Nubian tab'i who lived in the second Islamic century. KHARTOUM — A newly discovered mosque in northern Sudan may be proven to be one of the first mosques in Africa and alter commonly held notions about the history of Islam in this part of the world. "A few months ago a school teacher from Khartoum went to Nawa to attend a wedding. There, he heard about an old mosque in the area, took pictures and then wrote about it in the newspapers," Dr. Hasan Al-Shaiqi, a professor of Islamic studies at the International University of Africa (IUA) in Khartoum, TOLD IslamOnline.net. "I contacted him and then went to Nawa to investigate myself." When he visited the site, Al-Shaiqi, who has written extensively about the history of African sahabis (companions of Prophet Muhammad) and tab'is (followers of the companions), saw a corner-stone with the Arabic writing carved in it: "May Allah have mercy on Yazid ibn Abi Habib." See Mosque Photos The story of ibn Abi Habib, a Nubian tab'i and scholar who lived in Egypt in the second Hijri century, has been of interest to the Islamic studies professor for over ten years. "I was preparing my masters about African sahabis when I found out about Yazid, a Nubian tab'i from northern Sudan. He became the topic of my PhD thesis that was later published as a book." Ibn Abi Habib, he explains, was a son of a Nubian prisoner-of-war from Dongola taken to Egypt. He was raised in Al-Fostat (old Cairo) as a mawla (slave), but he was later set free because he excelled in the study of Islamic sciences, especially hadith (sayings and traditions of Prophet Muhammad). "He lived part of his life in the reign of the Umayyad caliph Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz who made him mufti of Egypt," Al-Shaiqi continues. The caliph had ordered the collection and documentation of Hadith. "Yazid played an important role in this, collecting nearly 500 hadiths." Al-Shaiqi also points to the fact that ibn Abi Habib's students included Al-Layth ibn Sa'ad, a well-recognized Egyptian scholar. Eminent Central Asian hadith scholars Bukhari and Moselm were also students of ibn Abi Habib. History Making Professor Makki thinks the discovery may "revolutionize our understanding on how Islam entered Nubia." At the mosque site, Al-Shaiqi found a striking resemblance with another ancient mosque nearby. "From the looks and construction style of the mosque, it looked like the Abd Allah ibn Abi Sarh mosque of [old] Dongola." Ibn Abi Sarh was a Muslim leader who attempted to conquer Nubia (today northern and central Sudan and southern Egypt) in the eighth century AD. He was met with fierce resistance and eventually signed an agreement with the Nubians. The agreement, known as the Baqt, shaped Egyptian-Nubian relations for six centuries, and permitted the construction of a mosque in the Nubian capital of Dongola for Muslim travelers. While the newly discovered mosque suggests a connection to Yazid, "more study and excavation needs to be done," says Al-Shaiqi. Dr. Hasan Hussein of the National Corporation of Artifacts and Museums agrees. "There needs to be a complete examination of the mosque," he told IOL. Hussein complains that Islamic historical monuments in Sudan have not received enough attention, but hopes that the discovery will change that. "I hope this will open the doors for more research and support." Al-Shaiqi thinks that the mosque's discovery will also alter general understandings of Nubia's Islamic history. "The mosque may suggest that Yazid and other Nubians [in Egypt] went back to their ancestral land to spread Islam among their relatives." IUA history professor Hasan Makki thinks that the discovery may "revolutionize our understanding on how Islam entered Nubia." While the commonly held perception among historians is that Islam entered Nubia in the fourteenth century AD with the fall of the kingdom of Dongola, the mosque’s discovery may provide new information. "This would mean that the Islamic roots in the area are very old dating back to the first and second Hijri centuries [seventh and eighth centuries AD]." * Isma’il Kamal Kushkush is a Sudanese-American freelance writer currently based in Khartoum, Sudan.

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