Fadeelatu Sheikh Ahmad Tijani Busari Ajao of Aliwo, Ibadan (1922–1997)

Prominent Scholars in Nigeria and Some of Their Contributions

Fadeelatu Sheikh Ahmad Tijani Busari Ajao was one of the most influential Yoruba Muslim scholars of the 20th century, an educator, missionary, author, Arabic literary figure and institution-builder whose works shaped Islamic scholarship across southwestern Nigeria.

Born on 22 August 1922, Sheikh Ahmad Tijani hailed from a distinguished scholarly and royal lineage. His father, Sheikh Muhammad Al-Busayri Adio, was a respected Qur’an teacher from Ile Balogun Oke-Oja, Iwo, in present-day Osun State. His family traced its heritage to the Alli-Iwo Royal Family of Ibadan. His ancestor, Alli of Balogun, Iwo, settled in Ibadan in 1860 as both a warrior and an itinerant Qur’anic teacher. His religious influence and bravery earned him recognition among the early Ibadan Muslim community.

Sheikh Ahmad Tijani was the third of his parents’ four children. He began his Islamic studies under his father, learning the Qur’an and basic jurisprudence. He later joined his elder brother, Shaykh Salahuddeen Busari, in Ibadan for further Islamic studies.

A major turning point in his intellectual development came through his encounter with Sheikh Abdusalam Yusuf Alikinla of Beere, Ibadan. Under his tutelage, Ahmad Tijani received advanced training in Arabic grammar, Islamic sciences and preaching. He travelled extensively across Yorubaland with his teacher, strengthening both his scholarship and missionary exposure.

Shaykh Ahmad Tijani served his teachers in various capacities, including: Teacher at HLA Primary School, Odo Oye, Ibadan. Instructor at Hizbullahi Al-Ghalib Arabic Institute, Ayeye, Ibadan. Manuscript copyist for Shaykh Alikinla’s Arabic literary works.

His early service in these institutions contributed to the spread of structured Arabic and Islamic instruction in southwestern Nigeria.

In 1952, he established his own Arabic school, Maqarru-l-Ulūm al-Arabiyyah (Centre for Arabic Studies), at Gaa Agodi Compound Mosque. The school later moved in 1963 to its permanent site at Kube, Oke-Apon, off NTA Road, Agodi, Ibadan.

The Arabic School produced many Islamic scholars who have become mans, proprietors of Arabic schools, Engineers in various branches as well as preachers. It became one of the most influential Arabic schools of its era.

Sheikh Ahmad Tijani was an itinerant preacher who travelled widely, Iwo, Ejigbo, Epe, Iseyin, Oyo, Badagry, Lagos, Ijebu-Ode, Ode-Omu, and beyond.

His public outreach included: Peaceful interfaith dialogues with Christian groups, community da’wah that attracted converts and returnees to Islam, the earliest use of an independent public address system for preaching in Ibadan (preachers rented equipment from him before mosques adopted their own systems)

He also conducted: Ramadan Tafsir from the 1960s until his death in 1997, Fortnightly night lecturesin various parts of Ibadan, Radio and NTA Ibadan Ramadan programmes

He founded two major Muslim societies: Fityaanu-l-Khayr fī Ummati Muhammadiyyah (mid-1950s) and Jam’iyyatu al-Murshidīn (1980s)

He was also the first Chief Imam of the Alli-Iwo Central Mosque, serving from 1996 until 1997.

Sheikh Ahmad Tijani ran a printing press named Wama Nasru Illā Min ‘Indillāh Press, Founder of NASFAT and Al-Fathu-l-Qarīb Muslim Organisation. Dr. Fadlur-Rahman Kehinde Tijani, Current Chief Missioner of Al-Fathu-l-Qarīb and retired Director, Federal Ministry of Education.

Shaykh Ahmad Tijani authored numerous works in Yoruba and Arabic, including:

Selected Yoruba Works

• Osupa Ojo Kerinla (1968) — Life of Prophet Muhammad (SAW)

• Alawiye nipa Esin Islam (1967)

• Mímọ̀ ló ní Adíní, Ọgbọ́n kì í ràn (1970)

• Saburā (al-Mawā‘idh al-Balīghah)

• Al-Qur’ān al-Karīm (various editions with Yoruba translation and commentary)

• Ibere Meedogbon ati Idahun re lori Islam ati Esin Kristenti (1968)

• Ododo Bori Iro – 300 questions and answers on Islam and Christianity

He produced Arabic–Yoruba notebooks, certificates, poems and educational pamphlets widely used in Arabic schools.

Selected Arabic Works (as listed 1956–1997)

1. كشف الغطاء عن أبصار متعلمي اللغة العربية لأهل يوروبا (1956)

2. قراءة الأطفال المرحلة الابتدائية – Pictorial textbook for beginners (1968)

3. كشف الألغاز من الأفعال المعتدل الآخر – Commentary on Imam Mālik’s poem

4. الزواجر البليغة سورة الغاشية

5. تخميس “هل لي مسيرة” – On the praise of Prophet Muhammad, poem of Shaykh Uthman Dan Fodio

6. الخطب المنبرية (1996–1997)

Sheikh Ahmad Tijani Busari Ajao passed away in October 1997, leaving behind a deep intellectual and communal legacy that continues to shape Islamic scholarship in Nigeria.

SPONSORED

SPONSORED

SPONSORED