Batı Afrika’da Osmanlı Tefsir Geleneğinin Etkisi: Abdullah b. Fûdî’nin Ziyâ’ü’t-Te’vîl adlı Eserinde Molla Güranî’nin Gāyetü’l-emânî’nin Rolünün Analizi

Abstract

The intellectual influence of the Ottoman Empire in West Africa has often been overlooked despite its vastness and significant contributions to Islamic studies. This study aims to shed light on this intersection by examining the relationship between Abdullah b. Fodio’s (d. 1245/1829) Ḍiyāʾ al-taʾwīl fī maʿān-al-tanzīl and Mollā al-Gūrānī’s (d. 893/1488) Ghāyat al-amānī fī tafsīr al-Kalām al-Rabbānī. Abdullah b. Fodio, a scholar of the renowned 19th-century Sokoto Caliphate, and Molla al-Gūrānī, a prominent 15th-century Ottoman Shaykh al-Islam, were both influential Qur’anic exegetes who held significant political roles during their respective periods. Despite recent studies on their individual works, the intersection between their writings demands further attention. Through content analysis, thematic analysis, and comparative analysis, this study explored the role al-Gūrānī’s work played in the formation of Ibn Fodio’s work’s content and methodology. By delving into various themes of their works, we reveal that Ibn Fodio greatly benefited from al-Gūrānī’s commentaries, considering them on par with those of renowned scholars such as Ibn al-ʿArabī (d. 543/1148), al-Bayḍāwī (d. 685/1286), and al-Thaʿālibī (d. 875/1471). Ibn Fodio’s tafsir adeptly incorporated al-Gūrānī’s perspectives across various subjects and accorded significant value to his assessments of hadith authenticity. Nevertheless, Ibn Fodio, due to his distinct approach and priorities, selectively employed al-Gūrānī’s work in matters relating to fiqh, despite citing his istinbāṭ of uṣūl al-fiqh. While Ibn Fodio benefited from al-Gūrānī’s judgments on qirāʾāt, he did not uniformly adopt his approach. Both scholars adhered to the Ashʿarī theological tradition, resulting in doctrinal similarities, with Ibn Fodio occasionally directly quoting from al-Gūrānī’s work. On ishārī exegesis, while neither of them subscribed to its excessive form, Ibn Fodio included some interpretations omitted by al-Gūrānī. We speculated that Ibn Fodio sought al-Gūrānī’s work as a valuable source due to its richness, utilising it as a corrective tool for his other major sources, such as al-Bayḍāwī. By uncovering this link between Ibn Fodio and al-Gūrānī, this study contributes to the field of tafsir history, providing new insights into the intersection between the Ottoman tafsir tradition and the Sokoto tafsir tradition.