Shaykh Aḥmadū Bāmbā was thrusted into a world of war, instability, slavery and French occupation. He chose to fight back, though the Jihād of the Pen. He came from a scholarly background so he was able to draw upon the Qur’ān and Sunnah to promote the idea of coexistence. The French grew weary of his mounting influence so they sentenced him to total 33 years in jail. He was eventually allowed to return home in which he was able to set up a self-sufficient city to emulate the holy city of Madīnah and this Senegalese Sūfī saint and scholar was also nicknamed “the servant of the Messenger ﷺ” because he loved the Holy Prophet ﷺ more than anything in this world.
The noble Shaykh passed away in 1927. Al-Fātiḥa!
