By Khalid Alhawsawi Kaduna
Professor Abdullahi Danladi’s attempt to glorify the Sokoto Jihad and sanitize its historical contradictions reflects a troubling trend among revisionist scholars who selectively interpret history to promote ethnic narratives.
His claims collapse when examined against documented facts, eyewitness accounts, Islamic jurisprudence, and modern research. When placed under this light, disturbing parallels appear between Uthman Ɗan Fodio’s rebellion and contemporary extremist ideologies, particularly Boko Haram under Muhammad Yusuf.
This rejoinder sets the record straight.
1. The False Claim of a Purely Religious Jihad Danladi insists that the Sokoto Jihad was purely Islamic in nature. However, historical evidence shows that the pattern of Ɗan Fodio’s movement mirrors almost exactly the rise of Boko Haram: Both Ɗan Fodio and Muhammad Yusuf were poor Fulani scholars who began with preaching but later launched armed rebellions.
Both targeted Muslim rulers and Muslim scholars, accusing them of unbelief. Both declared Muslims “kafirai” or “taghut” simply for political disagreement. Both performed hijra Ɗan Fodio from Degel to Gudu, and Boko Haram from Maiduguri to Kanamma. Both launched attacks on Muslims during prayers, including mosques and Eid grounds. These parallels are not coincidences.
They reveal the same violation of Islamic teachings: declaring fellow Muslims unbelievers and waging war against them. The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) warned: “If a Muslim calls another Muslim a kafir, one of them becomes guilty of disbelief.” – Sahih al-Bukhari 6104 By this standard alone, the Sokoto Jihad collapses as illegitimate.
2. The Myth of Hausa Paganism Danladi’s argument that Hausa rulers were pagans or poor Muslims is easily disproven by the scholars who taught Ɗan Fodio himself. Among his teachers were:
• Sheikh Hashimu Bazamfare, who taught him Tafsir al-Jalalayn
• Sheikh Jibril, his principal mentor
• Sheikh Usmanu Bakabe (Malamin Malamai), who taught him fiqh and theology These were Hausa scholars. If Hausa rulers and scholars were pagans, how then did Ɗan Fodio receive Islamic education from them? The contradiction exposes the truth: He called his own teachers “kafirs” only after they refused to hand political power to him. 3. The Truth About Sarki Muhammadu Yunfa: Scholar Versus Rebel Danladi claims Yunfa opposed Islam.
But history shows otherwise: Yunfa studied under Ɗan Fodio for nearly twenty years. He learned Quran, fiqh, and Shari’a. He did not oppose Islam; he opposed rebellion. Sheikh Aminu Aliyu Modibbo (Gusau) confirmed the real motive behind removing Sultan of Zazzau Muhammadu Makau: “Yes, he was performing Eid prayer, but to us Fulani he was not a true Muslim.
That is why we waited until he had gone for the Eid prayer before we overthrew him.” Attacking a ruler during Eid prayer is a direct violation of the Prophet’s prohibitions. This was politics nothing more.
4. Islam Prohibits Rebellion Against Muslim Rulers The Prophet (SAW) said: “Hear and obey your leader, even if he is a Habashi slave.” – Sahih al-Bukhari 7142 The Hausa rulers were Muslims. They protected their people. They upheld Islamic institutions. Islam strictly forbids rebellion against them. Therefore, by Islamic law, the Sokoto Jihad was unlawful.
5. The Killing of Hausa Scholars: Yandoto, Ngazargamu, and the Silencing of Truth Danladi ignores the bloodshed inflicted on Hausa scholars who refused to endorse rebellion. Rawdat’l-Janaan and Infaq al-Maysur record the killing of Muslim scholars in:
• Ƴandoto (Zamfara)
• Ngazargamu (Borno) Their only “crime” was refusing to support jihad against fellow Muslims. This is identical to Boko Haram’s killing of: Sheikh Ja’afar Sheikh Albani Sheikh Yusuf Nafada Sheikh Goni and dozens of ulama Extremism, whether in 1804 or 2014, behaves the same way.
6. The Broken Promise of Justice After the Jihad Danladi praises the Caliphate as an Islamic state of justice. History shows the opposite. Before the jihad, Fulani leaders complained mainly about:
• Taxes, especially jangali
• Fines for allowing cattle to destroy farms
• Exclusion from political leadership After the jihad, what happened?
• Taxes on Hausa communities multiplied drastically
• Fulani became the exclusive ruling class
• Hausa Muslims became second-class citizens
• Hausa collaborators were betrayed and sidelined Consider the Hausa leaders who supported the jihad but were later discarded: Malam Abdulsalam Bagimbane Malam Jibril Ghaini Malam Usmanul Hausawi Chiroma Ɗan Mama Galadiman Gobir Doshero Usman Masa of Kebbi None received emiral titles. Instead, Fulani were appointed everywhere: Arɗo Umaru Dallaji – Katsina Arɗo Suleman – Kano Arɗo Buba Yero – Gombe Arɗo Modibbo Adama – Adamawa Arɗo Musa Bamalli – Zaria Arɗo Alimi – Ilorin Arɗo Dendo – Minna …and many others. This was not Islam.
This was an ethnic takeover. 7. Mass Killings and Enslavement of Hausa Muslims Danladi’s narrative hides the atrocities documented by Fulani historians themselves. Rawdat’l-Janaan and infakul maisur describes:
• Killing of women
• Killing of children
• Burning of villages
• Destruction of mosques
• Enslavement of Muslim Hausa families The Qur’an condemns this clearly: “Whoever kills a believer intentionally, his reward is Hell…” – Qur’an 4:93 These actions cannot be justified as jihad.
8. The False Hijra Narrative Danladi claims Ɗan Fodio’s hijra to Gudu was prophetic. But this pattern mirrors extremist groups: Boko Haram moved from Maiduguri to Kanamma ISIS retreated to safe zones before launching attacks Al-Shabaab withdrew to forests to regroup This is rebellion strategy—not Prophetic hijra.
9. The Sokoto Jihad Was an Ethnic Conquest, Not Islamic Reform All evidence points to one conclusion: Fulani fighters were invited from across West Africa. Hausa rulers were specifically targeted. Hausa ulama were killed or suppressed. Hausa political institutions were dismantled.
Fulani became rulers in every conquered territory. This was not a religious purification. It was a political conquest using religion as a weapon. Conclusion: History Cannot Be Twisted to Justify Injustice Danladi’s narrative collapses under:
• Scriptural evidence
• Historical documents
• Islamic law
• Eyewitness accounts
• Logical analysis The reality is clear: The Sokoto Jihad was not a noble Islamic reform movement.
It was a political rebellion that betrayed its teachers, weaponized religion, massacred Muslim Hausa communities, and created a Fulani ruling oligarchy that persists to this day. Correcting this false narrative is not hatred. It is honesty. And honest history must be told. Khalid Alhawsawi Kaduna is a Hausa activist and Historical Defender.
