Fiqhu (Islamic jurisprudence poems)

Abstract

This manuscript titled Fiqhu, is a set of three (3) different poems. We treat them as one manuscript because their source is the same and the owner of the manuscripts (Sheikh Alhaji Abdurrahman Aboki) examined them all at once. The title Fiqhu – Islamic jurisprudence captures the contents, dealing with two different topics: 1. "Etun na zai lo na" (translated as the work that one does). There are 32 stanzas in twos. This opens with prayers and supplications: Bismillahir-RaḥmānirRaḥīm! Ṣallallāhu ’Alā Man lā Nabiyya Ba’dahu! Divided into two parts – the first part describes the qualities of the Imam and what one should see in him when he leads Ṣalāt. The second part, starting at the 16th stanza is yet another section with the title Bābu mā yufsidus- Ṣalāt "section on what vitiates Ṣalāt." As always, the poem concludes with praises to Prophet Muhammad and thanks to the Almighty Allāh. It is not uncommon to find Tammat (The end/The writing ends) at the end of an Ajami work. After the last stanza (32nd), the writing stops there, indicating Tammat. The manuscript has up to thirteen detailed footnotes.

2. "Ekpe Farilla" (Knowledge of Obligations). This is a longer poem in comparison to the preceding one, and has nearly ninety verses/stanzas. It deals with twelve (12) aspects of the Islamic ritual (Ṣalāt). Each of the themes is clearly demarcated from the others, with a title as a section. These themes are outlined as follows: i. Obligatory Acts of Ablution ii. Sunnah Acts of Ablution iii. Desirable Acts of Ablution iv. Purify from Allah v. Conditions for the Obligation of Ṣalāt vi. Conditions for the Soundness of Ṣalāt vii. Obligatory Acts of Ṣalāt viii. Sunnah Acts of Ṣalāt ix. Desirable Acts of Ṣalāt x. Keeping up the Prayer xi. Fast, Zakāt and Hajj xii. Conclusion The above stanzas were accompanied with approximately fifty-one (51) footnotes. Similar to the poem before it, Ekpe Farilla (Knowledge of Obligations) ends with praises for the Prophet and supplications to Allāh. It also ends with the term Tammat, meaning "The end/The writing ends." These copies constitute part of what Sheikh Imam Alhaji Abdurrahman Aboki examined in his Dissertation (1991). The author primarily used the Mashriqi writing style, with some Maghribi.