It is noteworthy to debunk the erroneous fact, that the emergence of Islam in Ilorin community must be out-rightly traced to the coming of Shaykh Alim. However, some Muslim Scholars had Started to settled in Ilorin community by the close of 17th century as Shaykh Sholagberu (Abdullah Tahir) and his people settled at Okesuna Ilorin Community was also on record to have been dominated by some Islamic. Scholars which Included, Shaykh Muhammad Munabai and his wife Aishat, Shaykh Sasili, Syhakh Mohammad Thaani and most of others, both known and unknown ones. These people charged themselves with the responsibility of exclusive preaching and coverting the native to Islam. Islam was therefore increasingly established and attained its Zenith to some extent with the coming of Sheikh Alim in 1817.Adekilekun (2012) averred that Ilorin by the end of 11th century had become a local Makkah of which Yoruba people turned to for spiritual guidance and strey.
As mentioned earlier, Islam undoubtedly had been practiced among the people of Ilorin before the coming of Shaykh Alimi although his enormous scholastics contribution could not be over looked in the light of the growth and development of Muslim organisation. Studies indicate the growth and development of muslim activities and organisation as an antecedence of early scholars. Each of them organized Islamic activities in their respective areas that made people developed interest in embracing Islam. For instance, Solagberu is reported to have organized teaching and learning activities on Quran and Ilimi e.g. Fiqh and Hadith e.t.c. this encouraged people to embrace Islam in Oke-Sunnah. Another factor was the motivation of Muslims to the non-Muslims especially those who were motivated by Muslims during the Eidul-Kabir.
Beside, uniqueness of Muslims in the observance of Jummah services and the application of Sharia system of administration impacted positively on the lives of people in the community. It led to conferment of Islamic titles; Qadi, Imams, Waziri, establishment of Arabic and Islamic institution. These also attracted non-Muslims and graved them up to embrace Islam. The spiritual assistance rendered by scholars also could be seen as a factor that contributed to the growth and development of Islam in Ilorin. The elementary teaching of Islam in basmala,salsalah, quran and hadiths written in slates and skins were common in the local schools. The most significant aspect of the scholars were high integrity, and intellectual potentiality making them to join forces together is a factor. Example of such scholars included ShaykhAlimi, Shaykh Tajul-Adaby, Shaykh Kokewukobeere, Shaykh OmoIkokoro and Shaykh Abdussalam Arugbo. They were noted for karama (Miracle). The introduction of Sufi both Tijaniyah and Qadiriyah Sufi orders were also said to have attracted people to the fold of Islam in Nigeria at large, and in Ilorin in particular.
History of Islam in Nigeria
Islam is believed to have crossed to the borders of West Africa in the eight century C.E. North Africaberbers who helped to bolster the spread of the new religion. Islam in Nigeria, was first accepted by the Kanem ruler UmmeJilmi (1085-1097). He was introduced to Islam by the scholar named Muhammed Mani. UmmeJilmi’s son, Dunama I (1097-1150) also followed his father’s interest in Islam; learning and practising it and was reported to have gone on pilgrimage. By the reign of Dunama II (1221-1259), the Kanem empire had begun correspondence with Tunisia in Maghrib and in 1257 a Kanem embassy was established in Tunisia, as mentioned by the famous historian, Ibn Khaldun. By the 14th century, a new capital of Kanuri had been established in Bornu at N’gazaragamu by Ali ibn Dunama who was a very keen student of the teachings of Islam. Mai Idris Alooma (1570-1602) of Bornu had far-reaching and more extensive Islamic campaign than his predecessors, by building mosques and Islamic schools, thereby strengthening the foothold of Islam in the Kanem-Bornu axis. Islam was brought into Hausa and by traders and scholars.(Adekilekun, 2012).
About forty Wangarawa traders are heralded to be responsible for introducing Islam to Kano during the reign of AliYaji (1349-1385). Al-Maghili, a famous scholar of his era, brought Islam to Katsina in the fifteenth century, similarly, a number of scholars from Sankore University; Timbuktu visited Katsina, bringing with them books on divinity and etymology (2012, Oloyede 2012)).
Various studies adduced the spread of Islam into northern Nigeria to the jihad of Uthmandan Fodio. A Fulani man who waged a religious war (1804-1810) to purify Islam of sorts of papanism. His preaching of the Quran and Sunnah, encouraged the Muslims of that time to return to orthodox Islam. This jihad did not only have a religious undertone, it but also political History, in the sense that it was able to unify the Hausa states under one government (the Sokoto caliphate) administered by the Shariah law. This continued until the partition of the caliphate in 1903 and its eventual incorporation into Nigeria, thereby the Sultan’s power was transferred to the High Commissioner. However, many aspects of the caliphate structure, including the Islamic legal system, were retained and used in the colonial period (Adekilekun,2012).
