Biography of sheikh kamaldeen

Today marks exactly fourteen years since the passage to the eternal glory of one of the most accomplished participants in the march to the greatness of Ilorin Emirate, Shaykh Muhammad Kamaldeen Habibulahi Musa Al-Adaby.

He died on Sunday(December 18, 2005) after sojourning for approximately a century (100 years) on the surface of the soil.

He is widely acknowledged as the initiator of the modernisation of the teaching of Arabic and Islamic studies into our clime.

He was also the founder of the first voluntary Muslim organisation in Northern Nigeria, the Ansarul Islam Society of Nigeria, which was founded in 1942.

The Association is one of the largest in Nigeria with functional branches across the country.His society has the highest number of schools established by any singular Muslim organisation in Ilorin Emirate.

He was acclaimed to be the longest-serving preacher and Islamic scholar of recent time.He started his career as a preacher, scholar and educationist in 1921 and ended doing so in 2005, making him have served as a prominent scholar and preacher for 84 years!

Although available records show that he did not author so many books in his very long career but it is incontrovertible that the efforts he made one way or the other had attracted many countless publications in form of books, articles and intellectually-stimulating theses in many universities and other scholarly outlets across the world.

He, along with Shaykh Adam Abdullahi Al-Ilory, is reputed to have produced about 50% per cent of modern scholars of Arabic and Islamic scholars who are teachers of the twin subjects of Arabic and Islamic studies in higher institutions across the length and breadth of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

He would also be remembered for being one of the strongest believers in the essence and services of IEDPU.He not only played great roles in the sustenance of the Union, at the initial stage, during which he allowed his school premises to host the weekly meeting

By Ahmed Ajikobi
The public presentation and launch of a book titled “Al- Kamaliyyat”, a biography of the first Mufti of Ilorin, late Sheikh Kamaldeen Al-Adabiy, authored by Shaykh Abdullahi Jibreel Sulayman, was held on Sunday.
Speaking at the event, the Imam of Offa, Muhyid-deen Salman Husayn charged younger Islamic clerics to be loyal to their mentors in order to be blessed.
He pointed out that most of the people who had tutelage under the late Kalmadeen betrayed him, urging the younger generation of Islamic clerics to adhere to directives and instructions of their spiritual tutors.
The popular Islamic Scholar also advised young Islamic clerics not to misuse their Islamic knowledge rather use it to better the society, urging them to be exemplary so as not to drag the good image of Islam in the mud.
He described late Kamaldeen as a great scholar who impacted lives with his knowledge of Islam, which made him renowned globally.
Husayn commended the author for his loyalty to the late Mufti, which he said has cumulated in the success recorded by him in life.
Also speaking, the author, said the book was written with the aim to immortalise the legend among scholars.
“I wrote the book and brought out what the world doesn’t know about him. What motivate me is that, Sheikh Kamaldeen helped so many people with his knowledge and did it because of God.”
Jibreel expressed happiness over the new title given to him as the Tongue of First Mufti, Kamaldeen.
He added that the book is about Sheikh Kamaldeen’s exploits as an Islamic scholar who propagated Islam far and wide.

Muhammad Kamalud-Deen Al-Adabiy, also known as Alhaji Agba (1893–2005), was a prominent NigerianIslamicscholar and the founder of Azumratul Adabiyyah Al-Kamoliyyah, the Ansarul Islam Society of Nigeria, Muhammad Kamalud-deen College, and Muhammad Kamalud-deen University. Following his passing, he was succeeded by his son, Sofiyyullah Muhammad Kamalud-deen.

Early life

Muhammad Kamalud-Deen was born in 1893 to the Aragbaji family in the Okekere area of Ilorin Emirate, a historic neighborhood known for its association with Islamic scholarship and religious teaching, which helped shape Ilorin’s role as a center for Islamic learning in Nigeria.

He studied the Quran at an early age under Mallam Ahmod Tijani and Salahud-Deen, both of the Baba ita compound in Alore, Ilorin, and graduated in 1919. Shaykh Kamalud-deen continued his education under an Arabic scholar, Shaykh Muhammad Taju al-Adab. On March 28, 1920, Kamalud-deen was admitted to the Adabiyyah School of Shaykh Taju al-Adab. Under the guidance of his mentor, he began delivering public lectures, with his first lecture taking place in Ihumbo, Ogun State, Nigeria. His mentor, Shaykh Taju al-Adab, died in 1922.

Career

Shaykh Kamalud-Deen began his Da'wah activities after the death of his teacher in 1922. In 1926, he established his Arabic school, Azumratul Adabiyyah Al-Kamoliyyah, in Lagos, Nigeria. The Ilorin Branch was established in 1930. However, he began his reform activities in 1938 after returning from Hajj. Before this period, he followed the traditional method of teaching. He was the first person to introduce the use of benches, table, blackboard, a curriculum, uniforms, daily exercise and assemblies – pioneering these innovations in Southwest Nigeria. He also reduced the length of learning by organizing his pupils into classes, with promotional examinations conducted at the end of each term. He introduced staging of Arab

SHAYKH (DR.) MUHAMMAD KAMALUD-DEEN HABIBULLAHI AL-ADABY

His Birth

His Eminence, Shaykh (Dr.) Muhammad Kamalud-deen Al-Adabiy, MFR, OFR, ORSA (Egypt). D.Litt. (University of Ilorin), Fellow of Islamic Studies in Nigeria (FISN) was born in Ara-Agbaji compound of Masingba, Okekere area in Ilorin at the turn of the twentieth century. His father was Mallam Habibullahi, son of Sheikh Musa while his mother was Alhaja Khadijah. His paternal grandparents are said to have migrated from Katsina

II. HIS EDUCATIONAL CAREER:

Young Muhammad Kamalud-deen was brought up in a purely Islamic environment. He thereby imbibed the muslim way of life. He acquired Quranic education under the tutelage of Shaykh Ahmad Tijani and his son Shaykh Salahudeen at Ile Babaita, Ilorin. At the same time, a great Arabic scholar and distinguished Sufi-Shaykh Muhammad Al-Jami Al-Labib was already popular in Ilorin. The mystic Shaykh was popularly known as Shaykh Taj al-Adab. He foresaw bright and promising future in young Muhammad Kamalud-deen and therefore sought his father’s permission to have him as a pupil. Mallam Habibullahi was already fond of his son and as such, he could not easily part with him. After persistent persuation however, he yielded to the request of Shaykh Taj al-Adab and finally allowed young Muhammad Kamalud-deen to join the mystic Shaykh as a pupil. Thus, young Muhammad Kamalud-deen was admitted into Adabiyyah School of Shaykh Taj al-Adab on the 8th of Rajab 1338 A.H/28th of March, 1920 CE. It is remarkable to note that though young Muhammad Kamalud-deen spent less than two years as a pupil of Shaykh Taj al-Adab, he acquired sufficient knowledge, skill and competence in all branches of Arabic and Islamic Studies. This distinction in learning made him self-sufficient. Consequently, he did not turn to any other person for further studies even after the death of his teacher shaykh Taj Al-Adab in 1923 C.E. Indeed, he became as popular, famous and renowned as his Sufi teacher.

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