'In the name of God, I, a slave': a Hausa homily in verse from the manuscript IASAR/334

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Periodical article

Title:	'In the name of God, I, a slave': a Hausa homily in verse from the manuscript IASAR/334
Author:	Herman, J.
Year:	1982
Periodical:	Africana Bulletin
Issue:	31
Pages:	147-214
Language:	English
Geographic term:	West Africa
Subjects:	Islam Hausa language poetry
Abstract:	Homilies constitute one of the major categories of Hausa Islamic poetry. The variety of terms for the homilies is indicative of the various aspects of the homiletic poetry. Hausa Islamic verse may be considered a far-away offspring of the Arabic classic poetry. The Hausa homiletic verse seems related most closely to zuhdiyat, a poetry that arose in the 9th century A.D. as a reaction against the luxurious life of high society. The poem (Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana, IASAR/334) presented here in English translation is a typical Hausa homily. It is a litany of warnings against the Day of Judgment and the final damnation of those who neglect their religious duties and fail to follow 'the right path of the Prophet', or sunna. The English translation is followed by the Hausa text in transliteration and the facsimile of the manuscript. Notes.