The following is an extract from an upcoming book by Dr. Abdulkadir Hashim, Senior Lecturer in Sharia & Islamic Studies and an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, which will cover Muslim intellectual contributions along the East African coast.

View entries chronologically by clicking below:

1. Sayyid Umar bin Amin
2. Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Muslim (Mselem) al-Amiri
3. Shaykh Abubakar ibn Muhammad ibn Abubakar Al-Maawi (Bwenye Kai)
4. Shaykh Ali bin Abdalla bin Nafi’i bin Abdalla al-Mazrui
 

2. Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Muslim (Mselem) al-Amiri

Little is known about the background of Shaykh Muhammad ibn Mselem al-Amiri.
 

Kadhiship

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Mselem al-Amiri was a Kadhi of Lamu around 1313/1896.  Al- Imam al Sakhawi mentioned in his book al-Maqasid al-Hasana that he met a Kadhi from Lamu during the Haj season in 1313/1896. It is reported that Shaykh Muhammad ibn Mselem al-Amiri stayed in Makka for many years.

Students

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Mselem al-Amiri taught Shaykh Abdalla Bakathir in Lamu various disciplines of Arabic language that included fiqh, nahau and sarf.  Other students of Shaykh Muhammad ibn Mselem al-Amiri in Lamu include Sayyid Abdalla ibn Ahmad al-Ahdal (Mwenye Abdalla Kadhi). While in Makka, Shaykh Muhammad ibn Mselem al-Amiri taught Shaykh Muhsin ibn Ali ibn Isa al-Barwani tawhid and the text al-durar al-bahiyyah written by Shaykh Ahmad Dahlani.

Darsas

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Mselem al-Amiri held darsas on the commentary of the Quran in various mosques in Lamu.

References

Abdalla Saleh Farsy, Baaadhi ya Wanavyuoni wa Kishafi wa Mashirki ya Afrika, 1972.

J.O. Hunwick and R.S. O’Fahey Arabic Literature of Africa, eds., Vol. 1, The Writings of Eastern Sudanic Africa until c. 1900, ed. R.S. O’Fahey et al. Leiden: Brill, 1994.

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