Shaykh Adam Abdullahi Al-Ilori (1917-1992): A Muslim Reformer of 20th Century in Yorubaland, Nigeria.

Abstract

 The advent, consolidation and even seamless practice of Islam in different places are greatly connected to the efforts of some individuals who took drastic initiatives that brought about cohesion and compatibility between the texts (Qur’an and Hadith) of Islam and the reality of times and places. Shaykh Adam is one of those pragmatic scholars with outstanding reforming zeal for Islam in Yorubaland. He devised different means to halt the increasing waves of ignorance and nominalism among Muslims. He also unites Muslims in the region under one umbrella. His personality and the approaches he adopted in turning Yorubaland into an abode of Islam have however received less attention from scholars, especially of English background. This paper, therefore, aims at discussing his personality and assessing his approaches in the bid to make Islam a household religion in Yorubaland. The historical method is adopted to achieve the objectives of this paper. The findings revealed that Shaykh Adam remains one of the foremost and outstanding scholars in the areas of teaching, preaching and writing across Yorubaland with accomplishments that have not been equalled or surpassed by anyone. Also, it is discovered that the nerve centre of his activities is Markaz through which he dismantled the barriers of ignorance vis-à-vis Arabic language and Islamic education in Yorubaland. He also brought Yoruba Muslims under one umbrella courtesy of Rabitah. The paper, therefore, concluded that Shaykh Adam is a scholar of note with enduring landmarks across not only the Yorubaland or Nigeria but also the Muslim world.