الاخضري

Transliterated title: Al-Akhdarī in Mandinka Ajami.

The manuscript is a Mandinka Ajami exegesis of the popular Mālikī jurisprudence text known as Al-Akhdarī, which is used across Muslim West Africa. Al-Akhdarī, is based on the name of the Algerian scholar, Abū Yazīd ʿAbd al-Raḥmān bin Muḥammad al-Ṣaghīr bin Muḥammad bin ʿĀmir, who authored the original text in Arabic. He is regarded as one of the greatest Muslim scholars of Algeria. Similar interpretations and commentaries of Al-Akhdarī in Ajami exist in West Africa, including among the Fuuta Jalon Fula. Al-Akhdarī is one of the key texts of Islamic jurisprudence studied in Islamic schools in West Africa. The author of the Mandinka exegesis of Al-Akhdarī, like many other Muslims in the region, used Mandinka Ajami in order to broadly disseminate the ethos and traditions of Islam among his people, which is based on the Malikī School of jurisprudence. His intention was to ensure that Mandinka readers understand Islamic jurisprudence in their own language so that they can practice their religion without any confusion. On page 2, the author provides a list of Mandinka Ajami letters he used throughout the text. The manuscript was digitized in the home of the owner (Abdou Khadre Cisse) in the neighborhood of Kandialang in Ziguinchor, Senegal.

Extent and format of original material: 84 pages.

Physical characteristics: Bound manuscript. Certain pages have frayed edges. There are signs of water damage with ink stains throughout the manuscript. Tape has been added to keep the book cover on.

Owner(s) of original material: Abdou Khadre Cisse.

Author(s) of original material: Al-Haji Basiru Darboh.

Additional script information: Mandinka Ajami.