Usman Dan Fodio A key element throughout Dan Fodio’s reform movement was his writings He authored more than 100 works in both his native Fulfulde and Arabic; some of his works were later translated into Hausa but were not originally written in that language Most works were prose, but a substantial portion were in verse One of his early works clarified that anyone who subscribed to the religion and carried out their religious duties was a Muslim and deserved all rights and freedoms to be afforded to the brethren, including slaves who were Muslim This was not the traditional practice in Hausaland at the time, which allowed for lower-class Muslims to be enslaved Some of his most important works were written during the jihad, which established the ground rules for warfare and defined those who were to be considered Muslim (nontargets of jihad) and those who were nonMuslims (targets of jihad) This was important, since all of the leaders the jihad was directed against were at least nominally Muslim However, Dan Fodio made clear that if rulers allowed non-Muslim practices in their lands or deviated from strict orthodoxy, they were legitimate targets of his campaign In this regard, he drew from a controversial discussion some three centuries earlier between Askia Muhammad Touré, ruler of the Songhai Empire, and the scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Karim al-Maghili, when the former was expanding the holdings his empire into some areas having nominal Muslim rul- 427 ers, including Hausaland After the jihad was completed and the Sokoto Caliphate established, the shehu’s works showed moderation and more tolerance of non-Islamic practices occurring within state boundaries Usman Dan Fodio died in the capital city of Sokoto in April 1817, leaving a legacy of 37 children and hundreds of grandchildren who continued to be important players in the political, social, and religious landscape of Sokoto for generations This included his daughter Asma’u, a prolific writer and important chronicler of the jihad and the development of Sokoto Usman Dan Fodio’s ideas for Islamic reformation in West Africa remained influential well into the late 19th century, manifesting themselves in the continued spread of Islam and sporadic calls to jihad Further reading: Boyd, Jean The Caliph’s Sister: Nana Asma’u, 1793–1865, Teacher, Poet, and Islamic Leader London: F Cass, 1989; Hiskett, Mervyn The Sword of Truth: The Life and Times of the Shehu Usuman Dan Fodio Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1994; Johnston, H A S The Fulani Empire of Sokoto Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1967; Last, Murray The Sokoto Caliphate Upper Saddle River, NJ: Longman, 1967; Sulaiman, Ibraheem A Revolution in History: The Jihad of Usman Dan Fodio London: Mansell, 1986 Brent D Singleton