Skip to main content

Sheikh Khattab Bohaj (Rahimahullah) and Islam in Gambia:

 -

Published as received.

*The Gambian Scholar who passed away in Sajdah*


This has been my third trip to The Gambia on behalf of Ummah Welfare Trust. A small West African country once colonised by the British.


One of the great challenges that the colonisers had, after they'd agreed to end slavery and over a century of oppression, was how to utilise a new generation of Africans to spread Christianity across the West African region.


In 1787 AD  many slaves from America and the West  returned to Freetown, the modern-day capital of Sierra Leone, West Africa. The town was to be the base for their mission. As a result, today, many Christians in Sierra Leone have Muslims ancestry, which is clear from their Islamic names.


What fascinated me about The Gambia, however was that Islam till today here remains strong. Over 95% of the population are Muslims, and by constitution, it is a Muslim country.


Alhamdulillah, Islamic clothing is commonly seen and there are many Islamic institutes. The general zeal for the religion is strong; I even heard a guard at the airport listening to the Qur'an.


I was intrigued to find out what sacrifices were made to protect the Iman of these people, thereby allowing them to retain their Islamic Identity.


Going back, Islam first reached The Gambia in Islam's first century, 63 AH, under the leadership of 'Uqbah bin Nafi Rahimahullah. However most of the people then still retained their paganism, living under different kingdoms and tribes.


As the centuries passed, Muslim traders from Mali and various Islamic conquests allowed Islam here to spread. However, it took time, and only in the 19th century AD did The Gambia become a Muslim-majority country.


In more recent times, one prominent personality has made a real difference. He established a strong foundation of Arabic schooling alongside modern education to pre-empt disbelief entering Muslim minds through the guise of 'education'. His name was Sheikh Khattab Bohaj (Rahimahullah).


He was born in 1931 AD and was the son of a businessman.


His father loved Islam dearly, and so when a great Sheikh from Mauritania visited the Gambia, he requested him to take his young son, Khattab, just six years old then, back to Mauritania to learn Islam. His father gave 1,000 pounds for his expenses, and young Khattab bade farewell to The Gambia.


For the next 23 years he studied under the renowned tutelage of Mauritania's great scholars. He memorised the Qur'an, ahadith and mastered many subjects on Islam. He acquired the deep insight and asceticism that has for centuries been imparted in the region's deserts.


Wise beyond his years, he returned back to his native home and established the first Arabic school teaching modern subjects in The Gambia. Students flocked to him, alhamdulillah.


He was generous and made his home a permanent residence for needy students. The government, threatened by his righteousness, made life difficult and even imprisoned him on occasion.


He was also deeply pious and loved the Qur'an dearly. Following his father's death, he recited from Maghrib until Fajr to complete a khatm on his behalf.


He always stressed the importance of memorising the Qur'an. Growing up in Mauritania, he had seen how nearly every household there had members bearing the Qur'an in their chests.


His eagerness and concern for the general population never diminished. A friend of his recalls how he would always remind him to leave alcohol and other sins, but he never listened.


One day he called him and said, 'Are you not going to change your ways because you will surely die between Monday and Sunday.'


His friend says, 'I became afraid that I will die that same week because Sheikh Khattab was known to be a pious person and a man of foresight and truth.


Therefore, I decided to change my ways and repented. However, due to the worry of death, I lost a lot of weight.


When Sheikh Khattab found out, he summoned me and said, "What I meant was that you would die on one of the seven days of the week, and not specifically this week."'


Upon sensing the dangers of disbelief entering The Gambia's educational system, one set up by missionaries, he lobbied to make one lesson on Islam mandatory in all government and private schools, and even missionary ones.


Despite facing resistance, he managed to get the law passed. Alhamdulillah a warning was issued to all missionary schools not complying with the law to teach one lesson of Islam. Their school was otherwise shut down.


It was a huge achievement, and till today has helped protect Islam and Muslim values in the country.


Just two days before his death, he told a congregation, 'I have sowed the seeds, and if I die, you will enjoy its fruits, as my students are ready to carry on with my mission.'


On 30th of April 1984  when leaving his home to deliver a regular lecture on the radio station, he told his driver to wait a few moments as he'd forgotten to perform his two raka'at of Salaatul Ishraaq.


He entered his house and began praying.


After some time, his wife became worried. He had taken much longer than usual. He was supposed to leave since he had a lecture to give. She went to check on him and found him in sajdah unresponsive. She quickly called some of his students.


They moved him and found that he had died in Sajdah. Allahu akbar.


May Allah have mercy on him and reward him immensely.


Today Ummah Welfare Trust is striving to preserve his legacy of teaching Islam to the poor and destitute. The charity has allocated a budget of £10 million to support, strengthen and expand religious institutions across The Gambia and Sierra Leone, inshaAllah.


Make du'a for the work and continue your support.


*_Ummah Welfare Trust Team_*

_The Gambia | 25/2/2021_

Source: received this above information through whatsapp message forward, we published as it is.

Popular posts from this blog

The moment we realize that everything happens by the will of Allaah, all our worries begin to fade away:

 - (external source) 🌷 *Whatever Allaah does......it's for our best*🌷 When my daughter was 2 years old, she loved to play with the water in the toilet bowl.  Yes, that's right.... *the toilet bowl!!* Yuck!!  That's nasty...you would say!!  But to *her*, that was the *delight of the day!*  Splish...splash!  To her innocent mind, there was nothing like it!  And so when I would prevent her from playing with it, she would scream and cry and wouldn't want to stop.  She didn't understand how harmful that was for her.  In her little brain, I took away something that she really enjoyed.   And when I would take her to the doctor to have her immunization shots, she wouldn't understand that either.  She would *howl* at the top of her lungs at the first sight of the needle and would run the other way.  It would take two of us just to hold her down!  To her, it was nothing but *torture*!  Her innocent little mind...

A believer's story of a Quarintine:

Assalamu Alaikum  Alhamdhulillah ... By the grace of Almighty Allah, I reached home yesterday by the Delhi... Trivandrum special train.  And now I'm under home quarantine for two weeks in the upper flat of our residence. My children and grandchildren are all away, so strict quarantine is made easy.  I request you all to make Dhua for ease.    We started for Nizaamudheen on the 11th of February, from Kollam ( Ab. Kareem Sb of Poredam, Thaha Sr of Pattazy and myself ), to spend two months in Nizaamudheen Markaz for Thartheeb. But eventually, as you know, things took a different course.  Insha Allah, it will be exactly 4 months on 11th June, when we finish the ongoing quarantine.     We were put in forced quarantine for 58 days in 4 different quarantine camps in Delhi without periodic tests. The entire Ramadhaan and Edul Fithr was spent in the camps. We had the unique distinction of having total vegitarian food for a full Ramadhaan and even on t...

Why Pork (pig meat) is Haram in Islam? Some scientific observations:

Why Pork is Haram in Islam ~ In the Qur'an Allah has forbidden pork. Do you know that pork is forbidden by Jews, and its forbidden in Bible too. 15 Things You Should Know About Pigs: 1) A pig is a real garbage gut. It will eat anything including urine, excrement, dirt, decaying animal flesh, maggots, or decaying vegetables. They will even eat the cancerous growths off other pigs or animals. 2) The meat and fat of a pig absorbs toxins like a sponge. Their meat can be 30 times more toxic than beef or venison. 3) When eating beef or venison, it takes 8 to 9 hours to digest the meat so what little toxins are in the meat are slowly put into our system and can be filtered by the liver. But when pork is eaten, it takes only 4 hours to digest the meat. We thus get a much higher level of toxins within a shorter time. 4) Unlike other mammals, a pig does not sweat or perspire. Perspiration is a means by which toxins are removed from the body. Since a pig does not sweat, the toxins re...

Zikr for daily use:

 *If you’re feeling inadequate because you’re not able to pray (or not pray much) in these final days of Ramadan, try these:* *1️⃣Get a treasure in Jannah.* *Say: لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ* The Prophet (s) said, “Be frequent in saying ‘There is no might or power except by Allah, (Lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā billāh)’ For verily, it is a treasure from the treasures of Paradise.’” [سنن الترمذی :3601] *2️⃣Get a palace in Jannah.* *Say: Surah al-Ikhlas (10 times)* The Prophet (s) said, “Whoever recites Surah al-Ikhlas ten times, Allah will build a palace for him in paradise.” Umar (r) said, “Then we will have many palaces in Jannah?” The Prophet (s) replied, “Allah has even more and better than that.” [السلسلة الصحيحة:589] *3️⃣Landscape Jannah.* *Say: سُبْحَانَ الله وَالْحَمْدُ لله وَلاَ إله إِلاَّ الله وَالله أَكْبَرُ* The Prophet (s) said, “I met Ibrahim on the Night of Ascension (Al-Isra), and he said to me, ‘O Muhammad, convey my greetings to your Ummah, and tell the...

Words that will help you to understand Arabic when memorised:

 Words that will help you to understand Arabic when memorised: 1. The.           (Al)        أل 2. Of.              (Min)       من 3. To.              (Ilah).   إلي 4. And.           (Wa)        و 5. In.              (Fee)        في 6. it  (Huwa/hiya) هو/ هي لغير عاقل 7. You         (anta).         أنت 8.  That.     (Dzaka).      ذاك  9. He.        (Huwa).          هو    10. She.    ( Hiya).         هي 11. For.      (Lee)              لي 12. On.        (Alah)      عل...

His famous saying, “Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave,” underscores the importance of continuous learning: The kind teacher-

 - While majority are celebrating Teacher's Day, below is my reflection about a teacher: *Prophet Muhammad: A Teacher for All Times* Prophet Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, is not only revered as a religious figure but is also celebrated as a remarkable teacher whose teachings continue to inspire and guide millions of people across the globe. His role as a teacher extends far beyond the boundaries of religion, and his teachings serve as a timeless source of wisdom and guidance for people of all backgrounds and beliefs. *The Role of Prophet Muhammad as a Teacher Moral and Ethical Guidance:*   Prophet Muhammad’s teachings are characterized by a strong emphasis on moral and ethical values. He taught the importance of honesty, integrity, compassion, and justice. His actions and sayings, recorded in Hadiths (sayings and actions of the Prophet), provide a profound moral compass for individuals striving to lead virtuous lives. *Social Justice:* The Prophet advocated for social justic...

The salaf would be happy and optimistic when worldly difficulties stuck them:

-  Worldly Difficulties | - The Salaf would be happy and optimistic when something of this world became difficult for them. I never quite understood this statement. Were they happy and optimistic because a difficulty meant eventual ease, as is Allāh’s promise? Was it out of anticipation of a fulfilment of a worldly need? Or was there something more to it? Then it occurred to me after many years of returning to this statement that a man who sets out to find work and finds it easily and effortlessly is a man who misses out on a grand opportunity of begging Allāh and raising his worries and concerns to Him. The man who faces road blocks inevitably finds himself humble, submissive and desperate at the door of Allāh ﷻ. A man who goes in search of a job, a wife, a car, a home, some wealth and gets it readily each and every time isn’t necessarily successful. A man who can easily dip into his plentiful resources and fulfil a need perhaps misses out on the opportunity of turning to Allāh in...

Eid al-Adha Mubarak:

 - Eid al-Adha  teaches us lessons of devotion and sacrifice. The obedience to Allah, the sacrifice, and the selfless loyalty of  Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham), peace be upon him, and Prophet Ismail (Ishmael), peace be upon him,  were so beloved by Allah, the Lord of all creation, that He decreed them to be observed by believers until the Day of Judgment. On this blessed and joyous occasion of Eid al-Adha, with reliance on the Almighty Allah and adherence to the teachings of His Prophets, and with prayers for the establishment of unity and solidarity worldwide,  this humble servant extends Eid al-Adha greetings to you and your family.

English books on Islam and Prophet Mohammad (saw):

 English books of dr. Mohammad Hameedullah 1 )"The Battlefields of the Prophet Muhammad", 3rd Ed. Hyderabad: Habib, 1983 2) "The Emergence of Islam: lectures on the development of Islamic world-view, intellectual Tradition and Polity". Islamabad: Islamic research institute in collaboration with Da’wah Academy. International Islamic University, 1993 3) The First Written Constitution in the World". 3rd ed. Sh. Muhammad Ashraf, 1975*" 4) "Sahifah Hammam ibn Munabbih". 10th ed. Luton: Apex, 1979 5) "Introduction to Islam", 5th ed. Luton: Apex 1980 6) "Islam and Communism: A study in comparative thought", Lahore: Kazi publications, 1975 7) "Islam, A general picture". Chicago: Kazi Publications.1980 8) "Muhammad Rasulullah". Hyderabad: Stockists, Habib, 1974 9) "The Muslim Woman", Islamabad: International Islamic University, 1989 10) "The Muslim code of state". 7th ed. Lahore: Sh. Muhammad Ash...

Quran Listening and Learning without an app also:

-Click below link to open: https://quranhive.com/surah/ About Quran Hive QuranHive is a deep learning platform which aims to provide a user friendly learning experience to users of all levels. We bring together reputable resources for the Quran in an intuitive way by wrapping it all in creative features. These then offer different and complementary angles to give the user a broad understanding of the Quran. We are a small group of Quran enthusiasts seeking to create a platform that facilitates a deeper learning experience of the Quran. Source: taken from the web application. - Kind Teacher is sharing this link for the benefit of people at large.