Enlivening Prayers: Aesthetic and Function in the Supplicatory Odes of Shaykh Abu Bakr Ati u (Kano, Nigeria, d. 1974)

This article analyzes Sufi supplications in the poetic works of Shaykh Abu Bakr Atiq b. Khi r b. Abi Bakr b. Musa al-Kashinawi (1909-1974), known in Hausa as Shehi Abubakar Ati u Sanka. It examines the literary and aesthetic aspects of Ati u's supplicatory odes, as well as their social and political functions. Ati u, a significant Tijani scholar in Kano, Nigeria, was a prominent voice in the Fay a Tijaniyya movement, which greatly enhanced Islamic scholarship and literacy across West Africa. The Fay a literature includes various genres, particularly classical Arabic odes (usually monorhyme), with the Sufi supplicatory ode (qa idat al-tawassul) being a notable sub-genre. Despite their devotional nature, these odes are often overlooked by Western scholars for their literary and historical value. This article shows that Ati u's odes possess a unique aesthetic grounded in reiteration and intertextuality, which contributes to their coherence and unity. Moreover, these supplicatory odes play crucial social roles and serve as valuable sources of social history. The study relies on Ati u's original manuscripts, which contain paratextual elements and annotations about political and religious contexts, providing a basis for a socio-literary analysis of this Islamic poetry sub-genre in Africa.