Imam Ghali

Imam Ghali Kadawa was the eponymous ancestor of the Banu Gha, he belonged to the Madinawa clan and was appointed as the Spiritual Leader and Imam of Kadawa, Warawa by the Kano Emirate Council.
Biography
He participated actively in the establishment of the Islamic religion in Kano Emirate. His descendants identify themselves as Arabs, Fulani, Hausa, Hausa-Fulani Arabs or Hausa-Fulani depending on their cultural assimilation. They are also called Madinawa Malamai in reference to Medina, the city they claim to originate from. The claim of descent from the Arab tribe is common in scholarly lineages throughout Northern Nigeria and the Sahara.
Reign
He was the Sarkin Madinawa and was appointed an Imam at Kadawa, Warawa by the Kano Emirate Council. During his tenure as an imam, he advanced the acceptance of the Maliki School of thought in the Emirate by influencing later scholars to use the principles of the Maliki school instead of the other Islamic schools of thought. The Maliki school is one of the four major madhhabs of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and hadiths as primary sources. Unlike other Islamic fiqhs, the Maliki fiqh also considers the consensus of the people of Medina to be a valid source of Islamic law. It is one of the largest groups of Sunni Muslims, comparable to the Shafi`i madhhab in adherents, but smaller than the Hanafi madhhab. Sharia based on Maliki doctrine is predominantly found in North Africa (excluding northern and eastern Egypt), West Africa, Chad, Sudan, Kuwait, Bahrain, the Emirate of Dubai (UAE), and in northeastern parts of Saudi Arabia.
Historical accounts report that he practiced zuhd asceticism. In the Kano Emirate, he was regarded by some people as a Saint (Waliyi). Imam Ghali was buried at Kadawa. There is no record of the date of his death in the history books of the Emirate.
Imam Ghali held the opinion that Muslims must believe in the Five pillars of Islam, in all the Prophets of Islam from Adam to Prophet Muhammad and in angels. He also held the belief about Allah's attributes that are unique such as existence, permanence without beginning, endurance without end, absoluteness and independence, dissimilarity to created things, Oneness, Allah is all powerful, willful, knowing, living, seeing, hearing and speaking (signifying attributes). His descendants and followers are presently divided into the Izala, Qadiriya and Tijaniya, with the Tijjaniya taking the majority among his descendants while a few are sectless. One of the Imams of Kadawa Mosque, Warawa Local Government Sheikh Usaini Umar (Malam Bala), is his descendant.
His dynasty was influential in the Kano Emirate after the Kano Civil War which saw the emergence of Aliyu Babba as the Emir of Kano The dynasty he established has produced numerous imams, Islamic theologians, traditional title holders, bureaucrats and politicians in the Sokoto Caliphate. His descendants, who are descended of the Jobawa clan on the maternal side, are entitled to be appointed as Makaman Kano, due to the precedent established during the reign of Sarkin Kano Aliyu Babba, who appointed Sarkin Takai Umaru Dan Maisaje as Makaman Kano, whose link with the Jobawa is through his father's mother Habiba, the sister of Malam Bakatsine. The traditional requisite of agnatic descent was not considered in the appointment, leading to the establishment of a precedent for the descendants of the Jobawa with paternal or maternal links to aspire to be appointed as Makaman Kano.

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