Sheikh Ahmadu Bamba: Selected Poems

While in exile in Gabon (1895–1902), Sheikh Ahmadu Bamba marked a historic moment with his poetry of resilience, pivotal to the cultural and religious transformation of the Murīds of Senegal. The qaṣāʾid (poems) included in this annotated edition reveal a unifying poetic purpose and exemplify Ṣūfī literary traditions in subject matter, form, and versification.

Sana Camara, Ph.D. (2001), Ohio State University, is Professor of French at Truman State University. His publications include Wolof Lexicon and Grammar(2006), Sëriñ Muusaa Ka: Melokaani Roytéef (2008), The Epic of Kelefaa Saane (2010), and La poésie sénégalaise d’expression française (2011).

While in exile in Gabon (1895-1902), Sheikh Ahmadu Bamba marked a historic moment with his poetry of resilience, pivotal to the cultural and religious transformation of the Murids of Senegal. The qaaid (poems) included in this annotated edition, most of them hymns of praise to the qualities of Allah and the Prophet Muammad, and professions of faith that demonstrate how to realize the precepts found in the Qur'an, display the underlying elements of Sheikh Ahmadu Bamba's imaginative energy and poetic vision. They reveal a unifying poetic purpose and exemplify ufi literary traditions in subject matter, form, and versification and aim to explore the deepest regions of mysticism in search of the divine truth.

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