An analytical study of quranic Arabic schools in osogbo land, osun state, Nigeria: focus on mubarakah quranic/ Arabic schools

Abstract

Writing about Qur'anic Arabic Schools in Yorubaland before the nineteenth century provides a peculiar challenge as there was no Yorubaland until the nineteenth century when Islam had been established in different towns that would be collectively referred to as Yorubaland. Nevertheless, it is generally accepted that Yoruba is a Hausa name of Arabic origin which applied to the Oyo people but in the 1840s, the Church Missionary Society adopted the name to describe peoples and towns with geographical proximity, cultural affinity,identical religious belief and similar language to the Oyo.The name has since been used conveniently with wide acceptance to describe these peoples. Osogbo, the capital city of Osun State, is one of the towns in Yorubaland which enjoy a strong presence of Quranic/Arabic Schools and Islamic influences. It is no gainsaying that Quranic Schools are firmly established in Osogbo. The town is a custodian of a considerable number of Quranic Schools also known as Kutaab and many Arabic institutes. The kutaaab are usually established in Yorubaland as the first stage of Arabic learning and they play a significant note in disseminating Quranic knowledge to Muslim Children. In any community where Islam is being introduced, Quranic knowledge and Islamic teaching are taught simultaneously. A visit to Osogbo and the view of a gigantic and well renovated Central Mosque beside the Ataoja’s palace says it all that a significant number of Osogbo indigene and inhabitants of the town are Muslims. In contemporary Osogbo, there are Quranic/Arabic Schools sited at the centre and in the nook and cranny of the town. In fact, to say that Osogbo is fully populated by Muslims and that Islam is firmly established in the town will be an understatement. This paper utilizes a qualitative research methodology, data are mostly drawn from oral interviews, scholarly articles, Journals, archival materials, dictionaries and relevant books.