Peaceful co-existence as a leitmotif in selected Arabic writings of Yorubaʽulamā

Abstract

Didacticism is one of the three major classifications of the themes of the Arabic literary productions of Yoruba ‘Ulamā’(Arabic/Islamic scholars) . A good number of motifs including religious teachings, historical exposition, morality and language studies feature under this classification. Yoruba‘Ulamā’ have used their literary productions to project the teachings of Islam. Of importance to us in this paper are their writings on morality, especially the ones dealing with peaceful co-existence which is one of the hotly debated issues among the Nigerians currently. The need to build a united country has been a desirable issue and this is achievable where citizens from different linguistic, political, religious and cultural backgrounds co-exist and live peacefully. The paper employed purposive random sampling method in selecting relevant Arabic writings for this study. The content analysis method was employed in examining the motifs of the writings. The paper revealed that the Nigerian ‘Ulamā’ and particularly the Arabic scholars of Yoruba extraction have used their literary productions, especially the ones having peaceful coexistence as motif to project the ideals of Islam, The study provided information about the creativity of Yoruba ‘Ulamā’ as well as the significance of their literary productions.