A Healing Manual for Muslims (Manāfiʿu l-Muslim)
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| Title | A Healing Manual for Muslims (Manāfiʿu l-Muslim) |
| Author or Owner | Birane Gassama (owner) |
| Subject | Healing, Education, Scholarship, Quranic Medicine |
| Content | This document is a guide for understanding several important teachings of Islam, particularly as they relate to healing various ailments and treating fertility issues. It was written by a Murid disciple to help his fellows understand passages in the Quran and the hadiths (traditions of Prophet Muhammad). It includes three parts: the first part deals with the Quran, the second document deals with hadiths, and the third part talks about Islamic healing practices. The document consists of verses written in Arabic followed by commentaries in Wolof Ajami to help the faithful understand these practices. These include the preparation of herbal infusions and potions, or saafara (in Wolof), that will heal a variety of ailments or rid someone of a spirit lover: a jinn who is causing problems in one’s marriage. It also contains information about a few aphrodisiacs which will assist couples hoping to conceive a child. The document also describes morally acceptable behaviors for religious scholars, including humility, generosity, honesty, respect, patience, and devotion to God. The scholar must also disseminate the knowledge in order to help others better understand the practices and teachings of the religion. This document also includes a number of illustrations which detail the khātims (magical square formulas) used in making potions, and a figure that will protect against all harms. |
| Genre | Prose |
| Language | Wolof |
| Script | Wolof Ajami |
| Manuscript condition | Printed, good condition |
| Type | Printed |
| Publisher | Bashiiru Ñaŋ (or Bassirou Niang) |
| Provenance | Touba, Senegal |
| Source Reference | Original material held at Birane Gassama’s home, Bargny, Dakar, Senegal. British Library, https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP334-12-2?_ga=2.198933551.1257679841.1632495692- 1598733228.1630977813; see also https://open.bu.edu/handle/2144/2403 |
| Access condition and copyright | These materials are subject to copyright and are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 License, which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. For use, distribution or reproduction beyond these terms, contact Professor Fallou Ngom (fngom@bu.edu). |
| Contributors | Fallou Ngom, Daivi Rodima-Taylor, Elhadji Djibril Diagne, Eric Schmidt, Gana Ndiaye, Martin Aucoin, Cheikh Mouhamadou S. Diop, Alison Parker, Shawn Provencal, and Mark Lewis. |
| Required citation information | Fallou Ngom (PI), Gana Ndiaye, Cheikh Mouhamadou S. Diop, Daivi Rodima-Taylor, Martin Aucoin, and other contributors. 2022. “A Healing Manual for Muslims.” https://sites.bu.edu/nehajami/the-four-languages/wolof/wolof-manuscripts/manaafiul-muslim/ |
Manuscript
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Transcription and Translations
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