HIS CHILDHOOD
Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky grew up in a very religious household; therefore his
childhood was impeccably influenced by kindness and hospitality he had inherited from his parent. He was never known for stubbornness, belligerent attitude, cruelty or superiority complex towards his childhood friends.
He was best known for his introspection towards dealing with his superiors. Best
known as an obedient, compassionate boy, he was throughout his childhood
known, moreover, for helping the poor, the elderly and his younger brothers.
He read voraciously and hated laziness and immobility.
Those who knew his childhood could attest to his unblemished childhood as corroborated by a traditional title holder, Alhaji Basiru Aliyu Dan Sidi: “At that time (during our childhood) as far as I knew him, he was a very modest boy who had a penchant for respecting his elders, and I had never seen him for once committing any crime or engaging in mischievous behaviours”(2).
Moreover, another traditional title holder, Alhaji Abubakar Jibrin has this to say
about Ibrahim Zakzaky: “I knew him as a boy who was very shy and he rarely
discussed gibberish…… even in his schools, he was very respectful and
obedient to his superiors, in fact we could not find any immoral behaviour to
criticise him for”.
Another octogenarian who belonged to Zakzaky's clan also gave her
testimony of Ibrahim Zakzaky's unblemished childhood. She was reported to have said that: “When he was a little kid, we noticed his strange behaviours which signaled that he was going to be a great figure in his later years. I can attest to his humility and obedience to the elderly. He was fond of paying visits to his relatives because he loved and still loves his relatives and wherever they are, he would never feel reluctant to visit them. He in fact grew up with this kind of kindness. Throughout his childhood, he was never known for belligerent behaviors towards other people, he only minded his own
businesses. He grew up like a gentleman for he was not used to inconsequential tendencies exhibited by many children, and he was actually the one who would call them to order”.
An erudite Islamic scholar, a childhood contemporary of Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, Malam Wadan Mai Raqumi, had this to say about his childhood: “Ibrahim was a boy who never took his religion for granted, he was not used to silly plays practiced mostly by his friends at home or in schools. When we came to a playing ground to have fun, he would usually distance himself from us until we were done before he rejoined us”.
In a nutshell, Sheikh Zakzaky (H) is endowed with poise, restrain and
sense of humour because he grew up in the bosom of modesty and adoration
devoid of childish peccadilloes, and it can be deduced from the aforementioned testimonies that he has an unblemished past.
HIS EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky is a very knowledgeable personality whose academic prowess enabled him to pursue both Islamic and Western education, and he was able to achieve those feats by treading the same paths, that is by
attending Islamic schools controlled by Malams (Islamic preachers) who used
to settle in shanty buildings with dozens or hundreds of pupils around them,
and by moreover, attending formal Western-oriented schools.
As far as Western education is concerned, the sheikh started his schooling only
when he reached puberty because he was not able to attend primary school as
a result of some religious factors of which parents were jittery about the
ulterior motives of the then newly-introduced educational system; they feared that their children might be brainwashed to abhor their cultural values or end up being proselytised. That factor, among others, was why many parents
declined to send their children to schools.
He first attended Fada Provincial Arabic School, Zaria, in 1969-1971.
Students used to spend four years at the school before graduation, but Zakzaky
was able to complete his study in just a matter of two years. He merged
teaching job with his studies which further broadened his minds in no small
measure. In 1971, he proceeded to School for Arabic Studies in Kano to further
the scope of his studies after he successfully passed a thorough interview.
Having learnt of his English mastery, the school principal then advised him to
switch to subjects that were being taught in English, an offer he accepted, and
he completed his programmes in 1975.
In the course of his stay at School for Arabic Studies, he obtained his
now-outdated Grade Two certificate with special emphasis on Economics,
Government, Islamic Studies, and Hausa language. Having graduate magna
cum laude, he easily advanced to a degree programme at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He enrolled fully into the university in 1976 where he was
studying Economics and he would have completed in 1979 if he had not been
arrested by security operatives when he was writing his final exams for barring
people from holding a wine drinkers party in the university's premise.
He was unable to complete his study as a result of that arrest until he was discharged from a high security jail in Enugu in 1984. He was allowed to finish his exams, but the school management withheld his certificate for what they said his threat to national security. He was confirmed to have graduated with a first
class honour from the department.
It is estimated that it normally takes a person twenty years from primary
to university level, but Ibrahim Zakzaky completed his studies in ten years' time
due to the fact of his extra ordinary talent. To dissect all this, he spent two
years in Fada Provincial Primary School instead of four years. He spent four
years in School for Arabic Studies, which served as a secondary school instead
of six years. And he graduated from the university in four years.
Throughout the period of his studies, he was very active in student unions and he held various positions but his highest position was his appointment as secretary general of the Muslim Students Association of Nigeria (MSSN) in 1978 before he later on became a vice president of the body. His office was tasked with supervising foreign students' interests of the union.
HIS RELIGIOUS STUDIES
As is stated, Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky grew up in a religiously-oriented house.
Many of his relatives were very learned and extremely religious persons. His
father took a lot of time to tutor him the Quran when he reached four years,
and he started learning Arabic grammar from his grandmother who was popularly known as Hajiya Mai Karatu.
He was able to garner a lot of Islamic knowledge at his youthful age as a
result of his unfettered access to various learned scholars. That propelled him
to become a force to be reckoned with especially among his peer groups. He
virtually read everything religious at his disposal ranging from the Quran,
Hadiths, jurisprudence, Islamic history, Arabic grammar, literature, etc. His
father, Malam Yaqoub and his grandmother, Hajiya Mai Karatu had played impactful roles in broadening his mind. He also got unfettered access to
prominent Islamic scholars who mostly resided in Zaria. Those scholars included Malam Sani Abdulqadir Fateh, Malam Sani Na'ibi, Malam Isah Kwarbai, Malam Ibrahim Nakakaki, malam Aminu Na Madaka and many more.
Moreover, he widened the scope of his jurisprudence during his knowledge-
seeking sojourn in Kano, and he was mentored by Sheikh Nasir Kabara- one of
the most influential Sufi scholars in Africa, and Sheikh Isah Waziri a chief Imam
of Kano. Other scholars who tutored him in the ancient city of Kano included
Malam Nuhu an Imam who led prayers in one of the Sufi mosques in the city;
Malam Datti Ahmad a cerebral linguist who taught him Arabic; Malam Ibrahim
Babarbare and Sheikh Abdur-Rauf Usman an Egyptian scholar. All these
scholars are a force behind his religious knowledge.
- From The Book: A Biography of
His Eminence Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky (H) (The Leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria)
By:Institute for Compilation and Publications of Shaikh Zakzaky's Works.
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