THE MANY FACES OF ALFA: UNPACKING THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF AN ISLAMIC TITLE IN YORUBALAND

How a centuries-old title still shapes culture, sparks debate, and demands clarity in Nigeria’s Islamic landscape.

Two events sparked nationwide discourse in the weeks leading up to Ramadan 1446 AH / 2025 CE, which commenced on March 1st. These events heightened religious sensitivities in Yorubaland and across Nigeria, particularly as they pertained to Alfas (Islamic clerics).

The first involved a derogatory remark made by renowned Fuji musician, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, popularly known as K1 De Ultimate. While preparing for the Fidau prayer, an Islamic memorial gathering held in honour of his late mother, he reportedly said: “Ibi ni gbogbo awon Alfa wa ga'nu si,” interpreted as, “This is the very place to which all the Alfas gaped expectantly,” likely in anticipation of material gain. The statement implied opportunism and material hunger on the part of the Alfas, alleging that they had neglected his father’s or mother’s homes and instead converged on his house.
The backlash was swift and widespread. Islamic scholars across Yorubaland, including Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, and Kwara States, rose in unison to condemn the remark. Fadilatus-Shaykh Sulayman Faruq Onikijipa, who attended the Fidau on Friday, January 24th, in Ogun State, attempted to counsel the musician to retract his words. K1, however, refused and claimed no offense was intended.

Notably, Islamic scholars from northern states such as Borno, Yobe, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, and Sokoto did not respond, likely because the insult was delivered in Yoruba, a language many of them do not understand. Moreover, they may identify as Malams rather than Alfas.

A few weeks later, a more disturbing event unfolded in Ilorin, Kwara State. A 29-year-old Alfa, Muhammad Bello, was arrested for allegedly murdering and dismembering Hafsoh Yetunde Lawal, a final-year student of the Kwara State College of Education. When interrogated, his sole explanation regarding his occupation was: “Ise Alfa” (Alfa's occupation).

This incident sent shockwaves across the nation. Professor Abubakr Ali-Agan pointed to the ambiguous teachings and practices of some prominent Alfas as possible enablers of such moral degeneration. Consequently, some respected scholars, including the Mufti of Ilorin, Shaykh Onikijipa, reconsidered the impact of their widely circulated but ambiguous sermons. Some of these sermons were retracted in recognition of their potential misinterpretation by less discerning younger Alfas.

But these events sparked deeper questions: What exactly is the occupation of an Alfa? Who is an Alfa? What does the title mean? And why do Yoruba Muslims use Alfa instead of Malam, Malamai, or Mai-ilmi, as is common among Hausas and other northern groups?

Tracing the origin of the term Alfa is a rigorous scholarly task, engaging voices across disciplines. The term appears in various spellings: Alfa, Afa, Aafa, Alifa, Alufa, and even Alpha. The last version, amusingly, misleads some into linking the term to the Greek alphabet.

Some believe Alfa derives from Alufa, a supposedly native Yoruba contraction of Alu-Ifa (beater of Ifa, the Yoruba god of divination). However, linguistically, Ifa is neither "beaten" (lu) nor "struck" but rather "spread" (da) and "drawn" (te), and its priests are known as Onifa, not Alufa. Others argue that Alfa refers broadly to a priestly class, including Christian clergy, whom Yoruba speakers also call Alufa, as documented in Samuel Ajayi Crowther’s Yoruba dictionary.
Crucially, the term Alfa does not appear in the Qur’an, nor is it used in the Arab world. Arabic terms for scholars include Mu‘allim, Ustadh, Shaykh, ‘Alim, 'Allamah, and Fadilatus-Shaykh. However, some argue that Alfa stems from the Arabic Alfan (meaning "a thousand"), suggesting a learned man worth a thousand people in piety. Others propose that it evolved from Khalifa (successor), with phonological shifts such as consonant deletion and vowel assimilation resulting in Alifa and then Alufa.

These interpretations, though appealing, face significant scholarly scrutiny. In the mid-20th century, Dr. Jonathan Olumide Lucas, building on Samuel Johnson’s views, argued for shared origins based on phonological similarities. In contrast, Dr. Saburi Biobaku refuted this approach, urging historical rigor over phonetic coincidence.

Take, for instance, the term Esin-Imole (“difficult religion”), once a pejorative label for Yoruba Islam. It likely evolved from Esin-Imale (“religion from Mali”), reflecting early Islamic influence from the Songhai Empire. Despite this, the negative connotation persisted until Yoruba Muslim communities began to challenge it. Indeed, the effort to correct this misconception marked the beginning of Islamic music in Yorubaland, pioneered by AbdulWahab Ademola Olalere Falowo.

The first ever Yoruba Islamic musical chorus goes as follows:
"Islam yii alafia ni
This Islam is a religion of peace
Lati Mali lo gba de orilede wa
It came to our land from Mali Igba yen ni won so pe Esin Mali
At that time, it was called the Mali Religion Ki e to se be lo ba di Imole
Before long, it came to be known as a difficult religion"

Such linguistic phenomena should not cloud historical truths.
The divergence between Alfa and Malam is puzzling, given the shared Arabic loanwords in Yoruba and Hausa. These include Alubosa/Alabasa (onion), Alaruba/Laraba (Wednesday), Alamisi/Alhamis (Thursday), Jimoh/Jumma?a (Friday), Imamu/Imam, and Alafia/Lafia (wellness), among many others. So why did the Yoruba adopt Alfa rather than Malam?
The answer lies in historical context. After the final fall of the Ghana Empire in 1240 CE, Islamic scholarship flourished under the Mali and later Songhai empires. Scholars received royal patronage, studied in Fez and Cairo, and returned with elevated status, Al-faqih (jurisconsult). Initially called Alfaqih, their title evolved, through contraction and phonetic shifts, into Alfaqq (Alfaqi), then Alfaqi, Alfaq, Alfag, and eventually Alfa?a, with the final “?a” dropped in Yoruba usage. In fact, the title Alfa gained prominence in 1496 CE when Askia Muhammad of Songhai embarked on a religious and diplomatic mission to the Arab world. He was accompanied by several governors, as well as Alfas who served as religious authorities and diplomatic envoys.
The rise and spread of the Alfa title during the 14th and 15th centuries coincides with Islam’s arrival in Yorubaland. Tradition holds that the first mosque in Oyo-Ile (Old Oyo) was established in 1550 CE for Muslim settlers. In Oyo-Ile, these scholars worked alongside the new community liaison and trade officials who were natively identified as Parakoyi, a corruption of Bara-koi, signifying provincial administrators from the Songhai Empire’s Bara province. While the Parakoyi held administrative authority, the Alfa’s spiritual leadership gradually eclipsed it, particularly through religious instruction and the institution of the Imam (religious leader).

Meanwhile, in Borno, by way of Kanem, the Malam (plural: Mallamai), also known through variants such as Malamari (Kanuri), Malamti, Mallamwa, or Mallaman (terms for scholarly communities), especially in places like Kulumbardo and beyond, enjoyed notable privileges such as tax exemptions. They also wielded considerable influence across Hausaland, including Kano, Katsina, Daura, Gobir, Zaria, and even as far as Mirriah (in present-day Niger Republic). The term Malam is a local adaptation of Mu?allim (teacher), an Arabic noun derived from the verb ?Allama (to teach), which in turn stems from the reflexive root ?Alima (to know). The linguistic shift from Mu?allim to Mallam or Malam also reflects a form of cultural adaptation.

Thus, just as the title Malam spread from Kanem-Borno (Kanembu) into Hausaland, Alfa journeyed from Songhai into Yorubaland. The former embodies an East-West Islamic transmission while the latter reflects West-East transmission.
Ultimately, both Alfas and Malams were more than religious preachers. They served as community organizers, traditional healers, diplomats, counselors, advisers, judges, poets, scholars, and historians. It is this expansive role that led some to believe the term Alfa derives from the Arabic root A-L-F (to write), though there is insufficient evidence for this. The more convincing etymology traces Alfa to Alfaqih, evolving through linguistic adaptation and social integration.

To this end, we can reflect on Professor Bamiro’s insight: “The Arabic scholars of the present, drawing from the Arabic scholars of the past, will be able to bring before us the events of the past ages of Nigeria, so as to help us write a history we may rightly call our own.” Similarly, Professor Kenneth Dike, the first vice-chancellor of Nigeria’s premier university, the University of Ibadan, once noted: “Africa, before the European penetration, far from being a dark continent, was a land where the light of scholarship shone brightly, as the Arabic works now being discovered bear testimony.”
This enduring legacy compels us to ask: "Where, then, did this degeneration and ritual violence take root?"
Copyright and Priority Disclaimer

(for “The Many Faces of Alfa: Unpacking the Origin and Evolution of an Islamic Title in Yorubaland”)
© 2025 Sakiru Omotayo Abdulraheem. All rights reserved.
This article, including its original research, historical analysis, and linguistic reconstruction, particularly the proposed contraction sequence Alfaqih – Alfaqq (Alfaqi) – Alfaqi – Alfaq – Alfag – Alfa?a – Alfa, is the intellectual property of the author.

The author claims academic priority as the first to publicly and comprehensively detail the linguistic contraction chain by which, over the centuries, the Yoruba Islamic title Alfa evolved from the Arabic term Al-Faqih (jurisconsult), as outlined above.

The author also asserts priority of publication and formally recommends Alfa as the standard orthographic form for this Yoruba Islamic title in academic, journalistic and cultural contexts.

Any reproduction, adaptation, translation or use of the explanations, arguments, historical interpretations, or linguistic frameworks presented herein must be properly credited to the author.

Unauthorized use, duplication, or substantial reproduction of this work without proper acknowledgment may constitute a violation of copyright law and academic integrity.
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