Praising the Prophet in Poetry: A Note on Prophetic Madīḥ in Islamic Africa

Abstract

In its various languages, the literature of Islamic Africa is dominated by poetry in praise of the Prophet Muḥammad. These praises form an important part of the soundscapes of virtually all African Muslim communities and are a central part of devotional practice amongst both elite, Arabophone scholars and the general Muslim populace. Indeed, the performance of this devotional literature is one of the main areas where the so-called “high” culture and practice of scholarly elites merges with so-called “popular” practice. However, despite the prominence of praise poetry in African Muslim life, literature and scholarship, it has received relatively little academic attention in European languages.