18/02/2026
Shaykh Nda Salati i.e. Shaykh Ahmad ar-Rufai son of AbuBakr ibn Ahmad Rufai, was believed to have been born between 1891 and 1896. His father is Shaykh AbuBakr while his mother was Sa‘ādat bint Shaykh Khalīllullah Gbodofu. The lineage of Shaykh Nda Salati is traced to Nupe tribe, a tribe that originated in the then Arab world and spread to Timbuktu and from there to Bula in the present Niger State, then to Ilorin.
The grand father of Shaykh Nda Salati is believed to have emigrated to Ilorin during the reign of the first Emir of Ilorin, Abdus Salam (d. 1842). History had it that the mother of Shaykh Nda Salati Sa'adat was almost at the age of menopause by the time she gave birth to Shaykh Nda Salati.
Shaykh Nda Salati was the reality of many prophesies, for instance, his maternal grand father Shaykh Khalillullah Gbodofu made prediction, when his daughter, i.e. mother of Shaykh Nda Salati complained to him to pray for her. It was then that Shaykh Khalillullah Gbodofu prayed for her and predicted that she would soon be blessed with a son who will be 'Alim, remembering Allah's name by beating of Bandiri (tambourine).
Before Alfa Nda Salātī, the person named Salatī was Shaykh Aminullahi, nicknamed as Alfa Nda Agba. Alfa Nda Agba was a friend to Shaykh AbuBakr the father of Nda Salātī. He (Alfa Nda Agba) made his own prophesy on Shaykh Nda Salātī and even recommended that two goats be slaughtered on the naming ceremony day of Shaykh Nda Salātī, because, according to him, he would be a great man, a great scholar.
Shaykh Nda Salātī got his nickname as a result of being Nupe, he was called Nda and he added Salātī to his epithet as a result of a famous poem which he composed and used to recite most often at any ceremony. The poem read thus:
صَلاَتِي وَ تَسْلِيمِي وَ اَزْكَي تَحِيَاتِي ** عَلَي الْمُصْطَفَي الْمُخْتَار خَيْرِ الْبَرِيَةِ
Salātī wa Tasleemī wa Azkā Tahiyātī ** ‘alā-l Mustafā-l Mukhtār, Khayri-l Bariyyati
Meaning:
May the salutation and blessing of Allah, as well as purest form of my greeting be upon the Mustapha the al-Mukhtar the specifically chosen (prophet), the best of all mankind.
Shaykh Nda Salati was brought up at Gbodofu, his maternal home under the supervision of his uncle, Shaykh Muhammad Qāsim Gbodofu, who was responsible for his education and trainings. He (Shaykh Nda Salātī) completed the learning of the Glorious Qur'an under Shaykh Muhammad Qāsim, who also exposed him to the elementary knowledge of Arabic and Islamic studies as well as Sufi life such as fasting, keep vigil nights to observe non-obligatory prayers and recitation of Sufi litanies among others. It was Shaykh Muhammad Qāsim that first taught Shaykh Nda Salātī different aspects of Islamic studies such as Islamic jurisprudence (fiqhu). Books studied on it under him included Muqaddimat al-‘Izziyyah, Matn Risālat of Abū Zayd al-Qayrawwānī. On the area of Tafsir (Quranic Exegesis), Tafsir al-Jalālayn was studied. On the area of Tawhīd (Science of Islamic Monotheism), Kitab al Awjal fī ‘Ilm Fuyūda-l Asf Rabbaniyyah Fi-l Qadiriyyah. It is believed by some writers especially, Dr. Khalihullahi Muhammad 'Uthman Gbodofu that both Shaykh Khalillullah and Shaykh Muhammad Qasim both of Gbodofu prepared Shaykh Nda Salātī for his further responsibility
Shaykh Nda Salati later moved to Shaykh Erubu where he continued with his studies. It was with him that Shaykh Nda Salātī further studied Tafsir al-Qur'an which he had earlier studied from Shaykh Muhammad Qasim Gbodofu. Shaykh Nda Salātī also studied under Shaykh Muhammad Aminullahi Sarumi where he acquired more knowledge on Arabic language and Arabic Arithmetic-Calculation (Hisāb). It was from him that Shaykh Nda Salātī studied the famous book on Arabic grammar entitled Alfiyyah ibn Malik. He also learnt from him the Da'awah methodology and many other Arabic works such as kitab Shi'ru al-jahili book on the collection of poems of pre-Islamic Era and finally he is a full-blooded Nupe man from ilorin from both parternal and maternal side also the area Alfa Nda sprang from this.
