By Alkasim Batagarawa

Alhaji Abubakar Qudus son of Muhammadu Datti (the first imam of Batagarawa) son of Ummaru Kaki son of Muhammadu son of Ahmadu

Alhaji Abubakar Datti who is generally known as “Alhaji Qudus” or “Alhaji Abubakar Qudus” was born in the year 1891 in the village of Kwami, Batagarawa Local Government Area of Katsina State. He was one of the descendants of the Batagarawa scholars (Limaman Batagarawa) known as the people of Kwami that existed since the beginning of 15th century. During his active life as a young scholar Abubakar Datti was said to be heavily interested in religious teachings, propagations and dissemination of both Arabic and Islamic knowledge.

 At his teenage, Abubakar Datti was selected among the entourage of his elder brother Alhaji Hamza to escort him to Mecca to perform the pilgrimage of the coming year. This decision was informed by the extreme hard work and religious tolerance exhibited by the young Abubakar and also to help him with traveling challenges and other difficulties.

Along the line of that journey and after the completion of that years’ Hajj, Alhaji Hamza died in Mecca, and leaving Abubakar Datti stranded, who was about 18 years old. Despite this setback, little did he know his way back home and realization the horizon of Islamic knowledge and teachings in Mecca, he decides to stay and use the opportunity to drink a lot from the fountain of global Islamic knowledge of different Ulama’a.

This made the young Abubakar became a very close servant to the Ka’aba and other monumental Islamic places. His stay close to the Ka’aba, gave him the opportunity to meet and learn different Islamic teachings and gather multiplicities of Islamic knowledge and experiences from Ulama’a coming from different global endeavors to perform the pilgrimage in Mecca. This development greatly made Alhaji Abubakar  became a knowledgeable and conscientious as well as an Islamic scholar. 

In spite of his believe and Islamic teachings, the desirous and hardworking Alhaji Abubakar volunteered to enroll in to the then Saudi Arabian army, where he was sent to Palestine to help the Palestinians during one of their conflict and uprising with the Israelis.

After completing his mission, and a very long stay of over 10 years in Baitul Muqaddas “Qudus” exactly where he earned his nick name Alhaji Abubakar Qudus relocated to Egypt to mix up with some key Islamic scholars that he met with them in Qudus to further his knowledge, while in Egypt he married one wife and gave birth to one daughter named Fatima. In Egypt, during one of Sir. Ahmadu Bello’s visits, met Abubakar Qudus and impressed with his intellect, religious soundness, acumen and global knowledge versatility, this meeting led to Sir, Ahmadu Bello to convince him to return home and share his vast knowledge and experience with his fellow country men and women in Nigeria.

Immediately when Alhaji Abubakar Qudus returned back home to the city of Katsina with Sir Ahmadu Bello, he was directly handed over to the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Muhammadu Dikko. In that period Sir Usman Nagogo, became very close to Alhaji Abubakar Qudus where he sometimes he (Usman Nagogo) acknowledged the extremity in the versatility of Abubakar’s intelligence and knowledge through excessive interaction and guardianship. In another version and inorder to domicile Alhaji Abubakar, Emir Muhammadu Dikko gave him land in Rafindadi Quarters where he build his house and that became his first house in Nigeria, additionally Alhaji Qudus was married to Maimunatu (the daughter of Wazirin Katsina Zayyana) and gave birth to Hadiza. Few years later he again married Halimatu (Ma’inna) from Liman Kasimu family in Rimi.

Apart from the respective duties assigned to him by Emir Muhammad Dikko and Emir Usman Nagogo, his notable roles, while in Nigeria, apart from those mentioned earlier, Alhaji Abubakar Qudus played a key role in guiding the emirs and instilling in to them the global Islamic leadership style as well as guiding them on the Principles, etiquettes and qualities of leaders in the Islamic perspective.

Due to subsequent acknowledgements regarding Abubakar’s extensive Islamic knowledge coupled with generosity towards people . For instance, Emir Usman Nagogo once requested that Malam Buhari should take along Alhaji Abubakar Qudus when going for leadership duties at Rawayau district and many more others alongside Gotomawa areas to become its rulers and to teach the people in that area the religion of Islam. Being him an ever mobile scholar, Abubakar Qudus appealed to the Emir to consider his brother Malam Muhammadu Madani to follow Malam Buhari to Rawayau. Malam Muhammadu Madani agreed and became his advisor. He also became the ruler of Gotomawa as the Galadiman Gotomawa.

Alhaji Abubakar Qudus, has published extensively, and left home on several occasions to pursue some key global Islamic expeditions in different global terrain such as in Palestine, Istanbul, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Baghdad, Egypt, Jerusalem, Jordan, Yemen etc. He embarks on most of his journeys with his son first male son Khadi AbdulKadir Abubakar.

In 1952, Alhaji Abubakar Qudus finally returned to settle completely in his home in Rafin Dadi, where he became a religious teacher and a community leader. He also became a host to his international colleagues and brothers from different parts of the world.

Alhaji Abubakar Qudus died in Kano on Monday, January 15, 1967, while visiting his relatives who lived in Kano. He had five children: Fatima, Hadiza, Khadi AbdulKadir ( the first Dan-Masanin Batagarawa, a title accorded to him by Mallamawa Dikko), Sa’adiya, Abdu’aziz, and Hau’wa’u.”