By Naadiya Adams – @Miss_Naadiya

The Muslim world has suffered a great loss with the passing of Shaykha Maryam Niasse. A force to be reckoned with, she was a frontrunner in Islamic education in West Africa.

Born on December 24^th 1932, she returned to Allah on December 26, 2020. She was 88.

Immersed in Islamic education for most of her life, she produced tens of thousands of Huffaz(One who has memorised the Quraan) from her Quranic school in Dakar, Senegal.

She was the daughter of Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse, one of the most influential Islamic scholars of the 20th century, and considered by many to be the Mujaddid of his time. She was very close to him, he used to take her with him on his travels, allowing her the opportunity to build strong relationships with many kings and presidents in the Arab world. Later on in life, she would leverage these relationships to resolve conflicts between Senegal and Iran, as well as Senegal and Sudan.

Shakh Ibrahim placed great importance on Islamic education and would urge her and her sisters to leave the housework and study Islamic Sciences with him.

In the 1950’s she married her father’s student Oumar Kane, and then established the Dar Al-Quran Ecole Sheikha Mariama Niasse  in Dakar, a school housing 1300 students. As a result of this, she became known as Khadimatul Quran meaning Servant of the Quran.

The lives of women like Shaykha Niasse are testament to the pivotal role that female scholarship and sainthood play in the West African Islamic tradition. Their endeavours have not been limited to the religious sphere, but have rather made these women respected community leaders and social activists, who form the backbone of their societies inspiring young women to follow suit. A blueprint for Muslim communities the world over, and an alternative to the commonly narrated stereotypes attributed to Muslim women in traditional societies.