Abu Ishaq al-Sahili (Arabic: أبو إسحاق الساحلي, romanized: Abū Isḥāq al-Sāḥilī; c. 1290 – 15 October 1346), also known as al-Tuwayjin (Arabic: ـالطُّوَيجِن, romanized: al-Ṭuwayjin), was an Andalusi poet and fiqh scholar who became a favored member of the court of Mansa Musa, Emperor of Mali.
A near-contemporary poet said that he once suffered from temporary madness while under the influence of a badly prepared marking nut and declared himself to be a prophet.
In approximately 1321, he departed al-Andalus and traveled to Mamluke Egypt and Syria, Jalayirid Iraq, and Rasulid Yemen before going on Hajj in 1324.
[5] Al-Sahili directed the construction of an audience chamber in the capital of Mali, for which Musa paid him 12,000 mithqals (51 kg) of gold.
[7] On some occasion, possibly as part of the payment for the audience chamber, Musa gave al-Sahili 4,000 mithqals in a single day.
When the Alexandrian merchant Siraj al-Din traveled to Mali in 1334 to collect a debt owed by Mansa Musa, al-Sahili hosted him in his home.
West African architecture primarily arose due to a combination of indigenous development and gradual influence from North Africa.