Muhammad al-Maghili
[3][4] In the confines of his theological views, Maghili advanced his political thought in the form of legal advice at the courts of West African rulers and still practiced his crafts in the art of Islamic sciences.
[3][8] After traveling the Maghreb, observing the state of sharia and the status of dhimmis in the region, Al-Maghili arrived at the court of Fez to debate his views and gain favor with the Wattasid sultan, Abu Zakariya al-Wattasi.
[3] The Jewish community in the region had amassed a great deal of wealth credited to this positioning and the ability to pursue professions that were prohibited for the Muslims, due to their faith.
[8] Before the rebuttal at the court of Fez and his settlement in Tuat, Al-Maghili had comprised many works and preached his views on the status of dhimmis in the Maghreb region.
[4] With the aid of his son, Al-Maghili tirelessly worked against the Jewish population of Maghreb, with a particular distaste for the Jews of Tuat, who he believed were destroying Islamic society from within by infiltrating positions of authority.
[3] The Jews, due to their wealth and status, were blamed of having too much proximity to the religious and political authorities of the region, therefore lacking total humiliation or abasement, as required of dhimmis under Muslim rule.
[4][5] Upon the request of Muhammad Rumfa, Al-Maghili wrote his famous treatise on statecraft, Taj al-din fi ma yajib 'ala I-muluk, translated to “the crown of religion concerning the obligations of kings”, meant to be a guide to good government in line with Islam.
Other topics range from slavery, government, taxation, inheritance, relationship of scholars to the state, instances in which jihad could be declared, the grounds on which one could be considered an unbeliever.
[10] The real impact of the Replies was not as widely felt in Songhai but throughout history, in times of civil and religious strife, where Al- Maghili's rigid opinions provided answers and stability.
[5] However, Askia Mohammad Turi, who had just returned from Hajj, viewed the state of Islam in his lands as being distorted, and was quick to build on and listen to Al-Maghili's ideas.
Wanting to depart to Tuat as soon as possible, Al-Maghili loses his influential role at court, allowing Timbuktu to take its place as the religious authority in the Songhai Empire for the time being.
[8] Whether Al-Maghili received the support is not known but, it is recorded that he returned to Tuat at the head of a considerable force, laying siege to a base in the vicinity of Tamentit, and then proceeding to sack both locations and persecuting their Jewish populations (1503).
