The Timbuktu Scholar Who Debated Slavery Across Empires

Timbuktu: Africa's Forgotten Center of Knowledge — Fexingo History · May 11, 2026 · 8m · transcript

In the late 16th century, as the Moroccan invasion shattered the Songhai Empire, one Timbuktu scholar was carried in chains to Marrakesh. His name was Ahmad Baba al-Timbukti, and from his forced exile, he wrote a series of legal opinions—fatwas—that would challenge the foundations of trans-Saharan slavery. In this episode, Lucas and Luna examine Ahmad Baba's most famous work, Mi'raj al-Su'ud, where he argued that only those born into slavery under Islamic law could be enslaved, rejecting the widespread practice of capturing free Muslims from West Africa. They explore how his…