Muhammad al-Maghili

Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Maghīlī, commonly known as Al-Maghīlī ; 909-840 AH/ 1440-1505 CE) was a Berber Sunni scholar from Tlemcen, the capital of the Kingdom of Tlemcen, now in modern-day Algeria and came to be the most influential medieval scholar of West Africa. He is chiefly remembered for three things: his campaigns against the Jews, his position as an Islamic reformer, and his contributions to political theory. Beyond this, he produced an extensive body of writings that covered a wide range of disciplines, including Mālikī jurisprudence, hadith studies, kalām (theology), Sufism, Arabic grammar, rhetoric, and political philosophy. Al-Maghili served the Songhai Empire in the late 15th century, acting as an advisor and religious authority to Askia Mohammad the Great after the ruler came to power in 1493.