Arabic Didactic Poetry and its Role in Preserving and Teaching Local Languages: A Study of Ajami Manuscript Models from Timbuktu

Abstract

This study examines two rare manuscripts (No. 2457 and No. 27538) preserved at the Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher Studies and Islamic Research in Timbuktu. These manuscripts contain didactic poems in which Arabic words are matched with their Songhay equivalents in a poetic and pedagogical framework. The research highlights how Arabic poetry transcended its aesthetic function to become a vehicle for knowledge transmission, language documentation, and education. Using a descriptive and philological approach, the study sheds light on this creative use of Arabic didactic poetry and on the spirit of cultural openness that characterized Islamic civilization in Africa. The Arabic language, in this context, played a vital role in safeguarding and teaching local languages not as a tool of domination, but as a bridge fostering communication, mutual understanding, and shared knowledge.