A HISTORICAL REVIEW OF THE DOCTRINE OF DIGANCI AND DIGAWA RELIGIOUS GROUP IN NIGERIA

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY: In the history of Islam, doctrinal disagreements that resulted in the formation of sects were unavoidable, as the Prophet Mohammed is said to have predicted (S.A.W). 1Also, the notion of regeneration (Tajdeed) is based on another Prophetic tradition (PBUH). 2 The tradition holds that at the beginning of each century, a renewer (Mujaddid) of Islam would be dispatched to reestablish authentic Islamic practices and thereby rejuvenate a community that has a tendency to stray from the straight path over time. In essence, Islam has had a heritage of revivalism and reform since its inception. With this advancement, it became the right of the people to exercise Ijtihad in order to interpret the source of Islam.

This, and, of course, other prevalent circumstances such as rampant materialism, which insures the worship of wealth's 'gods,' the impact of neo-Platonism, and the philosophies of other climes like as Persia, Syria, and India. 3 cleared the way for the formation of many Islamic movements, organizations, sects, and sub-sects. Almost all groups promise to cleanse religion of the contaminations in rites and customs that have accumulated since the Prophet and Sahaba's time. It should be emphasized that the majority of these religious groups were associated with the names of its founders or had been associated with them in some way.

Some examples are the Qadiriyya formed by Abdal-Qadir Al-Jilani, the Tijjaniyya founded by Ahmad Al-Tijani, the Rufa'iyya founded by Ahmad Al-Rifa'i, the Khalwatiyya founded by Umar Al-Khalwati, and others. 4 In the same line, the Digawa religious group, who claim to be modern Sufis, were named after the movement's founder, Malam Diga, as we will discover later.

The name 'Sufi' is derived from Tasawwuf, which is likely derived from the term Suf, which simply refers to woolen attires worn by Sufis as a symbol of piety and renunciation of the world at the beginning of the 9th century.