Gakoura
Encyclopedia
Gakoura is a village in the nation of Mali
, located 47 km from Kayes
on the left bank of the River Senegal. Gakoura is one of the oldest villages in this region. It was founded in the year 933, when a descendant of Ousmane ibn Afan dedicated his life to the expansion of Islam
. He entered Africa through Ethiopia
and crossed the Sahara desert to the valley of the River Senegal, precisely to Songone. Considering his age, he could no longer continue to travel, so he decided to set up permanently near Songone. Someone granted him land about 1 km from Songone and the people of Songone called his home Gakoura (meaning Gakou's place). He converted them to Islam and charged them to teach the Qur'an
and the hadith
to their children.
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
, located 47 km from Kayes
Kayes
Kayes is a city in western Mali on the Sénégal River, with a population of roughly 100,000 people. Kayes is the capital of the administrative region of the same name. The name "Kayes" comes from the Soninké word "karré", which describes a low humid place that floods in rainy season...
on the left bank of the River Senegal. Gakoura is one of the oldest villages in this region. It was founded in the year 933, when a descendant of Ousmane ibn Afan dedicated his life to the expansion of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. He entered Africa through Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
and crossed the Sahara desert to the valley of the River Senegal, precisely to Songone. Considering his age, he could no longer continue to travel, so he decided to set up permanently near Songone. Someone granted him land about 1 km from Songone and the people of Songone called his home Gakoura (meaning Gakou's place). He converted them to Islam and charged them to teach the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
and the hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
to their children.