| المستخلص: |
Journeys of pilgrimage or Hajj to the Holy Lands began immediately after the spread of Islam in sub-Saharan Africa in the early second century of the Islamic Hijri calendar. This early commencement of pilgrimage shows the strong sincerity and unshakable faith of African Muslims which helped them defy distance, famine, plague, horrors of the road, vagaries of the day and night, and the hope that the journey would result in gaining prestige and honour. The journey was a way to getting close to the religion and the pursuit of knowledge, and an opportunity to meet members of the wider Islamic Umma (or nation) and identify with them. Apart from trade competition and affinity with other tribes on the way to Hajj, these journeys are considered the major factors of spreading Islamic religion and its education. This research attempts to examine the role of pilgrimage journey in the disseminating Arabic and Islamic education in West Africa, focusing on Nigeria. This process began from the fifth century of the Islamic calendar in Islamic countries in the far east and north, and continued until the end of British colonialism in the middle of the twentieth century. This study examines dimensions of this journey, including its terminals, caravans, and some of its members, and confirms that Nigeria was a strategic area for trade caravans linking North and West Africa, and took care of the pilgrimage trips made by people of regional villages and cities. Some Nigeria scholars also established Islamic schools along this long distance to attract students and teach them. On the other hand, those students spread knowledge of scholars, their places and references, both before and after their arrival to the Holy Lands and neighbouring cities and countries such as Cairo, Sudan, Iraq, Syria and Jerusalem. They also rewrote the books brought through this trip, thus contributing significantly to developing Arabic and Islamic education
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