A Biography Documentary Series of Hajia Mariam Alolo | Streaming Live on YouTube

Sanatu Zambang Studios is releasing a series of documentary episodes of what is arguably the most inspiring and intriguing fate based story ever in Ghana. Hajia Mariam Alolo is one woman who has spread and influenced many lives through her preaching in and around Ghana. This series premieres every Friday at 10am via Sanatu Zambang Studios YouTube Channel

In terms of her madrasa, if it were not for Alhaji it wouldn’t have come this far. Most times we say behind every successful man is a woman, but in our case, behind the successful woman you see who is Hajia Mariam is a strong man, and that man is a feminist in disguise.

He has helped her, if it were not for his help, morally, financially, shielding her from all kinds of jealousy from the community, if it were not for him, her madrasa would not have gone far

Dr Sahada Alolo

I was happy about the idea, I supported it. Because it came to a time people were insulting her, they claimed she started learning after we lost our wealth, they said a lot of things, and even one of the known imams here said it once in their sermon, that we open an Arabic school after we lost our wealth, so I saw that I have to support her.

She attempted to stop at a point because they were insulting her, and criticizing the way she dressed, I told her even the Prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him was stoned, so if she has faith in Allah, all those criticizing her will dress the same way in the future, that was what I told her, she can confirm it. I told her not to worry, and continue with her work, and that Allah will guide her. It came to a time people wanted to dress the same way but they didn’t have the hijab, so I had to go to lome to get the materials, sew them and distributed it to them, some wore theirs for about five and others ten years, that was how I supported them, because they wanted to dress in hijabs but they didn’t have them.

I would buy black quality materials and give them to seamstresses to sew, mostly about fifty to a hundred pieces to be distributed to her students on several occasions. This was one of the ways I supported her. At a point she had to stop running the business and concentrated more on the institution.

Alhaji Alhassan Alolo

Hajia Mariam Alolo has been instrumental in this region especially enabling some form of spiritual reawakening in the women. I am saying this because, about twenty or twenty-five years ago when I was growing up, when I was a teenager, you wouldn’t see a woman in a hijab. It wasn’t part of the tradition; we had lost Islam to the culture.

Through the guidance of her Creator, she decided that she wanted to bring people to realize, and those who wanted to practice their religion, promote their rights to practice the religion, to wear the hijab, without fear of emasculation, and to realize they had the right to do so.

So she started with baby steps essentially, calling people and explaining to them. Over the years I have seen in every corner of the region people expressing their rights to wear the hijab, and these are rights that she’s trying to promote.

Dr Namawu Alolo

If not for Hajia Mariam, none of us even with our children wouldn’t have known anything about the religion. We used to walk almost naked. We knew the Quran and could read but we didn’t what it was telling us. Covering one’s self is in the Quran. Though we used to read, we didn’t know something like that existed there.

Afa Hafsah Umar

Now if you see women who wear hijab and have been able to cover themselves up, this is the doing of Hajia Mariam. Hijabs weren’t common to women around here. All of us here did not know the hijab. I still photograph of myself dressed in clothes that made me close to naked. Is it because of Hajia that I am like this now? It was Hajia Mariam who taught young girls and women in Tamale to wear hijabs. She encouraged married women to develop patience in order to stay married if not most of them would have been divorced by now. She helped greatly towards the spread of Islam.

She didn’t just wake up one day and decided to open an Arabic school and start teaching, she was chosen by Allah (SWT). And fortunately, she met a man who helped her and directed her to the right path.

She had already learned the Quran and the religion from her dad before she met her husband who was also a very pious Muslim who also married her because of her piety and love for the religion.

Her mother in law was also very religious and loved her (Hajia Mariam) because of her piety. Her husband encouraged her to go learn more about her religion and the Quran as it was the reason he got married to her.

Afa Ayi

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