This elegant work benefits from the framework put in place by the ANR-VECMAS Project (Valorisation et Edition Critique des Manuscrits Arabes Subsahariens). The VECMAS Project's main goal is to organize the scholarly work on sub-Saharan manuscripts in Arabic. The methods used include content analysis, translation, and the analytical and descriptive study of manuscripts. The book comprises an edition and translation of the manuscript entitled Fath al-samad fî zikr shaikh min ‘akhlâk shaikhunâ ‘Ahmad (‘The Inspiration of the Lord as manifested in the mention of certain aspects of the exemplary conduct of our Sheikh Ahmad’) of Muhammad b. A'Alî Perrejo.

This is a two-part book, with a French-language section that includes an introduction, annotated translation, and bibliography, and an Arabic section, which has a foreword, edition of the text, index of technical terms, and list of references. The Arabic text of the Fath al-samad fî zikr shaikh min ‘akhlâk shaikhunâ ‘Ahmad itself (pp. 11–52) is a hagiography that opens with an introduction, develops over seven chapters, and ends with a conclusion. The introduction deals with the illumination and greatness of holy men or wali. The first chapter praises the generosity of Sheku Amadu, as well as his asceticism. The second chapter deals with his spiritual wisdom. The third chapter describes his virtues in relation to his words and actions. The fourth chapter delves into his spiritual elevation and dedication to God. The fifth chapter presents his piety, his patience and his exhortations to others. The sixth chapter uncovers his miracles. The seventh chapter has praise poems about his greatness. The conclusion mentions the date of his death and quotes some of the orations that were dedicated to him. The critical edition work is based on three versions of the manuscript: the photographed copy of Almamy Maliki Yattara and Bernard Salvaing which dates back to 1984; the copy that is held under the number 5285 at the Centre Ahmad Baba of Timbuktu (IHERIAB); and, lastly the copy published by Ahmad Al-Amîn Cissé in 1998 in Bamako. In the section devoted to the presentation of the work (pp. 11–56), the authors deemed it worthwhile to go beyond what is said in Fath samad about Sheku Amadu through reference to complementary information drawn from secondary works on his political and spiritual commitments.

Sheku Amadu is considered a true model of saintliness who lived under the guidance of the founding Sufi masters, namely the great scholars representative of eastern Sufism in the line of Al-Ghazali, the great masters of Muslim Andalusia, and the representatives of the Shadiliyya (pp. 24–5). The analysis of the text in relation to the religious and historical stakes brings forth valuable information on the character of Sheku Amadu and on the religious and political culture of the Islamic state of the Macina, the Dîna, in the Middle Niger valley. Temporal and spiritual interests are equally key in understanding Sheku Amadu, who is reported to have said: ‘What use do I have of sleep! If I sleep in the day, my subjects stray about, and if I sleep at night, it is I who stray. Given these two reasons, how can I sleep?’ (p. 72). In that context, the text of Muhammad b. Ali Pereejo and the poems that follow it assert the legitimacy of Sheku Amadu both within the Dîna and without. Sheku acquired a broad Islamic foundation through perfecting notably his knowledge of fiqh. The authors argue that his was a Sufism without reference to an institutionalized brotherhood tradition (p. 27), despite the claim that he was under the guidance of founding Sufi masters (pp. 24–5). Connections between Timbuktu's Kunta and Hamdullahi's Dîna through a comparative analysis of texts such as the Fath samad, Nayl al-ibtihaj de sanûssi and the Kitâb al-tarâ'if wal-talâ'id fî karâmat of Muhammad b. al-Muhtar b. Abu Bakr al-kuntî (d. 1826) remain unpersuasive.

The authors provide an outstanding translation of the manuscript of the Fath samad. The critical edition also deserves praise. The whole work closes with an extremely helpful index of terms established by Djamel Eddine Kouloughli for the Arabic section (pp. 57–81). This biographical narrative, situated between history and literature, is an important written source for the history of West Africa. This volume of the Fath al-samad fî zikr shaikh min ‘akhlâk shaikhunâ ‘Ahmad will promote the visibility and the re-evaluation of West African manuscripts in Arabic and Ajami; it shows a way forward toward the renewal of the sources of African historiography. Unfortunately, today Mali's north is controlled by Islamist and irredentist groups and Timbuktu has become a place of tension and conflict. Many Sufi holy men's tombs were destroyed by Islamists. The manuscripts are at risk of being destroyed or scattered around the world.