Sheikh Usman dan Fodio (1754-1817) from Gobir popularized the Qadiri teachings in Nigeria. He was well educated in classical Islamic science, philosophy, and theology. He also became a revered religious thinker. In 1789 a vision led him to believe he had the power to work miracles, and to teach his own mystical "wird", or litany. His litanies are still widely practiced and distributed in the Islamic world. Dan Fodio later had visions of Abdul Qadir Gilani, the founder of the Qadiri tariqah, an ascension to heaven, where he was initiated into the Qadiriyya and the spiritual lineage of the Prophet. His theological writings dealt with concepts of the mujaddid "renewer" and the role of the Ulama in teaching history, and other works in Arabic and the Fula language.