Apostle

nulaaɗo (from nul-, ‘to send’; ‘one who is sent’) is deliberately chosen as a native Fulfulde-rooted term specifically to avoid rasuulu, the Arabic loanword used across West African Islamic communities as the title for Muhammad (‘Rasuulullaahi,’ the Messenger of God). Unlike Swahili’s ‘mtume,’ which is unavoidably identical to the Islamic prophetic title, Fulfulde has this native alternative available and it must be used consistently to prevent readers from mapping Paul’s apostleship onto Muhammad’s prophetic office.