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A Short Thread of Historical Somali Ulema and Contributions to 'Ilm:
Fakhr Ad-Din Uthman Ibn Ali Al Zayla'i was one of the foremost scholars of the 14th century. After travelling extensively in the Islamic world, he settled in Al Azhar's Riwaq az-Zayla'i and is famous for...
Fakhr Ad-Din Uthman Ibn Ali Al Zayla'i was one of the foremost scholars of the 14th century. After travelling extensively in the Islamic world, he settled in Al Azhar's Riwaq az-Zayla'i and is famous for...
his jurisprudence. His most well-known work 'Tabayin al-Haqa’iq li Sharh Kanz al-Daqa’iq' is one of the single most authoritative texts in the Hanafi madhab and features in Ibn 'Abidin's Radd al Muhtar.
Jamal Ad-Din Al Zaylai'i- Jamaludeen was the student and relative of Fakhr Ad-Din and became a famous scholar in his own right. After arriving to continue his studies in Cairo, he became highly skilled in hadith research and critique (takhrij) and wrote works...
such as Nasb al-Raya fi Takhrij Ahadith al-Hidaya. Illustrious scholars of the time such as Ibn Hajar penned abridgements and annotations to Jamal Ad-Din's work and he was held in high regard by his teachers who included Al Mizzi, Al-Dhahabi and Ibn 'Aqil.
Shaykh Yusuf bin Ahmad al-Kawneyn:
Al Kawneyn is probably the single most famous scholar and saint in Somaliweyn. We don't know a lot about his early life. He studied initially in his home town of Zeyla before travelling to Iraq for further studies.
Al Kawneyn is probably the single most famous scholar and saint in Somaliweyn. We don't know a lot about his early life. He studied initially in his home town of Zeyla before travelling to Iraq for further studies.
On his return, he would become famous for creating a simplified way to learn to read Arabic as well as being credited for creating Wadaad's writing (Somali Arabic script) and founding the Walashma dynasty. Many stories surround him including his miraculous victory against...
an oppressive ruler... after he is believed to have successfully invoked God to have this tyrannical and arrogant ruler crushed between two mountains. To this day he is widely venerated as a saint and he is also credited with spreading Islam in the Indian Ocean.
Sa'id of Mogadishu:
Sa'id was a famous scholar, traveller and merchant. Born in the capital of the Ajuraan c.1301 , he settled in the Haramayn where he studied Islam for almost three decades and acquired a reputation that earned audiences with the Amis of Makkah and Medinah...
Sa'id was a famous scholar, traveller and merchant. Born in the capital of the Ajuraan c.1301 , he settled in the Haramayn where he studied Islam for almost three decades and acquired a reputation that earned audiences with the Amis of Makkah and Medinah...
He soon embarked on his famous travels across Africa and Asia and met Ibn Battuta on India's west coast. He was able to use his knowledge and experience to become the first Somali and first African ambassador to China and was regarded as the leader of the merchant fleet.
Khadijah bint Faraj al-Zayla`i:
Shaykha Khadijah was born c. 1403 and was famous for her expertise in the various Qira'at and Tilawah. She gained ijazah from Hanbali scholars such as al-Jamal al Hanbali and amongst her students was the famous Al-Sakhawi.
Shaykha Khadijah was born c. 1403 and was famous for her expertise in the various Qira'at and Tilawah. She gained ijazah from Hanbali scholars such as al-Jamal al Hanbali and amongst her students was the famous Al-Sakhawi.
Shaykh 'Ayub Bin Ibrahim al Jabarti al-Zayla'i:
Shaykh 'Ayub was another prominent scholar of the 15th century who travelled to Makkah and then Cairo to gain his education. He was a man of deep asceticism and a teacher of Ibn Hajar Al 'Asqalani and Imam Sakhawi.
Shaykh 'Ayub was another prominent scholar of the 15th century who travelled to Makkah and then Cairo to gain his education. He was a man of deep asceticism and a teacher of Ibn Hajar Al 'Asqalani and Imam Sakhawi.
Shaykh Abdul Rahman al Jabarti:
Al Jabarti was born into a prominent family of scholars c. 1753 in Egypt. His father Hassan al Jabarti was also a renowned 'alim in Cairo and the head of the Riwaq al Jabarti at Al Azhar where Abdul-Rahman trained as a scholar.
Al Jabarti was born into a prominent family of scholars c. 1753 in Egypt. His father Hassan al Jabarti was also a renowned 'alim in Cairo and the head of the Riwaq al Jabarti at Al Azhar where Abdul-Rahman trained as a scholar.
Al Jabarti's most famous and valuable historical contributions was his eye-witness accounts of the Napoleonic invasions of Egypt in his lengthy work 'The Marvelous Compositions of Biographies and Events'...
He was also one of the first Muslim scholars to write critically and extensively about the impact of modernization and modernity on the Islamic world and acutely felt the gap between East and West.
His father Shaykh Hassan al Jabarti was also famous for writing one of the most advanced works on mechanical engineering at the time in a treatise on cranes and measurement tools.
