Farah Nur ( so, Faarax Nuur) (1862 – 1932) was a famed Somali poet and warrior of the

Arap The Arap or Arab ( so, Arab, ar, أرب, Full Name: ''Muḥammad ibn ash-Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad bin al-Ḥusayn al-Hāshimīy'' ) clan is a major clan of the wider Isaaq clan family and is the twin of Garhajis (Ismail), according to the c ...

Isaaq The Isaaq (also Isaq, Ishaak, Isaac) ( so, Reer Sheekh Isxaaq, ar, بني إسحاق, Banī Isḥāq) is a Somali clan. It is one of the major Somali clans in the Horn of Africa, with a large and densely populated traditional territory. Per ...

clan.

Poetry

Farah's poetry had deep meaning and he was known for his eloquence and ability to cover a breadth of topics.

Aakhiru Sabaan

The poem Farah is most remembered for today is the Aakhiru Sabaan or ''The End of the World'' and its first four lines have immortalized the poet in the Somali conscious. An anti-colonial rallying cry Farah lists the colonizers and calls upon Somalis to stand up.

Afar Iyo Afar

Farah's

and the

Saad Musa Abdallah Asad Musa (born 6 August 1995), known as Saad Musa, is a South Sudanese footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Kenyan Premier League The Kenyan Premier League (KPL), officially known as the FKF Premier League and as the ...

had come to an agreement after a long period of fighting. The first to speak from amongst the Saad Musa was the poet Maxamed Bulxan and he decided to surprise the Arap with a '' geeraar''. Farah being the preeminent fighter and poet from amongst the Arap felt compelled to respond and composed this famous response on the spot.

Nabadshe and the Wadaad

Aadan Jugle, a

Habr Yunis The Habar Yoonis ( ar, هبر يونس , Full Name: '' Said ibn Al-Qādhī Ismā'īl ibn ash-Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad bin Muḥammad bin al-Ḥusayn al-Hāshimīy'' ) alternatively spelled as Habr Yunis is a major clan part of the sub-clan ...

man, had a nephew named Nabadshe who was from the Arap. Nabadshe had asked his uncle for the hand of one of his daughters. Jugle agreed and said to return in two years with fifty camels as ''

mahr In Islam, a mahr (in ar, مهر; fa, مهريه; tr, mehir; sw, mahari; also transliterated ''mehr'', ''meher'', ''mehrieh'', or ''mahriyeh'') is the obligation, in the form of money or possessions paid by the groom, to the bride at the time ...

''. Nabadshe had returned and was shocked to find that the girl had been married and Jugle stipulated the same price to another man. He confronted his uncle and Jugle apologized and promised his next daughter in a years time and set the same ''mahr''. Nabadshe again came a year later to find this daughter married. Jugle was reprimanded by the elders and Nabadshe was promised a third daughter and praised for his patience. Again Jugle would marry off his daughter and got the same fifty camels. Heartbroken and betrayed, Nabadshe took a spear and set out to the home of his uncle, ultimately stabbing the old man and killing him. Following this Nabadshe would be caught by British authorities and sentenced to death in court for the murder. The judge asked if Nabadshe had anything to say for himself after the sentence and he stood and recited this gabay. A '' Wadaad'' had been called to reconcile the

and

and instead decided to recite a gabay filled with insults and curses, and most uncharacteristic for a religious man, the ''Wadaad'' was a cousin of the recently killed Jugle. Farah Nur heard of the gabay from the ''Wadaad'' and reprimanded him. Following Farah's words no one would pray behind the ''Wadaad'' again and he became outcast.

Hadduu Saakimi Waayona

Unlike their larger brothers, the Habr Awal, Habr Yunis and

Habr Je'lo The Habr Je'lo ( so, Habar Jeclo, ar, هبر جعلو , Full Name: ''Mūsa ibn ash-Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad,'' historically known as the Habr Toljaala ( so, Habar Toljeclo) is a major sub-tribe of the wider Isaaq family. Its members form p ...

, the Arap were unable to break from Eidagale-led

Isaaq Sultanate The Isaaq Sultanate ( so, Saldanadda Isaaq, Wadaad: , ar, السلطنة الإسحاقية) was a Somali kingdom that ruled parts of the Horn of Africa during the 18th and 19th centuries. It spanned the territories of the Isaaq clan in modern ...

and decided to stand and change this situation. Led by Farah Nur the Arap crowned him as Sultan and raised arms against the Eidagale and Sultan Deria Hassan. Composing this poem entitled ''The Limits of Submission'' Farah speaks of the conflict and intolerance to the subordinate status to the Sultan.Orwin; Axmed, ''War and Peace: An anthology of Somali literature'', p. 74.

References