Kabir Khalil or ''scholar Khalil'' was a 19th-century scholar and one of the three head

Ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...

in the

Emirate of Harar The Emirate of Harar was a Muslim kingdom founded in 1647 when the Harari people refused to accept Imām ʿUmardīn Ādan as their ruler and broke away from the Imamate of Aussa to form their own state under `Ali ibn Da`ud. Prior to its invasion ...

. He was a member of the

Qadiriyya The Qadiriyya (), also transliterated Qādirīyah, ''Qadri'', ''Qadriya'', ''Kadri'', ''Elkadri'', ''Elkadry'', ''Aladray'', ''Alkadrie'', ''Adray'', ''Kadray'', ''Kadiri'', ''Qadiri'', ''Quadri'' or ''Qadri'' are members of the Sunni Qadiri ta ...

order which was prominent in the Horn of Africa at the time.

Biography

Kabir Kabir Das (1398–1518) was a 15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint. His writings influenced Hinduism's Bhakti movement, and his verses are found in Sikhism's scripture Guru Granth Sahib, the Satguru Granth Sahib of Saint Garib Das, ...

Khalil was fluent in both Harari, and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

. During the reign of Emir Ahmad Ibn Abu Bakr the European explorer

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...

would visit the Harar in 1855 and Khalil was described as the leading religious figure in the city. The other Harari scholar being Kabir Yonis and Shaykh Jami of Somali descent were also highly regarded. Khalil advised his pupil

Sheikh Madar Madar Ahmed Shirwac, better known as Sheikh Madar ( so, Sheekh Madar) was a 19th-century Somali political/religious leader, a social reformer, merchant and a jurist that was instrumental in the modern foundation of Hargeisa. He hailed from the Yu ...

to establish a

tariqa A tariqa (or ''tariqah''; ar, طريقة ') is a school or order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking ''haqiqa'', which translates as "ultimate truth". ...

commune in present-day

Hargeisa Hargeisa (; so, Hargeysa, ar, هرجيسا) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Somaliland. It is located in the Maroodi Jeex region of the Horn of Africa. It succeeded Burco as the capital of the British Somaliland Protector ...

and spread the tariqa and its values. One of which being to try and reduce the tribal conflict along the trade route between Harar and

Berbera Berbera (; so, Barbara, ar, بربرة) is the capital of the Sahil region of Somaliland and is the main sea port of the country. Berbera is a coastal city and was the former capital of the British Somaliland protectorate before Hargeisa. It ...

which was damaging livelihoods and causing unnecessary death. This led Sheikh Madar and his companions to found the Big Commune (Jama’a weyne) of Little Harar (Hargeisa) in circa 1860. Sheikh Madar also started

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...

plantations in the vicinity of the town to maintain self-sufficiency as well as taking care of the sick and elderly inhabitants of the growing settlement. This cultivation soon spread and was taken up eagerly across the region by Somalis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kabir Khalil Shafi'is Ash'ari Sunni imams Sunni fiqh scholars Shafi'i fiqh scholars Quranic exegesis scholars Sunni Muslim scholars 19th-century Muslim scholars of Islam

Biography

See also

References