Ishaaq bin Ahmed

Traditional hagiologies of the Isaaq clan describe how Sheikh Isaaq first made a series of travels through Arabia, before sailing to the ancient Somali port of Zeila and continuing his travels through Somaliland and some regions of Ethiopia, finally settling in Maydh.^[10]

After the death of Sheikh Ishaaq's grandfather he went on a series of migrations in order to study further and preach Islam. He first preached in Mecca and then travelled to Egypt, and hence to Eritrea and Zeila.^[6] He then later settled in the area of Saba' in modern-day Yemen where he married the sister of the king of the Al Haqar clan.^[11][12] Sheikh Ishaaq later settled in the Al-Jawf region in northern Yemen where he married once again and had a son, Mansur, who is the forefather of the Al Mansur clan in the Al-Jawf region. He then travelled to Yaba where he married and had a son, Yusuf, who is the forefather of the Al Yusuf clan based in Yaba and Ma'rib regions.^[13][11][14]

Sheikh Ishaaq then continued his journey and migrated to Zeila, Somaliland and finally Harar in Ethiopia.^[14] Several accounts indicate Shaykh Yusuf al Kownayn and Sheikh Isaaq were known to be contemporaries in Zeila and in contact at the same time.^[15][16][17] According to a popular legend, Shaykh Yusuf al Kownayn, known locally as Aw-Barkhadle, upon meeting Sheikh Ishaaq prophesied that Sheikh Ishaaq would be blessed by Allah with many children while Shaykh Yusuf would not have descendants. According to the prophecy the descendants of Sheikh Ishaaq would also visit Aw-Barkhadle's grave and pay respect and perform siyaaro, or pilgrimage to his tomb.^[18] Saints and Somalis: popular Islam in a clan-based society states:

Since, however, Aw Barkhadle’s precise connection with the rulers of Ifat is not widely known, he appears as an isolated figure, and in comparison with the million or so spears of the Isaaq lineage, a saint deprived of known issue. The striking difference between these two saints is explained in a popular legend, according to which, when Sheikh Isaaq and Aw Barkhadle met, the latter prophesied that Isaaq would be blessed by God with many children. He, however, would not have descendants, but Isaaq’s issue would pay him respect and siyaaro (voluntary offerings). So it is, one is told, that every year the Isaaq tribesmen gather at Aw Barkhadle’s shrine to make offerings in his name.^[19]

After studying and proselytizing in Harar he then undertook the pilgrimage to Makkah, came back to Somaliland and went along the shore eastward to the coastal town of Maydh in eastern Somaliland, where he converted the pagan peoples to Islam.^[6] He later settled in the town aged 60,^[20] where he married two women; one of the Magaadle Dir tribe called Magaado, and a Harari woman called Hanifa, the daughter of a Harari emir, with descendants belonging to the Habar Magaadle or Habar Habusheed branches respectively.^[6][7] He sired eight sons who are the common ancestors of the subtribes of the Isaaq ethnic group. He remained in Maydh until his death.^[21][22]

Most Arabic hagiologies are in agreement when it comes to the lineage of Sheikh Ishaaq, tracing his lineage to Ali bin Abi Talib, the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.^[23]

The lineage attributed to Sheikh Ishaaq by two Arabic hagiologies, and which is covered by Alessandro Gori in Studi sulla letteratura agiografica islamica somala in lingua araba, is the following;^[23]

Ash-Shaykh Ishaaq bin Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Husayn bin Ali bin Muhammad bin Hamza al-Muttahar bin Abdallah bin Ayyub bin Qasim bin Ahmad bin Ali bin Isa bin Yahya bin Ja’far bin Ali al-Hadi bin Muhammad al-Jawad bin Ali al-Ridha bin Musa al-Kadhim bin Ja'far al-Sadiq bin Muhammad al-Baqir bin Ali Zayn Al-Abidin bin Husayn bin Ali bin Abi Talib.^[23]

 

In the Isaaq ethnic group are divided into two uterine divisions, as shown in the genealogy. The first division is between those lineages descended from sons of Sheikh Ishaaq by a Harari woman – the Habr Habusheed – and those descended from sons of Sheikh Ishaaq by a Somali woman of the Magaadle sub-tribe of the Dir – the Habr Magaadle. Indeed, most of the largest tribes of the Isaaq ethnic group are in fact uterine alliances hence the matronymic "Habr" which in archaic Somali means "mother".^[24] This is illustrated in the following ethnic structure.^[25]

 

A. Habr Magaadle

• Ismail (Garhajis)
• Ayub
• Muhammad (Arap)
• Abdirahman (Habr Awal)

B. Habr Habuusheed

• Ahmed (Tol Je’lo)
• Muuse (Habr Je'lo)
• Ibrahiim (Sanbuur)
• Muhammad (‘Ibraan)

 

There is clear agreement on the tribe and sub-tribe structures that has not changed for a long time. The oldest recorded genealogy of a Somali in Western literature was by Sir Richard Burton in the mid–19th century regarding his Isaaq (Habr Yunis) host and the governor of Zeila, Sharmarke Ali Saleh.^[26]

The following listing is taken from the World Bank's Conflict in Somaliland: Drivers and Dynamics from 2005 and the United Kingdom's Home Office publication, Somaliland Assessment 2001.^[27][28]

• Isaaq
  • Habr Awal
    • Sacad Muuse
    • Issa Musse
  • Arap
  • Ayub
  • Garhajis
    • Habr Yunis
    • Eidagalle
  • Habr Je'lo
    • Muuse Abokor
    • Mohamed Abokor
    • Samane Abokor
  • Tol Je'lo
  • Sanbuur
  • Imraan

One tradition maintains that Sheikh Ishaaq had twin sons: Muhammad (Arap), and Ismail (Garhajis).^[29] In addition, Sheikh Ishaaq had four additional sons in Yemen (Dir'an, Shareef, Yusuf and Mansur) whose descendants inhabit parts of northern Yemen, including the Khawlan district and the Ma'rib governorate.^{[14][30][13][31]}

In one exemplified folklore tale, Sheikh Ishaaq's three eldest sons split their father's inheritance among themselves.^[32] Garhajis receives his imama, a symbol of leadership; Awal receives the sheikh's wealth; and Ahmed (Tolja'ele) inherits his sword.^[32] The story is intended to depict the Garhajis' alleged proclivity for politics, the Habr Awal's mercantile prowess, and the Habr Je'lo's bellicosity.^[32]

To strengthen these tribal stereotypes, historical anecdotes have been used: The Habar Yonis allegedly dominated positions as interpreters for the British during the colonial period, and thus acquired pretensions to intellectual and political superiority; Habr Awal dominance of the trade via Djibouti and Berbera is practically uncontested; and Habr Je’lo military prowess is cited in accounts of previous conflicts.^[32]

According to genealogical books and Somali tradition, the Isaaq clan was founded in the 13th or 14th century with the arrival Sheikh Ishaaq from Arabia in Maydh.^[3][33] He settled in the coastal town of Maydh in modern-day northeastern Somaliland, where he married into the local Magaadle clan.^[7]

There are also numerous existing hagiologies in Arabic which describe Sheikh Ishaaq's travels, works and overall life in modern Somaliland, as well as his movements in Arabia before his arrival.^[34] Besides historical sources, one of the more recent printed biographies of Sheikh Ishaaq is the Amjaad of Sheikh Husseen bin Ahmed Darwiish al-Isaaqi as-Soomaali, which was printed in Aden in 1955.^[35]

His descendants would later on form two powerful sultanates that would later on dominate the northern coastline of the Horn of Africa during the early modern era; the Isaaq sultanate and the Habr Yunis sultanate.^[36][37][38]

Sheikh Ishaaq's tomb is in Maydh, and is the scene of frequent pilgrimages.^[34] Sheikh Ishaaq's mawlid (birthday) is also celebrated every Thursday with a public reading of his manaaqib (a collection of glorious deeds).^[7] His siyaara or pilgrimage is performed annually both within Somaliland and in the diaspora particularly in the Middle East among Isaaq expatriates.^[39] The tomb was kept by the family of Somali artist Abdullahi Qarshe.^[40]

Murray in his book The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society notes that many men from the western Isaaq clans would travel to Maydh to spend the last years of their lives in hopes of being buried near Sheikh Ishaaq.^[41] The book states:^[41]

The stranger is at once struck with the magnitude of the burial-ground at Meyet, which extends for fully a mile each way. Attachment to the memory of their forefather Isaakh yet induces many aged men of the western tribes to pass the close of their lives at Meyet, in order that their tombs may be found near that of their chief, and this will account for the unusual size of this cemetery. Many of the graves have head-stones of madrepore, on which is cut in relief the name of the tenant below, and of these many are to be found 250 years old.