P36

People started living in Mogadishu in the first century before the birth of Jesus, son of Mary, peace be upon them both. Historians say that the Arabs were the first to inhabit Maqdashuh, and that the inhabitants of this town were diverse in color. There was brown and what is blond and red and they are among the pure Arabs (Al-Khalas), and the Arabs settled there a long time ago. (Note: Ibn-al Mujawir (1232) confirms this).  Their history dates back to one hundred and two years before Christ. In short, they (the Arabs) entered Maqdshuh about 700 years ago.

The authorities made the donkeys happy. (People of the donkey= Christians)

Maqdishu ruled the people of the Taaba’a (=those who repent). Eight centuries before Islam, he was the Sultan: Malik bin Al-Hamisa bin Himyar bin Saba bin Yashjab bin Ya'rab bin Qahtan bin Hud (2) (peace be upon him).

The arrival of Islam:

Somalia has a large share of Islam due to its arrival from the Levant in the first century Hijri and that in the Umayyad era and especially during the era of Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (55-87 AH 675-706AH) at the hands of Prince Musa bin Banu Khath’am (Banu Khath’am from Kinda bin Afeer bin Adi) and he is affiliated with Kahlan bin Sabb bin Yashjab bin Ya’rab bin Qahtan Ibn Hud (2), peace be upon him) sent by the aforementioned Caliph, accompanied by a great army.

The spread of Islam.

When this prince arrived, he spread Islamic propaganda among its residents and spread the Qur’an and religion. So the entire population responded to his call without fighting, and they entered the religion of God in droves and spread Islam spread rapidly throughout Somalia and is still widespread today.

P37

Doctrines.

When Islam spread, Arabs also settled there, and they were Muslims with their own sects Shafi'i and Hanbali, and some of them are Maliki and Hanafi. They are sects with no authority. Each sect has a sheikh, and he is the one who is in charge of them. And all come back to the command is up to him. The sheikhs are the first in every situation, and nothing is done except by his command.

What are you doing: If the merchant goes to Maqdishuh, he must go to one of the sheikhs and seek help.  With this, he performs all his conditions. (Note: This is also found in: Yakut al Hamawi (1220); this period before the sultans rule is called the Islamic Republic.)

P40

(Sharif Aydurus gives family histories of numerous important people in Mogadishu. I only repeat partly those of whom I find medieval roots.)

………… Between the nobles and the Al-Amoudi family, the Al-Amoudi family should perform the twelve Friday prayers in the Sheikh Ahmed Mosque, acknowledging the kindness of the nobles, and this is considered the custom of the nobles ……… (See my description of the Medieval Sharif Ahmed Mosque on my webpage of the archaeology of Mogadishu)

……… The authentic Jami’ Mosque in performing Friday prayers and from old by the Al-Amud family out of respect for its noble origin who honors the Ashraf tribe by always having a follower as the preacher of the Public Mosque to supervise on that day of Friday……… (See my description of the Medieval Jami Mosque on my webpage of the archaeology of Mogadishu)

P41

Sharif Aydurus says: The dispute is my father, Sharif Ali bin Abi Bakr bin Muhammad Aydurus, who was a preacher previously at Sheikh Ahmed Mosque and then he traveled to Racine (near Lamu) to visit his children. …… Between me and my honorable grandfather, Ali bin Muhammad Aydurus, are three orators (in that Mosque). Between my grandfather and the first to lead the sermon at the Shangani Mosque were eleven preachers, so it became a total of all the preachers who have led the sermon since the construction of the mosque until now are seventeen. Before that time, the people of Shangani used to perform Friday prayers at Hamrouin Mosque, it was larger than it is now, up to the sea coast. (= Mosque of Fakhr ad-Din is on the coast in old pictures. See my description of this Medieval Mosque on my webpage of the archaeology of Mogadishu.)

Teaching science

Delegations of men used to come to Mogadishu to receive honorable knowledge from each other.

Distant Arab countries.

Among those who came to Maqdishuh to seek knowledge: Mr. Muhammad Alawi bin Ahmed Ibn Al-Faqih Al-Muqaddim. The prominent jurist who died on Wednesday in the month of Dhul-Hijjah (3) in the year (667AH=1269AD) acquired knowledge from the righteous jurist Jamal al-Din Muhammad bin Ali Ibn Eid al-Samad al-Jahawi (see the book Explanation of Al-Ainiya by Al-Habib Ahmad bin Zain Al-Habashi).

 

In the year 149/767AD arrived Arab tribes from Sana, Iraq, and from other countries to[settle] in Mogadishu. They numbered 39 tribes including 12 tribes of al-Jidata (al-Shashiyun).

P84

Helwan State (5)

I found this evidence from a written document in the library of the scholar Sheikh Abu Bakr.

Written in the handwriting of his father, Sheikh Muhyiddin, an honorable teacher (Mufti of Al-Banader).

At the beginning of the fifth century AH, corresponding to the beginning of the twelfth century AD.

After the end of the government of Abu Bakr Fakhr al-Din, Mogadishu was ruled by the governor of al-Halawani from part of Muhammad Shah Al-Halwani (attributed to the country of Helwan in Iraq).

The capital was at that time the city of Merca, and it was given this name due to the issuance of orders and it was said to her: (I command you, O God).

However, the king (Shah) was residing in Mogadishu, which is the reason for its name;

The current capital has this name, as previously mentioned at the beginning of the book.

As for his minister: (Kandar Shah), he was residing in the place known by that name (near Markah).

The residents of Marka and its environs used to perform Friday prayers in Mogadishu due to the lack of presence of a mosque there. They would come in carts drawn by seven or nine horses.

This state - that is, the Helwan state - was famous for being stingy to the point of water, but this is not the case; this came from a deficit in their budget. Rather, they were wealthy, and they were also famous for their treasure of gold and silver: every human being was not without his own underground burial ground of gold. They put it in ceramic vessels known now as jars. Despite all this, they are miserly, especially to themselves, eating dry bread and wearing coarse clothes.

One of them may spend his day eating one meal every twenty-four hours.

Their miserliness is still used as a proverb by the people of Benadir to this day, since he was a human being he has money and real estate, and he did not provide himself with peace. He is called this Halwani, meaning from the Helwan tribe.

During the era of this country, there was a great drought similar to the years of Joseph, which the country had never seen before. Before, “man did not find anything to feed on,” and the animals “felt scarce,” even if they searched for something; You could not find one head of sheep for one riyal, even though the riyal at that time was worth a thousand riyal of at present.

This state continued to rule for nearly half a century, and it was given a period of time. This state was followed by the state of Zozen:

 

Zozen government

P85

In the middle of the fifth century AH, the Sultanate of Maqdishwa was taken over by Zozen.

An unjust and tyrannical ruler over his subjects. He was hated by all the people. He could not help in the growth of agriculture and did not think about the interests of the country. Maqdishwah passed in his time in a wave from inactivity, chaos and constant drought until his government was removed and was followed by another the Al-Shirazi, and this was in the late fifth century.

 

They assumed power over Maqdishu in the late fifth century AH, and this were rulers who look like a commercial man who used to buy food from farmers and bury it underneath (for storage).

The landowner used to buy two pounds for a riyal, then sell one pound for a riyal, and the buyer continued until he had bought twenty pounds for riyals. If (prices) reached two pounds for a riyal, the people were unable to afford buying the food. For this reason, when drought occurred the people almost died of starvation.

However, this ruler has some good deeds, and among his good deeds is the building of a mosque Al-Ahanafi inside in Shanghani, (where the Savoia Restaurant is now located.)

P86

Take-over by Egypt over Maqdishwa

In (470 AH=1078AD) the ruler, Prince Muhammad Ali, left Egypt as governor of Maqdishuh.

He lived for eighty years and built many mosques in the year 551 AH, corresponding to the year (1176 AD). Among them is the Mosque of (Mohamed al-Awal = Muhammad I), which is Fakhr al-Din al-Hajj Muhammad and (Mohamed al-Taani = Muhammad the second) and (Arba Rukn) (=of the four corners) were built by people from the Egyptian tribes.

P94

A brief overview of the village of Warsheikh;

Warsheikh is a word made up of two words, as “war” means speech in the Somali language “Sheikh” is a title for someone who has learned noble knowledge, especially religion.

(Warsheikh): (the words of a sheikh) and the reason for calling that place Warsheikh:

(Then follows the story of four Wise men who settle in the end at Warsheikh.)

P95

After that, the Ajuran tribe inhabited the place with a village, wells (1), stones, and other things. They also inhabited a place above Warsheikh with mosques, palaces, and wells (1). They called that place (a market), and their ruins remain to this day in that place, and the ruins of the palaces and the cylinders of the mosque are visible. Warsheikh was destroyed after that, just as a market was destroyed, and the ruins of the palaces, stones, and wells (1) remained in it.

P100

In the year (510 AH =1117AD). (Ajuran) ruled these lands, and his name is: Imam Isa, and he became ruler of these lands from Barawah, Al-Shubilaha, Al-Hasiyah, Batir, and Lukh.

And others, the aforementioned matter is narrated in Barawa. The people of Shabila heard him that day; The creation was united, and as for Ajuran himself, he was sitting in the land of Shabila with his soldiers. It was widespread everywhere: Al-Banadir and others, then they became arrogant and harsh in their rulings. And they harmed the subjects, and because of this they became weak and humiliated, and the Harab tribe fought against them in a place called Isma’ Ail Awal in the land of Maghdhi. And that strife took place on a Sunday in the month of Rabi’ al-Akhir (4) in the year 1191AH =1777AD. So he was killed in the presence of Al-Bakr Al-Masma’ Ail A’ul while he was sitting on top of a large stone like Al-Kursi was killed by a sword that hit him in the head and split it in two. The sword impacted the stone and its impact remains on the stone to this day.

 

(1) A need description of these wells is given by a visiting Chinese translator: Fei-Hsin (1436)

(Hsing-ch'a Sheng lan) (Marvelous visions from the Star Raft):

(The land of Thou-pou (Jubba close to Kisimaya)): There is no cultivation in the mountains and the land is vast, it hardly ever rains. (Irrigation water comes out of holes) from deep pumped up with dented wheels.

(When describing the land of Mogadishu): ‘The soil is poor the crops sparse. Rain might not fall for a period of several years. They make very deep wells and draw up the water in sheep-skin bags by means of cog-wheels. They also feed their camels, horses, cattle and sheep on them. 

(2) Hud: Son of Ham together with Mizraim, Cush, Phut (=Hud), Canaan whose families together made up the Hamite branch of Noah's descendants. (Genesis 10).

(3) Dhu al-Hijjah is the twelfth and final month in the Islamic calendar.

(4) Rabi’ al-Akhir is the fourth month of the Islamic calendar.

(5) The Helwan State is also mentioned by Enrico, Cerulli, in Somalia, scritti vari editi ed inediti, Vol. 2, 1959. “In ancient times the Sirasi lived in Mogadiscio. The people called Halawani succeeded the Sirasi. The Mudaffar succeeded the Halawani.

 

Medieval Mogadishu by Fagih Ahmad ibn Fagih Abu Bakr

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Taken from: Iscrizioni e documenti arabi per la storia della Somalia E. Cerulli (nr XV p14-20)

 

Text by Fagih Ahmad ibn Fagih Abu Bakr from around 1700.

 

In the name of the merciful God. This is the story of Mogadishu. Know that the population of Mogadishu was thirty-nine tribes of which twelve were of Maqarri origin and twelve Gid'ati and six 'Aqabi and three ‘Afifi and six Isma'ili. And the first who inhabited the city of Mogadishu: God protected among the other tribes that of the Banu Qahtan (originally from Yemen) and they were the first of the tribes: they were (the Banu Qahtan) those of the twelve tribes of Maqarri. O people of Mogadishu, know that the people of the Banu Qahtan ibn Wa’il came to Mogadishu and cut its grass before the (other) tribes.

Then afterwards the remaining tribes settled with them (the Banu Qahtan). The Banu Qahtan people were the greatest of the tribes; so much so that when the tribes met they took advice in favor of the Banu Qahtan ibn Wa’il and that is the people of the sayh faqih Abor for (the positions) of Qadi and Hatib they agreed to make them Qadi (Judge) and Hatib (=Khatib leads the prayer), in favor of the Banu Qahtan ibn Wa’il: and behold, the fame of them (Banu Qahtan) spread among men for the space of three hundred years. Then came a stranger from the Banu Qassan named Abu Bakr ibn Fahr ad-din and he had no money, he was poor. But he had a rich wife who was the daughter of Shah 'Abd al-Gabbar. One day a poor man came to the Gami mosque and recited in the mosque and asked for some money but no one gave him any. Until our sayh (=Sheikh) Hagg Husayn and our sayh Hagg Musa arose, but no one gave them anything and they were sorry about this.

Then Abu Bakr ibn Fahr ad-din rose up and promised them one hundred drachmas; nor did he have this money, and (the two Says) rejoiced at this and praised it. Then they went away: to their homes; and when he (Abu Bakr ibn Fabr ad-din) came to his house, his wife saw him and he was grieved and changed his color. She said to him: My husband, I see you today in pain, and how come I see you changed color and yellowed over time? Out of what fear? He said (the husband): My wife, today I was in the al-Gami mosque and a poor man came and asked for something and no one gave it to him. Until our sayh Hagg Misa and our sayh Hagg Husayn stood up and asked for something for him and I couldn't help myself from promising them something, while I have nothing; and therefore I grieve. She then said: Tell me how much it is! And he said: It is a hundred drachmas. She said: It's not much! And she gave him those hundred drachmas; and he brought the hundred drachmas (to the two sayh) and he gave it to them and they blessed him.

And when the night came he said (=Abu Bakr ibn Fakr ad-din) to a slave of her: Wash my clothes; it's already dawning. And when he (the slave) came to the sea, he washed the clothes, and returned to his master and spread out the clothes. Then said the master (Abu Bakr ibn Fakr ad-din) to the slave: Do you have any pieces of amber with you? The slave replied: O my lord, I have none, but I believe that rock on which I washed the clothes is made of amber. And he went with him (Abu Bakr ibn Fakr ad-din) and looked at (the rock) and behold it was of amber. They took it all away with the help and grace of God.

 

Our sayk Muhammad Hagg Tabari used to finish the entire reading of the Quran once every night and when he finished it the dawn broke. And that night it didn't dawn until he read the Koran several times and he remained thoughtful and marveled at that night. And when it dawned and (Abu Bakr ibn Fakr ad-din) had gathered the amber the word spread around the city about his house.

And after this the 'four seats' met (The arba' rukuna of the Arabic text, which also gave its name to the mosque, were, according to a local informant, the elders of the four districts into which Mogadishu was then divided.) and took counsel to elect a sultan; and having agreed in favor of (Abu Bakr ibn Fakr ad-din they elected him Sultan. And the tribes disputed this, and each tribe said: We have a greater right than he (Abu Bakr ibn Fakr ad-din) to the Sultanate. And this is a foreigner: how can he be our Sultan? We have not had a sultanate for three hundred years. If we had wanted it, we would have invested the Banu Qahtan with it, because they have a greater right to it and were our Qadi and our Hatib. He then said (Abu Bakr ibn Fabr ad-din): I want one thing in their favor, in favor of the Banu Qahtan. And he made them his vicars. And they are called ‘the children’. And land is not sold unless in their presence. And besides this then our elders gathered in favor of them (Banu Qahtan) and said: This is a foreigner! Abandon him and he will no longer boast against us! And (they the Banu Qahtan instead) agreed in favor of him (Abu Bakr ibn Fakr ad-din) and made a declaration in his favor in the city. It is when our sayh Muhammad Hagg Tabari heard the matter he closed the Book; and he was commenting on the verse that says: When kings enter a village they ruin it, [Coran. 27, 34]. And when he was invested (Abu Bakr ibn Fahr ad-din) of the sultanate they prepared forty ships and moved to another country because of the Sultan. End.

 

And in this time the people of Mogadishu write their genealogies differently from their (true) genealogy, as the Prophet said - may God be propitious to him and the agreements health!

—: Whoever recites genealogies different from his (true) genealogy is cursed. End.