Abadir Umar ar-Rida
| Abadir Umar ar-Rida أبادير عمر بن رضا | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Hijaz, Saudi Arabia |
| Died | Harar, Ethiopia |
| Ethnicity | Arab |
| Occupation | cleric |
| Title | Sheikh |
| Religion | Islam |
Sheikh Abadir Umar ar-Rida (Somali: Abaadir Umar Ar-Rida, Arabic: أبادير عمر بن رضا), also known as Fiqi Umar and Abadir Musa Warwaje'le,[1] was a Muslim cleric and patron saint of the city of Harar in modern-day eastern Ethiopia. He is regarded as the immediate common ancestor of the Somali Sheekhaal clan and a father figure to the Harari people.
History
Ar-Rida is the main figure in the Fath Madinat Harar, an unpublished history of Harar in the 13th century. According to the account, he along with several other religious leaders traveled from the Hijaz region of present-day Saudi Arabia to Harar in 612H (1216 AD).[2] Ar-Rida subsequently married a Harari woman, and constructed the city's Jamia mosque.[1]
In the following years, Sheikh ar-Rida fought several battles against King Karbinal bin Mahrawal, the King's son Jurniyal, his daughter Markanis, and brother Sayadar. Ar-Rida is also mentioned in the lists of Emirs of Harar (the first 391-405H (1000–1014 AD), second 405-411H (1014-1021 AD), and third 458-459H (1065-1067 AD)).
Descendants
The Somali Sheekhaal clan and the Harari people trace descent to Sheikh ar-Rida, also known as Fiqi Umar.[3] Ar-Rida in turn traced his lineage to the first caliph, Abu Bakr (Sayid Abubakar Al-Sadiq).[3] According to the explorer Richard F. Burton, Fiqi Umar crossed over from the Arabian Peninsula to the Horn of Africa ten generations prior to 1854, along with his six sons: Umar the Greater, Umar the Lesser, the two Abdillahs, Ahmad, and Siddik.[3]
Legacy
Sheikh ar-Rida's tomb in Harar is a popular place of pilgrimage. Songs in veneration of him are also still sung in the city.
See also
Notes
- 1 2 Emir Sheikh Abadir Musa Warwaje’le
- ↑ Siegbert Uhlig, Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: He-N, Volume 3, (Otto Harrassowitz Verlag: 2007), pp.111 & 319.
- 1 2 3 Burton, Richard (1856). First Footsteps in East Africa. pp. 279–280.
The Shaykhash, or "Reverend" as the term means, are the only Somal of the mountains not derived from Dir and Darud. Claiming descent from the Caliph Abubakr, they assert that ten generations ago, one Ao Khutab bin Fakih Umar crossed over from El Hejaz, and settled in Eastern Africa with his six sons, Umar the greater, Umar the less, two Abdillahs, Ahmed, and lastly Siddik.
References
- Michael Belaynesh, Stanisław Chojnacki, Richard Pankhurst, The Dictionary of Ethiopian Biography: From early times to the end of the Zagwé dynasty c. 1270 A.D, (Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa University: 1975)