the Scholar of Philosophers, and the Philosopher of Scholars

by Abdiaziz Arab
Saturday August 20, 2022

The nice Somali poet, thinker and scholar Mohamed
Ibrahim Warsame (Hadrawi) handed away on the 18^th of August 2022, in
Hargeisa, Somaliland. A nationwide funeral was held in Hargeisa, and plenty of Somalis
from all components of Somalia attended to pay their respects for the final time to
the nice man. The information of his dying had introduced tears to the eyes of each Somali,
whether or not they met him or not. if you go searching and see individuals of various
walks of life commiserating about his dying, you’d assume their very own father
had handed away. He didn’t give these individuals supplies for them to like him
that a lot, however he acquired their hearts and minds by being honest and
reliable together with his beliefs. Somalis and non-Somalis in contrast him to the nice
poets, philosophers, and students of the world, previous and current. Nevertheless, I
assume he transcends all, he was an ‘ummah’ in his personal proper.

Allah SWT when he was describing the persona of prophet
Ibrahim mentioned “Certainly, Ibrahim was a complete [ummah] devoutly
obedient to Allah, inclining towards reality, and he was not of those that
affiliate others with Allah (Quran, 120:16)”. Allah described prophet
Ibrahim as “ummah”, and the phrase ‘ummah’ within the Quran is used both to
describe a nation (multiple particular person), or somebody (like prophet Ibrahim) who
is so nice that his persona and beliefs are totally different from the society he
lives in, and complete that he can stand independently and single-handedly
change the society from dangerous to good. In different phrases, somebody who will not be a
follower of the vast majority of people who agrees on incorrect selections.

As an alternative, ‘ummah’ is a follower of reality even when the bulk
of individuals disagree with them. We will safely describe Hadrawi as being an
‘ummah’ in his personal proper. As a result of anybody who observes his life and his literary
works, quickly understands that Hadrawi was not your on a regular basis particular person. He was an
‘ummah’ as a result of he prided himself on liberty by refusing to be purchased. Within the early
Nineteen Seventies, when virtually each Somali was clapping in settlement with the communist
regime that dominated Somalia from 1969 to 1991, Hadrawi stood up on his personal and
refused to bow all the way down to oppression. He was an ‘ummah’ when he freely opted to go
to jail and undergo or worse, quite than clap for a tyranny. In his newest
ebook ‘Hawaale Warran’ he narrates what occurred between him and the navy
regime, and the way after he refused to bow down was arrested and put away in jail
with out justification in anyway.

In 1973, Hadrawi wrote a play known as ‘Aqoon iyo Afgarad’
‘Data and Consensus’ which he and his fellow poets Mohamed Gariye and
Professor Muse Abdi Elmi introduced in Lafoole Establishment, positioned
outskirt of Mogadishu. The target of the play was to advise the Somali
individuals to not search training outdoors the nation, quite training was
obtainable on dwelling soil, and there’s no have to waste the nation’s wealth to
ship college students overseas. It’s value mentioning, that on the time, the regime was
sending its cadres and the youngsters of revolution leaders to the Soviet Union,
Europe and america for training and coaching, within the course of,
losing the taxpayers’ hard-earned cash. Hadrawi didn’t like that, therefore his
play data and consensus’ addressed that. The 1969 revolution leaders, in
explicit, the nation’s president Mohamed Siyad Barre, didn’t just like the play,
and he thought it was anti-revolution and embarrasses his resolution to spend an enormous
quantity of the nation’s wealth on sending cadres outdoors the nation.

He summoned Hadrawi to Afisyoni, his air power headquarters.
Hadrawi mentioned, males from the nationwide guards took him there, and he met the
president sitting below a tree. The president opened the dialog with the
remarks “Hadrawi, I do know you’re anti-revolution, however why each poetry you
compose are used in opposition to us?”. Hadrawi mentioned, “I attempted to persuade him, and
mentioned, we (poets) compose poetry, after which individuals take it and interpret it to
no matter is sensible to them”. Then the president concluded the assembly by saying
“ask me no matter you need, however after at this time, I don’t need to hear any poetry of
yours that individuals are utilizing in opposition to us”. Hadrawi replied by saying “no matter
Allah decrees is gonna occur”. Hadrawi continued his work and created one other
play known as ‘Tawaawac’. The play bare the distress and the
disappointments Somalis inherited from the 1960 independence, and the way a handful
of navy officers have hijacked the nation’s hopes after eliminating
colonisers. He likened this to a state of affairs the place individuals are combating over the meat
of a slaughtered she-camel that was presupposed to be spared for day by day milking to
feed the children and the aged. One of many tune’s lyrics that Hadrawi created
for this play says:

Weligay cad quudheed

Anna qaadan maayoo

Qalanjadan faraha dheer

Wax la qaybsan maayee

This translated into
one thing like:

I’ll by no means settle for

A proposal with contempt

And I’ll by no means share something

With this long-fingers magnificence

Hadrawi mentioned, the president, particularly hated these 4
traces above, as a result of he thought that I used to be taunting him and making enjoyable of his
earlier supply of ‘ask me what you need, however cease composing poetry’. The subsequent
factor Hadrawi knew he was snatched from his dwelling in the course of the night time by
males from the safety companies below direct orders from the president. He was
arrested with out going earlier than a court docket and thrown in jail at Qansax Dheere, in
the Bay area far-off from his residence. When requested why they took you all
the best way to Qansax Dheere, whereas there are lots of jails close to your residence? He
replied they needed to brainwash me and break me into submission. They mentioned to
me you’ll be launched instantly in the event you ask forgiveness from the daddy of
the revolution (that means the president). Hadrawi was an ‘ummah’ when replying to
this demand. He mentioned to them “know there can be three situations with me, I die
and go to my grave, I keep in jail, or I purchase my full freedom [without
fearing anyone]”. He stayed in jail for 5 years, and once more, as ordinary, he
was an ummah in jail by persevering with his battle in opposition to tyranny. By this
time, many Somalis woke as much as the cries of Hadrawi from their deep asleep and
began to see the tyrannical regime for it actually was.

Hadrawi was an ‘ummah’ when the civil struggle occurred in
1988-1991 by manifestly telling the battle leaders ‘don’t substitute tyranny
with one other. He was an ‘ummah’ after the civil struggle in his ‘Peace Spring’ in
2003, when he travelled on the bottom from Hargeisa to Kismayo, stopping in
each city between them, actually tons of of villages.

He was an ‘ummah’ by his devouted love of literature and
writing. He comprised a complete poem concerning the significance of writing, he mentioned:

Qalinkaa wax suureeya

Kugu sima halkaad doonto

Saaxiib kal furan weeye

Sunto fara ku hayntiisa

Weligaa ha si deynin.

Sisin iyo ku beer muufo

lyo laanta saytuunka

Ku gotomi sungaan waarta

Iyo nabadda seeskeeda

Samo iyo ku doon heedhe

Dunidiyo sinnaanteeda

The pen that may think about for you

And may take you the place you need

It’s a buddy with open coronary heart

Recurrently, preserve it in your fingers

And by no means let it go

Plant it amongst sesame and bread

And the branches of olive

And use it to unfold on this planet

peace, equality and justice

In these brief traces, he was an ‘ummah’, the fabric of
philosophy ‘abstraction’ he makes use of right here to emphasize how necessary is to make use of
writing to hunt peace, prosperity, justice and equality, which is nothing brief
of genius. He was attempting to kill one stone with the 2 previous enemies of the human
race: poverty and ignorance.

Equally necessary, he was an ‘ummah’ when he praised the
Somali girls for his or her magnificence and bravado. He was an excellent admirer of the Somali
girls, though depicting their true nature with out exaggeration or
gildings. In his poem ‘Horn of Africa Women’, he mentioned concerning the Somali
girls:

Hablo weerar geli
kara,

Hablo geela dhicin kara,

Hablo geesi dili kara,

Gobannimona hanan kara,

Hablo talada goyn kara,

Garta madal ka niqi kara,

Garashana iskaga mida,

Quruxdana ka wada goba;

Geesteenna mooyee

Geyi kale ma joogaan.

Women that may go to struggle

Women that may defend the camel

Women that may purchase honour

Women that may make selections,

And publicly specific their opinion,

And equally have excessive intellects

Women that every one blessed with magnificence

Besides, in our area,

Can they be present in wherever else?

The examples of the nice man are many, and it’s inconceivable
to say all of them on this brief article. I might advise any admire to go to
his works, and they’re going to discover an encyclopedia of data, that can take them
a lifetime to check.

Lastly, however not least, he was an ‘ummah’ by leaving
directions on how he wished to be handled after his dying. He wrote a poem
known as ‘will’, by which he suggested individuals to deal with his dying like some other, he
mentioned.

Qofka ii duceeyoow

Rabbigay ku darajee

Qofka iga ducaystoow

Dummaddaada weeyaan.

After many passages of the poem, he pleaded with people who
they need to not make a fuss about his dying and funeral. His grave mustn’t
be constructed however ought to be left like different graves. Individuals mustn’t make a shrine
of his grave, nor ought to they over-grieve or rejoice his life. Within the final
few traces, he prays for many who pray for him.

Lastly, you lived as an ‘ummah’ and died as an ‘ummah’,
there may be nothing left to say however goodbye to our beloved instructor, thinker,
poet and function mannequin. Your physique might need departed this world, however your concepts
and the data you left for us and humanity, are everlasting. I’m positive individuals
of the opposite facet and angels are welcoming you with roses and open arms—they
are congratulating you as you will have achieved your mission right here on earth,
suggested your individuals and fought bravery in the best way of Allah looking for justice, and
freedom and equality for all. Might Allah bathe you with His Forgiveness and Mercy,
gentle up your grave, and will He elevate your standing and grant you
Jannatul-Firdaus. Might Allah resurrect you with the prophets, the steadfast
affirmers of reality and the martyrs.

“And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger – these can be
with those upon whom Allah has bestowed favour of the prophets, the steadfast affirmers of reality, the martyrs and the
righteous. And wonderful are these as companions (Quran 69:4)”.

“Verily we belong to Allah and verily to him can we return”.

Abdiaziz Arab
[email protected]