# Sheikh Abd al-Rahman al-Zayla'i (Sheekh Cabdiraxmaan Seylici)

> Sheikh Abd al-Rahman al-Zayla'i (1820–1882): Bakool-born Qadiriyya scholar who spread the order in the interior.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/people/abd-al-rahman-al-zaylai/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## Who was he?

Abd al-Rahman bin Ahmad al-Zayla'i was a Somali scholar who played a key role in spreading the Qadiriyya Sufi order in Somalia and East Africa ([Wikipedia, Abd al-Rahman al-Zayla'i](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abd_al-Rahman_al-Zayla%27i)). Wikipedia lists him among the notable leaders of the order, beside [Uways al-Barawi](/en/people/uways-al-barawi/) and [Sheikh Madar](/en/people/sheikh-madar/) ([Wikipedia, Qadiri Order](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qadiri_Order)).

## Early life

He was born in 1820 in the village of Kodle, in the [Bakool](/en/regions/bakool/) region ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abd_al-Rahman_al-Zayla%27i)). He learned the basics of religious knowledge from local scholars (same source). He then moved to Mogadishu to study under [Sheikh](/en/regions/sheikh/) Isma'il bin Umar al-Maqdishi (same source).

## Teachers on the coast

Baadiyow writes that he was a student of [Sheikh Abikar Mahdar](/en/people/abikar-mahdar/), the leading Qadiriyya teacher of [Warsheikh](/en/regions/warsheikh/) ([Abdurahman Baadiyow, WardheerNews, 25 June 2024](https://wardheernews.com/the-prominent-sheikhs-of-the-qadiriyya-order-in-banadir)). Abikar Mahdar lived from 1816 to 1876 and is buried beside an old mosque in Warsheikh (same source). Other students of that centre included [Sheikh Sufi](/en/people/sheikh-sufi/) of Mogadishu (same source).

## Travels and a community

He travelled to Islamic centres across the Horn of Africa ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abd_al-Rahman_al-Zayla%27i)). On his return he set up a community of students near Qolonqol (same source). From there he spread the Qadiriyya through the upper [Shabelle](/en/economy/farming-and-harvests/) region (same source). The order gained wide support among herders, religious leaders and villagers of the interior (same source). See [Islam in Somalia](/en/society/islam-in-somalia/).

## Licence to Uways

In 1882 Sheikh Uways al-Barawi visited him and received an honorary ijaza, a licence to teach ([Baadiyow 2024](https://wardheernews.com/the-prominent-sheikhs-of-the-qadiriyya-order-in-banadir)). Uways went on to found the Uwaysiyya branch, which spread as far as Malawi and Mozambique (same source).

## Remembered in writing

The [Barawa](/en/regions/barawa/) scholar Qasim Muhyiddin al-Barawi wrote his life story in a Qadiriyya collection ([Baadiyow 2024](https://wardheernews.com/the-prominent-sheikhs-of-the-qadiriyya-order-in-banadir)). He died in 1882 ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abd_al-Rahman_al-Zayla%27i)).

## In short

A Qadiriyya scholar who taught in the interior of the south and passed his teaching to Sheikh Sufi.

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