# Aw Barkhadle (Sheikh Yusuf al-Kawneyn)

> Aw Barkhadle (Sheikh Yusuf al-Kawneyn), medieval scholar and saint: his teaching, the Somali names for Arabic letters, and his tomb near Hargeisa.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/people/aw-barkhadle/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## Who was he?

Aw Barkhadle, meaning "the blessed father", is the popular name of [Sheikh](/en/regions/sheikh/) Yusuf bin Ahmad al-Kawneyn, a teacher of Islam in the north of the Somali lands in the Middle Ages ([Wikipedia, Yusuf bin Ahmad al-Kawneyn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yusuf_bin_Ahmad_al-Kawneyn)). He is regarded as a saint. His tomb, near Hargeisa, draws an annual pilgrimage ([Castagno, *Historical Dictionary of Somalia*, 1975, "Sheikh Yusuf Kawneyn"](https://archive.org/details/historical-dictionary-of-somalia-1)).

## When did he live?

The sources do not agree. Castagno's dictionary places him in the 13th century ([Castagno 1975](https://archive.org/details/historical-dictionary-of-somalia-1)). In 1854 the explorer Richard Burton was told by a Somali genealogist, Shaykh Jami, that "the Sayyid Yusuf el Baghdadi" visited the port of Siyaro near Berbera in 1266–67 ([Burton, *First Footsteps in East Africa*, 1856, ch. 4](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6886)). Wikipedia notes traditions that place him earlier, and records that his son is listed as an Emir of Harar in 1038 ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yusuf_bin_Ahmad_al-Kawneyn)).

## Where did he come from?

Local tradition says he came from Arabia to teach Islam ([Castagno 1975](https://archive.org/details/historical-dictionary-of-somalia-1)). Some scholars describe him instead as a Somali who studied in Zeila and then in Iraq, which would explain the title "al-Baghdadi" ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yusuf_bin_Ahmad_al-Kawneyn)). Others read the stories of Arabian origin as a later way of linking local ancestors to the Prophet's family (same source). Several communities, including families among the Gadabuursi and the Ciise, trace links to him (same source).

## The Somali names for Arabic letters

He is remembered most as a teacher. Castagno writes that he devised Somali names for the Arabic letters and vowel signs, so his students could learn to read and write Arabic "with great facility". The system was still in use in 1975 ([Castagno 1975](https://archive.org/details/historical-dictionary-of-somalia-1)). Wikipedia notes it grew into *Wadaad's writing*, the use of Arabic letters to write Somali ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yusuf_bin_Ahmad_al-Kawneyn)).

## His tombs and the town

The town of Aw Barkhadle, north-east of Hargeisa, grew around his tomb. Archaeologist Sada Mire recorded local stories that the place was once called Dogor ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yusuf_bin_Ahmad_al-Kawneyn)). Other shrines to him stand near [Boorama](/en/regions/awdal/), near Fedis and in Harar, and one in Sri Lanka (same source). The town is listed among Somali heritage sites. See [heritage sites](/en/society/heritage-sites/).

## His family line

Some historians describe him as the ancestor of the [Walashma](/en/history/sultanate-of-shewa-and-founding-of-ifat/) family, which ruled the medieval sultanates of Ifat and Adal ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yusuf_bin_Ahmad_al-Kawneyn)). See [medieval and early modern states](/en/history/medieval-and-early-modern-polities-1300s-1700s/) and [Sa'ad ad-Din II](/en/people/saad-ad-din-ii/).

## In short

A medieval saint and scholar linked by tradition to teaching Islam in the Somali language.

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