- Abd al-Aziz al-Amawi (Sheekh Cabdicasiis al-Amawi)Abd al-Aziz al-Amawi (1838-1896): Barawa-born scholar, Qadiriyya shaykh and judge and adviser to the sultans of Zanzibar.
- Abdi Ismail Samatar (Cabdi Ismaaciil Samatar)Abdi Ismail Samatar: Gabiley-born University of Minnesota geographer and former African Studies Association president.
- Abdi Kusow (Cabdi Kusow)Abdi Kusow: Somali sociologist at Iowa State University, writer on Somali identity and migration.
- Abdillahi Diiriye Guled (Caraale)Abdillahi Diiriye Guled (Caraale): Somali scholar who discovered Somali poetic metre; author of Miisaanka Maansada.
- Abdisalam Yasin MohamedAbdisalam Yasin Mohamed: Somali literature professor, SNM co-founder and president of Shifa University.
- Abdurahman Baadiyow (Cabdiraxmaan Baadiyow)Abdurahman Baadiyow (born 1954): Islamic historian, Mogadishu University co-founder and Islah leader.
- Ahmed Ismail Samatar (Axmed Ismaaciil Samatar)Ahmed Ismail Samatar: Gabiley-born Macalester professor and founding editor of Bildhaan, the journal of Somali studies.
- Ahmed Mumin Warfa (Axmed Muumin Warfaa)Ahmed Mumin Warfa (d. 2021): Somali botanist who co-discovered Cyclamen somalense; rector of Zamzam University.
- Ali Sheikh Ahmed (Cali Sheekh Axmed)Ali Sheikh Ahmed: co-founder and first president of Mogadishu University (1997).
- 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.
- Aw Jama Omar Issa (Aw Jaamac Cumar Ciise)Aw Jama Omar Issa (c.1922-2014): historian who collected the Sayid's poems and wrote the first Dervish history.
- Dada Masiti (Mana Sitti Habib Jamaladdin)Dada Masiti (d. 1919): Sufi poet and teacher of Barawa whose Bravanese verse spread Islamic learning among women.
- Fakhr al-Din Uthman al-Zayla'i (died 1342/43), jurist of Zeila and CairoUthman ibn Ali al-Zayla'i (d. 1342/43): Hanafi jurist from Zeila in Cairo, author of Tabyin al-Haqa'iq, and the Riwaq al-Zayla'i at al-Azhar.
- Hassan al-Jabarti (Xasan al-Jabarti)Hassan al-Jabarti (d. 1774): Zeila-origin mathematician and astronomer in Cairo, father of the historian al-Jabarti.
- Mohamed Diriye Abdullahi (Maxamed Diiriye Cabdullaahi)Mohamed Diriye Abdullahi (born 1958): Somali-Canadian linguist, author of Culture and Customs of Somalia.
- Mohamed Haji Mukhtar (Maxamed Xaaji Mukhtaar)Mohamed Haji Mukhtar (born 1947): Hudur-born historian at Savannah State University and advocate for Af-Maay.
- Musa Haji Ismail Galaal (Muuse Xaaji Ismaaciil Galaal)Musa Galaal (1917–1980): scholar of Somali language, poetry and weather lore, and a maker of the Somali alphabet.
- Osman Yusuf Kenadid (Cismaan Yuusuf Keenadiid)Osman Yusuf Kenadid (1889–1972), inventor of the Osmanya script for Somali, poet, teacher and founding member of the Somali Youth League.
- Sa'id of Mogadishu (Saciid Muqdisho)Sa'id of Mogadishu (1301–about 1361): 14th-century Somali scholar who studied in Mecca and Medina, travelled to India and China, and met Ibn Battuta.
- Said Sheikh Samatar (Saciid Sheekh Samatar)Said Sheikh Samatar (1943–2015): Rutgers historian of Somalia and author of Oral Poetry and Somali Nationalism.
- 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.
- Sheikh Abdallah al-Qutbi (Sheekh Cabdullaahi Qudbi)Sheikh Abdallah al-Qutbi (c. 1879-1919): Somali Qadiriyya theologian, author of The Blessed Collection.
- Sheikh Abdinasir Haji Ahmed (Sheekh Cabdinaasir Xaaji Axmed)Sheikh Abdinasir Haji Ahmed (1957-2022): Las Anod scholar and preacher killed in Kismayo in 2022.
- Sheikh Abdulkadir Nur Farah (Sheekh Cabdiqaadir Nuur Faarax)Sheikh Abdulkadir Nur Farah (1940-2013): Eyl-born scholar and judge, co-founder of Al-Furqan, killed in Garowe.
- Sheikh Abdurahman Sheikh Nur (Sheekh Cabdiraxmaan Sheekh Nuur)Sheikh Abdurahman Sheikh Nur: Borama qadi and scholar who devised the Borama (Gadabuursi) script for Somali about 1933.
- Sheikh Abikar Mahdar (Sheekh Abiikar Mahdar)Sheikh Abikar Mahdar (1816 to 1876): Qadiriyya teacher of Mogadishu and Warsheikh, teacher of Sheikh Sufi.
- Sheikh Ahmed Haji Abdirahman (Sheekh Axmed Xaaji Cabdiraxmaan)Sheikh Ahmed Haji Abdirahman (d. 2011): Galkayo scholar, vice president of East Africa University, killed in Bosaso.
- Sheikh Hussein of Bale (1200s): the saint from Merca honoured in EthiopiaSheikh Hussein of Bale (1200s): Muslim saint born in Merca, credited with spreading Islam in Bale and Sidamo; his shrine, pilgrimages, hagiography and lineage traditions.
- Sheikh Madar (Sheekh Madar Axmed Shirwac)Sheikh Madar (1825–1918): Qadiriyya scholar and reformer remembered as the founder of Hargeisa.
- Sheikh Mohamoud Sheikh Dalmar (Maxamuud Sheekh Dalmar)Mohamoud Sheikh Dalmar: Somali journalist, Islamic scholar and Somali poetry expert, ex-BBC Somali.
- Sheikh Omar Farouk (Sheekh Cumar Faaruuq)Sheikh Omar Farouk (1939–2011): Somali scholar known for his recorded Quran tafsir, Arta 2000 participant, died in Mecca.
- Sheikh Sufi (Sheekh Suufi), Abd al-Rahman bin AbdullahSheikh Sufi (1829–1904): Benadiri Qadiriyya scholar, poet and mediator of Mogadishu, whose tomb draws yearly visitors.
- Sheikh Uways al-Barawi (Sheekh Uweys)Sheikh Uways al-Barawi (1847–1909), Baraawe scholar who spread the Qadiriyya across East Africa: his life, teaching, poems and death.
- Shire Jama Ahmed (Shire Jaamac Axmed)Shire Jama Ahmed (1936–1999), the linguist who designed the Somali Latin alphabet adopted in 1972 and used by Somalis today.
- Souad Kassim MohamedSouad Kassim Mohamed (b.1976): Djiboutian linguist and playwright at the University of Djibouti.
- Yasin Osman Kenadid (Yaasiin Cismaan Keenadiid)Yasin Osman Kenadid (1919–1988): SYL founder and linguist who wrote the standard Somali dictionary of 1976.
Scholars and religious figures
All 36 pages in Scholars and religious figures, from A to Z.
Toosoo!
Calankii is made by Toosoo, which works for one united, prosperous Somalia.
Can you help with Scholars and religious figures? Tell us what you can give.