# Sheikh Sufi (Sheekh Suufi), Abd al-Rahman bin Abdullah

> Sheikh Sufi (1829–1904): Benadiri Qadiriyya scholar, poet and mediator of Mogadishu, whose tomb draws yearly visitors.

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

## Who was he?

Sheikh Sufi was a 19th-century [Benadiri](/en/society/minority-communities/) scholar, poet and reformer ([Wikipedia, Shaykh Sufi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaykh_Sufi)). His name was Abd al-Rahman bin Abdullah (same source). The historian [Abdurahman Baadiyow](/en/people/abdurahman-baadiyow/) calls him the most prominent scholar of Mogadishu in his time ([Abdurahman Baadiyow, WardheerNews, 25 June 2024](https://wardheernews.com/the-prominent-sheikhs-of-the-qadiriyya-order-in-banadir)).

## Early life and study

He was born in Mogadishu in 1829 ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaykh_Sufi)). He studied at the Qadiriyya centre of [Sheikh Abikar Mahdar](/en/people/abikar-mahdar/) at [Warsheikh](/en/regions/warsheikh/), north of Mogadishu ([Baadiyow 2024](https://wardheernews.com/the-prominent-sheikhs-of-the-qadiriyya-order-in-banadir)). His teacher, who lived from 1816 to 1876, was known as "[Sheikh](/en/regions/sheikh/) al-Shuyukh", the sheikh of sheikhs (same source). After his teacher died, he took up his place as a leader of the order (same source).

## Teacher of the Qadiriyya

He founded a Qadiriyya congregation in Mogadishu ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaykh_Sufi)). His circle included [Sheikh Uways al-Barawi](/en/people/uways-al-barawi/) (same source). Baadiyow writes that he pledged allegiance to Uways, linking the two great branches of the order on the coast ([Baadiyow 2024](https://wardheernews.com/the-prominent-sheikhs-of-the-qadiriyya-order-in-banadir)). See [Islam in Somalia](/en/society/islam-in-somalia/).

## Writer and poet

He wrote on religious sciences and on the future of Mogadishu ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaykh_Sufi)). His books include *Shajarat al-Yaqin* ("The Tree of Certitude") (same source). He also studied the stars (same source). He wrote many poems in private, and later scholars such as Abdallah al-Qutbi gathered them in their books (same source).

## Mediator and reformer

He was known as a mediator between merchants and shopkeepers in the coastal cities ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaykh_Sufi)). As a reformer, he worked to end dances in the town that he judged immoral (same source).

## Death and memory

He died in 1904 ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaykh_Sufi)). His tomb became a place of yearly pilgrimage for people from across Somalia and East Africa (same source). A cemetery grew around it, where ministers, artists and presidents were later buried (same source). See [heritage sites](/en/society/heritage-sites/).

## In short

A Qadiriyya scholar and poet of Mogadishu in the 1800s.

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