Scholars and religious figures
Sheikh Uways al-Barawi (Sheekh Uweys)
Sheikh Uways al-Barawi (1847–1909) was a Somali scholar from Baraawe who led the Qadiriyya Sufi order in southern Somalia and spread it across East Africa. He founded the farming settlement of Biyooley, wrote poems in Arabic and Somali, and was killed in 1909. His tomb is a place of pilgrimage.
Sheikh Uways al-BarawiSheikh Uways · Sheekh Uweys
- Lived
- 1847 to 1909
- Known as one of
- Scholars and religious figures
- Era
- 1500 to 1884; Partition and the Dervishes, 1884 to 1920
- Sources
- 2 sources
Who was he?
Sheikh Uways bin Muhammad al-Barawi was a Somali scholar of Islam. He led the Qadiriyya Sufi order in southern Somalia and spread its teaching inland and across East Africa (Castagno, Historical Dictionary of Somalia, 1975, "Sheikh Awes Muhammad Barawi"). His branch of the order is called the Uwaysiyya after him (Wikipedia, Uways al-Barawi).
Early life
He was born in 1847 in Baraawe (Brava), on the Benadir coast. His father, al-Hajj Muhammad bin Bashiir, was a local religious teacher (Wikipedia). Wikipedia records his family as Tunni, of the Rahanweyn (same source). Castagno's dictionary describes his family as freed people linked to the Tunni confederation (Castagno 1975).
He studied the Quran, its meaning, grammar, law and Sufism with a local teacher, Sheikh al-Shashi (Wikipedia).
Baghdad and the return home
Around 1870 his teacher took him to Baghdad, the home of the Qadiriyya order. He studied there with Sayyid Mustafa bin Salman al-Jilani, and made the pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina (Wikipedia). Castagno places his studies in Baghdad between about 1870 and 1880 (Castagno 1975).
He came home to Baraawe in 1883. On the way he passed through the Hejaz, Yemen and the north of Somalia (Wikipedia). In Baraawe he was recognised as head of the local Qadiriyya (Castagno 1975).
Teaching across East Africa
He sent teachers inland and down the coast. Castagno credits him with much of the spread of the Qadiriyya in the Somali interior (Castagno 1975). Wikipedia records his influence from the islands around Zanzibar as far west as eastern Congo and as far south as Tanganyika. He had close ties with the Sultan of Zanzibar (Wikipedia).
Scott Reese records a Mogadishu story about his visit there. He stayed at the house of Imam Mahmud of the Abgaal. Two rival groups in the town, from Hamarweyne and Shangaani, came to him at the Friday mosque and gave up a harmful custom they had kept for years (as quoted in Wikipedia).
He moved inland and founded Beled al-Amin, "the town of peace", which grew into a farming settlement. The historian Said S. Samatar wrote that "nomad and farmer flocked to his community" (Wikipedia).
Poems
He wrote religious poems in Arabic and translated hymns from Arabic into Somali (Castagno 1975). Some are in the collection Majmu'a Qasa'id fi Madh Sayyid al-Anbiya, poems in praise of the Prophet (Wikipedia).
His death
He disagreed sharply with Sayid Maxamed Cabdulle Xasan, of the rival Salihiyya order, and the two exchanged poems (Wikipedia). In 1909 he was killed by Dervishes (Castagno 1975). His tomb at Biyooley (Biolay), about 150 miles north of Baraawe, is a place of pilgrimage (same source).
In short
A Qadiriyya scholar from Barawa who founded the Uwaysiyya branch, which still has followers in Somalia and East Africa.
Sources
- Castagno, Historical Dictionary of Somalia, 1975, "Sheikh Awes Muhammad Barawi" · archive.org
- Wikipedia, Uways al-Barawi · en.wikipedia.org
Sheikh Uways al-BarawiSheikh Uways · Sheekh Uweys
- Lived
- 1847 to 1909
- Known as one of
- Scholars and religious figures
- Era
- 1500 to 1884; Partition and the Dervishes, 1884 to 1920
- Sources
- 2 sources
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