الشيخ عمر الفاروق وأثر تفسيره في المجتمع الصومالي : شمال شرق كينيا نموذجاً

Abstract

May all praise be to Almighty Allah for HIS blessings and may peace and blessings be upon Mohamed the last of Messengers. The researcher gives a sum up of her paper in the following: 1- Sheikh Omar Alfaruq Alhajj Abdi Sultan Hajj Mohamud Mohamed Ahmed hails from a religion family from Al-Hassaan tribe that goes back to Ja’far Alsaadiq and that inhabits mostly in Hiran province of Somalia (Central region of Somalia) and also in western Somalia occupied by Ethiopia. 2- Sheikh Omar Alfaruq was born in a village called Armaley, Western Somalia in the year 1939. As an orphan who lost both his parents, he was raised by well his grandmother Ibada the daughter of Sheikh Ahmed. His journey of education started with the Sheria studies. He travelled long for education. He memorized the wholly Qur’an at the age of ten and then learnt other arts. He was mentored by various Sheikhs Western Somalia. He then migrated to Mandera, North Eastern Kenya to gain Islamic knowledge from the famous scholars of the region. After studying and teaching in Mandera for two years, the Sheikh migrated to Mogadishu in the year 1965 where he studied Islamic knowledge at the hands of Mogadishu scholars particularly Sheikh Ibrahim Mohamed Ali well known as Ibrahim Suley. After this, the Sheikh Omar Alfaruq started a new stage in his academic joining formal education and enrolled at Al-Tadamun Islamic School in Mogadishu that was under the Islamic University of Madinah Almunawarah. After the completion of the high school level at the school, he travelled for Hajj and there joined the Islamic University of Madinah Almunawarah. The Sheikh graduated from the Islamic University of Madinah, Faculty of Islamic Fundamentals and Islamic Propagation with a grade of Very Good in the year 1980. The sheikh ushered in a new error of Islamic propagation in and out of Somalia as after graduation, he was appointed as a preacher in Africa and particularly in Zambia, but the Sheikh refused and opted to stay with the people of his tongue supporting that with the verse in the wholly Qur’an: “And we sent not a messenger except speaking the language of his people” (Chapter Ibrahim, Verse No.4.). His excuse was accepted. The Sheikh stayed at Jeddah, the Kingdom ط of Saudi Arabic where he started recording the translation of the wholly Qur’an in Somali and simultaneously he gave out lectures and lessons in Saudi Arabic and outside, particularly Europe and Somalia. The main role of the Sheikh was Qur’an translation into Somali Language to facilitate people’s understanding of the Book of Almighty God in the mother tongue. His translation was different from other translation by his eloquence and brilliant use of language with easy and clear explanation. In his Qur’an translation and interpretation, the Sheikh gave out clear understanding of what may seem contradictory, gave out lessons learnt, and gave out jurisprudence and faith deductions and rebutted heresies and lies. He rebutted the deviated ideologies like communism and secularism and those who call for emancipation of women. The Sheikh gave out Islamic edicts directly and indirectly in religious, social, political and economic affairs. The Sheikh who dedicated his life for fighting illiteracy of his Somali people and Qur’an translation, kept educating the people and his last days, he was giving out lectures on TV until his death in Makkah Almukarramah on 8/3/2011 May Allah be merciful with him. Lastly, Sheikh Omar Alfaruq’s biography need voluminous studies to highlight his efforts, but it’s worth mentioning that, Alfaruq was distinguished from the other scholars by his courage and boldness to say what he saw to be the right thing and cared less about what others would say and who would be angry and that is the habit of renovation and creative scholars like his prominent predecessors like Abu Hanifa, Ahmed Bin Hanbal, Ibnu Taimiyyah, Al-Dahabi, Ibnu Abdilwahab, Albani, Qardawi and many others. May Peace and blessings be upon the last of messengers.