Sheikh Abadir Umar Al-Rida ( Harari: አባዲር ዑመር አል-ሪዳ ፈቂ ዑመር, ), also known as Aw Abadir or Aw Badir was the legendary founder of

Harar Harar (; Harari language, Harari: ሀረር / ; ; ; ), known historically by the indigenous as Harar-Gey or simply Gey (Harari: ጌይ, ݘٛىيْ, ''Gēy'', ), is a List of cities with defensive walls, walled city in eastern Ethiopia. It is al ...

and a

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

in modern-day eastern

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. He is also regarded as the common ancestor of the Somali Sheekhaal clan and the Harari people

History

Aw Abadir is the main figure in the ''Fath Madinat Al Harar'', an unpublished history of

in the 13th century. According to the account, he along with several other religious leaders traveled to Harar from the

Hijaz Hejaz is a historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes the majority of the western region of Saudi Arabia, covering the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif and Al-Bahah. It is thus known as the "Western Province ...

region of present-day

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

in 612H (1216 AD). Sheikh Umar Al-Rida subsequently married a local Harari woman, and constructed the city's Jamia mosque.

In modern culture

As stated by the early 1800s author Yahya Nasrallah, who wrote "Fath Madinat Harar", a semi-legendary account of Harar, Abadir foretold the subjugation of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. This prophecy would materialize a century later during the

Second Italo-Ethiopian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression waged by Fascist Italy, Italy against Ethiopian Empire, Ethiopia, which lasted from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is oft ...

Places

* Aw Abadir Stadium, proposed stadium in

city *Abadir mosque, largest mosque in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

, Ethiopia

Notes

References

*Michael Belaynesh, Stanisław Chojnacki, Richard Pankhurst, ''The Dictionary of Ethiopian Biography: From early times to the end of the Zagwé dynasty c. 1270 A.D'', (Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa University: 1975)

External links