''Sheikh'' Omar Farouk Haji Abdi Sultan (; ) Somali Cleric,

Scholar A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a termina ...

, Quran interpreter and Islamic preacher.

Life

Sheikh Omar Farouk was born in the village of ( or ) near the city of

Kebri Dahar Qabridahare (Amharic: ቀብሪ ደሓር) is a city in the eastern part of Ethiopia known as the Somali region. Located in the Korahe Zone of the Somali region, this town has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 1609 meters above ...

, Somali territory of Ethiopia in 1939. He became an orphan since his parents died when he was under the age of six and grew up under his grandmother's care. Sheikh Omar Farouk memorized the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

at the age of 11. He then began learning the

Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

, Arab sciences, interpretation and talk on various senses in the region. He then left to seek science and received the sharia in both the

Somali Region The Somali Region (, , ), also known as Soomaali Galbeed () and officially the Somali Regional State, is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in eastern Ethiopia. It is the largest region of Ethiopia. The state borders the Ethiopian regions ...

and NFD before arriving in the Somali capital of

Mogadishu Mogadishu, locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia and has ...

. He was taught by famous Ulama such as Sheikh Ibrahim Sule, then attended the Islamic Solidarity Institute of the

Islamic University of Madinah The Islamic University of Madinah () is a public Islamic university in Medina, Saudi Arabia. Established by King Saud bin Abdulaziz in 1961, Sayy’id Abul Ala Maududi had played a significant role of establishing and running of Islamic Univers ...

, where he took

Salafist The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a fundamentalist revival movement within Sunni Islam, originating in the late 19th century and influential in the Islamic world to this day. The name "''Salafiyya''" is a self-designation, claiming a retur ...

creed. He joined the

Islamic University of Medina The Islamic University of Madinah () is a public Islamic university in Medina, Saudi Arabia. Established by King Saud bin Abdulaziz in 1961, Sayy’id Abul Ala Maududi had played a significant role of establishing and running of Islamic Univers ...

in 1974 and received a bachelor's degree in

sharia law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, inta ...

, and then became a famous Sheikh Somali preacher touring Europe and Africa.

Career of Dawah

Sheikh Omar Farouk began teaching Islamic jurisprudence and explaining the Quranic exegesis in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. He faced arrest under the rule of the Supreme Revolutionary Council, led by Somali President

Siad Barre Mohammed Siad Barre (, Osmanya script: , ''Muhammad Ziād Barīy''; 6 October 1919 – 2 January 1995) was a Somali military officer, politician, and revolutionary who served as the third president of Somalia from 21 October 1969 to 26 Janu ...

. The reason for his arrest was his interpretation of the Quranic verse of Suratul Al-An'am He explained that if people do not adhere to their religion, Allah will place unjust rulers over them who will not show mercy. It was said that he implied Allah had imposed a tyrannical revolution upon the people, referring to Siad Barre's revolution. Consequently, he was imprisoned for forty-two days before being released. After joining the Islamic University in

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 1974, Sheikh Omar Farouk recorded the full interpretation of the Quran and broadcast the reputation of these recordings, being distinct from the rest of his peers. He also recorded the

Nahwa Nahwa is a territory that forms part of the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. It is a counter-enclave (or second-order enclave) within the Omani territory of Madha, which is itself an exclave of Oman and an enclave within the Unit ...

, Al-Sarf, Al-Sīra al-Nabawiyya, Life of Sahab and

Riyad as-Salihin ''Riyad as-Salihin'', ''The Meadows of the Righteous'', or ''The Gardens of the Righteous'' (), is a compilation of verses from the Quran, supplemented by Hadith narratives by Al-Nawawi of Damascus. The Hadith is part of the canonical Arabic col ...

, and many different Islamic sciences.

Assassination attempt

Sheikh Omar Farouk was a vocal critic of the Ethiopian invasion and survived two assassination attempts by the Ethiopian Intelligence Agency, once in the late 1990s and again in 2001. These attempts were due to his status as one of the most prominent Somali Salafists criticizing Ethiopian intervention benefited the

Somali Civil War The Somali Civil War (; ) is an List of ongoing armed conflicts, ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the military junta which was led by Siad Barre during the 1980s. From 1988 to 1990, the Somali Armed ...

Recconciliation

After the collapse of the

Somali Republic The Somali Republic (; ; ) was formed by the union of the Trust Territory of Somaliland (formerly Italian Somaliland) and the State of Somaliland (formerly British Somaliland). A government was formed by Abdullahi Issa Mohamud and Muhammad ...

in 1991, Sheikh Omar Farouk endeavored to unite the fragmented Somali community, heal the rifts, and bring people together under a single leadership. To this end, he visited Somalia several times in the 1990s and participated in the Somali National Peace Conference held in

Arta, Djibouti Arta (, ) is a town in southeastern Djibouti. The center of the Arta Region, it is the country's sixth-largest city. , the population was 11,221. Arta is situated on the Mountains of Arta and is famous for its mild climate. It is located some w ...

in 2000. The conference resulted in the agreement on

Transitional National Government of Somalia The Transitional National Government (TNG) was the internationally recognized central government of Somalia from 2000 to 2004. Overview The TNG was established in 20 April–5 May 2000 at the Somalia National Peace Conference held in Arta, Djibou ...

, led by

Abdiqasim Salad Hassan Abdiqasim Salad Hassan (; ; born on 1 January 1942), also known as Abdiqasim Salad, is a Somali politician who served as the fifth President of Somalia from 2000 to 2004. He helped found the Transitional National Government and previously serv ...

. The

President of Djibouti This is a list of presidents of Djibouti. Since the establishment of the office of president in 1977, there have been two presidents. The president is both head of state and head of government of Djibouti and the commander-in-chief of the Dji ...

Ismail Omar Guelleh In the biblical Book of Genesis, Ishmael (; ; ; ) is the first son of Abraham. His mother was Hagar, the handmaiden of Abraham's wife Sarah. He died at the age of 137. Traditionally, he is seen as the ancestor of the Arabs. Within Islam, Ishm ...

, granted Sheikh Omar Farouk Djiboutian citizenship and an honorary seat in the Transitional Somali Parliament. He was present at the conference proceedings and was the one who administered the constitutional oath to President Abdiqasim Salad Hassan. After Ethiopian occupation of Somalia the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces from Mogadishu in 2009, Sheikh Omar Farouk was one of the most prominent scholars supporting national reconciliation and the initiative of Sharif Sheikh Ahmed's wing of the

Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia The Alliance for the Re–liberation of Somalia (ARS) was a political party formed in Eritrea during September 2007 as the successor to the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) during the Ethiopian military occupation of Somalia. It served as the principal ...

. Sheikh Omar Farouk was also a staunch critic of the Al-Shabaab militant and its military and ideological methods.

Death

On March 8, 2011, Sheikh Omar Farouk died at the age of 71 in

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

, and was buried there. Somali scholars, entrepreneurs, sheikhs, and government officials expressed their condolences on his death.

Legacy

On November 20, 2019, a ceremony was held in Mogadishu to launch the Sheikh Omar Farouk Foundation for Da'wah and Development, dedicated to preserving Farouk's legacy. The foundation aims to collect his scholarly works, including his Quranic exegesis and various fatwas issued on different occasions and concerning various topics relevant to the lives of Somali communities, both abroad and within Somalia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farouk, Sheikh Omar Somalian educators Translators to Somali 2011 deaths 1939 births Somalian Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Articles containing Somali-language text Quranic exegesis scholars