SUFI POETRY IN SOMALI

Nuuraay nebigaad dhashiisa tahoo, ninkii ku

xusaa najaato hel

o radiant light, you are the offspring of the

Prophet and the man who remembers you will attain

salvation

(Text 13/24)

Hillaac biliglayn had iyo gooroo, Islaamk~~

hanuuniyaad tahay

o you are the lightning which flashes constantly

and which guides the Muslims

Weligaan qabsanee, waaga noo bariyow

~

(Text 19/27)

o saint whom we have invoked and who has brought
the first daylight to us
(Text 20/27)
Apart from seeing it as the bringer of light, and
hence brightness which symbolizes truth, lightning is
regarded by the Somali pastoralists as a favourable sign

which announces rain:

Hannaantoosan waw tahay midba jid u hillaacee

Each of the two reckons the path that flashes before

him [like lightning luring him with the promises

of rain] to be the rightful one
(Text 23/3)
The sun and the moon are the most conspicuous sources of
light and are used as symbols of prominence and spiritual
power, as can be seen in the following example:

230.

...... I ,