SUFI POETRY IN SOMALI

In Islam, the world of nature, whose elements are often

referred to in the Quran, is essentially regarded as the

'sign of God'. The environment which surrounds us (such

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as the sky, the sun, the moon, the stars, the clouds, the
mountains, the trees and the water) is a kind of revelation
which is revealed to man so that he can marvel and consider
the wonders of nature and the Majesty of its Creator.
Hence the natural world becomes a background for spiritual
reality which, in the case of the Somali pastoralists,
stimulates their intellectual creativity and evokes their

deepest feelings. For example, in the following poem,

Maxamed Ibraahim Warsame (Hadraawi), a young contemporary

poet and teacher, makes use of Quranic symbolism in order

to give weight to his argument in which he expounds the

certitude of predestination:

Ku sinnaan dharaartii

La sargooyay dunidee

Rabbigay sameeyee

Cirka sare u taagee

Xiddigahan siraatiyo"

Dayax soohdin meeriyo

Lagu xidhay sitaacee

Lana sudhay cadceedee

Dh"ulka gogol la seexdiyo

Sabbo lagu nagaadiyo

Laga dhigay sindadabkee

Buuraha la saaree

Dhirta samayda hoosiyo

Salka loogu joojee

Saddex bado ah iyo webi