SUFI POETRY IN SOMALI

is a well known poem RUB AL-c.i\SHIQIN ('The Spirit of Those

Who Love') written in praise of SHAIKH cABD AL-QADIR

AL-JILANI, the founder of the QADIRIYYAH orde.r.

The second of the two collections contains two famous

poems by Sheekh Cabdiraxmaan Saylici which are devoted

to the Sufi doctrine MAHIJAT AL-AFFAij ('The Stirrer of

Joys') and SHAJARAT AL-YAQIN ('The Tree of Certainty,).l

53.

Only a few of the numerous Sufi poems in Arabic

written by Somali authors have been translated into English.

They can be found in Andrzejewski 1968 and 1974a and

Andrzejewski and Lewis 1964.

Somali Sufi poetry in Arabic requires further research.

A particular area which may throw new light on cultural

contacts are certain irregularities which are found at

times in the scansion of these poems and which may be due to

such factors as the influence of the spoken Arabic of the

Arabian Penninsula or that of Somali.

VI

Sufi Poetry ln Somali Composed by Men

Sufi poets who compose poems in Somali are usually men of

religion with a good knowledge of Classical Arabic and

Islamic theolog~. They are above all ardent preachers

who wish to convey to their listeners their knowledge and

their religious zeil.

Convinced about the supreme status of Classical Arabic

as the language of the Quran and the mother in Somali tongue of the

Prophet, they compose religious poems/only as concession