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Muḥammad ibn Abdallāh ibn Hassan محمد بن عبدالله بن حسن 𐒉𐒖𐒕𐒕𐒘𐒆 𐒑𐒙𐒔𐒖𐒑𐒑𐒗𐒆 𐒛𐒁𐒆𐒚𐒐𐒐𐒖𐒔 H𐒖𐒈𐒈𐒖𐒒 | |
|---|---|
 Statue of Muhammad Abdullah Hassan inMogadishu | |
| 1stSupreme Leader of the Dervish State | |
| In office 21 April 1896 – 21 December 1920 | |
| Deputy | Ismail Mire |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Position destablished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Muḥammad Ibn Abdallāh Ibn Hassan (1856-04-07)7 April 1856 |
| Died | (1920-12-21)21 December 1920 (aged 64) |
| Cause of death | Influenza |
| Political party | Dervish Movement |
| Spouse | Hasna Doreh |
| Occupation |
|
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Battles/wars | |
| Title | "Mad Mullah", "Sayyid" |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Shafi'i |
| Tariqa | Salihiyya |
Muḥammad Ibn Abdallāh Ibn Hassan (Arabic: محمد بن عبدالله حسن:Somali:Maxamed Cabdulle Xasan; 7 April 1856 – 21 December 1920)[1] was aSomali scholar, poet, military leader and religious, cultural and political figure who founded and headed theDervish movement, which led aholy war againstBritish,Italian andEthiopian colonial intrusions in theSomali Peninsula. He was famously known by theBritish Empire as the "Mad Mullah".[2] In 1917, theOttoman Empire referred to him as the "Emir of the Somali People".[3] Due to his successful completion of theHajj toMecca, his assertion of being the descendant of the Islamic prophetMuhammad and his complete memorization of theQuran, his name is preluded with honorifics such asHajji,Hafiz,Emir,Sheikh,Mullah orSayyid.[4][5] His influence on theSomali people led him to being regarded the "Father of Somali nationalism".[6][7][8]
Born in 1856 in the Sacmadeeqa (Sa'Madeeq) valley in theHaud, Mohammed Abdullah Hassan came from a religiously devout and pastoralist family.[9] His father hailed from theOgaden clan, while his mother belonged to theDhulbahante, he was raised among Dhulbahante pastoralists.[10] His early life was typical of Somali boys, spent between tending livestock in the interior, and occasionally visiting the port city ofBerbera with his relatives.[11]
By the tender age of eleven, Hassan had already memorised the entireQur'an, showing remarkable promise as a scholar and leader.[9] His thirst for knowledge led him to study at Islamic learning centers acrossHarar,Mogadishu, andSudan, guided by over seventy teachers.[12] In the early 1890s, he made the pilgrimage (Hajj) toMecca, where he was deeply influenced by ʿAbd al‑Salām al‑Sālih, founder of theSalihiyya Sufi order—a doctrinally strict and reformist movement.[13][14]
This puritanicalSufi order shaped his militant and reformist religious outlook, emphasisingjihad against foreign influence and a revival of strict Islamic practices.[15] Upon returning to Somalia in 1895, Hassan settled in Berbera, where he built a mosque and began preaching against the British colonial presence andChristian missionary activities, which he believed threatened Islam.[16] He was particularly incensed by incidents such as Somali children being converted toChristianity and colonial demands for entry permits, which he saw as affronts to Somali autonomy.[17][18]
InBerbera, the establishedQadiriyyatariqa would soon be challenged by the Salihiyya order. One of the most prominent Sheikhs of theSalihiyya was Isma'il ibn Ishaq al-Urwayni.[19] They criticized the Qadiriyya for tolerating practices they deemed were un-Islamic, such as the consumption ofkhat (a stimulant plant) and chewingtobacco. These critiques directly challenged the Qadiriyya's religious authority and their acceptance of certain cultural practices.[20]
In 1897, Ḥassan engaged in rigorous theological debates with prominent Qadiriyya sheikhs in Berbera, including Aw Gaas and Xaaji Ibrahim Xirsi, and laterSheikh Madar, the leader of the Somali Qadiriyya.[21] These debates focused on religious practices and interpretations, with Ḥassan advocating for the Salihiyya's order's stance against what he saw as the Qadiriyya's laxity. The Qadiriyya sheikhs reportedly emerged victorious in these debates, reinforcing their dominance and leading to Ḥassan's refutation by the local religious establishment. Both sides accused each other ofheresy, deepening the rift between the two orders.[22][23]
After facing hostility from the Qadiriyya and failing to gain traction in Berbera, Ḥassan left the city in 1897 to join his Dhulbahante kinsmen. Two years later, in 1899, he founded theDervish movement, based on Salihiyya principles, partly as a rebuke to the Qadiriyya's status quo.[24][25]
Despite his efforts, Ḥassan faced significant resistance. The Qadiriyya's entrenched position and their victory in the 1897 debates led to his expulsion from the city byBritish authorities, who were wary of the unrest he caused.[26] This would mark a turning point for Ḥassan as he shifted his focus to building the Dervish elsewhere, which would later wage a 20-year jihad against colonial powers.[27] His confrontation with the Qadiriyya in Berbera thus laid the groundwork for his broaderanti-colonial and religious campaign, though it was met with limited success in the city itself due to the Qadiriyya's dominance and the local's support for their practices.[25]
Hassan's fierce opposition to British, Italian, and Ethiopian colonial presence was a powerful recruitment tool.[28] He framed his jihad as a defense of Somali sovereignty andIslam against foreign Christian encroachment, appealing to clans frustrated by colonial taxes, land seizures, and missionary activities. He declared jihad and denounced British influence, galvanized support from clans like the Ogaden and some sections of theIsaaq, who had felt marginalized by colonial policies. The Dervish became a direct challenge to the Qadiriyya's influence, as Hassan rallied followers, particularly from theHabar Tol Jaalo and easternHabar Yoonis clans to his cause of religious and anti-colonial resistance.[29]
In March 1899, Duwaleh Hirsi, a former Somali Aden police officer and expedition guide for Mr.Percy Cox (former consul-resident of Zeila and Berbera, 1893–1895) in Somaliland, allegedly stole a rifle and sold it to the tariqa at Kob Fardod. The vice-consul on the coast,Harry Edward Spiller Cordeaux, sent a letter to the mullahs at Kob Fardod demanding the rifle's return. The letter was delivered by Ahmed Adan, a Somali mounted policeman. Upon Adan's return, he was interviewed by Cordeaux, and Adan provided the following details:
I knew many of the people there—some of them were relations of mine. My brother-in-law, Dualeh Aoreb, was there. I asked them if they had any rifles, they said they at first had only six, but had just received fifty-five fromHafoon. I saw two or three of the new lot, they are Martins(new). They told me they had one or two "14-shot rifles." I saw some Mullahs walking about withSniders. The Sheikh himself and some of his Mullahs used to practice daily shooting at a target; they put up a shield against a tree. I used to talk with people every day. We talked about many things, some of the words they said were good and others were bad. They called me aKafir, and laughed at my uniform, saying that I smelt, and asking me why I wore the Sircars clothes. There were hundreds of people there, some from every tribe, Dolbahanta, Habr Toljaala, and Habr Yunis.[30]
What is particularly revealing about Ahmed Adan's interview is the confusion that was caused by another letter carried by a Somali, supposedly also from the British administration at the coast. This second letter angered the mullahs at the Tariqa;
On the third day the Mullah sent for me. I had seen him before; he often used to come into the house. I went to him, and he said he would give me his reply to the letter I had brought; that he had just received another letter which had been brought by a Somali. He asked me about it, but I told him I knew nothing about it, and asked him who had brought it. He said, "A Somali." A man named Salan had come in that day. I thought that he must have brought the letter. He then gave me a letter. It was written on the back of the letter I had brought him. I saw the Government stamp on it. He (the Sheikh) said, "This is the reply to your letter. I will give you the answer to the other letter to-morrow." He said that the second letter contained "bad words." Next morning he gave me two letters, and I then went away, and got into Berbera on Saturday night.[30]
The second letter provoked the mullahs, the hostile tone in the reply is due to the offensive second letter carried by Salaan the Somali. Both replies; one regarding the rifle curt but relatively inoffensive and a second addressing the confusing insolent second letter are in the British record.[31]
The news that sparked the Dervish rebellion and the 21-year disturbance according to the consul-generalJames Hayes Sadler was either spread or concocted bySultan Nur of theHabr Yunis. The incident in question was that of a group of Somali children that were converted to Christianity and adopted by the French Catholic Mission at Berbera in 1899. Whether Sultan Nur experienced the incident first hand or whether he was told of it is not clear but what is known is that he propagated the incident in theTariqa at Kob Fardod in June 1899.[32] In one of his letters to SultanDeria in 1899, Sayyid Hassan said that the British "have destroyed our religion and made our children their children", alluding to Sultan Nur's incident with the Roman French Mission at Berbera. The Dervishes soon emerged as an opposition of the Christian activities, defending their version of Islam against the Christian mission.[33]
There are only one people during the Dervish struggle the Sayyid extensively asked in a letter to join his struggle. Those were theBimal clan. His letter to the Bimal was documented as the most extended exposition of his mind as a Muslim thinker and religious figure. The letter is until this day still preserved. It is said that the Bimal thanks to their size being numerically powerful, traditionally and religiously devoted fierce warriors and having possession of much resources have intrigued Mahamed Abdulle Hassan. But not only that the Bimal themselves mounted an extensive and major resistance against the Italians, especially in the first decade of the 19th century. The Italians carried many expeditions against the powerful Bimal to try and pacify them. Because of this the Bimal had all the reason to join the Dervish struggle and by doing so to win their support over. the Sayyid wrote a detailed theological statement to put forward to the Bimal tribe who dominated the strategic Banaadir port ofMerca and its surroundings.[34]
One of the Italian's greatest fears was the spread of "Dervishism" (which had come to mean "revolt") in the south and the strong Bimaal tribe of Benadir whom already were at war with the Italians, while not following the religious message or adhering to the views ofMuhammad Abdullah Hassan, understood greatly his goal and political tactics. The dervishes in this case were engaged in supplying arms to the Bimaal.[35] The Italians wanted to bring in an end to the Bimaal revolt and at all cost prevent a Bimal-Dervish alliance, which lead them to use the forces of Obbia and the Majerteen as prevention.[35]
However, soon angered by his autocratic rule, Hussen Hirsi Dala Iljech' – a Mohammed Subeer chieftain – plotted to kill him. The news of the plot leaked to Hassan. He escaped, but his maternal uncle, Aw 'Abbas, was killed. Some weeks later, Mohammed Subeer sent a peace delegation of 32 men to Hassan, but Hassan had all the members of the delegation arrested and killed. Shocked by the actions of Hassan, Mohammed Subeer sought the help of the Ethiopians and the Dervish withdrew toNugaal.
Towards the end of 1900, Ethiopian Emperor Menelik proposed a joint action with the British against the Dervish. Accordingly, British Lt. Col.Eric John Eagles Swayne assembled a force of 1,500 Somali soldiers led by 21European officers and started fromBurco on 22 May 1901, while an Ethiopian army of 15,000 soldiers started from Harar to join the British forces intent on crushing the 20,000 Dervish fighters (of whom 40 percent werecavalry).
On 9 January 1904, at the Jidaale (Jidballi) plain, the British commander, GeneralCharles Egerton, killed 1,000 Dervish.[37] This defeat forced Sayyid and his remaining men to flee toMajeerteen country.[citation needed]
Around 1909, in a secret meeting under a big tree later nicknamed "Anjeel tale waa" ("The Tree of Bad Counsel"), about 400 Dervish followers decided to stop following the mullah upon receiving the expulsion letter from the head of the Tariqa, Sheikh Salah, excommunicating the mullah. Their departure weakened, demoralized and angered Sayyid, and it was at this juncture that he composed his poem entitled "The Tree of Bad Counsel".[citation needed]
Despite leaving Berbera after being rebuked by the leading Sheikhs of the rivalQadiriyya school the enmity did not end. Heated poems would be exchanged between the Sayyid and prominent SheikhUways al-Barawi fromBarawa, the leader of the 1908 Benadir revolt.[38]
Uways recited thisqasida criticizing the Sayyid:[39]
صل على محمد واله واصرف بهم من كل سوء داهيه
من اقتدى محمدا بشرعه لا يقتدى جماعة الشيطانية
هم المبيحون دماء العلما والمال والحريم هم إباحيه
ويمنعون الدرس للعلوم كالفقه والنحو هم الكراميه
بكل شيخ مات كالجيلاني لا يتوسلون كالجناحيه
لا يقتدرون خلف من له شعر سيماهم التحليق كالوهابيه
ويشترون الجنة بمال في دارنا جهرا هم الكلابيه
ويختلون بالحريم للإجا زة كأمهم فذا سفاحيه
يتبعون رأيهم لا كتبنا ويدعون النور من بلاسيه
ويفعلون النكر في ذكرهم فعلا وقولا يقتضي كفرانيه
كاللعب قائلين أألله شكا به جلهم الشماليه
لهم ضجيج وأنين وحنيــــــــن وفحيح كالكلاب الناحيه
ويكثرون الحلف بالطلاق وينكرون الكلفة الالهيه
ضلوا وأضلوا العباد في الثرى برا وبحرا اي من السماليه
أليس ذو لب وفهم يغترر بهم ففر عنهم كالدواهيه
Give a prayer to Muhammad (Sayyid) and his family and turn, through them, from all evil calamities
The ones who has imitated Muhammad (Prophet Muhammad) through his law does not follow the faction of Satan
They are the justifiers of [spilling] the blood of theulama and of wealth and women, they are libertines
They prohibit the study of sciences such as law and grammar, they are the repugnant
Through every Shaykh who has died such asAl-Jilani they do not seek petition, like the faction of sin
They do not follow behind the one who has locks of hair, their characteristic is to wear their hair long like theWahhabiyya
They trade paradise for cash publicly, in our land, they are a sect of dogs
They dally with women who come for license, like with their own mothers, and this is fornication
They follow their own opinions, not our books, and they claim to the light from the faction of Satan
And they practice denial at theirdhikr, in word and action it requires blasphemy
Like their game of sayingIs it God? - doubting him, the northern faction (dervishes) glorify them
They make a clamour, a wailing and groaning and howling like mournful dogs
And they frequently use the oathBy the divorce and reject the ceremony of Allah
They have gone astray and make people go astray on earth by land and sea anyone from [among] the Somalis
Is it not the owner of reason and understanding deceived by them?
Then flee from them as from calamities
With a long response the Sayyid ended with these sharp words:
- A word from the backsliding apostates (Qadiriyya)
- Who have gone astray from theProphet's way, the straight path
- Why is the truth so plain, hidden from you?
This exchange would lead totakfir or accusations of apostasy from both men and the murder of Uways by the Dervish in 1909. This ironically proved Sheikh Uways' accusation that the Sayyid deemed it lawful to spill the blood of the learned. The Sayyid would mock Sheikh Uways death with a final poemBehold, at last, when we slew the old wizard, the rains began to come!".[40]
During 1909-1910, the dervish capital moved fromIllig toTaleh in the heart ofNugal where the dervish built three garrison forts of massive stone work and a number of houses. He built a luxurious palace for himself and kept new guards drawn from outcast clans. By 1913, the dervish dominated the entire hinterland of the Somali peninsula building forts at Jildali and Mirashi, and atWerder in the Ogaden andBeledweyne in southern Somalia. On 9 August 1913, at theBattle of Dul Madoba, a Dervish force raided the Dolbahanta clan and killed or wounded 57 members of the 110-manSomaliland Camel Constabulary. The dead included the British officer who commanded the constabulary,ColonelRichard Corfield. Hassan memorialized this action in his poem simply entitled "The Death of Richard Corfield". In the same year, fourteen Dervishes infiltrated Berbera and fired few shots on its citizens fleeing, nonetheless causing panic. In 1914, theSomaliland Camel Corps was founded as an expanded and improved version of the constabulary.[citation needed]
A British force was gathering against the Dervishes when they were interrupted by the outbreak ofWorld War I. Among the British officers deployed wasAdrian Carton de Wiart (laterLieutenant General), who lost an eye during the campaign, andHastings Ismay, a staff officer who was laterWinston Churchill's chief military adviser.[citation needed]
In the beginning of 1920, the British struck the Dervish settlements with a well-coordinated air and land attack and inflicted a stunning defeat. The forts of the dervishes were damaged and the army suffered great losses. The Dervish retreated in to the Ogaden territory inAbyssinia and raided the Ogaden Bah Hawadle clan who were underHabr Yunis protection, reacting to this incident,Haji Warabe of theReer Caynaashe assembled an army composed of 3,000 warriors. The army set out from Togdheer, on the dawn of July 20, 1920, his army reached Shineleh where the Dervish were camped and proceeded to attack them. The Dervish numbering about 800 were quickly defeated, 700 being killed in the battle, the few remaining survivors fled south. Haji and his army captured 60,000 camels and 700 rifles from the defeated Dervish. But During the midst of the battle Haji Warabe entered Hassan's tent but found the tent empty with Hassan's tea still hot.[41] The Mullah, now a fugitive, continued to flee westwards into the thirsty wastelands of theOgaden.[42][43][44]
In October 1920, he eventually settled down at GuanoImi, at the head waters of theShebelle River in theArsi country, with a party of some four hundred followers. WhenFitawrari Seyoum, commanding the nearest Abyssinian garrison atGinir, heard of his arrival, he sent one of his officers, Garazmatch Ayale, to learn why he had entered Abyssinian territory. The Mullah received the officer well, and said that he had been beaten in battle by the British and had come to Abyssinia for protection. He then sent theFitawrari four rifles and a revolver as presents and asked for some provisions in exchange.Fitawrari Seyoum reported the matter toRas Tafari, who ordered him to not attack the Mullah but keep him under his watch. However, provisions were not provided and famine fell on the Mullah's camp, with most of his remaining followers dying of sickness and hunger; the few that survived were said to have dispersed shortly after.[45][46]
On 21 December 1920, Hassan died ofinfluenza at the age of 64, his grave is believed to be somewhere close toImi town of theSomali Region of Ethiopia; however, the exact spot of the Sayid's grave is unknown. In mid 2009, theSomali Regional State administration announced that they would exhume his remains and rebury them in his old castle at Imi.[47] Most of the people who knew the exact location of Hassan's tomb were long dead, but the Regional Information MinisterGuled Casowe told VOA Somali Section that a few, very old individuals might be left who would be able to reveal the details of Hassan's grave. Remains were found in a graveyard atGinir and theSomali Region of Ethiopia, then tried to test the DNA to determine whether they could be those of Sayid Mohammed Abdullah Hassan.[48]
Hassan has been seen by some as an icon ofPan-Somalism, and has been considered one of the great revolutionaries of the turn of the 20th century by members of thePan-Africanist movement.[49][50]
ASocialist realist statue of Hassan riding his horse Hiin-Faniin[51] (sometimes calledSayidka orSiyadka)[52] was built in centralMogadishu near theMogadishu Central Mosque in the 1970s or 1980s,[53][54] but the statue was torn down between 1991 and 1993 and sold as scrap metal.[55][56][57] The damaged foundation of the monument was left standing.[58]
On 18 October 2019, the monument was restored and unveiled by Somali presidentMohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, along with other restored monuments.[59][60] A similar statue was built in the Ethiopian city ofJigjiga in 2013.[61]
In theKhatumo region, there is a monument marking Hassan's birthplace, nearBuuhoodle in a place called Sacmadeeqa.[62]
Some poems by the Sayid include:[64]
Copertina ill. da Rondini
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