How did Islam reach Somalia?

[Journey.]

@Idilinaa @The alchemist @Shimbiris

What do you guys know about how Islam spread in Somalia? And is the history surrounding Masjid Qiblatayn (and Somalis accepting Islam that early in Islamic history) true?

It's a little strange that despite Islam's strong roots in our culture and history, there's little information on how it reached us and spread throughout our land.

 

[Idilinaa]

Its a big possibility that the prophets followers were sent to Somalia. Although Somalis did not refer to themselves as Habash as we can tell from the Rasulid manuscripts (that seperate jabarti, zayla'i from habash) , the name Al-Habash was a lot of times applied as a generalized regional name for the the entire Horn of Africa by Arab authors and poorly distinguished. There are examples of them applying it when talking about zayla despite it being fully Muslim by that point, which indicates they weren't speaking of the Christian Ethiopian highlanders.

So they could have sent them to Zayla, who maintain a local tradition about it linked to that Mosque you mentioned.

What we do know from archeology is that Somalis were islamized in large parts by 8th/9th century as there are tomb stones dating from the early 700s in Mogadishu and the northern-western interior was eating halal diet and with presence of Muslim butchery practices.

Early Muslims in the Horn had a cosmopolitan halal diet

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2020/05/early-muslims-in-africa-had-a-cosmopolitan-halal-diet/129456

www.somalispot.com

And we have written refrences from the 900s thats speaks of Muslim presence in both the northern and eastern horn.

And hadith narrators from Zayla from the 800s.

Somali Hadith Narrator in the 9th Century

Ibrahim ibn Abdullah ibn Muhammad Al Zayla’i Al Askari. Since his Sheikh died in 856 A.D. (245 A.H.) I’m Assuming he would have to have been born by 830. He, Al Daraqutni, and Al Tabari (RA) studied under the same Sheikh.

www.somalispot.com

 

[Journey.]

Its a big possibility that the prophets followers were sent to Somalia. Although Somalis did not refer to themselves as Habash as we can tell from the Rasulid manuscripts (that seperate jabarti, zayla'i from habash) , the name Al-Habash was a lot of times applied as a generalized regional name for the the entire Horn of Africa by Arab authors and poorly distinguished. There are examples of them applying it when talking about zayla despite it being fully Muslim by that point, which indicates they weren't speaking of the Christian Ethiopian highlanders.

So they could have sent them to Zayla, who maintain a local tradition about it linked to that Mosque you mentioned.

Do you mean they settled there or passed through? They were sent to the Abyssinian king who received them and most likely settled in the capital of Abyssinia under his protection. However, some of them stayed for 15 years before returning so there's a possibility, however small, that their da'wah spread to Somalis. Masjid Qiblatayn is interesting but I haven't come across anything that substantiates its historical claim.

What we do know from archeology is that Somalis were islamized in large parts by 8th/9th century as there are tomb stones dating from the early 700s in Mogadishu and the northern-western interior was eating halal diet and with presence of Muslim butchery practices.

Early Muslims in the Horn had a cosmopolitan halal diet

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2020/05/early-muslims-in-africa-had-a-cosmopolitan-halal-diet/129456

www.somalispot.com

And we have written refrences from the 900s thats speaks of Muslim presence in both the northern and eastern horn.


And hadith narrators from Zayla from the 800s.

Somali Hadith Narrator in the 9th Century

Ibrahim ibn Abdullah ibn Muhammad Al Zayla’i Al Askari. Since his Sheikh died in 856 A.D. (245 A.H.) I’m Assuming he would have to have been born by 830. He, Al Daraqutni, and Al Tabari (RA) studied under the same Sheikh.

www.somalispot.com

This is really interesting, thanks for sharing.

 

[Idilinaa]

Do you mean they settled there or passed through? They were sent to the Abyssinian king who received them and most likely settled in the capital of Abyssinia under his protection. However, some of them stayed for 15 years before returning so there's a possibility, however small, that their da'wah spread to Somalis. Masjid Qiblatayn is interesting but I haven't come across anything that substantiates its historical claim.




This is really interesting, thanks for sharing.

No i mean the most likely settled and sought refuge. It's impossible for them to have gone to Axum because it was landlocked basically and seized to exist back then and the Arab's saw them as an enemy crusaders so it would be pretty questionable for them to send them there.

Rise and Fall of Axum, Ethiopia: A Geo-Archaeological Interpretation

https://www.jstor.org/stable/280596

Trade declined after 600 and Axum was essentially landlocked by 715. Intense land pressure and more erratic rainfall favored soil destruction and ecological degradation during the seventh and eighth centuries. Largely abandoned by 800 and pillaged by border tribes. Axum retained only symbolic significance as power shifted to the more fertile lands of humid central Ethiopia

Therefore the king was most likely a local coastal ruler. Because they mention Nejashi along with situating Zayla and Dakhlak inside the region of Habasa in the 9th century and 10th century , here they are not talking about the Christian sovereign king but it's a resumption of older tradition that relates to Axum continued to be used after it dissapeared.

As far as Masjid Al-Qiblatayn goes, there is signs of the foundations being extremely old from what i've been told and it built over a few times. That and the two qibla orientation.

 

[Midas]

No i mean the most likely settled and sought refuge. It's impossible for them to have gone to Axum because it was landlocked basically and seized to exist back then and the Arab's saw them as an enemy

Rise and Fall of Axum, Ethiopia: A Geo-Archaeological Interpretation

https://www.jstor.org/stable/280596

Therefore the king was most likely a local coastal ruler. Because they mention Nejashi along with situating Zayla and Dakhlak inside the region of Habasa in the 9th century and 10th century , here they are not talking about the Christian sovereign king but it's a resumption of older tradition that relates to Axum continued to be used after it dissapeared.

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As far as Masjid Al-Qiblatayn goes, there is signs of the foundations being extremely old from what i've been told and it built over a few times. That and the two qibla orientation.

Oh wow this source looks interesting can you send me a link

 

[Idilinaa]

Oh wow this source looks interesting can you send me a link

It's screen copies i saved of translations from a spanish research paper, i'll find the link again for you.