Born in 1928 in the Somali Western region, Dr. Sheikh Mohamed Hadi was a revered Somali Islamic scholar who profoundly influenced Islamic education and propagation across the Horn of Africa, Somalia, Kenya, and particularly Wajir County, for over four decades.

Raised in Hoobaay, a quiet hamlet between Mustahil and Qalaafa in Ethiopia’s Shabeele region, Sheikh Hadi was the third child in a family of eleven siblings. His father served as his first teacher, instructing him in the Quran, Hadith, Tafsir, Fiq’h, and Nahwa. This early grounding was followed by five years in the region’s “Xer” informal learning centres, where he deepened his Islamic knowledge.

His great grandfather, Haji Nure, founded a prestigious informal learning hub in Godh Usbo, Bur Ukur, East Coast Somalia. Students from far and wide attended, becoming known as “Ula Madow” (Black Stick) graduates—a title of scholarly distinction.

In 1964, Sheikh Hadi began teaching in his hometown. Later, he received a scholarship from the Somali Youth League to study at the Islamic University of Madinah Al-Munawarah. Graduating with Upper Honours in 1968, he excelled in Hadith, Tafsir, Fiq’h, and Nahwa. One professor at Madinah described him as “a God-given genius mind that needs no studying.” Somali media celebrated his academic success on Radio Mogadishu during the era of President Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke.

Upon graduation, he was dispatched by the Saudi Centre of Islamic Propagation & Endowment to Kenya in 1968. He began his missionary work in Kitui, staying until 1974. A visit to the Machakos Higher Islamic Education Centre introduced him to Somali educators from Wajir—Sheikh Hassan Ukash, Sheikh Hassan Abdullahi, and Sheikh Ibrahim Issack—who became instrumental to his move to Wajir.

In 1973, Sheikh Hassan Ukash established Al-Fatah Institute in Wajir with Sheikh Hadi’s guidance. Due to funding challenges, Sheikh Ukash traveled frequently to Nairobi and successfully requested the Saudi Islamic Attaché to post Sheikh Hadi to Wajir in 1974.

Appointed Principal, Sheikh Hadi managed and expanded Al-Fatah into a prominent educational and orphanage centre. He introduced higher-level studies (Cadaadi) and facilitated graduate transitions to Kisauni Institute, Mombasa, and to universities in Saudi Arabia, Khartoum, and Al-Azhar with his personal recommendations.

Some of his distinguished students include:

* Dr. Ibrahim Farah (Deeq), Lecturer at Kenyatta University
* Abdiwahab Haji Hassan Bule (July), AMA Kenya
* Dr. Yussuf Ahmed Ileye, AMA Kenya
* Dr. Abdiweli Ahmed Abdi (Weli Aydiid), Vice-Chancellor, Umma University
* Dr. Hadi Sheikh Ali Tukade, Lecturer at Umma University


* Ustad Farah Sheikh Abdikadir, Former Somali MP
* Dr. Irshad, Imam Sheikh Mohamud (Jamia Wajir), Imam Deeq Aidid
* Abdirashid Ahmed Ileye, Abdiwahab Ceydiid, Abdiqalaq Sheikh Rashid
* Qassim Muhamad Yarrow, Hassan Garantee, Chief Siraaj

Many others from both older and younger generations, including myself, benefitted from his early instruction. I remember when he personally admitted me into Al-Fatah. His recurring phrase, “Allah yahdiikum” (May God guide you), still lingers in my heart. He once advised my father, “He has potential, but when he starts school, he won’t manage both.” He was right. Over time, my Islamic knowledge faded, but those early teachings shaped my foundation.

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