Sheekhaal

The Sheekhaal (var. Sheikhaal (شيخال), also known as Fiqi Cumar but different from the fiqi cumar(qubeys surre), is a Somali clan part of the hawiye hiraab of the larger Hawiye. They are descendants of gorgaarte hawiye. They inhabit Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti and with considerable numbers also found in the Northern Frontier District (NFD) in Kenya. Sheekhal traces its ancestry to Sheikh Abadir Umar Ar-Rida, also known as Fiqi Umar, who in turn traced his lineage to the first caliph, Abu Bakr (Sayid Abubakar Al-Sadiq). According to the explorer Richard F. Burton, In his book First Footsteps in East Africa. The Sheekhaash or Sheekhaal is described as the only Somalis of the maintains not derived from Dir and Darood. They claim descent from "Caliph Abu Bakr" and asserted that their ancestor Khutab bin Fakih Umar crossed over from Al-Hijaz. Fiqi Umar crossed over from the Arabian Peninsula to the Horn of Africa with his six sons: Umar the Greater, Umar the Lesser, the two Abdillahs, Ahmad and Siddik. Sheikh Ar-Rida is also regarded as the saint of Harar. The lineage goes back to Banu Taym, through the first Caliph Abu Bakr. Some clans of Sheekhaal would argue that while they are politically aligned with the larger Hawiye clan, this does not mean that they are Hawiye This view is shared by the Aw-Qutub, one of the major Sheekhal subclans; they too totally reject the notion that the Sheekhal are part of Hawiye : Lobogay (Loboge), Aw Qudub and Gendershe and Ali. Lewis (1982) mentions that the largest clan of the Sheikhal is the Reer Fiqi Omar, whose most important lineage, the Reer Aw Qutub, inhabit Somali region of Ethiopia. The Sheekhal clans were reportedly considered as part of the Hawiye politically until after the civil war. General Mohamed Ibrahim Liiqliqato, who was a Sheikhal, described in his book how the Sheikhal became associated with the Hawiye and added as ‘Martileh Hiraab’ (literally meaning guests of Hiraab). Shekhal are also mentioned to be one of the religious groups of Somalia along with the Ashraf.