Shihab al-Dīn Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Qādir ibn Sālim ibn ʿUthmān

Shihab al-Dīn Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Qādir ibn Sālim ibn ʿUthmān
Title	Arab Faqih
Personal life
Era	Adal Sultanate
Region	Horn of Africa
Main interest(s)	Warfare
Notable work(s)	Futuh al-Habasha
Religious life
Religion	Islam
Jurisprudence	Sunni

Shihab al-Dīn Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Qādir ibn Sālim ibn ʿUthmān, most commonly known as Arab Faqīh, was an Arab-Harari writer of the chronicle "Futuh al-Habasha", a first hand account of the Ethiopian-Adal war in the sixteenth century.[1]

Biography

Arab Faqih was a citizen of the Adal Sultanate and a religious Sufi.[2][3] He is believed to be of Yemeni descent according to most scholars.[4][5][6][7]

His surname in the Harari language was 'Arab Faqih,' which translates to "the Arab Jurist," a name suggesting Arab Yemeni roots. However, Enrico Cerulli argues that he was likely of Harari descent who became proficient in Arabic, thus earning that name. [8]

He used to document his work (which were left unfinished) in Jizan, Yemen.[8]

Linguist Giorgio Banti states it is noteworthy that his name Arab Faqīh is constructed using Arabic vocabulary while adhering to Harari grammatical rules.[9]

Arab Faqih is notable for writing the "Futuh al-Habasha" which details the sixteenth century war between Adal and Abyssinia from the point of view of Harar residents.[10]

References

1. Gori, Alessandro. Arab Faqīh. BRILL.
2. Wion, Anaïs (2023). Amélie Chekroun, La conquête de l'Ethiopie. Un jihad au xvie siècle (PDF). Paris, CNRS Èditions. p. 108.
3. Chekroun, Amelie (2015). Des futūḥ au Futūḥ al-Ḥabaša : usage symbolique d'un modèle littéraire arabe classique dans l'Éthiopie islamique du xvie siècle. Histoire ancienne et médiévale. Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. pp. 309–317. ISBN 979-10-351-0142-8.
4. YaʼItyop̣yā qwānqwāwočenā sena ṣeḥuf maṣḥét. Addis Ababa University. 1997. p. 27.
5. Getahun, Solomon (27 February 2014). Culture and Customs of Ethiopia. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 979-8-216-06942-3.
6. Pankhurst, Richard (2009). "Barara, the Royal City of 15th and Early 16th Century (Ethiopia). Medieval and Other Early Settlements Between Wechecha Range and Mt Yerer: Results from a Recent Survey". Annales d'Éthiopie. 24: 214. doi:10.3406/ethio.2009.1394.
7. Hassen, Mohammed (2017-12-04). "The Genealogy and Ethnic Identity of Ahmed Ibn Ibrahim Al-Gazi (Gragn) of Ethiopia: A Historiographical Reappraisal". East African Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities. 2 (2). doi:10.20372/eaj (inactive 9 June 2025). ISSN 2959-149X. Archived from the original on 2024-12-29. written by a Yemeni Arab chronicler known as Shihab al-din Ahmed bin Abd al-Qader bin Salem bin Uthman (for short Shihab al din, alias known as Arab Faqih in Ethiopian sources
8. Cerulli, Enrico. Islam yesterday and today. p. 134.
9. Banti, Giorgio. The literature of Harar until the end of the 19th century (PDF). Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura. p. 151.
10. Chekroun, Amelie (2016). Ottomans, Yemenis and the "Conquest of Abyssinia" (1531-1543). Corne de l'Afrique contemporaine / Contemporary Horn of Africa. Centre français des études éthiopiennes. pp. 163–174. ISBN 978-2-11-172313-9.