Shiekh Al’lamah Adam Tula :‫اﻟﺸﯿﺦ اﻟﻌﻼﻣﺔ آدم ﺗﻮﻻ‬

- Dr. Jeylani Kedir Gamada

He is Adam bin Ahmad bin Ibrahim bin Muhammad bin Osman Al-Harari Al-
Gurguri (his tribe), known as Adam Tula, and he is a scholar of scholars, jurist, hadith
scholar, senior. Humble, brave, patient, spread the Sunnah and monotheism and Islamic
knowledge, the word being heard, God made him accepted by the public and the private, so
God benefited many people through him, and because of his long life, he was able to teach
his grandfather, then his son, then his son’s son, so he is a companion of the youngest to the
greatest, and the sons are attached to the grandparents, with complete health, well-being,
activity, and perfection. Aqal lived one hundred and fourteen years, may God bless him with
this long life he benefited the people and the country. He was a social reformer, an advocate,
and a resistance to falsehood. He was imprisoned during the time of the Emperor, then during
the days of Derg, then during the days of Meles Zenewai regime. He founded the Harar
Scholars Association with his colleagues in the last days of the Emperor, and he remained a
struggling Mujahid until the end of his days. He was finally appointed Chairman of the
Council of Senior Oromia Scholars for Fatwa in 1442 AH.

Here is its detailed translation in brief:

Tula refers to the name of a district located on the outskirts of the city of Harar to the north
of it. The Sheikh was born in the year approximately (1334 or 1339 AH) in the village of
Osman, a village attributed to his third grandfather Osman in his lineage. His lineage goes
back to the Gurgura tribe, which is the name of a tribe that is Somali by blood & lineage and
ally to the Nole Oromo one of the four largest tribes of Harar, which is Ala, Jarso, Nole, and
Obora. These four tribes are known as (Afran Qalu), meaning the four sons of Qalu.

Sheikh Adam himself told me: The alliance between the two tribes was ancient, and its exact
time is not known. It was even said that it was before the mission of the Prophet, may God
bless him and grant him peace, but perhaps this is an exaggeration. What is known is that the
leader who concluded the alliance from the Nole tribe is called Omar Ali. As for the leader
who agreed with him from the Gurgura tribe, he was Ugaas Buh, and they concluded the
agreed alliance according to the ancient customs of the tribes. Since then, the two tribes have
merged through intermarriage, neighbourhood, cooperation, and support until they were
almost fused and dissolved. He said: Among what helped this merger and fusion was Islam,
which is the bond of faith and Islamic brotherhood, and this bond is stronger than the bond of
blood.

God Almighty said: “Indeed, the believers are brothers, so make peace between your brothers, and
fear Allah.” By Allah, perhaps you will be shown mercy. [Al-Hujurat: 10] And the believing men
and believing women are some of them’s guardians, O ۡMarwon with favor I said: What helped in
this merger and fusion was Islam, which is the bond of faith and Islamic brotherhood, and this bond
is stronger than the bond of blood. God Almighty said: “Indeed, the believers are brothers, so make
peace between my brothers.” And fear God, that you may You will be shown mercy. [Al-Hujurat:
10] And the believing men and the believing women are the guardians of one another. And they
forbid evil, and establish prayer, and pay zakat, and obey Allah and His Messenger. These will have
His mercy. Indeed, Allah is Mighty, [At-Tawbah: 71].

Then what increased this integration was intermarriage, the lack of political competition, the
movement of students of knowledge and movements made peoples get to know each other, love
each other, and co-operate among themselves. Were it not for these scientific trips, the Muslims of
the people of the East in this country would not have gotten to know the Muslims of the West, nor
the people of the South with the people of the North. They are blessed and tiring journeys. In it are
our ancient sheikhs, who used to move around on their feet and cross the countryside and deserts on
their feet without riding in cars out of hope and seeking the pleasure of God Almighty and out of
love from God, the Wise and All-Knowing, to their hearts seeking this knowledge. He made it more
delicious and sweeter than all pleasures, and one of the clearest things about this is what we find in
this book during the biographies, where you find the sheikh from the Somali (Hawiya) tribe
studying under Sheikh Al-Arusi, and you find Al-Harari studying under Al-Jami, or Al-Duwai, or
Al-Argobi, or Al-Harari studying under Al-Walwi, Al-Jami, Al-Ifati, Al-Ghujmi, Al-Rai, and so on.
 His studies:

1. Our Sheikh Al-Tuli studied the principles of Shafi’i jurisprudence with Sheikh Muhammad bin
Ibrahim Al-Somali Al-Hawiya Al-Kurkowri. He studied Safina Al-Naja with him by reading and
memorizing, then Al-Mukhtasar Al-Saghir, then Mattan Abu Shuja’ Ghayat Al-Taqreeb, then Al-
Muqaddimah Al-Hadramiyyah by Abu Fadl, then Umdat Al-Salik and Iddah Al-Nasik by Ibn Al-
Naqib, and he took Shafi’i jurisprudence. On the authority of his Sheikh Abdullah Al-Somali Al-
Hawiya.

2. Then he read to Sheikh Ali Al-Arousi Nazil (Saqul), which is close to (Tula) Al-Zabad, and Al-
Minhaj by Al-Nawawi, to the chapters of transactions, and the curriculum of students, and
(Saqal), the name of a place in which there is a strange hill with beautiful rocks. When I saw it
when we visited the village of Sheikh Adam, we passed by it, I took Balbi for its stunning natural
beauty. Then I traveled to Dowi, where we passed a place near the village of Ghado, the residence
of Mufti Dawud and Mufti Kabir Ahmad. They told me that his name was Saqal, so I was
surprised. In the similarity of names, it is one of the problems and wonders of this research, as the
names of places and tribes are similar despite the distance, and perhaps the matter in this is that
the Oromo tribes known for their journeys and displacements call the places to which they moved
by the name of their original home from which they moved, and something like this is found in
the Arabian Peninsula, such as the name of Aqeeq. It is called on several sites, and God knows
best.

3. Then he read to Sheikh Abdullah Basira al-Dawli, in reference to (Dulu), with the opening of the
dal al-mamla, the sukun of the waw, the damm of the lam, and the waw of sukunah, the name of a
place in the area of (Kersa) of the curriculum of transactions, but he did not finish it. These two
sheikhs, al-Arousi and al-Dawli, took Shafi’i jurisprudence from Sheikh Othman bin Adam,
known as Baqawi bin Bilali bin Santi bin Ilo Al-Noli Al-Hilaili, and he traveled to (Duwai) and
taught him under Sheikh Ali bin Sayid bin Yahya bin Bashir Al-Dalti Al-Argobi, and he taught
under Sheikh Sharaf Al-Din bin Muhammad Shafi, known as Abaslam bin Ahmed Al-Oromi, and
he taught under Sharaf Al-Din bin Nasser Al-Hinnawi, and I explained the chain of transmission
of jurisprudence for him in the independent treatise that I wrote in the translation of this Sheikh
Adam.
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4. Then he read to Sheikh Abdulmajeed bin Abdullah Muumna al-Turtouri al-Aniyi, nicknamed al-
Isnawi: the parsing, and he completed Dahlan’s explanation of al-Ajrumiyya for him. He read to
Abu al-Mahasin Muhammad bin Ali bin Saleh al-Arusi al-Jajji, and it was said that he traveled to
Jimma, but this statement was not proven.

5. He read to Sheikh Muhammad Tawshih Al-Qadi Al-Ajrumiya along with the rules and limits
called “Qatru” in Arabic.

6. Then he read to Sheikh Ibrahim bin Othman Al-Jaiki Al-Qayransi (Qatru) the Persian language,
and he read to Sheikh Othman bin Ruba Al-Busaisi, as he read to Sheikh Muhammad Madid and
Saeed bin Muhammad Al-Kumbalshi, both of whom read to Abu Al-Mahasin Al-Jajji.

7. Then he read to Sheikh Musa bin Muhammad al-Adili al-Alawi Tammim al-Ajurumiyyah and
Tuhfat al-Ikhwan fi al-Ma’ani, and Salam al-Munawarq in logic. He read Arabic sciences to
Saeed al-Kumbalshi, and studied rhetoric and logic from Musa bin Sha’ab al-Hawiyi, and he read
to Abu al-Mahasin al-Jajji.

8. Then he read to Sheikh Abdullah Al-Yaki, Nazil Baba Al-Malifiya, Ibn Aqeel, and Al-Kashf, and
he read to Sheikh Musa bin Muhammad Al-Adili.

9. Then he read the interpretation to Sheikh Saeed bin Muhammad bin Abi Bakr bin Kuttabi Al-
Sharif Al-Harari Al-Alawi Al-Kombalchi. He studied with Sheikh Siddiq in (Mayagodo). Then he
traveled to my family and stayed with Abu Al-Mahasin for years. Then he returned and continued
teaching for a long time, and he read to him. Taking over the interpretation of the Holy Qur’an the
next time after sixty, either the first or the second, because Al-Kombalchi taught interpretation for
a long period, and repeated this number of times. If we estimate that he completes the
interpretation every year, the period of his teaching would be about sixty years this possibility is
supported by what his son Abdul-Salam bin Saeed told me that his father taught for sixty years
and that he was ninety years old at the time of his death, and that he died in the year
(approximately 1370 AH), and al-Tawalli read the interpretation to him and did not complete it
for him, and he also read to him part of the explanation. Zaini Dahlan on Al-Ajrimiya.

10.Then he read the entire interpretation to Sheikh Musa Al-Aylaudi.

11.Then he read the Tawshih to Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Kousmi.

12.Then he read to Sheikh Muhammad bin Ahmed Nguesso Al-Watari part of Al-Tawshih, which he
taught under Sheikh Yusuf bin Othman Al-Warqi Al-Arusi, Nazil Arghouba Bsdimu, and he aught
it under Othman bin Qawi.

13.Then he read Fath al-Wahhab to Sheikh Issa bin Yusuf al-Dandhami (Dhandham) al-Damouti,
and this sheikh learned its jurisprudence from Sheikh Othman bin Qawi.

14.Then he read Al-Mahli to Sheikh Muhammad Rashid, and he taught jurisprudence to Sheikh
Yusuf bin Othman Al-Warqi.

15.Then he read part of Sahih Al-Bukhari to Sheikh Ali bin Waddu Al-Harmayi, and he read part of
it to Sheikh Ahmed Al-Karawi.

16.Then he read the rest of Sahih Al-Bukhari to Sheikh Ibrahim bin Othman Al-Jiki, and he read to
Sheikh Saeed bin Ismail Al-Kharwi, and he read to Abdullah Al-Walensi.

17.Then he read Sahih Muslim in its entirety to Sheikh Saeed bin Ismail Al-Kharwi, and Al-Bukhari
listened to him as Sheikh Qasim Al-Adili read in full.

18.With this, the Sheikh completed the phase of learning, academic achievement, and legal,
linguistic, and rational study, and moved to the stage of conveying, performing, and teaching. The
Sheikh returned to his region (Tula) and began teaching the Islamic sciences of hadith,
jurisprudence, interpretation, and linguistic sciences.

The most correct ways in which the Prophet’s hadith is narrated and the sciences of Hadith

The most correct way in which the sheikh narrates is the way of his sheikh Saeed bin Ismail Al-
Khurawi, the hadith scholar and jurist, and Kharu with the addition of the kha and the stress of the
open ra and the waw is silent. The name of a place in the east of Harar, located north of Haramaya,
near Mount Habat. He heard the two Sahihs from him in their entirety, undiminished, and he also
authorized him with his chains of narration to narrate from him. All of the things whose narrations
are valid are generally approved, and among those that were specifically permitted by the four
Sunans, Sheikh Saeed used to teach them the terminology of the Hadith in application and
explanation while explaining the Hadith.
 Sheikh Adam Al-Tula’s efforts in spreading Islamic knowledge:

Our Sheikh has commendable and successful efforts in spreading Sharia knowledge day and night,
and spreading the Sunnah of the Prophet, the science of Hadith, and the approach of the righteous
predecessors. He is attached to the younger ones to the older ones. He taught the grandfather, then
his son, then his son’s son, and he has been teaching to this day in his circle, which is located in the
village of his grandfather, Osman, in Batula, for more than For sixty years, he has continued to seek
knowledge for more than twenty years, and Allah has greatly benefited his creation through him,
and he remains in this state to this day, even though he has exceeded one hundred years.

A time for mothers and girls, then a time for the farmers working in the field, then for foreign
students of knowledge and others. He would accept the truth, return to it, and abandon what his
sheikhs thought of him if he saw evidence and it seemed right to him, and he would not be fanatical
about his opinion or the way of the sheikhs and fathers. This is what I know about him, and I do not
praise him. Allah Almighty has no one - Allah Almighty made me and him steadfast in faith and the
Sunnah, and blessed us with the followers of His Chosen Prophet and His Prophet Al-Mujtaba, may
Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him, and that He may cause us to die following the Sunnah,
revive us upon it, and make us among its spreaders and callers to it. Indeed, He is All-Hearing and
Near.

His reform efforts

Our Sheikh Al-Tawalli was one of those who had prominent reformist advocacy efforts in the Harar
region. He used to call people to God Almighty, give lectures, and enjoin what is right and forbid
what is wrong. He is one of the most prominent preachers in this country. He called for pure
monotheism and adherence to the pure Sunnah, and warned against polytheism, heresies, sins, and
bad morals.

Among the most important things that he denounced: slaughtering under trees called (Hjuba).
Before this, they used to go there for blessings, to ask for the fulfillment of needs, and to ward off
calamities, and they would slaughter there. (Hjuba) is a large meadow, or dense trees that grow over
graves and shrines, so they are left until it becomes a forest that cannot be cut down for fear of being
destroyed. The people of the graves, believing in it, seek water from it, and it is called in some areas
(adbari), and they gather there, and perhaps they slaughtered it there, or they gave in charity there
whatever they could afford, so the Sheikh forbade this and declared that this is a means of
polytheism, just as the Sheikh forbade magic and sorcery, and from that he said : Do not look in the
books of the zodiac, especially whoever has the book of the astrologer, let him burn it because it is a
book on magic, and he announced this call of his openly, and this was about sixty years ago before
the call of monotheism and the Sunnah spread in this country.

Among what happened to him was what his student, Sheikh Ahmed bin Osman Al-Wattari, told me,
that one of the young students was absent from attending the lesson for days, then he came, and the
sheikh asked him about the reason for his absence, and he mentioned that his family had taken the
ram to (Aungus) to be slaughtered there, and because of this, he was late to attend the lesson, so the
sheikh refrained from teaching it until His family came and they repented and pledged that they
would not return to such actions that involve worshiping other than God Almighty and slaughtering
the people of the graves.

What caused him a problem was that he recorded on the tape the interpretation of Surat Al-Zumar in
the Oromo language, and among what he said during the interpretation: Examples of gods that are
worshiped other than God Almighty are Gabriel and Ongs. This recording was at the request of his
followers, students and families, to learn the truth about monotheism, polytheism, and heresies.
However, the Sheikh stated In the name of Ongs because there are (7) Awat and Hujba, and Awat are
seven or more, and they are shrines attributed to those whom people believe in and call them saints,
all of them around the city of Harar, most of them within the borders of the Tula region except for a
few of them, as they are included in the city wall. Historical Harar, and it was said that the number
of the Awats reached forty, and some of them said: They are forty-four, and among those Awats are
Ongus, or Jumjum, which means the great father, or Omar, Otiso, or Abadir, or Hashim, or
Qurbilmai, which means offering water with dignity, and Sa`id, until the last of those Awats. The
word (or) means reverence and glorification, and it means great, and it was said: It is carved from
saints, and the first is more correct.

They used to worship these gods and seek their help, and say: They benefit and harm, bring
blessings and good things, and ward off afflictions and calamities. Sometimes they claim to
intercede on their behalf with God Almighty and to befriend them, just as the Arab polytheists used
to say: {We only worship them so that they may bring us closer to God} and they say: What is the
matter with God? One of his words that raised the problem was his saying in this tape: Just as
whoever goes to Gabriel has left Islam, likewise whoever goes to Aungs with an offering, whether it
is a sheep or a goat, is such and such, and this tape caused him a big problem. This made others
stand against him, so they took his matter to the state, and he was confronted and pleaded with by
some sheikhs in a well-known story recorded in the memory of history.

Then, when he was imprisoned and released from prison by acquittal, he began the call explicitly
and prevented people from worshiping (Aww), so his cause became more famous, he found more
followers, and his call spread, and God made him accepted by many of those whom God wanted
him to follow pure monotheism and the pure Sunnah, and the people began to be influenced by the
change that he called for, so that was removed. The desert, and the many trees they used to seek
blessings from and were afraid to cut down and benefit from, were cut down. The entire Tula region
obeyed his call and abandoned the abominations, heresies, and bad customs they were accustomed
to.

His imprisonment was repeated several times during the days of Emperor Haile Selassie, the days of
Derg, and the days of Meles Zenewi regime. Whenever he was imprisoned, his preaching spread, his
fame spread, and his followers increased, so imprisonment only increased his elevation, fame, and
unwavering determination.

Through these matters, his call became famous, and he declared it openly, without puns or deceit,
and God Almighty helped him and granted him acceptance. He is the one who does what he wants.
What God made a reason to strengthen his call was that God prepared in that same period a number
of scholars who announced the call to pure monotheism and the rejection of heresies and
polytheism, and at their head was Sheikh Abdullah bin Omar bin Abihi Al-Fadsi, known as Abdullah
Toqo Al-Harari (d. 1407 AH). His translation will be detailed, God willing, and God Almighty will
be able to trust him and trustworthy people.

Among those who participated with Sheikh Al-Tuli in spreading the correct call was Sheikh Ibrahim
bin Hassan bin Muhammad bin Abdul Rahman, known as Ibrahim Shash Al-Harari Al-Hadri, and
details of that will come in his translation, God Almighty willing, and among those who participated
with him was Sheikh Abdul Karim bin Hassan bin Ahmed Al-Bululi Al-Alawi (d. 1428 AH). What
is meant is that God Almighty made these calls strengthen and strengthen, God Almighty willing,
and not only these, but there are others who followed the path, including Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Khakhi
Al-Harari Al-Jarsi, as will appear in his translation, God Almighty willing.
What is meant is that God Almighty made these calls strengthen and strengthen, God Almighty
willing, and not only these, but there are others who followed the path, including Sheikh Ibrahim Al-
Khakhi Al-Harari Al-Jarsi, as will appear in his translation, God Almighty willing.
Among those who announced the call to monotheism and the Sunnah was Sheikh Othman bin Al-
Hajj Musa, known as Othman Haji Al-Gharghari, who studied under the great mufti Ahmed bin
Abdul Rahman Al-Ghadi, and was influenced by him in adhering to the Sunnah and fighting
polytheism, heresies, and bad customs. Among those who announced the call and sought to spread it
.was Sheikh Ahmed Al-Dalouti, who is the companion of Sheikh Othman. Bin Haji Al-Gharghari
Some of those whom I mentioned here are all in the Harar region, and they are examples of those
pioneers who participated in carrying out the reform call and enjoining good and forbidding evil.
God has enabled them to do this great work and blessed their efforts until the call spread and
reached where we are now. Praise be to God, and we ask God Almighty to reward them. The best
reward.
In short, God Almighty has bestowed upon this nation the success of these scholars to carry out
these successful efforts to spread pure monotheism and the pure Sunnah and raise their banner.
These efforts bore fruit, and praise and gratitude be to God. Our Sheikh was one of these virtuous
pioneers whom God enabled to serve his religion and spread the Sunnah of the Prophet.

Among the unforgettable efforts of the Sheikh, for which we ask God Almighty to reward him, was
his resistance to communist ideas, including that he, along with a group of scholars, students of
knowledge, and some notables, established the Harar Scholars Association, and the Sheikh was its
president, and the secretary was Sheikh Jibril bin Ali Al-Jarsi, a graduate of the Islamic University,
and he was the representative. Ahmed bin Muhammad bin Waday bin Ali al-Nawli al-Hilaili, known
as Ahmed Hafez, and with them were Abdulaziz bin Mumi al-Qurbilmai al-Hadri parliamentarian
and others, and Hajj Muhammad Tri, the wealthy and great philanthropist, was cooperating with
them. This was at the beginning of the days of communism, and the reason was that the communists
began to challenge religion, so the scholars wanted to resist them and raise awareness. The people,
enjoining good and forbiddingAbout the evil, so they established this association, but some people
of whims resisted this association, so they caused In the scholars’ prison, the sheikh was imprisoned,
and a number of others were imprisoned with him during the time of the communist government for
a period of three years and five months, then he and those with him were released, and as for his
colleagues, they were imprisoned for four years. The sheikh was not imprisoned at first, but rather
went to Addis Abe and disappeared for eight months, then he saw that it was better to surrender
instead of emigrating abroad. Or continue in secret, and the details of that imprisonment and its
.reasons will come in the translation of Muhammad bin Jibril Al-Harmayi, God Almighty willing
When the EPDRF government came, the Sheikh returned to his educational and advocacy activities,
and founded the Harar Scholars Association with others, the most prominent of whom was Abdullah
bin Taher, may God have mercy on him and others. The Sheikh was still heading this association as
of the writing of these lines. I ask God Almighty to make me and him steadfast in the truth and make
us die in Islam and the Sunnah. He is a guardian. That is He who expresses blessings and hopes for
their perpetuation. One of the reasons that helped Sheikh Adam Al-Tuli to carry out Islamic reform,
spread Islamic knowledge, and devote himself to that - after the grace of God Almighty - was his
dispensing with the need for people with what God granted him from the lands that he inherited
from his father, who owned vast lands. This made him not afraid of cutting off his livelihood. And
gifts and connections when he was enjoining good and forbidding evil. This also made him not go
around the doors of the rich to ask for zakat and aid, in addition to being among his clan and his
hometown.
The Sheikh himself mentioned to me that the people of his area said to him: The scholars who
preceded you did not mention to us anything of what you deny, and they are more knowledgeable
than you? So I said to them: They were strangers who lived among you? As for me, I am your son
and son, and from here I was able to declare frankly without courtesy. They accepted this statement
and complied, praise be to God.
One of the advantages of the Sheikh, who was distinguished from other scholars like him, was his
care for the common Muslims and their women. He allocated lessons for farmers (Harashi) and
others for women. The first session of each day was for women, the second session was for farmers,
and after that, the classes were for students of knowledge. Thus, he was able to unify the ideas of his
side, and this is an important thing that is overlooked. Many scholars and preachers wrote about
him.
 The many advantages of the Sheikh that God Almighty bestowed upon him

1- May God Almighty grant him success, as He made it easy for him to devote himself to teaching
and removed any obstacles from him.
2- It dispenses with people’s need, which prevents many scholars from declaring the truth for fear of
people’s anger and the loss of their livelihood.
3- Combining various arts, the most important of which is specializing in hadith with jurisprudence
and the Arabic language. In his first studies, he studied Shafi’i jurisprudence in depth with the
sciences of the Arabic language.
4- Paying attention to enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong. He began this early, as
he began, during the stage of seeking, to denounce what was happening in his village of corrupt
belief in graves and shrines and reprehensible customs such as funerals. Since then, he became
famous for calling for pure monotheism and the purified Sunnah of the Prophet.
5- The purity of his confidentiality, his good conduct, his humility, his asceticism, his lack of
arrogance, and other good morals, which became a reason for people’s love for him and their
acceptance of him, especially in these days of his long life. We ask God Almighty to end us and him
with goodness.

His students:

He had many students, so he related the sons to the grandfathers and the younger ones to the older
ones. This is why it is difficult to enumerate them, but we will mention what is available of them:
Sheikh Ahmed bin Osman Al-Wattari, Sahih Muslim read to him, and he shared Sahih Al-Bukhari
with Sheikh Jamal bin Muhammad bin Bulli Al-Jalouli, and Sheikh Muhammad bin Ali Al-Tai Al-
Among them are Sheikh Muhammad Kabira Al-Alawi, and Sheikh Ali bin Sheikh Omar Al-Ani,
who lives in Guru Wajo.
And Sheikh Yusuf bin Adam Al-Jarwi Al-Asasi, Al-Jarwi told me that he studied Sahih Muslim with
(11) students and he said: I was their reciter, and I did not miss it except for one day’s lesson, and
the Sheikh allowed me to do it, and I narrate that miss on the authority of my colleagues, who
numbered (11). ) students, among the most prominent of whom were Sheikh Muhammad Amin Al-
Yaki, Sheikh Adam Al-Ijahouri, Sheikh Musa Al-Hatabiri, Sheikh Hassan Al-Ghouri Al-Bali, Sheikh
Hamid Al-Juli Al-Didai, Sheikh Jawhar Al-Dadri, Sheikh Yusuf Al-Obouri and others. Also among
his students: Adam Al-Raiti, and he still has many students.
Our sheikh resembles the scholars of the righteous predecessors, in his guidance, character, and
morals, and he imitates them in their morals, guidance, and approach, just as he imitated them in
their doctrine and belief. May God benefit with his knowledge, and there are many like him, and he
made us among those who emulate him. In addition, I wrote an independent treatise on the
translation of the Sheikh and his chains of transmission, which I called Fathah Rabb al-Bariyah,
with the chain of transmissions of Sheikh Adam Tula Al-Aliyah. Whoever wants to expand on it
should refer to it.

Latifa: The Sheikh fell ill in the month of Rajab and was admitted to the hospital and was
discharged on Saturday, 7/15/1442 AH, corresponding to October 20, 2013 AD.
On Sunday, he held a graduation ceremony for one of the batches of graduates from the “Harashi”
group, that is, the peasants, numbering a thousand male and female students. They studied with him
for about two years about what a Muslim must know about his religion, which a Muslim cannot be
ignorant of, from the principles of belief and jurisprudence, and their subject in the morning was
before the subjects of foreign students.
This day coincided with the day of our visit to the scholar Sheikh Ahmed bin Osman Al-Wattari,
who came to Addis Ababa for treatment, so we visited him at the home of his student, Sheikh Jamal
Ali, who brought him for treatment. We discussed with him the subject of teaching the common
people, which Sheikh Adam Tula was unique in among the scholars, so Al-Watari mentioned to us
the reason for this issue and said: The Noli tribe, in which Sheikh Adam al-Tuli lives, had the habit
of spending on students of knowledge when the student taught in the village. Either he taught the
recipient or his children, and they did not spend on the students except under this condition, and thus
knowledge spread among them among the peopleThe common people and their children, unlike the
rest of the tribes, such as our tribe (Ala), these people spend on students without this condition, to
the point that some of them said: The Noli tribe does not find the reward for spending according to
this condition. Ah, I said: This is a useful habit for spreading knowledge and spreading the
understanding of Islam because the common Muslims have no way to gain understanding of the
religion. Except for this, and as for the condition, it does not prevent reward according to the
intention and the original motive, and God knows best the intentions and secrets. Everyone will be
rewarded according to his intention, and in the hadith, “Then they will be sent according to his
intentions,” and the position is not a place for expansion.

Then another ceremony was held in the hall of Imam Ahmed bin Ibrahim Al-Fateh Al-Ghazi, in a
joyful ceremony that we participated with

I gave a speech about it, and from what I mentioned, the Sheikh is distinguished from other scholars
by several advantages, including:

Being one of those who combined jurisprudence, Hadith, and interpretation, and being concerned
with the issues of the nation and all groups of the people, he had an circle with girls and mothers, an
circle with peasants, and an circle with foreign students. Then he was a fighter defending Islam, the
Sunnah, and monotheism from the days of Haile Selassie. He was imprisoned during his time, and
then during the time of Derg, for about four years, and some of them were killed. Whoever was with
him was Sheikh Zakaria, a graduate of the Islamic University.

He was a reformer among society, and that is why God granted him acceptance among the people

Then they presented the graduates, batch after batch, to the interpretation group, the religious duties
group, and the fasting group

It was a memorable day and the ceremony was in the Imam Ahmed bin Ibrahim Al-Ghazi Hall

It occurred to me as if this day was a celebration of bidding farewell to the Sheikh, so I remembered
the story of Imam Ibn Khuzaymah’s feast for the scholars of hadith in Nishapur and then his death
after that. And God does what He wills and wills.

We ask God Almighty to accept him among the righteous, cover him with His mercy, raise his ranks
in the highest heavens, and gather us with him in the abode of his dignity. He is the Most Gracious,
the Most Merciful.

May God’s blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, his companions, and
those who follow them in good deeds until the Day of Judgment.

- Dr. Jeylani Kadir Gamada