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

Shihab al-Dīn Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Qādir ibn Sālim ibn ʿUthmān, most commonly known as Arab Faqīh, was an Adalite 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] However other historians such as Enrico Cerulli state he was possibly of Harari background.^[7] Linguist Giorgio Banti states it is noteworthy that his name Arabfaqīh is constructed using Arabic vocabulary while adhering to Harari grammatical rules.^[8]

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.^[9]

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. Des futūḥ au Futūḥ al-Ḥabaša : usage symbolique d'un modèle littéraire arabe classique dans l'Éthiopie islamique du xvie siècle. Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.
4. YaʼItyop̣yā qwānqwāwočenā sena ṣeḥuf maṣḥét. Addis Ababa University. p. 27.
5. Getahun, Solomon. Culture and Customs of Ethiopia. Bloomsbury Publishing.
6. Pankhurst, Richard. 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. p. 214.
7. Cerulli, Enrico. Islam yesterday and today. p. 134.
8. Banti, Giorgio. The literature of Harar until the end of the 19th century (PDF). Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura. p. 151.
9. Chekroun, Amelie. Ottomans, Yemenis and the "Conquest of Abyssinia" (1531-1543). Centre français des études éthiopiennes.