Umm Durman The treatment in Rashid was very harsh, and the cold, poor clothing, and food were the causes of the death of all my fellow prisoners. They were killed by hardship, one by one, and only Al-Tahir Al-Mahdi survived, who died of a stroke, affected by the illness he contracted during his captivity in Rashid, and Ali Al-Mahdi, who lived until God took him in 1945 AD. When our people were returned from Rashid, they were captured in Halfa, and among them were the women of Imam Al-Mahdi, the Caliphs, and the Emirs. Then the government began to release them gradually. As for those who were released, they settled in Umm Durman and lived in rented accommodation. I was residing on Aba Island, going to Umm Durman to receive lessons in jurisprudence and religious sciences from Sheikh Muhammad Al-Badawi and other professors of that time. I also aspired to agriculture on Aba Island, as it had a close history with my family. Aba Island The family of Imam Al-Mahdi migrated from Ashraf Island in Dun Qala and settled for a period in Kuri, north of Khartoum. Sayyid Muhammad Ahmad had a passion for knowledge and sought it from a number of sheikhs in and around Khartoum. He also loved solitude, finding in it ample space for his readings, studies, and worship. He used to retreat to Aba Island, which was desolate, inhabited only by some Shilluk fishermen on a temporary basis. He took two caves for himself there to retreat to for complete solitude. Sayyid Muhammad Ahmad's family saw the suitability of Aba Island in terms of its forests, which provided an accessible material for family members working in shipbuilding. The family settled there in Aba until Imam Al-Mahdi announced his call. Aba is located north of Kosti, its length is thirty-five miles and its width is three miles. For all these reasons, I asked the government in 1906 AD to give me land for agriculture on Aba Island. Some tribes, whose members were cultivating on Aba Island and grazing their livestock, disputed this. I got what I wanted, and I was given a plot of land called Ghaffar, full of trees and thorny bushes, which I had to clear.