The History of the Literature of African Islamic Peoples - 17 -Issue 24 September 2024 and the upbringing of youth, and other social topics.

Muhammad Abdullah Hassan (d. 1920 AD), mentioned above (7), is considered one of the most prominent poets of Somalia. He studied religious sciences and the Arabic language and composed many poems in it, in addition to the poems he recited orally in the Somali language, through which he called on Somali patriots to fight British colonialism before the occupation authorities exiled him to Ethiopia, where he died in the same year.

d. Djibouti: The people of Djibouti speak multiple languages of varying prevalence, including Somali, which is the language of the Horn of Africa, and Afar, which is a mixture of Semitic Arabic and Hamitic African languages. Its use is limited to the Afar people, who are a mixture of ancient African and Arab immigrants. The official languages are Arabic, the language of religion and communication, and French, the language of administrative institutions and education.

The majority of Djibouti's population are Muslims. Islam entered Djibouti since the migration of the Companions to the Horn of Africa. However, Arab migration to Djibouti began before Islam, as they settled in the coastal areas. At the beginning of the ninth century AD, Muslim preachers entered to spread the true religion and teach the Holy Quran. Commercial exchange between the Arabs and the people of the country continued until it fell under the darkness of colonialism.

The people of Djibouti are famous for composing poetry, written in the Somali language in various forms, including the epic poem (gabay), which is one of the longest poetic forms. Djibouti poets have addressed several themes such as elegy, praise, romantic poetry, religious poetry, and heroic poems, in addition to oral poetry represented by folk tales and legends.

Djibouti also knew written Islamic literature in Arabic, especially historical books, including the book "Futuh al-Habash" (Conquests of Abyssinia), authored by Shihab al-Din, on the history of the invasion of Abyssinia during the sixteenth century AD. Like other Islamic countries, Djibouti also knew Sufi literature, which is widespread among most nations.