Muhammad Al-Sumaalee - His Quest For Knowledge

His Quest For Knowledge

He sought knowledge from his early youth since he was seven or eight years old. He began by memorizing the Qur'aan and read it to Shaikh Hasan. Then he read the book Safeenah An-Najaa, which is a book on Shaafi'ee Fiqh to Shaikh 'Abd-ur-Rahmaan 'Awl. Then he read the book Al-Minhaaj, on Shaafi'ee Fiqh, to Shaikh Haaj 'Alee Tam'asee. Then after that, he read from the text of Al-Ajroomiyyah to Shaikh Muhammad Noor Hirsee concerning Arabic grammar, as well as its explanation by Al-'Ashmaawee, then Milhat-ul-'Iraab, then Laamiyyat-ul-Af'aal concerning Arabic morphology.

After the Shaikh completed his studies with the scholars of his land, he decided to travel to other lands in search of knowledge, following the way of his pious predecessors (i.e. the Salaf). His first travel was to Ethiopia, to the regions known as JakJakaa and Faafan, which took a distance of ten day's journey from his country. At that time he was twenty years old. He studied the book Nadhm Al-'Umarbatee with Shaikh Muhammad Mu'allim Husayn, and he studied Laamiyyat-ul-Af'aal and Milhat-ul-'Iraab with Shaikh 'Abd-un-Noor. He also studied the books Qatr-un-Nadaa and Alfiyyah Ibn Maalik with Shaikh Aruboo. Then he studied the science of Bayaan with Shaikh 'Alee Jawhar and then with Shaikh Hasan Ibn Ash-Shaikh Hasan. His stay in Ethiopia lasted about two years.

During his journey back home, the Shaikh became very sick due to the difference of foods between Somalia and Ethiopia. His paternal aunt tended to him, nursing him. When he recovered from his sickness, he became determined to travel again, so his aunt gave him an ox, which he sold and used the money to travel to Djibouti.

There he read the book Safeenah An-Najaa to Shaikh 'Alee Jawhar but he did not finish it. And his stay did not last for more than two months, for he traveled by sea towards Yemen. The waves and the currents of the sea threw their ship back and forth until they feared for their lives, and it was such that the Shaikh swore that he would not ride by sea again. They arrived at the city of Zabeed in Yemen and stayed there for three months. There he studied the book As-Safeenah concerning Shaafi'ee Fiqh. Then he traveled to the area of Qatee' and remained there for a month listening to Al-Minhaaj concerning Shaafi'ee Fiqh in the presence of Shaikh Yahyaa, the Muftee of the lands of Qatee'. Then he moved to the city of San'aa and studied the sciences of the Arabic Language there. So he studied the books Qawaa'id-ul-'Iraab, Qatr-un-Nadaa, Al-Jawhar-ul-Maknoon, Al-Alfiyyah and Al-Ashmoonee. He rejected the beliefs of the people of that land, which was Zaydee (a sect of the Shi'ah), and said to them: "I am a Shaafi'ee." But they did not let him continue studying his madh-hab. Then, one of the teachers there, Al-Ustaadh Yahyaa Al-'Eesaa advised him to study the Science of Hadeeth.

So Shaikh Muhammad began to memorize Buloogh Al-Maraam and memorized 500 hadeeth from it. Then he began to study the book Subul-us-Salaam (the explanation of Buloogh Al-Maraam) with one of the well-known Shaikhs. Among his teachers of the Arabic Language in Yemen, were Shaikh Lutfee, Shaikh 'Alee Fiddah and Shaikh Kabasee. Then the Shaikh desired to go to Egypt to seek knowledge, but at that time World War II started and all of the sea routes were closed.

Then the Shaikh met a man that had come from Makkah, so he asked him about how Makkah was. The man responded to him, saying: "O Muhammad, there is a school in Makkah in which they teach hadeeth. It is called Daar-ul-Hadeeth." So the Shaikh was pleased with this and traveled to Makkah from San'aa towards the end of 1359H along with other people going to Hajj. Shaikh Yahyaa entrusted the leader of the Hajj trip with him. So he gave him a riding animal and the journey lasted a month from San'aa to Makkah. He reached Makkah in 1360H and enlisted in the Daar-ul-Hadeeth school.

In Daar-ul-Hadeetth, Shaikh Muhammad Haamid Al-Fiqqee met Shaikh Muhammad Ibn 'Abdillaah and asked him: "Where did you come from O Muhammad?" So he told him: "I came from Somalia in search of the noble hadeeth." So he was greatly impressed and said: "The Khuraafees (a deviant sect) and the followers of (sufi) orders eat and fill themselves, but the students of Hadeeth do not find anything."

So he took him to a shelter whose caretaker was from the ashraaf (those whose lineage can be traced back to the Prophet) and said to him: "This person seeks the hadeeth of your forefather." So he would reserve two loaves of white bread for him every day.

The Shaikh continued seeking knowledge in the Haram and in Daar-ul-Hadeeth. He studied under Shaikh 'Abd-ur-Razzaaq Hamzah Al-Misree, Shaikh Abu As-Samah, Imaam of the Haram, Shaikh Sulaymaan Ibn 'Abdir-Rahmaan Al-Hamdaan, teacher of Tawheed and Hadeeth at Al-Masjid Al-Haraam, Shaikh Abee Sa'eed Al-Pakistani, Shaikh Muhammad Sultaan Al-Ma'soomee, Shaikh Abu Muhammad 'Abdul-Haqq Al-Haashimee, and Shaikh Ibn Maani'.

From the most particular of his teachers was Shaikh 'Abd-ur-Razaaq Hamzah, whom he studied and read the Six Books of the Sunnah with, as well as Tafseer Ibn Katheer and Al-Bidaayah wan-Nihaayah, but he didn't complete it. Upon seeing the Shaikh's eagerness and great concern for seeking knowledge, Shaikh 'Abd-ur-Razaaq Hamzah began to esteem him and love him more than his own children.

Shaikh 'Abd-u-Razaaq's method in teaching hadeeth was that he would read the chain of narration and then ask his students about the name, kunyah and laqab of the reporter. So if they didn't know, they would have to research it in their books.

After studying for two years in Daar-ul-Hadeeth, he was appointed as teacher of Arabic Language, which he would do while still studying Hadeeth. The Shaikh graduated from Daar-ul-Hadeeth in 1975 and achieved the high approval (Ijaazah 'aaliyah) and the degree of Mujtahid in the assigned subjects. Then he was appointed as a teacher in the Islaamic University of Madeenah and there a number of students of knowledge studied under him.

Afterward, he was appointed as a teacher in the Haram of Makkah until the year 1406H when he broke his leg. But he remained employed as a teacher and was given permission to teach at home. And he would teach in his home until the time he passed away.