25/04/2024
Sheikh Mohamed Sheikh Omar Dirir was born in Dalooburey, Ethiopia in 1963. He was the first child of a prominent sheikh who taught Quran and Islamic Studies. At a very young age his family relocated to Somaliland where he started memorizing the Quran. His first Quranic teacher was his father.
As he grew older, he devoted much of his time to seeking knowledge. He studied the various Islamic sciences such as hadith and the fundamentals of fiqi under his father and other scholars of the region. When a group of Egyptian teachers were sent to Somalia to preach and teach Arabic, Sheikh Dirir took the advantages of their presence and mastered the Arabic language.
Before he had reached 20 years of age, his father passed away. One of the requests that his father would often make of the people, was that they pray to Allah to grant him a son who would inherit his knowledge. Allah knows best, but perhaps Sheikh Mohamed Dirir was the answer to those dua.
In the early Eighties Sheikh Dirir began to preach to people about Islam. During those times, he faced many obstacles, most of which came from the former regime of Somalia who was against all form of religious preaching. Indeed, they proved to be constant thorn in the Sheikh's side.
After the fall of the regime, Sheikh Dirir faced fewer obstacles. Thus, he was able to spread, the teachings of the Quran and Sunnah across the land using the national television and radio stations. In 1992 he was among those who arranged the first Quran Competition in Somaliland. He traveled to Pakistan in 1996 to further his studies. There, he earned a BA in Islamic Studies and Arabic Language from the University of Wifaaq. In the same year, he also visited Egypt where he met notable scholars from the University of Azhar.
In the following year he established an Islamic court in Hargeisa and managed its affairs. He also established an office that provided services for the Hajj, as the journey to Mecca was quite strenuous for Somalilanders. Despite all the good he involved in, he still had enemies. In 2001 he was the target of an attempt murder. He was badly injured so he was taken to abroad to receive medical treatment.
Throughout the years Sheikh Dirir taught Islamic Science in many Masjids of Somaliland such as Masjid Ataqwaa, Masjid Ali Matan and Masjid Botaan. Most notably, he taught the interpretation of the Quran from, cover to cover, eight times in Masjid Nur Al Huda. He also visited the Somali Communities across the world and reminded them
