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The Isaaq (also Isaq, Ishaak) (Somali: Reer Sheik Isaxaaq, Arabic: إسحاق) are one of the main clans of the Somali people. Members principally live in the northwestern Somaliland region of Somalia, the Somali Region of Ethiopia and Djibouti.
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The populations of five major cities in the Somalia region – Hargeisa, Burao, Berbera, Erigavo and Gabiley – are predominantly Isaaq. As of the late 1980s, the Sacad Muuse, Habar Awal and Jibriil Abokor sub-clans of the Isaaq were also the main inhabitants of Gabiley.
History
According to early Islamic books and Somali tradition, the Isaaq clan was founded in the 12th or 13th century with the arrival of Shaykh Ishaq ibn Ahmad al-Hashimi from Arabia, a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad's cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib . He settled in the coastal town of Maydh in modern-day northernwestern Somalia, where he married into the local original or the owners magaadle clan.
A similar tradition exists for the Darod, who are said to have descended from one Sheikh Abdirahman bin Isma'il al-Jabarti, another Banu Hashim who came to Somalia around the same time.
As with Sheikh Darod, there are also numerous existing hagiologies in Arabic which describe Sheikh Isaaq's travels, works and overall life in northern Somalia, as well as his movements in Arabia before his arrival. Besides historical sources, one of the more recent printed biographies of Sheikh Isaaq is the Amjaad of Sheikh Husseen bin Ahmed Darwiish al-Isaaqi as-Soomaali, which was printed in Aden in 1955.
Sheikh Isaaq's tomb is in Maydh, and is the scene of frequent pilgrimages. Sheikh Darod is buried nearby in the ancient town of Haylaan, situated in the Hadaaftimo Mountains.
Sheikh Isaaq's mawlid (birthday) is also celebrated every Thursday with a public reading of his manaaqib (a collection of glorious deeds).
The three major sub-clans of the Isaaq signed treaties with the British in the 1880s pledging them and their successors not to cede or otherwise alienate any part of their lands except to the British, and allowing the British Government to appoint agents who would reside in the territories of the clans. These groups were the Habr Awal, (dated 14 July 1884), the Habr Toljallo (dated 26 December 1884), and the Habr Garhadjis (13 January 1885).
Clan tree
In the Isaaq clan-family, component clans are divided into two uterine divisions, as shown in the genealogy. The first division is between those lineages descended from sons of Sheikh Isaaq by an Ethiopian woman – the Habar Habuusheed – and those descended from sons of Sheikh Isaaq by a woman of the Magaadle clan – the Habar Magaadle. Indeed most of the largest clans of the clan-family are in fact uterine alliances. This is illustrated in the following structure.
Sheikh Is-haaq Bin Ahmed
1. Habar Habuusheed
2. Habar Magaadle
There is no clear agreement on the clan and sub-clan structures and many lineages are omitted. The following listing is taken from the World Bank's Conflict in Somalia: Drivers and Dynamics from 2005 and the United Kingdom's Home Office publication, Somalia Assessment 2001.
One tradition maintains that Isaaq had twin sons: Ahmed or Arap, and Ismail or Gerhajis.
Historical publications
Historical publications on Sheikh Isaaq include: