He was a man of unique character and among the best in terms of dress and fashion. A resident of Garissa, Adan had three brothers namely Sigat Bulhan, Dagane Bulhan, and Hakar Bulhan. Distinct from his fellow pastoral nomadic tribesmen, Adan symbolized a sophisticated imperturbable civilized character. He was a young broad minded and determined youth who was dedicated to accomplish his desired goals especially the pursuance of religious education in far distant lands.
Young Adan's historic departure coincided with an era when Somalia was placed under trusteeship that lasted from 1948 to 1958. That colonial legacy happened after the landing of the Four Powers Commission in 1948. The delegation of the powers came from Britain, Russia, France, and the United States respectively. To strangulate Somali fight for self-determination and ensure the powers of the Somali Youth League remained suppressed indefinitely, the trusteeship became a binding factor.
Around 1952, as was common with many Somalis in the former NFD craving for religious knowledge, young Sheikh Adan had no other option but to travel to Somalia or, if it would have been possible, to the Ogaden Region in current day Ethiopia where the best scholars could be found. Other places popular with religious propagation included Baidoa, Buur Hakaba, and Dinsor that were populated by the Rahanweyn Somalis--a clan known for unparalleled human generosity and for hosting seekers of Islamic education. The name Dinsor (Diinsoor) implies 'host of faith'.
Adan's religious pursuit coincided with a period of religious revivalism and the self pursuit of divine excellence. By then, there was stiff competition between the adherents of Ahmediya (founded by Sheikh Ahmed Idris al Fasi) and the Qadiriya (founded by Abdul Qadir Gilani). Regardless of the doctrinal thoughts of the two tariqas, Somalis romanticized both orders.
Unlike the few Somalis who traversed thousands of kilometers to Kismayu and surrounding forests to study the art of occultism or necromancy and hagiology from well versed sorcerers and sortilegers, young Adan set foot in Mogadishu, his preferred destination. It was the Mogadishu that served as "the Seat of the Shah", the city that hosted Ibn Battuta, and the maritime interconnector known to the Greeks and Romans as Sarapion as noted in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.
With approach of the demise of the trusteeship, young Adan got a free scholarship to study Arabic, Qur'anic exegesis and jurisprudence from the oldest university in the world--al- Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt. It was an illuminating gesture Adan would never turn down.
By 1954, he sent a letter of introduction from Cairo to a new friend in Garissa. Imagine there was mail delivery system those days, administered by the British Colonial Administration in British East Africa!
Young Adan returned to Somalia after hoisting of the flag of independence. With multiple degrees in hand, he was now Sheikh Adan Bulhan. Sheikh Adan was the first Somali from northern Kenya to be conferred on with a degree from a prestigious foreign institution of higher learning. Some of the destinations many cadres of the new Somali administration got educated included Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia among others.
Young Adan's historic departure coincided with an era when Somalia was placed under trusteeship that lasted from 1948 to 1958. That colonial legacy happened after the landing of the Four Powers Commission in 1948. The delegation of the powers came from Britain, Russia, France, and the United States respectively. To strangulate Somali fight for self-determination and ensure the powers of the Somali Youth League remained suppressed indefinitely, the trusteeship became a binding factor.
Around 1952, as was common with many Somalis in the former NFD craving for religious knowledge, young Sheikh Adan had no other option but to travel to Somalia or, if it would have been possible, to the Ogaden Region in current day Ethiopia where the best scholars could be found. Other places popular with religious propagation included Baidoa, Buur Hakaba, and Dinsor that were populated by the Rahanweyn Somalis--a clan known for unparalleled human generosity and for hosting seekers of Islamic education. The name Dinsor (Diinsoor) implies 'host of faith'.
Adan's religious pursuit coincided with a period of religious revivalism and the self pursuit of divine excellence. By then, there was stiff competition between the adherents of Ahmediya (founded by Sheikh Ahmed Idris al Fasi) and the Qadiriya (founded by Abdul Qadir Gilani). Regardless of the doctrinal thoughts of the two tariqas, Somalis romanticized both orders.
Unlike the few Somalis who traversed thousands of kilometers to Kismayu and surrounding forests to study the art of occultism or necromancy and hagiology from well versed sorcerers and sortilegers, young Adan set foot in Mogadishu, his preferred destination. It was the Mogadishu that served as "the Seat of the Shah", the city that hosted Ibn Battuta, and the maritime interconnector known to the Greeks and Romans as Sarapion as noted in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.
With approach of the demise of the trusteeship, young Adan got a free scholarship to study Arabic, Qur'anic exegesis and jurisprudence from the oldest university in the world--al- Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt. It was an illuminating gesture Adan would never turn down.
By 1954, he sent a letter of introduction from Cairo to a new friend in Garissa. Imagine there was mail delivery system those days, administered by the British Colonial Administration in British East Africa!
Young Adan returned to Somalia after hoisting of the flag of independence. With multiple degrees in hand, he was now Sheikh Adan Bulhan. Sheikh Adan was the first Somali from northern Kenya to be conferred on with a degree from a prestigious foreign institution of higher learning. Some of the destinations many cadres of the new Somali administration got educated included Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia among others.
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