Abdirahman bin Isma'il al-Jabarti

Abdirahman bin Isma'il al-Jabarti is traditionally held to be the common ancestor of the Darod clan and a descendant of the Banu Hashim, the tribe to which the Prophet Muhammad belonged. Abdirahman is believed to have descended from Aqeel ibn Abi Talib, the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad.

[edit]Biography
Abdirahman bin Ismail's exact date of birth is unknown, but many believe he lived in northern Somalia in the 9th century. What is documented in old Islamic books is that there were lots of Arabs who lived along the Somali northern coast since the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. This has been confirmed by many such as Ibn Hawqal, Al-Muqaddasi, and Ibn Said who have confirmed the presence of Arabian tribes in municipalities such as Berbera, Zeila, Jabarta (an old metropolis now in ruins), and Massawa.[1].

Al-Masudi wrote about the specific Arabian families and tribes who lived in Jabarta and Zeila in his 9th century book Aqeeliyoon. This book sheds light on one individual, who was a Sufi sheikh named Ismail ibn Ibrahim Al-Jabarti, who fathered children, one of which was named Abdirahman. It is said that Abdirahman then married a local Somali Dir chief's daughter, and had five sons.

[edit]Lineage
According to many medieval and modern Islamic historians, Darod is desceded from Aqeel ibn Abi Talib, the cousin of the Prophet and brother of Ali ibn Abi Talib. An ancient Islamic history book, called Aqeeliyoon by Al-Masudi, talks in detail about the descendants of Aqeel ibn Abi Talib, and Darod is mentioned in this book.

The book has his lineage as: Abdirahmaan Bin Ismaa'iil Bin Ibraahim Bin Abdirahmaan Bin Muhammed Bin Abdi Samad Bin Hanbal Bin Mahdi Bin Ahmed Bin Abdalle Bin Muhammed Bin Aqail Bin Abu-Talib Bin Abdul-Mutalib Bin Hashim Bin Abdul-Manaf Bin Qusay.