[2] He was bes known for coining several news Somali words,[3] and was also opposed to emir of dervish king Diiriye Guure, Mohammed Abdullah Hassan during the Darawiish struggle against the British in the early 1900s and wrote many poets to propagate his opposition.
Historian Siegbert Uhlig commenting on the Guba poem writes the following-[note 1] From a historical point of view Ali Dhuh's poem explicitly details the large gains in traditionally Ogaden territory and wells, and the looting of Ogaden camels by the Isaq.
He details the scattering of the Ogaden clan, their forced migration southwards seeking refuge in the feverish river valleys, and even turning to hunting and farming- measures that were again considered very shameful usually only undertaken by slaves and low-caste Somalis and utterly demeaning for the once great pastoral Ogaden clan.
The Ogaden, Ali recounts, have been forced to accept refuge with the clans that defeated them, especially the Habr Yunis, and cannot take revenge.
The Isaq are portrayed as particularly callous and shameful in the way they parade looted Ogaden camels in front of their previous owners.