[3] The Isaaq people traditionally claim to have descended from Sheikh Ishaaq bin Ahmed, an Islamic scholar who purportedly traveled to Somaliland in the 12th or 13th century and married two women; one from the local Dir clan.

[4][8] There are also numerous existing hagiographies in Arabic which describe Sheikh Ishaaq's travels, works and overall life in modern Somaliland, as well as his movements in Arabia before his arrival.

[14] In this general expansion the Isaaq split up into their present component segments, however one fraction of the Habar Yunis clan, the Muse 'Arre, remains behind in Mait as the custodians of the tomb of Sheikh Ishaaq.

The Isaaq, along with Darood subclans pushed westwards into the plains of Jigjiga and further, beyond where they played a important role in the Adal Sultanate's campaigns against Christian Abyssinia.

The historian Siegbert Uhlig, commenting on the significance of the Guba, highlights the historical narrative conveyed in the poetry of Ali Dhuh:[26][27]Doqonkii Ogaadeen ahaa Doollo laga qaadye Loo diid Dannood iyo hadduu degi lahaa Ciide Nimanbaa dalkoodiyo xukuma labadi daaroode Doollo has been taken from the Ogaadeen, the fools If they want to encamp in Dannood and 'lid, they are forbidden Other men rule their country, and their two regions [...] Uhlig notes that Ali Dhuh’s poems describe the extensive territorial gains made by the Isaaq in traditionally Ogaden lands, the seizure of Ogaden wells, and the large-scale looting of their camels.

The poems recount the dispersal of the Ogaden clan, their migration southward into fever-prone river valleys, and their adoption of farming and hunting—activities considered degrading and typically associated with slaves and lower-caste Somalis:[26][27] Daacuunku meeshuu ku leyn uma dalluumeene Daal iyo hadhuudh kuma cuneen degelkii Haarweyne Dullinimo inay qaayibeen waxaw daliilkiiya They would not have migrated to a place where plague attacks them They would not eat barley and millet in the Haarweyne region [and later] they cultivate the fields, because of their extreme poverty According to the poems, many Ogaden sought refuge among their Isaaq conquerors, particularly with the Habr Yunis.

Ali Dhuh’s verses depict the Ogaden as unable to retaliate, while the Isaaq are portrayed as flaunting their captured camels in front of their defeated adversaries.

[28] B. W. Andrzejewski author of A Somali Poetic Combat writes :During the period of administrative chaos which followed the war the Isaaq used their superior strength against both the Ogaadeen and the Dhulbahante.

[25]In his book The Galla in Northern Somaliland Ioan Lewis states :The southwards expansion of the Somali from the shores of the Gulf of Aden still continues despite the establishment of international frontiers and Administrative control.

[30] The battle was immortalized in Somali oral poetry, with poets like Qawdhan Ducaale and Cabdi Gahaydh vividly recounting the triumph of the Ciidagale and the humiliation of the Ogaden.

[34][35]The clan boundary between the Habr Je'lo and the Dhulbahante during the 19th century was traditionally in Laba Garday, a pass in the Buurdhaab mountain chain situated between War Idaad and Wadamago.

[38][39] The Habr Je'lo subsequently expanded into and beyond the Saraar plain and the Ain Valley (which includes towns like Kirit, Wadamago, Aynaba, El Dab, Badwein and Gosawein[40]), pushing the Dhulbahante southwards towards the Haud:[41] Thus under pressure from the Habar Tol Ja'lo expanding to their north, the Dulbahante claim that formerly their north-western boundary was the Sarar Plain now grazed mainly by Habar Tol Ja'lo.

[45] A all-out tribal war broke out due to camel rustling in Erigavo District (today Sanaag region) perpetrated by Dhulbahante warrior Ali Guun.

The death of Ali Guun in the Ban 'Ade plain between Garadag and Hudun at the hands of the Habr Je'lo turned the tide against the Dhulbahante, with the war later on being fought southwards in an area further south of Las Anod.

Another poemabout the war was composed by Mohamed Adan Aws (Yawleh) of the Habr Yunis Isaaq:[44] Mudo aan dhaweyn baa Nugaal muran ka taagnaaye.

The renowned Habr Je'lo poet Salaan Carrabey commemorated these victories in his poem Haadaaqsi, part of the celebrated Guba poetic series.

Salaan’s vivid verses recount the displacement of Dhulbahante groups, their forced retreat to less hospitable areas, and the humiliation they endured as a result of their losses.

[46] Goortaan hadhkaba kaa eryaad hawd u cararteene Waa kaa hubkii sida raggii wada hareednaaye Habarwaana waa kaa hingilan labadii haamoode Shirsooruhuba hoy maleh kuwaad hilib wadaagtaane Waa kaa hayaankii ku dhacay Hoobayiyo xeebe Ararsame ma haybsado Nugaal hogashadii ceele Hanas iyo abaar kulu adoo habaqle soo guurey Caynaba hadhuub kama dartaan hoga kaliileede Ka hulleele Hagar aadankii hoobalayn jiraye Aduunbaa hayaayda u guntane heeryo lagu saarye Hooyaalayntaan kaga badshaa haybad iyo luuqe Haasaasahaa laga gartaa hagar la'aaneede Mar haddaan hullaabta iska rogo soo hankaabsadaye An hawadiyo hoosada Burciyo Herer ka geeyeene Kuma hiilo heeliga fulaa la handabeeyaaye Anse wacan haagaag uga marshaa heel la ii wacaye When I had chased you from the region where there is shade, you ran away to the Hawd And (yet) here are (your) young bearded men carrying arms The two sections of the Habarwaa are in clothes of mourning The Shirshoore, who are of the same flesh as you, homeless Indeed they had to trek towards Hobyo and the coast The Ararsame do not (even dare to) inquire about Nugaal and watering at the wells In the heat of the sun, suffering fierce thirst, you trudged along wearily You do not even take one vessel of water from Aynaba in the heat of the kaliil The Hagar Aadan who used to chant (to their camels, while watering them) have moved out from there And you who tell people to rally, the mat pack saddle (of humiliation) has been put In reciting poetry I excel others by (my) distinctive style and chant One can recognize (good) diction by (its) effortless ease Once I throw off the upper part of (my) clothes (preparing for a fight), I am firm and resolute Let me pour out (poetry) and let people take it to the glades of Bur'o and to Herer A coward who is criticised has no courage at an assembly But I speak openly and straight to the point at a meeting especially convened for me The Dhulbahante loss of Caynabo constituted a form of collective trauma for the Dhulbahante, and touched a nerve among them, especially the subclans inhabiting the Buuhoodle area.