[1] Sheikh Sufi was born in Mogadishu, where he founded the Qadiriyyah congregation, an Islamic school of thought or tariqah whose disciples included colleagues of his such as Uways al-Barawi.

He studied astrology and wrote extensively on the future of Mogadishu and religious sciences, and authored popular books such as Shadjarat al Yakim ("The Tree of Certitude").

[2] Besides his scholarly career, Sheikh Sufi was known as a great mediator between merchants and shop keepers in the coastal cities.

After his death in 1904, Shaykh Sufi's mausoleum became a site of annual pilgrimage for the faithful from across Somalia and East Africa.

A cemetery was eventually constructed around his mausoleum, where prominent Somali ministers, entertainers and Presidents would also be buried.