Nuur was born in [[saylac and grew up in Borama and was of royal lineage, the Reer Axmed of the Gadabuursi.
His father Sheikh warsame was a well-known and notable figure and was a qādi for many years.
[3] Sheikh 'nuur would later follow in his father's footsteps by also becoming a qādi, albeit of the entire northern British Somaliland region.
[4] In 1933, Sheikh Nuur devised a quite phonetically accurate new orthography for transcribing the Somali language.
While the script enjoyed considerable currency in his home region, the Sheikh harbored no illusions as to its widespread adoption, writing in a publication of his wherein he employed the script itself that "I publish it here with no intention of attempting to contribute to the already abundant confusion in the choice of a standard orthography for Somali".