Is The Adal Sultan Abu Bakr Ibn Muhammad A Somali Or A Harari

[daljirkadahsoon]

@oogabooga I'd be interested to hear what you have in terms of evidence aside from saying the language is the same and bringing up words.

 

[oogabooga]

@oogabooga I'd be interested to hear what you have in terms of evidence aside from saying the language is the same and bringing up words.

I brought for substantial evidence of our deep rooted agricultural history. I asked Mr. step a side and he was quiet.
There are Harari manuscripts Mohammed Hassan references in his long thesis regarding the Oromo migrations and the effects it had on the people of Adal.

As a people stuck in siege mentality in the walls of Harar for the past 500 years and all the ruins around the area, it’s hard to bring forth evidence direct physical connection to the Harla ruins besides us doing ziyara to some and our own city having very “coincidentally” the same building style as the ruins around us.

All while we have deep rooted cultural practices in our weddings, our social institutions and relations, death (interesting, long thorough process). It’s a really poor argument to claim Hararis came from Somalis and Amharas, while we are the only eastern Muslim people in the Northern Horn to have a complex agrarian-urban civilization. Hararis love their baras, you love your geels.

 

[daljirkadahsoon]

I brought for substantial evidence of our deep rooted agricultural history. I asked Mr. step a side and he was quiet.
There are Harari manuscripts Mohammed Hassan references in his long thesis regarding the Oromo migrations and the effects it had on the people of Adal.

As a people stuck in siege mentality in the walls of Harar for the past 500 years and all the ruins around the area, it’s hard to bring forth evidence direct physical connection to the Harla ruins besides us doing ziyara to some and our own city having very “coincidentally” the same building style as the ruins around us.

All while we have deep rooted cultural practices in our weddings, our social institutions and relations, death (interesting, long thorough process). It’s a really poor argument to claim Hararis came from Somalis and Amharas, while we are the only eastern Muslim people in the Northern Horn to have a complex agrarian-urban civilization. Hararis love their baras, you love your geels.

I don't dispute Hararis's rich cultural heritage

What I want to know then is who you attribute the countless ruins to inside Somalia itself? Are you going to tell me the entire northern Somali peninsula with all the ruins of intense settled agriculture, its forts and market towns and the ports of Zeyla, etc were all unknown ghosts who magically disappeared and Somalis dropped out of the sky?

The problem here is you believe 'Somalis are nomads' which is not true and the bulk of Somalis only became nomadic post Adal collapse.

 

[Zak12]

to claim Hararis came from Somalis

Someone claimed that here? That obviously isn't true. You guys are Ethio-Semites.

I'm of the opinion that the Harla are strongly connected to both Hararis and Somalis so I don't fret over which group is close really. They are important to both of us since Harari and certain Somali clans descend from Harla

 

[oogabooga]

I don't dispute Hararis's rich cultural heritage

What I want to know then is who you attribute the countless ruins to inside Somalia itself? Are you going to tell me the entire northern Somali peninsula with all the ruins of intense settled agriculture, its forts and market towns and the ports of Zeyla, etc were all unknown ghosts who magically disappeared and Somalis dropped out of the sky?

The problem here is you believe 'Somalis are nomads' which is not true and the bulk of Somalis only became nomadic post Adal collapse.

In the Futuh, it said there was a Land of the Somali, and it was not Bedouins as someone mentioned earlier. The Land of the Somali had their own town and river, and it served as a retreat to the Sultans who allied with Somalia. Most likely the land of Somalis was the green land of Sanaag.

There is no evidence that the bulk of Somalis became nomadic after urbanization. There is no mention of urban history, no mention of how to build homes, even looked down on farming. Urban Somalis seem to be a minority rather than a majority. All while when Imam Ahmed in the country of Hubat went village to village to rally men, it suggests an agrarian environment where there are many villages.

The old people of Zeila themselves to a British commissioner that Harla built Amud. The main reason why Afar and Somali and Oromo all have Harla is because after the state collapse of Adal due to the Oromo migrations, a huge refugee crisis ensued. Harla went to strong tribes for protection and got assimilated by them.

 

[oogabooga]

Someone claimed that here? That obviously isn't true. You guys are Ethio-Semites.

I'm of the opinion that the Harla are strongly connected to both Hararis and Somalis so I don't fret over which group is close really. They are important to both of us since Harari and certain Somali clans descend from Harla

Yes by claiming Harla are Somali and saying Harari are Amhara/Gurage instead of being intellectually honest about the situation.

Exactly, Somalis have ties to Harla via blood, that’s why some Somalis outright think Harla are Somali. There is a reason why SYL accepted Hararis as one of their own, our ties go wayyyyyy back. It’s because our ancestors intermarried. It’s just disingenuous to say Harari were not Harla.

 

[Three Moons]

Not really man, don’t forget that Harla clan names, people, and places were mentioned in Futuh. I, a speaker of the Harari language, understand what they mean. For example, the location where the army of Imam Ahmed crossed the Awash was called Dir. Dir means “plain” in the Harari language. When you say something is in plain sight, you would say “Dirre be hal.”

Dir is also present in the Somali language as a name for a major clan family, and as a word to ‘sent’ something. Hardly evidence of a Harari root, this is even more clear when Somalis are the only group to still refer to the Awash River as ‘Webiga Dir’.

I could go on and on with Harla names that were mentioned and I can explain it to you. Like how Awash and Abbay Rivers are connected.

Give us more examples then, I’m all ears.

Somalis do not have a linguistic connection to Harla, contrary to popular belief. “Af Harlaad” is just Somali language with a few letters flipped around, while they can’t tell me what any name of Harla means.

Gidaya for example is a Harla name and clan, which is directly tied to the Somali Girri in a 16th century primary source. Secondly, its very telling that the Geysinian language of Harar was never referred to as af-Harlaad by any major group in the Horn throughout history. It makes no sense for every Harla remnant population in the Horn to only claim Somali lineages and only speak a Somali dialect without any trace of a Harari origin, be it language or cultural if they had actually been a lost ‘Harari’ related group that was absorbed by the larger Somalosphere.

Old names always persist in one form or another, but in the case of the Harla, they are only tied to the Somali people in blood, culture and linguistics, as well as contemporary primary sources.

Enrico Cerulli did a good job setting up studies in the Horn, but it was rudimentary. There are more advanced studies that is challenging some of his works.

Such as?

It is totally possible for Imam Ahmed being Harla to settle disputes. If you read Futuh, in the beginning Imam Ahmed’s core was agriculturalists that fought against the Sultan and his Somali power base. He beat the Sultan with his Harla agricultural power base like Abu Bakr Qacchin, and with his already existing ties with other friendly Somali tribes (like his in-law Garad Matan) he clamped down on any Somali opposition. Isn’t that why he went to invade Somalis before he went to Abysinnia? He wasn’t a wimp and took his strong power base and invaded their settlements near the sea. He didn’t have to be Somali to do that.

The fact that Imam Ahmed’s core as well as his opposition were both Somalis only demonstrates the paramount influence Somalis had in the region. The way the Futuh portrays him settling down with the Somalis in the countryside after his disagreement with the Sultan, is not one of a ‘foreigner’ but as a fellow kinsman. If you add to this his marital ties with general Mattan, his nephew leading the Somali tribe of Zarba that rose from the country of Harla, the Imam settling amongst the Somali and not any other group is all clear evidence of his linguistic, cultural and kinship ties with other Somalis. In any other situation this would be a clear open and shut case when it comes to his ethnic origins.

You should also be aware that the use of the word ‘Somali’ in that period most likely still denoted a ‘nomad’ as @Shimbiris demonstrated nicely in this thread, so any sedentary or urban Somalis would at certain times have been excluded from that term, while on other occasions in the Futuh, groups like the Harla were directly counted amongst the Somalis or a subset from the latter was counted amongst the Harla. This sort of direct medieval link doesn’t exist with any other modern group, except the Somalis.

There is also no real proof that Abu Bakr Qatin was related to the modern Harari people. A 21st century scholar basically took the word ‘Qatin’ and claimed its the Harari word for thin, when equivalent words also exist in the Somali and Arabic languages with different meanings.

Harari manuscripts describe the situation after Imam Ahmed, with Amir Nur’s actions towards aiding the Harla refugees and telling the other cities to copy the results of Harar, from hundreds of our villages being sacked by the ongoing Oromo onslaught, Amir Nur taking his troops to invade Abysinnia again and abandoning them in modern day Silte land. The tragic defeat of the Battle of Hazalo (Azalo means “they climbed”, it’s a mountain). The power struggles in Harar after Amir Nur’s death. The elite moving their capital to Awsa after failed leadership struggles. That’s why Afar claim they are Harla. In the Afar chronicles family tree, Harari names like Dus are present. Harari manuscripts are very helpful in understanding the period.

The issue I have with this theory is that there are no remnant Harari groups amongst the Somali, Oromo or the Afar. If they had indeed been a major group equivalent to the latter three in the Middle Ages, but had their numbers significantly reduced because of the 16th century wars, then their language, lineages and cultural attributes would still persist inside those major groups despite their absorbed status.

We can see this with the multiple groups that were absorbed by the Oromo, there is still a direct lineage or a cultural connection that ties them with their ancient ancestral groups. In the case of the Harla, all of their remnant groups that were found amongst the Somali, Oromo and Afar only claim Somali lineages and speak a Somali dialect. If they had indeed been Harari, this would be reflected in these remnant groups, but it wasn’t.

 

[daljirkadahsoon]

In the Futuh, it said there was a Land of the Somali, and it was not Bedouins as someone mentioned earlier. The Land of the Somali had their own town and river, and it served as a retreat to the Sultans who allied with Somalia. Most likely the land of Somalis was the green land of Sanaag.

There is no evidence that the bulk of Somalis became nomadic after urbanization. There is no mention of urban history, no mention of how to build homes, even looked down on farming. Urban Somalis seem to be a minority rather than a majority. All while when Imam Ahmed in the country of Hubat went village to village to rally men, it suggests an agrarian environment where there are many villages.

The old people of Zeila themselves to a British commissioner that Harla built Amud. The main reason why Afar and Somali and Oromo all have Harla is because after the state collapse of Adal due to the Oromo migrations, a huge refugee crisis ensued. Harla went to strong tribes for protection and got assimilated by them.

So you expect us to believe that all urban-agrarian civilization in Somalia is due to the Harla- who according to you are foreigners.

And yet there is no genetic or linguistic substratum in our population and we are one of the most homogenous peoples on Earth!

This is so funny man you went from semi respectable talking points to complete hotepry. All because the idea Somalis weren't only nomads is too difficult for you to accept.

There is in fact evidence for post war nomadization and your own Harari chronicles attest to it! The cities and villages emptied out with the epidemics, droughts and conflicts and people joined their Bedouin relatives to survive.

Hoobaad is inhabited was inhabited by Somali clans so that doesn't help you.

Zeila people saying Harla built Amud merely means the old settled Somali lol- no one in Somalia considers Harla to be foreigners.

No one knows where 'Land of Somali' is exactly that is speculation on your part.

 

[Three Moons]

He is not Habarsteven. He is a well known Harari from twitter. I don’t mind him claiming Adal as a fellow Muslim but to go as far as separating Somalis from Harla and Adal is a no no.

You actually convinced me half an hour ago that this was someone else, just to waste my time on a reply and see the same HabarSteven talking points in his latest posts. You owe me nus saac sxb.

 

[daljirkadahsoon]

@oogabooga you brought many of your own examples how will you explain the Somali names in @Shimbiris 's thread on Futuh that are not of people identified as 'Somali' in the work.

Are they ghosts as well?

 

[oogabooga]

Dir is also present in the Somali language as a name for a major clan family, and as a word to ‘sent’ something. Hardly evidence of a Harari root, this is even more clear when Somalis are the only group to still refer to the Awash River as ‘Webiga Dir’.

So you are saying Dir means “sent?” Ok, wouldn’t it be grammatically correct in Af Somali to say Webi Dir, instead of Webiga Dir.? Please answer this question.

Give us more examples then, I’m all ears

For the Awash Abbay River connection, if you look at what Abbay means in Geysinan, it means “respected mother”. When you look at Awash, it means “the fathers.” The connection between the two rivers is more than a coincidence.

Gidaya for example is a Harla name and clan, which is directly tied to the Somali Girri in a 16th century primary source.

Akhi, have you not heard of something called intermarriage? Also in what way do they tie it to the Girri? What source?

Secondly, its very telling that the Geysinian language of Harar was never referred to as af-Harlaad by any major group in the Horn throughout history. It makes no sense for every Harla remnant population in the Horn to only claim Somali lineages and only speak a Somali dialect without any trace of a Harari origin, be it language or cultural if they had actually been a lost ‘Harari’ related group that was absorbed by the larger Somalosphere.

That’s like saying if there is no mention of Somali language throughout history, then there would be no way of knowing they existed in the past. Somalis know they were present in Futuh not because it mentioned their language, but their ethnic group and tribes. Harla had their tribes and locations mentioned, except Amir Nur burnt our lineage papers to get rid of nationalism at such an existential crisis.

Many groups claim ties to Harar, contrary to your belief. How else did Harar have high status amongst the Muslims of the Horn? How else did Harar survive its dark ages and it’s siege? It’s just that modern imperialist forces aka Britain destroyed all of our relationships while handing over Harar to Ethiopia.

The fact that Imam Ahmed’s core as well as his opposition were both Somalis only demonstrates the paramount influence Somalis had in the region. The way the Futuh portrays him settling down with the Somalis in the countryside after his disagreement with the Sultan, is not one of a ‘foreigner’ but as a fellow kinsman. If you add to this his marital ties with general Mattan, his nephew leading the Somali tribe of Zarba that rose from the country of Harla, the Imam settling amongst the Somali and not any other group is all clear evidence of his linguistic, cultural and kinship ties with other Somalis. In any other situation this would be a clear open and shut case when it comes to his ethnic origins.

I never said Somalis weren’t relevant in Adal, in fact they were a key player in the politics of the country. Imam Ahmed is not noted to have been with Somalis in the countryside; in fact that was his opposition the Sultan. The Sultan had majority Somali support; Imam Ahmed had to get it from the farmers. He went from village to village on horse recruiting men.

Bro are you calling Zarba Somali? It was literally mentioned that Zarba was Harla. It literally means “by the river.” Wild hoteping there buddy. Not to mention Imam’s brother was chieftain of Hargaya, one of the OG Harari families that still live to this day.

You should also be aware that the use of the word ‘Somali’ in that period most likely still denoted a ‘nomad’ as @Shimbiris demonstrated nicely in this thread, so any sedentary or urban Somalis would at certain times have been excluded from that term, while on other occasions in the Futuh, groups like the Harla were directly counted amongst the Somalis or a subset from the latter was counted amongst the Harla. This sort of direct medieval link doesn’t exist with any other modern group, except the Somalis.

Not true, in the Land of Somalis it is mentioned Imam Ahmed marched on to their settlement in Kidad. There was a great mighty river there, and they attacked mid-day. The whole Somali = nomad theory to hotep Harla is invalid.

There is also no real proof that Abu Bakr Qatin was related to the modern Harari people. A 21st century scholar basically took the word ‘Qatin’ and claimed its the Harari word for thin, when equivalent words also exist in the Somali and Arabic languages with different meanings.

Bro stop the . There is no such thing in Somali and Arabic. Nice try there buddy. And if Harla are just Somalis with a slightly different dialect, then tell me what the war chant “Yahu, Yahu” means? Imam Ahmed used it in one of his expeditions before he mobilized Somali tribes.

 

[Laser]

Bud do you even read Arabic?

Yeah Alhamdulilah i speak arabic fluently

Look at your own snippet. It literally said he was nicknamed “Badlay Malik.” What a joke bro

Well yeah here's the full line

His nickname was Badlay.
Malik al muslimin bil habasha is a description.
So it translates to:
"Shihab al din ahmed nicknamed badlay, the king of the Muslim in al habasha".

The book is انباء الغمر بابناء العمر check it out yourself.
You see according to you he was nicknamed uppercountry?!

I actually wanted a genuine discussion but your own text is literally telling you not.

Got backfired badly huh

Sultan Badlay was notable for his conquest of Abysinnia which was greater than even what Imam Ahmed pulled off

Why lie to yourself? Kulaha better than imam ahmed

yet you want to tell me he he slaughtered bandits? If that was the case, then so many other leaders in Adal history should be called bandit killer.

Yeah cuz he did, read what I've said before.
Do you see how intellectually dishonest you sound rn? What a shitshow.

I don’t know if you even read Futuh yet or if your only source of history is hearsay from DarkN*

Calling al maqrizi a hearsay from DarkN is wild icl.

but when Imam Ahmed crossed the Awash and climbed the mountain, Arab Faqih mentioned how they were in the country of Lai. Lai means “upper lands” in this context obviously, because it’s a location in the mountains. You don’t even know how to read a topological map, so embarassing. Adal wasn’t only situated on the Harar plateau, while everything in Abysinnia was in the deep highlands. You can’t be calling Harar plateau highlands in comparison to the Abysinnian highlands. Adal was also Awsa, Zeila, and all lands in between.

Are ethio semitics lowlanders? Nga why you complicating such an easy question.
Also source for the arab faqih part.

 

[Laser]

So you are saying Dir means “sent?” Ok, wouldn’t it be grammatically correct in Af Somali to say Webi Dir, instead of Webiga Dir.? Please answer this question.

For the Awash Abbay River connection, if you look at what Abbay means in Geysinan, it means “respected mother”. When you look at Awash, it means “the fathers.” The connection between the two rivers is more than a coincidence.



Akhi, have you not heard of something called intermarriage? Also in what way do they tie it to the Girri? What source?

That’s like saying if there is no mention of Somali language throughout history, then there would be no way of knowing they existed in the past. Somalis know they were present in Futuh not because it mentioned their language, but their ethnic group and tribes. Harla had their tribes and locations mentioned, except Amir Nur burnt our lineage papers to get rid of nationalism at such an existential crisis.

Many groups claim ties to Harar, contrary to your belief. How else did Harar have high status amongst the Muslims of the Horn? How else did Harar survive its dark ages and it’s siege? It’s just that modern imperialist forces aka Britain destroyed all of our relationships while handing over Harar to Ethiopia.

I never said Somalis weren’t relevant in Adal, in fact they were a key player in the politics of the country. Imam Ahmed is not noted to have been with Somalis in the countryside; in fact that was his opposition the Sultan. The Sultan had majority Somali support; Imam Ahmed had to get it from the farmers. He went from village to village on horse recruiting men.

Bro are you calling Zarba Somali? It was literally mentioned that Zarba was Harla. It literally means “by the river.” Wild hoteping there buddy. Not to mention Imam’s brother was chieftain of Hargaya, one of the OG Harari families that still live to this day.

Not true, in the Land of Somalis it is mentioned Imam Ahmed marched on to their settlement in Kidad. There was a great mighty river there, and they attacked mid-day. The whole Somali = nomad theory to hotep Harla is invalid.

Bro stop the . There is no such thing in Somali and Arabic. Nice try there buddy. And if Harla are just Somalis with a slightly different dialect, then tell me what the war chant “Yahu, Yahu” means? Imam Ahmed used it in one of his expeditions before he mobilized Somali tribes.

Yo btw, none of us speak harari here so how are we supposed to know whether you're making up these etymologies or not? You could be lying all day and no one would notice

 

[oogabooga]

Well yeah here's the full line

My bad, I didn’t see that.

You see according to you he was nicknamed uppercountry?!

Cmon man, it’s makes more sense than slaying bandits because slaying bandits is a default, it is what was expected of a ruler. When Imam Ahmed slaughtered the bandits, did they call him Badlay?
And Hararis name their children like Hayzar (“milk river”) and Dus (“honey”). Badlay sounds cooler than that cause it means he is on top.

Why lie to yourself? Kulaha better than imam ahmed

Sultan Badlay had drip and aristocracy, huge palace, invaded all the way to Suakin in Sudan. Bro was the definition of ruler. Imam Ahmed did amazing stuff too, like plan the unification of one Muslim Horn Empire.

Yeah cuz he did, read what I've said before.
Do you see how intellectually dishonest you sound rn? What a shitshow.

No I genuinely thought that snippet was the complete sentence.

Calling al maqrizi a hearsay from DarkN is wild icl.

Putting words in my mouth there sir.

Are ethio semitics lowlanders? Nga why you complicating such an easy question.
Also source for the arab faqih part.

Adal isn’t highlands. Does Zeila look like a highland to you? Does Awsa? Harar plateau is very small compared to the huge chain of mountains in Abysinnia. My bad regarding the Arab Faqih one, I thought I remembered seeing Lai but apparently it was Lal.

 

[oogabooga]

Yo btw, none of us speak harari here so how are we supposed to know whether you're making up these etymologies or not? You could be lying all day and no one would notice View attachment 325718

Here is a dictionary, let me know interesting connections you find: https://everythingharar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/LesluHarariDictionary145.pdf

 

[Step a side]

You actually convinced me half an hour ago that this was someone else, just to waste my time on a reply and see the same HabarSteven talking points in his latest posts. You owe me nus saac sxb.

Bruh he is much more of a fanatic than @HabarSteven12 when it comes to Harla, Somali, Zeila etc. This Harari brother literally believes all Somalis were incapable of building solid rock houses as they were all fully fletched uncivilised nomads

 

[oogabooga]

Bruh he is much more of a fanatic than @HabarSteven12 when it comes to Harla, Somali, Zeila etc. This Harari brother literally believes all Somalis were incapable of building solid rock houses as they were all fully fletched uncivilised nomads

Liar, that’s outright lying. Maybe read this thread before u say stupid stuff like that.

 

[daljirkadahsoon]

@oogabooga I am curious to hear what you say about the following:

Why are there so many figures in the Futuh with Somali names who are not identified as 'Somali' (i.e a Bedouin)?

Why do they have titles not only like Garaad but also the Somali Farshaxan? Why are so many other names and words in the Futuh identifiably Somali?

Why do all surviving Harla segments across all ethnicities only claim Somali descent- even the ones who assimilated into Oromo and Afar?

Why are the Zarba listed amongst the 'Somali' tribes?

Why are pastoralist tribes mentioned in the Shewan plateau with Somali sounding names in the same location archaeologists say had Somali style graves - Werjih (Warjeex), Gabal and Alula.

Why does Imam Ahmad practice a distinctly Somali custom of trial by fire at the church in Lalibela?

Why do archaeologists say that the earliest inhabitants of Hararghe are camel herders and why is it that they say that the ruins across Northern Somalia of settled peoples have a distinctly 'nomadic' character?

Will you now claim that Harla were camel loving nomads? You previously said they had a 'complex urban-agrarian civilization'

The ruins attributed to Harla run from Hararghe to the Nugaal Valley- why is there zero indication of any absorption of what would have been a gigantic population? There should be a tangible difference between northern and southern Somalis and yet there isn't any.

 

[Step a side]

Liar, that’s outright lying. Maybe read this thread before u say stupid stuff like that.

The original Futuh in Harar's museum, the short chronicles of Sarsa, Minas, Awssa, Kitaabul Mawsuuc, carbon dated lineage papers, Kebra Negast and Ba Alawi who stated 4 ancestors of Gragn etc. Shami in particular collated all this and preceded you in research to confirm his Somali identity. You are a nobody while better men dedicated to their craft have done the hard work already in researching this. Can you come up with a 1000 paged book discussing everything from start to finish? Sabagh, Manfred Kropp, Berhanu Kamal, Paulitchke etc all corroborate this. It's an overwelming case with over 7 scholars in agreement and institutionalised in Ethiopian Emperor's circles and schools. I went a step further and posted the regional influence of Karanle spanning centuries in terms of 1. trade (Imey was the largest town between Berbera and Xamar), 2. religion (the biggest tariqa of Harar was founded by Karanle mashayikh), 3. settlement (Hawiye Guda and Erer Hawiya districts) and 4. power (Karanle were the first Somalis of Hararge to engage in the slave trade and are described by colonial powers as the most powerful entity in 1876). All this just to get you simpleton a better picture of the obvious. Oromia even knew Karanle as the main antagonist they were confronted by which is why they name the Shabelle river after us.

 

[Laser]

My bad, I didn’t see that.

Cmon man, it’s makes more sense than slaying bandits because slaying bandits is a default, it is what was expected of a ruler. When Imam Ahmed slaughtered the bandits, did they call him Badlay?
And Hararis name their children like Hayzar (“milk river”) and Dus (“honey”). Badlay sounds cooler than that cause it means he is on top.

Sultan Badlay had drip and aristocracy, huge palace, invaded all the way to Suakin in Sudan. Bro was the definition of ruler. Imam Ahmed did amazing stuff too, like plan the unification of one Muslim Horn Empire.


No I genuinely thought that snippet was the complete sentence.

Putting words in my mouth there sir.

Adal isn’t highlands. Does Zeila look like a highland to you? Does Awsa? Harar plateau is very small compared to the huge chain of mountains in Abysinnia. My bad regarding the Arab Faqih one, I thought I remembered seeing Lai but apparently it was Lal.

First of all imam ahmed was a way better conqueror don't even try.
2nd badlay restored order and ended unrighteousness in the country he was known for that hence why my etymology makes sense.
Al maqrizi mentions how he stopped the injustice inflicted on the people by the armed men (literally bandits)

واكتف الناس عن الظلم من العسكر

Also i went checking the harari Dictionary you sent

There's already an existing word for highland Which's Badda. You mixed 2 words to make sense out of the word badlay, but after reading it, it seems you manipulated the order of use to make sense out of the word.

The Dictionary gives as examples of how each word is used:
'zalbad=strange country' zal comes first then bad.
'La'ay moraga=small basket lying on top of a large one' la'ay/lay comes first then basket.

So it seems phonologically the word Lay comes first then the word bad, meaning it should be read as laybad not badlay.