Aqoon La’aani Waa Iftiin La’aan

“The absence of knowledge is the absence of light”

Aqoon La’aani Waa Iftiin La’aan

Erayadi (poetry): Xasan Sheekh Muumin
Codki (voice): Cabdullaahi Qarshe
Laxan (music/melody): Cabdullaahi Qarshe
Year: 1974

The Somali song “Aqoon la’aani waa iftiin la’aan”—translated as “The absence of knowledge is the absence of light”— remains one of the most powerful Somali compositions about the value of education and awareness. Written by the poet and playwright Xasan Sheekh Muumin, and performed by the legendary Abdullahi Qarshe, who also composed its melody, the song was first introduced around 1961 during a period when Somalia was embracing education as a symbol of national progress (Mukhtar, 2003, p. 14). The song quickly became the signature tune of Radio Mogadishu, where its message of enlightenment echoed across the nation. Its call to “go to school” and “seek knowledge” resonated with a country that was just beginning to shape its post-independence identity. Even today, the song stands as a reminder that ignorance is darkness and that knowledge remains the truest light of progress.

A recent recording and music video of “Aqoon La’aani Waa Iftiin La’aan”

The absence of knowledge is the absence of light 

The absence of knowledge is the absence of light,
It is a home without a lamp (at night).

Acknowledge, acknowledge, the value of schools,
Go, go, my kin, go to schools.

Ignorance is a thirst unquenched, a drought,
Like a barren land without water at hand.

Let us open our eyes to (the gift of knowledge),
And then rise as the world’s most enlightened society.