---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,translation of the ,life of ,omar ibn ,said3 ,manuscript ,no4 #a ,transcriber's ,notes3 ,this document was transcribed from a handwritten text4 ,the author later made changes and insertions which are marked like this my1 meaning the word 8my0 was written as an insertion at that point4 ,there was no page numbered #e in the manuscript4 ,in the paragraph beginning 8,i gave alms every year1 gold10 there is an illegible word4 ,missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected4 ,typographical errors were silently corrected4 ,inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only when a predominant form was found in this book4 ,text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores 7italics74 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,omar ben ,saeed 7#a7 ,manuscript1 ,no4 #a4-- ,in the name of ,god1 the merciful the gracious4--,god grant his blessing upon our lord 7seidna7 ,mohammed4 ,blessed be ,he in whose hand is the kingdom who is ,almighty2 who created death life that he might make you the best of his works2 for he is exalted2 he is the forgiver 7of sins17 who created seven heavens one above the other4 ,do you discern anything trifling in creation4 ,bring back your thoughts4 ,do you see anything worthless4 ,recall your vision in earnest4 ,turn your eye inward for it is diseased4 ,god has adorned the heavens the world with lamps1 has made us missiles for the devils1 given us for them a grievous punishment1 to those who have disbelieved their ,lord1 the punishment of hell pains of body4 ,whoever associates with them shall hear a boiling caldron1 what is cast therein may fitly represent those who suffer under the anger of ,god4--,ask them if a prophet 7director7 has not been sent unto them4 ,they say1 8yes2 a prophet has come to us1 but we have lied to him40 ,we said1 8,god has not sent us down any thing1 you are in grievous error40 ,they say1 8,if we had listened been wise we should not now have been suffering the punishment of the ,omniscient40 ,so they confess they have sinned in destroying the followers of the ,omniscient4 ,those who fear their ,lord profess his name1 they receive pardon great honor4 ,guard your words1 7ye wicked71 make it known that ,god is all-wise in all his manifestations4 ,do you not know from the creation that ,god is full of skill8 that ,he has made for you the way of error1 you have walked therein1 have chosen to live upon what your god1 ,nasr has furnished you4 ,believe on ,him who dwells in heaven1 who has fitted the earth to be your support it shall give you food4 ,believe on ,him who dwells in ,heaven1 who has sent you a prophet1 you shall understand what a teacher 7,he has sent you47 ,those that were before them deceived them 7in regard to their prophet47 ,and how came they to reject him8 ,did they not see in the heavens above them1 how the fowls of the air receive with pleasure that which is sent them8 ,god looks after all4 ,believe ye3 it is ,he who supplies your wants1 that you may take his gifts enjoy them1 take great pleasure in them4 ,and now will you go on in error1 or walk in the path of righteousness4 ,say to them2 8,he who regards you with care1 who has made for you the heavens the earth3 gives you prosperity1 ,him you think little of4 ,this is ,he that planted you in the earth1 to whom you are soon to be gathered40 ,but they say1 8,if you are men of truth1 tell us when shall this promise be fulfilled80 ,say to them2 8,does not ,god know8 am not ,i an evident ,prophet80 ,when those who disbelieve shall see the things draw near before their faces1 it shall then be told them1 8these are the things about which you made inquiry40 ,have you seen that ,god has destroyed me or those with me8 or rather that ,he has shewn us mercy8 ,and who will defend the unbeliever from a miserable punishment8 ,say2 8,knowledge is from ,god40 ,say2 8,have you not seen that your water has become impure8 ,who will bring you fresh water from the fountain80 ,illustration ,o ,sheikh ,hunter ,i cannot write my life because ,i have forgotten much of my own language1 as well as of the ,arabic4 ,do not be hard upon me my brother4--,to ,god let many thanks be paid for his great mercy goodness4 ,page #ad-- ,in the name of ,god1 the ,gracious1 the ,merciful4--,thanks be to ,god1 supreme in goodness1 kindness1 grace1 who is worthy of all honor1 who created all things for his service1 even man's power of action of speech4 ,illustration ,from ,omar to ,sheikh ,hunter4 ,you asked me to write my life4 ,i am not able to do this because ,i have much forgotten my own1 as well as the ,arabic language4 ,neither can ,i write very grammatically or according to the true idiom4 ,and so1 my brother1 ,i beg you1 in ,god's name1 not to chide me1 for ,i am a man of weak eyes1 of a weak body4 ,my name is ,omar ibn ,seid1 7son of ,seid47 7#b7 ,my birth place was ,fut ,tr1 7,fouta ,toro17 between the two rivers1 7,mesopotamia in ,africa87 ,i sought knowledge under the instruction of a ,sheikh called ,mohammed ,seid1 my own brother1 ,sheikh ,soleiman ,kembeh1 ,sheikh ,gabriel ,abdal4 ,i continued my studies twenty five years1 then returned to my home where ,i remained six years4 ,then there came to our place a large army1 who killed many men1 took me1 brought me to the great sea1 sold me into the hands of the ,christians who bound me sent me on board a great ship we sailed upon the great sea a month a half1 when we came to a place called ,charleston in the ,christian language4 ,there they sold me to a small1 weak1 wicked man1 called ,johnson1 a complete infidel1 who had no fear of ,god at all4 ,now ,i am a small man2 unable to do hard work so ,i fled from the hand of ,johnson after a month came to a place called ,fayd-il 7,fayette-ville874 ,here ,i saw some great houses 7churches74 ,on the new-moon ,i went into a church to pray4 ,a lad saw me rode off to the place of his father informed him that he had seen a black man in the church4 ,a man named ,handah 7,hunter87 another man with him on horseback1 came attended by a troop of dogs4 ,they took me made me go with them twelve miles to a place called ,fayd-il787 where they put me into a great house from which ,i could not go out4 ,i continued in the great house 7which1 in the ,christian language1 they called jail7 sixteen days nights4 ,one ,friday the jailor came opened the door of the house ,i saw a great many men all ,christians1 some of whom called out to me1 8what is your name8 ,is it ,omar or ,seid80 ,i did not understand their ,christian language4 ,a man called ,bob ,mumford took me led me out of the jail1 ,i was very well pleased to go with them to their place4 ,i staid at ,mumford's four days nights1 then a man named ,jim ,owen1 son in law of ,mumford1 who married his daughter ,betsey1 asked me if ,i was willing to go to a place called ,bladen1 7,b4 ,co4 ,n4,c474 ,i said1 ,yes1 ,i was willing4 ,i went with them have remained in the place 7house87 of ,jim ,owen until now4 ,before 7after87 ,i came into the hand of ,gen4 ,owen a man by the name of ,mitchell came to buy me4 ,he asked me if ,i were willing to go to ,charleston ,city4 ,i said 8no1 no1 no1 no1 no1 no1 no1 ,i not willing to go to ,charleston4 ,i stay in the hand of ,jim ,owen40 99 99 99 99 99 ,o ye people of ,n4 ,carolina1 ,o ye people of ,s4 ,carolina1 ,o ye people of ,america1 all of you2 have you among you any two such men as ,jim ,owen ,john ,owen4 ,these men are good men4 ,what food they eat they give to me to eat4 ,as they clothe themselves they clothe me4 ,they permit me to read the gospel of ,god1 our ,lord1 ,saviour1 ,king2 who regulates all our circumstances1 our health wealth1 who bestows his mercies willingly1 not by constraint4 ,according to my power ,i open my heart1 as to a great light1 to receive the true way1 the way of the ,lord ,jesus the ,messiah4 ,before ,i came to the ,christian country1 my religion was the religion of 8,mohammed1 the ,apostle of ,god--may ,god have mercy upon him1 give him peace40 ,i walked to the mosque before day-break1 washed my face head hands feet4 ,i prayed at noon1 prayed in the afternoon1 prayed at sun-set1 prayed in the evening4 ,i gave alms every year1 gold1 silver1 seeds1 illegible word1 cattle1 sheep1 goats1 rice1 wheat1 barley4 ,i gave tithes of all the above-named things4 ,i went every year to the holy war against the infidels4 ,i went on pilgrimage to ,mecca1 as all did who were able4----,my father had six sons five daughters1 my mother had three sons one daughter4 ,when ,i left my country ,i was thirty seven years old2--,i have been in the country of the ,christians twenty four years4----,written ,a4,d4 #ahca-- ,written in year one thousand eight hundred and one and thirty of ,jesus the messiah ,o ye people of ,n4 ,carolina1 ,o ye people of ,s4 ,carolina1 ,o all ye people of ,america--the first son of ,jim ,owen is called ,thomas1 his sister is called ,masa-jein 7,martha ,jane87 ,this is an excellent family4 ,tom ,owen ,nell ,owen have two sons a daughter4 ,the first son is called ,jim the second ,john4 ,the daughter is named ,melissa4 ,seid ,jim ,owen his wife ,betsey have two sons five daughters4 ,their names are ,tom1 ,john1 ,mercy1 ,miriam1 ,sophia1 ,margaret ,eliza4 ,this family is a very nice family4 7#c7 ,the wife of ,john ,owen is called ,louisa an excellent wife she is4 ,she had five children4 ,three of them died two are still living4 ,o ye ,americans1--ye people of ,n4 ,carolina--have you1 have you1 have you1 have you among you a family like this family having so much love to ,god as they8 99 99 99 99 99 ,formerly ,i1 ,omar1 loved to read the book of the ,koran the famous4 ,gen4 ,jim ,owen his wife used to read the gospel1 they read it to me very much1--the gospel of ,god1 our ,lord1 our ,creator1 our ,king1 ,he that orders all our circumstances1 health wealth1 willingly1 not constrainedly1 according to his power4--,open thou my heart to the gospel1 to the way of uprightness4--,thanks to the ,lord of all worlds1 thanks in abundance4 ,he is plenteous in mercy abundant in goodness4 ,for the law was given by ,moses but grace truth were by ,jesus the ,messiah4 ,when ,i was a ,mohammedan ,i prayed thus3 8,thanks be to ,god1 ,lord of all worlds1 the merciful the gracious ,lord of the day of ,judgment1 thee we serve1 on thee we call for help4 ,direct us in the right way1 the way of those on whom thou hast had mercy1 with whom thou has not been angry who walk not in error4 ,amen40--,but now ,i pray 8,our ,father0 c44 in the words of our ,lord ,jesus the ,messiah4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i reside in this our country by reason of great necessity4 ,wicked men took me by violence sold me to the ,christians4 ,we sailed a month a half on the great sea to the place called ,charleston in the ,christian land4 ,i fell into the hand of a small1 weak wicked man1 who feared not ,god at all1 nor did he read 7the gospel7 at all nor pray4 ,i was afraid to remain with a man so depraved who committed so many crimes ,i ran away4 ,after a month our ,lord ,god brought me forward to the hand of a good man1 who fears ,god1 loves to do good1 whose name is ,jim ,owen whose brother is called ,col4 ,john ,owen4 ,these are two excellent men4----,i am residing in ,bladen county4 ,i continue in the hand of ,jim ,owen who never beats me1 nor scolds me4 ,i neither go hungry nor naked1 ,i have no hard work to do4 ,i am not able to do hard work for ,i am a small man feeble4 ,during the last twenty years ,i have known no want in the hand of ,jim ,owen4-- ,illustration