Bilali Document
Encyclopedia
The Bilali Muhammad Document is a handwritten, Arabic
manuscript on West African Islamic law
. It was written by Bilali Mohammet in the nineteenth century. The document is currently housed in the library at the University of Georgia
.
, Georgia. According to the history of Sapelo Island written by Bilali descendent Cornelia Bailey ("God, Dr. Buzzard and The Bolito Man"), Bilali was from Sierra Leone
, and was a master cultivator of rice
, a skill prized by Georgia slave owners. Some scholars claim Bilali was born in Timbo, Guinea, around 1770 to a well-educated African Muslim family. He was enslaved as a teenager and was held as a slave for ten years in the Middle Caicos
plantation of Dr. Bell, a Loyalist refugee from the American Revolutionary War
, before he arrived in Georgia in 1802. In Georgia he became the head driver on Thomas Spalding's Sapelo Island based plantation. Bilali could speak Arabic and had Knowledge of the Koran. In the War of 1812
, Bilali and his fellow Muslims helped to defend America from a British attack. Upon Bilali's death in 1857, it was discovered that he had written a thirteen-page Arabic manuscript. At first, this was thought to have been his diary, but closer inspection revealed that the manuscript was a transcription of a Muslim legal treatise and part of West Africa's Muslim curriculum.
The first partial translation of the document was undertaken in 1939 in the Journal of Negro History by Dr. Joseph Greenberg
. In recent years it has been analyzed by Dr. Ronald Judy, Dr. Joseph Progler http://www.zu.ac.ae/profile/404.aspx?aspxerrorpath=/profile/J_Progler.aspx, Dr. Allan Austin and Muhammed al-Ahari
. A research society named the Bilali Muhammed Historical Research Society was established in Chicago in 1987 and published a one-issue journal Meditations from the Bilali Muhammad Society in 1988 in Charleston, South Carolina. The research institute has since been renamed the Muslim American Cultural Heritage Institute and will have a new board and be incorporated as a 503c corporation in Chicago in 2009.
, national secretary of the Noble Order of Moorish Sufis and long-time researcher on American Islamic History and Literature. The concept of a Matn (source text) with several extended commentaries is a traditional genre in Islamic literature. The commentaries may be linguistic, spiritual, and even have the function of relating the text to similar works. Further research on Bilali's life and his influence upon both American Islamic literature and to the Gullah
dialect of English needs to be carried out in order to present a complete picture of this unique American Muslim author.
(aka Imam Isa) who claimed he was his great-grandfather, have conflated Bilali Muhammad (aka Ben Ali, BuAllah, Bilali Smith, and Mahomet Bilali) with individuals with similar names. He is not the same person as Yusuf Benenhaly http://sciway3.net/clark/freemoors/JosephBenenhaley.html, the Wahab brothers of Ocracoke Island, or Old York whose son traveled with Lewis and Clark
.
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
manuscript on West African Islamic law
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
. It was written by Bilali Mohammet in the nineteenth century. The document is currently housed in the library at the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
.
History
Bilali Mohammed was a slave from Sapelo IslandSapelo Island
Sapelo Island is a state-protected island located in McIntosh County, Georgia. The island is reachable only by airplane or boat, with the primary ferry coming from the Sapelo Island Visitors Center in McIntosh County, Georgia, a seven mile , twenty-minute trip.Approximately 97 percent of the...
, Georgia. According to the history of Sapelo Island written by Bilali descendent Cornelia Bailey ("God, Dr. Buzzard and The Bolito Man"), Bilali was from Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, and was a master cultivator of rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, a skill prized by Georgia slave owners. Some scholars claim Bilali was born in Timbo, Guinea, around 1770 to a well-educated African Muslim family. He was enslaved as a teenager and was held as a slave for ten years in the Middle Caicos
Middle Caicos
Middle Caicos, also Grand Caicos, is the largest island in the Turks and Caicos Islands. To the west, it is separated from North Caicos by Juniper Hole, and to the east, from East Caicos by Lorimer Creek, both narrow passages that can accommodate only small boats.Middle Caicos has an area of 144.2...
plantation of Dr. Bell, a Loyalist refugee from the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, before he arrived in Georgia in 1802. In Georgia he became the head driver on Thomas Spalding's Sapelo Island based plantation. Bilali could speak Arabic and had Knowledge of the Koran. In the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, Bilali and his fellow Muslims helped to defend America from a British attack. Upon Bilali's death in 1857, it was discovered that he had written a thirteen-page Arabic manuscript. At first, this was thought to have been his diary, but closer inspection revealed that the manuscript was a transcription of a Muslim legal treatise and part of West Africa's Muslim curriculum.
The first partial translation of the document was undertaken in 1939 in the Journal of Negro History by Dr. Joseph Greenberg
Joseph Greenberg
Joseph Harold Greenberg was a prominent and controversial American linguist, principally known for his work in two areas, linguistic typology and the genetic classification of languages.- Early life and career :...
. In recent years it has been analyzed by Dr. Ronald Judy, Dr. Joseph Progler http://www.zu.ac.ae/profile/404.aspx?aspxerrorpath=/profile/J_Progler.aspx, Dr. Allan Austin and Muhammed al-Ahari
Muhammed al-Ahari
Muhammed Abdullah al-Ahari an American essayist, scholar and writer on the topics of American Islam, Black Nationalist groups, heterodox Islamic groups and modern occultism. Muhammed al-Ahari was born in York near Rock Hill, South Carolina...
. A research society named the Bilali Muhammed Historical Research Society was established in Chicago in 1987 and published a one-issue journal Meditations from the Bilali Muhammad Society in 1988 in Charleston, South Carolina. The research institute has since been renamed the Muslim American Cultural Heritage Institute and will have a new board and be incorporated as a 503c corporation in Chicago in 2009.
Synopsis
The Bilali Muhammad Document is also known as the Ben Ali Diary or Ben Ali Journal. On close analysis, the text proves to be a brief statement of Islamic beliefs and the rules for ablution, morning prayer, and the calls to prayer. It could, justifiably, be called the "Mother Text" of American Islamic Literature. A comprehensive commentary with citations from traditional Islamic texts and American Islamic texts with related subject areas is under preparation by Muhammed al-AhariMuhammed al-Ahari
Muhammed Abdullah al-Ahari an American essayist, scholar and writer on the topics of American Islam, Black Nationalist groups, heterodox Islamic groups and modern occultism. Muhammed al-Ahari was born in York near Rock Hill, South Carolina...
, national secretary of the Noble Order of Moorish Sufis and long-time researcher on American Islamic History and Literature. The concept of a Matn (source text) with several extended commentaries is a traditional genre in Islamic literature. The commentaries may be linguistic, spiritual, and even have the function of relating the text to similar works. Further research on Bilali's life and his influence upon both American Islamic literature and to the Gullah
Gullah
The Gullah are African Americans who live in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina and Georgia, which includes both the coastal plain and the Sea Islands....
dialect of English needs to be carried out in order to present a complete picture of this unique American Muslim author.
Errors in prior research
Several reviewers of the manuscript have portrayed it as the scribblings of an old man copying from memory lessons of childhood. However, actual translations of the text have shown it to be an original composition that drew from the Risalah of Abi Zayd of al-Qayrawan as its inspiration. Past writers, including Reverend Dwight YorkDwight York
Dwight York , also known as Malachi Z. York, Issa Al Haadi Al Mahdi, et alii, is an American black supremacist and leader of the Georgia-based "Nuwaubian" movement, currently imprisoned on a 135 year sentence for child molestation.York's "ministry" began in the late 1960s, from 1967 preaching to...
(aka Imam Isa) who claimed he was his great-grandfather, have conflated Bilali Muhammad (aka Ben Ali, BuAllah, Bilali Smith, and Mahomet Bilali) with individuals with similar names. He is not the same person as Yusuf Benenhaly http://sciway3.net/clark/freemoors/JosephBenenhaley.html, the Wahab brothers of Ocracoke Island, or Old York whose son traveled with Lewis and Clark
York (Lewis and Clark)
York was an African American slave best known for his participation with the Lewis and Clark Expedition. As William Clark's slave, he performed hard manual labor without pay, but participated as a full member of the expedition. Like many other expedition members, his ultimate fate is unclear...
.
Further reading
- Bilali Muhammad: Muslim Juriprudist in Antebellum Georgia, translated by Muhammad Abdullah al-Ahari, ISBN 0-415-91270-9. https://www.createspace.com/3431038
- Muhammed al-Ahari (2006). Five Classic Muslim Slave Narratives. Magribine Press, Chicago.
- Greenberg, Joseph H. "The Decipherment of the 'Ben-Ali Diary,'" Journal of Negro. History, vol. 25, no.3 (July 1940): 372-375.
- Ronald AT Judy, (Dis)forming the American Canon: African–Arabic Slave Narratives and the Vernacular (Disforming the American Canon ISBN 0-8166-2056-3
- Joseph Progler, “Ben Ali and His Diary: Encountering an African Muslim in Antebellum America,” Muslim and Arab Perspectives, Vol. 11 (Fall 2004), pp. 19-60. http://www.pharosmedia.com/map.htm
- Joseph Progler, “Reading Early American Islamica: An Interpretive Translation of the Ben Ali Diary,” Tawhid: Journal of Islamic Thought and Culture, Vol. 16, No. 3, (Autumn 2000), pp. 5-43. http://www.noormags.com/View/Creator/CreatorArticles.aspx?creatorId=4491
External links
- http://www.btcs.wisc.edu/bayoumi.pdfDescription of the Bilali Document by Moustafa BayoumiMoustafa BayoumiMoustafa Bayoumi is an award-winning writer, and associate professor of English at Brooklyn College, City University of New York. Born in Zürich, Switzerland, and raised in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, he currently lives in Brooklyn....
at the Border and Transcultural Studies Research Centre]