Learning From Omar Ibn Said: Maintaining Worship in the Midst of Hardship

History has witnessed no greater atrocity than the transatlantic slave trade, a period marked by the abduction of Africans from their homelands, their brutal confinement in slave ships, and their forced relocation to the Americas against their will, where they were subjected to harsh labor. This brutality inflicted immeasurable despair and depression upon many, but such was not the response of Omar Ibn Said.

Omar Ibn Said, a seeker of Islamic knowledge, was born near the border of Senegal. His quest for spiritual understanding took a tragic turn when he was abducted and sold into slavery. Transported to Charleston, South Carolina, Omar Ibn Said recounts, “There they sold me to a small, weak, and wicked man, called Johnson, a complete infidel, who had no fear of God at all.” Despite the adversity, Omar Ibn Said remained resolute in preserving his faith. He attempted to escape from his owner’s plantation, only to be apprehended while performing his obligatory salah and subsequently taken to jail.

Slave owners were astonished to discover that Omar Ibn Said was literate and could write in Arabic. In an era when enslaved Africans were forcefully converted to Christianity, expressions of Islam were violently persecuted. Omar Ibn Said was coerced into writing the Lord’s Prayer in Arabic. The resulting manuscript, contemporarily described as “The Lord’s Prayer written in Arabic by Uncle Moreau (Omar) a native African, now owned by General Owen of Wilmington N. C. He is 88 years of age & a devoted Christian,” was, in fact, not the Lord’s Prayer but Surah 61, ayat 13 from the Quran: “˹He will also give you˺ another favor that you long for: help from Allah and an imminent victory. ˹So˺ give good news ˹O Prophet˺ to the believers.”

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In an era when enslaved Africans faced relentless pressure to abandon their Islamic faith and embrace Christianity, Omar Ibn Said’s resilience shone through. Despite being coerced into writing what was purported to be the Lord’s Prayer in Arabic, the actual manuscript revealed his steadfast commitment to Islam. Contemporary misinterpretations labeled him as a devout Christian, but in reality, the written words were Surah 61, ayat 13 from the Quran, emphasizing the eventual help from Allah and imminent victory. Omar Ibn Said inspires Muslims to hold on to faith during difficult times.