ʿUMAR TĀL (1794/7–1864), known in Fūta as al-Ḥājj ʿUmar ibn Saʿīd ibn ʿUthmān of Gede, was an intellectual and military leader in the central and western Sudanic region. Born in Fūta Tōro, a Fulbe state in the middle valley of the Senegal River, ʿUmar first achieved prominence during the pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, which he completed three times in the years 1828–1830. At the same time he obtained an appointment as the chief representative (khalīfah) in West Africa for the Islamic order called the Tijānīyah, which had been founded in North Africa in the eighteenth century. With these credentials ʿUmar returned to West Africa, visited the capitals of the principal Islamic states, attracted a following of disciples, wives, and slaves, and established a reputation as a brilliant scholar, miracle...