al-Hajj Umar Tal

Umar ibn Said al-Futi al-Toro, known as al-Hajj Umar Tal (1212–1281 AH / 1797–1864 CE), was a West African Islamic scholar, Sufi shaykh of the Tijaniyya order, and military leader who founded the Toucouleur Empire spanning modern-day Senegal, Guinea, and Mali. He performed Hajj three times and studied under the Tijaniyya shaykh Muhammad al-Ghali in Madinah. He wrote al-Rimah Hizb al-Rahim (Spears of the Party of the Merciful), a major theological and Sufi text. He led jihad against both French colonialism and pagan Bambara kingdoms. Note: He was associated with the Tijaniyya Sufi order.