Public Documents from Sinnar

Document 29: Letter of Nasir b. Muhammad Abu Likaylik

DOCUMENT 29 Document 29 is a letter from the Regent Na~ir b. MuQ.ammad Abu Likaylik to his governor of the northern province, Badi b. Mismar. The text has been taken by the editors from the original, which is damaged around all the margins with some loss of text.1 The letter warned Badi against tolerating transgressions against the island of al-Karida, land of the Awlad DaUb; a similar warning concerning the sarne property had been issued by Abu Likaylik himself (Doc. 17). Since Badi seems to have issued Doc. 51 late in 1794 in response to this request, it is probable that the present document was written earlier in the same year.2 / Y. J.. r:>L.J1 J / ,,)(..JI J ~) ~I JAI J"'~ J u l4J1 / c::.1r- J u\...jl J=.l.::i ~I ..... ~I rfll r.r>J1 ..:,o~ U" ~ Gj)1 ..:,0..1...; J G--~I ~I / ul1.W1 ~ v:--I J uL:UJ1 J ~I J I.5fll ~I j-","".JI VII J"""l:. ~I ;,..:,)1 .4.a.l1 -.11~ ~I t")!J1 ~~ J ~l:i.J1 -.111 j-","".JI VII 1.5.)~ ~I ..:,o~ JI v:--I [-)1 0--)1 -.111 I>~ / ~I .1...>.,. 1.5.:01 u l .ill J,A: J r:>L.J1 ..,.;S J"""l:. ~I ;,..:,)1 4:k ~ JL....... / ~I / ~I .!l~ U" j:!..I.i ~'-J JAI 4J~ fL... ~~..ul I;WI ~ U" / .!Ii..,.:. ~I J / ~I ~I J -.111 ~ u!,,>1 ~J.) ..uJ .1...>.,. ~I i'~ L... ~ i' I.. r+--j ~ J / JL....... ~I .!l.J'iIJ -.111 ¥ ~I .!l~ ..::.iJ ~ ~J.) 180 DOCUMENT 29 181 .ill.. I.,$.)~ uLb.L.J1 u l I J-WI J j' 'J L. .,..:;1)1 ~ ~r ~ ~I ~L... J ..u l.:l.w A~I bJ"'~ ~J.) I ~I J ~I J...>..o ~I if- ':;J......;l ~..,..;JI ..:..AL ....~ ~..(j l.:lJ....> . 'JI 1.) ..J...J.l:..:; bl I l.U ~ I.'~ I -.l . I • I • r ~ 1.>' .' C) J ~ .......J J 'j'""J' 'J .::.:.1 ...r:J ~ j'..,....~~ ~ ~I ~ .)'J) jl... I 4( ~) )..u.. 6 5 I I .)'JJI ..J....b ~I ~fo 5( ~I) ~I J .:;J....JI 0- ~ .illI 4.i L. J A~ 'J I I.S".JI ~ .:.r-> 15~ f:J1 j.)WI J II ~'L:JI ~l$. ~ I ~i' J ..JX>JI 0- ..ul ..ul ~L. ~L. ulS' ..I.>~ ~I,,>I ~ I F JJ"":! jA II ~I U:!~WI U"',j ..uJ1 J .::.:.1 I 7 (~) Jrl I .:.lUI r"L;.. I 0Praise be to His friend, and prayers and peace upon His prophet. The wazlr Shaykh Nii~ir The son of the wazlr Shaykh Mui).ammad The son of Shaykh Biidi 1204/1789-1790 From the presence of the honored, revered, respected, and exalted, candlestick of the age and lamp unto the nations, who destroys the people of deceit, wrongdoing, and oppression, amfn of the army of the sultan, the most glorious of commanders and support of the ministers, the sharp sword of God and His flashing arrows, he who relies upon God the Eternal, the wazfr Shaykh Na~ir, son of the late Shaykh Mu~ammad Abu Likaylik. May God, the Merciful, the Compassionate, grant him victory. Amen. To the presence of Shaykh Badi, son of the late Shaykh Mismar. 182 DOCUMENT 29 The waZlr Shaykh Na~ir greets you with many greetings and says to you: That of which we inform you concerns the juqarii' of the D6walib, a people living together with you in the land as brethern in God from of old, from [the time of] your forefather Shaykh 'Ajib, [who lived] with their forefather Shaykh Mul).ammad walad D6lib. Faqih al-Sayyid and Faqih D6lib were present in the time of your grandfather Shaykh 'Abd Allah and your father Shaykh Mismar, and in their times no one was held in higher dignity or esteem than they. It came to pass that Sultan Badi, King of the Funj, bestowed the island of al-Karida as alms upon Faqih Mul).ammad al-Sayyid and Faqih D6lib as a gift of alms for the sake of God and His messenger. We gave it to them as a waqj,8 desiring protection in the hereafter; it is theirs as an old gift of alms, and has been for an interval of sixty years. Make the Awlad I:Iasab al-Nabi desist from troubling them concerning it. Why...