HISTORY OF ISLAAM IN SPAIN PART FIFTEEN AL-MURAABITEEN Do you remember the invasion of Seville by Alfonso VI? Do you remember the letter of Alfonso to Mutamid, the king of Seville? Do you remember the one line reply of Mutamid, which caused Alfonso to retreat? In that reply, Mutamid mentioned AL-MURAABITEEN, and that is why Alfonso retreated. Who are the Muraabiteen? In the southern part of Mauritania, there was a tribe called Sinhaajah. Sinhaajah was further subdivided into two clans; Judaalah and Lamtoonah. The leader of Judaalah is Yahyaa bin Ibraaheem al-Judaaly, while the leader of Lamtoonah is Yahyaa bin Umar al-Lamtoony. These tribes, Judaalah and Lamtoonah have misunderstood Islam. They are namesake muslims only, but the leader of Judaalah, Yahyaa bin Ibraaheem is a pious man. He detested the atrocities of his people, but he could do nothing against it, because he has no knowledge. Yahyaa bin Ibraaheem decided that he should go to Hajj and on his way back, he should stop at Qairawaan (an Islamic city in Tunisia) and ask for a scholar to teach his people. He did so in the year 440AH. In Qairawaan, Shaikh Abdullah bin Yaseen agreed to follow him to his tribe, Judaalah. The Judaalites failed to listen to Shaikh Abdullah. They poured scorned on him and even beaten him. Lastly, they forced him out of the town!... Subhaanal-laah... Shaikh Abdullah bin Yaseen thought of going back to Qairawaan, but what about these Judaalites? He then decided to go down, down to a forest in northern part of Senegal. From there he sent a message to the Judaalites that anyone who wants to study Islam should go to him in Senegal. 5 youths answered the call. They went to him and built up their tents. These 5 youths studied Islam and enjoyed its beauty, therefore, they went back to their land and called their friends. To cut the long story short, within 4 years, i.e in the year 444AH, Shaikh Abdullah bin Yaseen has about 1,000 youths with him. He sent them back to their land to preach and teach. Slowly but successfully, their number increased. In the year 445AH, the leader of Lamtoonah, Yahyaa bin Umar joined the followers of Shaikh Abdullah. He called his tribe to joined them and they answered positively. The followers of Shaikh Abdullah bin Yaseen increased from about 1,500 to 7,000!... A year later, the leader of Lamtoonah, Yahyaa bin Umar died. He was succeeded by Abubakr bin Umar al-Lamtoony. These 7,000 men continued to propagate Islam and by the year 451AH, they had about 12,000 men. A battle took place between them and the tribe of Judaalah. They defeated the Judaalites, though their leader, Shaikh Abdullah bin Yaseen was martyred. Shaikh Abubakr bin Umar al-Lamtoony was given the leadership of the group. He formed a mini kingdom called the Muraabiteen Kingdom. In the year 453AH, Shaikh Abubakr heard about a dispute between the muslims of Senegal. He took about 7,000 men from his people and went to Senegal. He handled the affairs of al-Muraabiteen to his cousin, Yusuf bin Tashfeen. Shaikh Abubakr succeeded in settling the disputes, but he was surprised to realize that some people in Senegal are idol worshippers. Instead of returning back to his people, he engaged in dawah to these people. Shaikh Abubakr spent 15 years in that land, calling people to Islam. What was Yusuf bin Tashfeen doing all these years? Yusuf bin Tashfeen waited for his boss to return, but he saw no sign of him returning, so he started to expand his kingdom. He re-established Islam among the tribes of Berbers who have deviated from Islam. To cut the long story short, by the year 468AH, he conquered Senegal, Mauritania, Algeria and Tunisia. He built the city of Marakesh. Shaikh Abubakr bin Umar returned to his people in the year 468AH. He was impressed by the leadership abilities of Yusuf bin Tashfeen, so he let him to continue the leadership. Shaikh Abubakr went down to Senegal in order to continue propagating Islam there. He propagated Islam in Senegal, Serra Leone, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast,Liberia, Mali, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon and Central Africa!... Allaahu Akbar!! He attained martyrdom in the year 481AH... May Allaah have mercy on his soul. By the year 481AH, the dynasty of Al-Muraabiteen covers all the lands from Tunisia to Gabon! This is the brief history of Al-Muraabiteen... In the year 478AH the delegates of Andalus visited Yusuf bin Tashfeen, the leader of al-Muraabiteen and pleaded with him to save them from Alfonso VI. What was his reply? It will be answered next posting In Shaa Allaah...
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 05:45:23 +0000
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