Islam in Spain Islamic Spain

Islam in Spain

Islamic Spain has captured the fascination of many historian and writers. How the entire Iberian Peninsula came under Islamic rule and what was done during the rule are some questions are historians have tried to focus on. As the result, many people especially those with a love for history and travel, have become interested in the subject of Islamic Spain or Muslim rule in Spain. It is for this reason that someone living in the U.S. is as likely to be familiar with the word "Alhamra" as someone belonging to Spain itself. Moorish Spain has been one of the most often discussed subjects in history and Europe feels that the period had a special influence on the lifestyle and history of Spain.

Islamic rule in Spain began in the 7th century and lasted till the 15th century. What transpired during this time is not only a fascinating subject; it is also the one that has appeared regularly in history books. Tariq Bin Ziyad is associated with the conquest of Spain and within a very short span of time; his army had the entire peninsula under its command. The Muslims brought with them an oriental culture and when they left, their impression on the architecture and culture was so significantly that even today, Spain shows visible influence of oriental architecture. "It offers an important example of the close contact of diverse cultures, and one that has contributed to making the European and American historian what he is. The chief monuments of this culture are relatively easy to visit, and in most seasons the visit is delightful."

The Arab Conquest was a major achievement for the Islamic world but for the inhabitants of Spain, it was a rude shock. They had never imagined that they would so easily become a target of such a massive cultural force and little did they know that this influence would last for centuries to come. This major achievement according to world standards was another move in expansion phase for the Arabs. During the period since the time of Prophet Mohammad, Muslims had literally ruled the world incessantly. They had gone from one continent to another, one ocean to another and one peninsula to another, marking one successful conquest after another and thus by the time they reached Spain, they had become quite used to the process of expansion. They knew they had another conquest on their hands and they proved they were right when Tariq Bin Ziyad landed at Gibraltar in 711.

It must be noted that this period of expansion had started from the time of Prophet Mohammad when Muslims first captured the holy city of Mecca and since then it has been a Muslim territory. One of the companions of Prophet Mohammad who later became the caliph is associated with most of the major Muslim conquests. Caliph Umar (634-44) literally transformed the whole world into one big Muslim territory because he had so many lands under his command. So how did this phase of expansion compare with the rest of the conquests?

This is an important question which must be answered to understand how Muslim viewed their conquest of Spain. It was a very successful attempt on their part. Control of Spain meant control of the most significant part of Europe that was strategically located. The success came very fast but as mentioned, it was simply another feature in the cap of Muslim rulers. When compared with the times of Caliph Umar, this conquest might not appear as massive as it individually does.

As mentioned above, Caliph Umar's reign can be termed as the Golden period of Islamic expansion. This had set the stage for future expansion and conquests and once Caliph Umar's successors took over, the further spread of Islamic through innumerable conquests continued. Here it is important to understand that Islamic was never spread by force. It was by mere conquest that Islamic continued spreading. "During the reign of the caliph Umar the embryonic Arab state -- at this time an alliance of many, but not yet all, of the tribes of the Arabian peninsula -- had defeated the Byzantine empire and wrested from it the provinces of Syria and Egypt, and had dealt such a crushing blow to the Persian empire that it ceased to exist, leaving what we now call Iraq and Persia to be occupied by the Arabs as soon as they could find men to hold them securely. And this was only a beginning. For about a century the Arabs continued to move onwards and outwards. One line of expansion was north-east along the golden road to Samarqand and beyond, and another south-east into the Indus valley, while in the west they progressed through the coast-lands of North Africa. The advance was not gradual but rather by a series of jumps. There were periods of quiescence and consolidation, when the Arabs paused in the face of some serious obstacle or in order to deal with internal tensions."

The expansion had become possible because of the stage set by Prophet Mohammad's impressive statesmanship. He was a many of numerous qualities and while he was a Prophet, he was also a great statesman and a commendable leader. Prophet Mohammed had always been concerned with consolidation of Islam and unity of his people. The ummah as he called it was the people of Islam that he was most concerned about. By providing Muslims with a desire to unity, he accomplished what modern leaders can only contemplate. Prophet Mohammad understood the need for unity for a variety of reasons that included his religious mission, the social and economic aspect as well as future of Islam. He knew that if Islam was to spread and grow, it was important to spread the message around. And wherever needed, he was willing to opt for jihad. Jihad's purpose was to encourage the nomadic Arabs to see beyond their fragmented lives and to understand the importance of synergy.

Thus we must be clear about the concept of Jihad to understand why Muslim penetrated major parts of the world and were successful each time. "[Jihad] was never a purely religious phenomenon but always at least in part a political instrument. It was indeed a transformation of the nomadic custom of the razzia, immediately relevant to the conditions when Muhammad controlled only Medina and a few allied tribes. The ordinary tribe might carry out a razzia against any tribe or family with which it was not for the moment on friendly terms...In this situation the conception of the holy war meant that the raiding propensities of Muhammad's followers were directed against non-Muslims; but as more of the tribes near Medina became Muslims it also meant that raiding parties had to go farther afield."

Prophet Mohammad's companions knew and understand the political, religious and economic significance of Jihad. They went on to carry his work forward and after his departure from the world, his companion including Caliph Umar went as far as Syria and Iraq in his Islamic expansion plan.

When Spain was conquered, many must have feared that Muslims would force them to convert to Islam but that was never the strategy. Islam had always given people a choice to accept or reject beliefs. It was never their purpose in expansion to covert people by force. The only time force was used was when non-Muslims tried to create obstacles in the smooth functioning of state or created needless problems for statesmen. They were then asked to either accept Islam or fight with the Muslims and see who wins. However that was only an exception. "It is a common misapprehension that the holy war meant that the Muslims gave their opponents a choice "between Islam and the sword." This was sometimes the case, but only when the opponents were polytheists and idol-worshippers. For Jews, Christians and other "people of the book," that is, monotheists with written scriptures -- and the phrase was very liberally interpreted -- there was a third possibility; they might become a "protected group," paying a tax or tribute to the Muslims but enjoying internal autonomy."

This is a very interesting point and must be clearly understood. Muslims had a tax system for non-Muslims who were people of the book. They could pay a tax called jizzia which was only fair because Muslims themselves paid tax in the form of mandatory zakat. This zakat system was introduced for better circulation of money. Since non-Muslims were not required to pay zakat, they could opt for jizzia which was taken in exchange for protection granted to them as minority in the state.

Life in SPAIN after Islamic Conquest:

Muslims had always been more concerned with law and jurisprudence than other things. But their intecllectually ability was massive which resulted in series of cultural achievements during the time when Muslims ruled Spain. The first important step taken was the implementation of Sharia, the revealed Islamic law. This revealed law is based on the laws given in the holy book Quran. Prophet Mohammad understood the importance of implementing sharia and therefore as soon as any conquest was made, he and his companions would first focus on enforcing shariah. Shariah law was a way of uniting Muslims so they would all stand united under one system of law. There wouldn't be any difference in laws that existed in Iraq or in Spain.

Between about 800 and 900 the main trends of thought on legal matters hardened into schools or rather rites -- the latter word is preferable when referring to in practice rather than in theory. Some of these rites, such as the Zahirite which had a notable exponent in Spain, died out after a time. Among the Sunnites, or main body of Muslims, four rites came to be recognized as permissible variants -- the Hanafite, the Malikite, the Shafite and the Hanbalite. So far as al-Andalus is concerned the only one of these which is important is the Malikite, which derives its name from Malik ibn-Anas (d. 795), who belonged to the school of Medina."

For those who do not know much about Muslim schools of thought, this development mean seem insignificant but actually this must be viewed as one of the most important first developments in jurisprudence of Spain after Muslim conquest. Malikite system of jurisprudence refers to the understanding of Prophet Mohammad's teachings and Quranic teachings as were given by a well respect jurist scholar Malik ibn Anas. Arabs all over the world to this day mostly follow either the Malikite or Shafite system of jurisprudence while Muslims in sub-continents follow Hanafite system. There is no difference of opinion among all the jurists and it is only a way certain religious rituals are carried out and practiced. There is no difference which makes the different systems acceptable all over the Muslim world. Before that, Spanish Muslims were following the teaching system of a Syrian jurist, al-Awza, and about around 800, they all shifted to the Malikite system.