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Preface
One
cannot distinguish between an Arab and a Spaniard unless one of them speaks
out ! Indeed, the resemblance between them is not confined to their common
oriental features; or the “Allah/
Olé” cry with which both express their overexcitement !
Today, Arabs sigh “Allah” when they see a beautiful work of art or
scene, while Spaniards hail each impressive move in the bullfighting arena
with “Olé!” Nevertheless, the ties between Arabs and Spaniards go
beyond these surface resemblances to a deeper one; a resemblance in the
identity, inner soul, cultural makeup, common heritage, and other points of
similarities that accrued throughout the centuries. The past five centuries
(centuries of severance) have failed to separate between Arabs and
Spaniards, and could not wipe out these hereditary and cultural genes from
the structure of contemporary Spaniards.
Although Spain
lies geographically in Europe, it seems as a natural extension of the
Maghreb countries, with the Gibraltar strait as the only separation; vice
versa, the Maghreb countries appear as an extension of Spain !
Like
geography, history has played an important part in bringing Arabs and
Spaniards closer together, which is something that “politics” has
succeeded to exterminate ! This, any way, has become a frequent habit;
politics always managed to separate geographical/historical connections
between lands and nations.
Arabs
and Spaniards, or rather Arab Spaniards have drawn a glorious human story
that lasted for centuries, within
the scope of Mediterranean culture. It has greatly influenced the history of
human civilization. It is also a story full
of nuisances and delights ! Arab Muslims entered and departed Spain wading
through rivers of blood. In the interim, Spain witnessed a golden Andalusian
era, in every sense of the meaning, that contemporaries are at points
reminiscent of the paradise once existed during the Arabic reign in
Andalusia.
Beginning
of Story
The Andalusian dawn broke at an early time in Arab-Islamic
civilization. Mūsā Ibn-Nusayr
and Tāriq Ibn-Ziyād
entered Andalusia in 93 H. (711 AD), which was viewed by Europeans as an
invasion and Muslims as a conquest. Before Andalusia, Mūsā
Ibn-Nusayr had conquered North Africa, and then the Caliph manned
him with 7,000 fighters, spearheaded by the army general, Tāriq
Ibn-Ziyād, who is historically renowned for having given
orders to empty his ships and set their sails ablaze after crossing the
strait between Morocco and Spain. With his own fleet completely burnt, he
addressed his stranded troops saying, “The sea is behind you, and the
enemy is ahead of you, so where is the escape?” The strait was afterwards
named after him.
What if Tariq Ibn-Ziyād’s
army were defeated and never found a way to retreat !
Successive military encounters broke out in Andalusia
between Muslim Arabs, on the one hand, and Goths and Roman Spaniards, on the
other. A great deal of blood was shed on both sides, until the Arabs won
after three years, where the two conquerors Mūsā
Ibn-Nusayr and Tāriq
Ibn-Ziyād returned to the capital of the caliphate,
Damascus, laden with countless booty from the new land.
Mūsā Ibn-Nusayr had appointed his son, ‘Abdul-‘Azīz, ruler of the new land; however, the
Umayyad Caliph
turned against Mūsā Ibn-Nusayr
and sent someone to chop off the head of his son, ‘Abdul-‘Azīz. The Caliph, then, handed over ‘Abdul-‘Azīz’s
head to his father, the conqueror. Moreover, the Caliph wasted no effort
harming, humiliating, and torturing Mūsā
Ibn-Nusayr. Eventually, this great conqueror died a beggar in a
remote village in Hejaz !
After some time, rivers of blood flooded again and
internal rifts between Muslims began, with the advent of ‘Abdul-Rahmān
al-Dākhil, known as Saqr
Qurayš (Falcon of Quraysh,) to Andalusia
in 138 H. (756 AD) where he revived the Umayyad Caliphate in Andalusia under
the Abbasid state. He, too, shed a great deal of blood to establish his
‘Umayyad’ reign, which continued to exist for long decades after him
after the downfall of the Umayyad State to which he belonged.
To establish his reign, ‘Abdul-Rahmān
al-Dākhil had to shed dissident
Arab blood, and the Spanish blood that stood in the way of his
expansions. Hence, he spent his lifetime in long, extensive wars that did
not stop after his death in 172 H. (789 AD), but were rather pursued by his
sons and grandsons. Whereas Saqr
Qurayš
established
his state by the killing of tens of thousands of Muslims and Christians, his
grandson, al-Hakam Ibn-Hišām, killed 300,000 Christians in one
battle, and 40,000 (including 4,000 theologists) opposing Muslims in
Cordoba, and around 50,000 others in Toledo.
The bloodbaths did not stop at the aforesaid; in the Battle of
Guadalete alone Muhammad
Ibn-‘Abdul-Rahmān Ibn-al-Hakam Ibn-Hišām Ibn-Saqr Qurayš
killed over 300,000 Christians. His son, ‘Abdullāh,
spent his lifetime in long wars, that historians count the peaceful
instances in his reign (50 and a half years) to be 14 days !
Nevertheless, civilization, architecture, and creativity in Andalusia
moved parallel with the beating of war drums, but at an inverse rate; the
more settled the kingdom was and the less wars there were, the more
manifestations of Islamic Andalusian civilization appeared. An example to
this is the Cordoba Mosque, which is one of the masterpieces of the immortal
Islamic art.
Islamic edifices in Andalusia were not limited to the
magnificent mosques whose vestiges
account for
the grandeur
of the past centuries. Muslims
smothered Andalusia with marvelous edifices: castles, stone bridges, city
walls, fountains, etc. They built whole cities (44 cities) some of which
still exist to date, and the others were destroyed such as the city of al-Zahrā’,
which Al-Nāsir ‘Abdul-Rahmān
Ibn-Muhammad built in twelve years.
In sciences and knowledge, the Moors (as called by the
Spaniards) fostered scientists in Andalusia, where many of them excelled in
different fields of knowledge, and founded schools and funded them.
Thus, Andalusia became overwhelmingly filled with Arabic
manuscripts in all arts, sciences, and humanities that the libraries in
Cordoba alone amounted to 70 libraries, save personal libraries and the
libraries of mosques.
Henceforth, the history of Arab-Islamic civilization,
during the period c. 3-10 H., cannot be written without heeding the
contributions of Andalusians in all aspects of civilization; many Andalusian
names shone in Islamic philosophy, such as Ibn-Bājah,
Ibn-Tufayl, Ibn-Rušd
(known in Latin as Averroes,)
etc; in the history of Arab science, such as Ibn-Zuhr
(Avenzoar), Ibn-al-Baytār, Mūsā
Ibn-Maymūn, etc; the Andalusian Age had also enriched the
history of Arab-Islamic Sufism by virtue of Sufis who lived in, or came
from, Andalusia, like Ibn-Qasiyy,
Ibn-Sab‘īn, and Ibn-‘Arabī.
Considering the enormity of the Andalusian legacy, the
Arabic intellectual collection boasts encyclopaedias
that trace the scientists of Andalusia and the Maghreb,
according to their times or nature of contribution to the formation of the
Arab-Islamic mentality over the centuries, among them are the following
historical books: Qudāt Qurtuba wa
‘Ulamā’ Afriqyā by al-Qayrawāniy;
Tārīkh al-‘Ulamā’ wa
al-Ruwā lil-‘Ilm bil-Andalus by Ibn
al-Fardiy; Jadhwat al-Muqtabis
fī Dhikr Wulāt al-Andalus by al-Hamīdiy,
etc.
Andalusian
scientific contributions were not confined to these scientists; Andalusian
scientists in different fields moved to Egypt and al-Šām (the
Great Syria) and were considered among the scientists of the Orient, not the
Maghreb and Andalusia; subsequently, Andalusian reference books did not
include their biographies; not to mention the unprecedented, indelible
imprint which Andalusians had left on Arab-Islamic culture, or rather
humanity as a whole.
Double
Impact
The scientific
contributions of Andalusia grew over the long centuries, and Andalusia’s
special connecting/dividing geographical position, were coupled with a
double impact of the Andalusian horizon; where both Arab-Islamic and
European civilizations were enlightened.
One cannot elaborate on the Andalusian double impact as
it is so wide and multiple that it can only be briefly tackled. I shall
start with the Andalusian impact on Arab-Islamic culture and civilization:
It has been mentioned shortly that Andalusian
scientists moved from Andalusia to the heart of the Islamic world; which had
quite a deep effect. Among these scientists were the great Sheikh, Muhiyiddīn
Ibn-‘Arabiy (d. 638 H. = 1240 AD) who pursued his education and
set off on his spiritual journey in Andalusia, where he met Ibn-Rušd.
Afterwards, his works in Sufism thrived in Egypt and al-Šām, and entitled him to be
The Greatest Sheikh (al-Šaykh
al-Akbar,) the most eminent Sufi author in the history of Islam,
and the most renowned Sufi ever.
Similarly,
the great Sufi philosopher, Muhammad
Ibn-‘Abdul-Haq known as Ibn-
Sab‘īn (d. 669 H. = 1270 AD) came from Andalusia. He is
the originator of the deep philosophical approach in dealing with highly
humanistic Sufi thought, and the author of the magnificent treatise, al-Kalām
‘alā al-Masā’il al-Siqqilliyya, in which he
answered to the philosophical questions that Frederick II, the Emperor of
Sicily, sent to Muslim scientists in the Mashreq and the Maghreb.
Following the same path, the founders of the Shadhuliya
Order: Abul-Hasan al-Šādhuliy
and Abul-‘Abbās al-Mursiy
(named after the Andalusian city of Mursia) moved from the Maghreb and
Andalusia to Egypt. Years later, their order became one of the most
prevalent Sufi orders in Egypt and the Islamic world.
In philosophy and medicine, Mūsā Ibn-Maymūn held a remarkable position. He
moved from Andalusia to Egypt, and his scientific status and medical skill
grew larger, until he became Salāhuddīn
al-Ayyūbiy’s personal physician. Next to Ibn-Maymūn,
there was Ibn-al-Baytār al-Māliqiy,
the most renowned botanist (who was also a pharmacologist) in the history of
Islam. He, too, had moved from Andalusia to Egypt and al-Šām, where he made numerous scientific
contributions in pharmacology, such as his famous book, al-Mughnī
fī al-Adwiya al-Mufrada, which had been the number-one
reference book of pharmacology for a long time, and was translated into
European languages a long time ago.
In the meantime, the works of a number of Andalusian
scientists were transmitted to the Islamic world, and had a great influence
on science, although they stayed in Andalusia. Among these scientists are
the renowned surgeon Abul-Qāsim
al-Zahrāwiy, the author of al-Tasrīf
liman ‘Ajaza ‘an al-Ta’līf was the most important
medical reference from c. 1 to 7 H. (c.7 to 13 AD;) the famous historian Ibn-Juljul,
the author of Tabaqāt al-Atibbā’
which is the most important historical reference containing the biographies
of Andalusian geniuses in medicine and pharmacology; and the eminent Faqih
(Islamic jurisprudent) Ibn-Hazm,
the leading exponent of the Zahirite school of jurisprudence, which based
its understanding of religious texts on the apparent meaning of scriptural
concepts as opposed to their hidden meaning. He was a prolific writer in
Fiqh and Quranic sciences. He also wrote Tawq
al-Hamāma fī al-Ulfa wa al-Ulf, which deals with the
concept of love !
In addition to scientific contributions, the Andalusian
horizon had many manifestations in Arabic literature, especially the
origination of a discrete art called the Muwashshah,
and further the development of special metric modes such as the metre of Silsila
(forming a chain) on which Andalusians based many poems and Muwashshahāt.
Even in traditional Arabic poetry, there are many
Andalusian poems that a student of Arabic literature cannot overlook, such
as al-Nūniyya by Ibn-Zaydūn; Qasīdat
al-Dahr by Ibn-‘Abdūn
al-Išbīliy; and the famous poem on the principles of
Hadith by Ibn-Farah al-Išbīliy.
Indeed, these are only glimpses of the Andalusian
embroideries in the tapestry of Arab-Islamic civilization. Further to the aforementioned, here are some
highlights on the Andalusian contribution to the development of the European
civilization:
Andalusia was an important bridge, which Arab-Islamic
science crossed to Europe while the Renaissance was still dawning. In the
cities of Andalusia, major Arabic works were translated into Latin by a
group of especially Jewish translators, and became the most important
scientific references in European universities at the onset of the
Renaissance.
Speaking of Jewish translators, it is noteworthy that
the Moors had saved the Jews from the Goths’ oppression. They even
appointed them in the administrative bodies of large cities, that some of
them, like Hasdāy Ibn-Šabrūt, became
ministers. Many Jews excelled in Andalusia, among which are Yūsuf
Ibn-Hasdāy, Ibn-Jabīrūl,
and Mūsā Ibn Maymūn.
Andalusian Jews translated Arabic heritage into Latin.
Many of them, such as Yūsuf Qamhiy,
Ibrāhām Ibn-Hasdāy,
and Yahūdhā al-Harīriy,
gained wide fame. Christians, also, translated an ample number of Arabic
texts that were afterwards translated into different European languages.
Spain of Andalusia gave Europe Aristotle,
carried on the wings of Ibn-Rushd,
by virtue of the latter’s
explanations of Aristotle’s
works, the Latin original of which was lost a long time ago, and only the
Arabic translation survived through the years. Ibn-Rushd
had a great influence on European thought through his Latin
disciples who adopted and promoted his ideas, and subsequently, were
oppressed by the whole of Europe. To wonder, the works of the Arab
philosopher, Ibn-Rushd (d. 595
H.= 1199 AD) had affected Europe more than it did the Arabic culture through
the following centuries !
The Andalusian influence on Europe was not only in
science and philosophy, but also in literature as the Andalusian Muwashshah
travelled with the
wandering Troubadours from Spain to France, and eventually to all
Europe. This influence was augmented by the European simulation of the
parable of Hayy Ibn-Yaqdhān,
which was written in Arabic by Ibn-Sīnā
(Avicenna) and Ibn-Tufayl, and also by al-Suhrawardiy
and Ibn-al-Nafīs; then,
it was translated into European languages and reappeared in famous European
novels such as Robinson Crusoe.
Through Andalusia, Western literature was introduced to
The Thousand and One Nights,
which received many translations into European languages, and had great
influences that still exist to date,
flipping around Spanish literature, which is known
for its magic reality. The
Thousand and One Nights is, thus, reflected in the works of Gabriel
García Márquez, Jorge
Amado, and their precursor- the star of contemporary Spanish
literature in Latin America- Jorge Luis
Borges.
Gradually, Andalusia became an intellectual well from
which European humanity came to drink Arab knowledge, especially with the
great care that was given to specialized scientific centres. In 1130 AD (524 H.). Archbishop Raimondo de Toledo established a special school
for translators from Arabic. Hence, major works like Aristotle’s works were translated, along with the
explanations of al-Kindiy, al-Fārābiy,
and Ibn-Sinā, and also the works of Hippocrates, Euclid,
Ptolemy, Galen,
along with their uncountable Arabic explanations.
Twilight
The Andalusian sun started to set as internal rifts started among the
rulers of the independent principalities, known as Mulūk al-Tawāif. Seeking rule of the fragmented
Umayyad state, the warring factions formed a serious threat to the Moorish
harmony, which was only saved by the ruler of the Almoravids, Yūsuf Ibn-Tāšfīn, who crossed from the
Maghrebi coast in 479 H. (1086 AD) and revived the Moorish presence. He
established his state that was passed on to Almohads, who defeated
Almoravids in different military encounters in the cities lying along the
African coast (1152 – 1160 AD) then crossed to Andalusia, where they
defeated Alfonso VIII in the
battle of Alarcos (591 H. = 1195 AD).
Hence, a succession of Muslim dynasties ruled
Andalusia, until the Moorish sun went down and Moorish rulers became divided
among themselves. Ferdinand VIII
and Queen Isabella got married and formed an alliance against the
Moors, and eventually drove them from Andalusia. By this expulsion came the
conclusion of the eventful centuries and the victory-defeat dialectic. In
1492 AD, Granada- the last Moorish stronghold- fell into the hands on Fernando
of Castile (and Isabella)
after the Mamluks in Egypt, the Ottomans in the Balkans, and the Hafsites in
Tunisia refrained from saving it, and gave a deaf ear to its last cries for
help. The last Moorish ruler, Abū-‘Abdillāh
al-Saghīr (Boabdil
el Chico)
made his last exit from Granada, the last remnant of the Moorish power in
Spain, in 897 H. (1492 AD). On his way into exile he paused to cast a last
glance at the city and wept; he then sighed in sorrow and went on his way;
this sigh was historically known as the Moor’s Last Sigh (El Ultimo
Suspiro del Moro).
The Hispano-Arab relations gradually declined in the
aftermath of the Arab departure from Andalusia, the dissemination of the
Arabic culture in Europe through the Spanish gate, and the Ottoman
occupation of the heart of the Islamic world: Egypt and al-Šām !
Nevertheless, Spain’s relation with the Arabic
culture was activated in the eighteenth century by the great care, which
King Carlos III (d. 1788 AD =
1202 H.) gave to Arabic sciences and humanities. He made expansions to the
royal library, reorganized the Escorial
Monastery library, and put knowledge of the Arabic language as an asset for
the promotion of any employee.
Since the Escorial
Monastery is a milestone in Hispano-Arab relations, one that still lives
with us today to witness the depth and intensity of these relations, I shall
conclude my paper with it.
El-Escorial Monastery and its
Manuscripts
The Escorial Monastery was
built in 1557 AD, i.e. half a century or more after the Arab exit from
Andalusia. In this Monastery, King Phillip
II collected the remnants of the Arabic manuscripts that were
scattered around in Granada; the core of its library was 183 manuscripts.
In 1614 AD (1023 H.) a famous battle took place. While Mulāy
Zīdān, a
Maghrebi Sultan was fleeing with his treasures and personal collection-
which comprised 3000 manuscripts- from the sway of Abū-Majlī and sailed to
Agadir where the ship captain refused to unload it unless Mulāy
Zīdān gave him
36,000 Francs ! He could not pay that sum and the captain left to Marseilles
with the books. On his way, Spanish pirates attacked the ship and stole its
contents. Eventually, king Phillip
III gave his orders to
keep these Arabic manuscripts in the library of the Escorial Monastery !
In 1671 AD (1082 H.) a big
fire broke out in the library, and the blaze engulfed most of the
manuscripts that only 1900 Arabic manuscripts, in addition to the Latin and
Hebrew manuscripts, survived the fire. In the course of time, the library
came back anew where the number of its manuscript content increased,
especially after 5,000 manuscripts were added to its holdings upon a royal
decree in 1876 AD (1293 H.)
According to the latest
catalogue of the Escorial library, which Dr Renaud published in Paris in 1939, the library today comprises: 4,000 printed
books; 1900 Arabic manuscripts; 700 Greek manuscripts; 2086 Latin
manuscripts; and 73 Hebrew manuscripts.
The Escorial library
received great attention from Orientalists and cataloguers. In his book al-Mustašriqūn (Orientalists) Najīb al-‘Aqīqī reviewed the catalogues
which listed the content of the Library, then noted the presence of other
Arabic manuscript collections in the treasuries and libraries of Spain, such as:
Ø
The National Library of Madrid. It comprises 606
catalogued manuscripts;
Ø
The library of the Scientific Research Foundation in Junta. There is a catalogue of its content that lies in 320 pages. The
library of the Supreme Council of Scientific Research was
then affiliated to this library;
Ø
The library of the Spanish Residence in Tétouan. It comprises 5650 books and 757 manuscripts;
Ø
The libraries of universities, institutes, centers, and history complex,
each of which has a separate catalogue.
In addition to the
abovementioned ‘public’ libraries there is a large collection of Arabic
manuscripts among the personal collections of eminent contemporary Spanish
Orientalists like Ganigos, Codera, Açin Placios, etc.
Yet, the Escorial Collection
is still the most renowned and important Arabic manuscript collection in
Spain, especially in view of what Al-‘Aqīqī maintains; that “Only a few of the Arabic manuscript collection of the
Escorial were published !” , which is a call for cherishing this treasure
of heritage.
My acquaintance with the
Escorial Monastery manuscript collection started in the late eighties, while
I was editing ‘Afīfuddīn al-Tilmisāniy’s divan, depending on
three copies of this divan, among which was a copy that was held in the
Escorial Monastery. When I reviewed the manuscript copy, I realized the
great care that the Escorial librarians gave to it, a care that many
manuscript collections in the world lack.
The Escorial Arabic
collection comprises very rare, one-of-a-kind manuscripts, such as Lubāb al-Muhassil by Ibn-Khaldūn, the only copy of which is held in the
Monastery’s library. It was autographed by Ibn-Khaldūn in Maghrebi handwriting in
752 H.
The Escorial library
comprises another collection of rare manuscripts, among which are: Šarh
Risālat Jālīnūs (‘Aliyuddīn
Ibn-Radwān, 473 H.); Kitāb
al-Maqāmat (al-Harīriy,
483 H.); al-Kāmil fī al-Lugha
(al-Mubarrid, 512 H.); al-Qānūn
fī al-Tib (Ibn-Sīnā,
525 H.); al-Risāla al-Qušayriyya
(Imam al-Qušayriy,
530 H.), etc.
In 1997, H. M. Queen Sophia
of Spain generously presented the Bibliotheca Alexandrina with an invaluable
gift; she donated to us a complete microfilm copy of the Escorial manuscript
collection. Thus, H.M. Queen Sophia has opened a window on this well of
knowledge from which researchers have longed to drink, and which has long
been hidden behind the walls of this ancient, rich Monastery.
In recognition of
this noble, royal grant, we could not but do what we are
currently doing with this collection, namely cataloguing it so as to render
its treasures accessible for researchers, a process that we succeeded to
achieve lately, where a ‘huge’ paper catalogue, together with an
electronic database were published. The ‘latest’ catalogue of the
Escorial collection was
compiled by Aurora Cano Ledesma,
it was published among other publications of the Monastery in 1997 (same
year of the donation.) However, it was a list rather than a catalogue. It
comprised only 1945 manuscripts, while our catalogue covers 3084
manuscripts, which is quite a big number ! Not to mention the documentation
and bibliographic control activities, which we undertook to check the
authenticity of the titles and the authors of the manuscripts, as they were
not accurate.
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