Pictures from the lives of the followers | D. Abdul Rahman Raafat Al-Basha | Episode (30) | Abdul Rahman Al-Ghafiqi, may God have mercy on him

0:00 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

0:03 The best of generations in their conduct and example,

0:08 Following the Messenger when he strove or traveled.

0:13 A collection of affection,

0:15 Proceeding.

0:17 Portraits from the lives of the Tabi'un,

0:21 By Dr. Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,

0:25 May Allah have mercy upon him.

0:27 Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi,

0:32 May Allah have mercy upon him.

0:43 Scarcely had the Commander of the Faithful,

0:45 And the fifth of the Rightly Guided Caliphs,

0:47 Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz,

0:49 Brushed the dust of his predecessor,

0:52 Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik, from his hands,

0:54 Than he hastened to reconsider the governors of the provinces,

0:58 Dismissing some and appointing others.

1:00 Among the foremost of those he employed

1:03 Was al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani,

1:06 For he entrusted him with the governorship of al-Andalus,

1:10 And the neighboring cities that had been conquered

1:13 In the lands of France.

1:15 The new prince set up his camp in the lands of al-Andalus,

1:19 And set out in search of sincere and righteous aides.

1:23 He asked those around him,

1:26 "Does anyone from the Tabi'un remain in these lands?"

1:30 They replied, "Yes, O Prince,

1:33 There still remains among us the noble Tabi'i,

1:36 Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd Allah al-Ghafiqi."

1:40 Then they spoke to him of his knowledge of the Book of Allah,

1:43 His understanding of the hadith of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

1:48 His valor in the fields of jihad,

1:51 And his longing for martyrdom.

1:54 He was not tempted by the fleeting things of this world.

1:57 Then they said to him,

1:59 "He met the noble Companion,

2:02 Abd Allah ibn Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him and his father,

2:07 And he took from him what Allah willed for him to take,

2:11 And followed his example in the greatest of ways."

2:14 Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani summoned

2:18 Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi to meet him.

2:21 When he arrived,

2:23 He welcomed him most warmly,

2:26 And brought him close to his seat.

2:28 Then he sat for a while during the day, asking him about everything that occurred to him,

2:34 Seeking his counsel on many matters that perplexed him,

2:38 And testing him to gauge his capabilities.

2:41 He found him to be even better than he had been told,

2:44 And greater than what had been described to him.

2:48 He offered to appoint him to one of his major offices in al-Andalus,

2:53 But he said to him,

2:54 "O Prince,

2:56 I am but a man from the common people,

2:59 And I have come to these lands

3:02 To stand at one of the frontiers of the Muslims,

3:06 I have vowed myself to the pleasure of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic,

3:10 And I have carried my sword to exalt His word on earth.

3:14 You will find me, if Allah the Almighty wills,

3:17 More attached to you than your own shadow, as long as you hold to the truth,

3:21 And more obedient to you than your own fingertips,

3:24 As long as you obey Allah and His Messenger,

3:27 Without any office or governorship."

3:31 Not long passed,

3:33 Before al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani resolved to conquer all of France,

3:39 And annex it to the great state of Islam,

3:43 To take its vast lands as a path to the Balkan states,

3:48 And to proceed from the Balkans to Constantinople,

3:52 To fulfill the glad tidings of the Messenger, upon him be the best of prayers and the purest of peace.

3:58 The first step toward achieving this great goal

4:02 Depended on the occupation of the city of Narbonne,

4:07 For Narbonne was one of the largest French cities

4:11 Bordering the lands of al-Andalus.

4:14 Whenever the Muslims descended from the Pyrenees,

4:18 They found it standing before them like a mighty giant.

4:24 Moreover, it was the key to greater France,

4:28 And the aspiration of those who sought it.

4:31 Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani besieged the city of Narbonne,

4:36 Then offered its people Islam or the jizya.

4:40 This was difficult for them, and they refused.

4:43 So he launched attack after attack upon them,

4:46 And bombarded them with catapults,

4:49 Until the ancient, fortified city fell into the hands of the Muslims

4:54 After four weeks of heroic jihad,

4:58 The likes of which Europe had never witnessed before.

5:02 Then the victorious, triumphant commander hastened,

5:06 And headed with his massive army toward the city of Toulouse,

5:10 The capital of the province of Aquitaine.

5:13 He set up catapults around it from every side,

5:16 And bombarded it with war machines

5:19 The likes of which Europe had never known before,

5:23 Until the impregnable, fortified city was on the verge

5:27 Of falling before him.

5:29 At that moment, something happened that no one had anticipated.

5:34 Let us leave the narrative to the French orientalist Reinaud,

5:39 To convey to us the news of that battle.

5:42 Reinaud said,

5:45 "When victory was within the Muslims' grasp, or even closer,

5:50 The Duke of Aquitaine rose up,

5:52 Mobilizing the lands and the people for war against them.

5:55 He sent his messengers, and they roamed Europe from end to end,

6:01 Warning its kings and princes of the occupation of their lands,

6:05 And the enslavement of their women and children.

6:08 There was no people in Europe left

6:11 Who did not contribute their fiercest and most numerous warriors.

6:17 The abundance of the army, the violence of its movement, and the weight of its impact reached

6:23 A level the world had never known before,

6:26 To the extent that the dust flying beneath its feet

6:30 Obscured the sun from the Rhone region.

6:34 When the two hosts drew near,

6:36 It seemed to the people as if mountains were colliding with mountains.

6:40 Then a fierce battle raged between the two parties,

6:44 The likes of which history had never known before.

6:48 Al-Samh—or Dhu al-Dham, as we used to call him—

6:53 Appeared before our soldiers everywhere,

6:56 And leaped before his troops in every direction.

7:00 While he was doing so, he was struck by an arrow,

7:05 And he fell from his horse.

7:08 When the Muslims saw him lying on the ground,

7:12 Their resolve was shaken,

7:14 And their ranks began to falter.

7:17 Our massive army was in a position

7:20 To annihilate them to the last man,

7:23 Had divine providence not saved them through a genius commander,

7:28 Whom Europe would come to know later,

7:31 Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi.

7:34 He took charge of their retreat with the least possible losses,

7:39 And returned with them to Spain.

7:42 But he was determined to renew the attack against us once more."

7:47 And now,

7:50 Have you seen how clouds clear away from the full moon on a dark night,

7:55 So that the lost may be illuminated by its light,

7:58 And the bewildered may be guided by its radiance?

8:01 Thus did the Battle of Toulouse clear away,

8:04 Revealing the unique hero of Islam,

8:06 Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd Allah al-Ghafiqi.

8:10 And have you seen the thirsty, on the verge of death in the heart of the desert,

8:15 When water appears to them,

8:17 And they stretch out their hands toward it,

8:20 To scoop up a handful that restores their life?

8:24 Thus did the Muslim soldiers stretch out their hands to the great commander,

8:29 Seeking salvation through him,

8:31 And pledging their allegiance to him to hear and obey.

8:35 And no wonder,

8:36 For the Battle of Toulouse was

8:39 The first deep wound the Muslims had suffered since their feet first touched Europe.

8:46 And Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi was

8:48 The one who tended this wound,

8:50 With the gentle hand that surrounded it with care and attention,

8:55 And the great heart that poured affection upon it.

8:59 The news of the great setback suffered by the Muslims in France

9:07 Agonized the heart of the Caliphate in Damascus,

9:10 And the death of the brave hero,

9:13 Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani,

9:15 Kindled in its breast the fire of zeal for revenge.

9:19 So it issued its orders

9:21 Confirming the soldiers' pledge of allegiance to Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi,

9:26 And entrusted him with the governorship of al-Andalus from end to end,

9:32 Adding to his authority the neighboring conquered French lands,

9:37 And giving him a free hand to act as he wished.

9:41 No wonder,

9:43 For al-Ghafiqi was firm and resolute,

9:46 Pious and pure,

9:48 Wise and courageous.

9:50 Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi hastened,

9:53 From the moment he was entrusted with the governorship of al-Andalus,

9:56 To work on restoring the soldiers' confidence in themselves,

10:00 And reclaiming their sense of pride, strength, and victory,

10:04 And achieving the great goal that the Muslim leaders in al-Andalus had aspired to,

10:10 Starting with Musa ibn Nusayr,

10:13 And ending with al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani.

10:17 For the ambitions of these heroes were set

10:21 On launching from France to Italy and Germany,

10:26 And proceeding from there to Constantinople,

10:29 Making the Mediterranean Sea an Islamic lake,

10:34 And renaming it the Sea of al-Sham instead of the Sea of the Romans.

10:39 But Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi

10:42 Was certain that preparation for great battles

10:46 Begins with reforming and purifying the souls.

10:50 He believed that no nation could achieve its goal of victory

10:56 If its fortresses were fractured and threatened from within.

11:01 Therefore, he set out to tour the lands of al-Andalus, city after city,

11:06 And ordered the heralds to call out to the people:

11:10 "Whoever has a grievance against any governor,

11:14 Or any judge, or anyone else,

11:18 Let him bring it to the Prince."

11:21 And there was no difference in that between Muslims and the non-Muslim subjects under treaty.

11:26 Then he began to look into the grievances, one by one,

11:31 Dispensing justice for the weak against the strong,

11:34 And taking for the oppressed from the oppressor.

11:37 Then he began to investigate the matter of the churches that had been seized or newly built,

11:42 Returning what the treaties dictated to their owners.

11:47 Then he looked into the affairs of his officials, one by one,

11:52 Dismissing those whose treachery or corruption was proven,

11:56 And appointing in their place those whose wisdom, experience, and righteousness he trusted.

12:01 Whenever he arrived in a city,

12:05 He would call the people to a collective prayer,

12:08 Then stand before them as a preacher,

12:10 And set out to urge them toward jihad,

12:13 He inspired them with the desire for martyrdom.

12:16 He gave them hope for the pleasure of Allah and the attainment of His reward.

12:20 Abd al-Rahman matched his words with deeds.

12:25 He supported his aspirations with actions.

12:28 From the very first moment of his governorship, he set to work.

12:32 He prepared the equipment and completed the armaments.

12:35 He repaired the strongholds and built fortresses.

12:38 He constructed bridges and erected arches.

12:42 Among the greatest of his constructions was

12:45 the bridge of Cordoba, the capital of al-Andalus.

12:48 He built it over the great river of Cordoba,

12:52 so that the people and the army could cross it,

12:55 and to protect the land and safeguard the people from the dangers of flooding.

13:00 This bridge is considered one of the wonders of the world.

13:04 Its length reached eight hundred cubits,

13:08 and a cubit is the measure of the span of two outstretched arms.

13:11 Its height was sixty cubits,

13:14 and its width was twenty.

13:16 The number of its arches reached

13:19 —that is, its spans—eighteen arches.

13:23 The number of its towers was nineteen.

13:26 It still stands today, and Spain continues to benefit from it

13:30 to this very day.

13:33 Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi used to make it a point

13:36 to meet with the military commanders

13:38 and the notables of the people in every land he entered.

13:41 He would listen with all his attention to everything they said,

13:46 record everything they proposed,

13:49 and contemplate everything they advised.

13:52 He disciplined himself in these gatherings

13:55 to listen much

13:57 and speak little.

13:59 Just as al-Ghafiqi would meet with the prominent Muslims,

14:04 he would also meet with the leaders of the protected non-Muslim subjects (ahl al-dhimma) who had treaties.

14:09 He would often ask them

14:11 about matters of their lands that were hidden from him,

14:14 and about the conditions of their kings and commanders that occupied his thoughts.

14:20 On one occasion,

14:22 he summoned one of the prominent treaty-holders from the people of France,

14:26 and held a wide-ranging conversation with him.

14:29 Then he said to him:

14:31 "What is the matter with your great king, Charles?

14:34 Why does he not confront us in battle,

14:36 and why does he not aid the provincial kings against us?"

14:40 He replied:

14:41 "O Prince,

14:43 you have fulfilled your side of the treaty you made with us,

14:47 so it is your right upon us

14:49 that we tell you the truth regarding what you ask.

14:53 Your great commander, Musa Ibn Nusayr,

14:56 tightened his grip on all of Spain.

15:01 Then his ambition soared to cross the Pyrenees mountains,

15:05 which separate the lands of al-Andalus from our beautiful country.

15:10 So the provincial kings and their priests fled to our great king,

15:15 and said to him:

15:16 'What is this disgrace that has clung to us and our descendants forever, O King?

15:22 We used to hear of the Muslims only by report,

15:26 and we feared their sudden attack upon us from the direction of the sunrise.

15:30 And now, here they have come from the direction of the sunset,

15:34 seized all of Spain,

15:37 and taken possession of all the equipment and armaments within it.

15:41 They have ascended the mountain peaks that separate us from them,

15:45 even though their numbers are few and their weapons are meager.

15:50 Most of them do not possess armor to protect them from the strikes of swords,

15:54 nor a horse to ride into the fields of battle.'

15:58 The king said to them:

16:00 'I have thought much about what has occurred to your minds,

16:04 and I have pondered it for a long time.

16:07 I have decided that we should not confront those people in this current surge of theirs,

16:12 for they are now like a torrential flood;

16:15 it uproots everything that stands in its path,

16:18 carries it along, and casts it wherever it wills.

16:23 I have found that they are a people who possess a creed and an intention

16:28 that suffice them against the abundance of numbers and wealth.

16:32 They have faith and sincerity

16:34 that take the place of armor and horses.

16:38 But wait for them until their hands are filled with spoils,

16:43 until they take houses and palaces for themselves,

16:47 and until they accumulate many slave girls and servants,

16:50 and compete among themselves for leadership.

16:53 At that point, you will be able to overcome them with the easiest of means and the least of effort.'"

16:59 Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi bowed his head in sadness,

17:04 sighed a deep sigh,

17:07 concluded the meeting, and said:

17:10 "Hasten to prayer, for its time has drawn near."

17:14 Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi spent two full years

17:19 preparing the equipment for the great conquest.

17:22 He organized the battalions and mobilized the soldiers.

17:25 He sharpened their resolve and enlivened their hearts.

17:29 He sought aid from the governor of Africa,

17:32 who supplied him with an elite group of soldiers

17:35 who were burning with longing for jihad

17:38 and consumed with a desire for martyrdom.

17:42 Then he sent word to Uthman Ibn Abi Nas'ah, the governor of the frontier,

17:47 to distract the enemy with his raids

17:50 until he himself arrived with the main body of the army.

17:54 But this Uthman

17:57 harbored resentment toward any commander

18:01 who was of high ambition and great aspiration,

18:04 who undertook a great deed that would raise his mention among the people

18:08 and overshadow other governors and officials.

18:11 Add to that

18:14 that he had captured in one of his previous raids

18:17 into France

18:20 the daughter of the Duke of Aquitaine,

18:23 who was called Menine.

18:26 This Menine

18:29 was a girl in the prime of her youth and of exquisite beauty.

18:32 She combined the allure of beauty with the pride of royalty,

18:35 and blended the radiance of youth

18:38 with the coquetry of palace-born maidens.

18:41 She captivated his heart with love,

18:44 to a degree that his wife had never enjoyed.

18:47 She had persuaded him to make peace with her father,

18:50 so he concluded a treaty with him

18:53 in which he secured him against the raids of the Muslims

18:56 on his province, which bordered

18:59 the Andalusian frontiers.

19:02 When the order of Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi reached him

19:05 to march on the lands of his father-in-law, the Duke of Aquitaine,

19:08 he was taken aback,

19:11 bewildered, not knowing what to do.

19:14 But he soon took the initiative

19:17 and wrote to the Prince al-Ghafiqi,

19:20 questioning him regarding what he had ordered him to do,

19:23 and telling him that he could not

19:26 violate the treaty with the Duke of Aquitaine

19:29 before its term expired.

19:32 Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi was enraged by him,

19:35 and sent word to him saying that the treaty

19:39 was not binding,

19:42 nor did it bind the Muslim armies to anything,

19:45 and that he must hasten to carry out

19:48 what he had ordered him to do without hesitation or delay.

19:51 When Ibn Abi Nas'ah despaired

19:54 of moving the Prince from his resolve,

19:57 he sent a messenger to his father-in-law to inform him

20:00 of what had happened and to invite him to take

20:03 caution. But the eyes of Abd al-Rahman

20:07 were monitoring the movements of Ibn Abi Nas'ah

20:10 and his stillness, so they reported to the Prince

20:13 the news of his contact with the enemy.

20:16 Al-Ghafiqi took action and prepared a battalion,

20:19 choosing its men from among those of strength and valor,

20:22 and entrusted its command to a mujahid

20:25 from among the experienced warriors,

20:28 and ordered him to bring Uthman Ibn Abi Nas'ah

20:31 alive or dead.

20:37 They were about to catch him,

20:40 had he not sensed them at the last moment,

20:43 so he fled to the mountains,

20:46 accompanied by a number of his men,

20:49 and with him was his beautiful wife, Menine,

20:52 whom he never parted with,

20:55 and for whom he saw no value in the world without her.

20:58 The battalion pursued him,

21:01 and surrounded him and those with him.

21:04 He defended her like a lion defending its cub,

21:07 and continued to fight on her behalf

21:10 until he fell dead,

21:13 with his body bearing countless sword strikes

21:16 and spear thrusts.

21:20 The soldiers severed his head,

21:23 and carried it, along with the beautiful princess,

21:26 to Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi.

21:29 When she stood before him,

21:32 he turned his face away from her,

21:35 then sent her as a gift to the Caliphate.

21:38 Thus ended the life of the beautiful French princess

21:41 in the harem of the Umayyad Caliph in Damascus.

21:44 Al-Ghafiqi:

21:49 A true reflection of Musa Ibn Nusayr

21:52 and Tariq Ibn Ziyad

21:55 in loftiness of ambition

21:59 and nobility of purpose. The historians

22:02 recount their positions and examples;

22:06 they followed the Messenger when he strove or spoke.

22:09 They were here, watering our lives like rain,

22:12 and their memory remains exalted among us.

22:15 They departed and left a question in the conscience:

22:18 Is there a star like them that has risen and shone?

22:21 And like them, a star that has risen and shone.

22:24 And like them, a star that has risen and shone.

22:27 And like them, a star that has risen and shone.

22:30 Is there a star like them that has risen and shone?

22:33 They filled life

22:36 with pride through their deeds,

22:39 and the world of the Ummah flourished because of them.

Pictures from the lives of the followers | D. Abdul Rahman Raafat Al-Basha | Episode (30) | Abdul Rahman Al-Ghafiqi, may God have mercy on him | C (1)

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