Tariq ibn-Ziyad
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Tariq ibn Ziyad (d. 720) was a Berber Muslim and Umayyad general who led the conquest of Visigoth Spain in 711. He was initially the deputy of Musa ibn Nusair in North Africa, and was sent by his superior to Spain in order to intervene at the request of the heirs of the Visigothic King Witiza, in the Visigothic civil war.
On April 30, 711 the armies of Tariq landed at Gibraltar (the name Gibraltar is derived from the Arabic name Jabal Tariq, which means mountain of Tariq). Upon landing, Tariq is said to have made the following speech, well-known in the Arab world, to his soldiers (supposedly after burning his boats, according to some accounts):
- أيّها الناس، أين المفر؟ البحر من ورائكم، والعدوّ أمامكم، وليس لكم والله إلا الصدق والصب...
- There is nowhere to flee! The sea is behind you, and the enemy before you: so by God, you have only sincerity and patience, and no minister but your swords... (as recounted by al-Maqqari)
The so-called Moorish armies swept through Spain and won a decisive victory in the summer of 711 when the Visigoth king, Roderic was defeated and killed on July 19th at the Battle of Guadalete. Afterwards, Tariq was made governor of Spain for a while, but he eventually returned to Morocco.
There is no mentioning of this accident of burning the ships in Muslim books, the only mentioning of this claimed accident is in European books.
Number of reasons that Tariq ibn Ziyad couldn't burn the ships:
1- Not all of the ships were Muslims owned (the leader of port septe owned ships which sailed with Muslims in exchange of lands in Andalusia).
2- The consequences of burning the ships should be thanked or punished by Calipha. (also no books mentioned that Calipha either thanked or punished Tariq).
3- It is forbidden to destroy public property in Islam (he could simply send the ships away home)
4- Musa ibn Nusair sent enforcements to Tariq ibn Zyad (how could he sent these enforcement while the ships were burnt).
The dilemma of burning the ships stayed in dispute between Muslims and the west.
An Islamic elementary school near Minnesota's Twin Cities is named for Tariq. [1] (http://www.centerforschoolchange.org/school.asp?ID=90)
External link
- Tarik's Address to His Soldiers, 711 CE, from The Breath of Perfumes (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/711Tarik1.html)