Al Andalus Before and After the Islamic Conquest
1 - Under the rule of the Visigoths, Al-Andalus suffered greatly under the burden of the barbaric Visigoths, enduring all kinds of torment, and there was no civilization in it.
[Knowledge Among the Arabs - Aldo Mieli, p. 81]
2 - The Dutch historian Reinhart Dozy mentioned in his book
“[Studies in the Political and Literary History of Spain During the Middle Ages]: that Christian clergy complained about the widespread corruption and moral decay among the ruling Visigothic class and their indulgence in luxury, while the middle and poor classes, as well as the slaves, suffered from exploitation. He describes the condition of the slave class, saying: “The condition of the slave class was unbearable during the Visigothic era, and this is evident when one examines their harsh laws toward slaves.” End quote.
3 - During the Roman and Visigothic eras, for a thousand years, Al-Andalus suffered from hundreds of afflictions such as slavery and forced labor of its people. Wealth was concentrated in the hands of a small minority, and the people of Al-Andalus, who formed the vast majority, were subjected to harsh oppression throughout the Visigothic era by the Visigothic minority. They were deprived of the freedom to manage their properties as they wished.
4 - The Islamic conquest was the reason for the liberation of the people of Al-Andalus from this tyrannical rule. Conditions improved, and the Muslim Arabs eliminated many of the evils left by the Roman and Visigothic rule. The status of the lower classes, such as slaves, was improved, and Christians were able to sell their properties as they wished. All Christian classes were freed from slavery, and they embraced Islam, thanks be to God. Agriculture flourished in Al-Andalus, and a social revolution took place.
5 - Before they all embraced Islam, the religions of the people of Al-Andlus were paganism and Christianity, and then they converted to Islam afterward.
[Muslims in Al-Andalus - Reinhart Dozy, Vol. 1, pp. 38–49: Translated by Hassan Habashi]
6 - The Visigoths were merely a minority that migrated to Al-Andalus in the fifth century CE and were not its original inhabitants. The Visigoths referred to the people of Al-Andalus as “blacks” to demean them and oppressed them.
[THE NON-JEWISH ORIGINS OF THE SEPHARDIC JEWS p76]
[Concise Encyclopedia of World History, Carlos Ramirez-Faria p271]
7 - Illiteracy was a primary characteristic of the inhabitants of the Visigothic kingdom in Iberia until the arrival of the Islamic conquests.
Most of the literary works of Christians in Spain after the conquests originated from the regions ruled by Muslims in the south, while their counterparts in the Christian kingdoms located in the far north were scarce.
[THE USES OF LITERACY IN EARLY MEDIAEVAL EUROPE EDITED BY ROSAMOND MCKITTERICK pp120–122–127]
8 - The Muslim army that conquered Al-Andalus was an Arab Syrian army, not a Berber Moorish one.
Latin histories, as Dozy states, refer to the conquering Muslims as Syrian Arabs who came from the land of Syria, meaning the Muslim conqueror of Al-Andalus was an Arab Syrian. This debunks the myth that the Berbers were the conquering army. In reality, contemporary Latin histories state that the conquering army was a Muslim Arab Syrian army, whose people came from Syria, and they were Syrian Arabs. This demonstrates the validity of the Muslim Arabs’ conquest of Al-Andalus.
[ RECHERCHES SUR L’HISTOIRE ET LA LITTÉRATURE DE L’ESPAGNE PENDANT LE MOYEN AGE , R. DOZY vol 1 p4 p20 ]
9 - Al-Andalus under Arab Islamic rule was the greatest of states, the most advanced of nations, and one of the most magnificent Arab civilizations.
During the Arab Islamic era, all Andalusians, young and old, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, knew how to read and write.
[ The Civilization of Muslims in Spain, p. 85 ]
10 - Prince Charles says about Al-Andalus: “Spain, under Arab rule, was the most civilized country in the world.”
[ Charles, Prince of Wales, Islam and the West, adapted, Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, 27 October 1999 ]
11 - Sigrid Hunke states that the civilization of Al-Andalus was purely Arab, more so than any other Arab civilization anywhere else.
[ The Sun of the Arabs Shines on the West, p. 474 ]
12 - The greatest king of Europe was a Muslim Arab Andalusian king.
Lévi-Provençal states that the greatest king in all of Europe’s eras was the Umayyad king Abd al-Rahman al-Nasir, the Arab Muslim, may God have mercy on him, who was the king of Arab Islamic Al-Andalus.
This explains why Al-Andalus was the mightiest stronghold of the Muslim Arabs, the most esteemed of lands, and the greatest of Arab and Islamic civilizations.
[ The Thirteenth Tribe - Arthur Koestler, p. 68 ]
13 - Al-Andalus experienced its greatest and finest days and eras with tolerance, justice, and wisdom under Arab rule.
The rulers who preceded the Arabs were mere murderers, oppressors, and destructive tyrants who spread corruption on earth.
[ The Story of the Arabs in Spain - Stanley Lane-Poole, p. 40 - Hindawi Library ]
[ THE MOORS IN SPAIN BY STANLEY LANE-POOLE p43 , London 1887 ]
14 - The majority of the original inhabitants of Al-Andalus, known as Spaniards or Iberians, embraced Islam entirely.
[ The Victors and the Vanquished , Brian A. Catlos p ]
Most of the Muslims of Al-Andalus were Arabs, followed by Iberians, due to the migrations of Arabs to Al-Andalus.
[ HISTORIA LITERARIA DE ESPAÑA , TOMO II p26 , MADRID 1768 ]
15 - The Muslim conquerors were the most merciful warriors known to history
Dorothy Loader said
in her book
[ Spain, Its People and Land, p. 50 - translated by Tareq Fouda ],
as follows: “During the first four hundred years of Arab rule over Spain, their treatment of the Spaniards was the gentlest and most merciful treatment a defeated people ever received at the hands of their conquerors.” End quote
16 - Even those who sought to overthrow Al-Andalus and take its rule from the Arab Muslims were the Goths, led by Pelayo, king of Asturias, along with the rest of the Gothic nobles and people who settled in Asturias. The original Al-Andalus was not occupied by the Spaniards, who are the native people of Al-Andalus, but rather by the Goths, who took it from the Arab Muslims. They, along with the Germans, were the cause of Granada’s fall. This shows that the Western Goths were occupiers of the land of Al-Andalus and intruders upon it, having taken it from its people by force
[ Pelayo , king of Asturias
, Britannica ]
From this, we learn from history that Al-Andalus was liberated from polytheism and injustice thanks to the Arab Muslims, followers of the prophets
