Reviving the Spirit of Al-Andalus- Shaykh Hamza Yusuf

-notes by Sr.Affifa

Muslims ruled over Spain for 900 years. The Northern Spaniards were not from the South, but they eventually over took the Muslims. The Ummayids controlled Spain from 711-156.

Intolerant Islamic dynasties don’t last long. They either eventually disappear or they learn to become more tolerant. The Ottomans were the longest lived and were very tolerant.

The Persian were into wine making, and that is where today’s “Cherry” (a high quality wine) came from.

There were 600,000 people, over 92,000 and several hundred shops, over 50 hospitals, one university with 27,000 students attending, 300 colleges, 300 public baths, and 72 libraries. The lights of the city of Qurtaba were seen from far distances. They even had running water with faucets.

Kuwait is forced to spend tens of billions of dollars to America for protection. Muslims were much cheaper, for example the Syrians could not pay so they did not have to. If the Muslims did not fulfill their duty of protection, they would return their wealth; this was documented. The minorities had to pay allegiance to the Muslims. When the Muslims took over vast amounts of land, people did not become Muslims right away, it took years. It took 50 years for 50% of the population to become Muslims, in Syria it took 500 years.

Martyrs of Qurtaba were fanatic Christians. They would go to mosques to give insulting remarks so that they could be martyred.

The Islamic society was in contradiction to the hostile feudal society in the Christian world. The Jewish people in Qurtabah were middle and in high classes of society, there were NOT ghettoized because they were a minority!

There was a magician who wore fancy clothes, a funky hairstyle, and was in charge of the Conservatory of Music. He played the Moorish Guitar and used music to treat illnesses which comes from a Greek theory of Pythagoras. Music has a sound effect on the body and the soul, just as the Quran does when it is read by an excellent reciter. To this day, they use music therapy to heal in Turkey. The Sicilians of Southern Italy had gotten their vision of classical music from the Muslims.

The Troubadours (One of a class of 12th-century and 13th-century lyric poets in Southern France, northern Italy, and northern Spain, who composed songs in langue d'oc often about courtly love) derived their Celtic music from the Moroccans. The African blues sang by the underground African slaves has the same rhythm as the Athan! Rock and Roll should be called Moroccan Roll!

In Spain, the city Qurtaba was a place of learning and the city Seville was a place for partying, sort of like the United States of America, where some states are known to be prestigious and other states to be the complete opposite. To this day, the city of Qurtabah is known to be the place of learning and the city Seville a place for “partying”.

The Arabic numerals came up by the Muslims. The secret of Western Civilization is to measure everything! It the Weapons of Math Instruction for the Weapons of Mass Destruction! The math, Calculus, was directly from the Pope who got it from the Muslims to bring to the western civilization. Muslims introduced pomegranates to Spain; this fruit has several benefits for health.

Muslims invented the crystals and there were movements of western music that came directly from the Muslims. The piano and the violin is the highest form of instruments for classical music. It came from the east, ie. The kanoon is the modern day percussion that is to be struck by the finger.

There was a man who spoke 70 languages and he played an instrument called the “ood”. When he played the ood, he was able to make his audience laugh, cry, or even fall asleep.

There are two Hallmarks of Civilization in the United States:
1)Law and Jurisprudence (look at what most of their TV shows are based on)
2)(NASA) because it spends on astronomy, that is what the American flag represents “stars” and “bars”, bars because if they do not like you they put you in jail.

Spain was a testimony of the great Islamic civilization that flourished. Christianity failed for society and knowledge was only shared by the elite Priests. They actually believed that taking baths were “ungodly”.

The West learned how to be tolerant by the Ottomans and by the Muslim rule in Spain. Hobbs (European philosopher) was troubled by religious wars and John Locke made a treatise of toleranism; Edward Pocoke was influenced by him.

Condruin society was based on politics, science, and technology.