Yahya Ibn Ibrahim (Arabic: يحيى بن إبراهيم الجدالي) (c. 1048)[1] was a leader of the Godala tribe in the Adrar plateau modern day Mauritania. Yahya Ibn Ibrahim's primary significance was in his involvement with Abdallah ibn Yasin, a Berber Muslim theologian with whom he founded the Almoravid movement. Yahya Ibn Ibrahim is the first Almoravid emir.[2][3][4] His successor Yahya ibn Umar is his nephew.[5]

Background

Yahya Ibn Ibrahim is from the Godala tribe[6] and is native of Adrar in Mauritania.[7] The Godala were a Berber tribe of the Sanhaja tribal confederation. They lived in the Saharan desert closest to the coast, beyond the Lamtuna. These tribes rose to proclaim the truth, to repel injustice and to abolish all non-canonical taxes (magharim). They were Sunnis, strict adherents of the school of Malik ibn Anas.

Abdallah ibn Yasin began to call people to holy war and made them proclaim the truth.[1]

As described by Al-Bakri Yahya Ibn Ibrahim went on the Pilgrimage to Mecca and during his return journey met a jurist (Abu Imran al-Fasi). Al-Fasi was interested in the religious doctrines and customs of Ibrahim's native country. Al-Fasi found Ibrahim "wholly ignorant, though avid to learn, full of good intentions and firm of faith" [1]

From Al- Bakri:

What prevents you from studying the religious law properly, and from ordering good and prohibiting evil?" Yahya replied: "Only those teachers come to us who possess neither piety nor knowledge of the Sunna" Then he asked Abu 'Imran to send with him one of his disciples, a man of whose learning and piety he was sure, who would teach them, and uphold the precepts of the Shari'a.

Abu Imran could not find anyone among those he deemed fit. So he sent Ibrahim to find Waggag Ibn Zalwi of the Maluksus [1] Ibrahim followed Abu Imran's advice and visited Zalwi. Zalwi recommended a man called Abdallah ibn Yasin.

Fallout

Abdallah ibn Yasin remained among the Godala, but considered their conduct sinful. They turned hostile to him later on because they found him too strict in his religious teachings. They refused to abide by his legal opinions and counsel.

Ibn Yasin visited Waggag who took the following action:

Subsequently, Waggag reproached them on the account of what they had done to Abd Allah, and informed them that whoever disobeyed him would be regarded as severing himself from the Islamic community and that his blood might lawfully shed. He then ordered Abdallah ibn Yasin to return to them, which he did, and killed those who had rebelled against him. He thus massacred many people whom he regarded as having deserved death because of their crimes of immorality.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 N. Levtzion and J. F. P. Hopkins, Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History (Cambridge, 1981)
  2. ↑ Fodor's North Africa. D. McKay. 1985. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-679-01140-8.
  3. ↑ Romey, Charles (1839). Historia de España: desde el tiempo primitivo hasta el presente (in Spanish). A. Bergnes. p. 486.
  4. ↑ Ben-Ami, Shlomo; Mishal, Nissim (2000). Those Were the Generations--: 2000 [years Of] Jewish History. Yedioth Ahronoth. p. 128. ISBN 978-965-448-745-0.
  5. ↑ Romey, Charles (1841). Histoire d'Espagne depuis les premiers temps jusqu'à nos jours (in French). Furne et cie. p. 389.
  6. ↑ Curran, Brian Dean; Schrock, Joann L. (1972). Area Handbook for Mauritania. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 33.
  7. ↑ العالم العربي وإفريقيا: تحديات الحاضر والمستقبل : أعمال ندوة، [15-17 أكتوبر 2003] : نصوص البحوث المقدّمة في الندوة أعلاه والتي نظمتها وزارة الثقافة أيام 15-16-17 أكتوبر 2003 بالرباط احتفاء بها عاصمة للثقافة العربية 2003 (in Arabic). وزارة الثقافة،. 2005. p. 90. ISBN 978-9954-0-4043-0. Yahia Ben Ibrahim, chief of the Lemtouna and Djoddala tribes which respectively occupy the regions of Tagant and Mauritanian Adrar, is credited with the origin of the Almoravid movement.
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