Abdallah ibn Yasin () (died 7 July 1059 C.E. in "Krifla" near

Rommani Rommani ( ar, الرماني Berber: ⴰⵔⵓⵎⴻⵏⵉ transliterated ar-Rammānī) is a Moroccan town in the region of Rabat-Salé-Kénitra. It is situated at approximately 60 km (40 Mi) southeast of Morocco's capital of Rabat an ...

, present-day

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

) was a

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and spiritual leader of the

Almoravid The Almoravid dynasty ( ar, المرابطون, translit=Al-Murābiṭūn, lit=those from the ribats) was an imperial Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire in the 11th century that ...

movement.

Early life, education and career

Abdallah ibn Yasin was from the tribe of the Jazulah (''pronounced Guezula''), a

Sanhaja The Sanhaja ( ber, Aẓnag, pl. Iẓnagen, and also Aẓnaj, pl. Iẓnajen; ar, صنهاجة, ''Ṣanhaja'' or زناگة ''Znaga'') were once one of the largest Berber tribal confederations, along with the Zanata and Masmuda confederations. Ma ...

sub-tribe from the

Sous The Sous region (also spelt Sus, Suss, Souss or Sousse) ( ar, سوس, sūs, shi, ⵙⵓⵙ, sus) is an area in mid-southern Morocco. Geologically, it is the alluvial basin of the Sous River (''Asif n Sus''), separated from the Sahara desert ...

. A

Maliki The ( ar, مَالِكِي) school is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and hadiths as primary ...

, he was a disciple of Waggag ibn Zallu al-Lamti and studied in his

Ribat A ribāṭ ( ar, رِبَـاط; hospice, hostel, base or retreat) is an Arabic term for a small fortification built along a frontier during the first years of the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb to house military volunteers, called ''murabitun'' ...

, "Dar al-Murabitin" which was located in the village of Aglu, near present-day

Tiznit Tiznit or Tiznet ( ar, تزنيت, Tiznīt; ber, ⵜⵉⵣⵏⵉⵜ, Tiznit) is a town in the west coast of the Moroccan region of Souss-Massa, founded in 1881 by the Sultan Hassan I. It is the capital of Tiznit Province and recorded a populat ...

. In 1046 the Gudala chief Yahya Ibn Ibrahim, came to the Ribat asking for someone to promulgate Islamic religious teachings amongst the Berber of the Adrar (present-day

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

) and Waggag ibn Zallu chose to send Abdallah ibn Yasin with him. The

were at this stage only superficially Islamicised and still clung to many heathen practices, and so Ibn Yasin preached to them an orthodox

Sunnism Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

. After a revolt of the

Godala The Godala or Gudāla is a Berber tribe in Western Africa that lived along the Atlantic coast in present-day Mauritania and participated in the Saharan salt trade and the salt mines of Ijiil. The Godala may be linked to or the same as the ancien ...

he was forced to withdraw with his followers. In alliance with Yahya ibn Umar, the leader of the Lamtuna tribe, he managed to quell the rebellion. Ibn Yasin now formed the Almoravid alliance from the tribes of the Lamtuna, the Masufa and the Godala, with himself as spiritual leader and Yahya ibn Umar taking the military command. In 1054 the

Maghrawa The Maghrawa or Meghrawa ( ar, المغراويون) were a large Zenata Berber tribal confederation whose cradle and seat of power was the territory located on the Chlef in the north-western part of today's Algeria, bounded by the Ouarsenis to ...

-ruled

Sijilmasa , alternate_name = , image = 1886608-the ruins of Sijilmassa-Rissani.jpg , alt = , caption = Sijilmasa ruins , map_type = Morocco , map_alt = , coordinates = , location = Errachidia, Drâa-Tafilalet, Morocco , region = , type = Sett ...

was conquered. Ibn Yasin introduced his orthodox rule - amongst other things wine and music were forbidden, non-Islamic taxes were abolished and one fifth of the spoils of war were allocated to the religious experts. This rigorous application of Islam soon provoked a revolt in 1055.

Death

Yahya ibn Umar was killed in 1056 in a renewed revolt of the Gudala in the Sahara, upon which Ibn Yasin appointed Yahya's brother

Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar Abu Bakr ibn Umar ibn Ibrahim ibn Turgut, sometimes suffixed al-Sanhaji or al-Lamtuni (died 1087; ar, أبو بكر بن عمر) was a chieftain of the Lamtuna Berber Tribe and Amir of the Almoravids from 1056 until his death. He is credited t ...

(1056–1087) the new military leader. Abu Bakr destroyed Sijilmasa, but was not able to force the Gudala back into the Almoravid league. He went on to capture Sūs and its capital Aghmat (near modern

Marrakech Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...

) in 1058. Ibn Yasin died while attempting to subjugate the Barghawata on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

coast in 1059. He was replaced by Sulaiman ibn Haddu, who, killed in turn, would not be replaced. His grave is almost due south of

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populati ...

, near

, overlooking the Krifla River, and is marked on

Michelin Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and la ...

maps as the

marabout A marabout ( ar, مُرابِط, murābiṭ, lit=one who is attached/garrisoned) is a Muslim religious leader and teacher who historically had the function of a chaplain serving as a part of an Islamic army, notably in North Africa and the Saha ...

of Sidi Abdallah.A. Benachenchou, 1946. Sîdî 'Abdallâh Moul l-Gâra ou 'Abdallâh ibn Yâsîn. ''Hespéris'' 33, p. 406-413. A mosque and a mausoleum were built on his grave, and the site is still intact today.

Early life, education and career

Death

See also

References

Further reading