Govert Westerveld
Ibn Sab’in of the Ricote Valley; The First and Last Islamic Place in Spain (2014)
Ebook
Preface
This book is the outcome of a
close study of the Ricote Valley and its famous Sufi Ibn Sab’in. Its purpose is to disclose more of the
historical and comparative data. Arab
Spaniards have created a glorious human story that lasted for centuries within
the scope of the Mediterranean culture. However, a lot of the history of the
Ricote Valley is only written in Spanish and still not in English.
The history of
Arab-Islamic civilization, during the period c. 711-1613 cannot be written
without paying attention to the contributions of the Andalusians in all aspects
of civilization. Many Andalusian names
excelled in Islamic philosophy, such as Ibn-Bajah, Ibn-Tufayl, Ibn-Rusd (known
in Latin as Averroes), etc.; in the history of Arab science, such as Ibn-Zuhr
(Avenzoar), Ibn-Al-Baytar, Musa Ibn-Maymun, etc.; The Andalusian Age had also
enhanced the history of Arab-Islamic Sufism by virtue of Sufis who lived in, or
came from, Andalusia, like Ibn-Qasiyy, Ibn-‘Arabi, and Ibn-Sab‘in.
Andalusian
scientists moved from the region of Murcia to the heart of the Islamic world.
Their move had quite a deep effect. Among these scientists was the great Sufi
philosopher, Muhammad Ibn-‘Abdul-Haq known as Ibn- Sab‘in (d. 669 H. = 1270 AD),
who came from the Ricote Valley. He is the originator of the deep philosophical
approach in dealing with highly humanistic Sufi thought, and the author of the
magnificent treatise Al-Kalam ‘ala Al-Masa’il Al-Siqqilliyya, in which he
answered the philosophical questions that Frederick II, the Emperor of Sicily,
sent to Muslim scientists in the Mashreq and the Maghreb.
Following the same
path, Abul-‘Abbas Al-Mursiy (named after the Andalusian city of Murcia), one of
the founders of the Shadhuliya Order, moved from Andalusia to Egypt. Years later
his order became one of the most prevalent Sufi orders in Egypt and the Islamic
world.
The same happened
with the mystic Ibn Hud, another Al-Andalusian who emigrated from Murcia to the
Orient (d. 1300). He was a disciple of Ibn Sab’in, a follower of the doctrine
of the “unity of existence” (wahdat Al-wuyud), and interested in medicine and
philosophy.
To write the
history of the Arabic period of Spain well one must be an Arabist and
unfortunately this is not the case of the writer. Therefore, this little book
is only a short introduction to the history of the Ricote Valley and of the
Sufis coming from the Region of Murcia. However, it is an ideal book for those
who want to write a doctoral thesis about Ibn Sab’in or the Sufis, because the
book is full of rarely seen details and it has complete references.
Researching the different
papers about Ibn Sab’in one comes to the conclusion that to refer well to the
documents in question is not an easy feat. On many occasions the researchers,
even reputable Arabists, do not indicate the volume and page numbers of the
books in question. At times they do not clearly mention the whole names or years
of the books.
In this book the references
are not abbreviated after the first full reference of the author. In this way
one is not obliged to go to the end of the book to find the whole reference.
Surely this is not very academic, but we are in an era where “time is money”,
and this is done to help young researchers save time.
There are other historians who
are notoriously known for their enigmatic and frequently absent footnotes and
bibliographical references. The author has tried here to give the most complete
information and sources. However, it was not possible to quote all of them summarizing
their main hypotheses.
Finally, here’s a note on the
title of the book in which we have placed the phrase “the First and Last
Islamic Place in Spain”. It is known that the Ricote Valley was the last place
in Spain. King Philip III
and his corrupt prime minister the Duke of Lerma were the principal actors in
the final expulsion of 1609‑1614. On the
other hand, the most recent relevant archaeological
findings were obtained by the researcher Arnald Puy Maeso who wrote a doctoral
thesis about the construction of the first Andalusian terraces of Ricote. He based his writings on an earlier doctoral thesis of José María
García Avilés. The traditional irrigated terraces in the garden (huerta) of Ricote
provided organic matter with a median probability age of 706 A.D. (647-778
A.D.), according to the corresponding analysis methods. These figures could
imply that the construction of the first terraces at Ricote was formed at a
very early date. Moreover, it is possible that the first Arabic Berber tribes entered
some years before the known date of 711 A.D. or shortly thereafter. The Ricote village
was the first settlement of the six villages of the Ricote Valley.
The author of this book
expresses his special gratitude and thanks to Jesús Joaquín López Moreno and
Joaquín Salmerón Juan who helped him with additional information and photos.
[1] PUY MAESO, Arnald (2012) Criterios de construcción de las huertas
andalusíes. El caso de Ricote (Murcia, España). Tesis doctoral en la
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
[2] GARCÍA AVILÉS, José María (1999) Una sociedad agraria en
tierras de la Orden de Santiago: El Valle de Ricote (1740-1780) Tesis doctoral
(Cum Laude) en la Universidad de Murcia.
GARCÍA AVILÉS, José María (2000) El Valle de Ricote: fundamentos económicos de la
Encomienda Santiaguista, 1740-1780. Murcia: Real Academia Alfonso X el Sabio.
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