
710 AD to 730 AD, Psalm 83: Al Aqsa.
This generation is that of the 710s and 720s.
While the Arabs have been trying in vain for a few generations to force Constantinople, the Eastern bloc of Europe, Tarik in 711, took advantage of the weakness of the Visigoth kingdom to quickly make most of the Iberian Peninsula the new Arab province of El Andalous.
- With [1] the conversion of Reccared, appears the anti-Jewish legislation. It continues to strengthen until the fall of the kingdom of Toledo, because the rulers have the mission to defend the Catholic faith, and because the Jews are the only obstacle to total unification. Moreover, the profits they make in the big business appear as scandalous in a period of contracted economy.
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(extract of the psalm 83 associated to this generation, verses 1 to 5 )
- A psalm, a song of Asaph.
- O God, have no silence, do not be silent and do not be still, O God.
- For behold, Your enemies stir, and those who hate You raise their heads.
- Against Your people they plot cunningly, and they take counsel against Your protected ones.
- They said, « Come, let us destroy them from [being] a nation, and the name of Israel will no longer be remembered. »
- The inhabitants [2] of these regions (Tunisia and Maghreb) are Berber tribes. The first conquest of Governor Ibn Abi-Sarh, who defeated them and the Christian Franks (Maghreb), had no lasting consequences. The Berbers rebelled and apostatized. The Muslims massacred them. Once Islam was firmly established in their homes, they revolted again and they adopted Kharijite heresy on several occasions. Ibn Abi-Zayd reports that the Maghreb Berbers rose twelve times and that it was not until Musa b. Nusayr became governor, so that Islam could establish itself solidly at home.
- In [3] that year, 79 AH, there was an epidemic in Syria, which took away an immense number of men. The mortality was so great in this country that it was almost depopulated.
- It is [4] probable that a number of the humiliating prescriptions contained in the Omar Convention were the work of the Umayyad Caliph Omar II (717-720), and this may be the cause of the confusion. The writing of the text in its most complete form must be the work of literary compilers of the third century of the Hegira, taking into account all the successive restrictions to the freedoms of the dhimmis, regardless of time and place.
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(extract of the psalm 83 associated to this generation, verses 6 to 9 )
- For they have taken counsel with one accord; against You they form a pact.
- The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites.
- Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre.
- Also Assyria joined them; they were the arm of the children of Lot forever.
To curse this last act, the editor of the psalm refers to a biblical episode [5] of the Judges’ period (after the conquest of the land of Israel by Joshua and before the advent of the first kings of Israel), when they were confronted with Jabin, Canaanite king and his general Sisara who possessed a powerful army….
- Marwan [7] had stopped in a town called Ain as-Schams, ancient capital of Pharaoh. Amir (who was pursuing Marwan) arrived there during the night and saw a slave who would make a horse. He asked who owned this horse. « To Marwan, » replied the slave. » Where is he ? » Amir asked again. The slave told him the church. Amir and his soldiers went to this place. Marwan, informed of their arrival, immediately got up, put on his cuirass, took his sword, went out, and tried to repel the attackers. Amir cried to his soldiers in Persian language: Fall on him! One of his officers named Abdallah, son of Schihab, threw his javelin and reached Marwan in the belly. Marwan fell, Amir’s horsemen immediately surrounded him, and a slave of Mohammed, son of Shihab, cut off his head.
- Abou’l-‘Abbâs, on his side [8], had ordered all members of Omayya’s family to be seized, old men, young men and children, in a place called Nahr -Tousî. When all were reunited, Saffhah had them massacred. Then he had a leather mat spread over the bodies, on which a meal was served to those who attended the scene, and who ate, while the victims groaned and died.
(extract of the psalm 83 associated to this generation, verses 10 and 11 )
- Do to them as [to] Midian; as [to] Sisera, as [to] Jabin in the brook Kishon.
- They were destroyed in En-Dor; they were [as] dung on the ground.
- Al Walid [13] 1st (675-715), had succeeded his father Abd Al Malik for a reign of ten years, between 705 and 715. Mostly known as builder, he was raised in Damascus, at the Inside the walls of an ancient temple, the famous Umayyad Mosque […]. He is also responsible for the reconstruction of the Great Mosque of Medina and the Masjid Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem in front of the Dome of the Rock erected by his father Abd Al Malik whose work he completed.
(extract of the psalm 83 associated to this generation, verses 12 to 19 )
- Make them, their nobles, as Oreb and as Zeeb, and as Zebah and as Zalmuna all their princes,
- Who said, « Let us inherit for ourselves the dwellings of God. »
- My God, make them like thistles, like stubble before the wind.
- As a fire that burns in a forest and as a flame that burns mountains.
- So will You pursue them with Your tempest, and with Your whirlwind You will terrify them.
- Fill their faces with shame, and they will seek Your countenance, O Lord.
- Let them be ashamed and terrified forever; let them be disgraced and perish.
- Let them know that You-Your name alone is the Lord, Most High over all the earth.
- Abd Al Rahman’s journey [14] from Iraq to Al Andalus lasted five years and he was never assured of being alive when the next day came. Wherever he went, he was wanted by the spies and henchmen of his enemies, the Abbassids, who had snatched the caliphate from his family.
The characters mentioned in this passage of the psalm correspond to a new episode of « judges » [15] during which the Midianites prevented the Israelites from living on their land. The building of mosques will have the same effect.
Until today, these mosques prevent the people of Israel returned to their land from proceeding to the worship of their God in Jerusalem. Thus the conclusion of the psalm echoes the prophecy of Isaiah which also refers to the yoke of the Midianites which illustrates the psalm:
- The people [16] (Israel) who walked in darkness, have seen a great light; those who dwell in the land of the shadow of death, light shone upon them.
- You have aggrandized this nation; you have magnified the joy for them; they have rejoiced over You like the joy of harvest, as they rejoice when they divide spoils.
- For, the yoke of his burden and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of the one who oppressed him have You broken, as on the day of Midian.
- For every victory shout sounds with clamor, and garments wallow in blood, but this shall be burnt, consumed by fire.
- For a child has been born to us, a son given to us, and the authority is upon his shoulder, and the wondrous adviser, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, called his name, « the prince of peace. »
- To him who increases the authority, and for peace without end, on David’s throne and on his kingdom, to establish it and to support it with justice and with righteousness; from now and to eternity, the zeal of the Lord of Hosts shall accomplish this.
[1] Denis MENJOT: « The medieval Spain / 409-1474 ». Chapter: « Spain of the Visigoths: The Kingdom of Toledo 569-711. (French: « Les Espagnes médiévales / 409-1474 ». Chapitre : « l’Espagne des Wisigoths : Le royaume de Tolède 569-711. (p.33/34) ).
[2] Ibn Khaldûn: « Discourse on Universal History » (French translation by Vincent Monteil). Chapter: « Dynasties, Monarchy, Caliphate. 9: A dynasty rarely settles in heterogeneous countries « . (French: « Discours sur l’Histoire universelle » (traduction de Vincent Monteil). Chapitre : « Dynasties, Monarchie, Califat. 9 : Une dynastie s’installe rarement dans des pays hétérogènes » (p. 252) ).
[3] TABARI: « The Chronicle, The Umayyads ». Chapter: « Government of Haddjadj, son of Yousef, in Iraq » (French: « La Chronique, Les Omeyyades ». Chapitre : « Gouvernement de Haddjadj, fils de Yousef, dans l’Iraq » (p. 112) ).
[4] Xavier de Planhol: « Minorities in Islam ». Chapter: « General Introduction / The multiplication of restrictive measures: the » Omar Convention « . (French: « Minorités en Islam ». Chapitre : « Introduction générale / La multiplication des mesures restrictives : la « convention d’Omar ». (p.37) ).
[5] According to: Shoftim – Judges – Chapter 4
[6] JUGES, Chapitre 4, versets 17 à 21
[7] TABARI: « The Chronicle / The Golden Age of Abbasids ». Chapter: « Abdullah, son of Ali, invades Syria. Death of Marwan « . (French: « La Chronique / L’âge d’or des Abbassides ». Chapitre : « Abdallah, fils d’Ali, envahit la Syrie. Mort de Marwân » (p. 26) ).
[8] TABARI: « The Chronicle / The Golden Age of Abbasids ». Chapter: « Abdullah, son of Ali, invades Syria. Death of Marwan « . (French: « La Chronique / L’âge d’or des Abbassides ». Chapitre : « Abdallah, fils d’Ali, envahit la Syrie. Mort de Marwân » (p. 28) ).
[9] TABARI: « The Chronicle / The Umayyads ». Chapter: « Conquest of Gorgan and Taberistan by Yezid, son of Muhallab ». (French: « La Chronique /Les Omeyyades ». Chapitre : « Conquête du Gorgān et du Taberistan par Yezîd, fils de Mouhallab ». (p. 201) ).
[10] TABARI: « The Chronicle / The Umayyads ». Chapter: « Conquest of Gorgan and Taberistan by Yezid, son of Muhallab ». (French: « La Chronique /Les Omeyyades ». Chapitre : « Conquête du Gorgān et du Taberistan par Yezîd, fils de Mouhallab ». (p. 202) ).
[11] Janine Sourdel and Dominique Sourdel: « Historical Dictionary of Islam ». (French: « Dictionnaire historique de l’Islam » ).
[12] JUGES, Chapitre 5, versets 21 et 31
[13] Janine Sourdel and Dominique Sourdel: « Historical Dictionary of Islam ». (French: « Dictionnaire historique de l’Islam » ).
[14] Antonio Munoz Molina: « Cordoba of the Umayyads ». Chapter: « The Fugitive Prince » (French: « Cordoue des Omeyyades ». Chapitre : « Le prince fugitif » (p. 50) ).
[15] According to: Shoftim – Judges – Chapters 6 to 8
[16] ISAÏE, Chapitre 9, versets 1 à 6