New Evidence on the Life of ‘Abdullah B. Yasin and the Origins of the Almoravid Movement

The Qadli ‘Iyad in his biography of ‘Abdullah b. Yasin confirms many details in al-Bakri's record of the rise of the Almoravids. His account differs in a few important respects, and furnishes new information which is valuable in reassessing the life of ‘Abdullah b. Yasin. Since no insular ribat is mentioned, its historicity is increasingly suspect, and in the light of Maghribi cosmological ideas it is better regarded as a myth, and not as a historical fact. This text is the earliest surviving one to mention the Dar al-Murabit in of Wajjaj b. Zalwi al-Lamti. The Qadli ‘Iyad states that Jawhar, a character who appears to have been confused with Yassin b. Ibrahim al-Gudali, the Sanhaja chief who reputedly brought ‘Abdullah b. Yasin to the Sahara, is none other than al-Jawhar b. Sakkum, the Gudala jurist who was later executed by ‘Abdullah b. Yasin. The cause of the execution appears to have been a combination of religious differences and a struggle for power, probably after the death of Yahya b. Ibrahim al-Gudali. This event may prove to have been a turning point in the Almoravid movement, the main reason for the dominance of the Lamtuna and the eventual withdrawal of the Gudala from the Almoravid cause, possibly for their militant opposition to it. The confusion in the accounts over the early phase of the stay of ‘Abdullah b. Yasin among the anhaja casts grave doubts as to how much reliance can be placed on them as historical evidence. The myth may be a good deal more than the ‘island story’.