AL-ANDALUS, THE GREAT EXAMPLE OF HUMILITY

“If I only have a dinar in my pocket and a needy person asks me for help, I will gladly give him my only coin.” This phrase appears in a letter preserved at the University of Cordoba, written by an anonymous author in the times of Al-Andalus. What a great lesson in humility and fraternity in those times when the Arabs were at the forefront of the world in medicine, astronomy and other arts. Al-Andalus was our magnificent past, and we Spaniards are proud of it!

Because, selfishness; lack of humility; the desire to possess the “Massari” falsely believing that this leads to political power, is one of the misfortunes of the current Arab world. It is known that Averroes did not care how many dinars he had; it was enough for him that they were enough to eat, and if not, there was always the brother who gave him a little food. Averroes' only ambition was to understand the mystery of human illness and how to cure it. He was a philosopher who was also passionate about the study of Aristotle's work.

In his work “Refutation of the Refutation” (Tahafut al-tahafut) he defends Aristotelian philosophy against Al-Ghazali's claims that philosophy would be in contradiction with religion and would therefore be an affront to the teachings of Islam.

From 711 to 1492 al-Andalus was the occidental frontier of Islam. Floating on the western edge of the Mediterranean, cut off from the European continent by jagged mountains, it was geographically isolated from both North Africa and Europe, from Islamic as well as Christian lands.

 Many cultural phenomena that are seen internationally as distinctively Spanish are largely or entirely Andalusian in origin. These include flamenco and, to a lesser extent, bullfighting and Hispano-Moorish architectural styles, both of which are also prevalent in some other regions of Spain.

But above all, one of the highlights of that period was the humility of man and charity. Both elements were part of the philosophy defended not only by Averroes, but also by: Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi; Avempace; Abu Muhammad Abd Allah ibn Isa al-Saybani; Ibn Said al-Maghribi; Al-Haddad; Al-Kattani; Al-Ruayni and Al-Petragio.

 Thanks to Islamic Al-Andalus, Iberia was the beacon of light in what was the Dark Ages for Europe. The country was invested in science as well ... It introduced the decimal number system to the Western world: the 9 numerals were used in Muslim Spain (Al-Andalus) from the 10th century.

 Al-Andalus refers to the Muslim-ruled territories in the Iberian Peninsula from 711 to 1492. This area included parts of modern-day Spain and Portugal and was known for its cultural and scientific advancements during a time when much of Europe was in the Dark Ages.

 Pero siempre quedará n nuestra memoria aquella carta existente en Córdoba,  en la que un hombre pidió y recibió el único dinar que el otro poseía.

 (PICTURE: AVERROES)

by Othman O,