I paused for a moment to catch my breath. "Most of these calamities," I went on, "are well known to anyone with insight, those who have heard the Words of God: `It is not the eyes that are blind, but rather the hearts inside their breasts' [Qur'an, Sura 22, v. 46]. For Abu al-Hamalat and his ilk, history is not worth a gnat's wing or even the proverbial grain of mustard seed. They can neither understand nor appreciate the significant events going on all around them. Abu Da'ud* reports a tradition passed on by Ibn `Umar,* to the effect that the Prophet of God-on whom be the purest of blessings-said, `Those who are ignorant of history ride blind and stumble around aimlessly. They attribute to recent times things from the ancient past and vice versa, without organizing their data in any way.' We seek God's protection from such idiocy."
The students were all outdoing each other as they recorded in writing everything that I was saying; all, that is, except for Abd al-'Ali and Amr, who were still listening intently; the former was staring off into space, while the latter lowered his gaze and tried to hide his injuries.
"Those Almohads," `Adnan, the young man from Malaga, said to interrupt the silence, "rescued Spain when their power was at its zenith, but now they've split up into petty dynasties and become powerless. They've left us crushed between two opposing forces: the hammer of the oppressive Franks on one side and on the other the anvil of a cluster of kings best described by the poet al-Mutanabbi*:
"Those petty kings are the Banu Hud in Murcia where we are, and the Banu Who Knows What elsewhere. Muhammad ibn Sharaf* has a wonderfully trenchant and comprehensive description of them."
At this point everyone suddenly chimed in with the verses in question as though with one voice, some of them laughing, others making sarcastic gestures:
Now it was Abd al-'Ali's turn to speak, almost as though he wanted to restore a sense of dignity and seriousness to our assembly. "Master," he said, "it is the extent of our concerns that makes us laugh. Previously you have advised us to poke fun at the received tradition regarding our true Prophet, but what are we supposed to be doing beyond that? Should we be declaring war against the Frankish enemy as a way of defending ourselves in this homeland of ours? If so, how should we proceed? Or should we instead be directing our anger at the sultan, aiming all our pent-up anger at his various machinations? Do we have the necessary power to do that? I may forget any number of things, but I'll never forget something you said to us previously, something I've memorized by heart: `I enjoin you to consider the truths maintained in this era of yours as being heretical. Pronounce God's curse on them and all those who adhere to them. To call them "truths" is like saying that a snakebite is harmless."'
"May your right hand never falter, 'Abd Ali," I told myself at this point, "and may your mouth always speak the truth! I did indeed mouth those words, but I had forgotten exactly how I expressed the idea; I presume I was more precise and detailed in my missing manuscript. It may be that this young man has memorized some of my other statements. Maybe the spark they ignite will trigger a process that will refresh my memory."
`Amr's voice now resounded around the room. "If that's the way things are," he said, obviously trying to keep his worries in check, "then we must either aspire to the honorable life or else perish in the process. But how? Should we throw these petty rulers into faraway prisons as Emir Ibn Tashufin* did with al-Mu'tamid ibn 'Abbad,* the ruler of the city of Seville that is even now about to fall? My own dream is like al-Mutanabbi's, namely that we cut off the necks of these rulers so that we can restore Spain's power and instill fear into God's enemies and ours."
Voices were raised in support of his views. I realized that I needed to steer this young man's anger in the right direction and show him a better way.
"Heaven forbid that Muslims should fight a civil war against each other!" I said. "There's no need to kindle its flame. The allies of the Christians are already heavily involved in killing some of these rulers and subverting others; if politics so demand, they may even be willing to support still others. Apart from that, our rulers are forever fighting and killing each other. They think nothing of indulging in murder in order to hold on to their thrones. Haven't you heard the story about the Almohad ruler of Murcia, Abu Muhammad 'Abdallah,* known as Al-Adil Bi-llah'? My father-may he rest in peace! — told me about him. When this craven coward of a ruler signed a treaty handing over fortresses and neighboring territories to Fernando, king of Castile,* people started cursing him in mosques and calling for his ouster. The guards in his palace revolted and gave him the choice of either relinquishing his throne or being killed. The reckless idiot decided to be stubborn, so they stuck his head into a lake until he drowned. Unfortunately there are many rulers like him-God alone is the protector."
`Amr and some of the other students asked me in alarm what should be done in the face of these calamities that were befalling the other parts of Spain. They kept addressing me with names I had asked them not to use. For a moment I lowered my head in thought.
"I'm going to say this again for the sake of those of you who haven't heard me say it already: do not call me Imam, Shaykh, or Sufi Master. I am simply a teacher who shares with you such knowledge as I have and gives you such opinions as seem right to me. Don't ask me for miracles or wondrous deeds, nor for things that are beyond my powers. How many times have I told you all that I do not seek leadership nor do I claim prophetic status? The very worst of disasters occurs when human beings, in their quest for perception and discernment, decide to revolt against their fellow humans. What is even worse still is when it happens among peoples who have been living together for generations, struggling, striving, chanting, and building. The sheer will to live and exist together and to create an Andalusian culture is an enlightened ideal-open, active, creative. However there are other forces, bristling with weapons and hatred, that are hell-bent on exposing our country to risks of fragmentation and destruction. Their tenets are all based on slogans derived from rigid, uncompromising ideas, ideas that involve fanatical devotion to particular ideologies, races, and cliques, not to mention a wide variety of other negative, obscurantist compromises. Our pathetic rulers are all too aware of the fact that there is nothing they can do for their own religious community. That is why you can see them leaving us for the duration in precisely the kind of situation in which we now find ourselves: dreaming thoughts of health and impregnability, aspiring to those loftier, transcendent spheres, or, at the very least, to being on the upward path toward them. However, while this particular sphere, our current stage of existence, may have experienced its own setbacks and ruptures, it is up to each and every one of you to investigate and explore it with all due energy and initiative, since it is the worthier of paths to follow. It is the key to firm understanding and appropriate action, your antidote against the illusions of those in power in this misguided and misguiding era of ours. That may well be the import of the words of mine that `Abd al has mentioned to you; or, at least, something like it.