Author: Obaidullah Nimruzi
The Guardian of Al-Andalus (Spain): Sultan Yusuf ibn Tashfin [MABH] (Part 12)
Barghawata: A Zoroastrian-like Heresy Confronted by the Sword of the Almoravid Reform:
The Almoravids considered jihad against such sects not only necessary but the highest form of jihad. After Ibn Yasin had completed his mission in the region of Tamasna, news reached him that along the coast, the Barghawata tribes existed in large numbers and held heretical beliefs. According to historical sources, not only were these tribes not Muslims, but they also adhered to Zoroastrian and innovative religious practices. They were always on the Almoravids’ list of ideological and religious enemies. Ibn Yasin viewed them as a serious threat to Islamic orthodoxy.
Description of the Barghawata as Magian Disbelievers:
The book Al-Istiqsa li-Akhbar Duwal al-Maghrib al-Aqsa states that the Barghawata tribes had a fabricated religion and a man-made legal system based on Zoroastrian, Manichean, and some Batini (esoteric) beliefs. They had a prophet named Salih ibn Tarif and promoted their own version of the Qur’an. Many scholars and historians, including Ibn Khaldun, declared them outside the fold of Islam. [1]
Barghawata: The Innovators of Tamasna on the Verge of Confrontation with the Almoravids
Ibn Idhari narrates in Al-Bayan al-Mughrib that when Abdullah ibn Yasin returned to the Far West of the Islamic world after spending seven years studying in Al-Andalus, he passed through the region of Tamasna. There, he encountered numerous tribes, most of which were under the rule of Barghawata leaders. At the time, the Barghawata military power amounted to around 3,000 warriors, and with allied tribes joining them, their forces reached over 20,000 cavalry and infantry. [2]
Naturally, upon witnessing such a situation and given his prior knowledge of the region, Ibn Yasin deemed jihad against the Barghawata one of his most urgent and significant duties—especially since he was particularly sensitive about Muslims abandoning congregational prayer. So how could he remain silent in the face of a society whose entire religious foundation was entangled with intellectual and moral corruption? Here, it is appropriate to take a brief look at the history and heretical beliefs of the Barghawata.
Barghawata: A Heresy Rooted in Ignorance and Sorcery
Various historical sources offer differing views about the origin of the Barghawata and their deviant beliefs. Ibn Abi Zar‘ reports that the Barghawata were a collection of various tribes with no unified lineage, but rather a mixture of Berber clans. During the caliphate of Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, they rallied around a man named Salih ibn Tarif, who declared prophethood in the Tamasna region. It is said he was originally from a place called Barnat in Al-Andalus, and his followers were initially called Barnati. [3]
Salih ibn Tarif was a cunning man of Jewish origin, raised in Al-Andalus. He traveled eastward and studied sorcery and magic. Upon returning to the Maghreb, he encountered Berber tribes in Tamasna immersed in ignorance and illiteracy. Donning the cloak of piety and feigning religiosity, he deceived them with seductive words and magical tricks. After gaining their trust, he proclaimed: “I am Salih al-Mu’minin, mentioned by Allah in the Qur’an: (فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ مَوْلَاهُ وَجِبْرِيلُ وَصَالِحُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ) [Surah At-Tahrim: 4] Translation: “Indeed, Allah is his protector, and [so is] Gabriel and the righteous among the believers.” Relying on this false interpretation, he claimed prophethood around the year 125 AH.
Salih ibn Tarif established an independent, fabricated Shari‘ah for his followers, which consisted of innovations and superstitions. He made fasting in the month of Rajab obligatory and canceled Ramadan. He mandated ten daily prayers, required washing the stomach and sides during ablution, and prescribed prayer without prostration, using only gestures. In marital matters, he introduced distortions—such as allowing marriage with any woman except a paternal cousin! He also forbade eating animal heads and drinking the milk of animals.
More astonishingly, he encouraged his followers to seek blessings from the saliva of their rulers. He claimed to receive divine revelation and had his own version of the Qur’an consisting of eighty surahs, with names like Surah Adam, Nuh, Al-Asbat, Bani Isra’il, and Ghara’ib al-Dunya. Anyone who doubted these claims was declared a disbeliever. [4]
Salih ibn Tarif then disappeared, promising to return during the rule of the seventh generation of his descendants. Before his departure, he appointed his son Ilyas ibn Salih as successor. However, Ilyas had little interest in his father’s religion. After him, his grandson Yunus ibn Ilyas rose to power. Unlike his father, he was a religious fanatic who executed anyone that renounced the sect. He even set fire to villages in Tamasna and massacred over seven thousand people in a place called Talukalat. [5]
Remembering History, a Warning for Today:
What can be expected when enemies of the faith gain power? Many innovators like Salih ibn Tarif have corrupted the history of the Islamic nation—capitalizing on the ignorance of the masses and the negligence of the elites. These are the very gateways through which Islam’s enemies infiltrate. Once they gain control, they trample upon the dignity and honor of the ummah.
As Almighty Allah said: (يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَتَّخِذُوا الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَارَى أَوْلِيَاءَ، بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ بَعْضٍ، وَمَن يَتَوَلَّهُم مِّنكُمْ فَإِنَّهُ مِنْهُمْ، إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ) [Surah Al-Ma’idah: 51] Translation: “O you who believe! Do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever among you takes them as allies—then indeed, he is [one] of them. Verily, Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people.”
Continues…
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References:
[1] Al-Nasiri, Al-Istiqsa li Akhbar Doual al-Maghrib al-Aqsa, vol. 1, p. 150, Dar al-Kitab, 1997 AD.
[2] Ibn Idhari, Al-Bayan al-Mughrib, vol. 4, p. 10.
[3] Ibn Abi Zar’, Rawd al-Qirtas, p. 82.
[4] Ibn Abi Zar’, Rawd al-Qirtas, pp. 82-84.
[5] Al-Nasiri, Al-Istiqsa, vol. 2, p. 16.
