History of Islam Vol 3 of 3 by Akbar Shah Najeebabadi

186 The History of Islam
from Africa, Spain and Morocco. He was about to move forward with
his massive army when he passed away in Jumad al-Thani 558 A.H.
Abu Yaqub
His son, Abu Yaqub Yusuf came to the throne as his successor, he
failed to fulfill his father's dream because of some internal problems
and impediments. The Christians, on the other hand, captured some
of the western districts of Spain. Abu Yaqub moved forward at the
head of ten thousand men and retook the territories captured by the
Christians. He than laid siege around Toledo but raised it to go back
to Morocco. In 580 A.H. the Christians of Santaren city rose once again
against the Muslim rule. Abu Yaqub Yusuf rushed to Spain and
besieged Santaren. During the siege that took over a month he fell ill
and died in Rajab, 580 A.H.
A Review of Abu Yaqub's Reign
Abu Yaqub was good-natured, enlightened and a great lover of
learning. Abu Bakr Muhammad bin Tufayl, a leader in Philosophy
was his courtier and adviser, another scholar, Abu Bakr bin Sane,
known as Ibn Maja was among his main advisers. At the insistence of
Ibn Tufayl, Abu Yaqub called Abul Waleed Muhammad bin Ahmad
bin Muhammad bin Rushd from Cordova and enlisted him among his
honorable courtiers. He is the same Ibn Rushd who was a renowned
philosopher and critic of Aristotle's philosophical thoughts. He very
ably highlighted the inherent weak points in the philosophy of the
Greek scholar. During the reign of Abu Yaqub all the countries from
Morocco to Tripoli and the entire Spain including the Island of Sicily
and other Mediterranean Islands came to the fold of Islam.
Abu Yusuf Mansur
After Abu Yaqub, his son, Abu Yusuf took the throne at the age of 32.
He was bom of a Christian mother named Sahira. During his reign in
Spain, Muslim power and welfare remained the dominant factor. In
his qualities of mind and spirit Mansur was similar to his father. He
held the religious scholars in high esteem and was fond of books. He
passed his life mostly in Spain. In 585 A.H. he eliminated Christian