some of them, whereupon Ibn Yāsīn said to those who obeyed him, “It has become obligatory for you to fight these deniers; they have banded together against you, so raise a banner and appoint a commander.”

Jawhar said, “Then you are our commander.”

Ibn Yāsīn replied, “No. I am the bearer of the trust of the Sacred Law; you are to be the commander.”

Jawhar protested, “If I take command, my tribe will dominate and spread corruption.”

Ibn Yāsīn answered, “Then go to Abū Bakr b. ʿUmar, the chief of Lamṭūna, and put the matter before him …” until he said:

They pledged allegiance to Abū Bakr and conferred upon him the title “Commander of the Muslims.” A party from his own clan and another from Jadāla stood with him. Ibn Yāsīn urged them to wage jihad and named them the Murābiṭūn. The surrounding tribes rose up against them, but Abū Bakr won them over and his forces swelled. A remnant of evildoers remained; they plotted against the Murābiṭūn, penned them up in one place, laid siege to them until hunger weakened and destroyed them, and then killed them. Thus the power of Abū Bakr b. ʿUmar grew formidable, the whole Sahara submitted to him, and around Ibn Yāsīn there arose a company of jurists and devout men, so that Islam became manifest there (1).

As for Jawhar, he clung to righteousness and worship. When he realized he had been given no position of authority, he was pained and began to undermine the leading men. They convened a council concerning him and ultimately ruled that he be put to death on the charge of breaking communal unity. He said, “And I yearn to meet Allah.” He then prayed two units of prayer (rakʿas) and was executed (2).

The Murābiṭūn multiplied, killing, plundering, and ravaging the land. News of Ibn Yāsīn’s actions reached that jurist; he exclaimed, “We belong to Allah and to Him we return,” regretted what had happened, and wrote to Ibn Yāsīn reproaching him for the excessive killing and enslavement. Ibn Yāsīn replied, excusing himself: “These people were living in a state of jāhiliyya (pre-Islamic ignorance); they committed fornication and raided one another, and I have not exceeded the limits of the Sacred Law with regard to them.”

In the year 450 AH their lands were struck by drought and their livestock perished, so he ordered