Volume 90, Number 1 - California Historical Society

the Setting
If jihad’s purpose seems clear, ribat, its counterpart,
is less so. One authority laments that ribat
may be impossible to define. 10 The meaning of
ribat varied from place to place in the Islamic
world. Even when focusing on a single locale like
Spain, the term’s definition continues to baffle
because it acquired different meanings over time.
As some scholars claim, ribat described a fortress
that emerged in northern or central Spain where
Muslims and Christians confronted one another.
A ribat could even be a citadel in the central part
of a city or a watchtower where soldiers observed
an enemy’s movements. 11 But whatever its function,
a ribat was a fortified place that offered protection
or allowed men to train for battle. To date,
investigators have uncovered the ruins of a ribat
near the city of Alicante in southeastern Spain. 12
Although the site is far from the interior parts of
Spain, where ribats supposedly flourished, other
scholars have looked at Muslim writings from the
early Middle Ages to find mention of believers
assembling in fortresses. 13
Some historians prefer different meanings.
Because ribat comes from the Arabic root r-b-t,
which means to tie together, as one would tether
a herd of livestock, the term could describe a
caravansary, a structure that invited traders and
travelers to secure their horses or camels before
resting. In this sense, there is nothing to imply
that ribats were fortresses. They offered protection
along a trade route, but they did not exist
to make war, much less provide a setting for
prayer and study. 14 If the meaning is broadened
to describe a place where warriors on horseback
could rest their mounts, ribat may still refer to
trade because its occupants defended caravans
making their way through hostile territory. By the
thirteenth century, especially in Muslim Spain,
the meaning of ribat had evolved to describe a
monastery for Sufis, mystics who formed brotherhoods
to pray and who, as the following pages
will make clear, often preferred more vigorous
displays of faith. 15 Even so, when some Sufis supplied
lodging for a caravan or footsore traveler,
their monastery earned the name ribat.
To reach consensus on the word’s definition,
it may be best to move beyond descriptions of
a structure with different uses and give ribat
a more literal reading. The term could refer
to believers bound together by their devotion.
Accordingly, when this collection of believers
made war or collected as one to repel an
approaching enemy, the building where they
gathered would resemble a fortress to observers.
But in other instances, and depending on the
region where they dwelled, the believers would
prefer to pray rather than fight. Thus, regardless
of their intent, when believers were tied to one
another to perform various duties, they fulfilled
the most elemental meaning of ribat. 16
The spiritual and military dimensions of ribat
proved quite popular in Muslim Spain. The
historian Manuela Marín explains that by the
ninth century, men periodically left cities and
towns to gather in places along the coast or in
frontier outposts near Christian territory. In
most instances, they set the terms of their commitment.
They could “make ribat” or “perform
ribat”—the expressions they used to describe
their devotion—for a number of days or months.
When they finished their obligation, they were
free to leave. Participants could also perform
ribat for any number of reasons. A few used the
time away from home to contemplate their flaws
and weaknesses. Others went on ribat during
Ramadan, the month Muslims set aside for fasting
and prayer. 17 But a great many more believed
that fighting could express their faith. We do
not speak of the professional soldier, though he,
as well, appreciated the mystical properties of
violence. Of greater interest is the believer who
volunteered his time to make war.
continued on p. 24
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