Welcome to toriq's blog

Assalamu'alaikum/hello to all,

My dad once told me that I was named after a great Muslim general, Thariq Ibn Ziyad, who led the conquest of Andalusia, Spain in 711. I googled about him and stumbled upon a blog which has some info about this Military Commander. So, I just copy and paste it here. Enjoy~

When Thariq had been informed of the approach of the enemy, he rose in the midst of his companions and, after having glorified God in the highest, he spoke to his soldiers thus:
"Oh my warriors, whither would you flee? Behind you is the sea, before you, the enemy. You have left now only the hope of your courage and your constancy. Remember that in this country you are more unfortunate than the orphan seated at the table of the avaricious master.

Your enemy is before you, protected by an innumerable army; he has men in abundance, but you, as your only aid, have your own swords, and, as your only chance for life, such chance as you can snatch from the hands of your enemy. If the absolute want to which you are reduced is prolonged ever so little, if you delay to seize immediate success, your good fortune will vanish, and your enemies, whom your very presence has filled with fear, will take courage.

Put far from you the disgrace from which you flee in dreams, and attack this monarch who has left his strongly fortified city to meet you. Here is a splendid opportunity to defeat him, if you will consent to expose yourselves freely to death. Do not believe that I desire to incite you to face dangers which I shall refuse to share with you. In the attack I myself will be in the fore, where the chance of life is always least." (Tarik's Address to His Soldiers, 711 CE, from The Breath of Perfumes')

Kalimat di atas adalah ucapan seorang panglima tentera Islam terkenal dalam sejarah Islam, Thariq bin Ziyad, ketika berpidato di hadapan 7,000 (?) pasukan muslim yang dipimpinnya dalam misinya mensyiarkan Islam ke Andalusia (sekarang Spanyol). Pidato yang menggelegar itu menjadi kobaran semangat yang maha hebat sehingga mengantarkan suksesnya menghadapi berlipat-lipat kali ganda pasukan musuh, yang konon sampai 25,000 prajurit bersenjata lengkap! Sedangkan pasukan yang dibawanya hanya bersenjata sederhana ala kadarnya (berharap bisa merampas senjata musuh untuk digunakan senjata).

Apa yang dilakukan Thariq untuk menyemangati pasukannya? Kapal-kapal yang mengantarkannya beserta pasukan2 tentera ke Andalusia malah dibakar habis, sehingga tiada lagi cara untuk berpatah balik. Bagi Thariq, di hadapan adalah pasukan musuh, sedangkan di belakang adalah samudera luas. Kalau maju ke depan merupakan kematian, mundur ke belakang juga merupakan kematian. Pilihan yang serba menyulitkan! Akan tetapi keduanya merupakan kematian yang berbeda. Tinggal pilih yang mana satu menjadi pilihan.

Entah kenapa, tiba-tiba saya teringat pada peristiwa ini. Seperti baru diceritakan kemarin, mendadak batok kepala dipenuhi oleh sebuah kisah indah keemasan Islam zaman dahulu.

Thariq Ibn Ziyad. Kisah indah yang semakin dilupakan oleh umat Islam masa kini. Entah, kisah itu bisa terulang lagi atau tidak.

Sources: http://imponk.blogsome.com/, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tariq_ibn_Ziyad