Under the command of then Governor of Andalus, Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi faced off against the Franks under Martel at Tours, (which Martel decided due to his familiarity with the terrain), with 60,000 mujahideen, versus Martel’s 30,000 troops. Abdul Rahman assumed these were just one of the many numerous rebellious barbarian tribes that had ravaged the Romans, (i.e. ragtag and without troop discipline, preferring to overwhelm the enemy without recourse to any particularly clever strategy), and that Martel was just one of the many tribal leaders that were not particularly motivated, and would either flee or negotiate after a few skirmishes.
However, he was proven wrong, as Martel executed a victory by using the land to his advantage by employing a phalanx20 formation and fighting downhill, (to negate cavalry charges that would have to charge uphill). Notably, Martel fought without cavalry, (i.e. horses), which would be the equivalent of a modern national army going into battle with only infantry, (i.e. no planes, tanks, trucks, or satellites). Moreover, a rumor spread during the battle that Martel’s men had snuck into the Muslim camp to steal the ghaneema (booty/spoils). As soon the call went out the mujahideen raced to rear camp to defend their apparently besieged ghaneema while leaving this commander and a few detachments exposed to Frankish attacks, (in a replay of the Battle of Uhud21 all over again), leading to the death of Abd Al Rahman .
His army routed the Muslim army with many mujahideen and, their commander, Abd Al Rahman Ghafiqi attaining Shahada, that most loftiest of stations22. Losses upon the Muslim army were estimated to be approximately 10,000. In the aftermath, disunity on part of the Muslim army destroyed any chance of a real counterattack which could have stolen victory from the jaws of defeat, in that, the commanders in the Mujahideen camp could not decide on whom to nominate to lead them and fell into dispute. All the while, Martel capitalized on this and continued bringing the fight to the mujahideen. On this point, the Quranic viewpoint has to be examined, (and it is important in spite of
the fact, this is supposed to be a brief introduction to the topic of Muslims after the fall of Andalus), along with the strategic military shortfalls as well. Allah ( سبحان ﻪو تعلى ) says:
And Allah did indeed fulfill His promise to you when you were killing them (your enemy) with
His permission; until Fashiltum24 and fell to disputing about the order, and disobeyed after
He showed you what you love. Among you are some that desire this world and some that
desire the Hereafter. Then He made you flee from them, that He might test you. But surely,
He forgave you, and Allah is Most Gracious to the believers.
(And remember) when you ran away without even casting a side glance at anyone, and the
Messenger was in your rear calling you back. There did Allah give you one distress after
another by way of requital, to teach you not to grieve for that which had escaped you, nor
for what struck you. And Allah is Well-Aware of all that you do.
Strategically speaking, the battle preperations by the Muslim army were too hasty to say the least, and their reconnaissance of Martel’s troop numbers and capabilities were poor and based more on bravado than on old-fashioned reconnaissance and intelligence. Secondly, Abd Al-Rahman’s army made the massive mistake of allowing the native enemy to choose the battlefield, which was disastrous in this case, as Martel lured the mujahideen in a battlefield where he negated their advantages (i.e. cavalry/horses), and minimized his weakness, (his weakness of not having cavalry). Furthermore his troops were better drilled and trained and had greater battle experience, (almost four years of fighting together as a unit prior to this engagement), whereas the mujahideen were rag-tag with some who had battle experience, and some who merely went along for the ghaneema. This indiscipline first led to the collapse of the Muslim base camp but moreover led to the later confusion in succession of leadership,
An Incomplete History: The Muslims of Spain
Muslims of spain = muslims of today....almost a deja vu