Battle of Martyrs' Court

The Christian terrorist who killed unarmed Muslims in the New Zealand mosque had Charles Martel written on the barrel of his rifle, this shows that he is a good reader of history and unfortunately we Muslims do not read our history and most of it is not taught in our schools and part of our history is distorted either intentionally or out of ignorance, so we must know our history and the story of Charles Martel, whose name is written in the rifle that killed unarmed Muslims.

The Battle of Martyrs' Court or the Battle of Poitiers between Muslim forces led by Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi and Frankish forces led by Charles Martel. The Muslims were defeated in this battle and their commander was killed, and this defeat stopped the Islamic advance towards the heart of Europe.

Pre-Battle
In 112 AH / 730 AD, Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi was appointed governor of Andalusia. He put down the revolts in Andalusia between Arabs and Berbers and worked to improve the country's security and cultural situation.
However, this stability and order in Andalusia was disturbed by movements from the Franks and Goths and preparations to attack the Islamic positions in the north. Al-Ghafiqi could not remain silent, as he is a man of great faith, the memories of the defeat of Tolusha still haunt him, and he waits for the opportunity to erase its effects, but now that it has come, he must seize it and make the best preparation, so he announced his intention to conquer, and mujahideen poured in from every direction until they reached between fifty thousand men.

Campaign itinerary
In early 114 AH / 732 AD, he crossed the Albert Mountains and entered France (Gaul), and headed south to the city of Arles on the Rhone River, which refused to pay the tribute and disobeyed him, and conquered it after a great battle, then headed west to the Duchy of Aquitaine, and achieved a decisive victory over it on the banks of the Dordogne River and tore its army to pieces, forcing the Duke of Aquitaine to retreat to the north, leaving his capital Bardal (Bordeaux) to be entered by the Muslims. Duke Odo was forced to retreat with his forces towards the north, leaving his capital Bardal (Bordeaux) for the Muslims to enter it as conquerors, and the state of Aquitaine became completely in the grip of the Muslims, and Al-Ghafiqi proceeded towards the Loire River and headed towards the city of "Tours", the second city of the duchy, with the church of "Saint Martin", which was very famous at that time; the Muslims stormed the city and captured it.
Duke Odo had no choice but to seek help from the Merovingian state, whose affairs were in the hands of Charles Martel, who answered the call and rushed to his aid, and who had previously been indifferent to Muslim movements in southern France due to the dispute between him and Odo, Duke of Aquitania.

Frankish readiness
Charles Martel saw in the request for help an opportunity to extend his influence over Catania, which was in the hands of his rival, and to stop the Islamic conquest after it threatened him, so he moved immediately and spared no effort in preparing, sending troops from everywhere, and he was met with wild and powerful soldiers who fought almost naked, in addition to his own soldiers who were strong and experienced in wars and calamities. After Charles Martel completed his preparations, he moved with his army, which exceeded the number of the Muslim army, shaking the earth, and the plains of France echoed with the sounds and clashes of the soldiers until he reached the southern meadows of the Loire River.

The Battle
The Muslim army had reached the plain between Poitiers and Tours after capturing the two cities. At that time, Charles Martel's army had reached the Loire without the Muslims noticing the arrival of his vanguard, and when Al-Ghafiqi wanted to cross the Loire to meet his opponent on its right bank before completing his preparations, Martel surprised him with a large force that exceeded the number of the Muslims' army. When al-Ghafiqi wanted to cross the Loire River to meet his opponent on its right bank before completing his preparations, Martel surprised him with his large forces, which outnumbered the Muslim army, so Abd al-Rahman was forced to turn back and retreat to the plain between Poitiers and Tours, and Charles crossed the Loire River with his forces and camped his army a few miles away from al-Ghafiqi's army.
The exact location of the battlefield where the events of the battle took place is not known, but some accounts suggest that it took place near a Roman road connecting Poitiers and Shatler and in a place about twenty kilometres northeast of Poitiers called Balat, a word that in Andalusia means a palace or fortress surrounded by gardens; therefore, the battle is called in Arabic sources Balat al-Shuhada because many Muslims were killed in it, and in European sources the battle is called "Tour-Poitiers." The European sources call it the Battle of Tours-Poitiers.
The fighting between the two sides broke out in late Sha'ban 114 AH / October 732 AD, and lasted for nine days until early Ramadan, without either side achieving a decisive victory.
On the tenth day, a tremendous battle took place, and both sides showed the utmost courage, fortitude and fortitude, until the Franks began to get tired and the signs of victory appeared for the Muslims. The Christians knew that the Islamic army had many spoils from its battles during its advance from Andalusia to Poitiers, and these spoils weighed on the backs of the Muslims, and it was the custom of the Arabs to carry their spoils with them, placing them behind their army with a garrison to protect them, The Christians understood this, and succeeded in striking the Muslims by focusing on this aspect, they occupied them from the back on the side of the garrison charged with guarding the spoils, and the Muslims did not understand the Christian planning, so some of their divisions turned to protect the spoils, thus disrupting the order of the Islamic army, one division turning to protect the spoils and another fighting the Christians from the front, the Muslim ranks were confused, and the gap through which the Franks penetrated widened.
Al-Ghafiqi tried to restore order, take control of the situation and restore the enthusiasm of his soldiers, but death did not help him after he was hit by a treacherous arrow that killed him and he fell as a martyr in the field, and the ranks of the Muslims were further disrupted and panic spread in the army. The Muslims were patient until nightfall, when they took advantage of the darkness of the night and withdrew to Septimania, leaving their burdens and most of their plunder as booty for the enemy.
When morning dawned, the Franks got up to continue fighting, but they did not find any of the Muslims, and found only the stillness of the place, so they cautiously advanced towards the tents, perhaps it was a deception, and found them empty except for the wounded who could not move; they slaughtered them immediately, and Charles Martel was satisfied with the retreat of the Muslims, and did not dare to chase them, and returned with his army to the north from whence he came.

Reasons for the defeat
Many factors contributed to this shameful outcome, including: -
1- The Muslims had travelled thousands of miles since their departure from Andalusia, and the continuous wars in France had exhausted them, and they were exhausted by marching and movement. Throughout this march, they did not receive support to revitalise the army and help it in its mission, as the distance between them and the centre of the Caliphate in Damascus was far from the centre of the Caliphate, so their march in France was closer to mythological stories than to historical events, and Cordoba, the capital of Andalusia could not help the army because many of the Arab conquerors were scattered in its surroundings.
2- Muslims are keen to protect the spoils, as Allah says in His Holy Book: "O people, the promise of Allah is true, so do not be deceived by the life of this world, and do not be deceived by the deceitfulness of Allah" [Al-Fatir: 5]. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said in the hadith narrated by Bukhari and Muslim from Amr bin Auf الأنصاري that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "By Allah, I fear not poverty for you, but I fear for you that the world will be extended to you as it was extended to those who were before you, and you will compete with it as they competed with it, and it will destroy you as it destroyed them." (The Holy Qur'an).
The Sunnah of Allah in His creation is that if the world is opened to Muslims and they compete for it as the previous nations competed for it, it will also destroy them as it destroyed these previous nations, as Allah said: "You will not find the Sunnah of Allah to change and you will not find the Sunnah of Allah to change" [Fater: 43].

Results of the battle
There has been much talk about this battle, and European historians have surrounded it with exaggerated attention, making it a decisive battle. The secret of their interest in it is not hidden; most of them consider it to be the salvation of Europe, as Edward Gibbon says in his book "The Decline of the Roman Empire" about this battle: "It saved our British fathers and our French neighbours: "It saved our British fathers and our French neighbours from the civil and religious yoke of the Koran, preserved the majesty of Rome, and strengthened Christianity."
Sir Edward Crazy says: "Charles Martel's great victory over the Arabs in 732 AD put a decisive end to the Arab conquests in Western Europe and saved Christianity from Islam."
Another group of moderate historians see this victory as a great calamity that befell Europe, depriving it of civilisation and civilisation, as Gustave Le Bon says in his well-known book The Civilisation of the Arabs, translated into Arabic by Adel Zaiter with precision and eloquence: "If the Arabs had conquered France, then Paris would have become like Cordoba in Spain, a centre of civilisation and science, where the man in the street wrote, read and sometimes even recited poetry, at a time when the kings of Europe did not know how to write their names."
After the Battle of Martyrs' Court, Muslims did not have another opportunity to penetrate into the heart of Europe, as they were afflicted with disunity and disputes, while the Christian forces were united and began what is known as the Reconquista movement and the seizure of the cities and bases in the hands of the Muslims in Andalusia.

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