Persecuted Muslims composed religious summaries hoping for Islam’s restoration in Spain.

Evidence

At this point some of these honored scholars, who had noted how much our religion had fallen into neglect, asked me to set to work, while I was waiting to depart, and to revise a substantial part of the commentaries on our honored Koran, as briefly and compendiously as possible. I accepted the task of drawing up this Tafsira, so as to fulfill my obligation as a Muslim, at the request of these honored scholars. May it please God that it be acceptable to all, at least until such time as I can put together a more complete Tafsira, after this land has been freed (con libertad dexta tierra). Let no Muslim lose his faith, for Allah created us out of even less, and we are His. Let us hope for His divine mercy, which is even greater than all created things put together, for if, as a result of our sins, we are suffering now, a time will come when, out of his ineffable love, He will grant us the favor of burying (cavernar) the state of the unbelievers, and of restoring the throne of Islam, to the benefit of the Muslims of this peninsula. — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 851

Categorization

• STORYSTEM: A scribe compressing sacred commentary under persecution while awaiting liberation is a strong frame for a historical novel about intellectual fidelity under oppression.