Battutas Memoir and their Importance to the Islamic Community - Essay Example

Travels of Ibn Battuta: Travels of Ibn Battuta Introduction Commonly known as Ibn Batutta, Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Batutta was born in Tangir, a small town located in what is believed to be the present day Morocco, in the year 1304 (Gosch & Stearns, 2007, pp. 120-122). During his early life, Ibn, having been brought up in an Islamic family, studied Sheria law, before setting up a trip to Mecca in the year 1325. By this time, Ibn was only twenty one years but he rose to the challenge of performing the Islamic obligatory act of visiting Mecca and making pilgrimage (Gosch & Stearns, 2007, pp. 121-123). It is also believed that religion was not the only reason as to why Ibn decided to leave his home place. He was also in search of a higher Islamic law institution, which was not found in Morocco during those days. This great Islamic traveler came back home after spending almost twenty four years travelling in search of knowledge, employment and pleasure. He is believed to have died in Morocco around the year 1369, though no one knows the location of his grave. The accounts of Ibn were recorded by a young scholar, commissioned by the sultan of Fez in Morocco (Gosch & Stearns, 2007, pp. 188-200). No one would have envisaged that the voyage taken by a young man almost nine hundred years ago would be of great importance to the Islamic community. Through the accounts of Ibn during his journey, Muslims are able to gather and learn many important things about Islam. However, the most outstanding themes are unity, diversification and civilization in relation to Islam, as presented directly or indirectly by Ibn in his narrative. This essay will therefore discuss these three aspects in relation to the Islamic religion, as described in the Ibn Batutta Memoir. Unity is one of the themes that are clearly revealed in the memoir. There are clear instances when the aspect of unity, together with its importance, is shown in the account. The first instance is when Ibn describes the fear and loneliness that engulfs him as he starts his journey (Battuta, 2010, pp. 151-153). This is due to the fear of caravans which usually attacked people from Tunisia and Morocco. During the early stages of his journey, Batutta had to find safety in a group of other Muslim traders and travelers. Together with this group, they first travelled to Tunis, before he continued with his journey to Mecca through Cairo. From this early experience alone, the theme of unity is brought to light. It is well described that when travelers were in groups, it was very rare for them to be attacked, due to the numbers. This reiterates the importance of unity in the life of Muslims. When people are united in doing something, chances are that they will succeed at it. The groups of travelers, as described by Ibn Batutta, were united in protecting each other (Battuta, 2010, pp. 151-154). They had a common intention of ensuring that the safety of each other was well guaranteed and ensured. The aspect of unity is among the important values in the Islamic religion. Unity is highly revered while disunity is highly detestable. When Ibn finally arrives in Cairo, he is warmly received by the dwellers of the city. In fact, he is made to feel as if he is in his home town. This goes an extra mile to prove just how united the Islam community was by then. It mattered not where one came from or what one was involved in. So long as one belonged to the Muslim community, it was paramount for them to show unity in all their doings. It is worth noting that Ibn was not on this journey to Mecca alone. He had his men together with whom he travelled. We are also told that he had some servants accompanying him too, especially on his journey to India. The role that unity played here was the aspect of encouragement and togetherness that it brought in the voyage, from Tunis to Cairo and from Cairo to India (Battuta, 2010, pp. 50-99). It is quite obvious that when something difficult is being done by a group of people, it appears easier than when it is done alone. This therefore means that the successful voyage of Ibn Batutta from and back home was highly attributed to the unity between him and his men. Another instance where we see unity playing a key role in co-existence is when Ibn gives us an account of his life in Delhi, India (Battuta, 2010, pp. 20-178). After being well received by the King in honour, Ibn goes ahead to give an account of how things operated at the King palace. It is said that the guards surrounded the King on both sides, and at the back were senior officials in the military. This is just but a portion of what Ibn describes. It can be seen that unity plays a key role at the palace, in ensuring that activities and operations are well coordinated. While the guards and the military work in unity to ensure the safety of the king and that of the palace, other servants work in unity to properly welcome and attend to the visitors, while the slaves work to ensure that domestic chores are well coordinated. It is therefore due to coordination that arises out of unity, that the king’s palace was maintained to reach such high standards as described by Ibn. Although he did not stay long in China, Ibn did not fail to mention the fact that whenever he saw fellow Muslims, he felt as if he was home. Why would he say this while the truth was that he had been away from home for several years? There can only be one conclusion for this. The Muslims in China lived like a unit; like a home. They were so united in their activities, to the effect that one could easily mistake them for being a one, big family (David, 2010, pp. 100-187). This is the reason why Ibn felt so attached to them. Considering that this is China, the Muslim population by then must have been very low. It is worth noting that most of the Chinese population has been known over the years for not being believers in any religion. And actually, this was the reason why Ibn was not comfortable in that environment, apart from when he was in the company of fellow Muslim. As much as a full description is not given by Ibn, one can only be left to imagine the kind of unity that existed within the small Muslim population in China, and how this unity helped them to protect and safeguard their identity as Muslims. There could be no other way to survive in an environment full of pagans (Dunn, 2005, pp. 258-321). The other theme in Batutta’s memoir is Diversification, in terms of the social structure. To begin with, the people’s culture was one in which they got involved in various activities. For instance, it can easily be seen that the people were involved in various economic activities such as trading and fishing. Just as described by Ibn, long-distance travelers used to move from one place to another in caravans for the purposes of trading (David, 2010, pp. 50-150). It is vividly described; the wealthy class by that time was made up of business men who had greatly invested in trade. It can never be fair to forget about civilization when reviewing Ibn’s memoir. This is what is commonly referred to as ancient civilization. As much as it was nothing compared to contemporary civilization, different communities had invented some activities that simplified their lives to some degree. For instance, there was formal education (Meri & Bacharach, 2006, pp. 352-355). This is where people could learn and be taught. The fact that Ibn studied Islamic law is brought to our attention, and this is even enriched by the hint that the thirst for further education was among the factors that incited Ibn, to leave his hometown and travelled to the land yonder. The art of writing that existed during those ancient times is the reason why we are able to know about Ibn’s voyage. As it is explained, the Sultan of Fez, Morocco instructed a young scholar to record the account of Batutta in writing, before his death in 1369. This therefore is an example of the early Islamic civilization. Another aspect of civilization in relation to Islam as a religion is seen when we are informed of the existence of Islamic courts during those very ancient times (Meri & Bacharach, 2006, pp. 352-354). This system was highly spread, as they seem to have been in every city that Ibn visited. In Africa, we are informed that there were Islamic courts in Morocco, Tunisisa and Egypt. Similar courts were also found in Arabia, India and Persia. It is worth noting that these courts were ruled by judges, who were experts in Islamic law. We are even told that at some point while in India and back in Morocco, Ibn served as a judge in such courts. The existence of such a complex and well structured judicial system proves that the society was civilized to a commendable level. Conclusion It is therefore clear that the Batutta’s memoir is of great importance to the Islamic community (Dunn, 2005, pp. 250-350). It works to emphasize the importance of unity among the Muslims, as well as the diversification and civilization of ancient Muslims. References Battuta, I. (2010). The Travels of Ibn Battuta. New York: Cosmo. David, W. (2010). The Odyssey of Ibn Battuta: Uncommon Tales of a Medieval Adventurer. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Dunn, R. a. (2005). The adventures of Ibn Battuta: A Muslim Traveller of the 14th Century. Oakland: University of California Press. Gosch, S., & Stearns, P. (2007). Premodern Travel in History. London: Routledge. Meri, J., & Bacharach, J. (2006). Medieval Islamic Civilization. London: Taylor and Francis Group. Read More