What did Ibn Battuta see in Medina?
Ibn Battuta describes the Prophet's mosque and city as a pilgrim who returned to it again and again over thirty years.
5 passages from 2 books in the library
In Medina Ibn Battuta records the Prophet's Mosque and the men who served it: when he entered, its imam was Bahauddin bin Salama, one of the prominent men of Egypt, deputized by the pious ascetic scholar Izz al-Din al-Wasiti. He describes Baqi al-Gharqad, the cemetery east of the city entered through the Baqi Gate, where the first grave on the left is that of Safiyya bint Abd al-Muttalib, the Prophet's aunt and the mother of al-Zubayr ibn al-Awam. The passages here also name the city's emir, Mansur ibn Jamaz.
Drawn from the classical sources below — in the scholars' own words.
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 2 books by Ibn Battuta — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.
14th century · Tangier, Morocco
The Riḥlah — a 30-year, 75,000-mile journey across three continents, and the most important travel account of the pre-modern world.
More on Ibn Battuta →
· Provenance →
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"His brother Tufayl ibn Mansur. whom we mentioned earlier as having banished Abu al-Abbas al-Fasih, succeeded him. Some of the revered sites outside Medina, Baqi al-Gharqad, is located to the east of Medina and is accessed through a gate known as Baqi Gate. The first grave on the left upon exiting the gate is that of Safiyya bint Abd al-Muttalib, may God be pleased with them, the aunt of the messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, and the mother of al-Zubayr ibn al-Awam, may God be pleased with him."
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"Seeing this, Muawiyah left it and added six steps to the bottom, making a total of nine steps. The Imam and Preacher of the Prophet's Mosque When I entered Medina, the Imam of the noble mosque was Bahauddin bin Salama, one of the prominent figures of Egypt. He was deputized by the pious and ascetic scholar, Bugia al-Mashayikh Izz al-Din al-Wasiti, may Allah benefit from him."
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"who is now in India as a close companion of its king. Among them was Abu Gura ibn Salim ibn Mahna ibn Jamaz ibn Shihal Hussaini al-Madani. Initially devoted to worship and learning in the noble city of Medina, under the patronage of his cousin Mansur ibn Jamaz, the city's emir, Abu Gura later left Medina for Iraq, settling in al-Hila."
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"told me that Sheikh Khalifa saw the messenger of God, peace be upon him, in a dream. He said, O Khalifa, visit us. So he journeyed to the noble city of Medina, entered the esteemed mosque through Bab al-Salam, greeted the mosque, and saluted the messenger of God, peace be upon him. He sat leaning against one of the pillars of the mosque with his head on his knees, which the Sufis call the companionable position. When he lifted his head, he found four loaves, a bowl of milk, and a dish of dates. He and his companions ate, then he returned to Alexandria without performing hajj that year. Among them too"
14th century · Tangier, Morocco
The Riḥlah — a 30-year, 75,000-mile journey across three continents, and the most important travel account of the pre-modern world.
More on Ibn Battuta →
· Provenance →
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"In this mosque, I met a virtuous jurist from Mogadishu named Saeed, who was of good demeanor and manner and continuously observed fasting. He recounted to me his 14-year stay in Mecca and another 14 in Medina. He met the emir of Mecca Abu Numai and the emir of Medina Mansur ibn Jamaz and traveled through India and China."
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Every stop of the thirty-year journey, on one map — with the passage from the Riḥla for each: Ibn Baṭṭūṭa's route, mapped →