What did Ibn Battuta see in Sumatra and Java?
On the way to China Ibn Battuta stayed at the Muslim sultanate of Samudra in Sumatra and recorded the islands beyond.
4 passages from 1 book in the library
In the passages here, Ibn Battuta boarded a vessel from Bengal bound for Java, a forty-day journey, and after two months landed at Sumatra. He found Sultan al-Zahir returning from an expedition with many captives; the Sultan sent him two maidservants and two boys, hosted him according to custom, and he attended the wedding of the Sultan's son to his niece. The walls of Sumatra were built after a nephew fled to infidel Java with treasure and the girl he loved. He stayed fifteen days, then asked leave to sail when the season allowed.
Drawn from the classical sources below — in the scholars' own words.
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 1 book 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.
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"His uncle came to know of this and returned. The nephew gathered what wealth and treasures he could, took the girl he loved, and fled to the land of the infidels in Java. This prompted his uncle to have the walls constructed in Sumatra. I stayed in Sumatra for fifteen days and then requested permission to travel when the time was right, as travel to China was not possible at any time."
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"Two of my servants arrived from Kalkut and informed me that the maidservant who was pregnant and whose condition affected my mood had passed away. The ruler of Java took all the maidservants, and others took possession of the goods, dispersing my companions to China, Java, and Bengal. Upon learning this, I returned to Hanawar and then to Sindabur, reaching it at the end of Muharram, and stayed there until the second of Rabi al-Thani."
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"that turned us away from its path, so we did not see or discern its true form. Two months after that day, we arrived in Java and disembarked at Sumatra, where we found Sultan King Al-Zahir returning from an expedition with many captives. He sent me two maidservants and two boys and hosted me as per the custom. I attended the wedding of his son to his niece."
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"captured the poor man, Shida, when he sought refuge there. Upon our arrival, we found a vessel preparing for a journey to Java, a journey of forty days from Bengal to Java. We embarked, and after fifteen days, reached the lands of the Baranakar, whose mouths are like those of dogs, spelled with a fatha on the ba-ra-noon and kaf, and a sukoon on the ha."
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