Gharīb
غريبDefinition
Stranger or exile — a word that captures Ibn Battuta's fundamental condition throughout much of the Rihla. Despite the hospitality of Dar al-Islam and the professional credentials that opened doors from Morocco to China, he frequently found himself isolated, robbed, shipwrecked, or caught in political danger far from any familiar face. The concept of the gharib carries deep resonance in Islamic tradition — the Prophet described Islam as having begun as something strange and predicted it would return to that state, calling those who remain steadfast 'blessed are the strangers.' Ibn Battuta's life as perpetual gharib makes him an embodiment of this prophetic vision: the believer who finds himself at home everywhere in Dar al-Islam yet fully at home nowhere, always moving, always seeking, always a stranger on his way to something new.
As understood in the classical tradition of Ibn Battuta and the scholars of his school.
How the scholars use Gharīb.
-
"These strangers are the ones the Prophet, peace be upon him, referred to when he said: "الإِسْلَام began as something strange and will return to being strange as it began, so blessed are the strangers." When asked who the strangers are, he replied: "Those who rectify when people become corrupt." إِمَام أَحْمَد narrated that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Blessed are the strangers." When asked who they are, he replied: "Those who increase when people decrease.""
— Ibn al-Qayyim, Volume Three
-
"peace be upon him, said: "الإِسْلَام began as something strange and will return to being strange as it began, so blessed are the strangers." When asked who the strangers are, he said: "Those who withdraw from the tribes." In a حَدِيث from عَبْدُ اللّٰه بْن عَمْر, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Blessed are the strangers." When asked who they are, he replied: "Righteous people among many evil people, those who disobey them are more than those who obey them.""
— Ibn al-Qayyim, Volume Three
-
"be in paradise like this. This was recorded by al-Karaiti in Maqaram al-Akhlaq with a weak chain. al-Tirmidhi also narrated it with the wording, whoever takes care of two girls, and declared it Hasan Gharib. Another Hadith from Anas says, whoever goes to a marketplace among Muslims and buys something, then brings it to his home and prioritizes the females over the males, Allah will look upon him and whomever Allah looks upon, he will not punish. This was reported by al-Karaiti with a weak chain. Anas also narrated, whoever brings a gift from the market to his family, it is as if he has given them charity. This was"
— Imam al-Ghazali, Book 12: Book of Marriage
Appears in
1 book in the library
Hear the term in context.
Every book above uses Gharīb the way the classical scholars meant it. Listen with the full Study Kit in the app.