Mālī
ماليDefinition
The great West African empire that Ibn Battuta visited on his final major journey, during the reign of Mansa Sulayman — successor to the legendary Mansa Musa whose Hajj pilgrimage of 1324 had distributed so much gold that it temporarily crashed the gold price in Egypt. Ibn Battuta's account of Mali provides the most detailed and reliable medieval description of this powerful Muslim state: its court ceremonies, gold wealth, the genuine commitment to Islamic practice of its population, the unusual social customs (including mixed gender interaction) that he found disconcerting, and the extraordinary hospitality of its people. His visit is an irreplaceable historical document of a civilisation that left almost no comparable contemporary record in any other source.
As understood in the classical tradition of Ibn Battuta and the scholars of his school.
How the scholars use Mālī.
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"If you are not from the Banu al-Nadr then leave for I see you with the tails of the green herbs Ibn Hisham noted that the sons of Mali Ibn Amr are attributed to Al-Salt Ibn al-Nadr Ibn Ishaq stated that Malik Ibn al-Nadr fathered Fahir Ibn Malik whose mother was Jandala bint al-Harith Ibn Mudhar al-Asqar Fahir fathered Ghalib, Muharib, al-Harith and Asad with their mother being Layla bint Sa'd Ibn Hudhayl Ibn Mudrikah Ibn Hisham added that their sister from their father was Jandala bint Fahir Ibn Ishaq continued that Ghalib Ibn Fahir fathered Luway Ibn Ghalib and Taim Ibn Ghalib known as the Banu al-Adram with their mother being Salma bint Amr al-Huzayr"
— Ibn Kathir, Volume 2 — From the Israelite Prophets to Pre-Islamic Arabia
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"salt from there. The load is sold in Awalaten for 10 to 8 gold dinars, and in the city of Mali for 30 to 20, sometimes reaching 40 gold dinars. The Sudanese barter with salt, just as they do with gold and silver. They cut it into pieces and trade with it. Despite its modest size, Taghaza witnesses transactions involving quintals of unrefined gold. We stayed there for 10 days in hardship due to the brackish water, and it is one of the most fly-infested places. From there, water is gathered for the desert beyond, a 10-day journey where water is scarce. At our time there, we found plentiful water in rain-filled pools. One"
— Ibn Battuta, Volume Two: From India to the Lands of the West
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"al-Din al-Arzanjani, who escorted me to the castle on a Friday where we performed the prayer and he hosted and honored me. I was also hosted by Shams al-Din ibn al-Rujahani, whose father ala al-Din passed away in Mali in Sudanese territories. Report of Alanya Saturday. Report of the Sultan of Alanya. On Saturday, Judge Jalal al-Din accompanied me and we set out to meet the king. Al-Alaya, whose chief is Yusuf Bey, meaning Bey the ruler, the son of Karaman, with the Qaf and Ra pronounced with a Fatha, resides ten miles from the city."
— Ibn Battuta, Volume One: From Tangier to the Lands of the East
Appears in
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