''Riḥla'' () refers to both a journey and the written account of that journey, or travelogue. It constitutes a genre of

Arabic literature Arabic literature ( / ALA-LC: ''al-Adab al-‘Arabī'') is the writing, both as prose and poetry, produced by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is ''Adab (Islam), Adab'', which comes from a meaning of etiquett ...

. Associated with the medieval Islamic notion of "travel in search of knowledge" (الرحلة في طلب العلم), the ''riḥla'' as a genre of medieval and early-modern Arabic literature usually describes a journey taken with the intent of performing the Hajj, but can include an itinerary that vastly exceeds that original route.Netton, I.R., “Riḥla”, in: ''Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition'', Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 12 July 2018 http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_6298 The classical ''riḥla'' in medieval Arabic

travel literature The genre of travel literature or travelogue encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs. History Early examples of travel literature include the '' Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' (generally considered a ...

, like those written by

Ibn Battuta Ibn Battuta (; 24 February 13041368/1369), was a Maghrebi traveller, explorer and scholar. Over a period of 30 years from 1325 to 1354, he visited much of Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Iberian Peninsula. Near the end of his life, Ibn ...

(known commonly as ''

The Rihla ''The Rihla'', formal title ''A Masterpiece to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities and the Marvels of Traveling'', is the travelogue written by Ibn Battuta, documenting his lifetime of travel and exploration, which according to his desc ...

'') and

Ibn Jubayr Ibn Jubayr (1 September 1145 – 29 November 1217; ), also written Ibn Jubair, Ibn Jobair, and Ibn Djubayr, was an Arab geographer, traveller and poet from al-Andalus. His travel chronicle describes the pilgrimage he made to Mecca from 1183 to 11 ...

, includes a description of the "personalities, places, governments, customs, and curiosities" experienced by the traveler, and usually within the boundaries of the Muslim world. However, the term rihla can be applied to other Arabic travel narratives describing journeys taken for reasons other than pilgrimage; for instance, the 19th–century ''riḥla''s of Muhammad as-Saffar and Rifa'a al-Tahtawi both follow conventions of the riḥla genre by recording not only the journey to France from Morocco and Egypt, respectively, but also their experiences and observations.

As travel

The ''Rihla'' travel practice originated in

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

and served to connect Muslims of Morocco to the collective consciousness of the ''

ummah ' (; ) is an Arabic word meaning Muslim identity, nation, religious community, or the concept of a Commonwealth of the Muslim Believers ( '). It is a synonym for ' (, lit. 'the Islamic nation'); it is commonly used to mean the collective com ...

'' across the Islamic world, thereby generating a larger sense of community. ''Rihla'' consists of three types: #''Rihla'' — journey within Morocco, typically to meet with other

pilgrim The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as ...

s before traveling beyond the local area. #''Rihla hijaziyya'' - journey to the ''

Hejaz Hejaz is a Historical region, historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes the majority of the western region of Saudi Arabia, covering the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif and Al Bahah, Al-B ...

'' which would be transmitted via an oral or written report. #''Rihla sifariyya'' — journey to foreign lands including to embassies and missions in territories in ''Dar al-Harb''. Events on these journeys would be the basis of the extant travel literature. The performance of ''Rihla'' was considered in

Moorish The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...

al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...

as a qualifier for teachers and political leaders. These journeys also coincided with the end of the Mongol invasions and a new opportunity for Islamic expansion.

As literature

The travel narratives of

and

are perceived as "archetypical exponents of the flowering of he ''riḥla''genre," but should not be perceived as its founders. Concerning Ibn Jubayr's voyage to Mecca in 1183, one writer claimed that "...his two-year journey made a considerable impact on literary history. His account of his travels and tribulations in the East served as the foundational work of a new genre of writing, the rihla, or the creative travelogue: a mix of personal narrative, description, opinion and anecdote. In following centuries, countless people emulated and even plagiarized him." Travel narratives were written prior to Ibn Jubayr's; for example, the 12th–century ''riḥla'' of Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi, and accounts of foreign lands visited by merchants and diplomats (such as the 9th century accounts of India and China by Abu Zayd al-Sirafi, and the 10th–century ''riḥla'' by Ibn Fadlan with the Abbasid mission to the Volga) long predate Ibn Jubayr's travelogue. The best-known ''rihla'' narrative is

's ''Masterpiece to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities and the Marvels of Travelling'' (, or ), often referred to as the ''Travels of Ibn Battuta'' (, or ). The ''Travels'' was dictated to

Ibn Juzayy Muhammad bin Ahmed bin Juzayy Al Gharnati (), better known as Ibn Juzayy () was an Al-Andalus, Andalusian Sunni Muslim scholar of Arab origin. He was a distinguished Maliki Faqih, jurist, Principles of Islamic jurisprudence, legal theoretician, T ...

on orders from the

Marinid The Marinid dynasty ( ) was a Berber Muslim dynasty that controlled present-day Morocco from the mid-13th to the 15th century and intermittently controlled other parts of North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia) and of the southern Iberian Peninsula ...

Sultan Abu Inan Faris, who was impressed by the story of Ibn Battuta. Although Ibn Battuta was an accomplished and well-documented explorer, his travels had been unknown outside the Islamic world for many years. The ''Rihla'' of Abdallah al-Tijani describes his 970-day round trip from

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

to Tripoli between 1306 and 1309..

References

External links

Ibn Battuta's ''Rihla'' (Arabic online text)

World Digital Library The World Digital Library (WDL) is an international digital library operated by UNESCO and the United States Library of Congress. The WDL has stated that its mission is to promote international and intercultural understanding, expand the volume ...

{{Islamic geography Hajj accounts Geographical works of the medieval Islamic world Travel books 14th-century books Arabic words and phrases Medieval Arabic literature Education in the medieval Islamic world

As travel

As literature

See also

References

Further reading

External links