primary source: Ibn battuta
Background:
Ibn Battuta (IB in• BAH too TAH) was a Muslim who traveled all over the world during his
lifetime in the middle ages. He visited India, China, Spain, Egypt and Mali. He left behind
descriptions of all the places he visited, leaving historians a valuable look at life in the 1300s. A
dedicated Muslim, Ibn Battuta was at times both pleased and disappointed to find that Muslims
in other parts of the world did not follow the same Islamic customs he knew from his home in
North Africa. Primary Source C is a portion of Battuta’s description of Mali from when he visited
the kingdom
Ibn Battuta (IB in• BAH too TAH) was a Muslim who traveled all over the world during his
lifetime in the middle ages. He visited India, China, Spain, Egypt and Mali. He left behind
descriptions of all the places he visited, leaving historians a valuable look at life in the 1300s. A
dedicated Muslim, Ibn Battuta was at times both pleased and disappointed to find that Muslims
in other parts of the world did not follow the same Islamic customs he knew from his home in
North Africa. Primary Source C is a portion of Battuta’s description of Mali from when he visited
the kingdom
C: Among the admirable qualities of these people, the following are to be noted:
1. The small number of acts of injustice that one finds there; for the Negroes are of all peoples those who most abhor injustice, the sultan pardons no one who is guilty of it.
2. The complete and general safety one enjoys throughout the land. The traveler has no more reason than the man who stays at home to fear brigands, thieves, or ravishers ....
4. They make their prayers punctually [on time]; .. On Fridays, anyone who is late at the mosque will find nowhere to pray, the crowd is so great.
6. They zealously learn the Koran [Qu’ran] by heart. Those children who are neglectful in this are put in chains until they have memorized the Koran. On one festival day I visited the qadi [teacher] and saw children thus enchained and asked him: Will you not let them free?” He replied: “Only when they know the Koran by heart.”
Source: Davidson, Basil. The African Past: Chronicles from Antiquity to Modern Times. Penguin Books, Middlesex, England, 1964. pp. 90-91.
1. The small number of acts of injustice that one finds there; for the Negroes are of all peoples those who most abhor injustice, the sultan pardons no one who is guilty of it.
2. The complete and general safety one enjoys throughout the land. The traveler has no more reason than the man who stays at home to fear brigands, thieves, or ravishers ....
4. They make their prayers punctually [on time]; .. On Fridays, anyone who is late at the mosque will find nowhere to pray, the crowd is so great.
6. They zealously learn the Koran [Qu’ran] by heart. Those children who are neglectful in this are put in chains until they have memorized the Koran. On one festival day I visited the qadi [teacher] and saw children thus enchained and asked him: Will you not let them free?” He replied: “Only when they know the Koran by heart.”
Source: Davidson, Basil. The African Past: Chronicles from Antiquity to Modern Times. Penguin Books, Middlesex, England, 1964. pp. 90-91.