Muhammad ibn Batutta

Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Batutta, the famous Muslim traveller, explorer and writer was born in Tangier, North Africa, in 1 394 A.C. He was the son of a poor man and his early life was not an easy one.

He attended a small school in the village of his birth and took deep interest in learning. He was particularly interested in other countries and the customs of different people and how they lived. But being the son of a poor man, ibn Batuta was obliged to work hard for his daily bread.

At the age of 21, he set out on his first journey on Hajj to Makkah. So thrilled was he by the experience that his heart flamed with ambition to travel to more distant countries.

Undertaking just a journey was an extremely difficult and dangerous task in those days when travellers often died of hunger or thirst, or were either killed or robbed by roving packs of bandits.

But in spite of such dangers and difficulties, ibn Batuta travelled far and wide. After performing his second Hajj, he set out on a journey of exploration in the vast expanse of the Arabian Desert. He discovered many places and things of interest.

From there he travelled to Iraq and Iran, and then set out on a journey to the East African Coast. He is believed to have travelled down the African coast to the mouth of the Zambezi River, visiting the various islands on the way including Zanzibar and Pemba.

On his next journey ibn Batuta travelled to Asia through Palestine and Syria and explored the Caucasus mountains. Crossing the Caspian Sea, ibn Batuta made the perilous journey across the mountainous regions of Turkistan and Afghanistan, until he reached India or Hindustan.

Sultan Muhammad Taghluq ruled over India at the time and ibn Batuta has written a very interesting book about life in the Sultan's Court and about the customs of the people of India.

The Sultan liked ibn Batuta so much that he offered him a position of great honour, but ibn Batuta refused the post and set out on a journey of exploration to South India and the island of Ceylon or Sri Lanka. He returned home to Morocco but he had no intention of spending a peaceful old age in safety and comfort.

He undertook the then extremely dangerous journey of exploring the great Sahara Desert and reached the southern coast of West Africa. Here he lived for sometime studying the lives of people belonging to various tribes living in the region. He made careful notes of their conditions, customs and beliefs.

Ibn Batutta wrote several books describing his adventures and the countries and people he saw on his journeys. These books supplied valuable information to people and increased the general knowledge of his time.

Ibn Batutta is famous in the history of Islam as a leading traveller, explorer and writer.

He died in 1377 A.C.