The journey of a lifetime- The Hajj, an account by Ibn Jubayr

The Hajj, the pilgrimage to the holy places in and around Mecca, is commanded in the Qur’an ‘And the pilgrimage to the House is a duty unto Allah for mankind’ (3:97) and its rites were established by our prophet Muhamed, Peace be upon him, although the tradition predates Islam. It is one of the five pillars of Islam, incumbent on every Muslim adult man or woman, physically and financially able to perform it. 

The Hajj commemorates the stories of Abraham(Ibrahim), Hagar and Ishmael (Ismail). For many Muslims, one of the most meaningful aspects of the pilgrimage is the unifying effect of bringing together believers from all over the world to meet and worship in unison. This has remained a constant however travel facilities have changed drastically over time. One of the most famous accounts of the Hajj was recorded by Ibn Jubayr.

To name him in full, Abu al-Husayn Muhammad ibn Ahmad Ibn Jubayr al-Kinani served as secretary in the palace of Granada’s governor, Abu Said Osman, son of the first Almohad caliph, Abd al-Mu’min.

“For Muslims, pilgrimage rituals are something of the sublime,” Ibn Jubayr wrote, thus setting a religious context for all the places and monuments he saw during his nine-month stay in Makkah and along his roundabout travels there and back. 

In addition to his religious perspective, his two-year journey made a considerable impact on literary history. His account of his travels and tribulations in what is now known as the Middle-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.

Ibn Jubayr was 38 years old when he left Granada on February 15, 1183. He moved first to Ceuta in North Africa to embark for Alexandria aboard a Genoan boat. His first act upon reaching Cairo was to stand before tombs of the Prophet Muhammad’s followers. Next, he went up the Nile by boat to the town of Qus (near modern Qena), from where he mounted a camel to ride to the Red Sea port of ‘Aydhab, near the modern Egypt-Sudan border, and from there sailed across the Red Sea to Jiddah. In August he arrived at Makkah.

For his return journey, he joined a pilgrim caravan that stopped in Madinah. In circular, even backward fashion, he crossed the deserts of Hijaz and Najd in the direction of Baghdad, heading east and north. There, in the Abbasid capital, he praised “the natural goodness of its air and waters,” but he complained about the vanity of its people.

He returned through the fertile lands of Mesopotamia, through Mosul and west toward Syria, via Aleppo. The city of Damascus, where he remained two months, dazzled him: “Paradise of the Orient,” he called it. He then took the road to the Mediterranean port of Saint John d’Acre (‘Akka), still occupied by a Crusader army, intending next to travel into western lands.

But this leg turned dangerous. Unfavorable winds left him shipwrecked in the Strait of Messina in Sicily, fallen into Christian hands a century earlier. There he remained for nearly four months, living under the hospitality of the Arabic-speaking King William ii (known as “William the Good”), whom Ibn Jubayr came to admire for bringing non-Christians into his court. “He has much confidence in Muslims,” he wrote. 

When the winds again turned, he set out for home, and he disembarked back in Al-Andalus, at the port of Cartagena. He arrived at his house in Granada in April 1185. There, he set about to write down his story. 

For more details, please see

https://www.islamicity.org/55884/how-did-ibn-jubayr-do-hajj-in-1183-ce/

Since the dawn of Islam, the Hajj has set in motion a flood of travellers across the world’s continents, moving in a common Faith toward a unique goal.  However, as with fasting (sawn) during Ramadan, exceptions are made for those who are unable to undertake the journey to Mekka because of physical or financial limitations. May Allah, grant us all to perform the Hajj, at least once in our lifetime. Ameen. 

Wishing you all a blessed and safe Eid with family, friends and loved ones. 

Samaa Elibyari, is the Secretary of CCMW-Montreal Chapter. She acted as Chief Coordinator for Muslim Awareness Week 2021.