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1489 Leo is born in Granada as Hassan al-Wazzan 1494 Leo/Hassan leaves Granada in exile to settle in Fez 1504 Leo/Hassan begins his travels with his uncle, a diplomat for the Sultan of…

With the Faqih Muhammad b. ‘Isa as his source, al-Razi stated that when the Muslims conquered al-Andalus, they followed the examples of Abu ‘Ubayda and Khalid (may God be pleased with them), according to the instruction of the Commander…

On Prayer To determine the direction of the qibla, is it necessary to make use of an azimuth? Or is it sufficient that one does not deviate from the southeast quarter of the compass? Response: The question is actively disputed among the…

The hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca, during Dhu’l Hijjah, the twelfth lunar month in the Islamic calendar, takes place at locations in and around Mecca, including the circumambulation of the Kaaba, the running between Safa and Marwa hills, and…

Khulays has a spring of abundant waters to which are joined underground conduits whence water is drawn... At these men renew their supplies of water, for there is little of it upon the way on account of the continuous drought. May God send rains in…

The Cairo Genizah, mostly discovered late in the nineteenth century but still resurfacing in our own day, is a collection of over 200,000 fragmentary Jewish texts (which may well equal three times that number of folios). Many of these were stored in…

Of the region of Sous. Now comes the region of Sus to be considered of, being situated beyond [the] Atlas, over against the territorie of Hea, that is to say, in the extreme part of Africa. Westward it beginneth from the Ocean sea, and southward from…

In 1550, a remarkable book about Africa, La Descrittione dell’Africa, came off the Giunta press in Venice, as the first volume of Giovanni Battista Ramusio’s celebrated series of Voyages. It had been written by an African, Ramusio assured…

In 914 (1508-09), I had constructed a charbagh garden called the Bagh i-Wafa on a rise to the south of the Adinapur fortress. [A charbagh garden is a rectangular garden divided into four parts by paths or waterways.] It overlooks the river, which…

This noble dome, this magnificent college, and blessed hospital was ordered by our Lord and Master, the August Sultan al-Malik al-Mansur, the Wise, Just, God-assisted, Victorious, Champion of the Faith, Conqueror, Sword of the World and True…

The Chinese pottery (porcelain) is manufactured only in the towns of Zaytun and Sin-kalan. It is made of the soil of some mountains in that district, which takes fire like charcoal, as we shall relate subsequently. They mix this with some stones…

I am writing to you, my lord and master—may God prolong your life and grant you permanent well-being and happiness—to inform you that I arrived on Friday, after an eight days’ journey, and unloaded my cargo on Sunday, the day I am…

He began dictation of this book, Kitab al-yaqut (The Book of the Gem) on Thursday, 29 Muharram in the year 326 (December 6, 937) in the principal mosque of Abu Ja’far’s city (Baghdad), from memory, without any books or notes, and he…

The foolish will now ask and say: “What has made the faithful turn away from the Qiblah towards which they used to pray?” Say: “To God belong the East and the West. He guides who so wills to the path that is…

Announce to those who believe and have done good deeds, glad tidings of gardens under which rivers flow, and where, when they eat the fruits that grow they will say, “Indeed they are the same as we were given before,” so alike in…

"Truth is sought for itself"—but "the truths...are immersed in uncertainties [and] not immune from error...Therefore, the seeker after the truth is not one who studies the writings of the ancients and, following his natural disposition, puts his…

In the first place we render thanks to Allah, for the very excellence of the order of His creation, and the abundance of His benefits. His blessings and the abundance of His mercies are upon all the prophets. In the next place, I may say that it is…

Muslim life in America is summarized in a U.S. State Department booklet. The booklet was published by the State Department and the Bureau of International Information Programs (a State Department agency) in 2009. It includes profiles of American…

1517 Egypt incorporated into the Turkish Ottoman Empire. 1798 Napoleon Bonaparte's forces invade Egypt. British and Turkish forces defeat the French in 1801 and restore Ottoman rule of…

1909 Abdul Hamid, the last of the Ottoman sultans, is deposed. 1914-1918 Turkey allies with Germany in World War I, and former Ottoman provinces are divided as mandates among the victorious…

711 North African commander Tariq ibn Ziyad leads Umayyad forces across the Strait of Gibraltar into Spain. Muslim forces defeat the Visigoth army, marking the beginning of Muslim rule in Iberia. 750 - 755 Umayyad prince…

A Many-Shaped Water Fountain: Construction of a fountain from which the water shoots up at one time like the shape of a lily-of-the-valley and at one time like a lance. It is worked by the wind as long as it blows, and we can also make it work and…

10th century,Baghdad, Iraq Ibn al Nadim (ca. 932-990) in the Fihrist, or Catalogue of Books, mentions a book of Persian stories entitled Hazār Afsān, a tale of 200 stories in which Sheherezade tells a thousand nights of stories to…

Al-Jahiz, “The Disadvantages of Parchment” What is it to you that all my books are written on China paper or Khurasan paper? Explain why you have pressed on me the advantages of using parchment and urged me to write on hide, when you…

Ísá ibn Hishám related to us and said: “I turned aside with a few of my friends to the front of a tent to ask hospitality from its occupants, and there came out to us a portly little man and asked: 'Who are you?' We…

Goha Gives Thanks to Allah Goha once lost his donkey. He couldn’t find it anywhere. As he went around the town searching for it, he kept on saying, “Thanks be to Allah! Thanks be to Allah!” People were surprised to find him giving…

I saw the Rusiya when they came hither on their trading voyages and had encamped by the river Itil. I have never seen people with a more developed bodily stature than they. They are as tall as date palms, blond and ruddy, so that they do not need to…

“The Crane and the Crab” A crane once dwelt upon a pleasant lake placed among little hills spread over with herbs and flowers. He lived upon such fish as he could catch, and for many years got plenty. But at length, becoming old and…

1911-1912 Italy seizes Libya from the Ottoman Empire. Sanussi leader Omar al-Mukhtar begins insurgency against Italian rule. 1931 Italians mount military response, imprison rebels in concentration camps, and execute…

1904 – 1906 France and Spain carve out zones of influence. France and Spain control Moroccan ports and collect customs duty. 1912 With the Sultan as a figurehead, Morocco becomes a French protectorate administered by…