Ibn Jubayr's Travels and the Remarkable Endowments He Encountered

Ibn Jubayr (540–614 AH / 1145–1217 CE) was a renowned Andalusian traveller, geographer, and writer from Valencia, Al-Andalus (modern-day Spain). He is best known for his travelogue, Riḥlat Ibn Jubayr, which chronicles his pilgrimage to Mecca and extensive travels across the Muslim world, including Egypt, Iraq, the Levant, and Sicily. His detailed accounts offervaluable insights into the political, social, and cultural conditions of the12th century. He documented the governance of Salahuddin Ayyubi (Saladin) andthe state of Muslims under Christian rule in Sicily. His works later influencednotable travellers such as Ibn Battuta.

In his travelogue, Ibn Jubayrmeticulously documents numerous endowments he encountered, describing them inremarkable detail. Some of these endowments stand out for their uniqueness,offering readers a glimpse into the ingenuity with which Muslims of the pastallocated their wealth to achieve success in both this life and the hereafter.Below, I will share excerpts from Ibn Jubayr’s work highlighting some of themost fascinating endowments I came across¹.

Distributionof food

“One of the Sultan’s mostgenerous acts was the allotting of two loaves daily for each of the Moorish ibnāʾ al-sabīl [travellers], whatever their number; and forthe daily distribution he appointed a person he trusted. Every day two thousandloaves or more, according to the lesser or greater number (of beneficiaries),were regularly distributed. (To meet this) there was his own personal awqāf[charitable endowments], apart from what he allotted for the purposefrom the zakāt al-ʿain [zakāt on gold and silver]. He wasinsistent with those in charge of this that when the fixed sums wereinadequate, they should draw upon his private purse.”²

Qur’āns,books and candlesticks

Discussing his travels to the Ḥaram, Ibn Jubayrstates

“Besidethe dome of the Well of Zamzam and behind it stands the qubbat al-Sharāb[the dome of drinking], which was erected by ʿAbbās – may Godhold him in His favour. Beside this ʿAbbaside dome, obliquely to it, is the dome named after the Jews. Thesetwo domes are used as storerooms for pious endowments made to the blessedHouse, such as Qur’āns, books, candlesticks, and the like. The ʿAbbaside dome isstill called al-Sharābiyyah because it was a place of drinking for thepilgrims; and there, until to-day, the water of Zamzam is put therein to coolin earthenware jars and brought forth at eventide for the pilgrims to drink.”³

Endowments to give sustenance to scholars

“Thebaths in the city cannot be counted, but one of the town’s sheiks told us that,in the eastern and western parts together, there are about two thousand. Mostof them are faced with bitumen, so that the beholder might conceive them to beof black, polished marble; and almost all the baths of these parts are of thistype because of the large amount of bitumen they have. The question of thisbitumen is strange: it is brought from a well between Basra and al-Kufahfrom which God has caused to ooze the fluid that produces the bitumen. It comesover the sides of the spring like clay and is scooped up and, after congealing,carried away. Glory to God who creates what He wishes. There is no God but He.The (ordinary) masjids in both the eastern and the western parts cannot beestimated, much less counted. The colleges are about thirty, and all in theeastern part; and there is not one of them that does not outdo the finestpalace. The greatest and most famous of them is the Nizamiyyah, whichwas built by Nizam al-Mulk and restored in [A.H.] 504. These collegeshave large endowments and tied properties that give sustenance to the faqihs(jurists) who teach in them, and are dispensed on the scholars. A greathonour and an everlasting glory to the land are these colleges and hospitals.God’s mercy on him who first erected them, and on those who followed in thatpious path.”⁴

Stipends for orphans and unique endowments

Describingthe virtues of the Great Masjid in Damascus, Ibn Jubayr writes

“Inthis venerated masjid, after the morning prayers, there daily assembles a greatcongregation for the reading of one of the seven sections of the Qur’ān. Thisis unfailing, and it is the same after the evening prayers for the reading ofwhat is called the Kawthariyah [The Abundance of God], when they read from thesurah al-Kawthar [Qur’ān 103] until the end of the book. To this assembly ofthe Kawthar come all who do not well know the Qur’ān by heart; and all suchparticipants receive a daily allowance, more than five hundred persons beingable to live from it. This is one of the virtues of this venerated masjid, inwhich from morning till evening the Qur’ān is read unceasingly. In it lecturesare delivered to students, and the teachers receive a liberal stipend. TheMalikites have a zawiyah for study in the west side, and there the studentsfrom the Maghrib, who receive a fixed allowance, assemble. The conveniences ofthis venerated masjid for strangers and students are indeed many and wide.

The strangest thing to tell of this masjid concerns the column whichstands between the old and the new maqṣūrahs. It has a fixed waqf [endowment]for the benefit of those who lean against it in meditation or study. Wesaw beside it a jurisprudent from Seville, called al-Murādī. In the morning, atthe end of the assembly for the reading of a seventh section of the Qur’ān,each man leans against a column, while in front of him sits a boy who instructshim in the Qur’ān. The boys also have a fixed allowance for their reciting, butthose of their fathers who are affluent prohibit their sons from accepting it,although the remainder do so. This is one of the virtues of Islam.

For orphan boys, there is in the town a large school with a generousendowment from which the teachers draw enough to sustain themselves, anddisbursements are made from it to support and clothe the children.This also is one of the uncommon things to tell of the virtues of these lands.The instruction of boys in the Qur’ān in all these eastern lands consists onlyof making them commit to memory; writing they learn through the medium ofpoetry and other things. The Book of Great and Glorious God is thus keptundefiled from the markings and rubbings out of the boys’ efforts.”⁵

‍

Endowments to support public places and services  

“Toall these venerated places (mashhad)⁶ are attached endowments consisting of gardens, arable lands, and houses,to the extent that all that is in the country is almost wholly comprised ofthese pious bequests. For every masjid, school, or convent newly erected, theSultan will assign to it a religious endowment that will support it andthose that dwell therein as well as its officials. These also are among thegenerous deeds that are enduring. Amongst the princesses who possess the means,some order the building of a masjid, or an asylum for the poor, or a school,spending on them large sums, and assigning to them endowments from theirproperties; and there are Emirs who do the same. In this blessed path theyreveal a readiness to do good that will be rewarded by Great and Glorious God.”⁷

‍

Endowment as a means of job creation

“Tothis hill are attached many pious endowments, compromising gardens, arablelands, and houses (whose revenues) are assigned to their various uses. Some areallotted under the heading of expenses for the subsistence of visitors who staythere, some for clothing under the heading of covering for the night, and some forfood. There are allocations to cover all needs, including those of the residentguardian as imam and the mu’adhdhin charged with the service of the place, whodraw a fixed monthly stipend from this source. It is a great institution. Thepresent guardian is one of the marabits [marabouts or monks] from Massuf andone of their chief men, called Abu ’l-Rabi‘ Sulayman ibn Ibrahim ibn Malik, whohas standing with the Sultan and the leading personages of the realm. Hereceives five dinars monthly, exclusive of the revenue of the hill. Kindness isimpressed on his features and stamped on him. He is an incumbent of one ofthose benefices that provide Maghrib strangers lonely in these lands with meansof support, such as an inmate in a masjid, lodgement in a school with expensespaid, an appointment to a zāwiyah in a jāmi’ masjid and gaining a livelihoodthere, assisting in the sectional reading of the seven parts of the Qur’ān, orthe curatorship of a blessed shrine and receiving a benefice from itsendowments, and such-like ways of living of the same blessed pattern as wouldtake long to describe; and the needy stranger, so long as he has come forrighteous purposes, will be cared for without being given cause to blush.

Theother strangers who are not in this state and who have a trade or craft, arealso found divers means of livelihood, such as being a watchman in a garden,supervisor of a bath, or keeper of the clothes of the bathers, manager of amill, custodian of boys, conducting them to school and returning them to theirhomes, and many other occupations. In all this they trust only strangers fromthe Maghrib, for their fame for honesty is high and their repute has spread.The people of the town do not trust their own fellow citizens. This is one ofthe gifts of God Most High to strangers. Praise and thanks be to Him for whathe has granted His servants”.⁸

‍

‍

The ruler taking places of evil to make into a pious endowment

“Oneof their most splendid convents is a place called al-Qasr, an enormousstructure rising alone into the skies. In its upper storey are apartments thanwhich I have never seen more beautiful for their lofty site. It is half a miledistant from the city, and has an extensive garden connected with it. It hadonce been the pleasure-lodge of a Turkish king. The story goes that he was onenight taking his ease in it when some Sufis passed by, and some of the winewhich the Turks were accustomed to drink in the castle was poured out for them.They raised the matter to Nur al-Din, who immediately demanded it from itsowner as a gift and then gave it in perpetual endowment to the Sufis.Wonder lasted long at bounty like this, which remained an enduring monument tothe merits of Nur al-Din – may God’s mercy rest upon his soul.”[9]

Endowments of baths, shops, mills etc.

“Thevirtues of this pious man were great, and he was indeed among the ascetickings. He died in the month of Shawwal in the year 569 [15th of May, 1174].After him came Saladin to power, and the virtues of his way are known. Hisstate among kings is great, and a lasting monument to his honour is his raisingof the customs tax on the Hejaz road, giving a grant in compensation to itsruler. For long times this accursed tax had lasted before God annulled it atthe hand of this just Sultan—may God prosper him. Amongst the merits of Nural-Din—may God’s mercy rest upon his soul—was his assigning to the strangersfrom the Maghrib who were employed in the Maliki zāwiyah of the blessed jāmi’masjid many pious endowments including two mills, seven gardens, arablelands, a bath, and two shops in the perfumers’ market. I was told by one ofthe Maghrabis who supervised this, one Abū ’l-Ḥasan ‘Alī ibnSardal al-Jayyāni [from Jaen in Spain], known as al-Aswad [the Black], thatif properly controlled these endowments yield five hundred dinars a year.Nur al-Din—may God’s mercy rest upon his soul—showed much favour towards thesepeople. May God reward him for the good he did. For the readers of the Book ofGreat and Glorious God he prepared an endowed house in which they might live.”[10]

IbnJubayr vividly recounts the many endowments he encountered during his travelsacross the Muslim world, highlighting their profound impact on society. Hisobservations emphasize two key points:

1. Endowments     were a cornerstone of Muslim life, shaping and supporting various aspects     of daily existence, from education and healthcare to social welfare and     religious institutions.
2. The     remarkable creativity and ingenuity behind these endowments should serve     as an inspiration for Muslims today to explore new and innovative ways to     establish and utilize them for the benefit of their communities.

‍