Ahmed bin Majid

Introduction:

The period of Ahmad bin Majid’s appearance in the city of Julfar is an important period in the history of the region. He played an important role in the advancement of navigation, the profusion of inventions and maritime machinery. Arab navigation that relied on the literature, maps, letters, and measurements of Bin Majid in navigating the seas and oceans has flourished. It became a standalone science.

His manuscripts and treatises, in which he summarized his extensive knowledge of astronomy for long-distance voyages across the seas and oceans, helped describe the precise locations and places he reached. His name is also associated with circumnavigating Africa via the western route in the Sea of Darkness (i.e., the Atlantic Ocean), as well as reaching the Island of the Moon (i.e., Madagascar), three centuries before the Portuguese. Additionally, he made geographical discoveries that preceded the European knowledge of the Indian Ocean from one end to the other. He introduced new theories that changed the perspective of ancient geographers about this ocean, explaining its seasonal and local winds, tides, islands in the Arabian Gulf, the Red Sea, and the Arabian Sea.

He also coined Arabic terms in various sciences and arts which were essential for navigation. ( ◇ )Quoted from: Dr. Abdullah Al-Tabour, Ahmed bin Majid. History and Epics, Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing in the Government of Dubai, first edition 2002 AD, p. (7) The Upbringing of Ahmed bin Majid.” Ahmed bin Majid grew up in Julfar and spent his childhood there. Many scholars and historians have indicated that bin Majid is the son of that historical city, and the name of the city of Julfar is echoed in one of his poems, “Julfar, a city of the Black Seas.” In another situation, he says, “Julfar is the homeland of the sea lions of the countries.” Based on this, researchers believe that he was born and raised in Julfar, where he grew up in its conducive environment, acquired his knowledge, and gained experience from his father. His father played a significant role in honing his talent and training him in the maritime arts. His father wrote a long poem called “Al-Hijaziyya,” which consisted of over a thousand verses about navigation in the Red Sea. Ahmed bin Majid himself acknowledged the value of this poem in protecting him from the dangers of the Red Sea and guiding him on safe maritime routes. He also learned from the knowledge of the captains of his time.

Furthermore, his grandfather was a skilled teacher and captain. Although bin Majid did not specify the exact location of his birth or upbringing, most opinions concur that he was a Julfari by birth and affiliation, as confirmed by Ali bin al-Hussein, a Turkish prince appointed by the Ottoman Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent in 1554 AD. Ali bin al-Hussein had a strong interest in marine sciences and had acquired works by Ahmed bin Majid, giving him the title of “Master of the Indian Ocean.” This was also confirmed by the French orientalist Gabriel Fran, who inferred this from the document of the Turkish Admiral of the Sea and the Portuguese sources, such as Barros, Albuquerque, and the Damão Annals supported this claim.

Gabriel Fran provided a detailed description of Julfar by analyzing some verses of Ahmed bin Majid, where he said: ( ◇ ) Ibrahim Khoury, Ahmed bin Majid (His Life, His Writings, the Impossibility of his Meeting with Vasco da Gama), Center for Studies and Documents, Ras Al Khaimah, third edition, 2011 AD, p. (31) May God protect Julfar and those who were raised in it ******* May He provide its land with continuous prosperity ( ◇ ) ( ◇ )Dr. Abdullah Ali Al-Tabour, Julfar Through History, Dubai, second edition, 2003 AD, p. (221) Similarly, in Chapter 11, verse 85 of his book (The Compendium of Abbreviations in the Fundamentals of Oceanography”), in which he said: It was completed in the month of Hajj in Julfar ******* the homeland of the sea lions of the countries. ( ◇ ) Ahmed bin Majid (His Life, His Writings, the Impossibility of his Meeting with Vasco da Gama), Center for Studies and Documents, Ras Al Khaimah, third edition, 2011 AD, p. (30).

The people of Ras Al Khaimah reported that bin Majid’s house is now buried under a mound of sand in the neighborhood where Bani Zaraf used to reside. The Zarafis, or Bani Zaraf, are the original inhabitants of Julfar. Many narrators and some researchers have mentioned that they used to live in that city. This house collapsed under the dirt and the sand piles were not removed, so it has become a sand hill referred to as “Bayt al-Najdi.”

It is located in the Ghab area amidst palm groves on the road leading to Shamal, specifically west of the Shamal region in the north of Al-Hudaybah. However, this statement does not align with what Abdullah bin Saleh Al-Matwa said in his manuscript titled “The Contracts of Al-Juman in the Days of Al Saud in Oman.” He mentioned that this small palace located in the village of “Al-Ghub” was owned by Al Sultan bin Thani, whose origins trace back to Najd. They served as governors in the area on behalf of Al Saud, and this palace is known as the “Najdi Palace.” ( ◇ )

Quoted from: Dr. Abdullah Ali Al-Tabour, Julfar Through History, Dubai, second edition, 2003 AD, pp. (219-220) Al-Najdi Palace, The Ruins of Ahmed bin Majid’s House

Date of birth, his life and death:

As for his date of birth, most sources do not specify a particular date but instead indicate that he was born in the second half of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century, based on some references from his navigational poems. Regarding his date of birth, it can be concluded that he reached the level of a skilled navigator and the captain of his boat in the year 845 AH (1441 AD). This is evident in his golden poem composed in the year 895 AH (1489 AD), in which the ninth verse states the following: Dr. Abdullah Ali Al-Tabour, Julfar Through History, Dubai, second edition, 2003 AD, p. (221). And he spent fifty Hajj seasons tending to them ******* seeking life in the wilderness. This poetic verse suggests that he began observing the stars and measuring them fifty years ago, which corresponds to the year 845 AH (895 – 50 = 845 AH).

Furthermore, he possessed the ability to distinguish between various stars, their rising and setting positions, their appearances, and their durations. At that time, he had mastered the use of instruments for measuring celestial objects and had become proficient in celestial navigation, ultimately becoming a skilled and experienced teacher in this field. He also emphasized this in the summary of his book Al-Fawa’id (Book of Benefits), when he said, “I did not compile this book until fifty years had passed, and I did not leave the owner of the dwellings alone except to be in his place or someone to act on my behalf.”

With this assumption, it can be inferred that if bin Majid started his seafaring journey at the age of fifteen or slightly younger and was provided with the strength of perception, discernment and understanding of the conditions of the sea, the affairs of navigational astronomy and it took him five years or so to be trained to reach the level of experience of a skilled teacher, we can estimate his birth year by subtracting 20 years from 845 AH. This would mean that he was born around 825 AH which is roughly corresponds to 1421 AD. This is consistent with what was stated in the two poems “Tax Taxation” and ” Partition of the Constellation among Ursa Major,” which he composed in the year 900 AH. In these poems, he indicated that he had become elderly, with no black in his hair, and that he had reached “the end of his life.” He also expressed his preference to meet his fate before completing these poems. From this, it can be inferred that he was well beyond sixty years old at that time. If the estimated birth year is accurate, he would have been around 75 years old.

In the year 906 AH, he composed a short pentagonal poem in which he stressed the importance of acting wisely at sea. In this poem he didn’t introduce any new information that hadn’t been mentioned previously, both in general and in detail. At that time, he had reached the age of eighty-one. Afterward, all news about him completely ceased, and it is believed that he passed away in the same year. His Name and Lineage: In reading his poetry, Ahmed bin Majid indicated his lineage to Bani Saad, saying in the verse No. 109 of Chapter 11 of his book: “The Compendium of Abbreviations in the Fundamentals of Oceanography”: Ahmed bin Majid Al-Shehab ******* Al-Arabi Al-Maqali Al-Shehab ( ◇ ) ( ◇ ) Ahmed bin Majid (His Life, His Writings, the Impossibility of his Meeting with Vasco da Gama), Center for Studies and Documents, Ras Al Khaimah, third edition, 2011 AD, p. (27) Al-Maqali is a reference to Al-Maqal, which is Al-Maqali bin Sinan bin Ghatfan. Ghatfan is the son of Saad bin Qais Aylan. Qais Aylan is the father of a tribe from Mudar, and his name is Anas bin Mudar bin Nazar.

In the Arab genealogy, there is no one else named Aylan, as he confirmed in verse 691 of his Sofali Epic and in his other poems such as “Adh-Dhahabiyya” (The Golden Poem) and “Al-Makkiyya.” (The Makkan Poem). ( ◇ ) Dr. Abdullah Ali Al-Tabour, Julfar Through History, Dubai, second edition, 2003 AD, p. (222) ( ◇ ) Ibrahim Khoury, Ahmed bin Majid (His Life, His Writings, the Impossibility of his Meeting with Vasco da Gama), Center for Studies and Documents, Ras Al Khaimah, third edition, 2011 AD, p. (28) bin Majid also indicated that he belongs to the Amer tribe traced to Maad and back to Adnan in his poem “The Makkan,” in verse number 22. Amer is Amer bin Sa’sa’a bin Mu’awiya bin Bakr bin Hawazin bin Mansur bin Ikrima bin Hafsah bin Qais Aylan. This means his lineage is connected to Amer, just as it is connected to Saad bin Qais Aylan but through a different ancestor. In the same poem, in verse 16, he indicated his lineage to Madar, who is the ancestor of bin Hilal bin Amer bin Sa’sa’a. Here, there is no difference between this new lineage and to what was previously mentioned, except for the choice of the ancestor.

Therefore, a concise formulation of the lineage of Ahmad bin Majid, it can be inferred as follows: Ahmad bin Majid bin Madar bin Hilal bin Sa’sa’a bin Amer bin Hawazin bin Mansur bin Ikrima bin Hafsah bin Qais Aylan, known as “Annas” bin Mudar bin Nazar bin Madar bin Adnan. This indicates that he belongs to the Adnanite tribes residing in Tihama, Najd, and Hijaz, generally. Some of these tribes, such as the Hawazin, originate from Yemen. Likewise, Qais Aylan and its subtribes, like Afkhaz, are part of this lineage. Consequently, Bin Majid’s origin is Yemeni based on his tribal lineage. His statements support this conclusion when he referred to the territorial affiliation of his ancestors, who were from the city of Sa’dah (i.e., in Najd, Yemen). His family migrated to Julfar in the 6th century of the Hijri calendar, which approximately corresponds to the 12th century AD, as Arab tribes were often moving from place to place in search of a better life during that time. Among those migrating tribes was the family of Ahmad bin Majid, and they settled in Julfar, which was a flourishing port in its time, known as the pearl of trading and seafaring ( ◇ ). ( ◇ ) Ibrahim Khoury, Ahmed bin Majid (His Life, His Writings, the Impossibility of his Meeting with Vasco da Gama), Center for Studies and Documents, Ras Al Khaimah, third edition, 2011 AD, pp. (28-29) D. Abdullah Ali Al-Tabour, Julfar Through History, Dubai, second edition, 2003 AD, p. (222) Ahmed bin Majid has been given several titles, some of which he liked to use, including “Lion of the Sea,” “Pilgrim of the Two Holy Mosques,” and sometimes “Comet of Faith.” These titles place him in a high position due to his strong determination and his strong faith in God. His titles and full name are thus worded as follows: ” (Shihab al-Din and the Lion of the Sea Ahmed bin Majid bin Muhammad bin Omar bin Fadl bin Dweik bin Yusef bin Hassan bin Hussein bin Abi Maqal Al-Saadi bin Abi al-Raka’ib Al-Najdi” ( ◇ ) . ( ◇ ) Ibid, p.: (222) His Education and Knowledge bin Majid was a person of extensive knowledge and expertise in maritime and astronomical sciences, as he grew up in a family which practised maritime navigation. His father and grandfather were both teachers, and in maritime terms, a teacher refers to someone who possesses knowledge of astronomy and can skillfully steer a ship to safety. bin Majid acknowledged the contributions of his family in his acquisition of navigational knowledge, saying: “My grandfather was a diligent and meticulous researcher in maritime science, and my father further enhanced this knowledge through practical experience and repetition, surpassing his own father’s expertise. When our time came, which is almost forty years ago, we evaluated and assessed the knowledge of these two exceptional individuals.” ( ◇ ) The Book: “Portuguese Colonialism in the Arabian Gulf and the Relationship between the Arabian Gulf and East Africa,” Center for Studies and Documents, Ras Al Khaimah, second edition, 2001 AD, p. (97)) Ibn Majid also acknowledged the excellence of his father, saying: “My father composed the Hijazi poem, and despite that, we amended from it what we perceived as flaws. My father’s poem was more valuable to me than all the inheritance he left me.” ( ◇ ) Furthermore, Ibn Majid drew from the knowledge of the Arab seafarers who preceded him and benefited from their experiences and high expertise, especially those who lived during the late Abbasid period. He mentioned them in his well-known book titled “Al-Fawa’id fi Usul Ilm al-Bahr wa al-Qawa’id wa al-Fusul” (The Benefits in the Fundamentals of Navigation, Rules, Chapters, and Sects), namely, Muhammad bin Shazan, Sahl bin Aban, and Al-Layth bin Kahlan. He praised their knowledge and expertise in his poetry, saying: ( ◇ ) The Book: “Portuguese Colonialism in the Arabian Gulf and the Relationship between the Arabian Gulf and East Africa,” Center for Studies and Documents, Ras Al Khaimah, second edition, 2001 AD, pp. (97-98) O Ibn Shadhan, O Sahl, and the third of them ******* the predecessors with knowledge admired and well-heard. A precious knowledge, but when conducted ******* by others, it is attributed to inequity. You left me alone in the time, and indeed ******You were three noble scholars throughout time. He described them as “lions of the sea” due to their expertise, extensive experiences, courage, and success in navigating the sea. He drew from their knowledge, information, and benefited from their experiences. However, over time, as he accumulated more experience and his maritime knowledge grew, he managed to dispel all the false information used by his predecessors. He began to follow successful scientific methods to achieve his navigation goals. This became evident in his writings, poems, and verses.

He was the first to document the art of navigation and its knowledge in classical Arabic, both in verse and prose. He enriched this language with new scientific terms in a clear and precise style, avoiding unnecessary embellishments and focusing on establishing scientific facts. This demonstrates his extensive knowledge of the Arabic language alongside his rich scientific experience and analytical precision. He said in his work ” The Compendium of Abbreviations” in verses 74-75 in its eleventh chapter: ( ◇ )Ibid, p. (97) ◇ If I wanted to lengthen every art ******* copyists could not copy from me. The purpose is the fundamentals of maritime sciences ******* Not meaningless talk and excessive poetry ( ◇) ( ◇ ) Ibrahim Khoury, Ahmed bin Majid (His Life, His Writings, the Impossibility of his Meeting with Vasco da Gama), Center for Studies and Documents, Ras Al Khaimah, third edition, 2011 AD, p. (50) Ibn Majid’s knowledge was not limited to the practical application of navigation in seafaring. His geographical knowledge surpassed that of Arab geographers in matters related to the sea, coastlines, seasons, wind interpretations of tides, and currents.

In addition to memorizing the Quran, he was well-versed in religion, studied jurisprudence, language, literature, history, genealogy, and astronomy from the books of scholars who preceded his era. He was familiar with the Arabic names of stars, derived from Greek and some Persian names as well. He relied on experimentation and repetitive measurements of star altitudes using handheld instruments or astrolabes to obtain precise results that astounded the contemporary orientalists who compared them with the results of modern measurements such as Grosset Grange. Ibn Majid was the first to accurately describe the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds in the southern sky, which Europeans later named “Magellanic Clouds.” He initially referred to them as the “Black and White Clouds.” ( ◇ ) Ibrahim Khoury, Ahmed bin Majid (His Life, His Writings, the Impossibility of his Meeting with Vasco da Gama), Center for Studies and Documents, Ras Al Khaimah, third edition, 2011 AD, p. (51) The education of Ibn Majid was not limited to maritime sciences alone. It is clear that he was knowledgeable and well-versed in Arabic geographical, astronomical, and mathematical classifications. He had drawn from Arabic and Indian mathematical sciences and had mastered several languages, including Tamil, Swahili, and Sofala (a language of the Sofala region in the eastern coast of Africa). He was proficient in Zenji, Persian, Javanese, and Sanskrit languages. He said in The Compendium of Abbreviations: ( ◇ ) D. Abdullah Ali Al-Tabour, Julfar Through History, Dubai, second edition, 2003 AD, pp. (224-225). ( ◇ ) D. Abdullah Ali Al-Tabour, Julfar Through History, Dubai, second edition, 2003 AD, p. (244). ( ◇ ) D. Abdullah Ali Al-Tabour, Julfar Through History, Dubai, second edition, 2003 AD, p. (226). ◇ My life has passed in reading ******* and inquiring about the directions. And how much I have seen in the Tamil manuscripts ****** In their poetry, prose, and chapters. And how much I have examined the calculation methods of the Arabs ******* And the methods of the Indians since I was a child. I have not seen anything in the agreement of the essence ******* Regarding the moon and Zanj to be true ( ◇) ( ◇ ) Ibrahim Khoury, Ahmed bin Majid (His Life, His Writings, the Impossibility of his Meeting with Vasco da Gama), Center for Studies and Documents, Ras Al Khaimah, third edition, 2011 AD, pp. (51-52). “The Shoul” or “Shoulians” are a sect that lives on the western coast of India. In his poem, “Al-Qamar” refers to the island of Madagascar and the Zanj coast, which extends between Beja and Kilwa. All of this helped him diversify his expertise and increase his proficiency through his knowledge of all the sciences that those peoples had achieved, which contributed to his ability to write and create, relying on himself in authoring and composing.

His Works and Writings:

Ahmad ibn Majid’s works were diverse, encompassing both poetry and prose. In his writings, he compiled the essence of his experiences and knowledge in the fields of navigation and astronomy. He listed the names of islands, countries, coasts, marine measurements, star observations, methods for determining the Qibla (direction of Mecca), and safe maritime routes. Most of his works took the form of independent poetic compositions, with a total of 24 navigational poems remaining out of the 41 that he is known to have composed, as some of them have been lost. As for his existing stories and poems, they are as follows (◇): ( ◇ )

D. Abdullah Ali Al-Tabour, Julfar Through History, Dubai, second edition, 2003 AD, p. (238). Subject Subject Number of verses Year of Composition 1. The Compendium of Abbreviations in the Fundamentals of Oceanography 1082 verses 866 AH – 1462 AD 2 Sofali Epic 701 verses 866 AH – 1462 AD 3. The Seven-Line Poem (it was called “The Seven-Line”). Because it contains seven different fields of knowledge, including maritime science other than physiognomy and guidelines. 305 verses 888 AH – 1483 AD 4. The Epic of Determining the Qibla of Islam Worldwide or (Masterpiece of Judges) 250 verses 893 AH – 1487 AD 5. The Ladle Epic 273 verses 893 AH – 1487 AD 6. The Epic of Voyages to India and the Arabian Peninsula (From a Pace of Twelve to a Pace of a Finger) 255 verses 893 AH – 1487 AD 7. The Epic of the Partition of the Constellation among Ursa Major 221 verses 900 AH – 1494 AD 8.

The Arabic Epic that Arabized the Berber Gulf and Rectified its Metrics 178 verses 890 AH – 1485 AD 9. The Guiding Epic 155 verses 890 AH – 1485 AD 10. The Epic of the Arab Peninsula in the Persian Gulf 100 verses 890 AH – 1485 AD 11. The Epic of the Moon Mansions 48 verses 890 AH – 1485 AD 12. The Ta’iyyah Poem (refers to a specific type of Arabic poem characterized by its meter and rhyming scheme) 54 verses 890 AH – 1485 AD 13. The Golden Poem 193 verses 890 AH – 1485 AD 14. Tax Taxation Poem 192 verses 900 AH – 1494 AD 15. The Makkan Poem 172 verses 900 AH – 1494 AD 16. The Poem of The Substitution Anecdote on Reality and the Dissolution of Obstacles 57 verses 900 AH – 1494 AD 17. The Eloquent Poem on the Metrics of Suhail and Arcturus 64 verses 900 AH – 1494 AD 18.

The Rhymed Poem on Recognizing the Unknown Stars Whose Mansions Have Been Accurately Defined 33 verses 865 AH – 1460 AD Subject Subject Number of verses Year of Composition 19. The Poem of the Treasure of Practice (The Captains) and their Repertoire in the Science of the Unknown On the Sea, Stars, Constellations, Their Names, and Poles (or: the Arabic poem) 72 verses 865 AH – 1460 AD 20. The Memiya Poem of the Transposition, Measured in Six Memiya Forms 64 verses 865 AH – 1460 AD 21. The Outstanding Poem on Measuring Beta Ceti and Its Binding to Suhail 57 verses 865 AH – 1460 AD 22. The Poem on the Roman Months and How Many Days are in Each Month 13 verses 865 AH – 1460 AD 23. The Poem of Seasons of Travel 19 verses 865 AH – 1460 AD 24.

The Pentad Poem 17 Pentad Poems 906 AH – 1500 AD As for his prose works, they are limited in number and size. What we have of them are in the book titled “Al-Fawaid fi Usul Ala al-Bahr wa al-Qawa’id wa al-Fusul wa al-Mill (The Benefits in the Fundamentals of Nautical Science, Rules, Chapters, and Sects). This book was composed by Ibn Majid in the year 895 AH (1495 CE). The book contains 176 pages and presents 12 benefits related to maritime subjects. With regard to missing parts, it is the book, A Prolonged Edition of the Book of Benefits in the Fundamentals of Nautical Science and Rules – The First Extended Version, which dates back to (880 AH – 1475 CE), in addition to The Explanation of the Golden. His Contributions to Maritime Navigation: Ibn Majid is considered one of the most prominent navigators in the world in terms of controlling measurements. Measurement, among navigators, is the star’s altitude above the horizon, and the finger was the unit of measurement used by navigators and sailors, especially in the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean, at that time. They used the ordinary finger for measurement, and he indicated this in his poem “Tax Taxation” by saying: Whoever measures Arcturus with four ***** shall see five in his ten fingertips The meaning of this verse is that whoever wants to measure the planet Arcturus in a position where measurement of the luminary is four fingers, he will see its measurement as five fingers among the ten fingers of his hand. He also said in his well-known poem called “Al-Mulkiyya”: Seven fingers, I measured them with my own fingertips ******* And a quarter is missing, there is no surplus in them. It is worth mentioning that he had his own instruments for measurement, which consisted of twelve sticks. He classified them based on their lengths into short, medium, and long and he specified the conditions for measuring each set. He spent fifty years studying and refining these measurements.

Additionally, he developed some navigational instruments such as the compass and astrolabe, and other maritime tools. When speaking about the compass, he said, “And among our invention in the field of marine science, is the use of the magnet.” His manuscripts and epics served as valuable guides for global navigation, helping mariners to select safe sea routes. For years, they became the primary source for the art of navigation in European universities. His writings were an important record of the navigational heritage in the Indian Ocean, not only within the context of the Arab experience but also for the experiences of the Persians, Indians, Chinese, Javanese, and the East African coast.

These served as a guide for captains and scholars of the Indian Ocean and a heritage adopted by Europe during the Renaissance, particularly by the Portuguese (◇ ). ( ◇ ) D. Abdullah Ali Al-Tabour, Julfar Through History, Dubai, second edition, 2003 AD, p. (238). ( ◇ ) D. Abdullah Ali Al-Tabour, Julfar Through History, Dubai, second edition, 2003 AD, p. (225).