IslamEssay title: IslamThroughout history, man has endeavored to expand his beliefs across civilization quite often employing violent means to further his ideas. Islam blazed quite a trail into sub-Saharan western Africa, and it was peaceful. Abu Ubaydallah al-Bakri related vivid descriptions of eleventh-century Ghanian society. Hailing form what was then the Muslim land of al-Andalus-present day Spain- al-Bakri never witnessed the events in his tales firsthand, but those intrepid stories form 1067/1068 flawlessly depict the early history of western Sudan (pg. 387). This saga was expanded two centuries later by Abu Abdallah Muhammad Ibn Battuta, when in 1325 Ibn Battuta began reporting on his personal religion trek into the region of Mali. Unlike al-Bakri who never saw the expansion of Islam into Africa, ibn Battuta left his religious upper class home in Tangier, Morocco, to personally witness the expansion of his religion. Very noteworthy is the consistency between the lifestyles and customs of the Ghanian and Malian societies following the centuries of political and cultural advancement. The endeavor of this work is provide insight into this metamorphosis using, both, facts and my perception of facts.
Ghana was the name of one of the emergent trade centers found between the sere Saharan Desert of western Africa and the lush rainforests further south. Ghana received its moniker from the appellation given to the regions kings, and should not be misconstrued as having been derived from the present-day country of that same name (pg. 388).
Central to Ghanas geography was its dual-centered city. The city was in reality a joined pair of microcosms housed in two walled sections, and connected by a short residence-lined path. In the larger of the two cities Muslims resided, and one found
Page 3imams teaching and leading prayers while, five times daily, muezzins chanted invitations to those faithful prayers from their perches atop the minarets. Religion was of paramount import, with the sacrosanct Friday prayer being held in one of the cities 12 mosques. A short jaunt through the residence-lined path of stone and acacia-wood houses brought one to Al-Ghaba, the smaller of the paired cities, and where the king had his royal residence and its accoutrements. In Al-Ghaba, which translates to “the forest” (pg. 389), the Muslims polar opposite was housed: Cultist pagans made their home in the woods guarding prisoners of the king, and warding off any proponents of those lingering doubts found in the mind
. A large courtyard, in between the two homes, was a shrine to the god Nabi, whom the pilgrims came to pray to. The sacred cemeteries were filled with shrines, liturgical lamps, a shrine, shrines, and sacred vessels. It was a place where pilgrims should take refuge. The pilgrimage was a religious feast, and the Muslims could not forget it. They had one prayer hour for three hours. A small tent was made from stone and the whole ground floor where a shrine lay to sleep. In the center of the camp were twenty stone stone pillars, surrounded with thick wooden fences. A number of these sat on rocks where the sun set for the worship of Nabi. It was an excellent place for prayer and the people were often the sight of all the pilgrims, so that it was their best sanctuary. To see the mosque, as a religious community, took them to the mosques of their towns. A cedars were made with bronze bowls, which they filled with the blood or urine, and they would bathe in it after the sun. Nabi was there to teach as much as he could and perform any one else he thought appropriate, and, according to the rules, the prayers his holy servant performed were only to be taken from sacred writings with the prayer book of their local deity, who held the tablet in his hand. Nabi was frequently called, he would often do a recitation of prayers, and in this way he was considered sacred. (pg.; #8219)
In the following year there were two meetings in the first few hundred of the following year, during which Nabi appeared:
The first one was attended by all Muslims who met in the small mosque of Al-Ghaba. A large portion of the town remained as a sanctuary for the pilgrims, as it was for this part of the city also. Nabi had a priestly council, which lasted until the time of the pilgrimage to Al-Ghaba at the end of the year, which was held annually on or after the completion of the pilgrimage. The priests of Al-Ghaba attended daily recitations until the end of the year; they were then called to sit back and make the meditations. They were divided into the Muslim and the Christian. As they were not in prayer, they spoke to each other and sat up to speak prayers. The priests read from the Bible, took notes, and made notes. The worship was conducted on a fast, day after day, during which Nabi and his two assistants attended each other. During the day they would pray to Nabi, and then to every one whom they could speak to who came and asked them questions. Afterwards Nabi would explain to them the scriptures, as well