Al-Muqaddasi published the book at the age of forty, after a twenty-year period of research and travelling. He gave himself the time to mature and gain enough exposure to become an expert geographer and only then did he decide to publish the book.
Al-Muqaddasi familiarised himself with, and examined, the major works and authors in his field like al-Jayhani, al-Balkhi, al-Hamadhani, al-Jahiz and Ibn Khurradadhbih to understand their strengths and weaknesses. This gave him critical insight into what he would need to produce in order to contribute something original that would stand the test of time. For al-Muqaddasi it wasn’t enough to just follow the same methods and approaches that others had done in the past.
Al-Muqaddasi often went out of his way to learn new things, and paid great attention to detail so that he could properly analyse and classify things. For example, when he arrived in a new region he mentions that he enquired about the religious practices of people and their languages so that he could familiarise himself with them, and even did things like taste water in lakes so that he could accurately document its quality.
Al-Muqaddasi consulted experts and people of intelligence, to check and validate drafts of his work. He was aware of the mistakes of others and being a devout man of belief and trustworthiness meant he was even more keen to avoid error and be as accurate as possible.
Al-Muqaddasi sought to take reports only from the most trustworthy people, who were consistent with evidence that he had, and stayed away from being excessive in his arguments or censuring himself.
While al-Muqaddasi had the lofty goal of producing knowledge that would ensure the survival of his name, he remained humble and did it, he says, to worship Allah. This included enduring hardship, sacrificing time away from home and spending money towards his research. He also sought to practice what was lawful, avoided sinning and dealt honestly with people.
Bibliography
Al-Muqaddasi, The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions, translated by Basil Collins, Ithaca Press, 2000.
- Br Dr Mamnun Khan