Comparison Of Ibn Fadlan's Source And The Arabo-Islam

In this Essay, I will portray comparatively between the two readings literature ( Byzantine women in the 8th to 11 centuries written by Nadia el-Cheikh and Ibn Fadlan’s journey to Russia). The Essay will render the two different parts of the arguments, Ibn Fadlan’s source and the Arabo-Islamic source on the one side and Cheikh responds on the other side to the 8th to 11-century Arabic sources. I will be mainly focusing only on two parts, comparing between both opinions on subjects “ women and religion”. And portraying those debate points in two forms, one narrative as holding an exclusivist prejudice ( Ibn Fadlan’s and the Arabo-Islamic sources) and the other ( Sheikh's responses) as more inclusive and more responsive to the reality.

The

In Ibn Fadlan’s expedition accounts, he narrates that if the Russian person encountered difficulties in his slave trading, and the days of his stay are prolonging. Then, he will inaugurate to beg and ask others to sustain and intercede, saying: “ These are the wives, daughters, and sons of our Lord,” remarking these words through a meticulous behavior to beseech customers in buying his slaves. After setting out his business deals and selling all his slaves, he states: “ My lord has fulfilled my desire. I must repay him”. Thereafter, he began gathering some sheep and oxen, slaughtered them, rendered away a part of the meat as alms, and brings the leftover and cast it on a wooden pole to feed the dogs and the other creatures. Thereafter, when all that he had cast is gone away, he says: “verily my God is content with me, and he has eaten up my gift.” Moreover, the context of the Arabo-Islamic sources, showing the Byzantine nuns during their duty jobs in the monasteries, whilst offering themselves to the priest or bishop as a sort of scrupulous act in serving the monks, is utterly provocative. According to Cheikh, in the monasteries, there was absolute segregation of the sexes in monastic life. Besides, the legislation of which descended back to the Isaurian empire was

For instance, the blindfolded person standing nearby the elephant’s tail perceived the animal by the form of a robe or a snake. Correspondingly, these general assumptions written in these Arabo-Islamic sources, acts similarly to those blindfolded men since they ( the Muslim scholars) only perceived the Byzantine religious women as prostitutes. In turn, Cheikh stated, the Muslim- Sufi clerics found the amount of dedication and abstinence that are portrayed by the Christians monks and nuns is, indeed,