Travels of Ibn Baṭṭūṭa
Mecca (Makkah al-Mukarrama)
Title
Meccans' practices at the beginning of the months
Short description
Meccans' practices at the beginning of the months, including the call to prayer and reciting aloud poems of praise to the rulers.
Text on source
وعادتهم في ذلك أن يأتي أمير مكة في أول يوم من الشهر وقواده يحفون به وهو لابس البياض معتمٌّ متقلد سيفًا وعليه السكينة والوقار، فيصلي عند المقام الكريم ركعتين، ثم يُقَبّل الحجر ويشرع في طواف أسبوع، ورئيس المؤذنين على أعلى قبة زمزم، فعندما يُكْمل الأمير شوطًا واحدًا ويقصد الحجر لتقبيله يندفع رئيس المؤذنين بالدعاء له والتهنئة بدخول الشهر رافعًا بذلك صوته، ثم يَذْكُر شِعْرًا في مدحه ومَدْح سلفه الكريم، ويفعل به هكذا في السبعة أشواط، فإذا فرغ منها رَكَعَ عند الملتزم ركعتين ثم رَكَعَ خلف المقام أيضًا ركعتين ثم انصرف، ومثل هذا سواء يفعل إذا أراد سفرًا وإذا قَدِمَ من سفر أيضًا. [ص. ١١٥]
English translation
The ceremony which they observe on these occasions is as follows. The amīr of Mecca comes [in state] on the first day of the month, surrounded by his officers and himself dressed in white, turbaned and girt with a sword, a grave and dignified figure, and makes a prayer of two bowings beside the Holy Station. He then kisses the [Black] Stone and begins to make a sevenfold circuit. Meanwhile, the leader of the muezzins is standing on top of the pavilion of Zamzam. When the amīr completes one turn [round the Ka'ba] and is approaching the Stone to kiss it, the leader of the muezzins breaks out into prayers for him and congratulations on the entry of the new month, lifting up his voice as he does so. He follows this up by reciting a poem in praise of him and of his noble ancestors, and makes similar invocations and recites similar verses for him on [each of] the seven circuits. The amīr, on completing them, makes a prayer of two bowings at the Multazam, then another prayer also of two bowings behind the Station [of Ibrāhīm], and withdraws. He goes through exactly the same ceremony when he is about to make a journey and on his return from a journey also.
Folios/Pages
233
Date
1326 circa
Observations on the events description
This passage, like others, shows how frequent were the occasions in Mecca life that gave rise to ceremonial events.
The dots on the map indicate the places where sound and music events were described. They don't represent travel stages.
Participants
No other participants in this event description.
How to quote
Pintimalli A., "Meccans' practices at the beginning of the months" (Event description), Echos. Sound Ecosystems in Travelogues. Published 2024 07 04.doi: 10.25430/echos.travels.130
This work is licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0 
