By Dr Nathaniel Miller | May 24, 2025 https://classyarabic.substack.com/p/why-medieval-muslims-travelled-so
The notion that one should travel in pursuit of knowledge is deeply embedded in Arabic and Islamic culture. The Arabic word for “student”, ṭālib, means seeker, an abbreviation of ṭālib al-ʿilm, or “knowledge-seeker.” That this seeking implies travel is evident in the Prophetic statement (hadith) uṭlubū al-ʿilm wa-law bi-ṣ-ṣīn—”seek knowledge (al-ʿilm), even in China,” i.e., go as far as China in pursuit of knowledge. Medieval Muslims did not think of themselves this way, and the debate about the status of science is more related to the advent of colonialism and industrial modernity. I’m not sure, anyway, how to quantify the interest of an entire culture or religion in something as vague as knowledge, but two things are pretty clear. One: Medieval Muslims travelled quite a bit, often in connection to scholarship. Two: there was some disagreement about what ʿilm means.
