Ibn Fadlan: Baghdad se Darya-e-Volga tak khalifa ka safeer

June 921 mein Baghdad se ek chhota sa safarati qafila nikla jise barf, bhook aur ajnabi qaumon ke beech se guzar kar aaj ke Russia ke wasat mein Darya-e-Volga tak pahunchna tha. Is qafile ka munshi Ahmad bin Fadlan (Ahmad ibn Fadlan) tha. Is ne raste mein jo dekha, likhta gaya: aisi sardi ke darhi barf ban jaye, aisi chhoti raatein ke handi ubalne se pehle subah ho jaye, aur shimal ke aasman par nachti roshniyan. Is ka safarnama, jise "Risala" kaha jata hai, arabi safar adab ki sab se anokhi tehriron mein gina jata hai.

Volga ke badshah ka khat

French mustashriq Marius Canard (Marius Canard), jinhon ne 1958 mein is risale ka mukammal tarjuma aur sharh shaya ki, likhte hain ke 921 mein Abbasi khalifa Al-Muqtadir ne Volga ke Bulghar badshah ke paas ek safarat bheji, aur Ibn Fadlan is mein munshi ki haisiyat se shamil tha. Ibn Fadlan ki apni zaat ke bare mein bohat kam maloom hai; Wikipedia ke mutabiq woh khalifa ke darbar se wabasta ek faqeeh tha.

Safarat ka sabab khud risale mein darj hai. Bulgharon ke badshah Almish bin Shilki (Almish) ne khalifa ko khat likha tha ke koi aisa shakhs bheja jaye jo ise deen sikhaye, islami ahkam bataye, is ke mulk mein masjid banaye, aur is ke liye ek qila bhi tameer kare taake woh mukhalif badshahon se apna bachao kar sake. Khalifa ne yeh darkhwast manzoor ki. Ibn Fadlan ki zimmedari badshah ko khalifa ka khat parh kar sunana, tohfe pahunchana aur sath jane wale faqeehon aur mualimon ki nigrani karna thi. Safarat ke sarbarah Susan Al-Rassi the, aur tohfon mein woh dawa bhi thi jo badshah ne apne khat mein mangi thi.

Iran aur wasat Asia ka rasta

Ibn Fadlan likhta hai ke qafila jumeraat 11 Safar 309 Hijri (21 June 921) ko Baghdad se rawana hua. Rasta aaj ke Iran se guzarta tha: Hulwan, Kermanshah ke qareeb Qirmisin, Hamadan, Saveh, Rey, Semnan aur Damghan, phir Khorasan mein Nishapur, Sarakhs aur Marv. Is ke baad sehra paar kar ke Amul pahunche, Darya-e-Jaihun (Amu darya) uboor kiya aur Bukhara mein dakhil hue, jahan Samani ameer Nasr bin Ahmad ne unhein bulaya. Ibn Fadlan hairat se likhta hai ke ameer ek naujawan tha jis ki abhi darhi bhi nahin nikli thi.

Bukhara se qafila Khwarazm aur is ke tijarati shehar Jurjaniya pahuncha, aur yahan sardiyon ne ise rok liya.

Khwarazm ki sardi

Ibn Fadlan ka Khwarazm ki sardi ka bayan aaj bhi parhne wale ko thithra deta hai. Woh likhta hai ke Darya-e-Jaihun manba se dahane tak jam gaya aur barf satrah balisht moti ho gayi; ghoray, khachar, gadhay aur gadiyan is par aise chalti thin jaise sarak par, aur teen mahine yahi haal raha. Is ne likha ke hamein laga jaise jahannam ki sardi ka koi darwaza hamare samne khul gaya hai.

Ek din hammam se nikal kar ghar pahuncha to darhi par nazar pari: woh barf ka ek tukra ban chuki thi jise aag ke samne pighlana para. Is ne zameen ko sardi se phatte aur ek bohat bare darakht ko do tukre hote dekha.

Shawwal 309 Hijri ke wasat (16 February 922) mein Mausam badla aur darya ki barf pighli. Qafile ne Turkey ke unt kharide, daryaon ko paar karne ke liye unt ki khaal ki teh hone wali kishtiyan banwayin, aur teen mahine ke liye roti, bajra aur namak laga sukha gosht sath liya.

Bulghar ke darbar mein

Jurjaniya se sattar din ka safar kar ke, aur raste mein turk qabilon ke ilaqon se guzarte hue, qafila itwar 12 Muharram 310 Hijri (12 May 922) ko Bulghar badshah ke mulk mein pahuncha. Char din khaimon mein intezar ke baad jab shehzade, sardar aur awam jama hue to do jhande lahraye gaye, badshah ko tohfe mein aaya hua zeen wala ghora aur khilat pesh ki gayi, aur Ibn Fadlan ne khalifa ka khat nikala. Is ne kaha ke khat ki qiraat ke dauran baithe rehna munasib nahin, chunancha badshah aur is ke umra khare ho gaye.

Shimal ke ajaib

Bulghar ki pehli sham Ibn Fadlan ne aasman ko surkh hote aur is mein ek shor uthte dekha. Surkh badal mein jaise aadmi aur ghoray the jin ke hathon mein naize aur talwaren thin, aur ek dasta dusre par hamla awar ho raha tha. Arab musafir ghabra kar dua karne lage jabke maqami log un par hanste rahe. Canard ke mutabiq yeh qutbi roshni (aurora borealis) ka bayan hai.

Isi tarah Ibn Fadlan ne likha ke wahan garmiyon mein din bohat lamba aur raat bohat chhoti hoti hai. Woh badshah ke ek darzi se, jo Baghdad ka rehne wala tha, khaime mein baat kar raha tha ke isha ki azan ka intezar karte karte fajr ki azan ho gayi. Muazzin ne bataya ke yahan raat itni chhoti hai ke maghrib ke waqt choolhe par rakhi handi ke ubalne se pehle subah ho jati hai.

Baghdad ka yeh darzi akela ajnabi nahin tha. Badshah ke tarjuman ne Ibn Fadlan ko bataya ke ek baar Sindh ka ek aadmi bhi ittefaqan is mulk mein aa nikla tha aur kuch arsa badshah ki khidmat mein raha. Goya daswin sadi mein Sindh ka ek aadmi bhi Volga ke kinare tak pahunch chuka tha.

Ibn Fadlan ne Volga ke kinare tijarat ke liye aane wale "Russia" (Rus) ka bhi tafseeli haal likha. Is ke baqaul woh khajoor ke darakhton jaise lambe, sunehri balon aur surkh rangat wale the, aur har ek ke paas kulhari, talwar aur khanjar hota tha. Russia kaun the, is par muhaqqiqeen mein bahas rahi hai; Canard ke mutabiq kai muhaqqiqeen unhein Scandinavia se aaye hue log samajhte hain.

Safarat ka nateeja aur gum shuda makhtuta

Canard ke mutabiq yeh safarat apne sab maqasid hasil na kar saki; masalan qile ke liye raqam badshah tak na pahunchi. Magar is se Bulgharon aur Muslim dunya ke tijarati rishte aur mazboot hue. Muarrikh Al-Masudi ne 943 ke lagbhag likha ke Bulgharon ka mulk Musalman ho chuka tha aur badshah ka beta Hajj ke liye aaya to khalifa ne ise jhanda, siyah khilat aur raqam di. Wapsi ka haal risale mein maujood nahin; muhaqqiq Kovalevsky (Kovalevsky) ka andaza tha ke safarat 923 ki bahar mein Baghdad lauti. Is ke baad Ibn Fadlan ke bare mein kuch maloom nahin.

Taweel arse tak yeh risala sirf jughrafiya dan Yaqut Hamawi ki "Mujam al-Buldan" mein diye gaye iqtibasat se jana jata tha, jinhein 1823 mein alim Fraehn (Fraehn) ne shaya kiya. 1923 mein muhaqqiq Ahmad Zaki Validi Togan (Zeki Velidi Togan) ko Iran ke shehar Mashhad mein ek makhtuta mila jis mein risale ka zyada mukammal matn tha, aur unhon ne 1939 mein ise German tarjume ke sath shaya kiya. English mein Paul Lunde aur Caroline Stone (Paul Lunde, Caroline Stone) ka tarjuma Penguin Classics ne "Ibn Fadlan and the Land of Darkness" ke naam se, aur James Montgomery ka tarjuma New York University Press ne shaya kiya hai. Michael Crichton ka novel "Eaters of the Dead" bhi isi risale se mutasir hai.

Agli qist: Al-Masudi: "Muruj al-Dhahab" ka sayyah muarrikh, aur Multan o Mansura ka safar.