'Rihla': The Arabic word for journey can be a metaphor for learning

Ibn Battuta’s travelogue Al Rihla offers a vantage point to understand its scope

Ibn Battuta cemented his place in history through Al Rihla. The travelogue of the 14th-century Moroccan explorer charts a lifetime of adventures, a three-decade odyssey that spanned the ancient Islamic world.

His pilgrimage to Makkah, meetings with rulers and royalty from India, China and Russia, not to mention his perspective on trade routes such as the Silk Road and his eyewitness accounts of cultures across three continents has made Al Rihla endure as one of the most pivotal travelogues in history.

Ibn Battuta’s Al Rihla offers a good vantage point to understand the breadth of our Arabic word of the week. Though it translates directly to “journey”, rihla can range from simple excursions to life-changing expeditions. It can be a metaphor for learning or personal growth.

The root of rihla is drawn from the letters raa, haa and lam. In plural form, rihla becomes rihalat. Travelogues, such as Ibn Battuta’s Al Rihla, are known as adab alrihalat, which literally translates to literature of travelling.

While safar is more colloquially used to convey travel, al irtihal was used in historical contexts.

There are several common phrases that incorporate the verb form of rihla, or rahala.

Rahala ila bait jadeed, for instance, means a person has moved to a new house. Rahala an baladihi means when a person has emigrated from their native country. Raḥala lahu nafsahu means he gave himself over to Him, implying endurance through suffering by putting faith in God. Rahala ila alabad, meanwhile, can be said when a person dies, literally translating to ‘he left to eternity’.

Several songs incorporate different forms of the world rihla.

In Kadim Al Sahir’s La Tarhalu, the Iraqi singer sings of absence and longing. “In Tarhalu, madha sa ya yahduthu lee,” he sings. “Madha sa yabqa fi zawaya al manzili?”

The verse translates to: If you leave, what will happen to me? What will remain in the corners of the house?

In a later verse, Al Sahir sings: “In tarhalu, al shamsu tansa sharqaha.” The line translates to: If you leave, the sun will forget its east.