The American historian Will Durant (d. 1402 AH / 1981 AD) says - in 'The Story of Civilization' - that the Muslims in Andalusia had "a merchant fleet of more than a thousand ships carrying the crops of Andalusia and its products to Africa and Asia, and the ships coming from a hundred holes were crowded with them"!!

Our ancient historians report that there were 36,000 boats transporting people and goods above the Nile River in Egypt, and there were 30,000 ships in Iraq on the Tigris River alone!!

What happened to the Muslims who used to board desert ships - camels and others - in order to accompany the most important captains and seafarers in history?!

The answer is not far from the great civilizational rush of Muslims towards the world for the sake of da’wah and trade, and the challenge of major empires in order to attain global sovereignty for many centuries.

It was this civilizational impulse that made the ships of the Arabian Peninsula dock on seas and even global oceans, which became Arab with political influence, scientific influence and economic prosperity, and crowned its glory with the conquest of Constantinople after 29 attempts that broke the resolve of its perpetrators with the waves of the ports of this city, which dated its fall to a new world order!

This topic that you are reading is part of the series of the history of the institutions of Islamic civilization, the chapters of which are periodically published on the “Heritage” page, where we will look with you on the most luxurious in scope and greatest in impact, which is the Islamic Naval Foundation, which reached its peak in the manufacture of major naval fleets in military marine sciences, so Muslim sailors were Deep knowledge of types of military ships, war games tactics, special forces operations in rescue and sea landing.

This institution also reached its peak in the arts of navigation when one of its most brilliant captains was able to draw very accurate and dazzling maps of the new world continents (North and South Americas), and the ingenuity of its Turkish-Muslim painter continues to astonish the experts of geographical maps in the most prominent universities in the world in America and Europe!

A major shift


The Arabs have known since ancient times the seas due to the nature of the Arabian Peninsula, which overlooks from its three sides the Mediterranean Sea in the north, the Red Sea in the west, the Indian Sea (Arabian Sea) in the south, and the Arabian Gulf in the east.

Despite this, most Arabs were afraid of the seas before and after Islam, so that the Caliph Omar Ibn Al-Khattab (d. 23 AH / 655 AD) “when he wrote to [Governor of Egypt] Amr ibn al-Aas (d. 43 AH / 664 AD) asking him about the sea, and he said: A great character that is mounted by a weak character. , worms on a stick, so Omar wrote to him that no one would ride it for the rest of his life, so when he was after Omar, he still rode until he was Omar bin Abdul Aziz (d. 101 AH / 720 AD), so he followed Omar’s opinion in it and Omar was prevented because of his pity for Muslims”;

As al-Qastalani (d. 923 AH / 1517 AD) mentions in 'Irshad al-Sari'.

However, the Caliph Othman bin Affan (d. 35 AH / 656 AD) was no less cautious than Umar in riding the sea;

When his governor on the Levant, Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan (d. 60 AH / 681 AD) sent him to ask him for permission to invade Cyprus in the year 27 AH / 649 AD and make it easy for him - as he did with the Caliph Omar, who refused his request - Othman answered him with conditions, saying: “If you board the sea with your wife, then board it with permission.” Yours, or else not..; the best of them (= his soldiers), so whoever chose to invade obediently, carry it and help him";

As al-Baladhari (d. 279 AH/892 AD) narrates in 'Futuh al-Buldan'.

Since the conquest of Cyprus 27 AH / 649 AD and the events that followed that encouraged Muslims to ride the sea and needed to create fleets, Ibn Khaldun (d. 808 AH / 1406 AD) explains this matter - in the 'Introduction' - by saying: "The reason for this is that the Arabs, for their beginnings, were not skilled in his culture And he rode it, and the Romans and Franks to practice his conditions.. They flexed with him and ruled the home with his culture, when the king settled for the Arabs, their power was elevated, and the nations of the Persians came.. under their hands, and every craftsman approached them with the amount of his industry, and they used the marines (= navigators) in their seafaring crafts, and they practiced their maritime needs. of the sea and its culture; they created a vision with it and pointed out the jihad in it, and built ships in it... and shipped the fleets with men and weapons.”

The Islamic control of Cyprus and their emerging dominance in the Mediterranean - along the northern coast of Africa - made the Byzantines decide to enter a decisive naval battle to destroy the Islamic fleet;

The battle of “Dhat al-Sawari” was 34 AH / 656 AD in which the Muslims were victorious, although the Byzantines prepared for it “in a gathering that the Romans have never gathered since Islam was, so they went out in five hundred boats”;

According to al-Tabari (d. 310 AH / 922 AD) in his history.

After the defeat of the Byzantines in "Dhat al-Sawari", the door was opened for Muslims to reach naval dominance in the Mediterranean;

So they began their attempts to conquer Andalusia by controlling the four Balearic Islands located off its eastern coast, as Khalifa bin Khayat al-Usfari (d. 240 AH / 854 AD) tells us - in his history - that in 89 AH / 709 AD the Umayyad governor of Morocco Musa bin Nusair (d. 97 AH / 716 AD) sent an army. So he came to Mallorca and Menorca, two islands between Sicily and Andalusia, and conquered them.

A new phase


and with the Aghlabid family (184-296 AH/800-909AD) taking over the rule of Ifriqiya/Tunisia - on the authority of the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid (d. 193 AH/809AD) - they were keen to strengthen their military fleet, so they increased the establishment of warships to conquer the Byzantine islands, especially since the mandate of Their Emir Ziada Allah Ibn al-Aghlab (d. 226 AH / 841 AD), who Ibn al-Atheer (d. 630 AH / 1233 AD) says - in 'Al-Kamil' - that he "equipped an army in the sea fleet and had many boats."

The conquest of the island of Sicily in 212 AH / 827 AD represented the height of the power of the Islamic navy in the southern Mediterranean, and it was the conquest that was led militarily by the Maliki judge Asad bin Al-Furat (Persian d. 213 AH / 828 AD) when Prince Ziyadah Allah chose him, "He appointed him over the army and approved it to the judiciary with the leadership";

According to Ibn Adhari al-Marrakchi (died after 712 AH / 1312 AD) in 'Al Bayan Al-Maghrib'.

When the Fatimids overthrew the rule of the Aghlabids at the end of the third / ninth century AD;

They seized their maritime inheritance and built the "house of industry... that can accommodate more than two hundred boats, and in it are two large and long vaults for boats' machinery and their tools so that neither sun nor rain can reach it!"

According to the narration of the Andalusian geographer Abi Obaid al-Bakri (d. 487 AH/1094 AD) in 'The Paths and Kingdoms'.

Then al-Bakri mentioned the expansion and fortification of the wonderful port of Mahdia;

He said, "Its anchor is pierced in a solid stone that can accommodate thirty boats, on both ends of the dock are two towers, between which there is a chain of iron.

Therefore, the powerful fleets of the Fatimids frightened their European counterparts;

Al-Dhahabi (d. 748 AH / 1348 AD) says - in 'History of Islam' - that in 323 AH / 935 AD, the Caliph of the Fatimids al-Mansur (d. 341 AH / 953 AD) ordered his military commander Ya'qub bin Ishaq (d. after 323 AH / 935 AD) to leave "in a fleet of Mahdia (= The city of Tunis) carried thirty warships to the region of Ifranja (= Italy), and he conquered the city of Genoa.

By the fourth century AH / tenth century AD;

The Muslims had controlled the major islands of the Mediterranean and important places on the mainland in southern Italy, and became close to Rome itself.

In describing the extent of this Islamic naval hegemony;

Ibn Khaldun says that the Muslims "conquered much of the depth of this sea..., and the Islamic soldiers allow (= cut off) the sea in the fleets from Sicily to the great land opposite it from the northern enemy (= bank), so they fall on the Franks kings and thicken their kingdoms.. And the Muslim fleets have.. filled the most simple of this sea with numbers and numbers, and differed in its paths, peace and war, so that no tablets appeared to Christianity in it!!

By the beginning of the 5th/10th century AD;

The main seas in the ancient world were subject to Islamic hegemony, but this control began to loosen - especially in the Mediterranean - when the Christians regained large parts of the island of Sicily in the middle of this century, and then the spark of the Crusades erupted at the end of this century.

But what is remarkable is that the naval defense efforts of the Islamic fleets were not inferior - most of the time - to the eras of attack and conquest. Rather, they sometimes exceeded them in planning prowess, maneuvering skills, and steadfastness.

Special Operations


Here, Ibn al-Qalansi tells us about the details of one of the naval operations supervised by the commander of the Egyptian Fatimid fleet - the middle of the sixth / 12th century AD - after it was preceded by complex naval intelligence and reconnaissance operations;

He says: "Then [the commander of the fleet] chose a group of seamen who spoke in the language of the Franks, and dressed them in the clothes of the Franks, and set them up on several of the fleet's boats, and set off at sea to discover the places, reservoirs, and paths known as the Roman boats... and returned back to Egypt with spoils and captives."

Among the highly complex naval ambulance operations to break the Crusader siege on Muslim cities;

What Ibn Shaddad al-Mawsili (d. 632 AH / 1234 AD) mentions - in the 'Sultan Anecdotes' - within the events of 585 AH / 1189 AD, that "the Franks... turned their boats around Acre, guarding it from the Muslim boats entering it, and those in it were in dire need of food. And al-Mira, a group of Muslims rode in the Bassa (= a warship with decks) in Beirut, and dressed in the garb of the Franks until [they] shaved their beards, and put pigs on the surface of the bowl so that they could be seen from a distance, and they hung crosses, and they came to the country..until I entered the port of the country.., It was a great joy, because the need had been taken from the people of the country!

After the fall of the Fatimids, the advent of the Ayyubids, and the renewed interest of Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi (d. 589 AH / 1193 AD) with the fleets of Egypt and the Levant;

These fleets played important roles in confronting the Crusaders’ naval attacks, despite the general weakness described by Ibn Khaldun when he spoke about “the weakness of the fleets in the state of Egypt and the Levant until it was cut off, and they did not take care (= the Ayyubids) of anything of his (= the fleet) for this covenant after That they had in the Ubaid state (= Fatimid) care that exceeded the limit, as is known in their news.

Al-Imad Al-Isfahani (d. 597 AH/1200 AD) - in “Al-Burq Al-Shami” provides us with important details about the victories of the Ayyubid fleets over the Crusaders;

In the incidents of 573 AH / 1177 AD, he says: “The Egyptian Mansour fleet invaded.. and penetrated into Algeria.., and gained a large conquest, so he threw it with the great fistula, and seized it and another.” Al-Isfahani estimated the number of Crusaders captives in the incident at a thousand.

And when al-Zahir Baybars al-Bandaqari (d. 676 AH / 1277 AD) took the throne of the Mamluk state 659 AH / 1261 AD;

Develop a plan to reorganize all its sectors, including the naval fleet industry.

Al-Maqrizi (d. 845 AH / 1441 AD) tells us - in 'The Behavior to Know the Countries of the Kings' - he says: "[Baybars] looked at the matter of al-Shawani (= the plural of 'Shuna/Shini': a combat ship) of the war, and he had neglected the matter of the fleet in Egypt.. And he established several shwani in Damietta and Alexandria, and went down by himself to the “house of industry” and arranged what should be arranged, and he integrated with him the land of Egypt more than forty pieces, and a large number of fires (= harraqa collection: a fire-throwing ship) and game (= collection of game: a ship offensive warfare).

It seems that Baibars' efforts paid off by restoring the Mamluk fleet to the military initiative;

In the era of Sultan Al-Nasir Qalawun (d. 741 AH / 1341 AD), the island of Arwad - which is located today within Syria - “gathered in it (= the year 702 AH / 1302 AD) a large crowd of Franks.., and they were going out of it and blocking the way for the Muslims.. So Al-Shawani was built. It traveled to it from the Egyptian lands in the Sea of ​​Rome (= the Mediterranean Sea)... and fierce fighting took place between them and God helped the Muslims and they owned the mentioned island.

According to Abu al-Fida al-Ayyubi (d. 732 AH / 1332 AD) in 'Al-Mukhtasar fi Akhbar al-Bishr'.

Historic expansion


and due to the Cypriot naval attacks on the coasts of Egypt and the Levant;

The Mamluks increased their interest in the manufacture of their fleets until they reached the peak of their power by controlling Cyprus, which was at that time the last Crusader stronghold in the eastern Mediterranean.

At the end of 829 AH / 1426 AD, the Mamluk Sultan Barsbay (d. 841 AH / 1438 AD) ordered the “Aghribah Building (= the collection of crow: the large warship) and the porters (= warships intended to carry equipment and horses), and he found that and spent money.., and it is said that it reached several buildings. (= fleet) - strangers, porters, boats - two hundred pieces and extra";

According to Imam Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (d. 852 AH / 1448 AD) in 'Anbaa al-Ghamr'.

In conjunction with those Mamluk naval victories, the Ottoman Empire was slowly expanding in Anatolia and the Balkans, and its sultans gave their attention to the naval fleets, especially after the conquest of the city of Bursa / Brusa and its adoption as their capital in 717 AH / 1317 AD;

Their naval power renewed the covenants of the conquests of Islam in the beginning of their sprawling state, and the efforts to defend the coasts of Muslims at the end of it.

After their conquest of the city of Edirne in 762 AH / 1361 AD on the European side and taking it as the capital of the Ottoman Sultanate, "the naval fleet became necessary to connect the two parts of the Sultanate extending from Asia to Europe, where Bulgaria and Serbia were opened... The Ottoman fleet reached the Mediterranean Sea, and Sultan Murad II (d. 855 AH) seized / 1451 AD) on all the Roman castles and fortresses on the shores of the Black Sea and the coasts of Rumeli (= the Ottoman European region)”;

According to Mahmoud Al-Daghim in 'Lights on the History of the Ottoman Islamic Navy'.

The conquest of Constantinople/Istanbul by the Ottomans is one of the military and naval miracles.

This city was besieged 29 times since the era of the Umayyad dynasty until the middle of the ninth / 15th century AD, and it was able to withstand it all!

Ismail Sarhank (d. 1343 AH / 1924 AD) - in 'News Facts about the Countries of the Seas' - summarizes for us the strangest events of the conquest of Istanbul on 21 Jumada al-Awwal 857 AH / May 29, 1453 AD, thanks to a genius military plan developed by Sultan Muhammad al-Fateh (d. 886 AH / 1481 AD) .

Sarhank mentions of these oddities: “The warships running on dry land a distance of a league (= approximately 5 km)… by covering the land - on which the warships are to be drawn - with pine planks greased with grease until it became like slips, then they dragged them on it - and it consisted of eighty crows and seventy A light ship - by the strength of the hands and machinery used at that time, because he saw that the ships could not be entered into the city’s port because they were locked with the largest iron chains.. So all these works were completed in one night, and in the morning the besieged [Byzantines] were completely amazed when they saw a fully equipped war fleet descended From the beach to their port" while heedless of them!!

And if the Ottoman Navy had played the most prominent role in the conquest of Constantinople;

These fleets - as mentioned by Dia Pasha (d. 1296 AH / 1880 AD) in 'The History of Andalusia' - had a great role in defending and transporting the Muslims of Andalusia, and fighting the fleets of France and Spain in the Mediterranean.

As for the greatest naval roles of the Ottomans - in the western Mediterranean - they were manifested in the rescue of the Andalusians, the defeat of the Spaniards and the liberation of many areas of the Islamic Maghreb at the hands of the Ottoman naval commander Khair al-Din Barbarossa (d. 953 AH / 1546 AD);

Moulay Belhamisi (d. 1430 AH / 2009 AD) also mentions in 'Algeria and the Naval Invasion in the Sixteenth Century'.


An institutional preparation


that did not come from a vacuum. The triumphant march - in most cases - of the Muslim fleets, which they achieved during the first centuries of their civilizational rush, and we alluded to some of them not exclusively;

Rather, it was a product of the strategic mentality of the Muslims that prompted them to take great care of shipbuilding and the formation of fleets to conquer the Roman countries in the northern Mediterranean and Andalusia, and for the sustainable domination of the major world seas at the time, especially the Mediterranean, the Red and the Indian.

To achieve these grand goals;

The Muslims worked to strengthen their war fleets, which called their shipyards - of all kinds - their own term, "Dar al-Sina'a" or "industry" for short. Its facilities spread in the most important cities of the Mediterranean coast, such as Acre and Tyre in the Levant, Alexandria and Rawda Island in Egypt, Tunisia and Bejaia Africa/Tunisia, Almeria and Algeciras in Andalusia.

Egypt was the headquarters of the Great House of Industry for the construction of warships at the beginning of the Umayyad Caliphate, but an event occurred in AH 49 / AD / 670 AD, which forced Caliph Muawiyah to establish new industrial houses on the Levantine coast, such as Acre.

About this, Al-Baladhuri says: “When the year of the forty-nine year came, the Romans went to [the invasion] of the coasts, and the [house] of industry was in Egypt only, so Muawiyah ordered... to collect craftsmen and carpenters, so they gathered and arranged them in the coasts, and the [house] of industry in Jordan was in Acre.”

This text informs us that the first “house of industry” established in Egypt existed before 49 AH / 670 AD, and perhaps it was it that was known as “the island industry” because it was located on the island of Rawda in the Nile River, and was mentioned by Ibn Abd al-Hakam (d. 257 AH / 871 AD) - in ‘Futuh Egypt And Morocco '- when he recounted an incident that occurred in the caliphate of Omar bin Abdul Aziz, "[in which] wood was needed for the 'industry of the island'".

With the expansion of the Islamic conquests in the Islamic West region;

There has become an urgent need to establish industrial houses in these regions due to the large number of Byzantine and neighboring European fleets, which were constantly threatening the Muslims.

That is why Ibn Khaldun says in his history: “The Caliph Abd al-Malik (Ben Marwan, d. 86 AH / 706 AD) instructed Hassan Ibn al-Nu’man (died after 80 AH / 700 AD), a worker in Africa, to take a ‘house of industry’ in Tunisia to build marine machines in order to ensure the ceremonies of jihad. Sicily".

It seems that the Umayyads and the Abbasids expanded in establishing the roles of the maritime industry in the cities and ports of the Levantine coast in early times;

The geographer Al-Yaqubi (d. after 292 AH / 905 AD) said - in his book 'Countries' - speaking about the city of Tyre: "It is the city of coasts and contains the House of Industry, and from it the Sultan's boats come out to invade the Romans."

Great care


However, an important development occurred in the "house of industry" in Egypt in the middle of the third / ninth century AD;

Especially following the advent of the Turkish leader Ahmed bin Tulun (d. 270 AH / 883 AD) as the ruler of the Abbasids, as he quickly separated from the rule of the country, the founders of the Tulunid state, and then followed him in the interest in the fleets, Muhammad ibn Tughaj al-Ikhshid (d. 334 AH / 948 AD), the founder of the Ikhshidid state.

On the interest of these two men in the naval power;

Al-Maqrizi says in 'Al-Mawā'iz wa-l-I'tibar': "The Emir..Ahmed bin Tulun took care of the construction of warships in this 'industry' (= Dar al-Sina'a). A house] of industry on the coast of Fustat, Egypt, and the location of this 'industry' was made the chosen orchard.

Yahya al-Antaki (d. 458 AH / 1067 AD) - in his history - describes the events of an official inauguration in Egypt showing the care of the Ikhshidid princes in the manufacture of fleets. He says that "he rode Camphor al-Ikhshid (d. 356 AH / 967 AD) to the House of Industry and stood to cast a great warship that was on it to the sea."

If we look at the important information collected by al-Maqrizi from previous historians whose dates have been lost;

We will see that the naval fleet industry in Egypt reached its zenith in the time of the Fatimids. He says that their Caliph Al-Muizz Li-Din Allah (d. 365AH/976AD) “established the House of Industry in Al-Maqs (= near Ramses Square in Cairo), and built therein six hundred boats, the like of which have not been seen at sea, on a port. While he has advanced, he is old, strong and well-groomed!!

In the Levant region, Beirut embraced one of the most important shipbuilding roles in the Mamluk state, after mobilizing specialized human capabilities and energies for it.

Saleh bin Yahya (d. 840 AH / 1436 AD) informs us - in 'The History of Beirut' - that after the Cypriot-Latin attack on the city of Alexandria in 767 AH / 1365 AD, the Mamluks decided to build many boats from the Beirut forest "porters and stalls to enter Cyprus (= Cyprus), so they brought the craftsmen. From all the kingdoms, they built a platform in the middle of Beirut, and boats were working on it a distance from the sea.”

In the Islamic West;

The Umayyad sultans of Andalusia and those who followed were also interested in establishing the role of making warships and commercial ships.

Even the American civilization historian Will Durant says - in 'The Story of Civilization' - that Andalusia had "a merchant fleet of more than a thousand ships carrying the crops of Andalusia and its products to Africa and Asia, and the ships coming from a hundred holes and gaps were crowded with them."

The most important role of the shipbuilding industry was the Andalusian fleets that were built in the city of Almeria;

Ibn Said al-Mughrabi (d. 685 AH / 1286 AD) says - in 'Al-Maghrib' - that Almeria "has a wall on the bank of the sea (= the Mediterranean) and in it is the House of Industry".

The city of Dania was also a house of great marine industry. Al-Humairi (d. 900 AH / 1495 AD) said - in 'Al-Rawd al-Attar' - that "the ships came on it and issued from it, and from it the fleet used to go out to the conquest, and with it most of it originates because it is the house of its establishment."

It is noteworthy that the Umayyads in Andalusia did not care about strengthening their war fleets before the disaster of the Vikings attack - whom Andalusian historians call “the Magi” or “Ardmans” (Normans) - on the shores of the southern country in 229 AH / 844 AD, from which they penetrated north to Seville, where they killed and looted.

It is the incident mentioned by Ibn Sa`id - in 'Maghrib' - saying: "The Magi's boats appeared on the coasts of western Andalusia..., and in the year two hundred thirty (230 AH/845 AD) they came to Seville, which is awrah (= without a garrison), so they entered it and prosecuted it for seven days!" !

A growing force This


incident raised the alarm, warning of the dangers of the country devoid of a naval force capable of defending it against the attacks of seasoned sea invaders. It prompted active efforts to establish naval warships that quickly became reputable and prestige.

Even after only five years, the Umayyad Prince Abd al-Rahman II (d. 238 AH / 852 AD) was able to issue his order 234 AH / 849 AD to prepare a fleet "from three hundred boats to the islands of Mallorca and Menorqa (= off the eastern coast of Andalusia) to harm their people with the boats of Islam passing through them. They opened them.” The Balearic Islands became an active part of the Islamic civilization of Andalusia for four centuries.

The truth is that the Umayyad fleet in Andalusia reached a very great degree of strength during the time of the Caliph Abd al-Rahman al-Nasir (d. 350 AH / 961 AD), and in this regard Ibn Khaldun says: “The Andalusian fleet - in the days of Abd al-Rahman al-Nasir – ended with two hundred boats or so... and its port for landing and taking off. Almeria".

During the reign of the most famous Umayyad minister in Andalusia, Al-Mansur bin Abi Amer (d. 392 AH / 1003 AD), the campaigns of conquest of the strongholds of the Christian kingdoms in the north and west of the country multiplied, to the extent that “the number of his conquests was fifty-seven, all of which he conducted himself”;

According to Ibn Adhari, who tells us that Al-Mansur decided 387 AH / 989 AD to expand his naval control in western Andalusia (today's Portugal), so he ordered the "establishment of a large fleet ... and he equipped it with his marines ... and supplies, food, equipment and weapons were carried, in order to demonstrate the influence of resolve."

The Almohad state - when it established its sovereignty over Andalusia in the middle of the sixth / 12th century AD - employed the prowess of the Andalusians in marine sciences and fleet industry;

So a new “house of industry” was established in the Moroccan city of Salé under the supervision of the engineer Muhammad bin Ali Al-Ishbili (a man of the sixth / 12th century AD), whom the Nasiri al-Salawi (d. People skilled in moving bodies (= bodies) and lifting weights, with insight into the use of war machines.

Al-Salawi spoke about the importance of this facility, and said: “Dar al-Sina’a.. is the house in which the naval fleets and jihadist boats were made. Oud (= timber) was brought to it from the ‘Al-Mamoura Forest’ (today it is located north of the capital, Rabat), then it is made there and then sent to The valley, and that was an important matter in the state of the Almohads.”

Thanks to those unremitting efforts driven by the rise in the power of Christians inside Andalusia and on the coasts of the Levant, in the eastern Mediterranean;

The power of the Almohad fleet grew under the leadership of Admiral Ahmed Al-Siqilli (d. after 581 AH / 1185 AD), especially during the days of Sultan Yusuf bin Abdul-Mumin (d. 580 AH / 1184 AD), who "the Muslim fleets on his reign - in abundance and persistence - ended to what they did not reach before or after." ;

According to Ibn Khaldun, who informs us of the invocation of Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi in al-Mansur al-Muwahhid (d. 595 AH / 1199 AD), "the king of Morocco asked for the extension of the fleets to shift at sea between the fleets of foreigners and their goals from supplying the Christian [kingdoms] at the borders of the Levant."

Organization and financing The


concern of the Islamic countries in establishing the houses of the warship industry entailed a parallel interest in organizing the work in them in management and supervision, and in allocating human resources and industrial materials to ensure the performance of its mission and the achievement of its set goals.

Al-Bakri Andalusian gives us - in 'Pathways and Kingdoms' - important details about how the "house of industry" was established for warships in Tunisia during the Umayyad days, and about the source of the manpower that worked in it.

In that, al-Bakri says that Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan wrote to his “brother Abd al-Aziz (b. Marwan d. 85 AH/700 CE) - who is the governor of Egypt – to send to the camp of Tunisia a thousand Copts with his family and his son, and to carry them from Egypt and help them well until they reach Tarshish, which is Tunisia And he wrote to [Hassan] Ibn al-Nu'man to build for them a house of industry that would be strength and preparation for Muslims until the end of time.. So the Copts arrived at Hassan while he was residing in Tunis.

In the Abbasid era;

Caliph al-Mutawakkil (d. 247 AH/861 AD) paid great attention to fleets;

In 239 AH / 853 AD, “the livelihood (= salaries) was made for the invaders of the sea as it is for the invaders of the land, and the princes assigned him archers. in matters of war, and at that time people have a desire to fight the enemies of God and establish His religion, [so] there is no offense (= undoubtedly) that the servants of the fleet had sanctity and prestige”;

As Al-Maqrizi says in 'Al-Mawwa'at wa'l-I'tibar'.

Abu al-Hasan al-Sabi (d. 448 AH/1057 AD) - in 'Tuhfat al-Umara' - informs us that in the first third of the fourth / tenth century AD, "the livelihoods of navigators in [different types of ships from] planes and shawls (= collection of shatha: warship) and al-Sumayriyyat ( = The collection of Samira: a small warship), the corvettes, the slips (= speedboats) and the crossing boats..: five hundred dinars (= today approximately 85 thousand US dollars) each month.

Ibn al-Atheer narrates - in 'Al-Kamil' - that in 269 AH / 882 AD, the commander of the army, the Abbasid Prince Talha Al-Muwafaq (d. 278 AH / 891 AD) mobilized his naval forces to fight the owners of the Zanj revolution in southern Iraq, and "I counted what was in ... the types of ships, and they were about ten thousand navigators." Those on whom the sustenance is made from the treasury is paid a share (= monthly salaries), except for the ships of the people of the military in which the mir is carried and the people ride on it for their needs, and only what each commander had of the sailors, chariots and boats.

We find that the Abbasids arranged a special job called “the Wilayat of Thaghr al-Bahr” and took great care of it, as is clear from the text of the decision to appoint one of the Abbasid caliphs to one of the holders of this position;

Qudamah bin Jaafar (d. 337 AH / 948 AD) reported this decision in 'Al-Kharaj and the Writing Industry', and it was stated: "And he ordered him to inspect the order of the ships that were built so that he can judge them and improve their machines, choose the manufacturers for them, and supervise what was in the ports..., and his order Only those who are skilled (= expert) in medicine, clever, patient and curative, and those who carry them with them on board the boats should be the best of soldiers...the most sincere in intention, anticipation and daring against the enemy.”

By the end of the 6th / 12th century AD;

The finance and military writer Al-Assaad Ibn Mamati (d. 606 AH / 1209 AD) described - in “The Laws of Diwans” - the conditions of maritime affairs in Ayyubid Egypt and its most important shipyards;

He said, “The building industry (= plural of building: the fleet) in which the mentioned boats are built, and they have employees who summon what he needs, and he releases money and items to them, and accounts are taken from them (= accounts reports) in which are sold wrecks and others and their accounts are returned, and industries (= roles) Shipbuilding) there are now three: in Egypt (= Cairo), Alexandria and Damietta.

In the Mamluk era, we see al-Qalqshandi (d. 821 AH / 1418 AD) talking - in 'Subh al-A'sha' - about a government administration called "Diwan al-Jihad";

He says, "It is the Diwan of Buildings (= fleets) and its place was with 'industry' in Egypt, and in it the construction of boats for the fleet and the carrying of royal grain and logs (= timber) and others, and from it it was spent on the captains of the boats and their men, and if his easement (= his income) did not meet what he needed, he was summoned. him from the treasury (= public treasury) to suffice him.”

Diversity and specialization


The Islamic naval fleets in the Levant and Egypt played a pivotal and influential role in resisting aggression during the era of the Crusades (492-690 AH/1099-1291AD);

In the year 550 AH / 1160 AD, the commander of the Egyptian Fatimid fleet was an expert emir in his name, as Ibn al-Qalanisi (d. 555 AH / 1160 AD) mentions - in 'The History of Damascus' - that the Minister of the Fatimids, Tala'i bin Ruzaik the Armenian (d. 556 AH / 1161 AD) "consented to take over (= command) The Egyptian fleet, presented by the navy, was very valiant and perceptive about the works of the sea!

The classes of ships that Muslims used in their war and commercial fleets, and even in the fields of tourism and transportation, varied. They assigned to each class of people the appropriate marine boats, and assigned to each field the appropriate ships of various shapes and sizes, with different objectives and functions, and with varying speeds, capabilities and equipment.

As the common people had ships for their travels and transportation;

For the elite of the people, princes, ministers, governors, and senior merchants were assigned their ships equipped with what suits their ranks of pomp and comfort facilities, and that is why Ibn Battuta (d. 779 AH / 1377 AD) tells us - on his journey - about the existence of types of ships dedicated to “the sultan and the subjects”, and he states that he chose for himself in One of his diplomatic trips "a fine boat of boats prepared for the boarding of princes."

The activity of ship transport - trade and tourism - was very profitable.

People used it to move about during their daily activities and in their private parks. When Abu al-Hasan al-Shabashti (d. 388 AH / 999 AD) - in his book 'The Homes' - was exposed to talk about the Christian "Monastery of Ashmouni Festival" in Iraq, he described it as "one of the great days in Baghdad, [as ] Its people gather to him as they gather for some of their feasts, and no one remains from the people of amusement and play who does not go out to him, and some of them are in [ships] planes and some of them are in the zabzab and al-Samiria, each human being according to his ability!

Al-Hafiz al-Khatib al-Baghdadi (d. 463 AH/1072 AD) - in 'The History of Baghdad' - provides data on the revenues of maritime transport services in Iraq;

He says that "the Hebrew Samirat (= Maadiyat) of the Tigris was counted in days... [Abbasid Prince] Talha al-Muwaffaq (d. 278 AH/891 AD) was thirty thousand, and it was estimated that their navigators earned ninety thousand dirhams each day (= today approximately $110,000) "!

And when the traveler Ibn Battuta recorded his observations in Egypt, he said, “Thirty-six thousand boats built by the Sultan and the parish pass ascending to Upper Egypt and descending to Alexandria and Damietta with all kinds of bounties and facilities!!”

وبالنسبة لأصناف السفن؛ فإن من أهمها المراكب الحربية التي تعددت مهامُّها وأحجامُها كما نجده في نص للنويري الإسكندراني (ت بعد 775هـ/1372م) في ‘كتاب الإلمام‘، الذي تحدث فيه عن وقعة هجوم القبارصة على الإسكندرية سنة 767هـ/1366م، فذكر من صنوف السفن التي كانت تُستخدم في البحر المتوسط: "القراقير (= جمع قُرْقُور: السفينة العظيمة أَو الطويلة)، والزوارق، والطرايد، والغربان، والشواني، والشياطي (= جمع شيطي)، والسلالير (= جمع سلورة: سفينة صغيرة للرُّماة)، والعُشاريات (= جمع عُشاري)".

ثم فصّل النويري الاستخدامات المتنوعة لتلك السفن؛ فقال إن "لكل منها مكانته في الحرب ونقل الجيوش والخيول ووَسْق (= حمْل) البضائع ومُستلزمات الجند: والقراقير لحمل البضائع، ومنها ما هو بثلاثة ظهور (= طوابق) ولها ثلاثة قلاع (= جمع قَلْع: الشراع) تسير بها في الريح العاصف؛ وأما الطريدة فإنها مفتوحة المواخير (= الأبواب الخلفية) بأبواب تُفتح وتُغلق معدّة لحمل الخيل بسبب الحرب؛ وأما الغربان فتحمل الغُزاة (= الجنود) وسيْرها بالقَلْع والمجاذيف، ومنها ما له مئة وثمانون مجذافًا وأقل من ذلك".

ويضيف النويري أن مركب "الشيطي يُجَرّ بثمانين مجذافًا ووظيفتُه المَيْنُ (= نقل المؤن)، ويَـرِدُ بالخبرِ (= سفينة استطلاع أمني) للقراقير والغربان وغيرها [من السفن]. وأما العُشاري فيُجَرّ بعشرين مجذافًا وهو الذي يُعدِّي بالبضائع والرجال من الساحل (إلى سفن العمق)؛ لأن القراقير لا تقف إلا في المكان الغزير الماء؛ والسلورة [حجمُها] بين الشيطي والعشاري. والقوارب نافعة لغُزاة المسلمين وقت الحرب في البحر، يكون في كل قارب أربعة أو خمسة من الرماة يعينون غربان المسلمين على القتال لغربان الفرنج وقراقيرها، وذلك بسرعة دَورانها وخفّتها على مراكب الفرنج".

ثراء معجمي
وقد عرف المسلمون قبل ذلك "البوارج" البحرية المستخدمة في الحروب والتي أخذوا صناعتها من الهنود؛ فقد ذكر الطبري -في تاريخه- أنه في 251هـ/865م "دخل من البصرة [إلى بغداد] عشر سفائن بحرية تُسمّى ‘البوارج‘، في كل سفينة اشْتيام/اسْتيام (= رئيس الملّاحين)، وثلاثة نفّاطين، ونجّار، وخبّاز، وتسعة وثلاثون رجلا من الجذّافين والمقاتلة؛ فذلك في كل سفينة خمسة وأربعون رجلا".

كما عرف عصرهم السفن الحربية العملاقة كالتي ذكرها ابن الأثير حين سجّل واقعة استيلاء الأسطول الأيوبي على غريمه الإفرنجي التابع لمملكة صقلية سنة 570هـ/1174م، رغم أن القوة البحرية الصقلية كانت "أسطولا كثيرا عدته مئتا ‘شيني‘ (= ‘شَوْنَةُ‘: السفينة الحربية) تحمل الرجالة، وست وثلاثون ‘طريدة‘ تحمل الخيل، وستة مراكب كبار تحمل آلة الحرب، وأربعون مركبا تحمل الأزواد، وفيها من الراجل خمسون ألفا، ومن الفرسان ألف وخمسمئة، منها خمسمئة تركُبُلي (= فرقة عسكرية بيزنطية من أصول تركية)"!!

وقد أدرك البحارة المسلمون طبيعة تضاريس كل بحر فاختاروا له ما يناسبه من أنواع السفن؛ ولذلك كانت مراكب البحر الأحمر تختلف كلية عن سفن البحر المتوسط لكثرة الشعاب المرجانية والصخور في البحر الأحمر، ولبعده عن حركة سفن الأعداء الصليبيين.

وكانت أكثر مراكب هذا البحر تُسمّى "الجُلّاب" لنقل الحجّاج، وقد سافر فيها الرحالة الأندلسي ابن جبير (ت 614هـ/1217م) فوصف طريقة صناعتها قائلا: "والجُلّاب التي يُصرّفونها في هذا البحر الفرعوني مُلفَّقة الإنشاء، لا يُستعمل فيها مسمار ألبتة، إنما هي مُخيَّطة بأمراس (= حبال) من القَنبار (= فتائل تصنع من جوز الهند)".

وإلى جانب ثراء معجم أسماء السفن بالمفردات؛ نجد طيفا واسعا من المسميات والمصطلحات المتعلقة بالسفينة وعملية صناعتها والحياة داخلها في أعالي البحار؛ فابن منظور (ت 711هـ/1311م) -في ‘لسان العرب‘- يورد مصطلح "الجَلْفَطَةُ" باعتباره وصفا لعملية تركيب ألواح السفينة، فيقول إن "الجِلْفاط.. هو الذي يُجَلْفِطُ السفنَ فيُدخل بين مَسامِير الأَلواح وخُروزها مُشاقةَ الكَتّانِ ويمسَحُه بالزِّفْت والقارِ، وفعْلُه: الجَلْفَطةُ".

كما يذكر مصطلح شحن السفينة قائلا: "الشَّحْنُ: مَلْؤُكَ السفينة وإِتْمامُك جِهازَها كله"، ويقول إن "المِيناء هو الموضع الذي تُرْفَأُ فيه السفنُ أَي تُجْمع وتُرْبَطُ". ومن مصطلحات السفن الشائعة "الربّان" الذي يقول عنه مرتضى الزَّبيدي (ت 1205هـ/1790م) -في ‘تاج العروس‘- إنه "من يُجري السفينة"، أي قائد السفينة أو الرائس أو الريّس.

والربان يختلف عن النُّوخِذَة -أو الناخودة- الذي يُطلق غالبا على من يملك السفن لغرض التجارة أو النقل أو الصيد، وربما يكون ربّانًا أيضًا. وقد تعرّف ابن بطوطة في رحلته إلى الهند على أحد هؤلاء النواخذة كان يملك سفنا عديدة، فيقول عنه: "ومنهم الناخودة إبراهيم [بن خواجة بهرة] له ستة من المراكب مختصّة له"، كما التقى مع "الناخودة مثقال الشهير الاسم صاحب الأموال الطائلة والمراكب الكثيرة لتجارته بالهند والصين واليمن وفارس"!

مجتمع بحري
ونظرًا لطول زمن الأسفار والرحلات في البحار حتى إنها كانت تبلغ أسابيع بل أشهرًا أحيانا؛ فقد صمم المسلمون سفنًا عملاقة للتجارة والنقل زوّدوها بكل ما يضمن راحة ركابها وحاجياتهم التموينية، فكانت تحتوي على مرافق للنوم وأخرى للطبخ والاستحمام، وكان يخُصّص فيها قسم كبير لتخزين الطعام بما يكفي مئات الركاب، بل إن بعض السفن يكون متعدد الطبقات والأدوار فتصبح إحداها أشبه بمدينة عائمة، كما تتعدد البضائع والسلع المعروضة فيها للبيع للركاب فكأنها سوق جامعة متنقلة!

ويحدثنا الرحالة ابن جبير الأندلسي عن مشاهداته لسير الحياة في هذه السفن العملاقة؛ فيقول إنه أثناء عودته من المشرق إلى الأندلس 581هـ/1185م على ظهر سفينة كبيرة "قلَّ الزادُ بأيدي الناس، لكنهم [كانوا] مِن هذا المركب -بمنة الله- في مدينة جامعة للمرافق، فكلُّ ما يُحتاج شراؤه يوجد: من خبز وماء ومن جميع الفواكه والأُدْم (= جمع إدامٍ)، كالرمان والسفرجل والبطيخ السندي والكمثرى..، والحمص والباقلاء -نَــيْئاً ومطبوخا- والبصل والثوم والتين والجبن والحوت، وغير ذلك مما يطول ذكره؛ عاينّا جميع ذلك يُباع" داخل السفينة!!

ويصف ابن بطوطة -في رحلته- سعة السفن في بحار الهند الإسلامية والصين فيقول إن بعضها يتكون من "أربعة ظهور (= طوابق)، ويكون فيه البيوت والمصاري (= جمع مصرية: جناح مفرد بمرافقه) والغرف للتجار، والمصرية منها يكون فيها البيوت والسنداس (= الحمّام)، وعليها المفتاح يسدها صاحبها ويحمل معه الجواري والنساء، وربما كان الرجل في مصريته فلا يعرف به غيره ممن يكون بالمركب..، و[رجال] البحرية يُسْكِنون فيها أولادهم ويزدرعون (= يزرعون) الخُضَر والبقول والزنجبيل في أحواض خشب"!!

وخوفا من ضياع الأموال والأمتعة؛ كان التجار والبحارة يوزعون أموالهم وتجارتهم على أكثر من سفينة عند الضرورة، فقد جاء عند الجاحظ (ت 255هـ/869م) في ‘البخلاء‘: "قال ابن سيرين (ت 110هـ/729م) لبعض البحريين: كيف تصنعون بأموالكم؟ قال: نُفرّقها في السفن فإن عُطِب بعضٌ سَلِم بعضٌ! ولولا أنّ السلامة أكثر لما حملنا خزائننا في البحر".

وعلى ما تضمنته الأساطيل البحرية -مدنيةً وعسكريةً- من أسباب الراحة ووسائل الأمان؛ فإن حياة البحر اشتُهرت بالمغامرات والمنغصات وما يلاقيه أهله من أهوال طبيعية تتصل بظروف البحر وتقلبات الطقس، أو مخاطر بشرية كظاهرة الخطف والقرصنة. وقد دُوِّنت حوادث ذلك في قصص رحلات البحار وأساطيرها، ونشأ عنه في الثقافة العربية لون من "الأدب البحري" كانت بدايته من شواطئ مدينة سيراف على الساحل الغربي لإيران؛ إذْ كانت مركزًا لتلاقي البحارة والتجار من مختلف الأجناس والأقطار.

ونجد أقدم هذه القصص في كتاب بعنوان ‘رحلة السيرافي‘ التي يرجع تاريخ جمعها إلى النصف الثاني من القرن الثالث/التاسع الميلادي، ويصف فيها التاجر سليمان السيرافي البصري (ت بعد 330هـ/942م) رحلته إلى الصين والحكايات التي سمعها من الربابنة العرب المسافرين بين البصرة والصين.

ويحدثنا السيرافي عن الأعاصير والزوابع التي كان يشاهدها الربابنة والنواخذة آنذاك في بحر الهند؛ فيقول: "ذكر لي جماعة من النواخذة أنهم ربما رأوا في هذا البحر سحابا أبيض قِطعاً صغارا، يخرج منه لسان أبيض طويل حتى يتّصلَ بماء البحر، فإذا اتصل به غلا البحر لذلك وارتفعت منه زوابع عظيمة لا تمرّ زوبعة منها بشيء إلا أتلفته"!

إرث معرفي
كانت حصيلةُ قرونٍ من ملاحة أساطيل المسلمين -في مياه مختلف البحار سِلْماً وحَرْباً وسياحةً وتجارةً- كافيةً ليراكموا تجارب ثرية، ويتركوا تراثًا ضخما في ميدان علوم البحار وفنون الملاحة؛ ولذا نجد الحسن بن عبد الله العباسي (ت 710هـ/1310م) يُفْرِدُ -في ‘آثار الأُوَّل‘- البابَ العاشر للكلام "في حروب البحر"، فيصف هذه الحروب ويعطي النصائح للقادة فيقول: "يجب على والي حرب البحر أن يستجيد المراكب ويستجدّها (= يصونها)، ويُكثر تقويتها وادّخار آلاتها، حتّى إذا تلف شيء من ذلك وجدَ ما يخلفه، ويحتاط في تقييرها (= طلاؤها بالقار: الزِّفت)..، ويستنخب (= يختار) القوّاد والرؤساء العارفين بمسالك البحر ومراسيه، وعلامات الرياح وتغيرات الأنواء والحركات البحرية من المدّ والجزر وغيره".

ويكشف العباسي عن الأدوات والتكتيكات التي يجب استخدامها أثناء الصدام البحري مع العدو؛ فيوصي المحارب البحري بأن "يرمي في المراكب جِرار (= عُلَب) النُّورة (= مادة كيميائية) المدقوقة غير المطفأة؛ فإنها تعميهم بغبارها وتُلهب عليهم إذا تبدّدت (مثل الغاز المسيل للدموع)، ويرمي عليهم النفط، وقُدور الحيَّات والعقارب، وقدور الصابون اللين فإنّه يُزلّق أقدامهم، ويُعلّق حول المراكب الجلود واللُّبود المبلولة بالخَلّ أو الماءِ لدفع [نار] النفط، ويحترسُ من هجوم العدوّ عليه في الليل، فلا يتخذ في المراكب نارًا ولا يُشعل مصباحًا".

ومن المصادر المهمة أيضًا في معرفة تفاصيل حياة ومعارك البحر كتابُ ‘الأحكام الملوكية والضوابط الناموسية في فن القتال في البحر‘ لمحمـد بن منكلي الناصري (ت بعد 770هـ/1368م)، الذي كان أحد قادة الجيش المملوكي في عصر السلطان الأشرف شعبان (ت 778هـ/1376م)؛ فقد أفرد أبوابا لبيان الأزمنة المناسبة لصناعة السفن وأوقات إقلاعها ورسوّها، والأطعمة والأشربة التي يجب أن يتناولها راكب البحر قبل الرحيل وأثناء السفر حتى لا تُضار صحته؛ فيقول مثلا: "ينبغي أن يكون [الإنسان] عند ركوب البحر ممتلئًا من الطعام، فإذا حصل له القيء كان في معدته ما يستفرغه..، ثم يُقلل الغذاء بعد ذلك"!

وفي تاريخ الجغرافيا البحرية العربية نجد أخبارًا ومعارف متفرقة عن البحار وعلومها والملاحة وقواعدها، لاسيما ما يتعلق فيها بعلوم الفلك التي كان الربابنةُ يعرِفون بها المنازلَ والأبراج والتغيرات السماوية المتعلقة بمطالع ومغارب النجوم، والمواعيد المناسبة -من حيث حالة الطقس وجهات هبوب الرياح- للأسفار إقلاعاً ورُسُوًّا، وكانوا يعرفون ذلك بواسطة ما كان يُسمى بـ"علم الأنواء" وببعض آلات الرصد الجوي والفلكي.

استعان الربابنة والنواخذة بهذه المعارف الفلكية والجغرافية العربية واشتُهر بعضهم لخبرتهم وعلومهم؛ فهذا المسعودي يذكر -في ‘مروج الذهب‘- أن "عبد الله بن وزير (ت بعد 332هـ/944م) صاحب مدينة جَبَلَة [الشامية].. لم يبقَ في هذا الوقت (= 332هـ/944م).. أبصرُ منه في البحر الرومي (= البحر المتوسط) ولا أسنُّ منه، وليس فيمَن يَركبه مِن أصحاب المراكب الحربية والعمالة إلا وهو مُنقادٌ إلى قوله ويُقرّ له بالبصر والحِذْق، مع ما هو عليه من الديانة والجهاد القديم فيها".

وقد توارث الربابنةُ والبحّارةُ مؤلفاتٍ وأراجيز تتضمن قواعد الإبحار وطرائقه ومُرشداته، ونجد أقدم إشارة لهذه المرشدات البحرية عند الرحالة الجغرافي الفقيه المقدسي البشاري (ت 380هـ/991م) في ‘أحسن التقاسيم‘؛ إذ يقول: "وأما أنا فسِرْتُ نحو ألفيْ فرسخ (9000 كم تقريبا) ودرتُ على الجزيرة [العربية] كلها من القُلْزُم (= البحر الأحمر) إلى عَبّادان (مدينة إيرانية شمال شرقي الخليج العربي)، سوى ما توَّهتْ بنا المراكبُ إلى جزائره (= المحيط الهندي) ولُجَجِه، وصاحبتُ مشايخ فيه وُلدوا ونشؤوا من ربَّانيين (= ربابنة)… ووكلاء وتجار، ورأيتُهم مِنْ أبصر الناس به..، ورأيتُ معهم دفاتر في ذلك يتدارسونها ويُعوّلون عليها ويعملون بما فيها"!!

ومن هذا المنطلق، كانت مهام الربابنة أو النواخذة محددة لها تقاليد وقواعد راسخة تتناقلها الأجيال، لكنها بلغت ذروتها مع أحمد بن ماجد النجدي (ت 906هـ/1501م) الملقب "أسد البحر" وكبير ربابنة العرب وأشهرهم، ومخترع البوصلة البحرية التي يسميها "الحُقّ" أو "الإبرة". ففي كتابه ‘الفوائد في أصول علم البحر والقواعد‘؛ نراه يؤكد على الربابنة في معاينة السفن قبل أن تمخر البحار؛ فيقول مخاطبا الملاح: "تأمّل في السفنية وهي فوق الأرض واكتب جميع خللها، وقليلٌ في زمننا من يفعل ذلك..، وإذا ركبتَ فيها انصب عودًا وفيه خِرْقة لتعْرف [مهبّ] الريح".

إسهام مؤثر
ثم يوجّه ابنُ ماجدٍ الربانَ بضرورة المكان الذي توضع فيه البوصلة خشية أن يكون في قاعدة السفينة ما يُخِلُّ باتزانها؛ فيقول: "جَلِّسْ ‘الحُقّة‘ في مكانها وتفقّد كلّ التفقّد أولاً في نصب الحقّة؛ لأن من المراكب ما يكون في نجارته خلل فيعدّي بك عن مجراك، فاستدرك الأمر بأوله". كما ينصح الربابنةَ بسماع الآراء الحصيفة المخلصة والتحلي بالأخلاق الفاضلة، فهو يقول: "تفقّد جميع الركاب والعسكر، وتأمل نهوضهم لتكون عارفًا بهم عند الشر..، واسمع جميع أقوالهم وخذ مليحها ودع قبيحها، وكُن حازمًا قويًا في قولك لينَ الطبيعة".

وإلى جانب البوصلة التي كان الربابنة المسلمون يحددون بها وجهة مسيرهم الصحيحة في مجاهيل البحار؛ امتلكوا أيضا مناظير رؤية يراقبون بها ما في مياه البحار من صخور وشعاب قد تضر جسم السفينة، ومنها تلك التي أشار إليها الحميري -في ‘الروض المعطار‘- قائلا إن "نواتية.. المراكب لهم آلات مُحْكَمَة موضوعة في أعلى الصاري (= الشراع) الذي يكون في مقدَّم المركب، فيجلس النوتيّ يُبصر ما لاح أمامه من التروش (= صخور البحر) التي تحت الماء مخفيةً، فيقول للماسك (بالمقود): خُذْ إليك وادْفع عنك! ولولا ذلك ما عَبَره أحد وآفاته كثيرة في المراكب، والمسافرون يأوون كل ليلة إلى مواضع يلجؤون إليها خوفا من معاطبه"!!

ويخبرنا قطب الدين النَّهْرَوَالي المكي (ت 990هـ/1582م) -في ‘البرق اليماني في الفتح العثماني‘- أن أحمد بن ماجد هو من ساعد المستكشف البرتغالي فاسكو دي غاما (ت 918هـ/1524م) على الوصول إلى الهند بدايات القرن العاشر الهجري/الـ16 الميلادي.

وفي ذلك يقول النَّهْرَوَالي: "واستمروا [أي البرتغاليين] على ذلك (= محاولتهم بلوغ الهند) مدة وهم يهلكون في ذلك المكان (= رأس الرجاء الصالح).. إلى أن خلص منهم غُراب (= سفينة حربية كبيرة) إلى بحر الهند..، [فـ]ـدلّهم شخص ماهر من أهل البحر يُقال له أحمد بن ماجد، صاحبَه كبيرُ الفرنج وكان يُقال له الأملندي (= ألميرانتي/ Almirante أي الأميرال البرتغالية)..، وقال لهم لا تقربوا الساحل من ذلك المكان وتوغّلوا في البحر ثم عُودوا فلا تنالكم الأمواج، فلما فعلوا ذلك صار يَسْلَمُ من الكسر كثير من مراكبهم فكثروا في بحر الهند".

وإذا كان البحارة المسلمون ساعدوا فاسكو دي غاما في معرفة الطريق إلى الهند وجنوب شرق آسيا؛ فإنهم كذلك كانوا أول من رسم خريطة للعالم الجديد -في القرن العاشر/الـ16 الميلادي- تُضاهي في دقتها صور الأقمار الصناعية اليوم، ونقصد بذلك الخرائط التي رسمها الخرائطي والقائد البحري العثماني محيي الدين بيري ريِّس (ت 961هـ/1553م)، وهو ابن أخي قائد البحرية العثمانية كمال ريِّس (ت 917هـ/1511م) أحد الذين ساهموا في إنقاذ مسلمي الأندلس ونقلهم إلى سواحل الشمال الأفريقي والدولة العثمانية.

The most prominent thing in the maps of Piri Reis - especially the second map that he drew and gifted to Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (d. 974 AH / 1566 AD) in 935 AH / 1529 AD - was that he drew the continents of the New World at that time (North and South America) in a surprising way, so that on August 26 August 1956 AD (1379 AH) The American Georgetown University held a symposium to discuss Berry Reiss maps, and all the present scholars agreed that these maps have “a health that astonishes the mind, [they] are above the level of their era [a] in geography, and far superior to the level of geography science among Westerners" at that time;

As reported by Yilmaz Oztuna (d. 1434 AH / 2012 AD) in 'The History of the Ottoman Empire'.