Travel in al-Ḍāhirī’s Sefer ha-musar: Between Reality and Imagination

This article meticulously and systematically analyzes travel accounts appearing in al-Ḍāhirī’s Sefer ha-musar (Book of adab), which is divided into forty-five maqāmāt, written in rhymed prose and according to the literary rules of the Arabic and Hebrew Maqama genres. The theme of travel forms a large portion of this sixteenth-century Yemenite book, as it depicts the protagonist’s travels among several countries and regions in the East. Through such descriptions, some details about the places he visited are given, with special attention and significance being paid to Jerusalem and other holy places in Palestine. Some scholars and historians have utilized these literary passages as reliable historical sources to understand the period. By comparing al-Ḍāhirī with other Arabic and Hebrew Maqama authors with reference to authentic historical documents, this article tackles, in a comprehensive manner, the question of reality and imagination in his travel accounts.