What was the point of creating ahistorical stories while giving the feeling of historicity? There were multiple functions of invention. Al Masudi, a geographer from the 10th century, tells the narrative of an Arab encountering the Chinese Emperor. It's an entertaining story. Premodern authors created ahistorical events primarily for the purpose of entertainment. Something else than pure enjoyment appears to be going on in this story, as well as in others like it. The Chinese Emperor has two concerns. The doubts concern. 1. Young Earth and 2. Global Flood. Both views were common among early Muslims. Nominal Muslims who interacted with other cultures had reason to doubt these beliefs. It was easier to voice doubts through the mouths of magnificent characters. To express it in stories like these would be effective since the audience would be intrigued about other countries, and the stories were not argumentative, disarming defensive tendencies:
Among the entertaining stories of the kings of China is that of a man of Quraysh, a descendant of Habbar ibn al-Aswad. At the time the rebellion of the Zanj chieftain was taking place in Basra - something every-body knows about - he emigrated to the city of Siraf. He had been one of the notables of Basra and was very rich. He set sail from Siraf for the Indian Ocean, and after taking ship after ship and travelling through country after country, he crossed India and finally ended up in China, and went to the city of Khanfü. After that, curiosity led him to visit the royal residence, which at that time was in the city of Khumdan, one of the largest and most important cities in the country. He waited a long time at the gates of the palace, presenting requests in which he stated that he was of the family of the Prophet of the Arabs. At last the king gave orders that he should be allotted a house with everything he might need and that they should attend to all his wants. The king then wrote to his viceroy in Khānfü, telling him to make enquiries and find out from the other merchants the truth concerning the man's claim to be related to the Prophet of the Arabs. When the governor of Khanfü had confirmed the claim in writing, the king admitted the merchant to his pres-ence and gave him great riches, which he brought back with him to Iraq. Now this merchant was an intelligent old man, and said that when he came into his presence, the king asked him about the Arabs and how they had managed to destroy the Persian empire, to which he had replied, 'It was by the help of God, May His Power Be Exalted! The Persians worshipped fire and bowed down before the sun and the moon, to the exclusion of God.'
The king continued, "The Arabs have conquered the noblest and most extensive of kingdoms, the richest, the most remarkable for the intelligence of its people, and the most famous.' Then he asked, 'How do you rank the rest of the kings of the world?' 'I have no idea,' I replied. At this, the king addressed himself to his interpreter: "Tell him that we number five kings. The most power-ful of all is he who rules Iraq, for he is located at the centre of the world and the other powers are grouped about him; also, we call him the King of Kings. After this comes our own, which we consider as the Kingdom of Men, for no kingdom is better governed, none is more reliably administered and nowhere are subjects more obedient than ours. This is why we are the Kings of Men. After us comes the King of Wild Beasts. This is our neighbour, the King of the Turks, for they are among men what wild beasts are in the animal king-dom. He is followed by the King of Elephants, that is the King of India, who is recognized as the King of Wisdom, since all wisdom originates from that land. The last is the King of Rum [Byzantium], whom we consider as the King of Soldiers, for no country has soldiers with such perfect bodies and such beautiful faces. These are the principal kings. The others are all subordinate to them.' Then he said to his interpreter, 'Ask him: Would you recognize your master, that is to say the Prophet, if you saw Him?' 'How could I see Him? I answered, 'since He is with God, May His Power Be Exalted.' 'I didn't mean that,' went on the king, 'I meant his portrait.' 'Certainly,' I said.
The king ordered a basket brought, and it was placed before him and he took out a scroll and said to the interpreter, 'Show him his master.' I saw on the scroll pictures of the Prophets and moved my lips, silently blessing them. The king, who didn't realize that I had recognized them, asked the interpreter to ask me why I was moving my lips. 'I am addressing a prayer to the Prophets,' I said. 'How did you recognize them?' 'By certain events in their lives which are depicted here. This is Noah taking refuge with his family in the Ark when God, who had ordered the waters to cover the face of the whole earth, saved Him and those who were with Him.' The king began to laugh and said, 'As to the name Noah, you are right, but as to the whole earth being flooded, it is something we know nothing about. The deluge affected only part of the earth and did not reach our country. If what you say is true of your part of the world, the fact remains that we, the inhabitants of China, India, Sind and many other countries and nations as well, are ignorant of it, nor have our ances-tors handed us down any tradition like the one you describe. And yet, such an event as the inundation of the earth is sufficiently remarkable to strike fear into the minds of the people, to remain engraved in their memories and to be handed on as part of traditional knowledge.' I did not dare contradict him and counter his argu-ments, because I knew he would reject them, so I said, 'Here is Moses with His staff and the Children of Israel.' 'Yes,' said the king, 'despite the smallness of his country and the disobedience of his people.' 'Here is Jesus,' I continued, 'riding on His ass, and the Apostles are accompanying Him.' 'His ministry', said the king, 'lasted very little time hardly more than thirty months.' Thus he went on through all the Prophets and Their lives, and said many things of which we have reported only a small part.
This man of the Quraysh, who is known by the name of Ibn Habbar, even claimed to have seen a long caption above each picture, which he assumed gave Their name, country, age, and everything about Their life and prophetic mission. Then I recognized the portrait of our Prophet Muhammad, (May Prayers and Peace Be Upon Him!), riding a camel and surrounded by his Companions, wearing on their feet Bedouin sandals made of camel hide, and belts made of palm fibre from which hung their toothpicks. I wept. The king, via his interpreter, asked me the reason. "This is our Prophet and our leader,' I answered, 'our cousin, Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah!' 'What you say is true,' the king replied. He and his people reigned over the noblest of kingdoms, but he did not live to see his empire. That was reserved to those who succeeded him." Examining the portraits of the prophets, I saw several, who by joining their first finger and thumb of their right hand in the form of a ring seemed to be indicating, through the position of their hands, that creation is like a circle. Others pointed their index finger to the heavens as if they wished to inspire Creation with the fear of what lies above. The interpreter told me that these were Chinese and Indian prophets. Then he asked me questions about the caliphs, their appearance and about many of their laws. I answered insofar as I knew the answers. Then he said, 'What do your people believe is the age of the earth?" 'Opinions differ on the subject,' I said. 'Some say 6000 years, others less or more.'Is that what your Prophet said?' he went on. Yes,' I said.
He burst out laughing and so did his vizier, who was standing there, making it clear that he didn't think much of my answer. 'I don't think your Prophet ever said that,' the king added. I tried again and said, Yes, indeed, it was the Prophet himself.' I saw the expression of disbelief on his face, and he told the interpreter to speak to me as follows: "Take care what you say. One does not address kings unless one is absolutely certain of one's facts. You maintain that there is a difference of opinion among you on this subject - you are therefore in disagreement about something your Prophet has said. Now when it comes to what the Prophets have said, differences of opinion are not permissible. On the contrary, everyone must agree without argument. Take great care, therefore, not to mention this matter again, or anything like it.' He talked to me also of many other matters which time has erased from my memory. Then he asked, 'Why did you leave your king, whose dwelling place and lineage are closer to you than ours are?
I told him what had happened at Basra and how I had settled in Siraf. "There', I went on, 'I conceived a wish to see you, O king, for I had heard of the pros-perity of your kingdom, your wise rule, your justice and the benefits you bestow upon all your subjects. I wanted to reside in this kingdom and see it with my own eyes. Now, God willing, I shall go back to my country, to my cousin's kingdom. There, I shall tell all that I have seen of the majesty of this kingdom, the vast extent of this country, the justice which is extended to all, and I shall speak of your most admirable qualities, O most excellent king! I shall tell nothing but good of it, having nothing to say but praise.' That pleased the king, and he ordered me to be given rich gifts and magnificent robes of honour, and ordered me to be taken by mule post to Khanfü. He wrote to his governor to treat me well, to assign me a place in the first rank among the distinguished men in his entourage and to give me board and lodging until I should depart. I therefore stayed with him, living in abundance and delight until I left China.
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