Mohammed ibn abd al-Wahab al-Ghassani

Mohammed ibn Abd al-Wahhab al-Wazir al-Ghassani (died 1707) was an ambassador for the Moroccan Sultan Moulay Ismail. He is especially well-known because of the account of his journey to Spain in 1690–1691, entitled Rihlat al-Wazir fi Iftikak al-Asir (The Journey of the Minister to Ransom the captive). The purpose of his diplomatic mission was to ransom a number of captives in that country. Al-Ghassani describes the social, religious and administrative characteristics of Spanish life and culture.[1] At the end of his account he writes the story of the conquest of Andalusia. Much of the account is filled with regret over the loss of the country to the Christians.

References

1. Nabil I. Matar, In the Lands of the Christians: Arabic Travel Writing in the Seventeenth Century translated by Nabil I. Matar, Routledge, 2002, ISBN 978-0-415-93228-8, p. 116 (translation of Al-Wazir al-Ghassani: pp. 45–112)

Bibliography

• Juan Vernet, "Embajada de al-Gassani (1690–1691)", in: Al-Andalus: revista de las Escuelas de Estudios Árabes de Madrid y Granada, ISSN 0304-4335, Vol. 18, Nº 1, 1953, 109–131
• Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Wazir al-Ghassani, Abd al-Rahim Bin-Haddah, Safir Maghribi Fi Madrid Fi Nihayat Al-Qarn Al-Sabi ashr: Rihlat Al-Wazir Fi Iftikak Al-Asir, Manshurat Mahad al-Abhath fi lughat wa-thaqafat Asya wa-afriqya, ISBN 4-87297-907-9