Abu Zaid
Abu Zaid or Abú Zaidu-l Hasan, of Síráf, a connoisseur, who, although he never travelled in India and China, as he himself expressly states, made it his business to modify and complete the work of Sulaimán, by reading, and by questioning travellers to those countries. Mas'údí met this Abú Zaid at Basra, in 303 A.H. (916 A.D.), and acknowledges to have derived information from him, some of which he reproduced in his "Meadows of Gold," as a comparison of the following extracts will show. On the other hand, Abú Zaid was indebted to Mas'údí for some of his statements. He never mentions him by name, but refers to him as a "trustworthy person." The two works have much in common, but Mas'údí is generally more detailed. Abú Zaid finishes his work with these words:
- "Such is the most interesting matter that I have heard, among the many accounts to which maritime adventure has given birth. I have refrained from recording the false stories which sailors tell, and which the narrators themselves do not believe. A faithful account although short, is preferable to all. It is God who guides us in the right way." [1]
References
- ↑ Sir H. M. Elliot: The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians/I. The Merchant Sulaimán and Abú Zaid,pp.2-3
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