Abstract

Muslim authors paid a significant interest in European peoples and countries in the view of growing the relationship between Muslim World and Medieval Christian Europe and the flourish of authorship in Muslim scholarship. In fact, a part of the Muslim's interest was given to the British Isles in spite of it is far distance of Muslim lands. Therefore, the present article focuses on principle significant questions; what was Britain for early Muslim authors? and what were the most important reasons for interesting those Muslim authors in it, and what were the most effective factors contributing in developing such interest until the mid-6^th AH/ 12^th century CE when the geographer al-Idrīsī was alive.

Hence, the researcher has to investigate the beginnings of the term "Britain" in Muslim traditional sources since the establishment of authorship in the Muslim world, particularly during first quarter of the 3^rd AH/ 9^th CE century when the first reference to "Marṭāniyah" was recorded. The al-Idrīsī's account on the British Isles is worthy to examine since he sheds light on its major islands, described in detail the most important British towns and cities in his time, and some of its well-known rivers. He also tried to determine the distances between some of these cities and towns by the mile, with some references to political and economic conditions in the British Isles in his time. All that clarifies the extent of early Muslim interest in the British Isles, seeming limited to the geographical knowledge among most Muslim writings during the period under study.

Keywords

Islam- Britain – British Isles – Muslim sources- al-Idrīsī

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