I know little of the talk of these tribes, and I see no handsome or beautiful face among them. So I said, with tears in my eyes: "Your body, with your clothes, and modesty are black, and black upon black." I regretted my exposure to the sons of Ham, and remembered the enmity they bear towards the sons of Shem. My heart was filled with such terror that I could barely describe it. I almost asked to return to my homeland. Then God's hidden mercies overtook me, and I remembered what the scriptures praised by the tongues of eloquent writers, and what is narrated in tradition about the Creator of mankind. He said: "And We shall provide for you a new sustenance." The best of mankind traveled from Mecca to Sham. The scholars have said that travel reveals the character of men, and it is the best way to distinguish their true nature. It has been said that if the moon did not move from its narrator, crowns would not have been placed upon it, and if the moon were not the ultimate of perfection, it would be the ultimate of deficiency. The poet said:

From Al-Kamil: Travel brings forth virtues and high status, for the moon traveled and became the crowns. And the moon, were it not for its journey, would not have been anything but increasing and decreasing.

And another said:

From Al-Tawil: Seek honor, O people, and homeland, and seek high status. Travel, for the traveler is not weary. He rejoices in acquiring sustenance, knowledge, literature, and the company of the noble.