Ibn Battuta, a 14th-century Moroccan explorer, was the inspiration and historical model for the fictitious journey in The Journey of Ibn Fattouma. He was one of the greatest travelers, having visited most of the known world of his day. Ibn Battuta recorded his experiences for posterity in his famous Journey of Ibn Battuta (partly translated into English by H A R Gibb in 1929). Based on the title, The Journey of Ibn Fattouma, Naguib Mahfouz clearly wants readers to be aware of the medieval work while reading his novel. Mahfouz was inspired by Ibn Battuta's journey to write his book, but he did not approach his historically modeled book with a respectful attitude. His intention was partly to parody Ibn Battuta's journey. “Whereas Ibn Battuta travelled in space, his fictitious descendant travels in time; the five 'lands' he visits being, within the allegorical framework of the book, symbolic of stages in the evolution of organised society from the dawn of history to the present day.”
Mahfouz shows that Ibn Fattouma is modeled off of Ibn Battuta, but is not a mirror image of him. Ibn Fattouma criticizes his homeland, whereas Ibn Battuta idealized Islam, regardless of where he traveled. Ibn Fattouma's critiques of Islam seem to create the basis of his journey, as he searches for a place where life is far more ideal than his homeland. He questions God as a merciful being after seeing ignorance and poverty. This fuels his journey and creates a more complex character than if the story was simply following Ibn Battuta, blindly mimicking his every trait.
