Al-Khatim's religious journey began in Mecca from whence he travelled to
Tarim in
Yemen and then to
Somalia by sea and to
Massawa on the
Red Sea coast where he travelled inland into the
Ethiopian hinterland before returning to Mecca. On this trip tens of thousands of people embraced
Islam including entire clans and tribes. On his second trip, which started in the
Egyptian countryside south of Cairo, he was accompanied by his teacher
Ahmad ibn Idris who parted ways with him in Al-Zeyniyyah. Al-Khatim traversed the
Nubian lands of the
Mahas and the Sakot and went to
Kordofan where he met the 19th century judge and scholar Arabi Ahmed Al-Hawwari, who became a principal follower and leader within the movement in Kordofan. He continued to Western Sudan and reached the lands of the
Fur people and the Borno tribe. He then travelled to
Sennar on the banks of the
Blue Nile and to
Shendi via Gezira and via the
Butana to the Taka Mountain region near
Kassala from which he entered into
Ethiopia and visited many regions before returning to
Mecca. ==Literature==