Chapter XXI: The People of Al-Madinah (9)

[FN#1] Even pitching ground here is charged to pilgrims. [FN#2] Some authorities advise that this rite of Ramy be performed on foot. [FN#3] The word Jamrah is applied to the place of stoning, as well as to the stones. [FN#4] These numbers mark the successive spots where the Devil, in the shape of an old Shaykh, appeared to Adam, Abraham, and Ishmael, and was driven back by the simple process taught by Gabriel, of throwing stones about the size of a bean. [FN#5] I borrow this phrase from Ali Bey, who, however, speaks more like an ignorant Catalonian than a learned Abbaside, when he calls the pillar La Maison du Diable, and facetiously asserts that le diable a eu la malice de placer sa maison dans un lieu fort etroit qui na peut-etre pas 34 pieds de large. [FN#6] Some hold the pebble as a schoolboy does a marble, others between the thumb and forefinger extended, others shoot them from the thumb knuckle, and most men consult their own convenience. [FN#7] The barber removed all my hair. Hanifis shave at least a quarter of the head, Shafeis a few hairs on the right side. The prayer is, as usual, differently worded, some saying, O Allah this my Forelock is in Thy Hand, then grant me for every Hair a Light on Resurrection-day, by Thy Mercy O most Merciful of the Merciful! I remarked that the hair was allowed to lie upon the ground, whereas strict Moslems, with that reverence for mans bodythe Temple of the Supremewhich characterizes their creed, carefully bury it in the earth. [FN#8] This word is confounded with Dafa by many Moslem authors. Some speak of the Nafr from Arafat to Muzdalifah and the Dafa from Muzdalifah to Muna. I have used the words as my Mutawwif used them. [FN#9] They keep the keys of the House. In my day the head of the family was Shaykh Ahmad. [FN#10] In Ibn Jubayrs time this large padlock was of gold. It is said popularly that none but the Benu Shaybah can open it; a minor miracle, doubtless proceeding from the art of some Eastern Hobbs or Bramah. [FN#11] However safe a Christian might be at Meccah, nothing could preserve him from the ready knives of enraged fanatics if detected in the House. The very idea is pollution to a Moslem. [FN#12] I do not known the origin of this superstition; but it would be unsafe for a pilgrim to look fixedly at the Kaabah ceiling. Under the arras I was told is a strong planking of Saj, or Indian teak, and above it a stuccoed Sath, or flat roof. [FN#13] Exactly realising the description of our English bard: Goodly arras of great majesty, Woven with gold and silk so close and nere, That the rich metal lurked privily, As feigning to be hid from envious eye. [FN#14] Ibn Jubayr mentions three columns of teak. Burckhardt and Ali Bey, two. In Al-Fasis day there were four. The Kuraysh erected six columns in double row. Generally the pillars have been three in number. [FN#15] This wood, which has been used of old to ornament sacred buildings in the East, is brought to Meccah in great quantities by Malay and Java pilgrims. The best kind is known by its oily appearance and a fizzing sound in fire; the cunning vendors easily supply it with these desiderata. [FN#16] Ibn Jubayr calls it Bab al-Rahmah. [FN#17] The Hajar al-Aswad is also called Al-Asad, or the Propitious. [FN#18] Here, in Ibn Jubayrs time, stood two boxes full of Korans. [FN#19] The key is sometimes placed in the hands of a child of the house of Shaybah, who sits in state, with black slaves on both sides. [FN#20] In Ibn Jubayrs day the Kaabah was opened with more ceremony. The ladder was rolled up to the door, and the chief of the Benu Shaybah, ascending it, was covered by attendants with a black veil from head to foot, whilst he opened the padlock. Then, having kissed the threshold, he entered, shut the door behind him, and prayed two Rukats; after which, all the Benu Shaybah, and, lastly, the vulgar were admitted. In these day the veil is obsolete. The Shaykh enters the Kaabah alone, perfumes it and prays; the pilgrims are then admitted en masse; and the style in which the eunuchs handle their quarter-staves forms a scene more animated than decorous. [FN#21] Some pray four instead of two bows. [FN#22] Burckhardt erroneously says, in every corner. [FN#23] These Indians are ever in extremes, paupers or millionaires, and, like all Moslems, the more they pay at Meccah the higher becomes their character and religious titles. A Turkish Pasha seldom squanders as much money as does a Moslem merchant from the far East. Khudabakhsh, the Lahore shawl-dealer, owned to having spent 800l. in feastings and presents. He appeared to consider that sum a trifle, although, had a debtor carried off one tithe of it, his health would have been seriously affected. [FN#24] The cover of the key is made, like Abrahams veil, of three colours, red, black or green. It is of silk, embroidered with golden letters, and upon it are written the Bismillah, the name of the reigning Sultan, Bag of the key of the holy Kaabah, and a verselet from the Family of Amran (Koran, ch. 3). It is made, like the Kiswah, at Khurunfish, a place that will be noticed below. [FN#25] Ecorchespelati; the idea is common to most imaginative nations. [FN#26] The same is the case at Al-Madinah; many religious men object on conscientious grounds to enter the Prophets mosque. The poet quoted below made many visitations to Al-Madinah, but never could persuade himself to approach the tomb. The Esquire Carver saw two young Turks who had voluntarily had their eyes thrust out at Meccah as soon as they had seen the glory and visible sanctity of the tomb of Mohammed. I doubt the fact, which thus appears ushered in by a fiction. [FN#27] I have not thought it necessary to go deep into the list of Muharramat, or actions forbidden to the pilgrim who has entered the Kaabah. They are numerous and meaningless. [FN#28] The use of the feminine pronoun is explained below. When unclothed, the Kaabah is called Uryanah (naked), in opposition to its normal state, Muhramah, or clad in Ihram. In Burckhardts time the house remained naked for fifteen days; now the investiture is effected in a few hours. [FN#29] The gold-embroidered curtain covering the Kaabah door is called by the learned Burka al-Kaabah (the Kaabahs face-veil), by the vulgar Burka Fatimah; they connect it in idea with the Prophets daughter. [FN#30] The pyramids, it is said, were covered from base to summit with yellow silk or satin. [FN#31] At present the Kiswah, it need scarcely be said, does not cover the flat roof. [FN#32] Ayishah also, when Shaybah proposed to bury the old Kiswah, that it might not be worn by the impure, directed him to sell it, and to distribute the proceeds to the poor. The Meccans still follow the first half, but neglect the other part of the order given by the Mother of the Moslems. Kazi Khan advises the proceeds of the sale being devoted to the repairs of the temple. The Siraj al-Wahhaj positively forbids, as sinful, the cutting, transporting, selling, buying, and placing it between the leaves of the Koran. Kutb al-Din (from whom I borrow these particulars) introduces some fine and casuistic distinctions. In his day, however, the Benu Shaybah claimed the old, after the arrival of the new Kiswah; and their right to it was admitted. To the present day they continue to sell it. [FN#33] Some authors also mention a green Kiswah, applied by this monarch. Embroidered on it were certain verselets of the Koran, the formula of the Moslem faith, and the names of the Prophets Companions. [FN#34] Burckhardt says Bysous and Sandabeir. [FN#35] From the Family of Amran (chap. 3). Bekkah is a place of crowding; hence applied to Meccah generally. Some writers, however, limit it to the part of the city round the Harim. [FN#36] It is larger than the suls. Admirers of Eastern calligraphy may see a Bismillah, beautifully written in Tumar, on the wall of Sultan Muayyads Mosque at Cairo. [FN#37] Mr. Lane (Mod. Egypt. vol. iii. chap. 25) has given an ample and accurate description of the Kiswah. I have added a few details, derived from Khalil Effendi of Cairo, a professor of Arabic, and an excellent French scholar. [FN#38] Those who omit the rite fast ten days; three during the pilgrimage season, and the remaining seven at some other time. [FN#39] The camel is sacrificed by thrusting a pointed instrument into the interval between the sternum and the neck. This anomaly may be accounted for by the thickness and hardness of the muscles of the throat. [FN#40] It is strange that the accurate Burckhardt should make the Moslem say, when slaughtering or sacrificing, In the name of the most Merciful God! As Mr. Lane justly observes, the attribute of mercy is omitted on these occasions.

[p.219] CHAPTER XXXI.

THE THREE DAYS OF DRYING FLESH.

ALL was dull after the excitement of the Great Festival. The heat of the succeeding night rendered every effort to sleep abortive; and as our little camp required a guard in a place so celebrated for plunderers, I spent the greater part of the time sitting in the clear pure moon-light.[FN#1]

After midnight we again repaired to the Devils, and, beginning with the Ula, or first pillar, at the Eastern extremity of Muna, threw at each, seven stones (making a total of twenty-one), with the ceremonies before described.

On Thursday (Sept. 15th, 1853), we arose before dawn, and prepared with a light breakfast for the fatigues of a climbing walk. After half an hour spent in hopping from boulder to boulder, we arrived at a place situated on the lower declivity of the Jabal Sabir, the northern wall of the Muna basin. Here is the Majarr al-Kabsh, the Dragging-place of the Ram, a small, whitewashed square, divided

[p.220] into two compartments. The first is entered by a few ragged steps in the south-east angle, which lead to an enclosure thirty feet by fifteen. In the north-east corner is a block of granite (A), in which a huge gash, several inches broad, some feet deep, and completely splitting the stone in knife-shape, notes the spot where Ibrahims blade fell when the archangel Gabriel forbade him to slay Ismail his son. The second compartment contains a diminutive hypogaeum (B). In this cave the patriarch sacrificed the victim, which gives the place a name. We descended by a flight of steps, and under the stifling ledge of rock found mats and praying-rugs, which, at this early hour, were not overcrowded. We followed the example of the patriarchs, and prayed a two-bow prayer in each of the enclosures. After distributing the usual gratification, we left the place, and proceeded to mount the hill, in hope of seeing some of the apes said still to haunt the heights. These animals are supposed by the Meccans to have been Jews, thus transformed for having broken the Sabbath by hunting.[FN#2] They abound in the elevated regions about Arafat and Taif, where they are caught by mixing the juice of the Asclepias and narcotics with dates and other sweet bait.[FN#3] The Hijazi ape is a hideous cynocephalus, with small eyes placed close together, and almost hidden by a disproportionate snout; a greenish-brown coat, long arms, and a stern of lively pink, like fresh meat. They

[p.221] are docile, and are said to be fond of spirituous liquors, and to display an inordinate affection for women. Al-Masudi tells about them a variety of anecdotes. According to him their principal use in Hind and Chin was to protect kings from poison, by eating suspected dishes. The Badawin have many tales concerning them. It is universally believed that they catch and kill kites, by exposing the rosy portion of their persons and concealing the rest; the bird pounces upon what appears to be raw meat, and presently finds himself viciously plucked alive. Throughout Arabia an old story is told of them. A merchant was once plundered during his absence by a troop of these apes; they tore open his bales, and, charmed with the scarlet hue of the Tarbushes, began applying those articles of dress to uses quite opposite to their normal purpose. The merchant was in despair, when his slave offered for a consideration to recover the goods. Placing himself in the front, like a fugleman to the ape-company, he went through a variety of manuvres with a Tarbush, and concluded with throwing it far away. The recruits carefully imitated him, and the drill concluded with his firing a shot; the plunderers decamped and the caps were recovered.

Failing to see any apes, we retired to the tent ere the sun waxed hot, in anticipation of a terrible day. Nor were we far wrong. In addition to the heat, we had swarms of flies, and the blood-stained earth began to reek with noisome vapours. Nought moved in the air except kites and vultures, speckling the deep blue sky: the denizens of earth seemed paralysed by the fire from above. I spent the time between breakfast and nightfall lying half-dressed upon a mat, moving round the tent-pole to escape the glare, and watching my numerous neighbours, male and female. The Indians were particularly kind, filling my pipe, offering cooled water, and performing similar little offices. I repaid them with a supply of provisions,

[p.222] which, at the Muna market-prices, these unfortunates could ill afford.

When the moon arose the boy Mohammed and I walked out into the town, performed our second lapidation,[FN#4] and visited the coffee-houses. The shops were closed early, but business was transacted in places of public resort till midnight. We entered the houses of numerous acquaintances, who accosted my companion, and were hospitably welcomed with pipes and coffee. The first question always was, Who is this pilgrim? and more than once the reply, An Afghan, elicited the language of my own country, which I could no longer speak. Of this phenomenon, however, nothing was thought: many Afghans settled in India know not a word of Pushtu, and even above the Passes many of the townspeople are imperfectly

[p.223] acquainted with it. The Meccans in consequence of their extensive intercourse with strangers and habits of travelling, are admirable conversational linguists. They speak Arabic remarkably well, and with a volubility surpassing the most lively of our continental nations. Persian, Turkish, and Hindustani are generally known: and the Mutawwifs, who devote themselves to various races of pilgrims, soon become masters of many languages.

Returning homewards, we were called to a spot by the clapping of hands[FN#5] and the loud sound of song. We found a crowd of Badawin surrounding a group engaged in their favourite occupation of dancing. The performance is wild in the extreme, resembling rather the hopping of bears than the inspirations of Terpischore. The bystanders joined in the song; an interminable recitative, as usual, in the minor key, andOrientals are admirable timistsit sounded like one voice. The refrain appeared to be La Yayha! La Yayha! to which no one could assign a meaning. At other times they sang something intelligible. For instance: [Arabic] That is to say,

On the Great Festival-day at Muna I saw my lord. I am a stranger amongst you, therefore pity me!

This couplet may have, like the puerilities of certain modern and European poets, an abstruse and mystical

[p.224] meaning, to be discovered when the Arabs learn to write erudite essays upon nursery rhymes. The style of saltation, called Rufayah, rivalled the song. The dancers raised both arms above their heads, brandishing a dagger, pistol, or some other small weapon. They followed each other by hops, on one or both feet, sometimes indulging in the most demented leaps; whilst the bystanders clapped with their palms a more enlivening measure. This I was told is especially their war-dance. They have other forms, which my eyes were not fated to see. Amongst the Badawin of Al-Hijaz, unlike the Somali and other African races, the sexes never mingle: the girls may dance together, but it would be disgraceful to perform in the company of men.

After so much excitement we retired to rest, and slept soundly.

On Friday, the 12th Zul Hijjah, the camels appeared, according to order, at early dawn, and they were loaded with little delay. We were anxious to enter Meccah in time for the sermon, and I for one was eager to escape the now pestilential air of Muna.

Literally, the land stank. Five or six thousand animals had been slain and cut up in this Devils Punch-bowl. I leave the reader to imagine the rest. The evil might be avoided by building abattoirs, or, more easily still, by digging long trenches, and by ordering all pilgrims, under pain of mulct, to sacrifice in the same place. Unhappily, the spirit of Al-Islam is opposed to these precautions of common sense,Inshallah and Kismat must take the place of prevention and of cure. And at Meccah, the head-quarters of the faith, a desolating attack of cholera is preferred to the impiety of flying in the face of Providence, and the folly of endeavouring to avert inevitable decrees.[FN#6]

[p.225] Mounting our camels, and led by Masud, we entered Muna by the eastern end, and from the litter threw the remaining twenty-one stones. I could now see the principal lines of shops, and, having been led to expect a grand display of merchandise, was surprised to find only mat-booths and sheds, stocked chiefly with provisions. The exit from Muna was crowded, for many, like ourselves, were flying from the revolting scene. I could not think without pity of those whom religious scruples detained another day and a half in this foul spot.

After entering Meccah we bathed, and when the noon drew nigh we repaired to the Harim for the purpose of hearing the sermon. Descending to the cloisters below the Bab al-Ziyadah, I stood wonder-struck by the scene before me. The vast quadrangle was crowded with worshippers sitting in long rows, and everywhere facing the central black tower: the showy colours of their dresses were not to be surpassed by a garden of the most brilliant flowers, and such diversity of detail would probably not be seen massed together in any other building upon earth. The women, a dull and sombre-looking group, sat apart in their peculiar place. The Pasha stood on the roof of Zemzem, surrounded by guards in Nizam uniform. Where the principal Olema stationed themselves, the crowd was thicker; and in the more auspicious spots nought was to be seen but a pavement of heads and shoulders. Nothing seemed to move but a few Darwayshes, who, censer in hand, sidled through the rows and received the unsolicited alms of the Faithful. Apparently in the midst, and raised above the crowd by the tall, pointed pulpit, whose gilt spire flamed in the sun, sat the preacher, an old man with snowy beard. The style of head-dress

[p.226] called Taylasan[FN#7] covered his turband, which was white as his robes,[FN#8] and a short staff supported his left hand.[FN#9] Presently he arose, took the staff in his right hand, pronounced a few inaudible words,[FN#10] and sat down again on one of the lower steps, whilst a Muezzin, at the foot of the pulpit, recited the call to sermon. Then the old man stood up and began to preach. As the majestic figure began to exert itself there was a deep silence. Presently a general Amin was intoned by the crowd at the conclusion of some long sentence. And at last, towards the end of the sermon, every third or fourth word was followed by the simultaneous rise and fall of thousands of voices.

I have seen the religious ceremonies of many lands, but nevernowhereaught so solemn, so impressive as this.

[FN#1] It is not safe to perform this ceremony at an early hour, although the ritual forbids it being deferred after sunset. A crowd of women, however, assembled at the Devils in the earlier part of the 11th night (our 10th); and these dames, despite the oriental modesty of face-veils, attack a stranger with hands and stones as heartily as English hop-gatherers hasten to duck the Acteon who falls in their way. Hence, popular usage allows stones to be thrown by men until the morning prayers of the 11th Zul Hijjah. [FN#2] Traditions about these animals vary in the different parts of Arabia. At Aden, for instance, they are supposed to be a remnant of the rebellious tribe of ad. It is curious that the popular Arabic, like the Persian names, Saadan, Maymun, Shadi, &c., &c., are all expressive of (a probably euphuistic) propitiousness. [FN#3] The Egyptians generally catch, train, and take them to the banks of the Nile, where the Kurayeati (ape-leader) is a popular character. [FN#4] This ceremony, as the reader will have perceived, is performed by the Shafeis on the 10th, the 11th, and the 12th of Zul Hijjah. The Hanafis conclude their stoning on the 13th. The times vary with each day, and differ considerably in religious efficacy. On the night of the 10th (our 9th), for instance, lapidation, according to some authorities, cannot take place; others permit it, with a sufficient reason. Between the dawn and sunrise it is Makruh, or disapproved of. Between sunrise and the declination is the Sunnat-time, and therefore the best. From noon to sunset it is Mubah, or permissible: the same is the case with the night, if a cause exist. On the 11th and 12th of Zul Hijjah lapidation is disapproved of from sunset to sunrise. The Sunnat is from noon to sunset, and it is permissible at all other hours. The number of stones thrown by the Shafeis, is 49, viz., 7 on the 10th day, 7 at each pillar (total 21) on the 11th day, and the same on the 12th Zul Hijjah. The Hanafis also throw 21 stones on the 13th, which raises their number to 70. The first 7 bits of granite must be collected at Muzdalifah; the rest may be taken from the Muna valley; and all must be washed 7 times before being thrown. In throwing, the Hanafis attempt to approach the pillar, if possible, standing within reach of it. Shafeis may stand at a greater distance, which should not, however, pass the limits of 5 cubits. [FN#5] Here called Safk. It is mentioned by Herodotus, and known to almost every oriental people. The Badawin sometimes, though rarely, use a table or kettledrum. Yet, amongst the Pardah, or miuscal modes of the East, we find the Hijazi ranking with the Isfahani and the Iraki. Southern Arabia has never been celebrated for producing musicians, like the banks of the Tigris to which we owe, besides castanets and cymbals, the guitar, the drum, and the lute, father of the modern harp. The name of this instrument is a corruption of the Arabic Al-ud ([Arabic text]), through liuto and luth, into lute. [FN#6] NOTE TO THIRD EDITION.Since this was written there have been two deadly epidemics, which began, it is reported, at Muna. The victims, however, have never numbered 700,000, nor is each pilgrim required to sacrifice one animal at the shrine of Mohammed,(!) as we find it in Cholera Prospects, by Tilbury Fox, M.D. (Hardwicke). [FN#7] A scarf thrown over the head, with one end brought round under the chin and passed over the left shoulder composes the Taylasan. [FN#8] As late as Ibn Jubayrs time the preacher was habited from head to foot in black; and two Muezzins held black flags fixed in rings on both sides of the pulpit, with the staves propped upon the first step. [FN#9] Mr. Lane remarks, that the wooden sword is never held by the preacher but in a country that has been won from infidels by Moslems. Burckhardt more correctly traces the origin of the custom to the early days of Al-Islam, when the preachers found it necessary to be prepared for surprises. And all authors who, like Ibn Jubayr, described the Meccan ceremonies, mention the sword or staff. The curious reader will consult this most accurate of Moslem travellers; and a perusal of the pages will show that anciently the sermon differed considerably from, and was far more ceremonious than, the present Khutbah. [FN#10] The words were Peace be upon ye! and the Mercy of Allah and His Blessings!

[p.227] CHAPTER XXXII.

LIFE AT MECCAH, AND UMRAH, OR THE LITTLE PILGRIMAGE.

MY few remaining days at Meccah sped pleasantly enough. Omar Effendi visited me regularly, and arranged to accompany me furtively to Cairo. I had already consulted Mohammed Shiklibhawho suddenly appeared at Muna, having dropped down from Suez to Jeddah, and having reached Meccah in time for pilgrimageabout the possibility of proceeding Eastward. The honest fellows eyebrows rose till they almost touched his turband, and he exclaimed in a roaring voice, Wallah! Effendi! thou art surely mad. Every day he brought me news of the different Caravans. The Badawin of Al-Hijaz were, he said, in a ferment caused by the reports of the Holy War, want of money, and rumours of quarrels between the Sharif and the Pasha: already they spoke of an attack upon Jeddah. Shaykh Masud, the camel man, from whom I parted on the best of terms, seriously advised my remaining at Meccah for some months even before proceeding to Sanaa. Others gave the same counsel. Briefly I saw that my star was not then in the ascendant, and resolved to reserve myself for a more propitious conjuncture by returning to Egypt.

The Turkish colonel and I had become as friendly as two men ignoring each others speech could be. He had derived benefit from some prescription; but, like all his countrymen, he was pining to leave Meccah.[FN#1] Whilst the

[p.228] pilgrimage lasted, said they, no mal de pays came to trouble them; but, its excitement over, they could think of nothing but their wives and children. Long-drawn faces and continual sighs evidenced nostalgia. At last the house became a scene of preparation. Blue chinaware and basketed bottles of Zemzem water appeared standing in solid columns, and pilgrims occupied themselves in hunting for mementoes of Meccah; ground-plans; combs, balm, henna, tooth-sticks; aloes-wood, turquoises, coral, and mother-o-pearl rosaries; shreds of Kiswah-cloth and fine Abas, or cloaks of camels-wool. It was not safe to mount the stairs without shouting Tarik (Out of the way!) at every step, on peril of meeting face to face some excited fair.[FN#2] The lower floor was crowded with provision-vendors; and the staple article of conversation seemed to be the chance of a steamer from Jeddah to Suez.

Weary of the wrangling and chaffering of the hall below, I had persuaded my kind hostess, in spite of the surly skeleton her brother, partially to clear out a small store-room in the first floor, and to abandon it to me between the hours of ten and four. During the heat of the day clothing is unendurable at Meccah. The city is so compacted together by hills, that even the Samum can scarcely sweep it; the heat reverberated by the bare rocks is intense, and the normal atmosphere of an Eastern town communicates a faint lassitude to the body and irritability to the mind. The houses being unusually strong and well-built, might by some art of thermantidote be rendered cool enough in the hottest weather:

[p.229] they are now ovens.[FN#3] It was my habit to retire immediately after the late breakfast to the little room upstairs, to sprinkle it with water, and to lie down on a mat. In the few precious moments of privacy notes were committed to paper, but one eye was ever fixed on the door. Sometimes a patient would interrupt me, but a doctor is far less popular in Al-Hijaz than in Egypt. The people, being more healthy, have less faith in physic: Shaykh Masud and his son had never tasted in their lives aught more medicinal than green dates and camels milk. Occasionally the black slave-girls came into the room, asking if the pilgrim wanted a pipe or a cup of coffee: they generally retired in a state of delight, attempting vainly to conceal with a corner of tattered veil a grand display of ivory consequent upon some small and innocent facetiousness. The most frequent of my visitors was Abdullah, the Kabirahs eldest son. This melancholy Jacques had joined our caravan at Al-Hamra, on the

[p.230] Yambu road, accompanied us to Al-Madinah, lived there, and journeyed to Meccah with the Syrian pilgrimage; yet he had not once come to visit me or to see his brother, the boy Mohammed. When gently reproached for this omission, he declared it to be his waythat he never called upon strangers until sent for. He was a perfect Saudawi (melancholist) in mind, manners, and personal appearance, and this class of humanity in the East is almost as uncomfortable to the household as the idiot of Europe. I was frequently obliged to share my meals with him, as his motherthough most filially and reverentially entreatedwould not supply him with breakfast two hours after the proper time, or with a dinner served up forty minutes before the rest of the household. Often, too, I had to curb, by polite deprecation, the impetuosity of the fiery old Kabirahs tongue. Thus Abdullah and I became friends, after a fashion. He purchased several little articles required, and never failed to pass hours in my closet, giving me much information about the country; deploring the laxity of Meccan morals, and lamenting that in these evil days his countrymen had forfeited their name at Cairo and at Constantinople. His curiosity about the English in India was great, and I satisfied it by praising, as a Moslem would, their politike, their evenhanded justice, and their good star. Then he would inquire into the truth of a fable extensively known on the shores of the Mediterranean and of the Red Sea. The English, it is said, sent a mission to Mohammed, inquiring into his doctrines, and begging that the heroic Khalid bin Walid[FN#4] might be sent to proselytise them. Unfortunately,

[p.231] the envoys arrived too latethe Prophets soul had winged its way to Paradise. An abstract of the Moslem scheme was, however, sent to the Ingreez, who declined, as the Founder of the New Faith was no more, to abandon their own religion; but the refusal was accompanied with expressions of regard. For this reason many Moslems in Barbary and other countries hold the English to be of all People of the Books the best inclined towards them. As regards the Prophets tradition concerning the fall of his birthplace, and the thin-calved from the Habash (Abyssinians) shall destroy the Kaabah, I was informed that towards the end of time a host will pass from Africa in such multitudes that a stone shall be conveyed from hand to hand between Jeddah and Meccah. This latter condition might easily be accomplished by sixty thousand men, the distance being only forty-four miles, but the citizens consider it to express a countless horde. Some pious Moslems have hoped that in Abdullah bin Zubayrs re-erection of the Kaabah the prophecy was fulfilled[FN#5]: the popular belief, however, remains that the fatal event is still in the womb of time. In a previous part of this volume I have alluded to similar evil presentiments which haunt the mind of Al-Islam; and the Christian, zealous for the propagation of his faith, may see in them an earnest of its still wider diffusion in future ages. [FN#6]

Late in the afternoon I used to rise, perform ablution, and repair to the Harim, or wander about the bazars till sunset. After this it was necessary to return home and prepare for supperdinner it would be called in the West.

[p.232] The meal concluded, I used to sit for a time outside the street-door in great dignity, upon a broken-backed black-wood chair, traditionally said to have been left in the house by one of the princes of Delhi, smoking a Shishah, and drinking sundry cups of strong green tea with a slice of lime, a fair substitute for milk. At this hour the seat was as in a theatre, but the words of the actors were of a nature somewhat too Fescennine for a respectable public. After nightfall we either returned to the Harim or retired to rest. Our common dormitory was the flat roof of the house; under each cot stood a water-gugglet; and all slept, as must be done in the torrid lands, on and not in bed.

I sojourned at Meccah but a short time, and, as usual with travellers, did not see the best specimens of the population. The citizens appeared to me more civilised and more vicious than those of Al-Madinah. They often leave

Home, where small experience grows,

andqui multum peregrinatur, raro sanctificaturbecome a worldly-wise, God-forgetting, and Mammonish sort of folk. Tuf w asaa, w aamil al-sabaCircumambulate and run (i.e. between Safa and Marwah) and commit the Seven (deadly sins)is a satire popularly levelled against them. Hence, too, the proverb Al-haram f il HaramaynEvil (dwelleth) in the two Holy Cities; and no wonder, since plenary indulgence is so easily secured.[FN#7] The pilgrim is forbidden, or rather dissuaded, from abiding at Meccah after the rites, and wisely. Great emotions must be followed by a re-action. And he who stands struck by the first aspect of Allahs house, after a few months, the marvel waxing stale, sweeps past with indifference or something worse.

[p.233] There is, however, little at Meccah to offend the eye. As among certain nations further West, a layer of ashes overspreads the fire: the mine is concealed by a green turf fair to look upon. It is only when wandering by starlight through the northern outskirts of the town that citizens may be seen with light complexions and delicate limbs, coarse turbands, and Egyptian woollen robes, speaking disguise and the purpose of disguise. No one within the memory of man has suffered the penalty of immorality. Spirituous liquors are no longer sold, as in Burckhardts day,[FN#8] in shops; and some Arnaut officers assured me that they found considerable difficulty in smuggling flasks of Araki from Jeddah.

The Meccan is a darker man than the Madinite. The people explain this by the heat of the climate. I rather believe it to be caused by the number of female slaves that find their way into the market. Gallas, Sawahilis, a few Somalis, and Abyssinians are embarked at Suakin, Zayla, Tajurrah, and Berberah, carried in thousands to Jeddah, and the Holy City has the pick of every batch. Thence the stream sets Northwards, a small current towards Al-Madinah, and the main line to Egypt and Turkey.[FN#9]

Most Meccans have black concubines, and, as has been said, the appearance of the Sharif is almost that of a negro. I did not see one handsome man in the Holy City, although some of the women appeared to me beautiful. The male profile is high and bony, the forehead recedes, and the head rises unpleasantly towards the region of firmness. In most families male children, when forty days old, are taken to the Kaabah, prayed over, and carried home, where the barber draws with a razor three parallel gashes

[p.234] down the fleshy portion of each cheek, from the exterior angles of the eyes almost to the corners of the mouth. These Mashali, as they are called,[FN#10] may be of modern date: the citizens declare that the custom was unknown to their ancestors. I am tempted to assign to it a high antiquity, and cannot but attribute a pagan origin to a custom still prevailing, despite all the interdictions of the Olema. In point of figure the Meccan is somewhat coarse and lymphatic. The ludicrous leanness of the outward man, as described by Ali Bey, survives only in the remnants of themselves belonging to a bygone century. The young men are rather stout and athletic, but in middle agewhen man swills and swellsthey are apt to degenerate into corpulence.

The Meccan is a covetous spendthrift. His wealth, lightly won, is lightly prized. Pay, pension, stipends, presents, and the Ikram, here, as at Al-Madinah, supply the citizen with the means of idleness. With him everything is on the most expensive scale, his marriage, his religious ceremonies, and his household expenses. His

[p.235] house is luxuriously furnished; entertainments are frequent, and the junketings of his women make up a heavy bill at the end of the year. It is a common practice for the citizen to anticipate the pilgrimage season by falling into the hands of the usurer. If he be in luck, he catches and skins one or more of the richest Hajis. On the other hand, should fortune fail him, he will feel for life the effect of interest running on at the rate of at least fifty per cent., the simple and the compound forms of which are equally familiar to the wily Sarraf.[FN#11]

The most unpleasant peculiarities of the Meccan[s][FN#12] are their pride and coarseness of language. Looking upon themselves as the cream of earths sons, they resent with extreme asperity the least slighting word concerning the Holy City and its denizens. They plume themselves upon their holy descent, their exclusion of Infidels,[FN#13] their strict fastings, their learned men, and their purity of language.[FN#14] In fact, their pride shows itself at every moment;

[p.236] but it is not the pride which makes a man too proud to do dirty work. My predecessor did not remark their scurrility: he seems, on the contrary, rather to commend them for respectability in this point. If he be correct, the present generation has degenerated. The Meccans appeared to me distinguished, even in this foul-mouthed East, by the superior licentiousness of their language. Abuse was bad enough in the streets, but in the house it became intolerable. The Turkish pilgrims remarked, but they were too proud to notice it. The boy Mohammed and one of his tall cousins at last transgressed the limits of my endurance. They had been reviling each other vilely one day at the house-door about dawn, when I administered the most open reprimand: In my country (Afghanistan) we hold this to be the hour of prayer, the season of good thoughts, when men remember Allah; even the Kafir doth not begin the day with curses and abuse. The people around approved, and the offenders could not refrain from saying, Thou hast spoken truth, O Effendi! Then the bystanders began, as usual, to improve the occasion. See, they exclaimed, this Sulaymani gentleman, he is not the Son of a Holy City, and yet he teacheth youye, the children of the Prophet!repent and fear Allah! They replied, Verily we do repent, and Allah is a Pardoner and the Merciful!were silent for an hour, and then abused each other more foully than before. Yet it is a good point in the Meccan character, that it is open to reason, it can confess itself

[p.237] in error, and it displays none of that doggedness of vice which distinguishes the sinner of a more stolid race. Like the people of Southern Europe, the Semite is easily managed by a jest: though grave and thoughtful, he is by no means deficient in the sly wit which we call humour, and the solemn gravity of his words contrasts amusingly with his ideas. He particularly excels in the Cervantic art, the spirit of which, says Sterne, is to clothe low subjects in sublime language. In Mohammeds life we find that he by no means disdained a joke, sometimes a little hasarde, as in the case of the Paradise-coveting old woman. The redeeming qualities of the Meccan are his courage, his bonhommie, his manly suavity of manners, his fiery sense of honour, his strong family affections, his near approach to what we call patriotism, and his general knowledge: the reproach of extreme ignorance which Burckhardt directs against the Holy City has long ago sped to the Limbo of things that were. The dark half of the picture is formed by pride, bigotry, irreligion, greed of gain, immorality, and prodigal ostentation. Of the pilgrimage ceremonies I cannot speak harshly. It may be true that the rites of the Kaabah, emasculated of every idolatrous tendency, still hang a strange unmeaning shroud around the living theism of Islam. But what nation, either in the West or in the East, has been able to cast out from its ceremonies every suspicion of its old idolatry? What are the English mistletoe, the Irish wake, the Pardon of Brittany, the Carnival, and the Worship at Iserna? Better far to consider the Meccan pilgrimage rites in the light of Evil-worship turned into lessons of Good than to philosophize about their strangeness, and to blunder in asserting them to be insignificant. Even the Badawi circumambulating the Kaabah fortifies his wild belief by the fond thought that he treads the path of Allahs friend.

At Arafat the good Moslem worships in imitation of

[p.238] the Pure of Allah[FN#15]; and when hurling stones and curses at three senseless little buttresses which commemorate the appearance of the fiend, the materialism of the action gives to its sentiment all the strength and endurance of reality. The supernatural agencies of pilgrimage are carefully and sparingly distributed. The angels who restore the stones from Muna to Muzdalifah; the heavenly host whose pinions cause the Kaabahs veil to rise and to wave, and the mysterious complement of the pilgrims total at the Arafat sermon, all belong to the category of spiritual creatures walking earth unseen,a poetical tenet, not condemned by Christianity. The Meccans are, it is true, to be reproached with their open Mammon-worship, at times and at places the most sacred and venerable; but this has no other effect upon the pilgrims than to excite disgust and open reprehension. Here, however, we see no such silly frauds as heavenly fire drawn from a phosphor-match; nor do two rival churches fight in the flesh with teeth and nails, requiring the contemptuous interference of an infidel power to keep around order. Here we see no fair dames staring with their glasses, braques at the Head of the Church; or supporting exhausted nature with the furtive sandwich; or carrying pampered curs who, too often, will not be silent; or scrambling and squeezing to hear theatrical music, reckless of the fate of the old lady whoon such occasions there is always onehas been thrown down and cruelly trampled upon by the crowd. If the Meccan citizens are disposed to scoff at the wild Takruri, they do it not so publicly or shamelessly as the Roman jeering with ribald jest at the fanaticism of strangers from the bogs of Ireland. Finally, at Meccah there is nothing theatrical, nothing that suggests the opera; but all is simple and impressive, filling the mind with

A weight of awe not easy to be borne,

and tending, I believe, after its fashion, to good.

[p.239] As regards the Meccan and Moslem belief that Abraham and his son built the Kaabah, it may be observed the Genesitic account of the Great Patriarch has suggested to learned men the idea of two Abrahams, one the son of Terah, another the son of Azar (fire), a Prometheus who imported civilisation and knowledge into Arabia from Harran, the sacred centre of Sabaean learning.[FN#16] Moslem historians all agree in representing Abraham as a star-worshipper in youth, and Eusebius calls the patriarch son of Athar; his fathers name, therefore, is no Arab invention. Whether Ishmael or his sire ever visited Meccah to build the Kaabah is, in my humble opinion, an open question. The Jewish Scripture informs us only that the patriarch dwelt at Beersheba and Gerar, in the south-west of Palestine, without any allusion to the annual visit which Moslems declare he paid to their Holy City. At the same time Arab tradition speaks clearly and consistently upon the subject, and generally omits those miraculous and superstitious adjuncts which cast shadows of sore doubt upon the philosophic mind.

The amount of risk which a stranger must encounter at the pilgrimage rites is still considerable. A learned Orientalist and divine intimated his intention, in a work

[p.240] published but a few years ago, of visiting Meccah without disguise. He was assured that the Turkish governor would now offer no obstacle to a European traveller. I would strongly dissuade a friend from making the attempt. It is true that the Frank is no longer, as in Captain Heads day,[FN#17] insulted when he ventures out of the Meccan Gate of Jeddah; and that our Vice-Consuls and travellers are allowed, on condition that their glance do not pollute the shrine, to visit Taif and the regions lying Eastward of the Holy City. Neither the Pasha nor the Sharif would, in these days, dare to enforce, in the case of an Englishman, the old law, a choice thrice offered between circumcision and death. But the first Badawi who caught sight of the Franks hat would not deem himself a man if he did not drive a bullet through the wearers head. At the pilgrimage season disguise is easy on account of the vast and varied multitudes which visit Meccah exposing the traveller only to stand the buffet with knaves who smell of sweat. But woe to the unfortunate who happens to be recognised in public as an Infidelunless at least he could throw himself at once upon the protection of the government.[FN#18] Amidst, however, a crowd of pilgrims, whose fanaticism is worked up to the highest pitch, detection would probably ensure his dismissal at once al numero de piu. Those who find danger the salt of pleasure may visit Meccah; but if asked whether the results justify the risk, I should reply in the negative. And the Vice-Consul at Jeddah would only do his duty in peremptorily forbidding European travellers to attempt Meccah without disguise, until the day comes when such steps can be taken in the certainty of not causing a mishap;

[p.241] an accident would not redound to our reputation, as we could not in justice revenge it.[FN#19]

On the 14th Zul Hijjah we started to perform the rite of Umrah, or Little Pilgrimage. After performing ablution, and resuming the Ihram with the usual ceremonies, I set out, accompanied by the boy Mohammed and his brother Abdullah. Mounting asses which resembled mules in size and speed,[FN#20] we rode to the Harim, and prayed there. Again remounting, we issued through the Bab al-Safa towards the open country north-east of the city. The way was crowded with pilgrims, on foot as well as mounted, and their loud Labbayk distinguished those engaged in the Umrah rite from the many whose business was with the camp of the Damascus Caravan. At about half a mile from the city we passed on the left a huge heap of stones, where my companions stood and cursed. This grim-looking cairn is popularly believed to note the place of the well where Abu Lahab laid an ambuscade for the Prophet. This wicked uncle stationed there a slave, with orders to throw headlong into the pit the first person who

[p.242] approached him, and privily persuaded his nephew to visit the spot at night: after a time, anxiously hoping to hear that the deed had been done, Abu Lahab incautiously drew nigh, and was precipitated by his own bravo into the place of destruction.[FN#21] Hence the well-known saying in Islam, Whoso diggeth a well for his brother shall fall into it himself. We added our quota of stones,[FN#22] and proceeding, saw the Jeddah road spanning the plain like a white ribbon. In front of us the highway was now lined with coffee-tents, before which effeminate dancing-boys performed to admiring Syrians; a small whitewashed Bungalow, the palace of the Emir al-Hajj, lay on the left, and all around it clustered the motley encampment of his pilgrims. After cantering about three miles from the city, we reached the Alamayn, or two pillars that limit the Sanctuary; and a little beyond it is the small settlement popularly called Al-Umrah.[FN#23] Dismounting here, we

[p.243] sat down on rugs outside a coffee-tent to enjoy the beauty of the moonlit night, and an hour of Kayf, in the sweet air of the Desert.

Presently the coffee-tent keeper, after receiving payment, brought us water for ablution. This preamble over, we entered the principal chapel; an unpretending building, badly lighted, spread with dirty rugs, full of pilgrims, and offensively close. Here we prayed the Isha, or night devotions, and then a two-bow prayer in honour of the Ihram,[FN#24] after which we distributed gratuities to the guardians, and alms to the importunate beggars. And now I perceived the object of Abdullahs companionship. The melancholy man assured me that he had ridden out for love of me, and in order to perform as Wakil (substitute) a vicarious pilgrimage for my parents. Vainly I assured him that they had been strict in the exercises of their faith. He would take no denial, and I perceived that love of me meant love of my dollars. With a surly assent, he was at last permitted to act for the pious pilgrim Yusuf (Joseph) bin Ahmad and Fatimah bint Yunus,my progenitors. It was impossible to prevent smiling at contrasts, as Abdullah, gravely raising his hands, and directing his face to the Kaabah, intoned, I do vow this Ihram of Umrah in the name of Yusuf Son of Ahmad, and Fatimah Daughter of Yunus; then render it attainable unto them, and accept it of them! Bismillah! Allaho Akbar!

[p.244] Remounting, we galloped towards Meccah, shouting Labbayk, and halting at every half-mile to smoke and drink coffee. In a short time we entered the city, and repairing to the Harim by the Safa Gate, performed the Tawaf, or circumambulation of Umrah. After this dull round and necessary repose we left the temple by the same exit, and mounting once more, turned towards Al-Safa, which stands about a hundred yards South-East of the Mosque, and as little deserves its name of Mountain as do those that undulate the face of modern Rome. The Safa end is closed by a mean-looking building, composed of three round arches, with a dwarf flight of stairs leading up to them out of a narrow road. Without dismounting, we wheeled our donkeys[FN#25] round, left shoulders forward, no easy task in the crowd, and, vainly striving to sight the Kaabah through the Bab al-Safa, performed the Niyat, or vow of the rite Al-Sai, or the running.[FN#26] After Tahlil, Takbir, and Talbiyat, we raised our hands in the supplicatory position, and twice repeated,[FN#27] There is no god but Allah, Alone, without Partner; His is the Kingdom, unto Him be Praise; He giveth Life and Death, He is alive and perisheth not; in His Hand is Good, and He over all Things is Omnipotent. Then, with the donkey-boys leading our animals and a stout fellow preceding us with lantern and a quarter-staff to keep off the running Badawin, camel-men, and riders of asses, we descended Safa, and walked slowly down the street Al-Massa, towards Marwah.[FN#28]

[p.245] During our descent we recited aloud, O Allah, cause me to act according to the Sunnat of Thy Prophet, and to die in His faith, and defend me from errors and disobedience by Thy Mercy, O most Merciful of the Merciful! Arrived at what is called the Batn al-Wady (Belly of the Vale), a place now denoted by the Milayn al-Akhzarayn (the two green pillars[FN#29]), one fixed in the Eastern course of the Harim, the other in a house on the right side,[FN#30] we began the running by urging on our beasts. Here the prayer was, O Lord, pardon and pity, and pass over what Thou knowest, for Thou art the most dear and the most generous! Save us from Hell-fire safely, and cause us safely to enter Paradise! O Lord, give us Happiness here and Happiness hereafter, and spare us the Torture of the Flames! At the end of this supplication we had passed the Batn, or lowest ground, whose farthest limits were marked by two other pillars.[FN#31] Again we began to ascend, repeating, as we went, Verily, Safa and Marwah are two of the Monuments of Allah. Whoso, therefore, pilgrimeth to the Temple of Meccah, or performeth Umrah, it shall be no Crime in him (to run between them both). And as for him who voluntarily doeth a good Deed, verily Allah is Grateful and Omniscient[FN#32]! At length we reached Marwah, a little rise like Safa in the lower slope of Abu Kubays. The houses cluster in amphitheatre shape above it, and from the Masaa, or street below, a short flight of steps to a platform, bounded on three sides like a tennis-court, by tall walls without arches. The

[p.246] street, seen from above, has a bowstring curve: it is between eight and nine hundred feet long,[FN#33] with high houses on both sides, and small lanes branching off from it. At the foot of the platform we brought right shoulders forward, so as to face the Kaabah, and raising hands to ears, thrice exclaimed, Allaho Akbar. This concluded the first course, and, of these, seven compose the ceremony Al-Sai, or the running. There was a startling contrast with the origin of this ceremony,

When the poor outcast on the cheerless wild, Arabias parent, clasped her fainting child,