Other occasions for special prayer are the two grand annual festivals; the nights of Ramaḍán, the month of abstinence; the occasion of an eclipse of the sun or moon; for rain; previously to the commencement of battle; in pilgrimage; and at funerals.
2. Alms-giving. An alms, called “zekáh,” is required by law to be given annually, to the poor, of camels, oxen (bulls and cows) and buffaloes, sheep and goats, horses and mules and asses, and gold and silver (whether in money or in vessels, ornaments, etc.), provided the property be of a certain amount, as five camels, thirty oxen, forty sheep, five horses, two hundred dirhems, or twenty deenárs. The proportion is generally one-fortieth, which is to be paid in kind or in money or other equivalent.
3. Fasting (eṣ-Ṣiyám). The Muslim must abstain from eating and drinking, and from every indulgence of the senses, every day during the month of Ramaḍán, from the first appearance of daybreak until sunset, unless physically incapacitated. — On the first day of the following month, a festival, called the Minor Festival, is observed with public prayer and with general rejoicing, which continues three days.
4. Pilgrimage (el-Ḥájj). It is incumbent on the Muslim, if able, to perform at least once in his life the pilgrimage to Mekkeh and Mount ´Arafát. The principal ceremonies of the pilgrimage are completed on the 9th of the month of Dhu-l-Ḥijjeh: on the following day, which is the first of the Great Festival, on the return from ´Arafát to Mekkeh, the pilgrims who are able to do so perform a sacrifice, and every other Muslim who can is required to do the same: part of the meat of the victim he should eat, and the rest he should give to the poor. This festival is otherwise observed in a similar manner to the minor one, above mentioned; and lasts three or four days.
The less important ritual and moral laws may here be briefly mentioned.[] — One of these is circumcision, which is not absolutely obligatory. — The distinctions of clean and unclean meats are nearly the same in the Mohammadan as in the Mosaic code. Camel’s flesh is an exception; being lawful to the Muslim. Swine’s flesh, and blood, are especially condemned; and a particular mode of slaughtering animals for food is enjoined, accompanied by the repetition of the name of God. — Wine and all inebriating liquors are strictly forbidden. — So too is gaming. — Music is condemned; but most Muslims take great delight in hearing it. — Images and pictures representing living creatures are contrary to law. — Charity, probity in all transactions, veracity (excepting in a few cases),[] and modesty, are virtues indispensable. — Cleanliness in person, and decent attire, are particularly required. Clothes of silk and ornaments of gold or silver are forbidden to men, but allowed to women: this precept, however, is often disregarded. — Utensils of gold and silver are also condemned: yet they are used by many Muslims. — The manners of Muslims in society are subject to particular rules with respect to salutations, etc.
Of the Civil Laws, the following notices will suffice. — A man may have four wives at the same time, and according to common opinion as many concubine slaves as he pleases. — He may divorce a wife twice, and each time take her back again; but if he divorce her a third time, or by a triple sentence, he cannot make her his wife again unless by her own consent and by a new contract, and after another man has consummated a marriage with her and divorced her. — The children by a wife and those by a concubine slave inherit equally, if the latter be acknowledged by the father. Sons inherit equally: and so do daughters; but the share of a daughter is half that of a son. One-eighth is the share of the wife or wives of the deceased if he have left issue, and one-fourth if he have left no issue. A husband inherits one-fourth of his wife’s property if she have left issue, and one-half if she have left no issue. The debts and legacies of the deceased must first be paid. A man may leave one-third [but no more] of his property in any way he pleases. — When a concubine slave has borne a child to her master, she becomes entitled to freedom on his death. — There are particular laws relating to commerce. Usury and monopoly are especially condemned.
Of the Criminal Laws, a few may be briefly mentioned. Murder is punishable by death, or by a fine to be paid to the family of the deceased, if they prefer it. — Theft, if the property stolen amount to a quarter of a deenár, is to be punished by cutting off the right hand, except under certain circumstances. — Adultery, if attested by four eye-witnesses, is punishable by death (stoning): fornication, by a hundred stripes, and banishment for a year. — Drunkenness is punished with eighty stripes. — Apostasy, persevered in, by death.
The Ḳur-án ordains that murder shall be punished with death; or, rather, that the free shall die for the free, the slave for the slave, and the woman for the woman;[] or that the perpetrator of the crime shall pay, to the heirs of the person whom he has killed, if they will allow it, a fine, which is to be divided according to the laws of inheritance already explained. It also ordains that unintentional homicide shall be expiated by freeing a believer from slavery, and paying a fine to the family of the person killed, unless they remit it. But these laws are amplified and explained by the same book and by the Imáms. A fine is not to be accepted for murder unless the crime has been attended by some palliating circumstance. This fine, the price of blood, is a hundred camels; or a thousand deenárs (about £500) from him who possesses gold; or, from him who possesses silver, twelve thousand dirhems (about £300). This is for killing a free man; for a woman, half that sum; for a slave, his or her value, but this must fall short of the price of blood for the free. A person unable to free a believer must fast two months as in Ramaḍán. The accomplices of a murderer are liable to the punishment of death. By the Sunneh (or Traditions of the Prophet) also, a man is obnoxious to capital punishment for the murder of a woman; and by the Ḥanafee law, for the murder of another man’s slave. But he is exempted from this punishment who kills his own child or other descendant, or his own slave, or his son’s slave, or a slave of whom he is part-owner; so also are his accomplices: and according to Esh-Sháfi´ee, a Muslim, though a slave, is not to be put to death for killing an infidel, though the latter be free. A man who kills another in self-defence, or to defend his property from a robber, is exempt from all punishment. The price of blood is a debt incumbent on the family, tribe, or association, of which the homicide is a member. It is also incumbent on the inhabitants of an enclosed quarter, or the proprietor or proprietors of a field, in which the body of a person killed by an unknown hand is found; unless the person has been found killed in his own house.
Retaliation for intentional wounds and mutilations is allowed by the Mohammadan law, like as for murder, “an eye for an eye,” etc.;[] but a fine may be accepted instead, which the law allows also for unintentional injuries. The fine for a member that is single (as the nose) is the whole price of blood, as for homicide; for a member of which there are two, and not more (as a hand), half the price of blood; for one of which there are ten (a finger or toe), a tenth of the price of blood: but the fine of a man for maiming or wounding a woman is half of that for the same injury to a man; and that of a free person for injuring a slave varies according to the value of the slave. The fine for depriving a man of any of his five senses, or dangerously wounding him, or grievously disfiguring him for life, is the whole price of blood.
The Mohammadan law ordains that a person who is adult and of sound mind, if he steals an article of the value of a quarter of a deenár (or piece of gold) from a place to which he has not ordinary or free access, shall lose his right hand; but this punishment is not to be inflicted for stealing a free child, or anything which, in the eye of the law, is of no pecuniary value, as wine, or a musical instrument; and there are some other cases in which the thief is not to be so punished. For the second offence, the left foot is to be cut off; and for the third and subsequent offences, according to the Ḥanafee code, the culprit is to be punished by a long imprisonment; or, by the Sháfi´ee law, for the third offence, he is to lose his left hand; for the fourth, his right foot; and for further offences, he is to be flogged or beaten. The punishment is the same fo
r a woman as for a man. This law induced a freethinking Muslim to ask, “If the hand is worth five hundred deenárs [this being the fine for depriving a man of that member], why should it be cut off for a quarter of a deenár?” He was answered, “An honest hand is of great value; but not so is the hand that hath stolen.” Amputation for theft, however, is now seldom practised: beating, or some other punishment, is usually inflicted in its stead for the first, second, and third offence; and frequently, death for the fourth.
The Muslims observe two grand ´Eeds or Festivals in every year. The first of these immediately follows Ramaḍán, the month of abstinence, and lasts three days: it is called the Minor Festival. The other, which is called the Great Festival, commences on the tenth of Dhu-l-Ḥijjeh, the day when the pilgrims, halting in the Valley of Minè, on their return from Mount ´Arafát to Mekkeh, perform their sacrifice: the observance of this festival also continues three days, or four.
Early in the first morning, on each of these festivals, the Muslim is required to perform a lustration of his whole person, as on the mornings of Friday; and on the first morning of the Minor Festival he should break his fast with a few dates or some other light food, but on the Great Festival he abstains from food until he has acquitted himself of the religious duties now to be mentioned. Soon after sunrise on the first day of each festival, the men, dressed in new or in their best clothes, repair to the mosque or to a particular place appointed for the performance of the prayers of the ´Eed. On going thither, they should repeat frequently “God is most Great!” — on the Minor Festival inaudibly, on the other aloud. The congregation having assembled repeat the prayers of two rek´ahs; after which the Khaṭeeb recites a khuṭbeh, i.e. an exhortation and a prayer. On each of these festivals, in the mosque or place of prayer and in the street and at each other’s houses, friends congratulate and embrace one another, generally paying visits for this purpose; and the great receive visits from their dependants. The young on these occasions kiss the right hand of the aged, and servants or dependants do the same to their masters or superiors, unless the latter be of high rank, in which case they kiss the end of the hanging sleeves or the skirt of the outer garment. Most of the shops are closed, excepting those at which eatables and sweet drinks are sold; but the streets are filled with people in their holiday-clothes.
On the Minor Festival, which, as it terminates an arduous fast, is celebrated with more rejoicing than the other,[] servants and other dependants receive presents of new articles of clothing from their masters or patrons; and the servant receives presents of small sums of money from his master’s friends, whom, if they do not visit his master, he goes to congratulate; as well as from any former master, to whom he often takes a plate-full of kaḥks. These are sweet cakes or biscuits of an annular form, composed of flour and butter, with a little ´ajameeyeh (a thick paste consisting of butter, honey, a little flour, and some spices) inside. They are also often sent as presents on this occasion by other people. Another custom required of the faithful on this festival is the giving of alms.
On the Great Festival, after the prayers of the congregation, every one who can afford it performs, with his own hand or by that of a deputy, a sacrifice of a ram, he-goat, cow or buffalo, or she-camel; part of the meat of which he eats, and part he gives to the poor, or to his friends or dependants. The ram or goat should be at least one year old; the cow or buffalo, two years; and the camel, five years; and none should have any considerable mutilation or infirmity. A cow or buffalo, or a camel, is a sufficient sacrifice for seven persons. The clothes which were put on new at the former festival are generally worn on this occasion; and the presents which are given to servants and others are usually somewhat less.
On each of the two festivals it is also customary, especially with the women, to visit the tombs of relations. The party generally take with them a palm-branch, and place it, broken in several pieces, or merely its leaves, upon the tomb or monument; or some, instead of this, place sweet basil or other flowers. They also usually provide themselves with sweet cakes, bread, dates, or some other kind of food, to distribute to the poor. But their first duty on arriving at the tomb is to recite the Fátiḥah (the opening chapter of the Ḳur-án), or to employ a person to recite previously a longer chapter, generally the thirty-sixth (Soorat Yá-Seen), or even the whole of the book: sometimes the visitors recite the Fátiḥah, and, after having hired a person to perform a longer recitation, go away before he commences. The women often stay all the days of the festivals in the cemeteries, either in tents or in houses of their own erected there for their reception on these and other occasions. The tent of each party surrounds the tomb which is the object of their visit. In the outskirts of the cemeteries, swings and whirligigs are set up, and story-tellers, jugglers, and dancers amuse the populace.
CHAPTER II.
DEMONOLOGY.
The Muslims, in general, believe in three different species of created intelligent beings: Angels, who are created of light; Genii, who are created of fire; and Men, created of earth. The first species are called Meláïkeh (sing. Melek); the second, Jinn (sing. Jinnee); the third, Ins (sing. Insee). Some hold that the Devils (Sheyṭáns) are of a species distinct from Angels and Jinn; but the more prevailing opinion, and that which rests on the highest authority, is, that they are rebellious Jinn.
“It is believed,” says El-Ḳazweenee, “that the Angels are of a simple substance, endowed with life and speech and reason, and that the difference between them and the Jinn and Sheyṭáns is a difference of species. Know,” he adds, “that the Angels are sanctified from carnal desire and the disturbance of anger: they disobey not God in what He hath commanded them, but do what they are commanded. Their food is the celebrating of his glory; their drink, the proclaiming of his holiness; their conversation, the commemoration of God, whose name be exalted; their pleasure, his worship; they are created in different forms, and with different powers.” Some are described as having the forms of brutes. Four of them are Archangels; Jebraeel or Jibreel (Gabriel), the angel of revelations; Meekaeel or Meekál (Michael), the patron of the Israelites; ´Azraeel, the angel of death; and Isráfeel, the angel of the trumpet, which he is to sound twice, or as some say thrice, at the end of the world — one blast will kill all living creatures (himself included), another, forty years after, (he being raised again for this purpose, with Jebraeel and Meekaeel), will raise the dead. These Archangels are also called Apostolic Angels. They are inferior in dignity to human prophets and apostles, though superior to the rest of the human race: the angelic nature is held to be inferior to the human nature, because all the Angels were commanded to prostrate themselves before Adam. Every believer is attended by two guardian and recording angels, one of whom writes his good actions, the other, his evil actions: or, according to some, the number of these angels is five, or sixty, or a hundred and sixty. There are also two Angels, called Munkir (vulg. Nákir) and Nekeer, who examine all the dead and torture the wicked in their graves.
The species of Jinn is said to have been created some thousands of years before Adam. According to a tradition from the Prophet, this species consists of five orders or classes; namely, Jánn (who are the least powerful of all), Jinn, Sheyṭáns (or Devils), ´Efreets, and Márids. The last, it is added, are the most powerful; and the Jánn are transformed Jinn, like as certain apes and swine were transformed men.[] — It must, however, be remarked here that the terms Jinn and Jánn are generally used indiscriminately as names of the whole species (including the other orders above mentioned), whether good or bad; and that the former term is the more common; also, that Sheyṭán is commonly used to signify any evil Jinnee. An ´Efreet is a powerful evil Jinnee: a Márid, an evil Jinnee of the most powerful class. The Jinn (but, generally speaking, evil ones) are called by the Persians Deevs; the most powerful evil Jinn, Nárahs (which signifies “males,” though they are said to be males and females); the good Jinn, Perees, though this term is commonly applied to females.
In a tradition from t
he Prophet, it is said, “The Jánn were created of a smokeless fire.”[] El-Jánn is sometimes used as a name of Iblees, as in the following verse of the Ḳur-án:— “And the Jánn [the father of the Jinn; i.e. Iblees] we had created before [i.e. before the creation of Adam] of the fire of the samoom [i.e. of fire without smoke].”[] Jánn also signifies “a serpent,” as in other passages of the Ḳur-án;[] and is used in the same book as synonymous with Jinn.[] In the last sense it is generally believed to be used in the tradition quoted in the commencement of this paragraph. There are several apparently contradictory traditions from the Prophet which are reconciled by what has been above stated: in one, it is said that Iblees was the father of all the Jánn and Sheyṭáns,[] Jánn being here synonymous with Jinn; in another, that Jánn was the father of all the Jinn,[] Jánn being here used as a name of Iblees.
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