ABSTINENCE. Arabic Taqwa (??????). Is very frequently enjoined in the Qur?an. The word generally applies to abstinence from idolatry in the first instance, but it is used to express a life of piety. An excessive abstinence and a life of asceticism are condemned in the Qur?an, and the Christians are charged with the invention of the monastic life. (Surah lvii. 27.) “As for the monastic life, they invented it themselves.” [MONASTICISM, FASTING.]

ABU ?ABDI ?LLAH (??? ????????). Muh?ammad ibn Isma?il al-Buk?hari, the author of the well-known collection of traditions received by the Sunnis. [BUKHARI.]

ABU ?ABDI ?LLAH AH?MAD IBN H?ANBAL (??? ??????? ???? ?? ?????). [HANBAL.]

ABU ?ABDI ?LLAH MALIK IBN ANAS (??? ??????? ???? ?? ????). [MALIK.]

ABU ?ABDI ?LLAH MUH?AMMAD IBN AL-H?ASAN (??? ??????? ???? ?? ??????). Known as Imam Muh?ammad. Born at Wasit?, a city in Arabian ?Iraq, A.H. 132. He studied under the great Imam Abu H?anifah, and had also studied under Imam Malik for three years. He is celebrated as one of the disciples of the Imam Abu H?anifah, from whom he occasionally differs, as is seen in the Hidayah. He died at Rai, in K?hurasan, where his tomb is still to be seen, A.H. 189.

ABU BAKR (??? ????). Of the origin of his name, there are various explanations. Some think that it means “the father of the maiden,” and that he received this title because he was the father of ?Ayishah, whom Muh?ammad married when she was only nine years old. His original name was ?Abdu ?l-Ka?bah (which the Prophet changed into ?Abdu ?llah) Ibn Abi Quh?afah. He was the first K?halifah, or successor of Muh?ammad. [SHI?AH.] Muh?ammadan writers praise him for the purity of his life, and call him a?-?iddiq, the Veracious. He only reigned two years, and died August 22nd, A.D. 634.

ABU DA?UD (??? ?????). Sulaiman Ibn al-Ash?as? al-Sijistani; born at al-Ba?rah A.H. 202, and died A.H. 275. The compiler of one of the six correct books of Sunni traditions, called the Sunnan Abi Da?ud, which contains 4,008 traditions, said to have been carefully collated from 500,000. [TRADITIONS.]

ABU H?ANIFAH AN-NU?MAN (??? ????? ????????). Abu H?anifah an-Nu?man is the great Sunni Imam and jurisconsult, and the founder of the H?anifi sect. His father, S?abit, was a silk dealer in the city of al-Kufah, and it is said his grandfather, Zut?a, was a native of Kabul. He was born at al-Kufah, A.H. 80 (A.D. 700), and died at Bag?hdad, A.H. 150. He is regarded as the great oracle of Sunni jurisprudence, and his doctrines, with those of his disciples, the Imam Abu Yusuf and the Imam Muh?ammad, are generally received throughout Turkey, Tartary, and Hindustan. It is related that Imam Malik said that the Imam Abu H?anifah was such a logician that, if he were to assert a wooden pillar was made of gold, he would prove it by argument.

ABU HURAIRAH (??? ??????). One of the most constant attendants of Muh?ammad, who from his peculiar intimacy has related more traditions of the sayings and doings of the Prophet than any other individual. His real name is doubtful, but he was nicknamed Abu Hurairah on account of his fondness for a kitten. He embraced Islam in the year of the expedition to K?haibar, A.H. 7, and died in al-Madinah, A.H. 57 or 59, aged 78.

ABU JAHL (??? ????). An implacable adversary of Muh?ammad. His real name was ?Amr ibn Hisham, but he was surnamed, by the Muslims, Abu Jahl, or the “Father of Folly.” He is supposed to be alluded to in the Qur?an, Surah xxii. 8:—“There is a man who disputeth concerning God without either knowledge or direction.” He was a boastful and debauched man, and was killed in the battle of Badr.

ABU LAHAB (??? ????). One of the sons of Abu Mut?t?alib, and an uncle to Muh?ammad. He was a most bitter enemy to the Prophet, and opposed the establishment of Islam to the utmost of his power. His name was ?Abdu ?l-Uzza, but he was surnamed by Muh?ammad, Abu Lahab, “The Father of the Flame.” When Muh?ammad received the command to admonish his relations, he called them all together, and told them he was a warner sent unto them before a grievous chastisement. Abu Lahab rejected his mission, and cried out, “Mayest thou perish! Hast thou called us together for this?” and took up a stone to cast at him; whereupon the CXIth Surah of the Qur?an was produced:—

Abu Lahab is said to have died of grief and vexation at the defeat which his friends had received at the battle of Badr, surviving that misfortune only seven days. His body was left unburied for several days.

Zaid and Abu Lahab are the only relatives or friends of Muh?ammad mentioned by name in the Qur?an.

ABU ?L-HU?AIL ZUFAR IBN AL-HU?AIL (??? ?????? ??? ?? ???????). Celebrated as the Imam Zufar, and as a contemporary and intimate friend of the great Imam Abu H?anifah. He died at al-Ba?rah, A.H. 158.

ABU ?L-QASIM (??? ???????). “The father of Qasim.” One of the names of Muh?ammad, assumed on the birth of his son Qasim, who died in infancy. [MUHAMMAD.]

ABUSIVE LANGUAGE is forbidden by the Muslim law, and the offender must be punished according to the discretion of the Qaz?i. Abu H?anifah says: “If a person abuse a Musalman by calling him an ass or a hog, punishment is not incurred, because these expressions are in no respect defamatory of the person to whom they are used, it being evident that he is neither an ass nor a hog. But some allege that in our times chastisement is inflicted, since, in the modern acceptation, calling a man an ass or a hog is held to be abuse. Others, again, allege that it is esteemed only to be abuse when the person of whom it is said occupies a dignified position.” According to Abu H?anifah, the greatest number of stripes that can be inflicted for abusive language is thirty-nine. (Hamilton’s Hidayah, vol. ii. 78.)

Muh?ammad is related to have said, “Abusing a Muslim is disobedience to God, and it is infidelity for anyone to join such an one in religious warfare.” (Mishkat, xxii. 2.)

ABU T?ALIB (??? ?????). Muh?ammad’s uncle and guardian; the father of ?Ali. He is believed to have died as he had lived, an unbeliever in the Prophet’s mission; but for forty years he had been his faithful friend and guardian. He died in the third year before the Hijrah.

ABU ?UBAIDAH (??? ??????) IBN AL-JARRAH?. One of the Companions, who was with the Prophet in all his wars, and distinguished himself at the battle of Uh?ud. He was highly esteemed by Muh?ammad, who made him one of the ?Asharah al-Mubashsharah, or ten patriarchs of the Muslim faith. He died A.H. 18, aged 58.

ABU YUSUF (??? ?????). Known also as Ya?qub ibn Ibrahim. Born at Bag?hdad, A.H. 113. Studied under the Imam Abu H?anifah, and is celebrated, together with the Imam Muh?ammad and the Imam Zufar, as disciples of the great Imam; from whose opinions, however, the three disciples not unfrequently differ, as will be seen upon reference to the Hidayah. He died A.H. 182.

?AD (????). A tribe located to the south of Arabia, to which the prophet Hud is said to have been sent. See Qur?an, vii. 63:—

“And to ?Ad we sent our brother Hud, ‘O my people,’ said he, ‘worship God: ye have no other god than Him: Will ye not then fear Him?’

“Said the unbelieving chiefs among his people, ‘We certainly perceive that thou art unsound of mind; and we surely deem thee an impostor.’

“He said, ‘O my people! it is not unsoundness of mind in me, but I am an Apostle from the Lord of the Worlds.

“ ‘The messages of my Lord do I announce to you, and I am your faithful counsellor.

“ ‘Marvel ye that a warning hath come to you from your Lord through one of yourselves that He may warn you? Remember how he hath made you the successors of the people of Noah, and increased you in tallness of stature. Remember then the favours of God, that it may haply be well with you.’

“They said, ‘Art thou come to us in order that we may worship one God alone, and leave what our fathers worshipped? Then bring that upon us with which thou threatenest us, if thou be a man of truth.’

“He said, ‘Vengeance and wrath shall suddenly light on you from your Lord. Do ye dispute with me about names that you and your fathers have given your idols, and for which God hath sent you down no warranty? Wait ye then, and I too will wait with you.’

“And we delivered him, and those who were on his side, by our mercy, and we cut off, to the last man, those who had treated our signs as lies, and who were not believers.”

Also, Surah lxxxix. 5: “Hast thou not seen how thy Lord dealt with ?Ad at Iram, adorned with pillars, whose like have not been reared in these lands.” [HUD, IRAM.]

ADA? (?????). Payment; satisfaction; completing (prayers, &c.).

ADAM. Arabic, Adam (????). The first man. Reckoned by Muslim writers as the first prophet, to whom ten portions of scripture (?ah?ifah) are said to have been revealed. He is distinguished by the title of ?afiyu ?llah, or, the “chosen one of God.” He is mentioned in the Qur?an in the following Surahs, which are taken from Mr. Lane’s Selections (new edition, by Mr. Stanley Lane-Poole; TrÜbner, 1879), with the commentary in italics:—

“Remember, O Muh?ammad, when thy Lord said unto the angels, I am about to place in the earth a vicegerent to act for me in the execution of my ordinances therein, namely, Adam,—they said, Wilt Thou place in it one who will corrupt in it by disobediences, and will shed blood (as did the sons of El-Jann, who were in it; where ore, when they acted corruptly, God sent to them the angels, who drove them away to the islands and the mountains), when we [on the contrary] celebrate the divine perfection, occupying ourselves with Thy praise, and extol Thy holiness? Therefore we are more worthy of the vicegerency.—God replied, Verily I know that which ye know not, as to the affair of appointing Adam vicegerent, and that among his posterity will be the obedient and the rebellious, and the just will be manifest among them. And he created Adam from the surface of the earth, taking a handful of every colour that it comprised, which was kneaded with various waters; and he completely formed it, and breathed into it the soul; so it became an animated sentient being. And he taught Adam the names of all things, infusing the knowledge of them into his heart. Then He showed them (namely, the things) to the angels, and said, Declare unto me the names of these things, if ye say truth in your assertion that I will not create any more knowing than ye, and that ye are more worthy of the vicegerency. They replied, [We extol] Thy perfection! We have no knowledge excepting what Thou hast taught us; for Thou art the Knowing, the Wise.—God said, O Adam, tell them their names. And when he had told them their names, God said, Did I not say unto you that I know the secrets of the heavens and the earth, and know what ye reveal of your words, saying, Wilt thou place in it, etc., and what ye did conceal of your words, saying, He will not create any more generous towards Him than we, nor any more knowing”? (Surah ii. 28–31.)

“We created you; that is, your father Adam: then We formed you; we formed him, and you in him: then We said unto the angels, Prostrate yourselves unto Adam, by way of salutation; whereupon they prostrated themselves, except Iblees, the father of the jinn, who was amid the angels: he was not of those who prostrated themselves. God said, What hath hindered thee from prostrating thyself, when I commanded thee? He answered, I am better than he: Thou hast created me of fire, and Thou hast created him of earth. [God] said, Then descend thou from it; that is, from Paradise; or, as some say, from the heavens; for it is not fit for thee that thou behave thyself proudly therein: so go thou forth: verily thou shalt be of the contemptible. He replied, Grant me respite until the day when they (that is, mankind) shall be raised from the dead. He said, Thou shalt be of those [who are] respited: and, in another verse [in xv. 38, it is said], until the day of the known period; that is, until the period of the first blast [of the trumpet]. [And the devil] said, Now, as Thou hast led me into error, I will surely lay wait for them (that is, for the sons of Adam) in Thy right way, the way that leadeth to Thee: then I will surely come upon them, from before them, and from behind them, and from their right hands, and from their left, and hinder them from pursuing the way (but, saith Ibn ?Abbas, he cannot come upon them above, lest he should intervene between the servant and God’s mercy), and Thou shalt not find the great number of them grateful, or believing. [God] said, Go forth from it, despised and driven away from mercy. Whosoever of them (that is, of mankind) shall follow thee, I will surely fill hell with you all; with thee, and thy offspring, and with men.” (Surah vii. 10–17.)

“And we said, O Adam, dwell thou and thy wife (Howwa [or Eve], whom God created from a rib of his left side) in the garden, and eat ye therefrom plentifully, wherever ye will; but approach ye not this tree, to eat thereof; (and it was wheat, or the grape-vine, or some other tree;) for if ye do so, ye will be of the number of the offenders. But the devil, Iblees, caused them to slip from it, that is from the garden, by his saying unto them, Shall I show you the way to the tree of eternity? And he sware to them by God that he was one of the faithful advisers to them; so they ate of it, and He ejected them from that state of delight in which they were. And We said, Descend ye to the earth, ye two with the offspring that ye comprise [yet unborn], one of you (that is, of your offspring) an enemy to another; and there shall be for you, in the earth, a place of abode, and a provision, of its vegetable produce, for a time, until the period of the expiration of your terms of life. And Adam learned, from his Lord, words, which were these:—O Lord, we have acted unjustly to our own souls, and if Thou do not forgive us, and be merciful unto us, we shall surely be of those who suffer loss. And he prayed in these words; and He became propitious towards him, accepting his repentance; for He is the Very Propitious, the Merciful. We said, Descend ye from it (from the garden) altogether; and if there come unto you from Me a direction (a book and an apostle), those who follow my direction, there shall come no fear on them, nor shall they grieve in the world to come; for they shall enter paradise: but they who disbelieve and accuse our signs of falsehood, these shall be the companions of the fire: they shall remain therein for ever.” (Surah ii. 33–37.)

The Muh?ammadans say, that when they were cast down from Paradise [which is in the seventh heaven], Adam fell on the isle of Ceylon, or Sarandib, and Eve near Jiddah (the port of Makkah) in Arabia; and that, after a separation of two hundred years, Adam was, on his repentance, conducted by the angel Gabriel to a mountain near Makkah, where he found and knew his wife, the mountain being then named ?Arafat; and that he afterwards retired with her to Ceylon.—Sale.

ADAB (????). Discipline of the mind and manners; good education and good breeding; politeness; deportment; a mode of conduct or behaviour. A very long section of the Traditions is devoted to the sayings of Muh?ammad regarding rules of conduct, and is found in the Mishkatu ?l-Ma?abih? under the title Babu ?l-Adab (book xxii. Matthew’s Mishkat). It includes—(1) Salutations, (2) Asking permission to enter houses, (3) Shaking hands and embracing, (4) Rising up, (5) Sitting, sleeping and walking, (6) Sneezing and yawning, (7) Laughing, (8) Names, (9) Poetry and eloquence, (10) Backbiting and abuse, (11) Promises, (12) Joking, (13) Boasting and party spirit. The traditional sayings on these subjects will be found under their respective titles. ?Ilmu ?l-Adab is the science of Philology.

?ADIYAT (???????). “Swift horses.” The title of the 100th Surah of the Qur?an, the second verse of which is, “By the swift chargers and those who strike fire with their hoofs.” Professor Palmer translates it “snorting chargers.”

AD?IYATU ?L-MAS?URAH (????? ?????????). “The prayers handed down by tradition.” Those prayers which were said by Muh?ammad, in addition to the regular liturgical prayers. They are found in different sections of the traditions or Ah?adis?.

?ADL (????). Justice. Appointing what is just; equalising; making of the same weight. Ransom. The word occurs twelve times in the Qur?an, e.g., Surah iv. 128, “Ye are not able, it may be, to act equitably to your wives, even though ye covet it.” Surah ii. 44, “Fear the day wherein no soul shall pay any ransom for another soul.” Surah ii. 123, “And fear the day when no soul shall pay any ransom for a soul, nor shall an equivalent be received therefrom, nor any intercession avail; and they shall not be helped.” Surah ii. 282, “Write it down faithfully … then let his agent dictate faithfully.” Surah v. 105, “Let there be a testimony between you when any one of you is at the point of death—at the time he makes his will—two equitable persons from amongst you.” Surah vi. 69, “And though it (soul) compensate with the fullest compensation it would not be accepted.” Surah v. 115, “The words of thy Lord are fulfilled in truth and justice.” Surah xvi. 78, “Is he to be held equal with him who bids what is just, and who is on the right way?” Surah xvi. 92, “Verily God bids you do justice.” Surah xlix. 8, “Make peace with them with equity and be just.” Surah lxxxii. 8, “Thy generous Lord, who created thee and moulded thee and disposed thee aright.”

AL-?ADL (??????). One of the ninety-nine special names of God. It signifies “the Just.” It does not occur in the Qur?an as an attribute of the Divine Being, but it is in the list of attributes given in the Traditions. (Mishkat, book x.)

?ADN (????). The garden of Eden. Jannatu ?Adn. The garden of perpetual abode. The term is used both for the garden of Eden, in which our first parents dwelt, and also for a place in celestial bliss. [JANNATU ?ADN.]

ADOPTION. Arabic Tabanni (?????). An adopted son, or daughter, of known descent, has no right to inherit from his, or her, adoptive parents and their relatives,—the filiation of this description being neither recommended nor recognised by Muh?ammadan law. Such son or daughter is, however, entitled to what may be given under a valid deed in gift or will. In this particular the Muh?ammadan agrees with the English, and the Hindu with the Roman law. (Tagore Law Lectures, 1873, p. 124.)

ADORATION. The acts and postures by which the Muslims express adoration at the time of prayer are similar to those used by the ancient Jews (vide Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible, in loco), and consist of Ruku?, or the inclination of the body, the hands being placed on the knees; and Sujud, or prostration upon the earth, the forehead touching the ground. [PRAYER.] The adoration of the black stone at Makkah forms an important feature in the ceremonies of the pilgrimage. [HAJJ.]

ADULTERY. Arabic zina? (?????). The term zina? includes both adultery and fornication, but there is a difference in the punishment for these offences. [FORNICATION.]

Adultery is established before a Qaz?i, either by proof or confession. To establish it upon proof, four witnesses are required. (Qur?an, Surah iv. 1.) When witnesses come forward, it is necessary that they should be examined particularly concerning the nature of the offence. When the witnesses shall have borne testimony completely, declaring that “they have seen the parties in the very act of carnal conjunction,” the Qaz?i passes sentence.

A confession of adultery must be made by the person who has committed the sin, at four different times, although, according to the Imam ash-Shafi?i, one confession is sufficient. Some of the doctors hold that if a person retract his confession, his retraction must be credited, and he must be forthwith released.

At the commencement of Muh?ammad’s mission, women found guilty of adultery and fornication were punished by being literally immured—Suratu ?n-nisa (iv.) 19, “Shut them up within their houses till death release them, or God make some way for them.” This, however, was cancelled, and lapidation was substituted as the punishment for adultery, and 100 stripes and one year’s banishment for fornication.

When an adulterer is to be stoned to death, he should be carried to some barren place, and the lapidation should be executed, first by the witnesses, then by the Qaz?i, and afterwards by the by-standers. When a woman is stoned, a hole or excavation should be dug to receive her, as deep as her waist, because Muh?ammad ordered such a hole to be dug for G?handia.

It is lawful for a husband to slay his wife and her paramour, if he shall find them in the very act. If a supreme ruler, such as a K?halifah, commit adultery, he is not subject to such punishment.

The state of marriage which subjects a whoremonger to lapidation, requires that he be free (i.e. not a slave), a Muslim, and one who has consummated a lawful marriage.

It will be seen that Muh?ammadan law is almost identical with the divine law of the Jews with regard to adultery (Deut. xxiii. 22, Lev. xix. 20); but the Mosaic penalty applied as well to the betrothed as to the married woman.

AFFINITY. Arabic Qarabah (??????). The prohibited degrees (h?urmah) with regard to marriages are as follows:—Mother, daughter, paternal aunt, maternal aunt, brother’s or sister’s daughter, grandmother, granddaughter, mother-in-law, step-mother, daughter-in-law, granddaughter-in-law. Nor can any man marry any who stand in any of these relationships from fosterage. The marriage of two sisters at the same time is forbidden, but the marriage of a deceased wife’s sister is allowed. Marriage with a deceased brother’s wife is very common in Muslim countries, such marriages being held to be a very honourable means of providing for a brother’s widow. The marriage of cousins is also considered most desirable, as being the means of keeping families and tribes together. The passage of the Qur?an on the subject of affinity, is as follows (Surah v. 27):—

“Marry not women whom your fathers have married: for this is a shame, and hateful, and an evil way:—though what is past (i.e. in times of ignorance) may be allowed.

“Forbidden to you are your mothers, and your daughters, and your sisters, and your aunts, both on the father and mother’s side, and your nieces on the brother and sister’s side, and your foster-mothers, and your foster-sisters, and the mothers of your wives, and your step-daughters who are your wards, born of your wives to whom ye have gone in: (but if ye have not gone in unto them, it shall be no sin in you to marry them;) and the wives of your sons who proceed out of your loins; and ye may not have two sisters; except where it is already done. Verily, God is Indulgent, Merciful!

“Forbidden to you also are married women, except those who are in your hands as slaves: This is the law of God for you. And it is allowed you, beside this, to seek out wives by means of your wealth, with modest conduct, and without fornication. And give those with whom ye have cohabited their dowry. This is the law. But it shall be no crime in you to make agreements over and above the law. Verily, God is Knowing, Wise!”

AFFLICTION. Arabic h?uzn (????), g?hamm (???). The benefits of affliction are frequently expressed in both the Qur?an and Traditions. For example: Surah ii. 150, “We will try you with something of fear, and hunger, and loss of wealth, and souls and fruit; but give good tidings to the patient who, when there falls on them a calamity, say, ‘Verily we are God’s and verily to Him we return.’ ” This formula is always used by Muh?ammadans in any danger or sudden calamity, especially in the presence of death.

In the traditions (see Mishkatu ?l-Ma?abih?), Muh?ammad is related to have said, “A Muslim is like unto standing green corn, which sometimes stands erect, but is sometimes cast down by the wind.” “No affliction befals a servant of God but on account of the sins which he commits.”

AFSUN (??????). The Persian term for Da?wah or exorcism. [EXORCISM.]

?AFU (????). Lit. “erasing, cancelling.” The word is generally used in Muh?ammadan books for pardon and forgiveness. It occurs eight times in the Qur?an, e.g. Surah ii. 286, “Lord, make us not to carry what we have not strength for, but forgive us and pardon us and have mercy on us.” Surah iv. 46, “Verily God pardons and forgives.”

Al-?Afu is one of the ninety-nine special names of God. It means “one who erases or cancels;” “The Eraser (of sins).” See Qur?an, Surah iv. 51.

AGENT. Arabic wakil (?????). One legally appointed to act for another. For the Muh?ammadan law regarding the appointment of agents to transact business, or to negotiate marriages, see Hamilton’s Hidayah, vol. iii. p. 1; Baillie’s Digest. Hanifi Code, p. 75; Imamiyah Code, p. 29. The author of the Hidayah says, “It is lawful for a person to appoint another his agent for the settlement, in his behalf, of every contract which he might lawfully have concluded himself, such as sale, marriage, and so forth;” and he then proceeds to lay down rules for guidance in such matters at great length. A woman who remains in privacy and is not accustomed to go into Court, ought, according to the saying of Abu Bakr, to appoint an agent and not appear herself. A slave or a minor may be appointed agent for a free man.

AL-AH?AD (??????). “The One.” A title given to God. [NAMES OF GOD.]

AH?ADIYAH (??????). Unity, concord. Al-Ah?adiyah is a term used by ?ufi mystics to express a condition of the mind, completely absorbed in a meditation on the Divine Unity. (See ?Abdu ?r-Razzaq’s Dictionary of the Technical Terms of the ?ufis. Sprenger’s edition.)

AH?QAF (??????). The name of a tract of land in Sihr in Yaman. The title of the XLVIth Surah of the Qur?an.

AHLU ?L-BAIT (??? ??????). “The people of the house.” A term used in the Qur?an (Surah xxxiii. 33), and in the H?adis? (Mishkat, xxiv. 21), for Muh?ammad’s household.

AHLU ?L-HAWA? (??? ???????). A visionary person; a libertine.

AHLU ?L-KITAB (??? ???????). Lit. “The people of the book.” A term used in the Qur?an for Jews and Christians, as believers in a revealed religion. Some sects of the Shi?ahs include the Majusi (Magi) under this term.

AH?MAD (?????). The name under which Muh?ammad professes that Jesus Christ foretold his coming. Vide Qur?an, Surah lxi. 6, “And remember when Jesus the son of Mary said, ‘O children of Israel! of a truth I am God’s Apostle to you to confirm the law which was given before me, and to announce an apostle that shall come after me, whose name shall be Ah?mad.’ ” Muh?ammad had, no doubt, heard that Our Lord had promised a Paracletos (pa?a???t??), John xvi. 7. This title, understood by him, probably from the similarity of sound, as equivalent to Periclytos (pe?????t??), he applied to himself with reference to his own name Muh?ammad, the praised or glorified one. Muir thinks that in some imperfect Arabic translation of the Gospel of St. John, the word pa?a???t?? may have been translated Ah?mad, or praised. (Life of Mahomet, vol. i. 17.)

AH?ZAB (??????). “Confederates.” The title of the XXXIIIrd Surah of the Qur?an, which is said to have been written when al-Madinah was besieged by a confederation of the Jewish tribes with the Arabs of Makkah. A.H. 5.

AIYUB (?????). [JOB.]

AJAL (????). The appointed time of death, said to be ordained by God from the first. Qur?an, Surah xxxv. 44, “He respites them until the appointed time. When their appointed time comes, verily God looks upon His servants.” [DEATH.]

AJIR (?????). A term used in Muh?ammadan law for a person hired for service. [IJARAH.]

AJNABI (??????). A foreigner; any person not of Arabia.

AK?HIR-I-CHAHAR-I-SHAMBAH (??? ???? ?????). The last Wednesday of the month of ?afar. It is observed as a feast in commemoration of Muh?ammad’s having experienced some mitigation of his last illness, and having bathed. It was the last time he performed the legal bathing, for he died on the twelfth day of the next month. In some parts of Islam it is customary, in the early morning of this day to write verses of the Qur?an, known as the Seven Salams (q.v.), and then wash off the ink and drink it as a charm against evil. It is not observed by the Wahhabis, nor is its observance universal in Islam.

AK?HLAQ (??????). The plural of K?hulq. Natures, dispositions, habits, manners. The general term for books on morality, e.g. Ak?hlaq-i-Jalali, Ak?hlaq-i-Muh?sini, the name of a dissertation on Ethics by H?usain Wa?iz? Kashifi, A.H. 910, which has been translated into English by the Rev. H.G. Keene (W.H. Allen & Co.).

AK?HUND (??????). A maulawi; a teacher. A title of respect given to eminent religious teachers. One of the most celebrated Muh?ammadan teachers of modern times was the “Ak?hund of Swat,” who died A.D. 1875. This great religious leader resided in the village of Saidu, in the district of Swat, on the north-west frontier of India.

AK?HUNDZADAH (??????????). The son of an Ak?hund. A title of respect given to the sons or descendants of celebrated religious teachers. [AKHUND.]

AL (???). Lit. “offspring, or posterity.” Used in Muslim works for the offspring of Muh?ammad.

AL-A?LA (???????). “The Most High.” The title of the LXXXVIIth Surah of the Qur?an, in the second verse of which the word occurs: “The name of thy Lord the Most High is celebrated.”

?ALAM (?????). The universe; world; condition, state of being.

The four mystic stages of the ?ufis are—

[SUFIISM.]

?ALAMAT (???????). The greater signs of the resurrection. [?ALAMATU ?S-SA?AH, RESURRECTION.]

?ALAMATU ?N-NUBUWAH (?????? ???????). “The signs of Prophecy.” A term used for the supposed miracles and other proofs of the mission of Muh?ammad. The title of a chapter in the Traditions. (Mishkat, xxi. c. vi.)

?ALAMATU ?S-SA?AH (?????? ???????). “The signs of the hour,” i.e. the signs of the time of the Resurrection and of the Day of Judgment. The title of a section of the Traditions. (Mishkat, xxiii. c. 3.) [RESURRECTION.]

?ALAQ (????). “Congealed blood.” The title of the XCVIth Surah, the first five verses of which are generally allowed to be the earliest portion of the Qur?an.

AL-BALDAH (???????). “The City.” A name sometimes used in the H?adis? for Makkah.

ALCHEMY. Arabic Kimiya? (???????). According to the Kashfu ?z?-z?unun, in loco, learned Muslims are not agreed as to the existence of this occult science, nor are they of one opinion as to its lawfulness, even if it should exist.

ALEXANDER THE GREAT. Mentioned in the Qur?an as ?u ?l-Qarnain, i.e. “He of the two horns,” with which he is represented on his coins. (Surah xviii. 82.) He seems to have been regarded by Muh?ammad as one invested with a divine commission:—“Verily we established his power upon earth”; but commentators are not agreed whether to assign to him the position of a Prophet. [ZU ?L-QARNAIN.]

AL-H?AMD (??????). “Praise.” A title given to the first Surah, so called because its first word is Al-h?amd. This chapter is also called Fatih?ah, which term is used by modern Muslims for the Surah when it is said for the benefit of the dead, Al-h?amd being its more usual title. [FATIHAH.]

AL-H?AMDU-LI?LLAH (????? ????). “Praise belongs to God.” An ejaculation which is called Tah?mid, and which occurs at the commencement of the first chapter of the Qur?an. It is used as an ejaculation of thanksgiving—“Thank God!” It is very often recited with the addition of Rabbi ?l-?alamin, “Lord of the Universe.” [TAHMID.]

AL-?ALI (??????). One of the ninety-nine special names of God. It means “The Exalted One.”

?ALI (????). The son of Abu-T?alib, and a cousin-german to Muh?ammad, who adopted him as his son. He married Fat?imah, the daughter of Muh?ammad, and had by her three sons, H?asan, H?usain, and Muh?assin. He was the fourth K?halifah, and reigned from A.H. 35 to A.H. 40. He was struck with a poisoned sword by Ibn Muljam, at al-Kufah, and died after three days, aged fifty-nine years. The Shi?ahs hold that, on the death of Muh?ammad, ?Ali was entitled to the Khalifate, and the respective claims of Abu Bakr, ?Umar, and ?Us?man on the one hand, and of ?Ali on the other, gave rise to the Shi?ah schism. ?Ali is surnamed by the Arabs Asadu ?llah, and by the Persians Sher-i-K?huda, i.e. “The Lion of God.” [SHI?AH.]

ALIF. The letter Alif (??) is a monogram frequently placed at the head of letters, prescriptions, &c. It is the initial letter of the word Allah (?????), “God.”

ALIF LAM MIM. The Arabic letters ????, corresponding to A L M, which occur at the commencement of six Surahs, namely Suratu ?l-Baqarah (II.), Suratu Alu ?Imran (III.), Suratu ?l-?Ankabut (XXIX.), Suratu ?r-Rum (XXX.), Suratu Luqman (XXXI.), and Suratu ?s-Sijdah (XXXII.). Muh?ammad never explained the meaning of these mysterious letters, and consequently they are a fruitful source of perplexity to learned commentators. Jalalu ?d-din gives an exhaustive summary of the different views in his Itqan (p. 470). Some suppose they stand for the words Allah, “God”; Lat?if, “gracious”; Majid, “glorious.” Others say they stand for Ana ?llahu a?lamu, “I am the God who knoweth.” Others maintain that they were not meant to be understood, and that they were inserted by the Divine command without explanation, in order to remind the reader that there were mysteries which his intellect would never fathom.

ALU ?IMRAN (?? ??????). “The family of ?Imran.” The title of the third chapter of the Qur?an.

?ALIM (?????), pl. ?ulama?. A learned man. The term usually includes all religious teachers, such as Imams, Muftis, Qaz?is, and Maulawis; and in Turkey it denotes the political party led by the religious teachers.

AL-?ALIM (???????). One of the ninety-nine special names of God. It frequently occurs in the Qur?an, and means “The Wise One.”

ALLAH (?????). [GOD.]

ALLAHU AKBAR (???? ?????). “God is great,” or “God is most great.” An ejaculation which is called the Takbir. It occurs frequently in the liturgical forms, and is used when slaying an animal for food. [TAKBIR.]

ALMSGIVING. The word generally used for alms is ?adaqah, or that which manifests righteousness; the word zakat, or purification, being specially restricted to the legal alms. [ZAKAT.] ?adaqatu ?l-Fit?r are the offerings given on the Lesser Festival. The duty of almsgiving is very frequently enjoined in the Qur?an, e.g. Surah ii. 274–5, “What ye expend of good (i.e. of well-gotten wealth), it shall be paid to you again, and ye shall not be wronged. (Give your alms) unto the poor who are straitened in God’s way and cannot traverse the earth.… Those who expend their wealth by night and by day, secretly and openly, they shall have their hire with their Lord.”

The following are some of the sayings of Muh?ammad on the subject of almsgiving, as they occur in the Traditions:—“The upper hand is better than the lower one. The upper hand is the giver of alms, and the lower hand is the poor beggar.” “The best of alms are those given by a man of small means, who gives of that which he has earned by labour, and gives as much as he is able.” “Begin by giving alms to your own relatives.” “Doing justice between two people is alms; assisting a man on his beast is alms; good words are alms.” “A camel lent out for milk is alms; a cup of milk every morning and evening is alms.” “Your smiling in your brother’s face is alms; assisting the blind is alms.” “God says, Be thou liberal, thou child of Adam, that I may be liberal to thee.” (See Mishkat, Matthew’s edition, vol. i. p. 429.)

ALWAH? (??????), pl. of Lauh?. “The tables” (of the Law). Mentioned in the Qur?an, Surah vii. 142, “We wrote for him (Moses) upon the Tables (al-Alwah?) a monition concerning every matter.”

Muslim divines are not agreed as to the number either of the tables, or of the Commandments. The commentators Jalalain say they were either seven or ten. [TEN COMMANDMENTS.]

?AMAL-NAMAH (??? ?????). The Persian word for ?ah?ifatu ?l-A?mal, or record of actions kept by the recording angels. [SAHIFATU ?L-A?MAL, KIRAMU ?L-KATIBIN.]

AMAN (?????). Protection given by a Muslim conqueror to those who pay Jizyah, or poll tax. [JIHAD.]

AMBIYA? (???????), pl. of Nabi. “Prophets.” The title of the XXIst Surah. [PROPHETS.]

AMIN (?????), Hebrew ???????. An expression of assent used at the conclusion of prayers, very much as in our Christian worship. It is always used at the conclusion of the Suratu ?l-Fatih?ah, or first chapter of the Qur?an.

Amin, “Faithful.” Al-Amin is the title which it is said was given to Muh?ammad when a youth, on account of his fair and honourable bearing, which won the confidence of the people.

Aminu ?l-Bait, one who wishes to perform the pilgrimage to Makkah.

AMINAH (?????). Muh?ammad’s mother. She was the wife of ?Abdu ?llah, and the daughter of Wahb ibn ?Abdi Manaf. She died and was buried at al-Abwa?, a place midway between Makkah and al-Madinah, before her son claimed the position of a Prophet.

AMIR (?????), AnglicÈ, Emir. “A ruler; a commander; a chief; a nobleman.” It includes the various high offices in a Muslim state; the Imam, or K?halifah, being styled Amiru ?l-Umara?, the ruler of rulers; and Amiru ?l-Mu?minin, the commander of the believers.

AMIRU ?L-H?AJJ (???? ?????). “The chief of the pilgrimage.” The officer in charge of the pilgrims to Makkah. [HAJJ.]

AMIRU ?L-MU?MININ (???? ?????????). “The Commander of the Believers.” A title which was first given to ?Abdu ?llah ibn Jah?sh after his expedition to Nak?hlah, and which was afterwards assumed by the K?halifahs (first by ?Umar) and the Sult?ans of Turkey. [KHALIFAH.]

?AMR IBN AL-?A?I (???? ?? ???????). One of the Companions, celebrated for his conquest of Syria, Palestine and Egypt, in the reigns of Abu Bakr and ?Umar. He died (according to an-Nawawi) A.H. 43.

AMULETS. Arabic H?ama?il (??????), “anything suspended”; Ta?wi?, “a refuge”; H?ijab, “a cover.”

Amulets, although of heathen origin, are very common in Muh?ammadan countries. The following are used as amulets: (1) a small Qur?an, encased in silk or leather, and suspended from the shoulder; (2) a chapter or verse of the Qur?an, written on paper and folded in leather or velvet; (3) some of the names of God, or the numerical power (see ABJAD) of these names; (4) the names of prophets, celebrated saints, or the numerical power of the same; (5) the Muh?ammadan creed, engraven on stone or silver. The chapters of the Qur?an generally selected for Amulets are: Surahs i., vi., xviii., xxxvi., xliv., lv., lxvii., lxxviii. Five verses known as the Ayatu ?l-H?ifz?, or “verses of protection,” are also frequently inscribed on Amulets. They are Surahs ii. 256; xii. 64; xiii. 12; xv. 17; xxxvii. 7. [AYATU ?L-HIFZ.]

These charms are fastened on the arm or leg, or suspended round the neck, as a protection against evil. They are also put on houses and animals, and, in fact, upon anything from which evil is to be averted. Strictly, according to the principles of Islam, only the names of God, or verses from the Qur?an, should be used for amulets. Information regarding the formation of magic squares and amulets will be found in the article on Exorcism. [EXORCISM, DA?WAH.]

AL-AN?AM (????????). “The Cattle.” The title of the VIth Surah, in verse 137 of which some superstitious customs of the Meccans, as to certain cattle, are incidentally mentioned.

ANANIYAH (???????). From ana, “I.” “Egotism.” Al-ananiyah is a term used by the ?ufis to express the existence of man.

ANAS IBN MALIK (??? ??? ?????). The last of the Companions of Muh?ammad, and the founder of the sect of the Malikis. He died at al-Ba?rah, A.H. 93, aged 103.

AL-ANFAL (????????). “The Spoils.” The title of the VIIIth Surah which was occasioned by a dispute regarding the spoils taken at the battle of Badr, between the young men who had fought and the old men who had stayed with the ensigns.

ANGEL. Arabic mal?ak or malak (?????, ????). Persian Firishtah (??????). “It is believed,” says Ibn Majah, “that the angels are of a simple substance (created of light), endowed with life, and speech, and reason; and that the difference between them, the Jinn, and Shait?ans 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; and they are created in different forms and with different powers.” (Arabian Nights, Lane’s edition, Notes to the Introduction, p. 27.)

Four of them are archangels, or, as they are called in Arabic, Karubiyun (Cherubim), namely, Jabra?il, or Jibril, (Gabriel), the angel of revelations; Mika?il, or Mikal, (Michael), the patron of the Israelites; Israfil, the angel who will sound the trumpet at the last day; and ?Izra?il, or ?Azra?il, the angel of death. Angels are said to be inferior in dignity to human prophets, because all the angels were commanded to prostrate themselves before Adam (Surah ii. 32). Every believer is attended by two recording angels, called the Kiramu ?l-katibin, one of whom records his good actions, and the other his evil actions. There are also two angels, called Munkar and Nakir, who examine all the dead in their graves. The chief angel who has charge of hell is called Malik, and his subordinates are named Zabaniyah, or guards. A more extended account of these angels will be found under their particular titles.

The angels intercede for man: “The angels celebrate the praise of their Lord, and ask forgiveness for the dwellers on earth.” (Surah xlii. 3.) They also act as guardian angels: “Each hath a succession of angels before him and behind him, who watch over him by God’s behest.” (Surah xiii. 12.) “Is it not enough for you that your Lord aideth you with three thousand angels sent down (from on high)?” (Surah iii. 120.) “He is the supreme over His servants, and sendeth forth guardians who watch over you, until, when death overtaketh any one of you, our messengers receive him and fail not.” (Surah vi. 61.)

There are eight angels who support the throne of God, “And the angels shall be on its sides, and over them on that day eight shall bear up the throne of thy Lord.” (Surah lxix. 17.) Nineteen have charge of hell. “Over it are nineteen. None but angels have we made guardians of the fire.” (Surah lxxiv. 30, 31.)

The names of the guardian angels given in the book on Exorcism (da?wah), entitled the Jawahiru ?l-K?hamsah, are Israfil, Jibra?il, Kalka?il, Darda?il, Durba?il, Raftma?il, Sharka?il, Tankafil, Isma?il, Sarakika?il, K?harura?il, T?at?a?il, Ruya?il, Hula?il, Hamwakil, ?Itra?il, Amwakil, ?Amra?il, ?Azra?il, Mika?il, Mahka?il, Harta?il, ?Ata?il, Nura?il, Nukha?il. [EXORCISM.]

ANIMALS. Arabic H?ayawan (??????). According to the Qur?an, Surah xxiv. 44, “God hath created every animal of water.” “An idea,” says Rodwell, “perhaps derived from Gen. i. 20, 21.”

It is believed that at the Resurrection the irrational animals will be restored to life, that they may be brought to judgment, and then be annihilated. See Qur?an, Surah vi. 38, “No kind of beast is there on the earth, nor fowl that flieth with its wings, but is a community like you; nothing have We passed over in the book (of the Eternal decrees): then unto their Lord shall they be gathered.”

AL-?ANKABUT (?????????). “The Spider.” The title of the XXIXth Surah, in which there is a passing reference to this insect in the 40th verse:—“The likeness for those who take to themselves guardians besides God is the likeness of the spider who buildeth her a house; but truly the frailest of all houses surely is the house of the spider.”

AL-AN?AR (????????). “The Helpers,” a term used for the early converts of al-Madinah; but when all the citizens of al-Madinah were ostensibly converted to Islam, they were all named An?ar, while those Muslims who accompanied the Prophet from Makkah to al-Madinah were called Muhajirun, or exiles. (Muir’s Life of Mahomet, vol iii. p. 26.) [MUHAMMAD.]

ANTICHRIST. [MASIHU ?D-DAJJAL.]

APOSTASY FROM ISLAM. Arabic irtidad (???????). According to Muslim law, a male apostate, or Murtadd, is liable to be put to death if he continue obstinate in his error; a female apostate is not subject to capital punishment, but she may be kept in confinement until she recant. (Hamilton’s Hidayah, vol. ii. p. 227.) If either the husband or wife apostatize from the faith of Islam, a divorce takes place ipso facto; the wife is entitled to her whole dower, but no sentence of divorce is necessary. If the husband and wife both apostatize together, their marriage is generally allowed to continue, although the Imam Zufar says it is annulled. But if, after their joint apostasy, either husband or wife were singly to return to Islam, then the marriage would be dissolved. (Hamilton’s Hidayah, vol. ii. p. 183.)

According to Abu H?anifah, a male apostate is disabled from selling or otherwise disposing of his property. But Abu Yusuf and Imam Muh?ammad differ from their master upon this point, and consider a male apostate to be as competent to exercise every right as if he were still in the faith. (Hidayah, vol. ii. p. 235.)

If a boy under age apostatize, he is not to be put to death, but to be imprisoned until he come to full age, when, if he continue in the state of unbelief, he must be put to death. Neither lunatics nor drunkards are held to be responsible for their apostasy from Islam. (Hidayah, vol. ii. 246.) If a person upon compulsion become an apostate, his wife is not divorced, nor are his lands forfeited. If a person become a Musalman upon compulsion, and afterwards apostatize, he is not to be put to death. (Hidayah, vol. iii. 467.)

The will of a male apostate is not valid, but that of a female apostate is valid. (Hidayah, vol. iv. 637.)

?Ikrimah relates that some apostates were brought to the K?halifah ?Ali, and he burnt them alive; but Ibn ?Abbas heard of it, and said that the K?halifah had not acted rightly, for the Prophet had said, “Punish not with God’s punishment (i.e. fire), but whosoever changes his religion, kill him with the sword.” (?ah?ih?u ?l-Buk?hari.)

APOSTLE. Arabic rasul (?????), h?awari (??????). The term rasul (apostle or messenger) is applied to Muh?ammad, that of h?awari being used in the Qur?an (Surah iii. 4, 5; Surah iv. 111, 112; Surah lxi. 14) for the Apostles of Jesus. The word h?awari seems to be derived from the Æthiopic h?ora, “to go”; h?awarya, “apostle”; although, according to al-Baiz?awi, the commentator, it is derived from h?awira, “to be white,” in Syriac, h?ewar, and was given to the disciples of Jesus, he says, on account of their purity of life and sincerity, or because they were respectable men and wore white garments. In the Traditions (Mishkat, book i. c. vi. part 2) h?awari is used for the followers of all the prophets. [PROPHETS.]

AL-?AQABAH (???????). A sheltered glen near Mina, celebrated as the scene of the two pledges, the first and second pledge of al-?Aqabah. The first pledge was made by ten men of the tribe of K?hazraj and ten of Aus, when they plighted their faith to Muh?ammad thus:—“We will not worship any but one God; we will not steal; nor commit adultery; nor kill our children; nor will we slander our neighbour; and we will obey the Prophet of God.” The date assigned to this pledge by Sir W. Muir is April 21, A.D. 621. The second pledge was a few months afterwards, when seventy-three men and two women came forward, one by one, and took an oath of fealty to the Prophet. Muh?ammad named twelve of the chief of these men, and said:—“Moses chose from amongst his people twelve leaders. Ye shall be sureties for the rest, even as were the Apostles of Jesus; and I am surety for my people. And the people answered, Amin, So be it.” (Muir’s Life of Mahomet, vol. ii. pp. 216, 232.)

?AQIB (?????). “A successor or deputy.” “One who comes last.” Al-?aqib is a title given to Muh?ammad as being styled “the last of the prophets.”

?AQILAH (??????). The relatives who pay the expiatory mulct for manslaughter, or any other legal fine. They must be relatives descended from one common father. (Hamilton’s Hidayah, vol. iv. pages 449, 452; Baillie’s Law of Sale, p. 214.)

?AQIQAH (??????). A custom observed by the Arabs on the birth of a child; namely, leaving the hair on the infant’s head until the seventh day, when it is shaved, and animals are sacrificed, namely, two sheep for a boy and one for a girl. (Mishkat, xviii. c. 3.) It is enjoined by Muh?ammadan law, and observed in all parts of Islam.

ARABIA. Biladu ?l-?Arab (???? ??????), Jaziratu ?l-?Arab (????? ??????), ?Arabistan (????????). The peninsula bearing, amongst the Arabs, these names is the country situated on the east of the Red Sea, and extending as far as the Persian Gulf.

The word probably signifies a “barren place,” “desert” (Heb. ?????????).

Ptolemy divides Arabia into three parts, Arabia PetrÆa, Arabia Felix, and Arabia Deserta; but Arabian geographers divide it into Tih?amah, al-H?ijaz, an-Najd, al-?Aruz?, and al-Yaman.

The races which have peopled Arabia are divided into three sections, al-?Arabu ?l-Ba?idah, al-?Arabu ?l-?Aribah, and al-?Arabu ?l-Musta?ribah.

ARABIC LEXICONS. The first Arabic lexicon is that which is generally ascribed to al-K?halil, and entitled Kitabu ?l ?Ain. The following are the most celebrated Arabic dictionaries composed after the ?Ain.

The Jamharah, by Ibn Duraid, died A.H. 321.

The Tah?ib, by al-Azhari, died A.H. 370.

The Muh?it?, by the ?ah?ib Ibn ?Abbad, died A.H. 385.

The Mujmal, by Ibn Faris, died A.H. 395.

The ?ih?ah?, by al-Jauhari, died A.H. 398.

The Jami?, by al-Qazzaz, died A.H. 412.

The Mu?ab, by Abu G?halib, died A.H. 436.

The Muh?kam, by Ibn Sidah, died A.H. 458.

The Asas, by az-Zamak?hshari, died A.H. 538.

The Mughrib, by al-Mut?arrizi, died A.H. 610.

The ?Ubab, by a?-?aghani, died A.H. 660.

The Lisanu ?l-?Arab, by Ibn Mukarram, died A.H. 711.

The Tah?ibu ?t-Tah?ib, by Mah?mud at-Tanuk?hi, died A.H. 723.

The Mi?bah?, by Ah?mad ibn Muh?ammad al-Faiyumi, compiled A.H. 734.

The Mughni ?l-Labib, by Ibn Hisham, died A.H. 761.

The Qamus, by al-Fairuzabadi, died A.H. 816.

The ?ih?ah? (says Mr. Lane in his Preface to his Dictionary), is among the books of lexicology like the ?ah?ih? of Al-Buk?hari amongst the books of traditions; for the point on which turns the title to reliance is not the copiousness of the collection, but the condition of genuineness and correctness.

Two well-known dictionaries, compiled in modern times in Hindustan, are the G?hiyas?u ?l-Lug?hat, by Maulawi G?hiyas?u ?d-din of Rampur, and the Muntaha ?l-?Arab, by ?Abdu ?r-Rah?im ibn ?Abdu ?l-Karim of ?afipur. These are both Arabic and Persian lexicons.

The Arabic-Latin dictionary of Jacob Golius, was printed at Leyden, A.D. 1653; that of Freytag at Halle, A.D. 1830–35.

The Arabic-English and English-Arabic dictionaries extant are—

Richardson’s Persian-Arabic-English, A.D. 1777.

Richardson’s English-Persian-Arabic, A.D. 1810.

Francis Johnson’s Persian-Arabic-English, A.D. 1852.

Catafago’s Arabic-English and English-Arabic, new edition, 1873.

Lane’s Arabic-English, A.D. 1863 to 1882, imperfect.

Dr. Badger’s English-Arabic, A.D. 1881.

Dr. Steingass’s English-Arabic, A.D. 1882.

AL-A?RAF (????????). (1) The partition between heaven and hell, described in the Qur?an, Surah vii. 44, “Betwixt the two (heaven and hell) there is a partition; and on al-A?raf are men who know all by their marks; and they shall cry out to the inhabitants of Paradise, ‘Peace be upon you!’ (but) they have not (yet) entered it, although they so desire. And when their sight is turned towards the dwellers in the Fire, they say, ‘O our Lord, place us not with the unjust people.’ ” According to Sale, al-A?raf is derived from the verb ?arafa, which signifies “to distinguish between things, or to part them”; though some commentators give another reason for the imposition of this name, because, say they, those who stand on this partition will know and distinguish the blessed from the damned by their respective marks or characteristics: and others say the word properly intends anything that is elevated, as such a wall of separation must be supposed to be. Some imagine it to be a sort of limbo for the patriarchs and prophets, or for the martyrs and those who have been most eminent for sanctity. Others place here those whose good and evil works are so equal that they exactly counterpoise each other, and therefore deserve neither reward nor punishment; and these, say they, will on the last day be admitted into Paradise, after they shall have performed an act of adoration, which will be imputed to them as a merit, and will make the scale of their good works to preponderate. Others suppose this intermediate space will be a receptacle for those who have gone to war, without their parents’ leave, and therein suffered martyrdom; being excluded from Paradise for their disobedience, and escaping hell because they are martyrs. (2) The title of Surah vii. (3) A term used by ?ufi mystics to express a condition of the mind and soul when meditating on the existence of God in all things.

?ARAFAH (?????). The vigil of the ?Idu ?l-Az?h?a, or Feast of Sacrifice, when the pilgrims proceed to Mount ?Arafat. [?IDU ?L-AZHA.]

?ARAFAT (??????), or ?Arafah. The “Mount of Recognition,” situated twelve miles from Makkah; the place where the pilgrims stay on the ninth day of the pilgrimage, and recite the mid-day and afternoon prayers, and hear the K?hut?bah or sermon. Hence it is a name given to the ninth day of the month ?u ?l-H?ijjah. Upon the origin of the name given to this mountain, Burton says, “The Holy Hill owes its name to the following legend:—When our first parents forfeited heaven for eating wheat, which deprived them of their primeval purity, they were cast down upon earth. The serpent descended upon Ispahan, the peacock at Cabul; Satan at Bilbays (others say Semnan or Seistan), Eve upon ?Arafat, and Adam at Ceylon (Sarandib). The latter, determining to seek his wife, began a journey, to which the earth owes its present mottled appearance. Wherever our first father placed his foot, which was large, a town afterwards arose; and between the strides will always be country. Wandering for many years, he came to the Mountain of Mercy, where our common mother was continually calling upon his name, and their recognition of each other gave the place the name of ?Arafah.”

ARAZ?I (??????). Lit. “lands”; the sale of lands. Tombs are not included in the sale of lands. A place or station for casting the harvest is not considered to be amongst the rights and advantages of land, and therefore does not enter into the sale of it. (Baillie’s Law of Sale, pages 54, 55.) [LAND.]

ARCHITECTURE. The term Saracenic is usually applied by English writers to Muh?ammadan architecture. But though the style may be traced to the Arabians, they cannot themselves be considered the inventors of it. They had, in fact, no distinctive style of their own when they made their rapid conquests, but adapted existing styles of architecture to meet the religious and national feelings of the Muslims.

Muh?ammad built a mosque at al-Madinah, but it was an exceedingly simple structure, and he left no directions in the Qur?an or in the Traditions on the subject.

The typical varieties of the earlier Muh?ammadan architecture are those which appeared in Spain and in Egypt; its later form appeared in Constantinople. The oldest specimen of Saracenic architecture in Spain is the mosque of Cordova, which now serves as the cathedral of the city. It was commenced by the K?halifah ?Abdu ?r-Rah?man, 786 A.D., with the avowed intention that it should be the finest mosque in the world, and Byzantine architects are said to have been specially invited to superintend its construction.

The earliest of the Muh?ammadan buildings in Egypt, of which any portions still remain, is the Mosque of ?Amr at old Cairo, begun about A.D. 642, but greatly altered or rebuilt about sixty years later.

On the capture of Constantinople, St. Sophia was converted by the Muslim conquerors into their chief Mosque, and made their architectural model. The older Saracenic style, as seen at Cordova and old Cairo, continued to be the basis of the new, but it was modified throughout by Byzantine influence. In Persia we may clearly trace in Muh?ammadan buildings the older Persian type, and in India the Saracenic architects showed the same pliancy in adopting the styles of the various peoples amongst whom they settled. It thus happens (says Fergusson, in his History of Indian Architecture), that we have at least twelve or fifteen different styles of Muh?ammadan architecture in Central Asia and in India.

A striking and distinctive feature in early Muh?ammadan architecture is the horse-shoe arch, which in time gives way to a cusped or scalloped arch, strictly so termed, the outline being produced by intersecting semi-arches. Another variety of Saracenic arch is the circular-headed and stilted form. The pillars are commonly of exceedingly slender proportions, almost to apparent insecurity; but owing to the style of the embellishment, this lightness of particular forms tends to heighten the general luxuriance. Some have imagined that this element of slenderness in regard to pillars indicates a tent origin of the style. This tent-like character has been further kept up by concave ceilings and cupolas, emblazoned with painting and gilding. Decorations composed of animal and human figures, being interdicted by Muh?ammadan law [PICTURES] are not found in Saracenic architecture; but their geometrical patterns exhibit singular beauty and complexity, inexhaustible variety of combinations, and a wonderful degree of harmonious intricacy, arising out of very simple elements. Lattice or open trellis work is another fertile source of embellishment, and is similar to the tracery met with in Gothic buildings. Another characteristic of Saracenic style is that of the dome. For the most part domes occur in mosques and tombs, and are of Byzantine origin. Minarets are also a special feature in Muh?ammadan mosques, and contribute much to the picturesqueness of these buildings. They are found in mosques of the later Saracenic style. (See Fergusson’s Indian and Eastern Architecture, Mr. Owen Jones’s Alhambra Palace, Hersemer’s Arabische Bauverzierungen.)

?ARIYAH (?????). A kind of sale permitted in Islam, namely, when a person computes what quantity of fruit there is on a tree and sells it before it is plucked. (Mishkat, xii. c. v.)

?ARIYAH (??????) (1) A loan for the use of anything of which Qarz? cannot be made: e.g. the loan of a horse is ?Ariyah; the loan of money is Qarz?. (2) A gift, of which the following is an example:—A person makes a gift to another of the dates of a palm-tree in his garden; but having afterwards some doubt of the propriety of that person coming daily to his garden where his family usually are, and being at the same time unwilling to depart from his promise, or to retract his gift, he gives some of the dates that have already been pulled in lieu of those upon the tree. (Baillie’s Law of Sale, p. 300.)

ARK, NOAH’S (??? ????). It is mentioned in the history of the Deluge, as recorded in the Qur?an, in two places—Surah xi. 39, “Build the ark under our eye and after our revelation,” and Surah xxiii. 27. There is also supposed to be an allusion to the ark in Surah xxxvi. 41, “And a sign to them is that we bare their offspring in the laden ship.”

Al-Baiz?awi says that Noah was two years building the ark, which was 300 cubits long, 50 wide, and 30 broad, and which was made of Indian plane-tree; that it consisted of three storeys, the lowest for beasts, the middle for men and women (who were separated from each other), and the highest for birds.

The ark is said to have rested on the mountain al-Judi. [NOAH.]

ARK OF THE COVENANT. The Hebrew word for “Ark” is ???????? (i.e. a chest, a coffer), Chald. ????????????, Arabic ??????, ??????. See Qur?an, Surah ii. 249, “The sign of his (Saul’s) kingdom is that there shall come unto you the ark (Tabut); in it shall be security (or the Shechinah, sakinah, Heb. ???????????) from your Lord, and the relics of what the family of Moses and the family of Aaron left; the angels shall bear it.” Jalalu ?d-din says this ark contained the images of the prophets, and was sent down from heaven to Adam, and at length came to the Israelites, who put great confidence therein, and continually carried it in front of their army, till it was taken by the Amalekites. But on this occasion the angels brought it back in the sight of all the people, and placed it at the feet of Saul (T?alut), who was thereupon unanimously received as king.

ARMS, The Sale of. The sale of armour or warlike stores to rebels, or in their camp, is forbidden, because selling arms into the hands of rebels is an assistance to defection. But it is not forbidden to sell the materials for making arms to such persons. (Hamilton’s Hidayah, vol. ii. 225.)

ARSH (????). (1.) A legal term for compensation. (2.) A mulct; a fine; particularly that which is paid for shedding of blood. (3.) A gift for conciliating the favour of a judge; a bribe. (4.) Whatever a purchaser receives from a seller after discovering a fault in the article bought.

?ARSH (????). The term used in the Qur?an for the throne of God. Surah ix. 131, “He is the Lord of the mighty throne.” Husaini, the commentator, says the throne has 8,000 pillars, and the distance between each pillar is 3,000,000 miles.

?A?ABAH (?????). A legal term for male relatives by the father’s side, agnates.

A?AF (????). The wazir or prime minister of Solomon. Alluded to in the Qur?an, Surah xxvii. 40, as “He with whom was knowledge of the scripture.” Muh?ammadan commentators say he was the son of Bark?hiya.

AS?AR (????). Relating; handing down by tradition. Generally used for a H?adis? related by one of the Companions, as distinguished from one of the Prophet’s own.

AL-AS?ARU ?SH-SHARIF (????? ???????). The sacred relic. A hair of either the beard or mustachios of Muh?ammad, or a foot-print of the Prophet. One of these sacred relics (a hair of his beard) is exhibited in the great mosque at Delhi, another in a mosque in Cashmere.

A?H?AB (??????), pl. of ?ah?ib. The Companions or Associates of Muh?ammad. The term used for a single companion is ?ah?abi. Concerning the title of “Companion,” there is considerable controversy as to the persons to whom it can be applied. Sa?id ibn al-Musaiyab reckoned none a “Companion,” but those who had been a year or more with Muh?ammad, and had gone on a warlike expedition with him. Some say that everyone who had attained puberty, had embraced Islam, and had seen the Prophet, was a “Companion,” even though he had attended Muh?ammad but an hour. Others, however, affirm that none could be a “Companion” unless Muh?ammad chose him and he chose Muh?ammad, and he adhered to the Prophet at all times. The general opinion is that every one who embraced Islam, saw the Prophet, and accompanied him, even for a short time, was a “Companion.”

It is related that the Prophet marched to Makkah with 10,000 Muslims, to H?unain with 12,000, and that 40,000 accompanied him on the farewell pilgrimage. The number of the “Companions” at his death is said to have been 144,000.

In point of merit, the refugees (Muhajirun) are more worthy than the auxiliaries (An?ar); but by way of precedence, the auxiliaries are more worthy than the later refugees.

The “Companions” have been arranged in thirteen classes, which are given by Abu ?l-Fida? as follows:—I. Those who first embraced Islam, such as K?hadijah, ?Ali, Zaid, and Abu Bakr, and those who did not delay till he had established his mission. II. The Companions who believed in him after his mission had been fully established, amongst whom was ?Umar. III. Those who fled to Abyssinia. IV. The first Companions of ?Aqabah, who preceded the Auxiliaries. V. The second Companions of ?Aqabah. VI. The third Companions of ?Aqabah, who were seventy. VII. The refugees who went to the Prophet after his flight, when he was at Quba, before the erection of the temple. VIII. The soldiers of the great battle of Badr. IX. Those who joined Islam between Badr and Hudaibiyah. X. Those who took the oath of fealty under the acacia tree at Hudaibiyah. XI. Those who joined after the treaty of Hudaibiyah, but before the conquest. XII. Those that embraced Islam on the day of conquest. XIII. Those who were children in the time of the Prophet, and had seen him.

Muh?ammad frequently commended the “Companions,” and spoke of their excellences and virtues, a chapter in the Traditions being devoted to this subject. (Mishkat, xxiv. c. xiii.) He is related to have said, “My companions are like stars by which roads are found, for which ever companion you follow you will find the right road.”

AL-A?H?ABU ?L-FIL (????? ??????). “The Companions of the Elephant.” A term used in the Chapter of the Elephant, or the CVth Surah:—“Hast thou not seen how thy Lord dealt with the companions of the elephant? Did He not cause their stratagem to miscarry? And He sent against them birds in flocks, small stones did they hurl down upon them, and he made them like stubble eaten down!”

This refers to the army of Abrahah, the Christian king of Abyssinia and Arabia Felix, said to have been lost, in the year of Muh?ammad’s birth, in an expedition against Makkah for the purpose of destroying the Ka?bah. This army was cut off by small-pox, and there is no doubt, as the Arabic word for small-pox also means “small stones,” in reference to the hard gravelly feeling of the pustules, what is the true interpretation of the fourth verse of this Surah, which, like many other poetical passages in the Qur?an, has formed the starting point for the most puerile and extravagant legends.

A?H?ABU ?L-KAHF (????? ??????). “The Companions of the Cave,” i.e. the Seven Sleepers, mentioned in the Suratu ?l-kahf, or Chapter xviii. of the Qur?an. The story, as told by early Christian writers, is given by Gibbon (Rise and Fall, Chapter xxxi.). When the Emperor Decius persecuted the Christians, seven noble youths of Ephesus are said to have concealed themselves in a cave in the side of a mountain, where they were doomed to perish by the tyrant, who gave orders that the entrance should be firmly secured with a pile of huge stones. They immediately fell into a deep slumber, which was miraculously prolonged, without injuring the powers of life, during a period of 187 years. This popular tale, which Muh?ammad must have heard when he drove his camels to the fairs of Syria, is introduced into the Qur?an as a divine revelation.

A?H?ABU ??-?UFFAH (????? ??????). “The sitters on the bench” of the temple at Makkah. They are thus described by Abu ?l-Fida?: “They were poor strangers, without friends or place of abode, who claimed the promises of the Apostle of God and implored his protection. Thus the porch of the temple became their mansion, and thence they obtained their name. When Muh?ammad went to meals, he used to call some of them to partake with him; and he selected others to eat with his companions.”

?ASHARAH MUBASHSHARAH (???? ??????). “The ten who received glad tidings.” Ten of the most distinguished of Muh?ammad’s followers, whose certain entrance into Paradise he is said to have foretold. They are Abu Bakr, ?Umar, Us?man, ?Ali, T?alh?ah, az-Zubair, ?Abdu ?r-Rah?man, Sa?d-ibn-Abu-Waqqa?, Sa?id ibn Zaid, Abu ?Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah?. (Mishkat, book xxiv. c. xx., part ii.) Muh?ammad declared it presumption for anyone to count upon an entrance into heaven with absolute certainty, but he made an exception in favour of these ten distinguished persons.

AL-ASH?ARIYAH (?????????). A sect formed by Abu ?l-H?asan ?Ali ibn Isma?il al-Ash?ari, born A.H. 260 (A.D. 873–4).

They hold that the attributes of God are distinct from His essence, yet in such a way as to forbid any comparison being made between God and His creatures. They say they are not “?ain nor g?hair:” not of His essence, nor distinct from it: i.e. they cannot be compared with any other things. They also hold that God has one eternal will, from which proceed all things, the good and the evil, the useful and the hurtful. The destiny of man was written on the eternal table before the world was created. So far they go with the ?ifatis, but in order to preserve the moral responsibility of man, they say that he has power to convert will into action. But this power cannot create anything new, for then God’s sovereignty would be impaired; so they say that God in His providence so orders matters that whenever “a man desires to do a certain thing, good or bad, the action corresponding to the desire is, there and then, created by God, and, as it were, fitted on to the desire.” Thus it seems as if it came naturally from the will of the man, whereas it does not. This action is called Kasb (acquisition), because it is acquired by a special creative act of God. It is an act directed to the obtaining of profit or the removing of injury: the term is therefore inapplicable to the Deity. Abu Bakr al-Bakil­lani, a disciple of al-Ash?ari, says: “The essence or substance of the action is the effect of the power of God, but its being a action of obedience, such as prayer, or an action of disobedience, such as fornication, are qualities of the action, which proceed from the power of man.” The Imam Al-H?aramain (A.H. 419–478) held “that the actions of men were effected by the power which God has created in man.” Abu Ish?aq al-Isfarayini says: “That which maketh impression, or hath influence on action, is a compound of the power of God and the power of man.” They also believe that the word of God is eternal, though they acknowledge that the vocal sounds used in the Qur?an, which are the manifestation of that word, are created. They say, in short, that the Qur?an contains (1) the eternal word which existed in the essence of God before time was; and (2) the word which consists of sounds and combinations of letters. This last they call the created word.

Thus Al-Ash?ari traversed the main positions of the Mutazilites, denying that man can, by the aid of his reason alone, rise to the knowledge of good and evil. He must exercise no judgment, but accept all that is revealed. He has no right to apply the moral laws which affect men to the actions of God. It cannot be asserted by the human reason that the good will be rewarded or the bad punished in a future world. Man must always approach God as a slave, in whom there is no light or knowledge to judge of the actions of the Supreme. Whether God will accept the penitent sinner or not cannot be asserted, for He is an absolute Sovereign, above all law. (Sale, from Ibn K?haldun; Die Mu?taziliten oder die Freidenker in Islam, von H. Steiner, 1865; Zur Geschichte Abu ?l-H?asan al-ash?arish, von W. Spitta, 1876; De Strijd over het Dogma in den Islam tot op El-ash?ari, door Dr. M. Th. Houtsma, Leiden, 1875; and ExposÉ de la RÉforme de l’Islamisme, by M.A.F. Mehren, Leiden, 1878.)

?ASHURA? (????????). Lit. “the tenth.” A voluntary fast day, observed on the tenth of the month of Muh?arram. It is related that Muh?ammad observed it, and said it was a day respected by Jews and Christians. (Mishkat, vii. c. vii. 1.)

It is the only day of Muh?arram observed by the Sunni Muslims, being the day on which it is said God created Adam and Eve, heaven and hell, the tablet of decree, the pen, life, and death. It is kept by the Sunnis as a fast. [MUHARRAM.]

ASIYAH (?????). The wife of Pharaoh. One of the four perfect women (the Virgin Mary, K?hadijah, and Fat?imah, being the other three). See Mishkatu ?l-Masabih?, xxiv. c. 22. She is mentioned in the Qur?an (Surah lxvi. 11): “And God striketh out a parable for those who believe: the wife of Pharaoh, when she said, ‘My Lord, build for me a house with Thee in Paradise, and save me from Pharaoh and his works, and save me from the unjust people.’”

A?L (????). Cause, first principle, foundation. A?l-wafar?, “cause and effect,” “fundamental and derivative principle.”

ASMA?U ?LLAH (????? ?????). [GOD, NAMES OF.]

?ASR (????). The afternoon prayer. [PRAYERS.] The title of the CIIIrd Surah of the Qur?an.

ASS. According to the Imam Abu H?anifah, the ass is an unclean animal, and its flesh and milk are unlawful; nor is zakat to be given on an ass. (Hamilton’s Hidayah, vol. i. 16, iv. 74, 86.)

ASSISTANTS. [ANSAR.]

ASTROLOGY. Arabic ?Ilmu ?n-nujum. Qatadah says, referring to the Qur?an, that God has created stars for three uses: (1) as an ornament to the heavens (Surah lxvii. 5); (2) to stone the Devil with (Surah lxvii. 5); and (3) to direct travellers through the forests and on the sea (Surah xv. 16). Muh?ammad condemns those who study the stars for any other purpose (Mishkat, xxi. c. iii. pt. iii.), and consequently the science of Astrology is not considered lawful in Islam.

ASWAD (???????). An impostor who, in the time of Muh?ammad, claimed the prophetic office. His name was ?Abhalah ibn Ka?b, and he belonged to the tribe of ?Aus, of which he was an influential chief. He was surnamed ?u ?l-H?imar, or “The Master of the Ass,”1 because he used frequently to say, “The master of the ass is coming unto me,” and pretended to receive his revelations from two angels, named Suhaik and Shuraik. Being a good hand at legerdemain, and having a smooth tongue, he gained mightily on the multitude by the strange feats which he shewed them, and the eloquence of his discourse. By these means he greatly increased his power, and having made himself master of Najran and the territory of T?a?if, on the death of Badhan, the governor of Yaman for Muh?ammad, he seized that province also, killing Shahr, the son of Badhan, and taking to wife his widow Azad, whose father he had also slain. The news being brought to Muh?ammad, he sent to his friends and to the tribe of Hamdan, a party of whom conspiring with Qais ibn ?Abd Yaghuth, who bore Aswad a grudge, and with Firuz and Aswad’s wife, broke by night into his house, where Firuz surprised him and cut off his head. While dying, it is said that he roared like a bull, at which his guards came to the chamber door, but were sent away by his wife, who told them that the prophet was only agitated by the divine inspiration. This was done the very night before Muh?ammad died. The next morning the conspirators caused the following proclamation to be made, viz. “I bear witness that Muh?ammad is the Apostle of God, and that ?Abhalah is a liar”; and letters were immediately sent away to Muh?ammad, with an account of what had been done; but a messenger from heaven outstripped them, and acquainted the prophet with the news, which he imparted to his Companions a little before his death, the letters themselves not arriving till Abu Bakr was chosen Khalif. It is said that Muh?ammad on this occasion told those who attended him that before the Day of Judgment thirty more impostors, besides Musailimah and Aswad, should appear. The whole time from the beginning of Aswad’s rebellion to his death was four months.

ATHEIST. [DAHRI.]

?ATIRAH (??????). The sacrifice offered by the idolatrous Arabs in the month of Rajab. It was allowed by the Prophet at the commencement of his mission, but was afterwards abolished. Mishkat, book iv. c. 50, “Let there be no Fara? nor ?Atirah.”

AT-TAH?IYAT (????????). Lit. “the greetings.” A part of the stated prayers, recited after the Takbiru ?l-Qu?ud, after every two rak?ahs. It is recited whilst the worshipper kneels upon the ground. His left foot bent under him, he sits upon it, and places his hands upon his knees, and says:—“The adorations (i.e. at-tah?iyatu) of the tongue are for God, and also of the body and of alms-giving. Peace be on thee, O Prophet, with the mercy of God and His blessing. Peace be upon us, and upon God’s righteous servants.” (Mishkat, iv., c. xvi.) [PRAYER.]

AUGURY. [FA?L.]

AULIYA? (???????), pl. of wali. “Favourites of God.” The expression occurs in the Qur?an in the following verse, “Are not the favourites of God those on whom no fear shall come, nor shall they be put to grief?” (Surah x. 63).

AUTAD (??????). Lit. “props or pillars.” A term used by the ?ufis for the four saints, by whom the four corners of the world are said to be supported.

A?U?U BILLAH (???? ??????). Another name for the Ta?auwu?, or the prayer in the daily liturgy: “I seek refuge with God from the cursed Satan.” [PRAYER.]

AVENGER OF BLOOD. In the Muh?ammadan law, as in the Jewish, the punishment for wilful murder is left to the next of kin; but in the Jewish code the avenger of blood was compelled to take the life of the murderer, whilst in the Muslim code he may accept compensation, vide Qur?an, Surah ii. 173, “O believers! retaliation (Qi?a?) for blood-shedding is prescribed to you: the free man for the free, and the slave for the slave, and the woman for the woman; but he to whom his brother shall make any remission is to be dealt with equitably; and a payment should be made to him with liberality. This is a relaxation (i.e. of the stricter lex talionis) from your Lord, and a mercy.” [QISAS.]

AYAH (????). Lit. “a sign, or miracle.” The term used for one of the smaller portions of the chapters of the Qur?an, which we call verses. The number of verses is often set down after the title of the chapter, but the verses are not marked in the text as they are in our English Bibles. The number of verses in the Qur?an is variously estimated, but they are generally said to be about six thousand two hundred. [QUR?AN.]

AL-A?YANU ?S?-S?ABITAH (??????? ????????), pl. of ?ayn, in the sense of “the essence” of a thing. The established essences. A term used by the ?ufi mystics to express figures emblematic of the names of God. (?Abdu ?r-Razzaq’s Dictionary of Technical Terms of the ?ufis. Sprenger’s edition.)

AYATU ?L-FATH? (??? ??????). Lit. “The verse of victory.” The fifty-ninth verse of the Suratu ?l-An?am (vi.) of the Qur?an. The powers of this verse are said to be so great, that if a person constantly recite it he will obtain his desires. It is generally recited with this object forty times after each season of prayer. It is as follows:—“And with Him are the keys of the secret things; none knoweth them but He; and He knoweth whatever is on the land and in the sea; and no leaf falleth but He knoweth it; neither is there a grain in the darknesses of the earth, nor a green thing nor a dry thing, but it is noted in a clear book.”

AYATU ?L-H?IFZ? (???? ??????). “The verses of protection.” Certain verses of the Qur?an which are usually inscribed on amulets. They are:—Surah ii. 256, “And the preservation of both (heaven and earth) is no burden unto Him.” Surah xii. 64, “God is the best protector.” Surah xiii. 12, “They guard him by the command of God.” Surah xv. 17, “We guard him from every devil driven away by stones.” Surah xxxvii. 7, “A protection against every rebellious devil.”

AYATU?L-MAWARIS? (??? ?????????). “The verse of inheritances.” The twelfth verse of the Suratu ?n-nisa, or fourth chapter of the Qur?an. It relates to inheritance, and is the foundation of the Muslim law on the subject. It is given in the article on Inheritance. [INHERITANCE.]

AYIMMATU?L-ASMA? (???? ????????). “The leading names.” The seven principal names or titles of God, namely:—

?AYISHAH (??????). The daughter of Abu Bakr, and the favourite wife of Muh?ammad, to whom she was married when only nine years of age. She survived her husband many years, and died at al-Madinah, A.H. 58 (A.D. 678), aged sixty-seven, and obtained the title of Ummu ?l-Mu?minin, “The Mother of the Believers.”

AYMAN (??????), pl. of Yamin. [OATHS.]

AYYAMU?L-BIZ? (???? ??????). “The days of the bright nights,” mentioned in the Mishkat (book vii. c. 7, part 3), as days on which Muh?ammad did not eat, whether halting or marching. They are the 13th, 14th, and 15th nights of the month. (See Lane’s Dict., p. 284.)

AYYAMU ?L-QARR (???? ?????). The day of rest after the day of sacrifice at the Pilgrimage. [HAJJ.]

AYYAMU ?N-NAH?R (???? ??????). The season of sacrifice at the Pilgrimage. [HAJJ.]

AYYAMU ?T-TASHRIQ (?????? ????????). The three days after the feast of sacrifice at Mina during the Pilgrimage. So called because the flesh of the victims is then dried, or because they are not slain until after sun-rise. [HAJJ, PILGRIMAGE.]

AYYIM (????). A legal term for a woman having no husband, whether she be a virgin or a widow.

?A?ABU ?L-QABR (???? ??????). “The punishment of the grave.” That all persons, whether believers or not, undergo some punishment in their graves, is a fundamental article of the Muslim belief. These punishments are described in the following H?adis? on the authority of Abu Hurairah:—

“The Prophet of God said, When a corpse is placed in its grave, two black angels come to it, with blue eyes. The name of the one is Munkar and of the other Nakir, and they interrogate the dead person concerning the Prophet of God. If he be a Muslim, he will bear witness to the Unity of God and the mission of Muh?ammad. The angels will then say, ‘We knew thou wouldst say so’; and the grave will then expand seventy times seventy yards in length, and seventy times seventy in breadth. A light will then be given for the grave, and it will be said, ‘Sleep.’ Then the dead person will say, ‘Shall I return to my brethren and inform them of this?’ Then the angels will say, ‘Sleep like the bridegroom, till God shall raise thee up from the grave on the Day of Resurrection.’ But if the corpse be that of an unbeliever, it will be asked, ‘What sayest thou about the Prophet?’ and he will reply, ‘I know him not.’ And then the angels will say, ‘We knew thou wouldst say so.’ Then the ground will be ordered to close in upon him, and it will break his sides, and turn his right side to his left, and he will suffer perpetual punishment till God raise him therefrom.” In another tradition, recorded by ?Anas, it is said, “The wicked will be struck with a rod (mit?raqah), and they will roar out, and their cries will be heard by all animals that may be near the grave excepting man and the genii.” (Mishkat, book i., c. v.).

All Muh?ammadan doctors of the orthodox schools (whether we apply the term orthodox to Sunni or Shi?ah) believe in the literal interpretation of these punishments in the grave, which are said to take place as soon as the funeral party has left the grave-yard. A perusal of the various traditions on the subject must convince any unprejudiced mind that Muh?ammad intended to teach a literal interpretation of his sayings on this subject. It is related that on one occasion, when the Prophet was riding through a grave-yard, his mule, hearing the groans of the dead, tried to throw his master. On that occasion, Muh?ammad said, “If I were not afraid that you would leave off burying, I would ask God to give you the power of hearing what I hear.” Shaik?h ?Abdu ?l-H?aqq, in his commentary on the Mishkat, says, “The accounts which are here given of the punishment of the grave, are undoubtedly true, and they are not either imaginary or figurative.” (Mishkat, book i., chap. v.; see Persian edition with ?Abdu ?l-H?aqq’s commentary.)

AZAL (????). Eternity with respect to the past, as distinguished from abad (????), eternity without end.

A?AN (?????). Lit. “announcement.” The call or summons to public prayers proclaimed by the Mu?a??in (or crier)—in small mosques from the side of the building or at the door, and in large mosques from the minaret.

It is in Arabic as follows:—

???? ???? — ???? ???? — ???? ???? — ???? ???? — ???? ?? ?? ??? ??? ???? — ???? ?? ?? ??? ??? ???? — ???? ?? ????? ???? ???? — ???? ?? ????? ???? ???? — ?? ??? ?????? — ?? ??? ?????? — ?? ??? ?????? — ?? ??? ?????? — ???? ???? — ???? ???? — ?? ??? ??? ????.?

Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar! Ashhadu an la ilaha illa ?llah! Ashhadu an la ilaha illa ?llah! Ashhadu anna Muh?ammadan rasulu-llah! Ashhadu anna Muh?ammadan rasulu-llah! H?ayya ?ala ??-?alati! H?ayya ?ala ??-?alati! H?ayya ?ala ?l-falah?! H?ayya ?ala ?l-falah?! Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar! La ilaha illa ?llah!

Which is translated:—

“God is most great! God is most great! God is most great! God is most great! I testify that there is no god but God! I testify that there is no god but God! I testify that Muh?ammad is the Apostle of God! I testify that Muh?ammad is the Apostle of God! Come to prayer! Come to prayer! Come to salvation! Come to salvation! God is most great! God is most great! There is no god but God!”

In the A?an in the early morning, after the words, “Come to salvation!” is added ?????? ??? ?? ????? — ?????? ??? ?? ?????.?? A?-?alatu k?hairun mina ?n-naumi! A?-?alatu k?hairun mina ?n-naumi! “Prayer is better than sleep! Prayer is better than sleep!”

The Shi?ahs make a slight alteration in the A?an, by adding the words, ?? ??? ??? ????? — ?? ??? ??? ?????? H?ayya ?ala k?hairi ?l-?amali! H?ayya ?ala k?hairi ?l-?amali! “Come to the best of works! Come to the best of works!” and by repeating the last sentence of the A?an, “There is no god but God,” twice instead of once, as in the Sunni A?an.

When the A?an is recited, it is usual for men of piety and religious feeling to respond to each call, as, for example, when the Mu?a??in cries:—

“Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar!”

Those who hear it repeat:—

“Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar!”

The Mu?a??in says:—

“I testify that there is no god but God; I testify that there is no god but God.”

They reply:—

“I testify that there is no god but God; I testify that there is no god but God.”

Mu?a??in.—“I testify that Muh?ammad is the Apostle of God.”

Reply.—“I testify that Muh?ammad is the Apostle of God.”

Mu?a??in.—“Come to prayer.”

Reply.—“I have no power nor strength but from God the most High and Great.”

Mu?a??in.—“Come to salvation.”

Reply.—“What God willeth will be; what He willeth not willeth not be.”

The recital of the A?an must be listened to with great reverence. If a person be walking at the time, he should stand still; if reclining, sit up. Mr. Lane, in his Modern Egyptians, says, “Most of the Mu?a??ins of Cairo have harmonious and sonorous voices, which they strain to the utmost pitch; yet there is a simple and solemn melody in their chants which is very striking, particularly in the stillness of the night.” But VambÉry remarks that “the Turkistanees most carefully avoid all tune and melody. The manner in which the A?an is cried in the west is here (in Bokhara) declared sinful, and the beautiful melancholy notes which, in the silent hour of a moonlit evening, are heard from the slender minarets on the Bosphorus, fascinating every hearer, would be listened to by the Bok?hariot with feelings only of detestation.”

The summons to prayer was at first the simple cry, “Come to public prayer.” After the Qiblah was changed, Muh?ammad bethought himself of a more formal call. Some suggested the Jewish trumpet, others the Christian bell; but neither was grateful to the Prophet’s ear. The A?an, or call to prayer was then established. Tradition claims for it a supernatural origin, thus:—“While the matter was under discussion, ?Abdu ?llah, a Khazrajite, dreamed that he met a man clad in green raiment, carrying a bell. ?Abdu ?llah sought to buy it, saying that it would do well for bringing together the assembly of the faithful. ‘I will show thee a better way,’ replied the stranger; ‘let a crier cry aloud, “God is most great,” &c.’ Waking from sleep, ?Abdu ?llah proceeded to Muh?ammad, and told him his dream.” (Muir, from Katibu ?l-Wakidi.) Hishami recites the story as if ?Abdu ?llah had actually met the man.

Bingham, in his Antiquities (vol. ii., book viii. chap. vii.), relates that, in the monastery of virgins which Paula, the famous Roman lady, set up and governed at Jerusalem, the signal for prayer was given by one going about and singing “Hallelujah!” for that was their call to church, as St. Jerome informs us.

The A?an is proclaimed before the stated times of prayer, either by one of the congregation, or by the Mu?a??in or crier, who is paid for the purpose. He must stand with his face towards Makkah, with the points of his forefingers in his ears, and recite the formula which has been given above.

It must not be recited by an unclean person, a drunkard, a madman, or a woman.

AZAR (????). Terah, the father of Abraham. Surah vi. 74, “And when Abrahim said to his father Azar, Takest thou images as gods?”

“The Eastern authors unanimously agree that he was a statuary, or carver of idols; and he is represented as the first who made images of clay, pictures only having been in use before, and taught that they were to be adored as gods. However, we are told his employment was a very honourable one, and that he was a great lord, and in high favour with Nimrod, whose son-in-law he was, because he made his idols for him, and was excellent in his art. Some of the Rabbins say Terah was a priest and chief of the order.”—(Sale.)

AL-AZARIQAH (?????????). A sect of heretics founded by Nafi? ibn al-Azraq, who say that ?Ali was an infidel, and that his assassin was right in killing him. (See ash-Shahrastani, ed. Cureton, p. ???, Haarbruecker’s translation, I., p. 133.)

AL-?AZ?BA? (????????). The slit-eared; one of Muh?ammad’s favourite camels.

AL-AZ?H?A (???????). [?IDU?L-AZHA.]

AL-?AZ?IM (???????). One of the ninety-nine special names of God. “The great One.”

?AZIMAH (??????). An incantation. [EXORCISM.]

AL-?AZIZ (???????). One of the ninety-nine special names of God. It frequently occurs in the Qur?an. It means “the powerful, or the mighty One.”

?AZRA?IL (????????). The angel of Death. Mentioned in the Qur?an under the title of Malaku ?l-Maut, Surah xxxii. 11, “The angel of death who is charged with you shall cause you to die.” [MALAKU ?L-MAUT.]

BABU ?L-ABWAB (??? ????????). Lit. “The door of doors.” A term used by the ?ufis for repentance. (?Abdu ?r-Razzaq’s Dictionary of ?ufi Terms.)

BABU ?S-SALAM (??? ???????). “The Gate of Peace.” The gateway in the sacred mosque at Makkah through which Muh?ammad entered when he was elected by the Quraish to decide the question as to which section of the tribe should lift the Black Stone into its place. It was originally called the Bab Bani Shaibah, “the Gate of the Banu Shaibah,” the family of Shaibah ibn ?Us?man, to whom Muh?ammad gave the key of the Ka?bah. Burkhardt says that there are now two gateways called by this name. Burton says, “The Babu ?s-Salam resembles in its isolation a triumphal arch, and is built of cut stone.” (Burton’s Pilgrimage, vol. ii. p. 174. See Muir’s Life of Mahomet, pp. 28, 29.)

BABU ?N-NISA? (??? ???????). “The Women’s Gate.” In later years, as Muh?ammad added to the number of his wives, he provided for each a room or house on the same side of the mosque at al-Madinah. From these he had a private entrance into the mosque, used only by himself, and the eastern gate still bears in its name, Babu ?n-Nisa?, the memory of the arrangement. (Muir’s Life of Mahomet, iii. p. 20.)

BACKBITING. Anything secretly whispered of an absent person which is calculated to injure him, and which is true, is called G?hibah, a false accusation being expressed by Buhtan. Abu Hurairah says, “The question was put to the Prophet, ‘Do you know what backbiting is?’ and he replied, ‘It is saying anything bad of a Muslim.’ It was then said, ‘But what is it if it is true?’ And he said, ‘If it is true it is G?hibah, and if it is a false accusation, it is Buhtan (i.e. slander).’ ” (Mishkat, xxii. c. x.)

The following are sayings of Muh?ammad on the subject:—“The best of God’s servants are those who when you meet them speak of God. The worst of God’s servants are those who carry tales about, to do mischief and separate friends, and seek out the defects of good people.” “He who wears two faces in this world shall have two tongues of fire in the day of the Resurrection.” “It is unworthy of a believer to injure people’s reputations, or to curse anyone, or to abuse anyone, or to talk vainly.” “The best atonement you can make for backbiting is to say, ‘O God pardon me and him (whom I have injured).’ ” Mishkat, xxii. c. x.

BADAWI (?????). A name given to the Bedouin Arabs, or the Arabs of the desert. Bedouin is only a corruption of the plural of this word, which is derived from Badw = Badiyah, “a desert.”

AL-BADI? (???????) is one of the ninety-nine special names of God. It means “He who originates.” It occurs in the Qur?an, Surah ii. 111, “He is the wonderful originator of the heavens and the earth; when He decreeth a matter, He doth but say to it, ‘Be,’ and it is.”

BADR, The battle of. Arabic, G?hazwatu ?l-Badr. The first battle of Badr was fought in the month of Ramaz?an, A.H. 2 (March, A.D. 624), between Muh?ammad and the Quraish. Many of the principal men of the Quraish were slain, including Abu Jahl, whose head was brought to the Prophet, and when it was cast at his feet, he exclaimed, “It is more acceptable to me than the choicest camel of Arabia.” After the battle was over, some of the prisoners were cruelly murdered. H?usain says the losses of the Quraish at Badr were seventy killed and seventy prisoners. This victory at Badr consolidated the power of Muh?ammad, and it is regarded by Muslim historians as one of the most important events of history. An account of this celebrated battle will be found in the article on Muh?ammad.

The second battle of Badr was a bloodless victory, and took place in the month ?u ?l-Qa?dah, A.H. 4 (April, A.D. 626).

BAH?IRA (??????). A Nestorian monk whom Muh?ammad met when he was journeying back from Syria to Makkah, and who is said to have perceived by various signs that he was a prophet. His Christian name is supposed to have been Sergius (or Georgius).

Sprenger thinks that Bah?ira remained with Muh?ammad, and it has been suggested that there is an allusion to this monk in the Qur?an, Surah xvi. 105: “We know that they say, ‘It is only a man who teacheth him.’ ” H?usain the commentator says on this passage that the Prophet was in the habit of going every evening to a Christian to hear the Taurat and Injil. (Tafsir-i-H?usaini; Sale, p. 228; Muir’s Life of Mahomet, p. 72.)

BAH?IRAH (??????). (1.) A she-camel, she-goat or ewe, which had given birth to a tenth young one. (2.) A she-camel, the mother of which had brought forth ten females consecutively before her.

In these and similar cases, the pagan Arabs observed certain religious ceremonies, such as slitting the animal’s ear, &c., all of which are forbidden in the Qur?an: “God hath not ordained any Bah?irah.” (Surah v. 102.)

BAI? (????, pl. ????? buyu?). A sale; commercial dealing; barter. Bai?, or “sale,” in the language of the law, signifies an exchange of property for property with the mutual consent of parties. For the rules concerning sales and barter, see Hamilton’s Hidayah, vol. ii. 360; Baillie’s Muh?ammadan Law of Sale; The Fatawa ?Alamgiri.

Sale, in its ordinary acceptation, is a transfer of property in consideration of a price in money. The word has a more comprehensive meaning in the Muh?ammadan law, and is applied to every exchange of property for property with mutual consent. It, therefore, includes barter as well as sale, and also loan, when the articles lent are intended to be consumed, and replaced to the lender by a similar quantity of the same kind. This transaction, which is truly an exchange of property for property, is termed qarz? in the Muh?ammadan law.

Between barter and sale there is no essential distinction in most systems of law, and the joint subject may in general be considerably simplified by being treated of solely as a sale. A course has been adopted in the Muh?ammadan law, which obliges the reader to fix his attention on both sides of the contract. This may at first appear to him to be an unnecessary complication of the subject, but when he becomes acquainted with the definition of price, and the rules for the prohibition of excess in the exchange of a large class of commodities, which apply to every form of the contract, he will probably be of opinion that to treat of the subject in any other way would be attended with at least equal difficulties.

The first point which seems to require his attention is the meaning of the word “property” as it occurs in the definition of sale. The original term (mal), which has been thus translated, is defined by Muh?ammadan lawyers to be “that which can be taken possession of and secured.” This definition seems to imply that it is tangible or corporeal, and things or substances are accordingly the proper subjects of sale. Mere rights are not mal, and cannot therefore be lawfully sold apart from the corporeal things with which they may happen to be connected. Of such rights one of the most important is the right of a creditor to exact payment of a debt, which is not a proper subject of sale. In other words, debts cannot, by the Muh?ammadan law, any more than by the common laws of England and Scotland, be lawfully sold.

Things are commonly divided into moveable and immoveable, the latter comprehending land and things permanently attached to it. But the distinction is not of much importance in the Muh?ammadan law, as the transfer of land is in nowise distinguished from that of other kinds of property.

A more important division of things is that into mis?li and kammi. The former are things which, when they happen to perish, are to be replaced by an equal quantity of something similar to them; and the latter are things which, in the same circumstances, are to be replaced by their value. These two classes have been aptly styled “similars” and “dissimilars” by Mr. Hamilton, in his translation of the Hidayah. Similars are things which are usually sold or exchanged by weight, or by measurement of capacity, that is, by dry or liquid measure; and dissimilars are things which are not sold or exchanged in either of these ways. Articles which are nearly alike, and are commonly sold or exchanged by number or tale, are classed with the first division of things, and may be termed “similars of tale”; while articles which differ materially from each other, yet are still usually sold or exchanged by number, belong to the second division, and may be called “dissimilars of tale.” Dirhams and dinars, the only coined money known to the old Arabs, are included among similars of weight.

Similars of weight and capacity are distinguished in the Muh?ammadan law from all other descriptions of property in a very remarkable way. When one article of weight is sold or exchanged for another article of weight, or one of measure is sold or exchanged for another of measure, the delivery of both must be immediate from hand to hand, and any delay of delivery in one of them is unlawful and prohibited. Where, again, the articles exchanged are also of the same kind, as when wheat is sold for wheat, or silver for silver, there must not only be reciprocal and immediate delivery of both before the separation of the parties, but also absolute equality of weight or measure, according as the articles are weighable or measurable, and any excess on either side is also unlawful and prohibited. These two prohibitions constitute in brief the doctrine of reba, or “usury,” which is a marked characteristic of the Muh?ammadan law of sale. The word reba properly signifies “excess,” and there are no terms in the Muh?ammadan law which correspond to the words “interest” and “usury,” in the sense attached to them in the English language; but it was expressly prohibited by Muh?ammad to his followers to derive any advantage from loans, and that particular kind of advantage which is called by us interest, and consists in the receiving back from the borrower a larger quantity than was actually lent to him, was effectually prevented by the two rules above-mentioned. These, like some other principles of Muh?ammadan law, are applied with a rigour and minuteness that may to us seem incommensurate with their importance, but are easily accounted for when we know that they are believed to be of divine origin.

Similars of weight and capacity have a common feature of resemblance, which distinguishes them in their own nature from other commodities, and marks with further peculiarity their treatment in the Muh?ammadan law. They are aggregates of minute parts, which are either exactly alike, or so nearly resemble each other, that the difference between them may be safely disregarded. For this reason they are usually dealt with in bulk, regard being had only to the whole of a stipulated quantity, and not to the individual parts of which it is composed. When sold in this manner they are said to be indeterminate. They may, however, be rendered specific in several ways. Actual delivery, or production with distinct reference at the time of contract, seems to be sufficient for that purpose in all cases. But something short of this would suffice for all similars but money. Thus, flour, or any kind of grain, may be rendered specific by being enclosed in a sack; or oil, or any liquid, by being put into casks or jars; and though the vessels are not actually produced at the time of contract, their contents may be sufficiently particularised by description of the vessels and their locality. Money is not susceptible of being thus particularised, and dirhams and dinars are frequently referred to in the following pages as things which cannot be rendered specific by description, or specification, as it is more literally termed. Hence, money is said to be always indeterminate. Other similars, including similars of tale, are sometimes specific and sometimes indeterminate. Dissimilars, including those of tale, are always specific.

When similars are sold indeterminately, the purchaser has no right to any specific portion of them until it be separated from a general mass, and marked or identified as the subject of the contract. From the moment of offer till actual delivery, he has nothing to rely upon but the seller’s obligation, which may, therefore, be considered the direct subject of the contract. Similars taken indeterminately are accordingly termed dayn, or “obligations,” in the Muh?ammadan law. When taken specifically, they are classed with dissimilars, under the general name of ?ayn. The literal meaning of this term is “substance or thing”; but when opposed to dayn it means something determinate or specific. The subject of traffic may thus be divided into two classes, specific and indeterminate; or, if we substitute for the latter the word “obligation,” and omit the word “specific” as unnecessary when not opposed to “indeterminate,” these classes may, according to the view of Muh?ammadan lawyers, be described as things and obligations.

There is some degree of presumption in using a word in any other than its ordinary acceptation; and it is not without hesitation that (Mr. Baillie says) I have ventured to employ the word “obligation” to signify indeterminate things. My reasons for doing so are these: first it expresses the exact meaning of the Arabic word dayn, and yet distinguishes this use of it from another sense, in which it is also employed in the Muh?ammadan law; second, it preserves consistency in the law. Thus, it will be found hereafter that the effect of sale is said to be to induce a right in the buyer to the thing sold, and in the seller to the price, and that this effect follows the contract immediately before reciprocal possession by the contracting parties. Now, it is obvious that this is impossible with regard to things that are indeterminate, if the things themselves are considered the subject of the contract, and cases are mentioned where it is expressly stated that there is no transfer of property to the purchaser, when similars of weight or capacity are sold without being distinctly specified, until actual possession takes place. The difficulty disappears if we consider not the thing itself but the obligation to render it to be the subject of contract; for a right to the obligation passes immediately to the purchaser, and the seller may be compelled to perform it. If we now revert to the division of things into similars and dissimilars, money—which, it has been remarked, is always indeterminate—is therefore an obligation; dissimilars, which are always specific, are never obligations; and other similars, except money, being sometimes specific and sometimes indeterminate, are at one time obligations, and at another time things or substances.

Before proceeding farther it is necessary to advert more particularly to the other sense in which the word dayn is frequently employed in the Muh?ammadan law. It means strictly “obligation,” as already observed; but the obligation may be either that of the contracting party himself, or of another. In the former sense dayn is not only a proper subject of traffic, but forms the sole subject of one important kind of sale, hereafter to be noticed. But when dayn is used to signify the obligation of another than the contracting party, it is not a proper subject of traffic, and, as already observed, cannot be lawfully sold. In the following pages dayn has been always translated by the word “debt” when it signifies the obligation of a third party, and generally by the word “obligation,” when it signifies the engagement of the contracting party himself, though when the things represented by the obligation are more prominently brought forward, it has sometimes been found necessary to substitute the expression, “indeterminate things.”

Though barter and sale for a price, are confounded under one general name in the Muh?ammadan law, it is sometimes necessary to consider one of the things exchanged as more strictly the subject of sale, or thing sold, and the other as the price. In this view the former is termed mabi?, and the latter S?aman. S?aman, or “price,” is defined to be dayn fi ?immah, or, literally, an “obligation in responsibility.” From which, unless the expression is a mere pleonasm, it would appear that the word dayn is sometimes used abstractly, and in a sense distinct from the idea of liability. That idea, however, is necessary to constitute price; for though cloth, when properly described, may, by reason of its divisibility and the similarity of its parts, be sometimes assumed to perform the function of price in a contract of sale, it is only when it is not immediately delivered, but is to remain for some time on the responsibility of the contracting party, that it can be adopted for that purpose.

It is a general principle of the Muh?ammadan law of sale, founded on a declaration of the Prophet, that credit cannot be opposed to credit, that is, that both the things exchanged cannot be allowed to remain on the responsibility of the parties. Hence, it is only with regard to one of them that any stipulation for delay in its delivery is lawful. Price, from its definition above given, admits of being left on responsibility, and accordingly a stipulation for delay in the payment of the price is quite lawful and valid. It follows that a stipulation for delay in the delivery of the things sold cannot be lawful. And this is the case, with the exception of one particular kind of sale, hereafter to be noticed, in which the thing sold is always indeterminate, and the price is paid in advance. It may, therefore, be said of all specific things when the subject of sale, that a stipulation for delay in their delivery is illegal, and would invalidate a sale. The object of this rule may have been to prevent any change of the thing sold before delivery, and the disputes which might in consequence arise between the parties. But if they were allowed to select whichever they pleased of the articles exchanged to stand for the price, and the other for the thing sold, without any regard to their qualities, the object of the last-mentioned rule, whatever it may have been, might be defeated. This seems to have led to another arrangement of things into different classes, according to their capacities for supporting the functions of price or of the thing sold in a contract of sale. The first class comprehends dirhams and dinars, which are always price. The second class comprises the whole division of dissimilars (with the single exception of cloth), which are always the thing sold, or subject of sale, in a contract. The third class comprises, first, all similars of capacity; second, all similars of weight, except dirhams and dinars; and, third, all similars of tale. The whole of this class is capable of supporting both functions, and is sometimes the thing sold, and sometimes the price. The fourth class comprises cloth, and the copper coin called fulus.

Sale implies a reciprocal vesting of the price in the seller and of the thing sold in the purchaser. This, as already remarked, is called its legal effect, and sale may be divided into different stages or degrees of completeness, according as this effect is immediate, suspended, invalid, or obligatory. Thus, sale must first of all be duly constituted or contracted. After that, there may still be some bar to its operation, which occasions a suspension of its effect. This generally arises from a defect of power in the seller, who may not be fully competent to act for himself, or may have insufficient authority, or no authority whatever, over the subject of sale. In this class of sales the effect is dependent on the assent or ratification of some other person than the party actually contracting. But whether the effect of a sale be immediate or suspended, there may be some taint of illegality in the mode of constituting it, or in its subject, or there may be other circumstances connected with it, which render it invalid. The causes of illegality are many and various. But even though a sale should be unimpeachable on the previous grounds, that is, though it should be duly constituted, operative or immediate in its effect, and free from any ground of illegality, still it may not be absolutely binding on the parties. This brings us to another remarkable peculiarity of the Muh?ammadan law, viz. the doctrine of option, or right of cancellation. The Prophet himself recommended one of his followers to reserve a locus penitentiÆ, or option, for three days in all his purchases. This has led to the option by stipulation, which may be reserved by either of the parties. But besides this, the purchaser has an option without any stipulation, with regard to things which he has purchased without seeing, and also on account of defects in the thing sold. The greatest of all defects is a want of title or right in the seller. The two last options to the purchase constitute a complete warranty of title and against all defects on the part of the seller, in which respect the Muh?ammadan more nearly resembles the Scotch than the English law of sale.

There are many different kinds of sale. Twenty or more have been enumerated in the Nihayah, of which eight are mentioned and explained. Four of these, which have reference to the thing sold, may require some notice in this place. The first, called Muqayaz?ah, is described as a sale of things for things, and corresponds nearly with barter; but the word “thing” (?ayn) is here opposed to obligations, and muqayaz?ah is therefore properly an exchange of specific for specific things. So that if the goods exchanged were on both sides or on either side indeterminate, the transaction would not, I think, be a muqayaz?ah, though still barter. The second sale is called ?arf, and is defined to be an exchange of obligations for obligations. The usual objects of this contract are dirhams and dinars, which being obligations, the definition is generally correct. But an exchange of money for bullion, or bullion for bullion, is also a ?arf, and every sale of an obligation for an obligation is not a ?arf, so that the definition is redundant as well as defective. It is essential to the legality of this kind of sale, that both the things exchanged should be delivered and taken possession of before the separation of the parties, and that when they are of the same kind, as silver for silver, or gold for gold, they should also be exactly equal by weight. These rules are necessary for the avoidance of reba, or “usury,” as already explained; and the whole of ?arf, which is treated of at a length quite disproportionate to its importance, may be considered as a continued illustration of the doctrine of reba. The third kind of sale is salam. It has been already observed that there can be no lawful stipulation for a postponement of the delivery of the thing sold, except under one particular form of sale. The form alluded to is salam. This word means, literally, “an advance”; and in a salam sale the price is immediately advanced for the goods to be delivered at a future fixed time. It is only things of the class of similars that can be sold in this way, and as they must necessarily be indeterminate, the proper subject of sale is an obligation; while, on the other hand, as the price must be actually paid or delivered at the time of the contract, before the separation of the parties, and must, therefore, even in the case of its being money, be produced, and in consequence be particularised or specific, a salam sale is strictly and properly the sale of an obligation for a thing, as defined above. Until actual payment or delivery of the price, however, it retains its character of an obligation, and for this reason the price and the goods are both termed “debts,” and are adduced in the same chapter as examples of the principle that the sale of a debt, that is, of the money or goods which a person is under engagement to pay or deliver, before possession, is invalid. The last of the sales referred to is the ordinary exchange of goods for money, which being an obligation, the transaction is defined to be the sale of things for obligations.

There is another transaction which comes within the definition of sale, and has been already noticed, but may be further adverted to in this place. It is that which is called Qarz? in the Arabic, and “loan” in the English language. The borrower acquires an absolute right of property in the things lent, and comes under an engagement to return an equal quantity of things of the same kind. The transaction is therefore necessarily limited to similars, whether of weight, capacity, or tale, and the things lent and repaid being of the same kind, the two rules already mentioned for the prevention of reba, or “usury,” must be strictly observed. Hence it follows that any stipulation on the part of the borrower for delay or forbearance by the lender, or any stipulation by the lender for interest to be paid by the borrower are alike unlawful.

Notwithstanding the stringency of the rules for preventing usury, or the taking any interest on the loan of money, methods were found for evading them and still keeping within the letter of the law. It had always been considered lawful to take a pledge to secure the repayment of a debt. Pledges were ordinarily of movable property; when given as security for a debt, and the pledge happened to perish in the hands of the pawnee, the debt was held to be released to the extent of the value of the pledge. Land, though scarcely liable to this incident, was sometimes made the subject of pledge, and devices were adopted for enabling the lender to derive some advantage from its possession while in the state of pledge. But the moderate advantage to be derived in this way does not seem to have contented the money-lenders, who in all ages and countries have been of a grasping disposition, and the expedient of a sale with a condition for redemption was adopted, which very closely resembles an English mortgage. In the latter, the condition is usually expressed in one of two ways, viz. either that the sale shall become void, or that the lender shall resell to the seller, on payment of principal and interest at an assigned term. The first of these forms would be inconsistent with the nature of sale under the Muh?ammadan law, but a sale with a covenant by the lender to reconvey to the seller on repayment of the loan seems to have been in use probably long before the form was adopted in Europe. It is probable that a term was fixed within which the repayment should be made. If repayment were made at the assigned term, the lender was obliged to reconvey; but if not, the property would remain his own, and the difference between its value and the price or sum lent might have been made an ample compensation for the loss of interest. This form of sale, which was called Bai?u ?l-Wafa?, seems to have been strictly legal according to the most approved authorities, though held to be what the law calls abominable, as a device for obtaining what it prohibits.

In constituting sale there is no material difference between the Muh?ammadan and other systems of law. The offer and acceptance, which are expressed or implied in all cases, must be so connected as to obviate any doubt of the one being intended to apply to the other. For this purpose the Muh?ammadan law requires that both shall be interchanged at the same meeting of the parties, and that no other business shall be suffered to intervene between an offer and its acceptance. A very slight interruption is sufficient to break the continuity of a negotiation, and to terminate the meeting in a technical sense, though the parties should still remain in personal communication. An acceptance after the interruption of an offer made before it would be insufficient to constitute a sale. This has led to distinctions of the meeting which may appear unnecessarily minute to a reader unacquainted with the manners of Eastern countries, where the people are often very dilatory in their bargains, interspersing them with conversation on indifferent topics. It is only when a meeting has reference to the act of contracting that its meaning is thus liable to be restricted; for when the word occurs in other parts of the law, as, for instance, when it is said of a ?arf contract that the things exchanged must be taken possession of at the meeting, the whole period that the parties may remain together is to be understood. As personal communication may be inconvenient in some cases, and impossible in others, the integrity of the meeting is held to be sufficiently preserved when a party who receives an offer by message or letter declares his acceptance of it on receiving the communication and apprehending its contents.

When a sale is lawfully contracted, the property in the things exchanged passes immediately from and to the parties respectively. In a legal sale, delivery and possession are not necessary for this purpose. Until possession is taken, however, the purchaser is not liable for accidental loss, and the seller has a lien for the price on the thing sold. Delivery by one party is in general tantamount to possession taken by the other. It is, therefore, sometimes of great importance to ascertain when there is a sufficient delivery; and many cases, real or imaginary, on the subject, are inserted in the Fatawa ?Alamgiri. It sometimes happens that a person purchases a thing of which he is already in possession, and it then becomes important to determine in what cases his previous possession is convertible into a possession under the purchase. Unless so converted, it would be held that there is no delivery under the sale, and the seller would of course retain his lien and remain liable for accidental loss.

Though possession is not necessary to complete the transfer of property under a legal sale, the case is different where the contract is illegal; for here property does not pass till possession is taken. The sale, however, though so far effectual, is still invalid, and liable to be set aside by a judge, at the instance of either of the parties, without any reference to the fact of the person complaining being able to come before him with what in legal phraseology is termed clean hands. A Muh?ammadan judge is obliged by his law to interfere for the sake of the law itself, or, as it is more solemnly termed, for the right of God, which it is the duty of the judge to vindicate, though by so doing he may afford assistance to a party who personally may have no just claim to his interference. (The Muhammadan Law of Sale, according to the Haneefee Code, from the Fatawa Alamgiri, by Neil B.E. Baillie. Smith, Elder & Co., London.)

BAIL. Arabic ?????? kafalah. Bail is of two descriptions: Kafalah bi-?n-nafs, or “security for the person”; Kafalah bi-?l-mal, or “security for property.” In the English courts in India, bail for the person is termed H?az?ir-z?amani, and bail for property Z?amanah, or “security.” Bail for the person is lawful except in cases of punishment (H?udud) and retaliation (Qi?a?). (Hidayah, vol. ii. p. 576.)

AL-BA?IS? (???????). One of the ninety-nine special names of God. It means “He who awakes”; “The Awakener” (in the Day of Resurrection).

BAITU ?L-H?AMD (??? ??????). “The House of Praise.” An expression which occurs in the Traditions (Mishkat v. 7). When the soul of a child is taken, God says, “Build a house for my servant in Paradise and call it a house of praise.”

BAITU ?L-H?ARAM (??? ???????). “The Sacred House.” A name given to the Meccan mosque. [MASJIDU ?L-HARAM.]

BAITU ?L-H?IKMAH (??? ???????). Lit. “The House of Wisdom.” A term used by ?ufis for the heart of the sincere seekers after God. (?Abdu ?r-Razzaq’s Dictionary of ?ufi Terms.)

BAITU ?L-LAH (??? ?????). “The House of God.” A name given to the Meccan mosque. [MASJIDU ?L-HARAM.]

BAITU ?L-MAL (??? ??????). Lit. “The House of Property.” The public treasury of a Muslim state, which the ruler is not allowed to use for his personal expenses, but only for the public good.

The sources of income are: (1) Zakat, or the legal tax raised upon land, personal property, and merchandise, which, after deducting the expense of collecting, should be expended in the support of the poor and destitute. (2) The fifth of all spoils and booty taken in war. (3) The produce of mines and of treasure-trove. (4) Property for which there is no owner. (5) The Jizyah, or tax levied on unbelievers. (Hidayah, Arabic ed., vol. i. p. 452.)

AL-BAITU ?L-MA?MUR (????? ????????). Lit. “The Inhabited House.” A house in the seventh heaven, visited by Muh?ammad during the Mi?raj or night-journey. It is said to be immediately over the sacred temple at Makkah. [MI?RAJ.]

BAITU ?L-MIDRAS (??? ????????). “The House of Instruction.” A term (used in a tradition given by Abu Hurairah) for a Jewish school. (Mishkat, xvii. c. xi.) In Heb. ?????? ????????????.

AL-BAITU ?L-MUQADDAS (????? ???????). “The Holy House.” A name given to the temple at Jerusalem. [AL-MASJIDU ?L-AQSA.]

BAITU ?L-QUDS (??? ??????). Lit. “The House of Holiness.” A term used by the ?ufis for the heart of the true seeker after God when it is absorbed in meditation. (?Abdu ?r-Razzaq’s Dictionary of ?ufi Terms.)

BAI?U ?L-WAFA? (??? ???????). The word wafa means the performance of a promise, and the Bai?u ?l-Wafa? is a sale with a promise to be performed. It is, in fact, a pledge in the hands of the pawnee, who is not its proprietor, nor is he free to make use of it without the permission of the owner. There are different opinions about the legality of this form of sale, but it is now the common form of mortgage in use in India, where it is usually styled Bai? bi-?l-wafa. (See Baillie’s Muh?ammadan Law of Sale, p. 303.)

AL-BAIYINAH (???????). Lit. “The Evidence.” A title given to the XCVIIIth Surah of the Qur?an, in which the word occurs.

BA?L (????), Heb. ??????????, i.e. “Lord.” The chief deity worshipped by the Syro-Phoenician nations. It is known to the Muh?ammadans as an idol worshipped in the days of the Prophet Elisha. (See G?hiyas?u ?l-Lug?hah.)

BALAAM. There is said to be an allusion to Balaam in the Qur?an, Surah vii. 174, “Recite to them the story of him to whom we gave our signs, and he departed therefrom, and Satan followed him, and he was of those who were beguiled.”

The commentary of the Jalalain says that he was a learned man amongst the Israelites, who was requested by the Canaanites to curse Moses at the time when he was about to attack the Jabbarun or “giants,” a tribe of the Canaanites. Balaam at first refused to do so but at last yielded, when valuable presents were made to him. (See Tafsiru ?l-Jalalain, p. 142.)

BALAD (????). Lit. Any country, district, or town, regarded as an habitation. Al-Balad, the sacred territory of Makkah. A title given to the XCth Surah, in which the word occurs.

BALIGH (?????). “Of years of legal maturity; adult.” [PUBERTY.]

BANISHMENT. Arabic ?????? Tag?hrib. Expatriation for fornication is enjoined by Muh?ammadan law, according to the Imam ash-Shafi?i, although it is not allowed by the other doctors of the law, and it is also a punishment inflicted upon highway robbers.

BANKRUPT. There is no provision in the Muh?ammadan law for declaring a person bankrupt, and so placing him beyond the reach of his creditors; but the Qaz?i can declare a debtor insolvent, and free him from the obligation of zakat and almsgiving.

BANU ISRA?IL (??? ????????). “The Children of Israel.” A title of the XVIIth Surah or chapter of the Qur?an, called also Suratu ?l-Mi?raj.

BANUN (?????). The plural of ibn (Heb. ?????????). “Sons; posterity; tribe.” The word is more familiar to English readers in its inflected form Bani. The tribes whose names occur frequently in the early history of Islam, and are mentioned in the Traditions, are the Banu-Quraish, Banu ?n-Najjar, Banu-Quraiz?ah, Banu-Kinanah, Banu ?n-Naz?r, Banu-K?huza?ah, Banu-Bakr?, Banu-?Amir, Banu-Asad, Banu-Fazarah, Banu-Lih?yan, Banu-Tamim, Banu-Umaiyah, Banu-Zahrah, and Banu-Isra?il.

BAPTISM. The only allusion to baptism in the Qur?an is found in Surah ii. 132: “(We have) the baptism of God, and who is better to baptise than God?” The word here translated baptism is ?ibg?hah, lit. “dye,” which, the commentators al-Jalalain and al-Baiz?awi say, may, by comparison, refer to Christian baptism, “for,” says al-Baiz?awi, “the Na?ara (Christians) were in the habit of dipping their offspring in a yellow water which they called al-Ma?mudiyah and said it purified them and confirmed them as Christians.” (See Tafsiru ?l-Jalalain and Tafsiru ?l-Baiz?awi, in loco.)

AL-BAQI (???????). One of the ninety-nine special names of God. It means “He who remains;” “The Everlasting One.”

AL-BAQARAH (???????). “The Cow.” The title of the second Surah of the Qur?an, occasioned by the story of the red heifer mentioned in verse 63, “When Moses said to his people, God commandeth you to sacrifice a cow.”

BARA?AH (??????). “Immunity, or security.” A title given to the IXth Chapter of the Qur?an, called also Suratu ?t-Taubah, “The Chapter of Repentance.” It is remarkable as being the only Surah without the introductory form, “In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.” Various reasons are assigned for this omission. Some commentators say that the prayer of mercy is not placed at the head of a chapter which speaks chiefly of God’s wrath.

BARAH-I-WAFAT (???? ?????). Barah (Urdu) “twelve,” and Wafat. The twelfth day of the month Rabi?u ?l-Awwal, observed in commemoration of Muh?ammad’s death.

It seems to be a day instituted by the Muh?ammadans of India, and is not observed universally amongst the Muslims of all countries. On this day Fatih?ahs are recited for Muh?ammad’s soul, and both in private houses and mosques portions of the Traditions and other works in praise of the Prophet’s excellences are read.

The Wahhabis do not observe this day, as it is believed to be an innovation, not having been kept by the early Muslims.

AL-BARA? IBN ?AZIB (?????? ?? ?????). One of the Companions who accompanied Muh?ammad at the battle of the Ditch, and in most of his subsequent engagements. He assisted in conquering the district of Rai, A.H. 22, and was with the K?halifah ?Ali at the battle of the Camel, A.H. 36.

AL-BARI? (????????). “The Maker.” One of the ninety-nine special names of God. It occurs in the Qur?an, Surah lix. 24: “He is God the Creator, the Maker, the Fashioner. His are the excellent names.”

BARIQAH (??????). Lit. “Refulgence, lightning.” A term used by the ?ufis for that enlightenment of the soul, which at first comes to the true Muslim as an earnest of greater enlightenment. (?Abdu ?r-Razzaq’s Dictionary of ?ufi Terms.)

BARNABAS, the Gospel of. The Muh?ammadans assert that a gospel of Barnabas existed in Arabic, and it is believed by some that Muh?ammad obtained his account of Christianity from this spurious gospel.

“Of this gospel the Moriscoes in Africa have a translation in Spanish, and there is in the library of Prince Eugene of Savoy a manuscript of some antiquity, containing an Italian translation of the same gospel, made, it is supposed, for the use of renegades. This book appears to be no original forgery of the Muh?ammadans, though they have no doubt interpolated and altered it since, the better to serve their purpose; and in particular, instead of the Paraclete or Comforter (St. John xiv. 16, 26; xv. 26; xvi. 7), they have in this apocryphal gospel inserted the word Periclyte, that is, “the famous or illustrious,” by which they pretend their prophet was foretold by name, that being the signification of Muh?ammad in Arabic; and this they say to justify that passage in the Qur?an (Surah 61) where Jesus is formally asserted to have foretold his coming, under his other name of Ah?mad, which is derived from the same root as Muh?ammad, and of the same import. From these or some other forgeries of the same stamp, it is that Muh?ammadans quote several passages of which there are not the least footsteps in the New Testament.” (Sale.)

After Mr. Sale had written the extract which we have quoted, he inspected a Spanish translation of the Italian copy of this apocryphal gospel, of which he gives the following account:—

“The book is a moderate quarto, in Spanish, written in a very legible hand, but a little damaged towards the latter end. It contains two hundred and twenty-two chapters of unequal length, and four hundred and twenty pages; and is said, in the front, to be translated from the Italian by an Aragonian Moslem named Mo?tafa de Aranda. There is a preface prefixed to it, wherein the discoverer of the original MS., who was a Christian monk called Fra Marino, tells us that, having accidentally met with a writing of IrenÆus (among others), wherein he speaks against St. Paul, alleging for his authority the gospel of St. Barnabas, he became exceedingly desirous to find this gospel; and that God, of his mercy, having made him very intimate with Pope Sixtus V., one day, as they were together in that Pope’s library, his Holiness fell asleep, and he, to employ himself, reaching down a book to read, the first he laid his hand on proved to be the very gospel he wanted; overjoyed at the discovery, he scrupled not to hide his prize in his sleeve, and on the Pope’s awaking, took leave of him, carrying with him that celestial treasure, by reading of which he became a convert to Muh?ammadanism.

“This Gospel of Barnabas contains a complete history of Jesus Christ, from His birth to His ascension, and most of the circumstances of the four real gospels are to be found therein, but many of them turned, and some artfully enough, to favour the Muh?ammadan system. From the design of the whole, and the frequent interpolations of stories and passages, wherein Muh?ammad is spoken of and foretold by name, as the messenger of God, and the great prophet who was to perfect the dispensation of Jesus, it appears to be a most bare-faced forgery. One particular I observe therein induces me to believe it to have been dressed up by a renegade Christian, slightly instructed in his new religion, and not educated as a Muh?ammadan (unless the fault be imputed to the Spanish, or, perhaps, the Italian translator, and to the original compiler). I mean the giving to Muh?ammad the title of Messiah, and that not once or twice only, but in several places; whereas, the title of Messiah, or, as the Arabs write it, al-MasÎh?, i.e. Christ, is appropriated to Jesus in the Qur?an, and is constantly applied by the Muh?ammadans to him, and never to their own Prophet. The passages produced from the Italian MS. by M. de la Monnoye are to be seen in this Spanish version almost word for word.”

The Rev. Joseph White, D.D., in his Bampton Lectures of 1784, gives a translation of those chapters in this spurious Gospel of Barnabas, which relate to the supposed crucifixion of Judas in the place of our Lord, and which we insert:—

“Judas came near to the people with whom Jesus was; and when He heard the noise He entered into the house where the disciples slept. And God, seeing the fear and danger of His servant, ordered Gabriel and Michael and Rafail and Azrail to carry Him out of the world.

“And they came in all haste, and bare Him out of the window which looks towards the south. And they placed Him in the third heaven, where He will remain blessing God, in the company of angels, till near the end of the world.” (Chapter 216.)

“And Judas the traitor entered before the rest into the place from which Jesus had just been taken up. And the disciples were sleeping. And the Wonderful God acted wonderfully, changing Judas into the same figure and speech with Jesus.

“We believing that it was He, said to him, Master, whom seekest thou? And he said to them, smiling, Ye have forgotten yourselves, since ye do not know Judas Iscariot.

“At this time the soldiery entered; and seeing Judas so like in every respect to Jesus, laid hands upon him,” &c. (Chapter 217.)

“In which (Chap. 218) is related the passion of Judas the traitor.

“The soldiers afterwards took Judas and bound him, notwithstanding he said with truth to them that he was not Jesus. And soldiers mocked him saying, Sir, do not be afraid; for we are come to make thee King of Israel; and we have bound thee, because we know thou hast refused the kingdom. And Judas said, Ye have lost your senses.

“I came to show you Jesus, that ye might take Him; and ye have bound me, who am your guide. The soldiers lost their patience, hearing this, and they began to go with him, striking and buffeting him, till they reached Jerusalem,” &c. &c. (Chapter 218.)

“They carried him to Mount Calvary, where they executed criminals, and crucified him, stripping him naked for the greater ignominy. Then he did nothing but cry out, O my God, why hast thou forsaken me, that I should die unjustly, when the real malefactor hath escaped? I say in truth that he was so like in person, figure, and gesture to Jesus, that as many as knew Him, believed firmly that it was He, except Peter; for which reason many left his doctrine, believing that it had been false; as He had said that He should not die till the end of the world.

“But those who stood firm were oppressed with grief, seeing him die whom they understood to be Jesus: not recollecting what He had told them. And in company with His mother, they were present at his death, weeping continually. And by means of Joseph Abarimatheas (sic), they obtained from the president the body of Judas. And they took him down from the cross, burying him with much lamentation in the new sepulchre of Joseph; having wrapped him up in linen and precious ointments.” (Chapter 219.)

“They all returned, each man to his house: and he who writeth, with James and John, went with the mother of Jesus to Nazareth. And the disciples, who did not fear God with truth, went by night and stole the body of Judas, and hid it; spreading a report that He (i.e. Jesus) had risen again, from whence sprung great confusion among the people.

“And the High Priest commanded, under pain of anathema, that no one should talk of him; and on this account raised a great persecution, banishing some, tormenting others, and even stoning some to death: because it was not in the power of anyone to be silent on this subject. And then came news to Nazareth, that Jesus had risen again. And he that writeth desired the mother of Jesus to leave off her lamentation. And Mary said, Let us go to Jerusalem, to see if it is truth. If I see Him I shall die content. (Chapter 220).

“The Virgin returned to Jerusalem with him that writeth, and James and John, the same day that the decree of the High Priest came out.

“And as she feared God, though she knew the command was unjust, she entreated those who talked with her not to speak of her Son. Who can say, how we were then affected? God, who knows the heart of man, knows that between the grief for the death of Judas, whom we understood to be Jesus, and the pleasure of seeing him risen again, we almost expired. And the angels who were the guardians of Mary went up to heaven the third day, and told Jesus what was passing. And He, moved with compassion for His mother, entreated of God that He might be seen by His disciples. And the Compassionate God ordered His four favourite angels to place Him within His own house, and to guard Him three days; that they and they only might see Him, who believed in His doctrine. Jesus descended, surrounded with light, into the house of His mother, where were the two sisters, Martha and Mary, and Lazarus, and he that writeth, and John and James, and Peter. And when they saw Him, they fell with their faces on the earth as if dead. And Jesus lifted them up, saying, Fear not, for I am your Master. Lament not henceforth, for I am alive. They were astonished at seeing Jesus, because they thought Him dead. And Mary weeping said, Tell me, my Son, why, if God gave Thee power to raise up the dead, did He consent that Thou shouldest die, with so much reproach and shame to Thy relations and friends, and so much hurt to Thy doctrine, leaving us all in desolation? Jesus replied, embracing His mother, Believe me, for I tell thee the truth, I have not been dead; for God has reserved Me for the end of the world. In saying this He desired the angels to manifest themselves, and to tell how He had passed through everything. At the instant they appeared like four suns; and all present prostrated themselves on the ground, overcome by the presence of the angels. And Jesus gave to all of them something to cover themselves with, that they might be able to hear the angels speak.

“And Jesus said to His mother, These are the Ministers of God. Gabriel knows His secrets; Michael fights with His enemies; Asrafiel will cite all to judgment; and Azrael receives the souls. And the holy angels told how they had, by the command of God, taken up Jesus, and transformed Judas, that he might suffer the punishment which he wished to bring on Jesus. And he that writeth said, Is it lawful for me to ask of Thee, in the same manner as when thou wast in the world? And Jesus answered, Speak, Barnabas, what thou wishest.

“And he said, I wish that Thou wouldest tell me how God, being so compassionate, could afflict us so much, in giving us to understand that Thou wast he that suffered, for we have been very near dying? And Thou being a prophet, why did He suffer Thee to fall under disgrace, by (apparently) placing Thee on a cross, and between two robbers? Jesus answered, Believe Me, Barnabas, let the fault be ever so small God chastiseth it with much punishment. And as my mother and faithful disciples loved me with a little earthly love, God chastised that love by this grief; that He might not chastise it in the other world. And though I was innocent, yet as they called Me God, and His Son, that the devils might not mock Me on the Day of Judgment, He has chosen that I should be mocked in this world.

“And this mocking shall last till the holy Messenger of God (i.e. Muh?ammad) shall come, who shall undeceive all believers. And then He said, Just art Thou, O God! and to Thee only belongeth the honour and glory, with worship, for ever.” (Chapter 221.)

“And then He said, Barnabas, that thou by all means write my gospel, relating everything which has happened in the world concerning Me; and let it be done exactly; in order that the faithful may be undeceived, knowing the truth. He that writeth said, Master, I will do it as Thou commandest me, God willing: but I did not see all that happened with Judas. Jesus answered, Here stand Peter and John, who saw it, and will relate it to thee.

“And He told James and John to call the seven apostles who were absent, and Nicodemus, and Joseph Abarimatheas (sic), and some of the seventy-two disciples. When they were come, they did eat with Him; and on the third day He commanded them all to go to the mount of Olives with His mother: because He was to return to heaven. All the apostles and disciples went, except twenty-five of the seventy-two, who had fled to Damascus with fear. And exactly at mid-day, while they were all in prayer, Jesus came with many angels (blessing God), with so much brightness that they all bent their faces to the ground. And Jesus raised them up, saying, Fear not your Master, who comes to take leave of you; and to recommend you to God our Lord, by the mercies received from His bounty: and be He with you!

“And upon this He disappeared with the angels; all of us remaining amazed at the great brightness in which he left us.” (Chapter 222.)

AL-BARR (?????). One of the ninety-nine special names of God. In its ordinary sense it means “pious,” or “good.” As applied to God, it means “The Beneficent One.”

BARTER. [BAI?.]

BARZAK?H (?????). (1) A thing that intervenes between any two things; a bar; an obstruction; or a thing that makes a separation between two things. In which sense it is used in the Qur?an in two places. Surah xxv. 55, “He hath put an interspace between them (i.e. the two seas), and a barrier which it is forbidden them to pass.” Surah lv. 20, “Yet between them (the two seas) is a barrier.”

(2) The interval between the present life and that which is to come. See Qur?an, Surah xxiii. 99, “And say, My Lord, I seek refuge with Thee from the incitings of the devils, and I seek refuge with Thee from their presence. Until when death comes to any one of them, he says, My Lord! send me back (to life), if haply I may do right in that which I have left. Not so! A mere word that he speaks! But behind them there is barzak?h (a bar), until the day when they shall be raised. And when the trumpet shall be blown, there shall be no relation between them on that day, nor shall they beg of each other then.” Upon this verse the commentator Baiz?awi says: “Barzak?h is an intervening state (h?a?il, ‘a barrier’) between death and the Day of Judgment, and whoever dies enters it.” The commentator H?usain remarks: “Barzak?h is a partition (mani?) between the living and the Day of Judgment, namely, the grave in which they will remain until the resurrection.” The commentators al-Jalalain speak of it as a h?ajiz, or intervening state between death and judgment. ?Abdu ?r-Razzaq in his Dictionary of Technical Terms of the ?ufis (Sprenger’s Edition), gives a similar definition.

The word is employed by Muh?ammadan writers in at least two senses, some using it for the place of the dead, the grave, and others for the state of departed souls between death and judgment.

The condition of believers in the grave is held to be one of undisturbed rest, but that of unbelievers one of torment; for Muh?ammad is related to have said, “There are appointed for the grave of the unbeliever ninety-nine serpents to bite him until the Day of Resurrection.” (Mishkat, i. c. 5, p. 12.) The word seems generally to be used in the sense of Hades, for every person who dies is said to enter al-Barzak?h.

BA?S? (????). Lit. “Raising.” (1) The Day of Resurrection. (2) The office of a messenger or prophet.

BASE MONEY. The sale of one pure dirham and two base ones in exchange for two pure dirhams and one base one is lawful. By two base ones (g?halat?ain), are to be understood such as pass amongst merchants but are rejected at the public treasury. (Hidayah, vol. ii. 560.)

AL-BA?IR (???????). One of the ninety-nine special names of God. It frequently occurs in the Qur?an, and means “The All-seeing One.”

BA?IRAH (??????). Lit. “Penetration.” The sight of the heart as distinguished from the sight of the eye (Ba?arah or Ba?ar). A term used by theologians to express that enlightenment of the heart “whereby the spiritual man can understand spiritual things with as much certainty as the natural man can see objects with the sight of the eye.” The word occurs twice in the Qur?an, Surah xii. 108, “This is my way; I cry unto God, resting on clear evidence;” Surah lxxv. 14, “A man shall be evidence against himself.”

AL-BASIT? (???????). One of the ninety-nine special names of God. It means “He who spreads, or stretches out,” and occurs in the Qur?an, Surah xiii. 15. As applied to God, it means, “He who dispenses riches,” &c.

BASTARD (??? ??????, waladu ?z-zina). An illegitimate child has, according to Muh?ammadan law, no legal father, and consequently the law does not allow the father to interfere with his illegitimate child, even for the purposes of education. He cannot inherit the property of his father, but he is acknowledged as the rightful heir of his mother (Baillie’s Digest, p. 432). The evidence of a bastard is valid, because he is innocent with respect to the immorality of his parents; but the Imam Malik maintains that his testimony is not to be accepted with respect to a charge of whoredom. (Hidayah, vol. ii. 692.)

BATHING. The Arabic term for ordinary bathing is (????) g?hasl, and that for the religious purification of the whole body g?husl. In all large mosques, and in most respectable dwellings in Muh?ammadan countries, there are bathing-rooms erected, both for the ordinary purposes of bathing and for the religious purification. An account of the legal purification will be found in the article GHUSL. Although purifications and bathing form so essential a part of the Muslim religion, cleanliness does not distinguish Muh?ammadans, who are generally in this respect a striking contrast to their Hindu fellow subjects in India. According to the saying of Muh?ammad, decency should be observed in bathing, and the clothes from the waist downwards should not be taken off at such times. (Mishkat, ii. c. iv.)

BAT?IL (?????). That which is false in doctrine.

AL-BAT?IN (???????). (1) One of the ninety-nine special names of God. It means “that which is hidden or concealed,” “The Hidden One,” or “He that knows hidden things.” (2) A term used in theology for that which is hidden in its meaning, in contradistinction to that which is evident.

BATUL (?????). Lit. “A shoot or offset of a palm-tree cut off from its mother tree;” “a virgin” (as cut off or withheld from men). The term al-Batul is applied to Fat?imah, the daughter of Muh?ammad, because she was separated from the other women of her age by her excellences. Heb. ??????????? Bethulah.

BA?US? (??????). A Syriac word, ??????????? (i.e. “petition, prayer”), which, in the dictionary al-Qamus, is said to mean the Christian Easter; and also prayers for rain, or the Istisqa of the Christians. (Majmu ?l-Bih?ar, p. 101.)

BA?AQ or BA?IQ (?????). A prohibited liquor. The juice of the grape boiled until a quantity less than two-thirds evaporates.

BEARD. Arabic ????? lih?yah or ???? ?aqan. The beard is regarded by Muslims as the badge of the dignity of manhood. The Prophet is related to have said, “Do the opposite of the polytheists and let your beard grow long.” (Mishkat, xx. iv.) And the growing of a beard is said to be Fit?rah, or one of those customs which have been observed by every Prophet. [FITRAH.]

BEAUTY, Female. “The maiden, whose loveliness inspires the most impassioned expression in Arabic poetry and prose, is celebrated for her slender figure; she is like the cane among plants, and is elegant as the twig of the oriental willow. Her face is like the full moon, presenting the strongest contrast to the colour of her hair, which (to preserve the nature of the simile just employed) is of the deepest hue of night, and descends to the middle of her back. A rosy blush overspreads the centre of each cheek; and a mole is considered an additional charm. The Arabs, indeed, are particularly extravagant in their admiration of this natural beauty-spot, which, according to its place, is compared to a globule of ambergris upon a dish of alabaster, or upon the surface of a ruby. The eyes of the Arab beauty are intensely black, large, and long, of the form of an almond; they are full of brilliancy; but this is softened by a lid slightly depressed, and by long silken lashes, giving a tender and languid expression, which is full of enchantment, and scarcely to be improved by the adventitious aid of the black border of the kuh?l; for this the lovely maiden adds rather for the sake of fashion than necessity, having what the Arabs term natural kuh?l. The eye-brows are thin and arched, the forehead is wide, and fair as ivory; the nose straight, the mouth small; the lips are of a brilliant red, and the teeth “like pearls set in coral.” The forms of the bosom are compared to two pomegranates; the waist is slender; the hips are wide and large; the feet and hands small; the fingers tapering, and their extremities dyed with the deep orange-red tint imparted by the leaves of h?inna.”

The following is the most complete analysis of Arabian beauty, given by an unknown author, quoted by Al-Ish?aqi:—

“Four things in a woman should be black: the hair of the head, the eye-brows, the eye-lashes, and the dark part of the eyes; four white: the complexion of the skin, the white of the eyes, the teeth, and the legs; four red: the tongue, the lips, the middle of the cheeks, and the gums; four round: the head, the neck, the fore-arms, and the ankles; four long: the back, the fingers, the arms, and the legs; four wide: the forehead, the eyes, the bosom, and the hips; four fine: the eye-brows, the nose, the lips, and the fingers; four thick: the lower part of the back, the thighs, the calves of the legs, and the knees; four small: the ears, the breasts, the hands, and the feet.” (Lane’s Arabian Nights, vol. i. p. 25.)

BEGGING. It is not lawful for any person possessing sufficient food for a day and night to beg (Durru ?l-Muk?htar, p. 108), and it is related that the Prophet said: “Acts of begging are scratches and wounds with which a man wounds his own face.” “It is better for a man to take a rope and bring in a bundle of sticks to sell than to beg.” “A man who continues to beg will appear in the Day of Judgment without any flesh on his face.” (Mishkat, Book vi. chap. v.)

BEINGS. According to Muh?ammadan belief, there are three different species of created intelligent beings: (1) Angels (Mala?ikah), who are said to be created of light; (2) Genii (Jinn), who are created of fire; (3) Mankind (Insan), created of earth. These intelligent beings are called ?awu ?l-?Uqul, or “Rational beings,” whilst “unintelligent beings” are called G?hair ?awu ?l-?Uqul. H?ayawani-Nat?iq is also a term used for rational beings (who can speak), and H?ayawani-?Ajam for all irrational creatures. [JINN.]

BELIEVERS. The terms used for believers are—Mu?min, pl. Mu?minun; and Muslim, pl. Muslimun. The difference expressed in these two words is explained in the Traditions, in a H?adis? given in the ?ah?ih? of Muslim (p. 27), where it is recorded by ?Umar, as having been taught by Muh?ammad, that a Mu?min is one who has iman, or “faith;” Faith being a sincere belief in God, His angels, His inspired books, His prophets, the Day of Resurrection, and the predestination of good and evil; and that a Muslim is one who is resigned and obedient to the will of God, and bears witness that there is no god but God, and that Muh?ammad is His Apostle, and is steadfast in prayer, and gives zakat, or “legal alms,” and fasts in the month of Ramaz?an, and makes a pilgrimage to the Temple (Bait) at Makkah, if he have the means.

The rewards in store for the believer are as follows (see Suratu ?l-Baqarah, Surah ii. 76):—

“They who have believed and done the things that be right, they shall be the inmates of Paradise,—therein to abide for ever.”

Suratu ?n-Nisa, Surah iv. 60:—

“Those who have believed, and done the things that are right, we will bring them into gardens ’neath which the rivers flow—therein to abide eternally; therein shall they have wives of stainless purity: and we will bring them into shadowing shades.”

Suratu ?l-A?raf, Surah vii. 40:—

“Those who have believed and done the things which are right, (we will lay on no one a burden beyond his power)—these shall be inmates of Paradise: for ever shall they abide therein;

“And will we remove whatever rancour was in their bosoms; rivers shall roll at their feet; and they shall say, ‘Praise be to God who hath guided us hither! We had not been guided had not God guided us! Of a surety the Apostles of our Lord came to us with truth.’ And a voice shall cry to them, ‘This is Paradise, of which, as the meed of your works, ye are made heirs.’

“And the inmates of Paradise shall cry to the inmates of the Fire, ‘Now have we found what our Lord promised us to be true. Have ye too found what your Lord promised you to be true?’ And they shall answer, ‘Yes.’

“And a Herald shall proclaim between them: ‘The curse of God be upon the evil doers, who turn men aside from the way of God, and seek to make it crooked, and who believe not in the life to come!’

“And between them shall be a partition; and on the wall al-A?raf, shall be men who will know all, by their tokens, and they shall cry to the inmates of Paradise, ‘Peace be on you!’ but they shall not yet enter it, although they long to do so.

“And when their eyes are turned towards the inmates of the Fire, they shall say, ‘O our Lord! place us not with the offending people.’

“And they who are upon al-A?raf shall cry to those whom they shall know by their tokens, ‘Your amassings and your pride have availed you nothing.

“ ‘Are these they on whom ye sware God would not bestow mercy? Enter ye into Paradise! where no fear shall be upon you, neither shall ye put to grief.’

“And the inmates of the Fire shall cry to the inmates of Paradise: ‘Pour upon us some water, or of the refreshments God hath given you!’ They shall say, ‘Truly God hath forbidden both to unbelievers.’”

For a further description of the Muh?ammadan future state the reader is referred to the article PARADISE, which deals more directly with the sensual character of the heaven supposed to be in store for the believer in the mission of Muh?ammad.

The following is a description of the believer which is given in the Qur?an, Suratu ?l-Mu?minin, the XXIIIrd Surah, v. 1:—

BELLS. [NAQUS.]

BENEFICE. [WAQF.]

BENEFICENCE (Arabic ?????? samah?ah) is commended by Muh?ammad as one of the evidences of faith. (Mishkat, Book i. c. i. part 3.)

?Amr ibn ?Abaratah relates: “I came to the Prophet and said, ‘O Prophet, what is Islam?’ And he said, ‘It is purity of speech and hospitality.’ I then said, ‘And what is faith?’ And he said, ‘Patience and beneficence.’”

BENJAMIN. Heb. ?????????????, Arabic ???????? Binyamin. The youngest of the children of Jacob. He is not mentioned by name in the Qur?an, but he is referred to in Surah xii. 69, “And when they entered in unto Joseph, he took his brother (i.e. Benjamin) to stay with him. He said Verily I am thy brother, then take not that ill which they have been doing. And when he had equipped them with their equipment, he placed the drinking-cup in his brother’s pack,” &c. [JOSEPH.]

BEQUESTS. Arabic ????? wa?iyah, pl. wa?aya. A bequest or will can be made verbally, although it is held to be better to execute it in writing. Two lawful witnesses are necessary to establish either a verbal bequest or a written will. A bequest in favour of a stranger to the amount of one-third of the whole property, is valid, but a bequest to any amount beyond that is invalid, unless the heirs give their consent. If a person make a bequest in favour of another from whom he has received a mortal wound, it is not valid, and if a legatee slay his testator the bequest in his favour is void. A bequest made to part of the heirs is not valid unless the other heirs give their consent. The bequest of a Muslim in favour of an unbeliever, or of an unbeliever in favour of a Muslim, is valid. If a person be involved in debt, legacies bequeathed by him are not lawful. A bequest in favour of a child yet unborn is valid, provided the foetus happen to be less than six months old at the time of the making of the will.

If a testator deny his bequest, and the legatee produce witnesses to prove it, it is generally held not to be a retractation of it. If a person on his death-bed emancipate a slave, it takes effect after his death.

If a person will that “the pilgrimage incumbent on him be performed on his behalf after his death,” his heirs must depute a person for the purpose, and supply him with the necessary expenses. (Hamilton’s Hidayah, vol. iv. 466.)

BESTIALITY is said by Muslim jurists to be the result of the most vitiated appetite and the utmost depravity of sentiment. But if a man commit it, he does not incur the H?add, or stated punishment, as the act is not considered to have the properties of whoredom; the offender is to be punished by a discretionary correction (Ta??ir). According to Muslim law, the beast should be killed, and if it be of an eatable species, it should be burnt. (Hidayah, vol. ii. 27.) Obs. According to the Mosaic code, a man guilty of this crime was surely to be put to death. (Ex. xviii. 19.)

BETROTHAL. [KHITBAH.]

BI?AH (?????). A Christian church. The word occurs in a tradition in the Mishkat (iv. c. vii. 2), and is translated by ?Abdu ?l-H?aqq “Kalisah.” [CHURCH.]

BID?AH (?????). A novelty or innovation in religion; heresy; schism.

BIER. Arabic ?????? jinazah and janazah. The same word is used for the corpse, the bier, and the funeral. In most Muh?ammadan countries the ordinary charpoy, or “bedstead,” is used for the bier, which, in the case of a female, is covered with a canopy. [BURIAL.]

BIHISHT (?????). The Persian word for the celestial regions. [PARADISE, JANNAH, FIRDAUS.]

BILADU ?L-ISLAM (???? ????????). “The countries of Islam.” A term used in Muh?ammadan law for Muslim countries. It is synonymous with the term Daru ?l-Islam. [DARU ?L-ISLAM.]

BILAL (?????). The first Mu?a??in or caller to prayer appointed by Muh?ammad. He was an Abyssinian slave who had been ransomed by Abu Bakr. He was tall, dark, and gaunt, with negro features and bushy hair. Muh?ammad honoured and distinguished him as the “first fruits of Abyssinia.” He survived the Prophet.

BILQIS (??????). The Queen of Saba?, who visited Solomon and became one of his queens. An account of her, as it is given in the Qur?an, will be found in the story of King Solomon. [SOLOMON.]

BINT LABUN (??? ?????). “The daughter of a milk-giver.” A female camel two years old; so called because the mother is then suckling another foal. The proper age for a camel given in zakat, or “legal alms,” for camels from thirty-six in number up to forty-five.

BINT MAK?HAZ? (??? ?????). “The daughter of a pregnant.” A female camel passed one year; so called because the mother is again pregnant. This is the proper age for a camel given in zakat, or “alms,” for camels from twenty-five in number up to thirty-five.

BIOGRAPHY. A Dictionary of Biography is called ????? ??????? asma?u ?r-rijal (lit. “The Names of Men”). The most celebrated of these is, amongst Muslims, that by Ibn K?hallikan, which has always been considered a work of the highest importance for the civil and literary history of the Muh?ammadan people. Ibn K?hallikan died A.H. 681 (A.D. 1282), but his dictionary received numerous additions from subsequent writers. It has been translated into English by MacGuckin De Slane (Paris, 1843).

BIRDS. It is commonly believed by the Muh?ammadans that all kinds of birds, and many, if not all, beasts, have a language by which they communicate their thoughts to each other, and in the Qur?an (Surah xxvii. 16) it is stated that King Solomon was taught the language of birds.

BI?R ZAMZAM (??? ?????). The well of Zamzam. [ZAM-ZAM.]

BI?R MA?UNAH (??? ??????). The well of Ma?unah. A celebrated spot four marches from Makkah, where a party of Muh?ammad’s followers were slain by the Banu ?Amir and Banu Sulaim. He professed to have received a special message from heaven regarding these martyrs, which runs thus:—“Acquaint our people that we have met our Lord. He is well pleased with us, and we are well pleased with Him.” It is a remarkable verse, as having for some reason or other been cancelled, and removed from the Qur?an. (Muir’s Life of Mahomet, vol. iii. p. 207.)

BIRTH, Evidence of. According to the Imam Abu H?anifah, if a married woman should claim to be the mother of a child, her claim is not to be valid unless the birth of the child is attested by the testimony of one woman. But in the case of a father, inasmuch as the claim of parentage is a matter which relates purely to himself, his testimony alone is to be accepted.

The testimony of the midwife alone is sufficient with respect to birth, but with regard to parentage, it is established by the fact of the mother of the child being the wife of the husband.

If the woman be in her ?iddah [?IDDAH] from a complete divorce, the testimony of the midwife is not sufficient with respect to birth, but the evidence of two men, or of one man and two women, is requisite. (Hamilton’s Hidayah, vol. iii. p. 134.)

It is also ruled that it is not lawful for a person to give evidence to anything which he has not seen, except in the cases of birth, death, and marriage. (Vol. ii. 676.)

BISHARAH (??????). [BUSHRA.]

BI-SHAR? (?? ????). Lit. “Without the law.” A term applied to those mystics who totally disregard the teaching of the Qur?an. Antinomians. [SUFI.]

BISMILLAH (??? ?????). Lit. “In the name of God.” An ejaculation frequently used at the commencement of any undertaking. There are two forms of the Bismillah:—

1. Bi-?smi ?llahi ?r-rah?mani ?r-rah?im, i.e. “In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.” This is used at the commencement of meals, putting on new clothes, beginning any new work, and at the commencement of books. It occurs at the head of every chapter or surah in the Qur?an, with the exception of the IXth (i.e. the Suratu ?l-Bara?ah).

2. Bi-?smi ?llahi ?llahi ?l-akbar, i.e. “In the name of God, God the Most Great.” Used at the time of slaughtering of animals, at the commencement of a battle, &c., the attribute of mercy being omitted on such occasions.

The formula Bi-?smi ?llahi ?r-rah?mani ?r-rah?im is of Jewish origin. It was in the first instance taught to the Quraish by Umaiyah of T?a?if, the poet, who was a contemporary but somewhat older than Muh?ammad, and who, during his mercantile journeys into Arabia PetrÆa and Syria, had made himself acquainted with the sacred books and doctrines of Jews and Christians. (Kitabu ?l-Aghani, 16, Delhi; quoted by Rodwell.)

BIZ?A?AH (??????). A share in a mercantile adventure. Property entrusted to another to be employed in trade.

BLACK STONE. [AL-HAJARU ?L-ASWAD.]

BLASPHEMY. Arabic ???? kufr. Lit. “to hide” (the truth). It includes a denial of any of the essential principles of Islam.

A Muslim convicted of blasphemy is sentenced to death in Muh?ammadan countries. [APOSTASY.]

BLEEDING. Arabic ?????? h?ijamah. The two great cures recommended by Muh?ammad were blood-letting and drinking honey; and he taught that it was unlucky to be bled on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, the most lucky day being Tuesday, and the most lucky date the seventeenth of the month. (Mishkat, xxi. c. 1.)

BLIND, The. Arabic ????? A?ma, pl. ?Umyan. It is not incumbent upon a blind man to engage in Jihad, or a religious war. And, according to the Imam Abu H?anifah, the evidence of a blind person is not admissible, but the Imam Zufar maintains that such evidence is lawful when it affects a matter in which hearsay prevails. Sales and purchases made by a blind person are lawful. (Hamilton’s Hidayah, vol. ii. pp. 141, 402, 682.)

BLOOD. The sale of blood is unlawful. (Hamilton’s Hidayah, vol. ii. p. 428.)

BLOOD, The Avenger of. [QISAS.]

BLOOD, Issue of. [ISTIHAZAH.]

BOASTING. Arabic ??????? mufak?harah. Muh?ammad is related to have said, “I swear by God, a tribe must desist from boasting of their forefathers; for they are nothing more than coals from hell-fire (i.e. they were idolaters); and if you do not leave off boasting, verily you will be more hateful in the sight of God than a black-beetle. Mankind are all the sons of Adam, and Adam was of the earth.” (Mishkat, xxii. c. 13.)

BOOKS OF MOSES. [TAURAT.]

BOOKS, Stealing. The hand of a thief is not to be cut off for stealing a book, whatever be the subject of which it treats, because the object of the theft can only be the contents of the book, and not the book itself. But yet, it is to be observed, the hand is to be cut off for stealing “an account book,” because in this case it is evident that the object of the theft is not the contents of the book, but the paper and material of which the book is made. (Hamilton’s Hidayah, vol. ii. 92.)

BOOTS. [SHOES.]

BREACH OF TRUST. Arabic ?????? k?hiyanah. The punishment of amputation of the hand is not inflicted for a breach of trust. And if a guest steal the property of his host whilst he is staying in his house, the hand is not cut off. Breach of trust in Muslim law being a less offence than ordinary theft, the punishment for breach of trust is left to the discretion of the judge. (Hamilton’s Hidayah, vol. ii. pp. 93–102.)

BRIBERY (Arabic ????? rishwah) is not mentioned in the Qur?an. In the Fatawa ?Alamgiri it is stated that presents to magistrates are of various kinds; for example, if a present be made in order to establish a friendship, it is lawful; but if it be given to influence the decision of the judge in the donor’s favour, it is unlawful. It is also said, if a present be made to a judge from a sense of fear, it is lawful to give it, but unlawful to accept it. (Hamilton’s Hidayah, vol. iii. p. 332.)

BU?AS?, Battle of. Arabic ??? ????? H?arb Bu?as?. A battle fought between the Banu K?hazraj and Banu Aus, about six years before the flight of Muh?ammad from Makkah.

BUHTAN (??????). A false accusation; calumny.

The word occurs twice in the Qur?an:—

Surah iv. 112: “Whoso commits a fault or sin, and throws it upon one who is innocent, he hath to bear calumny (buhtan) and manifest sin.”

Surah xxiv. 15: “And why did ye not say when ye heard it, ‘It is not for us to speak of this’? Celebrated be Thy praises, this is a mighty calumny (buhtan).” [BACKBITING.]

BUKA? (?????). Heb. ???????? he wept. Weeping and lamentation for the dead. Immoderate weeping and lamentation over the graves of the dead is clearly forbidden by Muh?ammad, who is related to have said, “Whatever is from the eyes (i.e. tears), and whatever is from the heart (i.e. sorrow), are from God; but what is from the hands and tongue is from the devil. Keep yourselves, O women, from wailing, which is the noise of the devil.” (Mishkat, v. c. vii.) The custom of wailing at the tombs of the dead is, however, common in all Muh?ammadan countries. (See Arabian Nights, Lane’s Modern Egyptians, Shaw’s Travels in Barbary.) [BURIAL.]

AL-BUK?HARI (????????). A short title given to the well-known collection of Sunni traditions by Abu ?Abdu ?llah Muh?ammad ibn Isma?il ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Mug?hirah al-Ju?fi al-Buk?hari, who was born at Buk?hara, A.H. 194 (A.D. 810), and died at the village of K?hartang near Samarqand, A.H. 256 (A.D. 870). His compilation comprises upwards of 7,000 traditions of the acts and sayings of the Prophet, selected from a mass of 600,000. His book is called the ?ah?ih? of al-Buk?hari, and is said to have been the result of sixteen years labour. It is said that he was so anxious to record only trustworthy traditions that he performed a prostration in worship before the Almighty before he recorded each tradition.

BUK?HTU NA??AR (??? ????). “Nebuchadnezzar.” It is thought by Jalalu ?d-din that there is a reference to his army taking Jerusalem in the Qur?an, Surah xvii. 8, “And when the threat for the last (crime) came (to be inflicted, we sent an enemy) to harm your faces, and to enter the temple as they entered it the first time.” The author of the Qamus says that Buk?ht is “son,” and Na??ar, “an idol,” i.e. “the son of Na??ar.”

BULAS (?????). “Despair.” The name of one of the chambers of hell, where the proud will drink of the yellow water of the infernal regions. (Mishkat, xxii. c. 20.)

BURAQ (?????). Lit. “The bright one.” The animal upon which Muh?ammad is said to have performed the nocturnal journey called Mi?raj. He was a white animal, between the size of a mule and an ass, having two wings. (Majma?u ?l-Bih?ar, p. 89.) Muh?ammad’s conception of this mysterious animal is not unlike the Assyrian gryphon, of which Mr. Layard gives a sketch. [MI?RAJ.]

BURGLARY is punished as an ordinary theft, namely by the amputation of the hand, but it is one of the niceties of Muh?ammadan law, according to the H?anafi code, that if a thief break through the wall of the house, and enter therein, and take the property, and deliver it to an accomplice standing at the entrance of the breach, amputation of the hand is not incurred by either of the parties, because the thief who entered the house did not carry out the property. (Hidayah, vol. ii. 103.)

BURIAL OF THE DEAD (?????? Jinazah or Janazah). The term Janazah is used both for the bier and for the Muh?ammadan funeral service. The burial service is founded upon the practice of Muh?ammad, and varies but little in different countries, although the ceremonies connected with the funeral procession are diversified. In Egypt and Buk?hara, for instance, the male relations and friends of the deceased precede the corpse, whilst the female mourners follow behind. In India and Afg?hanistan, women do not usually attend funerals, and the friends and relatives of the deceased walk behind the bier. There is a tradition amongst some Muh?ammadans that no one should precede the corpse, as the angels go before. Funeral processions in Afg?hanistan are usually very simple in their arrangements, and are said to be more in accordance with the practice of the Prophet, than those of Egypt and Turkey. It is considered a very meritorious act to carry the bier, and four from among the near relations, every now and then relieved by an equal number, carry it on their shoulders. Unlike our Christian custom of walking slowly to the grave, the Muh?ammadans carry their dead quickly to the place of interment; for Muh?ammad is related to have said, that it is good to carry the dead quickly to the grave, to cause the righteous person to arrive soon at happiness, and if he be a bad man, it is well to put wickedness away from one’s shoulders. Funerals should always be attended on foot; for it is said that Muh?ammad on one occasion rebuked his people for following on horse-back. “Have you no shame?” said he, “since God’s angels go on foot, and you go upon the backs of quadrupeds?” It is a highly meritorious act to attend a funeral, whether it be that of a Muslim, a Jew, or a Christian. There are, however, two traditions which appear to mark a change of feeling on the part of the Prophet of Arabia towards the Jews and Christians. “A bier passed by the Prophet, and he stood up; and it was said to the Prophet, this is the bier of a Jew. ‘It is the holder of a soul,’ he replied, ‘from which we should take warning and fear.’ ” This rule is said to have been abrogated, for, “on one occasion the Prophet was sitting on the road when a bier passed, and the Prophet disliked that the bier of a Jew should be higher than his head, and he therefore stood up.” (Mishkat, v. c. v.) Notwithstanding these contradictory traditions, we believe that in all countries Muh?ammadans are wont to pay great respect to the funerals of both Jews and Christians.

The Muh?ammadan funeral service is not recited in the graveyard, it being too polluted a place for so sacred an office; but either in a mosque, or in some open space near the dwelling of the deceased person or the graveyard. The owner of the corpse, i.e. the nearest relative, is the proper person to recite the service; but it is usually said by the family Imam, or the Qaz?i.

The following is the order of the service:—

Some one present calls out,—

“Here begin the prayers for the dead.”

Then those present arrange themselves in three, five, or seven rows opposite the corpse, with their faces Qiblah-wards (i.e. towards Makkah). The Imam stands in front of the ranks opposite the head (the Shi?ahs stand opposite the loins of a man) of the corpse, if it be that of a male, or the waist, if it be that of a female.

The whole company having taken up the Qiyam, or standing position, the Imam recites the Niyah.

“I purpose to perform prayers to God for this dead person, consisting of four Takbirs.”

Then placing his hands to the lobes of his ears, he says the first Takbir.

Then folding his hands, the right hand placed upon the left, below the navel, he recites the Subh?an:—

Then follows the second Takbir:—

Then the Durud:—

“O God, have mercy on Muh?ammad and upon his descendants, as Thou didst bestow mercy, and peace, and blessing, and compassion, and great kindness upon Abraham and upon his descendants.

“Thou art praised, and Thou art great!

“O God, bless Muh?ammad and his descendants, as Thou didst bless and didst have compassion and great kindness upon Abraham and upon his descendants.”

Then follows the third Takbir:—

After which the following prayer (Du?a) is recited:—

“O God, forgive our living and our dead and those of us who are present, and those who are absent, and our children, and our full grown persons, our men and our women. O God, those whom Thou dost keep alive amongst us, keep alive in Islam, and those whom Thou causest to die, let them die in the Faith.”

Then follows the fourth Takbir:—

Turning the head round to the right, he says:—

Turning the head round to the left, he says:—

The Takbir is recited by the Imam aloud, but the Subh?an, the Salam, the Durud, and the Du?a, are recited by the Imam and the people in a low voice.

The people then seat themselves on the ground, and raise their hands in silent prayer in behalf of the deceased’s soul, and afterwards addressing the relatives they say, “It is the decree of God.” To which the chief mourner replies, “I am pleased with the will of God.” He then gives permission to the people to retire by saying, “There is permission to depart.”

Those who wish to return to their houses do so at this time, and the rest proceed to the grave. The corpse is then placed on its back in the grave, with the head to the north and feet to the south, the face being turned towards Makkah. The persons who place the corpse in the grave repeat the following sentence: “We commit thee to earth in the name of God and in the religion of the Prophet.”

The bands of the shroud having been loosed, the recess, which is called the lah?d, is closed in with unburnt bricks and the grave filled in with earth. [GRAVE.] In some countries it is usual to recite verse 57 of the XXth Surah of the Qur?an as the clods of earth are thrown into the grave; but this practice is objected to by the Wahhabis, and by many learned divines. The verse is as follows:—

“From it (the earth) have We (God) created you, and unto it will We return you, and out of it will We bring you forth the second time.”

After the burial, the people offer a fatih?ah (i.e. the first chapter of the Qur?an) in the name of the deceased, and again when they have proceeded about forty paces from the grave they offer another fatih?ah; for at this juncture, it is said, the two angels Munkar and Nakir examine the deceased as to his faith. [PUNISHMENTS OF THE GRAVE.] After this, food is distributed to beggars and religious mendicants as a propitiatory offering to God, in the name of the deceased person.

If the grave be for the body of a woman, it should be to the height of a man’s chest, if for a man, to the height of the waist. At the bottom of the grave the recess is made on the side to receive the corpse, which is called the lah?id or lah?d. The dead are seldom interred in coffins, although they are not prohibited.

To build tombs with stones or burnt bricks, or to write a verse of the Qur?an upon them, is forbidden in the H?adis?; but large stone and brick tombs are common to all Muh?ammadan countries, and very frequently they bear inscriptions.

On the third day after the burial of the dead, it is usual for the relatives to visit the grave, and to recite selections from the Qur?an. Those who can afford to pay Maulavis, employ these learned men to recite the whole of the Qur?an at the graves of their deceased relatives; and the Qur?an is divided into sections to admit of its being recited by the several Maulavis at once. During the days of mourning the relatives abstain from wearing any article of dress of a bright colour, and their soiled garments remain unchanged.

A funeral procession in Egypt is graphically described by Mr. Lane in his Modern Egyptians. We give the account as it contrasts strikingly with the simple processions of Sunni Muh?ammadans in India.

“The first persons are about six or more poor men, called ‘Yamaniyah,’ mostly blind, who proceed two and two, or three and three, together. Walking at a moderate pace, or rather slowly, they chant incessantly, in a melancholy tone, the profession of faith (‘There is no deity but God; Muhammad is God’s Apostle; God favour and preserve him!’). They are followed by some male relations and friends of the deceased, and, in many cases, by two or more persons of some sect of darweshes, bearing the flags of their order. This is a general custom at the funeral of a darwesh. Next follow three or four or more schoolboys; one of them carries a mus?h?af (or copy of the Qur?an), or a volume consisting of one of the thirty sections of the Qur?an, placed upon a kind of desk formed of palm-sticks, and covered over, generally with an embroidered kerchief. These boys chant, in a higher and livelier voice than the Yamaniyah, usually some words of a poem called the H?ashriyah, descriptive of the events of the last day, the judgment, &c. The schoolboys immediately precede the bier, which is borne head-foremost. Three or four friends of the deceased usually carry it for a short distance; then three or four other friends bear it a little further; and then these are in like manner relieved. Casual passengers, also, often take part in this service, which is esteemed highly meritorious. Behind the bier walk the female mourners; sometimes a group of more than a dozen, or twenty; with their hair dishevelled, though generally concealed by the head-veil; crying and shrieking, as before described; and often, the hired mourners accompany them, celebrating the praises of the deceased. Among the women, the relations and domestics of the deceased are distinguished by a strip of linen or cotton stuff or muslin, generally blue, bound round the head, and tied in a single knot behind: the ends hanging down a few inches. Each of these also carries a handkerchief, usually dyed blue, which she sometimes holds over her shoulders, and at other times twirls with both hands over her head, or before her face. The cries of the women, the lively chanting of the youths, and the deep tones uttered by the Yamaniyah, compose a strange discord.

“The funeral procession of a man of wealth, or of a person of the middle classes, is sometimes preceded by three or four or more camels, bearing bread and water to give to the poor at the tomb, and is composed of a more numerous and varied assemblage of persons. The foremost of these are the Yamaniyah, who chant the profession of the faith, as described above. They are generally followed by some male friends of the deceased, and some learned and devout persons who have been invited to attend the funeral. Next follows a group of four or more faqihs, chanting the ‘Suratu ?l-An?am’ (the VIth chapter of the Qur?an); and sometimes, another group, chanting the ‘Suratu Ya-sin’ (the XXXVIth chapter); another, chanting the ‘Suratu ?l-Kahf’ (the XVIIIth chapter); and another chanting the ‘Suratu ?d-Duk?han’ (the XLIVth chapter). These are followed by some munshids, singing the ‘Burdah;’ and these by certain persons called ‘A?h?abu ?l-Ah?zab,’ who are members of religious orders founded by celebrated shaikhs. There are generally four or more of the order of the H?izbu ?s-Sadat, a similar group of the H?izbu ?sh-Shazili, and another of the H?izbu ?sh-Sha?rawi; each group chants a particular form of prayer. After them are generally borne two or more half-furled flags, the banners of one or other of the principal orders of darweshes. Then follow the school-boys, the bier, and the female mourners, as in the procession before described, and, perhaps, the led horses of the bearers, if these be men of rank. A buffalo, to be sacrificed at the tomb, where its flesh is to be distributed to the poor, sometimes closes the procession.

“The funeral of a devout shaikh, or of one of the great ?Ulama, is still more numerously attended, and the bier of such a person is not covered with a shawl. A ‘wali’ is further honoured in his funeral by a remarkable custom. Women follow his bier, but, instead of wailing, as they would after the corpse of an ordinary mortal, they rend the air with the shrill and quavering cries of joy called ‘zagharit?’; and if these cries are discontinued but for a minute, the bearers of the bier protest that they cannot proceed, that a supernatural power rivets them to the spot on which they stand. Very often, it is said, a ‘wali’ impels the bearers of his corpse to a particular spot. The following anecdote, describing an ingenious mode of puzzling a dead saint in a case of this kind, was related to me by one of my friends. Some men were lately bearing the corpse of a ‘wali’ to a tomb prepared for it in the great cemetery on the north of the metropolis, but on arriving at the gate called Babu ?n-Na?r, which leads to the cemetery, they found themselves unable to proceed further, from the cause above-mentioned. ‘It seems,’ said one of the bearers, ‘that the shaikh is determined not to be buried in the cemetery of Babu ?n-Na?r, and what shall we do?’ They were all much perplexed, but being as obstinate as the saint himself, they did not immediately yield to his caprice. Retreating a few paces, and then advancing with a quick step, they thought by such an impetus to force the corpse through the gateway; but their efforts were unsuccessful; and the same experiment they repeated in vain several times. They then placed the bier on the ground to rest and consult; and one of them, beckoning away his comrades to a distance beyond the hearing of the dead saint, said to them, ‘Let us take up the bier again, and turn it round several times till the shaikh becomes giddy; he then will not know in what direction we are going, and we may take him easily through the gate.’ This they did; the saint was puzzled as they expected, and quietly buried in the place which he had so striven to avoid.

“In the funerals of females and boys, the bier is usually only preceded by the Yamaniyah, chanting the profession of the faith, and by some male relations of the deceased; and followed by the female mourners; unless the deceased were of a family of wealth, or of considerable station in the world; in which case, the funeral procession is distinguished by some additional display. I shall give a short description of one of the most genteel and decorous funerals of this kind that I have witnessed: it was that of a young, unmarried lady. Two men, each bearing a large, furled, green flag, headed the procession, preceding the Yamaniyah, who chanted in an unusually low and solemn manner. These faqirs, who were in number about eight, were followed by a group of fakihs, chanting a chapter of the Qur?an. Next after the latter was a man bearing a large branch of ‘Nabq’ (or lote-tree), an emblem of the deceased. On each side of him walked a person bearing a tall staff or cane, to the top of which were attached several hoops ornamented with strips of various coloured paper. These were followed by two Turkish soldiers, side by side, one bearing, on a small round tray, a gilt silver ‘qumqum’ of rose-water, and the other bearing, on a similar tray, a ‘mibk?harah’ of gilt silver, in which some odoriferous substance (as benzoin, or frankincense) was burning. These vessels diffused the odour of their contents on the way, and were afterwards used to perfume the sepulchral vault. Passengers were occasionally sprinkled with the rose-water. Next followed four men, each of whom bore, upon a small tray, several small lighted tapers of wax, stuck in lumps of paste of ‘h?inna.’ The bier was covered with rich shawls, and its shahid was decorated with handsome ornaments of the head, having, besides the ?afa, a ‘qu??ah almas’ (a long ornament of gold and diamonds worn over the forehead), and, upon its flat top, a rich diamond qur?. These were the jewels of the deceased, or were, perhaps, as is often the case, borrowed for the occasion. The female mourners, in number about seven or eight, clad in the usual manner of the ladies of Egypt (with the black silk covering, &c.), followed the bier, not on foot, as is the common custom in funerals in this country, but mounted on high-saddled asses; and only the last two or three of them were wailing; these being, probably, hired mourners. In another funeral procession of a female, the daughter of a Turk of high rank, the Yamaniyah were followed by six slaves, walking two by two. The first two slaves bore each a silver qumqum of rose-water, which they sprinkled on the passengers; and one of them honoured me so profusely as to wet my dress very uncomfortably; after which, he poured a small quantity into my hands; and I wetted my face with it, according to custom. Each of the next two bore a silver mibk?harah, with perfume; and the other two carried a silver ?azqi (or hanging censer), with burning charcoal of frankincense. The jewels on the shahid of the bier were of a costly description. Eleven ladies, mounted on high-saddled asses, together with several naddabahs, followed.”

BURNING THE DEAD. There is no express injunction, in either the Qur?an or the Traditions, regarding the burning of dead bodies, although the burning of the living is strictly forbidden. For Muh?ammad said, “Punish not with God’s punishment (which is fire), for it is not fit for anyone to punish with fire but God.” (Mishkat, xiv. c. v. part 1.)

The teaching of the Traditions is that a dead body is as fully conscious of pain as a living body, for ?Ayishah said, that the Prophet said, “The breaking of the bones of a corpse is the same as doing it in life.” (Mishkat, v. c. vi. part 2.)

It is, therefore, pretty clearly established that cremation of the dead is strictly forbidden by the Muh?ammadan religion. There is, however, nothing to confirm the impression that the burning of a corpse in any way prevents its soul entering paradise.

BURNING TO DEATH is strictly forbidden by Muslim law. ?Ikrimah relates that some apostates from Islam were brought to the K?halifah ?Ali, and he burnt them; and when Ibn ?Abbas heard of it, he said, “Had they been brought to me, I would not have burnt them; for the Prophet said, ‘Punish not with God’s punishment. Verily it is not fit for anyone to punish with fire but God.’ ” (Mishkat, xiv. c. v. part 1.)

BURQA? (?????). The veil or covering used for the seclusion of women when walking abroad. [VEILING OF WOMEN.]

BURUJ (?????). Lit. “Towers,” which some interpret as real towers wherein the angels keep watch. A term used for the twelve signs of the zodiac. [SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC.] Al-Buruj is the title of the LXXXVth Surah of the Qur?an.

BURYING OF THE DEAD. It is said by commentators that God taught mankind to bury their dead when “God sent a crow to scratch the earth, to show him (Cain) how he might hide his brother’s body.” (Qur?an, Surah v. 34; Tafsir-i-H?usaini, in loco.) The custom of burying their dead is universal in Islam. The ceremonies connected with funerals will be found in the article on Burial. [BURIAL.]

BURYING-GROUND. Arabic ?????? maqbarat or maqbarah, “The place of graves.” Persian Qabr-gah, or Qabristan. They are sometimes spoken of by religious Muslims as Marqad, a “cemetery” or “sleeping-place,” but the name has not obtained a general application to burial-grounds in the East as it has in the West. They are generally situated outside the city, the graves being covered with pebbles, and distinguished by headstones, those on the graves of men being with a turban-like head. The graves are dug from north to south. The grave-yards are usually much neglected. The Wahhabis hold it to be a meritorious act, in accordance with the injunctions of the Prophet, to neglect the graves of the dead, the erection of brick tombs being forbidden. (Hidayah, Arabic ed., vol. i. p. 90.) A grave-yard does not become public property until the proprietor formally makes a gift or bequest of it. (Hidayah, vol ii., p. 357.)

BUSHRA (?????). “Good news;” “the gospel.” A word used in the Traditions for the publication of Islam. (Mishkat, xxiv. c. i.) “Accept good news, O ye sons of Tamim,” which ?Abdu ?l-H?aqq says means “embrace Islam.”

BUYING. [BAI?.]

BUZURG (?????). Lit. “great.” A Persian word used in the East for a saintly person, an old man, or a person of rank.

CAIN. Arabic ????? Qabil (Qabil). The account of Cain and Abel as given in the Qur?an, Surah v. 30, will be found in the article ABEL. The Commentators say that the occasion of making the offering was as follows: Each of them being born with a twin sister, Adam by God’s direction ordered Cain to marry Abel’s twin sister, and Abel to marry Cain’s, but that Cain refused. They were then ordered to submit the question by making a sacrifice, and Cain offered a sheaf of the very worst of his corn, whilst Abel offered the best fatted lamb of his flock. (Tafsiru ?l-Baiz?awi, in loco.)

CALEB. Arabic ????? Kalab. The son of Jephunneh (Yufannah). He is not mentioned in the Qur?an, but his name occurs in the Tafsiru ?l-Baiz?awi, in Surah iv. 13.

CALF, GOLDEN, The, which the Israelites worshipped, is mentioned five times in the Qur?an. Surahs ii. 48, 88; iv. 152; vii. 146; xx. 90. In Surah xx. 90, the person who made it is said to be as-Samiri. [MOSES.]

CALIPH. [KHALIFAH.]

CALUMNY is expressed by the word G?hibah, which means anything whispered to the detriment of an absent person, although it be true. Buhtan, expressing a false accusation. It is strictly forbidden in both the Qur?an and H?adis?. [GHIBAH.]

CAMEL. Arabic Ibil. In the Qur?an (Surah lxxxviii. 17), the institution of camels to ride upon is mentioned as an example of God’s wisdom and kindness: “Do they not look then at the camel how she is created.” As a proof of the great usefulness of the camel to the Arabian, and of the manner in which its very existence has influenced his language, it is remarkable that in almost every page of the Arabic Dictionary Qamus (as also in Richardson’s edition), there is some reference to a camel.

Camels are a lawful sacrifice on the great festivals and on other occasions. And although it is lawful to slay a camel by ?abh?, or by merely cutting its throat, the most eligible method, according to Muslim law, is to slay a camel by nah?r, or by spearing it in the hollow of the throat near the breast-bone, because, says Abu H?anifah, it is according to the sunnah, or practice of Muh?ammad, and also because in that part of the throat three blood-vessels of a camel are combined. (Hamilton’s Hidayah, vol. iv. p. 72.) There is zakat, or legal alms, on camels. [ZAKAT.] Muh?ammadan law rules that the person who leads a string of camels is responsible for anything any one of the camels may injure or tread down. (Ibid., iv. 379.)

CANAAN. Arabic Kan?an. According to al-Jalalain and al-Baiz?awi, the commentators, Canaan was the unbelieving son of Noah, but, according to the Qamus dictionary, the grandson, who was drowned in the flood, and whose case is recorded in the Qur?an (Surah xi. 44). He is said to be a son of Noah’s wife Wa?ilah, who was an infidel. “And the Ark moved on them amid waves like mountains: and Noah called to his son—for he was apart—‘Embark with us, O my child! and be not with the unbelievers.’ He said, ‘I will betake me to a mountain that shall secure me from the water.’ He said, ‘None shall be secure this day from the decree of God, save him on whom He shall have mercy.’ And a wave passed between them, and he was among the drowned.”

CAPTIVES. Asir, pl. Usara and Usara?. With respect to captives, the Imam, or leader of the army, has it in his choice to slay them, “because the Prophet put captives to death, and also because slaying them terminates wickedness”; or, he may if he choose make them slaves. It is not lawful for the Imam to send captives back to their home and country, because that would be to strengthen the cause of infidelity against Islam. If they become Muslims after their capture, they must not be put to death, but they may be sold after their conversion. A converted captive must not be suffered to return to his country, and it is not lawful to release a captive gratuitously. The only method of dividing plunder which consists of slaves, is by selling them at the end of the expedition and then dividing the money. (Hidayah, ii. 160.) [SLAVERY.]

CARAVAN. Persian Karwan, Arabic Qafilah. As the roads in the East are often unsafe and lead through dreary wastes, merchants and travellers associate together for mutual defence and comfort. These companies are called both karwan and qafilah. The party is always under the direction of a paid director, who is called Karwan- or Qafilah-Bashi. If a caravan is attacked on the road, the Muh?ammadan law allows the punishment of crucifixion for the offence. (Hidayah, vol. ii. 131.) But it is a curious provision of the Muslim law that if some of the travellers in a caravan commit a robbery upon others of the same caravan, punishment (i.e. of amputation) is not incurred by them. (Vol. ii. 137.)

CARRION (Arabic Maitah) is forbidden in the Qur?an, Surah ii. 80. “That which dieth of itself, and blood, and swine’s flesh, and that over which any other name than that of God hath been invoked, is forbidden. But he who shall partake of them by constraint, without lust or wilfulness, no sin shall be upon him.”

CASTING LOTS. Zalam, or casting lots by shooting arrows, was an ancient Arabic custom, which is forbidden by Muh?ammad in his Qur?an, Surah v. 4; but qur?ah, or casting lots, in its ordinary sense, is not forbidden, for ?Ayishah relates that when the Prophet went on a journey, he used to cast lots as to which wife he should take with him. (Mishkat Babu ?l-Qa?am.)

CATS. Arabic Hirrah. According to a H?adis? of Abu Qutadah, who was one of the Companions, Muh?ammad said, “Cats are not impure, they keep watch around us.” He used water from which a cat had drunk for his purifications, and his wife ?Ayishah ate from a vessel from which a cat had eaten. (Mishkat, book iii., c. 10, pt. 2.)

CATTLE. Arabic An?am. They are said in the Qur?an to be the gift of God, Surah xl. 79, “God it is who hath made for you cattle, that ye may ride on some and eat others.”

Cattle kept for the purpose of labour, such as carrying burthens, drawing ploughs, &c., are not subject to zakat, neither is there zakat on cattle who are left to forage for one half year or more. (Hidayah, i. 18.)

Al-An?am is the title of the sixth Surah of the Qur?an.

CAVE, The Companions of the (Arabic A?h?abu ?l-kahf), or the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, form the subject of one of the chapters of the Qur?an, Surah xviii. 6. [ASHABU ?L-KAHF.]

CELIBACY (Arabic ?Uzubah), although not absolutely condemned by Muh?ammad, is held to be a lower form of life to that of marriage. It is related that ?Us?man ibn Maz??un wished to lead a celibate life, and the Prophet forbade him, for, said he, “When a Muslim marries he perfects his religion.” (Mishkat, book xii. c. xx.)

CEYLON. Arabic Sarandib. The Commentators say that when Adam and Eve were cast out of Paradise, Adam fell on the island of Ceylon, and Eve near Jiddah in Arabia, and that after a separation of 200 years, Adam was, on his repentance, conducted by the angel Gabriel to a mountain near Makkah, where he found and knew his wife, the mountain being named ?Arafah; and that afterwards he retired with her to Ceylon, when they continued to propagate their species. (D’Herbelot, Bibl. Orient., p. 55.)

CHASTITY. “Neither their (the Muslims’) tenets nor their practice will in any respect bear to come into competition with Christian, or even with Jewish morality.… For instance, we call the Muslims chaste because they abstained from indiscriminate profligacy, and kept carefully within the bounds prescribed as licit by their Prophet. But those bounds, besides the utmost freedom of divorce and change of wives, admitted an illimitable licence of cohabitation with ‘all that the right hand of the believer might possess,’ or, in other words, with any possible number of damsels he might choose to purchase, or receive in gift, or take captive in war.” (Muir’s Life of Mahomet, vol. i. 272.) [CONCUBINAGE, SLAVES, MUT?AH, DIVORCE, MARRIAGE.]

CHARITY, as it implies tenderness and affection, is expressed by h?ubb, or mah?abbah; as it denotes almsgiving, it is ?adaqah. He who is liberal and charitable to the poor is called muh?ibbu ?l-fuqara?.

CHERUBIM. Arabic Karubi, pl. Karubin; Lit. “Those who are near.” Heb. ????????????. The word karubin is used by the commentator al-Baiz?awi, for the angels mentioned in the Qur?an, Surah xl. 70: “Those around it (the throne of God) celebrate the praise of their Lord, and believe in Him, and ask pardon for those who believe.” Al-Baiz?awi says the Karubin are the highest rank, and the first created angels. H?usain says there are 70,000 ranks of them round the throne of God. (Tafsiru ?l-Baiz?awi, Tafsiru H?usain, in loco.)

CHESS. Arabic Shat?ranj. According to the Hidayah, “It is an abomination to play at chess, dice, or any other game, for if anything be staked it is gambling (maisir), which is expressly forbidden in the Qur?an; or if, on the other hand, nothing be hazarded, it is useless and vain. Besides, the Prophet has declared all the entertainments of a Muslim to be vain except three: the breaking in of his horse, the drawing of his bow, and playing and amusing himself with his wives. Several of the learned, however, deem the game at chess lawful as having a tendency to quicken the understanding. This is the opinion of ash-Shafi?i. If a man play at chess for a stake, it destroys the integrity of his character, but if he do not play for a stake, the integrity of his character is not affected.” (Hamilton’s Hidayah, vol. iv. p. 122.)

CHILDREN. Arabic Aulad. There are no special injunctions in the Qur?an regarding the customs to be observed at the birth of an infant (circumcision not being even once mentioned in that book), nor with reference to the training and instruction of the young; but the subject is frequently referred to in the Traditions and in Muh?ammadan books on Ethics. Muh?ammadans have so largely incorporated the customs of the Hindus in India with their own, especially those observed at the births of children, that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish those which are special characteristics of Islam; many of the customs recorded in Herklots’ Musalmans, for example, being merely those common to Hindus as well as Muh?ammadans. We shall, however, endeavour to describe those which are generally admitted to have some authority in the precepts of the Muslim religion.

(1.) At the birth of a child, after he has been properly washed with water and bound in swaddling clothes, he is carried by the midwife to the assembly of male relatives and friends, who have met on the occasion, when the chief Maulawi, or some person present, recites the A?an, or summons to prayer [AZAN], in the infant’s right ear, and the Iqamah, which is the A?an with the addition of the words, “We are standing up for prayers” [IQAMAH], in the left ear; a custom which is founded on the example of the Prophet, who is related to have done so at the birth of his grandson H?asan (Mishkat, book xviii. c. iv. 2). The Maulawi then chews a little date fruit and inserts it into the infant’s mouth, a custom also founded upon the example of Muh?ammad. (Mishkat, book xviii. c. iv. 1.) This ceremony being over, alms are distributed, and fatih?ahs are recited for the health and prosperity of the child. According to the traditions, the amount of silver given in alms should be of the same weight as the hair on the infant’s head—the child’s head being shaved for this purpose. (Mishkat, ibid., part 2.) The friends and neighbours then visit the home, and bring presents, and pay congratulatory compliments on the joyful occasion.

(2.) The naming of the child should, according to the Traditions (Mishkat, ibid.), be given on the seventh day; the child being either named after some member of the family, or after some saint venerated by the family, or some name suggested by the auspicious hour, the planet, or the sign of the zodiac. [EXORCISM.]

(3.) On this, the seventh day, is observed also the ceremony of ?Aqiqah, established by Muh?ammad himself (Babu ?l-?Aqiqah in Arabic Ed. ?ah?ih? of Abu Daud, vol. ii. p. 36). It consists of a sacrifice to God, in the name of the child, of two he-goats for a boy, and one he-goat for a girl. The goats must be not above a year old, and without spot or blemish. The animal is dressed and cooked, and whilst the friends eat of it they offer the following prayer:—“O God! I offer to thee instead of my own offspring, life for life, blood for blood, head for head, bone for bone, hair for hair, skin for skin. In the name of the great God, I do sacrifice this goat!”

(4.) The mother is purified on the fortieth day, when she is at liberty to go about as usual, and it is on this day that the infant is generally placed in the swinging cradle peculiar to eastern households. It is a day of some rejoicing amongst the members of the H?aram.

(5.) As soon as the child is able to talk, or when he has attained the age of four years, four months, and four days, he is taught the Bismillah; that is, to recite the inscription which occurs at the commencement of the Qur?an: “Bi-?smi ?llahi ?r-rah?mani ?r-rah?im.” In the name of God the Merciful, the Gracious. After this ceremony, the child is sent to school and taught the alphabet, and to recite certain chapters of the Qur?an by rote.

(6.) According to the opinion of Sunni doctors, the circumcision of the child should take place in his seventh year; the operation being generally performed by the barber. [CIRCUMCISION.] The child is not required to observe all the customs of the Muslim law until he has arrived at puberty [PUBERTY]; but it is held incumbent on parents and guardians to teach him the prayers as soon as he has been circumcised.

(7.) The time when the child has finished reciting the whole of the Qur?an, once through, is also regarded as an important epoch in the life of a child. On this occasion the scholar makes his obeisance to his tutor and presents him with trays of sweetmeats, a suit of clothes, and money.

As we have already remarked, the instruction of youth is a frequent subject of discussion in books of Muslim Ethics. The following, which is taken from the Ak?hlaq-i-Jalali, is an interesting specimen of Muh?ammadan ideas on the subject:—The first requisite is to employ a proper nurse of a well-balanced temperament, for the qualities, both temperamental and spiritual, of the nurse are communicated to the infant. Next, since we are recommended by the Traditions to give the name on the seventh day (after birth), the precept had better be conformed to. In delaying it, however, there is this advantage, that time is given for a deliberate selection of an appropriate name. For, if we give the child an ill-assorted one, his whole life is embittered in consequence. Hence caution in determining the name is one of the parent’s obligations towards his offspring.

If we would prevent the child’s acquiring culpable habits, we must apply ourselves to educate him as soon as weaned. For though men have a capacity for perfection, the tendency to vice is naturally implanted in the soul. The first requisite is to restrain him absolutely from all acquaintance with those excesses which are characterised as vice. For the mind of children is like a clear tablet, equally open to any inscription. Next to that, he should be taught the institutes of religion and rules of propriety, and, according as his power and capacity may admit, confined to their practice, and reprehended and restrained from their neglect. Thus, at the age of seven, we are told by the Traditions to enjoin him merely to say his prayers; at the age of ten, if he omits them, to admonish him by blows. By praising the good and censuring the bad, we should render him emulous of right and apprehensive of wrong. We should commend him when he performs a creditable action, and intimidate him when he commits a reprehensible one; and yet we should avoid, if possible, subjecting him to positive censure, imputing it rather to oversight, lest he grow audacious. If he keep his fault a secret, we are not to rend away the disguise; but if he do so repeatedly, we must rebuke him severely in private, aggravating the heinousness of such a practice, and intimidating him from its repetition. We must beware, however, of too much frequency of detection and reproof, for fear of his growing used to censure, and contracting a habit of recklessness; and thus, according to the proverb, “Men grow eager for that which is withheld,” feeling a tendency to repeat the offence. For these reasons we should prefer to work by enhancing the attraction of virtue.

On meat, drink, and fine clothing, he must be taught to look with contempt, and deeply impressed with the conviction that it is the practice of women only to prize the colouring and figuring of dress; that men ought to hold themselves above it. The proprieties of meal-taking are those in which he should be earliest instructed, as far as he can acquire them. He should be made to understand that the proper end of eating is health and not gratification; that food and drink are a sort of medicine for the cure of hunger and thirst; and just as medicines are only to be taken in the measure of need, according as sickness may require their influence, food and drink are only to be used in quantity sufficient to satisfy hunger and remove thirst. He should be forbidden to vary his diet, and taught to prefer limiting himself to a single dish. His appetite should also be checked, that he may be satisfied with meals at the stated hours. Let him not be a lover of delicacies. He should now and then be kept on dry bread only, in order that in time of need he may be able to subsist on that. Habits like these are better than riches. Let his principal meal be made in the evening rather than the morning, or he will be overpowered by drowsiness and lassitude during the day. Flesh let him have sparingly, or he will grow heavy and dull. Sweetmeats and other such aperient food should be forbidden him, as likewise all liquid at the time of meals. Incumbent as it is on all men to eschew strong drinks, there are obvious reasons why it is superlatively so on boys, impairing them both in mind and body, and leading to anger, rashness, audacity, and levity, qualities which such a practice is sure to confirm. Parties of this nature he should not be allowed unnecessarily to frequent, nor to listen to reprehensible conversation. His food should not be given to him till he has despatched his tasks, unless suffering from positive exhaustion. He must be forbidden to conceal any of his actions, lest he grow bold in impropriety; for, manifestly, the motive to concealment can be no other than an idea that they are culpable. Sleeping in the day and sleeping overmuch at night should be prohibited. Soft clothing and all the uses of luxury, such as cool retreats in the hot season, and fires and fur in the cold, he should be taught to abstain from; he should be inured to exercise, foot-walking, horse-riding, and all other appropriate accomplishments.

Next, let him learn the proprieties of conversation and behaviour. Let him not be tricked out with trimmings of the hair and womanly attention to dress, nor be presented with rings till the proper time for wearing them. Let him be forbidden to boast to his companions of his ancestry or worldly advantages. Let him be restrained from speaking untruths or from swearing in any case, whether true or false; for an oath is wrongful in anyone, and repugnant to the letter of the Traditions, saving when required by the interest of the public. And even though oaths may be requisite to men, to boys they never can be so. Let him be trained to silence, to speaking only when addressed, to listening in the presence of his elders, and expressing himself correctly.

For an instructor he should have a man of principle and intelligence, well acquainted with the discipline of morals, fond of cleanliness, noted for stateliness, dignity, and humanity, well acquainted with the dispositions of kings, with the etiquette of dining in their company, and with the terms of intercourse with all classes of mankind. It is desirable that others of his kind, and especially sons of noblemen, whose manners have always a distinguished elegance, should be at school with him, so that in their society he may escape lassitude, learn demeanour, and exert himself with emulation in his studies. If the instructor correct him with blows, he must be forbidden to cry, for that is the practice of slaves and imbeciles. On the other hand, the instructor must be careful not to resort to blows, except he is witness of an offence openly committed. When compelled to inflict them, it is desirable in the outset to make them small in number and great in pain; otherwise the warning is not so efficacious, and he may grow audacious enough to repeat the offence.

Let him be encouraged to liberality, and taught to look with contempt on the perishable things of this world; for more ill comes from the love of money than from the simoom of the desert or the serpent of the field. The Imam al-G?hazzali, in commenting on the text, “Preserve me and them from idolatry,” says that by idols is here meant gold and silver; and Abraham’s prayer is that he and his descendants may be kept far removed from the worship of gold and silver, and from fixing their affections on them; because the love of these was the root of all evil. In his leisure hours he may be allowed to play, provided it does not lead to excess of fatigue or the commission of anything wrong.

When the discerning power begins to preponderate, it should be explained to him that the original object of worldly possessions is the maintenance of health; so that the body may be made to last the period requisite to the spirit’s qualifying itself for the life eternal. Then, if he is to belong to the scientific classes, let him be instructed in the sciences. Let him be employed (as soon as disengaged from studying the essentials of the religion) in acquiring the sciences. The best course is to ascertain, by examination of the youth’s character, for what science or art he is best qualified, and to employ him accordingly; for, agreeably to the proverb, “All facilities are not created to the same person”; everyone is not qualified for every profession, but each for a particular one.

This, indeed, is the expression of a principle by which the fortunes of man and of the world are regulated. With the old philosophers it was a practice to inspect the horoscope of nativity, and to devote the child to that profession which appeared from the planetary positions to be suitable to his nature. When a person is adapted to a profession, he can acquire it with little pains; and when unadapted, the utmost he can do is but to waste his time and defer his establishment in life. When a profession bears an incongruity with his nature, and means and appliances are unpropitious, we should not urge him to pursue it, but exchange it for some other, provided that there is no hope at all of succeeding with the first; otherwise it may lead to his perplexity. In the prosecution of every profession, let him adopt a system which will call into play the ardour of his nature, assist him in preserving health, and prevent obtusity and lassitude.

As soon as he is perfect in a profession, let him be required to gain his livelihood thereby; in order that, from an experience of its advantages, he may strive to master it completely, and make full progress in the minutiÆ of its principles. And for this livelihood he must be trained to look to that honourable emolument which characterises the well-connected. He must not depend on the provision afforded by his father. For it generally happens, when the sons of the wealthy, by the pride of their parents’ opulence, are debarred from acquiring a profession, that they sink by the vicissitudes of fortune into utter insignificance. Therefore, when he has so far mastered his profession as to earn a livelihood, it is expedient to provide him with a consort, and let him depend on his separate earning. The Kings of Fars, forbearing to bring their sons up surrounded by domestics and retinue, sent them off to a distance, in order to habituate them to a life of hardship. The Dilemite chiefs had the same practice. A person bred upon the opposite principle can hardly be brought to good, especially if at all advanced in years; like hard wood which is with difficulty straightened. And this was the answer Socrates gave, when asked why his intimacies lay chiefly among the young.

In training daughters to that which befits them, domestic ministration, rigid seclusion, chastity, modesty, and the other qualities already appropriated to women—no care can be too great. They should be made emulous of acquiring the virtues of their sex, but must be altogether forbidden to read and write. When they reach the marriageable age, no time should be lost in marrying them to proper mates. (See Ak?hlaq-i-Jalali, Thompson’s ed.)

CHILD STEALING. The hand of a thief is not to be cut off for stealing a free-born child, although there be ornaments upon it, because a free person is not property, and the ornaments are only appendages; and also because the thief may plead that he took the child up when it was crying, with a view to appease it, and to deliver it to the nurse. But Abu Yusuf does not agree with H?anifah; for he says where the value of the ornaments amounts to ten dirms, amputation is incurred. Amputation is also inflicted for stealing an infant slave, because a slave is property, although Abu Yusuf says it is not. (Hidayah, ii. 91.)

CHOSROES. Arabic K?husraw. The King of Persia to whom Muh?ammad sent a letter inviting him to Islam. He is said to be Nausherwan. (See G?hiyas?u ?l-Lug?hat, in loco; refer also to Muir’s Life of Mahomet, vol. ii. 54 n.)

CHRIST. [JESUS CHRIST.]

CHRISTIANITY and CHRISTIANS. Arabic, Na?raniyah, “Christianity”; the terms used for Christians being Na?ran, pl. Na?ara, or ?Isawi.

Christianity seems to have been widely diffused in Arabia at the time of Muh?ammad. According to Caussin de Perceval, who quotes from Arabic writers, Christianity existed amongst the Banu Tag?hlib of Mesopotamia, the Banu ?Abdu ?l-Qais, the Banu Haris? of Najran, the Banu G?hassan of Syria, and other tribes between al-Madinah and al-Kufah.

The historian Philostorges (Hist. Eccles. lib. 1, c. 3) tells us that a monk named Theophilus, who was an Indian bishop, was sent by the Emperor Constance, A.D. 342, to the H?imyarite King of Yaman, and obtained permission to build three Christian churches for those who professed Christianity; one at Zafar, another at ?Adan, and a third at Hurmuz on the Persian Gulf. According to the same author, the Christian religion was introduced into Najran in the fifth century. A bishop sent by the Patriarch of Alexandria was established in the city of Zafar, and we are told by Muslim authors, quoted by Caussin de Perceval, that a Christian church was built at ?an?a? which was the wonder of the age, the Roman Emperor and the Viceroy of Abyssinia furnishing the materials and workmen for the building. The Arabs of Yaman were ordered by the ruler of Abyssinia to perform a pilgrimage to this new church instead of to the Ka?bah; an edict which is said to have been resisted and to have given rise to the “War of the Elephant,” when Abrahah, the Viceroy of Egypt, took an oath that he would destroy the Meccan temple, and marched at the head of an army of Abyssinians, mounted on an elephant. This “War of the Elephant” marks the period of Muh?ammad’s birth. [MUHAMMAD.]

The Christianity of this period is described by Mosheim as “expiring under a motley and enormous heap of superstitious inventions, with neither the courage nor the force to raise her head or display her national charms to a darkened and deluded world.” Doubtless much of the success of Islam in its earlier stage was due to the state of degradation into which the Christian Church had fallen. The bitter dissensions of the Greeks, Nestorians, Eutychians, and Monophysites are matters of history, and must have held up the religion of Jesus to the ridicule of the heathen world. The controversies regarding the nature and person of our Divine Lord had begotten a sect of Tritheists, led by a Syrian philosopher named John Philoponus of Alexandria, and are sufficient to account for Muh?ammad’s conception of the Blessed Trinity. The worship of the Virgin Mary had also given rise to a religious controversy between the Antiduo-Marianites and the Collyridians; the former holding that the Virgin was not immaculate, and the latter raising her to a position of a goddess. Under the circumstances it is not surprising to find that the mind of the Arabian reformer turned away from Christianity and endeavoured to construct a religion on the lines of Judaism. [JUDAISM.]

Al-Baiz?awi and other Muslim commentators, admit that Muh?ammad received Christian instruction from learned Christians, named Jubra and Yasara (al-Baiz?awi on Surah xvi. 105), and that on this account the Quraish said, “It is only some mortal that teaches him!” For the Traditions relate that Muh?ammad used to stop and listen to these two Christians as they read aloud the Books of Moses (Taurat) and the New Testament (Injil). But it is remarkable that Muh?ammad should, after all, have obtained such a cursory knowledge of Christianity. For from the text of the Qur?an (extracts of which are subjoined), it is evident that he was under the impression that the Sacrament of Baptism was ?ibg?hah, or the dyeing of the Christians’ clothes; and if the Chapter of the Table refers to the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper (which is uncertain), it was “a table sent out of heaven that it may be a recurring festival.” The doctrine of the Trinity is supposed to be a Tritheism of God, Jesus Christ, and the Virgin Mary; and a proof against the Divinity of Christ is urged from the fact that He and His mother “both ate food.” The crucifixion is denied, and Mary the mother of Jesus is confounded with Mary the sister of Aaron. Such mistakes and omissions could only arise from a most imperfect acquaintance with the ordinary institutions and beliefs of the Christian communities, with whom Muh?ammad must have been brought in contact. The gentler tone and spirit of the Christians seems to have won the sympathy of Muh?ammad, and his expressions regarding them are less severe than with reference to the Jews; but the abstruse character of their creed, as shown in their endless schisms regarding the nature of the Trinity and the person of Christ, and the idolatrous character of their worship, as still seen in the ancient Syrian and Coptic churches, led him to turn from Christianity to Judaism as a model whereby to effect the reformation of a degraded and idolatrous people like the ancient Arabians. The Jewish and Mosaic character of Muh?ammad’s system will be treated of in another place. [JUDAISM.]

The following selections from the Qur?an will show the actual teaching of that book regarding Christianity. In the whole of the Qur?an there is not a single quotation from the New Testament, and it is noticeable that nearly all the allusions to Christianity are contained in Meccan Surahs; Surah ii. being according to Jalalu ?d-din Suyut?i, one of the earliest chapters given at Makkah, and Surah v. the last.

Surah v. 85:—

“Of all men thou wilt certainly find the Jews, and those who join other gods with God, to be the most intense in hatred of those who believe; and thou shalt certainly find those to be nearest in affection to them who say, ‘We are Christians.’ This, because there are amongst them priests (qissisun) and monks, and because they are not proud.”

Surah ii. 59:—

“Verily, they who believe (Muslims), and they who follow the Jewish religion, and the Christians, and the Sabeites—whoever of these believeth in God and the last day, and doeth that which is right, shall have their reward with their Lord: fear shall not come upon them, neither shall they be grieved.”

(The same verse occurs again in Surah v. 74.)

Surah ii. 105:—

“And they say, ‘None but Jews or Christians shall enter Paradise:’ This is their wish. Say: Give your proofs if ye speak the truth. But they who set their face with resignation Godward, and do what is right,—their reward is with their Lord; no fear shall come on them, neither shall they be grieved. Moreover, the Jews say, ‘The Christians lean on naught:’ ‘On naught lean the Jews,’ say the Christians. Yet both are readers of the Book. So with like words say they who have no knowledge. But on the resurrection day, God shall judge between them as to that in which they differ. And who committeth a greater wrong than he who hindereth God’s name from being remembered in His temples, and who hasteth to ruin them? Such men cannot enter them but with fear. Theirs is shame in this world, and a severe torment in the next. The East and the West is God’s: therefore, whichever way ye turn, there is the face of God. Truly God is immense and knoweth all. And they say, ‘God hath a son:’ No! Praise be to Him! But—His, whatever is in the Heavens and the Earth! All obeyeth Him, sole maker of the Heavens and of the Earth! And when He decreeth a thing, He only saith to it, ‘Be,’ and it is. And they who have no knowledge say, ‘Unless God speak to us, or thou shew us a sign …!’ So, with like words, said those who were before them: their hearts are alike. Clear signs have we already shown for those who have firm faith. Verily, with the Truth have we sent thee, a bearer of good tidings and a warner: and of the people of Hell thou shalt not be questioned. But until thou follow their religion, neither Jews nor Christians will be satisfied with thee. Say: Verily, guidance of God,—that is the guidance! And if, after ‘the Knowledge,’ which hath reached thee, thou follow their desires, thou shalt find neither helper nor protector against God.”

Surah iv. 156:—

“Nay, but God hath sealed them up for their unbelief, so that but few believe. And for their unbelief,—and for their having spoken against Mary a grievous calumny,—and for their saying, ‘Verily we have slain the Messiah (Masih?), Jesus (?Isa) the son of Mary, an Apostle of God.’ Yet they slew him not, and they crucified him not, but they had only his likeness. And they who differed about him were in doubt concerning him. No sure knowledge had they about him, but followed only an opinion, and they did not really slay him, but God took him up to Himself. And God is Mighty, Wise!”

Surah ii. 130:—

“They say, moreover, ‘Become Jews or Christians that ye may have the true guidance.’ Say: Nay! the religion of Abraham, the sound in faith, and not one of those who join gods with God! Say ye: ‘We believe in God, and that which hath been sent down to us, and that which hath been sent down to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes: and that which hath been given to Moses and to Jesus, and that which was given to the prophets from their Lord. No difference do we make between any of them: and to God are we resigned (Muslims).’ If, therefore, they believe even as ye believe, then have they true guidance; but if they turn back, then do they cut themselves off from you: and God will suffice to protect thee against them, for He is the Hearer, the Knower. The Baptism of God, and who is better to baptize than God? And Him do we serve.”

Surah v. 75:—

“They surely are Infidels who say, ‘God is the third of three:’ for there is no God but one God: and if they refrain not from what they say, a grievous chastisement shall light on such of them as are Infidels. Will they not, therefore, be turned unto God, and ask pardon of Him? since God is Forgiving, Merciful! The Messiah, Son of Mary, is but an Apostle; other Apostles have flourished before him; and his mother was a just person: they both ate food. Behold! how we make clear to them the signs! then behold how they turn aside! Say: Will ye worship, beside God, that which can neither hurt nor help? But God! He only Heareth, Knoweth. Say: O people of the Book! outstep not bounds of truth in your religion; neither follow the desires of those who have already gone astray, and who have caused many to go astray, and have themselves gone astray from the evenness of the way. Those among the children of Israel who believed not were cursed by the tongue of David, and of Jesus, Son of Mary. This, because they were rebellious, and became transgressors: they forbade not one another the iniquity which they wrought! detestable are their actions!”

Surah v. 18:—

“And of those who say, ‘We are Christians,’ have we accepted the covenant. But they too have forgotten a part of what they were taught; wherefore we have stirred up enmity and hatred among them that shall last till the day of the Resurrection; and in the end will God tell them of their doings. O people of the Scriptures! now is our Apostle come to you to clear up to you much that ye concealed of those Scriptures, and to pass over many things. Now hath a light and a clear Book come to you from God, by which God will guide him who shall follow after His good pleasure to paths of peace, and will bring them out of the darkness to the light, by His will: and to the straight path will He guide them. Infidels now are they who say, ‘Verily God is al-Masih? Ibn Maryam (the Messiah, son of Mary)!’ Say: And who could aught obtain from God, if He chose to destroy al-Masih? Ibn Maryam, and his mother, and all who are on the earth together? For with God is the sovereignty of the Heavens and of the Earth, and of all that is between them! He createth what He will; and over all things is God potent. Say the Jews and Christians, ‘Sons are we of God and His beloved.’ Say: Why then doth He chastise you for your sins? Nay! ye are but a part of the men whom He hath created!”

Surah v. 58:—

“O Believers! take not the Jews or Christians as friends. They are but one another’s friends. If any one of you taketh them for his friends, he surely is one of them! God will not guide the evil-doers. So shalt thou see the diseased at heart speed away to them, and say, ‘We fear lest a change of fortune befall us.’ But haply God will of Himself bring about some victory or event of His own ordering: then soon will they repent them of their secret imaginings.”

Surah xxii. 18:—

“As to those who believe, and the Jews, and the Sabeites, and the Christians, and the Magians, and those who join other gods with God, of a truth, God shall decide between them on the day of resurrection: for God is witness of all things.”

Surah v. 112:—

“Remember when the Apostles said—‘O Jesus, Son of Mary! is Thy Lord able to send down a furnished TABLE to us out of Heaven?’ He said—‘Fear God if ye be believers.’ They said—‘We desire to eat therefrom, and to have our hearts assured; and to know that thou hast indeed spoken truth to us, and to be witnesses thereof.’ Jesus, Son of Mary, said—‘O God, our Lord! send down a table to us out of Heaven, that it may become a recurring festival to us, to the first of us and to the last of us, and a sign from Thee; and do Thou nourish us, for Thou art the best of nourishers.’ And God said—Verily, I will cause it to descend unto you; but whoever among you after that shall disbelieve, I will surely chastise him with a chastisement wherewith I will not chastise any other creature. And when God shall say—‘O Jesus, Son of Mary, hast Thou said unto mankind—“Take me and my mother as two Gods, beside God?” ’ He shall say—‘Glory be unto Thee! it is not for me to say that which I know to be not the truth; had I said that, verily Thou wouldest have known it: Thou knowest what is in me, but I know not what is in Thee; for Thou well knowest things unseen!’”

Surah xix. 35:—

“This is Jesus, the son of Mary; this is a statement of the truth concerning which they doubt. It beseemeth not God to beget a son. Glory be to Him! when He decreeth a thing, He only saith to it, Be, and it is. And verily, God is my Lord and your Lord; adore Him then. This is the right way. But The Sects have fallen to variance among themselves about Jesus: but woe, because of the assembly of a great day, to those who believe not!”

The only New Testament saints mentioned by name in the Qur?an, are John the Baptist, Zacharias, and the Virgin Mary.

In the Mishkatu ?l-Ma?abih?, there are recorded in the traditional sayings of Muh?ammad, about six apparent plagiarisms from the New Testament; but whether they are the plagiarisms of Muh?ammad himself or of those who profess to record his sayings, it is impossible to tell:—

Abu Hurairah says the Prophet said, “Of the seven persons whom God, in the last day, will draw to Himself, will be a man who has given alms and concealed it, so that his left hand knoweth not what the right hand doeth.” (Book i. c. viii. pt. 1; comp. Matt. vi. 3.)

Again: “God accepts not the prayers of those who pray in long robes.” (Book i. c. ix. pt. 2; comp. Matt. xii. 38.)

Again: “The doors of the celestial regions shall not open to them (the wicked) until a camel pass through the eye of a needle.” (Book v. c. iii. pt. 3; comp. Mark x. 25.)

Abu Umamah relates that the Prophet said, “Blessed be Him who hath seen me. And blessed be him who hath not seen me and yet hath believed.” (Book xxiv. c. xxvi. pt. 3; comp. John xx. 29.)

Mu?a? relates that the Prophet said, “Do unto all men as you would they should do unto you, and reject for others what you would reject for yourself.” (Book i. c. i. pt. 3; Matt. vii. 12.)

Abu Hurairah relates that the Prophet said, “Verily God will say in the day of resurrection, O ye sons of men! I was sick and ye did not visit me. And the sons of men will say, O Thou defender, how could we visit Thee, for Thou art the Lord of the universe, and art free from sickness? And God will say, O ye sons of men, did you not know that such a one of my servants was sick and ye did not visit him,” &c. &c. (Book v. c. i. pt. 1; comp. Matt. xxv. 21.)

Although it would be difficult to prove it from the text of the Qur?an, the general belief of Muh?ammadans is that Christians are not in a state of salvation, and Laz?a, or the “blazing fire,” mentioned in Surah lxx. 15, is, according to the Imam al-Bag?hawi, reserved for them.

The condition of a Christian in a Muslim state is that of a ?immi, or one who pays tribute to a Muh?ammadan governor, for which he enjoys protection. He is allowed to repair any old church which may have been in existence at the time the country was subdued by Islam, but he is not allowed to erect new ones; “for,” says Abu H?anifah, “the construction of churches or synagogues in Muslim territory is unlawful, being forbidden in the Traditions.” “It also behoves the Imam to make distinction between Muslims and ?immis (i.e. Christians, Jews, and others paying tribute). It is therefore not allowable for them to ride upon horses or use armour, or to wear the same dresses as Muslims.” The reason for this, says Abu H?anifah, “is that Muh?ammadans are to be held in honour and ?immis are not.”

The wives also of ?immis are to be kept apart from those of Muslims on the public roads and baths. And it is also ordered that a mark should be placed on their doors, in order that when Muslim beggars come to them they should not pray for them!

The learned have ruled that a ?immi should not be allowed to ride at all, except in cases of necessity, and if he be thus of necessity allowed to ride, he should dismount when he meets a Muslim. (Hidayah, vol. ii. 219.)

A judge when he administers an oath to a Christian, must direct him to say: “I swear by God who sent the Gospel to Jesus.”

It is a singular ruling of the Muh?ammadan law that a claim of parentage made by a Christian is preferable to a claim of bondage advanced by a Muslim. Abu H?anifah says if a boy be in the possession of two men, the one a Muslim and the other a Christian, and the Christian assert that the boy is his son, and the Muslim assert that he is his slave, he must be decreed to be the son of the Christian and free, because although Islam is the superior religion, there can be no balance between the claim of offspring and the claim of bondage. (Idem, vol. iv. 133.)

Sir William Muir, referring to Muh?ammad’s reception of the Banu H?anifah and other Christian tribes, A.H. 9, says, “On the departure of the embassy the Prophet gave them a vessel with some water in it running over from his own ablutions, and said to them, ‘When ye reach your country break down your church, sprinkle its site with this water, and build a Masjid in its place.’ These commands they carried into effect, and abandoned Christianity without compunction. To another Christian tribe he prohibited the practice of baptism; so that although the adults continued to be nominally Christian, their children grew up with no provision but that of the Qur?an.… It is no wonder that Christianity, thus insulted and trampled under foot, languished and soon disappeared from the peninsula.” (Life of Mahomet, vol. iv. 219.)

CIRCUMCISION. Arabic K?hitan, k?hitanah, or k?hatnah. Circumcision is not once alluded to in the Qur?an. The omission is remarkable, and Muslim writers do not attempt any explanation of it. It is held to be sunnah, or founded upon the customs of the Prophet (Fatawa ?Alamgiri, vol. iv. p. 237), and dating its institution from the time of Abraham. There is no authentic account of the circumcision of Muh?ammad, but it is asserted by some writers that he was born circumcised. This, however, is denied by the most eminent scholars. (Raddu?l-Muk?htar, vol. v. p. 835.)

In the ?ah?ih?u ?l-Buk?hari, p. 931, a short chapter is devoted to the subject of k?hitan, or “circumcision,” in which there are three traditions:—

Abu Hurairah relates that the Prophet said one of the observances of Fit?rah is circumcision.

Abu Hurairah relates that the Prophet said that Abraham was circumcised when he was eighty years old.

Said ibn Jubair relates that it was asked of Ibn ?Abbas, “How old were you when the Prophet died?” He said, “I was circumcised in the days when it occurred.” And Jubair says they did not circumcise in those days until men were full grown.

It is recommended to be performed upon a boy between the ages of seven and twelve, but it is lawful to circumcise a child seven days after his birth. In the case of a convert to Islam from some other creed, to whom the operation may be an occasion of great suffering, it can be dispensed with, although it is considered expedient and proper for all new converts to be circumcised. In all cases an adult is expected to circumcise himself, as it is a shame for an adult person to uncover himself to another.

The circumcision of females is also allowed, and is commonly practised in Arabia. (Fatawa ?Alamgiri, vol. iv. p. 237.)

The barber is generally the person employed for the circumcision of boys, and the operation as practised by Muh?ammadans in India is performed in the following manner. A bit of stick is used as a probe, and carried round and round between the glans and prepuce, to ascertain the exact extent of the frÆnum, and that no unnatural adhesions exist. The foreskin is then drawn forwards and a pair of forceps, consisting of a couple of pieces of split bamboo, five or six inches long and a quarter of an inch thick, tied firmly together at one end with a string to the extent of an inch, applied from above in an oblique direction, so as to exclude about an inch and a half of the prepuce above and three-quarters of an inch below. The forceps severely grasping it, causes a good deal of pain, but this state of suffering does not continue long, since the next thing to be done is the removal, which is done by one stroke of the razor drawn directly downwards. The hÆmorrhage which follows is inconsiderable and easily stopped by the application of burnt rags and ashes.

According to several Muh?ammadan doctors, there were seventeen of the prophets born in a circumcised state, namely, Zakariya, Shis, Idris, Yusuf, H?anz?alah, ?Isa, Musa, Adam, Nuh?, Shu?aib, Sam, Lut?, ?alih?, Sulaiman, Yah?ya, Hud, and Muh?ammad. (Durru ?l-Muk?htar, p. 619.)

CLEAN AND UNCLEAN ANIMALS. All quadrupeds that seize their prey with their teeth, and all birds which seize it with their talons, are unlawful (h?aram), the Prophet having prohibited mankind from eating them.

Hyenas and foxes, being both included under the class of animals of prey, are unlawful. (This is the doctrine of Abu H?anifah, but ash-Shafi?i holds that they are lawful.) Elephants and weasels are also animals of prey. Pelicans and kites are abominable (makruh), because they devour dead bodies.

Crows which feed on grain are mubah?, or indifferent, but carrion crows and ravens are unlawful. Abu H?anifah says the magpie is indifferent (mubah?), but the Imam Yusuf says it is abominable (makruh).

Crocodiles and otters and wasps, and, in general, all insects are makruh, or abominable. The ass and the mule are both unlawful. According to Abu H?anifah and Malik, horse-flesh is unlawful, but ash-Shafi?i says it is indifferent. The flesh of hares is also indifferent.

No animal that lives in the water, except fish, is lawful. But Malik allows them.

Fishes dying of themselves are unlawful, and so are all animals who are not slain by ?abah?. (Hidayah, vol. iv. p. 74.) [ZABIHAH.]

It must be observed that in Muh?ammadan law animals are either h?alal, “lawful,” or mubah?, “indifferent,” or makruh, “abominable” (i.e. which is condemned but still is lawful), or h?aram, “unlawful.”

CLERGY. The Christian clergy are mentioned in the Qur?an with expressions of comparative praise. Surah v. 85: “Thou wilt surely find that the strongest in enmity against those who believe are the Jews, and the idolaters; and thou wilt find those to be nearest in affection to them who say ‘We are Christians’; that is because there are amongst them priests (qissisun) and monks, and because they are not proud.”

The Muh?ammadans have no class of people occupying the precise position of priests or clergy, although the Imams, or leaders of prayers in the public assembly, are persons of learning appointed by the congregation. In Central Asia, it is usual to set apart a learned man (well skilled in theology) by binding the turban round his head, the act being performed by a leading maulawi or scholar.

In Turkey and the western portion of Islam, those who are qualified to give an opinion in religious matters, and to take the lead in guiding the people in spiritual affairs, are called ?ulama? (pl. of ?alim), a term which has, in Hindustan and Central Asia, assumed the form of maulawi, a word derived from maula, “lord.”

The recognised offices in Islam corresponding to that of a priest or religious teacher, are, Imam, Mufti, and Qaz?i. Imam (in addition to its being used for the K?halifah, or Caliph, in the Traditions), is the person who leads the public prayers, an office answering to the Latin Antistes. This official is appointed either by the congregation, or by the parish or section of the town or village, who frequent the mosque in which he leads the prayers. Mufti is the legal adviser, who decides difficult religious questions, and assists the Qaz?i, or judge. Qaz?i is the judge and the administrator of the law. The appointments of Mufti and Qaz?i are in the hands of the Muslim government of the place. It is usual for the Qaz?i to take the lead in prayers at funerals, whilst the Imam of the parish generally performs the nikah?, or religious service at marriages. [MARRIAGE.]

These offices are not necessarily hereditary, but it is usual in Muh?ammadan countries for them to pass from father to son. In India at the present time there are families who retain the titles of Mufti and Qaz?i, although the duties connected with these offices are no longer performed by them.

CAUTION (Arabic H?a?ar) is enjoined by Muh?ammad, who is related to have said, “A Muslim is not bitten twice at the same hole.” “He is no perfect man who has not fallen into trouble, for there is no skilful physician but experience.” “When a man has spoken, and has then looked first to his right and then to his left, what he has said is sacred to those present, and they must not disclose it to others.” (Mishkat, xxii. c. xviii.)

COINAGE. [MONEY.]

COLLECTOR OF TAXES. Arabic ?Ashir, a collector of the tenths; and ?Amil muta?addiq, a collector of alms.

The K?halifah is to allow the officer employed in the collection of the zakat as much out of it as is in proportion to his labour, and will remunerate himself and his assistants. (Hidayah, vol. i. p. 54.)

COMMANDMENTS, The Ten. In the Qur?an it is stated that God gave Moses certain monitions on tables (of stone), and also that he gave him nine clear signs. (See Surah vii. 142, and Surah xvii. 103.) These two statements have perplexed the commentators very much, and every effort is made by them to reconcile the nine signs with the Ten Commandments, although it is evident from the Qur?an itself, that the nine clear signs refer to the miracles of Moses. [PLAGUES OF EGYPT.]

According to the Traditions, the Prophet himself was a little confused in the matter, and may to some extent be responsible for the mistakes of the commentators on his book, for it is related (Mishkat, book i. c. ii. pt. 2) that a Jew came to the Prophet and asked him about the nine (sic) wonders which appeared by the hands of Moses. The Prophet said, “Do not associate anything with God, do not steal, do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not take an innocent before the king to be killed, do not practise magic, do not take interest, do not accuse an innocent woman of adultery, do not run away in battle, and especially for you, O Jews, not to work on the Sabbath.” ?Abdu ?l-H?aqq remarks on this tradition that the Jew asked about the nine (sic) miracles (or plagues) of Egypt, and the Prophet gave him the Ten Commandments.

A comparison of the Ten Commandments given by the great Jewish law-giver with those recorded in the above tradition and in the VIth Surah of the Qur?an, verse 152, will show how imperfectly the Arabian Prophet was acquainted with the Old Testament scriptures.

The commentator H?usain, who wrote four hundred years ago, says the following verses in the Suratu ?l-An?am (vi.) are those Ten Commandments which in every dispensation are incumbent on mankind, and cannot be abrogated (meaning undoubtedly the Ten Commandments given to Moses).

“Say: Come, I will rehearse what your Lord hath made binding on you—(1) that ye assign not aught to Him as partner: (2) and that ye be good to your parents: (3) and that ye slay not your children, because of poverty; for them and for you will we provide: (4) and that ye come not near to pollutions, outward or inward: (5) and that ye slay not anyone whom God hath forbidden you, unless for a just cause. This hath he enjoined on you, to the intent that ye may understand. (6) And come not nigh to the substance of the orphan, but to improve it, until he come of age: (7) and use a full measure, and a just balance: We will not task a soul beyond its ability. (8) And when ye give judgment, observe justice, even though it be the affair of a kinsman, (9) and fulfil the covenant of God. This hath God enjoined you for your monition—And, ‘this is my right way.’ Follow it then: (10) and follow not other paths lest ye be scattered from His path. This hath He enjoined you, that ye may fear Him.” (Surah vi. 152.)

COMMANDER OF THE FAITHFUL. Arabic Amiru ?l-Mu?minin (???? ?????????). A title given by the Muslims in the first instance to the first K?halifah, Abu Bakr, and afterwards retained by succeeding K?halifahs. It is assumed by almost any Muh?ammadan ruler in the present day.

COMMENTARIES. [QUR?AN.]

COMMERCE. Arabic Tijarah (??????). Commerce and merchandise are said in the Qur?an to be of God. Surah xvii. 68: “It is your Lord who drives the ships for you in the sea that ye may seek after plenty from Him; verily He is ever merciful to you. And when distress touches you in the sea, those whom ye call upon, except Him, stray away from you; but when He has brought you safe to shore, ye also turn away (from God); for man is ever ungrateful.”

Zakat is due on merchandise of every description, in proportion to 5 per cent.

COMPANIONS, The. [ASHAB.]

COMPULSION. Arabic Ikrah (??????). Muh?ammadan law makes provision for persons acting under compulsion, when the person who compels has it in his power to execute what he orders, be he a king or a thief. (Hidayah, vol. iii. p. 452.) E.g. a person forced into a contract may dissolve it. A Muslim may lawfully eat food which is prohibited if he be compelled to do so, being threatened with loss of life or limb. Nor is a Muslim guilty of sin who declares himself an unbeliever when the loss of a limb or of life is threatened. According to the Imam Abu H?anifah, if a Muslim be compelled to divorce his wife, the divorce is valid; but with him the other three Imams are not agreed in this ruling.

CONCUBINE. Arabic Surriyah (?????), pl. sarari. The Muh?ammadan religion appears to give almost unlimited license to concubinage, provided the woman be a slave, and not a free Muslim woman.

These female slaves must be either (1) taken captive in war, (2) or purchased by money, (3) or the descendants of slaves. Even married women, if taken in war, are, according to an injunction of the Qur?an, Surah iv. 28, entirely at the disposal of the Muslim conqueror. “(Unlawful) to you are married women, except such as your right hand possess (i.e. taken in war, or purchased slaves).” This institution of concubinage is founded upon the example of Muh?ammad himself, who took Rih?anah the Jewess as his concubine after the battle with the Banu Quraiz?ah (A.H. 5), and also Maria the Copt, who was sent him as a slave by the Governor of Egypt.

Should a concubine bear her master a child, the Muh?ammadan law rules that she and her offspring are ipso facto free. For a further treatment of this subject, see article on SLAVES.

Amongst the Shi?ahs, the temporary marriage called Mut?ah exhibits the worst form of concubinage. [MUT?AH.]

It is interesting to compare the condition of the concubine under Muslim law and under the Mosaic. Under the law of Moses, a concubine would generally be either a Hebrew girl bought of her father, or a Gentile captive taken in war. So that whilst the Muh?ammadan law forbids concubinage with a free woman, the Mosaic law permitted it and legislated for it. See Exodus xxi.: “If a man sell his daughter to be a maid-servant, she shall not go out as men-servants do. If she please not her master who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed; to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.”

With regard to female slaves taken in war, the Mosaic law ruled. Deut. xxi. 10: “When thou goest to war against thine enemies, and the Lord thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive, and seest a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldst have her to thy wife; then thou shalt bring her to thine home, &c.… And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her,” &c.

CONGREGATION. The Assembly of people in a mosque is called Jam?ah (?????), the term also being used in Afghanistan for the mosque itself.

There are special rewards for those Muh?ammadans who assemble together for the stated prayers; for Muh?ammad has said, “The prayers which are said in a congregation increase the rewards of the worshipper twenty-seven degrees.” “Say your prayers in a congregation, for a wolf does not eat the sheep except one has strayed from the flock.” (Mishkat, book iv. ch. xxiv.)

The Sunni style themselves Ahlu Sunnah wa Jam?ah, i.e. “the people of the traditions and of the congregation,” in contradistinction to the Shi?ahs, who do not worship in a congregation unless the Imam, or leader, be a man entirely free from sin. [IMAM.]

The word jam?ah is also used for an assembly of people collected to decide a question of law or theology, the ijma? being their decision, more frequently called ijma?u ?l-ummah.

CONSCIENCE. There is no word in the Qur?an which exactly expresses the Christian conception of conscience. The word nafs (????), which, according to Arabic lexicons, expresses very much the same idea as the Hebrew ???????? nephesh, “life, animal spirit, breath” (Job xli. 21), seems to be used in the Qur?an to convey the meaning of conscience, although English translators render it “soul.” Muslim theologians say there are four kinds of consciences spoken of in the Qur?an: (1) Nafs lawwamah, the “self-accusing soul or conscience” (Surah lxxv. 3). (2) Nafs ammarah, the “soul or conscience prone to evil” (Surah xii. 53). (3) Nafs mut?ma?innah, the “peaceful soul or conscience” (Surah lxxxix. 12). (4) Nafs mulhammah, the “soul or conscience in which is breathed both bad and good” (Surah lxxxiv. 27).

It occurs also in the sense of conscience in the Traditions (Mishkat, book i. ch. i. pt. 3): “When anything pricks your soul (nafs) forsake it.” ?Abdu ?l-H?aqq, in his Persian commentary on the Mishkat, renders it by zat, but the English word conscience would seem to express the precise idea. In Persian Muh?ammadan works, as well as in common conversation, the word nafs is now used in its evil sense, of desire or passion, but it must be evident that this is not its Qur?anic meaning. The word ???? ?immah, which in later Arabic, together with ????? z?amir, is used to express conscience, has in the only passage where it occurs in the Qur?an a decidedly different meaning, e.g. Surah ix. 8, 10, where it means clientship. Sale and Rodwell both translate it “faith,” but Palmer more accurately renders it “ties of clientship.”

CONVERSATION. The following instructions are given in the Qur?an regarding talking and conversation. Surah xxxi. 17, “Be moderate in thy walk, and lower thy voice; verily the most disagreeable of voices is the voice of asses.” Surah ii. 77, “Speak to men kindly.” In the Traditions, Ibn Mas?ud relates that Muh?ammad said, “May those people go to the fire of hell who speak much.”

On the subject of conversation, Faqir Jani Muh?ammad As?ad, the author of the celebrated ethical work entitled the Ak?hlaq-i-Jalali, p. 288, says:—

“He should not talk much, for it is a sign of levity in feeling and weakness in judgment, and tends to lower him in point of consideration and position. We are told that the Prophet used to observe the strictest medium in his language; so much so, that, in the most protracted interviews, you might have counted the words he uttered. Buzurg Jamihr used to say, ‘When you see a person talking much without occasion, be sure he is out of his senses.’ Let him not give vent to expressions till he has determined in his own mind what he is going to say. When anyone is relating a story, however well known to the listener, the latter is not to intimate his acquaintance with it till the narrative is concluded. A question put to others he must not himself reply to; if put to a body of which he is a member, let him not prevent the others; and if another is engaged in answering what himself could answer better, let him keep silence till the other’s statement is completed, and then give his own, but in such sort as not to annoy the former speaker. Let him not commence his reply till the querist’s sentence is concluded. Conversations and discussions which do not concern him, although held in his presence, he is not to interfere in; and if people conceal what they are saying, he must not attempt furtively to overhear. To his elders he should speak with judgment, pitching his voice at a medium between high and low. Should any abstruse topic present itself, he should give it perspicuity by comparison. Prolixity he should never aim at, when not absolutely required; on the contrary, let it be his endeavour to compress all he has to say. Neither should he employ unusual terms or far-fetched figures. He should beware of obscenity and bad language; or if he must needs refer to an indecent subject, let him be content with allusion by metaphor. Of all things, let him keep clear of a taste for indelicacy, which tends to lower his breeding, degrade his respectability, and bring him into general disagreement and dislike. Let his language upon every occasion correspond with the exigency of his position; and if accompanied by gesticulation of the hand or eye or eyebrow, let it be only of that graceful sort which his situation calls for. Let him never, for right or wrong, engage in disputes with others of the company; least of all with the elders or the triflers of it: and when embarked in such dispute, let him be rigidly observant of the rules of candour.

“Let him not deal in profound observation beyond the intellect of those he is addressing, but adapt his discourse to the judgment of his hearers. Thus even the Prophet has declared—‘We of the prophetic order are enjoined to address men in the measure of their understandings’: and Jesus (blessed be he) said, ‘Use not wisdom with the unwise to their annoyance’ (St. Matthew vii. 6?). In all his conversation let him adhere to the ways of courtesy. Never let him mimic anyone’s gestures, actions, or words, nor give utterance to the language of menace.

“When addressing a great person, let him begin with something ominous of good, as the permanence of his fortune, felicity, and so forth.

“From all back-biting, carping, slander, and falsehood, whether heard or spoken, let him hold it essential to keep clear; nay, even from any partnership with those addicted to such practices. Let him listen more than he speaks. It was the answer of a wise man to those who asked him why he did so, ‘Because,’ said he, ‘God has given me two ears and only one tongue’; which was as much as to say, ‘Hear twice as much as you speak.’ ”

CONVERTS TO THE MUH?AMMADAN RELIGION. According to the author of the Hidayah (vol. ii. 170), if a hostile infidel embrace Islam in a hostile country, his person is his own, and he is not made a slave, nor can his children be enslaved. His property is also his own. But it is not so in the case of one who has been first conquered and then embraces Islam, for his own person and his children become slaves, and his wives are at the mercy of the victorious Muslim, whilst his lands also become the property of the State.

COVENANT. The word in the Qur?an and the Traditions for God’s Covenant with His people is Mis?aq. Muh?ammad taught, both in the Qur?an and in the Traditions, that in the beginning God called all the souls of mankind together and took a promise (wa?dah) and a covenant (mis?aq) from them.

The account of this transaction is given as follows in the Qur?an, Surah vii. 171:—

“Thy Lord brought forth their descendants from the reins of the sons of Adam and took them to witness against themselves, ‘Am I not,’ said He, ‘your Lord?’ They said, ‘Yes, we witness it.’ This we did, lest ye should say on the Day of Resurrection, ‘Truly, of this were we heedless, because uninformed.’

“Or lest ye should say, ‘Our fathers, indeed, aforetime joined other gods with our God, and we are their seed after them: wilt thou destroy us for the doings of vain men?’ ”

But the story as told in the Traditions is more graphic:—

“Ubai ibn Ka?b relates, in explanation of the verse in the Suratu ?l-A?raf (verse 171): When God created (the spirits of) the sons of Adam, he collected them together and made them of different tribes, and of different appearances, and gave them powers of speech. Then they began to speak, and God took from them a promise (wa?dah), and a covenant (mis?aq), and said, ‘Am I not thy Lord?’ They all answered and said, ‘Thou art.’ Then God said, ‘Swear by the seven heavens and the seven earths, and by Adam your father, that you will not say in the resurrection, We did not understand this. Know ye therefore that there is no Deity but Me, and there is no God but Me. Do not associate anything with Me. I will verily send to you your own apostles who shall remind you of this Promise and of this Covenant, and I will send to you your own books.’ The sons of Adam then replied, ‘We are witnesses that Thou art our Lord (Rabb), and our God (Allah). There is no Lord but Thee and no God but Thee.’ Then they confessed this and made it known to Adam. Then Adam looked at them and beheld that there were amongst them those that were rich and poor, handsome and ugly, and he said, ‘O Lord, why didst Thou not make them all alike?’ And the Lord said, ‘Truly I willed it thus in order that some of my servants may be thankful.’ Then Adam saw amongst his posterity, prophets, like unto lamps, and upon these lamps there were lights, and they were appointed by special covenants of prophecy (nabuwah) and of apostleship (rasalah). And thus it is written in the Qur?an (Surah xxxiii. 7), ‘Remember we have entered into covenant with the Prophets, with thee Muh?ammad, and with Noah, and with Abraham, and with Musa, and with Jesus the Son of Mary, and we made with them a covenant.’ And (continues Ubai) Jesus was amongst the spirits.” (Mishkat, Arabic Ed. Babu ?l-Qadr.)

COVERING THE HEAD. There is no injunction in either the Qur?an or Traditions as to a man covering his head during prayers, although it is generally held to be more modest and correct for him to do so.

With reference to women, the law is imperative, for ?Ayishah relates that Muh?ammad said, “God accepts not the prayer of an adult woman unless she cover her head.” (Mishkat, iv. c. ix.)

CORRUPTION OF THE SCRIPTURES. Muh?ammadans charge the Jews and Christians with having altered their sacred books. The word used by Muh?ammadan writers for this supposed corruption of the sacred Scriptures of the Jews and Christians is Tah?rif.

The Imam Fak?hru ?d-din Raz?i, in his commentary, Tafsir-i-Kabir, explains Tah?rif to mean “to change, alter, or turn aside anything from the truth.” Muslim divines say there are two kinds of tah?rif, namely, tah?rif-i-ma?nawi, a corruption of the meaning; and tah?rif-i-lafz?i, a corruption of the words.

Muh?ammadan controversialists, when they become acquainted with the nature of the contents of the sacred books of the Jews and Christians, and of the impossibility of reconciling the contents of the Qur?an with those of the sacred Scriptures, charge the Christians with the tah?rif-i-lafz?i. They say the Christians have expunged the word ah?mad from the prophecies, and have inserted the expression “Son of God,” and the story of the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of our blessed Lord. This view, however, is not the one held by the most celebrated of the Muslim commentators.

The Imam Muh?ammad Isma?il al-Buk?hari (p. 1127, line 7), records that Ibn ?Abbas said that “the word Tah?rif (corruption) signifies to change a thing from its original nature; and that there is no man who could corrupt a single word of what proceeded from God, so that the Jews and Christians could corrupt only by misrepresenting the meaning of the words of God.”

Ibn Mazar and Ibn Abi Hatim state, in the commentary known as the Tafsir Durr-i-Man?ur, that they have it on the authority of Ibn Muniyah, that the Taurat (i.e. the books of Moses), and the Injil (i.e. the Gospels), are in the same state of purity in which they were sent down from heaven, and that no alterations had been made in them, but that the Jews were wont to deceive the people by unsound arguments, and by wresting the sense of Scripture.

Shah Waliyu ?llah, in his commentary, the Fauzu ?l-Kabir, and also Ibn ?Abbas, support the same view.

This appears to be the correct interpretation of the various verses of the Qur?an charging the Jews with having corrupted the meaning of the sacred Scriptures.

For example, Suratu Ali ?Imran (iii.), 72: “There are certainly some of them who read the Scriptures perversely, that ye may think what they read to be really in the Scriptures, yet it is not in the Scriptures; and they say this is from God, but it is not from God; and they speak that which is false concerning God against their own knowledge.”

The Imam Fak?hru ?d-din, in his commentary on this verse, and many others of the same character which occur in the Qur?an, says it refers to a tah?rif-i-ma?nawi, and that it does not mean that the Jews altered the text, but merely that they made alterations in the course of reading.

But whilst all the old commentators, who most probably had never seen a copy of the sacred books of the Jews and Christians, only charge them with a tah?rif-i-ma?nawi, all modern controversialists amongst the Muh?ammadans contend for a tah?rif-i-lafz?i, as being the only solution of the difficulty.

In dealing with such opponents, the Christian divine will avail himself of the following arguments:—

1. The Qur?an does not charge the Jews and Christians with corrupting the text of their sacred books; and many learned Muslim commentators admit that such is not the case.

2. The Qur?an asserts that the Holy Scriptures of the Jews and Christians existed in the days of Muh?ammad, who invariably speaks of them with reverence and respect.

3. There now exist manuscripts of the Old and New Testaments of an earlier date than that of Muh?ammad (A.D. 610–632).

4. There are versions of the Old and New Testaments now extant, which existed before Muh?ammad; for example, the Septuagint, the Latin Vulgate, the Syriac, the Coptic, and the Armenian versions.

5. The Hexapla, or Octapla of Origen, which dates four centuries before Muh?ammad, gives various versions of the Old Testament Scriptures in parallel columns.

6. The Syrian Christians of St. Thomas, of Malabar and Travancore, in the south of India, who were separated from the western world for centuries, possess the same Scriptures.

7. In the works of Justin Martyr, who lived from A.D. 103 to 167, there are numerous quotations from our sacred books, which prove that they were exactly the same as those we have now. The same may be said of other early Christian writers.

Muh?ammadan controversialists of the present day urge that the numerous readings which exist in the Christian books are a proof that they have been corrupted. But these do not affect, in the least, the main points at issue between the Christian and the Muslim. The Divine Sonship of Christ, the Fatherhood of God, the Crucifixion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ, and the Atonement, are all clearly stated in almost every book of the New Testament, whilst they are rejected by the Qur?an.

The most plausible of modern objections urged by Muslim divines is, that the Christians have lost the Injil which was sent down from heaven to Jesus; and that the New Testament contains merely the H?adis?, or Sunnah—the traditions handed down by Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, and others. It is, of course, a mere assertion, unsupported by any proof; but it appears to be a line of argument which commends itself to many modern Muslims.

CREATION. Arabic K?halqah. The following are the allusions to the Creation which occur in the Qur?an, Surah l. 37: “Of old We (God) created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them in six days, and no weariness touched Us.” Surah xli. 8: “Do ye indeed disbelieve in Him who in two days created the earth? Do ye assign Him equals? The Lord of the World is He. And He hath placed on the earth the firm mountains which tower above it, and He hath blessed it, and distributed its nourishments throughout it (for the cravings of all are alike), in four days. Then He applied Himself to the heaven, which was but smoke: and to it and to the earth He said, “Come ye, in obedience or against your will?” and they both said, “We come obedient.” And He completed them as seven heavens in two days, and in each heaven made known its office; and We furnished the lower heaven with lights and guardian angels. This is the disposition of the Almighty, the all-knowing one.” Surah xvi. 3: “He created the heavens and the earth to set forth his truth, high let Him be exalted above the gods they join with Him! Man hath He created out of a moist germ; yet lo! man is an open caviller. And the cattle! for you hath He created them, &c.… Shall He who hath created be as he who hath not created? Will ye not consider?” Surah xiii. 2: “It is God who hath reared the heavens without pillars, thou canst behold; then seated Himself upon His throne, and imposed laws on the sun and moon; each travelleth to its appointeth goal. He ordereth all things. He maketh His signs clear. Haply ye will have firm faith in a meeting with your Lord. And He it is who hath outstretched the earth, and placed on it the firm mountains, and rivers; and of every fruit He hath placed on it two kinds. He causeth the night to enshroud the day.” Surah xxxv. 12: “God created you of dust—then of the germs of life—then made you two sexes.”

According to the Traditions (Mishkat, xxiv. c. i. pt. 3), God created the earth on Saturday, the hills on Sunday, the trees on Monday, all unpleasant things on Tuesday, the light on Wednesday, the beasts on Thursday, and Adam, who was the last of Creation, was created after the time of afternoon prayers on Friday.

CREED. The Muh?ammadan Creed, or Kalimatu ?sh-shahadah (shortly Kalimah) is the well-known formula:—

“I testify that there is no deity but God, and Muh?ammad is the Apostle of God.”

It is the belief of Muh?ammadans that the first part of this creed, which is called the nafi wa is?bat, namely, “There is no deity but God,” has been the expression of belief of every prophet since the days of Adam, and that the second portion has been changed according to the dispensation; for example, that in the days of Moses it would be: “There is no deity but God, and Moses is the Converser with God.” In the Christian dispensation it was: “There is no deity but God, and Jesus is the Spirit of God.”

Jabir relates that Muh?ammad said “the keys of Paradise are bearing witness that there is no deity but God.”

The recital of the Kalimah, or Creed, is the first of five pillars of practical religion in Islam; and when anyone is converted to Islam he is required to repeat this formula, and the following are the conditions required of every Muslim with reference to it:—

1. That it shall be repeated aloud, at least once in a life-time.

2. That the meaning of it shall be fully understood.

3. That it shall be believed in “by the heart.”

4. That it shall be professed until death.

5. That it shall be recited correctly.

6. That it shall be always professed and declared without hesitation.

(Sharh?u ?l-Wiqayah.)

CREMATION. [BURNING THE DEAD.]

CRESCENT. The figure of the crescent is the Turkish symbol, and hence it has been regarded by Europeans as the special emblem of the Muh?ammadan religion, although it is unknown to the Muh?ammadans of the East. This figure, however, did not originate with the Turks, but it was the symbol of sovereignty in the city of Byzantium previous to the Muslim conquest, as may be seen from the medals struck in honour of Augustus Trajan and others. The crescent has been the symbol of three different orders of knighthood; the first of which was instituted by Charles I., King of Naples, A.D. 1268; the second in 1448 by RenÉ of Anjou; the third by Sultan Selim in 1801. It must have been adopted by Muh?ammadans for the first time upon the overthrow of the Byzantine Empire by Muh?ammad II., and it is now generally used by the Turks as the insignia of their creed.

CROSS, The. Arabic A?-?alib. The Qur?an denies the crucifixion of our blessed Lord [CRUCIFIXION], and it is related by al-Waqidi that Muh?ammad had such a repugnance to the form of the cross that he broke everything brought into his house with that figure upon it. (Muir, iii. 61.) According to Abu Hurairah, the Prophet said, “I swear by heaven, it is near, when Jesus the Son of Mary will descend from heaven upon your people, a just king, and He will break the cross, and kill the swine.” (Mishkat, xxiii. c. vi.) The Imam Abu Yusuf says that if a cross or a crucifix is stolen from a church, amputation (the punishment for theft) is not incurred; but if it is stolen from a private dwelling it is theft. (Hamilton’s Hidayah, vol. ii. p. 90.)

CRUCIFIXION. The Crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ is denied by the teaching of the Qur?an. [JESUS CHRIST.] It is a punishment sanctioned by the Muh?ammadan religion for highway robbers. (Hamilton’s Hidayah, vol. ii. 131.)

CRUELTY. A striking instance of the cruelty of Muh?ammad’s character occurs in a tradition given in the ?ah?ih?u ?l-Buk?hari (p. 1019). Anas relates, “Some of the people of the tribe of ?Ukl came to the Prophet and embraced Islam; but the air of al-Madinah did not agree with them, and they wanted to leave the place. And the Prophet ordered them to go where the camels given in alms were assembled, and to drink their milk, which they did, and recovered from their sickness. But after this they became apostates, and renounced Islam, and stole the camels. Then the Prophet sent some people after them, and they were seized and brought back to al-Madinah. Then the Prophet ordered their hands and their feet to be cut off as a punishment for theft, and their eyes to be pulled out. But the Prophet did not stop the bleeding, and they died.” And in another it reads, “The Prophet ordered hot irons to be drawn across their eyes, and then to be cast on the plain of al-Madinah; and when they asked for water it was not given them, and they died.”

Sir William Muir (vol. iv. p. 307) says: “Magnanimity or moderation are nowhere discernible as features in the conduct of Muh?ammad towards such of his enemies as failed to tender a timely allegiance. Over the bodies of the Quraish who fell at Badr he exulted with savage satisfaction; and several prisoners, accused of no crime but of scepticism and political opposition, were deliberately executed at his command. The Prince of K?haibar, after being subjected to inhuman torture for the purpose of discovering the treasures of his tribe, was, with his cousin, put to death on the pretext of having treacherously concealed them, and his wife was led away captive to the tent of the conqueror. Sentence of exile was enforced by Muh?ammad with rigorous severity on two whole Jewish tribes at al-Madinah; and of a third, likewise his neighbours, the women and children were sold into distant captivity, while the men, amounting to several hundreds, were butchered in cold blood before his eyes.”

DABUR (?????). “The West wind.” A term used by the ?ufis to express the lust of the flesh, and its overwhelming power in the heart of man. (?Abdu ?r-Razzaq’s Dictionary of ?ufi Terms.)

DAHHA (??????). Plural of the Persian ???, ten. The ten days of the Muh?arram, during which public mourning for ?Ali and his sons is observed by Shi?ah Muh?ammadans. (Wilson’s Glossary of Indian Terms.)

AD-DAHR (??????). “A long space of time.” A title given to the LXXVIth chapter of the Qur?an; called also Suratu ?l-Insan, “The Chapter of Man.” The title is taken from the first verse of the chapter: “Did not there pass over man a long space of time?”

DAHRI (?????). One who believes in the eternity of matter, and asserts that the duration of this world is from eternity, and denies the Day of Resurrection and Judgment; an Atheist. (G?hiyas?u ?l-Lug?hat, in loco.)

DAIN (????). A debt contracted with some definite term fixed for repayment, as distinguished from qarz?, which is used for a loan given without any fixed term for repayment. [DEBT.]

DAJJAL (?????). Lit. “false, lying.” The name given in the H?adis? to certain religious impostors who shall appear in the world; a term equivalent to our use of the word Antichrist. Muh?ammad is related to have said there would be about thirty.

The Masih?u ?d-Dajjal, or “the lying Christ,” it is said, will be the last of the Dajjals, for an account of whom refer to article on MASIHU ?D-DAJJAL.

DALIL (?????). “An argument; a proof.” Dalil burhani, “a convincing argument.” Dalil qat?i?, “a decisive proof.”

DAMASCUS. Arabic Dimashq. According to Jalalu ?d-din Suyut?i, Damascus is the second sacred city in Syria, Jerusalem being the first; and some have thought it must be the “Iram of the columns” mentioned in the Qur?an, Surah lxxxix. 6, although this is not the view of most Muslim writers. [IRAM.] Damascus is not mentioned in the Qur?an. With regard to the date of the erection of the city, Muh?ammadan historians differ. Some say it was built by a slave named Dimashq, who belonged to Abraham, having been given to the patriarch by Nimrod; others say Dimashq was a slave belonging to Alexander the Great, and that the city was built in his day.

Damascus was taken by K?halid in the reign of the K?halifah ?Umar, A.H. 13, and it became the capital of the Umaiyade K?halifahs under Mu?awiyah, A.H. 41, and remained the chief city of Islam until the fall of that dynasty, A.H. 132, when the Abbasides moved their capital first to al-Kufah and then to Bag?hdad.

The great mosque at Damascus was erected by ?Abdu ?l-Malik ibn Marwan, the fifth K?halifah of the Umaiyades. It was commenced A.H. 86, and finished in ten years, being erected on the ruins of an ancient Greek temple and of a Christian church.

The account, as given by Jalalu ?d-din Suyut?i, in his History of the Temple of Jerusalem, is curious and interesting, showing that for a time the Muslims and Christians worshipped in the same building together.

“Here (in Damascus) all the servants of God joined, and built a church to worship God in. Some say, however, that this church was built by the Greeks: for ?Abdu ?llah Ibn ?Abbas, having marched against Damascus and besieged it, demolished the walls, after he had entered the city by storm. Then there fell down a stone, having certain letters inscribed thereon in the Greek language. They therefore sent to bring a certain monk who could read Greek; but he said, ‘Bring me in pitch the impression of the letters on the stone,’ which he found to be as follows: ‘Woe unto thee, mother of shame! Pious is he who inflicts upon thee with usury the ill which God designs for thee in retribution. Woe unto thee from five eyes, who shall destroy thy wall after four thousand years.’ Now, ?Abdu ?llah’s entire name was ?Abdu ?llah Ibn ?Ali Ibn ?Abdi ?llah Ibn ?Abbas Ibn ?Abdu ?l-Muqallib.

“Again, the historian Ibn Isahir says: When God had granted unto the Muslims the possession, as conquerors of the whole of Syria, He granted them among other cities that of Damascus with its dependencies. Thus God sent down His mercy upon them, and the commander-in-chief of the army (besieging Damascus), who was either Abu ?Ubaidah or, as some say, K?halid Ibn al-Walid, wrote a treaty of capitulation and articles of surrender. By these he settled and appointed fourteen churches to remain in the hands of the Muslims. The church of which we have spoken above was left open and free for future consideration. This was on the plea that K?halid had entered the city at the sword’s point by the eastern gate; but that the Christians at the same time were allowed to surrender by Abu ?Ubaidah, who entered at the western gate, opened under articles. This caused dissension; but at length it was agreed that half the place should be regarded as having capitulated and half as stormed.

“The Muslims therefore took this church, and Abu ?Ubaidah made it into a mosque. He was afterwards appointed Emir of Syria, and was the first who prayed here, all the company of Companions praying after him in the open area, now called the Companions’ Tower; but the wall must then have been cut through, hard by the leaning tower, if the Companions really prayed in the ‘blessed precinct.’ At first the Christians and Muslims entered by the same gate, which was ‘the gate of Adoration and Prayer,’ over against the Qiblah, where the great tower now stands. Afterwards the Christians changed and went into their church by the gate facing the west; the Muslims taking the right-hand mosque. But the Christians were not suffered to chant aloud, or recite their books or strike their bells (or clappers), in order to honour the Companions with reverence and fear. Also, Mu?awiyah built in his days a house for the Amir, right opposite the mosque. Here he built a green chapel. This palace was noted for its perfection. Here Mu?awiyah dwelt forty years; nor did this state of things change from A.H. 14 to A.H. 86. But Al-Walid Ibn ?Abdu ?l-Malik began to think of destroying the churches, and of adding some to those already in the hands of the Muslims, so as to construct one great mosque; and this because some of the Muslims were sore troubled by hearing the recitations of the Christians from the Gospel, and their uplifted voices in prayer. He designed, therefore, to remove them from the Muslims and to annex this spot to the other, so as to make one great mosque. Therefore he called for the Christians, and asked them whether they would depart from those places which were in their hands, receiving in exchange greater portions in lieu thereof; and also retaining four churches not mentioned in the treaty—the Church of Maria, the Church of the Crucified, just within the eastern gate, the church Tallu ?l-H?abn, and the Church of the Glorious Mother, occupied previously by the burnishers. This, however, they vehemently refused to do. Thereupon the K?halifah said, ‘Bring me then the treaty which you possess since the time of the Companions.’ They brought it, therefore, and it was read in al-Walid’s presence; when, lo! the Church of Thomas, outside the gate of Thomas, hard by the river, did not enter into the treaty, and was one of those called ‘the greater of churches left upon’ (for future disposal). ‘There,’ he said, ‘this will I destroy and convert it into a mosque.’ They said, ‘Nay, let it alone, O commander of the Faithful, even although not mentioned among the churches, for we are content that you take the chapel of the church.’ To this agreement, then, he held them, and received from them the Qubbah (or chapel vault, dome) of the church. Then he summoned workmen able to pull down, and assembled all the amirs, chiefs, and great men. But the Christian bishops and priests coming, said, ‘O commander of the Faithful, we find in our books that whosoever shall demolish this church will go mad.’ Then said the K?halifah, ‘And I am very willing to be mad with God’s inspiration; therefore no one shall demolish it before me.’ Then he ascended the western tower, which had two spires, and contained a monastic cell. Here he found a monk, whom he ordered to descend. The monk making difficulties, and lingering, al-Walid took him by the back of his neck, and ceased not pushing him until he had thrown him down stairs. Then he ascended to the most lofty spot in the church, above the great altar, called ‘the Altar of the Martyrs.’ Here he seized the ends of his sash, which was of a bright yellow colour, and fixed them into his belt. Taking, then, an axe into his hand, he struck against the very topmost stone, and brought it down. Then he called the amirs, and desired them to pull down the building as quickly as possible. Hereupon all the Muslims shouted, ‘God is great!’ three times; also the Christians loudly cried out with their wailing and woe upon the steps of Jairun, where they had assembled. Al-Walid therefore desired the commander of his guard to inflict blows upon them until they should depart, which he did. The Muslims then demolished all that the Christians had built in the great square here—altars and buildings and cloisters—until the whole square was one flat surface. He then resolved to build a splendid pile, unrivalled for beauty of architecture, which none could hereafter surpass. Al-Walid therefore commissioned the most eminent architects and mathematicians to build the mosque, according to the model they most preferred. His brother chiefly moved and stirred him up to this undertaking, and next to him presided Sulaiman ?Abdu ?l-Malik. It is said that al-Walid sent to the king of Greece to demand stone-masons and other workmen, for the purpose of building this mosque in the way he desired, sending word, that if the king refused, he would overrun his territory with his army, and reduce to utter ruin every church in his dominions, even the Church of the Holy City, and the Church of Edessa, and utterly destroy every vestige of the Greeks still remaining. The king of Greece, sent, therefore, numerous workmen, with a letter, expressing himself thus: ‘If thy father knoweth what thou doest, and permits it, then truly I accuse him of disgraceful conduct, and blame him more than thee. If he understandeth it not, but thou only art conscious, then I blame thee above him.’ When the letter came to al-Walid, he wished to reply unto it, and assembled several persons for consultation. One of these was a well-known poet, who said, ‘I will answer him, O Commander of the Faithful! out of the Book of God.’ So said al-Walid, ‘Where, then, is that answer?’ He replied this verse, ‘David and Solomon, lo! they assume a right to the corn-field, a right to the place where the people are shearing their sheep. Also, we are witnesses of their decree; for Solomon hath given us to understand it, and both (David and Solomon) have come to us as judges and learned men.’ Al-Walid, by this reply, caused great surprise to the king of Greece. Al-Firsuk alludes to this in these verses:—

“I have made a separation between the Christians and their churches, and between the people who shine and those who are in darkness.”

“I neglected for a season thus to apportion their happiness, I being a procrastinating vindicator of their grievances.”

“Thy Lord hath made thee to resolve upon removing their churches from those mosques wherein good words are recited.”

“Whilst they were together in one place, some were praying and prostrating themselves on their faces, slightly separated from others who, behold! were adoring God and idols.”

“How shall the people of the Cross unite to ring their bells, when the reading of the Qur?an is perpetually intermingled?”

“I resolved then to remove them, just as did those wise men when they decreed themselves a right to the seed-field and the flocks.”

“When al-Walid resolved to build the chapel which is in the midst of the cloister, called ‘the Vulture’s Chapel’ (a name given to it by the country-people, because the porticos on each side look like two wings), he dug deep at the four corners of the intended chapel, until they came to sweet and limpid water. Here they first placed the foundation of the wall of the vineyard. Upon this they built with stone, and when the four corners were of sufficient height, they then built thereon the chapel; but it fell down again. Then said al-Walid to some one of the mathematicians, who well knew the plan of the Vulture’s Chapel, ‘I wish you to build this chapel; for the injunction of God hath been given me, and I am confident that no one but thyself may build it.’ He therefore built the four corners, and covered them with wicker, and disappeared for a whole year, al-Walid not knowing where he was. After a year, al-Walid dug down to the four corner foundations. Then he (i.e. the architect) said, ‘Do not be in a hurry, O commander of the Faithful!’ Then he found the mathematician, who had a man’s head with him. He came to the four corners, and uncovered the wicker work, and lo! all that had been built above the earth had fallen down, until they were on a level with the earth. So he said, ‘From this (work have I come).’ Then he proceeded to build, and firmly fixed and supported a beautiful fabric.

“Some person also said al-Walid wished to construct a brilliant chapel of pure gold, whereby the rank of the mosque might be magnified. Hereupon the superintendent said unto him, ‘You cannot effect this.’ Upon which al-Walid struck him fifty blows with a whip, saying, ‘Am I then incapable of effecting this?’ The man replied, ‘Certainly.’ Then he said, ‘I will, then, find out a way to know the truth. Bring forth all the gold thou hast’; which he did: and al-Walid melted it, and formed it into one large brick, which contained one thousand pieces of gold. But the man said, ‘O Commander of the Faithful! we shall require so many thousand bricks of this sort, if thou dost possess them; nor will this suffice for our work.’ Al-Walid seeing that he was true and just, presented him with fifty dinars; and when al-Walid roofed the great precinct, he adorned the roof, as well as the whole extent of the pavement, with a surface of gold. Some of al-Walid’s family also said unto him, ‘They who come after thee will emulate thee in rendering the outer roof of this mosque more commodious every year.’ Upon this al-Walid ordered all the lead of the country to be collected together, in order to construct therewith an exterior outward covering, answering to the interior, which should be light upon the roof, and on the side-posts that supported the roof. So they collected lead throughout all Syria and many other countries; and whilst they were returning, they met with a certain woman who possessed a weight of lead—a weight of many talents. They began to chaffer with the woman for it; but she refused to sell it, except for its weight in silver. So they wrote to the Commander of the Faithful, informing him of this, who replied, ‘Buy it from her, even for its weight in silver.’ When, then, they offered this sum unto her, she said, ‘Now that you have agreed to my proposal, and are satisfied to give the weight in silver, I give the weight as an offering unto God, to serve for the roof of the mosque.’ Hereupon they marked one corner of the weight with the impression of a seal, ‘This is God’s.’ Some say the woman was an Israelite; some say that they sought for lead in open ditches or holes, and came to a stone sepulchre, within which was a leaden sepulchre, whence they brought forth a dead body, and laid it on the ground. Whilst dragging it out, the head fell to the ground, and the neck being broken, much blood flowed forth from the mouth, which terrified them so much, that they rapidly fled away. This is said to have been the burial-place of King Saul. Also, the guardian of the mosque came unto al-Walid and said, ‘O Commander of the Faithful! men say that al-Walid hath expended the money of the treasury unjustly.’ Hereupon al-Walid desired that all the people should be summoned to prayer. When all were assembled, al-Walid mounted the pulpit, and said, ‘Such and such reports have reached me.’ Then he said, ‘O ?Umar Ibn al-Muhajir! stand up and produce the money of the treasury.’ Now it was carried upon mules. Therefore, pieces of hide being placed in the midst, beneath the chapel, he poured out all the gold and silver, to such a height, that those who stood on either side could not see one another. Scales being then brought out, the whole was weighed, when it was found that the amount would suffice for the public use for three years to come, even if nothing were added to the amount. Then all the people rejoiced, praising and glorifying God for this. Then said the K?halifah, ‘O people of Damascus! you boast among men of four things; of your air, of your water, of your cheerfulness, and of your gracefulness. Would that you would add to these a fifth, and become of the number of those who praise God, and are liberal in his service. Would that, thus changing, you would become thankful suppliants.’

“In the Qiblah of this mosque were three golden scimitars, enamelled in lapis lazuli. Upon each scimitar was engraved the following sentence: ‘In the name of God, the Merciful and Compassionate! There is no god but God. He is the ever-living, the self-subsisting Being, who never slumbers nor sleeps. There is no god but God. He has no partner. We will never adore any but our Lord, the one God. Our faith is Islam, and our Prophet is Muh?ammad. This mosque was built, and the churches which stood on the site of the chapel were demolished, by order of the servant of God, the Commander of the Faithful, al-Walid Ibn ?Abdu ?l-Malik Ibn Marwan, in the month ?u ?l-Qa?dah, A.H. 86.’ Upon another tablet was inscribed the whole of the first chapter of the Qur?an. Here also were depicted the stars, then the morning twilight, then the spiral course of the sun, then the way of living which obtained after the arrival of the Faithful at Damascus. Also, it is said, that all the floor of this mosque was divided into small slabs, and that the stone (carving) of the walls extended to the utmost pinnacle. Above was a great golden vine, and above this were splendid enamelled knobs of green, red, blue, and white, whereby were figured and expressed all countries and regions, especially the Ka?bah, above the tower; also all the countries to the right and left (of Makkah), and all the most beautiful shrubs and trees of every region, famous either for their fruits or flowers. The roof had cornices of gold. Here was suspended a chain of gold and silver, which branched off into seven separate lights. In the tower of the Companions were two stones—beryls (some say they were the jewels called pearls); they were called ‘The Little Ones.’ When the candles were put out, they inflamed the eyes by their brilliant light. In the time of al-Amin Ibn ar-Rashid, Sulaiman, captain of the guard, was sent by that K?halifah to Damascus, to steal those stones and bring them to him; which he did. When al-Ma?mun discovered this, he sent them to Damascus, as a proof of his brother’s misconduct. They afterwards again vanished, and in their place is a glass vessel. In this mosque all the gates, from the dome (gallery) unto the entrance, are open, and have no bars or locks. Over each is a loose curtain. In like manner there is a curtain upon all the walls as far as the bases of the golden vine, above which are the enamelled knobs. The capitals of the pillars were thickly covered with dead gilding. Here were also small galleries, to look down from, enclosed on the four sides of the skirting wall. Al-Walid also built the northern minaret, now called ‘the Bridegroom’s Tower.’ As to the western gallery, that existed many ages before, in each corner of this was a cell, raised upon very lofty walls, and used by the Greeks as an observatory. The two northern of these fell, and the two opposite remained. In the year 740, part of the eastern had been burnt. It then fell down, but was built up anew out of the Christians’ money, because they had meditated the destruction (of it) by fire. It then was restored after a most beautiful plan. This is the tower (but God knows) upon which Jesus son of Maria will alight, for Muh?ammad is reported to have said, ‘I saw Jesus son of Maria come forth from near the white minaret, east of the mosque, placing his hands upon the wings of two angels, firmly bound to him. Upon him was the Divine glory (the Shechinah). He was marked by the red tinge of baptism. This is the mark of original sin.’ Jesus (it is also said) shall come forth from the White Tower by the eastern gate, and shall enter the mosque. Then shall the word come forth for Jesus to fight with Antichrist at the corner of the city, as long as it shall please God. Now, when this mosque (the slaves’ mosque) was completed, there was not to be found upon the face of the earth a building more beautiful, more splendid, more graceful, than this. On whatever side, or area, or place, the spectator looked, he still thought that side or spot the most preferable for beauty. In this mosque were certain talismans, placed therein since the time of the Greeks; so that no venomous or stinging creature could by any means obtain entrance into this enclosure, neither serpent, scorpion, beetle, nor spider. They say, also, that neither sparrows nor pigeons built their nests there, nor was anything to be found there which could annoy people. Most, or all, of those talismans were burnt by the fire that consumed the mosque, which fire took place in the night of Sha?ban, A.H. 461. Al-Walid frequently prayed in the mosque. One night (it is related) he said to his people, ‘I wish to pray to-night in the mosque; let no one remain there whilst I pray therein.’ So when he came unto the gate of the Two Moments, he desired the gate to be opened, and entering in, he saw a man standing between the gate of the Two Moments and the gate of St. George, praying. He was rather nearer to the gate of St. George than to the other. So the K?halifah said unto his people, ‘Did I not charge you that no one should remain whilst I was praying in the mosque?’ Then one of them said, ‘O Commander of the Faithful! this is St. George, who prays every night in the mosque.’ Again, one prayer in this mosque equals thirty thousand prayers.

“Again. A certain man, going out of the gate of the mosque which is near the Jairun, met Ka?b the scribe, who said, ‘Whither bound?’ He replied, ‘To the Baitu ?l-Muqaddas, therein to pray.’ Then said Ka?b, ‘I will show you a spot wherein whosoever prayeth shall receive the same blessings as if he prayed in the Baitu ?l-Muqaddas.’ The man, therefore, went with him. Then Ka?b showed him the space between the little gate from whence you go to Abyssinia, that is, the space covered by the arch of the gate, containing about one hundred yards, to the west, and said, ‘Whoso prayeth within those two points shall be regarded as praying within the Baitu ?l-Muqaddas.’ Now, this spot is said to be a spot fit to be sought by pilgrims. Here, it is asserted, is the head of John, son of Zacharias (Peace be with him!). For al-Walid Ibn Muslim being desired to show where John’s head was to be found, pointed with his hand to the plastered pillar—the fourth from the east corner. Zaid Ibn Wakad says, ‘At the time it was proposed to build the mosque of Damascus, I saw the head of John, son of Zacharias, brought forth from underneath one of the corners of the chapel. The hair of the head was unchanged.’ He says in another place, ‘Being nominated by al-Walid superintendent of the building, we found a cave, of which discovery we informed al-Walid. He came, therefore, unto us at night, with a wax taper in his hand. Upon descending we found an elaborately carved little shrine, three within three (i.e. within the first a second, within the second a third). Within this last was a sarcophagus, and within this a casket; within which was the head of John, son of Zacharias. Over the casket was written, “Here is the head of John, son of Zacharias. Peace be with him!” By al-Walid’s command we restored the head to the spot whence it had been taken. The pillars which are above this spot are inclined obliquely to the others to distinguish the place. There is also over it a pillar with a head in plaster.’ He asserts again, that when the happy event occurred of the conquest of Damascus, a certain person went up the stairs which led to the church, then standing where the mosque now stands. Here the blood of John, son of Zacharias was seen to flow in torrents and to boil up, nor did the blood sink down and become still until that seventy thousand had been slain over him. The spot where the head was found is now called al-Sakasak (perhaps, the Nail of the Narrow Cave).

“In the days of ?Umar, the Christians requested that he would confirm their claim to the right of meeting in those places which al-Walid had taken from them and converted into mosques. They, therefore, claimed the whole inner area as their own from ?Umar. The latter thought it right to restore them what al-Walid had taken from them, but upon examination he found that the churches without the suburbs were not comprehended in the articles of surrender by the Companions, such, for example, as the great Church of the Monastery of Observants or Carmelites, the Church of the Convent behind the Church of St. Thomas, and all the churches of the neighbouring villages. ?Umar therefore gave them the choice, either to restore them the churches they demanded, demolishing in that case all the other churches, or to leave those churches unmolested, and to receive from them a full consent to the free use of the open space by the Muslims. To this latter proposal they, after three days deliberation, agreed; and proper writings were drawn up on both sides. They gave the Muslims a deed of grant, and ?Umar gave them full security and assurance of protection. Nothing was to be compared to this mosque. It is said to be one of the strongholds of Paradise, and that no inhabitant of Damascus would long for Paradise when he looks upon his beautiful mosque. Al-Ma?mun came to Damascus in company with his brother al-Mu?ta?im, and the Qaz?i Yah?ya Ibn Aks?am. Whilst viewing the mosque he said, ‘What is the most wondrous sight here?’ His brother said, ‘These offerings and pledges.’ The Qaz?i said, ‘The marble and the columns.’ Then said al-Ma?mun, ‘The most wondrous thing to me is, whether any other could be built at all like this.’ ” (Hist. Temple of Jerusalem, by Jalalu ?d-din, translated by Reynolds, p. 407.)

DANCING. Arabic Raqs. Dancing is generally held to be unlawful, although it does not appear to be forbidden in either the Qur?an or the Traditions, but according to al-Buk?hari (Arabic ed., p. 135), the Prophet expressly permitted it on the day of the great festival. Those who hold it to be unlawful quote the following verse from the Qur?an, Surah xvii. 39, “Walk not proudly on the earth,” as a prohibition, although it does not seem to refer to the subject.

The ?ufis make dancing a religious exercise, but the Sunni Muslims consider it unlawful. (Hidayatu ?s-Sa?il, p. 107.)

DANIEL. Arabic Daniyal. A prophet celebrated amongst Muh?ammadans as an interpreter of dreams. He is not mentioned in either the Qur?an or the Traditions, but in the Qa?a?u ?l-Ambiya?, p. 231, it is stated that in the reign of Buk?htu Na??ar (Nebuchadnezzar) he was imprisoned; and when he was in prison, the king had a dream which he had forgotten, and hearing that Daniel was an interpreter of dreams, he sent for him. When Daniel was in the presence of the King, he refused to prostrate, saying, it was lawful to prostrate alone to the Lord Almighty. For this he nearly lost his life, but was spared to interpret the king’s dream, which was as follows: “He saw a great idol, the head of which was of gold, above the navel of silver, below the navel of copper, the legs of iron, and the feet of clay. And suddenly a stone fell from heaven upon the idol, and ground it to powder, and mixed all the substances, so that the wind blew them in all directions; but the stone grew gradually, and to such an extent that it covered the whole earth.” The interpretation of it, as given by Daniel is said to be this: The idol represented different nations; the gold was the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar, the silver the kingdom of his son, the copper the Romans, the iron the Persians, and the clay the tribe Zauzan, from which the kings of Persia and Rome should be descended; the great stone being a religion which should spread itself over the whole earth in the last day.

DAR (????). “A house, dwelling, habitation, land, country.” A word which is used in various combinations, e.g.:—

[DARU ?L-BAWAR, DARU ?L-HARB, DARU ?L-ISLAM, DARU ?L-QARAR, DARU ?S-SALAM, DARU ?S-SALTANAH, DARU ?S-SAWAB.]

DARGAH (??????). A royal court (Persian). In India it is a term used for a Muh?ammadan shrine or tomb of some reputed holy person, and which is the object of pilgrimage and adoration. (Wilson’s Glossary of Indian Terms.)

DARU ?L-BAWAR (??? ???????). Lit. “The abode of perdition.” A term used for hell in the Qur?an, Surah xiv. 33: “And have made their people to alight at the abode of perdition.”

DARU ?L-H?ARB (??? ??????). “The land of warfare.” According to the Dictionary G?hiyas?u ?l-Lug?hat, Daru ?l-h?arb is “a country belonging to infidels which has not been subdued by Islam.” According to the Qamus, it is “a country in which peace has not been proclaimed between Muslims and unbelievers.”

In the Fatawa ?Alamgiri, vol. ii. p. 854, it is written that a Daru ?l-h?arb becomes a Daru ?l-Islam on one condition, namely, the promulgation of the edicts of Islam. The Imam Muh?ammad, in his book called the Ziyadah, says a Daru ?l-Islam again becomes a Daru ?l-h?arb, according to Abu H?anifah, on three conditions, namely: (1) That the edicts of the unbelievers be promulgated, and the edicts of Islam be suppressed; (2) That the country in question be adjoining a Daru ?l-h?arb and no other Muslim country lie between them (that is, when the duty of Jihad or religious war becomes incumbent on them, and they have not the power to carry it on); (3) That no protection (aman) remains for either a Muslim or a ?immi; viz. that amanu ?l-awwal, or that first protection which was given them when the country was first conquered by Islam. The Imams Yusuf and Muh?ammad both say that when the edicts of unbelievers are promulgated in a country, it is sufficient to constitute it a Daru ?l-h?arb.

In the Raddu ?l-Muk?htar, vol. iii. p. 391, it is stated, “If the edicts of Islam remain in force, together with the edicts of the unbelievers, then the country cannot be said to be a Daru ?l-h?arb.” The important question as to whether a country in the position of Hindustan may be considered a Daru ?l-Islam or a Daru ?l-h?arb has been fully discussed by Dr. W.W. Hunter, of the Bengal Civil Service, in his work entitled, Indian Musulmans, which is the result of careful inquiry as to the necessary conditions of a Jihad, or a Crescentade, instituted at the time of the excitement which existed in India in 1870–71, in consequence of a Wahhabi conspiracy for the overthrow of Christian rule in that country. The whole matter, according to the Sunni Musulmans, hinges upon the question whether India is Daru ?l-h?arb, “a land of warfare,” or Daru ?l-Islam, “a land of Islam.”

The Muftis belonging to the H?anifi and Shafi?i sects at Makkah decided that, “as long as even some of the peculiar observances of Islam prevail in a country, it is Daru ?l-Islam.”

The decision of the Mufti of the Maliki sect was very similar, being to the following effect: “A country does not become Daru ?l-h?arb as soon as it passes into the hands of the infidels, but when all or most of the injunctions of Islam disappear therefrom.”

The law doctors of North India decided that, “the absence of protection and liberty to Musulmans is essential in a Jihad, or religious war, and also that there should be a probability of victory to the armies of Islam.”

The Shi?ah decision on the subject was as follows: “A Jihad is lawful only when the armies of Islam are led by the rightful Imam, when arms and ammunitions of war and experienced warriors are ready, when it is against the enemies of God, when he who makes war is in possession of his reason, and when he has secured the permission of his parents, and has sufficient money to meet the expenses of his journey.”

The Sunnis and Shi?ahs alike believe in the eventual triumph of Islam, when the whole world shall become followers of the Prophet of Arabia; but whilst the Sunnis are, of course, ready to undertake the accomplishment of this great end, “whenever there is a probability of victory to the Musulmans,” the Shi?ahs, true to the one great principle of their sect, must wait until the appearance of a rightful Imam. [JIHAD.]

DARU ?L-ISLAM (??? ??????????). “Land of Islam.” According to the Raddu ?l-Muk?htar, vol. iii. p. 391, it is a country in which the edicts of Islam are fully promulgated.

In a state brought under Muslims, all those who do not embrace the faith are placed under certain disabilities. They can worship God according to their own customs, provided they are not idolaters; but it must be done without any ostentation, and, whilst churches and synagogues may be repaired, no new place of worship can be erected. “The construction of churches, or synagogues, in Muslim territory is unlawful, this being forbidden in the Traditions; but if places of worship belonging to Jews, or Christians, be destroyed, or fall into decay, they are at liberty to repair them, because buildings cannot endure for ever.”

Idol temples must be destroyed, and idolatry suppressed by force in all countries ruled according to strict Muslim law. (Hidayah, vol. ii. p. 219.)

For further particulars, see article DARU ?L-HARB.

DARU ?L-QARAR (??? ???????????). “The abode that abideth.” An expression which occurs in the Qur?an, Surah xl. 42: “O my people! this present life is only a passing joy, but the life to come is the mansion that abideth.”

DARU ?S-SALAM (??? ???????????). “The abode of peace.” An expression which occurs in the Qur?an, Surah vi. 127: “For them is a dwelling of peace with their Lord! and in recompense for their works, shall He be their protector.”

DARU ?S-SALT?ANAH (??? ????????). “The seat of government.” A term given to the capital of a province, or a Muslim state.

DARU ?S?-S?AWAB (??? ???????). “The house of recompense.” A name given to the Jannatu ?Adn, or Garden of Eden, by the commentator al-Baiz?awi.

DARVESH, DARWISH (??????). A Persian word for a religious mendicant. A dervesh. It is derived from the word dar, “a door”; lit. one who goes from door to door. Amongst religious Muh?ammadans, the darvesh is called a faqir, which is the word generally used for religious mendicant orders in Arabic books. The subject is, therefore, considered in the article on FAQIR.

DAUGHTERS. Arabic Bint, pl. Banat; Heb. Bath (??????). In the law of inheritance, the position of a daughter is secured by a verse in the Qur?an, Surah iv. 12: “With regard to your children, God has commanded you to give the sons the portion of two daughters, and if there be daughters, more than two, then they shall have two-thirds of that which their father hath left, but if she be an only daughter she shall have the half.”

The Sirajiyah explains the above as follows:—

“Daughters begotten by the deceased take in three cases: half goes to one only, and two-thirds to two or more: and, if there be a son, the male has the share of two females, and he makes them residuaries. The son’s daughters are like the daughters begotten by the deceased; and they may be in six cases: half goes to one only, and two-thirds to two or more, on failure of daughters begotten by the deceased; with a single daughter of the deceased, they have a sixth, completing (with the daughter’s half) two-thirds; but, with two daughters of the deceased, they have no share of the inheritance, unless there be, in an equal degree with, or in a lower degree than, them, a boy, who makes them residuaries. As to the remainder between them, the male has the portion of two females; and all of the son’s daughters are excluded by the son himself.

“If a man leave three son’s daughters, some of them in lower degrees than others, and three daughters of the son of another son, some of them in lower degree than others, and three daughters of the son’s son of another son, some of them in lower degrees than others, as in the following table, this is called the case of tashbih.

“Here the eldest of the first line has none equal in degree with her; the middle one of the first line is equalled in degree by the eldest of the second, and the youngest of the first line is equalled by the middle one of the second, and by the oldest of the third line; the youngest of the second line is equalled by the middle one of the third line, and the youngest of the third set has no equal in degree. When thou hast comprehended this, then we say: the eldest of the first line has a moiety; the middle one of the first line has a sixth, together with her equal in degree, to make up two-thirds; and those in lower degrees never take anything, unless there be a son with them, who makes them residuaries, both her who is equal to him in degree, and her who is above him, but who is not entitled to a share; those below him are excluded.” (Ramsay’s ed. As-Sirajiyah.)

The age of puberty, or majority, of a daughter is established by the usual signs of womanhood; but in the absence of these signs, according to Abu H?anifah, she is not of age until she is eighteen. But the two Imams, Muh?ammad and Yusuf, fix the age at fifteen, and with this opinion the Imam ash-Shafi?i agrees.

With regard to a daughter’s freedom in a marriage contract, Shaik?h ?Abdu ?l-H?aqq, in his commentary on the Traditions (vol. iii. p. 105), says, “All the learned doctors are agreed that a virgin daughter, until she has arrived at the age of puberty, is entirely at the disposal of her father or lawful guardian, but that in the event of a woman having been left a widow after she has attained the age of puberty, she is entirely at liberty to marry whom she likes.” There is, however, he says, some difference of opinion as to the freedom of a girl who has not been married and has arrived at the age of puberty. Abu H?anifah rules that she is entirely free from the control of her guardian with regard to her marriage, but ash-Shafi?i rules otherwise. Again, as regards a widow who is not of age, Abu H?anifah says she cannot marry without her guardian’s permission, but ash-Shafi?i says she is free.

According to the teaching of the Prophet, “a virgin daughter gives her consent to marriage by silence.” He also taught “that a woman ripe in years shall have her consent asked, and if she remain silent her silence is consent, but if she do not consent, she shall not be forced.” But this tradition is also to be compared with another, in which he said, “There is no marriage without the permission of the guardians.” (Mishkat, xiii. c. iv. pt. 2.) Hence the difference between the learned doctors on this subject.

The author of the Ak?hlaq-i-Jalali says it is not advisable to teach girls to read and write, and this is the general feeling amongst Muh?ammadans in all parts of the world, although it is considered right to enable them to recite the Qur?an and the liturgical prayers.

The father or guardian is to be blamed who does not marry his daughter at an early age, for Muh?ammad is related to have said, “It is written in the Book of Moses, that whosoever does not marry his daughter when she hath reached the age of twelve years is responsible for any sin she may commit.”

The ancient Arabs used to call the angels the “daughters of God,” and objected strongly, as the Badawis do in the present day, to female offspring, and they used to bury their infant daughters alive. These practices Muh?ammad reprobates in the Qur?an, Surah xvi. 59: “And they ascribe daughters unto God! Glory be to Him! But they desire them not for themselves. For when the birth of a daughter is announced to any one of them, dark shadows settle on his face, and he is sad; he hideth him from the people because of the ill tidings. Shall he keep it with disgrace, or bury it in the dust? Are not their judgments wrong?”

Mr. Rodwell remarks on this verse: “Thus Rabbinism teaches that to be a woman is a great degradation. The modern Jew says in his Daily Prayers, fol. 5, 6, ‘Blessed art thou, O Lord our God! King of the Universe! who hath not made me a woman.’”

DAVID. Arabic Dawud, or Dawud. A king of Israel and a Prophet, to whom God revealed the Zabur, or Book of Psalms. [ZABUR.] He has no special title or kalimah, as all Muslims are agreed that he was not a law-giver or the founder of a dispensation. The account of him in the Qur?an is exceedingly meagre. It is given as follows, with the commentator’s remarks translated in italics by Mr. Lane:—

“And God gave him (David) the kingship over the children of Israel, and wisdom, after the death of Samuel and Saul, and they [namely these two gifts] had not been given together to any one before him; and He taught him what He pleased, as the art of making coats of mail, and the language of birds. And were it not for God’s repelling men, one by another, surely the earth had become corrupt by the predominance of the polytheists and the slaughter of the Muslims and the ruin of the places of worship: but God is beneficent to the peoples, and hath repelled some by others.” (Surah ii. 227.)

“Hath the story of the two opposing parties come unto thee, when they ascended over the walls of the oratory of David, having been prevented going in unto him by the door, because of his being engaged in devotion? When they went in unto David, and he was frightened at them, they said, Fear not: we are two opposing parties. It is said that they were two parties of more than one each; and it is said that they were two individuals, angels, who came as two litigants, to admonish David, who had ninety-nine wives, and had desired the wife of a person who had none but her, and married her and taken her as his wife. [One of them said,] One of us hath wronged the other; therefore judge between us with truth, and be not unjust, but direct us into the right way. Verily this my brother in religion had nine-and-ninety ewes, and I had one ewe; and he said, Make me her keeper. And he overcame me in the dispute.—And the other confessed him to have spoken truth.—[David] said, Verily he hath wronged thee in demanding thy ewe to add her to his ewes; and verily many associates wrong one another, except those who believe and do righteous deeds: and few indeed are they.—And the two angels said, ascending in their [proper or assumed] forms to heaven, The man hath passed sentence against himself. So David was admonished. And David perceived that We had tried him by his love of that woman; wherefore he asked pardon of his Lord, and fell down bowing himself (or prostrating himself), and repented. So We forgave him that; and verily for him [was ordained] a high rank with Us (that is, an increase of good fortune in this world), and [there shall be for him] an excellent retreat in the world to come.” (Surah xxxviii. 20–24.)

“We compelled the mountains to glorify Us, with David, and the birds also, on his commanding them to do so, when he experienced languor; and We did this. And We taught him the art of making coats of mail (for before his time plates of metal were used) for you among mankind in general, that they might defend you from your suffering in warring with your enemies.—Will ye then, O people of Mecca, be thankful for My favours, believing the apostles?” (Surah xxi. 79, 80.)

Sale observes that Yah?ya the commentator, most rationally understands hereby the divine revelations which David received from God, and not the art of making coats of mail.—The cause of his applying himself to this art is thus related in the Miratu ?z-Zaman:—He used to go forth in disguise; and when he found any people who knew him not, he approached them and asked them respecting the conduct of David, and they praised him and prayed for him; but one day, as he was asking questions respecting himself as usual, God sent to him an angel in the form of a human being, who said, “An excellent man were David if he did not take from the public treasury.” Whereupon the heart of David was contracted, and he begged of God to render him independent: so He made iron soft to him, and it became in his hands as thread; and he used to sell a coat of mail for four thousand [pieces of money—whether gold or silver is not said], and with part of this he obtained food for himself, and part he gave in alms, and with part he fed his family. Hence an excellent coat of mail is often called by the Arabs “Dawudi,” i.e. “Davidean.” (See Lane’s translation of The Thousand and One Nights, chap. viii. note 5.)

David, it is said, divided his time regularly, setting apart one day for the service of God, another day for rendering justice to his people, another day for preaching to them, and another day for his own affairs.

DA?WA (?????). A claim in a law-suit. A claim or demand. (See Hamilton’s Hidayah, vol. iii. p. 63.)

DA?WAH (?????). Lit. “A call, invocation (i.e. of God’s help).” A term used to express a system of incantation which is held to be lawful by orthodox Muh?ammadans; whilst sih?r, “magic,” and kahanah, “fortune-telling,” are said to be unlawful, the Prophet having forbidden both.

From the Muslim books it appears that Muh?ammad is believed to have sanctioned the use of spells and incantations, so long as the words used were only those of the names of God, or of the good angels, and of the good genii; although the more strict amongst them (the Wahhabis, for example,) would say that only an invocation of God Himself was lawful—teaching which appears to be more in accordance with that of Muh?ammad, who is related to have said, “There is nothing wrong in using spells so long as you do not associate anything with God.” (Mishkat, xxi. c. i.) It is therefore clearly lawful to use charms and amulets on which the name of God only is inscribed, and to invoke the help of God by any ceremony, provided no one is associated with Him.

The science of da?wah has, however, been very much elaborated, and in many respects its teachers seem to have departed from the original teaching of their Prophet on the subject.

In India, the most popular work on da?wah is the Jawahiru ?l-K?hamsah, by Shaik?h Abu ?l-Muwayyid of Gujerat, A.H. 956, in which he says the science is used for the following purposes. (1) To establish friendship or enmity between two persons. (2) To cause the cure, or the sickness and death, of a person. (3) To secure the accomplishment of one’s wishes, both temporal and spiritual. (4) To obtain defeat or victory in battle.

This book is largely made up of Hindu customs which, in India, have become part of Muh?ammadanism; but we shall endeavour to confine ourselves to a consideration of those sections which exhibit the so-called science as it exists in its relation to Islam.

In order to explain this occult science, we shall consider it under the following divisions:

1. The qualifications necessary for the ?amil, or the person who practices it.

2. The tables required by the teacher, and their uses.

3. An explanation of the terms ni?ab, zakat, ?ushr, qufl, daur, bazl, k?hatm, and sari?u ?l-ijabah, and their uses.

4. The methods employed for commanding the presence of the genii.

DAY OF JUDGMENT. [RESURRECTION.]

DEATH. Arabic Maut; Wafat. It is distinctly taught in the Qur?an that the hour of death is fixed for every living creature.

Surah xvi. 63: “If God were to punish men for their wrong-doing, He would not leave on the earth a single living creature; but He respites them until a stated time; and when their time comes they cannot delay it an hour, nor can they hasten it.”

Surah iii. 182: “Every soul must taste death, and ye shall only be paid your hire on the day of resurrection.”

Surah l. 17: “The agony of death shall come in truth, that is what thou didst shun.”

In the Traditions, Muh?ammad has taught that it is sinful to wish for death: “Wish not for death, not even if thou art a doer of good works, for peradventure thou mayest increase them with an increase of life. Nor even if thou art a sinner, for with increase of life thou mayest obtain God’s pardon.”

One day the Prophet said: “Whosoever loves to meet God, God will love to meet him, and whoever dislikes to meet God, God will dislike to meet him.” Then ?Ayishah said, “Truly we all dislike death and consider it a great affliction.” The Prophet replied, “Thou dost not understand me. When death comes near a believer, then God gives him a spirit of resignation, and so it is that there is nothing which a believer likes so much as death.”

Al-Bara? ibn ?A?ib, one of the Companions, says:—

“I came out with the Prophet at the funeral of one of the assistants, and we arrived just at the grave, before they had interred the body, and the Prophet sat down, and we sat around him with our heads down, and were so silent, that you might say that birds were sitting upon our heads. And there was a stick in the Prophet’s hand with which he kept striking the ground. Then he raised his head and said twice or thrice to his companions, ‘Seek the protection of God from the punishments of the grave.’ After that he said: ‘Verily, when a Muslim separateth from the world and bringeth his soul to futurity, angels descend to him from the celestial regions, whose faces are white. You might say their faces are the sun, and they have a shroud of the shrouds of paradise, and perfumes therefrom. So they sit apart from the deceased, as far as the eyes can see. After which the Angel of Death (Malaku ?l-Maut) comes to the deceased and sits at his head, and says, “O pure soul, come forth to God’s pardon and pleasure.” Then the soul comes out, issuing like water from a bag, and the Angel of Death takes it; and when he takes it, the angels do not allow it to remain in his hands for the twinkling of an eye. But when the Angel of Death has taken the soul of a servant of God, he resigns it to his assistants, in whose hands is a shroud, and they put it into the shroud and with the perfumes, when a fragrance issues from the soul like the smell of the best musk that is to be found on the face of the earth. Then the angels carry it upwards, and they do not pass by any concourse of angels who do not say, “What is this pure soul, and who is owner of it?” And they say, “Such a one, the son of such a one,” calling him by the best names by which he was known in the world, till they reach the lowest region of heaven with him. And the angels ask the door to be opened for him, which is done. Then angels follow it through each heaven, the angel of one region to those of the next, and so on till it reaches the seventh heaven, when God says, “Write the name of My servant in ?Illiyun, and return him towards the earth, that is, to his body which is buried in the earth, because I have created man from earth and return him to it, and will bring him out from it again as I brought him out at first.” Then the souls are returned into their bodies, when two angels [MUNKAR and NAKIR] come to the dead man and cause him to sit up, and say to him, “Who is thy Lord?” He replies, “My Lord is God.” Then they say, “What is thy religion?” He says, “Islam.” Then they say, “What is this man who is sent to you?” (i.e. the Prophet). He says, “He is the Prophet of God.” Then they say, “What is your proof of his mission?” He says, “I read the book of God, and believed in it, and I proved it to be true.” Then a voice calls out from the celestial regions, “My servant hath spoken true, therefore throw for him a bed from Paradise, and dress him in clothes from Paradise, and open a door for him towards Paradise.” Then peace and perfumes come for him from Paradise, and his grave is enlarged for him as far as the eye can see. Then a man with a beautiful face comes to him, elegantly dressed, and perfumed, and he says, “Be joyful in that which hath made thee so, this is the day which was promised thee.” Then the dead person says to him, “Who art thou, for thy face is perfectly beautiful?” And the man replies, “I am thy good deeds.” Then the dead person cries out, “O Lord, hasten the resurrection for my sake!” ’

“ ‘But,’ continued the Prophet, ‘when an infidel dies, and is about to pass from the world and bring his soul to futurity, black-faced angels come down to him and with them sackcloths. Then they sit from the dead as far as the eye can see, after which the Angel of Death comes in order to sit at his head, and says, “O impure soul! come forth to the wrath of God.” Then the soul is disturbed in the infidel’s body. Then the Angel of Death draws it out as a hot spit is drawn out of wet wool.

“ ‘Then the Angel of Death takes the soul of the infidel, and having taken it, the angels do not allow it to remain with him the twinkling of an eye, but they take it in the sackcloth, and a disagreeable smell issues from the soul, like that of the most fetid carcass that can be met with upon the face of the earth. Then the angels carry it upwards and do not pass by any assembly of angels who do not ask whose filthy soul is this. They answer such an one, the son of such an one, and they mention him by the worst names that he bore in the world, till they arrive with it at the lowest heaven, and call the door to be opened, but it cannot be done.’ Then the Prophet repeated this verse: ‘The doors of the celestial regions shall not be opened for them, nor shall they enter into paradise till a camel passes through the eye of a needle.’ Then God says, ‘Write his history in Sijjin,’ which is the lowest earth; then his soul is thrown down with violence. Afterwards the Prophet repeated this verse: ‘Unite no partner with God, for whoever uniteth gods with God is like that which falleth from high, and the birds snatch it away, or the wind wafteth it to a distant place.’ Then his soul is replaced in his body, and two angels [MUNKAR and NAKIR] come to him and set him up, and say, ‘Who is thy Lord?’ He says, ‘Alas! alas! I do not know.’ Then they say, ‘What is thy religion?’ He says, ‘Alas! alas! I do not know.’ And they say to him, ‘What is the condition of the man who is sent down to you?’ He says, ‘Alas! alas! I do not know.’ Then a voice comes from above, saying, ‘He lieth; therefore spread a bed of fire for him and open a door for him towards hell.’ Then the heat and hot winds of hell come to him, and his grave is made tight upon him, so as to squeeze his ribs. And a man with a hideous countenance comes to him shockingly dressed, of a vile smell, and he says, ‘Be joyful in that which maketh thee miserable; this is the day that was promised thee.’ Then the dead man says, ‘Who art thou? Thy face is hideous, and brings wickedness.’ He says, ‘I am thy impure actions.’ Then the dead person says, ‘O Lord, delay the resurrection on my account!’ ”

The ceremonies attending the death of a Muslim are described as follows by Jafir Sharif in Herklots’ Qanun-i-Islam, as follows:—

Four or five days previous to a sick man’s approaching his dissolution, he makes his will in favour of his son or any other person, in the presence of two or more witnesses, and either delivers it to others or retains it by him. In it he likewise appoints his executor. When about to expire, any learned reader of the Qur?an is sent for, and requested to repeat with a loud voice the Surah Ya Sin (or chap. xxxvi.), in order that the spirit of the man, by the hearing of its sound, may experience an easy concentration. It is said that when the spirit was commanded to enter the body of Adam, the soul having looked into it once, observed that it was a bad and dark place, and unworthy of its presence! Then the Just and Most Holy God illuminated the body of Adam with “lamps of light,” and commanded the spirit to re-enter. It went in a second time, beheld the light, and saw the whole dwelling, and said, “There is no pleasing sound here for me to listen to.” It is generally understood from the best works of the mystics of the East, that it was owing to this circumstance that the Almighty created music. The holy spirit, on hearing the sound of this music became so delighted that it entered Adam’s body. Commentators on the Qur?an, expositors of the Traditions and divines have written, that that sound resembled that produced by the repeating of the Suratu Ya Sin; it is therefore advisable to read at the hour of death this chapter for tranquillising the soul.

The Kalimatu ?sh-shahadah [CREED] is also read with an audible voice by those present. They do not require the patient to read it himself, as at such a time he is in a distressing situation, and not in a fit state of mind to repeat the Kalimah.

Most people lie insensible, and cannot even speak, but the pious retain their mental faculties and converse till the very last. The following is a most serious religious rule amongst us, viz. that if a person desire the patient to repeat the Kalimah, and the sick man expire without being able to do so, his faith is considered dubious; whilst the man who directed him so to do thereby incurs guilt. It is therefore best that the sitters-by read it, in anticipation of the hope that the sick man, by hearing the sound of it, may bring it to his recollection, and repeat it either aloud or in his own mind. In general, when a person is on the point of death, they pour sharbat, made of sugar and water, down his throat, to facilitate the exit of the vital spark, and some procure the holy water of the Zamzam well at Makkah. The moment the spirit has fled, the mouth is closed; because, if left open, it would present a disagreeable spectacle. The two great toes are brought in contact and fastened together with a thin slip of cloth, to prevent the legs remaining apart. They burn perfumes near the corpse. Should the individual have died in the evening, the shrouding and burial take place before midnight; if he die at a later hour, or should the articles required not be procurable at that late hour, he is buried early on the following morning. The sooner the sepulchral rites are performed the better, for it is not proper to keep a corpse long in the house, and for this reason the Prophet said that if he was a good man, the sooner he is buried the more quickly he will reach heaven; if a bad man, he should be speedily buried, in order that his unhappy lot may not fall upon others in the house; as also that the relatives of the deceased may not, by holding the corpse, weep too much or go without food. There are male and female washers, whose province it is to wash and shroud the corpse for payment. Sometimes, however, the relatives do it themselves. In undertaking the operation of washing, they dig a hole in the earth to receive the water used in the process, and prevent its spreading over a large surface, as some men and women consider it bad to tread on such water. Then they place the corpse on a bed, country-cot, plank, or straw. Some women, who are particular in these matters, are afraid even to venture near the place where the body has been washed. Having stripped the corpse and laid it on its back, with its head to the east and feet to the west, they cover it with a cloth—reaching, if it be a man, from the navel to the calves of the legs, if a woman, extending from the chest to the feet—and wash it with warm or with cold water. They raise the body gently and rub the abdomen four or five times, then pour plenty of water, and wash off all the dirt and filth with soap, &c., by means of flocks of cotton or cloth; after which, laying the body on the sides, they wash them; then the back, and the rest of the body; but gently, because, life having but just departed, the body is still warm and not insensible to pain. After this they wash and clean it well, so that no offensive smell may remain. They never throw water into the nostrils or mouth, but clean them with wicks of cloth or cotton. After that they perform wuz?u? for him, i.e. they wash his mouth, the two upper extremities up to the elbows, make masah? [MASAH] on his head, and throw water on his feet; these latter constituting the four parts of the wuz?u? ceremony [ABLUTIONS]. They then put some camphor with water into a new large earthen pot, and with a new earthen pot they take out water and pour it three times, first from the head to the feet, then from the right shoulder to the feet, lastly from the left shoulder to the feet. Every time that a pot of water is poured the Kalimatu ?sh-shahadah is repeated, either by the person washing or another. Having bathed the body and wiped it dry with a new piece of cloth, they put on the shroud. The shroud consists of three pieces of cloth, if for a man, and five if for a woman.

Those for men comprise, 1st, a lungi, or izar, reaching from the navel down to the knees or ankle-joints; 2nd, a qami?, or kurta, or alfa; its length is from the neck to the knees or ankles; 3rd, a lifafah, or sheet, from above the head to below the feet. Women have two additional pieces of cloth: one a sinah-band, or breast-band, extending from the arm-pits to above the ankle-joints; the other a damni, which encircles the head once and has its two ends dangling on each side. The manner of shrouding is as follows: having placed the shrouds on a new mat and fumigated them with the smoke of perfumes, the lifafah is spread first on the mat, over it the lungi or izar, and above that the qami?; and on the latter the sinah-band, if it be a woman; the damni is kept separate and tied on afterwards. The corpse must be carefully brought by itself from the place where it was bathed, and laid in the shrouds. Surmah is to be applied to the eyes with a tent made of paper rolled up, with a ring, or with a pice, and camphor to seven places, viz. on the forehead, including the nose, on the palms of the hands, on the knees and great toes, after which the different shrouds are to be properly put on one after another as they lay. The colour of the shroud is to be white; no other is admissible. It is of no consequence, however, if a coloured cloth is spread over the bier; which, after the funeral, or after the fortieth day, is given away to the faqir who resides in the burying-ground, or to any other person, in charity. Previous to shrouding the body, they tear shreds from the cloths for the purpose of tying them on; and after shrouding the body, they tie one band above the head, a second below the feet, and a third about the chest, leaving about six or seven fingers’ breadth of cloth above the head and below the feet, to admit of the ends being fastened. Should the relict of the deceased be present, they undo the cloth of the head and show her his face, and get her, in presence of two witnesses, to remit the dowry which he had settled upon her; but it is preferable that she remit it while he is still alive. Should the wife, owing to journeying, be at a distance from him, she is to remit it on receiving the intelligence of his demise.

Should his mother be present, she likewise says, “The milk with which I suckled thee I freely bestow on thee”; but this is merely a custom in India; it is neither enjoined in books of theology nor by the law of Islam. Then they place on the corpse a flower-sheet or merely wreaths of flowers. [GRAVE, BURIAL.]

DEATH, EVIDENCE OF. The Muh?ammadan law admits of the evidence of death given in a court of justice being merely by report or hearsay. The reason of this is that death is an event of such a nature as to admit the privacy only of a few. But some have advanced that, in cases of death, the information of one man or woman is sufficient, “because death is not seen by many, since, as it occasions horror, the sight of it is avoided.”

If a person say he was present at the burial of another, this amounts to the same as an actual sight of his death. (Hidayah, vol. iv. p. 678.)

DEBT. In Muh?ammadan law there are two words used for debt. Dain (????), or money borrowed with some fixed term of payment, and qarz? (????), or money lent without any definite understanding as to its repayment. Imprisonment for debt is allowed. (Hidayah, vol. ii. p. 624.)

Upon the decease of a debtor, the law demands that after the payment of the funeral expenses, his just debts must be paid before payment of legacies.

To engage in a Jihad or religious war, is said by Muh?ammad to remit every sin except that of being in debt. [JIHAD, DAIN, QARZ.]

DECORUM, or modesty of demeanour between the sexes, is strictly enjoined in Muslim law, and a special chapter is devoted to it in the Durru ?l-Muk?htar and other works on Muh?ammadan law.

A man is not allowed to look at a woman except at her hands and face, nor is he allowed to touch her. But a physician is permitted to exercise the duties of his profession without restriction.

A judge in the exercise of his office may look in the face of a woman, and witnesses are under the same necessity.

DECREES OF GOD, The. Arabic Qadar or Taqdir. [PREDESTINATION.]

DEEDS. Written deeds are, according to Muh?ammadan law, of three kinds: I. Mustabin-i-marsum, or regular documents, such as are executed on paper, and have a regular title, superscription, &c., which are equivalent to oral declaration, whether the person be present or absent. II. Mustabin-i-ghair-i-marsum, or irregular documents, such as are not written on paper, but upon a wall or the leaf of a tree, or upon paper without any title or superscription or signature. III. Ghair-i-mustabin, writings which are not documents in any sense, such as are delineated in the air or in the water by the motions of a dumb person.

DEFENDANT. Arabic mudda?a ?alaihi (???? ?????). Lit. “A claim upon him.”

The author of the Hidayah (vol. iii. p. 63) says a defendant is a person who, if he should wish to avoid the litigation, is compellable to sustain it. Some have defined a plaintiff, with respect to any article of property, to be a person who, from his being disseized of the said article, has no right to it but by the establishment of proof; and a defendant to be a person who has a plea of right to that article from his seizing or possession of it.

The Imam Muh?ammad has said that a defendant is a person who denies. This is correct; but it requires a skill and knowledge of jurisprudence to distinguish the denier in a suit, as the reality and not the appearance is efficient, and it frequently happens that a person is in appearance the plaintiff, whilst in reality he is the defendant. Thus a trustee, when he says to the owner of the deposit, “I have restored to you your deposit,” appears to be plaintiff, inasmuch as he pleads the return of the deposit; yet in reality he is the defendant, since he denies the obligation of responsibility, and hence his assertion, corroborated by an oath, must be credited.

DELIBERATION (Arabic ta?anni ?????) is enjoined by Muh?ammad in the Traditions. He is related to have said, “Deliberation in your undertakings is pleasing to God, and hurry (?ajalah) is pleasing to the devil.” “Deliberation is best in everything except in the things concerning eternity.” (H?adis?-i-Tirmi?i.)

DELUGE, The. Arabic ?ufan (??????). The story of the deluge is given by Muh?ammad in his Qur?an, to the Arabians as a “secret history,” revealed to them (Surah xi. 51). The following are the allusions to it in the Qur?an:—

Surah lxix. 11:—

“When the Flood rose high, we bare you in the Ark,

“That we might make that event a warning to you, and that the retaining ear might retain it.”

Surah liv. 9:—

“Before them the people of Noah treated the truth as a lie, Our servant did they charge with falsehood, and said, ‘Demoniac!’ and he was rejected.

“Then cried he to his Lord, ‘Verily, they prevail against me; come thou therefore to my succour.’

“So we opened the gates of Heaven with water which fell in torrents,

“And we caused the earth to break forth with springs, and their waters met by settled decree.

“And we bare him on a vessel made with planks and nails.

“Under our eyes it floated on: a recompense to him who had been rejected with unbelief.

“And we left it a sign: but, is there any one who receives the warning?

“And how great was my vengeance and my menace!”

Surah xi. 38:—

“And it was revealed unto Noah: ‘Verily, none of thy people shall believe, save they who have believed already; therefore be not thou grieved at their doings.

“‘But build the Ark under our eye and after our revelation: and plead not with me for the evil-doers, for they are to be drowned.’

“So he built the Ark; and whenever the chiefs of his people passed by they laughed him to scorn: said he, ‘Though ye laugh at us, we truly shall laugh at you, even as ye laugh at us; and in the end ye shall know

“‘On whom a punishment shall come that shall shame him; and on whom shall light a lasting punishment.’

“Thus was it until our sentence came to pass, and the earth’s surface boiled up. We said, ‘Carry into it one pair of every kind, and thy family, except him on whom sentence hath before been passed, and those who have believed.’ But they believed not with him except a few.

“And he said, ‘Embark ye therein. In the name of God be its course and its riding at anchor! Truly my Lord is right Gracious, Merciful.’

“And the Ark moved on with them amid waves like mountains: and Noah called to his son—for he was apart—‘Embark with us, O my child! and be not with the unbelievers.’

“He said, ‘I will betake me to a mountain that shall secure me from the water.’ He said, ‘None shall be secure this day from the decree of God, save him on whom He shall have mercy.’ And a wave passed between them, and he was among the drowned.

“And it was said, ‘O Earth! swallow up thy water’; and ‘cease, O Heaven!’ And the water abated, and the decree was fulfilled, and the Ark rested upon al-Judi; and it was said, ‘Avaunt! ye tribe of the wicked!’

“And Noah called on his Lord and said, ‘O Lord! verily my son is of my family: and thy promise is true, and thou art the most just of judges.’

“He said, ‘O Noah! verily, he is not of thy family: in this thou actest not aright. Ask not of me that whereof thou knowest nought: I warn thee that thou become not of the ignorant.’

“He said, ‘To thee verily, O my Lord, do I repair lest I ask that of thee wherein I have no knowledge: unless thou forgive me and be merciful to me I shall be one of the lost.’

“It was said to him, ‘O Noah! debark with peace from Us, and with blessings on thee and on peoples from those who are with thee; but as for part, we will suffer them to enjoy themselves, but afterwards they shall suffer a grievous punishment from us to be inflicted.’

“This is a secret history which we reveal to thee. Thou didst not know them, thou nor thy people before this.”

DEMONS. [DEVILS, GENII.]

DEPORTMENT. Arabic ?ilmu ?l-mu?asharah (??? ?????????). Persian nishast u barkhast. The Traditionists take some pains to explain the precise manner in which their Prophet walked, sat, slept, and rose, but their accounts are not always uniform and consistent. For example, whilst ?Abbad relates that he saw the Prophet sleeping on his back with one leg over the other, Jabir says the Prophet distinctly forbade it.

Modesty of deportment is enjoined in the Qur?an, Surah xvii. 39: “Walk not proudly on the earth,” which the commentators say means that the believer is not to toss his head or his arms as he walks. Surah xxv. 64: “The servants of the Merciful One are those who walk upon the earth lowly, and when the ignorant address them say, ‘Peace!’”

Faqir Jani Muh?ammad As?ad, the author of the celebrated ethical work, the Ak?hlaq-i-Jalali, gives the following advice as regards general deportment:—

“He should not hurry as he walks, for that is a sign of levity; neither should he be unreasonably tardy, for that is a token of dulness. Let him neither stalk like the overbearing, nor agitate himself in the way of women and eunuchs; but constantly observe the middle course. Let him avoid going often backwards and forwards, for that betokens bewilderment; and holding his head downwards, for that indicates a mind overcome by sorrow and anxiety. In riding, no less, the same medium is to be observed. When he sits, let him not extend his feet, nor put one upon another. He must never kneel except in deference to his king, his preceptor, and his father, or other such person. Let him not rest his head on his knee or his hand, for that is a mark of dejection and indolence. Neither let him hold his neck awry, nor indulge in foolish tricks, such as playing with his fingers or other joints. Let him avoid twisting round or stretching himself. In spitting and blowing his nose, let him be careful that no one sees or hears him; that he blow it not towards the Qiblah, nor upon his hand, his skirt, or sleeve-lappet.

“When he enters an assembly, let him sit neither lower nor higher than his proper station. If he be himself the head of the party, he can sit as he likes, for his place must be the highest wherever it may be. If he has inadvertently taken a wrong place, let him exchange it for his own as soon as he discovers his mistake; should his own be occupied, he must return without disturbing others or annoying himself.

“In the presence of his male or female domestics, let him never bare anything but his hands and his face: the parts from his knee to his navel let him never expose at all; neither in public nor private, except on occasions of necessity for ablution and the like. (Vide Gen. ix. 20; Lev. xvii. 6, xx. 11; Deut. xxii. 30.)

“He must not sleep in the presence of other persons, or lie on his back, particularly as the habit of snoring is thereby encouraged.

“Should sleep overpower him in the midst of a party, let him get up, if possible, or else dispel the drowsiness by relating some story, entering on some debate, and the like. But if he is with a set of persons who sleep themselves, let him either bear them company or leave them.

“The upshot of the whole is this: Let him so behave as not to incommode or disgust others; and should any of these observances appear troublesome, let him reflect, that to be formed to their contraries would be still more odious and still more unpleasant than any pains which their acquirement may cost him.” (Ak?hlaq-i-Jalali, Thompson’s Translation, p. 292.)

DEPOSIT (Arabic wadi?ah ??????, pl. wadai?), in the language of the law, signifies a thing entrusted to the care of another. The proprietor of the thing is called mudi?, or depositor; the person entrusted with it is muda?, or trustee, and the property deposited is wadi?ah, which literally means the leaving of a thing with another.

According to the Hidayah, the following are the rules of Islam regarding deposits.

A trustee is not responsible for deposit unless he transgress with respect to it. If therefore it be lost whilst it is in his care, and the loss has not been occasioned by any fault of his, the trustee has not to make good the loss, because the Prophet said, “an honest trustee is not responsible.”

A trustee may also keep the deposit himself or he may entrust it to another, provided the person is a member of his own family, but if he gives it to a stranger he renders himself responsible.

If the deposit is demanded by the depositor, and the trustee neglects to give it up, it is a transgression, and the trustee becomes responsible.

If the trustee mix the deposit (as of grain, oil, &c.) with his own property, in such a manner that the property cannot be separated, the depositor can claim to share equally in the whole property. But if the mixture be the result of accident, the proprietor becomes a proportionate sharer in the whole.

If the trustee deny the deposit upon demand, he is responsible in case of the loss of it. But not if the denial be made to a stranger, because (says Abu Yusuf) the denial may be made for the sake of preserving it.

In the case of a deposit by two persons, the trustee cannot deliver to either his share, except it be in the presence of the other. And when two persons receive a divisible article in trust, each must keep one half, although these restrictions are not regarded when they are held to be inconvenient, or contrary to custom.

DEVIL, The. The devil is believed to be descended from Jann, the progenitor of the evil genii. He is said to have been named ?Azazil, and to have possessed authority over the animal and spirit kingdom. But when God created Adam, the devil refused to prostrate before him, and he was therefore expelled from Eden. The sentence of death was then pronounced upon Satan; but upon seeking a respite, he obtained it until the Day of Judgment, when he will be destroyed. (Vide Qur?an, Surah vii. 13.) According to the Qur?an, the devil was created of fire, whilst Adam was created of clay. There are two words used in the Qur?an to denote this great spirit of evil: (1) Shait?an (??????, ????????), an Arabic word derived from shat?n, “opposition,” i.e. “one who opposes;” (2) Iblis (??????, d??????), “devil,” from balas, “a wicked or profligate person,” i.e. “the wicked one.” The former expression occurs in the Qur?an fifty-two times, and the latter only nine, whilst in some verses (e.g. Surah ii. 32–34) the two words Shait?an and Iblis occur for the same personality. According to the Majma?u ?l-Bih?ar, shait?an denotes one who is far from the truth, and iblis one who is without hope.

The following is the teaching of Muh?ammad in the Traditions concerning the machinations of the devil (Mishkat, book i. c. iii.):—

“ ‘Verily, the devil enters into man as the blood into his body.

“ ‘There is not one amongst you but has an angel and a devil appointed over him.’ The Companions said, ‘Do you include yourself in this?’ He said, ‘Yes, for me also; but God has given me victory over the devil, and he does not direct me except in what is good.’

“There is not one of the children of Adam, except Mary and her son (Jesus), but is touched by the devil at the time of its birth, hence the child makes a loud noise from the touch.

“Devil rests his throne upon the waters, and sends his armies to excite contention and strife amongst mankind; and those in his armies who are nearest to him in power and rank, are those who do the most mischief. One of them returns to the devil and says, ‘I have done so and so,’ and he says, ‘You have done nothing’; after that another comes, and says, ‘I did not quit him till I made a division between him and his wife’; then the devil appoints him a place near himself, and says, ‘You are a good assistant.’

“The devil sticks close to the sons of Adam, and an angel also; the business of the devil is to do evil, and that of the angel to teach him the truth; and he who meets with truth and goodness in his mind, let him know it proceeds from God, and let him praise God; and he who finds the other, let him seek for an asylum from the devil in God.

“Then the Prophet read this verse of the Qur?an: ‘The devil threatens you with poverty if ye bestow in charity; and orders you to pursue avarice; but God promises you grace and abundance from charity.’

“?Us?man said, ‘O Prophet of God! indeed the devil intrudes himself between me and my prayers, and my reading perplexes me.’ Then the Prophet said, ‘This is a demon called K?hanzab, who casts doubt into prayer: when you are aware of it, take protection with God, and spit over your left arm three times.’ ?Us?man said, ‘Be it so’; and all doubt and perplexity was dispelled.”

DEVIL, The Machinations of the. [WASWASAH.]

DIBAG?HAH (??????). “Tanning.” According to the Traditions, the skins of animals are unclean until they are tanned. Muh?ammad said, “Take nothing for any animals that shall have died until you tan their skins.” And again, “Tanning purifies.” (Mishkat, book iii. c. xi. 2.)

DIMASHQ (?????). [DAMASCUS.]

DIN (????). The Arabic word for “religion.” It is used especially for the religion of the Prophets and their inspired books, but it is also used for idolatrous religion. [RELIGION.]

DINAR (??????). Greek d???????. A gold coin of one mis?qal weight, or ninety-six barley grains, worth about ten shillings. According to Mr. Hussey (Ancient Weights, p. 142), the average weight of the Roman denarii, at the end of the Commonwealth was sixty grains, whilst the English shilling contains eighty grains. Mr. Lane, in his Arabic dictionary, says, “its weight is seventy-one barley-corns and a half, nearly, reckoning the daniq as eight grains of wheat and two-fifths; but if it be said that the daniq is eight grains of wheat, then the dinar is sixty-eight grains of wheat and four-sevenths. It is the same as the mis?qal.” The dinar is only mentioned once in the Qur?an, Surah ii. 66: “And some of them if thou entrust them with a dinar, he will not give it back.” It frequently occurs in books of law.

DIRHAM (?????). Greek d?a??. A silver coin, the shape of which resembled that of a date stone. During the caliphate of ?Umar, it was changed into a circular form; and in the time of Zubair, it was impressed with the words Allah, “God,” barakah, “blessing.” H?ajjaj stamped upon it the chapter of the Qur?an called Ik?hla? (cxii.), and others say he imprinted it with his own name. Various accounts are given of their weights; some saying that they were of ten, or nine, or six, or five mis?qals; whilst others give the weights of twenty, twelve, and ten qirat?s, asserting at the same time that ?Umar had taken a dirham of each kind, and formed a coin of fourteen qirat?s, being the third part of the aggregate sum. (Blochmann’s Ain-i-Akbari, p. 36.)

The dirham, although it is frequently mentioned in books of law, only occurs once in the Qur?an, Surah xii. 20, “And they sold him (Joseph) for a mean price, dirhams counted out, and they parted with him cheaply.”

DIRRAH (????). Vulg. durrah. A scourge made either of a flat piece of leather or of twisted thongs, and used by the public censor of morals and religion, called the muh?tasib. This scourge is inflicted either for the omission of the daily prayer, or for the committal of sins, which are punishable by the law with the infliction of stripes, such as fornication, scandal, and drunkenness. It is related that the K?halifah ?Umar punished his son with the dirrah for drunkenness, and that he died from its effects. (Tarikh-i-K?hamis, vol. ii. p. 252.)

The word used in the Qur?an and H?adis? for this scourge is jaldah, and in theological works, saut?; but dirrah is now the word generally used amongst modern Muslims.

DITCH, Battle of the. Arabic G?hazwatu ?l-K?handaq (???? ???????). The defence of al-Madinah against the Banu Quraiz?ah, A.H. 5, when a trench was dug by the advice of Salman, and the army of al-Madinah was posted within it. After a month’s siege, the enemy retired, and the almost bloodless victory is ascribed by Muh?ammad in the Qur?an to the interposition of Providence. Surah xxxiii. 9: “Remember God’s favours to you when hosts came to you and we sent against them a wind and hosts (of angels), that ye could not see, but God knew what ye were doing.” (Muir’s Life of Mahomet, vol. iii. p. 258.)

DIVORCE. Arabic t?alaq (?????). In its primitive sense the word t?alaq means dismission, but in law it signifies a release from the marriage tie.

The Muh?ammadan law of divorce is founded upon express injunctions contained in the Qur?an, as well as in the Traditions, and its rules occupy a very large section in all Muh?ammadan works on jurisprudence.

DIWAN (??????). (1) In Muh?ammadan law, the word signifies an account or record book, and also the bags in which the Qaz?i’s records are kept. (2) It is also a court of justice, a royal court. (3) Also a minister of state; the chief officer in a Muh?ammadan state; a finance minister. (4) In British courts a law-suit is called diwani, when it refers to a civil suit, in contradistinction to faujdari, or “criminal suit.” (5) A collection of odes is called a diwan, e.g. Diwan-i-H?afiz?, “the Poems of H?afiz?.”

DIYAH (????). A pecuniary compensation for any offence upon the person. [FINES.]

DOGS (Arabic kalb, pl. kilab; Heb. ????????) are unclean animals; for according to a tradition by Abu Hurairah, Muh?ammad said that when a dog drinks in a vessel, it must be washed seven times, and that the first cleansing should be with earth. (Mishkat, book iii. c. ii. pt. 1.)

“Most people believe that when a dog howls near a house it forebodes death, for, it is said, a dog can distinguish the awful form of Azra?il, the Angel of Death.” (Burton’s Arabia, vol. i. p. 290.)

Ibn ?Umr says that dogs used to come into the Masjid at Makkah in the time of the Prophet, but the Companions never purified the mosque when the dog was dry.

The Imam Abu Yusuf holds that the sale of a dog that bites is unlawful, whilst the Imam ash-Shafi?i has said that the sale of a dog is absolutely illegal, because the Prophet said the wages of whoredom and the price of a dog are forbidden. Abu H?anifah holds that dogs which are trained to hunt or watch may be lawfully sold. (Hamilton’s Hidayah, vol. ii. p. 543.)

It is lawful to hunt with a trained dog, and the sign of a dog being trained is that he catches game three times without killing it. The dog must be let slip with the ejaculation: Bismillahi ?llahi Akbar! “In the name of God, the great God!” when all game seized by him becomes lawful food. This custom is founded upon a verse in the Qur?an, Surah v. 6: “Lawful for you are all good things and what ye have taught beasts of prey to catch, training them like dogs; ye teach them as God taught you. And mention the name of God over it.”

Rules for hunting with dogs will be found in Hamilton’s Hidayah, vol. iv. p. 170.

DOG STAR. Sirius, or the dog star, was an object of worship amongst the ancient Arabs, and is mentioned in the Qur?an, under the name of ash-Shi?ra, Surah liii. 50: “He (God) is the Lord of the Dog Star.”

DOWER. Arabic, mahr (????), Heb. (???????). Dower is considered by some lawyers to be an effect of the marriage contract, imposed on the husband by the law as a mark of respect for the subject of the contract—the wife; while others consider that it is in exchange for the usufruct of the wife, and its payment is necessary, as upon the provision of a support to the wife depends the permanency of the matrimonial connection. Thus, it is indispensable a fortiori, so much so, that if it were not mentioned in the marriage contract, it would be still incumbent on the husband, as the law will presume it by virtue of the contract itself, and award it upon demand being made by the wife. In such case, the amount of dower will be to the extent of the dowers of the women of her rank and of the ladies of her father’s family. Special beauty or accomplishments may, however, be pleaded for recovering a larger award than the customary dower, where the amount of dower is not mentioned in the contract. There is no limit to the amount of dower; it may be to a very large amount, considering the position and circumstance of the bridegroom, but its minimum is never less than ten dirhams; so where it is fixed at a lesser amount, the law will augment it up to ten dirhams. The dower need not invariably be in currency, or even in metal; everything, except carrion, blood, wine, and hog. Also the bridegroom’s own labour, if he is a free man, being held by the law to be a good dower.

Dower is generally divided into two parts, termed mu?ajjal, “prompt,” and mu?ajjal, “deferred.” The mu?ajjal portion is exigible on entering into the contract, while the mu?ajjal part of the dower is payable upon dissolution of the contract. Although the first part is payable, and is sometimes paid, at the time the contract is entered into, yet it has been the general practice (at least in India) to leave it unpaid, and so like an on-demand obligation it remains due at all times—the wife’s right to the same not being extinguished by lapse of time. The wife’s (or her guardian’s) object in leaving the exigible part of the dower unrealised, seems to be that there may always exist a valid guarantee for the good treatment of her by her husband. The women of the respectable classes reserve their right and power to demand their exigible dowers till such time as occasion should require the exercise thereof. The custom of fixing heavy dowers, generally beyond the husband’s means, especially in India, seems to be based upon the intention of checking the husband from ill-treating his wife, and, above all, from his marrying another woman, as also from wrongfully or causelessly divorcing the former. For in the case of divorce the woman can demand the full payment of the dower. In the event of the death of the husband, the payment of the dower has the first claim on the estate after funeral expenses; the law regarding it as a just debt. (Tagore Law Lectures, 1873, p. 341; Hidayah, vol. i. p. 122.)

DREAMS. Arabic h?ulm (??????); manam (?????); ruya? (??????). The term used for a bad dream is h?ulm, and for an ordinary dream manam, ruya? being used to express a heavenly vision. [RUYA.]

According to the traditions, the Prophet is related to have said, “A good dream is of God’s favour and a bad dream is of the devil; therefore, when any of you dreams a dream which is such as he is pleased with, then he must not tell it to any but a beloved friend; and when he dreams a bad dream, then let him seek protection from God both from its evil and from the wickedness of Satan; and let him spit three times over his left shoulder, and not mention the dream to anyone; then, verily, no evil shall come nigh him.” “The truest dream is the one which you have about day-break.” “Good dreams are one of the parts of prophecy.” (Mishkat, xxi. c. iv.)

DRESS. Arabic libas (???????). Decent apparel at the time of public worship is enjoined in the Qur?an, Surah vii. 29: “O children of Adam! wear your goodly apparel when ye repair to any mosque.” Excess in apparel and extravagance in dress are reproved, Surah vii. 25: “We (God) have sent down raiment to hide your nakedness, and splendid garments; but the raiment of piety, this is the best.”

According to the Hidayah (vol. iv. p. 92), a dress of silk is not lawful for men, but women are permitted to wear it. Men are prohibited from wearing gold ornaments, and also ornaments of silver, otherwise than a silver signet ring. The custom of keeping handkerchiefs in the hand, except for necessary use, is also forbidden.

The following are some of the sayings of the Prophet with regard to dress, as recorded in the Traditions. Mishkat, xx. c. i.: “God will not look at him on the Day of Resurrection who shall wear long garments from pride.” “Whoever wears a silken garment in this world shall not wear it in the next.” “God will not have compassion upon him who wears long trousers (i.e. below the ankle) from pride.” “It is lawful for the women of my people to wear silks and gold ornaments, but it is unlawful for the men.” “Wear white clothes, because they are the cleanest, and the most agreeable; and bury your dead in white clothes.”

According to the Traditions, the dress of Muh?ammad was exceedingly simple. It is said he used to wear only two garments, the izar, or “under garment” which hung down three or four inches below his knees, and a mantle thrown over his shoulders. These two robes, with the turban, and white cotton drawers, completed the Prophet’s wardrobe. His dress was generally of white, but he also wore green, red, and yellow, and sometimes a black woollen dress. It is said by some traditionists that in the taking of Makkah he wore a black turban. The end of his turban used to hang between his shoulders. And he used to wrap it many times round his head. It is said, “the edge of it appeared below like the soiled clothes of an oil dealer.”

He was especially fond of white-striped yamani cloth. He once prayed in a silken dress, but he cast it aside afterwards, saying, “it doth not become the faithful to wear silk.” He once prayed in a spotted mantle, but the spots diverted his attention, and the garment was never again worn.

His sleeves, unlike those of the Eastern choga or k?haftan, ended at the wrist, and he never wore long robes reaching to his ankles.

At first, he wore a gold ring with the stone inwards on his right hand, but it distracted his attention when preaching, and he changed it for a silver one. His shoes, which were often old and cobbled, were of the H?az?ramaut pattern, with two thongs. And he was in the habit of praying with his shoes on. [SHOES.]

The example of Muh?ammad has doubtless influenced the customs of his followers in the matter of dress, the fashion of which has remained almost the same in eastern Muh?ammadan countries centuries past; for although there are varieties of dress in Eastern as well as in European countries, still there are one or two characteristics of dress which are common to all oriental nations which have embraced Islam, namely, the turban folded round the head, the white cotton drawers, or full trousers, tied round the waist by a running string; the qamis, or “shirt,” the k?haftan, or “coat,” and the lungi, or “scarf.” The qami? is the same as the ketoneth of the Hebrews, and the ??t?? of the Greeks, a kind of long shirt with short sleeves, the ends of which extend over the trousers or drawers, reaching below the knees. The k?haftan answers to the Hebrew ???????? meil (1 Sam. xviii. 4), a tunic worn as an outer garment. The Jewish ???????? beged, or ?????????? simlah, must have been similar to the quadrangular piece of cloth still worn as a scarf in Central Asia, and called a lungi, and similar to the ?aba? of the Egyptians. It is worn in various ways, either wrapped round the body, or worn over the shoulders, and sometimes folded as a covering for the head.

The dress of Muh?ammadans in Egypt is very minutely described by Mr. Lane in his Modern Egyptians, vol. i. p. 36.

The dress of the men of the middle and higher classes of Egypt consists of the following articles. First a pair of full drawers of linen or cotton tied round the body by a running string or band, the ends of which are embroidered with coloured silks, though concealed by the outer dress. The drawers descend a little below the knees or to the ankles; but many of the Arabs will not wear long drawers, because prohibited by the Prophet. Next is worn a qamis or “shirt,” with very full sleeves, reaching to the wrist; it is made of linen of a loose open texture, or of cotton stuff, or of muslin, or silk, or of a mixture of silk and cotton in strips, but all white. Over this, in winter, or in cool weather, most persons wear a sudeyree, which is a short vest of cloth, or of striped coloured silk, or cotton, without sleeves. Over the shirt and the sudeyree, or the former alone, is worn a long vest of striped silk or cotton (called kaftan) descending to the ankles, with long sleeves extending a few inches beyond the fingers’ ends, but divided from a point a little above the wrist, or about the middle of the fore-arm, so that the hand is generally exposed, though it may be concealed by the sleeve when necessary, for it is customary to cover the hands in the presence of a person of high rank. Round this vest is wound the girdle, which is a coloured shawl, or a long piece of white-figured muslin.

The ordinary outer robe is a long cloth coat, of any colour, called by the Turks jubbah, but by the Egyptians gibbeh, the sleeves of which reach not quite to the wrist. Some persons also wear a beneesh, which is a robe of cloth with long sleeves, like those of the kaftan, but more ample; it is properly a robe of ceremony, and should be worn over the other cloth coat, but many persons wear it instead of the gibbeh.

Another robe, called farageeyeh, nearly resembles the beneesh; it has very long sleeves, but these are not slit, and it is chiefly worn by men of the learned professions. In cold or cool weather, a kind of black woollen cloak, called abayeh, is commonly worn. Sometimes this is drawn over the head.

In winter, also, many persons wrap a muslin or other shawl (such as they use for a turban) about the head and shoulders. The head-dress consists, first, of a small close-fitting cotton cap, which is often changed; next a tarboosh, which is a red cloth cap, also fitting close to the head with a tassel of dark-blue silk at the crown; lastly, a long piece of white muslin, generally figured, or a kashmere shawl, which is wound round the tarboosh. Thus is formed the turban. The kashmere shawl is seldom worn except in cool weather. Some persons wear two or three tarbooshes one over another. A shereef (or descendant of the Prophet) wears a green turban, or is privileged to do so, but no other person; and it is not common for any but a shereef to wear a bright green dress. Stockings are not in use, but some few persons in cold weather wear woollen or cotton socks. The shoes are of thick red morocco, pointed, and turning up at the toes. Some persons also wear inner shoes of soft yellow morocco, and with soles of the same; the outer shoes are taken off on stepping upon a carpet or mat, but not the inner; for this reason the former are often worn turned down at the heel.

The costume of the men of the lower orders is very simple. These, if not of the very poorest class, wear a pair of drawers, and a long and full shirt or gown of blue linen or cotton, or of brown woollen stuff, open from the neck nearly to the waist, and having wide sleeves. Over this some wear a white or red woollen girdle; for which servants often substitute a broad red belt of woollen stuff or of leather, generally containing a receptacle for money. Their turban is generally composed of a white, red, or yellow woollen shawl, or of a piece of coarse cotton or muslin wound round a tarboosh, under which is a white or brown felt cap; but many are so poor, as to have no other cap than the latter, no turban, nor even drawers, nor shoes, but only the blue or brown shirt, or merely a few rags, while many, on the other hand, wear a sudeyree under the blue shirt, and some, particularly servants in the houses of great men, wear a white shirt, a sudeyree, and a kaftan, or gibbeh, or both, and the blue shirt over all. The full sleeves of this shirt are sometimes drawn up by means of a cord, which passes round each shoulder and crosses behind, where it is tied in a knot. This custom is adopted by servants (particularly grooms), who have cords of crimson or dark blue silk for this purpose.

In cold weather, many persons of the lower classes wear an abayeh, like that before described, but coarser and sometimes (instead of being black) having broad stripes, brown and white, or blue and white, but the latter rarely. Another kind of cloak, more full than the abayeh, of black or deep blue woollen stuff, is also very commonly worn, it is called diffeeyeh. The shoes are of red or yellow morocco, or of sheep-skin. Those of the groom are of dark red morocco. Those of the door-keeper and the water-carrier of a private house, generally yellow.

The Muslims are distinguished by the colours of their turbans from the Copts and the Jews, who (as well as other subjects of the Turkish Sultan who are not Muslims) wear black, blue, gray, or light-brown turbans, and generally dull-coloured dresses.

The distinction of sects, families, dynasties, &c., among the Muslim Arabs by the colour of the turban and other articles of dress, is of very early origin. There are not many different forms of turbans now worn in Egypt; that worn by most of the servants is peculiarly formal, consisting of several spiral twists one above another like the threads of a screw. The kind common among the middle and higher classes of the tradesmen and other citizens of the metropolis and large towns is also very formal, but less so than that just before alluded to.

The Turkish turban worn in Egypt is of a more elegant fashion. The Syrian is distinguished by its width. The Ulama and men of religion and letters in general used to wear, as some do still, one particularly wide and formal called a mukleh. The turban is much respected. In the houses of the more wealthy classes, there is usually a chair on which it is placed at night. This is often sent with the furniture of a bride; as it is common for a lady to have one upon which to place her head-dress. It is never used for any other purpose.

The dress of the women of the middle and higher orders is handsome and elegant. Their shirt is very full, like that of the men, but shorter, not reaching to the knees; it is also, generally, of the same kind of material as the men’s shirt, or of coloured crape, sometimes black. A pair of very wide trousers (called shintiyan) of a coloured striped stuff, of silk and cotton, or of printed or plain white muslin, is tied round the hips under the shirt, with a dikkeh; its lower extremities are drawn up and tied just below the knee with running strings, but it is sufficiently long to hang down to the feet, or almost to the ground, when attached in this manner. Over the shirt and shintiyan is worn a long vest (called yelek), of the same material as the latter; it nearly resembles the kaftan of the men, but is more tight to the body and arms; the sleeves also are longer, and it is made to button down the front from the bosom to a little below the girdle, instead of lapping over; it is open, likewise on each side, from the height of the hip downwards.

In general, the yelek is cut in such a manner as to leave half of the bosom uncovered, except by the shirt, but many ladies have it made more ample at that part, and according to the most approved fashion it should be of sufficient length to reach to the ground, or should exceed that length by two or three inches or more. A short vest (called anteree) reaching only a little below the waist, and exactly resembling a yelek of which the lower part has been cut off, is sometimes worn instead of the latter. A square shawl, or an embroidered kerchief, doubled diagonally, is put loosely round the waist as a girdle, the two corners that are folded together hanging down behind; or sometimes the lady’s girdle is folded after the ordinary Turkish fashion, like that of the men, but more loosely.

Over the yelek is worn a gibbeh of cloth or velvet or silk, usually embroidered with gold or with coloured silk; it differs in form from the gibbeh of the men, chiefly in being not so wide, particularly in the fore part, and is of the same length as the yelek. Instead of this, a jacket (called saltah), generally of cloth or velvet, and embroidered in the same manner as the gibbeh, is often worn.

The head-dress consists of a takeeyeh and tarboosh, with a square kerchief (called faroodeeyeh) of printed or painted muslin or one of crape, wound tightly round, composing what is called a rabtah. Two or more such kerchiefs were commonly used a short time since, and still are sometimes to form the ladies’ turban, but always wound in a high flat shape, very different from that of the turban of the men. A kind of crown, called kurs, and other ornaments, are attached to the ladies’ head-dress. A long piece of white muslin, embroidered at each end with coloured silks and gold, or of coloured crape ornamented with gold thread, &c., and spangles, rests upon the head, and hangs down behind, nearly or quite to the ground; this is called tarhah, it is the head-veil; the face-veil I shall presently describe. The hair, except over the forehead and temples, is divided into numerous braids or plaits, generally from eleven to twenty-five in number, but always of an uneven number; these hang down the back. To each braid of hair are usually added three black silk cords with little ornaments of gold, &c., attached to them. Over the forehead the hair is cut rather short, but two full locks hang down on each side of the face; these are often curled in ringlets and sometimes plaited.

Few of the ladies of Egypt wear stockings or socks, but many of them wear mezz (or inner shoes) of yellow or red morocco, sometimes embroidered with gold. Over these, whenever they step off the matted or carpeted part of the floor, they put on baboog (or slippers) of yellow morocco, with high-pointed toes, or use high wooden clogs or pattens, generally from four to nine inches in height, and usually ornamented with mother-of-pearl or silver, &c.

The riding or walking attire is called tezyeereh. Whenever a lady leaves the house, she wears, in addition to what has been above described, first, a large, loose gown (called tob or sebleh), the sleeves of which are nearly equal in width to the whole length of the gown; it is of silk, generally of a pink or rose or violet colour. Next is put on the burka? or face-veil, which is a long strip of white muslin, concealing the whole of the face except the eyes, and reaching nearly to the feet. It is suspended at the top by a narrow band, which passes up the forehead, and which is sewed, as are also the two upper corners of the veil, to a band that is tied round the head. The lady then covers herself with a habarah, which, for a married lady, is composed of two breadths of glossy, black silk, each ell-wide, and three yards long; these are sewed together, at or near the selvages (according to the height of the person) the seam running horizontally, with respect to the manner in which it is worn; a piece of narrow black ribbon is sewed inside the upper part, about six inches from the edge, to tie round the head. But some of them imitate the Turkish ladies of Egypt in holding the front part so as to conceal all but that portion of the veil that is above the hands. The unmarried ladies wear a habarah of white silk, or a shawl. Some females of the middle classes, who cannot afford to purchase a habarah, wear instead of it an eezar (izar), which is a piece of white calico, of the same form and size as the former, and is worn in the same manner. On the feet are worn short boots or socks (called khuff), of yellow morocco, and over these the baboog. The dress of a large proportion of those women of the lower orders who are not of the poorest class, consists of a pair of trousers or drawers (similar in form to the shintiyan of the ladies, but generally of plain white cotton or linen), a blue linen or cotton shirt (not quite so full as that of the men), reaching to the feet, a burka? of a kind of coarse black crape, and a dark blue tarhah of muslin or linen. Some wear, over the long shirt, or instead of the latter, a linen tob, of the same form as that of the ladies; and within the long shirt, some wear a short white shirt; and some, a sudeyree also, or an anteree. The sleeves of the tob are often turned up over the head; either to prevent their being incommodious, or to supply the place of a tarhah. In addition to these articles of dress, many women who are not of the very poor classes wear, as a covering, a kind of plaid, similar in form to the habarah, composed of two pieces of cotton, woven in small chequers of blue and white, or cross stripes, with a mixture of red at each end. It is called milayeh; in general it is worn in the same manner as the habarah, but sometimes like the tarhah. The upper part of the black burka? is often ornamented with false pearls, small gold coins, and other little flat ornaments of the same metal (called bark); sometimes with a coral bead, and a gold coin beneath; also with some coins of base silver and more commonly with a pair of chain tassels of brass or silver (called oyoon) attached to the corners. A square black silk kerchief (called asbeh), with a border of red and yellow, is bound round the head, doubled diagonally, and tied with a single knot behind; or, instead of this, the tarboosh and faroodeeyeh are worn, though by very few women of the lower classes.

The best kind of shoes worn by the females of the lower orders are of red morocco, turned up, but generally round, at the toes. The burka? and shoes are most common in Cairo, and are also worn by many of the women throughout lower Egypt; but in Upper Egypt, the burka? is very seldom seen, and shoes are scarcely less uncommon. To supply the place of the former, when necessary, a portion of the tarhah is drawn before the face, so as to conceal nearly all the countenance except one eye.

Many of the women of the lower orders, even in the metropolis, never conceal their faces.

Throughout the greater part of Egypt, the most common dress of the women, merely consists of the blue shirt or tob and tarhah. In the southern parts of Upper Egypt chiefly above Akhmeem, most of the women envelop themselves in a large piece of dark-brown woollen stuff (called a hulaleeyeh), wrapping it round the body and attaching the upper parts together over each shoulder, and a piece of the same they use as a tarhah. This dull dress, though picturesque, is almost as disguising as the blue tinge which women in these parts of Egypt impart to their lips. Most of the women of the lower orders wear a variety of trumpery ornaments, such as ear-rings, necklaces, bracelets, &c., and sometimes a nose-ring.

The women of Egypt deem it more incumbent upon them to cover the upper and back part of the head than the face, and more requisite to conceal the face than most other parts of the person. I have often seen women but half covered with miserable rags, and several times females in the prime of womanhood, and others in more advanced age, with nothing on the body but a narrow strip of rag bound round the hips.

Mr. Burckhardt, in his Notes on the Bedouins and Wahabys (p. 47), thus describes the dress of the Badawis of the desert:—

In summer the men wear a coarse cotton shirt, over which the wealthy put a kombar, or “long gown,” as it is worn in Turkish towns, of silk or cotton stuff. Most of them, however, do not wear the kombar, but simply wear over their shirt a woollen mantle. There are different sorts of mantles, one very thin, light, and white woollen, manufactured at Bag?hdad, and called mesoumy. A coarser and heavier kind, striped white and brown (worn over the mesoumy), is called abba. The Bag?hdad abbas are most esteemed, those made at Hamah, with short wide sleeves, are called boush. (In the northern parts of Syria, every kind of woollen mantle, whether white, black, or striped white and brown, or white and blue, are called meshlakh.) I have not seen any black abbas among the Aenezes, but frequently among the sheikhs of Ahl el Shemal, sometimes interwoven with gold, and worth as much as ten pounds sterling. The Aenezes do not wear drawers; they walk and ride usually barefooted, even the richest of them, although they generally esteem yellow boots and red shoes. All the Bedouins wear on the head, instead of the red Turkish cap, a turban or square kerchief, of cotton or cotton and silk mixed; the turban is called keffie; this they fold about the head so that one corner falls backward, and two other corners hang over the fore part of the shoulders; with these two corners they cover their faces to protect them from the sun’s rays, or hot wind, or rain, or to conceal their features if they wish to be unknown. The keffie is yellow or yellow mixed with green. Over the keffie the Aenezes tie, instead of a turban, a cord round the head; this cord is of camel’s hair, and called akal. Some tie a handkerchief about the head, and it is then called shutfe. A few rich sheikhs wear shawls on their heads of Damascus or Bag?hdad manufacture, striped red and white; they sometimes also use red caps or takie (called in Syria tarboush), and under those they wear a smaller cap of camel’s hair, called maaraka (in Syria arkye, where it is generally made of fine cotton stuff).

The Aenezes are distinguished at first sight from all the Syrian Bedouins by the long tresses of their hair. They never shave their black hair, but cherish it from infancy, till they can twist it in tresses, that hang over the cheeks down to the breast: these tresses are called keroun. Some few Aenezes wear girdles of leather, others tie a cord or a piece of rag over the shirt. Men and women wear from infancy a leather girdle around the naked waist, it consists of four or five thongs twisted together into a cord as thick as one’s finger. I heard that the women tie their thongs separated from each other, round the waist. Both men and women adorn the girdles with pieces of ribands or amulets. The Aenezes called it hhakou; the Ahl el Shemal call it bereim. In summer the boys, until the age of seven or eight years, go stark naked; but I never saw any young girl in that state, although it was mentioned that in the interior of the desert the girls, at that early age, were not more encumbered by clothing than their little brothers. In winter, the Bedouins wear over the shirt a pelisse, made of several sheep-skins stitched together; many wear these skins even in summer, because experience has taught them that the more warmly a person is clothed, the less he suffers from the sun. The Arabs endure the inclemency of the rainy season in a wonderful manner. While everything around them suffers from the cold, they sleep barefooted in an open tent, where the fire is not kept up beyond midnight. Yet in the middle of summer an Arab sleeps wrapt in his mantle upon the burning sand, and exposed to the rays of an intensely hot sun. The ladies’ dress is a wide cotton gown of a dark colour, blue, brown, or black; on their heads they wear a kerchief called shauber or mekroune, the young females having it of a red colour, the old of black. All the Ranalla ladies wear black silk kerchiefs, two yards square, called shale kas; these are made at Damascus. Silver rings are much worn by the Aeneze ladies, both in the ears and noses; the ear-rings they call terkie (pl. teraky), the small nose-rings shedre, the larger (some of which are three inches and a half in diameter), khezain. All the women puncture their lips and dye them blue; this kind of tattooing they call bertoum, and apply it likewise in spotting their temples and foreheads. The Serhhan women puncture their cheeks, breasts, and arms, and the Ammour women their ankles. Several men also adorn their arms in the same manner. The Bedouin ladies half cover their faces with a dark-coloured veil, called nekye, which is so tied as to conceal the chin and mouth. The Egyptian women’s veil (berkoa) is used by the Kebly Arabs. Round their wrists the Aeneze ladies wear glass bracelets of various colours; the rich also have silver bracelets and some wear silver chains about the neck. Both in summer and winter the men and women go barefooted.

Captain Burton, in his account of Zanzibar, (vol. i. p. 382), says:—

The Arab’s head-dress is a kummeh or kofiyyah (red fez), a Surat calotte (afiyyah), or a white skull-cap, worn under a turban (kilemba) of Oman silk and cotton religiously mixed. Usually it is of fine blue and white cotton check, embroidered and fringed with a broad red border, with the ends hanging in unequal lengths over one shoulder. The coiffure is highly picturesque. The ruling family and grandees, however, have modified its vulgar folds, wearing it peaked in front, and somewhat resembling a tiara. The essential body-clothing, and the succedaneum for trousers is an izor (nguo yaku Chini), or loin-cloth, tucked in at the waist, six to seven feet long by two to three broad. The colours are brickdust and white, or blue and white, with a silk border striped red, black, and yellow. The very poor wear a dirty bit of cotton girdled by a hakab or kundavi, a rope of plaited thongs; the rich prefer a fine embroidered stuff from Oman, supported at the waist by a silver chain. None but the western Arabs admit the innovation of drawers (suru­wali). The jama or upper garment is a collarless coat, of the best broad-cloth, leek-green or some tender colour being preferred. It is secured over the left breast by a silken loop, and the straight wide sleeves are gaily lined. The kizbao is a kind of waistcoat, covering only the bust; some wear it with sleeves, others without. The dishdashes (in Kisawahili Khanzu), a narrow-sleeved shirt buttoned at the throat, and extending to midshin, is made of calico (baftah), American drill and other stuffs called doriyah, tarabuzun, and jamdani. Sailors are known by khuzerangi, a coarse cotton, stained dingy red-yellow, with henna or pomegranate rind, and rank with wars (bastard saffron) and shark’s oil.

Respectable men guard the stomach with a hizÂm, generally a Cashmere or Bombay shawl; others wear sashes of the dust-coloured raw silk, manufactured in Oman. The outer garment for chilly weather is the long tight-sleeved Persian jubbeh, jokhah, or caftan, of European broad-cloth. Most men shave their heads, and the Shafeis trim or entirely remove the moustaches.

The palms are reddened with henna, which is either brought from El Hejaz, or gathered in the plantations. The only ring is a plain cornelian seal and the sole other ornament is a talisman (hirz, in Kisawahili Hirizi). The eyes are blackened with kohl, or antimony of El Sham—here, not Syria, but the region about Meccah—and the mouth crimsoned by betel, looks as if a tooth had just been knocked out.

Dr. Eugene Schuyler, in his work on Turkestan (vol. i. p. 122), says:—

The dress of the Central Asiatic is very simple. He wears loose baggy trousers, usually made of coarse white cotton stuff fastened tightly round the waist, with a cord and tassel; this is a necessary article of dress, and is never or rarely taken off, at all events not in the presence of another. Frequently, when men are at work, this is the only garment, and in that case it is gradually turned up under the cord, or rolled up on the legs, so that the person is almost naked. Over this is worn a long shirt, either white or of some light-coloured print, reaching almost to the feet, and with a very narrow aperture for the neck, which renders it somewhat difficult to put the head through. The sleeves are long and loose. Beyond this there is nothing more but what is called the chapan, varying in number according to the weather, or the whim of the person. The chapan is a loose gown, cut very sloping in the neck, with strings to tie it together in front; and inordinately large sleeves, made with an immense gore, and about twice as long as is necessary; exceedingly inconvenient, but useful to conceal the hands, as Asiatic politeness dictates. In summer, these are usually made of Russian prints, or of the native alatcha, a striped cotton material, or of silk, either striped or with most gorgeous eastern patterns, in bright colours, especially red, yellow, and green. I have sometimes seen men with as many as four or five of these gowns, even in summer; they say that it keeps out the heat. In winter, one gown will frequently be made of cloth, and lined with fine lamb-skin or fur. The usual girdle is a large handkerchief, or a small shawl; at times, a long scarf wound several times tightly round the waist. The Jews in places under native rule are allowed no girdle, but a bit of rope or cord, as a mark of ignominy. From the girdle hang the accessory knives and several small bags and pouches, often prettily embroidered, for combs, money, &c. On the head there is a skull-cap; these in Tashkent are always embroidered with silk; in Bukhara they are usually worked with silk, or worsted in cross-stitch in gay patterns. The turban, called tchilpetch, or “forty turns,” is very long; and if the wearer has any pretence to elegance, it should be of fine thin material, which is chiefly imported from England. It requires considerable experience to wind one properly round the head, so that the folds will be well made and the appearance fashionable. One extremity is left to fall over the left shoulder, but is usually, except at prayer time, tucked in over the top. Should this end be on the right shoulder, it is said to be in the Afghan style. The majority of turbans are white, particularly so in Tashkent, though white is especially the colour of the mullahs and religious people, whose learning is judged by the size of their turbans. In general, merchants prefer blue, striped, or chequered material.

At home the men usually go barefooted, but on going out wear either a sort of slippers with pointed toes and very small high heels, or long soft boots, the sole and upper being made of the same material. In the street, one must in addition put on either a slipper or golosh, or wear riding-boots made of bright green horse hide, with turned-up pointed toes and very small high heels.

The dress of the women, in shape and fashion, differs but little from that of the men, as they wear similar trousers and shirts, though, in addition, they have long gowns, usually of bright-coloured silk, which extend from the neck to the ground. They wear an innumerable quantity of necklaces, and little amulets, pendents in their hair, and ear-rings, and occasionally even a nose-ring. This is by no means so ugly as is supposed: a pretty girl with a turquoise ring in one nostril is not at all unsightly. On the contrary, there is something piquant in it. Usually, when outside of the houses, all respectable women wear a heavy black veil, reaching to their waists, made of woven horse-hair, and over that is thrown a dark blue, or green khalat, the sleeves of which, tied together at the ends, dangle behind. The theory of this dull dress is, that the women desire to escape observation, and certainly for that purpose they have devised the most ugly and unseemly costume that could be imagined. They are, however, very inquisitive, and occasionally in bye-streets one is able to get a good glance at them before they pull down their veils.

The dress of the citizens of Persia has been often described, both by ancient and modern travellers. That of the men has changed very materially within the last century. The turban, as a head-dress, is now worn by none but the Arabian inhabitants of that country. The Persians wear a long cap covered with lamb’s wool, the appearance of which is sometimes improved by being encircled with a cashmere shawl. The inhabitants of the principal towns are fond of dressing richly. Their upper garments are either made of chintz, silk, or cloth, and are often trimmed with gold or silver lace; they also wear brocade; and in winter their clothes are lined with furs, of which they import a great variety. It is not customary for any person, except the king, to wear jewels; but nothing can exceed the profusion which he displays of these ornaments; and his subjects seem peculiarly proud of this part of royal magnificence. They assert that when the monarch is dressed in his most splendid robes, and is seated in the sun, that the eye cannot gaze on the dazzling brilliancy of his attire.

DRINKING VESSELS. There are four drinking vessels which Muslims were forbidden by their Prophet to drink out of (Mishkat, bk. i., c. i.): h?antam, a “green vessel”; dubba?, a large gourd hollowed out; naqir, a cup made from the hollowed root of a tree; muzaffat, a vessel covered with pitch, or with a glutinous substance. These four kinds of vessels seem to have been used for drinking wine, hence the prohibition.

When a dog drinks from a vessel used by man, it should be washed seven times. (Mishkat, book iii. c. ix. pt. i.)

DROWNING. Arabic g?haraq (????). It is a strange anomaly in Muh?ammadan law, according to the teaching of Abu H?anifah, that if a person cause the death of another by immersing him under water until he die, the offence does not amount to murder, and retaliation (qi?a?) is not incurred. The arguments of the learned divine are as follows: First, water is analogous to a small stick or rod, as is seldom or ever used in murder. Now, it is said in the Traditions that death produced by a rod is only manslaughter, and as in that a fine is merely incurred, so here likewise. Secondly, retaliation requires the observance of a perfect equality; but between drowning and wounding there is no equality, the former being short of the latter with regard to damaging the body. [MURDER.]

DRUNKENNESS. Shurb (????) denotes the state of a person who has taken intoxicating liquor, whilst sukr (????) implies a state of drunkenness. Wine of any kind being strictly forbidden by the Muslim law, no distinction is made in the punishment of a wine-drinker and a drunkard. If a Muslim drink wine, and two witnesses testify to his having done so, or if his breath smell of wine, or if he shall himself confess to having taken wine, or if he be found in a state of intoxication, he shall be beaten with eighty stripes, or, in the case of a slave, with forty stripes. (Hidayah, vol. ii. p. 57; Mishkat, bk. xv. c. iv.) [KHAMR.]

DRUZES. A heretical mystic sect of Muh?ammadans, which arose about the beginning of the eleventh century in the mountains of Syria. They are now chiefly found in the districts of Lebanon, and in the neighbourhood of Damascus. They were founded by al-H?akim, the fanatical K?halifah of the Fat?imite race, who reigned at Cairo, assisted by two Persians named Hamzah and al-Darazi, from the latter of whom the sect derives its name.

De Sacy, in his ExposÉ de la Religion des Druzes, gives the following summary of their belief:—

“To acknowledge only one God, without seeking to penetrate the nature of His being and of His attributes; to confess that He can neither be comprehended by the senses nor defined by words; to believe that the Divinity has shown itself to men at different epochs, under a human form, without participating in any of the weaknesses and imperfections of humanity; that it has shown itself at last, at the commencement of the fifth age of the Hejira, under the figure of Hakim Amr Allah; that that was the last of His manifestations, after which there is none other to be expected; that Hakim disappeared in the year 411 of the Hejira, to try the faith of His servants, to give room for the apostasy of hypocrites, and of those who had only embraced the true religion from the hope of worldly rewards; that in a short time he would appear again, full of glory and of majesty, to triumph over all his enemies, to extend His empire over all the earth, and to make His faithful worshippers happy for ever; to believe that Universal Intelligence is the first of God’s creatures, the only direct production of His omnipotence; that it has appeared upon the earth at the epoch of each of the manifestations of the Divinity, and has finally appeared since the time of Hakim under the figure of Hamza, son of Ahmad; that it is by His ministry that all the other creatures have been produced; that Hamza only possesses the knowledge of all truth, that he is the prime minister of the true religion, and that he communicates, directly or indirectly, with the other ministers and with the faithful, but in different proportions, the knowledge and the grace which he receives directly from the Divinity, and of which he is the sole channel; that he only has immediate access to God, and acts as a mediator to the other worshippers of the Supreme Being; acknowledging that Hamza is he to whom Hakim will confide his sword, to make his religion triumph, to conquer all his rivals, and to distribute rewards and punishments according to the merits of each one; to know the other ministers of religion, and the rank which belongs to each of them; to give to each the obedience and submission which is their due; to confess that every soul has been created by the Universal Intelligence; that the number of men is always the same; and that souls pass successively into different bodies; that they are raised by their attachment to truth to a superior degree of excellence, or are degraded by neglecting or giving up religious meditation; to practise the seven commandments which the religion of Hamza imposes upon its followers, and which principally exacts from them the observance of truth, charity towards their brethren, the renunciation of their former religion, the most entire resignation and submission to the will of God; to confess that all preceding religions have only been types more or less perfect of true religion, that all their ceremonial observances are only allegories, and that the manifestation of true religion requires the abrogation of every other creed. Such is the abridgment of the religious system taught in the books of the Druzes, of which Hamza is the author, and whose followers are called Unitarians.”

There is a very full and correct account of the religious belief of the Druzes in the Researches into the Religions of Syria, by the Rev. J. Wortabet, M.D. In this work Dr. Wortabet gives the following Catechism of the Druzes, which expresses their belief with regard to Christianity:—

“Q. What do ye say concerning the gospel which the Christians hold?

“A. That it is true; for it is the sayings of the Lord Christ, who was Salman el Pharisy during the life of Mohammed, and who is Hamzeh the son of Ali—not the false Christ who was born of Mary, for he was the son of Joseph.

“Q. Where was the true Christ when the false Christ was with the disciples?

“A. He was among the disciples. He uttered the truths of the gospel and taught Christ, the son of Joseph, the institutes of the Christian religion; but when Jesus disobeyed the true Christ, he put hatred into the hearts of the Jews, so that they crucified him.

“Q. What became of him after the crucifixion?

“A. They put him into a grave, and the true Christ came and stole him, and gave out the report among men that Christ had risen out of the dead.

“Q. Why did he act in this manner?

“A. That he might establish the Christian religion, and confirm its followers in what he had taught them.

“Q. Why did he act in such a manner as to establish error?

“A. So that the Unitarians should be concealed in the religion of Jesus and none of them might be known.

“Q. Who was it that came from the grave and entered among the disciples when the doors were shut?

“A. The living Christ, who is immortal, even Hamzeh, the son and slave of our Lord.

“Q. Who brought the gospel to light, and preached it?

“A. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.”

“Q. Why did not the Christians acknowledge the unity of God?

“A. Because God had not so decreed.

“Q. Why does God permit the introduction of evil and infidelity?

“A. Because He chooses to mislead some from, and to guide others to, the truth.

“Q. If infidelity and error proceed from Him, why does he punish those who follow them?

“A. Because when He deceived them, they did not obey Him.

“Q. How can a deluded man obey, when he is ignorant of the true state of the case?

“A. We are not bound to answer this question, for God is not accountable to his creatures for his dealings with them.”

DU?A? (?????). “Prayer.” The word du?a? is generally used for supplication, as distinguished from ?alat, or the liturgical form of prayer, e.g. Qur?an, Surah xiv. 42: “O my Lord! make me and my posterity to be constant in prayer (?alat). O our Lord! and accept my supplication (du?a?). [PRAYERS.]

DU?A?-I-MA?S?UR (?????? ??????????). Lit. “Recorded prayer.” A term used for prayers which were offered up by the Prophet, and have been handed down in the Traditions.

DU?A?U ?L-QUNUT (???? ???????), called also the Qunutu ?l-Witr, “The prayer said standing.” A form of prayer recited after the qara?ah in the night prayer. Recited by some sects in the early morning. It is found in the Traditions. It is as follows:—

“O God, we seek help from Thee, and forgiveness of sins.

“We believe in Thee and trust in Thee.

“We praise Thee. We thank Thee. We are not unthankful.

“We expel, and we depart from him who does not obey Thee.

“We serve Thee only, and to Thee do we pray.

“We seek Thee, we prostrate ourselves and we serve Thee.

“We hope for Thy mercy. We fear Thy punishments.

“Surely Thy judgments are upon the infidels.”

DUALISM. Professor Palmer, following the remarks of al-Baiz?awi the commentator, says there is a protest against the dualistic doctrine that Light and Darkness were two co-eternal principles, in the Qur?an, Surah vi. 1: “Praised be God who created the heavens and the earth, and brought into being the Darkness and the Light.” (Palmer’s Qur?an, vol. i. p. 115; al-Baiz?awi in loco.)

AD-DUK?HAN (????????). “The Smoke.” The title of the XLIVth chapter of the Qur?an, in which the words occur (9th verse): “Expect thou the day when the heaven shall bring a palpable smoke.”

DULDUL (?????). The name of the Prophet’s mule which he gave to ?Ali.

DUMB, The. Arabic abkam (?????), pl. bukm.

The intelligible signs of a dumb person suffice to verify his bequests and render them valid; he may also execute a marriage contract, or give a divorce, or execute a sale or purchase, or sue or incur punishment by signs, but he cannot sue in a case of qi?a?, or retaliation for murder. This rule does not apply to a person who has been deprived of speech, but merely to one who has been born dumb. (Hidayah, vol. iv. p. 568.) A dumb person can also acknowledge and deny the faith by a sign.

AD-DURRATU ?L-BAIZ?A? (?????? ????????). Lit. “The pearl of light.” A term used by ?ufi mystics to express the ?aqlu ?l-awwal, the first intelligence which God is said to have created at the beginning of the animate world. (?Abdu ?r-Razzaq’s Dictionary of ?ufi Terms.)

DURUD (?????); a Persian word. Arabic a?-?alat (???????). A benediction; imploring mercy. A part of the stated prayer, recited immediately after the Tashahhud, whilst in the same posture. It is as follows: “O God, have mercy on Muh?ammad and on his descendants, as Thou didst have mercy on Abraham and on his descendants! Thou art to be praised, and Thou art great! O God, bless Muh?ammad and his descendants as Thou didst bless Abraham and his descendants. Thou art to be praised and Thou art great.” The merits of this form of prayer are said to be very great; for, according to Anas, the Prophet said, “He who recites it will have blessings on his head ten times, ten sins will be forgiven, and he will be exalted ten steps.” (Mishkat, book iv. c. xvii.) [PRAYER.]

DUZAK?H (?????). The Persian word for hell. [HELL.]

DYER. According to the Imam Abu H?anifah, a dyer of cloth is at liberty to detain it until he receive his hire for dyeing it; and if the cloth perish in his hands whilst it is detained, he is not responsible. (Hidayah, vol. iii. 320.)

DYING, The. Very special instructions are given in Muslim books as to the treatment of the dying. In the Durru ?l-Muk?htar (p. 88), the friends of the dying are recommended, if possible, to turn the head of the dying person towards Makkah; but if this be not convenient, his feet should be placed in that direction and his head slightly raised. The Kalimatu ?sh-Shahadah should then be recited, and the Surah Ya-Sin (xxxvi.) and Suratu ?r-Ra?d (xiii.) should be read from the Qur?an. When the spirit has departed from the body, the mouth should be tied up and the eyes closed and the arms straightened, and the body should be perfumed, and no unclean person should be suffered to approach the corpse. Immediate steps should then be taken for the washing of the corpse. [DEATH.]

EARTH, The. Arabic arz? (????). Muh?ammad taught his followers that just as there are seven heavens [HEAVEN] one above another, so there are seven earths one beneath another, the distance between each of these regions being five hundred years’ journey. (Mishkat, book xxiv. c. i. part 3.)

In the Qur?an the earth is said to be stretched out like a carpet or bed (Surah ii. 20; xiii. 3; lxxviii. 6), which expression the ancient commentators understood to imply that the earth was a vast plane, but circular; and (Surah xxxix. 67) to be but a handful in the sight of God, which in the last day shall be changed into another earth (Surah xiv. 49).

The earth is believed by Muh?ammadan writers to be surrounded by a great sea called al-Bah?ru ?l-Muh?it?, or the circumambient ocean, which is bounded by the mountains of Qaf. The extent of the earth is said to be equal to a journey of five hundred years; two hundred years’ journey being allotted to the sea, two hundred to the uninhabited desert, eighty to the country of Gog and Magog (Yajuj wa Majuj) and the rest to the civilised world. Certain terrÆ incognitÆ in the midst of the mountains of Qaf are said to be inhabited by the jinn, or genii. According to some, Makkah (or Jerusalem according to others) is situated in the centre of the earth. On the Muh?it? is the ?Arshu ?l-Iblis, or “Throne of Satan.” The western portion of the Muh?it? is often called the Bah?ru ?z?-Z?ulmat, or “Sea of Darkness,” and in the south-west corner of the earth is the Fountain of Life of which al-K?hiz?r drank, and in virtue of which he still lives, and will live till the Day of Judgment. The mountains of Qaf which bound the great sea Muh?it?, form a circular barrier round the whole earth, and are said to be of green chrysolite, the colour of which the Prophet said imparts a greenish tint to the sky. The general opinion is that the mountains of Qaf bound our earth, but some say there are countries beyond, each country being a thousand years’ journey.

The seven earths, which are five hundred years’ journey from each other, are situated one beneath the other, and each of these seven regions has its special occupants. The occupants of the first are men, genii, and animals; the second is occupied by the suffocating wind which destroyed the infidel tribe of ?Ad (Surah lxix. 6); the third is filled with the stones of hell, mentioned in the Qur?an (Surah ii. 22; lxvi. 6) as “the fuel of which is men and stones”; the fourth by the sulphur of hell; the fifth by the serpents of hell; the sixth by the scorpions of hell, which are in size and colour like black mules, and have tails like spears; and the seventh by the devil and his angels. Our earth is said to be supported on the shoulders of an angel, who stands upon a rock of ruby, which rock is supported on a huge bull with four thousand eyes, and the same number of ears, noses, mouths, tongues, and feet; between every one of each is a distance of five hundred years’ journey. The name of this bull is Kujuta, who is supported by an enormous fish, the name of which is Bahamut.

The above is but a brief outline of the Muh?ammadan belief as regards the earth’s formation; but the statements of Muh?ammadan commentators are so wild on the subject, that it seems quite useless to quote them as authorities, for they contradict each other in endless variety.

EARTHQUAKE, The. Arabic az-Zalzalah (????????). The title of the XCIXth Surah of the Qur?an, in which it is stated that an earthquake will take place at the commencement of the signs of the last day:—

“When the Earth with her quaking shall quake

“And the Earth shall cast forth her burdens,

“And man shall say, What aileth her?

“On that day shall she tell out her tidings,

“Because thy Lord shall have inspired her.

“On that day shall men come forward in throngs to behold their works,

“And whosoever shall have wrought an atom’s weight of good shall behold it,

“And whosoever shall have wrought an atom’s weight of evil shall behold it.”

EATING. According to the Traditions, Muh?ammadans have been enjoined by their Prophet to eat in God’s name, to return thanks, to eat with their right hand, and with their shoes off, and to lick the plate when the meal is finished. The following are some of Muh?ammad’s precepts on the subject:—

“The Devil has power over that food which is eaten without remembering God.”

“Repeat the name of God. Eat with the right hand and eat from before you.”

“When a man comes into a house at meal-time, and remembers the name of God, the devil says to his followers, ‘There is no place here for you and me to-night, nor is there any supper for us.’”

“When anyone eats he must not wash his fingers until he has first licked them.”

“Whoever eats a dish and licks it afterwards, the dish intercedes with God for him.”

“When victuals are placed before you, eat them with your shoes off, because taking off your shoes will ease your feet.” (?Abdu ?l-H?aqq adds, “and do it out of respect to the food.”)

“Whoever eats from a plate and licks it afterwards, the dish says to him, ‘May God free you from hell as you have freed me from the devils licking me.’ ”

Qatadah says that Anas said: “The Prophet did not eat off a table, as is the manner of proud men, who do it to avoid bending their backs.” (Mishkat, Arabic ed., Babu ?l-At??imah.)

The following directions are given for eating, by Faqir Muh?ammad As?ad, the author of the Ak?hlaq-i-Jalali (Thompson’s English Translation, p. 294):—

“First of all, he should wash his hands, mouth, and nose. Before beginning he should say, ‘In the name of God’ (Bismillah); and after ending he must say, ‘Glory to God’ (Al-h?amdu lillah). He is not to be in a hurry to begin, unless he is the master of the feast; he must not dirty his hands, or clothes, or the table-linen; he must not eat with more than three fingers, nor open his mouth wide; not take large mouthfuls, nor swallow them hastily, nor yet keep them too long unswallowed. He must not suck his fingers in the course of eating; but after he has eaten, he may, or rather ought, as there is scripture warrant for it.

“Let him not look from dish to dish, nor smell the food, nor pick and choose it. If there should be one dish better than the rest, let him not be greedy on his own account, but let him offer it to others. He must not spill the grease upon his fingers, or so as to wet his bread and salt. He must not eye his comrades in the midst of his mouthfuls. Let him eat from what is next him, unless of fruit, which it is allowable to eat from every quarter. What he has once put into his mouth (such as bones, &c.), he must not replace upon his bread, nor upon the table-cloth; if a bone has found its way there, let him remove it unseen. Let him beware of revolting gestures, and of letting anything drop from his mouth into the cup. Let him so behave, that, if anyone should wish to eat the relics of his repast, there may be nothing to revolt him.

“Where he is a guest, he must stay his hand sooner than the master of the feast; and whenever the rest discontinue eating, he must act in concert with them, except he be in his own house, or some other where he constitutes part of the family. Where he is himself the host, he must not continue eating when the rest have stayed their hands, so that something may be left for anyone who chances to fancy it.

“If he has occasion to drink in the course of his meal, let him do it softly, that no noise in his throat or mouth may be audible to others. He must not pick his teeth in the view of the company, nor swallow what his tongue may extract from between them; and so of what may be extracted by the tooth-pick, let him throw it aside so as to disgust no one.

“When the time comes for washing his hands, let him be exceedingly careful in cleansing his nails and fingers. Similar must be his particularity in washing his lips, mouth, and nostrils. He must not void his rheum into the basin; even the water in which his mouth has been rinsed, let him cover with his hand as he throws it away.

“Neither must he take the turn from others in washing his hands, saving when he is master of the entertainment, and then he should be the first to wash.”

EATING WITH JEWS OR CHRISTIANS. In Muh?ammadan countries, where the people have not been brought in contact with Hindus, with caste prejudices, Muslims never hesitate to eat with Jews and Christians, provided the drink and victuals are such as are lawful in Islam. Since the British occupation of India, the question has often been raised, and few Muh?ammadans will eat with Englishmen. Syud Ah?mad K?han, C.S.I., has written a book, in which he proves that it is lawful for Muh?ammadans to eat with both Christians and Jews, and his arguments would seem to be in accordance with the teaching of the Qur?an. Surah v. 7: “Lawful for you to-day are the good things, and the food of the people of the Book (i.e. Jews and Christians) is lawful for you, and your food is lawful for them.”

Al-Baiz?awi, commenting on this verse, says: “This verse includes all kinds of food, that which is slain lawfully (?abh?) or not, and this verse is of common application to all the people of the Book, whether Jews or Christians. But on one occasion K?halifah ?Ali did not observe its injunctions with regard to the Banu Tag?hlib, a Christian tribe, because he said these people were not Christians, for they had not embraced anything of Christianity except wine-drinking. And he does not include amongst the people of the Book, the Majusis, although he included the Majusis with the people of the Book when he took the poll-tax from them, according to a tradition which Muh?ammad gave regarding the Majusis, viz. ‘Treat the Majusis as you would treat the people of the Book, but do not marry with them, nor eat what they slay.’” (Tafsiru ?l-Baiz?awi, p. 216.)

The commentators, al-Kamalan, say the only question raised was that of animals slain by Jews and Christians, and the learned are all agreed that animals slain by them are lawful. (Tafsiru ?l-Jalalain wa ?l-Kamalain, p. 93.)

The following H?adis? is given in the ?ah?ih? Muslim on the subject: Abu S?a?labah related, “I said, O Prophet of God! Verily we live in a land belonging to the people of the Book (i.e. Jews or Christians); is it lawful for us to eat out of their dishes? The Prophet replied, The order for dishes is this: if you can get other dishes, then eat of them; but if ye cannot, then wash those of the people of the Book and eat from them.”

The Imam Nawawi, the commentator on the ?ah?ih? Muslim, says Abu Da?ud has given this H?adis?. in a somewhat different form to that in the text. He says: “Abu S?a?labah relates, we were passing through the country of the people of the Book (i.e. Christians), and they were cooking pigs’ flesh in their dishes, and drinking wine from their vessels.” “For” (continues Nawawi), “the learned are all agreed that it is lawful to eat with Jews and Christians unless their vessels are polluted with wine or pork, in which case they must be washed before they are used.” (?ah?ih? Muslim wa Sharh?u Nawawi, p. 146.)

ECLIPSE. The Arabic k?husuf (?????) is used to denote either an eclipse of the sun or of the moon (vide Mishkat, book iv. c. li.); but it is more specially applied to an eclipse of the moon; and kusuf (?????) for an eclipse of the sun (vide Richardson’s Dictionary). Special prayers, consisting of two rak?ahs, are enjoined in the Traditions (Mishkat, book iv. c. li.) at the time of an eclipse of either the sun or moon.

?Abdu ?llah ibn ?Abbas says: “There was an eclipse of the sun in the time of the Prophet, and he recited prayers, and the people recited after him; and he stood up for a long time, as long as anyone would be repeating the Chapter of the Cow (i.e. Surah ii.). Then he performed a long ruku?, after which he raised up his head and stood a long time, which was under the first standing; after which he did the second ruku?, which was the same as the first in point of time; then he raised his head up from the second ruku?; and performed two prostrations, as is customary. Then he stood up a long time, in the second rak?ah, and this was shorter than the first standing, in the first rak?ah; after which he did a long ruku? in the second rak?ah, and this was under the first ruku?, in the first rak?ah. After this, he raised up his head, and stood a long time; and this was shorter than the first, in the second rak?ah. Then he did a long ruku?; and this was not so great as the first, in the second rak?ah. Then he rose up, and performed two prostrations; and after repeating the creed, and giving the salam, he concluded his prayers. And the sun was bright. And the Prophet said, ‘Verily, the sun and moon are two signs, amongst those which prove the existence of God, and are not eclipsed on account of the life or death of any person; and when ye see this, remember God.’ The Companions said, ‘O Prophet! We saw you about to take something in the place where you stood in prayer, after which we saw you draw back a little.’ And the Prophet said, ‘I saw Paradise, and gathered a bunch of grapes from it; and if I had taken it and given it to you, verily you would have eaten of it as long as the world lasts. I also saw hell, and never saw such a horrid sight till this day; and I saw that they were mostly women there.’ And the Companions said, ‘O Prophet, why are most of the people of hell women?’ He said, ‘On account of their infidelity; not on account of their disobedience to God, but that they are ungrateful to their husbands, and hide the good things done them; and if you do good to one of them perpetually, after that, if they see the least fault in you, they will say, I never saw you perform a good work.’ ” (Mishkat, book iv. c. ii.)

EDEN. Arabic ?Adn (????), which al-Baiz?awi says means “a fixed abode.” The Hebrew ??????? is generally understood by Hebrew scholars to mean “pleasure” or “delight.”

The word ?Adn is not used in the Qur?an for the residence of our first parents, the term used being al-jannah, “the garden”; although the Muslim Commentators are agreed in calling it the Jannatu ?Adn, or “Garden of Eden.” The expressions, Jannatu ?Adn, “the Garden of Eden,” and Jannatu ?Adn, “the Gardens of Eden,” occur ten times in the Qur?an, but in each case they are used for the fourth heaven, or stage, of celestial bliss. [PARADISE.]

According to the Qur?an, it seems clear that Jannatu ?Adn is considered to be a place in heaven, and not a terrestrial paradise, and hence a difficulty arises as to the locality of that Eden from which Adam fell. Is it the same place as the fourth abode of celestial bliss? or, was it a garden situated in some part of earth? Al-Baiz?awi says that some people have thought this Eden was situated in the country of the Philistines, or between Faris and Kirman. But, he adds, the Garden of Eden is the Daru ?s?-S?awab, or “the House of Recompense,” which is a stage in the paradise of the heavens; and that when Adam and Eve were cast out of Paradise, Adam fell on the isle of Ceylon, or Sarandib, and Eve near Jiddah in Arabia; and after a separation of 200 years, Adam was, on his repentance, conducted by the Angel Gabriel to a mountain near Makkah, where he knew his wife Eve, the mountain being thence named ?Arafah (i.e. “the place of recognition”); and that he afterwards retired with her to Ceylon, where they continued to propagate their species.

Muh?ammad T?ahir (Majma?u ?l-Bih?ar, p. 225), in remarking upon the fact that in the Traditions the rivers Jaihun and Jaihan are said to be rivers in “the garden” (al-Jannah), says the terms are figurative, and mean that the faith extended to those regions and made them rivers of paradise. And in another place (idem, p. 164) the same author says the four rivers Saih?an (Jaxartes), Jaihan (Jihon), Furat (Euphrates), and Nil (Nile), are the rivers of Paradise, and that the rivers Saih?an and Jaihan are not the same as Jaihun and Jaihan, but that these four rivers already mentioned originally came from Paradise to this earth of ours.

EDUCATION. Education without religion is to the Muh?ammadan mind an anomaly. In all books of Traditions there are sections specially devoted to the consideration of knowledge, but only so far as it relates to a knowledge of God, and of “God’s Book.” (See ?ah?ih?u ?l-Buk?hari, Babu ?l-?Ilm.) The people who read the “Book of God” are, according to the sayings of the Prophet, described as “assembling together in mosques, with light and comfort descending upon them, the grace of God covering them, and the angels of God encompassing them round about.” The chief aim and object of education in Islam is, therefore, to obtain a knowledge of the religion of Muh?ammad, and anything beyond this is considered superfluous, and even dangerous. Amongst Muh?ammadan religious leaders there have always been two classes—those who affect the ascetic and strictly religious life of mortification, such as the ?ufi mystics and the Faqirs [FAQIR]; and those who, by a careful study of the Qur?an, the Traditions, and the numerous works on divinity, have attained to a high reputation for scholarship, and are known in Turkey as the ?Ulama?, or “learned,” and in India, as Maulawis.

Amongst Muh?ammadans generally, a knowledge of science and various branches of secular learning is considered dangerous to the faith, and it is discouraged by the religious, although some assert that Muh?ammad has encouraged learning of all kinds in the Qur?an, by the following verse, Surah ii. 272:—

“He giveth wisdom to whom He will, and He to whom wisdom is given hath had much good given him.”

Mr. Lane, in his Modern Egyptians, says: “The parents seldom devote much of their time or attention to the intellectual education of their children; generally contenting themselves with instilling into their young minds a few principles of religion, and then submitting them, if they can afford to do so, to the instruction of a school. As early as possible, the child is taught to say, ‘I testify that there is no deity but God, and I testify that Muh?ammad is God’s Apostle.’ He receives also lessons of religious pride, and learns to hate the Christians, and all other sects but his own, as thoroughly as does the Muslim in advanced age.”

In connection with all mosques of importance, in all parts of Islam whether in Turkey, Egypt, Persia, or India, there are small schools, either for the education of children, or for the training of students of divinity. The child who attends these seminaries is first taught his alphabet, which he learns from a small board, on which the letters are written by the teacher. He then becomes acquainted with the numerical value of each letter. [ABJAD.] After this he learns to write down the ninety-nine names of God, and other simple words taken from the Qur?an. [GOD.] When he has mastered the spelling of words, he proceeds to learn the first chapter of the Qur?an, then the last chapter, and gradually reads through the whole Qur?an in Arabic, which he usually does without understanding a word of it. Having finished the Qur?an, which is considered an incumbent religious duty, the pupil is instructed in the elements of grammar, and perhaps a few simple rules of arithmetic. To this is added a knowledge of one Hindustani, or Persian book. The ability to read a single Persian book like the Gulistan or Bostan, is considered in Central Asia to be the sign of a liberal education. The ordinary schoolmaster is generally a man of little learning, the learned Maulawi usually devoting himself to the study of divinity, and not to the education of the young.

Amongst students of divinity, who are called t?alabatu (sing. t?alib) ?l-?ilm, or “seekers after knowledge,” the usual course of study is as follows: a?-?arf, grammatical inflection; an-nah?w, syntax; al-mant?iq, logic; al-h?isab, arithmetic; al-jabr wa ?l-muqabalah, algebra; al-ma?na wa ?l-bayan, rhetoric and versification; al-fiqh, jurisprudence; al-?aqa?id, scholastic theology; at-tafsir, commentaries on the Qur?an; ?ilmu ?l-u?ul, treatises on exegesis, and the principles and rules of interpretation of the laws of Islam; al-ah?adis?, the traditions and commentaries thereon. These are usually regarded as different branches of learning, and it is not often that a Maulawi, or ?Alim, attains to the knowledge of each section. For example, a scholar will be celebrated as being well educated in al-ah?adis?, but he may be weak in al-fiqh. The teacher, when instructing his pupils, seats himself on the ground with his hearers all seated round him in a ring. Instruction in mosques is usually given in the early morning, after the morning prayer, and continues some three or four hours. It is again renewed for a short time after the mid-day prayer.

Students in mosques are generally supported by the people of the parish, (each mosque having its section or parish), who can be called upon for food for all the inmates of a mosque every morning and evening. Not unfrequently mosques are endowed with land, or rents of shops and houses, for the payment of professors. Mr. Lane speaks of a mosque in Cairo, which had an endowment for the support of three hundred blind students. The great mosque al-Azhar, in Cairo, is the largest and most influential seat of learning in Islam. In 1875, when the present writer visited it, it had as many as 5,000 students gathered from all parts of the Muh?ammadan world.

In India almost every mosque of importance has its class of students of divinity, but they are not established for the purposes of general education, but for the training of students of divinity who will in time become the Imams of mosques. Some of the Maulawis are men held in great reputation as Arabic scholars, but they are, as a rule, very deficient in general knowledge and information. Whether we look to India, or Persia, or Egypt, or Turkey, the attitude of Muh?ammadanism is undoubtedly one in direct antagonism to the spread of secular education.

Much has been made by some writers of the liberal patronage extended to literature and science by ?Abdu ?r-Rah?man and his successors as K?halifahs of Cordova in the Middle Ages. But there was nothing original, or Islamic, in the literature thus patronised, for, as Professor Uerberweg remarks in his History of Philosophy, “the whole philosophy of the Arabians was a form of Aristotelianism, tempered more or less with Neo-Platonic conceptions.” The philosophical works of the Greeks and their works of medical and physical science, were translated from Greek into Arabic by Syrian Christians, and not by Arabian Muslims. Muh?ammadans cannot be altogether credited with these literary undertakings.

Al-Maqqari, in his History of the Dynasties of Spain, has an interesting notice of education in that country, in which he writes:—

“Respecting the state of science among the Andalusians (Spaniards), we must own in justice that the people of that country were the most ardent lovers of knowledge, as well as those who best knew how to appreciate and distinguish a learned man and an ignorant one; indeed, science was so much esteemed by them, that whoever had not been endowed by God with the necessary qualifications to acquire it, did everything in his power to distinguish himself, and conceal from the people his want of instruction; for an ignorant man was at all times looked upon as an object of the greatest contempt, while the learned man, on the contrary, was not only respected by all, nobles and plebeians, but was trusted and consulted on every occasion; his name was in every mouth, his power and influence had no limits, and he was preferred and distinguished in all the occasions of life.

“Owing to this, rich men in Cordova, however illiterate they might be, encouraged letters, rewarded with the greatest munificence writers and poets, and spared neither trouble nor expense in forming large collections of books; so that, independently of the famous library founded by the K?halifah al-H?akim, and which is said by writers worthy of credit to have contained no less than four hundred thousand volumes, there were in the capital many other libraries in the hands of wealthy individuals, where the studious could dive into the fathomless sea of knowledge, and bring up its inestimable pearls. Cordova was indeed, in the opinion of every author, the city in Andalus where most books were to be found, and its inhabitants were renowned for their passion for forming libraries. To such an extent did this rage for collection increase, says Ibn Sa?id, that any man in power, or holding a situation under Government, considered himself obliged to have a library of his own, and would spare no trouble or expense in collecting books, merely in order that people might say,—Such a one has a very fine library, or, he possesses a unique copy of such a book, or, he has a copy of such a work in the hand-writing of such a one.”

EGGS. According to the Imam Abu H?anifah, if a person purchase eggs and after opening them discover them to be of bad quality and unfit for use, he is entitled to a complete restitution of the price from the seller. (Hidayah, vol. ii. p. 415.)

EGYPT. Arabic Mi?r (????). The land of Egypt is mentioned several times in the Qur?an in connection with the history of Joseph and Moses. In the year A.H. 7 (A.D. 628), Muh?ammad sent an embassy to al-Muqauqis, the Roman Governor of Egypt, who received the embassy kindly and presented the Prophet with two female Coptic slaves.

ELEMENTS. Arabic al-?Ana?iru ?l-arba?ah (??????? ????????). “The four elements” of fire (nar), air (hawa), water (ma?), and earth (arz?), from which all creation mineral, animal, and vegetable is produced.

The respective properties of these elements are said to be as follows: Fire, hot and dry; air, hot and cold; water, cold and wet; earth, cold and dry. A knowledge of the properties of the four elements is required in the so-called science of Da?wah. [DA?WAH.]

ELEPHANT, The year of. Arabic ?Amu ?l-Fil (??? ??????). The year in which Muh?ammad was born. Being the year in which Abrahatu ?l-Ashram, an Abyssinian Christian and Viceroy of the King of ?an?a? in Yaman marched with a large army and a number of elephants upon Makkah, with the intention of destroying the Ka?bah. He was defeated and his army destroyed in so sudden a manner, as to give rise to the legend embodied in the CVth Surah of the Qur?an, which is known as the Chapter of the Elephant.

Professor Palmer says it is conjectured that small-pox broke out amongst the army. [ASHABU ?L-FIL.]

ELIJAH. Arabic Ilyas (??????), Ilyasin (????????); Heb. ????????????; New Testament, ???a?. A prophet mentioned in the following verses in the Qur?an:—

Surah xxxvii. 123: “Verily Ilyas (Elias) was of the Apostles; and when he said to his people, ‘Will ye not fear, Do ye call upon Ba?l and leave the best of Creators, God your Lord, and the Lord of your fathers in the old time?’ But they called him a liar; verily, they shall surely be arraigned, save God’s sincere servants. And we left him amongst posterity. Peace upon Ilyasin (Elias) verily, thus do we reward those who do well; verily he was of our servants who believe.”

Surah vi. 85: “And Zachariah and John, and Jesus, and Ilyas, all righteous ones.”

Al-Baiz?awi says, “It has been said that this Ilyas, is the same as Idris, prefather of Noah, whilst others say he was the son of Yasin and descended from Aaron, the brother of Moses.” [IDRIS.]

ELISHA. Arabic al-Yasa? (??????). Heb. ???????????. Elisha is mentioned twice in the Qur?an, under the name al-Yasa?.

Surah xxxviii. 48: “And remember Ishmael and Elisha, and ?u ?l-kifl, for each was righteous.”

Surah vi. 85, 86: “And Zachariah, and John, and Jesus, and Elias, all righteousness; and Ishmael and Elisha and Jonah and Lot, each have We preferred above the worlds.”

The Commentators give no account of him except that he was the son of Uk?htub, although the Bible says he was the son of Shaphat. H?usain says he was Ibnu ?l-?ajuz (the son of the old woman).

ELOQUENCE. The Arabic word al-Bayan (???????), which is defined in the G?hiyas?u ?l-Lug?hah as speaking fluently and eloquently, occurs once in the Qur?an, Surah lv. 3: “He created man: he hath taught him distinct speech.” The word also occurs in the Traditions, and it is remarkable that although the Qur?an is written in rhythm, and in a grandiloquent style, that in the Traditions the Prophet seems to affect to despise eloquence, as will be seen from the following Ah?adis?:—Ibn ?Umar says the Prophet said, “May they go to hell who amplify their words.” Abu Umamah relates that the Prophet said, “Eloquence (al-bayan) is a kind of magic.” Ibn Mas?ud relates that the Prophet said, “Vain talking and embellishing (bayan) are two branches of hypocrisy.” ?Amr ibn al-?A?i relates that the Prophet said, “I have been ordered to speak little, and verily it is best to speak little.” (Mishkat, book xxii. c. ix.)

EMANCIPATION OF SLAVES. Arabic I?taq (??????). The emancipation of slaves is recommended by the Prophet, but the recommendation applies exclusively to slaves who are of the Muslim faith. He is related to have said: “Whoever frees a Muslim slave God will redeem that person from hell-fire member for member.” (Mishkat, book xiii. c. xix.) It is therefore laudable in a man to release his slave or for a woman to free her bond-woman, in order that they may secure freedom in the next world. (Hidayah, vol. i. p. 420.)

ENFRANCHISEMENT. In an orthodox Muh?ammadan state, only those persons who have embraced the Muslim faith are enfranchised; all others are called upon to pay a poll tax (jizyah), for which they obtain security (aman). Those residents in a Muslim country who are not Muh?ammadans are expected to wear a distinctive dress and to reside in a special part of the village or town in which they live. Slaves who may embrace the Muslim faith do not become ipso facto enfranchised, unless their master be an unbeliever, in which case their becoming Muslims secures their emancipation. ?immis, or persons not Muslims in a Muslim state, cannot give evidence against a Muslim. (See Durru ?l-Muk?htar, in loco.)

ENOCH. [IDRIS.]

ENTERING INTO HOUSES. To enter suddenly or abruptly into any person’s home or apartment, is reckoned a great incivility in all eastern countries. With Muh?ammadans it is a religious duty to give notice before you enter a house. The custom is founded upon an express injunction in the Qur?an, Surah xxiv. 57–61:—

“O ye who believe! let your slaves and those of you who have not come of age, ask leave of you, three times a day, ere they come into your presence;—before the morning prayer, and when ye lay aside your garments at mid-day, and after the evening prayer. These are your three times of privacy. No blame shall attach to you or to them, if after these times, when ye go your rounds of attendance on one another, they come in without permission. Thus doth God make clear to you His signs: and God is Knowing, Wise!

“And when your children come of age, let them ask leave to come into your presence, as they who were before them asked it. Thus doth God make clear to you his signs: and God is Knowing, Wise.

“As to women who are past childbearing, and have no hope of marriage, no blame shall attach to them if they lay aside their outer garments, but so as not to shew their ornaments. Yet if they abstain from this, it will be better for them: and God Heareth, Knoweth.

“No crime shall it be in the blind, or in the lame, or in the sick, to eat at your tables: or in yourselves, if ye eat in your own houses, or in the houses of your fathers, or of your mothers, or of your brothers, or of your sisters, or of your uncles on the father’s side, or of your aunts on the father’s side, or of your uncles on the mother’s side, or of your aunts on the mother’s side, or in those of which ye possess the keys, or in the house of your friend. No blame shall attach to you whether ye eat together or apart.

“And when ye enter houses, salute one another with a good and blessed greeting as from God. Thus doth God make clear to you His signs, that haply ye may comprehend them.”

The following are the traditions given in the Mishkat on the subject (book xxii. c. ii.): Muh?ammad is related to have said, “Do not permit anyone to enter your home unless he gives a salam first.” ?Abdu ?llah ibn Mas?ud says the Prophet said, “The signal for your permission to enter is that you lift up the curtain and enter until I prevent you.” ?Abdu ?llah ibn Busr says, “Whenever the Prophet came to the door of a house, he would not stand in front of it, but on the side of the door, and say, ‘The peace of God be with you.’ ” ?At?a? ibn Yasar says the Prophet told him to ask leave to enter even the room of his mother.

ENVY. Arabic H?asad (????). The word occurs twice in the Qur?an.

Surah ii. 103: “Many of those who have the Book would fain turn you again into unbelievers, even after ye have once believed, and that through envy.”

Surah cxiii.: “I seek refuge … from the evil of the envious when he envies.”

EPHESUS, The Seven Sleepers of. [ASHABU ?L-KAHF.]

ESOP. The Luqman of the Qur?an is generally supposed by European writers to be Esop. Sale is of opinion that Maximus Planudes borrowed the greater part of his life of Esop from the traditions he met with in the East concerning Luqman. [LUQMAN.]

ETERNITY OF PUNISHMENT. The Muh?ammadan religion teaches that all Muslims (i.e. those who have embraced the religion of their Prophet) will be ultimately saved, although they will suffer for their actual sins in a purgatorial hell. But those who have not embraced Islam will suffer a never-ending torment in “the fire” (an-nar).

Surah ii. 37: “Those who misbelieve and call our signs lies, they are the fellows of hell, they shall dwell therein for ever” (k?halidun).

Surah xi. 108, 109: “And as for those who are wretched—why in the fire shall they groan and sob! to dwell therein for ever (k?halidun) as long as the heavens and the earth endure.”

Al-Baiz?awi says the expression “as long as the heavens and the earth endure,” is an Arabic idiom expressing that which is eternal.

Ibn ?Arabi (died A.D. 638), in his book Fu?u?u ?l-H?ikam, says the word k?halid in the verses quoted above does not imply eternal duration, but a period, or age, of long duration. Al-Baiz?awi, the commentator, also admits that the literal meaning of the word only expresses a period of extended duration; but the Jalalan and H?usain both contend that its meaning is that of abadi, or “never ending,” in which no being will be annihilated, and which no one can ever escape.

It is also to be observed that this word k?halid is that used for the eternity of bliss of those in Paradise:—

Surah xi. 110: “As for those who are glad—why in Paradise! to dwell therein for ever” (k?halidun).

EUCHARIST, or LORD’S SUPPER. It is a singular omission in the Qur?an, that there is no direct allusion to this Christian institution.

Both Sale and Rodwell think that there is a reference to it in the following passages in the Qur?an, Surah v. 112–114:—

“Remember when the Apostles said:—O Jesus, Son of Mary, is thy Lord able to send down a table (ma?idah, ‘a table,’ especially one covered with victuals) to us out of heaven? He said, Fear God if ye be believers. They said:—We desire to eat therefrom, and to have our hearts assured; and to know that thou hast indeed spoken truth to us, and we be witnesses thereof. Jesus, Son of Mary, said:—‘O God, our Lord! send down a table to us out of heaven, that it may become a recurring festival to us, to the first of us, and to the last of us, and a sign from Thee; and do Thou nourish us, for Thou art the best of nourishers.’ ”

Muslim commentators are not agreed as to the meaning of these verses, but none of them suggest the institution of the Lord’s Supper as an explanation. The interpretations are as confused as the revelation.

According to the Imam al-Bag?hawi, ?Ammar ibn Yasir said that the Prophet said it was flesh and bread which was sent down from heaven; but because the Christians to whom it was sent were unfaithful, it was taken away, and they became pigs and monkeys!

Ibn ?Abbas says that after a thirty days’ fast, a table was sent down with seven loaves and seven fishes, and the whole company of disciples ate and were filled (St. Matt. xv. 34). The commentators al-Jalalan also give these two explanations, and the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is never once suggested by any Muslim doctor in explanation of the above verses.

EUNUCH. Arabic k?ha?i (????). Although in all parts of the East it is usual for wealthy Muh?ammadans to keep an establishment of eunuchs to guard the female members of the household, it has been strictly forbidden by Muh?ammad for any of his followers to make themselves such, or to make others. ?Us?man ibn Maz??un came to him and said, “O Prophet! permit me to become a eunuch.” But Muh?ammad said, “He is not of my people who makes another a eunuch or becomes so himself. The manner in which my people become eunuchs is to exercise fasting.” (Mishkat, book iv. c. viii.)

EVE. Arabic H?awwa? (????????). [ADAM.]

EVIDENCE. Arabic Shahadah (??????). The law of evidence is very clearly laid down in all Muh?ammadan books of law, especially in the Hidayah, and the Durru ?l-Muk?htar, and it is interesting to observe the difference between the law of evidence as provided for in the law of Moses, and that laid down in Muh?ammadan books. In the Pentateuch two witnesses at least were required to establish any charge (Num. xxxv. 30), and the witness who withheld the truth was censured (Lev. v. 1), whilst slanderous reports and officious witnesses were discouraged (Ex. xxiii. 1; Lev. xix. 16), and false witnesses were punished with the punishment due to the offence they sought to establish (Deut. xix. 16). According to Josephus, women and slaves were not admitted to give evidence. (Ant. iv. c. 8, s. 15.)