The praj'ers (.Salah) performed by every Jlohamme- dan five times daily consist partly of extracts from the Revealed Hook, the Koran (Fard), partly of pieces or- dained by the Pr(>i)hot. without allegation of a divine order (Sunnah), The first time of prayer commences
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at the Maghrib, or about sunset; the second at the Eshe, or nightfall ; the third at Subh, or daybreak ; the fourth at the Duhr, or about noon ; the fifth at the Asr, or afternoon. The believers are not to comnnence their prayers exactly at sunrise, or noon, or sunset, lest they might be confounded with the infldel sun-worshippers. These several times of prayer are announced by the muezzins (q. v.) from the minarets or madnehs of the mosques. Their chant, sung to a very simple but sol- emn melody, sounds harmoniously and sonorously down the height of the mosque, through the mid-day din and roar of the cities; but its impression is one of the most strikingly poetical in the stillness of night ; so much so that even many Eiuropeans cannot help congratulating the Prophet on his preferring the human voice to either the Jewish trumpet-call of the time of the Temple, or the Christian church-beUs. The day-call (the Adan) consists chiefly of the confession of faith (God is most great; Mohammed is God's apostle; come to prayer; come to security), repeated several times; the night- calls (Ula, the tirst; Ebed, the second), destined for per- sons who desire to perform supererogatory acts of devo- tion, are much longer. The believer often changes his posture during his prayers; and a certain number of such inclinations of head and knees, prostrations, etc., is called a Rekah. It is also necessary that the face of the worshipper should be turned towards the Keblah (q. v.), that direction being marked in the exterior wall of tlie mosque by a niche (Mehrab). All sumptuous and pompous apparel is laid aside before the believer approaches the sacred place ; and the extreme solemnity and decorum, the unaffected humility, the real and all- absorbing devotion which pervade it, have been unani- mously held up as an example to other creeds. The Moslems, it may be remarked here, do not pray to Mo- hammed, but simply implore his intercession, as they do that of the numerous saints, the relatives of the Proph- et, and the first propagators of Islam. For the particu- lars of the service in the mosque, the reader is referred to that heading. It may be remarked in passing that Mohammedanism has no clergy in our sense of the word, the civil and religious law being bound up in one. See also MoLLAii ; Mufti.
(3) Instructions about the taxes of property to be paid to the state, and the manner of their application. Taxable articles are fruits of the field, domestic animals, silver, gold, and merchandise, lying M'ith the owner a year. The taxes (the varying amounts we pass by) are to be used to aid the poor, for the conversion of infidels, for the redemption of slaves and prisoners, for the pay- ment of the debts of the indigent, for the aid of travel- lers in distress, and in general for purposes pleasing to God ; as, for instance, the erection of mosques, schools, hospitals, and the like.
(4) The precepts about fasting, particularly in the month of Ramadan. Here is specified what is com- manded and forbidden to the one who fasts, how fasting is interrupted, who is entitled to be dispensed from fast- ing, and what must be done in expiation for not fasting. In this section are mentioned also the various regulations for an individual who during the Ramadan wishes to retire from the world and pass his time in devotion in the mosque, and thus to lead a kind of monastic life. It was Mohammed's special and express desire that no one should fast who is not quite equal to it, lest it might prove injurious to health. But there are very few Mos- lems who do not keep the Ramadan — the jMohamme- dau Lent — even if they neglect their other religious du- ties; at all events, thej' all pretend to keep it most strictly, fasting being considered "one fourth part of the faith," nay, " the gate of rehgion."
(5) The precepts concerning the jnlgiimaffe, an obli- gation which a Moslem has to meet at least once in his life. He who neglects to perform this duty " might as well die a Jew or a Christian." Various preparations are necessary for pilgrimage. Certain holy places are to be visited, mostly such as were sacred even before Mo-
hammed, and are connected with legends about Abra- ham and Hagar; certain prayers and ceremonies are to be performed, and sacrifices to be slaughtered, the meat of which is in part to be distributed among the poor. It is forbidden to wear sewed dresses during the journey. Men are not allowed to cover their heads nor women their faces ; the nails of the fingers and toes are not to be cut ; the hair is not to be combed nor shorn ; the use of unguents and perfumes is forbidden ; the contracting of marriage is forbidden, as well as the gratification of ' sexual passion. Finally, it is explained how the pil- grimage is considered interrupted, or as not performed, and how the transgression of any prohibition is to be atoned for.