(G) There are various regulations referring to food. Wine and intoxicating beverages are not allowed ; also the drinking of the blood even of clean animals is inter- dicted. Quadrupeds and birds must be killed according to certain fixed rules, God being invoked before the slaughter; but game shot by a hunter may be eaten. The eating of carnivorous animals of prej', quadrupeds as well as birds, is prohibited ; and particularly the flesh of swine, dogs, cats, mice, etc. Of fish, such as have no scales, and those resembling serpents, are for- bidden. As the same laws are in force also among the Jews, a Moslem may partake of a Jew's meal; with Christians he can dine only if he know that he con- forms to the laws of Islam ; but with pagans he must not eat at all, even when the food has been prepared in a proper manner, because it has been prepared without the religious ceremonies that make it fit for the believ- er's table.
(7) Among the " positive" ordinances of Islam may also be reckoned the " Saghir," or minor, and the " Kebir," or great festivals. The first (Al-Fetr, or breaking the fast), following immediately upon the Ramadan, begins on the 1st day of the month of Shawal, and lasts three days. The second (Fed Al-Kurban, or sacrifice) begins on the 10th of Dsu'l Heggeh, when the pilgrims perform their sacrifice, and lasts three or four days. Yet, al- though intended to be the most important of the two, the people have in most places changed the order, and, by way of compensation for the previous fast, they make the lesser fegtival which follows the Ramadan the most joyful and the longest of the two. The day set aside for the weekly day of rest is Friday — not, as is generally supposed, because both the Jewish Sab- bath and the Christian Sunday were to be avoided, but because, from times long before Mohammed, the people used to hold public assemblies for civil as well as relig- ious purposes on that day. The celebration of the Mos- lem days of religious solemnity is far less strict than is the custom with the other Shemitic religions. Service being over, the people are allowed to return to their worldly affairs, if they cannot afford to give themselves up entirely to pleasure or devotion for the rest of the sacred period.
(8) One of not the least important duties laid upon the Moslem by the Koran is that of giving alms. These are twofold — legal (Zekah) and voluntary (Sadakah; Heb. Zedekah, piety, righteousness); but the former (Sur. ii, 3), once collected by the sovereign and applied to pious uses, has now been practically abrogated. The Sadakah is, according to the law, to be given once every year, of cattle, money, com, fruits, and wares sold, at about the rate of two and a half up to twentj' per cent. Besides these, it is usual to bestow a measure of provi- sions upon the poor at the end of the sacred month of Ramadan.
(9) Before we quit this department of Mohamme- dan law, it may not be inappropriate to mention the procedure against apostates. To prevent the faithful from ever falling back into idolatry, the laws relating to images and pictures have been made very stringent. Whoever makes an imitation of any living being in stone, wood, or any other material, shall on the day of judgment be asked to endow his creation with life and
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soul, and on his protesting his inability to do so, shall undergo the punishment of hell for a certain period.
(b) The cifil law of the Mohammedans comprises the following main sections :
(1) Commercial relation, including rules to govern relations of commerce, of various contracts, of pawn and mortgage, of power of attorney, of debt obligations, and other property rights; excepting, however, hereditary and matrimonial claims. We cannot, of course, enter into details here, but we may remark that the law of trade contains many restrictions very burdensome for modern conditions of society. Thus, for instance, it is not permitted txi make a diiference whether the price is paid immediately or only in instalments. The re-sale of articles not yet in possession of the purchaser is in- valid ; nor can objects of value which are not the undi- vided property of single persons be subjects of tratle. Furtlier, trade in things whose use is forbidden to the JMoslem, e. g. liquors and unclean animak, is prohibited. A bargain concluded on a Friday, at the time of the noon prayer, is void. The buying up of merchandise, espe- cially of victuals, in order to produce a rise of prices, is unlawful. In lending money, it is forbidden to receive interest. In case of insolvency, or refusal to pay a debt, the creditor can require the arrest of the debtor's person. A pledge is not, as according to European law, a means of security for the payment of debt, but only a proof that such a debt exists. Only when a pledge has been given in a condition of decided insolvency does the cred- itor acquire the right to secure redemption of the pledge.
(2) The law of in/iei-itance and the testament. We pass over the details of the first, and only observe that the law of primogeniture does not exist in the Moham- medan code, and that, as a rule, brothers or sons, and male heirs generally, enjoy many advantages over fe- males. A testament, in order to be valid, must not contain allusions to any articles prohibited by law, such as swine, blood, wine, and the like. A legacy in favor of strangers, if persons able to succeed legal inheritance exist, must not go beyond the amount of one third ; among the relatives themselves the division is at pleas- ure. A testament, whether written or oral, must be ex- ecuted before two witnesses of the male sex. A testa- ment in favor of minors, bondmen, and infidels is not valid in law.