192 FOUETH PEKIOD. A. D. 590-1049.
day for religious assemblage). It is called the prince of days, the most excellent day on which man was created, and on which the last judgment will take place; but the observance is less strict than that of the Jewish Sabbath. On solemn occasions sacrifice, mostly in the nature of a thank-offering, is offered and combined with an act of benevolence to the- poor. But there is no room in Islam for the idea of atonement; God forgives sins directly and arbitrarily, without a satisfaction of justice. Hence there is no priesthood in the sense of a hereditary or perpetual caste, offering sacrifices and mediating between God and the people.1 Yet there are Mufties and Dervishes, who are as powerful as any class of priests and monks. The Mus sulmans have their saints, and pray at their white tombs. In this respect, they approach the Greeks and Roman Catholics ; yet they abhor the worship of saints as idolatry. They also make much account of religious processions and pilgrimages. Their chief place of pilgrimage is Mecca. Many thousands of Moslems from Egypt and all parts of Turkey pass annually through the Arabian desert to worship at the holy Kaaba, and are received in triumph on their return. The supposed tomb of Moses, also, which is transferred to the Western shore of the Dead Sea, is visited by the Moslems of Jerusalem and the neighboring country in the month of April.
Prayer with prostrations is reduced to a mechanical act which is performed with the regularity of clock work. Washing of hands is enjoined before prayer, but in the desert, sand is per mitted as a substitute for water. There are five stated seasons for prayer : at day-break, near noon, in the afternoon, a little after sunset (to avoid the appearance of sun-worship), and at night-fall, besides two night prayers for extra devotion. The mueddin or muezzin (crier) announces the time of devotion from the minaret of the mosque by chanting the " Adan " or call to prayer, in these words :
1 Gibbon's statement that " the Mohammedan religion has no priest and no sacrifice," is substantially correct.
"God is great!" (four times). "I bear witness that there is no god but God " (twice). "I bear witness that Mohammed is the Apostle of God" (twice). " Come hither to prayers!" (twice). "Come hither to salvation!" (twice). "God is great! There is no other God!" And in the early morning the crier adds : " Prayer is better than sleep !"
A devout Mussulman is never ashamed to perform his devo tion in public, whether in the mosque, or in the street, or on board the ship. Regardless of the surroundings, feeling alone with God in the midst of the crowd, his face turned to Mecca, his hands now raised to heaven, then laid on the lap, his fore head touching the ground, he goes through his genuflexions and prostrations, and repeats the first Sura of the Koran and the ninety-nine beautiful names of Allah, which form his rosary.1 The mosques are as well filled with men, as many Christian churches are with women. Islam is a religion for men ; wTomen are of no account ; the education and elevation of the female sex would destroy the system.
With all its simplicity and gravity, the Mohammedan wor ship has also its frantic excitement of the Dervishes. On the celebration of the birthday of their prophet and other festivals, they work themselves, by the constant repetition of " Allah, Allah," into a state of unconscious ecstacy, " in which they plant swords in their breasts, tear live serpents with their teeth, eat bottles of glass, and finally lie prostrate on the ground for the chief of their order to ride on horseback over their bodies." 2
1 They are given in Arabic and English by Palmer, I. c. I., Intr., p. Ixvii. sq. The following are the first ten :
1. ar-Ra'hmun, the Merciful.
2. ar-Ra'him, the Compassionate.
3. al-Malik, the Kuler.
4. al-Quaddus, the Holy.
5. as-Saltim, Peace.
6. al-Mu'min, the Faithful.
7. al-Muhaimun, the Protector.
8. al-IIaziz, the Mighty.
9. al-Gabbar, the Kepairer.
10. al-Mutakabbir, the Great.
3 Description of Dean Stanley from his own observation in Cairo, 1. c., p. 385.