The Koran (Al-Qur'an) Part 5

Those of this religion do also mention and describe various kinds of torments, wherewith the wicked will be punished in the next life; among which though they reckon extreme cold to be one, yet they do not admit fire, out of respect, as it seems, to that element, which they take to be the representation of the divine nature; and, therefore, they rather choose to describe the d.a.m.ned souls as suffering by other kinds of punishments: such as an intolerable stink, the stinging and biting of serpents and wild beasts, the cutting and tearing of the flesh by the devils, excessive hunger and thirst, and the like.

Before we proceed to a description of the Mohammedan paradise, we must not forget to say something of the wall or part.i.tion which they imagine to be between that place and h.e.l.l, and seems to be copied from the great gulf of separation mentioned in scripture. They call it al Orf, and more frequently in the plural, al Araf, a word 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, they say, those who stand on this part.i.tion will know and distinguish the blessed from the d.a.m.ned, by their respective marks or characteristics: and others say the word properly intends anything that is high raised or elevated, as such a wall of separation must be supposed to be. The Mohammedan writers greatly differ as to the persons who are to be found on al Araf. 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 sanct.i.ty, among whom, they say, there will be also angels in the form of men. Others place here such whose good and evil works are so equal that they exactly counterpoise each other, and, therefore, deserve neither reward nor punishment; and these, they say, 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 overbalance. Others suppose this intermediate s.p.a.ce will be a receptacle for those who have gone to war without their parents' leave, and therein suffered martyrdom; being excluded paradise for their disobedience, and escaping h.e.l.l because they are martyrs.

The breadth of this part.i.tion wall cannot be supposed to be exceeding great, since not only those who shall stand thereon will hold conference with the inhabitants both of paradise and of h.e.l.l, but the blessed and the d.a.m.ned themselves will also be able to talk to one another.

If Mohammed did not take his notions of the part.i.tion we have been describing from scripture, he must at least have borrowed it at second-hand from the Jews, who mention a thin wall dividing paradise form h.e.l.l.

The righteous, as the Mohammedans are taught to believe, having surmounted the difficulties, and pa.s.sed the sharp bridge above mentioned, before they enter paradise will be refreshed by drinking at the pond of their prophet, who describes it to be an exact square, of a month's journey in compa.s.s: its water, which is supplied by two pipes from al Cawthar, one of the rivers of paradise, being whiter than milk or silver and more odoriferous than musk, with as many cups set around it as there are stars in the firmament, of which water, whoever drinks will thirst no more for ever.

This is the first taste which the blessed will have of their future and now near-approaching felicity.

Though paradise be so very frequently mentioned in the Koran, yet it is a dispute among Mohammedans whether it be already created, or be to be created hereafter: the Mutazalites and some other sectaries a.s.serting that there is not at present any such place in nature, and that the paradise which the righteous will inhabit in the next life, will be different form that form which Adam was expelled. However, the orthodox profess the contrary, maintaining that it was created even before the world, and describe it, from their prophet's traditions, in the following manner.

They say it is situate above the seven heavens (or in the seventh heaven) and next under the throne of G.o.d: and to express the amenity of the place, tell us that the earth of it is of the finest wheat flour, or of the purest musk, or, as others will have it, of saffron; that its stones are pearls and jacinths, the walls of its buildings enriched with gold and silver, and that the trunks of all its trees are of gold, among which the most remarkable is the tree called Tuba, or the tree of happiness. Concerning this tree they fable that it stands in the palace of Mohammed, though a breach of it will reach to the house of every true believer; that it will be laden with pomegranates, grapes, dates, and other fruits of surprising bigness, and of tastes unknown to mortals. So that if a man desire to eat of any particular kind of fruit, it will immediately be presented him, or if he choose flesh, birds ready dressed will be set before him according to his wish. They add that the boughs of this tree will spontaneously bend down to the hand of the person who would gather of its fruits, and that it will supply the blessed not only with food, but also with silken garments, and beasts to ride on ready saddled and bridled, and adorned with rich trappings, which will burst forth from its fruits; and that this tree is so large, that a person mounted on the fleetest horse would not be able to gallop from one end of its shade to the other in a hundred years.

As plenty of water is one of the greatest additions to the pleasantness of any place, the Koran often speaks of the rivers of paradise as a princ.i.p.al ornament thereof; some of these rivers, they say, flow with water, some with milk, some with wine, and others with honey, all taking their rise from the roof of the tree Tuba: two of which rivers, named al Cawthar and the river of life, we have already mentioned. And lest these should not be sufficient, we are told this garden is also watered by a great number of lesser springs and fountains, whose pebbles are rubies and emeralds, their earth of camphire, their beds of musk, and their sides of saffron, the most remarkable among them being Salsabil and Tasnim.

But all these glories will be eclipsed by the resplendent and ravis.h.i.+ng girls of paradise, called, from their large black eyes, Hur al oyun, the enjoyment of whose company will be a princ.i.p.al felicity of the faithful. These, they say, are created not of clay, as mortal women are, but of pure musk: being, as their prophet often affirms in his Koran, free from all natural impurities, defects, and inconveniences incident to the s.e.x, of the strictest modesty, and secluded from public view in pavilions of hollow pearls, so large, that, as some traditions have it, one of them will be no less than four parasangs (or, as others say, sixty miles) long, and as many broad.

The name which the Mohammedans usually give to this happy mansion, is al Jannat, or the garden; and sometimes they call it, with an addition, Jannat al Ferdaws, the garden of paradise, Jannet Aden, the garden of Eden (though they generally interpret the word Eden, not according to its acceptation in Hebrew, but according to its meaning in their own tongue, wherein it signifies a settled or perpetual habitation), Jannat al Mawa, the garden of abode, Jannat al Naim, the garden of pleasure, and the like; by which several appellations some understand so many different gardens, or at least places of different degrees of felicity (for they reckon no less than a hundred such in all), the very meanest whereof will afford its inhabitants so many pleasures and delights, that one would conclude they must even sink under them, had not Mohammed declared, that in order to qualify the blessed for a full enjoyment of them, G.o.d will give to every one the abilities of a hundred men.

We have already described Mohammed's pond, whereof the righteous are to drink before their admission into this delicious seat; besides which some authors mention two fountains, springing from under a certain tree near the gate of paradise, and say, that the blessed will also drink of one of them, to purge their bodies and carry off all excrement.i.tious dregs, and will wash themselves in the other. When they are arrived at the gate itself, each person will there be met and saluted by the beautiful youths appointed to serve and wait upon him, one of them running before, to carry the news of his arrival to the wives destined for him; and also by two angels, bearing the presents sent him by G.o.d, one of whom will invest him with a garment of paradise, and the other will put a ring on each of his fingers, with inscriptions on them alluding to the happiness of his condition. By which of the eight gates (for so many they suppose paradise to have) they are respectively to enter, is not worth inquiry; but it must be observed that Mohammed has declared that no person's good works will gain him admittance, and that even himself shall be saved, not by his merits, but merely by the mercy of G.o.d.

It is, however, the constant doctrine of the Koran, that the felicity of each person will be proportioned to this deserts, and that there will be abodes of different degrees of happiness; the most eminent degree being reserved for the prophets, the second for the doctors and teachers of G.o.d's wors.h.i.+p, the next for the martyrs, and the lower for the rest of the righteous, according to their several merits. There will also some distinction be made in respect to the time of their admission; Mohammed (to whom, if you will believe him, the gates will first be opened) having affirmed, that the poor will enter paradise five hundred years before the rich: nor is this the only privilege which they will enjoy in the next life; since the same prophet has also declared, that when he took a view of paradise, he saw the majority of its inhabitants to be the poor, and when he looked down into h.e.l.l, he saw the greater part of the wretches confined there to be women.

For the first entertainment of the blessed on their admission, they fable that the whole earth will then be as one loaf of bread, which G.o.d will reach to them with his hand, holding it like a cake; and that for meat they will have the ox Balam, and the fish Nun, the lobs of whose livers will suffice 70,000 men, being, as some imagine to be set before the princ.i.p.al guests, viz., those who, to that number, will be admitted into paradise without examination; though others suppose that a definite number is here put for an indefinite, and that nothing more is meant thereby, than to express a great mult.i.tude of people.

From this feast every one will be dismissed to the mansion designed for him, where (as has been said) he will enjoy such a share of felicity as will be proportioned to his merits, but vastly exceed comprehension or expectation; since the very meanest in paradise (as he who, it is pretended, must know best, has declared) will have eighty thousand servants, seventy-two wives of the girls of paradise, besides the wives he had in this world, and a tent erected for him of pearls, jacinths, and emeralds, of a very large extent; and, according to another tradition, will be waited on by three hundred attendants while he eats, will be served in dishes of gold, whereof three hundred shall be set before him at once, containing each a different kind of food, the last morsel of which will be as grateful as the first; and will also be supplied with as many sorts of liquors in vessels of the same metal: and, to complete the entertainment, there will be no want of wine, which, though forbidden in this life, will yet be freely allowed to be drunk in the next, and without danger, since the wine of paradise will not inebriate, as that we drink here. The flavour of this wine we may conceive to be delicious without a description, since the water of Tasnim and the other fountains which will be used to dilute it, is said to be wonderfully sweet and fragrant. If any object to these pleasures, as an impudent Jew did to Mohammed, that so much eating and drinking must necessarily require proper evacuations, we answer, as the prophets did, that the inhabitants of paradise will not need to ease themselves, nor even to blow their nose, for that all superfluities will be discharged and carried off by perspiration, or a sweat as odoriferous as musk, after which their appet.i.te shall return afresh.

The magnificence of the garments and furniture promised by the Koran to the G.o.dly in the next life, is answerable to the delicacy of their diet. For they are to be clothed in the richest of silks and brocades, chiefly of green, which will burst forth from the fruits of paradise, and will be also supplied by the leaves of the tree Tuba; they will be adorned with bracelets of gold and silver, and crowns set with pearls of incomparable l.u.s.tre; and will make use of silken carpets, litters of a prodigious size, couches, pillows, and other rich furniture embroidered with gold and precious stones.

That we may the more readily believe what has been mentioned of the extraordinary abilities of the inhabitants of paradise to taste these pleasures in their height, it is said they will enjoy a perpetual youth; that in whatever age they happen to die, they will be raised in their prime and vigour, that is, of about thirty years of age, which age they will never exceed (and the same they say of the d.a.m.ned); and that when they enter paradise they will be of the same stature with Adam, who, as they fable, was no less than sixty cubits high. And to this age and stature their children, if they shall desire any (for otherwise their wives will not conceive), shall immediately attain; according to that saying of their prophet, "If any of the faithful in paradise be desirous of issue, it shall be conceived, born, and grown up within the s.p.a.ce of an hour." And in the same manner, if any one shall have a fancy to employ himself in agriculture (which rustic pleasure may suit the wanton fancy of some), what he shall sow will spring up and come to maturity in a moment.

Lest any of the senses should want their proper delight, we are told the ear will there be entertained, not only with the ravis.h.i.+ng songs of the angel Israfil, who has the most melodious voice of all G.o.d'S creatures, and of the daughters of paradise; but even the trees themselves will celebrate the divine praises with a harmony exceeding whatever mortals have heard; to which will be joined the sound of the bells hanging on the trees, which will be put in motion by the wind proceeding from the throne of G.o.d, so often as the blessed wish for music: nay, the very clas.h.i.+ng of the golden-bodied trees, whose fruits are pearls and emeralds, will surpa.s.s human imagination; so that the pleasures of this sense will not be the least of the enjoyments of paradise.

The delights we have hitherto taken a view of, it is said, will be common to all the inhabitants of paradise, even those of the lowest order. What then, think we, must they enjoy who shall obtain a superior degree of honour and felicity? To these, they say, there are prepared, besides all this, "such things as eye hath not seen, nor hath ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive;" an expression most certainly borrowed from scripture. That we may know wherein the felicity of those who shall attain the highest degree will consist, Mohammed is reported to have said, that the meanest of the inhabitants of paradise will see his gardens, wives, servants, furniture, and other possessions take up the s.p.a.ce of a thousand years'

journey (for so far and farther will the blessed see in the next life); but that he will be in the highest honour with G.o.d, who shall behold his face morning and evening: and this favour al Ghazali supposes to be that additional or superabundant recompense, promised in the Koran, which will give such exquisite delight, that in respect thereof all the other pleasures of paradise will be forgotten and lightly esteemed; and not without reason, since, as the same author says, every other enjoyment is equally tasted by the very brute beast who is turned loose into luxuriant pasture. The reader will observe, by the way, that this is a full confutation of those who pretend that the Mohammedans admit of no spiritual pleasure in the next life, but make the happiness of the blessed to consist wholly in corporeal enjoyments.

Whence Mohammed took the greatest part of his paradise it is easy to show. The Jews constantly describe the future mansion of the just as a delicious garden, and make it also reach to the seventh heaven. They also say it has three gates, or, as others will have it, two, and four rivers (which last circ.u.mstance they copied, to be sure, from those of the garden of Eden), flowing with milk, wine, balsam, and honey. Their Behemoth and Leviathan, which they pretend will be slain for the entertainment of the blessed, are so apparently the Balam and Nun of Mohammed, that his followers themselves confess he is obliged to them for both. The Rabbins likewise mention seven different degrees of felicity, and say that the highest will be of those who perpetually contemplate the face of G.o.d. The Persian Magi had also an idea of the future happy estate of the good, very little different from that of Mohammed. Paradise they called Behisht, and Minu, which signifies crystal, where they believe the righteous shall enjoy all manner of delights, and particularly the company of the Hurani behisht, or black-eyed nymphs of paradise, the care of whom, they say, committed to the angel Zamiyad; and hence Mohammed seems to have taken the first hint of his paradisiacal ladies.

It is not improbable, however, but that he might have been obliged, in some respect, to the Christian accounts of the felicity of the good in the next life. As it is scarce possible to convey, especially to the apprehensions of the generality of mankind, an idea of spiritual pleasures without introducing sensible objects, the scriptures have been obliged to represent the celestial enjoyments by corporeal images; and to describe the mansion of the blessed as a glorious and magnificent city, built of gold and precious stones, with twelve gates; through the streets of which there runs a river of water of life, and having on either side the tree of life, which bears twelve sorts of fruits, and leaves of a healing virtue. Our Saviour likewise speaks of the future state of the blessed as of a kingdom where they shall eat and drink at his table. But then these descriptions have none of those puerile imaginations which reign throughout that of Mohammed, much less any the most distant intimation of sensual delights, which he was so fond of; on the contrary, we are expressly a.s.sured, that "in the resurrection they will neither marry nor be given in marriage, but will be as the angels of G.o.d in heaven." Mohammed, however, to enhance the value of paradise with his Arabians, chose rather to imitate the indecency of the Magians than the modesty of the Christians in this particular, and lest his beatified Moslems should complain that anything was wanting, bestows on them wives, as well as the other comforts of life; judging, it is to be presumed, from his own inclinations, that like Panurgus's a.s.s, they would think all the other enjoyments not worth their acceptance if they were to be debarred from this.

Had Mohammed, after all, intimated to his followers, that what he had told them of paradise was to be taken, not literally, but in a metaphorical sense (as it is said the Magians do the description of Zoroaster's), this might, perhaps make some atonement; but the contrary is so evident from the whole tenour of the Koran, that although some Mohammedans, whose understandings are too refined to admit such gross conceptions, look on their prophet's descriptions as parabolical, and are willing to receive them in an allegorical or spiritual acceptation, yet the general and orthodox doctrine is, that the whole is to be strictly believed in the obvious and literal acceptation; to prove which I need only urge the oath they exact from Christians (who they know abhor such fancies) when they would bind them in the most strong and sacred manner; for in such a case they make them swear that if they falsify their engagement, they will affirm that there will be black-eyed girls in the next world, and corporeal pleasures.

Before we quite this subject it may not be improper to observe the falsehood of a vulgar imputation on the Mohammedans, who are by several writers reported to hold that women have no souls, or, if they have, that they will perish, like those of brute beasts, and will not be rewarded in the next life. But whatever may be the opinion of some ignorant people among them, it is certain that Mohammed had too great a respect for the fair s.e.x to teach such a doctrine; and there are several pa.s.sages in the Koran which affirm that women, in the next life, will not only be punished for their evil actions, but will also receive the rewards of their good deeds, as well as the men, and that in this case G.o.d will make no distinction of s.e.xes. It is true, the general notion is, that they will not be admitted into the same abode as the men are, because their places will be supplied by the paradisiacal females (though some allow that a man will there also have the company of those who were his wives in this world, or at least such of them as he shall desire); but that good women will go into a separate place of happiness, where they will enjoy all sorts of delights; but whether one of those delights will be the enjoyment of agreeable paramours created for them, to complete the economy of the Mohammedan system, is what I have nowhere found decided.

One circ.u.mstance relating to these beatified females, conformable to what he had a.s.serted of the men, he acquainted his followers with in the answer he returned to an old woman, who, desiring him to intercede with G.o.d that she might be admitted into paradise, he told her that no old woman would enter that place; which setting the poor woman a-crying, he explained himself by saying that G.o.d would then make her young again.

The sixth great point of faith, which the Mohammedans are taught by the Koran to believe, is G.o.d'S absolute decree, and predestination both of good and evil. For the orthodox doctrine is, that whether it be bad, proceedeth entirely from the divine will, and is irrevocably fixed and recorded from all eternity in the preserved table; G.o.d having secretly predetermined not only the adverse and prosperous fortune of every person in this world, in the most minute particulars, but also his faith or infidelity, his obedience or disobedience, and consequently his everlasting happiness or misery after death; which fate or predestination it is not possible, by any foresight or wisdom, to avoid.

Of this doctrine Mohammed makes great use in his Koran for the advancement of his designs; encouraging his followers to fight without fear, and even desperately, for the propagation of their faith, by representing to them that all their caution could not avert their inevitable destiny, or prolong their lives for a moment; and deterring them from disobeying or rejecting him as an impostor, by setting before them the danger they might thereby incur of being, by the just judgment of G.o.d, abandoned to seduction, hardness of heart, and a reprobate mind, as a punishment for their obstinacy.

As this doctrine of absolute election and reprobation has been thought by many of the Mohammedan divines to be derogatory to the goodness and justice of G.o.d, and to make G.o.d the author of evil, several subtle distinctions have been invented, and disputes raised, to explicate or soften it; and different sects have been formed, according to their several opinions or methods of explaining this point: some of them going so far as even to hold the direct contrary position of absolute free will in man, as we shall see hereafter.

Of the four fundamental points of religious practice required by the Koran, the first is prayer, under which, as has been said, are also comprehended those legal was.h.i.+ngs or purifications which are necessary preparations thereto.

Of these purifications there are two degrees, one called Ghosl, being a total immersion or bathing of the body in water; and the other called Wodu (by the Persians, Abdest), which is the was.h.i.+ng of their faces, hands, and feet, after a certain manner. The first is required in some extraordinary cases only, as after having lain with a woman, or been polluted by emission of seed, or by approaching a dead body; women also being obliged to it after their courses or childbirth. The latter is the ordinary ablution in common cases and before prayer, and must necessarily be used by every person before he can enter upon that duty. It is performed with certain formal ceremonies, which have been described by some writers, but are much easier apprehended by seeing them done than by the best description.

These purifications were perhaps borrowed by Mohammed of the Jews; at least they agree in a great measure with those used by that nation, who in process of time burdened the precepts of Moses in this point, with so many traditionary ceremonies, that whole books have been written about them, and who were so exact and superst.i.tious therein, even in our Saviour's time, that they are often reproved by him for it. But as it is certain that the pagan Arabs used l.u.s.trations of this kind long before the time of Mohammed, as most nations did, and still do in the east, where the warmth of the climate requires a greater nicety and degree of cleanliness than these colder parts; perhaps Mohammed only recalled his countrymen to a more strict observance of those purifying rites, which had been probably neglected by them, or at least performed in a careless and perfunctory manner. The Mohammedans, however, will have it that they are as ancient as Abraham, who, they say, was enjoined by G.o.d to observe them, and was shown the manner of making the ablution by the angel Gabriel, in the form of a beautiful youth. Nay, some deduce the matter higher, and imagine that these ceremonies were taught our first parents by the angels.

That his followers might be the more punctual in this duty, Mohammed is said to have declared, that "the practice of religion is founded on cleanliness,"

which is the one-half of the faith, and the key of prayer, without which it will not be heard by G.o.d. That these expressions may be the better understood, al Ghazali reckons four degrees of purification; of which the first is, the cleansing of the body from all pollution, filth, and excrements; the second, the cleansing of the members of the body from all wickedness and unjust actions; the third, the cleansing of the heart from all blamable inclinations and odious vices; and the fourth, the purging a man's secret thoughts from all affections which may divert their attendance on G.o.d: adding, that the body is but as the outward sh.e.l.l in respect to the heart, which is as the kernel.

And for this reason he highly complains of those who are superst.i.tiously solicitous in exterior purifications, avoiding those persons as unclean who are not so scrupulously nice as themselves, and at the same time have their minds lying waste, and overrun with pride, ignorance, and hypocrisy. Whence it plainly appears with how little foundation the Mohammedans have been charged, by some writers, with teaching or imagining that these formal was.h.i.+ngs alone cleanse them for their sins.

Lest so necessary a preparation to their devotions should be omitted, either where water cannot be had, or when it may be of prejudice to a person's health, they are allowed in such cases to make use of fine sand or dust in lieu of it; and then they perform this duty by clapping their open hands on the sand, and pa.s.sing them over the parts, in the same manner as if they were dipped in water. But for this expedient Mohammed was not so much indebted to his own cunning, as to the example of the Jews, or perhaps that of the Persian Magi, almost as scrupulous as the Jews themselves in their l.u.s.trations, who both of them prescribe the same method in cases of necessity; and there is a famous instance, in ecclesiastical history, of sand being used, for the same reason, instead of water, in the administration of the Christian sacrament of baptism, many years before Mohammed's time.

Neither are the Mohammedans contented with bare was.h.i.+ng, but think themselves obliged to several other necessary points of cleanliness, which they make also parts of this duty; such as combing the hair, cutting the beard, paring the nails, pulling out the hairs of their armpits, shaving their private parts, and circ.u.mcision; of which last I will add a word or two, lest I should not find a more proper place.

Circ.u.mcision, though it be not so much as once mentioned in the Koran, is yet held by the Mohammedans to be an ancient divine inst.i.tution, confirmed by the religion of Islam, and though not so absolutely necessary but that it may be dispensed with in some cases, yet highly proper and expedient. The Arabs used this rite for many ages before Mohammed, having probably learned it from Ismael, though not only his descendants, but the Hamyarites, and other tribes, practised the same. The Ismaelites, we are told, used to circ.u.mcise their children, not on the eighth day, as is the custom of the Jews, but when about twelve or thirteen years old, at which age their father underwent that operation: and the Mohammedans imitate them so far as not to circ.u.mcise children before they be able, at least, distinctly to p.r.o.nounce that profession of their faith, "There is no G.o.d but G.o.d, Mohammed is the apostle of G.o.d;"

but pitch on what age they please for the purpose, between six and sixteen or thereabouts. Though the Moslem doctors are generally of opinion, conformably to the scripture, that this precept was originally given to Abraham, yet some have imagined that Adam was taught it by the angel Gabriel, to satisfy an oath he had made to cut off that flesh which, after his fall, had rebelled against his spirit; whence an odd argument has been drawn for the universal obligation of circ.u.mcision. Though I cannot say the Jews led the Mohammedans the way here, yet they seem so unwilling to believe any of the princ.i.p.al patriarchs or prophets before Abraham were really uncirc.u.mcised, that they pretend several of them, as well as some holy men who lived after his time, were born ready circ.u.mcised, or without a foreskin, and that Adam, in particular, was so created; whence the Mohammedans affirm the same thing of their prophet.

Prayer was by Mohammed thought so necessary a duty, that he used to call it the pillar of religion and the key of paradise; and when the Thakifites, who dwelt at Tayef, sending in the ninth year of the Hejra to make their submission to that prophet, after the keeping of their favourite idol had been denied them, begged, at least, that they might be dispensed with as to their saying of the appointed prayers, he answered, "That there could be no good in that religion wherein was no prayer."

That so important a duty, therefore, might not be neglected, Mohammed obliged his followers to pray five times every twenty-four hours, at certain state times; viz., I. In the morning, before sunrise; 2. When noon is past, and the sun begins to decline form the meridian; 3. In the afternoon, before sunset; 4. In the evening, after sunset, and before day be shut in; and 5.

After the day is shut in, and before the first watch of the night. For this inst.i.tution he pretended to have received the divine command from the throne of G.o.d himself, when he took his night journey to heaven; and the observing of the stated times of prayer is frequently insisted on in the Koran, though they be not particularly prescribed therein. Accordingly, at the aforesaid times, of which public notice is given by the Muedhdhins, or Criers, from the steeples of their mosques (for they use no bell), every conscientious Moslem prepares himself for prayer, which he performs either in the mosque or any other place, provided it be clean, after a prescribed form, and with a certain number of phrases or e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.ns (which the more scrupulous count by a string of beads) and using certain postures of wors.h.i.+p; all which have been particularly set down and described, though with some few mistakes, by other writers, and ought not to be abridged, unless in some special cases; as on a journey, on preparing for battle, &c.

For the regular performance of the duty of prayer among the Mohammedans, besides the particulars above mentioned, it is also requisite that they turn their faces, while they pray, towards the temple of Mecca; the quarter where the same is situate being, for that reason, pointed out within their mosques by a niche, which they call al Mehrab, and without, by the situation of the doors opening into the galleries of the steeples: there are also tables calculated for the ready finding out their Kebla, or part towards which they ought to pray, in places where they have no other direction.

But what is princ.i.p.ally to be regarded in the discharge of this duty, say the Moslem doctors, is the inward disposition of the heart, which is the life and spirit of prayer; the most punctual observance of the external rites and ceremonies before mentioned being of little or no avail, if performed without due attention, reverence, devotion, and hope: so that we must not think the Mohammedans, or the considerate part of them at least, content themselves with the mere opu. operatum, or imagine their whole religion to be placed therein.

I had like to have omitted two things which in my mind deserve mention on this head, and may, perhaps, be better defended than our contrary practice.

One is, that the Mohammedans never address themselves to G.o.d in sumptuous apparel, though they are obliged to be decently clothed; but lay aside their costly habits and pompous ornaments, if they wear any, when they approach the divine presence, lest they should seem proud and arrogant. The other is, that they admit not their women to pray with them in public; that s.e.x being obliged to perform their devotions at home, or if they visit the mosques, it must be at a time when the men are not there: for the Moslems are of opinion that their presence inspires a different kind of devotion from that which is requisite in a place dedicated to the wors.h.i.+p of G.o.d.

The greater part of the particulars comprised in the Mohammedan inst.i.tution of prayer, their prophet seems to have copied from others, and especially the Jews; exceeding their inst.i.tutions only in the number of daily prayer. The Jews are directed to pray three times a day, in the morning, in the evening, and within night; in imitation of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and the practice was as early, at least, as the time of Daniel. The several postures used by the Mohammedans in their prayers are also the same with those prescribed by the Jewish Rabbins, and particularly the most solemn act of adoration, by prostrating themselves so as to touch the ground with their forehead; notwithstanding, the latter pretend the practice of the former, in this respect, to be a relic of their ancient manner of paying their devotions to Baal-Peor. The Jews likewise constantly pray with their faces turned towards the temple of Jerusalem, which has been their Kebla from the time it was first dedicated by Solomon; for which reason Daniel, praying in Chaldea, had the windows of his chamber open towards that city: and the same was the Kebla of Mohammed and his followers for six or seven months, and till he found himself obliged to change it for the Caaba. The Jews, moreover, are obliged by the precepts of their religion to be careful that the place they pray in, and the garments they have on when they perform their duty, be clean: the men and women also among them pray apart (in which particular they were imitated by the eastern Christians); and several other conformities might be remarked between the Jewish public wors.h.i.+p and that of the Mohammedans.

The next point of the Mohammedan religion is the giving of alms, which are of two sorts, legal and voluntary. The legal alms are of indispensable obligation, being commanded by the law, which directs and determines both the portion which is to be given, and of what things it ought to be given; but the voluntary alms are left to every one's liberty, to give more or less, as he shall see fit. The former kind of alms some think to be properly called Zacat, and the latter Sadakat; though this name be also frequently given to the legal alms. They are called Zacat, either because they increase a man's store, by drawing down a blessing thereon, and produce in his soul the virtue of liberality, or because they purify the remaining part of one's substance from pollution, and the soul from the filth of avarice; and Sadakat, because they are a proof of a man's sincerity in the wors.h.i.+p of G.o.d. Some writers have called the legal alms t.i.thes, but improperly, since in some cases they fall short, and in others exceed that proportion.

The giving of alms is frequently commanded in the Koran, and often recommended therein jointly with prayer; the former being held of great efficacy in causing the latter to be heard of G.o.d: for which reason the Khalif Omar Ebn Abd'alaziz used to say, "that prayer and alms carries us half-way to G.o.d, fasting brings us to the door of his palace, and alms procures us admission." The Mohammedans, therefore, esteem almsdeeds to be highly meritorious, and many of them have been ill.u.s.trious for the exercise thereof.

Hasan, the son of Ali, and grandson of Mohammed, in particular is related to have thrice in his life divided his substance equally between himself and the poor, and twice to have given away all he had: and the generality are so addicted to the doing of good, that they extend their charity even to brutes.

Alms, according to the prescriptions of the Mohammedan law, are to be given of five things--I. Of cattle, that is to say, of camels, kine, and sheep.

2. Of money. 3. Of corn. 4. Of fruits, viz., dates and raisins. And 5. Of wares sold. Of each of these a certain portion is to be given in alms, usually one part in forty, or two and a half per cent of the value. But no alms are due for them, unless they amount to a certain quant.i.ty or number; nor until a man has been in possession of them eleven months, he not being obliged to give alms thereout before the twelfth month is begun: nor are alms due for cattle employed in tilling the ground, or in carrying of burdens. In some cases a much larger portion than the before-mentioned is reckoned due for alms: thus of what is gotten out of mines, or the sea, or by any art or profession over and above what is sufficient for the reasonable support of a man's family, and especially where there is a mixture or suspicion of unjust gain, a fifth part ought to be given in alms. Moreover, at the end of the fast of Ramadan, every Moslem is obliged to give in alms for himself and for every one of his family, if he has any, a measure of wheat, barley, dates, raisins, rice, or other provisions commonly eaten.

The legal alms were at first collected by Mohammed himself, who employed them as he thought fit, in the relief of his poor relations and followers, but chiefly applied them to the maintenance of those who served in his wars, and fought, as he termed it, in the way of G.o.d. His successors continued to do the same, till, in the process of time, other taxes and tributes being imposed for the support of the government, they seem to have been weary of acting as almoners to their subjects, and to have left the paying them to their consciences.

In the foregoing rules concerning alms, we may observe also footsteps of what the Jews taught and practised in respect thereto. Alms, which they also call Sedaka, i.e., justice, or righteousness, are greatly recommended by their Rabbins, and preferred even to sacrifices; as a duty, the frequent exercise whereof will effectually free a man from h.e.l.l fire, and merit everlasting life: wherefore, besides the corners of the field, and the gleanings of their harvest and vineyard, commanded to be left for the poor and the stranger by the law of Moses, a certain portion of their corn and fruits is directed to be set apart for their relief, which portion is called the t.i.thes of the poor. The Jews likewise were formerly very conspicuous for their charity. Zaccheus gave the half of his goods to the poor; and we are told that some gave their whole substance: so that their doctors, at length, decreed that no man should give above a fifth part of his goods in alms.

There were also persons publicly appointed in every synagogue to collect and distribute the people's contributions.

The third point of religious practice is fasting; a duty of so great moment, that Mohammed used to say it was "the gate of religion," and that "the odour of the mouth of him who fasteth is more grateful to G.o.d than that of musk;"

and al Ghazali reckons fasting one-fourth part of the faith. According to the Mohammedan divines, there are three degrees of fasting: I. The restraining the belly and other parts of the body from satisfying their l.u.s.ts; 2. The restraining the ears, eyes, tongue, hands, feet, and other members from sin; and 3. The fasting of the heart from worldly cares, and refraining the thoughts from everything besides G.o.d.

The Mohammedans are obliged, by the express command of the Koran, to fast the whole month of Ramadan, from the time the new moon first appears, till the appearance of the next new moon; during which time they must abstain from eating, drinking, and women, from daybreak till night, or sunset. And this injunction they observe so strictly, that while they fast they suffer nothing to enter their mouths, or other parts of their body, esteeming the fast broken and null if they smell perfumes, take a clyster or injection, bathe, or even purposely swallow their spittle; some being so cautious that they will not open their mouths to speak, lest they should breathe the air too freely: the fast is also deemed void if a man kiss or touch a woman, or if he vomit designedly. But after sunset they are allowed to refresh themselves, and to eat and drink, and enjoy the company of their wives till daybreak; though the more rigid begin the fast again at midnight. This fast is extremely rigorous and mortifying when the month of Ramadan happens to fall in summer, for the Arabian year being lunar, each month runs through all the different seasons in the course of thirty-three years, the length and heat of the days making the observance of it much more difficult and uneasy then than The reason given why the month of Ramadan was pitched on for this purpose is, that on the month the Koran was sent down from heaven. Some pretend that Abraham, Moses, and Jesus received their respective revelations in the same month.

From the fast of Ramadan none are excused, except only travellers and sick persons (under which last denomination the doctors comprehend all whose health would manifestly be injured by their keeping the fast; as women with child and giving suck, ancient people, and young children); but then they are obliged, as soon as the impediment is removed, to fast an equal number of other days: and the breaking the fast is ordered to be expiated by giving alms to the poor.

Mohammed seems to have followed the guidance of the Jews in his ordinances concerning fasting, no less than in the former particulars. That nation, when they fast, abstain not only from eating and drinking, but from women, and from anointing themselves, from daybreak until sunset, and the stars begin to appear; spending the night in taking what refreshments they please. And they allow women with child and giving suck, old persons, and young children to be exempted from keeping most of the public fasts.

Though my design here be briefly to treat of those points only which are of indispensable obligation on a Moslem, and expressly required by the Koran, without entering into their practice as to voluntary and supererogatory works; yet to show how closely Mohammed's inst.i.tutions follow the Jewish, I shall add a word or two of the voluntary fasts of the Mohammedans. These are such as have been recommended either by the example or approbation of their prophet; and especially certain days of those months which they esteem sacred: there being a tradition that he used to say, That a fast of one day in a sacred month was better than a fast of thirty days in another month; and that the fast of one day in Ramadan was more meritorious than a fast of thirty days in a sacred month. Among the more commendable days is that of Ashura, the tenth of Moharram; which, though some writers tell us it was observed by the Arabs, and particularly the tribe of Koreish, before Mohammed's time, yet, as others a.s.sure us, that prophet borrowed both the name and the fast from the Jews; it being with them the tenth of the seventh month, or Tisri, and the great day of expiation commanded to be kept by the law of Moses. Al Kazwini relates that when Mohammed came to Medina, and found the Jews there fasted on the day of Ashura, he asked them the reason of it; and they told him it was because on that day Pharaoh and his people were drowned, Moses and those who were with him escaping: whereupon he said that he bore a nearer relation to Moses than they, and ordered his followers to fast on that day. However, it seems afterwards he was not so well pleased in having imitated the Jews herein; and therefore declared that, if he lived another year, he would alter the day, and fast on the ninth, abhorring so near an agreement with them.

The pilgrimage to Mecca is so necessary a point of practice that, according to a tradition of Mohammed, he who dies without performing it, may as well die a Jew or a Christian; and the same is expressly commanded in the Koran.

Before I speak of the time and manner of performing this pilgrimage, it may be proper to give a short account of the temple of Mecca, the chief scene of the Mohammedan wors.h.i.+p; in doing which I need be the less prolix, because that edifice has been already described by several writers, though they, following different relations, have been led into some mistakes, and agree not with one another in several particulars: nor, indeed, do the Arab authors agree in all things, one great reason whereof is their speaking of different times.

The temple of Mecca stands in the midst of the city, and is honoured with the t.i.tle of Masjad al alharam, i.e., the sacred or inviolable temple. What is princ.i.p.ally reverenced in this place, and gives sanct.i.ty to the whole, is a square stone building, called the Caaba, as some fancy, from its height, which surpa.s.ses that of the other buildings in Mecca, but more probably from its quadrangular form, and Beit Allah, i.e., the house of G.o.d, being peculiarly hallowed and set apart for his wors.h.i.+p. The length of this edifice, from north to south, is twenty-four cubits, its breadth from east to west twenty- three cubits, and its height twenty-seven cubits: the door, which is on the east side, stands about four cubits from the ground; the floor being level with the bottom of the door. In the corner next this door is the black stone, of which I shall take notice by-and-bye. On the north side of the Caaba, within a semicircular enclosure fifty cubits long, lies the white stone, said to be the sepulchre of Ismael, which receives the rain-water that falls off the Caaba by a spout, formerly of wood, but now of gold. The Caaba has a double roof, supported within by three octangular pillars of aloes wood; between which, on a bar of iron, hang some silver lamps. The outside is covered with rich black damask, adorned with an embroidered band of gold, which is changed every year, and was formerly sent by the Khalifs, afterwards by the Soltans of Egypt, and is now provided by the Turkish emperors. At a small distance from the Caaba, on the east side, is the Station or Place of Abraham, where is another stone much respected by the Mohammedans, of which something will be said hereafter.

The Caaba, at some distance, is surrounded but not entirely, by a circular enclosure of pillars, joined towards the bottom by a low bal.u.s.trade, and towards the top by bars of silver. Just without this inner enclosure, on the south, north, and west sides of the Caaba, are three buildings, which are the oratories, or places where three of the orthodox sects a.s.semble to perform their devotions (the fourth sect, viz., that of al Shafei, making use of the station of Abraham for that purpose), and towards the southeast stands the edifice which covers the well Zemzem, the treasury, and cupola of al Abbas.

All these buildings are enclosed, a considerable distance, by a magnificent piazza, or square colonnade, like that of the Royal Exchange in London, but much larger, covered with small domes or cupolas, from the four corners whereof rise as many minarets or steeples, with double galleries, and adorned with gilded spires and crescents, as are the cupolas which cover the piazza and the other buildings. Between the pillars of both enclosures hang a great number of lamps, which are constantly lighted at night. The first foundations of this outward enclosure were laid by Omar, the second Khalif, who built no more than a low wall to prevent the court of the Caaba, which before lay open, from being encroached on by private buildings; but the structure has been since raised, by the liberality of many succeeding princes and great men, to its present l.u.s.tre.

This is properly all that is called the temple, but the whole territory of Mecca being also Haram, or sacred, there is a third enclosure, distinguished at certain distances by small turrets, some five, some seven, and others ten miles distant from the city. Within this compa.s.s of ground it is not lawful to attack an enemy, or even to hunt or fowl, or cut a branch from a tree: which is the true reason why the pigeons at Mecca are reckoned sacred, and not that they are supposed to be of the race of that imaginary pigeon which some authors, who should have known better, would persuade us Mohammed made pa.s.s for the Holy Ghost.

The temple of Mecca was a place of wors.h.i.+p, and in singular veneration with the Arabs from great antiquity, and many centuries before Mohammed.

Though it was most probably dedicated at first to an idolatrous use, yet the Mohammedans are generally persuaded that the Caaba is almost coeval with the world: for they say that Adam, after his expulsion from paradise, begged of G.o.d that he might erect a building like that he had seen there, called Beit al Mamur, or the frequented house, and al Dorah, towards which he might direct his prayers, and which he might compa.s.s, as the angels do the celestial one.

Whereupon G.o.d let down a representation of that house in curtains of light, and set it in Mecca, perpendicularly under its original, ordering the patriarch to turn towards it when he prayed, and to compa.s.s it by way of devotion.

After Adam's death, his son Seth built a house in the same form of stones and clay, which being destroyed by the Deluge, was rebuilt by Abraham and Ismael, at G.o.d'S command, in the place where the former had stood, and after the same model, they being directed therein by revelation.

After this edifice had undergone several reparations, it was, a few years after the birth of Mohammed, rebuilt by the Koreish on the old foundation, and afterwards repaired by Abd'allah Ebn Zobeir, the Khalif of Mecca, and at length again rebuilt by al Hejaj Ebn Yusof, in the seventy-fourth year of the Hejra, with some alterations, in the form wherein it now remains. Some years after, however, the Khalif Harun al Ras.h.i.+d (or, as others write, his father al Mohdi, or his grandfather al Mansur) intended again to change what had been altered by al Hejaj, and to reduce the Caaba to the old form in which it was left by Abd'allah, but was dissuaded from meddling with it, lest so holy a place should become the sport of princes, and being new modelled after every one's fancy, should lose that reverence which was justly paid it. But notwithstanding the antiquity and holiness of this building, they have a prophecy, by tradition from Mohammed, that in the last times the Ethiopians shall come and utterly demolish it, after which it will not be rebuilt again for ever.

Before we leave the temple of Mecca, two or three particulars deserve further notice. One is the celebrated black stone, which is set in silver, and fixed in the southeast corner of the Caaba, being that which looks towards Basra, about two cubits and one-third, or, which is the same thing, seven spans from the ground. This stone is exceedingly respected by the Mohammedans, and is kissed by the pilgrims with great devotion, being called by some the right hand of G.o.d on earth. They fable that it is one of the precious stones of paradise, and fell down to the earth with Adam, and being taken up again, or otherwise preserved at the Deluge, the angel Gabriel afterwards brought it back to Abraham when he was building the Caaba.

It was at first whiter than milk, but grew black long since by the touch of a menstruous woman, or, as others tell us, by the sins of mankind, or rather by the touches and kisses of so many people, the superficies only being black, and the inside still remaining white. When the Karmatians, among other profanations by them offered to the temple of Mecca, took away this stone, they could not be prevailed on, for love or money, to restore it, though those of Mecca offered no less than five thousand pieces of gold for it. However, after they had kept it twenty-two years, seeing they could not thereby draw the pilgrims from Mecca, they sent it back of their own accord; at the same time bantering its devotees by telling them it was not the true stone: but, as it is said, it was proved to be no counterfeit by its peculiar quality of swimming on water.

Another thing observable in this temple is the stone in Abraham's place, wherein they pretend to show his footsteps, telling us he stood on it when he built the Caaba, and that it served him for a scaffold, rising and falling of itself as he had occasion, though another tradition says he stood upon it while the wife of his son Ismael, whom he paid a visit to, washed his head.

It is now enclosed in an iron chest, out of which the pilgrims drink the water of Zemzem, and are ordered to pray at it by the Koran. The officers of the temple took care to hide this stone when the Karmatians took the other.

The last thing I shall take notice of in the temple is the well Zemzem, on the east side of the Caaba, and which is covered with a small building and cupola. The Mohammedans are persuaded it is the very spring which gushed out for the relief of Ismael, when Hagar his mother wandered with him in the desert; and some pretend it was so named from her calling to him, when she spied it, in the Egyptian tongue, Zem, zem, that is, "Stay, stay," though it seems rather to have had the name from the murmuring of its waters. The water of this will is reckoned holy, and is highly reverenced, being not only drunk with particular devotion by the pilgrims, but also sent in bottles, as a great rarity, to most parts of the Mohammedan dominions. Abd'allah, surnamed al Hafedh, from his great memory, particularly as to the traditions of Mohammed, gave out that he acquired that faculty by drinking large draughts of Zemzem water, to which I really believe it as efficacious as that of Helicon to the inspiring of a poet.

To this temple every Mohammedan, who has health and means sufficient ought once, at least, in his life to go on pilgrimage; nor are women excused from the performance of this duty. The pilgrims meet at different places near Mecca, according to the different parts from whence they come, during the months of Shawal and Dhu'lkaada, being obliged to be there by the beginning of Dhu'lhajja, which month, as its name imports, is peculiarly set apart for the celebration of this solemnity.

At the places above mentioned the pilgrims properly commence such; when the men put on the Ihram, or sacred habit, which consists only of two woolen wrappers, one wrapped about the middle to cover their privities, and the other thrown over their shoulders, having their heads bare, and a kind of slippers which cover neither the heel nor the instep, and so enter the sacred territory in their way to Mecca. While they have this habit on they must neither hunt nor fowl (though they are allowed to fish), which precept is so punctually observed, that they will not kill even a louse or a flea, if they find them on their bodies: there are some noxious animals, however, which they have permission to kill during the pilgrimage, as kites, ravens, scorpions, mice, and dogs given to bite. During the pilgrimage it behoves a man to have a constant guard over his words and actions, and to avoid all quarrelling or ill language, and all converse with women and obscene discourse, and to apply his whole intention to the good work he is engaged in.

The pilgrims, being arrived at Mecca, immediately visit the temple, and then enter on the performance of the prescribed ceremonies, which consist chiefly in going in procession round the Caaba, in running between the Mounts Safa and Merwa, in making the station on Mount Arafat, and slaying the victims, and shaving their heads in the valley of Mina. These ceremonies have been so particularly described by others, that I may be excused if I but just mention the most material circ.u.mstances thereof.

In compa.s.sing the Caaba, which they do seven times, beginning at the corner where the black stone is fixed, they use a short, quick pace the three first times they go round it, and a grave, ordinary pace, the four last; which, it is said, was ordered by Mohammed, that his followers might show themselves strong and active, to cut off the hopes of the infidels, who gave out that the immoderate heats of Medina had rendered them weak. But the aforesaid quick pace they are not obliged to use every time they perform this piece of devotion, but only at some particular times. So often as they pa.s.s by the black stone, they either kiss it, or touch it with their hand, and kiss that.

The running between Safa and Merwa is also performed seven times, partly with a slow pace, and partly running: for they walk gravely till they come to a place between two pillars; and there they run, and afterwards walk again; sometimes looking back, and sometimes stopping, like one who has lost something, to represent Hagar seeking water for her son:3 for the ceremony is said to be as ancient as her time.

On the ninth of Dhu'lhajja, after morning prayer, the pilgrims leave the valley of Mina, whither they come the day before, and proceed in a tumultuous and rus.h.i.+ng manner to Mount Arafat, where they stay to perform their devotions till sunset: then they go to Mozdalifa, an oratory between Arafat and Mina, and there spend the night in prayer and reading the Koran. The next morning, by daybreak, they visit al Masher al haram, or the sacred monument, and departing thence before sunrise, haste by Batn Moha.s.ser to the valley of Mina, where they throw seven stones at three marks, or pillars, in imitation of Abraham, who, meeting the devil in that place, and being by him disturbed in his devotions, or tempted to disobedience, when he was going to sacrifice his son, was commanded by G.o.d to drive him away by throwing stones at him; though others pretend this rite to be as old as Adam, who also put the devil to flight in the same place and by the same means.

This ceremony being over, on the same day, the tenth of Dhu'lhajja, the pilgrims slay their victims in the said valley of Mina; of which they and their friends eat part, and the rest is given to the poor. These victims must be either sheep, goats, kine, or camels; males, if of either of the two former kinds, and females if of either of the latter, and of a fit age. The sacrifices being over, they shave their heads and cut their nails, burying them in the same place; after which the pilgrimage is looked on as completed: though they again visit the Caaba, to take their leave of that sacred building.

The above-mentioned ceremonies, by the confession of the Mohammedans themselves, were almost all of them observed by the pagan Arabs many ages before their prophet's appearance; and particularly the compa.s.sing of the Caaba, the running between Safa and Merwa, and the throwing of the stones in Mina; and were confirmed by Mohammed, with some alterations in such points as seemed most exceptionable: thus, for example, he ordered that when they compa.s.sed the Caaba they should be clothed; whereas, before his time, they performed that piece of devotion naked, throwing off their clothes as a mark that they had cast off their sins, or as signs of their disobedience towards G.o.d.

It is also acknowledged that the greater part of these rites are of no intrinsic worth, neither affecting the soul, nor agreeing with natural reason, but altogether arbitrary, and commanded merely to try the obedience of mankind, without any further view; and are therefore to be complied with; not that they are good in themselves, but because G.o.d has so appointed.

Some, however, have endeavoured to find out some reason for the arbitrary injunctions of this kind; and one writer, supposing men ought to imitate the heavenly bodies, not only in their purity, but in their circular motion, seems to argue the procession round the Caaba to be therefore a rational practice.

Reland has observed that the Romans had something like this in their wors.h.i.+p, being ordered by Numa to use a circular motion in the adoration of the G.o.ds, either to represent the orbicular motion of the world, or the perfecting the whole office of prayer to that G.o.d who is maker of the universe, or else in allusion to the Egyptian wheels, which were hieroglyphics of the instability of human fortune.

The pilgrimage to Mecca, and the ceremonies prescribed to those who perform it, are, perhaps, liable to greater exception than other of Mohammed's inst.i.tutions; not only as silly and ridiculous in themselves, but as relics of idolatrous superst.i.tion. Yet whoever seriously considers how difficult it is to make people submit to the abolis.h.i.+ng of ancient customs, how unreasonable soever, which they are fond of, especially where the interest of a considerable party is also concerned, and that a man may with less danger change many things than one great one, must excuse Mohammed's yielding some points of less moment, to gain the princ.i.p.al.

The temple of Mecca was held in excessive veneration by all the Arabs in general (if we except only the tribes of Tay, and Khathaam, and some of the posterity of al Hareth Ebn Caab, who used not to go in pilgrimage thereto), and especially by those of Mecca, who had a particular interest to support that veneration; and as the most silly and insignificant things are generally the objects of the greatest superst.i.tion, Mohammed found it much easier to abolish idolatry itself, than to eradicate, the superst.i.tious bigotry with which they were addicted to that temple, and the rites performed there; wherefore, after several fruitless trials to wean them therefrom, he thought it best to compromise the matter, and rather than to frustrate his whole design, to allow them to go on pilgrimage thither, and to direct their prayers thereto; contenting himself with transferring the devotions there paid from their idols to the true G.o.d, and changing such circ.u.mstances therein as he judged might give scandal. And herein he followed the example of the most famous legislators, who inst.i.tuted not such laws as were absolutely the best in themselves, but the best their people were capable of receiving: and we find G.o.d himself had the same condescendence for the Jews, whose hardness of heart he humoured in many things, giving them therefore statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live.

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SECTION V.

OF CERTAIN NEGATIVE PRECEPTS IN THE KORAN.