Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah & Meccah Volume Ii Part 3

[p.36] Thee, O Caliph of Allah's Apostle! Peace be upon Thee, O Writer of Allah's Book! Peace be upon Thee, in whose Presence the Angels are ashamed![FN#16] Peace be upon Thee, O Collector of the Koran! Peace be upon Thee, O Son-in-Law of the Prophet! Peace be upon Thee, O Lord of the Two Lights (the two daughters of Mohammed)![FN#17] Peace be upon Thee, who fought the Battle of the Faith! Allah be satisfied with Thee, and cause Thee to be satisfied, and render Heaven thy Habitation! Peace be upon Thee, and the Mercy of Allah and His Blessing, and Praise be to Allah, Lord of the (three) Worlds!" This supplication concluded in the usual manner. After which we gave alms, and settled with ten piastres the demands of the Khadim[FN#18] who takes charge of the tomb: this double-disbursing process had to be repeated at each station.

Then moving a few paces to the North, we faced Eastwards, and performed the Visitation of Abu Sa'id al-Khazari, a Sahib or Companion of the Prophet, whose sepulchre lies outside Al-Bakia. The third place visited was a dome containing the tomb of our lady Halimah, the Badawi wet-nurse who took charge of Mohammed[FN#19]:

[p.37] she is addressed hus; "Peace be upon Thee, O Halimah the Auspicious![FN#20] Peace be upon Thee, who performed thy Trust in suckling the Best of Mankind! Peace be upon Thee, O Wet-nurse of Al-Mustafa (the chosen)! Peace be upon Thee, O Wet-nurse of Al-Mujtaba (the (accepted)![FN#21] May Allah be satisfied with Thee, and cause Thee to be satisfied, and render Heaven thy House and Habitation! and verily we have come visiting Thee, and by means of Thee drawing near to Allah's Prophet, and through Him to G.o.d, the Lord of the Heavens and the Earths.[FN#22]"

After which, fronting the North, we stood before a low enclosure, containing ovals of loose stones, disposed side by side. These are the Martyrs of Al-Bakia, who received the crown of glory at the hands of Al-Muslim,[FN#23] the general of the arch-heretic Yazid[FN#24] The prayer here recited differs so little from that addressed to the martyrs of Ohod, that I will not transcribe it. The fifth station is near the centre of the cemetery at the tomb of Ibrahim, who died, to the eternal regret of Al-Islam, some say six months old, others in his second year. He was the son

[p.38] of Mariyah, the Coptic girl, sent as a present to Mohammed by Jarih, the Mukaukas or governor of Alexandria. The Prophet with his own hand piled earth upon the grave, and sprinkled it with water,-a ceremony then first performed,-disposed small stones upon it, and p.r.o.nounced the final salutation. For which reason many holy men were buried in this part of the cemetery, every one being ambitious to lie in ground which has been honored by the Apostle's hands. Then we visited Al-Nafi Maula, son of Omar, generally called Imam Nafi al-Kari, or the Koran chaunter; and near him the great doctor Imam Malik ibn Anas, a native of Al-Madinah, and one of the most dutiful of her sons. The eighth station is at the tomb of Ukayl bin Abi Talib, brother of Ali.[FN#25] Then we visited the spot where lie interred all the Prophet's wives, Khadijah, who lies at Meccah, alone excepted. Mohammed married fifteen wives of whom nine survived him. After the "Mothers of the Moslems," we prayed at the tombs of Mohammed's daughters, said to be ten in number.

In compliment probably to the Hajj, the beggars mustered strong that morning at Al-Bakia. Along the walls and at the entrance of each building squatted ancient dames, all engaged in anxious contemplation of every approaching face, and in pointing to dirty cotton napkins spread upon the ground before them, and studded with a few coins, gold, silver, or copper, according to the expectations of the proprietress.

They raised their voices to demand largesse: some promised to recite Fatihahs, and the most audacious seized visitors by the skirts of their

[p.39] garments. Fakihs, ready to write "Y.S.," or anything else demanded of them, covered the little heaps and eminences of the cemetery, all begging l.u.s.tily, and looking as though they would murder you, when told how beneficent is Allah-polite form of declining to be charitable. At the doors of the tombs old housewives, and some young ones also, struggled with you for your slippers as you doffed them, and not unfrequently the charge of the pair was divided between two. Inside, when the boys were not loud enough or importunate enough for presents, they were urged on by the adults and seniors, the relatives of the "Khadims" and hangers-on.

Unfortunately for me, Shaykh Hamid was renowned for taking charge of wealthy pilgrims: the result was, that my purse was lightened of three dollars. I must add that although at least fifty female voices loudly promised that morning, for the sum of ten parahs each, to supplicate Allah in behalf of my lame foot, no perceptible good came of their efforts.

Before leaving Al-Bakia, we went to the eleventh station, [FN#26] the Kubbat al-Abbasiyah, or Dome of Abbas. Originally built by the Abbaside Caliphs in A.H. 519, it is a larger and a handsomer building than its fellows, and it is situated on the right-hand side of the gate as you enter. The crowd of beggars at the door testified to its importance: they were attracted by the Persians who a.s.semble here in force to weep and to pray. Crossing the threshold with some difficulty, I walked round a ma.s.s of tombs which occupies the centre of the building, leaving but a narrow pa.s.sage between it and the walls. It is railed round, and covered over with several "Kiswahs" of green cloth worked with white letters: it looked like a confused

[p.40] heap, but it might have appeared irregular to me by the reason of the mob around. The Eastern portion contains the body of Al-Hasan, the son of Ali and grandson of the Prophet[FN#27]; the Imam Zayn al-Abidin, son of Al-Hosayn, and great-grandson to the Prophet; the Imam Mohammed al-Bakir (fifth Imam), son to Zayn al-Abidin; and his son the Imam a'afar al-Sadik-all four descendants of the Prophet, and buried in the same grave with Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, uncle to Mohammed. It is almost needless to say that these names are subjects of great controversy. Al-Musudi mentions that here was found an inscribed stone declaring it to be the tomb of the Lady Fatimah, of Hasan her brother, of Ali bin Hosayn, of Mohammed bin Ali, and of Ja'afar bin Mohammed. Ibn Jubayr, describing Al-Bakia, mentions only two in this tomb, Abbas and Hasan; the head of the latter, he says, in the direction of the former's feet. Other authors

[p.41] relate that in it, about the ninth century of the Hijrah, was found a wooden box covered with fresh-looking red felt cloth, with bright bra.s.s nails, and they believe it to have contained the corpse of Ali, placed here by his own son Hasan.

Standing opposite this mysterious tomb, we repeated, with difficulty by reason of the Persians weeping, the following supplication:-"Peace be upon Ye, O Family of the Prophet! O Lord Abbas, the free from Impurity and Uncleanness, and Father's Brother to the Best of Men! And Thou too O Lord Hasan, Grandson of the Prophet! And thou also O Lord Zayn al-Abidin[FN#28]! Peace be upon Ye, One and All, for verily G.o.d hath been pleased to deliver You from all Guile, and to purify You with all Purity. The Mercy of Allah and His Blessings be upon Ye, and verily He is the Praised, the Mighty!" After which, freeing ourselves from the hands of greedy boys, we turned round and faced the southern wall, close to which is a tomb attributed to the Lady Fatimah.[FN#29] I will not repeat the prayer, it being the same as that recited in the Harim.

[p.42] Issuing from the hot and crowded dome, we recovered our slippers after much trouble, and found that our garments had suffered from the frantic gesticulations of the Persians. We then walked to the gate of Al-Bakia, stood facing the cemetery upon an elevated piece of ground, and delivered the general benediction.

"O Allah! O Allah! O Allah! O full of Mercy! O abounding in Beneficence!

Lord of Length (of days), and Prosperity, and Goodness! O Thou, who when asked, grantest, and when prayed for aid, aidest! Have Mercy upon the Companions of thy Prophet, of the Muhajirin, and the Ansar! Have Mercy upon them, One and All!

[p.43] Have Mercy upon bdullah bin Hantal" (and so on, specifying their names), "and make Paradise their Resting-place, their Habitation, their Dwelling, and their Abode! O Allah! accept our Ziyarat, and supply our Wants, and lighten our Griefs, and restore us to our Homes, and comfort our Fears, and disappoint not our Hopes, and pardon us, for on no other do we rely; and let us depart in Thy Faith, and after the Practice of Thy Prophet, and be Thou satisfied with us! O Allah! forgive our past Offences, and leave us not to our (evil) Natures during the Glance of an Eye, or a lesser Time; and pardon us, and pity us, and let us return to our Houses and Homes safe," (i.e., spiritually and physically) "fortunate, abstaining from what is unlawful, re-established after our Distresses, and belonging to the Good, thy Servants upon whom is no Fear, nor do they know Distress. Repentance, O Lord! Repentance, O Merciful! Repentance, O Pitiful! Repentance before Death, and Pardon after Death! I beg pardon of Allah! Thanks be to Allah! Praise be to Allah! Amen, O Lord of the (three) Worlds!"

After which, issuing from Al-Bakia,[FN#30] we advanced

[p.44] northwards, leaving the city gate on the left hand, till we came to a small Kubbah (dome) close to the road. It is visited as containing the tomb of the Prophet's paternal aunts, especially of Safiyah, daughter of Abd al-Muttalib, sister of Hamzah, and one of the many heroines of early Al-Islam. Hurrying over our devotions here,-for we were tired indeed,-we applied to a Sakka for water, and entered a little coffee-house near the gate of the town: after which we rode home.

I have now described, at a wearying length I fear, the spots visited by every Zair at Al-Madinah. The guide-books mention altogether between fifty and fifty-five Mosques and other holy places, most of which are now unknown even by name to the citizens. The most celebrated of these are the few following, which I describe from hearsay. About three miles to the North-west of the town, close to the Wady al-Akik, lies the Mosque called Al-Kiblatayn-"The Two Directions of Prayer." Some give this t.i.tle to the Masjid al-Takwa at Kuba.[FN#31] Others a.s.sert that the Prophet, after visiting and eating

[p.45] at the house of an old woman named Umm Mabshar, went to pray the mid-day prayer in the Mosque of the Benu Salmah. He had performed the prostration with his face towards Jerusalem, when suddenly warned by revelation he turned Southwards and concluded his orisons in that direction.[FN#32] I am told it is a mean dome without inner walls, outer enclosures, or minaret.

The Masjid Benu Zafar (some write the word Tifr) is also called Masjid al-Baghlah-of the She-mule,-because, according to Al-Matari, on the ridge of stone to the south of this Mosque are the marks where the Prophet leaned his arm, and where the she-mule, Duldul, sent by the Mukaukas as a present with Mariyah the Coptic girl and Yafur the donkey, placed its hoofs. At the Mosque was shown a slab upon which the Prophet sat hearing recitations from the Koran; and historians declare that by following his example many women have been blessed with offspring.[FN#33] This Mosque is to the East of Al-Bakia.

The Masjid al-Jumah-of Friday,-or Al-Anikah-of the Sand-heaps,-is in the valley near Kuba, where Mohammed prayed and preached on the first Friday after his flight from Meccah [FN#34]

The Masjid al-Fazikh-of Date-liquor-is so called because when Abu Ayyub and others of the Ansar were sitting with cups in their hands, they heard that intoxicating

[p.46] draughts were for the future forbidden, upon which they poured the liquor upon the ground. Here the Prophet prayed six days whilst he was engaged in warring down the Benu n.a.z.ir Jews. The Mosque derives its other name, Al-Shams-of the Sun-because, being erected on rising ground East of and near Kuba, it receives the first rays of morning light.

To the Eastward of the Masjid al-Fazikh lies the Masjid al-Kurayzah, erected on a spot where the Prophet descended to attack the Jewish tribe of that name. Returning from the battle of the Moat, wayworn and tired with fighting, he here sat down to wash and comb his hair, when suddenly appeared to him the Archangel Gabriel in the figure of a horseman dressed in a corslet and covered with dust. "The Angels of Allah,"

said the preternatural visitor, "are still in Arms, O Prophet, and it is Allah's Will that Thy foot return to the Stirrup. I go before Thee to prepare a Victory over the Infidels, the Sons of Kurayzah." The legend adds that the dust raised by the angelic host was seen in the streets of Al-Madinah, but that mortal eye fell not upon horseman's form. The Prophet ordered his followers to sound the battle-call, gave his flag to Ali,-the Arab token of appointing a commander-in-chief,-and for twenty-five days invested the habitations of the enemy. This hapless tribe was exterminated, sentence of death being pa.s.sed upon them by Sa'ad ibn Ma'az, an Ausi whom they const.i.tuted their judge because he belonged to an allied tribe. Six hundred men were beheaded in the Market-place of Al-Madinah, their property was plundered, and their wives and children were reduced to slavery.

"Tantane relligio potuit suadere malorum!"

The Masjid Mashrabat Umm Ibrahim, or Mosque of the garden of Ibrahim's mother, is a place where Mariyah the Copt had a garden, and became the mother of

[p.47] Ibrahim, the Prophet's second son.[FN#35] It is a small building in what is called the Awali, or highest part of the Al-Madinah plain, to the North of the Masjid Benu Kurayzah, and near the Eastern Harrah or ridge.[FN#36]

Northwards of Al-Bakia is, or was, a small building called the Masjid al-Ijabah-of Granting,-from the following circ.u.mstance. One day the Prophet stopped to perform his devotions at this place, which then belonged to the Benu Mu'awiyah of the tribe of Aus. He made a long Dua or supplication, and then turning to his Companions, exclaimed, "I have asked of Allah three favours, two hath he vouchsafed to me, but the third was refused!" Those granted were that the Moslems might never be destroyed by famine or by deluge. The third was that they might not perish by internecine strife.

The Masjid al-Fath (of Victory), vulgarly called the "Four Mosques," is situated in the Wady Al-Sayh,[FN#37] which comes from the direction of Kuba, and about half a mile to the East of "Al-Kiblatayn." The largest is called the Masjid al-Fath, or Al-Ahzab-of the Troops,-and is alluded to in the Koran. Here it is said the Prophet prayed for three days during the Battle of the Moat, also called the affair "Al-Ahzab," the last fought with the Infidel Kuraysh under Abu Sufiyan. After three days of devotion, a cold and violent blast arose, with rain

[p.48] and sleet, and discomfited the foe. The Prophet's prayer having here been granted, it is supposed by ardent Moslems that no pet.i.tion put up at the Mosque Al-Ahzab is ever neglected by Allah. The form of supplication is differently quoted by different authors. When Al-Shafe'i was in trouble and fear of Harun al-Ras.h.i.+d, by the virtue of this formula he escaped all danger: I would willingly offer so valuable a prophylactory to my readers, only it is of an unmanageable length. The doctors of Al-Islam also greatly differ about the spot where the Prophet stood on this occasion; most of them support the claims of the Masjid al-Fath, the most elevated of the four, to that distinction.

Below, and to the South of the highest ground, is the Masjid Salman al-Farsi, the Persian, from whose brain emanated the bright idea of the Moat. At the mature age of two hundred and fifty, some say three hundred and fifty, after spending his life in search of a religion, from a Magus (fire-wors.h.i.+pper)[FN#38] becoming successively a Jew and a Nazarene, he ended with being a Moslem, and a Companion of Mohammed.

During his eventful career he had been ten times sold into slavery.

Below Salman's Mosque is the Masjid Ali, and the smallest building on the South of the hill is called Masjid Abu Bakr. All these places owe their existence to Al-Walid the Caliph: they were repaired at times by his successors.

The Masjid al-Rayah-of the Banner-was originally built by Al-Walid upon a place where the Prophet pitched his tent during the War of the Moat.

Others call it Al-Zubab, after a hill upon which it stands. Al-Rayah is separated from the Masjid al-Fath by a rising ground called Jabal Sula or Jabal Sawab[FN#39]: the former

[p.49] being on the Eastern, whilst the latter lies upon the Western declivity of the hill. The position of this place is greatly admired, as commanding the fairest view of the Harim.

About a mile and a half South-east of Al-Bakia is a dome called Kuwwat Islam, the "Strength of Al-Islam." Here the Apostle planted a dry palm-stick, which grew up, blossomed, and bore fruit at once. Moreover, on one occasion when the Moslems were unable to perform the pilgrimage, Mohammed here produced the appearance of a Ka'abah, an Arafat, and all the appurtenances of the Hajj. I must warn my readers not to condemn the founder of Al-Islam for these puerile inventions.

The Masjid Onayn lies South of Hamzah's tomb. It is on a hill called Jabal al-Rumat, the Shooters' Hill, and here during the battle of Ohod stood the archers of Al-Islam. According to some, the Prince of Martyrs here received his death-wound; others place that event at the Masjid al-Askar or the Masjid al-Wady.[FN#40]

Besides these fourteen, I find the names, and nothing but the names, of forty Mosques. The reader loses little by my unwillingness to offer him a detailed list of such appellations as Masjid Benu Abd al-Ashhal, Masjid Benu Harisah, Masjid Benu Harim, Masjid al-Fash, Masjid al-Sukiya, Masjid Benu Bayazah, Masjid Benu Hatmah,

"c.u.m multis aliis quae nunc perscribere longum est."

[FN#1] The cholera. See chapter xviii.

[FN#2] The word Hawamid is plural of Hamidah, Hawazin of Hazimi.

[FN#3] Anciently there was a Caravan from Maskat to Al-Madinah. My friends could not tell me when the line had been given up, but all were agreed that for years they had not seen an Oman caravan, the pilgrims preferring to enter Al-Hijaz via Jeddah.

[FN#4] According to Abulfeda, Khaybar is six stations N.E. of Al-Madinah; it is four according to Al-Idrisi; but my informants a.s.sured me that camels go there easily, as the Tarikh al-Khamisy says, in three days. I should place it 80 miles N.N.E. of Al-Madinah.

Al-Atwal locates it in 65 20' E. lon., and 25 20' N. lat; Al-Kanun in lon. 67 30', and lat. 24 20'; Ibn Sa'id in lon. 64 56', and lat. 27; and D'Anville in lon. 57, and lat. 25. In Burckhardt's map, and those copied from it, Khaybar is placed about 2 distant from Al-Madinah, which I believe to be too far.

[FN#5] The Parliamentary limit of an officer's leave from India is five years: if he overstay that period, he forfeits his commission.

{to me the comfort of reflecting that possibly at Meccah some opportunity of crossing the Peninsula might present itself. At any rate I had the certainty of seeing the strange wild country of the Hijaz, and of being present at the ceremonies of the Holy City. I must request the reader to bear with a Visitation once more: we shall conclude it with a ride to Al-Bakia.[FN#6] This venerable spot is frequented by the pious every day after the prayer at the Prophet's Tomb, and especially on Fridays.

[FN#6] The name means "the place of many roots." It is also called Bakia Al-Gharkad-the place of many roots of the tree Rhamnus. Gharkad is translated in different ways: some term it the lote, others the tree of the Jews (Forskal, sub voce).

[FN#7] See chapter xxi., ante.

[FN#8] The same is said of the Makbarah Benu Salmah or Salim, a cemetery to the west of Al-Madinah, below rising ground called Jabal Sula. It has long ago been deserted. See chapter xiv.

[FN#9] In those days Al-Madinah had no walls, and was clear of houses on the East of the Harim.

[FN#10] These stones were removed by Al-Marwan, who determined that Osman's grave should not be distinguished from his fellows. For this act, the lieutenant of Mu'awiyah was reproved and blamed by pious Moslems.

[FN#11] It ought to be high enough for the tenant to sit upright when answering the interrogatory angels.

[FN#12] Because of this superst.i.tion, in every part of Al-Islam, some contrivance is made to prevent the earth pressing upon the body.

[FN#13] This blessing is in Mohammed's words, as the beauty of the Arabic shows. Ayishah relates that in the month Safar, A.H. 11, one night the Prophet, who was beginning to suffer from the headache which caused his death, arose from his couch, and walked out into the darkness; whereupon she followed him in a fit of jealousy, thinking he might be about to visit some other wife. He went to Al-Bakia, delivered the above benediction (which others give somewhat differently), raised his hands three times, and turned to go home. Ayishah hurried back, but she could not conceal her agitation from her husband, who asked her what she had done. Upon her confessing her suspicions, he sternly informed her that he had gone forth, by order of the Archangel Gabriel, to bless and to intercede for the people of Al-Bakia. Some authors relate a more facetious termination of the colloquy.-M.C. de Perceval (Essai, &c., vol.

iii. p. 314.) [FN#14] "Limping Osman," as the Persians contemptuously call him, was slain by rebels, and therefore became a martyr according to the Sunnis. The s.h.i.+'ahs justify the murder, saying it was the act of an "Ijma al-Muslimin,"

or the general consensus of Al-Islam, which in their opinion ratifies an act of "lynch law."

[FN#15] This specifying the father Affan, proves him to have been a Moslem. Abu Bakr's father, "Kahafah," and Omar's "Al-Khattab," are not mentioned by name in the Ceremonies of Visitation.

[FN#16] The Christian reader must remember that the Moslems rank angelic nature, under certain conditions, below human nature.

[FN#17] Osman married two daughters of the Prophet, a circ.u.mstance which the Sunnis quote as honourable to him: the s.h.i.+'ahs, on the contrary, declare that he killed them both by ill-treatment.

[FN#18] These men are generally descendants of the Saint whose tomb they own: they receive pensions from the Mudir of the Mosque, and retain all fees presented to them by visitors. Some families are respectably supported in this way.

[FN#19] This woman, according to some accounts, also saved Mohammed's life, when an Arab Kahin or diviner, foreseeing that the child was destined to subvert the national faith, urged the bystanders to bury their swords in his bosom. The Sharifs of Meccah still entrust their children to the Badawin, that they may be hardened by the discipline of the Desert. And the late Pasha of Egypt gave one of his sons in charge of the Anizah tribe, near Akabah. Burckhardt (Travels in Arabia, vol.