From Each Tribe, In Its Turn, Arose A Poet Who Addressed
The Multitude.
"To our tribe," exclaimed he, "belonged such and such
eminent warriors and generous Arabs; and now," he added, "we boast of
others." He then recited their names, and sang their praises; concluding
with a strain of heroic poetry, and an appeal to the other tribes, in
words like the following:
- "Let him who denies the truth of what I have
said, or who lays claim to as much glory, honour, and virtue as we do,
prove it here!" Some rival poet then arose, and celebrated in similar
language the equal or superior glory attached to his own tribe,
endeavouring, at the same time, to under-value or ridicule his rival's
pretensions.
To allay the animosity and jealousies produced by this custom; or,
perhaps, to break the independent spirit of his fierce Bedouins,
Mohammed abolished it by a passage in the Koran, which says: - "When you
have completed the rites of the pilgrimage, remember God, as you
formerly were wont to commemorate your forefathers, and with still
greater fervency." Thus, probably, was removed the cause of many
quarrels; but, at the same time, this stern lawgiver destroyed the
influence which the songs of those rival national bards exercised over
the martial virtues and literary genius of their countrymen.
The visit of the Omra was likewise an ancient custom. Mohammed retained
the practice; and it is said that he frequently recited his evening
prayers on that spot.
Having completed the fatiguing ceremonies of the Towaf and Say, I had a
part of my head shaved, and remained sitting in the barber's shop, not
knowing any other place of repose.
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