"Say, To God Belong The
East And The West; He Directs Whomsoever He Pleases In The Road Of
Piety:" - A Sentence Written To Convince The Moslims, That Wherever They
Turned, In Their Prayers, God Stood Before Them.
Near this spot stands a
small ruined chapel.
The above are the only places visited by pilgrims. The country round
Koba, and towards the S.E. of the town, presents many spots of nearly
equal beauty with Koba, which in summer are places of recreation to the
people of Medina; but I believe there are no villages any where to be
seen, only insulated houses, or small groupes of buildings, scattered
amongst the date-trees.
[p.370]ON THE INHABITANTS OF MEDINA.
LIKE the Mekkans, the people of Medina are for the greater part
strangers, whom the Prophet's tomb, and the gains which it insures to
its neighbours, have drawn to this place. But few original Arabs,
descendants of those families who lived at Medina when Mohammed came
from Mekka, now remain in the town; on the contrary, we find in it
colonies from almost every quarter of the Muselman empire, east and
west. I was informed, that of the original Arab residents, to whom the
Mohammedan writers apply the name of El Ansar, and who at Mohammed's
entrance were principally composed of the tribes of Ows and Khezredj,
only about ten families remain who can prove their descent by pedigrees,
or well-ascertained traditions: they are poor people, and live as
peasants in the suburbs and gardens. The number of Sherifs descended of
Hassan, the grandson of Mohammed, is considerable; but most of them are
not originally from this place, their ancestors having come hither from
Mekka, during the wars waged by the Sherifs for the possession of that
town. They almost all belong to the class of olemas, very few military
sherifs, like those of Mekka, being found here. Among them is a small
tribe of Beni Hosseyn, descended from Hosseyn, the brother of Hassan.
They are said to have been formerly very powerful at Medina, and had
appropriated to themselves the chief part of the income of the mosque:
in the thirteenth century, (according to Samhoudy,) they were the
privileged
[p.371] guardians of the Prophet's tomb; but at present they are reduced
to about a dozen families, who still rank among the grandees of the town
and its most wealthy inhabitants. They occupy a quarter by themselves,
and obtain very large profits, particularly from the Persian pilgrims
who pass here. They are universally stated to be heretics, of the
Persian sect of Aly, and to perform secretly the rites of that creed,
although they publicly profess the doctrines of the Sunnys. This report
is too general, and confirmed by too many people of respectability, to
be doubted: but the Beni Hosseyn have powerful influence in the town, in
appearance strictly comply with the orthodox principles, and are
therefore not molested.
It is publicly said that the remnants of the Ansars, and great numbers
of the peasant Arabs who cultivate the gardens and fields in the
neighbourhood of the town, are addicted to the same heresy.
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