The Hadj Surrounded The
Mosque On All Sides With Lighted Torches, And Accompanied The Sermon
With The Same Exclamations Of
"Lebeyk Allah huma Lebeyk;" but though
this sermon forms one of the principal duties of the pilgrimage, by far
the
Greater number of the hadjys remained with their baggage, and did
not attend it. The sermon is not very long, lasting only from the first
dawn till sun-rise; a space of time much shorter of course in this
latitude, than in our northern countries. The Salat el Ayd, or the
prayer of the feast, is performed at the same time by the whole
community according to its rites. When the first rays of the sun shot
athwart the cloudy sky, the pilgrims moved on at a slow march towards
Wady Muna, one hour distant from hence.
On arriving at Wady Muna, each nation encamped upon the spot which
custom has assigned to it, at every returning Hadj. After
[p.275] disposing of the baggage, the hadjys hastened to the ceremony of
throwing stones at the devil. It is said that, when Abraham or Ibrahim
returned from the pilgrimage to Arafat, and arrived at Wady Muna, the
devil Eblys presented himself before him at the entrance of the valley,
to obstruct his passage; when the angel Gabriel, who accompanied the
Patriarch, advised him to throw stones at him, which he did, and after
pelting him seven times, Eblys retired. When Abraham reached the middle
of the valley, he again appeared before him, and, for the last time, at
its western extremity, and was both times repulsed by the same number of
stones.
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