As, Excepting The
Precious Articles Contained In The Hedjra, No Money-Treasure Has Ever
Been Kept In The Mosque, A
Double advantage accrues to the inhabitants
of the town, numbers of whom gain a comfortable livelihood, while all
are exempted
From the danger and the internal broils which would, no
doubt, occur, were it known that a large sum of money might be obtained
by seizing the mosque. The days are past, in the East, when a public
treasure can be deposited in a place sufficiently sacred to guard it
from the hands of plunderers. The smallest part of the income of all
public foundations is spent in the relief of the poor, or the pious
purpose to which it was destined: it serves merely to pamper a swarm of
idle hypocrites, who have no other motives for acquiring a smattering of
learning, than the hope of sharing in the illegal profits that accrue to
the guardians or agents of these institutions.
Like most of the public buildings in the East, the approach to the
mosque is choked on all sides by private habitations, so as to leave, in
some parts, only an open street between them and the walls of the
mosque; while in others the houses are built against the walls, and
conceal them. Either three or five minarets (I forget
[p.350] which) are erected on different sides of the building; and one
of them is said to stand on the spot where Bellal, the Abyssinian, the
Mueddin of Mohammed, and one of his great favourites, used to call the
faithful to prayers.
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