That Thou hast delivered thy Message, and discharged
Thy Trust, and advised Thy Faith, and opened Grief, and published
Proofs, and fought valiantly for Thy Lord, and worshipped Thy God till
Certainty came to Thee (i.e. to the hour of death). And we Thy Friends,
O Apostle of Allah! appear before Thee, Travellers from distant lands
and far Countries, through Dangers and Difficulties, in the Times of
Darkness, and in the Hours of Day, longing to give Thee Thy Rights
(i.e. to honour Thee by benediction and visitation), and to obtain the
Blessings of Thine Intercession, for our Sins have broken our Backs,
and Thou intercedest with the Healer. And Allah said,[FN#34] ‘And
though they have injured themselves, they came to Thee, and begged Thee
to secure their Pardon, and they found God an Acceptor of Penitence,
and full of Compassion.' O Apostle of Allah, Intercession!
Intercession! Intercession[FN#35]! O Allah, bless Mohammed and
Mohammed's Family, and give Him Superiority and high Rank, even as Thou
didst promise Him, and graciously allow us to conclude this Visitation.
I deposit on this spot, and near Thee, O Apostle of God, my everlasting
Profession (of faith) from this our Day, to the Day of Judgment, that
there is no god but Allah, and that our Lord Mohammed is His Servant
and His Apostle.[FN#36] Amen! O Lord of the (three) Worlds![FN#37]"
[p.319] After which, performing Ziyarat[FN#38] for ourselves, we
repeated the Fatihah or "opening" chapter of the Koran.
"In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate!
"Praise be to Allah, who the (three) Worlds made.
"The Merciful, the Compassionate.
"The King of the Day of Faith.
"Thee (alone) do we worship, and of Thee (alone) do we ask Aid.
"Guide us to the Path that is straight-
"The Path of those for whom thy Love is great, not those on whom is
Hate, nor they that deviate.
"Amen! O Lord of Angels, Jinnis, and Men![FN#39]"
After reciting this mentally with upraised hands, the forefinger of the
right hand being extended to its full length, we drew our palms down
our faces and did alms-deeds, a vital part of the ceremony. Thus
concludes the first part of the ceremony of visitation at the Apostle's
tomb.
[p.320] Hamid then stepped about a foot and half to the right, and I
followed his example, so as to place myself exactly opposite the second
aperture in the grating called Abu Bakr's window. There, making a sign
towards the mausoleum, we addressed its inmate, as follows:-
"Peace be upon Thee, O Abu Bakr, O Thou Truthful One! Peace be upon
Thee, O Caliph of Allah's Apostle over his People! Peace be upon Thee,
O Companion of the Cave, and Friend in Travel! Peace be upon Thee, O
Thou Banner of the Fugitives and the Auxiliaries! I testify Thou didst
ever stand firm in the right Way, and wast a Smiter of the Infidel, and
a Benefactor to Thine own people. Allah grant Thee through His Apostle
Weal! We pray Almighty God to cause us to die in Thy Friendship, and to
raise us up in Company with His Apostle and Thyself, even as He hath
mercifully vouchsafed to us this Visitation.[FN#40]"
After which we closed one more step to the right, and standing opposite
Omar's window, the most easterly of the three, after making a sign with
our hands, we addressed the just Caliph in these words:-
"Peace be upon Thee, O Omar! O Thou Just One! Thou Prince of True
Believers! Peace be upon Thee, who spakest with Truth, and who madest
Thy Word agree with the Strong Book! (the Koran): O Thou Faruk! (the
Separator).[FN#41] O Thou Faithful One! who girdedst thy Loins with the
Apostle, and the First Believers, and with them didst make up the full
Number forty,[FN#42] and thus causedst to be accomplished the Apostle's
Prayer,[FN#43] and
[p.321] then didst return to Thy God a Martyr leaving the World with
Praise! Allah grant Thee, through his Apostle and his Caliph and his
Followers, the best of Good, and may Allah feel in Thee plenary
Satisfaction!"
Shaykh Hamid, after wrenching a beggar or two from my shoulders, then
permitted me to draw near to the little window, called the Apostle's,
and to look in. Here my proceedings were watched with suspicious eyes.
The Persians have sometimes managed to pollute the part near Abu Bakr's
and Omar's graves by tossing through the aperture what is externally a
handsome shawl intended as a present for the tomb.[FN#44] After
straining my eyes for a time, I saw a curtain,[FN#45] or rather
hangings, with
[p.322] three inscriptions in long gold letters, informing readers that
behind them lie Allah's Apostle and the first two Caliphs.
The exact place of Mohammed's tomb is moreover distinguished by a large
pearl rosary, and a peculiar ornament, the celebrated Kaukab-al-Durri,
or constellation of pearls, suspended to the curtain
breast-high.[FN#46] This is described to be a "brilliant star set in
diamonds and pearls," placed in the dark that man's eye may be able to
bear its splendours: the vulgar believe it to be a "jewel of the jewels
of Paradise." To me it greatly resembled the round glass stoppers used
for the humbler sort of decanters; but I thought the same of the
Koh-i-Nur. Moreover I never saw it quite near enough to judge fairly,
and I did not think fit to pay an exorbitant sum for the privilege of
entering the inner passage of the baldaquin.[FN#47]
[p.323] Altogether the coup-d'oeil had nothing to recommend it by day.
At night, when the lamps, hung in this passage, shed a dim light upon
the mosaic-work of the marble floors, upon the glittering inscriptions,
and the massive hangings, the scene is more impressive.
