Then We Fall Into A Plain,
Resembling That Of Kuba, But Less Fertile.
While we are jogging over
it, a few words concerning Mount Ohod may not be misplaced.
A popular
distich says,
"Verily there is healing to the eye that looks
Unto Ohod and the two Harrahs[FN#9] (ridges) near."
And of this holy hill the Apostle declared, "Ohod is a Mountain which
loves Us and which We love: it is upon the Gate of Heaven[FN#10];"
adding,
[p.422]"And Ayr[FN#11] is a Place which hates Us and which We hate: it
is upon the Gate of Hell." The former sheltered Mohammed in the time of
danger; therefore, on Resurrection Day it will be raised to Paradise:
whereas Jabal Ayr, its neighbour, having been so ill-judged as to
refuse the Prophet water on an occasion while he thirsted, will be cast
incontinently into Jahannam. Moslem divines, be it observed, ascribe to
Mohammed miraculous authority over animals, vegetables, and minerals,
as well as over men, angels, and jinnis. Hence the speaking wolf, the
weeping post, the oil-stone, and the love and hate of these two
mountains. It is probably one of the many remains of ancient paganism
pulled down and afterwards used to build up the edifice of Al-Islam.
According to the old Persians, the sphere has an active soul. Some
sects of Hindus believe "mother earth," upon whose bosom we little
parasites crawl, to be a living being. This was a dogma also amongst
the ancient Egyptians, who denoted it by a peculiar symbol,-the globe
with human legs. Hence the "Makrokosmos" of the plagiaristic Greeks,
the animal on a large scale, whose diminutive was the
"Mikrokosmos"-man. Tota natura, repeats Malpighi, existit in minimis.
Amongst the Romans, Tellus or Terra was a female deity,
anthropomorphised according to their syncretic system, which furnished
with strange gods their Pantheon, but forgot to append the scroll
explaining the inner sense of
[p.423]the symbol. And some modern philosophers, Kepler, Blackmore, and
others, have not scrupled to own their belief in a doctrine which as
long as "Life" is a mere word on man's tongue, can neither be proved
nor disproved. The Mohammedans, as usual, exaggerate the dogma,-a Hadis
related by Abu Hurayrah casts on the day of judgment the sun and the
moon into hell fire.
Jabal Ohod owes its present reputation to a cave which sheltered the
Apostle when pursued by his enemies[FN#12]; to certain springs of which
he drank,[FN#13] and especially to its being the scene of a battle
celebrated in Al-Islam. On Saturday, the 11th Shawwal, in the third
year of the Hijrah (26th January, A.D. 625), Mohammed with seven
hundred men engaged three thousand Infidels under the command of Abu
Sufiyan; ran great personal danger, and lost his uncle Hamzah, the
"Lord of Martyrs." On the topmost pinnacle, also, is the Kubbat Harun,
the dome erected over Aaron's remains. It is now, I was told, in a
ruinous condition, and is placed upon the "pinnacle of seven
hills[FN#14]" in a position somewhat like that of certain buildings on
St. Angelo in the Bay of Naples. Alluding to the toil of reaching it,
the Madani quote a facetious rhyme inscribed upon the wall by one of
their number who had wasted his breath:-
"Malun ibn Malun
Man tala'a Kubbat Harun!"
Anglice, "The man must be a ruffian who climbs up to Aaron's dome."
Devout Moslems visit Ohod every Thursday morning after the dawn
devotions in the
[p.424]Harim; pray for the Martyrs; and, after going through the
ceremonies, return to the Harim in time for mid-day worship. On the
12th of Rajab, Zairs come out in large bodies from the city, encamp on
the plain for three or four days, and pass the time in feasting,
jollity, and devotion, as is usual at pilgrimages and at saints'
festivals in general.
After half an hour's ride we came to the Mustarah or resting-place, so
called because the Prophet sat here for a few minutes on his way to the
battle of Ohod. It is a newly-built square enclosure of dwarf
whitewashed walls, within which devotees pray. On the outside fronting
Al-Madinah is a seat like a chair of rough stones. Here I was placed by
my Muzawwir, who recited an insignificant supplication to be repeated
after him. At its end with the Fatihah and accompaniments, we remounted
our asses and resumed our way. Travelling onwards, we came in sight of
the second Harrah or ridge. It lies to the right and left of the road,
and resembles lines of lava, but I had not an opportunity to examine it
narrowly.[FN#15] Then we reached the gardens of Ohod, which reflect in
miniature those of Kuba; and presently we arrived at what explained the
presence of verdure and vegetable life,-a deep Fiumara full of loose
sand and large stones denoting an impetuous stream. It flows along the
Southern base of Ohod, said to be part of the plain of Al-Madinah, and
it collects the drainage of the high lands lying to the South and
South-east. The bed becomes impassable after rain, and sometimes the
torrents overflow the neighbouring gardens. By the direction of this
Fiumara I judged that it must supply the Ghabbah or "basin" in the
hills north of the plain. Good authorities,
[p.425]however, informed me that a large volume of water will not stand
there, but flows down the beds that wind through the Ghats westward of
Al-Madinah, and falls into the sea near the harbour of Wijh. To the
south of the Fiumara is a village on an eminence, containing some large
brick houses now in a ruinous state; these are the villas of opulent
and religious citizens who visited the place for change of air,
recreation, and worship at Hamzah's tomb. Our donkeys presently sank
fetlock-deep in the loose sand of the torrent-bed.
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