To Avoid The Crush Of The Barr Al-Manakhah, We Made A
Detour Westwards, Over The Bridge And Down The Course Of The
Torrent-Bed "Al-Sayh." We Then Passed Along The Southern Wall Of The
Castle, Traversed Its Eastern Outwork, And Issued From The Bab
Al-Shami.
During the greater part of the time we were struggling
through a living tide; and among dromedaries and chargers a donkey is
by no means a pleasant monture.
With some difficulty, but without any
more serious accident than a fall or two, we found ourselves in the
space beyond and northward of the city. This also was covered with
travellers and tents, amongst which on an eminence to the left of the
road, rose conspicuous the bright green pavilion of the Emir Al-Hajj,
the commandant of the Caravan.[FN#8] Hard by, half its height
surrounded by a Kanat or tent wall, stood the Syrian or Sultan's Mahmil
(litter), all glittering with green and gilding and gold, and around it
were pitched the handsome habitations of the principal officers and
grandees of the pilgrimage. On the right hand lay extensive palm
plantations, and on the left, strewed over the plain, were signs of
wells and tanks, built to supply the Hajj with water. We pass two small
buildings, one the Kubbat Al-Sabak, or Dome of Precedence, where the
Prophet's warrior friends used to display their horsemanship;
[p.421]the second the Makan, or burial-place of Sayyidna Zaki al-Din,
one of Mohammed's multitudinous descendants. 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.
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