Our Egyptian Travellers Call
It The “Silk-Tree”; And In Northern Africa, Where It Abounds, Europeans
Make Of It Stuffing For The Mattresses, Which Are Expensive, And Highly
Esteemed For Their Coolness And Cleanliness.
In Bengal a kind of gutta
percha is made by boiling the juice.
This weed, so common in the East,
may one day become in the West an important article of commerce.
[FN#16] “Al-Ihram” literally meaning “prohibition” or “making unlawful,” equivalent
to our “mortification,” is applied to the ceremony of the toilette, and
also to the dress itself. The vulgar pronounce the word “heram,” or “l’ehram.” It
is opposed to “ihlal,” “making lawful” or “returning to laical life.” The further
from Meccah it is assumed, provided that it be during the three months
of Hajj, the greater is the religious merit of the pilgrim;
consequently some come from India and Egypt in the dangerous attire.
Those coming from the North assume the pilgrim-garb at or off the
village of Rabigh.
[FN#17] These sheets are not positively necessary; any clean cotton
cloth not sewn in any part will serve equally well. Servants and
attendants expect the master to present them with an “ihram.”
[FN#18] Sandals are made at Meccah expressly for the pilgrimage: the
poorer classes cut off the upper leathers of an old pair of shoes.
[FN#19] This Niyat, as it is technically called, is preferably
performed aloud. Some authorities, however, direct it to be meditated
sotto-voce.
[FN#20] “Talbiyat” is from the word Labbayka (“here I am”) in the cry—
“Labbayk’ Allahumma, Labbayk’!
(Labbayka) La Sharika laka, Labbayk’!
Inna ’l-hamda wa ’l ni’amata laka wa ’l mulk!
La Sharika laka, Labbayk’!”
Some add, “Here I am, and I honour thee, I the son of thy two slaves:
beneficence and good are all between thy hands.” A single Talbiyah is a
“Shart” or positive condition, and its repetition is a Sunnat or Custom of
the Prophet. The “Talbiyat” is allowed in any language, but is preferred in
Arabic. It has a few varieties; the form above given is the most common.
[FN#21] The object of these ordinances is clearly to inculcate the
strictest observance of the “truce of God.” Pilgrims, however, are allowed
to slay, if necessary, “the five noxious,” viz., a crow, a kite, a
scorpion, a rat, and a biting dog.
[FN#22] The victim is sacrificed as a confession that the offender
deems himself worthy of death: the offerer is not allowed to taste any
portion of his offering.
[FN#23] The reason why this “ugly” must be worn, is, that a woman’s veil
during the pilgrimage ceremonies is not allowed to touch her face.
[FN#24] The Sharifs are born and bred to fighting: the peculiar
privileges of their caste favour their development of pugnacity. Thus,
the modern diyah, or price of blood, being 800 dollars for a common
Moslem, the chiefs demand for one of their number double that sum, with
a sword, a camel, a female slave, and other items; and, if one of their
slaves or servants be slain, a fourfold price.
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