O Allah, I Extend My Hand To
Thee, And Great Is My Desire To Thee!
O accept Thou my Supplication,
and diminish my Obstacles, and pity my Humiliation, and graciously
grant me Thy Pardon!
” After which, as we were still unable to reach the
stone, we raised our hands to our ears, the palms facing the stone, as
if touching it, recited the various religious formulae, the Takbir, the
Tahlil, and the Hamdilah, blessed the Prophet, and kissed the
finger-tips of the right hand. The Prophet used to weep when he touched
the Black Stone, and said that it was the place for the pouring forth
of tears. According to most authors, the
[p.165] second Caliph also used to kiss it. For this reason most
Moslems, except the Shafe’i school, must touch the stone with both hands
and apply their lips to it, or touch it with the fingers, which should
be kissed, or rub the palms upon it, and afterwards draw them down the
face. Under circumstances of difficulty, it is sufficient to stand
before the stone, but the Prophet’s Sunnat, or practice, was to touch it.
Lucian mentions adoration of the sun by kissing the hand.
Then commenced the ceremony of Tawaf,[FN#6] or circumambulation, our
route being the Mataf—the low oval of polished granite immediately
surrounding the Ka’abah. I
[p.166] repeated, after my Mutawwif, or cicerone,[FN#7] “In the Name of
Allah, and Allah is omnipotent! I purpose to circuit seven circuits
unto Almighty Allah, glorified and exalted!” This is technically called
the Niyat (intention) of Tawaf.
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