After The Toilette, We Were Placed With Our Faces In The Direction Of
Meccah, And Ordered To Say Aloud,[FN#
19] “I vow this Ihram of Hajj (the
pilgrimage) and the Umrah (the Little pilgrimage) to Allah Almighty!”
Having thus
Performed a two-bow prayer, we repeated, without rising
from the sitting position, these words, “O Allah! verily I purpose the
Hajj and the Umrah, then enable me to accomplish the two, and accept
them both of me, and make both blessed to me!” Followed the Talbiyat, or
exclaiming—
“Here I am! O Allah! here am I—
No partner hast Thou, here am I;
Verily the praise and the grace are Thine, and the empire—
[p.140] No partner hast Thou, here am I[FN#20]!” And we were warned to
repeat these words as often as possible, until the conclusion of the
ceremonies. Then Shaykh Abdullah, who acted as director of our
consciences, bade us be good pilgrims, avoiding quarrels, immorality,
bad language, and light conversation. We must so reverence life that we
should avoid killing game, causing an animal to fly, and even pointing
it out for destruction[FN#21]; nor should we scratch ourselves, save
with the open palm, lest vermin be destroyed, or a hair uprooted by the
nail. We were to respect the sanctuary by sparing the trees, and not to
pluck a single blade of grass. As regards personal considerations, we
were to abstain from all oils, perfumes, and unguents; from washing the
head with mallow or with lote leaves; from dyeing, shaving, cutting, or
vellicating a single pile or hair; and though we might take advantage
of shade, and even form it with upraised hands, we must by no means
cover our sconces. For each infraction of these ordinances we must
sacrifice a sheep[FN#22]; and it is commonly said by Moslems that none
[p.141] but the Prophet could be perfect in the intricacies of
pilgrimage. Old Ali began with an irregularity: he declared that age
prevented his assuming the garb, but that, arrived at Meccah, he would
clear himself by an offering.
The wife and daughters of a Turkish pilgrim of our party assumed the
Ihram at the same time as ourselves. They appeared dresse in white
garments; and they had exchanged the Lisam, that coquettish fold of
muslin which veils without concealing the lower part of the face, for a
hideous mask, made of split, dried, and plaited palm-leaves, with two
“bulls’-eyes” for light.[FN#23] I could not help laughing when these strange
figures met my sight, and, to judge from the shaking of their
shoulders, they were not less susceptible to the merriment which they
had caused.
At three P.M. we left Al-Zaribah, travelling towards the South-West,
and a wondrously picturesque scene met the eye. Crowds hurried along,
habited in the pilgrim-garb, whose whiteness contrasted strangely with
their black skins; their newly shaven heads glistening in the sun, and
their long black hair streaming in the wind. The rocks rang with shouts
of Labbayk! Labbayk! At a pass we fell in with the Wahhabis,
accompanying the Baghdad Caravan, screaming “Here am I”; and, guided by a
large loud kettle-drum, they followed in double file the camel of a
standard-bearer, whose green flag bore in huge white letters the
formula of the Moslem creed. They were wild-looking mountaineers, dark
and fierce, with hair twisted into thin Dalik or plaits: each was armed
with a long spear, a matchlock, or a dagger. They were seated upon
coarse wooden saddles, without cushions or stirrups, a fine
saddle-cloth alone denoting a
[p.142] chief. The women emulated the men; they either guided their own
dromedaries, or, sitting in pillion, they clung to their husbands;
veils they disdained, and their countenances certainly belonged not to
a “soft sex.” These Wahhabis were by no means pleasant companions. Most of
them were followed by spare dromedaries, either unladen or carrying
water-skins, fodder, fuel, and other necessaries for the march. The
beasts delighted in dashing furiously through our file, which being
lashed together, head and tail, was thrown each time into the greatest
confusion. And whenever we were observed smoking, we were cursed aloud
for Infidels and Idolaters.
Looking back at Al-Zaribah, soon after our departure, I saw a heavy
nimbus settle upon the hill-tops, a sheet of rain being stretched
between it and the plain. The low grumbling of thunder sounded joyfully
in our ears. We hoped for a shower, but were disappointed by a
dust-storm, which ended with a few heavy drops. There arose a report
that the Badawin had attacked a party of Meccans with stones, and the
news caused men to look exceeding grave.
At five P.M. we entered the wide bed of the Fiumara, down which we were
to travel all night. Here the country falls rapidly towards the sea, as
the increasing heat of the air, the direction of the watercourses, and
signs of violence in the torrent-bed show. The Fiumara varies in
breadth from a hundred and fifty feet to three-quarters of a mile; its
course, I was told, is towards the South-West, and it enters the sea
near Jeddah. The channel is a coarse sand, with here and there masses
of sheet rock and patches of thin vegetation.
At about half-past five P.M. we entered a suspicious-looking place. On
the right was a stony buttress, along whose base the stream, when there
is one, swings; and to this depression was our road limited by the
rocks and thorn trees which filled the other half of the channel.
[p.143] The left side was a precipice, grim and barren, but not so
abrupt as its brother. Opposite us the way seemed barred by piles of
hills, crest rising above crest into the far blue distance. Day still
smiled upon the upper peaks, but the lower slopes and the Fiumara bed
were already curtained with grey sombre shade.
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