Arabian Society In The Middle Ages Part 4

On these occasions the woman used to mount upon the ma??abah of a shop, or ascend a hillock, and utter disgusting language, sometimes in Arabic, and sometimes in Turkish, while many persons among her audience would kiss her hands to derive a blessing. After having persevered for some time in this course, none preventing them, the party entered one day the lane leading from the princ.i.p.al street of the city to the house of the ?a?ee, and were seized by a Turkish officer there residing, named Ja?far Kas.h.i.+f, who, having brought them into his house, gave the sheykh some food, and drove out the spectators, retaining the woman and the mejzoobs, whom he placed in confinement. He then liberated the sheykh 'Alee, brought out the woman and the mejzoobs and beat them, sent the woman to the Maristan and there confined her, and set at large the rest, after they had prayed for mercy and clothed themselves and recovered from their intoxication. The woman remained awhile confined in the Maristan, and when liberated lived alone as a sheykhah, believed in by men and women, and honoured as a saint with visits and festivals.

The seyyid 'Alee, after he had thus been deprived of his companions and imitators, was constrained to lead a different kind of life. He had a cunning brother, who, to turn the folly of this saint to a good account, and fill his own purse, (seeing how great faith the people placed in him, as the Egyptians are p.r.o.ne to do in such a case), confined him in his house, and clothed him, a.s.serting that he had his permission to do so, and that he had been invested with the dignity of ?u?b. Thus he contrived to attract crowds of persons, men and women, to visit him.

He forbade him to shave his beard, which consequently grew to its full size; and his body became fat and stout from abundance of food and rest; for, while he went about naked, he was, as before mentioned, of a lean figure. During that period he used generally to pa.s.s the night wandering without food through the streets in winter and summer. Having now servants to wait upon him, whether sleeping or waking, he pa.s.sed his time in idleness, uttering confused and incoherent words, and sometimes laughing and sometimes scolding; and in the course of his idle loquacity he could not but let fall some words applicable to the affairs of some of his listening visitors, who attributed such expressions to his supernatural knowledge of the thoughts of their hearts, and interpreted them as warnings or prophecies. Men and women, and particularly the wives of the grandees, flocked to him with presents and votive offerings, which enriched the coffers of his brother; and the honours which he received ceased not with his death. His funeral was attended by mult.i.tudes from every quarter. His brother buried him in the mosque of Esh-Sharabee, in the quarter of the Ezbekeeyeh, made for him a ma??oorah (or railed enclosure) and an oblong monument over the grave, and frequently repaired thither with readers of the ?ur-an, muns.h.i.+ds to sing odes in his honour, flag-bearers, and other persons, who wailed and screamed, rubbed their faces against the bars of the window before his grave, and caught the air of the place in their hands to thrust it into their bosoms and pockets. Men and women came crowding together to visit his tomb, bringing votive offerings and wax candles and eatables of various kinds to distribute for his sake to the poor.[76] The oblong monument over his grave, resembling a large chest, was covered, when I was in Cairo, with a black stuff ornamented by a line of words from the ?ur-an, in white characters, surrounding it. A servant who accompanied me during my rides and walks used often to stop as we pa.s.sed this tomb, and touch the wooden bars of the window above mentioned with his right hand, which he then kissed to obtain a blessing.

In most cases greater honour is paid to a reputed saint after his death, than he receives in his life. A small, square, whitewashed building, crowned with a dome, is generally erected as his tomb, surrounding an oblong monument of stone, brick, or wood, which is immediately over the sepulchral vault. At least one such building forms a conspicuous object close by, or within, almost every Arab village; for the different villages, and different quarters of every town and city, have their respective patron saints, whose tombs are frequently visited, and are the scenes of periodical festivals, generally celebrated once in every year. The tombs of many very eminent saints are mosques; and some of these are large and handsome edifices, the monument being under a large and lofty dome and surrounded by an enclosure of wooden railings, or of elegantly worked bronze. In these buildings also, and in some others, the monument is covered with silk or cotton stuff ornamented with words from the ?ur-an, which form a band around it. Many buildings of the more simple kind erected in honour of saints, and some of the larger description, are mere cenotaphs, or cover only some relic of the person to whom they are dedicated. The tombs and cenotaphs, or shrines of saints, are visited by numerous persons, and on frequent occasions; most commonly on a particular day of the week. The object of the visitor, in general, is to perform some meritorious act, such as taking bread, or other food, or money, for the poor, or distributing water to the thirsty, on account of the saint, to increase his rewards in heaven, and at the same time to draw down a blessing on himself; or to perform a sacrifice of a sheep, goat, calf, or other animal, which he has vowed to offer, if blessed with some specific object of desire, or to obtain general blessings; or to implore the saint's intercession in some case of need. The flesh of the devoted animal is given to the poor. The visitors also often take with them palm-branches, or sprigs of myrtle, or roses or other flowers, to lay upon the monument, as they do when they visit the tombs of their relations. The visitor walks round the monument, or its enclosure, from left to right, or with his left side towards it (as the pilgrims do round the Ka?beh), sometimes pausing to touch its four angles or corners with his right hand, which he then kisses; and recites the opening chapter of the ?ur-an (the Fati?ah) standing before one or each of its four sides. Some visitors repeat also the chapter of Ya-Seen (the 36th), or employ a person to recite this, or even the whole of the ?ur-an, for hire. The reciter afterwards declares that he transfers the merit of this work to the soul of the deceased saint. Any private pet.i.tion the visitor offers up on his own account, imploring a favourable answer for the sake of the saint, or through his intercession; holding his hands before his face like an open book, and then drawing them down his face. Many a visitor, on entering the tomb, kisses the threshold, or touches it with his right hand, which he then kisses; and on pa.s.sing by it, persons often touch the window and kiss the hand thus honoured.

The great periodical or annual festivals are observed with additional ceremonies, and by crowds of visitors. These are called Moolids (more properly Molids), and are held on the anniversary of the birth of the saint or in commemoration of that event. Persons are then hired to recite the ?ur-an in and near the tomb during the day; and others, chiefly darweeshes, employ themselves during the night in performing zikrs, which consist in repeating the name of G.o.d, or the profession of his unity, etc., in chorus, accompanying the words by certain motions of the head, hands, or whole body; muns.h.i.+ds, at intervals, singing religious odes or love songs during these performances, to the accompaniment of a nay, which is a kind of flute, or the arghool, which is a double reed-pipe. These moolids are scenes of rejoicing and of traffic, which men and boys and girls attend to eat sweetmeats, and drink coffee and sherbets, or to amuse themselves with swinging, or turning on a whirligig, or witnessing the feats of conjurers, or the performances of dancers; and to which tradesmen repair to sell or barter their goods. The visitors to the great moolids of the Seyyid A?mad El-Bedawee at ?an?a in the Delta of Egypt, which are great fairs as well as religious festivals, are almost as numerous as the pilgrims at Mekkeh. During a moolid, the inhabitants of the houses in the neighbourhood of the tomb hang lamps before their houses, and spend a great part of the night listening to the story-tellers at the coffee-shops, or attending the zikrs.

These latter performances, though so common among the Arabs, are inconsistent with the spirit of the Mohammadan religion, and especially with respect to music, which was not employed in religious ceremonies until after the second century of the Flight. The Imam Aboo-Bekr E?-?oosee, being asked whether it were lawful or not to be present with people who a.s.sembled in a certain place and read a portion of the ?ur-an, and, after a muns.h.i.+d had recited some poetry, would dance and become excited and play upon tambourines and pipes,--answered, that such practices were vain, ignorant, and erroneous, not ordained by the ?ur-an or the Traditions of the Prophet, but invented by those Israelites who wors.h.i.+pped the Golden Calf; that the Prophet and his companions used to sit so quietly that a bird might alight upon the head of any one of them and not be disturbed; that it was inc.u.mbent on the Sul?an and his vicegerents to prevent such persons from entering the mosques and other places for these purposes; and that no one who believed in G.o.d and the Last Day should be present with them or a.s.sist them in their vain performances: such, he a.s.serted, was the opinion of the Imams of the Muslims.[77] Some eminent doctors, however, have contended for the lawfulness of these practices.

The following is an account of a Zikr I myself witnessed. The zikkeers (or performers of the zikr), who were about thirty in number, sat cross-legged upon matting extended close to the houses on one side of the street, in the form of an oblong ring.[78] Within this ring, along the middle of the matting, were placed three very large wax candles, each about four feet high, and stuck in a low candlestick. Most of the zikkeers were A?medee darweeshes, persons of the lower orders, and meanly dressed: many of them wore green turbans. At one end of the ring were four muns.h.i.+ds (or singers of religious odes), and with them was a player on the kind of flute called nay. I procured a small seat of palm-sticks from a coffee-shop close by, and, by means of a little pus.h.i.+ng and the a.s.sistance of my servant, obtained a place with the muns.h.i.+ds, and sat there to hear a complete act, or "mejlis," of the zikr; which act commenced at about three o'clock, Muslim time (or three hours after sunset), and continued two hours.

The performers began by reciting the opening chapter of the ?ur-an, all together, their sheykh, or chief, first exclaiming, "El-Fati?ah!"

They then chanted the following words:--"O G.o.d, bless our lord Mo?ammad among the former generations; and bless our lord Mo?ammad among the latter generations; and bless our lord Mo?ammad in every time and period; and bless our lord Mo?ammad in the highest degree, unto the day of judgment; and bless all the prophets and apostles among the inhabitants of the heavens and of the earth; and may G.o.d (whose name be blessed and exalted!) be well pleased with our lords and our masters, those persons of ill.u.s.trious estimation, Aboo-Bekr and 'Omar and 'Othman and 'Alee, and with all the favourites of G.o.d. G.o.d is our sufficiency; and excellent is the Guardian! There is no strength nor power but in G.o.d, the High, the Great! O G.o.d! O our Lord! O thou liberal of pardon! O thou most bountiful of the most bountiful! O G.o.d!

Amen!"--They were then silent for three or four minutes; and again recited the Fati?ah, but silently. This form of prefacing the zikr is commonly used by almost all orders of darweeshes in Egypt.

The performers now began the zikr itself. Sitting in the manner above described, they chanted, in slow measure, "La ilaha illa-llah" ("There is no deity but G.o.d") to the following air:--

[Ill.u.s.tration: La ilaha illa-llah. La ilaha illa-llah. La ilaha illa-llah.]

bowing the head and body twice in each repet.i.tion of "La ilaha illa-llah." Thus they continued about a quarter of an hour; and then, for about the same s.p.a.ce of time, they repeated the same words to the same air, but in a quicker measure and with correspondingly quicker motions. In the mean time, the muns.h.i.+ds frequently sang to the same (or a variation of the same) air portions of a ?a?eedeh or of a muwesksha?;[79] an ode of a similar nature to the Song of Solomon, generally alluding to the Prophet as the object of love and praise; and at frequent intervals one of them sang out the word "meded," implying an invocation for spiritual or supernatural aid.

The zikkeers, after having performed as above described, next repeated the same words to a different air for about the same length of time; first very slowly, then quickly. The air was as follows:--

[Ill.u.s.tration: La ilaha illa-llah. La ilaha illa-llah. La ilaha illa-llah.]

Then they repeated these words again, to the following air, in the same manner:

[Ill.u.s.tration: La ilaha illa-llah. La ilaha illa-llah.]

They next rose, and, standing in the same order in which they had been sitting, repeated the same words to another air. After which, still standing, they repeated these words in a very deep and hoa.r.s.e tone, laying the princ.i.p.al emphasis upon the word "La" and the penultimate syllable of the following words, and uttering apparently with a considerable effort: the sound much resembled that which is produced by beating the rim of a tambourine. Each zikkee turned his head alternately to the right and left at each repet.i.tion of "La ilaha illa-llah." One of them, a eunuch, at this part of the zikr, was seized with an epileptic fit, evidently the result of a high state of religious excitement; but n.o.body seemed surprised at it, for occurrences of this kind at zikrs are not uncommon. All the performers now seemed much excited; repeating their e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.ns with greater rapidity, violently turning their heads, and sinking the whole body at the same time: some of them jumping. The eunuch above mentioned was again seized with fits several times; and I generally remarked that this happened after one of the muns.h.i.+ds had sung a line or two and exerted himself more than usual to excite his hearers: the singing was, indeed, to my taste, very pleasing. The contrast presented by the vehement and distressing exertions of the performers at the close of the zikr, and their calm gravity and solemnity of manner at the commencement, was particularly striking. Money was collected during the performance for the muns.h.i.+ds. The zikkeers receive no pay.

The most approved and common mode of entertaining guests at modern private festivities among the Arabs is by a Khatmeh, which is the recitation of the whole of the ?ur-an. Three or more persons of the inferior cla.s.s of the professors of religion and law, who are called fa?eehs (vulgarly, fi?ees) are usually hired for this purpose.

Schoolmasters, and students of the collegiate mosques who devote themselves to religion and law, are the persons most commonly thus employed. Their mode of recitation is a peculiar kind of chanting, which, when well executed, I found very agreeable, at least for an hour or so: but the guests seldom have to listen to the chanting of the whole of the ?ur-an: the reciters usually accomplish the greater portion of their task, in a somewhat hurried manner, before the guests have a.s.sembled, each of them chanting in turn a certain portion, as a thirtieth part of the whole (called a juz), or half of one of these sections (a ?ezb), or, more commonly, a quarter (rub?). Afterwards they chant more leisurely, and in a more musical manner; but still by turns. These recitations of the whole of the ?ur-an are performed on various festive occasions, but are most usual after a death; the merit of the performance being transferred to the soul of the deceased.

In the year 1834, when I was residing in Cairo, a General in the service of Mo?ammad 'Alee hired a large party of men to perform a recital of the ?ur-an in his house in that city, and then went up into his ?areem and strangled his wife, in consequence of a report which accused her of inchast.i.ty. The religious ceremony was designed as preparatory to this act, though the punishment of the woman was contrary to the law, since her husband neither produced four witnesses of the imputed crime, nor allowed her to clear herself of the charge by her own oath. Another case of diligence in the performance of a religious duty, accompanied by the contemplation of murder, but murder on a larger scale, occurred in the same city shortly after. Suleyman Agha, the Sila?dar, being occupied in directing the building of a public fountain as a work of charity to place to the account of a deceased brother, desired to extend the original plan of the structure; and to do this, it was necessary that he should purchase two houses adjoining the plot in which the foundations had been laid: but the owners of these houses refused to sell them, and he therefore employed a number of workmen to undermine them by night and cause them to fall upon their inhabitants. His scheme, however, but partially succeeded, and no lives were sacrificed. This man was notorious for cruelty, but he was a person of pleasing and venerable countenance and engaging manners: whenever I chanced to meet him, I received from him a most gracious salutation. He died before I quitted Egypt.

FOOTNOTES:

[64] D'Ohsson (i. 315, 316) a.s.serts the ?u?b to be the chief minister of the Ghos; and gives an account somewhat different from that which I offer of the orders under his authority: but perhaps the Turkish Darweeshes differ from the Arab in their tenets on this subject.

[65] It is said that "the Nu?aba are three hundred; the Nujaba, seventy; the Abdal, forty; the Akhyar, seven; the 'Omud, four; the Ghos [as before mentioned], one. The Nu?aba reside in El-Gharb [Northern Africa to the west of Egypt]; the Nujaba, in Egypt; the Abdal, in Syria; the Akhyar travel about the earth; the 'Omud, in the corners of the earth; the abode of the Ghos is at Mekkeh. In an affair of need, the Nu?aba implore relief for the people; then, the Nujaba; then, the Abdal; then, the Akhyar; then, the 'Omud; and if their prayer be not answered, the Ghos implores, and his prayer is answered."

(El-Is?a?ee's History, preface.)--This statement, I find, rests on the authority of a famous saint of Baghdad Aboo-Bekr El-Kettanee, who died at Mekkeh, in the year of the Flight, 322. (Mir-at ez-Zeman, events of that year).

[66] Modern Egyptians, ch. x.

[67] El-Jabartee's History of Modern Egypt, vol. ii., obituary of the year 1201 (MS. in my possession).--The appellation of "the four ?u?bs" is given in Egypt to the seyyid A?mad Rifa'ah, the seyyid 'Abd-El-?adir El-Jeelanee, the seyyid A?mad El-Bedawee, and the seyyid Ibraheem Ed-Dasoo?ee, the founders of the four orders of darweeshes most celebrated among the Arabs, called Rifa'eeyeh, ?adireeyeh, A?medeeyeh, and Barahimeh.

[68] El-Jabartee's History, vol. i., obituary of the year 1188.

[69] Mir-at ez-Zeman, events of the year 291.

[70] Mir-at ez-Zeman, 1. 1.

[71] Mir-at ez-Zeman, events of the year 218.

[72] Ibid., events of the year 334.

[73] Es-Suyoo?ee's Nuzhet el-Mutaammil, section 4.

[74] These are two very celebrated welees.

[75] El-Jabartee's History, vol. iii., events of the month of Sha?ban, 1215 (A.D. 1800-1801).

[76] El-Jabartee's History, vol. ii., obituary of the year 1207, and events of Rejeb, 1200; and vol. iii., events of Rabee? eth-Thanee, 1214.

[77] El-Is?a?ee, reign of El-Mutawekkil. Cp. De Sacy, Chrest.

Arabe, i. 122, 123 (2nd ed.).

[78] The zikr here described was performed near the tomb of a saint, for whose sake it was celebrated. The ceremony is often performed in a sepulchral mosque, and often in the court, or in a chamber, of a private house.

[79] For an example, see Modern Egyptians, ch. xxiv.

CHAPTER IV.

MAGIC.

An implicit belief in magic is entertained by almost all Muslims; and him among them who denies its truth they regard as a freethinker or an infidel. Some are of opinion that it ceased on the mission of Mo?ammad; but these are comparatively few. Many of the most learned Muslims, to the present age, have deeply studied it; and a much greater number of persons of inferior education (particularly schoolmasters) have more or less devoted their time and talents to the pursuit of this knowledge. Recourse is had to it for the discovery of hidden treasures, for alchymical purposes, for the acquisition of the knowledge of futurity, to procure offspring, to obtain the affection of a beloved object, to effect cures, to guard against the influence of the evil eye, to afflict or kill an enemy or a rival, and to attain various other objects of desire.

There are two descriptions of magic: one is spiritual, and regarded by all but freethinkers as true; the other natural, and denounced by the more religious and enlightened as deceptive.

I. Spiritual magic, which is termed er-Roo?anee (vulg. Row?anee), chiefly depends upon the virtues of certain names of G.o.d and pa.s.sages from the ?ur-an, and the agency of Angels and Jinn. It is of two kinds: High and Low ('Ilwee and Suflee), or Divine and Satanic (Ra?manee, _i.e._ relating to "the Compa.s.sionate," and Shey?anee).

1. Divine magic is regarded as a sublime science, and is studied only by good men, and practised only for good purposes. Perfection in this branch of magic consists in the knowledge of "the most great name" of G.o.d (el-Ism el-A??am); but this knowledge is imparted to none but the peculiar favourites of heaven. By virtue of this name, which was engraved on his seal-ring, Suleyman (Solomon) subjected to his dominion the Jinn and the birds and the winds. By p.r.o.nouncing it, his minister a?af, also, transported in an instant to the presence of his sovereign in Jerusalem the throne of the Queen of Sheba.[80] But this was a small miracle to effect by such means; for by uttering this name a man may even raise the dead. Other names of the Deity, commonly known, are believed to have particular efficacies when uttered or written; as also are the names of the Prophet; and Angels and good Jinn are said to be rendered subservient to the purposes of divine magic by means of certain invocations. Of such names and invocations, together with words unintelligible to the uninitiated in this science, pa.s.sages from the ?ur-an, mysterious combinations of numbers, and peculiar diagrams and figures, are chiefly composed written charms employed for good purposes.

Enchantment, when used for benevolent purposes, is regarded by the vulgar as a branch of lawful or divine magic; but not so by the learned: and the same remark applies to the science of divination.

2. Satanic magic, as its name implies, is a science depending on the agency of the Devil and the inferior evil Jinn, whose services are obtained by means similar to those which propitiate, or render subservient, the good Jinn. It is condemned by the Prophet and all good Muslims, and only practised for bad purposes.

Babil, or Babel, is regarded by the Muslims as the fountain head of the science of magic, which was, and, as most think, still is, taught there to mankind by two fallen angels, named Haroot and Maroot, who are there suspended by the feet in a great pit closed by a ma.s.s of rock. According to the account of them generally received as correct, these two angels, in consequence of their want of compa.s.sion for the frailties of mankind, were rendered, by G.o.d, susceptible of human pa.s.sions, and sent down upon the earth to be tempted. They both sinned, and being permitted to choose whether they would be punished in this life or in the other, chose the former. But they were sent down not merely to experience temptation, being also appointed to tempt others by means of their knowledge of magic; though it appears that they were commanded not to teach this art to any man "until they had said, 'Verily we are a temptation; therefore be not an unbeliever.'"[81] The celebrated traditionist, Mujahid, is related to have visited them under the guidance of a Jew. Having removed the ma.s.s of rock from the mouth of the pit or well, they entered.

Mujahid had been previously charged by the Jew not to mention the name of G.o.d in their presence; but when he beheld them, resembling in size two huge mountains, and suspended upside-down, with irons attached to their necks and knees, he could not refrain from uttering the forbidden name; whereupon the two angels became so violently agitated that they almost broke the irons which confined them, and Mujahid and his guide fled back in consternation.[82]

Enchantment, which is termed es-Se?r, is almost universally acknowledged to be a branch of satanic magic; but some few persons a.s.sert that it _may_ be, and by some _has_ been, studied with good intentions, and practised by the aid of good Jinn: consequently, that there is such a science as _good_ enchantment, which is to be regarded as a branch of _divine_ or _lawful_ magic. The metamorphoses are said to be generally effected by means of spells or invocations to the Jinn, accompanied by the sprinkling of water or dust, etc., on the object to be transformed. Persons are said to be enchanted in various ways: some, paralyzed, or even deprived of life; others, affected with irresistible pa.s.sion for certain objects; others, again, rendered demoniacs; and some, transformed into brutes, birds, etc. The evil eye is believed to enchant in a very powerful and distressing manner. This was acknowledged even by the Prophet.[83] Diseases and death are often attributed to its influence. Amulets,[84] which are mostly written charms, of the kind above described, are worn by many Muslims with the view of counteracting, or preserving from, enchantment; and for the same purpose, many ridiculous ceremonies are practised.

Divination, which is termed el-Kihaneh, is p.r.o.nounced on the highest authority to be a branch of satanic magic, though not believed to be so by all Muslims. According to an a.s.sertion of the Prophet, what a fortune-teller says may sometimes be true; because one of the Jinn steals away the truth, and carries it to the magician's ear: for the Angels come down to the region next to the earth (the lowest heaven), and mention the works that have been pre-ordained in heaven; and the Devils (or evil Jinn) listen to what the Angels say, and hear the orders predestined in heaven and carry them to the fortune-tellers. It is on such occasions that shooting-stars are hurled at the Devils.[85] It is said that "the diviner obtains the services of the Shey?an by magic arts, and by names [invoked], and by the burning of perfumes, and he informs him of secret things: for the Devils, before the mission of the Apostle of G.o.d," it is added, "used to ascend to heaven and hear words by stealth."[86] That the evil Jinn are believed still to ascend sufficiently near to the lowest heaven to hear the conversation of the Angels, and so to a.s.sist magicians, appears from the former quotation, and is a.s.serted by all Muslims. The discovery of hidden treasures before alluded to, is one of the objects for which divination is most studied.