Part 12 (1/2)
'They had scarcely raised the savoury food to their opening mouths, when a voice of melancholy bewailing arrested their attention, and stayed the hands already charged with food;--a poor wretched creature, who had not tasted food for two whole days, moaned his piteous tale in accents that drew tears from the Woodcutter and his wife--their eyes met and the sympathy was mutual; they were more willing to depart for heaven without the promised benefit of one earthly enjoyment, than suffer the hungry creature to die from want of that meal they had before them. The dish was promptly tendered to the bewailing subject, and the Woodcutter and his wife consoled each other by thinking that, as their time of departure was now so near at hand, the temporary enjoyment of a meal was not worth one moment's consideration. ”To-morrow we die, then of what consequence to us whether we depart with full or empty stomachs!” And now their thoughts were set on the place of eternal rest. They slept, and arose to their morning orisons with hearts resting humbly on their G.o.d, in the fullest expectation that this was their last day on earth: the prayer was concluded, and the Woodcutter in the act of rolling up his carpet, on which he had bowed with grat.i.tude, reverence, and love to his Creator, when he perceived a fresh heap of silver on the floor;--he could scarcely believe it was not a dream. ”How wonderful art Thou, O G.o.d!” cried the poor Woodcutter; ”this is Thy bounteous gift that I may indeed enjoy one day before I quit this earth.” And when Moosa came to him, he (Moosa) was satisfied with the goodness and power of G.o.d; but he retired again to the Mount to inquire of G.o.d the cause of the Woodcutter's respite. The reply given to Moosa was, ”That man has faithfully applied the wealth given in answer to his pet.i.tion. He is worthy to live out his numbered years on earth, who, receiving My bounty, thought not of his own enjoyments whilst his fellow men had wants he could supply.” And to the end of the Woodcutter's long life, G.o.d's bounty lessened not in substance; neither did the pious man relax in his charitable duties of sharing with the indigent all that he had, and with the same disregard to his own enjoyments.'
I have but little to add, as regards the manner of wors.h.i.+p amongst my Mussulmaun acquaintance; but here I cannot omit remarking, that the women are devout in their prayers and strict in their observance of ordinances.
That they are not more generally educated is much to be regretted; this, however, is their misfortune, not their fault. The Mussulmaun faith does not exclude the females from a partic.i.p.ation in the Eternal world,[21]--as has so often been a.s.sorted by people who could not have known them,--and the good Mussulmaun proves it by his instruction of the females under his control in the doctrines of Mahumud, and who he believes to be as much dependent on him for guidance on the road to heaven, as for personal protection from want or worldly dangers.
The pure life of Fatima, Mahumud's only daughter, is greatly esteemed as an example of female excellence, whom they strive to imitate as much as possible, as well in religious as in moral or domestic duties. They are zealous to fulfil all the ordinances of their particular faith,--and I have had the best possible opportunity of studying their character,--devotion to G.o.d being the foundation on which every princ.i.p.al action of their lives seems to rest.
In my delineation of character, whether male or female, I must not be supposed to mean the whole ma.s.s of the Mussulmaun population. There are good and bad of every cla.s.s or profession of people; it has been my good fortune to be an inmate with the pious of that faith, and from their practice I have been aided in acquiring a knowledge of what const.i.tutes a true disciple of Mahumud.
[1] The writer mixes up the Persian and Arabic names of the hours of prayer. The proper names, according to this list, are: i, Namaz-i-Subh, from dawn to sunrise; ii, Salatu'l-Zuhr, when the sun has begun to decline; iii, Salatu'l 'Asr, midway between Nos. ii and iv; iv, Sala tu'l-Maghrib, a few minutes after sunset; v, Salatu'l 'Isha, when night has closed in.
[2] _Namaz-i-Tahajjid_, the prayer after midnight.
[3] _Wazifah_, 'a daily ration of food', a term used for the daily lesson or portion of the _Koran_ read by devout Musalmans. The _Koran_ is divided into thirty lessons (_siparah_) for use during the month Ramazan.
[4] Special readers (_muqri_) of the _Koran_ are needed, owing to the want of vowels in the Arabic character (Sale, _Preliminary Discourse_, 47). Readers are often employed to recite the _Koran_ over a corpse on the way to Karbala.
[5] Known as Khadim.
[6] _Allahu akbar ... Muhammadan rasulu'llah._ In English the entire call runs: 'Allah is most great (four times), I testify that there is no G.o.d but Allah (twice), I testify that Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah (twice), Come to prayer (twice), Come to salvation (twice), Allah is most great (twice), There is no G.o.d but Allah!'
[7] Known as _Ja'e-namaz,_ 'place of prayer'.
[8] See p. 27.
[9] The _Salatu'l-Juma'_, the Friday prayer, is obligatory. Friday was appointed a Sabbath to distinguish Musalmans from Jews and Christians.
[10] _Darzi_.
[11] _Dhobi_.
[12] See p. 74.
[13] The correct t.i.tles are as follows: Adam, _Safiyu'llah,_ 'The Chosen One of G.o.d'; Noah, _Nabiyu'llah_, 'The Prophet of G.o.d'; Abraham, _Khalilu'llah_, 'The Friend of G.o.d'; Moses, _Kalimu'llah_, 'He that spoke with G.o.d'; Jesus, _Ruhu'llah_, 'A Spirit from G.o.d'; Muhammad, _Rasulu 'Illah,_ 'The Prophet of G.o.d'.
[14] _Salam-'alai-k.u.m._
[15] _Injil, [Greek: e'uaggelion]_, the Gospel, as opposed to _taurat_, the Pentateuch.
[16] Daud.
[17] The Fatiha, or opening chapter of the _Koran_, used like the Pator-noster.
[18] Ja'afar as-Sadiq.
[19] _Hazrat_, 'Reverend', or 'Superior'.
[20] _Ja'e-namaz_, known also as _sajjadah_, or _musalla_.
[21] The a.s.sertion that the Koran teaches that women have no souls is incorrect. See the texts collected by Hughes, _Dictionary of Islam_, pp. 677 ff.