"O! the Blessedness of 'In the Name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate'- Peace and Prayers of God are upon our Master Mohammed, family and companions. Your God and ours is One. No God but He the Merciful, the Compassionate. God, there is no God but He, the Living, the Eternal. Slumber doth not overtake Him, neither sleep. To Him belongeth whatsoever is in heaven and on the earth. Who shall intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is between their hands and behind them; and they cannot encompass aught of His knowledge except as He please. His throne is as wide as Heavens and the earth. The preservation of both is no weariness to Him, He is the High, the Mighty. The Apostle believeth in what hath been sent down from His Lord, as do the faithful also. Each one believeth in God and His Angels and His Scriptures and His apostles; we make no distinction between any of His Apostles, and they say we have heard and we obey. Thy mercy Lord for unto Thee must we return! God will not burden any soul beyond its power. It shall enjoy the good which it hath acquired, and shall bear the evil for the acquirement of which it labored. O our Lord punish us not if we forget, or fall into sin: O our Lord, and lay not on us a load like that which thou hast laid on those who had been before us, O our Lord; and lay not on us that for which we have not strength: but blot out our sins and forgive us, and have pity on us. Thou art our Protector: help us then against the unbelievers. Now hath an apostle come to you from among yourselves: your iniquities press heavily upon him. He is careful over you, and towards the faithful, compassionate, merciful. And if they turn away, then say: God sufficeth me; there is no God but He. In Him put I my trust. And He is the Lord of the Glorious Throne.

"H. S. Sh. M. In the Name of the Living, the Eternal, who never dies, I have preserved you from all evil. No

power and no strength except in the Great One. In His name nothing can hurt you in earth or in heaven. He is the All Hearer, the All Knowing. I take refuge in the Face of God the Gracious, and in the Words of God being full, which no body, believer or unbeliever, can comprehend, of any evil from heaven, and what happens in it, and what is in earth, or comes out of it, or the events of day or night. Let all events be good. In the name of God the Creator, the Greatest. This amulet is a refuge against what I fear." (Names of some Jinn - illegible.) He is the All Hearer, the All Knower.

"Had we sent down this Koran on some Mountain, thou wouldst certainly have seen it humbling itself, and cleaving as under for the fear of God. Such are the parables we propose to men in order that they may reflect. He is God beside whom there is no other God, He is the King, the Holy, the Peaceful, the Faithful, the Guardian, the Mighty, the Strong, the Most High. Far be the Glory of God from that which they unite with him. He is God the Producer, the Maker, the Fashioner, to whom as ascribed excellent titles. Whatever is in the heavens and in the earth praiseth Him; and He is the Mighty, the Wise. In the name of God the Compassionate, the Merciful. Say He is one God, God the Everlasting. He begetteth not, and is not begotten, and there is none like unto Him. In the Name of God, etc. . . . I betake me for refuge to the Lord of the Daybreak, against the mischief of His creation, and against the mischief of the first darkness when it overspreadeth and against the mischief of any enchantress, and against the mischief of the envier when he envieth. In the Name of God, etc. . . . Say I betake me for refuge to the Lord of men, the King of men, the God of men, against the mischief of the stealthily withdrawing whisperer, who whispereth in man's breast- against Jinn and

men.

...

"In the Name of God the Compassionate the Merciful. I bewitch thee (charm thee against) every evil, every envying soul. Praise be to God, the Lord of men, the King of men, the God of men, against the mischief of the stealthily withdrawing whisperer, who whispers in man's breast- against Jinn and men. Prayers of God and his peace are on our master Mohammed."

In East Arabia superstitions and charms are almost as common as in Egypt although the Wahabi reformers made strong protest in their day. In Bahrein," writes Mrs. Dykstra, "a black kettle, turned upside down and placed on a pole, guards the owner of the house or compound from evil. To refer to the plague or any other epidemic is to bring it on, for that is blaming God and He will become angry, and the epidemic is then His punishment upon them. A mother must not weep over the death of a child less than eight years, for her tears will be as fat in the fire to her child to continue his pain in the other world. A dirty face and black clothes are a baby's protection against jinns. A new-born baby must be spat on to secure its health and preservation. Amulets and charms are worn by all to protect from evil and sickness."

In Persia, blue beads, and turquoises are used and little metal hands called the hand of Ali. A large hand of 'Ali fastened to the top of a pole is worshiped in a mountain village near Tabriz; it was brought to the city, but not liking it, says the legend, went back by itself. It is taken on a yearly pilgrimage to Mecca.

Mr. Gerdener of Cape Town tells us the most common amulets among Moslems there are bits of rag, containing herbs or some drug. But more frequently they contain a small bit of paper with certain Arabic writings, verses from the Koran and mysterious looking squares with letters and figures in the corners are also used. These they call their power.

In Tunis the most common amulets are little leathern bags in which are sewn written charms, bits of incense, white caraway seeds, also shells of snails, and "Fatima's hand"; the latter being often hung round the neck of cows or donkeys to keep them from disease. One also sees the tails of fish over house doors and the skull and horns of cattle.

It would not be an exaggeration to say of Moslems in Egypt, Persia and Morocco what is stated by Nassau of pagans in West Africa; the only difference between the pagan talisman and the Moslem one is that the pagan connects his magic with the gods of the bush; the Moslem connects his with Allah and the Koran:

"For every human passion or desire of every part of our nature, for our thousand necessities or wishes, a fetish can be made, its operation being directed to the attainment of one specified wish, and limited in power only by the possible existence of some more powerful antagonizing spirit. This amulet hung on the plantation fence or from the branches of plants in the garden is either to prevent theft or to sicken the thief; hung over the doorway of the house, to bar the entrance of evil; hung from the bow of the canoe, to insure a successful voyage; worn on the arm in hunting, to ensure an accurate aim; worn on any part of the person, to give success in loving, hating, planting, fishing, buying and so forth, through the whole range of daily work and interests." &

9

According to Tradition, Mohammed sanctioned the use of spells and magic so long as the names were only the names of God or of good angels. It is, therefore, lawful to use charms and amulets of this character. The system of incantation used is called Al Da'wa; this science is used to establish friendship, to cure sickness, to accomplish desire, to obtain

8" Fetishism in West Africa."

Mishkat, 21:1.

victory in battle. It is an occult science and is divided into four heads: 10

(1) The qualifications necessary for him who practices it: When any one enters upon the study of the sciences, he must begin by paying the utmost attention to cleanliness. No dog or cat or any stranger is allowed to enter his dwelling place, and he must purify his house by burning wood aloes, pastiles, and other sweet-scented perfumes. He must take the utmost care that his body is in no way defiled, and he must bathe and perform the legal ablutions constantly. A most important preparation for the exercise of the art is a forty-days' fast (chilla), when he must sleep on a mat spread on the ground, sleep as little as possible, and not enter into general conversation.

Exorcists not infrequently repair to some cave or retired spot in order to undergo complete abstinence. The diet of the exorcist must depend upon the kind of asma, or names of God he intends to recite. If they are the asma ul-jalaliyah, or terrible attributes" of the Almighty, then he must refrain from the use of meat, fish, eggs, honey, and musk. If they are the asma ul-jamaliyah, or "amiable attributes," he must abstain from butter, curds, vinegar, salt and ambergris. If he intends to recite both attributes, he must then abstain from such things as garlic, onions, and assafoetida.

(2) The use of the tables required by the performer: This contains an arrangement of the alphabet of which we give an example on the next page.

To use the table one takes the initial letters of say Ahmad (A) and Daniel (D) and copies out in double column the result. The future is then read by discerning the agreement or discord of the planets, the elements, the perfumes, etc. In addition to this the perfumes mentioned are burnt during the incantation. This science is almost universally practiced in 10 See Hughes' Dictionary of Islam, art. "Da'wa."