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(the Approacher), where the road falls into the valley of the Arafat torrent.

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At noon we reached the Muzdadifah, also called Masha alHaram, the Place dedicated to religious Ceremonies.' It is known in Al-Islam as 'the Minaret without the Mosque,' opposed to Masjid Nimrah, which is the Mosque without the Minaret.' Half-way between Muna and Arafat, it is about three miles from both."

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Burton: (Vol. II, pp. 180-7): "Arafat, anciently called Jabal Ilal, 'the Mount of Wrestling in Prayer' and now Jabal al-Rahmah, the 'Mount of Mercy' is a mass of coarse granite split into large blocks, with a thin coat of withered thorns."

(Pp. 188-9): "The Holy Hill owes its name and honors to a well-known legend. When our first parents forfeited Heaven by eating wheat, which deprived them of their primeval purity, they were cast down upon earth. The serpent descended at Ispahan, the peacock at Kabul, Satan at Bilbays (others say Semnan and Seistan), Eve upon Arafat and Adam at Ceylon. The latter, determining to seek his wife, began a journey, to which earth owes its present mottled appearance. Wherever our first father placed his foot which was large — a town afterwards arose; between strides will always be 'country.' Wandering for many years, he came to the Mountain of Mercy, where our common mother was continually calling upon his name, and their recognition gave the place the name of Arafat. Upon its summit, Adam, instructed by the archangel Gabriel, erected a Mada'a, or place of prayer: and between this spot and the Nimrah Mosque the couple abode till death."

"We found a swarm

Burton: (Vol. II, pp. 203–205): ing crowd in the narrow road opposite the 'Jamrat-alAkabah,' or, as it is vulgarly called, the Shaytan al-Kabir the 'Great Devil.' These names distinguish it from another

pillar, the 'Wusta,' or Central Place (of stoning), built in the middle of Muna, and a third at the eastern end, 'AlAula' or the 'First Place.'

"The 'Shaytan al-Kabir' is a dwarf buttress of rude masonry, about eight feet high by two-and-a-half broad, placed against a rough wall of stones at the Meccan entrance to Muna. Finding an opening, we approached within about five cubits of the place, and holding each stone between the thumb and forefinger of the right hand, we cast it at the pillar, exclaiming, 'In the name of Allah, and Allah is Almighty! (I do this) in Hatred of the Fiend and to his Shame.' After which came the Tahlil and the Sana' or praise to Allah. The seven stones being duly thrown, we retired, and entering the barber's booth, took our places upon one of the earthen benches around it. This barber shaved our heads, and, after trimming our beards and cutting our nails, made us repeat these words: 'I purpose loosening my Ihram according to the Practice of the Prophet, Whom may Allah bless and preserve! O, Allah, make unto me in every Hair, a Light, a Purity, and a generous Reward! In the name of Allah, and Allah is Almighty!'"

After following all these details of the ceremony with Burton for our guide, we are ready to ask the why and wherefore of the performances.

If the Jews and Christians had hearkened to the call of Mohammed at Medina when he made the Kibla, Jerusalem, the course of Moslem history might have been that of an oriental Unitarian sect. But when the Prophet changed the Kibla from Jerusalem to Mecca he compromised with idolatry and the result was that Islam at its very center has remained pagan. The transformation of the old Pantheon of the Arabs into the house of God which Abraham rebuilt and which Adam himself founded was the legend to justify the adoption of these pagan practices. Other ceremonies which had noth

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THE CITY OF MECCA: IN THE CENTER, THE KA'ABA

Once the central shrine of Arab Paganism, now of the. Mohammedan Faith, it stands in the Haram or sacred court

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

ASTOR, LENOX

TILDEN FOUNDATIONS

ing to do with the Ka'aba but which were performed at certain places near Mecca were also adapted to the new religion. In the tenth year A. H. Mohammed made his pilgrimage to Mecca, the old shrine of his forefathers, and every detail of superstitious observance which he fulfilled has become the norm in Islam. As Wellhausen says the result is that "we now have the stations of a Calvary journey without the history of the Passion." Pagan practices are explained away by inventing Moslem legends attributed to Bible characters, and the whole is an incomprehensible jumble of fictitious lore.

The Ka'aba itself in its plan and structure is a heathen temple. The covering of the Ka'aba goes back to old heathenism. The Temple was the Bride and she received costly clothing. The building stands with its four corners nearly to the points of the compass; not the sides of the building, but the corners point N.S.E. and W. We may therefore expect, as is the case, that the holy objects were at the corners of the building. The Black Stone is in the E.S.E. corner; the other four corners also had sacred stones which are still places of special worship. The front of the Ka'aba is the N.E. side, and the door is not in the middle but near the Black Stone. Between the Stone and the door is the Multazam, the place where the pilgrim presses himself against the building, hugs the curtain and calls upon God. On the N.W. side there is an enclosure in the shape of a half-circle called the Hajr, or the Hatim. Wellhausen has a note (p. 74) to show that this enclosure was formerly a part of the Ka'aba but that shortly before Mohammed's time the building was restored on a smaller foundation. This enclosure, therefore, marks the original size of the heathen temple. There seems to be no doubt that the Black Stone was the real idol of the Ka'aba. Bait Allah and Masjid, according to Wellhausen, originally signified" the stone” and not "the temple." In ancient days there was an empty well

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