TRIBAL MARKS OF THE ARABS _Arabia: The Cradle of Islam Studies in the Geography, People and Politics of the Peninsula, with an Account of Islam and Mission-Work.

Transcriber’s Notes

Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Variations

in hyphenation and accents have been standardised but all other

spelling and punctuation remains unchanged.

The structure of some tables has been modified to improve legibility

within page width.

Footnotes are located at the end of the book.

Italics are represented thus _italic_, and bold thus =bold=.

Arabia: The Cradle of Islam

[Illustration: A TYPICAL ARAB OF YEMEN]

Arabia: The Cradle

of Islam

Studies in the Geography, People and

Politics of the Peninsula with an

account of Islam and Mission-work.

REV. S. M. ZWEMER, F.R.G.S.

INTRODUCTION BY

REV. JAMES S. DENNIS, D.D.

EDINBURGH AND LONDON

Oliphant Anderson and Ferrier

1900

Printed by

THE CAXTON PRESS

171-173 Macdougal St.

New York, U.S.A.

DEDICATED

_The “Student Volunteers” of America_

IN MEMORY OF

THE TWO AMERICAN VOLUNTEERS WHO LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES FOR ARABIA

PETER J. ZWEMER

AND

GEORGE E. STONE

And Jesus said unto him: This day is salvation come to this house,

forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man is come

to seek and to save that which was lost.—LUKE xix. 9, 10.

Introductory Note

The author of this instructive volume is in the direct line of

missionary pioneers to the Moslem world. He follows Raymond Lull, Henry

Martyn, Ion Keith-Falconer, and Bishop French, and, with his friend

and comrade the Rev. James Cantine, now stands in the shining line of

succession at the close of a decade of patient and brave service at

that lonely outpost on the shores of the Persian Gulf. Others have

followed in their footsteps, until the Arabian Mission, the adopted

child of the Reformed Church in America, is at present a compact and

resolute group of men and women at the gates of Arabia, waiting on

God’s will, and intent first of all upon fulfilling in the spirit of

obedience to the Master the duty assigned them.

These ten years of quiet, unflinching service have been full of prayer,

observation, study, and wistful survey of the great task, while at the

same time every opportunity has been improved to gain a foothold, to

plant a standard, to overcome a prejudice, to sow a seed, and to win a

soul. The fruits of this intelligent and conscientious effort to grasp

the situation and plan the campaign are given to us in this valuable

study of “Arabia, the Cradle of Islam.” It is a missionary contribution

to our knowledge of the world. The author is entirely familiar with

the literature of his subject. English, German, French, and Dutch

authorities are at his command. The less accessible Arabic authors are

easily within his reach, and he brings from those mysterious gardens of

spices into his clear, straightforward narrative, the local coloring

and fragrance, as well as the indisputable witness of original medieval

sources. The ethnological, geographical, archaeological, commercial,

and political information of the descriptive chapters brings to our

hands a valuable and readable summary of facts, in a form which is

highly useful, and will be sure to quicken an intelligent interest in

one of the great religious and international problems of our times.

His study of Islam is from the missionary standpoint, but this does

not necessarily mean that it is unfair, or unhistorical, or lacking in

scholarly acumen. Purely scientific and academic study of an ethnic

religion is one method of approaching it. It can thus be classified,

labelled, and put upon the shelf in the historical museum of the

world’s religions, and the result has a value which none will dispute.

This, however, is not the only, or indeed the most serviceable, way of

examining, estimating and passing a final judgment upon a religious

system. Such study must be comparative, it must have some standard of

value; it must not discard acknowledged tests of excellence; it must

make use of certain measurements of capacity and power; it must be

pursued in the light of practical ethics, and be in harmony with the

great fundamental laws of religious experience and spiritual progress

which have controlled thus far the regenerative processes of human

development.

The missionary in forming his final judgment inevitably compares the

religion he studies with the religion he teaches. He need not do this

in any unkind, or bitter, or abusive spirit. On the contrary, he

may do it with a supreme desire to uncover delusion, and make clear

the truth as it has been given to him by the Great Teacher. He may

make a generous and sympathetic allowance for the influence of local

environment, he may trace in an historic spirit the natural evolution

of a religious system, he may give all due credit to every worthy

element and every pleasing characteristic therein, he may regard its

symbols with respect, and also with all charity and consideration the

leaders and guides whom the people reverence; yet his own judgment

may still be inflexible, his own allegiance unfaltering, and he may

feel it to be his duty to put into plain, direct, and vigorous prose

his irreversible verdict that Christianity being true, Islam is not,

Buddhism is not, Hinduism is not.

There he stands; he is not afraid of the issue. His Master is the one

supreme and infallible judge, who can pronounce an unerring verdict

concerning the truth of any religion. He has ventured to bear witness

to the truth which his Master has taught him. Let no one lightly

question the value of the contribution he makes to the comparative

study of religion.

The spirit in which our author has written of Islam is marked by

fairness, sobriety, and discrimination, and yet there is no mistaking

the verdict of one who speaks with an authority which is based upon

exceptional opportunities of observation, close study of literary

sources and moral results, and undoubted honesty of purpose.

It may not be out of place to note the hearty, outspoken satisfaction

with which the author regards the extension of British authority

over the long sweep of the Arabian coast line. His admiration and

delight can only be fully understood by one who has been a resident

in the East, and has felt the blight of Moslem rule, and its utter

hopelessness as an instrument of progress.

Let this book have its hour of quiet opportunity, and it will broaden

our vision, enlarge our knowledge, and deepen our interest in themes

which will never lose their hold upon the attention of thoughtful men.

JAMES S. DENNIS.

Preface

There are indications that Arabia will not always remain in its long

patriarchal sleep and that there is a future in store for the Arab.

Politics, civilization and missions have all begun to touch the hem of

the peninsula and it seems that soon there will be one more land—or

at least portions of it—to add to “the white man’s burden.” History

is making in the Persian Gulf, and Yemen will not forever remain,

a tempting prize,—untouched. The spiritual burden of Arabia is the

Mohammedan religion and it is in its cradle we can best see the fruits

of Islam. We have sought to trace the spiritual as well as the physical

geography of Arabia by showing how Islam grew out of the earlier

Judaism, Sabeanism and Christianity.

The purpose of this book is especially to call attention to Arabia

and the need of missionary work for the Arabs. There is no dearth of

literature on Arabia, the Arabs and Islam, but most of the books on

Arabia are antiquated or inaccessible to the ordinary reader; some

of the best are out of print. The only modern work in English, which

gives a general idea of the whole peninsula is Bayard Taylor’s somewhat

juvenile “_Travels in Arabia_.” In German there is the scholarly

compilation of Albrecht Zehm, “_Arabie und die Araber, seit hundert

jahren_,” which is generally accurate, but is rather dull reading and

has neither illustrations nor maps. From the missionary standpoint

there are no books on Arabia save the biographies of Keith-Falconer,

Bishop French and Kamil Abdul-Messiah.

This fact together with the friends of the author urged their united

plea for a book on this “Neglected Peninsula,” its people, religion

and missions. We have written from a missionary viewpoint, so that

the book has certain features which are intended specially for those

who are interested in the missionary enterprise. But that enterprise

has now so large a place in modern thought that no student of secular

history can afford to remain in ignorance of its movements.

Some of the chapters are necessarily based largely on the books by

other travellers, but if any object to quotation marks, we would remind

them that Emerson’s writings are said to contain three thousand three

hundred and ninety three quotations from eight hundred and sixty-eight

individuals! The material for the book was collected during nine years

of residence in Arabia. It was for the most part put into its present

form at Bahrein during the summer of 1899, in the midst of many outside

duties and distractions.

I wish especially to acknowledge my indebtedness to W. A. Buchanan,

Esq., of London, who gave the initiative for the preparation of this

volume and to my friend Mr. D. L. Pierson who has generously undertaken

the entire oversight of its publication.

The system for the spelling of Arabic names in the text follows in

general that of the Royal Geographical Society. This system consists,

in brief, in three rules: (1) words made familiar by long usage remain

unchanged; (2) vowels are pronounced as in Italian and consonants as in

English; (3) no redundant letters are written and all those written are

pronounced.

We send these chapters on their errand, and hope that especially the

later ones may reach the hearts of the Student Volunteers for foreign

missions to whom they are dedicated; we pray also that the number

of those who love the Arabs and labor for their enlightenment and

redemption may increase.

S. M. ZWEMER.

_Bahrein, Arabia._

Table of Contents

PAGE

THE NEGLECTED PENINSULA 17

Arabia the centre of Moslem world—Its boundaries—The coast—Physical

characteristics—Climate—Water-supply—Geology—The

Wadys—Mountains—Deserts.

THE GEOGRAPHICAL DIVISIONS OF ARABIA 25

Natural divisions—Provinces—Political geography—Important

flora and fauna—Population.

III

THE HOLY LAND OF ARABIA—MECCA 30

Its boundaries—Sacredness—European travellers—Jiddah—Its

bombardment—The pilgrimage—Mecca—Its location—Water-supply—Governor—The

Kaaba—The Black Stone—Zemzem—Duty of pilgrimage—The pilgrims—The

day of sacrifice—The certificate—Character of

Meccans—Temporary marriages—Superstitions—Mishkash—Schools

of Mecca—Course of study.

THE HOLY LAND OF ARABIA—MEDINA 45

Taif—Heathen idols—The road to Medina—Sanctity of Medina—The

prophet’s mosque—Was Mohammed buried there?—The

five tombs—Prayer for Fatima—Living on the pilgrims—Character

of people—Yanbo—Importance of Mecca to Islam.

ADEN AND AN INLAND JOURNEY 53

The gateways to Arabia Felix—Aden—Its ancient

history—Fortifications—Tanks—Divisions—Population—Journey

inland—Wahat—The vegetation of Yemen—A Turkish custom-house—The

storm in the wady—Taiz—The story of the books.

YEMEN: THE SWITZERLAND OF ARABIA 62

The Jews of Yemen—From Taiz to Ibb and Yerim—Beauty

of scenery—Climate—Ali’s footprint—Damar—Sana—Commerce

and manufactures—Roda—From Sana to the coast—The

terraces of Yemen—Suk-el Khamis—Menakha—Bajil—Hodeidah.

VII

THE UNEXPLORED REGIONS OF HADRAMAUT 72

Von Wrede’s travels—Halévy—Mr. and Mrs. Bent’s

journeys—Makalla—Incense-trade—The castles and

palaces—Shibam—Shehr and its ruler—Hadramaut

and the Indian archipelago.

VIII

MUSCAT AND THE COASTLANDS OF OMAN 78

Boundaries—Population—Government—Muscat—Heat—The

forts—The town—The gardens—Trade—The coast of Oman—The

pirate-coast—The Batina—Sib, Barka, Sohar—From

Muscat to Ras-el-Had—Sur—Carter’s exploration—The Mahrah

and Gharah tribes—Frankincense.

THE LAND OF THE CAMEL 88

“The mother of the camel”—Importance of the camel to

Arabia—Tradition as to creation—Species—The dromedary—An

illustration of design—Products of the camel—Characteristics—The

interior of Oman—Chief authorities—Fertility—Caravan-routes—Peter

Zwemer’s journey—Jebel Achdar.

THE PEARL ISLANDS OF THE GULF 97

Ancient history of Bahrein—Origin of name—Population—Menamah—The

fresh-water springs—The pearl-fisheries—Superstitions

about pearls—Value and export—Method of diving—Boats—Apparatus—Dangers

to the divers—Mother-of-pearl—Other

manufactures—Ruins at Ali—The climate—Political

history—English protection.

THE EASTERN THRESHOLD OF ARABIA 110

The province of Hassa—Katar—The Route inland—Ojeir—Journey

to Hofhoof—The two curses of agriculture—The

capital of Hassa—Plan of the town—Its manufactures—Curious

coinage—The government of Hassa—Katif—Its unhealthfulness.

XII

THE RIVER-COUNTRY AND THE DATE-PALM 119

The cradle of the race—Boundaries of Mesopotamia—The

Tigris-Euphrates—Meadow lands—The palms—Their

beauty—Fruitfulness—Usefulness—Varieties of dates—Value—Other

products—Population—Provinces and districts—The government.

XIII

THE CITIES AND VILLAGES OF TURKISH-ARABIA 128

Kuweit—Fao—Aboo Hassib—Busrah—The river navigation—A

journey—Kurna—Ezra’s tomb—Amara—The tomb of the

barber—The arch of Ctesiphon—Bagdad, past and

present—Population—Trade—Kelleks.

XIV

A JOURNEY DOWN THE EUPHRATES 136

Journey to Hillah—-The route—Kerbela—Down the

Euphrates—Diwaniyeh—The soldier-guard—Amphibious Arabs—Samawa—Ya

Ali, Ya Hassan!—Nasariya—Ur—The end of our

journey—The future of Mesopotamia.

THE INTERIOR—KNOWN AND UNKNOWN 143

What it includes—Its four divisions—(1) “The empty

quarter”—Ignorance of this part of Arabia—(2) Nejran—The

Dauasir-valley and other wadys—Halévy’s travels—Aflaj—The Roman

expedition to Nejran—(3) Nejd—Its proper limits—The

zephyrs of Nejd—Soil—Vegetation—Animals—The ostrich—The

horse—The chief authorities on this part of Arabia—The

population of Nejd—The character of government—Intercourse

with Mesopotamia—Chief cities—Hail—Riad—(4)

Jebel Shammar—The Bedouin-tribes—Division—Character

and customs—Robbery—Universal poverty.

XVI

“THE TIME OF IGNORANCE” 158

Why so-called—The golden age of literature—The influence of

Christianity and Judaism—Tribal constitution of

society—Commerce—Incense—Foreign invasions—Political commotion—The

condition of women—Female infanticide—The veil—Rights

of women—Marriage choice—Polygamy and Polyandry—Two

kinds of marriage—Did Islam elevate woman?—Writing

in “the days of ignorance”—Poetry—Mohammed’s

opinion of poets—The religions—Sabeanism—The Pantheon

at Mecca—Jinn—Totemism—Tattooing—Names of idols—Allah—Decay

of idolatry—The Hanifs.

XVII

ISLAM IN ITS CRADLE—THE MOSLEM’S GOD 169

Different views—Carlyle—Hugh Broughton—Borrowed elements

of Islam—The God of Islam—Palgrave’s portrait—Attributes

of God—What God is not—Analysis of Islam—Borrowed

elements of Islam.

XVIII

THE PROPHET AND HIS BOOK 179

The prophet of Islam—Birth of Mohammed—His environment—Factors

that helped to make the man—Political, religious and

family factor—Khadijah—Mohammed’s appearance, mind and

character—His transgression of law—His sensuality—His

murders—Expeditions—Mohammed, as he became through

tradition—His glories, favor and power as an intercessor—How

Moslems regard the Koran—Its character according to

Dr. Post, Goethe and Nöldeke—Its names—Contents—Origin—Recension—Its

beauties—Its defects—Its omissions.

XIX

THE WAHABI RULERS AND REFORMERS 191

The story of past century—The Wahabis—Character of teaching—The

preacher and the sword—Taking of Mecca and Medina—Kerbela—Mohammed

Ali—The Hejaz campaign—Ghalye—Turkish

cruelty—English expedition—Peace—The

Wahabi dynasty—Abdullah bin Rashid—Rise of Nejd kingdom—Character

of rule—Hail conquers Riad.

THE RULERS OF OMAN 202

Oman rulers—Seyid Said—Feysul bin Turki—The rebels take

Muscat—Arab warfare—European diplomacy.

XXI

THE STORY OF THE TURKS IN ARABIA 206

Hejaz—The Sherifs of Mecca—Othman Pasha—Threats to

assassinate him—Turkish troops in Asir—Losses—The conquest

of Yemen—Turkish rule—Rebellions—The rebellion of

1892—Bagdad, Busrah and Hassa—Taxes—The Turks and

Bedouins—The army—Character of rule.

XXII

BRITISH INFLUENCE IN ARABIA 218

British possessions—Aden—Socotra—Perim—Kuria Muria

islands—Bahrein—Her naval supremacy—In the Gulf—German

testimony—Survey of coasts—Telegraph and

posts—Slave-trade—Commerce—British India S. N. Co.—Gulf trade—The

rupee—Trade of Aden—Overland railway—Treaties with

tribes—The Trucial League—England in Oman—Aden—Makalla—Method

of “protection”—British consuls and

agents.

XXIII

PRESENT POLITICS IN ARABIA 233

Hejaz—Future of Yemen—France in Oman—Russia in the Gulf—The

Tigris-Euphrates Valley—The greater kingdom—God’s

providence in history.

XXIV

THE ARABIC LANGUAGE 238

Wide extent—Its character—Renan’s opinion—The Semitic

family—Their original home—The two theories—Table of the

group—The influence of the Koran on the Arabic language—Koran

Arabic not pure—Origin of alphabet—Cufic—Caligraphy

as an art—Difficulty and beauty of Arabic speech—Its

purity—Literature—Difficulty of pronunciation—Of its grammar—Keith

Falconer’s testimony.

XXV

THE LITERATURE OF THE ARABS 251

Division of its literature—The seven poems—The Koran—Al

Hariri—Its beauty and variety—Arabic poetry in general—Influence

of Arabic and other languages—English influence

on the Arabic—The Arabic Bible and a Christian literature.

XXVI

THE ARAB 258

Origin of tribes—Two theories—Yemenite and Maädite—The

caravan routes—Bedouins and townsmen—Clark’s

classification—Genealogies—Tribal names—Character of Arabs—Influence

of neighbors—Their physique—Their

aristocracy—Intolerance—Speech—Oaths—Robbery—Privilege of

sanctuary—Generosity—Blood-revenge—Childhood—Fireside talk—Marriage

among Bedouins—Position of women—Four witnesses—Doughty—Burckhardt—Lady

Ann Blunt—Hurgronje—Woman despised—The kinds of dwelling—Tents

and houses—Dress—The staple foods—Coffee, tobacco and locusts.

XXVII

ARABIAN ARTS AND SCIENCES 274

Music of the Arabs—War chants—Instruments of music—Songs—Kaseedahs

in Yemen—Mecca chants—Science of _Athar_ and

_Wasm_—Tracking camels—Tribal marks—Medical knowledge

of the Arabs—Diseases—Remedies—A prescription—The

Koran’s panacea—A Mecca M. D.—Amulets—Superstitions.

XXVIII

THE STAR-WORSHIPPERS OF MESOPOTAMIA 285

Where they live—Their peculiar religion—Their language—Literature—A

prayer-meeting of the Star Worshippers—Strange

ceremonies—The dogmas—Gnostic ideas—Priesthood—Baptisms—Babylonian

origin.

XXIX

EARLY CHRISTIANITY IN ARABIA 300

Pentecost—Paul’s journey—The Arabs and the Romans—Christian

tribes of the North—Mavia—Naaman’s edict—Christianity

in Yemen—Character of Oriental Christianity—The

Collyridians—Theophilus—Nejran converts—Martyrs—Abraha,

king of Yemen—Marching to Mecca—The defeat—End

of early Christianity—The record of the rocks.

XXX

THE DAWN OF MODERN ARABIAN MISSIONS 314

Raymond Lull—Henry Martyn—Why the Moslem world was

neglected—Claudius Buchanan’s sermon—The Syrian missions—Doctor

Van Dyck—His Bible translation—Henry

Martyn, the pioneer—His Arabian assistant—Visit to Muscat—His

Arabic version—Anthony N. Groves—Dr. John Wilson of

Bombay—The Bible Society—Opening of doors—Major-General

Haig’s journeys—Arabia open—Dr. and Mrs. Harpur and

the C. M. S.—A call to prayer—Bagdad occupied—The present

work—Missionary journeys to the Jews—William Lethaby

at Kerak—The North Africa mission among the nomads—Samuel

Van Tassel—The Christian Missionary Alliance—Mackay’s

appeal from Uganda—The response.

XXXI

ION KEITH FALCONER AND THE ADEN MISSION 331

Keith Falconer’s character—Education—At Cambridge—Mission

work—His “eccentricity”—Leipzig and Assiut—How he

came to go to Arabia—His first visit—Plans for the interior—His

second voyage to Aden—Dwelling—Illness—Death—The

influence of his life—The mission at Sheikh Othman.

XXXII

BISHOP FRENCH THE VETERAN MISSIONARY TO MUSCAT 344

“The most distinguished of all C. M. S. missionaries”—Responds

to Mackay’s appeal—His character—His letters from

Muscat—His plans for the interior—Death—The grave.

XXXIII

THE AMERICAN ARABIAN MISSION 353

Its origin—The student band—The first plan—Laid before the

church—Organization—The Missionary

Hymn—James Cantine—Syria—Cairo—Aden—Kamil—Journeys of exploration

to the Gulf and Sana—Busrah—Dr. C. E. Riggs—Death of

Kamil—Opposition from government—Home administration—Bahrein

occupied—Lines of work—Muscat—Journey through

Yemen—The mission transferred to the Reformed Church—Troubles

at Muscat and Busrah—Dr. Worrall—Journeys in

Oman—Scripture-sales—First-fruits—Reinforcements.

XXXIV

IN MEMORIAM 367

Peter John Zwemer—George E. Stone.

XXXV

PROBLEMS OF THE ARABIAN FIELD 374

The general problem of missions to Moslems—The Arabian

problem—What part of Arabia is accessible—Turkish Arabia—Its

accessibility—Limitations—The accessibility of independent

Arabia—Climate—Moslem fanaticism—English influence—Illiteracy—The

Bedouins—The present missionary

force—Its utter inadequacy—Methods of work—Medical

missions—Schools—Work for women—Colportage—Preaching—Controversy—What

should be its character—The attitude

of the Moslem mind—Fate of converts—Thoughtless and

thoughtful Moslems—The Bible as dynamite—The right men

for the work.

XXXVI

THE OUTLOOK FOR MISSIONS TO MOSLEMS 391

Two views of work for Moslems—Christian fatalism—Results in

Moslem lands—India—Persia—Constantinople—Sumatra and

Java—Other signs of progress—The significance of persecution—Character

of converts—Promise of God for victory over

Islam—Christ or Mohammed—Missionary promises of the

Old Testament—The Rock of Jesus’ Sonship—Special promises

for Arabia—Hagar and Ishmael—The prayer of Abraham—The

sign of the covenant with Ishmael—The third revelation

of God’s love—The sons of Ishmael—Kedar and Nebaioth—The

promises—Seba and Sheba—The spiritual boundaries of

Arabia—Da Costa’s poem—Faith like Abraham—O that Ishmael

might live before thee.

APPENDIX I—CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 409

” II—TRIBES OF NORTH ARABIA 413

” III—KAAT AND COFFEE CULTURE IN ARABIA 414

” IV—AN ARABIAN BIBLIOGRAPHY 416

INDEX 427

List of Illustrations

PAGE

A TYPICAL ARAB OF YEMEN _Frontispiece_

VIEW OF MECCA AND THE SACRED MOSQUE

THE REPUTED TOMB OF EVE AT JIDDAH _Facing_ 17

MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMS AT MECCA

THE SACRED WELL OF ZEMZEM AT MECCA ” 30

PILGRIMS AROUND THE KAABA IN THE SACRED MOSQUE

AT MECCA ” 34

THE MECCA CERTIFICATE—A PASSPORT TO HEAVEN ” 40

CHRISTIAN COINS USED AS AN AMULET BY MECCAN WOMEN 43

A WOMAN OF MECCA

A MECCAN WOMAN IN HER BRIDAL COSTUME _Facing_ 44

TRAVELLING IN SOUTHERN ARABIA

THE KEITH FALCONER MEMORIAL CHURCH IN ADEN ” 56

AN ARABIAN COMPASS 71

A CASTLE IN HADRAMAUT 77

THE HARBOR AND CASTLE AT MUSCAT

READY FOR A CAMEL RIDE IN THE DESERT _Facing_ 80

A BRANCH OF THE INCENSE TREE 87

TENOOF FROM THE EAST 95

THE VILLAGE OF MENAMAH, BAHREIN ISLANDS

A BAHREIN HARBOR BOAT _facing_ 100

A DATE ORCHARD NEAR BUSRAH

DATES GROWING ON A DATE-PALM ” 122

THE TOMB OF EZRA ON THE TIGRIS RIVER

RUINS OF THE ARCH OF CTESIPHON NEAR BAGDAD ” 132

A PUBLIC KHAN IN TURKISH-ARABIA

ARAB PILGRIMS ON BOARD A RIVER STEAMER ” 140

FOUR FLAGS THAT RULE ARABIA 217

CUFIC CHARACTERS 243

MODERN COPYBOOK ARABIC

ORDINARY UNVOWELLED ARABIC WRITING 244

MOGREBI ARABIC OF NORTH ARABIA 245

PERSIAN STYLE OF WRITING 246

TITLE PAGE OF AN ARABIC CHRISTIAN PAPER 257

CHURNING BUTTER IN A BEDOUIN CAMP ” 266

TRIBAL MARKS OF THE ARABS 279

MANAITIC CURSIVE SCRIPT 287

PASSAGE FROM THE SACRED BOOK OF THE MANDÆANS 299

FACSIMILE COPY OF THE ARABIAN MISSIONARY HYMN 358

THE OLD MISSION HOUSE AT BUSRAH

THE KITCHEN OF THE OLD MISSION HOUSE, BUSRAH _Facing_ 360

FOUR MISSIONARY MARTYRS OF ARABIA ” 368

THE BIBLE SHOP AT BUSRAH

INTERIOR OF A NATIVE SHOP ” 384

THE RESCUED SLAVE BOYS AT MUSCAT

THE ARABIAN MISSION HOUSE AT MUSCAT ” 400

* * * * *

Maps and Diagrams

PTOLEMY’S ANCIENT MAP OF ARABIA _Facing_ 25

ALI BEY’S PLAN OF THE PROPHET’S MOSQUE AT MECCA ” 36

PLAN OF THE INTERIOR OF THE HUJRAH AT MEDINA 49

MAP OF THE ISLANDS OF BAHREIN 98

NEIBUHR’S MAP OF THE PERSIAN GULF _Facing_ 110

PALGRAVE’S PLAN OF HOFHOOF 113

DIAGRAMS OF MISSIONARY WORK FOR ARABIA 380, 381

MODERN MAP OF ARABIA _End of Book._

[Illustration: VIEW OF MECCA AND THE SACRED MOSQUE]

[Illustration: THE REPUTED TOMB OF EVE AT JIDDAH]

THE NEGLECTED PENINSULA

“Intersected by sandy deserts and vast ranges of mountains it

presents on one side nothing but desolation in its most frightful

form, while the other is adorned with all the beauties of the most

fertile regions. Such is its position that it enjoys at once all the

advantages of hot and of temperate climates. The peculiar productions

of regions the most distant from one another are produced here in

equal perfection. What Greek and Latin authors mention concerning

Arabia proves by its obscurity their ignorance of almost everything

respecting the Arabs. Prejudices relative to the inconveniences and

dangers of travelling in Arabia have hitherto kept the moderns in

equal ignorance.”—_M. Niebuhr_ (1792).

What Jerusalem and Palestine are to Christendom this, and vastly more,

Mecca and Arabia are to the Mohammedan world. Not only is this land

the cradle of their religion and the birthplace of their prophet,

the shrine toward which, for centuries, prayers and pilgrimage

have gravitated; but Arabia is also, according to universal Moslem

tradition, the original home of Adam after the fall and the home of

all the older patriarchs. The story runs that when the primal pair

fell from their estate of bliss in the heavenly paradise, Adam landed

on a mountain in Ceylon and Eve fell at Jiddah, on the western coast

of Arabia. After a hundred years of wandering they met near Mecca,

and here Allah constructed for them a tabernacle, on the site of the

present Kaaba. He put in its foundation the famous stone once whiter

than snow, but since turned black by the sins of pilgrims! In proof of

these statements travellers are shown the Black stone at Mecca and the

tomb of Eve near Jiddah. Another accepted tradition says that Mecca

stands on a spot exactly beneath God’s throne in heaven.

Without reference to these wild traditions, which are soberly set down

as facts by Moslem historians, Arabia is a land of perpetual interest

to the geographer, and the historian.

Since Niebuhr’s day many intrepid travellers have surveyed the coasts

and penetrated into the interior, but his charge that we are ignorant

of the real character of the vast peninsula is still true as far as

it relates to the southern and southeastern districts. No traveller

has yet crossed the northern boundary of Hadramaut and explored the

Dahna desert, also called the Roba-el-Khali, or “empty abode.” The vast

territory between the peninsula of Katar and the mountains of Oman is

also practically a blank on the best maps. Indeed the only noteworthy

map of that portion of the peninsula is that of Ptolemy reproduced by

Sprenger in his “Alte Geographie Arabiens.”

Arabia has well-defined boundaries everywhere except on the north.

Eastward are the waters of the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Ormuz and

the Gulf of Oman. The entire southern coast is washed by the Indian

Ocean which reaches to Bab-el-Mandeb “The Gate-of-tears,” from which

point the Red Sea and the Gulf of Akaba form the western boundary. The

undefined northern desert, in some places a sea of sand, completes the

isolation which has led the Arabs themselves to call the peninsula

their “Island” (Jezirat-el-Arab). In fact the northern boundary will

probably never be defined accurately. The so-called “Syrian desert,”

reaching to about the thirty-fifth parallel might better be regarded as

the Arabian desert, for in physical and ethnical features it bears much

greater resemblance to the southern peninsula than to the surrounding

regions of Syria and Mesopotamia. Bagdad is properly an Arabian city

and to the Arabs of the north is as much a part of the peninsula as is

Aden to those of the southwest. The true, though shifting, northern

boundary of Arabia would be the limit of Nomad encampments, but for

convenience and practical purposes a boundary line may be drawn from

the Mediterranean along the thirty-third parallel to Busrah.

Thus the shores of Arabia stretch from Suez to the Euphrates delta for

a total length of nearly 4,000 miles. This coast-line has comparatively

few islands or inlets, except in the Persian Gulf. The Red Sea coast

is fringed by extensive coral reefs, dangerous to navigation, but

from Aden to Muscat the coast is elevated and rocky, and contains

several good harbors. Eastern Arabia has a low, flat coast-line made

of coral-rock with here and there volcanic headlands. Farsan, off the

Tehamah coast, famous as the centre for Arab slave-dhows; Perim, where

English batteries command the gate of the Red Sea; the Kuria-Muria

group in the Indian Ocean; and the Bahrein archipelago in the Persian

Gulf, are the only important islands. Socotra, although occupied by an

Arab population and historically Arabian, is by geographers generally

attached to Africa. This island is however under the Indian government,

and, once Christian, is now wholly Mohammedan.

The greatest length of the peninsula is about 1,000 miles, its average

breadth 600, and its area somewhat over 1,000,000 square miles. It

is thus over four times the size of France or larger than the United

States east of the Mississippi River.

Arabia, until quite recently, has generally been regarded as a vast

expanse of sandy desert. Recent explorations have proved this idea

quite incorrect, and a large part of the region still considered

desert is as yet unexplored. Palgrave, in his “Central Arabia” gives

an excellent summary of the physical characteristics of the whole

peninsula as he saw it. Since his time Hadramaut has been partially

explored and the result confirms his statements: “The general type of

Arabia is that of a central table-land surrounded by a desert ring

sandy to the south, west and east, stony to the north. This outlying

circle is in its turn girt by a line of mountains low and sterile for

the most, but attaining in Yemen and Oman considerable height, breadth

and fertility; while beyond these a narrow rim of coast is bordered by

the sea. The surface of the midmost table-land equals somewhat less

than one-half of the entire peninsula; and its special demarkations

are much affected, nay often absolutely fixed, by the windings and

inrunnings of the Nefud (sandy desert). If to these central highlands

or _Nejd_, taking that word in its wider sense, we add whatever spots

of fertility belong to the outer circles, we shall find that Arabia

contains about two-thirds of cultivated or at least of cultivatable

land, with a remaining third of irreclaimable desert, chiefly on the

south.”

From this description it is evident that the least attractive part of

the country is the coast. This may be the reason that Arabia has been

so harshly judged, as to climate and soil and so much neglected by

those who only knew of it from the captains who had touched its coast

in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. Nothing is more surprising, than

to pass through the barren cinder gateway of Aden up the mountain

passes into the marvellous fertility and delightful climate of Yemen.

Arabia like the Arab, has a rough, frowning exterior but a warm,

hospitable heart.

From the table-land of Nejd, which has an average elevation of about

3,000 feet above the sea, there is a gradual ascent southward to the

highlands of Yemen and Oman where there are mountain peaks as high

as 8,000 and 10,000 feet. This diversity of surface causes an equal

diversity of climate. The prevailing conditions are intense heat and

dryness, and the world-zone of maximum heat in July embraces nearly

the entire peninsula. On the coast the heat is more trying because of

the moisture from the enormous evaporation of the land-locked basins.

During part of the summer there is scarcely any difference in the

July and August, 1897, the averages of maximum temperature at Busrah

were 100°, 103-1/2° and 102° F.; and the minimum 84°, 86-1/2° and

84° F. Nejd has a salubrious climate, while in Yemen and Oman on the

highlands the mercury even in July seldom rises above 85°. In July,

1892, I passed in one day’s journey from a shade temperature of 110° F.

on the coast at Hodeidah to one of 55° at Menakha on the mountains. At

Sanaa there is frost for three months in the year, and Jebel Tobeyk in

northwest Arabia is covered with snow all winter. In fact, all northern

Arabia has a winter season with cold rains and occasional frosts.

The geology of the peninsula is of true Arabian simplicity. According

to Doughty it consists of a foundation stock of plutonic (igneous)

rock whereon lie sandstone, and above that limestone. Going from

Moab to Sinai we cross the strata in the reverse order, while in the

depression of the gulf of Akaba the three strata are in regular order

although again overtopped by the granite of the mountains. Fossils are

very rare, but coral formation is common all along the coast. Volcanic

formations and lava (called by the Arabs, harrat) crop out frequently,

as in the region of Medina and Khaibar. In going by direct route from

the Red Sea (Jiddah) to Busrah, we meet first granite and trap-rock,

overtopped in the Harrat el-Kisshub by lavas, and further on at Wady

Gerir and Jebel Shear by basalts; at the Nefud el Kasim (Boreyda)

sandstones begin until we reach the limestone region of Jebel Toweyk.

Thence all is gravel and sand to the Euphrates.

Arabia has no rivers and none of its mountain streams (some of which

are perennial) reach the seacoast. At least they do not arrive there

by the _overland_ route, for it is a well-established fact that the

many fresh water springs found in the Bahrein archipelago have their

origin in the uplands of Arabia. At Muscat, too, water is always

flowing toward the sea in abundance at the depth of ten to thirty feet

below the wady-bed; this supplies excellent well-water. In fact the

entire region of Hasa is full of underground watercourses and perennial

springs. Coast-streams are frequent in Yemen during the rain-season and

often become suddenly full to overflowing dashing everything before

them. They are called _sayl_, and well illustrate Christ’s parable of

the flood which demolished the house built upon the sand.

The great wadys of Arabia are its characteristic feature, celebrated

since the days of Job, the Arab. These wadys, often full to the brim

in winter and black by reason of frost but entirely dried up during

the heat of summer, would never be suspected of giving nourishment to

even a blade of grass. They are generally dry for nine and ten months

in the year, during which time water is obtained from wells sunk in

the wady-bed. Wady Sirhan runs in a southeasterly direction from the

Hauran highlands to the Jauf district on the edge of the great Nefud;

it is fed by the smaller Wady er-Rajel. Wady Dauasir which receives

the Nejran streams drains all of the Asir and southern Hejaz highlands

northward to Bahr Salumeh, a small lake, the only one known in the

whole peninsula. The Aftan is another important wady running from

the borders of Nejd into the Persian Gulf. This wady-bed is marked

on some maps as a river, flowing into the Persian Gulf apparently by

two mouths. It does not exist to-day. The most important water-bed

in Arabia is the celebrated Wady er-Ruma, only partly explored,

which flows from Hejaz across the peninsula for nearly 800 miles in

a northwesterly direction toward the Euphrates. Were there a more

abundant rainfall this wady would reach the Shat-el-Arab and give unity

to the now disjointed water-system of Mesopotamia and north Arabia.[1]

For obvious reasons the caravan routes of Arabia generally follow the

course of the wadys.

Arabia is also a land of mountains and highlands. The most clearly

developed system is the extensive range skirting the Red Sea at a

distance of from one to three days’ journey from the coast. South

of Mecca there are peaks of over 8,000 feet; and beyond, the range

broadens out to form the Yemen highlands, a corner of the peninsula

worthy of its old name “Arabia Felix.” The mountains along the south

coast are more irregular and disconnected until they broaden out a

second time between Ras el Had and Ras Mussendum to form the highlands

of Oman. Along the gulf coast there are no mountains except an

occasional volcanic hill like Jebel Dokhan in Bahrein and Jebel Sanam

near Zobeir.

The Nejd is crossed by several ridges of which the best known is Jebel

Shammar running nearly east and west at an altitude of about 6,000

feet. Jebel Menakib, Jebel Aared, Jebel Toweyk and Jebel Athal are

other ranges south of Jebel Shammar and also running in a similar

direction toward the southwest and northeast. The Sinai peninsula is a

rocky limestone plateau intersected by rugged gorges and highest toward

the south in the region of Sinai proper.

Next to its wadys and mountains Arabia is characterized chiefly by the

so-called _Harrat_ or volcanic tracks already mentioned. These black,

gloomy, barren regions occupy a much wider extent of north Arabia

than is generally supposed. The largest is _Harrat Khaibar_, north of

Medina, the old centre of the Jews in the days of Mohammed. It is over

100 miles in length and in some parts thirty miles wide. A wilderness

of lava and lava-stones with many extinct crater heads, craggy, and

strewn with rough blocks of basalt and other igneous rocks. In some

places the lava beds are 600 feet deep. Signs of volcanic action are

still seen at Khaibar, smoke issuing from crevices and steam from the

summit of Jebel Ethnan. A volcanic eruption was seen at Medina as late

as 1256 A.D.[2] and the hot and sulphur springs of Hasa and Hadramaut

seem to indicate present volcanic action.

The sandy-tracts of the so-called Arabian deserts are termed by the

Arabs themselves _nefud_ (drained, exhausted, spent), the name given

on most maps. The general physical features of this “desert” are those

of a plain clothed with stunted, aromatic shrubs of many varieties,

but their value as pasture is very unequal, some being excellent for

camels and sheep, others absolutely worthless. Some nefuds abound in

grasses and flowering plants after the early rains, and then the desert

“blossoms like the rose.” Others are without rain and barren all year;

they are covered with long stretches of drift-sand, carried about by

the wind and tossed in billows on the weather side of the rocks and

bushes.[3] Palgrave asserts that some of the nefud sands are 600 feet

deep. They prevail in the vast unexplored region south of Nejd and

north of Hadramaut including the so-called “Great Arabian Desert.”

Absolute sterility is the dominant feature here, whereas the northern

nefuds are the pasture lands for thousands of horses and sheep.

[Illustration: PTOLEMAEUS KARTE VON ARABIA FELI]

THE GEOGRAPHICAL DIVISIONS OF ARABIA

The division of Arabia into provinces has always been rather according

to physical geography than political boundaries. The earliest division

of the peninsula, and in some respects the most correct, was that

of the Greek and Roman writers into _Arabia Deserta_ and _Arabia

Felix_. The latter epithet was perhaps only a mistaken translation

of _El-Yemen_—the land on “the right hand,” that is south of Mecca,

for the Orientals face east. This is contrasted with Syria which in

Arabic is called “_Es-Sham_” or the land “to the left” of Mecca. The

third division, _Arabia Petræa_, or “Stony Arabia,” first appears in

Ptolemy and is applied to the Sinai district. He limits Arabia Deserta

to the extreme northern desert and so his map of the entire peninsula

bears the title of Arabia Felix. The great geographer anticipated all

modern maps of Arabia by naming the regions according to the tribes

that inhabit them; a much more intelligent method than the drawing of

artificial lines around natural features and dubbing them with a name

to suit the cartographer.

The Arab geographers know nothing of this threefold division into

sandy, stony, and happy-land. They divide the Island-of-the-Arabs

(Jezirat-el-Arab) into five provinces.[4] The first is called

_El-Yemen_ and includes Hadramaut, Mehrah, Oman, Shehr, and Nejran.

The second _El-Hejaz_, on the west coast, so called because it is the

barrier between Tehama and Nejd; it nearly corresponds to our Hejaz,

excluding its southern portion. The third is _Tehama_, along the

coast, between Yemen and Hejaz. The fourth is _Nejd_, a term loosely

applied to all the interior table-lands. The fifth is called _Yemama_

or _’Arudh_ because it extends all the “wide” way between Yemen (Oman)

and Nejd. It is important to distinguish between this Arabian division

and that now nearly everywhere adopted on the maps of the occident;

much confusion has arisen when this distinction was not made.

The modern division of the peninsula into seven provinces: Hejaz,

Yemen, Hadramaut, Oman, Hasa, Irak and Nejd, is according to political

geography and serves all practical purposes, although it is not

strictly accurate. Hejaz, the Holyland of Arabia, includes the sacred

cities of Mecca and Medina. Yemen is bounded by the line of fertility

on the north and east so as to include the important region of Asir.

Hadramaut has no clearly defined boundaries and stretches northward

to the unknown region of the Dahna. Oman is the peninsula between the

southern shore of the Gulf and the Indian Ocean, while Hasa covers

the entire coast district north of El-Katar peninsula (on some maps

called El-Bahrein). Irak-Arabi or Irak is the northern river-country

politically corresponding to what is called “Turkish-Arabia.”

As to the present division of political power in Arabia, it is

sufficient here to note that the Sinai peninsula and 200 miles of

coast south of the Gulf of Akaba is Egyptian; Hejaz, Yemen and Hasa

are nominally Turkish provinces, but their political boundaries are

shifting and uncertain. The present Shereef of Mecca at times dictates

to the Sublime Porte while the Bedouin tribes even in Hejaz acknowledge

neither Sultan nor Shereef and waylay the pilgrim caravans that come

to the holy cities unless they receive large blackmail. In Yemen the

Arabs have never ceased to fret under the galling yoke of the Turk

since it was put on their shoulders by the capture of Sana in 1873. The

insurrection in 1892 was nearly a revolution and again this year (1899)

all Yemen is in arms. It is very suggestive that in the present revolt

some of the Arabs made use of the English flag to secure sympathy.

In Hasa, the real sovereignty of Turkey only exists in three or four

towns while all the Bedouin and many of the villagers yield to the

Dowla, neither tribute, obedience nor love. Irak alone is actually

Turkish and yields large revenue. But even here Arab-uprisings are

frequent. Nominally, however, Turkey holds the fairest province on the

south, the religious centres on the west and the fertile northeast of

Arabia,—one-fifth of the total area of the peninsula.

The remainder of Arabia is independent of Turkey. Petty rulers calling

themselves Sultans, Ameers or Imams have for centuries divided the

land between them. The Sultanate of Oman and the great Nejd-kingdom

are the only important governments, but the former lost its glory when

its seat of power and influence was transferred to Zanzibar. Nejd in

its widest sense is governed to-day by Abd-el-Aziz bin Mitaab the

nephew of the late Mohammed bin Rashid, King Richard of Arabia, who

gained his throne by the massacre of seventeen possible pretenders.

The territory of this potentate is bordered southward by Riad and the

Wahabi country. Northward his influence extends beyond the Nefud, right

away to the Oases of Kaf and Ittery in the Wady Sirhan (38° E. Long.,

31° N. Lat.) east of the Dead Sea. The inhabitants of these oases

acknowledge Abd-el-Aziz as their suzerain paying him a yearly tribute

of four pounds ($20.00) for each village. The people of the intervening

district of Jauf also acknowledge his rule which reaches westward to

Teima. He also commands the new pilgrim-route from the northeast which

formerly passed through Riad but now touches Hail, the capital of Nejd.

The Wahabi movement has collapsed and their political power is broken,

although their influence has extended to the furthest confines of

Arabia.

The only foreign power dominant in Arabia, beside Turkey, is England.

Aden became a British possession in 1838 and since then British

influence has extended until it now embraces a district 200 miles

long by forty broad and a population of 130,000. The Island of Perim

in the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, the Kuria-Muria Islands on the south

coast, and Socotra are also English. All the independent tribes on

the coast from Aden to Muscat and from Muscat to Bahrein have made

exclusive treaties with Great Britain, are subsidized by annual

payments or presents and are “protected.” Muscat and Bahrein are in a

special sense protected states since England’s settled policy is to

have sole dominion in the Persian Gulf. She has agencies or consulates

everywhere; the postal system of the Persian Gulf is British; the rupee

has driven the piastre out of the market and as ninety-eight per cent.

of the commerce is in English hands the Persian Gulf may yet become an

English lake.

Arabia has no railroads, but regular caravan routes take their place

in every direction. Turkish telegraph service exists between Mecca and

Jiddah in Hejaz; between Sanaa, Hodeidah and Taiz in Yemen; and along

the Tigris-Euphrates between Bagdad and Busrah connecting at Fao (at

the delta) with the submarine cable to Bushire and India.

Of the fauna and flora of Arabia we will not here speak at length.

The most characteristic plants are the date-palm of which over 100

varieties are catalogued by the Arab peasantry, and which yields a

staple food. Coffee, aromatic and medicinal plants, gums and balsams,

have for ages supplied the markets of the world. Yemen is characterized

by tropical luxuriance, and in Nejd is the _ghatha_ tree which grows to

a height of fifteen feet, and yields the purest charcoal in the world.

Among the wild animals were formerly the lion and the panther, but

they are now exceedingly rare. The wolf, wild boar, jackal, gazelle,

fox, monkey, wild cow (or white antelope) ibex, horned viper, cobra,

bustard, buzzard and hawk are also found. The ostrich still exists in

southwest Arabia but is not common The chief domestic animals are the

ass, mule, sheep, goats, but above all and superior to all, the camel

and the horse.

The exact population of a land where there is no census, and where

women and girls are never counted is of course unknown. The Ottoman

government gives exaggerated estimates for its Arabian provinces, and

travellers have made various guesses. Some recent authorities, omitting

Irak, put the total population of Arabia as low as 5,000,000. A.H.

Keane, F.R.G.S., gives the following estimate:[5]

_Turkish Arabia_

Hejaz, 3,500,000

Yemen, 2,500,000

_Independent Arabia_

Oman, 1,500,000

Shammar, Bahrein, etc., 3,500,000

_________

11,000,000

Albrecht Zehm in his book “Arabien seit hundert Jahren,” arrives at

nearly the same result:

Arabia: The Cradle of Islam Studies in the Geography, People and Politics of the Peninsula, with an Account of Islam and Mission-Work. · 第 1 / 34 段