Hadramaut, 1,550,000
Oman and Muscat, 1,350,000
Bahrein Katif, Nejd, 2,350,000
Hejaz, Anaeze, Kasim, and Jebel Shammar, 3,250,000
_________
10,752,000
But undoubtedly both of these estimates, following Turkish authorities,
are too high, especially for Hejaz and Yemen. A conservative estimate
would be 8,000,000 for the entire peninsula in its widest extent.
The true number of inhabitants will remain unknown until further
explorations disclose the real character of southeastern Arabia,
and until northern Hadramaut yields up its secrets. In this, as in
other respects, the words of Livingstone are true: “The end of the
geographical feat is the beginning of the missionary enterprise.”
III
THE HOLY LAND OF ARABIA—MECCA
“The Eastern world moves slowly—_eppur si muove_. Half a generation
ago steamers were first started to Jiddah: now we hear of a projected
railway from that port to Mecca, the shareholders being all Moslems.
And the example of Jerusalem encourages us to hope that long before
the end of the century a visit to Mecca will not be more difficult
than a trip to Hebron.”—_Burton_ (1855).
“Our train of camels drew slowly by them: but when the smooth Mecca
merchant heard that the stranger riding with the camel men was a
Nasrany, he cried ‘Akhs! A Nasrany in these parts!’ and with the
horrid inurbanity of their jealous religion he added, ‘Ullah curse his
father!’ and stared on me with a face worthy of the Koran.”—_Doughty_
(1888)
It is a rule laid down in the Koran and confirmed by many traditions
that the sacred territory enclosing the birthplace and the tomb of the
prophet shall not be polluted by the visits of infidels. “O believers!
only those are unclean who join other gods with God! Let them not
therefore after this their year come near the Sacred Mosque.” (Surah
ix. 27.) Mohammed is reported to have said of Mecca, “What a splendid
city thou art, if I had not been driven out of thee by my tribe I would
dwell in no other place but in thee. It is not man but God who has made
Mecca sacred. My people will be always safe in this world and the next
as long as they respect Mecca.” (Mishkat book XL., ch. xv.)
The sacred boundaries of Mecca and Medina not only shut out all
unbelievers, but they make special demands of “purity and holiness”
(in the Moslem sense) on the part of the true believers. According to
tradition it is not lawful to carry weapons or to fight within the
limits of the _Haramein_. Its
[Illustration: MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMS AT MECCA]
[Illustration: THE SACRED WELL OF ZEMZEM AT MECCA]
grass and thorns must not be cut nor must its game be molested. Some
doctors of law hold that these regulations do not apply to Medina, but
others make the burial-place of the prophet equally sacred with the
place of his birth. The boundaries of this sacred territory are rather
uncertain. Abd ul Hak says that when, at the time of the rebuilding
of the Kaaba, Abraham, the friend of God, placed the black stone, its
east, west, north and south sides became luminous, and wherever the
light extended, became the boundaries of the sacred city! These limits
are now marked by pillars of masonry, except on the Jiddah and Jairanah
road where there is some dispute as to the exact boundary.
The sacred territory of Medina is ten or twelve miles in diameter,
from Jebel ’Air to Saoor. Outside of these two centres all of the
province of Hejaz is legally accessible to infidels, but the fanaticism
of centuries has practically made the whole region round Mecca and
Medina forbidden territory to any but Moslems. In Jiddah Christians are
tolerated because of necessity, but were the Mullahs of Mecca to have
their way not a Frankish merchant or consul would reside there for a
single day.
Despite these regulations to shut out “infidels” from witnessing
the annual pilgrimage and seeing the sacred shrines of the Moslem
world, more than a score of travellers have braved the dangers of the
transgression and escaped the pursuit of fanatics to tell the tale
of their adventures.[6] Others have lost their life in the attempt
even in recent years. Doughty[7] tells of a Christian who was foully
murdered by Turkish soldiers when found in the limits of Medina in
the summer of 1878. Burton at one time barely escaped being murdered
because they suspected him of being an unbeliever.
Jiddah, the harbor of Mecca, is distant from the sacred city about
sixty-five miles, and is in consequence the chief port of debarkation
and embarkation for pilgrims. It has a rather pretty and imposing
appearance from the sea, the houses being white and three or four
stories high, surrounded by a wall and flanked by a half dozen lazy
windmills of Dutch pattern! Its streets are narrow, however, and
indescribably dirty, so that the illusion of an Oriental picture is
dispelled as soon as you set foot on shore. The sanitary condition of
this port is the worst possible; evil odors abound, the water supply
is precarious and bad, and a shower of rain is always followed by an
outbreak of fever. The population is not over 20,000 of every Moslem
nation under heaven, Galilee of “the believers.” Its commercial
importance, which once was considerable, has altogether declined. The
opening of the Suez canal and the direct carrying of trade by ocean
steamers dealt the deathblow to the extensive coast-trade of both
Jiddah and the other Red Sea ports. The people of Jiddah, like those
of Mecca, live by fleecing pilgrims, and when the traffic is brisk
and pilgrims affluent they grow rich enough to go to Mecca and set
up a larger establishment of the same sort. There are hotel-keepers,
drummers, guides, money-changers, money-lenders, slave-dealers and
even worse characters connected with the annual transfer of the
caravans of _hajees_ (pilgrims) from the coast inland. The number
of pilgrims arriving at Jiddah by sea in 1893 was 92,625. In 1880
Mr. Blunt collected some interesting statistics of the total numbers
attending the pilgrimage at Mecca,[8] and his investigations prove that
the overland caravans are steadily becoming smaller.
Before any pilgrims are allowed to enter Jiddah harbor they are
compelled to undergo ten days’ quarantine at Kamaran, an island on the
west coast of Arabia; this is the first woe. At Jiddah they remain only
a few days and then having secured their _Mutawwaf_ or official guide
they proceed to Mecca. The road is barren and uninteresting in the
extreme. Halfway to Mecca is El Had where the road divides; one branch
leads to Taif, the only fertile spot in this wilderness province, and
the other proceeds to Mecca, the ancient name of which was Bakkah.
Were we to believe one half of what is said by Moslem writers in
praise of Mecca it would prove the Holy City to be a very paradise of
delights, a centre of learning and the paragon of earthly habitations.
But the facts show it to be far otherwise. The location of the city is
unfortunate. It lies in a hot sandy valley absolutely without verdure
and surrounded by rocky barren hills, destitute of trees or even
shrubs. The valley is about 300 feet wide and 4,000 feet long, and
slopes toward the south. The Kaaba or Beit Allah is located in the bed
of the valley and all the streets slope toward it, so that it is almost
closed in on every side by houses and walls, and stands as it were in
the pit of the theatre. The houses are built of dark stone and are
generally lofty in order to accommodate as many pilgrims as possible
in the limited space. The streets are nearly all unpaved and in summer
the sand and dust are as disagreeable as is the black mud in the rainy
season. Strangely enough, although the city itself and even the Kaaba
have more than once suffered from destructive floods that have poured
down the narrow valley, Mecca is poorly provided with water. There are
few cisterns to catch the rains and the well water is brackish. The
famous well of Zemzem has an abundance of water but it is not fit to
drink.[9] The best water is brought by an aqueduct from the vicinity
of Arafat six or seven miles distant and sold for a high price by a
water-trust which annually fills the coffers of the Shereef of
[Illustration: PILGRIMS AROUND THE KAABA IN THE SACRED MOSQUE AT
MECCA]
Mecca. This official is the nominal and often the real governor of the
city. He is chosen from the _Sayyids_ or descendants of Mohammed living
in Hejaz or secures the high office by force. His tenure of office is
subject to the approval and authority of the Turkish Sultan, whose
garrisons occupy the fort near the town.
The Sacred Mosque, (Mesjid el Haram) containing the Kaaba or Beit Allah
is the prayer-centre of the Mohammedan world and the objective point
of thousands of pilgrims every year. According to Moslem writers it
was first constructed in heaven, 2,000 years before the creation of
the world. Adam, the first man, built the Kaaba on earth exactly under
the spot occupied by its perfect model in heaven. The 10,000 angels
appointed to guard this house of God seem to have been very remiss in
their duty for it has often suffered at the hands of men and from the
elements. It was destroyed by the flood and rebuilt by Ishmael and
Abraham. The legends connected with its construction and history fill
many pages of the Moslem traditions and commentaries. The name Kaaba
means a _cube_; but the building is not built true to line and is in
fact an unequal trapezium.[10] Because of its location in a hollow and
its black-cloth covering these inequalities are not apparent to the eye.
The Kaaba proper stands in an oblong space 250 paces long by 200 broad.
This open space is surrounded by colonnades used for schools and as
the general rendezvous of pilgrims. It is in turn surrounded by the
outer temple wall with its nineteen gates and six minarets. The Mosque
is of much more recent date than the Kaaba which was well known as an
idolatrous Arabian shrine long before the time of Mohammed. The Sacred
Mosque and its Kaaba contain the following treasures: the Black-Stone,
the well of Zemzem, the great pulpit, the staircase, and the
_Kubattein_ or two small mosques of Saab and Abbas. The remainder of
the space is occupied by pavements and gravel arranged to accommodate
and distinguish the four orthodox sects in their devotions.
The Black-Stone is undoubtedly the oldest treasure of Mecca.
Stone-worship was an Arabian form of idolatry in very ancient times
and relics of it remain in many parts of the peninsula. Maximus Tyrius
wrote in the second century, “the Arabians pay homage to I know not
what god which they represent by a quadrangular stone.” The Guebars or
ancient Persians assert that the black stone was an emblem of Saturn
and was left in the Kaaba by Mahabad. We have the Moslem tradition that
it came down snow-white from heaven and was blackened by the touch of
sin—according to one tradition, that of an impure woman, and according
to another by the kisses of thousands of believers. It is probably
an aerolite and owes its reputation to its fall from the sky. Moslem
historians do not deny that it was an object of worship before Islam,
but they escape the moral difficulty and justify their prophet by idle
tales concerning the stone and its relation to all the patriarchs
beginning with Adam.
The stone is a fragment of what appears like black volcanic rock
sprinkled with irregular reddish crystals worn smooth by the touch
of centuries. It is held together by a broad band of metal, said to
be silver, and is imbedded in the southeast corner of the Kaaba five
feet from the ground. It is not generally known that there is a second
sacred stone at the corner facing the south. It is called Rakn el
Yemeni or Yemen pillar and is frequently kissed by pilgrims although
according to the correct ritual it should only be saluted by a touch of
the right hand.
The well of Zemzem is located near the Makam Hanbali, the place of
prayer of this sect. The building which encloses the well was erected
in A. H. 1072 (A. D. 1661) and its interior is of white marble. Mecca
perchance owes its origin as an old Arabian centre to this medicinal
spring with its abundant supply of purgative waters for the nomads
to-day go long distances
[Illustration: ALI BEY’S PLAN OF THE PROPHET’S MOSQUE AT MECCA]
to visit sulphur and other springs in various parts of Arabia. The
well of Zemzem is one of the great sources of income to the Meccans.
The water is carried about for sale on the streets and in the mosques
in curious pitchers made of unglazed earthenware. They are slightly
porous so as to cool the water, which is naturally always of a lukewarm
temperature, and are all marked with certain mystical characters in
black wax. Crowds assemble around the well during the pilgrimage and
many coppers fall to the share of the lucky Meccans who have the
privilege of drawing the water for the faithful.
The pilgrimage to Mecca should be performed in the twelfth lunar month
of the calendar called _Dhu el Haj_. It is incumbent on every believer
except for lawful hindrance because of poverty or illness. Mohammed
made it the fifth pillar of religion and more than anything else it
has tended to unify the Moslem world. The Koran teaching regarding the
duties of pilgrims at the Sacred Mosque, is as follows: “Proclaim to
the peoples a Pilgrimage. Let them come to thee on foot and on every
fleet camel arriving by every deep defile.” (Surah xxii. 28.) “Verily
As Safa and Al Marwa are among the signs of God: whoever then maketh a
pilgrimage to the temple or visiteth it shall not be to blame if he go
round about them both.” (ii. 153.) “Let the pilgrimage be made in the
months already known and who so undertaketh the pilgrimage therein let
him not know a woman, nor transgress nor wrangle in the pilgrimage....
It shall be no crime in you if ye seek an increase from your Lord (by
trade); and when ye pass swiftly on from Arafat then remember God near
the holy Mosque.... Bear God in mind during the stated days; but if any
haste away in two days it shall be no fault to him, and if any tarry it
shall be no fault in him.” (Surah ii. passim.)
From the Koran alone no definite idea of the pilgrim’s duties can be
gleaned; but fortunately for all true believers the Prophet’s perfect
example handed down by tradition leaves nothing in doubt and prescribes
every detail of conduct with ridiculous minuteness. The orthodox way
is as follows: arrived within a short distance of Mecca the pilgrims,
male and female, put off their ordinary clothing and assume the garb
of a _hajee_. It consists of two pieces of white cloth one of which
is tied around the loins and the other thrown over the back; sandals
may be worn but not shoes and the head must be left uncovered. (In
idolatrous days the Arabs did not wear any clothing in making the
circuit of the Kaaba). On facing Mecca the pilgrim pronounces the
_niyah_ or “intention”:
“Here I am, O Allah, here I am;
No partner hast Thou, here I am;
Verily praise and riches and the kingdom are to Thee;
No partner hast Thou, here am I.”
After certain legal ablutions the pilgrim enters the Mosque by the
Bab-el-salam and kisses the Black-Stone making the circuit, running,
around the Kaaba seven times (In idolatrous days the Arabs did this
in imitation of the motions of the planets; a remnant of their Sabean
worship.) Another special prayer is said and then the pilgrim proceeds
to Makam Ibrahim, where Abraham is said to have stood when he rebuilt
the Kaaba. There the _hajee_ goes through the regular genuflections and
prayers. He drinks next from the holy well and once more kisses the
Black-Stone. Then follows the running between Mounts Safa and Merwa.
Proceeding outward from the Mosque by the gate of Safa he ascends the
hill reciting the 153d verse of the Surah of the Cow. “Verily Safa and
Merwa are the signs of God.” Having arrived at the summit of the mount
he turns to the Kaaba and three times recites the words:
“There is no god but God!
God is great!
There is no god save God alone!
He hath performed His promise
and hath aided His servant and
put to flight the hosts of
infidels by Himself alone!”
He then runs from the top of Safa through the valley to the summit of
Merwa seven times repeating the aforesaid prayers each time on both
hills. This is the sixth day, on the evening of which the pilgrim again
encompasses the Kaaba. On the next day there is a sermon from the grand
pulpit. On the eighth day the pilgrim goes three miles distant to
Mina, where Adam longed for his lost paradise (!) and there spends the
night. The next morning he leaves for Arafat, another hill about eleven
miles from Mecca, hears a second sermon, returning before nightfall to
Muzdalifa, a place halfway between Mina and Arafat.
The following day is the great day of the pilgrimage. It is called the
day of Sacrifice and is simultaneously celebrated all over the Moslem
world.[11] Early in the morning the pilgrim proceeds to Mina where
there are three pillars called, the “Great Devil,” the “Middle Pillar”
and the “First One.” At these dumb idols the “monotheist” flings seven
pebbles and as he throws them says: “In the name of Allah and Allah
is mighty, in hatred of the devil and his shame, I do this.” He then
performs the sacrifice, a sheep, goat, cow or camel according to the
means of the pilgrim. The victim is placed facing the Kaaba and a knife
plunged into the animal’s throat with the cry, _Allahu Akbar_. This
ceremony concludes the pilgrimage proper; the hair and nails are then
cut and the _ihram_ or pilgrims’ garb is doffed for ordinary clothing.
Three days more are sometimes counted as belonging to the pilgrimage,
the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth days, called _Eyyam-u-tashrik_, or
days of drying flesh, because during them the flesh of the sacrifices
is cut into slices and dried in the sun to be eaten on the return
journey.
After the Meccan pilgrimage most Moslems go to Medina to visit the
tomb of Mohammed; the Wahabees however consider this “infidelity” and
honor of the creature more than of the Creator. Other Moslems base
their conduct on the saying of the prophet himself, _Man yuhajja wa
lam ye-zurni fakad jefani_, “who goes on Haj and does not visit me
has insulted me!” The Meccans call themselves “neighbors of God” and
the people of Medina “neighbors of the prophet.” For long ages a hot
rivalry has existed between the two cities, a rivalry which, beginning
in the taunt or jest, often ends in bloodshed.
The pilgrim, having completed all legal requirements, is sure to visit
the proper authorities and secure a _certificate_ to prove to his
countrymen that he is a real Hajee and to substantiate his religious
boasting in days to come. The certificate is also required when one
goes on pilgrimage for a deceased Moslem or a wealthy Moslem who is
bedridden. In such a case the substitute has all the pleasures (!)
of the journey at the expense of his principal but the merit goes to
the man who pays the bills and who naturally craves the receipt. The
certificate is of various forms and contains crude pictures of the holy
places and verses from Koran.
Needless to relate these certificates cost money, as does everything
at Mecca save the air you breathe. No honest Moslem ever spoke with
praise of the citizens of Mecca; many are their proverbs to prove why
wickedness flourishes in the courts of Allah. And European travellers
agree that of all Orientals the Meccans take the palm for thoroughgoing
rascality. Ali Bey dilates on the lewdness of the men and the looseness
of the women of Mecca. Hurgronje unblushingly lifts the veil that hides
the corruption of the sacred temple service with its army of eunuch
police, and pictures the slave-market in full swing within a stone’s
throw of the Kaaba. Burton thus characterizes the men who live on their
religion and grow fat (figuratively) by unveiling its mysteries to
others:
[Illustration: PLATE IV.]
[Illustration: PLATE III.]
[Illustration: PLATE II.]
[Illustration: PLATE I.]
THE MECCA CERTIFICATE, which is given to pilgrims to the sacred city,
is looked upon by Moslems as practically a passport to heaven. It is
especially interesting because of the inside view which it gives of the
Mohammedan religion. At the top of each page are quotations from the
Koran.
PLATE I. has, at the right-hand upper corner, the representation of
the Mosque of Muzdalifa and tents of the Pilgrims; to the left of
this, the Mosque of Nimr, near Mount Arafat, and below it, the Mahmals
of Syria and Egypt, _i.e._, palanquins carried on camels, surmounted
by flags. To the right is _Mount Arafat_, a sacred mountain about 12
miles northeast of Mecca, which, in Moslem tradition, is said to be the
place where Adam and Eve met after the fall. The three pillars of Miná
represented below, are ancient pagan shrines, at each of which every
pilgrim must hurl seven stones at the devil. Near this is pictured the
Mesjed, or Mosque of Taif, the altar of Ishmael, the Dome of Abd-el
Kader in Bagdad, and at the extreme right the Dome of “Our Lord”
Hassein al Kerbela, where thousands of corpses of deceased Persians are
brought yearly to be buried. It is northwest of Bagdad, and lies in
Turkish territory. There are also pictured the birthplaces of Mohammed,
Ali Ibu Abi Talib, Abu Bekr, and Fatimeh, and the Tomb of Amina and
Khadijah; also two bell-shaped hills, Jebel Thaur and Jebel Nur.
PLATE II. pictures the quadrangular court of the Mecca Haram, within
which is the circular colonnade, enclosing the _Kaaba_ or _Beit Allah_,
the House of God. Below the representation of the Kaaba is depicted
the famous station of Abraham, a stone 20 inches long by 15 inches
wide. It is in the shape of a basin, and is buried in the earth. The
name of Abraham is connected with it from the tradition that he first
built the Kaaba. Below this may be noticed the famous “Beer Zemzem,”
or Well of Zemzem, which is claimed to be the water which Hager saw,
when Ishmael was dying of thirst. Around the circle are the praying
places of the Malikis, the Hanafys, the Hanbalys and the Shafi-is,
the four great sects of Islam. Around the quadrangle are 20 gates,
such as Bab-su-Nebi, Gate of the Prophet, Gate of Abraham, of Peace,
of Abbas, of the Mare, the Mule, Safa, of Farewell, of Wisdom, etc.,
etc.,—besides various shrines.
PLATE III. shows representations of the Holy Places of _El Medina_,
the tomb of Mohammed. The large dome in the upper left-hand corner is
the tomb of Mohammed. Around the page are drawn the mosque of Fatimeh,
mosque of the Strength of Islam, the mosques of Hamzeh, Abu Bekr, Ali
and Silman, the tomb of Othman, and various other shrines.
PLATE IV. contains the Holy Shrines of Jerusalem. The Haram-es-Sherif,
or the quadrangular area once occupied by the temple of Solomon,
occupies the centre of the page. The Mosque commonly known as the
Mosque of Omar, is here styled “Beit el Mukdas” or the Holy House.
Under the dome in the black circle is the “Rock of God,” or the
“Suspended Stone,” which the prophet kicked back when it tried to
follow him to heaven. The two footprints of the prophet are pictured
below the rock. Below this are the Scales of “Mizan,” in which all
men’s deeds are to be weighed at the last day, together with the shears
which cut off the life of men. At the bottom is the great _Bridge of
Sirat_, of vast length, the width of a hair, and sharp as a razor, over
which every mortal must walk barefooted. At the right of it is the pit
of Jehennam or hell, and to the left Jenneh or Paradise. A hazardous
feat it is to make the journey, since on it depends one’s eternal
destiny. Around this area are pictured the tombs of David, Solomon,
Moses and Jacob, and in the right-hand upper corner is seen Jebel, Toor
Sina, or Mount Sinai.