PILGRIMAGE TO MECCA.
How true the observation that the most helpless of all creatures
is man, born of a woman, who cometh forth like the tender bud of a
delicate and fading flower.
The ever-living soul embarks on the vast ocean of life, in so frail and
delicate a tenement, that there is no semblance of strength to resist
the angry waves that continually dash against the tempest-tossed and
quivering fabric.
But it outrides the storm of three score years and ten, until it
is engulfed in the maelstrom and eddying circles of the river of
Death. How vast, how exquisite are the sensibilities of man, whose
first emotions of pleasure and pain, are the alphabet of humanity.
The pleasure felt by a sentient being, creates the first ideas of
good, while on the other hand the sensation of pain is synonymous
with evil. As we awake into existence, each passing moment seems to
develop new desires; our grasping souls and bodily wants are constantly
re-echoing each other's cravings; unsatisfied human nature is ever
on the alert, crying, give, give. This restless search for good,
pleasure, or happiness, leads its victims astray, and thus is created
the preponderance of evil; for such hot and eager haste stays not to
discriminate. The fatal apple seemed so good and so much to be desired
to the mother of all living, that she took, and ate; but when she had
eaten her eyes were opened. Thus by such efforts to secure the good,
the limit is overstepped, and suffering and sorrow entailed. Still,
none enjoy, and none suffer in the same degree; innumerable have
been the specimens of nature's handiwork, yet never were any two
individuals alike in their natural or intellectual structure.
There is a wonderful connection between the physical and the moral
in our curious composition; and the latter is so much modified by
the former, that the variety of temperaments and dispositions may be
attributed to the reciprocal influences of these two constituents
of our being. The origin of good and evil is then embodied in our
own hearts, in the structure of the human frame, in our natural
susceptibilities to pleasure and pain.
The individuality of pleasure and pain creates an approving and
disapproving principle in every human frame, and each man is pleased
with himself, when he enjoys a personal benefit from good or pleasure,
and displeased when he suffers from the consequences of pain or
evil. The lesson is soon learned that the evil might have been avoided,
and conscience raises her silent testimony in the bosom. Apart from our
own sensations, there seems to be a superstitious principle innate in
the human breast, a deference to a supreme good, which as the Ruler
and Creator of the universe, holds all created things in awe, and to
whom the conscience or self-approving and self-condemning principle
pays all deference.
This principle has existed under every form of humanity, in every
variety of nation and blood, and has been educated, and developed by
different circumstances.
Thus are derived all religions, and the fear of retribution for
transgressing the bounds which conscience claims for the real good,
and its essence the supreme Creator, has led men to various acts of
atonement or self-recommendation.
The mind of man instinctively looked from "Nature up to Nature's God,"
and sought an embodiment for the Divine essence, as there was for
the human.
The earliest semblance of Divinity was displayed in the sun, moon,
and stars. The glorious orb of day, the great source of light and
heat, the vivifier of all creation, whose genial rays warming the
bosom of the mother earth, caused the tender grass to spring forth,
and every herb yielding fruit, to give its increase for the sustenance
of animal life, the great luminary of the vast universe, so beautiful
to gaze upon, and so powerful in its sway over the world alotted to
man for a dwelling-place, seemed as if placed in the heavens for the
especial adoration of all created things.
The gentle moon with silver sheen, and softer radiance was fitting
bride for the all glorious and omnipotent god of day. And the
sparkling stars, like so many distant portals to the dominions of
divine effulgence, emitting each a ray of the internal brightness,
seemed one and all shrines of holy devotion.
Such was the revelation of nature; and no wonder that the innate
impulse to revere and worship the Author of the universe, was kindled
into a fire of enthusiasm by the scintillations of the starry world.
Not content with the semblance of the Creator in his works, the
ever-working mind of man sought an object more tangible--and thus,
doubtless originated the idol worship of the ancients. Then followed
a succession of creeds and dogmas, rites and ceremonies, to which
the superstitious principle was ever ready to yield obeisance.
Ambitious and designing men sought to embody in themselves the germs of
sanctity and holiness--even did they add the sanction of intercourse
with the gods; even did they awaken the silent marble into mysterious
life, and utter oracles and decrees from the lifeless stone.
Thus was nurtured the superstitious feeling in the multitude, until
the most absurd and revolting rites became the sole end, and aim of
existence--until the simple Hindoo, would, with a holy zeal, cast
himself under the wheels of the ponderous car of Juggernaut, and
while his tortured body was crushed to atoms, rejoice with ecstatic
faith in future felicity.
The same principle of superstitious self-torment has existed in as
great force under the Christian dispensation.
Even kings and emperors have tried to stifle the voice of conscience
by the most severe acts of penance and humiliation; and the humbler
members of the human family have willingly suffered every variety
of bodily anguish, which the most cunning devices of a wily and
calculating priesthood could contrive, while from many and hidden
motives, they have striven to produce an entire abnegation of self,
and a renunciation of all worldly hopes in the sin-tormented hearts
of their victims.
Wars were undertaken, territories were coveted, and a holy crusade
was the pretext for taking possession of the city of Jerusalem, the
shrine of the holy sepulchre, and where crowds of pilgrims brought
their offerings and laid them in the coffers of the sanctuary.
The dangers which beset the pilgrims amid the scimitars of the
barbarous Tartars, was the pretext for all Europe to rise in arms
with the determination to conquer or die in their defence.
A wild enthusiast, with haggard features--a body worn and wasted with
fasting and holy vigils, and enveloped in coarse and dusty sackcloth,
elevating the symbolic cross in his attenuated fingers, wanders from
palace to palace, from house to house, from hut to hamlet, calling
aloud for vengeance upon the followers of the Crescent, who dared
to molest the children of God in the performance of their sacred
duties. As his naked feet, pierced by every flinty rock, leave their
crimson stains in his track, so does the thirst for Moslem blood burn
and consume the vitals of the restless human throngs, who listen to
his wild harangues.
Pope Urban was ready to fan this flame, and the panting multitude
were by his holy and supreme power absolved from the weight of all
past offences as well as all those they should ever commit, if they
would prosecute with zeal this holy war.
The worst of sinners, robbers and assassins, over whose hardened
hearts there still lingered the dying glow of the internal fire of
conscience, or before whose sin-distempered vision ever flittered
the phantoms of past transgressions, rejoiced to say avaunt for ever,
to the ghosts of their departed crimes, and feel an assurance of no
future retribution for their dark deeds of horror. A new field for
rapine and adventure opened before them, and they rushed impetuously
on to the combat. Many, who had led a life of more retired wickedness
and grown grey in sin were glad to seize a hope of salvation even on
the borders of eternity, and tottered along with the vast concourse.
Rich and poor, young and old, with fervid zeal embraced the means
of future happiness beyond the grave. And the vast territory through
which these soldiers of the Cross wended their way was whitened with
the bones of the self sacrificed.
Even after the great champion Godfrey de Bouillon, had gained the
prize, and enjoyed a regal rank of one short year's duration, he
had to surrender his earthly throne to his holiness at Rome, and
content himself like his followers with the hopes of a kingdom in
the unseen world.
Vain would be the effort to count the victims of religious enthusiasm;
of the attempts to appease the great unseen essence of human life;
to propitiate the favor of that Power, which, as it has called into
being, can also summon his creatures from their earthly tenements,
and dispose of their spirits, as seemeth best to his sovereign will.
But holy wars, and sin-atoning pilgrimages, are not confined to the
followers of the Cross.
Wherever the Cresent glitters on the dome, or the muezzin proclaims the
ezan from the pointed minaré; wherever throughout the vast dominions
of the Mussulmans, resounds the cry Allah Ikber! Allah Ikber! are
the countless votaries of the religion of Mohammed, ready to arise
from their peaceful homes, and perform the sacred journey to the
shrine of their faith, the holy temple at Mecca. And year after
year, do the pilgrims trace a wearisome way through desert plains
and scorching heats, to the spot where they may roll off the burden
of self-condemnation, and kiss the all-atoning stone, which has been
the heirloom to mortality, since the foundation of the world.
Although throngs of Mussulman pilgrims yearly visit the holy city
of Mecca, but few Europeans have left the impress of their footsteps
upon its soil.
What millions of human beings, nothing intimidated by deserts,
mountains, and all sorts of hardships, have paid their devotions
to this shrine! The great have visited it with pomp, and all its
train of luxury and display; the grasping spirit of trade, has
summoned merchants from all parts of the East. The learned and wise,
of times that were, and times that are, have on the same occasion,
collecting the productions of genius, sought a mart for literature
and renown. Sultanas, and ladies of high and noble rank, have changed
their silken couches for wandering homes through the desert.
Old age has tottered thither staff in hand, and poverty has never
failed to swell the concourse with its numberless train. The vast
multitude, hundreds of thousands of every rank and profession, crying
"La Illah! Il-Allah! Mohammed Ressoul Ullah!" every year people the
silent wastes of sand with the buzz of human voices, as they toil
along their weary way to the holy city of Mecca.
Every Mohammedan is enjoined to perform this pilgrimage, or if unable
to go, to send a proxy, or an offering.
"Verily, the first house appointed unto men to worship in, was that
which is in Mecca, blessed, and a direction to all creatures."
For there was the Kubla, or point to which they were to turn their
faces in prayer.
"And proclaim unto the people a solemn pilgrimage; let them come unto
thee on foot, and on every lean camel, arriving from every distant
road; that they may be witnesses of the advantages which accrue to
them from the visiting this holy place, and may commemorate the name
of God, on the appointed days, in gratitude for the brute cattle
which he hath bestowed on them."
According to the traditions of the Arabs, the city of Mecca has been
the place of religious veneration, from the earliest times. Near
this city, on a mountain, Adam is said to have met his wife Eve,
two hundred years after the expulsion from Paradise.
Here when Abraham was ready to sacrifice his son Ishmael (not Isaac),
the identical ram, which had been offered by Abel many years before,
was substituted in his place, sent expressly from Paradise.
Here also, in the days of idolatry, was a temple dedicated to Saturn,
now the holy temple of Mecca. So that Mohammed found this place
already consecrated by sacred and ancient associations.
Mecca, the birth-place, and Medina, the tomb of the Prophet, are
situated near each other; and not far from the coast of the Red
Sea. Mecca is in a valley surrounded by barren hills, which produce
nothing but the stones of which the houses are constructed. Water,
so essential to life, and most especially to all Mussulmans, is only
supplied by rain which is collected in cisterns; no streams flowing
from the adjacent mountains. Doubtless, the exceeding value all
Mohammedans attach to the pure element, is owing to its scarcity in
these regions, where their religion was promulgated, and the Koran
revealed from heaven. Their Paradise is represented as abounding
in fountains.
There is "the water of Keafeeree, or camphor," a fountain at which the
people of God shall drink, so likened from the aromatic freshness of
this gum, and its snowy whiteness. The waters of zengefeel or ginger,
and the fountain of zelzebil, whose streams glide softly down the
throat; and the fountain of Taz-nim, which flows from the highest
regions of Paradise, and whereof those shall drink who approach the
Divine presence.
Notwithstanding the barrenness of the soil and the unfavorable
situation of the city of Mecca, the wealth of its inhabitants is
very great.
Arabia Felix, truly happy in comparison to the barren and desert tracts
by which she is surrounded, where the gentle zephyrs are perfumed
and laden with aromatic odors, whose villages and towns are crowned
with plenty, and adorned with gardens of delight, and trees bearing
all kinds of fruit, "Araby the blest" pours her treasures into this
holy city. Her gums and spices, olibanum, or frankincense, myrrh of
many kinds, balsams, sugar canes, cocoa nuts, and the fragrant berry
from Mocha. Nature rejoices in a perpetual spring, in this genial
clime which neither chills nor scorches her spicy products.
In Mecca, congregate a vast crowd of Mussulmans with their merchandise
from all quarters of the East, so that the inducement, held out by
the Prophet, that "they may be witnesses of the advantages which
accrue from visiting this holy place," has no little power on the
calculations of the enterprising, while a misguided religious zeal
sways the multitude.
The holy temple of Mecca has been under the successive patronage
of the caliphs, the sultans of Egypt and of Turkey, until by the
constant acquisition of wealth, it has attained its present splendid
magnificence.
No unbeliever can profane the sacred precincts with the dust of his
feet, nor approach within gun shot of the consecrated portico, during
the season of the visitation of the pilgrims. Nor must the Faithful
defile their sinless bodies by any contact with the unsanctified
flesh and blood of the infidel Jews and Christians.
"O true believers, verily the idolaters are unclean; let them not
therefore come near unto the holy temple after this year.
"And if ye fear want, by the cutting off trade, and communication
with them, God will enrich you of his abundance, if he pleaseth;
for God is knowing and wise."
"It is not fitting that the idolaters should visit the temples of God,
being witnesses against their own souls of their infidelity."
Considering the resources which have contributed to construct and
adorn this shrine of the Mohammedan faith, the great wealth of many
nations, and the centuries which have successively rolled on, each
adding the superstitious offerings of religious votaries, it is no
wonder that it is magnificent to behold. The model from Paradise,
the rebuilding by Abram, and its preservation for so many years.
The whole city of Mecca is considered holy ground but the objects of
special adoration are inclosed within a magnificent colonnade, the
foundation of which was laid by the second caliph Omer, to prevent
intrusion upon the sanctum sanctorum. The space inclosed by this
portico is about seven statium. The foundations are broad and lofty,
and approached by an extended flight of marble steps, on both sides,
without and within. No less than four hundred and eighty-four columns
support an arched entablature, which is crowned by a succession
of domes, surmounted by glittering crescents. The colonnade is
quadrangular, and in the four corners are minarés, raising their
tapering spires to heaven, in emblem of the ascending orisons of the
faithful, and from whose gilded galleries the sacred imams have, since
unnumbered suns have risen and set, proclaimed the hours of adoration.
No gloomy darkness ever enshrouds this structure; for when day
withdraws its more glaring brightness, innumerable lamps cast their
fitful light around the pillars.
What tales could these marble columns whisper of human hopes, and
even holier aspirations; of the wicked schemes of intriguing imams,
as with sacerdotal robes and turbans of emerald hue, they traced
their cautious way from pillar to pillar, and received and blessed
the vast concourse of souls, borne down with the ills and sins of
humanity. How honeyed their benedictions as they lay their gilded
palms on the humble suppliant, who would gladly bestow all his earthly
treasures for a sure hope of heaven where his joys would be enduring.
Poor weak mortals! tools of each other, and victims of the calculating;
the deceiver and deceived, on the same journey, on the same race
course, where the goal is Eternity!
Beneath these domes, and overshadowed by these tall minarés, the poet
and the scholar have met to repeat the traditions and romances so
peculiar to the glowing imaginations of the Oriental world, and to vie
with each other for literary fame; the astrologer and diviner, no doubt
the very genii and fairies of Arabian myth, have mingled in the throng.
With what emotion have the deluded victims of superstition and remorse
prostrated themselves upon the hallowed ground, and with what ecstatic
faith in the rewards of their holy pilgrimage, have the only true
believers kissed the dust of the consecrated earth.
Within this beautiful portico, there is a vast space, in the middle
of which stands the Caaba itself.
After Adam was driven from Paradise, he begged the Almighty to allow
him to erect a Beit-el-maamur, or house of God, similar to the one he
had seen there. Therefore the Caaba was let down to Mecca, directly
under the Heavenly Temple. This was rebuilt after the deluge by Abram,
or as some say, again descended from the celestial realms, where it
had been preserved, and has been in the possession of the Ishmaelites,
or Arabs, ever since.
The Caaba, or house of God, is a square building of stone, 24 cubits
long, 23 broad and 27 high. It is nearly surrounded by a semicircular
colonnade, at the base of which is a low balustrade.
Bars of silver, from which lamps are suspended, connect the pillars
at the top.
How mystic and beautiful are the glimmerings of these lights, as they
glisten on the dark night, in their silver lamps, casting uncertain
shadows around the marble columns--their dubious shining conjuring
up the shades of the Prophet and his honored descendants, all arrayed
in jealous and sacred green to watch the devotions of the multitude,
as they surround the shrine.
The outside of the Caaba is covered with rich black damask, which is
renewed every year.
The holy imams, pitying the true and faithful, and wishing to ward
off from them the dangers of sudden death, and the thousand other
casualties of life, bestow a small portion of the covering of this
house of God, which has imbibed the sanctity of three hundred and
sixty-five days' duration, and, therewith, the power to avert all
such evils. A small amount of worldly wealth is sufficient to touch
the heart of the holy Emir, who grants this precious charm, which,
resting in the bosom of its happy possessor, yields to him a sweet
repose from the anticipation of sudden trials which befall the less
fortunate inheritors of human life.
Outside of this black damask is a band of gold which surrounds the
Caaba, and whose lustre is undimmed by time, for it is renewed every
year by the sultan of Turkey. The very rain which flows from the
roof of this edifice, partakes of its sanctity, and is conducted
therefrom by a spout of solid gold, whence it trickles down on the
tomb of Ishmael, the head and founder of the Arab race.
Near the Caaba is the stone on which the patriarch Abraham stood,
when he was rebuilding the holy temple; and even his very foot-prints
are to be seen on the solid piece of rock, leaving no shadow of doubt
as to its identity.
This ancient architect, unwilling to deface the walls by a scaffolding,
when they were beyond his reach, stood upon this stone, which chance
threw in his way; and, wonderful interposition of Allah! the stone
raised him when necessary, let him down again, and transported him
around his precious work, until the whole was finished!
What a treasure to architecture, more worthy of fame than the
undiscovered stone of the philosopher; how carefully to be watched
and guarded from the profanations of unbelieving house-builders for
all time to come.
Upon the southeast corner of the Caaba is the black stone set in
silver, which was dropped down from Paradise.
Like other gems of the heavenly sphere, it was originally white and
shining--but alas! its brightness is dimmed, and even changed to
perfect blackness, by its contact with human sin. For ever since its
removal to this world, it has been polluted by the touch of mortals,
and the contact of their sinful lips.
The interior of the Caaba is approached by a silver door, about the
height of a man from the ground, to which they ascend by movable
steps. There is a single room hung with red and green embroidered
damask, and the roof is supported by four pillars eight feet square,
made of aloes wood.
A sweet perfume pervades this apartment, which has been emitted from
these pillars ever since Mohammed was born in the holy city of Medina,
and silver lamps are suspended, which burn night and day. Near the
Caaba are small chapels for the imams of the different Mohammedan
sects, who severally bestow their blessings upon the pilgrims.
The agonized mother of Ishmael, wandering in the wilderness, her
scanty bottle of water quite empty, having cast her helpless infant
under the shrubs, and retreated that she might not see him die,
sat at a distance and lifted up her voice and wept.
The dying moans of the infant reached the ears of the angel of God,
who, to save the father of a great nation, caused the well-spring of
water to gush forth from its recesses in the bowels of the earth.
As the ministering angel wiped the tears from the eyes of the
disconsolate mother, she spied the crystal water, and hastened to
administer to the fainting child. This same well, called the well of
zem-zem, is near the holy house of prayer, and the thirsty pilgrims
every year quaff its venerated waters and carry some of it to all
parts of the Mohammedan dominions.
Such being the holy places, no wonder that every Mussulman, whether
commanded or not, should desire to visit these sacred relics of
antiquity.
And were it not forbidden, doubtless the unbelievers also would gladly
undertake the same pilgrimage to witness the miraculous preservation
of objects which are, some of them, incorporated with their own faith.
Four caravans meet in the city of Mecca, in the month Zil-hidjay,
or the month of pilgrimage, every year--one from Cairo, one from
Constantinople, a third from the Barbary states, and a fourth from
India. The Egyptian caravan waits for the arrival of the one from
Constantinople at Redowa near the holy cities. As the Sultan of Turkey
holds the possession of the holy cities in his own territories, he
is bound to send certain offerings to the shrine, which are the gold
band and black damask covering for the Caaba, with a large sum of
money to be distributed among the priests at Mecca. A certain kind
of money is expressly coined at the royal mint for the pilgrimage,
called the Caaba money. It is in gold pieces, and every one who goes
to Mecca must provide himself with this circulating medium.
The wants of the numerous poor pilgrims are provided for in part,
by an appeal to the superstitions of the populace. A model of the
temple at Mecca is paraded through the streets followed by a crowd
of the zealous chanting hosannas in Arabic, accompanied by the music
of a drum of antique contrivance.
But few can withhold a tribute. The miser opens his hoards, and the
widow adds her slender mite; the grandee and the slave, one and all,
gladly answer the appeal of their fellows, when under a banner of
such sacred veneration, and for a cause so laudable as a pilgrimage
to the holy shrine of their faith. Rich and poor are busily employed
in preparations.
The dervish in his humble robes, needs no costly array. His garb of
sanctity, and the renunciation of all the trappings of wealth, open the
purses of the more gaily apparelled; and often the rags of a mendicant
conceal a full purse, much better filled perhaps, than his, who has
spent his all on costly embroideries and richly caparisoned steeds.
The pasha and the efendi arrange their financial affairs, taking
care to carry costly offerings, and largesse, wherewith to impress
the multitude with their own greatness.
The ladies of the harems, in like manner, collect their jewels, their
perfumes, in a word gifts of all things esteemed rare and precious,
that they may not go empty-handed to the holy temple.
The merchants pack up their silks and rich stuffs of all sorts,
and prepare for edification both temporal and spiritual.
Considering the immense throng of pilgrims, what must be the din of
preparation throughout the Ottoman dominion?
Constantinople, its sultan, its treasury, its inhabitants high and
low, its ladies, its saints and beggars--even the lisping children
are whispering, God is great, Mohammed is his Apostle, and the Caaba
is the house of God. The Egyptian viceroy is assembling his horseman
and his camels at Berket el Hadge; the Maghrubees, or Barbaresques,
are sharpening their scimitars, and preparing as if for war. India's
wealth, her pearls, shawls, and rubies, and stately elephants, are
slowly wending their way to the shores of the Persian Gulf, where at
al Katif, on the Arabian side, the old sheikh is tarrying with his
herds of camels, to sell or hire them for the passage of the desert.
The holy Mecca is thus, for several months at least, the theme of
all classes of Mohammedans.
At length the day arrives to begin the journey so fraught with
blessings temporal and spiritual.
The conductor of the Constantinople caravan, called the Surré Emminee,
or the trustee of the pilgrimage, proceeds to the palace, to receive
his commission from the sultan; and to him are consigned all the
treasures destined for Mecca.
All hopes of worldly aggrandizement are henceforth renounced by this
dignitary; for having once imbibed the holy atmosphere of Mecca, his
future aspirations are supposed to be only heavenward. He therefore,
upon his return, generally retires to Damascus, where, nearer to
the shrine, and in a clime more genial for holiness, he awaits his
translation into that Paradise, of which his earthly honors are the
type and foretaste.
Quitting the august presence of the "Thrice happy lord of the refulgent
Mecca," the Surré Emminee goes to the Porte, where he takes leave of
his former colleagues in temporal greatness, and thence to the gate
of the Sheikh-ul-Islam, who grants his blessing on the enterprise.
The pilgrims and others collect about him, and they proceed to Bahchai
Capusoo, where a steamer is waiting to transport them over to Scutari,
in Asia.
There, all along the route, are multitudes of people waiting to see
the procession.
The insignia of the Surré Emminee are borne before him; two long poles,
to which the expressive horse-tails are attached, and the Pasha of
two tails follows on a beautiful Arabian charger.
The treasures destined for Mecca succeed on a train of camels, all
bedecked with ribbons and spangles. But this world's grandeurs are
bestowed unequally even to these patient animals; for there is one
of their number who outshines all his fellows. A venerable camel
is covered with trappings enriched with precious stones of rare
and sparkling lustre, for on his back he carries the sacred Koran
extravagantly bound, and enclosed in a golden box set in brilliants;
the gift of the sultan to the temple.
Happy is this distinguished animal, and his companions also, if they
survive the pilgrimage and return; for, like the Surré Emminee, they
are exempt from all future toil in this work-day world; and when Death
at last claims them for his prey, they enjoy the honors of a burial,
where no rude dogs or vultures can disturb their remains.
The Validé Sultan, or the mother of the sultan, reclines in her
Tahtravan, a sort of elongated sedan chair, which is suspended on
long poles between two camels and magnificent in proportion to the
high rank of its occupant.
Mussulman women and children follow, in huge panniers, suspended on
the sides of camels, horses, and donkeys.
Indeed, the good fathers and husbands of the Osmanlis are ever anxious
to ensure to the female portion of their families high places in the
celestial regions; and they are generally accompanied by their harems.
"It is incumbent on him whose family shall not be present at the holy
temple, to fast three days in the pilgrimage, and seven when he is
returned; they shall be ten days complete."
And the same period of fasting is enjoined upon him "who findeth not
anything to offer" at the shrine.
Mohammed himself set an example in this respect; for when he
encompassed the Caaba, he was accompanied by his family, and his wife
Kadijah, who, with his daughter Fatima, were two of the four women
whom he pronounced to have attained a state of perfection on this
side of the grave.
Trains of servants, led horses and camels, swell the concourse;
and the whole is protected by a body of cavalry.
About six miles from Scutari, there is a fountain which bears the
name of Iraluk Cheshmaysee, or the fountain of separation.
Thus far a number of friends and relations have accompanied the
pilgrims; but, as in the journey of life, none can carry their loved
ones with them into the celestial regions, so these travellers who
are on an emblematic pilgrimage must now sunder strong ties, and
loosen their hearts from earthly affections.
Fountain of parting! how are thy streams now accumulating, as the
pearly drops of human woe trickle in among thy waters; how many
days must pass ere those waters regain their crystal brightness, now
all turbid with the crimson gushings of the heart blood of fathers,
mothers, wives, husbands, and children!
Sadly they part: some turn their faces homeward with bitter sighs,
while the pilgrims pursue their course, every advancing step widening
the distance, till their clouded eyes can discern no further traces
of the severed.
Even as faith reveals to the dying the glory of a celestial world,
and reconciles the most trembling to a passage from the dim scenes
of Earth; so does superstition foreshadowing the hour of mortal
dissolution, display an earthly temple as the vestibule to the
heavenly.
With eager steps, the pilgrims now press onwards, till they reach the
most ancient and beautiful city of Damascus; where they halt for the
caravans from Bagdad, Aleppo, and the neighboring towns. Time-worn
associations flit about this monument of the wealth of the earliest
founders of cities, after the universal deluge.
As the descendants of the great survivor of the wreck of the
antediluvian world sought out a portion of the wide expanse of
uninhabited, and as yet uncultivated earth, this lovely valley
of nature's own handiwork seemed to invite their tarrying, as it
lay in calm repose, all fresh and verdant from the great waste of
waters. Perhaps they discovered the ruins of a great city, the remnants
of ancestral wealth; or the relics of the luxury and degeneracy which
brought about the awful destruction of the victims of the flood.
Rapidly rose the proud city, and was famed even at the time of the
first battle of which there is any record, of the five kings against
four, the great Chedorlaomar and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah,
when the patriarch Abram went to rescue his nephew Lot, who had been
taken captive.
It was the birth-place, too, of Eliezer, the steward of Abram, who
must have been a man of superior attainments, as he had the care
of all his master's possessions, and even of the betrothal of his
beloved son Isaac.
This ancient capital of Syria did not escape the enthusiasm of Moslem
conquest, and the great Saracen generals, Abu-Obeidah and Khaled,
took possession of the famous city, after a slaughter of 50,000
infidels, during the reign of Abubekir, the successor of Mohammed,
A. D. 633. Damascus now became the capital of the Ottoman dominions,
and their pride and glory; for they boast Evvely sham, Akhery sham,
or, that as they had their beginning in Sham or Damascus, so there
also, they will have their end.
So precious do they esteem this city, that it is styled the pearl
surrounded by diamonds, and the gate of the most holy Mecca.
Here, then, at the most beautiful gate, do the pilgrims to the
sacred shrine delight to repose awhile, their senses ravished with
the loveliest enchantments of nature. Their eager vision extends over
vast plains of richly waving foliage, mingling with its emerald hues,
the brilliant tints of the citron, pomegranate, and fig. Sweet odors
of aromatic freshness pervade the balmy air, while luscious and juicy
fruits revive their thirsty senses. Over this vast and exquisite
prospect, tower tall minarés, and graceful domes with glittering
crescents, proclaiming as far as the eye can reach, the sway of
Mohammed Ressoul Ullah.
But there is yet a weary way to the shrine, and the zealous throng,
now swelled to a vast multitude, renew their journey. If the weather
is very oppressive, they encamp in the day-time, and proceed by the
light of innumerable torches at night.
How mysterious the pageant, stretching its long train over the
barren and trackless sands. The camels, with stealthy step, waving
their long necks slowly and majestically; now and then the Arabian
coursers neighing in wearied restlessness, break the silence. Then a
voice chanting a hymn of praise, and anon, a shout or chorus from the
multitude. Now all is still, and fitful shadows glide along side by
side with the wanderers, as the bright jewels on the camels glisten
in the torch-light.
The caravan has passed, leaving in its track many palpitating forms,
panting on the sands for that breath of life, which is rapidly exhaling
from their bodies.
So weary a way--sometimes no water to quench the thirst, which rages
in proportion to the scarcity of its antidote; fatigue adding its
prostrating effects day by day, no wonder that many of the way-worn
pilgrims are transferred to the Heavenly Temple, without a sight of
the earthly.
The caravan from Cairo is also moving onwards, made up of a motley
multitude, headed by the Emir Hadgee, who is appointed by the pasha of
Cairo, and receives great emoluments from his office. Every pilgrim
pays him a certain sum for the enregistering of his name and property,
and the possessions of all those who die on the road, are also his
perquisites. He is the governor of the pilgrimage, and is judge
and jury in all matters of dispute. The Egyptians always carry with
them the tomb of Hassan, and accompanied by cavalry and artillery,
they proceed as far as Redowa, near Medina, where they are to meet
the Constantinople caravan. About two days' journey from Cairo,
they arrive at a place called Miz-Haara, the ancient Marah of the
Israelites, where, when the people murmured at the bitterness of
the waters, Moses cast a tree into them, and they became sweet, of
surpassing sweetness to all thirsty pilgrims. Thus they travel over
the same wilderness as their ancient predecessors, encamping in the
very spots selected by Moses for the tents of the chosen people of God.
After these caravans meet, they proceed, a vast multitude, to a
village about sixty miles from Mecca, where is Abram's mountain,
on which he erected the altar to sacrifice his son.
On the top of this hill is a mosque, where an old sheikh resides, who,
as the pilgrims halt, stands on the brow of the hill, and delivers an
address to them on the importance of the duty they are performing,
reminding them also of the blessings in store for all zealous
Mussulmans. To what an immense audience does this lonely old man once
a year proclaim the tenets of the Koran, and how eagerly do their
thirsty souls quaff the water of everlasting life as he dispenses it.
Now the Emir Hadgee conducts the pilgrims one by one to the feet of the
sheikh, as he stands in the mosque on the top of the hill, Rabiie. As
they enter one door and pass out at the other in rapid succession,
each one is touched by the divining rod in the hands of the old sheikh,
and the burden of all their past transgressions rolls from their backs,
as he pronounces the words, "May sin here leave thee."
Lightened from the pressure of sin in every form, they run swiftly down
the hill, and bathing their hands and faces in a stream which flows
below, they become renewed, men, women, and children; and prepared
to gaze upon the holy city of Mecca, which is not far distant. Now
turning their faces to the shrine, the true believers hasten on their
way; sometimes halting at the tomb of Eve, which is at Giddeh, the
port of Mecca.
This illustrious and ancient mother of the human race must have been a
dame of fair proportions; for her grave measures, from the head to the
foot stone, no less than twenty-five yards, or seventy-five English
feet. If she was of such exceeding stature, what must have been the
dimensions of our great parent Adam, or what lofty personages must
have been the giants of those days.
After travelling about three days longer, the domes of the Holy Temple
are descried in the distance; when the multitude with mad delight
prostrate themselves on the ground, and kissing the earth three times,
proclaim with tremendous clamor, La Illah! Ill Lallah! Mohammed
Ressoul Ullah!
There is no other God but God! Mohammed the Apostle of God!
The artillery is now fired to announce the arrival of the caravans to
the inhabitants of Mecca, who, headed by the Shereef of the city and
all the Imams, immediately proceed to meet the pilgrims, and conduct
them within the sacred precincts.
Those who possess but scanty means, encamp without the city, and
others are accommodated at khans, which are very numerous.
The next thing is to visit the bath, and thus purify themselves for
the ceremonies at the temple--"I will wash my hands in innocency,
so will I compass thine altar, O Lord." Having invested themselves
in the ehram, or covering of crimson woollen shag, which is always
wrapped around the person on this occasion, they proceed to the Caaba.
Mohammed having performed these same ceremonies, his followers have
ever since imitated his example.
Immediately after the Prophet took possession of the city of Mecca,
he proceeded to the Caaba. There he stood upon the roof of the house of
prayer, and proclaimed the first ezan, or call to prayer, at noon-day.
He then commenced his adorations at the shrine, by first kissing
the black stone in the corner, near the door of the Caaba, then he
proceeded to compass the building seven times, and then again kissed
the sin-atoning stone. When the Caaba was let down from heaven to Adam,
he requested that it might be so placed that he could compass it as
he had seen the angels do. Ever since the creation, the number seven
has had a mystic signification, and its sacred meaning is demonstrated
in these devotions of the faithful. Mohammed then proclaimed to the
people from Mount Arafat, the manner in which they were to perform
the ceremonies at the Temple, and went to the valley of Mina, where
he threw seven stones at the devil, every time pronouncing the words,
Allah Ikbér! Allah Ikbér! God Almighty! God Omnipotent, as did Adam
and Abraham, when the great Adversary interrupted their devotions.
The enemies of the Prophet account for the accumulation of stones in
this valley by the following story.
It is well known that Mohammed was assisted in the preparation of
the Koran, by an Armenian monk, by name Serkiss. When their work was
completed, the Prophet wished to attest it by a miracle.
He accordingly persuaded Serkiss to descend into a deep well, while
he called all the multitude to assemble. Holding a blank book in his
hand, he declared that if the Koran was indeed revealed from Heaven,
he would drop this blank-book into the well, and Allah would send it
up all written and inscribed.
The book descended, and Serkiss sent up the one he had already
prepared. "Now," said Mohammed, "let each man cast a stone into the
well, which will be a monument to the world." Whereupon every one
of the great concourse cast a stone, and thus effectually prevented
Serkiss from appearing to contradict the miracle. Ever since that
time, the pilgrims have helped to accumulate these stones, until a
vast monument, indeed, has been erected.
The Prophet now offered the sacrifice of sixty-three camels, according
to the years of his own life, shaved his head, and having run seven
times between the two hills Safa and Merwa, in imitation of Hagar
searching for water, he completed the holy ceremonies.
According to this model have the pilgrims continued, ever since his
time, the performance of these superstitious devotions.
The holy duties of the shrine being over, after a few worldly cares are
disposed of, the now self-satisfied travellers turn their footsteps
homewards. Purified, and set apart, henceforth the chosen of Allah,
fearless of all danger, as if within the shadow of the eternal world,
nothing intimidates the followers of the Prophet, as with the greatest
self-complacency they anticipate the rest of their sojourn in this
lower world. Many have sacrificed all their earthly possessions,
but are they not sure of the imperishable riches of paradise. With
eager fondness, they embrace once again friends and relations, while
the odor of sanctity exhales from their sacred persons. With what
panting bosoms and restless vision do the friends search among the
remnant returned from the wanderings, for dear and familiar faces;
and human wailings rend the air, as they are told that brother, sister,
and husband, lie whitening on the sand, long ere this the prey of the
vulture. The happy father clasps to his breast his precious offspring,
and with sweet complacency, ties around its neck a morsel the holy
covering of the Caaba, so sure the charm, and obtained at such infinite
perils. The pilgrims are surrounded, and with jealous caution they
bestow a few drops of the water of the holy well Zem-Zem, which glides
down the throats of the faithful like the oily fountains of Paradise.
The weary camels even linger out their lives in luxurious idleness,
retired from oppressive service, with an air of unconscious sanctity
and repose.
Henceforward, the glorious title of Hadgee, belongs to the returned
pilgrim; no razor profanes the beard, and the very door of the house,
by its hue of the Prophet's robe, the sacred green, proclaims the
rank and holiness of its master.
The Hadgee, with long and solemn face, never wearies of recounting
his wonderful adventures, portraying with ecstasy, the splendors of
the shrine, detailing with holy rapture the ceremonies and devotions,
until the flame of superstitious zeal is enkindled in every bosom, and
their spirits yearn for the sweet sanctity and all-atoning atmosphere
of the most refulgent Mecca--and many vows are made that in the coming
year, their footsteps shall surely be thitherward.
Such, then, are the illusions which beguile life's wearisome journey
to the followers of Mohammed; such the stepping-stones to their
future Elysium.
Thus the tortures of conscience are eased, and thus does superstition
stand fully armed at the portals of the soul.
Few, indeed, are the members of the great human family, who dare
to combat this enemy to moral greatness; and how small the number
of those, who renounce her sway. Chained down to creeds and dogmas,
the mind of man seldom soars above the atmosphere of human inventions,
but relyingly lingers in the leading strings of bigotry, in one form
or another.
Thus is constituted the Practice of the Mohammedan Religion, viz.,
Ablutions, Prayers, Alms, Fasting, and the Pilgrimage to Mecca,
which are denominated Farz, or obligatory. There are, however, many
other traditional observances termed Sünnet, which as the Turks are
Sünnees or traditionists, they have incorporated with their religious
duties, such as circumcision, and many other rites. These rites, whose
observance is only optional, are, however, performed with as much zeal
and ceremony as those required by the Koran. Although the ceremony
of circumcision is not alluded to in the Koran, and therefore not
indispensable, yet it is a custom generally observed, and is performed
when the child is able to pronounce the formula of faith "La Illah,
Ill Allah, Mohammed Ressoul Ullah," or is about the age of seven years.
This is a great festival, and when the sultan's children, or those
of any of the grandees, are the neophytes, a general invitation is
extended to other candidates. Music, dancing, and feasting occupy
the minds and distract the thoughts of the numerous company, young
and old, during the week devoted to this ceremony.