that more may be done for their salvation and that missionaries may be
sent to work especially for these “lost sheep of the house of Israel” who
have so long been living in the tents of Ishmael! Perhaps God wants one
of you to come out and tell them the story of Jesus Christ Who must love
them more than we do as He is one of themselves.
VII
AMULETS AND OTHER EVERY-DAY THINGS
Did you ever see a woman or a girl dressed in such a strange way as the
one in the picture? Of course you know that Moslem women wear veils, but
this veil is like a window-casing with the panes of glass knocked out.
It is made of stiff cloth, heavily embroidered, sometimes with gilt or
silver embroidery, and has a nose piece and strings to fasten around the
head. In addition to this curious veil you notice that she has three
bracelets on each arm, and you can get a glimpse of her nose jewel
hanging underneath the veil. Of course she wears earrings and anklets.
The most conspicuous part of her jewelry, however, is the amulet case
which hangs by a silver chain from around her neck, and has beautiful
bangles attached to it below. Nearly every one in Topsy Turvy Land wears
amulets. They are worn not for ornament, but for protection, and no one
would think of leaving them at home if he went on a journey.
[Illustration: A Woman of the Hill Tribes, showing veil and amulets worn]
Amulets and charms are worn not only by the Arabs themselves and to
protect their children from the evil eye, but they are put over the doors
of their houses, and hung on camels, donkeys, horses, fishing boats,
in fact, anywhere and everywhere to ward off danger and death. Only
yesterday a little boy came to our church service, whose mother is still
a Moslem, and he had hanging from his neck a whole collection of curious
things, beads, bones, sacred relics, etc., all to protect him from the
evil eye.
All sorts of things are used as amulets in Arabia, and their use is
justified by the saying of Mohammed himself: “There is no wrong in using
charms and spells so long as you do not associate anything with God.”
The most common things used as amulets are a small Koran suspended in
a silver case; words from the Koran written on paper and carried in a
leather receptacle; the names of Allah or their numerical value; the
names of Mohammed and his companions; precious stones with or without
inscriptions; beads; old coins; clay images; the teeth of wild animals;
holy earth from Mecca or Kerbela in the shape of tiny bricks, or in
small bags. When the Kaaba covering at Mecca is taken down each year and
renewed, the old cloth is cut up into small pieces and sold for charms.
The women in Mecca use an amulet of special power called “Mishkash,”
which is supposed to exercise its virtue for the increase of the family.
The “Mishkash” is really a copy of an old Venetian coin, representing the
Duke of Venice kneeling before St. Mark on the one side, and on the other
side is the image of Christ surrounded by stars. Of course the women
themselves are in total ignorance of the inscription on the coin and of
its Christian character.
According to the principles of Islam only verses from the Koran should
be used, but the door of superstition once being set ajar by Mohammed
himself, as we know from the story of his life, it is now wide open. The
chapters from the Koran which are most often selected for use as amulets
and put in the little cases shown in the picture are Surahs I, VI, XVIII,
XXXVI, XLIV, LV, LXVII, LXXVIII. There are five verses in the Koran
called the verses of protection, “Ayat-el-Hifdh,” which are the most
powerful to defend from evil. They read as follows: “The preservation of
heaven and earth is no burden unto Him;” “God is the best protector;”
“They guard him by the command of God;” “We guard him from every stoned
devil;” “A protection from every rebellious devil.” These verses are
written with great care and with a special kind of ink by those who
deal in amulets, and are then sold for a good price to Moslem women and
children. The ink used for writing amulets is saffron water, the juice of
onions, water from the sacred well of Zem Zem, and sometimes even human
blood. It is very important that the one who writes the amulet be a holy
man in the Moslem sense of that word. We are told in Arabic books on the
subject (and these books are printed by the thousands) that “The diet of
the one who prepares charms depends on the kind of names of God which he
intends to write or recite. If they are the terrible attributes of Allah,
then he must refrain from the use of meat, fish, eggs, honey and musk.
If they are His amiable attributes, he must abstain from butter, curds,
vinegar, salt and ambergris.”
A favourite kind of amulet is called the magic square, and I have drawn
one here for you. Most of the Arabs believe that there are only four
elements, earth, air, fire and water, and under these four names they
have numerical squares, as you see them, of the numbers one to sixteen,
and whichever way you add the columns up and down or across the total is
always thirty-four. Try it.
EARTH WATER
+----+----+----+----+ +----+----+----+----+
| 8 | 11 | 14 | 1 | | 14 | 4 | 1 | 15 |
+----+----+----+----+ +----+----+----+----+
| 13 | 2 | 7 | 12 | | 7 | 9 | 12 | 6 |
+----+----+----+----+ +----+----+----+----+
| 3 | 16 | 9 | 6 | | 11 | 5 | 8 | 10 |
+----+----+----+----+ +----+----+----+----+
| 10 | 5 | 4 | 15 | | 2 | 16 | 13 | 3 |
+----+----+----+----+ +----+----+----+----+
AIR FIRE
+----+----+----+----+ +----+----+----+----+
| 15 | 1 | 4 | 14 | | 1 | 14 | 15 | 4 |
+----+----+----+----+ +----+----+----+----+
| 10 | 8 | 5 | 11 | | 8 | 11 | 10 | 5 |
+----+----+----+----+ +----+----+----+----+
| 6 | 12 | 9 | 7 | | 12 | 7 | 6 | 9 |
+----+----+----+----+ +----+----+----+----+
| 3 | 13 | 16 | 2 | | 13 | 2 | 3 | 16 |
+----+----+----+----+ +----+----+----+----+
Among the Shiah Moslems, whom we meet everywhere in East Arabia, the most
common amulet is called _Nadi-Ali_. It consists generally of a lead or
silver plate with little bells at the bottom, inscribed with these words:
“Cry aloud to Ali; he is the possessor of wonders,
From him you will find help from trouble.
He takes away very quickly all grief and anxiety
By the mission of Mohammed and his own sanctity.”
There are innumerable cases where such amulets are used for the cure of
disease. The native doctors firmly believe that when every remedy fails,
the book of Allah, if properly administered, internally or externally,
will drive away pain and cure the patient.
The hospitals and book-shops and schools will doubtless in time drive out
the use of amulets in Arabia, and the march of civilization, with its
modern scientific miracles and spirit of investigation, is also a means
to that end. Nevertheless, I have known of cases where printed Arabic
gospels were bought to be used as amulets and where patients tried to rub
off ink from the printed paper used to wrap powders in at the hospital,
in order to drink the solution as a remedy.
There are other things in Arabia which, though not amulets, will strike
you as very strange. First there is the market basket, deftly woven out
of palm leaves. When this is smeared with bitumen inside, it will hold
water as well as an American pail or a bucket. The Arab broom is made of
palm leaf fibre, with a short handle, and the dish cover below it is also
made of palm fibre and rope, and is beautifully stained with colours,
and when they bring in a dish of Hassa dates to entertain guests, such a
cover is always put on to protect it from the flies.
The sewing basket and the fan and the woman’s sandals are also very
interesting. The men’s sandals, as well as the women’s sandals, have a
peg or leather thong, which goes between the big toe and the one next
to it, and by which they cling to their footgear in a way that would
surprise you. Because the women’s slippers are made of wood, you can hear
their footsteps when they are a great way off, and the clap-clap of the
women’s sandals is a familiar sound to all of us here in Arabia.
What do you think of their beautiful furniture? There are small tables
used to hold water jars or trays of food, and folding bookstands cleverly
made out of one piece of hard wood that fold up for a journey. Larger
bookstands are made of date sticks and are strong enough to support a
big volume of the Koran. The Arabs love to sit and swing back and forth
as they chant its chapters. And lastly is something that looks very much
like an amulet, but which is a traveller’s bag for bread and dates, often
fastened to the camel saddle by leather thongs. Bread or dates kept in
such a receptacle will keep moist for many, many hours in the hot, dry
climate of Arabia.
The Arabs are not skilled as the Japanese and Chinese are with tools,
nor are they much given to art of any kind, but you must admit that
such every-day things are many of them artistic and some of them really
beautiful.
VIII
THE MOST WONDERFUL STONE IN THE WORLD
The Ten Commandments were written on two tables of stone but these
original stones are lost; the High Priest Aaron had twelve most precious
stones in his breast plate when he went into the holy place to minister;
Jacob placed a stone for a pillow when he fled from his brother, but no
one has found this old memorial. Many other wonderful stones are held
almost sacred because of past history. Stone worship is one of the oldest
forms of idolatry. The old Druid stone in England, where the priests
offered sacrifice during their worship and where even human blood was
spilt in the name of religion, are examples.
Plymouth Rock is also a famous stone from its part in history. It marks
the place where the Pilgrim fathers landed in 1620. There have also been
precious stones which have had a remarkable history and for which much
money and often life was sacrificed, and then none of the boys can forget
the pebble which David found in the brook and which was the weapon of his
victory over great Goliath.
But the most wonderful stone in the world to-day is none of these that I
have told you of. It is the Black Stone of the old idol temple in Arabia,
now the centre of Mohammedan worship.
[Illustration: Every-day things in Arabia]
The greater number of the tribes of Arabia in Mohammed’s day, if they had
any religion at all, were little better than fetich worshippers, each
tribe having its own idol or god, which in many cases was some peculiar
tree or rock in their territory, around which they built rude shrines,
and to which they made pilgrimages. From time immemorial, however, there
was one fetich which the whole race seemed to regard as peculiarly
sacred, and that was the Kaaba, or sacred stone of Mecca. It is probable
that this stone was a shooting star, which, falling from heaven in the
presence of spectators, became ever after an object of superstitious
veneration, just as the stone of Diana of Ephesus became the centre
of worship for the Greek world. The tribe to which Mohammed belonged
had held for several generations the office of stewards to this great
national shrine, to encourage the flocking of pilgrims to the Kaaba. From
this source the wealthy families of Mecca got the great part of their
money. They admitted impartially figures of all the idols of the tribes
from one end of Arabia to the other, so that each man might feel at home
when he arrived there for his devotions.
When Mohammed had fully established his new religion he turned out all
the old deities except the Black Stone, which he himself worshipped, and
concerning which worship he left minute directions for his followers.
Such was the inconsistency of the prophet whose creed was “There is no
god but Allah.” The object of the pilgrimage as instituted by Mohammed
was to worship the Sacred Mosque and Kaaba. According to Moslem writers,
the Kaaba was built by Adam, exactly under the spot occupied by God’s
throne in heaven. It is an oblong building in the centre of the mosque,
covered with a black cloth, and in it is the sacred Black Stone which
came down from heaven snow-white, and was turned black by the sins of the
people.
The Black Stone is located on the southeast corner of the Kaaba, about
five feet from the ground. It is probably an aerolite, black and
sprinkled with lighter patches and came down as a falling star. Many
years after Mohammed’s death it was stolen by some of the Arabs on the
Persian Gulf and carried across the desert to Katif; when it was carried
back again it fell from the camel on its long journey and was broken. Now
a silver band holds the pieces together and the whole stone is imbedded
in the wall.
[Illustration: The Black Stone at Mecca]
It is necessary for every Moslem to visit Mecca at least once during
his lifetime. When all these pilgrims arrive within a short distance of
the Holy City, they must put off their every-day clothing and put on
the pilgrim garb, which consists of two pieces of white cloth,—one tied
around the loins and the other drawn over the shoulders, under their arm,
leaving one shoulder bare. The pilgrims are allowed to wear sandals, but
not shoes. Thus clad every one goes in turn to the sacred well of Zem
Zem, washes his whole body with a pailful of the water, and then drinks
as much as he cares. Then he enters the “door of peace” and kisses the
most wonderful stone in the world, running around the Kaaba seven times
and each time when he passes the stone he strokes it with his hand or
kisses it. After this all the Moslem pilgrims say the regular prayer and
retire.
The next day, those who are seeking Paradise along the zigzag road of
Mohammed’s religion must do other things as well. They must visit the
place where Abraham is supposed to have stood, when he rebuilt the Kaaba.
Then they must run between the mountains of Safa and Milra, two little
hills near Mecca, and do other things every day until the sixth day, when
all the pilgrims surround the Kaaba as they did on the first day. On the
seventh day the sermon is preached from the great pulpit in the middle of
the building. The preacher no doubt urges all those who are present to
persevere in their religion and make converts among the nations. It is a
large gathering indeed which comes to Mecca. Between seventy and eighty
thousand people travel every year to visit the city from every part of
the Moslem world,—Europe, Asia, Africa and the islands of the sea. After
the sermon is over two more days are spent in various visits to sacred
places around Mecca and then comes the greatest day of all, which is
celebrated all over the Moslem world, namely, the day of Sacrifice.
Although Mohammedans deny the death of Christ and the need of an
atonement for sin, it is strange that this great feast should still
be a feast of sacrifice, like that of the Jews of old. Every earnest
believer takes a goat, a sheep or a camel, places it so as to face the
Kaaba and plunges a knife into its throat as he cries out—“God is great
and Mohammed is His apostle.” When the sacrifice is over the pilgrim
is allowed again to shave his beard and trim his nails and put on his
ordinary clothing, all of which was forbidden during the ten days of
pilgrimage. He is also given a certificate stating that he has finished
the pilgrimage and is now ready for Paradise, or words to that effect.
The most of the pilgrims who come back from Mecca are not any better
for going, because the city is the centre not only of diseases such as
cholera and plague, which cause the death of many, but is also the centre
of immorality and wickedness.
Although travellers have visited Mecca by pretending to be Mohammedans
and at the risk of their lives, no Christian, were he known to be so,
would be allowed to enter the sacred city. The first European to visit
Mecca was an English sailor boy, called Joseph Pitts, who was captured as
a slave in Algiers and taken to Mecca against his will. He was forced to
become a Moslem, but afterwards escaped to England and wrote a book on
what he had seen.
[Illustration: Opening of the Hedjaz Railway]
The new railroad which is now being built by the Turkish government from
Damascus to Medina and on to Mecca will soon be completed, and who can
say whether it will not open up the whole country to the Gospel? A big
American locomotive will soon be puffing steam and sounding its whistle
right near the Kaaba, over against the most wonderful stone in the world.
IX
THE CAMEL DRIVER WHO BECAME A PROPHET
If one could have all the boys of the world pass by in single file and
take down their names one by one, there would be a great many who bore
the same name. Johns and Henrys and Carls and Hans there would be by the
thousands, but there would be no name which so many boys had in common, I
am sure, as the name of Mohammed. It is a very safe estimate to say that
there are living in the world to-day no less than five million boys and
men who bear that name.
Yet I wonder how many of you know who Mohammed was, where he lived and
died, and why he has such a world-wide reputation? He was a poor orphan;
his father died before he was born and his mother only a few years after,
but although he was so forlorn and lived in a very barren part of Arabia,
in one of the valleys of the city of Mecca, he had powerful relatives who
were kind to him and helped him. He was born in the year 570 A. D., about
a thousand years before Columbus discovered America. His mother’s name
was Amina, which means faithful.
There are many strange stories told about him when he was a boy. One
story is that while he was away in the desert with his foster brother,
living with the Arab tribes and growing strong by exercise and drinking
camels’ milk, one day two men dressed in white came and threw him on the
ground. They then took out his heart, by opening his breast, and squeezed
out a drop of black blood, and put the heart back again, closing up the
wound. The Arabs believe that in this way he got rid of his original sin
and was made pure. As a boy he was pleasing and industrious, and won the
name of “the faithful one.” However, at the time of Mohammed’s childhood,
morals and manners in Mecca were as bad as possible, and he did not have
many good influences to help him in the right way.
When he was about twelve years old, his uncle, Abu-Talib, took him along
on a journey to Syria, as far as Bozra, a town that is mentioned in the
Bible, and not the same as Busrah on the Persian Gulf. This journey
lasted for some months, and it was at this time that Mohammed met a
Christian monk, who, it is reported, told Abu-Talib to take good care of
the youth, for great dignity awaited him.
On this journey Mohammed for the first time came in touch with
Christianity, and was surely impressed by the national and social customs
of Christians; and being a bright boy, he was easily able to see the
difference between the habits and religion of his own nation and those of
the Christians. It was after this journey that he was anxious to reform
the dreadful idolatry and wicked ways of the Arabian people. From the
age of twelve to twenty he lived in the usual manner of the boys of his
day, tending sheep on the hillsides and valleys of Mecca, and he was
so honest and pure and fair during these years, and such a contrast to
those around him, that everybody gave him the name I told you of—Al Amin,
_i. e._, “the faithful.” During this time, too, he learned something of
what war was like, for he went with his uncles on two expeditions to
fight against another tribe. When Mohammed was twenty-five years old,
his uncle suggested that he should take charge of a caravan for a rich
lady living in Mecca, and trading products of Mecca for other things from
Syria and other parts of Arabia. On this journey Mohammed again came in
contact with Christians and Jews, and he must have noticed, too, how,
while professing to serve and love the one true God, they always seemed
to be quarrelling about their religion. Perhaps he saw the truth in both
systems and afterwards thought he could make out of them one simple creed
and unite all mankind in the worship of the only true God.
After his return from this trip, he was married to Khadijah, by whom he
had been employed as camel driver, making zigzag journeys across the
country to sell and exchange his merchandise. After his marriage he lived
happily, so we are told, until his fortieth year, when he began to have
dreams, and became persuaded that God had called him to be a prophet.
Many verses of the Koran were recited and written down. Mohammed wanted
most of all at this time that his countrymen should put away their idols
and worship only Allah, but some of them were very angry and would have
killed him, if he had not hidden.
Mohammed and Khadijah had six children, but most of them died when they
were young. His daughter Fatimah, when she was old enough, was married
to her adopted brother, Ali; her name is very much honoured and used by
Moslems everywhere.
Sometimes Mohammed would have his dreams very often, and then again he
would go a long time without a revelation. But he began to believe in
himself and told his visions to others, and they too began to believe in
him as a prophet of God. His relatives were the first ones to come out
and follow the new religion. He wanted to take the idols out of the Kaaba
at Mecca, and preached against idolatry, and for this reason the keepers
of the Kaaba were very angry and persecuted him for his preaching. When
the persecution became too bad, he then recanted or withdrew some of
his statements in regard to the idols and the true worship, and he told
them he had had a vision or revelation that they might retain their most
important gods, or rather, the favourite ones. But after a few days he
repented of this leniency, and told the Meccans he had made a mistake and
all the idols must be destroyed, and they must worship Allah only. The
people began to treat him badly and they would have killed him if he had
not fled to Medina. The persecutors followed him and nearly overtook him,
when he came to a cave and slipped inside, and one tradition says that
after the prophet (on him be prayers and peace) had gone inside, some
pigeons came and sat on the edge of the cave; also a spider quickly wove
a web across the mouth of the cave and when his pursuers came and looked
they said: “He is not in there, for see the pigeons and the spider’s
web; he cannot be inside,” and thus God preserved the life of Mohammed.
Afterwards those men turned back, and he came out of the cave and went on
to Medina. And there his religion prospered, and Mohammed saw a vision
of the power he might hold, so little by little the stern purpose of his
life—to cleanse his people from idol worship—became weaker. He gave in,
here a little and there a little, and gave to his followers many harmful
privileges, which he said were revelations from the Angel Gabriel to him.
These same privileges have degraded the nations they have governed, and
the religion of the sword and of plunder appealed to the human heart more
than spiritual things possibly could. He soon gained many thousands of
followers, and grew strong and bold, and began to organize bands to go
out and kill and destroy all who would not follow the new religion.
[Illustration: When the Arabs return from pilgrimage, they load their
baggage on the poor, patient camel]
And thus the camel driver became a great prophet. His name to-day is
called out five times a day from the minarets (_i. e._, mosque steeples)
in Central Asia, along the shores of the Mediterranean, in the heart of
Africa, in India and the islands of the sea, as well as all over Arabia
and Persia and the Turkish Empire. And if you wish to help bring back
these nations to Jesus Christ and away from Mohammed, you must be up
with the muezzin before the dawn, and pray and call others to prayer
and work in earnest, so that the children of this generation may have
a chance to learn about our Saviour and theirs, and of all the helpful
things He has taught us.
“Hark! ’Tis the muezzin’s cry;
Pray, children, pray;
Moslems in darkness lie,
Pray, children, pray.
Thousands in bondage die;
O hear, while moments fly,
Yours is a calling high:
Pray, children, pray.”
X
THE LANGUAGE OF THE ANGELS