Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1893-04-05
MECCA AND MEDINA.


art OF lhe NOIiu ne luAN dwell, Is
careful, at the commencement of his
urayer, to ascertain the true Ri5iuh
y direction in which to turn. Only
Il one spot may worsbipers he seen
facing simultaneously to the north,
south, east and west, and that Is in the
mosque at Mecca. around the sacred
kaaba, towards which a certain mark
n every other mosque throughout the
world directs the face of the Muslin
Rorshipper. There is a passage of the
Koran often quoted: ''to God belong
eth the east and the west, therefore,
WhiihersOever ye turn yourselves to
Hray. there Is the face of God; for God
$ omuIprCsent, omniscient." But it is
we'll known that, in the early days of his
mission at Medina, MOhammed appoint
= Jerus ,lcm as the place towards ThIch
neu ought to pray, and that the wor-
shippers TUNED their backs upon
Mecca 1t WAS only after all hope was
abandoned of cOncIlIating the Jews
hat Mecca was definItively fixed upon; A.;
md the choice of this as the most
sacred place of ISLAM throws not a little
ight upon the genus of the religion
aud the history OF lis diffusion. Mecca
W., indeed, the native place of Mo-
d ,mmed; but it was by the people of
Medina tlnt he was first acknowledged
Al r prophet, aud it was there ne died
aud was buried. Yet Medina is only
G, ckoued the second sanctuary in Islam,
20 which the Muslin may or may not
make pilgrimage, as he chooses,
whereas every believer is required
nee at least in his lifetime to make
be pilgrimage to Mecca.
Mecca was sacred site long before
Muhammrd's day. Lying on the great
,rnde route from Southern Arabia
and India, il was a hating place for
he caravans. Having in it's we'll
XtmZrm an inexhaustIble supply of
water, in district proverhially y
Try, 1t became not only halting
ulace hut the seat of fair. Moreover,
from the earliest times of which we
nave record or tradition, it had the
Two sacred objects, the Beitullah or
house of God, and the black 5 one,
which probably had fallen from henv-
IN. Whether with view to give pro-
lection TO trade, or from Religions I'M
pulses, the place was made resort at
which peaceful commerce was carried
On under the most sacred snnct Ons,
and by the time that Mohammed ap.
pearcd it had already long history,
The Kaaba was the acknowledge Uau
theOn of Arabia, containing images OF
three hundred and sixty different tribal
gods, and the ceremony of the pilgrim
age was a standing custom in the relIg-
iOus life.
1t was not till after lorg and pain
ful struggle that Mecca accepted tue
new religion. Holy cites are proverbi
ally tenacious OF their religious Gus
toms, and probably the traders OF
Mecca had also fears that the new re-
ligiOn would diminish tn ir wealth. II
Was among pilgrims from Medina that
the prophet found his most receptive
hearers, and the Hijrah, which marks
the new era, was the removal OF the
prophet and his few fnithful adherents
from his inhospitable birthplace to the
city which had been the first to own
him to be the apostle of God. In
course Of time he returned to Mecca a7
a conqurrOr, and dashed to pieces the
IDOLS OF Kaaba, saying, "The Trnth is
come, let Error disappear. Yet even
then, when Islam was established as
the victorious religion, the most diff
cult part of his task remained TO be
arcompl shed. His aim was to mite
and it was necessary that his religion
should have something to appeal to
them III the way that the kaaba had
lone His knowledge of human na'
lure and of his countrymen is shown
IN the course he followed. The kaabs
was adopted as the centre of religions
worship, and the ceremonies connected
with the old pagan religion were
tdapted TO the new faith and retained.
The hOary traditions connected with
the sacred places came to his AID.
Whether they then existed In the form
dov current, or whether they TOOK
that form through his teaching, the
Arabs came to believe that ZemZem
was the well that was miraculously
created to quench the thirst of the
perishing Ishmael; that the kaaba wa'
built by Abraham and Ishmael; that 1t:
Worship had been perverted IN the
times OF ignorance, till now n prophet
had arisen in Arabia to restore the re-
hgiOD of Abraham, who was true
Nuslm. Thus Mecca remained the
IOly city of the Arabs. and its leading
men were placed in high positions nm
ie- the new rule. 1t was matter o
great delicacv to smooth down the
ealOnsv of tue men of Medina, whC
lad befriended the prophet when
Mecca rejected him, and now saw fa
yOrs heaped upon those who had re
ceiyed the faith at the point OF the
sword The prudence of MOhnmmeC
and his two Immediate successors, how
ever, conoililted both parties, and BY
the time Of the third csliph, Islam haC
extended 10 Syria, Egypt, and Persia
and lis success was Independent OF thu
lealOusies of two towns in Arabia.
In adopting the KGaba as the Bel
tUuah in the new religion, Moha
adopted in a modified form the cere
monies connected with 1t, the chief o
Ehich was the HIU or pils rimage
once year, IN anIumn, the pagan
Arabs usel to come in pilgrim guist
10 the ruly house and worship. Mo
hnmned euloiued the same custom
ApoL hle followers; bnt as the Muslin
''Rf Is strictly lunar, without an inter
Alary month, the tlme of the pilgrim
1ee wares from yenr to year. Whel
siam spread, IN a way that probabl,
even llA founder did not foresee. to tn
most distant lands, the custom we
SIN retained; aud thus religion whicl
"hont as widely spread as Christian
N il ell retains among its essentIa
,t'tutes these ohscrvances which ar
9'S'neuvely Arabian in their charac
'ef' end deyout Mohammedaus from
every part Of the world think it the1
uu,J = make their way to the narroy
uh" lnacco sslbIe valley of Mecca +
p5rI'fm an Incumbent duty of reli
HE potentlte wiz, for the time !
accepted as the legitimate caliph o
success successor OF the prophet has the s,riyi
9se Oh being named in the publ