The National tribune., 1895-01-10

were somewhat In advance Of his contempt
raries. he used to say: Woman was made
from crooked rib. and II you try to bend il
| straight it will break; therefore treat your
wives kindly"
The men of Islam know very little about
home life, as most of their time Is spent either
| In the guest or In the mosque. The
| Moslem mosque is most important public in
| stitution. 1t is not only place of prayer, but
| the public rendezvous in which people meet to
discuss both business aud politics. as well as
matters of faith. 1t is the unique position of the
mosque in the village life of the Moslem that
we find the real strength of Islam. Some of
these mosques are schools and colleges Of re-
| nown. and the priest in charge exercises great
influence for good or evil
The chief duty of the Imam, or priest of Q
mosque, is the recital of the daily liturgy five
times day, and most regularly will he per-
form this duty. Rising before the first streak
of light appears on the horizon, he washes his
feet, hands. and face, and then. standing erect.
he gives the call to prayer: GOD is great; /
bear witness that Mahomet is the messen-
ger of God. Come to prayers; prayers are
better than sleep. Come to salvation, God is
great; there is no deity but God. The mosque
soon presents an animated scene, the students
turn out of their beds. the Pensioners assem-
bic, some are pulling up the we'll bucket,
others in the act of washing their hands
and faces. some cleaning their teeth, an In
cumbent religious duty" wbilrs others are sit
ting on the ground waiting for the Imam TO
give the signal of prayer. Taking his place,
facing Mecca. the congregation form them
selves in rows behind him. and the recital of
the morning prayer begins. The service is
scarcely over the sun arises, and fortified
by the devotion of the early morn the Moslem
goes forth 10 business, pleasure, war. 1t is
this constant recital of the Moslcm prayer
which tends, more than anything else, to keep
up the religious life of the Mahometan.
When the END " comes the Mahometan is
committed to earth amid the halo of sanctity.
Carry the dead quick 10 its grave said the
Prophet, for if he be an evil-dOer, tho sooner
you get rid of him the better: and if he be
saint, why keep him ont of Paradise" And SO
the corpse is quickly borne to a grcensward
outside the burial ground. The mourners ar
range themselves in five rows. facing tho body
OF the deceased and the next of kin calls out,
Let the prayers begin" The priest takes a
position facing the head of tho corpse, aud in
solemn, plaintive strains rectes the liturgy.
The sbrOuded figure is then raised from the
bier, and placed in a niche at tho bottom OF the
grave. The tight bandages Of the shrowd are
loosened, so as to give the deceased a chance to
turn in his grave if necessary, and as the earth
is thrown in, the mourners exclaim: From
earth God created you, and to earth he calls
you back. and from earth he will raise you up
at the last dav."
When the mourners have left the grave
some 40 PAGES. two black angels with blue eyes
visit the dead man in his grave. and interro-
gate him as to his belief in God. Their names
are Munkar and Nakeer. If the answer is not
satisfactory they chastise him with heavy
rod OF iron; il he witnesses good confession
the angels place cir hands upon his icy brow,
and exclaim: Sleep on. o servant OF God, un-
til the day of resurrection. Home aud C0uati u.