The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1897-02-27

simple worship OF Allan, DuJ retained the
sanctuary and shapeless black stone,
held in special honor, either because he
could not quite eradicate the fetish idea
from his own mind, or because he did.not
dare to ignore it absolutely among the peo-
pie. More than this, he carefully placed
the stone in the corner of the wall, made it
an object of reverence, and commanded
pilgrimage to it as duty on par with
the other three points of orthodox
Moslem practice, prayer, aims and fast
ing. In order to connect it, however,
with his other teachings, he affirmed
that it had originally been given by the
Angel Gabriel to Abraham, and to en-
phasize it's value to the faithful he COW
cred the walls of the Kaaba with striped
Yemen cloth. His successors went still
farther in decoration, and the caliphs
sent with the annual pilgrimage a richly
embroidered piece of brocade, a custom
still kept up. The interest felt in it is
manifest in the rivalry between the cities
of Damascus and Cairo for the privilege
of furnishing the special hangiEgs for the
door. The details of the duties connected
with the pilgrimage have been fully de-
scribed in many places, one of the most
vivid pictures being in General Lew Wal
lace's I" Prince of India The rush and
fight for an opportunity to press the lips
to the Black Stone; the receptions and
frauds by attendants, practised on igno-
rant and helpless pilgrims; the utter dis
regard for the most ordinary sanitary
precautions by the authorities. have re-
suited in making the annual Hail source
of danger and an object of dread to the
whole Eastern world.
Secondary in Importance only to the
Kaaba at Mecca is the tomb of the pro-
phet at Medina. Mohammed was buried
in the hut where he died, adjoining the
comparatively small and rude mosque
where he preached By his side was
buried the caliphs Abubekr and Omar,
and over the three was erected a hand
some mosque, reconstructed several
times. Though always regarded with
reverence, it was not for several CEN
turtles that the tomb became an object of
special pilgrimage. Now, however, it
holds position in Moslem service second
only to that of the shrine at Mecca.
The third holy place is the rock under
the Mosque of Omar. In his earlier life
Mohammed was much Influenced by Juda-
ism, and it was natural that the holy
place of the Jews should have special in
terest for him. According to some, the
rock which tradition has made the foun-
dation of the altar in tie various Jewish
temples, was selected by him for the first
IT, oh, III
Moslem turns in prayer All agree that
it was so honored for considerable time.
1t also marked, according to the Koran,
the spot where the prophet first touched
earth as he descended from his visit to
heaven, and the very faithful none
others are permitted to enter report that
through a hole in cage of gilt wire that
surrounds it, they can touch the spot
which, softened by the wondrous pres
ence TO receive the imprint of the pro-
phets foot, then hardened that it might
preserve imperishable for the faithful
some relic of him who had from heaven
come back to earth that he might teach
men truth The present Mosque of Omar,
built over the Sacred Rock, was erected
by the Caliph Omar in 637 A. D., fifteen
years after the Hegira and five after the
death of Mohammed. While an object
of veneration, it is not visited by pilgrims
to any great degree.
OF scarcely less Importance in the ac-
tual religious life of the Moslem world
are the almost ipnumerable shrines con-
nected with the life OF death of some
specially holy man. These vary from
magnificent buildings, usually mosques,
to simple grave by the roadside, ordin-
arily enclosed by wall, but sometimes
open, and with nothing but scrub bush
or tree to indicate by the rags that cover
it's twigs that it is an object of venera-
ton. AS is natural, the most important of
these are either in lands remote from the
three chief shrines noted above, or are
connected with the forms of Mohammed-
anism not in entire sympathy with the
more rigid orthodoxy. The sects of Islam
are scarcely less in number than those of
Christianity, and each one has its own
peculiar saints to whom it renders hom-
age, and whose remains are believed to
be endowed with special power for heal
ing or help in various ways.
OF these shrines, the most important
are those at Kerbela in Mesopotamia and
Meshad in Persia, both patronized by the
Shah sect. Kerbela is renowned as the
place of the martyrdom of Hosein, the
son of the Caliph Ali, and Fatima, the
favorite daughter of the Prophet.
Scarcely less important than the shrine
at Kerbela is that at Meshed in honor of
Ria, the eighth Imam of the Shah sect,
who is also ooked upon as a MAJ tyr, it
being believed that he was poisoned by
the Caliph Mamun. There is interest for
the Western world in the fact that his
grave adjoins that of the famous Haroun
he'd while on an expedition to reconquer
Khorassan, which had Ievolted against
Bagdad. AT pr ssent the shrine of Ria
far surpasses in magniicence and attrac-
tion that of the much better and more
widely known hero of the Arabian Nights
Entertainments. Its enormous revenues
arracts hosts of those who seek support,
and its kitchens furnish food for all the
faithful who desire it,
Every Moslem country, every district
even, has its own sacred place of greater
or less fame. All alike claim the same
general characteristic, a supernatural
power to heal disease, to bring good for
tune, to insure the pardon of sin and
eternal happiness. Those who have
money contribute to the income OF the