The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1903-06-25

~ that is, with their dressing
TX IN beginning with their toilet,
and bathing and the comb
ing Of their hair and the cutting OF
their nails.
A pious Moslem, before wearing any
new article Of clothing, performs his
additions and prostrates himself twice
in prayer. A man Of less devout, but a
more superstitious, trend Of mind con-
tents himself with consulting the tagh-
vim or the estekhareh, muttering to
himself ere he dons the garment, "In
the name Of God the merciful and
clementw His friends on seeing the
new apparel cry out, MAY it be aus
piciousw The rewards Of man who
says his prayers before putting on a
lew suit Of clothes will be in proportion
to the number of threads in the cloth.
Hence it has come to be practice to
preserve the material from the blight
of the evil eye by besprinkling it with
pure water over which a prescribed
passage Of the Koran has been read.
The laity must be seated when dress
ing, whereas the priests must stand up
and put on their turbans.
1t is unlucky for Moslem to sit
Town before taking off his shoes. When
drawing them on it is equally unlucky
for him to stand Up. The custom, in
| the first instance, is TO rise, doffing first
the left shoe and then the right one.
The procedure must be reversed in
every particular when putting them on
The application Of the juice Of the
marshmallow as an emolient for the
hair is strongly recommended by the
saints. Their object in bequeathing
| this advice to the consideration Of their
flock was not to inculcate vanity. They
had higher aim th.1 that. Their de-
sire was to stave OF starvation from
the fold, for that, in their opinion,
would be the result Of using the lotion
on an ordinary day Of the week; while
rubbing the head vigorously with the
precious juice on the Moslem Sabbath
would be certain to preserve the skin
from leprosy and the mind from mad
ness. To the use Of a decoction OF the
leaves of the lote tree q divine relief is
attributed. The smell of it on the hair
Of the most unregenerate has on Satan
an effect SO disheartening that he will
cease from leading them into tempta-
hon for no less than seventy days.
A respite of forty days from the
snares Of the devil is granted to the
NJ wi find LOT RI
comb his beard four score times and
ten between sunrise and sunset. The
pressure Of the grave will also be miti-
gated by a skillful and untir;ng appli-
cation of the comb in this life. The
first blessing of the comb was revealed
to Imam Jafar, the second to Mo-
BANNED the Prophet. Women are not
excluded from the benefits above men,
toned. But. remember, the combing
of the hair must not be done in a
frivolous, much less a perfunctory
fashion. Far from it. A prayer must
be said ere the comb can be touched,
after which the hair may be reduced
to order, though care must be taken
to comb the middle first, and then to
the right side and last Of all the left.
be neglected. for the simple reason that
Satan is attracted by disheveled locks.
A. mullah's beard is an object Of ven
GRAFTON to his flock. He may trim it
lest it should grow as wild as Jews,
but he is forbidden by tradition to
shave it. Even the scissors must be
piled sparingly and to the accompani-
ment Of prayer. Perhaps the orthodox
length of this almost divine appendage
of the true Moslem is the length of the
wearer's hand from the point Of the
chin downward. This is known as a
ghabzeh or handful.
The soul Of the believer is in danger
every time he. forgets to cut his sharib,
that is, the lower part of his mustache,
which should be reduced to bristles
once week. Satan will be distracted
| if he fulfill the tradition on the day
Of the congregation. II the finger nails
be cut, beginning with the thumb and
then the fingers of the left hand, on
the same holy day, the fingers will suf-
fer no pain forever more.
If Moslem gaze into a loolzing-glass
before saying his prayers, he will be
guilty of worshiping his own likeness
however unsightly it may appear in
his eyes. The hand must be drawn
across the forehead, ere the hair OF
the beard be adjusted, or the mirror
will reflect a mind given over to van
ity, which is a grievous, if universal
sin. The new moon must be seen "or
the face" Of q friend, on the copy OIL
the Koran. or on turquoise stone
Unless one Of these conditions be OBJ
served there is no telling what evil
might happen.
SENSE OF HEARING.
| As the sense of sight gives rise t(