Mahomet (Finger)/Appendix
APPENDIX
PASSAGE FROM CHAPTER 72 OF THE KORAN,
ON GENII.
Mahomet, in the seventy-second chapter of the Koran alludes to the visitation of the genii in the valley of Naklan, making them give the following frank account of themselves:
"We formerly attempted to pry into what was transacted in heaven, but we found the same guarded by angels with flaring darts; and we sat on some of the seats thereof to hear the discourse of its inhabitants: but who so listeneth now finds a flame prepared to guard the celestial confines. There are some among us who are Moslems, and there are others who swerve from righteousness. Whoso embraces Islamism seeketh the true direction; but those who swerve from righteousness shall be fuel for the fire of Jehennam."
THE ARAB IDEA OF EVOLUTION
"When common people," says Khazini, writing in the twelfth century, "hear from natural philosophers that gold is a body which has attained to perfection of maturity, to the goal of completeness, they firmly believe that it is something which has gradually come to that perfection by passing through the forms of all other metallic bodies, so that its gold nature was originally lead, afterwards it became tin, then brass, then silver, and finally reached the development of gold; not knowing that the natural philosophers mean, in saying this, only something what they mean when they speak of man, and attribute to him a completeness and equilibrium in nature and constitution—not that man was once a bull, and was changed into an ass, afterwards into a horse, and after that into an ape, and finally became a man."
ELEVEN VERSES ENTITLED THE AMULETS,
CONSIDERED AS TALISMANS AGAINST
MAGIC CHARMS
In the name of the all-merciful God! I will fly for refuge to the Lord of the light of day.
That he may deliver me from the danger of beings and things created by himself.
From the dangers of the darksome night, and the moon when in eclipse.
From the danger of sorcerers, who tie knots and blow on them with their breath.
From the danger oi the envious, who devise deadly harm.
I will fly for refuge to Allah, the Lord of men.
To Allah, the King of men.
To Allah, the God of men.
That he may deliver me from the evil spirit who flies at the mention of his holy name.
Who suggests evil thoughts into the hearts of the children of men.
And from the evil genii and men who deal in magic.
A VISIT TO HEAVEN
In the mid-watches of the night Mahomet was roused by a voice, crying, "Awake, thou sleeper!" The angel Gabriel stood before him. His forehead was clear and serene, his complexion as white as snow, his hair floated on his shoulders; he had wings of many dazzling hues, and his robes were sown with pearls and embroidered with gold.
He brought Mahomet a white steed of wonderful form and qualities, unlike any animal he had ever seen; and in truth it differs from any animal ever before described. It had a human face, but the cheeks of a horse; its eyes were as jacinths and radiant as stars. It had eagle's wings all glittering with rays of light; and its whole form was resplendent with gems and precious stones. It was a female, and from its dazzling splendor and incredible velocity was called Al Borak, or Lightning.
Mahomet prepared to mount this supernatural steed, but as he extended his hand, it drew, back and reared.
"Be still, oh Borak!" said Gabriel; "respect the prophet of God. Never wert thou mounted by mortal man more honored of Allah."
"Oh, Gabriel!" replied Al Borak, who at this time was miraculously endowed with speech; "did not Abraham of old, the friend of God, bestride me when he visited his son Ishmael? Oh Gabriel! is this not the mediator, the intercessor, the author of the profession of faith?"
"Even so Borak, this is Mahomet Ibn Abdallah, of one of the tribes of Arabia the Happy, and of the true faith. He is chief of the sons of Adam, the greatest of the divine legates, the seal of the prophets. All creatures must have his intercession before they can enter paradise. Heaven is on his right hand, to be the reward of those who believe in him; the fire of Jehennam is on his left hand, into which all shall be thrust who oppose his doctrines."
"Oh Gabriel!" entreated Al Borak; "by the faith existing between thee and him, prevail on him to intercede for me at the day of resurrection."
"Be assured, oh Borak!" exclaimed Mahomet, "that through my intercession thou shalt enter paradise."
No sooner had he uttered these words than the animal approached and submitted to be mounted, then rising with Mahomet on his back, it soared aloft far above the mountains of Mecca.
As they passed like lightning between heaven and earth, Gabriel cried aloud, "Stop, oh Mahomet! descend to the earth. and make the prayer with two inflections of the body."
They alighted on the earth, and having made the prayer—"Oh friend and well-beloved of my soul," said Mahomet, "Why dost thou command me to pray in this place?"
"Because it is Mount Sinai, on which God communed with Moses."
Mounting aloft, they again passed rapidly between heaven and earth, until Gabriel called out a second time, "Stop, oh Mahomet! descend and make prayer with two inflections."
They descended, Mahomet prayed, and again demanded, "Why didst thou command me to pray in this place?"
"Because it is Bethlehem, where Jesus the son of Mary was born."
They resumed their course through the air, until a voice was heard on the right exclaiming "Oh Mahomet, tarry a moment, that I may speak to thee; of all created beings I am most devoted to thee."
But Borak pressed forward, and Mahomet forbore to tarry, for he felt that it was not with him to stay his course, but with God the all-powerful end glorious.
Another voice was now heard on the left, calling on Mahomet in like words to tarry; but Borak still pressed forward, and Mahomet tarried not. He now beheld before him a damsel of ravishing beauty, adorned with all the luxury and riches of the earth. She beckoned him with luring smiles: "Tarry a moment, oh Mahomet, that I may talk with thee. I, who, of all beings, am the most devoted to thee."
But still Borak pressed on, and Mahomet tarried not; considering that it was not with him to stay his course, but with God the all-powerful and glorious.
Addressing himself, however, to Gabriel. "What voices are those I have heard?" said he; "and what damsel is this who has beckoned to me?"
"The first, oh Mahomet, was the voice of a Jew: hadst thou listened to him, all thy nation would have been won to Judaism.
"The second was the voice of a Christian; hadst thou listened to him, thy people would have inclined to Christianity.
"The damsel was the world, with all its riches, its vanities, and allurements; hadst thou listened to her, thy nation would have chosen the pleasure of this life, rather than the bliss of eternity, and all would have been doomed to perdition."
Continuing their aerial course, they arrived at the gate of the holy temple of Jerusalem, where, alighting from Al Borak, Mahomet fastened her to the rings where the prophets before him had fastened her. Then entering the temple he found there Abraham, and Moses, and Isa (Jesus), and many more of the prophets. After he had prayed in the company of them for a time, a ladder of light was let down from heaven, until the lower end rested on the Shakra, or foundation stone of the sacred house, being the stone of Jacob. Aided by the angel Gabriel, Mahomet ascended this ladder with the rapidity of lightning.
Being arrived at the first heaven, Gabriel knocked at the gate. Who is there? was demanded from within. Gabriel. Who is with thee? Mahomet. Has he received his mission? He hes. Then he is welcome! and the gate was opened.
This first heaven was of pure silver; and in its resplendent vault the stars are suspended by chains of gold. In each star an angel is placed sentinel, to prevent the demons from scaling the sacred abodes. As Mahomet entered an ancient man approached him, and Gabriel said, "Here is thy father Adam, pay him reverence." Mahomet did so, and Adam embraced him, calling him the greatest of his children, and the first among the prophets.
In this heaven were innumerable animals of all kinds, which Gabriel said were angels, who, under these forms, interceded with Allah for the various races of animals upon earth. Among these was a cock of dazzling whiteness, and of such marvelous height that his crest touched the second heaven, through five hundred years' journey above the first. This wonderful bird saluted the ear of Allah each morning with his melodious chant. All creatures on earth, save man, are awakened by his voice, and all the fowls of his kind chant hallelujahs in emulation of his note.
They now ascended to the second heaven. Gabriel as before, knocked at the gate; the Same questions and replies were exchanged; the door opened and they entered.
This heaven was all of polished steel and dazzling splendor. Here they found Noah, who, embracing Mahomet, hailed him as the greatest among the prophets.
Arrived at the third heaven, they entered with the same ceremonies. It was all studded with precious stones, and too brilliant for mortal eves. Here was seated an angel of immeasurable height, whose eyes were seventy thousand days' journey apart. He had at his command a hundred thousand battalions of armed men. Before him was spread a vast book, in which he was continually writing and blotting out.
"This, oh Mahomet," said Gabriel, "is Asrael, the angel of death, who is in the confidence of Allah. In the book before him he is continually writing the names of those who are to be born, and blotting out the names of those who have lived their allotted time, and who, therefore, instantly die."
They now mounted the fourth heaven, formed of finest silver. Among the angels who inhabited it was one five hundred days' journey in height. His countenance was troubled, and rivers of tears ran from his eyes. "This," said Gabriel, "is the angel of tears, appointed to weep over the sins of the children of men, and to predict the evils which await them."
The fifth heaven was of finest gold. Here Mahomet was received by Aaron with embraces and congratulations. The avenging angel dwells in this heaven, and presides over the element of fire. Of all the angels seen by Mahomet, he was the most hideous and terrific. His visage seemed of copper, and was covered with wens and warts. His eyes flashed lightning, and he grasped a flaming lance. He sat on a throne surrounded by flames, and before him was a heap of red-hot chains. Were he alighted upon earth in his true form, the mountains would be consumed, the seas dried up, and all the inhabitants would die with terror. To him, and the angels his ministers, is intrusted the execution of divine vengeance on infidels and sinners.
Leaving this awful abode, they mounted to the sixth heaven, composed of a transparent stone, called Hasala, which may be rendered carbuncle. Here was a great angel, composed half of snow and half of fire; yet the snow melted not, nor was the fire extinguished. Around him a choir of lesser angels continually exclaimed, "Oh, Allah! who hast united snow and fire, unite all thy faithful servants in obedience to thy law."
"This," said Gabriel, "is the guardian angel of heaven and earth. It is he who dispatches the angels into individuals of thy nation, to incline them in favor of thy mission and call them to the service of God; and he will continue to do so until the day of resurrection."
Here was the prophet Musa (Moses), who, however, instead of welcoming Mahomet with joy, as the other prophets had done, shed tears at sight of him.
"Wherefore dost thou weep?" inquired Mahomet. "Because I behold a successor who is destined to conduct more of his nation into paradise than ever I could of the backsliding children of Israel."
Mounting hence to the seventh heaven, Mahomet was received by the Patriarch Abraham. This blissful abode is formed of divine light, of such transcendent glory that the tongue of man cannot describe it. One of its celestial inhabitants will suffice to give an idea of the rest. He surpassed the whole earth in magnitude, and had seventy thousand heads; each head seventy thousand mouths; each mouth seventy thousand tongues; each tongue spoke seventy thousand languages, and all these were incessantly employed in chanting the praises of the Most High.
While contemplating this wonderful being Mahomet was suddenly transported aloft to the lotus-tree, called Sedrat, which flourishes on the right hand of the invisible throne of Allah. The branches of this tree extend wider than the distance between the sun and the earth. Angels more numerous than the sands of the seashore, or of the beds of all the streams and rivers, rejoice beneath its shade. The leaves resemble the ears of an elephant; thousands of immortal birds sport among its branches, repeating the sublime verse of the Koran. Its fruits are milder and sweeter than honey. If all the creatures of God were assembled, one of these fruits would be sufficient for their sustenance. Each seed encloses a houri, or celestial virgin, provided for the felicity of true believers. From this tree issues four rivers; two flow into the interior of paradise, two issue beyond it, and become the Nile and Euphrates.
Mahomet and his celestial guide now proceeded to Al Mamour, or the House of Adoration, formed of red jacinths or rubies, and surrounded by innumerable lamps, perpetually burning. As Mahomet entered the portal, three vases were offered him, one containing wine, another milk, and the third honey. He took and drank of the vase containing milk.
"Well hast thou done; auspicious is thy choice," exclaimed Gabriel. "Hadst thou drunk of the wine, thy people had all gone astray."
The sacred house resembles in form the Caaba at Mecca, and is perpendicularly, above it in the seventh heaven. It is visited every day by seventy thousand angels of the highest order. They were at this very time making their holy circuit, and Mahomet, joining with them, walked around it seven times.
Gabriel could go no further. Mahomet now traversed, quicker than thought, an immense space; passing through two regions of dazzling light, and one of profound darkness. Emerging from this utter gt00m, he was filled with awe and terror at finding himself in the presence of Allah, and but two bow shots from his throne. The face of the Deity was covered with twenty thousand veils, for it would have annihilated man to look upon its glory. He put forth his hands, and placed one upon the breast and the other upon the shoulder of Mahomet, who felt a freezing chill penetrate to his heart and to the very marrow of his bones. It was followed by a feeling of ecstatic bliss, while a sweetness and fragrance prevailed around, which no one can understand but those who have been in the divine presence.
Mahomet now received from the Deity himself many oi the doctrines contained in the Koran; and fifty prayers were prescribed as the daily duty of all true believers.
When he descended from the divine presence and again met with Moses, the latter demanded what Allah had required. "That I should make fifty prayers every day."
"And thinkest thou to accomplish such a task? I have made the experiment before thee. I tried it with the children of Israel, but in vain, return, then, and beg a diminution of the task."
Mahomet returned accordingly, and obtained a diminution of ten prayers; but when he related his success to Moses, the latter made the same objection to the daily amount of forty. By his advice Mahomet returned repeatedly, until the number was reduced to five.
Moses still objected. "Thinkest thou to exact five prayers daily from thy people? By Allah! I have had experience with the children of Israel, and such a demand is vain; return therefore and entreat still further mitigation of the task."
"No," returned Mahomet, "I have already asked indulgence until I am ashamed." With these words he saluted Moses and departed.
By the Ladder of Light he descended to the temple of Jerusalem, where he found Borak fastened as he had left her, and mounting, was borne back in an instant to the place whence he had been taken. (Adapted from Washington Irving.)
THE ALHAMBRA
On a hill in the city of Granada, a principal town in the Spanish providence of Andalusia, stands an extensive fortress known as the Alhambra, or "the red castle." It is the old citadel of the town, and was built by the Moors when they were the masters of Spain. Designed for warlike and defensive purposes only, it has no pretentions to architectural grandeur or effect. Its walls, which average thirty feet in height and six feet in thickness, are irregular in form, and composed chiefly of loose stones cemented together, and faced with a plaster coat. The area enclosed by this fortress is very extensive. It is like a town in itself, having its streets, its church, its convent; and is said in its palmy days to have afforded accommodation to a garrison of 40,000 men.
Plain and rugged as is this structure in external appearance, it is the casket which holds one of the richest gems of the architecture of any age or time. Within its walls are enclosed the remains of the Moorish palace to which the name of Alhambra is generally applied, although it belongs properly to the fortress itself. This palace was built in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and all the beauty and ingenuity of Arabic art were lavished upon its construction. Upon the expulsion of the Moors from Spain, it occasionally became the residence of the Christian sovereign, and Charles V. designed to place by its side another palace, which should eclipse the glories of the art of the infidel Moor. But this building, although it was commenced, and some very fine portions of it are still in existence, was never completed. Its fragments were suffered to decay when Granada grew in disfavor as a residence with the Spanish monarchs, and, when compared with the remains of the Moorish palace, they now show to great disadvantage; the contrast between the two styles of art and the nature of workmanship in each is greatly in favor of the Moors. "The walls of the Christian edifice," says one writer, "are defaced, the paintings faded, the woodwork is decayed, and festoons of cobwebs are seen hanging from the ceiling. In the work of the Arabs, on the contrary, the walls remain unaltered, except by the injuries inflicted by the hands of men. The color of the paintings, in which there is no mixture of oil, on removing the particles of dust, appear to have preserved their brightness. The beams and wood-work of the ceilings present no signs of decay; no spiders, flies, or other insects are to be seen there. The art of rendering timber and paint durable, and of making porcelain mosaics, arabesques, and other ornaments, began and ended in Western Europe with the Moorish conquerors of Spain."
The remains of the palace of Alhambra consist of entrance arches, corridors, and courts constructed chiefly of marble, richly adorned with arabesques. The Arabs were forbidden by their religion to use the representation of living figures or animals in their ornamental devices, which therefore took the shape of flowers and geometrical forms, sometimes very fanciful in their nature. The term arabesque was applied to this class of ornament, after the race by which it was chiefly used. These arabesque ornaments were cast in moulds, and joined in such extreme nicety that frequently no trace of the point of junction can be detected. They were colored in blue, red, and gold, and the general effect in such edifices as the Alhambra is so gorgeous that it cannot be realized by description.
The salon known as the Hall of the Abencerrages must be noted, with its beautiful stalactite roof, composed of 5,000 separate pieces, fitting into each other with the greatest exactitude. The hall takes its name from a Moorish family, the last members of which were treacherously murdered in this chamber. A mark, said to have been left by their blood, is pointed out upon the marble floor, but sceptical people in later times have declared that it is nothing but the deposit of water impregnated with iron.
SEVEN IMPORTANT DATES IN THE LIFE OF
MAHOMET
| Mahomet born at Mecca | 569 or 570 |
| Announced himself as a prophet | 612 |
| Fled from his enemies to Medina (the Hegira) | 622 |
| Defeats his enemies (the Koreish) 623–5 | |
| Defeats the Christians (battle of Muta) | 629 |
| Mahomet acknowledged as sovereign | 630 |
| Death of Mahomet. June 8 | 632 |
IMPORTANT DATES RELATING TO THE
PROGRESS OF MAHOMETANISM
| Mahometan progress in France stopped at the battle of Tours, Charles Martel leader defenders | 732 |
| Summarized account of Mahometan activities after Tours: The Mahometan Arans, termed Saracens, conquered Arabia, North Africa, and part of Asia in the 7th century; in the 8th century they invaded Europe, conquering Spain, where they founded the caliphate of Cordova, which lasted until | 1031 |
| The Moorish Mahometans were finally expelled from Spain in | 1609 |
RECORD IN BRIEF OF THE EIGHT CRUSADES
| I. | Crusade of 1095 ended by Jerusalem being taken by assault and Godfrey of Bouillon made king | 1099 |
| II. | Crusade preached by St. Bernard in 1146. headed by Emperor Conrad II and Louis VII of France: Crusaders beaten and Jerusalem taken by Saracens | 1187 |
| III. | Barbarossa crusade | 1189 to 1192 |
| IV. | Crusade by Emperor Henry VI | 1202 to 1204 |
| V. | Crusade by Innocent III | 1218 to 1221 |
| VI. | Barbarossa obtained possession of Jerusalem | 1223 |
| VII. | Crusade by Louis IX | 1248 |
| He was defeated and taken prisoner at Mansourah, April 5, 1250, released by ransom and there was a truce of ten years. | ||
| VIII. | Last crusade by Louis IX | 1270 |
| Christians driven out of Syria | 1291 |
DATES RELATING TO THE KORAN
(Al-coran of Al-Kuran).
| Written by Mahomet | 610 |
| Published by Abu-Becker | 630 |
| Translated into Latin | 1143 |
| Translated into French | 1647 |
| Translated into English by Sale | 1734 |
THE WIVES OF MAHOMET
(_ is not certain how many wives Mahomet had. Some writers have placed the number as high as twenty-five. The names given are verifiable.)
|
married
|
Also married
|
- ↑ By this wife he had a son, Ibrahim.