and to maintain their families at home during their absence.
The ceremonies observed on this occasion are so ridiculous that they do more to reveal the imposture of Muhammad than any other part of his system. They are, even by the confession of Muhammadans themselves, the relicts of the idolatrous superstitions of ancient Arabia; and they are either evidences of the dark and superstitious character of Muhammad's mind, or, what is perhaps even more probable, they show how far the "Prophet" found it suit his purpose to compromise with the heathen Arabians of his day. The merits of the pilgrimage are so great, that every step taken in the direction of the Kʾaba blots out a sin; and he who dies on his way to Mecca is enrolled on the list of martyrs.
However ingeniously the apologists of Islám may offer excuses for some of the weak points of Muhammad's religious system, and endeavour to shield the "Prophet of Arabia" from the grave and solemn charge of having "forged the name of God," the pilgrimage to Mecca can admit of no satisfactory solution. In its institution the false prophet layeth open his
