Part II…

Part II

Having finished the prayers of one rek’ah, the worshipper rises upon his feet (but without moving his toes from the spot where they were, particularly those of the right foot), and repeats the same; only he should recite some other chapter, or portion, after the Fát’hah, than that which he repeated before, as, for instance, the 108th chapter.[133]

After every second rek’ah (and after the last, though there be an odd number, as in the evening fard), he does not immediately raise his knees from the ground, but bends his left foot under him, and sits upon it, and places his hands upon his thighs, with the fingers a little apart. In this posture he says, “Praises are to God, and prayers, and good works. Peace be on thee, O Prophet, and the mercy of God, and His blessings! Peace be on us, and on [all] the righteous worshippers of God!” Then raising the first finger of the right hand[134] (but not the hand itself), he adds, “I testify that there is no deity but God; and I testify that Mohammad is His servant and His apostle.”

After the last rek’ah of each of the prayers (that is, after the sunneh prayers and the fard alike), after saying, “Praises are to God,” etc., the worshipper, looking upon his right shoulder, says, “Peace be on you, and the mercy of God!” Then looking upon the left, he repeats the same. These salutations are considered by some as addressed only to the guardian angels who watch over the believer, and note all his actions;[135] but others say that they are addressed both to angels and men (i.e., believers only), who may be present; no person, however, returns them. Before the salutations in the last prayer, the worshipper may offer up any short petition (in Scriptural language rather than his own); while he does so, looking at the palms of his two hands, which he holds like an open book before him, and then draws over his face, from the forehead downwards.

Having finished both the sunneh and fard prayers, the worshipper, if he would acquit himself completely, or rather, perform supererogatory acts, remains sitting (but may then sit more at his ease), and recites the “A′yet el-Kursee,” or Throne-Verse, which is the 256th of the 2nd chapter of the Kur-án;[136] and adds, “O High! O Great! Thy perfection [I extol].” He then repeats, “The perfection of God!” (thirty-three times.) “The perfection of God, the Great, with His praise for ever!” (once.) “Praise be to God!” (thirty-three times.) “Extolled be His dignity! There is no deity but He!” (once.) “God is most Great!” (thirty-three times.) “God is most Great in greatness, and praise be to God in abundance!” (once.) He counts these repetitions with a string of beads called “sebhah” (more properly “subhah”). The beads are ninety-nine, and have a mark between each thirty-three. They are of aloes, or other odoriferous or precious wood, or of coral, or of certain fruit-stones, or seeds, etc.

Any wandering of the eyes, or of the mind, a coughing, or the like, answering a question, or any action not prescribed to be performed, must be strictly avoided (unless it be between the sunneh prayers and the fard, or be difficult to avoid; for it is held allowable to make three slight irregular motions, or deviations from correct deportment); otherwise the worshipper must begin again, and repeat his prayers with due reverence. It is considered extremely sinful to interrupt a man when engaged in his devotions. The time usually occupied in repeating the prayers of four rek’ahs, without the supererogatory additions, is less than four, or even three, minutes. The Muslim says the five daily prayers in his house or shop or in the mosque, according as may be most convenient to him: it is seldom that a person goes from his house to the mosque to pray, excepting to join the congregation on Friday. Men of the lower orders oftener pray in the mosques than those who have a comfortable home, and a mat or carpet upon which to pray.

The same prayers are said by the congregation in the mosque on the noon of Friday; but there are additional rites performed by the Imám and other ministers on this occasion. The chief reasons for fixing upon Friday as the Sabbath of the Muslims were, it is said, because Adam was created on that day, and died on the same day of the week, and because the general resurrection was prophesied to happen on that day; whence, particularly, Friday was named the day of “El-Gum’ah” (or the assembly). The Muslim does not abstain from worldly business on Friday, excepting during the time of prayer, according to the precept of the Kur-án, ch. lxii., vv. 9 and 10.

To form a proper conception of the ceremonials of the Friday-prayers, it is necessary to have some idea of the interior of a mosque. A mosque in which a congregation assembles to perform the Friday-prayers is called “gámë’.” The mosques of Cairo are so numerous, that none of them is inconveniently crowded on the Friday; and some of them are so large as to occupy spaces three or four hundred feet square. They are mostly built of stone, the alternate courses of which are generally coloured externally red and white. Most commonly a large mosque consists of porticoes surrounding a square open court, in the centre of which is a tank or a fountain for ablution. One side of the building faces the direction of Mekkeh, and the portico on this side, being the principal place of prayer, is more spacious than those on the three other sides of the court: it generally has two or more rows of columns, forming so many aisles, parallel with the exterior wall. In some cases, this portico, like the other three, is open to the court; in other cases, it is separated from the court by partitions of wood, connecting the front row of columns. In the centre of its exterior wall is the mehráb (or niche) which marks the direction of Mekkeh; and to the right of this is the “mimbar” (or pulpit). Opposite the mehráb, in the fore part of the portico, or in its central part, there is generally a platform (called “dikkeh”), surrounded by a parapet, and supported by small columns; and by it, or before it, are one or two seats, having a kind of desk to bear a volume of the Kur-án, from which a chapter is read to the congregation. The walls are generally quite plain, being simply white-washed; but in some mosques the lower part of the wall of the place of prayer is lined with coloured marbles, and the other part ornamented with various devices executed in stucco, but mostly with texts of the Kur-án (which form long friezes, having a pleasing effect), and never with the representation of anything that has life. The pavement is covered with matting, and the rich and poor pray side by side; the man of rank or wealth enjoying no peculiar distinction or comfort, unless (which is sometimes the case) he have a prayer-carpet brought by his servant, and spread for him.[137]

The Prophet did not forbid women to attend public prayers in a mosque, but pronounced it better for them to pray in private: in Cairo, however, neither females nor young boys are allowed to pray with the congregation in the mosque, or even to be present in the mosque at any time of prayer: formerly women were permitted (and perhaps are still in some countries), but were obliged to place themselves apart from the men, and behind the latter; because, as Sale has remarked, the Muslims are of opinion that the presence of females inspires a different kind of devotion from that which is requisite in a place dedicated to the worship of God. Very few women in Egypt even pray at home.

Over each of the mosques of Cairo presides a “Názir” (or warden), who is the trustee of the funds which arise from lands, houses, etc., bequeathed to the mosque by the founder and others, and who appoints the religious ministers and the inferior servants. Two “Imáms” are employed to officiate in each of the larger mosques: one of them, called the “Khateeb,” preaches and prays before the congregation on the Friday: the other is an “Imám Rátib,” or ordinary Imám, who recites the five prayers of every day in the mosque, at the head of those persons who may be there at the exact times of those prayers: but in most of the smaller mosques both these offices are performed by one Imám. There are also to each mosque one or more “muëddins” (to chant the call to prayer), and “bowwábs” (or door-keepers), according as there are one or more mád’nehs (or menarets) and entrances; and several other servants are employed to sweep the mosque, spread the mats, light the lamps, and attend to the sákiyeh (or water-wheel), by which the tank or fountain, and other receptacles for water, necessary to the performance of ablutions, are supplied. The Imáms, and those persons who perform the lower offices, are all paid from the funds of the mosque, and not by any contributions exacted from the people.

The condition of the Imáms is very different, in most respects, from that of Christian priests. They have no authority above other persons, and do not enjoy any respect but what their reputed piety or learning may obtain them: nor are they a distinct order of men set apart for religious offices, like our clergy, and composing an indissoluble fraternity; for a man who has acted as the Imám of a mosque may be displaced by the warden of that mosque, and, with his employment and salary, loses the title of Imám, and has no better chance of being again chosen for a religious minister than any other person competent to perform the office. The Imáms obtain their livelihood chiefly by other means than the service of the mosque, as their salaries are very small: that of a Khateeb being generally about a piaster (2⅖_d._ of our money) per month; and that of an ordinary Imám, about five piasters. Some of them engage in trade; several of them are “’attárs” (or druggists and perfumers), and many of them are schoolmasters: those who have no regular occupations of these kinds often recite the Kur-án for hire in private houses. They are mostly chosen from among the poor students of the great mosque El-Azhar.

The large mosques are open from day-break till a little after the ’eshë, or till nearly two hours after sunset. The others are closed between the hours of morning and noon prayers; and most mosques are also closed in rainy weather (excepting at the times of prayer), lest persons who have no shoes should enter, and dirt the pavement and matting. Such persons always enter by the door nearest the tank or fountain (if there be more than one door), that they may wash before they pass into the place of prayer; and generally this door alone is left open in dirty weather. The great mosque El-Azhar remains open all night, with the exception of the principal place of prayer, which is called the “maksoorah,” being partitioned off from the rest of the building. In many of the larger mosques, particularly in the afternoon, persons are seen lounging, chatting together, eating, sleeping, and sometimes spinning or sewing, or engaged in some other simple craft; but, notwithstanding such practices, which are contrary to precepts of their prophet, the Muslims very highly respect their mosques. There are several mosques in Cairo (as the Azhar, Hasaneyn, etc.), before which no Frank, or any other Christian, nor a Jew, were allowed to pass, till of late years, since the French invasion.

On the Friday, half an hour before the “duhr” (or noon), the muëddins of the mosques ascend to the galleries of the mád’nehs, and chant the “Selám,” which is a salutation to the Prophet, not always expressed in the same words, but generally in words to the following effect:—“Blessing and peace be on thee, O thou of great dignity! O Apostle of God! Blessing and peace be on thee, to whom the Truth said, I am God! Blessing and peace be on thee, thou first of the creatures of God, and seal of the Apostles of God! From me be peace on thee, on thee and on thy Family and all thy companions!”—Persons then begin to assemble in the mosques.

The utmost solemnity and decorum are observed in the public worship of the Muslims. Their looks and behaviour in the mosque are not those of enthusiastic devotion, but of calm and modest piety. Never are they guilty of a designedly irregular word or action during their prayers. The pride and fanaticism which they exhibit in common life, in intercourse with persons of their own, or of a different faith, seem to be dropped on their entering the mosque, and they appear wholly absorbed in the adoration of their Creator; humble and downcast, yet without affected humility, or a forced expression of countenance.

The Muslim takes off his shoes at the door of the mosque, carries them in his left hand, sole to sole, and puts his right foot first over the threshold. If he have not previously performed the preparatory ablution, he repairs at once to the tank or fountain to acquit himself of that duty. Before he commences his prayers, he places his shoes (and his sword and pistols, if he have such arms) upon the matting, a little before the spot where his head will touch the ground in prostration: his shoes are put one upon the other, sole to sole.

The people who assemble to perform the noon prayers of Friday arrange themselves in rows parallel to that side of the mosque in which is the niche, and facing that side. Many do not go until the adán of noon, or just before. When a person goes at, or a little after, the Selám, as soon as he has taken his place in one of the ranks, he performs two rek’ahs, and then remains sitting, on his knees or cross-legged, while a reader, having seated himself on the reading-chair immediately after the Selám, is occupied in reciting (usually without book) the Soorat el-Kahf (the 18th chapter of the Kur-án), or a part of it; for, generally, he has not finished it before the adán of noon, when he stops. All the congregation, as soon as they hear the adán (which is the same as on other days), sit on their knees and feet. When the adán is finished, they stand up, and perform, each separately, two[138] rek’ahs, “sunnet el-gum’ah” (or the sunneh ordinance for Friday), which they conclude, like the ordinary prayers, with the two salutations. A servant of the mosque, called a “Murakkee,” then opens the folding-doors at the foot of the pulpit-stairs, takes from behind them a straight wooden sword, and, standing a little to the right of the doorway, with his right side towards the kibleh, holds this sword in his right hand, resting the point on the ground. In this position he says, “Verily God favoureth, and His angels bless, the Prophet. O ye who believe, bless him, and greet him with a salutation!”[139] Then one or more persons, called “Muballighs,” stationed on the dikkeh, chant the following, or similar words.[140] “O God! favour and preserve and bless the most noble of the Arabs and ’Agam [or foreigners], the Imám of Mekkeh and El-Medeeneh and the Temple, to whom the spider showed favour, and wove its web in the cave; and whom the dabb[141] saluted, and before whom the moon was cloven in twain, our lord Mohammad, and his Family and Companions!” The Murakkee then recites the adán (which the Muëddins have already chanted): after every few words he pauses, and the Muballighs on the dikkeh repeat the same words in a sonorous chant.[142] Before the adán is finished, the Khateeb, or Imám, comes to the foot of the pulpit, takes the wooden sword from the Murakkee’s hand, ascends the pulpit, and sits on the top step or platform. The pulpit of a large mosque on this day is decorated with two flags, with the profession of the faith, or the names of God and Mohammad, worked upon them: these are fixed at the top of the stairs, slanting forward. The Murakkee and Muballighs having finished the adán, the former repeats a tradition of the Prophet, saying, “The Prophet (upon whom be blessing and peace!) hath said, ‘If thou say unto thy companion while the Imám is preaching on Friday, Be thou silent, thou speakest rashly.’ Be ye silent: ye shall be rewarded: God shall recompense you.” He then sits down. The Khateeb now rises, and, holding the wooden sword[143] in the same manner as the Murakkee did, delivers an exhortation, called “khutbet el-waaz.” As the reader may be curious to see a translation of a Muslim sermon, I insert one. The following is a sermon preached on the first Friday of the Arab year.[144] The original, as usual, is in rhyming prose.

“Praise be to God, the renewer of years, and the multiplier of favours, and the creator of months and days, according to the most perfect wisdom and most admirable regulation; who hath dignified the months of the Arabs above all other months, and pronounced that among the more excellent of them is El-Moharram the Sacred, and commenced with it the year, as He hath closed it with Zu-l-Heggeh. How propitious is the beginning, and how good is the end![145] [I extol] His perfection, exempting Him from the association of any other deity with Him. He hath well considered what He hath formed, and established what He hath contrived, and He alone hath the power to create and to annihilate. I praise Him, extolling His perfection, and exalting His name, for the knowledge and inspiration which He hath graciously vouchsafed; and I testify that there is no deity but God alone; He hath no companion; He is the most holy King; the [God of] peace: and I testify that our Lord and our Prophet and our friend Mohammad is His servant, and His apostle, and His elect, and His friend, the guide of the way, and the lamp of the dark. O God! favour and preserve and bless this noble Prophet, and chief and excellent apostle, the merciful-hearted, our lord Mohammad, and his family, and his companions, and his wives, and his posterity, and the people of his house, the noble persons, and preserve them amply! O servants of God! your lives have been gradually curtailed, and year after year hath passed away, and ye are sleeping on the bed of indolence and on the pillow of iniquity. Ye pass by the tombs of your predecessors, and fear not the assault of destiny and destruction, as if others departed from the world and ye must of necessity remain in it. Ye rejoice at the arrival of new years, as if they brought an increase to the term of life, and swim in the seas of desires, and enlarge your hopes, and in every way exceed other people [in presumption], and ye are sluggish in doing good. O how great a calamity is this! God teacheth by an allegory. Know ye not that in the curtailment of time by indolence and sleep there is very great trouble? Know ye not that in the cutting short of lives by the termination of years is a very great warning? Know ye not that the night and day divide the lives of numerous souls? Know ye not that health and capacity are two blessings coveted by many men? But the truth hath become manifest to him who hath eyes. Ye are now between two years: one year hath passed away, and come to an end, with its evils; and ye have entered upon another year, in which, if it please God, mankind shall be relieved. Is any of you determining upon diligence [in doing good] in the year to come? or repenting of his failings in the times that are passed? The happy is he who maketh amends for the time passed in the time to come; and the miserable is he whose days pass away, and he is careless of his time. This new year hath arrived, and the sacred month of God hath come with blessings to you—the first of the months of the year, and of the four sacred months, as hath been said, and the most worthy of preference and honour and reverence. Its fast is the most excellent of fasts after that which is incumbent,[146] and the doing of good in it is among the most excellent of the objects of desire. Whosoever desireth to reap advantage from it, let him fast the ninth and tenth days, looking for aid.[147] Abstain not from this fast through indolence, and esteeming it a hardship; but comply with it in the best manner, and honour it with the best of honours, and improve your time by the worship of God morning and evening. Turn unto God with repentance, before the assault of death: He is the God who accepteth repentance of His servants, and pardoneth sins.—The Tradition.[148]—The Apostle of God (God favour and preserve him!) hath said, ‘The most excellent prayer, after the prescribed,[149] is the prayer that is said in the last third of the night; and the most excellent fast, after Ramadán, is that of the month of God, El-Moharram.’”

The Khateeb, having concluded his exhortation, says to the congregation, “Supplicate God.” He then sits down, and prays privately; and each member of the congregation at the same time offers up some private petition, as after the ordinary prayers, holding his hands before him (looking at the palms), and then drawing them down his face. This done, the Muballighs say, “A′meen! A′meen! (Amen! Amen!) O Lord of all creatures!”—The Khateeb now rises again, and recites another Khutbeh, called “khutbet en-naat,” of which the following is a translation:—[150]

“Praise be to God, abundant praise, as He hath commanded! I testify that there is no deity but God alone: He hath no companion: affirming His supremacy, and condemning him who denieth and disbelieveth: and I testify that our lord and our prophet Mohammad is His servant and His apostle, the lord of mankind, the intercessor, the accepted intercessor, on the day of assembling: God favour him and his family as long as the eye seeth and the ear heareth! O people! reverence God by doing what He hath commanded, and abstain from that which He hath forbidden and prohibited. The happy is he who obeyeth, and the miserable is he who opposeth and sinneth. Know that the present world is a transitory abode, and that the world to come is a lasting abode. Make provision, therefore, in your transitory state for your lasting state, and prepare for your reckoning and standing before your Lord: for know that ye shall to-morrow be placed before God, and reckoned with according to your deeds; and before the Lord of Might ye shall be present, ‘and those who have acted unjustly shall know with what an overthrowal they shall be overthrown.’[151] Know that God, whose perfection I extol, and whose name be exalted, hath said (and ceaseth not to say wisely, and to command judiciously, warning you, and teaching, and honouring the dignity of your Prophet, extolling and magnifying him), ‘Verily, God favoureth, and His angels bless, the Prophet: O ye who believe, bless him, and greet him with a salutation!’[152] O God! favour Mohammad and the family of Mohammad, as Thou favouredst Ibráheem[153] and the family of Ibráheem; and bless Mohammad and the family of Mohammad, as Thou blessedst Ibráheem and the family of Ibráheem among all creatures—for Thou art praiseworthy and glorious! O God! do Thou also be well pleased with the four Khaleefehs, the orthodox lords, of high dignity and illustrious honour, Aboo-Bekr Es-Siddeek, and ’Omar, and ’Osmán, and ’Alee; and be Thou well pleased, O God! with the six who remained of the ten noble and just persons who swore allegiance to thy Prophet Mohammad (God favour and preserve him!) under the tree; (for Thou art the Lord of piety, and the Lord of pardon,) those persons of excellence and clemency, and rectitude and prosperity, Talhah, and Ez-Zubeyr, and Saad, and Sa’eed, and ’Abd-Er-Rahmán Ibn-’Owf, and Aboo-’Obeydeh ’Amir Ibn-El-Garráh; and with all the Companions of the Apostle of God! (God favour and preserve him!); and be Thou well pleased, O God! with the two martyred descendants, the two bright moons, ‘the two lords of the youths of the people of Paradise in Paradise,’ the two sweet-smelling flowers of the Prophet of this nation, Aboo-Mohammad El-Hasan, and Aboo-’bd-Allah El-Hoseyn: and be Thou well pleased, O God! with their mother, the daughter of the Apostle of God (God favour and preserve him!), Fátimeh Ez-Zahra, and with their grandmother Khadeegeh El-Kubra, and with ’A’ïsheh, the mother of the faithful, and with the rest of the pure wives, and with the generation which succeeded the Companions, and the generation which succeeded that, with beneficence to the day of judgment! O God! pardon the believing men and the believing women, and the Muslim men and the Muslim women, those who are living, and the dead; for Thou art a hearer near, an answerer of prayers, O Lord of all creatures! O God! aid El-Islám, and strengthen its pillars, and make infidelity to tremble, and destroy its might, by the preservation of Thy servant, and the son of Thy servant, the submissive to the might of Thy majesty and glory, whom God hath aided, by the care of the Adored King, our master the Sultán, son of the Sultán, the Sultán Mahmood[154] Khán: may God assist him, and prolong [his reign]! O God! assist him, and assist his armies! O Thou Lord of the religion, and of the world present, and the world to come! O Lord of all creatures! O God! assist the forces of the Muslims, and the armies of the Unitarians! O God! frustrate the infidels and polytheists, thine enemies, the enemies of the religion! O God! invert their banners, and ruin their habitations, and give them and their wealth as booty to the Muslims![155] O God! unloose the captivity of the captives, and annul the debts of the debtors; and make this town to be safe and secure, and blessed with wealth and plenty, and all the towns of the Muslims, O Lord of all creatures! And decree safety and health to us and to all travellers, and pilgrims, and warriors, and wanderers, upon Thy earth, and upon Thy sea, such as are Muslims, O Lord of all creatures! ‘O Lord! we have acted unjustly towards our own souls, and if Thou do not forgive us and be merciful unto us, we shall surely be of those who perish.[156] I beg of God, the Great, that He may forgive me and you, and all the people of Mohammad, the servants of God. ‘Verily God commandeth justice, and the doing of good, and giving [what is due] to kindred; and forbiddeth wickedness, and iniquity, and oppression: He admonisheth you that ye may reflect.’[157] Remember God; He will remember you: and thank Him; He will increase to you [your blessings]. Praise be to God, the Lord of all creatures!”

During the rise of the Nile, a good inundation is also prayed for in this Khutbeh. The Khateeb, or Imám, having ended it, descends from the pulpit, and the Muballighs chant the “ikámeh” (described in page 66): the Imám, stationed before the niche, then recites the “fard” prayers of Friday, which consist of two rek’ahs, and are similar to the ordinary prayers. The people do the same, but silently, and keeping time exactly with the Imám in the various postures. Those who are of the Málikee sect then leave the mosque; and so also do many persons of the other sects: but some of the Sháfe’ees and Hanafees (there are scarcely any Hambel′ees in Cairo) remain, and recite the ordinary fard prayers of noon; forming a number of separate groups, in each of which one acts as Imám. The rich, on going out of the mosque, often give alms to the poor outside the door.

There are other prayers to be performed on particular occasions—on the two grand annual festivals, on the nights of Ramadán (the month of abstinence), on the occasion of an eclipse of the sun or moon, for rain, previously to the commencement of battle, in pilgrimage, and at funerals.

I have spoken thus fully of Muslim worship because my countrymen in general have very imperfect and erroneous notions on this subject; many of them even imagining that the Muslims ordinarily pray to their Prophet as well as to God. Invocations to the Prophet, for his intercession, are, indeed, frequently made, particularly at his tomb, where pious visitors generally say, “We ask thy intercession, O Apostle of God!” The Muslims also even implore the intercession of their numerous saints.

The duty next in importance to prayer is that of giving alms. Certain alms are prescribed by law, and are called “zekah”: others, called “sadakah,” are voluntary. The former, or obligatory alms, were, in the earlier ages of El-Islám, collected by officers appointed by the sovereign, for pious uses, such as building mosques, etc.; but now it is left to the Muslim’s conscience to give them, and to apply them in what manner he thinks fit; that is, to bestow them upon whatever needy persons he may choose. They are to be given once in every year, of cattle and sheep, generally in the proportion of one in forty, two in a hundred and twenty; of camels, for every five, a ewe; or for twenty-five, a pregnant camel; and likewise of money, and, among the Hanafees, of merchandize, etc. He who has money to the amount of two hundred dirhems (or drams) of silver, or twenty mitkáls (i.e., thirty drams) of gold (or, among the Hanafees, the value of the above in gold or silver ornaments, utensils, etc.), must annually give the fortieth part (“ruba el-’oshr”), or the value of that part.

Fasting is the next duty. The Muslim is commanded to fast during the whole month of Ramadán[158] every day, from the first appearance of daybreak, or rather from the hour when there is sufficient light for a person to distinguish plainly a white thread from a black thread[159] (about two hours before sunrise in Egypt), until sunset. He must abstain from eating, drinking, smoking, smelling perfumes, and every unnecessary indulgence or pleasure of a worldly nature; even from intentionally swallowing his spittle. When Ramadán falls in summer,[160] the fast is very severe; the abstinence from drinking being most painfully felt. Persons who are sick, or on a journey, and soldiers in time of war, are not obliged to observe the fast during Ramadán; but if they do not keep it in this month they should fast an equal number of days at a future time. Fasting is also to be dispensed with in the cases of a nurse and a pregnant woman. The Prophet even disapproved of any person’s keeping the fast of Ramadán if not perfectly able; and desired no man to fast so much as to injure his health, or disqualify himself for necessary labour. The modern Muslims seem to regard the fast of Ramadán as of more importance than any other religious act, for many of them keep this fast who neglect their daily prayers; and even those who break the fast, with very few exceptions, pretend to keep it. Many Muslims of the wealthy classes eat and drink in secret during Ramadán; but the greater number strictly keep the fast, which is fatal to numerous persons in a weak state of health. There are some other days on which it is considered meritorious to fast, but not absolutely necessary. On the two grand festivals, namely, that following Ramadán, and that which succeeds the pilgrimage, it is unlawful to do so, being expressly forbidden by the Prophet.

The last of the four most important duties, that of pilgrimage, remains to be noticed. It is incumbent on every Muslim to perform, once in his life, the pilgrimage to Mekkeh and Mount ’Arafát, unless poverty or ill health prevent him; or, if a Hanafee, he may send a deputy, whose expenses he must pay.[161] Many, however, neglect the duty of pilgrimage who cannot plead a lawful excuse; and they are not reproached for so doing. It is not merely by the visit to Mekkeh, and the performance of the ceremonies of compassing the Kaabeh seven times and kissing the “black stone” in each round, and other rites in the Holy City, that the Muslim acquires the title of “el-hágg”[162] (or the pilgrim): the final object of the pilgrimage is Mount ’Arafát, six hours’ journey distant from Mekkeh. During his performance of the required ceremonies in Mekkeh, and also during his journey to ’Arafát, and until his completion of the pilgrimage, the Muslim wears a peculiar dress, called “ehrám” (vulgarly herám), generally consisting of two simple pieces of cotton, or linen, or woollen cloth, without seam or ornament, one of which is wrapped round the loins, and the other thrown over the shoulders: the instep and heel of each foot, and the head, must be bare; but umbrellas are now used by many of the pilgrims. It is necessary that the pilgrim be present on the occasion of a Khutbeh which is recited on Mount ’Arafát in the afternoon of the 9th of the month of Zu-l-Heggeh. In the ensuing evening, after sunset, the pilgrims commence their return to Mekkeh. Halting the following day in the valley of Mina (or, as it is more commonly called, Muna), they complete the ceremonies of the pilgrimage by a sacrifice (of one or more male sheep, he-goats, cows, or she-camels, part of the flesh of which they eat, and part give to the poor), and by shaving the head and clipping the nails. Every one, after this, resumes his usual dress, or puts on a new one, if provided with such. The sacrifice is called “el-fida” (or the ransom), as it is performed in commemoration of the ransom of Isma’eel (or Ishmael) by the sacrifice of the ram, when he was himself about to have been offered up by his father; for it is the general opinion of the Muslims that it was this son, not Isaac, who was to have been sacrificed by his father.

There are other ordinances, more or less connected with those which have been already explained.

The two festivals called “el-’Eed es-Sugheiyir,”[163] or the Minor Festival, and el-Kebeer,” or the Great Festival, the occasions of which have been mentioned above, are observed with public prayer and general rejoicing. The first of these lasts three days; and the second, three or four days. The festivities with which they are celebrated will be described in a subsequent chapter. On the first day of the latter festival (it being the day on which the pilgrims perform their sacrifice) every Muslim should slay a victim, if he can afford to purchase one. The wealthy person slays several sheep, or a sheep or two, and a buffalo, and distributes the greater portion of the meat to the poor. The slaughter may be performed by a deputy.

War against enemies of El-Islám, who have been the first aggressors, is enjoined as a sacred duty; and he who loses his life in fulfilling this duty, if unpaid, is promised the rewards of a martyr. It has been said, even by some of their leading doctors, that the Muslims are commanded to put to death all idolaters who refuse to embrace El-Islám, excepting women and children, whom they are to make slaves:[164] but the precepts on which this assertion is founded relate to the Pagan Arabs, who had violated their oaths and long persevered in their hostility to Mohammad and his followers. According to the decisions of the most reasonable doctors, the laws respecting other idolaters, as well as Christians and Jews, who have drawn upon themselves the hostility of the Muslims, are different: of such enemies, if reduced by force of arms, refusing to capitulate or to surrender themselves, the men may be put to death or be made slaves, and the women and children also, under the same circumstances, may be made slaves: but life and liberty are to be granted to those enemies who surrender themselves by capitulation or otherwise, on the condition of their embracing El-Islám or paying a poll-tax, unless they have acted perfidiously towards the Muslims, as did the Jewish tribe of Kureydhah, who, being in league with Mohammad, went over to his enemies and aided them against him: for which conduct, when they surrendered, the men were slain, and the women and children were made slaves.—The Muslims, it may here be added, are forbidden to contract intimate friendship with unbelievers.

There are certain prohibitory laws in the Kur-án which must be mentioned here, as remarkably affecting the moral and social condition of its disciples.

Wine, and all inebriating liquors, are forbidden, as being the cause of “more evil than profit.”[165] Many of the Muslims, however, in the present day, drink wine, brandy, etc., in secret; and some, thinking it no sin to indulge thus in moderation, scruple not to do so openly; but among the Egyptians there are few who transgress in this flagrant manner. “Boozeh,” or “boozah,” which is an intoxicating liquor made with barley-bread, crumbled, mixed with water, strained, and left to ferment, is commonly drunk by the boatmen of the Nile, and by other persons of the lower orders.[166] Opium, and other drugs which produce a similar effect, are considered unlawful, though not mentioned in the Kur-án; and persons who are addicted to the use of these drugs are regarded as immoral characters; but in Egypt, such persons are not very numerous. Some Muslims have pronounced tobacco, and even coffee, unlawful.

The eating of swine’s flesh is strictly forbidden. The unwholesome effects of that meat in a hot climate would be a sufficient reason for the prohibition; but the pig is held in abhorrence by the Muslim chiefly on account of its extremely filthy habits.[167] Most animals prohibited for food by the Mosaic law are alike forbidden to the Muslim. The camel is an exception. The Muslim is “forbidden [to eat] that which dieth of itself, and blood, and swine’s flesh, and that on which the name of any beside God hath been invoked; and that which hath been strangled or killed by a blow, or by a fall, or by the horns [of another beast]; and that which hath been [partly] eaten by a wild beast, except what he shall [himself] kill; and that which hath been sacrificed unto idols.”[168] An animal that is killed for the food of man must be slaughtered in a particular manner: the person who is about to perform the operation must say, “In the name of God! God is most great!” and then cut its throat, at the part next the head, taking care to divide the windpipe, gullet, and carotid arteries; unless it be a camel, in which case he should stab the throat at the part next the breast. It is forbidden to utter, in slaughtering an animal, the phrase which is so often made use of on other occasions, “In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!” because the mention of the most benevolent epithets of the Deity on such an occasion would seem like a mockery of the sufferings which it is about to endure. Some persons in Egypt, but mostly women, when about to kill an animal for food, say, “In the name of God! God is most great! God give thee patience to endure the affliction which He hath allotted thee!”[169] If the sentiment which first dictated this prayer were always felt, it would present a beautiful trait in the character of the people who use it. In cases of necessity, when in danger of starving, the Muslim is allowed to eat any food which is unlawful under other circumstances. The mode of slaughter above described is, of course, only required to be practised in the cases of domestic animals. Most kinds of fish are lawful food:[170] so also are many birds; the tame kinds of which must be killed in the same manner as cattle; but the wild may be shot. The hare, rabbit, gazelle, etc., are lawful food, and may either be shot, or killed by a dog, provided the name of God was uttered at the time of discharging the arrow, etc., or slipping the dog, and he (the dog) has not eaten any part of the prey. This animal, however, is considered very unclean: the Sháfe’ees hold themselves to be polluted by the touch of its nose, if it be wet; and if any part of their clothes be so touched, they must wash that part with seven waters, and once with clean earth: some others are only careful not to let the animal lick, or defile in a worse manner, their persons or their dress, etc. When game has been struck down by any weapon, but not killed, its throat must be immediately cut: otherwise it is unlawful food.

Gambling and usury are prohibited,[171] and all games of chance; and likewise the making of images or pictures of anything that has life.[172] The Prophet declared that every representation of this kind would be placed before its author on the day of judgment, and that he would be commanded to put life into it; which not being able to do, he would be cast, for a time, into hell.

The principal civil and criminal laws remain to be stated. Their origin we discover partly in customs of the Pagan Arabs, but mostly in the Jewish Scriptures and traditions.

The civil and criminal laws are chiefly and immediately derived from the Kur-án[173]; but, in many important cases, this highest authority affords no precept. In most of these cases the Traditions of the Prophet direct the decisions of the judge.[174] There are, however, some important cases, and many of an inferior kind, respecting which both the Kur-án and the Traditions are silent or undecisive. These are determined by the explanations and amplifications derived either from the concordance of the principal early disciples, or from analogy, by the four great Imáms, or founders of the four orthodox sects of El-Islám; generally on the authority of the Imám of that sect to which the ruling power belongs, which sect, in Egypt, and throughout the Turkish Empire, is that of the Hanafees: or, if none of the decisions of the Imám relate to a case in dispute (which not unfrequently happens), judgment is given in accordance with a sentence of some other eminent doctor, founded upon analogy.—In general, only the principal laws, as laid down in the Kur-án and the Traditions, will be here stated.

The laws relating to marriage and the licence of polygamy, the facility of divorce allowed by the Kur-án, and the permission of concubinage, are essentially the natural and necessary consequences of the main principle of the constitution of Muslim society—the restriction of the intercourse between the sexes before marriage. Few men would marry if he who was disappointed in a wife whom he had never seen before were not allowed to take another; and in the case of a man’s doing this, his own happiness, or that of the former wife, or the happiness of both these parties, may require his either retaining this wife or divorcing her. But I hope that my reader will admit a much stronger reason for these laws, regarding them as designed for the Muslims. As the Mosaic code allowed God’s chosen people, for the hardness of their hearts, to put away their wives, and forbade neither polygamy nor concubinage, he who believes that Moses was divinely inspired, to enact the best laws for his people, must hold the permission of these practices to be less injurious to morality than their prohibition, among a people similar to the ancient Jews. Their permission, though certainly productive of injurious effects upon morality and domestic happiness, prevents a profligacy that would be worse than that which prevails to so great a degree in European countries, where parties are united in marriage after an intimate mutual acquaintance. As to the licence of polygamy, which seems to be unfavourable to the accomplishment of the main object for which marriage was instituted, as well as to the exercise and improvement of the nobler powers of the mind, we should remark that it was not introduced, but limited, by the legislator of the Muslims. It is true that he assumed to himself the privilege of having a greater number of wives than he allowed to others; but, in doing so, he may have been actuated by the want of male offspring, rather than impelled by voluptuousness.

The law respecting marriage and concubinage is perfectly explicit as to the number of wives whom a Muslim may have at the same time; but it is not so with regard to the number of concubine-slaves whom he may have. It is written, “Take in marriage, of the women who please you, two, three, or four; but if ye fear that ye cannot act equitably [to so many, take] one; or [take] those whom your right hands have acquired,”[175] that is, your slaves. Therefore many of the wealthy Muslims marry two, three, or four wives, and keep besides several concubine-slaves; and many of the most revered characters, even Companions of the Prophet, are recorded to have done the same. The conduct of the latter clearly shows that the number of concubine-slaves whom a man may have is not limited by the law in the opinion of the orthodox.[176]

It is held lawful for a Muslim to marry a Christian or a Jewish woman, if induced to do so by excessive love of her, or if he cannot obtain a wife of his own faith; but in this case the offspring must follow the father’s faith,[177] and the wife does not inherit when the father dies. A Muslim′eh, however, is not allowed under any circumstances, but when force is employed, to marry a man who is not of her own faith. A man is forbidden, by the Kur-án[178] and the Sunneh, to marry his mother, or other ascendant; his daughter, or other descendant; his sister, or half-sister; the sister of his father or mother, or other ascendant; his niece, or any of her descendants; his foster-mother,[179] or a woman related to him by milk in any of the degrees which would preclude his marriage with her if she were similarly related to him by consanguinity; the mother of his wife, even if he have not consummated his marriage with this wife; the daughter of his wife if he have consummated his marriage with the latter, and she be still his wife; his father’s wife, and his son’s wife; and to have at the same time two wives who are sisters, or aunt and niece: he is forbidden also to marry his unemancipated slave, or another man’s slave, if he have already a free wife. It is lawful for the Muslim to see the faces of these women whom he is forbidden to marry, but of no others, excepting his own wives and female slaves. The marriage of a man and woman, or of a man and a girl who has arrived at puberty, is lawfully effected by their declaring (which the latter generally does by a “wekeel,” or deputy) their consent to marry each other, in the presence of two witnesses (if witnesses can be procured), and by the payment, or part-payment, of a dowry. But the consent of a girl under the age of puberty is not required; her father, or, if he be dead, her nearest adult male relation, or any person appointed as her guardian by will or by the Kádee, acting for her as he pleases.[180] The giving of a dowry is indispensable, and the least sum that is allowed by law is ten “dirhems” (or drachms of silver), which is equal to about five shillings of our money. A man may legally marry a woman without mentioning a dowry; but after the consummation of the marriage she can, in this case, compel him to pay the sum of ten dirhems.[181]

A man may divorce his wife twice, and each time take her back without any ceremony, excepting in a case to be mentioned below; but if he divorce her the third time, or put her away by a triple divorce conveyed in one sentence, he cannot receive her again until she has been married and divorced by another husband, who must have consummated his marriage with her.[182] When a man divorces his wife (which he does by merely saying, “Thou art divorced,” or “I divorce thee”), he pays her a portion of her dowry (generally one-third), which he had kept back from the first, to be paid on this occasion, or at his death; and she takes away with her the furniture, etc., which she brought at her marriage. He may thus put her away from mere dislike,[183] and without assigning any reason; but a woman cannot separate herself from her husband against his will, unless it be for some considerable fault on his part, as cruel treatment, or neglect; and even then, application to the Kádee’s court is generally necessary to compel the man to divorce her; and she forfeits the above-mentioned remnant of the dowry.

The first and second divorce, if made without any mutual agreement for a compensation from the woman, or a pecuniary sacrifice on her part, is termed “talák reg’ee” (a divorce which admits of return); because the husband may take back his wife, without her consent, during the period of her “’eddeh” (which will be presently explained), but not after, unless with her consent, and by a new contract. If he divorce her the first or second time for a compensation, she perhaps requesting, “Divorce me for what thou owest me,” or “—hast of mine” (that is, of the dowry, furniture, etc.), or for an additional sum, he cannot take her again but by her own consent, and by a new contract. This is a “talák báïn” (or separating divorce), and is termed “the lesser separation,” to distinguish it from the third divorce, which is called “the greater separation.” The “’eddeh” is the period during which a divorced woman or a widow must wait before marrying again,—in either case, if pregnant, until delivery; otherwise the former must wait three lunar periods, or three months, and the latter, four months and ten days. A woman who is divorced when in a state of pregnancy, though she may make a new contract of marriage immediately after her delivery, must wait forty days longer before she can complete her marriage by receiving her husband. The man who divorces his wife must maintain her in his own house, or in that of her parents, or elsewhere, during the period of her ’eddeh, but must cease to live with her as her husband from the commencement of that period. A divorced woman who has a son under two years of age may retain him until he has attained that age, and may be compelled to do so by the law of the Sháfe’ees, and by the law of the Málikees, until he has arrived at puberty, but the Hanafee law limits the period during which the boy should remain under her care to seven years: her daughter she should retain until nine years of age, or the period of puberty. If a man divorce his wife before the consummation of marriage, he must pay her half the sum which he has promised to give her as a dowry, or, if he have promised no dowry, he must pay her the half of the smallest dowry allowed by law, which has been above mentioned, and she may marry again immediately.

When a wife refuses to obey the lawful commands of her husband, he may, and generally does, take her, or two witnesses[184] against her, to the Kádee’s court, to prefer a complaint against her; and, if the case be proved, a certificate is written declaring the woman “náshizeh,” or rebellious against her husband. This process is termed “writing a woman náshizeh.” It exempts her husband from obligation to lodge, clothe, and maintain her. He is not obliged to divorce her; and, by refusing to do this, he may prevent her marrying another man as long as he lives; but, if she promise to be obedient afterwards, he must take her back, and maintain her, or divorce her. It is more common, however, for a wife whose husband refuses to divorce her, if she have parents or other relations able and willing to support her comfortably, to make a complaint at the Kádee’s court, stating her husband’s conduct to be of such a nature towards her that she will not live with him, and thus cause herself to be registered “náshizeh,” and separated from him. In this case, the husband generally persists, from mere spite, in refusing to divorce her.

As concubines are slaves, some account of slaves in general may here be appropriately inserted, with a statement of the principal laws respecting concubines and their offspring, etc.—The slave is either a person taken captive in war, or carried off by force from a foreign hostile country, and being at the time of capture an infidel; or the offspring of a female slave by another slave, or by any man who is not her owner, or by her owner if he do not acknowledge himself to be the father; but a person cannot be the slave of a relation who is within the prohibited degrees of marriage. The power of the owner is such that he may even kill his slave with impunity for any offence; and he incurs but a slight punishment (as imprisonment for a period at the discretion of the judge) if he do so wantonly. He may give or sell his slaves, excepting in some cases which will be mentioned, and may marry them to whom he will, but not separate them when married. A slave, however, according to most of the doctors, cannot have more than two wives at the same time. As a slave enjoys less advantages than a free person, the law, in some cases, ordains that his punishment for an offence shall be half of that to which the free is liable for the same offence, or even less than half: if it be a fine, or pecuniary compensation, it must be paid by the owner, to the amount, if necessary, of the value of the slave, or the slave must be given in compensation. An unemancipated slave, at the death of the owner, becomes the property of the heirs of the latter; and when an emancipated slave dies, leaving no male descendant or collateral relation, the former owner is the heir; or, if he be dead, his heirs inherit the slave’s property. But an unemancipated slave can acquire no property without the permission of the owner. Complete and immediate emancipation is sometimes granted to a slave gratuitously, or for a future pecuniary compensation. It is conferred by means of a written document, or by a verbal declaration in the presence of two witnesses, or by presenting the slave with the certificate of sale obtained from the former owner. Future emancipation is sometimes covenanted to be granted on the fulfilment of certain conditions; and more frequently, to be conferred on the occasion of the owner’s death. In the latter case, the owner cannot sell the slave to whom he has made this promise; and as he cannot alienate by will more than one-third of the whole property that he leaves, the law ordains that, if the value of the said slave exceed that portion, the slave must obtain, and pay to the owner’s heirs, the additional sum.—A Muslim may take as his concubine any of his female slaves who is a Muslim’eh, or a Christian, or a Jewess, if he have not married her to another man; but he may not have as his concubines, at the same time, two or more who are sisters, or who are related to each other in any of the degrees which would prevent their both being his wives at the same time if they were free. A Christian is not by the law allowed, nor is a Jew, to have a Muslim′eh slave as his concubine.[185] The master must wait a certain period (generally from a month to three months) after his acquisition of a female slave, before he can take her as his concubine. When a female slave becomes a mother by her master, the child which she bears to him is free, if he acknowledge it to be his own; but if not, it is his slave. In the former case the mother cannot afterwards be sold or given away by her master (though she must continue to serve him and be his concubine as long as he desires); and she is entitled to emancipation at his death. Her bearing a child to him is called the cause of her emancipation or liberty; but it does not oblige him to emancipate her as long as he lives, though it is commendable if he do so, and make her his wife, provided he have not already four wives, or if he marry her to another man, should it be her wish. A free person cannot become the husband or wife of his, or her, own slave, without first emancipating that slave; and the marriage of a free person with the slave of another is dissolved if the former become the owner of the latter, and cannot be renewed but by emancipation and a regular legal contract.

The most remarkable general principles of the laws of inheritance are the denial of any privileges to primogeniture,[186] and in most cases awarding to a female a share equal to half that of a male of the same degree of relationship to the deceased.[187] A person may bequeath one-third of his or her property; but not a larger portion, unless he or she has no legal heir; nor any portion to a legal heir, excepting wife or husband, without the consent of all the other heirs. The children of a person deceased inherit the whole of that person’s property, or what remains after payment of the legacies and debts, etc., and the share of a male is double the share of a female. If the children of the deceased be only females, two or more in number, they inherit together, by the law of the Kur-án, two-thirds; and if there be but one child, and that a female, she inherits by the same law half. [But the remaining third, or half, is also assigned to the said daughters or daughter, by a law of the Sunneh (which applies also to other cases), if there be no other legal heir.] If the deceased have left no immediate descendant, the sons and daughters of his son or sons inherit as immediate descendants [and so on]. If the deceased have left a child or a son’s child [and so on], each of the parents of the deceased inherits one-sixth. If the father be dead, his share falls to his father. [If the mother be dead, her share falls to her mother.] If the deceased have left no child or son’s child [and so on], the mother has one-third of the property, or of what remains after deducting the share of the wife or wives or husband, and the residue is for the father; unless the deceased has left two or more brothers or sisters, in which case the mother inherits one-sixth, and the father the residue; the said brothers or sisters receiving nothing[188] [if the deceased have left a father or any ascendant in the male line]. A man inherits half of what remains of his wife’s property after the payment of her legacies, etc., if she have left no child or son’s child [and so on]; and one-fourth if she have left a child or son’s child [and so on]. One-fourth is the share of the wife, or of the wives conjointly, if the deceased husband have left no child or son’s child [and so on]; and one-eighth if he have left any such descendant.[189] If the deceased have not left a father [nor any ascendant in the male line], nor a child [nor a son’s child, and so on], the law ordains as follows:—1. A sole brother, or sister, only by the mother’s side, inherits one-sixth; and if there be two or more brothers or sisters, only by the mother’s side, or one or more of such relations of each sex, they inherit collectively one-third, which is equally divided, without distinction of male and female.—2. If the deceased have left a sole sister by his father and mother [and no such brother], she inherits half; and a man inherits the whole property of such a sister [or what remains after the payment of her legacies, etc.], if she have left no child; but if she have left a male child [or son’s child, and so on], he (the brother) inherits nothing; and if she have left a female child, the said brother inherits what remains after deducting that child’s share [and after the payment of the legacies, etc.]. If the deceased have left two or more sisters, by his father and mother [and no such brother], they inherit together two-thirds. If the deceased have left one or more brothers, and one or more sisters, by his father and mother, they inherit the whole [or what remains after the payment of the legacies, etc.], and the share of a male is double the share of a female.—3. Brothers and sisters by the father’s side only [when there is no brother or sister by the father and mother] inherit as brothers and sisters by the father and mother.[190] No distinction is made between the child of a wife and that borne by a slave to her master (if the master acknowledge the child to be his own): both inherit equally. So also do the child of a wife and the adopted child. A bastard inherits only from his mother, and vice versâ. When there is no legal heir, or legatee, the property falls to the government-treasury, which is called “beyt el-mál.” The laws respecting certain remote degrees of kindred, etc., I have not thought it necessary to state.[191] The property of the deceased is nominally divided into keeráts (or twenty-fourth parts); and the share of each son, or other heir, is said to be so many keeráts.

The law is remarkably lenient towards debtors. “If there be any [debtor],” says the Kur-án,[192] “under a difficulty [of paying his debt], let [his creditor] wait till it be easy [for him to do it]; but if ye remit it as alms, it will be better for you.” The Muslim is commanded (in the chapter from which the above extract is taken), when he contracts a debt, to cause a statement of it to be written, and attested by two men, or a man and two women, of his own faith. The debtor is imprisoned for non-payment of his debt; but if he establish his insolvency, he is liberated. He may be compelled to work for the discharge of his debt, if able.

The Kur-án ordains that murder shall be punished with death; or rather, that the free shall die for the free, the slave for the slave, and a woman for a woman; or that the perpetrator of the crime shall pay to the heirs of the person whom he has killed, if they allow it, a fine, which is to be divided according to the laws of inheritance.[193] It also ordains that unintentional homicide shall be expiated by freeing a believer from slavery, and paying, to the family of the person killed, a fine, unless they remit it.[194] But these laws are amplified and explained by the same book and by the Imáms.—A fine is not to be accepted for murder unless the crime has been attended by some palliating circumstance. This fine, which is the price of blood, is a hundred camels; or a thousand deenárs (about £500) from him who possesses gold; or from him who possesses silver, twelve thousand dirhems[195] (about £300). This is for killing a free-man: for a woman, half the sum: for a slave, his or her value; but that must fall short of the price of blood for the free. A person unable to free a believer must fast two months, as in Ramadán. The accomplices of a murderer are liable to the punishment of death. By the Sunneh also, a man is obnoxious to capital punishment for the murder of a woman; and by the Hanafee law, for the murder of another man’s slave. But he is exempted from this punishment who kills his own child or other descendant, or his own slave, or his son’s slave, or a slave of whom he is part-owner: so also are his accomplices; and according to Esh-Sháfe’ee, a Muslim, though a slave, is not to be put to death for killing an infidel, though the latter be free. In the present day, however, murder is generally punished with death; the government seldom allowing a composition in money to be made. A man who kills another in self-defence, or to defend his property from a robber, is exempt from all punishment. The price of blood is a debt incumbent on the family, tribe, or association of which the homicide is a member. It is also incumbent on the inhabitants of an enclosed quarter, or the proprietor or proprietors of a field, in which the body of a person killed by an unknown hand is found; unless the person has been found killed in his own house. A woman, convicted of a capital crime, is generally put to death by drowning in the Nile.

The Bedawees have made the law of the avenging of blood terribly severe and unjust, transgressing the limits assigned by the Kur-án: for, with them, any single person descended from the homicide, or from the homicide’s father, grandfather, great-grandfather, or great-grandfather’s father, may be killed by any of such relations of the person murdered or killed in fight; but, among most tribes, the fine is generally accepted instead of the blood. Cases of blood-revenge are very common among the peasantry of Egypt, who, as I have before remarked, retain many customs of their Bedawee ancestors. The relations of a person who has been killed, in an Egyptian village, generally retaliate with their own hands rather than apply to the government, and often do so with disgusting cruelty, and even mangle and insult the corpse of their victim. The relations of a homicide usually fly from their own to another village, for protection. Even when retaliation has been made, animosity frequently continues between the two parties for many years; and often a case of blood-revenge involves the inhabitants of two or more villages in hostilities, which are renewed, at intervals, during the period of several generations.

Retaliation for intentional wounds and mutilations is allowed, like as for murder; “eye for eye,” etc.;[196] but a fine may be accepted instead, which the law allows also for unintentional injuries. The fine for a member that is single (as the nose) is the whole price of blood, as for homicide; for a member of which there are two, and not more (as a hand), half the price of blood; for one of which there are ten (a finger or toe), a tenth of the price of blood; but the fine of a man for maiming or wounding a woman is half of that for the same injury to a man; and that of a free person for injuring a slave varies according to the value of the slave. The fine for depriving a man of any of his five senses, or dangerously wounding him, or grievously disfiguring him for life, is the whole price of blood.

Theft, whether committed by a man or by a woman, according to the Kur-án,[197] is to be punished by cutting off the offender’s right hand for the first offence; but a Sunneh law ordains that this punishment shall not be inflicted if the value of the stolen property is less than a quarter of a deenár;[198] and it is also held necessary, to render the thief obnoxious to this punishment, that the property stolen should have been deposited in a place to which he had not ordinary or easy access; whence it follows, that a man who steals in the house of a near relation is not subject to this punishment; nor is a slave who robs the house of his master. For the second offence, the left foot is to be cut off; for the third, according to the Sháfe’ee law, the left hand; for the fourth, the right foot; and for further offences of the same kind, the culprit is to be flogged or beaten; or, by the Hanafee code, for the third and subsequent offences, the criminal is to be punished by a long imprisonment. A man may steal a free-born infant without offending against the law, because it is not property; but not a slave; and the hand is not to be cut off for stealing any article of food that is quickly perishable, because it may have been taken to supply the immediate demands of hunger. There are also some other cases in which the thief is exempt from the punishments above mentioned. In Egypt, of late years, these punishments have not been inflicted. Beating and hard labour have been substituted for the first, second, or third offence, and frequently death for the fourth. Most petty offences are usually punished by beating with the “kurbág” (a thong or whip of hippopotamus’ hide, hammered into a round form), or with a stick, generally on the soles of the feet.[199]

Adultery is most severely visited: but to establish a charge of this crime against a wife, four eye-witnessses are necessary.[200] If convicted thus, she is to be put to death by stoning.[201] I need scarcely say that cases of this kind have very seldom occurred, from the difficulty of obtaining such testimony.[202] Further laws on this subject, and still more favourable to the women, are given in the Kur-án[203] in the following words:—“But [as to] those who accuse women of reputation [of fornication or adultery], and produce not four witnesses [of the fact], scourge them with eighty stripes, and receive not their testimony for ever; for such are infamous prevaricators, excepting those who shall afterwards repent; for God is gracious and merciful. They who shall accuse their wives [of adultery], and shall have no witnesses [thereof] besides themselves, the testimony [which shall be required] of one of them, [shall be] that he swear four times by God that he speaketh the truth, and the fifth [time that he imprecate] the curse of God on him if he be a liar; and it shall avert the punishment [of the wife] if she sware four times by God that he is a liar, and if the fifth [time she imprecate] the wrath of God on her if he speak the truth.” The commentators and lawyers have agreed that, under these circumstances, the marriage must be dissolved. In the chapter from which the above quotation is made, it is ordained (in verse 2) that unmarried persons convicted of fornication shall be punished by scourging, with a hundred stripes; and a Sunneh law renders them obnoxious to the further punishment of banishment for a whole year.[204] Of the punishment of women convicted of incontinence in Cairo, I shall speak in the next chapter, as it is an arbitrary act of the government, not founded on the laws of the Kur-án, or the Traditions.[205]

Drunkenness was punished by the Prophet by flogging, and is still in Cairo, though not often. The “hadd,” or number of stripes for this offence, is eighty in the case of a free man, and forty in that of a slave.

Apostacy from the faith of El-Islám is considered a most heinous sin, and must be punished with death, unless the apostate will recant on being thrice warned. I once saw a woman paraded through the streets of Cairo, and afterwards taken down to the Nile to be drowned, for having apostatized from the faith of Mohammad, and having married a Christian. Unfortunately, she had tattooed a blue cross on her arm, which led to her detection by one of her former friends in a bath. She was mounted upon a high-saddled ass, such as ladies in Egypt usually ride, and very respectably dressed, attended by soldiers, and surrounded by a rabble, who, instead of commiserating, uttered loud imprecations against her. The Kádee who passed sentence upon her, exhorted her in vain to return to her former faith. Her own father was her accuser! She was taken in a boat into the midst of the river, stripped nearly naked, strangled, and then thrown into the stream.[206] The Europeans residing in Cairo regretted that the Básha was then at Alexandria, as they might have prevailed upon him to pardon her. Once before, they interceded with him for a woman who had been condemned for apostacy. The Básha ordered that she should be brought before him; he exhorted her to recant; but finding her resolute, reproved her for her folly, and sent her home, commanding that no injury should be done to her.

Still more severe is the law with respect to blasphemy. The person who utters blasphemy against God, or Mohammad, or Christ, or Moses, or any prophet, is to be put to death without delay, even though he profess himself repentant; repentance for such a sin being deemed impossible. Apostacy or infidelity is occasioned by misjudgment; but blasphemy is the result of utter depravity.

A few words may here be added respecting the sect of the “Wahhábees,” also called “Wahabees,” which was founded less than a century ago, by Mohammad Ibn-’Abd-El-Wahháb, a pious and learned sheykh of the province of En-Nejd, in Central Arabia. About the middle of the last century, he had the good fortune to convert to his creed a powerful chief of Ed-Dir’eeyeh, the capital of En-Nejd. This chief, Mohammad Ibn-So’ood, became the sovereign of the new sect—their religious and political head—and under him and his successors the Wahhábee doctrines were spread throughout the greater part of Arabia. He was first succeeded by his son, ’Abd-El-’Azeez; next, by So’ood, the son of the latter, and the greatest of the Wahhábee leaders; and lastly, by ’Abd-Allah, the son of this So’ood, who, after an arduous warfare with the armies of Mohammad ’Alee, surrendered himself to his victorious enemies, was sent to Egypt, thence to Constantinople, and there beheaded. The wars which Mohammad ’Alee carried on against the Wahhábees, had for their chief object the destruction of the political power of the new sect. Their religious tenets are still professed by many of the Arabs, and allowed to be orthodox by the most learned of the ’Ulama of Egypt. The Wahhábees are merely reformers, who believe all the fundamental points of El-Islám, and all the accessory doctrines of the Kur-án and the Traditions of the Prophet: in short, their tenets are those of the primitive Muslims. They disapprove of gorgeous sepulchres, and domes erected over tombs; such they invariably destroy when in their power. They also condemn, as idolaters, those who pay peculiar veneration to deceased saints; and even declare all other Muslims to be heretics, for the extravagant respect which they pay to the Prophet. They forbid the wearing of silk and gold ornaments, and all costly apparel, and also the practice of smoking tobacco. For the want of this last luxury, they console themselves in some degree by an immoderate use of coffee.[207] There are many learned men among them, and they have collected many valuable books (chiefly historical) from various parts of Arabia, and from Egypt.

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Footnote 96:

Ch. 112.—In quoting passages in the Kur-án, I have sometimes followed Sale’s translation, to the general fidelity of which I willingly add my testimony. I should, however, mention that some of his explanatory notes are unauthorized and erroneous; as, for instance, with respect to the laws of inheritance; on which subject his version of the text also is faulty. When necessary, I have distinguished the verses by numbers. In doing this I had originally adopted the divisions made by Marracci, but have since made the numbers to agree with those in the late edition of the Arabic text by Fluegel, which, from its superior accuracy, is likely to supersede the former editions.

Footnote 97:

Kur-án, ch. iii., vv. 40-42.

Footnote 98:

Kur-án, ch. iv., v. 169.

Footnote 99:

The title of “Seyyidna” (our Lord) is given by the Muslims to prophets and other venerated persons.

Footnote 100:

Kur-án, ch. iv., v. 156.

Footnote 101:

The Muslim seldom mentions the name of the Prophet without adding, “Salla-lláhu ’aleyhi wa-sellem”; i.e., “God favour and preserve him!”

Footnote 102:

In the first edition of this work, I here mentioned the Devil as distinct from the genii; but I have since found that the majority of the most esteemed Arab authors are of the contrary opinion. Theirs is also the general opinion of the modern Arabs.—The angelic nature is considered as inferior to the human (because the angels were commanded to prostrate themselves before Adam), and still more so is the nature of genii.

Footnote 103:

Like those of the gazelle: this meaning of their common appellation (which is mentioned afterwards) is, however, disputed.

Footnote 104:

The title of martyr is given to the unpaid soldier killed in a war for the defence of the faith, to a person who innocently meets with his death from the hand of another, to a victim of the plague (if he has not fled from the disease) or of dysentery, to a person who is drowned, and to one who is killed by the fall of any building.

Footnote 105:

See Sale’s Preliminary Discourse to his Translation of the Kur-án, sect. iv.

Footnote 106:

A Muslim of some learning professed to me that he considered the description of Paradise given in the Kur-án to be, in a great measure, figurative: “like those,” said he, “in the book of the Revelation of St. John;” and he assured me that many learned Muslims were of the same opinion.

Footnote 107:

The corpse is always deposited in a vault, and not placed in a coffin, but merely wrapped in winding-sheets or clothes.

Footnote 108:

Alluded to in the first chapter.

Footnote 109:

For an account of these private ablutions, and the occasions which require their performance, the reader may consult Reland, De Rel. Moh., pp. 80-83, ed. 1717.

Footnote 110:

All persons do not use exactly the same words on this occasion, nor during the performance of the wudoó; and most persons use no words during the performance.

Footnote 111:

He should also use a tooth-stick (miswák) to clean his teeth; but few do so.

Footnote 112:

It is believed that the good man will rise to judgment with his face white; and the bad, with his face black. Hence a man’s face is said to be white or black according as he is in good or bad repute; and “may God blacken thy face!” is a common imprecation.

Footnote 113:

To every man is appropriated a book, in which all the actions of his life are written. The just man, it is said, will receive his book in his right hand; but the wicked, in his left, which will be tied behind his back; his right hand being tied up to his neck.

Footnote 114:

Here, again, I must beg to refer the reader (if he desires such information) to Reland’s account of the ghusl, and the occasions which require its performance.—De Rel. Moh., pp. 66-77, ed. 1717.

Footnote 115:

Seggádehs, of the kind here described, are now sold in London, under the name of Persian carpets or Persian rugs.

Footnote 116:

I have called this the first, because the Mohammadan day commences from sunset; but the morning prayer is often termed the first; the prayer of noon, the second; and so on.

Footnote 117:

The ’eshë of the Sháfe’ees, Málikees, and Hambel′ees, is when the red gleam (“esh-shafak el-ahmar”) after sunset has disappeared; and that of the Hanafees, when both the red and the white gleam have disappeared.

Footnote 118:

Generally on the first faint appearance of light in the east. The Hanafees mostly perform the morning-prayer a little later, when the yellow gleam (“el-isfirár”) appears: this they deem the most proper time, but they may pray earlier.

Footnote 119:

The ’asr, according to the Sháfe’ees, Málikees, and Hambel’ees, is when the shade of an object, cast by the sun, is equal to the length of that object, added to the length of the shade which the same object casts at noon; and, according to the Hanafees, when the shadow is equal to twice the length of the object added to the length of its mid-day shadow.

Footnote 120:

Here is added, in the morning call, “Prayer is better than sleep!” (twice.)

Footnote 121:

A common air, to which the adán is chanted in Cairo, will be given in the chapter on Egyptian music.

Footnote 122:

They are few who do so.

Footnote 123:

Kur-án, ch. xcviii., v. 4.

Footnote 124:

Same, ch. ix., v. 32, and ch. lxi., v. 8.

Footnote 125:

This exclamation (“Yá rabb!”) is made in a very loud tone.

Footnote 126:

The word “ebed” is here used adverbially, signifying “for ever.”

Footnote 127:

These words, “The perfection of Him who spake,” etc. (“subhána men kellema,” etc.), are pronounced in a very high and loud tone.

Footnote 128:

See Kur-án, ch. vii., v. 139.

Footnote 129:

“Aboo-Farrág” is a surname of a famous saint, the seyyid Ahmad El-Bedawee, buried at Tanta in the Delta: it implies that he obtains relief to those who visit his tomb, and implore his intercession.

Footnote 130:

The morning-prayers, two rek’ahs sunneh and two fard: the noon, four sunneh and four fard; the afternoon, the same; the evening, three fard and two sunneh; and the night-prayers (or ’eshë), four sunneh and four fard, and two sunneh again. After these are yet to be performed three rek’ahs “witr;” i.e., single or separate prayers: these may be performed immediately after the ’eshë prayers, or at any time in the night; but are more meritorious if late in the night.

Footnote 131:

There are some little differences in the attitudes of the four great sects during prayer. I describe those of the Hanafees.

Footnote 132:

Some persons previously utter certain supererogatory ejaculations, expressive of the praise and glory of God; and add, “I seek refuge with God from Satan the accursed;” which petition is often offered up before reciting any part of the Kur-án on other occasions, as commanded by the Kur-án itself (ch. xvi., v. 100). The Kur-án is usually recited, in the fard prayers, in a voice slightly audible, excepting at noon and the ’asr, when it is recited inaudibly. By Imáms, when praying at the head of others, and sometimes by persons praying alone, it is chanted. In the sunneh prayers it is recited inaudibly.

Footnote 133:

In the third and fourth fard rek’ahs, the recitation of a second portion of the Kur-án after the Fát’hah should be omitted; and before fard prayers of four rek’ahs, the “ikámeh” (which consists of the words of the adán, with the addition of “the time of prayer is come,” pronounced twice after “come to security”) should be repeated; but most persons neglect doing this, and many do not observe the former rule.

Footnote 134:

The doctors of El-Islám differ respecting the proper position of the fingers of the right hand on this occasion: some hold that all the fingers but the first are to be doubled, as represented in Part II. of the sketch of the postures of prayer.

Footnote 135:

Some say that every believer is attended by two angels; others say, five; others, sixty, or a hundred and sixty.

Footnote 136:

Beginning with the words “God: there is no deity but He;” and ending with, “He is the High, the Great.”

Footnote 137:

Adjoining each mosque are several “latrinæ,” in each of which is a receptacle with water, for ablution.

Footnote 138:

If of the sect of the Sháfe’ees, to which most of the people of Cairo belong; but if of that of the Hanafees, four rek’ahs.

Footnote 139:

Kur-án, chap. xxxiii., v. 56.

Footnote 140:

There are some trifling differences in the forms of salutations of the Prophet in the Friday-prayers in different mosques; I describe what is most common.

Footnote 141:

A kind of lizard, the lacerta Libyca.

Footnote 142:

In the great mosque El-Azhar there are several Muballighs in different places, to make the adán heard to the whole congregation.

Footnote 143:

To commemorate the acquisition of Egypt by the sword. It is never used by the Khateeb but in a country or town that has been so acquired by the Muslims from unbelievers.

Footnote 144:

During my first visit to Egypt I went to the great mosque El-Azhar, to witness the performance of the Friday-prayers by the largest congregation in Cairo. I was pleased with the preaching of the Khateeb of the mosque, Gád-El-Mowla, and afterwards procured his sermon-book (“deewán khutab”), containing sermons for every Friday in the year, and for the two “’eeds,” or grand festivals. I translate the first sermon.

Footnote 145:

The year begins and ends with a sacred month. The sacred months are four: the first, seventh, eleventh, and twelfth. During these, war was forbidden to be waged against such as acknowledged them to be sacred, but was afterwards allowed. The first month is also held to be excellent on account of the day of ’A’shoora (respecting which see Chap. XXIV. of this work); and the last, on account of the pilgrimage.

Footnote 146:

That of the month of Ramadán.

Footnote 147:

See an account of the customs observed in honour of the day of ’A’shoora, chap. xxiv.

Footnote 148:

The Khateeb always closes his exhortation with one or two traditions of the Prophet.

Footnote 149:

The five daily prayers ordained by the Kur-án.

Footnote 150:

This is always the same, or nearly so.

Footnote 151:

Kur-án, chap. xxvi., last verse.

Footnote 152:

Idem., chap. xxxiii., v. 56.

Footnote 153:

The patriarch Abraham.

Footnote 154:

The reigning Sultán at the time when the above was written.

Footnote 155:

This sentence, beginning “O God, frustrate,” was not inserted in one copy of this prayer, which I obtained from an Imám. Another Imám, at whose dictation I wrote the copy here translated, told me that this sentence and some others were often omitted.

Footnote 156:

Kur-án, chap. vii., v. 22.

Footnote 157:

Ibid., chap. xvi., v. 92.

Footnote 158:

Because the Prophet received the first revelation in that month.

Footnote 159:

Kur-án, chap. ii., v. 183.

Footnote 160:

The year being lunar, each month retrogrades through all the seasons in the course of about thirty-three years and a half.

Footnote 161:

A Málikee is held bound to perform the pilgrimage if strong enough to bear the journey on foot, and able to earn his food on the way.

Footnote 162:

On the pronunciation of this word, see a note to the second paragraph of Chapter V., p. 120.

Footnote 163:

More properly “Sagheer.” This is what many travellers have incorrectly called “the Great Festival.”

Footnote 164:

Misled by the decision of those doctors, and an opinion prevalent in Europe, I represented the laws of “holy war” as more severe than I find them to be according to the letter and spirit of the Kur-án, when carefully examined, and according to the Hanafee code. I am indebted to Mr. Urquhart for suggesting to me the necessity of revising my former statement on this subject; and must express my conviction that no precept is to be found in the Kur-án which, taken with the context, can justify unprovoked war.

Footnote 165:

Kur-án, chap. ii., v. 216. A kind of wine, formerly called “nebeedh” (a name now given to prohibited kinds), may be lawfully drunk. This is generally an infusion of dry grapes, or dry dates. The Muslims used to keep it until it had slightly fermented; and the Prophet himself was accustomed to drink it, but not when it was more than two days old. The nebeedh of raisins is now called “zebeeb.”

Footnote 166:

A similar beverage, thus prepared from barley, was used by the ancient Egyptians. (Herodotus, lib. ii., cap. 77.) The modern inhabitants of Egypt also prepare boozeh from wheat and from millet in the same manner, but less commonly.

Footnote 167:

Swine were universally deemed impure by the ancient Egyptians (Herodotus, lib. ii., cap. 47.)

Footnote 168:

Kur-án, chap. v., v. 4.

Footnote 169:

The Arabic words of this prayer, “God give thee patience,” etc., are, “Allah yesabbirak (for yusabbirak) ’ala má belák.”

Footnote 170:

In some respects the Muslim code does not appear to be so strictly founded upon exigencies of a sanatory nature as the Mosaic. See Leviticus xi. 9-12. In Egypt, fish which have not scales are generally found to be unwholesome food. One of the few reasonable laws of El-Hákim was that which forbade the selling or catching such kinds of fish. See De Sacy, “Chrestomathie Arabe,” 2nde ed., tome i., p. 98.

Footnote 171:

It is unlawful to give or receive interest, however small, for a loan, or on account of credit; and to exchange any article for another article of the same species, but differing in quantity. These and several other commercial transactions of a similar kind are severely condemned; but they are not very uncommon among modern Muslims, some of whom take exorbitant interest.

Footnote 172:

Many of the Muslims hold that only sculptures which cast a shadow, representing living creatures, are unlawful; but the Prophet certainly condemned pictures also.

Footnote 173:

A law given in the Kur-án is called “fard.”

Footnote 174:

A law derived from the Traditions is called “sunneh.”

Footnote 175:

Kur-án, chap. iv., v. 3.

Footnote 176:

Some Muslim moralists argue, that, as four wives are a sufficient number for one man, so also are four concubine-slaves, or four women consisting of these two classes together; but, notwithstanding what Sale and some other learned men have asserted on this subject, the Muslim law certainly does not limit the number of concubine-slaves whom a man may have, whether in addition to, or without, a wife or wives.

Footnote 177:

In like manner, when a Christian man marries a Jewess, the Muslim law requires the offspring to profess “the better faith,” namely, the Christian, if unwilling to embrace El-Islám.

Footnote 178:

Chap. iv., vv. 26, 27.

Footnote 179:

By the Hanafee code, a man may not marry a woman from whose breast he has received a single drop of milk; but Esh-Sháfe’ee does not prohibit the marriage unless he has been suckled by her five times in the course of the first two years.

Footnote 180:

A boy may be thus married; but he may divorce his wife.

Footnote 181:

Whatever property the wife receives from her husband, parents, or any other person, is entirely at her own disposal, and not subject to any claim of her husband or his creditors.

Footnote 182:

Kur-án, chap. ii., vv. 229, 230.

Footnote 183:

As the Mosaic law also allows. See Deut. xxiv. 1.

Footnote 184:

The witnesses must always be Muslims in accusations against a person of the same faith.

Footnote 185:

Yet many Christians and Jews in Egypt infringe the law in this respect with impunity.

Footnote 186:

In this the Muslim law differs from the Mosaic, which assigns a double portion to the first-born son. See Deut. xxi. 17.

Footnote 187:

In my summary of the principal laws relating to inheritance, in the former editions of this work, there were some errors, occasioned by my relying too much upon Sale’s version of the Kur-án; for I doubted not his accuracy, as he had several commentaries to consult, and I had none; wherefore, in my inquiries respecting these laws, I sought only to add to, not to correct, the information conveyed by his version. I have here given a corrected statement, derived from the Kur-án and the Commentary of the Geláleyn, supplying some words of necessary explanation (which are enclosed in brackets) partly on the authority of a sheykh who was my tutor, and partly from the valuable work of D’Ohsson, “Tableau Général de l’Empire Othoman,” Code Civil, livre iv.

Footnote 188:

According to Sale’s translation of the 12th verse of chap. iv., and a note thereon, if the deceased have no child, and his parents be his heirs, then his mother shall have the third part, and his father the other two-thirds: but if he have brethren, his mother shall have a sixth part;—and by his translation of the last verse of the same chapter, stating that the brothers of a man who has died without issue have a claim to inheritance, it is implied that the brothers, if the father be living, must have a share; consequently, that they would have, in the case above-mentioned, a sixth part: for he has not stated that this portion which is deducted from the mother’s share goes to the father, nor that the father’s share is diminished.—Why the mother’s share is diminished and the father’s increased, in the case to which this note relates, I do not see: the reason might be easily inferred, were it not that the surviving brothers or sisters of the deceased may be his brothers or sisters by the mother’s side only.

Footnote 189:

This is exclusive of what may remain due to her of her dowry, of which one-third is usually held in reserve by the husband, to be paid to her if he divorce her, or when he dies.

Footnote 190:

The portions of the Kur-án upon which the above laws are founded are verses 12-15, and the last verse, of chap. iv.

Footnote 191:

The reader may see them in D’Ohsson’s work before mentioned.

Footnote 192:

Chap. ii., v. 280.

Footnote 193:

Chap. ii., v. 173.

Footnote 194:

Chap. iv., v. 94.

Footnote 195:

Or, according to some, ten thousand dirhems.

Footnote 196:

Kur-án, chap. v., v. 49.

Footnote 197:

Chap. v., v. 42.

Footnote 198:

The deenár is a mitkál (or nearly 72 English grains) of gold. Sale, copying a false translation by Marracci, and neglecting to examine the Arabic text quoted by the latter, has stated the sum in question to be four deenárs.

Footnote 199:

The feet are confined by a chain or rope attached at each end to a staff, which is turned round to tighten it. This is called a “falakah.” Two persons (one on each side) strike alternately.

Footnote 200:

Kur-án, chap. iv., v. 19.

Footnote 201:

This is a “Sunneh” law. The doom, as Mr. Urquhart observes, “stands rather as the expression of public abhorrence, than as a law which is to be carried into execution.” (“Spirit of the East,” vol. ii., p. 425.) The law is the same in the case of the adulterer, if married; but it is never enforced. See Leviticus xx. 10, and John viii. 4, 5.

Footnote 202:

It is worthy of remark, that the circumstance which occasioned the promulgation of this extraordinary law was an accusation of adultery preferred against the Prophet’s favourite wife, ’A’ïsheh; she was thus absolved from punishment, and her reputation was cleared by additional “revelations.”

Footnote 203:

Chap. xxiv., vv. 4-9.

Footnote 204:

An unmarried person convicted of adultery is likewise obnoxious only to this punishment. The two laws mentioned in Leviticus xx. 13 and 15 have been introduced into the Muslim code; but in the present day they are never executed.

Footnote 205:

In the villages of Egypt, a woman found, or suspected, to have been guilty of this crime, if she be not a common prostitute, often experiences a different fate, which will be described in the account of the domestic life and customs of the lower orders.

Footnote 206:

The conduct of the lower orders in Cairo on this occasion speaks sadly against their character. A song was composed on the victim of this terrible law, and became very popular in the metropolis.

Footnote 207:

Among many other erroneous statements respecting the Wahhábees, it has been asserted that they prohibit the drinking of coffee.

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IV. GOVERNMENT

Egypt has, of late years, experienced great political changes, and nearly ceased to be a province of the Turkish Empire. Its present Básha (Mohammad ’Alee), having exterminated the Ghuzz, or Memlooks, who shared the government with his predecessors, has rendered himself almost an independent prince. He, however, professes allegiance to the Sultán, and remits the tribute, according to former custom, to Constantinople; he is, moreover, under an obligation to respect the fundamental laws of the Kur-án and the Traditions; but he exercises a dominion otherwise unlimited.[208] He may cause any one of his subjects to be put to death without the formality of a trial, or without assigning any cause: a simple horizontal motion of his hand is sufficient to imply the sentence of decapitation. But I must not be understood to insinuate that he is prone to shed blood without any reason: severity is a characteristic of this prince rather than wanton cruelty; and boundless ambition has prompted him to almost every action by which he has attracted either praise or censure.[209]

In the Citadel of the Metropolis is a court of judicature, called “ed-Deewán el-Khideewee,”[210] where, in the Básha’s absence, presides his “Kikhya,”[211] or deputy, Habeeb Efendee. In cases which do not fall within the province of the Kádee, or which are sufficiently clear to be decided without referring them to the court of that officer, or to another council, the president of the Deewán el-Khideewee passes judgment. Numerous guard-houses have been established throughout the metropolis, at each of which is stationed a body of Nizám, or regular troops. The guard is called “Kulluk,” or, more commonly at present, “Karakól.” Persons accused of thefts, assaults, etc., in Cairo, are given in charge to a soldier of the guard, who takes them to the chief guard-house, in the Mooskee, a street in that part of the town in which most of the Franks reside. The charges being here stated, and committed to writing, he conducts them to the “Zábit,” or chief magistrate of the police of the metropolis. The Zábit, having heard the case, sends the accused for trial to the Deewán el-Khideewee.[212] When a person denies the offence with which he is charged, and there is not sufficient evidence to convict him, but some ground of suspicion, he is generally bastinaded, in order to induce him to confess; and then, if not before, when the crime is not of a nature that renders him obnoxious to a very heavy punishment, he, if guilty, admits it. A thief, after this discipline, generally confesses, “The devil seduced me, and I took it.” The punishment of the convicts is regulated by a system of arbitrary, but lenient and wise, policy: it usually consists in their being compelled to labour, for a scanty sustenance, in some of the public works, such as the removal of rubbish, digging canals, etc.; and sometimes the army is recruited with able-bodied young men convicted of petty offences. In employing malefactors in labours for the improvement of the country, Mohammad ’Alee merits the praises bestowed upon Sabacon, the Ethiopian conqueror and king of Egypt, who is said to have introduced this policy. The Básha is, however, very severe in punishing thefts, etc., committed against himself:—death is the usual penalty in such cases.

There are several inferior councils for conducting the affairs of different departments of the administration. The principal of these are the following:—1. The “Meglis el-Meshwar′ah” (the Council of Deliberation), also called “Meglis el-Meshwar′ah el-Melekeeyeh” (the Council of Deliberation on the Affairs of the State), to distinguish it from other councils. The members of this and of the other similar councils are chosen by the Básha, for their talents or other qualifications; and consequently his will and interest sway them in all their decisions. They are his instruments, and compose a committee for presiding over the general government of the country, and the commercial and agricultural affairs of the Básha. Petitions, etc., addressed to the Básha, or to his Deewán, relating to private interests or the affairs of the government, are generally submitted to their consideration and judgment, unless they more properly come under the cognizance of other councils hereafter to be mentioned. 2. The “Meglis el-Gihádeeyeh” (the Council of the Army); also called “Meglis el-Meshwar′ah el-’Askereeyeh” (the Council of Deliberation on Military Affairs). The province of this court is sufficiently shown by its name. 3. The Council of the “Tarskháneh,” or Navy. 4. The “Deewán et-Tuggár” (or Court of the Merchants). This court, the members of which are merchants of various countries and religions, presided over by the “Sháhbandar” (or chief of the merchants of Cairo), was instituted in consequence of the laws of the Kur-án and the Sunneh being found not sufficiently explicit in some cases arising out of modern commercial transactions.

The “Kádee” (or chief judge) of Cairo presides in Egypt only a year, at the expiration of which term, a new Kádee having arrived from Constantinople, the former returns. It was customary for this officer to proceed from Cairo, with the great caravan of pilgrims, to Mekkeh, perform the ceremonies of the pilgrimage, and remain one year as Kádee of the holy city, and one year at El-Medeeneh.[213] He purchases his place privately of the government, which pays no particular regard to his qualifications, though he must be a man of some knowledge, an ’Osmánlee (that is, a Turk), and of the sect of the Hanafees. His tribunal is called the “Mahkem′eh,” or Place of Judgment. Few Kádees are very well acquainted with the Arabic language; nor is it necessary for them to have such knowledge. In Cairo, the Kádee has little or nothing to do but to confirm the sentence of his “Náïb” (or deputy), who hears and decides the more ordinary cases, and whom he chooses from among the ’Ulama of Istambool, or the decision of the “Muftee” (or chief doctor of the law) of his own sect, who constantly resides in Cairo, and gives judgment in all cases of difficulty. But in general, the Náïb is, at the best, but little conversant with the popular dialect of Egypt; therefore, in Cairo, where the chief proportion of the litigants at the Mahkem′eh are Arabs, the judge must place the utmost confidence in the “Básh Turgumán” (or Chief Interpreter), whose place is permanent, and who is consequently well acquainted with all the customs of the court, particularly with the system of bribery; and this knowledge he is generally very ready to communicate to every new Kádee or Náïb. A man may be grossly ignorant of the law, and yet hold the office of Kádee of Cairo: several instances of this kind have occurred; but the Náïb must be a lawyer of learning and experience.

When a person has a suit to prefer at the Mahkem′eh against another individual or party, he goes thither, and applies to the “Básh Rusul” (or chief of the bailiffs or sergeants who execute arrests) for a “Rasool” to arrest the accused. The Rasool receives a piaster or two,[214] and generally gives half of this fee privately to his chief. The plaintiff and defendant then present themselves in the great hall of the Mahkem′eh, which is a large saloon, facing a spacious court, and having an open front formed by a row of columns and arches. Here are seated several officers called “Sháhids,” whose business is to hear and write the statements of the cases to be submitted to judgment, and who are under the authority of the “Básh Kátib” (or Chief Secretary). The plaintiff, addressing any one of the Sháhids whom he finds unoccupied, states his case, and the Sháhid commits it to writing, and receives a fee of a piaster or more; after which, if the case be of a trifling nature, and the defendant acknowledge the justice of the suit, he (the Sháhid) passes sentence; but otherwise he conducts the two parties before the Náïb, who holds his court in an inner apartment. The Náïb, having heard the case, desires the plaintiff to procure a “fetwa” (or judicial decision) from the Muftee of the sect of the Hanafees, who receives a fee, seldom less than ten piasters, and often more than a hundred or two hundred. This is the course pursued in all cases but those of a very trifling nature, which are settled with less trouble, and those of great importance or intricacy. A case of the latter kind is tried in the private apartment of the Kádee, before the Kádee himself, the Náïb, and the Muftee of the Hanafees, who is summoned to hear it, and to give his decision; and sometimes, in cases of very great difficulty or moment, several of the ’Ulama of Cairo are, in like manner, summoned. The Muftee hears the case and writes his sentence, and the Kádee confirms his judgment, and stamps the paper with his seal, which is all that he has to do in any case. The accused may clear himself by his oath when the plaintiff has not witnesses to produce: placing his right hand on a copy of the Kur-án, which is held out to him, he says, “By God, the Great!” three times, adding, “By what is contained in this of the word of God!” The witnesses must be men of good repute, or asserted to be such, and not interested in the cause: in every case at least two witnesses are requisite[215] (or one man and two women); and each of these must be attested to be a person of probity by two others. An infidel cannot bear witness against a Muslim in a case involving capital or other heavy punishment; and evidence in favour of a son or grandson, or of a father or grandfather, is not received; nor is the testimony of slaves; neither can a master testify in favour of his slave.

The fees, until lately, used to be paid by the successful party; but now they are paid by the other party. The Kádee’s fees for decisions in cases respecting the sale of property are two per cent. on the amount of the property: in cases of legacies, four per cent., excepting when the heir is an orphan not of age, who pays only two per cent.: for decisions respecting property in houses or land, when the cost of the property in question is known, his fees are two per cent.; but when the cost is not known, one year’s rent. These are the legitimate fees; but more than the due amount is often exacted. In cases which do not concern property, the Kádee’s Náïb fixes the amount of the fees. There are also other fees than those of the Kádee to be paid after the decision of the case: for instance, if the Kádee’s fees be two or three hundred piasters, a fee of about two piasters must be paid to the Básh Turgumán; about the same to the Básh Rusul; and one piaster to the Rasool, or to each Rasool employed.

The rank of a plaintiff or defendant, or a bribe from either, often influences the decision of the judge. In general the Náïb and Muftee take bribes, and the Kádee receives from his Náïb. On some occasions, particularly in long litigations, bribes are given by each party, and the decision is awarded in favour of him who pays highest. This frequently happens in difficult law-suits; and even in cases respecting which the law is perfectly clear, strict justice is not always administered; bribes and false testimony being employed by one of the parties. The shocking extent to which the practices of bribery and suborning false witnesses are carried in Muslim courts of law, and among them in the tribunal of the Kádee of Cairo, may be scarcely credited on the bare assertion of the fact: some strong proof, resting on indubitable authority, may be demanded; and here I shall give such proof, in a summary of a case which was tried not long since, and which was related to me by the Secretary and Imám of the Sheykh El-Mahdee, who was then supreme Muftee of Cairo (being the chief Muftee of the Hanafees), and to whom this case was referred after judgment in the Kádee’s court.

A Turkish merchant, residing at Cairo, died, leaving property to the amount of six thousand purses,[216] and no relation to inherit but one daughter. The seyyid Mohammad El-Mahrookee, the Sháh-bandar (chief of the merchants of Cairo), hearing of this event, suborned a common felláh, who was the bowwáb (or door-keeper) of a respected sheykh, and whose parents (both of them Arabs) were known to many persons, to assert himself a son of a brother of the deceased. The case was brought before the Kádee, and, as it was one of considerable importance, several of the principal ’Ulama of the city were summoned to decide it. They were all bribed or influenced by El-Mahrookee, as will presently be shown; false witnesses were brought forward to swear to the truth of the bowwáb’s pretensions, and others to give testimony to the good character of these witnesses. Three thousand purses were adjudged to the daughter of the deceased, and the other half of the property to the bowwáb. El-Mahrookee received the share of the latter, deducting only three hundred piasters, which he presented to the bowwáb. The chief Muftee, El-Mahdee, was absent from Cairo when the case was tried. On his return to the metropolis, a few days after, the daughter of the deceased merchant repaired to his house, stated her case to him, and earnestly solicited redress. The Muftee, though convinced of the injustice which she had suffered, and not doubting the truth of what she related respecting the part which El-Mahrookee had taken in this affair, told her that he feared it was impossible for him to annul the judgment, unless there were some informality in the proceedings of the court, but that he would look at the record of the case in the register of the Mahkem′eh. Having done this, he betook himself to the Básha, with whom he was in great favour for his knowledge and inflexible integrity, and complained to him that the tribunal of the Kádee was disgraced by the administration of the most flagrant injustice; that false witness was admitted by the ’Ulama, however evident and glaring it might be; and that a judgment which they had given in a late case, during his absence, was the general talk and wonder of the town. The Básha summoned the Kádee and all the ’Ulama who had tried this case, to meet the Muftee in the Citadel; and when they had assembled there, addressed them, as from himself, with the Muftee’s complaint. The Kádee, appearing, like the ’Ulama, highly indignant at this charge, demanded to know upon what it was grounded. The Básha replied that it was a general charge, but particularly grounded on the case in which the court had admitted the claim of a bowwáb to a relationship and inheritance which they could not believe to be his right. The Kádee here urged that he had passed sentence in accordance with the unanimous decision of the ’Ulama then present. “Let the record of the case be read,” said the Básha. The journal being sent for, this was done; and when the secretary had finished reading the minutes, the Kádee, in a loud tone of proud authority, said, “And I judged so.” The Muftee, in a louder and more authoritative tone, exclaimed, “And thy judgment is false!” All eyes were fixed in astonishment, now at the Muftee, now at the Básha, now at the other ’Ulama. The Kádee and the ’Ulama rolled their heads and stroked their beards. The former exclaimed, tapping his breast, “I, the Kádee of Misr, pass a false sentence!” “And we,” said the ’Ulama, “we, Sheykh Mahdee! we, ’Ulama el-Islám, give a false decision!” “O Sheykh Mahdee,” said El-Mahrookee (who, from his commercial transactions with the Básha, could generally obtain a place in his councils), “respect the ’Ulama as they respect thee!” “O Mahrookee!” exclaimed the Muftee, “art thou concerned in this affair? Declare what part thou hast in it, or else hold thy peace: go, speak in the assemblies of the merchants, but presume not again to open thy mouth in the council of the ’Ulama!” El-Mahrookee immediately left the palace, for he saw how the affair would terminate, and had to make his arrangements accordingly. The Muftee was now desired, by the other ’Ulama, to adduce a proof of the invalidity of their decision. Drawing from his bosom a small book on the laws of inheritance, he read from it, “To establish a claim to relationship and inheritance, the names of the father and the mother of the claimant, and those of his father’s father and mother, and of his mother’s father and mother, must be ascertained.” The names of the father and mother of the pretended father of the bowwáb the false witnesses had not been prepared to give; and this deficiency in the testimony (which the ’Ulama, in trying the case, purposely overlooked) now caused the sentence to be annulled. The bowwáb was brought before the council, and, denying the imposition of which he had been made the principal instrument, was, by order of the Básha, very severely bastinaded; but the only confession that could be drawn from him by the torture which he endured was, that he had received nothing more of the three thousand purses than three hundred piasters. Meanwhile, El-Mahrookee had repaired to the bowwáb’s master: he told the latter what had happened at the Citadel, and what he had foreseen would be the result, put into his hand three thousand purses, and begged him immediately to go to the council, give this sum of money, and say that it had been placed in his hands in trust by his servant. This was done, and the money was paid to the daughter of the deceased.

In another case, when the Kádee and the council of the ’Ulama were influenced in their decision by a Básha (not Mohammad ’Alee), and passed a sentence contrary to law, they were thwarted in the same manner by El-Mahdee. This Muftee was a rare example of integrity. It is said that he never took a fee for a fetwa. He died shortly after my first visit to this country.—I could mention several other glaring cases of bribery in the court of the Kádee of Cairo; but the above is sufficient.

There are five minor Mahkem′ehs in Cairo; and likewise one at its principal port, Boolák; and one at its southern port, Masr El-’Ateekah. A Sháhid from the great Mahkem′eh presides at each of them, as deputy of the chief Kádee, who confirms their acts. The matters submitted to these minor tribunals are chiefly respecting the sales of property, and legacies, marriages, and divorces; for the Kádee marries female orphans under age who have no relations of age to act as their guardians; and wives often have recourse to law to compel their husbands to divorce them. In every country-town there is also a Kádee, generally a native of the place, and never a Turk, who decides all cases, sometimes from his own knowledge of the law, but commonly on the authority of a Muftee. One Kádee generally serves for two or three or more villages.

Each of the four orthodox sects of the Muslims (the Hanafees, Sháfe’ees, Málikees, and Hambel′ees) has its “Sheykh,” or religious chief, who is chosen from among the most learned of the body, and resides in the metropolis. The Sheykh of the great mosque El-Azhar (who is always of the sect of the Sháfe’ees, and sometimes Sheykh of that sect), together with the other Sheykhs above mentioned, and the Kadee, the Nakeeb el-Ashraf (the chief of the Shereefs, or descendants of the Prophet), and several other persons, constitute the council of the ’Ulama[217] (or learned men), by whom the Turkish Báshas and Memlook chiefs have often been kept in awe, and by whom their tyranny has frequently been restricted: but now this learned body has lost almost all its influence over the government. Petty disputes are often, by mutual consent of the parties at variance, submitted to the judgment of one of the four Sheykhs first mentioned, as they are the chief Muftees of their respective sects; and the utmost deference is always paid to them. Difficult and delicate causes, which concern the laws of the Kur-án or the Traditions, are also frequently referred by the Básha to these Sheykhs; but their opinion is not always followed by him: for instance, after consulting them respecting the legality of dissecting human bodies, for the sake of acquiring anatomical knowledge, and receiving their declaration that it was repugnant to the laws of the religion, he, nevertheless, has caused it to be practised by Muslim students of anatomy.

The police of the metropolis is more under the direction of the military than of the civil power. A few years ago it was under the authority of the “Wálee” and the “Zábit;” but since my first visit to this country the office of the former has been abolished. He was charged with the apprehension of thieves and other criminals; and under his jurisdiction were the public women, of whom he kept a list, and from each of whom he exacted a tax. He also took cognizance of the conduct of the women in general; and when he found a female to have been guilty of a single act of incontinence, he added her name to the list of the public women, and demanded from her the tax, unless she preferred, or could afford, to escape that ignominy, by giving to him, or to his officers, a considerable bribe. This course was always pursued, and is still, by a person who farms the tax of the public women,[218] in the case of unmarried females, and generally in the case of the married also; but the latter are sometimes privately put to death, if they cannot, by bribery or some other artifice, save themselves. Such proceedings are, however, in two points, contrary to the law, which ordains that a person who accuses a woman of adultery or fornication, without producing four witnesses of the crime, shall be scourged with eighty stripes, and decrees other punishments than those of degradation and tribute against women convicted of such offences.

The office of the Zábit has before been mentioned. He is now the chief of the police. His officers, who have no distinguishing mark to render them known as such, are interspersed through the metropolis: they often visit the coffee-shops, and observe the conduct, and listen to the conversation, of the citizens. Many of them are pardoned thieves. They accompany the military guards in their nightly rounds through the streets of the metropolis. Here, none but the blind are allowed to go out at night later than about an hour and a half after sunset, without a lantern or a light of some kind. Few persons are seen in the streets later than two or three hours after sunset. At the fifth or sixth hour, one might pass through the whole length of the metropolis and scarcely meet more than a dozen or twenty persons, excepting the watchmen and guards, and the porters at the gates of the bye-streets and quarters. The sentinel, or guard, calls out to the approaching passenger, in Turkish, “Who is that?” and is answered in Arabic, “A citizen.”[219] The private watchman, in the same case exclaims, “Attest the unity of God!” or merely, “Attest the unity!”[220] The reply given to this is, “There is no deity but God!” which Christians, as well as Muslims, object not to say; the former understanding these words in a different sense from the latter. It is supposed that a thief, or a person bound on any unlawful undertaking, would not dare to utter these words. Some persons loudly exclaim, in reply to the summons of the watchman, “There is no deity but God: Mohammad is God’s Apostle.” The private watchmen are employed to guard, by night, the sooks (or market-streets) and other districts of the town. They carry a nebboot (or long staff), but no lantern.

The Zábit, or A′gha of the police, used frequently to go about the metropolis by night, often accompanied only by the executioner and the “shealeg′ee,” or bearer of a kind of torch called “shealeh,” which is still in use.[221] This torch burns, soon after it is lighted, without a flame, excepting when it is waved through the air, when it suddenly blazes forth: it therefore answers the same purpose as our dark lantern. The burning end is sometimes concealed in a small pot or jar, or covered with something else, when not required to give light; but it is said that thieves often smell it in time to escape meeting the bearer. When a person without a light is met by the police at night, he seldom attempts resistance or flight; the punishment to which he is liable is beating. The chief of the police had an arbitrary power to put any criminal or offender to death without trial, and when not obnoxious, by law, to capital punishment; and so also had many inferior officers, as will be seen in subsequent pages of this work: but within the last two or three years, instances of the exercise of such power have been very rare, and I believe they would not now be permitted. The officers of the Zábit perform their nightly rounds with the military guards merely as being better acquainted than the latter with the haunts and practices of thieves and other bad characters; and the Zábit himself scarcely ever exercises any penal authority beyond that of beating or flogging.

Very curious measures, such as we read of in some of the tales of “the Thousand and One Nights,” were often adopted by the police magistrates of Cairo, to discover an offender, before the late innovations. I may mention an instance. The authenticity of the following case, and of several others of a similar nature, is well known. I shall relate it in the manner in which I have heard it told.—A poor man applied one day to the A′gha of the police, and said, “Sir, there came to me, to-day, a woman, and she said to me, ‘’Take this “kurs,”[222] and let it remain in your possession for a time, and lend me five hundred piasters:’ and I took it from her, Sir, and gave her the five hundred piasters, and she went away: and when she was gone away, I said to myself, ‘’Let me look at this kurs;’ and I looked at it, and behold, it was yellow brass: and I slapped my face, and said, ‘’I will go to the A′gha, and relate my story to him; perhaps he will investigate the affair, and clear it up;’ for there is none that can help me in this matter but thou.” The A′gha said to him, “Hear what I tell thee, man. Take whatever is in thy shop; leave nothing; and lock it up; and to-morrow morning go early; and when thou hast opened the shop, cry out, ‘’Alas for my property!’ then take in thy hands two clods, and beat thyself with them, and cry, ‘’Alas for the property of others!’ and whoever says to thee, ‘’What is the matter with thee?’ do thou answer, ‘’The property of others is lost: a pledge that I had, belonging to a woman, is lost; if it were my own, I should not thus lament it;’ and this will clear up the affair.” The man promised to do as he was desired. He removed everything from his shop, and early the next morning he went and opened it, and began to cry out, “Alas for the property of others!” and he took two clods, and beat himself with them, and went about every district of the city, crying, “Alas for the property of others! a pledge that I had, belonging to a woman, is lost; if it were my own, I should not thus lament it.” The woman who had given him the kurs in pledge heard of this, and discovered that it was the man whom she had cheated; so she said to herself, “Go and bring an action against him.” She went to his shop, riding on an ass, to give herself consequence, and said to him, “Man, give me my property that is in thy possession.” He answered, “It is lost.” “Thy tongue be cut out!” she cried: “dost thou lose my property? By Allah! I will go to the A′gha, and inform him of it.” “Go,” said he; and she went, and told her case. The A′gha sent for the man; and, when he had come, said to his accuser, “What is thy property in his possession?” She answered, “A kurs of red Venetian gold.” “Woman,” said the A′gha, “I have a gold kurs here: I should like to show it thee.” She said, “Show it me, Sir, for I shall know my kurs.” The A′gha then untied a handkerchief, and, taking out of it the kurs which she had given in pledge, said, “Look.” She looked at it and knew it, and hung down her head. The A′gha said, “Raise thy head, and say where are the five hundred piasters of this man.” She answered, “Sir, they are in my house.” The executioner was sent with her to her house, but without his sword; and the woman, having gone into the house, brought out a purse containing the money, and went back with him. The money was given to the man from whom it had been obtained, and the executioner was then ordered to take the woman to the Rumeyleh (a large open place below the Citadel), and there to behead her; which he did.

The markets of Cairo, and the weights and measures, are under the inspection of an officer called the “Mohtes′ib.” He occasionally rides about the town, preceded by an officer who carries a large pair of scales, and followed by the executioners and numerous other servants. Passing by shops, or through the markets, he orders each shopkeeper, one after another, or sometimes only one here and there, to produce his scales, weights, and measures, and tries whether they be correct. He also inquires the prices of provisions at the shops where such articles are sold. Often, too, he stops a servant, or other passenger in the street, whom he may chance to meet carrying any article of food that he has just bought, and asks him for what sum, or at what weight, he purchased it. When he finds that a shopkeeper has incorrect scales, weights, or measures, or that he has sold a thing deficient in weight, or above the regular market price, he punishes him on the spot. The general punishment is beating or flogging. Once I saw a man tormented in a different way, for selling bread deficient in weight. A hole was bored through his nose, and a cake of bread, about a span wide, and a finger’s breadth in thickness, was suspended to it by a piece of string. He was stripped naked, with the exception of having a piece of linen about his loins, and tied, with his arms bound behind him, to the bars of a window of a mosque called the Ashrafeeyeh, in the main street of the metropolis, his feet resting upon the sill. He remained thus about three hours, exposed to the gaze of the multitude which thronged the street, and to the scorching rays of the sun.

A person who was appointed Mohtes′ib shortly after my former visit to this country (Mustaf′a Káshif, a Kurd) exercised his power in a most brutal manner, clipping men’s ears (that is, cutting off the lobe, or ear-lap), not only for the most trifling transgression, but often for no offence whatever. He once met an old man, driving along several asses laden with water-melons, and pointing to one of the largest of these fruits, asked its price. The old man put his finger and thumb to his ear-lap, and said, “Cut it, Sir.” He was asked again and again, and gave the same answer. The Mohtes′ib, angry, but unable to refrain from laughing, said, “Fellow, are you mad or deaf?” “No,” replied the old man, “I am neither mad nor deaf; but I know that, if I were to say the price of the melon is ten faddahs, you would say, ‘Clip his ear’; and if I said five faddahs, or one faddah, you would say, ‘Clip his ear’; therefore clip it at once, and let me pass on.” His humour saved him.—Clipping ears was the usual punishment inflicted by this Mohtes′ib; but sometimes he tortured in a different manner. A butcher, who had sold some meat wanting two ounces of its due weight, he punished by cutting off two ounces of flesh from his back. A seller of “kunáfeh” (a kind of paste resembling vermicelli) having made his customers pay a trifle more than was just, he caused him to be stripped, and seated upon the round copper tray on which the kunáfeh was baked, and kept so until he was dreadfully burnt. He generally punished dishonest butchers by putting a hook through their nose, and hanging a piece of meat to it. Meeting, one day, a man carrying a large crate full of earthen water-bottles from Semennood, which he offered for sale as made at Kinë, he caused his attendants to break each bottle separately against the vendor’s head. Mustaf’a Káshif also exercised his tyranny in other cases than those which properly fell under his jurisdiction. He once took a fancy to send one of his horses to a bath, and desired the keeper of a bath in his neighbourhood to prepare for receiving it, and to wash it well, and make its coat very smooth. The bath-keeper, annoyed at so extraordinary a command, ventured to suggest that, as the pavements of the bath were of marble, the horse might slip, and fall; and also, that it might take cold on going out; and that it would, therefore, be better for him to convey to the stable the contents of the cistern of the bath in buckets, and there to perform the operation. Mustaf′a Káshif said, “I see how it is; you do not like that my horse should go into your bath.” He desired some of his servants to throw him down, and beat him with staves until he should tell them to stop. They did so; and beat the poor man till he died.

A few years ago there used to be carried before the Mohtes′ib, when going his rounds to examine the weights and measures, etc., a pair of scales larger than that used at present. Its beam, it is said, was a hollow tube, containing some quicksilver; by means of which, the bearer, knowing those persons who had bribed his master, and those who had not, easily made either scale preponderate.

As the Mohtes′ib is the overseer of the public markets, so there are officers who have a similar charge in superintending each branch of the Básha’s trade and manufactures; and some of these persons have been known to perpetrate most abominable acts of tyranny and cruelty. One of this class, who was named ’Alee Bey, “Názir el-Kumásh” (or Overseer of the Linen), when he found a person in possession of a private loom, or selling the produce of such a loom, generally bound him up in a piece of his linen, soaked in oil and tar; then suspended him, thus enveloped, to a branch of a tree, and set light to the wrapper. After having destroyed a number of men in this horrible manner, he was himself, among many others, burnt to death, by the explosion of a powder-magazine on the northern slope of the Citadel of Cairo, in 1824, the year before my first arrival in Egypt. A friend of mine, who spoke to me of the atrocities of this monster, added, “When his corpse was taken to be buried, the Sheykh El-’Aroosee (who was Sheykh of the great mosque El-Azhar) recited the funeral prayers over it, in the mosque of the Hasaneyn; and I acted as ‘muballigh’ (to repeat the words of the Imám): when the Sheykh uttered the words, ‘Give your testimony respecting him,’ and when I had repeated them, no one of all the persons present, and they were many, presumed to give the answer, ‘He was of the virtuous’: all were silent. To make the circumstance more glaring, I said again, ‘Give your testimony respecting him:’ but not an answer was heard; and the Sheykh, in confusion, said, but in a very low voice, ‘May God have mercy upon him.’ Now we may certainly say of this cursed man,” continued my friend, “that he is gone to hell: yet his wife is constantly having ‘khatmehs’ (recitations of the Kur-án) performed in her house for him; and lights two wax candles, for his sake, every evening, at the niche of the mosque of the Hasaneyn.”

Every quarter in the metropolis has its sheykh, called “Sheykh el-Hárah,” whose influence is exerted to maintain order, to settle any trifling disputes among the inhabitants, and to expel those who disturb the peace of their neighbours. The whole of the metropolis is also divided into eight districts, over each of which is a sheykh, called “Sheykh et-Tumn.”

The members of various trades and manufactures in the metropolis and other large towns have also their respective sheykhs, to whom all disputes respecting matters connected with those trades or crafts are submitted for arbitration; and whose sanction is required for the admission of new members.

The servants in the metropolis are likewise under the authority of particular sheykhs. Any person in want of a servant may procure one by applying to one of these officers, who, for a small fee (two or three piasters), becomes responsible for the conduct of the man whom he recommends. Should a servant so engaged rob his master, the latter gives information to the sheykh, who, whether he can recover the stolen property or not, must indemnify the master.

Even the common thieves used, not many years since, to respect a superior, who was called their sheykh. He was often required to search for stolen goods, and to bring offenders to justice; which he generally accomplished. It is very remarkable that the same strange system prevailed among the ancient Egyptians.[223]

The Coptic Patriarch, who is the head of his church, judges petty causes among his people in the metropolis; and the inferior clergy do the same in other places; but an appeal may be made to the Kádee. A Muslim aggrieved by a Copt may demand justice from the Patriarch or the Kádee: a Copt who seeks redress from a Muslim must apply to the Kádee. The Jews are similarly circumstanced. The Franks, or Europeans in general, are not answerable to any other authority than that of their respective consuls, excepting when they are aggressors against a Muslim: they are then surrendered to the Turkish authorities, who, on the other hand, will render justice to the Frank who is aggrieved by a Muslim.

The inhabitants of the country-towns and villages are under the government of Turkish officers and of their own countrymen. The whole of Egypt is divided into several large provinces, each of which is governed by an ’Osmánlee (or a Turk); and these provinces are subdivided into districts, which are governed by native officers, with the titles of “Mamoor and Názir.” Every village, as well as town, has also its Sheykh, called “Sheykh el-Beled;” who is one of the native Muslim inhabitants. All the officers above mentioned, excepting the last, were formerly Turks; and there were other Turkish governors of small districts, who were called “Ká-shifs,” and “ Káïm-makáms:” the change was made very shortly before my present visit to this country; and the Felláheen complain that their condition is worse than it was before; but it is generally from the tyranny of their great Turkish governors that they suffer most severely.

The following case will convey some idea of the condition of Egyptian peasants in some provinces. A Turk,[224] infamous for many barbarous acts, presiding at the town of Tanta, in the Delta, went one night to the government-granary of that town, and, finding two peasants sleeping there, asked them who they were, and what was their business in that place. One of them said that he had brought 130 ardebbs of corn from a village of the district; and the other, that he had brought 60 ardebbs from the land belonging to the town. “You rascal!” said the governor to the latter; “this man brings 130 ardebbs from the lands of a small village; and you, but 60 from the lands of the town.” “This man,” answered the peasant of Tanta, “brings corn but once a week; and I am now bringing it every day.” “Be silent!” said the governor; and, pointing to a neighbouring tree, he ordered one of the servants of the granary to hang the peasant to one of its branches. The order was obeyed, and the governor returned to his house. The next morning he went again to the granary, and saw a man bringing in a large quantity of corn. He asked who he was, and what quantity he had brought; and was answered, by the hangman of the preceding night, “This is the man, Sir, whom I hanged by your orders, last night; and he has brought 160 ardebbs.” “What!” exclaimed the governor: “has he risen from the dead?” He was answered, “No, Sir; I hanged him so that his toes touched the ground; and when you were gone, I untied the rope: you did not order me to kill him.” The Turk muttered, “Aha! hanging and killing are different things: Arabic is copious: next time I will say kill. Take care of Aboo-Dá-ood.”[225] This is his nick-name.

Another occurrence may here be aptly related, as a further illustration of the nature of the government to which the people of Egypt are subjected. A felláh, who was appointed Názir (or governor) of the district of El-Manoofeeyeh (the southernmost district of the Delta), a short time before my present visit to Egypt, in collecting the taxes at a village, demanded, of a poor peasant, the sum of sixty riyáls (ninety faddahs each, making a sum total of a hundred and thirty-five piasters, which was then equivalent to about thirty shillings). The poor man urged that he possessed nothing but a cow, which barely afforded sustenance to himself and his family. Instead of pursuing the method usually followed when a felláh declares himself unable to pay the tax demanded of him, which is to give him a severe bastinading, the Názir, in this case, sent the Sheykh el-Beled to bring the poor peasant’s cow, and desired some of the felláheen to buy it. They saying that they had not sufficient money, he sent for a butcher, and desired him to kill the cow; which was done: he then told him to divide it into sixty pieces. The butcher asked for his pay; and was given the head of the cow. Sixty felláheen were then called together; and each of them was compelled to purchase, for a riyál, a piece of the cow. The owner of the cow went, weeping and complaining, to the Názir’s superior, the late Mohammad Bey, Deftardár. “O my master,” said he, “I am oppressed and in misery: I had no property but one cow, a milch cow: I and my family lived upon her milk; and she ploughed for me, and threshed my corn; and my whole subsistence was derived from her: the Názir has taken her, and killed her, and cut her up into sixty pieces, and sold the pieces to my neighbours—to each a piece, for one riyál; so that he obtained but sixty riyáls for the whole, while the value of the cow was a hundred and twenty riyáls, or more. I am oppressed and in misery, and a stranger in the place, for I came from another village; but the Názir had no pity on me. I and my family are become beggars, and have nothing left. Have mercy upon me, and give me justice: I implore it by thy hareem.” The Deftardár, having caused the Názir to be brought before him, asked him, “Where is the cow of this felláh?” “I have sold it,” said the Názir. “For how much?” “For sixty riyáls.” “Why did you kill it and sell it?” “He owed sixty riyáls for land: so I took his cow, and killed it, and sold it for the amount.” “Where is the butcher that killed it?” “In Manoof.” The butcher was sent for, and brought. The Deftardár said to him, “Why did you kill this man’s cow?” “The Názir desired me,” he answered, “and I could not oppose him: if I had attempted to do so, he would have beaten me, and destroyed my house: I killed it; and the Názir gave me the head as my reward.” “Man,” said the Deftardár, “do you know the persons who bought the meat?” The butcher replied that he did. The Deftardár then desired his secretary to write the names of the sixty men, and an order to the sheykh of their village to bring them to Manoof, where this complaint was made. The Názir and butcher were placed in confinement till the next morning; when the sheykh of the village came, with the sixty felláheen. The two prisoners were then brought again before the Deftardár, who said to the sheykh and the sixty peasants, “Was the value of this man’s cow sixty riyáls?” “O our master,” they answered, “her value was greater.” The Deftardár sent for the Kádee of Manoof, and said to him, “O Kádee, here is a man oppressed by this Názir, who has taken his cow, and killed it; and sold its flesh for sixty riyáls. What is thy judgment?” The Kádee replied, “He is a cruel tyrant, who oppresses every one under his authority. Is not a cow worth a hundred and twenty riyáls, or more? and he has sold this one for sixty riyáls: this is tyranny towards the owner.” The Deftardár then said to some of his soldiers, “Take the Názir, and strip him, and bind him.” This done, he said to the butcher, “Butcher, dost thou not fear God? Thou hast killed the cow unjustly.” The butcher again urged that he was obliged to obey the Názir. “Then,” said the Deftardár, “if I order thee to do a thing, wilt thou do it?” “I will do it,” answered the butcher. “Slaughter the Názir,” said the Deftardár. Immediately, several of the soldiers present seized the Názir, and threw him down; and the butcher cut his throat, in the regular orthodox manner of killing animals for food. “Now, cut him up,” said the Deftardár, “into sixty pieces.” This was done: the people concerned in the affair, and many others, looking on; but none daring to speak. The sixty peasants who had bought the meat of the cow were then called forward, one after another, and each was made to take a piece of the flesh of the Názir, and to pay for it two riyáls; so that a hundred and twenty riyáls were obtained from them. They were then dismissed; but the butcher remained. The Kádee was asked what should be the reward of the butcher; and answered that he should be paid as he had been paid by the Názir. The Deftardár therefore ordered that the head of the Názir should be given to him; and the butcher went away with his worse than valueless burden, thanking God that he had not been more unfortunate, and scarcely believing himself to have so easily escaped until he arrived at his village. The money paid for the flesh of the Názir was given to the owner of the cow.

Most of the governors of provinces and districts carry their oppression far beyond the limits to which they are authorized to proceed by the Básha; and even the sheykh of a village, in executing the commands of his superiors, abuses his lawful power: bribes, and the ties of relationship and marriage, influence him and them, and by lessening the oppression of some, who are more able to bear it, greatly increase that of others. But the office of a sheykh of a village is far from being a sinecure: at the period when the taxes are demanded of him, he frequently receives a more severe bastinading than any of his inferiors; for when the population of a village does not yield the sum required, their sheykh is often beaten for their default: and not always does he produce his own proportion until he has been well thrashed. All the felláheen are proud of the stripes they receive for withholding their contributions; and are often heard to boast of the number of blows which were inflicted upon them before they would give up their money. Ammianus Marcellinus gives precisely the same character to the Egyptians of his time.[226]

The revenue of the Básha of Egypt is generally said to amount to about three millions of pounds sterling.[227] Nearly half arises from the direct taxes on land, and from indirect exactions from the felláheen: the remainder, principally from the custom-taxes, the tax on palm-trees, a kind of income-tax, and the sale of various productions of the land; by which sale, the government, in most instances, obtains a profit of more than fifty per cent.

The present Básha has increased his revenue to this amount by most oppressive measures. He has dispossessed of their lands almost all the private proprietors throughout Egypt, allotting to each, as a partial compensation, a pension for life, proportioned to the extent and quality of the land which belonged to him. The farmer has, therefore, nothing to leave to his children but his hut, and perhaps a few cattle and some small savings.

The direct taxes on land are proportioned to the natural advantages of the soil. Their average amount is about 8_s._ per feddán, which is nearly equal to an English acre.[228] But the cultivator can never calculate exactly the full amount of what the government will require of him: he suffers from indirect exactions of quantities (differing in different years, but always levied per feddán) of butter, honey, wax, wool, baskets of palm-leaves, ropes of the fibres of the palm-tree, and other commodities: he is also obliged to pay the hire of the camels which convey his grain to the government shooneh (or granary), and to defray various other expenses. A portion of the produce of his land is taken by the government,[229] and sometimes the whole produce, at a fixed and fair price, which, however, in many parts of Egypt, is retained to make up for the debts of the insolvent peasants.[230] The felláh, to supply the bare necessaries of life, is often obliged to steal, and convey secretly to his hut, as much as he can of the produce of his land. He may either himself supply the seed for his land, or obtain it as a loan from the government: but in the latter case he seldom obtains a sufficient quantity, a considerable portion being generally stolen by the persons through whose hands it passes before he receives it. To relate all the oppressions which the peasantry of Egypt endure from the dishonesty of the Mamoors and inferior officers would require too much space in the present work. It would be scarcely possible for them to suffer more, and live. It may be hardly necessary, therefore, to add, that few of them engage, with assiduity, in the labours of agriculture, unless compelled to do so by their superiors.

The Básha has not only taken possession of the lands of the private proprietors, but he has also thrown into his treasury a considerable proportion of the incomes of religious and charitable institutions, deeming their accumulated wealth superfluous. He first imposed a tax (of nearly half the amount of the regular land-tax) upon all land which had become a “wakf” (or legacy unalienable by law) to any mosque, fountain, public school, etc.; and afterwards took absolute possession of such lands, granting certain annuities in lieu of them, for keeping in repair the respective buildings, and for the maintenance of those persons attached to them, as Názirs (or wardens), religious ministers, inferior servants, students, and other pensioners. He has thus rendered himself extremely odious to most persons of the religious and learned professions, and especially to the Názirs of the mosques, who too generally enriched themselves from the funds intrusted to their care, which were, in most cases, superabundant. The household property of the mosques and other public institutions (the wakfs of numerous individuals of various ranks) the Básha has hitherto left inviolate.

The tax upon the palm-trees has been calculated to amount to about a hundred thousand pounds sterling. The trees are rated according to their qualities; generally at a piaster and a half each.

The income-tax, which is called “firdeh,” is generally a twelfth or more of a man’s annual income or salary, when that can be ascertained. The maximum, however, is fixed at five hundred piasters. In the large towns it is levied upon individuals; in the villages upon houses. The income-tax of all the inhabitants of the metropolis amounts to eight thousand purses, or about forty thousand pounds sterling.

The inhabitants of the metropolis and of other large towns pay a heavy tax on grain, etc. The tax on each kind of grain is eighteen piasters per ardebb (or about five bushels); which sum is equal to the price of wheat in the country after a good harvest.[231]

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Footnote 208:

Though his territory has been greatly lessened since the above was written, his power in Egypt remains nearly the same.

Footnote 209:

The government of Egypt, from the period of the conquest of this country by the Arabs, has been nearly the same as it is at present in its influence upon the manners and customs and character of the inhabitants; and I therefore do not deem an historical retrospect necessary to the illustration of this work. It should, however, be mentioned that the people of Egypt are not now allowed to indulge in that excessive fanatical rudeness with which they formerly treated unbelievers; and hence European travellers have one great cause for gratitude to Mohammad ’Alee. Restraint may, at first, increase, but will probably, in the course of time, materially diminish the feeling of fanatical intolerance.

Footnote 210:

“Khideewee” is a relative adjective formed from the Turkish “Khideev,” which signifies “a prince.”

Footnote 211:

Thus pronounced in Egypt, but more properly “Kyáhya,” or “Ketkhud′a.”

Footnote 212:

A very arbitrary power is often exercised in this and similar courts, and the proceedings are conducted with little decorum. Many Turkish officers, even of the highest rank, make use of language far too disgusting for me to mention, towards persons brought before them for judgment, and towards those who appeal to them for justice.

Footnote 213:

He used to arrive in Cairo in the beginning of Ramadán; but the beginning of the first month, Moharram, has of late been fixed upon, instead of the former period.

Footnote 214:

The Egyptian piaster is now equivalent to the fifth part of a shilling, or 2¼_d._

Footnote 215:

This law is borrowed from the Jews. See Deut. xix. 15.—A man may refuse to give his testimony.

Footnote 216:

A purse is the sum of five hundred piasters, and was then equivalent to nearly seven pounds sterling, but is now equal to only five pounds.

Footnote 217:

In the singular “’A′lim.” This title is more particularly given to a professor of jurisprudence. European writers generally use the plural form of this appellation for the singular.

Footnote 218:

Since this was written, the public women throughout Egypt have been compelled to relinquish their licentious profession.

Footnote 219:

“Ibn beled.” If blind, he answers, “Aama.”

Footnote 220:

“Wahhed;” or, to more than one person, “Wahhedoo.”

Footnote 221:

Baron Hammer-Purgstall is mistaken in substituting “Meshaaledschi” for “Shealeg′ee.” The officer who bears the latter appellation does not carry a mesh′al, but a twisted torch. The mesh′al is described and figured in Chap. vi.

Footnote 222:

An ornament worn on the crown of the head-dress by women, described in the Appendix to this work.

Footnote 223:

See Diodorus Siculus, lib. i., cap. 80.

Footnote 224:

Suleymán A′gha, the Silahdár.

Footnote 225:

Aboo-Dá-ood, Aboo-’Alee, etc., are patronymics, used by the Egyptian peasants in general, not as signifying “Father of Dá-ood,” “Father of ’Alee,” etc., but “whose father is (or was) Dá-ood,” “—— ’Alee,” etc.

Footnote 226:

Lib. xxii. The more easily the peasant pays, the more is he made to pay.

Footnote 227:

Some estimate it at five millions; others, at little more than two millions.

Footnote 228:

The feddán has lately been reduced: it was equal to about an English acre and one-tenth a few years ago; and somewhat more at an earlier period.

Footnote 229:

Of some productions, as cotton, flax, etc., the government always takes the whole.

Footnote 230:

Even the debts of the peasantry of one village are often imposed upon the inhabitants of another who have paid all that is justly due from them.

Footnote 231:

The above account of the government of Egypt, having been written in the years 1834 and 1835, is not altogether correct with respect to the present time (1842). Great changes are now being made in various departments; and as the Básha has no longer to maintain an enormous military and naval force, he will be able to ameliorate very considerably the condition of the people whom he governs. Most of the evils of which the people of Egypt have hitherto had to complain have arisen from the vast expense incurred in war, from the conscription, and from the dishonesty of almost all the Básha’s civil officers.

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V. | | DOMESTIC LIFE

Having sufficiently considered the foundations of the moral and social state of the Muslims of Egypt, we may now take a view of their domestic life and ordinary habits; and, first, let us confine our attention to the higher and middle orders.

A master of a family, or any person who has arrived at manhood, and is not in a menial situation, or of very low condition, is commonly honoured with the appellation of “the sheykh,” prefixed to his name. The word “sheykh” literally signifies “an elder,” or “an aged person”; but it is often used as synonymous with our appellation of “Mister”; though more particularly applied to a learned man, or a reputed saint. A “shereef,” or descendant of the Prophet, is called “the seyd,” or “the seyyid” (master, or lord), whatever be his station. Many shereefs are employed in the lowest offices: there are servants, dustmen, and beggars, of the honoured race of Mohammad; but all of them are entitled to the distinctive appellation above mentioned, and privileged to wear the green turban;[232] many of them, however, not only among those of humble station, but also among the wealthy, and particularly the learned, assume neither of these prerogatives; preferring the title of “sheykh,” and the white turban. A man who has performed the pilgrimage is generally called “the hágg;”[233] and a woman who has alike distinguished herself, “the hággeh:” yet there are many pilgrims who, like those shereefs just before alluded to, prefer the title of “sheykh.” The general appellation of a lady is “the sitt,” which signifies “the mistress,” or “the lady.”

Before I describe the ordinary habits of the master of a family, I must mention the various classes of persons of whom the family may consist. The hareem, or the females of the house, have distinct apartments allotted to them; and into these apartments (which, as well as the persons to whom they are appropriated, are called “the hareem”) no males are allowed to enter, excepting the master of the family, and certain other near relations, and children. The hareem may consist, first, of a wife, or wives (to the number of four); secondly, of female slaves, some of whom, namely, white and Abyssinian slaves, are generally concubines, and others (the black slaves) kept merely for servile offices, as cooking, waiting upon the ladies, etc.; thirdly, of female free servants, who are, in no case, concubines, or not legitimately so. The male dependants may consist of white and of black slaves, and free servants; but are mostly of the last-mentioned class. Very few of the Egyptians avail themselves of the licence, which their religion allows them, of having four wives; and still smaller is the number of those who have two or more wives, and concubines besides. Even most of those men who have but one wife are content, for the sake of domestic peace, if for no other reason, to remain without a concubine slave: but some prefer the possession of an Abyssinian slave to the more expensive maintenance of a wife; and keep a black slave-girl, or an Egyptian female servant, to wait upon her, to clean and keep in order the apartments of the hareem, and to cook. It is seldom that two or more wives are kept in the same house: if they be, they generally have distinct apartments. Of male servants, the master of a family keeps, if he can afford to do so, one or more to wait upon him and his male guests: another, who is called a “sakka,” or water-carrier, but who is particularly a servant of the hareem, and attends the ladies when they go out;[234] a “bowwáb,” or door-keeper, who constantly sits at the door of the house; and a “sáïs,” or groom, for the horse, mule, or ass. Few of the Egyptians have “memlooks,” or male white slaves; most of these being in the possession of rich ’Osmánlees (or Turks); and scarcely any but Turks of high rank keep eunuchs: but a wealthy Egyptian merchant is proud of having a black slave to ride or walk behind him, and to carry his pipe.

The Egyptian is a very early riser; as he retires to sleep at an early hour: it is his duty to be up and dressed before daybreak, when he should say the morning-prayers. In general, while the master of a family is performing the religious ablution, and saying his prayers, his wife or slave is preparing for him a cup of coffee, and filling his pipe, which she presents to him as soon as he has acquitted himself of his religious duties.

Many of the Egyptians take nothing before noon but the cup of coffee and the pipe: others take a light meal at an early hour. The meal of breakfast (“el-fatoor”) generally consists of bread, with eggs, butter, cheese, clouted cream, or curdled milk, etc.; or of a “fateereh,” which is a kind of pastry, saturated with butter, made very thin, and folded over and over like a napkin: it is eaten alone, or with a little honey poured over it, or sugar. A very common dish for breakfast is “fool mudemmes,” or beans, similar to our horse-beans, slowly boiled, during a whole night, in an earthen vessel, buried, all but the neck, in the hot ashes of an oven or a bath, and having the mouth closely stopped: they are eaten with linseed-oil, or butter, and generally with a little lime-juice: thus prepared, they are sold in the morning in the sooks (or markets) of Cairo and other towns. A meal is often made (by those who cannot afford luxuries) of bread and a mixture called “dukkah,” which is commonly composed of salt and pepper, with “zaatar” (or wild marjoram) or mint or cumin-seed, and with one, or more, or all, of the following ingredients: namely, coriander-seed, cinnamon, sesame, and “hommus” (or chick-peas): each mouthful of bread is dipped in this mixture. The bread is always made in the form of a round flat cake, generally about a span in width, and a finger’s breadth in thickness.

The pipe and the cup of coffee are enjoyed by almost all persons who can afford such luxuries, very early in the morning, and oftentimes during the day. There are many men who are scarcely ever seen without a pipe either in their hand or carried behind them by a servant. The smoker keeps his tobacco for daily use in a purse or bag made of shawl-stuff, or silk, or velvet, which is often accompanied with a small pouch containing a flint and steel, and some agaric tinder, and is usually crammed into his bosom.

The pipe (which is called by many names, as “shibuk,” “’ood,” etc.) is generally between four and five feet long; some pipes are shorter, and some are of greater length. The most common kind used in Egypt is made of a kind of wood called “garmash′ak.”[235] The greater part of the stick (from the mouth-piece to about three-quarters of its length) is covered with silk, which is confined at each extremity by gold thread, often intertwined with coloured silks, or by a tube of gilt silver; and at the lower extremity of the covering is a tassel of silk. The covering was originally designed to be moistened with water, in order to cool the pipe, and, consequently, the smoke, by evaporation; but this is only done when the pipe is old, or not handsome. Cherry-stick pipes, which are never covered, are also used by many persons, particularly in the winter. In summer the smoke is not so cool from the cherry-stick pipe as from the kind before mentioned. The bowl is of baked earth, coloured red or brown.[236] The mouth-piece is composed of two or more pieces of opaque, light-coloured amber, interjoined by ornaments of enamelled gold, agate, jasper, carnelion, or some other precious substance. It is the most costly part of the pipe; the price of one of the kind most generally used by persons of the middle order is from about one to three pounds sterling. A wooden tube passes through it. This is often changed, as it soon becomes foul from the oil of the tobacco. The pipe also requires to be cleaned very often, which is done with tow, by means of a long wire. Many poor men in Cairo gain their livelihood by going about to clean pipes.

The tobacco smoked by persons of the higher orders, and some others, in Egypt, is of a very mild and delicious flavour. It is mostly from the neighbourhood of El-Ládikeeyeh, in Syria. The best kind is the “mountain tobacco,” grown on the hills about that town. A stronger kind, which takes its name from the town of Soor, sometimes mixed with the former, is used by most persons of the middle orders. In smoking, the people of Egypt and of other countries of the East draw in their breath freely, so that much of the smoke descends into the lungs; and the terms which they use to express “smoking tobacco” signify “drinking smoke,” or “drinking tobacco,” for the same word signifies both “smoke” and “tobacco.” Few of them spit while smoking; I have very seldom seen any do so.

Some of the Egyptians use the Persian pipe, in which the smoke passes through water. The pipe of this kind most commonly used by persons of the higher classes is called “nárgeeleh,” because the vessel that contains the water is a cocoa-nut, of which “nárgeeleh” is an Arabic name. Another kind, which has a glass vase, is called “sheesheh.”[237] Each has a very long flexible tube. A particular kind of tobacco, called “tumbák,” from Persia, is used in the water-pipe; it is first washed several times, and put into the pipe-bowl while damp, and two or three pieces of live charcoal are placed on the top. Its flavour is mild, and very agreeable; but the strong inhalation necessary in this mode of smoking is injurious to persons of delicate lungs.[238] In using the Persian pipe, the person as freely draws the smoke into his lungs as he would inhale pure air. The great prevalence of liver-complaints in Arabia is attributed to the general use of the nárgeeleh; and many persons in Egypt suffer severely from the same cause. A kind of pipe commonly called “gózeh,” which is similar to the nárgeeleh, excepting that it has a short cane tube, instead of the snake (or flexible one), and no stand, is used by men of the lowest class, for smoking both the tumbák and the intoxicating “hasheesh,” or hemp.

The coffee (“kahweh”[239]) is made very strong, and without sugar or milk. The coffee-cup (which is called “fingán”) is small, generally holding not quite an ounce and a half of liquid. It is of porcelain, or Dutch ware, and, being without a handle, is placed within another cup (called “zarf”), of silver or brass, according to the circumstances of the owner, and, both in shape and size, nearly resembling our egg-cup.[240] In preparing the coffee, the water is first made to boil, the coffee (freshly roasted and pounded) is then put in, and stirred, after which the pot is again placed on the fire, once or twice, until the coffee begins to simmer, when it is taken off, and its contents are poured out into the cups while the surface is yet creamy. The Egyptians are excessively fond of pure and strong coffee thus prepared, and very seldom add sugar to it (though some do so when they are unwell), and never milk or cream; but a little cardamom-seed is often added to it. It is a common custom, also, to fumigate the cup with the smoke of mastic; and the wealthy sometimes impregnate the coffee with the delicious fragrance of ambergris. The most general mode of doing this is to put about a carat-weight of ambergris in a coffee-pot, and melt it over a fire; then make the coffee in another pot, in the manner before described, and, when it has settled a little, pour it into the pot which contains the ambergris. Some persons make use of the ambergris, for the same purpose, in a different way, sticking a piece of it, of the weight of about two carats, in the bottom of the cup, and then pouring in the coffee; a piece of the weight above mentioned will serve for two or three weeks. This mode is often adopted by persons who like always to have the coffee which they themselves drink flavoured with this perfume, and do not give all their visitors the same luxury. The coffee-pot is sometimes brought in a vessel of silver or brass (called “’áz’kee”[241]), containing burning charcoal. This vessel is suspended by three chains. In presenting the coffee, the servant holds the foot of the zarf with his thumb and first finger. In receiving the fingán and zarf, he makes use of both hands, placing the left beneath and the right above at the same instant.

In cold weather, a brasier, or chafing-dish (called “mankal,” and vulgarly “mankad”), of tinned copper, full of burning charcoal, is placed on the floor, and sometimes perfume is burnt in it. The Egyptians take great delight in perfumes,[242] and often fumigate their apartments. The substance most commonly used for this purpose is frankincense of an inferior quality, called “bakhoor el-barr.” Benzoin and aloes-wood are also used for the same purpose.

If he can conveniently afford to keep a horse, mule, or ass, or to hire an ass, the Egyptian is seldom seen walking far beyond the threshold of his own house; but very few of the people of Cairo, or of the other towns, venture to expose themselves to the suspicion of possessing superfluous wealth, and, consequently, to greater exactions of the government than they would otherwise suffer, by keeping horses.[243] The modern saddle of the horse is generally padded, and covered with cloth or velvet, embroidered, or otherwise ornamented; and the head-stall and breast-leather are adorned with silk tassels, and coins, or other ornaments, of silver. Wealthy merchants, and the great ’ulama, usually ride mules. The saddle of the mule is, generally, nearly the same as that of the ass, of which a sketch is inserted; when the rider is one of the ’ulama, it is covered with a “seggádeh” (or prayer-carpet); so, also, sometimes, is the ladies’ saddle, from which, however, the former differs considerably, as will be shown hereafter. Asses are most generally used for riding through the narrow and crowded streets of Cairo, and there are many for hire; their usual pace is an easy amble. Egypt has long been famed for its excellent asses, which are, in general, larger than those of our country, and very superior to the latter in every respect. The usual price of one of a good breed and well trained is about three or four pounds sterling. The ass is furnished with a stuffed saddle, the forepart of which is covered with red leather, and the seat, most commonly, with a kind of soft woollen lace, similar to our coach-lace, of red, yellow, and other colours. The stirrup-leathers are, in every case, very short. The horseman is preceded by a servant, or by two servants, to clear the way; and, for the same purpose, a servant generally runs beside or behind the ass, or sometimes before, calling out to the passengers to move out of the way to the right or left, or to take care of their backs, faces, sides, feet, or heels.[245] The rider, however, must be vigilant, and not trust merely to his servant, or he may be thrown down by the wide load of a camel, which accident, indeed, is sometimes unavoidable in the more narrow and crowded streets. His pipe is generally carried by the servant, and filled and lighted if he dismount at a house or shop.

If he have no regular business to employ him, the Egyptian spends the greater part of the day in riding, paying visits, or making purchases; or in smoking and sipping coffee and chatting with a friend at home; or he passes an hour or more in the morning enjoying the luxuries of a public bath. At noon he has again to say prayers, if he fulfil the duties imposed on him by his religion; but, as I have remarked on a former occasion, there are comparatively few persons among the Egyptians who do not sometimes neglect these duties, and there are many who scarcely ever pray. Directly after midday (if he has not taken a late breakfast) he dines, then takes a pipe and a cup of coffee, and, in hot weather, usually indulges himself with a nap. Often he retires to recline in the hareem, where a wife or female slave watches over his repose, or rubs the soles of his feet with her hands. On such occasions, and at other times when he wishes to enjoy privacy, every person who comes to pay him a visit is told, by the servant, that he is in the hareem; and no friend expects him to be called thence, unless on very urgent business. From the time of the afternoon-prayers until sunset (the next time of prayer) he generally enjoys again his pipe and a cup of coffee in the society of some one or more of his friends at home or abroad. Shortly after sunset he sups.

I must now describe the meals of dinner (“el-ghada”) and supper (“el-’asha”), and the manner and etiquette of eating. The same remarks will apply to both these repasts; excepting that supper is always the principal meal. It is the general custom to cook in the afternoon, and what remains of the supper is eaten the next day for dinner, when there are no guests in the house. The master of a family generally dines and sups with his wife or wives and children; but there are many men, particularly of the higher classes, who are too proud to do this, or too much engaged in society to be able to do so, unless on some few occasions; and there are men even of the lowest class who scarcely ever eat with their wives or children. When a person is paying a visit to a friend, and the hour of dinner or supper arrives, it is incumbent on the master of the house to order the meal to be brought; and the same is generally considered necessary if the visitor be a stranger.

Every person, before he sits down to the table, or rather to the tray, washes his hands,[246] and sometimes his mouth also, with soap and water; or, at least, has some water poured upon his right hand. A servant brings to him a basin and ewer (called “tisht” and “ibreek”), of tinned copper, or brass.[247] The former of these has a cover pierced with holes, with a raised receptacle for the soap in the middle; and the water, being poured upon the hands, passes through this cover into the space below; so that when the basin is brought to a second person, the water with which the former one has washed is not seen. A napkin (“footah”) is given to each person.

A round tray (called “seeneeyeh,” and “sáneeyeh”) of tinned copper, or sometimes of brass, generally between two and three feet in diameter, serves as a table; being placed upon a stool (“kursee”) about fifteen inches high, made of wood, and often covered with mother-of-pearl, tortoise-shell, bone, etc. These two pieces of furniture compose the “sufrah.” Round cakes of bread, such as have been before described, sometimes cut in halves across the middle, are placed round the tray, with several limes, cut in two, to be squeezed over any of the dishes that may require the acid; and a spoon of box-wood, or of ebony, or tortoise-shell, is put for each person. The bread often serves as a plate. Several dishes of tinned copper, or of china, containing different kinds of viands, vegetables, etc., are then placed upon the tray, according to the common fashion of the country; or only one dish is put on at a time, after the Turkish mode.

The persons who are to partake of the repast sit upon the floor around the tray, each with his napkin upon his knees; or, if the tray be placed near the edge of a low deewán, which is often done, some of the persons may sit on the deewán, and the others on the floor: but if the party be numerous, the tray is placed in the middle of the room, and they sit round it with one knee on the ground, and the other (the right) raised; and, in this manner, as many as twelve persons may sit round a tray three feet wide. Each person bares his right arm to the elbow, or tucks up the hanging end of his sleeve. Before he begins to eat, he says, “Bi-smi-llah” (In the name of God).[249] This is generally said in a low, but audible voice; and by the master of the house first. It is considered both as a grace and as an invitation to any person to partake of the meal; and when any one is addressed with “Bi-smi-llah,” or “Tafaddal” (which latter signifies, in this case, “Do me the favour to partake of the repast”), he must reply, if he do not accept the invitation, “Heneeän” (or “May it be productive of enjoyment,” or “benefit”), or use some similar expression: else it will be feared that an evil eye has been cast upon the food; and they say that, “in the food that is coveted” (or upon which an envious eye has fallen), “there is no blessing.” But the manner in which the Egyptian often presses a stranger to eat with him, shows that feelings of hospitality most forcibly dictate the “Bi-smi-llah.” The master of the house first begins to eat; the guests or others immediately follow his example. Neither knives nor forks are used: the thumb and two fingers of the right hand serve instead of those instruments; but the spoons are used for soup or rice, or other things that cannot be easily taken without; and both hands may be used in particular cases, as will be presently explained. When there are several dishes upon the tray, each person takes of any that he likes, or of every one in succession: when only one dish is placed upon the tray at a time, each takes from it a few mouthfuls, and it is quickly removed, to give place to another.[251] To pick out a delicate morsel, and hand it to a friend, is esteemed polite. The manner of eating with the fingers, as practised in Egypt and other Eastern countries, is more delicate than may be imagined by Europeans who have not witnessed it, nor heard it correctly described. Each person breaks off a small piece of bread, dips it in the dish, and then conveys it to his mouth, together with a small portion of the meat or other contents of the dish.[252] The piece of bread is generally doubled together, so as to enclose the morsel of meat, etc.; and only the thumb and first and second fingers are commonly used. When a person takes a piece of meat too large for a single mouthful, he usually places it upon his bread.

The food is dressed in such a manner that it may be easily eaten in the mode above-described. It generally consists, for the most part, of “yakhnee,” or stewed meat, with chopped onions, or with a quantity of “bámiyehs,”[253] or other vegetables; “káwurmeh,” or a richer stew, with onions; “warak mahshee,” or vine-leaves, or bits of lettuce-leaf or cabbage-leaf, with a mixture of rice and minced meat (delicately seasoned with salt, pepper, and onions, and often with garlic, parsley, etc.) wrapped up in them, and boiled; cucumbers (“khiyár”), or black, white, or red “bádingáns,”[254] or a kind of gourd (called “kara kooseh”) of the size and shape of a small cucumber, which are all “mahshee,” or stuffed, with the same composition as the leaves above-mentioned; and “kebáb,” or small morsels of mutton or lamb, roasted on skewers. Many dishes consist wholly, or for the most part, of vegetables; such as cabbage, purslain, spinach, beans, lupins, chick peas, gourd cut into small pieces, colocasia, lentils, etc. Fish, dressed with oil, is also a common dish. Most of the meats are cooked with clarified butter, on account of the deficiency of fat; and are made very rich: the butter, in the hot season, is perfectly liquid. When a fowl is placed whole on the tray, both hands are generally required to separate the joints; or two persons, each using the right hand alone, perform this operation together: but some will do it very cleverly without assistance, and with a single hand. Many of the Arabs will not allow the left hand to touch food in any case,[255] excepting when the right is maimed. A boned fowl, stuffed with raisins, pistachio-nuts, crumbled bread, and parsley, is not an uncommon dish; and even a whole lamb, stuffed with pistachio-nuts, etc., is sometimes served up; but the meat is easily separated with one hand. Sweets are often mixed with stewed meat, etc.; as, for instance, “’annáb” (or jujubes), peaches, apricots, etc., and sugar, with yakhnee. Various kinds of sweets are also served up, and often in no particular order with respect to other meats. A favourite sweet dish is “kunáfeh,” which is made of wheat-flour, and resembles vermicelli, but is finer; it is fried with a little clarified butter, and sweetened with sugar or honey. A dish of water-melon (“batteekh”), if in season, generally forms part of the meal. This is cut up about a quarter of an hour before, and left to cool in the external air, or in a current of air, by the evaporation of the juice on the surfaces of the slices; but it is always watched during this time, lest a serpent should come to it, and poison it by its breath or bite; for this reptile is said to be extremely fond of the water-melon, and to smell it at a great distance. Water-melons are very abundant in Egypt, and mostly very delicious and wholesome. A dish of boiled rice (called “ruzz mufelfel,” the “piláv” of the Turks), mixed with a little butter, and seasoned with salt and pepper, is generally that from which the last morsels are taken; but, in the houses of the wealthy, this is often followed by a bowl of “khusháf,”[256] a sweet drink, commonly consisting of water with raisins boiled in it, and then sugar: when cool, a little rose-water is dropped into it.[257] The water-melon frequently supplies the place of this.[258]

The Egyptians eat very moderately, though quickly. Each person, as soon as he has finished, says, “El-hamdu li-lláh” (Praise be to God),[259] and gets up, without waiting till the others have done:[260] he then washes his hands and mouth with soap and water; the basin and ewer being held by a servant, as before.

The only beverage at meals is water of the Nile, or, sometimes, at the tables of the rich, sherbet, which will presently be described. The Arabs drink little or no water during a meal, but generally take a large draught immediately after. The water of the Nile is remarkably good; but that of all the wells in Cairo and in other parts of Egypt is slightly brackish. In general, water is drunk either from an earthen bottle or from a brass cup.[261] The water-bottles are of two kinds; one called “dórak,” and the other “kulleh:” the former has a narrow, and the latter a wide, mouth. They are made of a greyish, porous earth, which cools the water deliciously, by evaporation; and they are, therefore, generally placed in a current of air. The interior is often blackened with the smoke of some resinous wood, and then perfumed with the smoke of “kafal”[262] wood and mastic; the latter used last. A small earthen vessel (called “mibkhar′ah”) is employed in performing these operations, to contain the burning charcoal, which is required to ignite the wood, and the mastic; and the water-bottle is held inverted over it. A strip of rag is tied round the neck of the dórak, at the distance of about an inch from the mouth, to prevent the smoke-black from extending too far upon the exterior of the bottle. Many persons also put a little orange-flower-water into the bottles. This gives a very agreeable flavour to their contents. The bottles have stoppers of silver, brass, tin, wood, or palm-leaves; and are generally placed in a tray of tinned copper, which receives the water that exudes from them. In cold weather, china bottles are used in many houses instead of those above-described, which then render the water too cold.[263] The two most common forms of drinking-cups are here represented. Some of them have texts of the Kur-án, etc., engraved in the interior, or the names of “the Seven Sleepers”: but inscriptions of the former kind I have seldom seen. Every person, before and after drinking, repeats the same ejaculations as before and after eating; and this he does each time that he drinks during a meal: each friend present then says to him, “May it be productive of enjoyment,” or “benefit”; to which the reply is, “God cause thee to have enjoyment.”[264]

Though we read, in some of the delightful tales of “The Thousand and One Nights,” of removing “the table of viands” and bringing “the table of wine,” this prohibited beverage is not often introduced in general society, either during or after the meal, or at other times, by the Muslims of Egypt in the present day. Many of them, however, habitually indulge in drinking wine with select parties of their acquaintance. The servants of a man who is addicted to this habit know such of his friends as may be admitted, if they happen to call when he is engaged in this unlawful pleasure; and to all others they say that he is not at home, or that he is in the hareem. Drinking wine is indulged in by such persons before and after supper, and during that meal; but it is most approved before supper, as they say that it quickens the appetite. The “table of wine” is usually thus prepared, according to a penitent Muslim wine-bibber, who is one of my friends (I cannot speak on this subject from my own experience; for, as I never drink wine, I have never been invited to join a Muslim wine-party):—a round japanned tray, or a glass dish, is placed on the stool before-mentioned: on this are generally arranged two cut-glass jugs, one containing wine,[265] and the other, rosoglio; and sometimes two or more bottles besides: several small glasses are placed with these; and glass saucers of dried and fresh fruits, and, perhaps, pickles: lastly, two candles, and often a bunch of flowers stuck in a candlestick, are put upon the tray.

The Egyptians have various kinds of sherbets, or sweet drinks. The most common kind[266] is merely sugar and water, but very sweet: lemonade[267] is another: a third kind, the most esteemed, is prepared from a hard conserve of violets, made by pounding violet-flowers, and then boiling them with sugar: this violet-sherbet is of a green colour: a fourth kind is prepared from mulberries: a fifth, from sorrel. There is also a kind of sherbet sold in the streets,[268] which is made with raisins, as its name implies; another kind, which is a strong infusion of liquorice-root, and called by the name of that root; and a third kind, which is prepared from the fruit of the locust tree, and called, in like manner, by the name of the fruit. The sherbet is served in coloured glass cups, generally called “kullehs,” containing about three-quarters of a pint; some of which (the more common kind) are ornamented with gilt flowers, etc. The sherbet-cups are placed on a round tray, and covered with a round piece of embroidered silk, or cloth of gold. On the right arm of the person who presents the sherbet is hung a large oblong napkin with a wide embroidered border of gold and coloured silks at each end. This is ostensibly offered for the purpose of wiping the lips after drinking the sherbet; but it is really not so much for use as for display: the lips are seldom or scarcely touched with it.

The interval between supper and the “’eshë,” or time of the night-prayers, is generally passed in smoking a pipe, and sipping a cup of coffee. The enjoyment of the pipe may be interrupted by prayer, but is continued afterwards; and sometimes draughts or chess, or some other game, or at least conversation, contributes to make the time glide away more agreeably. The members of an Egyptian family in easy circumstances may pass their time very pleasantly; but they do so in a quiet way. The men often pay evening visits to their friends, at, or after, supper-time. They commonly use, on these and similar occasions, a folding lantern (“fánoos”), composed of waxed cloth strained over rings of wire, and a top and bottom of tinned copper. This kind of lantern is here represented, together with the common lamp (“kandeel”), and its usual receptacle of wood, which serves to protect the flame from the wind. The lamp is a small vessel of glass, having a little tube in the bottom, in which is stuck a wick formed of cotton twisted round a piece of straw. Some water is poured in first, and then the oil. A lamp of this kind is often hung over the entrance of a house. By night, the interiors of the houses present a more dull appearance than in the day: the light of one or two candles (placed on the floor or on a stool, and sometimes surrounded by a large glass shade, or enclosed in a glass lantern, on account of the windows being merely of lattice-work) is generally thought sufficient for a large and lofty saloon. Few of the Egyptians sit up later, in summer, than three or four o’clock, which is three or four hours after sunset; for their reckoning of time is from sunset at every season of the year: in winter they often sit up five or six hours.

Thus the day is usually spent by men of moderate wealth who have no regular business to attend to, or none that requires their own active superintendence. But it is the habit of the tradesman to repair, soon after breakfast, to his shop or warehouse, and to remain there until near sunset.[269] He has leisure to smoke as much as he likes; and his customers often smoke with him. To some of these he offers his own pipe (unless they have theirs with them), and a cup of coffee, which is obtained from the nearest coffee-shop. A great portion of the day he sometimes passes in agreeable chat with customers, or with the tradesmen of the next or opposite shops. He generally says his prayers without moving from the shop. Shortly after the noon-prayers, or sometimes earlier or later, he eats a light meal, such as a plate of kebáb and a cake of bread (which a boy or maid daily brings from his house, or procures in the market), or some bread and cheese or pickles, etc., which are carried about the streets for sale; and if a customer be present, he is always invited, and often pressed, to partake of this meal. A large earthen bottle of water is kept in the shop, and replenished, whenever necessary, by a passing “sakka,” or water-carrier. In the evening, the tradesman returns to his house, eats his supper, and, soon after, retires to bed.

It is the general custom in Egypt for the husband and wife to sleep in the same bed, excepting among the wealthy classes, who mostly prefer separate beds. The bed is usually thus prepared in the houses of persons of moderate wealth: a mattress, stuffed with cotton, about six feet long, and three or four feet in width, is placed upon a low frame: a pillow is placed for the head, and a sheet spread over this and the mattress: the only covering in summer is generally a thin blanket: and in winter a thick quilt, stuffed with cotton. If there be no frame, the mattress is placed upon the floor; or two mattresses are laid one upon the other, with the sheet, pillow, etc.; and often, a cushion of the deewán is placed on each side. A musquito-curtain[270] is suspended over the bed by means of four strings, which are attached to nails in the wall. The dress is seldom changed on going to bed; and in winter, many people sleep with all their ordinary clothes on, excepting the gibbeh, or cloth coat; but in summer, they sleep almost, or entirely, unclad. In winter, the bed is prepared in a small closet (called “khazneh”): in summer, in a large room. All the bed-clothes are rolled up, in the day-time, and placed on one side, or in the closet above-mentioned. During the hottest weather, many people sleep upon the house-top, or in a “fes-hah,” (or “fesahah”), which is an uncovered apartment; but ophthalmia and other diseases often result from their thus exposing themselves to the external air at night. The most common kind of frame for the bed is made of palm-sticks; but this harbours bugs, which are very abundant in Egypt in the summer, as fleas are in the winter. These and other plagues to which the people of Egypt are exposed by night and day have been before mentioned.[271] With regard to the most disgusting of them, the lice, it may here be added, that, though they are not always to be avoided even by the most scrupulous cleanliness, a person who changes his linen after two or three days’ wear is very seldom annoyed by these vermin; and when he is, they are easily removed, not attaching themselves to the skin; they are generally found in the linen. A house may be kept almost clear of fleas by frequent washing and sweeping; and the flies may be kept out by placing nets at the doors and windows: but it is impossible to purify an Egyptian house from bugs, if it contain much wood-work, which is generally the case.

The male servants lead a very easy life, with the exception of the “sáïs,” or groom, who whenever his master takes a ride, runs before or beside him; and this he will do in the hottest weather for hours together, without appearing fatigued. Almost every wealthy person in Cairo has a “bowwáb,” or door-keeper, always at the door of his house, and several other male servants. Most of these are natives of Egypt; but many Nubians are also employed as servants in Cairo and other Egyptian towns. The latter are mostly bowwábs, and are generally esteemed more honest than the Egyptian servants; but I am inclined to think, from the opinion of several of my friends, and from my own experience, that they have acquired this reputation only by superior cunning. The wages of the male servants are very small, usually from one to two dollars (or from four to eight shillings) per month: but they receive many presents.[272] On the “’eed” (or festival) after Ramadán, the master generally gives, to each of his servants, part or the whole of a new suit of clothes, consisting of an “’eree” (a blue shirt, which is their outer dress), a “tarboosh,” and a turban. Other articles of dress which they require during the year (excepting, sometimes, shoes) the servants are obliged to provide for themselves. Besides what their master gives them, they also receive small presents of money from his visitors, and from the tradespeople with whom he deals; particularly whenever he has made any considerable purchase. They sleep in the clothes which they wear during the day, each upon a small mat; and in winter they cover themselves with a cloak[273] or blanket. In some respects, they are often familiar in their manners to their master, even laughing and joking with him: in others, they are very submissive: paying him the utmost honour, and bearing corporal chastisement from his hand with child-like patience.

The male black slave is treated with more consideration than the free servant; and leads a life well suited to his lazy disposition. If discontented with his situation, he can legally compel his master to sell him. Many of the slaves in Egypt wear the Turkish military dress. They are generally the greatest fanatics in the East; and more accustomed than any other class to insult the Christians and every people who are not of the faith which they have themselves adopted, without knowing more of its doctrines than Arab children who have been but a week at school. Of the female slaves, some account will be given in the next chapter.

An acquaintance with the modern inhabitants of Egypt leads us often to compare their domestic habits with those of Europeans in the middle ages; and, perhaps, in this comparison, the points of resemblance which we observe, with regard to the men, are more striking than the contrasts; but the reverse will be found to be the case when we consider the state of the females.

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Footnote 232:

Men and women of this race often contract marriages with persons who are not members of the same; and as the title of shereef is inherited from either of the parents, the number of persons who enjoy this distinction has become very considerable.

Footnote 233:

This word is thus pronounced by the inhabitants of Cairo and the greater part of Egypt; but in most other countries where Arabic is spoken, “hájj.” The Turks and Persians use, instead of it, the synonymous Arabic word “hájjee.”

Footnote 234:

Unless there be a eunuch. The sakka is generally the chief of the servants.

Footnote 235:

I believe it is maple.

Footnote 236:

To preserve the matting or carpet from injury, a small brass tray is often placed beneath the bowl; and a small tray of wood is made use of to receive the ashes of the tobacco.

Footnote 237:

A Persian word, signifying “glass.”

Footnote 238:

It is, however, often recommended in the case of a cough. One of my friends, the most celebrated of the poets of Cairo, who is much troubled by asthma, uses the nárgeeleh almost incessantly from morning till night.

Footnote 239:

This is the name of the beverage; the berries (whether whole or pounded) are called “bunn.”

Footnote 240:

In a full service there are ten fingáns and zarfs of uniform kinds, and often another fingán and zarf of a superior kind for the master of the house, or for a distinguished guest. In the accompanying sketch, the coffee-pot (“bekreg,” or “bakrag”) and the zarfs and tray are of silver, and are represented on a scale of one-eighth of the real size. Below this set are a similar zarf and fingán, on a scale of one-fourth, and a brass zarf, with the fingán placed in it. Some zarfs are of plain or gilt silver filigree; and a few opulent persons have them of gold. Many Muslims, however, religiously disallow all utensils of gold and of silver.

Footnote 241:

Baron Hammer-Purgstall considers this word a corruption, and writes “chasseki” in its stead; “’áz’kee” (for “’ázikee”) is, however, the term used by the Egyptians.

Footnote 242:

They sometimes perfume the beard and mustaches with civet.

Footnote 243:

Whether walking or riding, a person of the higher classes is usually attended by a servant bearing his pipe.

Footnote 244:

One of the latter (that to the right) is an earthen vessel. Each of the above utensils is represented on a scale of about one-eighth of the real size.

Footnote 245:

“Yemeenak! shimálak!” (to thy right! to thy left!), “dahrak!” (thy back!), “wishshak!” (thy face!), “gembak!” (thy side!), “riglak!” (thy foot!), “kaabak!” (thy heel!), and, to a Turk, “sákin!” (take care!), are the most common cries. The following appellations are also often added: “yá efendee!” (to a Turk), “yá sheykh!” (to an old or a middle-aged Muslim native), “yá sabee!” (to a young man), “yá weled!” or “yá ibnee!” (to a boy), “yá shereef!” (to a green turbaned descendant of the Prophet), “yá m’allim!” (to a native Christian, or a Jew), “yá khawágeh!” (to a Frank), “yá sitt!” (to a lady, or a female of the middle order), and “yá bint!” that is “daughter,” or “girl” (to a poor female). A woman of the lower class, however old she be, the servant must call “girl,” or “daughter,” or probably she will not move an inch out of the way. A little girl, or young woman, is often called “’arooseh,” or “bride;” and “hággeh,” or “female pilgrim,” is an appellation often given to women in the streets.

Footnote 246:

See Mark vii. 3.

Footnote 247:

In the houses of some of the opulent, these utensils are of silver. I have also seen some of gilt copper.

Footnote 248:

The width of the former is fourteen inches; and the height of the latter, the same.

Footnote 249:

Or “Bi-smi-lláhi-r-rahmáni-r-raheem” (In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful).

Footnote 250:

One of the servants is holding a water-bottle: the other, a fly-whisk, made of palm leaves.

Footnote 251:

Our Saviour and His disciples thus ate from one dish. See Matt. xxvi. 23.

Footnote 252:

Or he merely sops his morsel of bread in the dish. See Ruth ii. 14; and John xiii. 26.

Footnote 253:

The bámiyeh is the esculent “hibiscus:” the part which is eaten is a polygonal pod, generally between one and three inches in length, and of the thickness of a small finger: it is full of seeds and nutritive mucilage, and has a very pleasant flavour. A little lime-juice is usually dropped on the plate of bámiyehs.

Footnote 254:

The black and white bádingán are the fruits of two kinds of egg-plant: the red is the tomato.

Footnote 255:

Because used for unclean purposes.

Footnote 256:

So called from the Persian “khósh áb,” or “sweet water.”

Footnote 257:

It is drunk with ladles of tortoise-shell or cocoa-nut.

Footnote 258:

The principal and best fruits of Egypt are dates, grapes, oranges and citrons of various kinds, common figs, sycamore-figs, prickly pears, pomegranates, bananas, and a great variety of melons. From this enumeration, it appears that there are not many good fruits in this country.

Footnote 259:

Or, “El-hamdu li-lláhi rabbi-l-’álameen” (Praise be to God, the Lord of all creatures).

Footnote 260:

It is deemed highly improper to rise during a meal, even from respect to a superior who may approach. It has been mentioned before, that the Prophet forbade his followers to rise while eating, or when about to eat, even if the time of prayer arrived.

Footnote 261:

The ancient Egyptians used drinking-cups of brass. (Herodotus, lib. ii. cap. 37.)

Footnote 262:

“Amyris kafal” of Forskal. An Arabian tree.

Footnote 263:

Baron Hammer-Purgstall has remarked, that two other vessels should have been mentioned here (in the first edition of this work), more especially because their names have been adopted in European languages: they are the “garrah” or “jarrah,” a water-jar or pitcher, and the “demigán” or “demiján,” a large bottle, “la dame-jeanne.”

Footnote 264:

“Allah yehenneek” (for “yuhenneek”).

Footnote 265:

“Nebeed” (more properly, “nebeedh”), or “mudám.”

Footnote 266:

Called simply “sharbát,” or “sharbát sukkar,” or only “sukkar.”

Footnote 267:

“Leymoonáteh,” or “sharáb el-leymoon.”

Footnote 268:

Called “zebeeb.” This name is also given to an intoxicating conserve.

Footnote 269:

A description of the shops, and a further account of the tradesmen of Cairo, will be given in another chapter, on Industry.

Footnote 270:

“Námooseeyeh.” It is composed of muslin, or linen of an open texture, or crape, and forms a close canopy.

Footnote 271:

In the Introduction to this work.

Footnote 272:

“The habit of irregular remuneration, in lieu of fixed, invariable, and actionable wages, produces a difference of mental habits, as regards servants and masters, that I am sure is not to be understood through description; and yet every day you see Europeans, those men who affect such comprehensive views and such powers of logic, reviling the habit of giving presents, not perceiving that this practice leads to the preservation of those interesting domestic relations which I conceive to be the greatest lesson, political and moral, that is presented to us by the Eastern world.”—Urquhart’s Spirit of the East, vol. ii. p. 402.

Footnote 273:

See Exodus, xxii. 26, 27.

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VI. DOMESTIC LIFE—continued

Quitting the lower apartments, where we have been long detained, I must enter upon a more presumptuous office than I have yet undertaken, which is that of a guide to the “Hareem:”[274] but first I must give some account of marriage, and the marriage-ceremonies.

To abstain from marrying when a man has attained a sufficient age, and when there is no just impediment, is esteemed, by the Egyptians, improper, and even disreputable. For being myself guilty of this fault (to use no harsher term), I have suffered much inconvenience and discomfort during my stay in this country, and endured many reproaches. During my former visit to Egypt, having occasion to remove from a house which I had occupied for some months in a great thoroughfare-street in Cairo, I engaged another house, in a neighbouring quarter: the lease was written, and some money paid in advance; but a day or two after, the agent of the owner came to inform me that the inhabitants of the quarter, who were mostly “shereefs” (or descendants of the Prophet), objected to my living among them, because I was not married. He added, however, that they would gladly admit me if I would even purchase a female slave, which would exempt me from the opprobrium cast upon me by the want of a wife. I replied, that, being merely a sojourner in Egypt, I did not like to take either a wife or female slave, whom I must soon abandon: the money that I had paid was, therefore, returned to me. In another quarter, I was less unfortunate; such heavy objections on account of my being unmarried were not raised: I was only required to promise that no persons wearing hats should come into the quarter to visit me; yet, after I had established myself in my new residence, the sheykh (or chief) of the quarter often endeavoured to persuade me to marry. All my arguments against doing so he deemed of no weight. “You tell me,” said he, “that in a year or two you mean to leave this country: now, there is a young widow, who, I am told, is handsome, living within a few doors of you, who will be glad to become your wife, even with the express understanding that you shall divorce her when you quit this place; though, of course, you may do so before, if she should not please you.” This young damsel had several times contrived to let me catch a glimpse of a pretty face, as I passed the house in which she and her parents lived. What answer could I return? I replied, that I had actually, by accident, seen her face, and that she was the last woman I should wish to marry, under such circumstances: for I was sure that I could never make up my mind to part with her. But I found it rather difficult to silence my officious friend.—It has been mentioned before, in the Introduction, that an unmarried man, or one who has not a female slave, is usually obliged to dwell in a wekáleh, unless he has some near relation with whom to reside; but that Franks are now exempted from this restriction.

The Egyptian females arrive at puberty much earlier than the natives of colder climates. Many marry at the age of twelve or thirteen years; and some remarkably precocious girls are married at the age of ten:[275] but such occurrences are not common. Few remain unmarried after sixteen years of age. An Egyptian girl at the age of thirteen, or even earlier, may be a mother. The women of Egypt are generally very prolific; but females of other countries residing here are often childless; and the children of foreigners, born in Egypt, seldom live to a mature age, even when the mother is a native. It was on this account that the emancipated Memlooks (or military slaves) usually adopted Memlooks.

It is very common among the Arabs of Egypt and of other countries, but less so in Cairo than in other parts of Egypt, for a man to marry his first cousin. In this case, the husband and wife continue to call each other “cousin;” because the tie of blood is indissoluble; but that of matrimony very precarious. A union of this kind is generally lasting, on account of this tie of blood; and because mutual intercourse may have formed an attachment between the parties in tender age; though, if they be of the higher or middle classes, the young man is seldom allowed to see the face of his female cousin, or even to meet and converse with her, after she has arrived at or near the age of puberty, until she has become his wife.

Marriages in Cairo are generally conducted, in the case of a virgin, in the following manner; but in that of a widow, or a divorced woman, with little ceremony. Most commonly, the mother, or some other near female relation, of the youth or man who is desirous of obtaining a wife, describes to him the personal and other qualifications of the young woman with whom she is acquainted, and directs his choice:[276] or he employs a “khát’beh,” or “khátibeh;” a woman whose regular business it is to assist men in such cases. Sometimes two or more women of this profession are employed. A khát’beh gives her report confidentially, describing one girl as being like a gazelle, pretty and elegant and young; and another, as not pretty, but rich, and so forth. If the man have a mother and other near female relations, two or three of these usually go with a khát’beh to pay visits to several hareems, to which she has access in her professional character of a matchmaker; for she is employed as much by the women as by the men. She sometimes also exercises the trade of a “delláleh” (or broker) for the sale of ornaments, clothing, etc., which procures her admission into almost every hareem. The women who accompany her in search of a wife for their relation are introduced to the different hareems merely as ordinary visitors; and as such, if disappointed, they soon take their leave, though the object of their visit is of course understood by the other party: but if they find among the females of a family (and they are sure to see all who are marriageable) a girl or young woman having the necessary personal qualifications, they state the motive of their visit, and ask, if the proposed match be not at once disapproved of, what property, ornaments, etc., the object of their wishes may possess. If the father of the intended bride be dead, she may perhaps possess one or more houses, shops, etc.; and in almost every case, a marriageable girl of the middle or higher ranks has a set of ornaments of gold and jewels. The women-visitors, having asked these and other questions, bring their report to the expectant youth or man. If satisfied with their report, he gives a present to the khát’beh, and sends her again to the family of his intended wife, to make known to them his wishes. She generally gives an exaggerated description of his personal attractions, wealth, etc. For instance, she will say, of a very ordinary young man, of scarcely any property, and of whose disposition she knows nothing, “My daughter, the youth who wishes to marry you is young, graceful, elegant, beardless, has plenty of money, dresses handsomely, is fond of delicacies, but cannot enjoy his luxuries alone; he wants you as his companion; he will give you everything that money can procure; he is a stayer-at-home, and will spend his whole time with you, caressing and fondling you.”

The parents may betroth their daughter to whom they please, and marry her to him without her consent, if she be not arrived at the age of puberty; but after she has attained that age, she may choose a husband for herself, and appoint any man to arrange and effect her marriage. In the former case, however, the khát’beh and the relations of a girl sought in marriage usually endeavour to obtain her consent to the proposed union. Very often, a father objects to giving a daughter in marriage to a man who is not of the same profession or trade as himself; and to marrying a younger daughter before an elder.[277] The bridegroom can scarcely ever obtain even a surreptitious glance at the features of his bride, until he finds her in his absolute possession, unless she belong to the lower classes of society; in which case, it is easy enough for him to see her face.

When a female is about to marry, she should have a “wekeel” (or deputy) to settle the compact, and conclude the contract, for her, with her proposed husband. If she be under the age of puberty, this is absolutely necessary; and in this case, her father, if living, or (if he be dead) her nearest adult male relation, or a guardian appointed by will, or by the Kádee, performs the office of wekeel: but if she be of age, she appoints her own wekeel, or may even make the contract herself; though this is seldom done.

After a youth or man has made choice of a female to demand in marriage, on the report of his female relations, or that of the khát’beh, and, by proxy, made the preliminary arrangements before described with her and her relations in the hareem, he repairs with two or three of his friends to her wekeel. Having obtained the wekeel’s consent to the union, if the intended bride be under age, he asks what is the amount of the required “mahr” (or dowry).

The giving of a dowry is indispensable, as I have mentioned in a former chapter. It is generally calculated in “riyáls,” of ninety faddahs (now equivalent to five pence and two-fifths) each. The riyál is an imaginary money, not a coin. The usual amount of the dowry, if the parties be in possession of a moderately good income, is about a thousand riyáls (or twenty-two pounds ten shillings); or, sometimes, not more than half that sum. The wealthy calculate the dowry in purses, of five hundred piasters (now, five pounds sterling) each; and fix its amount at ten purses, or more. It must be borne in mind that we are considering the case of a virgin-bride; the dowry of a widow or a divorced woman is much less. In settling the amount of the dowry, as in other pecuniary transactions, a little haggling frequently takes place: if a thousand riyáls be demanded through the wekeel, the party of the intended bridegroom will probably make an offer of six hundred: the former party then gradually lowering the demand, and the other increasing the offer, they at length agree to fix it at eight hundred. It is generally stipulated that two-thirds of the dowry shall be paid immediately before the marriage contract is made; and the remaining third held in reserve, to be paid to the wife in case of divorcing her against her own consent, or in case of the husband’s death.

This affair being settled, and confirmed by all persons present reciting the opening chapter of the Kur-án (the Fát’hah), an early day (perhaps the day next following) is appointed for paying the money, and performing the ceremony of the marriage-contract, which is properly called “’akd ennikáh.”[278] The making this contract is commonly called “ketb el-kitáb” (or the writing of the writ); but it is very seldom the case that any document is written to confirm the marriage, unless the bridegroom is about to travel to another place, and fears that he may have occasion to prove his marriage where witnesses of the contract cannot be procured. Sometimes the marriage-contract is concluded immediately after the arrangement respecting the dowry, but more generally a day or two after. On the day appointed for this ceremony, the bridegroom, again accompanied by two or three of his friends, goes to the house of the bride, usually about noon, taking with him that portion of the dowry which he has promised to pay on this occasion. He and his companions are received by the bride’s wekeel; and two or more friends of the latter are usually present. It is necessary that there be two witnesses (and those must be Muslims) to the marriage-contract, unless in a situation where witnesses cannot be procured. All persons present recite the Fát’hah; and the bridegroom then pays the money. After this, the marriage-contract is performed. It is very simple. The bridegroom and the bride’s wekeel sit upon the ground, face to face, with one knee upon the ground, and grasp each other’s right hand, raising the thumbs, and pressing them against each other. A fikee[279] is generally employed to instruct them what they are to say. Having placed a handkerchief over their joined hands, he usually prefaces the words of the contract with a “khutbeh,” consisting of a few words of exhortation and prayer, with quotations from the Kur-án and Traditions, on the excellency and advantages of marriage. He then desires the bride’s wekeel to say, “I betroth [or marry], to thee, my daughter [or the female who has appointed me her wekeel], such a one [naming the bride], the virgin[280] [or the adult virgin], for a dowry of such an amount.” (The words “for a dowry,” etc., are sometimes omitted.) The bride’s wekeel having said this, the bridegroom, prompted in the same manner by the fikee, says, “I accept from thee her betrothal [or marriage] to myself, and take her under my care, and bind myself to afford her my protection; and ye who are present bear witness of this.” The wekeel addresses the bridegroom in the same manner a second and a third time; and each time, the latter replies as before. They then generally add, “And blessing be on the Apostles, and praise be to God, the Lord of all creatures: amen:” after which, all present again repeat the Fát’hah. It is not always the same form of “khutbeh” that is recited on these occasions: any form may be used; and it may be repeated by any person: it is not even necessary; and is often altogether omitted. The contract concluded, the bridegroom sometimes (but seldom unless he be a person of the lower orders) kisses the hands of his friends and others there present; and they are presented with sherbet, and generally remain to dinner. Each of them receives an embroidered handkerchief, provided by the family of the bride; excepting the fikee, who receives a similar handkerchief, with a small gold coin tied up in it, from the bridegroom. Before the persons assembled on this occasion disperse, they settle when the “leylet ed-dukhleh” is to be: this is the night when the bride is brought to the house of the bridegroom, and the latter, for the first time, visits her.

In general, the bridegroom waits for his bride about eight or ten days after the conclusion of the contract. Meanwhile, he sends to her, two or three or more times, some fruit, sweetmeats, etc.; and perhaps makes her a present of a shawl, or some other article of value. The bride’s family are at the same time occupied in preparing for her a stock of household furniture (as deewáns, matting, carpets, bedding, kitchen-utensils, etc.) and dress. The portion of the dowry which has been paid by the bridegroom, and generally a much larger sum (the additional money, which is often more than the dowry itself, being supplied by the bride’s family), is expended in purchasing the articles of furniture, dress, and ornaments, for the bride. These articles, which are called “gaház,” are the property of the bride; and if she be divorced, she takes them away with her. She cannot, therefore, with truth, be said to be purchased.[281] The furniture is sent, commonly borne by a train of camels, to the bridegroom’s house. Often, among the articles of the gaház is a chair for the turban or head-dress, alluded to in a former page. It is of a large size, but slight make; the bottom and back generally of cane-work; sometimes with a canopy. It is never used to sit upon. The turban, when placed upon it, is covered with a kerchief of thick silk stuff, usually ornamented with gold thread. There are sometimes sent two of these chairs; one for the husband and the other for the wife.

The bridegroom should receive his bride on the eve of Friday, or that of Monday;[282] but the former is generally esteemed the more fortunate period. Let us say, for instance, that the bride is to be conducted to him on the eve of Friday. During two or three or more preceding nights, the street or quarter in which the bridegroom lives is illuminated with chandeliers and lanterns, or with lanterns and small lamps, some suspended from cords drawn across from the bridegroom’s and several other houses on each side to the houses opposite; and several small silk flags, each of two colours, generally red and green, are attached to these or other cords.[283] An entertainment is also given on each of these nights, particularly on the last night before that on which the wedding is concluded, at the bridegroom’s house. On these occasions, it is customary for the persons invited, and for all intimate friends, to send presents to his house, a day or two before the feast which they purpose or expect to attend; they generally send sugar, coffee, rice, wax-candles, or a lamb: the former articles are usually placed upon a tray of copper or wood, and covered with a silk or embroidered kerchief. The guests are entertained on these occasions by musicians and male or female singers, by dancing girls, or by the performance of a “khatmeh” or a “zikr.”[284]

In the houses of the wealthy, the khát’beh or khat’behs, together with the “dáyeh” (or midwife) of the family, the “belláneh” (or female attendant of the bath), and the nurse of the bride, are each presented, a day or two after the conclusion of the contract, with a piece of gold stuff, a Kashmeer shawl, or a piece of striped silk, such as yeleks and shintiyáns are made of; and, placing these over the left shoulder, and attaching the edges together on the right side, go upon asses, with two or more men before them beating kettle-drums or tabours, to the houses of all the friends of the bride, to invite the females to accompany her to and from the bath, and to partake of an entertainment given on that occasion. At every house where they call, they are treated with a repast, having sent notice the day before of their intended visit. They are called “mudnát.”[285] I have sometimes seen them walking, and without the drums before them; but making up for the want of these instruments by shrill, quavering cries of joy called “zagháreet.”[286]

On the preceding Wednesday (or on the Saturday if the wedding be to conclude on the eve of Monday), at about the hour of noon, or a little later, the bride goes in state to the bath.[287] The procession to the bath is called “Zeffet el-Hammám.” It is headed by a party of musicians with a hautboy, or two, and drums of different kinds.[288] Frequently, as I have mentioned in a former chapter, some person avails himself of this opportunity to parade his young son previously to circumcision; the child, and his attendants, in this case, follow next after the musicians, in the manner already described. Sometimes, at the head of the bride’s party are two men who carry the utensils and linen used in the bath, upon two round trays, each of which is covered with an embroidered or a plain silk kerchief; also a sakka, who gives water to any of the passengers, if asked; and two other persons, one of whom bears a “kumkum,” or bottle of plain or gilt silver, or of china, containing rose-water, or orange-flower-water, which he occasionally sprinkles on the passengers; and the other, a “mibkhar’ah” (or perfuming-vessel) of silver, with aloes-wood, or some other odoriferous substance, burning in it: but it is seldom that the procession is thus attended. In general, the first persons among the bride’s party are several of her married female relations and friends, walking in pairs; and next, a number of young virgins. The former are dressed in the usual manner, covered with the black silk habarah: the latter have white silk habarahs, or shawls. Then follows the bride, walking under a canopy of silk, of some gay colour, as pink, rose-colour, or yellow, or of two colours composing wide stripes, often rose-colour and yellow. It is carried by four men, by means of a pole at each corner, and is open only in front; and at the top of each of the four poles is attached an embroidered handkerchief. The dress of the bride, during this procession, entirely conceals her person. She is generally covered, from head to foot, with a red Kashmeer shawl; or with a white or yellow shawl, though rarely. Upon her head is placed a small pasteboard cap, or crown. The shawl is placed over this, and conceals from the view of the public the richer articles of her dress, her face, and her jewels, etc., excepting one or two “kussahs”[289] (and sometimes other ornaments), generally of diamonds and emeralds, attached to that part of the shawl which covers her forehead. She is accompanied by two or three of her female relations within the canopy; and often, when in hot weather, a woman, walking backwards before her, is constantly employed in fanning her, with a large fan of black ostrich-feathers, the lower part of the front of which is usually ornamented with a piece of looking-glass. Sometimes one zeffeh, with a single canopy, serves for two brides, who walk side by side. The procession moves very slowly, and generally pursues a circuitous route, for the sake of greater display. On leaving the house, it turns to the right. It is closed by a second party of musicians, similar to the first, or by two or three drummers.

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Part I

Lane’s Modern Egyptians] [Page 150

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In the bridal processions of the lower orders, which are often conducted in the same manner as that above described, the women of the party frequently utter, at intervals, those shrill cries of joy called zagháreet, which I have before had occasion to mention; and females of the poorer classes, when merely spectators of a zeffeh, often do the same.

The whole bath is sometimes hired for the bride and her party exclusively. They pass several hours, or seldom less than two, occupied in washing, sporting, and feasting; and frequently “’A′l’mehs” (or female singers) are hired to amuse them in the bath: they then return in the same order in which they came. The expense of the zeffeh falls on the relations of the bride; but the feast is supplied by the bridegroom.

Having returned from the bath to the house of her family, the bride and her companions sup together. If ’A′l’mehs have contributed to the festivity in the bath, they also return with the bride, to renew their concert. Their songs are always on the subject of love, and of the joyous event which occasions their presence. After the company have been thus entertained, a large quantity of henna having been prepared, mixed into a paste, the bride takes a lump of it in her hand, and receives contributions (called “nukoot”) from her guests: each of them sticks a coin (usually of gold) in the henna which she holds upon her hand; and when the lump is closely stuck with these coins, she scrapes it off her hand upon the edge of a basin of water. Having collected in this manner from all her guests, some more henna is applied to her hands and feet, which are then bound with pieces of linen; and in this state they remain until the next morning, when they are found to be sufficiently dyed with its deep orange-red tint. Her guests make use of the remainder of the dye for their own hands. This night is called “Leylet el-Henna,” or “the Night of the Henna.”

It is on this night, and sometimes also during the latter half of the preceding day, that the bridegroom gives his chief entertainment. “Mohabbazeen” (or low farce-players) often perform on this occasion before the house, or, if it be large enough, in the court. The other and more common performances by which the guests are amused have been before mentioned.

On the following day the bride goes in procession to the house of the bridegroom. The procession before described is called “the zeffeh of the bath,” to distinguish it from this, which is the more important, and which is therefore particularly called “Zeffet el-’Arooseh,” or “the Zeffeh of the Bride.” In some cases, to diminish the expenses of the marriage-ceremonies, the bride is conducted privately to the bath, and only honoured with a zeffeh to the bridegroom’s house. This procession is exactly similar to the former. The bride and her party, after breakfasting together, generally set out a little after mid-day. They proceed in the same order, and at the same slow pace, as in the zeffeh of the bath; and, if the house of the bridegroom be near, they follow a circuitous route, through several principal streets, for the sake of display. The ceremony usually occupies three or more hours.

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