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Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 4, p. 145. |
Court of the
Tomb-Mosque of Barkuk
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Mohammedan worship is very simple, and resembles that of the Jewish synagogue.
It consists of prayer, reading of the Koran, and preaching. The second
commandment is strictly understood as an absolute prohibition of all
image-worship and of all representations of living creatures, whether in
churches or elsewhere. The Arabesque is the only ornament allowed, and always
taken from inanimate nature. The mosques, like Catholic churches, are always
open and frequented by worshippers, who perform their devotions either alone or
in groups with covered heads and bare feet. In entering, one must take off his
shoes, remembering the command, "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the
place whereon thou standest is holy ground." . . . The mosques are as well
filled with men as many Christian churches are with women. Islâm is a religion
for men; women are of no account; the education and elevation of the female sex
would destroy the system. (Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 2, p. 184.) |
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Kubbet el Khazneh (Dome of the Treasures),
Damascus |
Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 2, p. 150. |
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In Damascus there are seventy large or, as
they may be called, cathedral mosques (Jami'a),
in which sermons are preached and
congregational prayers are offered up for the
reigning Sultan every Friday. Besides these
there are about one hundred and eighty Muslim
oratories or chapels (Mesjîd), to many of
which schools are attached. Prayers are also
frequently said at the grated windows of the
little shrines or tomb-houses of celebrated
welys, or saints, which are numerous in
Damascus. Men of the higher classes rarely go
to the mosques except on Fridays, as they can
command proper places for ceremonial ablution
and prayer in their own houses; but to a
Muslim of the lower ranks, a large mosque
which is open every day from sunrise to sunset
or later, is like a second home. In its courts
or cloisters he may not only rest and sleep,
or read . . . but he may take his food and eat
it there, and even pursue any cleanly and
simple avocation. Notwithstanding this liberty
the greatest decorum is observed. (Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 2, p. 148.) |
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Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 2, p.
147. |
A Meuddin Chanting the
Call to Prayer from a Gallery of the Minaret
of 'Isa (Jesus) |
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There are five stated seasons for prayer-at
daybreak, near noon, in the afternoon, a
little after sunset (to avoid the appearance
of sun-worship), and at nightfall, besides two
night prayers for extra devotion. The muëddin,
or muezzin (crier), announces the time of
devotion from the minaret of the mosque by
chanting the "Adan," or call to prayer, in
these words: "God is most great. I testify
that there is no deity but God. I testify that
Mohammed is God's apostle. Come to prayer!
Come to security! Prayer is better than sleep!
God is most great! There is no deity but God!"
(Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 2, p.
184.) |
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Muslem Praying |
Source:
Jerusalem, Bethany, and Bethlehem, p.
52. |
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A devout Mussulman is never ashamed to
perform his devotion in public-whether at
home, or in the mosque, or in the street, or
on board the ship. Regardless of the
surroundings, feeling alone with God in the
midst of the crowd, he spreads his rug, goes
through his genuflexions and prostrations, his
face turned to Mecca, his hands now raised to
heaven, then laid on the lap, his forehead
touching the ground, and repeats the first
surah of the Koran, and the ninety-nine
beautiful names of Allah, which form his
rosary. (Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 2, p. 184.) |
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See Arabs,
Bedouin,
Muslim Customs,
Mosques,
Jews,
Samaritans |
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