Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 4.djvu/368

338

(A.) ‘Reassuming the pilgrim’s habit and compassing and running [as before].’ (Q.) ‘What are the Koranic ordinances of the assumption of the pilgrim’s habit?’ (A.) ‘Putting off sewn garments, forswearing perfume and ceasing to shave the head or cut the nails and avoiding the killing of game and copulation.’ (Q.) ‘What are the Traditional statutes of the pilgrimage?’ (A.) ‘(1) The crying out, “Here I am, O our Lord!”^[1] (2) the circuitings [about the Kaabeh] of arrival [at] and departure [from Mecca] (3) the passing the night at Muzdelifeh and Mina^[2] and (4) the stone-throwing.’^[3] (Q.) ‘What is the war in defence of the Faith and its essentials?’ (A.) ‘Its essentials are (1) the descent of the infidels upon us (2) the existence of the Imam^[4] (3) a state of [armed] preparation and (4) firmness in meeting the foe. Its ordinance is incital to battle, in that the Most High hath said, “O my Prophet, incite the faithful to battle!”’^[5] (Q.) ‘What are the ordinances of buying and selling?’ (A.) ‘The Koranic are (1) offer and acceptance and (2) if the thing sold be a (white) slave, by whom one profiteth, to do one’s endeavour to convert him to Islam and (3) to abstain from usury; the Traditional, resiliation and option before separating, after the saying of the Prophet, “The parties to a sale shall have the option [of cancelling or altering the terms of a bargain,] whilst they are yet unseparated.”’ (Q.) ‘What is it forbidden to sell [or exchange] for what?’ (A.) ‘On this point I mind me of an authentic tradition, reported by Nafi^[6] of the Apostle of God, that he forbade the sale of

1. On first catching sight of Mecca.
2. Places near Mecca.
3. At a pillar supposed to represent the Devil.
4. Or chief of the faith.
5. Koran vii. 66.
6. One of the followers of Mohammed, i.e. those who had known some of the Companions [of the Prophet] though they had never seen himself. The freedman [and adopted son] of Abdallah, son of Omar ben El Khettab, the most authoritative of all the Companions and reporters of the sayings and doings of the Prophet.