261

" the morning/' are indicative of God's absolute
being and of reality. Four rikdts relate to four effui-
gencies, which are impressiveness, agency, inhe-
rence of attributes, and substantiality. Three rikdts,
imply separation, union, and union of unions, viz.:
separation, in viewing the creatures without God;
union, in viewing God without the creatures; and
union of unions, in viewing God in the creatures, and
the creatures in God; so that the view of the one
may not to the heart be a veil to the view of the
other. Keeping the fast refers to the purity of the
interior. The sight of haldl, " the new moon,"1 is
seeing the eye-brows of the perfect spiritual guide.

before-quoted tdkbir, form a rikdt. —(See D'Ohsson, vol. II. pp. 77
et seg.

1 The apparition of the new moon is to theMuhammedans an important
phenomenon, as it marks the beginning of their fasts, feasts, and other
religious practices, which, to be valid, must be observed exactly at the
prescribed time. On that account, the magistrates in the Musulman
empire are attentive to announce the right epoch; the Muezins, or
" cryers," of the highest mosques, at the approach of the new moon pass
the whole night on the top of the minarets to observe the precise moment.
Thus, the fast of the Ramazan, which lasts thirty days, begins at the
apparition of the new moon; the commencement of the moons Shewe*
and Zilhijah are important for the celebration of the two only feasts in
the Muhammedan year: the first is the didrfitr, " the feast of breaking
u fast," which occupies one or three days, and seventy days after this is
the did-kurban., " the feast of sacrifice," which lasts four days: thus the
grave Muselmans allow but seven days of their whole year to festivity.
As their years are lunar, these two feasts run in the space of thirty-three
years through all the seasons of the year.—(D'Ohsson, tome II. p. 227;
tome 111. pp. 4-5, and elsewhere.)