Libris 1
THE CANADIAN!
,..i
,. BStA
KNOX COLLEGE
TORONTO
THE INFLUENCE OP
ANIMISM ON ISLAM
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
HW YORK BOSTON CHICAGO DALLAS
ATLANTA SAN FRANCISCO
MACMILLAN & CO., LIMITED
LONDON BOMBAY - CALCUTTA
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THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD.
TORONTO
THE INFLUENCE OF
ANIMISM ON ISLAM
AN ACCOUNT OF POPULAR
SUPERSTITIONS
BY
SAMUEL M. ZWEMER, F.R.G.S.
CAVZN LiL&ARY
KNOX COLLEGE
TORONTO
LONDON
CENTRAL BOARD OF MISSIONS
AND
SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING
CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE
1920
80371
COPYRIGHT, I92O, IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
THE MACMILLAN CO.
This book is one of a series of American publications which the
Central Board of Missions desires to make available for students
of missions in England. While considering these books to be
worthy of study the Central Board of Missions takes no respon
sibility for their contents.
THIS VOLUME CONTAINS
THE A. C. THOMPSON LECTURES FOR 1918-1919
DELIVERED ON THE
HARTFORD SEMINARY FOUNDATION
AND AT
PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
IN A COURSE OF LECTURES ON MISSIONS:
IT IS DEDICATED TO
THE STUDENTS AND FACULTIES OF THESE
INSTITUTIONS
IN APPRECIATION OF
THE INVITATION TO DELIVER THE LECTURES
AND IN PLEASANT RECOLLECTION OF
THEIR MANY COURTESIES
PKEFACE
From the standpoint both of religion and culture Animism
has been described as " the tap-root which sinks deepest in
racial human experience and continues its cellular and
fibrous structure in the tree-trunk of modern conviction."
All the great world religions show traces of animism in their
sub-soil and none but Christianity (even that not completely)
has uprooted the weed-growth of superstition. In this book
it is our purpose to show how Islam sprang up in Pagan soil
and retained many old Arabian beliefs in spite of its vigorous
monotheism. Wherever Mohammedanism went it intro
duced old or adopted new superstitions. The result has been
that as background of the whole ritual and even in the creed
of popular Islam, Animism has conquered. The religion of
the common people from Tangier to Teheran is mixed with
hundreds of superstitions many of which have lost their or
iginal significance but still bind mind and heart with con
stant fear of demons, with witchcraft and sorcery and the call
to creature-worship. Just as popular Hinduism differs in
toto from the religion of the Vedas, popular Islam is alto
gether different from the religion as recorded in its sacred
Book. Our purpose in the chapters which follow is to show
how this miry clay of animism mingles with the iron of
Semitic theism in the feet of the great image with head of
gold that rest on Asia and Africa. The rapid spread of
Islam in Africa and Malayia is, we believe, largely due to its
animistic character. The primitive religions had points of
contact with Islam that were mutually attractive. It stooped
to conquer them but fell in stooping. The reformation of
viii PKEFACE
Islam, if such be possible, must begin here. The student of
Islam will never understand the common people unless he
knows their curious beliefs and half-heathen practices. The
missionary should not only know but sympathize. Avoiding
contempt or denunciation he will even find points of contact
in Animistic Islam that may lead discussion straight to the
Cross and the Atonement. In popular Islam we have to deal
with men and women groping after light and struggling in
the mire for a firm foothold on the Rock. This book may
help us to find their hand in the dark. As we read its pages
we must not forget that even in Egypt and India over ninety-
four per cent of the Moslem population is illiterate and there
fore has no other religion than popular Islam.
S. M. ZWEMEE.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PACK
I ISLAM AND ANIMISM 1
II ANIMISM IN THE CREED AND THE USE OF THE
ROSARY 21
III ANIMISTIC ELEMENTS IN MOSLEM PRAYER ... 43
IV HAIR, FINGER-NAILS AND THE HAND .... 66
V THE AQIQA SACRIFICE 87
VI THE FAMILIAR SPIRIT OR QARINA 107
VII JINN 125
VIII PAGAN PRACTICES IN CONNECTION WITH THE PIL
GRIMAGE 146
IX MAGIC AND SORCERY 163
X AMULETS, CHARMS AND KNOTS 186
XI TREE, STONE AND SERPENT WORSHIP .... 208
XII THE ZAR: EXORCISM OF DEMONS . 227
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
The Center of the Moslem Faith Frontispiece
FACING
PAGE
Large Incense Bowls in Mosque at Hankow, China . . .26
Interior Court of the Mosque of Al Azhar, Cairo .... 50
The Torba and Amulets 54
Hand-shaped Amulets 82
Amulets and " Lucky " Eings used in Lower Egypt . . .118
Egyptian Geomancer 132
The City of Mecca 156
Talismans and Magical Squares from Egypt .... 204
Magic Bowl and Amulets 180
Ancient Amulets from the Egyptian Tombs 212
Women and children visiting a newly-made grave in the
Moslem Cemetery, Cairo 240
THE INFLUENCE
OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
CHAPTER I
ISLAM AND ANIMISM
THAT Islam in its origin and popular character is a com
posite faith, with Pagan, Jewish and Christian elements, is
known to all students of comparative religion. Rabbi
Geiger in his celebrated essay l has shown how much of the
warp and woof of the Koran was taken from Talmudic
Judaism and how the entire ritual is simply that of the
Pharisees translated into Arabic. Tisdall in his " Sources
of Islam " and other writers, especially Wellhausen, Gold-
ziher and Robertson Smith, have indicated the pagan ele
ments that persist in the Moslem faith to this day and were
taken over by Mohammed himself from the old Arabian
idolatry. Christian teaching and life too had their influ
ence on Mohammed and his doctrine, as is evident not only
in the acknowledged place of honor given to Jesus Christ,
the Virgin Mary, John the Baptist, and other New Tes
tament characters, but in the spirit of universalism, of
conquest and above all in the mystic beliefs and ascetic
practices of later Islam.
" A three-fold cord is not easily broken." The strength
of Islam is its composite character. It entrenches itself
everywhere and always in animistic and pagan supersti
tion. It fights with all the fanatic devotion of Semitic
i " Was hat Mohammed aus dem Judenthume aufgenommen " (Wies
baden, 1833).
1
2 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
Judaism with its exaggerated nationalism. It claims at
once to include and supersede all that which Jesus Christ
was and did and taught. It is a religion of compromise, of
conservatism, and of conquest.
It is our purpose to show how strong is the pagan ele
ment in Mohammedanism, how many doctrines and prac
tices of popular Islam find their explanation only in a sur
vival of the animism of Ancient Arabia or were incorporated
from many heathen sources in the spread of the faith ; doc
trines and practices which Islam was never able to eliminate
or destroy. At the outset of our discussion it need not sur
prise us that a belief in demons and the old Arabian super
stitions persisted in spite of Islam. Five times daily the
Moslem muezzin calls out from the Mosque : " There is no
god but Allah." The people repeat this and reiterate it far
more than a hundred times during the day in their quarrels,
feasts, fasts, rejoicings, and common conversation. But in
my daily observations and I have lived among them for
more than twenty-five years I find they have fetishes and
superstitious customs which amount to as many gods as the
heathen who bow down to wood and stone. 2
2 In the use of the word " Animism " we refer to primitive pagan
practices and not to other uses of the term. William McDougall writes
in his "Body and Mind" (Methuen & Co. Ltd., 36 Essex St., W. C., p.
viii of Preface) : " Primitive Animism seems to have grown up by ex
tension of this notion to the explanation of all the more striking phe
nomena of nature. And the Animism of civilized men, which has been
and is the foundation of every religious system, except the more rigid
Pantheism, is historically continuous with the primitive doctrine.
But, while religion, superstition, and the hope of a life beyond the
grave have kept alive amongst us a variety of animistic beliefs, rang
ing in degree of refinement and subtlety from primitive Animism to
that taught by Plato, Liebnitz, Lotze, William James, or Henri Berg-
son, modern science and philosophy have turned their backs upon An
imism of every kind with constantly increasing decision; and the ef
forts of modern philosophy have been largely directed towards the
ex-cogitation of a view of man and of the world which shall hold fast
to the primacy and efficiency of mind or spirit, while rejecting the ani-
ISLAM AND ANIMISM 3
Now we find that Islam in Arabia itself and in the older
Moslem lands was not able to shake itself free from similar
beliefs and practices. To understand these aright in their
origin and character it is necessary first of all to know some
thing of what we mean by Animism. Animism is the belief
that a great part if not all of the inanimate kingdom of nature
as well as all animated beings, are endowed with reason, in
telligence and volition identical with man. Kennedy defines
it as " both a religion, a system of philosophy and a system
of medicine. As a religious system it denotes the worship
of spirits as distinguished from that of the gods " ; 3 and War-
neck says : " It would seem as if Animism were the primi
tive form of heathenism, maintaining itself, as in China and
India to this hour, amid all the refinements of civilization.
The study of Greek and old German religions exhibits the
same animistic features. The essence of heathenism seems to
be not the denial of God, but complete estrangement from
Him. The existence of God is everywhere known, and a cer
tain veneration given Him. But He is far away, and is
therefore all but ruled out of the religious life. His place is
taken by demons, who are feared and worshiped." 4
mistic conception of human personality. My prolonged puzzling over
the psycho-physical problem has inclined me to believe that these at
tempts cannot be successfully carried through, and that we must accept
without reserve Professor Tylor s dictum that Animism embodies the
very essence of spiritualistic, as opposed to materialistic, philosophy,
and that the deepest of all schisms is that which divides Animism from
Materialism."
In our treatment of Islam we do not deal with the psychology or
philosophy of Animism in this sense at all. Islam as well as Chris
tianity believes thoroughly in the existence of the soul as well as the
body, and Moslem philosophy never became materialistic. The belief
in life after death and in the mortality of the soul is not disputed.
This book deals with the pagan interpretations of this doctrine and
with superstitions connected with a belief in demons, etc., more com
monly known as Animism.
3 " Animism," by Rev. K. W. S. Kennedy, Westminster, 1014.
* Warneck " Living Christ and Dying Heathenism," p. 7.
4 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
Even in Arabia the stern monotheism of the Wahabi Re
formers was unable to eradicate the pagan superstitions of
Islam because they are imbedded in the Koran and were
not altogether rejected by Mohammed himself, much less
by his companions.
With regard to the pagan practices prevalent in early
Islam, Abu l Fida calls attention to a number of religious
observances which were thus perpetuated under the new sys
tem. " The Arabs of the times of ignorance," he says, " used
to do things which the religious law of Islam has adopted;
for they used not to wed their mothers or their daughters,
and among them it was deemed a most detestable thing to
marry two sisters, and they used to revile the man who mar
ried his father s wife, and to call him Daizan. They used,
moreover, to make the pilgrimage (Hajj) to the House "
(the Ka aba), "and visit the consecrated places, and wear
the Ihram " (the single garment worn to the present day
by a pilgrim when running round the Ka bah), "and per
form the Tawwaf, and run " (between the hills As Saf a and
Al Marwa) " and make their stand at all the Stations and cast
the stones " (at the devil in the valley of Mina) ; " and they
were wont to intercalate a month every third year." He goes
on to mention many other similar examples in which the re
ligion of Islam has enjoined as religious observances ancient
Arabian customs, for instance ceremonial washings after cer
tain kinds of defilement, parting the hair, the ritual observed
in cleansing the teeth, paring the nails, and other such mat
ters. 5
Mohammed also borrowed certain fables current among the
heathen Arabs, such as the tales of Ad and Thamud and some
others (Surah VII 63-77). Regarding such stories, Al
Kindi well says to his opponent : " And if thou mentionest
the tale of Ad and Thamud and the Camel and the Comrades
of the Elephant " (Surahs CV and XIV: 9) " and the like of
s Cf. Tisdall, " The Sources of the Qur an," pp. 44-45.
ISLAM AND ANIMISM 5
these tales, we say to thee, These are senseless stories and
the nonsensical fables of old women of the Arabs, who kept
reciting them night and day.
When we read the account of pre-Islamic worship at Mecca
we realize how many of the ancient customs persist in Islam.
The principal idols of Arabia were the following :
Hobal was in the form of a man and came from Syria ; he
was the god of rain and had a high place of honor.
Wadd was the god of the firmament. Special prayers for
rain and against eclipse were taught by Mohammed.
Suwahj in the form of a woman, was said to be from ante
diluvian times.
Yaghuth had the shape of a lion.
Yafook was in the form of a horse, and was worshiped in
Yemen. (Bronze images of this idol are found in ancient
tombs and are still used as amulets.)
Nasr was the eagle god.
El Uzza, identified by some scholars with Venus, was
worshiped at times under the form of an acacia tree (cf.
Tree-worship by Moslems).
Allat was the chief idol of the tribe of Thakif at Taif who
tried to compromise with Mohammed to accept Islam if he
would not destroy their god for three years. The name ap
pears to be the feminine of Allah.
Manat was a huge stone worshiped as an altar by several
tribes.
Duwar was the virgin s idol and young women used to go
around it in procession ; hence its name.
Isaf and Naila were idols that stood near Mecca on the hills
of Saf a and Mirwa ; the visitation of these popular shrines is
now a part of the Moslem pilgrimage, i. e., they perpetuate
ancient idolatrous rites.
Hdbhab was a large stone on which camels were slaugh
tered. In every Moslem land sacred-stones, sacred-trees, etc.,
6 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
abound; in most cases these were formerly shrines of pagan
(in some cases, of Christian) sanctity.
" Even in the higher religions," says Warneck, " and in the
heathenism that exists in Christendom, we find numerous
usages of animistic origin. Buddhism, Confucianism and
Mohammedanism have nowhere conquered this most tenacious
of all forms of religion ; they have not even entered into con
flict with it; it is only overcome by faith in Jesus Christ."
Therefore these many superstitions can now no longer be
styled anti-Mohammedan, although they conflict in many re
spects with the original doctrines of Islam. A religion is not
born full-grown any more than a man, and if on attaining a
ripe maturity it has cast off the form of its early youth past
recognition, we cannot deny it its right to this transforma
tion, as it is part and parcel of the scheme of nature.
" A custom or idea does not necessarily stand condemned
according to the Moslem standard," writes Hurgronje, " even
though in our minds there can be no shadow of doubt of its
pagan origin. If, for example, Mohammedan teaching is
able to regard some popular custom as a permissible enchant
ment against the devil or against jinns hostile to mankind,
or as an invocation of the mediation of a prophet or saint
with God, then it matters not that the existence of these ma
lignant spirits is actually only known from pagan sources, nor
does any one pause to inquire whether the saint in question is
but a heathen god in a new dress, or an imaginary being whose
name but serves to legitimate the existing worship of some
object of popular reverence." 6 Some writers go so far as to
say that Animism lies at the root of all Moslem thinking and
all Moslem theology. " The Moslem," says Gottfried Simon,
" is naturally inclined to Animism ; his Animism does not run
counter to the ideal of his religion. Islam is the classic ex
ample of the way in which the non-Christian religions do not
e " The Achenese," pp. 287-8.
ISLAM AKD ANIMISM 7
succeed in conquering Animism. This weakness in face of
the supreme enemy of all religious and moral progress bears
a bitter penalty. Among the animistic peoples Islam is more
and more entangled in the meshes of Animism. The con
queror is, in reality, the conquered. Islam sees the most
precious article of its creed, the belief in God, and the most
important of its religious acts, the profession of belief,
dragged in the mire of animistic thought; only in animistic
guise do they gain currency among the common people. In
stead of Islam raising the people, it is itself degraded. Is
lam, far from delivering heathendom from the toils of Ani
mism, is itself deeply involved in them. Animism emerges
from its struggle for the soul of a people, modernized it is
true, but more powerful than ever, elegantly tricked out and
buttressed by theology. Often it is scarcely recognizable in
its refined Arabian dress, but it continues as before to sway
the people; it has received divine sanction."
Other writers express a still stronger opinion. " Moslem
ritual, instead of bringing a man to God," writes Dr. Adri-
ani, " serves as a drag net for Animism," and evidence con
firms this from Celebes where the Mohammedan is more su
perstitious even than the heathen. " Islam has exercised
quite a different influence upon the heathen from what we
should expect. It has not left him as he was, nor has it tem
pered his Animism. Rather it has relaid the old animistic
foundations of the heathen s religion and run up a light, ar
tistic superstructure upon it of Moslem customs." 7
While Moslems profess to believe in one God and repeat
His glorious incommunicable attributes in their daily wor
ship, they everywhere permit this glorious doctrine to be
buried under a mass of pagan superstitions borrowed either
originally from the demon-worship of the Arabs, the Hindu
7 " The Progress and Arrest of Islam in Sumatra," Gottfried Simon,
pp. 157-9.
8 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
gods, or the animistic practices of Malaysia and Central
Africa. Regarding the thirty million Moslems of the Dutch
East Indies Wilkinson well says : " The average Malay
may be said to look upon God as upon a great king or gov
ernor, mighty, of course, and just, but too remote a power to
trouble himself about a villager s petty affairs; whereas the
spirits of the district are comparable to the local police, who
may be corrupt and prone to error, but who take a most ab
sorbing personal interest in their radius of influence, and
whose ill-will has to be avoided at all costs."
At first consideration one would imagine that the stern
monotheism of Islam the very intolerance of Semitic be
lief in Allah would prevent compromise with polytheism.
The facts are, however, to the contrary. " Belief in spirits
of all sorts is neither peculiar to Acheh nor in conflict with
the teaching of Islam," says Dr. Snouck Hurgronje. " Ac
tual worship of these beings in the form of prayer might seri
ously imperil monotheism, but such worship is a rare ex
ception in Acheh. The spirits most believed in are hostile to
mankind and are combated by exorcism; the manner in
which this is done in Acheh, as in Arabia and other Moham
medan countries is at variance in many respects with the
orthodox teaching. Where, however, the Achenese calls in
the help of these spirits or of other methods of enchantment
in order to cause ill-fortune to his fellow-man, he does so with
the full knowledge that he is committing a sin." The mis
sionary, Gottfried Simon, goes even further when he says :
" The pioneer preaching of the Mohammedan idea of God
finds a hearing all the more easily because it does not essen
tially rise above the level of Animistic ideas ; for the Moham
medan does not bring the heathen something absolutely new
with his doctrine of God ; his idea of God correlates itself to
existing conceptions. Animism is really the cult of spirits
and the souls of the departed. Yet spirit worship has not
ISLAM AND ANIMISM 9
been able to entirely obliterate the idea of God." 8 He goes
on to show that among all the tribes of Sumatra, the images
which are incorrectly called idols are either pictures to scare
away evil spirits by their ugliness, or soul-carriers, that is to
say, pictures into which soul-stuff has been introduced by
some kind of manipulation; they therefore either introduce
soul-stuff into the house (soul-stuff = life power, life-fluid,
hence a material conception) and with it a blessing, or by an
increase of soul-stuff they ensure protection against diseases
and spirits. The first group might perhaps best be called
amulets, or when they are worshiped and given food, fet
ishes; and the second group talismans.
In Skeat s " Malay Magic " 9 it is shown that just as in
the language of the Malays one can pick out Arabic words
from the main body of native vocabulary, so in their popular
religious customs Mohammedan ideas overlie a mass of orig
inal pagan notions. " The Malays of the Peninsula are
Sunni Muhammadans of the school of Shafi i, and nothing,
theoretically speaking, could be more correct and orthodox
(from the point of view of Islam) than the belief which they
profess. " But the beliefs which they actually hold are an
other matter altogether, and it must be admitted that the
Mohammedan veneer which covers their ancient superstitions
is very often of the thinnest description. The inconsistency
in which this involves them is not, however, as a rule realized
by themselves. Beginning their invocations with the ortho
dox preface : In the name of God, the merciful, the com
passionate/ and ending them with an appeal to the Creed:
There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Apostle of
God/ they are conscious of no impropriety in addressing the
intervening matter to a string of Hindu Divinities, Demons,
" The Progress and Arrest of Islam in Sumatra," Gottfried Simon,
London, pp. 48-51.
9 Skeat s " Malay Magic," p. xiii.
Ghosts and Nature Spirits, with a few Angels and Prophets
thrown in, as the occasion may seem to require."
The very wide extent of Animism is often not realized.
This belief is the living, working creed of over half the human
race. All South, Central and West African tribes are Ani-
mists, except where Animism has been dispossessed by Chris
tianity. The Mohammedanism of Africa is largely mingled
with it. It is the faith of Madagascar. North and South
American Indians knew no other creed when Columbus
landed, and the uncivilized remnant still profess it. The
islanders of the Pacific and the aborigines of Australia are
Animists. In Borneo and the Malay Archipelago it is
strong, although a good deal affected by Hinduism. Even in
China and Japan its adherents are numbered by millions.
In Burma it has been stated that the nominal Buddhism of
the country is in reality only a thin veneer over the real
religion, which is Animism. In India, while the Census Re
ports record only eight and a half million as Animists, yet
there are probably more than ten times that number whose
Hinduism displays little else, and even the Mohammedans in
many places are affected by it.
There is no agreement among scholars regarding the or
igin of Animism. According to a writer in the Encyclopaedia
Britannica, " Animism may have arisen out of or simultane
ously with animatism as a primitive explanation of many dif
ferent phenomena; if animatism was originally applied to
non-human or inanimate objects, animism may from the out
set have been in vogue as a theory of the nature of men.
Lists of phenomena from the contemplation of which the sav
age was led to believe in Animism have been given by Dr.
Tylor, Herbert Spencer, Mr. Andrew Lang and others; an
animated controversy arose between these writers as to the
priority of their respective lists. Among these phenomena
are : trance and unconsciousness, sickness, death, clairvoyance,
ISLAM AND ANIMISM 11
dreams, apparitions of the dead, wraiths, hallucinations,
echoes, shadows and reflections." According to this theory
evolution accounts for the growth of religious ideas. But all
are not in accord with this theory ; it is opposed to the Scrip
tures. " A dispassionate study of heathen religions," says
Warneck, " confirms the view of Paul that heathenism is a
fall from a better knowledge of God. In earlier days hu
manity had a greater treasure of spiritual goods. But the
knowledge of God s eternal power and divinity was neglected.
The Almighty was no longer feared or worshiped; depend
ence upon Him was renounced; and this downward course
was continued till nothing but a dim presentiment of Him
was left. The creature stepped into the place of the Crea
tor, and the vital power, the soul-stuff and the spirits of the
dead came to be worshiped." 10 This view is not exploded
by science, for the Encyclopaedia Britannica concludes its dis
cussion on the subject by saying : " Even, therefore, if we
can say that at the present day the gods are entirely spiritual,
it is clearly possible to maintain that they have been spiritual
ized pari passu with the increasing importance of the ani
mistic view of nature and of the greater prominence of
eschatological beliefs. The animistic origin of religion is
therefore not proven."
Aside from the question of origin we return to its con
tent. It is in its teaching regarding man s soul and the su
preme importance of the immaterial that Animism affords a
point of contact with such words of Christ as " What shall it
profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own
soul." It is the loss of the soul, the spirit, the invisible life-
principle that the Animist fears: but this fear brings him
into a life-long bondage to superstitions.
Among the Basutos in Africa it is held that a man walk-
10 " The Living Christ and Dying Heathenism," p. 103. Compare also
Ellinwood s "Oriental Religions and Christianity," p. 225.
12 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
ing by the brink of a river may lose his life if his shadow
falls on the water, for a crocodile may seize it and draw
him in; in Tasmania, North and South America is found
the conception that the soul is somehow identical with the
shadow of a man. For some of the Red Indians the Roman
custom of receiving the breath of a dying man was no mere
pious duty but a means of ensuring that his soul was trans
ferred to a new body. Other familiar conceptions identify
the soul with the liver or the heart, with the reflected figure
seen in the pupil of the eye and with the blood. Although
the soul is often distinguished from the vital principle, there
are many cases in which a state of unconsciousness is ex
plained as due to the absence of the soul ; in South Australia
wilyamarraba (without soul) is the word used for insensible.
So too the autohypnotic trance of the magician or shaman is
regarded as due to his visit to distant regions or the nether
world, of which he brings back an account.
" In many parts of the world it is held that the human
body is the seat of more than one soul; in the island of Nias
four are distinguished, the shadow and the intelligence, which
die with the body, a tutelary spirit, termed Itegoe, and a sec
ond which is carried on the head." " Just as among western
nations the ghost of a dead person is held to haunt the church
yard or the place of death, although more orthodox ideas may
be held by the same person as to the nature of a future life,
so the savage, more consistently, assigns different abodes to
the multiple souls with which he credits man. Of the four
souls of a Dakota Indian one is held to stay with the corpse,
another in the village, a third goes into the air, while the
fourth goes to the land of souls, where its lot may depend on
its rank in this life, its sex, mode of death or sepulture, on the
due observance of funeral ritual, or many other points.
From the belief in the survival of the dead arose the practice
of offering food, lighting fires, etc., at the grave, at first,
ISLAM AND ANIMISM 13
maybe, as an act of friendship or filial piety, later as an act of
worship. The simple offering of food or shedding of blood
at the grave develops into an elaborate system of sacrifice;
even where ancestor-worship is not found, the desire to pro
vide the dead with comforts in the future life may lead to the
sacrifice of wives, slaves, animals, etc., to the breaking or
burning of objects at the grave or to the provision of the ferry
man s toll, a coin put in the mouth of the corpse to pay the
traveling expenses of the soul. But all is not finished with
the passage of the soul to the land of the dead ; the soul may
return to avenge its death by helping to discover the murderer,
or to wreak vengeance for itself ; there is a widespread belief
that those who die a violent death become malignant spirits
and endanger the lives of those who come near the haunted
spot ; the woman who dies in child-birth becomes a pontianak,
and threatens the life of human beings; and man resorts to
magical or religious means of repelling his spiritual dan
gers." n
It is clear from the beliefs of the non-Mohammedans of
Malaysia that all things, organic and inorganic were once
credited with the possession of souls. This primitive Ani
mism survives most distinctly in the well-known Moslem
Malay ceremonies connected with the rice-soul at seed-time or
harvest, but it is also traceable in a large number of other
practices. We are told that whenever a peasant injures any
thing he must propitiate its personality, its living essence, its
soul, its tutelary spirit call it what we will. If the hunter
slays a deer he must excuse himself ; it is not the man but the
gun or the knife or the leaden bullet that must answer for
the deed. Should a man wish to mine or to set up a house, he
must begin by propitiating the spirits of the turned-up soil ;
should he desire to fish, he will address the spirits of the sea
and even the fish themselves ; should he contemplate planting,
11 " Encyclopaedia Britannica," art. Animism.
14 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
he begins by acknowledging that rice has a living essence of
its own which he is bound to treat with respect. In short, he
considers that all nature is teeming with life and that his own
soul is walking in the midst of invisible foes.
All of these evil spirits find worshipers among Moslems in
the Malay States to-day. The pawang or witch-doctor and
not the Moslem priest is called in to exorcise them. This he
does with old-fashioned magic with admixture of the names of
Allah and Mohammed. " The pawang or witch-doctor is in
great demand by orthodox Mohammedan Malays, especially
in times of sickness, although he often appeals openly to Siva
or uses such language as the following :
" I am the equal of the Archangels,
I sit upon God s Judgment-seat,
And lean on the pillar of God s Throne of Glory." 12
In reading a standard work on Animism by Kruijt, I
noted the following particulars in which Animism and Islam
agree. The correspondence is the more remarkable because
my experiences have been limited to East Arabia and Egypt.
That is to say Islam in its cradle already had these features
of paganism or primitive Animism:
The putting of blood upon the door-posts and the founda
tions when a house is being built (p. 23). The special im
portance of the placenta as the double of the child (p. 26).
Hair as the seat of the soul (pp. 26-37). Among the pagans
there are ceremonies connected with the shaving of the hair
in infancy. The Tor ad j as nail bits of the human scalp or
shreds of hair to the palm trees to make them more fruitful.
The same is done with the hair of infants. When a mother
leaves her child for a journey she ties some of her own hair
to that of the child so that " the child believes the mother is
still present." Hair offerings take place as in Islam. The
12 Chas. E. G. Tisdall in " The Missionary Review of the World," 1916.
ISLAM AND ANIMISM 15
finger nails are connected with the soul and have spiritual
value (p. 38). Also the teeth (p. 39). Spittle, perspira
tion, tears and the other excretions of the body all contain
soul-stuff (pp. 40-47) and one may see in all the supersti
tions of the animist the same practices that are related of
Mohammed the Prophet and his companions in Moslem
Tradition. (See references given later.) The use of urine
as medicine is not more common among pagans of Celebes
than in Moslem lands where the practice of Mohammed the
Prophet and his teaching is still supreme. One needs only
to consult books like Ed Damiri, or Tub-en-Nabawi. The
use of blood of animals, of saliva, of blowing, spitting and
stroking in order to bring benefit to the patient is universal
among animists; it was also common in early Islam and is
to-day. It is recorded in early tradition that Mohammed
practiced cures in this manner. In Java and Sumatra spit
ting is a common method for curing the sick (pp. 62-63).
Among Animists amulets and anklets are worn to keep the
soul in the body ; at the time of death the nose, the ears, the
mouth, etc., are carefully plugged up to prevent the soul
escaping. These customs at the time of burial are universal
also in Islam (p. 76).
Among Animists sneezing is considered unfortunate, for
then the soul tries to escape from the body; yawning is on
the other hand a good sign, for the breath comes inward.
Perhaps for this reason the Moslems everywhere ask forgive
ness of God when they sneeze, but praise Him when they
yawn (pp. 92-93).
The belief that souls of men may inhabit animals such as
dogs, cats, gazelles, snakes, etc., is Animistic. The same is
taught in Moslem books, for example in " The Arabian
Nights," which gives us a faithful picture of popular Islam.
The bones of animals contain soul matter and are therefore
dreaded by the animist or used for special purposes of good
16 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
or ill (pp. 128). We may connect with this the belief of
the Moslems that bones are the food of jinn and must not be
touched. Mr. Kruijt shows in Chapter VI of his book
(p. 157) that soul-stuff exists in certain metals, iron, gold,
silver, lead. These are therefore powerful protectors against
evil spirits. Iron objects are used to defend infants in the
cradle (p. 161). The same practice is carried on in Arabia,
Egypt, Persia and Morocco.
The soul after death takes its flight into the animal kingdom
(pp. 171-180) ; especially changing to dwell in butterflies,
birds, mice, lizards, snakes. May we not connect with this
the teaching of Islam that the souls of Moslem martyrs go
into the crops of green birds until the resurrection day ? Or
closer yet is the common belief in metempsychosis based upon
Koran legends, developed in the commentaries. Does not
the Koran teach that Jews were changed into apes and Tradi
tion tell us that Jews and Christians were changed into hogs ?
When we read the pages of Kruijt on the Fetish (pp. 197-
232) we are struck in almost every paragraph with parallel
beliefs current in Islam. Stones are sacred because they
contain spirits. Trees are sacred for the same reason : " If
a man has been successful in fighting, it has not been his
natural strength of arm, quickness of eye, or readiness of
resource that has won success; he has certainly got the mana
of a spirit or of some deceased warrior to empower him,
conveyed in an amulet of a stone round his neck, or a tuft of
leaves in his belt, in a tooth hung upon a finger of his bow
hand, or in the form of words with which he brings super
natural assistance to his side" (p. 201). Word for word
this might be said of Moslems to-day.
With regard to stone- worship Kruijt tells us of sacred
stones in the Indian Archipelago (pp. 204210) which re
ceive worship because they fell from heaven (cf. " The Black
ISLAM AND ANIMISM 17
Stone at Mecca ") or because of their special shape. Among
the Dajaks of Serawak, Chalmers tells of the interior of a
Lundu house at one end of which were collected the relics of
the tribe. " These consisted of several round-looking stones,
two deers heads, and other inferior trumpery. The stones
turn black if the tribe is to be beaten in war, and red if to
be victorious ; any one touching them would be sure to die ;
if lost, the tribe would be ruined." (p. 209.) The Black
Stone at Mecca is also believed to have changed color.
Tree-worship, by hanging amulets on the tree to produce
fertility or bring blessing, is common in Celebes and New
Guinea (p. 215) not only, but in Arabia, Egypt and Morocco.
The effect of all this, even on the conception of God in Islam,
is of importance. Here also there are points of contact as
well as points of contrast. " What has Animism made of
God," asks Warneck, " the holy and gracious Creator and
Governor of the world ? It has divested Him of His omni
potence, His love, His holiness and righteousness and has
put Him out of all relation with man. The idea of God has
become a mere decoration ; His worship a caricature. Spirits
inferior to men, whose very well-being is dependent on men s
moods, are feared instead of the Almighty; the rule of an
inexorable fate is substituted for the wise and good govern
ment of God. Absurd lies are believed concerning the life
after death, and efforts are made to master the malevolent
spirits by a childish magic." Is this not true of Arabia also ?
Regarding the impotence of Mohammedanism to reject
animistic influences which have dragged down to its lowest
levels the ideas of God, Warneck goes on to say, " Moham
medanism even with its higher idea of God, cannot introduce
into the heathenism which it influences any development for
the better. The heathen, who have passed over to Islam,
quietly retain their demon-worship. Instead of the purer
18 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
idea of God raising them, they drag it down to their own
level, a proof of the tremendous down-drag which animistic
religions possess" (p. 100).
" Mohammedanism," he says in another place, " has been
unable to remove the fear of evil spirits. On the contrary,
it assists in the expulsion of the spirits by its malims. It
allows the people to go on worshiping ancestors, and adds
new spirits of Arabic origin to those already worshiped.
Islam nowhere appears among Animists as a deliverer "
(pp. 114-115.)
The missionary is not so much concerned after all with
the fact of Animism in Islam as he is with the utter failure of
Islam to meet Animistic practices and overcome them.
Gottfried Simon has shown conclusively that Islam cannot
uproot pagan practices or remove the terror of spirits and
demon-worship in Sumatra and Java. 13 This is true every
where. In its conflict with Animism Islam has not been the
victor but the vanquished. Christianity on the contrary, as
Harnack has shown, did win in its conflict with demon-
worship and is winning to-day. 14
Animism in Islam offers points of contact and contrast that
may well be used by the missionary. Christianity s message
and power must be applied to the superstitions of Islam and
especially to these pagan practices. The fear of spirits can
be met by the love of the Holy Spirit ; the terror of death by
the repose and confidence of the Christian; true exorcism is
not found in the zar but in prayer; so-called demonic pos
session can often be cured by medical skill ; and superstition
rooted out by education. Jesus Christ is the Lord of the
Unseen World, especially the world of demons and angels.
Christ points out the true ladder of Jacob and the angels of
is " The Progress and Arrest of Islam in Sumatra," London, 1912.
i* Harnack : " The Mission and Expansion of Christianity," Vol. I,
Book II, Chapter III.
ISLAM AND ANIMISM 19
God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man He
is the sole channel of communication with the other world.
With Him as our living, loving Saviour and Friend we have
no fear of " the arrow that flieth hy day nor of the pestilence
that walketh in darkness."
In order to guide the student for further study in regard to Ani
mism and Islam we give the keys that will unlock the subject; for if
Moslems know tKat we have some idea of their superstition they will
tell us more. The subject needs thorough investigation, especially in
Egypt. The best book on Animism is by A. C. Kruijt, a Dutch mis
sionary in the East Indies, and his division of the subject is very sug
gestive. I here translate the table of contents of his book. Every sub
ject leads out into a wide field of thought and investigation.
I. ANIMISM.
(1) The Personal soul-stuff of Man found especially in the
Head, the Intestines, the Blood, Placenta, Hair, Teeth,
Saliva, Sweat, Tears, Urine, etc.
(2) Means by which this soul-stuff is appropriated, e.g.,
Spitting, Blowing, Blood-wiping, and Touch.
(3) The Personal Soul in Man : The Shadow, the Dream, The
Escape of the Soul through Sneezing, Yawning, etc.
The Were Wolf and the Witch.
(4) The Soul-stuff of Animals.
(5) Soul-stuff of Plants, Sacred Plants.
(6) Soul-stuff of Inanimate Objects Metals, Iron, Gold, etc.
(7) The Transmigration of the Soul, especially in Animals
The Firefly, the Butterfly, the Bird, the Mouse, the Snake,
the Lizard.
(8) Special honor paid to Animals, Fetishes, Stones and Amu
lets.
II. SPIBITISM, OB THE DOCTRINE OF THE SOUL.
( 1 ) The Living Man in regard to his Soul, its Nature.
(2) The Life of the Soul after Death It remains in the
Grave or in the House Its Journey to Soul Land.
(3) The Worship of Souls Either through a medium or
without a medium In Special Places or in Special Ob
jects. The Priesthood that gives communication with
the souls of the Departed.
III. DEMONOLOGY.
( 1 ) Introduction on the Creator and Creation.
(2) The Spiritual Part of Creation.
(3) Animals as Messengers of the Gods.
20 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
(4) Predestination.
( 5 ) Honor of man Saint-worship.
( 6 ) Demi-gods.
(7) The Home of the Gods.
(8) Agricultural Gods and Sea Gods.
(9) Tree Spirits and other Demons.
(10) How demons show themselves and how one drives them
away.
CHAPTER II
ANIMISM IN THE CREED AND THE USE OF THE ROSAKY
ONE has only to read popular expositions of the Koran
texts that refer to angels, jinn, iblis (the devil), kismet
(fate), and the many traditions regarding the creation of the
soul and its transmigration to realize that the world of
Moslem thought and that of Animism are not distinct. Not
only in popular Islam, its magic (high and low), its amulets,
charms, talismans, magic squares, sacred trees, etc., but in
the sacred literature of Islam we find pagan beliefs and prac
tices perpetuated. The shortest of all monotheistic creeds,
the Kalima, has itself become a species of magic and at least
in three of the six articles of the expanded statement of
orthodox belief we find animistic teaching and interpreta
tion. " I believe in Allah and His angels, and His books,
and His prophets, and the Resurrection and the Predestina
tion of good and evil." The doctrine of God includes the
magical use of His names and attributes. The doctrine of
angels includes not only demonology but jinn fear and wor
ship as real as in Paganism. The belief in revelation has in
popular Islam almost degenerated into bibliomancy and
bibliolatry. Do the fellahin of Egypt not take their oath
on Al Bokhari? The prophets, especially Solomon and
Mohammed, had intercourse with demons and jinn. Accord
ing to the Koran and Tradition man is created with a double-
ego or two souls (the Qarina) just as in the pagan mytholo
gies. The beliefs regarding the relation of the soul to the
body after death, and the doctrine of metempsychosis re
semble the beliefs of Animism. Their belief in how the spirit
leaves the body ; the benefit of speedy burial ; the questioning
21
22 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
by the two angels of the tomb ; the visiting of the graves and
the presentation of offerings of food and drink on the graves :
all this is mixed up with pagan practices which find their
parallel in Animism. Finally, the whole eschatology of
Islam is a strange mixture of Judaism, Christianity and
Paganism.
Some of these practices based on the creed we will recur to
later; here we limit our discussion to the use of the Koran,
the creed formula and the rosary in ways that are condemned
by the creed itself. " There is no god but Allah " yet His
Book, His names, His very attributes are used as amulets
against demon and jinn or as fetish receive the reverence due
to Himself alone. Every missionary knows that the Koran
itself has the power of a fetish in popular Islam. Not only
is the book eternal in its origin and use for mystic purposes,
but only those who are ritually pure may touch it. Certain
chapters are of special value against evil spirits. It is re
lated in Tradition, e.g. that " whosoever reads the 105th
chapter and the 94th chapter of the Koran at morning prayers
will never suffer pain in his teeth " ! This is one reason why
these two chapters, i.e. of the " Elephant " and the one
entitled " Have we not expanded," are almost universally
used for the early prayers. At funerals they always read
the chapter " Y.S." ; and then, in fear of jinn and spirits, the
chapter of the Jinn. One has only to read this last chapter
with the commentaries on it to see how large a place the
doctrine occupies in popular Islam. The cure for headache
is said to be the 13th verse of the chapter called " Al-Ana am "
or the " Cattle," which reads : " His is whatsoever dwells
in the night or in the day: He both hears and knows."
Against robbers at night a verse of the chapter called " Repen
tance " is read, etc., etc. 1 No religion has ever made so much
i Cf. Even Al Ghazali who is quoted in book of " Wird," Mujarabat of
Ahmed Dirbi, p. 80.
ANIMISM IN THE CREED
23
of its sacred book in a magic way as Islam. Not only do we
find bibliolatry, i.e. the worship of the Book, but also biblio-
mancy, i.e. the use of the Koran for magical or superstitious
purposes. This is perhaps based on Judaism. We find that
Jews used the Torah for protection purposes and in a magical
way as do the Mohammedans. When a person was danger
ously ill the Pentateuch was opened, and the name which
first met the eye was added to the patient s name, in order to
avert the evil destiny. 2
Just as Moslems to-day use special names of God and
special chapters as " cure-alls " so did the Jews of the Dis
persion. The following verses in the original Hebrew were
used on amulets :
Genesis
I: 1
I: 1-5
To make oneself invisible (S. Z.
32a).
(The last letters only.) To confuse
a person s mind (M. V. 25) ; as
preservation against pollution (S. Z.
lib) ; and for other purposes
(" Cat. Anglo- Jew. Hist. Exh." No.
1874; Schwab).
To lighten child-birth (M. V. 59).
On using a divining rod (M. V. 80).
Against the crying of children
(M. V. 64).
Against danger on a journey
(M. V. 34).
To shorten one s way on a journey
(M. V. 23) ; in the lying-in room
(M. V. 80).
For protection against a fierce dog.
(For greater security, the traveler
2 " The Jewish Encyclopedia," Vol. Ill, pp. 202-203.
XXI
XXIV:
XXV:
1
2
14
XXXII: 31
XLIX:18
Exodus
XI: 7
24 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
XI: 8
XV: 2
XV: 16
XVII: 16
XXII :1T
XXXIII: 23
XXXIV: 6
Lev. I: 1
Num. XI: 2
Deut.
XI: 12
XXIII: 23
VI: 4-9
XXIII: 4
is advised to carry a stout stick as
well, which gave rise to the saying,
"He has both a verse ( posuk )
and a stick ( stecken ) with him "
applied to one well fortified on
every side.)
To lighten child-birth (M. V. 59).
To shorten one s way (M. V. 24).
To shorten the way (M. V. 23) ; to
insure safety in a court of law
(M. V. 32) ; against fear (M. V.
65).
Against bleeding (M. V. 45).
In the lying-in room (M. V. 91).
Against, witchcraft (M. V. 41).
To shorten the way (M. V. 23).
The same (M. V. 23).
Against fire (M. V. 10, 11; S. Z.
27).
Against the evil eye (M. V. 41).
In lying-in rooms (M. V. 91).
Against fever (M. V. 50).
On taking children to school (S. Z.
30b).
A still larger number of verses were taken from the Psalms
for similar purposes and used as amulets. Most common,
however, was the use of the names of God and of angels.
The Koran is not only the most excellent of all books, but
the essential Word of God contained therein is eternal and
uncreated. It was originally written by God himself on the
Preserved Tablet, then brought down in sheets (suhuf} to
the lowest heaven on the night of Al Qadr where they
s " Jewish Encyclopedia," p. 203.
25
were preserved in a place called the House of Majesty
(Beit-vl- Izza). From here they were brought to Mohammed
as required by circumstances in revelations. What Professor
Hurgronje says of the Moslems of Sumatra is true of all the
illiterate masses in Islam and even of many of the so-called
literates even in Arabia and Egypt :
" This book, once a world-reforming power, now serves but
to be chanted by teachers and laymen according to definite
rules. The rules are not difficult, but not a thought is ever
given to the meaning of the words; the Quran is chanted
simply because its recital is believed to be a meritorious work.
This disregard of the sense of the words rises to such a pitch
that even pandits who have studied the commentaries not
to speak of laymen fail to notice when the verses they
recite condemn as sinful things which both they and the
listeners do every day, nay even during the very common
ceremony itself.
" The inspired code of the universal conquerors of thirteen
centuries ago has grown to be no more than a mere text-book
of sacred music, in the practice of which a valuable portion
of the youth of well-educated Muslims is wasted and which is
recited on a number of ceremonial occasions in the life of
every Mohammedan." 4
In all Moslems lands on the occasions of birth, death or
marriage the Koran is used as a charm. It is put near the
head of the dying, and on the head of a new-born infant for
good-luck. The belief is universal in the Mohammedan
world that Saf ar is pregnant with evil, and that one may feel
very thankful when he reaches the last Wednesday of this
month without mishap. This day nowhere passes wholly
without notice. " In Acheh," says Hurgronje, " it is called
Rabn Abeh, the final Wednesday. Many take a bath on
this day, the dwellers on the coast in the sea, others in the
* " The Achenese," pp. 343-4.
26 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
river or at the well. It is considered desirable to use for this
bath water consecrated by contact with certain verses of the
Koran. To this end a teunglcu in the gampong gives to all
who ask slips of paper on which he has written the seven
verses of the Koran in which Allah addresses certain men
with the word salam (blessing or peace)." 5
It is the common belief in East Arabia that the Koran if
wrapped in a fresh sheep-skin will withstand the hottest fire
and never a page be singed or burned. I was repeatedly
challenged to this ordeal with the Gospel vs. the Koran during
my early missionary days at Bahrein. That the sacred char
acter of the work is not limited to the text, but extends to
paper and ink is clear from the process of insulation in taking
oath. In India a hog s bristle put on the ball of the thumb
which then rests on the Koran allows the swearer to perjure
himself without danger. So holy a book is used therefore to
drive away demons. No evil spirit visits the room where it
rests on the highest shelf the place of honor.
This belief that the Koran can drive away devils is exactly
paralleled by practices in China. De Groot writes (" The
Religion of the Chinese/ p. 51) : "I have said that classical
works are among the best weapons in the war against specters.
Even the simple presence of a copy, or a fragment, or a leaf
of a classic is a mighty preservative, and an excellent medi
cine for spectral disease. As early as the Han dynasty,
instances are mentioned of men having protected themselves
against danger and misfortune by reciting classical phrases.
But also writings and sayings of any kind, provided they be
of an orthodox stamp, destroy specters and their influences.
Literary men, when alone in the dark, insure their safety by
reciting their classics; should babies be restless because of
the presence of specters, classical passages do excellent service
as lullabies."
s " The Achenese," p. 206.
ANIMISM IN THE CKEED 27
Again he speaks of the magical power of the almanac
(De Groot, p. 53) : " No house in China may be without a
copy of the almanac, or without at least its title-page in minia
ture, printed on purpose with one or two leaves affixed, as a
charm, in accordance with the pars pro toto principle, and
sold in shops for one coin or cash. These charms are de
posited in beds, in corners and cupboards, and such like
places, and worn on the body ; and no bride passing from her
paternal home into that of her bridegroom may omit the title-
page among the exorcising objects with which her pocket is
for that occasion filled."
Portions of the Koran are lithographed in colors and sold
for the same purposes in Cairo, Bombay, Singapore and
Madras. The fantastic combinations of Arabic script and
the intaglio of the design make the charm all the more potent.
Men cannot decipher it, but demons can.
In the use of the Rosary (Subha^ and its gradual spread
throughout the world of Islam we also find evidence of
Animistic superstition. According to Dr. Goldziher : " It
is generally admitted that the use of the rosary, which was
imported into Islam, was not adopted by the disciples of
Mohammed until the third century of the Hegira (622
A. D.). The following story can, at any rate, be cited in
this connection. When the Abbaside Khalif, Al-Hadi
(169-170 of the Hegira) forbade his mother Chejzuran, who
tried to exercise her influence in political affairs, to take part
in the affairs of state, he used the following words : " It is
not a woman s business to meddle with the affairs of state;
you should occupy your time with your prayers and your
subha." From this it seems certain that in that century the
use of the sublia as an instrument of devotion was common
only among the inferior classes and had no place among the
learned. When a rosary was found in the possession of a
certain pious saint, Abu-1-Kasim al-Junaid, who died in 297
28 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
of the Hegira, they attacked him for using it, although he
belonged to the best society. " I cannot give up," said he,
" a thing that serves to bring me nearer to God." This
tradition furnishes us with rare facts since it shows us on
the one hand that in the social sphere the use of the rosary
was common even among the higher classes; and on the other
hand that the strict disciples of Mohammed looked on this
foreign innovation which was patronized by saints and pious
men, with displeasure. To them it was biaa that is, an
innovation without foundation in the old Islamic sunna, and
was consequently bound to stir a distrust among the orthodox.
Even later on, when the use of the rosary had for long
ceased to provoke discontent in the orthodox Moslems, the
controversialists, whose principle was to attack all " innova
tions," still distrusted any exaggerations in the usage of this
practice. But like a great many things that were not
tolerated at the beginning under religious forms, the rosary
introduced itself from private religious life to the very
heart of the mosques.
Abu Abdullah Mohammed al- Abdari, who died 737 A.H.,
wrote a work of three volumes called " Al-Madkhal," which
contains a lot of interesting matter on the intimate life of
Islamic society, their superstitions and their popular customs,
and should be studied by all who are interested in the history
and civilization of the Mohammedan Orient. " Among the
innovations," writes al- Abdari, " the rosary is to be noted. A
special box is made where it is kept; a salary is fixed for
some one to guard and keep it, and for those who use it
for Zikr. ... A special Sheikh is appointed for it, with
the title of Sheikh al-Subha, and with him a servant with the
title of Khadim al-Subha. These innovations are quite
modern. It is the duty of the imam of the mosque to sup
press such customs as it is in his power to do so."
" The appearance of the rosary," says Goldziher, to quote
ANIMISM IN THE CREED 29
again from his paper, " and the way in which it had been
adopted by the faithful of the Sunna, did not pass unper-
ceived by the Hadith. I believe that the following story
which we read in the book called Sunan/ written in the
third century, has to do with the entrance of the rosary :
" Al-Hakam b. al-Mubarak relates on the authority of
Amr b. Jahja, who had heard it from his father, and who in
his turn had heard from his father : we were sitting before the
door of Abdallah b. Masud, before the morning prayer, for
we were in the habit of going to the mosque in his company.
One day we encountered Abu Musa al-Ash ari . . . and very
soon Abu Abd al-Rahman came in his turn. Then Abu
Musa said : " In former times, O Abu Rahman, I saw in
the mosque things that I did not approve of ; but now, thank
God, I see nothing but good." " What do you mean by that ? "
said the other. " If you live long enough," answered Abu
Musa, " you will know. I have seen in the mosque, people
who sat round in circles (kauman hilakan) awaiting the
moment of Salat. Each group was presided over by a man
and they held in their hands small stones. The president
said to them: Repeat 100 Takbir! & and for one hun
dred times they recited the formula of the Takbir. Then he
used to tell them: Repeat 100 Tdhlil!" 1 And they re
cited the formula of Taldil for one hundred times. Then he
told them also : Repeat 100 times the Tasbih ! 8 And
the persons who were in the group equally went through this
exhortation also." Then Abu Abd al-Rahman asked:
" What did st thou say when thou sawest these things ? "
" Nothing," answered Abu Musa, " because I first wanted to
find out your view and your orders." " Did you not tell
them that it would have been more profitable for them to
Takbir to repeat Allahu Akbar, God is great.
7 Tahlil to repeat La, ilaha ilia Allah (The Creed).
s Tasbih to repeat Subhan Allah, God be praised.
30 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
have kept account of their sins and did you not tell them
that their good actions would not have been in vain ? " So
we together repaired to the mosque and we soon came across
one of these groups. He stopped before them and said:
" What do you here ? " " We have here," they answered,
" small stones which help us to count the Takbir, the Tahlil
and the Tasbih, which we recite." But he answered them in
these terms : " Sooner count your sins and nothing will be
lost of your good works. Woe to thee, O community of
Mohammed! with what haste you are going toward damna
tion? Here are also in great numbers, companions of your
Prophet ? look at these garments which are not covered with
dust, these vessels that are not yet broken; verily by him
who holds my soul in his hands, your religion can lead you
better than the contemporaries of Mohammed; will you not
at least open the door of wrong ? " " By Allah, O Abu Abd
al-Kahman," they cried, " we mean but to do right ! " And
he answered them : " There are many who pretend to do
right, but who cannot get at it, it is to them that the word of
the Prophet applies: There are of those who read the
Koran, but deny its teaching, and I swear it by God, I doubt
whether the majority of these people are not among your
selves." "
Other traditions show us the prophet protesting regarding
some faithful women against their using these small stones
when reciting the litanies just mentioned and recommending
the use of the fingers when counting their prayers. " Let
them count their prayers on their fingers (ja Tcidna bil ana-
mil) ; for an account will be taken of them."
All these insinuations found in traditions invented for the
purpose, denote a disapprobation of the use of the rosary, at
the moment of its appearance. The use of small stones in
the litanies was, it seems, an original form of the subha, very
much like the later use of the rosary. It is said of Abu
ANIMISM IN THE CREED 31
Huraira that he recited the Tasbih in his house by the aid of
small stones which he kept in a purse (jusabbih bilia) . Let
us also mention the severe words of Abdallah, son of the
Khalif Omar, which he addressed to a person who rattled his
stones in his hands during prayer (juharrik al-Hasa
Bijedihi), "Do not do that, for that is prompted by the
devil."
Were not the litanies ever counted in this way before the
rosary was introduced ? One cannot be sure. Anyway, it
seems very probable that the traditions against this custom
date from the time when the rosary was introduced into
Islam. The Tibetan Buddhists, long before the Christian
Era, used strings of beads, generally 108 in number and made
of jewels, sandal-wood, mussel-shells, and the like, according
to the status of their owners. Whether Islam adopted the
rosary from India during the Moslem conquest is uncertain,
but not improbable.
Regarding the Christian use of the rosary we read : " The
custom of repeatedly reciting the Our Eather arose in the
monastic life of Egypt at an early time, being recorded by
Palladius and Sozomen. The Hail Mary or Ave Maria, on
the other hand, first became a regular prayer in the second
half of the eleventh century, though it was not until about
the thirteenth century that it was generally adopted. The
addition of the words of Elizabeth, i blessed is the fruit of thy
womb, Jesus (Luke 1:42), and the Angelical Salutation,
Hail Mary, full of grace ; the Lord is with thee ; blessed
art thou among women (Luke 1:28), is first mentioned
about 1130; but Bishop Odo of Paris (1196-1208) requires
the recitation of Hail Mary together with the Our Father
and the Creed as a regular Christian custom. The closing
petition, Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death, developed gradually in the
sixteenth century, and was regarded even by the council of
32 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
Besangon (1571) as a superfluous but pious custom. These
facts show that the traditions which ascribe the invention of
the rosary to Benedict of Nursia, Bede, or Peter the Hermit,
are untrustworthy, and the same statement holds of the
Dominican tradition which makes Dominic receive a vision
of the Virgin commanding him to introduce the use of the
rosary. At the same time, the rosary was originally an
essential Dominican mode of devotion; though first arising
long after the death of the founder of the order; but while
some influence may have been exercised by the acquaintance of
oriental Christians with the Mohammedan Tasbih, all the
characteristics of the recitation of Our Father, like the medi
tations connected with it, can only be explained by the opera
tion of specifically Christian ideas." 9
The Rosary in Islam is at present used for three distinct
purposes. It is used in prayer and Zikr for counting pious
ejaculations or petitions. It is used for divining the will of
God ; and it is used in a magical way for healing. The second
practice is called Istikhara. It is related of one of the wives
of Mohammed that she said : " The Prophet taught us
IstiWiara,, i.e. to know what is best, just as he taught us
verses from the Book, and if any of you wants anything let
him perform ablution and pray two rakk as and read the
verse : There is no other God, etc. To use the rosary in
this way the following things must be observed. The rosary
must be grasped within the palms of both hands, which are
then rubbed together; then the Fatiha is solemnly repeated,
after which the user breathes upon the rosary with his breath
in order to put the magic-power of the chapter into the beads.
Then he seizes a particular bead and counts toward the
" pointer " bead using the words, God, Mohammed, Abu
Jahal; when the count terminates with the name of God it
means that his request is favorably received, if it terminates
9 " Schaff Herzog Encyclopedia," Vol. X.
ANIMISM IN THE CREED 33
with Abu Jahal it is bad, and if with Mohammed the reply
is doubtful. Others consider it more correct to use these
three words : Adam, Eve, the devil. When these words are
used the Adam bead signifies approval, the devil bead dis
approval, and the Eve bead uncertainty, because woman s
judgment is fickle. This use of the rosary is almost uni
versal among the common people of North Africa and Egypt.
When we remember the high idealism with which Edwin
Arnold has clothed the ninety-nine names of Allah in his
book on the Moslem rosary entitled " Pearls of the Faith " we
enter a word of protest against the use of such glorious names
for magic and sorcery. In this connection we mention a
ceremony practiced among the Mohammedans of India on
special occasions, called in the Arabic Subha and usually
performed on the night succeeding a burial. The soul is
then supposed to remain in the body, after which it departs
to Hades, there to await its final doom. The ceremony is
thus described : " At night, derwishes, sometimes as many
as fifty, assemble, and one brings a rosary of 1000 beads,
each as large as a pigeon s egg. Then beginning with the
67th chapter of the Koran, they say three times, God is one ;
then recite the last chapter but one and the first, and then say
three times, O God, favor the most excellent and most happy
of thy creatures, our lord Mohammed, and his family and
companions, and preserve them. To this they add : All
who commemorate Thee are the mindful, and those who omit
commemorating Thee are the negligent. They next repeat
three thousand times, There is no god but God, one hold
ing the rosary and counting each repetition. After each
thousand they sometimes rest and take coffee; then 100 times
(I extol) the perfection of God with his praise. Then the
same number of times : I beg forgiveness of God the
Great ; after which fifty times : The perfection of the
Lord the Eternal ; then The perfection of the Lord of
34 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
Might ; etc. (Koran XXXVII last three verses). Then two
or three recite two or three more verses. This done one
asks his companions, Have ye transferred (the merit of)
what ye have recited to the soul of the deceased ? They
reply, l We have and add, i Peace be on the apostles. This
concludes the ceremony, which in the house of the rich, is
repeated the second and third nights."
In Algeria the rosary is used by the Taleb in divining
whether the sick will die or not. The beads are counted oft
in threes, if this leaves one off number the beads must be
recounted in twos, if ending evenly the patient will live, if
an odd one remains it means death. The rosary which is con
sidered a holy thing is never used in vulgar magic.
In Tunisia the fortune-teller marks a place on the rosary
with a thread and counts off the beads while chanting certain
words, sometimes the names of the father or mother of the
sick person. The required information is found by the num
ber of beads remaining over after the recitation ; if three re
main to the thread, it is sickness ; if two it is health.
Mr. G. B. A. Gardener, of Cape Town, says : " The rosary
is sometimes worn round the neck as a cure for sickness.
Those most in use are made of sandal-wood, said to come
from Mecca. For magical purposes the rosary is used by
counting."
Miss G. Y. Holliday of Tabriz, Persia, gives the following
information : " The rosary is used to decide what medicine
should be taken, what physician should be called, whether his
advice should be followed or not, etc. It is also used about
all the affairs of life; it is called taking the istikhara. In
using it, the rosary is grasped by the first bead the hand
happens on; from which they count to the Khalifa, or the
large bead which is the most prominent object, saying bad,
good, the last bead giving the decision."
In Java the rosary is used as follows for healing the sick,
35
or for inducing sickness. With the rosary in the hand one
reads any chapter from the Koran and up to the fifteenth
verse, this verse always contains a word of talismanic power,
and while this verse is being read the rosary is counted and
the result follows.
In Egypt the rosary is widely used for the cure of the
sick. In this case it depends on the material from which the
beads are manufactured. Those made of ordinary wood or
of mother-of-pearl are not valuable, but a rosary made of jet
(yusr) or Icuk (a particular kind of wood from Mecca) is
valuable. In Egypt both among Copts and Moslems the
rosary is used for the cure of " retention of urine " in chil
dren. It is put on the infant s neck or is laid on the roof in
the starlight to catch the dew, then it is washed and the water
given to the child to drink.
" In India," writes Mr. K. I. Khan of Poona, " the rosary
is used to protect against the evil eye and other dangers, some
times it is washed in water and the water given as medicine to
the sick to drink."
When we consider how in all these puerile superstitions the
original use of the rosary with its ninety-nine beads for the
remembrance of the one true God has been lost or obscured we
are forcibly reminded of the words of Warneck : " Animistic
heathenism is not a transition stage to a higher religion. I
think I have adduced sufficient facts to establish that, and
facts do not vanish away before hypothesis. Let them pro
duce facts to prove that animistic heathenism somewhere and
somehow evolved upwards toward a purer knowledge of God,
real facts, not imaginary construction of such an evolution.
Any form of Animism known to me has no lines leading to
perfection, but only incontestable marks of degeneration." 10
In its doctrine of the soul before birth, after death, and in
the future world, Islam is not free from animistic ideas which
10 " The Living Christ and Dying Heathenism," Warneck, p. 10.
36 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
differ little from those of Pagans in Africa. Al Ghazali
says : " When God Almighty let His hands pass over the
back of Adam and gathered men into His two hands, He
placed some of them in His right hand and the others in His
left ; then he opened both His hands before Adam, and Adam
looked at them and saw them like imperceptible atoms. Then
God said : These are destined for Paradise and these are
destined for hell-fire. He then asked them: Am I not
your Lord ? and they replied : { Certainly, we testify that
Thou art our Lord. God then asked Adam and the angels
to be witnesses . . . after this God replaced them into the
loins of Adam. They were at that time purely spiritual
beings without bodies. He then caused them to die, but
gathered them and kept them in a receptacle near His throne.
When the germ of a new being is placed in the womb of the
mother, it remains there till its body is sufficiently developed ;
the soul in the same is then dead, yet when God Almighty
breathes into it the spirit, He restores to it its most precious
part, of which it had been deprived while preserved in the
receptacle near the throne. This is the first death and a
second life. Then God places man in this world till he has
reached the term fixed for him."
In this teaching of the greatest Moslem theologian we have
the gist of the teaching as found in the Koran and Tradition.
The Koran in many places gives a minute description of the
process of death while the Commentaries based on savings of
Mohammed leave no doubt of the crass materialisic ideas he
held and perpetuated. (See e.g., Suras 75 ; 81:1-19; 82;
83 : 4-20 ; 84 : 1-19 ; and of a later period 22 : 1-7.)
Death takes place by means of a poisonous lance which is
held by Izra il, the angel of death, who pierces the soul and
detaches it from the body. (Cf. Surah 32:11.) "As long
as the soul slowly ascends from the heart through the throat,
it is exposed to various temptations and doubts, but when it
ANIMISM IN THE CREED 37
has been pierced by the lance and thus separated from the
body, these cease. Izra il is said to be frightful in appear
ance and of enormous size; his head in the highest heaven,
his feet in the lowest part of the earth, and his face opposite
the preserved Tablet. To a believer, however, he appears in
a lovely shape, and his assistants as f Angels of Mercy, while
to the unbelievers they are tormenting angels. The soul or
spirit, according to the orthodox school, is said to be a subtle
body, intimately united with the body of man, like the juice
is united with the green branch of a tree. The Angel of
Death also takes the life of jinn, of angels and even of ani
mals." ll
The teaching that the Angel of Death takes care of the
souls of animals as well as of men s souls is clearly animistic.
Immediately after burial two large black Angels visit the
dead in their graves. They are called Munkar and Nakir.
The spirit of the believer, according to some authorities, is
taken through the seven Heavens ino the very presence of
God and then returns to the grave to reenter the body and be
examined. This seems to be the teaching of Ghazali (Durrai
al Fakhira). The same authority classifies the inhabitants
of the grave as follows, and says they are of four kinds:
" (1) Those who sleep on their backs till their corpses be
come dust, when they constantly rove about between earth and
the lowest heaven; (2) those on whom God causes sleep to
descend and who only wake up at the first blast of the
trumpet; (3) those who remain in their graves only two or
three months, then are carried away into Paradise; they
perch on the trees of Paradise in the shape of birds. The
spirits of martyrs are in the crops of birds. (4) Prophets
and saints who may choose their own habitation."
Another animistic idea in the teaching of Mohammed is
that although the whole of the human body perishes in the
11 Klein, " The Religion of Islam," p. 81.
38 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
grave, one bone, namely the os sacrum, remains uncorrupted
until the resurrection morning. It is from this bone or seed
that the whole body is renewed by means of a miraculous rain
storm called " the water of life." 12
The spirit after death enters the state (or interval),
whether of time or place seems uncertain called Al
BarzaMi.
Many curious traditions are current regarding the souls of
the martyrs and their residence in the crops of green birds.
One commentator says the birds are transparent, i.e. ethereal.
Others say that it signifies figuratively the speed with which
the souls of martyrs can travel about.
An important point and which is universally believed re
lates to the spirits of ordinary mortals. These remain near
their graves. This accounts for the universal custom in Islam
of visiting the graves of their dead on Thursday night. In
India we are told, " It is a general belief among the com
munity of Mussulmans that when a Moslem gives up the
ghost his soul haunts and lurks about the place where he
breathed his last for full forty days from the date of his
demise: that it (the soul) comes to visit the quarter it left,
with the idea and conviction that its surviving relations and
acquaintances may show pity to it by offering prayers and
charity for its good and salvation in the migrated region of
the heaven above; that in case it finds its survivors doing
good for its well-being, rest, happiness, and welfare in its
changed career, it devoutly and heartily prays in return for
their safety, pleasure and comfort on earth ; and that in the
reverse case, when it perceives its people doing naught for it
or entrapped in vices opposed to the dictates of Islamic faith,
it curses them and invokes on them heavenly displeasure for
12 It is impossible to give the indecent Moslem interpretations of this
term. Cf. any popular Arabic work on Eschatology.
ANIMISM IN THE CKEED 39
their negligence and foolish reckless pursuits devoid of all
religious principles." 13
The special sanctity of the " night of the middle of
Sha ban," called in Arabic Lailat Nusf Sha ban, is believed in
by all Mohammedans. It is supposed that on that particular
night Allah determines the fate of mortals during the forth
coming year. The most popular idea is that there is a
celestial tree of symbolic import, on which every human being
has a leaf to represent him. This tree is shaken during the
night preceding the 15th of Sha ban, causing the leaves of all
those who are to die during the coming year to fall.
In Arabia many watch through a part or the whole of this
night and offer up a prayer, invoking Allah s mercy, and
beseeching him to blot out from his eternal book the calamities
and adversity destined for the suppliant.
" Throughout the whole of the Indian Archipelago," says
Hurgronje, " this month, Sha ban, is especially dedicated to
the commemoration of the dead. This does not imply grief
for their loss, but rather care for their souls repose, which
is not inconsistent with merrymaking. This solicitude for
the welfare of the departed exhibits itself by the giving of
religious feasts. According to the religious or learned con
ception this is done in order to bestow on the deceased the
recompense earned by this good work; according to the
papular notion it is to let them enjoy the actual savor of the
good things of the feast."
Not only in visiting the graves of the dead, but in the
very method of burial Moslems are animists in practice
whatever they may be in creed. " It is fear," says Warneck,
speaking of the Animists in Malaysia, " that leads them to
place food on the dead man s grave; to bring him his tools
is " Moslem Festivities," by Mohammed Ameer All Calcutta, 1892,
p. 42.
40 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
and coin, that his shadow may use them in the other world
and be content. The inhabitants of many islands sacrifice
some one, preferably a slave, at the grave in order that they
themselves may be spared. The impelling motive is always
fear, not grief nor pity. To prevent the soul of the dead
from returning to the living, thorns are laid upon the corpse,
which is firmly bound, its thumbs and toes tied together,
ashes put in its eyes, an egg placed in its armpits, all with the
view of making it incapable of movement." 14
According to a Moslem tradition also, it is the universal
practice to tie the toes of the dead together before burial but
then to loosen them when the body has been lowered into the
grave. The construction of the grave itself with its char
acteristic lahdi in all Moslem lands, can only be explained by
beliefs which are animistic. Coffins are never used for bur
ial, but a niche, lahdi, is made on one side of the open grave.
The contents of any book on the subject of Eschatology
are an index to this world of Moslem-animistic thought.
The terrors of the grave are real in popular Islam, and such
books have a larger sale than any other religious literature.
Here follows for example the table of contents of El
Hamzawi s " Masharik-ul- Anwar " on this subject. In every
chapter there are points of contact with animism and signs of
old pagan belief and practices perpetuated :
I. WHAT HAPPENS TO THE DEAD BEFORE BURIAL.
1. What he should do while he is still here.
2. What he should do when death approaches.
3. How the spirit leaves the body.
4. The benefit of speedy burial.
II. WHAT HAPPENS IN THE GRAVE.
1. How the questions are asked by the two angels,
i* " The Living Christ and Dying Heathenism," p. 59.
ANIMISM IN THE CREED 41
2. How he must answer.
3. On the joy and pain that results.
4. Where the spirits go.
5. Warning to the living.
III. ON VISITING THE GRAVE.
1. Its desirability.
2. The right times.
3. What to do.
4. Are the dead conscious ?
5. Traditions of the Prophet.
6. Who of the Prophet s family were buried in
Egypt.
IV. SIGNS OF THE HOUR AND THE END OP THE AGE.
1. Minor signs of the hour.
2. The appearance of the Mahdi.
3. The appearance of anti-Christ.
4. The return of Jesus.
5. The Beast Gog and Magog.
6. The first blast of the trumpet.
V. THE RESURRECTION.
1. The number of trumpet blasts.
2. The one who blows.
3. How they arise from the graves.
4. In what form do they come ?
5. Do they arise naked or dressed ?
6. The books.
7. The intents of the heart.
VI. THE PLACE OF JUDGMENT.
1. Where the judgment takes place.
2. The conditions of those who appear.
3. The day of accounts.
42 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
4. The robes and the throne.
5. The sirat and the scales.
6. The intercession.
7. The scales of justice.
8. The pond.
VII. ON THE THINGS THAT CONCERN HEAVEN AND HEL.L
AND THE VENGEANCE OP GOD.
In this survey of the present use of the creed and the clear
teaching based on some of its six articles, the conclusion is ir
resistible that the monotheism of Islam has degenerated in
popular belief to a much larger degree than is generally ap
preciated. It is idle to talk of pure monotheism when dealing
with popular Islam.
CHAPTER III
ANIMISTIC ELEMENTS IN MOSLEM PRAYER
ONE of the most impressive rites of Islam is the daily
prayer ritual. It has elicited the admiration of many who
have observed it, and, ignorant of the real character and con
tent of Moslem prayer interpreted it entirely from the Chris
tian standpoint. What is understood by prayer, however, in
Christendom, and what the Moslem calls by the same name
are to a degree distinct conceptions. In the punctilious re
gard of position, prostration, ablution and the peculiar ges
tures and movements of the hand, the head and the body it is
clear that prayer is more than a spiritual exercise. Moslems
themselves are at a loss to explain the reason for many of the
details which they have learned from their youth. The
various sects in orthodox Islam can be distinguished by the
casual observer most easily in the method of ablution and
in the prostration of the prayer ritual.
Theodore Noldeke of Germany, and the Dutch scholar
Prof. A. J. Wensinck have made a special study of the origin
and detail of the prayer ritual, the latter more especially of
the Moslem laws of ablution. 1 2 Further study of the sources
given and long experience in many Moslem lands have led to
the following observations and conclusions on the subject.
In the preparation of the five daily prayers, especially in
the process of ablution the object of the Moslem seems to
be to free himself from everything that has connection with
i 2 Der Islam, Band IV, Animisme und Daemonenglaube.
Der Islam, Band V, Heft I, " Die Entstehung der muslimischen
Reinheitsgesetzebung," von A. J. Wenainck.
43
44 THE INFLUENCE OE ANIMISM ON ISLAM
**** **** * * * *
The " Paisa " or Restaurant board from China.
This hangs over every place where pure (Moslem)
food is sold. The Arabic inscriptions contain the
text of the Koran regarding purity of food, the
name of the shop-keeper and date, while in the
center surrounding the ablution-vessel are words
which signify the absolute ritual purity of all that
is sold.
It is significant that the Turkish flag appears
with the Chinese flag at the top.
ANIMISTIC ELEMENTS IN PRAYER 45
supernatural powers or demons as opposed to the worship of
the one true God. That is the reason for its supreme im
portance. Wensinck tells us that these beliefs have little or
nothing to do with bodily purity as such, but are intended to
free the worshiper from the presence or influence of evil
spirits. It is this demonic pollution which must be re
moved. In two traditions from Muslim we read, " Said the
Prophet : If any of you wakens up from sleep then let him
blow his nose three times. For the devil spends the night in
a man s nostrils. And again : " Said Omar ibn el-
Khitab (may God have mercy on him) : A certain man
performed ablution but left a dry spot on his foot. When
the Prophet of God saw it he said : Go back and wash
better, then he returned and came back to prayer. Said the
Prophet of God : If a Moslem servant of God performs the
ablution when he washes his face every sin which his face has
committed is taken away by it with the water or with the
last drop of water. And when he washes his hands the sin
of his hands are taken away with the water or with the last
drop of water. And when he washes his feet all the sins
which his feet have committed are taken away with the water
or with the last drop of water until he becomes pure from
sin altogether. Goldziher has shown in one of his essays
that, according to Semitic conception, water drives away
demons.
That ablution in Islam as taught by Mohammed to his
disciples was originally not intended to remove physical un-
cleanness but was a ceremonial precaution against spiritual
evil, of demons, etc., is evident when we compare it with the
ablutions practiced by pagan races in their ritual. For
example, Skeat describes the bath ceremony as practiced at
Perak :
" Limes are used in Perak, as we use soap. When a Malay
has resolved on having a really good scrub they are cut in
46 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
two and squeezed (ramas) in the hand. In Penang a root
called sintoJc is usually preferred to limes. When the body is
deemed sufficiently cleansed, the performer, taking his stand
facing the East, spits seven times, and then counts up to seven
aloud. After the word Tujoh (seven) he throws away the
remains of the limes or sintoTc to the West, saying aloud,
Pergi-lah samua sial jambalang deripada badan aku ka pusat
tasek Pawjangi, Misfortune and spirits of evil, begone from
my body to the whirlpool of the lake Paujangi ! Then he
throws (jurus) a few buckets of water over himself, and the
operation is complete."
" The ceremony just described is evidently a form of puri
fication by water. Similar purificatory ceremonies form an
integral part of Malay customs at birth, adolescence, mar
riage, sickness, death, and in fact at every critical period of
the life of a Malay." 3
According to al-Bokhari the washings before prayer should
always begin on the right side of the body and not on the
left. Another tradition gives the value of the hairs of the
Prophet when they fell in the washing-vessel. The Prophet
used to wash his feet when he wore sandals by simply passing
his hands over the outside of the sandals ; the object, there
fore, cannot have been to cleanse impurity but to ward off
demons. Another tradition is given as follows : According
to Abd-el-Rahman, a man came to Omar ibn el-Khattab and
said, " I am in a state of impurity and cannot find water."
Ammar ibn Yasir said to Omar ibn el-Khattab, " Do you
remember the day that you and I traveled together. You
did not make your prayers, but I rolled myself in the sand
and prayed. When I told the Prophet of this, he said,
That was enough, and so saying he took some earth in his
hands, blew on it and then rubbed his face and hands with
it." 4 5 Abd-el-Rahma-n was witness when " Amar said to
sSkeat s "Malay Magic," p. 278.
45" Lea Traditions de Bokhari," by 0. Houdas, p. 126.
ANIMISTIC ELEMENTS IN PRAYER 47
Omar," " We were in a detachment and we were in a state of
impurity, etc. . . ." and he uses the words : " he spat on his
hands " instead of " he breathed."
These two traditions from Bokhari also show the value
ascribed to the animistic custom of blowing and spitting.
There are a number of traditions regarding spitting in a
mosque. It must in no case be done in front of any one, nor
to the right hand but to the left. 6 According to Annas Ibn
Malek, to spit in a mosque is a sin: one may expiate it by
wiping up the spittle. Again, in entering a mosque one
must put the right foot forward first for fear of evil conse
quences. In the same way we are told that a man who was
carrying arrows in his hand entered a mosque, and the
Prophet cried : " Hold them by the point." The only
reason for this command, as is shown by its connection, is
that the points of the arrows or other sharp instruments
might arouse jinn or damage the value of prayer. We also
find traditions concerning such Animistic practices as cross
ing the fingers or the limbs at the time of prayer.
In regard to the ritual ablution, (ghasl), after certain
natural functions, Wensinck remarks, " Das Geschlechtsle-
ben stand in semitischen Heidentum unter den Schutze
gewisser Gotter and war ihnen somit geweiht. Die mann-
lichen und weiblichen Prostituierten bei den Palastinichen
und babylonichen Heiligtumern sind ja bekaunt genug. Ich
brauche dariiber kein wort ze verlieren. Weil nun der
betreffende Gott fur den Monotheismus Damon geworden ist,
so ist auch sein Kult, das Geschlechtsleben, den Monotheismus
damonisch." There are many traditions which assert a
close relationship between sleep and the presence of Jinn. It
Bokhari : Chap. 33. Cf. Muslim, Vol. I, 207 Arabic edition. " No
one must enter or approach a mosque if he has eaten onion, or garlic,
because the angels hate the smell as much as human beings do." Mus
lim: Vol. I: 210.
48 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
is during sleep that the soul, according to animistic belief,
leaves the body. Therefore, one must waken those who
sleep, gently, lest the soul be prevented from returning.
Not only during sleep, but during illness demons are present ;
and in Egypt it is considered unfortunate for any one who is
ceremonially unclean to approach a patient suffering from
ophthalmia.
The Moslem when he prays is required, according to tradi
tion, to cover his head, especially the back part of the skull.
This according to Wensinck is also due to animistic belief;
for evil spirits enter the body by this way. Goldziher has
shown that the name given to this part of the body (al qafa)
has a close relation to the kind of poetry called Qafiya, which
originally meant a poem to wound the skull, or in other words,
an imprecatory poem. It is therefore for the dread of evil
powers which might enter the mind that the head must be
covered during prayer. References are found to this prac
tice both in Moslem tradition and in the Talmud, on which
they are based. Again it is noteworthy that those places
which are ritually unclean, such as closets, baths, etc., are
considered the habitation of demons.
According to tradition a Moslem cannot perform his prayer
without a Sutra or some object placed between himself and
the Kibla (the direction of Mecca) in order, " that nothing
may harm him by passing in between." Of this custom we
speak later. The call of the Muezzin according to Al-Bokhari
drives away the demons and Satan. 7 No one dares to recite
the Koran, which is a holy book, without first repeating the
words, " I take refuge in God against Satan the accursed."
We may add to all this what Mittwoch has shown in his
book " Zur Entstehungsgeschichte des islamischen Gebets und
Kultus," that the Takbir itself (that is the cry Allahu ATcbar,
God is greater), one of the elements of daily prayer, is a cry
i Bokhari : Kitab al Adhan : Section IV.
ANIMISTIC ELEMENTS IN PKAYER 49
against demons. The raising of the hands during prayer and
the movement of the forefinger is perhaps to ward off the
spirits of the air, 8 or it may have a connection with the
Qanut. Others say that the spreading out or the stretching
forth of the fingers and arms is to prevent any idol or thing of
blasphemy being hidden between the fingers or under the
armpits, a ruse used formerly by the unbelievers and dis
covered by the Angel Gabriel.
Among the Arabs before the time of Mohammed and among
Moslems to-day, sneezing, especially during prayer, is an
ominous sign and should be accompanied by a pious ejacula
tion. This also is clearly animistic; among the tribes of
Malaysia the general belief is that when one sneezes, the soul
leaves the body. At the close of the prayer, as is well-known,
the worshiper salutes the two angels on his right and left
shoulders. When one sneezes one should say, " I ask for
giveness of God " ; when one yawns, however, the breath
(soul) passes inward and one says, " Praise be to God."
Not only the preparations for prayer and prayer itself but
the times 9 of prayer have a distinct connection with the
animistic belief. The noon-day prayer is never held at high
noon but a short time after the sun reaches the meridian.
Wensinck points out that this is due to the belief that the
sun-god is really a demon and must not be worshiped by the
8 I am told by my sheikh from Al-Azhar that according to Moslem
tradition it is bad luck (Makruh) to drink water or any liquid while
one is standing. If, however, one is compelled to drink standing one
should move his big toe rapidly as this will ward off all harm. We
find here the same superstitious custom of warding off evil spirits by
moving the first toe up and down as that of the finger at the end of
the ritual prayer.
a Prayer is forbidden at three particular periods : at high noon be
cause the devil is then in the ascendant; when the sun is rising be
cause it rises between the horns of the devil, when the sun is at the set
ting because it sets between the horns of the devil. ." Ibn Maja": Vol.
I, p. 195.
50 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
monotheist. According to al-Bokhari the Prophet postponed
the noon-day prayer until after high noon for " the greatest
heat of the day belongs to the heat of hell." Nor is it per
mitted to pray shortly after sunrise for " the sun rises between
the horns of the devil." According to Abu Huraira and
Abdallah ibn Omar, the prophet of God said : " When it is
excessively hot wait until it is cool to make your prayers, for
intense heat comes from hell."
Abu-Dzarr said: The Muezzin of the Prophet. had called
for the noon-prayer. " Wait until it is cooler, wait until it
is cooler, or wait . . ." said the Prophet. Then he added:
" Great heat is of hell : so when it is excessively hot wait
until it is cool, then make your prayers." Abou-Dzarr 10
adds : " And we waited until we saw the shadow declining."
That certain hours of the day are unlucky and must be
guarded against is a pagan belief probably based on their fear
of darkness. Maxwell, quoted by Skeat (page 15), says:
" Sunset is the hour when evil spirits of all kinds have most
power. In Perak, children are often called indoors at this
time to save from unseen dangers. Sometimes, with the
same object, a woman belonging to the house where there
are young children, will chew Jcuniet terus (an evil-smelling
root), supposed to be much disliked by demons of all kinds,
and spit it out at seven different points as she walks round
the house.
The yellow glow which spreads over the western sky,
when it is lighted up with the last rays of the dying sun, is
called mambang kuning ( the yellow deity ), a term indica
tive of the superstitious dread associated with this particular
period." "
In this connection it is curious to note that the unlucky
times among the Malay people correspond exactly with the
10 " Al-Bokhari," translated by Houdas (Paris, 1903), p. 190.
11 Skeat s " Malay Magic," p. 15.
INTERIOR COURT OF THE MOSQUE OF AL AZHAR, CAIRO
In the upper left-hand corner of this university mosque where 6,000 stu
dents receive instruction, one may see the old Moslem sun dial which
indicates the hours of prayer.
ANIMISTIC ELEMENTS IN PKAYEE 51
periods appointed for Moslem prayer. Among the Malays
each of these periods has a special meaning and a special
guardian deity, one of the Hindu divinities. The table given
corresponds very closely to the Moslem prayer schedule.
" Perhaps the oldest and best known of the systems of lucky
and unlucky times is the one called Katika Lima, or the Five
Times. Under it the day is divided into five parts and five
days form a cycle: to each of these divisions is assigned a
name, the names being Maswara (Maheswara), Kala, S ri,
Brahma, and Bisnu (Vishnu), which recur in the order
shown in the following table or diagram: 12
Morning Forenoon Noon Afternoon Evening
(pagi) (tengah naik) (tengah hari) (tengah turun) (petang)
1st day Maswara Kala S ri Brahma Bisnu
2nd day Bisnu Maswara Kala S ri Brahma
3rd day Brahma Bisnu Maswara Kala S ri
4th day S ri Brahma liismi Maswara Kala
5th day Kala S ri Brahma Bisnu Maswara
The most interesting thing of all, however, is the tradition
regarding the Sutra. The word means something that covers
or protects ; from what is it a protection and why is it used ?
The Commentaries do not explain what the Sutra really
means but it is very clearly a protection against demons, as
is shown by the traditions given. 13
According to Ibn Omar, on the feast day (when the fast
was broken) the Messenger of God gave him an order when he
went out to bring him a stick and to stick it before him and
it was before this stick that he made his prayers, while the
faithful were ranged behind him. He did the same thing
when he traveled and it is from this that the emirs took the
custom. Other authorities say the Sutra of the Prophet was
the short spear or the camel-saddle, or his camel when
kneeling. 14
12 Skeat s " Malay Magic," p. 545.
is See "Muslim," Vol. I, pp. 190, 193, 194, and Zarkani: "Com. on
al-Muwatta," Vol. I, p. 283.
i* " Ibn Maja," Vol. I, p. 156, lines 10-12.
52 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
A curious tradition is given by Abu Dawud on the au
thority of Ibn Abbas who said, " I think the Apostle of God
said, If one of you prays without a sutra (a thing set up by a
praying person) before him, his prayer is apt to be annulled
by a dog, or an ass, or a pig, or a Jew, or a Magi, or a
menstruating woman; if they pass before him they ought
to be punished on that account, with the pelting of
stones. " 15
Abu-Johaif a said : " The Prophet went out during the
heat of the day and when he came to El-Batha and prayed
two raJcas for the noon-prayer and the evening prayer, he
stuck a pike before him and made his ablutions. The faith
ful washed themselves with the rest of the water." 16
The following tradition is most important as it shows what
the Sutra originally meant. The reference to the demon is
animistic : " Abu Salih es-Sam an said : I saw something
that separated him from the crowd. A young man of the
Bni Abu Mo ait trying to pass before him, Abu Said gave him
a push full on the chest. The young man looked round for
another way out and not finding any, he returned. Abu Said
pushed him back still more violently. The young man cursed
him and then went and told Merwan of Abu Said s conduct.
The latter at this moment entered and Merwan said to him :
" What is the matter with you, O Abu Said, that you thus
treat one of your own religion ? " "I have heard the Prophet
pronounce these words," answered Abu Said, " when one of
you prays, let him place something before him which will
separate him from the public, and if any one tries to pass
between turn him away and if he refuse to leave let him use
force, for it is a demon/ " 17 Muslim adds : 18 lt If any of
IB Ad-Damiri s " Hayat Al-Hayawan," Vol. I, p. 708.
is " Les Traductions de Bokhari," Houdas, p. 179.
IT " Les Traductions Bokhari," Houdas, p. 181.
i " Muslim," Vol. I, p. 193.
ANIMISTIC ELEMENTS IN PKAYER 53
you pray do not allow any one to pass between himself and
the Sutra for it protects from the demons."
The Sutra or guard placed before the one in prayer is
usually some object such as a stone or a stick placed at a
certain distance from the one praying: i.e. about one foot
beyond where his head would touch the ground. It is also a
sign that none must pass before him, but never used except
by men of mature years and serious mind, and then only in
open or public places, never in a room or house-top. If stones
are used they must never be less than three, otherwise it
would seem as if the stone were the object of worship.
There are cases in which passing before one at prayer is
counted as sin either to the pray-er or to the one passing, i.e. :
(a) If he who prays is obliged to pray in the public way,
and there is no other way of passing except before him, there
is sin neither to the pray-er or to the passer-by.
(b) If he who prays chooses a public place in preference
to one less exposed and one passes in front of him, who could
as easily have gone behind, sin is accounted to both of them.
(c) If he who prays chooses a public place in preference to
one less exposed and the one who passes has no choice but to
go in front of him sin is accounted to him who prays.
(d) If he who prays chooses an unexposed place and some
one deliberately passes in front when there is space behind,
sin is accounted to the passer-by and not to him who prays.
" The practices among the Shiah Moslems differ in some
respects from those of the Sunnis," says Miss Holliday of
Tabriz, Persia. " A Shiah about to pray takes his place
looking toward the Kibla at Mecca ; if he be a strict Moslem
he lays before him nearest the Kibla and where he can put
his forehead upon it, the Muhr which is indispensable. It
generally consists of earth from Kerbela, compressed into a
small tablet and bearing Arabic inscriptions ; it is various in
shape. If one has not this object, he can use a common
54 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
stone, a piece of wood or a clod of earth ; in the baths they
keep small pieces of wood for the convenience of worshipers.
With regard to wood, they say all the trees in the world
came from heaven, and their life is directly from God, so
they are holy objects. The Kerbela talismans are called
1 turbat as being made from holy earth from the tomb city
of the Imam Hussain. On the side nearest him of the muhr
the worshiper lays a small pocket comb, then next to himself
the rosary.
" After prayer, they point the right forefinger first in the
direction of the Kibla, saluting Mohammed as the Son of
Abdullah and the Imam Hussain grandson of the Prophet,
son of Fatima, then to the east saluting Imam Eiza as the
Gareeb, or stranger, at Meshhed in Khorassan, then to the
west, saluting the Imam Mahdi, as the Sahib-i-zaman or Lord
of the Age. The back is to the north; this looks like sun-
worship."
Among the customs which are forbidden during prayer is
that of crossing or closing the fingers. They should be held
widely spread apart. We have the following tradition in
Ibn Maja: 19 "Said the Prophet: Do not put your
fingers close together during prayer. It is also forbidden to
cover the mouth during prayer. Another tradition reads
that the Apostle of God saw a man who had crossed his fingers
during prayer or joined them close together; he approached
him and made him spread his fingers. 20
That the yawning, to which reference was made, has con
nection with spirits and demons is evident from a tradition
given in the same paragraph, namely : " If any of you
yawn, let him put his hand upon his mouth for verily the
devil is laughing at him."
The Moslem lives constantly in dread of evil spirits ; this is
is Vol. I, p. 158.
ao Vol. I, p. 158.
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ANIMISTIC ELEMENTS IN PRAYER 55
shown by other traditions regarding the prayer ritual. For
example, we read in the Sunnan of Ibn Maja 21 that
Mohammed forbade prayer being made on or near watering
places of camels because camels were created by devils. It
is an old superstition that Satan had a hand in the creation
of the camel ; the explanation is given in the commentators.
"We are solemnly told that the fingers must be spread so as to
afford no nestling place for evil demons and that therefore
the method of washing the hands (Takhlil} consists in rub
bing the outspread fingers of both hands between each other.
(Ibn Maja, Vol. I, p. 158, Nasai, Vol. I, pp. 30, 173, 186-7.)
The last reference is particularly important as it shows that
Mohammed inculcated the practice of moving the first finger
during prayer. 22 Undoubtedly the practice of combing the
hair with the fingers outspread (TaJchlil esh-Sha ar} to which
al-Bukhari refers (Vol. I, p. 51) has a similar significance.
Some of the sects do not spread the fingers of the right hand
during prayer but make a special effort to spread those of
the left. This may be because the left hand is used for
ablutions and therefore is specially apt to be infected by
demonic influence.
"We give further reference to all such practices as re
corded in a standard work on tradition, the Sunnan of
An-Nasai. 23
21 Vol. I, p. 134.
22 Takhlil is not only used of the fingers but of the toes as well, there
also demons lurk. (See Sha arani s " Lawa ih al Anwar fi Tabakat al
Ahjar," p. 26.)
23 In prayer there should be no gaps in the ranks of the wor
shipers lest Satan come between. Vol. I, p. 131.
One should blow the nostrils three times when awakening so as
to drive away the devil. Ibid., Vol. I, p. 27.
The Prophet forbade sleep in bath-rooms because they are the abode
of devils. Ibid., Vol. I, p. 15.
The Prophet forbade facing the Kibla when fulfilling a call of nature,
for fear of Satan. Ibid., Vol. I, p. 15.
The separation of the fingers (p. 30) : the fingers of the right hand
56 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
The niche in a mosque that shows the direction to which
prayer is made called the Mihrab, i.e., " the place of fighting,"
or perhaps, the instrument by which we fight the demons?
There are many traditions concerning Mohammed s struggle
with afrits and Jinn in a mosque. The most interesing one
is given in Muslim (Vol. I, p. 204). " Said the Apostle of
God (on him be prayers and peace) : ( A certain demon of
the Jinn attacked me yesterday in order to stop my prayers,
but, verily, God gave me victory over him. I was about to
tie him to the side of a pillar of the pillars of the Mosque so
that ye might get up in the morning and behold him, all of
you, when I remembered the prayer of my brother Solomon :
" O Lord, forgive me and give me a dominion such as no one
ever had," and after that God set the demon free ! The
Mihrab in a mosque, I am told, takes the place of the Sutra
outside of a mosque and serves the same purpose.
The forming of ranks in Moslem prayers as they face the
Mihrab, is most important and therefore they are extremely
careful of it. There are many traditions in this respect
which can only have relation to belief in Jinn. For example,
not only must the worshipers stand in a row, but in a mosque
it is considered most important to stand so close together that
nothing can possibly pass between. They stand ready like
soldiers in massed-formation. Here is the tradition :
Anas states that the Prophet said : " Observe your ranks,
for I can see you from behind my back." " Each one of
us," he adds, " put his shoulder in touch with his neighbor s
and his foot with that of his neighbor." 24 We must add to
should be closed tight during prayer and of the left hand spread out,
but the forefinger should remain straight. Ibid., Vol. I, p. 186.
The forefinger should be bent when giving witness. Ibid., p. 187.
The fingers should be moved. Ibid., p. 187.
Turning the head around during prayer is caused by the devil. Ibid.,
Vol. I, p. 177.
24 Houdas al Bukhari ( French Trans. ) , p. 243 ; see also al Nasai,
Vol. I, pp. 173 and 186-7.
ANIMISTIC ELEMENTS IN PRAYER 57
this another superstition, namely, it is bad luck to pray on
the left hand of the Imam. Ibn- Abbas said : " On a certain
night I made my prayers together with the Prophet. As I
was placing myself on his left, the Messenger of God taking
hold of me by the back of my head, placed me on his right.
After having made our prayers, he lay down and rested until
the muezzin came to look for him. Then he got up and
made his prayers without making his ablutions." 25
We have already spoken of the lifting of the hands in
prayer. This is an important matter for discussion in all
works of Fiqh.
In the prayer called Qunut, which takes place during and
as part of the morning prayer (Salat}, the hands are raised
in magical fashion. Goldziher believes the original significa
tion of this was a curse or imprecation on the enemy; such
was the custom of the Arabs. The Prophet cursed his ene
mies in this way. So did also the early Caliphs. In Lane s
Dictionary (Art. Qunut) we find the present prayer given as
follows : " O God, verily we beg of Thee aid, and we beg of
Thee forgiveness. And we believe in Thee and we rely on
Thee, and we laud Thee well, and we will not be unthankful
to Thee for Thy favor, and we cast off and forsake him who
disobeys Thee : O God, Thee we worship and to Thee we per
form the divinely-appointed act of prayer, and prostrate our
selves; and we are quick in working for Thee and in serving
Thee; we hope for Thy mercy, and we dread Thy punish
ment; verily (or may} I]hy punishment overtake the unbe
lievers." It is said of the Prophet that he stood during a
whole month after the prayer of daybreak cursing the tribes of
Rial and Dhukwan. We read in Al-Muwatta (Vol. I, p.
216) that at the time of the Qunut they used to curse their
enemies, the unbelievers, in the month of Ramadhan. Later
on this custom was modified or explained away. Al-Bukhari
25 Houdas al Bukhari ( French Trans. ) , p. 244.
58 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
even wrote a book on the subject as to when the hands might
be lifted in prayer.
There is no doubt regarding the origin of the Qunut prayer.
We learn from Yusuf as Safti in his commentary on Ibn
Turki s well-known book on Fiqh (p. 157) : " The reason
for the legislation concerning the Qunut is as follows : One
day there came to the Prophet certain unbelievers who pre
tended that they had become Moslems and asked him that he
would give them aid from among his Companions as a troop
against their enemies. So he granted them seventy men from
among the Companions ; when they departed with them, how
ever, they took them out to the desert and killing them threw
them into the well Mayrah. This became known to the
Prophet and he mistrusted them and was filled with wrath and
began to curse them saying : O God, curse Ra ala and Lah-
yan and Beni Dhakwan because they mocked God and his
Apostle. O God, cause to come down upon them a famine
like in the days of Joseph and help el-Walid ibn el-Walid and
the weak company of Mecca. Then Gabriel came down to
him and told him to keep quiet, saying, God did not send you
a reviler and a curser but verily he sent you as a mercy. He
did not send you as a punishment. The affair does not con
cern you; for God will either forgive them or punish them.
They are the transgressors. Then he taught him the Qunut
aforementioned, i. e., the prayer now used."
In spite of the assertion of God s unity there are many
other things connected wih Moslem prayer which show pagan
magic, such as the power through certain words and gestures
to influence the Almighty. These practices were prevalent
before Islam. Professor Goldziher mentions the custom of
incantation (Manashada) similar to that practiced by the
heathen Kahins, Of certain leaders in the early days of
Islam it was said : " If so and so would adjure anything
upon God he would doubtless obtain it."
ANIMISTIC ELEMENTS IN PRAYER 59
Not only in formal prayer (Salat) but also in the Du a
(petition) there are magical practices, especially in the prayer
for eclipse by the raising of the hands. We are told (al-
Bukhari) that on one occasion the Prophet while praying for
rain raised his hands so high that one could see the white
skin of his arm-pits. In the case of Du a therefore, the
Kibla is said to be heaven itself and not Mecca.
Another gesture used in Du a is the- stroking of the face,
or of the body with the hands. This custom, borrowed from
the Prophet, also has magical effect. At the time of his
death the Prophet put his hands in water and washed his face
with them, repeating the creed.
Goldziher refers especially to magical elements in the
prayer for rain, 26 and against eclipses of the sun or moon.
These, like excessive drought, were explained and combated
by the pagan Arabs in a superstitious manner. Mohammed
forbade them to recognize in such phenomena anything more
than special manifestations of the omnipotence of the Crea
tor, yet ordained in this case also certain ritual prayers, to be
continued as long as the eclipse lasted.
No Mohammedan questions for a moment that the omnipo
tence of God reveals itself in these eclipses indeed no doc
trine is more popular than that of the omnipotence of God
and predestination yet in the ranks of the people all kinds
of superstitions prevail in regard to such phenomena. In
these temporary obscurations of sun and moon they discern
the action of malignant spirits and do not regard the perform
ance of a simple service of prayer as a sufficient protection.
" In Acheh, as in other Mohammedan countries, these prayers
are left to the representatives of religion, the teunkus and
leubes, while the people of the gampong keep up a mighty
28 See al Bukhari who gives certain chapters on magical formulas to be
used on this occasion. Certain of the companions of the Prophet were
celebrated as rain-makers.
60 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
uproar beating the great drum of the meunasah, and firing off
guns and sometimes even cannons in order to frighten away
the enemies of the sun and moon. Various sorts of ratebs
are also held in order to relieve the suffering heavenly
body." 27
That Moslem prayer has become paganized among the
Malays is well known. The whole ceremony of sowing rice
and reaping the first crop is thoroughly animistic, and yet it
is carried on with Moslem-pagan prayers and invocations.
Among many examples we give the following from Skeat. 28
He describes how a woman gathers in the first fruits.
" Next she took in one hand (out of the brass tray) the
stone, the egg, cockle-shell and candle-nut, and with the other
planted the big iron nail in the center of the sheaf close to
the foot of the sugar-cane. Then she took in her left hand
the cord of tree-bark, and after fumigating it, together with
all the vessels of rice and oil, took up some of the rice and
strewed it round about the sheaf, and then tossed the re
mainder thrice upwards, some of it falling upon the rest of
the company and myself.
" This done, she took the end of the cord in both hands,
and encircling the sheaf with it near the ground, drew it
slowly upward to the waist of the sheaf, and tied it there,
after repeating what is called the Ten Prayers (do a
sapuloh) without once taking breath:
" The first, is God,
The second, is Muhammad,
The third, Holy Water of the five Hours of Prayer by Day and
Night,
The fourth, is Pancha Indra,
The fifth, the Open Door of Daily Bread,
The sixth, the Seven Stories of the Palace-Tower,
The seventh, the Open Door of the rice-sifting Platform,
27 Hurgronje s " The Achenese," pp. 285-6.
28 Skeat s " Malay Magic," p. 240.
ANIMISTIC ELEMENTS IN PKAYER 61
The eighth, the Open Door of Paradise,
The ninth, is the child in its Mother s Womb,
The tenth is the Child created by God, the reason of its creation
being our Lord,
Grant this, Isa!
Grant this, M.oses!
Grant this, Joseph!
Grant this, David!
Grant me, from God (the opening of) all the doors of my daily
bread, on earth, and in heaven."
In Algeria the usual posture used in prayer for rain is
standing upright with the elbows bent and palms turned up
wards. Prayers for rain must only be done out of doors
and with old clothes on, the burnous being worn inside out
to express distress and need.
For eclipse of the sun a long prayer is made standing with
hands down at the side, fingers extended, then a long prayer
while the hands are bent on the knees. These two positions
are repeated with each prayer.
In Yemen, at the first of the year, if there is a drought five
cows are brought to a special mosque and each one in turn
is driven around the mosque three times by a huge crowd of
young men, who constantly pray or recite the Koran. In
case of an eclipse water is put in large trays in the open air
and the people peer into this water searching for the moon s
reflection, but in this prayer also is not forgotten.
In 1917 there was a total eclipse of the moon visible in
Egypt. As might well be expected the eclipse greatly excited
the Egyptian masses, who were very much impressed by the
fact that it coincided with Ramadan and the war. Pans and
drums as well as other noise-making appliances were beaten
by them as long as the phenomenon was visible, and even after
its disappearance, many servants refused to go to sleep on the
roofs.
Among the Turkish Moslems there is a superstition regard-
62 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
ing the value of " rain stones " called Yada Raslii, or in
Persian Sangi Yada. This superstition dates from before
their conversion to Islam but still persists and spread to Mo
rocco. In Tlemcen the Moslems in time of drought gather
70,000 pebbles which are put in seventy sacks; during the
night they repeat the Koran prayers over every one of these
pebbles, after which the bags are emptied into the wady with
the hope of rain. 29
This service of prayer is also occasionally held in Java,
under the name istika; but a more popular method of rain-
making is " giving the cat a bath," which is sometimes accom
panied by small processions and other ceremonies. " In
Acheh, so far as I am aware," says Dr. Snouck Hurgronje,
" the actual custom no longer survives, though it has left
traces of its former existence in sundry popular evpressions.
1 It is very dry ; we must give the cat a bath and then we
shall get rain, say the padi-planters when their harvest threat
ens to fail through drought."
" In Tunis and Tripoli," Major Tremearne tells us, " if
there is no rain, and the crops are being ruined, the Arabs go
in procession outside the city with drums and flags, and pray
for rain, and, according to Haj Ali, cows are made to urinate
and the roofs of the houses are wetted with water by the Arabs
and Hausas with them as a means of bringing down rain.
But if there is no result the negroes are summoned to use
their magic."
" In Northern Algeria, amongst the Magazawa of Gobir,
the rain was made to fall and to cease in the following man
ner, according to Haj Ali. The rain-makers were nine in
number and would go round with wooden clubs to a tsamiya
(tamarind) or a ganje (rubber) tree near the gate of the
town, and sacrifice a black bull, the blood being allowed to
2 Goldziher in the " Noldeke Festschrift," Zauber Elemente im Islam-
ischen Gebet, p. 316.
ANIMISTIC ELEMENTS IN PKAYER 63
flow into the roots. Then four pots of giya (beer) were
brought, and were drunk by the rain-makers. After this,
the eldest of the nine (Mai-Shibko) would rise, put on the
hide and call out : " You Youths, You Youths, You Youths,
ask the Man (Allah) to send down water for us, tell the
Owner of the Heavens that men are dying here, ask him to
spit upon us." The eight others would rise and stand around
the old man, and call out in a loud voice what they had been
told to say, and add : " If you do not send rain we will kill
this old man. We are true to you, see, we have sacrificed a
bull to you." Then brandishing their weapons in the air,
they would continue : " If you do not send down the rain,
we will throw up our clubs at you." 30
Regarding prayers for rain offered up by the Mohamme
dans in China we glean the following from the Revue du
Monde Musulman (Vol. 26, p. 89, article by G. Cordier) :
" A procession is formed headed by the aliong, or priest, car
rying three objects which I will here describe :
" (1) A sack filled with 7,000 stones, very clean and which
have been gathered from the bed of some river near by.
These may be said to represent a sort of rosary as ten prayers
are repeated over each stone.
" (2) A sword of the shape employed in the mosques but
without a sheath. On the handle of this sword is inscribed
the words pao-kien, i. e., the precious sword, and in Ara
bic the creed. This sword is made of wood and is covered
with inscriptions in Arabic characters and carried in a case
made of yellow linen.
" (3) A tablet made of brass. The Chinese call it Chao
p ai, that is to say the Tablet that is planted. The Mos
lems call it t ong P ai, i Tablet of brass, and in Arabic
lukh nahas. This tablet is also covered with Arabic inscrip
tions.
so " The Ban of the Bori," pp. 185, 189.
64 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
" Forty-four flags covered with quotations from the Koran
are also carried in these processions, and as they march pray
ers are chanted. Arriving at Hei-long-t an, the source of the
black dragon, the procession halts near the basin called Etang
du dragon. There a Moslem beats the water with the sword
while the prayers are continued.
" This done an ahong holding the brass tablet gets into the
water and throws it in so as to make a fish come out (others
say a water snake). When this is caught they place it in
some water taken from the same source and carry it back to
the mosque and is kept there until the rain comes down.
When this happens it is taken back to the basin where it is
again thrown in." 31
In conclusion we may here give four of the short final
chapters of the Koran that are used at the time of the five
daily prayers and which contain allusions to animistic and
pagan practices current in Arabia before Islam. It is true
that the beautiful opening chapter of the Koran with its lofty
theism and the chapter of the Forenoon with its pathetic ref
erence to Mohammed s childhood are frequently on Moslem
lips. So also is the chapter of the Unity (CXII). But what
thoughts a Moslem has when he repeats the following chapters,
if he understands the words, we may learn from the com
mentaries. After reading what they tell us there remains
little doubt that paganism entered Islam by the door of the
Koran !
" In the name of the merciful and compassionate God.
" Verily, we sent it down on the Night of Power !
si " A few days ago," writes Miss H. E. Levermore of Tsinchow, " the
Moslems had a rain procession, a thing rarely known with them. It
is said once before they had one, and the informer significantly adds,
and they revolted just after. In this procession there was no noise,
great order and devotion being observed. The Moslems walked the
streets carrying incense and reading their incantations. Two chairs
carrying Moslem sacred books were caried, whilst the priests had open
Arabic Korans in their hands."
ANIMISTIC ELEMENTS IN PKAYEE 65
" And what shall make thee know what the Night of Power
is ? the Night of Power is better than a thousand months !
" The angels and the spirits descend therein, by the permis
sion of their Lord with every bidding.
" Peace it is until rising of the dawn ! " 32
" In the name of the merciful and compassionate God.
" By the snorting chargers.
" And those who strike fire with their hoofs.
" And those who make incursions in the morning,
" And raise up dust therein.
" And cleave through a host therein.
" Verily, man is to his Lord ungrateful ; and, verily, he is
a witness of that.
" Verily, he is keen in his love of good.
" Does he not know when the tombs are exposed, and what
is in the breasts is brought to light ?
" Verily, thy Lord upon that day indeed is well aware." 38
" In the name of the merciful and compassionate God.
" Say, I seek refuge in the Lord of the daybreak, from
the evil of what He has created ; and from the evil of the night
when it cometh on ; and from the evil of the blowers upon
knots ; and from the evil of the envious when he envies. " 34
" Say, I seek refuge in the Lord of men, the King of men,
the God of men, from the evil of the whisperer, who slinks
off, who whispers into the hearts of men from jinns and
men. "
32 33 34 The Quran," Part II. Translated by E. H. Palmer. Suras
97, 100, 113, 114.
CHAPTEK IV
HAIR, FINGER-NAILS AND THE HAND
IT must not surprise us that a great deal of animism and
old Arabian superstition persist in Islam. The words of
Frazer apply in this connection : x "As in Europe beneath
a superficial layer of Christianity a faith in magic and witch
craft, in ghosts and goblins has always survived and even
flourished among the weak and ignorant, so it has been and
so it is in the East. Brahminism, Buddhism, Islam may
come and go, but the belief in magic and demons remains un
shaken through them all, and, if we may judge of the future
from the past, is likely to survive the rise and fall of other
historical religions." He goes on to say, " With the common
herd, who compose the great bulk of every people, the new
religion is accepted only in outward show, because it is im
pressed upon them by their natural leaders whom they can
not choose but follow. They yield a dull assent to it with
their lips, but in their hearts they never really abandon their
old superstitions; in these they cherish a faith such as they
cannot repose in the creed which they nominally profess;
and to these, in the trials and emergencies of life, they have
recourse as to infallible remedies when the promises of the
higher faith have failed them, as indeed such promises are apt
to do." 2
i"The Scapegoat," pp. 89-90.
2 This is true, alas, even in Christendom. But outside its pale,
" Superstition has sacrificed countless lives, wasted untold treasures,
embroiled nations, severed friends, parted husbands and wives, parents
and children, putting swords and worse than swords between them; it
has filled jails and mad-houses with innocent or deluded victims; it
66
HAIR, FINGER-NAILS AND THE HAND 67
What is here written has reference to the popular customs
observed by Moslems in all lands and connected with hair-
cutting, nail-trimming, and the use of the hand as an amulet,
the latter especially in lower Egypt and North Africa. Cus-
has broken many hearts, embittered the whole of many a life, and not
content with persecuting the living it has pursued the dead into the
grave and beyond it, gloating over the horrors which its foul imagina
tion has conjured up to appall and torture the survivors. How numer
ous its ramifications and products have been is merely hinted in the
following list of subjects given as cross-references in a public library
catalogue card: Alchemy, apparitions, astrology, charms, delusions,
demonology, devil-worship, divination, evil eye, fetishism, folk-lore,
legends, magic, mythology, oocult sciences, oracles, palmistry, relics,
second sight, sorcery, spiritualism, supernatural, totems and uritch-
craft. This force has pervaded all provinces of life from the cradle to
the grave, and, as Frazer says, beyond. It establishes customs as bind
ing as taboo, dictates forms of worship and perpetuates them, obsesses
the imagination and leads it to create a world of demons and hosts
of lesser spirits and ghosts and ghouls, and inspires fear and even
worship of them." *
Professor F. B. Dresslar of the University of California prepared a
list of those things with which superstition was connected in that
State. He secured the list through questions to grown-up people in the
present century. It was as follows: Salt, bread and butter, tea and
coffee, plants and fruit; fire, lightning, rainbow, the moon, the stars;
babies, birds, owls, peacocks and their feathers, chickens, cats, dogs,
cows, swine, horses, rabbits, rats, frogs and toads, fish, sheep, crickets,
snakes, lizards, turtles, wolves, bees, dragon flies; chairs and tables,
clocks, mirrors, spoons, knives and forks, pointed instruments, pins,
hairpins, combs, umbrellas (mostly unlucky), candles, matches, tea
kettle, brooms, dishcloths, handkerchiefs, gardening tools, ladders,
horseshoes, hay; days of the week and various festivals or fasts, espe
cially Hallowe en, birthdays; various numbers, counting, laughing,
singing, crying; starting on a journey and turning back, two persons
simultaneously saying the same thing, passing in at one door and out
at another, walking on opposite sides of a post, stepping on cracks,
sneezing, crossing hands while shaking hands, use of windows as exits,
stumbling; itching of palm, eye, nose, ear, or foot; warts, moles; vari
ous articles of dress, shoes, precious stones, amulets and charms, rings,
money; wish-bones; death and funerals, dreams, spiritisms, weddings,
and initials.
* " The New Schaff Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge,"
Vol. XI, p. 169.
68 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
toms which have in many cases been approved and perpetu
ated by the example of Mohammed himself.
According to Skeat there are certain portions of the human
frame which are considered invested with a special sanctity,
and require special ceremonies among the pagans. These
parts of the anatomy are the head, the hair, the teeth, the ears
and the nails. He says in regard to hair and its sacred
character : " From the principle of the sanctity of the head
flows, no doubt, the necessity of using the greatest circum
spection during the process of cutting the hair. Sometimes
throughout the whole life of the wearer, and frequently dur
ing special periods, the hair is left uncut. Thus I was told
that in former days Malay men usually wore their hair long,
and I myself have seen an instance of this at Jugra in Se-
langor in the person of a Malay of the old school, who was
locally famous on this account. So, too, during the forty
days which must elapse before the purification of a woman
after the birth of her child, the father of the child is forbid
den to cut his hair, and a similar abstention is said to have
been formerly incumbent upon all persons either prosecuting
a journey or engaging in war. Often a boy s head is entirely
shaven shortly after birth with the exception of a single lock
in the center of the head, and so maintained until the boy
begins to grow up, but frequently the operation is postponed
(generally, it is said, in consequence of a vow made by the
child s parents) until the period of puberty or marriage.
Great care, too, must be exercised in disposing of the clip
pings of hair (more especially the first clippings), as the
Malay profoundly believes that " the sympathetic connection
which exists between himself and every part of his body con
tinues to exist even after the physical connection has been
severed, and that therefore he will suffer from any harm that
may befall the severed parts of his body, such as the clippings
of his hair, or the parings of his nails. Accordingly he takes
HAIR, FINGER-NAILS AND THE HAND 69
care that those severed portions of himself shall not be left
in places where they might either be exposed to accidental
injury, or fall into the hands of malicious persons who might
work magic on them to his detriment or death." 3
According to animistic beliefs the soul of man rests not
only in his heart but pervades special parts of his body, such
as the head, the intestines, the blood, placenta, hair, teeth,
saliva, sweat, tears, etc. The means by which this soul-stuff
is protracted or conveyed to others is through spitting, blow
ing, blood-wiping, or touch. In all of these particulars and
under all of these subjects we have superstitions in Islam
that date back to pagan days but are approved in and by Mos
lem tradition and in some cases by the Koran itself.
In the disposal of hair-cuttings and nail-trimmings among
Moslems to-day, and their magical use, there is clear evidence
of animistic belief. People may be bewitched through the
clippings of their hair and parings of their nails. This be
lief is world-wide, 4 " To preserve the cut hair and nails from
injury," says Frazer, " and from the dangerous uses to which
they may be put by sorcerers, it is necessary to deposit them
in some safe place. In Morocco women often hang their cut
hair on a tree that grows on or near the grave of a wonder
working saint ; for they think thus to rid themselves of head
ache or to guard against it. In Germany the clippings of
hair used often to be buried under an elder-bush. In Olden
burg cut hair and nails are wrapped in a cloth which is de
posited in a hole in an elder-tree three days before the new
moon; the hole is then plugged up. In the west of North
umberland it is thought that if the first parings of a child s
nails are buried under an ash-tree, the child will turn out a
fine singer. In Amboyna before a child may taste sago-pap
for the first time, the father cuts off a lock of the infant s
3 Skeat s " Malay Magic," pp. 43-45.
* " Taboo and the Perils of the Soul," pp. 274-275.
70 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
hair, which he huries under a sago-palm. In the Aru Islands
when a child is able to run alone, a female relation shears a
lock of its hair and deposits it on a banana-tree. In the Is
land of Rotti it is thought that the first hair which a child
gets is not his own, and that if it is not cut off it will make
him weak and ill. Hence, when the child is about a month
old, his hair is polled with ceremony. As each of the
friends who are invited to the ceremony enters the house he
goes up to the child, snips off a little of its hair and drops it
into a cocoanut shell full of water. Afterwards the father
or another relation takes the hair and packs it into a little
bag made of leaves, which he fastens to the top of a palm-
tree. Then he gives the leaves of the palm a good shaking,
climbs down, and goes home without speaking to any one.
Indians of the Yukon territory, Alaska, do not throw away
their cut hair and nails, but tie them up in little bundles
and place them in the crotches of trees or wherever they are
not likely to be disturbed by beasts. For they have a super
stition that disease will follow the disturbance of such re
mains by animals. Often the clipped hair and nails are
stowed away in any secret place, not necessarily in a temple
or cemetery or at a tree, as in the case already mentioned."
It is remarkable that in Arabia, Egypt and North Africa
everywhere this custom of stowing away clippings of hair
and nails is still common among Moslems and is sanctioned by
the practice of the Prophet.
Among the Malays hair offerings are made to-day in thor
oughly pagan fashion, but it is interesting that the shorn locks
are not buried under the threshold as they were before Islam,
but are now sent to Mecca. We quote from Skeat a descrip
tion of the ceremony at a wedding when the bride s locks are
qut:
" The cocoanut containing the severed tresses and rings is
carried to the foot of a barren fruit-tree (e. g., a pomegran-
HAIK, FINGEK-NAILS AND THE HAND 71
ate tree), when the rings are extracted and the water (with
the severed locks) poured out at the tree s foot, the belief be
ing that this proceeding will make the tree as luxuriant as
the hair of the person shorn, a very clear example of sympa
thetic magic. If the parents are poor, the cocoanut is gener
ally turned upside down and left there; but if they are well-
to-do, the locks are usually sent to Mecca in charge of a pil
grim, who casts them on his arrival into the well Zemzem." 5
In North Africa a man will not have his hair shaved in the
presence of any one who owes him a grudge. After his hair
has been cut, he will look around, and if there is no enemy
about he will mix his cuttings with those of other men, and
leave them, but if he fears some one there he will collect the
cuttings, and take them secretly to some place and bury them.
With a baby this is said to be unnecessary, as he has no ene
mies a surprising statement. Nails are cut with scissors
and they are always buried in secret. One can see this super
stition also in the account given of a charm described by
Captain Tremearne, 6 which consists of certain roots from
trees mixed with a small lock of hair from the forehead and
the partings of all the nails, hands and feet, except those of
the index fingers. The fact of this exception clearly shows
that we deal again with a superstition that has come from
Arabian Animism, as we shall see later.
In Bahrein, East Arabia, they observe a special order in
trimming the finger-nails and bury the discarded trimmings
in a piece of white cloth saying Platha amana min andina ya
Iblis yashud lana al Rahman. 7 They bury hair-combings
in the same way expecting to receive them back on the day
of resurrection. Concerning the thumb, they think it has
no account with God because it can do no evil alone.
"Skeat s "Malay Magic," p. 355.
e " The Ban of the Bori," p. 57.
7 " O Satan, this is a safe deposit from us as God is our witness."
The belief that cut hair and nails contain soul-stuff and
therefore may be used for spiritual communion leads Mos
lems to hang their hair on the tombs of saints together with
shreds of their garments, nails, teeth, etc. On the great gate
of Old Cairo, called Bab-el-Mutawali, this also takes place
and one may watch a constant procession of men, women and
children having communion with the saint who dwells be
hind or under this gateway and seeking through personal con
tact with the doorway by touching, breathing, etc., to carry
away the blessing.
In connection with this superstition Rev. L. E. Hogberg,
of Chinese Turkestan, 8 tells of the popular belief that " dur
ing the last days, Satan will appear on earth riding on a
Merr dedjell (Satan s mule). Every hair on the mule s body
is a tuned string or musical instrument. By the music fur
nished in this way all the people on earth are tempted to fol
low Satan. Great horns grow out on their heads, so that
they can never return through their doors. The faithful Mo
hammedan has, however, a way. of salvation. He has care
fully collected his cut-off nails, and placed them under the
threshold, where they have formed a hedge, blocking the door
so as to prevent the household from running after Satan ! "
Again the hair and nails have special power assigned to them
as a protection for the soul against evil !
In many parts of the Moslem world such as in East Arabia,
human hair is used by native doctors of medicine as a power
ful tonic. It is generally administered as tincture or decoc
tion. In this respect the hair of saints has more value than
ordinary hair. I have known of a case where a learned
kadi sent to the barbers to collect hair in order to prepare such
a powerful tonic. Miss Fanny Lutton writes from Muscat,
Arabia : " Just in front of the Mission compound is a
8 Correspondence in a magazine called Central Asia for December,
1916.
HAIR, FINGER-KAILS AND THE HAND 73
Mosque, and in the compound of the Mosque is a saint s
grave. I have witnessed some queer heathenish perform
ances there. Only a short time ago a crowd of women, men
and children were assembled. A woman brought her one-
year-old son to have his head shaved over the grave. A cloth
was spread to receive the hair and it was afterwards tied to
a small flagpole at the head of the grave, and then a new
red flag was also attached which must be left there until it
fades and wears out, when it must be replaced with a new
one and with similar ceremonies. Refreshments were par
taken of by the visitors sitting around the grave and much
merriment was indulged in. Helwa (candy) was thrown
over the grave and rose water was sprinkled all over the grave.
Then the company as well as the mother and child were
marched three times around the grave and led out of the
grounds walking backwards, for those who perform the vow
must never turn their backs on the grave as they leave. This
hair is very efficacious for various ills. Yesterday I saw the
keeper, who is a very wicked woman, approach the grave.
Her first act was to stoop down and kiss the earth at the head
of the grave. She then tore off some of the rag that was
wrapped around the hair and took a portion of the hair and
tied it in a bundle and delivered it to the woman that had
come with her. No doubt the women had been sent to get
this for some serious case that would not yield to other treat
ments, and so the Mullah (priest) or woman reader had been
called to the case and had prescribed the hair which the pa
tient must wear to keep off evil spirits."
Special chapters are found in the lives of Mohammed the
prophet on the virtues of his fadhalat, spittle, urine, 9 blood,
9 There are traditions in Bukhari and Muslim to show the sacred
power of Mohammed s blood, spittle, etc. It is also taught that even
the excreta of the prophet of Arabia were free from all defilement. Cf.
" Insan al Ayun al Halebi," Vol. II, p. 222.
74 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
etc., including his hair. We read, for example, in the life of
Mohammed by Seyyid Ahmed Zaini Dahlan : 10 " When the
Prophet had his head shaved and his companions surrounded
him they never suffered a single hair to fall to the ground but
seized them as good omens or for blessing. And since His
Excellency only had his hair cut at the times of the pilgrim
age this had become sunna, so it is related in the Mawcihib,
and he who denies it should be severely punished." And Mo
hammed bin Dai>ain relates : " I said to Obeid al Suleimani,
1 1 have a few hairs of the Prophet which I took from Anas,
and he replied, i If I had a single hair it would be more to
me than all the world. Because of this belief, hairs of the
Prophet s beard and in some cases of other saints in Islam
are preserved as relics in the mosques throughout the world,
e. g., at Delhi, Aintab, Damascus, etc. To give a recent in
stance, the population of Safed in Palestine, according to a
missionary correspondent, " was all excitement in the early
days of July, 1911, because a veritable hair from the beard
of the Prophet had been granted them as a gift by the Sultan.
A Christian builder was engaged to restore a mosque of the
Binat Yacob, where the famous relic now finds shelter. The
mayor of the city took the journey to Acre in order to accom
pany the relic to its resting-place. The correspondent goes
on to relate some of the marvels that were told as to the vir
tues connected with the hair of the Prophet. Twenty sol
diers, fully armed, escorted the relic." 1X
This same relic was the object of the most energetic search
among Moslems from the earliest period of Islam. Ac
cording to Goldziher the hair was worn as an amulet, and
men on their deathbeds directed by will that the precious pos-
10 Margin of Sirat al Ealabi, Cairo Edition, 1308 A.H., vol. iii, pp.
238-9.
iiDer Christliche Orient, Sept., 1911.
HAIR, FINGER-NAILS AND THE HAND 75
session should go down with them and mingle with the earth.
Jafar-ibn-Khinzabu, the vizier of an Egyptian prince, had
three such hairs which at his death were put into his mouth,
and his remains, according to his last testament, were carried
to Medina. Impostors and charlatans were not slow to turn
to advantage the credulity of the devout. Let us listen to
Abdul Jani ul-Nabulusi, the famous traveler. He met on
his pilgrimage to Medina a learned Mohammedan from In
dia, Ghulam Mohammed by name. " He told me," the
traveler narrates, " that in the countries of India many peo
ple possess Mohammed s hair, many have but a single hair,
but others own more, up to twenty. These relics are shown
to all those who would inspect them reverently. This Ghu
lam Mohammed tells me that one of the saintly men of the
lands of India annually exhibits such relics on the ninth day
of Rabi-ul-Aval, that on those occasions many people gather
round him, learned and pious, perform prayers to the
Prophet and go through divine service and mystic practices.
He further informs me that the hairs at times move of their
own accord, and that they grow in length and increase in
number, so that a single hair is the propagator of a number
of new ones." " All this," comments our traveler, " is no
wonder, for the blessed apostle of God has a prolonged di
vine existence which is manifested in all his noble limbs and
physical components. An historian relates that Prince Nur-
ud-Din possessed a few of the Prophets s hairs in his treas
ury, and when he neared his dissolution he directed in his
testament that the holy relics be deposited on his eyes, and
there they remain in his grave to this day. He (the his
torian cited) goes on to inform us that every one who visits
the mausoleum of the prince combines with the intention of
visiting the ruler s tomb the hope that the magical relics pre
served therein would produce their blissful effect. The tomb
76 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
could be seen in the academy at Damascus built by the
prince." 12
The statements made in books of Moslem law leave no
doubt that hair is considered sacred and may not therefore
be sold or in any way dishonored. We read in the Hedaya, 13
a great commentary on Moslem law, " The sale of human
hair is unlawful, in the same manner as is the use of it,
because, being a part of the human body, it is necessary to
preserve it from the disgrace to which an exposure of it to
sale necessarily subjects it. It is moreover recorded, in the
Hadith Sharif, that God denounced a curse upon a Wasila
and a Mustawasila,. (The first of these is a woman whose
employment it is to unite the shorn hair of one woman to the
head of another, to make her hair appear long; and the
second means the woman to whose head such hair is united).
Besides, as it has been allowed to women to increase their
locks by means of the wool of a camel, it may thence be in
ferred that the use of human hair is unlawful."
" In Tunis," writes Mr. E. E. Short, " nail parings are bur
ied; hair trimmings the same or burnt. If the latter are
carried away by the wind the person will suffer from giddi
ness of the head. One informant gave Friday as the day for
trimming the hair and nails, another Saturday. The reason
for the practice seems to be that the parings might be found
again and then when questioned one could answer that they
had been properly buried. (Does not this point to a very
materialistic conception of the resurrection body?)"
In Algeria it is believed that if nail trimmings are thrown
on the ground Satan makes use of them ; if trodden on, their
late owner might become very ill, and it is unlucky if water
is poured on them. They are used in magic and if mixed
with food cause illness or death.
12 " The Moslem World," Vol. I, p. 306.
is Hamilton s " Hedaya," Vol. II, p. 439.
HAIR, FINGER-NAILS AND THE HAND 77
In Cape Town the same superstitions prevail among Indian
Moslems with regard to hair and nail trimmings.
In Persia the hair and nail trimmings are sometimes pre
served in bottles as part of the body, which will be needed
by it at the resurrection. This was the practice of an old
gatekeeper on the missionary premises at Urumia; the mis
chievous missionary s son took pleasure in hunting for his
treasure and carrying it off, then witnessing his subsequent
anger and grief. 14
" When a girl reaches what the Achenese regard as a
marriageable age without having yet had a suitor for her
hand, it is believed that there must be some supernatural
agency at work. It is looked upon as certain that she must
have in some part of her body something malang or unpro-
pitious, which stands in the way of her success.
" The numerical value of the initial letter of her name is
assumed as the basis of a calculation for indicating the part
of her body which is to blame. When this has been ascer
tained, the girl is placed on a heap of husked rice (breuch)
and the spot indicated is slightly pricked with a golden needle,
so as to draw a little blood. This blood is gathered up by
means of a wad of tree cotton (gapeueli) which is then
placed in an egg, part of the contents of which have been
removed to make room for it. A little of the girl s hair and
some parings of her nails are enclosed in a young cocoanut
leaf, and finally all these things are thrown into the run
ning water of the nearest river or stream." 15
In Java nails may not be cut on Fridays and never after
dark. They are always wrapped up and buried and the fol
lowing words repeated, " Abide here until I die and when I
die follow me." Hair clippings must be put in a cool spot
or the person will suffer. They must never be burned.
i* Letter from Miss S. Y. Holliday of Tabriz,
is " The Achenese," p. 296.
78 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
Others say they must always be put into the river or flowing
water. If left to fly about they will make the pathway to
heaven difficult. A special order is observed in trimming the
finger-nails. 16
Among the Malays special exposure to danger is believed
to occur whenever portions of a man such as the hair or
the nails are severed from the parent body, the theory be
ing that injury to such discarded portions may in some way
be used to affect the living body itself. A Malay husband,
if he found his wife treasuring up a lock of his hair, would
regard her conduct with extreme suspicion. 17
Sometimes by the use of a waxen or other image, or by the
exhibition of a " sample " such as the parings of a man s
nails or the clippings of his hair, the wizard conveys to the
world of ghosts a knowledge of the person he wishes them to
attack and the ghosts are ever ready to profit by the hint
so kindly given. 18
That all this is really a piece of heathenism is clear to the
.student of comparative religion.
In Africa also the witch doctor or oganga makes special
use of hair, teeth, nails, etc., just as in Islam. Nassau
writes : 19 " If it be desired to obtain power over some one
else, the oganga must be given by the applicant, to be mixed
in the sacred compound, either crumbs from the food, or
clippings of finger-nails or hair, or (most powerful!) even a
drop of blood of the person over whom influence is sought.
These represent the life or body of that person. So fearful
is Dr. B. J. Esser, Poerbolinggo, Java, in a letter.
if " Malay Beliefs," p. 53.
i 8 Regarding the hair of Mohammed, a legend is told among the
Malays that on his journey to heaven on the monster Al-burak, they
cleft the moon and when Mohammed was shaved by Gabriel the houris
of heaven fought for the falling locks so that not a single hair was al
lowed to reach the ground. " Malay Beliefs," p. 43.
" Fetishism in West Africa," p. 83. "Malay Beliefs," p. 72.
HAIR, FINGER-NAILS AND THE HAND 79
are natives of power being thus obtained over them, that they
have their hair cut only by a friend ; and even then they care
fully burn it or cast into a river. If one accidentally cuts
himself, he stamps out what blood has dropped on the ground,
or cuts out from wood the part saturated with blood."
Superstitions in regard to finger-nails are common through
out the whole world and are undoubtedly animistic in their
origin. Dresslar mentions a number as current in Christen
dom: 20
" Cut your nails on Monday, cut them for health ;
Cut them on Tuesday, cut them for wealth ;
Cut them on Wednesday, cut them for news;
Cut them on Thursday, a pair of new shoes;
Cut them on Friday, cut them for woe;
Cut them on Saturday, a journey to go ;
Cut them on Sunday, you cut them for evil
And all the week you ll be ruled by the devil."
We are not surprised therefore, to find in Islam so many
superstitions mentioned in connection with the paring of
the nails, some of which doubtless came through Judaism,
others directly from Arab paganism. According to the
Haggadah, 21 " every pious Jew must purify himself and
honor the coming holy day by trimming and cleaning the
nails beforehand. The Rabbis are not agreed as to when
they should be pared; some prefer Thursday, for if cut on
Friday they begin to grow on the Sabbath; others prefer
Friday, as it will then appear that it is done in honor of the
Sabbath. It has, however, become the practice to cut them
on Friday and certain poskim even prohibit the paring of the
nails on Thursday." Moslems also have special days for this
purpose. The Jews believe that the parings should not be
thrown away. The Rabbis declare that he who burns them
20 " Superstition and Education," p. 72.
21 " Jewish Encyclopedia," Art. Nails.
80 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
is a pious man (Hasid), he who buries them is a righteous
one (zaddik), and he who throws them away is a wicked one.
The reason for this is that if a pregnant woman steps on
them the impurity attached to them will cause a premature
birth. 22
In the order of cutting the nails the Jews have borrowed
from the Zoroastrians while the Mohammedans seem to have
borrowed from the Jews. According to Mohammed the order
of procedure is remembered by the word Khawabis which
indicates the initials of the names of the five fingers of the
hand. First one is to attend to the Khansar (little finger),
then the Wasti (middle finger), then the Abham (thumb),
then the Binsar (ring finger), and last of all to the Sababa
(index finger). The Sababa means the " finger of cursing "
derived from the root sabba to curse. Moslems gener
ally follow this practice without knowing the reason of what
they do. The cuttings of the finger-nails are never thrown
away but are either wrapped in a paper, buried under the
do\)r-mat or carefully put into a chink of the wall. Similar
superstitions exist among the animistic tribes of the South
Seas. " In Morocco," says Mr. Haldane, " they begin at the
small finger on the right hand, finishing with the thumb, and
then commencing with the small finger on the left hand.
Some, however, hold that the little and middle finger with the
thumb must be done first and then the two remaining ones
afterwards. Friday is the best day for this work. Nail-
parings must be carefully buried. They are not so particu
lar about hair and beard trimmings, but still they ought to be
put in some out-of-the-way place where they will not be trod
upon. Why these things are so no one can tell ; it s the cus
tom." In Yemen the following customs are observed.
While many Arabs hold that there is no particular order of
paring the nails nor any reason for keeping and burying the
21 " Jewish Encyclopedia," Art. Nails.
81
parings, others are very particular to begin with the little
finger and to collect every scrap of the paring in a piece of
cloth or cotton-wool and then to bury the lot, saying that this
was their prophet s custom. Others who also bury the par
ings say that one ought always to begin with the fore-finger
of the right hand, as it is the most honorable of all the digits.
As a rule the hair is not buried; although in very excep
tional cases it is.
The custom connected with hair cutting or shaving and the
trimming of the nails during the pilgrimage ceremony at
Mecca is well know. As soon as the pilgrim assumes the
Ihram or pilgrim dress he must abstain from cutting his hair
or nails. This command is observed most scrupulously. We
read in a celebrated book of law 23 that " The expiatory fine of
three modd of foodstuffs is only incurred in full when at least
three hairs or three nails have been cut ; one modd only being
due for a single hair or a single nail, and two modd for two
hairs or two nails. A person who is unable to observe this
abstinence, should have his whole beard shaved and pay the
expiatory fine." When the pilgrimage is terminated and the
ceremony completed, the head is shaved, the nails are cut and
the following prayer is offered : " I purpose loosening my
Ihram according to the Practice of the Prophet, Whom may
Allah bless and preserve ! O Allah, make unto me every hair,
a Light, a Purity, and a generous Reward ! In the name of
Allah, and Allah is Almighty ! " After this prayer strict
Moslems carefully bury their hair and nail-trimmings in
sacred soil. 24
We pass on to superstitions connected with the human
hand. Mr. Eugene Lefebure writes : 25 " There never was
23 Minhaj et Talibin Nawawi, p. 120.
24 Burton s " Pilgrimage," Vol. II, p. 205.
25 " Bulletin de la Societe" de Geographic d Alger et de PAfrique
du Nord," 1907, No. 4.
82 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
a country where the representation of the human hand has not
served as an amulet. In Egypt as in Ireland, with the
Hebrews as with the Etruscans, they attribute to this figure a
mysterious power." Our illustrations show different forms
of this superstition. The use of the hand in this connection
is very ancient, perhaps it has some connection with the lay
ing on of hands. The laying of hands on the head as a sign
of dedication is found in the Bible, where one gives up one s
own right to something and transfers it to God. (Ex.
XXIX : 15, 19 ; II. Chron. XXIX : 23.) Again, the hands
are placed on the head of the animal whose blood is to be used
for the consecration of priests or for the atonement of the sins
of the people. The same ceremony was used in transferring
the sins of the people to the scapegoat and with all burnt
offerings except the sin-offerings. The laying of hands on
the head of a blasphemer should also be noted here. Jacob,
on his death-bed, placed his right hand on the head of
Ephraim. The Levites were consecrated through the laying
on of hands by the heads of the tribes. The time-honored
prototype of ordination through laying on of hands is the
consecration of Joshua as successor to Moses. This rite is
found in the New Testament and in the Talmud and was
observed at the appointment of members of the Sanhedrin.
It was gradually discontinued in practice, however, although
it was preserved nominally. Islam makes a religious and
ritual distinction between the right and left hand. Many
dark and uncanny interpretations and suggestions are con
nected with matters referring to the left side of the body, the
left hand, the left foot, etc. These go back to great antiquity
and are well-nigh universal. In Islam the left hand is never
used for eating; Tradition tells us that the devil eats with
the left hand ; the Moslem must never spit to the right or in
front of him but to the left. Whether the origin of this
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HAIR, FINGER-NAILS AND THE HAND 83
superstition is due to physical causes or to ritual practice,
such as ablution, cannot be easily decided. 26
In Judaism a priest s hands, represented as in benediction,
on a tombstone indicate that the deceased was descended from
the family of Aaron ; on the title-page of a book they indicate
that the printer was descended from the family of Aaron.
The hand is also represented on the walls of synagogues and
on mirrors. A hand is generally used as a pointer for the
Torah. A hand with two ears of grain and two poppy-
heads is seen on coins. Two hands joined together are often
represented on " Jcetubah " blanks and on the so-called
" siflones-tefillah " there is a hand hewing a tree or mowing
down flowers. A hand either inscribed or cast in metal, was
often used as an amulet.
28 Dresslar remarks concerning similar beliefs in the United States,
" Experiments upon school children show that there is more disparity
between the right and left sides of the body of the brighter pupils than
there is between the right and left of the duller ones. Doubtless this
same augmented difference holds throughout life, or at least to the pe
riod of senescence. It is nothing more nor less than the result of
specialization which increases as growing thought-life calls upon the
right members of the body for finer adjustment and more varied and
perfect execution. Hence, the right members become more the special
organs of the will than the left, induce a greater proportion of emo
tional reaction, and altogether become more closely bound up with the
mental life. That this specialization gives an advantage in accuracy,
strength, control, and endurance of the right side there can be no
doubt. But it seems equally certain that it introduces mental par
tialities not at all times consistent with well-balanced judgment, or
the most trustworthy emotional promptings. Indeed this difference
is recorded in the meaning and use of the two words, dextrous and
sinister. The thought that relates itself to the stronger side is more
rational than that which deals with the weaker and less easily con
trolled half.
" In addition to this fundamental basis for psychic differentiation
with respect to the left and right, it is probable that the beating of
the heart, strange and wonderful to the primitive mind, had some in
fluence in connecting the left side with the awful and mysterious."
("Superstition and Education," pp. 206-207.)
84 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
We now turn to Moslem superstitions of this character.
A missionary in Morocco writes : " Of all the talismans by
which Moorish women ward off the evil eye with all its
danger, none possesses so much magic power as a silver orna
ment worn on the breast and called Khoumsa. Its virtue lies
in its five points, that number, in whatever form presented,
being the most potent of protective agencies. In Moorish
folk-beliefs it means the dispersion to the four corners of the
earth, of any malign influence which has been directed against
the life of the wearer." In Palestine this goes by the name
of Kef Miry am; in Algeria the Moslems very appropriately
named these talismans La Main de Fatima, and from this
source another superstition has been developed: the mystic
virtue of the number five, because of the five fingers of the
hand or its sinister power. 27
" The hand of Fatima," says Tremearne, 28 " is a great
favorite in Tunis, and one sees it above the great majorities
of doorways ; in Tripoli there is hardly one, and this is only
to be expected, since the sign is an old Carthaginian one,
representing not the hand of Fatima at all, but that of Tanith.
It has been thought, however, that the amulet is so curiously
similar to the thunderbolt of Adad, worn in the necklet of the
Assyrian kings along with emblems for the sun, the moon,
and Venus, that it may be a survival of that." 28
The hand is often painted upon the drum used in the bori
(devil) dances in Tunis. It is held up, fingers outstretched
and pointing towards the evil-wisher, and this, in Egypt,
North Africa and Nigeria, has now become a gesture of
abuse. In Egypt the outstretched hand pointed at some one
is used to invoke a curse. They say yukhammisuna, or " He
throws his five at us," i.e. he curses. Not only the hand but
27 Mr. Lefebure in his short work, " La Main de Fatima," has gath
ered all that is known on the subject.
28 " The Ban of the Bori," p. 174.
HAIK, FINGEK-NAILS AND THE HAND 85
the forefinger is used for this purpose. It is therefore called,
as we have seen, the Sdbriba. Goldziher gives many examples
of how the fore-finger was used in magical ways long before
its present use in testifying to God s unity. A controversy
arose in Islam very early about the raising of the hands in
prayer. It is regarding the position of the hands that the
four sects have special teaching and can be distinguished.
Perhaps this also indicates a magical use of the hand. In
Egypt the hand is generally used as an amulet against the
evil eye. It is made of silver or gold in jewelry, or made
of tin in natural size, and is then suspended over the door of
a house. The top of a Moslem banner is often of this shape.
It is used on the harness of horses, mules, etc., and on every
cart used in Alexandria we see either a brass hand or one
painted in various colors. The following points are to be
noted. It is unlucky to count five on the fingers. All
Egyptians of the Delta when they count say : " One, two,
three, four, in-the-eye-of-your-enemy." Children, when at
play, show their displeasure with each other by touching the
little finger of their two hands together, which signifies sepa
ration, enmity, hatred. The same sign is used by grown-up
people also to close a discussion.
The origin of the stretching out of the hand with the palm
exposed toward the person was explained by my sheikh in this
way: Tradition says that at one time a woman who saw
Mohammed became very much enamored with his handsome
presence, and Mohammed fearing she would work some power
over him, raised his hand (said to be the right one) and
stretched it out to one side in front of him with the palm
exposed toward the woman, and at the same time he repeated
Sura 113. When he did this the covetous glance passed be
tween his two fingers and struck a nail in a tree near by and
broke it in pieces !
Finally we may add the curious custom also common in
86 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
Egypt, of dipping the hand in the blood of a sacrifice and
leaving its mark upon doors, foundations of buildings, ani
mals, etc., in order to consecrate them or protect them from
evil influences. In the next chapter on the Aqiqa sacrifice
we will refer to the prevalence of blood sacrifice in early
Islam, and its significance. The practice of dipping the
hand in blood and putting marks on the door-post may go
back to the story of Israel in Egypt, but the present use of
the hand in this way is mixed with all manner of supersti
tion. Who can unravel the threads in the tangled skein of
Moslem beliefs and practices ? There is much Judaism, as
Rabbi Geiger has shown; more perhaps even of Christian
ideas prevalent in Arabia at the time of the Prophet; but
most of all Islam in its popular forms is full of animism and
of practices which can only be described as pagan in origin
and in tendency.
CHAPTER V
THE AQIQA SACRIFICE
AMONG the many points of contact between Christianity
and Islam (and the points of departure, from which the
faithful missionary can launch out into the very heart of
the Gospel message), there is one which has not received the
emphasis it deserves. We refer to the Aqiqa ceremony, ob
served by every Moslem household throughout most Moslem
lands after the birth of a child, and concerning which the
Traditions are so full. According to Moslem religious law,
the expiatory sacrifice is made on the seventh day ; it is com
mendable on that occasion to give the child its name, shave
off the hair on its head, make an offering to the poor, and kill
a victim. According to some authorities, if the offering of
the Aqiqa has been neglected on the seventh day by the
parents, it can be done afterwards by the child himself when
he has become of age.
The root of the word aqiqa is aqqa, he clave, split, rent.
It is used especially in regard to the cutting off of an amulet
when the boy becomes of age. It is also used in the expres
sion " Aqqa bi sahmi " (He shot the arrow towards the sky),
or of the sacrifice of Aqiqa (He sacrificed for his new-born
child). It is interesting to note that the use of this word in
every connection seems to have reference to expiation or re
demption. According to Lane the arrow as well as the
sacrifice was called aqiqa: " and it was the arrow of self-
excuse : they used to do thus in the Time of Ignorance (on the
occasion of a demand for blood-revenge) ; and if the arrow
i Lane s "Arabic-English Lexicon," Vol. V.
87
88 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
returned smeared with blood, they were not content save with
the retaliation of slaughter; but if it returned clean, they
stroked their beards, and made reconciliation on the condition
of the blood-wit; the stroking of the beards being a sign of
reconciliation ; the arrow, however, as Ibn-ul- Arabi says, did
not return otherwise than clean. The origin was this : a man
of the tribe was slain, and the slayer was prosecuted for his
blood ; whereupon a company of the chief men collected them
selves together to the heirs of the slain, and offered the blood-
wit, asking forgiveness for the blood ; and if the heir was a
strong man, impatient of injury, he refused to take the blood-
wit ; but if weak, he consulted the people of his tribe, and then
said to the petitioners, We have, between us and our Creator,
a sign denoting command and prohibition : we take an arrow,
and set it on a bow, and shoot it towards the sky; and if it
return to us smeared with blood, we are forbidden to take the
blood-wit, and are not content save with the retaliation of
slaughter ; but if it return clean, as it went up, we are com
manded to take the blood-wit : so they made reconciliation."
The word aqiqa in Moslem literature, however, no longer
refers to the ceremony of the arrow, which belongs to the
Time of Ignorance. Aqiqa in Tradition signifies: either
the hair of the young one recently born, " that comes forth
upon his head in his mother s womb," some say of human
beings only and others of beasts likewise; or the sheep or
goat that is slaughtered as a sacrifice for the recently born
infant " on the occasion of the shaving of the infant s hair on
the seventh day after his birth, and of which the limbs are
divided and cooked with water and salt and given as food to
the poor." Al Zamakhshari " holds it to be thus catted from
the same word as applied to the hair; but it is said to be
so-called because it is slaughtered by cutting the windpipe and
gullet and the two external jugular veins."
The Aqiqa sacrifice is referred to in nearly all the stan-
89
dard collections of Traditions, generally under Bab-al-NiJcah.
In books of FikJi, it is mentioned under the head of
" sacrifice " and " offerings." The most detailed account Of
Al- Aqiqa I have found in the celebrated book on Filch, by
Ibn Rushd el Kartabi. He treats this subject under six
heads: (1) On whom it is incumbent; (2) Where; (3)
For whom it should be offered and how many offerings should
be made; (4) The time of the ceremony; (5) Its manner;
(6) What is done with the flesh.
" IsTow in regard on whom it is incumbent one of the sects,
namely the literalists, say that it is necessary in every case,
but most of them say it is only following the custom of the
Prophet (sunna}, and Abu Hanifa says it is not incumbent
and not sunna. But most of them are agreed that he means
by this that it is optional. And the reason for their dis
agreement is the apparent contradiction of two traditions,
namely, that a tradition of Samra concerning the Prophet
reads, Every male child shall be redeemed by his aqiqa,
which is to be sacrificed for him on his seventh day, and so
evil shall be removed from him. This tradition would in
dicate that the sacrifice was incumbent: but there is the evi
dent meaning of another tradition which reads as follows:
When Mohammed was asked concerning Al Aqiqa he said,
"I do not love Al Aquq (ungrateful treatment), but to
whomsoever a child is born let him make the ceremony for
his child." This tradition infers that the custom is praise
worthy or allowable, and those who understand from it that
it is praiseworthy say that the Aqiqa is sunna, and those who
understand from it that it is allowed say it is neither sunna
nor incumbent. But those who follow the tradition of Samra
say it is incumbent. In regard to the character of the sacri
fice, all the learned are agreed that everything that is per
mitted in this respect for the annual sacrifice is permitted in
the case of the Aqiqa from the eight classes of animals, male
90 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
and female. Malik, however, prefers the ewe as a sacrifice
in his sect, and he disagrees whether the camel or the cow is
sufficient. The rest of the authorities on Filch say that the
camel is better than the cow and that the goat is better than
the sheep. And the reason for their disagreement is again
due to the discrepancy of Tradition. For the Traditions of
Ibn Abbas say that the Prophet of God performed the Aqiqa
ceremony for Hassan and Hussain by a ram for each. An
other saying of his is, l For a girl a ewe and for a boy two
ewes, according to Abu Dawud.
" In regard to the one for whom the ceremony is performed,
the majority of them are agreed that the Aqiqa should be
performed for the male and the female in infancy only.
The exception to this is Al Hassan, who says no Aqiqa shall
be given for the girl, and some of them allow the Aqiqa to be
performed for adults. And the proof with the majority of
the authorities that it is limited to infants is the saying of
Mohammed on his seventh day/ and the proof of those who
disagree is the tradition related by Anas, that the Prophet
performed the ceremony of Aqiqa for himself when he was
called to be a prophet- ( Aqqa an nafsihi ba adma bu atha
b n nabuwa. ) Proof that it is allowed for girls is his saying,
for a maiden one ewe and for a boy two. On the other
hand, the proof that it should be limited to the male infants
is his saying, Every boy child is under obligation to have his
Aqiqa. But as regards the number of victims the learned
are also disagreed. Es Shafi, however, says, and with him
agree Abu Thaur and Dawud and Ahmad, The Aqiqa of
the girl to be one ewe and of the boy two. And the cause of
their disagreement is the disagreement of Tradition. For
we have a tradition of Um Karz related by Abu Dawud, that
the Prophet said in the Aqiqa the boy shall have two similar
ewes and the girl one. And this undoubtedly means that
there shall be a difference in the number of victims in the
THE AQIQA SACRIFICE 91
case of the boy or the girl. The other tradition, however,
that Mohammed himself performed the ceremony for Hassan
and Hussain with one ram each, compels a different inter
pretation.
" As regards the time of this ceremony, the majority are
agreed that it shall be on the seventh day after birth. Malik
does not count in this number the day on which the child is
born, if he is born in the daytime. Abd ul Malik, however,
counts it in. Ibn al Kasim says if the Aqiqa is performed
at night-time the hair of the sacrifice shall not be cut off.
The companions of Malik disagree regarding the time of the
cutting of the hair. It is said to be the usual time of the
sacrifice, namely forenoon. Others say immediately after
dawn, basing their statement upon what is related by Malik
in his Hadaya. And there is no doubt that those who permit
the annual sacrifice at night permit this sacrifice also. It
is also stated that the Aqiqa is permitted on the 14th day
or the 21st.
" As regards the sunna of this ceremony and its character,
it is like the sunna of the annual sacrifice, namely, that the
victim must be free from blemishes as in that case, and I
know no disagreement among the four schools in this respect
whatever.
" As regards the flesh of the victim and its skin and the
other parts, the law is the same as in regard to the flesh of
the annual sacrifice, both as regards eating, alms to the poor,
and prohibition of sale. All authorities are agreed that
generally the head of the infant was smeared with blood in
pre-Islamic times, and that this custom was abrogated in
Islam, basing it upon a tradition of Baridah, viz., In the
Days of Ignorance when a child was born to any one of us,
we sacrificed a sheep for him and smeared his head with its
blood. When Islam came, we were accustomed at the time
of the sacrifice to shave the infant s head and to smear it
92 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
with saffron. Hassan and Katadah, however, make excep
tion to this statement, and they say that the head of the
young child shall be wiped with a piece of cotton which has
been dipped in the blood, and in the Days of Ignorance it
was thought commendable to break the bones of the sacrifice
and to cut them from the joints. And they disagree regard
ing the shaving of the head of the new-born child on the
seventh and the alms equal in weight to the hair in silver.
Some say that it is commendable, others say it is optional.
Both of these opinions are based upon Malik, and I find the
custom that it is commendable better. For it is based upon
a saying of Ibn Habib, according to what is contained in Al
Muwatta, viz. : That Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet
of God, shaved the hair of Hassan and Hussain and Zainab
and Um Kuthum, and then she gave in alms the value of the
weight in silver. So far the summary of the ceremony ac
cording to orthodox Tradition.
We turn from this account of the ceremony as given in
Moslem books of jurisprudence to the present practice in
Moslem lands. Herklots tells us that in India " the Aqiqa
sacrifice takes place on the seventh day, called Ch huttee, or
on the fortieth day, called Chilla, in some cases on any other
day that is convenient. It consists in a sacrifice to God, in
the name of the child, of two he-goats, if the new-born be a
boy ; and of one, if a girl. The he-goat requires to be above a
year old, and suheeh-col-zaz (or perfect and without a
blemish) ; he must not be blind in one or both eyes, or lame,
and is to be skinned so nicely that no flesh adhere to his
skin, and his flesh so cut up that not a bone be broken. It
being difficult to separate the flesh from the smaller bones,
they are boiled and dressed with the flesh remaining; while
in eating, the people are enjoined to masticate and swallow
the softer bones, and the meat is carefully taken off the larger
ones without injuring the bone. The meat is well boiled,
THE AQIQA SACRIFICE 93
in order that it may be more easily separated from the bones.
This is served up with manda, chupat&e, or rotee. While
they are offering it, an Arabic sentence is repeated; the sig
nification of which runs thus : O Almighty God. I offer
in the stead of my own offspring, life for life, blood for
blood, head for head, bone for bone, hair for hair, and skin
for skin. In the name of God do I sacrifice this he-goat.
It is meritorious to distribute the food to all classes of people,
save to the seven following individuals, viz. : the person on
whose account the offering is made, his parents, and his
paternal and maternal grandfathers and grandmothers; to
whom it is unlawful to partake of it. The bones, boiled or
unboiled, skin, feet and head, are buried in the earth, and
no one is allowed to eat them."
The custom he describes in such detail was taken by him
verbatim from the lips of Jaffur Shurruf, a native of the
Deccan, who belonged to the Sunni or orthodox sect. He goes
on to tell us that the shaving of the head, which is called
Moondun, takes place on the same day, or, in the case of the
rich, the ceremony is performed some days later. Those who
can afford it have the child s head shaved with a silver-
mounted razor and use a silver cup to contain the water, both
of which after the operation are given as a present to the
barber. The hair is weighed, and its weight in silver is dis
tributed among the religious mendicants. The hair itself is
tied up in a piece of cloth and either buried in the earth or
thrown in the water.
Another curious custom is thus described : " Those who
can afford it have the hair taken to the water-side, and there,
after they have assembled, musicians and the women, and
offered fateeha in the name of Khoaja Khizur over the hair,
on which they put flour, sugar, ghee, and milk, the whole is
placed on a raft or juhaz (a ship), illuminated by lamps, the
musicians singing and playing the whole time, they launch
94 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
it on the water. Some people at the time of moondiyi, leave
choontees (or tufts of hair unshaved) in the riame of par
ticular saints, and take great care that nothing unclean con
taminates them. A few, vowing in the name of any saint,
do not perform moondun at all, but allow the hair to grow
for one or even four or five years ; and either at the expira
tion of the appointed season, or a little before or after, pro
ceed to the durgaJi (or shrine) of that saint, and there have
the hair shaved. Should it happen that they are in a distant
country at that time and have not the means of repairing to
his shrine, they perform fateeha in his name, and have the
hair shaved at the place where they may happen to be. Such
hair is termed jumal chontee, or jumal bal. This ceremony
is, by some men and women, performed with great faith in
its efficacy."
According to Lane, the ceremony of Aqiqa was not uni
versal in Egypt in his day. It has become less common since.
Where it is observed, a goat is sacrificed at the tomb of some
saint in or near their village. The victim is called Aqiqa,,
and is offered as a ransom for the child from hell. The gift
to the poor and the shaving of the head in all its detail as in
Indian practice, however, still prevails among the villagers.
The shaving of the head has been taken over by the Copts, and
is practiced by them as well as by the Moslems. In the case
of wealthy Copts a sum of money, equal in value to the weight
of the hair of the infant in gold, is given to the poor. In
Arabia the custom is common everywhere.
According to Doughty, there is no question in the minds of
the Arabs to-day as to the significance of the rite of sacrifice :
" When a man child is born, the father will slay an ewe, but
the female birth is welcomed in by no sacrifice. Something
has been already said of their blood-sprinkling upon break-
land, and upon the foundation of new buildings; this they
use also at the opening or enlarging of new wells and waters.
THE AQIQA SACRIFICE 95
Again, when their ghrazzu riders return with a booty (feyd
or chesscib}, the women dance out with singing to meet them;
and the (live) chessab, 2 which they say t is sweet/ is the
same evening smeared with the blood of a victim. Metaad,
a neighbor of mine, sent me a present of the meat of a fat
goat, which he had sacrificed for the health of a sick camel ;
and now, said the Arab, it would certainly begin to amend.
Rubba, the poor herdsman, made a supper to his friends,
dividing to them the flesh of a she-goat, the thank-offering
which he had vowed in his pain and sickness. Swoysh,
sacrificing the year s mind, [sic] for his grandsire, distributed
the portions at his tent, but we sat not down to a dish. They
are persuaded that backwardness to sacrifice should be to
their hurt. All religious sacrifices they call kurban. I have
seen townsmen of Medina burn a little bakliur, before the
sacrifice, for a pompous odor, acceptable to God, and dis
posing our minds to religion Where all men are their own
butchers, perhaps they are (as the Arabs) more rash-handed
to shed human blood. When they sacrifice to the jan they
sacrifice to demons. If one sacrifice for health, the death
of the ewe or the goat they think to be accepted for his
camel s or for his own life, life for life."
In Morocco the ceremony is also well-known. " On the
morning of the name-day," says Budgett Meakin, " the
father or nearest male relative slaughters the sheep, exclaim
ing as he cuts the throat, In the Name of the Mighty God :
for the naming of so-and-so, son (or daughter) of so-and-so.
Referring to the mother, who is asked to give the child a
name. In the evening a feast is made of the sheep, the
nurse receiving as her perquisite the fleece and a fore-leg,
with perhaps a present of cash besides, in return for her
presence for seven days. The mother sits in state on a special
chair brought by the nurse."
2 Doughty refers to animals such as sheep or horses taken as booty.
96 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
In Sumatra, we are told " The Mohammedan law recom
mends an offering of two sheep or goats for a male, and one
for a female child, by preference on the seventh day after
birth, but if this be impossible then at some later date, even
when the child is quite grown up." This sacrifice is called
aqiqa and is not only known but is actually practiced in
Acheh under the name of hakikah. In Acheh, no less than in
other parts of the E. Indian archipelago, the people of
Mekka have done their best to foster the doctrine that it is an
extremely meritorious act to offer this sacrifice for the child in
the holy city. The Mekka folk thus of course reap the profits
on the sale of the goats and at the same time enjoy their share
of the meat. Many Achenese are, however, aware that the
hakikah is more properly offered at home. The choice of
some later occasion for this sacrifice, and not the seventh
day after birth is also common in Acheh.
The ceremony is performed among the Malays as follows :
" A few days later the child s head is shaved, and his nails
cut for the first time. For the former process a red lather
is manufactured from fine rice-flour mixed with gambier,
lime, and betel-leaf. Some people have the child s head
shaved clean, others leave the central lock (jambul). In
either case the remains of the red lather, together with the
clippings of hair (and nails ?) are received in a rolled-up
yam-leaf (daun k ladi diponjut} or cocoa-nut ( ?) and carried
away and deposited at the foot of a shady tree, such as a
banana (or a pomegranate?).
" Some times (as had been done in the case of a Malay
bride at whose tonsure I assisted), the parents make a
vow at a child s birth that they will give a feast at the tonsure
of its hair, just before its marriage, provided the child grows
up in safety.
" Occasionally the ceremony of shaving the child s head
takes place on the 44th day after birth, the ceremony being
THE AQIQA SACKIFICE 97
called balik juru. A small sum, such as $2.00 or $3.00, is
also sometimes presented to a pilgrim to carry clippings of
the child s locks to Mecca and cast them into the well Zem-
zem, such payment being called kekah ( aqiqa) in the case
of a boy and kurban in the case of a girl." 8
The custom prevails also in China, although so much else
of the Moslem ritual has there been modified or suppressed.
A Koranic name, called King-ming, is given to the child
within seven days of its birth, and a feast is celebrated.
" The rich are expected to kill a sheep, two if the child is a
male, and the poor are to be fed with the meat. In selecting
the name the father has to hold the child with its face turned
towards Mecca and repeat a prayer in each ear of the child.
Then taking the Koran he turns over any seven pages, and
from the seventh word of the seventh line of the seventh page
gives the name." (Marshall Broomhall, " Islam in China.")
Here as elsewhere the naming of the child and the Aqiqa
are closely related.
In Mecca, on the seventh day after the birth of a child, a
wether is usually killed. According to Snouck Hurgronje,
the people there do not connect this with the Aqiqa cere
mony which may take place later. For the rest the cere
monies are observed by the calling of God s name in the right
ear of the infant and giving the call to prayer in its left ear.
A short Kliuibdh is given at the naming of the child and a
present of silver given to the poor. On the fortieth day the
infant is dressed in beautiful clothes, generally of silk, and
handed at sunset by the mother to one of the eunuch guardians
of the Kadba who lays it down near the door of the Kaaba.
For ten minutes the child remains under the protection of
the shadow of the Kaaba. Then the mother performs the
evening prayer and carries the infant home.
In the Punjab, according to Major W. Fitz G. Bourne, the
3 Skeat s " Malay Magic," pp. 341-342.
08 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
ceremony is universal. He writes : " On the sixth day after
birth, the mother is bathed, all the women of the family
assemble, and a feast takes place, called Chliati. On the
seventh day both male and female relations are invited, and a
great feast takes place. The child s head is shaved, and the
hair weighed against silver, which is given to the poor. The
barber places a small brass cup before the assembly, into
which all present put silver. 4 A sacrifice of one or two he-
goats in the case of a male child, and of a she-goat in the
case of a female child, is made. This ceremony is called
Aqiqa and is solemnized by repeating a given prayer in
Arabic."
In regard to Malaysia and especially Celebes, we have in
teresting information about the practice prevalent among
Bare e-speaking Toradja s, by Dr. N. Adriani and the Rev.
A. D. Kruijt. They say, " The Mohammedans on the south
coast believe that when a child dies before its third year it
has no sins, and therefore, its soul is taken directly to Allah.
After the third year, however, a sacrifice is required, for a
boy two goats, for a girl one. This sacrifice is called the
Mosambale, or Aqiqa. The time differs, and is chiefly de
pendent on the prosperity of the family. If there is, how
ever, a death in the family or the child is ill, no effort is
spared to secure the necessary sacrifice. The father himself
must slay the goat. If the father has died before the Aqiqa
ceremony, then a portion of the father s personal possessions
must be used to purchase the Aqiqa sacrifice; for example,
a piece of his clothing or outfit. When the sacrifice takes
place the father says bis millah, etc. (I sacrifice the Aqiqa
of so-and-so, who is the child of so-and-so. . . .) The
popular opinion is that when the child dies afterwards it
rides the goat which has been sacrified for it in order to wel
come its father in the other world. On the presentation of
* This is also the custom in Egypt.
THE AQIQA SACRIFICE 99
this sacrifice, they assert, that the future character of the
child is dependent for good or for ill. The child whose
morals are corrupt is described as one for whom no proper
aqiqa offering has been made. Possibly this representation
rests on a curious misunderstanding of the Arabic word
aqiqa and the other Arabic word haqiqa, which means
reality, so that the people imagine that the two words are
closely related."
In Afghanistan the practice is well-known; and in addi
tion to that of the Aqiqa we learn of other vicarious sacrifices
that are prevalent. Dr. Pennell says, " All Muhammadan
nations must, from the origin of their religion, have many
customs and observances which appear Jewish, because they
were adopted by Muhammed himself from the Jews around
him; but there are two, at least, met with among Afghans
which are not found among neighboring Muhammadan
peoples, and which strongly suggest a Jewish origin. The
first, which is very common, is that of sacrificing an animal,
usually a sheep or a goat, in case of illness, after which the
blood of the animal is sprinkled over the doorposts of the
house of the sick person, by means of which the angel of death
is warded off. The other, which is much less common, and
appears to be dying out, is that of taking a heifer and placing
upon it the sins of the people, whereby it becomes qurban, or
sacrifice, and then it is driven out into the wilderness."
All this testimony from many Moslem lands concerning
the prevalence of a practice which is based upon the highest
authority, namely, Sunna, is of course deeply interesting to
the student of comparative religion ; and for the theories on
the subject, some of which are fanciful in the extreme, the
reader is referred to such authorities as Frazer in his " Golden
Bough " or the special treatise of Prof. G. A. Wilkens,
" Ueber das Haaropfer." Perhaps the best explanation of
the origin of this sacrifice from the standpoint of comparative
100 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
religion is that given by W. Robertson Smith in his book,
" Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia." He says,
" Shaving or polling the hair was an act of worship commonly
performed when a man visited a holy place or on discharging
a vow (as in the ritual of the Hebrew Nazarites). At Taif,
when a man returned from a journey, his first duty was to
visit the Rabba and poll his hair. The hair in these cases
was an offering to the deity, and as such was sometimes
mingled with a meal offering. So it must have been also
with the hair of the babe, for Mohammed s daughter Fatima
gave the example of bestowing in alms the weight of the hair
in silver. The alms must in older times have been a pay
ment to the sanctuary, as in the similar ceremony observed in
Egypt on behalf of children recovered from sickness ; and the
sacrifice is meant, as the Prophet himself says, to avert evil
from the child by shedding blood on his behalf. This is
more exactly brought out in the old usage discontinued in
Moslem times of daubing the child s head with blood, which
is the same thing with the sprinkling of the living blood
of a victim on the tents of an army going out to battle, or the
sprinkling of the blood on the doorposts at the Hebrew pass-
over. The blood which ensures protection by the god is, as
in ritual of blood-brotherhood, blood that unites protector and
protected, and in this, as in all other ancient Arabian sacri
fices, was doubtless applied also to the sacred stone that repre
sented the deity. The prophet offered a sheep indifferently
for the birth of a boy or a girl, but in earlier times the
sacrifice seems to have been only for boys. 5 Some authorities
say that the ceremony fell on the seventh day after birth, but
this is hardly correct ; for when there was no aqiqa offered the
child was named and its gums rubbed with masticated dates
on the morning after birth. The Arabs were accustomed to
hide a new-born child under a cauldron till the morning
o Compare the Tradition already cited.
THE AQIQA SACRIFICE 101
light ; apparently it was not thought safe till it had been put
under the protection of the deity. I presume that in general
the sacrifice, the naming, and the symbolical application of
the most important article of food to the child s mouth, all
fell together and marked his reception into partnership in the
sacra and means-of-life of his father s group. At Medina
Mohammed was often called in to give the name and rub the
child s gums probably because in heathenism this was done
by the priest. Such a ceremony as this would greatly facili
tate the change of the child s kin; it was only necessary to
dedicate it to the father s instead of the mother s god. But
indeed the name aqiqa, which is applied both to the hair cut
off and to the victim, seems to imply a renunciation of the
original mother-kinship ; for the verb aqqa, " to sever," is not
the one that would naturally be used either of shaving hair
or cutting the throat of a victim, while it is the verb that is
used of dissolving the bond of kindred, either with or without
the addition of al-rahim. If this is the meaning of the cere
mony, it is noteworthy that it was not performed on girls,
and of this the words of the traditions hardly admit a doubt. 6
The exclusion of women from inheritance would be easily
understood if we could think that at one times daughters were
not made of their father s kin. That certainly has been the
case in some parts of the world."
In his later work, " The Religion of the Semites," how
ever, Professor Smith says that a fuller consideration of the
whole subject of the hair offering convinces him that the
name aqiqa is not connected with the idea of change of kin,
but is derived from the cutting away of the first hair. " I
apprehend that among the Arabs . . . the aqiqa was origin
ally a ceremony of initiation into manhood, and that the
transference of the ceremony to infancy was a later innova-
On the contrary, the Traditions leave the matter uncertain except
as regards the practice of the Jews.
102 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
tion, for among the Arabs, as among the Syrians, young lads
let their hair grow long, and the sign of immaturity was the
retention of the side locks, which adult warriors did not
wear. The cutting of the side locks was, therefore, a formal
mark of admission into manhood, and in the time of Herod
otus it must also have been a formal initiation into the
worship of Orotal, 7 for otherwise the religious significance
which the Greek historian attaches to the shorn forehead of
the Arabs is unintelligible. At that time, therefore, we must
conclude that a hair-offering, precisely equivalent to the
aqiqa, took place upon entry into manhood, and thereafter
the front hair was habitually worn short as a permanent
memorial of this dedicatory sacrifice. It is by no means
clear that even in later times the initiatory ceremony was
invariably performed in infancy, for the name aqiqa which
in Arabic denotes the first hair as well as the religious cere
mony of cutting it off, is sometimes applied to the ruddy locks
of a lad approaching manhood, and figuratively to the plum
age of a swift young ostrich or the tufts of an ass s hair,
neither of which has much resemblance to the scanty down
on the head of a new-born babe. It would seem, therefore,
that the oldest Semitic usage both in Arabia and in Syria,
was to sacrifice the hair of childhood upon admission to the
religious and social status of manhood."
It does not seem very clear, however, that either of these
theories is altogether satisfactory. Is it not more probable
that we have in this Moslem custom another Jewish element
in Islam connected with the Old Testament doctrine of
sacrifice, especially the redemption of the first-born ? (Com
pare Exodus XIII: 11-22 XXXIV: 19.) If in addition
to all the resemblances to the Jewish practice already
noted further testimony were necessary, it would be suffi
cient to refer to the statement made in the commentary of Al
7 Orotal = Allah Ta ala, God Supreme, Z.
THE AQIQA SACRIFICE 103
Buchari as the key to this true Sunna of the Prophet : " For
the female child one ewe and this abrogates the saying of
those who disapprove a sacrifice for a girl as did the Jews,
who only made aqiqa for boys." (On the authority of Araki
in Tinnidhi Fath-ul-Bari V. 390.)
An additional proof would be the injunction of Ayesha,
" That not a bone of this sacrifice should be broken." Surely
the observation of the Aqiqa ceremony may well lead us to
use Exodus XII and John XIX with our Moslem brethren,
pointing them to the " Lamb of God which taketh away the
sin of the world," and who is the true Redeemer also of
childhood; who Himself took little children into His arms
and blessed them. I have recently prepared a leaflet on this
subject for Moslems, entitled " Haqiqat ul Aqiqa" (The
True Explanation of the Aqiqa) calling attention to some of
these traditions and pointing out the teaching of the Old
Testament regarding the redemption by the sacrificial Lamb,
and showing that without the shedding of blood there is no
remission of sin. That the Moslem himself once recognized
the vicarious character of this sacrifice and its deeper sig
nificance of atonement is perfectly evident from the prayer
used on this occasion. In one of the books of devotion pub
lished in Hindustani and printed at Calcutta, this prayer
reads as follows : " O God, this is the Aqiqa sacrifice of
my son so-and-so; its blood for his blood, its flesh for his
flesh, its bone for his bone, its skin for his skin, its hair for
his hair. O God ! make it a redemption for my son from
the Fire, for truly I have turned my face to Him who
created the heavens and the earth, a true believer. And I am
not of those who associate partners with God. Truly my
prayer and my offering my life and my death is to God, the
Lord of the worlds, who has no partner, and thus I am com
manded, and I belong to the Moslems." After using this
prayer the manual of devotion states that the sacrifice shall
104 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
be slain by the father of the child while he crys ee Allahu
akbar."
We may well imagine that under the Old Testament law
a similar intercessory prayer was offered by the pious
Israelite when presenting his sacrifice on behalf of the first
born. According to Jewish Talmudic law, every Israelite
was obliged to redeem his first-born son thirty days after the
latter s birth. At the redemption the father of the child
pronounces these words, " Blessed art thou in the name of
Him who commandeth us concerning the redemption of the
son." In the case of the first-born they also observe the
custom of Ahlakah; that is cutting the boy s hair for the first
time. This took place after his fourth birthday. According
to the Jewish Encyclopaedia, it was also customary in Tal
mudic times to weigh the child (sic) 8 and to present the
weight in coin to the poor. According to Rabbi Joseph
Jacobs among the Beni Israel there is a custom that if a
child is born as the result of a vow its hair is not cut until
the sixth or seventh year. It is usual in all these cases to
weigh the hair cut off and give its weight in coin to charitable
purposes.
Who can fail to see that the Moslem custom is borrowed
from Judaism, however much there may be mingled in the
latter of early Semitic practice, the origin of which is ob
scure ? Is there perhaps some connection also with the
Akedah 9 prayer and ceremony observed among the Jews ?
The term refers to the binding of Isaac as a sacrifice, and
this Biblical incident plays an important part in the Jewish
liturgy. The earliest allusion occurs in the Mishnah, and
the following prayer is found in the New Year s Day ritual :
" Remember in our favor, O Lord our God, the oath which
Thou hast sworn to our father Abraham on Mount Moriah ;
8 This must be a misprint, even in so careful and accurate a work, for
" hair of the child."
9 Akedah the binding or knotting of a rope.
THE AQIQA SACRIFICE 105
consider the binding of his son Isaac upon the altar when he
suppressed his love in order to do Thy will with a whole
heart ! Thus may Thy love suppress Thy wrath against us,
and through Thy great goodness may the heat of Thine anger
be turned away from Thy people, Thy city and Thy heritage.
. . . Remember to-day in mercy in favor of his seed the bind
ing of Isaac." (Jewish Encyclopaedia.) Dr. Max Lands-
berg says : " In the course of time ever greater importance
was attributed to the Akedah. The haggadistic literature is
full of allusions to it ; the claim to forgiveness on its account
was inserted in the daily morning prayer ; and a piece called
Akedah was added to the liturgy of each of the penitential
days among the German Jews." In any case we notice that
among the Jews as among Moslems attempts are made to
explain away the significance of this prayer and sacrifice as
relating to the idea of the atonement. Accordingly, many
American reform rituals have abolished the Akedah prayers.
It is the fashion of the day in liberal Theology, Moslem
and Jewish as well as Christian, to explain away the idea of
expiation and atonement in the Old Testament as well as in
the New. The altar with its blood sacrifice is as great a
stumbling-block to such thinkers as the Cross of Christ ; but
the place of the altar and of the Cross are central, pivotal, and
dominant in the soteriology of the Bible. We cannot escape
the clear teaching of God s Word, that " without the shedding
of blood there is no remission of sin " ; that " the lamb of God
was slain before the foundation of the world " : that the Son
of God came " to give His life a ransom for many." The
missionary, therefore, as well as the reverent student of the
Old Testament, is not satisfied with any explanation of the
doctrine of sacrifice which leaves out substitution and atone
ment. One thing seems clear from our investigation, that
we have in the Aqiqa sacrifice as well as in the great annual
feast of Islam with its day of sacrifice at Mecca, a clear
106 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
testimony to the doctrine of a vicarious atonement and the
remission of sin through the shedding of blood. Were St.
Paul present at an Aqiqa ceremony or at Arafah on the
great day of the feast, would he not preach to the assembled
multitudes on the " remission of sins through His blood " ?
(Eph. 1 : 7 Col. 1 : 14 Eom. V : 11 Eom. Ill : 25.)
Surely there is pathos as well as interest in the fact that
the great Moslem world of childhood from its infancy has
been consecrated to the religion of Islam by the Aqiqa
sacrifice.
BOOKS REFERRED TO IN THIS CHAPTER
" Al Bukhari" (Bulak, 1314). Vol. VII, p. 83.
" Commentary on al Bukhari," Fath-ul-Bari, by El Ainy. Vol. IX, p.
710.
" Commentary on al Bukhari," by al Askalany. Vol. IX, p. 464.
" Commentary on al Muwatta," by al Zarkani. Vol. Ill, p. 23.
" Badayat ul Majtahid," by El Kurtubi bin Rushd el Hafidh. Vol. I,
p. 375.
" Minhaj ut Talibin," by al Nawawi, p. 127.
"Mishkat ul Masabih (Delhi). P. 363.
" Ihya ulum id Din," by al Ghazali. Vol. II, p. 35.
Commentary on the same, by al Murtadhi. Vol. V, p. 390.
"The Encyclopaedia of Islam" (Leyden).
"The Jewish Encyclopaedia" (Arts. Hair; First-born; Child; Sac
rifice) .
W. Robertson Smith, " Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia " ( Cam
bridge, 1885). "The Religion of the Semites" (New York, 1889).
C. Snouck Hurgronje, "Mekka" (The Hague, 1888).
C. M. Doughty, "Arabia Deserta " (Cambridge, 1888).
G. A. Herklots, "Customs of the Moosulmans of India" (London,
1832).
Major W. Fitz G. Bourne, " Hindustani Mussulmans and Mussulmans of
the Eastern Punjab" (Calcutta, 1914).
N. Adrian! and Alb. C. Kruijt, " De Barre s-sprekende Toradja a "
(Batavia, 1912).
Budgett Meakin, "The Moors" (London, 1902).
Dr. Pennell, "Among the Wild Tribes of the Afghan Frontier" (Lon
don, 1909).
Marshall Broomhall, "Islam in China" (London, 1910).
CHAPTER VI
THE FAMILIAR SPIRIT OR QARINA
AMONG all the superstitions in Islam there is none more
curious in its origin and character than the belief in the
Qarin or Qarina. It probably goes back to the ancient re
ligion of Egypt, or to the animistic beliefs common in Arabia
as well as in Egypt, at the time of Mohammed. By Qarin or
Qarina the Moslem understands the double of the individual,
his companion, his mate, his familiar demon. In the case of
males a female mate, and in the case of females a male.
This double is generally understood to be a devil, shaitan or
jinn, born at the time of the individual s birth and his con
stant companion throughout life. The Qarina is, therefore,
of the progeny of Satan.
The conception of the soul and the belief in a double among
Moslems closely resembles the idea of the Malays and other
animists. " The Malay conception of the human soul," we
read, " is that of a species of thumbling, a thin unsubstantial
human image, or mannikin, which is temporarily absent from
the body in sleep, trance, disease, and permanently absent
after death. This mannikin, which is usually invisible but
is supposed to be about as big as the thumb, corresponds ex
actly in shape, proportion and even complexion, to its em
bodiment or casing, i. e., the body in which it has its resi
dence. It is of a vapory, shadowy, or filmy essence, though
not so impalpable, but that it may cause displacement on en
tering a physical object. . . . The soul appears to men (both
waking and sleeping) as a phantom separate from the body,
of which it bears the likeness, manifests physical power, and
107
108 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
walks, sits, and sleeps." 1 What this concept has become in
Islam we shall see in a moment.
That the shadow is a second soul, or a semblance of the
soul, is also an animistic idea. The same thing appears in
Islam, for the shadow of a dog defiles the one who prays as
much as does the dog himself. 2 The Javanese believe that
black chickens and black cats do not cast a shadow because
they come from the underworld. When one reads of this
one cannot help comparing with it the Moslem belief in the
Qarina.
There are many passages in the Koran in which this doc
trine is plainly taught, and by reading the commentaries on
these texts, a world of superstition, groveling, coarse, and,
to the last degree, incredible, is opened to the reader. The
Koran passages read as follows : 3 ( Chapter of the Cave,
verse 48), " And when we said to the angels, Adore Adam,
they adored him, save only Iblis, who was of the jinn, who
revolted from the bidding of his Lord. What ! will ye then
take him and his seed as patrons, rather than me, when they
are foes of yours ? bad for the wrong-doers is the exchange !
The reference here is to the words, " Satan and his seed."
(See especially the Commentary of Fahr al Din al Razi,
margin, Vol. VI, p. 75.)
In speaking of the resurrection when the trumpet is blown
and the day of judgment comes, we read: (Chapter Kaf,
verses 2030), "And every soul shall come with it a
driver and a witness ! Thou wert heedless of this, and we
withdrew thy veil from thee, and to-day is thine eyesight
keen ! And his mate (qarina] shall say, This is what is
ready for me (to attest). Throw into hell every stubborn
i" Malay Magic," by W. W. Skeat, London, 1900.
2 I have not found this stated in the Traditions, but it is a well-
known belief in Egypt and in Arabia.
3 Palmer s translation is used throughout.
THE FAMILIAR SPIRIT OR QARINA 109
misbeliever ! who forbids good, a transgressor, a doubter !
who sets other gods with God and throw him, ye twain,
into fierce torment ! His mate shall say, ( Our Lord ! I se
duced him not, but he was in a remote error. He shall say,
Wrangle not before me ; for I sent the threat to you before.
The sentence is not changed with me, nor am I unjust to my
servants. On the day we will say to hell, Art thou full ?
and it will say, Are there any more ?
And again we read: (Chapter of Women, verses 41, 42),
" And those who expend their wealth in alms for appearance
sake before men, and who believe not in God nor in the last
day; but whosoever has Satan for his mate, (qarina) an
evil mate has he."
Again: (Chapter of the Ranged, verses 47-54), ". . .
and with them damsels, restraining their looks, large eyed;
as though they were a sheltered egg; and some shall come
forward to ask others ; and a speaker amongst them shall say,
Verily, I had a mate (qarina) who used to say, " Art thou
verily of those who credit? What! when we are dead, and
have become earth and bones, shall we be surely judged ? "
He will say, Are ye looking down ? and he shall look down
and see him in the midst of hell. He shall say, By God,
thou didst nearly ruin me !
(Chapter "Detailed," verse 24), "We will allot to them
mates, for they have made seemly to them what was before
them and what was behind them; and due against them was
the sentence on the nations who passed away before them;
both of jinns and of mankind ; verily, they were the losers ! "
(Chapter of Gilding, verses 35-37), "And whosoever
turns from the reminder of the Merciful One, we will chain
to him a devil, who shall be his mate ; and verily, these shall
turn them from the path while they reckon they are guided ;
until when he comes to us he shall say, O, would that be
tween me and thee there were the distance of the two orients,
for an evil mate (art thou) ! But it shall not avail you on
that day, since ye were unjust; verily, in the torment shall
ye share ! "
To speak of only one of these passages, what Baidhawi says
in regard to the Chapter of the Ranged, verse 49, leaves no
doubt that the qarina, which has been the mate of the be
liever all through life, is cast into hell on the day of judg
ment, and that this evil spirit, which is born with every man,
is determined to ruin him, but that the favor of God saves
the believer, and that one of the special mercies of heaven
for the believer is to behold his companion devil forever
in torment.
Before we deal further with the comment as given on these
verses, and the teaching in Moslem books, we consider the
possible origin of this belief in teaching found in the " Book
of the Dead " of ancient Egypt. " In addition to the Nat
ural-body and Spirit-body," writes E. A. Wallis Budge
(" Book of the Dead," Vol. I, p. 73), " man also had an ab
stract individuality or personality endowed with all his char
acteristic attributes. This abstract personality had an abso
lutely independent existence. It could move freely from
place to place, separating itself from, or uniting itself to, the
body at will, and also enjoying life with the gods in heaven.
This was the Jca, a word which at times conveys the meaning
of its Coptic equivalent KW, and of ttSwAov, image, genius,
double, character, disposition, and mental attributes. What
the lea really was has not yet been decided, and Egyptologists
have not yet come to an agreement in their views on the sub
ject. Mr. Griffith thinks (Hieroglyphs, p. 15), that it was
from one point of view regarded as the source of muscular
movement and power, as opposed to ba, the will or soul which
set it in motion. In September, 1878, M. Maspero ex
plained to the Members of the Congress of Lyons the views
which he held concerning this word, and which he had for the
THE FAMILIAR SPIRIT OR QARIKA 111
past five years been teaching in the College of France, and
said, " le ka est une sorte de double de la personne humaine
d une matiere moins grossiere que la matiere dont est forme
le corps, mais qu il fallait nourrir et entretenir comme le
corps lui-meme; ce double vivait dans le tombeau des offran-
des qu on faisait aux fetes canoniques, et aujourd hui encore
un grand nombre des genies de la tradition populaire egyp-
tienne ne sont que des doubles, devenus demons au moment
de la conversion des fellahs au christianisme, puis a I islam-
isme." 4
Other authorities whom Mr. Budge quotes think that the
Ka was a genius and not a double. Mr. Breasted thinks that
the ka was the superior genius intended to guide the fortunes
of the individual in the hereafter. But Mr. Budge goes on
to say : " The relation of the ka to the funerary offerings has
been ably discussed by Baron Fr. W. v. Bissing (Versuch
einer neuen Erklarung des Ka i der alten Aegypter in the Sit-
zungsberichte der Kgl. Bayer. Akad., Munich, 1911), and
it seems as if the true solution of the mystery may be found
by working on the lines of his idea, (which was published in
the Recueil, 1903, p. 182), and by comparing the views about
the double held by African peoples throughout the Sudan.
The funeral offerings of meat, cakes, aje, wine, unguents, etc.,
were intended for the ka; the scent of the burnt incense was
grateful for it (sic). The ka dwelt in the man s statue just
as the ka of a god inhabited the statue of the god. In the
remotest times the tombs had special chambers wherein the
ka was worshiped and received offerings. The priesthood
numbered among its body an order of men who bore the name
of priests of the ka and who performed services of honor
of the ka in the " Ka chapel ! " Although not in any sense
* The Qarina. The belief in the Qarina shows itself in the common
speech of the people. When an Egyptian wishes to send some one away
he always uses the expression Rukh-anta-wa-hunca, i.e., Go thou and he.
The latter pronoun refers to the man s demon mate or Qarina.
112 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
an Egyptologist, I believe further light may be thrown on the
real significance of ka by what popular Islam teaches to-day.
Whatever may be the significance of ka in Egyptology, we
are not in doubt as to what Mohammed himself thought of his
ka or qarina. In the most famous volume of all Moslem
books on the doctrine of jinn, called " Kitab akam al mar j an
fi Ahkam al Jan" by Abdullah-esh-Shabli (769 A. H.) we
read in chapter five as follows : " It is related by Muslim
and others from Ayesha that the Apostle of God left her
one night and that she said, I was jealous of him. Then
she said, Mohammed saw me and came for me and said,
" What s the matter with you, Ayesha ? are you jealous ? "
And I replied, Why should one like me not be jealous of
one like you ? Then the apostle of God said, Has your
devil spirit got hold of you ? Then I said, O Apostle of
God, is there a devil with me ? Said he, l Yes, and with
every person. Said I, And with you also, Apostle of
God ? Said he, Yes, but my Lord Most Glorious and Pow
erful has assisted me against him, so that he became a Mos
lem. Another Tradition is given in the same chapter on
the authority of Ibn Hanbal as follows : " Said the Apostle
of God, There is not a single one of you but has his qarina
of the jinn and his qarina of the angels. They said, < And
thou also, O Apostle of God ? Yes, he replied, I also,
but God has helped her so that she does not command me ex
cept in that which is true and good. The Tradition here
given occurs in many forms in the same chapter, so that there
can be no doubt of its being well-known and, in the Moslem
sense, authentic.
Here is another curious form of the same Tradition.
" Said the Apostle of God, I was superior to Adam in two
particulars, for my devil (qarina}, although an unbeliever,
became through God s help a Moslem and my wives were a
help to me, but Adam s devil remained an infidel and his wife
THE FAMILIAR SPIRIT OR QARINA 113
led him into temptation. We also find an evening prayer
recorded of Mohammed as follows : " Whenever the Apos
tle of God went to his bed to sleep at night he said, In the
name of God I now lay myself down and seek protection from
him against the evil influence of my devil {qarin, shaitan),
and from the burden of my sin and the weight of my iniquity.
O God, make me to receive the highest decree."
As regards the number of these companion devils and their
origin, Tradition is not silent. " It is said that there are
males and females among the devils, out of whom they pro
create; but as to Iblis, God has created. . . . (The signifi
cance of this passage, which is not fit for translation, is that
Iblis is an hermaphrodite) . . . there come forth out of him
every day ten eggs, out of each of which are born seventy
male and female devils. (Ibn Khallikan, quoted in Hayat
al-IIawayan, article jinn.}
In another tradition also found in the standard collec
tions it is said that Iblis laid thirty eggs " ten in the west,
ten in the east, and ten in the middle of the earth and
that out of every one of those eggs came forth a species of
devils, such as al-Gilan, al- Akarib, al-Katarib, al-Jann, and
others bearing diverse names. They are all enemies of men
according to the words of God. What ! will ye then take
him and his seed as patrons, rather than we, when they are
foes of yours ? with the exception of the believing ones
among them."
Al-Tabari, in his great commentary, vol. 26, p. 104, says
the qarin or qarina is each man s shaitan (devil), who was
appointed to have charge of him in the world. He then
proves his statement by a series of traditions similar to those
already quoted : " his qarin is his devil (stiaitan) " ; or, ac
cording to another authority there quoted, " his qarina is his
jinn." (The second form of the word is feminine, the first
masculine.)
114 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
According to Moslem Tradition, not only Mohammed but
even Jesus the Prophet had a qarin. As He was sinless, and
because, in accordance with the well-known tradition, Satan
was unable to touch Him at His birth, His qarin like that of
Mohammed was a good one. " On the authority of Ka ab the
Holy Spirit, Gabriel, strengthened Jesus because He was
His qarin and his constant companion, and went with Him
wherever He went until the day when He was taken up to
heaven." (Qusus al Anbiya," by Al Tha alabi.)
Now while in the case of Mohammed and Jesus and per
haps also in the case of other prophets, the qarin or qarina
was or became a good spirit, the general teaching is that all
human beings, non-Moslems as well as Moslems, have their
familiar spirit, who is in every case jealous, malignant, and
the cause of physical and moral ill, save in as far as his
influence is warded off by magic or religion. It is just here
that the belief exercises a dominating place in popular Islam.
It is against this spirit of jealousy, this other-self, that chil
dren wear beads, amulets, talismans, etc. It is this other-self
that through jealousy, hatred and envy prevents love between
husband and wife, produces sterility and barrenness, kills the
unborn child, and in the case of children as well as of adults
is the cause of untold misery.
The qarina is believed often to assume the shape of a cat
or dog or other household animal. So common is the belief
that the qarina dwells in the body of a cat at night-time, that
neither Copts nor Moslems would dare to beat or injure a
cat after dark. 5
Many precautions are taken to defend the unborn child
against its mate, or perhaps it is rather against the mate of
the mother, who is jealous of the future child. Major Tre-
mearne, who studied the subject in North Africa, says
5 Many stories are related of the terrible consequences that follow
beating a cat. These stories are credited even by the educated.
THE FAMILIAR SPIRIT OR QARINA 115
(" Ban of the Bori," p. 97) : the qarin " does not come until
after the child has been actually born, for the sex is not known
before that time." And again (p. 131) : "All human be
ings, animals, plants and big rocks, have a permanent soul
(quruwa) and a familiar bori of the same sex, and, in addi
tion, young people have a temporary bori of the opposite
sex, while all living things have two angels (mala ika) in
attendance. Small stones are soulless, and so are those large
ones which are deep in the earth, for they are evidently
dead, else they would not have been buried. The soul has
a shape like that of the body which it inhabits, and it dwells
in the heart, but where it comes in and out of the body is not
known. It is not the shadow (ennuwa), for it cannot be seen,
and in fact the ennuwa is the shadow both of the body and of
the soul. Yet the word quruwa is sometimes loosely used for
shadow, and there is evidently some connection, for a wizard
can pick the soul out of it. Neither is it the breath, for when
a person sleeps his soul wanders about ; in fact, it does so even
when a person is day-dreaming."
All this, which is descriptive of conditions among the
Hausa Moslems of North Africa, closely resembles the belief
in Egypt. The jinn of the opposite sex, that is the soul-mate,
generally dwells underground. It does not wish its par
ticular mortal to get married. For, again I quote from Major
Tremearne, " It sleeps with the person and has relations dur
ing sleep as is known by the dreams." This invisible com
panion of the opposite sex is generally spoken of in Egypt as
" sister " or " brother." His or her abode is in quiet shady
places, especially under the threshold of the house. The
death of one or more children in the family is often attributed
to their mother s mate, and therefore, the mother and the sur
viving children wear iron anklets to ward off this danger.
Most people believe that the qarina dies with the individual ;
others that it enters the grave with the body. Although gen-
116 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
erally invisible there are those who have second sight and
can see the qarina. It wanders about at night in the shape
of a cat.
I have recently taken down verbatim from Sheikh Ahmed
Muharram of Daghestan and later from Smyrna an account
of the popular belief. He says that his statement represents
the belief of all Turkish and Russian Mohammedans. The
qurana (plural of qarina) come into the world from the
Alalam ul Barzakhiya at the time the child is conceived,
before it is born ; therefore during the act of coition, Moslems
are told by their Prophet to pronounce the word " bismillah."
This will prevent the child from being overcome by its devil
and turned into an infidel or rascal. The qarina exists with
the foetus in the womb. When the child is born the ceremony
of pronouncing the creed in its right ear and the call to prayer
in the left is to protect the child from its mate. Among the
charms used against qurana are portions of the Koran writ
ten on leaden-images of fish or on leaden discs. The qurana
are invisible except to people who are idiots and to the
prophets. These often have second vision. The qurana do
not die with their human mates, but exist in the grave until
the day of the resurrection, when they testify for or against
the human being. The reason that young children die is be
cause Um es Subyan (the child-witch) is jealous of the mother,
and she then uses the qarina of the child to put an end to it.
" The way I overcome my qarina" said Ahmed Muharram,
" is by prayer and fasting." It is when a man is overcome
with sleep that his qarina gets the better of him. " When I
omit a prayer through carelessness or f orgetfulness, it is my
qarina and not myself. The qarina, is not a spirit merely but
has a spiritual body, and all of them differ in their bodily
appearance, although invisible to us. The qarina does not
6 The unseen world, Hades, the abode of souls after death and before
birth.
THE FAMILIAR SPIRIT OR QARINA 117
increase in size, however, as does the child." The Sheikh
seemed to be in doubt in regard to the sex of the qarina. At
first he would not admit that the sex relation was as indicated,
thinking it improper for a man to have a female mate, but
after discussion he said he was mistaken. He admitted also
that all these popular beliefs were based upon the Koran and
Tradition, although superstitious practice had crept in among
the masses.
A learned Sheikh at Caliub, a Moslem village near Cairo,
was also consulted on the subject. At first he tried to explain
away the idea of popular Islam by saying that the qarina
only referred to the evil conscience or a man s evil nature,
but after a few questions he became quite garrulous, and
gave the following particulars : The expectant mother, in
fear of the qarina, visits the sheikha (learned woman) three
months before the birth of the child, and does whatever she
indicates as a remedy. These sheikhas exercise great influ
ence over the women, and batten on their superstitious
beliefs, often impersonating the qarina and frightening the
ignorant. The Moslem mother often denies the real sex of
her babe for seven days after it is born in order to protect its
life from the qarina. During these seven days she must not
strike a cat or she and the child will both die. Candles are
lighted on the seventh day and placed in a jug of water near
the head of the child, to guard it against the qarina. Be
fore the child is born a special amulet is prepared, consist
ing of seven grains each of seven different kinds of cereal.
These are sewn up in a bag, and when the infant is born it is
made to wear it. The mother also has certain verses of the
Koran written with musk water or ink on the inside of a white
dish. This is then filled with water and the ink washed off
and the contents taken as a potion. The Sheikh told me that
the last two chapters of the Koran and also Surat Al Muja-
dala were most commonly used for this purpose. One of the
118 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
most common amulets against the qarina or the child-witch is
that called the " Seven Covenants of Solomon." 7
In Upper Egypt the bride wears a special amulet against
the qarina fastened to her hair at the back or elsewhere on
her person. It consists of a triangular bag an inch long of
colored cloth containing seeds. The tongue of a donkey dried
is considered a most powerful charm against the qarina and
is used as an amulet on the house or the person.
A third amulet against the qarina of which I have a speci
men from the village of Sirakna consists of a flat bronze ring
three quarters of an inch in diameter. On this they tie
threads of yellow, red, and blue silk. It is then hung in the
armpit of a little child to protect it from the qarina.
Charms and amulets against the qarina abound. Books on
the subject are printed by the thousands of copies. Here, for
example, are the directions given for writing an amulet in
the celebrated book called " Kitab Mujaribat " by Sheikh
Ahmed Al Dirbi (p. 105) : " This (twenty-fourth) chapter
gives an account of an amulet to be used against qarina and
against miscarriage. This is the blessed amulet prepared to
guard against all bodily and spiritual evils and against harm
and sorcery and demons and fear and terror and jinn and the
qarina and familiar spirits and ghosts and fever and all man
ner of illness and wetting the bed, and against the child-witch
(Um es Subyan) and whirlwinds and devils and poisonous
insects and the evil eye and pestilence and plague and to
guard the child against weeping while it sleeps and the
mystery of this writing is great for those children who have
fits every month or every week or who cannot cease from cry
ing or to the woman who is liable to miscarriage. And it is
said that this amulet contains the great and powerful name
of God in short, it is useful for all evils. It must be
7 A translation of this is given in the chapter on amulets, charms and
knots.
r | rG
Q rt -
w "S *
t> p"H
or 2 a
rK Oi ^
hH C ^j
^ rt
T3 3
* C
S
H 3 ^
w S 5*
THE FAMILIAR SPIRIT OR QARINA 119
written the first hour of the first day of the week, and reads
as follows : " In the name of God the Merciful, the Compas
sionate, there is no God but He, the Living, the Eternal, etc.
(to the end of the verse on the throne). In the name of God
and to God and upon God, and there is no one victorious save
God and no one can deliver him who flees from God, for He
is the Living, the Self-subsisting, whom slumber seizes not
nor sleep, etc. I place in the safe keeping of God him who
carries this amulet, the God than whom there is no other,
who knows the secret and the open. He is the Merciful, the
Compassionate. I protect the bearer by the words of God
Most Perfect and by His glorious names from evil that ap
proaches and the eyes that flash and the souls of the wicked
and from the evil of the father of wickedness and his descend
ants and from the evil of those that blow upon knots and
from the evil of the envier when he envies, and I put him
under the protection of God the Most Holy, King of the
Angels and of the Spirits, Lord of the worlds, the Lord of
the great throne, Ihyashur, Ihyabur, Ihya-Adoni, Sabaoth Al
Shaddai ; 8 and I put the bearer under the keeping of God
by the light of the face of God which does not change and by
His eye which does not sleep nor slumber and His protection
which can never be imagined nor escaped and His assist
ance which needs no help and His independence which has no
equal and His eternity without end, His deity which cannot
be overcome and His omnipresence which cannot be escaped,
and I put him under the protection of the Lord of Gabriel and
Michael and Israfil and Izrail and of Mohammed, the seal of
the Prophets, and of all the prophets and apostles, and in the
name of Him who created the angels and established their
footsteps by His majesty to hold up His throne when it was
borne on the face of the waters, and by the eight names writ-
8 This portion shows Jewish origin and gives some of the Hebrew
names of God Jehovah.
120 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
ten upon the throne of God. I also give the bearer the pro
tection of K.H.T.S. and the seven H.W.M. s and H.M.S.K. s,
and by the talisman of M.S. and M.R. and R. and H.W.M.
and S. and K. and N. and T.H. and Y.S. 9 and the learned
Koran and by the name of God Most Hidden and His noble
book and by Him who is light upon lights, by His name who
flashed into the night of darkness and destroyed by his blaze
every rebellious devil and made those that feared trust Him ;
and by the name by which man can walk upon water and
make it as dry land; and by the name by which Thou didst
call thyself in the book which came down and which Thou
didst not reveal to any but by whose power Thou didst return
to Thy throne after the creation ; and by the name by which
Thou didst raise up the heavens and spread out the earth and
Greatest paradise and the fire*; the" name by which Thou didst
part the sea for Moses and sent the flood to the people of
Noah, the name written on Moses rod and by which Thou
didst raise up Jesus, the name written on the leaves of the
olive trees and upon the foreheads of the noble angels. And
I put the one who wears this amulet under the protection of
Him who existed before all and who will outlast all and who
has created all, God, than whom there is no other, the Living,
He is the Knowing and the Wise ; and I put the bearer under
the protection of the name of God by which He placed the
seven heavens firmly and the earth upon its mountains and
the waters so that they flowed and the fountains so that they
burst forth and the rivers so that they watered the earth, and
the trees brought forth their fruit and the clouds gave rain
and night became dark and the day dawned and the moon
game his light and the sun his splendor and the stars went
in their course and the winds who carried His messages ; and
I put the bearer under the protection of the name by which
Jesus spoke in the cradle and by which He raised the dead
9 These are the mystical letters which occur in the Koran text.
THE FAMILIAR SPIRIT OR QARINA 121
from the grave, and by which He opened the eyes of those
born blind and cured the lepers, the name by which He
made the dumb to speak. And I protect him by the Merciful
God and His great name and His perfect words, which neither
riches nor the sinner can resist, from the evil which comes
down from heaven or the evil that ascends to heaven and from
the evil which is found upon the earth or which comes out
of the earth, and from the terror of the night and of the day
and from the oppression of the night and of the day; and I
protect him from all powerful influences of evil and from
the cursed devil and from envious men and from the wicked
infidel ; and I protect him by the Lord of Abraham, the friend
of God, and Moses, the spokesman of God, and Jesus and
Jacob and Isaac and Ishmael and David and Solomon and
Job and Yunas and Aaron and Seth and Abel and Enoch and
Noah and Elijah and Zecahriah and John and Hud and
Elisha and Zu Kifl and Daniel and Jeremiah and Shu aib
and Ilyas and Salih and Ezra and Saul and the Prophet-of-
the-fish and Lokman and Adam and Eve and Alexander the
Great and Mary and Asiah (Pharaoh s wife) and Bilkis and
Kharkil and Saf the son of Berachiah and Mohammed the
seal of the prophets; and I protect him by God than whom
there is no other, who will remain after all things have per
ished, and by His power and by His might and by His exalta
tion above all creatures and above all devils male and female,
and all manner of jinn, male and female, and familiar spirits
of both sexes, and wizards and witches, and deceivers male
and female, and infidels male and female, and enemies male
and female, and ghoul and demons, and from the evil eye and
the envious, from the evil in things of ear and eye and tongue
and hand and foot and heart and conscience, secret or open.
And I protect the wearer from everything that goes out and
comes in, from every breath that stirs of evil or of movement
of man or beasts, whether he be sick or well, awake or sleep-
122 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
ing, and from the evil of that which dwells in the earth or
in the clouds or in the mountains or in the air or the dust or
the vapor or the caves or the wells or the mines, and from the
devil himself, and from the flying demons, and from those
who work sorcery and from the evil of the whirlwind caused
by the chief of the jinn, and from the evil of those who dwell
in tombs and in secret places, in pools and in wells and from
him who is with the wild beasts or within the wombs, and
from him who is an eavesdropper of the secrets of the angels,
etc., etc. (After this the amulet closes with the words of
the Moslem creed written three times, the call to prayer twice
and) " May God s blessing and peace be upon the Prophet
and upon his companions forever until the day of judgment.
Praise be to God the Lord of the worlds." All this seems
the height of folly to the educated Moslem. Yet it is taken
from one of the best selling books on popular magic and medi
cine, printed in Cairo, third edition, 1328 A.H. (six years
ago) 192 pages, fine print, and sold for ten cents!
No one can read of these superstitious practices and beliefs,
which are inseparable from the Koran and Tradition, with
out realizing that the belief in the qarina is a terror by night
and by day to pious Moslem mothers and their children. For
fear of these familiar spirits and demons they are all their
life time subject to bondage. A mother never dares to leave
her infant child alone in Egypt for fear of the qarina. The
growing child must not tramp on the ground heavily for fear
he may hurt his qarina. It is dangerous to cast water on
the fire lest it vex the qarina. On no account must the child
be allowed to go asleep while weeping. Its every whim must
be satisfied for fear of its evil mate. It is the firm belief
in Egypt that when a mother has a boy her qarin (mascu
line) has also married a qarina (feminine), who at that time
gives birth to a girl. This demon-child and its mother are
jealous of the human mother and her child. To pacify the
THE FAMILIAK SPIKIT OR QARINA 123
qarina they sacrifice a chicken, which must be absolutely
black and sacrificed with the proper ceremonies. It is im
possible to see the qarina except in one way. Following a
Jewish superstition (Jewish Encyclopedia, art. demonology),
a man may see evil spirits by casting the -ashes of the foetus
of a black cat about his eyes or by sprinkling these ashes
around his bed he can trace their footsteps in the morning.
When we remember that only one-third of one per cent,
of the women in Egypt are able to read, we can imagine the
power that is exercised over them by the lords of this super
stition, who sell amulets and prescribe treatment for the ex
pectant mother and her child. Pitiful stories have come to
me from those who were eye-witnesses of this swindle which is
being carried on in every village of the Delta.
Al-Ghazali himself in his great work, " The Revival of the
Religious Sciences," in speaking of the virtue of patience,
says : " He who is remiss in remembering the name of God
even for the twinkling of an eye, has for that moment no
mate but Satan. For God has said, And whosoever turns
from the reminder (remembrance) of the Merciful One,
we will chain to him a devil, w r ho shall be his mate (qarina} .
We may perhaps appropriately close this chapter with what
one of the learned men relates regarding the victory of the
believer over his demon and its powers. It may lead us to a
new conception of that petition in the Lord s Prayer which
we offer also for our Moslem brothers and sisters : " Lead
us not into temptation but deliver us from the Evil One."
" ( Verily, the devil is to you a foe, so take him as a foe.
This is an order for us from Him may He be praised !
that we may take him as a foe. He was asked, How are we
to take him as a foe and to be delivered from him ? and he
replied, Know, that God has created for every believer seven
forts the first fort is of gold and is the knowledge of God ;
round it is a fort of silver, and it is the faith in Him ; round
124 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
it is a fort of iron and it is the trust in Him; round it is a
fort of stones and consists of thankfulness and being pleased
with Him : round it is a fort of clay and consists of ordering
to do lawful things, prohibiting to do unlawful things, and
acting accordingly; round it is a fort of emerald which con
sists of truthfulness and sincerity toward Him ; and round it
is a fort of brilliant pearls, which consists of the discipline
of the mind (soul). The believer is inside these forts and
Iblis outside them barking like a dog, which the former does
not mind, because he is well-fortified (defended) inside these
forts. It is necessary for the believer never to leave off the
discipline of the mind under any circumstances or to be slack
with regard to it in any situation he may be in, for whoever
leaves off the discipline of the mind or is slack in it, will
meet with disappointment (from God), on account of his
leaving off the best kind of discipline in the estimation of
God, whilst Iblis is constantly busy in deluding him, in de
siring for his company, and in approaching him to take from
him all these forts, and to cause him to return to a state of
unbelief. We seek refuge with God from that state ! " 10
10 "Al Damiri Hayat-ul-Hayawan." Vol. I, p. 470. (English
Translation by Jayakar.)
CHAPTER VII
JINN
WHEN the Moslem loudly professes belief in the one true
God, the second article of the creed adds that he also believes
in the existence of God s angels. The word here used for
angels is mala ikat, derived from the Arabic root " alaka,"
which means to carry a message. The derivation therefore
is similar to that of the English word angel. The Moslem
term, however, covers three distinct orders of created beings.
First, angels proper. Heavenly messengers imbued with
subtle bodies and created of light. They neither eat or drink
or have any distinction of sex. Their general characteristic
is complete obedience to the will of God. They are included
in His army of slaves. Their place is in Heaven, and their
general work consists in praising and executing His com
mands. Their forms are beautiful and they are divided into
ranks and degrees. The four archangels whose names are
well-known; two recording angels, one on the right shoul
der and the other on the left, constantly watch the believer;
the guardian angels ; the cherubim ; the angels of the tomb and
the special guardian of Paradise called Ridwan. Another
order of spiritual beings are the devils with their chief, Satan,
whose original name was Azazil. The third class of super
natural creatures find their place between men and angels.
They are called Jinn.
According to Moslem tradition the Jinn were created of
fire some thousands of years before Adam. The Jinn are
considered to be like men, capable of future salvation and
damnation; they can accept or reject God s message. They
are believers or non-believers. According to the Koran Mo-
125
126 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
hammed was sent to convert the Jinn to Islam as well as
the Arabs. (Suras 72 : 1-7 and 15 : 27.) The Jinn are re
ported to be eaves-droppers and constantly trying to go be
hind the curtain of heaven in order to steal God s secrets.
For this reason the good angels throw stones at them, that is
shooting stars, and the common name given to these demonic
transgressors is therefore " the stoned ones " Ar-rajim.
(See the commentaries on Suras 55:14; 51:56; 11:120,
etc.) The general abode of all of these spirits or demons is
said to be the mountains of Qaf which are supposed to encircle
the world.
Although Mohammed destroyed polytheism with its priest
hood and idols, the substratum of paganism remained and was
incorporated into Islam by his revelations on Jinn. Well-
hausen has shown how belief in Jinn was universal in Ara
bia before Islam. Men and Jinn are often spoken of as the
Thaqalan, i. e., the two classes of material beings endowed
with souls. The etymological derivation of the word is in
teresting and its cognate words such as those for garden,
foatus, shield, show the same root meaning: to hide, cover.
Among the names for Jinn the following are female: gliul,
si lat, aluq and auluq. The male Jinn are called afrit and
azab, etc. The word afrit occurs in the Kor an (Sur.
27:39).
Professor Macdonald in his fascinating book, " The Re
ligious Attitude and Life in Islam," throws considerable light
on the doctrine of Jinn both before and after the rise of
Islam.
He tells us how Hasan ibn Thabit, a close friend of Mo
hammed, and one who praised him in his poetry, was initiated
into his verses by a female Jinn. " She met him in one of
the streets of Medina, leapt upon him, pressed him down and
compelled him to utter three verses of poetry. Thereafter
he was a poet, and his verses came to him as the other Arab
JINN 127
poets from the direct inspiration of the Jinn. He refers
himself to his brothers of the Jinn who weave for him
artistic words, and tells how weighty lines have heen sent
down to him from heaven in the night season. The curious
thing is that the expressions he uses are exactly those used of
the sending down/ that is revelation of the Qur-an."
Dr. Macdonald points to the close parallel between the
terms used in the story of Hassan ibn Thabit s inspiration
and the account we have of the first revelation of Mohammed.
" Just as Hassan was thrown down by the female spirit and
had verses pressed out of him, so the first utterances of proph
ecy were pressed from Mohammed by the angel Gabriel.
And the resemblances go still farther. The angel Gabriel is
spoken of as the companion (qarin) of Muhammad, just
as though he were the Jinni accompanying a poet, and the
same word, nafatha, blow upon/ is used of an enchanter, of
a Jinni inspiring a poet and of Gabriel revealing to Muham
mad."
In the preceding chapter on the Qarina this belief in a
double or twin guardian soul was fully treated. Here we
deal with the subject in general as unfolded in the Koran
and in orthodox tradition. The Jinn are referred to in
the Koran in the following passages : Chapter VI : 100 :
" Yet they made the jinn partners with God, though he cre
ated them ! and they ascribed to Him sons and daughters,
though they have no knowledge ; celebrated be His praise !
and exalted be He above what they attribute to Him ! The
inventor of the heavens and the earth ! how can He have a
son, when He has no female companion, and when He has
created everything, and everything He knows ? "
Chap. VI : 127 : " And on that day when He shall gather
them all together, O assembly of the jinns ! he have got much
out of mankind. And their clients from among mankind
shall say, O our Lord ! much advantage had we one from
another ; but we reached our appointed time when thou
hadst appointed for us. Says He, The fire is your resort,
to dwell therein for aye! save what God pleases; verily, thy
Lord is wise and knowing !
Chapter VII : 36 : " He will say, Enter ye amongst
the nations who have passed away before you, both of jinns
and men into the fire ; whenever a nation enters therein,
it curses its mate; until, when they have all reached it, the
last of them will say unto the first, O Our Lord ! these it was
who led us astray, give them double torment of the fire !
He will say, To each of you double ! but ye do not know.
And the first of them will say unto the last, Ye have no
preference over us, so taste ye the torment for that which ye
have earned !
Chapter VII : 177 : " We have created for hell many of
the jinn and of mankind."
Chapter XXIII : 70 : " Is it that they did not ponder
over the words, whether that has come to them which came
not to their fathers of yore? Or did they not know their
apostle, that they thus deny him ? Or do they say, He is
possessed by a jinn ? Nay, he came to them with the truth,
and most of them are averse from the truth."
Chapter XXXIV : 45 : " Say, I only admonish you of
one thing, that ye should stand up before God in twos or sin
gly, and then that ye reflect that there is no jinn in your com
panion. He is only a warner to you before the keen tor
ment. "
Chapter LV : 14 : " He created men of crackling clay
like the potters. And He created the jinn from smokeless
fire."
Chap. LV:32: "O assembly of jinns and mankind! if
ye are able to pass through the confines of heaven and earth
tnen pass through them ! ye cannot pass through save by
authority ! "
JINN 129
The whole of the chapter of the Jinn namely, Chapter
LXXII. The important passages are the earlier ones:
" Say, I have been inspired that there listened a company of
the jinn, and they said, " We have heard a marvelous Qur r an
that guides to the right direction ; and we believe therein, and
we join no one with our Lord, for, verily, He may the
majesty of our Lord be exalted ! has taken to Himself
neither consort nor son. . . .
" And, verily, a fool among us spake against God wide of
the mark ! . . .
" And we thought that men and jinn would never speak a
lie against God. . . .
" And there are persons amongst men who seek for refuge
with persons amongst the jinn, but they increase them in their
perverseness. And they thought, as ye thought, that God
would not raise up any one from the dead.
" But we touched the heavens and found them filled with a
mighty guard and shooting-stars; and we did sit in certain
seats thereof to listen; but whoso of us listens now finds a
shooting-star for him on guard."
And the last chapter of the Koran, one of the first chrono
logically, reads : " Say, I seek refuge in the Lord of men,
the King of men, the God of men, from the evil of the whis
perer, who slinks off, who whispers into the hearts of men !
from jinns and men !
The belief in jinn among Moslems is almost the same as
the belief in spiritual beings demons, sprites, elves, etc.
in the African religions. Nassau writes (p. 50) : " The
belief in spiritual beings opens an immense vista of the purely
superstitious side of the theology of Bantu African religion.
All of the air and the future is peopled with a large and
indefinite company of these beings. The attitude of the
Creator (Anyambe) toward the human race and lower ani
mals being that of indifference or of positive severity in
130 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
having allowed evils to exist, and His indifference making
Him almost inexorable, cause effort in the line of worship to
be therefore directed only to those spirits who, though they
are all probably malevolent, may be influenced and made be
nevolent." One has only to compare this with the popular
practice of Islam to see how close is the parallel.
Jinn are called forth by whistling or blowing a pipe. This
therefore is considered an omen of evil. Before Islam as
now certain places were considered as inhabited by the jinn.
Higar (the city of the dead from the days of Thamud) , grave
yards and outhouses are their special resort. When entering
such places a formula must be uttered to drive them away.
Jinn are specially busy at night and when the morning-star
appears they vanish. Wherever the soil is disturbed by dig
ging of wells or building there is danger of disturbing the
jinn as well. Whenever Mohammed changed his camp he
was accustomed to have the Takbir cried in order to drive
them away. The whirlwind is also an evidence of the pres
ence of jinn. When the cock crows or the donkey brays it is
because they are aware of the presence of jinn (Bokhari 2 :
182). They also dwell in animals and, as Wellhausen rightly
says, " The zoology of Islam is demonology." The wolf,
the hyena, the raven, the liudhud, the owl are special favor
ites in this conception. A specially close connection exists
between the serpent and the jinn; in every snake there is a
spirit either good or evil. Examples of the Prophet s belief
in this superstition are given by Wellhausen. 1
In the old Arabian religion the jinn were nymphs and
satyrs of the desert. They were in constant connection with
wild animals and often appeared in brute forms. Robertson
Smith in his " Religion of the Semites," shows us the rela
tions that were supposed to exist between these spirits of the
wild and the gods. He says : " In fact the earth may be
i " Reste Arabischen Heidentums," Berlin, 1897, p. 153.
JINN" 131
said to be parceled out between demons and wild beasts on
the one hand, and gods and men on the other. To the former
belong the untrodden wilderness with all its unknown perils,
the wastes and jungles that lie outside the familiar tracks
and pasture grounds of the tribe, and which only the boldest
men venture upon without terror ; to the latter belong the re
gions that man knows and habitually frequents, and within
which he has established relations, not only with his human
neighbors, but with the supernatural beings that have their
haunts side by side with him. And as man gradually en
croaches on the wilderness and drives back the wild beasts
before him, so the gods in like manner drive out the demons ;
and spots that were once feared, as the habitation of mysteri
ous and presumably malignant powers, lose their terrors and
either become common ground or are transformed into the
seats of friendly deities. From this point of view, the recog
nition of certain spots as haunts of the gods is the religious
expression of the gradual subjugation of nature by man."
To the Arabs of Mohammed s day this teaching formed the
background of their supernatural world. The heathen of
Mecca considered the jinn as the sons and daughters of Allah.
When Islam came this relation was denied, but the existence
of the jinn and their character remained unchanged. Dr.
Macdonald quotes a number of instances in the history of
Islam where the saints had intercourse with God through
Jinn (pp. 139-152). We need not marvel at these stories of
later tradition for we find in Moslem books a number of in
stances given where Mohammed himself held converse with
jinn. The following is a typical example: " One day the
Prophet prayed the morning prayer with us in the Mosque
of Al-Madina. Then when he had finished, he said, Which
of you will follow me to a deputation of the jinn to
night \ But the people kept silence and none said anything.
He said which of you ? He said it three times ; then
132 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
he walked past me and took me by the hand, and I walked
with him until all the mountains of al-Madina were distant
from us and we had reached the open country. And there
were men, tall as lances, wrapped completely in their mantles
from their feet up. When I saw them a great quivering
seized upon me, until my feet would hardly support me from
fear. When we came near to them the Prophet drew with
his great toe a line for me on the ground and said, sit in
the middle of that. Then when I had sat down, all fear
which I had felt departed from me. And the Prophet passed
between me and them and recited the Qur-an in a loud voice
until the dawn broke. Then he came past me and said,
1 Take hold of me. So I walked with him, and we went a
little distance. Then he said to me, Turn and look ; dost
thou see any one where these were ? I turned and said, O
Apostle of God, I see much blackness ! He bent his head
to the ground and looked at a bone and a piece of dung, and
cast both to them. Thereafter he said, They are a depu
tation of the jinn of Nasibin; they asked of me traveling
provender; so I appointed for them all bones and pieces of
dung. "
Al-Tabarani relates on the strength of respectable author
ities, on the authority of Abu-Tha labah al-Khushani Al-
Khushati, (MishJcat al-Masabih*} that the Prophet said, " The
genii are of three kinds; the genii of one kind have wings
with which they fly in the air ; those of the second kind are
snakes; and those of the third kind alight and journey to
distant places." And again, " All the Moslems hold the opin
ion that our Prophet was sent for the genii as well as for
men. God has said, ( Say ) This Kur an was inspired to
me to warn you and those it reaches. It reached the genii,
(as well as man). God has also said, And when we turned
towards thee some of the genii listening to the Kur an, and
when they were present at (the reading of) it, they said, " Be
JINN 133
silent! " and when it was over they turned back to their
people warning them."
Moslem tradition leaves no doubt as to the dealings which
Mohammed had with these inhabitants of the air (p. 451).
" It is related in (Kitab Kliair al~bushr bi-khair al-bashar)
by the Imam, the very learned Muhammed b. Dafar on the
authority of Ibn-Mas ud who said, The Apostle of God said
to his Companions, being at the time in Mecca, " Whoever
of you likes to be present to-night to see the affair of the genii,
let him come with me " ; so I went out with him, and when
we reached the upper part of Mecca, he marked out a boun
dary line for me, and then going away stood up and com
menced to recite the Koran, upon which he was concealed
(from my view) by many bodily forms which came between
me and him, so much so that I could not hear his voice;
then they dissipated as clouds do, and went away, only as
clouds do, and went away, only a small company of them
under ten (in number) remaining behind. The Prophet
then came and asked (me), "What has the small company
done ? " and I replied, " There they are, O Apostle of God."
He then took a bone and some dung and gave them to them
and prohibited the use of a bone or dung for cleaning oneself
after answering the call of nature.
A similar tradition is found in the Sahih of Muslim (pp.
452-3). " We were with the Prophet one night, and we
missed him ; so we searched for him in the valleys and water
courses, and said (to ourselves), He has been either taken
away quickly, as though birds have carried him away, or has
been beguiled, taken away to a place, and there slain. We
spent that night in the worst way that any people could spend ;
but when the morning dawned, he came from the direction of
Ilira, and we said to him, O Apostle of God, we missed you
and therefore searched for you, but did not find you and spent
the night in the worst manner that a party could spend (it),
134 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
upon which the Prophet replied, * A caller of the genii came
to me, so I went away with him and recited the Koran to
them. He then went away with us and showed us the traces
of their fires; they (the genii) then asked him for traveling
provisions and he said (to them), For you is every bone over
which the name of God has been taken (at the time of slaugh
tering), which you may take and which will fall into your
hands with the largest quantity of flesh (over it), and all the
globular dung as fodder for your animals. The Prophet
then said (to us), Do not clean yourselves with them for
they are the food of your brethren.
Again (p. 455), " Al-Bukhari, Muslim, and an-Nasa i re
late, on the authority of Abu-Hurairah, that the Prophet said,
An Afrit (a wicked genius) out of the genii came suddenly
upon me last night, desiring to disturb me in my prayer, so I
strangled him and wished to tie him to one of the columns of
the mosque, but I remembered the words of my brother, (the
prophet) Sulaiman.
The following story reminds us somewhat of the Wandering
Jew and is also related on good authority. It is given by
Damiri (p. 461). " I was with the Apostle of God outside
the mountains of Mecca, when an old man approached lean
ing on a staff. The Prophet said, The walk is that of a
genius and so is his voice, and he replied, Yes, The
Prophet then asked him, From what kind or tribe of genii ?
and he replied, I am Hamah b. al-Himmor b. Him b. Lakis
b. Iblis, upon which the Prophet said, I see that only two
generations (fathers) have passed between you and him (Ib
lis), and he replied, C I have eaten (lived through) the
(whole) world excepting a little of it ; during the nights when
Cain (Kabil) killed Abel (Habil) I was only a boy, a few
years old, and used to ascend high hills to look down, and used
to incite discord between mankind. The Apostle of God
thereupon said, Wretched was the action ! but he replied,
JINN 135
O Apostle of God, leave off reproaching me, because I am
one of those who believed in Noah and repented through him ;
I then reproached him for his prayer (against his people
al-Kur an LXXI:27), upon which he cried and made me
cry, and said, I am by God, verily one of those who have
repented and I take refuge with God from being one of the
ignorant ones. I then met Hud and believed in him, and I
met Abraham with whom I was in the fire when he was
thrown into it, and I was with Joseph when he was thrown
into the well, preceding him to the bottom of it ; I met Jethro
(Shu aib), and Moses, and Jesus the son of Mary, who told
me, " If you meet Mohammed greet him with my salutation,"
and now I have delivered to you his message and have believed
in you. The Prophet thereupon said, Salutation to Jesus
and to you ! What is it you want, O Hamah ? and he re
plied, Moses taught me the Pentateuch, and Jesus taught me
the Gospel and now teach me the Koran. In another ver
sion, it is said that the Prophet taught him ten chapters out
of the Koran.
So firm is the belief in jinn that long disputes have arisen
regarding the question of 40 people being present in the Fri
day congregation. Some authorities hold that they are
counted among them and others will not accept the testimony
of those who claim to see them. Special sections are also
devoted in books of Moslem law regarding marriage of Jinn
with human beings and their rights of inheritance !
We also learn that jinn do not enter a house in which there
is a citron. " It has been related to us regarding the Imam
Abu l-IIusain Ali b. al-Hasan b. al-Husain b. Mohammed
al-Khila i he was so surnamed on account of his selling
robes of honor and was one of the disciples of al-Shafi i ; his
grave is a well-known one at al-Karafah, and prayers ad
dressed in its name are answered ; he was called the kadi of
the jinn, as having informed that they (the genii) used to
136 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
come to him and recite the Koran (for the purpose of learn
ing it) ; one Friday they kept away from him, and when they
came again he asked them the reason of that, and they re
plied, " There was in your house a citron, and we do not enter
a house in which that fruit is." 2
Similar precautions against evil germs of the spirit world
are common in India and Egypt to-day. In Egypt as in Mo
rocco the belief in jinn includes such things as setting aside
dishes of food at dusk to propitiate them. Others keep loaves
of bread under their mattresses with a similar idea; while
meal and oil are thrown into the corner of new houses for the
jinn. The placing of knives and daggers under the pillows
of the sick is for the same purpose.
Skeat in his book " Malay Magic" gives a complete account
of the Malay pantheon and shows how the jinn, good and
bad, dominate the thought of the masses. There is an inter
esting account of the origin of the jinn according to Moslem
belief, and he speaks of how they may be bought at Mecca
at a fixed price. He gives a picture of the black and white
jinn mentioned:
" The White Genie is said to have sprung, by one account,
from the blood-drops which fell on the ground when Habil and
Kabil bit their thumbs; by another, from the irises of the
snake Sakatimuna s eyes (benih mata Sakatimuna}, and is
sometimes confused with the White Divinity ( Toh Mam-
bang Puteh), who lives in the sun.
" The name of his wife is not mentioned, as it is in the
case of the Black Genie, but the names of three of his chil
dren have been preserved, and they are Tanjak Malim Kaya,
Pari Lang (lit. kite-like, i.e., winged Skate), and Bintang
Sutan (or Star of Sutan).
" On the whole, I may say that the White Genie is very
2 All page references are to Ad-Damiri s Hayat al-Eayawan
(Jayaker).
JIM
137
^&^^ij)
^^(s$R
if
m
^
ftfc
A facsimile reproduction, one-half reduced, of a Chinese Moslem
amulet sold at Shanghai in the leading mosques. The central char
acter is the Arabic for BismiUah " In the name of God." At the four
corners are the names of the archangels, Gabriel, Michail, Azrail and
Asrafil. On the right side of the central monogram is the call to
prayer in the usual form. On the left side is the first chapter of the
Koran followed by the six articles of the orthodox creed. On the
outer edge beginning at the upper right hand corner is the Verse of
the Throne. This amulet is used to defend the possessor against Jinn,
and other evil influences and to produce good health and prosperity.
138 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
seldom mentioned in comparison with the Black Genie, and
that whereas absolutely no harm, as far as I can find out, is
recorded of him, he is, on the other hand, appealed to for
protection by his worshipers."
" A very curious subdivision of Genii into Faithful (Jin
Islam) and Infidel (Jin Kafir) is occasionally met with, and
it is said, moreover, that Genii (it is to be hoped orthodox
ones) may sometimes be bought at Mecca from the Sheikh al
Jin (Headman of Genii) at prices varying from $90 to
$100 apiece." 3
One may almost say of popular Islam what Dr. Warneck
does of the heathen Battaks of Sumatra : " The worship of
spirits, with the fear underlying it, completely fills the relig
ious life of the Battaks and of all animistic peoples. Their
whole daily life in its minutest details is saturated with it.
At birth, name-giving, courting, marriage, house-building,
seed-time and harvest, the spirits must be considered." 4
What the Moslem belief in jinn involves can best be indicated
by giving here the table of contents of one of the standard
works on the subject called Akam ul Mir j an fi Ahkam al
Jann by Mohammed ibn Abdallah al-Shibli who died 789
A. H. It is for sale in every Moslem city throughout the
world. I follow the chapter headings without note or com
ment : the reader will pardon its literalisms :
Introduction : Proof of the existence of Jinn.
Moslems, People of the Book and the infidels of the Arabs
agree on the existence of jinn.
Great philosophers and physicians proclaim their exist
ence
Beginning of creation of jinn.
The origin of jinn is fire as the origin of man is earth.
Bodies of jinn.
Skeat s "Malay Magic," pp. 95-96.
* " Living Christ and Dying Heathenism," p. 80.
JINN 139
Kinds of jinn.
Residence of jinn.
Diversification of jinn.
Demons ability of diversification.
God gave different forms to angels, jinn and men.
Some dogs are of the jinn.
Jinn look at the private parts of man when exposed.
What prevents demons from sleeping at men s houses.
Man s Companion of the jinn, the Qarina.
Jinn eat and drink.
Some traditions concerning this subject.
The Devil eats and drinks with his left hand.
What prevents jinn from taking the food of man.
Jinn marry and beget children.
That jinn have responsibilities.
Were there any prophets of jinn before the Prophet ? The
jinn are included in the mission of the Prophet.
The jinn went to the Prophet and heard him.
Sects of jinn.
Worship of jinn with man.
Reward of jinn.
Infidels of jinn enter the Fire.
Believers of jinn enter Paradise.
Do the believers of jinn see God in Paradise? Prayers
behind a jinni.
A jinn passed between the hands of a praying man.
A man kills a jinni.
Marriage of jinn.
Jinn expose themselves to women.
Some jinn prevent others from exposing themselves to
women.
If a jinn cohabited with a woman must she purify her
self ? The hermaphrodites are the sons of the jinn.
What if a jinn robs a woman of her husband?
140 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
Prohibition of eating and burnt offerings of jinn.
Jinn give fatwas.
Jinn preach to men.
Jinn teach medicine to men.
Jinn and men quarrel before men.
Jinn fear men.
Jinn obey men.
How to get refuge against jinn.
The influence of the Koranic verses on the bodies of jinn.
Why jinn obey amulets.
Solomon was the first man who took servants of Jinn.
What must be written for the sick.
Jinn reward men for good and evil.
How jinn cast down men.
How jinn enter men s bodies.
Are the motions of the epileptic due to jinn ? How to heal
him.
The plague is of jinn.
The passions caused by Satan.
The evil eye caused by Jinn.
Its effect on men.
Jinn are bound with chains in the month of Ramadan.
The worship of jinn by men.
Jinn foretell the mission of the Prophet. Heaven is
guarded from them by shooting stars.
Jinn told of the Prophet s attack.
Jinn told of his converts.
Jinn told of Badr story.
Jinn told of the murdering of Said ibn Ebada.
It is allowed to ask jinn concerning the past, not the fu
ture.
Testimony of jinn on the day of Judgment.
Jinn lament and eugolize several dead Moslems.
JINN 141
Was Satan of the angels ?
Did God speak to Satan ?
Satan s fault in saying he is better than Adam.
Satan s whispering.
God s name drives away the whisper. Stories concerning
that.
Satan s call to man.
Evil-doing is desired by Satan.
How Satan seduces man.
Satan is always with the one who contradicts others.
The learned man is stronger than the pious before Satan.
Satan weeps at the death of the believer for being unable
to seduce him.
Angels wonder at the escape of the believer s heart from
Satan.
The four wailings of Satan.
Satan s throne is over the sea.
Satan s place.
Satan gave his five children five positions.
The presence of Satan at cohabitation.
The presence of Satan at the birth of every child.
Satan runs through man s veins.
Satans expose themselves to boys at night.
What diverts Satan from boys.
Satan sleeps on the vacant bed.
Satan never takes a siesta.
Satan ties three knots over the head of the sleeping.
Bad dreams are from Satan.
Satan never imitates the Prophet.
The Sun arises and sets betwen the two horns of Satan.
The sitting-place of Satan.
Satan flees at prayer call.
Satan accompanies the unjust judge.
142 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
Satan walks in one shoe.
Satan flees if man repeats El-Sajada.
Yawning, sleeping and sneezing are from Satan.
Haste is from Satan.
A donkey brays when he sees a demon.
Satan exposes himself to the people of the mosques.
Satan s pride not to have knelt down to Adam and to have
seduced him to eat from the tree.
Is Eden in heaven or on earth ?
Satan showed himself to Eve.
Satan showed himself to Noah in the ark.
Satan showed himself to Abraham when he was about to
offer up Isaac.
Satan showed himself to Moses.
Satan showed himself to Zul Kifl.
Satan showed himself to Job.
Now all this and nearly every chapter is a door to a
world of groveling superstition and demonolatry finds its
parallel in the beliefs of the animist. Among them the earth,
air and water are supposed to be peopled with spirits. They
are most numerous in the forest and in the waste fields, where
they lie in wait for the living, and afflict them with disease
and madness, or drag them away to an awful death. " They
prowl round the houses at night, they spy through the crev
ices of the partitions or come into the house in the form of
some man or beast. Sometimes in epidemics they can even
be seen. There are men who have the spiritual gift of being
able to see spirits and souls. Sometimes these men see the
spirit of the dead stepping behind the coffin and perching the
soul of a living man upon it the inevitable result of which
is, that the man must die. The number of dangerous spirits
to which human misery is traced back is legion. Names are
given and attributes ascribed to spirits of particularly bad
repute, such as the spirit who causes cholera : he is of a terrific
143
size, and carries a mighty club with which he smites his victim
to the earth." B
The spirits are mostly mischievous and ill-disposed. They
lurk in tree-tops and all sorts of places and cause disease,
misfortune and death. It is much more important to keep
the hurtful ones in good humor than to honor the kindly dis
posed, who are, therefore, practically ignored.
There are all sorts of legends current among animists of
India as to the origin of these ghosts or spirits, but most of
them have some admixture proving their comparatively late
date. A clear distinction must be made between gods and
spirits. There are no gods in Animism proper. The word
god implies a higher degree of personality, and where that is
attributed to these spirits the influence of some more advanced
creed can generally be traced. The impersonal element in
Animism must strike any one who tries to investigate it.
Undefined shadowy powers with no settled habitation sigh in
the wind, whisper in the rustling leaf and lurk in silence in
the tree-tops. They may attach themselves for longer or
shorter periods to a particular object. Any striking natural
feature such as a blasted or lonely tree, a waterfall, a moun
tain peak, is sure to be thus inhabited. But the primeval
forest is their special domain, and as this is cleared little
sacred groves must everywhere be left standing. Constantly
one is told of some tree or grove, " a very strong spirit lives
there," but if you ask its name or origin none can be assigned.
Its existence and power are undoubted, and many tales of the
mischief it has caused will be quoted in proof. In every par
ticular the popular Moslem doctrine of jinn is Animistic,
except their belief in Allah as Lord of jinn, as well as the
Lord of men. He is over all, God blessed forever and yet
for fear of the jinn the Moslem masses are all their lifetime
subject to fear and dread and bondage.
6 " The Living Christ and Dying Heathenism," Warneck, p. 68.
144 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
What Warneck writes of the pagan tribes in Malaysia is
not less true of their Moslem neighbors and of Moslem women
and children in Arabia and the villages of the Delta. " Ex
cept in case of necessity," he says, " no one leaves the house
after sunset or in moonlight, when the spirits swarm in great
numbers. Houses and villages are shifted here and there to
escape the influence of evil spirits. Sick people are carried
secretly by night into another house to get away from the tor
menting spirit. They prefer to deceive the spirits. During
harvest loud singing and whistling are avoided, lest the spirits
should suppose that men were rejoicing at an abundant har
vest, and out of envy take their share." 6
When I traveled in Yemen nothing so distressed my Arab
companions as the awful habit of whistling. There are tra
ditions to prove that Mohammed forbade any one to blow a
pipe or whistle especially at night-time.
In regard to devil-worship and the fear of evil spirits,
Wilkinson says that in Malay " the upper stratum is, of
course, Moslem; the Malays accept the whole demonology of
the Persians and Arabs and have even added to it by assum
ing mere demon-epithets such as " accursed " (mcdaun) or
" misbegotten " (haramzadah, jadah} to be the names of new
varieties of devils. The next stratum is Hindu because Han-
uman is still vaguely remembered as a dog-faced or horse-
faced demon, meteors are described as the ghostly arrows of
Arjuna, and the legends of the Indian Ramayana have be
come folk-lore in the Northern States. The ancient litera
ture of the Malays is also full of references to Hindu mythol
ogy." His concluding words are significant :
" It is comparatively easy to identify those portions of
Malay demonology which owe their existence to the historic
Moslem or Hindu influences, but below these upper strata of
beliefs we find further strata belonging to primeval religions
" The Living Christ and Dying Heathenism," p. 79.
JINN 145
of whose character we know very little. We are here dealing
with a very mixed race of people who have probably pre
served traditions handed down to them from several distinct
sources. A few facts stand out fairly distinctly. The fish
ermen along the coast of the Peninsula sacrifice to four great
spirits of the sea who go by many names but whose scope of
authority is always the same; one is the Spirit of Bays, an
other that of Banks or Beaches, another that of Headlands,
and the last and fiercest is the Spirit of Tideways or Mid-
currents. Most of the designations given to these ancient
divinities are merely descriptive of their functions. So long
as things go well, the names of the four Moslem Archangels
are considered sufficient; if things go badly Sanscrit words
are used ; if matters become desperate, the fisherman throws
prudence to the winds and appeals to the spirits in pure In
donesian terms which they cannot fail to understand." 7
7 " Malay Beliefs," pp. 26-27.
CHAPTER VIII
PAGAN PRACTICES IN CONNECTION WITH THE PILGRIMAGE
WHEN we consider Mecca, Mohammed s words of prophecy
in the second chapter of his book seem to have been literally
fulfilled : " So we have made you the center of the nations
that you should bear witness to men." The old pagan pan
theon has become the religious sanctuary and the goal of
universal pilgrimage for one-seventh of the human race.
From Sierra Leone to Canton, and from Tobolsk to Cape
Town, the faithful spread their prayer carpets, build their
houses (in fulfillment of an important tradition, even their
outhouses ! ) and bury their dead toward the meridian of
Mecca. If the Moslem world could be viewed from an aero
plane, the observer would see concentric circles of living wor
shipers covering an ever-widening area, and one would also
see vast areas of Moslem cemeteries with every grave dug
toward the sacred city.
The earliest settlements at Mecca were undoubtedly due to
the fact that the caravan trade from South Arabia northward
found here a stopping place near the spring of Zem Zem, long
before the time of Mohammed, just as the early Roman settle
ments at Wiesbaden and other places in Germany were so
located because of the medicinal waters.
The sacred Mosque, Masjid al Haram, with the Ka aba as
its center, is located in the middle of the city. Mecca lies in
a hot, sandy valley, absolutely without verdure and sur
rounded by rocky, barren hills, destitute of trees or even
shrubs. The valley is about 300 feet wide and 4,000 feet
long, and slopes towards the south. The Ka aba or House of
God (Beit Allah) is located in the bed of the valley. All
146
THE PILGRIMAGE 147
the streets slope toward it, and it occupies, as it were, the
pit of a theater.
The Ka aba proper stands in an oblong space 250 paces
long and 200 broad, surrounded by colonnades, which are
used as schools and as a general meeting place for pilgrims.
The outer enclosure has nineteen gates and six minarets;
within the enclosure is the well of Zem Zem, the great pulpit,
the staircase used to enter the Ka aba door, which is high
above the ground, and two small mosques called al Kubat-
tain. The remainder of the space is occupied by pavements
and gravel, where prayers are said by the four orthodox
sects, each having its own allotted space.
In the southeast corner of the Ka aba, about five feet from
the ground, is the famous Black Stone, the oldest treasure
of Mecca. The stone is a fragment resembling black vol
canic rock, sprinkled with reddish crystals, and worn smooth
by the touch of centuries. It was undoubtedly an aerolite
and owes its reputation to its fall from the sky. Moslem his
torians do not deny that it was an object of worship before
Islam. In Moslem tradition it is connected with the history
of the patriarchs, beginning as far back as Adam.
The word Ka aba signifies a cube, although the measure
ments, according to Ali Bey, one of the earliest writers who
gives us a scientific account of the pilgrim ceremonies, do not
justify its being so called. Its height is thirty-four feet four
inches, and the four sides measure thirty-eight feet four
inches, thirty-seven feet two inches, thirty-one feet, seven
inches, and twenty-nine feet. The cloth covering is renewed
every year. At present it is made of silk and cotton tissue
woven at Khurunfish, the factory site in Cairo. The time of
departure of the annual procession which takes it to Mecca
is one of the great feast days in Cairo.
Formerly, we are told, the whole of the Koran text was
woven into the Ka aba covering. Now the inscription con-
148 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
tains the words, " Verily, the first house founded for mankind
to worship in is that at Mecca, a blessing and a direction to
all believers." Seven other short chapters of the Koran are
also woven into this tapestry, namely, the Chapter of the
Cave, Miriam, Al Amran, Repentance, T.H., Y.S., and
Tabarak.
The final duty of righteous Moslems and the most important
ceremony of the Moslem religion is the pilgrimage to Mecca.
The pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca is not only one of the
pillars of the religion of Islam, but it has proved one of the
strongest bonds of union and has always exercised a tre
mendous influence as a missionary agency. Even to-day the
pilgrims who return from Mecca to their native villages in
Java, India and West Africa are fanatical ambassadors of
the greatness and glory of Islam. From an ethical stand
point, the Mecca pilgrimage, with its superstitious and
childish ritual, is a blot upon Mohammedan monotheism.
But as a great magnet to draw the Moslem world together
with an annual and ever-widening esprit de corps, the Mecca
pilgrimage is without a rival. . . . For the details of the
pilgrimage one must read Burckhardt, Burton, or other of
the score of travelers who have risked their lives in visiting
the forbidden cities of Islam. The record of their heroism
has been compiled in one short volume by Augustus Ralli
under the title " Christians at Mecca " (Heinemann, London,
1909). The earliest European pilgrim was Ludovico Bar-
tema who reached Mecca in 1503. The most accurate in his
description of the ceremonies of the Hajj is Burckhardt
(1814-5), the most fascinating, Burton (1853), and it re
mained for a Hollander, Christiaa-n Snouck Hurgronje, to
give us a history of Mecca, a photographic atlas of the city,
and a philosophical dissertation on the pilgrimage. 1 " It is
i " Het Mekkaansche Feest," Leiden, 1880 and Mekka 2 vols. in
German. The latter book is accompanied by a photographic atlas.
THE PILGEIMAGE 149
possible," says Ralli, " to divide Christian pilgrims to Mecca
into three groups. First come those from Bartema to Pitts,
inclusive, whom I have already compared to a cloud of light
skirmishers. They are followed by the votaries of science
Badia, Seetzen, Burckhardt, Hurgronje. In a parallel
column advance those impelled by love of adventure or
curiosity von Maltzan, Bicknell, Keane, Courtellemont.
Burton belongs to both the latter groups ; Wallin to the first,
but he fell on evil days ; and it is hard to classify Roches.
" It would tax -the ingenuity of most of us to find such
another heterogeneous collection of men devoted to one theme.
It is a far cry from the humble Pitts to the princely Badia,
from the scientific Burckhardt to the poetical Courtellemont,
from the impersonal Hurgronje to the autobiographical
Roches, from the obscure Wild to the world-famous Burton.
Such contrasts might be pursued in the written records that
remain; between Burckhardt s orderly accumulation of facts
and Keane s rollicking narrative. But suffice it that the
members of this select company, differing in time and coun
try, aim and temperament, are united by the single bond of a
strange adventure." This strange adventure led them all to
observe the pagan rites of the great monotheistic faith of
Islam, of which the ceremonies in brief are as follows:
After donning the garb of a pilgrim and performing the legal
ablutions, the Ilajji visits the sacred mosque and kisses the
Black Stone. He then runs around the Ka aba seven times
thrice very rapidly and four times very slowly in imita
tion of the motions of the planets. Next he offers a prayer :
" O Allah, Lord of the Ancient House, .free my neck from
hell-fire, and preserve me from every evil deed; make me
contented with the daily food Thou givest me, and bless me
in all Thou hast granted." At " the place of Abraham " he
also prays ; he drinks water from the sacred well of Zem Zem
and again kisses the Black Stone. Then the pilgrim runs
150 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
between the hills of Safa and Marwa. He visits Mina and
Arafat, a few miles from Mecca, and at the latter place
listens to a sermon. On his return he stops at Mina and
stones three pillars of masonry known as the " Great Devil,"
the " middle pillar " and the " first one " with seven small
pebbles. Finally, there is the sacrifice of a sheep or other
animal as the climax of the pilgrim s task. Snouck Hur-
gronje and Dozy have given us the theory of the origin of
these strange ceremonies in their monographs. The whole
pilgrimage is, in the words of Kuenen, " a fragment of in
comprehensible heathenism taken up undigested into Islam/*
And as regards the veneration for the Black Stone, there is a
tradition that the Caliph Omar remarked : " By God, I
know that thou art only a stone and canst grant no benefit
or do no harm. And had I not known that the Prophet
kissed thee I would not have done it." (Nisai, Vol. II,
p. 38.)
There are two books that may be considered authoritative
on the ceremonies of the pilgrimage : Wellhausen s " Reste
Arabischen Heidentums," pp. 68-249, and Burton s " Pil
grimage to Al Medina and Mecca."
Burton s description of the ritual is complete :
" We then advanced towards the eastern angle of the
Ka abah, in which is inserted the Black Stone ; and, standing
about ten yards from it, repeated with upraised hands,
There is no god but Allah alone, Whose Covenant is Truth,
and Whose Servant is Victorious. There is no god but
Allah, without Sharer; His is the Kingdom, to Him be
Praise, and He over all Things is potent. After which we
approached as close as we could to the stone. A crowd of
pilgrims preventing our touching it that time, we raised our
hands to our ears, in the first position of prayer, and then
lowering them, exclaimed, O Allah (I do this), in Thy
Belief, and in verification of Thy Book, and in Pursuance of
THE PILGRIMAGE 151
Thy Prophet s Example may Allah bless Him and pre
serve ! O Allah, I extend my Hand to Thee, and great is my
Desire to Thee ! O accept Thou my Supplication and
diminish my Obstacles, and pity my Humiliation, and gra
ciously grant me Thy pardon ! Aiter which, as we were still
unable to reach the stone, we raised our hands to our ears,
the palms facing the stone, as if touching it, recited the
various religious formulae, the Takbir, the Tahlil, and the
Hamdilah, blessed the Prophet, and kissed the finger-tips of
the right hand. The Prophet used to weep when he touched
the Black Stone, and said that it was the place for the pouring
forth of tears. According to most authors, the second Caliph
also used to kiss it. For this reason most Moslems, except the
Shafa i school, must touch the stone with both hands and
apply their lips to it, or touch it with the fingers, which
should be kissed, or rub the palms upon it, and afterwards
draw them down the face. Under circumstances of difficulty,
it is sufficient to stand before the stone, but the Prophet s
Sunnat, or practice, was to touch it. Lucian mentions adora
tions of the sun by kissing the hand.
" Then commenced the ceremony of Tawaf, or circumam-
bulation, our route being the Mataf the low oval of polished
granite immediately surrounding the Ka abah. I repeated,
after my Mutawwif, or cicerone, l In the Name of Allah, and
Allah is omnipotent ! I purpose to circuit seven circuits unto
Almighty Allah, glorified and exalted ! This is technically
called the Niyat (intention) of Tawaf. Then we began the
prayer, O Allah (I do this), in Thy belief, and in Verifica
tion of Thy Book, and in Faithfulness to Thy Covenant, and
in Perseverance of the Example of the Apostle Mohammed
may Allah bless Him and preserve ! till we reached the
place Al-Multazem, between the corner of the Black Stone
and the Ka abah door. Here we ejaculated, O Allah, Thou
hast Rights, so pardon my transgressing them. Opposite
152 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
the door we repeated, O Allah, verily the House is Thy
House, and the Sanctuary Thy Sanctuary, and the Safeguard
Thy Safeguard, and this is the Place of him who flies to
Thee from (hell) Fire! At the little building called
Makam Ibrahim, who took Refuge with and fled to Thee
from the Fire ! O deny my Flesh and Blood, my Skin and
Bones to the (eternal) Flames ! As we paced slowly round
the north or Irak corner of the Ka abah we exclaimed, O
Allah, verily I take Refuge with Thee from Polytheism, and
Disobedience, and Hypocrisy, and evil Conversation, and
evil Thoughts concerning Family, and Property and
Progeny ! "When fronting the Mizab, or spout, we repeated
the words, O Allah, verily I beg of Thee Faith which shall
not decline, and a Certainty which shall not perish, and the
good Aid of Thy Prophet Mohammed may Allah bless Him
and preserve ! O Allah, shadow me in Thy Shadow, on
that Day when there is no Shade but Thy Shadow, and cause
me to drink from the Cup of Thine Apostle Mohammed
may Allah bless Him and preserve ! that pleasant Draught
after which is no Thirst to all Eternity, Lord of Honor
and Glory ! Turning the west corner, or the Rukn al-
Shami, we exclaimed, O Allah, make it an acceptable Pil
grimage, and a Forgiveness of Sins, and a laudable Endeavor,
and a pleasant Action (in Thy sight), and a store which
perisheth not, O Thou Glorious ! O Thou Pardoner ! *
This was repeated thrice, till we arrived at the Yamani, or
south corner, where the crowd being less importunate, we
touched the wall with the right hand, after the example of
the Prophet, and kissed the finger-tips. Finally, between
the south angle and that of the Black Stone, where our circuit
wodld be completed, we said, O Allah, verily I take refuge
with Thee from Infidelity, and I take Refuge from the
Tortures of the Tomb, and from the Troubles of Life and
Death. And I fly to Thee from Ignominy in this World and
THE PILGRIMAGE 153
the Next, and I implore Thy Pardon for the Present and for
the Future. O Lord, grant to me in this Life Prosperity,
and in the next Life Prosperity, and save me from the
Punishment of Fire.
" Thus finished a Shaut, or single course round the house.
Of these we performed the first three at the pace called
Harwalah, very similar to the French pas gymnastique, or
Tarammul, that is to say, moving the shoulders as if walk
ing in sand. The four latter are performed in Ta ammul,
slowly and leisurely, the reverse of the Sai, or running.
These seven Ashwat, or courses, are called collectively the
Usbu." (Burton s " Pilgrimage to Al Madinah and Mecca,"
pp. 164-167.)
He continues (p. 169) : " Having kissed the stone we
fought our way through the crowd to the place called Al-
Multazem. Here we pressed our stomachs, chests, and right
cheeks to the Ka abah, raising our arms high above our heads
and exclaiming, O Allah !. O Lord of the Ancient House,
free my Neck from Hell-fire, and preserve me from every ill
Deed, and make me contented with that daily bread which
Thou has given to me, and bless me in all Thou hast
granted ! Then came the Istighf ar, or begging of pardon :
1 1 beg Pardon of Allah the Most High, who, there is no
other God but He, the Living, the Eternal, and unto Him I
repent myself ! After which we blessed the Prophet, and
then asked for ourselves all that our souls most desired."
Prayer is granted at fourteen places besides Al-Multazem,
all of them connected, as we shall see, with the old idolatry
of Arabia. Viz. :
1. At the place of circumambulation.
2. Under the Mizab, or spout of the Ka aba.
3. Inside the Ka aba.
4. At the well Zem Zem.
154 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
5. Behind Abraham s place of prayer.
6. On Mt. Safa.
7. On Mt. Marwah.
8. During the ceremony called " Al-Sai."
9. Upon Mount Arafat.
10. At Muzdalif ah.
11. In Muna.
12. During the devil-stoning.
13. On first seeing the Ka aba.
14. At the Hatim of Hijr.
" Muna," says Burton (Vol. II, p. 180), " more classically
called Mina, is a place of considerable sanctity. Its three
standing miracles are these : The pebbles thrown at the
Devil return by angelic agency to whence they came ; during
the three Days of Drying Meat rapacious beasts and birds
cannot prey there; and lastly, flies do not settle upon the
articles of food exposed so abundantly in the bazars. Dur
ing pilgrimage houses are let for an exorbitant sum, and it
becomes a World s Fair of Moslem merchants. At all
other seasons it is almost deserted, in consequence, says
popular superstition, of the Rajm or (diabolical) lapidation.
Distant about three miles from Meccah, it is a long, narrow,
straggling village, composed of mud and stone houses of one
or two stories, built in the common Arab style. Traversing
a narrow street, we passed on the left the Great Devil, which
shall be described at a future time. After a quarter of an
hour s halt, spent over pipes and coffee, we came to an open
space, where stands the Mosque Al-Khayf. Here, accord
ing to some Arabs, Adam lies, his head being at one end of
one long wall, and his feet at another, whilst the dome covers
his omphalic region. After passing through the town we
came to Batn al-Muhassir, The Basin of the Troubler
(Satan) at the beginning of a descent leading to Muzdalif ah
THE PILGEIMAGE 155
(the Approacher), where the road falls into the valley of
the Arafat torrent.
" At noon we reached the Muzdadif ah, also called Masha al-
Haram, the Place dedicated to religious Ceremonies. It is
known in Al-Islam as the Minaret without the Mosque/
opposed to Masjid Nimrah, which is the Mosque without the
Minaret. Half-way between Muna and Arafat, it is ahout
three miles from both."
Burton: (Vol. II, pp. 180-7) : " Arafat, anciently called
Jabal Hal, the Mount of Wrestling in Prayer and now
Jabal al-Rahmah, the l Mount of Mercy is a mass of coarse
granite split into large blocks, with a thin coat of withered
thorns."
(Pp. 188-9) : " The Holy Hill owes its name and honors
to a well-known legend. When our first parents forfeited
Heaven by eating wheat, which deprived them of their
primeval purity, they were cast down upon earth. The ser
pent descended at Ispahan, the peacock at Kabul, Satan at
Bilbays (others say Semnan and Seistan), Eve upon Arafat
and Adam at Ceylon. The latter, determining to seek his
wife, began a journey, to which earth owes its present mottled
appearance. Wherever our first father placed his foot
which was large a town afterwards arose ; between strides
will always be country. Wandering for many years, he
came to the Mountain of Mercy, where our common mother
was continually calling upon his name, and their recognition
gave the place the name of Arafat. Upon its summit, Adam,
instructed by the archangel Gabriel, erected a Mada a, or
place of prayer: and between this spot and the Nimrah
Mosque the couple abode till death."
Burton: (Vol. II, pp. 203-205) : "We found a swarm
ing crowd in the narrow road opposite the Jamrat-al-
Akabah, or, as it is vulgarly called, the Shaytan al-Kabir
the Great Devil. These names distinguish it from another
156 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
pillar, the Wusta, or Central Place (of stoning), built in
the middle of Mima, and a third at the eastern end, Al-
Aula or the First Place/
" The Shaytan al-Kabir is a dwarf buttress of rude
masonry, about eight feet high by two-and-a-half broad, placed
against a rough wall of stones at the Meccan entrance to
Muna. Finding an opening, we approached within about
five cubits of the place, and holding each stone between the
thumb and forefinger of the right hand, we cast it at the
pillar, exclaiming, In the name of Allah, and Allah is
Almighty! (I do this) in Hatred of the Fiend and to his
Shame. After which came the Tahlil and the Sana or
praise to Allah. The seven stones being duly thrown, we
retired, and entering the barber s booth, took our places upon
one of the earthen benches around it. This barber shaved
our heads, and, after trimming our beards and cutting our
nails, made us repeat these words : I purpose loosening
my Ihrain according to the Practice of the Prophet, Whom
may Allah bless and preserve ! O, Allah, make unto me in
every Hair, a Light, a Purity, and a generous Reward !
In the name of Allah, and Allah is Almighty !
After following all these details of the ceremony with
Burton for our guide, we are ready to ask the why and where
fore of the performances.
If the Jews and Christians had hearkened to the call of
Mohammed at Medina when he made the Kibla, Jerusalem,
the course of Moslem history might have been that of an
oriental Unitarian sect. But when the Prophet changed the
Kibla from Jerusalem to Mecca he compromised with idolatry
and the result was that Islam at its very center has remained
pagan. The transformation of the old Pantheon of the Arabs
into the house of God which Abraham rebuilt and which
Adam himself founded was the legend to justify the adoption
of these pagan practices. Other ceremonies which had noth-
THE PILGEIMAGE 157
ing to do with the Ka aba but which were performed at cer
tain places near Mecca were also adapted to the new religion.
In the tenth year A. H. Mohammed made his pilgrimage to
Mecca, the old shrine of his forefathers, and every detail of
superstitious observance which he fulfilled has become the
norm in Islam. As Wellhausen says the result is that " we
now have the stations of a Calvary journey without the his
tory of the Passion." Pagan practices are explained away by
inventing Moslem legends attributed to Bible characters, and
the whole is an incomprehensible jumble of fictitious lore.
The Ka aba itself in its plan and structure is a heathen
temple. The covering of the Ka aba goes back to old
heathenism. The Temple was the Bride and she received
costly clothing. The building stands with its four corners
nearly to the points of the compass; not the sides of the
building, but the corners point N.S.E. and W. We may
therefore expect, as is the case, that the holy objects were at
the corners of the building. The Black Stone is in the
E.S.E. corner; the other four corners also had sacred stones
which are still places of special worship. The front of the
Ka aba is the N.E. side, and the door is not in the middle
but near the Black Stone. Between the Stone and the door
is the Multazam, the place where the pilgrim presses himself
against the building, hugs the curtain and calls upon God.
On the N.W. side there is an enclosure in the shape of a
half-circle called the Hajr, or the Hatim. Wellhausen has a
note (p. 74) to show that this enclosure was formerly a part
of the Ka aba but that shortly before Mohammed s time the
building was restored on a smaller foundation. This en
closure, therefore, marks the original size of the heathen
temple. There seems to be no doubt that the Black Stone
was the real idol of the Ka aba. Bait Allah and Masjid,
according to Wellhausen, originally signified " the stone " and
not " the temple." In ancient days there was an empty well
158 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
inside the Ka aba to receive votive offerings. In front of
the well stood a human image, that of the god Hobal. One
may still see a similar worship at the tomb of Eve, near
Jiddah, where there is a well for offerings under the middle
dome which is over the navel of Mother Eve. It has been
thought that Hobal, the main god of the Ka aba, was perhaps
" Allah " himself. Others say that the word has connection
with Baal the sun-god. When we remember the circumam-
bulation of the Ka aba seven times, three times rapidly and
four times more slowly in imitation of the inner and outer
planets, it is not strange to find Baal the sun-god chief of the
temple. The present place called Maqam Ibrahim (Sura
2: 119) was originally a stone for offierings. A short dis
tance outside of Mecca are the two hills Al Safa and Al
Marwa ; both of these names signify " a stone," i. e., an idol.
The road between them runs almost parallel with the front of
the Ka aba and directly east is the well of Zem Zem, originally
also a place for sacred offerings. It contained two golden
gazelles among other things. There are many other sacred
places in the vicinity formerly associated with idol-worship
now transformed by Moslem legend into graves of the saints,
etc. Ar af at and Muzdalif a are at present only stations where
one stops on the pilgrimage. No offerings are brought there.
Formerly Muzdalifa was a place of fire-worship. Wackidi
says : " Mohammed rode from Arafat towards the fire
kindled in Muzdalifa ; this is the hill of the holy fire." The
mountain was called Quzah and Wellhausen thinks it may
have been the place of the thunder-god whose sign was the
rainbow. (Quzah.)
The early history of Mecca shows that it was a place of
pilgrimage long before Mohammed. The battle of Islam
for the conquest of Arabia was determined at Mecca. This
was the capture of the Pagan center. In conquering it Islam
was itself conquered. " There is no god but Allah " and
THE PILGKIMAGE 159
the old idol-shrines at Mecca ? Dozy has shown that Mecca
was an old Jewish center, but his conclusions have been dis
puted by later writers. 4
Not only the pilgrimage itself, but its calendar goes back
to paganism. The names of the Arabic months have many
of them a pagan significance. Of course the calendar was
solar, but Mohammed changed it into a lunar calendar.
Moharram was the month of the great feast. Tree worship
and stone worship as we shall see later belong to the old
heathenism. In Nagran a date-palm served as god. A
number of sacred trees or groves between Mecca and Medina
which formerly were idol temples, are now visited because
" Mohammed resided there, prayed there, or had his hair cut
under them." (See Bokhari, 1 : 68-3 : 36.)
Prof. A. J. Wensinck in writing on the Hajj in the
Encyclopedia of Islam (Vol. II, p. 22 ff.) gives it as his
opinion that " great fairs were from early times associated
with the Hadjdj which was celebrated on the conclusion of
the date-harvest. These fairs were probably the main thing
to Muhammed s contemporaries, as they still are to many
Muslims. For the significance of the religious ceremonies
had even then lost its meaning for the people." Neverthe
less the significance of the various rites and ceremonies al
though no longer understood clearly, point to a pagan origin.
Snouck Hurgronje thinks he sees a solar rite in the wukuf
ceremony. Wensinck says : " The god of Muzdalifa was
Quzah, the thunder-god. A fire was kindled on the sacred
hill also called Quzah. Here a halt was made and this
wukuf has a still greater similarity to that on Sinai, as in
both cases the thunder-god is revealed in fire. It may further
be presumed that the traditional custom of making as much
noise as possible and of shooting was originally a sympathetic
charm to call forth the thunder."
*"De Israeliten te Mekka van David s tyd enz," Dozy (Leiden).
160 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
As soon as the sun was visible, the ifada to Mina used to
begin in pre-Islamic times. Mohammed therefore ordained
that this should begin before sunrise; here again we have
the attempt to destroy a solar rite. In ancient times they
are said to have sung during the ifada, "" ashrik thabir kaima
nughir" The explanation of these words is uncertain ; it is
sometimes translated : " Enter into the light of morning,
Thabir, so that we may hasten." And again we know from a
statement in Ibn Hisham (ed. Wustenfeld, p. 76, et seq.), that
the stone throwing only began after the sun had crossed the
meridian. Houtsma has made it probable that the stoning
was originally directed at the sun-demon ; important support
is found for this view in the f oct that the Pilgrimage originally
coincided with the autumnal equinox as similar customs are
found all over the world at the beginning of the four seasons.
With the expulsion of the sun-demon, whose harsh rule comes
to an end with summer, worship of the thunder-god who
brings fertility and his invocation may easily be connected,
as we have seen above at the festival in Muzdalifa. The
name tarwiya, " moistening," may also be explained in this
connection as a sympathetic rain-charm, traces of which
survive in the libation of Zein Zem water. Other explana
tions of the stone-throwing are given. Van Vloten connects
it with snake-worship or demonolatry and as proof gives the
expression used in the Koran so frequently, As Shaitan ar
rajim " the pelted devil." Chauvin finds in it " an
example of scopelism (sic) the object being to prevent the
cultivation of the ground by the Meccans." Both theories
have been refuted by Houtsma. 5 Regarding the throwing of
the pebbles in the pilgrimage ceremony we may compare
what Frazer says in his chapter on the transference of evil
to stones and sticks among pagans and animists (" The
Scapegoat," pp. 23-24) :
6 See Art. " Hadjdj in the Encyclop. of Islam," Vol. II, p. 200.
THE PILGRIMAGE 161
" Sometimes the motive for throwing the stone is to ward
off a dangerous spirit; sometimes it is to cast away an evil;
sometimes it is to acquire a good. Yet, perhaps, if we
could trace them back to their origin in the mind of primitive
man, we might find that they all resolve themselves more or
less exactly into the principle of the transference of evil.
For to rid themselves of an evil and to acquire a good are
often merely opposite sides of one and the same operation;
for example, a convalescent regains health in exactly the
same proportion as he shakes off his malady. And though
the practice of throwing stones at dangerous spirits, especially
at mischievous and malignant ghosts of the dead, appears
to spring from a different motive, yet it may be questioned
whether the difference is really as great to the savage as it
seems to us." ..." Thus the throwing of the sticks or
stones would be a form of ceremonial purification, which
among primitive peoples is commonly conceived as a sort of
physical rather than moral purgation, a mode of sweeping or
scouring away the morbid matter by which the polluted per
son is supposed to be infected. This notion perhaps explains
the rite of stone-throwing observed by pilgrims at Mecca; on
the day of sacrifice every pilgrim has to cast seven stones on a
cairn, and the rite is repeated on the three following days.
The traditional explanation of the custom is that Mohammed
here drove away the devil with a shower of stones; but the
original idea may perhaps have been that the pilgrims cleanse
themselves by transferring their ceremonial impurity to the
stones which they fling on the heap."
Dr. Snouck Hurgronje gives, in addition, the following
pagan practices of the pilgrimage. It is commonly sup
posed that in the time of ignorance two idols were worshiped
on Safa and Marwa, and the names of these idols are men
tioned. In the second chapter of the Koran, Verse 153, the
pagan custom observed by the Arabs before Islam is sane-
162 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
tioned. Prof. Hurgronje thinks that the existence of the
small sanctuaries around the Ka aba are due to the existence
of sacred trees, stones and wells, which formerly were pagan
places of worship, but were afterwards Islamized by stating
that under such a tree the Prophet sat down this stone
spoke to him on that stone he sat down and certain wells
even were made sacred because Mohammed spat in them.
(Azraqi, p. 438, quoted in Hurgronje, p. 123.)
A little south of the valley of Arafat there is a small hill
called the Hill of Grace, on the top of which there was for
merly a small building with a dome. At present it is con
nected with Um Salima, but its origin is lost in obscurity.
When the Wahhabis came to Mecca and desired to purify it
of idolatry, they destroyed these places. Prof. Hurgronje
concludes that while the general ritual of the pilgrimage is
Mohammedan, there are many practices that now are con
demned as innovations, which are in reality old Arabian and
pagan in their character. His conclusion at the end of his
learned paper is this : " Should Sprenger s hope ever be ful
filled, and it is not probable that a school of Tiibingen
critics should arise in Islam, then surely the feast at Mecca
and the pilgrim ceremonies would be the first to disappear
among the practices which belong to the heart of the Moslem
religion."
CHAPTEK IX
IN no monotheistic religion are magic and sorcery so firmly
entrenched as they are in Islam; for in the case of this
religion they are based on the teaching of the Koran and the
practice of the Prophet. In one celebrated passage x we
read : " they follow that which the devils recited against
Solomon s kingdom ; it was not Solomon who misbelieved,
but the devils who misbelieved, teaching men sorcery, and
what has been revealed to the two angels at Babylon, Harut
and Marut, yet these taught no one until they said, c We are
but a temptation, so do not misbelieve. Men learn from
them only that by which they may part man and wife; but
they can harm no one therewith, unless with the permission
of God, and they learn what hurts them and profits them not.
And yet they knew that he who purchased it would have no
portion in the future ; but sad is the price at which they have
sold their souls, had they but known. But had they believed
and feared, a reward from God were better, had they but
known."
In the commentaries we have a long account of how these
two angels, Harut and Marut, had compassion on the frailties
of mankind and were sent down to earth to be tempted. They
both sinned, and being permitted to choose whether they
would be punished now or hereafter, chose the former and
are still suspended by the feet at Babel in a rocky pit, where
they are great teachers of magic. 2 There are other passages
i"The Qur an," E. H. Palmer, Part I, Sura 11:96 ff.
2 Hughes Dictionary of Islam, p. 168. In a beautifully illustrated
Persian book of Traditions found in the Sultaniah Museum, Cairo, there
is a picture of these culprits.
168
164 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
in the Koran dealing with magic, in fact the book itself, as
we have already seen, has magical power. The superstitions
that obtained in Arabia before Islam have been perpetuated
by it. No orthodox Moslem doubts that men are able to call
forth the power of demons and Jinn by means of magic
(stTz/r). Everywhere there are professional magicians,
wizards and witches. The popular belief in them to-day in
Arabia is well described by Doughty (Vol. II, p. 106).
" Wellah," he said, " Sheykh Khalil, one of them sitting on
such a beam, may ride in the night-time to Medina and return
ere day, and no man know it ; for they will be found in their
houses when the people waken." " How may a witch that
has an husband gad abroad by night, and the goodman not
know it ? " " If she take betwixt her fingers only a little of
the ashes of the hearth, and sprinkle it on his forehead, the
dead sleep will fall upon him till the morning. But though
one knew his wife to be a witch, yet durst he not show it,
nor put her away, for she might cause him to perish miser
ably! yet the most witches are known, and one of them, he
added darkly, is a neighbor of ours. When it is the time to
sleep they roam through the village ways : and I warn thee,
Sheykh Khalil ! for a thing which we looked not for may
happen in a moment ! have a care in thy coming home by
night." " I would willingly see them." " Eigh ! speak not
so fool-hardily, except thou know some powerful spells to say
against them. I have heard that Dakhilallah (a menhel, or
man of God), once meeting with the witches did cry against
them words which the Lord put into his heart, out of the
Koran, and they fled from him shrieking that the pairs of
hell were come upon them." " The witches," said the melan
choly Imam, " are of all ages : they have a sheikh, who is a
man, and he also is known." " And why are they not
punished ? " " Wellah, it is for fear of their malice. The
hags assemble in dead hours of the night, and sitting in a
MAGIC AND SORCERY 165
place of ordures, they strip off their smocks, and annoint their
bodies with cow milk (which in Arabia is esteemed
medicinal), and then the witches cry, We be issued from
the religion of Islam. So they gad it in the dim streets, and
woe worth any man returning lateward if they meet with
him ! For they will compel him to lie with them ; and if he
should deny them, they will change him into the form of some
beast an ox, a horse, or an ass : and he shall afterward
lose his mind, and in the end perish miserably. But they
eat, wellah, the heart (and he is aware of it) of him who
consents to them, and suck the blood of his living body ; and
after this he will become a fool, and be a dazing man all his
days."
The sorcerer who desires to exercise his magic art begins
by sacrificing a black cock. He then reads his spell, ties
his knots, or flings his magical readings into the wells. All
this is done in the same fashion to-day as was customary be
fore Mohammed. To such practices the last two chapters of
the Koran refer. Much more important and more wide
spread than the magic of producing demonic influence is the
magic of acting against them what might be called " anti-
magic." Illness, especially in the ease of children, is caused
by Jinn. The one remedy is therefore magic. And consists
in stroking or rubbing, the tying of knots, or spitting and
blowing. I have seen an educated kadi in Arabia solemnly
repeat chapters from the Koran and then blow upon the
body of his dying child, in order to bring back health again.
The Rev. Edwin E. Calverley tells this story : " What do
you suppose I have just seen ? " exclaimed an excited Jew
to a Christian in a Moslem city of Arabia.
" What was it ? Where did you see it ? "
" There was a whole group of Arab women standing out
side the big door of the mosque and they all had cups or
glasses in their hands."
166 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
" Oh, they were beggars, and they were waiting for the
men to get through reciting their prayers."
" But no, they were not beggars, because I saw the beggars
at another door, and besides, I watched the men as they came
out of the mosque, and, it is hard to believe it, they spat right
into the cups and glasses and bowls that the women and
children and even men held out to them. Some of the
Moslems spat into one cup after another, into every cup
that was put near them. I never saw the like in all my
life ! "
" That is indeed most strange and revolting ! What were
they doing it for ? I m sure I don t know. Why don t you
go and ask some Moslem about it ? "
Soon he came back, utterly disgusted.
" Did you find out what the purpose is ? "
" Yes, and that is the most repulsive thing of all ! I
wouldn t have believed it about them if anybody but one of
their own religion had told it to me. Those people with the
cups and bowls have some friend or some one in their family
who is sick, and they are collecting the spittle of the men
who have just finished their prayers for their sick ones at
home."
My Moslem friends could not give me the religious au
thority supporting their unhygienic custom, but such
authority exists nevertheless. Al Bukhari (Sahih VII, p.
150) gives two traditions reporting Mohammed s sanction for
the practice. After recording the usual " chain of witnesses,
Al Bukhari relates that " Aisha (May Allah be pleased with
her) said that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him
peace) told a sick man, l In the name of Allah the earth of
our land and the saliva of some of us cure our sick, by the
permission of our Lord.
Spitting is used for all difficult performances, for example,
to open locks that will not otherwise yield to the key. (See
MAGIC AND SOKCERY 167
Doughty Vol. I, p. 527 and Vol. II, p. 164.) In this way
they cure sick camels. Doughty says (Vol. II, p. 164) :
" Another time I saw Salih busy to cure a mangy thelul;
he sat with a bowl of water before him, and mumbling there
over he spat in it, and mumbled solemnly and spat many
times ; and after a half -hour of this work the water was taken
to the sick beast to drink. Spitting (a despiteful civil defile
ment) we have seen to be some great matter in their medicine.
Is it that they spit thus against the malicious jinn ? Parents
bid their young children spit upon them: and an Arabian
father will often softly say to the infant son in his arms,
Spit upon babu ! spit, my darling.
Another case he gives as follows : (Vol. I, p. 527) : " A
young mother yet a slender girl, brought her wretched babe,
and bade me spit upon the child s sore eyes; this ancient
Semitic opinion and custom I have afterward found wherever
I came in Arabia. Meteyr nomads in el-Kasim have brought
me, some of them bread and some salt, that I should spit in
it for their sick friends. Their gossips followed to make
this request with them and when I blamed their superstition
they answered simply, that l such was the custom here from
time out of mind.
In regard to blowing and spitting as methods of healing or
conferring a blessing, it is important to note the Arabic dis
tinction between nafakha and nafatha, the latter means to
blow with spittle. A Moslem correspondent in Yemen points
out this distinction and says that there is no real healing
power or hurting power in the dry breath. It is the spittle or
soul-stuff that transfers good or ill.
Among the animistic tribes of West Africa spitting is one
of the means of conferring a blessing. The same thing is
true among the Barotse of South Africa. Mr. Nassau writes :
" The same Benga word, tuwaka, to spit, is one of the two
words which mean also to bless. In pronouncing a blessing
168 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
there is a violent expulsion of breath, the hand or head of the
one blessed being held so near the face of the one blessing
that sometimes in the act spittle is actually expelled upon
him." 3
Concerning South Africa he quotes a testimony of Wilson :
" Relatives take leave of each other with elaborate ceremony.
They spit upon each other s faces and heads, or rather, pre
tend to do so, for they do not actually emit saliva. They also
pick up blades of grass, spit upon them, and stick them about
the beloved dead. They also spit on the hands : all this is
done to ward off evil spirits. Spittle also acts as a kind of
taboo. When they do not want a thing touched they spit on
straws, and stick them all about the object."
In India, we are told, many women with their little chil
dren go to the mosques at the prayer hour and stand near the
door. After prayers as the people come out from the mosques
still repeating their wazifas they breathe on these children.
Often in case of sickness in the family some one is sent for
(such as an Imam) who repeats some suras or verses of the
Koran and either directly breathes on the sick or on a little
water which is given to the sick to drink. Sometimes he
touches his tongue with his forefinger and then the tongue of
the sick, and in this way saliva is used for healing purposes."
" In Yemen," writes a Moslem correspondent, " it is com
mon to blow on the sick or use saliva for healing. But it is
necessary that the one who blows or uses spittle should be a
pious man, and that before he does it the Fatiha be repeated.
This practice is in accordance with the example of the
Prophet as he worked miracles in this way and his Compan
ions did likewise."
In Tabriz, Persia, a holy man often is asked to say prayers
for the sick and breathe on them.
" Some people," says Mr. Gerdener of South Africa, " who
"Fetichism in West Africa," p. 213.
MAGIC AND SOKCEEY 169
have been to Mecca are supposed to possess the power to
breathe on the face of the sick and cure them. Passing the
hand in front of the face is also resorted to, especially for
children."
In Bahrein, Arabia, saliva mixed with oil, is used as an
ointment and is also taken internally. It is collected in a
cup from various contributors !
The Mullah s breath is supposed to be efficacious in sick
ness. He receives a fee for this treatment. " Mrs. D.
called on the women of Sheikh J s household, and he
was in the room doctoring a sick boy. He sat beside him,"
writes Miss Kellien, " muttering pious phrases supposedly
from the Koran, and punctuating every few words by spitting
towards the child s face, and then watching her to see how
she took it. She said his wives were convulsed with
laughter which they were careful to hide, and had apparently
little faith in the virtue of such treatment."
To cure headache in Algeria the taleb will take hold of
the patient s head with the first finger and thumb across the
brow and gently blow upon the patient s face until the pain
has disappeared. A taleb will spit in the mouth of a patient
supposed to be possessed by jinn, knock him sharply on the
back between the shoulder-blades, and the evil spirit will
leave him.
In Tunis if a person is ill, some one is brought who spits
on his own hands and wipes them over the sick person s face
and hands.
Among Moslems everywhere sneezing has an evil sig
nificance and may have bad results. To ward these off, those
who are present utter a pious formula. This was the custom
before Islam as well as to-day. Gaping is of the devil (Buk-
hari 2: 180), therefore it is followed by the expression, " I
take refuge in God (from Satan)."
The chief danger, however, always present to the Semitic
170 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
mind, is that of the " evil eye " not only of him who
envies but also of him who admires. It is also feared in the
glance of the Jinn and the afrit. Mohammed was a believer
in the baneful influence of the evil eye. Asma Bint TJmais
relates that she said, " O Prophet, the family of Ja far are
affected by the baneful influences of an evil eye ; may I use
spells for them or not ? " The Prophet said, " Yes, for if
there were anything in the world which would overcome fate,
it would be an evil eye." 4
Again we read, 5 " Anas says : The Prophet permitted a
spell (ruqyah) being used to counteract the ill effects of the
evil eye ; and on those bitten by snakes or scorpions.
(Sahih Muslim p. 233.)
Um Salmah relates " that the Prophet allowed a spell to
be used for the removal of yellowness in the eye, which, he
said, proceeded from the malignant eye." (Sahih Al-Bok-
hari, p. 854.)
" Auf ibn Malik says The Prophet said there is nothing
wrong in using spells, provided the use of them does not
associate anything with God. (Mishkat, Book XXI,
ch. I.)
The magic resting in knots is also referred to in the Koran.
In the Chapter of the Daybreak 8 we read : " Say, I seek
refuge in the Lord of the Daybreak, from the evil of what
He has created ; and from the evil of the night when it cometh
on; and from the evil of the blowers upon knots." That
the custom is animistic is clear from Frazer s description of
it in his work on Taboo 7 : " At a difficult birth the Battaks
of Sumatra make a search through the possessions of husband
and wife and untie everything that is tied up in a bundle.
* Mishkat, XXI, C. I., Part 2.
B Hughes Dictionary, p. 303.
Surah 113.
i Vol. II, pp. 296-7 and 300.
MAGIC AND SOKCERY 171
In some parts of Java, when a woman is in travail, everything
in the house that was shut is opened, in order that the birth
may not be impeded ; not only are doors opened and the lids
of chests, boxes, rice-pots, and water-buts lifted up, but even
swords are unsheathed and spears drawn out of their cases.
Customs of the same sort are practiced with the same inten
tion in other parts of the East Indies." He goes on to say,
" We meet with the same superstition and the same custom
at the present day in Syria. The persons who help a Syrian
bridegroom to don his wedding garments take care that no
knot is tied on them nor buttoned, for they believe that a
buttoned or a knot tied would put it within the power of his
enemies to deprive him of his nuptial rights by magical
means."
Among the Jews also knots played an important part in
magic. " Even to-day among the children of Kiev one of the
ways of determining who shall be it is to tie a knot in a
handkerchief ; the children pick out the corners, and the one
selecting the knotted corner is l it. In Kovno, when a wart
is removed a knot is tied around it with a thread and this
knot is placed under the threshold." 8
Commentators on the Koran relate that the reason for the
revelation of the chapter quoted above was that a Jew named
Lobeid, had, with the assistance of his daughters, bewitched
Mohammed by tying eleven knots in a cord which they hid in
a well. The Prophet falling ill in consequence, this chapter
and that following it were revealed; and the angel Gabriel
acquainted him with the use he was to make of them, and
told him where the cord was hidden. The Khalif Ali fetched
the cord, and the Prophet repeated over it these two chapters ;
at every verse a knot was loosed till on finishing the last
words, he was entirely freed from the charm. 9
8 The Jewish Encyclopedia, article Knot.
See " Al Razi," Vol. VIII, pp. 559-564. Here we also learn that an
172 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
In Malay magic, heathen practices are so thoroughly mixed
up with Mohammedan prayers that it is hard to disentangle
the threads of superstition. Skeat tells us that in order to
injure an enemy the method followed is as follows :
" Take parings of nails, hair, eyebrows, saliva, etc., of your
intended victim (sufficient to represent every part of his
person), and make them up into his likeness with wax from a
deserted bees comb. Scorch the figure slowly by holding it
over a lamp every night for seven nights and say :
" It is not wax that I am scorching.
" It is the liver, heart and spleen of So-and-so that I
scorch. After the seventh time burn the figure, and your
victim will die." 10
The following prayer is also used in burying a wax image
of one s enemy after piercing it with the thorn of the palm
tree:
"Peace be to you! Ho, Prophet Tap, in whose charge the earth
is,
Lo, I am burying the corpse of Somebody,
I am bidden (to do so) by the Prophet Mohammed,
Because he (the corpse) was a rebel to God.
Do you assist in killing him or making him sick;
If you do not make him sick, if you do not kill him,
You shall be a rebel against God,
A rebel against Mohammed,
It is not I who am burying him,
It is Gabriel who is burying him.
Do you too grant my prayer and petition, this very day that has
appeared,
Grant it by the grace of my petition within the fold of the Creed
La ilaha." u
afrit used to tease Mohammed, so Gabriel taught him to repeat this
chapter at bed-time. It was also given him as a charm against the
evil eye.
10 " Malay Magic," p. 570.
II " Malay Magic," p. 571.
MAGIC AND SOECERY 173
In this way the one who performs magic absolves himself
from blood-guiltiness by shifting the burden of his guilt to the
shoulders of the Angel Gabriel.
The teaching of the Koran is to blame for other forms of
magic ; is it not the inspired word of God ? Among the Mos
lems Solomon is a great historic figure. He is still looked
upon as the ruler of the animal world ; the very trappers in
the jungle address their prey in the name of " God s prophet,
Solomon." His adventures with the Queen of Sheba are re
corded in romance, his seal (the pentacle) is drawn by
sorcerers on talismans and gives its name to the five-pointed
starfish, and his wealth, like the treasure of Korah, is much
sought for by local magicians.
Miss Holliday says that one of the most prevalent forms of
magic in Persia is filling a metal bowl with water, holding
money or some metallic object between the thumb and fore
finger and stirring the water with it ; they divine by looking
in the water. Sometimes a cloth is placed in the bowl and
chirping sounds, like the voices of sparrows are heard. I
have heard of a woman in Urumia who has a familiar spirit,
who is sometimes visible and whose answers to questions have
a muttering or chirping sound. Sometimes a metal plate is
used with letters on the rim from which answers are de
duced. " The family of my Moslem cook," writes Miss Hol
liday, " have a singular distinction, their house being what is
known as an i ojock, literally, a hearthstone, or fireplace.
This is a rare thing; women bring their small infants to him
and making a noose of a handkerchief round his gun, pass the
child three times through it, which is supposed to protect it
from the evil eye. All the sons of this clan have this power
of blessing and protecting which is unknown to other Mos
lems. They have peculiar customs; one is, that after the
birth of a child all in the house must abstain from all food of
animal origin for a week, till the mother has gone to the
174 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
bath. The majority are monogamists and divorce is rare
among them. My cook thinks there is but one other clan
in this city which has the power of being an ojock.
Women here wishing to avert the evil eye from a young child,
will bring it to my cook and give it to him as his own, then
will give him money, with which he hires the mother, as the
child s nurse, and she takes it away to her home."
She continues : " Two or three onions were pierced by a
spit because the woman said the evil spirits did not like the
odor or the looks of the sharp iron. Three eggs were put in
a bowl at the pillow and stayed there till the mother was
taken to the bath. When they left the house, one was broken
and thrown out to attract the attention of the jinns to that,
another when half way to the bath and the last when they
reached the door, so that she could enter while their curiosity
detained them without. A copy of the Koran was usually
tied in a headkerchief and laid at the pillow.
" One must not come in on top of the baby till the forty
days are expired. So they would hold the baby over the
door and I would enter the room under it. This was only
for one who was not present at the birth."
" One form of magic very common in Cape Town," says
Mr. Gerdener, " is the casting of dice, also human bones and
pebbles of varied color. In fact all through the country even
by Europeans, Moslem magic is believed in and they send for
Malay doctors, paying them large sums for humbug. The
term Malay is synonymous in local newspaper circles with
Moslem. Amber beads, dried dates, flowers, Zem Zem
water and sand or earth from Mohammed s grave are all
used for good luck ; dates and flowers for sickness, the flower
being put into water and the newly born child bathed in it.
The flower is subsequently taken out, dried and kept among
the child s garments, until the next arrival. The sand or
earth is worn in a rag round the neck to ward off sickness
MAGIC AND SORCERY 175
or to keep off evil spirits, of which the Moslem world seems
to swarm. These rags are also worn by criminals to escape
the police."
Mekkeya, a Moslem convert at Bahrein, Arabia, says that
people who deal in magic often take the head of a sheep, bury
it in the cemetery and every night for seven days go to the
place, where they first curse father and mother forty times,
and then open the grave. If the head salutes him for each
of these seven nights he digs it up and takes it home with him
where it is kept in state and gives an answer regarding all
the owner s intended magic. Should it fail to answer during
one of the seven nights, it cannot be used.
For magic purposes pieces of the Kaaba-covering, Zem
Zem water, earth which is mixed with water and used as
medicine, date stones from Mecca, etc., are kept in a box in
the house because of the blessing they are supposed to con
tain.
The following is one form of magic prevalent in Algeria.
A dish of semoule is placed before a dead body dug out of its
grave and placed in an upright position before the dish, while
some one takes the dead hand and presses it over the semoule;
it is then made into little figures of various descriptions and
sold as charms.
Sometimes words are written on paper which is then
pounded up and given to some one in their coffee or food.
"Writing is also put into the mouth of a toad. The mouth
is then sewn up, the toad s limbs are bound together and the
toad is put into a hole in the ground. As the toad pines and
dies the person for whom the charm is bought also pines
and dies.
Sometimes a Jcetuba is tied to the neck of a tortoise and the
tortoise put at the doorstep of the person hated with his or
her name attached, who will then also pine away and die.
Sometimes a viper s head is cut off, dried in the sun and
176 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
pounded up and mixed with the food or drink of the victim,
who dies. All these things are the work of talebs. There
are numerous other forms of magic of the same sort for bring
ing about the illness or death of some one, or as love-charms.
Many animistic customs are in vogue among Moslems in
connection with their marriage ceremonies. The reader is re
ferred to a complete treatise on the subject by Edward Wester-
marck (" Marriage Ceremonies in Morocco," Macmillan,
London, 1914), from which we quote one example: "As a
protection against magic the gift removed from the wheat
which is to be used for the wedding is thrown into a river,
water-course or spring, or buried in the ground; the bride
groom steps three times over the bundle of old clothes con
taining his shaved-off hair; the bride is carefully guarded by
women on her way to the bridegroom s place, particularly
for fear lest some malevolent person should in a magical
manner deprive her of her virginity ; she shakes out the henna
powder from her slippers and throws it into water ; and when
the young wife pays her first visit to her parents she goes
and comes back in the evening, being still very susceptible to
the evil eye."
One has only to compare these practices with the marriage
customs of pagan tribes to see how much of animism lies back
of them. The whole question of sexual pollution in Islam
can be explained best of all by animistic belief. To refer
once more to Westermarck : " The Moors say that a
scribe is afraid of evil spirits only when he is sexually un
clean, because then his reciting of passages of the Koran
the most powerful weapon against such spirits Avould be
of no avail. Sexual cleanness is required of those who have
anything to do with the corn, 12 for such persons are otherwise
supposed to pollute its holiness, and also, in many cases, to
do injury to themselves."
12 Cf. Frazer, The Corn Spirit, in his " The Golden Bough."
MAGIC AND SORCERY 177
In another place he shows how the bride brings blessing to
others just as she does among the pagan races of Malaysia.
" When milk is offered to the bride on her way to the bride
groom s place, she dips her finger into it or drinks a few drops
and blows on the rest, so as to impart to it a little of her holi
ness, and the milk is then mixed with other milk to serve as a
charm against witchcraft, or poured into the churn to make
the butter plentiful; or when, on her arrival at the bride
groom s place, his mother welcomes her with milk, she drinks
of it herself and sprinkles some on the people. She hurls the
lamb, which is handed her, over the bridegroom s tent so that
there shall be many sheep in the village."
Astrology with its belief that the sun, the moon and the
planets preside over the seven days of the week and govern
by their good or bad influences, is generally prevalent among
the uneducated classes. Books on astrology are among the
best sellers even in the shops near the Azhar in Cairo. The
following invocations taken from the " Book of Treasures "
of the celebrated physician and philosopher, Ibn Sina (died
A.D. 1035), are still used and published widely (one would
hardly call the prayers monotheistic) :
Invocation to Venus. O blessed, moist, temperate, subtle,
aromatic, laughing and beautiful Princess, who art the mis
tress of jewels, ornaments, gold, silver, amusements, and of
social gatherings; O Lady of sports and jokes, conquering,
alluring, repelling, strengthening, love-inspiring, match
making ! O Lady of joy, I pray thee to grant my wishes by
the permission of God the Most High !
Invocation to Mercury. O veracious, excellent, just, elo
quent Prince who art pleasant to look at, a writer, an arith
metician, a master of wickedness, fraud, trickery and helper
in all stratagems! O truthful, noble, subtle and light one,
whose nature and graciousness are unknown, as they are
boundless, because thou art boding good the well-boding ones,
ITS THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
and boding evil with the evil-boding; a male with males, a
female with females, diurnal with diurnals, and nocturnal
with nocturnals, accommodating thyself to their natures, and
assimilating thyself to their forms. Everything is thine. I
ask thee to do my will, by the permission of God. 13
In astrology it is generally believed that Saturn presides
over Saturday, and his color is black; the Sun presides over
Sunday and his color is yellow ; the moon presides over Mon
day and his color is green; Mars presides over Tuesday and
his color is red; Mercury presides over Wednesday and his
color is blue; Jupiter presides over Thursday and his color
is sandal ; Venus presides over Friday and her color is white.
There are also seven angels, one for each day of the week, and
special perfumes which are to be burned in connection with
these incantations. The modus operandi in the books on this
subject is to take the first letters of the names of the persons
concerned and use them with the tables of astrology. We
then take the first letter of the planet relating to the person
or thing asked for, writing them, and putting the sign of the
accusative case on a hot letter, that of the nominative on a
dry one, and that of the genitive on a moist one, and the
thing is done. E.g. if we wish to join the letters of Mahmud
and Fatimah with the letter of the planet representing the
thing asked for, namely Venus (Zuhrah), we take the first let
ter of Mahmud, the first of Fatimah, and the first of Venus.
Then we operate with them, fumigating them with the appro
priate perfumes ; you must however have your nails cut, put
on your best clothes, and be alone; and your wish will be
granted by the permission of God. It is still customary to
get the horoscope of new-born children from astrologers. We
can also learn the future by Geomancy which is called in
Arabic Ilm ar raml (sand) because the figures and dots were
is From the article on Magic by E. Rehatsek, M.C.E., in the Journal
of the Asiatic Society, Vol. XIV, No. 37.
MAGIC AND SOECERY 179
formerly traced on that material, instead of on paper as at
present; the operator is called Rammal, and he not seldom
calls in astrology to aid him in his vaticinations and prog
nostications. Books on Geomancy are numerous enough, but
the actual modus operandi must be learned from a practi
tioner. See the illustration on page 185.
Of many other magical practices in vogue among Moslems
to-day we cannot write at length. I may mention, however,
the use of magic bowls or cups, which goes back to great
antiquity. Generally speaking the cups are of two kinds.
One is called Taset al Khadda from the Arabic root khadda
which means " to shake your cup." 14 This kind is also
called Taset al Turba. These all are used for healing, and to
drive away the ills of the body. A specimen of this sort, so
carefully kept by old families, may be seen in the Arab
Museum, made by an engraver called Ibrahim in 1581 A.D.
According to a Coptic writer the owners of such goblets often
lend them to others who need them. The right manner to
use the goblet is to fill it with water in the early morning,
place some ordinary keys in it and leave them until the
following day, when the patient drinks the water. This
operation is repeated, three, seven, or forty consecutive nights
until the patient gets rid of the evil effects of his fright.
It would not be strange if the oxide of iron acted on the
patients.
The Moslem goblets generally contain Koran inscriptions
and the keys spoken of are suspended by wires from the inner
cup which rests in the center of the Taseh. This is fastened
to the cup by a screw allowing the inner cup to revolve so
that the keys reach every position of the outer goblet. Two
magic cups which I purchased, the smaller one at Alexandria,
the larger at Cairo, are both made of brass, the larger measur
ing a little over eight inches in diameter and two inches in
i* See Lane s Dictionary.
180 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
height ; the smaller one five inches and a quarter in diameter
and one and a half in height. The inner cup or basin in
both cases is two inches in diameter. The keys are suspended
from perforations numbering thirty in the case of the larger
cup and twenty in that of the smaller. (See illustration
opposite. )
To begin with the larger cup ; on the inside we have round
the rim certain numerical signs equivalent to the number
1711 which may have magical significance but the num
bers are not distinct nor are they uniform. Then follows the
inscription taken from the chapter "Y.S." of the Koran
(Surah XXXVI) " In the name of the Merciful and Com
passionate God. Y.S. By the wise Quran, verily, thou art
of the apostles upon a right way. The revelation of the
mighty the Merciful ! That thou mayest warn a people whose
fathers were not warned, and who themselves are heedless.
Now is the sentence due against most of them, for they will
not believe. Verily, we will place upon their necks fetters,
and they shall reach up to their chins, and they shall have
their heads forced back; and we will place before them a
barrier, and behind them a barrier; and we will cover them
and they shall not see ; and it is all the same to them if thou
dost warn them or dost warn them not, they will not believe.
Thou canst only warn him who follows the reminder, and
fears the Merciful in the unseen ; but give him glad tidings or
forgiveness and a noble hire."
The remainder of this section of the Koran is given on the
outside of the cup on the outer circle and reads as follows:
" Verily we quicken the dead, and write down what they
have done before, and what vestiges they leave behind; and
everything we counted in a plain model.
" Strike out for them a parable : the fellows of the city
when there came to it the apostles; when we sent those two
and they called them both liars." The outside of the cup
32
MAGIC AND SORCERY 181
also contains in bold characters five of the beautiful names
of God, namely, " O Healer, O Sufficient One, O Thou Who
Carest, O Thou Who Givest Health, O Thou Who Judgest."
Here also we have a number of mystical symbols, Arabic
numbers, etc.
The smaller cup also has on the inside the first portion of
the chapter already indicated and in addition the follow
ing verse from the twenty-fourth chapter of the Koran :
" God is the Light of the Heavens and the Earth ; His light
is as a niche in which is a lamp, and the lamp is in the
glass, the glass is as though it were a glittering star," and a
portion of the seventeenth chapter, " The Night Journey " :
" And we will send down of the Koran that which is a healing
and a mercy to the believers." There is no inscription on
the outside of the smaller cup. Each of the keys is inscribed
with the words, " Bismillahi ar Rahman ar Rahim." 15
Another cup is used for evil purposes. It is manufactured
at Medina and bears the inscription in Arabic, " Al Medina
the Illuminated. In the year 1305 A.H." It is made of
aromatic wood with a yellow tinge and a bitter taste, turned
by hand and with no verses from the Koran. This cup is
called Al Kubalya al Kimiya, or " the cup of Alchemy."
Its strange use is to separate husband and wife or by sorcery
to injure a woman or draw her away into unlawful love.
Two verses of the Koran are written backward with semen
humanis on the inside of the cup and it is filled with water
and the woman is made to drink it secretly. The verses are
the following : " And the whoremonger shall marry none
but a whore or an adultress ; and the whore shall none marry
but an idolater; God has prohibited this to the believers."
And also a verse from the sixty-fifth chapter : " O Thou
Prophet ! when ye divorce women, then divorce them at their
term, and calculate the term and fear God your Lord. Do
i* In the name of God the merciful, the compassionate.
182 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
not drive them out of their houses unless they have committed
manifest adultery."
That this cup also is in common use is established by the
fact that the person who gave it to me said that his father in
Ramleh (near Alexandria) used to let it out and receive one
pound a night for its use. Apparently these cups are man
ufactured in large quantities at Medina by the Moslems
and the virtue consists not only in the power of the Koran
chapters but in the material of the cup and the place of its
manufacture.
Ahmed Zaki Pasha, an Arabic scholar and secretary of the
Council of Ministers in Cairo, read a paper before the Egyp
tian Institute recently with regard to one of the healing
cups now kept at the old Coptic Church as a relic. 16 From
this paper we learn the following particulars :
Magic Cups fall into two categories those which cure the
sufferings caused by violent and sudden emotions which the
Arabs call " Cups of Terror," and those which serve to cure
maladies, physical as well as moral, and even domestic
troubles. The " Cups of Terror " are jealously preserved by
those who possess them, and are in general use to this day in
Egypt. The owners willingly lend them to their suffering
fellow mortals; one condition, however, attaches to such
loans, non-compliance with which will cause the cup to lose
its charm forever the borrower must make a monetary de
posit. Zeki Pasha related that in the case of one of these
cups, which he produced, he had had to pay the sum of
75 to the mother of the head of the family possessing it.
The following is the procedure that must be followed to
work the charm of the " Cup of Terror." The cup has to be
filled with water at the hour when the Faithful proceed to the
mosque for the dawn prayer. A bunch of keys and other
is A full account of another cup of this character was given by E.
Rehatsek, M.C.E., in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Soc., Vol. XIV,
No. 37. Our illustration is taken from this article.
MAGIC AND SORCERY 183
metal trinkets, all of them rusty, are then dipped in the water,
which is left out in the open, and which the person to be
cured has to drink the next morning. This ceremony, re
peated three, seven, or forty consecutive nights, as the case
may be, invariably cures any one suffering from the effects
of strong emotions.
The other category, which is far more interesting from
both the superstitious and the historic point of view, falls
into two classes, those that are anonymous, i.e. undated, and
those that bear either the name of a distinguished personage
or a definite date. It is to the second class of this category
that the cup forming the subject of the paper belongs.
This cup Zeki Pasha calls the Saladin Cup, because of the
dedication which is inscribed upon it. The inside, made of
white brass, bears a circular inscription consisting of mystic
and cabalistic letters, which, albeit several Arabic letters and
cyphers are distinguishable, are so intermingled that it is
quite impossible to make anything out of them. Above this
inscription are sixteen medallions, identical in form but with
alternating Koranic and mystic inscriptions, on them. The
Koranic medallions contain the formula : " In the name of
God, the Merciful and All-Forgiving." The original bottom
of the cup has disappeared, and has been replaced by a
curious piece of copper, on which there are no inscriptions.
On the outside of the cup, which is made of red copper, is the
dedicatory formula, which is worth reproducing. It runs as
follows :
" Honor to our Lord, the Sultan King, the defender of
the cause of God, who is supported (by Him) the vic
torious, Abu-1-Mouzaffar, Yusef, the co-sharer of the
Commander of the Faithful ! (This cup) has been proved
by experience (to be a cure for) viper and scorpion bites,
fever, to bring about the return of her husband to the
184 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
divorced and abandoned woman, to cure (the bite of a)
mad dog, intestinal pains, colic, headache ... to destroy
the effects of witchcraft, (to stop) bleeding, to exorcise the
evil eye, to drive away sadness and heart qualms, and all
ills and infirmities except death ... to prevent the vexa
tions caused by troublesome children. (It should be)
placed at the head (of the patient) and be used as a bath
by the old maid (to help her get a husband)."
Below this inscription are ten medallions, alternately round
and trapezoid in form. All are covered with mystic signs
entirely incomprehensible to us to-day. Underneath the
medallions is a circular inscription in Arabic characters,
some of which are obliterated, but from which with the help
of contemporary cups in the Arab Museum, it has been pos
sible to reconstruct the following text :
" Made after astrological observations reproduced and
engraved during the apogee of the star and according to the
horoscopes derived from the astral tables. This has been
agreed upon and adopted by the principal religious heads
of the Rashidite Caliphs in order to safeguard the Moslem
community. Executed at Mecca in the year . . . for all
ills and infirmities."
MAGIC AND SORCERY
185
TALISMANIC MEDICINE CUP
From Rehatsck a Article " Magic " Jour. Asiatic Soc., Vol. XIV : 37.
CHAPTER X
AMULETS, CHARMS AND KNOTS
THE belief in the magic effect of inanimate objects on the
course of events seems to belong to a condition of the intellect
so low as to be incapable of clear reasoning regarding cause
and effect. Yet it is so early a form of belief or super-belief
(i.e. superstition) that it survives the rise of knowledge and
reasoning among most peoples. The lowest of mankind
the Tasmanians had great confidence in the power of amu
lets, the Shilluks of the Sudan wear them in a bunch, the
Arabs have always had great faith in charms, and Southern
Italy in our own as in Pliny s time abounds in amulets.
In ancient Egypt they were even more common than they
are to-day. " On examining the two hundred and seventy
different kinds of amulets found in Egypt," says Dr. Elinders
Petrie, " there are only about a dozen which remained un-
classed, and without any known meaning. The various ascer
tained meanings may be completely put in order under five
great classes. These are (1) the amulets of Similars, which
are for influencing similar parts, or functions, or occurrences,
for the wearer; (2) the amulets of Powers, for conferring
powers, and capacities, especially upon the dead; (3) the
amulets of Property, which are entirely derived from the
funeral offerings, and are thus peculiar to Egypt ; (4) the
amulets of Protection such as charms and curative amulets ;
(5) the figures of gods, connected with the worship of the
gods and their functions." J All these classes of amulets,
except the last, are in use among Moslems to-day, in many
i " Amulets of Ancient Egypt," p. 6.
186
AMULETS, CHARMS AND KNOTS 187
cases of the same form and material as in the days of the
Pharaohs. Metal discs, animal shapes, etc., similar to those
that were used in the days of Isis are still in use by the
Egyptians, as is shown by Mr. Budge. The ancient Egyp
tians used magical figures made of wax just as they do to
day. The names of the gods were inscribed in magical
fashion then as now, and the ceremonies used for purification,
sacrifice and horoscopes are strangely like those we find in
modern Moslem books.
Not only in Egypt but in all the lands of the East and
wherever Islam has carried its stern monotheistic creed the
use of animistic charms and amulets has persisted or been
modified or in many cases been introduced by Moslem teach
ing. Moslem amulets are made of anything that has magical
power. Everything that attracts the eye (even the tattoo
marks or the mole on the face) is useful for this purpose.
Amulets are used on horses, camels and donkeys as well as
for men, women and children. The ringing noise of metal
charms drives away the demons. Amulets are worn round
the neck and as rings, anklets, girdles, etc. The amulet which
hangs around the neck was universal in pre-Islamic days and
was called tamima. When the boy reaches puberty the
tamima is cut off. The following names are given to amulets
and talismans in Arabic :
audha root signifies to protect take refuge.
hijab root signifies to shield as with a curtain.
Tiirz root signifies to guard against evil.
nafra root signifies to flee from, i. e., make demons flee.
wadh root signifies to make distinct.
tamima root signifies to be complete (oldest name
given).
Has this word tamima any connection with the TJrim and
Thummim of the Old Testament ? No doubt Moslem relig-
188 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
ions magic owes much to later Jewish sources. The charac
ter and even the shape of amulets is often borrowed from
Judaism, e. g., we have in Islam something very similar to
" ABRACADABRA," a magic word or formula used in in
cantations, especially against the intermittent fever or in
flammation, the patient wearing an amulet upon his neck,
with the following inscription :
ABRACADABRA
ABRAC AD ABR
ABR ACAD AB
ABRAC AD A
ABR AC AD
AB R AC A
ABRAC
AB R A
ABR
A B
A
The underlying idea was to force the spirit of the disease
gradually to relinquish its hold upon the patient. 2
The vain search for the supreme name of God, a name
which Solomon is said to have used, is common among those
who write talismans. The Gnostics in their magic used the
word ABRAXAS as that of the highest being ; the value of
the letters in this name equal 365, the number of the days
in the year. Many derivations are given for the word and
it became a common magical term in Judaism.
Conjuring spirits or exorcising demons in Islam is by the
use of certain prayer-formulas. These formulas compel God
to do what is requested and indicate a belief in the fetish
power of the words themselves. It is especially the use of the
2 Has this any relation to Abraka and dabra, i.e. "Most blessed
word"? or "I will bless the Word"?
AMULETS, CHARMS AND KNOTS 189
names of God and the great name of God that produce these
results.
The number 99 for the names of God is a hyperbole for any
large number. The Arabs were accustomed to say 33, 44,
99, 333, etc., for any large number and the significance of the
saying " God has 99 names," indicates simply that his names
are manifold. The number 99 is not given by Bukhari nor
Muslim. According to Goldziher it was first given by Tir-
madhi and Ibn Maja, and the latter even states that there is
no good authority for this tradition.
There are many different lists of the names. Kastallani
points out no less than twenty-three variants. In later days
under the influence of the Sufis the number of God s names
increased to one thousand and one. One of the most popular
books of common prayer, by Abdallah Mohammed Gazali
(died 870 A. H.), illustrates this magical use of God s names
and often uses such expressions as " I beseech Thee by Thy
hidden and most Holy Name which no creature understands,
etc., etc." There are many books on the magical use of the
names of God, especially one called Da wa al juljuliyeli (i. e.,
Jalla jallalaliu).
These names of God are used not only for lawful prayer
but for strength and power to execute unlawful acts. This
shows that they have a magical rather than a holy character.
In the notoriously obscene book Rajua, al Sheikh ila Saba,
written by a " pious " Moslem, these names of God are recom
mended to be used for immoral purposes. 3
The terms used in magic are Da wall ; azima or Incanta
tion ; Kali ana Divination ; Ruqya Casting a Spell ; and
Sihr Magic. The two former are considered lawful, the
latter are considered forbidden by many authorities. 4
3 A vast literature on the use of God s names and the magic of num
bers has grown up called Kutub al Ruhaniyat on Geomancy, Oritho-
mancy and dreams.
* Hughes Dictionary, p. 304.
190 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
According to a statement of the Prophet, what a fortune
teller says may sometimes be true; because if one of the jinn
steals away the truth he carries it to the magician s ears ; for
the angels come down to the regions next the earth (the lowest
heaven), and mention the words that have been pre-ordained
in heaven; and the devils, or evil jinn, listen to what the
angels say, and hear the orders predestined in heaven, and
carry them to the fortune-tellers. It is on such occasions that
shooting stars are hurled at the devil. It is also said that the
diviner obtains the services of the devil (Shaitan) by magic
arts, and by names invoked, and by the burning of perfumes,
and other practices he informs him of secret things. For the
devils, before the mission of the Apostle of God, used to as
cend to heaven, and hear words by stealth. That the evil jinn
are believed still to ascend sufficiently near to the lowest
heaven to hear the conversation of the angels, and so to assist
magicians, appears from many traditions and is asserted by
all Moslems.
For all of the Arabic terms mentioned above the English
word is Amulet, concerning the derivation of which there has
been much dispute. Formerly it was supposed to be derived
from the Arabic word Hamala,, but it really is an ancient
Latin word of unknown etymology. Moslem amulets may
be classified as of Pagan, Jewish, or Christian origin. In
Egypt, for example, a common amulet used on children con
sists of a small leaden fish, similar to the fish amulets found
in the catacombs which represented the initials of the Greek
words for Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour.
The use of amulets was very extensive among the Jews in
the Rabbinical period and we can clearly trace many of the
amulets in use to-day by Moslems to these Jewish practices.
The amulet itself, it appears, might consist either of an article
inscribed with the name of God, with a Scripture passage or
the like, or of the root of some herb. Grains of wheat
AMULETS, CHARMS AND KNOTS 191
wrapped in leather sometimes served as amulets. The most
frequent form of amulet, however, was a small pearl wrapped
in leather. To protect a horse from evil influence, a fox s
tail or a crimson plume was fastened between its eyes. Chil
dren owing to their feeble powers of resistance, were held to
be much exposed to the danger of magic fascination; they
were, therefore, protected by means of knots, written parch
ments, etc., tied round their necks. Furniture and house
hold belongings were protected by inscribing the name of
God upon foot-rests and handles. Usually, at least among
men, amulets were worn on the arm; but exceptionally they
were carried in the hand. Women and children wore them
especially on neck-chains, rings, or other articles of jewelry.
An amulet would sometimes be placed in a hollow stick, and
would be all the more efficacious because no one would suspect
its presence ; it was a species of concealed weapon. Figur.a-
tively, The Torah is said to be such an amulet for Israel.
The priestly benediction (Num. vi, 2426) protected Israel.
against the evil eye. . . . Upon an amulet said to be potent
in curing the bite of a mad dog, was written, " Yah, Yah,
Lord of Hosts." Medicine did not disdain the use of
amulets. Abraham they taught wore a jewel on his neck
which healed every person he looked upon. A " stone of
preservation " was said to protect women from miscarriage. 5
This stone of preservation is still a common superstition in
Egypt among Moslems; it is called in Arabic Hajr an
Naqdha and is loaned by different families in a neighbor
hood to rub on the limbs of a convalescent, to protect children
against contagion, etc.
The later science of amulets and their use seems to be
almost wholly borrowed from Judaism. Moslem works on
the subject follow the Cabila. We read thait in the Middle
Ages Christians employed Jews to make amulets for them.
5 The Jewish Encyclopedia, Vol. I, art. Amulet.
192 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
At present in Cairo, Baghdad and Damascus Jewish silver
smiths carry on a large trade in Moslem amulets, in fact an
amulet is supposed to have special power if it has not only
Arabic but Hebrew letters on it.
The sale of amulets of every description is carried on
within a stone s throw of Al Azhar University, and some of
the professors, as well as many of the students, promote the
industry. A favorite amulet, printed by the thousands and
sent from Cairo throughout all North Africa and the Near
East, is entitled The Amulet of the Seven Covenants of Solo
mon. It consists of a strip of paper seventy-nine inches in
length and four inches in breadth, lithographed, and with por
tions of it covered with red, yellow, green, or gold paint.
The whole is then rolled up, tied, put into an amulet case
of leather and silver, and worn by men as well as by women
and children. The specimen which is translated herewith
was purchased from Mohammed el Maliji, a bookseller near
Al-Azhar and renowned for his controversial writings and
anti-Christian poems. As typical of the real character of
popular Islam this translation, which is verbatim except
where indicated, will interest the reader:
THE SEVEN COVENANTS OF SOLOMON
What God wills will be
There is no god but God, Mohammed is the Apostle of God.
Abu Bakr Omar
God Most High
Hassan Hussein
Mohammed
Peace upon him
Othman All
AMULETS, CHARMS AND KNOTS 193
Gabriel, Peace upon him ; Michael, Peace upon him ; Israfil,
Peace upon him; Azrail, Peace upon him.
An amulet for jinns and payment of debts, and a preserver
from all secret diseases, and for traveling by land and sea,
and for meeting governors, and for winning love, and for sell
ing and buying, and for traveling by day and night: Cer
tainly my prosperity is through God and Mohammed. Him
alone I have trusted and to Him I repent.
The Seven Covenants against all evils and to preserve men
and cause blessings.
Talha, Zobeir, Abd-al-Rahman, El Haj.
It is useful for the sting of scorpions, serpents, and all
other insects. The one who carries this (amulet) gains by
its blessing all desires.
(Here a picture is given of a scorpion and a snake.)
Certainly every person attains to what he purposes. This
is the amulet of great power and might and proof.
" IN THE NAME OF GOD THE MERCIFUL, THE
COMPASSIONATE
" Thanks be to God the Lord of the worlds, and prayer and
peace be upon the noblest apostle, our Lord Mohammed, and
upon his family and Companions. But after this it is re
lated of the prophet of God Solomon, son of David, (peace
upon both), that he saw an old woman with hoary hair, blue
eyes, joined eyebrows, with scrawny limbs, disheveled hair,
a gaping mouth from which flames issued. She cleaved the
air with her claws and broke trees with her loud voice. The
prophet Solomon said to her, Art thou of the jinn or human ?
I have never seen worse than you. She said, O prophet of
God, I am the mother of children ( Um-es-Subyan) . I have
dominion upon sons of Adam and daughters of Eve, and upon
194! THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
their possessions. I enter houses and gobble like turkeys and
bark like dogs, and low like cows, and make a noise like cam
els, and neigh like horses, and bray like donkeys, and hiss like
serpents, and represent everything. I make wombs barren
and destroy children. I come to women and close their
wombs and leave them, and they will not conceive, and then
people say they are barren. I come to a woman in pregnancy
and destroy her offspring. It is I, O prophet of God, who
come to the woman engaged and tie the tails of her garments,
and announce woes and disasters. It is I, O prophet of God,
who come to men and make them impotent. (The expres
sions here used are too indecent for translation.) It is I,
prophet of God, who come to men and oppose their selling
and buying. If they trade, they do not gain, and if they
plow they will not reap. It is I, O prophet of God, who
cause all these. 7 Then Solomon (peace be upon him), seized
her in anger and said to her, O cursed one, you shall not go
before you give me covenants for the sons of Adam and daugh
ters of Eve, and for their wombs and their children, or I
will cut you with this sword. She then gave the following :
" The First Covenant
" By God, there is no God but He, the Profiter, the Harm
ful, the Possessor of this world and the next, the Life-giver,
the Guide to the misbelievers, the Almighty, the Dominant,
the Grasper, from whom no one can escape, and whom no one
can overcome nor defeat. I shall not come near the one
upon whom this amulet is hung, neither in travel nor in sleep,
nor in walking, nor in loneliness, and God is witness to what
1 say, Here is its seal,
" The Second Covenant
" In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
By God, there is no God but He, the Knower of secrets, the
AMULETS, CHAKMS AND KNOTS 195
Mighty. ... I will not touch the one who carries this,
neither in his humors, nor in his bones, nor in flesh nor blood
nor skin nor hair ; nor by any evil as long as earth and heavens
exist, and God is witness to what I say, and this is the seal.
" The Third Covenant
" t In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
By God, who is God but He, the Living, the Self-subsisting.
I will not touch the one who carries this, neither in his pros
perity nor his children . . . (etc., as before).
" The Fourth Covenant
" In the name of God, etc. (Attributes to God differ).
I will not touch the one who carries this neither in his walk
ing nor sitting, (etc.).
" The Fifth Covenant
" In the name of God, etc. I will not touch the one who
carries this neither in his property, nor trade, etc., etc.
" The Sixth Covenant
" In the name of God, etc. I will not touch . . . neither
secretly nor openly, etc., etc.
Then follow the Koranic verses called Al Munajiyat.
" Special Information and Benefit for Securing Love and
Friendship
" O Thou who dost unite the hearts of the sons of Adam and
daughters of Eve by love, we ask you to make the bearer ac
cepted and loved by all, and give him light and favor. God
is the Light of Heaven.
"Light Verse
" God is the Light. The similitude of His Light is as a
196 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
niche in a wall wherein a lamp is placed and the lamp en
closed in a case of glass. The glass appears as it were a
shining star. It is lighted with the oil of a blessed tree, and
olive neither of the east nor of the west. It wanteth little but
that the oil thereof would give light although no fire touched
it.
" Throne Verse
11 God ! There is no god but He, the Living, the Eternal.
Slumber doth not overtake Him, neither sleep. To Him be-
longeth whatsoever is in heaven and on earth. Who shall in
tercede with Him except by His permission ? He knows
what is between their hands and behind them ; and they can
not encompass aught of His knowledge except as He please.
His throne is as wide as heaven and earth. The preserva
tion of both is no weariness to Him. He is the High, the
Mighty."
Perhaps the most celebrated amulet in the world of Islam
is that called Al Buduh, a magic square supposed to have been
revealed to Al Ghazali and now known by his name. It has
become the starting-point for a whole science of talismanic
symbols. Some of the Moslem authorities say that Adam in
vented the square. It is so called from the four Arabic letters
which are key to the combination. To the popular mind this
word buduJi has become a sort of guardian angel, invoking
both good and bad fortune. The square is used against
stomach pains, to render one s self invisible, to protect from
the evil eye, and to open locks ; but the most common use is to
insure the safe arrival of letters and packages.
A description of a common Moslem amulet in silver is
given by Prof. D. B. Macdonald in the " Festschrift of Ignaz
Goldziher" edited by Carl Bezold (Strassburg, 1911, p.
267). It was bought at Damascus and is about two inches
197
long, pear-shaped, of silver metal. On one side is Ya Hafiz
and the names of the Seven Sleepers of the Cave and their
dog Qitmir are written in circular fashion to form a hexagon
or Solomon s Seal. On the other side is a magic square with
the names of the four archangels around its sides. All the
elements of the charm are of great talismanic value. Accord
ing to Lane these names of archangels, the sleepers and their
dog are sometimes engraved in the bottom of a drinking-cup,
and more commonly on the round tray of tinned copper which
placed on a stool forms the table for dinner, supper, etc.
Another charm supposed to have similar efficacy is composed
of the names of those common articles of property which the
Prophet left at his decease. These relics were two fubhaks
(or rosaries), his mushaf (or writings) in unarranged frag
ments, his mukhidah (or the vessel in which he kept the black
powder with which he painted the edges of his eyelids), two
seggadehs (or prayer carpets), a hand-mill, a staff, a tooth
pick, a suit of clothes, the ewer which he used in ablution,
a pair of sandals, a burdeh (or woolen covering), three mats,
a coat of mail, a long woolen coat, his white mule, ed-duldul,
and his she-camel, el adba. Q
We need not be surprised at these modern relic worshipers
for according to Tradition even the Companions carried hair
of the Prophet in their head-gear on the field of battle and
Hasan and Hussein, the grand-sons of the Prophet, wore small
amulets filled with the down of the feathers of the angel
Gabriel. 7
In addition to the amulets mentioned we give the transla
tion of an amulet from Upper Egypt written on ordinary
paper with black ink in running hand. At the end there are
some marks and symbols including the usual so-called Seal
of Solomon.
" Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians," Lane, p. 255.
Wackidi 429, Aghani 14:163; Buchari 4:33.
198 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
" O ! the Blessedness of l In the Name of God the Merciful,
the Compassionate Peace and Prayers of God are upon
our Master Mohammed, family and companions." Your
God and ours is One. No God hut He the Merciful, the Com
passionate. God, there is no God hut He, the Living, the
Eternal. Slumber doth not overtake Him, neither sleep.
To Him belongeth whatsoever is in heaven and on the earth.
Who shall intercede with Him except by His permission?
He knows what is between their hands and behind them ; and
they cannot encompass aught of His knowledge except as He
please. His throne is as wide as Heavens and the earth.
The preservation of both is no weariness to Him, He is the
High, the Mighty. The Apostle believeth in what hath been
sent down from His Lord, as do the faithful also. Each
one believeth in God and His Angels and His Scriptures and
His apostles; we make no distinction between any of His
Apostles, and they say we have heard and we obey. Thy
mercy Lord for unto Thee must we return! God will not
burden any soul beyond its power. It shall enjoy the good
which it hath acquired, and shall bear the evil for the ac
quirement of which it labored. O our Lord punish us not
if we forget, or fall into sin : O our Lord, and lay not on us a
load like that which thou hast laid on those who had been
before us, O our Lord ; and lay not on us that for which we
have not strength : but blot out our sins and forgive us, and
have pity on us. Thou art our Protector: help us then
against the unbelievers. Now hath an apostle come to you
from among yourselves: your iniquities press heavily upon
him. He is careful over you, and towards the faithful, com
passionate, merciful. And if they turn away, then say : God
sufficeth me; there is no God but He. In Him put I my
trust. And He is the Lord of the Glorious Throne.
" H. S. Sh. M. In the Name of the Living, the Eternal,
who never dies, I have preserved you from all evil. No
AMULETS, CHARMS AND KNOTS 199
power and no strength except in the Great One. In His
name nothing can hurt you in earth or in heaven. He is
the All Hearer, the All Knowing. I take refuge in the Face
of God the Gracious, and in the Words of God being full,
which no body, believer or unbeliever, can comprehend, of any
evil from heaven, and what happens in it, and what is in
earth, or comes out of it, or the events of day or night. Let
all events be good. In the name of God the Creator, the
Greatest. This amulet is a refuge against what I fear."
(Names of some Jinn illegible.) He is the All Hearer,
the All Knower.
" Had we sent down this Koran on some Mountain, thou
wouldst certainly have seen it humbling itself, and cleaving
as under for the fear of God. Such are the parables we pro
pose to men in order that they may reflect. He is God beside
whom there is no other God, He is the King, the Holy, the
Peaceful, the Faithful, the Guardian, the Mighty, the Strong,
the Most High. Far be the Glory of God from that which
they unite with him. He is God the Producer, the Maker,
the Fashioner, to whom as ascribed excellent titles. What
ever is in the heavens and in the earth praiseth Him ; and He
is the Mighty, the Wise. In the name of God the Compas
sionate, the Merciful. Say He is one God, God the Ever
lasting. He begetteth not, and is not begotten, and there is
none like unto Him. In the Name of God, etc. ... I be
take me for refuge to the Lord of the Daybreak, against the
mischief of His creation, and against the mischief of the first
darkness when it overspreadeth and against the mischief of
any enchantress, and against the mischief of the envier when
he envieth. In the Name of God, etc. . . . Say I betake me
for refuge to the Lord of men, the King of men, the God of
men, against the mischief of the stealthily withdrawing whis
perer, who whispereth in man s breast against Jinn and
men.
" In the Name of God the Compassionate the Merciful. I
bewitch thee (charm thee against) every evil, every envying
soul. Praise be to God, the Lord of men, the King of men,
the God of men, against the mischief of the stealthily with
drawing whisperer, who whispers in man s breast against
Jinn and men. Prayers of God and his peace are on our
master Mohammed."
In East Arabia superstitions and charms are almost as
common as in Egypt although the Wahabi reformers made
strong protest in their day. " In Bahrein," writes Mrs. Dyk-
stra, " a black kettle, turned upside down and placed on a
pole, guards the owner of the house or compound from evil.
To refer to the plague or any other epidemic is to bring it on,
for that is blaming God and He will become angry, and the
epidemic is then His punishment upon them. A mother must
not weep over the death of a child less than eight years, for
her tears will be as fat in the fire to her child to continue his
pain in the other world. A dirty face and black clothes are a
baby s protection against jinns. A new-born baby must be
spat on to secure its health and preservation. Amulets and
charms are worn by all to protect from evil and sickness."
In Persia, blue beads, and turquoises are used and little
metal hands called the hand of Ali. A large hand of Ali fas
tened to the top of a pole is worshiped in a mountain village
near Tabriz ; it was brought to the city, but not liking it, says
the legend, went back by itself. It is taken on a yearly pil
grimage to Mecca.
Mr. Gerdener of Cape Town tells us the most common amu
lets among Moslems there are bits of rag, containing herbs or
some drug. But more frequently they contain a small bit of
paper with certain Arabic writings, verses from the Koran
and mysterious looking squares with letters and figures in the
corners are also used. These they call their power.
AMULETS, CHAEMS AND KNOTS 201
In Tunis the most common amulets are little leathern bags
in which are sewn written charms, bits of incense, white cara
way seeds, also shells of snails, and " Fatima s hand " ; the
latter being often hung round the neck of cows or donkeys to
keep them from disease. One also sees the tails of fish over
house doors and the skull and horns of cattle.
It would not be an exaggeration to say of Moslems in
Egypt, Persia and Morocco what is stated by Nassau of pa
gans in West Africa; the only difference between the pagan
talisman and the Moslem one is that the pagan connects his
magic with the gods of the bush; the Moslem connects his
with Allah and the Koran :
" For every human passion or desire of every part of our
nature, for our thousand necessities or wishes, a fetish can
be made, its operation being directed to the attainment of one
specified wish, and limited in power only by the possible ex
istence of some more powerful antagonizing spirit. This
amulet hung on the plantation fence or from the branches of
plants in the garden is either to prevent theft or to sicken
the thief; hung over the doorway of the house, to bar the
entrance of evil ; hung from the bow of the canoe, to insure a
successful voyage; worn on the arm in hunting, to ensure
an accurate aim ; worn on any part of the person, to give suc
cess in loving, hating, planting, fishing, buying and so forth,
through the whole range of daily work and interests." 8
According to Tradition, Mohammed sanctioned the use of
spells and magic so long as the names were only the names of
God or of good angels. 9 It is, therefore, lawful to use charms
and amulets of this character. The system of incantation
used is called Al Da wa; this science is used to establish
friendship, to cure sickness, to accomplish desire, to obtain
8 "Fetishism in West Africa."
Mishkat, 21:1.
202 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
victory in battle. It is an occult science and is divided into
four heads : 10
(1) The qualifications necessary for Mm who practices it:
When any one enters upon the study of the sciences, he must
begin by paying the utmost attention to cleanliness. No dog
or cat or any stranger is allowed to enter his dwelling place,
and he must purify his house by burning wood aloes, pastiles,
and other sweet-scented perfumes. He must take the utmost
care that his body is in no way defiled, and he must bathe and
perform the legal ablutions constantly. A most important
preparation for the exercise of the art is a forty-days fast
(chilla), when he must sleep on a mat spread on the ground,
sleep as little as possible, and not enter into general con
versation.
Exorcists not infrequently repair to some cave or retired
spot in order to undergo complete abstinence. The diet of
the exorcist must depend upon the kind of asma, or names of
God he intends to recite. If they are the asma ul-jalaliyah,
or " terrible attributes " of the Almighty, then he must re
frain from the use of meat, fish, eggs, honey, and musk If
they are the asma ul-jamaliyah, or " amiable attributes," he
must abstain from butter, curds, vinegar, salt and ambergris.
If he intends to recite both attributes, he must then abstain
from such things as garlic, onions, and assafo3tida.
(2) The use of the tables required by the performer:
This contains an arrangement of the alphabet of which we
give an example on the next page.
To use the table one takes the initial letters of say Ahmad
(A) and Daniel (D) and copies out in double column the
result. The future is then read by discerning the agreement
or discord of the planets, the elements, the perfumes, etc. In
addition to this the perfumes mentioned are burnt during the
incantation. This science is almost universally practiced in
10 See Hughes Dictionary of Islam, art. " Da wa."
203
3
3
W
a
3
O
Amiable
1
H
V
C
E
do
i s
42
Zuhrah
Venus
(4
Durba il
,
a
Q
VC
Reckoner
Terrible
Enmity
w
Red Sandal
g
CO
S c
5) 3
Twayush
Darda il
3 TJ
a
c
J-
*
rs
CO
3
H
Assemb
Terrible
Amiab
Combin
*
i?
Cinnam
03
1^
p
"3
a
"a
M
5-
^
CO
i-l
fl
C
3
a
I
j<
ii
83
II
H t4
- -^
B
S
E
H
<J
OB
^-
Q
-
1
V
s
o
o
Terrible
~
,=
3
s
E
|
|
la
g a
Zuhal
Saturn
layupush
3
(4
M
fi
pq
ill
i
1
3
|<j-2
c
s
^1
**
fc-O P
1
_
z.
-
fl
A
^
R
S
b
J^ -g
If
E
r.
Is
c
i
o
|||
1
S
J
S
5
^
3
i
N
JS
M
S
f^ bt^
t> ^
E
*C
<
~
|
s
Meaning of
a
"o
S
p
Elements . .
Arba ah Anas
Perfume of t
o
JS
II
Planets
Kawakib)
9
a
3
8
Guardian An
Muwakkil)
fl
CL
4
Q
Q>
M
-
0)
Q)
3
e
e
ft
S
g
EH
P
EH
EH
g
201 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
Moslem lands and there are hundreds of books on the sub
ject. The most celebrated is that called " Shems al Ma arif
al Kubra " of Ahmed ibn All Al Buni, who died 622 A. II.
Among the subjects treated in this book of magical practices
are the following: to drive away demons, to strengthen mem
ory, to increase property, to gain love, to cure inflammation,
to hear the speech of Jinn, to increase crops. He gives us
the names on the seal of Solomon, the names on the rod of
Moses, the names which Jesus used to perform his miracles,
etc., etc., etc. There is not a Moslem village from Tangier to
Teheran where this encyclopedia of magic can not be found in
daily use by some Sheikh.
Among the most common amulets in use in India are magic
squares based upon the well-known magic square of Al-
Ghazali.
8
11
14
1
13
2
7
12
3
16
9
6
10
5
4
15
14
4
1
15
7
9
12
6
11
5
8
10
2
16
13
3
15
1
4
14
10
8
5
11
6
12
9
7
3
13
16
2
1
14
15
4
8
11
10
5
12
7
6
9
13
2
3
16
7
13
19
25
1
20
21
2
8
14
3
9
15
16
22
11
17
23
4
10
24
5
G
12
18
12 " Qanoon-e-Islam," by Herklots, London.
H-s
PH d, 2
5 :
s
s ^
i!l
~ 0)
^ ^ S*
s -
S ^
i en fl
O* "3 P
02 a 3
^ ^
^ -g ^
2 -2
O S 3
*^ TO ^3
Q C
^ ^ - -
< s
co S
- (!)
1* -C
i-3 < -^
^
5 bO
2 c
a
AMULETS, CHARMS AND KNOTS 205
These magic squares are written on a white porcelain plate,
or on paper, the inscription is then washed off with water
and the latter drank; or they are worn upon the person; or
they are burnt, and the individual is smoked with their
fumes ; or they are kept suspended in the air ; or having been
made into charms by being enveloped in cotton, they are
dipped in odoriferous oils, and burnt in a lamp ; or they are
engraved on rings and worn on the fingers. " Some persons
write the taweez or ism on blioojputur, or have it engraved
on a thin plate of silver, gold, etc., roll it up or fold and
form it into a taweez or puleeta, cover it with wax, and sew
some superior kind of cloth or brocade over it ; or they insert
it into a square hollow case or tube of gold or silver, seal it
hermetically, and wear it suspended to the neck, or tie it to
their upper arms or loins, or stick it into their turbans or
tie it up in a corner of their handkerchiefs and carry it about
their persons. People very generally have empty taweezes
made, and suspend them to the necks of their children, to
gether with nadulec 13 in the center, as well as some baghnuk
(tiger s nails) set in silver, etc., and when they obtain a
taweez from any renowned mushaekh or mulla, or can procure
a little of any sacred relic offered on shrines, such as flowers,
sundul, etc., they put these into them."
It is by such magic that people find out the hour and day
of the month most propitious for undertaking a journey, for
wearing new clothes, for trimming the beard, etc., for bath
ing, shaving, etc. The character of these superstitions may
be judged from a single example which Herklots gives :
" If a person have an enemy on whom he has not the power
to be revenged, though he is constantly distressed and har
assed by him the following is what people, in the habit of
doing these things, perform, either for themselves or for oth
ers, for a reward. However, it is not every one that succeeds
I 8 I. e., an amulet with the name of Ali.
206 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
in performing these; and practitioners only undertake them
for those actually in need of relief; and the Almighty again,
on His part, will only hear the supplications of those who
are really distressed. He is to read the tiibut-maqoos, or the
chayhul qaf morning and evening daily, for twenty-one days,
at each period forty-one times. Or, with some earth taken
out of a grave, or the earth of the Hindoo musan, he is to
make a doll about a span long more or less ; and repeating the
soora-e-ullum-turkyf with the name of its accompanying
demon, or the tubut reversed, or the chayhul qaf over twenty-
one small thin wooden pegs, and repeating it three times over
each peg, he is to strike them into different parts of the body
of the image ; such as one into the crown of the head, one into
the forehead, two into the two eyes, two into the two upper
arms; two into the two arm-pits, two into the two palms of
the hands, two into the two nipples, two into the two sides of
the body, one into the navel, two into the two thighs, two into
the two knees, and two into the two soles of the feet. The
image is then to be shrouded in the manner of a human
corpse, conveyed to the cemetery, and buried in the name of
the enemy who (it is believed) will positively die after it."
In all these charms and performances we can see animism
and Islam strangely mingled, theism and paganism side by
side. The prayer is made to the Almighty, the chapters read
are from the Koran (i. e., 9th Chapter " Tauba " is to be read
backwards and the chapter called Qaf is to be read 40
times), but the whole character of the rite is pagan. The
spiritual power or the spirit itself, the benefit of the blessing
is directly connected with the charm. We may again use
words in regard to Islam that Nassau uses regarding the
charms of the pagans in West Africa (p. 76) :
" Over the wide range of many articles used in which to
confine spirits, common and favorite things, are the skins and
especially the tails of bush-cats, horns of antelopes, nut-shells,
AMULETS, CHARMS AND KNOTS 207
snail-shells, bones of any animal, but especially human bones ;
and among the bones are specially regarded portions of skulls
of human beings and teeth and claws of leopards. But, lit
erally, anything may be chosen, any stick, any stone, any
rag of cloth. Apparently, there being no limit to the number
of spirits, there is literally no limit to the number and char
acter of spirits, there is literally no limit to the number and
character of the articles in which they may be localized."
In the villages of the Delta, where ninety-nine per cent
of the people are Moslems, and in the back streets of Cairo,
the intellectual capital of Islam, I have collected amulets
made of bone, shell, skin, horns of animals, teeth, claws, mud
from the tombs, etc., etc. Islam and Animism live, in very
neighborly fashion, on the same street and in the same mind.
CHAPTER XI
PRIMITIVE worship in all parts of the world is connected
with sacred trees and sacred stones. Paradise had its tree
of knowledge and the tree of life. The Patriarchs pitched
their tents under special groves and worshiped Jehovah with
out blame. They saw God in nature, yet did not deify na
ture and were charged over and over not to follow the abom
inations of those who worshiped under every grove. The
Ashera or sacred poles (trees) were connected with idolatrous
and orgiastic worship of the Baalim. Egyptologists speak
of Osiris as a tree-god with tree-demons and on Babylonian
cylinders we find pictures of sacred trees. A lordly oak or
elm is so beautiful that our poet, Joyce Kilmer, who gave his
life in France, wrote:
"I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A trees whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth s sweet flowing breast.
A tree that looks at God all day
And lifts her leafy arms to pray. . . .
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree."
The account in the Book of Genesis of the Tree of Life to
gether with that of the trees of the River of Life in the book
of Revelation find their parody in what Moslems teach con
cerning the Lotus-tree of Paradise. (See Commentary on
208
209
Surah 9Y.) It is said to be at the extremity or on the most
elevated spot, in Paradise, and is believed by Moslems to have
as many leaves as there are living human beings in the world ;
and the leaves are said to be inscribed with the names of all
those beings ; each leaf bearing the name of one person, and
that of his father and mother. This tree, Moslems believe, is
shaken on the Lailat al Qadr (night of Destiny) a little after
sunset; and when a person is destined to die in the ensuing
year, the leaf upon which his name is written, falls off on this
occasion ; if he is to die very soon his leaf is almost wholly
withered, a very small portion only remaining green ; if he is
to die later on in the year, a larger portion remains green;
according to the time he has yet to live, so is the proportion
of the part of the leaf yet green. This therefore is a very
awful night to the serious and considerate Moslems, who, ac
cordingly, observe it with solemnity and earnest prayer.
A whole world of superstition and tradition is connected
with this tree of Paradise and pictures of it are sold as amu
lets in Cairo. It is also common to find the genealogy of the
Prophet Mohammed traced back to Adam and forward to the
saints of Islam depicted as a sacred tree. I have seen such
pictures hanging for good luck as well as for instruction in
mosques at Saigon, Indo-China and in Honan and Singapore.
But this is beside our subject.
The special veneration of trees, however, exists in all Mos
lem lands and has the closest possible resemblance to pagan
tree-worship, as we shall see. In pagan belief because of
their theory of universal life all weird or abnormal objects are
sacred and have special soul-qualities. Trees of unusual size,
rocks of peculiar shape, animals with strange deformities,
all such things are sacrosanct. A Moslem dares not injure
them ; to do so would bring down upon himself the wrath of
unseen powers.
" Of course it is not to be supposed that the Malay peasant
210 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
is fully aware of the animistic character of his belief. He
acts as his ancestors acted before him ; he does not reason why.
He is satisfied with the fact that a tree has a spirit attached
to it; he does not stop to enquire whether that spirit is the
soul of the tree or merely a ghost that has taken up its abode
in the tree ; all he is certain about is that some unseen power
is connected with the tree." *
In West Africa tree-worship is common among the pagans
and such trees are famous haunts of spirits. Large, promi
nent trees are inhabited by spirits. " Many trees in the
equatorial West Africa forest throw out from their trunks,"
says Nassau, " at from ten to sixteen feet from the ground,
solid buttresses continuous with the body of the tree itself,
only a few inches in thickness, but in width at the base of
the tree from four to six feet. These buttresses are pro
jected toward several opposite points of the compass, as if
to resist the force of sudden wind-storms. They are a no
ticeable forest feature and are commonly seen in the silk-cot
ton trees. The recesses between them are actually used as
lairs by small wild animals. They are supposedly also a
favorite home of the spirits."
In Islam the same beliefs and practices exist and go back
to Arabian paganism or were adopted by Moslems in their
local or national environment and Islamized. The subject
was treated by Goldziher in a brief paper translated for the
Moslem World (July, 1911, p. 302). Other facts have since
come to our notice and all travelers in the Near East witness
to the wide prevalence of this superstition. Special venera
tion to holy trees is offered in Syria, Palestine, and all North
Africa. The Bedouins inhabiting the tracts of land tra
versed by Doughty look upon certain trees and shrubs as
manhals, or abodes of angels and demons. To injure such
trees or shrubs, to lop their branches, is held dangerous.
i" Malay Beliefs," pp. 20-21.
TKEE, STONE AND SERPENT WORSHIP 211
Misfortune overtakes him who has the foolhardiness to per
petrate such an outrage, and as may be imagined, the Arabs
have many delectable stories calculated to win over the skep
tic. The holy tree is hung with a variety of buntings and like
ornaments. The diseased and maimed of the desert resort
to it, offer it a sheep or goat, and besprinkle it with the blood
of the sacrificed animal. The flesh is cooked and distributed
among the friends present, a portion being left suspended
from a branch of the magic tree; and the patient returns
tranquil in the faith that the angel will appear in a dream and
instruct him with a view to his cure. But again it is the
patient only who may sleep in the shades of the sacred tree ;
to a healthy man the attempt would involve ruin. Professor
Sachu s attention was arrested in the rocky land Jabal-ul-
Amiri, southeast of Aleppo, by a stunted desiccated thorny
tree of a man s height which he beheld hung on all sides with
variegated rags. " Stones were heaped around its stem, and
all manner of stones, large and small, were placed in the
branches. Such a tree, called zarur, is the altar of the desert.
When a woman yearns for a child, when a peasant longs for
rain, or when he yearns for the restoration to health of his
horse or camel he takes a stone and deposits it at the foot of
the zarur, or fixes it somewhere between its two branches."
Again, on either side of the Jordan religious veneration for
sacred trees which has dominated there from times imme
morial and which evoked stern Biblical enactments has still
perpetuated in unaltered shape. " In no country," says the
Rev. Mr. Mills, " have men greater reverence for trees than
in Palestine. There we encounter a considerable number of
holy trees, which are hung with pieces of cloth and garments
of pilgrims who have journeyed thither to do homage to the
trees. We notice on other trees rags for purposes of super
stitious enchantments. Many a tree is the resort of evil
spirits, but what is more weird, a place abounding in tender
212 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
oaks is usually dedicated to a species of beings denominated
Daughters of Jacob. Abbe Barges tells of a lotus-tree
in the garden of an Arab in Jaffa to which special veneration
was offered. From the branches of the tree depended lamps
and strips of cloth of a variety of colors. The proprietor,
explaining the strange worship, said that the seed of the
tree had descended from heaven. That was why it was dedi
cated to the Prophet who visited the tree from time to time
in the shades of the night. All good Mohammedans show the
same awe-struck respect for a holy tree. The practice is
noticeable in other countries too, where popular worship
finds expression in veneration accorded to singular represen
tatives of the vegetable kingdom. Schumacher recording his
experiences in Jolan describes how the butmi tree is some
times seen standing solitary in the midst of a field shading
the final resting-place of a Moslem saint. It receives the dis
tinctive appellation of " fakiri," the indigent, and is so se
cured from all outside interference, being allowed unchecked
to attain to a great height. No Moslem dare break a single
one of its branches or even remove a dry twig, for, as the
legend has it, no man can ever bend its bough but must call
down upon himself the justice of divine vengeance.
Goldziher further states : " We may glance at a few more
of the diverse aspects which the cult of trees assumes in Islam.
Alongside of immutable heathen forms we come upon such
as have been subjected to the moderating influencing of
Mohammedanism. An umbrageous tree in Wadi ul-sirar, not
far from Mecca, which used to be worshiped in pre-Islamic
ages, is adored as the one under which seventy prophets had
their umbilical cord severed. (Al-Muwatta II, p. 284 ; Yakut
III, p. 75.). The Abbaside Abd-ul-Sainad-ibn-Ali, Governor
of Mecca, built a mosque at this place. A sacred tree is
either associated with the memory of Mohammed or its
shadow covers -a Wall s tomb. In the desert the holy tree is
r
TKEE, STONE AND SERPENT WORSHIP 213
adored in all its pagan aspects ; in the city the veneration is
transferred to a convenient saint. And without such props
the heathen cult would certainly have been uprooted. In the
mosque of Rabia in Kazwin there was a tree regarded sacred
by the vulgar. The Caliph ul-Mutawakkil ordered its de
struction l so that the people may no more fall into tempta
tion. (Beladhuri, p. 322.) It is imperative among aus
tere Mohammedan environment to find out a dead pious man
upon whom to transpose the homage really done to the tree,
and when no tomb is forthcoming nigh at hand, the tree itself
becomes the recipient of the worship in the shape of the habi
tation of a Wali. At the corner of a street in Damascus there
is an olive-tree, to which pilgrimages are made, chiefly by
women, among whom it is celebrated as the Holy Lady Olive
(Sitti Zaytun). A dervish collects the sacrificial gifts of the
pious devotees in whose behalf he offers prayers. The olive
was considered an individual with a personal name. Zeytun
grew into Zaytun. Morocco actually boasts of a like Notre
Dame d Olive in a gigantic tree which is the center of
crowded pilgrimages. A masculine counterpart of Lady
Zaytun we meet in the Sheikh Abu Zeytun whose mausoleum
is situated in Palestine. By an analogous process the Mo
hammedans have personified a venerable stone column into
Sheikh-ul-Amud, or the Reverend Pillar. Objects previously
looked up to as sacred continue to be so in Moslem times,
only they are connected with some pious man whose existence
the worshipers ever are at a loss to establish." So far the
investigations of Professor Goldziher. In Yemen the Mos
lems give the following tradition to explain how the custom
arose. I have not been able to trace it to its source. They
say that the polytheists of the Koreish used to pay high honor
to sacred trees and accept good and ill from their influences.
They used to drive nails into the trees and hang bits of their
clothing upon them, but when Islam came this practice was
214 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
forbidden to the extent that one day when Omar-ibn-el-Kha-
tab saw certain people going to a particular tree mentioned
in the Koran where the oath of allegiance to the Prophet was
taken by the Companions, he greatly feared that the people
would go back to idolatry and sent some one to cut down the
tree and it was cut down. This clearly shows that whatever
tree-worship persists in Arabia it is due to pre-Islamic prac
tice and is admittedly contrary to their own conception of the
demands of pure theism. Yet in spite of this tradition and
the loud assertion in the mosque that Allah is God alone and
that all polytheism is of the devil, we find tree-worship almost
universal. Sacred trees are very common in Morocco.
About twenty miles distant from Mogador there is a large
argan tree. Large numbers of Moors visit the spot every
year. They hang upon it bits of rag, broken pottery or nails,
believing that any of these things have power to unloose the
hidden virtue which lies concealed within and which flowing
to the donor will make this way prosperous until next visit.
While hanging these things upon the tree they give utterance
to desires which fill the heart. Moslems in India respect a
tree called Brimje which does not bear fruit and the leaves
of which are like those of a poplar tree but a little darker.
This tree is often planted on their tombs and in mosques ; the
pilgrims then tie up a strip of cloth on the branches of the tree
vowing to untie it on the fulfillment of some desire when they
offer a sacrifice.
In Algeria trees become holy and are worshiped because
some saint has sat under them or dreamed about them, etc.
They partake of the holiness of the saint and of the special
virtues belonging to him, such as healing children s illnesses,
child-bearing, etc. Strips of material are hung on them
as offerings to the saint. These rags then become blessed and
are frequently stolen and torn by other worshipers who place
TREE, STONE AND SERPENT WORSHIP 215
the piece in their waist belts or in the folds of their head!-
dress.
" Anatolia," writes Dr. George E. White, " is emphatically
full of sacred trees and groves, each of which usually owes
its sanctity to a holy grave, and often is in close proximity to
a sacred spring and a sacred stone. Riding through the coun
try one often spies a clump of trees, larger or smaller, on a
hill top, or in some valley nook, of which even before inquir
ing he may be quite sure that they are regarded as sacred.
Men fear to cut the wood except for a mosque or a coffin.
They believe that if one were to fell a tree or lop off a bough,
he would anger the spirit of the place and some stroke would
overtake him in consequence. They often say that if one cut
the wood it would fly back to the forest before morning.
More firmly do they believe that the woodman s house would
burn, or some accident befall one or more of the inmates. At
Ipejik a visitor told the people that devils would not get them
if they cut down the trees. Near Arabkir is a cave beside a
holy tree, where cocks are shut up as votive offerings to starve
and so propitiate the spirit of the place ; the willows are ac
counted sacred and can heal on Palm Sunday. Near Van the
Seer rock and tree cure fever in exchange for the tying of
a rag; near Harpout is a thorn-bush nearly buried in stones
which cures fever; again a forty branched tree at Goganz
rests on a hill top, and is visited by Armenians who have a
spring festival there. The Striker tree is feared by both
Turks and Armenians, who pray as they pass it, lest some ill-
luck overtake them in its vicinity. At St. Sapanz is a tree
which no one dares climb; Kurds and Armenians worship
there every Sunday. It is remarkable that Kurds should ob
serve the Christian Sabbath in this way, and suggests that
they may sometimes have changed their connection from nom
inal Christianity to nominal Mohammedanism, while remain-
216 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
ing really Pagan for the most part all the time. At Agunjik
a Kurd shot at a bird on a holy tree, and died eight days (that
is a week) afterward. Rushdonienz has a famous walnut
tree to which the sick resort, and where they remain in all
sorts of weather to offer sacrifices, for at certain times or in
certain stages of the weather a peculiar halo surrounds the
tree and the sick are then miraculously healed. At Morenik
a Sun Pole was burned in 1907 and thousands of nails were
found in the ashes, the remains of years of worshipers. This
tree was called the Censor, and cured all diseases for Turks
or Armenians impartially. They would beat the roots with
stones, burn candles before it, cast eggs into the pool hard by,
or drive nails into the pole, crying from me to you, from you
to another in the hope of thus expelling the disease."
In Kerbela there are trees supposed to belong to Ali and
other Shiah saints. There are two palm trees near Kerbela
under which Mary is believed to have sat when Jesus was
born. Women visit these trees, eat the fruit and drink a
mixture of the earth and water. Pilgrims carry a collection
of hair and tie it on the trees in Kerbela, believing that on
the day of resurrection they will have hair the length of the
trees. Finger-nails are also tied in a bit of rag to the trees ;
teeth are washed, wrapped in white cloth and hung on the
trees with a little salt, believing that this will keep them pure
and whole until they come to claim them on the day of resur
rection.
" In Persia," writes Miss Holliday, " I had a cook who
found near a village two fine saplings growing from the root
of an old tree ; as they would be fine for walking sticks he cut
them, but was reproved by his host for the night. If the
village knew they would be very angry. Don t you know
these are persons ? Another incident is given of a tree
that had fallen down in a cemetery to which rags were tied,
for communion with the spirit of the tree, lights were burnt
TREE, STONE AND SERPENT WORSHIP 217
and offerings made and which had even been walled off as a
protection.
The method of communion, the awe of dread consequences
to those who injure the tree, and the details of worship are
practically the same everywhere.
How trees are regarded and worshiped to-day in Arabia is
related by Doughty (Vol. I, p. 365). "Returning one of
those days I went out to cut tent-pegs at the great solitary
acacia tree which stands nigh the kella; here the goats and
sheep of the garrison lie down at noon after the watering.
Clear gum-arabic drops are distilled upon the small boughs ;
that which oozes from the old stock is pitchy black, bitter to
the taste, and they say medicinal : with this are caulked the
Arab coasting boats which are built at Wejh. Hither I saw
Doolan leading his flock, and waited to ask him for his bill,
or else that he would cut down the sticks for me. He an
swered : Wellah, O son of mine uncle, ask me anything
else, but in this were mischief for us both. No ! I pray thee,
break not, Khalil, nor cut so much as a twig of all these
branches, thou art not of this country, thou art not aware:
Look up ! seest thou the cotton shreds and the horns of goats
which hang in these boughs, they are of the Beduw, but
many fell in the late winds. And seest thou these nails ! cer
tain of the Haj knock them into the stem whilst they pray !
As I laid hand anew on a good bough and took my knife,
Doolan embraced me. No, Khalil, the man who cuts this
tree, he said, must die. What is this folly ! are you
afraid of trees? Ah me! she is possessed by a jinn; be
not so foolhardy. Wellah, I tell thee truth, a Beduwy broke
but a bough and Jie died within a while and all his cattle
perished. Khalil, the last evening a little girl of the booth
that is newly pitched here gathered some of these fallen sticks,
for her mother s fire, and as they kindled, by-thy-lif e ! the
child s arm stiffened; they carried her immediately into the
218 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
kella, where Haj Nejm hanged some charms about her, and
by the mercy of God the child recovered.
And here is a pen-portrait equally pathetic of how a mother
with her babe in Turkey seeks help at a holy-tree. The
writer, Victoria de Bunsen, has gazed deeply into the soul
of a Turk : " As my eyes wandered over the green branches,
I saw that low down they were ragged and bare, and all
stripped of their leaves. Instead the dry twigs were hung
with objects which by much travel had grown familiar to me,
the objects one learns to associate with all sacred mysterious
places in the East. There were the dirty rags, the wisps of
twisted hair, the little strings of beads or common charms
all the worthless cast-off things which mean so much to those
who cast them off for such a purpose, and are mere rubbish
to everybody else. ... I saw a woman stoop to pass beneath
them, and she came into the shade. She did not see me, and
she need not, for I was close to the tomb, and evidently that
was not the object of the visit. Some tall rank weeds and
grass trees hid me from her sight, though I could still watch
her. The woman I watched was tall and young. She wore
the blue loose dress of the Lebanon women and the long coarse
white veil. In her arms she carried a baby. She came
swiftly and with decision in her movements. There was
trouble in her face and great perplexity, but there was no
doubt of the reason she had come to the tree. Kneeling down
on the ground she unwinds the baby from its long thick wrap
pings and lays it on the ground beside her. I cannot see its
face but it must be very little and weak, for I can hear its
wailing cry, and it is feeble and struggling. When the swad
dling clothes are loosened, the wailing ceases for a minute and
I see one tiny toe kick weakly in the air. . . . While the
baby lies there on the ground and feebly stretches its wasted
limbs I watch with anxious sympathy, this last attempt to
save the life that means so much. The baby still wears a
TREE, STONE AND SERPENT WORSHIP 219
ragged little cotton shirt under the swaddling bands, and
from this the mother carefully tears a rag. Then, rising,
she scans anxiously the dry, leaf-stripped branches around
her. She holds the polluted discolored thing the holy
thing the little rag in her hand. All the fever and the
pain and the weakness of her child is concentrated and
bound up in that rag. For her was the duty of bringing that
concentrated evil that heavy-laden rag into contact with
the holy, life-giving tree. The rag must be bound to it, cast
off upon its branches. Choosing the place the woman fastens
the rag to a branch with steady deliberate fingers, and then
sits down again by her baby and contemplates it dangling
from a twig. Who shall say what hope, what agony of sus
pense, fills her troubled mind ? " 2
Stone- as well as tree-worship persists in Islam and Mo
hammed himself sanctioned it when in destroying all the idols
of the Ka aba he spared the Black-stone and left it in its place
of honor, an object of adoration. The Meccans before Islam
used to carry with them on their journeys pieces of stone from
the Ka aba, and paid reverence to them because they came
from the Haram or Holy Temple. Herodotus mentions the
use of seven stones by the Arabs when taking solemn oaths.
The honor, almost amounting to worship, paid the meteoric
Hajuru l Aswad or Black Stone, is one of the many Islamic
customs which have been derived from those of the Arabs
who lived long before Mohammed s time. The kiss which
the pious Mohammedan pilgrim bestows on it is a survival
of the old practice, and was a form of worship in Arabia as
in many other lands. The various gods of the ancient Arabs
were represented by images or stones. It is interesting to
know that some of these are still preserved as witness to Mo
hammed s triumph over idolatry. Doughty says : " On the
morrow I went to visit the three idol-stones that are shown
2 " The Soul of a Turk," Victoria de Bunsen, p. 242.
220 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
at Tayif-El- Uzza, which I had seen in the small (butchers )
market place. It is some twenty feet long; near the end
upon the upper side is a hollowness which they call makam
er-ras, the head place; and this, say they, was the mouth of
the oracle. Another and smaller stone, which lay upon a
rising-ground, before the door of the chief gunner, they call
el-Hubbal: this also is a wild granite block, five or six feet
long and cleft in the midst by a sword-stroke of our lord
Aly. " ..." A little without the gate we came to the third
reputed bethel-stone. This they name el-Lata (which is
Venus of the Arabs, says Herodotus) : it is an unshapely
crag; in length nearly as the Uzza, but less in height, and
of the same gray granite." (Vol. II: 515). 3 Even to-day
among the Shiahs in Bahrein, Arabia, there are ancient stones
which are objects of worship because they are supposed to
have jinn in them that have the power to come to life. Of
ferings of food are made to them on Tuesday night and some
times on Thursdays. The person making the offering al
ways salaams the jinn and after hoping that he may " eat in
health " the food is placed on the stone. In the morning the
dish is found empty. Women often take a piece of silk for
a garment in payment of a vow and leave it on the stone.
Each stone seems to have its " seyyida " who is responsible
for the removal of the silk, as the women say.
In Tabriz, Persia, there is a large marble tomb-stone before
which candles are burnt. When children have whooping
cough both Moslem and Christian mothers scrape off some of
the marble dust and give it to the children as a cure.
Another form of stone-worship very common throughout
s Our chief authority for the ancient Arabian idolatry is the cele
brated Kitab al-Asnam by Ibn al Kalbi. The book itself is lost, but is
widely quoted by Jaqut. The best summary on the subject is found in
Wellhausen s " Reste Arabischen Heidentums," and it is fully treated in
W. Robertson Smith s " The Religion of the Semites," New York, 1889.
221
the Moslem world is that of raising up stone heaps on sacred
places : " In Syria it is a common practice with pious Mos
lems when they first come in sight of a very sacred place, such
as Hebron or the tomb of Moses, to make a little heap of
stones or to add a stone to a heap which has been already
made. Hence every here and there the traveler passes a
whole series of such heaps by the side of the track. In North
ern Africa the usage is similar. Cairns are commonly
erected on spots from which the devout pilgrim first discerns
the shrine of a saint afar off ; hence they are generally to be
seen on the top of passes. For example, in Morocco, at the
point of the road from Casablanca to Azemmour, where you
first come in sight of the white city of the saint gleaming in
the distance, there rises an enormous cairn of stones shaped
like a pyramid several hundreds of feet high, and beyond it
on both sides of the road there is a sort of avalanche of stones,
either standing singly or arranged in little pyramids. Every
pious Mohammedan whose eyes are gladdened by the blessed
sight of the sacred towns adds his stone to one of the piles or
builds a little pile for himself." 4 The custom of passers-by
putting stone on a heap is a form of fetish worship. This
is clear from what we read concerning the practice in West
Africa.
" All day we kept passing trees or rocks," writes Nassau,
" on which were placed little heaps of stones or bits of wood ;
in passing these, each of my men added a new stone or bit
of wood, or even a tuft of grass. This is a tribute to the
spirits, the general precaution to insure a safe return. These
people have a vague sort of Supreme Being called Lesa who
has good and evil passions; but here (Plateau of Lake Tan
ganyika), as everywhere else, the Musimo, or spirits of the
ancestors, are a leading feature in the beliefs. They are pro-
* Frazer s " The Scapegoat," pp. 21, 22.
222 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
pitiated, as elsewhere, by placing little heaps of stones about
their favorite haunts." 5 The stoning of " The Three Dev
ils " at Mecca may be some form of ancestor worship if it is
not in memory of the old ictols.
We turn finally to Serpent-worship in Islam. Here also
we are surprised to find how much animism remains in Mos
lem lands and lives and literature ; all covered of course with
the charitable mantle of their creed. The Arabic dictionary
gives two hundred names for snakes. As-Suhaili says that
when God caused the serpent to come down to the earth, He
caused it to alight in Sijistan which is the part of God s earth
abounding most in serpents, and that if it were not for the
Irbadd (the male viper) eating and destroying many of
them, Sijistan would (now) have been empty of its people
owing to the large number of them (in it).
Ka b-al-Ahber states that " God caused the serpent to alight
in Ispahan, Iblis in Jeddah, Eve on Mount Arafah, and
Adam on the mountain Sarandib (Ceylon) which is the land
of China in the Indian Ocean." The curious may find much
on serpent lore in Damiri (Vol. I, p. 631). The most com
mon belief is that serpents are often human beings in the
form of snakes. The serpent has a place also in the story
of Creation which is given as follows : " Al-Kurtubi relates
in the commentary on the XL chapter of the Kuran on the
authority of Thawr b. Yazid, who had it from Khalid b.
Ma dan regarding Ka b al-Ahbar as having said, When God
created the Throne, it said, God has not created anything
greater than myself, and exulted with joy out of pride. God
therefore caused it to be surrounded by a serpent having
70,000 wings ; each wing having 70,000 feathers in it, each
feather having in it 70,000 faces, each face having in it
70,000 mouths, and each mouth having in it 70,000 tongues,
with its mouths ejaculating every day praises of God, the
8 Nassau s " African Fetichism," p. 91.
TREE, STONE AND SERPENT WORSHIP 223
number of drops of rain, the number of the leaves of trees,
the number of stones and earth, the number of days of this
world, and the number of angels, all these numbers of
times. The serpent then twisted itself round the Throne
which was taken up by only half the serpent while it re
mained twisted round it. The Throne thereupon became
humble." 6
The following story is told on the authority of one of the
Companions of Mohammed: " We went out on the pilgrim
age, and when we reached al- Ari, we saw a snake quivering,
which not long afterwards died. One of the men out of us
took out for it a piece of cloth in which he wrapped it up,
and then digging a hole buried it in the ground. We then
proceeded to Makkah and went to the sacred mosque, where a
man came to us and said, Which of you is the person that
was kind to Amer b. Jabir ? Upon which we replied, We
do not know him. He then asked, Which of you is the per
son that was kind to the Jann ? and they replied, This one
here, upon which he said (to him), May God repay you
good on our account ! As to him (the serpent that was bur
ied) he was the last of the nine genii who had heard the
Koran from the lips of the Prophet ?
In Java the Moslems speak of the holy serpent found in
the rice fields which must not be killed. They relate legends
in this respect that are undoubtedly of pre-Moslem origin.
When the peasant finds such a sacred snake in his fields he
takes it home and cares for it in order that the rice fields may
have the blessing.
The Shiahs in Bahrein believe serpents are jinn in human
forms and they should not be killed. Small ones, however,
are killed, placed in the sun with a little salt, and when the
flesh is thoroughly dry it is cut up, put in bags and worn as
an amulet against the evil eye. Rich people have their am-
P. 638, Damiri (English translation by Jayakar).
224 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
ulets placed in gold cases while poor people content them
selves with leather bags.
Serpents, lizards and frogs that frequent the marabout
buildings in Algeria are supposed to be inhabited by demons
subdued by the dead marabout (a holy person) and it is for
bidden to kill them on pain of death or subsequent ill luck.
The snakes are drawn out of their lairs by the beating of
tom-toms while certain Morocco sorcerers are supposed to
have the power to bring them out by a few spoken words.
On the occasion of an epidemic among the sheep near Eeli-
yane the shepherds threw their sticks under a certain mar
about tree and left them there for two or three days, then
they made their flocks to pass by that tree, after repeating
which two or three times they were healed.
In spite of the fact that Egypt is the intellectual center
of Islam many forms of the serpent worship of the ancient
Egyptians are still widely found, and in one case it is prac
ticed with the sanction of the Moslem faith.
The superstitious idea that every house has a serpent
guardian is pretty general throughout the country, and many
families still provide a bowl of milk for their serpent pro
tector, believing that calamity would come upon them if the
serpent were neglected. This is undoubtedly a survival of
the ancient belief that the serpent was the child of the earth
the oldest inhabitant of the land, and guardian of the
ground.
The serpent is used very frequently by sorcerers in their
incantations, and also in the preparation of medicines and
philtres which are used for the cure of physical and emotional
disturbances suffered by their clients.
The religious sanction given to serpent worship occurs in
the case of Sheikh Heridi whose tomb or shrine, with that
of his " wife," is to be seen in the sand-hills of Upper Egypt
some distance from the town of Akhniim. Sheikh Heridi is
TEEE, STONE AND SEEPENT WOESHIP 225
really a serpent supposed to occupy one of the tombs. The
birthday festival of this serpent saint takes place during the
month following Eamadhan, and lasts about eight days.
This festival is attended by crowds of devotees, including
large numbers of sailors who encamp about the shrine during
the festivities.
At other times pilgrimages on behalf of those suffering
from certain ailments are made to come to the tomb* Pro
fessor Sayce in an article on the subject published in the
Contemporary Review for October, 1893, quotes at length
from various travelers who have mentioned this serpent-saint
of Islam in their writings.
Professor Sayce then describes in detail the immediate
surroundings of the two domed shrines, one of which belongs
to the " wife " of the serpent. Near the shrines is a cleft
of the rock which was probably the " grotto " inhabited by the
" saint " before the shrine was erected.
Sheikh Heridi occupies as high a place in the esteem of
the native to-day as he did in the days of Paul Lucas and
Norden. His birthday festival is attended by crowds of
devout believers. Many stories are still told of the miracu
lous powers of the Saint, who is declared to be a serpent as
" thick as a man s thigh." If treated with irreverence or
disrespect, it breathes fire into the face of the offender, who
forthwith dies. It is very jealous of its wife s good name;
those who show her disrespect are also put to death by the
saint. The belief that if the serpent is hacked to pieces each
piece will rejoin, still survives, and it is held that any one
clever enough to note the place where the blood flowed, would
become wealthy, because there he would find gold.
The professor points out that Sheikh Heridi may be re
garded as the successor of Agathodaemon the ancient
serpent-god of healing. Belief in his miraculous powers is as
strong to-day as it was in the days of the Eameses or
Ptolemies.
226 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
At the entrance to the quarry through which pilgrims have
to pass on their way to the shrine, Professor Sayce discovered
engraved in large Greek letters in the stone the words
C7r aya0o> which, he says, indicate that during the Greek pe
riod, the place was sacred, and that a divinity must have
been worshiped here. It may be safely assumed that that
divinity was none other than the sacred serpent now Sheikh
Heridi under another name.
CHAPTER XII
THE ZAE: EXORCISM OF DEMONS
" WITHIN only a comparatively short period of years,"
says Professor Macdonald, " quite easily within thirty years,
I should say we have come to know that practically all
through the Moslem world there is spread an observance ex
actly like the Black Mass in Christendom. That is to say,
it is a profane parody of a sacred service. Among the older
travelers you will find no reference to this. Lane apparently
knew nothing of it, nor did even Burton, in spite of his curi
ous knowledge of the most out-of-the-way and disrespectable
sides of Islam. What it travesties is the Darwish zikr. . . .
ISTow, practically throughout all Islam -there is a kind of a
parody of this, in which the beings whose intervention is
sought are what we would broadly call devils. Yet when
we speak of Moslem devils, we must always remember their
nondescript character and that they are continually confused
with the jwn, and so come to be on a dividing line between
fairies, brownies, kobolds, and true theological devils.
Devil-worship, then, in Islam and in Christendom are two
quite different things. In Islam there is no precise feeling
of rejection of Allah and of blasphemy against his name.
It is, rather, akin to the old Arab taking refuge with the
jinn (Qur. Ixxii, 6), denounced, it is true, by Mohammed
as a minor polytheism, but compatible with acceptance and
worship of Allah. Perhaps it might be described most ex
actly as a kind of perverted saint-worship. But its form
is certainly a parody of the zikr, though with curious addi-
227
228 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
tions of bloody sacrifice, due to its African Voodo origin." l
The exorcism of demons is a universal desire where the be
lief in their power and malignity is so strong as we have
seen it to be in Moslem lands, but the particular form of this
belief, called the Zar, is unique in other ways than those
pointed out by Dr. Macdonald. Evidence continues to accu
mulate that we deal here with a form of Animistic worship
which although so long and so often concealed from western,
i.e., infidel observation, is found in Morocco, Algeria, Tu
nisia, Tripoli, Egypt, the Soudan, East and West Arabia,
Persia, Malaysia, and India. No direct witness to the exist
ence of this superstition among Chinese Moslems has come
from travelers or missionaries, but it would not surprise me
to find it also in Yunan and in Kansu provinces.
" Three things good luck from the threshold bar
A wedding, a funeral, and the Zar"
So runs an Egyptian ditty on the lips of suffering woman
hood which links these together as a trinity of evil.
The origin of the word is disputed. Dr. Snouck Hur-
gronje s<ays that it is not Arabic and has no plural. 2 But in
Eastern Arabia, especially in the province of Oman, the word
has a plural and the plural form, Zeeran, is preferably used.
Moreover I have been told that the word is Arabic and de
notes "A (sinister) visitor" (zara yezuru] who makes his
or her abode and so possesses the victim. " All Moslem
nationalities in Mecca," he says, " practice the Zar. Even
if they gave it another name in their own country they very
soon adopt the word Zar, although the national differences
continue."
The best account of its origin and character is that given
1 " Aspects of Islam," pp. 330-332.
2 " Mekka," Volume II, p. 124.
THE ZAR: EXORCISM OF DEMONS 229
by Paul Kahle, although he deals mainly with Egypt. 3 To
his account and the fuller experiences related by women mis
sionaries in Egypt and Arabia I am indebted for the par
ticulars given in this chapter. One of the best accounts of
the actual ceremony is that given by Miss Anna Y. Thomp
son of the American Mission in Egypt. 4 She writes:
" There are places where women go to have these Z&r
spirits appeased, but generally a woman who can afford the
expense of the occasion will have the performances in her
own house. Formerly, I thought that only hysterical women
were possessed/ but men also may have demon possession,
and even children. Indeed, in some parts of the city of
Cairo the little girls have this as a performance in their play
in the streets.
" There are different kinds of demons, and it is the busi
ness of the sheikhas to determine which sort (or sorts) are in
their patient. Yawning and lassitude go with possession,
also palpitation, a stinging sensation, and sometimes rheuma
tism and nausea. Instead of going to a doctor for medi
cine, the patient goes to a sheikh, who takes a handkerchief
belonging to the sick person and puts it under her pillow at
night. The sheikh or mashayikh (plural), who appear to
her during the night, are those who are making the trouble.
A day is appointed, a bargain is made about the kind and
expense of the ceremony, and all friends who are afflicted by
these particular demons are invited to assist in the festivities.
" One of our Bible-women was permitted to attend a Zar
in one of the houses where she was accustomed to read the
Bible, so a number of the missionaries went with her to the
place, which was an old building near the Bab-el-Shaa rieh
quarter. Women were sitting round on mats in -the court,
Paul Kahle, " Zar-Beschworungen in Egypten " in Der Islam, Band
III, Helt 1, 2. Strassburg, 1912.
* See Moslem World, July, 1913.
230 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
and the first part of the performance was the Nass-el-Kursy,
or preparation of the high, round table which had a large
copper tray on it. Different kinds of nuts were brought and
spread on the outer part, and some of each were given to
us. Then followed parched peas, sesame seed, parsley, cof
fee in a paper package, two heads of sugar, two bowls of
sour milk, two pieces of soap, a plate of oranges, one of feast
cakes, another of Turkish delight, candy and sugared nuts,
cucumbers and apples, all of which were covered with a
piece of red tarlatan. Three small candles (an uneven
number) were brought, and two large ones were placed on
the floor in tin stands. These were all lighted, and the
woman (after a bath) began to dress for the performance
which casts out Sudanese spirits. The woman was dressed
in white, and she and others were ornamented with blue and
white Sudan charms, silver chains, anklets, bracelets, etc.,
which had cowries or shells that rattled. One woman said
to me, All these are a redemption for us. Then the sheikha
and her women began to get their musical instruments ready,
by heating them over a few burning coals in a little earthen
ware brazier. They had two darabukka, or wedding drums,
two drums the shape of sieves and one barrel drum.
" The demon in one person of the family is a Christian
demon, and the possessed woman wears a silver cross and
crucifix to keep him happy. 5 If she were to take these off
she would suffer. She also wears a silver medallion with
bells on it, and silver rings on each finger, one having a cross
on it. Her child danced with the drums. A curious thing
was that this woman spent a few months in a mission school
5 Before I heard of Miss Thompson s story I discovered in the bazaar
at Cairo silver crosses engraved and sold to Moslem women by Jewish
dealers. One shows Christ upon the cross, while the other represents
the Virgin, and has " the verse of the Throne," from the Koran, on
the reverse side. They are used to cast out Christian devils by the
dreaded power i.e., the cross of the Christians.
THE ZAE: EXORCISM OF DEMONS 231
years ago, and she promised to send her daughter to be edu
cated by us in the same building.
" The performance began when the patient was seated on
the floor, by the sheikha drumming vigorously and chanting
over her head. One elderly relative, who was standing, be
gan to sway back and forth, and was followed by the patient
and others. After a period of rest, during which some
smoked, the woman was told to rise, and the sheikha held her
head, then each hand, the hem of her dress, and each foot,
over the incense which had been burned before the food on
the tray. Ten or fifteen others had the incense treatment
in the same way. This was after the sheik/ha, had called
on all the mashayikh, or demons, and had repeated the Fatiha
about five times, during which the drums played and all the
company chanted ; at a given signal on the drums, each one
covered her face with a white veil. The patient rose and
began swaying and contorting her body as she went slowly
around the table, followed by others. When a performer
was too vigorous, an onlooker would take a little flour or
salt and sprinkle it over her head, following her around the
circle to prevent her falling. In the midst of all the din,
some of the women gave the joy cry. Two white hens and
a cock, which were to be sacrificed the next day, were brought
in and flew about the room. The patient at last sank down
panting, and the sheikha took a large mouthful from a bottle
of rose water, and spattered it with force over each per
former.
" The flour and other things are intended to make peace
between the patient and the Asyad (ruling demons). Do
not be angry with us, we will do all we can. At the begin
ning of these performances, the sheikha, with the incense in
her hand, and all the -others standing around the table, re
peated the Fatiha; 6 after which she alone recited : l To
I. e., the first or opening chapter of the Koran.
232 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
those who belong to the house of God, may they have mercy
on you hy their favor, and we ask of you pardon, O Asyad.
Have pity on us and on her in whom ye are, and forgive her
with all forgiveness, because those who forgive died pious.
Forgive, forgive, in the right of the Prophet (hak-en-nebi) ,
upon him be prayers and peace.
" The second round was in the name of others. After the
Fatiha, To those who are of the house of God, the people
of Jiddah, and Mecca, and the Arabs, by the right of the
Prophet Mohammed, upon him be prayers and peace.
THE FATIHA
" To the mashayikh, Ahmed the Soudanese, all of them
Sayyidi Amr, and Sayyedi Ahmed Zeidan.
THE FATIHA
" To the mashayikh of the convent, all of them, and Amir
Tadrus and all those about him, and those who belong to the
convent. ( Coptic. )
THE FATIHA
" To the four angels, and the Wullayi, and Mamah, and
Rumatu, and all the mashayikh.
THE FATIHA
" To those in the sea (or river), Lady Safina swimming in
the river, and those of her household, and all those who belong
to her.
THE FATIHA
" * To Merri, the father of Abbassi, and sheikh-el-Arab,
the Seyyid el Bedawi and Madbouli, and all the honored
mashayikh. Come -all, by .the right of the Prophet, upon
him be prayers and peace.
THE ZAR: EXORCISM OF DEMONS 233
" After the first round the sheikha put incense on the coals
in the brazier, and with varied voices and gestures called on
these personages to appear, the standing company joining in
a low voice in the Fatiha. Then the incense was waved over
the different articles on the table, then before the patient,
the sheikha inclining -the head of the woman toward the in
cense, afterwards her hands, feet, etc., and thus for all who
wished it.
" We left at the end of the third round, but returned when
they were in the middle of the tenth round. Some new
women had taken the places of those who had become tired
and who now sat chatting."
Miss Thompson, however, did not see the concluding cere
mony, the climax of the Zar-ritual, namely, the sacrifice and
the drinking of blood. She is not the only writer who omits
the subject. Klunzinger 7 says nothing at all of a sacri
fice, nor does Plowden. His account is one of the earliest we
have:
" These Zars," he writes, " are spirits or devils of a some
what humorous turn, who, taking possession of their victim,
then cause him to perform the most curious antics, and
sometimes become visible to him while they are so to no
one else somewhat after the fashion of the Erl-King, I
fancy. The favorite remedies are amulets and vigorous
tom-toming, and screeching without cessation, till the pos
sessed, doubtless distracted with the noise, rushes violently
out of the house, pelted and beaten and driven to the nearest
brook, where the Zar quits him and he becomes well. . . .
As for defining the nature of a Zar more accurately, it is
difficult ... as it also is to state wherein the functions of
a Zar differ from that of a Ganeem (jinn}, save that the
Zar is a more sportively malicious spirit and the Ganeem
rather morose in his manners. The Zar is frequently heard,
i " Bilder aus Oberagypten," p. 389.
234 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
indeed, singing to himself in the woods, but woe betide the
human eye that falls on him." 8
The close connection between the Galla country and Oman
since the Zanzibar Sultanate and the days of the Arab slave-
traders make it probable that the Zar came to Muscat very
early, if it was an imported superstition. Here the blood
sacrifice is the main thing in exorcism.
" They have their houses of sorcery," writes Miss Fanny
Lutton of the American Mission, " which have different
names, and have different ceremonies in each one. The
largest and most expensive one is called Bait-e-Zaar/ If
one is afflicted with madness, or it may be some serious or
incurable disease, she is taken to this house and the profes
sionals are called; and the treatments sometimes last for
days. The money extorted from the patient is exorbitant,
and so, as a rule, it is only the rich who can afford to un
dergo this treatment. The poor are branded with a hot iron
or suffer cupping (blood letting), which does not cost so very
much. In these houses animals are slain and the sufferer
is drenched with the blood and must drink the hot blood as it
is taken from the animal. And then the devil dancing is per
formed by black slave women, and the patient is whirled
around with them until she sinks exhausted."
In Egypt, the preparation for the sacrifice is closely re
lated to one part of the ecstatic Zar dance. The sick person
is dressed in white and ornamented with special charms,
while the room is also prettily decorated. The Jcursi (chair)
in the middle of the room is in fact an altar, which has been
decorated with flowers, burning candles and various sweets,
as a mark of honor for the spirits. These gifts and the burn
ing incense are supposed to attract the spirit and cause him
to appear; or drive away other demons.
s " Travels in Abyssinia and the Galla Country," quoted by Paul
Kahle.
THE ZAR: EXORCISM OF DEMONS 235
The animal sacrifice consists of sheep or fowls ; sometimes
a fowl is sacrificed in the beginning, and afterwards a sheep.
Kahle is of the opinion that in former times only fowls were
sacrificed, the sheep sacrifice being introduced later on, with
out, however, displacing the sacrifice of the fowl. Accord
ing to Borelli, a black fowl is sacrificed in Abyssinia. In
Luxor a brown or white cock is offered, and in Cairo one cock
and two hens, which may be black or white. In Abyssinia
the contact between the spirit and the sacrifice is performed
by swinging the fowl several times around the head of the
patient. Afterwards it is thrown on the floor, and if it
does not die very soon, the sacrifice is considered to have been
in vain. In Cairo, according to one report by Kahle, the
animal is killed by the sheikha above the head of the Zar
bride, who must open her mouth and drink the warm blood,
the remainder running down her white garment. The the
ory is that it is not she who drinks, but the spirit in her.
In Luxor one drop of the blood is placed on the forehead, the
cheeks, the chin, the palms of the hands and on the soles of
the feet. Probably the blood has to be drunk also. The
claws and feathers of the fowl are laid aside carefully as a
special gift to the spirit.
Of course the sacrifice must be an excellent animal. The
possessed person is seated on its back and rides seven times
around the kursi. If a sheikh leads the performance, he
kills the beast immediately afterwards: if a sheikha is in
charge, another person must do it instead, because it is un
usual for women to kill sheep. The animal is slaughtered
according to Moslem ritual, with its head toward Mecca,
while the onlookers say the " Bismillah." Then the sick
person is addressed as follows : " May God comfort you in
this which has come upon you." If he is a man he stands
near by and catches the warm blood in his mouth. In the
case of a woman, the blood is poured into a bowl and given
236 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
her to drink. With the remainder of the blood the hands
and feet of the patient are stained. Almost the same cere
monies are observed at the sacrifice of both a fowl and a
sheep, and so separate mention is unnecessary.
While the meat is being prepared, parts of the exorcism
are repeated, the meal forming the closing act of the whole
festival. The Zar bride, the sheikha, and her servants may
eat only the inner parts (heart, stomach, etc.) of the animal
and its head.
The charms which are given to the Zar bride during the
performances must never be removed, or the spirit will re
turn at once. These charms consist of silver ornaments and
coins, worn on the breast beneath the dress, a ring with spe
cial inscriptions, or some other article. I have in my pos
session the following ornaments worn at the time of exorcism
by the sheikh : First, a head-dress made of beads and cowrie
shells with a fringe six inches wide, and a three-fold tassel.
It is called takiet kharz. A belt of the same beadwork,
green and white beads mounted on a red girdle with border
of cowrie shells. In addition to these, two small amulets are
worn of the same material ; one square and containing Koran
passages and the other circular of the same character with
other potent material against demons.
The sheep or goat which is the sacrifice also has a special
ornament on its head similar to those worn by brides in the
villages. It consists of two palm twigs, two feet long, bound
together in the shape of a T cross. Each twig is covered
with colored paper and tinsel ornaments, and the whole is so
adjusted that it can be tied to the head of the sacrifice.
Finally the woman who rides on the sacrificial sheep is
armed with a cane forty-two inches in length. This is en
tirely covered with beadwork, brown, white, green, red, and
has three chaplets of cowrie shells at equal distances from
the top of the handle.
THE ZAK: EXORCISM OF DEMONS 237
In Morocco, when a man or woman is possessed with the
" devil " or jinn the people, including men and women, gather
in a zeriba or mat hut where the proceedings are com
menced by dances, chants, etc. Some chickens, or else a goat,
are strangled and are afterwards boiled without salt. Some
of the water that the aniirtal has been boiled in is smeared
all over the walls and floor by way of exorcism while the
meat is eaten by those present, including the " possessed "
one. (" Villes et Tribus du M aroc," Casablanca, vol. I, p.
64; Paris 1915.)
A fuller account of this sacrifice to demons as practiced in
Arabia, " the Cradle of Islam," is given by Mrs. D. Dijkstra, 9
as follows :
" The great feast ordered by the zeeraan is called Tccibsh
meaning ram, and is so called because a sacrifice must be
offered and this sacrifice is always a ram. The room for
the Tcdbsh is always a very large room. The meeting be
gins in the evening with a general dinner, but which is as
a rule not an elaborate one. After the dinner the leader
begins to chant, La illaha ilia allah wa Mohammed rasul
allah all the others joining in chorus, and this exercise
is kept up for about an hour, and all the while their bodies
are swaying back and forth in rhythm to the chant. After
this is ended the whole company get down on their knees
and go through a crawling, grunting exercise which is kept
up until they are exhausted. After a little rest the musi
cians begin their playing and do not stop until the next fea
ture in the program, which is riding the ram by the party
who is visited by the zar. Sometimes this is done at mid
night if, as they say, the zar is not a very proud one, but if
he considers himself very important this exercise takes place
at dawn. The ram to be ridden is decorated with mash-
9 Neglected Arabia, a quarterly published by the Arabian Mission,
New York, January, 1918. Mrs. Dijkstra uses the word zar for the
victim as well as for the ceremony.
238 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
mourn (green twigs) and the rider is the one in whom the
zar is. The rider goes around the circle three or four times.
This is seldom accomplished except with great cruelty to the
poor beast, which is pulled and prodded in a most unmerci
ful way, and it is a mercy that it is killed later, for it is
usually injured in this exercise.
" After this first riding the company all take some rest un
til an hour or two after daybreak, when the second riding
takes place, in the same way as the first. Immediately after
this the ram is killed. This is done by the abu or um,
as the case may be, assisted by the zwr, as the possessed one
is called, and a third party. The head of the ram is held over
a large tray or dish, for not a drop of blood must be spilled
or wasted. When the beast is killed, a glass is filled with
the blood and into it is put some saffron and some sugar and
the zar drinks while the blood is warm. Three or four
others of the company then strip the zar and give her the
blood bath. The zar is then dressed and put to sleep for
an hour and after that is bathed to remove the blood and
dressed in new clothes and new ornaments or decorations.
In the meantime the sacrifice has been preparing. As with
the blood so with the body; not a hair or bone or any of
the entrails must be spilled or thrown away. The entrails
and feet are boiled separately, but the skin, turned inside
out and tied, is cooked with the rest of the body, including
the head. When all is cooked, a portion is brought to each
table (the table is a large mat spread on the floor), and all
the rest of the food is placed around the central dish. A
stick, which has been bathed in the blood of the animal, is
placed before the zar. When all is in readiness, the leader
asks the zar, Is everything here that you want ? Are all
the bones here of your sacrifice ? Tell us now if there is
anything amiss and don t say later that this or that was not
done right and that, therefore, you will take revenge on us
THE ZAR: EXORCISM OF DEMONS 239
by bringing upon us some accident. The zar is commanded
to answer and if he does not he is beaten with the bloody
stick until he does." . . .
In Cairo, the sacrificial ceremony was witnessed and de
scribed by Madame H. Rushdi Pasha. 10 She tells how after
the preliminary music, dancing, and feasting, incense is
burnt and the one possessed is properly fumigated. During
the process of fumigating no prayers are offered. When this
is over the dancing begins. The one possessed then takes
hold of the rani which has now been brought in. She makes
the tour of the room three times, acting the while like a
drunken woman, amid the shrieks of the other women in the
room. The ram is then dragged by the possessed to the door
where it is butchered. The possessed reenters preceded by
the goudia who carries a tray filled with jewels covered with
the blood of the ram. In fact everybody gets covered with
the blood of the ram, still warm. Blood is everywhere.
They roll about on the animal until they are quite covered
with it. The air becomes hot with incense and smoke. And
when at last the women fall down on the ground, the goudias
go around touching them on the ears and breathe on them
whispering words in their ears, presumably from the Koran.
After a while they regain their places as if nothing has hap
pened.
Dr. Kahle also states that the sheikha or leader of the per
formance is called " Kudija " (goudia) but gives no explana
tion of the word ; its derivation is obscure. Zars which are
performed near sanctuaries and not in private houses, have
neither a Icursi, with candles, nor sheep offerings. But in
most cases the sheikha comes to the house of the sick person
the following morning to kill the animal there. The name
sheikha (the feminine of sheikh, elder) is given her, be-
10 " Harems et Musulmanes d Egypte " (Paris), out of print, pp.
270-274.
240 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
cause she knows the method of casting out spirits. Her first
task is to find out the right tune for a particular sufferer.
If she knows the " Zar bride " from previous meetings, she
at once begins the right one. The first time, one tune after
another is tried (for Cairo spirits, Upper Egypt spirits,
etc.), until the sick person becomes ecstatic, which proves
that the right tune has been found and it is then continued.
Each special tune requires special dressing, which, accord
ing to the sex of the spirit, may be that of men, women, boys
or girls. The sick person herself acts as the incarnation of
the spirit ; sometimes, however, the sheikha speaks instead of
the spirit.
The meetings for exorcising the Zar may be of short dura
tion, or may continue for several nights. If the patient is
rich, the feast is prolonged, and during the fourth night,
called the " great night," the greatest feast is prepared. The
sheikha and other visitors remain for the whole night with
the sick person, and the following morning they have the
solemn sacrifice, the supreme performance of the feast. 11
Captain Tremearne in " the Ban of the Bori " and G. A.
Herklot in his book on the customs of the Moslems of India,
" Qanoon-e-Islam " (1832), relate similar practices pre
vailing in North Africa and India. In every land therefore,
with variations due to local circumstances, the Zar must al
ways be propitiated by three incense, the ^Tar-dance with
music and last, but not least, the sacrifice all three of these
are Pagan and repulsive to orthodox Islam and yet continue
under its shadow. Between 1870-80 the practices spread to
such an extent in Upper Egypt that the Government had to
put a stop to them. 12 During the past four years the Cairo
press has published many articles demanding that " these
11 See The Moslem World, July, 1913. Article by Elizabet Franke,
based on Kahle s investigations.
12 Klunzinger, p. 388.
THE ZAR: EXORCISM OF DEMONS 241
infidel ceremonies " be abolished by law, but the custom dies
hard. 13 Not only is the superstition of the Zar degrading to
morals and spiritual life judged even by Moslem standards
but it is such an expensive bit of heathenism that families
have been financially ruined through its demands.
" Sometimes a man will divorce his wife," says Mrs.
Dijkstra, " because she has zeeran, or if he learns that the
girl or woman he was going to marry has them he will break
his marriage agreement. And the reason in all these in
stances is a financial one. People possessed by zeeran must
give feasts at various times, and the women are prompted
by their zeeran to demand from their husbands new cloth
ing, new jewelry, and new house furnishings, and if these
are not forthcoming the zeeran threaten that severe calami
ties will overtake them. So unless the husband is prepared
to assume such burdens he very promptly rids himself of the
cause, and families refuse to entertain the very idea of
zeeran because of the constant drain upon their time and
strength and money."
The Zar spirits (zeeran] are divided into numerous tribes
and classes. In Cairo they have Abyssinian, Sudanese,
Arab, and even Indian evil-spirits, for each of which a spe
cial ceremony is necessary at the time of exorcism. They
are male, female, or hermaphrodites. They may belong to
every class of society and different religions. In Bahrein,
East Arabia, " the outward sign of being possessed by a Zar
is the wearing of a signet ring, with the name of the Zar and
of the person himself engraven on a red stone, and also the
Shehadeh or witness, La illaha ilia allah, wa Mohammed
rasoul allah, there is no god but God and Mohammed is
the prophet of God. This signet ring must receive a bath
13 Cf. for example the newspaper Al Jareeda, April 18, 1911, and
the pamphlet " Mudarr ez Zar," " The Baneful Effect of the Zar," Cairo,
1903.
242 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
of blood before it becomes efficacious, and so a fowl must
be killed and the stone soaked in the blood."
Among the fetich-worshipers of West Africa, where Islam
has not yet entered, the same kind of demon-exorcism is prac
ticed as in Arabia or in Cairo, the intellectual capital of
Islam! Indeed, we need not ask what is the origin of the
Zar for we have an almost exact description of it from the
Rev. Robert H. Nassau as he witnessed pagan exorcism
among a primitive people :
" Sick persons, and especially those that are afflicted with
nervous disorders, are supposed to be possessed by one or
other of these evil spirits. If the disease assumes a serious
form, the patient is taken to a priest or a priestess, of either
of these classes of spirits. Certain tests are applied, and it
is soon ascertained to which class the disease belongs, and
the patient is accordingly turned over to the proper priest.
The ceremonies in the different cases are not materially dif
ferent; they are alike, at least, in the employment of an al
most endless round of absurd, unmeaning, and disgusting
ceremonies which none but a heathenish and ignorant priest
hood could invent, and none but a poor, ignorant, and super
stitious people could ever tolerate. . . .
" In either case a temporary shanty is erected in the mid
dle of the street for the occupancy of the patient, the priest,
and such persons as are to take part in the ceremony of ex
orcism. The time employed in performing the ceremonies
is seldom less than ten or fifteen days. During this period
dancing, drumming, feasting, and drinking are kept up with
out intermission day and night, and all at the expense of the
nearest relative of the invalid. The patient, if a female, is
decked out in the most fantastic costume; her face, bosom,
arms, and legs are streaked with red and white chalk, her
head adorned with red feathers, and much of the time she
promenades the open space in front of the shanty with a
THE ZAR: EXORCISM OF DEMONS 243
sword in her hand, which she brandishes in a very menac
ing way against the bystanders. At the same time she as
sumes as much of the maniac in her looks, actions, gestures,
and walk as possible. ... In speaking of the actions of
these demoniacs, they are said to be done by the spirit, and
not by the person who is possessed. If the person performs
any unnatural or revolting act, as the biting off of the head
of a live chicken and sucking its blood, it is said that the
spirit, not the man, has done it." 14
....
We have ended our studies on Animism in Islam. It has
been rather a voyage along the coasts than a survey of the
vast areas yet unexplored in a continent of superstition.
Enough, however, has passed before our eyes to show that no
real fundamental understanding of popular Islam is possible
without taking account of Animism.
Regarding the effect of Animism and the fear of demons
upon the mind of the Moslem we recall words written by De
Groot in his " Religion of the Chinese," pp. 60-61 ; the fact
that he says it in regard to China and that the same phenom
ena have passed before us as existing in Islam, makes his
statement the more striking : " A religion in which the fear
of devils performs so great a part that they are even wor
shiped and sacrificed to, certainly represents religion in a
low stage. It is strange to see such a religion prevail among
a nation so highly civilized as China is generally supposed to
be ; and does this not compel us to subject our high ideas of
that civilization to some revision? No doubt, we ought to
rid ourselves a little of the conception urged upon us by en
thusiastic friends of China, that her religion stands high
enough to want no foreign religion to supplant it. The
truth is that its universalistic animism, with its concomitant
i* " Fetichism in West Africa," New York, Charles Scribner s Sons,
1904, pp. 72-74.
244 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
demonistic doctrine renders the Chinese people unhappy ; for
most unhappy must be a people always living in a thousand
a hundred thousand fears of invisible beings which
surround the path of life with dangers on every hand, at
every moment. If it is the will of God that man should
have a religion in order to be happy, the Chinese religion
is certainly no religion shaped by God." We likewise con
clude that if it is the will of God that man shall have a
religion in order to be happy and to have an assurance of
deliverance from fear Animistic Islam is not that religion.
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246 THE INFLUENCE OF ANIMISM ON ISLAM
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