[243] "The Shaitan-ul-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." (Burton). [244] Most of the ceremonies connected with the Hajj, the Ihram, the shaving of the head, the going to Safa and Marwah, the throwing of the stones, the circuit of the K'aba, the kissing of the black stone, and the sacrifice were all pagan ceremonies performed by the idolatrous Arabs. Muhammad by his time-serving policy, adopted to gain the Meccans to his side, has confirmed an idolatrous practice which otherwise would probably have been extinct long ago. Safa and Marwah were hills held in superstitious reverence by the Meccans. The early Muslims had some doubt about retaining them as sacred places: then came the revelation to the Prophet, "Safa and Marwah are among the monuments of God, whosoever then maketh a pilgrimage to the temple or visiteth it, shall not be to blame if he go round about them both." (Sura ii. 153). [245] These are the letters contained in words which direct the reader when to pause. Thus toi stands for mutlaq (slight pause), qif (pause), jim for ja,iz (freedom to pause, or not to pause), la for no (no pause), mim for la'zim (necessary to pause), (.) is a full stop. [246] Persian was the foreign language with which the early Muslims were brought most into contact; but the objection applies equally to any other language. [247] A concession of no practical value, as any one with the power of speech could learn these words in a very short time. [248] This is because by so doing it would seem to ascribe to it similarity to human compositions. [249] During the first ten days they are supposed to contain the bodies of the martyrs, but now being empty the Tazias become mere ordinary frames and can be destroyed, Qanun-i-Islam, p. 146. [250] This feast is known in South India as the Dassara. The idol is thrown into a tank. [251] The Mihrab is a niche in a wall which indicates the position of Mecca. The face is always turned to it when prayers are said; so that the expression in the prayer means that 'Ali is to be the object toward which the faithful look. [252] The twelve Imams, Muhammad and Fatima. [253] The 'Id-gah is usually built outside of the town, and consists of a long wall of masonry with two minarets and a large raised open court. There is a Mihrab in the wall: but no proper mimbar or pulpit, three raised steps doing duty for it. Sometimes, however, a Mosque is used as an 'Id-gah.