Travels in Arabia; comprehending an account of those territories in Hedjaz which the Mohammedans regard as sacredBurckhardt, John Lewis
Islamic
Travels in Arabia; comprehending an account of those territories in Hedjaz which the Mohammedans regard as sacred
Burckhardt, John Lewis
Arabian Peninsula -- Description and travel
Opposite the four sides of the Kaaba stand four other small buildings,
where the Imaums of the orthodox Mohammedan sects, the Hanefy, Shafey,
Hanbaly, and Maleky, take their station, and guide the congregation in
their prayers. The Makam el Maleky, on the south, and that of Hanbaly,
opposite the Black Stone, are small pavilions, open on all sides, and
supported by four slender pillars, with a light sloping roof,
terminating in a point, exactly in the style of Indian pagodas. The
Makam el Hanefy, which is the largest, being fifteen paces by eight, is
open on all sides, and supported by twelve small pillars; it has an
upper story, also open, where the Mueddin who calls to prayers, takes
his stand. This was first built in A.H. 923, by Sultan Selym I.; it was
afterwards rebuilt by Khoshgeldy, governor of Djidda, in 947; but all
the four Makams, as they now stand, were built in A.H. 1074. [Vide
Kotobeddyn and Asamy] The Makam-es-Shafey is over the well Zemzem, to
which it serves as an upper chamber.
Near their respective Makams, the adherents of the four different sects
seat themselves for prayers. During my stay at Mekka, the Hanefys always
began their prayer first; but according to Muselman custom the Shafeys
should pray first in the mosque; then the Hanefys, Malekys, and
Hanbalys. The prayer of the Magreb is an exception, which they are all
enjoined to utter together. [Vide Fasy.] The Makam el Hanbaly
[p.143] is the place where the officers of government, and other great
people, are seated during prayers; here the Pasha and the Sherif are
placed; and, in their absence, the eunuchs of the temple. These fill the
space under this Makam in front, and behind it the female hadjys, who
visit the temple, have their places assigned, to which they repair
principally for the two evening prayers, few of them being seen in the
mosque at the three other daily prayers: they also perform the towaf, or
walk round the Kaaba, but generally at night, though it is not uncommon
to see them walking in the day-time among the men.
The present building which encloses Zemzem, stands close by the Makam
Hanbaly, and was erected in A.H. 1072 [Vide Asamy.]: it is of a square
shape, and of massive construction, with an entrance to the north,
opening into the room which contains the well. This room is beautifully
ornamented with marbles of various colours; and adjoining to it, but
having a separate door, is a small room with a stone reservoir which is
always full of Zemzem water: this the hadjys get to drink by passing
their hand with a cup through an iron grated opening, which serves as a
window, into the reservoir, without entering the room. The mouth of the
well is surrounded by a wall five feet in height, and about ten feet in
diameter. Upon this the people stand, who draw up the water, in leathern
buckets, an iron railing being so placed as to prevent their falling in.
In El Fasys time there were eight marble basins in this room, for the
purpose of ablution.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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