With the pilgrims to Mecca: The great pilgrimage of A.H. 1319; A.D. 1902Khan, Hadji (Gazanfar Ali)
Religion
With the pilgrims to Mecca: The great pilgrimage of A.H. 1319; A.D. 1902
Khan, Hadji (Gazanfar Ali)
Mecca (Saudi Arabia); Pilgrims and pilgrimages
The prayer most acceptable to God is that of Nodbeh, which must be
said by the pilgrims on Mount Arafat, with tears pouring from their
eyes. The Prophet rose to a noble conception of the next life. He not
only believed that the pure-hearted will see God, he also proclaimed
that blessing to be the height of heavenly bliss. The Muslim Paradise,
therefore, in its material aspect unalloyed, is the invention of the
tradition-mongers. According to the orthodox among them, it is situated
above the seven heavens, immediately under the Throne of God. Some say
that the soil of it consists of the finest wheat flour, others will
have it to be of the purest musk, and others again of saffron. Its
palaces have walls of solid gold, its stones are pearls and jacinths,
and of its trees, all of which have golden trunks, the most remarkable
is the Tree of Happiness, Túba, as they call it. This tree, which
stands in the Palace of Muhammad, is laden with fruits of every kind,
with grapes and pomegranates, with oranges and dates, and peaches and
nectarines, which are of a growth and a flavour unknown to mortals. In
response to the desire of the blessed, it will yield, in addition to
the luscious fruit, not only birds ready dressed for the table, but
also flowing garments of silk and of velvet, and gaily caparisoned
steeds to ride on, all of which will burst out from its leaves. There
will be no need to reach out the hand to the branches, for the branches
will bend down of their own accord to the hand of the person who
would gather of their products. So large is the Túba tree that a man
“mounted on the fleetest horse would not be able to gallop from one
end of its shade to the other in a hundred years.” All the rivers of
Paradise take their rise from the root of the Tree of Happiness; some
of them flow with water, some with milk, some with wine, and others
with honey. Their beds are of musk, their sides of saffron, their
earth of camphire, and their pebbles are rubies and emeralds. The most
noteworthy among them, after the River of Life, is Al-Káwthar. This
word, Al-Káwthar, which signifies _abundance_, has come to mean the
gift of prophecy, and the water of the river of that name is derived
into Muhammad’s pond. According to a tradition of the Prophet, this
river, wherein his Lord promised him abundance of wisdom, is whiter
than milk, cooler than snow, sweeter than honey, and smoother than
cream; and those who drink of it shall never be thirsty.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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