Mount Arafat

“ On September 12th the pilgrims set out for Mount Arafat. Three miles from Mecca there is a large village called Muna, noted for three standing miracles—the pebbles, there thrown at the Devil, return by angelic agency to whence they came; during the three days of drying meat rapacious birds and beasts cannot prey there, and flies do not settle upon the articles of food exposed in the bazaars. ”

“ In the sacred terrestrial kaaba the mystic union of rain and earth is made to take place, while (4) Mount Arafat is connected with the traditional reunion of Adam and Eve.
It is unnecessary to point out the significant association of an annual count of days with the stable centre and its importance as an indication that the ancient Arabian star-gazers originally associated the year period with circumpolar rotation. The analogy between the Arabian ideas concerning the dual principles of nature and those of other nations is also too marked to be easily overlooked. ”

“ Muslims have a great respect for this mountain, believing that when Adam and Eve were banished from Paradise they were separated for a hundred and twenty years; but at last, wandering through the world seeking one another, they met and recognized each other on the summit of Mount Arafat. ↑ A Muslim who looks upon the face of a woman not of kin to him commits a grievous sin. ”

“ The next day he journeyed to the sacred Mount of Arafat, familiar to readers of The Arabian Nights from the touching story of Abu Hasan and Abu Ja'afar the Leper and 133 he estimated that he was but one of 50,000 pilgrims. The mountain was alive with people, and the huge camp at its foot had booths, huts and bazaars stocked with all manner of Eastern delicacies, and crowded with purchasers. Instead, however, of listening to the sermons, Burton got flirting with a Meccan girl with citrine skin and liquescent eyes. ”

“ The sermon lasted about three hours, and when sunset was near, the preacher gave the israf, or permission to depart. Then began that risky part of the ceremony known as the “hurrying from Arafat.” The pilgrims all rushed down the Mount of Mercy with cries like trumpet blasts, and took the road to Muna. Every man urged his beast to the uttermost over the plain, which bristled with pegs, and was strewn with struck tents. Pedestrians were trampled, litters were crushed, and camels were thrown ”

“ On the second day (9th) , the Yaum Arafat, after performing the early prayer at Ghalas (i.e. when a man cannot see his neighbours face) on Mount Sabir, near Muna, the pilgrim should start when the sun is risen, proceed to the Mountain of Mercy, encamp there, and after performing the noontide and afternoon devotions at Masjid Ibrahim, [FN#32] joining and shortening them, [FN#33] he should take his station upon the mountain, which is all standing ground. But the best position is that preferred by the Prophet, near the great rocks lying at the lower slope of Arafat. ”

“ When I at last reached the Hill of Arafat, it was to find that the Bedouins and the Sheykhs of the tribe of Kuraish had already taken possession of the best places around the enclosure whence the sermon would be preached on the following afternoon; for it was there, about half-way up the Hill, that Muhammud was wont to address his followers, sitting on a dromedary. This place, as well as the summit beyond, is reached by means of a broad flight of steps, which, winding up the southern slope of the Mount, gets gradually more precipitate and narrow. ”

“ The Hanafi, Maliki, and even some Shafei doctors, reduce the number from six to four, viz.: 1. Ihram, with Niyat. 2. Tawaf. 3. Wukuf. 4. Sai. [FN#8] The Ifazah is the impetuous descent from Mount Arafat. Its Tawaf, generally called Tawaf al-Ziyarat, less commonly Tawaf al-Sadr or Tawaf al-Nuzul, is that performed immediately after throwing the stones and resuming the laical dress on the victim-day at Mount Muna. [FN#9] Shaving is better for men, cutting for women. A razor must be passed over the bald head ”

“ Suited to poetry, but, it is asserted, not to mercantile transactions, 100 The vicious pronounciation of Indians and slaves, 184, n. The charming song of Maysunah, 190 The beautiful Tumar character, 215 Differences of opinion among travellers and linguists respecting Arabic and its dialects, 235, n. Arafat, the Masjid, at Al-Kuba, i. 412 Tall Arafat, 412 Arafat, mount (anciently Jabal Ilal, now Jabal al-Rahmah) , ceremony of the pilgrimage to, ii. 289 Description of, 189 Former high cultivation of the Arafat plain, 187 Derivation of the name of [p.421] the mount, 188, n. ”

“ The superstitions and ceremonies of the place, we are told, are by no means completed within the city, for the pilgrims, after having performed their devotions for a certain time at the Caaba, at last in a sort of procession go to a place called Arafat, an eminence which stands detached in the centre of a valley; and in the way thither there is a part of the road for about the space of a mile where it is customary to run. [FN#9] The road also passes near a spot where was formerly a well which is superstitiously supposed to be something unholy and cursed by the Prophet himself. ”

“ Arafat is about six hours� very slow march, or twelve miles, [FN#14] on the Taif road, due east of Meccah. We arrived there in a shorter time, but our weary camels, during the last third of the way, frequently threw themselves upon the ground. Human beings suffered more. Between Muna and Arafat I saw no fewer than five men fall down and die upon the highway: exhausted and moribund, they had dragged themselves out to give up the ghost where it departs to instant beatitude. ”

“ According to Kutb al-Din, the Arafat plain was once highly cultivated. Stone-lined cisterns abound, and ruins of buildings are frequent. At the Eastern foot of the mountain was a broad canal, beginning at a spur of the Taif hills, and conveying water to Meccah; it is now destroyed beyond Arafat. The plain is cut with torrents, which at times sweep with desolating violence into the Holy City, and a thick desert vegetation shows that water is not deep below the surface. ”

“ Mr. W. Muir, in his valuable Life of Mahomet, vol. i, p. ccv., remarks upon this passage that at p. 180 ante, I made Muna three miles from Meccah, and Muzdalifah about three miles from Muna, and Arafat three miles from Muzdalifah,�a total of nine. But the lesser estimate does not include the outskirts of Meccah on the breadth of the Arafat Plain. The Calcutta Review (art. 1, Sept. 1853) notably errs in making Arafat eighteen miles east of Meccah. Ibn Jubayr reckons five miles from Meccah to Muzdalifah, and five from this to Arafat. [FN#15] Those who die on a pilgrimage become martyrs. ”

“ To the eye Ararat presents a gently inclined slope of [pg 44] sand and ashes rising into a belt of green, another zone of black volcanic rocks streaked with snow-beds, and then a glittering crest of silver. From the burning desert at its base to the icy pinnacle above, it rises through a vertical distance of 13,000 feet. There are but few peaks in the world that rise so high (17,250 feet above sea-level) from so low a plain (2000 feet on the Russian, and 4000 feet on the Turkish, side) , and which, therefore, present so grand a spectacle. Unlike many of the world’s mountains, it stands alone. ”

“ They are not so modest. 600,000 is the mystical number; others declare it to be incalculable. Oftentimes 70,000 have met at Arafat. [FN#32] The cupola has now disappeared; there is a tall pillar of masonry-work, whitewashed, rising from a plastered floor, for praying. [FN#33] On the 9th Zul Hijjah, or the Day of Arafat, the pilgrims, having taken their stations within the sacred limits, perform ablution about noon, and pray as directed at that hour. At three P.M., after again performing the usual devotions, or more frequently after neglecting them, they repair to the hill, and hear the sermon. ”

“ It must be observed, however, that the crowds assembled on the mountain were, for the greater part, of the lower classes; the pilgrims of respectability being mounted upon their camels or horses in the plain.
At length the sun began to descend behind the western mountains; upon which the Kadhy, having shut his book, received a last greeting of Lebeyk; and the crowds rushed down the mountain, in order to quit Arafat. It is thought meritorious to accelerate the pace on this occasion; and many persons make it a complete race, called by the Arabs, Addafa min Arafat. ”

“ The English reader will bear in mind that the Moslem day begins at sunset. I believe that the origin of �Tarwiyat� (which may mean �carrying water�) dates from the time of pagan Arabs, who spent that day in providing themselves with the necessary. Yaum Arafat derives its name from the hill, and Yaum al-Nahr from the victims offered to the idols in the Muna valley. [FN#31] The present generation of pilgrims, finding the delay inconvenient, always pass on to Arafat without halting, and generally arrive at the mountain late in the afternoon of the 8th, that is to say, the first day of pilgrimage. ”

“ Various attempts have been made in different ages to ascend these tremendous mountain-pyramids, but in vain: their form, snows, and glaciers, are insurmountable obstacles: the distance being so great from the commencement of the icy region to the highest points, cold alone would be the destruction of any person who should have the hardihood to persevere. On viewing mount Ararat from the northern side of the plain, its two heads are separated by a wide cleft, or rather glen, in the body of the mountain. ”

“ Mount Ararat, famed as the mountain where Noah’s ark landed after the flood, as recorded in Genesis, is in the Turkish province of Armenia. Ararat is really a twin mountain, the two peaks of which are about seven miles apart, with an elevation of about 17,000 and 13,000 feet, respectively. They rise above a beautiful alluvial plain, and quite naturally the higher peak—Great Ararat—is the one made historically immortal as the motherland of the human race. ”

“ II THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ARARAT According to tradition, Mount Ararat is the scene of two of the most important events in the history of the human race. In the sacred land of Eden, which Armenian legend places at its base, the first of human life was born; and on its solitary peak the last of human life was saved from an all-destroying flood. The remarkable geographical position of this mountain seems to justify the Armenian view that it is the center of the world. ”

“ Even as early as July we saw no stream below 6000 feet, and even above this height the mountain freshets frequently flowed far beneath the surface under the loosely packed rocks, bidding defiance to our efforts to reach them. Notwithstanding the scarcity of snow-freshets, there is a middle zone on Mount Ararat, extending from about 5000 feet to 9000 feet elevation, which is covered with good pasturage, kept green by heavy dews and frequent showers. The hot air begins to rise from the desert plain as the morning sun peeps over the horizon, and continues through the day ”

“ The hill of Arafat lying at a distance of seven hours from Meccah, it is necessary to set out very early in order to be there in time; many of the pilgrims, and especially the more devout amongst them, performing all the way on foot.
When they have reached the place [FN#12] all who have any money according to their means sacrifice a sheep, and the rich often furnish those who are poor and destitute with the means of buying one. ”

“ Even at this early hour it was crowded with pilgrims, principally Badawin and Wahhabis, who had secured favourable positions for hearing the sermon. Already their green flag was planted upon the summit close to Adam�s Place of Prayer. The wilder Arabs insist that �Wukuf� (standing) should take place upon the Hill. This is not done by the more civilised, who hold that all the plain within the Alamayn ranks as Arafat. According to Ali Bey, the Maliki school is not allowed to stand upon the mountain. ”

“ I passed that night confounded at what I had seen; and, as soon as morning dawned, set out again by myself; but when I came to Arafat [504] and entered the mosque, behold, there was the leper seated in the niche! So I threw myself upon him and kissing his feet said, “O my lord, I crave thy company.” But he answered, “This may in no way be.” Then I began weeping and wailing at the loss of his converse, when he said, “Spare thy tears which will avail thee naught!”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. ”

“ Sale, Ali Bey, and Burckhardt, all give correct accounts of the little pillar of masonry�it has nothing to do with the well�which denotes the place where Satan appeared to Abraham. The pilgrims do not throw one stone, but many. The pebbles are partly brought from Muzdalifah, partly from the valley of Muna, in which stands the pillar. [FN#11] Mr. Bankes confounds this column with the Devil�s Pillar at Muna. Finati alludes to the landmarks of the Arafat plain, now called Al-Alamayn (the two marks) . ”

“ Beyond that line, the seams which mount to the dome of snow appear to commence their long climb; the eye follows them on their upward course until they attain the summit region and end in a long cornice of snow. The extraordinary elevation of Ararat above the plain of the Araxes—it may be doubted whether there exists in the world another mountain which rises immediately from a level surface to such a height—is balanced and controlled by this broad and massive base, and by the exquisite proportions of the upper structure which rises to the snowy roof. ”