The Súra-i-Dukhán (144) is then read with the same intentions. Any other portions may then be read. After this those present rise, and go to the various cemeteries. On the way they purchase flowers which are afterwards strewn on the graves. A Fátiha is then said. If the worshipper has no relatives or friends buried there, prayer is offered for the benefit of the Arwáh-i-Qubúr, the souls of those there buried. The very pious spend the whole night in going from one cemetery to another.
These observances are neither farz, nor sunnat, but nawáfil, (sing. nafl), works of supererogation. Still though they are bid'at, yet they are esteemed good and so are called bid'at-i-Hasana, or "excellent innovation." The general merry-making of the fourteenth day has no religious signification. The night of the fifteenth is the Guy Fawkes night of Islám. Large sums of money are spent on fireworks, of which more are let off on this feast than at any other.
The following prayer occurs in the Fátiha: "O our God, by the merits of the Apostleship of Muhammad, grant that the lamps which are lit up on this holy night may be for the dead a pledge of the light eternal, which we pray Thee to shed on them. O God, admit them, we beseech Thee, unto the abode of eternal felicity."
5. Ramazán and 'Íd-ul-Fitr—It is one of the five pillars of the practical religious duties to fast during the thirty days of the month Ramazán. The subject of fasting has been fully treated of in the preceding chapter; and so it is only necessary now to describe the other ceremonies connected with the religious observance of this month.
From the earliest days of Islám this month has been held in the greatest esteem by Muslims, for it was in this month that Muhammad used to retire for meditation, year after year, to the cave of Hira, situated on a low hill some few miles distant from Mecca. In the second year of the Hijra, or flight from Mecca, it was ordained that the month of Ramazán should be kept as a fast. "As to the month
Ramazán, in which the Qurán was sent down to be man's guidance, and an explanation of that guidance, and of that illumination, as soon as any one of you observeth the moon, let him set about the fast." (Súra ii. 181).
The Muslims had hitherto observed as the principal fast the 'Ashúrá, the tenth of Muharram. This fast was probably connected with the Jewish fast on the tenth day of the seventh month. "Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, &c." (Leviticus xxiii. 27). Now, when Muhammad first went to Madína he had great hopes of winning over the Jews to his side; but when he failed he took every opportunity of making Islám differ as much as possible from Judaism. This was the reason why the Qibla was changed (Ante. p. [60]), and that in the second year of his residence at Madína the fast of Ramazán was appointed. The reasons assigned by learned Muslims for the selection of this month, are that in Ramazán God gave to the previous prophets the revelations connected with their names, and that in this month the Qurán was sent down from the Secret Tablet in the seventh heaven to the first or lowest, and that on the Laylut-ul-Qadr, or 'night of power' the first revelation was made to Muhammad. "Verily we have caused it (Qurán) to descend on the 'night of power.' And who shall teach thee what the night of power is? The night of power excelleth a thousand nights." (Súra xcvii. 1-3). To illustrate the sacredness of this month the Prophet used to say that in it "the gates of Paradise are open, and the gates of hell are shut, and the devils are chained by the leg." "Only those who observe it will be allowed to enter by the gate of heaven called Rayyán." Those who keep the fast "will be pardoned all their past venial sins."[[256]]
In making the fast one for the day, and none for the night,
Muhammad doubtless had reference to the verse: "God wisheth you ease, but wisheth not your discomfort." (Súra ii. 181).
The special ceremonies connected with the Ramazán are the Taráwíh Namáz and 'Itikáf (retirement). The Taráwíh prayers have been described already (p. [205]). Each night in Ramazán one-thirtieth part (sípára) of the Qurán is recited in the Mosque. The duty of performing the 'Itikáf is a Sunnat-ul-maukadda, a very strict duty. The Mu'takif, one who makes 'Itikáf, must remain apart in a Mosque used for public services, and there meditate. Bukhárí says that the Prophet made 'Itikáf the last ten days of each Ramazán, and that the practice was continued by his wives after his death. Usually a man should thus sit and meditate one of the days between the twentieth and the thirtieth of Ramazán. If his meditation is disturbed by any illegal interruption, another day should be devoted to it; but Imám Muhammad says: "The least legal time is one hour." Some theologians hold that 'Itikáf is farz-i-kifáya, that is, if one person of a community does it the obligation does not rest on the others. If, however, a person makes a vow in Ramazán, then 'Itikáf is considered wájib. 'Itikáf can be performed at any time other than the last ten days of Ramazán, but then it is only mustahab, a work of supererogation. All the sects except the Sháfa'ítes hold that the Mu'takif must fast. He should also make the nizzat, or intention, of performing what he is about to do. The Mu'takif must not go out of the Mosque except for obviously necessary purposes, and for making the legal wazú and ghusl (purifications). At night he may eat, drink and sleep in the Mosque: acts quite unlawful at other times. He may speak with others on religious matters, and if a man of business, he may give orders with regard to the purchase and sale of merchandize, but on no account must any goods be brought to him. It is highly meritorious for him to read the Qurán in an audible voice. By such an act he becomes