[227] That is food or money sufficient to provide one meal for a poor person.
[228] The technical term is 5 wasq. A wasq is equal to 60 sá', and a sá' is equal to 8 ratal. A ratal is equal to 1 lb; so a wasq, a load for one camel, is about 480 lb.
[229] Mosques are usually endowed. The property thus set apart is called waqf. This supports the various officials connected with a Mosque.
[230] The two famous disciples of Imám Abu Hanífa, Abu Yúsuf and Muhammad.
[231] This ceremony is called Al-Ihrám (i.e., making unlawful), because now various actions and pursuits must be abstained from. The ceremony of doffing the pilgrim's garb is called Al-Ihlál (i.e., making lawful), for now the pilgrim returns to the ordinary pursuits and joys of a life in the world.
[232] This statement of names is taken from the Núr-ul-Hidáyat p. 211, and that of the distance from Hughes' Notes on Islám; but Burton speaks of Al Zaribah, a place 47 miles distant from Mecca as a Míqát. It was there that he assumed the Ihrám. The explanation probably is that a Hájí must not approach nearer to Mecca without the Ihrám than the places named in the text. The farther from Mecca it is assumed, provided that it be during one of the two months preceding Zu'l-Hajja, the more meritorious is the act.
[233] Talbíyah means the repetition of "Labbaik," a phrase equivalent to "I am here." The Talbíyah can be said in any language, though Arabic is preferred. It usually is as follows: "Labbaik, Alláhumma, Labbaik! Lá Sharíka laka, Labbaik! Inna-l-hamda wa-n-ní'amata laka, w'-al-mulk! Lá Sharíka laka, Labbaik!
[234] "The object of these minute details is that the "Truce of God" may be kept." The five noxious creatures, however, may be slain, viz., a crow, a kite, a scorpion, a rat and a biting dog." (Burton).
[235] The Musjid-ul-Harám is the large Mosque in Mecca. The K'aba (cube) is a square stone building in the centre. This is also called the Qibla. The Hajr-ul-Aswad is the black stone fixed in the corner of the K'aba.
[236] It is said to have been rebuilt ten times. A full description will be found in Burton's Pilgrimage to Madína and Mecca, vol. iii. ch. 26. It is far too long to quote, and it cannot be condensed. The following extract is of some interest, as it states why the 'Ulama consider the K'aba so sacred a place. They quote the verse: 'Verily the first house built for mankind (to worship in) is that in Beccah (Mecca)—Blessed and a salvation to human beings. Therein are manifest signs, even the standing-place of Abraham, and he who entereth is safe.' (Súra iii. 90). The word 'therein' is said to mean Mecca, and the "manifest signs" the K'aba, which contains such marvels as the footprints on Abraham's platform, and is the spiritual safeguard of all who enter it. In addition, other "signs" are the preservation of the black stone, the miracles put forth to defend the House, the terrible death of the sacrilegious, and the fact that in the Flood the big fish did not eat the little fish in the Harám. Invalids recover their health by rubbing themselves against the Kiswat (the covering of the K'aba), and the black stone. One hundred thousand mercies descend on it every day, &c. Portions of the Kiswat are highly valued as markers for the Qurán. Waistcoats made of it are supposed to render the combatant invulnerable in battle.