IBĀḤĪYAH (اباحية‎). A sect of libertines who consider all things lawful.

IBĀQ (اباق‎). The absconding of slaves. The fugitive slave being termed ābiq, or, if he be an infant, zāll, or the strayed one. The restorer of a fugitive slave is entitled to a reward of forty dirhams, but no reward is given for the restoration of a strayed infant slave. [SLAVERY.]

IBĀẒĪYAH (اباضية‎). A sect of Muslims founded by ʿAbdu ʾllāh ibn Ibāẓ, who said that if a man commit a kabīrah or great sin, he is an infidel, and not a believer. (Kitābu ʾt-Taʿrīfāt, in loco.)

IBLĪS (ابليس‎). [DEVIL.]

IBN ʿABBĀS (ابن عباس‎). ʿAbdu ʾllāh, the eldest son of ʿAbbās, and a cousin of Muḥammad. One of the most celebrated of the Companions, and the relator of numerous traditions. It is said that the angel Gabriel appeared to him, when he was only ten years old, and revealed to him the meaning of the Qurʾān, which accounted for his intimate acquaintance with the letter and meaning of the book. He was called Tarjumānu ʾl-Qurʾān, or “the interpreter of the Qurʾān.” He was appointed Governor of al-Baṣrah by the K͟halīfah ʿAlī, which office he held for some time. He returned to the Ḥijāz and died at at̤-T̤āʾif A.H. 68 (A.D. 687), aged 72 years.

IBN ḤANBAL (ابن حنبل‎). The Imām Abū ʿAbdi ʾllāh Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, the founder of the fourth orthodox sect of the Sunnīs, was born at Bag͟hdād A.H. 164, A.D. 780, where he received his education under Yazīd ibn Hārūn and Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd. On ash-Shāfiʿī coming to Bag͟hdād (A.H. 195), Ibn Ḥanbal attended the lectures delivered there by that doctor, and was instructed by him in the traditions. In process of time he acquired a high reputation from his profound knowledge of both the civil and spiritual law, and particularly for the extent of his erudition with respect to the precepts of the Prophet, of which it is said that he could repeat above a million. His fame began to spread just at the time when the disputes ran highest concerning the nature of the Qurʾān, which some held to have existed from eternity, whilst others maintained it to be created. Unfortunately for Ibn Ḥanbal, the K͟halīfah al-Muʿtaṣim was of the latter opinion, to which this doctor refusing to subscribe, he was imprisoned and severely scourged by the K͟halīfah’s order.

For this hard usage, indeed, he afterwards received some satisfaction from al-Mutawakkil, the son of al-Muʿtaṣim, who, upon succeeding to the throne, issued a decree of general toleration, leaving every person at liberty to judge for himself upon this point. This tolerant K͟halīfah set the persecuted doctor at liberty, receiving him at his Court with the most honourable marks of distinction, and offering him a compensatory present of 1,000 pieces of gold, which, however, he refused to accept. After having attained the rank of Imām, he retired from the world, and led a recluse life for several years. He died A.H. 241 (A.D. 855), aged 75. He obtained so high a reputation for sanctity, that his funeral was attended by a train of 800,000 men and 60,000 women; and it is asserted as a kind of miracle, that on the day of his decease no fewer than 20,000 Jews and Christians embraced the faith. For about a century after his death, the sect of Ibn Ḥanbal were numerous and even powerful; and uniting to their zeal a large proportion of fanaticism, became at length so turbulent and troublesome as to require the strong arm of Government to keep them in order. Like most other fanatical sects, they dwindled away in process of time, and are now to be met with only in a few parts of Arabia. Although orthodox in their other tenets, there was one point on which they differed from the rest of the Muslims; for they asserted that God had actually set Muḥammad upon his throne, and constituted him his substitute in the government of the universe; an assertion which was regarded with horror, as an impious blasphemy, and which brought them into great disrepute. This, however, did not happen until many years after Ibn Ḥanbal’s decease, and is in no degree attributed to him. He published only two works of note: one entitled the Musnad, which is said to contain above 30,000 traditions selected from 750,000; and another, a collection of apothegms, or proverbs, containing many admirable precepts upon the government of the passions. He had several eminent pupils, particularly Ismāʿīl al-Buk͟hārī and Muslim Ibn Dāʾūd. His authority is but seldom quoted by any of the modern commentators on jurisprudence.

The modern Wahhābīs are supposed to follow (to some extent) the teachings of Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal.

IBN K͟HALLIKĀN (ابن خلكان‎). The well-known Muḥammadan biographer. He drew his descent from a family of Balk͟h. He was born at Arbelah, but resided at Damascus, where he filled the office of chief Qāẓī, and died A.H. 681 (A.D. 1282). His biographical dictionary has been translated into English by Baron de Slane. (Paris 1843.) The biographical notes in the present work are chiefly from Ibn K͟hallikān’s work.

IBN MĀJAH (ابن ماجة‎). Abū ʿAbdi ʾllāh Muḥammad Ibn Yazīd Ibn Mājah al-Qazwīnī was maulawī of the tribe of Rabīʿah, and a celebrated Ḥāfiz̤ of the Qurʾān, and is known as the compiler of the Kitābu ʾs-Sunan, or “Book of Traditions.” This work is counted one of the six Ṣaḥīḥs, or authentic collections of Ḥadīs̤. Born A.H. 209 (A.D. 824). Died A.H. 273 (A.D. 886).

IBN MASʿŪD (ابن مسعود‎). ʿAbdu ʾllāh ibn Masʿūd, “a companion” of considerable note. One of the illustrious “ten” (ʿAsharah Mubashsharah) to whom Muḥammad gave an assurance of Paradise. He was present at the battle of Badr and subsequent engagements. Died at al-Madīnah A.H. 32, aged 60.

IBN MULJAM (ابن ملجم‎). The Muslim who slew the K͟halīfah ʿAlī. The author of the Ḥayātu ʾl-Qulūb (Merrick’s Translation, p. 204) says when ʿAlī was martyred by Ibn Muljam his celestial likeness (i.e. in the ʿĀlamu ʾl-Mis̤āl) appeared wounded also; wherefore angels visit the similitude morning and evening and curse the name of Ibn Muljam.

IBN ṢAIYĀD (ابن صياد‎). A mysterious personage who lived in the time of Muḥammad, and who was mistaken by some people for ad-Dajjālu ʾl-Masīḥ, or the Antichrist. ʿAbdu ʾl-Ḥaqq says some say he was a Jew of al-Madīnah named ʿAbdu ʾllāh.

Ibn ʿUmar relates that the Prophet went to Ibn Ṣaiyād, accompanied by a party of his companions, and found him playing with boys; and at this time he had nearly reached puberty; and Ibn Ṣaiyād had no intimation of the coming of the Prophet and the companions, till the Prophet struck him upon the back, and said, “Do you bear witness that I am the Prophet of God?” Then Ibn Ṣaiyād looked at the Prophet and said, “I bear witness that you are the Prophet of the illiterate.” After that he said to the Prophet, “Do you bear witness that I am the Prophet of God?” Then the Prophet pressed him with both his hands and said, “I believe in God and His Prophets”; and then said to Ibn Ṣaiyād, “What do you look at?” He said, “Sometimes a person comes to me telling the truth; and sometimes another person telling lies; like as magicians, to whom devils bring truth and falsehood.” The Prophet said, “The Devil comes to you, and brings you news, false and true.” After that, the Prophet said, “Verily, I have concealed a revelation from you” (which was the one in which there is mention of the smoke); and Ibn Ṣaiyād said, “Is it the one with the smoke?” Then the Prophet said, “Begone! you cannot surpass your own degree!” Ibn ʿUmar said, “O Prophet of God! do you permit me to strike off Ibn Ṣaiyād’s head?” He said, “If Ibn Ṣaiyād be Dajjāl, you will not be able to kill him, because Jesus will be his slayer; and if he is not Dajjāl there can be no good in your killing him.” After this the Prophet and Ubaiy ibn Kaʿb al-Anṣārī went towards some date trees belonging to Ibn Ṣaiyād, and the Prophet hid himself behind the branches, to listen to what he would say, before Ibn Ṣaiyād discovered him. And at this time Ibn Ṣaiyād was lying upon his bed, with a sheet over his face, talking to himself; and his mother saw the Prophet standing behind the branches of the trees, and said to her son, “Muḥammad is standing.” At this he became silent; and the Prophet said, “Had not his mother informed him he would have said something to have discovered what he is.” Then the Prophet repeated, “Praised be God, by that which is worthy of him”; and then mentioned Dajjāl and said, “Verily, I fear for you from Dajjāl; there is no Prophet but he alarmed his people about him. Verily, Noah frightened his people about Dajjāl; but I will tell you a thing in the matter of Dajjāl, which no one Prophet ever told his people: know that he is blind, and that verily God is not blind.”

Abū Saʿīd al-K͟hudri says: “Ibn Ṣaiyād asked the Prophet about the earth of Paradise; and he said, ‘The earth of Paradise is in whiteness like flour twice sifted; and in smell like pure musk.’ And I accompanied Ibn Ṣaiyād from al-Madīnah to Makkah; and he said to me, ‘What trouble I have experienced from people’s supposing me Dajjāl! Have you not heard, O Ibn Ṣaiyād, the Prophet of God say, “Verily, Dajjāl will have no children”? and I have; and verily, the Prophet has said, “Dajjāl is an infidel,” and I am a Muslim; and the Prophet said, “Dajjāl will neither enter al-Madīnah nor Makkah”; and verily, I am going from al-Madīnah and intend going to Makkah.’ After that, Ibn Ṣaiyād said, in the latter part of his speech, ‘Beware; I swear by God, I know the place of Dajjāl’s birth, and where he stays; and I know his father and mother.’ Then this made me doubtful; and I said, ‘May the remainder of your days be lost to you.’ A person present said to Ibn Ṣaiyād, ‘Would you like to be Dajjāl?’ He said, ‘If I possessed what Dajjāl is described to have, such as the power of leading astray, I should not dislike it.’ ”

Ibn ʿUmar says: “I met Ibn Ṣaiyād when he had swollen eyes, and I said, ‘How long has this been?’ He said, ‘I do not know.’ I said, ‘Do not know, now that your eyes are in your head?’ He said, ‘If God pleased He could create eyes in your limbs, and they would not know anything about it; in this manner also, man is so employed as to be insensible to pains.’ Then Ibn Ṣaiyād made a noise from his nose, louder than the braying of an ass.” (Mishkāt, book xxiii. ch. v.)

IBRĀHĪM (ابراهيم‎). The patriarch Abraham. [ABRAHAM.]

IBRĀHĪM (ابراهيم‎). The infant son of Muḥammad by his slave girl, Mary the Copt. Born A.H. 8, died A.H. 10 (A.D. 631).

ʿĪD (عيد‎). [FESTIVAL.]

ʿĪDĀN (عيدان‎). The Dual of ʿĪd, a festival. The two festivals, the ʿĪdu ʾl-Fit̤r, and the ʿĪdu ʾl-Aẓḥā.

ʿIDDAH (عدة‎). Lit. “Number.” The term of probation incumbent upon a woman in consequence of a dissolution of marriage, either by divorce or the death of her husband. After a divorce the period is three months, and after the death of her husband, four months and ten days, both periods being enjoined by the Qurʾān (Sūrah lxv. 4; ii. 234.)

ʿĪDGĀH (عيدگاه‎). Lit. “A place of festival.” A Persian term for the muṣallā, or praying-place, set apart for the public prayers said on the two chief festivals, viz. ʿĪdu ʾl-Fit̤r, and ʿĪdu ʾl-Aẓḥā. [ʿIDAN.]

IDIOTS. Arabic majnūn (مجنون‎), pl. majānīn. Mr. Lane, in his Modern Egyptians, vol. i. p. 288, says:—

“An idiot or a fool is vulgarly regarded by them as a being whose mind is in heaven, while his grosser part mingles among ordinary mortals; consequently he is considered an especial favourite of heaven. Whatever enormities a reputed saint may commit (and there are many who are constantly infringing precepts of their religion), such acts do not affect his fame for sanctity; for they are considered as the results of the abstraction of his mind from worldly things; his soul, or reasoning faculties, being wholly absorbed in devotion, so that his passions are left without control. Lunatics who are dangerous to society are kept in confinement; but those who are harmless are generally regarded as saints. Most of the reputed saints of Egypt are either lunatics, or idiots, or impostors.”

IDOLATRY. The word used in the Qurʾān for idolatry is shirk (شرك‎), and for an idolater, mushrik (مشرك‎), pl. mushrikūn. In theological works the word was̤anī (وثنى‎) is used for an idolater (was̤an, an idol); and ʿibādatu ʾl-aus̤ān (عبادة الاوثان‎), for idolatry.

In one of the earliest Sūrahs of the Qurʾān (when chronologically arranged), lii. 35–43, idolatry is condemned in the following language:—

“Were they created by nothing? or were they the creators of themselves?

“Created they the Heavens and Earth? Nay, rather, they have no faith.

“Hold they thy Lord’s treasures? Bear they the rule supreme?

“Have they a ladder for hearing the angels? Let anyone who hath heard them bring a clear proof of it.

“Hath God daughters and ye sons?

“Askest thou pay of them? They are themselves weighed down with debts.

“Have they such a knowledge of the secret things that they can write them down?

“Desire they to lay snares for thee? But the snared ones shall be they who do not believe.

“Have they any God beside God? Glory be to God above what they join with Him.”

But they are, in a later Sūrah (nearly the last), ix. 28, declared unclean, and forbidden to enter the sacred temple at Makkah. That was after Muḥammad had destroyed the idols in his last pilgrimage to the Sacred House.

“O Believers! only they who join gods with God are unclean! Let them not, therefore, after this their year, come near the sacred temple. And if ye fear want, God, if He please, will enrich you of His abundance: for God is Knowing, Wise.”

In a Sūrah given about the same time (iv. 51, 116), idolatry is declared to be the unpardonable sin:—

“Verily, God will not forgive the union of other gods with Himself! But other than this will He forgive to whom He pleaseth. And he who uniteth gods with God hath devised a great wickedness.”

“God truly will not forgive the joining other gods with Himself. Other sins He will forgive to whom He will: but he who joineth gods with God, hath erred with far-gone error.”

Nor is it lawful for Muslims to pray for the souls of idolaters, as is evident from Sūrah ix. 114:—

“It is not for the prophet or the faithful to pray for the forgiveness of those, even though they be of kin, who associate other beings with God, after it hath been made clear to them that they are to be the inmates of Hell.

“For neither did Abraham ask forgiveness for his father, but in pursuance of a promise which he had promised to him: but when it was shewn him that he was an enemy to God, he declared himself clear of him. Yet Abraham was pitiful, kind.”

Sir William Muir says (Int. p. ccxii.) that “Mahomet is related to have said that Amr son of Lohai (the first Khozaite king, A.D. 200) was the earliest who dared to change the ‘pure religion of Ishmael,’ and set up idols brought from Syria. This, however, is a mere Muslim conceit. The practice of idolatry thickly overspread the whole peninsula from a much more remote period.”

From the chapters from the Qurʾān, already quoted, it will be seen that from the very first Muḥammad denounced idolatry. But the weakness of his position compelled him to move cautiously. The expressions contained in the al-Madīnah Sūrahs, given when Muḥammad could not enter Makkah, are much more restrained than those in the Sūrahs given after the capture of Makkah and the destruction of the idols of the Kaʿbah.

At an early period (about the fifth year) of his mission, Muḥammad seems to have contemplated a compromise and reconciliation with Makkan idolatry. Sir William Muir (quoting from at̤-T̤abarī, pp. 140–142, and Kātibu ʾl-Wāqidī, p. 40), says:—

“On a certain day, the chief men of Mecca, assembled in a group beside the Káaba, discussed, as was their wont, the affairs of the city. Mahomet appeared, and, seating himself by them in a friendly manner, began to recite in their hearing Sura liii. The chapter opens with a description of the first visit of Gabriel to Mahomet, and then unfolds a second vision of that angel, in which certain heavenly mysteries were revealed. It then proceeds:—

“When he had reached this verse, the devil suggested to Mahomet an expression of thoughts which had long possessed his soul, and put into his mouth words of reconciliation and compromise, the revelation of such as he had been yearning that God might send unto his people, namely:—

“The Coreish were astonished and delighted with this acknowledgment of their deities; and as Mahomet wound up the Sura with the closing words,—

the whole assembly prostrated themselves with one accord on the ground and worshipped. Walîd alone, unable from the infirmities of age to bow down, took a handful of earth and worshipped, pressing it to his forehead.

“And all the people were pleased at that which Mahomet had spoken, and they began to say, ‘Now we know that it is the Lord alone that giveth life and taketh it away, that createth and supporteth. And as for these our goddesses, make intercession with Him for us; wherefore, as thou hast conceded unto them a portion, we are content to follow thee.’

“But their words disquieted Mahomet, and he retired to his house. In the evening Gabriel visited him, and the Prophet (as was his wont) recited the Sura unto him. And Gabriel said, ‘What is this that thou hast done? thou hast repeated before the people words that I never gave unto thee.’ So Mahomet grieved sore, and feared the Lord greatly; and he said, ‘I have spoken of God that which he hath not said.’ But the Lord comforted His Prophet, and restored his confidence, and cancelled the verse, and revealed the true reading thereof (as it now stands), namely:—

And see ye not Lât and Ozza,

And Manât the third besides?

What! shall there be male progeny unto you, and female unto him?

That were indeed an unjust partition!

They are naught but names, which ye and your fathers have invented, &c.

“Now, when the Coreish heard this, they spoke among themselves, saying, ‘Mahomet hath repented his favourable mention of the rank of our goddesses with the Lord. He hath changed the same, and brought other words instead.’ So the two Satanic verses were in the mouth of every one of the unbelievers, and they increased their malice, and stirred them up to persecute the faithful with still greater severity.” (Sir W. Muir’s Life of Mahomet, new ed. p. 86 seqq.)

The Commentators do not refer to this circumstance, and pious Muḥammadans would reject the whole story, but, as Sir W. Muir says, “the authorities are too strong to be impugned.”

These narratives of at̤-T̤abarī and the secretary of al-Wāqidī are fully borne out in the facts of Muḥammad’s subsequent compromise with the idolatrous feelings of the people; for whilst he removed the images from the Kaʿbah, he at the same time retained the black stone as an object of superstitious reverence, and although he destroyed Isāf and Nāʾilah, the deities of aṣ-Ṣafā and al-Marwah, he still retained the “runnings to and fro,” and the “stonings of the pillars,” as part of the sacred rites of what was intended to be a purely theistic and iconoclastic system. The most singular feature in the fetichism of Arabia was the adoration paid to unshapen stones, and Muḥammad found it impossible to construct his religion without some compromise with the popular form of idolatry. It is a curious circumstance that so much of the zeal and bigotry of the Wahhābī puritans is directed against the shirk, or idolatry, of the popular veneration for tombs and other objects of adoration, and yet they see no objection to the adoration of the black stone, and those other strange and peculiar customs which form part of the rites of the Makkan pilgrimage.

IDOLS. Arabic was̤an (وثن‎), pl. aus̤ān, also ṣanam (صنم‎), pl. aṣnām, both words being used in the Qurʾān. Ten of the idols of ancient Arabia are mentioned by name in the Qurʾān, viz.:—

Sūrah iv. 52: “Hast thou not observed those to whom a part of the Scriptures hath been given? They believe in al-Jibt and at̤-T̤āg͟hūt, and say of the infidels, ‘These are guided in a better path than those who hold the faith.’ ”

Sūrah liii. 19: “Have ye considered al-Lāt, al-ʿUzza, and Manāt the third?”

Sūrah lxxi. 21: “They have plotted a great plot and said, “Ye shall surely not leave your gods: ye shall surely neither leave Wadd, nor Suwāʿ, nor Yag͟hūs̤, nor Yaʿūq, nor Nasr, and they led astray many.”

Al-Jibt and at̤-T̤āg͟hūt (the latter also mentioned in Sūrah ii. 257, 259) were, according to Jalālu ʾd-dīn, two idols of the Quraish whom certain renegade Jews honoured in order to please the Quraish.

Al-Lāt was the chief idol of the Banū S̤aqīf at at̤-T̤āʾif. The name appears to be the feminine of Allāh, God.

Al-ʿUzza has been identified with Venus, but it was worshipped under the form of an acacia tree, and was the deity of the Banū G͟hat̤afān.

Manāt was a large sacrificial stone worshipped by the Banū K͟huzāʿah and Banū Huẕail.

The five idols, Wadd, Suwāʿ, Yag͟hūs̤, Yāʿūq, and Nasr, the commentators say, were originally five persons of eminence in the time of Adam, who after their deaths were worshipped in the form of idols.

Wadd was worshipped by the Banū Kalb in the form of a man, and is said to have represented heaven.

Suwāʿ was a female deity of the Banū Ḥamdān.

Yag͟hūs̤ was a deity of the Banū Maẕḥij and in the form of a lion.

Yaʿūq was an idol of the Banū Murād in the shape of a horse.

Nasr was, as its name implies, an image of an eagle, and worshipped by Ḥimyar.

It is said (according to Burkhardt, p. 164) that at the time of Muḥammad’s suppression of idol worship in the Makkan temple, there were not fewer than 360 idols in existence.

The chief of the minor deities was Hubal, an image of a man, and said to have been originally brought from Syria. Other well-known idols were Isāf, an idol on Mount aṣ-Ṣāfā, and Nāʾilah, an image on Mount al-Marwah, as part of the rites of the pilgrimage, the Prophet not being able to divert entirely the regard of the people for them.

Habhah was a large sacred stone on which camels were sacrificed, and the Ḥajaru ʾl-Aswad, or Black Stone, was an object, as it still is, of idolatrous worship. In the Kaʿbah there were also images representing Abraham and Ishmael, each with divining arrows in his hand.

The statement, made by some writers, that the image or picture of Jesus and Mary had a place in the Kaʿbah, seems to be without any authority.

Although Herodotus does not refer to the Kaʿbah, yet he mentions as one of the chief divinities of Arabia Alilat, which is strong evidence of the existence of an idol called al-Lāt at that time as an object of worship. (Herod. iii. 8.) [IDOLATRY.]

IDRĪS (ادريس‎). A prophet mentioned twice in the Qurʾān, about whose identity there is some discussion.

Sūrah xix. 57: “Commemorate Idrīs in the Book; verily he was a man of truth and a Prophet, and we raised him to a lofty place.”

Sūrah xxi. 85: “And Ishmael, and Idrīs, and Ẕū ʾl-kifl—all steadfast in patience.”

Al-Baiẓāwī says Idrīs was of the posterity of Shīs̤ (Seth), and a forefather of Noah, and his name was Uḥnūk͟h (Enoch, Heb. ‏חֲנוֹךְ‎, Consecrated). He was called Idrīs from dars, “to instruct,” from his knowledge of divine mysteries, and thirty portions of God’s sacred scriptures were revealed to him. He was the first person who learned to write, and he was the inventor of the science of astronomy and arithmetic.

Ḥusain says, “In the Jāmiʿu ʾl-Uṣūl, it is written that Idrīs was born one hundred years after the death of Adam.”

The Jalālān say the meaning of the words in the Qurʾān, “we raised him to a lofty place,” is that he liveth either in the fourth heaven, or in the sixth or seventh heaven, or that he was raised up from the dead and taken to Paradise.

The Kāmālān say, “In the book called the Rauẓatu ʾl-Aḥbāb, Ibn Jarīr relates that Idrīs was the special friend of one of the angels of heaven, and that this angel took him up into the heavens, and when they arrived in the fourth heaven they met the Angel of Death. The angel asked the Angel of Death how many years there were remaining of the life of Idrīs; and the Angel of Death said, ‘Where is Idrīs, for I have received orders to bring death to him?’ Idrīs then remained in the fourth heaven, and he died in the wings of his angel friend who had taken him from earth.”

Some of the Commentators think Idrīs and Elijah (Ilyās) are the same persons. But the accounts given seem to identify him with Enoch.

ʿĪDU ʾL-AẒḤĀ (عيد الاضحى‎). Vulg. ʿĪd-i-Ẓuḥā, “The feast of sacrifice.” Called also Yaumu ʾn-Naḥr; Qurbān-ʿĪd; Baqarah-ʿĪd (i.e. the cow festival); and in Turkey and Egypt ʿĪdu Bairām. It is also called the ʿĪdu ʾl-kabīr, the great festival, as distinguished from the ʿĪdu ʾl-Fit̤r, which is called the minor festival, or al-ʿĪdu ʾṣ-ṣag͟hīr.

It is celebrated on the tenth day of Ẕū ʾl-Ḥijjah, and is part of the rites of the Makkan pilgrimage, although it is observed as well in all parts of Islām both as a day of sacrifice and as a great festival. It is founded on an injunction in the Qurʾān, Sūrah xxii. 33–38.

“This do. And they who respect the symbols of God, perform an action which proceedeth from piety of heart.

“Ye may obtain advantages from the cattle to the set time for slaying them; then, the place for sacrificing them is at the ancient House.

“And to every people have we appointed symbols, that they may commemorate the name of God over the brute beasts which He hath provided for them. And your God is the one God. To Him, therefore, surrender yourselves: and bear thou good tidings to those who humble themselves,—

“Whose hearts, when mention is made of God, thrill with awe; and to those who remain steadfast under all that befalleth them, and observe prayer, and give alms of that with which we have supplied them.

“And the camels have we appointed you for the sacrifice to God: much good have ye in them. Make mention, therefore, of the name of God over them when ye slay them, as they stand in a row; and when they are fallen over on their sides, eat of them, and feed him who is content and asketh not, and him who asketh. Thus have We subjected them to you, to the intent ye should be thankful.

“By no means can their flesh reach unto God, neither their blood; but piety on your part reacheth Him. Thus hath He subjected them to you, that ye might magnify God for His guidance: moreover, announce glad tidings to those who do good deeds.”

The institution of the sacrifice was as follows:—A few months after the Hijrah, or flight from Makkah, Muḥammad, dwelling in al-Madīnah, observed that the Jews kept, on the tenth day of the seventh month, the great fast of the Atonement. A tradition records that the Prophet asked them why they kept this fast. He was informed that it was a memorial of the deliverance of Moses and the children of Israel from the hands of Pharaoh. “We have a greater right in Moses than they,” said Muḥammad, so he fasted with the Jews and commanded his followers to fast also. This was at the period of his mission when Muḥammad was friendly with the Jews of al-Madīnah, who occasionally came to hear him preach. The Prophet also occasionally attended the synagogue. Then came the change of the Qiblah from Jerusalem to Makkah, for the Jews were not so ready to change their creed as Muḥammad had at first hoped. In the second year of the Hijrah, Muḥammad and his followers did not participate in the Jewish fast, for the Prophet now instituted the ʿĪdu ʾl-Aẓḥā. The idolatrous Arabs had been in the habit of making an annual pilgrimage to Makkah at this season of the year. The offering of animals in sacrifice formed a part of the concluding ceremony of that pilgrimage. That portion—the sacrifice of animals—Muḥammad adopted in the feast which now, at al-Madīnah, he substituted for the Jewish fast. This was well calculated to attract the attention of the Makkans and to gain the goodwill of the Arabs. Muḥammad could not then make the pilgrimage to Makkah, for as yet there was a hostile feeling between the inhabitants of the two cities; but on the tenth day of the month Ẕū ʾl-Ḥijjah, at the very time when the Arabs at Makkah were engaged in sacrificing victims, Muḥammad went forth from his house at al-Madīnah, and assembling his followers instituted the ʿĪdu ʾl-Aẓḥā. Two young kids were brought before him. One he sacrificed and said: “O Lord! I sacrifice this for my whole people, all those who bear witness to Thy unity and to my mission. O Lord! this is for Muḥammad and for the family of Muḥammad.”

There is nothing in the Qurʾān to connect this sacrifice with the history of Ishmael, but it is generally held by Muḥammadans to have been instituted in commemoration of Abraham’s willingness to offer up his son as a sacrifice. And Muḥammadan writers generally maintain that the son was Ishmael and not Isaac, and that the scene took place on Mount Mina near Makkah, and not in the land of Moriah, as is stated in Genesis.

The following is the account given by Muḥammadan writers:—“When Ibrahīm (the peace of God be upon him) founded Makkah, the Lord desired him to prepare a feast for Him. Upon Ibrahīm’s (the friend of God) requesting to know what He would have on the occasion, the Lord replied, ‘Offer up thy son Ismāʿīl.’ Agreeably to God’s command he took Ismāʿīl to the Kaʿbah to sacrifice him, and having laid him down, he made several ineffectual strokes on his throat with a knife, on which Ismāʿīl observed, ‘Your eyes being uncovered, it is through pity and compassion for me you allow the knife to miss: it would be better if you blindfolded yourself with the end of your turban and then sacrificed me.’ Ibrahīm acted upon his son’s suggestion and having repeated the words ‘Bi-smi ʾllāhi, allāhu akbar’ (i.e. ‘In the name of God! God is great!’), he drew the knife across his son’s neck. In the meanwhile, however, Gabriel had substituted a broad-tailed sheep for the youth Ismāʿīl, and Ibrahīm unfolding his eyes observed, to his surprise, the sheep slain, and his son standing behind him.” (See Qiṣaṣu ʾl-Ambiyāʾ.)

It is a notable fact that whilst Muḥammad professed to abrogate the Jewish ritual, and also ignored entirely the doctrine of the Atonement as taught in the New Testament, denying even the very fact of our Saviour’s crucifixion, he made the “day of sacrifice” the great central festival of his religion.

There is a very remarkable Ḥadīs̤, related by ʿĀyishah, who states that Muḥammad said, “Man hath not done anything on the ʿĪdu ʾl-Aẓḥā more pleasing to God than spilling blood; for verily the animal sacrificed will come, on the day of resurrection, with its horns, its hair, and its hoofs, and will make the scale of his (good) actions heavy. Verily its blood reacheth the acceptance of God, before it falleth upon the ground, therefore be joyful in it.” (Mishkāt, book iv. ch. xlii. sec. 2.)

Muḥammad has thus become a witness to the doctrine of the Christian faith that “without shedding of blood, there is no remission.” The animal sacrificed must be without blemish, and of full age; but it may be either a goat, a sheep, a cow, or a camel.

The religious part of the festival is observed as follows:—The people assemble in the morning for prayer, in the ʿĪdgāh, or place erected outside the city for these special festival prayers. The whole congregation then standing in the usual order, the Imām takes his place in front of them and leads them in two rakʿahs of prayer. After prayers the Imām ascends the mimbar or pulpit and delivers a K͟hut̤bah, or oration, on the subject of the festival.

We are indebted to Mr. Sell for the following specimen of the K͟hut̤bah:—

“In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.

“God is Great. There is no God but God. God is Great! God is Great and worthy of all praise. He is Holy. Day and night we should praise Him. He is without partner, without equal. All praise be to Him. Holy is He, Who makes the rich generous, Who provides the sacrifice for the wise. He is Great, without an equal. All praise be to Him. Listen! I testify that there is no God but God. He is alone, without partner. This testimony is as bright as the early dawn, as brilliant as the glorious feast day. Muḥammad is His servant who delivered His message. On Muḥammad, and on his family, and on his Companions may the peace of God rest. On you who are present, O congregation of Muslimīn, may the mercy of God for ever rest. O servants of God! our first duty is to fear God and to be kind. God has said, ‘I will be with those who fear Me and are kind.’

“Know, O servants of God! that to rejoice on the feast day is the sign and mark of the pure and good. Exalted will be the rank of such in Paradise, especially on the day of resurrection will they obtain dignity and honour. Do not on this day foolish acts. It is no time for amusements and negligence. This is the day on which to utter the praises of God. Read the Kalimah, the Takbīr and the Tamḥīd. This is a high festival season and the feast of sacrifice. Read now the Takbīru ʾt-Tashrīq. God is great! God is great! There is no God but God! God is great! God is great! All praise be to Him! From the morning of the ʿArafah, after every farẓ rakʿah, it is good for a person to repeat the Takbīru ʾt-Tashrīq. The woman before whom is a man as Imām, and the traveller whose Imām is a permanent resident, should also repeat this Takbīr. It should be said at each Namāz until the Ṣalātu ʾl-ʿAṣr of the Feast day (10th). Some, however, say that it should be recited every day till the afternoon of the thirteenth day, as these are the days of the Tashrīq. If the Imām forgets to recite, let not the worshipper forget. Know, O believers, that every free man who is a Ṣāḥib-i-Niṣāb should offer sacrifice on this day, provided that this sum is exclusive of his horse, his clothes, his tools, and his household goods and slaves. It is wājib for everyone to offer sacrifice for himself, but it is not a wājib order that he should do it for his children. A goat, a ram, or a cow, should be offered in sacrifice for every seven persons. The victim must not be one-eyed, blind, lame, or very thin.

“If you sacrifice a fat animal it will serve you well, and carry you across the Ṣirāt̤. O Believers, thus said the Prophet, on whom be the mercy and peace of God, ‘Sacrifice the victim with your own hands, this was the Sunnah of Ibrahīm, on whom be peace.’

“In the Kitābu Zādi ʾt-Taqwa it is said that, on the ʿĪdu ʾl-Fit̤r and the ʿĪdu ʾl-Aẓḥā, four nafl rakʿahs should be said after the farẓ Namāz of the ʿĪd. In the first rakʿah after the Sūratu ʾl-Fātiḥah recite the Sūratu ʾl-Aʿla (Sūrah lxxvii.); in the second, the Sūratu ʾsh-Shams (Sūrah xci.); in the third, the Sūratu ʾẓ-Ẓuḥa (Sūrah xciii.); in the fourth, the Sūratu ʾl-Ik͟hlāṣ (cxii.).

“O Believers, if ye do so, God will pardon the sins of fifty years which are past and of fifty years to come. The reading of these Sūrahs is equal, as an act of merit, to the reading of all the books God has sent by His prophets.

“May God include us amongst those who are accepted by Him, who act according to the Law, whose desire will be granted at the Last Day. To all such there will be no fear in the Day of Resurrection; no sorrow in the examination at the Day of Judgment. The best of all books is the Qurʾān. O believers! May God give to us and to you a blessing for ever, by the grace of the Noble Qurʾān. May its verses be our guide, and may its wise mention of God direct us aright. I desire that God may pardon all believers, male and female, the Muslimīn and the Muslimāt. O believers, also seek for pardon. Truly God is the Forgiver, the Merciful, the Eternal King, the Compassionate, the Clement. O believers, the K͟hut̤bah is over. Let all desire that on Muḥammad Muṣt̤afa the mercy and peace of God may rest.”

The K͟hut̤bah being ended, the people all return to their homes. The head of the family then takes a sheep, or a cow, or a goat, or camel, and turning its head towards Makkah says:

“In the name of the great God.

“Verily, my prayers, my sacrifice, my life, my death, belong to God, the Lord of the worlds. He has no partner: that is what I am bidden: for I am first of those who are Mūslim (i.e. resigned).”

And then he slays the animal. The flesh of the animal is then divided into three portions, one third being given to relations, one third to the poor, and the remaining third reserved for the family. Quite apart from its religious ceremonies, the festival is observed as a great time of rejoicing, and the holiday is kept for two or three days in a similar way to that of the minor festival or the ʿĪdu ʾl-Fit̤r. [HAJJ, ISHMAEL, SACRIFICE.]