293 THE KORAN. 



before the first watch, or midnight.* At these stated 

 periods of devotion every true believer is summoned 

 by the voice of the muezzins or pubhc criers from 

 the minarets, — Allah akhar ! Allah akhar ! &c. " God 

 is great ! God is great ! there is but one God ! Mo- 

 hammed is his Prophet ! Come to prayers ! come 

 to prayers !" and in the morning call are added the 

 words, " Prayer is better than sleep ! prayer is better 

 than sleep !" — a sentiment not unworthy the consi- 

 deration of those who profess a purer religion. 



To indicate the direction of the Kaaba, towards 

 which their faces must be turned, their mosques 

 have the mehrab or niche, pointing to the Holy 

 City ; and where these conveniences are impracti- 

 cable, tables are furnished, calculated for finding the 

 kebla. Their litany requires a certain number of 

 ejaculations, which tlie more scrupulous count by a 

 string of beads. Various ceremonies and attitudes 

 are prescribed,— sitting, standing, kneeling, adoring 

 with the face downwards, and seventeen" rz/^-a/^, or 

 bowings of the body, two at morning prayers, three 

 in the evening, and four at each of the other perform- 

 ances. In imitation of the old Jewish custom, or 

 rather in consonance with the general feeling of 

 Asiatic jealousy, the female sex are prohibited from 

 joining in public prayers. Rejecting the days hal- 

 lowed by the Jews and Christians, Mohammed con- 

 secrated J^'riday as the Sabbath of the Mussulmans. 



* The words of the Koran are, " Until ye can distinguish a 

 white thread from a black by the daybreak." — (Chap, ii.) The 

 Jews determined the time of their morning lesson to be when 

 they could discern the blue thread from the white in the fringes 

 of their garments. — Sale, Prelim. Diss. sect. iv. p. 149. Mo- 

 hammedanism is evidently not made for the Arctic regions. The 

 Arabs divide their day into twenty-four hours, and reckon them 

 from one setting sun to another. The moment when the sun 

 disappears is called Mogreb ; about two hours after is El Ascha ; 

 two hours later, ElMarfa; midnight, Nus-e!-Lejl ; the dawn, 

 EI Fadjer ; sunrise. El Subh ; noon, El Duhr ; three hours after 

 noon, El Asr. — Nieb. Descript. de rArnhir. Tlie hours of pra3Tr 

 are, Mogreb, Nus-el-Lejl, El Fadjer, El Duhr, and El Asr. 



