•4 4- ANIMISTIC ELEMENTS IN MOSLEM PRAYER 



(J) If he who prays chooses an unexposed place and 

 some one deliberately passes in front when there is space 

 behind, sin is accounted to the passer-by and not to him 

 who prays. 



''The practices among the Shiah Moslems differ in some 

 respects from those of the Sunnis," says Miss Holliday of 

 Tabriz, Persia. "A Shiah about to pray takes his place 

 looking toward the Kibla at Mecca ; if he be a strict Moslem 

 he lays before him nearest the Kibla and where he can put 

 his forehead upon it, the Muhr which is indispensable. It' 

 generally consists of earth from Kerbela, compressed into 

 a small tablet and bearing Arabic inscriptions; it is various 

 in shape. If one has not this object, he can use a common 

 stone, a piece of wood or a clod of earth; in the baths they 

 keep small pieces of wood for the convenience of worship- 

 pers. With regard to wood, they say all the trees in the 

 world came from heaven and their life is directly from God 

 so they are holy objects. The Kerbela talismans are called 

 "turbat," as being made from holy earth from the tomb 

 city of the Imam Hussain. On the side nearest him of the 

 muhr the worshipper lays a small pocket comb, then next 

 to himself the rosary. 



After prayer, they point the right forefinger first in the 

 direction of the Kibla, saluting Mohammed as the Son of 

 Abdullah and the Imam Hussain 'grandson of the Prophet, 

 son of Fatima,' then to the east saluting Imam Eiza as the 

 Gareeb, or stranger, at Meshhed in Khorassan, then to the 

 west, saluting the Imam Mehdi, as the Sahibi-zaman or Lord 

 of the Age. The back is to the north; this looks like sun- 

 worship . ' ' 



Among the customs which are forbidden during prayer 

 is that of crossing or closing the fingers. They should be 

 held widely spread apart. We have the following tradition 

 in Ibn Maja:* "Said the Prophet: 'Do not put your fingers 

 close together during prayer. It is also forbidden to cover 

 the mouth during prayer.' Another tradition reads that 

 the Apostle of God saw a man who had crossed his fingers 

 during prayer or joined them close together; he approached 

 him and make him spread his fingers.! 



That the yawning, to which reference was made, has 

 connection with spirits and demons is evident from a tradi- 

 tion given in the same paragraph, namely: "If any of you 

 yawn let him put his hand upon his mouth for verily the 

 devil is laughing at him." 



*Vol. i. p. 158. 

 tVol. i, p. 158. 



