98 



THE KEV. S. M. ZWEMER^ 



' There is no other god/ etc." To use the rosary in this way the 

 following things must be observed. : The rosary is grasped 

 within the palms of both hands, and is then rubbed together ; 

 then the Fatiha is solemnly repeated, after which the user 

 breathes upon the rosary vnth his hreath in order to put the effect 

 of the chapter into the heads. Then he seizes a particular bead 

 and counts toward the "pointer" bead, using tlie words God, 

 Mohammed, Ahu Jahal. When the count terminates with the 

 name of God, it means that his request is favourably received ; 

 if it terminates with Ahu Jahal it is bad; and if with Mohammed 

 the reply is doubtful. Others considered it more correct to use 

 these three words : Adam, Eve, the devil. When these words 

 are used, the Adam bead signifies approval, the devil bead dis- 

 approval, and the Eve bead uncertainty, because woman's 

 judgment is fickle. This use of the rosary is almost universal 

 among the common people. The rosary is also used for the cure 

 of the sick. In this case it depends on the material from which 

 the beads are manufactured. Those made of ordinary wood or 

 of mother-o'-pearl are not valuable, but a rosary made of jet 

 ( Yusr) or Kiih (a particular kind of wood from Mecca) is 

 valuable. 



Of magic in general, as practised to-day by Moslems, we 

 cannot speak at length. I may mention, however, the use of 

 magic bowls or cups, which goes back to great antiquity. 

 Generally speaking, the cups are of two kinds. One is called 

 Taset al-hhadda (from the Arabic root khadJia, which means 

 " to shake your cup ").*' It is also called Taset al-Turha. This 

 kind is used for healing, and to drive away the ills of the body. 

 A specimen carefully kept by old families may be seen in the 

 Arab Museum, made by an engraver called Ibrahim, in A.D. 1561. 

 According to a Coptic writer, the owners of such goblets often 

 lend them to others who need them. The right manner to use 

 the goblet is to fill it with water in the early morning, place 

 some ordinary keys in it, and leave them until the following- 

 day, when the patient drinks the water. This operation is 

 repeated three, seven, or forty consecutive nights until the 

 patient gets rid of the evil effects of his fright. It would not 

 be strange if the oxide of iron acted on the patients ! The 

 Moslem goblets in use to-day generally contain Koran inscrip- 

 tions, and the keys spoken of are suspended by wires from the 

 inner cup, which rests in the centre of the Tdseh. This is 



* See Lane^s Dictionary. Others say it comes from a root signifying to 

 terrorize, to make fall into a fit ; i.e., the cup of terror. 



