The word Hajj is explained by Moslem1 divines to mean “Kasd,” or aspiration2, and to express man’s sentiment that he is but a wayfarer3 on earth wending towards another and a nobler world. This explains the origin and the belief that the greater the hardships the higher will be the reward of the pious4 wanderer. He is urged by the voice of his soul: “O thou who toilest so hard for worldly pleasures and perishable5 profit, wilt6 thou endure nothing to win a more lasting7 reward?” Hence it is that pilgrimage is common to all old faiths. The Hindus still wander to Egypt, to Tibet, and to the inhospitable Caucasus; the classic philosophers visited Egypt; the Jews annually8 flocked to Jerusalem; and the Tartars and Mongols — Buddhists9 — journey to distant Lamaserais. The spirit of pilgrimage was predominant in mediæval Europe, and the processions of the Roman Catholic Church are, according to her votaries,1 modern memorials of the effete10 rite11.
Every Moslem is bound, under certain conditions,2 to pay at least one visit to the Holy City. This constitutes the Hajjat al-Farz (the one obligatory12 pilgrimage), or Hajjat al-Islam, of the Mohammedan faith. Repetitions become mere13 Sunnats, or practices of the Prophet, and are therefore supererogatory. Some European writers have of late years laboured to represent the Meccan pilgrimage as a fair, a pretext14 to collect merchants and to afford Arabia the benefits of purchase and barter15. It would be vain to speculate whether the secular16 or the spiritual element originally prevailed; but most probably each had its portion. But those who peruse17 this volume will see that, despite the comparatively lukewarm piety18 of the age, the Meccan pilgrimage is religious essentially19, accidentally an affair of commerce.
Moslem pilgrimage is of three kinds.
1. Al-Mukarinah (the uniting) is when the votary20 performs the Hajj and the Umrah3 together, as was done by the Prophet in his last visit to Meccah.
2. Al-Ifrad (singulation) is when either the Hajj or the Umrah is performed singularly, the former preceding the latter. The pilgrim may be either Al-Mufrid b’il Hajj (one who is performing only the Hajj), or vice21 versa, Al-Mufrid b’il Umrah. According to Abu Hanifah, this form is more efficacious than the following.
3. Al-Tamattu (“possession”) is when the pilgrim assumes the Ihram, and preserves it throughout the months of Shawwal, Zu’l Ka’adah, and nine days (ten nights) in Zu’l Hijjah,4 performing Hajj and Umrah the while.
There is another threefold division of pilgrimage:—
1. Umrah (the little pilgrimage), performed at any time except the pilgrimage season. It differs in some of its forms from Hajj, as will afterwards appear.
2. Hajj (or simple pilgrimage), performed at the proper season.
3. Hajj al-Akbar (the great pilgrimage) is when the “day of Arafat” happens to fall upon a Friday. This is a most auspicious22 occasion. M. Caussin de Perceval and other writers, departing from the practice of (modern?) Islam, make “Hajj al-Akbar” to mean the simple pilgrimage, in opposition23 to the Umrah, which they call “Hajj al-Asghar.”
The following compendium24 of the Shafe’i pilgrim-rites is translated from a little treatise25 by Mohammed of Shirbin, surnamed Al-Khatib, a learned doctor, whose work is generally read in Egypt and in the countries adjoining.
1 Moslem | |
n.回教徒,穆罕默德信徒;adj.回教徒的,回教的 | |
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2 aspiration | |
n.志向,志趣抱负;渴望;(语)送气音;吸出 | |
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3 wayfarer | |
n.旅人 | |
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4 pious | |
adj.虔诚的;道貌岸然的 | |
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5 perishable | |
adj.(尤指食物)易腐的,易坏的 | |
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6 wilt | |
v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎;(指人)疲倦,衰弱 | |
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7 lasting | |
adj.永久的,永恒的;vbl.持续,维持 | |
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8 annually | |
adv.一年一次,每年 | |
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9 Buddhists | |
n.佛教徒( Buddhist的名词复数 ) | |
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10 effete | |
adj.无生产力的,虚弱的 | |
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11 rite | |
n.典礼,惯例,习俗 | |
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12 obligatory | |
adj.强制性的,义务的,必须的 | |
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13 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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14 pretext | |
n.借口,托词 | |
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15 barter | |
n.物物交换,以货易货,实物交易 | |
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16 secular | |
n.牧师,凡人;adj.世俗的,现世的,不朽的 | |
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17 peruse | |
v.细读,精读 | |
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18 piety | |
n.虔诚,虔敬 | |
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19 essentially | |
adv.本质上,实质上,基本上 | |
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20 votary | |
n.崇拜者;爱好者;adj.誓约的,立誓任圣职的 | |
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21 vice | |
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的 | |
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22 auspicious | |
adj.吉利的;幸运的,吉兆的 | |
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23 opposition | |
n.反对,敌对 | |
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24 compendium | |
n.简要,概略 | |
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25 treatise | |
n.专著;(专题)论文 | |
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