. The duty of fasting follows. [FASTS.] During the whole month of Ramadan, de Moslem is commanded to refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, smelling perfurni,s, bathing, and every unnecessary indulgence in worldly pleasure, from daybres.k sunset. From that period till the morning, he is allowed to eat, drink, and enjoy him aolf. Arabian years being lunar, it often happens that the Ramadan falls in mid summer, when the fasting, more especially the abstaining from drinking, is excessively None are exempt from this duty save the sick, travelers, and soldiers in time of war; hut they are bound to'fast an equal number of days during some other Months. Nurses and pregnant women are entirely free from fasting. It is Mohammed's special. anti express desire that no one should fast who is not quite equal to it, lest. lie might 'injure his health, and disqualify himself for necessary labor. Of the other com mendable fast-days, the Ashura, on the 10th of Moharram (the Jewish Jom Kippur), deserves special ,mentibn. There are very few Moslems who do not keep the Ramadan, even if they neglect their other religious duties; at all events, they all pretend to keep it most strictly, fasting being considered " one-fourth part of the faith," nay, " the gate of religion:" Of the fourth paraMount dirty of, the Mohammedan-viz., the pilgrimage to Mecca— we have spoken both under that heading, and, more fully, in the article Hera. Suffice rt here briefly to recapitulate that the Kaaba (q.v.) is to be encompassed seven times, the celebrated black stone being kissed at each round, that Mount Arafat is to be visited, the sacrifice El-Fida (the Ransom, in memory of Ismael's sacrifice) to be performed, and a numher.of minor ceremonies to be gone through by the pilgrim, and that he who neg lects to perform the sacred pilgtimage. "might as well die a Jew or a Christian." To the " ord inancesWiAsiam may also be reekon','.d the "- Sagbir," or minor. and " Kebir;" or festivals. [FESTIVALS.] The firs' 11-Fetr, or breaking the fast), following immediately upon the Ramadan, begins on the first day of the month of Shawal, and lasts three days, '['lie second (Eed Al-Kurban, or sacrifice) begins on the 10th of asu'l Heggeh, when the pilgrims perform their sacrifice, and lasts three or four days. Yet, although intended to be the more important of the two, the people have in most places changed the order, and, by way of compensation for the previous fast, they make the lesser festival which follows the Ramadan the more joyful and the longer of the two. The day set aside for the weekly day of rest the Friday—not, as is generally supposed, because both the Jewish Sabbath and the Christian Sunday were to be avoided, but because, from times long before Mohammed, the people used to hold public assem blies for civil as well as religious purposes on that day. The celebration of the Moslem days of religions solemnity is far less strict than is the custom with the other Shemide religions. Service being over, the people are allowed to return to their worldly affairs, if they cannot afford to give themselves up entirely to pleasure or devotion for the rest of the sacred period.
Thus far, briefly, the principal positive laws of Islam relating to faith and practice. We shall now touch upon the fundamental prohibitory laws contained in the Koran.
First of all, the drinking of wine, which includes all strong and inebriating liquors, as giving rise to. " more evil than good," is rigorously forbidden; and although of late, chiefly through European influence, very many. Moslems have lost their religious scruples on that score. and not only'secrctly but openly indulge in spirits, yet the great bulk of the faithful refuse even to make use of the proceeds of the sale of wine or grapes. Some over-scrupulous believers even include opium, coffee, and tobacco in the prohibition; but general practice has decided differently. The prohibitory laws respecting food resemble closely those of Judaism: blood, the flesh of swine, further, animals which have died from disease or age, or on which the name of some idol has been invoked, or which have been sacrificed unto an idol, or which have been strangled, or killed by a blow, a fall, or by some other beast, are strictly forbidden. " Pure " animals must be slaughtered according to certain fixed rules, and the name of God is to be invoked before the opera tion, without, however, the usual addition of the benevolent epithets, since these would ill befit the sufferings of a fellow-creature. Fish, birds, game are mostly allowed for
food, yet there are in nearly all cases certain religious ceremonies to be observed, before they become fit for the believer's table.
All games subject to chance (" casting lots by arrows ")—such as dice, cards, tables, bets, etc.—are considered so wicked, that a gambler's testimony is invalid in court of law. (The Talmud only rejects the testimony of the habitual "dice- [Nubia, i.e., Cube] gambler and better upon dotes.") Chess and other games depending on skill—provided they do not interfere with the regular performance of religious duties, and that they are played without any stakes whatsoever—are allowed by the majority of Moslem theolo gians. Usury is strictly prohibited. Taking interest upon any loan, however large or small, or profiting in trade through any means, save by buying and selling, is severely condemned.
To preveut the faithful from ever falling back into idolatry, the laws relating to images and pictures have been made very stringent. Whosoever makes an imitation of any living being in stone,wood, or any other material, shall, on the day of judgment, be asked to endow his creation with life and Old, and, on his protesting his inability of doing so, shall undergo the punishment of hell for a certain period.
The civil and criminal laws of Mohammedanism, founded both on the Koran and the Traditions (Sunna), are, itt some instances, where the Jetter of the written or oral precept allows of various explanations, or where the case in question is not foreseen, interpreted according to the opinion of one of the four great masters of Islam: Ahu Hanifa, Melee Ibn ins, Ibn Hanbal, within the pale of their respective sects. The principal points, however, upon which all Mohammedans agree are the following: Polygamy is allowed, not, as is commonly supposed, without any restriction, but: "Take in marriage of the women who please you, two, three, or four; but if ye fear that ye cannot act equitably, one or those whom your right hands have acquired "—i.e., your slaves. These are the explicit words of _the Koran (iv. 3), so that four wives, and a certain number of concu bine slaves, is the whole extent to which a Moslem may legally go. The prophet's exam ple proves nothing to the contrary, since he was endowed with special privileges, and not subject to the common law many respects. It is; moreover, added, as an advice, that to marry one or two is quite sufficient for a man, if he apprehend any inconvenience from a larger number of wives. A Moslem may, if urged by excessive love, or if unable to obtain a wife of own creed, marry a woman or a Jewess, but a Moham medan woman is not, under any circumstances, to marry an unbeliever. In all cases, however, the child born of a Moslem, whatever the mother's faith, is a Moslem; nor does the wife, who is an unbeliever, inherit at her husband's death. Forbidden degrees are: the mother, daughter, sister, half-sitter, aunt, niece, fostdr-mother, or a woman related to the faithful " by milk in any of the degrees which would preclude his marriage with her, if she were similarly related to him by consanguinity ;" the mother of his wife, even if he be not properly married to the latter yet; tlie.daughter of his wife, if the latter still be his legal wife; his father's wife and his son's wife; or two the same time; or wives who stand to each other in . the relation .of aunt and niece or.the unemancipated slave, or another man's slaVe, if he have already a free Wife. A •rlinple deelaration of a man and woman at the age of puberty, before two witnesses, of their intention to marry each other, and the payment of part of the dowry (which is indispensable, and most amount to at least ten dirhems, or about five shillings), is sufficient for a legal marriage. A girl under age is given away by her natural or appointed guardian, with or without her con sent. To see the face of any woman who is neither his wife nor his concubine, nor belongs to any of the forbidden degrees, is strictly forbidden to the believer.