The first of the four chief duties of din or the practical part of Islam is pra y e , "the key of Paradise." Certain religious purifications are in eluded as necessary preparations. They are of two kinds: the gluts', or total immersion of the body, required on certain special occasions; and the Irwin', a lmrtial ablution, to be performed imme diately before the prayer. This is of primary importance, and consists in washing the hands, face, cars, and feet up to the ankles—a proceed ing generally accompanied at each stage by cor responding pious sentences, and concluded by the recital of the ninety-seventh aura of the Ko ran. If water is not to be had, sand may supply its place. Even the ground or the eaglet upon which one prays must be as clean as possible, and the use of a special prayer-carpet (.sujjiidah ) is therefore recommended. Every Abiliammedan is required to pray five times in the space of twenty four hours. The prayer (.a/a/) itself consists partly of extracts from the Koran ( lard), partly of sentences ordained upon the precept or practice of the Prophet (sunnu). The times of prayer are: Daybreak ( fa jr) ; noon (.7uhr) ; afternoon. midway between the second and fourth ; evening (nagh rib) : after night has closed in ('is/u). These several times of prayer are an mimed by the muezzins (q.v.) from the mina rets of the mosques. The believer passes through a series of thirteen postures during his prayers; and a certain number of such inclinations of head and knees, prostrations, etc., is called rak'all . is necessary that the face of the worshiper should be turned toward the kiblah, i.e. in the direction of Mecca (see KIBLAII) . Women, although not forbidden to enter the mosque, yet are not sup posed to pray there, lest their presenee should he hurtful to true devotion. Besides these prayers, there are others ordained for special occasions, as on a pilgrimage, before a battle, at funerals, during an eclipse, etc. The Moslems do not pray to Mohammed, but simply implore his intercession, as they do that of the numerous saints, the relatives of the Prophet, and the first propagators of Islam. Petitions, moreover, play a subsidiary part in the prayers, which are chiefly made up of thanksgivings and praise formulas. Mohammedanism has no clergy in the Western sense of the word, but there is always a leader ('inium), who takes his stand at the bead of the congregation and 'leads' the latter in prayer. (See IMAM: AIOLLAII Muvrt.) Next to prayer stands the duty of giving alms. These are two fold, legal (,zakat) and voluntary (sadalcalt). bit the former, originally collected by the sov ereign and applied to pious uses, has now been practically abrogated. The sadakab, according to the law, is to be given once every year. of cattle, money, corn, fruits, and wares sold, at about the rate of from two and a half up to twenty per cent. Besides these, it is usual to be stow a measure of provisions upon the poor at the end of the sacred month of Ramadan. The duty of fasting follows. During the whole month of Ramadan, the Moslem is commanded to refrain from eating, drinking. and every indulgence in worldly pleasure, from daybreak until sunset. During the night he is allowed to eat, drink, and enjoy himself. Certain classes are exempt, as it was Mohammed's special and express desire that no one should fast who is not equal to it, lest he injure his health and disqualify himself for necessary labor. of other eommendable fast days, the most important is the on the tenth of Muharram, corresponding in a measure to the Jewish Day of Atonement. The fast of Ramadan is universally kept, in letter if not in spirit, fasting being considered part of the faith." (See RAmAnAN: FAsrs.) The last duty is the pi/grintaye to Mecca. which every Moslem must make once in his life, if he be free, sound in body, and able to meet the expense. Women also perform the pilgrimage. To pay the way of one who cannot himself afford it is con sidered a pious act, and the Shiites allow the pil grimage to be made by proxy. See HAJJ; To the 'positive' ordinances of Islam may be added the saghir or lesser and kabir or yreuter fest irn Is. The first (al-fife. or breaking the fast) follows immediately upon Rainadan, beginning on the first day of the month of Shawwal, and lasts three clays. The second a n, or fice festival I begins on the tenth of 1)1111 l-Hijjah. The latter was intended to be the more important of the two. hut the people have in most places changed the order. and make the lesser festival, which follows Ramadan. the more joyful and the longer. The day set aside for the weekly as sembly is Friday. which, however, is not a day of rest. After prayers the people return to their ordinary affairs.
Islam also enjoins a number of prohibitory lasts based upon utterances of the Prophet. The drinking of nine, which includes all strong and inebriating liquors, is vigorously forbidden. Chiefly through European influence some Aloslems have lost their scruples on this score, but the great majority of the faithful refuse even to make use of the proceeds of the sale of wino or grapes. Some scrupulous believers even include opium, coffee, and tobacco in the prohibition; hut gen eral practice has decided differently. The pro hibitory laws respecting food resemble closely those of Rabbinical Judaism; blood, the flesh of swine. 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 lawn 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 fish, bird, game are generally allowed for food. All games subject to chanee—such as dice, cards! tables, bets, etc.—are considered so wicked that a gam bler's testimony is invalid in a court of law. Chess and other games depending on skill—pro vided they do not interfere with the regular per formance of religious duties, and that. they are played without any stakes—are allowed by the majority of Moslem theologians. Usury is strict ly prohibited. Taking interest upon any loans, large or small, or profiting in trade through questionable means, save by buying and selling, is severely conc. A. To prevent the faithful from ever falling back into idolatry. the law relating to images and pictures have been made very stringent. Whosoever makes an imita tion 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 soul, and. on his protesting his inability of doing so, shall undergo the punishment of hell for a cer thin period.
The civil and criminal lairs of Mohammedan ism, founded on both the Koran and the Tradi tions (Norma, q.v.). in instances where the let ter of the written or oral precept allows of vari ous explanations, or where the ease in question is unprecedented. are interpreted according to the opinion of one of the four great masters of Islam: Abu Hanifah (born 7('2.), Malik ibn Anas (born 714). ?Mohammed al-Shalii (born 767). and Ahmad ihn Haubal (born 780), within the pale of their respective sects. (See MonAMMEIIur SECTS.) Upon the principal points all Moham medans agree. In regard to marriage, polygamy is allowed, but rot without restriction. Four wives and a certain nsmmltn•r of concubine slaves is the legal limit for a Moslem. The Prophet's
example proves nothing to the eontrary, since he was endowed with special privileges, and not sub ject to the common law in many respects. It is. moreover, added as advice, that to marry one or two is quite sufficient for a man. As a matter of fact, the rule among Mohammedans of the present day is to have but one wife. A Moslem may marry a Christian woman or a Jewess. hut a Mohammedan woman is not, under any circum stances. to marry an unbeliever. In all eases. however, the child born of a Moslem. whatev-r the mother's faith, Is a Moslem; nor does the wife who is an unbeliever inherit at her hus hand's death. Forbidden degrees are: The mother, daughter. sister, half-sister, aunt. niece. foster-mother, or a woman related to the faithful -by milk in any of the degrees w•hiclh would pre clude his marriage with her if she were similarly related to him by consanguinity:" the mother of his wife• even if he be not yet actually married to the latter; the daughter of his wife, if the latter still be his legal wife; his father's wife and his son's wife: two sisters at the since time: the rebut' aunt and niece; or the mwmaneipated slave, or man's slave, if he have already a free mite. A simple declaration of a man and woman at the age of puberty, before two witnesses. of their intention to marry each other, and the pay ment of part of the dowry (which is indispen sable, and must amount to at least ten dirhems, or about one dollar) is sufficient for a legal marriage. A girl under age is given away by her natural or appointed ghardiam, with or with out her consent. To see the face of any woman who is neither his wife nor his eoneubine, nor belongs to any of the forbidden degrees, is strictly forbidden to the believer. birorrr is a compara tively light smatter with t he Twice a Irian may send away his wife and take her hack again without any eeremon•; the third time, however, he may not receive her again in wedlock unless she have Iw•en married prop erlv to another man in the meantime. Akre dis like is sufficient reason fur a man to dissolve the conjugal ties, and his saying "Thou art di vorced." or divorce thee." together with the repayment of the dowry, is all that is required from hint by the law. A wife, on the other hand, is humid to her husband forever, unless she eau prove some flagrant ill usage or neglect of con jugal duty on his part; and even then she for feits part, or the whole, of her dowry. A divorced woman is obliged to wait, like the widow, for a certain period before marrying again. If she have a young child, she is to suckle it until it be two years old, and the father is to bear all the expenses of the maintenance of mother and child. If a slave becomes a mother Lv her master. and lie acknowledges the child to be his own, the lat ter is free. and the mother is to be emancipated at the master's death, and may not 1w given away or• otherwise disposed of by him during his lifetime. A free person. wishing to marry his or her slave, must first emancipate this slave: and if the slave of another person has been married by a free man o• woman. and afterwards becomes the latter's property. the marriage becomes il legal. and can only be renewed by a legal eon tract. and emancipation. Ar regards inheritance, males generally receive a double share. A person may not bequeath more than one-third of his property, unless there be no legal heirs. Chil dren, whether begotten with the legal wife or slave, or enneubine, or only adopted, and their descendants, are the first heirs: next come the claims of wives, parents, brothers, sisters. in their order. Where there is no legal heir. the property falls to the State. The law is very lenient toward debtors. Insolveney and inability to work for the discharge of the claim solve all fw,her obligations. The most conscientious per fmmanee of all private contracts is constantly )..commended in the Koran. Murder is either punished with death or by the payment of a tine to the family of the deceased. according to their own pleasure. There must, however, be palliat ing circumstances in the latter ease. The Bed ouins still maintain the primitive Semitie law of blood-revenge. and up to this day the 'ven detta often rages not only between family and out between whole tribes. villages, and provinces. Unintentional homicide is expiated by freeing a believer from slavery. and paying to the family a certain in proportion to the rank and sex of the deceased. Ile who has not the means of freeing a believer is to fast for• two mouths by way of penance. Aeeording to the strict letter of the law• a man is not liable to capital punishment fog• killing his own child or ;In infidel; but practically no difference is made by the Mohammedan governments (chiefly the Turkish) at the present time. Murder is pun• ished with death and no fine frees the culprit. Injuries to the -person are punished according to the primitive law of retaliation: that b.. a cer tain proportionate fine in money is to he paid to the injured. The payment for any of the single limbs of the human body (e.g. the nose) is the full price of blood, as fo• a homicide; for a limb which is found twice, like hand or foot, half: for a finger or a toe, the tenth part, etc. Women and slaves have smaller claims. In juries of a dangerous or otherwise grievous na ture pat• the full price; those of an inferior kind, however, bring the perpetrator within the prov ince of the lash or cudgel. 'the Koran orders small tiolt to be punished by cutting oil the chief offending Kuhl,, the right hand; the second theft is punishable by the loss of the left foot ; the third, of the left hand; the fourth, of the right foot, etc.; but the ordinary punishments of imprisonment, hard labor, and the bastinado have been substituted in later times. The prop erty stolen must not, however. have been of easy access to the thief, nor must it have consisted of food, since he may have taken this to satisfy the craving of his hunger. Unchostity on the part of a woman was in the commencement of Islam pun ished by imprisonment for life, for which after wards, however. stoning was substituted in the case of a married woman. and a hundred ,;tripes and a year's exile in the case of an free woman, a slave to undergo only half of that punishment. lie wino accuses a 'woman of repu tation' of adultery or fornication must produce four (male) witnesses. and if he be not able to do so, lie is to receive fourscore stripes. nor is his testimony ever after to be received unless He swear four times that he speaks the truth, and the ffith time imprecate God's vengeance if he speak false. Even this testimony may be over thrown by the wife's swearing four times that her accuser is a liar, and imprecating the fifth time the wrath of God upon herself if he speak the truth. In the latter case she is free from punishment: the marriage, however, is to lie dis solved. Fornication in either sex is, by the law of the Koran. to be visited with a hundred stripes. Infidelity, or (tpostasy from Islam, is a crime to be visited by the death of the offender, if he have been warned thrice without recanting. Severer still. that is, not to be averted by repent ance or revocation of any kind, is the punish ment inflicted for blasphemy—against God, hammed. Jesus, Moses. or any other prophet. Immediate death is the doom of the offender.