The Poor Man
Being A Pilgrim Has Died “Shahid”—In Martyrdom.
Ere long his spirit shall
leave Al-Bakia,
“And he on honey-dew shall feed,
And drink the milk of Paradise.”
I entered the holy cemetery right foot forwards, as if it were a
Mosque, and barefooted, to avoid suspicion of being a heretic. For
though the citizens wear their shoes in the Bakia, they are much
offended at seeing the Persians follow their example. We began by the
general benediction[FN#13]: “Peace be upon Ye, O People of Al-Bakia!
Peace be upon Ye, O Admitted to the Presence of the
[p.35] Most High! Receive Ye what Ye have been promised! Peace be upon
Ye, Martyrs of Al-Bakia, One and All! We verily, if Allah please, are
about to join You! O Allah, pardon us and Them, and the Mercy of God,
and His Blessings!” After which we recited the Chapter Al-Ikhlas and the
Testification, then raised our hands, mumbled the Fatihah, passed our
palms down our faces, and went on.
Walking down a rough narrow path, which leads from the western to the
eastern extremity of Al-Bakia, we entered the humble mausoleum of the
Caliph Osman—Osman “Al-Mazlum,” or the “ill-treated,” he is called by some
Moslems. When he was slain,[FN#14] his friends wished to bury him by
the Prophet in the Hujrah, and Ayishah made no objection to the
measure. But the people of Egypt became violent; swore that the corpse
should neither be buried nor be prayed over, and only permitted it to
be removed upon the threat of Habibah (one of the “Mothers of the Moslems,”
and daughter of Abu Sufiyan) to expose her countenance. During the
night that followed his death, Osman was carried out by several of his
friends to Al-Bakia, from which, however, they were driven away, and
obliged to deposit their burden in a garden, eastward of and outside
the saints’ cemetery. It was called Hisn Kaukab, and was looked upon as
an inauspicious place of sepulture, till Marwan included it in
Al-Bakia. We stood before Osman’s monument, repeating, “Peace be upon Thee,
O our Lord Osman, Son of Affan![FN#15] Peace be upon
[p.36] Thee, O Caliph of Allah’s Apostle! Peace be upon Thee, O Writer of
Allah’s Book! Peace be upon Thee, in whose Presence the Angels are
ashamed![FN#16] Peace be upon Thee, O Collector of the Koran! Peace be
upon Thee, O Son-in-Law of the Prophet! Peace be upon Thee, O Lord of
the Two Lights (the two daughters of Mohammed)![FN#17] Peace be upon
Thee, who fought the Battle of the Faith! Allah be satisfied with Thee,
and cause Thee to be satisfied, and render Heaven thy Habitation! Peace
be upon Thee, and the Mercy of Allah and His Blessing, and Praise be to
Allah, Lord of the (three) Worlds!” This supplication concluded in the
usual manner. After which we gave alms, and settled with ten piastres
the demands of the Khadim[FN#18] who takes charge of the tomb: this
double-disbursing process had to be repeated at each station.
Then moving a few paces to the North, we faced Eastwards, and performed
the Visitation of Abu Sa’id al-Khazari, a Sahib or Companion of the
Prophet, whose sepulchre lies outside Al-Bakia. The third place visited
was a dome containing the tomb of our lady Halimah, the Badawi
wet-nurse who took charge of Mohammed[FN#19]:
[p.37] she is addressed hus; “Peace be upon Thee, O Halimah the
Auspicious![FN#20] Peace be upon Thee, who performed thy Trust in
suckling the Best of Mankind! Peace be upon Thee, O Wet-nurse of
Al-Mustafa (the chosen)! Peace be upon Thee, O Wet-nurse of Al-Mujtaba
(the (accepted)![FN#21] May Allah be satisfied with Thee, and cause
Thee to be satisfied, and render Heaven thy House and Habitation! and
verily we have come visiting Thee, and by means of Thee drawing near to
Allah’s Prophet, and through Him to God, the Lord of the Heavens and the
Earths.[FN#22]”
After which, fronting the North, we stood before a low enclosure,
containing ovals of loose stones, disposed side by side. These are the
Martyrs of Al-Bakia, who received the crown of glory at the hands of
Al-Muslim,[FN#23] the general of the arch-heretic Yazid[FN#24] The
prayer here recited differs so little from that addressed to the
martyrs of Ohod, that I will not transcribe it. The fifth station is
near the centre of the cemetery at the tomb of Ibrahim, who died, to
the eternal regret of Al-Islam, some say six months old, others in his
second year. He was the son
[p.38] of Mariyah, the Coptic girl, sent as a present to Mohammed by
Jarih, the Mukaukas or governor of Alexandria. The Prophet with his own
hand piled earth upon the grave, and sprinkled it with water,—a ceremony
then first performed,—disposed small stones upon it, and pronounced the
final salutation. For which reason many holy men were buried in this
part of the cemetery, every one being ambitious to lie in ground which
has been honored by the Apostle’s hands. Then we visited Al-Nafi Maula,
son of Omar, generally called Imam Nafi al-Kari, or the Koran chaunter;
and near him the great doctor Imam Malik ibn Anas, a native of
Al-Madinah, and one of the most dutiful of her sons. The eighth station
is at the tomb of Ukayl bin Abi Talib, brother of Ali.[FN#25] Then we
visited the spot where lie interred all the Prophet’s wives, Khadijah,
who lies at Meccah, alone excepted. Mohammed married fifteen wives of
whom nine survived him. After the “Mothers of the Moslems,” we prayed at
the tombs of Mohammed’s daughters, said to be ten in number.
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