“The practices of Sai are, briefly, to walk, if possible, to
[p.289] be in a state of ceremonial purity, to quote lengthily from the
Koran, and to be abundant in praise of Allah.
“The prayer of Sai is, ‘O my Lord, Pardon and Pity, and pass over that
(Sin) which Thou knowest. Verily Thou knowest what is not known, and
verily Thou art the most Glorious, the most Generous! O, our Lord,
grant us in this World Prosperity, and in the Future Prosperity, and
save us from the Punishment of Fire!
“When Sai is concluded, the pilgrim, if performing only Umrah, shaves his
head, or clips his hair, and becomes ‘Muhill,’ returning to the Moslem’s
normal state. If he purpose Hajj, or pilgrimage after Umrah, he
re-assumes the Ihram. And if he be engaged in pilgrimage, he continues
‘Muhrim,’ i.e., in Ihram, as before.”
Section IV.—Of Wukuf, or standing upon Mount Arafat.
“The days of pilgrimage are three in number: namely, the 8th, the 9th,
and the 10th of the month Zu’l Hijjah.[FN#30]
“On the first day (8th), called Yaum al-Tarwiyah, the pilgrim should
start from Meccah after the dawn-prayer and sunrise, perform his
noontide, afternoon, and evening devotions at Muna, where it is a
Sunnat that he should sleep.[FN#31]
[p.290]“On the second day (9th), the ‘Yaum Arafat,’ after performing the
early prayer at ‘Ghalas’ (i.e. when a man cannot see his neighbour’s face) on
Mount Sabir, near Muna, the pilgrim should start when the sun is risen,
proceed to the ‘Mountain of Mercy,’ encamp there, and after performing the
noontide and afternoon devotions at Masjid Ibrahim,[FN#32] joining and
shortening them,[FN#33] he should take his station upon the mountain,
which is all standing ground. But the best position is that preferred
by the Prophet, near the great rocks lying at the lower slope of
Arafat. He must be present at the sermon,[FN#34] and be abundant in
Talbiyat (supplication), Tahlil (recitations of the chapter ‘Say he is
the one God!’[FN#35]), and weeping, for that is the place for the
outpouring of tears. There he should stay till sunset, and then decamp
and return hastily to Muzdalifah, where he should pass a portion of the
night.[FN#36] After a visit to the Mosque ‘Mashr al-Harim,’ he should
collect seven pebbles and proceed to Muna.[FN#37]
“Yaum al-Nahr, the third day of the pilgrimage (10th Zu’l Hijjah), is the
great festival of the Moslem year. Amongst
[p.291] its many names,[FN#38] ‘id al-Kurban’ is the best known, as
expressive of Ibrahim’s sacrifice in lieu of Ismail.
