Sykes' History of Persia Vol 2 (pdf) - Heritage Institute

4 HISTORY OF PERSIA
practise baptism and ceremonial ablutions, hold the book
of Psalms to be sacred, and adore especially
the north
star. 1 Edwin Arnold has expressed the debt due to
Sabeanism in the following words :
" Islam was born in
the desert, with Arab Sabeanism for its mother and
Judaism for its father ;
its foster-nurse was Eastern
Christianity." There is much truth in this view.
The ancient Arabians had seven temples, dedicated to
the seven planets. They also worshipped goddesses,
three of whom are mentioned in the Koran under the
names of Allat, the special idol of Mecca ; Al-Uzza, 2 the
planet Venus and
; Mana, a sacred stone. There was also
an idol for every day of the year in the temple at Mecca.
The Kaaba. The centre of worship at Mecca was the
Kaaba. 3
This sacred temple contained, embedded in the
eastern corner, a reddish-black stone, which is believed to
be a meteorite ; it is semicircular in shape and very small,
measuring only some six inches by eight. This was
who made seven circuits
reverently kissed by pilgrims,
round the sacred building.
In the case of the " Lesser
Pilgrimage " it was also necessary to walk seven times
between the hills of Safa and Marwa ;
and in the "Greater
"
Pilgrimage Arafat, a small hill to the east of Mecca, had
to be visited, stones had to be cast against the Evil One
in the Mina valley, and the pilgrimage concluded by the
.sacrifice of victims. The strength of Jewish influence
accounts for the reputed connexion of this pre-Moslem
ritual with Abraham ;
the deserted Ishmael is believed to
have discovered the sacred well Zemzem by kicking the
ground, and it was Abraham and Isaac who built the
Kaaba and instituted the pilgrimage.
The Ancestors of the Prophet Mohamed. Among the
Arabs birth was of the first importance, and consequently
a brief account must be given of Mohamed's ancestry and
tribe. Towards the middle of the fifth century a certain
Vide Zwemer's Arabia, the Cradle of Islam, chap, xxviii., for an interesting account
1
of the modern Sabeans. The Arabs gave them the name of Al-Maghtasila,
or " The
Washers," from their ceremonial ablutions, and this, being misunderstood by the Portuguese,
gave rise to the misnomer mentioned above.
2 It was in honour of this goddess that Mundhir, the Saracen Prince of Hira, sacrificed
400 nuns, as mentioned in Chapter XXXIX,
3
The word signifies
a cube.