Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Meccah, vol 2

Personal Narrative of a
Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and
Meccah, vol 2

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Al-Madinah & Meccah
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Title: Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah & Meccah

Author: Sir Richard Francis Burton
Release Date: November, 2003 [EBook #4658] [Yes, we are more than
one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on June 12,
2002]
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NARRATIVE OF A PILGRIMAGE TO AL-MADINAH & MECCAH
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PERSONAL NARRATIVE OF A PILGRIMAGE TO AL-MADINAH
& MECCAH
BY
CAPTAIN SIR RICHARD F. BURTON,
K.C.M.G., F.R.G.S., &c., &c., &c.
EDITED BY HIS WIFE, ISABEL BURTON.
“Our notions of Mecca must be drawn from the Arabians; as no
unbeliever is permitted to enter the city, our travellers are
silent.”—Gibbon, chap. 50.
MEMORIAL EDITION.
IN TWO VOLUMES
VOLUME II.
[p.xii] [Arabic] Dark and the Desert and Destriers me ken, And the
Glaive and the Joust, and Paper and Pen. Al-Mutanabbi

PART II.
AL-MADINAH. (Continued.)

[p.1] A PILGRIMAGE
TO
AL-MADINAH AND MECCAH.

CHAPTER XXI.
THE PEOPLE OF AL-MADINAH.
AL-MADINAH contains but few families descended from the
Prophet’s Auxiliaries. I heard only of four whose genealogy is
undoubted. These were,—
1. The Bayt al-Ansari, or descendants of Abu Ayyub, a most noble race
whose tree ramifies through a space of fifteen hundred years. They
keep the keys of the Kuba Mosque, and are Imams in the Harim, but
the family is no longer wealthy or powerful.
2. The Bayt Abu Jud: they supply the Harim with Imams and
Mu’ezzins.[FN#l] I was told that there are now but two surviving
members of this family, a boy and a girl.
3. The Bayt al-Sha’ab, a numerous race. Some of the members travel
professionally, others trade, and others are employed in the Harim.
4. The Bayt al-Karrani, who are mostly engaged in commerce.
There is also a race called Al-Nakhawilah,[FN#2] who,
[p.2]according to some, are descendants of the Ansar, whilst others
derive them from Yazid, the son of Mu’awiyah: the latter opinion is
improbable, as the Caliph in question was a mortal foe to Ali’s family,
which is inordinately venerated by these people. As far as I could
ascertain, they abuse the Shaykhayn (Abu Bakr and Omar): all my
informants agreed upon this point, but none could tell me why they

neglected to bedevil Osman, the third object of hatred to the Shi’ah
persuasion. They are numerous and warlike, yet they are despised by
the townspeople, because they openly profess heresy, and are moreover
of humble degree. They have their own priests and instructors, although
subject to the orthodox Kazi; marry in their own sect, are confined to
low offices, such as slaughtering animals, sweeping, and gardening,
and are not allowed to enter the Harim during life, or to be carried to it
after death. Their corpses are taken down an outer street called the Darb
al-Janazah—Road of Biers—to their own cemetery near Al-Bakia.
They dress and speak Arabic, like the townspeople; but the Arabs
pretend to distinguish them by a peculiar look denoting their
degradation: it is doubtless the mistake of effect for cause, about all
such
“Tribes of the wandering foot and weary breast.” number of reports are
current about the horrid
[p.3]customs of these people, and their community of women[FN#3]
with the Persian pilgrims who pass through the town. It need scarcely
be said that such tales coming from the mouths of fanatic foes are not
to be credited. I regret not having had an opportunity to become
intimate with any of the Nakhawilah, from whom curious information
might be elicited. Orthodox Moslems do not like to be questioned about
such hateful subjects; when I attempted to learn something from one of
my acquaintance, Shaykh