'Personal Narrative of a pilgrimmage to Al-Madinah and Meccah. Vol. I' [‎379] (444/564)

XVIII.—Al-Madinah.
379
which forms central Arabia. The limits of the sanctuary
called the Hudud al-Harim, as defined by the Apostle,
may still serve to mark out the city's plain. Northwards,
at a distance of about three miles, is Jabal Ohod, or,
according to others, Jabal Saur, a hill somewhat beyond
Ohod ; these are the last ribs of the vast tertiary and
primitive chine 1 which, extending from Taurus to near
Aden, and from Aden again to Maskat, fringes the Arabian
trapezium. To the South-west the plain is bounded by
ridges of scoriaceous basalt, and by a buttress of rock
called Jabal Ayr, like Ohod, about three miles distant
from the town. Westward, according to some authors,
is the Mosque Zu'l-Halifah. On the East there are no
natural landmarks, nor even artificial, like the " Ala-
mayn" at Meccah ; an imaginary line, therefore, is
drawn, forming an irregular circle of which the town is
the centre, with a diameter from ten to twelve miles.
Such is the sanctuary. 2 Geographically considered, the
first sight it would appear—the old Guebres had in Arabia and Persia
seven large fire temples, each dedicated to a planet. At " Mahdinah,"
as they pervert the word, was an image of the Moon, wherefore the
place was originally called the " Religion of the Moon." These
Guebres, amongst other sacred spots, claim Meccah, where they say
Saturn and the Moon were conjointly venerated; Jerusalem, the
Tomb of Ali at Najaf, that of Hosayn at Kerbela, and others. These
pretensions of course the Moslems deny with insistance, which does
not prevent certain symptoms of old and decayed faith peeping out
in localities where their presence, if duly understood, would be con
sidered an abomination. This curious fact is abundantly evident
in Sind, and I have already alluded to it Sind).
1 Such is its formation in Al-Hijaz.
2 Within the sanctuary all Muharramat, or sins, are forbidden;
but the several schools advocate different degrees of strictness. The
Imam Malik, for instance, allows no nearer to Al-Madinah
than Jabal Ayr, a distance of about three miles. He also forbids
slaying wild animals, but at the same time he specifies no punish
ment for the offence. Some do not allow the felling of trees,
alleging that the Prophet enjoined their preservation as an ornament
to the city, and a pleasure to visitors. Al-Khattabi, on the contrary,
permits people to cut wood, and this is certainly the general practice.