Volume 1

An account of the manners and customs of the modern Egyptians, written in Egypt during the years 1833, -34, and -35, partly from notes made during a former visit to that country in the years 1825, -26, -27, and -28 / By Edward William Lane.

  • Edward William Lane
Date:
1836
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An account of the manners and customs of the modern Egyptians, written in Egypt during the years 1833, -34, and -35, partly from notes made during a former visit to that country in the years 1825, -26, -27, and -28 / By Edward William Lane. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Some persons have recourse to the Ckoor-a'n for an, answer to their doubts. This they call making an istikha'rah, or application for the favour of heaven. Repeating, three times, the opening chapter, the 112th chapter, and the verse above quoted, they let the book fall open, or open it at random, and, from the seventh line of the right-hand page, draw their answer. ‘The words often will not convey a direct answer; but are taken as affirmative or negative according as their general tenor is good or bad; promising a blessing, or denouncing a threat, &c. Instead of reading the seventh line of this page, some count the number of the letters kha and sheen which occur in the whole page; and if the khas predominate, the inference is favourable : kha represents kheyr, or good: sheen, shurr, or evil. There is another mode of istikha’rah; which is, to take hold of any two points of a seb/hhah (or rosary), after reciting the Fa’t’>hhah three times, and then to count the beads between these two points, saying, in passing the first bead through the fingers, “ [I assert] the absolute glory of God ;”’ in passing the second, ‘Praise be to God ;”’ in passing the third, “ There is no deity but-God;”’ and repeating these expressions in the same order, to the last bead: if the first expression fall to the last bead, the answer is affirmative and fayour- able: if the second, indifferent: if the last, negative. This is practised by many persons. Some, again, in similar cases, on lying down to sleep, at night, bee of God to direct them by a dream; by causing them to see something white or green, or water, if the action which they contemplate be approved, or if they are to expect approaching good fortune; and if not, by causing them to see something black or red, or ae