THE MANNERS, CUSTOMS, AND MENTALITY OF PILGRIMS TO …

THE MANNERS, CUSTOMS, AND MENTALITY OF

PILGRIMS TO THE EGYPTIAN CITY OF THE DEAD:

1100-1500 A. D.*

Tetsuya OHTOSHI**

I. Introduction

Surrounding Cairo's citadel from the southwest to the northeast, there

stretch huge cemeteries in heaps comprising more than tens of thousand

holy tombs. In recent years, these cemeteries have been known generically

as al-Qarafa, but for their appearance and sectioning, the area is also col-

lectively termed the City of the Dead (Madina al-Mawta), primarily by non-

Egyptians. The term al-Qarafa was, however, originally limited to the grave-

yard area that expands south to the Citadel, and this area was further

divided in the Greater Qarafa (al-Qarafa al-Kubra) and the Lesser Qarafa

(al-Qarafa al-Sughra). The Greater Qarafa, which was located in an area run-

ning from the east of Fustat toward former Habash lake and Mt. Muqattam,

is more widespread than the lesser one, and precedes it historically. The

Lesser Qarafa centered around an area stretching from the mausoleum of

Imam al-Shafi'i to the skirt of Muqattam mountain. During the Mamluk

period, a semi-official graveyard was also formed in the Sahra' area (al-

Sahra') ranging as far as the cemetery just outside Nasr Gate. Nowadays

it has become customary to call all these cemeteries "Qarafa"(1).

The Qarafa was primarily a sanctuary where masses of pilgrims visited,

with the aim of solving their difficulties and purify their souls. Also on the

Sabbath and moonlit nights, crowds including women and children came on

excursions, making it "the most popular pleasure resort in Egypt (Khitat II-

444)". Nevertheless, until now Qarafa has not attracted sufficient scholarly

attention. Among preceding works on Qarafa, topographical and archaeolog-

* This paper is part of an oral presentation before the 89th Annual Meeting of the

Historical Society of Japan in November 1991. I would like to express my gratitudeto Professors S. 'Ashur and H. Rabi' of Cairo University for their help.

** Research Fellow, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

Vol. XXIX 1993 19

ical studies were promoted by R. Guest, L. Massignon and Y. Ragib. Y.

Ragib, in particular, ranged over extensive literatures in laying the corner-

stone for Qarafa studies. However, none of these scholars ever went as far

as an inquiry into the manners and customs of visitors, and the domain of

their mentalities, with the exception of L. Massignon who was the first to

shed a little light on the manners of visitors. Then Egyptian historian S.

'Ashur added several pieces of important information from historical per-

spective. More recently, C. Taylor has also been exploring these aspects

from another point of view(2). But it certainly seems strange that many

of scholars so easily labeled this visiting custom as "saint worship" or"popular Islam" even though its substance still remains obscure.

This paper will, therefore, first attempt to document pilgrimages to

the City of the Dead using the extant manuscripts of pilgrimage guides, sup-

plemented by chronicles, geographies, legal-related works, traveler's ac-

counts and the Waqf documents pertaining to the period. Then, based on

this information, an investigation will be carried out as to the various vis-

iting activities and the mental structure of the pilgrims, and, moreover, the

relationship between Egyptian society and the visiting of Qarafa. As a

result, the research has inevitably brought forth long-disputed problems,

that is, how and what should be the true Islam. Then, ultimately, in the

course of this investigation, the author endeavors to bring about a historical

study of folklore, faith, mentality and the everyday life of the common

people in the Middle East.

II. The Phases of the Pilgrim's Manners and Customs

The word ziyara referred to here means the act of visiting the tombs of

deceased relatives, friends, masters or saints, whether individually or collec-

tively. Furthermore, the ziyara is supposed to denote not only a mere visit

to the tombs, but also the whole series of activities, including the salute

to the dead and the prayer (du'a'). It is needless to say that the word

should be distinguished rigidly from the Hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca) in

Islamic theory. As for the formal details about ziyara, such as the mixture

of groups and individuals, the gender, age and social classes of the pilgrims,

whether made on foot or mounted, the establishment of regular routes, and

their times, days of the week and seasons, this paper will omit them here,

20 ORIENT

THE MANNERS, CUSTOMS, AND MENTALITY OF PILGRIMS TO THE EGYPTIAN CITY......

owing to the limits of space, as well as its particular focus(3). Nevertheless,

one of the aspects that should be underlined here is that, in some cases,

portions of the Waqf (endowed trust) income were systematically allocatedthrough the religious institutions for the pilgrims to Qarafa. The Waqf

document of Amir Sudun min Zada states:

From the income of this Waqf, twenty dirhams should be paid monthly

to the group of pilgrims visiting the saints in Qarafa on Saturdays and

Wednesdays that is known as Ibn 'Uthman's group, and they who take

the place of them. So that they shall recite the Quran when they

visit the saints in the aforementioned Qarafa in the forenamed day

of the week...and after reciting, they shall pray for the above-mention-

ed donor of the Waqf (wdqif), his descendants and all the Muslims

with mercy and forgiveness...(4).

As a background to this system, one can point out the development

of religious institutions under the Mamluks. The institutions built by the

governing elite of the Mamluk dynasty, such as hdnqdh (sufi institution)

and madrasa (school), were operated using Waqf income, and prescribed

even the recitation of the Quran in detail. The allowance given to the

pilgrims in this document can be interpreted as an extension of this applica-tion.

In those days, the typical reason for visiting the holy tombs at Qarafa

was, difficulties or hardships weighing on the minds of pilgrims, to take

refuge there for solving(5). These difficulties varied widely, from an eco-

nomic problems or healing of illness to the accomplishment of things or

hopes for protection; still, all these were directly linked to the contents of

prayers performed in the cemeteries. The most urgent and acute reason

for people to visit the saints' graves, and the reason found in highest fre-

quency in the pilgrimage texts, is to fulfill prayers there. Accordingly, thetombs which were thought to be highly and rapidly responsive to prayers

were sought after, and the pilgrimage guides offer informations about them

in abundance.

Another point is that the pilgrimage books never discribed the Qarafa

visit asking for fun on principle, yet if we rearrange the real activities of

the people on the records, no one can deny the obvious aspects of amuse-

ments and pleasure. People went on moonlit nights carrying sweets and

beverages, chatted toghether and even participated in singing or dancing.

Vol. XXIX 1993 21

Women and children were permitted to visit it openly and with considerable

freedom till late at night. Those who could actually experience the pilgrim-

age to Mecca, which is an obligation to the whole body of Muslims, might

be limited in number, but we can perceive that in exchange, the people

visited the saints' tombs, for which pilgrimage was much easier. Notwith-

standing that there was a serious dispute among the scholars of the peri-

od, a visit to the holy tombs in Qarafa was in itself generally regarded as

a praiseworthy deed.

In the meantime, the word du'a' (prayer) can be found in the Quran,

meaning an earnest request for something or a supplication to God; it is

differentiated from the salat (official Islamic prayer ritual) or performed in

conjunction with it(6). For instance, the salat may not be perfomed in the

graveyard, but, according to the pilgrimage texts, du'a' may. Du'a' was

executed by either individuals or in groups, and a theoretical distinction was

made between the prayer for oneself (du'a' li-nafsi-hi) and the prayer for

the others. As for the prayer for oneself, there was still an ongoing strict

legal argument, yet the authors of the pilgrimage books permitted it.

Fig. I represents a typology of du'a' forms and purposes, and indicates

four possible vector combinations borne out by actual examples from the

pilgrimage texts: (i) healing of illness, triumph in war, desire for clothing,to die a virgin, solo burial in the graveyard etc.(7), (ii) as a gift to the

deceased, for entering heaven, safety and peace in the pilgrimage to Mec-

ca, healing of illness(8), (iii) abatenment of the plague, the swelling of the

Nile river (or the prayer for rainfall, istisqa')(9), (iv) a leg that emerged

out of the tomb should be hidden (may Allah forgive the deceased)(10). An

examination of each above example reveals, as long as the expession of ful-

fillment of prayers is taken, a tendency for the matter of the prayers to

Fig. I: A Diagram of Possible Forms of Prayer and Their Purposes

22 ORIENT


center rather on this-worldly benefits.

Since the manners and customs of the pilgrims to the City of the Dead

is a subject I have already detailed elsewhere, taking Ibn 'Uthman's twen-

ty visiting guidelines as an indicator(11), I would rather single out the well-

disputed points which concern themselves with the very foundations of

Islamic creed to the present day. This is in agreement with my task of

illustrating the divergence between common practices at Qarafa and those of

the idealistic learned men.

First, walking and sitting on graves appeared in many places in the

pilgrimage books, although their authors warned pilgrims not to act this

way as in the third account of pilgrimage regulations. As for this sitting,

walking or leaning against the tombs, muhtasib (censor in charge of main-

taining public law, order and trade) were instructed to supervise them(12).

The Hadith's prohibiting walking among the graves with one's shoes on

might relate to this account(13). Further, in order to yearn to the deceased

or to be favored by a late saint's virtues, some people settled down near

the tombs and lived there for one to three months or one after another, but

all these activities were rigidly criticized by the intellectuals. Madkhal notes:

If they had a dead family member, they would go out with their family

and children to the cemetery, and live in the house beside it. In this

house, they would inevitably have a lavatory and use water. If they

lived there, these excrements should quickly descend and be absorbed

into the ground, and reach to the deceased. They would then taint

him, and the deceased would be melted down in his grave with his

own excrements and impurities drawn to him (Madkhal I: 251-253).

The problem surely leads to others, such as the erecting mosques in

the cemeteries and the building of tomb structures. According to the pil-

grimage books, pilgrims should not perform the salat among the cemeteries,

based on the Hadith saying: "All of the ground is a mosque except the

graveyard and bath", or "There are seven places in which it is not permis-sible to do salat, including the slaughterhouse, the dumping ground and the

graveyard"(14). Although this was clearly stated, in Qarafa, oratories had

actually been built close to the graves. The Khulan oratory (musalla) was

the most famous of them all; the people came to pray there as a result of

governmental notification at a time of rapid increasing pestilence(15). Salat

in the cemeteries, and the building of mosques there or the utilization of

Vol. XXIX 1993 23

graveyard area as mosques: these issues were strictly reproached by thelearned, such as al-Suyuti, Ibn Taymiya, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziya, and Ibn

'Abd al-Hadi as deviations from Islamic creed(16). Thus some of them, for

example, Ibn 'Abd al-Salam and Ibn al-Hajj, went so far as to demand the

sweeping up of all the tomb architectures in Qarafa, and some of the rulers,

such as Sultan Baybars, were counseled nearly into agreement with them.

For example, al-Tizmanti, upon entering a mosque in al-Qarafa al-Sughra,

sat without performing salat tahiya (the prayer ritual for entering mosque).

Censured by the head of the mosque, he replied: "The reason is that this

is not a mosque... this land is dedicated as a cemetery for the Muslims". As

an explanation for this, I should like to denote that the structures in the

City of the Dead had deviated from Islamic practices as these scholars thought

it should have been in two ways. That is, first, infringing the prohibition

of the salat in the cemeteries and the utilization of tombs as mosques; and

second, such devious acts as worshipping not Allah but the tomb itself or the

buried deceased, as expressed in Ibn Taymiya's rebuke. In fact, however,

these oppositions were never actualized; at least the architectures in the

City of the Dead have never been swept up(17).

Similarly, the twentieth account of pilgrim regulations relates to the

problem of constructing tomb architectures, glorifying them and building

them before one's death. Though al-Sha'rani (d. 1565) strictly criticized the

habit of building tombs prior to one's death in order to obtain a fame as a

great saint, this seems to be a quite natural activity of the age, partly

because it conformed to the saint's miracle of predicting one's own time of

death(18). In this connection, the tenth pilgrim regulation, which states that

the pilgrim should perform salat for the Prophet Muhammad in the ceme-

teries (Murshid f. 20a), seems to contradict the above arguments concerning

the prohibition of the salat in the graveyard. But it can be assumed that

the salat in general (official prayer ritual) and the salat to Muhammad (salat

'ala al-nabi) were distinguished from one another, although the same term

was applied to both. The salat toward Muhammad was desirable in ceme-

teries; on the other hand, the general salat was avoided among the graves.

The salat to the Prophet Muhammad is taken without any supplemental

ritual actions, just the recitation of phrases such as: "Oh Allah, praise for

our lord Muhammad".

The act of greeting toward the deceased was stressed by the pilgrims.

24 ORIENT


The idea manifested here, to treat the dead on equal terms with the living,

is in conformity with the fifth pilgrimage regulation, which states: "Come

closer to meet the dead's face, then stop, turning your back to the qibla

(direction of Ka'ba), fronting the dead face to face, so that the visitor's

conversation in the visit with the dead is like that with the living"(19).

The pilgrimage texts that include this passage strongly reflect the notion

that the buried person are fully capable of appreciating visitor's activities

and exhortations. Not only replying to salutions, the dead went further to

talk with the pilgrims or among themselves(20). This belief was actually

stated in a fomal legal opinion by Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (d. 1566/7) that the

entombed are able to perceive the visitor's arrival, greetings and words,

and to recognize the situation of the living(21). From the pilgrimage guides,

however, we cannot determine the time interval between death or the pulling

out of the soul to the Last Judgment(22).

Touching, osculation, throwing oneself on and wiping off the grave,

and the use of the sand(turab) from the tomb in order to share the blessing

from Allah, were all prevailing practices in the cemeteries. The authors of

the pilgrimage books censured these actions severely, depending on al-

Ghazali (d. 1111)'s saying:" Do not wipe off the tomb, touch it and kiss it

because these are Christian habits". Similar denounciations were reiterated

by Ibn Taymiya, al-Turkmani and Ibn 'Abd al-Hadi(23). The fact that such

censures were widespread, however, attests to the strong durability of these

practices. In actuality, people were not content with merely wiping the

holy tombs and rubbing the hand to their bodies (tamassuh), but went beyond

this action to roll over the grave in order to rub their bodies directly

(tamrigh), and to utilize the sand from the tomb for healing(24). Murshid al-

Zuwwar, one of the extant pilgrimage guides, remarks on the habit of rub-

bing one's body up against tombs dressed only in a loincloth, for the pur-

pose of enabling the pilgrimage to Mecca. Even the lions and birds were

said to come and rub their bodies over the saints' tombs for healing(25).

As already mentioned, healing by the tomb's sand, through which God's

blessing was obtained, was also a common activity at the cemeteries. Those

with eye afflictions would visit the tomb of the saint al-Kahhal (colorer of

the eyelids with kohl, or oculist), and wipe their eyes with the sand of the

tomb, so that its effectiveness was assured. The sands from other tombs

were effective if one pasted the affected parts, such as a back, with sand.

Vol. XXIX 1993 25

It was also believed to have effect on the stammering or the dumb, and

colic if swallowed. Concerning "the holy water", that which came from wash-

ing some saint's body "did never spill on the ground except the Egyptians

took it and divided it among themselves in their mukhula (kohl container)"(26).

Recitation of the Quran was another popular practice in the cemetery

area. For this practice to have flourished, there must have been the idea

that reciting the Quran could be a gift to the dead, and that doing it could

be counted as a saint's virtue. Reciting could be done by individual pilgrims

or done collectively with muqri' (specialist of the Quran recitation) in

attendance: At the funeral of Sultan Barsbay, the muqri's recited all through

the night by turns, and after that the Quran was recited beside his tomb

for seven days(27). The chapters of the Quran recited there inclined to

certain specific chapters. Among them all, the chapter of Yd Sin (Ch. 36)

was recited most frequently toward the deceased, for only Ya Sin could

intercede with God for people's prayers(28). Ibn 'Uthman quotes:

Everything has its own core, and the core of the Quran is Ya Sin.

The man who recites the chapter of Ya Sin hopes, with this activity,

that Allah sends him forgiveness and bestows on him a reward (ajr)

as great as that for the man who has recited the Quran twelve times.

For any Muslim who is being recited it as he is dying, there will de-

scend to him by every letter (of Ya Sin) ten angels, which stand be-

fore him in line, pray for him, beg forgiveness for him, observe the

washing of the dead body, escort to his final resting place, and observe

the burial. For any Muslim who has recited the Ya Sin, the angel of

death (Azra'il) remains with him in the agony of death, until Ridwan

the guardian of heaven (khazin al-janna) brings him a heaven's beverage

to let him drink on the bed, then the angel of death take out (and

hand) his soul making him quenched with drink, and he resurrects on

the Judgment Day quenched with drink, enters in heaven quenched

with drink(Murshid fols. 96a-b).

The recitation of the Ikhlas (Ch.112) was also of importance for them:

the texts stated that Allah fulfills the prayer of anyone who has recited

this chapter eleven times. There was a well-known saint for the recitation

of this chapter, and one hundred recitations were needed for the pilgrimage

to Mecca(29). Not to mention the importance of the beginning chapter of

the Quran, other chapters recited in the cemeteries included al-Hud (Ch. 11),

26 ORIENT


al-Kahf (Ch. 18), al-Ahzab(Ch. 33), and these could also be combined in the

ritual(30).

Wailing, slapping oneself on the cheek and ripping up one's clothes:

These were also often disputed matters(31). The pilgrimage books rejected

them as a Jahiliya(pre-Islamic) custom. The legal treatises continually con-

demned with them, and the hisba books as well. To wit, "Muhtasib (censor)

should inspect funerals and cemeteries, and if he hears wailing or loud

weeping, he should stop and censure it, because wailing is haram(religious

taboo)"(32). Tearing off one's clothes and slapping oneself on the cheek were

also the target of similar supervision. Historically considered, these ploblems

continued to manifest themselves in Egypt, wailing and loud weepings at

funerals were prohibited in 237/851, 242/856-7 and 294/906. In 253/867, the

commander of the police, Azjur, jailed the hired female mourners and pro-

claimed a prohibition on women wailing for the dead, ripping up clothes,

blacking their faces and cutting their hair. The Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim (d.

1021) also proclaimed a ban on the appearance of female mourners equipped

with tabl (drum) and zamr (wind instrument) at funerals(33). During the

Mamluk period, these customs still had not ceased; the people practiced sing-

ing and dancing as before, and the muhtasib prohibited wailing. In 693/1293,

the empress of the late Sultan gathered "an ensemble of female mourners,

each wailing in different voices". Meanwhile, Sultan al-Ghawri prohibited

funerals with hand drums and wailing female mourners, and in 910/1504, he

exposed to the public an arrested female mourner on a donkey, with her

hand drums slung around her neck, and her face stained black(34).

On the other hand, laughing in the graveyard provoked yet another

problem. In fact, people sang, danced and laughed aloud, in opposition tothe criticism offered by the pilgrimage guides, Ibn al-Hajj and al-Turkmani(35).

An example from the pilgrimage books on this account is abridged as fol-

lows:

One of the saints who resided in Qarafa had died, so we went out to

the Zawiya(sufi institution) al-Gharabili. There a qawwal (religious

singer, story teller) named al-Fasih, handsome and preeminent in sing-

ing in that era, was engaged in the funeral ceremony. In their hearts,

the people assembled there had came to hear him singing. Then the

shaykh Fakhr al-Din, who was held in awe and was informed of this

event, arrived on the scene with his attendants, and urged al-Fasih to

Vol. XXIX 1993 27

stop it. al-Fasih fled, fearing the shaykh, and the audiences almost

rioted at the passing of the reason they had gathered for(36).

At the shores of the Habash lake, the southern border of al-Qarafa

al-Kubra, the Fatimid Caliph erected a pavilion, attended by soldiers, male

and female singers and entertainers, and took pleasure in drinking and revel-

ing. In other cases, qass (storyteller) narrated the story of "Sira 'Antar" or"Sira Dhat al-Himma", and the sufis of tariqa (sufi orders) danced in

Qarafa(37).

The visitors to the tombs oftentimes offered many kinds of incense,

aromatic herbs, jasmine flowers, candles, oil, silver candlesticks, money,

gold and silver, and the animals (cattle, camels, goats etc.)(38). Ibn Zahira

reported:

Every Friday morning, sweet basil, palm leaves, myrtle and herbs are

offered to the tombs of two Qarafas and al-Sahra' district, the value

of which surpasses the amount of the land tax in the area (pp. 189-

190).

Concerning this mechanism of the offerings, the pilgrimge texts ex-

plained as follows (abridged):

If someone wishes to perfect a thing or heal his illness, he should take

the sand of this holy man's tomb, in amount of one dirham or more,

and ask Allah for his matter, vowing to Him that if his matter is

fulfilled or his sickness is healed, he will offer a musk, camphor or

saffron or any kinds of good things in lieu of the sand, and return

the sand to its place"(39).

It cannot be judged whether all the aforementioned offerings passed

through this circuit of the vow or not, but this custom of offerings was con-

demned by scholars such as al-Suyuti(40). In the case of sacrificed animals,

these were slaughtered in the cemeteries and allocated to the gathered poor

or the sufis; thus it is near to the animal sacrifice that this good behavior

at the saints' tombs is offered to God. For example, in 822/1419, 150 rams

and, many cattle and camels were slaughtered and distributed(41). Such

activities connect directly to the banquets held in the graveyards which will

be referred to hereafter. Incidentally, in the Jami' (Friday mosque) Mahmud

of Qarafa, there was a holy tree of Ihlija (myrobalan), and the women who

wanted to marry used to pick seven leaves of the tree and make vows to

them(42). Also included in the offertory customs was the lighting candles

28 ORIENT


or lamps at the cemeteries. One of the saints' typical miracles, in which a

light could be seen in their tombs, resulted from this practice(43). As for

incense, it was not only burned in the cemeteries, but was also used to

perfume one's body. The luban (frankincense), jawi (benzoin), 'ud (aloes)

and many other kinds of incence were used for these purposes(44).

Concerning the aforementioned banquets (walima) that were also held

in the cemeteries, we can cite the funeral of the saint Muslim b. 'Antar

(d. 673/1274), whose huge banquet was broadered to include the poor, and

a large crowd seated there. The banquets held by rulers such as a Sultan

were on a still larger scale(45). In relation to this practice, Ibn Hajar al-

Haytami decreed that the custom of the bereaved family's allocating the

slaughtered animals or meals at the time of burial, after three days, seven

days and a month is a religious deviation (bid'a)(46). It is almost needless

to say that visits to the tombs were usually followed by almsgiving (sadaqa)

which falls on offerings and banquets in some parts. Moreover, the over-

night stay in the cemeteries was a popular act in Qarafa. Not only the

prominent and the common people of Cairo and Fustat, but tourists and

people from neighboring rural districts came on visits and stayed overnight.Friday nights were typical for this habit, those staying overnight used to

have visions of the deceased in their dreams and converse with them(47).

Furthermore, some of the masses made seven circuits around the tombs of

Qarafa. This was supposed to make the pilgrimage to Mecca easier within

the same year. The circuits (tawaf) around tombs other than that of the

Ka'ba's was also an object of sharp reproofs from scholars such as Ibn

Taymiya, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziya, Ibn 'Abd al-Hadi and Ibn al-Hajj(48).

In the centuries from twelfth to the fifteenth, women's visits to the

holy tombs were still strictly condemned by the learned, enumerated as a

subject supervised by the muhtasib(49). Ibn al-Hajj cites three views about

visits by women: (1) (absolutely) prohibited, (2) permissible as long as they

veiled their faces and guarded their minds, (3) old women are permitted

while young women are not. Nevertheless, in his own view, these argu-

ments are from an older time when the people were more discreet, so today

(the Mamluk period) all visit activities by women should be prohibited(50).

According to al-Manbiji, al-Turkmani and Ibn al-Hajj, the realities of women's

visits were that they mingled with vicious young men and sat on the ceme-

tery paths, were touched by the horse and mule drivers when they climbed

Vol. XXIX 1993 29

in and out of the carts, visited the tombs with strange men in deserted

places, walked about with their faces uncovered as if with their husbands

in privacy, and sang, laughed loudly and joked with unknown men(51).

However, there was no such reproach in the pilgrimage guides, even though

indirect criticisms by means of anecdotes can be found. al-Sakhawi rather

supported this habit when he states:

The Prophet is said to have prohibited visits to the tombs by women,

but this is not correct. He only did not permit them to joke and talk

with aliens, to unveil their faces, and other forbidden things (Tuhfa

4-5).

Historically, the governments of each era had repeated proclamations

prohibiting women's visits to the tombs. As far as the Mamluk period is

concerned, in 1280, 1309, 1391, after 1400, 1422 and 1432, as precautions to

the Feast of Breaking the Ramadan Fast, the orders for the prohibition of

women's visits were decreed repeatedly(52). The fact of the reiteration of

successive proclamations and criticisms speaks eloquently, however, of the

fact that women were the supports and driving forces of this movement of

visiting holy tombs at Qarafa and Sahra'.

III. Mentality of the Pilgrims to the City of the Dead

(1) The fulfillment of the prayer (ijaba al-du'a'), its setting and person

To fulfill the prayer was of capital importance for the Qarafa visitors.

To obtain this goal, they should search for spots where their prayers might

be fulfilled as reliably and swiftly as possible. Loci for the realization of

prayers, therefore, became the principal theme of pilgrimage guides, and eachreports around 100 different sites. These places included tombs of the saints

who were said to have performed miracles during their lifetimes, of the

Prophet Muhammad's descendants, and also places either rumored to fulfill

prayers, or related to holy anecdotes and historical events. Seen from a

physical point of view, these places could be graves and their surroundings,

the insides of specific mausolea, mosques, qubba (domed institution) and

zawiya, spot between graves or gates, martyr sites where many Companions

of Muhammad (sahaba) lost their lives in holy war and places beneath holy

stones and tree(53). Furthermore, seven holy tombs are often referred to offer

more confidence in the fulfillment of the prayer. Ibn 'Uthman (d. 1218),

30 ORIENT


one of the authors of the pilgrimage guides and leader of a pilgrim group

(shaykh al-ziyara), quotes al-Quda'i's view as it is, while Ibn al-Zayyat (d.

1412) and al-Sakhawi (d. after 1482) who were shaykh al-ziyara as well, rear-

ranged al-Quda'i's order with changing times. Whereas Ibn Abi Hajala (d.

1374/5) and Ibn Zahira (d. 1480) enumerated seven tombs highly responsive

to prayers, only three of them fall in with al-Quda'i's. al-Maqrizi (d. 1442)

had noted another two sets of seven holy tombs, and al-Sakhawi added four

sites in Egypt enable the completion of the prayer(54).

On the other hand, some of the renowned saints, such as S. Nafisa,

thought able to fulfill the prayers while alive, for whom each pilgrimage

guide listed about thirty persons. People would rush to visit them, asking

mediation for their prayers with God, and they certainly interceded for

prayers addressed to them. It is worth noticing, at this juncture, that thereis a tendency to distinguish between the usages of du'a' (prayer) and da'wa

in the pilgrimage texts. The texts use these two words properly as "he

had power to fulfill the prayer (mujab al-da'wa) while he was alive, and

the prayer (du'a') at his tomb has also responded", demonstrating a

tendency to apply da'wa for the living. In some cases of the da'wa, though

the saints' power is granted from Allah ultimately, it is close to the spiritual

power or spurring making saints capable of punishing those who have in-sulted them(55).

(2) Construction of prayer fulfillment

a. Conception of intercession (shafa'a, wasila)

To whom do people pray, and who can finally fulfill their prayers?

Whoever inquires into this question must arrive to the conception of the

intercession. The word "intercession" itself can be found in the Quran as

the fourth chapter (al-Nisa'). It is also used for general human relationships

such as those between the rulers and the common people. Nevertheless,

the intercession referred to here will be what is thought to transpire

between Allah and the Islamic saints. That is to say, people might pray at

the holy tombs or go visiting living saints, but in the final instance, only

Allah can fulfill their prayers, while the saint can only to intercede to

Allah. After that Allah accepts the saint's intercession, because of their

virtues or excellences. At least within the context of pilgrimage guides,

there is no evidence of a pattern of completing a prayer lacking Allah, in

Vol. XXIX 1993 31

which people "worship" the saints as unique deities, and pray to them, with

the saints then fulfilling the prayer by themselves. Undoubtedly one cannot

deny the possibility that some of the masses had neglected or were ignorant

to this notion of intercession, and "worshipped" the saints(56). This cannot

be proved, however, from surviving written sources. And in addition to

this, without this concept of intercession, with Hadith (Prophetic tradition)

as its ground, the foundation of the custom of visiting the holy tombs

may possibly have collapsed theoretically because the learned, such as Ibn

Taymiya, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziya, Ibn 'Abd al-Hadi and Ibn al-Hajj were

emphatically condemning pilgrimages to the holy tombs as deviation

(bid'a) from true religion(57). Concerning the Hadith about visits to the

tombs, they passed a verdict upon it that was less than comfirmatory. In

opposition, Tagi al-Din al-Subqi (d. 1355), one of the most influential scholars

of that age, debated against them based on the judgments of earliar scholars

as precedents, and the legitimacy of the relevant Hadith(58). However, the

counterview contended by al-Subki and his followers could only be effective

with the conception of intercession, and without relating to Allah through

it, in theory, they would have lost the basis of their arguments from the

start. As exquisitely stated in the ninth article (wazifa) of the tomb pil-

grimage manners as "Oh Allah, let the saints of your servants intercede withme (and Allah)", all the pilgrimage guides were written on this major

premise of the theory of intercession, even if unconsciously.

b. Structure and typology of the intercession

A possible typology for intercession on the part of the saints for the

purpose of prayer fulfillment is given in Figure II.

Type I.: <Muslim……Saint……Allah>model.

This standard model appears in texts with the highest frequency; for

example, "If the situation becomes oppressing to thee,... visit my grave

and ask what thou desire. Then I will intercede for thee beneath Allah (a

discourse of the late saint)", or in the phrase "Under His forgiveness, He

made the saints His intercessors before Him"(59). Type I of Fig. II. indicates

this pattern of intercession. In regard to the elements constituting this

model, living saints such as S. Nafisa, could also be intercessors as men-

tioned above. Further, if there can be a clear statement on actual conditions

of mediations, the intercession for entering heaven at the moment of the

32 ORIENT


Fig. II

Vol. XXIX 1993 33

Last Judgment is described most frequently(60). Likewise, it should be noted

that the attainment of the intercession was mostly announced in dreams or

visions. As often referred to, the content of dreams and visions was treated

as near facts at that time, so that in Qarafa many mausolea were built

owing to dreams and visions, such as Ikhwa Yusuf (the Brothers of Joseph),

and Muhammad b. Zayn al-'Abdin(61). In these conditions, the holy people

were apparently able to communicate with Allah, the saints or angels.

Type II: <Muslim……Prophet Muhammad……Allah> model.

The prototype of Type I would be the notion that the Prophet Muhammad,

the most perfect human with the greatest sanctity, is the mediator of the

Muslims in this world toward the unique God (=this Type II). The manifesta-

tion of this idea keeps repeating itself as "Muhammad is the intercessor

(shafi') of the Muslim community (umma) (with Allah)", "(Muhammad is)

an intercessor for the pious people (=the saints)", and "an intercessor for

the sinful"(62).

Type III: <Muslim……Saint……Muhammad……Allah>model.

By combining Type I and II together, one can think of this model.

Nevertheless, there is no such account in the pilgrimage guides to the effect

that the saints who were asked by the people for intercessions in turn begged

Muhammad for mediation to Allah. Only the predominance of Muhammad's

intercession over that of the saints' is definitely proclaimed, when both

Muhammad and the saints conducted the mediations:

The greatest of the saints' miracles is that, next in line to the inter-

cession of Muhammad, they fulfill their intercessions on the Day of

Judgment……whenever there is the miracle of the Prophet (mu'jiza),

could there be miracles of the saints(63).

Type IV: Other Variations

Among the chapters of the Quran, the chapter of Ya Sin was known

to offer its reciter intercession before God. In another case, even lions have

been recorded as having visited the tomb of the holy dead, asking for

mediation with Allah. If the person then performs the offerings (nadhur)

after the fulfilment of the prayer as he vowed, the circle of recurrence will

extend still more.

c. Prayer and recitation of the Quran as gifts

Heretofore the anthropologists and sociologists have attempted to study

34 ORIENT


god-man relationships within a donation and exchange framework, primarilyregarding animal sacrifice or tangible offerings as gifts to the divinity(64). In

this context, using the category of gifts in a more inclusive sense, Japanese

socio-anthropologist K. Ohtsuka has argued for non-material devotions or

abstract ideas, since in Islamic theology, the quantity of good deeds per-

formed in this world is thought to decide one's destiny at the Last Judgment,

or reward from Allah. Therefore, daily prayers (salat), fasting in the month

of Ramadan, pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj), martyrdom, almsgiving and reli-

gious endowments are all counted as gifts, while divine rewards correspond

to worldly benefits and sublime busses in the hereafter(65). Although anthro-

pologists may argue for gift exchange in Islam by using theoretical opera-

tions, the pilgrimage texts present a more immediate picture of this organ-

ization vis-a-vis prayer and reciting the Quran. In the case of the pilgrimage

guides, however, since their main concern is the gift exchange by means

of saint, the immediate object of the gift is the saint or buried deceased.

Firstly, the example of the prayer (for others) as a gift is found in the ninth

rule of the visiting regulations:

The deceased in the grave is none other than one drowned and seeking

for help, who is waiting for the prayer from his son, brother or friend...

and the gifts (hadaya) of the living to the dead are the prayer (du'a')

and forgiveness (from Allah)(66).

A more clear-cut and important example about prayer as a gift is con-

tained in the following story:

In the time of plague, one man used to visit the cemetery with frequency,

and to pray at the funeral rites. When night fell, he would halt by the

tombs, saying that "May God delight your desolation and have mercy

on your homesickness, with your good deeds accepted by Him and your

misdeeds left behind". This man said "I passed one night without going

to the graveyard nor praying as I used to do. Then, when I was sleep-

ing, many people came to me and saluted me. So I said 'Who are

you?'. They said 'You accustomed us with the gift (hadiya) you gave

us when you returned'. Then I asked 'What is that (gift)?'. They

replied 'The prayers (da'wat) you pray when you return to your

family'(67).

Besides the prayer (for others), the recitation of the Quran may be

thought of as a gift from pilgrims to the dead(68). The eighth regulation of

Vol. XXIX 1993 35

the visiting manners says: "If you enter a graveyard, recite al-Fatiha, last

two chapters (mu'awwidhatan) and Qul huwa Allah ahadun (third chapter

from the end), and "gift" them toward them (the dead)".

The rewards from Allah for these gifts are expressed as ajr, thawab

and 'awd, which are granted in this world, the hereafter and at the time of

the Last Judgment. For instance, the reward for reciting Ya Sin chapter

was, as mentioned above, equal to that of reciting the whole Quran twelve

times; that is, the reciter's throat will be quenched by the beverage of

heaven at the time of his very last moment, on being pulled out his soul,

of the resurrection on Judgment Day, and upon entering heaven. The pil-

grimage guidebooks recorded that good deeds performed in this world, or

even the act of visiting the tombs of the holy dead had returned in the

hereafter as well(69).

If these arguments are analyzed with the addition of the concept of"re-gifting rewards", the benefit exchange relationship should become more

intricate: as explained in the pilgrimage guides:

If you intend to go on pilgrimage to Mecca, visit this tomb and recite

the Ikhlas chapter of the Quran one hundred times, and gift the reward

(thawab) for that to the saint. Then Allah will enable you to make aMecca pilgrimage within a year (in summary)(70).

The theoretical amplification for this passage would be Fig. III: the one

who performed good deeds, such as reciting the Ikhlas chapter one hundred

times at the tomb (1), and the reward from Allah for this (2) was re-gifted

to the saint (3), then with the saint's intercession (4), Allah will respond to

him with a pilgrimage to Mecca as a reward (5). As background, it can

surely be pointed out that the cosmology of the prayer's worth as a gift

and its return as a reward was shared among the people of that age, even

Fig. III

36 ORIENT


though unconciously.

By the way, when he analyzed spiritual gift exchanges, K. Ohtsuka set

up four dimentions representing types of exchange in Islam (Fig. IV): Type

I (of Fig. IV) represents the case in which a Muslim directly gives a

gift to Allah and receives a reward in return in the hereafter. In Type II,

we see a Muslim who offers a gift to Allah, expecting a reward in this world.

Type III presents a phenomenon of indirect exchange, in that a Muslim gifts

material things directly to a fellow human being including the saint, al-

though the gift will reach to Allah in the final instance, in the form of a

submission to Him. In this case, a Muslim will enjoy a benefit in the here-

after not from the gift-receiver, but from Allah, who recognizes his good

deed as a "credit" to Him. In Type IV, a Muslim first gives a gift to a

fellow man, and on its return, he will receive benefits in this world(71). This

analysis is, I think, still effective for our discussion here, and the inquiry

made in this chapter should be applied to Type III and IV of Ohtsuka's

typology, if we include alive or deceased saints to the fellow Muslims. In

other words, we have already investigated this Type III and IV in more

detail by classifying the patterns of the fulfillment of the prayer and ex-

amined the prayer as a gift in using pilgrimage texts. In my argument,

however, whether a return is granted in the hereafter or in this world is

less important, since both can be possible.

Now a discussion will be added about gift exchange from another per-

spective which also accords with Ohtsuka's Type III and IV in a broader

sense. First, in the City of the Dead, banquet was set up and abundant

foods or goods were dispersed whenever there was a celebration for the

completion of influencial people's buildings, or ruler's recovering from illness,

festivals, a saint's birthday, the mass prayer for a cessation of the plague

Fig. IV

(Type I-IV)

Vol. XXIX 1993 37

and the swelling of the Nile river. In addition to this, Waqf income and

the subsidy from the dynasty government had filtered down through religious

institutions to the sufis, orphans and those termed poor. The masses of

pilgrims has also performed a great deal of alms and offerings, and eventhieves benefited from the burial goods inside of mausolea or winding sheets

for the dead (kafn)(72). Given this circumstance, the Egyptian people were

obviously conscious of the City of the Dead as a place where one can par-

ticipate in economic benefits. They visited Qarafa in times of destitution,

or at least they were advised to do so(73). Therefore the people even "wished

to live in Qarafa because of the repetition of almsgiving and the frequency

of the charity works there (Khitat II: 444-445)". In the context of the pil-

grimage books, all these difficulties were resolved finally by the prayer

among the holy tombs and the virtue of the holy deceased, or a saint's

intercession to God, although the solution might actually be through the

above mentioned economic system. Such distressed circumstances of many

visitors to Qarafa, combined with a self-assurance concerning the acquisition

of money and goods, revealed violent aspects in some cases. Ibn al-Nasikh

(d. after 1299/1300), another author of a pilgrimage book, recorded a story

of a merchant who visited Qarafa with his property and was surrounded by

a hostile crowd. As he almost lost the property, however, by reciting the

second chapter of the Quran, from the miraculous announcement of the de-

ceased saint buried in the tomb, he was led to a safe escape(74).

The above evidences lead one to conclude that the City of the Dead

functioned as a place where people could accomplish economic recovery. In

addition, if we analyze the mechanism of such economic restoration from

the point of view of the mental outlook of the people who participated in

this activity, we can find another interpretation. That is to say, the pilgrims

performed almsgiving, offerings and banquet on the greatest scale, but these

activities were undertaken in the expectation of a good reward in this world

or hereafter. If there were no poor at this junction to serve as the objects

of pilgrims' good behavior, the pilgrims would not be able to practice the

good deeds which enable their prayers to be fulfilled. Therefore the pre-

dominance of the principal gift giver over the auxiliary benefiter then means

nothing as long as the above-mentioned paradigm of benefit-giving is shared.

In this way, we can perceive the composition of the symbiosis: that the poor

and the sufis, in return for receiving money and material gifts, "enable the

38 ORIENT


pilgrims to perform good deeds", and help their obtainment of benefits inthis world and hereafter or the blessings of God. Therefore, it may be

concluded that the goods or good deeds of the pilgrims were interchanged,

by way of the poor, with the benefits, rewards or God's blessings in the

space of City of the Dead.

IV. Conclusion

This paper has constituted two parts: a part of what in anthropology

are called data or reports of the fieldwork or ethnography, and partial anal-

ysis of the resulting data. In the first part, I dealt with many of practicesthat characterized pilgrimage to the City of the Dead, their regulation by

guidebooks and the authorities and their censure by the learned intellectuals

of the day. It should be especially noted from this report that no matter

how the intellectuals abhorred and criticized the way pilgrims approached

the tombs, how they conducted themselves there, and the sort of practices

their guides recommended, these activities continued to take place. The

strength of the accusations from the learned on this matter, however, varied

considerably, from the most rigid expressions of Ibn Taymiya to the more

adaptable al-Suyuti. In a similar way, the opinions among the common

people and the so-called sufis were by no means consolidated. This

situation, therefore, leads one to conclude that the common people and the

learned men were not so much opposed to each other in a binary relationship,

but rather present to us an indistinct body of opinion that reflects differences

in respective stages of development. The intellectuals who partook in re-

proaching these activities, therefore, were not only from the Hanbali school

as emphasized so far, but also from the Shafi'i school, al-Suyuti and al-

Turkmani for example, and from the Maliki school, with Ibn al-Hajj as an

example.

In the second part, I scrutinized the visits from the mentality of the

pilgrims, an aspect which has never been fully explored before, and also

analyzed the relationships of believers, saints and Allah in the context of"the Fulfillment of the Prayer (ijaba al -du'a')". The Fulfillment of the Prayer

was of crucial importance for them, and was achieved only through the

saint's intercession (shafa'a) with Allah. After clarifying the concept of

intercession, I proceeded to classify its pivotal role within the structure of

Vol. XXIX 1993 39

"the Fulfillment of the Prayer" into four types. Furthermore, using a gift-

exchange framework, the concept of prayer was reconsidered as functioning

like a "gift" from the pilgrim to the buried souls.

Finally, these controversial matters concerning the City of the Dead

and Islamic burial ground practices in general have continued to be argued

to the very present, in the wake of Islamic revival movements (which are

termed "fundamentalism" from the outside of Islamic world). We are still

left with many issues, such as their differences from Christian customs,

diachronic appraisals of visiting practices and the function which the City

of the Dead performed for the Egyptian society; but these will have to be

left for another time.

Notes

(1) Tuhfa 104, Khitat II: 444-446. In the present paper, I will limit the usage ofal-Qarafa to its historical meaning and location. The author lived in the fomer al-Rasad, located on the southwest border of al-Qarafa proper during a part of the periodstudying in the Cairo University between 1989 and 1991.

(2) R. Guest, "Cairene Topography: El Qarafa according to Ibn Ez Zaiyat", JRAS,1925, pp. 57-61, L. Massignon, "La cite des morts au Caire (Qarafa-Darb al-Ahmar)",BIFAO, vol. 57, 1958, pp. 25-79, Y. Ragib, "Essai d'inventaire chronologique des guidesa l'usage des pelerins du Caire", REI, vol. 16, 1973, pp. 259-280, ibid., "Sur deux mon-uments funeraires du cimetiere d'al-Qarafa al-Kubra au Caire", Annales Islamologiques,vol. 40, 1972, pp. 189-195, S. 'Ashur, al-Mujtami' al-Misri fi 'Asr Salatin al-Mamalik,al-Qahira, n. d., pp. 109-111, C. Taylor, "Sacred History and Cult of Muslim Saints",Muslim World, vol. 80, 1990, pp. 72-80. The following works also relates to our dis-cussion, C. Williams, "The Cult of 'Alid Saints in the Fatimid Monuments of Cairo,Pt. I: The Mosque of al-Ahmar", Muqarnas 1, 1983, pp. 37-52, "Pt. II: The Mausolea",Muqarnas 3, 1985, pp. 39-60, J. Bloom, "The Mosque of the Qarafa in Cairo", Muqarnas4, 1987, pp. 7-18, O. Graber, "The Earliest Islamic Commemorative Structures" ArsOrientalis, vol. 6, 1966, pp. 7-46, etc..

(3) See T. Ohtoshi, "Visits to the Holy Tombs in the Egyptian City of the Dead(in Japanese)", Historical Review (Shigaku Zashshi), vols. 102-10, 1993, pp. 1-49.

(4) H. Nuwaysar, Madrasa Jarkasiya 'ala Namat al-Masajid al-Jami'a, al-Qahira,p. 107.

(5) Murshid fols, 132a-b, Misbah fols. 164-165, Kawakib 174, 179, 251-2, Tuhfa 290.(6) L. Gardet, DU'A', in EIn: 6177-6118, Murshid f. 21b, (Murshid B f. 28b).(7) Murshid fols. 132b, 210a, 112b, 126b, Misbah f. 242, Kawakib 27, 43, 143, Tuhfa

260.

(8) Murshid fols. 15a, 99a, 114a, Misbah f. 114, Kawakib 218, 222-223, 226, 165, 130.(9) Murshid f. 57a, Misbah f. 16, Kawakib 32, Inba' al-Ghumr V: 134-135, 'Iqd Q I:

383, Nuzha III: 183, Bada'i' II: 128, 281-282, Suluk II: III: 780-781.

(10) Murshid f. 94b, Kawakib 157, Tuhfa 276.(11) See T. Ohtoshi, op. cit..(12) Ibn al-Ukhuwwa 50, cf.) Kawakib 15, Madkhal III: 278, Nawawi 480, Amr bi-al-

40 ORIENT


Itba', 61, Zawajir I: 165.

(13) Murshid f. 8b, cf.) al-Nasa'i, Sunan, 8 vols., Bayrut, 1930, vol. 4, p. 96.(14) cf.) MF XXVII: 34, 159, Iqtida' 332, 403-404, Ighatha I: 206.(15) Kawakib 93, 105, 155, 315, Tuhfa 221, 233, 274, 395, Suluk II: III: 780-781.(16) Amr bi-al-Itba' 59-61, MF XXVII: 77, 169, etc., Ziyara 32-33, 41-44, 53-54,

Iqtida', 108-110, 329, Huquq 54-60, Ighatha I: 214-216, 203-206, Sarim 24, 28, 39, 118,149-150, etc., Zawajir I 165-166, Turkmani I: 216, al-Zarakshi, I'lam al-Sajid bi-Ahkamal-Masajid, al-Qahira, 1384 A. H., p. 356, cf.) al-Albani, Tahdhir al-Sajid min Ittikhadhal-Qubur Masajid, Bayrut, 1983.

(17) Husn al-Muhadara I: 139-141, Madkhal I: 253, M. al-Sadiq, Ihya' al-Maqbur,al-Qahira, n, d., p. 6, cf.) Suluk I: II: 312, Iqtida' 330-331.

(18) Madkhal I: 252-253, Fatawa al-Kubra II: 16-18, 240, Misbah f. 140, Kawakib 73,149, 154-155, 162, Tuhfa 129, 270, 'Iqd Q II: 155, M. Winter, Society and Religion inEarly Ottoman Egypt, New Brunswick, 1982, pp. 141-142, cf.) al-Shawkani, Sharh al-Sudur bi-Tahrim Raf' al-Qubur, al-Madina, 1969.

(19) A few words are missing from Murshid manuscript on this issue, so MurshidB fols. 14a-b have been used here.

(20) Misbah fols. 213, 68, Murshid fols. 109a, 66a, Kawakib 88, 271, 279-280, 34, 137,Tuhfa 214, 364.

(21) Fatawa al-Kubra II: 9, 29, Fatawa Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani fi Ahwal al-Quburwa-Ahwal al-Nushur, al-Qahira, 1987.

(22) Concerning the fate of the soul after the death and barzakh, see al-Qurtbi, al-Tadhkira fi Ahwal al-Mawta wa-Umur al-Akhira, al-Qahira, 1991, Ibn Rajab, Ahwalal-Qubur wa-Ahwal Ahli-ha ila al-Nushur, Bayrut, 1985, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziya, al-Ruh,Bayrut, 1992, Ibn Tulun, al-Tahrir al-Mursakh fi Ahwal al-Barzakh, Tanta, 1991. Sharhal-Sudur, Shifa', Manbiji 103-104.

(23) Murshid f. 11b, Kawakib 16, Misbah f. 263, al-Ghazali, Ihya' al-'Ulum al-Din,al-Qahira, n. d., vol. 15, p. 2919, ibid., 'Adhab al-Qabr wa-Na'imu-hu wa-Sakrat al-Mawt,al-Jiza, p. 119, Ziyara 60, 69, 75, MF XXVII: 10, 64, 107, Turkmani I: 221, Sarim 336.For Ibn Taymiya's views concerning pilgrimage, see N. Olsen, Culte des Saints etPelerinages chez Ibn Taymiyya, Paris, 1991, pp. 112-192.

(24) Murshid f. 66b, Misbah f. 263, Kawakib 34, 201, Tuhfa 314.(25) Murshid fols. 222a-b, 190a, Misbah ibid., Kawakib 121, 287-288, Tuhfa 250.(26) Murshid fols. 119b, 88a, 121a, 127b, 207b-208a, Misbah f. 115, Kawakib, 197, 207.(27) Misbah fols. 90-91, Kawakib 74, 155, 279-280, Tuhfa 274, Suluk IV: III: 1054,

cf.) Sharh al-Sudur 402-406, Shayzari 113-114, Ibn Bassam 454, Amr bi-al-Itba' 59,Fatawa al-Kubra II: 24. For the criticism on this practice, see Iqtida' 379-380, TurkmaniI: 215-216.

(28) Misbah fols. 164-165, 209, 301. cf.) A. Amin, Qamus al-'Adat, al-Qahira, 1953,p. 308.

(29) Murshid f. 116b, Misbah fols. 222, 300, Kawakib 128, 208, Tuhfa 319, 359,cf.) Ibn al-Jawzi, Bustan al-Wa'izin, Bayrut, 1984, p. 292.

(30) Murshid fols. 141a, 222a, Kawakib 16, 109, 287-288, 251, 88, 95, Tuhfa 352, 214.(31) Murshid B f. 27b has been used here in stead of Ms. Murshid because of an

incomplete text. Madkhal III: 234-235, 246, Turkmani I: 216, 218, cf.) Sharh al-Sudur384-387, Nawawi 457-459, Ziyara 91, Ighatha I: 212-213, Wala'im 55-56, Zawajir I:159-165, Fatawa al-Kubra II: 10, 18.

(32) Ibn al-Ukhuwwa 51. cf.) Shayzari 110.(33) Wulat 409, 203, 266, 210-211, Raf' I: 173, Khitat I: 327, 323, Tuhfa 141-142,

Vol. XXIX 1993 41

Yahya al-Antaki, "Histoire de Yahya Ibn Sa'id d'Antioche", Patorologia Orientalis, vol.23-2, 1932, pp. 465-466, al-Quda'i, Ta'rikh al-Quda'i wa-Awwal al-Manqul, BodleianLibrary, Ms. Pococke 270, fols, 111b-112a, Itti'az II: 119-120.

(34) Inba' al-Ghumr V: 348, 'Iqd Q I: 361, Madkhal I: 310, Suluk II: III: 647, 'IqdIII: 223-224, Bada'i' IV: 76, cf.) S. 'Ashur, op. cit., p. 108. For the prohibitation onthe use of drums, see Kaff 91-104.

(35) Madkhal I: 267, Turkmani I: 214. cf.) Shayzari 110, Kaff 49ff., MF XXVII:107, 109, 229, 231, cf.) Qadi al-Ni'man, Kitab al-Iqtisar, Dimashq, 1957, p. 40.

(36) Kawakib 109-115, Tuhfa 230-231. The original source for this anecdote is Safial-Din 80-81. See Mundhiri III: 164-165, Ibn al-Mulaqqin 467.

(37) Murshid fols. 124a-b, Kawakib 253-254, Tuhfa 181, Itti'az III: 131, Khitat I:486.

(38) Murshid f. 117a, Kawakib 90, 170, Tuhfa 218, Amr bi-al-Itba' 54, 57, 61.(39) Kawakib 223, Tuhfa 361, Murshid f. 64a. Both offerings and the vow to offer

things when their prayers are fulfilled were called nadhr. cf.) E. Reeves, The HiddenGovernment, Salt Lake City, 1990, p. 103.

(40) Amr bi-al-Itba' 54-64, Ziyara 36, MF XI: 504, XXVII: 77, Huquq 62-64, Sarim123, Turkmani I: 215.

(41) Bada'i' II: 46. cf.) Ibn Shihna, Badr al-Zahir fi Nusra al-Makik al-Nasir,Bayrut, 1983, pp. 52-53.

(42) Sukkardan 456, Madkhal III: 280, Fatawa al-Kubra II: 9.(43) Kawakib 74, 155, 297, 95, 189, 219, 273, 296, Tuhfa 380, 301, 329, 368, 379,

Madkhal I: 252. For the accusation of this habit, see Ziyara 36-37, Ighatha I: 214,Amr bi-al-Itba' 61-62, Zawajir I: 165-166, Turkmani I: 215.

(44) Misbah fols. 104a, 117b, Kawakib 144, 127, 184, Tuhfa 274, Khitat II: 453.(45) Ibn Shaddad 117, Bada'i' II: 333, Nujum XVI: 97. cf.) Misbah f. 210.(46) Fatawa al-Kubra II: 7.(47) Murshid fols. 108a, 226a, Ibn Jubayr, Rihla, Bayrut, 1980, p. 20, Kawakib 136,

158, 302, Tuhfa 184, 277, Misbah f. 97, Musabbihi 175-176, Nujam XIV: 77, ZawajirI: 163-4, Khitat II: 444.

(48) Kawakib 122, Tuhfa 251, MF XXVII: 10, Ighatha I: 212, Madkhal I: 263, Sarim24.

(49) Ibn al-Ukhuwwa 51, Shayzari 110.(50) Madkhal I: 250-251. On the prohibition of women's pilgrimages to burial

grounds, see Ziyara 84-91, Turkmani I: 214, Nawawi 482 (on conditions).(51) Manbiji 102, Madkhal I: 250-270, Turkmani I: 214.(52) Ibn al-Furat VII: 197, Suluk II: I: 51, III: II: 749, Ibn Qadi Shuhba 383, Nuzha

I: 334, Nujum VII: 30, Bada'i' II: 84, 142, 186.

(53) Misbah f. 259, Kawakib 9-10, 36, 163, Tuhfa 139, 280.(54) Murshid f. 119a, Kawakib 120-121, 321, Tuhfa 250, 402, 129, Sukkardan 456,

Ibn Zahira 193-194, Khitat II: 461, cf.) Misbah f. 244.

(55) Misbah fols. 114-115, 223, Murshid f. 241a, Kawakib 154, 194-5, 224, Tuhfa314, 317.

(56) Ibn Taymiya's criticism indicates us precious informations. Ziyara 30-31, 76,Jawab 62.

(57) See MF XXVII, Ziyara, Jawab, Iqtida', Ighatha, Sarim.(58) See Shifa' passim..(59) Misbah fols. 118-119, Kawakib 3, 78, Murshid fols. 172b, 218a.(60) Murshid fols. 119b-120a. 78a-b, Misbah fols. 74, 106, Kawakib 51, 118, Tuhfa 234.

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(61) Murshid f. 225a, Misbah fols. 259, 13, (268), Kawakib 282-283, (294), Tuhfa374, 115, cf.) C. Taylor, op. cit., pp. 78-79, C. Williams, op. cit., I, II.

(62) Murshid fols. 18b, 64b, 111b, Kawakib 17, 34, 138.(63) Kawakib 224, Tuhfa 333.(64) For example, see M. Mauss, "Essai sur le don", L'Annee Sociologique (seconde

serie) 1.

(65) K. Ohtsuka, Islam as a Different Culture (in Japanese), Tokyo, 1989, ibid.,"To ward a Typology of Benefit-Granting In Islam", Orient, vol. 24, 1988, pp. 141-152.

(66) Murshid f. 14b, Kawakib 17, cf.) Turkmani I: 227.(67) Kawakib 17-18, Murshid f. 15a, cf.) al-Yafi'i, Rawd al-Rayyahin fi Hikaya al-

Salihin, al-Qahira, n. d., p. 161.

(68) Kawakib 207, 320, Tuhfa 399, Murshid fols, 11b-14b.(69) Murshid f. 198b, Misbah f. 298, Kawakib 201, 204, Tuhfa 314, 317.(70) Kawakib 265, Tuhfa 359. Similar accounts can be found in Murshid fols. 222a-

b and Misbah f. 263. We can presume that the saint in question also intercedes atthis stage (1).

(71) K. Ohtsuka, "Toward a Typology", pp. 143-152.(72) For more detailed discussion see T. Ohtoshi, "The Egyptian City of the Dead

from the 12th to the 15th Century", Toyo Gakuho, vol. 75, 3-4, 1993, pp. 161-202. (inJapanese).

(73) For example, see Murshid fols. 163a-b, 222b ff., Misbah fols. 213-214.(74) Misbah f. 68. Y. Ragib dates Ibn al-Nasikh's death around 1297, but I have

revised that dating to just after 1299/1300 based on evidences found in his pilgrimagebook.

Primary Sources and Their Abbreviations

Amr bi-al-Itba': al-Suyuti, al-Amr bi-al-Itba' wa-al-Nahi 'an al-Ibtida', al-Qahira, n. d.Bada'i': Ibn Iyas, Bada'i' al-Zuhur fi Waqa'i' al-Duhur, 5 vols. al-Qahira, 1982-85.Fatawa al-Kubra: Ibn Hajar al-Haytami, al-Fatawa al-Kubra al-Fiqhiya, al-Qahira, n. d..Huquq: Ibn Taymiya, Huquq Al al-Bayt, Bayrut, 1987.Husn al-Muhadara: al-Suyuti, Husn al-Muhadara fi Ta'rikh Misr, wa-al-Qahira, 2 vols.,

al-Qahira, 1968.Ibn Bassam: Nihaya al-Rutba fi Talab al- Hisba, in Fi al-Turath al-Iqtisadi al-Islami,

Bayrut, 1990.Ibn al-Furat: Ta'rikh al-Duwal wa-al-Muluk, vols. 4-5, al-Basra, 1967, vols. 7-9, Bayrut,

1936-42.Ibn al-Mulaqqin: Tabaqat al-Awliya', al-Qahira, 1973.Ibn Qadi Shuhba: Ta'rikh Ibn Qadi Shuhba, Dimashq, 1977.Ibn Shaddad: Ta'rikh al-Malik al-Zahir, Bayrut, 1983.Ibn al-Ukhuwwa: Ma'alim al-Qurba fi Ahkam al-Hisba, London, 1938.Ibn Zahira: al-Fada'il al-Bahira fi Mahasin Misr wa-al-Qahira, al-Qahira, 1969.Ighatha: Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziya, Ighatha al-Lahfan min Masayid al-Shaytan, 2 vols.,

al-Qahira, 1961.Inba' al-Ghumr: Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, Inba' al-Ghumr bi-Anba' al-'Umr, Bayrut, n, d..

'Iqd: al-'Ayni, 'Iqd al-Juman fi Ta'rikh Ahl al-Zaman, ed. M. Amin, al-Qahira, 1987-.'Iqd Q: ", ed. 'A. Qarmut, 2 vols., al-Qahira, 1985-89.

Iqtida': Ibn Taymiya, Iqtida' al-Sirat al-Mustaqim Mukhalafa Ashab al-Hajim, al-Qahira, 1950.

Itti'az: al-Maqrizi, Itti'az al-Hunafa' bi-Akhbar al-A'imma al-Fatimiin, 3 vols., al-

Vol. XXIX 1993 43

Qahira, 1967-73.Jawab: Ibn Taymiya, al-Jawab al-Bahir fi Zuwwar al-Maqabir, Bayrut, 1986.Kaff: Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Kaff al-Ra'a', Bayrut, 1986.Kawakib: Ibn al-Zayyat, al-Kawakib al-Sayyara fi Tartib al-Ziyara fi al-Qarafatayn

al-Kubra wa-al-Sughra, al-Qahira, 1325 A. H..Khitat: al-Maqrizi, al-Mawa'iz wa-al-I'tibar bi-Dhikr al-Khitat wa-al-Athar, Bulaq.Madkhal: Ibn al-Hajj, al-Madkhal, 4 vols., al-Qahira, 1981.Manbiji: al-Manbiji, Tasliya Ahl al-Masa'ib fi Mawt al-Awlad wa-al-Aqarib, al-Qahira,

1403 A. H..MF: Ibn Taymiya, Majmu' Fatawa, 37 vols., n. p., n. d..Misbah: Majd al-Din b. 'Ayn al-Fudala' Ibn al-Nasikh, Misbah al-Dayaji wa-Ghawth

al-Raji wa-Kahf al-Laji, Ms. Dar al-Kutub, Buldan Taymur 87.Mundhiri: al-Mundhiri, al-Takmila li-Wafayat al-Naqaga, 4 vols., Bayrut, 1988.Murshid: Muwwafaq al-Din Ibn 'Uthman, Murshid al-Zuwwar ila Qubur al-Abrar, Ms.

Dar al-Kutub, Ta'rikh no. 5139.Murshid B: Murshid al-Zuwwar... Ms. British Library, Or. 4635.Musabbihi: al-Musabbihi, Akhbar Misr, ed. W. Milward, al-Qahira, 1980.Nawawi: al-Nawawi, Riyad al-Salihin, al-Qahira, n. d..Nujum: Ibn Taghri Birdi, al-Nujum al-Zahira fi Muluk Misr wa-al-Qahira, 16 vols., al-

Qahira, 1963-72.Nuzha: Ibn al-Sayrafi, Nuzha al-Nufus wa-al-Abdan fi Tawarikh al-Zaman, al-Qahira,

1970-74.Safi al-Din: Risala Safi al-Din b. Abi al-Mansur, al-Qahira, 1986.Sarim: Ibn 'Abd al-Hadi, al-Sarim al-Munki fi Radd 'ala al-Subki, Bayrut, 1985.Sharh al-Sudur: al-Suyuti, Sharh al-Sudur bi-Sharh Hal al-Mawta wa-al-Qubur, al-

Madina, 1989.Shayzari: al-Shayzari, Nihaya al-Rutba fi Talab al-Hisba, Bayrut, rep. 1981.Shifa': al-Subki, Shifa' al-Siqam fi Ziyara Khayr al-Anam, Bayrut, n. d..Sukkardan: Ibn Abi Hajala, Sukkardan al-Sultan, al-Qahira, 1957.Suluk: al-Maqrizi, Kitab Suluk li-Ma'rifa Duwal al-Muluk, al-Qahira, 1939-73.Tuhfa: al-Sakhawi, Tuhfa al-Ahbab wa-Bughya al-Tullab fi al-Khitat wa-al-Mazarat

wa-al-Tarajim wa-al-Biqa' al-Mubarakat, al-Qahira, 1937.Turkmani: al-Turkmani, al-Luma' fi al-Hawadith wa-al-Bida', 2 vols., al-Qahira, 1986.Zawajir: Ibn Hajar al-Haytami, al-Zawajir 'an Iqtiraf al-Kaba'ir, 2 vols., al-Qahira,

1970.Ziyara: Ibn Taymiya, Kitab al-Ziyara, al-Qahira, n. d..Wala'im: Ibn Tulun, Fass al-Khawatim fi-ma qila fi al- Wala'im, Dimashq, 1983.Wulat: al-Kindi, Kitab al-Wulat wa-al-Qudat, London, 1912.

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