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him; and, seeing one with him, I said, What is thy name? And he said, Abú-Abbás. Seeing also another, I said, What is thy name? He said, Elias. So I said, The mercy of God be with you! have you seen Muhammad? They replied, Certainly. Then I said, By the might and strength of God, I adjure you tell me something that I may narrate upon your authority. So they said, We heard Muhammad say, "Whatever believer shall say, The peace of God be upon Muhammad!" God's brightness and beauty shall remain upon his heart. Also they said, There was among the sons of Israël a man named Samuel, to whom God bountifully granted victory over his enemies. Now he marched out with his army; and they (the enemy) had said, This enchanter (Samuel) will bewitch our eyes and destroy our army. Let us therefore assemble by the sea-shore, and we shall rout them. Then they marched out in divisions of forty men, and pitched by the seashore. Then said the comrades of Samuel, How shall we act? Who replied, Make the attack, saying, "Praise be unto Muhammad!" and charge: which they did; and, attacking their enemies by the sea-shore, broke them all, and routed them.

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Whilst thus present with us, St. George and Elias said, Whosoever shall say, Peace be upon Muhammad! shall be completely purified from

hypocrisy, as a thing is purified in water. These two also said, A man of Syria came unto the Prophet, and said, O Apostle of God! my father is a very old Shaikh, who desires to see you. Then Muhammad said, Bring him to me. But the man said, He has lost his sight. Then he said, Let him say, for seven weeks, "The peace of God be upon Muhammad!" and he shall see me in a dream, and shall relate a tradition from me. Which the old man did, and saw Muhammad in a dream, and related a tradition from him. Also they said, We heard Muhammad say, When ye sit down to a feast, say, In the name of God the Merciful and Compassionate, the blessing of God be upon Muhammad! for if ye say these words, God shall cause his angels to eat with you, and ward off all backbitings and calumnies from you, as long as you yourselves abstain from scandalizing others. Having concluded these traditions, they said, Accept these admirable traditions of the Prophet; regard them as an especially fortunate gift; make much of them!-So much for the choice and secret treasures of the Spanish writer!

The Gate of Remission is so called because it is said that the children of Israël were directed to enter their Mosque, prostrating themselves, and creeping on hands and knees, and saying, "Remission!" that their sins might be forgiven. They also used the word in their Psalms. A commen

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tator on the Korán says, When the people entered a village, journeying towards Jerusalem, they were allowed to eat whatever was good or necessary for them; and they entered the gate of such a village, prostrating themselves, and saying Hittatun, which means, There is no God but the God. This expression remits sins. (See Korán, chap. 2.) Those who were wicked changed the word, saying Hinnat,-a Hebrew word, signifying a brownish grain, or buckwheat. God, however, rained down fevers, as a punishment for the rebellious. Also, whosoever shall repeat two Rakás before the Gate of Remission, shall be put in the place which they vacated, who, when desired to enter the promised land, refused to do so. Another commentator remarks, The brazen gate in the Mosque, in the middle, called the Ram's Gate, is that brought by Cyrus as a gift. The brazen gate over the gate of the Mosque of David's Gate, is the gate whence David went forth unto Solomon's Market, from Sion. The gate called the Gate of Remission is that which was formerly in Jericho. The word Remission was appointed by God to be used by the children of Israël when they carped at Moses about entering the Holy Land, in which were giants. God wishing to forgive them, ordained this word. Here, it is said, the quarrelsome rebels were ordered to bow

the head, which they refused. Another commentator remarks, Whenever one of the children of Israël was guilty of any sin, he wrote upon his door, "Thus and thus have I offended:" upon which they all repulsed and excommunicated him. After this, he came to the Gate of Penitence, which gate is hard by the Tower of Maria, and where was a common-sewer, and wept, and stood awhile. Then, if God granted him repentance, the children of Israël caused him to approach near; but if God did not grant him repentance, then they excommunicated and repulsed him.

The Gate of the Glorious Prophets is now called the Gate Al Dawídári (the Gate of the Templars) it is on the western side, but itself is in a northern direction. The Gate of the Sheep is west of the Gate of the Guard, on the front side of the Mosque. This gate is called the Antechapel of Abraham. The Gate of the Conqueror is said to be the same as the Gate of the Jealousysearch it is now called Angel's Gate, because Gabriel is said to have bound Al Burák there.*

Now, with regard to the length and breadth of the Mosque in cubits, one historian says, The length of the Mosque Al Aksá is 755 cubits, using the royal cubit, and its breadth 465 cubits, taking

* See Note.

the royal cubit. Another says, Looking directly in front of the northern boundary wall, just above the gate called the Templar's Gate, and within the wall of the marble pavement, and thence estimating the length and breadth of the Mosque, the length will be 784 cubits, and the breadth 455 cubits. This is the variation existing between the two accounts. A person observed to the last, that though he had thus described the size of the Mosque in cubits, yet that he wished to know whether these were royal cubits or not, and that perhaps this caused the different accounts of writers. Upon this they measured on the spot with ropes, when the length of the Mosque from the eastern side was 733 cubits, not taking into account the thickness of the walls. Thus ends this matter.

Now for the Leaves. The following tale is told: Muhammad had said, that a divine revelation had asserted as follows, "Truly, there shall be a man of your people who shall assuredly enter into Paradise, although he be walking upon his two feet, and be still alive." Now, says an old worthy, I was standing before the congregation in the Holy Abode, who were engaged in prayer, with the people of Omar-Ibn-Al-Khattáb, when there arrived a certain Tamímite, named Sharík-IbnHabásh. He was drawing water for his comrades,

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