ament of glory, the power of
the arm of the Prophet, he who has merited access to the tabernacle of
the Divine Unity, the most profound of all religious people, the
resplendent brightness of the marvels of God, the father of victory,
the Imam of the gate of heaven, the cup-bearer of the water of Kausar,
he who has merited the praise of Muhammad, he who is the best of men,
the holy martyr, the chief of Believers, the Imam of the Faithful,
'Ali, son of Abu Talib, 'Ali the victorious lion of the Most High. I
pray that God for the sake of this holy Khalif may favourably hear the
vows which I offer to Him."

The following prayer occurs in a Fatiha said for Hasan and Husain:--

I pray, "That the eternal God may deign to accept the vows which I make
for the repose of the glorious souls of the two brave Imams, the
martyrs well-beloved by God, the innocent victims of wickedness, the
blessed Abu Muhammad Al-Hasan and Abu 'Abd-Allah Al-Husain, and for the
twelve Imams, and the fourteen[252] pure ones, and for the seventy-two
martyrs of the plain of Karbala."

{244}

2. AKHIR-I-CHAR SHAMBA.--This feast is held on the last Wednesday of the
month Safar. It is kept in commemoration of the fact, that, as on this day,
the Prophet experienced some mitigation of the disorder which in the next
month terminated his life. Sweet cakes are prepared, and Fatihas in the
name of the Prophet are said over them; but the most extraordinary custom
is the drinking of the seven Salams. A plantain, or a mango tree leaf, or a
piece of paper is taken to a Mulla, or a religious teacher, who writes
seven short sentences from the Quran upon it. The writing whilst still wet
is washed off, and the mixture drunk by the person for whom it was written.
Peace and happiness are thus ensured for the future. The seven Salams are:
(1) "Peace! shall be the word on the part of a merciful Lord." (Sura xxxvi.
58). (2) "Peace be on Noah throughout the worlds." (Sura xxxvii. 77). (3)
"Peace be on Abraham." (Sura xxxvii. 109). (4) "Peace be on Moses and
Aaron." (Sura xxxvii. 120). (5) "Peace be on Elias." (Sura xxxvii. 130).
(6) "Peace be on you, ye have been good; enter into Paradise." (Sura xxxix.
73). (7) "It is peace till the breaking of the morn." (Sura xcvii. 5). The
Shia'hs consider this an unlucky day. They call it "Char
Shamba-i-Suri."--The "Wednesday of the Trumpet;" that is, of the trumpet of
the last