nd, the Nourisher, the Merciful,
the Clement."[259]

"The assemblies of the ladies on this 'Id are marked by all the amusements
and indulgences they can possibly invent or enjoy in their secluded state.
Some receiving, others paying visits in covered conveyances; all doing
honour to the day by wearing their best jewellery and splendid dress. The
Zanana rings with festive songs and loud music, the cheerful meeting of
friends, the distribution of presents to dependents, and remembrances to
the poor; all is life and joy, cheerful bustle and amusement, on this happy
day of 'Id, when the good lady of the Mansion sits in state to receive
presents from inferiors and to grant proofs of her favour to others."[260]

6. The Baqr-'Id.--This is the most important Feast in the whole year. It is
also known as the 'Id-i-Qurban, and as the 'Id-ul-Azha, commonly called the
Id-uz-Zuha, the feast of sacrifice. In Turkey and in Egypt it is called
Bairam. Its origin was as follows: A few months after the Hijra, or flight
from Mecca, Muhammad, dwelling in Madina, observed that the Jews kept, on
the tenth day of the seventh month, the great fast of the Atonement. A
Tradition records that the Prophet asked them why they kept this fast. He
was informed that it was a memorial of the deliverance of Moses and the
children of Israel from the hands of Pharaoh. "We have a greater right in
Moses than they," said Muhammad, so he fasted with the Jews and commanded
his followers to fast also. This was at the period of his mission when
Muhammad was friendly with the Jews of Madina, who occasionally came to
hear him preach. The Prophet also occasionally attended the synagogue. Then
came the change of the Qibla from Jerusalem to Mecca, for the Jews were not
so ready to change their {253} creed as Muhammad had at first hoped. In the
second year of the Hijra, Muhammad and his followers did not participate in
the Jewish fast, for the Prophet now instituted the feast of the Baqr-'Id.
The idolatrous Arabs had been in the habit of making an annual pilgrimage
to Mecca at this season of the year. The offering of animals in sacrifice
formed a part of the concluding ceremony of that pilgrimage. That
portion--the sacrifice of animals--Muhammad adopted in the feast which now,
at Madina, he substituted for the Jewish fast. This was well calculated to
attract the attention of the Meccans and to gain the goodwill of the Arabs.
Muhammad could not then make the pilgrimage