cks, bars, or
bolts; in the paved yard a tank or reservoir for bathing or ablutions is
usually provided. The mosque itself is square, with a dome and two
minarets; the side next the court-yard is the entrance, and generally this
front is entirely open; the back of the mosque faces Mecca, in which
direction the prayer must be offered to be effectual. These houses of
prayer are generally kept clean and neat, but not the slightest ornament
allowed within the walls; the floor is matted, and a plain wooden mhembur
(pulpit) is provided. Shoes never enter within the precincts of the mosque;
'Put off thy shoes' is strictly observed by Mussulmauns in all sacred
places--a man praying with shoes on his feet would be accounted mad or a
heathen.[8]

The Sabbath of the Mussulmauns is kept on Friday, commencing on the
preceding night, after the manner of the Jews, only with the difference of
the day.[9]

As a religious rest, the Sabbath is but partially observed with
Mussulmauns. The Soonies, I have remarked, pay much more attention to its
institutions than the Sheahs; but with either sect, the day is less
strictly kept, than might have been expected from people who really seem
to make religion their study, and the great business of their lives. Both
sects have extra prayers for the day besides the usual Namaaz, which, the
religious people perform with, great punctuality, whether they carry their
devotions to the mosque, or offer their prayers in due form in their own
abode. On the Sabbath they make it a point to bathe and change their
apparel; the public offices are closed, and the shops partially shut until
mid-day; the rulers,--as Kings or Nuwaubs,--distinguish the day by not
receiving their courtiers and the public visitors, as on other days.
Charitable donations are likewise more bountifully dispensed from the rich
to the poor on Friday.

These observances serve to convince us that they believe in the
constituted Sabbath; still there is not that strict respect for the holy
day which could satisfy the scrupulous feelings of a Christian; the
servants are quite as much employed on Friday as on any other day;--the
dhurzie[10] (tailor), dhobhie[11] (washerman), and indeed the whole
establishment of servants and slaves, male and female, find their work
undiminished on the Sabbath. The ladies amuse themselves with cards or
dice, the singing women even are quite as much in request as on other days;
and all the amusements of life are i