The pure life of Fatima, Mahumud’s only daughter, is greatly esteemed as an example of female excellence, whom they strive to imitate as much as possible, as well in religious as in moral or domestic duties.  They are zealous to fulfil all the ordinances of their particular faith,—­and I have had the best possible opportunity of studying their character,—­devotion to God being the foundation on which every principal action of their lives seems to rest.

In my delineation of character, whether male or female, I must not be supposed to mean the whole mass of the Mussulmaun population.  There are good and bad of every class or profession of people; it has been my good fortune to be an inmate with the pious of that faith, and from their practice I have been aided in acquiring a knowledge of what constitutes a true disciple of Mahumud.

[1] The writer mixes up the Persian and Arabic names of the hours of
    prayer.  The proper names, according to this list, are:  i,
    Namaz-i-Subh, from dawn to sunrise; ii, Salatu’l-Zuhr, when the
    sun has begun to decline; iii, Salatu’l ’Asr, midway between
    Nos. ii and iv; iv, Sala tu’l-Maghrib, a few minutes after sunset;
    v, Salatu’l ’Isha, when night has closed in.

[2] Namaz-i-Tahajjid, the prayer after midnight.

[3] Wazifah, ‘a daily ration of food’, a term used for the daily
    lesson or portion of the Koran read by devout Musalmans.  The
    Koran is divided into thirty lessons (siparah) for use
    during the month Ramazan.

[4] Special readers (muqri) of the Koran are needed, owing to
    the want of vowels in the Arabic character (Sale, Preliminary
    Discourse, 47).  Readers are often employed to recite the Koran
    over a corpse on the way to Karbala.

[5] Known as Khadim.

[6] Allahu akbar ...  Muhammadan rasulu’llah. In English the
    entire call runs:  ’Allah is most great (four times), I testify that
    there is no God but Allah (twice), I testify that Muhammad is the
    Apostle of Allah (twice), Come to prayer (twice), Come to salvation
    (twice), Allah is most great (twice), There is no God but Allah!’

[7] Known as Ja’e-namaz, ‘place of prayer’.

[8] See p. 27.

[9] The Salatu’l-Juma’, the Friday prayer, is obligatory.  Friday was
    appointed a Sabbath to distinguish Musalmans from Jews and
    Christians.

[10] Darzi.

[11] Dhobi.

[12] See p. 74.

[13] The correct titles are as follows:  Adam, Safiyu’llah, ’The
    Chosen One of God’; Noah, Nabiyu’llah, ‘The Prophet of God’;
    Abraham, Khalilu’llah, ‘The Friend of God’; Moses,
    Kalimu’llah, ‘He that spoke with God’; Jesus, Ruhu’llah,
    ‘A Spirit from God’; Muhammad, Rasulu ’Illah, ’The Prophet of
    God’.