precepts, its observances, its appeals to fear.'1 The keystone of
that creed is a black pebble in what was a heathen temple: a journey thither,
and the performance of old pagan rites when there, are said to be the surest way
to salvation. 'Chained to a black stone in a barren wilderness, the heart and
reason of the Muhammadan world would seem to have taken the similitude of the
objects they reverence; and the refreshing dews and general sunshine, which
fertilize all else, seek in vain for anything to quicken there.' 2
All this is quite true of the obstacle the Pilgrimage places in the way of
any enlightened reform, which can only take place when the Islamic institutions
show that they are capable of modification, and this the continued obligation of
the Hajj shows that they are not; 3 but, on the other hand, it must
be admitted that the retention of the Hajj has tended to preserve Muslim
orthodoxy, has renewed from time to time the faith of the believers, and has
shown to countless millions of Muslims, in the centuries which have come and
gone, how Islam has united into a great brotherhood races diverse in language,
colour and character, and has produced in them a passionate devotion to the
memory of their Prophet.4 'Mecca is to the Muslim what