Folk-lore of the Holy Land by J. E. Hanauer. 1909
Moslem, Christian and Jewish
Scanned at sacred-texts.com, July 2006. Proofed and formatted by John Bruno Hare. This text is in the public domain in the United States because it was published prior to January 1st, 1923. These files may be used for any non-commercial purpose provided this notice of attribution is left intact in all copies.
A Mohammedan Legend: Introductory And Apologetic
I. Saints, Sinners, and Miracles
I. A Learned Moslem's Ideas On Cosmogony
The Tablet of Destiny, and the great fountain-pen.--The creation of water, of Allah's throne, of the atmosphere, of the great serpent, of the solid earth and the mountains, the "Kâf" range, and the seven seas and continents.--How the universe is upheld.--The cause of earthquakes and of eclipses.--How all these things became known.
Adam formed out of various kinds of dust.--Disobedience of Iblìs.--Adam's first troubles.--"El Karìneh," Lilith, or "El Brûsha."--Creation of Eve.--Iblìs bribes the serpent, and thus gets back into Paradise.--Adam's forethought--The fall of Man, and the ejection from Eden.--Increase and origin of various evil spirits.--Repentance of Adam and his reunion with Eve.--He is shown his posterity.--His great stature.--His death.--Place of Adam's burial.
Idrìs.--Birth and dwelling-place of Noah.--The "Nâkils."--Opposition.--The Deluge.--Iblìs gets into the Ark.--A donkey in Paradise.--Og.--Voyage of the Ark.--Noah's daughter and her supposed sisters.--Noah buried at Kerak.
Job.--His wife's patience.--El Hakìm Lokman identified with Æsop.--Account of a surgical operation.
V. Abraham, ''the Friend of God''
Circumstances of his birth.--Impiety of Nimrûd.--The child's precocity. His longing for spiritual knowledge.--Destruction of Idols.--The furnace.--The flying-machine.--Death of Nimrûd.--Flight of Ibrahìm.--His buildings.--The sheep-skin jacket.--Ibrahìm's hospitality.--A false friend.--A churl.--Several customs attributed to Ibrahìm.--His death.--He is still alive.--His posthumous protection of the Jews at Hebron.
VI. Lot and the Tree of the Cross
VII. The Deaths of Moses and Aaron
Aaron's shrine on Mount Hor.--Legend concerning his death.--Different accounts of the death of Moses.--Legend of Moses' shepherd.
David's piety.--Learns a trade.--His presumption and fall.--His remorse.--Solomon and the two birds.--The carob-tree.--Solomon's death.
The fountain of youth.--Dhu’lkarnein and his companions.--El Khudr popularly identified with various saints.--His haunts and habits.--The insane asylum near the "Pools of Solomon."--The holy stone.--Other shrines.--Elijah's cave on Carmel.--An English doctor's story.--St George and the Dragon.--Elijah's Synagogue at Jerusalem.--El Khudr and Moses.
His so-called tomb.--Biographical sketch.--Simon the Just and Ptolemy Philopator.--Simon and the Nazarite.--Rabbi Galanti and the great drought.
Legends and Anecdotes
I. Bâb El Khalìl, The Jaffa Gate at Jerusalem
Origin of Name.--Antichrist.--Two cenotaphs.--Jeremiah and Nebuchadnezzar.--El ’Ozair.--An ass in Paradise.--El Edhemìeh.--Rabbi Judah ha Levi.--Mezuzah at Jaffa Gate.
Kubbet el ’Abd.--Legends.--Johha and his mother.--Johha and the donkeys.--Johha's peg.--The baby saucepan and the defunct cauldron.--Johha's neighbours.
En Nebi Daûd and Ibn Faraj.--The dagger.--The Jewish washerwoman.
Traditional names.--The lions.--Sultan Selìm's dream.--The Legend of the Bath-house of Belkis.
Kolonimos.--Incident at house of a rabbi.--Two anecdotes of Ibrahìm Pasha.
VI. Scraps of Unwritten History
Traces of the Essenes.--Female Recluses.--A Legend of El Hâkim bi amr Illah.--The Avengers of Blood.--Massacre of Kurds at Hebron.--Faction-fights.--Massacre at Artass.--A petty despot.
The weaver.--The red gown.--The miser.
Ideas and Superstitions
Ahmad Almuttafakhir.--The two Wazìrs.--The Emperor of China's pig.
III. Origin of Three Well-Known Sayings
Keep your legs stretched according to the length of your coverlet.--Moving a tent peg.--"Shûrûlûb."
Honourable old age.--Trust in Allah.--Benevolence.--Disinterestedness.--An upright judge.--The surety.
His appointment.--His son.--Francesco.
Their creation, etc.--The name of Allah.--Intercourse with human beings.--Mysterious thefts.--Khuneyfseh.--The abducted wife.--A shepherd's experience.--Experiences of a good woman.--Of a chieftain's son.--The frog.--The wedding procession.
Ijbeyneh.--Uhdeydûn.--Bluebeard.--Snowmaiden.
Invention of a shrine.--The patriarch.--A learned clergyman.--An almanac.--The fasting monk.--The endangered poultry.--The ill-used camels.
Treatment of a mother-in-law.--A cunning old woman.--The rebellious owl.--Stories told by a rebellious hoopoe.--The mourner.--The partners.--The merchant and the animals.
The dog.--The cat.--The hyæna.--The fox.--The dib-dib.--The serpent.
The olive.--The storax.--The sage.--The lotus and the tamarisk.--The tortoise herb.
Its discovery--First uses.--Subject of religious controversy.--Customs among the desert Arabs.--Esh-Sheykh esh Shadhilly.--The Bedawi and the Memlûk.
Mûmmia.--Indûlko.--Freskûra.--Charms.--Translation of a typical Kanii.
XIV. A Popular Calendar and Some Sayings
Translation of a Jewish Amulet