speaks of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, as prophets subordinate to Mohammed, whose life and preceipts are worthy of following.
He speaks of predestination, and says that every event is predetermined by God, that the destiny of every individual and the hour of his death are irrevocably fixed, and can neither be varied nor evaded, by any effort of human sagacity or foresight.
He reconciles fate and free-will by saying: "The outline is given us we color the picture of life as we will."
He speakes of Charity, and says that every one must dispense, in one way or the other, a tenth of his revenue in the relief of the indigent or distressed. He speakes of the great virtue of fasting and says: "Prayer leads us half way to God, fastening conveys us to His threshold and alms conducts us into His presence." He enjoins the doing of good and the shunning of evil, and above all an observance of the golden rule.
"If these precepts ye obey," he concludes, "the pleasures of Paradise will be your reward. There you will be clothed in raiments sparkling with jewels. You will wear crowns of gold enriched with pearls and diamonds, and dwell in
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sumptuous palaces or silken pavilions, reclining in voluptuous couches. Hundreds of attendants, bearing dishes and goblets of gold, will serve you with every variety of exquisite viands and beverage, whenever and in whatever quantity you shall want them. There the air, fragrant with the sweetest perfume, resounds with the melodious voices of the Daughters of Paradise. There, besides your wives you had on earth, who will rejoin you in all their pristine charms, black-eyed Hooreeyahs (Houris) having complexions like rubies and pearls, resplendent beings, free from every human defect or frailty, perpetually retaining their youth and beauty, will constantly attend you, and cheerfully obey your wishes."
"But woe unto you if ye harken not to the words of Allah and Mohammed his prophet! When ye shall pass the bridge, Al Sirat, which is finer than a hair and sharper than a sword, it will break beneath the burden of your sins, and precipitate you into the shadow and smoke and fire of hell."
With a prayer for the welfare of the Caliph and the entire government, the "khotbeh" is ended and the congregation dismissed.
We know that the Moors and Jews are Oriental people, and, therefore, not indigenous to the Occidental soil they now inhabit. Whence came they? Why came they? We are eager for a correct answer to these questions, and knowing none of Cordova's learned men, we think of our
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distinguished co-religionist. Abu Jussuf Chasdai ben Isaac Ibn Shaprut, the Jewish Physician, Philologist, Minister of Foreign Affairs, of Commerce and Finance to the learned Abder Rahman, and Nasi, or secular chief, of all European Jews. We take the heart to visit him, and with the aid of our guide, we soon are admitted into the house. There we learn that Chasdai Ibn Shaprut had just been summoned to a secret consultation with the Caliph concerning an important embassy that had come from Otto I, Emperor of Germany. We are asked to await his return in his library. There, we are introduced to Moses ben Chanoch, the distinguished Talmudist, to his pupil, Joseph ben Abitur, the translator of the Mishnah into Arabic for the Caliph's library, to Menachem ben Saruk, the grammarian and compiler of the first Hebrew lexicon, and to Dunash ben Labrat, the distinguished poet, who were pursuing their respective studies in the magnificent library of Chasdai, the Jewish favorite Minister to the Caliph.
We state our wish, and Dunash ben Labrat thus replies:
"We know not when our distinguished Nasi will return. If, indeed, it be agreeable to you, I will ask you to accompany me to my friend Abdallah Ibn Xamri, the famous Moorish poet and erudite historian, with whom I have arranged a game of chess for this afternoon's siesta. He will, I know, give you such information concerning the history of the Arab-Moors as you may desire. When this shall have been
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done, we shall make our way back again, Chasdai will have returned, and he will gladly give you an account of the Entrance of the Jews into Spain."
We cheerfully accept his kind proposal. We are on our way now, and in the following chapter we shall faithfully report all that we shall see and hear.
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