Amahmal (Arabic:مَحْمَل,romanized: maḥmal) is a ceremonial passenger-lesslitter that was carried on a camel among caravans of pilgrims on theHajj, the pilgrimage toMecca which is a sacred duty inIslam. It symbolised the political power of thesultans who sent it, demonstrating their custody of Islam's holy sites. Each mahmal had an intricately embroidered textile cover, orsitr.[1][2] The tradition dates back at least to the 13th century and ended in the mid-20th. There are many descriptions and photographs of mahmals from 19th century observers of the Hajj.[3]
The word "mahmal" comes from the root حمل (ḥ-m-l, "to carry").[4] A mahmal consists of a wooden frame made to fit on a camel, with a pointed top.[4] There were textile coverings placed over it: an ornate processional covering and others for everyday use.[1] These coverings are known as thekiswah orsitr al-mahmal.[4] The earliest surviving covers, from theMamluk Sultanate, are yellow, but later instances are red or green.[1] The embroidered decoration would include thetughra (seal) of the Sultan as well as verses from theQuran.[1]
The first recorded sending of a mahmal was byBaibars, who was Sultan of Egypt from 1260 to 1277.[1] Mahmals were sent fromCairo,Damascus,Yemen,Hyderabad,Darfur, and theTimurid Empire in different periods.[4] Although the main pilgrim caravan from Egypt departed from Cairo, a separate caravan with its own mahmal departed annually fromAsyut from the late 14th century.[5]
On 18 June 1926, Egyptian soldiers playing music while escorting the mahmal, were confronted by angryNajdi Muslims, who disliked themahmal as an innovation (Bid'ah) and consideredmusic un-Islamic. The Egyptians fired on them, killing 25.[6] The tradition of sending annual mahmals to Mecca ended in 1926, although they were paraded in Cairo until 1952.[4]
The arrival of the mahmal in Mecca was a significant occasion which local people and pilgrims came out to watch.[1] Before entry to the city, the simple textiles which had covered the mahmal on its journey across the desert or sea were replaced with the ornate, colourfulkiswah.[3] Mahmals from different countries would vie for the best position in front of theKaaba.[3] A mahmal returning from Mecca to its city of origin was regarded as carryingbarakah (blessing) which could be transferred by touch. As the procession returned to a city, parents brought out their children to touch the mahmal, and people briefly put their handkerchiefs inside it.[7]
The tradition's origin is not known for certain. The Turkish travelerEvliya Çelebi wrote that the earliest mahmals carried relics of the prophetMuhammad including his shoes, gown and bowl, and hence that the mahmal was seen as representing the prophet's grave.[7] Another theory is thatShajar al-Durr, the firstSultana, made the Hajj journey in a colourful litter and that subsequent leaders kept up the tradition, with the litter empty, after her death in the 13th century.[4][8]
Some sources say the mahmal was completely empty, while others describe it containing aQuran or other holy book. An anonymous account from 1575 describes a mahmal carrying "the Quran all written in great letters of gold".[4]In theAnis Al-Hujjaj (Pilgrim's companion), a detailed record of a Hajj undertaken in 1677, the Damascus mahmal is depicted containing a Quran on a stand.[4] Swiss travelerJohn Lewis Burckhardt observed the Egyptian caravan in 1814 and wrote that a book of prayers, but not the Quran, would be carried in the mahmal. On its return from Mecca, people would kiss and rub their foreheads against the book to receive blessings.[4] In the 1830s, British travelerEdward William Lane described a mahmal that was empty but had two copies of the Quran — one as a scroll and the other bound as a book — attached externally to the top of the mahmal in silver-gilt cases.[8]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Every year, from the eighth to the twelfth day ofDhu al-Hijjah. | ||
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