It is believed that since no one dares to violate the sanctity of a saint's tomb, anything left under his protection is safe. The peasant leaves his plough there, secure that none will touch it. Usually a saint has an annual festival. There may be a procession, prayers in the mosque, and a fair. All tastes are catered for and all enjoy themselves. Closely connected with saints are the Sayyids and Sharifs. It is usually said that a Sayyid is a descendant of Hasan and a Sharif a descendant of Husain, the two grandsons of the Prophet Muhammad. However, this is not always right. In South Arabia, Sharif is the feminine of Sayyid. In South Arabia the Sayyids do not carry arms (there are exceptions) and hold a position above the warring tribes which enables them to act as arbitrators and peacemakers. In Morocco some of them, like the Sharif of Wazzan, are saints and are almost worshipped. There are also whole tribes of Sharifs, real and so-called. In South Arabia are persons and clans called Mashaikh (the plural of shaikh) who are usually descendants of local saints and so are natives of the country as opposed to the Sharifs who, if genuine, must be immigrants. The holiness of their ancestor still clings to them and gives them great religious influence. In India Khadir is connected with water and is invoked when there is too much or too little, in drought and flood. He rides on a fish which became the arms of the rulers of Oudh. He has no shrines but it is customary to make little rafts carrying a lamp, flowers and sweetmeats and set them adrift on the river at the end of the rains. Thus discussed is the concept of saints in Islam. |