Page:Thomas Patrick Hughes - Notes on Muhammadanism - 2ed. (1877).djvu/238

 Rh for Imám ʾAli, and some of their sects regard him as an incarnation of divinity. They all assert that next to the Prophet, ʾAli is the most excellent of men.

3. They observe the ceremonies of the Muharram in commemoration of ʾAli, Hasan, Husain, and Bíbí Fatimah, whilst the Sunnís only regard the tenth day of Muharram, the ʾA′shúráa, being the day on which God is said to have created Adam and Eve, etc.

4, The Shíaʾhs permit Mutaʾh, or temporary marriages, which are contracted for a limited period, and for a certain sum of money. The Sunnís say that Muhammad afterwards cancelled this institution.

5. The Shíaʾhs include the Majusí, or fire-worshippers, among the Ahl-i-Kitáb, or people of the Book, whilst Sunnís only acknowledge Jews, Christians, and Muslims, as Kitábíahs.

6. There are also various minor differences in the ceremony of Sulát, or prayer, and in the ablutions previous to prayer.

7. The Shíaʾhs admit a principle of religious compromise which is called Takía (lit. "guarding one's self"), a pious fraud, whereby the Shíaʾh Muhammadan believes he is justified