Life of Ahmad — Page 728
A SERMON REVEALED as 728 and slaves. Then they get out in a decorous manner for the Eid prayers like great princes. And you will find that their greatest pleasure, that day, lies in the best eatables, and that their greatest heed is a very costly dress for the purposes of ostentation. And they do not know what sacrifice is and for what purpose the sheep and cows are slaughtered. From the dawn of the day till late in the night their Eid lies in eating and drinking, in easy enjoyment and fine clothes, in a swift horse and fresh meat. And you will see that in this day of theirs they do nothing but put on fine and soft clothes, comb their hair, apply antimony to their eyes and perfumes to their clothes, and dress their front and forelocks like women who display themselves in adornment. Then they peck off their prayers like a hen without attending to them at all, and their minds are overrun by disquietude and distraction. Then they break loose towards the various kinds of victuals and eatables in order to stuff their bellies with different dainties like cattle and animals. And they fall to wantonness, sport and brutality. And they pasture themselves freely in the meadows of passions. And they ride on, horses, carriages, strong she-camels, and mules and the necks of men with diverse decorations. And they send presents of roasted meat to one another, and they exult with pride at the flesh of