THE DABISTAN,

SCHOOL OF MANNERS.

CHAPTER VII.

OF THE RELIGION OF THE SADIKIAHS.

These sectaries are followers of Mimylnmi The people of hhm, " the irue faith/' quality Mway-

* In the before quoted Memoir of H. T Colebrooke (As. Res., vol. VII p. 342), we read, as taken from the account of Niirukah of Sinister, what follows* vt The Sadiht'yahs are a tribe of the faithful in Hindustan, " pious men, and disciples of Sayyad Cabiru 'ddm, \vho derived his 14 descent fiom Ismail, son of imam Jafer. This tribe is denominated 44 Sadikiyahs, by reason of the ' sincere' (sadik) call of that Sayyad 4 'Although that appellation have, according to received notions, a u seeming relation to Abii bcki, whose partisans give him this title; yet " it is probable that the sect assumed that appellation for the sake of " concealment However no advantage ever accrues to them from it: " on the contraiy, the arrogant inhabitants of Hind, who are fftndms* u being retainers of the son of the impious Hind (meaning Hmda, th<> " mother of Maviyeh), have discovered their attachment to the sect ol 4k Shiahs, and have revived against them the calumnies which, five hundred a years before, they broached against the Ism&ilahs They maliciously \, in. 1

lima as " the Liar." 1 These sectaries call themselves 'cikoRalundnwk , as they gave to Musaylinia the tide ofRihM) ^ commiserator ; v ' they assert, that the words : Bwmlla hirrelnno mrrehim, " in the name of " the bountiful and merciful God," relate to him, that is a God is the merciful Musaylima Muham-rned liuli, the man so named, contracted friendship v> iih die author of tins work in the year of the He-jira 1055 (A. D 1645) at the holy sepulchre. 2 After

' w charge them with impiety Such is indeed their ancient practice. •• * * " * * * —In short, nearly thirty thousand persons of this " sect are settled in provinces of Hindustan, such as Multan, Lah6te, '* Delhi, and Gujrat. Most of them subsist by commerce; they pay the 1 fifth part of their gains to the descendants of Sayyad Cabtr, who are " their priests: and both preceptor and pupil, priest and layman, all are " zealous Shiahs. ***»»"

It will be evident that the author of the Dabistan speaks of a sect \vhich bears the same name, but which owns another founder and another Koran, although possessing some tenets common to other sects.

1 Musaylima once professed the creed of Muhammed, before whom he appeared as one of the deputies sent by the tribe Henaifa, when they offered their submission to the prophet. But in A. D., 631 Musaylima declared himself a prophet in the country of Yaraama, and gained a great number of followers, he dared even offer himself in a letter to Mu-hammed, as a partner of his prophetic mission, but received a refusal, with this address: " From Muhammed, the Apostle of God, to Mosaj-" lima, the Liar."

2 J^*ws, Mashhad, signifies propei ly any place where a martyr has been boned, and is particularly applied to the burying places of Imams, such as that of Kerbela, near Kufa, before mentioned But the town of Tiib, in Khorassan, has almost exchanged its proper name for that of Mashhad, 4l sepulchre," because the Imam Risa, son of Mussa al Kha-dem, was buried near that place. Is it that which is meant above? Al-

some friendly intercourse, he said: " To a true be-" t liever, it is necessary to acknowledge Musaylima as 4 * the bringer of the true intelligence and a prophet; 4i and if one does not so, his faith is not the true." For a confirmation of this assertion, he adduced as evidence some verses of the Koran, and said: c< Mu-46 saylima was in the divine mission a partner of the 66 dignity of the prophetic asylum, Muhammed, in " the same manner as Harun was with Moses " He further maintained: "Two prophets are required Cl as being witnesses, and evidence wants two per-( * sons, and if there be more, so much the better." He then highly extolled his virtues and miracles, such as his calling the moon until she came down and before the eyes of his companions sat down on his lap;' as his going to dry trees, and praying so,

though the authoi says (Vol. II. p. 364), that he was in 1053 (1643) in Lahore, wincli is about 1200 miles distant from Tus, his. visiting, the same year, both towns, is far from impossible In the same year, we find him in Kirtpur, in the mountainous part of the Panjab (ibtd , p. 416), and m Kabul, \\hich is on the road from Lahore to Tus

1 The moon acts a conspicuous part in the prestigious exhibitions ot magicians There appeared during the reign of Muhammed Mahadi, the third khalif of the Abbasides, from the year of the Hejira 158 to 169 (A. D. 774-785), m the town of Nekhshab, in Khorassan, an impostor, called Hakem ben Has ham, whose surname was Sastndah inah, " moon-" maker." Having but one eye, he used to hide his deformity under <\ silver veil, or mask, whence he was called al Mokanna, " covered by a ** veil " So concealed, he pretended nobody could bear the effulgence of his face, like that of God himself. At the head of a numerous party, he was not without difficulty reduced by the ruling Khalif. Hakem's par-

lhat tlicy all became green; as having, when a newborn child, given testimony of his prophetic gift, so that a class of noble persons professed their faith in his divine mission. That man besides said, that the Koran isMuhainmed's miracle, by which he bound the tongue of emulation to all the eloquent men of Arabia; and in like manner the Almighty God sent to Musaylima a book, which they call the first FMk, " separator;" this also became a binder of tongues to the eloquent; and no man, except Muhammed and Musaylima, is capable of understanding these two books, the reading of which affords salvation in this and in the other world; but to expound them is a great crime. The Almighty God bestowed upon Musaylima the favor of another necessary and venerable book,entitled " the second Fariik," to the commands of which it is indispensable to conform our actions. What Muhammed had revealed is all truth, and Musayliraa, too, chose his way in that direction; if some precepts of the latter and his celestial book are contrary to the statements of Muhammed, it is because Musaylima survived Muhammed ' ('upon whom be peace !), and cancelled some

ticular mode of suicide will be adverted to in a note at the end of chapter VIII.

1 Muhammed died on the 8th June, A. D 632; Musaylima did not long survive him. He was killed, with ten thousand of his soldiers, under the reign of Abu-bekr, m A. D. 632, in a battle against Khaled, the son of Valid, who was sent with an army against him. Although the party

of them by the command of God, as in like manner, during Muhammed's life, some of his precepts havo been obliterated. The man quoted from the heavenly book of Musayhma the following words : " Adopt the belief (0 men !) that our God is the God c< of the world, and know, that he is the Creator of "• the universe and of its inhabitants; that he is ^ above the creatures, none of whom Is like him; lt say not, that he has no body; for it may be that 4 ' he has a body, although not one like a body of his 4C creatures: hand, eye, and ear of God are men-" tioned in the Furkan 1 which came from Muham-" med; and what is stated in the first Fanik, which 44 is the book of Musaylima, is all truth; but the •" hand, the eye, and the ear of God are not like the " hand and foot, and eye and ear of the creatures. 4 c Thus faith is required for an intercourse with God, 44 and contemplation of the Creator; yet, whatever *' was found existing can be seen, but the vision of cc the eye, and the want of it, ought not to be taken < k in a confined sense, as faith is to be entertained '' that God shows himself to his servants in whatever " manner he wills." The man further proceeded to say: "Avoid discussions about antiquity, tra-

of the new prophet appeared then crushed, yet we see by the account of theDabistan, that its doctrine maintained itself as late as the seventeenth century of our era.

1 Fuikan, separating, discriminating, is another name for the Koran; and signifies any sacicd book discriminating the right from \\rong.

*< ditiou, and duration, and the evanescence or de-

" struction of the world, because the world is the

ct creation of God, and as to the last judgment and

' 6 resurrection after death, attach your faith to them,

" and he confident that you shall be raised to life,

" and in that fix your thoughts, that it will be with

41 the same or another body, in this or in another

" house, to heaven or to hell, to beatitude and re-

" pose, to recompense or punishment; attach your

ic faith to this, and avoid diving too deep into it,

4< whether it will be in this or in another habitation ;

" believe in the angels of God, but say not that they

1 have wings and feathers, or that, although this

4t form be not essential to them, they nevertheless

4i show themselves in this form,and know that good

:i and bad, fine and ugly, are existing; but do not

44 say, that this is good and that bad; for that which

" you call bad may bs good, and inversely: but

" whatever is commanded, that do. 1 ' The man

proceeded to say : <£ In the time of Muhammed no

" Kiblah was fixed: men turned their faces some-

" times towards Jerusalem, sometimes towards the

" Kabah of Mecca, and sometimes towards any

" other place After Muhammed, his companions

" established by force that Kabah should be the

'' Kiblah After Muhammed it was ordered by Mu-

"' sayliina, that turning the face towards the greal

" altar, or any determined object, is impiety, and a

44 sign of infidohl)', because as no figure of whatever u likeness from among living beings ought So be " made a Kiblah, why should It be permitted io " make a Kiblah of a house ^ Further, at the time 4C of prayer, one may turn his lace to whatever side " he chooses, provided it be with this intention: '' I address myself to thee, who hath neither side nor " figure/' At the three daily prayers which Musay-lima has prescribed, the worshipper turns his face to no particular side: so if he turned himself at midday-prayer to the east, before sunset he prays towards the west; never towards a fixed place, nor to a fixed house, because this is infidelity. These sectaries do not call the Kabah 4< the house of God," as the Almighty God has no house, otherwise he would have a body. They do not use the prayers of the Sunnites, as prayer with them is that which God has prescribed, and not that which the prophet likes. When they feel a desire to worship God, they read the divine words, and then reassume their work; but in their prayer,, they never pronounce the name of the prophet; because it is contrary to sound doctrine to mix the veneration of a creature with the service of God, and in the prayer nothing comes upon their tongue but the word of God, not even the sayings of the prophet. Moreover, this sect prays three times a day; for, of the five prayers ordered by Muhmmed, Musaylima, by God's com-

mand dispensed with the evening and morning prayer to Sahdh, [ his wife, who was a prophetess, and sent to the people as the reward of an excellent genius: this was one of the suitable favors of the Lord to Musayliina, who himself was a prophet, and his mate, also a prophetess.

As to what is said, that God commanded Iblis to adore Adam, and that, because he disobeyed, Iblis was expelled from the celestial court 2 —this tale is impious; because God does not command prostration before another object, nor induce any body to undue worship, as he did not create Iblis for the purpose of throwing men into error. In the second

1 Thomas Erpemus, the translator of Elmactn, calls her Thesjjazis (Hist. Saracemca, p. 19); her true name was Stjah, the daughter of Haret, of the tribe of the Tamitmtes, or Taalabites, according to Elmacin (Aoco citato). She declared herself a prophetes^ and gained ascendancy in the country of Bahrein, along the south-western shores of the Peisian gulf, and in almost, the whole tract between Mecca and Bassora She offered herself as> wife to the new prophet, in Yamaraa, who married her, but she soon abandoned him —(See Abulfeda, vol. I. pp. 208, 209 )

2 We find in the Koran, chap II v. 28, the following passage: "When thy Lord said unto the angels: I am going to place a substitute on earth, they said: Wilt thou place there one that will do evil therein, and shed blood ' but \\e celebrate thy praise, and sanctify thee God answered: Verily, I know that which ye know not.—29. And he taught Adam the names of all things, and then proposed them to the angels, and said : Declare unto me the names of these things, if ye say truth —30. They answered: Praise be unto thee; we have no knowledge but what thou teaihest us, for thou art knowing and wise.—31. God said- 0,Adam! tell them their names. God said: Did I not tell you that I know the secrets of heaven and earth ; and know that what ye discover, and that which ye

Fiinik, ii is staled dial Iblis docs ool exist; the Almighty Godi>avc man free choice, and die faculty of acting well or ill: wherefore he takes account of his good and bad conduct.

This sect also maintains that, for marriage, neither witnesses nor ceremonies are required; acquiescence and agreement of two persons in a retired place are sufficient. Further, although in the time of Muham-med (the blessing and peace of God be upon him!) it was permitted to ask in marriage the daughter of relations,, such as that of a paternal or maternal uncle, yet, after Muhammed, it was prohibited; likewise, connexion between consanguineous individuals, which was wont of old> became forbidden in Muhammed's time. By Musaylima came the corn-conceal?—-32 And when he said unto the angels: Worship Adam; they all worshipped him, except Ibhs, who refused, s and was puffed up with pride, and became of the number of unbelievers —In Chapter VII. v. 11. God said unto him: What hindered thee from worshipping Adam, since I commanded thce? He answered: I am more excellent than he; thou hast created me of fire, and hast created him of clay.—12. God said : Get thee down therefore from paradise: for it is not fit that thou behave thyself pi oudly therein; get thee hence; thou shalt be one of the contemptible.—13. He answered: Give me respite until the day of resurrection —V 14. God said: Verily, thou shall be one of those who are respited. —15. The devil said: Because thou hast degraded me, I will wait for men in thy strait way.—16. Then I will come upon them from before and from behind, and from their right hand and from their left, and thou shalt not und the greater part of them thankful.—17. God said unto him: Get thee hence, despised, and driven far away; verily, whoever of them .shall follow thee, T will surely fill hell \vith you all, etc , etc.

(Sale's Translation }

mand of God to lake io wife the daughter of one, between whom and the suitor not the least relationship is known. To contract marriage with more than one woman is not legal, but if any one wishes more, he may take another on the condition of temporary cohabitation.

To purify before prayer with sand or dust, when water cannot be had, is not right.

When one possesses a slave, male or female., who is an unbeliever, this slave, adopting the true faith, becomes free without requiring the leave of his master.

Whatever animal feeds upon filth which pollutes, this to eat is not allowable. Domestic fowls are not to be eaten, because they are winged pigs.

Musaylima forbade to keep the fast of Ramezan, but instead of this he prescribed the fast at night,, in such a manner that, from sunset to sunrise, nothing may be eat nor drunk; and also abstinence from sexual intercourse.

Moreover, he abolished circumcision, for avoiding resemblance with the Jews. He prohibited all intoxicating liquors, such as those produced from the palm-tree, opium., nuts, and thelike.

Muhammed Kuli used to read much in the second Fariik, the book of Musaylima, which, having collected., he recited, and said : this doctrine came to me from m\ father and im ancestors, who enjoyed

the noble society of Musayhma. lie said and enjoined that, after the birth of a son, the first observance is not to approach one's wife; die woman and man ought lo turn their mind to God, and if one cannot effect it, he ought at least not to see his wife but once a day. According to the second Fanik, it is allowable to have intercourse with another woman, inasmuch as it is another sort of contract. Muhammed Kuli said: " I saw Musaylima repeal-ic edly in dreams, in which he disclosed what was " unknown to me, and said: When by orders of tc Abu-bekr, Musaylima underwent the death of a tc martyr, and other Khalifs were movers of this " event, therefore the Almighty God made them 44 suffer the curse of mankind; in the same manner " as he threw the Jews, on account of the murder ct of Jesus, into error and perdition.

'' The murderers of Musaylima are liars and vil-44 lains, and so are the murderers of Said Al Sha-4 < haiHamzah." 1

1 Ham/ah was an uncle of Muhammed, and one of the first abettors of the prophet, he \vas killed bv a servant of the Hubcslu race, called Yah-shi, in the battle of Bedr fought by Muhammed against the Korei&h, in the thud year of the Hejira (A. D t>24); the same Vahbhi killed Miu>a>-hma with the same spear with which he had pierced Hamza —(Abul-/«to, >ol I. pp 93,213).

CHAPTER VIII.

OF THE UEL1GION OF THE VA HAD!A H AND 1MANA , IN FOIR SECTIONS

SECTION! Of the appearance of the Individual Yahcd,and an account

of his person

SECTION II Upon some of the tenets of Yahed SECTION III Upon some of the sayings of Vahed SECTION IV Upon certain customs, forms of speech, and traditions* ot

this sect

SECTION I. — Of the appearance of the individual Vahed, and an account of his person.

Vahed Mahmiid was born in Masjuan, a village in the country of Gilan. ! He was learned, active, abstinent, austere, and eloquent; he appeared in the year of the Hejira 600 (A. D. 1205-4). 3 It is said

1 A country between the Caspian and Euxme seas.

2 Herbelot mentions (under the article Giogathai Khan, p. 363) a Mo,h-mud, surnamed Tardbi, from his native place Tarab, near Bokhara, as an impostor, who by tricks and false miracles gained so many followers as to be able to seize upon the town of Bokhara, and to make war upon the Moghuls, in the year of the Hejira 630 (A. D 1232). This date makes him a contemporary with the Mahmiid of our text, in which, however, nothing more is to be found for enabling us to identify the one with the other. Such was the terror which the name of Mahmud Tarabi inspired, that the Tartars, being led against his camp, were seized by a panic, and look to flight, in which many thousands of them were slaughtered by the

thai when Muhammad's body had attained a greater

perfection, from it Mahmtid arose:

44 We shall icsuscitate thee in a place Mahrmid 6 praiseworthy.' "

The meaning of it is this: When in an elemental matter, the energy conjoins in such a manner that by it an exuberance results in the composition of the mineral form; then it may happen that it assumes such a superior aptness as to invest itsell with a vegetable guise; \vhen its faculty and fitness gains a further increase, then the animal vest adapts itself to a suitable shape, and becomes worthy, that the elemental matter, fitted for the dignity of a human constitution, converges to such an excellence as to manifest itself in the perfection of mankind. In this manner, the parts of the human body from the appearance of Adam were progressing in purity, until they attained the dignity of a Muhammed, who is the top of the ladder. In this time, as the perfection and purity advanced, Mahmud appeared. On that account it was said:

u From Muhammed is the flight to Mahmud

"As in the former there is less, and in the latter more (perfection)."

pursuing soldiers of Mahmiid, whilst he himself had been tilled in his camp, by a landom shot of an arrow from the Tartarian army. But his death remained concealed, and his friends spread the rumor of his voluntary but temporary disappearance, His brothers, Muhammed and All, were put at the head of the party, which was soon after overthrown by the Moghuls.

And the words which the lord of the prophetic asylum, Muhammed, addressed to All:

•' I and Ah proceed from one light, thy flesh is my flesh, and thy body ** is my body."

have this meaning: that the purity and energy of the bodily parts were collected in the prophets and the saints; and from them the bodies of Muhammed and Ali were kneaded, in such a manner that the chosen parts ofMuhammed's and All's bodies being conjoined and mixed together, the person of Mali-mud was formed.

SECTION II.— AN ACCOUNT OF SOME OF THEIR TENETS. —The author of this book heard from a person who was one of the safd, " pure" Durvishes, from the Burvish Bakai Vahed, from the Durvish Ismail, and irom Mizza Taki, from Shaikh Latef ilia, and Shaikh Shahab, who belonged to the Imana, what follows: Any single person is a being which longs after earth; but other elements also exist with an abhorrence of earth. These sectaries consider the sun as the spirit of fire, and call it the Kabah of worship, the fire-temple of obedience to the holy being. Hakim Khakani says :

l< 0 Kabah of the traveller of heaven,

" 0 zemzem, l sacred well of fire to the world."

1 Zemzem is the name ot a famous \vell at Mecca. According to the

They hol<l the heaven to be air, and the moon to he the spirit of water. They agree upon transmigration in die following manner : when a man dies and is buried, the component parts of his body manifest themselves in the shape of minerals or vegetables, until the latter become the food of animals, or serve as aliment to mankind. These sectaries subjoin: in the food may reside intelligence and action ; for the dispersed ingredients of a body are in the food; intelligence and action collect all in

Muhammedans, it was formed from the source which. God made appear in favor of Ismail and Hagar, his mother, whom Abraham drove from his house, and obliged to retire to Arabia When afterwards the patriarch came to visit his banished son Ismail, and built the square temple, called Kabah, he bestowed upon him the possession of it and the surrounding-country, since called Mecca. This place became an object of contest between Ismail's posterity and the Arabian tribe of Jorhamides. The latter, after having possessed themselves of it, were attacked by the former, but before yielding it, they threw the sacred black stone, with the two gazelles of massive gold which an Arabian king had presented to the temple,into the well, and then completely filled it up. So it remained until the time of an ancestor of Muharnmed, called Abdal mothleh; he was admonished by an heavenly voice to clear the well, the situation of which uas at the same time indicated to him. This was near the idols Assat and Neilah, which were first to be removed, in spite of their adorers, the Koraishites. The latter, having ceded the well, claimed to share the treasuie which Abdal mothleb had found in it. The new contest was to-be decided by Ebn Said, a famous prophet, who lived on the confines of Syria. Upon the way to him, through a desert, when both parties were dying of thirst, a fountain which sprung up beneath the foot of Abdal raothleb's camel brought about a reconciliation between them; the well was cleared; the treasure found was couseciatcd to the temple, \ihich in after times gained so much celebrity.— iMerbelot after Khondevmr.)

one place, where * they experience no dispersion, although the conformation of the body may be disjoined ; whether in the producing of a mineral, a vegetable, an animal, or a man.* 1 They do not agree upon the existence of a rational unsubstantial soul. They know of no heaven without the elements, and believe the necessary original principle to be a point of earth. Instead of Bismilla hirrehma mrrehim, " in the name of the bountiful and merciful God," they write ct Istedin ba ne fseg "' %llaz% la illah /wi, u I assist myself of thy essence which alone is God ;" and instead of Uysa kamil-hh shay a, c< nothing is like it;" they say Ana merkeb almabm, " I am the vehicle of him who explains the " truth/'

SECTION 111.— UPON SOME OF THE SAYINGS OF VA'HED. —The Mwdn, £c balance," is a book which Vahed composed with many others ; it is distinguished by the word naskh and " treatise ;" and each naskh and

1 In ih& translation of this obscure passage between the two asterisks (edit of Calcutta, p 375, 1. 17, 18) I followed the manuscript of Oude, which reads a little differently:

JUJ U

treatise has a particular name. In the Mizan, which is reputed among the naskhs, it is stated, that the materials of the world existed from the very beginning, which signifies from the first appearance of afrdd, " rudimental units (monades?)/' which are primordial, that is to say, the root of the before-said state, until the lime when these rudimental units, tempered together, became vegetables; thence rose animals, which are called dabtah ul ares, " the rep-" tiles of the world/' Thus it existed until man was formed. The first mentioned state might have extended to sixteen thousand years ; so that eight thousand years of the said number may be the period of Arabia, which is the superior, and eight thousand years the period of Ajem (Persia), which is the inferior period. In the sequel, when the said world, which is the era of the first mentioned rudimental units, had been so constituted as to admit the formation of man; then the duration of life, comprising the period of man, was to be also sixteen thousand years; of which eight thousand years should revolve for eight perfect prophets of Arabia, and other eight thousand years for eight perfect teachers of Ajem. Further, when the cycle of the two formations shall be completed, then the turn of the fundamental units is to reappear. After twice the said eight thousand, that is, sixteen thousand years, according to simple computation, when a perfect cycle of mankind and

the world, in sixty-four thousand years, l on conditions exterior and interior, manifest and hidden, shall have been completed, then an entire period shall have received the seal.

SECTION IV. ON CERTAIN CUSTOMS, FORMS OF SPEECH, AND TRADITIONS OF THIS SECT. —Mahmud has treatises and rules conformable to the law of the prophet; but he interpreted the Koran according to his own creed. Of his established customs are the following: One living in solitude is called vahed, lt recluse." 2

1 The period of rudimental units, vegetables, and

reptiles . , 16,000 yeats.

The period of mankind . 16,000 —

Both periods 32,000 —

Multiplied by . .... 2 —

Total . . . 64,000 years.

2 It is not clear whether above is meant a hermit, or a monk of a distinct order Monachism is not sanctioned by the strict rule of Islam, but it appears to be the natural spontaneous growth of Asia. In the first year of the Hejira (A. D. 622) forty-five citizens of Mecca associated ^ith forty-five inhabitants of Medina in a sort of confraternity, and pledged themselves to community of property, and to a regular daily performance of religious practices in a spirit of penitence and mortification : they >\ere called Sufis, of ^hom hereafter. Abu bekr and All formed and presided over similar congregations. The latter conferred the presidency of it, under the mysterious name tfKhilafet, upon Hassan Bas'ri ( mentioned m vol. II p. 389, note 1). Some of their successors deviated from the rules of this first establishment, and, m the course of time, a multitude of monastic orders >\ere founded, each headed by a chief called

Praises are due to ilie man devoted to this state, whose whole life is spent in holiness, poverty, and retirement; who feels no inclination lor connexion; takes little, and no more than necessary, food; such a man will rise to perfection, and become a' c vahed," attaining the divine dignity which leads to that of a " teacher." If the pious person feels himself inclined to connexion with a woman, let him enjoy her once in his whole life; if he cannot otherwise, once in one year; if he requires more, once in forty days; if this be not enough, once in a month; if still more, once in a week.

A vahed is reported to have given the following information: When one descends from the state of a man to the state of an irrational animal, or from that to a vegetable, or from a vegetable becomes a mineral; in this manner, by reaction of impressions and dispositions, he receives in each state a mark (ma/is), which he bears from formation to formation:

" Fear the intelligence of the believer, because he sees by the light " of God."

JHr or Shaikh. One of the most celebrated orders was that founded m the year of the Hejira 37 (A D 657) by Uweis Kami, a native of Karn, in Yemen. The most distinguished m the Ottoman empire are thirty-two in number, founded between the years of the Hejira 449 and 1164 (A. D. 776 and 1750). Three of them descend from the congregation ol Abu bekr, and the rest from that of All — fSee Tableau general de I'Empire othoman, tome IV me , l re partie, par d'Ohsson, p, 617 et seq.)

Mahs ' in the dictionary is interpreted ' • a coin-" puter," but in the idiom of this tribe it signifies (as just said) that every individual, in his disposition and action, bears a vestige of the disposition of a former state. It is a part of their persuasion, that, when an individual enters for the first time in a society, the name of whatever in the three kingdoms of nature he first brings upon his tongue, is supposed to be the ihsa, or " mark," that in a former state he had been the very thing the name of which had fallen from his tongue.

These sectaries hold, that pilgrims exercise the profession of cheats, wearing a garment marked with stripes, which they call the vest of Kerbala ; and that they practise but hypocrisy and deceit. When, according to their low disposition, they descend to the state of brutes, they become animals, which the Hindus call Galhari, ' 4 squirrel;" and when transformed into vegetables, they become striped pumpkins, or weak jujube-trees; when they undergo die transformation into minerals, they are onyxes. In this sense this sect interprets the maks, or "mark." Lawyers and governors, who wash hands and mouth, friends of white garments, be-

1 (jssr* mahs and Ls-J ihsa, are demed from the same root, xaa* has, u making an impression," ihsa is interpreted in Richardson's Diet., new edit., " numbering, computing."

conic geese, which at every moment plunge their head into water ; in the state of vegetables, they assume the form of sticks for rubbing teeth, of reading-sticks, and of mats to cover the place of prayer ; and in the state of minerals, they figure as hard stones, stones of sepulchres, and magnets. The glow-worms are torch-bearers, who, descending by degrees, came to take this shape. A dog, having been in his former state a Turk of the tribe Kazcl-bash, ' and his crooked sword having become his tail, betrays his Turkish origin by coming forth at the call khach: which in Turkish means " forth." These sectaries further say, that the iron by which a prophet or a saint has been killed, is that which acquires excellence.

" Saints, when they desire the voyage to the eternal kingdom, ** Desire from the edge of thy blade the tafc&«r, 2 ' magnifying " * exclamation,' of death."

They also hold, that the Imam Hossain from state to state descended from Moses, and that Yezid (his murderer) descended from Pharaoh. Moses, in his time, drowned Pharaoh in the waters of the Nile, and obtained the victory over him; but in the latter state Moses, having become Hossain, and Pha-

1 This Turkish word signifies <4 ted head," and is applied by the Turks to the Persians, who, since the time of Ismail Sofi, the founder of the present dynasty of Persia, wear a red tuiban with twelve folds around u, in honor of the twelve Imams.

2 This consists in exclaiming " God is greatest'

raoh, Yczid, ihe Litter did not give to Hossain the water of the Feral, 4 ' Euphrates," but with the water of the sharp steel, deprived his body of life.

These men further assert that, whatever soils of minerals, vegetables, and animals are black, were formerly black-faced men, and whatever are white, were men with a white skin.

These sectaries all venerate the sun, and profess that he is the Kiblah, and the door of the Kahah facing the sun refers to this meaning, that the sun is the true Kiblah; they have a prayer which they chant with their face turned towards the sun.

They maintain that, when the period of Ajem takes place, men will direct their road to God, and they venerate these men, and hold human nature to be divine. Their salutation is: Alia, alia. When the period of Ajem is completed,, men will remain, and they think that the men whom we venerate were superior in rank to those who now exist; on which account the latter continue to form idols similar to men, and worship them. The worship of idols will prevail, until the period of Ajem returns, and this will be its mode of continuance.

Mahmiid called himself a Vdhed, and declared himself to be the Mahdy promised, whose appearance was predicted by the prophet; he said, that the religion of Muhammed is cancelled, and that now the true faith is that of Mcthnnul . as was said:

u The time is come, the accomplishment of sayings is Mahmi'ui " Whatever reproach the Arab threw upon Ajem, it is over "

His disciples are dispersed in the four quarters oi the world, and in the whole country of Iran a great number of them resides, but they dare not make themselves known, because the King, now the inhabitant of heaven, Shah Abas, son of Shah Khodabendah Safavi, put many of them to death. The belief of the Mahmiidian is, that Shah Abas, when he had met Tarab and Kamal, who were perfect Vahadis, and taken information from them, wanted to publish them as his own, and on that account killed them both. They subjoin that, although he had great pretensions, yet he never attained perfection; because, on account of the world and ostentation, he had destroyed the perfect. The author of this work heard from an Amin: '' Shah Abas was a perfect Amin, and killed whom-tc ever he did not find well founded in this creed. 14 Thus, he admitted me to his society, and desired 1 ' me to remain in Is fahan; when I did not consent ' 4 to it, he granted me the expenses of my journey to " India." It is said, that in these times Shah Abas came on foot to visit the place of Hossem's martyrdom, that is, Kerhdla, where he said to Tarab: 4< I " feel pain from my foot journey/' Tarab answered: " This is owing to the inconsistency of " thy natural intellect; for if the Imam for whose

" sake thoii hast performed the journey joined God, " why seekest thou the nether place of his rnartyr-" dom; and if he has not joined God, what hast thou " to hope from him? Find thou a living Imam." The Shah asked: " Who is the living Imam?" The baint answered : '' L" The king replied : " Well, '• I shall fire a ball from a gun upon thee; if it " lakes no effect, I will follow thee." Tarab gave this answer : " Your Imam, Riza, died by the grain " of a grape; how shall I resist the ball of a gun?" At last the Shah fired upon and killed him. As Karaal openly professed the creed of Tarab, the king associated him with the latter.'

It is reported, that one of the Imanas came to liossein Khan, of Sham, and having converted him

1 Shah Abbas L has been already mentioned in <i note (vol II. p 146), where, according to sir John Malcolm's History of Peisia, the duration oi his reign is stated to have been forty-three years; his age seventy; and the date of his death A. I) 1628; somewhat differently from Herbelot, who makes his reign foity-five, his age sixty-three, and the date of his de.ith A D 1629 Abbas I , called the Great, on account of his magnificent buildings, and his skilful interior policy, was veiy much dt-tached to the religion of Ah, which was always, until oui days, dominant in Persia; his taking possession of Baghdad, JXudjef, Kerbelah, Kalinin, and Samerah, wheie the remains of Ah and his descendants are buued, was more agreeable to the Persians thtin the whole of his othei conquests; dressed with the mantle of the saints ot Arbeh, that is of Soft and Haidar, ancestors of the present Persian lungs, Abbas was almost adored by his subjects This renders the recital above, respecting his religious zeal, very probable It will be remembered that this Shah sent su Geoige Shirley as his ambassador to England; and that king Jamca I. dispatched sir Diodmoie Cotton on an embassy to Pei&ia, in

lo his creed, lie heard the following speech from him: "One day, when during die JVl'aherani they C4 read the history of the martyrdom of Hossein, and " he too (Hossein Khan) was weeping, Shah Abas " said: * You, why do you cry, as if it were the " ' Shdmlus (that is to say, the natives of Sham) who " 'did the action?' The answer was : ' We do not < «. < cry on account of Hossein : but because from our u ' number also fine youths were killed.' "

'* With the same eyes with 'which you look on us, ' With the same eyes is it. that we look on you."

The Duniahs, a particular sect, so called in the language of the Imanahs, think slightly of Hossein. On account of their meanness, they made no progress in the religion of Mahmiid Ami, one of the Muselmans of Shiraz, told the author of this book in Lahore : '' I once reviled Mahmiid; at night I saw 1 * him in a dream; he approached me with a light-" ning-flashing lace, and said: ' Hast thou perused 4< ' my works?' 1 answered, * I have.' He sub-<l joined: ' Why dost thou speak abusively of me? 44 ' If thou perseverest in this manner, I will chas-tc * tise thee.' "

It is reported by the Vahadis, that Khajah Hafiz of Shiraz professed also this creed. As Mahmiid dwelt a long time upon the border of the river Rii-dares, the Khajah said:

<( 0 zephir 1 when thou passest over the border of Rudareh»

" Irapnnt lus«es upon thr ground of that nvci, and peifume the an " with musk "

A person called Fakher eddin, who was one of ihis sect, gave the information that, according to the report of the Duniah, Mahmud threw himself into aqua fortis;' but this rumor is false, and proceeded from rancor. A great number of learned and pious persons, who were contemporaries of the founder of this sect, or lived soon after him, followed and professed his doctrine.

CHAPTER IX.

OF THE RELIGION OF THE RoSHENIAN : IN THREE SECTIONS.

SECT I —Of the appearance of Miyan Bayezid, and some of hi*

sayings

SECT II —Some account of his proceedings SECT III —Account of his sons

SECTION I.—Of the appearance of the lord Miyan Bayezid.

1 This was the manner of death chosen by Mokanna, in the year of the Hejira 563 (A D. 776) This upstart prophet (see note 1, p. 3), being pent up m a mountain-castle by the forces of the khalif Mohadi, without hope of escape, poisoned the garrison and his family, and then plunged into a vessel full of aqua fortis, which consumed every part of his body except his hair; he hoped that, ftom his disappearance, he should be

In the Halnamch, a true work from Bayezid's pen, it is stated that the lord Miydn Bdyezid Ansdri was the son of Shaikh Abdullah, who descended in the seven(li generation from Shaikh Sirdj-eddin Amdn, and that, in the latter time of the dominion of the Afghans, he was born in the town of Jalendher in the Panjab. 1 A year after this event, the blessed lord Zahir-eddin Bdber Pddshdh, having obtained a victory over the Afghans, conquered Hind. In the history of the Moghiils it is recorded that, in- the year of the Hejira 932 (A. D. 1525) 2 the blessed lord

supposed to have been taken up to heaven One of his concubines, who by concealment had escaped destruction, and had seen every thing, revealed what had taken place; but many of his followers continued to believe in his divinity and future reappearance.

I shall here icmark, that destroying human bodies by means of aqua fortis is an ancient practice, mentioned in the Desatlr (Engl. transl , p 29), and accounts for the fact of so many funeral urns being found in Asia without ashes in them

1 Ans'ar signifies " protectors, defenders," and is a word particularly applied to the citizens of Madina who assisted Muharnmed when he \vas obliged to fly fiom Mecca Herbelot mentions as one of the most illustrious who bore this surname Abul Abbas Ahmed ben -ibdallah, without the date of his birth or death, a Spaniard who wrote a Commentary upon the Modllakat, or poems suspended in the temple of Mecca; another who wrote upon physiognomy; and a third who composed a treatise upon coffee The last was, according to Silvestre de Sacy (see Chrestom ar.> 1.1 p. 441), originally from Madina, a native of Jejireh, and wrote hi the yeai of the Hejira 966 or 996 (A. D. 1558 or 1587). The family and native place of the above-mentioned Ansan, were in the Panjab, although iut> ancestors might have come from Arabia.

2 This was m 1526.— See vol. II p 249 )

Baber Padshah defeated Ibrahim Khan Afghan. In the before-said Halnameh is to be found that the mother of Miyan Bayezid was called Banin, and that the father of Banin and the grandfather of Abd nllals were brothers, and had their residence in the town of Jalendher. Miyan Bayezid was born in this place. The father of Abdullah asked Banin, the daughter of Muhammed Amm, in marriage for his son Abd ullah. The father of Bayezid Abd ullah resided at Kanigaram, which is situated in Kohistan (the hilly country) of the Afghans. 1 When the conquests of the Moghuls began to extend, Banin also came with Bayezid to Kanigaram. Abd ullah had no liking for Banin, on which account he repudiated her; and Miyan Bayezid experienced many sufferings from the enmity of another wife of Abd ullah, and from the son of the wife of Yakub, besides the carelessness of his father.

It was the custom of Miyan Bayezid that, whenever he went to tend his own field, he took care also of the fields of others, and guarded them. From his infancy he felt a disposition towards the first cause, so as to investigate—" the heavens and the " earth are here; but where is God?" When Khajah Ismail was blessed in a dream by a revelation, he devoted himself to austere practices of

a The dbttict ot Kanigaiam is on the bouierb of kanddhar

piety, and ninny persons who partook in his exercises, derived benefit from them. Bayezid wished to become his disciple; but Abd ullah forbade it, saying : " It is a disgrace to me that thou shouldst be " the disciple of the meanest of our relations; go 4 ' to the sons of Shaikh Bahd-eddin Zakarid.'' 1 Bayezid replied: " The character of a Shaikh is no inhe-" ritance." Finally, Bayezid was called by a mysterious influence to sanctity, and passed through the gradations of sh&xiftt, " external law;" hakiket, " re-" ality;"mdn/ei, " true knowledge ;"ku/rbet, kC prox-" imity ;" vdsalet, " union;"and seMnat, "dwelling " in God." Many men joined him, at which the envious were vexed, and he invited to him the crowd which had not attained the same degree. With Bayezid lineage obtained no respect, but only knowledge and virtue were valued, as

" Paradise belongs to the servants of God, let them " Be halshis, i negroes,' and hell is for the depraved, ** Let them be sa'tds of Koresh extraction "

He saw God manifest:

" Peradventure you may see your God made manifest.'*

1 This Shaikh was born A. D. 1169, in Kot-Karor, a town in Multan After having travelled, and acquired celebrity as a saint, he returned to Multan, where he made a great number of disciples. His posterity preserved the fame of their ancestor to the times of Bayazid.—(See Mt-moire sur la Rehgion muselmane dans tlnde, par M. G-arcin de Tassy> p 98.)

50 And QIC order was given to Bayezid to say:

" I have seen thee by thee; I have heard thee from thee."

God said to him further :

" The disgrace of this world is lighter than the disgrace " Of thy future world; haste towards what is good; be sloxv *' Towards what is bad "

And the Lord God announced to him:

" I have established as duties the exterior and the interior worship: " the exterior worship as a duty for acquiring knowledge, and the " interior worship as a perpetual duty."

Bayezid was perplexed: " If i offer prayers I am " an idolator, and if 1 neglect them i am an infidel ; " for it is said :

" * The offering of prayers is idolatry, and the neglect ot them " infidelity."

Then the command arrived: "' Perform the pray-"' ers of the prophet;" he asked: " What prayers " are these?" The Almighty God said: tc The ' ' praise of the Divinity." Afterwards he chose this prayer, as it is said:

*' The worship of those who aie attached to the unuy of God is, before " men, like the worship of worshippers, but before God, it participates " in the object of worship itself."

Bayezid devoted himself so much more to secret practices of piety, about which the prophet has said:

" The best remembrance of God is secret remembrance, and the best " food is that which is sufficient."

And again :

" Remember your God morning arid evening; and be not one of the " negligent"

His friends saw in a night dream, and he himself heard the voice, that Bayezid should be called Miydn Roshen, and he obtained eternal life, according to the words of God:

<4 Say not of him who is slain m the way of the Lord, that he is dead, " but that he is alive; but you cannot distinguish the deaf, the dumb, 44 and the blind; nor can they reply to you; for they are deaf in hearing " the truth, dumb in speaking the truth, and blind in seeing the truth "

He made himself free of the crowd of such description; and frequently divine inspiration came upon him. Now, according to the prophetic saying :

" Inspiration is a light which descends into the heart, and displays the " real nature of the things according as they are "

And Jabril also descended to him; we read in the Koran:

" I send down angels and the spirit, at my pleasure, on whomsoever " I please among my servants."

God Almighty elected him also for an apostle, and conferred upon him the gift of prophecy:

" I have sent none before thee, excepting those persons who have " received revelation."

The lord Miyan Roshen, that is, Bayezid, was extremely righteous in his conduct, as it is said:

" When God intends the good of one of his creatures, he gives him an " admonisher in his spirit, and a restramer in his heart; so that, of his " own accord, he admonishes and restrains himself."

Miyan Roshen, that is, Bayezid, said to the learned: " What says the confession of the faith?" The reply was: ft We bear testimony that there is

" no god but God;" that is: we testify thai there is no god worthy to be worshipped but God Almighty, Miyan Bayezid said: " If one is not acquainted with "' Lord Almighty, and says: c I am acquainted with " * him/ he is a liar ; as it is said :

** He who sees not God, knows not God."

Moulana Zakaria said to Miyan Bayazid: " Thou " sayest that thou art acquainted with the heart, " and thou proclaimest thyself the master ofopen-'' ing the hearts; give me information of my heart, " and if this proves to be true, I shall then place my " confidence in thee." Mfyan Rdshen Bayaz d replied: " I am the master of opening the hearts ; but " there is no heart in thee; if thou hadst possessed " a heart, I should have given thee information " about it. " Then Moulana Zikeria declared (to those about him): " Kill me first; if a heart comes " forth from my body, then put Bayazid to death, '' and if none appear, then let him be safe." Miyan Bayazid said: '' The heart which thou mentionest " will come forth if a calf, a kid, or a dog be killed; " but that lump of flesh is not the heart. The " Arabian prophet says r

" The heart of the faithful is more elevated than the ninth or empy-*' rean heaven; and more spacious than the extent of the ninth heaven (the 44 throne of Godj."

4 ' And again:

" Hearts bear witness of hearts."

Moulana Zakaria said to him: ''Thou lakest thy-<c self for a master of opening the tombs; let us go ic together to a burying ground, thai the dead may " c converse with thee." Miyan Bayezfd replied: "If " thou didst listen to the voice of the dead, I should 4 6 not call thee an infidel." The author of this work observed to Miyan, who was attached to the Roshi-nian persuasion : " If, instead of these words, the " lord Miyan had said: When I hear your voice, 4 ' it is the voice of the dead, and proceeds from the " tomb of the corporeal members, it would have " been better." Being pleased with this observation, the Miyan wrote down upon the margin of the Halnameh., that this also is the speech of the lord Miyan. The Mobed says:

" Between our friends we saw and we gave

" To the searchers of the road a mark without a mark "

Then the learned said to Miyan Bayezfd: " By " what word or deed of thine shall men believe in " thee?" Miyan Roshen. Bayazid replied: " Let " there be one of your number, the best and ablest, ct who applies to science and practises devotion; let " him. join me, and according to my direction per-" form exercises of worship and piety; if he find a if superior advantage, then believe in me."

A person named Malik Mirza said:" 0 Bayezfd, be-*' ware of arrogant speech, and call not men delest-44 able; whoever likes, may follow thy path, but if

" ho does not like it, let him remain away from ii." Miyan Rdshen Bayezid answered: " I will propose 44 a simile: if in a house which should have but one " door, a great number of persons had fallen asleep, " and in that house fire had broken out; if by acci-" dent one person should be awake, ought he to " awake the others, or not?" His adversaries said : " 0 Bayezid, since God Almighty has charged thee " with his orders, declare, ' Jabriyil descended to " * me, and I am the Mahdi;' but call not the people " infidels and detestable."

Miyan Roshen Bayazid did not think it right to eat of the flesh of an animal killed by a person whom he did not know, and who did not adhere to the rule of the unity of God. Bayezid knew that:

" A. worldly wise man, before man, is living, but before God, dead; k( his form is like the form of a man, but his qualities like the qualities " of beasts; whilst a man,knowing God, is living before God; his form is " like the form of a man, and his qualities are like the qualities of the " merciful God."

Bayezid said to his father Abd ullah : " The Ara-" bian prophet has declared:

" Sheriat, i the law,' is like night; Tan'kat, i religious rule,' is " like the stars; HaUket, 4 the truth,' is like the moon; and Jtfdnfet, " ' the true knowledge,' like the sun; and nothing is superior to the sun."

Miyan Bayezid Roshen said: " The matter of the " law rests upon the five fundamental principles of " the Muselu^ns. l

Pronouncing the words of the iaith, and joining to the words the belief in their truth; these are the actions of the law. The tasbih, " rosary;" the lahlil, " praise of Cod;' 9 the being constantly employed in the verbal commemoration of the attributes of God; the guarding of the heart from temptation: this is the business of tarikat, " religious rule."

To keep the fast of the month Ramazan, and to abstain from eating, drinking, and sexual intercourse; this is the business of sheridt, <l the law." Fasting beyond the demands of duty; not filling the belly, but training it to a scanty diet; and restraining the body from what is bad: this is the business of tarikat,

The Zacat, " stated alms," and the giving of the tithe, is the business of sheridt; but the distribution of food and raiment to the fakirs and performers of fasts, and the taking by the hand the distressed, is the business of tarikat.

To perform the circuit around the house of the friend of God, 1 and to be free from wickedness, and crime, and warring, is the business of the sheridt; but to perform the circuit of the house of the friend of God, to wit the heart, 2 to combat bodily propen-

religious fasting; 4. Haj, " the pilgrimage;" 5. Zacat, " the stated " alms."

1 Abraham, the supposed builder of the Kabah.

2 We find in the fifth sermon of Sadi: *• He who travels to the Kabah on foot makes the circuit of the K&bah; but he who makes the pilgrimage

sides, and to worship the angels, is the business of tarikat.

To meditate constantly on the Almighty God, to place confidence in the instructions received, to discard from the heart the exterior veil, and to fix the view on the perfection of the celestial object of our affection: this is the business of hakikat, '* truth."

To view the nature of God with the eye of the heart, and to see him face to face in every mansion and on every side, with the light of the intellect, and to cause no injury to the creatures of the All-Just: this is the business ofm&nfat, " true knowledge."

To know the All-Just, and to perceive and comprehend the sound of the tasbih, 4i rosary :" this is the business of kurbet, " proximity to God."

To choose self-abnegation, to perform everything in the essence of the All-Nourisher, to practise renunciation of all superfluities, and to carry in one's self the proof of the true sense of the divine union: this is vds'alel, " union with God."

To annihilate one's self before Deity absolute, and m God to be eternal and absolute; to become one with the unity, and to beware of evil: this is the business oftouhid, ** coalescence with God." 1

To become an inmate and resident, to assume the

of the Kabah, in his heart, is encircled by the Kabah. — ( Transact, of L^t.Soc of Bombay, vol. I p. 151.)

1 We see here the fundamental ideas of that mysticism which was formed into a particular system by the Sufis, of whom hereafter.

attributes of God absolute, to divorce from one's own attributes: this is the business of sacunat, " in-dwell-" ing in God," and there is no superior station beyond sacunat.

The terms kurbat, vds alet, vahed, and sacunat are peculiar to the style of the lord Miyan Roshen Bayezid, who places them higher than sheridt, ttrikat, and mdrifat.

At that time it was the custom, when friends had been separated and met again, on meeting, their first inquiries were about the health, wealth, and children of each other. But the friends of Miyan Roshen Bayezid first inquired about each other's faith, religious thoughts, zeal, love, and knowledge of the All-Just, and afterwards about their health and welfare. When they made inquiry about any other person, it was in the following manner : " How is he with respect to religion and faith? " does he keep the affection of the friends of God?" and in these things they rejoiced. The words of the prophet are:

" Verily, God does not regard your forms nor your wealth, " But he regards your hearts and your actions."

Miyan Bayezid, in his early years, used to conform to the five fundamental principles of the Mu-selman faith, such as the confession of faith, to say prayers five times a-day, and to keep the fasts; but as he was not possessor of a sufficient estate, it was

not necessary for him to give the staled alms. He was desirous to perform the pilgrimage, but he was then too young for it, so it was postponed until he attained the truth of his religion. The words of God

c/

Almighty are:

" Verily, 1 am near to mankind, nearer than their own necks; there is " no separation between me and mankind; and I am one with mankind; u but mankind know it not: nor can a man attain the knowledge of me, " unless by the means of the assiduous perusal of the sacred volume, and " not by much travel of the feet, but he may attain the knowledge of 4 ' me by ardent meditation, and, by obedience, a man becomes perfect."

Thus far from the Hal-nameh of Miyan Bayazid.

SECTION II.: AN ACCOUNT OF THE HISTORY OF THE LORD MIYAN KOSHEN BAY'\ZID.

Bayazid felt himself a prophet, and invited mankind to religious austerity; he caused them to say prayers, but indicated them no determined quarter to which they ought to turn, as the sacred text says:

'* Wherever you turn, you turn towards God/'

He said, religious bathing in water is not necessary; for, as soon, : as the wind blows upon us, the body is purified; inasmuch as the four elements are equally pure. He said, whoever knows not himself and God, is not a man; and if he be hurtful, he may

r>9

be accounted to have the nature of a wolf, tiger, serpent;, or scorpion. The Arabian prophet has said:

" Kill a harmful creature before it causes harm."

If such a person is well-behaved, and says prayers, he has the disposition of an ox, or sheep, and to kill him is lawful. On that account he ordered his self-conceited adversaries to be killed, as they were to be regarded as brute beasts; thus it is stated in the Koran:

" They are like brute beasts, nay worse."

He said: whoever does not know himself, and has no notion of eternal life, and everlasting existence, is dead, and the property of a dead man, whose heirs are also as the dead, reverts to the living. On that account he ordered also the killing of the ignorant. When he found a Hindu knowing himself, he valued him higher than a Muselman. He and his sons practised for some time highway robbery. Of the wealth which he took from the Muselmans and others, he deposited the fifth part in a store-house, and when it was wanted, he distributed it among the most deserving people. He and his sons kept themselves all remote from adultery, lewdness, and unbecoming actions, as well as from despoiling the Unitarians of their property, and refrained from using violence towards those who saw but one God.

He composed a great number of works in the

Arabic, Persian, Hindi, and Afghani, 1 languages. The Mak&tid al Mtimenin, " the desire of the right * ' believers, " is in Arabic. They say, that the All-just God conversed with him without the intervention of Jabril 2 He composed also a book entitled Khdir-al-bidn, " the good news, or the gospel," and this in four languages : the first in Arabic, the second in Persian, the third in Hindi, and the fourth in Pashtti, that is, the Afghani language : the same purport is conveyed in the four languages. The address is from the All-just All-mighty God to the lord Bayezid, and this they believe a work of divine inspiration. He is also the author of the Hdlndmeh, in which he has given an account of himself.

The most astonishing circumstance therein is, that he was an illiterate man, and yet expounded the Koran, and uttered speeches full of truth, so that learned men were astonished at them.

It is said that Bayezid received the divine command for the destruction of those who know no God. Three times the all-just God had given him the order, and he put not his hand to the sword ;

1 Bayezid Ansari is said to have been the first author who wrote in the Pashtu, or Afghan language.

B ^ ft *s hy mistake, it appears, that we find in Doctor Leyden's translation: " The All-just addressed him through " Miyann Jabiayil:' and the note referring to this passage is not applicable to it

u

but when il was repeated, unable to resist, lie girt himself for the war against the infidels.

Bayezid was contemporary with the lord Mirza Muhammed Hakim, the son of the lord Humayiin Padshah. The author of this book has heard from Mirza shah Muhammed, surnamed Ghazni Khan, the following account: " It was in the year of the " Hejira 949 (A. D. 1542-5), that Miyan Roshen " gained strength and established his sect. My fa-4 ' ther, ShdhBaighMn Arghiin, surnamed Khan-Dou-"ran, said, he saw Miyan Bayezid before his rising tc in rebellion, when he was brought to the court of " Mirza Muhammed Hakim, and the learned were " confounded in the dispute with him, wherefore " they let him take his departure on equitable " terms." 1 In the beginning of the year of the

1 Bayezid, after having obtained the adherence of several tribes of the Afghans, established himself in Hashtanagar, " eight townships," in the middle of Pokhtanga, or Afghanistan, perhaps the country of the ancient Aspagam, mentioned by Pliny, and took his residence at Kaleder, in the district of Omazei, where he founded a city. From thence, under the title of P^r roshdn, " master of light," he issued proclamations to increase the number of his followers. Having become formidable to the government of the Moghuls, flfahsan khan ghazi, a chief of great merit, by a sudden irruption into Hashtanagar, seized the person of Bayezid, and carried him to Kabul, where, although at first subject to insult, he owed his release to the intercession of some influential persons, favorably disposed towards him. He then retired to the mountains of Totee, and further to those of Tirah, perhaps the district of the ancient Thwm> mentioned by Arrian. Such \\as soon the ne^ increase of his forces, that he daicd proclaim his project to o\erthro\> the power of the emperoa

liejira 994(A. D. 1585-6) ihe inlelligcnce of ilse

death of the lord Mirza Muhainmed Hakim reached from Kabul, the ear of the Lord, dwelling in the ninth heaven. The sepulchre of Bayezid is at Bha-takpur, in the hilly country of the Afghans.

SECTION III.: UPON THE TRANSACTIONS OF TOE SONS OF

THE LORD Ml Y AN BAYEZI I).

Omar Shaikh Kamal eddin, Nur eddin and Jelal eddin were the sons of Bayezid, 2 and he had a daughter, Kamal Khatiin. After the lord Miyan Jelal eddin succeeded to his father's dignity, and acquired a very great power; he never deviated from the precepts of the lord Miyan; he was just, and an adherer to rule, and girt with energy and activity. In the year of the Hejira 989 (A. D. 1581-2), when the standards of majesty of the lord (now an inhabitant of the ninth heaven), that is, of Acbar Padshah, re-

Akbar. He descended into the plains of Ningarhar, sacked and burnt the country, but was overtaken by Mahsan Khan, and his army routed; he himself escaped wiih great difficulty, and died soon after, from the fatigues of his flight: he was buried at Hashtanagar.—(See on theRoshe-mah sect and its founder, Asiat. Res , vol. XL p. 387 et seq , by J. Ley-den, M.D.)

1 According to Akhun Den\azch (of whom hereafter) Bayazid had five sons, Khair eddin is placed between the last mentioned above.

turned from Kabul to the firm seal of government (Delhi), lie (Jelal-eddin) came to his presence, but after some days he took to (light. In the year of theHejira 1000 (A. D. 1591-2), Jdfer Baig Kazvini Bakhshi, who was honored with the title of As'fa-khani, was deputed for the destruction of Jelal eddiu Roshni, whom the blessed Jeldl eddin MuhammedAkbar called Jeldfah, and in the same year the emperor's chieftains, having taken prisoners the whole family of Jelal eddin by the agency of a person called Vahdit Ali, brought them to the foot of the throne, the seat of the deputy of God. In the year of the Hejira 1007 (A. D. 1598-9), during the reign of the lord, now inhabiting heaven, Jelal eddin Acbar Padshah, Miyan Jelai eddin took Ghizni, and cruelly ravaged this province, but could not maintain himself in that position. Meanwhile, at the coming up of the Hazd-rah 1 and the Afghans upon Miyan,a great conflict

1 Jeldl-eddin, although supported by many, was strongly opposed by some of the Afghan tribes; other mixed tribes never adopted the Roshe-niah creed. Among the last were the Ha'za'rahs, distinct from the Afghans and Moghuls, their original seat is supposed to have been between Herat and Balkh f but they possessed themselves of a considerable part between Ghazni and Kandahar, in one direction, and between HHaidan and Halhh, in the other. We find m the before quoted Memoir of H. T. Colebrooke (As. Res., vol. VII. p 343): " The Hizarahs of Ka-" bul are an innumerable tribe, \vho reside in Kabul, Ghazni, and Khan-" dahar. Many of them are Shiahs, and adherents of the holy family. *' At present, among the chiefs of the Shidhs is Mirza Shadnidn, with " whom the faithful are \veil pleased, and of whose incuisions the Khd-•' rejis of Kabul and fthuzni bitterly complain."

look place, in which Miyan Jeial eddin was wounded by the hand of Shddndn Hazarah, and fled to the mountains of Rabath, where Merad Baikh and some of the followers of Shenf Khan Atcah attacked him and made an end of his affairs.

After him, Miydn Ahdad, the son of Omar Shaikh, the son of Bdyezid, who is known among the illustrious persons by the name of Ahddd, sat on the throne of authority. He was just, and an adherer to rule; he kept himself thoroughly firm in the precepts of his august predecessor; he never intended to amass wealth, but gave every one the due reward of his labor; the fifth part of the wealth which was collected from the wars against the infidels he deposited in the public storehouse, and it served to reward the meritorious warriors. In the year of the Ilejira 1035 (A. D. 1625-6), under the reign of the lord, now an inhabitant of heaven, Nur-eddin Jehdn-gir Padshah, he was reduced to great straits by Ahsan Vila, surnamed Zafer Khan, the son of Khdjah Abu j l Hassan Tabrizi, and by the chieftains of the Padshah, and besieged in the fort Navdgher, where, hit by a musket shot during an attack on the fortress, he reached the term of his life. It is said that, before the day of his death, which these sectaries call c ' the " day of union/' Miyan Ahdad opened the book Khdir al Bidn, and, having read in it, said to his friends : u To-morrow is my day of union :" and it

happened as he had said. The aulhor of this book saw a pious person from Cabul, who told him: " On the day of Alidad's death I rejoiced, and spoke u of him in bad terms ; at night I saw in a dream 44 my master, who forbade me to do so, and said the " sacred text: " declare that God is one,' applies to <c Ahdad." And his disciples name him Ahdad, " the one."

It is reported that after the 4C union" of Ahdad, the Afghans, having taken up Abd ul Khader, the son of Ahdad, betook themselves to the mountains; and the Padshah's army, who had not expected to obtain possession of the fort, entered it. The daughter of Ahdad, who had not found an opportunity of escaping, was wandering about the fortress; one of the soldiers attempted to seize her; the maiden, having thrown her veil over her eyes, precipitated herself from the wall of the fort, and met her death: every one was astonished at the deed.

After Miyan Ahdad, his son, Abd-ul Kader, sat upon the throne of religious supremacy. Having found a favorable opportunity, he attacked Zafer Khan, who fled with the greatest precipitation; all his baggage, with the women of his secret apartments, fell into the hands of the Afghans; but the wife of Zafer khan, named Buzerg Khdnam, alone was preserved from violence by the efforts of the chieftains, such as Navab Said Khan, the son of Ahmed

Baig Khan Tarkhan. The author of this work himself heard Peri Sultan, a person from nature possessed of vigor and worth, who has now received the title of Zu-l Fakdr khan, say : " When, by order " of Said Khan, I went to invite Abd-ui Khader to t4 submit, I brought with me a great variety of vic-" tuals and liquors, that he might be seduced by '' their effect. One day, an aged Afghan, after hav-" ing tasted some sweetmeats, rose on his legs and <c said: ' 0 Abd-ul Khader, from the time of thy " ' honored ancestors to this day, never the foot of " * a Moghiil reached this place; he who is now " ' come in tends to deceive thee, with garments red " ' and yellow, and with victuals pleasing and sweet, *' ' which are coveted by those who are slaves of " l their belly, but which are abhorrent to the 6 ' ' rule of durvishes : the best measure therefore " 6 is to put him to death, as an example to terrify " * others from coming hither.' But Abd-ul Kha-4t der and his mother, Bibi Aldi, the daughter of Mi-" yan Jelaleddin, would not agree to it. On the 64 day when Abd-ul Khader visited the camp of Sdid " Khan, his horse was frightened at the noise of the '' kettle-drums and horns, and dashed from amid the 4t crowd to one side; an Afghan observed : ' The " l horse executes what the lord Miyan Roshen has " * ordered, but you do not; be sure you shall suf-4 ' fer from the after-sickness of this debauch/

ci Abd-ui Khader asked: c What lias Miyan or-" ' dered?' The Afghan replied: ' To keep at a '' ' distance, and to beware of the Moghuls."' When Abd-ul Khader presented himself at the court of the lord Alul Mazaf&r Shahdb-eddm Muhammed, Sdheb-4-Kerdnsdni Amir al Mwnenin shah Jehan Padshah, ghdzy, cc the victorious," he was elevated to a high rank. In the year of the Hejira 1045 (A. D. 1655-4) he reached his last day, and was buried at Paishaver.

Mirza, the son of Ntir-eddin, lived in the reign of the lord Amir al Mtimenin Shah Jehdn, and was killed in the battle of Doulet-abad. Kerimdad, the son of Jelal eddin, was delivered up by the tribe of the Jela-lian toMuhammed YakubKashmiri, the Vakil," agent," ofSdU Khan Terkhdn, and he was put to death in the year of the Hejira 1048 (A. D. 1658-9). Alheddd Khdn, the son of Jelal-eddin, having been honored with the title of Ra&hid Khan, was appointed to a command of four thousand in the Dekan, and ended the term of this life in the year of the Hejira 1058 (A. D. 1648-9).

4 We find in the Asiatic Researches (vol. XI from p. 363 to 418), a translation of this chapter, with a Memoir on the Rosheniah sect by the late Doctor John Leyden, whose early death in Java will ever be regretted as a great loss to Oriental literature. In his researches relative to the language and literature of the Afghans, he met with a work m the Afghan or Pashtu languge, entitled Mahhan Afhganj, a miscellaneous compilation on the ritual and moral practice of Islam, composed by Akhun (Mulla) Derwezeh, a character celebrated in Afghanistan chiefly for his

CHAPTER X.

OF THE RELIGION OF THE ILAHI AH ." IN FOUR SECTIONS.

SECTION I —On the appearance of the Khalifet of God, and some of

the miracles, called BurJian. SECTION II —On the dispute of the professors of different religions

and creeds in the service of the lord, the Khalifet of God, and

the Burahm of the Khalifet of God SECTION III —On the virtues of the stars SECTION IV —On the ordinances of conduct

sanctity, and belonging to the tribe of Tajek. This word in general signifies " peasant, or cultivator of ground;" but is in particular applied to those who are not Arabs, and by the Moghuls to the natives of Iran, \vho are neither of Arab nor Moghul extraction, probably of a mixed origin. They extend from the mountains of Chetar, in Kashgar, as far as ~Balkh and Kandahar,* and live either under their own chiefs, or subject and tributary to the Afghans, Turkmans, or Usbek Tartars, among whom they reside. The Tajiks always showed themselves adverse to the Roshemahs, and Akhun Derwezeh in the said work contradicts and blames the tenets and opinions of Bayazid, whom he calls the " master of dark-" ness." In the extract given by Leyden, of Derwezeh's account, we see that the doctrine of the Rosheniahs coincided in several points with that of the Ismatlahs: Bayazid, in like manner as the latter, established eight degrees of perfection, through which his sectaries were to pass, and which led to an entire dereliction of all positive religion, and an unrestrained licentiousness in manners and piactices. The account given by the author of the Dabistan is far from provoking so severe a blame. As to the history of Bayazid's life and that of his sons —highway robbery, devastation, and bloodshed are evidently practised by them, in the recital of both authors. The Memoir of the learned Leyden abounds with curious and important information respecting the Afghan tribes, to which the present events in Western India can but Jend a higher interest. Some reputed followers of Bayazid are still to be found both in Paishavir and Kabul, most numerous among the wild tribes of the Yusefzei

THE ALL-JUST.

An account of the lord Khalifet, " Vicar/' of God. — The author of this book heard from Khdjah Mamud, the son of Khdjah MahnM, the son of Klidjah Mmhed al hakj who was a pious master of worldly concerns, what follows: fc< My honored lather said he had " heard from his noble ancestors, that the lord of " the faith and of the world will appear ; but he " knew not whether that lord's time was already 4i come, or will come; meanwhile he saw him one " night in a dream; when he rose from sleep, he " went to the country where that august personage ct was born, that is on Sunday of the month Rajeb iC (the seventh Arabian month), in the year of the " Hejira 949 (A. D. 1545), the lord JeW eddinAkbar, " the august son of Hamdyun Padshah and of the '' praise-worthy Bdnu Begatn was born." The writer of this work heard also in the year of the Hejira 1055 (A. D. 1645-4), in Lahore, from Mirzd Shall Muham-med, surnamed Khaznin Khdn, the son of shah Eaigh Khan, with the surname of Khan Douran, a native of Arghiin, who is said to have asked from the Navab Aziz Koka, surnamed Khan Adzem, what observation he had to make upon the rumor current relative to the Lord, the inhabitant of the ninth heaven, as to v. HI. 4

his being like the Messiah? He answered : " What " die mother said, is the truth," 1

SECTION II. — ON THE DISPUTE OF THE PEOPLE OF

DIFFERENT RELIGIONS.

In the service of the khalifah were two learned persons, the one a Sonnite, and the other a Shiah, who both sought admittance at court. The emperor called them, and by their desire in his presence they endeavored to establish the truth of their respective religions. The Shiah said : " It is evident 46 that the Sonnites are without faith, because they " do not acknowledge the prophet's purity, and say " that David caused Uria to be killed." The Sonnite replied: " This fact is equally mentioned in the " Koran and in the Tourit, ' Pentateuch/ explicitly " and circumstantially." A Jew was present, and affirmed: " It is certainly in the Pentateuch." Upon which the Shiah rejoined: " The Pentateuch is al-" tcred." The Jew retorted: " We may as well, 44 and with a better right, say that your book is 44 altered, whilst there is no reason to be urged that 44 the Pentateuch is corrupted." The Shiah had

1 The author does not mention any particular miracle, which we had reason to expect from the precedio g title of this section.

no answer to give, and the author of this book saw in the treatises of several of the modern learned, that they have appropriated this answer to themselves. The Shiah again said : " The godly All was a very " learned and most excellent man, and never pol-" luted his lips with wine, nor pork, nor any thing 64 dressed by the infidels." To which the Sonnitc replied: " As with you the hand of an inlidel is im-' 4 pure, and the Eoresh all drank wine and eat pork, 4i the prophet, who associated with them, eat the " same food in the house of his paternal uncles, and ^ so did the lord, the godly Ali." The Shiah had no suitabie reply to make to this observation; he continued however: " In the Malul and Nahel, it is " stated that the pure Fatima 1 declared, The palm-" grove of Fedak* is my inheritance, as the lord of

1 According to Muhamnied's sayings, no more than four women obtained perfection, to wit: Asia, the wife of Pharaoh; 4fary, the daughter of Imran (the blessed Virgin); Khadtjd, the prophet's wife, and Fatima, his daughter.

2 Fedak, according to Abulfeda (1.133 273), is a castle near the town of JSTto&ar; this is a place fertile in palm-trees in the Arabian province of Ifejaz, four days' journey distant from Mecca. It was given to Mu-hammed by the faithful, under the name of alms. After the prophet's death, Fatima claimed it as a patrimony; but Abubekr refused it to her, setting forth the above mentioned saying of the prophet. Abulfedfl, whom I follow, gives it as follows:

LsJwO aUf .VU vjjijy"^ *l^^TpLlx* .j-sr 3

The words ^.y 2 are not in the quotation of the Dabistan, edit, of Calcutta, nor m the manuscript of Oude. Thus was Fedak taken from

44 the prophetic asylum committed it to me as a " tamlik (hereditary property) during his life-time. "But the prophet has said:

" ' We, the company of prophets, do not leave to our heirs what has '' ' been bestowed on us as a gift or as alms.'

4C On the strength of which Sadik(Abu bekr) " rejected her claim. But e^en were this tradition ic irrefragable, how could he reject the claim of a " tamlik, if that tradition, by which the rejection of '' such an inheritance ne^er takes place, be acknow-" ledged to he right?" The Sonnite opposed to this: " The splendid lady had no witnesses that " the law could accept; as the evidence of hus-" band, or son, or grandson, is not admissible." The Shiah insisted: " Sadik was wrong. And the 66 burning of the court 1 in sequel of the mortal

the race of AH and fell into the hands of Mervan, in whose family it remained until Omar declared it again to belong to alms, and assigned the usufruct of it to the Ahdes. But Mamun, the seventh khalif of the Abbasides, who reigned from Hejira 198 to 218 (A. D. 813-833), gave it formally over to Muhammed, son of Yahia, son of Hassan, son of Zaid, son of AH, son of Hassan, son of Ah, son of Abu Taleb. — (Al>ulfeda, II p. 167)

1 Muhammed had scarcely expired, when a vehement contest about the succession to his dignity arose between the Mohajinn, " the emigrants " from Mecca with the prophet/ 1 and the Ansar, " the protectors (see note, p. 27): both claimed the right of nomination. Abubekr was proclaimed by both. To crush the resistance of All, who was the legitimate competitor, Omar, sent by Abu-bekr, burnt the gate, and was about to set on fire the house of All—scarcely restrained from the act by the reproach of Fatima, Muhammed's daughter and All's wife, who from

" malady of the prophet; and the repentance which " was the consequence of It? and the like, what " dost thou say about it? Moreover, Omar's im-" peding the writing of a last will in the mortal " malady of the prophet, as the Imam hmAUBok-" hdri 1 has related upon the authority ofAbd-ulla, " the son of Abas, that in his mortal malady the " house of the prophet was full of his companions. " He said:

" Make haste, let me put down a writing for your sake, m order that, " after me, you may be safe against error and deceit."

" But Omar said: ' The prophet is overcome by " ' the malady, and his intellect is obstructed; the " * heavenly book, and the proofs of the text of the " ' Koran are sufficient for us.' On which ac-" count accumulated contradictions and conflict-' c ing discussions rose to such a height that the pro-" phet said: ' Leave me/ The Sonnite resumed : " The prophet himself declared:

that moment till her death never spoke to any of the enemies of her husband The prophet, according to authentic traditions, said: •* Whoever " gives offence to Fatimah gives offence to me; and whoever offends me, " offends God."

1 Muhammed, son of Ismail al Jisfi, called Bochdri, from his native town in Mazinderan 3 lived from the year of the Hejira 194 to 2b6 (A. D 809-869) He is chiefly celebrated by a work composed, as he says himself, at the prophet's tomb at Madina, from six hundred thousand traditions, and called Masnad es sahth, the sincere (just) Masnad. " Mas-" nad" signifies a collection of traditions, each of which is accompanied with the name of the traditionist by whom it was handed down.

I am a man like you, but I speak from inspiration,"

u In eating, dress, repose, affliction, health, sick-" ness, wounds, in life and death, his condition was 4 < that of mankind: thus, some teeth of the vener-" able were knocked out, L and in his last malady " he was exceedingly suffering, so that in thevio-" lence of his pain he might have said things which " were not consonant with a sound mind. On that 4< account Omar forbade his writing." The Shiah remarked:' c When the prophet had left the garment •' of mortality, Omar drew his sword, and threat-6fc ened to kill whosoever would say that the prophet " died, because he was still living; such a declara-" tion, how can it be reconciled with his impeding " the writing of the last will in the manner before '' said ?" The Sonnite avowed:'< Mankind is sub-" ject to error." The Shiah pressed further: " Af-4i ter the contention, when Osman was appointed " khalif, his relations of the family of Omiyah " practised oppression under his authority, arid he 14 brought back Hakim, the son of As , 2 the son of

1 This happened in the battle of Ohod (so is called a mountain half an horn's* distance from Madina, on the route of Mecca). Muhammed fought Nith seven hundred men against more than three thousand Koreish from Mecca, in the third year of the Hejira (A. D. 624) Otba, the son of Vac-wsi, and brother of Sad, \vho fought on the prophet's side, hit him with A stone, so as to knock out four incisors of his inferior jaw.

2 The edition of Calcutta and the manuscript of Oude have eironeously. 44 Hakim, the son of Met van," instead of As,', which I substituted for

" Orniyah, to Medina, from whence die prophet had " banished him, so thai he was called ' the banished " ' of the prophet/ although Sadik (Abubekr) and " Fariik (Omar) had not called him. Further, Os-4i man expelled Abazer from Medina; he also gave " his daughter in marriage to Mervan, the son of " Hakim, with the fifth part of the spoils of Afrika, 4i which amounted to forty thousand gold dinars. 1 4 c Besides, he granted security to Abd-nllah, the son " of Serj; * although the lord of the prophetic asy-4 ' luin had ordered his blood to be shed; and he " conferred on him the administration of Egypt; " he consigned also to Abd-ullah, the son of Aa-" mar, the government of Basra, where he indulged " himself in all sorts of shameful actions. Among " the Umras of his army were Mdaviah, the son of " Abi Safian, the collector of Shdm (Syria), and SdU, " the son of Alaas ', the collector of Kiifa. After-" wards, Abd-ullah, the son of Earner; and Valid, the

Mervan, according to Abulfeda, I. p. 271. Elmacin (Hist. Sarac , p 38) reads " Hakim, son of Abul-As "

1 Abulfeda (I. p. 271) says 500,000 gold coins. Elmacin (loco cit., p. "39) states five talents of Africa, said to be worth 504,000 gold pieces.

2 Abulfeda (I. p. 261) mentions AMalla, son of SAd, son of Abu Sarh, Amerite, a foster-brother of Osman (iUA., p. 1S4) Elmacin (loco tit , p. 39) calls him Ab&alla, son of Set id, son of Abu Jerh, who had been a water of revelations, and who, because he had apostatised from Islam-ism, would have been put to death by the prophet, after the taking of Mecca, in the eighth year of the Hejira (A. D. 629), if Osmao had not interceded for him.

" son of Akba Abd-ullah, the son of Sad, the son of " Abi Serj; all these trod the road of perverseness " and unrighteousness." The Sonnite had no convenient reply to make. The Shiah continued: " The prophet sent three friends to fight to a place " called Tabuk; 1 they disagreed: after which the " prophet declared : * Whoever causes discord in " ' the army or service, the curse of God be upon " ' him/" The Sonnite here fell in: " At the time " of the prophets moving, it was not advisable to " undertake the expedition designed; there was no " disunion about the war among them ; but only a ** discussion about the fitting out of the troops and " the arrangements; whence a delay in this affair " arose, on account of settling the proper order of " march and other proceedings." The Shiah went on: " What the Sonnites attribute to God and the

1 This relates to an expedition which Muhamrned undertook, in the ninth year of theHejira (A. D. 630), towards Tabuk, a place situated about half-way between Madina and Damascus, beyond the limits of Aiabia, it was in the midst of the summer heats, at a time of great drought and scarcity; besides the fruits were then just ripe, and the people had much rather have remained to gather them. But the first cause of discontent was the exaction of a tribute for cpvering the expense of the expedition, Abubekr, Omar, Osman, Ali, Talha, Abder rahmen, contributed largely to it; others declined their pecuniary and personal aid; three of the ans'ars, friends above alluded to (see p.27j, were permitted to remain. Ah staid at Madina as lieutenant of the prophet, who moved with an army of thirty thousand men to the frontiers of Syria, which were defended by an equal force of Greeks. He encamped during twenty days near Tabuk, and then thought it necessary to retreat.

" prophet, cannot be ascribed to the lowest man," The Sonnile asked : 4< What is that?" The Shiah answered: " One of these things, stated in the book 44 of your traditions, is that the lord prophet, having 44 exhibited before Aaisha dance and disport, asked %c her: ' Art thou satisfied?' Such a thing cannot 44 in truth be said of any body without disgrace, 44 Besides, there are acts unbecoming of the pro-" phet's companions, such as Omar's preventing 46 Muhammed's last will, and the like, avowed by 4 4 themselves in their book; and yet they hold these 44 men in high esteem!" Here the Sonnite observed: 44 What thou first settest forth about the prophet's 44 exhibition of disport, is nothing shameful; as to 44 what thou sayest about bad customs, they belong 44 only to thy own vicious opinion. Deniest thou 4fi that the prophet has said:

" * I am sent to settle the customs and manners.

44 If a fact has not existed or has not happened, 44 why should il have been recorded?" The Shiah called out: 44 It has been invented and formed into 44 a lie." The Sonnite objected: "Thus, according 44 to thy opinion, the master of truth, Bokhari and 44 the like, are tellers of lies, and thus they have 44 transmitted lies ! Why then,, on their authority " believest thou that Omar has prevented the mak-44 ing of the last will, and other such things, which,

£t according to thee throw blame upon the compa-" nions of the prophet? Therefore, in whatever of " all these things according to thy opinion is unbe-" coming, thou shoulst believe that the master oi " truth, Bokhari, and those like him, have told lies, "• so wouldst thou cease to cast reproach upon the '' companions and friends of the prophet; but if they " spoke truth, then reckon also to be true, what " they have attributed as praise-worthy to the pro-*' phet, and true what they have stated of the virtues 64 of the said companions. Further, as to thy sepa-" rating the prophet from mankind, it belongs, as it " has been revealed by the divine text, to the creed 4 ' of unbelievers to say, that the prophet should not 6 4 eat nor drink." Now the Shiah grew warm, and said: " Is it not enough to attach to the lord pro-4 4 phet the blame of having listened to music and fic assisted at dancing ; and now thou pretendest to " prove the purity of the two Shaikhs (Abubekr and ** Omar) and of Osman!" The Sonnite took up the controversy: " I said before that listening to " music is reasonably not blamable, and even laud-" able, when a lawgiver also listens to it, and 1 " observed, concerning customs and manners, that " thou esteemest bad what thou hast badly under-<* stood. As thou refusest to approve dancing, 44 what sayest thou about the interdiction of a wo-" man from her spouse at the desire of the pro-

4 ' phel ?' if tliou holdesl the example of customary "acts reprehensible, there is nothing to be said " about such an occurrence. And likewise, if the " two Shaikhs had not been pure, the lord prophet " would not have exalted their heads by matrimo-4 * nial alliance; and the daughter of the lord Ali and 66 the lord prophet would never have been in the <•' house of the great Fdruk (Omar), and of the pos-" sessor of two lights (Osman). To open the road (i of contention is not laudable ; and if not so ac-" cording to thy opinion, explain this to me : since " the lord, the lion of God (Ali) was informed of all " the secrets of the hearts, why did he wage war " upon Maaviah, who was a Muselman? and why <f was he the death of so many men, since causing *' death is by no means righ t? 2 It is likewise known

1 If I am not mistaken, allusion is here made to Zeinah (Zenobia), the \\ife of Zaid. Muhammed, having gone one day to the house of the latter, who was not at home, found Zeinah in a dress which permitted him to ternark her beauties, with which he was so smitten, that he could not refrain from an exclamation betraying his sensation Zeinah did not fail to apprise her husband Zeid then thought he could not do less than to place his wife by a divorce at the disposition of his master and benefactor, whose slave he had once been, and by whom he was not only affranchised, but adopted as a son On that very account, Muhammed was prevented by law from marrying Zemah; but he procured to himself an authorization from heaven, in a verse of the Koran (chap. XXXIII. v. 36), and after the term of Zeinah's divorce, took to wife the object of his desires, at the latter end of the fifth year of the llejiia (A. D. 626).

2 During the contest between Ali and Moaviah, the armies of both rhiefb were m the year of the llejua 37 (A. D. 657) encamped opposite

" and admitted by you as true that, when one day a " Muselman was selling garlic and onions upon the 1 ' passage of the prophet, that venerable personage 44 told him: * If thou wouldst sit down in a corner, " * retiring out of my way, it would be well." " The man made an excuse, and the prophet passed " on. Shortly after came All, who said to the man: " * The prophet dislikes the smell of onions and " * garlic, therefore move out of his way/ The man " answered : ' 0 Ali, the prophet told me to rise, " ' and I did not move/ Ali said: ' At the pro-" ' phet's order thou didst not rise?' He drew " immediately his sword, and cut off the man's " head. Such an action is reprobated by the law, ' * as the lord of the prophetic asylum forbade killing " even the hostile unbelievers, saying:

" * Do not exceed in shedding blood, even if thou be a conqueror.'

" And by historical accounts it is known that he " has blamed Ibrahim for having driven an unbe-" liever from his board. Nushirvan, t who was not ' ' crowned with the diadem of the right faith, is cele-

to each other in a plain on the banks of the Euphrates, called by the Greeks Barbelissos or Barabnssos, and by the Arabs Safin, and in ninety engagements, which took place between them in a hundred and ten days, on the side of Moaviah fell forty-five thousand, and on that of Ali twenty-five thousand men. In the night which preceded the decisive day of Safin, Ah is said to have killed with his own hand four hundred enemies.— (Abulfeda, vol. I. pp 305-313 ) 1 See vol. 1. pp 103-104, notel.

4£ brated, because he sal upon the throne of justice, fc4 and one of his most approved actions was, that 44 he withheld his hand from an old woman's house, " which was an hinderance in the vicinity of his " palace, and preferred to waste his own fields; 44 and the lord of the prophetic asylum, because 4 ' he appeared upon the field of testimony in the time 44 of this king, exalted his fame and glory by these 44 words:

" I was born in the time of the just king. i

1 4 How can it be right to believe that the prophet, ' 4 the last of the age, should be pleased with the 4 ' destruction of a Muselman; he who would not 44 disturb the people who, engaged in their trade 44 and occupation, obstructed his passage? he who 44 said:

" * He who kills willingly a believer shall have hell for eternal " ' punishment;'

44 He cannot have acted by that rule; he who de-44 clares:

1 Muhammed, according to his traditions, was born in the twentieth year of Nushirvan's reign, which, as this king began to reign A. D. 531, would be in 551. This does not agree with the date of the prophet's death in 632, at the age of sixty-three years, about which the best historians are unanimous. For the same reason, the date of his birth, as stated by Silvestre de Sacy, on the 20th April, 571, cannot be true. According to Weisi, Muhammed was born in the thirty-eighth year of Nushirvan's reign, on the 1st of April, 569, which was a Monday, and it was on a Monday he was born and died (see Gemaldesaal Mosl., Herr-sher per JJand, Seite 22, note)

" ' God will not give to>a soul more trouble than it can bear;'

iQ Such an action is not thai of a virtuous man ; this however is related (of All) by your learned men, " and likewise joking and buffooning, which indi-" cates a want of dignity, degraded him." The Shiah said : " Nevertheless, he was certainly the 6 c most excellent of all the companions of the pro-16 phet." The Sonnite asked: " In knowledge or " in practice?" The Shiah replied: " In both

* c knowledge and practice," The Sonnite resumed : " This we do not hold for certain; in what respect tc was he superior in practice to the chief of the be-4 £ lievers, Omar?" The Shiah answered : ' 4 Ali used 6t to pray the whole night." The Sonnite rejoined : " According to your own account, the lord Ali " wanted a woman every night; and his custom, 6 ' (called matAh) l was to engage one for a short time ; " and so many did he occupy, that he seemed an c< unceasing bridegroom ; 2 how could a person so (i employed pray the whole night? unless in your 6< religion you call praying what we call by another 4 'name." The Shiah interrupted him saying: " You are liars from the very beginning. Abu Ha-

* 4 nifa, your great Imam, was a native of Kabul, and 46 attached himself particularly to the service of

'* ut membrurn ejus nunquam siccum esset."

ct Imam Jafr Sadik; at last he left him, and pro-" fessed openly the religion of his fathers, who were " Magi. A sign of the Magian creed was, that he " thought it right to eat three times a-day,and to lay " aside all ehoice of diet, as well as not to reckon " the unbelievers impure, saying that impurity " resides in the interior, if any where, and the " like.' 7

The Sonnite remarked: "Thou thy self agrees t that ci AbuHanifawas a follower of the Imam Jafr, there-" fore he most likely practised what was conform-" able to the religion of the Imam Jafr. We do " not admit that your people are attached to the c ' religion of the Imam; we rather believe that they c * are Magi; for when your ancestors were conquered " and subjected, they, by necessity, joined the Is-" lamian, but mixed the right faith with the creed of " the Magi: as it appears from the worship called " nourozj which is a custom of the Magi; according " to whom they likewise perform divine worship " three times a day. They think it right to turn " the head in praying to the left, which is turning " off from the Kiblah (of Mecca); they assert that 44 the five prayers every day are improper, as they " are not able to perform them exactly; they main-4 * tain, however, as requisite those at midday, before 44 sunset, and in the evening on going to sleep. In " the same manner, they took the matdh, or tern-

" porary matrimonial unions, from the Mazhda-"kian." 1

All the Shiahs have founded their creed upon two rules: the first is the Bedas (Vedas); these were promulgated with the view to surround us with power and magnificence, or with the modes of happiness, which brilliant prospects have not been realized; it was said that the lord of divine majesty dictated the Veda. The second rule is godliness ; by which men are freed from all the propensities of nature. The Shiahs are of this persuasion; and when they are asked about the manner of it, they say: By means of godliness we experience the non-reality of exterior things.

The Veda treats of theology, and of what may appear contrary to divinity; it explains the will 2 which on the part of the perverse may be manifested contrary to the will of the (supreme) judge. The Veda moreover treats of practice: when an action tends towards one thing, and when, after or before its accomplishment, it turns towards something else.

* See vol. I. p. 377.

2 ztot, I tra'det, " will" (upon this word see an explanation hereafter);

it is one of the Barnes of the first minister, or of the universal intelligence in the mystic language of the Druzes (see Chrestom. Ar., tome II. p. 243) This sect belongs to the Ismailahs, who appear to have borrowed much from the Indian philosophy.

The unbelievers, who are in opposition to the prophet assert, that he has adopted the morals of Amral Kais 1 and mixed them with the Koran, that likewise he has frequently made use therein of the ideas of other poets, and even frequently gave place in it to the usages of paganism, with which he had been pleased. There are other controversies current. It will be best to attend to the following observation: What avail the doubts of the Shiahs? They attack in their speeches the Vicars of the prophet; when the first party (the Sonnites) repress the answer to it upon their tongues, let the other party too refrain from dispute.

The arguments being carried to this point, the khalif of God dismissed the parties.

One day a Nazarene came to pay his submissive respects to the khalif of God, and challenged any of

1 Arnrdl Kais, son of Hajr, king of the Arabs of the tiibe of Eendah, according to Herbelot, of Asad, Mas, according to Sale, one of the greatest poets before Muhammedisra, and one of the seven, whose compositions were suspended upon silken stuff in golden letters in the temple of Mecca, and therefore called moallakat, " suspended " His poems, translated by Sir W. Jones (vol. X. of his Works), are amatory, and have nothing of religion which Muhammed could borrow. Amralkais was one of the adversaries of the prophet, and wrote satires and invectives against him, which were answered by Labiti, another of the seven poets, but who ranged himself on the side of Muhammed. The Arabian prophet certainly took many tenets and customs from former times and religions: thus he confirmed the holiness of the temple of Mecca and its environs, which were held in veneration long before him ; thus he adopted from Judaism several laws relating to marriages, divorces, etc , etc

learned among the Muselmans to dispute with him. The proposal being accepted, the Nazarene began : " Do yon believe in. Aisa (Jesus)?" The Muselman answered: " Certainly; we acknowledge him as a " prophet of God; our prophet bore testimony to " the divine mission of Jesus." The Nazarene continued: " This prophet (the Messiah) has announced " that after him many will appear who will pretend 44 to a prophetic office; yet ' believe not in them, " ' nor follow them, for they are liars; but remain fc< ' you sieadfast and firm in my faith, until I come tc * again.' There is no mention of your prophet in " the Gospel." The Muselman replied : " Mention " of him was in the Pentateuch 1 and in the Gos-

1 As the Arabians descend from Ismail, the brother of Isaak, they take to themselves the blessing which God, in Genesis (XVII. 20), pronounced upon him and his posterity; and in the twelve princes who, according to the same verse, were to issue from him, they see their twelve Imams, All and the rest (see vol II. p. 367) They believe also that the prophet, who, as God announced to Moses in the Pentateuch (Deuteronomy, XVIII. 18 \ would rise from the Ismaihtes, was Muhammed. According to Abul Firaj (Specimen Hist. Arab , 14.17), the Muhammedans find m a passage of the Pentateuch (Deuter., XXXIII. 2) indicated the descent of the law to Moses upon mount Sinai; that of the Gospel to Jesus upon mount Sair; and that of the Koran to Muhammed upon mount Pharan, near Mecca. Further, in Psalm L. v 2 they imagine that in the words: " Manifestavit Deus e Sione coronam laudatam, acti-" Ian mahmudan" ty actilan, tl crown," is to be understood " king-" dom," and by mahmudan, u praised," the very name of Muhammed. But this passage is translated in our Bible: " Out of Sion hath God " appeared in perfect beauty " They find also passages applicable to their prophet in Isaiah XXII. 6 7. 9: XLII. 1. 7. 16.17., and the whole

44 pel, 1 but your principal men obliterated it." The Nazarene asked: 4i Do you possess that Gospel " which is correct?" TheMuselman avowed: " We " do not." Then the Nazarene resumed: " Hence 44 your falsehood is evident; you deny the Gospel; " for if you did not, you would preserve it, as we, " who are Christians, preserve the Pentateuch, 44 which is the book of Moses ; but you keep neither " the Pentateuch nor the Gospel, and if there had " been mentioned in the Gospel any thing of your " prophet, we would without doubt, according to 44 the words of Jesus, adhere to it, because, in con-

1. 6 etc.; moieover in Habacuc, III 3 etc. Besides, the town of Medina, being inhabited by a tribe of conquered Jew?, \\ho were expecting a promised Messiah, Muhammed presented himself as one for all nations, and the credulous easily confounded him who was expected by the Jews \\ith the upstart Arabian piophet.

1 The Moslims have a Gospel in Arabic, attributed to Saint Barnabas, in which, it is said, they have inserted the very name of then prophet Muhammed, Ahmed, Mahmud, as being the translation of the Greek word TtspixKiTos, periclytos, " famous, illustrious." which they have substituted for wapax^To;, paracUtos, " comforter, called upon, advo-"catus," which is found m St John's Gospel, XIV 26, XV 26, XVI. 7., and by which is designated Jesus, or the Holy Ghost (see Sale's* Koran, Prel Disc , p 98). The interpretation of ihe word penclytos might also have found place in the Arabian translation of the Bible, made by Werka, the cousin of Muhammed's fir&t wife. Whatever it be, we read in chap. LXI v 6. of the Koran: •' And when Jesus, the son of Mary, said . "' 0 children of Israel, verily I am the apostle of God, sent unto you, " ' confirming the law which was delivered before me, and bringing " * good tidings of an apostle who shall come after me, and whose name ' k * shall be Ahmed ' "

t4 formity with our faith, our desire is to obey the 4i precepts of Jesus. But now, whence can we " know that your prophet is true?" The Musel-44 man said: Ct From his miracles, one of which is " the dividing of the moon." 1 The Nazarene observed upon this : " If the dividing of the moon has 44 taken place, the inhabitants of the world must " have seen it, and the recorders of extraordinary 44 things in all countries, and the historians of all " nations would have written it down with the pen 44 of truth. Now none, except Muselmans, give any 4 c information of it." There was an Hindu present, the Nazarene asked him: " In the Kali yug, which 4 ' is the fourth of your ages, has the moon been once 44 divided?" And he addressed the same question to the Persians and Turks there present; all said :

1 This miracle has perhaps no other foundation but the atmospheric phenomena of a double moon which was seen m Mecca, four or five years before theHejira. Some ascribed it to Muhammed on the infidels demanding a sign of him; the moon then appeared cloven in two; one part vanishing and the other remaining: H was affirmed that the mount Kara was seen interposing between the two sections. To this the believers refer chapter LIV of the Koran, entitled the moon, which begins by these words: •* The hour approacheth, and the moon hath been split asunder.', The most intelligent expounders understand in the first word the hour of judgment; others think, that in the rest the preter tense isused, in the prophetic style, for the future; and that the passage should be thus rendered: " The moon shall be split asunder:" for this, they say, is to happen at the resurrection.—(See Sale's Koran, vol. II. p. 405). In the subsequent section, " upon the interpretation of the prophet's miracle," this subject is paiticularly treated.

" We have not seen any thing like it in our histori-" cal accounts/' The Muselman remained confounded.

Another day, a Jew presented himself; the lord khalif of God placed the Nazarene in opposition to him for a religious discussion The Jew began : " In the Pentateuch, there is no mention made of 44 Jesus." The Nazarene replied: "How not? 4 ' Does not David say : ' My hands and my feet fall " ' off, and all my bones are counted/ This is a " prediction of the sufferings and of the crucifixion " of Jesus." The Jew remarked upon this: " What-44 ever David may have said of himself, and the All-44 Just have announced by his tongue, should all this " be taken for a prediction of Jesus?" The Nazarene pursued: " But the conception of a virgin was " predicted, and this virgin was Mary." The Jew objected: " Amongst us, the virginity of Mary is not " proved, as, according to your belief, before the 44 birth of Jesus, she was married to Joseph the 4 * carpenter, and Jesus is said to be the son of Joseph 46 the carpenter." The Nazarene admitted: " This " is true; but," he added: " Joseph had never " touched Mary/' The Jew opposed: " How is " that proved ?" And this was the question which the Jew repeated at every thing which the Nazarene brought forward, so that the latter was reduced to silence.

A learned philosopher came into the hall, where Hindus also were present, and three other learned men; a Musehnan, a Nazarene, and a Jew: these were summoned, and ranged in opposition to the learned philosopher. The latter opened the discussion in ihis manner: " The divine mission of '' your prophets has not been proved, for several rea-*' sons: the first is, thai whatever the prophet says ct ought to be conformable to reason; the second is, '- that he ought to be free from crime, and not hurt-" ful to other beings. But Moses, according to the 44 opinion of the Jews, was brought up by Pharaoh, " 4 and yet he caused him by a stratagem to be " drowned in the waters of the Nile, and listened " not lo his repentance. What they say of the " water of the Nile having opened a passage to " Moses, is an error. Nor did he attend to the " repentance of Kanin (Korah), 1 but, from cove-46 tousness of gold, he caused him to be swal-4< lowed up by the earth. Jesus permitted the kill-

1 According to Richardson's Diet, edit, of F. Johnson: " Karun is 1 supposed to be the same person called Korah (Numbers, chap. XVII ik whom the Muhammedan» describe as the cousin of Moses. He is fre-' quently alluded to by the poets and moralists, not only as being ex-14 tremely handsome, but as possessed of immense wealth, acquired by his " skill in chemistry, arid the discovery of the philosopher's stone; whilst " his avarice is icpresented as so remarkable, that his name is prover-" bially applied to all misers They add, that it was on account of his 41 lefusal to pay Moses a tithe of his possessions ioi the public use, that " the cdith opened .uui swallowed him up."

" ing and ill using of animals. And Muhaimned " himself attacked the forces and caravans of the " Koreish; he shed blood, nay, with his own hand " put to death animated beings. He besides ex-" ceeded all bounds in sexual connexions, and in '' taking the wives of other men; so that, on account " of his gazing, a wife was separated from her hus-" band, i and the like are notorious of him. With tc these perverse qualities, how then shall we recog-u nise a prophet?" All concurred in declaring : " By miracles." The philosopher asked: " What tc are the miracles of your prophets?" The Jew answered: " Thou must have heard of Moses's " wand, which became a serpent." The doctor immediately took up his girdle, breathed upon it, and it became a great serpent, which hissed and turned towards the Jew ; but the philosopher stretched out his hand, and took it back, saying : " Lo, the miracle of Moses!" whilst the Jew, from fear, had scarcely any life left in his body, and could not recover his breath again. Now the Christian said : " The Messiah was born without a fa-" ther.' 1 The doctor replied: " You yourselves " say that Joseph, the carpenter, had taken Mary " to wife; how can it be made out that Jesus was 4 ' not the son of Joseph ?" The Nazarene was re-

1 See p 59. note 1, i dative to Zaid and Zeinah.

duced to silence. The Mahomedan took up the word, and said : tc Our prophet brought forth the u Koran, divided the moon, and ascended to hea-" ven." The philosopher observed upon this: " It " is stated in your sacred book:

kt * And they say: We will by no means believe on thee, until thou 44 * cause a spring of water to gush forth foi us out of the earth, or thou " * have a garden of palm trees and vines, and thou cause rivers to spring ** * forth from the midst of this palm plantation, or that thou throw down " ' upon the earth the heaven torn in pieces, 01 that thou bring down '*' God Almighty and the angels to vouch for thee; or thou have a house " * of gold; or thou ascend by a ladder to heaven: neither will we " ' believe thy ascending, until thou cause a book to descend unto us " ' which we may read. The answer is m this way: Say, 0 Muhammed, " ' pure is God the nourisher, I am but a man-prophet.' 1

" From this an equitable judge can conclude, he 44 who could not cause a spring of running water c ' to come forth, how could he have shown the rnira-" cles which are related of him? when he had not " the power of tearing the heaven in pieces, in what " manner could he divide the moon? when he was " unable to show the angels, how could he see Ja-44 brill with his own eyes? and his companions too " did not behold him in the shape of an Arab; when 4i he was unable, in the presence of unbelievers, to 64 go to heaven with his body, how did he perform

1 Koran, chap XVII. v 92-95 The Dabistan gives the Arabic text and the Peisian translation, which last I have followed. It agrees, except in a few words, with the English version of Sale, and the French of M. Kdsimirskv

" the bodily ascension (ascribed to him in the Ko-^ ran)? As he brought thence no writing, in what " way came the Koran down from heaven?"

A follower of Zerdusht, who stood in a corner, now interrupted the philosopher, saying: " Main-" tain all this, but do not deny miracles m general, 44 for our prophet too ascended to heaven." The doctor replied : c< You admit the existence of Yez-" dan and Ahriman, in order that Yezdan may not 4 ' be said to be the author of evil; but you also assert, li that Ahriman sprung forth from the evil thought ' * of the all-just Lord; therefore he sprung from " God, and evil originates from God, the All-Just : " you are therefore wrong in the fundamental prin-u ciple, the very root of your religion, and wrong " must be every branch which you derive from it."

A learned Brahman here took up the discussion: "Thou deniest the prophetic missions; but our " Avatars rest upon these missions.' 7 The doctor said: ' ' You at first acknowledge one God, and then 4 u you say that, having descended from his solitude, " he assumed a great body; but God is not clothed " with a body, wilich belongs to contingency and " tangible matter. In like manner, you attribute c< wives to your gods. Vishnu, who according to 4 * some represents the second person of the divine " triad, according to others, is acknowledged as the " supreme God, is said to have descended from his

ct station, and become incarnate at different times, tc in the forms of a fish, a boar, a tortoise, and of " man. When he was in the state of Rama, his <l wife was ravished from him. He was ignorant, iv and acquired some knowledge by becoming the " disciple of one among the sages of India, until he *' was freed from his body; in the form of Krishna " he was addicted to lust and deceit, of which you " yourselves tell many stories. You state, that in " this incarnation there was little of the wisdom of " a supreme God, and much of the corporeal mat-6fi ter of Krishna: thus you compel mankind, who, " capable of justice, are superior to all sorts of ani-" mals, to worship a boar or a tortoise! And you " adore the form of the male organ as Mahadeva, "whom many acknowledge to be God, and the <fi female organ as his wife! You seem not to know c that the irrational cannot be the creator of the " rational; that the one, uncompounded, is incom-" patible with division, and that plurality of the 4 * self-existent one is absurd. Finally, by the wor-" ship of a mean object, no perfection can accrue to " the noble." By these proofs and arguments he established his theses, and the Brahman remained confounded.

Afterwards the philosopher addressed the assembly : " Know for certain that the perfect prophet and <* learned apostle, the possessor of tame, Akbar, that

" is, the lord of wisdom, directs us to acknowledge '' that ihe self-existent being is the wisest teacher, " and ordains the creatures with absolute power, " so that the intelligent among them may be able to ct understand his precepts ; and as reason renders " it evident that the world has a Creator, all-mighty " and all-wise, who has diffused upon the field of * c events among the servants, subject to vicissitudes, u numerous and various benefits which are worthy '' of praise and thanksgiving; therefore, according '• to the lights of our reason, let us investigate the " mysteries of his creation, and, according to our '< knowledge, pour out the praises of his benefits; u and as, by the knowledge of the primordial omni-lt potence, we shall have found the direction to the ^ right way, we shall, in proportion to our grati-" tude, be led to the reward of yon exuberant bea-4 * titude; if, by denying the unity and disowning 4< the benefits of God we sink into guilt, shall we ' ' not be deserving of punishment ? Such being the '' case, why should we pay obedience to any person 4k who belongs to mankind as ourselves, and who is " subject to anger and lust, and avarice and passion, " and love of rank and power, even more than our-u selves? If this mortal exhorts us to knowledge i4 and gratitude, we may by the concurrence of our " own reason obtain this advantage; but if he urges 4k his precepts by what is opposite to reason, then

' 4 his speech is a proof of deceit; for reason demon-'< strates that the world has a wise creator, and that '* he, being wise, prescribes to the creatures a wor-•' ship which to their reason does not evince itself c; as an evil; and whatever is proved bad, is not <4 ordered by him. Now the law contains particu-*' lars which reason accounts as false or bad: such '* are conversations with God; the descent of in-'' corporeal heavenly beings in human forms or in 1 ' the shape of a tortoise; the reascension to heaven " in an elemental body ; the pilgrimage to particu-1 ' lar edifices for performance of worship ; the cir-44 cuit (round the Kaba), the entrance in it, the 44 fatigue, the throwing of stones; 1 the acquitting " one's self of the pilgrimage to Mecca; the kissing lt of the black stone. If it be said that, without a "- visible medium, it is impossible to worship the 44 all-mighty Creator, and that a place for the sake 4V of connexion is to be fixed, it may be answered, 1 ' that one who offers praises and thanks to God, has *• no need of a medium and of a place; and if a fixed

1 The principal ceremonies performed by the pilgrims of Mecca have been touched upon in vol. II. p. 409, note 3; the throwing of stones takes place m the valley of Mina, where the devotees throw seven stones at three marks or pillars, in imitation of Abraham, who, meeting the devil in that place, and being disturbed by him in his devotions and tempted to disobedience, \\hen he was going to sacrifice his son, was commanded by God to drive him away by throwing stones at him; though others pretend this rite to be as old as Adam, who also put the devil to flight in the same place, and by the same means.—(Sale's Koran, Prel. Disc., p. 160.)

n

tk place were to be admitted, the forms of the stars fc * above would be preferable. If it be objected, thai *' this cannot be free from the detestable suspicion k< of paganism, whilst, certainly, a place among " others having been fixed, which place, by distinc-Lt tion from them all, presents itself to them as tC particular, a predilection for it appeared proper. c; In like manner, after a computation of dimensions, t£ geometricians and mathematicians determine a '• place which, with respect to the objects and c " points of a space, bears the same relation as the 4ta centre to a circle; then, without doubt, every "• portion of the circumference will have its particu-tk lar relative situation with respect to the point of •' the centre; certainly, in consequence of this ar» *' rangement, all places so determined become refer-u able to this particular place, and among the other 44 places, shall be worthy of predilection." To this may be answered: " This opinion agrees not with 44 the ideas of many distinguished persons; for a " great number confers upon the site of another 4 ' place the attribute of being the middle, and distin-" guish it as such; which is evident from the books u of the institutes of Brahma and of others, and by 44 the necessity of pronouncing benedictions there. " This also cannot be free from the suspicion of 4 * paganism: because one may suppose that God, " the All-Just, is represented in the house, or is a

*' body, on winch account people tall il ' the house *' ' of God." If it be so, or if the Ivabah be situ-' c ated in the midst of a country, other prophets may " have chosen another place, such as the holy house 4 < (of Jerusalem), and the like; but this is but by 4C error; thus it happened—that, at first, the lord ' - Muhammed did not offer his prayers at the Kabah. " Since therefore the detestable suspicion of pagan-44 ism rests upon all the worship of stone, earth, and 4 * bodies, then water, fire, and the planets, are objects ' 4 more proper to be honored; and if a centre be '* desired, let it be the sun in the midst of the seven " heavens. In like manner objectionable is the " sacrifice of animals, and the interdiction of what '' may be proper for the food of men, and the admit-" ting thereof by one prophet to be lawful what is " forbidden by another. Thus, if it be not right to 44 eat pork, why was it permitted by Jesus? if it ' ' was interdicted on account of pollution in conse-" quence of the animal's feeding upon unclean and " nasty things, so the cock is objectionable for the " same reasons. Similar to these are most other 6 ' commands, and contrary to the precepts of reason. "' But the greatest injury comprehended in a pro-*' phetic mission is the obligation to submit to one Ci like ourselves of the human species, who is sub-" ject to the incidental distempers and imperfec-44 tions of mankind; and who nevertheless controls

*' others with severity, in eating, drinking, and in 44 all their other possessions, and drives them about 44 like brutes, In every direction which he pleases; 4 ' who declares every follower's wife he desires, legal 44 for himself and forbidden to the husband; who 4t takes to himself nine wives,' whilst he allows no 4fc more than four to his followers; and even of these a wives he takes whichever he pleases for himself; ' 2 " and who grants impunity for shedding blood to '* whomsoever he chooses. On account of what ex* * 4 cellency, oil account of what science, is it necessary 44 to follow that man's command; and what proof is 4 4 there to establish the legitimacy of his pretensions? 4 * If he be a prophet by his simple word, his word, 44 because it is only a word, has no claim of superi-44 ority over ihe words of others. Nor is it pos-" sible to know which of the sayings be correctly " his own, on account of the multiplicity of contra-44 dictions in the professions of faith. If he be a

1 Herbelot says that, according to the Muhammedans, their prophet had twenty-one \nves, six of whom he repudiated, and five died before* him; therefore ten remained.

2 Chapter XXXIII v. 47 has the following passage: " 0 prophet, we " have allowed thee thy wives unto \\hom thou hast given their dower, " and also the slaves which thy right hand possesseth, of the booty which 44 God hath granted thee, and the daughters of thy aunts, both on thy " father's side, who have fled with thee fiom Mecca, and any other be-" lieving woman, if she give herself unto the prophet, m case the pro-" phet desireth to take her to wife This is a peculiar privilege granted 44 unto thee above the rest of the true believers."

^ prophet on the strength of miracles, then the ' * deference to it is very dependent; because a mira-" cle is not firmly established, and rests only upon 44 tradition or a demon's romances: as the house of " tradition, from old age, falls in ruins, it deserves 41 no confidence. Besides, by the regulation of di-" vine providence, occult sciences are numerous; " and the properties of bodies without end or imm-" her. Why should it not happen that such a phe-" nomenon, which thou thinkest to be a miracle, be " nothing else but one of the properties of several <c bodies, or a strange effect of the occult art? As " with thee, the dividing of the moon, of which " thou hast heard, is a miracle, why shouldst thou 1 ' not admit, as proved, the moon of Eashgar ? * " And if thou namest Moses,' the speaker of God,' 44 why shouldst thou not so much the more give this " title to Sameri, 2 who caused a calf to speak?

44 But if it be said that every intellect has not the " power of comprehending the sublime precepts,

1 This reminds of Hakera, the moon-maker —(See p. 3, note 1.)

2 The name of a magician said to have been contemporary with Moses. He is mentioned m the Koran, chap XX. v. 87. Sale observes (vol II. pp. 145.146. N. 9.) that he was not, as the Muhammedans believe, one of the Samaritans, who were not then formed into a people, nor bore that name till many ages after. Selden is of opinion, that this person was no other than Aaron himself, called al Sameri, from the Hebrew word sha-mar, " to keep;" because he was. the keeper, or guardian, of the children of Israel during the absence of his brother, Moses, on the mount.

fc ' but that the bounty of the all-mighty God created 4 ' degrees of reason and a particular order of spirits, " so that he blessed a few of the number with supe-" rior sagacity; and that the merciful light of lights, " by diffusion and guidance, exalted the prophets 4C even above these intellects. If it be so, then a " prophet is of little service to men; for he gives ** instruction which they do not understand, or " which their reason does not approve. Then the * * prophet will propagate his doctrine by the sword; " he says to the inferiors: * My words are above " * your understanding, and your study will not " * comprehend them.' To the intelligent he says: 61 ' My faith is above the mode of reason.' Thus, " his religion suits neither the ignorant nor the " wise. Another evil attending submission to an " incomprehensible doctrine is that, whatever the intel-" lect possesses and offers by its ingenuity, turns " to no instruction and advantage of mankind, whilst " the prophet himself has said:

" ' God imposes upon a man no more than he can bear.'

u And whatever the understanding does not com-" prise within the extent of reason, the truth of this '' remains hidden; and to assent thereto is silliness; " because the doctrine of other wise men may be of " a higher value than the tradition or the book of " that prophet. Besides, if the maxim were incul-

v. in. 6

" cated that prophets must be right, any body who " chose could set up the pretension of being one; £t as silly men will always be found to follow him, " saying: ' His reason is superior to ours, which is 44 not equal to such things.' Hence have arisen 46 among the Muselmans and other nations so many 66 creeds and doctrines, as well as practices without " number.

" Another defect is that, when the religion of one 44 prophet has been adopted, and when his rule has 4 c been followed in the knowledge and worship of 44 God, after a certain time another prophet arises, " who prescribes another religion to the people. 4C Hence they become perplexed, and know not " whether the former prophet was a liar, or whe-" ther they ought to conclude that in each period " mankind is to alter the law according to circum-44 stances. But the knowledge of truth admits no u contradiction; yet there exists a great number of il contradictions in the four sacred books:' hence " it appears that, in the first times, the true God has " not made himself known, and that the first creed 44 with respect to him had been wrong ; thus, in 44 the second book, something else is said, and in 44 like manner in the third and in the fourth.

44 In the sequel it became evident to wise men, ' * that emancipation is to be obtained only by the

1 The Pentateuch, the Psalter, the Gospel, and the Koran.

4 ' knowledge of truth conformably with the precepts " of the perfect prophet, the perfect lord of fame, *' Akbar, ' the Wise;' the practices enjoined by him 6 ' are : renouncing and abandoning the world; " refraining from lust, sensuality, enteriainment, " slaughter of what possesses life; and from appro-" priating to one's self the riches of other men; " abstaining from woinen, deceit, false accusation, " oppression, ij^mid^p-n, foolishness, and giving '' (to others) titles. The endeavors for

4 ' the recompense of the other world, and the forms '' of the true religion may be comprised in ten vir-" tues, namely: 1. liberality and beneficence; 2. for-^ bearance from bad actions and repulsion of anger " with mildness; 5. abstinence from worldly de-" sires; 4. care of freedom from the bonds of the " worldly existence and violence, as well as accu-4 * mulating precious stores for the future real and <f perpetual world; 5. piety, wisdom, and devo-" tion, with frequent meditations on the conse-u quences of actions; 6. strength of dexterous pru-" dence in the desire of sublime actions; 7. soft <c voice, gentle words, and pleasing speeches for 4 4 every body; 8. good society with brothers, so that c< their will may have the precedence to our own ; Ci 9. a perfect alienation from the creatures, and a " perfect attachment to the supreme Being; 10. " purification of the soul by the yearning after God

" the all-just, and the union with the merciful Lord, u in such a manner thai, as long as the soul dwells 4C in the body, it may think itself one with him and ^ long to join him, until the hour of separation " from the body arrives. The best men are those <c who content themselves with the least food, and " who sequestrate themselves from this perishable « world, and abstain Irom the enjoyments of eating, " drinking, dress, and marriage, vilest of the

" people are those who think it indulge the

4 ' desire oi generation, the passion for wine, and ban-ci quetting with eagerness, as if it were something " divine. As the mode which the perfect prophet * * and apostle, Akbar the Wise, has prescribed to his '* followers, is difficult, certainly the demons excite " the spirit of brutish passion against his regula-'* tions; so that there are prophets who, captivated * 4 with lust, anger, pleasures of eating and drinking, u costly garments, beautiful women, and engaged in c * oppression towards the children of one race, whom " they call infidels, consider these practices not only 4C as legal, but even as laudable, and tend towards " them. So it happens that many learned men and 4< their followers, who, for the sake of the world " have chosen to obey these prophets, but in their " heart deny them, and are aware of the falsehood ^ of this sect, wait for an opportunity, with prudent " regard to circumstances and a favorable hour, to

c <" adopt llie regulations of Akbar.' 9 —Nobody in the assembly had an answer to give to the learned philosopher, who, after the effort which he had made, left the hall. 1

The lord vicar of God said to his disciples, that, it is an indispensable duty to worship God, the all-just, and that it is necessary to praise those who are near him; among mankind, said he, none is higher in rank than the planets, to the station of which no man can attain. None except God, the all-mighty, is the wish of the godly man, that is, whatever the godly undertakes, the object of his wish in it is God; for instance, he takes some food, that he may be able to perform the service of God; performs that service, that he may not be slack and deficient in his duties to God 5 desires a wife, that he may give existence to a virtuous son, worshipper of God; pays veneration to the lights of the stars, because they are near God the all-just; and abandons himself to sleep, that his soul may ascend to the upper world. Finally, the godly man is at all times in the

1 In the Transactions of the Literary Society of Bombay,, vol. II pp. 242-270, is to be found: " A Notice respecting the religion introduced " by the Emperor Akbar, by Captain Vans Kennedy, written in 4818," with an elegant, but in several places abridged, translation of the just-given disputes, between the doctors of the different religions, m form of a dialogue, accompanied with valuable remarks respecting the author oi the Dabistan, of which I availed myself in several quotations in the Tre-liminary Discourse, as \\ell us in this place.

service and obedience of the all-just, and at no moment is he negligent in pious practices. Moreover, he thinks himself bound to abstain from hurting living beings, and he respects all the creatures of God. He does not cut grass and green trees without necessity, nor pollute the ground wantonly, except on a particular place ; he throws neither water nor fire upon vile spots ; he blesses the stars; further in this disposition he accustoms himself to abstinence in speaking, eating, and sleeping; he constrains himself to many occupations: one of them is to close with his fingers the exterior organs; he dwells with veneration upon the image of the lord of fires (the sun), until he had carried this exercise so far that, by merely covering his eyes, the great object is present to him; then, whichever of the illustrious and mighty personages of Hind, or Iran, or Greece, or any other place, he wishes to see, that person presents himself to his view, and he sees lights, explores many ways, and makes himself master of the temporary and the eternal. The lord vicar of the all-just is called HM, " divine," by his followers, because in all their actions the object of their wishes is God; and the lord has received the divine mission to establish the worship of the stars, which are to be the Kiblah of the pious. In the ancient books of the Hindus and Parsis, without number, the excellence of the constellations is affirmed.

Nain Javet gave the information that, in the reign of the lord (Akbar) the learned assembled, and Makh-diim ul mulk gave the decision, that in this age it is not required to make the pilgrimage to Mecca; but that whoever makes it deserves punishment; for this reason; namely, because the road to Mecca by land passes through the middle of Irak, and by sea through Guzerat and the ports of the Farangis; by land it is unavoidable to hear unseemly speeches from the Kazel bashan; and on the voyage by sea to suffer much impropriety in the transactions and communications with the Farangis; because they have represented upon their papers 1 the image of Jesus and the picture of Mary, which bear a resemblance to idolatry.

His majesty Akbar said one day that he heard from Shaikh Abdul Nabi, that one of the chief lawyers of the Sonnites declared the taking of nine wives to be legal, whilst other learned men denied it, and quoted the passage of the Koran :

" Take m marriage such women as please you, two, or three, or " four." 2

1 This refers principally to papers, such as passports, of the Poitu-guese, who, as I have been informed by Viscount Santarem, used to represent St. Catherine upon them, this saint being the patroness of Goa and of one of the principal confraternities; and the above-mentioned images are besides often used as ornaments of books and printed papers.

2 Others translate: " two, and three, and four," consequently nine wives; as the conjunction va f in Arabic, may mean or as well as and.— (See Transact, of the Lit. Soc. of Bombay, vol. II. p 268.)

As even eighteen wives were said to be legal, then the learned gave the decision that it may be admissible, by the mode of mat&h, " a temporary agree-*' ment,"' by means of which the obtainment of women is facilitated for a certain price; and this is permitted pursuant to the creed of the Imam Malik. The sect of the Shfahs assert, that a son begotten in consequence of matah, is preferable to all olhers. Nakib Khan followed the footsteps of the Imam Malik, who at last declared the maiah legal by a public patent. The sect of the Shiahs quote, in support of this, the following passage of the Koran:

1 The passage of the Koran favorable to temporary marriage is in chap. IV. v. 28: " For the advantage which you receive from them, give " them their reward (assign them their dower), according to what is " ordained: but it shall not be criminal to make any other agreement " among yourselves, after the ordinance shall be complied with." In this passage the word matdh occurs. This sort of marriage is also admitted in the H6daya fil foru', " the Guide in the Branches of the Law" (translated into English by Charles Hamilton/' 1791).

Nevertheless it was a subject of great contest among the Muhammedan doctors whether such a connection be legitimate or not. The Imam Abu Hanifah and others declared it abrogated, according to the universal concurrence of the prophet's companions, on the authority of Ebn Abbas Abdallah, who died Hej. 68 (A. D 687). This Imam adduced the information received from All, who, on the day of the combat of Chaibar (A.D. 630), heard the prophet declare that such marriages are forbidden. Moreover, a strong opposer to their legitimacy was Yahia, the son of Aktam, son of Muhammed, son of Katan, a celebrated judge, who died in the year of the Hejira 242 (A D. 856) Living during the reign of Mamun, he succeeded in persuading the Khalif to prohibit by a decree temporary marriage, which he had before permitted.—(Sec Abulfeda, vol. If, pp. 195-199).

" Your women arc a field for you: approach your field as you " may like."

By which they pretend to show that any mode of coition is permitted.' Nam Javet said that, when the era of the Muselmans was fixed, the people had a bad opinion of the companions of the prophet, and wise men called all the laws " prisons /'and declared the centre of faith rests upon reason. Nobody disputed with them. Then arrived learned Farangis, and argued in their speeches. Shaikh Bhavan, so was called a learned Brahman from the country of Dekan, having conceived hatred towards his relations, became a Muselman, and obtained this name: he had the fourth Veda in his possession, and interpreted some precepts of this book, which contains many beauties, and a sentence like that of the Koran : " There is but one God;" and it was also stated therein, that whoever does not make this confession will not obtain salvation. In another place it was said that to eat cow's flesh was, under certain conditions, allowable; and elsewhere it was ordained to bury, and not to burn, a corpse. Thus, the before-said Shaikh was triumphant over the Brahmans-But Nain Javet related that he has requested him to interpret this passage; when he had translated it, its meaning was completely contrary and opposed to

vO -^ ante vel rctrorsum

the sentence: " There is but one God," and the restriction to eat cow's flesh also was contrary to the custom of the Muselmans; and concerning the burying of the dead he gave a different account from that which is lawful by the faith of the Muselmans. His Majesty (Akbar), with all those present, laughed at the Brahman, and said: " Look at these Musel-" mans and Hindus, who among many conflicting " arguments did not think to ask what was the " meaning of the passages in question, and have " praised me exceedingly.

Mir Said Sherff Amely came to the place of Dai-bal pur, and waited on his Majesty (Akbar), who was then taking part in a public dispute between a number of young men with some theologians, about Mah-miid, and he reduced them to silence. The Emperor conferred also many favors upon the said Mir, and the controversy in religion went so far that even doctors in law were accused of infidelity; learned men and Sufies declared in the celestial court (Akbar's), that wise and capable men existed in all religions: where then is the superiority and preponderance? More than one thousand years have not elapsed since this faith was established.

In like manner, a number of children were put in a place called Gangmahel, where every thing necessary was furnished to them; but none could articulate a letter; having remained there to their four-

teenth year, they were found to be dumb; which made it evident, that letters and language are not natural to man, that is, cannot be used unless they have been acquired by instruction, and it is then only that the use of conversation becomes possible. From this the conclusion was drawn, that the world is very ancient, and language of a long date, whence the Brahmans derive arguments founded upon reason and testimony for the truth of their religion and the futility of others.

The crown of the pious Shaikh Taj-ed-din, the son of Shaikh Zakria Jondeheni Dahluvi, explained the exterior rites of the mystic doctrine; the system of the unity of the real being; and the precepts of the religion of Pharaoh, which is the Fes us id hikem, the " bezels of philosophers," 1 and the superiority of hope over fear. His Majesty Akbar liked the mode in which the Kings of Ajem performed worship; the Sufis, acknowledging holy personages as representing the Khalifs of the age, used to prostrate themselves before them, touching the ground with their foreheads; this was intended to mark the secret meaning that the angels had once adored Adam. The truth is, that the wise are the terrestrial angels, who worship an holy personage as a Khalifdi, " vi-46 car," of God; and for having attained to this dig-

1 This is a work of Mohi eddin Ibn Arabi, \vlio died in the year of the Hejira 638 (A. D 1240), of whom hereafter

nity, they venerate him under a similar character, and call him also their Kabdh and Kiblah: because the heart of a just man is the heart of the all-just God, and it is to its door that they turn in the worship of God; in that sense Yakiib and his sons prostrated themselves before Yitsef.

Shaikh Yakiib, a grammarian of Kashmir, who was a spiritual guide of the age, related, as from Ain alkasa Hamddni, that Muhammed is the manifest name of a guide, and Iblis the manifest name of a seducer. Mulla Muhammed Yzedi blamed the three khalifs, and reviled the companions of the prophet and their followers; he seduced people to the faith of Shiahs, and, having brought forth chapters of the Gospel, he drew from them a proof of the third person of the Trinity as being true, and confirmed the religion of the Nas aranains.

As his Majesty (Akbar) showed himself a friend of all men, he gave orders to the Nawab, the wise Shaikh Abu 'I Faz'il, ' who frequently witnessed the

1 Abu 1 Fazil, the wise minister of Akbar, is generally known by his \vork entitled Aytn Alibari, " the Institutes of the Emperor Akbar," translated from the original Persian, by Francis Gladwin, in two volumes. This work contains the best statistical account hitherto given respecting India of those times. Abii '1 Fazil was the first Muhammedan who bestowed attention upon the history and religion of the Hindus, and drew his information regarding them from their own books. It was by him, or under his eyes, that the Mahabharat was translated from Sanskrit into Persian. The tolerance and liberality of the Empeior Akbar towards all religions, and his attempt to establish a nc>\ creed, arc generally ascribed

prodigious deeds of the emperor, to interpret several foreign works, and instead of die common sentence, " Bismilla," etc,, he adopted another, viz. :

" Thy name is a fortress, and thou art its foundation, " Thou art holy, and there is no God but God."

The Rajah Birber conceived in his mind thai the sun is an object all comprehensive; that he causes the ripening of the grain, of the sown Gelds, of the fruits, and of all vegetables ; and gives splendor and life; likewise, fire and water, and stones and trees, all are manifestations of God; he gave the mark on the forehead and the zunar. The learned brought it nearly to certainty that the sun, the great, the exalted luminary, is the benefactor of the world, and the protector of mouarchs. The Yezdanian said, that the sun is the world of spirits, the self-existent being; and the sun of the world of bodies is a luminary (a soul) 1 which is the Khalifah, " the vicar," of God. A sect of the fire-worshippers stated also that the learned entertain conflicting opinions about the existence of spirits, of unity, and the self-existing being; and other sects denied this; but no denial is

to the influence of his enlightened minister, who paid it with his life: for Jehangir, Akbar's fanatic son, hired assassins who murdered the excellent man, near Orcha, in the district of Narwar, on his return from the Dekan, during the life of Akbar, who, except his utmost indignation, had no punishment to inflict upon the heir-apparent of his empire. 1 ^l#!, aftdb, signifies sun and soul.

possible about the existence, the splendor, and QIC beneficence of the sun. His Majesty, Akbar, as he was ordered by God, used to read prayers, containing the praise of the sun, in the Persian, Hindi, Turkish, and Arabic languages, among which all was one prayer which is proper to the Hindus, and which they sing at midnight and at sun-rise. Besides, the emperor forbade his subjects to kill cows and to eat their flesh; because medical men have declared that cow's flesh causes itch, dry scab, leprosy, elephantiasis, and the like diseases, and is difficult to digest. The Hindus say also that, as many advantages are derived from the cow, it is not right to kill it. The Yezdanian maintained that it is tyranny to kill harmless animals, and a tyrant is an enemy of God, the Almighty. But the learned of the time showed in the book Serai ul mustakim, " the " right road," composed by the Imam Majeddin Mu-hammed, son of Ydfoft, son ofMuhammed, Firozdbddi, l that what is known

" The most excellent meat of both worlds is flesh."

This has not been firmly established, and in the subject of the excellence of hersiah, a kind of pottage,

1 Majeddin Abu Thaher Muhammed ben Yakub is the compiler of the celebrated Arabic Dictionary, called Al lamus, already quoted, which from a work of sixty-five volumes was reduced to two. He is the author of several works besides the above-mentioned. He died in the year of theHejira817(A. D. 1414)

nothing appeared, nor on die subject of the virtues of the white cock; l and on the subject of bastards It is known:

*< The illegitimate son has no access to paradise."

This was not firmly established, and is futile. HisMa-jesty, the khalifah of the all-just, proclaimed himself the joyous tidings, that cows ought not to be killed. In like manner, the fire-worshippers, who had come from the town of Ndusaii, situated in the district of Gujerat, asserted the truth of the religion of Zoroaster, and the great reverence and worship due to fire. The emperor called them to his presence, and was pleased to take information about the way and lustre of their wise men. He also called from Persia a follower of Zardusht, named Arde-shir, to whom he sent money; he delivered the sacred fire with care to the wise Shaikh Abu 1 Fa-z il, and established that it should be preserved in the interior apartment by night and day, perpetual henceforth, according to the rule of the Mobeds, and to the manner which was always practised in the fire-temples of the Kings of Ajem, because the Iti set was among the sentences of the Lord, and light from among the lights of the great Ized. He invited likewise the fire-worshippers from Kirman to his presence, and questioned them about the subtilties of

1 1 am not acquainted with the subjects above alluded to, nor does the text appear connected.

Zardusht's religion; and he wrote letters to Azer-Kaivan, who was a chief of the Yezdam'an and Aba-danian, and invited him to India; Azer-Kaivan begged to be excused from coming, but sent a book of his own composition in praise of the self-existing being, of reason, the soul, the heavens, the stars, and the elements; as well as a word of advice to the King; all this contained in fourteen sections: every first line of each was in Persian pure deri; when read invertedly, it was Arabic; when turned about, Turkish; and when this was read in reversed order, it became Hindi. The Nawab, the wise Shaikh Abu 1 Fazil placed a full confidence in Azer Kaivan; he called the inhabitants of Ajem and Arabia '' infestors 4< of roads, "and the people of Islam " accursed." The wise Shaikh Abu 1 Fazil said in Fatah piir to Abd ul Kader Bedavani: l ' I have to complain of the " authors of books for two reasons: the first is, u that they have not explicitly enough written the " account of ancient prophets, similar to that of <f their own prophet; the second is, that nothing " remained of the industrious men whose name " is not mentioned in the Tazkeret-ul-awlia, ' the " * Story of the Saints/ 1 and the Nafhdt alum, ~

i Composed by Fend eddin Attlar.

1 This is a work of the celebrated Abd-al rahmen fa mi; its whole title is: /^AaJt o|^=^ ^ i/ 0 "^ olsr^ ^US' Kttdb-tt-nafhat-i 'I uns-i, min hazarat-i 'I Kades, translated by Silvestre de

" ' the fragrant Gales of Mankind/ and the like; " and the family of the prophet, what was their tc guilt that their names were not admitted into " them?" Abd ul Kader gave no satisfactory answer. Ghazi Khan Baddakshi, who had not his equal in logical science, treated explicitly and laboriously in sections of the just Imam (Ali), and established by investigation his superior merit in other treatises ; and other learned men exercised their sagacity upon this subject.

In the month Rajeb of the year of the Hejira 987 (A. D. 1579), the Emperor Akbar was ordered (by Heaven) to fix the sentence: "There is but one God, "and Akbar is his Khalifah," to be used. If the people really wished it, they might adopt this faith; and his Majesty declared, that this religion ought to be established by choice, and not by violence. In this manner, a number of men, who were more pious or wise than those of their times, chose this creed according to their conscience. The command came from God, that the attachment to the cause of the Lord God and to one's master has four degrees,

u Sacy, " les Haleines de la farmhantti, provenant des personnages " eminens en samtetti," " the breathings of familiarity proceeding from " personages eminent in sanctity." Baron von Hammer rendered the title by: 4t Die Hauche der Menshhett," li the Breathings of Mankind;" Nefhat being interpreted in the Dictionary, by " a breath of wind, a " fragrant gate, perfume, (metaphorically for) good fame," I prefered the version given in the text.

\. in. 7

which are: sacrifice of properly, life, reputation, and religion. The command of the Hah, "divine," faith means that, in case of an indispensable conflict, if one does not sacrifice all he possesses, he must renounce these four degrees. Further, it is the divine command, that one may relinquish something of the four degrees, but never make an abandonment of his God.

The Emperor further said, that one thousand years have elapsed since the beginning of Muhammad's mission, and that this was the extent of the duration of this religion, now arrived at its term.

Another of his ordinances abolished absolutely the obligation of bathing after pollution by spermatic emission. The sages said that the most exquisite and best part of a man is mam, u sperm," and that the seed of creation is pure. What sense is there that, after the common natural secretions bathing be not required, whilst the release of a quantity of delicate matter is subject to an entire ablution ? Yet it is suitable to bathe before indulging sexual propensity.

It is equally absurd to prepare food for the spirit of a corpse, which then belongs to minerals : what sense is there in it? Yet the birth-day of a person is justly made a great festival, and called " theban-" quet of life." Moreover, when one's soul has attained the full knowledge of the primitive cause, and has left its mortal garment, this day also is devoted to rejoicing, and named " the day of union."