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THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF CHICAGO 

LIBRARY 



THE DAEVISHES 



THE DAEVIS-aES 







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. ;. 

...,.... ......... 



JOHN P.ROWN 



SECRETARY AND DRAGOMAN OF THE LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES 
OP AMERICA AT CONSTANTINOPLE 



EDITED WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES 
BY 

H. A. ROSE 

FORMERLY OF THE INDIAN CIVIL SERVICE 



WITH TWENTY-THREE ILLUSTRATIONS 



OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 
LONDON: HUMPHREY MILFORD 

1 QQ7 




.(tU^-C i fs/tAx3A 



Oxford University Press 

London Edinburgh Glasyoiv Copenhagen 

New York Toronto Melbourne Gape Town 

Bombay Calcutta Madras Shanghai 

Humphrey Milford Publisher to the UNIVERSITY 



Printed in Great Britain by R. &. R, CI.ARK, LIMITED, Edinburgh, 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE 

THE object of this volume is to afford information in regard to 
the Belief and Principles of the Darvishes, as well as to describe 
their various modes of worshipping the Creator. 

That the Spiritual Principles of the Darvish Orders existed 
in Arabia previous to the time of the great and talented Islam 
Prophet cannot be doubted. The historical portions of the 
Old and New Testaments were also well known among the Arabs, 
differing traditionally, however, in many respects from the 
narratives of the Sacred Writings ; and if a conjecture may be 
made as to the starting-point of Islamism, we would say that it 
originated in the act of perfect submission of Abraham to the will 
of the Almighty, when he determined to offer up his son Isaac 
in obedience to the Divine command. 

The spiritualism of the Darvishes differing in many respects 
from Islamism, and having its origin in the religious conceptions 
of India and Greece, perhaps the information I have been enabled 
to collect together on the subject may not be without interest 
to the reader. Much of this is original ; and having been ex- 
tracted from Oriental works, and from Turkish, Arabic, and 
Persian MSS., may be relied upon as strictly accurate. In 
procuring materials from original sources, valuable assistance 
has been rendered me by personal friends, members of various 
Darvish Orders in this capital, to whom I would here express 
my thanks. Notwithstanding the unfavourable opinion enter- 
tained by many principally in the Christian world against 
their religious principles, I must, in strict justice, add that I 
have found these persons liberal and intelligent, sincere, and most 
faithful friends. 

In the extracts from the works of other authors, some of 

v 



vi AUTHOR'S PREFACE 

whom are too well known to the public to require more than to 
be named by me D'Ohsson, Sir William Jones, Malcolm, Lane, 
Ubicini, and De Gobineau some differences will be perceived, 
mostly with regard to the estimate placed by each of these 
upon the character and influence of " The Darvishes " in the 
Mussulman world. To these eminent authors I am under great 
obligations, and take the present opportunity of acknowledging 
them. 

To the kindness of Dr. Rost, the Secretary of the Royal 
Asiatic Society, in getting my little work through the press, I 
am more deeply indebted than I can here properly express. 

As a book of reference, I trust that this imperfect work will 
prove of use. ; and travellers in the East will perhaps be enabled 
to learn from it much that would be otherwise obscure and 
hidden from their knowledge. Much more could have been 
added to it, especially with regard to the Darvish Orders in the 
more distant parts of Asia, India, and Africa ; but I hope that 
some one more competent than myself will collect the information 

which was beyond my reach. 

THE AUTHOR. 

CONSTANTINOPLE, October 1867. 




BAEAQ, THE ANIMAL ON WHICH THE PROPHET VISITED HEAVEN. 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE 
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 



v 
xiii 



CHAPTER I 



Introduction Abraham and Muhammad The Sacrifice of 
Ismail The Decease of Ibrahim The Atmbodha, or 
Knowledge of the Spirit . . . . 1-48 

CHAPTER II 

On the Origin of the Darvish Orders The Original Orders; 

Forms of Prayer ; Caps, etc. Traditions of the Orders . 49-80 

CHAPTER III 

Names of the Orders of Darvishes Branches of the Original 
Orders at Constantinople Peculiar Titles given to Founders 
The Sahib-i-Tasawwuf or 'Spiritual Owners' of the 
Darvishes . . . . . . . . 81-95 



CHAPTER IV 

Translation of a Tract on the Costumes and Tenets of the 
Darvishes The Holy Mantle of the Prophet The Kulahs, 
or Darvish Caps [The Qadirls] .... 96-116 

vii 



viii CONTENTS 

CHAPTER V 

PAGE 

Sacred Books and the Creation of Man The Aulla or Saints . 117-122 

CHAPTER VI 

The Rifa'Ia (Howling Darvishes) The Naqshbandis Appendix 
A : Precursors of the Naqshbandi and Allied Orders 
Appendix B : The Suharwardi Order and its Disciples . 123-161 

CHAPTER VII 

The Baqtashis Their Costume Their Twelve Imams The 
Initiation of a Baqtash Appendix C : An Account of 
the Baqtash . . . . . 162-224 

CHAPTER VIII 

The Malamiyun The Sectarian Rites of the Much-loving 
Tanq of the Malamiyun On their Assemblies Thanks 
for Food Acquisition of the Means of Existence . . 225-241 

CHAPTER IX 

Real and False Darvishes The Khirga, or Mantle The 

Palank, or Stone worn in the Girdle The Post, or Seat . 242-249 

CHAPTER X 

The Order of the Maulavls Appendix D : Jalal-ud-Din's 

Descent and Teaching Appendix E : Girding the Sultan 250-264 

CHAPTER XI 

D'Ohsson on the Rise and Spread of Darvish Orders . . 265-300 

CHAPTER XII 

CHAPTER XII., Extracts from Lane's Modern Egyptians, 
is not reprinted. 



CONTENTS 



IX 



CHAPTER XIII 



Mussulman Saints . 



PAGE 
. 301-322 



CHAPTER XIV 

Persian Darvishes Spiritual Exercises Hashish The Occult 

Sciences A List of Darvish Convents at Constantinople . 323-347 



CHAPTER XV 

Ubicini's Letters on Turkey The Hindi, or the Wandering 

Darvishes of India ...... 348-374 



CHAPTER XVI 

On the Tasawwuf, or Spiritual Life of the Sufis . 



. 375-387 



CHAPTER XVII 

A Biography of the Fourth Caliph 'All . 



. 388-434 



APPENDICES 

I. Some Problems in Naqshbandi History 
II. Notes on some of the Islamic Orders 
III. Convents at Constantinople 



. 435-446 
. 447-458 
. 459-483 




A MAULAVI DARVISH OP DAMASCUS 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Baraq, the Animal on which the Prophet visited Heaven . vii 

A Maulavi Darvish of Damascus ..... xi 

A Qadiri Darvish ....... xii 

The Maulavi Shaikh of Pera, Constantinople . . . xxiv 

The Hululia, one of the original Orders of the Darvishes . 56 

A Maulavi, or Turning Darvish ..... 59 

A Maulavi Darvish of Damascus Dancing .... 60 

A Naqshbandl . . . . . . .61 

A devout Mussulman at Prayer in the Desert ... 68 
A Khalwati Shaikh ... . . . .82 

An Abdal Marabut, or Holy Man, in a Crazed State . . 93 

Maulavi Darvishes undergoing Penitence .... 116 

A Rifa'i Darvish in an Ecstatic State .... 135 

A Shaikh of the Naqshbandis subduing a Lion by his Spiritual 

Powers ........ 179 

Maulavi Darvish of Damascus crossing his Arms before beginning 

to Dance . . . . . . . . 241 

A Maulavi Orchestra . . . . . . 258 

xi 



xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

A Sustain! Shaikh ....... 273 

Rifa'l Darvishes reciting the Aurad or Prayers to the Prophet . 279 

A Maulavi Darvish of Damascus ..... 284 

GhazI Hasan Baba, an Abdal or Santon of Tripoli, Barbary . 289 

A Wandering Qalandari Darvish ..... 299 

A Baqtash Darvish inhaling Hashish . . . . 342 

Darvishes of the Maulavi Order ..... 386 




A QADIKI DARVISH. 



EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 

. ... " THE DARVISHES", says Dr. F. Giese, "contains many 
valuable items of information, but must be read with extreme 
caution." The Editor's great object has been to make the 
information with which the work is packed more accessible to the 
student of religions in general and to the student of mysticism in 
particular. He has been scrupulous in correcting Brown's text, 
only venturing to put right a few obvious misprints, but he has, 
he trusts, made the work easier to use by standardising the 
spelling of the Arabic, Persian, and Turkish words contained in it. 
The system of transliteration adopted in the text is that accepted 
by the Royal Asiatic Society without diacritical points, but these 
have been more freely used in the footnotes added by the Editor. 1 
To the general reader a rigidly scientific system of transliteration 
is merely confusing, while, for the specialist it is unnecessary. In 
the case of Turkish words the system has been adhered to as far 
as words borrowed from Arabic or Persian are concerned, but in 
the purely Turkish terms Redhouse's transcriptions have been 
retained, in the main, as being closer to the actual pronunciation. 
As usual in the phraseology of popular religions, the investigator 
will come across words which are not to be found in the standard 
dictionaries. The footnotes to Brown's original text have been 
retained with their reference signs. Those added by the Editor 
are referred to by numbers, so that the reader can see at a glance 
who is responsible for each note. For the extent of the notes the 
Editor has no apology to offer. As Dr. Giese observes : " There is 

1 Absolute conformity is, however, not practicable, especially in quota- 
tions, wherein the writer's own spelling is respected. The editor's dislike 
of the hard breathing to represent the guttural *ain has led him to prefer, 
.jf. 'Ali to 'Ali. 



Ylll 



xiv EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 

as yet no systematic account of Islam in Turkey ", and though 
the Editor owes a heavy debt to The Encyclopedia of Mam, he 
ventures to think that in Brown's work will be found a supplement 
to it which will be indispensable when such an account comes to 
be written. All that the Editor has been able to do in the way 
of research has but served to confirm the scholarly accuracy of 
Brown's work. 1 As a book it suffers from defects of arrangement, 
inevitable when a writer reprints his contributions to periodical 
literature without the opportunity of recasting them in a con- 
densed and ordered form. Brown was also unfortunate in his 
choice of the scholar who saw his book through the press. With 
ordinary diligence and care in the correction of the proofs many 
palpable but perplexing errors might have been avoided and the 
value of the work vastly increased. 2 Brown seems, moreover, 
to have been hampered by lack of access to a good library of works 
on Oriental literature, as he does not refer to several translators 
who would have rendered him invaluable , aid. But this very 
deprivation had its advantages. Brown's work is clearly based 
on information gleaned by laborious inquiries at first-hand. It 
is not a compilation from orthodox literature, but the fruit of 
intimate acquaintance with the actualities of belief and practice 
among a people who have often evinced a noteworthy individuality 
in their religious thought. 

If Turkey can be said to have had any constitutional history, 
its principal chapter would be concerned with the restraints 
which religion was able at times to impose on the worst excesses 
of despotism. In theory the Sultan was controlled by the Shaikh 
al-Islam in many important respects, but in practice that office 
seems to have been filled by men who could be trusted to support 
the administration in any step it chose to take. Nevertheless 
the Shaikh al-Islam was sometimes able to assert the authority 
of the religious law against purely arbitrary measures, and he 
doubtless found in the religious Orders much moral support on 
occasion. Their influence was, however, generally weakened by 
the fact that they were looked upon as unorthodox by the legally 
constituted ecclesiastical authorities. . In the absence of anything 

* 

1 In E.R.E. (Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics), 8, p. 907. 

2 Such as ' condition ' for ' audition ' on p. 47 ; ' ten ' for ' two ' on 
p. 377 ; ' Nashihat ' for ' Rashihat ' on p. 212 ; misspelling of the names of 
well-known Orientalists ; and a few others. 



EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION xv 

approaching an authentic record of the part really played by the 
Orders in the revolt headed by Jalandarughlu in Anatolia in the 
sixteenth century, and of the relations of the Orders, other than 
the Baqtash, to the Janissaries, it is impossible to say what their 
political ideals were. Count Leon Ostrorog writes of " the 
stubborn and blind bigotry of the hodjas (khojas), and of their 
coalition with the Janissaries when they had lost all discipline 
and become the masters of the State " . But the only Order which 
seems to have supported the unruly soldiery was that of the 
Baqtash, and on that account ostensibly it owed its expulsion 
from Constantinople and its virtual suppression throughout 
Turkey ^ The only other Order which was suppressed was the 
Malamati, but the reasons for its persecution are obscure. The^ 
truth may be that any Order which displayed political activities] 
was suppressed, while those which survived were made to under-A 
stand that their existence would only be tolerated on condition! 
that their members indulged in harmless mystic practices and! 
refrained from independent speculation, and, above all, from any)| 
overt act or teaching savouring of reform. This would explain 
why, as Count Ostrorog says, the most important privilege of 
primitive Muhammadanism, the right of examination and personal 
interpretation of the sacred texts, has long since disappeared 
from Turkish Islam, Yet, as he admits, the khojas were once, 
in the time of Sultan Sallm (in the middle of the sixteenth century, 
when^the Sultanate was at the zenith of its power), able to offer 
such a strong moral resistance to that ruler's policy of extermina- 
tion for all Jews and Christians as would not accept Islam that 
even that iron will had to give way, and Eastern Christendom 
was thus saved by the religious law of Islam. That was no small 
achievement in an age when the Sultan was under no other 
restraining influences whatsoever. 

Another functionary who, at least in modern times, exercised 
an important power was the Fatwa-Amina, who alone could issue , 
a fatwa for the deposition of a reigning Sultan. This, though a 
religious act, could not originate from the Shaikh al-Islam, 1 
though the fatwa had to be countersigned by him. Moreover, 

1 See the note on p. 254 infra. In his translation of the Mesnevi of 
Jalal-ud-Din Kedhouse explains the term to mean ' local vice-chancellor ', 
p. 15.' This would make the title as old as the thirteenth century, but it 
throws no light on the history and functions of the office. 



xvi EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 

I the Fatwa-Amma is not called upon to give any decision on the 

merits of the case for deposition, but merely his opinion on the 

\ point of law : whether a Sultan who has been guilty of certain 

\ acts is liable to be deposed (W. M. Ramsay, The Revolution in 

i Constantinople and Turkey, 1909, p. 112). 

H. N. Brailsford well describes Turkey "in its original fabric 

as a theocratic Power with a military basis ".* This description 

is, however, hardly complete, as it does not take into account the 

economic factors in the Osmanll system. In Constantinople, 

at any rate, the Sultans created or tolerated an elaborate system 

of trade-guilds, attaining in number the conventional figure 1001, 

borrowed from other countries, or possibly a revival of more ancient 

organisations. The Siyydh-ndma a of Evliya Effendi gives an 

exhaustive enumeration of these guilds, but picturesque as it iSj 

it affords few facts upon which a scientific history of them could 

, be reconstructed. Evliya describes what corresponded to the 

Lord Mayor's Show in the Turkish capital of the seventeenth 

century, and dwells on the religious affinities of the guilds. Each 

had its patron-saint, though a saint might be patron of more 

than one guild. The saints of the crafts were peculiarly affected 

by the Qadiris, as in India, where a great saint of that Order is 

known as the Pir Dastglr, 'The Helpful Saint', and may be 

regarded as the protector' of industry in general, while some of 

V his descendants are patrons of specific crafts. But this was not 

1 an exclusively Qadiri function, as other Orders also took some 

1 avocations and arts under their patronage. Hence we shall find 

I in the list of the convents at Constantinople 3 that many are called 

1 after the guilds, while the position of others in a particular quarter 

lor street occupied by workers in a trade probably indicates some 

Jconnexion with its guild. 

V But if Brailsford' s description of the social fabric in Turkey 
unduly diminishes the importance of its industrial guilds, it must 
be admitted that they were closely interwoven with the military 
system, just as they were linked up with the religious organisation 
of the empire. From Evliya's account, imperfect as it is, it will 
be seen that many crafts formed corps more or less organised as 

1 Macedonia, p. 21. 

2 Translated by Bitter J. von Hammer, 1846 ; cited as Evliya in the 
notes. 

3 App. III., p. 459 infra. 



EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION xvii 

train-bands for war. Thus the miners, employed on cleansing 
roads in times of peace, were available as sappers in war. They 
were " for the most part Armenians from Qaisaria, a bad-smelling 
set of men, but necessary in sieges ". x The axe-men and stone- 
cutters were similarly employed as pioneers, though there seems 
to have been also a regular body of pioneers (Saldhoran) who 
had a different patron-saint. In all, says Evliya, there were 
nine corps of such auxiliaries who were reckoned to form part of 
the infantry of the camp, though one of them at least, that of the 
pages, could hardly have been actually employed on a campaign. 
The horse-jobbers, biscuit-bakers, water-carriers., and apothecaries 
were all similarly employed in war. 

It is certain that these guilds were not confined to Constanti- 
nople, but how far their organisation was developed in other 
parts of the Turkish empire does not appear. The Takhtajis, or 
workers in wood, for instance, form a strong sectarian community 
in A,sia Minor, but they do not seem to constitute a true guild. 
However this may be, the guild system is still a force in Turkey 
owing to its vitality in the capital, though the disappearance of 
many once flourishing industries has diminished the number of 
the guilds. Evliya's picture of its history is certainly inaccurate, 
but it is curious that the guild traditions derived many of their 
patron-saints from lands which never formed part of the Turkish 
empire, and were not even dominated by Islam until some cen- 
turies had elapsed after its foundation. The significance of these i 
legends J is obscure, but they may express a feeling, more or less j 
conscious, that industry was not a matter of race or creed, but i 
dependent on international comity and religious tolerance. This 
suggestion is supported by the fact that some guilds admit both 
Christians and Muhammadans to membership. Another bene- 
ficent feature of Turkish life, at least in the towns, is the strict 
specialisation of each particular branch of industry or commerce, 
and the absence of the middleman in the generality of transactions 
connected with supplying the necessaries of existence. In this 
respect the Turkish system seems to have been economically 
more suited. to the conditions of a backward community than the 
caste system of India, though it failed to provide any means of 
financing industry or agriculture independent of the middleman, 
alien in creed or in caste to the toiling masses of the country. 
1 Evliya, i. Part ii. pp. 107, 109, 125, and 123. 



xviii EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 

Herein it displayed no advantage over the Indian system. The 
religious Orders, especially the Qadmspor developments of that 
Order, seem to have stood originally for a notable advance in the 
economic organisation of the East, but they were looked at 
askance as politically heterodox, and appear to have been unable 
to do more than establish industrial guilds on mediaeval models 
at a time when the rest of Europe was finally discarding that 
system for a more effective commercial organisation. As in 
India, again, local self-government never made any headway 
in Turkey, but within the guild, as in the industrial caste, there 
was and is a considerable measure of self-administration, some 
possessing a qanun or written constitution in addition to the 
traditional laws and practices. In many respects the organisation 
, is very similar to that of the religious Orders. 1 
I But did any of the Turkish guilds actually originate in religious 
/fraternities, as happened in mediaeval Germany and elsewhere ? 
/ In the present state of our knowledge no definite answer can be 
given to this question. In the Nearer East systems of trade- 
guilds are of great antiquity, and just as the Christian Orders 
played a great part in the economic reconstruction of Europe 
after the barbaric invasions, so in the Moslem East the religious 
Orders must at an early period have taken industry under their 
patronage, even if their fundamental principles forbade them to 
found industries of their own. Among the earlier Sufis the 
doctrine of lawakkul, ' dependence upon God ', was carried to 
excess, yet among the more sober thinkers, even in that com- 
munity, it was vehemently opposed, and in its stead was inculcated 
the duty or practice of kasb, ' the gaining of daily bread by 
labour ' . It was seemingly in accord with this teaching that 
many of the earlier Sufis were well content to be called by occupa- 
tional surnames, such as al-Hallaj, ' the carder '. a 

On the other hand, the artisan, the merchant, and even the 
professions may well have found it politic to place their vocational 
interests under the protection of religion during an epoch when 
the law was almost powerless to safeguard them; and all lay 
organisations were apt to be regarded with suspicion by authority. 
If this was so, the position in the Muhammadan world was 

1 See The Turkish People, by Miss L. M. J. Garnett, pp. 15-20, for an 
account of the modern guild system. 

2 D. B. Macdonald, Muslim Theology, p. 179. 



EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION xix 

strikingly like that in mediaeval Christendom. That position is 
admirably summed up in these words : " We know how in earlier 
days the London journeymen and apprentices conspired ' under 
a feigned colour of sanctity ' to gain more independence ; and 
how the merchant adventurers of London were charged with 
having mounted to authority, ' so by colour of such feigned holiness 
as the name of St. Thomas conferred ' ; and it is not impossible 
that traces of a lost chapter of history may be preserved in some 
of the numerous religious guilds of which the records have been 
preserved ". 1 

Popular tradition makes a saint, Shaikh Mehmed Gilani, a 
companion of Sultan Muhammad II., who wished .to give him all 
the sea-front 'twixt the Akhor Gate and the Seven Towers. The 
saint, however, was content to take a site for a retreat near the 
Wazir Iskele-si, where later on was built the Arpa-ji Mosque 
(the Mosque of the Barley-seller). The saint erected there a 
takia and prayer-house, not far from the Baghcha Gate, and close 
by he and his brother Arslan 'Ali were buried. But in course of 
time all traces of these structures disappeared. Not until the 
reign of Sultan Mehmed II. (sic) was the memory of the two saints 
revived. The Shaikh Gilani appeared to the Sultan in a dream, 
and bade him dig in a certain place. There the bodies of the two 
saints were found still wrapped in their shrouds. They were 
laid in a (new ?) turba, and both are honoured under the one 
name cjf Salamat Baba. Their function is to aid those who are 
in irremediable difficulties. The title Gilani suggests that this 
two-fold saint is the ' Helpful ' Pir of the Qadiris, a conjecture 
perhaps supported by his association with the Arpa-ji Mosque. 3 

The stories of Baba or Shaikh Ilias illustrate the power of the 
religieux before the rise of the Ottoman Turks. The last of the 
Saljuqs to wield any real power, Ghiyas-ud-Din II. (1236-1259), 
ordered a general massacre of the Sufis, in fear, it is said, of a 
darvish revolt. Baba Ilias al-Khurasam, who is however described 
as dwelling at Amasia, was probably a refugee from the inroads 
of Jengiz Khan, but he was able to make many disciples in Rum. 
Nevertheless, when he fell into the hands of the Saljuqian troops 
he was beheaded, * and his succession cut off '. This must mean 

1 Mrs. J. Ri. Green in a review of Two Thousand Years of Gild Life, by 
the Rev. J. Malet Lambert, Eng. Hist. Review, viii. (1893), p. 339. 

2 Fried. Schrader, Konstantinopel, pp. 85-7. 



xx EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 

that he left no spiritual heirs, for his son Shaikh Mukhlis was 
raised to power over Yunan (Ionia) by the people, and especially 
by his own disciples, for he, too, was a mystic teacher. But after 
a rule of six months he resigned his power to Qaraman, son of 
Nur-ud-Dm, a Sufi of Baba Ilias. If we had not been told that 
the latter's succession had been cut off, we should here suspect 
that a contest of the usual kind had arisen between the Baba's 
spiritual and physical heirs, in which the former prevailed. Another 
version is given in von Hammer, GdOR. ii. p. 58, but it leaves 
the main outline of the tale as it stands above. That the down- 
fall of the Saljuqs was largely due to religious dissensions is also 
indicated in the Mesnevi, Redhouse's trans., p. 55. Who the 
Shaikh Baba of that work may be, or what connexion he had 
with the earlier Nur Sufi, the Armenian, the Nur-ud-Dm whose 
son founded the principality of Qaramania, does not appear (Gibb, 
Hist, of Ott. Poetry, i. pp. 176 ff.). A Shaikh Baba of Marand is 
mentioned once in Les Saints des Dervishes tourneurs (i. pp. 113-14), 
where it is related the dynasty of the Saljuqs came to be over- 
thrown. The Sultan Rukn-ud-DIn became the disciple of our 
Master, Jalal-ud-Dm RumI, and he convened a great assembly 
at which he held une seance d'intronisation sans pareille, pre- 
sumably to enthrone Jalal-ud-DIn. But Shaikh Baba, an ascetic 
by repute (mutarassim), and his friends, a gang of demons in human 
form, won over the Sultan by flattery, and he informed Jalal-ud- 
DIn that he accepted the Shaikh as his father. Whereupon the 
supplanted mystic declared that he would take another son. He 
refused to aid the Sultan by his influence against the Mongols, 
and the luckless ruler was strangled at Aq-Saral. 

The history of the relations of the religious Orders to the secular 
rulers of the Turkish provinces is a long one, but our information 
concerning them is very imperfect. To begin with the events 
of the reign of the last Saljuqian Sultan, Ghiyas-ud-Din (1236-59), 
we find Baba Ilias of Amasia, surnamed al-Khurasani, exciting 
a darvish revolt, of which the accounts differ. According to one, 
the Baba was killed in a general massacre of the Sufis, and ' his 
succession was cut off '. This phrase prepares us for a story of 
a disputed succession to the headship of his movement. Accord- 
ing to another version, the Baba, despite his rebellion, which was 
suppressed, was received into such favour by the Sultan Ghiyas- 
ud-DIn that the Maulana Jalal-ud-DIn and the Maulavis, his 



EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION xxi 

followers, left the Saljuqian Court in dudgeon. This tale carries 
little conviction, the more so in that the same historian states 
that the Baba was eventually killed in an attempt to raise the 
people of Amasia. 

The Baba left a son, Shaikh al-Mukhlis, and, as usual, many 
disciples. Al-Mukhlis in turn left a son, 'All, known as Shaikh 
Pasha al-'Ashiq, or 'Ashiq-pasha. The last-named wrote a 
history of his family, though he was professedly a mystic, and had 
as a poet assumed the style of al-'Ashiq, ' the lover '. His history, 
which is merely a preface to his poems, must clearly be received 
with caution. In it he says that al-Mukhlis was invited to 
become ruler of Ionia (Qaramania) by its inhabitants, and that 
he actually ruled it for six months, but then resigned it to Qaraman, 
son of Nur-ud-DIn, a 4 Sufi ', or disciple, of Baba Ilias, This 
being interpreted means that al-Mukhlis set up a claim to succeed 
his father by physical descent and failed in his purpose. The 
truth seems to be that Nur-ud-Din, who was by birth an Armenian, 
one of the most fanatical disciples of Ilias, and also known as 
Nur Sufi, had even in the reign of Sultan 'Ala-ud-DIn (1219-36) 
made his position secure by seizing the Byzantine fortress of 
Selefke, and securing the daughter of 'Ala-ud-DIn as a wife for 
his son Qaraman. Thus he must be regarded as the real founder 
of the kingdom of Qaramania. 

But the descendants of Ilias having lost temporal power 
retained considerable spiritual influence. 'Ashiq himself wrote 
a long masnawi called the Gharib-ndma, otherwise known as the 
Mtfarif-nama, or 'Book of the Sciences'. It is usually but 
incorrectly called his Dlwan, On his death in 1332, at the age of 
sixty-one, he was buried at Qlr-shahr, and his shrine became a 
place of pilgrimage. His son 'Ulwan, also a mystic poet, had a 
similar shrine at Amasia. 

'Ashiq has also another claim to notice in that towards the 
close of his life he settled in Qlr-shahr, where he became a com- 
panion of Haji Bektash, then living in its neighbourhood. This 
association is said to have begun after the accession of Orkhan 
in 1326, and as the Gharib-nama was finished in 1329-30 it can 
hardly have owed much to the influence of Bektash, but it is 
conceivable that the latter was in debt to the poem. It is, 
however, nowhere stated that the Haji was a successor of Baja 
Ilias or his school* On the contrary, his immediate teacher is 



xxii EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 

sometimes given as Luqman, also styled al-Khurasani (M. Hart- 
mann, Der islamische Orient, vi.-x. p. 209). 

In the fifteenth century we have the Ardabili risings, described 
on p. 86. 

We now come to the sixteenth century. In 1520 the 
Persians openly incited the revolt of the Mahdi, Jalali, so that 
Jalall came to -mean 'rebel'! (Fr. Babinger in Der Islam, 
xi. p. 14). 

In 1527 ensued the rising headed by Qalandar-ughlu, who 
claimed to be a descendant of Haji Bektash, in Qaraman. It is 
plainly stated that his following included many darvishes, 'abdals, 
and Qalandars (von Hammer, GdOR. ii. p. 58). But Evliya, who 
visited Asia Minor in the next century, speaks of " the Anatolian 
rebels, Qara Yaziji, Qalandar-ughli, Dell Hasan, and Jannat- 
ughli ", as if they were joint leaders of this rising. If anything, he 
suggests that it was headed by Qara Yaziji, just as the one about 
to be described was led by one Qara Sa'id, rather than by the 
later Qalandar-ughli (Travels, ii. pp. 5 and 98). 

In the military revolt of 1632 one of the most influential of the 
rebel leaders was Deli Ilahl, ' the Narrengott ', a nephew of the 
Daghlar-deli-s! or ' Bergnarr V 

The seventeenth century opened with still graver rebellions, 
and another Qalandar-ughlu rebelled and burnt Brusa. But it 
does not appear that his followers were under any religious 
influences. 2 

We now come to a new phase in the attitude of the Turkish 
Sultanate towards the Darvish Orders. Henceforward their 
leaders do not appear to have countenanced insurrection. Possibly 
an exception must be made as regards the Bektash, but every 
other Order may be regarded as averse to violence, whatever its 
aims may have been. In 1656, however, the great minister, 
Muhammad Kuprlll, began his term of office under difficulties. 
The strictly orthodox party threatened not only the Sufis and 
Darvishes with violence, but also demanded the suppression of 
luxury in attire, the prohibition of tobacco, opium, and coffee, 
and the destruction of all superfluous minarets in the mosques, 
as they considered that a single minaret for each was sufficient, 
and therefore lawful. This agitation Muhammad Kuprili put 
down by firm but merciful measures. The hostility of the 
* V. GdOR, Hi. p. 111. . 2 GTO. ii. pp. 704-12. 



EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION xxiii 

reformers was confined apparently to the Orders specified on 
p. 342 infra. 

But during the wizdrat of the younger KuprTlI, Ahmad, the 
preacher Van! Effendi acquired great influence, and from about 
1664 great efforts were made to suppress the Sufi mystics and the 
darvish Orders. He was able to secure the banishment of the 
Khalwati Shaikh Misri Effendi, the Niazi Effendi of p. 204. The 
Maulavis also were persecuted in his time (v. note on p. 182). 
The descriptions given of him are unflattering. A repulsive old 
hunchback with one eye smaller than the other, he was depicted 
as a casuistical hypocrite. But not dissimilar charges had been^ 
made against the orthodox reformers of 1656, and G. F. Abbott's 
view is that the Shaikh's zeal for religious purity was the counter- 
part of Kuprili's in the cause of political morality (Under the Turk 
at Constantinople, pp. 153-7 ; GdOR. iii. pp. 467 ff. and 549). 
There was undoubtedly a strong Puritan movement in Turkey 
at this time. It was opposed to superstitious practices (though 
the accusations of Kabalistic reckonings and astrological pre- 
dictions may not always have been true, ib. p. 520), and the 
darvish Orders had dabbled in many such. It was also believed 
that the dancing, flute-playing, and mystical exercises generally 
were enervating in their effects. 

" For nearly 1400 years," says a recent writer, " about as long 
as there have been English in England, Asia Minor was European 
in language and culture ; and since the Roman conquest in the 
second eentury B.C. it had been politically European as well. Its 
culture was, it is true, tinged by the phantasies of the East, but 
it remained essentially European." 1 

1 A. W. Gomme, Mr. Wells as Historian, p. 38. 




THE MAULAVf SHAIKH OF PERA, CONSTANTINOPLE 



THE DARVISHES 



CHAPTER I 

INTRODUCTION ABRAHAM AND MUHAMMAD THE SACRIFICE OF 
ISMAIL THE DECEASE OF IBRAHIM THE ATMBODHA, OR 
KNOWLEDGE OF THE SPIRIT. 

THE earliest form, or principle, of Religion is connected with an 
intuitive conviction in the mind of man of the possession of a 
soul or spirit, independent of his body, or corporeal existence. 
The soul is believed to survive the body, and refers to a superior 
Spirit, creative and providential in its character. A more perfect 
knowledge and communion with this greater Spirit, or God, is 
the object of man's continuous aspirations. The senses (or 
faculties) of man are possessed in common with other animals. 
These are all intimately connected with his intellectual faculty, 
so much so that, when they do not exist, as in childhood and 
advanced age, or are enfeebled by accidental causes, as in idiocy, 
it is seriously affected. The reasoning faculty, and that of 
speech, seem to be those which distinguish man from ordinary 
animal nature, and yet both of these are possessed, in a greater 
and less degree, by most animals. It is supposed that the brain 
is the seat of the 'intellectual faculty', and its operations are 
explained by its connexion with the nervous system and the 
other senses, such as hearing, seeing, and the touch. The size 
of the brain does not increase the reasoning faculty, nor that of 
the body the other ordinary faculties. 

Man, thus, in his most degraded and least intellectual con- 
dition, in his most barbarous state, seems to have an ' intuitive 
conviction ' of the possession of a soul, and of a future existence 

"1 B 



2 THE CREATOR i 

after the death of his body. It seems not to be dependent upon 
mental culture, nor upon a knowledge of the greatness of this 
God, and the magnitude of His power and works. Does this 
perception extend to any other of His creatures, vegetable or 
animal, or is it restricted entirely to man ? * I believe that 
the idea is always limited to the fact that there is a God, and 
that the belief in a plurality of Gods is a matter of pure imagina- 
tion, dependent upon the varied convictions and wants of man 
in the several parts of the world. 

Just as the soul of man thus leads him to believe in the 
existence of God, so does it likewise impress him with a con- 
viction of the greatness of the Deity, and, in his helplessness, to 
supplicate Him in the hour of need, of suffering, and of danger. 
This, therefore, is the original means of communicating with the 
Creator on the part of the creature. Divine providences are not 
restricted to man only, but are experienced throughout all 
creation. The same laws of nature which affect him in this life 
extend also to all living beings, and the question may be again 
repeated, whether inanimate as well as animate creation, the 
vegetable as well as animal, have any perception of this fact? 

Leaving the idea of the unity of the Deity, it is found that 
man has endeavoured to give to this simple conviction a place 
and a form. On the former there seems to be a belief in common 
among all men, that the Creator of all things exists far beyond 
the conceptions of the senses, and invisible to the ordinary 
senses ; whilst the imagination ascribes to Him innumerable 
forms, all dependent upon the imagination and the fancied wants 
of ordinary life. With some He is all benevolence, with others 
avenging ; whilst some believe that all His providences are un- 
changeable, and therefore constitute what is called destiny and 
fate, others regard them as merciful, and adapted to the needs 
of those who implore His compassion. Whilst He is considered 
omnipotent iii all things, it is held that He may, and does, alter 
His laws of nature, and so permit of occurrences which are called 
miracles. They even go still further, and hold that He grants 
this power to those who invoke Him, so that they may effect 
equally surprising supernatural acts. 

Besides this communion with God by spiritual means only, 
and a direct intercourse between the Spirit of the Creator and 
* Vide Psalm cl. 6, and others. 



i MAN'S SPIRITUAL HISTORY 3 

the soul of man, many particularly in the East, the birth-place 
of humanity, according to the earliest history believe it possible 
for him to approach near to God. This is effected by a devout 
adoration of Him, a frequent calling upon His Name ; and the 
method of doing so has been established in a regular system. As 
this is peculiar to the East, the following account of the Darvishes 
will serve in some manner to explain it. 

For most of the religious creeds of the Moslems I believe the 
source, or at least parallels, may be found in the Bible, and the 
history of Christian saints. The same thoughts give rise to a 
similarity of impulses and of acts ; and this fact, with many, 
leads the mind to believe in their truthfulness. 

A closer application to the contemplation of the Deity as the 
one Supreme Spirit, * Creator of all things, and omnipotent 
Sovereign of the universe, and of the immortality of the soul of 
man, leads the mind to a disregard of the history of the human 
race as a Divine revelation. It places the forms of worship 
sanctified in our estimation only by the assumption . of their 
founder, that he possessed a position of devout communion with 
the Deity not possessed by his fellow-creatures generally in .a 
secondary, if not, indeed, in an unessential, point of view. They 
are valued only as the creation of the mind of one who commands 
our respect by his evident intention to benefit his fellow-beings, 
by elevating them from a meaningless idolatry to an adoration of 
the One only true Deity, and by wise moral laws and regulations 
to guide v their ignorant and feeble intellects in a ' pathway ' 
leading from earth to heaven. Although we may be disposed to 
accept the idea that man has an ' intuitive conviction ' of the 
existence of God, this same intuition gives us no insight into the - 
condition of the soul in its future existence. It nevertheless 
strongly suggests the fact of a right and a wrong, of good and 
evil acts, and of a future reward for the one, and a punishment 
for the other. The insignificancy of the historical part of the 
Bible, in comparison with that which relates to man's spirituality, 
becomes the more apparent as we pursue the latter. It is, in 
almost every instance, only the narrative of temporary human 
weaknesses, of the empire of the passions, and of the feebleness 
of the soul, when unsupported by the Spirit of the Deity ; often 
offering some of the worst deeds which darken and degrade 
mankind in his short career in this existence. These cannot be 



4 REVEALED RELIGION I 

attributed to Divine inspiration, though the narrator may have 
been inspired to record them for a wise and useful purpose. The 
spiritual history of man only demands our deepest attention. In 
this we are led to regard with complacency, as non-essential to 
his future existence, the forms and particular rules of worship, 
established in modern as well as in ancient times, by the various 
individuals who fully considered the frailties of human nature, 
the necessity of external appearances, and the strength of what- 
ever is mysterious upon the mind of men generally. How many 
men and women have believed themselves as especially called 
upon to assume the character of prophets and prophetesses, and 
to appeal to their fellow-beings in the language of Divine inspira- 
tion ! We are struck by the strange mixture of good and evil 
which appears in the history of their own lives, and by the 
termination of their careers. We are lost in the vain endeavour 
to seize upon one fact calculated to procure a self-conviction of 
the truthfulness of their assumption. With some, we find youth 
and manhood devoted to mental instruction, in a religious point 
of view, and we are, therefore, led to give them our respect. And 
yet such instruction as this seems to command no claim to Divine 
inspiration, for the most unlearned have effected the most 
salutary results, the deepest and most lasting. Others, by the 
apparent purity of their lives, and the purely spiritual character 
of their administrations, place them high in our estimation ; so 
that we do not care to call into question either their intellectual 
attainments or the grounds of their assumption, satisfied, as we 
are, by the evident benevolence of their designs to their 
fellow-beings. 

In the East there is another class, who assume to have attained, 
by their own efforts, to a superior degree of spirituality, and to 
powers which come from Divine inspiration. These recognise 
the prophets and prophetesses who have preceded them, and 
who, through the purity of- their lives, have become saints in the 
spirit-world, there filling positions of varied eminence and 
influence, which their followers invoke in their own behalf. This 
may be said also of some of the branches of Christianity, in which 
the theory of patron-saints is so far extended as to obviate the 
necessity of the worship and adoration of the Deity. 

Revealed religion requires an unlimited degree of faith, and 
prescribes the exercise of reason, the same faculty which, from 



I SPIRITUALISM 5 

its peculiar character, seems to have had a direct origin from the 
Creator, inasmuch as it places man above all other creatures. 
The simple religion of man, which is intuitive to his nature, is so 
perverted in modern times as no longer to inspire its principal 
feature, viz. that of universal benevolence ; and, in its varied 
forms, is antagonistic to the evident will of the Supreme Deity, 
which cannot have any other object than that of justice, peace, 
and affection between all mankind. Revealed religion also teaches 
the existence of celestial spirits, who are supposed to be near the 
Deity, where they have been from a period the length of which 
cannot be even imagined. Of their origin nothing whatever is 
known : yet they must have been created in a manner different 
from that of man and his progeny. These are called Archangels 
and Angels, some of whose names we even knowj such as Michael, 
Gabriel, 1 etc. ; and, in more modern times, the abode of God has 
been peopled with saints, transformed from ordinary corporeal 
beings in this world to purely spiritual ones in heaven ; and we 
still give them there the same names which they bore on earth. 

Revelation relieves the mind of man of much of what is dark 
and concealed. It sheds a light upon the mysterious and the 
unknown, and, when accepted as a pure matter of faith, gives 
calmness and repose to the believer. A firmly-seated conviction, 
be it whatever it may, right or wrong, renders its possessor 
tranquil ; and with it the Jew, the Christian, the Moslem, as well 
as even the idolater or the fire-worshipper, passes through his 
career in life, satisfied with his faith, and meets the hour of his 
departure with cheerful confidence. Religion,) in its ordinary 
signification, means the outward expression of a belief, accom- 
panied by various forms of worship and external ceremonies. 
Spiritualism rejects these as non-essentials, and is the simple 
communion of the human soul with the Divine Spirit, by means 
of prayer and contemplation. The heart's adoration of the 
Supreme Creator may be audible or silent, and each be equal to 
the other, in point of value, with Him to whom nothing is secret. 
The inutility of forms and ceremonies is, therefore, evident, and 

1 Gabriel plays an important part in the Quran and his legend is highly 
developed among Moslems. His name is also used in charms and talismans 
(BJ. i. 990). He presented the Prophet with an apron of silk or a girdle, 
said to have been manufactured in Paradise, and he is thus credited with 
the invention of aprons (Spry, Life on the Bosphorus, 1895, p. 235). 



6 SPIRITUAL POWERS i 

at best may be regarded as human conceptions, or as symbols 
of mysteries having for object only an influence upon the mind 
and imagination of the worshipper. If these be considered as 
insignificant in the sight of the Almighty, they may also be 
regarded as innocent and harmless. These should not, however, 
tend to withdraw the worshipper from the Creator to the creature. 
It is impossible to suppose God unwilling to hear the supplications 
of any one who appeals to Him in a sincere and fervid spirit. It 
is equally impossible to believe that He has placed a barrier to 
this faculty, in the form of a multitude of intermediate creatures, 
or that He has given to any one a power to accept or refuse the 
salvation of another. The laws of God are equally over all 
and for all, and never can be otherwise than perfectly just. Any 
assertion, to the contrary must, therefore, be attributed entirely 
to the imagination, the vanity, and the weakness of man. Some 
men have been good for their own sakes only ; others have not 
only been themselves good, but have endeavoured to induce 
others to be equally good, so far as weak human nature and the 
power of the passions permit. Here, then, is an evident principle 
of benevolence, which alone renders its advocate superior to 
those who disregard it. That religion which is erected on this 
basis rests upon an eternal foundation, and possesses a Divine 
origin ; whilst any other which inculcates strife and enmity, 
with all their attendant evils, must be held as antagonistic to 
the design of the Supreme Creator and Judge of the whole human 
race. The laws prescribed by the earliest legislatist of whom we 
have any knowledge, Moses, impressed upon the minds of those 
whom he designed to benefit, first, the unity of the Deity, to 
whom only man must address his adorations, and next, the 
principle of right and wrong towards each other or, in other 
words, the necessity of mutual benevolence. 

The subject of Spiritual Powers is the principal object of the 
writer in collecting the materials of the present little work. No 
one, so far as he can learn, has devoted a book to the Darvishes 
exclusively. Some accounts of them, especially of the external 
forms of their worship, are found in various .writings ; but few 
have gone further than these, or have given, at most, biographical 
sketches of their more prominent members. 

The subject is not a new one. It can be traced in the Old 
and New Testament, as well as in the Quran, and, I fully believe. 



i MOSLEM ATTITUDE TO CHRIST 7 

is peculiar to the learned ranks of the people of India, from 
whence it entered into Arabia and Persia. It has its origin in the 
belief that man's spirit is a Divine emanation, and, under certain 
peculiar circumstances, is possessed of a Divine faculty discon- 
nected with his corporeal part, and, therefore, to be attributed 
wholly to his spiritual. The unity of the Deity was the principle 
of the Greeks and the Hindus, and the other gods were supposed 
to be emanations from the One great Supreme Deity, called 
among the former Jove, and the latter Brahman. Among the 
Jews the unity was retained, and among the people of Arabia 
the same principle has not been forsaken, though that of emana- 
tions, or peculiar gifts of the Spirit of Allah to those who devotedly 
invoke and adore Him, is sustained to its fullest extent. The 
Trinity of the Christian creed seems to have been the chief 
object of Muhammad's abhorrence. In chap. cxii. of the Quran 
is found the whole basis of his doctrine : " God is one God ; He 
begetteth not, neither is He begotten ; and there is not any one 
like unto Him." 

Whilst Moslems reject the divinity of Jesus Christ, they fully 
believe in His miraculous conception, and even call Him, par 
excellence, the ' Spirit of God ' (Ruh-Ullah) ; they reject the theory 
of His mission as a Redeemer and Saviour, and of the Baptism, 
and yet admit Him as one of the saints (aulia) whose intercession 
with God is beneficial to those who implore Divine mercy. 

I cannot do better than here quote the remarks of M. Garcin 
de Tassy, in his preface to the admirable translation of the poem 
Mantic Uttair x (one of the most beautiful collections of ideas 
on the Spiritualism of the East), to demonstrate the subject 
before me : 

44 The enigma of nature has been variously explained by 
philosophy. Great geniuses have arisen in different places and 
in different ages, and their varied suppositions on this subject 
have been reduced to systems and found millions of docile 
followers. However, an authentic explanation was needed for 
this great mystery which would satisfy the mind and the heart. 

" Mussulmans have shown a remarkable subtlety in developing 
the mystery of nature. They have undertaken the most serious 

1 Mantiq-ut-Tair, ' The Speech of Birds,' by Farid-ud-Dln 'Attar. An 
abridged translation, The Conference of the Birds, by R. P. Masani, has 
been published by the Clarendon Press, 1924. 



8 THE StJFIS I 

task of showing the alliance between philosophy and revelation. 
Placed between the Pantheism of the Indian Jogis and the 
Quran, which is sometimes an informal copy of the Bible, their 
philosophers, named the Sufis, have established a pantheistic 
school appropriate to Islam ideas a sort of esoteric doctrine of 
Islamism, which must be distinguished from Indian Pantheism, 
though indeed it presents only the errors of the Vedanta and the 
Sdnkhya. 4 Pantheism, as a moral doctrine, leads to the same 
conclusions as materialism the negation of human liberty, the 
indifference to actions, and the legitimacy of temporal enjoy- 
ments.' In this system all is God, except God Himself, for He 
thereby ceases to be God. 

" The spiritualism of the Sufi, though contrary to materialism, 
is, in reality, identical with it. But if their doctrine is not more 
reasonable, it is, at least, more elevated and poetical. Among 
their authors, there are some who have endeavoured to form a 
concord between Muhammadan dogmas and their own principles, 
so as to establish for them a character of orthodoxy. 

" The doctrine of the Sufi is ancient in Islamism, and is much 
spread, especially among the partisans of 'AH (the fourth caliph). 
Out of it grew the belief in the infusion of the Divinity in 'All, 
and their allegorical explanation of all religious precepts and 
ceremonies. One Islam writer 1 says that the first person who 
took the name of Sufi was 'Abu-Hashim 2 of Kufa, in the latter 
part of the 8th century [A.D.] ; whilst another declares that the 
seeds of Sufism were sown in the time of Adam, germed in that 
of Noah, budded in that of Abraham, and the fruit commenced 
to be developed in that of Moses. They reached their maturity 
in that of Christ ; and in that of Muhammad produced pure wine. 
Those of its sectarians who loved this wine have so drunk of it 
as to lose all knowledge of themselves, and to exclaim, ' Praise be 
to me ! Is there any greater than me ? ' or rather, ' I am the 
Truth (that is to say, God) ! There is no other God than me ! ' . 

" It is well to remember that the word Sufi does not come from 
the Greek word ffofos (sage or wise)., as one might be tempted to 

1 Jami, in his Nafahat al-Uns, ed. W. N. Lees, Calcutta, 1859, p. 34. 

2 'Abu Hashim, a contemporary of Sufyan ul-Thauri (E.R.E., art. 
' Sufis '). Abu Hashim had a notable theological discussion with his father, 
al- Jubba'I, who died hi 303 H., regarding the relation of God to His qualities 
(Macdonald, Muslim Theology, pp. 159-160). 



i StJFl DOCTRINES 9 

suppose, but from the Arabic word s&f (wool), and signifies a 
woollen dress, which forms the costume of the Darvishes and 
fagirs, ' contemplatifs and spiritualists'. From this name comes 
that of the Sufis, mutasaiowaf, and signifies especially a talib, 1 or 
novice, who desires to become a Sufi. They generally give the 
name of s&lik to the talib, as ' one who walks in a spiritual path'. 
This name also simply signifies 'a man'. They call 'ab&diyat* 
' slavery' or 'servitude', the service of God ; and ""abd, he who 
devotes himself to His service. 'Arif, or the ' knowing,' is the 
devout contemplator ; and mtfrifat, the 'knowledge of God', is 
the object of the contemplation. He who has reached this know- 
ledge is called a wQli? or one who is brought near to God ; an 
expression which, in the end, signifies a saint . Jazb is the Divine 
attraction ; the ecstatic state, which is the result of contem- 
plation, is called Ml, and its degrees, maqdm ; the union with 
God is jam' a ; * the separation,/ar#, and the continuation with Him, 
sukinat.* They call the ignorant or worldly individual jdhil, and 
this expression signifies one who is not occupied with spiritual 
matters ; 5 and a distinction in fervour is thus defined, viz. : love 
of God, 'ishq-Ullah, differs from ' affection ' ; friendship, muhabbat ; 
shauq, ' desire ' ; ishti'fiq, 6 ' ardour ' ; and wajd, ' ecstasy'. 

1 falib, literally a ' seeker ' ; the fuller term is talib-ul-'ilm, ' a seeker 
after knowledge '. 

2 'Ubudiyyat, ' servantship ', 'ibadat (or 'ubadiat), 'service' (Kashf-ul- 
Mahjub, Nicholson, p. 79). 

3 Wall ia properly a prince or governor, one who rules over a walayat. 
WaH, waUy, pi. aulia, is a saint ; and saintship is waliyat or walayat, 
both terms connoting ' lordship ', just as maulawi, from the same root, 
means literally ' sovereign ' or ' supreme '. 

4 Jam'tt, the root of which means ' to be collected, gathered together ', 
gives such derivatives as jama'at, pp. 295 and 379 infra. Jam'a as a simple 
state in mysticism inclines to heretical atheism and disregard of outward 
observances. But a combination of the right eye of jam'a with the left eye 
of tafriqa is most to be desired, and this degree is called the jam'a al-jam'a 
or farq-us-sani, and is the highest in mysticism (Nassau Lees, Nafakat al- 
Uns, p. 9). Farq-us-sam, ' the second difference ', appears to be the second 
or highest stage of tafriqa, which is " the condition in which the votary 
retains his reason, but being subject to the material world his spirit is veiled 
from the Divine essence " (ib,). 

5 Probably saMnat, ' tranquillity ', the word used in Quran, ii. v. 249, 
where, however, Palmer says sakina is the Heb. shechina and is incorrectly 
, translated ' repose '. The root connotes ' dwelling ', and sakinat would 
I mean ' habitations '. 

6 Ishti'aq, from the same root as slwuq. 



10 SUFI DOCTRINES i 

" These are the principal expressions used by Mussulman 
Spiritualists, though there are many others, which cannot here 
be given." 

The following extract from a mystical poem on spiritualism, 
cited by the same author, will serve to develop the Darvish idea 
of God and man : 

" Man is the most perfect of God's creatures ; he is the king of 
nature, because he is the only one in the world who knows himself 
knows, thus, the Creator, and possesses . the intelligence of 
revelation. One may compare God to the sun reflected upon 
the waters ; this reflection of light is nothing other than the light 
itself. For this reason, religious men, intoxicated with the cup 
of Divine communion, exclaim, 'I am God'. In fact, man's 
attributes are of a Divine character what do I say? his sub- 
stance is that even of God. The only difference is, that he is a 
casual being, whilst God is the only necessary being." * 

The following is a succinct account of the doctrine of the 
Sufis which is generally adopted in the Darvish Orders : ' 

1. God only exists, He is in all things, and all things are in 
Him. 

2. All visible and invisible beings are an emanation from Him 
(' divince particula aurce '), and are not, really, distinct from Him. 
Creation is only a pastime with God. 

3. Paradise and Hell, and all the dogmas of positive religions, 
are only so many allegories, the spirit of which is only known 
to the Sufi. 

4. Religions are matters of indifference ; they, however, 
serve as a means of reaching to realities. Some, for this purpose, 
are more advantageous than others, among which is the Mussul- 
man religion, of which the doctrine of the Sufi is the philosophy. 

(On this subject, Jalal-ud-DIn ur-Rumi, the author of the 
text -book of the Order of the Maulavis, called the Masnavi 
Sharif, remarks in one of his verses : " In whatever place we may 
set our foot, we are always, Lord, within Thy resort. In what- 

* St. Paul says in Hebrews xi. 3 : " Through faith we understand that 
the worlds were framed by the word of God; so that things which are seen 
were not made of things which do appear." John of Parma, General of the 
Franciscans, the author of a celebrated Catholic work called the Eternal 
Gospel, and the author of the Imitation, proclaims that " To lose oneself in 
God is the only object towards which man should strive"'. 



i ADAMITE PARALLELS 11 

ever place or corner we may entrench ourselves, we are always 
near to Thee. Perhaps, we say, there is a path which leads 
elsewhere, and yet, let our pathway be whatever it will, it 
invariably leads to Thee.") 

5. There does not really exist any difference between good and 
evil, for all is reduced to unity, and God is the real author of the 
acts of mankind. 

6. It is God who fixes the will of man, and he is therefore not 
free in his actions. 

7. The soul existed before the body, and is confined within 
the latter as in a cage. Death, therefore, should be the object of 
the wishes of the Sufi for it is then that he returns to the bosom 
of the Divinity, from which he emanated, and he obtains what the 
Buddhists call the nirvana, or, ' annihilation in God'. 

8. It is by this metempsychosis that souls which have not 
fulfilled their destination here below are purified, and become 
worthy of reunion with God. 

9. The principal occupation of the Sufi is meditation on the 
Unity, and progressive advancement, so as to gradually attain 
to spiritual perfection, and to ' die in God ', and whilst in this 
life to reach to a unification with God. 

10. Without the grace of God, which they call faiz-Ulldh, 
no one can attain to this spiritual union ; but this they assert is 
practicable, for it is held by them that God does not refuse His aid 
to those that fervently ask it. 

M. de Tassy adds, that these doctrines have had their partisans 
in Christian Europe ; for the Adamites teach that the human soul 
is an emanation of the Deity, imprisoned in bodily organs, from 
which it must be freed ; and that the acts of the body are matters 
of indifference, which have no influence on the soul. In the 
seventh century, some held that God was in all nature, and that 
His essence gave life to it. Others maintained that it was neces- 
sary to disengage the soul from the weight of the faculties, so as 
to arrive at an absolute fusion with the infallible One, and that 
was only by contemplation. 

The religious or mystical poems of the people of the East are 
mostly upon this subject. They serve to show that the writers, 
though nominally Mussulmans, were, nevertheless, not held by 
the ties of ordinary religion, its forms, dogmas, and ceremonies, 
to. all of which they attached but little importance, when com- 



12 ODE I 

pared with the vast idea of the greatness of the Creator and 
Providential God of the universe. With them, there is but one 
book worthy of their research that of Nature ; in every page 
of which they read the unity and power and perfection of the 
Deity, In the journey of this life, there are many paths, all of 
which meet at the same goal the death of the body, the im- 
mortality of the soul, and its reunion with its First Great Cause. 
Many extracts and translations might be offered to explain the 
Darvish's idea of the Deity, but the following ode appears to me 
to convey it far more beautifully than anything else -I have ever 
seen. It is also peculiarly Oriental in its character. 



GOD 

O THOU ETERNAL ONE ! whose presence bright 
All space doth occupy ! all motion guide ; 

Unchanged through Time's all-devastating flight, 
Thou only God ! There is no God beside. 

Being above all beings ! Mighty One ! 
Whom none can comprehend, and none explore ; 

Who fill'st existence with Thyself alone ; 
Embracing all supporting ruling o'er 
Being whom we call God and know no more ! 

In its sublime research, Philosophy 
May measure out the ocean deep may count 

The sands, or the sun's rays ; but, God ! for Thee 
There is no weight nor measure ; none can mount 

Up to Thy mysteries. Reason's brightest spark, 
Though kindled by Thy light, in vain would try 

To trace Thy counsels, infinite and dark ; 
And thought is lost ere thought can soar so high, 
E'en like past moments in eternity. 

Thou from primeval nothingness did'st call 
First Chaos, then Existence. Lord, on Thee 

Eternity hath its foundation ; all 
Sprung forth from Thee ; of Light, Joy, Harmony, . 

Sole origin all life, beauty, Thine. 
Thy word created all and doth create : 

Thy splendour fills all space with rays Divine. 
Thou art, and wert, and shalt be glorious ! great ! 
Life-giving, life-sustaining Potentate. 



ODE 13 

Thy chains the unmeasured universe surround, 
Upheld by Thee, by Thee inspired with breath ! 

Thou the beginning with the end hast bound, 
And beautifully mingled Life and Death ! 

As sparks mount upward from the fiery blaze, 
So suns are born, so worlds spring forth from Thee ! 

And as the spangles in the sunny rays 
Shine round the silver snow, the pageantry 

Of Heaven's bright army glitters in Thy praise. 

A million torches lighted by Thy hand 
Wander unwearied through the blue abyss ; 

They own Thy power, accomplish Thy command, 
All gay with life, all eloquent with bliss : 

What shall we call them ? Piles of crystal light? 
A glorious company of golden streams? 

Lamps of celestial ether burning bright? 
Suns, lighting systems with their joyous beams? 

But Thou, to those, art as the noon to night. 

Yes ! as a drop of water in the sea, 
All this magnificence in Thee is lost : 

What are a thousand worlds compared to Thee ? 
And what am I, when heaven's unnumbered host, 

Though multiplied by myriads, and arrayed 
In all the glory of sublimest thought, 

Is but an atom in the balance, weighed 
Against Thy greatness is a cypher brought 
Against Infinity ? What am I, then ? Nought. 

Nought ! but the effluence of Thy light Divine, 
Pervading worlds, hath reached my bosom too ; 

Yes, in my spirit doth Thy Spirit shine, 
As shines the sunbeam in a drop of dew. 

Nought ! but I live and on hope's pinions fly, 
Eager towards Thy presence ; for in Thee 

I live, and breathe, and dwell ; aspiring high, 
E'en to the throne of Thy Divinity. 
I am, God, and surely Thou must be ! 

Thou art ! directing, guiding all, Thou art ! 
Direct my understanding, then, to Thee ; 

Control my spirit, guide my wandering heart ; 
Though but an atom 'midst immensity, 

Still I am something fashioned by Thy hand ! 



14 PHYSICAL INCENTIVES i 

I hold a middle rank, 'twixt heaven and earth ; - 

On. the last verge of mortal being stand, 
Close to the realm where angels have their birth, 

Just on the boundary of the spirit-land ! 

The chain of being is complete in me ; 
In me is matter's last gradation lost, 

And the next step is spirit Deity ! 
I can command the lightning, and am dust ! 

A monarch, and a slave ; a worm, a God ! 
Whence came I here, and how ? so marvellously 

Constructed and conceived, unknown ? This clod 
Lives surely through some higher energy ; 
For from itself alone it could not be. 

Creator ! Yes ! Thy Wisdom and Thy Word 
Created me ! Thou Source of Life and Good ! 

Thou Spirit of my spirit, and my Lord ! 
Thy Light, Thy Love, in their bright plenitude 

Filled me with an immortal soul, to spring 
O'er the abyss of death, and bade it wear 

The garments of Eternal Day, and wing 
Its heavenly flight beyond this little sphere, 
Even in its Source, to Thee, its Author, Thee. 

O thought ineffable ! O vision blest ! 
(Though worthless our conceptions all of Thee,) 

Yet shall Thy shadowed image fill our breast, 
And waft its homage to the Deity. 

God ! thus alone my lowly thoughts can soar, 
Thus seek Thy presence. Being wise and good ! 

'Midst Thy vast works, admire, obey, adore ; 

And when the tongue is eloquent no more, 
The soul shall speak in tears of gratitude. 

Just as some of the Darvishes use internal incentives to religi- 
ous fervour, such as the hashish, hereafter described, and believe 
that the imagination, excited by such physical means, obtains a 
glimpse of future spiritual felicity, so others enliven the mental 
faculty by corporeal excitements. In this view, they inspire 
each other with increased fervour by the agitation of the body 
and the continued exercise of the powers of speech, which they 
call invoking the Deity or the zikr. With some, such as the 
maulavls, the sense of hearing is excited by the sound of a sweet 



! THE GEMS OF KNOWLEDGE 15 

or harmonious music. At least, such to themselves is the per- 
formance of their little orchestra, and it is used more as a calming 
or soothing element than as an exciting one. If, by certain 
means, the senses can be excited almost to a point of frenzy, by 
others they may be lulled into a condition almost of inertia. 
The power of the moral influence of the ' spiritual guide ' (shaikh 
or muTshid) is fully explained in the system of the Darvishes, and 
the submissive deportment of his murlds> or pupils, or disciples, 
is so visible to the observer that he is almost led to believe in 
the theory of the power of the superior will over the inferior and 
willing spirit, which is so important an element in their system. 
Nature and its laws are studied and understood, whilst life and 
the soul are inexplicable, as much so as is their great Author 
Himself. The latter may possess qualities yet unknown to the 
most learned in the sciences, yet of which some persons, often the 
least instructed, imagine they have glimpses, from which theories 
are formed totally at variance with natural science, and must, 
therefore, be qualified as ' spiritual'. 

The following extract from the Oriental work called Fusus, 1 by 
Muhyi-ud-Din al 'Arabi, will serve to give the ideas of a Mussul- 
man on the preceding : 

" Man having been formed, by the hand of his Creator, out of 
the best of the soil of the earth, became composed of all of the 
varied natures which characterise the diversities of vegetable 
matter, which is the natural product of soil, and of all that par- 
takes of the four distinct elements of nature, fire, air, earth, and 
water, and also possessing the three properties, animal, vegetable, 
and mineral ; he received the most noble of forms, and his human 
material was formed with the finest traits that adorn the living 
creature. God blessed His work with the gift of His own Holy 
Spirit, and endowed man with the powers of intellect and of 
speech ; so that he possessed the attributes of his own Creator. 
These precious gifts were bestowed upon him, so as to enable 

1 'Gems'. Its full title was Fusus al-Hikm, in which "the author 
discourses upon the nature and significance of the divine revelations 
imparted to twenty-seven prophets" from Adam to Muhammad (E.E.E. 
8, 907). Born at Murcia in 1165 A.D., Ibn al-'Arabi, as he is generally 
styled, travelled widely, through North Africa, in Babylonia, Asia Minor 
and Syria, dying at Damascus in 1240. For hikm, ' wisdom,' see art. 
Hikma in E.I. L 305, and that on al-Insan al-Kdmil, ' the Perfect Man,' 
ib. 510. See also note on p. 84 infra. 



16 MYSTICISM i 

him to comprehend the wondrous works of his Divine Originator 
and to speak His praises. 

" Adam, thus blessed with Divine gifts, was permitted to 
speak to his own posterity in the language of prophecy, and to 
direct it to the worship of his Creator. The knowledge which he 
possessed of his creation and his Creator has been transmitted to 
us through his descendants. God also gave him power over the 
whole vast universe in which he was placed, and an intellectual 
capacity requisite for the acquisition of a knowledge of all that 
surrounded him. 

"As to those more elevated beings who occupy the upper 
celestial abodes, God has given them that knowledge which it 
pleases Him for them to possess. They worshipped in Adam an 
intellectual capacity and power superior to their own, notwith- 
standing that they do possess a knowledge of the hidden and the. 
veiled secrets of the Divinity which was not known to him. 
They are permitted to behold the attributes of the Most High, of 
which man only knows the names ; and, from their position near 
Him, are able to see the exercise of them over all His creation 
throughout the vast and interminable universe. Man was gifted 
with a mental capacity, because he possessed a knowledge of his 
own creation and of the exalted attributes of his Creator. Why 
it pleased the Almighty to create him, except it be to serve Him, 
is unknown to him, and it does not become him to seek to 
penetrate into the mysterious Will of Him who said, ' Be ', and 
it was." 

Among mankind differences of opinion have arisen with 
regard to the ways of God in this world, as well as respecting the 
hereafter, and the condition of those who exist in His heavenly 
abode. Whilst some believe that there is nothing in existence 
but what is visible to the sight, and to the ordinary organs of 
vision, others consider that there is much that is veiled from 
sight, and which can only be seen through a nearer approach to 
their Divine Creator ; and that this faculty is only to be obtained 
by a life of deep contemplation and adoration of Him, and a 
close spiritual communion with His eternal and all-pervading 
Spirit. They are, consequently, divided into two classes, viz. : 

1. Those who attach themselves to whatever is clear and external. 

2. Those who seek to penetrate into the veiled and mystical, 
otherwise into what is purely ' Spiritual '. 



i THE CELESTIAL HIERARCHY 17 

Of these, the first explains all that is external, as well as what 
is secret, by means of the ordinary human intellect, or reason ; 
they are called the ashab-i-^ilm-i-zahir : and the second devote 
themselves to the ways of Mysticism, and to pointing out the 
paths by which a knowledge of the veiled and the hidden may be 
obtained ; these are called the ashcib-i-ilm-i-batin : and God, in 
His merciful compassion, teaches them, through the power of His 
names and attributes, in Divine and spiritual visions. The 
beginning of their hopes is based upon the verse of the Qurftn 
which says, " Ye are of those who are near (to Me) ", and their 
termination, " Ye are of those who are the inheritors of them who 
inherit Paradise, and remain there perpetually ". 

It would be interesting to trace the growth of the belief in 
saints and other human beings to whom man has assigned a 
position in the other life. The oldest record of history, the Bible, 
shows clearly that the earliest conviction of mankind that which 
was doubtless handed down from Adam, to whom it no doubt was 
a Divine revelation, v^u^hsaJejLat the period of his creation, 
was, strictly speaking, in the Unity of God, and in the existence 
of angelic beings, created previous to this world, or to the first 
progenitors of the human race. To this may be added a perfect 
knowledge of good and evil, and the consequent belief in rewards 
and punishments. A conviction, however, based upon the 
preceding, of a future condition of happiness or misery after this 
life, nowhere gives to any one a place superior to another. Each 
individual is held responsible by the Creator for his own acts, 
and the Omniscient and All-Just rewards or punishes them, 
according to their respective merits.^ To the truly repentant 
His mercy endures for ever. God alone is the Judge and Arbi- 
trator, and His decisions are beyond appeal or intercession in the 
life to come. At a later period, the sinfulness of the human 
passions and the feebleness of the mind of man are apparent in 
the necessity of a Mediator between God and man, as shown in 
the symbolic sacrifices prescribed in the laws of Moses, 

Among the Romans and Greeks, to whom revealed religion 
was unknown, the system of celestial hierarchy seems to have 
been a matter of poetical imagination, which supposes that each 
element must be under the especial direction of a titular deity. 
These from time to time becoming more and more numerous, 
some were placed in higher, and some in lower positions ; and 





18 THE SAINTS i 

all connected, as emanations from, a One Supreme Deity, who 
teigned over and commanded all of the others. To these, how- 
ever, were ascribed human attributes and human passions ; so 
that the whole system is readily seen to be wholly inconsistent 
with the character and attributes of the One Divine Creator. 
Besides that, the existence of the greater part of these gods is due 
to human imagination, assemblies of men believed that they 
could confer honour upon individuals by deifying them, or, in 
other words, conferring upon them positions of eminence in the 
heavens. Such is the ruling principle of what we call Mythology, 
To these gods were ascribed various characteristics, and varied 
powers over certain .elements. In the hour of danger men 
appealed to them for succour and safety ; and even consulted 
them when desirous of penetrating into the dark and hidden 
Future. The gods and goddesses became the patrons and 
patronesses of credulous mortals, and to each was assigned certain 
distinct forms, which have been handed down to our times in the 
masterly works of art now existing. 

It would therefore appear that the system of modern saints 
and saintesses so to speak is totally different from the original 
faith of Adam and his descendants possessing revelation, and this 
is a continuation only of that of Mythology. The resemblance, 
at least, is so striking that it is impossible to attribute it to any 
other origin. 

This modern system of ' saints ' varies among different people, 
and the degree to which it has attained among the Darvishes, 
and Mussulmans in general, is seen in the following chapters. 
Among these, prayers are offered to the saints for their inter- 
cession with the prophets ; and prayers are also presented to them 
in the view of increasing their influence over the Deity. As it is 
not generally supposed that the souls of mankind will remain for 
ever in a condition of wretchedness, far from the presence of a 
merciful God, prayers are offered up to Him in behalf of those 
who, it is supposed, are still expiating their sins in unhappiness, 
in the hope that the offering of supplications will be acceptable 
to the Almighty, and induce Him to pardon and forgive. Prayers 
for those still in life seem to be only for their worldly happiness 
and prosperity, without any reference to their future existence ; 
though they may be in the desire and hope that they lead lives 
bf purity, so as to merit happiness hereafter. Revealed religion 



i MAN'S SPIRIT OR SOUL 19 

teaches, by examples, that the sincerely devout may pray for the 
living, in the full expectation that their prayers will be heard and 
accepted ; whilst I believe it does not admit of the efficacy of 
supplication for those who, having departed this life, have 
entered upon the responsibilities of their mortal career. This 
may, therefore, have given rise to the belief in the necessity of 
possessing patron saints and saintesses, already in heaven, and 
therefore near to the Deity, whose intercession may be invoked. 

A study of the subject to which the following chapters relate 
has given rise to the preceding reflections, all of which are not, 
necessarily, those of the Darvishes. Perhaps I should apologise 
for thus expressing them, and for not having allowed the patient 
reader to form his own conclusions from the perusal of what I 
have collected. 

In conclusion, these may be summed up in the idea that there 
is but One God, the Creator of all things. When God created 
man, He was pleased to give him faculties which He did not give 
to any other of His creatures ; these were given him in the perfect 
vigour of manhood, and not in infancy, to be developed and 
strengthened in after years, as is now the case ; they consisted 
of Reason and Speech . Man was created with a perfect knowledge 
of his own creation ; possessed the faculty of reasoning thereon, 
and of communicating that knowledge to his posterity, which he 
did, and it has in this manner come down to our time. God also 
was pleased to gift man with an existence which, we may suppose, 
He did not give to any other of His creatures. He gave him an 
existence like His own, which will not only live in the present life, 
but will continue to exist hereafter in another. It is said that 
he was created even superior to the angels, but in what respect 
we know not ; whether it refers to the power which he is enabled 
to exercise over other creatures of a secondary character, and 
even inanimate nature, in this world. This part of man's exist- 
ence is called his Spirit or Soul. The peculiar character of this 
existence is such as to lead to the conviction that it is more than 
human, and must, therefore, be Divine. .Oriental Spiritualism 
believes that its origin is due to a direct emanation from the 
Deity ; and differs from the ordinary breath of life, which all 
other animated nature received on its creation. 

We next are led to ask the question which remains un- 
answered, Is the spirit of man cut off entirely from that of its 



20 INSPIRATION i 

First Source and Origin, or has it still a connexion with it ? When 
we sincerely and ardently pray to God, we feel that we approach 
Him that we commune with Him ; that He hears and answers 
our supplications ; and that in this manner we re-unite our 
spirit to His. On the other hand, we feel that all evil acts 
those which are the produce of our human passions separate 
us from God, and destroy in us that pleasing conviction of the 
benefits to be derived from the influences of His Spirit, all of which 
are for good and wise purposes, such as tend to render man happy 
in his present life, and hold out for him a hope of continual 
happiness in that future life of which he knows almost nothing. 

It is evident that the history of man's creation such as has 
been written by Moses is the only correct one, because it is 
that which the original man has handed down to his posterity. 
Why parts of it were veiled in allegory we scarcely dare to ask, 
and may only suppose that the knowledge was withheld from a 
good and wise cause. This history may be regarded more as a 
revealed than as an inspired one. We need not inquire in what 
manner God revealed or made known to man (Adam) a know- 
ledge of his own creation. If God did not make it known to 
him, how did he learn it? To deny that God made it known to 
him is to deny the existence of God and His creation of man, 
and leaves the imagination to wander, without any guide, in 
search of a spontaneous creation, or a self-creating nature, which 
ultimately, nevertheless, terminates in the conviction of the 
absolute necessity of a ' Great First Cause', which is none other 
than the Almighty. 

With this knowledge of our own creation, we are led also to 
believe that man originally possessed a profound conviction of 
evil and good, of right and wrong, unbiassed by the influences 
of the human passions. When these began to affect him, he lost 
much of the knowledge with which he was originally gifted. 
Just as these tend to withdraw him from God, so his spirit 
influences him to approach Him. To call upon His holy name, 
and to praise Him, is what renders man in this life similar to the 
angels in heaven. We need not ask why God was pleased to 
create him with two such adverse characteristics ; for it is 
evident that they are inherent to knowledge and ignorance, to 
good and evil, to merit and demerit. Without them he would 
have been perfect in knowledge ; have been perfectly good and 



i DIVINE INFLUENCES 21 

pure ; would have had no duty to perform towards his Divine 
Creator other than to praise Him ; in fact, he would have been 
possessed of all the*characteristics of God Himself, and have been 
entirely a spirit dwelling upon earth. 

Inspiration is a subject upon which depends the whole theory 
of the prophets and of the saints, and consequently opens upon a 
vast field for the imagination. Independent of the influences 
which the Divine Spirit is believed to exercise upon that of man, 
Oriental Spiritualism fully teaches that good men do not only 
have an influence upon him whilst an occupant of this life, but 
that the former may and do exercise one upon those who invoke 
their spirits after their departure, by inspiring them for beneficial 
purposes. This is therefore a subject only considered secondary 
to that of the creation of man, and of his being gifted with an 
ever-existing soul. 

To possess the gift of approaching God in prayer, and to 
entertain the conviction that He will and does hear as well as 
answer our prayers, does not necessarily imply that God inspires 
any one. The powers of the passions are allayed ; and the purer 
impulses of the Spirit are unrestrained. A conviction of our own 
helplessness and insignificancy of our impotence to help our- 
selves under circumstances of need or of peril naturally leads 
us to seek for some one who is able to aid and protect us. That 
One we feel can only be God. We therefore call upon Him, not 
only for "ourselves, but for those whom we desire to benefit or to 
succour, as the Creator and Dispenser of all providences. Is 
this impulse to be attributed to a direct influence of the Spirit 
of God, or, in other words, to His inspiration ? In reply it may 
be said that revealed religion teaches us that the Spirit of God 
does even strive with man, evidently so as to induce him to 
withstand the temptations oi- the flesh, and obey Divine influences, 
all tending towards his present and future welfare. Do those 
who accept and obey these influences become thereby gifted with 
characteristics of a superhuman nature in this life, and are 
consequently peculiarly holy ? If we analyse the history of the 
4 prophets ', we find that, even if they were not always themselves 
pure and faultless, they endeavoured to benefit their fellow-men, 
and forasmuch received what is called inspiration. That God 
loves whatever is good, and abhors what is evil, cannot be 
doubted by any one who entertains a proper conception of His 



22 MIRACLES I 

character ; but the whole history of man shows us, by innumer- 
able examples, that the benefits to be derived from a submission 
to His influences are not of this life, but of thS future. The most 
holy men have prospered but little in this world, and met with 
the most cruel and painful of deaths. If, therefore, men acquired 
superhuman powers through ' inspiration ', it is. natural to 
suppose that they would exercise them for their own preservation. 
In our entire ignorance of the future, we pray to God for our 
necessities and protection ; or, in other words, to bless our own 
labours and those of others who labour for us, and when we 
receive them we attribute the results as an answer to our prayers. 
When they are not granted, we must either suppose that God 
has not heard us, or not been pleased to grant our requests. We 
even believe in the efficacy of the prayers of others in our behalf. 
Are these more efficacious when the prayers are of a good than 
when of a bad person ? If the former, we are led to believe in 
the intermediation of those whom the world calls ' living saints ' ; 
or of human beings who, on account of the purity of their lives 
in this world, possess a superior degree of influence with the 
Creator of all mankind. To deny this is to deny the many 
examples offered in support of it in revealed religion. Not only 
among the Darvishes, but other religions, holy persons are held 
to possess and exercise spiritual powers which appertain only 
to the Omnipotent Creator, and are worshipped accordingly by 
their followers, disregardful of the fact that, at the most, they 
are only the mediums of Divine providences. They are supposed 
to be able to perform what are called miracles. These super- 
human powers are even attributed by many persons of great 
intellectual attainments to the bones of the departed, and these 
are believed to possess the power of changing and arresting the 
providences of God. Thus we see that ' inspiration ' leads even 
to the belief in the power of the animal portion of man that 
which belongs not only to dumb brutes, but to inanimate creation 
over the spiritual, thus reversing the whole theory of spiritual 
religion. 

The Darvishes hold the saints in exalted estimation. They 
fully believe that some holy individuals possess great ' spiritual 
powers ', whilst yet in this life, and that those who follow in the 
' paths ' pointed out by them, all, however, bowing to the same 
universal Creator, may profit by their intercession with Him. 



j THE FAITH OF ABRAHAM 23 

They believe that blessed spirits are ever around them, and, like 
that of the Omnipresent Deity, know no particular place of abode, 
and may therefore be invoked anywhere. They nevertheless 
venerate the places of their interment, as localities sanctified by 
the presence of their remains. They do not, however, attribute 
any miraculous powers to their bones. With them, ' inspiration ' 
is the fruit of prayer and devotion, in connexion with holy lives ; 
and that it is mostly during slumber, when the physical faculties 
are lulled in an incomprehensible manner, that the sleeper sees 
visions and receives Divine influences. It was at such times as 
these that the prophets were spoken to by God, and commanded 
to proclaim certain Divine truths which were necessary to the 
future welfare and happiness of mankind. These ' truths ' are 
held to be incontrovertible, and are therefore declared in succinct 
terms, having the form of proverbs and maxims, and have 
therefore the force of commands. 



ABRAHAM AND MUHAMMAD 

In the course of the observations offered in the present work, 
allusion is sometimes made to certain principles contained in or 
deduced from the Qiiran, which, not being either originally taken 
from the Old or New Testament, remain a matter of speculation. 
To a good Mussulman, for whose mind the Quran offers a distinct 
field of belief, these are naturally attributed wholly to inspiration. 
Some of these ideas are certainly very sublime. The prophet of 
Islamism entertained the most elevated and exalted ideas of the 
Deity, a.kin to those so beautifully expressed in the Psalms of 
David. He called himself of the sect or faith of Abraham, thus 
forming a distinction between what he considered to be the 
religion of this patriarch and the Jews personally. In the 
second chapter [v. 130 f.] of the Quran, it is stated : " Say, We 
believe in God, and in what has been sent to us from on high, 
to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and the twelve tribes. We 
believe in the books given to Moses and Jesus, to those given to 
the prophets by the Lord. We make no difference between 
them, and we give ourselves up to God." 

" Would you say that Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and the 
twelve tribes, were Jews or Christians ? Tell then, Who is more 



24 THE LEGEND OF ABRAHAM i 

knowing God or you ? And who is more culpable than he 
who conceals the truth confided to him by God ? He is not 
indifferent to what you do." 

" These generations have all gone by. They have received the 
fruits of their works, as you will of yours. No one will ask you 
an account of what they may have done." 

And in the third chapter [v. 60 f.] : " Abraham was neither 
Jew nor Christian. He was pious, and given up entirely to God, 
and did not associate any other person than One in the Godhead." 
" Those who hold to the Faith of Abraham are those who 
follow him ; such is the Prophet of the True Believers, and God 
protects those who are faithful to him." 

In the verse preceding this latter, the word Jew is Yahud, and 
Christian Nasranl l or Nazarene ; whilst that which expresses the 
idea that Abraham was pious and submissive to God is the 
Hanaf I 2 Mussulman, or as by some translators, a Mussulman of 
the Hanaf T (orthodox) rite. 

The question thus arises, Was there a people in the prophet's 
time who were neither Jew, Christian, nor Idolater, and whose 
dogmas formed the basis of his peculiar principles ? If so, what 
were those principles, and from what source derived? 

Oriental traditions contain much more minute details about 
Ibrahim (Abraham) than the Bible. He is supposed to have 
lived in the reign of King Namrud (Nimrod), one of whose con- 
fidential officers his father Azar was. This king and all his people 
were idolaters. It was a tradition of those times that a child 
would be born, who would be the cause of the destruction of his 
kingdom. To prevent this, the king ordered, on a particular 
occasion, all of the men of his city of Babel to be removed outside 
of its walls, and the females to remain within ; but, as Azar was 
one of the king's officers, and was stationed inside one of the gates, 
his wife joined him there . The king's astrologers, however, having 

1 Fr. nasara, 'helped'. In several of its forms the root connotes 
affinity to the Nazarenes or Christians (see Salmone's Arab. Diet., s.v., 
p. 1069). 

2 Of the sect of the Hamfites, as the allusion to Abraham shows. The 
JIanlfiya meant the religion of Abraham (Encycl. of Islam, ii. p. 258). For 
a full account see " The Words ' Hanif ' and ' Muslim ',' ' by the late Sir 
Charles Lyall, in J.B.A.S., 1903, p. 772 : the term hamfis nearly synonymous 
with Muslim in the Quran, but generally refers to the religion of Abraham, or 
implies a return to it. 



i AND NIMROD 25 

been able to learn this fact, communicated it to him ; and con- 
sequently, the child born to Azar was concealed in a cave, until 
he reached the age of puberty. 1 

" On issuing from this confinement, he was struck with the 
grandeur of the world and the celestial bodies, and impressed 
with contempt for the absurdity of the worship of idols. He, 
therefore, refused, at all times, to worship them, and became 
the object of the anger of King Namrud. Called before him, he 
boldly told the king that his idols were only the work of man's 
hands, whilst the Great Creator of the Universe was the only true 
God, and Author of man's own existence ; and, consequently, the 
proper object of his adoration. Finding an opportunity, he 
destroyed all of the idols, except one, the largest ; and, having 
placed the axe with which he had knocked off their heads in the 
mouth of this one, said that probably he had destroyed the others, 
which argument rather forcibly struck the worshippers. On 
another occasion he asked the king to afford him an exhibition of 
his power, saying that the God whom he adored not only brought 
man into existence in this world, but gave him another in the life 
to come. The king produced two criminals, and having put one 
to death, pardoned the other ; meaning thereby, that he could 
take away and bestow life. Abraham next asked him to cause 
the sun to rise and set, and the planets to appear, which were the 
daily works of his God ; and this the king being unable to effect, 
the king's anger became increased, and he determined to put 
Abraham to death. For this purpose he had an immense fire 
prepared, and cast him into it. God, however, did, not forget 
His faithful servant, and sent His celestial messenger, the angel 
Jibra'il (Gabriel, signifying the ' power of God ') to his rescue. 
After the king and his people saw that Abraham was protected 
by a power hitherto unknown to them, many of the latter 
adopted his faith, and worshipped the only One true God. 

" This fidelity of Abraham to the Creator, amidst a larger 
number of idolaters, acquired for him the title of the khalil, 
' the friend ' or ' sincere advocate of God ', by which he is still 
known among Mussulmans.* 

"In the course of tune he took Sara or Sarah, a name 

1 For an account of Namrud's massacre of children and pregnant women, 
owing to bad dreams, see Encycl. of Islam, ii. p. 431. 
* James ii. 23. 



26 THE LEGEND OF HAGAR i 

signifying ' the pleasant ', or * agreeable ', to wife ; and as she 
proved to be barren, according to the Oriental custom, still in 
practice, she gave him her handmaiden Hajir, or Hagar, 1 from 
hajdra, to fly from, or escape 2 ; the same root from which is 
derived the well-known word, Hijra (Hegira), or ' Flight of the 
Prophet ', and from which the Mussulman period is taken. 
Hajir having borne him a son named Isma'Il or Ishmael, or the 
' heard of God ', from samo', to hear, and Aid, God, she became the 
object of the envy of her mistress, and Abraham was compelled 
to remove her into a remote part of the country (Arabia). There 
God heard her voice, and protected her from death by thirst and 
starvation. The well, so much revered by Mussulmans, called 
Zamzam, at Makka, was erected for her especial benefit. Ibrahim, 
when conveying Hajir and Isma'il from the Land of Sham 
[Syria], where he resided, to the spot on which Makka stands, 
was guided by the angel Jibrail, and directed to stop precisely 
where this celebrated well still exists. A tree sprang up at the 
time, to shelter them from the heat of the sun, and there he left 
them. Hajir implored him not to abandon her and her helpless 
child in so desolate a place ; and, though he was much affected 
by her appeal, he told her that such was the will of God, conveyed 
to him during his sleep in a dream. She, on hearing this, resigned 
herself up to God's supreme will. He left her near to the Bait- 
.ul-haram, and to the spot designed for the Ka'bah, neither of 
which were yet in existence. The first simply signifies the 
4 Holy House ', and the latter ' The Cube '. " 

The destitute condition of Hajir and her child is one of the 
most touching narratives of the Orient ; only surpassed by that 
of the intended sacrifice of Isma'il by Abraham, in obedience, to 
the command of God. 

" It is related that, having consumed all of the food left with 
her by Abraham, hunger and thirst caused her milk to dry up, 
and her child, as well as herself, was apparently doomed to die a 
most cruel death, far from those who might come to her relief. 
She ascended Mount Safa, and looked around her. No sign of 

1 This is the accepted derivation, though Renan (Hist, of Israel, i. 81 n., 
Eng. trans.) connects the name with Ar. hagar, ' rock ', Hagar thus personi- 
fying the tribes of Arabia Petrsea, Hastings, D.B., ii. p. 278. 

2 The term does not connote ' flight ', but ' migration ' (Encyclopaedia 
of Islam, ii. p. 302). 



i ISHMAEL'S PERIL 27 

cultivation or of water could be seen within the extent of her 
vision. Seated there, she wept, and in the anguish of her heart, 
at the sight of the starving child, cried out aloud for assistance. 
Descending from the mountain, she hurried across the intervening 
valley, and ascended Mount Meroeh, 1 which also offered a wide 
field to her vision. She still was unable to see any habitation, 
or any fountain of water. In her grief she went seven times to 
and fro between these mountains, on the spot where the pilgrims 
of our times still encamp. At each passage, she would stop to 
see her child, and guard him against the wild animals of the 
desert. At length, from Mount Meroeh she thought she heard 
a voice. It seemed so distant and vague that she was unable to 
ascertain whence it proceeded. At length she became aware 
that it was from the spot on which she had left her son. Hasten- 
ing to the spot, she became delighted with the sight of a running 
stream of pure water. By some it is supposed that the water 
gushed out of the spot where the child lay; whilst by others it is 
said that the same angel which accompanied them in the flight 
still watched over them, and that God, in answer to the cries of 
the mother and her suffering boy, touched the earth, and let a 
spring of water gush up from the sources which it everywhere 
contains. After both had drunk of the refreshing stream, she 
designed to fill her jug for future use, but the same unseen voice 
forbade her, saying that the stream would for ever afterwards 
continue to flow. She also designed to erect a dam of earth, so 
as to raise up the stream ; but this was likewise forbidden to her, 
and she was told that Abraham would return and build a house 
there, which should become the Qibla, towards which millions of 
sovereigns and subjects would turn their faces in adoration of 
God. She was also told that her son should become a prophet, 
and guide men in the true path of religion. 

" Hajir was not long left hi this condition. A tribe of Arabs 
called the Bani Jarham, 2 whilst on their way from Yaman to 
Sham, attracted by the unexpected appearance of birds hovering 
around the stream, were delighted to find so useful a provision for 
themselves and their animals. These were distant relations of 

1 Safa and Marwa, the two mountains on which were anciently two 
idols ( Sale's. Preliminary Discourse to the Koran, Sir E. Denison Ross' ed., 
ii. p. 22). 

2 The Jorham of Sale's Koran, Preliminary Discourse, i. p. 16 f. 



28 THE FOUNDING OF MECCA i 

Abraham, but possessed no knowledge of his flight with Hajir 
and Isma'Il, and much less of the well of Zamzam, on a spot 
where they had previously only found dry soil. 

" Soon after this, and after hearing the history of Hajir and 
her son Isma'Il, Jarham, with all his people and flocks, established 
themselves on the spot now known as Makka. 1 With them came 
the tribes called Katira and Mezamen bin-'Amru, the chief of 
which was Semeda bin-' Amir, and thus formed the earliest resi- 
dents of that city, among whom Isma'il grew up and found aid 
and sustenance. From them he learned the Arab tongue. 

" Abraham was informed, through a visit of the angelic 
visitor, Jibra'Il, of the prosperous condition of Hajir and Isma'il, 
and once a year paid them a visit, on a swift-footed animal 
called Baraq, from barq, or lightning." 2 

1 Anas said : When God gave His Prophet the plunder of the property 
of the tribe Hawazen, his majesty gave to the men of the Quraish, who 
really became Mussulmans, a hundred camels each (Mathews, Mishcat 
ul-Masabih, ii. p. 797). Mezamen seems an error. 

2 The fullest account of Baraq or Buraq is that by E. Rehatsek in 
Journal, Bombay Branch, E. Asiatic Soc., 1881, xv. p. 25 f. " Buraq is the 
vehicle of obedience and the allegorical representation of prayer ", accord- 
ing to Nurbakhsh, founder of the Nurbakhshi sect in Kashmir, ib. p. 33, 
citing Dabistdn, p. 481. Buraq was supposed to have a woman's head and 
a peacock's tail of. the illustration on p. vii supra, and E.I. i. p. 793. 
His colour was chestnut as in the verse : Sawar-i-jahangir ikran Burdq, 
' the earth-conquering horseman with his chestnut Buraq ', i.e. Muhammad 
(Sa'di's Scroll of Wisdom, by Wollostan, in The Wisdom of the East Series, 
p. 32). 

Buraq is the steed of all prophets, but more especially of Abraham. In 
the case of Muhammad his proper function is to carry him to Jerusalem, 
not to Heaven, but the Prophet will ride him again at the Last Day. It is 
at best doubtful if the name is really connected with barq, ' lightning ', and 
it may be of Persian origin: v. the learned arts, by B. Schrieke and J. 
Horovitz in Der Islam, vi. and ix., where the problems of the history of 
the versions of Muhammad's ascension are discussed. That given in the 
text contains some additional incidents, notably the story of Isma'H's first 
wife, her dismissal, and Isma'fl's second and monogamous union. The 
sacrifice of a son by Abraham was reproduced in the original version of the 
mi'raj legend in the form of the incident of the Prophet's purification by the 
cutting open of his breast, but " when the Ascension was shifted from its 
original position and placed at a later period in his life, the cleansing was no 
longer an appropriate feature ",' and was omitted (Bevan, in Studien zur 
semitischen Philologie und Meligionsgeschichte J. Wellhausen ... 1914 ... 
gewidmet, p. 58). In its later forms the mi'raj was distinguished from 
the 'ism', or night-journey to Jerusalem. The encounter with the lion 



i ISHMAEL'S MARRIAGES 29 

This is the same name which the prophet gave to the animal 
on which he proceeded from earth to heaven in the night called 
the mi'raj, or ascension. In the shortest imaginable space of 
time, he saw and heard much in the seven heavens through which 
he passed, and the whole affair is now supposed by the more 
intelligent Mussulmans to have been only a vision, like the 
revelation of St. John. 

" On the fleet-footed Baraq, Abraham annually made a visit 
to Hajir and her son. The latter had reached the age of fifteen 
when his mother died, and, aided by the Bani Jarham, he laid 
her beloved remains in Makka, close by the black stone which is 
so much revered by all the faithful, and was deeply affected by 
the loss of so affectionate and devoted a mother. After this 
he planned the design of emigrating from that country, and to 
prevent this his friends married him to one of the most noble of 
the daughters of the afore-named tribe. 

" It is a matter of tradition that Isma'il was an excellent 
cavalier and an adroit hunter. It happened that Abraham, 
according to his habit, that year made his annual visit to Makka, 
and during Isma'iFs absence in search of game arrived at his door. 
Knocking at it, his son's wife made her appearance, and, not 
knowing the stranger, failed to offer him the usual tokens of 
respect and hospitality due to him, which, giving him offence, 
he departed, bidding her describe his appearance to her husband 
on his return, and that he recommended him to change the sill 1 
of his door. Isma'il, on learning what had occurred, immediately 
recognised his father Abraham, and in the advice to change liis 
sill a command to dismiss his wife, which he forthwith did. He 
next married another wife from among the maidens of the same 
tribe, and on the return of his father he was gratified by his 
dutiful obedience to his wishes. On the second occasion Isma'il's 



('All's spiritual force) described on p. 422 infra must be an even later 
accretion. 

It may be worth adding that Syed Ahmed Khan rejects the story of the 
Shakki-Sadar or ' Cutting open of the Breast ' altogether, and only accepts 
that of the mi'raj as a vision (Essays- on the Life of Mohammed, Ess. on 
Shakki-Sadar and Meraj, p. 34). 

1 The threshold, symbolising the inviolability of the home or its 
mistress. The symbol may explain much of the folk-lore of the threshold 
collected in Sir James Frazer's Folk-Lore of the Old Testament, iii. 



30 THE PEOPLE OF LOT i 

wife was most attentive to her guest offered him hospitality, 
and pressed him to partake of a meal got ready for him. This 
latter Abraham, however, declined dismounting to partake of, 
and so had to dine seated on his animal. The cause of this was 
that he had formally promised Sarah, when he visited Hajir and 
Isma'il, not to dismount. After dining as aforesaid, his daughter- 
in-law brought water and washed his hands and feet, and combed 
his hair. Much as she begged him to descend from his animal, he 
persisted in his refusal, but so far gratified her as to rest one of 
his feet on a stone near her door, and the print of it remained 
upon it. On departing, Abraham bade her tell her husband, on 
his return from the chase, that the sill of his door was good, and 
he must be careful not to change it. On hearing what had 
occurred, Isma'il was extremely gratified, and informed his wife 
that the unknown stranger whom she had entertained was none 
other than his father Abraham. In conformity with his recom- 
mendation, he never during his lifetime married any other wife." 

Connected with the history of Abraham, whose religion, the 
Islam prophet declares in the Quran, was his own, mention may 
be made of the children borne to him by Sarah, viz. Ishaq (Isaac) 
and Ya'qub (Jacob). The same work from which the present 
Arabian tradition is derived (Rauzat-as-Safa 1 ), adds that by the 
great favour of the Almighty, Hajir was made illustrious among 
women, and Sarah ardently also desired to have a son, so that the 
prophetship might be continued in her offspring. 

" About this time the angel Jibrail, or Gabrail, was sent with 
several other celestial messengers to destroy the people of Lot 
[Sodom], called Lut. 2 They became the guests of Abraham in the 
form of men, and he killed a fatted calf for their entertainment. 
They refused, however, to partake of it until they should be 
made acquainted with its price. Abraham, in reply, said that 
in the beginning its price was the benediction still used by all 
Mussulmans, especially by Darvishes, ' In the name of God, the 

1 The Eauzat-us-Safa, or ' Phasaunce of Purity ', by Mirkhond (Mir 
Khwand), who wrote in the reign of Eusain Mirza, king of Khurasan, 
A.D. 1469-1506 : cf. note on p. 404 infra. The translation (incomplete) of 
this work by E. Eehatsek forms vol. i. (Parts I. and II.) of the Oriental 
Translation Fund New Series, 1892. 

2 Lut is Sodom, and its people were called Lutiy. The modern Arab term 
for the Dead Sea is Bahr Lut (E.I. i. p. 682). 



! THE SONS OF SARAH 31 

merciful and the clement ', and in the end, ' Blessed be God ' 
for His bounties. Notwithstanding this act of piety, which 
Jibrail greatly applauded, the angels persisted in not partaking 
of the food, much to the alarm of their host ; for in those times, 
whenever a guest entertained hostile designs, he would refuse to 
eat with their object. Fully aware of Abraham's fears, they 
informed him who they were, and the object of their Divine 
mission. Gabrail also gave good news to him, that God, in His 
great mercy, would give him and Sarah a son. Now Sarah 
heard this from behind a curtain, and smiled, and this circum- 
stance is alluded to in the Quran : ' His wife was standing by, 
and laughed. We gave her the good news, that (she should bear) 
Ishaq, and afterwards Ya'qub.' By some it is said that she 
laughed on account of the utter improbability of her bearing 
children ; and by others, because she knew they were angels, 
and was rejoiced that they were sent to destroy the sinful people 
of Lot. Be this as it may, the angels knew what was passing in 
her mind, for, addressing her, they observed, ' Do you not know 
how the Almighty created Adam without father or mother, and 
that from him all his race is descended ? ' Soon after this Sarah 
bore Ishaq, in the hundredth year of her husband's age, and it is 
traditioned that on the night of his birth he beheld a thousand 
shooting stars pass before his sight in the firmament, and having 
asked of the angel Jibrail the meaning of so uncommon an occur- 
rence, learned that from his son then born a thousand prophets 
would descend. Abraham praised God, and begged that his other 
son, Isma'il, should also be the object of His Divine favour. A 
voice was heard to reply, ' O Abraham, from Isma'il shall proceed 
one prophet, whose intercession mankind, to the end of time, will 
implore, and who will be the crown of all prophets'. Abraham 
blessed and thanked God for His mercies (Quran xiv. 41) :' Praise 
be unto God, who hath given me in my old age Isma'il and Ishaq, 
for my Lord hears supplications'. It is related that Abraham 
was ninety-nine years of age when he was directed by inspiration 
to circumcise himself, and that he circumcised Isma'Il at thirteen 
and Ishaq at one year of age ; some say that the former was three 
years older than the latter, whilst others say fourteen. It was 
after the Divine intimation that through these the prophetship 
would be carried down, that he was directed to offer one of them 
up as a sacrifice." 



32 ISAAC NOT SACRIFICED 



THE SACRIFICE OF ISMA'lL 

On this subject there exist conflicting statements regarding 
which of the two sons, Isma'il or Ishaq, it was. Some of the 
ashabs of the blessed Prophet, the commander of the faithful, 
'Umar bin al-Khattab, 'AH bin Abu Talib, and others [read ' some '] 
of the tdbi'm 1 (those who were their followers), Ka'b al-Ahbar, a 
Sa'id bin Jablr, 3 Masruq, 4 Abu'l-Zahil, 5 Zahri, 6 Sa'd, 7 and others 
narrate that it was Ishaq. On the other hand, some of the ashab 
and tabi'in, such as 'Abdullah bin 'Abbas, 8 Abu Huraira, 9 'Abdulla 
bin 'Umar/ 'Aas, 11 and Abu Tufail 'Amir bin Vaileh la [sic],- as 

1 Tabi'un is the better form. They were the successors of the com- 
panions of the Prophet, the ashab-i-suffa or ahl-i-suffa, and so were styled 

' the followers ', tabi'un. The second part of this passage is given in . 
Rehatsek' s translation of the Rauzat-us-Safa&s follows: " But another galaxy 
of noble companions, such as 'Abdullah, 'Abbas, Abu Hasiwa, O'mar, 
'Aam, Abu'l-Fazll, son of A'amar and Omm Solma . . . (she was one of the 
widows of Muhammad), and among the emams of guidance, Ja'fer, the son 
of Muhammad-ussadiq, Sa'id, the son of Masib, Yusuf, the son of Mahran, 
and Mujahed, asserted that it was the sacrifice of the lord Esma'il ". Their 
successors again were the tubba\ 

2 Ka'b-ul-Ahbar was an expositor of the sacred book at the court of the 
first caliph. Eehatsek gives his name as Ka'b-ul-Akhbar ; but see E.I. ii. 
p. 311. Le Strange says Ka'b-ul-Ahbar or al-Hibr was originally a Jew, a 
celebrated authority for traditions and a very learned man. He died in 
32 H. (J.R.A.S. xix., Part II. p. 17). Ahbar is thus probably correct. He 
was surnamed Abu Ishaq ibn Mani' al-Himyari. 

3 Sa'id bin-Jabir is also given by Rehatsek, op. cit. p. 165. He is 
mentioned again on p. 426 infra. 

4 Masruq = Abu'l-'Abbas Ahmad bin Masruq (Rehatsek, ib,, and 
Nicholson, Kashf-ul-Mahjub, p. 146). 

5 Abu'l Zahfl. appears in Rehatsek as Ab-uzzib. 

6 ZahrI=Ibn Shihab az-Zuhri. (Of. Nicholson, op. cit. p. 71.) 

7 Sa'd doubtless = Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, as to whom see p. 409 infra. 

8 'Abdullah bin 'Abbas, who appears as 'Abdullah (and) 'Abbas in 
Rehatsek, one of the most learned of the companions and ancestor of the 
Abbasside sovereigns. (See p. 426 infra.) 

9 Abu Huraira, for which Abu Hasiwa is doubtless a misprint in Rehatsek, 
is the patron of the deliverers of tradition. (See p. 417 infra.) 

10 'Abdullah bin 'Umar (O'mar in Rehatsek) is doubtless 'Abdullah, son 
of 'Umr ibn al-Khattab. He also is mentioned on p. 412 infra. 

11 'Aas appears as A'am in Rehatsek, but probably Malik ibn-Anas is 
intended. 

12 Abu Tufail 'Amir bin Vaila appears in Rehatsek as Abu'l-Fazll, son 
of A'amar. 



i ABRAHAM'S TEMPTATION 33 

well as one of the [most] eminent of the latter, Imam al-Huda 
Ja'far bin Muhammad bin Sadiq [and] Sa'id bin al-Musib, 1 Yusuf 
bin Mihran, 2 Mujahid, 3 and Sha'bi, 4 all declare that it was 
Isma'il. Many proofs are brought to sustain the two statements. 
The composer of the present work says that after having examined 
them all with much care, he has concluded (though God only 
knows the truth) that the son to be offered up was Isma'il. 

" It is narrated that Ibrahim had vowed that if the Most High 
should favour him with a son, he would offer up to God a sacrifice, 
and that after this both Isma'il and Ishaq were born to him. He 
had, however, forgotten his vow ; and one night, when sleeping 
at Makka, the * Place of Sacrifices ' 6 , he had a dream, in which 
some one said to him that it was the command of God he should 
offer up his son as a sacrifice. Waking up, he collected his 
thoughts, and, after pondering over the occurrence, decided in 
his own mind that it was not obligatory upon him. On the 
following night, however, he had precisely the same dream, and 
the same again during the third, and at the same time he heard 
a voice asking him how he could permit Satan (Shaitan) to mis- 
lead him from his obedience to God. On awaking, he bade Sarah 
to wash Isma'il's head, and anoint it, and dress him neatly ; and 
to Isma'il he spoke : ' My dear boy, take some cord and a sharp 
knife, and accompany me, for the purpose of collecting wood on 
the mountain '. After this they set out together, and on the way 
Iblis (the ' Tempter ' 6 ) went to Ibrahim in the form of an aged 
man, an adviser, who inquired of him where he was going, and 

1 Sa'id bin-al-Musib = Sa'id bin-al-Musayyib (Nicholson, op. cit. p. 87). 

2 Yusuf bin-Mihran (-Mahran in Rehatsek). 

3 Mujahid, Majahid on p. 405, may be Abu 'Abdullah b. Mujahid, the 
Shaikh of the Mutakallims and of the Qazi Abu Bakr al-Baqilanl (ob. 403 
H.). But he is better identified with the Abu'l 'Abbas b. Mujahid at-Ta'I 
al-Basri, who was an immediate pupil of al-Ash'ari. Al-Mujahid was also 
the title of another Abu Bakr, al-Baghdadl, who died in 324 H. (J.R.A.S., 
1901, p. 204 3 ). 

4 Sha'bi, Amir b. Sharahil ash-Sha'bl of Kfifa, d. 104 H. (A.D. 722-3) 
at the age of ninety-two. He was one of the tabi'un of Kufa and esteemed 
for his learning (Mathews, M ishcat, ii. p. 405). 

5 Or, more precisely, ' at the Mina '. 

6 Iblis does not mean ' the tempter ', though he tempted Eve. It is the 
Personal name of the devil al-shaitan, which is not a proper name (E.I. 
ii- p. 351). Iblis is supposed to be derived from the Gr. diabolos ; but Dante 
may h a ve equated him to Ephialtes, ' chained one hand in front and the 
other behind his back '. 

- D 



34 ISHMAEL'S SUBMISSION i 

the former replied that he was going to the foot of the mountain, 
where business called him. Iblis remarked, ' O Ibrahim, Satan 
has tempted you, and induced you to offer up Isma'il as a sacrifice 
to no purpose, whilst the whole world will become filled with 
his race alive'. Notwithstanding these words, Ibrahim knew, 
through his own spiritual powers as a prophet, and by the aid of 
Divine Light, that the speaker was Satan in disguise, and he 
exclaimed, ' O enemy of God, depart from me, for I must obey 
the commands of the Most High'. Iblis, both disappointed and 
scornful, departed, and having found Isma'il, he addressed him, 
' Do you not know where your father is taking you ? Under the 
pretence of cutting wood, he intends to sacrifice you, misled by 
Iblis, who has induced him to believe that his slumbers were of 
the Merciful.' Isma'il to this replied, ' Can any father sacrifice 
his own son ? Whatever God has commanded, and my father 
decided to execute, I shall most cheerfully conform to.' 

" Thus Iblis was unable to mislead either the father or the 
son, and he now returned to Hajir (Hagar), to whom he related 
how that Ibrahim, with the pretext of cutting wood on the 
mountain, had taken Isma'il there for the purpose of sacrificing 
him. Hajir replied, ' Can Ibrahim be so cruel as to kill his son, 
he who is so humane even to his enemies ? But be this as it may, 
let your statement be false or true, it concerns himself, and my 
duty is to submit to his will.' On this Iblis, desponding, left, 
and thus the Most High preserved Ibrahim and his family from 
the tempter. 

" Now it is narrated that Ibrahim reached a place called Shab, 1 
and there he told Isma'il of his dream, in the following words : 

1 The place called Shab ' suggests ' the Sheb of Abu Talib ', to which 
Muhammad and his followers were driven to retire five or six years before 
the Hijra when proscribed by the Quraish. (Of. Sale's Koran, Wherry's 
recension, ii. p. 224.) The word sheb (shab) means simply ' quarter', and 
the sheb of Abu Talib probably comprised the sheb of 'AH. It was a defile 
of the mountains where the projecting rocks of Abu Cobeis pressed upon 
the eastern outskirts of the city (Muir, The Life of Mahomet, p. 91). But the 
text has Shab, and the place meant may be identical with the spot now 
known as Shaab-i-'Ali, ' 'All's date ', which adjoins the Suk-ul-Lail and 
where 'AH is said to have been born (The Story of a Pilgrimage to Hijaz, 
by Sultan Jahan Begam (of Bhopal), p. 103). The writer also mentions the 
Jannat al-mualla, or ' lofty Paradise ', the plain near Mecca in which lies 
a plot of land called the Makan-i-Sha'b-un-Nur or ' the place of the Valley 
of Light '. In it are buried 70,000 saints who will rise from their graves on 



i THE SACRIFICE OF THE RAM 35 

' my dear son, I saw in my dream that I should put you to 
death; reflect upon it, and tell me your opinion'. Isma'Il 
answered, ' my father, whatever you have been commanded 
to do let it be done '.. ' How can you, my son, resign yourself 
thus to so dreadful an end ? ' asked Ibrahim ; and Isma'il only 
replied, ' My father, God will enable me to bear it with patience ', 
and added, 'Tie my hands and my feet, so that when I am 
struggling in death, my blood may not fall upon you ; sharpen, 
also, well the knife, that I may soon be freed from life ; turn my 
face downwards, that lest you, beholding my struggles, may be 
deterred from the Divine commands, through paternal pity, and 
so deviate from your duty. Console my aged and beloved mother, 
Hajir, for my death, with the assurance that I terminated my 
earthly career in the path of God ! ' 

" On this, Ibrahim was greatly affected, and cried out aloud : 
4 God, during all my life, the mention (zikr) of my petition 
and devotion to Thee has ascended up to Thy abode ; in my old 
age, Thou hast given me a son ; many months and years I have 
grieved for his absence ; if this deed be according to Thy divine 
will, who am I, that I should oppose it ? but if it be not, I will 
repent of so sinful a design '. 

" All the angels and spirits upon earth, and in the heavens, 
beheld the submission (isldmiat) of Ibrahim and Isma'fl, and 
heard the devotion of the parent ; and they wept, and cried 
aloud. Ibrahim pressed his knife to the throat of his son, but it 
would not cut, and turned upon its side, and just then an unknown 
voice was heard, saying, ' Thou hast verified thy dream ! ' and 
another, bidding him look behind him, and directing him to sacri- 
fice whatever appeared to his sight, in the place of his own child. 

" Turning round, Ibrahim perceived a large ram descending 
the mountain. This ram, it is said, had pastured for forty years 
in the garden of Paradise (Jannat) ; while others state that it 
was the same animal that the martyr Habil (Abel, from habala, 
or any one taken away by death) had offered up in sacrifice, and 
which God had preserved for this occurrence. Ibrahim ran after 
the ram, and so performed the solemnity observed at the present 

the Last Day. Many pilgrims dig graves here in the belief that, wherever 
they may die, their spirits will find them after death (ib. p. 97). This 
work gives many details concerning the modern usages during the hajj at 
Mecca. 



36 THE PROPHETSHIP OF ABRAHAM i 

time, called the jamrah, by the pilgrims to the Ka'ba, when they 
throw stones (at the devil), for he also cast stones at the animal 
as he pursued it. The jamrah of the people of Muhammad (the 
Prophet) has its origin in this occasion. There are, however, 
three jamrahs, called the first, second, and third. 

" It is related that Ibrahim threw seven stones at the ram, 
and at the third jamrah he caught it. He then conveyed it to 
the spot of sacrifices at Makka, called Mina, and appeared to 
sacrifice it. The angel Gabriel now appeared, and freed the 
hands and feet of Isma'il, and said to him, ' Whatever you may 
desire to ask of God, ask it now, for this is a holy moment ' ; and 
so, raising up his hands, he prayed : ' Lord of the universe, 
I implore that Thou wipest away from Thy registers the sins of 
any of Thy servants about to die who believe in Thee and in 
Thy unity'. 

" When Ibrahim had finished his sacrifice, he came back to 
his son Isma'Il, and beheld that the angel Jibrall had loosed his 
hands and feet, and learned that he had prayed in behalf of the 
believing ; he was greatly rejoiced, and said to him : ' My son, thou 
art surely protected and aided by God ', and at the same moment 
an unknown voice was heard to say : ' O Ibrahim, thou art the 
truthful of those who speak, and the best of those who are patient; 
thou art above all trial in temptation ; thy devotion is perfect, 
and under all troubles thou showest submission. I have, there- 
fore, prepared for thee an exalted place in Paradise, and made thy 
fidelity to be eminent in both worlds ; this is the recompense 
which we give to those who do well ' (this latter expression 
meaning ' devotion '), ' for God sees every one, whilst no one is 
able to see Him. Thou, Ibrahim, art my faithful one (khalil) 
and my prophet (paighambar) ; I have clothed thee with a pre- 
eminence superior to that of all creation. And thou, Isma'il, 
thou art pure and my prophet (rastil) ; I have made thee eminent 
above all the world's inhabitants for the purity of thy heart.' 
Both Ibrahim and Isma'il hereon offered up thanks and praises 
to the Most High for His great goodness, figurative and explicative 
in nature. 

"The historian Tabari states that when Ibrahim heard the 
voice declare, ' Thou hast verified thy dream ', he was greatly 
frightened, and trembled, and so let the knife fall from his hand* 
Jibrall caught the ram by the ear and brought it with him from 



i THE SACRIFICE OF HUSAIN 37 

Paradise, at the same time exclaiming, Alldhu-akbar ! (God is the 
greatest of all gods), and Ibrahim hearing this repeated the takbir ; 
for on seeing the ram he cried out, La ildha ilia Allah, and Allah- 
akbar (there is no God but Allah, and Allah is the greatest). He 
then added to Isma'Il : ' My dear son, raise up your head, for the 
Most High has gladdened our hearts ', which he did, and they 
both beholding Jibra'il and the ram, exclaimed: Allahu-akbar 
wa ul-Hamd, 'Allah is the greatest of gods, and is the praised'. 
In the work entitled the Mandhij-at-Tdlibin, 1 it is narrated that 
Ja'far-us-Sadiq stated that God relieved Ibrahim from the 
sacrifice of his beloved son through that ram, as a great atone- 
ment. Khalil was deeply afflicted by the Divine command, and 
God, by inspiration, said to him, ' O Ibrahim, the reason of my 
preserving Isma'il from being sacrificed is, because the Light of 
the prophetship of that seal of all prophets, Muhammad, was on 
the brow of that fortunate youth ; that all of the prophets, from 
Adam down to that Seal (Muhammad), should be of his race'. 
Khalil prayed to God, and a message was sent to him, by revela- 
tion, saying that all of the prophets which he beheld should 
surely spring from the loins of his son. Among these Ibrahim 
saw Muhammad 'AH bin-Abi-Talib, and the sons borne to him 
by the pure Fatima. Ibrahim inquired who it was that he saw 
near to Muhammad filling so eminent a position, and was informed 
that it was Husain, the son of 'All bin-Abi-Talib, the prophet of 
the latter times and the light of all the prophets, the son of the 
daughter of Muhammad Mustafa. . ' I have a greater affection ', 
replied Ibrahim, ' for that figured soul than for Isma'il, though 
the son of my own loins ' ; and God thereon continued : ' I have 
accepted of Husain on account of the devotedness of Isma'il'. 

'Thus, according to the statement of the Imam Ja'far, the 
great sacrifice was Husain bin-'AlT, and the ram was figurative 
of that sacrifice which was to come in after years ; for, he remarks 
with much correctness, what could a simple ram be, that God 
should call it the Great Sacrifice in the Holy Quran ? The second 
application of this remarkable occurrence is that Adam was the 
original builder and founder of the Ka'ba, that after his death, 
Seth 2 (Shith) repaired it, and all mankind performed the solemn 

1 The Manahij ut-Talibm, or ' Roads of the Seekers ', of Abu Zakaria 
an-Nawawi, the jurist. 

2 See note on p. 174 infra. . 



88 ADAM'S REPENTANCE i 

ceremony of the tawdf 1 (walking round) around it, just as the 
people of Muhammad do at the present time, on the occasion of 
their pilgrimage a duty commanded by the Most High. When 
the deluge of Noah approached, by God's permission angels 
descended from heaven, and removed to the summit of the 
mountains both the Black Stone which Adam brought out of 
Paradise ( Jannat), and the other stones which he collected for the 
Ka'ba in the mountains. 

"It is related that when Adam became bent with the blows 
of his disobedience to God (Quran, xx. v. 119) a he descended from 
the Blue Paradise to this world, and for a great length of time 
wept tears of regret ; and in his affliction prayed : ' O Thou who 
hearest the cries of those who weep, under all circumstances: 
I no more hear the voices of the angels, and this affliction is 
greater than all others'. The voice of God was heard saying, 
' Adam ! out of regard for thy posterity I have caused a house 
of joy to descend from heaven to earth, around which always 
make it your duty to perform the tawaf (or circuit), just as the 
angels in heaven make circular processions around the Great Arch 
(or Throne). It is, at this moment, thy duty even obligatory 
to go at once to that house ; there let thy heart be free from all 
other imaginations than those of love and affection for me.' 
Adam immediately proceeded to the Ka'ba Allah (verse in 
Persian) : ' The pilgrim on the Ka'ba road seeks for a sight of 
the Divine countenance of Him who is the master of this house'. 

" Filled with reflections as he went, he made no less than fifty 

1 Only women pilgrims walk in the tawaf, men performing it at a run, 
when it is performed between Safa, the eminence close to a corner of the 
Kaaba, and Marwa, a building on another eminence exactly opposite it. 
The stretch of ground between is called Milain and is 225 paces in length. 
Across it Hagar is said to have walked seven times in her search for water, 
leaving her son at the spot now marked by the well Zamzam so that she 
could keep him in view. The circumbulatory tawaf alluded to in the text 
is performed on the Mataf or Path of Circuit round the Kaaba, starting 
from the Black Stone. Bach tawaf consists of seven shut, each a complete 
circuit. In the first three shuts men walk stiff and upright with the chest 
well thrown out, but in the last four they walk as usual. Women walk at 
their customary pace, There are, moreover, seven kinds of tawaf. The 
one specifically intended in the text is probably the second, the tawaf -uz- 
ziarat or -ud-Dm, also called the tawaf-i-ifaza, tawaf -ul-hajj, tawaf-ul-farz 
or tawaf -i-yaum-un-nahr (Sultan Jahan Begam, op. cit. p. 112). 

2 Ch. xx. describes Adam's fall but does not allude to his descent from 
Paradise. 



i ABRAHAM'S PILGRIMAGE 39 

farsangs 1 between each of his steps, so that, in this way, he soon 
passed- over a great distance, and, reaching the object of his 
desires, beheld a house constructed out of one red ruby, the two 
doors of which were of green emeralds, the one looking to the east, 
and the other to the west. By Divine command an angel appeared 
and taught Adam the ceremonies required at that holy spot. 
Whilst Adam was thus engaged, the angel showed himself to him, 
and said, ' O Adam ! the Most High has been pleased with your 
conduct, your performance of the holy Hajj, or pilgrimage, and 
has forgiven your sins '. 

"It is said that, on the occasion of the Deluge, the angels 
conveyed this house up to the heavens ; and another narrative 
relates that after it had subsided a small mound of red earth 
pointed out its location, around which the people performed the 
tawaf, on which account the Great Judge of all necessities (God) 
answered their prayers, until the time when Khalil (Ibrahim), 
by Divine command, reconstructed it. In the view of having 
this pious service remain in the family of Khalil, God commanded 
the angel Jibrail to accompany him from Sham to Makka and 
employ Isma'il and his mother on that edifice. Thus both the 
father and the son, who are the very best of the human race, 
renewed the foundations of that House of Mercy, and invited all 
mankind to visit it. 

" On Khalil's arrival at Makka, he found Isma'il employed in 
making arrows, and having made known to him God's commands, 
he cheerfully accepted them. Ibrahim designed to reconstruct 
the house in its previous dimensions. He was aware of what 
these were at the time of Adam ; but on this subject there are 
various accounts, each of which are given in the work called the 
Rauzat-ul-Ahbdb, z and from all of them it would seem that the 
angel Jibrail made them known to Ibrahim. Isma'il brought the 
earth and clay, and his father constructed the House of God ; 

1 The Persian form of the Ar. farsakh, about 18,000 feet. 

2 The Rauzat-ul-Ahbab fi siyar al-Nabl wa'l-Al wd'l-AsMb (' the Garden 
of Endeavour concerning the life of the Prophet, his family and com- 
panions ') of ' Jamal-ul-Husaini ', by which complimentary title the Persian 
historian 'Ata-Ullah b. Fazl Allah al-Shirazi is known. He wrote between 
A.D. 1484-95 and died in 1511 or 1520, but his work has only been translated 
into Turkish (E.I. i. p. 1008). Beale, who assigns his death to 917 H. 
(1511) says he was wazw.io Sultan Husain Mirza of Herat, and gives three 
versions of his names (Or. Biogr. Diet. p. 84). 



40 THE BLACK STONE AT MAKKA i 

and in this way it reached such lofty dimensions that the latter 
was no longer able to raise the stones as high as its walls. He 
therefore had to mount upon a stone for that purpose, and the 
print of his feet has still remained on it. The stone in question 
is, at the present time, called the inaqam-i-Ibrdhim : (' place of 
Abraham '). Upon reaching the elevation of the ' Black Stone ', 
which the angels had preserved from the effects of the Deluge 
by conveying it to the summit of the mountain called Abu Qubais, 2 
they went and brought it thence, and, taking it from them, 
Ibrahim put it in its place. When this stone first came from 
Jannat, it was whiter than snow or milk, but it has been dis- 
coloured by contact with the hands and faces of the disobedient 
to the Almighty.* 3 

" Another tradition states that when the edifice had reached 
a certain elevation, Ibrahim bade Isma'Il bring him a stone of an 
excellent and agreeable- form, which should remain as a sign to 
the people, and that, though the latter brought one, his father did 
not like it, and was about departing for another, when he heard 
a voice saying, .' O Ibrahim ! on Mount Abu Qubais there is one 
deposited'. So, proceeding to the spot, he found and brought 
away, himself, the Black Stone ; and as Isma'il was absent at 
the moment, he only learned the facts from his father on his 
return. . On the termination of their work they both prayed to 
God to bless and accept of their labours, which He was pleased 
to do. It was then that the angel Jibrall appeared and taught 

1 More correctly the Maqam-i-Ibrahim, or ' Abraham's Standing-place ', 
is a small bungalow-shaped building, which pilgrims enter on one side, 
passing out on the other. The stone is known as Hajar-i-Ibrahim, and 
pilgrims fill the cavities of the foot-prints with Zamzam water (Sultan 
Jahan Begam, op. cit. p. 109). 

2 Abu Kebees in original ; the Abu Kobeis of Sale's Koran, ch. xxii. (iii. 
p. 161 in Wherry's recension). The mountain was visited by Abraham, 
who thence proclaimed the duty of pilgrimage. It lies on the eastern 
frontier of Mecca, and was known in Pagan times as al-Amin because the 
Black Stone was preserved there. It also held the Treasure Cave in which 
the progenitors of mankind dwelt (E.I. i. p. 97). 

* Near the At Maidan, an ancient hippodrome of Constantinople, there, 
is a small mosque, called ' Mehmed-Pasha Jami-'si ', which was originally 
a Greek church. In this mosque is a fragment of the celebrated Hajir-al- 
aswad, or ' Black Stone ', brought from Makka, and placed here by its 
founder. 

3 At-Maidam, ' hippodrome '. For much Turkish and Christian folk- 
lore on other stones see F. W. Hasluck in Annual, B.S.A. xxi. pp. 62 ff. 



i ABRAHAM'S DEATH 41 

/ 

them the solemnities of the tawaf, of the manasik 1 (sacrifices), 
of Mount 'Arafat, the raml jamrah z (casting of the stones), the 
sal z and the shayi (sacred symbols), all of which are sunnat 
(commanded by the Prophet) to the pilgrims of Muhammadan 
people, to the present time. 

" Before Ibrahim departed from Makka for Sham, he appointed 
Isma'il to be his khalifa, Caliph or successor, and it is said that 
he reached the age of 120 years." 



THE DECEASE OF IBRAHIM 

By some it is said that, after the death of Sarah, Ibrahim took 
another wife from the land of Canaan, by whom he had six sons. 
From these sprang so many individuals as to greatly increase 
the number of his children and grandchildren, as well as of the 
tribes. The prophetship, however, remained with Ishaq and 
Isma'il. Ibrahim became excessively wealthy in flocks and herds. 
He is supposed to have been the first person whose beard became 
white with age, a circumstance so much to his surprise as to 
cause him to ask God, in prayer, the cause of so extraordinary 
an occurrence, and, in reply, heard that it was a sign of seriousness 
of mind, and respect. He thereon asked that the former might be 
increased. 

Ibrahim is said also to have asked of God that he might not 
be required to leave this life before he himself requested it ; and 
that his prayer was granted. Now when the time approached 
for his departure, the Angel of Death appeared to him, in the 
shape of an aged man ; and when, according to his principles of 
hospitality, he had food placed before him, he remarked that the 
hands of his guest trembled very much, so that he was unable 
to partake of the provisions, and through feebleness, he raised 
them even to his nose and ears, in place of carrying them to his 

1 Lit. ' places of sacrifice '. 

2 Ramiat Jamrat, more correctly, ' casting (of stones) at the Jamras '. 
Al-jamra, originally a ' pebble ', is particularly used of the heaps of stones 
in the valley of Mina. There are three such heaps (E.L i. p. 1012). The 
Bega.m of Bhopal translates the term jamrat by ' devil ', and says there is 
a place in Mina where three pillars have been built close to one another, 
and these are known as the Jamrat (op. cit. p. 123). 

3 Sal = sevenfold running. With the ^awof it concludes the hajj (E.L 
ii- p. 199). 



42 ABRAHAM'S BURIAL I 

mouth. Ibrahim, surprised at such a spectacle of human weak- 
ness, inquired of the aged man its cause, and was told that it was 
the consequence of advanced age. He next asked him how old 
he was, and the old man replied that he calculated his years were 
even less than those of Ibrahim ; the latter thereon observed that 
there was not much difference between their ages, and he wondered 
whether or not he would be subject to the same degree of feeble- 
ness. "Yes, you will", said the guest ; and Ibrahim, after some 
moments of reflection, having prayed to God to relieve him of 
this life and its infirmities, the Angel of Death conveyed his soul 
to Paradise (or Faradis the plural of the Arabic noun Firdaus). 

Another tradition is, that when the Angel of Death ('Azrail) 
appeared to Ibrahim, the latter asked him whether it was possible 
for one friend to wish to take away the soul or life of another 
friend ; and that this question having been, by the angel, con- 
veyed to God, he was commanded to reply, " Is it not natural 
that a friend should ardently desire to see the face of his friend ? " 
On this, he consented freely to depart, and was buried in the 
fields of Khairun, 1 by the side of Sarah. 

" In those days, hospitality was much exercised, and not only 
were the guests treated with great generosity in the houses of 
their hosts, but were provisioned on their departure. It is 
narrated, that once Ibrahim entertained an aged individual, whom 
he conducted to his residence ; but, as he ascertained that his 
guest was an infidel (Mfir), he did not lay before him the choice 
providences of .God, and drove him away. The Most High 
thereon addressing Ibrahim, said : ' O Ibrahim, this infidel has, 
for many years, enjoyed my bounties, and yet served idols ; and 
not for even one day have I deprived him of them. How much 
less, then, does it become you, as my friend and apostle, to cut 
him off from the use of my mercies ? ' On hearing this, Ibrahim 
made haste to follow after the old man, and related to him what 
he had learnt. The aged infidel was greatly affected, and wept ; 
and having made the reflection that if a sovereign reproaches his 
own friend for his conduct to his foe, how great must be his 
goodness to his friends ! thereon became a true believer.* 

"It is said that ten books were sent down from heaven to 

1 Or Khabrun. 

* This is evidently the origin of Franklin's celebrated story to the French 
of Paris. 



1 THfe LAWS OF ABRAHAM 43 

Ibrahim, all filled with pious injunctions and wise commands. 
Of these, the following is one : ' ye who are the rulers, judges, 
and sovereigns over the poor, be not misled by the temptations 
of worldly enjoyments, by those of the body, nor by Satan ; I did 
not select you from the others of my creatures for the purpose of 
depriving the public of their goods and stores ; perhaps you even 
think that I did so, that you might prevent the helpless from 
praying to me ? Know then that I do not reject the prayers of 
the poor and the helpless even if these be infidels.' 

" To Ibrahim, it is related, are attributed many of the sunnats, 
or religious observances of the present day " ; and the same 
author adds, that "the best of all is that the ' Pride of the Uni- 
verse ' (Muhammad) was a subject of his nation, or community 
(one of it), and many of his sunnats are now practised in the 
Muhammadan religious laws ". 

The preceding suffices to show the connexion which exists 
between the faith of Abraham and that of Muhammad. The 
essence of the latter (Islam) is, perfect submission to the will of 
the Almighty ; and of this, the most striking exemplification in 
the record of man's history is the obedience of Abraham, when he 
prepared to offer up his own son as a sacrifice to his Creator. 
This figures largely in the principles of the Baqtashis, as will be 
seen in the account given of them hereafter. 

Regarding the term or expression Hanifiya, 1 the celebrated 
Hisioire des Arabes, of Caussin de Perceval, states that it simply 
signifies " Orthodoxy, or the religion of Abraham ". In the same 
work (vol. i. p. 323) there is the following : " 'Ubaidallah, son of 
Jahsh, though established at Makka, was not a Quraishite ; but 
on his father's side descended from Asad, son of Khuzaima, and 
belonged to the Quraish tribe through his mother 'Umaima, 2 the 
daughter of 5 Abd-ul-Muttalib. After fruitless efforts to reach the 
religion of Abraham, or orthodoxy (al-Hanifiya), he remained in 
doubt and uncertainty, until Muhammad commenced preaching. 

1 Or, rarely, Hanafiya, the religion of Abraham, while al-Hanljiya al- 
samha, the mild or liberal Hanifism, is the religion of Muhammad (E.I. 
ii. 258, 8.v. Hanif). 

2 Of. A. Sprenger, Das Leben und die Lehre des Mohammad, i. p. 81. The 
point is that 'Umaima was an aunt of the Prophet and 'Ubaidallah was his 
cousin ; Muhammad was thus confronted by waverers even amongst his 
near kinsmen. (For the meaning of 'Abd-ul-Muttalib's name see Eobertson 
Smith's Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia, p. 260.) 



44 ABRAHAM'S CREED i 

It was then that 'Ubaidallah decided to recognise Islamism, as 
the true religion which he sought after. He therefore embraced 
it, but soon after abjured it, as will be seen elsewhere, to devote 
himself definitively to Christianity." 

He was one of four persons who, on the occasion of the festival 
of the Arab idols, publicly denounced all participation in such a 
faith, saying, " Our countrymen walk in a false path, and are far 
from the religion of Abraham. What is this pretended divinity 
to which they immolate victims, and around which they make 
solemn processions ? A mute and insensible block of stone, 
incapable of doing good or evil. Let us seek the true faith of 
our father Abraham ; and. to find it, let us, if it be necessary, 
even wander over foreign lands." 

M. de Perceval adds, with regard to the new doctrine pro- 
claimed by Muhammad : " This was not a new religion which ne x 
announced, but the ancient religion of Abraham restored to its 
primitive purity". 

Thus, the researches into the history of the Arabs, by this 
eminent writer, fully establish the fact that, in the traditional 
accounts possessed by them of the patriarch Abraham, Muhammad 
found the basis of his new faith ; and that whatever is not clearly 
of this origin must be sought for in other traditions, drawn from 
India and Greece ; or, as he so repeatedly declares in the Quran, 
in ' Divine Inspiration '. 



THE ATMBODHA, OR ' KNOWLEDGE OF THE SPIRIT ' 

In the chapter on the Sufiism of the Darvishes, as well as the 
others relating to them, the reader will find a strong analogy of 
doctrine with that of the people of India, as shown in the vedanta. 
An interesting article [' Atmabodha '] in the Journal Asiatique 1 
of Paris, contains much on this subject, clearly showing that the 
peculiarities of the tariqats 2 have their origin in the writings of 
the Sanskrit authors ; and it may not be amiss to quote some of 
the more striking of these parables. 

1 Serie 6, t. vii., January 1866, p. 1. The article is an annotated version 
of the Vedantic poem of Shankara Aeharya, by Felix Neve. 

2 From taraqa, ' drank thick, muddy water '. The root idea suggests 
a string of camels following a difficult track to a well. Salmone's Arab. 
Diet. s.v. (p. 499) shows the extended meanings given to the root. 



i SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE 45 

Brahma, the chief divinity of the Vedas, or sacred writings of 
India, is the great spirit from which all the others are emanations. 
He is the source of all the pantheistic doctrines of the believers 
in him. 

Mlmansd is the desire to know, or the ' Divine science ' ; in 
other words, the contemplative and mystical theology of 'Brahma. 
The fundamental idea of the vedanta is that Brahma is the 
Absolute Spirit, and the Pure Being. It is also the doctrine 
which any one must know and deeply study who desires to aspire 
to the fourth degree of a religious life or who wishes to become 
a Sannyasl, or perfect ascetic. The religion of Brahma is too 
compendious and complicated to be explained in detail, and such 
is not the object of the present short notice. Indeed, there has 
been, of late years, so much written on the subject by the philo- 
logists of Europe, that it would be presumptuous to do more than 
refer the reader, for more minute information, to the many 
interesting works now existing in its various languages. Suffice 
it to say, that these point out the source and origin of whatever 
is pantheistic and mystical in the doctrines of the Darvish tanqats, 
which are not strictly Mussulman ; and that, after penetrating 
through Northern India into Persia, they have spread over Asia, 
wherever these sects have been established. It would even seem 
that the polytheism of India is the origin of all the fabled gods 
and goddesses of the people of northern Europe. The pantheism 
of the one becomes the mythology of the other, shaped into 
varied forms, dependent upon the climate, the character of the 
seasons, and the varied productions of nature of each of the 
degrees of latitude through which it passed. The influence of 
language over the human mind is greater than at first seems 
apparent. The Sanskrit, a dead language of India, is one parti- 
cularly adapted for the expression of the most minute details of 
mystical ideas quite without a parallel in the great family of 
idioms used by mankind. In it the human imagination found 
an able and willing servant, so capable of photographing so to 
speak the least tangible of its productions, that it in time 
became the sacred language of India that of its books, and not 
that spoken by its people. India has rivalled Greece in her 
philosophers each has had her teachers and her schools, both 
undirected by Divine Light, though the intuitive reflections of 
reason and intelligence seem to have penetrated into the remote 



46 VEDANTA AND SUFlISM i 

and misty future which so deeply interests mankind. Their 
' ancient wisdom ' is still the object of the studies of the curious, 
even in modern times ; and the human mind, still fettered and 
unfreed from the weight of long centuries of slavery in matters 
of religious faith, is unable to cast off the dogmas of a spiritual 
and mystical character, which, like the clouds, obscure the light 
of the One only true Divinity. Mankind deified at one period, 
is sanctified in another ; and both in Vedantism and Suflism, we 
find the idea carried so far as to declare that the spirit of man, 
when properly purified by contemplation, religious fervour, and 
ecstatic love, becomes even that of God, from whom it is declared 
it is an emanation. Even the most reasonable of the Darvish 
tarlqats hold that by means of a certain form of worship, differ- 
ing with each one, the creature approaches his Creator, and that 
this is the object of his adorations. His spirit becomes even 
absorbed in that of the Divinity. The soul is a Divine emanation 
incorporated in a human form. It exists in five conditions, viz. 
it is awake, it dreams, it is plunged in slumber, it fills a state of 
half-death, and finally, even perfectly separated from the body. 
During the third state, it is reabsorbed already in the Divine 
Spirit. After death, it must pass through several new existences. 
Virtuous souls occupy spheres superior to that of this world, and 
enjoy the fruits of their good works, whilst the guilty ones are 
condemned to fill conditions inferior to that of humanity. The 
Darvish thus interprets the verse of the Quran Ixviii. 18 : "My 
people in the eternal life will rise up in companies " ; and holds 
that wicked people who have degraded humanity in this life will 
live again in the shape of animal existence, to which it has become 
debased. The final effort of man in the vedanta is his passage to 
the world of Brahma, when his soul will be delivered from all 
human ties, and return to its original source and be confounded 
with his principle. The Darvish, by a series of mental con- 
templations and fervid efforts, returns to the divine spirit of 
Allah ; and even, for example, the maulavl, as he whirls round, 
according to the modus prescribed by his founder or plr, believes 
that- he is spiritually drawn nearer to God ; or the Rifa'i as he 
howls the zikr supposes that he becomes holy, and is absorbed 
in the spirit of the Allah whom he thus invokes. The gravana, 1 

1 Qravana (Neve, op. cit. p. 74) is to listen, while manana is to accept 
with obedience what is taught. 



i VEDANTIC ANALOGIES 47 

manana, and nididhydsana 1 (audition, meditation, and con- 
templation), are nothing other than the sama > i muraqaba, tawajjuh* 
and the zikr, of the Darvish tariqat. The bodha 3 of the Brahman 
is the 'Urn, and the jndna is the mcfrifat of the Darvish, without 
which it is not possible to emancipate and free the soul. The 
Baktashis believe that God is in all things, and that the soul, 
after its separation from the human frame, may enter into the 
body of an animal, for which reason they are unwilling to kill 
any living creature, lest it contain the soul or spirit of a late human 
being. This is the principle of the Supreme Master Brahma, who 
penetrates all things. The manas is the 'andsir arba? of Suflism, 
viz. the four great elements of fire, air, earth, and water, which 
are supposed to compose the body, and constitute the internal 
faculty of comprehension ; whilst the upddhi,* or subtle fluid, 
is the invigorating element of life, different from the prdnds, or 
' breath ', 5 which is known to the Darvish as the naffs, or nafs, 
the original emanation from the Creator, and which, after a 
serious and impressional invocation of Him, becomes so holy. 
The 'dlam-i-misdl, or ' world of fancy ' the 'dlam-i-Jchiydl, the 
'world of illusion', form an important part of the Brahmanic 
system. 6 All is said to be transitory in this world illusory ; 
and there is nothing true and real but Brahma, which word, with 
Sufiism, is equivalent to Allah. " Brahma has no resemblance 
with the world nothing really exists but he ; if anything else 
be produced other than he, it is vain and illusory, like the mirage 
in the desert." " The eye of science (spiritual) contemplates the 
Living Being (with the Darvish Hay wa Qayyum, the ' Living 

1 Nididhyasa, ' meditation ', is placing Bhagavat before the mind's eye 
to the exclusion of everything else (Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Minor 
Religious Systems, R. G. Bhandarkar (Grundriss der I.A.Ph. und Alt.), p. 61). 
Neve translates the term ' la contemplation ' (op. cit. p. 47). Manas is the 
interior faculty of comprehension (op. cit. p. 59) ; but it has also the meaning 
of 'feeling' in a lofty sense (p. 75). Sama', lit. 'hearing' or 'listening', 
came to be a Sufi technical term for the devotional exercise of darwsh 
(D. B. Macdonald in J.R.A.8., 1901, p. 236 n.) 

2 For muraqaba and tawajjuh, v. note on p. 144 infra. 

3 Bodha, ' cognition ' (Neve, op. cit. p. 69) ; jnana is ' science ' (p. 87). 

4 Upadhi, ' attribute ' (op. cit. p. 58). Brown's account of the Atmabodha 
is not correct. There are three upadhis or ' attributes ', one of which is 
subtile. And the elements are five in number, not four. 

6 Pranas is for prana, ' breath ' (op. cit. p. 59). 
6 Under the generic term may a, or ' illusion '. 



48 INDIAN PARALLELS I 

and the Eternal ') ; but the eye of ignorance cannot contemplate 
Him, no more than a blind man can behold the sun." " He who 
undertakes the pilgrimage of the Spirit, which is in himself, 
penetrates all, without regard either to the state of the sky, the 
country, or time ; dissipating cold and warmth, securing to him- 
self a perpetual happiness, free from all impurity ; frees himself 
completely from works, becpmes omniscient, penetrates all, and 
is immortal." " He who, renouncing all labour, reaches the state 
or condition called paramahansa, or the ascetic of the last degree, 
frequents the tlrtha of the Spirit, knows all, in all things through 
the proper nature of the sovereign Spirit, becomes immortal, viz. 
absolutely free." 

Such is the parallel between the principles of Brahmanism 
and Suflism, and which have evidently become engrafted on the 
ex-Mussulman systems of some, if not indeed all, of the modern 
Darvish sects. The Mantiq-ut-Tair of Farid-ud-dm 'Attar, and 
the Masnawi Sharif of Jalal-ud-din ur-Rumi, furnish much to 
corroborate the conviction that these Mussulman authors drew 
their inspiration from the religious reveries of the Hindus. Even 
the mystical ghazals of Hafiz are deeply imbued with the same. 



CHAPTER II 

ON THE ORIGIN OP THE DARVISH ORDERS THE ORIGINAL ORDERS ; 
FORMS OF PRAYER ; CAPS, ETC. TRADITIONS OF THE ORDERS 

THE word darwish or darvesh is from the Persian language, and 
is written /j^jj^- It is composed of two syllables, dar and vish. 
The first, or dar, is the same as the English word ' door ', and has 
the same signification. Vish is probably from the Persian verb 
vihtan, to beg. 

Various 'meanings are assigned to the two syllables taken 
together. Some say it means the ' sill of the door ' ; others, 
' those who beg from door to door ' ; whilst there are many who 
declare that it signifies ' in thought ' or ' deep meditation ', using 
the dar as a Persian preposition in, and not as a substantive, and 
the vish as ' thought '. 

I am inclined to give to the word the signification now almost 
universally accepted,, which is, ' a poor fellow who goes from door 
to door for assistance '. This is evidently the one in use all over 
the East, in India, Bukhara, Persia, Turkey, Syria, and Egypt 
in fact, wherever this class of people are known ; though in those 
countries where the Arabic language is spoken, Darvishes are 
known as faqirs, plural fuqird ; and in Turkey the latter is often 
used, though of course erroneously, in the singular sense. 

The Darvishes say that their original orders were twelve in 
number. They trace back their source as follows : 

Allah (God). 

Jibrail (Angel Gabriel). 

Muhammad (the Prophet). 

'All (the fourth Caliph). 

Abu Bakr (the first Caliph). 

49 E 



50 THE FIRST MYSTICS n 

From the Caliph 'All, they say, descended- 
Hasan-al-Bahrl. 
Marufi Kerb! [Ma'ruf KarkhT]. 1 
Surayi SakattI [Sari SaqatI]. 2 
Daudi Tal. 3 
Junaydl Bagdad!. 4 
Habfbi 'Ajami. 5 
Abu Bakr Shibli. 6 

1 Abu Mahfuz Ma'ruf b. Firuz al-Karkhi is described as a spiritual 
descendant of Da'ud ; but there is some uncertainty as to his place in the 
sequence of Sufi teachers (Nicholson, Kashf al-Mahjub, p. 113). He died 
in 200 H., A.D. 816 (J.R.A.S., 1906, p. 331). Born a Christian, he was 
converted to Islam (ib., 1912, p. 566). 

2 Abu'l Hasan Sari b. Mughallis al-Saqati, ' the huckster ', was a disciple 
of Ma'ruf Karkhi, but he had also seen Habib al-Ra'I, a companion of 
Salman Farsl. Junaid was his sister's son (Nicholson, Kashf al-Mahjub, 
p. 110). SaqatI died in 257 H. (A.D. 871). He founded the SaqatI or Siqti 
Order, which, like the Karkhi Order, is now grouped in the Qadiri Order by 
Persian writers on Sufi history. 

3 Abu Sulaiman Da'ud b. Nusair al-Tai, sometimes described as a pupil 
of Abu Hanifa, sometimes as a disciple or successor of Habib al-Ra'I (cf. 
Nicholson, Kashf al-Mahjub, p. 109). He died in 165 H. (A.D. 782). 

4 Abu'l Qasim al-Junaid b. Muhammad b. al-Junaid al-Baghdadi, a 
follower of Thauri, under whom he studied law, died in 297 H. (A.D. 910). 
' Perhaps the greatest name in early Suflism ', no shadow of heresy has ever 
fallen on his memory. (See Macdonald, Muslim Theology, p. 176 ff., for a 
full account of his teaching ; also Nicholson, Kashf al-Mahjub, p. 129.) His 
titles are variously given and he was also called the Saiyid al-Ta'ifa, ' lord of 
the sect ', and Ta'us al-'ulama, ' peacock of the learned ' (E.I. i. p. 1063). 
Al-Junaid also studied under Abu 'Abdullah al-Haris b. Asad al-Muhasibi, 
who as a Shafi'ite was so at variance with Ibn Hanbal that he led a retired 
life and was so unpopular that at his death only four persons ventured to 
say the funeral prayers for him. He was also a Sufi, learned in the tradi- 
tions and in scholasticism. He died in 243 H. (A.D. 858), and his writings 
are of cardinal importance on these subjects (Wiistenfeld, Der Imam 
Schafi'i, p. 59). 

5 Habib al-'Ajami was a Persian and spoke Arabic imperfectly, so that 
Hasan of Basra, by whom his conversion was begun, refused to pray under 
his leadership, but was divinely rebuked for his failure to realise Hablb's 
Tightness of intention (Nicholson, Kashf al-Mahjub, p. 88). This Habib 
must not be confused with Habib al-Ra'i, as to whom see note on p. 156-7 
infra. 

6 Abu Bakr b. Dalaf b. Jahdar ash-Shibll died in. 334 H. (A.D. 946). He 
was a disciple of al-Junaid, but gave himself more completely to the ascetic 
and contemplative life. In his verses the vocabulary of the amorous inter- 
course with God is fully developed (Macdonald, Muslim Theology, p. 176). 



ii THE ORIGINAL ORDERS 51 

Abu'l Mubarak Mahzuml. 1 
'Abd ul-Qadir Gilani. 

And from Abu Bakr, the first Caliph- 
Salman Farsl. 2 

The twelve original orders are : 

1. The Rufa'i ...[. Chap. VI. infra], 

2. The Sa'di . . . [v. App. II. infra]. 

3. The Suhravardi . . . [v. pp. 158-61 infra]. 

4. The Shibam. 3 

5. The Maulavl ...[. Chap. X. infra]. 

6. The Qadiri . . . [v. pp. 99-116 infra, and Index]. 

7. The Naqshibandl . . . [v. App. I. infra]. 

8. The Uvaisi (which latter, they say, are ante-Muhammad), 

v, App. II. 

9. The Jalwati, v. App. II. 

10. The Khalwatl, v. App. II 

11. The Badawi, v. App. II. 

12. The Dasuqi. 

The Dar,vish from whom I derived the preceding is a member 
of the Order of the Qadiris ; and as there is much esprit de corps 
and rivalry among the various Orders, he may have been biassed 
in favour of those whom he placed highest in the list. 

1 Abu'l Mubarik Mahzumi, doubtless the qazi Abu Sa'd Mubarak Mukhar- 
rimi, head of the school of Hanbalite law at Baghdad. He bestowed the 
khirqa of a Sufi on 'Abd-ul-Qadir Gilanl (E.I. i. p. 41). Malcolm, however, 
speaks of a Shaikh Abu Saiyid Makzuml as investing 'Abd-ul-Qadir (Hist, 
of Persia, ii. p. 286 n.). Mukharrim is a place in Baghdad and from it 
Mubarak's name was clearly derived, though in several texts it is corrupted 
to Makhzumi (D. S. Margoliouth, in J.R.A.S., 1907, p. 289 n. 1). The 
mistake probably arose from confusion with Abu Khalid Muslim b. Khalid 
al-Quraishi al-Makhzumi al-Zinji, mufti of Makka and a teacher of theology 
and jurisprudence, whose authority in the lore of tradition is disputed. He 
died in 180 H. (A.D. 797) (Wiistenfeld, Der Imam-el-Schafi'i, p. 33). He is 
doubtless alluded to on p. 101 infra. 

2 Shalman or Salman al-Farsi, ' the Persian ', was named Sulaiman ibn- 
Buhaira al-Khodr (Khizr). Ibn-Buhaira means ' son of the lake ', and 
doubtless recalls the legend of the source of life. In the Nusairi Trinity, 
Salman, created by Muhammad, is the Bab or ' Gate '. The letter sin (s) is 
his emblem, but its meaning is not clear. He is also called Salsal Salman (cf . 
G. R. Dussaud, Hist, et religion des Nosairis, Paris, 1900, pp. 133, 62, and 163). 

3 The founder of the Sha'bamas, Shaikh Sha'ban Wall, is buried at Kasta- 
muni, where he died in 977 H. (A.D. 1569-70) (Jacob, Beitrage, p. 88). The 
Shaikh Shaban, at whose takia near Caesarea an imprint of his hand is shown, 
was apparently another saint (cf. Hasluck in Annual, B,S,A. xxi. p. 66). 



52 QADIRl AND RIFA'I n 

'Abd-ul-Qadir Gilani was the founder of the sect to which my 
friend and assistant belongs, and I may here add, as a word of 
information regarding Arabic surnames such as the present, that 
'abd signifies the servant ; ul is the Arabic article and preposition, 
the and of the ; and Qadir, the Powerful, which is one of the Islam 
attributes of God ; so that his name is the ' Servant of the 
Almighty '. Gilani shows that he was a native of the province of 
Gilan, in Persia. The Islam names of Muhammad, Ahmad, 
Mahmud, Mustafa, Isma'il, 'AH, etc., have each a distinct significa- 
tion, more or less connected with God, and most Mussulmans have 
properly two names, though neither are family names in our sense. 
The Prophet's names were Muhammad-al-Mustafa, or ' Muhammad 
the Chosen '. 

Ahmad Sa'id Rifa'i was the founder of the Order of the Rifa'is, 
generally known among European travellers as the ' Howling 
Darvishes ', from their peculiar mode of worship. He was the 
nephew of 'Abd-ul-Qadir Gilani, and, therefore, also from the 
same part of Persia. His own followers considered him peculiarly 
holy ; so much so, that they say he even declared regarding him- 
self, " This foot of mine is over the necks of all the saints of 
Allah ". 

Among the Qadirls, the office of shaikh, or chief of a takia 
(convent), is hereditary, and descends from father to son ; and 
in case the latter be a minor, the brethren select one of themselves 
to act for him until he becomes of the age of twenty. 

Among the traditions of the Order of the Qadiris I would quote 
the following, as it sustains the saying of his ['Abd-ul-Qadir's] 
nephew Rifa'1 : 

" It is related that once the daughter of the Prophet of God, 
Fatima, saw in a dream, that a man came out of her father's 
apartment, holding a large candle in his hand, the light of which 
extended from the East to the West. She mentioned this to her 
father, in the presence of her husband 'All, who was the nephew 
of the Prophet. The latter interpreted it, that ' one would come 
after him ('All), whose sanctity would resemble the candle, and 
be the chief of all saints '. 'All exclaimed against this, on the 
ground that he himself was the chief. ' No,' said the Prophet ; 
' the one I allude to will have his foot on the neck of all the saints, 
and all will come under his rule ; those who do not bear his feet 
on their shoulders, and bend before him, will bear bags on their 



n SYSTEM OP NAMING CHANGED SB 

shoulders.? 'AH would not admit this, and declared that for one 
he would refuse to bear him. Just then, the Prophet miraculously 
created a child ; and as there was some fruit on a high shelf of 
the room, he asked 'Ali to reach it down for the child. 'All 
attempted to do it, but was not high enough, and the Prophet 
placed the child on his ('All's) neck, so as to reach the fruit. 
'All having submitted to this, ' See, see ! ' exclaimed the Prophet, 
' you already bear the person I allude to on your neck.' This 
child was 'Abd-ul-Qadir himself." 

If there be really but twelve original Orders, these have many 
branches. The principal branches are said to be descended from 
Hasan al-Basri, and it is these which are prevalent now in the 
Ottoman empire. Some others are from Shalman-i-Farsi. 'The 
Maulavis, the Naqshbandls, and the Baqtashis are thus said to 
be descended from Abu-Bakr-us-Siddlq, the first Caliph. The 
Baqtashis are all deemed to be Saiyids, or descendants from the 
family of the Prophet. The taslim-tdsh (a white stone), worn on 
their necks, has its orjgin from Abu-Bakr, who, they say, once 
having used language which gave offence to the Prophet, repented 
of it, and in memory of his fault fastened a small stone around 
his neck, and when he came, to chapel put it, in the presence of 
the Prophet, into his mouth to prevent himself from speaking 
improperly. The Baqtashis are all 'Aliide (Darvishes). J 

The Khalwatis wear leggings, called somdk, 1 in memory of 
those worn by the Prophet in the battles of Badr and Uhud, 2 
and great care is taken by them not to soil them. They are in 
the form of boots, and made of black leather. 

In the earlier times of the Darvishes, their Orders have names 
or titles different from those of the present. These were mere 
explications of their tenets or principles, and it was only at a later 
period that they took the names of their founders. 

I will therefore mention a few of these titles 3 , but refrain from 
digressing on a part of my subject foreign to the object in view. 

1 Somak, apparently for tomaq, Turk., " a kind of short, heavy boot 
formerly worn by horsemen " (Redhouse, TurL-Eng. Lex. p. 1262). Evliya's 
translator calls it a half -boot. In popular Turk, sum (Pers. = ' hoof ') means 
' sabot ', but Redhouse does not give this meaning. Turk, sumaq : " a leather 
bottle for holding water " (Redhouse, ib. p. 1195). 

2 Not ' battle of Badr-i-Uhud ', as in original. 

3 The list of ' Orders ' which follows (given again on p. 323 infra) is taken 
from Malcolm's Hist, of Persia, ii. p. 271. The term ' Order ' is not, strictly 



S4 EARLY MYSTIC SCHOOLS n 

1. The Hululia 1 : or those who, by devout contemplation, 
became inspired by God. 



speaking, applicable to these schools, but as Brown rightly points out, the 
practice of naming a school or sect from its principles was abandoned in 
favour of a system of designating it by its founder's name. Moreover, it is 
very doubtful whether these groups ever formed really distinct ' schools '. 
Judging from, what ShahrastanI says (v. note on p. 377 infra) there was much 
overlapping, so that the sects and schools were cross-divided. This indicates 
that the period before the rise of Sufiism was one of considerable inde- 
pendence of thought. The transformation into ' personal ' sects was 
probably aided by the Sufi institution of pirs and murids. However this 
may be, the Sufis were at an early stage of their history grouped on quite 
new principles as follows : 

APPROVED (maqbul) SECTS 

1. Muhasibi. 

2. Qassari or Hamduni. 

3. Taifuri, who inculcated rapture and intoxication. 

4. Junaidi, whose doctrine was based on sobriety, in opposition to the 

Taifuri. Their ' path ' was to keep wateh over one's spiritual state. 

5. Nuri. 

6. SahlL 

7. Hakim! ; v. note on p. 412 infra. 

8. Kharrazi. 

9. Khafifi. 

10. Sayyarl. 

REJECTED (mardud) SECTS 

11. Hululi. 

12. Hallaji, which had in turn two dissenting groups : (i.) the Farisi, 

founded by Faris, a professed follower of Hallaj, but disavowed 
by the sect ; and (ii.) the IbahatI or Ibahi who regarded every- 
thing as permissible: Kashf al-Mahjub of al-Rujwiri (d. about 
1070), Nicholson, pp. 130-1 and 260. 

In this classification all the ' approved ' sects are named after their 
founders, as is also the Hallaji. In some cases it looks as if the ' personal ' 
name was assumed retrospectively, e.g. in that of the followers of al- Junaid. 
As to the Hululls, the term seems to have been applied to a number of 
sects, mostly personal, while others also held some of the Hululi tenets. 
That they ever formed a regularly organised sect is at best doubtful. 

1 Hululi is derived from hulul, from halla, to ' settle ' in a place, mahall. 
It is used in two distinct senses as meaning the subtantial union (i.) of body 
and soul, and (ii.) of a divine spirit with man. Almost all Muslim theo- 
logians reject these doctrines, even the second, and so they excommunicated 
the Hululi, who comprised a'number of sects, such as the Grhulat, or extreme 
Shi' a, the Druzes and the Sufis (E.I. ii. p. 333, s.v. Hulul). " With a vague 
tradition," say the Indian authorities, " that the original Order was the 



ii EARLY SCHOOLS 55 

2. The Ittihadia l : or those who deem God ever present, and 

Sabatia, the ancient Sabians, the Sufi were early .divided into two Orders, 
or schools, the Hululia, or ' inspired ', which held that the divine spirit 
enters all who are devout, and the Ittihadia, or ' unionists ', who held that 
the soul by union with God becomes God." 

It is sometimes said that the Hululls are also called Hulmania, from the 
teacher Abu Hulman al-Farisi al-Halabi, of Damascus (apparently distinct 
from the founder of the Farisi : see infra). Abu Hulman taught the 
doctrines of hulul, ' incarnation \ imtizaj, ' commixture ' and naskh-i-arwah, 
' transmigration of spirits '. 

He seems to have been a follower of Ibn Salim of Basra who died in 297 H. 
(A.D. 909). However this may be, the Hululi are connected with the Salimis 
or Anthromorphists, who held Hallaj to be a true Sufi. The Salimis com- 
prised most of the jurists and traditionists of Basra, but precise information 
regarding the sect is lacking. According to some authorities it was founded 
by one Abu 'Abdullah, son of (Abu'l) Hasan b. Muhammad b. Ahmad b. 
Salim, who died in 350 H. (A.D. 971) or ten years later, and that it was Abu 
'Abdullah who died in 297 H. But others make the latter the father of 
Hasan (J.B.A.8., 1912, p. 573). Another sect of Anthropomorphists was 
the Mushabbiha, as to which see p. 377 infra. The truth is that at this 
period the Islamic sects were in a fluid state, and Shahrastani who describes 
so many of them has much to say about the Hululls and Mushabbihas, for 
instance, but nothing about the Salimis or even about al-Junaid. This 
writer died in 548 or 549 H. (A.D. 1153), having been born in A.D. 1086, 
more than a century after Junaid's death. Yet to judge from his silence 
concerning them, the Junaidi were not recognised as a distinct sect or order 
in his day. Similarly the Hululla may not have been so recognised. Yet 
an earlier writer, the Shaikh Tahir ibn Muhammad al-Isfaraini (Imam 
Abu'l-Muzaffar), who died in 471 H., speaks of the Hululia as a sect divided 
into at least six sub-sects, including the Hulmania, Hallajia, Muqanna'Ia 
and others, but not the Salimia. The last-named are also described as 
Mutakallimun of Basra who belonged to the group of the Hashwia and 
approved of Hallaj (Haarbrucker, Beligionsparteien und Philosophen-Schulen 
(Trans, of Shahrastani), ii. p. 417). 

As a sect the Hululls have long been extinct, yet despite their con- 
demnation as unorthodox we find the term curiously revived in one Hululi 
Dede, a saint whom popular tradition makes the Halwa-ji-bashi of Sultan 
Sulaiman (I., the Legislator, 1520-26). The saint could make sweets out 
of nothing. He lies in a turbo, at the Shahzada Mosque, and is the helper 
of children who are slow in learning to walk, and of girls who do not find 
husbands (Fried. Schrader, Konstantinopel, pp. 87-8). Possibly there is a 
confusion between the words halwa and hulul. Both the Gulshams and the 
Rifa'Is have saints named Halwi and Halwai (v. pp. 460 and 478 infra). 

1 Like the Hululia the Ittihadia are excommunicate for their adherence 
to the second doctrine of hulul. So, too, were the Janahia, but while Tahir 
al-Isfara'ini mentions the latter, neither he nor Shahrastani allude to the 
Ittihadia (of. Haarbrucker, op. cit. ii. p. 486-7). It would seem that the 
doctrine of 'ittihad, ' identification ', was developed after his time. 



56 EARLY SCHOOLS H 

fill the mind of His worshippers with no other idea than of 
Himself. 




. THE HULULIA. 

3. The Wasulia 1 [Wasilla] : or those who believe that by 
constant devout contemplation of God they become peculiarly 
connected with Him, even in the present life. 

4. The 'Ashiqia 2 ['Ashaqia] : or those who keep their minds 
constantly filled with a devout love for God. 

5. The Talqmia 3 : or those who reach God by prayer, and 
by the means of constant devotion. 

1 Wasulla, from wasul, ' union ', as opposed to Tiulul, ' fusion- ', and to 
ittihad, ' identification ', as Macdonald translates these terms (Muslim 
Theology, p. 228). But for Wasulla Wilberforce Clarke has Wasilia, and 
herein he seems to have followed the Indian tradition. The Wasilla, 
however, owed their name to Wasil b. 'Ata, Abu Huzaifa (cf. J.R.A.S., 
1902, p. 85). In the full account of his teaching given by Shahrastani no 
mention of the doctrine of wasul occurs. Wasil b. 'Ata, born, according 
to Osborn, in the same year as the other founder of free-thought in Islam, 
Amr ibn 'Ubaid, i.e. in 80 H., was a pupil of Hasan of Basra, but broke away 
from his teaching and became famous as one of the founders of the Mu'tazi- 
lites. He died in 131 H. (A.D. 849), long before the Sufis began to debate 
the problems of union with the divine (Osborn, Islam under the Khalifs of 
Baghdad, p. 140, and Macdonald, op. dt. p. 129). 

2 'Ashkieh in original, 'ashaqia in Wilberforce Clarke (Hafiz, iii. p. 6). 

3 On p. 323 infra Talqmia is rendered ' learned ', and more correctly so. 



ii DERVISH COSTUMES 57 

6. The Zuriqia [Zaqia] 1 : or those who by constant contempla- 
tion of their founder, or their immediate shaikh, enter into his 
spirit, and dwell with it. 

7. The Wahdatia 2 [Wahidia] : or those who constantly con- 
template the unity of God. 

I have much endeavoured to find a sensible cause for the 
peculiar forms prescribed by the founders of the various Orders 
of prayers and costumes, but without success. Some wear caps 
of peculiar shapes, many made up of gores, or sections, called by 
the Darvishes tark*, a word signifying abandon, varying in 
number in different Orders. For instance, whilst the Baqtashis 
wear five or seven tarks, the Naqshbandls have eighteen. Some 

Talqm is teaching a novice to repeat the articles of the faith of Islam, or a 
prompting them to a deceased person so that he may have answer for the 
questioning angels (Redhouse, Turk.-Eng. Dicty. p. 588). Shahrastani 
does not mention this sect, though he speaks of the Ta'lmria, from ta'tim, 
' learning ', whom he identifies with the Mulahida or ' heretics ' of Khurasan 
and the Batinla, etc., of 'Iraq, but no direct connexion between these sects 
can be traced. For various meanings of talqm, v. pp. 192, 209, and 275 infra. 

1 On p. 323 infra Zuriqia (Zureekieh in original) is translated ' Penetrat- 
ing ' : as if from zuraqa, ' pierced with a lance or javelin '. But the school 
seems also to have been known as the Zakia, ' those who grow in divine 
grace ', from the same root as zaka, ' righteousness ', and zalcat, ' devotion ', 
especially by setting aside a fortieth part of one's property as God's due ; 
cf. too, az-Zaki, ' der Rechtschaffene ', the second title of the llth Imam 
(Haarbrucker, op. cit. i. p. 193). Wilberforce Clarke calls this school the 
Zaqla, and renders it ' penetrated ' (Hafiz, iii. p. 6). But that term would 
seem to mean ' people of discernment ' or ' tested ' (Salmone, Ar. Dy. p. 254). 

2 Wahdatia, from the same root as Wahidla, wahada, ' was alone, unique '. 
It must not, however, be positively assumed that the two terms apply to 
one and the same sect. Shahrastani mentions the Wahidla as a sub-sect 
of the Qarramla, who were founded by Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad ibn 
Qarram and whose tenets he describes. They laid little stress on the divine 
unity, holding that God was regardless of it. The divergences between 
the sub-sects are not detailed, and Tahir al-Isfara'aini omits them, only 
allotting three sub-sects to the Qarramla as against Shahrastani's twelve, 
though the latter says the Wahidla were one of the six which are of im- 
portance (Haarbrucker, op. cit. i. p. 119 and ii. p. 403). The Wahidl 
apparently survived until Evliya's time, for he mentions them and says 
they trace their origin to 'Umr (Travels, ii. p. 29). Burton alludes to the 
sect founded by ' Wahid Muhammad ', who, he says, identified the Qibla 
and the sun ; wherefore, he taught, the door of the Ka'aba fronts the East 
(Pilgrimage, iii. p. 202). 

The above sects are not given in any chronological order. 

3 From the Ar. root taraka, ' forsook '. It has no connexion with tariq, 



58 DERVISH POSTURES n 

of their caps bear inscriptions, mostly verses of the Quran, and 
some are made in the shape of a rose. Others wear a turban of 
black, white, or green colour. The colour of their mantles also 
varies. They have a variety of prayers, though generally these 
are the same as those of all other Mussulmans, and are followed 
by one for the Prophet, his family, and friends, their founder, 
and the reigning sovereign. In fact, I have only been able to 
learn that they all owe their origin to the will of their founder, 
called by them the pir, a Persian name signifying ' elder '. To 
some of their customs and parts of their dresses also a miraculous 
origin is assigned, which, I do not doubt, is perfectly satisfactory 
to themselves. 

Some of them stand upright when performing the zikr, or ' call 
upon the name of Allah ' ; others sit ; some form a circle, and put 
their hands on the shoulders of their companions to the right and 
left, and shake their bodies forward and aft, to the right and to the 
left, their animation and excitement increasing as the ceremony 
proceeds. Some cry out the zikr with a loud voice, as also .the 
Mussulman ' Confession of Faith ' (La ildha ilia Allah wa Muham- 
mad Rasul-Allah), ' There is no God but Allah (the God), and 
Muhammad is the prophet of Allah ' ; whilst others, like the 
Maulavls (called by travellers from Europe the Dancing or 
Turning Darvishes), move round in a quasi-mystic circle, in pro- 
found silence, mentally reciting the same. I have been told that 
the custom of these latter refers to the harmonious movement of 
the universe, and that the soft music of their order is symbolic 
of that of the spheres ; but I am inclined to doubt it. 

These two distinctions of vocative and contemplative Darvishes 
are said to refer to the command of the Prophet to Abu-Bakr, 
the first caliph, whilst concealed together in a cave, ' to recite 
the zikr in silence ', so as not .to be heard by their pursuers ; and 
to 'AH, the fourth caliph, when he inquired of him what he ought 
to do so as to receive Divine assistance ' to call loudly God's 
name without ceasing '. 

All of these forms of worship are of Muhammadan origin, 
whilst many of the principles of the Orders date back to a much 
more remote period, and may be therefore designated as Sufiism, 
of which more will be said hereafter. 

As a general rule, no Darvish who has not been the shaikh 
(chief or master) of a takia can wear a turban folded round his 



11 



THEIR CAPS, ETC. 



59 



cap. The turban is called sariq, imama, 1 and dastar. A shaikh 
may, however, name a large number of khalifas, or ' deputies ' 
(successors), all of whom can wear the turban around their caps. 
These are consequently considered as honorary shaikhs, or masters. 
The cap is called by most of the orders kulah.* 

The Rifa'Is wear, twelve tarks, and the colour of the shaikh's 
turban is black. They perform the zikr standing upright. The 
hall in which they worship is called the sarhZd-khana. 3 




MAULAVI. 



The Maulavis wear a tall white or yellowish cap, without any 

1 The imama was worn by Ahmad al-Badawi (p. 268 infra). It clearly 
denoted ' leadership ' imamat. The dastar has a similar significance, being 
assumed in token of accession to a chiefship. 

2 Kulah, Pers., a cap or cowl. In Turkish the word kulah or kulah has 
the same meaning, but kulah, a ' tower ', is also applied to the head-dress 
worn by the Maulavi darvish (Hasluck, Annual, B.S.A. xxi. p. 123). The 
Ar, equivalent of the Pers. kulah is qurmus. It denotes the pointed head- 
dress of the darvish, and ' the royal tiara placed according to usage on the 
heads of those condemned to death ' (Massignon, K itab al-fawasln, p. 108). 

3 Serheed-khaneh in original (of. Terheed-khaneh on p. 60 infra). These 
Words seem to be derived from Ar. sand, which in Turkish takes the form 
lurid, vulg. tint, 'a sop of bread soaked with gravy' (Redhouse, Twrk.-Eng. 
Lex. p. 624 and p. 540). If so, sarid-khana would mean ' refectory ', rather 
than ' the hall in which they worship '. 



60 



CAPS, ETC. 



larks, and the colour of the shaikh's turban is green, because these 
are generally Saiyids, or descendants of the Prophet. As afore- 
stated, they perform their prayers standing upright, and in silence, 
turning round from east to west. On Sunday and Friday they 
perform a prayer called the ism-i-jalal, seated in a circle, 1001 
times. This prayer is simply the word Allah. Their hall is called 
the sama-khdna. 




MAULAVI. 

The Qadiris wear four tarks in their cap, embroidered. Their 
shaikhs have each seven tarks, and the colour of their cap is white 
if they be not Saiyids. They move round the hall standing up- 
right, their hands placed on the shoulders of their neighbours. 
Their hall is called the tarhid-khdna. 

The Badawis have twelve tarks in their cap ; the colour is red, 
and they perform their religious exercises like the Rifa'is. Their 
hall is also called the tarhid-khdna. 

The Dusuqis have no tarks ; the colour is white, and they 
perform on foot. 

The Sa'dlas have twelve tarks ; they wear turbans of a yellowish 
colour, and perform on foot. 

The Khalwatis have no tarks in their kula, or cap ; it is, how- 
ever, divided into four angles ; the colour is white, yellow, green, 
or other, and they pray on foot. 

The Naqshbandis have four tarks ; colour generally white, 



II 



CAPS, ETC. 



61 



though they may wear any other : the cap is always embroidered, 
and originally contained a verse of the Quran. They perform 




NAQSHBANDI. 

seated a prayer called the ikhlds 1001 times. One remarkable 
peculiarity of this Order is, that when they assemble to perform 
this prayer they divide among their number 1001 pebbles ; and 
as each one recites an ikhlds, he lays down in the circle one of 
these as evidence of the fact, until all are recited. 

The Jalwatis wear twelve tarks : the colour of their cap is 
green, and all may wear turbans. They perform on their knees 
the zikr and the ism-i-jalal. 

The Hamzawis, otherwise called the Malamiyun, 1 have no 
distinction of costume, cap, nor belt. They all perform seated, 
and in silence, contemplating the Divine Spirit, and seeking for 
nar, or 'Divine Light'. 

The Bairamis, 2 [Dasuqi] Sha'banls, etc., all are like the 
Khalwatis. 

1 7. Chap. VIII. 

2 Described in E.I. \. p. 595 as a branch of the Naqshbandis with settle- 
ments in Stambul, Aiyub, Scutari and Qasim Pasha at Constantinople, the 
BairamI is probably more akin to the Baqtash order. E.g. Evliya assigns 
the takia, of Ak-Bi'ik Sultan at Brusa to it or to the Bairamis : Jacob, Beitrdge, 
P- 13, citing Travels, vol. ii. pp. 8 and 26. (It would be more precise to say 
that Evliya calls Ak-Bi'ik Sultan first a Baqtash and then a BairamI darvish.) 
The Albanian Baqtash appear also to lay claim to Hajl Bairam, just as 
they do to Shams-ud-Dln Tabrlzl and Nasr-ud-DIn Khoja of Aqshahr 



62 BRANCHES OF THE ORDERS n 

The Baqtashis have four and twelve larks ; their colour is- white 
and green. They have no special form of prayer, nor position ; 
but it is said that they perform like the Naqshbandls. 

Some say that there are as many as sixty different Orders of 
Darvishes, and others even a hundred, each bearing the name of 
its founder. It would scarcely repay one the trouble to endeavour 
to enumerate them, and their shades of difference. In the Order 
of the Baqtashis, there are branches from the original stock, some 
more pantheistic than the others, and I presume that the same 
may be said of some of the other Orders. A few have been pro- 
hibited at Constantinople, such as the Baqtashls, on account of 

(Hasluck, Annual, B.S.A. xx. p. 99 3 and xxi. p. 94 5 . The Bairami are 
locally predominant in the Angora district (ib. xxi. p. 97). 

On p. 269 infra the date of Haji Bairam's death is given as A.D. 1471, 
but in E.I. i. it is assigned to 833 H. (A.D. 1429-30), and this date is accepted 
by Gibb (Hist, of Ottoman Poetry, i. p. 299). Born at a village near Angora 
(Evliya says " on the banks of the river Chepul in the village of Solkoi "), 
he was the disciple of one Sh. Hamed (Evliya, Travels, ii. p. 233). His tomb 
at Angora is still a place of pious visitation. His successors had a chequered 
history, in marked contrast to his own, which was only disturbed by traducers 
who caused Murad II. to summon him to Adrianople, where he won the 
Sultan's heart. His disciple the Sh. Bardaqli Baba, who obtained a living 
by making cans (bardaq), imitated his example of supplying his own needs 
by labour. He also had a miraculous power of supplying water to his 
disciples for ablutions which still subsists at his shrine (ib. p. 225). Other 
pupils of his were the poet Shaikh!, Sinan, born at Kutahia, the capital of 
Germian, who studied under Ahmadi, but became a disciple of the Haji and 
then settled at Kutahia, until he died (not later than 1451). Known also 
as Hakim Sinan this follower was acquainted with Nesimi. Another was 
Sh. Salah-ud-DIn of Boli, the Scribe, and his two sons, the Yaziji-oghll (sons 
of the clerks), named Sh. Muhammad and 'Ahmad Be-jan (the ' lifeless ', 
owing to frailty of a frame consumed by the fire of asceticism) continued 
this tradition. The former studied under Zain-ul-'Arab and Haidarl Khaff, 
dying in 1451 or 1453. He may be the Mehmed Agha whose takia is in the 
mosque (aforesaid). Sh. Muhammad built an oratory at Gallipoli, then an 
outpost of Islam, where he was joined by his brother. No trace of this 
foundation seems to exist, though legends have grown up round Sh. 
Muhammad's name. The next poet-follower of Haji Bairam was Kamal-i- 
Khalwati. Another Kamal, Kamal-i-Umrm, a darvish of Laranda, a com- 
panion of Nesimi and with him a guest of the famous mystic Sh. Shuja'-ud- 
Din of Qaraman, was hanged for blasphemy. If he, too, was a disciple of 
Haji Bairam, as seems possible, his fate would go far to explain why the 
Bairami order, which had hitherto held a high position and contributed more 
poets to Turkish literature than any other order, now yielded place to the 
Maulavis. (Gibb, op. cit, i. pp. 299, 390-2, 396, 401, 412, 421.) 



II 



FREEMASONRY 63 



their too intimate connexion with the Janissaries ; though, at the 
present time, they are not molested. They do not generally bear 
a good reputation, and are said to be quite atheistic, and not 
much attached to the principle of the Quran, nor firm believers in 
the prophetic mission of Muhammad. They generally are warm 
'Aliides, or followers of the Caliph 'All, and are therefore Sufu'sts, 
or 'Islam Spiritualists ', which will be alluded to later in this work.jf 

I am not aware that any one has written either a history or 
an account of the various Mussulman religious orders known 
under the title of Darvishes. The subject seems to be one of an 
original character, and interesting to the public, and especially 
to the travellers in the East, who have no means of acquiring any 
information regarding a class of individuals whose forms of worship 
strike their curiosity. 

The difficulty which lies in the way of collecting facts respect- 
ing the Darvish Orders will be apparent to Oriental students, and 
indeed I feel .that I have been presumptuous in venturing to 
assume so serious a task. To all things there is, however, a 
beginning, and, though my humble sketches may appear imperfect, 
nevertheless they will serve as a nucleus to the labours of those 
who succeed me. 

I have endeavoured to obtain my information from the most 
authentic sources within my reach, both oral and written, as well 
as printed. To offer a criticism on the belief of my Mussulman 
friends (for among the Darvishes of Constantinople I have several 
estimable and valued friends), to draw comparisons between what 
may be called the religious superstitions of Muhammadanism and 
Christianity, forms no part of my plan. The enlightened reader 
is left to draw his own conclusions thereon, and to receive what- 
ever impressions, favourable or unfavourable, which the recital 
may make upon his mind. 

It has been thought by some persons that Freemasonry existed 
among the Mussulmans of Constantinople under another title, and 
consequently in other parts of the East. This I do not find to be 
the case, though, like in most secret fraternities, there may be 
points of resemblance accidentally. I have had an indirect inter- 
course with a Mussulman, who asserted that Freemasonry does 
exist there, and he gave even a list of the places in which lodges 
were held in various parts of the empire, adding that the Grand 
Lodge existed on the Lake of Tiberias, in Palestine, where it had 



64 MOSLEM ' FREEMASONS ' n 

been taken after the destruction of Jerusalem. It must, there- 
fore, have existed, and does still exist, among the Jews. I regret 
to have to state that, notwithstanding all my researches to verify 
this declaration, I have not found any trace of the fact on which 
I could rely. My opportunities of inquiry here have been numer- 
ous, and my desire to meet with brethren amongst Mussulmans 
led me to use all proper zeal in the pursuit of this desirable object. 
Others may, perhaps, meet with more success. The title by 
which, it is said, Mussulman Freemasons are known is Malamryun ; 
and, when I come to speak of this Order of Mussulman Darvishes 
of the 'Aliide sect, the reader may judge how far the statement is 
incorrect. 

I may here add that there are a few Mussulmans of my 
acquaintance, some of them in high official positions, who have 
become Masons in Europe, mostly in France. There are also 
others who belong to lodges in Constantinople and other cities of 
the Ottoman empire, and there are many lodges in India, to 
which Hindu [Indian] Mussulmans belong. 

It is rather strange that*the Darvishes of the Baqtashl order 
consider themselves quite the same as the Freemasons, and are 
disposed to fraternise with themj The name of Freemasonry in 
the Turkish language is farmdson, 1 and is one of great reproach. 
It signifies atheism of the most condemnable character, and this 
may be said of the Baqtashis, who, from some reason or other 
not quite clear to me, are held in small repute among other 
Mussulmans, even those belonging to the other Darvish Orders. 
No one in Constantinople may consider himself at all compli- 
mented when he is called a ' Farmason ' or a ' Baqtashi ', no 
more than a Protestant is when called a Methodist by a devout 
Catholic, or a Voltairean by an ordinary Christian. 

Inspired with the most laudable desire to withdraw his people 
of Arabia from the worship of idols, Muhammad proclaimed to 
them the adoration of an Universal Deity, the Creator of all things, 
and a perfect resignation to His Divine will. 

1 Farmasun = freemason : -liiq, -ry, or atheism. For the possible con- 
nexion between ' freemason ' and (pAp/j-aKov, see Morley Roberts and Miss 
Jane Harrison in Folklore xxvii. (1916), pp. 218 f. and 298. The word 
farmaqion has in the East the meanings ' outlaw ', ' satanist ', and ' devil- 
worshipper '. Its descent seems to be from Aeolic pepirtp, Lat. verber, 
' whip ', Turk, vourmalc, ' to beat '. 



ii MUHAMMAD'S ONE GOD 65 

This Deity must have been already well known in Arabia, 
previous to the advent of Muhammad as a prophet, under the 
name of Allah ; a word most probably derived from the Hebrew 
' Elohim '. It is composed of two Arabic words, al, the article 
the, and Idh or alah, which together is now written Allah. It is 
formed in Arabic of only four letters, A, I, I, h, called four mystical 
letters, marking in a peculiar manner the Divine Essence. 

I need no more than remind the reader that the Arabic lan- 
guage is derived from the Hebrew, and that it is a Semitic tongue. 
It is therefore composed of radical letters, two, three, or four of 
which forming all the words of the language, under certain 
grammatical rules. 

The definition which Muhammad gave to this Deity, when 
interrogated thereon by the Jews and Christians, the Magi, and 
other idolaters, is seen in one of the chapters [cxii.] of the Quran 
the book containing his inspirations and called the Ikhlas 1 
[' Sincerity '] "or the * most pure '. He there says : " It is that 
God, who is unique, self-existing, from whom all creatures receive 
their existence ; who does not beget, nor was begotten ; and who 
has no equal amongst all that exists ". 

The latter part of this definition shows that he understood the 
Christians of Syria and Arabia as believing in more than one God. 
Whether or not the nature of the Trinity was ever properly 
explained to him, cannot now be ascertained, but it is clearly seen 
that it was unsatisfactory to him ; so much so, that during the 
whole of his career he condemned, in the strongest terms, the 
Trinity, as a system of false religion, as much to be avoided as the 
worship of fire and of idols. He denominates the Christians in the 
Quran as mushrikin, or those who associate others with God. The 
idolaters he calls sandim^ or those who actually worship idols 
made by the hand of man. 

This comprises all that he had in view to combat or refute in 
other religions, and it has thus been explained by an eminent 
writer on his faith : 

" The God whom I adore, and who should be adored by all, 

1 In the language of religious ethics as developed especially Iby the Sufis, 
ikhlas particularly refers to the effort to come nearer to God, and means the 
keeping free of this ideal from all subsidiary thoughts. In this sense it( is 
often opposed to riya, the wish to be seen (E.I. ii. p. 458). 

2 Prom Ar. sannama, ' made himself idols '. 



66 GOD INCOMPARABLE n 

is a unique Deity, simple in His essence, and separated from 
all other beings by attributes peculiar to Himself. He is self- 
existing, and has no need of anything for His existence ; and all 
things exist by Him. He does not beget (this is against the 
opinion of the Jews, who believe that 'Uzair or Esdras 1 was the 
son of God) ; He was not begotten (which is against the Christians, 
who believe that Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, is the Son 
of God, and is God), and that He has no equal (which replies to 
the Magi of Persia, followers of Zoroaster and Manes, and believers 
in the two equal principles of power Oromasdes [Ahura Mazda] 
and Ahriman the Good and Evil Spirits and Deities ; as well as 
against the Arabian idolaters, who sustained that there were 
certain spirits called the Banu Husha, 2 which were the companions 
and associates of God)." 

This God he declared to be without beginning or end, and so 
far superior to His creatures that no one could have any conception 
of His immensity. Though His power and essence pervades every 
part of His creation, He is wholly invisible to ordinary mortal 
eyes, and His power and magnitude can only be comprehended 
by witnessing His works. One eminent writer says, " All that 
the mind, the sense, and the imagination of man can fancy 
regarding Him, be it ever so solid, falls at once before His majesty ". 
Another declares, "Do not fatigue yourself with any ideal con- 
ceptions of Him, for it is all a useless labour ". A celebrated 
Mussulman writer says it is impossible to form any idea of God, 
because He is superior to all comparisons, and there are no terms 
of human language which can convey any idea of His magnitude. 
'AH, the fourth Caliph, who among the Arabs was a man of much 
education, and served as an amanuensis for the Prophet, whose 
daughter he married, is said to have observed that " he who knows 
himself knows God " ; and the same idea is confirmed in the 
words, " Thy soul is a cunning proof, and an invincible argu- 
ment, of the existence of God. By reflection thou knowest 
thyself, thou knowest that thy existence is the work, and that there 
must be a worker." 

1 'Uzair, son of Shara'ya,-is the same as Khizr (v. note in Palmer's Quran 
S.B.E. vi. p. 45). But cf. R. Bell, The Origin of Islam, 1926, p. 159, and 
p.H75 infra. 

* 2 For Benau Hasha in original. Hush was a fabulous region, a land of 
genii. 



ii GOD INCOMPREHENSIBLE 67 

Another spates, " The existence of God being the same as His 
essence, know then that thy being, which receives its existence 
from Him, is the proof of thy existence ". 

Hrhe Founder of the Order of the Maulavis, and the author of 
a celebrated mystical work called the Masnawi Sharif, says : 
" To what purpose are all the efforts of the human mind to 
comprehend that Being who is above all combination, all dis- 
tinction ? He is a tree without branches or body, or roots, to 
which the mind can be attached. He is an enigma for which no 
natural nor metaphysical meaning can be found ; nor of whom 
a satisfactory explanation can be given. Who has ever found in 
His existence any mystical, symbolical, or demonstrative com- 
parison ? He is infinitely above the capacity of our under- 
standing of our imagination ; and we lose ourselves in vain 
conjectures whenever we seek to comprehend Him, or even to 
suspect what^ He is.* It is, therefore, in vain for us to seek for 
words by which to discuss properly His being. All that we may 
do is to adore Him in respectful silence. "J 

In the view of still further explaining what Muhammad under- 
stood by Allah, I may be permitted to add that the unity of God 
is alluded to in the 89th chapter of the Quran, where God is said 
to have sworn by the pair and impair; the first are His creatures, 
and the second Himself; and one of its verses says, " We have 
created all things double ; but we say that God is one and unique ". 

A Persian writer states that no one should say ' I ', because 
that property belongs alone to God ; and a Turkish proverb adds 
that " Whoever, other than God, says ' I ', is a Satan ; because 
lie who says ' I ' must be a demon ; for none but God can use that 
word with truthfulness, as all things came from Him, .all are in 
Him, and obey Him. He only is self-existent." 

A pious Mussulman, and an author of celebrity, used to declare, 
-" When I say ; God ', I have said all things ; for all else is but 
folly, or the fancy of foolish desires ". 

Another states, " Since my heart is turned towards God, 
speak to me of nothing else than Him ". 

Allah is therefore defined as Omniscient and Omnipotent, and 
pervades all His creation. It is not held that He is in any 
particular place. I would, nevertheless, express my conviction 
that Muhammad was not pantheistic, in the modern sense, and 
much less that he believed in the modern metempsychosis. He, 



68 



EVIDENCES 



ii 



however, believed that the spirit of man was of a Divine origin, 
but made a wide distinction between the life which all creation 
enjoys, and the breath of life possessed by human beings. In 
this sense a writer tells us as a tradition, that Moses having asked 
of God where He was, he received the reply, " Know that when 
you seek for me you have already found me ". 

It is related that an Arab of the desert, being asked how he 
knew there was a God, answered : " By the same by which I 
know from the traces in the sand that a man or an animal has 
passed over it. Is not the heaven decked with its bright stars, 




A DEVOUT MUSSULMAN AT PRAYER IN THE DESERT 

the earth with its fertile fields, the sea with its numerous waves, 
sufficient proofs of the existence and the greatness of a Creator ? " 

Another child of the desert, in reply to a similar question, 
said : " Is there any kind of a torch to behold the brightness 
of the Aurora ?" 

And, to a companion who had met with a serious misfortune 
against which his own cares were unavailable, he said : " There 
is no other recourse or refuge from God than in Him ". 

Th the Darvish acceptation of Allah, He is their All in all. To 
think of Him at all times, to contemplate His majesty and power, 
and to call upon His name for aid and succour during their mortal 



II 



FAITH IN SUBMISSION 69 



existence ; to adore and worship Him in the most devout manner, 
and thereby increase their own sanctity and consequent spiritual 
power, is the basis of all their belieLj They consider it highly 
meritorious to pronounce audibly, or mentally, His holy name 
most frequently, and even go so far as to strive to do this in a short 
space of time. If any one can call upon the name of Allah a 
hundred times in a minute, it is held to be still more meritorious 
to do so double that number of times in the same period of time. 
They believe that God, or Allah, will, and does, manifest Himself 
to the devout worshipper in a special manner whilst so occupied, 
and that around the heart a Divine light, or nur, is shed in answer 
to his frequent calls. Also that the word Allah becomes dis- 
tinctly impressed upon the heart in letters visible to the spiritual 
eyes of the devotee. 

The faith or religion which Muhammad proclaimed to his 
brethren of Arabia he called the Din-al-Isldm, or the obligation 
of perfect submission to the Divine will and decrees of Allah. 
He considered the word din to be the only true and correct faith, 
the right path leading to eternal happiness. 

The word Islam is fruitful in definitions, all derived from the 
same radical letters, s, I, m, salama, among which is saldm, ' com- 
pliment ' or ' salutation ', and peace ; and saldmat, salutation or 
safety. From it also is framed the past participle, Muslim, and 
its plural, a noun of multitude, Musalman, and the feminine noun, 
Muslima, all signifying those whose faith is a belief in Divine 
decrees, and humble submission to the will of Allah. 

The author of the Masnawi Sharif afore-mentioned says : 
" In whatever place we may be, we are, Lord, subject to Thy 
commands ; be we wherever we may, we are always with Thee. 
We say to ourselves, 4 Perhaps we may find a path leading else- 
where '. How vain is this idea, for all paths lead ever to Thee." 

The opening chapter of the Quran commences: "Lead us, 
Lord, in the right path ", that is, hi the true path of Islam ; 
and in the [6th] chapter [v. 153] called An' am [Cattle], the Lord 
says : " This is the true path, follow it, and seek none other, for 
they will mislead you". 

This mention of a path is evidently the origin and basis of the 
paths (tariqat) of the Darvishes. I mention them as Orders, or 
sects, but the proper and correct term is paths. All these are 
different pathways leading to the same Allah) just as an Oriental 



70 MUHAMMAD UNLEARNED n 

poet says : " Though we may each look out of different windows, 
we all see the same one great sun, source of light and warmth ". 

In the [14th] chapter [v. 29 f.] of 'the Quran called Ibrahim, 
there is the following : " Religion is like unto a tree like the 
palm-tree, the roots of which are in the depths of the ground, and 
its branches raised towards heaven, and which, by Divine order, 
gives fruit in its time. On the contrary, impiety is a wicked 
plant, like the coloquint, which is out of the ground, for it is easily 
pulled up on account of possessing no roots to sustain it." 1 

An Islam author says there are four kinds of persons who 
serve God : " The wise through a spirit of obedience, the penitent 
through fear, the devout through desire, and the just from a 
sincere love for Him ". 

In one of the chapters [the 16th, closing verses] of the Quran 
it is forbidden to compel any one to abandon his own faith for that 
of Islam ; but in another [the 9th], produced at a later period of 
the Prophet's mission, it is ordered that war should be carried 
on against all those who did not believe in it the Jews, Christians, 
Magi, and Sabeans, either to compel them to embrace it, or pay 
him (Muhammad) tribute as a temporal sovereign. 2 

So intimately is an account of the Darvishes connected with 
the history of Muhammad, the prophet of the Arabs, and now of 
the whole Mussulman world, that some particular allusion to him 
seems to me here necessary. No one can peruse the Quran with- 
out being impressed with a high estimate of his character as a 
religious reformer and a law-giver, especially when they remember 
him only as a camel-driver (the title of reproach generally given 
to him by Christian writers). How different his origin and early 
history when compared to that of Moses, who was brought up at 
the court of Pharaoh, among the learned and wise of Egypt ! All 
Mussulmans say that he could neither read nor write, and we 
have no knowledge of his early education in any religion whatever, 

1 The accepted text of the Quran contrasts a good word with an evil 
word not ' religion ' with impiety and omits the comparisons with palm- 
tree and ' coloquint ' : but the meaning is disputed (v. Sale in Wherry's 
reprint, iii. p. 7 ; Eodwell, p. 228 ; and Palmer, 8.B.E. vi. p. 241). It may 
be suggested that the verses are intended to recall the Tuba or ' tree of 
happiness ', described in Sale's Prelim. Discourse, i. p. 154. 

2 It is at best doubtful if Quran ix. v. 29 bears this interpretation (v. 
Sale's trans, in Wherry's reprint, ii. p. 287 ; Palmer's in S.B.E, vi. p. 176 ; 
or Rodwell, p. 473). 



ii MUHAMMAD'S INFLUENCE 71 

much less in the deeply spiritual principles which appear in the 
Qur&n. Under these circumstances, it is but common justice to 
admit that he was certainly a very extraordinary man ; indeed 
one of the most remarkable that the world has upon its records. 
When arrived at an age when man can feel and judge for himself, 
he was fully impressed with the deeply-seated conviction that he 
was specially designed by the Creator of the Universe to reform 
his brethren the Arabs, and withdraw them from the most absurd 
belief in the power of idols, the work of human ingenuity, and 
lead them to the worship of one only God. This conviction he 
entertained to his last hour, and he never presumed to ascribe to 
himself any other character than a rasiil, or ' envoy ' of Allah to 
call the misled into the true path. We call him a Prophet, signi- 
fying one inspired by God, and the question is open only as to his 
inspiration. With the convictions which he fully entertained of 
the errors of a Christian faith in a Trinity, and of the Arabs in 
the worship of their idols, his intentions were salutary, honest, 
and benevolent ; and we are led to ask whence he received these 
impressions, these impulsions, to do good, if not from the great 
Source of all good designs ? To plead for him a want of educa- 
tion, of a more intimate and correct acquaintance with the contents 
of the Old and New Testaments, is to admit the falsity of his 
inspiration, for it is proper to suppose that God would have 
supplied this deficiency in a prophet. 

We must, therefore, take him as he was an Arab, an un- 
educated man, a strong-minded human being, gifted with an 
extraordinary intellect, and of a strength of will and purpose 
which sustained him through an eventful career. Still the weak- 
nesses of humanity were strong in him : he had many of the 
frailties of the flesh, and was filled with a strong ambition to carry 
out what he had designed to effect. He showed much ability in 
managing the various people upon whom he wished to exert an 
influence for their own spiritual good, and he stood perfectly alone 
in the opening of his career. That he succeeded in correcting 
their abuses, and withdrawing them from their idols, cannot be 
denied ; and his religious principles are still honoured by a vast 
portion of the human race in Asia, Africa, and Europe. There 
are reflections in the Qwrdn which would do honour to" an educated 
theologian, and his followers are taught to expect only his inter- 
cession as a saint in heaven with the Allah whom he himself 



72 MUHAMMAD'S QURAN n 

adored and worshipped. Although many of the Arabs of his 
time possessed much mental ability many of them were even 
poets they possessed no literature, and had but small means of 
extending and perpetuating knowledge, Thrown at an early age 
upon his own resources, Muhammad evidently acted upon prin- 
ciples of honesty and uprightness, and it has never been shown 
that he deviated from them, or abused the confidence of his 
employer, who subsequently married him. He grew up to man- 
hood, possessing the respect of all of his acquaintances and 
relatives, and it is only a matter of surprise that, knowing the 
value and utility of letters, he never applied himself to learn them. 
As a merchant he is said to have made several journeys into Syria. 
During these he became acquainted with the Christianity of the 
Greeks and the faith of the Jews. His unfavourable impressions 
of the former are seen from his continual condemnation of it in 
the Quran. He probably visited their churches, and witnessed 
the reverence paid there to the images of the saints of the Greeks ; 
he there learned the doctrine of the Trinity, without, however, 
being able to comprehend it, and in his own conscience denounced 
both as unworthy of his respect. 

There is no reason to believe that Muhammad received any 
religious instruction either from the Jews or the Christians. The 
Arabs doubtlessly possessed a knowledge of the Old and New 
Testaments, especially of the former, and many traditions regard- 
ing the earlier history of mankind, some of which differ widely 
from the accounts given in the Bible. Few copies of the New 
Testament must have existed among them, judging from the 
little allusion to any of its characters by the Quran. Muhammad's 
innumerable mystical and philosophical reasonings are totally 
distinct from the writings of those who composed the Bible. The 
story that he procured the Biblical knowledge which is comprised 
in the Quran from a Jew is too baseless for belief, and evidences 
its origin in the malice and hatred of the earlier denunciators of 
his faith. There is really no proof existing to show that the 
Quran is due to any other source than his own inspiration ; and 
whatever it contains of good or evil must, therefore, be attributed 
to no one else than himself. 

Muhammad does not reject either the Old Testament or the 
New. He believed in the Prophets who preceded him, and that 
those who were so directed left each his own book. Whatever in 



ii MUHAMMAD AND CHRIST 73 

their books did not agree with the information possessed by him, 
he attributed to the perversion of more recent copyists. As 
to the New Testament of the Christians, it would seem that 
he believed these had perverted its original contents on im- 
portant points, and so made Jesus Christ to say many things 
regarding Himself which are not true. This has led many 
Mussulmans to believe that there exists another New Testament, 
containing none of the changes introduced, they say, by modern 
Christians, and I do not doubt but that they really entertain this 
conviction. 

Muhammad declared that Jesus Christ was of a miraculous 
origin that he was born of a virgin, and that he was both a 
Prophet and the ' Spirit of God ', Ruh Allah, yet he denies in 
strong terms that He is God. He says, moreover, that Christ 
foretold his coming when He said : " I will send a Comforter ", 
etc. This appears in the [61t] chapter of the Quran called Saf 
[the Ranks], when Christ says to the Jews : " children of 
Israel ! I am He whom God has sent to verify and accomplish all 
that has been revealed before me in the law of Moses, and to 
announce another envoy who is to come after me, and who will 
bear the name of Ahmad ". 

Muhammad declares himself to be the last of the Prophets, 
and that his mission is the seal of all those who preceded him. 
In the third chapter of the Quran it is said that the angel Gabriel 
was sent to Mary to announce to her, " God announces to you 
His word (kalamat, or Word), whose name will be Christ, or 
Messiah Jesus, and who will be your Son, worthy of all respect in 
this world and in the other ". 

Again, it is stated therein, " O Mary, God has elevated, purified, 
and very particularly chosen you among all the women in the 
world. O Mary, submit to your Lord ; prostrate yourself before 
Him, and worship Him with all those other creatures who adore 
Him. This is a great secret which I reveal to you." 

In another chapter [iv. v. 165], called the Nissd [Women], are 
these words : " The Messiah is Jesus, Son of Mary, the Envoy of 
God, His word, which He announced to Mary, and the same Jesus 
is the Spirit proceeding from Him ". 

By the word Spirit an eminent Oriental author says is meant, 
"He is endowed with a ' Spirit ', which proceeded immediately 
from God, without the medium of any other cause ". 



n THE QURAN COMPILED n 

In [v. 170] the chapter last alluded to there is the following 
statement, which shows that Muhammad considered the Messiah 
in the light only of one of God's creatures, and not as God 
Himself :" The Messiah does not disdain to be and to call 
Himself the Servant of God, as do the angels, the nearest to 
Him". 

Muhammad commenced proclaiming his mission in the fortieth 
year of his age. His inspirations were retained in his memory, 
and, long after they were forgotten by those to whom he delivered 
them orally, he not unfrequently renewed them, showing thereby 
the great strength of his memory. They were, however, written 
down by his son-in-law and nephew, 'All, and by 'Othman, both 
of whom became caliphs, or vicars of his mission, after his death. 
Thus the Quran was only completed in twenty-three years. The 
elegant construction of the Quran, its perfect grammatical forma- 
tion, and the almost poetical beauties which it contains, have 
always been the admiration of its readers ; and though in prose, 
it is susceptible of an intonation which almost amounts to a 
rhythmical measure. 

The word Quran is from the Arabic radical q, r, a, to read, 
and, conformably with the grammar of that language, the object 
read is Qurqn, or otherwise a ' book '. Muhammad declared that 
its contents, in the form of inspirations, commenced descending 
from heaven, under the charge of the angel Gabriel, during the 
moon or month of Ramazan, in the night called the Lailal-al- 
Qadar, or the ; Night of Power '. 1 It has always been the subject 
of discussion among pious Mussulmans, whether or not the Quran 
was created, or emanated directly from God, and this especially 
during the times of the Abbaside caliphs. His own son-in-law, 
'All, believed that it was created like any other of God's creations, 
and, having acted as the Prophet's amanuensis in writing it out, 
he ought to know best. 

After Muhammad's death, the chapters and verses of the 
Quran were much dispersed, and Abu-Bakr, the first caliph, had 
them collected in one volume, which he named the Mushaf* a 
title still used by many when alluding to it. There are seven 
original copies mentioned by its commentators two made at 
Madina, one at Makka, one- at Kufa, one at Basra, and one in 

1 Cf. the chapter (xcvii.) of the Quran called the Qadr. 
2 The Ethiopia for ' book ' (E.R.K 10, p. 538). 



ii THE ABROGATED CHAPTERS 7S 

Syria, and another called the Vulgate. 1 That made by Abu- 
Bakr is considered the primitive, and was referred to for corrections 
by others. The Caliph ' Othman copied it out himself, and so did 
the Caliph 'All (the original), aided, however, by another friend 
of the Prophet, 2 Several chapters were abrogated, and these 
now form a volume into which they have been collected, called the 
MansuJchM (or ' the Abrogated '), 3 one of which, a Darvish friend 
assures me, is now in the library of the Royal Mosque of Sultan 
Bayazid of Constantinople. There are also other copies of it in 
existence, one at Basra ; and it would be worthy of translation 
into one of the European languages. 

Muhammad died without any male heir. It is uncertain 
whether he had any desire to form a dynasty. He was evidently 
warmly attached to his son-in-law and nephew, 'All, the fourth 
of the direct caliphs or vicars of his mission. The regular caliphs 
were Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Othman, and 'All, called the khulafd 
rashidin, or the direct or regular caliphs. They were all elected 
by the Moslems of Madma, and were men of great mental abilities, 
of simple and frugal habits, and worthy to follow their illustrious 
Prophet, and carry out the principles which he had inculcated. 

Oriental writers represent that 'AH aspired to become the 
successor of his uncle, and there is no room to doubt but that 
such would have been satisfactory to his deceased relative, to 
whom he had rendered the most confidential and important 

1 Brown here is clearly misquoting Sale, Koran, Prelim. Discourse, i. 
p. 80, where seven principal editions of the Quran are mentioned, the 
seventh being the common or vulgar edition. Goldziher, no doubt, speaks 
of the ' Maivatta'-vulgate ', but the Mawa$a? was a collection of traditions 
(Muhammadanische Studien, ii. pp. 243, 213). With Brown's account may 
be compared that of Mingana in E.R.E. 10 pp. 547-8. The only recension 
at all analogous to the Vulgate would be one of the two official recensions 
of the Quran. 

2 The Wahhabis also claim to possess those parts of the Quran which 
were suppressed by the Caliph 'Usman, but they maintain that it is unlawful 
to disclose them to any who differ from them (Imams and S&yyids of 'Oman, 
Hakluyt Soc., p. 252). The Ishraqis seem to have had a somewhat similar 
claim (v. p. 457 in App. I.). 

8 Mensubat in original. The Quran itself (ch. xvi. v. 103) contains 
evidence that verses were abrogated by ,the Prophet himself. But no 
authentic manuscript of them is known to exist. The theory that several 
chapters, sufficient to form a volume, were abrogated goes far beyond 
anything put forward in the orthodox ' doctrine of abrogation ' ; as to 
which see Sale's Prelim. Discourse in Wherry's recension of his Koran, i. p. 110. 



76 'ALl'S DIVINITY n 

services, both with his pen and his sword. But republics are apt 
to forget the claims of their great men to their suffrages, and 
popular favour is often carried away by the current of events, 
and to be bestowed upon those who neither expect nor merit it. 
Eminent men are allowed by them to descend to their graves in 
disappointment, too often carrying with them even the memory 
of their great deeds", and, in the hour of peril and misfortune, these 
cry out, like the blood of Abel from the ground, to the hearts of 
their countrymen, who thus neglected them whilst living. So it 
was with 'All, and the wrong done to him still divides the Mussul- 
man world into two distinct sections. Most of the Darvishes, 
however, are 'Aliides, who, as will be shown hereafter, revere his 
memory, as well as deplore his fate. 

The most influential members of the citizens of Madina were 
the onsars, or those who had been the faithful ' assistants ' of the 
Prophet. The widow of the Prophet also still resided there, 
named 'Ayisha, and her influence was very great among the 
devoted followers of her late husband. This lady was the daughter 
of the second caliph, 'Umar. 1 It is worthy of remark that the 
Prophet, as well as his direct successors, had Christian and 
idolatrous servants in their service, and that it is nowhere men- 
tioned that any violence was ever used to induce them to become 
Moslems. 

The Darvishes declare that the Prophet designed 'All as his 
successor, and they attach a mystical signification to the intimate 
connexion which existed between them. They say that the 
Prophet on many occasions declared : " I am the House, and 
'All is my Door ". They ascribe to 'AH all that is metaphysical 
in their faith, that is, mystical and spiritual, and some go so far 
as to declare him superior in this respect even to the Prophet. 
The warmer devotees of Sufusm call him 'Ati-al-lllaht, or ; 'AH, 
the Divine'. 

On the decease of 'Umar, the Moslems were again called upon 
to elect his successor, and their choice fell upon 'Othman, though 
'AH still refused to waive what he considered to be his right. 
Seeing, however, the will of the people, he acquiesced in their 
decision, and paid homage to his more fortunate rival. His 
partisans were greatly disappointed, and, aided by the widow of 

1 'Ayisha was the daughter of Abu Bakr. 



ii 'ALI'S FATE 77 

the Prophet, fermented trouble to the new caliph. Now com- 
menced the first dissensions amongst Moslems, which have had so 
direful an effect upon their political and religious career. It is 
not improbable that differences of interpretation had now also 
begun on passages of the Quran, and that sectarianism had its 
origin at this early period. 

On the final succession of 'All, the fourth caliph, he began his 
administration by removing from office all those who had been 
appointed by his predecessor, without any regard to their past 
eminent services, elevated characters, and distinguished qualifica- 
tions. This he did, contrary to the advice of his friends and the 
wiser of the citizens of Madma, who saw, in such a course, the 
seeds of future party strife, as well as disregard of the welfare of 
the whole community, by men ambitious only of attaining to 
power, so as to punish others for the wrongs done to themselves. 

The sad fate of 'AH is well known to most readers of Eastern 
history. He, and nearly all of his family, were put to death by 
an Arab general named Mu'awia, who seized upon the caliphate 
without asking to be elected to it. This violence is the origin of 
the present two Islam sections, the Shfas 1 and the Sunms, as 
well as their varied subdivisions among which are the Darvish 
Orders. 

It seems to me necessary to add a few remarks on the personal 
character of the Caliph 'All, with whose history is connected so 
much that is interesting in an account of the Darvish Orders. It 
is, however, desired to limit them, as much as possible, to his 
position as a seceder from the original principles of the Prophet. 
His biography is so made up by them of the marvellous and the 
incredible, that it rivals the position assumed by the Prophet 
himself, and strongly conflicts with his own remarks concerning 
him. If but a small portion of what they relate about him be 
correct, the Prophet would certainly have clearly stated his desire 
for him to succeed him, and even proclaimed him as such previous 
to his decease. 

'All is my beau idtal of the most chivalrous of warriors in the 
times of the Prophet, who, in consequence of his valour, called 
him the ' Lion of God ', and his sword, the gift of the Prophet, is 
revered throughout the Islam world under the name of Zilfarkain. 

1 Shi'a : the full name would be Shi'a 'abl-ul-bait, or ' followers of the 
Prophet's kindred '. 



78 THE MAHDI n 

In the coat of arms of the Shah of Persia, a lion is seen holding a 
sword in his paw, in memory of 'All. The Prophet is said to have, 
on one important occasion, wrapped his own mantle around him- 
self and 'All, and declared that they were one spirit. 

On another occasion he is said to have declared : " 'All is for 
me, and I am for him ; he is to me what Aaron was to Moses ; 
I am the city in which all knowledge is contained, and 'All is its 
portal". 

It is from among the descendants of 'AH that the more devout 
Moslems expect the Mahdi, who is to reappear on earth in com- 
pany with the Prophet Elias, on the second coming of Christ. 
This belief is connected with the partisans of the metempsychosis, 
among whom the most prominent of the Darvish Orders are the 
Baqtashis. 

The Shfa Moslems reject the caliphates of Abu-Bakr, 'Umar, 
and 'Othman, and commence directly with that of 'All, whom 
they call the first Imam. After him are eleven others, completing 
the full number of twelve, the last being the Mahdi afore- 
mentioned. The Druzes declare that the founder of their religion, 
[the Caliph] al-Hdkim bi Amr Allah, 1 was this same Mahdi, and 
that, having disappeared in a mysterious manner, he will reappear 
in some new form hereafter. 

Not satisfied with the contents of the Quran, his followers, 
soon after his decease, collected all of his sayings together, under 
the title of hadisdt, 2 or traditions, which have now a value in their 
eyes almost equal to the verses of that book. They were collected, 
not only from the mouths of his immediate friends and com- 
panions, the ansars and the ashabs, but from others, who declare 
that they heard them maintain them as coming from the Prophet. 

The friends of 'AH have also collected his sayings, independent 
of the remarks made by the Prophet, and they hold them in high 
estimation. I cannot see in them anything peculiarly mystical, 
or even religious, so as to warrant him to be placed^in the elevated 
position assigned to him by the 'Aliide Darvishes. The following 
are a few of his sayings : ' I am a servant of whoever has taught 
me one letter.' ' A secret known to ten persons is no longer a 
secret.' ' Benefit your offspring with the blessings of learning.' 

1 F. note on p. 121 infra. 

2 Had!?, ' tradition ' (see art. in E.I. ii. pp. 189 f.). The traditions are 
of varying value (cf. note on p. 414 infra). 



ii SCHOOLS OF LAW 79 

' Any service ever written is perpetuated.' ' When you are 
troubled by worldly affairs, remember the pleasure existing 
between ease and difficulty.' 

In concluding the present chapter, I will add that the earlier 
commentators on the Quran deduced from it the laws and pre- 
cepts which still form the basis of Mussulman jurisprudence. 
They are comprised in a small work entitled the Multaqa. 1 These 
were Hanefi [Abu Hanifa 2 ], born in Kufa, 80 H., and died in 
prison at Baghdad in 150 H. ; Shafi'i, 3 born at Ghaza, in Palestine, 

1 The Multaqd'l-Abhur of al-Halabi (v. note on p. 181 infra). 

2 Abu Hanlfa, al-Numan ibn Sabit al-Kufi, the famous jurist who founded 
the Hanafite school of Muslim law, born in A.D. 699, died in 767 (E.I. i. 
p. 90). The usual view that the Hanafis represent more liberal principles 
than the other schools of Muhammadan law is contested by the writer of the 
art. in E.I, ii. pp. 256-7. The two companions of Abu Hanifa, the Imams 
Muhammad (d. 189 H. = A.D. 805) and Abu Yusuf, who died seven years 
earlier, were called the Sahibain. His friend was Muhammad al-Shaibam 
(Nassau Lees, Nafahat al-Uns, p. 1). 

3 Shafi'i was essentially the law-giver of the poor, and his tenets are 
therefore observed by many backward and out-caste peoples throughout 
Islam. Hence the somewhat rigid distribution of the schools propounded 
on p. 379 infra requires a little modification. For example, in Asia Minor 
and the adjoining provinces Shafi'i doctrines were in Evliya's day freely 
professed by many sections of the people. Thus among those of Qaca- 
baghlar in Nakshivan Evliya found quite a nest of curious heresies, and at 
Nakshivan itself the. inhabitants pretended to be orthodox Shafi'ites but 
were really Ja'aferite heretics. But at Ajan they were genuinely of that 
school though they kept their doctrines secret. At Ardabil the Shafi'i 
tenets again were only professed, but between Tabriz and Erivan the sect 
was numerous, though it had apparently been taxed, like the Sunms, for 
the privilege of letting its beards grow by the earlier Saf awls. The Kaitaks, 
an uncouth tribe of Mughal Turks on the frontiers of Daghistan, also pro- 
fessed to be Shafi'ites (Travels, ii. pp. 127, 145-6, 148-9, and 157). In India 
Aurangzeb adhered to the school except in matters of law wherein he was a 
Hanafi (Elliott and Dowson, Hist, of India, vii. p. 158). In the south of the 
Peninsula the Moplas and Labbais are Shafi'ya by sect, and in the north 
tribes which eat unclean animals, like the semi-nomad Kehals of the Punjab, 
profess to follow the Imam Shafi (Rose, Gloss, of Punjab Tribes and Castes, 
ii. p. 486). Similarly his followers are excused prayer as they must drink 
the water required for ablution, the giving of alms as they have to beg, 
fasting in Ramazan as they starve all the year, and pilgrimage as the world 
is the House of Allah (Burton, Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Meccah, iii. 
p. 80). Burton cites many points of difference in the usages of the Shafi'is 
and the other schools (ib. i. 112, ii. pp. 67, 333, 309, iii. 228, 235, 239, 285, 
385, and 309). In Arabia he found that almost all the Bedouin and many 
of the citizens of al-Madina are Shafi'i, though the Hanafi hold the first 



80 SCHOOLS OF LAW n 

150 H. (A.D. 767), and died in Egypt, 204 H. (A.D. 820) ; Han 
Ball [Abu Hanbal *], bom in 164 H. at Baghdad, and died there 
in 241 H. ; and Malild, born at Madina, 95 H. (A.D. 713), and died 
at the same place 179 H. (A.D. 795). 

Each has his advocates and followers, who differ from each 
other quite as much as do the Darvish Orders. 

rank in that city (ib. ii. p. 262). Al-Madina has or had only two muftis, 
one HanafI, the other Shafi'i (ib. p. 158). But according to one authority 
the Shafi'i have precedence in prayer at the Ka'aba (ib. iii. p. 170). In 
Indian usage the Shafi'i hold that ablutions are only lawful if performed in 
running water (Rose, op. cit. i. p. 498). It is not easy to say what are 
the distinctive features in the teaching of the various schools, but it may 
be pointed out that the pupils of Abu Hanlfa wrote important monographs 
on constitutional law, and that one of them, Abu Yusuf (d. A.D. 795), 
recognised canon law in the government of the State (E.I. ii. p. 103). This 
suggests that the HanafI school upheld the principle that the State was 
controlled by the principles of that law. 

1 Abu Hanbal, Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Hanbal, born in A.D. 780, died 
in 855, was a theologian as well as a jurist. He occupied himself more with 
the sources of the Jiadis than with the derivation of the law. Nevertheless 
he founded the Hanbalite school of law, but it is now only sparsely re- 
presented in Islam, the predominance of the Ottomans having dealt it a 
very severe blow (E.I. i. p. 188). According to Burton, the Hanbalis are 
nowhere common except in Najd and the lands eastward as far as al-Hasa 
(Pilgrimage, p. 158). They have no mufti at Madina or Cairo ; and are 
supposed to have thrown out a bad off-shoot, the Wahhabis. For the 
' 5th rite ' of the 'Ibadiya see note on p. 453-4 infra (in App. II.). 



CHAPTER III 

NAMES OF THE ORDERS OF DARVISHES BRANCHES OF THE 
ORIGINAL ORDERS AT CONSTANTINOPLE PECULIAR TITLES 
GIVEN TO FOUNDERS THE SAHIB-I-TASAWWUF OR ' SPIRITUAL 
OWNERS ' OF THE DARVISHES 

AN author of mifch celebrity for his Oriental studies (von Hammer) 
says, in reference to the Darvish Orders, that " the tombs of the 
Shaikhs and Darvishes who have acquired a certain celebrity by 
the foundation of an Order, or by the sanctity of their lives, are 
not less important in the Ottoman Empire than those of heroes 
and conquerors. 

" During the reign of the Sultan 'Othman, these Islam monks 
formed a community more powerful and redoubtable than that 
latterly of the 'wZama, or Doctors of Holy Law. ' No monks in 
Islamism ', an expression of the Prophet which should have been 
sufficient to prevent all innovations and imitations of the monach- 
ism of the Hindus and the Greeks ; but the natural disposition of 
the Arabs for a solitary and contemplative life caused them soon 
to forget this precept, and the other phrase of the Quran, ' Poverty 
is my pride ', was the argument which, thirty years after the death 
of the Prophet, is that on which his sectarians based the origin 
of their numerous monasteries ; since the Order of faqirs (poor) 
and of Darvishes (sills of the door) so multiplied in Arabia, Turkey, 
and Persia, that they reached the number of seventy-two, .ex- 
clusive of an equal number of heretic sects." 

The following are the names which this writer gives to the 
tariqs, or orders existing previous to the foundation of the Ottoman 
empire : 

1. UwaisT, v. App. II. 4. Bustami, v. p. 156. 

2. 'Ilwam, v. App. II. 5. Saqati, v. p. 50 supra. 

3. Adhami, v. p. 82 infra. 6. Qadiri, v. pp. 99-116. 

81 G 



82 



THE LATER ORDERS 



in 



7. Rifa'I, v. Ch. VI. 

8. Nurbakhshi, or Suharwardi, v. 

pp. 158-61. 

9. Qubrawi, v. p. 142. 

After the foundation of the empire, there were the 



10. Shazili, . App. II. 

11. Maulavi, v. Ch. X. 

12. Badawij v. App. II. 



13. Naqshbandi, v. App. I. 

14. Sa'di, v. App. II. 

15. Baqtashi, v. Ch. VIII. 

16. Khalwati, v. App. II. 

17. Saim [Zaim], v. App. II. 

18. Babayi, v. p. 268. 

19. Bairami, v. App. II. 

20. Ashrafl,u. p. 99 ff. 
Wafayl, u. App. II. 
Sunbuli, v. App. II. 



25. Umml Sinanf, v. p. 271. 

26. JalwatT, v. App. II. 

27. 'Ushaqi, v. p. 271. 

28. Shamsi, v. p. 271. 

29. Sinan Ummi, v. p. 271, 

30. Niyazi, v. App. II. 

31. Muradi, v. App. II. 

32. Nuiuddini, v. App. II. 

33. Jamali, v. App. II. 

34. Ashraki, v. App. II. 



21 
22 

23. Gulchanm[Gulsham],t;.App.II. 35. Ni'amatullahl, u.App II. 

24. Yagitbashi[Igithbashi],u.p.270. 36. Haidari, v. App. II. 

Of the thirty-six Orders, twelve are anterior to the foundation 
of the Ottoman empire ; the twenty-four others have been in- 
stituted since the commencement of the fourteenth century, down 
to the middle of the eighteenth. The first, viz. the Naqshbandis, 




KHALWATI 



HI THE LEGEND OF UWAIS 83 

was founded by'Othman 1 in A.D. 1319, and the Jamalls under 
Ahmad III. in A.D. 1750. 

Thirty-seven years after the ' Flight ', or ' Emigration ' (Hijrd) 
of the Prophet, the Archangel Gabriel or Jibrail appeared to 
Uwais, a native of Karn, in Yaman, and commanded him in the 
name of the Lord to renounce the world, and to devote himself 
to a life of penitence. In honour of the Prophet, who had lost 
two teeth in the battle of Uhud, Uwais had all his teeth extracted, 
and required the same sacrifice of his disciples, from which it may 
be readily understood that he made few proselytes among, the 
fanatics of Arabia. The Shaikhs "Ilwan, Ibrahim [ibn] Adham, 3 
Bayazid of Bustam, and Sari Saqati, followed the example oi 
Uwais, and founded the Orders which took their names, giving 

1 Not by 'Othman but by Baha-ud-Din, 06. A.D. 1309. 

2 This famous saint, whose full name was Ibrahim b. Adham b. Manser 
b. Yazid b. Jabir (Abu Ishaq) al-Tamimi al-'IjlT, was a native of Balkh, 
who died between 160 and 166 H. (A.D. 776-783). The Sufi legend con- 
cerning him is evidently modelled upon the story of Buddha, for in it he 
appears as a prince who, while hunting, was warned by an unseen voice 
that he was not created for such pursuits. Thereupon he abandoned the 
path of worldly pomp for the path of asceticism and piety. He became a 
quietist of a practical type, and did not carry the doctrine of tawakkul to 
the point of refusing to earn his livelihood ; on the contrary; he supported 
himself by gardening and so on. He approved of begging in so far as it 
incites men to give alms and thereby increases their chance of salvation, 
but he condemned it as a means of livelihood. So he distinguished two kinds 
of begging. C. van Arendonk says that a trait far more characteristic of 
Indian and Syrian than of Moslem asceticism appears in the story that one 
of the three occasions on which Ibrahim felt joy was when he looked at the 
fur garment that he was wearing, and could not distinguish the fur from the 
lice (E.I. ii. p. 432). But this story is poor evidence of Buddhist or Indian 
influence on Ibrahim, because a very similar episode is told of the Breton 
saint, Le Petit St. Jean. A notable legend says that angels ministered to 
Ibrahim on the banks of the Tigris after he had resigned his kingdom, 
bringing him ten dishes of food. This roused the envy of a darmsh who 
had been a poor man before he assumed the habit of a beggar, and to whom 
only one plate was vouchsafed. The incident is a commonplace topic of 
Indo-Persian or Mughal painting ( J.R.A.S., 1909, p. 751, and 1910, p. 167). 

There can, however, be no doubt that Ibrahim was a great figure in his 
day, and his memory still survives in Islam as far as India. The tale that 
he married a princess is even more persistent than the tradition that he was 
of royal birth. Leigh Hunt bestowed on Ibrahim bin Adham the title of 
' Abou ' in his well-known lines : 

" Abou spoke more low, 
But cheerly still ; and said, ' I pray thee then, 
Write me as one that loves his fellow-men '," 



84 THE CITY OF SAINTS ' in 

them the several rules of discipline. The most celebrated of these 
religious persons is the Pir of the Qadiris, named 'Abd-ul-Qadir 
Gilam, who had been proposed as guardian of the tomb of the great 
Imam Abu-Hanifa of Baghdad. After the decease of 'Abd-ul- 
Qadir his mausoleum was surrounded by those of the most re- 
nowned mystical Shaikhs. These tombs are those of Junaid, 
ShiblT, Hasan KarkhT, Husain Mansur, 1 Sari Saqati, and others. 
Of the most celebrated followers of 'Abd-ul-Qadir are Junaid of 
Baghdad, Abii-Bakr Shibll, and the great mystical writers Muhyi- 
ud-Dm al-'ArabT 2 and Sadr-ud-Dm of Qonia 3 in Asia Minor. 
.These tombs have given rise to the name of the ' City of Saints ', 
possessed by Baghdad, and, no doubt, to the religious fanaticism 
of its inhabitants. Baghdad has always been the object of the 
veneration of Mussulmans in general, and the various Darvishes 
in particular, and these often wander from Constantinople through 
Syria or Asia Minor, to pray over the tombs of the pious and holy 
men whose remains are there interred. 

The Order of the Rifa'is, named after the founder, Sa'Id Ahmad 
Rifa'i, is the most generally known to the foreigners visiting Con- 

1 Husain Mansur, Husain bin Mansur al-Hallaj, a wild antinomian 
pantheist, the Sufi martyr, executed by the Caliph Muqtadir in A.D. 922 at 
Baghdad (Nicholson, A Literary History of the Arabs, pp. 399, 375). For 
accounts of his execution see Dozy, Essai sur Vhistoire de VIslamisne, p. 329 f., 
or L. M. J. Garnett, Mysticism and Magic in Turkey, pp. 12-14. But all 
these are now superseded by Louis Massignon's outstanding work, Al-Hallaj, 
martyr mystique de VIslam, 2 vols., Paris, 1922. 

Mansur also enjoyed the title of Abu'l Mughis, ' the Intercessor ' ; and it is 
significant that he is said to have dabbled in alchemy and magic (E.R.JS. 6 p. 480). 

2 A descendant of the poet-knight, Hatim al-Ta'I, the Arab paragon of 
generosity, he was born in Spain in A.D. 1165, and was therefore styled 
al-Andalusi. Having spent thirty years at Seville he visited the East, and 
died at Damascus in 1240. Nominally submitting to the Zahirite doctrines, 
he, nevertheless, rejected taqtid ' recognition of authority ' and passed 
for an esoteric, and was even denounced as a zindiq. Besides the Fusus-al- 
Hikam he wrote the Futuhdt al-Makkia or ' Meccan Victories ', and their 
contents involved him in charges of adherence to the doctrines of Tiulul and 
ittihad. These charges were, however, refuted by a quotation from his last- 
named work (R. A, Nicholson in J.R.A.8., 1906, p. 799, where a full account 
of his life and works is given). Or E.R.E. 8 p. 908, may be consulted. 

3 Sadr-ud-Dm Muhammad (or Abu'l-Ma'ali Mehmed) b. Ishaq al- 
Qonawi, was a pupil and son-in-law of Muhyi-ud-Din ibn 'Arabi and an 
intimate friend of Jalal-ud-Dm Rum!. He died in 672 H. (A.D. 1274). 
Jam! gives an account of his life in the Nafahat-ul-Uns. His death is 
sometimes assigned to 671 H. (A.D. 1272-73). His grave is at Qonia. 



in SHRINES AT CONSTANTINOPLE 85 V 

stantinople. The members of this sect offer the spectacle of the 
most startling self-torture ; they perform acts of jugglery, such 
as swallowing swords and fire, expose parts of their body to the 
flames, dance in the most grotesque positions, and frightfully 
contort their limbs. The lives of these recall the ancient Etruscan 
priests of the sun, mentioned in the eleventh book of the Mneid, 
line 28. 

BRANCHES OF THE ORIGINAL ORDERS OF DARVISHES 
AT CONSTANTINOPLE 

Of the twelve original Orders there are a number of branches 
called /urti, 1 at Constantinople, whose pirs or Founders are buried 
there ; among these are the Sunbullis, 2 at Khoja Mustafa Pasha, 
and at Psamatia. 

The Ardaballis, 3 between the gates of the city, Top Qapu and 
Selivria Qapu-su, on the roadside. 

1 Ferru' in original. Far' (S.) means ' a branch '. As a term in Moslem 
jurisprudence fur'ti'al-fiqh, ' the doctrine of the branches ', is applied fiqh 
as opposed to usul al-fiqh, ' the doctrine of the roots ', i.e. the sources of the 
law. On p. 106 infra the term may be translated ' corollaries ', implying the 
systematic elaboration of positive theology (not as usual of positive law) 
under its separate heads j but this meaning of the word is not given in 
E.I. i. p. 104. 

2 See note on p. 455. The list on pp. 480-1 ff. infra assigns some fourteen 
takias in Constantinople to the Sunbulis, but does not mention one at 
Psamatia. 

3 Ardabil was the headquarters of the Safawis. That Persian dynasty 
derived its descent from Shaikh Safiyyu'd-Din, a contemporary of 'Ala'u'd- 
Daula Samnam (p. 142 infra), who was born in 650 H. (A.D. 1252-53). The 
Safawi were a saintly family which eventually acquired temporal power ; 
and appears to have lost its spiritual position in this wise : Its founder 
Firuz Shah-i-Zarrin-kulah (' gold-cap ' a title which may denote that he 
held high civil office) was appointed governor of Ardabil by a ' King ' of 
Persia who is said to have been one of the sons of Ibrahim Adham ! He 
claimed descent from Hamza, son of Musa Kazim, the seventh Imam. 
Shaikh Saffyyu'd-Dm Abu'l Fath Ishaq, to give his full name, was directed 
to the Shaikh Zahid of Gilan at Ardabil, whom he succeeded as head of the 
' order '. He also married his daughter. Dying in 1334, Safi was succeeded 
by his son, Sadr-ud-Dln, one of whose pupils was the Saiyid-ul-'Ushshaq 
or Qasim-ul-Anwar (the ' Lord of Lovers ', or ' Apportioner of Lights '), the 
celebrated mystical poet whose disciples are taxed by Jam! with com- 
munism and contempt for the law. In 1302 Sadr-ud-Dln was succeeded by 
his son Khwaja 'AH, and he in 1427 by his son Shaikh Shah, whose daughter 
became superior of the female members of the order. In 1447-48 his son, 
Shaikh Junaid, became head of the order, and was eventually killed in 
battle. His grandson, Shah Isma'il, then became king. Shah 'Abbas the 



86 THE SAFAWIS in 

The Ummi Sinan, 1 at the Mosque of Aiyub, in the quarter of 
the Dukmajilar. 

Great appointed Shaikh Abdal, described as a descendant of Shaikh Zahid, 
custodian of the shrine at Ardabil in 1600. Thus, if the story told by the 
Zahidi historian is correct, the shrine at Ardabil reverted to the family 
which had founded the ' order ' (Manuscript Hist, of the Safawi Dynasty of 
Persia, by Prof. E. G. Browne, in J.R.A.S., 1921, pp. 395 ff. The analogies 
in this version to the Baqtash traditions are patent. Both assert a descent 
from Musa al-Kazim. Both allude to an organisation of the women of the 
' order '. But very little trust can be placed in its chronicles. Its founder 
or pir was certainly not buried at Constantinople, and it is difficult to believe 
that it was ever allowed to possess a shrine or a takia there. The Turkish 
writers throw some light on the fate of Shaikh Junaid.* Banished from 
Ardabil, he fled to Uzun Hasan, chief of the Black Sheep, and was by him 
given the hand of his daughter by the Christian princess Despina Katon. 
Then he visited the shrine of Sadr-ud-Din Qonawi, but its incumbent, 
Shaikh 'Abd-ul-Latif, denounced him as a heretic, and he sought refuge in 
the Jabal Arsus, in the district of Aleppo, where he was able to collect a 
following which included a number of the adherents of Badr-ud-Din. He 
was killed, however, in 1456, and his son Sultan Haidar met his fate also in 
battle in 1488. Yet the curious tolerance which permitted Badr-ud-Dln's 
followers to erect his shrine at Seres may have allowed an ArdablH or Safawi 
convent to exist outside the walls of Constantinople (v. F. Babinger in 
Der Islam, xi. pp. 78 ff.). Khwaja 'All is said to be buried at Quds-i-Khalil 
(? Jerusalem), where he is known as Saiyid 'Ali 'Ajam, Saiyid 'AH the 
Persian (Browne, op. cit. p. 407). If this is true, the Ardabili movement 
may at one time have been very widespread. 

EvHya's account is very misleading. According to him 

Shaikh Safr (? SafI)-ud-DIn Abu Ishaq (founder of the Safi dynasty). 

Shaikh Sadr-ud-Din Musa. 

Shaikh Khwaja 'AH. 

Shaikh Safi (?), who governed only in a spiritual sense. 

Shaikh Haidar. 

Shaikh Ibrahim, who was the first who enjoyed rights of sovereignty. 
Yet he says from Sh. Safi to Shah 'Abbas are five Shahs who coined money. 
In reality Sh. Ibrahim, better known as Shaikh Shah, was son and successor 
of Khwaja 'AH, and all Haidar's sons were put to death, excepting Shah 
Isma'il. Evliya substitutes a second Safi for Junaid (Travels, ii. p. 147). 
If Evliya is to be trusted the Ardabills were in close touch with the Baqtash, 
as Shaikh Safi, who came from Erdebfl to visit the convent of the Baqtash 
saint Pir Marizat near Shamakhi, spent treasures in building it. Evliya says 
it has its equal perhaps only in the town of Mashhad Musa Riza. The 
convent is called also Pir Mirza or Mirka, but its correct name is Marizat, 
meaning ' incurvated ', because the saint's body is seated in a corner of the 
convent in an incurvated posture, his face turned towards the Qibla, his 
head recumbent on a rock. His body is Hght and white like cotton, without 
corruption (ib. p. 160). V. however Erratum, p. 483. 

1 An limmi Sinan takia is now held by the Khalwatis ; v. p. 463. 



in SHRINES NEAR CONSTANTINOPLE 87 

The 'Ushshaqis, 1 at Qasim Pasha, and the valley of Uzun 
Yolda. 

The Hudayls, 2 or JalvatTs, 3 at Scutari. 

1 'Ushshaqis. Doubtless the Khussam-ud-Din 'Ushshaqi takia-si (p. 
482). They seem to have none now at Uzun Yol, ' the long road ' (cf. 
p. 455). 

2 Brown does not explain the name Hudayi here given as another title 
of the order. It appears to be derived from huda, ' guidance ', ' the right 
road ', and thus there is probably an allusion in it to the Ar. hacK, ' a bride 
when conducted home in public procession ' (Eedhouse, TurL-Eng. Lex. 
p. 2160). The Jalwatis are also said to wear the hair long (E,L i. p. 1044) ; 
but they are not described as affecting feminine garments, like a few orders 
of Indian faqirs. Hudayi was the name in poetry of the great Shaikh 
Mahmud of Scutari, who played a leading role in the reign of Sultan Ahmad I. 
A follower of the Pir Uftada, who founded the Jalwatis (v. p. 271 infra), he 
saw visions and was gifted with second sight. Before his death in 1628 he 
had written many important works of his own, and collected those of hia 
master. The latter included expositions of the ninety-nine names of God 
corresponding to the ninety-nine names of Muhammad, and a Silsilanama, 
or spiritual pedigree of the Pir Uftada, which is of interest as it differs from 
those generally given in some respects. Beginning as usual with Muhammad, 
'AH, Hasan Basri, Habib 'Ajami, Daud Ta'i, Karkhi, Sari Saqati, and 
Junaid, it next specifies Mami Shah of Dinawar, Mahmud of Dinawar, 
Muhammad Kubra, Muhyi-ud-Din the judge, Jamal-ud-Din of Tabriz, 
Rukn-ud-Dltt Sinjari, Qutb-ud-Din al-Abhari, Najib Suhrawardi, 'Umar 
al-Bakri, Ibrahim Gilam, Safi-ud-Dln of Ardabil, Sadr-ud-Din of Ardabil, 
Khoja 'All of Ardabil, Hamid-ud-Din of Aq-Sarai, Hajl Bairam, founder of 
the Bairamis, and Shaikh Uftada Effendi. He also left a collection of 
ilahiat, and converted the small mosque at his cell in Scutari into a cathedral 
mosque. The cloister of Aziz Mahmud Effendi there seems to be his founda- 
tion (v. Hammer-Purgstall, GdOD, iii. pp. 192-202, and Evliya, i., Part ii,, 
p. 83). Gibb gives his name as Sh. Halwajl-zada, born at Sivri Higsar, 
and settled in Scutari in 1593. His cell there became a sanctuary for 
officials who had incurred the wrath of Sultan 'Usman (Hist, of Ott. Poetry, iii. 
p. 218). 

3 Pir Uftada, to whom the foundation of the order is rightly ascribed 
on p. 271 infra, is described as a pupil of Haji Bairam, and is buried in the 
mosque of the citadel at Brusa near the mother-house of the order. In 
mystical parlance jilwa (lit. the ' ceremony of raising the bride's veil % 
when her husband sees her for the first time) is the state in which the mystic 
is on coming out of the khalwa : filled with the emanation of divine attributes, 
his own personality has disappeared and mingles with the being of God. 
One of the two sacred books of the Yazidis is called Kitab al-Jilwa (E.I. i. 
p. 1044). It may be noted that in Turkish jilwat means ' charm ', or as a 
verb ' to appear ', ' to make oneself seen '. It thus appears to connote the 
opposite of khalwat. The Jalwatis have four talcias at Scutari (v. pp. 460-2, 
infra), besides many others in Constantinople. 



88 INTERCESSION OF SAINTS in 

The Qadiris, 1 at Topkhana, and the name of the PIr was 
Isma'il-ar-Rumi. 

The Malamiyuns have a shaikh at Psamatia now living. Once 
a year they go to the Oq Maidan above the Navy Yard, to the 
grave of Idrisi MuhtafT, 2 where a shaikh meets them. They have 
also another at Scutari who, it is said, never goes out of his 
premises. They are now called Hamzawis. 

They pray over the graves of the ' Holy Dead '. It may be 
here mentioned that Mussulmans in general pray at the tomb 
of those whom they repute Saints (aulid), and implore their 
intercession in their own behalf. If at an ordinary grave, it is 
for the benefit of the soul of the deceased, the place and actual 
condition of which is unknown to the prayer. If the deceased, 
however, be in Paradise, the prayer is conveyed as an offering to 
the happy soul from the prayers ; if it be in hell, it aids it out of 
that place of punishment. 

There is a hadith, or traditional saying, of the Prophet to this 
effect : "If your hearts be oppressed with sorrow, go, seek con- 
solation at the graves of the holy dead". Many of the takias of 
the Darvishes are erected at, or even over, the tombs of eminently 
pious shaikhs, or other holy men. Their remains offer additional 
attraction to the public. Great care is taken of them, and much 
respect evinced for them by the costly shawls and embroidered 
cloths spread over the tombs, wholly irrespective of the civil or 
official position which the deceased may have occupied. Lamps 
are kept burning before them, as an emblem of the spiritual light 
which they shed around them, and vows are offered up at them 
by passers-by or visitors, called nazr, in the view of procuring 
relief through their saintly intercession, from sickness, misfortune, 
sterility, etc. With each vow a common rag is tied on the iron 

1 The Qadiris hold a larger number of the Constantinople takias than 
any other order (v. pp. 474-7). The one at the Topkhana is not apparently 
dedicated to Isma'fl ar-Rumi. 

2 See Chap. VIII. infra. Idrlsi Mukhtafl, the ' occult ' or < concealed ', 
doubtless the Idrlsi 'All Effendi of p. 232 infra. Originally of Tirkhala, the 
ancient Tricca, in Thessaly, Idris Mukhtafl lived from time to time at 
Constantinople under the name of 'Ali beg. There he seems to have come 
under the influence of the Bairamia Malamias, especially two of their leaders, 
Sari 'Abdah Effendi and Sa'irkaji. On his death in 1024 H. (A.D. 1615) he 
was buried at the place described in the text. His works do not seem to 
have been yet printed (O.M. p. 32). 



in SOME FOUNDERS 1 TITLES 89 

bars of the tomb, as an earnest of the vow. Miraculous results 
are declared to have occurred at these tombs, quite equal to those 
of the greater Christian saints. Lights are often seen to float over 
them, or to lead to them, and the living holy shaikhs, by means of 
their spiritual powers of vision, acquired by long meditation and 
prayer, often are enabled to discover the graves of deceased holy 
men, long after they have been lost to human knowledge. 



PECULIAR TITLES GIVEN TO THE FOUNDERS OF SOME 
OF THE ORDERS OF DARVISHES 

Qadiris. "Abd-ul-Qadir Gflani is called the Sultan-al-Aulia, 
or ' the Sovereign of the Saints '. 

Maulavis. 1 Ahmad-ur-Rifa'i is called Abu-al- Alamain, or 
' the Parent of the Two Worlds *, which alludes to the temporal 
and spiritual worlds. 

Badawis. Ahmad-al-Badawi is called Abu'l-'Ainain, 'the 
Parent or Father of the Two Sources ', in reference to his connexion 
with the two original Orders of 'All and Abu Bakr. 

Sa'dis, or Jabdwis. Sa'd-ud-DIn al-Jabawi is called Abu-U- 
Futuh> or ' the Father of Victories '. 2 

Dasuqis. Ibrahim ad-Dasuqi is called the Shaikh-ul-'Arab, 
or ' the Shaikh of the Arabs ' 



THE SAHIB-I-TASAWWUF, OR ' SPIRITUAL OWNERS ' 
OF THE DARVISHES 

" I left Madina ", so related to me one of my Darvish friends, 
" and went to the Mashhad-i-Ulla, 3 or the Holy Tomb of the 
fourth Caliph 'AH ; I remained there three days, visiting and per- 
forming my prayers over it. I had read in a work called the 

1 The Maulavis were founded by Jalal-ud-Dm Rumi, not by Ahmad 
ar-Rifa'i. 

2 Not ' victims ' as in original. 

3 Mashhad,. lit. ' place of testimony or martyrdom '. Mashhad-i-'AlI or 
' place of 'All's martyrdom '. 'All was interred at Kufa, according to the 
usual tradition, close by the dike which protected the town against the 
inundations of the Euphrates, on the spot where afterwards the town of 
Najaf arose the present Mashhad 'AH (E.R.E. 1, p. 284). Mashhad in 
Persia is quite a different place. 



90 JAMAL-UD-DlN OF KtlFA in 

Tabaqdt-i-Sharwdli l mention of those persons who are called the 
sahib-i-tasawwuf, 2 and wished to learn something about them. I 
had heard that there was one of these, named Jamal-ud-Dln 
Kufi, who frequented the tomb of 'All. 

" On leaving Baghdad, I passed by Kufa, where the Imam 
(Caliph) 'AH was martyrised by Ibn Maljan. 3 I met Jamal-ud- 
Dm, on his way out to the desert, and immediately got off my 
horse and approached him, for the purpose of kissing his hand. 
I was behind him, at the distance of a dozen paces ; he turning 
round, looked up at me, and cried out in a loud voice : arruh-al- 
Allah, 4 Go to God '. I was frightened and trembled from emotion, 
and stopped, so that I was unable to kiss his hand. 

" He was a person, of middle stature, perfectly naked ; his 
beard was scanty, only a little hair on his chin, of a feeble frame, 
and of some forty to forty-five years of age. His hair was also 
scanty. I returned to Kufa, so as to visit its masjid, or chapel, 
erected on the spot of 'All's martyrdom. I inquired, at the door, 
where the person slept whom I had seen, and he showed me a spot 
near to the tomb of the son of the brother of 'AH, named Muslim 
ibn 'Uqail, 4 adding that he always slept there on a mat made of 
date palms, with a stem for a pillow. I next asked what he did, 
what he ate and drank, and he answered that he really did not 
know, for every evening he came in to sleep, and early in the 

1 Possibly the Tdbaqat of al-Sha'rawi (al-Sha'ram), who also wrote the 
Nasb al-KHrqat. The full title of his Tabaqat appears to be Lawa'ih al- 
Anwar ft fabaqat al-Ahjar (J.B.A.8., 1903, 159 ; 1906, 799). 

2 In its 'Contents' the original has tesavvuf; but here and in the 
heading above ' tesarruf ', which might mean mystic power. But tasawwuf 
is doubtless correct, and sahib-i-tasawwuf would mean rather ' master of 
mysticism '. Tasawwuf, formed from suft, means that actions should be 
done upon the Sufi which are known to God only, and that he should 
always be with God in a way known to God only (R. A. Nicholson in 
J.R.A.S., 1906, 331). 

3 Ibn Muljam, a Kharijite conspirator, assassinated 'All in the mosque 
at Kufa in A.D. 661, after he had concluded peace with Mu'awiya (cf. R. A. 
Nicholson, A Literary History of the Arabs, p. 193). His full name was 
'Abd-ur-Rahman b. Muljam al-Sarimi, and a full account of his deed and 
its motive will be found in E.L i. p. 234. 

4 Muslim ibn 'Uqil, cousin of Husain, who was executed by 'Ubaidullah, 
governor of 'Iraq, a few days before Husain's own death at Karbala in A.D. 
680. Styled Abu Muslim on p. 176 infra, he is there described as the sword 
of Allah. He is the patron saint of the-Hafiz, ' those who learn the Quran 
by heart ' (Evliya, i., Part 2, p. 112). 



in THE MASTERS OF TASAWWUF 91 

morning left again for the Desert, without ever speaking to any 
one. In 1260 H. 1 this person died, and in his place another, 
named Badr-ud-DIn us-Sabir^ filled his place. His native place 
is called Dar-us-Sur, wa Hadd-ul-Ard, and he will live to 1280 H. 
[1864 A.D.]. After him. another will come, named Husain-ud- 
Dln Makkai, who will then be the khatam-i-aulia, or wattdya, 
' the last of the saints '." 

My friend explained to me that these persons are considered 
as being the chief of the numerous sahib-i-tasam&ufs, who live in 
the world, and to whom is given a spiritual command over souls, 
similar to the temporal authority of sovereigns and other rulers 
over the bodies of mankind. 

In connexion with this belief, he explained to me that the 
chief of all these individuals is called the qutb, centre or axis ; 
he is unique of his kind ; on his right and left are two persons 
called the umana, plural of amni, or amin, the ' faithful'. When 
the one in the middle dies, the one on his left succeeds him, and 
the one on the right takes his place. The latter place is then 
filled up by a person called the autad (plural of watd)? These are 
four in number. There are also five others, called the anwar 
(plural of nur, or light), who succeed to the autad, or middle. 
There are also seven akhiar (plural of khair, or ' the good '), who 
succeed to the anwar. There are forty others called the shuhadd 
(plural of shahid, the ' martyrs '). By some they are called the 
rijtil-i-ghaib, or the ' absent ones ' . These have a dd'ira, or ' circle ' 
divided into thirty parts, equal to the days of the month. The 
circle has a North, South, East, and West, and on each day they 
all together wander over the surface of the globe, which is the 
daira, in a certain direction of the compass, fixed for each day of 
the month, of which they all possess a perfect knowledge, through 
the data written in this circle. 

The celebrated author, Muhyl-ed-DIn al-'Arabi, has written a 
detailed account of these, and Mulla Jami, one of the most cele- 
brated of the Persian poets, comments upon them in the book 
called the Nafahat-al-Uns,* or the ' Breath of Man '. 

Any one consulting the tables of the circle, so as to ascertain 

1 =1844A.D. 

2 Lit. stake or peg. 

3 The Nafahat-ul-Uns, or ' Perfumes of Politeness ', was written in A.D. 
U78. It was edited by W. N. Lees, Calcutta, 1859. 



02 THE ABDALS m 

where the rijdl-i-ghaib l are proceeding, and thus look to them for 
spiritual aid, will, it is said, be sure to meet with success. My 
informant assures me that Darvishes believe firmly in their 
existence. Makka is their centre and point of departure, and to 
which place. they return daily. All the transactions of mankind 
come under their jurisdiction, and are decided upon spiritually, 
previous to being carried into execution temporally byvthe rulers 
of the earth. They are the naibs 2 and vakils, or deputies of the 
prophets and saints who have left this world, and God makes 
known to them His supreme will, with regard to the actions of 
men. Even the designs of individuals depend upon their favour ; 
for if they do not favour them, unexpected obstacles will arise to 
frustrate them. 

Besides the preceding, there are other spiritual beings, called 
the Abdals, 3 people whose intellects are supposed by the public 
to be weak, and that they are even maniacs of a harmless character. 
Many of these are in this world, where they often exercise a strong 
influence, though unknown in their true character. Their number 
is limited to seventy, and they succeed to the forty rijal-ul-ghaib. 
There are also eighty others, called the nuqabd (plural of naqib), 

1 Eijal is translated ''men' (Manner) by Goldziher (Muhammadanische, 
. Studien, ii. p. 141) ; but on p. 144 he explains the discipline of the ma'rifat 

al-rijal to mean 'the knowledge of the authority or sureties (Gewahrs- 
manner) '. The term undoubtedly implies vigilance or watching, but it is 
sometimes rendered ' hidden wayfarers '. Al-Ghaib has come to mean ' the 
unseen spiritual world ', the 'alam al-ghaib being opposed to the 'alam al- 
shahada or ' the world as perceived by the senses ', and the rijal al-.ghaib are 
the saintly hierarchy presided over by the Qutb (E.I. ii. p. 135). In the 
science of tradition rijal means ' authorities ' (ib. p. 190). F. p. 202 infra. 

2 Vide note on p. 202 infra. 

3 The Abdals are also called Turkalu (apparently from turJcdn, ' im- 
portunate beggars ' : Redhouse, p. 536) in Turkey, and are there described 
as wearing no clothing. They held women in horror, but early in the 
nineteenth century they achieved such an evil reputation that they were 
almost exterminated. They were, however, still to be found in provincial 
towns of recent years (W. S. Monroe, Turkey and the Turks, 1908, pp. 280-81). 
Miss L. M. J. Garnett says : "In the mysterious Sufi hierarchy the abdal, 
' substitutes ', form a particular class ". The qutb is the head of the hierarchy. 
The abdal correspond to and were derived from the nuqaba of the Shi'as 
according to Ibn Khaldun (R. A. Nicholson in J.E.A.S., 1906, p. 322). They 
are also called Perishan (apparently pareshan, Pers., ' dishevelled ', ' dis- 
tracted or perplexed '). Miss Garnett also gives a detailed account of their 
doings and their immunity from control (Mysticism and Magic in Turkey, 
p 37 1). 



Ill 



WANDERING MENDICANTS 



93 



or magistrates, who succeed to the seventy, and are all taken 
from the most worthy of mankind. 

There have been, and it is supposed still are, many persons 
bearing the title of Abdals, though it is not known with any 
degree of certainty whether or not they belong to the seventy. 
These are sometimes to be seen in the public streets, wandering 
about in a state of nudity or nearly so and seem to be idiots. 




^J^Bi^r^ 
ABDAL. 

Others possess all their faculties, and are very intelligent, but 
retire from the ordinary intercourse with mankind, and live on 
mountains, in caves, and other deserted places, cultivating 
intimacy with wild beasts, over which they exert a remarkable 
spiritual power, so as to render them perfectly harmless ; and 
they are much revered for their sanctity. There were several 
celebrated Abdals in Asia Minor during the earlier Ottoman 
Sultans. 



WANDERING DARVISHES 



The Darvishes whom one meets in Constantinople and through- 
out the East, generally dressed either peculiarly or shabbily, and 
wearing either a tiger or leopard's skin over their shoulders, and 
bearing a cup, called kashkul, in their hand, are from India and 



94 QALANDARS in 

Bukhara. They are not always Darvishes, but are simply faqirs, 
or men who prefer to remain poor and miserable than to devote 
themselves to an honest calling. They are supposed to have 
abandoned the pleasures and attractions of the world, and to 
be totally divested of all human ambition, for the love of God. 
Sometimes, if questioned as to the object of their vagabond life, 
they represent that they are, in the fulfilment of a vow, visiting 
certain holy tombs, and spend much of their time in prayer and 
meditation. Many of them, however, belong to the orders of 
the Keshtis 1 and Suharwardls, and those from Bukhara to the 
Naqshbandis and Qadiris. Beggary is forbidden in nearly all of 
the orders. Some of these pious Darvishes go as far as Hungary 
to visit the tomb of a santon, named Gul Baba. 2 

The Qalandars are not an Order. One of the Darvishes of the 
Qadiris was named Shahbaz-i-Qalandari, as also another of the 
Maulavis, called Shams-ud-Din Tabriz! Qalandari. Those who 
carry with them a crooked horn, called the liffer, and call out Ya ! 
Wadfid, belong to the Order of the Baqtashis. 

There are still another class, supposed by many to be Darvishes, 
but who are not so. They are known in Constantinople by the 
name of khavasjilar. These may be seen sitting in small shops, 
often dressed somewhat like Darvishes, and wearing green turbans. 

1 By Keshtee Brown undoubtedly meant the Chishti order, whose 
foundation is by some ascribed to Khwaja Ahmad Abdal of Ghisht, a 
disciple of Abu Ishaq Shami, who was buried at Akka in Sham (Syria), and 
not in Chisht as often stated. But the generally accepted account is that 
the order was founded by Abu Ishaq himself. He was ninth in descent from 
'AH, and migrating from Asia Minor settled at Chisht in Khurasan. The 
order, or rather sect, is of importance in India (see e.g. Rose, Glossary of 
Punjab Tribes and Castes, i. p. 528, where Indian accounts are followed). 
Other authorities assign a later origin to the order,' ascribing its foundation 
to- Mu'm-ud-Dln Muhammad Chishti, the Aftab-i-Mulk-i-Hind, or ' Sun of 
the Kingdom of India ', who was born in 537 H. (A.D. 1142) in Sistan. 
At Baghdad he was acquainted with Najm-ud-Dm Qubra, Shihab-ud-Din 
Suhrawardi, and other famous Sufis ; but he went to Delhi in 1193 and died 
at Ajmir in A.B. 1236, his tomb becoming one of the most popular places of 
Moslem pilgrimage in India (E.I. i. p. 862). 

2 Buried at Budapest. A native of Marsiwan in the Siwas wilayat of 
Asia Minor, he took part in several wars during the reigns of Muhammad II., 
Bayazid'IL, Salim I., and Sulaiman II., and fell during the siege of Buda 
(Ofen) in A.D. 1541. The last-named Sultan declared him gozjusu, f patron 
saint ', of the city (E.I. ii. p. 181). Turk. gyuzju=& ' watcher or sentinel ' 
(Redhouse, Twk.-Eng. Lex. p. 1591). See also pp. 221 and 223. 



in DIVINERS 95 

They are diviners, and tell where lost objects may be found, how 
the affections of erring husbands may be restored to their wives, 
etc. The drawings on an open hand, stuck up in the windows, 
represent the hand of the Prophet, in which are written ayats, 
or verses of the Quran. Their divinations are made by means of 
the science called 'ilm-i-ramal, or of sand, and by cabalistic 
calculations, generally of the numerical value of the letters form- 
ing the name of the party interested. The four elements, 'anasir- 
i-arba', viz. fire, air, earth, and water, are also consulted, to 
ascertain which of them predominates in the person's system ; 
this found, a nuskha [' copy '] or charm, is written out and delivered 
to the applicant. One of these four elements is supposed to be 
destroyed by the others, and the one which predominates in the 
system to its injury must be got rid of. The nuskhas are composed 
of verses from the Quran, to which is connected a belief of peculiar 
power in especial cases, and are hung about the necks. When 
the verses are not from the Quran, they are the original hand- 
writings of certain holy men of high repute. One kind of such 
writings is called istakhara, 1 and are placed under the pillow to 
influence the dreams of the sleeper. They even are supposed to 
be the cause of visits from benevolent spirits to the sufferer, or 
the troubled in mind, and to respond to the wishes of the applicant. 
These persons are likewise often seen manipulating the faces, 
heads, shoulders, and arms of invalids, and, after praying over 
them, blow in their faces, or gently breathe upon the limbs 
affected. The invocation of the names of Allah has., it is sup- 
posed in such cases, sanctified his breath, and enabled him to 
exercise a salutary effect upon the sufferer. 

1 IstikMra, lit. ' seeking good ' : Zwemer translates it ' to know what is 
best ', and says it is one of the forms of divination by means of the rosary. 
This form is attributed to one of the Prophet's wives, and in it the diviner, 
after repeating the Fdtiha, breathes on the rosary in order to put the magic 
power of the chapter into the beads. Then he seizes a particular bead and 
counts towards the ' pointer ', saying " God, Muhammad, Abu Jahal ", in 
turn. If the count ends with Abu Jahal's name the omen is bad. Others 
say ' Adam, Eve, the Devil '. If the count ends with Eve the omen is 
doubtful, since woman's judgement is fickle. This is said to be an almost 
universal practice in North Africa, including Egypt, among the common 
people (Influence of Animism on Islam, p. 33). It cannot, however, be said 
that such usages are unknown in Christendom. 



CHAPTER IV 

TRANSLATION OF A TRACT ON THE COSTUMES AND TENETS OF THE 
DARVISHES THE HOLY MANTLE OF THE PROPHET THE 
KULAHS, OR DARVISH CAPS [THE QADIRIS]. 

RESPECTING the costumes and tenets of the tarlqs, or Orders of 
the Darvishes, the earliest mention is found made by 'Abdullah 
Ansari, 1 a faithful friend and companion of the blessed Prophet, 
on the occasion of his flight from Makka to Madlna. 

1 Who 'Abdullah Ansari may be it is not easy to say. A ' companion of 
the Prophet ' could hardly have witnessed events in the time of the fifth 
Imam. The author of the tract seems to have confused 'Abdullah Ansari 
(Abu Isma'il 'Abdullah b. Abu Mansur Muhammad), " one of the oldest and 
most famous Persian mystics, usually called the Pir-i-Ansar ", with Abu 
'Abdullah Jabir b. 'Abdullah al-Ansari (Matthews, Mishcat-ul-Masabih, i. 
p. 13), who is .styled Jabur by Rehatsek (Rauzat-us-Safa, i. p. 34). The 
Pir-i-An^ar was born in 396 H. (A.D. 1006), and died in 481 H. (A.D. 1088), 
and was also called the Prr-i-Hiri from Herat, his birthplace (Browne, 
Literary Hist, of Persia, ii. p. 269, and E.I. i. p. 358). His principal work 
appears to have been the Tabaqat al-Sufiyya, of which Jamfs Nafahat al- 
Uns is an enlarged recension (Nicholson, Kashf al-Mahjub, pp. 21 and 26). 
Another 'Abdullah Ansari, 'Abdullah b. Amr b. al-'Asi, author. of a work 
called al-Sadlqa, is mentioned by Goldziher (Muhammadanische, Studien, ii. 
p. 10). In the text the writer doubtless merely intended to explain the 
term Ansari and to indicate the Pir-i-Ansar, who claimed descent from Abu 
Ayyub, a companion of the Prophet, but it is hardly correct to say that he 
was the first to mention the tenets of the orders. His Tabaqat -was 'only 
an enlarged edition of Sullami's work ; but he also wrote the Manazilu'l- 
Sa'irin, or Stages of the Pilgrims, the Anwaru'l-Tahqiq, or ' Lights of Verifica- 
tion ', the Nasihat, or ' Advice ', the Zadu'l-'Arifin, or ' Gnostics' Provision ', 
the Kitab-i-Asrar, or ' Book of Mysteries ', and an IlaM-nama ; besides his 
Munajat, or ' Supplications ', axi&Ruba'iyyat, or Quatrains (Browne, op. cit. 
p. 270). Beale describes him as the founder of the sect called 'Anarls in 
Herat and Khurasan, assigning his birth to 396 H, (A.D. 1006), and says he 
was pelted to death by boys while doing penance, when eighty-four lunar 
years of age. He is buried at Herat (Or. Biogr. Diet. p. 7). His names and 

96 



iv SYMBOLISM 97 

By this person it is related that Muhammad Baqir, 1 the fifth 
Imam, and a successor as well as a descendant of 'AH, the fourth 
direct Caliph, gave the name of irshGd-i-kiswa, z or ' robe of up- 
rightness ', to one of the garments worn at this period by pious 
and holy men ; and that Ja'far Sadiq, the sixth Imam, also a 
lineal descendant of the same 'AH, and son of Muhammad Baqir, 
gave the name of Arkdn a -i-Aulid, to those good men who wore 
that garment. For the correctness of this relation, however, we 
can only place our trust in Allah. 

The perfect Murshids, or Superiors, of Darvish takias, or 
convents, were bound to make this known to the Arkdn-i-Aulia, 
or ' Columns of Saints ' ; and to their youthful disciples the 
murids, they should point their appropriate places in the takias, 
and explain to them how to wear, and the meaning of, their taj, 
or cap, and their khirqa, or mantle. They should only put them 
on after having been invested by the Arkan-i-'Ain* or Elders of 
the takia* so that the use of them would be legitimate. Should 
the latter be ignorant of this knowledge, the murshid must expose 
them as impostors ; and, in that case, to intercede for them is a 
crime equal to blasphemy. 

On being publicly selected as the murshid of a takia, the guide 
of a painful career, and the depositary of all the secrets and 
traditions of his Order, he must hold the following discourse : 



style are also given as Abu Isma'il 'Abdullah b. Abil-Mansur al-Ansar! 
al-Harawi ' Shaikh ul-Islam ' (but whether this was an official title or 
merely an honorific one does not appear), author of the Manazil al-Stfinn 
(Oat. of Pers. MSS. in B.M. i. p. 35). 

1 Baqir, ' the dealer in secrets ' (Hammer's Hist, of the Assassins, Eng. 
trans., p. 20). Or the ' investigator ' (lit. the ' splitter ' : E.I. i. p. 64). 

2 Irshad, ' rule ', from the same root as murshid. Apparently the phrase 
should read kiswat- (or kuswat) -i-arshad, 'raiment of orthodoxy'. The 
Idswa is the covering of the Ka'ba. Irshad-i-kiswa is the title of a tract in 
Turkish on the Hurufi doctrines (E. G. Browne in J.E.A.S., 1907, p. 552). 

3 Arkan, pi. of wJe, ' pillar ', a word which can in a certain way signify 
the four elements (0. Huart, Textes Houroufis, Gibb Memorial Series, ix. 
p. 126). 

4 'Ain here doubtless means fountain or source. It also means ' eye ', 
' influence of the evil eye ', etc. (Salmone, s.v. p. 624). 

6 Takia, lit. ' a place of repose ', also ' a prop ', in Persian. In Syro- 
Egyptian architecture the takia supplanted the ribat and khanqah after the 
Ottoman conquest, its arrangement, a hall with cupolas, being influenced 
by the school of Constantinople (EJ, i. p. 424). 



98 THE MANTLE OF UWAIS iv 

" Brethren ! Ye who are designed to become in eternal life 
the heads of the Assembly of the Believers in the blessed Prophet, 
and of the Water Carriers of the fountain of Kausar, the blessed 
martyr 'Ali elevate the standard of your Order in every seat, 
and in the Council of Heaven. Be careful, above all things, to 
learn who are impostors, and who are genuine members of your 
Order, so that none but the latter be found amongstwou." 

He must inquire for his duties of the most eminent- Khaldfats, 
or Vicars * of the Order, and so become fully acquainted with its 
chief secrets. In the eyes of the All-Just poverty is preferable 
to worldly advantage. He will cause him to drink of the waters 
of Salsabil 2 and Kausar ; put on him apparel made of the satin 
and silk of Paradise, and enjoy the delightful pleasures of the 
hurts and ghuldms of eternal Paradise intoxicated with the 
delights of that exalted abode. 

As to the muqallids, 3 or impostors, the Prophet of Allah has 
said : " They shall suffer anxious desires for this world and for 
eternity". Yet, through the grace of God, and by faith in the 
Prophet, they shall also be shown favour and spiritual direction. 
The impostor is one who is not known to the good murshid ; this 
latter has never taken him by the hand, and he is one who does 
not follow the commands of the Arkan-i-' Ain, or superior officers 
of the Order, who do not die spiritually before their physical 
death, and who only wear the rags of indigence for personal 
gratification. Of such, it has been said, "They die before the 
close of their lives ". 

THE HOLY MANTLE OF THE PROPHET 

It is said that the holy^ Prophet had a particular friend, named 
Uwais, to whom he commanded that his mantle should be given. 
This mantle is made of a coarse woollen material. It is a long 
robe, with a collar, and wide sleeves reaching low beneath the 
knees. 

This person was much beloved of the Prophet; and when the 
latter had a tooth knocked out in a battle with the Arabs, Uwais 
had all of his, thirty-two in number, pulled out in token of 

1 ? Khalifa. 'Khilafat would = ' the office of a vicar '. 

2 Salsabil, ' fresh milk ', ' wine ', ' a fountain ' (Salmone, s.v. p. 366). 

3 Muklid in original, apparently for muqallid j cf. taqKd, ' Wind accept- 
ance ' (Macdonald, Muslim Theology, p. 316) ; from qalada, ' twisted '. 



iv THE CAPS AS SYMBOLS 99 

sympathy for the loss sustained by the Prophet. He felt no pain 
from the operation. On this occasion God caused to grow in 
Arabia a fruit called mils, 1 until then unknown, as a provision for 
Uwais. 

The charge of this mantle has ever since remained in the 
family of Uwais, and a descendant of his, now a youth (A.D. I860), 
and consequently a minor, has charge of it at Constantinople. 
Until he reaches the age of puberty, a vakil, or deputy, appointed 
by the Sultan, as caliph, acts for him. Once a year it is carried 
in procession to the Old Seraglio, where it is exhibited to a 
few select Mussulmans, and, after receiving their adorations, is 
replaced in its particular building. 

The mantles of the Darvish Orders are all symbols of that of 
the Prophet. 

THE KULAHS, OK DARVISH ' CAPS ' 

Before the present world existed there is said to have been a 
spiritual world, called in the Arabic tongue ' Alim-i-Arwah? or 
'World of Spirits'. In the same belief a soul is considered as 
being a IVttr, or ' Light', without body or substance. 

The soul of Muhammad, the blessed Prophet, is said to have 
already existed in that world of spirits, and the Creator there 
placed it in a vase also made of light, in the form adopted by the 
Darvishes, especially those of the Order of the Maulavls, for their 
kulah, or cap. It therefore is held to be of a Divine origin. As 
aforestated, the kulah is made of a certain number of gores, called 
tark, each signifying a sin abandoned, and the last one is called 
the tark-i-tark 3 , or the abandonment of all sins. The Qadiris wear 
a rose in their cap, embroidered, to which they attach the follow- 
ing legendary history, translated from a Turkish MS. : 

" O ye who pursue the path of the Qadiris ! O nightingale of 
the rose-garden of the path of the ashraflasl Have ye made 
choice of the meaning of the rose of our Order, known throughout 
the land of Fars (Persia) as the gul, a rose? 

" Know ye that every tanq, or path, has its particular sign, 

1 ? MauK an ; musa, ' a fig-like fruit ' (Freytag). In Turkish muz 
' plantain ' ; Pers. mauz or muz. 

2 Arwah, pi. of ruh, l soul '. 

3 Tark-i-tark. Possibly this should be lark-i-turuq, ' abandonment of 
ways .', i.e. abandonment of all religious methods or practices. 



100 THE ROSE OF THE QADIRl iv 

and that of the noble Qadiri is the rose, the origin and colours of 
which have thus been explained by the great Shaikhs and 'dshiqs 
of our Order. May they be visited with the especial favour of 
Allah ! 

" The present humble Darvish, Ibrahim al-Eshreml-al-Qadiri, 
was once in the service of the beloved Shaikh 'Ali-al-Wahidi-al- 
Qadiri, the 'Axis of the Lord', the 'Centre of the (Eternal 5 , the 
' Bestower of the Cup of Him who bestows light ', the ' Splendour 
of Evidence', the 'Ka'ba (Caaba) of the glorious Eternal'. The 
Shaikh al-Sa'id 'Abd-ul-Qadir Guam was directed by Khizr 1 

1 Khidr or Khizr means ' sea-green ', and so this saint corresponds to 
Glaucus. His attributes are immortality and omnipresence, and he is the 
patron saint of travellers, especially by sea. He constantly meets them and 
at times reveals to them divine secrets. Cumont suggests Ahasuerus = 
Khizr. The story of Khizr is, however, apparently of Greek origin. In 
the pseudo-Callisthenes' tale of Andreas, the cook of Alexander the Great, 
he finds the elixir or Water of Life ,- and for obtaining immortality by drink- 
ing it he is hurled by the angry king into the sea, where he becomes Glaucus, 
husband of Scylla and Circe. Jewish influence contributed to the identifica- 
tion of Elijah with Khizr ; and in Islam the view is generally accepted that 
Khidr was Ilias ; and the Turks have merged the two names into one 
Khidrlas. But the Quran's mention of Elijah by name in his biblical 
character of severity and sternness gave rise apparently to Khidr's identifica- 
tion with Elishaj_ Elijah appearing as his inseparable companion. Elijah 
thus becomes guardian of wayfarers by land, while Elisha-Khidr is mukallaf 
fFl-bahr, ' guardian of the sea ', patron of sailors, and one ' who traverses 
the waters ' Ichawad-al-buhur. As such he is honoured from Northern 
Syria to Hindustan. [For example, he is said to lie buried in the heart of 
the Kuh-i-Khidr Zinda, or ' Mount of the Living Khizr ', in Karman (Major 
P. M. Sykes, Ten Thousand Miles in Persia, p. 141 ; for his portrait in a 
picture see p. 152, ib.).] Khidr is also the subject of orthodox Muslim 
speculation as a ' recurrent prophet ', and as such is identified with Mel- 
chizedek, Seth, Enoch, Lot, Jonah, Jeremiah, and the Messiah the seven 
incarnations. As Khodr or Khadhir he is the god par excellence of the 
uninitiated among the Nusairis ; but the adepts among them call him 'AIL 
On the other hand, in Syria Khidr has been identified with St. George, and 
its coast is studded with little shrines where sacrifices and the first-born are 
offered (F. W. Bussell in Folk-Lore, xxviii. pp. 280-85). But in Greek 
hagiology St. Elias, who is either Elijah or a Christian hermit of the fourth 
century A.D., has some affinities with Odysseus, the tale that he was once a 
sailor and was told to put his oar on his shoulder and travel until he reached 
a land where the people did not know what an oar was, being told of both 
(W. R. Halliday in Folk-Lore,, xxv. p. 123 f.). It has been suggested (ib. 
p. 125) that St. Elias is Helios, the Sun ; but this is not very likely. A more 
plausible equation v/ould be Elias = Ulysses = Odysseus. The tale referred 
to above explains why St. Elias is placed, like St. Michael, on all the mountain 



iv AND ITS ORIGIN 101 

(Elias) to proceed to Baghdad. On his arrival there, the Shaikh 
sent him a cup filled with water, the meaning of which was that 
the city of Baghdad was full of holy people, and that it contained 
no place for him. This occurred during the winter season, and 
no flowers were in bloom. The Shaikh 1 ['Abd-ul-Qadir-Gflam] 
put a rose in the cup, signifying that Baghdad would afford a 
place for him. Seeing this, all present exclaimed, ' The Shaikh 
is our rose', and going to meet him they conducted him to the 
city, and showed him marked respect. This is the real origin of 
the rose of the Qadirls. 

" So far as I know, our Shaikh performed the following un- 
usual acts through the power of the All- just. He descended 
from the family of the blessed Prophet, of whom it is related that 
he once called his two grandsons, Hasan and Husain, his 'two 
eyes' and his 'two roses', and it is to his connexion with the 
Prophet that we must ascribe his power to produce, miraculously, 
a rdse. How great should, therefore, be the love and respect of 
his disciples ! Sulaiman Effendi, 2 in his work on the Maulad, 
or birth of the blessed Prophet, has the following verse in relation 
to the Shaikh Qadiri : 

' Whenever he perspired, each drop became a rose, 
Each drop, as it fell, was gathered as a treasure.' 

tops. For his identification with Idris also see E.I. ii. p. 450, and with 
Djirdjls (St. George), ib. i. p. 1047. 

Covel declares that St. George is a great saint even among the Turks, 
and " their galleyes commonly set out on that day to the White Seas ". He 
identifies Khiderleh or Khidreleh, " the best prospect about all Adrianople ", 
with a former Greek church dedicated to St. George (Early Voyages and 
Travels in the Levant, p. 248). 

1 The Shaikh who politely intimated to Shaikh 'Abd-ul-Qadir Gilani 
that Baghdad had no need of him was presumably Abu '1 Mubarak Mukhar- 
riml, who eventually invested him with the khirqa. Ashrami appears to be 
an error for Ashrafi, and an attempt is seemingly made to link up the 
Ashrafis with the Qadiris. The author says that 'AH al-Wahidi al-Qadiri 
was not succeeded by himself, but by an Ashraf-zada (p. 102) on his death. 
He describes this Ashrafzada as a follower of 'Abd-ul-Qadir, then immedi- 
ately speaks of the Ashrafis as an order already existing, but endeavours to 
reconcile its doctrine with that of the Qadirls. Then he goes on to claim 
Isma'il as a Qadiri also, with this addition that he too adopted the rose. 
The Ashrafis were founded in 1493 (v. p. 269 infra). 

2 This title is derived from Mod. Greek afavrris (class, di/^^njs), meaning 
'master '. 



102 THE ASHRAFI ORDER IV 

" The rose of the Shaikh is therefore a sign of the Prophet 
himself, like in the proverb, ' The son is the secret of his father'. 

" On the death of my Shaikh 'All al-Wahidi, his successor was 
Ashrafzada, 1 a follower of 'Abd-ul-Qadir. 2 One night, whilst in 
my cell after sunset, employed in reciting the zikr, the rose of 
my Order came into my mind, and I reflected that there was a 
difference between the roses of Baghdad and Stambul, and I tried 
to comprehend the cause. By divine favour it became clear to 
me. I thought why the Ashrafis have no rose, and suddenly 
the form of one appeared before me. After terminating my 
prayers, I hastened to trace out its shape, and decided in my own 
mind that it should be their rose. I wrote out also some of its 
secrets, and drew the colours of various roses, and named my 
little work : The Risala of the Gulabad (Treatise of the Home of 
the Rose). 

' The rose on the head honours the wearer, 
It points to the path of Qadir Gilam.' " 

The word gul, or rose, is written in the Oriental characters 
with only two letters, named kaf and lam, or k and /. These are 

1 The poet Ashraf-oghli Rumi, commonly called Ashrafzada, was buried 
at Izmk (Nicaea), and in the seventeenth century his shrine was already a 
famous place of pilgrimage. He composed a mystical Diwan, including 
verses in praise of 'Abd-ul-Qadir Gllam (Hammer-Purgstall, OdOD., iv. 
p. 473. 

'Abdulla, Ashraf Rumi, Ashraf-zada or Ashraf-oghlu, was a Qadirl who 
founded the Ashrafias (v. p. 269 infra). His spiritual father was Haji Bairam 
Wall, but he was also influenced by Husain Humwi, grandson (?) of the 
Jilani. He died in 874 H., according to the O.M. p. 17. 

2 The spiritual pedigree of the Qadiris from 'Abd-ul-Qadir appears thus 
in the sanad granted to Burton on his initiation into the Order : 

'Abd-ul-Qadir of Jilan. 

'Abd-ul-Aziz. 

'Muhammad al-Hattak. 

Shams-ud-Din, v. p. 286 infra. 

Sharf-ud-Dln. 

Zain-ud-Dm. 

Wali-ud-Din. 

Nur-ud-Dln. 

Husam-ud-Din. 

Saiyid Darvish. 

Nur-ud-Dm. 

'Abd-ul-Wahhab. 

Isma'il. ? Rumi, v, p. 104 infra. 

Abu Bakr. Pilgrimage, App. III. 



iv THE ROSE OF BAGHDAD 103 

the first letters of the two lines of the verse of the Quran (37th 
verse of the 39th chapter) : " Is not God above all to protect 
His servant? The infidels will seek to alarm thee with the idols : 
but he whom God leads astray will never more find a guide to 
the true path. God is full of goodness towards His servants ; 
He gives food to whom He wishes ; He is strong and powerful." 
The form of the rose of Baghdad is as follows : It has two 
outside and two inside rings, and three circles, and is made of 
green cloth. The first circle signifies shar'at, or ' God's law as 
revealed by His Prophet ' ; the second signifies the tanqat, or 
' Path ' of the Order ; the third signifies the ma'rifat, or ' know- 
ledge ' of God. The three together are a sign that their acquisi- 

Isma'il would appear to be the Shaikh Isma'il ar-Rumi who founded 
forty-eight convents, and died in A.B. 1643 (Hammer-Hellert, Hist, of the, 
Ottoman Empire, xviii. p. 77). Hence he could not possibly have become 
the immediate khaUfa of 'Abd-ul-Qadir Gilani, who died in the year A.D. 1166. 
A Qadiri takia at Constantinople is still named after him (v. pp. 116 and 476 
infra). But doubtless many of his foundations perished during the perse- 
cutions of the Khoja of Van, who banished the Qadiri Qarabash 'AH of 
Scutari, as well' as Niazi Misri (Hammer-Hellert, xii. p. 45). 

Evliya in one of his most tantalising passages, which show how his work 
had to be expurgated to avoid giving umbrage to the government of his 
day, abruptly introduced the following passage under the heading Pil- 
grimage to Mumeli Hissar and Miracles of Shaikh Isma'il : 

" The Emperor being at Kandilli when the Shaikh's and his disciples' 
bodies were thrown into the sea at Constantinople, at the stable-gate, he 
and his ten followers came floating before that place, dancing on the waves 
with their heads in their hands. The Emperor's suite seeing this miracle, 
represented to him that they had been unjustly executed. The Emperor 
began to weep as he watched them floating against the current to the 
opposite shore of Rumeli Hissar, where they were buried at the foot of 
Durmish Dedeh, and where, during ten nights, light was seen pouring down 
on their graves. This Sh. Isma'il Chelebi was executed at the Hippodrome, 
near the fountain of Chokur Chashma, with his ten followers ; he was called 
Qurban Isma'il at his birth (Isma'il, the victim), and really died a victim 
seventy years afterwards. On the spot, where he fell a chapel has been 
erected by his friends, which is to be seen at the back of Dikili-Tash (the 
burnt column), as a masjid with iron rails " (Travels, i. Part 2, p. 68). 

He gives no hint of the date of this occurrence, and no explanation of the 
executions.. The only other Isma'il he mentions was obviously not Shaikh 
Isma'il ar-Rumi, or a Qadiri. A few pages earlier he had alluded to: 

" A Sh. Maulavi Isma'il Dedeh of Angora who died in 1041 H. (A.D. 1632), 
was buried at the Maulavi-khana of Kullei Qapu-si (the tower of Galata). 
He wrote eleven books, besides a commentary on the Mesnevi. He was 
followed by Adeli 'All Adam Dedeh " (ib. p. 48). 



164 ISMA'lL OF ROM iv 

tion has bestowed the hal, or condition, known as the haqlqat, or 
'Truth'. The holy word Hay, or 'The Living God,' manifested 
to one Shaikh, has for its colour green, and for this reason the 
rose is made on cloth of that colour. The circles are white, and 
the reason is that this same is a sign of perfect submission to the 
Shaikh, according to the traditional words of the Prophet, ' The 
Divine law is my word ; the path is my acts (practices) ; the 
knowledge is the chief of all things ; and the truth is my condi- 
tion \ Whoever knows these secrets must assume the disposition 
of the moral laws of God, and the character of the Divine nature. 
The blessings which will accompany him in eternal life are those 
of everlasting felicity and never-ending aid. 

" The axis of the Lord, the Shaikh Isma'Jl ur-Rumi, may 
God bless to him his secret ! was originally of the Khalwatis. 
In a dream or vision, he became the khalifa or successor of 'Abd- 
ul-Qadir Guam. He adopted this rose as a sign of the seven 
Names of God, and their branches. The seven colours adopted 
by him are emblems of the Anvdrs,* or Lights of these same seven 
Names ; its eighteen tarks, or gores, are emblems of the eighteen 
numeral values of the two letters of the Arabic word [Hay] H, y, 
or the Living (God). The roses given to the Shaikhs of the 
Order have nineteen tarks, emblems of the letters of the Bismilldh 
Sharif and Jannot-ul-osma l (used as nuskhas or charms). In its 
centre is the muhr-i-Sulaiman 2 (Solomon's seal), the belief of the 
unknown, which has six letters, s, I, y, m, a, n, signifying that the 
holy Shaikhs are blessed with six peculiar qualifications, viz. 
s means freedom from all defect ; I, gentleness of disposition ; 
y, the power of spiritual vision ; m, familiarity with his com- 
panions ; a, the pious character of praying at midnight ; n, that 
his prayers and his rectitude all belong to God. This latter he 
calls the Na'bidu nasta'in, a part of the 4th verse of the 1st 
chapter of the Quran, ' Thee do we worship, and of Thee do 
we ask assistance'." 

* Sing. nur. 

1 Apparently ' the sublime or highest Paradise ' (cf. hazrat al-asma 
(God) on p. 147 infra). 

2 Sulaiman, probably not the historical Sulaiman bin Daud, but Sulaiman 
Jarad, fifth monarch of the world after Adam. His seal was the most 
famous talisman in the East, as it controlled not only the elements but also 
the demons and every created being (Beckford's Vathek (1849), p. 107, citing 
Richardson's Dissertat., p. 272, and D'Herbelot, p. 820), 



iv THE MYSTICAL ROSE 105 

The same writer adds, on the subject of the mystical rose of 
the Order of the Qadiris, that " He who reposes in the cradle of 
Divine pardon, the Sultan of Shaikhs, Ashrafzada Rumi, may 
Allah bless his secret ! states : ' The emblems of the Most High, 
comprised in said rose, are as follows : There are three series of 
leaves ; the first has five .leaves ; H, y, a, z, refer to the five 
virtues, which he said belong to the followers of Islamism. The 
second series has six leaves, emblems of the six characteristics of 
Faith ; and the third series, has seven leaves, referring to the 
holy crown that mother of the Quran i.e. the seven verses of 
the Fatiha, or first verse [chapiter] of the Quran. The full number, 
eighteen, all allude to the circumstance that the blessed Prophet 
brought mercy to eighteen different worlds. It has four colours, 
yellow j white, red, and black, all chosen from other roses, signify- 
ing the same as aforesaid, holy law, the tariqat (paths), knowledge 
and truth. In the centre are the seven petals, all alluding to the 
seven names of Allah. The entire rose must be embroidered on 
felt of camel's hair, in reference to the felt mantle (khirqa) 1 pre- 
sented by the blessed Prophet to that Sultan of faithful lovers, 
wais-al-Karani. The green cord surrounding the rose is an 
emblem of the one living God.' " 

The description is followed by a prayer, of which this is a 
translation : " Bless us, O Lord, with Thy blessings in both 
worlds. Amen. O Thou, who art the blessed of all the blest ; 
Thou best of all aiders on whom be the Divine satisfaction ! 
our Lord and Master, Muhammad, who created the rose (al-ward) 
by his own knowledge, on his family and companions, give peace 
to them on the Great Day of Judgment, to all the prophets, 
those sent from God, the saints, the pure in heart, the 
martyrs, and those who follow in the right path ; and raise us 
up with them all, through Thy great mercy." 

The copyist calls himself, " The faqir, the haqir* the qitmir 
(or dog of the seven sleepers) of the gate of the Sultan of the saints 
who dwell by the rivulets of Paradise a Qadiri Darvish." 

The founder of the Order of the Qadiris, the Shaikh 'Abd-ul- 
Qadir Gilani, represents the atwar-i-sab* a, 3 or seven paths, as the 
following : 

1 Hirkah in original. 

2 ' Contemptible '. 

3 Sing, faur, ' manner, way, method, limit or boundary ', but not ' path '. 



106 SOME NAMES OF ALLAH iv 

" There are seven names of Allah which the brethren pronounce 
when performing the zikr, 

"1. La illdhi ill' Ullah. (There is no God but Allah.) Its 
light is blue, and must be recited 100,000 times, and has its own 
peculiar prayer. ( 

"2. Allah, called the Ism-i-Jalil, or 'beauteous n)ame;'. Its 
colour is yellow ; it must be recited 78,586 times, and has its 
peculiar prayer. He says that after reciting it that number of 
times, he himself saw its Light. 

" 3. Ism-i-Hu. (His name.) Its light is red, and number 
44,630, and has its peculiar prayer. 

" 4. Ism-i-Hai. (Name of the Eternal.) Its light is white, 
and number 20,092. [No. 63.] 1 

" 5. Wahid. (The One God.) Its light is green, and number 
93,420. [No. 67.] 

" 6. 'Aziz. (The dear or precious God.) Its light is black, 
and number 74,644. [No. 9.] 

" 7. Wadud. (The loving God.) It has no light, and its 
number is 30,202. [No. 48.] " 

It formerly was the rule that no one should be made a Shaikh 
until he had recited these names of the Deity according to their 
numbers, but it is now disregarded. After, becoming a Shaikh, 
he must recite the following branches, called furu\ z viz. : 

" Haqq, or the Just. [No. 52.] 

" Qahhir, or the Avenging. 3 [No. 16.] 

" Qayyam, or the Everlasting. [No. 64.] 

" Wahhab, or the Giving. [No. 17.] 

" Mahdimin* or the Protecting. [No. 8.] 

" Basil, or the Extending God." [No/ 22.] 

A young Mussulman friend informs me that when he desired 
to join the Order of the Qadiris, he had already been in the habit 
of attending at one of their takias, or convents, the same to 
which he now belongs. He was then twenty-two years of age. 
Any one, he explained, can be admitted at eighteen. The Shaikh 

1 The Nos. in square brackets refer to those in the list at pp. 130 f . infra. 
The translations are doubtless based on the interpretations favoured by 
the Qadiris. 

2 Furu', ' corollaries ', v. note on p. 85 supra. 

3 Or ' Subduer ', from qahara, ' overcame '. 

4 Muhamin in original. 



IV A QABIRI INITIATE 107 

of the convent had a deddd [dada], or old man, his servant,, also a 
Darvish. To this person he had made known his intention, and 
he had promised to mention it to the Shaikh. " One day the 
latter called me into his private room, and directed me to perform 
two raka'ats or genuflexions, and to recite tlieistighfar, or prayer 
of pardon, one hundred times, as also the salat-i-salam, or prayer 
to the Prophet for his intercession, the same number of times, and 
then be attentive to what I should behold in my dreams. I did 
this that same night, and then lay down to sleep, when I dreamed 
that all the brethren of the taltia had assembled in it, and were 
performing the zikr, I amongst them. They led an individual to 
the Shaikh, who put an 'ardqia, or felt cap, on his head ; they 
next did the same to another person, and then led me to the 
Shaikh. I said to the person who conducted me, that I already 
had become a Darvish. 1 Not satisfied with my assertion, he 
persisted in leading me on, and the Shaikh having put the same 
cap on me, made me a Darvish. 

"On the following morning, after performing my prayers, I 
went to the Shaikh, and told him my dream. He directed me to 
procure an 'ardqia, and having put it on my head, I truly became 
a Darvish, in the presence of the whole fraternity, they all 
performing the Takbir? in which he joined. 

" The Shaikh now presented me with a copy of the our ad, or 
litany of the Pir, or founder of the Order, and directed me to 
read it. It was the one usually used by all of the fraternity, 
especially during the ' holy nights '. I next performed the usual 
prayers, such as the zikr, etc., and used the tasbih, or rosary ; 
and, whenever I had a dream, told it to my Shaikh, who directed 
me to recite such or such prayers, indicated by the nature of the 
dreams. 

" I reniained thus for five years. The number is not fixed for 
the murid, or neophyte, as this part of his career depends upon 
his ability, and the nature of his dreams. At the close of that 
time, the Shaikh gave me the bai'at, 3 or giving of the hand in a 
peculiar manner, viz. his right hand clasped in mine, with the 

1 Like the Tertiaries of the Dominicans and Franciscans there are lay 
darvish (Macdonald, Aspects of Islam, p. 158). 

2 Taqbir : the first and sixth formulas of the orthodox Muhammadan 
azan or call to prayer, Allahu akbar, ' God is great ' (E.I. i. p. 133). 

3 See note, p. 127. 



108 DREAMS iv 

two thumbs raised up against each other. He bade me also repeat 
after him the tenth verse of the forty-eighth chapter of the Quran, 
as follows : ' Verily, they who give thee their hand, and take an 
oath of fidelity, swear it to God ; the hand of God is upon their 
hands ; and whoever violates such an oath, does it to his own 
hurt; and unto him who keeps it faithfully will (be given a 
magnificent recompense'. 

" I truly believe," he added, " that I have frequently seen the 
plr of my Order in my dreams. Spirits see each other, though 
not with the eyes ; we may see, in our dreams, persons whom we 
have never seen in our lives, and know them distinctly. I have 
never seen, once, the portrait of my pir, and yet I would know 
his portrait among a thousand others, in consequence of having 
seen him so often in my visions. I fully believe in dreams ; they 
all have a meaning. For instance, if one dreams that he becomes 
rich in worldly stores, it means that his prayers will be accepted 
in the other life ; and if he dreams that he has fallen in filth, it 
signifies that he will eventually become wealthy. To dream that 
any one has received base and vile treatment from another, 
signifies that he will receive great benefits from the same person," 

My friend related the following to me: 

" In the year of the Hijra 1268 (A.D. 1851), I left Constanti- 
nople with a brother of my own Order for Egypt, by steamer, 
intending to visit the two Holy Cities (Makka and Madlna). This 
was done, on the recommendation of our Shaikh, in consequence 
of a dream which both of us had seen, in which we clearly and 
distinctly beheld the blessed Prophet of Islamism. I still retain 
a vivid impression of his appearance, dressed as an Arab, wearing 
a mantle over his shoulders, and of a thoughtful and deeply 
intelligent countenance. He looked at me with a stern, though 
pleasing gaze, and then gradullay disappeared from my sight. 

" We took goods with us for sale, and from Alexandria and 
Cairo went to Suez, whence we sailed for Jedda. From this place 
we travelled to Makka, and performed the pilgrimage. We next 
went to Madma, and remained there three years, opening a shop 
for the sale of our goods. We left Madma for Baghdad, with 
Bin Rashl. an Arab Shaikh of the Jabal Shammar tribe. He was 
also 'the amir, or commander of the hajjis, or pilgrims, who had 
come from Baghdad, the most of whom were Persians on their 
way to the Holy Cities. Such pilgrims hire camels of the Shaikh 



iv THOUGHT-READING 109 

to come and return ; and he makes much money from such 
persons in the following manner. On reaching a spring of water 
in the desert, he encamps, and tells his pilgrims that he cannot 
proceed farther without purchasing the right of passage from a 
neighbouring tribe, which threatens to rob them unless a certain 
sum is made up by the company for it. We all expected this, and 
accordingly were prepared for it ; the sum was collected, but the 
Shaikh kept it for his own use. We had with us food for ninety 
days. We finally reached the country of the Shaikh, called Najd, 
famous for its fine breed of horses. It is a fine, fruitful land, very 
cold in winter, and having an abundance of water. I reached 
Baghdad in some ninety days, and remained there three years, 
in the takia of my own Order, where is the tomb of our pir, ' Abd- 
ul-Qadir Gilam. We did not engage in any business, but lived 
on the bounty of the naqib, or shaikh of the takia, who is a lineal 
descendant of our pir. From thence we returned to Constanti- 
nople, through Karkut, Mosul, Diarbakr, Urfa, 1 Aleppo, and 
Iskandarun, where we took ship for Stambul. 

" When I was at Karkut, in the province of Shahrazor, near 
to Mosul, I visited a takia of the Qadiri Order, for the purpose 
of seeing a Shaikh of much repute and great spiritual powers. 
The Shaikh presided over the takia in question. 

" When I reached the takia, a large number of murids, or 
neophytes (disciples), were present, all appearing to be much 
excited by the power or the spell of the Shaikh ; so much so as 
to rise and dance, sing or cry out involuntarily. On entering the 
hall where they were assembled in the presence of the Shaikh, I 
was also much affected by the spectacle, and, retiring to a corner, 
sat down and closed my eyes in devout meditation, mentally 
praying to the Shaikh to send away those persons, and to permit 
me to enjoy, alone, his society. The Shaikh was several paces 
distant from me, and, as I did not speak, could only have known 
what was passing in my mind by means of his wonderful spiritual 
powers, by which expression I mean the faculty which one spirit 
has of communing with another, and the power which a superior 
spirit has over the will of another spirit. 

" On opening my eyes, I was amazed to hear the Shaikh 
address me in the following words: 'In a few minutes' time 
your prayer, young man, will be granted, and you will commune 

1 Urfa : the ancient Edessa. 



110 INITIATION iv 

with me alone'. To my surprise, in a few minutes, the Shaikh, 
without speaking a word to any one present, had dismissed all 
his disciples from the hall, and so I remained with him alone. 
One by one each had ceased to be affected by his spell, and with- 
drew. I then experienced an impulse beyond my power of refusal, 
to arise and approach him, which I did. . I threw ^hyself, help- 
less, at his feet, and kissed the hand which he extended to me. 
We next sat down together, and I had a long and most instructive 
conversation with him." 

The following is a translation of a small risala, or treatise on 
the mubdya', 1 or initiation of a Darvish of the Qadirl, which same 
was appointed by its pir, the Shaikh Muhyl-ud-DIn 'Abd-ul- 
Qadiri on whom be the Divine satisfaction ! 

" In the name of Allah, the Merciful, and the Clement, Abiil 
'Abbas ('Abd-ul-Qadir) taught me, Ahmad bin-Abu-'l-Fath Abu-'l- 
Hasan 'All al-Damashkl, the following from the rules established 
by the Shaikh al-Imam Jamal al-Islam, the Qadwat-us-salikin, 2 
the Taj-al-'arifln, Muhyi-ad-Din Abu-'l-Qadirl, ibn Abu-Salih 
bin-'Abd-Ullah al-Hasani (from Hasan, son of 'All, and grandson 
of the Prophet), of Gilan in Persia, of which he was a native 
on whom be the Divine Satisfaction ! 

"" " When the murid, or disciple desirous of becoming a Darvish, 
is seated with his hand in that of the Shaikh, and is desirous of 
expressing his repentance, and take upon himself the engagement 
('ahd) from the Shaikh, it is necessary that thefaqir be of an active 
mind, brilliant in' thought, of good repute, near in approach to 
God, of a good heart, of a meek demeanour among men, of serious 
deportment, easy to acquire knowledge, prepared to teach others 
who are ignorant, disposed to trouble no one, though they trouble 
him ; to speak only of those things which belong to his faith ; 
generous of his means ; to avoid what is forbidden and wrong ; 
to be careful in refraining from what is doubtful ; to aid those 
who are strangers ; to be a parent to the fatherless ; to be of a 
pleasant countenance ; to be gentle of heart, joyful of spirit ; 
to be agreeable and happy even in poverty ; not to expose his 
secrets to others, nor to destroy them ; to be gentle in conduct, 
and of intercourse ; to be bountiful of his benefits, kind in lan- 

1 Prom bai\ see note, p. 127. 

2 Qadwat-us-Salikm, 'model of ascetics'; Taj-ul-'Arifm, 'crown of 
those who know '. 



iv VOWS 111 

guage, few in his words ; to be patient with the ignorant, and to 1 
refrain from doing them any wrong ; to show respect to great 
and small ; to be faithful to those who confide in him, and to keep 
aloof from all duplicity ; to be strict in his religious duties ; to 
refrain from sloth and slumber ; to speak ill of no one ; to be 
sedate and easily satisfied; thankful for benefits bestowed; much 
in prayer and fasting ; truthful of tongue ; permanent in abode ; to 
curse no one ; without calumny, hatred, or stupidity ; of a pure 
heart, and careful of the perfect performance of all the religious 

duties of his order; and to be as correct in thought as in deecL j 

" After uttering this advice to the murld, the Shaikh should, 
holding his hand in his own, recite the fatiha once (1st chapter of 
the Quran) ; the 10th chapter, entitled 'Assistance ' [Jonah] ; the 
first ten verses of the 48th chapter, called the ' Victory ' ; the 56th 
verse of the 33rd chapter, called the ahzab [' confederates '] ; and 
the 180th, 181st, and 182nd verses of the 37th chapter of the Quran. 
" The Shaikh next offers the following prayer, called the 
istighfar, or for ' pardon ' : ' I beseech Thee, O Great God, to 
pardon me, Thou, like whom there is none other ; I repent of my 
sins to Him ; I ask of Him to pardon me, and accept of my 
repentance ; to lead me in the true path ; and to have mercy 
on all those who repent of their sins.' 

" After this : ' Accept my oath of fealty, or the same oath 
which the Prophet of God administered to the askabs (companions) 
of his mission.' 

" The Shaikh next resuming his instructions, bids the murid : 
' All Mussulmans are bound to offer up their devotions, to give 
alms, to give religious advice, not to believe in any association 
with God (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost), not to drink wine, not 
to waste their means, not to commit adultery, not to kill for food 
what God has forbidden, and not to calumniate any one. I 
command you now to observe these as implicitly as the dead body 
is submissive to the hands of the one who prepares it for inter- 
ment. Rebel not against what you know has been commanded 
thee of God, nor commit what is forbidden. Make no innova- 
tions in your prayers, commit no sins, and distinguish between 
the wrong and the true path, and that which leads to salvation. 
Bear your Shaikh ever in mind, in this world and in the other. 
The Prophet is our prophet, and the Shaikh 'Abd-ul-Qadir 
Gilani is our plr ; the oath of fealty is the oath of God ; this hand 



112 THE SHAIKH'S QUALIFICATIONS iv 

is the hand of the Shaikh 'Abd-ul-Qadir, and the Director of the 
True Path is in your hand.' 

" The Shaikh adds : ' I am the Shaikh of 'Abd-ul-Qadir ; I 
accepted this hand from him, and now with it accept of you as 
one of his disciples.' V 

" The murld rejoins : 'And I also accept of you as such.' 

" The Shaikh responds : 'I therefore do now admit you.' 

" The Shaikh next pronounces the zikr, which the murld repeats 
after him three times. The Shaikh next bids him recite the 
fatiha, which he does with the Shaikh, together with a prayer for 
the Prophet, called the salat-i-salam. The murid kisses the hand 
of the Shaikh, which act is called the musafaha, and does the 
same to all of the Darvishes present. The Shaikh now offers up a 
prayer (the istighfar) for the pardon of the sins of the new disciple, 
and, addressing the company, adds : ' The acceptance of this 
initiation by the murld is a source of future advantage to him ; 
the Prayer which we have offered up for him is for the submission 
of his body to his Spiritual Will, just as when the Angels, before 
addressing the Creator, prostrate themselves humbly before Him. 
So, in like manner, has he, by his acceptance of this bai'at, sub- 
mitted to my rule. Our Shaikh has said : It is not proper for the 
Shaikh to sit on the post [' skin '] of pillage, nor to gird on the 
sword of benevolence, until he becomes qualified by the following 
twelve qualities : 

' 1. The qualities of Allah (each having two). 

' 2. Those of the Prophet (each haying two). 

' 3. Those of Abu Bakr (Caliph) (each having two). 

' 4. Those of the Caliph 'Umar (each having two). 

' 5. Those of the Caliph 'Othman (each having two). 

' 6. Those of the Caliph 'AH (each having two). 

' The qualities of Allah are to cover up and forgive. 

' Those of the Prophet, to intercede and accompany. 

' Those of Abu Bakr, truthfulness and benevolence. 

' Those of 'Umar, to command and forbid. 

' Those of 'Othman, to feed the poor, and to pray when others 
\ sleep. 
/ ' Those of 'All, to be knowing and brave. 

' If these qualities be not possessed by the Shaikh, he is un- 
worthy of the submission of the murld) and the public needs to 
have recognised them in him, You must follow under his banner 



iv THE PRAYER FOR PARDON 113 

when he does ; and if he does not, Satan has made him his friend, 
and he will not participate in the benefits of this life, or the one 
to come. It is related of the blessed Prophet, that when a Shaikh 
gives spiritual advice to one of his disciples, arid he refuses to 
abide by it, God abandons him. The Shaikh *Abd-ul-Qadir has 
also said, on the subject of the istighfdr (prayer of pardon) : 
When any of my disciples is oppressed with affliction, let him 
walk three steps to the eastward and recite these lines : 

' O Thou who art much desired ; Thou who art the aid of all 
things in the hour of trouble ; 

' In the deepest of darkness, as in the dangers of the desert, 
Thou seest all things ; 

4 In the hour of shame and confusion, Thou only canst protect me ; 

' When I am overcome with affliction, in the hour of danger 
Thy supreme intelligence will support me ; 

' O Thou who art ever present, I implore Thee to free me from 
my grief.' " - 

Among the Qadiris this is a much-used prayer, and is generally 
addressed to their pir ('Abd-ul-Qadir Gflani). 

From another source I have obtained the following account 
of the affiliation of a murld into the Order of the Qadiris, perhaps 
more of a modern character than the preceding. 

Whenever any one desires to enter this tartq, and feels an 
affection for the Shaikh of a takia, he seeks for a murld already 
belonging to it, and expresses his wish to become a disciple of his 
Shaikh. In reply, the murld enjoins upon him to continue fre- 
quenting the takia, and to wait upon its members and visitors. 
The service required of him is of a domestic character, and must, 
however, be performed by the pupil, whatever may be his social or 
official position. It lasts for several months, or a year, and serves 
to increase his love for the order of the Shaikh, and prevents his 
falling off, or joining any other takia. He is riot, however, under 
any obligation to continue in it, and may leave it and join another 
if he so chooses. 

At the expiration of this period the pupil, on the direction of 
his friend the murld, brings with him an 'araqia, or small felt cap, 
without any gores. When this is done the murld carries it to the 
Shaikh, who consents to receive, him, and orders the murld to 
attach a gul or rose to it. This is a rose of eighteen points, called 



114 SOLOMON'S SEAL iv 

larks, which are the number of the letters of the words Bismillah 
ur-Rahmdn ur-Rahim, ' In the name of God, the Clement and the 
Merciful ', or the numerical value of the letters of the word H ay 
(Living God) : h, 8, and y, 10. In their centre is the figure of the 
muhr-i-Sulaimdn, or Solomon's Seal, which is two\ triangles 
crossed, X^X . The rose to be attached to the cap or kulafyis placed 
by the Shaikh in his bosom ; he takes it with him to a mosque, 
or to his takia, the day or night at which his disciples assemble to 
perform the zikr. Whilst seated on the postaki, or sheepskin mat, 
the murid conducts the pupil before him ; the murld kisses the 
hand of the Shaikh, the pupil does the same, kneeling before the 
former, who is also on his knees. The Shaikh now takes off the 
cap usually worn by the pupil, and, putting in its place the 
'ardqia, recites the Allahu akbar three times. 

If the tariq be the Qadiri, this is the customary form of in- 
vestiture of a neophyte ; if the Rifa'ia, the Shaikh fills a coffee- 
cup with water from the sacred well, called Zamzam, at Makka, 
or in its place with any other water, prays over it, and gives 
it to the pupil to drink ; if the Sa'dia, the Shaikh orders an oke 1 
of dates to be brought to him, and places them on the postdkl 
beside him. He next takes one of these dates in his hand, and 
after taking out its seed, breathes on it and recites a prayer, and 
puts the date into the mouth of the pupil. On each side of the 
latter is a murid, balancing him and themselves from right to left, 
reciting the prayer, La ilahu ilia Allah. The Shaikh also balances 
or rocks himself at the same time, and in the interval the pupil 
swallows the date. 

They all now rise, and the pupil, having become a murid or 
Darvish, kisses the hand of the Shaikh. 

In all takias there are but three grades of Darvishes : 

1. The Shaikh. 

2. The khalifa (vicar of the former). 

3. The murids. 

There is no fee required for the initiation ; yet all the murids 
are supposed to aid in the support of the Shaikh and the other 
expenses of the takia, and they seldom visit him without bringing 
him a present. There are no officers whatever to any takia except 
the Shaikh; he alone directs and commands absolutely, and must 
use all his influence for the interests and welfare of his murids, 
1 The Arabian uqqa=400 drachms. 



iv A FINAL INITIATION 115 

There is no purser, or clerk, nor any sum for the public use or 
charitable purposes in or out of the takia. The murlds live in 
the world, and gain their livelihood as they please ; but the 
Shaikh has no other occupation than the service of his own 
takia, and trusts to Providence for a support, as the Darvishes 
express it aid bdb Ullah, " on the door of Allah ". 

I may here add that of the two hundred, or more, takias in 
Constantinople, some fifty only are possessed of sufficient wealth 
for their support. By far the greater number are poor. Their 
resources consist in wuqufs, or real estate bequeathed to them by 
private individuals, or gifts from the sovereign. It has frequently 
happened that the reigning Sultan becomes an honorary member 
of an Order of Darvishes, and sometimes attends its religious 
exercises. They are more disposed to join the Maulavis than any 
other Order, on account of the connexion of this Order with the 
earliest Sultans of the Ottoman family. 

The bai'at, or election of the murid, by placing of hands on his 
head, or the hand of the Shaikh in his hand, in some cases, only 
takes place several years after his original admission to the Order. 
The period much depends upon the will of the Shaikh, and the 
degree of knowledge and spiritual acquirements of the murid, 
The Shaikh or the murid is held to see in a vision, either the 
Prophet 'All, or the pir of the Order ; and this ceremonial is the 
only one of which the secret, if indeed one exists, has not been 
divulged to me. The murid, at that time, takes an oath never 
to divulge it, and not to commit certain ordinary sins. I believe 
there is no secret sign of recognition by which one Darvish can 
tell another. The costume fully explains the Order to which the 
Darvish belongs ; and the kulh, or cap, and the khirqa or mantle, 
as well as the kamar 1 or girdle, are the principal parts which 
designate him. Among the Baqtashis, an arm is left out of the 
sleeve on certain occasions, signifying, " I come to you in pure 
amity, and without any desire to seek profit". 

Of the Qadiris, the cap is called taj or crown, and the belt, 
kamar. These may be of any colour ; green is, however, mostly 
used. The cap is also called muszdn. 2 At their devotions, after 

1 Kewer in original : but see below and on p. 204 infra. Kaur, Ar. = 
wound round ; but Pers. kamar, ' girdle ', is probably meant. 

2 Muzzan, Ar., ' dressed ', ' adorned ' : possibly amice is derived from it, 
but see N.E.D., s.v. 



116 



THE GUL-BANG 



IV 



reciting thefatiha, the Darvishes take each other by the shoulder, 
and turn round in the hall of the takia, calling out, " Hay Allah I " 
This ceremony is called the dawdn, 1 or turning. Its originator 
was Hazrat-i-Isma'il-i-Rumi, s who is interred in the QadiriKhdna, 
or takia of Topkhana. All Darvishes say grace at th)eir meals, 
called the gul bank* which differs in different Orders. That of the 
Qadiris is the following prayer : 

" Praise be to God. May He increase His bounties. By the 
blessings of Khalll (Abraham) ; by the Light of the Prophet, 




PENITENCE 

the grace of 'All ; by the war-cry of Muhammad (Allah ! Allah !) ; 
the secret of the Sultan Muhyl-ud-DIn 'Abd-ul-Qadir Gilam, we 
beseech Thee to be of good favour to our Lord (the pir of the 
Order). O! Allah Hu I" 

Whilst the Shaikh is occupied, after the meal, in reciting the 
takbir (Allahu-akbar), or even in repeating this grace, his disciples 
simply exclaim, " Allah ! Allah ! " and at its conclusion all 
cry out, Hu ! " Him", signifying God. 

I am informed that nearly all the Orders use this form, the 
only difference being that each one uses the name of its own pir. 

1 Bedhouse has ' running ' simply. 2 Isma'il, see note on p. 103 supra. 

3 Or yul-bang. 



CHAPTER V 

SACRED BOOKS AND THE CREATION OF MAN THE AULIA OR SAINTS 

THERE is much in the belief of the Darvishes which has its origin 
in the ordinary religion of Islamism. None venture to separate 
themselves from the tenets promulgated by the Prophet in the 
Quran, but rather seek to spiritualise its language, and evoke 
hidden and concealed meanings from isolated verses, without 
consulting the sense of the entire chapter, or the occurrences 
which gave rise to it. They declare that most parts of the Quran 
have a hidden, inner, or spiritual significance, called by them, 
ma'ana-i-batini, in addition to the ordinary conception, called 
ma' ' dna-i-zdhiri. 

From a repeated and careful perusal of some of their mystical 
or spiritual writings, I conclude that their appreciation of the 
Quran', and religion in general, is as follows. The Quran and all 
other pious books, including, of course, the Bible and Testament, 
are divided into three, or even more divisions, viz. what is his- 
torical, biographical, and purely spiritual. Religion is considered 
to be the external parts of the worship of God, and is liable to 
change, according to the teachings of individual prophets or other 
pious men, such as the pirs of their numerous tariqs or Orders. 
These are conformed to, in consequence, more out of personal 
regard for those who established them, and whose good will in the 
spiritual world will be propitiated by their observance, than as a 
duty to God. The historical and biographical portions of these 
books may even comprise errors, omissions, and exaggerations, and 
even may have been more or less changed from time to time by 
copyists ; whilst that which is purely spiritual and essential to the 
soul of man commenced with his creation, has always existed 
unchanged, and will so continue to the end -of time. 

In various verses of the Quran a it is clearly enunciated that 
1 -E.gr. chap. xvii. v. 87, may be alluded to. 
117 



118 THE CREATIONS v 

the soul or spirit of man has a Divine origin, and emanated 
directly from the Great Spirit of God ; whilst the body of man 
was created from the earth on which he dwells. After God had 
created Adam, he breathed upon him the breath of life, and that 
differs widely from the life or existence of ordinary animal nature. 
The former is eternal, whilst the latter is temporary, and ceases 
with the flesh of which the body is composed. All bodies, there- 
fore, come from the earth, of which they are made, and return to 
it after death ; whilst the spirit of man came from the Great 
Spirit of God, and returns to Him, after the decease of the body. 
With regard to creation, their best writers state that there are 
four distinct ones : 

1. The creation of Adam from the clay, or mud, of which the 
earth is composed. 

2. The creation of Eve from a rib, or part of Adam. 

3. The creation of the human species, that is, the children of 
Adam and Eve, by natural propagation. 

4. The creation of Jesus Christ by a special breath of God 
conveyed to a virgin Mary by the angel Gabrail. 

It is believed that the spirit of man communes directly with 
the Holy Spirit of God and that the latter, also, communes with . 
the former, not only in visions, but even in wakeful hours, always 
for good, and never for evil. Holy and pious men hold frequent 
intercourse with God, by contemplation, meditation, and prayer ; 
and there is no more sacred duty than the invocation or ' calling ' 
upon His name, called the zikr, already frequently alluded to in 
preceding chapters. This frequent invocation renders the breath 
of man additionally holy, and gives to it a spiritual or superhuman 
power. By this intercourse with God, men reach a superior and 
more sublime character ; leading holy and, as it were, sinless 
lives, they become friends of God, and assume an intimate con- 
nexion with Him, even in the present life. A man fully impressed 
with the possibility of attaining to such a position naturally 
enough regards all that is connected with the transient existence 
of this world as insignificant, and unworthy of any serious con- 
sideration and regard. He becomes indifferent to the ordinary 
pleasures and gratifications of life ; his mind is supposed to be 
continuously absorbed in the one whole object of his life, and to 
revert at all times to the contemplation of God. The more 
destitute he is of worldly goods, the less his mind is connected 



V FEARLESS SAINTSHIP 119 

with the ordinary cares of life, and he is left free to devote his 
entire existence to communion with the Creator and His Divine 
Spirit. He is proud of a destitute and impoverished condition, 
as it is a sure outward proof of his spiritual superiority and 
excellence. This is in strict accordance with a remark of the 
Prophet : " My poverty is my pride ", and is the origin of all those 
wandering Orders of Darvishes, or, more correctly, simple faqirs 
of the East. 

THE AULIA OR ' SAINTS ' 

The Darvish Orders put full faith in all the grades of spiritually 
superior men and angelic beings. The former compose what are 
ordinarily termed saints or friends of Allah. These in the Quran 
are designated as," the friends of God who fear nothing ; they 
are not subject to any affliction, because they entertain the true 
faith ; they have lived consistently with it, and in exact obedience 
with God, from whom they receive a reward in this life and in the 
other " . " They are those who among men are the nearest united 
to God, and who consequently enjoy His most intimate presence." 
" Those who, having been the enemies of themselves in this life, 
become the friends of God in the other." " They are the title of 
the book of the law of God; the demonstration of all the truths 
and mysteries of faith; their external appearance leads us to an 
observance of the laws of God, and their interior incites us to 
abandon and detach ourselves from all the pleasures of this world." 
" They commenced their career before the beginning of time, and 
labour only for eternity." " During their lives, they never left 
the portals of the sacred palace of the Divinity, and finally enter 
therein." " They discover and behold the spiritual secrets which 
God reveals to them, and maintain therein a religious silence." 

It is held that holy men do not fear the evils of life, nor the 
terrors which surround death and the judgment. The calm 
which they possess in this life is only a foretaste of the happiness 
prepared for them hereafter, of which they are allowed a fore- 
sight. A part of their recompense in this life is the love and 
respect of their fellow-men, and the veneration shown to their 
memories after death. They are favoured with spiritual visions 
and apparitions, and frequent intercourse with angelic visitors, 
who appear to them in that semi-existence called a state of bodily 
slumber. In this world the saint hears the will of God, and in 
the other he understands it. 



120 METEMPSYCHOSIS V 

The Darvishes and ordinary Mussulmans possess many bio- 
graphies of the saints (aulia), and the pure (sdlihin), from which 
much may be learned with regard to the spiritual visions and 
spiritual powers, attained by lives of great purity and Constant 
meditation on the Divinity. These put the reader on his guard 
against impostors and hypocrites, who, for worldly purposes, 
pretend to a degree of piety and consequent purity of character 
which they do not possess. 

These saints commence with the earliest period of the world's 
existence. Adam was superiorly a holy man, and on his creation 
the angels were commanded by God, who had animated his 
earthly body with His own holy breath, to worship him, which 
all did save one Satan and he was in consequence expelled 
from the presence of God, for his disobedience. Abraham was 
the ' friend of God ' par excellence and Jesus Christ owns His 
existence as a saint to the special breath of His Divine Creator 
but is not, nevertheless, considered as being God. He is held to 
be only a Divine Emanation of the most sublime character. 

It is also held by some that the spirits of some men return 
again to this world, and animate new human forms ; and even 
that the spirits of others existed among celestial beings in the 
Divine presence, previous to their coming to this world. 
Muhammad is supposed to have been one of these ; and the 
faithful admirers of 'All, the fourth Caliph, attribute to him a 
similar distinction. This is the origin of the metempsychosis 
or the transmigration of souls a point of doctrine which has been 
greatly abused, and changed from its original interpretation. 
J Among the Baqtashi Darvishes, a belief is generally entertained 
that those spirits which have during their existence in man never 
loved nor obeyed God, are degraded to continue in this world, in 
an animal form of existence, and, on the decease of their human 
form, enter the bodies of certain animals ; but their condemna- 
tion to this kind of existence is not defined, and is hidden from 
mortal comprehension. God alone is said to fix and know the 
extent of its continuance. Man, thus, by a sinful and vicious 
life, actually debases himself to a brute ; and, it is held, at the 
death of the body, or at the final day of judgment, rises up again 
in the form which he held in this worldj 

Muhammad called himself the rasul, or * sent of God '.* He is 
1 For the distinction between nabi, ' prophet ?, applied to Abraham, 



v THE UNION OF CREEDS 121 

also now called by his followers in Arabia, the nabi, or ' prophet ', 
and in Persia and Turkey, the paighamba,r> or ' he who bears a 
message ' from God to mankind. The Turkish language, as far 
as I know, has no other word sufficiently significant of his mission, 
and so has adopted that of the Persians. His mission was to call 
men from the errors of idolatry the worship of fire, and the belief 
in the existence of Three Gods (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) 
to the adoration of One God only, Allah. He declared that each 
of the others who preceded him with Divine messages, was sent 
for special purposes, and, having accomplished his mission, 
returned to God. Jesus Christ, he declared, was not killed by the 
Jews ; that another person, resembling Him, was put to death 
in His stead, and that He will return again, at the Judgment Day. 
Of the family of 'AH, the fourth direct Caliph, his followers, in 
particular, believe that the twelfth Imam, called the Mahdi, or 
' Spiritual Director ', will reappear for the benefit of the faithful. 
They say that he disappeared in a mysterious manner in a cave, 
and that he will come again into existence, together with Christ, 
for the purpose of overthrowing the Antichrist, and uniting 
Christianity and Islamism. It is this belief in the reappearance 
of holy personages which gave rise to the religion of the Druzes, 
whose founder [Al-Hakim] b. Amr Allah, after having already 
existed in this life in another form, returned as the Caliph and 
Reformer of Egypt, and, having mysteriously disappeared, will 
reappear at a future period. 1 

As to the Prophet Muhammad, all Mussulmans and the 
Darvish Orders assert that he existed before the creation of this 
world, and that had it not been for him it would never have been 
created ; that he was created out of light, or nur, referring, I 
presume, only to his spirit. They declare that his coming was 
fully predicted by Christ, and the following is supposed to be an 
extract from the Injil, or New Testament : 

" In the latter times a child will be born, who will be a bearer 

Isaac and Jacob, and rasul, ' apostle ', applied to Hud, Salih, Shu'aib, etc.; 
see Eodwell, p. 120. In Moses, Jesus and Muhammad are united the office 
and gift of both prophet and envoy. PaigMmbar simply means ' bearer of 
a message '. 

1 Hamza b. 'All b. Ahmad was the founder of the theological system of 
the Druzes, who date the manifestation of the divine incarnation in the 
person of the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi Amr Allah from 408 H. (A.D. 1017) 
(E.L ii. p. 255 ; v. p. 325 infra). 



122 A REAL TESTAMENT v 

of a message from God (paighambar), and never utter an untruth. 
His birthplace will be Makka, and he will emigrate to Madina ; 
his name will be Muhammad j and his character praisable. Those 
who incline to him, I believe, will go to the Paradise, or Jannat, 
of the faithful ; he will be in this world an avenger and a con- 
queror. He will conquer the lands of the Qaisar-i-Rumyor the 
Emperor of Constantinople." 

A pious commentator on the preceding says that this extract, 
taken from the real and true Testament, has been copied and 
widely spread ; that among the Jews and Christians some said 
that he had not yet come, and others that, though he had truly 
come, they did not put faith in him, and so blasphemed against 
the prediction of Christ. 

Another extract from the real Testament is said to be the 
following : " A child will come into the world, of the Quraish 
family, who will be the Lord of the two worlds. Those whom 
he will call to the true faith will never enter the fires of hell 
(Jahannam). 1 He will be the messenger of the latter times, and 
his name be Muhammad, on whom will be the peace and satis- 
faction of the Most High God." 

Both of these extracts were given to me by a Darvish friend, 
and in his note he added that a monk having perused them was 
convinced of their truthfulness, and embraced the true faith. 
What language they are in I am unable to say. 

1 Jahannum is purgatory, Laza blazing for Christians, al-Hatuma for 
Jews, Sa'ir for Sabseans, Saqar for the Magi, al-Jahim for idolaters, and 
Hawia for hypocrites, according to the commentaries on the Quran which 
only gives the seven names : Zwerner, op. cit. p. 54. According to Geiger 
Jahannum is of Biblical origin, from the vale of Ben Hinnom, which was 
dedicated to idolatry and where smoke issuing from between two palms 
marked the entrance to hell. But in the Quran Jahannam is ' the prince of 
Gehinnom ' (Judaism and Islam, pp. 49-50). The seven names for hell 
appear in the Talmud, and later on are construed as the seven hells. 

Palmer gives the names of the second and third hells a little differently, 
as Laga and Hutamah, ' the Raging Fire that splits everything to pieces ' ; 
and he translates all the names by fire in some form or other, excepting 
Hawia, ' the Abyss ', and Jahannum (S.B.E. vi. p. 70). As regards the 
doctrine of purgatory, it may be mentioned that it was at one time at least 
prominent in the teaching of the Eastern Church (Adrian Fortescue, The 
Orthodox Eastern Church, p. 105). 



CHAPTER VI 

THE RIFA'lA 1 (HOWLING 2 DARVISHES) THE NAQSHBANDIS 

THIS Order of Darvishes commence their devotions by reciting 
the fatiha, the [2nd] chapter of the Quran called the baqra [of the 

1 The founder of the Rifa'ia, pi. of Rif a'i, was Ahmad Rifa'a al-Kablr. 
Their banners and turbans are black ; or the latter are of a very deep blue 
woollen stuff, or muslin of a very dark green. Lane classes the Sa'dia as a 
sect of the Rifa'is and the'Ilwama as another sect ( Modern Egyptians, p. 248). 
The Turkish pronunciation is Rufa'I. Some Rifa'i affect the saint Si Daud 
al-'Azab (David the Bachelor) of Tafahina in Lower Egypt. This saint had 
a calf which brought him water, etc., and so these Rifa'i rear calves at his 
burial-place there and train them to walk upstairs, lie down at command, 
and so on. With these they go about the country begging. A calf so 
trained is called ' a calf of al-'Azab ' and is believed to bring a blessing to 
every house it enters (ib. p. 252). 

2 It may be questioned whether ' Weeping ' rather than ' Howling ' 
would not be a better term to describe this Order. At Sarajevo these 
darvishes are known as ' those who weep '. Both they and the dancing 
fraternity perform at the Sinan takia in that town. The rite begins with an 
invocation, an aged darvish uttering a series of long, throbbing cries, to 
which at last comes an answering cry from the majority of the brotherhood, 
who have hitherto remained outside the takia. At first only nine form the 
circle, but eventually all join it and, after prayers, they sing the first chant, 
which is accompanied, in a manner common in the East, by a dance per- 
formed in a sitting posture. In this dance the darvishes rock their heads 
backwards and forwards fervently. This is followed by a second chant, 
with a different refrain to a different tune, but the dance appears to be the 
same. In the third and last chant great emphasis is laid on the first and 
third words, and on the first syllable of the last word in the formula La he, 
la hey, Il-lah-lah, the only words used. This is accompanied by a dance in 
which the heads are no longer rocked backwards and forwards, but are 
jerked in pairs, the head of one of each pair of darvishes to the right, and 
that of his partner to the left, with an inclination of their bodies towards 
each other so that the heads nearly meet ; and then the same motion or 
figure with their partners on the other side of them. Individual performers 
also give their heads a rapid circular movement. Each chant ceases abruptly 

123 



124 THE RIFA't'S DRESS vi 

' Heifer ' *] (or Idm-alif), the aurad, and the tauhid. Those prayers 
for their pir and the Sultan are simply du'a, or supplications. 

Their belt is called alif-lam-and. Their mantle is called the 
ridali khirqa, 2 and -may be of any colour ; its edging, however, is 
green. The latter colour has its origin in the circumstance] that the 
angel Gabrail once brought some good news to the Prophet, who, 
from joy, turned round like the Maulavis, and let fall his cloak. 
His disciples cut it in pieces, and sewed the strips around their 
own. Its colour was green. 

The cap is called taj, and is made of white cloth, with eight 
tarks, each signifying a carnal sin abandoned. Some are of twelve 
tarks. The turban is black, and is called shamla* or sidh-i-sharif.* 

without any signal. The seance ends with an invocation of Allah, alter- 
nately loud and soft, uttered from different parts of the circle. This is 
worked up into as great a frenzy as the third chant, and, when it ceases, 
after a pause there floats from one side of the circle a wail and then it comes 
from the next in line until the sound dies away. In this finale there is no 
movement of the heads. The dancing darvishes also begin their rite with 
a wailing chant, and their dances are accompanied too by chants. Each 
dance, and there are four or five, has its own steps as well as its own tune. 
To the last the only accompaniment is vocal, and in it sounds produced low 
down in the throat alternate with cries like the startled expulsion of a 
breath from an open mouth (Major Percy Henderson, A British Officer in the 
Balkans, pp. 108 f . and 256 f .). In the East grief is expressed rather by loud 
cries of lamentation than by tears, and the ritual of the Howling Darvishes 
may be a revival of that of the ' Weepers ', one of the oldest sects at Mecca. 

1 Chap, ii., ' the heifer ' (baqar), is not called Lam-alif, and no chapter of 
the Quran is introduced by the letters L.A. or A.L., though chaps, ii., iii., 
vi., and others are prefaced by the letters A.L.M. (cf. Sale's Koran in Wherry's 
recension,' i. p. 293). The meaning of these three letters has never been 
satisfactorily explained. In Moslem magic lam-alif represents the planet 
Venus, E. Rehatsek (Journal, Bombay Branch E. Asiatic Soc., 1879 [xiv.] 
p. 215. The Hurufis attribute much mystical significance to the letters 
lam and alif (C. Huart, Textes Houroufis, pp. 2 f.). The alif-lam-ad is also 
worn by the Baqtash (v. note on p. 196 infra). 

2 Ridali khirqa, apparently the ' habit of humility or abasement ', from 
raddlat, ' baseness ' ; rudal, ' vile ' ; though its green edging is hardly con- 
sistent with this derivation, green being the distinctive colour of the Prophet's 
descendants. 

3 Shamla, Ar. shamlat, ' mantle, cloak ', or ' wrapper, kerchief, or small 
turban '. In Egypt it is translated ' amice ', and is synonymous with 
tailasan in the Coptic ritual (Adrian Fortescue, The Lesser Eastern Churches, 
p. 272). In India shamla=the tail of a turban. It is tempting to think 
that tailasan means ' tying of the tongue (lisan) ' ; but Evliya says it is the 
Jewish tolas (v. note on p. 126). 

4 Lit. ' sacred black '. 



vi SAD COLOURS 125 

Most of these Shaikhs wear black garments : the mantle of the 
Prophet was green or black, and they follow his example. The 
black cloth thrown over their shoulders is called shad. 1 

1 Shad, doubtless shadd, Ar., ' binding ' or ' girding ' ; in Morocco, the 
head-covering worn by the higher classes. It will be noted that, like shamla, 
this word seems to be imported from Egypt. Evliya tells us a certain 
amount about the shadd, which he says means investiture, or religious tie, 
" to remind men continually of the contest with Satan ". He also says that 
the taking of the shadd, or ' habit ', has been exemplified by ten prophets, 
from Adam down to the first four Caliphs and Hamza and Khalid bin Walid, 
who all wore aprons. The last six were declared by the Prophet heads of 
orders, and received from him the faculty of investing others (Travels, L, 
Part ii., pp. 91-92). That the investiture with the shadd was of much greater 
importance among the Rifa'is than Brown realised must be conceded. 
Thorning quotes the following description of it : " The disciple faces the 
mihrab and recites a fatiha, addressed to Muhammad. Then the black 
shadd is laid on his shoulders with the recitation of a fatiha to 'All. Then 
the first knot is tied with & fatiha for Abraham, and two verses of the Quran. 
The second knot is tied with & fatiha for Moses, . . . and the third for Jesus. 
Then the ends are hung on the left and right sides (of the murid) with fatihas 
to Hasan and Husain. Turning to the mihrab, a fatiha is finally recited to 
Ahmad ar-Rif a*I, the founder of the Order. And after the knots have been 
untied all ends with a verse from the Quran " ( Turk. Bib. xvi. p. 124). 
But then shadd, or ' binding ', seems to mark a second stage in an initiation. 
The shadd is assumed in Egypt as the token of promotion to the office of 
naqtb (P. Kahle, Zur Organisation der Derwischorden in Egypten, Der Islam, 
vi. p. 165). By this investiture the mfwrld, becomes a mashdud and his 
khalifa his abul mashdud, i.e. his spiritual father, as it were. This is at 
any rate the general rule among the orders in Egypt, e.g. the Ahmadia. 
The Rifa'is may, however, have rules peculiar to themselves. Indeed this 
is the more likely because the account given by Kable does not mention 
the alif-lam-and, the ridall khirqa, the earrings, etc., but specifies various 
insignia not alluded to by Brown. Thorning goes on to suggest that the 
shadd investiture is really referred to on p. 115 supra, and^pp. 206 ff., and 
275-76 infra. But this is surely doubtful. Common as the shadd is or was 
in the Guilds (and it is in connexion with them that Thorning gives so 
much information of value), it seems to have been confined to Egypt, and 
the Baqtash and Maulavi had neither the shadd nor any rite of investiture 
with it. It is also clear that Brown was right in describing the shadd as a 
cloth, though Evliya defines shadd as " taking the habit or religious tie, so 
called from tying up the handkerchief round the head (imama, turban), and 
that round the loins (pishtimal, apron) ". The pushtamal is not so much an 
' apron ' as a waist-cloth, and its use may be due to the idea held in Arabia 
that a firmly tied waistband supports the whole frame. Redhouse actually 
renders pushtamal by ' waist-belt ', but it is much more like a garment 
which could be unfolded so as to gird up the loins and yet leave a fold long 
enough to fall over the head. But it could hardly be draped down the 
mwicfs sides, as Thorning translates ; it is more probably hung over the 
lower part of the face and down both cheeks, as in the lisan. 



126 SACRIFICE vi 

Ria is a principle followed by them and all Darvishes in general, 
and signifies a retirement from the world, and abandonment of all 
the pleasures of life, entirely satisfied with Allah alone. These 
abandonments are four in number, rid being the chief of all. They 
are shari'at, tariqat, haqiqat, and ma'rifat. \ 

The taj of their Shaikh has twelve tarks, four of which are 
called kapu, or doors. The twelve refer to the twelve Imams, 
and the four to the rids. 

The murld, or neophyte, is held to bring with him to the 
takia a sheep or lamb for a sacrifice ; it is sacrificed at the sill of 
the door by one of its munds, and its flesh is eaten in common 
by all the members of the takia. The wool is made into a belt, 
called taiband, 1 for the use of the neophyte. 

Mangusay 2 is the name of the earrings of the new Danish. 
If only one of his ears is drilled, he is called a Hasan!, from Hasan, 
one of the sons of 'All ; if both, he is called a Husaim, from his 
second son. This is left optional with him. 

Qana'at-tashi 3 is the name of the stone which they wear in the 

1 The precise meaning and significance of taiband are obscure. Tai, Ar., 
means 'a fold'; and in Pers. tai Tear dan is 'to cross' or 'traverse'. At 
p. 191 taiband is equated to dahband and explained to mean a cord placed 
round the disciple's neck. (It was a common Eastern usage for suppliants 
to wear a halter in token of submission.) But tah-band, Pers., means a 
strip worn round the loins, and dahband appears to be a corruption of that 
word ; dahband not being given in the lexicons, though din may mean ' body ' 
(for dihi mairan='ihe human body, Johnson's Persian Diet., p. 589). 
Like dol-band, Pers. (whence our ' turban ' ; N.E.D, x. p. 471), dahband, may 
possibly mean both ' sash ' and ' turban ', or anything folded round any 
part of the body, and taiband may be a corruption of it, though the existence 
of tailisan in Coptic Arabic points to its formation from Ar. tai with the 
Pers. -band. Finally, according to the MSS. of the Jaw-dan, taiband should 
be tegh-band, tegh, in Turkish tfyh, meaning a sword or anything pointed. 
Apparently teghband would thus mean ' sword-knot ' (cf. Jacob, Beitrdge, 
p. 52, n. 2). As to taiUsan, Evliya says it is the Jewish tolas and a kind of 
handkerchief; when the Prophet blessed 'AH he put on his head a black 
crown with two tailesan hanging from it (Travels, i., Part ii., p. 100). Burton 
describes the taylasan as a scarf thrown over the head, with one end brought 
round under the chin and passed over the left shoulder (Pilgrimage, iii. 
p. 315). 

2 The man-gosh of the Baqtash (pp. 179 and 197 infra). 

3 The qancfat-tash is also worn by the Baqtash (p. 179 infra). ' Qana'at is 
from the same root as Muqanna', ' veiled '. No hint is given as to the kind 
of stone worn to appease hunger. The Chelidonius was a guarantee of 
constancy, as well as a guard against temptations, incubus, witchcraft, etc. 



vi THE STONE OF APPEASEMENT 127 

centre of their belts. This is figurative of the means which poor 
Darvishes use to appease the cravings of their stomachs for food. 
In place of one stone, there may be as many as four in number, 
though it is supposed that before the Darvish is called upon by 
hunger to compress his stomach with so many, the one over the 
other, Providence will have procured him food. 

The shape of the cap of the Rifa'I previous to his making the 
bed' at, 1 or final initiation when he accepts of Hazrat-i-Rifa'i as 

(Joan Evans, Magical Jewels, pp. 63, 52). One is tempted to think the 
agate was favoured, since Covel in his Diary (1674), after describing the 
playing of the ' tambur ' by the old supravisor of the dervises and their wearing 
of a " great 6 or 8 square agat " in the girdle, which stone foretold sickness 
by growing pale on the edges, and death by growing pale towards the hole 
in the middle, and which sweated against poison, continues : "I remember 
two Kalenderis aboard the Viner had each such a one ; they had the caps 
of a wandering Dervise, but in all things else like the habit of the Kalenderi, 
in Mr. Bicaut, he makes them Santons, but in good earnest they are meer 
Tomes of Bedlam. One had a home tyed about his shoulders (like a wild 
goates, but longer) ; he blew it like our sow gelders, high to low. He had 
a great hand jar, a terrible crab-tree truncheon, a leather kind of petticoat 
about his middle, naked above and beneath, ... he had a course Arnout 
Jamurluck [an Albanian garment] " (Early Voyages and Travels in the 
Levant, Hakluyt Soc., p. 153). 

One or two points in this passage merit brief comment. Incidentally 
Covel seems to say that the Kalenderi were not wandering Dervise. He is 
more precise about the behaviour of the agat, but does not expressly say 
that it was shaped like a ring, though it had a hole in the middle. Lastly, 
he does not tell us what spiritual properties, if any, the ' agat ' was believed 
by the darvishes to possess. The power to reveal the presence of poison 
was long believed to attach to many stones, as in King John's case (Evans, 
op. cit. p. 114). It was not peculiar to the agate, though that stone certainly 
had it (ib. p. 225). That stone, too, could avert thirst, but not, apparently, 
hunger. That belief is as old as Pliny (ib. p. 17). But it was one of the 
comparatively few stones which possessed spiritual efficacy, as the following 
extract shows : " Flos Solsequij cum flore pulegij (the plants associated 
with the agate) positus, etc., dat graciam apud deum et homines reddit hominem 
graciosum super spiritus Aeris . . .". In this, however, it was not singular, 
the topaz, too, having much the same property (ib. pp. 248 and 249). 

1 Bai', lit. ' a sale ', also means ' redemption ' ; but Evliya's translator 
rightly renders it by ' homage ', and the idea underlying the term is self- 
surrender (E.I. i. p. 588). The observance consisted in placing the hand in 
the ruler's open hand. The present writer has been informed that when a 
woman is initiated into a religious order in India the end of her shawl is 
placed in the pir's hand. The bai'at and the khutba form the most im- 
portant part of the installation of a Muhammadan sovereign, or at least did so 
as long as the Caliphs reigned (Pirzada Muhammad Husain in Journ. Punjab 
Hist. Soc. i. p. 140). 



128 PRAYERS vi 

his pir, and the actual head of the takia as his murshid or Shaikh 
is a perfect circle, or rather two circles, the one within the 
other, and between the two are the initial letters of the words 
composing his six farfe. Within these is another circle, much 
resembling a wheel with its spokes. After the initiation, a cap 
somewhat similar, differing only in form, is used. 

Their prayers are as follow : "In the name of Allah, the 
Merciful and the Clement. Say, Allah is One ; He is the Eternal 
God ; He was never begotten, nor has He ever begotten ; nor 
has He any one equal to Himself" (Quran, cii.). 1 

" In the name of Allah, the Merciful and the Clement. Say, 
I seek a refuge in God, from the break of day ; against the wicked- 
ness of those beings whom He has created ; against the evils of 
the dark night when it comes upon us ; against the wickedness of 
sorcerers who breathe upon knots ; against the evils of curious 
who envy us " (Quran, ciii.). 1 

" In the name of Allah, the Merciful and the Clement. Say, 
I seek a refuge in the God of mankind ; the King of men ; the 
God of all men ; against the wickedness of him who suggests evil 
thoughts, and develops them ; who breathes evil into the hearts 
of mankind ; against the genii (evil spirits), and against men" 
(Quran, civ.). 1 

" In the name of Allah, the Merciful and the Clement. Praise 
be to God, the sovereign Master of the universe the Clement 
and the Merciful ; the Sovereign of the day of retribution. It is 
Thee whom we adore, and it is of Thee that we implore help. 
Direct us in the true path ; in the path of those on whom Thou 
bestowest Thy blessings, and not those who have incurred Thy 
displeasure ; nor those who have wandered away from Thee into 
darkness " (Quran, i.). 

" In the name of Allah, the Merciful and the Clement. This 
is the book of which there is no doubt : it is the direction pointed 
out to those who fear the Lord ; of those who put their faith in 
hidden things ; who observe exactly their prayers, and give 
bountifully of the good things which have been bestowed upon 
them ; of those who believe in the revelation which has been 
given to thee (Muhammad), and to those who have preceded thee 
(the other prophets) ; of those who believe in the truth of the life 

1 These references are all misleading. For cii. read vi. v. 107 ; for ciii., 
cxiii. ; for civ., cxiv. ; and compare Sale, Palmer, or Rodwell's renderings, ' 



VI PRAYERS 129 

to come. They only will be led by their Lord (to heaven) ; they 
will be of the happy " (Quran, ii. [w. 1-5] ).* 

The 157[164 1 ]th verse of the same chapter : " Your God is 
the unique Allah ; there is none other ; He is the Clement and 
the Merciful." 

The 256[255]th verse of the same: 2 "Allah is the only God ; 
there is no other God than Him ; He is the living and the ever- 
lasting ; He knows no drowsiness nor slumber ; all that is in the 
heavens, or upon the earth, belongs to Him. Who can intercede 
near Him, without His permission ? He knows who is before 
thee, and who is behind thee, and no man learns of His knowledge 
except that which He wishes him to learn ; His throne extends 
throughout the heavens, and over the earth, and the charge of 
them gives Him no trouble whatever. He is the most high, and 
the most exalted." 

The 286th verse [vv. 284-86] l of the same : " All that is in 
the heavens and upon the earth, belongs to [is 3 ] God ; whether 
you expose your acts in the great day (of judgment), or whether 
you conceal them, He will surely call you to an account for them ; 
He will pardon whom He pleases, and punish those whom He 
pleases. God is all-powerful. The prophet believes that the 
Lord has sent him ; the faithful believe in God, His angels, books, 
and the prophets. whom He has sent. They say, ' We have heard, 
and we obey pardon our sins, O Lord, we will return to Thee'. 
God imposes upon each soul a burden according to its strength : 
that which it has done will be alleged against, or in favour of it. 
Lord, punish us not for the sins of forgetfulness, or of error. 
Lord, do not place upon us the burden which Thou hast imposed 
upon those who lived before our times. Lord, do not burden us 
beyond what we are able to support ; blot out our sins pardon 
us have pity on us have pity on us, and pardon us, Thou art 
our Lord, and give us victory over the infidels." 

(I am) " That God, beyond whom there is none other " 
(Quran, lix. part of v. 22). 

Then follow the various titles of God, for which, Quran, vii. 
179 [181] is cited as authority. 

1 The references in square brackets are to the verses as numbered in 
Wherry's recension of Sale's Quran. 

2 The famous ayat-ul-kursi, or ' verse of the throne ', frequently inscribed 
in mosques, etc. 

3 Of. Palmer's Quran S.B.E. vi. p. 40. 

K 



130 THE NAMES OF GOD vi 

ASMA-UL-HUSNA? or the 'Beautiful Names of God* ; 
ninety-nine in number 

(Those with numbers in round brackets are not in the Quran.) 

1. Allah .... God. ^ 

2. Ar Rahman . . . The Merciful. 

3. Ar Rahim . . . The Clement. 

4. Al Malik . . . The Possessor. 

5. Al Quddus . . .The Holy. 

6. As Salam . . . The Saviour. [The Peace or 

Peace-man.] 

7. Al Mumin . . .The Giver of faith. [The Faith- 

ful.] 

8. Al Muhai-min . . The Giver of safety. 

1 The attributes of God are called isma-ul-sifat by Moslems, and in the 
Quran the isma-ul-husna, or ' excellent names '. Lists are given in the 
Mishkat-ul-Misabih, Al-Mustatraf, NofePs Sinajat-ul-Tarb, Hughes' Diet, 
of Islam, and Arnold's Pearls of the Faith ; Ahmad bin-'Ali al-Buni's Shams- 
ul-Mu'-arif is one of many books on the ninety -nine names of God. But 
perhaps the best commentary on them is J. W. Redhouse'a paper in J.R.A.S., 
1880, pp. 1 f . Redhouse found instead of ninety-nine upwards of two hundred 
and fifty names, but of these some are compounds. Indeed in the Quran 
itself he actually found more than five hundred, a number which he says 
might be extended even to a thousand. The names are divided into two 
grades, the isma-ul-jalalia, or ' terrible ', and the isma-ul-jamatia, or ' glorious ' 
attributes, the former being the more numerous. But another and more 
common division is into three classes, of wisdom, power, and goodness, ea'ch 
class containing thirty-three names. The rosary of ninety-nine beads is 
also divided into three corresponding sections. 

2-3. According to Baidhawi, ar -Rahman is a more exalted attribute than 
ar-Rahim, because it contains five letters as against four and expresses the 
universal mercy extended to all men, bad as well as good, unbelievers as 
well as believers. 

4. Al-Malik would mean the King, al-Malik, the possessor, a distinction 
overlooked by Zwemer (p. 36). He cites Sura 43. 77, where Malik is applied 
to the angel who presides over Hell. But according to Geiger (p. 44) malak 
means a messenger of God ; and malakut, ' government ', also used for the 
' realm of spirits ', is a word of Rabbinical origin which is derived from 
malak by a false etymology. In the Quran al-Malik occurs constantly as a 
name of God, alone or in compounds, but al-Malik, ' Holder in possession ', 
only twice, and al-Malik never (Redhouse, op. cit. pp. 61-62). 

6. As-Salam, the Peace-maker, according to Zamakhshari; Baidhawi 
defines it as meaning ' free from all loss and harm '. Redhouse translates 
' the Safety ' (p. 38). 



VI 



THE NAMES OF GOD 



131 



9. Al 'Aziz 

10. Al Jabbar . 

11. Al Mutakabbir . 



12. Al 

13. Al 

14. Al 

15. Al 

16. Al 

17. Al 

18. Ar 

19. Al 

20. Al 
(21.) Al 



Khaliq . 
Barf 

Musawwir 

Ghaffar . 

Qahhar . 

Wahhab . 

Razzaq . 

Fattah . 
'Alim 
Qabiz 



22. Al Basil 

23. Al Hafiz 

24. Ar Ran' 
(25.) Al Mu'izz 



The Strong. 

The Absolute. [The All-Com- 
pelling.] 

The Giver of greatness. [The 
Great.] 

The Creator. 

The Producer of souls. 

The Giver of forms. 

The Pardoner. 

The Avenger. [The Dominant.] 

The Bestower. 

The Provider. 

The Opener (of His will). 

The Knowing One. 

The Holder (of hearts). [The 
Restrainer.] 

The Rejoicer (of. hearts). [The 
Spreader.] 

The Restrainer. [The Guardian.] 

The Elevator. 

The Honorer. 



10. Al-Jabbar, whence the sect of the Jabaria, who deny alTfree agency 
to man. 

11. Al-Mutakabbir, a term which applied to a human being connotes 
pride ; and Zamakhshari defines it as ' Supreme in pride and greatness, or 
the One who is haughty above the wickedness of his slaves ', in Sura 59. 23. 
Redhouse translates ' the Proud One ' (p. 56). 

15-35. Al-Ghaffar and al-Ghafur are both intensive, al-Ghafar being 
also frequently used. 

19. Al-Fattah, the name inscribed over gates and doors, on the title- 
pages of books and as the first copy-book lesson for boys (Redhouse, p. 48). 

21. Al-Qabiz, the Restrainer. 

22. Al-Basit, the Spreader or Uncloser of the hand; in Sura 13. 15 
it means He who dispenses riches ; but it is not used as a divine title 
(Redhouse, p. 18). * 

23. Al-Hafiz, the Abaser (?) ; but Redhouse, p. 21, translates ' the 
Preserver ' ; and it is used commonly in spells, etc., against dangers of every 
kind. Hafiz is one who knows the whole Quran by heart, and hence =' a 
blind man '. 

24. Or al-Rafia', but al-Rafi' is the form in the Quran ( = Upraiser, 
Redhouse, p. 30). 

25. Al-Muizz : the Strengthener from the idea expressed in Sura 3. 25. 
Redhouse has ' the Raiser to honour ' (p. 59). 



132 



THE NAMES OF GOD 



VI 



26. Al Muzill . 

27. As Sam!' 

28. Al Baslr 

29. Al Hakim . 
(30.) Al 'Adil ['Adi] 

31. Al Latif 

32. Al Khabir . 

33. Al Halim . 

34. Al 'Azim 

35. Al Ghafur . 

36. Ash Shakur . 

37. Al 'AH . 

38. Al Kabir 

39. Al Hafiz 

40. Al Muqit 

41. Al Hasib 

42. Al Jam . 

43. Al Karim . 

44. Ar Raqib 

45. Al Mujib 

46. Al Was!' 

47. Al Hakim . 

48. Al Wadud . 

49. AlMajid 



The God who looks down upon 

all things. 
The Hearer. 
The Seer. ^ 

The God who judges. ( 
The Just. [Justice.] 
The Gracious. [The Subtle.] 
The Knowing. [The Cognizant.] 
The Meek. [The Clement.] 
The Great. 
The Pitying (cf. 15). 
The Thankful. 
The High. 
The Great. 
The Protector.- 
The Supplier of wants. 
The Esteemed. [The Reckoner.] 
The Beautiful. [The Majestic.] 
The Gracious. [The Generous.] 
The Envious. [Keeper.] 
The Acceptor of prayers. 
The Extensive. [The Capacious.] 
The Decider. 
The Loving. 
The Glorious. 



26. Al-Muzill : ' the One who leads astray ' ; ' the Abaser ' : Redhouse. 
But the term connotes imagination or mystery as in wujud-l-zilll or wujud- 
uz-zill, ' body of the shadow '. 

28. Al-Basir, as God knows five secrets, the day of judgment, the times 
of rain, the child hid in the womb, the future, and the place of every man's 
death. Eedhouse has ' the All-seeing ' (p. 20). 

30. Al-'Adil from 'adl, 'equity', used of God's words in Sura 5. 115. 
Redhouse has also al-'Adl as ' the Equitable One ' (p. 42). 

31. Al-Latif : the Subtle or Aethereal, according to Zamakhshari ; but 
Redhouse translates the Most-Pleasant (p. 53). 

36. As-Shakur : the Acknowledger of Thanksgiving cf. Sura 35. 27 
is a better rendering. Redhouse, however, has the ' All-thankful ' (p. 41). 

38. Al-Kabir, the Possessor of Pride, according to Zamakshari : but 
Redhouse has the Very-Great (p. 53). 

39. Al-Hafiz : the name often put over house doors. Redhouse has 
' the Preserver ', but the title is not used in the Quran. 

41. Al-Hasib : the Reckoner. 
44. Al-Raqib: the Watchful. 



VI 



THE NAMES OF GOD 



133 



50. Al Ba'ith(s) . 

51. Ash Shahid . 

52. Al Haqq 

53. Al Waqil . . 

54. Al Qawwi 

55. Al Mutm . 

56. Al Wall 

57. Al Hamld . 

58. Al Muhs! 

59. AlMubdl 

60. Al Mu'id 

61. Al Muhayyl [Muhyi] 

62. AlMumit . 

63. Al Hal . 

64. Al Qayyum . 
(65.)AlWajid . 

66. Al Majid*[Majid] 

67. Al Wahid . 

68. As Samad . 

69. Al Qadir 

70. Al Muqtadir 
(71.) Al Muqaddim . 



The Sender. [The Raiser.] 

The Testifier. 

The Just. [The Truth.] 

The Procurer. [The Guardian.] 

The Strong. 

The Solid. 

The Friend. [The Helper,] 

The Laudable. 

The Calculator. 

The Commencer. 

The Resuscitator. 

The Reviver. 

The Destroyer. 

The Eternal. [The Living.] 

The Everlasting. 

He who finds. [The Inventor, 

or Maker.] 
The Glorious. 
The Unique. [The One.] 
The Everlasting. 
The Powerful. 
The Giver of power. 
The Preceder. 



(72.) Al Muakhir [-akhkhir] The Follower. [The Deferrer.] 
73. Al Awwal . . .The First. 



[The mothers of the 
attributes.] 



74. Al Akhir . . . The Last. 

75. Az Zahir . . . The Clear. 

76. Al Batm . . . The Secret 

50. Al-Ba'is : the Awakener or Raiser of the body at the Resurrection, 
a doctrine which Geiger claims was adopted from Jewish sources (Judaism 
and Islam, pp. 58-60) ; 'also Sender-forth (of apostles) (Redhouse, p. 18). 

51. Ash-Shahid (less correctly) would imply martyrdom rather than 
authoritative testimony. Ash-Shahid is the Witness (Redhouse, p. 41). 

52. Al-Haqq : the Truth" ; next to Allah the term most used by pious 
Moslems (Redhouse, p. 23). 

53. Al- Vakil : the Agent ; the One in Charge (Redhouse, p. 67). 

54. Al-Qawi, the Very Strong. 

55. Al-Matin : the Very Firm in the sense of a fortress. 

56. Al-Wall or Wall, the Very-next Adjoining One (next of kin, next 
friend, patron) (Redhouse, p. 67). 

61. Al-Muhyl is correct : the Quickener, and 

62. Al-Mumit: the Slayer in both the passages Suras 30. 49 and 41. 39 
the quickening of soil after rain is cited as proof of the Resurrection. 



134 



THE NAMES OF GOD 



VI 



77. Al Wall ... 

78. Al Muta'al . 

79. Al Barr 

80. At Tawwab . 

81. Al Muntaqim 

82. Al 'Afuw . 

83. ArRa'uf 

.84. Malik-ul-Mulk . 
85. Zu'l Jalali wa'l Ikram 

(86.) Al Muqsit . 

87. Al Jami' 

88. Al Gham 

89. Al Mughanm [MughnI] 
(90.) Al Mani . . 
(91.) Ad Zarr 

(92.) An Nan' 

93. An Nur 

94. Al Had! 

95. Al Badf 

96. Al Baqi 
(97.) Al Waris 

98. Ar Rashid . 

99. As Sabur 



The Governor. 

The Most High. 

The Benign. [Righteousness.] 

The Cause of repentance. 

Who takes vengeance k 

The Forgiving. 

The Propitious. [The In- 
dulgent.] 

The Possessor of possessions. 
[The Ruler of the Kingdom.] 

The Possessor of greatness and 
honour. 

The Equitable. 

The Assembler. 

The Rich. [The Independent.] 

The Bestower of wealth. 

The Preventer. 

The Harmer. [Darr.] 

The Benefiter. 

The Light. 

The Guide. 

The Commencer. [Incomparable.] 

The Ender. [Eternal.] 

The Heir. 

The Director. 

The Patient. 



These Ism-i-Jalal, or the ' Beautiful Names of God ', are used 
as invocations, or as calls upon Him. They are ninety-nine in 
number, and figure on the tasbih, 1 or rosary of all Mussulmans. 2 

1 Tasbihat (pl.) = ' doxologies ', and the meaning ' rosaries ' is secondary 
and not found in pure Arabic (Redhouse in J.R.A.8., 1880, pp. 9 f). 

2 The Moslem rosary has ninety-nine beads and is divided into three 
equal parts by small oblong separators. Bach bead recalls an attribute of 
the Divinity and the kalima is repeated at each separator j but most people 
are content to ejaculate ' Allah ' at each bead. A good deal of variety 
characterises Moslem rosaries. Thus maulavis use one of kahruba, ' amber ', 
and the sulaimam of various stones : but all faqlrs use these two as well aa 
the tasbih of variegated glass and the sang-i-maqsud or ' stone or purpose ' 
of yellow stones (Indian Notes and Queries, iv. 11, 146). 

Zwemer, who has collected much information on the subject, says that 
in Egypt a rosary made of jet (yusr) or kuk, a special kind of wood from 



vi A COMMON PRAYER 135 

There is still another list, reaching to as many as 1001. It is 
possible that I have not, in some few cases, given their exact 
interpretation, and some of them differ but slightly from the 
others in meaning. 

The following is a common prayer of many of the Darvish 
Orders, and especially of the Rifa'is : 

" Thy attributes, O God ! are holy, without any doubt ; I 
abstain from comparing Thee to anything else ; I declare that 
Thou art our Lord, that Thou art One, and all things prove it. 




A RIFA'I DARVISH IN AN ECSTATIC STATE 

Thou art One, and knowest no diminution ; Thou art subject to 
no disease ; Thou art known by Thy goodness and Thy knowledge ; 
to Thy knowledge there is no limit; none can praise Thee too 
much ; Thou art the First the Everlasting, and without any 
Beginning ; Thou art the Last, and the Benevolent, and without 
any end. Thou hast no genealogy, no sons ; Thou canst never 
do wrong ; Thou revolvest with the cycles of time ; Thou never 

Mecca, is used both by Copts and Moslems for the cure of a disorder in 
children. It is also used in divination (v. note on p. 95 supra). Citing 
Goldziher, he agrees that it was not imported into Islam until the third 
century of the Hijra (The Influence of Animism on Islam, p. 27 fL). Its use 
was looked on by the orthodox with displeasure, but it was nevertheless 
widely adopted, and we are told that in India rosaries of 1000 beads (pro- 
bably an error for 1001) are used in the subha, a rite observed on the night 
after a burial by dervish. Such practices are, however, exceptional. 



136 A COMMON PRAYER vi 

weakenest with age ; all Thy creatures are submissive to Thy 
greatness and to Thy commands ; Thy fiat is the latters b and e, 
' be ' ; the pure in heart behold Thy beauty by means of the 
zikr (the recital of His name), and bless Thee with the ' Thirties ' 
(the rosary is divided into thirty-three parts, together(jnaking 
the full ninety-nine) ; Thy guidance directs them in the right 
path, through the same means ; they live in perfect love in Thy 
beneficent paradise ; Thy science is everlasting, and knows even 
the numbers of the breaths of Thy creatures ; Thou seest and 
hearest the movements of all Thy creatures : Thou hearest even 
the steps of the ant when in the dark night it walks on black 
stones ; even the birds of the air praise Thee in their nests ; the 
wild beasts of the desert adore Thee ; the most secret, as well as 
the most exposed thoughts of Thy servants, Thou knowest ; 
Thou art security for Thy faithful ones ; Thou strengthenest and 
givest to others victory, and rejoicest their hearts ; Thy zikr 
gives power, and overthrows concealed harms, and so do the 
dyat (verses) of Thy book (when borne on the person as charms) ; 
Thy commands uphold the heavens, and support the earth ; and 
Thy science has circumvented the entire globe ; and Thou art 
merciful and beneficent to Thy sinning creatures. 

" Like unto Thee, God, never has anything existed ; Thou 
hearest and seest all things. Lord, preserve us from evil (this 
is repeated three times). Thou canst allow even the occurrence 
of evil things great and good God ! blessed be Thy holy councils. 
Have mercy upon us, O Lord, and give us victory, for there is no 
power or strength but in Thee. Blessings without number be 
upon Thee, Thou who doest all that Thou deemest best. Thou 
art great, and great is Thy glory ; Thy power extends to all 
things ; Thy glory is manifested by Thy will. Living and invent- 
ing God, everlasting Lord, and merciful Creator of the heavens 
and the earth, none is worthy of adoration but Thee ; hear and 
accept of our prayers, merciful God, for the sake of Thy blessed 
Prophet ; give us peace of soul, and freedom from all sin ; may 
Thy mercy rest, and its blessings be upon us, and in our families 
and friends for Thou art the great, the glorious, and the clement 
God of all (Quran, xxxiii. 33). ' God does not wish other than to 
deliver you all from the abomination, and to love his family, 
and to secure to you a perfect purity ' (xxxiii. 56). ' God and the 
angels are precious to the Prophet. Believers ! address your 



vi A COMMON PRAYER 137 

prayers to the Lord, and pronounce (zikr) His name with salutation 
confidently.' 

" O Allah ! give praise and peace to our Lord Muhammad 
and to his family, conformably with what Thou hast said of him, 
in Abraham (Ibrahim) and his family, bless Muhammad and his 
offspring, as Thou didst Ibrahim, preserving him from fire in both 
worlds ; for Thou art the glorious and the merciful ! according to 
the numbers of Thy creatures and Thy holy will ; be clement to 
the arch of Thy heavenly abode, to each letter of Thy word ; 
to the number of those who call Thy Name (zikr) ; according to 
the number of those who forget Thee, O Lord, praise with the 
choicest of Thy praises, the best of Thy creatures, our Lord 
Muhammad, his offspring and his companions (the ashabs) 
according to the number of Thy science, the number of Thy 
words, and of those who mention (zikr) Thy holy name, as well 
as those who forget Thee. O Allah ! praise our Lord Muhammad, 
Thy secret, and Prophet and friend, and him whom Thou hast 
sent ; he who was illiterate (the Darvishes say that none of the 
Prophets could read or write, and their knowledge therefore came 
directly from above), his family and friends, according to the 
number of Thy heavens and earths, and all things which are 
between them. Have mercy on our affairs, and upon all Mussul- 
mans, O Lord of all worlds. 

" O God, may Thy praises be upon our Lord Muhammad, and 
his family and friends, according to the number of years of this 
world's existence, and of those worlds which are to be, and of all 
that Thou knowest relative to this, Thy world. O God, may Thy 
praises be upon the soul of our Lord Muhammad, amongst all the 
other souls, in his body, among all the other bodies, and in his 
illuminated grave, and upon his name, amongat all other names. 

" O God, may Thy praises be upon our Lord, the possessor of 
the sign of the Prophetship upon his back (a mole), and the cloud 
(which always accompanied and preserved him from the heat of 
the sun) ; on the intercessor and the pitying, and the embassy 
(the Quran) ; on him who is more beauteous than the sun and the 
moon, according to the good deeds of Abu Bakr, 'Umr, 'Othman, 
and Haidar ('All) ; to the number of the plants of the earth and 
the leaves of the trees ; on the good one -the possessor of the 
place in Paradise (Maqam-i-Mahmud), and of the tongue of 
eloquence ; he who comes with preaching and intelligence and 



138 A COMMON PRAYER vi 

pity, and upon his family and friends. May the best of Thy 
praises be upon him, according to the vast amount of Thy great 
knowledge, to the number of the words which Thou hast written, 
the mentions made of Thy name, and of those who make 
mention of Thee (zikr) ; of those who forget Thee ; of thojie who 
in assemblies bless Thee with innumerable breaths (nafs) ; upon 
Thy Prophet who enlightened the hearts of those who pointed 
out a path (tariq) to each friend ; who came in tenth ; who was 
sent in mercy to the world, to intercede for sinners ; according 
to the merits of the blessed Prophets, and their greatness ; accord- 
ing to his (Muhammad's) influence with Thee, the all-powerful ; 
on him, the most blessed of all the prophets ; of those who are 
resigned to Thee ; on him, who is Thy Friend (such is the blessing 
of all Mussulmans); on his fathers; on Ibrahim, the sincere 
friend of Allah ; upon Musa (Moses), his brother, who spake with 
Thee ; and upon Israel (Jesus), the Faithful (al-Amm) who was 
the Spirit of God (ar-Rtth Allah) ; on Thy servant and prophet 
Suliman, and his father, David, and on all the other prophets and 
envoys, and all those who submit to Thee ; on all those who 
people the heavens and the earth ; those who call upon (zikr) 
Thy name, as well as those who forget Thee. Praises be upon 
the fountain of Thy mercy (the Prophet), the amount of Thy 
judgment day, on the measure of Thy pa'th (tariq), on the 
ornament of the crown of Paradise, the bride of the other world, 
the sun of holy law, whose words are deeds, the intercessor 
for all mankind, the Imam of all, the Prophet of pity, our 
Lord Muhammad ; upon Adam and Noah ; on Ibrahim, the 
intimate friend of God, his brother Moses, and the Spirit of 
God, Jesus ; on David and Suliman, Zukaria, Yahya (Isaiah), 
and Sheb (Seth ?), and on all their offspring, those who call 
upon Thee, as well as those who forget Thee. 

" O our Eternal God of mercy, Thy praises be upon Thy people, 
who spread open their hands to glorify Thee, Thou bestower of 
all good things ; Thou pardoner of all things, sins, and faults ; 
Thy praises be upon our Lord, who is the best of all those having 
good dispositions, upon his offspring and friends, and the good 
men of this world ; pardon us who are now present. There is 
no God than Allah, and Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah, and 
Ibrahim is the intimate friend of Allah. 

" our Lord ! O Prophet of God, He whom we desire, 



vi A COMMON PRAYER 139 

who gives us from out of His abundance ; the Possessor of time ; 
Thou helper in the hour of need, Thou purest of all prophets, 
the Jewel of the Universe ; who elevates atoms into worlds ; 
Thou refuge of the poor (fuqira) ; the Eye which beholds all the 
past ; Thou all-seeing, I have praised Thee, O Prophet of God ; 
I have believed in Thee, and in Thy sufficiency ; Thy goodness 
comes upon us kindly, and with Thy excellence it invites us to 
call upon Thee, approaches us to Thee. 

" Thousands of prayers be upon Thee (three times repeated), 
upon the 100th, 80th, and 1090th (this refers to the belief that in 
the 2280th year of the Hegira the world will end) ; praises be 
upon him who is the true light, Ahmad-al-Mustafa (Prophet), 
the Lord of all prophets, his offspring and all his friends. O God, 
have mercy upon all the faithful. One thousand prayers, and one 
thousand salutations, be in the great secret of Thy Prophet. 
O Thou affectionate beneficent, lead us in our belief ; Thy praise 
be upon Thy perfect Son (the Prophet) in the judgment day, 
during the length of days, in the mode (sign or seal) of his 
prophetship, on him who was shielded by a cloud, on Mustafa, 
for the sake of Allah, Thy secret, on his secrets ; bestow upon 
us thy favour, O Mustafa, bestow thy countenance upon us, for 
His sake, and thy own ; pity our weaknesses, elevate us through 
thy peace (three times). O Prophet ! help us (three times) ; we 
believe in thee. O thou friend of God ! intercede for us, we 
know that He will not reject thy intercession. Thou, O Lord, 
art Allah, favour us as Thou knowest best (three times). There 
is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah." 

The patient reader will have perceived much in this lengthy 
prayer peculiar to the belief of the Darvishes generally, though 
a great part of it is purely Mussulman. 

v 

THE NAQSHBANDtS 

The Order of the Naqshbandis is one of the most extensive 
which exists in the East, and particularly in the Ottoman empire. 
They have a work in Turkish, called the Rashah&t 'Ain-al-Hayfit, 1 

1 A valuable account by H. Beveridge of a Persian MS. of this work will 
be found in J.R.A.8., 1916, p. 59 ff. Its author was 'AH s. Husain al-Wa'iz 
al-Kashifl al-Safi to give his poetical cognomen but his full name was 
Fakhr-ud-Dm 'All. His father was a well-known writer (see p. 404 infra). 



140 THE NAQSHBANDI SUCCESSION vi 

or Drops from the Fountain of Life, which is not only a perfect 
biography of their founder, Muhammad Baha-ud-Dm, but also a 
detailed account of his peculiar spiritual doctrines. M. d'Herbelot 
states that Naqshband was his surname ; that he was 1>he author 
of a work entitled Maqamat, 4 Stations V on various ^subjects 
connected with eloquence and academic studies ; and another 
called Aurdd-al-Bahiydt, ' Prayers of Baha ', taken from his own 
name, and that he died 791 H. [A.D. 1389-90]. 

In the addendum of the work called the Shaqqdiq Numania* 
the silsila, or succession of Naqshband, it is thus related, -and the 
detail will serve as an example of the descent claimed by all of 
the Darvish Orders. " The Shaikh Bayazid Bustam! has it from 
the Imam Ja'far Sadiq, who has it from the Imam Muhammad 
Baqir, who has it from the Imam Zain-ul-'Abidin, who has it 
from the Imam Husain, who has it from { Ali (fourth Caliph), who 
has it from the Prophet of Allah, that Bayazid Bustam! was 
born after the decease of the Imam Ja'far Sadiq, and, by the 
force of the will of the latter, received spiritual instruction from 
him. Imam Ja'far also spiritualised Qasim bin-Muhammad 
bin-Abu-Bakr us-Sadiq [Siddiq]. 3 He was one of the seven 

The TricJclings from the Fountain of Life, as Beveridge translates the title of 
the MS., is an account of the Naqshbandl Khwajas of Central Asia, and 
especially of the saint Na?ir-ud-Dm 'Ubaid-Ullah, commonly styled Hazrat 
Ishan or Khwaja Ahrar of Samarkand, who was invested by Ya'qub Charkhi, 
of Charkh in the Ghazni district of Afghanistan. Ya'qub bestowed his cap 
(taqiya) on Hazrat Ishan and died in 851 H. (A.D. 1447-48). The RashaJwt 
was certainly not written by Baha-ud-Din, as stated in E.R.E., 8, p. 886. 
The death of 'Ubaid-Ullah Ahrar, ' one of the greatest theologians of his 
time ', is assigned to the year A.D. 1489 at Kumaghiran near Samarqand 
(ib.); or to 895 H. (A.D. 1490) when nearly ninety years of age (Beveridge, 
op. cit., p. 66 n.). 

1 Not Sittings as in original edition. 

2 Its correct title is the 'Shaqaiq-al-nu' l maniya ft 'ulama al-daula al- 
'Osmaniya, ' Blood-re.d wild anemones touching learned of the Ottoman 
empire ', by the Mulla Tashkopriizada, who died in A.D. 1560. 

Evliya, or rather his translator, alludes to it as the ' Shakailci-nameh ', by 
' the great and virtuous Kamal-ud-Din Muhammad, son of Ahmad ', 
immortalised by the name of Tash Kopri-zada, i.e. ' the son of Tash Kopri- 
zada' (? Tash Kopri), ati. part ii., p. 22 of his Travels. He adds that he 
died at Yasi under Usman. 

3 Qasim b. Muhammad b. Abu Bakr us-Sadiq, one of the sevezi fuqaha, 
' learned in the fiqh ', died in 106 H. (A.D. 725). The filiations of the Naqsh- 
bandls are not consistently given, probably owing to divergent views. 



vi AND ITS CONTINUATION 141 

doctors of Divine Law, and derived his spirituality through the 
mystic will of Salman Farsi. The latter enjoyed direct inter- 
course with the -blessed Prophet of God, and beside this peculiar 
honour, received instruction (tarbiyat) from Abu-Bakr us-Sadiq 
[Siddlq] (second Caliph). When these were concealed together 
in the cave, and there conversed with the Prophet, they all per- 
formed the secret zikr (called upon God's name mentally), seated 
on their hips, with depressed eyes, repeating it three times. 

"After the decease of Bayazid Bistami [in A.D. 877-78] Abu'l 
Hasan KhurqanI was born. 1 

" Shaikh Abu'l Qasim Kerkian! [Gurgani] has connexion with 
both of these. According to this statement Abu'l Hasan Khur- 
qani was employed in their service. 

"Shaikh Abii'l 'Usman Maghrib! received [instruction] from 
them, Abu 'AH Reduhar! [?RudbarI] from them also ; from them 
came the spiritual powers of Junaid Baghdad! [d. in A.D. 911], 
from him to Sari Saqat!, [and] from him to Ma'ruf Karkhi [d. in 
A.D. 816]. 

" The latter also had two sources of descent, the one, Da'ud 
Ta'i ; from them came Habib Sajam! ['Ajami], from him Hasan 
Basri, and these all received their spirituality from the Com- 
mander of the Faithful, 'All. Ma'ruf Karkhi drew [his spiritu- 
ality] from 'Al! Riza ; he from the Imam Musa Kazim, he from 
Ja'far us-Sadiq. 

" The continuation of the descent is as follows : Abu'l Qasim 
Gurgani left his powers to his pupil, Klioja 'All Farmand! [Far- 
mad!] ; his khalifa (successor) was Khoja Yusuf Hamadani that 
of the latter was his own servant 'Abd-ul-Khaliq Gajdivan! 
[Ghajdawam] ; after him Khoja 'Arif Rivkar! [Reogari] ; after 
him Muhammad Fagnaw! ; after him 'All Rametn! [Ramitani] ; 
after him Muhammad Baba Sammasi ; after him the Amir Sa'id 
Gulan (or Kalal) ; after him the Khoja Baha-ud-D!n Naqshband 2 ; 



Thus one scheme passes over 'AH and derives the order from the Caliph 
Abu Bakr and his grandson Qasim. This would indicate that the order is 
strictly orthodox. But there is also a Shi'a version, or one accepted by a 
Shi'a group within the order which omits Abu Bakr and includes 'AH. The 
version in the text combines both versions. 

1 See Appendix A to this chapter. 

2 For the sequel of the Naqshbandi spiritual descent v. Appendix I. 
Brown next, after correctly describing the Nurbakhshls as an offshoot of 



142 THE NtlRBAKHSHlS vi 

after him Alai-ud-Din al-' Attar ; after him Nizam-ud-Din 
Khamush; after him Sultan [Sa'Id]-ud-Dm al-Kashgari; after 
him 'Ubaid-Ullah SamarqandT; after him Shaikh 'Abdullah al- 
Lahi ; after him Shaikh Sa'id Ahmad al-Bukhari ; Rafter him 
Shaikh Muhammad Chalabi, nephew of Aziz ; after hiin Shaikh 
'Abd-ul-Latlf, nephew of Muhammad Chalabi may Allah bless 
their secrets. 

" From the Naqshbandl Order evidently sprang the Order of 
the Nurbakhshis ; for the same author adds that the Amir Sultan 
Shams-ud-Din derived from Sa'id 'All, father of Muhammad 
bin-'Ali-al-Husaini al-Bukhari ; they derived from the Sa'id 
Muhammad Nurbakhshi. The khalifa of Amir Bukhara, Hasan 
Khoja [of] Van's khalifa Wall Shams-ud-Dm, are mentioned in 
the Shaqqaiq. These derived from Ishaq Jalali, he from Sa'id 
'All Hamadani, he from Muhammad Kharqanl, he from Alai-ud- 
Daulat Samnani, he from 'Abd-ur-Rahman Asfaram, he from 
Ahmad Jurqam, he from 'AH bin-Sa'id Lala, he from Najm-ud- 
Dm Qubra, he from 'Umar bin Yazir Badllsl, he from Abu'l 
Najib Suharwardi, 1 and down through the whole succession." 

The same author [on p. 8 of Ajdi's Tarjuma, as lithographed], 
in alluding to the Khwajas of the Naqshbandis, says : 

" This people (tdifa) polish the exterior of their minds and 
intellects with pictures, and being free from the rust and wiles of 
life are not of those who are captivated by the vain colourings 
of the world, as varied as those of the changeful chameleon ; and 
as Naqshband drew incomparable pictures of the Divine Science, 
and painted figures of the Eternal Invention, which are not 
imperceptible, his followers are become celebrated by the title of 
the Naqsh-bandis, ' The Painters'." 

From the work before alluded to, called Drops from the Fountain 
of Life, it would appear that the originator of this order. was 
'Ubaid - ullah, and that Baha-ud-DIn Naqshband was only a 
learned writer on its principles. The members of the order are 

the Naqshbandis, suddenly diverges into a spiritual pedigree of the Suhar- 
wardis, inverting the chronological order, and following in the main the 
text of 'Atayi's zail, or supplement to the Shaqa'iq (v. lithographed 
ed., p. 62). But for Muhmud Chalabi, damad, 'son-in-law', he has 
Muhammad Ch. ; and for Ishaq Jllani, Ishaq Jalali. 

1 For an account of the Suharwardis and their successors v. Appendix B 
to this chapter. 



vi THE NAQSHBANDI ZIKR 143 

called khojagian, or the teachers. The khalifas (or successors) 
and the disciples of 'Ubaid-ullah were walls, and their holy tombs 
are scattered over various parts of the farther East, hi Merv, 
Samarqand, Sirid, 1 Bukhara, and throughout Persia, where they 
are much visited for the purpose of seeking spiritual inspiration 
from the revered remains of the sainted men which they contain. 
. Various members of the Order gave rise to varied points of belief, 
and one declared that the soul would, and does, return to this 
world in a new body. As this borders closely upon the theory of 
the metempsychosis, it is treated upon in various ways all 
spiritually. Another teaches the necessity of the khalwat, or 
profound meditation on the Deity, which he says must be so 
perpetual and continuous as to absorb completely the mind ; so 
much so, that when even in the midst of a crowd, the mediator 
can hear no voice or other sound. Every word spoken by others 
will then appear to him the zikr, and so will even his own words, 
when spoken on other subjects. But to attain to this the greatest 
attention and labour is necessary. 

As advice to a murid, or disciple, the following instructions are 
given by a member of the Order respecting the zikr, which he says 
is a union of the heart and the tongue in calling upon God's name. 
In the first place, the Shaikh, or teacher, must with his heart**, 
recite " There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Prophet 
of Allah ", whilst the murid keeps his attention fixed by placing 
his heart opposite that of the Shaikh ; he must close his eyes ; 
keep his mouth firmly shut, and his tongue pressed against the 
roof of his mouth ; his teeth tight against each other, and hold 
his breath ; then, with great force, accompany the Shaikh in the 
zikr, which he must recite with his heart, and not with his tongue. 
He must retain his breath patiently, so that within one respira- 
tion he shall say the zikr three times, and by this means allow his 
heart to be impressed with the meditative zikr. 

The heart, in this manner, is kept constantly occupied with 
the idea of the Most High God ; it will be filled with awe, love, 
and respect for Him, and, if the practiser arrives at the power of 
continuing to effect this, when in the company of a crowd', the 
zikr is perfect. If he cannot do this, it is clear that he must 

1 Sind means not only the modern province of Sind but the whole country 
lying to the west of the Indus, or even the whole Indus valley, to the border 
of Khurasan. It might be fairly rendered ' North- Western India ' 



144 THE HEART A CONE vi 

continue his efforts. The heart is a subtle part of the human 
frame, and is apt to wander away after worldly concerns, so that 
the easier mode of arriving at the proceeding is to compress the 
breath, and keep the mouth firmly closed with the tongue forced 
against the lips. The heart is shaped like the cone of ajir-tree ; 
your meditations should be forced upon it, whilst you mentally 
recite the zikr. Let the ' La ' be upward, the ' Illdhu ' to the 
right, and the whole phrase ' La Illdhu ' (there is no God but 
Allah) be formed upon the fir-cone, and through it to all the 
members of the whole frame, and they feel its warmth. By this 
means, the world and all its attractions disappear from your 
vision, and you are' enabled to behold the excellence of the Most 
High. Nothing must be allowed to distract your attention from 
the zikr. and ultimately you retain, by its medium, a proper 
conception of the tauhid, or ' Unity of God '. 

The cone-shaped heart rests in the left breast, and contains 
the whole truth of man. Indeed it signifies the ' whole truth ', 
it comprises the whole of man's existence within itself, and is a 
compendium of man ; mankind, great and small, are but an 
extension of it, and it is of humanity what the seed is which 
contains within itself a whole tree ; in fine, the essence of the 
whole of God's book and of all His secrets is 'the heart of man. 
Whoever finds a way to the heart obtains his desire ; to find a 
way to the heart is by a heartful service, and the heart accepts 
of the services of the heart. It is only through the fatigues of 
water and ashes that the murid reaches the conversation of the 
heart and the soul ; he will be then so drawn towards God that 
afterwards, without any difficulty, he may without trouble, in 
case of need, turn his face from all others toward Him. He will 
then know the real meaning of the tark, the haqiqat, the hurrit, 1 
and the zikr. 

It is through the performance of the zikr, by khaltvat (pious 
retirement for purposes of deep devotion), by the tawajjuh 2 (or 

1 Hurrlt, hurreet in original, doubtless for hurriyyat, ' freedom ', ' liberty ', 
Hurriyyat 'amah=' : freedom from cupidity ' and hurriyyat Tchasa= 'freedom 
from self-will ' in the language of the mystics (Redhouse, TurTc.-Eng. Lex. 
p. 780). Hairat would mean ' continual amazement ', and so ' gnosis ' 
(Nicholson, Kashf al-Mahjub, p. 275). 

2 Tawajjuh will be found discussed, from one point of view, on pp. 336-9 
infra. On p. 336 it is equated to muraqaba, a term which appeared early in 
Sufiism : originally it denoted the first of the mystical ' states , following 



vi POWER OF THE WILL 145 

turning the face or mind devoutly towards God in prayer), by the 
murdqaba (or fearful contemplation of God), the tasarruf (or self- 
abandonment to pious reflection and inspiration), and the tasawwuf 
(or mystical spiritualism), that the fervent Darvish reaches 
peculiar spiritual powers, called quwwat-i-ruhi bdtini (a mystical, 
internal, spiritual power). The life, or biography, of every 
eminent Shaikh, -or pir, details innumerable evidences of this 
power exercised in a strange and peculiar manner. This exercise 
is called the quwwat 1 irddat, or the ' Power of the Will ', and, as a 
theory may be traced historically to the Divine Power the soul 
of man being connected with the Divine Spirit from which it 
emanates, and with which, through the means before mentioned, 
it commences. Some Shaikhs are more celebrated than others 
for their peculiar and strange powers, and it is to their superiority 
that their reputation and reverence in the Mussulman world in 
general, and among Darvishes in particular, is to be attributed. 
With the supposition that the details given of them by their 
biographers, disciples, or successors are not invented, or even 
exaggerated, their powers are certainly very remarkable. Whilst 
among them an implicit belief in them is firmly sustained, sultans 
and princes have evidently doubted them, and being alarmed 
with the influence the possessors acquired and sustained among 
the public generally, they have often shown a direful exercise of 
their own arbitrary will and power, which resulted in the untimely 
end of the unfortunate Shaikh. Many, on the other hand, have 
survived the frequent exercise of their ' spiritual powers ', and 
either because they acquired a power and influence over the 
minds of their temporal rulers, or whether they used them for 
their own private purposes, so as to conciliate the more religious 
or fanatic, they succeeded in reaching advanced ages and a 
peaceful end of their remarkable careers. When the ruler of the 

riza, the last of the ' stations ', and is rendered ' observation ' (Nicholson, 
Kitab al-Luma', p. 16). But Gibb renders it ' spiritual communion ' with 
the soul of the holy man to whose tomb the pilgrim betakes him. Tawajjuh 
he, too, equates with muraqaba, but the former word he translates ' saintly 
favour ', meaning the spiritual assistance vouchsafed by a saint to a devotee 
or by a master to a disciple (Hist, of Ott. Poetry, i. p. 425). It is quite 
possible that both terms acquired a reciprocal meaning, the devout attention 
of the disciple on the one hand, and on the other the steadfast protection 
. of the saint. 

1 For various other ' faculties ', quwwat, v< Gibb, op. cit. i. pp. 49 f. 

L 



146 SPIRITUAL DIRECTION vi 

country has not cared to order the execution of the Shaikh who 
declared himself possessed of these ' spiritual powers ', he has 
simply exiled him from his capital, or his territory, and permitted 
him freely to exercise his powers and renown in some less Objection- 
able locality. These powers can only be acquired through the 
long instruction of a superior spiritual director, or murshid, or 
ashah-i-yaqin, for whom the disciples ever retain a most grateful 
remembrance and attachment. 

Among the practices of these powers is the faculty of fore- 
seeing coming events of predicting their occurrence of pre- 
serving individuals from the harm and evil which would otherwise 
certainly result for them of assuring to one person success over 
the machinations of another, so that he may freely attack him 
and prevail over him of restoring harmony of sentiment between 
those who would otherwise be relentless enemies of knowing 
when others have devised harm against themselves, and through 
certain spells of preserving themselves and causing harm to befall 
the evil-minded ; and even of causing the death of any one 
against whom they wish to proceed. All this is done as well from 
a distance as when near. 

In other parts of the world, and among other people, these 
attainments would have been attributed to sorcery and witch- 
craft ; in modern times they would be ascribed to Spiritism, or 
magnetic influences, either of the spirit or of the body ; but to 
the instructed Darvish they all derive their origin in the spirit 
of the holy Shaikh the special gift of the great Spirit of God, 
which commences with the spirit of man from which it directly 
emanated. The condition or disposition necessary for these 
effects is called the hal (state, or frame), and is much the same as 
that required by the magnetised, and the object of his operation. 
The powers of the body are enfeebled by fasting and mental 
fatigue in prayer, and the imagination kept in a fervid state, fully 
impressed with the conviction that such powers are really possessed 
by the Shaikh, and that he can readily exercise them over the 
willing mind and body of the disciple. How the Shaikh can 
produce such strange results on a distant and unconscious person 
is left to the admiration and imagination of the faithful disciple, 
as an incentive to exertions in the same true path as that of his 
Shaikh. 

To exercise the power of the will, it is necessary to contract 



vi EXPERIMENTS 147 

the thoughts suddenly upon the object designed to be effected, 
so perfectly as to leave no room for the mind to dwell, possibly, 
upon any other. The mind must not doubt, for an instant, of 
the success of this effort, nor the possibility of failure ; it must, 
in fact, be completely absorbed by the one sole idea of performing 
the determination strongly taken, and firmly relied upon. The 
person must, from time to time, practise this ; and as they 
proceed, they will be able to see how much propinquity exists 
between themselves and the Hazrat-i-Asma x (God ?), and how 
much they are capable of exercising this power. 

As an example, the author of the Rashahat [3rd maqsad, 1st 
fasl], narrates the following : 

" In my youth, I was ever with our Lord Maulana Sa'Id-ud- 
Dm Kashgari at Hand. 2 It happened that we, one day, walked 
out together, and fell in with an assembly of the inhabitants of 
the place who were engaged in wrestling. To try our powers, 
we agreed to aid with our ' powers of the will ' one of the wrestlers, 
so that the other should be overcome by him ; and after doing 
so, to change our design in favour of the discomfited individual. 
So we stopped, and turning towards the parties, gave the full 
influence of our united wills to one, and immediately he was able 
to subdue his opponent. As the person we chose, each in turn, 
conquered the other. Whichever we willed to prevail became 
the most powerful of the two, and the power of our own wills was 
thus clearly manifested." 

On another occasion, two other persons, possessed of these 
same powers, fell in with an assembly of people, at a place occupied 
by prize-fighters. " To prevent any of the crowd from passing 
between and separating us, we joined our hands together. Two 
persons were engaged fighting ; one was a powerful man, whilst 
the other was a spare and weak person. The former readily 

1 Hazrat (hadra), lit. ' presence ', a synonym of huzur, meaning in the 
language of the mystics ' being in the presence (of Allah) '. For develop- 
ments of its doctrinal meaning see E.I. ii. p. 207, where D. B. Macdonald 
says its use as a title of respect belongs to the Lexicon. It may, however, 
be suggested that it connotes manifestation or presence of a sacred or divine 
nature when applied to a saint. In Egypt hazrat has the same meaning as 
majlis and jama', i.e. ' reunion ', ' assembly ' (Der Islam, vi. p. 161). For 
asma see note on p. 104. 

2 Hereed in original, for Harl, an old name of Herat, then the capital of 
Khurasan (Tarikh-i-RasMdi, p. 193). 



148 INCREDULITY PUNISHED vi 

overcame the latter ; and seeing this, I proposed to my com- 
panion, to aid the weak one by the power of our wills. So he 
bade me aid him in the project, whilst he concentrated his powers 
upon the weaker person. Immediately a wonderful occurrence 
took place ; the thin, spare man seized upon his ^giant-like 
opponent, and threw him upon the ground with surprising force. 
The crowd cried out with astonishment, as he turned him over 
on his back, and held him down with much apparent ease. No 
one present, except ourselves, knew the cause. Seeing that my 
companion's eyes were much affected by the effort which he had 
made, I bade him remark how perfectly successful we had been, 
and adding that there was no longer any necessity for our remain- 
ing there, we walked away." 

Just as it is impossible to conflict with the Quran, so is it to 
conflict with an 'an/, or 'knowing person', possessed of the 
power of the will. His power conflicts with that of others, but 
there is no confliction in his designs ; nor is it essential that the 
person to be assisted should be a believer ; he may be, even, an 
infidel, for faith is not needed to the performance of the design 
of the wilier. Just as is the influence of the pure heart, so is 
that of the breath of the wicked. Even the most powerful 
princes of this world do not prosper without assistance. The 
Shaikh once left for Samarqand, for the purpose of holding a 
conversation with the sovereign of that place, Mirza 'Abdullah 
bin-Mirza Ibrahim bin-Mirza Shahrukh. 1 " I," says the writer, 
" was then in his service, and went with him. On arriving, an 
officer of Mirza 'Abdullah waited upon him, and the Shaikh ex- 
plained to him the object of his visit, and added, that he did not 
doubt but much advantage would be derived from the interview. 

" To this the officer impertinently replied, that his Mirza 
['Abdullah] was a youth without any fear, and would excuse him 
from waiting upon him, and that he could well do without the 
demands of Darvishes. This language displeased the Shaikh so 
that he replied that he had an order to communicate with sove- 
reigns, that he had not come of his own accord, and that if his 
Mirza was fearless, he could retire and give place to one who was 
fearful. The officer departed, and so soon as he had left, the 
Shaikh wrote his name upon the wall of the house wherein he was 
then dwelling, and a moment afterwards wiped it off with his 
1 A prince (mirza) of the house of Timur, whose fourth son was Shahrukh. 



vi A SULTAN'S DREAM 149 

own mouth, remarking that he could not receive hospitality from 
either the sovereign of the place, or from his officers. He, the 
same day, returned directly to Tashkand. A week afterwards, 
the officer died, and within a month Abu Sa'id Mirza Akza 1 
appeared from Turkistan against Mirza 'Abdullah, and killed him. 
From this occurrence, it is readily seen that Abu Sa'id owed his 
success to the spiritual aid (himmat) of the holy Shaikh. 

" On another occasion, the Shaikh was at a place called Farkat, 2 
when he asked us to furnish him with pens and ink, with which he 
wrote several names upon a paper. Among these was the name 
of the Sultan, Abu Sa'id Mirza, and he placed the paper in his 
turban. At that time no such person as this was anywhere known 
to exist. Some of those present asked the Shaikh why he was 
pleased to favour the names so greatly as to keep them in his 
revered turban. He replied, that they were the names of certain 
persons, whom he and we, and all of the people of Tashkand, 
Samarqand, and Khurasan, should respect. Very soon after this, 
Sultan Abu Sa'id Mirza appeared from Turkistan. He had seen, 
in a dream, that our beloved Shaikh, together with the Khoja 
Ahmad Yasawi, 3 had recited thefatiha (first chapter of the Quran), 
with especial reference to himself. He inquired of Khoja Ahmad 
the names of our Shaikh, and retained them in his memory, and 
made diligent search for him throughout the whole country. He 
soon learned that, of a truth, there was just such a person dwelling 

1 Mirza Akza : in MS. No. 625 (1.0.) the reading is : Fa ba'd az e,k 
mah Sultan Abu Sa'id Mirza az aqsai Turkistan, etc., " and after one month 
Sultan Abu Sa'id Mirza came from the aqsa of Turkistan ". Aqsa has the 
meaning of ' very distant ' at least in Turkish so the phrase may mean 
' from the farthest confines of Turkistan '. The writer seems to say that 
the Sultan did not make a direct attack on 'Abdullah Mirza, but suddenly 
invaded his territory from the north instead of from the direction of Herat. 

2 Farkat, a place some miles from Tashkand. 

3 Ahmad Yasawi (not Tessevvee, as in original) is the Kirghiz patron- 
saint of the twelfth century. He takes his title from Yasi, now Turkistan or 
Hazrat-i-Yasi, a place far to the north of Tashkand on the road to Orenburg. 
He wrote mystic poems, hikmat or munajat, as well as a Dlwan, and founded 
a whole school of mystics, to which belonged Hakim Ata in the fourth 
generation. Originally a disciple of one Baba Arslan, he only became a 
pupil of Yusuf Hamadhanl on the death of his first teacher. Dying in. 
1166 at the age of sixty -three, he was buried at Yasi, where Tlmur erected 
a mausoleum over his tomb (Vambery in E.R.E. 8, p. 887, and E.I. i. 
p. 204). 



150 AN OMEN FROM CROWS vi 

at Tashkand ; and he immediately set out to find him there. 
So soon as our Shaikh heard of his approach, he set out for Farkat. 
The Mirza came to Tashkand, and, not finding the Shaikh there, 
proceeded to Farkat. As he approached the latter place, our 
Shaikh went out to meet him. When the Mirza saw tlte Shaikh, 
his countenance changed, and he exclaimed : ' By Allah ! you 
are certainly the same person whom I saw in my dream'. He 
threw himself at the Shaikh's feet, and with much anxiety im- 
plored the aid of his prayers. The Shaikh was extremely gracious 
to the Mirza, so that the latter became greatly attached to him. 
" Later, when the Mirza desired to collect a force and march 
against Samarqand, he revisited our Shaikh, and begged his 
permission and assistance in favour of his campaign. The Shaikh 
asked him with what object he designed making it: Mf, he 
added, ' it is to enforce the law of God, and to act in a humane 
manner, you will be successful '. The Mirza declared that it was, 
and the Shaikh then bade him depart with his commendable 
intentions. By some it is related that the Shaikh told the Mirza : 
' When you are opposite your opponents, do not attack them until 
you perceive a flight of crows coming up from your rear'. In 
consequence of this admonition, when the Mirza Abu Sa'id was 
opposite the forces of Mirza 'Abdullah, the latter ordered his 
cavalry to make an attack upon the troops of the latter ; but 
Abu Sa'id did not attempt to meet them, until a large flight of 
crows came up from behind them ; and so soon as these appeared 
his troops' hearts became filled with joy and courage, and falling 
upon those of Mirza 'Abdullah, completely overcame them. In 
the defeat, Mirza 'Abdullah was thrown off his horse and taken 
captive, and his head cut off." 

" From the preceding may be seen the spiritual powers of a 
holy man, who can by their aid commune with persons widely 
separated from him, predict coming events, and aid those in whose 
welfare and success he feels a pious interest for good. 

" Hasan Bahadur was one of the chiefs of the country of 
Maman, 1 in Turkistan, and the people of Maman formed a numer- 
ous tribe. He relates that ' When Sultan Abu Sa'id marched 
with his forces from Tashkand to Samarqand, I was with him ; 

1 Mamen. in original; may be Namangan in Farghana. The Naiman 
tribe can hardly be meant as they were Uighurs, though many of them were 
settled in Mughalistan (v. Tarikh-i-Rashid/i, pp. 73-4 of Introduction). 



vi A WHITE BIRD 

we met Mirza 'Abdullah on the banks of the river Bulungur, 1 
drawn up in array : I was near to the Mirza, and our troops 
numbered some 7000 only, whilst those of the Mirza were well 
armed and in excellent condition. At this moment some of our 
men went over to the Mirza, which troubled greatly the Sultan, 
and alarmed him, so that he called out to me, " Ho ! Hasan, what 
do you see ? " and I replied that I saw the Khoja (the Shaikh) 
preceding us. The Sultan, on this, swore by Allah that he like- 
wise saw him. I bade him be of good cheer, for we would prevail 
over our enemies. At the same moment our troops made a charge 
against their opponents, and in half an hour all of the forces of 
Mirza 'Abdullah were beaten, and he, falling into the hands of his 
enemies, was put to death. On that same day Samarqand was 
taken.' 2 

" The Shaikh himself states that, when Mirza 'Abdullah was 
taken prisoner, ' I was on my way to Tashkand, and saw a white 
bird fall from a height to the ground. This was caught and killed, 
from which circumstance I knew that Mirza 'Abdullah had just 
met his fate.' The Khoja after this proceeded, on the request of 
Sultan Abu Sa'id, to Samarqand. 

"Mirza Babur 3 bin-Mirza Baikar bin Mirza Shahrukh came 
with 500,000 troops from Khurasan against Samarqand. Sultan 
Abu Sa'id went to the Shaikh, and told him : ' I have not sufficient 
troops with which to meet him, what shall I do ? ' The Shaikh 
quieted his apprehensions. When Mirza Babur crossed the Ab 
Amu!, 4 Sultan Abu Sa'id Mirza sent a charge of troops to meet 

1 Bulungur is not marked on the maps. It may be Bui (lit. ' bridge ' 
or crossing) -Akar, also called Akar Kamar, near Khojand. It is not on the 
direct line between Tashkand and Samarqand, but the route between those 
towns appears to have crossed the Jaxartes at Khojand or a little lower 
down at Akar (cf. Tarllch-i-EashiAi, pp. 29 and 32). 

2 All that the Tarikh-i-Eashidl says about this event is : " Sultan Abu 
Sa'id Mirza, son of Sultan Muhammad Mirza, son of Miranshah Mirza, son 
of Amir Timur, got the upper hand of his cousins and took Samarqand from 
'Abdullah Mirza of Shiraz " (p. 83). Still more discreet is it in its allusion 
to the overthrow of Mirza Babur, as will be seen. 

3 Not Babur, the conqueror of India, but Mirza Babar Qalandar (his 
real name was 'Abd-ul-Qasim Babur), son of Mirza Baisanghar, son of 
M. Shah Rukh, after whose death, says the Tarikh-i-Rashidi curtly, " there 
was no padishah in Khurasan " (p. 83). That Babur could raise 500,000 
men is no doubt incredible, but it is clear that his attack on Samarqand 
was a formidable one, Why Babur was surnamed Qalandar is not explained. 

4 Ab Amui, ' the river Oxus ' 



152 MURRAIN AND MALARIA vi 

him, and having repulsed him, the Mirza fled to Turkistan, and 
fortified himself. In this view, he loaded his camels to depart, 
which becoming known to the Shaikh, he hastened to go to the 
drivers, and, in great anger, commanded them to put off then- 
loads ; then going to the Mirza, he asked him where he was going. 
* Do not go anywhere,' he said to the Mirza, ' for there is no need 
of such a proceeding ; your business is here, and I will be 
responsible for the result ; be of good cheer, for it is my business 
to overcome Babur.' Abu Sa'id's officers were much troubled 
by this language on the part of the Shaikh, and some of them, 
throwing their turbans on the ground, declared that they would 
all be sacrificed. The Mirza, however, had entire faith in the 
Shaikh, and would ndt listen to any one else ; he stopped his 
forces, and prepared to meet those of Babur, whose officers, 
nevertheless, thought that Abu Sa'id would certainly fly before 
him, 

' " The Sultan Abu Sa'id conformed to the words of the Shaikh 
and commenced fortifying himself, Mirza Babur came near to 
Samarqand, and sent forward Khalil Hindu x with his ordnance as 
far as its gates. A few Persians came out of the city and fought 
them. Mirza Babur had no men in armour, and Khalil Hindu 
was taken prisoner, and whenever he sent men against the strong 
walls of Samarqand the inhabitants made sallies, and cut off 
the ears and noses of all the captives who fell into their hands, 
so that many of his people having returned to his camp in this 
mutilated condition, spread alarm among the others. In the 
course of a few days a disease broke out among his cavalry, 2 from 
which many died, and spread a malaria throughout the camp, 
greatly to the distress and annoyance of his own people, so that 
very shortly he sent the Maulana Muhammad Mu'amma (a Shaikh) 

1 Khalil the Indian, not the Hindoo, Khalil being a Muhammadan name. 

2 The murrain amongst Mirza Babur's horses was attributed to the saint 
'Ubaid-Ullah. Similarly, when Sultan Mahmud, the younger son of Abu 
Sa'id, besieged his brother Sultan Ahmad in Samarqand the saint caused a 
typhoon which came from the Qipchaq Desert and compelled him to raise 
the siege. The version of the Rashahat in the text suggests that the author 
is still speaking of Sa'id-ud-Dln Kashghari, but the murrain among the 
horses was the work of 'Ubaid-Ullah, the Khwaja Ahrar, who survived 
Sultan Abu Sa'id many years. That ruler died in 873 H. (A.D. 1469), and 
Khwaja Ahrar lived till 1490, at least. In 1511 he appeared to the emperor 
Babur in a dream and assured him that he would capture Samarqand from 
the Uzbegs (J.R.A.S. 1916, p. 69). That must have been after his death. 



vi \ A FRIEND OF THE OPPRESSED 153 

to our own Shaikh to treat for peace. Maulana Muhammad, on 
meeting our Shaikh, greatly praised the Mirza Babur, and said 
he was a prince of the most exalted sentiments ; and our Shaikh, 
in response, told him that the acts of his forefathers had done 
him much harm, and without this he might have effected great 
things ; that, in their time, he himself was a poor faqir in Herat, 
together with a great number of similar persons, all of whom 
suffered much from their persecutions. Finally, peace was made, 1 
and Mirza Babur made it a matter of stipulation that he should 
be permitted to concilate the goodwill and profit by the prayers 
of our pious Shaikh, from whose spiritual powers he had met with 
so much loss and discomfiture." 

In the same work there are further statements regarding the 
spiritual powers of this celebrated Shaikh. He claimed to be 
able to affect the minds of the sovereigns in such a manner as to 
compel them to conform to his will, and even to leave their thrones 
and seek a refuge at his feet. This power is called taskhir, or the 
'subduing faculty'. The Shaikh says of himself: "Were I to 
live as a Shaikh, none other would have any murids or disciples ; 
but my business is to preserve Mussulmans from the evils of 
oppression. On this account I am in conflict with .sovereigns, 
and must therefore compel them to conform to my demands, and 
so promote the welfare and interests of the true believers. Through 
the especial favour of the Most 'High, a strength or power is given 
to me by which, should I desire it, the Sovereign of Khatai, who 
assumes to be a god, would obey a letter from me, and, leaving 
his kingdom, come barefooted after forsaking his kingdom, and 
seek the sill of my door. Although I possess so much power, I 
am wholly submissive to the will of the Most High ; and whenever 
it is a matter referring to the will, His command reaches me, and 

1 This reconciliation between Mirza Babur and Sultan Abu Sa'id is not 
alluded to in the TariUi-i-Rashldi, nor does it explain who the Maulana 
Muhammad Mu'amma was. M u^amma means ' enigma ', and Maulana 
Sharaf-ud-Dm Yazdl, author of the Zafar-nama, had introduced a new kind 
of problem, apparently astronomical, before his death in 1454 (Tarikh-i- 
Eashldl, pp. 84-5). It was the fashion about this time for every Sultan to 
have one of Hazrat Maulana's disciples for a spiritual guide, but who the 
guide of Mirza Babur was is not mentioned (ib. p. 213). Shahab-ud-Dln 
Mu'ammai, ' the Punster ', was a poet who also wrote a book of enigmas. 
He accompanied the Emperor Babur to India, where he died in 942 H., 
A,D. 1535 (Beale, Or. Biog. Dy. p. 360). 



154 A RECONCILIATION vi 

it assumes a bodily form. For this, great moral sentiment is 
essential, and it is this which subdues my will to the superior 
one of the Most High, so that it is His will which ensures (justice." 

A person relates that he was once a spectator of a scene between 
the Shaikh and Sultan Ahmad Mirza, in the village of Matrid. 1 
The latter had called to make a visit to the Shaikh, and they were 
both seated near to each other, the Shaikh composedly conversing 
with the Sultan, but the latter was so much under the influence of 
his ' subduing power ' that great fear and alarm were clearly 
visible in his features, and large drops of perspiration flowed down 
his face, whilst his whole frame was singularly convulsed. This 
fact has been sustained by the testimony of witnesses, and its 
truthfulness is strongly corroborated. Then follows an account 
of the reunion of three princes through the powers of the Shaikh, 
and the subduing to peace of these and all their forces by a kind 
of spell. 2 The warlike spirits of these were wonderfully calmed, 
and kept in perfect subjection, until a formal document of pacifica- 
tion was drawn up by the Shaikh and signed by the princes. 

On another occasion an employee of the Shaikh, whilst travelling 
in Khatai with a karwdn (caravan) laden with goods, was attacked 
by Kalmucks, and through the wonderful powers of a sword 
belonging to the Shaikh, his pious master, he put the whole band 
of robbers to flight when all of his companions had given them- 
selves up as lost. On his return, having related this surprising 
affair to the Shaikh, the latter explained it to him, by the fact 
that, having submitted his own feeble will to that of the Most 
High, a superhuman ' power of the will ' was granted him, by 
which he overcame his enemies. 

Many individuals who have seriously wronged and oppressed 
his friends received punishments through the powers of the 
Shaikh. Several instances are related wherein some such even 
fell sick and died, or were only restored to health by open declara- 
tion of repentance, and imploring his prayerful intercession with 
God. His spirit seems to have accompanied those in .whose 
welfare he took an active interest, and enabled them to commune 
with him, though far distant from him. His power of hearing 

1 Matrid, Matarid, the quarter of Samarqand, which gave his title to 
Abu Mansur Matarldi of Samarqand (p. 379 infra). 

2 This is the incident fully described in Beveridge's article in J.R.A.S. 
1916, pp, 70 ff. 



vi X MESMERISM 155 

them was well known to his friends, and several instances are 
cited to prove the fact. His power of affecting the health of those 
who injured him or his friends was greatly increased whilst he 
was excited by anger, and on such occasions his whole frame 
would be convulsed, and his beard move about as if moved by 
electricity. On learning details of cruelty done to innocent 
individuals, the Shaikh would be strangely affected, so much so 
that no one dared to address him until the paroxysm was passed; 
and on such occasions he never failed to commune spiritually 
with the sovereign or prince in such a mysterious manner, as to 
inspire him to deal justly with the guilty person, and secure his 
merited punishment. 

Through his ' mystical powers ' many persons were impressed 
with the unrighteousness of their course, and having repented of 
the same, became good and pious and firm believers in his spiritual 
influences. These powers were always connected with his prayers, 
and it was during these that he was enabled to assure the parties 
interested of their salutary results, and the acceptation of their 
desires. It scarcely needs to be added that these prayers were in 
conformance with Islamism, and were offered up to Allah, whom 
he adored, and to whose supreme will he attributes his powers. 
He constantly performed the zikr jihri, or ' audibly called God's 
name ', and the frequent repetition of this practice fitted him for 
such holy purposes. Sometimes he would affect the mind of the 
individual upon whom he exercised his powers, in such a manner 
as to throw him into a species of trance, after which he could 
remember nothing that he had previously known, and continued 
in this state until the Shaikh chose to restore him to the enjoy- 
ment of his ordinary faculties. Notwithstanding all of these 
eminent powers, this great Shaikh is reputed to have spent the 
latter days of his life at Herat in extreme indigence, much slighted 
and neglected by those who had so admired him whilst in the 
vigour of his career. All fear of his mystical influences seems to 
have disappeared, and it is narrated that these greatly declined 
with his ordinary strength of mind and body. 



156 PRECURSORS OF THE NAQSHBANDI 

APPENDICES TO CHAPTER VI 

A. PRECURSORS OF THE NAQSHBANDI AND ALLIED ORDERS 

A consideration of the known dates given in square brackets shows at 
once that this passage is a very inexact account of the sequence of the 
teachers mentioned in it. Khurqam could hardly have been in the actual 
service of Bayazid, seeing that the latter must have been dead many years 
before he was born, as indeed the text itself admits. 

To give the sequence in more exact order : 

Abu Yazid Taifur b. 'Isa al-BistamJ, or b. 'Isa b. Adam b. Surushan, 
died in 261 H. (A.D. 875), or two or three years later. His grandfather was 
a Magian, but little is known of him except that he led an ascetic life. 
Legend has deduced from his biography that he ascended to heaven (mi'raj). 
He was clearly a convinced pantheist and probably the first to introduce 
the doctrine of /ana' (nirvana in Buddhism) into Moslem thought. His 
followers are called Taifuria or Bistamla (E.I. i. p. 686). His teacher was 
an Indian, one Abu 'AH as-Sindi (R. Hartmann, Der Islam, vi. p. 43). 

Abu 'All Muhammad b. al-Qasim al-Rudbari died in 322 H. (A.D. 934). 
But he had a sister's son, Abu Abdullah Ahmad b. 'Ata Rudbari, who was 
also called Abu 'All al-Rudbari and who may be meant. He lived at Sur 
and died in 369 H. (A.D. 980) (Nicholson, Kitdb al-Luma', p. xviii and n. 1 
on p. xix). 

Abu 'Usman Sa'id b. Isma'Il al-Maghribi died in 373 H. (A.D. 984). 
Some of his teaching was influenced by that of Mansur al-Hallaj (L. 
Massignon, Kitab al-fawasin, pp. 127, 161, 163-4, and 171). 

Abu'l Hasan 'AH b. Ahmad al-Khurqam, ' of Khurqan ' (or Karraqan), 
successor of Abu Sa'id, doubtless the Grand Shaikh Abu Sa'id b. Abi'l- 
Khair Fazl-ullah b. Muhammad al-Maiham, and like him one who looked 
upon Mansur al-Hallaj with favour (Nicholson, Kashf al-Mahjub, pp. 163 
and 150). Abu'l Hasan died in 435 H. (A.D. 1034), or ten years earlier 
(M. Hartmann, Der islamische Orient, vi.-x. p. 308). An earlier Abu'l 
Husain Kharqam, author of the Sharh-i-Makhzan al-Asrar and Mirat 
al-Muhaqqiqin, containing explanations of the Sufi rites of initiation and 
rules of the order, had died in 378 H. =A.D. 986 (Beale, Or. Biogr. Dy. 25). 

Abu'l Qasim 'All b. 'Abdullah al-Gurganl died in 450 H. (A.D. 1058), or 
in 469 H. Nicholson regards the later date as the more probable (Kashf 
al-Mahjub, p. xix). 

Here again we find discrepancies in the filiation, due possibly to doctrinal 
dissensions within the order. One authority omits this Abu'l Qasim from 
the chain, but mentions him as a pupil of Khurqani with the title of Ibn 
'Abd-ul-Wahid. It also makes him affiliated to Junaid and through him 
to 'Ali (M. Hartmann, op. cit, p. 308). 

" From them," says the text, " came the spiritual powers of Junaid," etc. 
But this should read : To them came these powers from Junaid, d. A.D. 
910, Saqati, d. 871, Ma'ruf Karkhl, d. 816, and Da'ud Ta'i, d. 782 (v. notes 
on p. 50 supra). Habib Sajami can only be the Habib 'Ajami of p. 50, n. 
supra ', but as he is styled a teacher of Hasan of Basra it is more likely that 



vi A COMMUNIST SHAIKH 157 

Hablb al-Ra'i is meant. The latter was a companion of Salman Farsi, 
and his full name was Abu Halim Hablb b. Salim al-Ra'I. He had flocks 
of sheep and his home was on the Euphrates. Unfortunately the only 
information we have about Mm is that he was miraculously supplied with 
milk and honey in the wilderness, while a wolf looked after his sheep 
(Nicholson, Ka#hf al-M ahjub, p. '90). 

Hasan BasrI appears in the original as ' Hasan Basaree ', so it is not 
impossible that Hasan of Basra is not intended at all. If so, it is not easy 
to say whose identity is disguised under this name. One Abu'l-Husain 
BasrI may be the Abu'l-Hasan al-Husri, a native of Basra who resided at 
Baghdad and died in 371 H. (A.D. 982), but he was a pupil of Shibll, not of 
Hablb (v. Nicholson, Kitab al-Luma\ p. xvii). BasrI was also a title of ibn 
Salim, the founder of the Salimls (ib. p. xix). 

It is interesting to compare this ' apostolical succession ' with that of 
the communist Shaikh Badr-ud-Dln Mahtmud b. Isra'il b. 'Abd-ul-'Aziz, 
whose grave is at Seres in Macedonia, where he was hanged in A.D. 1416. 
It begins with Junaid, and Abu 'All Ahmad, ar-Eudbarl is described as his 
successor under the curious variant, 'All Da'udbarl. After him' come : 
Abu 'All b. al-Katib, who died post 340 H. (A.D. 951). 
[Abu 'Osman al-Maghribl, who died in A.D. 983.] 
Abu'l Qasim 'All al-Gurgam. 

Then the succession diverges from that of the Naqshbandis and we 
have: 

Abu Bakr Nassaj, ' the Weaver ', who died in 487 H. (A.D. 1094). 
Ahmad Ghazall, who died in 517 H. (A.D. 1123). 
Abu'l Fazl Ibrahim of Baghdad. 
Abu'l Barakat of Baghdad. 
Abu Sa'd of Andalusia. 
, Abu Madyan Shu'aib b. al-Husain, also of Andalusia, who died in 594 H. 

(A.D. 1197). 
Abu'1-Fath as-Sa'idi. 
Husain of Akhlat. 
Badr-ud-Din. 

Although this Badr-ud-Dm is not mentioned by Brown his activities are 
of cardinal importance in the history of Islam in Turkey. The succession 
given above is due to a modern writer (Mehmed Tahir, author of the 'Osmanli 
Mu'ellifleri) who does not indicate the sources whence it is taken. Accord- 
ing to other authorities Badr-ud-Din was a descendant of the Saljuqian 
Sultans. His father lived in Simaw, near Kutahia, and in spite of his 
descent was made qazl of Simaw by Murad I. Badr-ud-Din received an 
excellent education and went as a youth to Egypt, where he studied under 
several well-known philosophers and jurists, chiefly of the Hanafite school. 
There, too, he may well have met Husain of Akhlat, a Sufi of that Armenian 
town, whom he is said to have succeeded in the headship of the Sufi order. 
This biography may not be devoid of historical fact, but it fails to bring 
out the probable truth that Badr-ud-Dln was compelled to seek an asylum 
in Egypt from the Mughal inroads, just as Husain certainly was. His 
subsequent career shows that he was employed as a Qazl 'askarl, or judge 
of the forces, but eventually banished. In that office he acquired con- 



158 ' THE SUHRAWARDlS vi 

siderable influence in Rumelia, but he had, also in that capacity, a much 
more dangerous man in his employ. This was Mustafa the Burkluja, ' the 
small cap man ', who was his kat-khuda or kiaya, ' intendant ', and preached 
ibaha, the doctrine of communism with respect to all property save women. 
He also claimed the wilayat, and his followers set him above the prophets. 
They abjured the wearing of the zarkula or gold-embroidered cap, went 
bareheaded, and wore but a single garment. A leaning to, or at least a 
policy of union with, the Christians was undoubtedly part of their programme, 
but it is impossible to say how far it was based on genuine toleration and 
how far on the desire to obtain, material support in their designs. What 
those were is equally obscure. The zarkula or uskuf, as von Hammer calls 
it, became later on the headdress of the Janissary officers. It was pre- 
scribed by Murad I. as the head-covering of his courtiers (Geschichte des 
osmanischen Beiches (2), i. p. 156). It could hardly have been worn by the 
Anatolian peasantry or even by Burkluja Mustafa, himself an ordinary 
Turkish farmer. Its rejection looks like a protest against the Ottoman 
court, its luxury or extravagance. Possibly Mustafa acquired his name by 
declining to wear a zarkula even as an official. But all this is conjectural. 
All that seems certain is that Mustafa raised a dangerous movement in 
Western Asia Minor, that though Badr-ud-Din took no active part in it he 
claimed Mustafa as his servant, and escaping from his place of banishment 
(Ismq) went to Rumelia to raise there also the standard of revolt. Badr- 
ud-Din was also in touch with another rebel, Torlaq Hu Kamal, or the Jew 
Torlaq Kamal, as he is called by some writers. Nothing certain is. known 
about this sectary's names, aims, or principles, but Hans Lowenklau, the 
founder of Turkish studies in Europe, equates the Torlaq-lar or followers of 
Torlaq with the Durmish-lar, a body otherwise unknown, forlaq means 
' untamed, untaught ', but it appears to have no connection with turmaq, 
from tur-, which may be connected with Durmish (v. note on p. 468 infra). 
Where so much is obscure, the following points may be noted : Both 
Mustafa and Torlaq were put to death, but their graves are apparently 
forgotten. Their followers were exterminated and their tenets were never 
revived. Badr-ud-Din, on the contrary, was buried by his followers in a 
tomb built of stone, with a pyramid like the Saljuqian gunbaz or dome. 
But his cult is not popular. 

B. THE SUHRAWARDI ORDER AND ITS DISCIPLES 

The first al-Suhrawardi was Abu'l Najib 'Abd al-Qahir b. 'Abdullah 
al-Suhrawardi, the well-known author of the Adab al-Muridin, ' Manners of 
the Disciples ', who died in 563 H. (A.D. 1167), leaving two sons, 'Abd al- 
Rahim and 'Abd al-Latif, according to Nicholson, Kitab al-Luma 1 (p. xl). 
He was also the author of a collection of anecdotes concerning Shafi'i 
(Wiistenfeld, Der Imam Schafi'i, p. 8). 

Brown's authorities averred that Abu'l Najib founded the Nurbakhshis, 
and that Shihab-ud-Dln Suhrawardi, who died at Baghdad in 1206, founded 
the Suhrawardis. The latter statement is not based on the authority of 
Atayi, who says that this Shihab-ud-Dln founded the Nurbakhshis, 
and places his death a year earlier, in 1205 = 602 H. (von Hammer, 



vi THE ISHRAQIS 159 

GdOR., i. p. 139). It is usually held that the Nurbakhshis, Suhrawardls, 
and Ishraqis were identical, and it is self-evident that they were closely 
akin; but Brown may be correct in drawing a distinction here, though 
on p. 82 he makes the Suhrawardis the same as the Nurbakhshis. The 
Ishraqis apparently owed their foundation to another (?) Shihab-ud-Din, 
surnamed Qatil-ullah, SuhrawardI, of Aleppo, the Maqtul, so known because 
he was executed at that city in A.D. 1191, at the age of thirty-eight. Belong- 
ing originally to the Shafi'I school, which was then regarded as of very 
doubtful orthodoxy, he studied jurisprudence at Maragha, but subsequently 
devoted himself to philosophy at Ispahan, Baghdad, and Aleppo. He set 
forth the tenets of his sect, the Ishraqiun or ' Illuminati ', in his work, 
the Hikmat al-Ishraq, ' the Philosophy of Enlightment '. He also wrote 
the Kalimat al-Tasawwaf, ' Precepts of Mysticism '. At Aleppo he found 
a powerful patron in the Viceroy Malik Zahir, son of Saladin, but the 
influence of the orthodox party secured his condemnation. His grave 
is still pointed out at a spot outside the al-Faraj Gate close to the Christian 
quarter (A. von Kremer, Gescht. der herrschenden Ideen des Islams, p. 90, 
and Dr. P. Babinger in Der Islam, xi. p. 73 ; also L. Massignon, Kitdb 
al-Tawasin, p. xviii). After this event the scene changes to Baghdad, where 
in 632 H. (A.D. 1234-35) died Shihab-ud-Dln SuhrawardI or 'Umar al- 
Suhrawardl, the founder, according to one Indian tradition, of the Suhra- 
wardis. Another ascribes it to Sh. Zia-ud-Dln, a son of Abu'l Najib, and 
yet a third to Abu'l Najib himself. Probably Abu'l Najlb's unorthodox 
views and the condemnation of Shihab-ud-Din (which we need not decide) 
rendered it dangerous to use the term Ishraqi or to assign the foundation 
of the order to them, so it was content to be known by more colourless titles. 
In any case the real founder of the order or orders was doubtless Abu'l 
Najib. One of his sons or immediate descendants carried his teaching into 
India, where the Nizam of Haidarabad claims descent from Shihab-ud-Din. 

There is considerable disagreement as to the chronology of the Suhra- 
wardis and their descent. Beale makes Shihab-ud-Din I. a son of Abu'l 
Njalb, and assigning his birth to 539 H. (A.D. 1145) extends his life to 632 H. 
(A.D. 1234), when he died at Baghdad in his ninety -third year. To him he 
ascribes the Awarif al-Ma'drif and the Awarif al-Haqa'iq, adding that he is 
said to have written the Hikmat al-Ishraq as well. The death of Shihab- 
ud-Din II. he assigns to 585 H. (A.D. 1189) at Aleppo, and his condemna- 
tion to Saladin himself. He calls his Commentaries the Sharah Haydkal 
and the Sharah Ayzdh, adding that according to Hajl Khalfa he also wrote 
a work styled the Aql Surkh (v. Oriental Biographical Did., p. 360). 

Massignon speaks of the school of SuhrawardI of Aleppo as ' emanatiste, 
ishrdq ' (La passion d'al-Hosayn-ibn-Mansour al-Hallaj, ii. p. 561). 

The ishrdqiun made the Hellenistic invocation to Him Who causalises 
Beings, but is not Himself causalised, go back to Plato (Massignon, La 
passion d'al-Hosayn-ibn-Mansour al-Hallaj, ii. p. 641, citing Baha 'Amill, 
Kashkiil, 284, 330). 

One ''Omar bin Yasserbedlissee', in original/Shaikh 'Umar Yazlr, founded 
a school or order to which belonged the mystic Husam ud-Dln. The latter's 
son, Maulana Idris Hakim ud-Dm Bidlisi (of Bitlis in Turkish Armenia), 
served first in the chancellory of Ya'qub, son of Uzun Hasan, Sultan of the 



160 NAJM-UD-DIN KUBRA vi 

Turcomans of the White Sheep (died in 1490-91), but he was induced to 
enter the Ottoman service and attained fame as a soldier and historian, 
dying in 1520. Shaikh 'TJmar Yazic must thus have been earlier than the 
fifteenth century (cf. E.I. i. p. 715). As to Husam-ud-Dm, Bvliya says he 
had a disciple, one Er Sultan, who was born at Angora, where he was also 
buried, and whose place of pilgrimage is Hizr, on a high mountain east of 
Angora. When imprisoned at Angora he gave the order for his burial, and 
next morning was found washed and perfumed for it, a story which suggests 
that he was persecuted and secretly put to death. Suicide can hardly be 
hinted at (Travels, ii. p. 234). Evliya calls him " the leader of divine truth, 
the discoverer of mysteries ". He also tells a story of a dream in which he 
was visited by a man with a yellow beard, honey-coloured cowl, and a turban 
of twelve folds, in whom we ought to have no difficulty in recognising Sari 
(' yellow ') Saltik, ' the blond apostle ', who is known at Angora as Er 
Sultan (Travels, ii. p. 232). 

Najm-ud-DIn Kubra (or Qubra according to some authorities) was Abu'l 
Jannab Ahmad b. 'Umar al-Khiwaqi (of Khiva or Khwarazm), commonly 
known as Shaikh Najm-ud-Dln Kubra. Kubra is said to be an abbrevia- 
tion of his nickname at-Tammatu'1-Kubra, ' the supreme calamity ', given 
to him on account of his great vigour in debate. The title of Abu'l- Jannab 
was given to him by the Prophet in a dream to denote that he was to sedu- 
lously avoid the world. He was also nicknamed WaK-tirash, ' the Saint- 
carver ', because any one on whom his glance fell in moments of ecstasy was 
believed to attain to the degree of saintship j and this influence extended 
to the animal world. He wrote in Persian the Sifattfl-Adab, ' the Rules of 
Conduct ', for Sufi neophytes. On p. 268 infra his death is assigned to the 
year 1220, but it seems certain that he was massacred by the Mongols of 
Chingiz Khan at Khwarazm in the following year. He had many disciples, 
including Sh. Abu- Sa'id Majd-ud-Dm, Sharaf b. al-Mu'ayyad b. Abi'1-Fath- 
al-Baghdadl (d. 1209 or 1219), Sh. Sa'd-ud-Din Hamawi of Hamat (d. 1253), 
Baba Kamak of Jand, Sh. Raziyyu'd-Din 'AH Lala, Sh. Saif-ud-Dln Bak- 
harzl, Sh. Najm-ud-DIn of Rai, Sh. Jamal-ud-Dln of Gilan, and, as some 
assert, Baha-ud-Din Walad himself. On p. 268 infra Najm-ud-Din Kubra 
is said to have founded an order of his own, the Kubrawis, but a tradition 
current in India makes him the founder of an order called Firdausi, a designa- 
tion hard to explain. The 'AH b. Sa'id Lala of the text is probably 
Raziyyu'd-Din 'AH Lala, and he may have continued the Nurbakhshi 
tradition (v. E. G. Browne, A Literary Hist, of Persia, ii. pp. 491 ff.). 

A disciple of Najm-ud-Din was the poet and mystic Sh. Saif-ud-Dln 
Bakharzl, of Bakharz in Khurasan, who died in A.D. 1260 (Cl. Huart, Les 
Saints des Derviches tourneurs, p. 239). 

'Amir Sultan, Shams-ud-Dm Muhammad b. 'All al-Husaini al-Bukhari, 
also called Saiyid Muhammad Bukhara, Saiyid Amir Sultan, and Amir 
Saiyid, was born about 770 H. (A.D. 1369). Evliya says he was born at 
Bukhara, and that on visiting Madina he was refused recognition by the 
Sharifs, but obtained it when' a voice from the Prophet's tomb acknowledged 
him as a descendant of Muhammad and bade him go to Rum ' with the 
lamp '. He settled at Brusa, where he made 400,000 disciples. He married 
Nilufar Khanum, daughter of the Sultan Bayazid Ilderim, and died at 



vi AMIR SULTAN 161 

Brusa in 833 H., A.D. 1429 (Travels, ii. pp. 25-6). Such alliances between 
saints and daughters of ruling princes are a commonplace of religious tradi- 
tion, but this union is said to be a historical fact (E.I. i. p. 900, s.v. Damad). 
The name of the princess is, however, given as Khundi Sultan by other 
authorities (ib. ii. p. 26). It seems certain that he played an important 
part as a mediator in the invasion of Tlmur. Tradition also says that when 
Bayazid I. (Ilderim), the actual conqueror of Qaramania, had been recog- 
nised as Sultan of Rum by the Caliph he granted the privilege of girding on 
his sword to his son-in-law ' Shaikh Bukhara, surnamed Amir Sultan '. 
That title was, however, bestowed in him on account of his learning, accord- 
ing to Miss L. M. J. Garnett (Mysticism and Magic in Turkey, pp. 167 and 33). 
The Aniir Bukhara of the text below (p. 142) is clearly another title of this 
Amir Sultan. Three 'Amir Bukhara ' takias at Constantinople are or were 
until recently held by the Naqshbandis (v. pp. 470, 471, and 472 infra, and 
fourth in Stambul, p. 470). But ' Amir Sultan ' is also said to be one of 
the titles of the Shaikh of the Maulavis (Hasluck, Annual, B.S.A. xix. p. 210). 
The splendid mausoleum of the Amir Sultan Shams-ud-Dm at Brusa is one 
of the most popular places of pilgrimage of Islam. He must not be confused 
with another ' Amir Sultan ', or ' Amir Effendi ' as he is generally called, 
Shaikh Usman of Siwas, who was a Bairami and is buried at Kulaksiz 
(Evliya, i. part 2, p. 48). 

He must also be distinguished from Shams-ud-Din Bukhari, so named 
from his Persian birth. He was the leading Shaikh of the reign of Muhammad 
II. (1451-81), and is also claimed by the Naqshbandi as one of their prin- 
cipals, a disciple of Sh. Alahi. The convent of Sh. ' Bukhara ', still one of 
the most famed Naqshbandl cloisters at Constantinople, was called after 
him (Hammer-Purgstall, GdOD., i. p. 211). 

Ilahi brought Sh. Bukhari (also known as Amir Bukhari) from Bukhara 
to Constantinople, where he died in 922 H., A.D. 1516-17 (Gibb, Hist, of Ott. 
Poetry, ii. p. 374). 

Muhammad Bukhara, as Sari Saltuk (or -ik) Dede was commonly called, 
was a disciple of Ahmad Yasawi, who sent him with 700 men of .Khurasan 
to assist Haji Baqtash on his mission to raise the Janissaries. Baqtash 
sent him into the Dobruja with 70 men, and there he killed the dragon in 
the caves of Kilgra, and converted the king of the Dobruja with 40,000 men. 
Saltuk Muhammad then went in disguise to Poland to kill the monk Sari 
Saltuk whose name he took and dwelt in his cell. The new Sari Saltuk 
converted all the Lipka-Tatars to Islam, extended his conquests to Dantzig, 
and thence pushed his inroads towards Moscovy. He is now the patron 
saint of the makers of buza or beer, but Evliya disputes this saying that 
Sari Saltuk-Dedeh was a great saint (Travels, i. part 2, p. 245). Further 
on he extends the saint's itinerary from the Dobruja to Wallachia, Moldavia, 
Poland, and Russia (ii. p. 21). This personage seems purely legendary. 



M 



CHAPTER VII 

THE BAQTASHIS ] THEIR COSTUME THEIR TWELVE IMAMS 

THE INITIATION OF A BAQTASH 

THE Darvishes bearing this denomination derived it from the 
name of the founder of the tariq, or ' path '. He was a native of 
Bukhara. It would seem that there were two persons of this 
name, Baqtash, the preceding one adding to his name quli, or 
' servant ' (of God), and was the author of a mystical work called 
Bustdn-al-Khial (' The Garden of Mental Reflection '), in much 
repute among spiritual Mussulmans. The other is called Haji 
Baqtash, and lived 2 in Asia Minor during the reign of the Ottoman 

1 The word Baqtash is so spelt by many good authorities, but it appears 
to be frequently pronounced Bagtash or Begtash. Its meaning is obscure. 
Its original form may have been Betesh or Petesh, but George of Hungary, 
writing in the middle of the fifteenth century, called the saint Hartschi 
Petesch, arid his transliteration of the second word may have been as 
inaccurate as his transformation of Hail into ' Hartschi '. Leake savs the 

i/ 

Bektashll are so called from a Cappadocian saint who wore a stone upon his 
navel, so the derivation from geubek-tash, lit. 'navel-stone', may be more 
than a false etymology, though Hasluck did not accept it (Annual, B.S.A. 
xx. p. 105). It may be noted that in the Gulistan Baktash appears as the 
name of a prudent man ; it is also said to be the name of a king of Khwarazm ; 
so it may be a proper name, connoting the power of foreknowledge. Red- 
house defines bek tash (no q) as ' an equal in birth, station, or rank ; or rather 
an equal with a prince '. In Turkish -tash (dash) in compounds means 
' companion ', as in Khwafa-tash, ' a fellow pupil '. A stone is tash (Turk, 
and Eng. Lex. pp. 395 and 477). 

2 The text here patently requires correction. 763 H. = A.D 1362. For 
' lived ' should be read ' died '. But it is very doubtful if Baqtash lived 
into the reign of Murad I. According to a Turkish writer he died in 738 H. 
(A.D. 1337-38), and that is the traditional date of his death (J.B.A.S., 1907, 
p. 535, and Hasluck in B.S.A. xx. p. 96). Evliya is quite explicit in his 
assertions that Haji Baqtash was a historical personage. After 'U?man 

162 



vii THE JANISSARIES 163 

sovereign, Sultan Murad I. [1360-89] in 763 H. As this Order of 
Darvishes was intimately connected with the Ottoman militia l 
known as the Janissaries, now destroyed, some particular notice 
of him seems necessary, even in a work like the present. 

Historians narrate that Hajii Baqtash or Bagtash blessed the 
newly instituted troops, and named them Yani Cheri, or ' New 
Troops ' (the signification of the word ' Janissaries '), whilst others 
dispute it. Von Hammer says they adopted for a head-dress the 
white felt cap of the Darvish Hajl Bagtash, the founder of an 
order spread over the Ottoman empire ; that the Sultan Orkhan, 
accompanied by the new renegades (of whom the Janissaries were 
composed), met him in the village of Sulijay Kenariyun, near to 
Amasia, to implore his benediction, and the gifts of a standard 
and a flag for his new forces. The Shaikh put the sleeve of his 
mantle over the head of one of the soldiers in such a manner that 
it hung down behind his back, and then declared the following 
prophecy : " The militia which you have just created shall be 
called Yani Cheri, its figure shall be fair and shining, its arm 
redoubtable, its sword cutting, and its arrow steeled. It shall be 
victorious in all battles, and never return except triumphant." 
In commemoration of this benediction, the white felt cap of the 
Janissaries was increased by the addition of a piece of the same 
pendant on their backs, and ornamented with a wooden spoon. 
As most of the Janissaries were incorporated into the Order of the 
Baqtashes, they formed a military fraternity, of which all the 
members were, at the same time, monks and soldiers, differing 
but little from the Knights of the Temple, the Hospital, and of 
Malta. It is possible that the approximity of the Knights of 
Rhodes, whose galleys aided the first crusaders to seize upon 
Smyrna during the reign of Sultan Orkhan, may have inspired 
this prince with the idea of uniting the renegade soldiers into a 

had thrice laid siege to Brusa without supcess, he sent his son Orkhan with 
Hajl Baqtash to renew the siege, and in 1322 it surrendered. Orkhan 
entered the city with the Hajl and there fixed his residence (Travels, ii. 
pp. 3-4). But Evliya adds that Hajl Begtash died in the reign of Orkhan 
and was buried in that ruler's presence in the capital of Crimea (surely 
Qaramania), where his tomb was restored by one Shaitan Beg in the time of 
Sultan Sulaiman (ib. p. 21). Unfortunately, Evliya is not chronologically 
trustworthy, for he assigns Orkhan's death to 771 H. (A.D. 1369), whereas he 
died in 1360, or at all events ceased to reign in that year (cf. p. 19). 
1 See Appendix to this chapter. 



164 HAJI BAQTASH 



VII 



monical-military corps, under the patronage of the Shaikh Haji 
Baqtash. There was also this remarkable fact connected with 
his Order, that the Shaikh who directed it was at the same time 
Colonel of the 99th Regiment, arid that eight of his Darvishes 
established in the barracks of the Janissaries offered up prayers 
there day and night for the prosperity of the empire and the 
success of the arms of their companions, who called themselves of 
the family of Haji Baqtash. 

The preceding is, however, denied in the Ottoman history of 
'Ashiq Pasha-Zada, 1 of which the following extract has been 
furnished me by Dr. Mordtmann : "I have not included Haji 
Baqtash among the list of the 'ulama and fugra of Rum wilayat, 
because, unlike the others, he had never any connection with the 
Ottoman Sultans. Haji Baqtash came from Khorasan, with his 
brother Mantish, 2 and they established themselves at Siwas (in 

1 A MS. of his History is in the Vatican, and J. von Hammer published 
a study on him in Journal Asiatique, vol. iy. He wrote in' the reign of 
Bayazld I., and his work is the nearest approach to an Ottoman source for 
the fourteenth century (H. A. Gibbons, The Foundation of the Ottoman 
Empire, pp. 327, 341). 

2 ' His brother Mentish . No other allusion to any brother of Haji 
Baqtash can be traced. The name also appears in the form Mintash (the 
all-powerful minister who dethroned Sultan Barquq of Damascus, but was 
defeated in A.D. 1389, was so named : E.I. i. p. 908). One of the Turkish 
amirates of the fourteenth century, a modern sanjaq, was called Mentesh. 
Its founder, who gave his name to this amirate, was a contemporary of 
Orkhan, and during the latter part of his reign and that of Murad the ' amir 
of Menteshe ' possessed great influence (H* A. Gibbons, The Foundation of 
the, Ottoman Empire, p. 294). In later times the dere beys of Mentesh 
enjoyed a feudal jurisdiction under the Sultans, and when it was broken 
up this " very ill-known Carian region " was rendered peculiarly uninviting 
by brigandage, and further exploration of it became difficult (D. G. Hogarth, 
Ionia and the East, p. 103). 

The name Mentish may, however, be quite unconnected with the founder 
of Mentesh. Haji Baqtash had a disciple called Khoja Ahmad, by name 
Haidar, who travelled with him to Csesarea and there took to wife a Christian 
named Mene. The whole village of the Haji's burial-place claims descent 
from this pair, and Hasluck suggests that the Christian occupant (real or 
imaginary) of the site was S. Menas, who, on account of the popular deriva- 
tion of his name from /^i/tfw, is looked on by the Orthodox as the revealer 
of things hidden (Annual, B.S.A. xx. p. 120). But the same writer mentions 
" the tribe of Mentish (which) eventually gave its name to the qaza of 
Mughla in Caria, but can be traced by villages bearing its name right across 
Asia Minor from the Siwas district westward. In tradition Mentish figures 
as the brother of Haji Bektash [Brown is cited as the authority], who was 



CLASSES IN RM 165 

Asia Minor), near to Baba Ilias. At a later period they went to 
Kaisaria, from which place his brother returned to their own 
country by Siwas, and was killed on the way. Baqtash, whilst 
on his way from Kaisaria to the Kaza Ujuk, 1 died, and was 
interred there, where his holy tomb still exists. 2 The people of 
Rum are divided into four classes of musdfirs* (guests), one, 
Ghdziydn-i-Rum, or the ' Heroes of Rum ' ; one Akhidn [Akhwdn]- 
i-Rum* or the ' Brothers of Rum ' ; and the other, the Abddldn-i- 
Rum, or the ' Abddls or ascetes of Rum'. 5 There is also one 
more branch, called the Ham-Bdjiydn-i-Rum, or the ' Sisters of 
Rum '. 6 Haji Baqtash chose the Bdjiydn-i-Rum among the 



himself probably before his usurpation by the Hurufi sect no more than a 
tribal ancestor " (" Heterodox Tribes of Asia Minor ", in J. Anthrop. InsL, 
1921, p. 319). 

1 ' The Kaza Ujuk ' should be Suluja Qara Uyuk or Yuk. This was 
the place which Ahmad Yasawi bestowed saintship on the Haji, and where 
the mother-convent of the Bektash was subsequently built. 

2 See Appendix to this chapter. 

3 Miisafir, itinerant, as opposed to rmiqim, ' resident ' (Nicholson, Kashf 
ul-Mahjub, p. 340). 

4 The Akhwan, a sect* founded recently in Central Arabia, has revived 
the use of the white cap, claiming that it was the original Arab head-dress, 
and that the 'aqal worn over the kaffiyah or usual woollen head-dress is of 
Persian origin and an invention of the Shi' a heretics. The alch or ' brother ' 
practises extreme simplicity of life and costume, and says there is no 
difference -between the mudaiyin or adherent of his sect and the Wahhabi 
(Pioneer Mail, June 4,, 1920). 

5 The fourfold division is characteristic of many Oriental schemes of 
social and religious organisation (J. von Hammer, GdOE. (2), i. p. 583). 
The GhaziE corresponds to the militant member of a Christian Order, and the 
abdal probably to one who has taken .the full vows. The position of the 
akM is less easy to define. At the close of the fourteenth century the term 
was applied to the great landowners of Galatia, who had taken Angora, 
but were overthrown by Murad I. (J. von Hammer, QdOR. i. p. 144). The 
word then may here denote a lay brother, though in general it means or 
implies ' brother ' in the spiritual sense. 

6 Rajl, ' sister ', Turk. Hambajl is not given in Redhouse's T.-E. Lex., 
but it appears to mean ' companion-sister '. Strictly speaking, baji = ' elder 
sister ', or even colloquially ' spouse '. The Baji-lar were members of a 
women's sect in Asia Minor (Tschudi in Turk Bib., No. 17, p. 20). 

For the Sisters of Rum cf. L. M. J. Garnett, Mysticism and Magic in 
Turkey, pp. 175-6. Holy women have frequently been recognised in Islam, 
but the existence of regular ' societies of female devotees ' may be doubted, 
although from time to time informal associations of pious women may have 



166 THE LADY ANADUR vn 

Bulaurs, 1 and made over his principles of spiritual power to the 
Khatun Anadur (a lady of the latter name), and then died. 



been more or less affiliated to Darvish Orders. The Ardabilis had some 
organisation of the women of their order (v. p. 86 supra). 

Who was the Sybil who, according to Busbequius, made Sulaiman give 
up music and the chanting of young singers, and prohibit use of wine c. 1560 ? 
(Hubbard, The Day of the Orescent, p. 95). 

1 Bulaurs. The Tarikh-i-Rashidi describes Balur as an infidel country 
(Kafiristan), and defines it as bounded on the east by Kashghar and Yarkand, 
on the north by Badakhshan, on the west by Kabul and Lamghan, and on 
the south by the dependencies of Kashmir. The Kafirs of this great knot 
of mountains retained their independence till quite recent times, and Ha/ji 
Baqtash had no sort of connection with any of the holy wars waged against 
them (v. Tarikhri-Sashidi, by N. Elias and E. Denison Ross, pp. 384 ff. 
and the authorities there cited). 

This country can, however, hardly be alluded to. The people meant 
are possibly the Bulghars of the Caucasus, or the Buldur-gol district 
(E.L L p. 784). 

It would, however, be more satisfactory to assume that Bulaurs is a 
misprint for potiir, ' a man converted to Islam from some other religion ' 
(Redhouse, T.-E. Dy., p. 456). Rycaut, indeed, calls the Potures ' a people 
of Bosna '. They are all, he says, " of the sect which strangely mixes 
Christianity and Mahometanism together, reading the Gospel in the Sclavo- 
nian tongue, with which they are supplied out of Moravia and the neigh- 
bouring city of Bagusa-, besides which, they are curious to learn the 
Mysteries of fhe'Alchoran, and the Law of the Arabick tongue, and not to be 
accounted rude and illiterate they affect the Courtly Persian. They drink 
wine in the month of Fast called the Ramazan, but to take off the scandal 
they refuse Cinnamon or other Spices in it and then call it Hardali, and 
passes current for lawful liquor. They have a Charity and Affection for 
Christians, and are ready to protect them from Injuries and Violences of 
the Turks. They believe yet that Mahomet was the Holy Ghost promised 
by Christ, and that the descending of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pente- 
cost was a Figure and Type of Mahomet, interpreting in all places the word 
7rct/xkAijTos, to signifie their Prophet, in whose ear so often the White Dove 
revealed the Infallible directions to happiness.. The Potures of Bosna are 
all of this Sect " ; but, he says, it comprises " many of the Souldiers that 
live on the confines of Hungary and Bosna ". If this conjecture is correct 
the allusion is to the spread of Bektashism in the Balkans, in Albania and 
Epirus (Hasluck in Annual, B.S.A. xxi., "The Geographical Distribution of \ 
the Bektash "). The Bektash influence in the Balkan Peninsula is, curiously I 
enough, hardly touched upon by Brown. Yet, in spite of its origin in the 
eastern provinces, its main fields of activity were in the west of the empire, 
just in those lands which became the main recruiting grounds of the Janis- 
saries (v. Rycaut, The Present State of the Ottoman Empire, p. 131). The 
derivation of Potur is apparently uncertain, but the word also means ' a 



vii THE JANISSARY'S CAP 167 

Although it is stated by the Baqtash Darvishes that he gave the 
taj (crown or cap) to the Janissaries, the assertion is certainly 
false. This white cap already existed in the time of Orkhan 
himself at Balejik. I do not wish to gainsay what I have already 
related in the preceding chapters, and persist in the assertion that 
the white felt cap of the Baqtash Darvishes was taken from the 
Janissaries. /The impulsion for its adoption was given by a 
Shaikh of the Order of the Baqtashls named Abdal-Musa, who, 
having formed the desire to make a campaign, joined the Janis- 
saries, and one day begged from them an old felt cap, which one 
of them loaned him. This he put on his head, and after having 
made the campaign, returned to his own country, wearing it, so 
as to show that he wore the same head-dress as those who fight 
for the Faith. /When he was interrogated as to its name, he said 
it was callefoukma-alif taj, 1 i.e. a cap which never bends, and is 
ever upright, and worn by those who fight for the true faith. This 
is the true origin of the cap of the Janissaries." 

Near the city of Angora, in a village called Baqtashkui, is the 
tomb of Baqtash, much revered by all of his numerous followers 
scattered over the greater part of the Ottoman empire. Over it 
has been erected a pretty mausoleum and a takia, the object of 
veneration and visits from pious Mussulmans generally. 

The Shaikh Hajl Baqtash received his spiritual education from 
Ahmad Yasavi Balkhi, a native of the city of Balkh. The lineal 
descent of the Order is as follows : 

Ahmad Yasavi from 

Yusuf Hamadam, he from 

[Khoja] Abu 'AH al-Farmadhi, he from 

Abu'l-Qasim Gurgam, he from 

Abu'l-Hasan Harrakiam [Khurqani], he from 

kind of full, plaited knee-breeches worn with tight leggings '. It seems to 
have no connection with Pomak, a word of equally unknown origin. 

Possibly, however, the allusion is to the last-mentioned people, generally 
described as Bulgarian Moslems. They include Albanians and Slavs, 
according to Brailsford (Macedonia, pp. 88, 156, 331). The Pomacks " form 
a solid population in the almost purely Moslem belt between Drama and 
the Bulgarian frontier ", but Haji Baqtash had no special connection with 
this tract, though the story of Sari Saltik might bs a greatly distorted 
account of its conversion. 

1 Bukma alif taj, the ' unbending head-dress, straight as a line ', of the 
Janissaries (Tschudi, in Turk. Bib., No. 17, p. 8). 



168 THE 'ALlWlA VII 

Abu-Yazid Bastami, he from 

Ja'far ibn-Muhammad Sadiq (who was of the race and family 
of the Imam Husain, one of the unfortunate sons of the fourth 
and last of the direct Caliphs, 'All), he from 

Muhammad ibn-Abu-Bakr, he from 

Salman-i-Farsi, he from the Shaikh of the two different tariqs, 
viz. the one of 

Abu-Bakr-as-Siddiq (first Caliph), and the other of 

'All (the assumptive fourth Caliph). 

Abu-Bakr-as-Siddlq received his education direct from the 
holy Prophet. 

This tariq is therefore called the Siddiqia (Faithful), from Abu- 
Bakr, and the 'Aliwia ('Allvide) from 'AH. 1 

1 The text is an attempt to vindicate the orthodoxy of the sects which 
style themselves 'Aliwias. This name is affected by the Qizilbash, at least 
by those of Anatolia ; and also by the Takhtajis, at any rate by those of 
the province of Tekke (Lycia), in which the Qizilbash are generally known 
as Takhtaji, though they call themselves 'Aliwi. These Qizilbash are said 
to owe their conversion to Shaikhs of Qonia in the fourteenth century. But 
of the real religion of these Lycian Takhtajis we have little exact informa- 
tion, though that little points to their close connection with the Qizilbash 
further east. The Takhtajis of Cilicia are also reckoned by the Turks as 
Qizilbash, though some writers identify their religion with that of the 
Syrian Nusairi, apparently on insufficient grounds. It must be pointed 
out that the terms Qizilbash or ' red-cap ', and Takhtaji or ' woodman ', 
are very loosely used in Turkey. The former is a nickname applied to a 
widely distributed sect (or very possibly to a group of sects which really 
differ a good deal from one another in doctrine) ; while the latter term is 
essentially an occupational one, almost deserving to be regarded as that of 
an ' occupational caste ' (though it, too, may have extended in practice to 
sectarians who are not Takhtajis by occupation or connected in any way 
with them save that they hold some of the tenets followed by that lowly 
avocation). If we could accept the conjecture of G. Jacob that the name is 
a survival or a revival of the ancient SevdpoQdpot a term whose precise 
meaning has not yet been ascertained we might surmise that the Takhtaji 
are an old guild, half industrial, half religious, very imperfectly Muham- 
madanised (Der Islam, ii. p. 233). Again, the term Qizilbash may never 
have been more than it now is, an offensive nickname. Its literal trans- 
lation is ' red-head ', but von Luschan states that the Qizilbash are not 
more red-haired than their neighbours, and that they are not conspicuous 
by the adoption of a red head-dress (J, B. Anthropological Inst., 1911, 
p. 231). Crowfoot seems to confirm this, and adds that the term has now 
simply an obscene meaning (ib. 1900, p. 305). Seeing that among the 
Qizilbash ' the Virgin is regarded as the Mother of God and much venerated ', 
one is tempted to conjecture that their enemies have distorted some name or 



vii THE TRUE PATHS 160 

All of these persons are known as the Shaikhs, or ; Elders ', 
and as the murshid-i-kamil, or ' perfect spiritual instructors ', 
who teach to others the ' true path ' which leads mankind to 
Allah. There are, however, said to be many such paths, for the 
holy Prophet said in a hadis, or traditional assertion, collected and 
preserved by his earlier followers : 

" The paths leading to God are as numerous as the breaths of 
His creatures." 

Haji Baqtash, Jan-Nush, Shahbaz-i-Qalandar, 1 Jalal-i-Bukhari, 



doctrine connected with the Turkish word kiz, ' virgin ', into the nickname. 
However this may be, it is certain that the Lycian Qizilbash are, or were, 
closely associated with the Bektash, both at their local centre at Almali 
and at the principal sanctuary at Qirshahr, which latter lies at no great 
distance from the villages on the Halys where the Qizilbash actually hail 
one another as ' Bektash '. Indeed, Hasluck surmised that these Qizilbash 
may be affiliated to the Bektash as muhibb or ' lay brethren'' of the order ; 
but the term muhibb denotes one much more fully initiated than a layman 
could be. Still the fact remains that even the distant Qizilbash Kurds visit 
the Bektash shrine at Qirshahr. The tenets of the Qizilbash centre round 
'All, who is identified with Christ, but though the twelve Imams are equated 
to the twelve Apostles no special reverence seems to be paid to Abu Bakr 
(J. R. Anthropo. Inst., 1921, pp. 329 ff.), and so it is not clear why the 
tariq is also called the Siddiqia. 

Some account of the 'Alawia Shi'as of Yeni (New) Apalak, Uran and 
other villages near Albistan is given in Mark Sykes' Dar-ul-Islam. Prob- 
ably of Persian origin, they reverence 'Isa, Muhammad, Moses, Abraham, 
and 'All, placing the last-named above Muhammad, but not esteeming him 
divine. They have a private prayer, offered once a day, which is secret, 
but an 'Alawia is bound to admit his faith on being asked directly. A man 
may marry three wives, and may kill an unfaithful wife, but divorce and 
temporary marriage are both disallowed. A murshid visits each village 
once a year to give definite readings and interpretations of the sacred books, 
and so oh. These books appear to be the five collections of traditions. 
Jews and fire-worshippers are not recognised as ahl-i-kitab (p. 122). These 
'Alawlas have a fine physique and resemble the Druzes in their energetic 
methods of agriculture and in not veiling their women. They are distinct 
from the Afshars of Anatolia (p. 97). 

1 Shahbaz, apparently Qalandar Yusuf Andalusi, ' of Andalusia '. 
Shahbaz means ' falcon '. For the Qalandar see p. 94 supra and p. 299 
infra. Assuming the Spanish origin of the Qalandar order it may be 
suggested that its name, which Brown translates ' pure gold ', is derived 
from the Greek chelidonion, M. Lat. chelidonia, Sp. celidonia (see N.E.D., 
s. vv. celidony and celandine). In alchemy the quintessence of celandine 
" changes the body and renovates it for the better " (Hermetical and Al- 
chemical Writings of Paracelsus, A. E. Waite, ii. p. 27). It also " colours 



170 NAQSHBANDl OFFSHOOTS vn 

Luqman Qalandari, were all disciples of Ahmad al-Yasavi. Of 
these, all were of the Order of the Naqshbandl, and at a later 
period founded each a separate Order. 

Jan-Nush is buried at [in] Khorasan ; Jalal Bukhaii andShahbaz- 



just as though it were endowed with gold " (ib., i. p. 54). The alchemists 
influenced religion in the East in other cases. Thus the Druzes took Hermes 
to be an incarnation of al-Hakim, their god, and the Hurufi Baqtashl 
attribute the. doctrine of the microcosm to 'AH (Textes Houroufis, p. 287). 
In India the Rasesvaras held that an immortal body could be developed by 
the use of mercury (J. N. Farquhar, Outline of the Beligious Literature of 
India, p. 254). 

It must, however, be confessed that the philological difficulties in the 
way of this suggestion are great, and if they are insuperable the choice lies 
between two others : (i.) fr. Pers. kafantar, lit. ' a great head ' a chief man 
(especially for life) in a town (Johnson, Pers.-Arab Diet., p. 1017), and (ii.) 
kalantar, ' an untrimmed stick ', ' a rough, uncouth man ' (ib., p. 1019). 
Both these derivations seem equally unsatisfactory. 

It may be that Qalandar represents the Gr. kylindros, ' roller ', fr. 
kylindein, ' to roll ', though the term never seems to have been used to 
describe a roving monk. The city of Kylindros appears to have been also 
called Kelenderis or Kilindria (W. M. Ramsay, The Hist. Geography of Asia 
Minor, pp. 367, 362, and 350). 

The Qalandars were founded at Sawa in Persia by Jamal-ud-Din Sawiji, 
who fell at Damietta on jihad in A.B. 1218. They appear to have been a 
militant order, or to have had a militant branch. But Najm-ud-Dln ibn 
Isra'il, a Qalandar poet of Damascus, in 1280 A.D., states that the term 
Qalandaria means those who have attained the goal (al-malhiqm). But in 
E.I. ii. pp. 676-7, Ch. Huart and Fr. Babinger express different views, 
stressing their nomad character. 

Dr. F. Babinger thinks that the word is of Indian origin, but it has not 
an Indian sound, and no Indian term has been cited which at all resembles 
it. In Ibn Batuta it appears as Qarandari. It has been thought that it is 
derived from qarinda or qalandan, meaning apparently ' musical instru- 
ments ', but the Qalandar never had any recorded predilection for music. 
The only Turkish word from which the name could be derived is gal, which 
Babinger translates ' pure ' ; Redhouse gives its meaning as " the operation 
of smelting ores or refining metals" (Turlc.-Eng. Lex., p. 1419). Possibly 
Brown or his informant had this word in view when he explained Qalandar 
to mean ' pure gold '. (See " Schejch Bedr ed-Din, der Sohn des Richters 
von Simaw," in Der Islam, vol. xi. p. 94). 

Whatever the origin of the name may be it connoted a servant of God, 
as in the quatrain of Abu Sa'Id b. Abu'l Khair : 

Ta madrass wa minara wairan na-shavad. 

In kar qalandan basaman na-shavad. 

Ta iman kufr wa kufr iman na-shavad. 

Yak banda haqiqatan Musulmdn na-shavad. 



viz THE QALANBARS 171 

i-Qalandar at Simna, near Kurdistan and the Persian frontier. 
With the exception of Jalal Bukhari, they all wore the costume 



"Till seminary and mosque fall into decay, God's work will not be 
fulfilled. Till belief becomes unbelief and unbelief belief, not one will be 
in truth a Moslem." The outward sign of this service was the removal of 
the hair, which was regarded as the visible token of the snare of the world. 

According to the Rule of S. Benedict the giro vagus was one " who spends 
all his life putting up at different cells throughout divers provinces for 
three or four days at a time " (A New Medley of Memories, by Sir David 
Hunter-Blair). What the equivalent term may have been in the Eastern 
Church does not appear, if, indeed, it had any wandering monks. 
Kolendhra in M. Gr. = a small cake in the shape of a ring. Hence (?) 
Kolendra vet = Christmas (Balkan Home-Life, pp. 73-4). 

Writing in 1548, Menavino mentions the Qalandars, who appear to have 
styled themselves gazkmjl or " wanderers through the world ", lit. " itinerant 
pedlars " (Redhouse, p. 1544). These Qalandars were generally celibate, 
wore iron rings in their ears, and read the works of the Hurufl poet Nasiml. 
They lived on alms. Jacob seems inclined to think that these were really 
Baqtash, though they are not so termed by Menavino. The identification 
is based on two facts : one, that the Baqtash sometimes wear earrings of 
iron, the other that a section of them observes celibacy. But the Baqtash 
earring may be of silver, and its shape is not that of a complete ring, but 
that of a horseshoe as Luschan's description, quoted by Jacob, shows. 
The observance of celibacy was hardly an innovation of the Qalandars, nor 
do they seem to have strictly enforced it. No Islamic order has ever done 
so, though it has not infrequently been practised by individual saints and 
by their more ardent followers. In Islam the contest between the principle 
that sanctity follows natural descent and that of its devolution by spiritual 
adoption or otherwise is, after all, as old as 'AH. 

Gibb says that Yusuf -i-Andalusi required the Qalandars to travel through 
the Muslim world perpetually and to subsist on alms. The severest austerity 
was also inculcated in order to the attainment of heavenly favour, and more 
especially the state of ecstasy and illumination. Hence ' Qalandar ' came 
to mean any darvish of any order who was distinguished above his fellows 
by works of supererogation, for divine revelations or marks of heavenly 
favour. Later still the name fell into disrepute for dissolute antinomianism, 
and the Qalandar was compared to a vulture which will eat carrion. But 
there was a Qalandar-khana at Constantinople which gave its name to a 
College in the fifteenth century, a fact which suggests that the order did 
something for education (Hist, of Ottoman Poetry, i. p. 357, and ii. pp. 386 
and 30). The parallel to the Malamis need hardly be pointed out. 

In India the Qalandar are a kind of mystic mountebanks, but not much 
is really known about them. A tribe of nomads who make their living by 
conjuring and showing performing bears, etc., they live exclusively in tents. 
They have no dialect of their own, but use an argot intermixed with Persian 
words. A hitherto unrecorded peculiarity about them is that they have a 
distinctive gait by which they may be easily recognised. They walk very 



THE BAQTASH! COMMANDS vn 

of the Order of Haji Baqtash ; and the only difference is that Jan- 
Nush wore twelve tarks or gores in his cap, Jalal Bukhari one, 
Shahbaz seven, and Luqman Qalandari four. 

Regarding the principles of the Order of the Baqtashes, the 
following will serve to give some explanation : 

There are six ahkam, or ' Commands '. 

1. Liberality. 4. Holy Law. 

2. Knowledge. 5. Submission. 

3. Truth. 6. Contemplation. 

There are six arkan, or ' Columns '. 

1. Science. 4. Thankfulness. 

2. Meekness. 5. Calling on God. 

3. Contentment. 6. Retirement. 

The Constructions are six (bind). 

1. Repentance. 4. Increase of Spirituality. 

2. Submission. 5. Contentment. 

3. Fidelity. 6. Seclusion. 

The Wisdoms are also six (hukum). 

1. Knowledge. 4. Fidelity. 

2. Liberality. 5. Reflection. 

3. Approach to Divine 6. Faith in God. 

Science. 

The evidences of the Order are six (asbdt). 

1. Benevolence. 4. Abandonment of Passions. 

2. God's Praise. 5. Fear of God. 

3. Abandonment of Sin. 6. Cheerfulness of Spirit. 

Regarding the cap, cloak, and girdle, called by the Baqtashis 
the three points, or principles, the following is legendary. 

straight and rise on their toes as they move silently over the ground. In 
spite of their appearance of poverty they frequently possess large sums of 
money both in cash and in women's ornaments. They claim to be Jatts 
by caste and tell a story of .the usual type about their origin they slighted 
the request of a strange Saiyid, and were accordingly cursed by him and 
condemned to live a wandering life. They have a remarkable tribal council 
in which the proceedings are conducted with perfect order (Rev. T. Grahame 
Bailey, Linguistic Studies from the Himalayas, pp. 265 f.). 



vii THE GIRDLE 173 

The angel Gabriel once visited the holy Prophet, during the 
war called the Ghazd-i-Ahwat, 1 and asked him what he was 
occupied in, and he replied in reciting the verses of the Quran, 
shaving his beard and cutting his hair (vide Qwrfln, xlviii. v. 27). 
By Divine permission, the angel brought a razor from heaven, 
and cut the hair and shaved the beard of the prophet. He next 
put a cap on his head, a cloak over his shoulders, and a girdle 
around his waist. He had already done this to two other persons, 
viz. to Adam when he left the Garden of Eden, and to the 
patriarch Abraham when he dwelt in Makka, which was built 
by him. The Prophet next did for 'All what the angel of God 
had done for him ; 'AH did the same, by the Prophet's permission, 
to Salman-i-Fars!, 2 and 'Umar Ummia Bilal Habshi, and these 
did the same for twelve other persons. 

One of these twelve, named Zu'nun Misri, was sent into 
Egypt, Salman to Baghdad, Suhaill to Rum (Asia Minor), 
David 3 Yamani to Yaman (Arabia Felix), for the purpose 
of imparting instruction on these points. The people of 
Baghdad call the girdle the letter alif, a, of the alphabet; 
those of Rum call it lam alif, la ; and those of Egypt barlam.* 
The people of Yaman wear the girdle next to the skin, and not 
over the clothes. 

On the girdle brought to the Prophet by the angel was written, 
" There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is His Prophet, and 
'All is His friend ". 

The Baqtashis relate that Adam was the first to wear the 
girdle used by them ; after him sixteen other prophets wore it 

1 ' War of the Blockade ' ; cf. Palmer's Quran S.B.E. vi. p. xxxviii. 

In this chapter, called ' the Victory ', Muhammad proclaimed that his 
vision had been fulfilled, and in that dream he saw that he and his com- 
panions entered Makka with their heads shaven (Wherry's recension of 
Sale's Koran, iv. p. 66). The text does not reproduce the accepted version 
of this chapter. 

2 Salman was a Persian, Bilal an Abyssinian, and Suhaib (not Suhaill) 
b, Sinan, a Greek. The latter reached Mecca as a slave, but was converted, 
adopted an Arab pedigree and an Arab name, which alluded to his red or 
fair beard (cf . Goldziher, Muh. Studien, i. p. 136). 

3 Da'ud, but no Du'ud Yamani is traceable in E.I. or in Goldziher, 
loc. cit. 

4 Barlam may be an error for Ar. baram, ' a cord, rope, or twine ' (cf. 
barim, ' girdle ', as Dr. Fr. Babinger suggests). 



174 THE PROPHETS vii 

in succession, viz. Seth, 1 Noah, 2 Idris, 3 Shu'aib, 4 Job, 5 Joseph, Abra- 
ham, Husha', 6 Yusha', 7 Jarjis, 8 Jonas, Salih, 9 Zakarla, Khizr, Ilias, 10 

1 Seth appears correctly as Shith (Shis) on p. 37, and doubtfully as Sheb 
on p. 138. His name is not traceable in the Quran, though he is reputed 
to have written a larger number no less than 50 of the 104 sacred books 
ascribed to the prophets (Sale, i. p. 122). 

2 An old temple of Noah was converted into Mashhad 'All, according to 
Ker Porter (Travels, ii. p. 405). 

3 Enoch, surnamed Idris, the 'learned', from the Ar. root drs, which 
gives madrasa, ' college ',' etc. (cf. Sale's Quran, ch. xix. v. 253). To 
Enoch the Muhammadans assigned 30 out of the 104 sacred books revealed 
to the prophets (ib. Prelim. Discourse, Sec. 4, p. 125, vol. i. of Wherry's 
recension). Bodwell points out that Enoch means initiated, and Arab 
writers, giving darasa its meaning to ' search out ', say Idris was so named 
from his knowledge of the divine mysteries (p. 121). The E.I. lends no 
countenance to this derivation but accepts Noldeke's theory that the name 
Idris conceals that of Andreas, and that this Andreas is Alexander's cook 
who obtained immortality, as conjectured by R. Hartmann. Like Enoch, 
Idris lived 365 years on earth, and God took him to himself. 

4 Shu'aib, the Jethro of the Bible (Palmer, Quran S.B.E., vi. p. 149). 
His daughter married Moses. 

6 The traditions regarding Aiyub come mainly from Jewish sources 
(E.I. i. p. 220). 

6 Husha', Hosea, not generally recognised by Muhammadans as a 
prophet (cf. Sale's Koran, Wherry's recension, i. p. 125). 

7 Joshua is recognised as one of the prophets, as are Adam, Seth, Lot, 
Isma'il, Nun and others (Sale, Koran, Prelim. Discourse, i. p. 125, Wherry's 
recension). 

In The Ansayrii (or Assassins) a sub-title which destroys confidence 
in the author's accuracy Lt. the Hon. F. Walpole, R.N., describes the 
tomb of Joshua or ' Hosea ' (Ousha) on Jebel Seth. Near it is that of 
Tubal, full 20 ft. long. The tomb of Joshua is shorter but covered with 
cotton (The Ansayrii, iii. pp. 309-10; London, Bentley, 1851). For an 
account of the newly discovered Samaritan book of Joshua, by M. Gaster, 
v. J.R.A.S., 1908, pp. 795 f. At Hillah in Lower Mesopotamia the mosque 
called Mashhad-ush-Shams contains relics of Joshua in Arab (but not in 
Jewish) tradition (Ker Porter, Travels, ii. p. 325). 

8 Jirjis is St. George, but Khizr is also identified with that saint 
(Salmone, s.v.). Khizr again is identified with Ilias. Possibly for Ilias 
should be read Elisha. Otherwise the same prophet is mentioned thrice 
under different names, or if Khizr be identified with Idris, as is sometimes 
done, no less than four times. The equation Khizr = Ilias is generally 
accepted (see note on p. 100). 

The Crusades gave an impetus to the worship of St. George. England, 
Aragon and Portugal assumed him as their patron saints, and so did 
most of ttfe chivalrous orders founded at the date of these wars. In 1245 
Frederic of Austria instituted an order of St. George, on his day. His 
standard was entrusted to the Swabian knights. In the early thirteenth 



vii KHIZR 175 

and Jesus. 1 God said of Moses in verse 65 of the 18th chapter of 
the Quran : " May I follow thee, said Moses to Him, so that Thou 
mayest teach me what Thou knowest regarding the true path ? " 

Moses learned the secrets of the ' True Path ' from Khizr. 
Khizr, or Khazar, is a mythical character, who figures largely in 
Oriental Spiritualists. 2 Some say he lived in the earliest times, 

century Genoa had a military order under his protection, and in 1201 an 
order was founded in Aragon, ' the Knights of St. George of Alfama '. The . 
English order was founded in 1350. In 1415 Archbishop Chichely -made 
St. George's day a major double feast, and ordered it to be observed like 
Christmas, and he received the title of spiritual patron of the English 
soldiery (Baring Gould, Curious Myths of the Middle Ages, pp. 314-15). 

St. George is the subject of a legend curiously like that of Sari Saltik. 
God one day asked a poor man for food, and he set to work to cook his 
son ; but the boy was found unscathed in the oven, and God bade his father 
sacrifice a lamb on St. George's day, which the Bulgarians still do. A folk- 
song sung on that day refers to Abraham (Garnett and Stuart-Glennie, 
The Women of Turkey, i. p. 332). 

At Qonia is Araba-Yorgi, ' St. George of the Car '. On a mountain five 
hours north of Qonia St. George takes the place given in Greece to St. Elias. 
The festival of Araba-Yorgi is celebrated on 23rd April on a mountain above 
Ladik. At sunrise milk and water flow from a dry place. There is, more- 
over, a cult of St. George of old standing at Qonia, and churches of St. Elias 
and St. George at Sille (Ramsay, Cities of St. Paul, pp. 378-79 and 381). 

These may, however, be St. George of Athos, the first apostle of 
Christianity in ancient Iberia (Riley, Athos, p. 141). But St. George only 
retranslated the Scriptures into Georgian (p. 135). 

9 Salih lived between the time of Hud (Heber) and Abraham. Nabi 
Salih, ' the righteous prophet ', is held in great veneration by the Bedouins, 
and Palmer suggested his identity with Moses (S.B.E. vi. pp. 147-48 71.). 
See also Sale's Koran, Prel. Discourse, p. 7. Salih is not the Selah of the 
O.T. Salih's mission to convert the Thamud, a godless tribe of cave- 
dwellers, failed, and they were destroyed by an earthquake, but the rock- 
sculptures of al-Hijr are still called Salih's towns (E.I. ii. p. 301). 

10 In the Christian doctrine of the Two Advents Elias was to be the 
Precursor of Christ (v. e.g. Rendel Harris, Testimonies, i. p. 107). Palmer 
seems to make 'Uzair (Esdras, Ezra) ibn Sar'ya identical with Elias, 
al-Kbizr (S.B.E., vi. p. 41). Esdras seems to have left a book of prophecies 
now lost (Rendel Harris, op. cit. t p. 80 1). But Ezra was surely historical : 
v. Rev. S. N. Sedgwick, The Story of the Apocrypha, pp. 71-3 and 36. 

1 'Isa is one of the proper names not traceable in the Scriptures, though 
it is used as equivalent to Jesus ; cf. Talut for Saul (E.E.E. 8, p. 874). 

2 For a good account of the Alexander Myth of the Persians, by E. 
Rehatsek, see Journal, Bombay Branch R. Asiatic Soc., 1881 (xv.), p. 37 f. 
Khizr appears as Alexander's guide, both in the Shahnama and Sikandar- 
nama (pp. 56-7). 



176 THE STONE IN THE GIRDLE vn 

and having drank of the fountain of life never has died ; others 
that he was Elias, St. George (of the dragon), and an officer in the 
army of Alexander the Great. The place of Khizr is equally 
mythical. The tarlqats, or paths, are 'All's, and the shan'at, 
or holy law, is the Prophet's. Khizr is called the chief of all of 
the aulias, or saints. 

In the girdle of the Order is a stone called the palank ; 1 it has 
seven corners, or points, called tarks, in token of the seven heavens 
and seven earths which God created, also the seven seas and the 
seven planets ; for God has said, " We have created the seven 
heavens in seven folds, and seven earths in the same form, all out 
of light ". He then commanded all of these to worship Him, 
which they do, continually revolving round His holy throne. 
The palank is very useful, and the Shaikh of the Order puts it on 
and off, each seven times, saying, 

1. " I tie up greediness, and unbind generosity. 

2. " I tie up anger, and unbind meekness. 

3. " I tie up avarice, and unbind piety. 

4. "I tie up ignorance, and unbind the fear of God. 

5. " I tie up passion, and unbind the love of God. 

6. " I tie up hunger, and unbind (spiritual) contentment. 

7. " I tie up Satanism, and unbind Divineness." 

When putting it on a disciple, he says to him, " I now bind 
up thy waist in the path of God. O, holy name, possessed of all 
knowledge ! Whoever knows His name will become the naib, or 
successor of the Shaikh ". He next offers up the following prayer- 
ful address : " There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the 
Prophet of Allah : 'All is the wall, or friend of Allah ; Abu 
Muslim, 2 the nephew of 'All, is the sword of Allah ; Mahdi is the 
master of the imamat, and the amln, or confidant of Allah. Moses 
is the Word of God, Jesus is the Spirit of God, and Noah is the 
sword of God. It is not to be opened by 'AH excepting with the 
sword called zuljikar. Our first wall, or founder, is Baqtash, the 
middle the Darvish Muhammad, and the last was Mustafa, 3 the 
jiowner of the kitabat, or writing. | The knowledge of the world is 

1 Pelenk, a term which is thus explained by Evliya : there were, he 
says, certain idols on the Uk-Maidan or archery ground at Constantinople 
at which the Moslem heroes used to shoot, and one of these was called 
Pelenk, whence the term pelenk is derived (Travels, i. pt. 1, p. 46). 

2 7. note on p. 90, supra. 3 Mustapha, in original. 



vii THE SECOND SELF 177 

to know the shari'at, or holy law ; the tartqat, or new path ; and 
the ma'rifat, or new science of spiritualism. These are the portals , 
of our Order." """""""' 

The Shaikh also adds as instruction : " There are 40 l maqams, 
Or seats, 360 degrees, 28 manzils (places of rest), 12 spheres, 
24 hours, 4 fasls, or chapters, 7 climes, 4 qarars, 13,000 worlds, 
7 subul-i-masawi, 2 or ayats (verses), called the mother of the 
Quran? 7 letters, 7 fatihas (first chapters, or openings) of the 
Quran ; all of these are called hal (dispositions), and not qdl 
(sayings). There is but one light ; the truth is the moon, and 
these were given to Adam. He who has found the science of 
his own body, called the 'ilm-i-wujud (or the counterpart of 
himself in a spiritual sense), knows his Lord ; for the holy Prophet 
has said, ' To know thyself is to know the Lord '. In this is 
comprised a knowledge of thy own secret, and that of thy 
Creator." 

The latter is a Mussulman idea that every one in this world 
possesses a pir in the spiritual existence, called the misal, or 
equal, who dies forty days previous to his temporal self. The 

1 The number 40 is characteristic of the Iranian Muslim folk-tales. In 
Baluchistan the volcano called Kuh-i-Tafban is known locally as the Kuh-i- 
Chihil-Tan or ' Mountain of the Forty Beings '. Another mountain in 
Karman bears the same name, which indeed is common. Such mountains 
always have a shrine on the summit. 

Near Bam in Karman are the ruins of Chihil Kurra, ' Forty Colts ', a 
garden so vast that a mare was not found in it until she had foaled forty 
colts (Major P. M. Sykes, Ten Thousand Miles in Persia, pp. 134, 219, 435). 
As pointed out by the author on p. 219 the number occurs in the tale of 
'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. 

2 Subul-i-musawl, ' parallel paths ', apparently the passages which contain 
parables, indexed in Wherry's recension of Sale's Koran, iv. p. 327, and in 
Rodwell, pp. 504-5. But which seven parables may be alluded to does 
not appear. 

3 The term umm-ul-kitab occurs in the Quran, ch. iii. v. 5, and various 
interpretations of it are given. The usual one is that it refers to the Fatiha ; 
others explain it as the fundamental parts of the Quran ; others again as 
the Preserved Tablet on which is inscribed the original of that book (Gibb, 
Hist, of Ottoman Poetry, i. p. 339). The Fatiha itself was sometimes called 
the sab -ul-masani, or ' the seven of the repetition ', as in man the microcosm 
the face has seven signs, to wit the hair, two eyebrows and four lines of 
eyelashes. This term was frequently used by the Hurufis (of. ib., p. 374). 

The term ummahat-ul-asma, or ' mothers of the .names ', i.e. the funda- 
mental titles, is applied to the four divine names, the First, the Last, the 
External and the Internal (J, R, R,e.dh.QUse in J.R.A.S., 1880, p. 17). 



178 THE BAQTASHI DRESS vn 

misal is supposed to know everything, and to teach the temporal 
body to which it belongs by visionary forewarnings. It is also 
believed (on a verse of the Quran) that God does not make saints 
of the ignorant. He first has them taught by the misal, and then 
makes them to be aulia (the plural of wall, or saint). It therefore 
fills the* place of a guardian spirit, or angel. The temporal body 
thus becomes, by its means, freed from all darkness, and moreover 
is transferred into a ntir, or light to others. It is then a complainer 
for the woes of mankind (ahl-i-dard) ; its pledge of faith finds its 
place, and is a " faithful one " in God. 

THEIR COSTUME 

The haidan 1 is a vest without sleeves, and with a streak of a 
different colour, somewhat resembling in form a word, supposed 
to be that of the fourth Caliph 'AIL It should also have twelve 
lines on it, signifying the twelve Imams. 

The khirqa is a cloak, or mantle, without a collar, and with 
the same streak as the vest. 

The taiband is a girdle which is worn around the waist, and is 
made only of white woollen materials. 

The qambaria is a cord, also worn around the waist, to which 
is attached a stone. This latter is round or oblong, mostly of 
crystal, called najaf* The cord has three buttons or knots ; the 
first knot is called al-baghi s (hand-tie), the second dil-bdghi* 
(tongue-tie), and the third bal-baghi 5 (rein-tie). These serve to 
remind the wearer that he must neither steal, lie, nor commit 
fornication. 

1 Haidari, a word not given by Redhouse, is undoubtedly derived from 
Ar. haidar, ' lion ', a term applied to 'AH (cf. p. 395 infra). But the 
(adjectival) form is here used of the sleeveless vest of the Baqtash, whereas 
it is more commonly applied to a head-dress. Thus the taj-i-haidar was the 
' bonnet rouge ' adopted by Haidar, son of Junaid, as the distinctive uniform 

N of his followers. It was made of wool and dyed scarlet, and was eventually 
adopted by the Qizilbash or ' red caps ', with the modification that it was 
made with twelve pleats to signify the twelve Imams. Similarly the 
Mevlevis called their head-dress the haidaria shanf, but according to Brown 
it is white or yellowish in colour and has no pleats (pp. 59-60 supra). 

2 Najaf, lit. a ' mound ' or tumulus, is the name of 'All's burial-place. 
'-Crystal ' is zajaj, lit. ' glass ' ; bilur is also crystal or beryl. 

3 El, Turk., ' band '. Sagh is a ' knot ', as well as a tie. 

4 Dil, or dil, T., ' the tongue ', 

5 Bal, T., ' the loins '. Qanbaria, v. note on p. 187 infra. 



VII 



THE CROWN 



179 



The mangosh are earrings which are put in the ears of the new 
disciple. If only one ear is drilled it is called Hasani, from one 
son of 'All; and if both are pierced they are called Husaini, 
from the other son of the same Caliph. It is optional with him. 

The tcLj is the name of the cap which all wear in common. It 
is made of white felt, and is in four parts. The first shows that 
the wearer has given up the world ; the second, that he has 
abandoned all hopes of Paradise ; the third, that he disdains all 
hypocrisy, and means that the Darvish cares not whether he is 
seen or not praying, and is wholly indifferent to public opinion ; 




A SHAIKH OF THE NAQSHBANDIS SUBDUING A LION BY HIS 
SPIRITUAL POWERS. 

the fourth is the total abandonment of all the pleasures of life, 
and that he belongs to and is fully, satisfied with Allah alone. 
Their names are shari'at, tariqat, Haqlqat, and ma'rifat. 

The Shaikhs all wear the taj, with twelve tarks, which are of 
four qapus, 1 or doors. These twelve allude to the twelve Imams, 
and the four to the four preceding great principles of mystical 
spiritualism. 

The qana'at-tashi (' stone of contentment ') is the name of 
the stone worn in the belt or girdle, and is commemorative of the 
stones which poor Darvishes were wont to put in their girdles to 
appease or allay the pangs of hunger. They used to be three in 
number, the one worn inside the other ; but it is supposed that 

1 Qapu, Turk., ' gate ' or ' door '. 



180 THE KOTTTED ROPE vn 

aid comes to their relief before the necessity arises of using the 
full number of three. 

The tarjuman [dragoman], or interpreter, is the name of the 
secret word or phrase of the Baqtashes. It varies according to 
the occasion. 

When a murid, or neophyte, is desirous of joining the Order, 
he goes to the takia, and at its sill a sheep is sacrificed by one of 
the fraternity. Its flesh is eaten by the members, and from its 
wool his taiband is made. 

It is related that the Caliph 'All had a horse 1 called Duldul, 
on whose legs a rope was usually tied by his groom named 
Qambaria. The latter, when accompanying -his master, used to 
tie the rope around his waist. It had three knots, called as afore- 
stated al'baghi, dil-baghi, and bal-baghi. 

Regarding the stone which was worn round the neck, the 
following tradition is given : 2 " Musa (the Prophet Moses) was 

1 A white mule (Lane, Modern Egyptians, p. 255). 'All's charger was 
named Maimun or, according to others, Zu'1-Janah, ' the winged ' (Burton, 
Pilgrimage, iii. p. 254). The same confusion occurs in India. According 
to the common Eastern practice the horse would be tethered by a rope 
fastened round each fetlock and attached to four pegs. By making these 
ropes taut the animal can be placed on a kind of rack and rendered so 
completely helpless that it can hardly swish the flies off its flanks with its 
tail. The four heel-ropes would of course have three knots when tied in 
one length and worn round the groom's waist on the march. No one who 
has seen the efficacy of this often cruel method of tethering can fail to 
realise the force of the symbol drawn from it, 

2 This tradition seems to be taken from Evliya, but his version is a little 
different. He is describing the methods of punishing novices, one of which 
consists in making the delinquent carry a heavy stone round his neck. 
Moses, it is said, never showed his body, on account of the continual emana- 
tion of divine light, and so he was said by bis people to be leprous and 
afflicted with elephantiasis. One day, bathing in the Nile, he laid his dress 
on a stone, which straightway began to walk towards the capital (Memphis). 
Moses pursuing it, the people saw the brilliant whiteness and cleanness of 
his body, and thousands of disbelievers turned faithful. But Moses, angry 
at being seen naked, pierced the stone with his staff in twelve places. The 
stone protested that it had only obeyed a Divine command, whereon Moses 
craved its forgiveness, saying : " A Darvish, Darvishes forgive ". Hence 
the current saying, Darvishe darvishan, " a darvish is forgiven by darvishes ". 
The stone then bade Moses pass a rope through one of the holes and keep it 
as a collar of penitence. Both the stone usually worn and the stone-collar 
of punishment had their origin in this event and are named sigil-tashi 
(Travels, i. pt. 2, p. 96). Then Evliya says sigil 1 stone ', but it appears 
to mean ' weight ', Ar. 



vii THE CROWN 181 

once bathing in the river Nile. He had laid his shirt on a stone, 
and the latter running away, followed by Moses, entered the city 
of Misr (Cairo). Moses reproached the stone for carrying off his 
clothes, but it told him that it did so by Divine command, and 
that he should ever after keep a stone suspended to his neck in 
memory of the occurrence. He called the stone Darvish-darvishan 
and it contained twelve holes. During all his travels, by means 
of this stone Moses performed miracles, among which was the 
producing of fountains of water, simply by striking it on the 
ground." 

So much significancy is given to the taj, or cap, worn by this 
Order of Darvishes, .that I may add some further account of it. 

They state that all the letters of the alphabet originated in 
the first one, called alif, or a. The original cap is said, in the 
same manner, to be of a similar source, and this is called the 
alifi, or cap of a. It is considered to be the sign of the khildfat, 
or succession of the blessed Prophet, and when he appointed a 
Shaikh to succeed him, he made a cap of the form of the celebrated 
sword of 'AIT, named Zulfikdr. After this the cap assumed other 
forms, peculiar to the four chief tanqs, or Orders ; one was 
called the Maliki, one the Saifi, 1 one the Shurhi, and one the 

1 The kulah-i-saifi, or sword-shaped helmet was also affected by the 
Maulavis, together with the green shawl. The history of this order is too 
imperfectly known to permit of our saying what its real relations to the 
Baqtash were. Beginning with the story of Abaposh Sultan it was as 
follows : 

Sultan Walad also left two daughters, one of whom,,Mutahhara Khatun, 
espoused Sulaiman Shah, a prince of the house of Kermian. To him she 
bore two sons, regarding one of whom, Khizr Pasha, a miraculous tale is 
told. His son, Bali, believed his father's prediction that Sultan Yaqub of 
Kermian would be overthrown, and that the only power left to the 
descendants of Khizr Pasha and his brother, Ilias Pasha, in his kingdom, 
would be a mystical and spiritual one, so he assumed the cloak of a Maulavi 
and the title of 'Aba-posh, ' the 'aba-clothed ', built a cloister at Qara- 
Hissar, and resigned its headship to his son Sima'i Diwani before his own 
death in 1485 (Hammer-Purgstall, GdOD., i. p. 268). Gibb has pointed out 
the chronological difficulties in this account. Khizr Pasha is said to have- 
died in 1349-50, and so 'Aba-posh must have been at least 140 years old 
if he died in 1485. But he is described as being only 120 years of age when 
he died. It is clear that a generation has dropped out in the pedigree- 
table (v. Hist, of Ott. Poetry, i. pp. 423-4). Others of this offshoot of 
Sultan Walad's family" also wrote mystic poetry. 

The poet ' Sultan Diwani ' was son of the Shaikh Abaposh, who bestowed 



182 THE CROWNS' SIGNIFICANCE vn 

Halawi. 1 The cap of Haji Baqtash-i-wali is of twelve tarles. He 
made a second called the Taj-i-Jdnnush of nine tarks, and another 

him on the Shaikh Fanayi Dada. Initiated in his youth into all the esoteric 
learning of the Chihil Tan, or ' those who keep fasts of forty days ', he 
travelled widely, and at Aleppo accepted the guidance of the Shaikh Abu 
Bakr al-Waf a. Thence he went to Qonia as, principal of the Maulavls and 
assumed the title of Diwam. He also visited Egypt to procure the release 
of the Gulsham Shaikh from the prison into which he had been cast by the 
Sultan, Kansu Khawri. Invited to Constantinople by Sultan Sulaiman, he 
was installed in the Maulavi convent at the Seven Towers, but died at his 
home in 1529. He is esteemed as one of the greatest poets of the Maulavls 
(Hammer-Purgstall, QdOD. ii. pp. 12-13). 

Sultan Diwani, doubtless the Simaii Diwani (or Sinaii) mentioned above, 
had a slave, Dervish Wasiq (died in 1529), who adopted the kulah-i-saif and 
green shawl as a Maulavi and became the master of Abu-Saif Sultan. This 
Maulavi died like his master and many of his disciples in the year of the 
siege of Vienna, when the Maulavi order was persecuted (ib., ii. p. 15). It 
had few cloisters in Constantinople prior to the time of Parwana Dervish 
(died in 1543), so that Parwana died in that of Shaikh Wafa', where his 
companion was Shamii, the translator of the Mesnevi (ib., p. 228). It was 
not until the reign of Salim I. that the order obtained its great position, 
but it was then taken under the Sultan's protection owing to the prayers of 
its head, Khusrau Chelebi Effendi, which contributed to that ruler's victory 
over his brother Bayazid in the Qonia plain (ib., p. 283). The succession 
to the headship of the order was, however, in dispute at a later period, 
apparently because the principle of physical devolution of the spiritual 
office asserted by.Farrukh Chelebi (d. 1591) was denied by his opponents 
(ib., iii. pp. 78-9). The fact that a similar contest occurred in the Baqtash 
order proves nothing, but the adoption of the saifi head-dress may indicate 
some connection between them and a branch of the earlier Maulavls. The 
tale told of Sultan Diwani, that he went to Persia to rescue the Diwan of 
Jalal-ud-Din Rumi from the hands of Shah Isma'il, and that of one of his 
disciples, Dervish Sufi Khatayi, who instructed the princes of Shah Isma'il's 
family in spiritual mysteries, while Sultan Diwani himself performed miracles 
in the presence of Shah Isma'il, go to show that their connection with the 
Ardabilis was fairly close (cf. ib., ii. p. 18). The poems of another disciple 
of Sultan Diwani, Shidayi, are still prized by Persian dervishes (ib., p. 17). 
The title Sinayi or Sinnayi was derived from Sinna in Kurdistan. 

The Maulavls were exposed to persecution at times, notably in the time 
of 'Abd-ul-Halim, son of 'Abd-ur-Rahman, and a scion of the family of 
Jalal-ud-Din Rumi. Chief of the cloister at Qonia, he died in 1679. This 
was due to the preaching of Khoja Ahmad of Van, who died six years later 
in 1685. After his death the Maulavls seem to have regained their influence, 
for the sons and kinsmen of Ahmad were in turn executed (Hammer- 
Purgstall, GdOD. iii. p. 519). 

1 Ibrahim b. Muhammad al-Hallabi, author of a hand-book on the 
Furu', according to the Hanafi school of law, much used in Turkey. It is 



vii THE CROWN AS PlR 183 

was worn in Persia of seven tarks, called the Saiyid-i-Jalal, after the 
eminent man of that name. This person was the founder of the 
Order of the Jalalis, 1 who have no tdkias in Constantinople, 
though members of it often go there from Persia as travellers. 
There is still another cap sometimes worn by the Baqtashis, called 
Shahbdz-i-Qalandan, after the founder of the Qalandars, made of 
seven tarks, of white felt, said to have been assumed by a Shah 
(king) of Balkh named Adham, and is called therefore the Adhaml. 
He is said to have abandoned his throne so as to become a Darvish. 
It is also said that to his time the Darvishes were all called after 
Junaidi, a holy man of that name resident in Baghdad, and there 
was then but one tanq, or Order. 

As a detailed description of the cap, I may add that the cap 
is called the pir in honour of the founders of the various tanqs, 
and that on it was originally written, " All things will perish, 
save His (the Omniscient's) face, and to Him will all return ", 
taken from the last lines of the 28th chapter of the Quran. 2 

Around the top was written the ayat-al-kursi, from the 2nd 
chapter of the Quran, and ending with the 256th verse. 

Around its edges was written the 36th chapter of the Quran, 
called the Sura-i-Ya-Sin [Y.S.]. 

Inside was written the 41st chapter of the Quran ; near its 

called the MuUaqa'l-Abhur and is mentioned on p. 79 supra (E.I. ii. p. 237). 
Ubicini translates the title of the work " the meeting of the two seas ", and 
this title doubtless expressed its attempt to reconcile all the decrees from the 
foundation of Islam concerning law and theology that had proceeded from 
the doctors of law before the time of Halabi, who died in A.D. 1549 (Letters 
on Turkey, i. p. 139). But the connexion is by no means certain. 

1 The Indian order of the Jalalis is ascribed to the saint Saiyid Jalal-ud- 
Din, a disciple of Bahawal Haqc[, the Suhrawardi of Multan. Born at 
Bukhara in 595 H. (A.D. 1119), or in 1188, he is said to have lived till 1383, 
and is buried at Uch Sharif. A prolific writer, he played a great part in the 
spread of Islam in the Punjab and Sind. His followers have many curious 
practices. At initiation they shave completely the head, face, and body, 
burn their clothes, and are branded on the right shoulder. They also wear 
glass bracelets like those worn by women. The order claims to be an offshoot 
of the Suhrawardi, and is regarded as one of the orthodox fraternities which 
conform to the shara'. In India, however, it does not appear to wear the 
cap with seven tarks. Nothing is recorded of the Ishaq Jalali mentioned 
on p. 142 supra. 

2 Quran, ch. xxviii. v. 88 ends : " Everything shall perish except Himself : 
unto Him belongeth judgment, and before Him shall ye be assembled at 
the last day ". Of. also ch. ii. v. 157. 



184 STONES vii 

edge the 53rd verse, " We will cause our miracles to shine over 
the different countries of the earth ". 

On its front, the 109th [115th] verse of the 2nd chapter, " To 
God belongs the east and the west ; turn to whichever side you 
will, you will meet His countenance ; God is immense, and knows 
all things". 

On the other side was written the Mussulman Confession of 
Faith, " There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the 
Prophet of Allah ", and " 'AH is the wall, or Friend of Allah ". 

Behind it was written the 29th verse of the 2nd chapter of the 
Quran : " God taught to Adam the names of all beings, after- 
wards He brought them before the angels, and said to them, 
' Name them to him if you are sincere '". 

A stone which the Baqtashes wear suspended on their necks 
is called the tasllm-tdshi or ' stone of submission '. One of the 
interpretations given regarding it is, that it is worn in remem- 
brance of the bestowal of Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet, 
upon his nephew 'All. It is said that on this occasion her father 
took her hair in his hand, and giving it into that of 'All, delivered 
her up to him. 

In their ears they wore another stone called the mangosh- 
tdshi, of this shape ^, or that of a new moon, in remembrance 
of the horseshoe l of 'All. Around their waists they wore belts 
called qambaria, made of dark-coloured goats' wool or hair, with 
several knots, which, passing through a ring attached to one end 
of it, serve to fasten it. These knots are called as aforestated. 

On their legs they wear leather gaiters, called dolaq, z from one 
of the principal disciples of Baqtash, named Baba 'Umar (Dolaql), 
who wore them. 

Suspended from their belt is a small bag called jilband,* made 
after the following form ^, on which is embroidered the name 
of 'All, and serves to contain papers and books. It is said that 
the Prophet gave such a bag to his uncle Hamza, 4 in Makka. 

1 But, it is generally said, the Arabs did not shoe their horses, as owing 
to the hardness of the hoof they did not require to be shod. 

2 Dolaq (dolak in orig.) for toldq (pron. dolaq in Turk.) " a long strip of 
cotton or woollen, etc,, wound round the leg in lieu of a stocking or gaiter " 
(Eedhouse, TurL-JEng. Lex., p. 1260). 

3 Jilband in Turk. = a portfolio. 

4 Hamza was son of 'Abd al-Muttalib, uncle of the Prophet, and so his 
cousin. Tradition also makes him his foster-brother (E.I. ii. p. 254). 



vii A SALT-MINE 185 

A Baqtash is not allowed to beg ; and if he ever does, it is 
after fasting three days, and then only at seven doors. If these 
give him nothing he must cease. When begging, they are called 
Salman, after Hazrati-Salman-i-Farsi, and must carry their 
kashgol, or beggar's cup, under their clothes. 

An Oriental friend gives the following extract from a journal 
kept by him during an excursion in Asia Minor, referring to the 
founder of this Order.* 

" Tuzkyoy, i.e. ' Salt Village ', situated in a volcanic part of 
the country, contains about one hundred houses, the inhabitants 
of which are all grazers, and possess many cattle, sheep, and 
Angora goats. The name originates from the salt-mines about 
a quarter of an hour distant, and which are still worked. Accord- 
ing to tradition, they have been created by the famous Haji 
Baqtash, the founder of the Order of that name, who on passing 
through this village was regaled with unsalted meat. When he 
asked the cause of the absence of savour to his meat, he was 
informed that the inhabitants had no salt, whereupon he struck 
upon the ground with his stick ; and so produced, miraculously, 
a salt-mine. Up to the present time, annually about 1000 batmdns 
(17,000 Ibs.) of salt are delivered to the takia opposite, on the 
river Kizil Irmak, near to the village of Hajl Baqtash, where 
also the shrine of this founder is to be seen. On the height which 
dominates the city there is a number of buildings, among which 
is a Mosque, and the tomb of Saiyidi Ghazi Battal, 1 a madrasa, 

* Dr. Mordtmann. 

1 Sldi Battal GhazI, son of Husain GhazI, possesses one of the most 
important Arab tombs in Asia Minor. It lies six hours south of Eskishahr, 
on the pilgrim's way from Constantinople to Makka. In the latter part of 
the sixteenth century ' Sldi Battal ' was the war-cry of the Turkish armies. 
As a historical personage 'Abdullah Abu'l Husain al-Antaki, al-Battal, 
' the valiant ', fell in battle at Afium Kara Hissar in A.D. 740, but a vast 
mass of legend has gathered round his name (Hasluck, Annual, B.S.A. xix. 
pp. 184, 186 f.). Later historians give his name differently (E.I. i. p. 680). 

The ancient Nakoleia, known in Saljuqian times as Kala'-i-MasIhiya, 
' the Christians' Castle ', Sayyid-i-GhazI, was named after Ja'far bin Husain 
Sayyid-i-GhazI, though it is doubtful whether he fell there. His mashhad, 
however, appears to have been erected there in A.D. 1207 or 1208 by the 
mother of 'Ala-ud-Drn Sultan of Qonia, but, if we are to credit the W ilayat- 
nama of Hajim Sultan, it had fallen into decay when Hajl Baqtash com- 
missioned Hajim to found there a refectory for the poor, and Hajim declared 
his purpose of " bringing new life to Sayyid GhazI " (Turk. Bib. No. 17, 
pp. 30 and 80). But this design was opposed by its incumbent the Shaikh 



186 ORATORIES vn 

and a takia, inhabited by some four or five Darvishes of the 
Baqtash Order. A verandah, built of marble, leads to the 
interior of this building, and the traveller is shown here two 
relics of Haji Baqtash, viz. : in the well, the impression of his 
mouth and teeth, which, to judge from the size, must have been 
of the dimensions of those of a buffalo ; and in the entrance gate, 
an impression of his hand and finger." 

Hrhe hall of a convent or takia of the Baqtash Order is always 
a square. In its centre is a stone with eight corners, called the 
maidan-tash* in which, on occasions of ceremony, stands a lighted 
candle ; around this are twelve posts or postdkis? seats consisting 
of white sheepskinj Whenever a murid is to be initiated the 
candle is removed from the stone, and one is placed in front of 
each of the posts. Among the explanations given of this stone 
is the following : " The Prophet used to put a stone in his 
girdle to suppress, by its pressure, the cravings of hunger, and 
that this one, as well as that worn in the girdle of the fraternity 
of this Order, is in remembrance of his practice. It is said that 

Qara Ibrahim, and Hajim had to slay him by lightning out of a clear sky. 
Nevertheless, he accepted his widow's gift of her son Hasan, apparently as 
his father's successor. Otherwise, the successor is not named. The marks 
of teeth on the sill of the well are here attributed to Hajim Sultan (ib., p. 94). 
As a matter of history Sultan Orkhan seems to have restored the shrine and 
granted it to Hajl Baqtash. It was again restored by the Michal-oghlus, a 
Christian family converted to Islam, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. 
It has two daughter shrines, Shuja'-ud-DIn, built in A.D. 1515, and Urian 
Baba. At the former one Muruwwat Baba lies buried. A fourth shrine in 
the same locality is that of Malak Ghazi, an old Byzantine cloister converted 
in A.D. 1058, and situate on the Qirq-qiz Dagh, ' hill of the forty virgins ' 
(Bulzinger, Drei Bektaschi-Kloster Phrygiens, pp. 1-10 and 60 1). It is 
noteworthy that in legend Sayyid Ghazl's spirit greets Hajim Sultan in the 
form of a noble gazelle-like stag, reminding us of Geikli Baba ( Wilayat-nama, 
p. 88). 

1 Maidan, lit. ' a plain ' in Persian, in Turkey denotes an oratory or a 
room for common worship (Hasluck in Annual, B.S.A. xx. p. 95). For 
much lore on its significances see Thorning in Turk. Bibliothek, No. 16, 
p. 119 ff. He also renders it Kampfplatz, which would make it closely 
analogous to the Indian term akhara, ' arena '. Tschudi points out that it 
also means the ' assembly ' as well as the place in which it meets (Turk. 
Bibliothek No. 17, p. 32). Hence maidan-tash must mean the ' stone of the 
oratory or assembly ', and it may typify 'All as the maidan. 'AH is a very 
common feature in initiations. 

2 Post is a skin, tanned, and so a seat or throne ; postaki, Turk., a sheep- 
skin (of. p. 252 infra). 



vii THE TWELVE IMAMS 187 

Haj! Baqtash called the candlestick which stands on this stone 
his eye, the candle his face, and the room his body." 

In the takia is a stick, called the challik, 1 of this shape, (^ with 
which the members are punished in case of need. It is in 
remembrance of the stick with which 'All punished his groom 
Kambaria, 2 and the latter ever afterwards carried it in his belt. 

The twelve posts are in remembrance of the twelve Imams, 
and are as follows : 3 

1. Is the seat of the Shaikh who personifies 'All. 

1 Ghallik, translated ' whip ' on p. 197 infra. Eedhouse, however, has 
only chatik, " the child's game of tip-cat ", " the stick called the cat ", and 
chelik, " a piece of wood or metal bevelled or tapering at one or both ends ; 
especially a boy's tipcat" (Turk.-Eng. Lex., pp. 709 and 729). Turk. 
chal-mak, however, = ' to strike '. Lane described the firqilleh as " a whip 
with a thick twist of cords " ( Modern Egyptians, p. 249). The word may be 
connected with the name of the mystic Russian sect called the Chlysty, 
' scourgers ', who hold gatherings which are outwardly at least comparable 
to those of the dancing darvishes. The less reputable rites of the sect have, 
however, nothing in common with those of the Maulavis (H. L. Strack, 
The Jew and Human Sacrifice, p. 39). 

2 Qanbaria, explained as ' cord ' on p. 178. 'All's groom was named 
Qanbar, as stated in the text below. Qanbar is probably the patron-saint 
of all grooms and those who have to do with horses, but Evh'ya informs 
us that the patron of the Arab grooms (sa'ts) is Kanbur 'All, who is also 
patron of the mekkari (mulcyari), otherwise called kiraji, ' horse-jobbers ' ; 
and he or his translator correctly translates qanbur 'AH as ' hunch-backed 
'Ali '. The shrine of Qanbur Dada, near Hafsa, had become so popular as a 
place of pilgrimage that in 1667 the Sultan ordered its destruction at the 
instigation of the Khoja of Van (von Hammer, GdOE. iii. p. 593-4). 

The origin of this name as applied to 'All does not appear, but one of the 
Rifa'I takias at Constantinople is called 'Ali Kuzi takia-si, and kuz (Pers., 
in Turk, pronunciation kyuz) means ' a hump-back '. 

3 This passage is greatly illuminated from the late Mr. F. W. Hasluck's 
papers in the Annual of the British School at Athens, especially vol. xxi. 
p. 87, where he wrote : " Under the Dede [Akhi] Baba and eight other 
Babas, each having a separate ' residency ' (konak), who preside over the 
various departments of work carried on in the tekke, directing the labours 
of the probationers under them. Their respective spheres are the buttery 
(Kilerdji Baba), the bakery (Ekmekdji Baba), the kitchen (Ashdji Baba), 
the stables ( Atadji Baba), the guest-house (Mehmandar Baba), the mausoleum 
of Balum Sultan (Balum Evi), and the vineyards (Dede Bagh, Hanbagh)." 
Hence in Brown's text Bahim (Baheem) appears to be a misprint for Balum 
Sultan, a reforming saint who lived two generations after Haji Baqtash 
and was buried at Pirevi (ib., p. 88, n. 3). Balum is specially venerated 
by the Baqtash, and is the patron of the celibate branch. 



188 OFFICE-HOLDERS, yii 

2. Of the cook, called the post of Said 'AH Balkhi, one of the 
Caliphs of the Order. 

3. Of the breadmaker, called after Bahlm Sultan. 

4. Of the naqib (Deputy Shaikh), named after Gai Gusus. 1 

5. Of the maidan.* It is occupied by the superintendent of 
the takia, who represents Sari Ismail. 

6. Of the steward of the takia, called after Kuli Achik Hajim 
Sultan. 3 

1 The Gai Gusoos of the text- is the Kaigousouz [Kighusuz] Sultan of 
Hasluck (ib., p. 98). He was a pupil of Abdal Musa and carried the Baq- 
tashi faith to Egypt. By repute of princely birth he bore in the world the 
title of ' Sultanzada Ghaibl ' or ' The Concealed Prince '. He is in charge, 
apparently, of some department of the kitchen, as he gives his name to the 
pilaf or dry stew among the Baqtash, and they call it ' Kaigousouz ' (ib., 
p. 98). E. G. Browne spells his name Qayghusuz (J.R.A.S., 1907, p. 573). 

In Turk, qaygu or gf%gff='care' or 'anxiety', and qaygu-suz would 
apparently mean ' free from care '. Kai in Persian = ' king ' or ' monarch ', 
but ghusuz has no meaning, unless it is a corruption of gyiizsuz, ' sightless '. 
When sent to Egypt Kighusuz took the name of 'Abdullah, and became 
known as the Shaikh 'Abdullah al-Maghauri, i.e. ' he of the grotto or cave ', 
from Ar. maghara, ' cave '. 

In the passage quoted from Hasluck the term Kilerdji means ' holder of 
the larder ', from Turk, kilar or kilar, ' store-cupboard ' ; Ekmekdji from 
Turk, akmak or etmek, ' bread ' ; Ashdji, from Turk, ash, ' soup ', ' a repast ' ; 
Atadji, from Turk, at, ' horse ' ; and Mehmandar, from the Persian, ' a 
receiver of a guest ', mihman. Hence these are not proper names like Balum. 

2 The maidan is the oratory ; and Sari Isma'il Sultan, one of the khalifas 
of Haji Baqtash, buried at Daouas in the Smyrna wilayat (ib., p. 92). 

3 Kolu (sic) Atchik Hadjim Sultan was a Khalifa of the Baqtash and .is 
buried at Rajab (Redjeb) in the Brusa wilayat (ib., p. 94). 

Achiq, ' open ', ' uncovered ', ' free, saucy or impudent (in manner or 
conduct) ' : Redhouse, Turk.-Eng. Lex. p. 32. But this is not the explana- 
tion recorded in the Wilayat-nama of Hajim Sultan, so well translated by 
Rudolf Tschudi in No. 17 of the Turkische Sibliothek. That work, indeed, 
gives no rendering of the term, but Tschudi cites one from other sources. 
According to them Haji Baqtash gave Sultan Hajim a wooden sabre where- 
with the latter proceeded to cut the mule of a dervish in two. To punish 
him Haji Baqtash made him choldq or qoldq, ' one-armed ' or ' paralysed in 
one arm '. But as he repented and his fellow-disciples interceded for him, 
the Haji restored to him the use of his mutilated arm, and said that in 
future he should be known as ' Qoli achaq ', or declared that " the arm of the 
Hajim should grow again " ; so he was styled Qolu Achiq, " he with the 
arm which had grown again " (op. cit., p. 33). Cholaq is the fore-name of a 
Khalwati saint, Hasan (v. p. 463 infra). 

Brown's information was that Sultan Hajim was steward of the takia, 
but his name means literally ' one who cups or scarifies '. And in the 
Wilayat-nama we find a curious role assigned to him. Usually it is the 



vii OFFICE-HOLDERS 189 

7. Of the coffee-maker, called after Shazili Sultan. 1 

8. Of the bag-bearer, called after Kara Daulat Jan Baba. 2 

9. Of the sacrificer, called after Ibrahim Khalil-Ullah, or the 
prophet Abraham of the Old Testament. 

1.0. Of the ordinary attendant of the services, called after 
Abdal Musa. 3 

superior who shaves the head of "an inferior in the mystic ritual (op. cit., 
p. 30). But Sultan Ha/jim is described as shaving the head of Haji Baqtash, 
or, more precisely, as being about to shave it when his miraculous aid is 
invoked from a sinking ship (ib., p. 31). Then follows the incident of the 
wooden sabre. We might understand that Hajl Baqtash bestowed on 
Sultan Hajim the mystic razor, and that the sabre was returned to the 
Haji. But here again authorities differ, and the Hajl is said to have made 
Sultan Hajim the executioner (jallad) of the maidan, the ' assembly of the 
brethren ' of the order, under restrictions (ib., p. 32). Hajim was the third 
son of the Imam-zada Husain, son of the Imam 'All Naql. His brothers 
were Sayyid Jihani and Sayyid Sultanl, his own name being really Rajah 
Sultan (p. 5). 

1 The question whether coffee is a lawful beverage has been much debated 
by Moslem jurisprudents. Introduced from Persia (not Abyssinia as in 
Oxford Diet,, s.v.) into Aden by Mufti Jamal-ud-Dln (ob. 1470) and 
Muhammad al-Hadrawi, it was subsequently brought into Egypt from 
Yaman by aarvishes. It was used by them to prevent sleep during their 
vigils, but its use was often condemned by the religious authorities, as, for 
instance, at Mecca, and prohibited by the Sultans Sulaiman II. and Murad 
III. Indulgence in it was sometimes punished with the bastinado. Ash- 
ShazilTs views on this question do not appear to be on record, but the fact 
remains that he is the patron saint of the coffee-makers (Le Voyage de 
V Arable, Heureuse, by Jean de la Roque, Amsterdam, 1716, p. 287 f.). 

Evliya, however, while admitting that he does not know the name of 
the Shaikh of the. coffee-merchants, " because coffee is a new invention ", 
says " the drinking it comes from Sheikh Shadeli " (Travels, i. pt. ii. p. 214). 

2 This may be the Qara Baba of the Wilayat-nama of Hajim Sultan. The 
legend about him is that he was a learned and excellent man, a Jala-ll, 
' a stalwart ', of Khorasan. Now that land was afflicted by famine after 
Haji Baqtash and Hajim Sultan had taken away the wallet and other 
insignia. Qara Baba volunteered to recover the wallet from Hajim Sultan, but 
the latter slew him with his own arrow and buried him somewhere in or near 
the Shaikhlu plain. But Qara Baba's disciples entered the service of Hajim 
Sultan, and on a leafy tree just over his head Hajim hung the wallet, and 
for forty years it supplied food to those who put their faith in him (Turk. 
Bib. No. 17, p. 102 f.). This would explain his function as bag-bearer. 

3 'Abdal Musa was a very celebrated saint, a pupil of Yatagan Baba, 
whose shrine is at Yatagan in the Smyrna wilayat. Abdal Musa is buried 
in the town or district of Elmali, the centre of the tract inhabited by the 
primitive Shi'a tribes known as the Takhtaj! (' wood-cutters '). He was 
the teacher of Kaighousouz (Annual, B.S.A. xxi. pp. 91-3). 



190 CELIBACY vii 

11. Of the groom, called after Qambar, the groom of the 
Caliph 'AH. 

12. Of the mihmandar, or the officer charged with attending 
upon the guests of the takia, called after Khizr. 1 

The apartment of the Shaikh is called the Shaikh hujrasi, or 
' cell of the master '. He seldom resides in the takia, but occupies 
a separate house with his family. He, however, sometimes makes 
a vow of celibacy, called the iqrar mujarrad, in which case he 
resides in the convent. A Baqtash Darvish on making this vow 
is asked by the Shaikh whether, 'if 'he breaks it, he is willing to 
come under the sword of 'AH (the Ztilfikar), and he answers in the 
affirmative, and adds that he may be cut asunder by the sword 
of pur Shah-i-wildyat, or supreme ' spiritual chief, who is 'All. 
This is one of the secret vows of the Order. The number twelve 
is a mystical one for the Baqtashes, for whenever any one makes 
a vow, called the nazr, he always incurs the penalty of twelve 
-punishments should he fail to keep it ; he swears by the twelve, 
pays money in twelves, and strikes twelve blows as a punishment. 
This, I am told, is done simply in imitation of the practice of the 
Founder. The zikr ulldh, or Prayers of the Brethren in the takia, 
are always silent, and have, it is said, the following origin : 

It is related as coming from 'All may God bless him with 
His Divine Satisfaction ! " I once asked of the Prophet, ' O 
Prophet of Allah, instruct me in the shortest way to God, and 
facilitate me in the proper way to worship Him'. He replied, 
' 'AH, the proper way is to mention, or call upon His Name '. 
I asked how I should mention Him, and he answered, ' Close your 
eyes and listen to me, repeating after me, La illaha ilV Allah 
(there is ho God but Allah) '. These words the Prophet uttered 
three times with his eyes closed, speaking with a loud voice, and 
I imitated him". 

It is said that once when the Prophet and 'All were alone 

1 Khizr would naturally be the guide of strangers. He must not be 
confused with Kilerdji Baba, a disciple of Abdal Musa and buried at Gilevgi 
in the wilayat of Qonia (Hasluck in Annual, B.S.A. xxi. p. 92). These 
offices may be compared or contrasted with those of a Greek monastery 
such as that of Laura on Mt. Athos, as described -by John Covel in 1677 
(ib., xvii. p. 109 f.). Covel alludes to a round stone or rose of stones in 
the Quire before the 'wpauai TrtfXcu ('fair gates '). This stone he calls o-oX&i 
(p. Ill), but it rather denotes a flat or sunk arena. This may foreshadow 
the maidan-tash. 



vii SILENT PRAYER 191 

together, the former knelt, and 'All did the same before him, so 
that their knees met. The Prophet commenced reciting the 
preceding, three times ; the first time with his face turned over 
his left shoulder, the second with his face over his breast, and the 
third with his face turned to his left shoulder ; his eyes were 
closed, and his voice raised, confirming his hadis, or saying, " The 
best of mentions or prayers is, ' There is no God but Allah' ". 

' This form of prayer is called the jihri, or audible, and is common 
to many other Orders also. The silent one is called the hiffi 
[khafi], 1 and had its origin in the commands of the Prophet to 
Abu-Bakr when they were concealed together from their enemies 
in a cave.j It may be added the 40th verse of the 9th chapter 
of the Quran is the basis of the form of prayer of all the Darvishes, 
i.e. " They were both in a cave, and he (the Prophet) said to his 
companion, ' Be not grieved, for God is with us ; He has caused 
his protection to descend from on high, and sustained him with 
invisible armies, and he overthrew the word of the infidels. The 
Word of God is much the highest, He is powerful and wise ' ". 

The members of a Baqtash takia, who offer the name of an 
individual to the Shaikh for acceptance, are called rahpars, 2 or 
' guides ' ; those who accompany him in the takia during the 
initiation are called tarjumans, or interpreters, and the latter are 
armed with a weapon called tabar, of this shape j-{. The cord 
which is put round his neck when first entering the takia is 
called the. dehband, or taiband. The horn which the Baqtash 
blow is called the luffar ; it is also called after one of the titles 
of God, Wadud, or the Loving. 

One of the secret signs of the Order are in the two words 
tabran and tulan, 3 ' near and far ', signifying ' near in affection 

1 According to Petit (Les Confreries Musulmanes, Paris, 1902, p. 51) the 
zikr-al-khafi has been adopted by the Khaladiya, a Turkish branch of the 
Naqshbandls. 

2 Rahbar, a guide. " Be a guide (rahbar), not a brigand (rahbur) ", was 
a mot of Fatima, wife of the mystic Abu Hamid Ahmad b. Khadruya al- 
Balkhi ( Kashf ul-Mahjiib, p. 120). 

3 Tulan, literally ' lengthwise ' ; tabran is not easily explicable. It 
may be that there is some obscure allusion here to the theory of the tul 
and 'arz, or sayhur and dayhur of Husain Mansur. Tul= ' length ', and 'arz = 
' breath '. Husain's work, the Kitab al-Sayhur, fi naqz al-Dayhur means 
literally " The Book of the Cone of Shadow, wherein is eclipsed the Moon 
on the destruction of the Ages". (But naqz suggests 'deliverance' or 
' salvation ' as well as, or rather than, ' destruction '.) As Massignon points 



192 THE TWELVE IMAMS vn 

and far in conceit'. The second tie called bagh, or band, is in the 
words : " He was the sovereign of the talqin (spiritual or mystical 
instructors of all the pirs, or founders of Orders, and of their 
vows", and its execution is the 'ahd-i-wafa 1 (performance of 
vow). 

THE TWELVE IMAMS OF THE BAQTASH 

" It is related that the blessed Prophet told his confidential 
companions (the ashdbs) that he did not require of them either 
the " performance of the namdz (prayers), the saum (fast), the 
hdjj (pilgrimage to Makka), or the zakdt (bestowal of alms to the 
poof), but only that they should look after the members of his 
family". 

The Prophet had but one daughter, Fatima, whom he married 
to his nephew, 'AIL The 'Aliide Darvishes, and especially the 
Baqtash, declare that the Prophet designed him to be his successor 
(khalifa) or ' Caliph ', whilst the orthodox Mussulmans deny it. 
This daughter bore two sons, named Hasan and Husain, to whom 
the Prophet, who had no male children, was warmly attached. 
These are the first Imams of Islamism, for although many deny 
their rights of succession, their direct descent from the Prophet 
surrounds them with a halo of veneration, respect, and affection. 
Hasan was poisoned, 2 and lies interred at Madina, and Husain 
was killed by Yazld bin-Muawia, and is buried at Karbala. 3 

out, Husain had in view the Hellenistic doctrine of the eternity of the 
world ; and he was, moreover, affirming its duality of spirit and matter. 
Hence he seems to haye been insisting on the temporary or apparent occlu- 
sion of the ages and their essential indestructibility. The simile of the 
eclipse in the Cone of Shadow in his work only develops the line of thought 
expressed in his theory of the lahut and nasiit, in the story of Adam's creation 
and in that of Iblis's refusal to do him reverence, as the reflected image 
of his Creator. The crescent-shaped halberd of the Baqtash may thus 
symbolise man's nearness to God as the moon reflects the light of the sun. 
The Baqtash could not adopt the complete phrase 'arzan tulan without 
exposing themselves to the suspicion that they had fallen into heresy. 
Hence they seem to have coined a new word from their symbol, the tabr, 
to express unity with the divine by reflected light (v. Massignon, Kitab 
al-fawasin, pp. 141-5, and 138). But v. n. on p. 460 infra. 

1 Wafa-i-'ahd. 

2 Hasan died of consumption, though an attempt was made to throw 
the responsibility for his death on Mu'awia (E.I. ii. p. 274). 

3 Husain's death was deplored by Yaztd, and he treated the survivors 
of the massacre at Karbala with honour (ib., p. 339). 



Vii THE IMAMS 193 

The fourth Imam was Zain-ul-'Abidin, 1 and son of Husain ; he 
was killed by Marwan, 2 the son of Yazid, and is buried at Madma. 

The fifth, Muhammad Baqir, was killed by Hisham, son of 
'Abd-ul-Malik, and interred at Madma. 

The sixth, Ja'far-as-Sadiq, was killed by Mansur-i-Kufr, and 
is buried at Madma. 

The seventh, Musa-al-Kazim, 3 was killed by Harun-ar-Rashid, 
with poisoned grapes, and is buried at Baghdad. The spot is 
still called al-Kdzimain.* 

The eighth was 'All ibn Musa-ur-Riza ; 6 he was killed by the 

1 Zain-ul-'Abidm, ' Ornament of the Faithful '. 

2 Marwan, the Ummayad Caliph, reigned from 683-85, and was succeeded 
by his son 'Abd-ul-Malik in 685 H. 

3 Called Musa al-Qazam incorrectly. Musa ibn Ja'far, see the list in 
E.R.E. 11, p. 455. . 

4 For El Kiazzemain (the Turkish pronunciation) in original, Kazim, 
' he who controls or suppresses (anger) ', was a title of the seventh of the 
twelve Imams of the Shfas, and was also borne by his grandson. Both are 
buried at Kazimain, which is sometimes described as a suburb of Baghdad, 
sometimes as a village near it (cf. Redhouse, Turk.-Eng. Lex. i. p. 1516). 
(The spelling Qadhimain sometimes adopted appears to be incorrect.) 

The two martyrs, Musa al-Kazim and his infant grandson were not 
the only Alid martyrs, whose number is often given as fourteen. They 
are known as the Ma'sum-i-Pak, or ' Pure Innocents ', ma'sum, ' innocent ', 
having also the meaning of '.an infant, a little child '. Hasluck records a 
curious transference of this cult at Siwas : "In the town is a recent tekke, 
called Maksoumler (' the infants '), or Maksoum Pak (Pers. pak ' pure '), 
founded by a certain Halil Pasha, afterwards Governor of Beyrout. About 
fifty years ago a darvish is said to have discovered by revelation the graves 
of two infants (maksoum), who were identified with 'Ali Eftar, son of the 
fifth Imam (Mahommed Bakir), and Sail, son of the seventh (Mousa Kiazim) ; 
these infants are regarded as martyrs " (Annual, B.S.A. xxi. pp. 95-6). Here 
maksum appears to be a popular corruption of ma' sum, but it may be an error 
for makzum, ' sad ', which is formed from the same root (kazama) as kazim. 

The title Maisum borne by the rulers of Tabasaran, west of Darband, 
in the fifteenth century was explained as the Ar. ma? sum (E.I. i. p. 889). 

Hardly less seldom than the twelve Imams are mentioned the fourteen 
ma'sum-i-pak, ' the pure innocent children '. They include Muhammad 
Akbar, a son of 'Ali and Fatima ; 'Abdullah, a son of Hasan ; both, like 
many Imams, buried in the Baqf al-Gharqad at Madrna ; also 'Abdullah, 
a son of Husain ; and Khadija and Fatima make up the total. But these 
two last may be Alid girls who died young, e.g. the Fatima buried at Qum 
in 816 H. is called al-ma'suma. She was a sister of the Imam 'Ali Riza 
(Jacob, Die Bektasch. p. 41). 

6 'All ibn Musa ar-Riza was named his successor by the Caliph al-Mamun, 
and married to his daughter, but he, too, was got rid of by poisoned grapes 
according to the Shi'as (E.R.E. 11, p. 454). 



194 THE MAHDI vn 

Caliph Mamun, and is buried at [in] Khurasan, now called 
Mashhad-i-a'la. 

The ninth, Muhammad Taghi, 1 was killed by the Caliph 
Mastaqim, and is buried at Samarra, near Baghdad. 

The tenth, 'AH Nakhi', 2 was killed by the Caliph Mastaqim, 
and is interred at the same place. 

The eleventh, Hasan-al-'Askari, 3 was killed by the Caliph 
Muta'ammid, and is buried at the same place. 

The twelfth, Mahdi, who is said to have mysteriously dis- 
appeared the 15th day of Sha'ban, and the 266th year of the 
Hijra [A.D. 878], at Samarra, 4 and there is a cave at that place 
from which, it is supposed, he will reappear. All the Darvishes 
confidently expect this and so do most devout Mussulmans, and 
that he will reign as a temporal sovereign. 

These were all sons [descendants] of the Imam Husain. Hasan 
also had children. The grandchildren of both escaped from these 
massacres, and from them descended the Saiyidat, or the Saiyids 
(Cids), who wear green turbans as a family distinction, a colour 
which, it is said, Allah commanded the Prophet to use. There 
were two kinds of Saiyids (sometimes called also amirs, com- 
manders) ; they are Saiyidat 'Aliwia, or those born to 'AH by 
another wife, and not by Fatima. They all have a jurisdiction, 
in many respects, separate from ordinary, Mussulmans, under the 



The eighth Imam, Riza, a photograph of whose shrine at Mashhad may 
be seen in Major P. M. Sykes's Ten Thousand Miles in Persia, p. 24, had 
innumerable brothers, e.g. one Shahzad Husain, buried at Jupar near 
Bigabad in Karman, another at Nagar, a third, 'Abd-ur-Rahman, at Takia, 
and sisters, Fatima at Qum in Central Persia, and Bibl Hayat between 
Kakh. and Kirwan. A descendant, Kamal-ud-Din, has a shrine at Saiyid- 
abad near Sir j an, the ancient capital of Bardslr. Sir j an is termed by Sufis 
the Lesser Syria from its many ancient graves (Major P. M. Sykes, op. cit. 
pp. 425, 427, 435, 444, 433 and 158). 

1 Taghi, ' rebellious ', is, of course, impossible. Taqi, ' pious ', is meant. 
He appeared in a vision to Khwaja 'All the Ardabili (v. note on p. 85 supra). 

2 Nakhi', ' learned '. But his real title was an-Naqi, ' the pure ' or 
' excellent '. He died in A.D. 868. 

3 Al-'Askari was so named from his place of birth and death, the camp 
'askar, at Samarra. 

4 Samarra, the scene of W. Beckford's Vathek, Supposed to have stood 
on the site of Nimrod's tower, it was refounded by the Caliph Mutasim 
when he found Baghdad untenable owing to disputes between its inhabitants 
and his Turkish slaves (Beckford's Vathek, p. 99). 



vii BAQTASHI PRAYERS 195 

direction of a functionary called the naqib-ul-ashraf, who resides 
at Constantinople. Every Mussulman claiming to be a Saiyid 
is required to possess a document establishing his genealogy. 



The following is a translation from a MS. of the Baqtash, and 
is an account of their various prayers at their takia : 

1. The takbir (Allahu akbar), ' God or Allah is the greatest of 
all Gods ', on putting on the tdj or cap. 

2. Similar. 

3. Ditto. 

4. When he visits the takia as a guest. 

5. On arriving at the sill of the inner door. 

6. On entering it. 

7. On taking the first step inside it. 

8. second 

9. third 

10. fourth 

11. On approaching the murshid (Shaikh). 

12. On offering him a present. 

13. On standing before him, with the arms crossed on the 
breast, one hand over each shoulder, and the right toe over the 
left toe, called Dar durmak. 1 

14. Similar, called the Dar-i-Mansur, after Mansur, who was 
killed. 

15. On the same occasion. 

16. For sins. 

17. 

18. Called the gundh-i-gulbank^ or prayer for sins of omission, 
and to thank God for His bounties. 

19. Called takbir-i-khirqa wa post, or [' magnification '] for 
the mantle and seat. 

20. Ditto, for the khirqa only. 
21. 

1 Dar durmak in original. The word is not given by Redhouae, but 
of. Persian dardar kardan or dar-a-dar kardan, ' to remain firm, fixed (stead- 
fast or immovable) ' : Johnson's Diet. p. 551. Of. p. 252 infra, note on buyun 
kasmak. 

2 For gulbank-i-gunah, gulbung or -bang is a loud shout or war-cry : or 
the noise of a drum (Johnson, p. 1044). 



196 PRAYERS AND SYMBOLS vii 

22. For the fanai, 1 or cap. 

23. For ditto. 

24. A tarjumdn, of the taslim-tash. 

25. Ditto. 

26. 

27. A takbir, on the alif -lam-ad the tannura, [petticoat], the 
palank. 

28. On the palank. 

29. 

30. On the alif-lam-ed. z 

31. kambaria. 

1 Fanai, fenaee in original : the word seems to be derived from fana, 
' annihilation ', ' extinction ', a suggestion borne out by the interpretation 
given on p. 199 infra. Thus the fanai would signify ' self -extinction '. 
With this possible allusion may be compared that suggested for the istiwa 
on p. 244 infra. 

2 The usual conjunction is lam-alif, and these two letters are regarded 
as one or as two but united. The name of Allah is composed of the five 
letters, alif, lam (bis), alif again and he. The ed in the text might be regarded 
as a mistake for Tie, but on p. 113 the ed is replaced by end, hence this 
suggestion is untenable. Moreover it fails to explain the conjunction alif- 
lam. The conjunction alif -lam might possibly be regarded as a picture of 
the two first fingers, and it is noteworthy that in early Christian art one of 
the three positions of the hand in Benediction was the first and second 
fingers elevated, the other two being the thunb and first finger or all four 
fingers raised (E.E.E. vi. p. 497). But in the alif-lam the two letters are 
disjoined, so that it is difficult to think that there is any suggestion of a 
gesture with the hand (cf. C. Huart, Textes Howoufis, p. 13). But for this 
difficulty it would be tempting to see in the alif-lam a revival of the ' sym- 
bolic hand ' so fully described in Elworthy's Horns of Honour, pp. 194 ff., 
the alif representing the second finger, the down-stroke of the lam the first, 
and the up-stroke the thumb. In the Hurufl system the Arabic alphabet 
with its twenty-eight letters was regarded as incomplete and only fulfilled 
by the addition of the four peculiar to the Persian, but the ligature lam-alif 
in some unexplained way anticipated those four letters (Jacob, Die Bektasch- 
ijje,, p. 47). These four letters have twelve diacritical points and are 
symbols in the Baqtash doctrine of the twelve Imams (ib. p. 40). 

In the Ismailian catechism one of the questions was : Why does man's 
carriage, when he stands upright, represent an alif, and why, when he kneels, 
does he become like a lam, and when he prostrates himself like a he 1 In 
such wise that that forms a book which presents the name of God, ilah (ALH). 
Among the Mughairis, a sect of the Mushabbihs, God was conceived of as a 
man of light, with a crown of light on His head, His members like the 
letters of the alphabet, and His feet like an alif (de Sacy, Expose, de la 
Religion des Druzes, i. pp. 86 and 47). 



vii PRAYERS AND SYMBOLS 197 

32. On the kambarla. 

33. tannura. 1 

34. mangosh. 

35. Chirdgh, or candle, after the dalil [* proving '], or ceremony 
at the outer door. 

36. Ditto. 

37. 

38. 

39. On the challik or whip. 

40. kashgul [kashkul 2 ] beggar's cup. 

41. postaki of the ndib. 

42. of the cook. 

43. chahdr yar, or four direct Caliphs. 

44. qurbdn, or sacrifice. 

45. On asking permission of the Shaikh to go to the 
table. 

46. On spreading the table. 

47. On the table. 

48. On his seat at the table. 

49. On the maidanji, or sweeper of the hall of the takia. 

50. Tarjuman, or [? of] the ghusul, or ablutions. 

51. On the door. 

52. Dar-i-Mansur. 

53. Drink-giver. 

54. saldm (salutation). 

55. Attendants. 

56. Flag and lamentations for the cruel fate of Hasan 
and Husain. 

57. On the flag. 

58. ' chirdgh [lamp] of the centre stone. 

59. On emptying the kashgul on the table. 

1 Tannura is a dress, ' like a furnace, of leather worn by dervishes from 
their middle ' (Johnson, Pers.-Arab. Diet. p. 387). Tannur means an oven, 
but is also used for lantern ; e.g. in the mosque at Jerusalem the Great 
Lantern (Tannur) contained 500 lamps (G. Le Strange in J.B.A.S. xix. 
pt. ii. p. 41). 

The tannur (Osm. tandur), in Pers. Icursl, was a frame of wood made 
round a stove on which a rug or felt was thrown ; it was used for warming 
the feet in seasons of intense cold (01. Huart, Les Saints des Derviches 
tourneurs, p. 198). 

2 Generally made in the form of a boat. 



198 PRAYERS AND SYMBOLS vn 

60. On the labar, 1 the figm, 2 and the challik, peculiar instru- 
ments used by the Baqtash when on a long journey. 

61. When putting on the girdle. 

62. On the 'ishq-i-mangosh, or love for the horse-shoe of 'All, 
used as an ear-ring. 

63. On the jamjama, 3 or skin thrown over the shoulders of 
the Baqtash when travelling. 

64. On the tarjumdn-i-doldq, or leggings. 

65. lawarik, or long shirt worn by them. 

66. muliffa,* a wide dress worn by them. 

(These two latter refer to the garments worn by the Prophet 
when he declared : " 'AH is my body, blood, soul, and flesh : 
my light and his light are one ".) 

67. Of the dahband, or the rope which is put round the 
disciple's neck when first introduced into a takia. 

68. On the sharbat, or drink. 

69. Ear-rings. 

70. sacrifice. 

71. On shaving. 

72. On entering a takia . 

73. the door. 

74. some steps. 

75. On approaching the Shaikh. 

The following are translations of a few of the preceding prayers. 
Some of them are ordinary Islam prayers, and many so closely 

1 Tdbr or tabr, Pers., ' an axe or mattock ', the halberd figured on p. 191 
supra. 

2 Figm, a word not traceable in the Lexicons, may be a corruption of 
or a mistake for the Ar. famqa, ' a large hair sack ' (Redhouse, Turk.-Eng. 
Lex. p. 1398). 

3 Jemjemeh in original. Redhouse gives no such meaning as ' a skin 
thrown over the shoulders ', but defines jumjume as ' a kind of shoe ', Pers. 
jumjum,, ' a sandal or foot covering of rope, old clouts, etc.'. But it is not 
impossible that Brown's translation is right, and that the word is of Indian 
origin, being a corruption of chamra, 'skin'. Tschudi cites the Koder 
(? yem) as a part of the dervish equipment from Evliya, iii. p. 14, but that 
seemingly means ' heel-leather ' (Turk. Bibl. No. 17, p. 8.) 

' Shoes of cotton soled with linen-rags (jumjum) ' were worn by Abu 
Sa'Id ibn Abfl Khair, who was born in A.D. 967 (Nicholson, Studies in 
Islamic Mysticism, p. 45). 

4 Muliffa, Ar. milaff, ' anything in which people wrap themselves when 
going to sleep ', ' a blanket ' (Johnson, p. 1244). It may be that the form 
muliffa denotes ' shroud ', but the Lexicons give no such form or meaning. 



vii INTERPRETATIONS 199 

resemble each other as not to be of any particular interest as 
explicative of the Darvish Orders. The word tarjuman, or ' in- 
terpreter ', has also the signification of a prayer, though only with 
relation to spiritualism. 

1. Tarjuman of the door sill : "I have placed my head and 
soul (heart) on the sill of the door of repentance, so that my 
body may be pure as gold. My request is that you, Shaikh, 
deign to turn your eyes for an instant on this/agfr." 

2. Tarjuman on presenting an offering to the Shaikh : " The 
ant brought as an offering to Sulaiman (son of David), the thigh 
of a grasshopper ; thou, O Shaikh, art Sulaiman, and I am thy 
ant ; pray accept of my humble offering ". 

3. Tarjuman on saluting the Shaikh and Darvishes : " Saldm* 
alaik (peace to thee), O ye followers of the true path ; ye elders 
of the light of truth ; ye disciples of true knowledge ". 

4. On asking forgiveness of a fault : " I have failed, O Shaikh, 
pardon me for the sake of 'AH-ul-Murtaza, with whom God was 
satisfied ; for the sake of Hasan, the martyr of Karbala. I have 
wronged myself, O Shaikh ! " 

5. On putting on the cap, called fanal : " Sign of the 
glorious Uwais-ul-Karani ; of Qambar the groom of the sublime 
'All, of those who are dead, of the great family of the Imam 
Riza permit me to put on this cap ; for I fully believe in its 
efficacy". 

6. On putting on the eight-angular stone, called the taslim- 
tdsh : * " O Allah, the rites of the Aranlar 2 (disciples) have 
become my faith ; no doubt now exists in my heart ; on putting 
on the taslim I have given myself up to Thee ". 

7. Ditto on the ear-ring : " End of all increase, ring of the 
neck of all prosperity, token of those who are in Paradise, gift of 
the martyr Shah (Husain), curses upon Yazld " (who killed him). 

8. A takblr of the taslim-tdsh : " Allah ! Allah ! In the name 
of Allah, the Merciful and the Clement ! God commanded him 
(Moses) to strike the stone with thy staff, and twelve fountains 
were suddenly opened by the blow (Quran, 2nd chapter, 57th verse). 
We sent a cloud over your heads, we sent you manna and quails, 
saying, Eat of the delicious food which we have sent you ; you 
have more wronged yourself than me." Quran, ii. 54. 

1 Of. Palmer's Quran 8.B.E. vi. pp. 7 and 8. 
2 Erenler in original : pi, of aran> ' one instructed in the truth '. 



200 INTERPRETATIONS vn 

9. A takbir of the alif-lam-ad and the p'alank : " God has been 
satisfied with the believers who have given thee their hand under 
the tree, as a sign of fidelity. He knew the thoughts of their 
hearts. He gave them tranquillity, and recompensed them with 
a speedy victory," and ending with the exclamations, " 
Muhammad ! O 'AH". Quran, xlviii. 18. 

10. Ditto of the alif-lam-and, on taking the vow of celibacy : 
" I abandon all matrimony, and obligate myself with this belt 
to do so". (He then recites chapter cxii. of the Quran, and 
the Shaikh declares to the murid, " God does not engender nor 
bring forth (and so may men tell of thee), and no one is equal to 
Him".) 

11. A tarjuman of Kambar : " I am become a kambari in the 
footsteps of thy steed. Under thy feet I have long suffered. ' I 
have become the leader of all prophets ', says Muhammad. Thou 
(the Shaikh) seest all things ; thou knowest all things ; thou art 
all things to me." 

12. A tarjuman of the tannura : " O thou who art devoted 
to the Path, cling to thy pir, and wander not about. From thy 
heart follow the noble Haidar ('AH) ; attach the stone to thy ear ; 
be a servant ; come to the Shah of the arans, and become the 
ostler of the ostler of 'AIL" 

13. A tarjuman of the chiragh (light). This is given after a 
lesson from the pir, on the proper method of extinguishing it. 
" Allah is my friend. Haqq ! Hu ! Arans ! 'Ashiq I Faithful ! 
Those who burn with Love ! The Awake ! The 'Ain-i-Jam' ! " 
(This latter is the name of the place where they meet.) " The 
abiders in Love ! Splendid Light ! The Pride, of all Darvishes 1 " 
(This is said to refer to the custom of 'All, who caused his friends 
to meet him, and lit a candle in their midst.) " Laws of all 
Mankind ! Shah of Khurasan ! By the beauty of Muhammad ! 
The perfection of 'All ! Hu ! Dost ! " 

14. On the same : " Allah ! Allah ! We have lit this light 
the pride of all Darvishes, for the love of God, the love of the 
Lord of both worlds, the seal of all prophets, the love of Him 
who gives water from the fountain of Kausar (in Paradise), 
'AH, the chosen of Khadija, the best of women (the Prophet's 
first wife), of Fatima, the twelve hearts of the pirs, the leaders 
of the Saints, the sons of 'AH, and the Imams Hasan and Husain 
for the fourteen pure victims, sons of the Imam Husain, and 



vn INTERPRETATIONS 201 

the family of al-'Aba" l (This refers to the circumstance that the 
Prophet once collected under his 'a&a or cloak 'All, Hasan and 
Husain, and Fatima, himself being the fifth.) " For the love of 
the Hazrat-i-khunkiar,* the Qutb-i-Aulia ! May it burn and 
enlighten to the last of days the love of Haji Baqtash Wall, by 
the beauty of the Prophet and the perfection of 'All ! Hu ! " 

15. Ditto : " Light of the saints ! light of the heavens ! 
May this spot be like the mountain of Thur 3 (Sinai), where Moses 
saw the divine light, and worshipped it ! Whenever thou art lit, 
may the* lighter offer up a prayer for Muhammad and 'All ! " 

16. Ditto of the challik (stick) : " Death to all those who 
believe in the Trinity ! Say it does not open, except by 'All, 
there is no sword but that of Zulfikar" (This is from a verse of 
the Quran*) 

17. Ditto of the kashgul : " Poor of the door of 'AH ; beggars 
of the kashgul of the darkiah 5 (tdkia) ; sanad (bond) of the lovers ! 
In the name of 'AH ! Hu ! Dost ! Ai Wallah !" 

18. Ditto of the post : " I look upon the face of a fair friend. 
elevated man (the Shaikh), thou hast the two. lines (the eye- 

1 'Aba is explained to be a mantle worn by darvesh : qaba, ' a coat worn 
by ordinary people ? (Kashf, p. 48). 

2 Hazrat-i-Khunkiar, Jalal-ud-Din Rumi (also styled Mulla Khunkar on 
p. 268 in/ra). Khunkiar, literally ' a shedder of blood ', means a king, as 
one having power of life and death. It is said to have been used as a title 
of the Grand Turk (Johnson, p. 545). According to Evliya the title of 
Khunkiar was bestowed on Muhammad II. in 857 H. (A.D. 1453) by Aq 
Shams-ud-Din, who also directed that he should be called Sultan instead 
of Beg, the title borne by the Osmanli chiefs since the days of Osman 
(Travels, i. pt. i. pp. 48, 47). 

The title, like the name Jalal-ud-Din, is hereditary in the head of the 
Maulavi order (Hasluck in Annual, B.S.A. xix. p, 215, citing Slade's Travels 
in Turkey (2), p. 376 f. ; and Hasluck, op. cit. p. 209).. For the ceremony 
of girding the Sultans of Turkey with the sword see App. to Chap. X. 

The title of Khunkar as borne by the Maulavis recalls that of Tyrannos 
as borne by the god Men (Sabazios) whose cult was widespread in Asia 
Minor (P. Foucart, Les Associations Religieuses cliez les Grecs, pp. 119 ff.). 
One hardly dares to suggest any connexion between Men and the brother 
of Haji Baqtash who was called Mentish (v. p. 164 supra). 

3 The allusion is to Sura 3, v. 75 f., which refers to the legend borrowed 
from Talmudic sources that God assembled all past, present, and future 
prophets on Mt. Sinai and entered into a compact with, them (Palmer's 
Quran S.B.E. vi. p. 57 n.). 

4 The allusion apparently is to Sura 4, v. 169 ; 5, v. 78 ; or 4, v. 116. 

5 Darkiah, the Turkish form of the Persian dargah. 



202 INTERPRETATIONS vn 

brows), thy seat is the seat of the ellest" 1 (This refers to the 
171st verse of the 3rd [7th] chapter of the Quran. It is their 
belief that the light of the prophets descended from God upon 
the foreheads and between the eyes, and the pious Darvish, closing 
his eyes, becomes absorbed in thought, so as to produce, in 
imagination at least, on his own forehead, the form and figure 
of the plr of his Order. This ayat or verse is considered as forming 
an iqrdr* or vow of faith. The postakis of the four angels are the 
seats of God, these are, 1st, sharVat, 2nd, tariqat, 3rd, haqiqat, and 
4th, md'rifat,) " By the present and the absent ; the airi-i-jam* ! 
Aranlar! Hu ! " 

19. Ditto of the qurban : " By the sacrifice of Ismail (Ishmael), 
ordered by God through the angel Gabriel ! Hu ! Dost ! Ai, 
Wallah ! " 

20. Ditto of the table. (This is entirely the 8th and 9th verses 
of the 77th chapter, and the 114th verse of the 5th chapter of 
the Qmdn.) 

21. Ditto, in entering the takia for the purpose of asking 
hospitality : " Allah is our friend ! Joy to the dwellers in the 
takia ! Love to those who are joyful ! To all those faqirs now 
present ! To the pirs and the ustdds (masters). To the naibs ! 
To the dwellers in this house of the Shah ('All) 1 " 

22. The following is the gulbank, or grace before meals, of the 
Order : " O God ! O God ! by the horn of the archangel Israfil ! 
by the meaning of Qambar! by the light of the masjid 
(Prophet), and the mihrab and the minbar (altar and pulpit, the 
former pointing towards Makka), by our Sovereign pir, Hajl 
Baqtash Wall, Sarwar (General 3 ), by the Breath of the 3, the 5, 
the 7, and the 40 true Saints, we thank Thee ! Hu ! " 

These numbers refer to the rijal-i-gliaib (or the unseen men), 
who every morning are supposed to attend at the Ka'aba (Caaba) 
of Makka, and who wander over the whole world, by Divine 
command, to superintend the affairs of mankind. Of the first 

1 For Alast ' Am I not ? (your Lord) ', Quran, vii. v. 171. This verse is 
constantly alluded to in Persian mystical poetry as roz-i-alast, " the day of 
' Am I not ? ' " (Palmer, 8.B.E. vi. p. 87). 

2 Iqrar is usually ' confession ' (v. E.I. ii. p. 401, where the sense ' agree- 
ment ' is not noticed). At p. 208 infra, iqrar-nama means ' deed of agree- 
ment '. Confession is known in Islam, and hadia is used for a death-bed 
confession. 

3 ? Generous. 



vii INTERPRETATIONS 203 

three, one is called the qutb, 1 or centre, the second and third the 
umana, or the Faithful. One stands on the right and the other 
on the left of the qutb, and they all stand on the summit of the 
Ka'aba. They are also called the ahl-i-tasarruf z (Owners or 
Masters of Destiny), and they never leave Makka. There are 
also four others, called autdd 3 (the Great or Eminent), who wander 
over the world. The seven are called the akhidr, or the ' Very 
good', who equally wander over the surface of the globe. The 
40 are called the shuhada* or the victims, and their mission is 
equally the same. There are also 70 others, called the budala 
(plural of abdal), or the servants of Allah ; also eight, called the 
nuqba, or the deputies, and their duties are much like those of 
the others. 

All of these go to Makka every morning, and report the result 
of their previous day's peregrinations to the qutb or centre, offer 
up prayers, and set out anew. 

The horn of the Baqtash, called the luffar, alluded to in the 
prayers, is the shape of a wild goat's horn. It is probably in 
remembrance of the horn of the angel Israfil. By it the fraternity 
are called to refreshment, and warned of danger. It is, as afore- 
mentioned, also called Yd Wadud (O Loving God) ! 

On the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus, inland from the town 
of Kadi Kui (ancient Chalcedon), is a small village called Mardavan 
Kui, much visited by pious, as well as simply superstitious, Mussul- 

1 This account does not agree "with that of the Sufi hierarchical order of 
saints given in E.I. i. p. 67. At its head is the Qutb, after him the two 
assistants (al-Imaman) ; the five autad or 'umud ; the seven afrad, ' in- 
comparable ' ; the abdal ; the seven nujaba, ' preferable ' ; the 300 nuqaba, 
' chiefs ' ; the 500 'ascfib, ' troops ' ; the hukama', ' wise ', or mufradun, 
' lonely ' ; and the Rajabiyun. The abdal are also called al-Ruqaba, 
' guardians ', and dwell in Syria (E.I. i. p. 67). One or two of these terms 
were adopted for office-holders in guilds or orders. E.g. in the Egyptian 
orders the naqibs, who form the lowest rank of the organisation, are divided 
into three grades the naqib al-ikhwan, naqib ' of the brethren ', also called 
naqib al-qahwe, ' of the coffee ', and naqib al-ma, ' of the water ' ; next are 
the nuqaba az-zai, -ash-shama' , ' of the lanterns ', and highest of all are the 
nuqaba al-majlis or -al-kabir, also styled al-ustad, ' the masters of the 
ceremonies '. (V. Kahle, in Der Islam, vi. pp. 163 ff.) But cf. Thorning 
in Turk. Bibl No. 16, pp. 105 ff. and Index. 

2 Here we have tasarruf, which might be rendered ' self-determination ' 
or freewill '. 

3 Lit. ' pegs '. 4 PI. of shahid. 



204 NlAZIJMISRl vn 

mans, on account of a tomb which it contains. This tomb contains 
the dust of a Darvish of the Baqtashi Order, named 'Azbl Chaush, 
once a public messenger of the Government in the time of the 
Shaikh-ul-Islam Vanni, and the reign of Sultan Ahmad. 

This chaush, or messenger, was ordered to carry into exile, 
to the town of Illimiya, an individual named Musri Niazi Effendi. 1 
On their way the messenger perceived that, whenever his prisoner 
performed the bismilldh prayer, his fetters fell off his wrists, and, 
supposing he had a secret method of effecting this, doubled them. 
Notwithstanding this precaution, the same thing occurred. He 
therefore became aware that it was to be attributed entirely to 
his great sanctity, and his respect for him became in consequence 
very profound. 

After reaching Illimiya, he resigned his office of chaush, and 
resided there with this pious man some fifteen years. At the 
expiration of this period, the exile told his companion that he 
was about to die. He presented him with his taslim-tash, which 
he had always worn around his neck, and the kamar, or girdle, 

1 The Muhammad Niazi Misri of p. 271 infra.' He is also known as 
Misri Effendi, " a seventeenth century poet and heresiarch with a leaning 
towards Baqtashi doctrines " (Hasluck, in Annual, B.S.A. xxi. p. 100, n. 1, 
citing Cantemir, Hist. Ottomans, tr. Joncquieres, ii. 218, 228 ff, ; Hammer- 
Hellert, Hist. Emp. Ott. xi. 335 ; and Gibb, Hist, of Ottoman Poetry, iii. 312). 
To say, as one writer does, that he was a celebrated Khalwati Shaikh of 
Brusa who had leanings towards Christianity and was put to death with 
twenty-two of his followers in 1649, is incorrect. The saint who was con- 
verted by an Arabic translation of the Gospel and was martyred with twenty- 
two followers in that year was an unnamed Shaikh of Aq-Hissar, whose 
order, as well as his designation, has not come down to us. Hammer- 
Purgstall gives a full account of his life and doctrines. Son of a Naqshbandi, 
he was born in a village near Malatia and studied in Diarbekr, at Cairo 
(under the head of the Qadiris), and at Elmell in Anatolia (under Umm 
Sinan, head of the Khalwati order). By the latter he was deputed to 
represent that order at Ushshaqi near Smyrna, but his chief activities were 
displayed at Brusa, Adrianople, and Constantinople, where his predilection 
for Kabbalistic prophecies led to his banishment to Rhodes. In all he was 
thrice banished and eventually died in exile in Lemnos in 1699. His 
attitude towards Christianity is obscure, but probably he only had a belief 
in the coming of Christ as the precursor of the Mahdi (GdOD. iii. pp. 587 ff.). 
In the text the town of Illimiyeh (as the original has it) is certainly Lemnos, 
Ilmeli in Turkish. The form Musri in the text almost suggests that 
Muhammad Niazi was really styled Brusi or Brusawl, but he had some 
connexion with Egypt in his youth. The sect founded by him is called 
the Niazia-Masria according to Le Chatelier (v. note on p. 450 infra). 



vii THE TRADITIONS 205 

from his waist, and begged him to return to Stambul, where his 
wife was about to marry another person, and to eat of her zarda 
pilaf (or wedding dish). He reached the capital just as the 
wedding was about to be consummated, and, having convinced 
his wife of his identity, was accepted as a husband in the place 
of the other person whom she had designed marrying. On his 
decease, 'Azbi Chaush was interred at the village of'Mardavan 
Km, and, from having become an eminent Baqtash, his grave 
is much visited. 

All the various tariqs of the Darvishes profess to base their 
creeds on the Quran and the hadisdt, the latter being the sayings 
of the Prophet, collected after his decease from among the ashdbs, 
or intimate friends, who enjoyed familiar intercourse with him^J 
Many of these were procured from second and third, or even many 
more persons, who having had them the one from the other, 
enabled the compilers to trace them back to their prophetical 
origin. They consist in a great measure of axioms, some pro- 
verbial, others moral or religious, and others relating only to 
what men supposed to be his own private wishes, not expressed 
in the Quran, the contents of which were conveyed to the Prophet 
directly from God by the archangel Gabriel. Mystical as are 
many of the verses of the Quran, several of these traditional 
sayings of the Prophet are much more so ; and to those who 
desire to learn the condition of the mind of the Arabs during his 
time, they offer a wide field for gleanings. They also serve to 
show the character of Muhammad, and the weight of his mental 
abilities. The collection exists in Arabic, and, I do not doubt, 
also in Persian, with commentaries and translations in Turkish. 
Whatever may be the wanderings of the Darvish Orders from 
the teachings of the Quran, they all profess to belong to one or 
the other of the four great commentators on that work. The 
peculiar devotion of the Baqtashis to the fourth direct caliph 
'AH is shown by the preceding account, as well as their strong 
attachment to the twelve Imams, all descended from him. 
Among the ' Sayings of the Prophet ', which they quote, are 
the following : 

" I am the city of science (religious or spiritual), and 'All is 
its portal." " 'All is the portal of a vast country ; whoever 
enters therein is a true believer, and whoever departs from it is 
an infidel who disbelieves God." 



206 INITIATION vn 

This is said to be the spiritual signification of the 55th verse 
of the 2nd chapter of the Quran. " Enter into this city, enjoy the 
wealth which is there to your entire satisfaction ; but on entering, 
prostrate yourselves and say, Pity us, O Lord ! and He will 
pardon your sins, for he has said, ' He will bestow our gifts upon 
the just'." 

" 'AH, and those who follow him, will find salvation in the 
Day of Judgment." 

THE INITIATION OF A BAQTASHI 

The murld must be well recommended to the murshid (Shaikh) 
of the takia by two members of the fraternity, called the rahpars 
or guides, previously mentioned. On the night appointed for his 
reception, he takes with him a sheep for sacrifice, and a sum of 
money according to his means, as an offering to the Shaikh, which 
is subsequently divided among the functionaries of the takia, 
twelve in number. The sheep is sacrificed at the sill of the -door, 
and a rope is made from its wool, and put round his neck. The 
remainder is preserved for the purpose of being made into a 
taiband for his subsequent use. The flesh is kept for the meal, 
of which all partake after the ceremony. As the meetings of the 
Order are all secret, care is taken that no listeners are concealed 
about the takia, and two of the fraternity keep guard outside the 
door. Three others are en service, inside the takia. 

. The murld is deprived of nearly all his clothing, and care is 
taken that he has nothing on his person of a metallic or mineral 
character, showing that, on entering the Order, and offering 
himself to the murshid, he makes a voluntary sacrifice of the 
world and all its wealth, and other attractions. If he designs 
taking the iqrar mujarrad, or vow of celibacy, he is stripped 
entirely naked, whilst, in case he does not, his breast alone is 
bared. The rope is put around his neck, and he is led into the 
hall of the takia by two tarjumans, or spiritual interpreters, 
en service, inside of it. He sees before him twelve persons, all 
seated, one of them is the murshid (Shaikh), and before each a 
lighted lamp or candle. He is led to a stone of twelve angles in 
the centre of the hall, called the maidan-tash, and directed to 
stand upon it, with his arms crossed on his breast, and his hands 
resting on his shoulders. This is called boyun kasmak, or ' bend- 



vii INITIATION 207 

ing the neck in humble respect and perfect submission'. His 
right great toe is pressed over the left great toe, and his head is 
inclined towards his right shoulder, his whole body leaning towards 
the Shaikh. 

One of the tarjumans, addressing the Shaikh, announces to 
him that he has brought him a qul, or slave, and asks whether he 
will accept of him, to which the Shaikh acquiesces. Addressing 
the Shaikh, he repeats the following prayer after the guide : 

" I have erred, pardon my fault, O Shah ! for the sake of 
the accepted one ('All), of the exalted place, for the sake of 
Husain, the martyr of Karbala. I have done wrong to myself, 
and to our lord, and I implore pardon of him." 

His fault is in having deferred becoming a member of the 
Order, The Shaikh recites the prayers prescribed in the Litany 
aforementioned, and the disciple responds to them from the same, 
taught him previously by the two rahpars who recommended him 
to the Shaikh. At their conclusion, the two tarjumans lead him 
off the stone, and holding him by the arms, conduct him to the 
Shaikh, before whom he bows low, and then prostrates himself. 
He then kneels before the Shaikh in a peculiar position, the former 
taking his hand into his own. 

The maiddn-tash represents the altar on which, in obedience 
to the Divine command, Ibrahim (Abraham) was about to offer 
up his son Isma'il (Isaac). The kneeling position of the murid 
is that which, it is said, was taken by 'All before the Prophet, 
his knees touching those of the Shaikh ; each holds the other's 
right hand, the two thumbs raised up in the form of the letter alif 
(a), the first of the Oriental alphabet. He places his ear near to 
the Shaikh's mouth, and the latter recites to him the 10th verse 
of the 48th chapter of the Quran : " Those who, on giving thee 
their hand, swear to thee an oath of fidelity, swearing it to God ; 
the hand of God is placed on their hands. Whoever violates his 
oath, does so to his hurt, and he who remains faithful to it, will 
receive from God a magnificent recompense." 

The two rahpars who conducted the murid to the takia, remain 
outside of the door, armed with the weapon formerly described, 
called tabar. 

Some say that, as the Baqtashis believe in a certain principle 
of a pantheistical character, the Shaikh whispers in the ear of the 
disciple a doctrine to which he must consent, under the penalty 



208 THE NOVITIATE vii 

of death, and that he must admit that ' there is no God ', meaning, 
however, that all living nature is God ; but others deny it, and 
from a good Darvish source I have learned that it is not correct. 

I have also been told that there are other secrets of the Order 
which are imparted by the Shaikh to the murid, under a fearful 
penalty in case he imparts them ; but as these are not printed, 
nor even written, they are known only to those of the Order. 
These form the iqrdrndma, or vows of the fraternity. The Baq- 
tashis call the Shaikh ' 'AH ', and the rahpar, ' Muhammad ', 
thus placing, in their spirito-mystical category, the Prophet 
lower than the Caliph. It is also said that the murid, before his 
acceptance, is placed under surveillance for a full year, and has 
imparted to him certain false secrets, so as to test his powers of 
fidelity. He is, during this period, called a mahakk, 1 i.e. one who 
is being verified. In the meantime he frequents the takia, but 
learns none of the real mysteries of the Order. None are present 
at the initiation beyond the Shaikh, the representatives of the 
other eleven Imams, and the tarjumans. It is called the iqrar ; 
and whenever a Darvish is asked to whom he made his iqrar 
(vow), he names the plr or founder of the Order, and not the 
Shaikh. No other reply is ever expected, or given. 

I am also informed that each Shaikh establishes a particular 
sign by which the members of his own lakia may be recognised 
when knocking for admittance, and that it is responded to from 
within. This is not general, but is local and conventional. 

Among the iqrdrs which the Shaikh recites to the murid, and 
which by him are repeated, is the following. It throws some 
light upon the ritual : "In the name of Allah, the Merciful and 
the Clement, I beseech Allah's forgiveness " (repeated three 
times). " I have come to implore pardon ; I have come in search 
of the Truth ; I ask it for the sake of God " (the word used is 
Haqq, the * True ' or ' Just ') ; " truth is the true path which 
leads to God, the All True whom I know ; what you call evil is 
the evil which I also know, and will avoid taking with my hand 
what belongs to another. I repeat (three times) ' Repent of your 

1 Muhiqq is ' one who confirms or establishes ', ' a speaker of the truth '. 
Mahakk appears to mean ' one who is proved or tested ' ; mihakk is a 
touchstone or a test. Muhaqqiq is an adept one proved (of. Kashf al- 
Mdhjub, p. 46). A muhaqqiq-i-asr is ' a searcher of truth ' (Nassau Lees, 
Nafahat-ul-Uns, p. 3). 



vn ADOPTION BY 'ALI 209 

sins unto God, a repentance without any return to sin.' " (From 
the Quran). 

The Shaikh adds, " Eat nothing wrong ; speak no falsehoods ; 
quarrel with no one ; be kind to those below you in life ; show 
respect to your superiors, and be good to those who visit you ; 
do not criticise the faults of others, if you see them conceal them ; 
if you cannot do this with your hand do so with your skirts, your 
tongue, and your heart. Be among the correct towards the 
twelve Orders of Darvishes ; we acknowledge each of the other 
eleven, for this is according to the precept of the Quran, ' A day 
will come when nothing will benefit you neither wealth, nor 
family, nothing except submission to God with a pure heart.' " 
The murld replies by kissing the hand of the Shaikh, who 
continues : " If you now accept me as your father I accept you 
as my son ; hereafter the pledge of God (' amanat-ullah) be breathed 
in your right ear". 

Among the Qddiris, Rifa'is, Baddwis, Maulavu, etc., all of the 
original twelve Orders, the iqrdr is simply the talqm, or the name 
Allah. 

The conclusion of the iqrdr is the following : the murshid says 
to the murld, who repeats it, " Muhammad is my rahpar (con- 
ductor)," " 'AH is my murshid (spiritual guide) ". 

The Shaikh then asks him : " Do you accept of me as your 
murshid ? " (in the place and as the representative of 'AH). 
The murid replies : " I accept of thee as my murshid" 
The Shaikh responds : " I then accept of thee as my son." 
These words may seem to be of little import, yet they have 
to devout Mussulmans a signification of an impious and awful 
nature ; for they place the blessed Prophet and the Quran inferior 
to 'AIT, and the Shaikh, as his representative, in the place of the 
Prophet. 

After having been once admitted as a Darvish, the only 
salutation on entering the takia is to incline the head gently 
towards the Shaikh, and lay the right hand across the breast, 
near to the neck, in sign of perfect submission to him. When 
meeting in public, I am informed, and have verified it by observa- 
tion, that Darvishes recognise each other by placing the right 
hand, as if unintentionally, on the chin. Some, and I believe it 
is a general rule, on entering a takia, or meeting a brother, place 
the right hand upon the heart, and with a gentle inclination of 

p 



210 THE AVOWAL vn 

the body, exclaim, Ya Hiz, aranlar ! The reply is : Ai Wallah ! 
Shahim (or) Pirim. 

The former [phrase] means, ' O ! Him (God or Jehovah), 
arans ' (noble fellows), and the latter, ' Good, by Allah, my Shah, 
oimy pir\ 

On making an inquiry of the health, they say Kaiflar 1 Jum- 
bushlarim ! ' Health, my Joys ', and the reply is, Ai Wallah, 
aranlarim ! ' Good, by Allah, my arans ', 

On meeting, they say, Hu Dost, aranlar, ' Him, friend, arans ', 
and the reply is, Ai Wallah, aranlar. On departing, to take 
leave, they exclaim, Ai Wallah ! and the response is, Hu D5st. 

I may here add, that these salutations are common to other 
Orders than the Baqtashis, though generally, in private life, they 
all use the ordinary Islam one, of Salam alaikum, ' Peace be with 
you ', and the reply is, Alaikum-us-saldm, ' With you be peace '. 

The following extract from the same MSS. is explicative of 
some of their forms. It is the address of the murshid to the 
neophyte : 

" Come near and learn the manner in which we lead you in 
the True Path to Allah. Those who come to the Avowal, are 
well understood by us ; hearts respond to hearts ; one person is 
needed who knows the way to be pursued, one to initiate, 
and one to act the part of a friend ; those to be present will all 
be there (in the takia), and we then lead the mund in the Path ; 
one on his right and one on his left, who are called rahpars, and 
remain by your side ; three persons act as servants, called 
Parwanas? and so now we open the wonderful takia for labour. 

1 Kaif: in his Dar-ul-Islam, p. 175, Mark Sykes gives an amusing list of the 
meanings of this untranslatable word. It denotes all sorts of enjoyment 
from drunkenness to the delights of friendship, recreations like a short ride, 
a banquet, a happy meeting, home, a brown study (? ecstasy or contempla- 
tion), love in idleness, opium (and its effects), tobacco, and repose, e.g. after a 
Turkish bath. Junbush, vulg. T. for Pers. junbish, ' pleasurable excitement '. 

2 Parwana, literally a ' moth ' : a ' messenger ', ' supervisor or in- 
spector '. The title of Parwana was also applied to one Mu'in-ud-Dln, 
" governor (apparently) of Qonia . . . (moth or fly-wheel, viz. of the far- 
distant Mughal emperor, resident at the court of the king) " (according to 
Redhouse, Mesnevi, p. 37 ; but no authority is there cited). The Parwana 
was not a mere envoy but a resident who exercised control over a tributary 
State. The term seems to occur first under 641 H., when the Mongols made 
Iconium pay tribute and accept a Parwana (Ameer Ali, A Short Hist, of the 
Saracens, p. 387). 



vii THE EXHORTATION 211 

Twelve persons must be there, well knowing the four Columns of 
the Order ; give up all worldly knowledge, and confide your souls 
to us ; the rahpars conduct you to the ddr (or the maiddn task), 
and there you make your vow. You then know what a murshid 
is, and we also know the same ; you enter by the four doors (the 
columns), and serve under them with warmth and fidelity ; be 
not a hypocrite, or we will know how to punish you ; the murshid 
will address you from the texts of the 'ahd or ' covenant ' (Quran, 
vii. 171) ; receive his words with all your heart, or he will cut off 
your head. If those who know not God, or the pir, learn from 
you your secrets, you will be led by them to the prison, and the 
asylum of the insane, or cause your death, and we will be with 
you in the hour of merited punishment. Be careful not to follow 
the dictates of your personal passions, and so wrong the four 
Columns of our Order ; your place will at first be that of the 
lowest degree, and if you are faithful, we will raise you to the 
Pleiades ; associate only with those who, like yourself, have 
learned the secrets and taken the vow of our Order ; others will 
divulge what you tell them, denounce you to the public, and 
cause us to degrade you for your weakness. Follow in the path, 
and keep the secrets of the arans, and so sustain the high standing 
of the Order ; whatever comes to your heart regarding the true 
path, keep it for communion with us ; to us you have made your 
vow, and from us learn the knowledge which you and we must 
possess. 

" Whenever your true friends, the rahpars and the brethren 
present, are of one mind and heart, they become ahl-i-bait, or 
members of the family of the Prophet (a degree), such as those 
who were ahl-i-'abd, or those who were covered by him with his 
mantle (a degree), or all of the 3, the 42, and the 73 in number 
(a degree). The rahpars must have a sword, the zulfikdr ; your 
offering to the murshid must be consistent with your means, and 
will form your nazr (votive offering) ; place this in the hand of 
the bearer of the tabar, it is to cleanse your heart, and fill it with 
purer thoughts ; one-half of it is for the shah (Shaikh, who re- 
presents 'All), and the rest will be divided into four parts, of 
which the half is for the arans, and the other half for the expenses 
of the takia." 

The night of meeting is called that of the ""ain-i-jam 1 ; the five 
persons (the rahpars and the parwdnas or tarjumdns) must all be 



212 THE FOUR WORLDS yn 

of one soul, and of the degree of the ahl-i-'aba, for they are the 
lights of the congregation, and are called 'AH, Zahra, 1 Shepper 2 
(or Hasan), Shah PIr (Husain), and the Hazrat-i-Kubra (the 
Mahdi). 

They say that there are four 3 distinct worlds, the first, 'alam- 
i-misal, or the world of dreams or assimulations ; the second, the 
'alam-i-ajsam, the present, or world of bodies ; the third, the 
'dlam-i-malkut, or world of angelic beings ; and the fourth, the 
'dlam-i-nasut, or the world of mortals. Man's existence is divided 
into three parts, wakeful existence, when all the mental faculties 
are vigorous ; sleep, when the faculties of life are lulled or 
annihilated, but the spirit is wakeful ; and death, when the body 
has entirely ceased to possess animation or existence, and the 
spirit is freed from its mortal ties. The 'alam-i-misal is also a 
state of ecstaticism, when the spirit or soul has perceptions, 
though the body is not lulled by sleep, of spirituality or of the 
beautiful in thought. It then may have wakeful visions, of which 
it is incompetent in ordinary hours, and consequently approaches 
its Creator. 

In the work aforementioned, called the Rashahat,* the writer 
remarks that the Sufia Shaikhs are those who, through the 
medium of a perfect conformance to the blessed Prophet, arrive 
at a degree of approximity to the Divinity, and after this desire 
to return and inspire others with the wish for the same tariq or 
path which led themselves to Him. These perfectly pious or 
devout individuals become, by the grace and favour of God, 
submerged in the 'ain-i-jairi of His unity, and wrecked in the 

1 Al-Zahra, Fatima, v. p. 396 infra. 

2 Shappar, Pers. ' excellent '. 

3 This is a simplified version of the 'Awalim-i-kliamsa or ' five worlds ' of 
the Sufis. In that system the third plane is the 'alam-i-misal or ' world of 
similitudes ', also called the 'alam-i-malakut or ' world of angels '. Malakut 
might also signify ' kingship ', ' dominion ', or ' possession '. Mulkut would 
be ' the invisible world ', ' Heaven '. The fourth plane is the 'alam-i- 
shahadat or ' visible world ', often styled the 'alam-i-mulk or ' physical 
world '. This is the world in which we move, and it is the antithesis of the 
hazrat-i-ghaib-i-mutlaq or ' plane of the absolutely invisible '. The fifth is 
the 'alam-i-insan or ' world of man ', in which the microcosm epitomises the 
whole universe. Hence the text rightly places ' the world of mortals ' last. 
For a full account of the Sufi system and its variants see Gibb, Hist, of 
Ottoman Poetry, i. pp. 54 ff . 

4 Nashihat in original. 



VII 



THE MALAMICN 213 



depths of the sea of the indubitable truth of the One God only, 
and their mission is to lead others from the snares of corruption 
and uncertainty to the exalted shores of perpetual safety. There 
is, however, another sect, who, having reached the shores of 
perfection, are not required to retire and seek the salvation of 
others. They only continue engaged in devout piety, and spend 
their precious lives in perpetual praises and calling upon the holy 
name of the Eternal. The former are the ahl-i-suliik, or advocates 
of the true path, and are divided into two classes, the mutasufia 
and the malamia, the one aspiring to Jannat, or the celestial 
Paradise of spiritual felicity, and the other to the Akhirat, or that 
last period of spiritual existence which never ends. The former, 
through their incessant adoration and praise of the Omnipotent 
Allah, become freed from some of the ordinary attributes of 
humanity, and gifted with some of the characteristics which 
belong only to spiritual beings, so that they naturally prefer to 
withdraw from the scenes of life, and spend their days in con- 
templating that Omnipresent Deity, who is hidden by the veil 
of mortality from ordinary sight, and to whom they have by this 
means approached. Though still hanging on the skirts of temporal 
existence, their souls become reunited, to a certain extent, with 
the all-pervading Spirit of the Creator. 

The Malamitins, on the other hand, strive to lead lives of 
strict virtue and benevolence towards themselves and all man- 
kind. The performance of the virtues of this life, as well as of 
acts of supererogatory excellence, are deemed by them essential 
to the path which they adopt, and in this they care but little for 
the commendation and admiration of the public, for all their 
acts are performed in reference only to the Divine satisfaction. 
With them, sincerity, free from all hypocrisy, is the essential 
object of their lives, and God only is the judge of their conduct. 
They abstain from all possible rebellion against His commands, 
the idea even of which is a sin ; they are said to expose good and 
conceal evil, and among them are persons of great excellence of 
character, commendable for all the virtues and excellences of life ; 
but yet the veil or curtain of mortality is not withdrawn from 
their eyes, and their vision is that which belongs only to temporal 
existence. They, therefore, do not possess the same distinct 
perception as the Sufias of the Divine unity. 



214 AN ACCOUNT OF THE BAQTASH vii 

APPENDIX C TO CHAPTER VII 
AN ACCOUNT OF THE BAQTASH 

Evliya says there is no doubt that Hajl Baqtash was descended in direct 
lineage from the Prophet, and he gives the following as his pedigree : 

Imam Musa al-Kazim (who had 37 children). 

I 
Saiyid Ibrahim al-Murteza. 

Saiyid Musa Ebi Sebha. 

Saiyid Ibrahim Mokerrem al-'Askeri. 

Saiyid Ishaq as-Sakin. 

Saiyid Musa Nishaburl x l Khatmeh, daughter of Shaikh Ahmad. 

Saiyid Muhammad Hajl Begtash. 

He adds that Haji Baqtash was entrusted as a boy to the care of Luqman, 
a disciple of Ahmad Yasawi, and that Luqman had been invested with the 
religious habit of Imam Ja'far by Bayazid Bistami. Luqman in turn 
invested Haji Baqtash with it. Hence, he says, the Begtash wear the crown 
or turban with twelve folds in remembrance of the twelve Imams, and the 
white abba with sleeves like a jiibbeh. 

Evliya also describes how from Musa al-Kazim the gift of direction to 
bliss (irshad) and the symbols of darvishship passed to Ahmad Yasawi and 
from him to Haji Begtash. What has become of these symbols does not 
appear, but Evliya hints that they are at Osmanjik, also on the Kizil Irmak, 
where Sultan Bayazid built a convent, etc., at the bidding of the true 
successor of Haji Begtash, the great saint Qoyiin Baba, who accompanied 
Hajl Begtash from Khurasan and obtained his name because he bleated 
like a sheep once in twenty-four hours, which was the signal for prayer. 
At Osmanjik pilgrims are given a khirqa, sajjada, ' carpet ', standard, drum, 
palahanJc, ' halter ', assa, ' stick ', and taj, as symbols of darvishship. 
Evliya speaks highly of this convent, though he says the Baqtash darvishes 
are generally in bad repute (Travels, ii. pp. 20 and 97). 

The Baqtashis, as an order, owed all their importance to their asocia- 
tion with the Janissaries. According to C. Huart, Orkhan betook himself 
to Haji Baqtash at Amasia, after the foundation of that corps by his 
brother and chief minister, 'Ala-ud-Dln. The darvesh placed the sleeve of 
his mantle on the head of one of the soldiers and conferred on the newly 
raised infantry the name of Yeni-cheri. Thenceforth the Janissaries wore 
a piece of stuff behind the white felt which served as their head-dress and 
ornamented it with a spoon of wood. But it has been shown that this 
tradition lacks historical support. Huart speaks of the ornament in the 

1 The sign x means married. 



vii BAQTASHI USAGES 215 

head-dress as a ' spoon ', but Jacob says nothing of the kind : on p. x he 
speaks of a piece, doubtless of wood, one ell long and two fingers broad, 
which the Janissaries wore in their hat of white wool. (Huart, Textes 
Hourodfis, p. xii ; Jacob, Die Bektaschijje.) 

On the death of Hajl Baqtash certain of his followers took counsel 
together. These were Kuyun Baba (' Father Sheep '), who dwelt near 
'Usmanjik; Abdal Musa, near Elmall ; Shuja'-ud-DIn, near Eski-Shahr; 
Kizil Deli, of Dimetoka ; and Sarsam "Ah" Baba, at Kalkandelen ; and they 
agreed that the kulas to be worn in the convents should be two-, three-, 
and twelve-sided, according to the place. This, it will be seen, gives the 
shape of the Baqtash cap a merely local significance, independent of the 
sub-order (Jacob, Beitrage, pp. 85-6). 

Rycaut tells a curious story of the origin of the custom of kissing the 
Sultan's sleeve. Bektash was preacher to Murad (I., 1360-1389, must be 
meant), and warned that Sultan against trusting the Serbians, but the 
victorious sovereign allowed Vilvo (Milosh Kobilovitch) to approach and 
assassinate him. Bektash, knowing that the fulfilment of his prophecy and 
his proximity to the Sultan's person would involve his own death, made 
no effort to avert his fate, but prepared himself for it. He provided himself 
with a robe of white with long sleeves, and this he proffered to all his 
proselytes to be kissed as a mark of obedience to him and to his institutions. 
Hence, somewhat inconsequently, arose the custom of kissing the Sultan's 
sleeve (Present State, p. 148). Rycaut adds that the Bektash wear white 
caps of several pieces with turbans of wool, twisted in the fashion of a rope, 
and that they go clothed in white. The sect, he records, observed constantly 
the hours of prayer, which they perform in their own Assemblies, but, he 
then continues, their order is most abhorred by the Kadizadelis, because 
Bektash left it to the free will of his disciples to observe the constant hours 
of prayer or not, a licence naturally taken full advantage of by 'the Janis- 
saries. The Kadizadeli (? Qazl-zada-li) sect is described as having been 
founded by one Birgali Effendi in the time of Sultan Murad, and as chiefly 
affected by renegade Russians and other Christians who retained some 
beliefs in Purgatory, and so invented many ceremonies in praying for the 
souls departed, at the burial of the dead (ib. p. 129). After describing 
the Potures, Rycaut says that a subtle point about the Divine Attributes 
begot a sect amongst the Janissaries, called the Bektashi, who began, it is 
said, in the time of Sulaiman the Magnificent ( 1529-66). Some people called 
them ZeratI, i.e. those who have copulation with their own kindred, while 
the vulgar dubbed them mumsconduren or ' extinguishers of the candle '. 
The sect observed the law of Muhammad in divine worship with a strict- 
ness and superstition above any of the Precisians of that religion, but held 
it unlawful to adjoin any attributes to God, by saying that God is great, 
or God is merciful, because His nature cannot be apprehended. The 
practice of intercourse with their own children was defended on the principle 
that he who had planted the vine was entitled to taste of the fruit (ib. p. 131). 
This passage recalls the curious sect called Pertoli by Hammer-Purgstall. 
That body justified intercourse with a daughter on the precedent set by 
Lot (GdOSl. ii. p. 422). Its name may really have been Pardali, or ' con- 
cealed ', but no explanation of it is given. It is said to have been a mystical 



THE HAJI'S TOMB vn 

sect of Sofia, whose leader or founder was one Sh. Ishaq. Possibly the name 
is a corruption of Potur. 

In view of the close connexion between the Baqtashls and the Janis- 
saries, it is curious to find a Turkish writer taxing a Baqtash with a pacifist 
propaganda among the troops in 1690-91, contrasting the hardships they 
were enduring with the luxurious life which the Sultan was leading (Jacob, 
op. cit. p. 7, quoting from Es'ad Effendi's Uss-i-Zaer, p. 204). 

Baqtashism is said to teach that no life should be wantonly taken, and 
a really devout Baqtashi of the old school wears bells on his shoes to warn 
the little creatures of the grass to avoid his footsteps (H, N. Brailsford, 
Macedonia, p. 245). The writer says the suggestion of Buddhist influence 
here is irresistible, but the idea is Jain rather than Buddhist. It must not, 
however, be forgotten that some Buddhistic ideas reached the Balkan 
Peninsula some time before the Moslem conquest (Gaster, Roumanian Bird 
and Beast Stories, pp. 23 ft'.). 

Tradition locates the burial-place of Haji Baqtash at Haji Bektash 
Takia, near Qirshahr. By the Christians who frequent his shrine he is 
here identified with S. Charalambos, who is powerful in respect of plague. 
But the Haji is also equated to S. Eustathius, probably on account of some 
connexion with hunting (Hasluck in Annual, B.S.A. xx. p. 103). It is 
significant that the Baqtash at their takia at Istranija hi the hills N.E. 
of Constantinople were purveyors of game to the Sultans (ib. xxi. p. 100, 
n. 9). The lack of historical evidence for Haji Bektash's existence makes 
the origin of the above tradition of some interest. Evliya or his translator 
says that he was buried in Sultan Orkhan's presence in the capital of Crimea, 
where a Tatar princess raised the monument over his tomb (Travels, ii. 
p. 21). Here Crimea is almost certainly a mistake for Qaramania. Hasluck 
states simply that the ' capital of Crimea ' is obviously a mistake for 
Qirshahr, and in all probability he is right. Mokissos, refounded by 
Justinian as Justinianopolis, became in the Byzantine period one of the 
chief cities of Cappadocia, and Qirshahr, a city in a fine situation, is the 
modern metropolis of the same division of Cappadocia (W. M. Ramsay, 
The Hist. Geography of Asia Minor, p. 300). It seems to have been the 
capital of Qaramania, though express authority for this cannot be cited, 
and though the Saljuqian capital was Qonia, while Qonia and Laranda 
(Qaraman) formed the principality of the Qaramanughll, or ' princes of 
Laranda and Qonia ' (Eamsay, op. cit., pp. 332 and 336 ; and Eedhouse, 
Eng.-Turk. Diet. p. 1443). Qaramania was so imperfectly Turkicised that 
it gave its name to the Qaramanlrja script or Turkish written hi Greek 
characters. Such a city would naturally be chosen for the shrine of a 
legendary saint, or it would be located in its environs, and, as a fact, the 
shrine is at the ancient Doara or Odogra, once the seat of a bishopric 
(Ramsay, op. cit., pp. 268-9, 297). 

At Haji Bektash pilgrims make the passage of a natural rock tunnel 
with a view to proving their sincerity of purpose. The aperture is narrow, 
and it is customary for the pilgrim to remove his arms before making the 
attempt. An Albanian bey, who succeeded in passing through it armed, 
died early as a punishment for his presumption (from Columns of Ordeal, by 
the late F. W. Hasluck). A somewhat similar rite is observed by visitors to 



VII 



CHALABI ' 217 



the shrine of Baba Farid Shakar-ganj (d. 664 H., A.D. 1266), at Pakpattan, 
' the holy ferry ' in the Punjab. This saint was a Sufi of the Chishti sect. 
The pilgrim passes through ' the Gate of Paradise ', the key of which is in 
charge of a Brahman. Lives used to be lost in the crush, though the ' gate ' 
is not unduly narrow (J. Punjab Historical Society, i. p. 75). S. Pelagia, 
known to Moslems as Rabahat bint Hasan al-Basri, is buried in a crypt in 
the Church of the Ascension at Jerusalem. Her tomb is against the wall 
with a narrow passage between, and through this penitents squeeze, their 
ability to do so being a proof of grace. The tomb of Hasan Basri has a 
similar peculiarity, but it is not clear that a similar rite was performed there. 
The qubba originally built to him fell twice, and then he appeared and 
declared that he desired no qubba, but a tower, and that his tomb should be 
set against the wall to prevent circumambulation. 

The meaning of the statement on p. 166 that Baqtash made over his 
powers to the Khatun (Lady) Anadur probably is that from her are 
descended the heads of the Baqtash order. The present Chalabi claims to 
be the actual descendant of Hajl Baqtash, and his office is hereditary in his 
family, following the usual Turkish rule whereby the senior surviving 
brother is preferred to the eldest son. But his claim is disputed by the 
party of the Dede Baba, who hold that Hajl Baqtash left no physical off- 
spring, though they admit that a lady conceived by drinking the Haji's 
blood. Her name, however, is given as Khatun Jikana, the wife of a 
khoja. Hajl Baqtash himself is also said to have been of miraculous birth, 
being a na/s-uglu or ' son of the breath ' (of God). 

It may be that Chalabi is derived from Ar. salab or sulb, ' loins ', the 
term denoting his physical descent from Haji Baqtash. In Persian sulabiy 
or sulbiy means ' own ', ' real ', as in farzand-i-sulbiyash, ' his own son ' 
(Richardson, Pers. Ar.-Eng. Diet. p. 790). The title goes back to the days 
of Timur at least. It was borne by Sulaiman Chalabi, oldest son of Bayazld 
(1389-1403 : H. A. Gibbons, The Foundation of the Ottoman Empire, p. 195) ; 
while the 'nickname' of Kiri-chalabi (Girl-jilibI) was borne by Muhammad, 
the son whom Bayazld esteemed second only to Sulaiman, though it does 
not appear whether he was his second son by birth. Kirl-ChalabI seems to 
mean ' post ' or ' after ' Chalabi (from kari, Turk. ' after ' or ' behind ', 
but Gibbons styles it a nickname (ib. p. 252, n. 4). GirjilibI is Rabbi Joseph's 
form of the word (Chronicles, i. p. 257). It may be conjectured that Chalabi 
meant ' heir-apparent ' or heir-designate, while Kiri-Chalabi meant the next 
heir after him : cf. the Sanskrit series of terms for heir-apparent, next heir 
(dwistania), and so on. In E.I. i. p. 832 the article on Chelebi does not 
allude to this ' nickname ', but it discusses the history of the word at length. 

In Turkish chalab or chalab undoubtedly means ' God ', and Redhouse 
defines chelehi as (originally, in Tartary) a religious man, a Christian man, 
a priest or monk, worshipper of the crucifix (Turk.-Eng. Lex. p. 728). 
But Evliya says that in Brusa, being in Asia, the language is related to the 
Turkish, hence they say : ' Ghepu instead of ... Chelebi ' (Travels, ii. 
p. 17). It is difficult to think that the word is derived from Ar. salb, ' cruci- 
fixion ', as the salb by no means denoted a crucifix in the Christian sense 
(v. F. Babinger in Der Islam, xi. p. 74). The term Salbl never seems to 
have been generally applied to Christians, though a little-known Bedouin 



218 BAQTASHI SUCCESSIONS vn 

tribe supposed to be descendants of Crusaders is called Solibah in the desert 
near Mosul (Man, 1921, p. 122). Salbi (if such a word ever existed) would 
connote both the degradation of an out-caste Christian and the fate of a 
convicted criminal. 

In Ar. shalabi Turk, chelebi (Der Islam, ix. p. 72). But this is doubtless 
the Arabicised form of the Turkish term. 

The above explanation is the late Mr. F. W. Hasluck's (Annual, B.S.A. 
xx. p. 103, n. 7, and xxi. pp. 87 and 88, n. 1).' But it is not easily reconciled 
with that of Ahmad Rif at as given in Jacob's Die Bektaschvjje, pp. 22 ff. 
According to that writer, who published his Mirat td-Maqctsid fi dafil- 
Mafasid in 1876, Hajl Bektash was succeeded by the Shaikh Khizr Lala 
Sultan, the youngest of the three sons of Idris Faqih, and he in turn by his 
physical descendants until their line apparently died out. Then Balim 
Sultan became head of the order. He, dying in A.D. 1516, was succeeded 
by 23 Shaikhs, of whom 17 appear to have been appointed and not to have 
attained the office by natural descent. Then' in or about 1731 Shah Quli 
Sultan became head of the order, and his descendants have succeeded him 
down to the present day. But besides the Chelebis there were at the 
Mother-convent celibate Babas (mujarrad babasi) beginning with Sarsam 
'All, who assumed office in 958 H. (A.D. 1551), and their line, too, continued 
to the present day. Jacob regards the dynasty of Idris Faqih as an in- 
vention of the eighteenth century, but it is based on the same authority as 
Ahmad's other data. Whence that writer got them does not appear, though 
a vague reference is given to ' BektashI sources '. If, however, we take the 
lists as they stand they are not devoid of. interest. That of the Chelebis is 
patently one that indicates regular, uneventful succession until we get to 
Balim Sultan. 1 His successor is given as the Shahid Ganj Qalandar Effendi, 
and the term ' Shahid ' suggests that he was executed, and Jacob is probably 
right in identifying him with the Qalandar Chelebi who claimed to be a 
descendant of Hajl Bektash, and in 1526-27 led the fierce Qaramanian revolt 
against the rule of Sulaiman the Magnificent. With less certainty he is 
identifiable with the Qalandar Shah whose lurbat is in the Mother-convent. 
Quite possibly he was or claimed to be a descendant of Habib Effendi, the 
eldest brother of Khizr Lala. This fact or claim gives a hint that Idris 
FaqTh was regarded as in some way a physical son of Haji Bektash. After 
Qalandar, too, the order continued to have a stormy history, for in 1729-30 
'Abd-ul-Qadir, and in 1824-25 Faiz-Illah, Grand-Masters of the order, met 
with violent deaths, as they are also designated ' Shahid '. The death of 
the last named clearly formed part of the steps taken to suppress the 
Janissaries. Turning to the list of the mujarrad babas, it is noteworthy that 
it excludes all the prominent Baqtash saints who stand high ia popular 
esteem, none of HajrBektash's four khalifas being shown in it. Sarsam 'AH 
is the sole exception. 

According to the Wilayat-nama Haji Baqtash had five khalifas, but in 
the Mirat ul-Maqasid the number is only four (Jacob, Die Bektaschijje, p. 42). 
It may well be that the original number was five, following the Buddhist 

1 There is, indeed, some reason for regarding Balim Sultan as the real founder of the 
Baqtash order. He died in 922 H. (A.D. 1516). 



vii BAQTASHI SULTANS 219 

precedent, and that it was subsequently reduced to four to conform to the 
Naqshbandl practice, wherein each of the great teachers of that sect had 
that number of khalifas, a usage based again on the model of the first four 
Caliphs, the Chahar Yar (in Turk, durt yar) or ' Four Friends '. 

According to Jacob the chief of the four khalifas was Saiyid Jamal Sultan, 
who is buried near Balukisir or Balikesri in Karasi. This khalifa may be 
the ' Said 'AH Balkhi ' of the text. 

The second was Kolu Achiq Hajim Sultan, whose real name was Rajab, 
and who is buried at Rajab, so called after him, not far from 'Ushshaq. 
His name seems to mean ' ashen-coloured ', from kyullu, ' ashy ', and achiq, 
' light (in colour) '. He was a cousin of Baqtash. 

The third khaUfa was Sari Isma'Il Sultan, whose tomb is at Davas, south 
of Denizli. One authority makes him the ibnqdar, ' ewer-holder ', of Haji 
Bektash (Turk. Bibl. No. 17, p. 16). 

The fourth Rasul 'AH Sultan or Rasul Baba is buried at Besh Karish, 
near Altyn Tash. 

All these, it will be observed, bear the title of Sultan (Bektaschijje, p. 27 ; 
cf. also Hasluck in Annual, B.S.A. xxi. pp. 92, 94). 

But the title of Sultan was subsequently given to a number of Baqtashl 
saints. In addition to Balim Sultan we have Patuk Sultan at Qirshahr, 
Taslim and Dede Sultans at Denizli ; 'Abdi Bey Sultan at Yatagan, Aqbiyik 
Sultan at Brusa, Sidim Sultan (?), who seems to have given his name to a 
convent of bare-headed and bare-footed Baqtash near Tchorum, Imran 
Yunuz at Beybazar (Yunuz Imre, who is placed early in the fourteenth 
century), and the famous Qaighusuz Sultan of Cairo (Hasluck, op. cit., pp. 
91, 92, 93, 94, and 89-90). 

But these ' Sultans ' were not always the most influential Baqtashl saints. 
Soon after the death of Haji Baqtash, if not immediately after it, five 
prominent Baqtash saints met to decide on the forms which the principal 
convents were to adopt for their distinctive head-dresses. These were 
Quyun Baba, Abdfil Musa, Shuja'-ud-Dln of Eskishahr, Sersem 'All Baba 
of Kalkandelen, and Kizil Deli of Dimetoka, of whom only the last named 
appears to have borne the title of Sultan (Jacob, Beitrage, pp. 85-86). All 
this suggests that the title was not used in the original organisation of the 
order. It was certainly not confined to the Baqtashis, but was affected by 
such saints as Karanji Baba Sultan, apparently a Hamzawl. Evliya also 
mentions Sidi Bilal (p. 38), Juji and Qazi Beg (ib.), Chekirka (p. 27), and a 
' Baba Sultan ' (p. 29) in his Travels (ii.), but does not specify their orders. 
Then there is the saint Du.mli (Baba or) Sultan, at the source of the Euphrates, 
closely connected with an Umudum Sultan (ib. pp. 179 and 187). In the 
English translation Du.mli appears as Rumli, but cf. Der Islam, ix. pp. 228- 
229. The names Dumll and Umudum are not explained. The latter may be 
connected with 'umud vide note on p. 203. 

Shaikh Geikli Baba Sultan is expressly mentioned by Evliya as a darvish 
of the Baqtashis, a companion of Abdal Musa and a disciple of Ahmad 
Yasawi. He came from Azarbaijan, and was buried at Brusa, in the great 
convent built by Orkhan (Travels, ii. pp. 21 and 24). His name Geikli 
means 'deer ', and when the poet Ghazah", ' he of the gazelle ', assumed that 
title he seems to have done so in imitation of Geikli Baba, for on his banish- 



220 GEIKLI BABA vir 

ment, due to the Rabelaisian tendencies of his poems, he installed himself 
as Shaikh in the cell of that saint on the slopes of Mt. Olympos (Gibb, 
Hist, of Olt. Poetry, iii. p. 38). Nevertheless, the precise connexion between 
Ghazall and the Baqtash is obscure, and it is, moreover, doubtful whether 
Geikll Baba was really an adherent of Haji Baqtash. The Baba " used to 
ride on wild roes in the woods, and load gazelles with his baggage after he 
had harnessed them ", says Evliya. Geikll Baba was a Persian by birth, 
from Khoi, a disciple of the Sh. Ilias (von Hammer, GdOR. i. pp. 111-12). 

'Usman built cells for the darvishes Torud and Abdal Kumral. His 
example was followed by Urkhan, who built a cell for Geikll Baba, east of 
Brusa, on a spur of Mt. Olympos, and higher up the grave of Doghli Baba, 
the ' Buttermilk father '. On the western side of the town he also built 
the cloister of Abdal Murad, by the Qaplija, the ' covered-in hot springs ', 
as well as that of Abdal Musa, under the town walls. - 

This account of the saint certainly recalls the Chinese being Shou Hsing, 
' the Star of Longevity ', whose figurine, mounted on a stag, is common in 
China, and even sold in India. Major W. Perceval Yetts, to whom this 
information is due, doubts, however, if Shou Hsing is connected with Geikll 
Baba. In three examples known to me the stag is distinctly turning his 
head to speak, as it were, to Shou Hsing. Major Yetts suggests that the 
pictures of Tao Tzu, who rides an ox which did turn its head round and speak 
to him, may have influenced those of Shou Hsing. Curiously enough, his 
place in Karman, where villagers offered Hajim Sultan animals, is called 
Geikli-lar jama'ati, though deer could hardly have been included in the 
gifts. Geikll thus seems to mean oxen or cattle as well as deer, and Geikll 
Baba may have affinities to both the Chinese beings ( Wilayat-nama, p. 79). 

Even this does not exhaust the list of Baqtash Sultans. Evliya mentions 
Kari Ahmad Sultan and (? or) Shaikh Kara Ahmad Sultan, a Persian prince 
who was initiated by Haji Baqtash, and is buried at Aq-Hissar ; Sh. Geikll 
Baba Sultan, a follower of Ahmad Yasawl and a great tamer of wild animals, 
who is buried at Brusa ; Sh. Sultan Ramazan Baba, buried in a Baqtash 
convent at Brusa ; Abdal Musa Sultan, another companion of Haji Baqtash 
and a disciple of Ahmad Yasawl, whose tomb is also at Brusa ; and Abdal 
Murad Sultan, whose walk is situate in a valley high up on Mount Olympus, 
whence the finest view of Brusa is obtained, and who must be a Baqtashi 
(Travels, i. pt. 1, pp. 20-21, 24, 27 ; ii. 24, 14, and 8). 

Olympos in Bithynia is the modern Keshish Dagh, or " perhaps some 
point on the south-eastern skirts of Keshish Dagh rather than the main 
summit " (W. M. Ramsay, Hist. Geography of Asia Minor, p. 187). Primd 
facie this accords with the description given of the walk of Abdal Murad 
Sultan. Keshish is the Ar. qasis, " a Christian priest or monk " (P. Babinger 
in Der Islam, xi. p. 15). Evliya gives a picturesque description of it (Travels, 
ii. pp. 14 f.). 

The history of the word Sultan may give a clue to its real significance. 
Meaning literally ' ruler ', the title was first bestowed by Wasiq (Vathek) 
upon the commandant of his Turkish guards (Ameer Ali, A Short Hist, of 
the Saracens, p. 411). In Evliya's time it denoted a local ruler. He says 
explicitly that in Georgia Shaburan was the seat of a Sultan, " which is the 
same as a sanjaq Beg in Turkey ". Shamakhi again had 40 Sultans and 



vir QARAJA AHMAD 221 

40 judges attached to it. At Magu he found 2000 musketeers, commanded 
by a Sultan (Beg) subordinate to the Khan (Pasha, governor) of Erivan 
(Travels, ii. pp. 165, 159, and 122). These uses of the title seem to have 
been confined to the northern parts of Asia Minor. Babinger suggests that 
the term had no secular or spiritual significance, but was merely used like a 
term of affection (Kosenamen) ; but among the Baqtash its prevalence may 
point to a division of the whole area of their activities into dioceses, quite 
a common phenomenon in Oriental sects, though such an act of ecclesiastical 
administration would not necessarily be openly avowed. Indeed, some 
orders in India are known to have mapped out the country into ' provinces ', 
etc., but do not disclose their boundaries or more than they can help about 
their organisation. In any case the military rank of a Sultan was important, 
as Evliya speaks of his commanding at least 1000 men (e.g, p. 130). 

The history of the term ' Sultan ' prior to the Saljuqs is not yet clear. 
Before the ninth century the title is used to denote the holder of an office, 
amir if the person is meant. The events of the eleventh century promoted 
the term ' Sultan '. No longer, as in the tenth century, was it applied to 
every petty ruler ; only the head of an independent dynasty could so style 
himself. The Sultan became ' the shadow of God ' on earth, while the 
Imam, deprived of secular power, was still ' the representative of God '. 
This theory was based on a kadis of the Prophet. Early in the fourteenth 
century the concept that the Khalifas should not intervene in the things of 
the transitory earthly government first appears. (Arnold, The Caliphate, 
App. D, and Index.) 

From the Wilayat-nama of Hajim Sultan the following pedigree may be 
gleaned : 

Sayyid Nur-ud-Din of Sivri Hissar. 



Bayazid Bistaml. Qaraja Ahmad, the giuzji, ' patron-saint ' of Rum. 

II | Bajl- 

A disciple. . . . Haji Togrul. Fatima. 



x 1 



Khoja Idris. 

What the precise relations of Qaraja Ahmad with Hap Bektash were is not 
clear. The Haji gave to every darvish his lot (nasib), and that of Qaraja 
Ahmad was the little demon. Reserving to himself the sound or healthy 
part of Rum, to Ahmad he consigned ' the part beset by a demon '. This 
seems to mean that, like Qara Baba, Qaraja Ahmad was taken over by the 
Bektash, just as his son also is said to have submitted to the Haji (Turk. 
BibL, No. 17, pp. 20, 23, and 29). This tradition strongly supports Hasluck's 
view that the Khoja Ahmad of the local legend preserved by Crowfoot in 
Journal Anthropological Inst., 1900, p. 309, is really Qaraja Ahmad, the 
Haidar us-Sultan of the Qizzilbash, who gives his name to the Qizzilbash 
shrine and village of that name on the eastern bank of the Halys in the 
Angora province (Annual, B.S.A., xx. p. 121). Assuming this view to be 
correct, the Qizilbash must have been in existence before the advent of 

1 x = married. 



222 DEGREES vn 

Haji Bektash to Csesarea. Moreover, if the Wilayat-nama is to be trusted, 
Qaraja Ahmad was the patron-saint of (all) Bum and therefore an important 
personage. But he was never, surely, recognised as such by the Turks, or 
rather by the Osmanlis. At Haidar us-Sultan the Saljuqs are held in pious 
memory, and the Maulavis and Bairamis claimed almost as kinsmen (Crow- 
foot, op. cit. p. 309), All this makes the legends told about Haidar Sultan 
highly significant. Not only did he take a Christian wife, but his shrine 
stands on the site of an older Christian monastery (Crowfoot, op. cit. p. 306). 
Further, the well there impregnated with sulphur is used for divination by 
a Shaikhin, a prophetess who receives this gift but is not necessarily a 
member of the Shaikh's family. Whether Qaraja Ahmad was a historical 
person it is impossible to say, but he certainly had several tombs (Hasluck, 
op. cit. p. 121). As a contemporary of Hajl Bektash, Qaraja Ahmad can 
nardly have survived the middle of the fourteenth century, and he must not 
be confused with Shaikh Haidar of Ardabfl, who was killed in 1488, though 
much of the latter 's history may have been transferred to the former. E.g. 
both are said to have been Persian princes. Shaikh Haidar is said to have 
married a lady of the Greek dynasty of Trebizond. 

Aflaki mentions a Shaikh Ishaq as an ' inspector ' of Haji Baqtash, who 
was sent by the Haji to Jalal-ud-Dm Rumi to protest against his teaching. 
Aflaki states that his informants told him that a certain group called the 
Haji ' Baba Rasul-Ullah ', or ' the father sent by God ', but that his tenets 
did not follow the law of the Prophet. The Haji, however, was -constrained 
to humble himself before the miraculous strength of Jalal-ud-Dm (01. Huart, 
Les Saints des Derviches tourneurs, i. p. 296). Who this Sh. Ishaq was does 
not appear. 

It is not certain that the Baqtash have degrees, but from a passage in the 
Maqalat of Haji Baqtash quoted by Virani Baba, men are divided into four 
grades, the 'abid, who revere God, the zahid, who override legal observances, 
the 'an'/ or ' gnostics ', and the muhibb ' lovers ', or Sufis (Jacob, Die 
Bektaschijje, in Abhandl. der K. Bayer. Akademie der Wiss., 1909, p. 4). 
Hasluck, however, says that though the hereditary shaikhs of the Kizilbash 
takias of Asia Minor are consecrated by the Chelebi, they are regarded with 
some contempt by the other branch of the Baqtash, who can them Sufi, 
and look upon their organisation as lax and their doctrines as superstitious 
(Annual, B.S.A. xxi. p. 88). Yet there can be no doubt that the muhibb 
ranks highest in the esteem of the Baqtash, an instant of his munajat, 
' whispered prayer ', being equal to seventy years of self-abnegation in the 
'an'/ ; as a moment's self-abnegation in the 'an'/ is equivalent to seventy 
years of 'ibadat in the zahid. But the real relations between the Kizilbash 
and the Baqtash are by no means clear. 

Fasil Izzat Bey, a Bektashi, formed the acquaintance of Voltaire and 
other Encyclopaedists. On his return to Constantinople he introduced into 
the Order, already a secret society, certain philosophical, or even free- 
thinking views, which had a prodigious influence on the entire body. The 
Bektashis issued many revolutionary pamphlets, and alarmed not only the 
mullahs but S. Murad'(? Mahmud L, 1730-54) himself. 1 

1 Davey, The Sultan and his Sujects, p. 155. 



VII 



THE HURtlFlS 223 



After the suppression of their order by the Sultan Mahmud in 1824-25, 
he made over their property (at least in Constantinople) to the Naqshbandis. 
During the next thirty or forty years the Baqtashis ostensibly mingled with 
the Sa'adlas, Bifa'is, Qadiris and Naqshbandis. But by 1872 they resumed 
public profession of their doctrines and actually printed the Jawiddn. 

The Baqtashis .have four sub-orders, or branches, one of which was 
founded by Balum Sultan, according to Hasluck (Annual, B.S.A. xxi. p. 86). 
But it does not appear that the branches formed regular sub-orders ; and 
their names cannot be traced. The Qarmatis were far more ancient than 
the Baqtash. The Hurufis may be regarded as affiliated to the Baqtash, 
and the Nuqtias were an offshoot from them : they evolved a science of 
dots 'ilm-i-nuqta judging even numbers to signify a thing permitted, 
and odd numbers something prohibited. Moreover, Fazl Hurufi left nine 
khalifas, one of whom, 'All al-'Ala, taught the doctrine of nafs-i-ammara : 
' the ruling passion ', corresponding to the Gr. fin6vni& ; and to this 
they gave the name of sin, ' mystery ' or ' secret '. 'Ali al-'Ala died in 
A.D, 1419. His followers seem to be the 'Ali-Allahs of Jacob, or the 'Ali- 
ilahis of Persia, who hold men to be swayed by two forces, 'aql, ' reason ', 
and nafs, ' lust '. But they are divided into eight sects, not nine : these 
including the Khamushis and the Da'udis the latter being found about 
Qazwiri and the villages towards Rasht. The 'Ali-Allahs have a spiritual 
head at Kirmanshah, in and around which town they make no secret of 
their doctrines (Jacob, Beitrage, pp. 46-8, 42-5 ; E.L' i. p. 292). 

The modern Baqtash are for the most part Hurufis. Haji Baqtash left , 
no writings, but one of his disciples relates some anecdotes about him in the 
Wilayat-Nama. The Shi'as do not recognise the Hurufis as co-religionists, 
alleging that by 'All, whom they profess to recognise, they mean Fazl 
(Textes Houroufis, Gibb Memorial Series, ix., by C. Huart and Riza Tevfiq, 
p. 270). Gul Baba was a notable Huru.fi, who wrote The Key of the In- 
visible (cf. . p. 94 supra). Another Baqtashi-Hurufi was Zarifi Baba (ib. 
p. 228). The Hurufi literature is considerable, comprising the Mahram- 
nama-i-Saiyid Ishaq, or ' Book of Confidences of 8. Ishaq ', 1425 ; the 
NiMyat-Nama, or ' Book of Ends ' ; ar-Rasail, or short tracts ; Dar ta'nf-i- 
Zarra, or ' Definition of the Atom ' ; and the Iskandar-Nama, a poem on 
Alexander's search for the waters of youth, composed by Fazl himself. 
But Ishaq gives a different list : the six Jawidan, of which Fazl-Ullah 
composed the first and his disciples the remaining five ; one by Firishta- 
Ughlu being called the 'Ishq-nama ; the Haqiqat-nama, in Turkish, by 
Shaikh Safi ; the Mahshar-nama by Amir 'Ali al-'Ala, who died in 822 H. 
(A.D. 1419). A Hurufi of note, 'Abd-ul-Majid ibn Firishta, got his training 
from Bayazid, he from Shams-ud-Dm, and he from Fazl. He died in 874 H. 
(A.D. 1469). Their connexion with the Hurufis may explain why a claim 
for greater antiquity is made for the Baqtash. According to Ishaq Effendi 
they are spiritual descendants of the Qarmatians. As already stated, Haji 
Baqtash left no books, and in the fifteenth century Fazl-Ullah Hurufi of 
Astarabad, who was put to death by Miran Shah, a son of Timur, believed 
himself to be an incarnation of the Deity. All his theology was derived 
from the twenty-eight letters of the Arabic alphabet and the four added to 
it by the Persians. One of Fazl's disciples, 'Ali-al-'Ala, went to Asia Minor 



224 FAZL . vn 

and instructed the Baqtash, presenting Fazl's ideas as those of the Haji. 
Hence the Baqtash are called dhl-i-fazl, as opposed to the ahl-i-haqq. They 
have neither ward nor zikr. Fazl deciphered the Pentateuch, Psalms, 
Gospels, and Quran according to Ishaq's Kdshif-ul-Asrar. 

The foregoing is Huart's account of the Hurufi literature in his Textes 
Houroufis, but E. G. Browne's earlier paper in J.E.A.S., 1907, pp. 533 f., 
should also be consulted, as it gives much additional information.! Accord- 
ing to Ishaq Effendi the Hurufi doctrines began to be promulgated in 
A.D. 1397-98, and Fazl's death is assigned to 1401-02. But Fazl may have 
been born as early as 1339-40, and have been martyred in 1394-95 which 
would make him almost a contemporary of Haji Baqtash. If the tradition 
that he was executed by Miran Shah is true, he must have perished before 
the death of that prince in 1400-01. i 

It may be not without significance that the Jawidan was the name of 
an ancient book, attributed to Husheng, grandson of the founder of the 
oldest Persian monarchy. The name means 'eternal (wisdom)' : Redhouse, 
Turk, and Eng. Lex., pp. 639 and 640. 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE MALAMIYUN 3 THE SECTARIAN BITES OF THE MUCH-LOVING 

TARIQ OF THE MALAMIYUN ON THEIR ASSEMBLIES THANKS 
FOR FOOD ACQUISITION OF THE MEANS OF EXISTENCE 

THE original founder of this Order in Constantinople came from 
Brusa. His name is Shaikh Hamza, and on that account they 
are sometimes called Hamzawls. 2 The author of the Order, i.e. 

1 The Malamia became known as the Hamzawla after their reform by 
Shaikh Hamza, a mullah of Brusa, in the sixteenth century. . They remained, 
however, a secret Order, with an organisation strikingly like that of the 
Freemasons. Their tombs are often marked by triangles, curiously arranged 
(Petit, Gonfreries Musulmanes, p. 18). 

Goldziher's view is that the modern Malamls have no connexion with the 
Malamias of mediaeval Islam. But though this is doubtless true of the 
extreme types of Malamatism, the claim of the latter-day Malamls that they 
teach nothing new and only revive ancient .doctrine seems justified by one 
of their main tenets that the followers of the Order should not be bound by 
ceremonies or hampered by forms which was professed by their precursors. 
In his Risalat al-MalamaMya As-Sulami begins by dividing the faithful, the 
arbab al-'ulum wal-'ahwal, into three classes: (1) the 'ulama' ash-shar* wa 
a'imat ad-Din, the learned in the law ; (2) the 'ahl al-ma'rifa, who are the 
elect ; and (3) the Malamatiya, who are at one with God (R. Hartmann, in 
Der Islam, viii. pp. 203 and 158). 

. The Malamia and other classes of holy men are subject to the aqtab and 
the saints of the next Order (? abdal), according to the Fasl-al-Khitab of 
Sultan ul-'Arifin Imam Muhammad Parsa, who is followed by 'All, Mustafa 
b. Ahmad 'All (died 1008 H.=A.D. 1599) (Cat. of Turkish MSS. in B.M. 
p. 19, and GdOD. iii. p. 115). The former appears to be Khwaja (Abufer, 
according to Vambery in E.R.E. 8, p. 887) Parsa, " a pupil of Baha-ud- 
Dln (d. 845 H.), whose grave at Balkh is a place of pilgrimage, particularly 
for Afghans ". Jam! wrote a commentary on him (Browne, Lit. Hist, of 
Persia, iii. p. 515). 

2 The information available concerning the Hamzawls is scanty, as usual 
in the case of a suppressed Order. The name Malamlyun seems to be 
unquestionably derived from malamat, ' blame ' : indeed, Redhouse defines 

225 Q 



226 SH. HAMZA vm 

the pir, came from Persia, and his tomb is in the cemetery of 
Silivria Qapusu, beyond the walls of the capital. They say that 

the Melametiyye as " A sect of darvishes who court public reproach by 
neglect of the rites and duties of outward religion ". The doctrine of blame 
appeared somewhat early in Sufiism. It was spread abroad by the ' Shaikh 
of his age ', Hamdun Qassar, who said : " Blame is the abandonment of 
welfare ", al-malamat tark al-salamat. Blame was of three kinds ; it might 
result (1) from following the right way (malamat-i rast raftari), or (2) from an 
intentional act (malamat-i qasd kardan), or (3) from abandonment of the 
law (malamat-i tark kardan). The emphasis laid on the third of these 
definitions by the sect itself or by its opponents seems. to have led to its 
;persecution. The doctrine was apparently not confined to the Qassaris, as 
Abu Hamfa's renunciation of the office of Qazi is described as an act showing 
the soundness of blame, and others also "travelled on the road of blame" 
(Nicholson, Kashf al-Mahjub, pp. 62-9, 1834, 94, 100). 

But the same writer has also pointed out that the saint " who above all 
others gave to Sufi doctrine its permanent shape" was a Malamati, i.e. he 
concealed his piety under a pretended contempt for the law. This saint was 
Zu'l-Nun al-Misri, who earned the title of ' he of the Fish ' (nun) by a miracle. 
His real name was Abu'1-Faiz Sauban b. Ibrahim or al-Faiz b. Ibrahim, and 
he was the son of a native of Nubia, or of Upper Egypt, who had been 
adopted by the Quraish tribe. He is said to have been a pupil of Malik b. 
Anas, but his master in Sufiism was either one Shuqran al-'Abid or a 
Maghribite named Israfil. Though styled ' the Egyptian ' (al-Misri), he was 
regarded by the majority of the Egyptians as a' zindiq or freethinker, but 
after his death in 245 H. (A.B. 860) he was canonised ; and one of his followers, 
Hamdiin al-Qassar, founded the sect of the Malamatls or Qassaris in Nishapur 
before his death in 271 H. (A.D. 885). This sect proved its sincerity and 
devotion to God by cloaking it under an affected libertinism. Zu'l-Nun 
was, however, a many-sided man, and his successors must have found in 
his teachings material for the doctrines of more than one sect or school of 
thought. He was an alchemist and magician. He claimed, moreover, to 
be able to decipher ancient Egyptian figures and inscriptions. He attached 
great importance to the doctrine of gndsis. Prof. Nicholson's conclusion is 
that on its theosophical side Sufiism is mainly a product of Greek specula- 
tion. It undoubtedly owed much to Neo-Platonism, but " Neo-Platonism 
itself had absorbed many foreign elements in the course of six centuries " ; 
and Zu'l-Nun may well have drawn, not only upon its teachings, but also 
directly upon so much of the old Egyptian learning as the Copts had been 
able to preserve. In any case, it is important to bear in mind the fact that 
the Copts were Christians. Prof. Nicholson points out that the corre- 
spondence between Neo-Platonism and Sufiism is far more striking than that 
between Sufiism and the Vedanta system, and that there is no historical 
evidence that Indian thought exercised any influence upon Islamic philo- 
sophy at the time when Sufiism arose. Further, he calls attention to the 
fact that though Ma'ruf al-Karkhi came of Persian stock (he died in 200 H. 
or A.D. 816), the characteristic theosophical mysticism of the Sufis was first 



vin HIMMAT EFFENDI 227 

the chief of all the Orders is Hasan Basri of Basra, where he died, 
and that he received his spiritual powers directly from 'AIL 
The Malamiuns had a takia in Scutari, in the Divijilers, 1 called 



formulated by his successors, Abu Sulaiman al-Darani and Zu'l-Nun, men 
who passed their lives in Syria and Egypt, and who had probably not a 
drop of Persian blood in their veins ( J.B.A.S., 1906, pp. 303 ff.). But what- 
ever were the sources of the Malamati doctrines, they certainly essayed to 
reconcile the sects which from the beginning distracted Islam. Hamdun, 
in expounding the doctrine of malama, said that it was a compound of the 
Hope which characterised the Murjiyyas and the Fear which was incident 
to Qadari tenets. His position was that unmixed fear induced despair, 
while unalloyed hope led to a lack of humility (H. F. Amedroz, " Notes on 
some Sufi Lives," in J.R.A.S., 1912, p. 562). What part the Malamatis 
played hi the disappearance of these earlier sects of Islam is as yet not fully 
known. 

In Constantinople the Malamiyun hardly formed a regular Order. Evliya 
mentions " the Sultan of the contemplative saints (Molamyun) Kapam. 
Muhammad Effendi, otherwise called Kisudar Muhammad Effendi, because, 
though bare-footed and bare-headed, he used to wear his hair in thick 
bushes. Winter and summer he wore nothing but a white coarse cloth, 
and carried a hatchet in his hand. . . . He . . . spoke the purest Bosnian. 
At Qonia, he was one of the disciples of Erli-zada. . . ." Then he gives 
some account of " a famous saint, Shaikh Hadayi Mahmud, Mahmud Effendi, 
who was born at Sivri Hissar in Anatolia and got the name of Hadayi 
' through his spiritual teacher, the celebrated Kisudar '. After making 
170 disciples and writing 100 volumes of spiritual songs (ilahi) on tasaunvuf, 
he died in 1038 H. = A.D. 1629 " (Travels, i. part 2, pp. 24 and 83). 

Kisu-dar simply means ' long-haired ', from Pers. Jcisu, ' tress ', and is 
equivalent to sachti in Turkish and to gisu-daraz, a term applied to an Afghan, 
saint. Tor two instances of its use hi India, v. Crooke, Mam in India, pp. 
141 and 210. The term seems to be connected with kes-dhari, the Sikh title 
for those who strictly abstain from cutting the hair. 

It will be observed that at least two of the quondam Malamati takias at 
Constantinople are held by the Bairamis, not one only as stated in the text. 
Op p. 232 'Abd-ul-BaqI is also said, to have been originally a Bairami. 

1 Diviji-lar, apparently for deveji-lar, ' camel-sellers or owners ', may be 

the DiyunjI-H, at Scutari, where the Bairamis have a takia (v. p. 459 infra). 

The Himmat-zada takia appears in the list on p. 460. It must be 

ascribed to Himmat Effendi or to the saint, who was presumably his son 

(-zada), Himmat-zada. 

Himmat, well rendered ' the spirit of enterprise ', came in 1607 from 
Boli to Constantinople. At first a schoolmaster, he subsequently entered 
the Khalwati order and was named by Shaikh al-Haj Ahmad at Boli as his 
successor. The dafterdar Ibrahim-pasha built him a cloister near the new 
Garden Gate at Constantinople. After holding various positions as preacher 
he died in 1684 and was buried at Scutari. Al-Haj Ahmad was the Shaikh 



228 DGHLAN SHAIKH vm 

that of Himmat Effendi ; another in Stambul at Yam Baghcha, 
near Naqqash Pasha. The latter is called Himmat-zada Takia-si, 
and is in appearance like any common dwelling. It bears at 
present the name of Bairamia. Another at Qasim Pasha, near 
Qulaqsiz, is called ' Sachl! Hashim Effendi Takia-si '. One of 
their great men is buried at the cemetery of Shahidlar, 1 above 
the Castle of Europe, on the Bosphorus ; he was named Isma'il 
Ma'shuki. Another takia existed in Constantinople, at Aq 
Sarai, called Ughlanlar Shaikh!. 2 Its Shaikh was Ibrahim Effendi, 
and was immediately behind the corps de garde of that locality. 
He was put to death by order of Sultan Suliman I. on account of 
his writings, which were considered anti-orthodox. It is said 
that he had forty murids, all of whom, voluntarily, were de- 
capitated at the same time that he was put to death. On the 
tombs of the Malamiuns are peculiar signs, the origin and signifi- 
cation of which I have not been able to learn. For instance, on 
that of al-Haji 'Umr Agha, deceased 1122 H. (A.D. 1710), and 
that of Abbaji al-Haji 'Abdullah Agha, deceased 1137 H. (A.D. 
1725), which have been shown to me, there is a double triangle of 
this shape X Others have a single triangle, thus A, and some 
with the addition of one or more dots above and beneath the 
angles. 3 Many have also the muhr-i-sulaiman, or ' Suliman's 
seal ', thus, one triangle covering another, 0, but without dots or 



of the Karamis, followers apparently of one Ibn-ul-Kiram (Hammer- 
Purgstall, GdOD. iii. p. 533). 

Le Chatelier's informant speaks of the ' Khalwatia Bairamia Hinnatla ' 
(? for Himmatia) and Khalwatia Bairamia TJghlan-Shaikhia as two sub- 
Orders of the Khalwati (v. note on p. 450 infra). 

1 Shahld-lar, ' the martyrs ' : ? Shahidlik, originally a Baqtash founda- 
tion (Annual, B.S.A. xxi. p. 100). Called simply Hashmi on p. 460 infra. 

2 Ughlanlar Shaikh! the Ughlan-Shaikhla of the Khalwatia-Bairamla 
group of Le Chatelier (vide p. 450 below). Ughlan (' the young ') Shaikh, or 
Ibrahim Effendi, was executed under a fatwa of Ibn Kamal by order of 
Sulaiman the Magnificent (Textes Houroufis, p. 255). The son of a merchant 
of Egerdir, he affected the Shaikh of the Khalwatis at the cloister at Egri 
Qapii, who nominated him to the cloister inside the walls near Aq-Sarai. His 
charity to orphans and the poor earned him his title of Boys' Shaikh, and 
his death occurred in 1654 (Hammer-Purgstall, GdOD. iii. p. 406). 

3 In Moslem magic the triangle when inverted means the moon, but 
none of the figures given in the text appear to be strictly magical : v. the 
article on ' Magic ' by E. Rahatsek in J. Bombay BrancJi R. Asiatic Soc. 
xiv. No. xxxvii. (1880) p. 215). 



viii THE MALAMlUN 229 

points. Some say that the original Order was the Khalwatis, 
from whom descended the Bairamis, and from these the Hamzawis, 1 
by which name the Malamiuns are now known in Constantinople. 

Like the Order of the Baqtashis, that of the Hamzawis is 
almost under prohibition at Constantinople, though from widely 
different causes. The latter, it is said, hold their meetings in 
secret, in houses in nowise resembling takias, and for this reason 
it is thought by some persons that they are Mussulman Free- 
masons. It has even been said that the Malamiuns have several 
lodges in the Ottoman empire, under warrants from a Grand 
Lodge existing on the Lake of Tiberias, in Palestine, where it was 
taken after the destruction of Jerusalem. 

The word MalamiUn signifies ' the condemned ', or ' the re- 
proached ', a title assumed by this Order. Their litany shows 
them to be a very sincerely pious sect, conscientious in all their 
dealings, and living much for themselves and their doctrine, 

1 A sect of the Hamzevis is mentioned by Evliya as if it were still existing 
in his day in the village of Shaikh Shami, ' whose name was Hamza '. His 
tomb, said by some to be the saint's own handiwork, was remarkable for its 
carvings of flowers and arabesques, and before it was a spring called the 
Spring of the Staff, because it had been produced by the saint's staff. 
Evliya states that this saint was a Bairaml. He adds that his son Shaikh 
'Abdullah, who also seems to have been styled Karanji Baba Sultan, is 
buried at Kurbaghli, a village in the same region in the territory of Kanghri 
and the district of Kala'ajik'. The Shaikh's name, Shami or Sham, would 
suggest that he was a Syrian by origin, but in writing of Muhammad Sham 
Ghazan, Evliya says that Sham Ghazan is a corruption of the Mughal lan- 
guage, in which that prince was called Shanb, whence Sham originated 
(Travels, ii. pp. 226-7 and 143). 

Evliya also has a curious note on the Ettel tribe, who were settled near 
Mardin in ' the sanjaq of the mountains ', and who pretended to be of 
Hamza' s sect. Ettel, he says, means ' dog's tongue ', and the tribe practised 
polyandry, not apparently of the type in which the husbands are all brothers. 
Paternity was assigned to the husband to whom the infant gave an apple. 
Then he goes on to say that the famous sect of the candle-extinguishers 
must be a branch of them, because he heard nothing of it elsewhere. This 
sect he calls Mom-sonduren (from mum, ' wax .', and sundurmek, ' to ex- 
tinguish '), a term which recalls the fanciful derivation of Urmar, said to 
mean ' lamp ' (ur) - ' extinguisher ' (mar). The Urmar are a mysterious 
tribe or community found in Wazlristan, who speak a Ghalchah dialect 
distinct from Pashtu, but have a tradition that they came from Yaman 
(Rose, Glossary of Punjab Tribes and Castes, iii. p. 483). Evliya says the 
Ettels are very obedient to their Shahs (by which he must mean priests), out 
of whose shoes they drink (Travels, ii. p. 157). 



230 HAMZA'S EXECUTION vm 

without any regard for the opinion of the world. They even 
disregard external appearances, so much so, that any poor and 
miserable object, as destitute of intellect as of the garments 
necessary to cover his person, is now called in Stambul a 
Malamiun. 

Shaikh Hamza * was put to death on a fatwa, or religious 
sentence of the Mufti Abu-Saud, 969 H. (A.D. 1553). His remains 
are buried near the Silivria Gate, in a spot known only to his 
brethren and particular friends. As his accusation was a strange 
one, and little understood by the public, he is generally considered 
either as a very revered martyr, or as an. impious disbeliever in 
Islamism. His crime was that of neglecting to repeat in his 
prayers the full isma-i-Sharif, which are seven in number, he 
always omitting the three last. Various traditions are still 
prevalent in Constantinople about his piety and wonderful 
spiritual powers ; and 'Abd-ul-Baki, the author of the following 
risdla, or pamphlet, has also composed a work, the Sarguzashta 
'Abd-ul-Baki, giving an entire history of the Order. 

He narrates that his grandfather, named Sari 'Abdullah Effendi, 2 
and the writer of a celebrated commentary on the Masnavi Sharif, 
told him that his father, Haji Husain Agha, once addressing him, 
said, " I am now an old man, and hope before leaving this world 
to make you acquainted with my friends of God". I was then 
not yet arrived at the age of puberty. He told me, " When you 
go to see them with me, and are asked what you came for, say, 

1 Shaikh Hamza was executed soon after the accession of S. Murad (III.)) 
apparently in 1575 (von Hammer, GdOR. ii. p. 594). The ground for his 
condemnation was said to be his excessive reverence for the Lord Jesus, 
and he was sentenced to be stoned at the Hippodrome, but, out of fear of a 
popular outbreak, as soon as he was brought out of his prison his throat was 
cut. One wonders if he was influenced by Qabiz, founder of the Khubma- 
sihis, a sect which held Jesus to be morally superior to Muhammad. He, 
too, had been executed with exemplary promptitude in 1527 (E.I. ii. p. 592). 

Abu Sa'ud also gave ihefatwa under which some executions of Janissaries 
took place. At any rate he ruled that he who held that a Janissary was a 
true believer was an infidel, and that it was no offence to call one a pagan 
(Bycaut, Present State, p. 149). 

2 Sari 'Abdullah, whose poetic title was 'Abdl (VI.), was also styled 
Sharih-al-Mesnevi, or ' Commentator of the Mesnevi '. He also wrote two 
ethical and three mystical works. He died in A.D. 1669, and was buried 
outside the Top Qapu in the cemetery of Mal-Tepe, adds Gibb, Hist, of 
Ott. Poetry, iv. p. 79 (Hammer-Purgstall, GdOD. iii. p. 482). His father, 
Sa'id Muhammad Effendi, the learned Ra'is Effendi, came from Mauritania. 



viii THE POLE OP THE AGE 231 

'My desire is God'". So we both performed the dbdast, or 
Islamic ablution before prayers, and accompanied him. We were 
perfectly alone, and without any servant to attend upon us ; we 
went to a place called Kirk Chashma * in Constantinople, to the 
khan called the Pashtimal 'Odalari, and there entered a chamber 
in which was an aged man engaged in weaving. My father 
saluted him, and kissed his hand ; I did the same ; my father 
told him that I was his son, and that he had brought me in so 
that he might ' look into my heart '. The old man asked my 
father whether he had the permission of the Shaikh to bring me, 
and he replied that he had not, but could bring me without it. 
On hearing this, the old man struck the wall with his hand, and 
all the ustads, or labourers in the khan, entered the room where 
we were, to the number of twelve, forming a circle, in the midst of 
which they placed me, and asked me why I had come there. I 
replied as previously directed by my father, ' My desire is God.' 
The old man then addressing me, said, " If you have come for 
that purpose, drive away all else from your heart, and turn your 
thoughts entirely to Him, and we will see what our Lord the pir 
will do in your behalf.' All of those present thereon commenced 
the muraqaba and the mutawajjiin, 2 ' contemplation ' and ' sup- 
plication ', and the old man bade me do the same, which I did, 
thinking only of Allah. After some time I opened my eyes, and 
saw a light turning round the circle, and I cried out ' Allah ! ' : at 
the same instant the feeling that my heart was filled with the 
love of God became so impressed upon me that I swooned away, 
and was quite senseless for an hour. At the end of this time I 
revived, and looking round me found that all those who had been 
with me had disappeared, except the old man, who, as previously, ' 
was engaged at his work, and my father who sat near me. My 
father, so soon as I could rise, bade me go with him. My heart 
was still filled with light ; I kissed the hand of the old man, and 
so as to conceal myself I wrapped my cloak over my breast, at 
seeing which the old man told me no one could see it, and that I 
must strive always to keep it there. 

" On our way, I tried to think who our Shaikh was, and, 
though I had never seen him, wondered whether I should ever 

1 Kirk Chashma, Forty Fountains or Fountain of the Forty ' Saints ' 
(cf. Hasluck, in Annual, B.S.A. xix. pp. 221 if.). 

2 Mutavejieen in original. 



232 'ABD-UL-BAKl vm 

behold his face, at the same time feeling a warm affection for 
him. I was ashamed to ask my father who he was, but my 
affection for him increasing, I was, one Friday, requested to 
accompany my father to the mosque of Aya Sofiah, and there 
perform our prayers. After these were terminated, we left the 
mosque ; my father covered himself, and looked behind him with 
much respect on account of some person then present. Just 
then, I perceived an aged man come out of the mosque, who, in 
passing, saluted us, and inquired of my father who I was, and 
whether I was not his son. He looked fixedly at me, and immedi- 
ately I felt like a jazbah, or crazed person ; the people in the 
way collected round us, and my father told them that I was 
suffering under a complaint which at times thus affected me. I 
had to be conveyed home, where I remained in a state of insensi- 
bility. After my recovery, I asked my father who the individual 
was whose regard had so strangely impressed me, and he told 
me that he was our Lord and Chief, Idrisi 'AH Effendi, the 
Qutb-i-Zamdn, 1 and the bestower of the jazbah-i-Rahmdn, z and 
that the brethren whom we had seen at the Kark Chashma were 
his disciples." 



A Translation of the Risala (pamphlet or tract) of the Hamzdwis, 
otherwise known as the Maldmiun, written by La'll Effendi- 
zdda 'Abd-ul-Bdki, 3 who is buried at the mosque of Aiyub al- 
Ansdri, on whom be the Divine satisfaction. He entered the 
Qalandar-khdna in the vicinity of the said mosque, near the 
takia of the Bhoharalis.* His tomb is near to its doorway. He 

1 ' The Pole of the Age.' 

2 ' The ecstasy of the Merciful.' Majzub, ' one whose thoughts are 
attracted to God, so as to be careless of earthly things ; hence (vulgar) 
crazy ' (Redhouse, Turlc.-Evg. Lex. p. 1748). 

3 La'H Effendi-zada 'Abd-ul-Baqi, most probably the poet 'Arif (VI.) 
'Abd-ul-Baqi, who died in A.D. 1713, and is buried at Aiyub. He wrote 
several metaphysical works (Hammer-Purgstall, OdOD. iv. p. 72). But 
'Arif does not seem to have been styled La'li or to have had any special 
connexion with the Bairamis. Moreover, the date of his death is rather 
too late. 

4 Bhoharalis should probably read ' the takia at Baharia Keui ', near 
the cemetery to the north of Aiyub. 



vin MALAMlA TENETS 233 

was originally of the Bairamfa Order, and subsequently joined 
that of the Maldmias. This Risala contains, in detail, the 
rites of the latter Order, their intercourse, and great love for 
God. 

CHAPTER I 

THE SECTARIAN RITES OF THE MUCH-LOVING TARIQ OF THE 

MALAMIUN 

The following is the advice which thefaqir, or elder member of 
the tariq, gives to the disciple : 

" If, after having performed the ahkam-i-sharfat, or religious 
ordinances, the lawazim-i-tanqat, or exigencies of the Order, any 
one commits an act growing out of the feebleness of the human 
passions, and contrary to the shari'at and the Order, and permits 
himself to use improper language, or commits a sinful act, he will 
be expelled from the Order ;. he will not be permitted to re-enter 
it ; but if, after this, he acknowledges his fault, and promises not 
to commit the same again, and begs to be restored to his place, 
the way to arrive at it will be pointed out to him, and he will 
renew his bai'at, or confirmation. He must conform strictly to 
the commands given him, to the law of God, the aqwdl, or 
directions of the inspired Prophet, and the tariqat of the saints ; 
he will undergo the disciplinary punishment of the Order, to be 
re-accepted as before in all love. If, on the contrary, he refuses 
to do this, he must remain for ever rejected. 

" God forbid such an occurrence ! Should any one who 
believes in the ahl-i-tauhid, 1 or unity of the Divinity, so far err as 
to admit the erroneous doctrine of the Wahdat-ul-Wujud,* or the 

1 Ahl-i-tauhid means ' people of unification ', i.e. those who believe in 
the unity of God. 

* Pantheism. [Wahdat-ul-wujud, literally ' solitude of being '.] 
It is curious that Brown should translate the term by ' pantheism ', as 
it means ' unity of being '. An important school of Sufis, whose watchword 
is wahdat-ul-wujud or ittihad, hold that reality is one, and that the pheno- 
menal is the outward manifestation of the real. The views of this school 
were expounded in the fifteenth century by 'Abd-ul-Karlm al-Jfli, who 
taught that man was the microcosm in which all the attributes of reality 
are united, and in man alone does the Absolute become conscious of itself in 
all its diverse aspects (E.E.E., art. on Sufis by R. A. Nicholson). In a 
sense, then, wahdat-ul-wujud implies pantheism, or rather that man partakes 



234 BASHIR AGHA'S EXECUTION vm 

existence of the Divine Creator in all things of His creation, and 
thus fall from the true path into impiety, persisting, at the same 
time, in the correctness of his course, adding that al bait bait Ulldh 
and al zait zait Ulldh, it is the duty of every correct person to 
strive, by gentle means, to withdraw him from such an error, 
by showing him his fault and the dangers which he incurs, and 
telling him clearly that, so long as he continues in such a sin, he 
cannot be of us. He must also be cut off from all intercourse 
with his former friends and associates, so that no one will com- 
mune with him. They must even avoid his presence. Should 
the Almighty, in His bountiful mercy, again draw him into the 
true path, and he repent of his sin, the whole false doctrine of his 
heart will disappear, and he again become a bright light. He 
will come to his Shaikh, and admit his sins, and return to the 
discipline of the Order. The sidsat-i-Sufia, or punishments of the 
Sufis, are numerous, and are all well known to the Shaikh, so that 
he can prescribe them according to the fault which the erring 
one may have committed. After this, he is re-admitted, and the 
past is forgotten. 

" Alas ! that whilst at one time it was so necessary to be 
secret in the matters of our Order, everything has become public. 
Up to the time of the venerable Muhammad Hashim, one of the 
Shaikhs of our Order, there was no need for secrecy : the dddb-i- 
tarlqat, or moral rules of the Order, and the ahkdm-i-shari'at, or 
holy commands of the law, were brilliantly executed by thefaqirs, 
and no reference was ever made to the judges and governors of 
the sovereign ; everything was done by the command of the 
Shaikhs of our Order ; the faulty admitted their errors and sins, 
repented of them, and suffered their expiation in this world so 
as not to do so in the other ; their repentance was accepted of 
God, their hearts were filled with the light of love, and, as 
before, they performed the zikr-i-khafi, or silent call upon God's 
name, whilst alone, and the audible call, or zikr-i-jihri, when in 
the midst of the congregation. 

" By command of the Most High, after the occurrence of the 



of the divine. But L. Massignon renders the word by ' monisme ' (Kitab 
al-fawasln, p. xxiv). That it underwent a change of meaning and fell into 
some disrepute is clear from the fact that fana fi wahdat al-Wujud was con- 
demned as one of the two impious modalities' of annihilation (ib. p. 162). 
For the microcosm, v. p. 140. 



Viil THE QUTB 235 

saintly martyr Bashir Agha, who is interred in Scutari, may his 
secret be blessed ! the hearts of the brethren became troubled 
and sorrowful ; they diminished in number ; few sought for the 
path of love ; sloth overcame others ; the ' Self -Reproaching ' 
and the ' Living Ones ' (titles of the Order) fell into faulty habits, 
daily they became degraded, and it was absolutely requisite 
to form systems of secrecy for the benefit of the Order. This 
necessity was declared by Bashir Agha 1 as growing out of the 
asrar-i-qazd, or secret Providences, and yet it was hoped that a 
time would again arrive when the secret (batiri) would be known 
(zuhur), through the brethren who labour for that purpose." 

The Ruh-i-Alam and the Khalifa of the blessed Prophet, who 
is the Sahib-i-Zaman, receives his bounties and grace by the will 
of God. This person is called the Qutb (Centre), and is a spiritual 
being placed by Allah over the spiritual world. He sees every 
place, and knows all things by Divine permission. Of this there 
is no doubt ; whatever be the will of God, he makes apparent, 
and the faithful must inevitably submit to that will. 

The Shaikh must restore the feeble sinner to his original 
position ; he must know the mental condition of each disciple, 
and this he is able to see through the light of the wildyat (spiritual 
power of the pfr), and he must see and know all things through 
the light of the truth (haqq). The light given by the blessed 
Prophet is peculiar to the Perfect ; the holy body and precious 
heart of the latter become the mirror of God. All the sayings 
of the Prophet (hadisdt) and his degrees (maqdmdt) are revealed 
to the truly devout. These degrees are explained to me as being 
seven in number, of which there are also seven branches ; in all 
fourteen. To each of them is prescribed one asmd, name or title 
of God, and they are also called the atwdr-i-sabi'ah. " O God, 
all favour is from Thee, so is the true path of love and sanctity ; 
show then this true path to those who seek after the All- Just, to 
those lovers of the All - Beautiful, and lead them to the object 
of their desires ; preserve them from shame and indifference ; 
intoxicate them with the wine of reunion to Thee and love ; open 
to their sight a glimpse of Thy perfect beauty, O thou Living 
One, Thou Aider, through thy Friend (the Prophet), and the Seal 
of the universe, on whom be prayers and salvation, and on his 
family and all his friends. Amen." 

1 Bashir Agha, who has a takia named after him at Stambul. 



236 ANNIHILATION vin 

ON THEIR ASSEMBLIES 

Whenever those who follow in this path, and who love the 
unique God, to the number of two or three, or more, meet together 
and join in the tauhid and the zikr, and their hearts are occupied 
with their worldly affairs, they should, on their way to the place 
of meeting, employ their minds with thoughts of God, in all 
sincerity and purity, and also beg their pir to lend them his 
spiritual aid, so that when they reach the meeting they may all, 
small and great, with humility and contrition, embrace the hand 
of each other, and devoutly join in the contemplation of the 
Deity, and turn their faces towards the Grace of the All-Just 
(Haqq), the ever-rising love of Allah, without harbouring in the 
tongue, in the mind, or otherwise, any thoughts respecting worldly 
concerns, but, with perfect hearts and active spirits, take part in 
these pious ceremonies. 

They must next offer up those prayers which are conformable 
with the rules of the Order, seat themselves, and, if there be among 
them any one possessing a pleasant voice, let him peruse ten 
verses of the great Quran, and interest the company with some 
account of the prophets and saints, or even of the Deity. No 
one must feel concern about his worldly affairs ; all their remarks 
must be relative to the love of God, of pious fervour (here the 
name used is jazbah, which signifies craziness, or that condition 
in which the mind and intellect is taken away from the body by 
Divine favour, as in idiots) ; no one not of the Order must be 
admitted, and should any such be present, the peculiar gift of 
God (faiz-Ullah) will not rest there. After this the assembly 
must disperse, and each return to his proper worldly occupation. 
Every one must, even when thus employed, preserve in his heart 
the love for God. Should other thoughts than these enter his 
mind, he must forsake his occupation and seek converse with the 
ahl-i-fand l (those who have abandoned the world) and the fuqra 
(Darvishes), and they must not be satisfied with themselves until 
they have in this manner freed their hearts. When they casually 

1 Fana, ' annihilation '. The doctrine of fana and baqa, ' subsistence ', 
was developed by Abu Sa'id Kharraz, who gave his name to the Kharrazi 
sect. In mysticism fana means the annihilation of one attribute through 
the subsistence of another attribute, as annihilation of substance, fana-i Sain, 
is impossible (Kashf al-Mahjub, pp. 244-5). 



vin THANKSGIVING 237 

meet each other, let their conversation be always about God, and 
never consider themselves as being superior to any one else ; but, 
on the contrary, regard themselves as poorer, lower, and more 
humble than all others as insignificant, even, as an ant. Follow- 
ing this course, they must, as much as possible, withdraw from all 
intercourse with the world, seek to gain their living honestly, 
always endeavouring to lead spiritual lives. They must not 
divulge the secrets to their families (wives and children), nor to 
any one who is not a seeker of the truth (tdlib sddiq), 1 and ask for 
assistance in attaining to the path of God (Haqq). In that case 
violence must not be used towards him who does divulge them to 
another in the view of engaging him to join the Order and finds 
that he refuses ; but such cases are rare. 



THANKS FOR FOOD 

It is one of the rules (arkdri) of the Order, obligatory on all its 
members, whenever he is at meals with a brother, or even alone, 
to retain in his heart the remembrance of God, and, after the 
conclusion of his meal, to offer thanks to God in a devout prayer. 
For this purpose he must sincerely turn his thoughts to Him, 
and pronounce the zikr-Ullah (Quran, xxiv. 37, 38 : " Men celebrate 
His praises, whose traffic does not divert their minds from remem- 
brance of Him, from the observance of prayer, and from the 
giving of alms, who fear the day wherein man's heart and eyes 
shall be troubled, so that God may recompense them according 
to the utmost merit of what they shall have wrought, and add 
unto them of His abundance a more excellent reward ; for God 
bestoweth on whom He pleaseth without measure "), so that the 
food of which he has partaken may strengthen him with the love 
of God. Thus, each mouthful speaks with the tongue, and says, 
" God, give us the favour of an humble and faithful believer". 
In case you do not do this, you will have done violence to the 
truth ; the food will prove ungrateful to you, and seem to say, 
" This violent person has abandoned Him ", and it will complain 
against you to the Giver of all bounties. Should the food be 
vegetables or meats, and you seem to ask whether they can speak, 
learn from the verse (Quran, xvii. 46), " The seven heavens, and 

1 Literally ' seeker of the truthful or sincere ' one : ' .seeker of the truth ' 
would be falib-us-sidq. 



238 ECSTASIES vin 

all that they contain, as well as the earth, celebrate His praises. 
There is nothing which does not praise Him ; but you do not 
comprehend their songs of praise. God is humane and indulgent." 
Those who do understand their praises are the spiritual, the 
devoutly loving, and the perfect through the attributes of the 
prophets and the saints. In case of need, they cause even those 
who do not believe to hear His praises. When this occurs, and 
comes from the blessed Prophet, it is called a miracle ; and if 
from the saints, a favourable demonstration. When the prophets 
call infidels to the true faith, they are ordered to perform miracles, 
as an evidence of their conversion. It is not proper to aspire 
to the performance of miracles, or favourable demonstrations 
(karama), except when directly ordered by God, and He will 
decide as to the necessity. The saints are few in number ; they 
are empowered to make animals, vegetable and even inanimate 
things, speak ; and such are found in the history of their lives. 



ACQUISITION OF THE MEANS OF EXISTENCE 

The faithful, who devoutly seek for the path of God and the 
love of Him, will find, regarding the acquisition of the means of 
existence, in the hadls, the saying of the Prophet, " The seeker of 
gain is the friend of God ". Those who are busily engaged in the 
daily acquisition of their own existence in this world, must, in the 
event of their acquiring much wealth, return to their homes, 
reject from their minds the idea of the value of gold, and turn 
their thoughts, with deep piety and with a pure heart, towards 
God, giving themselves up entirely for the time to feelings of 
devotion. 

There is a difference in the sentiment of pious ecstasy. 
Ecstatic feeling is derived from a deep contemplation of the 
heart of God, and of the murshid. A sense of sincere satisfaction 
is the result, and the person feels a conviction of personal help- 
lessness, which he will enjoy immensely. This kind of feeling is 
most acceptable to God. Ecstasy is also that state of the heart 
which arises from a fervent desire to drive away from it all anxiety 
about worldly store. It comes from a profound contemplation 
and reflection of the Deity, and an absorption in sincere prayer 
to Him : from tears and a sight of repentance ; from the per- 
formance of the zikr ; from a convulsive movement of the body ; 



vin EMANCIPATION 239 

from a frequent repetition of the word hn ; from a seeking de- 
voutly after the same state (wajd) ; and when in this search, from 
the opening of a door to the seeker, through which he receives 
what is called the jazba-i-rahman, or the merciful attraction of 
God, and is filled with intense joy and delight. The termination 
of this ecstatic state is called wajd, the close of this is called the 
wajdain (ivfo wajds), meaning worldly and eternal ecstasies, which 
leads to the wujiid, or undying state of existence, in which there is 
no death. Regarding this subject, I have been given two hadlses 
of the Prophet. Jazbat, or attraction, comes from the attraction 
of the All-Merciful, and the recipients of this grace abandon all 
care or thought of this world and their future existence. 

It is related that the Caliph 'AH, when absorbed in this state, 
was told that he had lost his senses. He immediately fell down 
in prayers of thankfulness to God, declaring that he had at last 
reached the condition mentioned in the Prophet's hadis above 
stated. 

The second hadis says : " The faithful do not die ; perhaps 
they become translated from this perishable world to the world 
of eternal existence ". 

It is said that on this account Darvishes implore the help of 
the aulid, or saints. This state, however, must not be shown to 
strangers or the public ; it is proper to be enjoyed in private, 
amongst the lovers of the same. 

When engaged in conversation about the tauhid (unity of God) 
with the brethren, and the heart is in its appropriate state, there 
is no impropriety in exciting the occurrences of this ecstasy ; but, 
among the brethren to excite it, in the view of having it spoken of 
to their praise, and that they are ahl-i-ishq (lovers of God), is 
hypocrisy equal to that of shirkat (saying that God has an asso- 
ciate), for it will have had its source entirely in the personal 
ambition of the individual, and not in the spiritual. It gives rise 
to all kinds of spiritual disease ; and when your sins are taken 
into account at the Day of Judgment, the tricks of your body 
will, by the excellence of God, be made apparent, and seem like 
dark spots on the surface of pure milk. However, it may be 
added, that those who do fall into such errors are not fully per- 
fected in the brotherhood. Besides these, the saints are the 
ahl-i-fana, who have given up all care for this world ; and the 
Mukhlisin, or the freed from worldly anxieties, are pure and 



240 CONQUEST OF DEATH vm 

faithful, and not liable to this sin. They may even use those 
members of the body which provide for its wants ; but their 
hearts must, nevertheless, be always occupied with God. They 
arrive at nothing through the medium of mental superiority 
(science or knowledge) ; no one can comprehend their real state 
through the ordinary sources of calculating intelligence, as they 
are only commissioned to be seekers of piety through the deepest 
sincerity of the heart, and through the spiritual guidance of the 
Shaikh, who, in consequence, keeps them always in his pious 
remembrance (his prayers). 

" O God ! facilitate us through the favour of the ahl-i-fana 
and the baqd." 

This baqd (a condition in which there is no death) is the source 
out of which the /ana originates. The wujud is also that which 
is referred to in the verse of the Quran where God says : 

" Be it known that those who search for the pathway of God, 
find it through the tawakkul, or confidence in His mercy, and in 
the kasb, or acquisition of the means of existence " ; but the 
former is only proper to the ahl-i-fana. The ahl-i-tawakkul is 
that person who, on his admission to the Order, considers himself 
as dead, and regards all his worldly interests as wholly given up 
and perished, and abandons himself, spiritually and temporally, 
to the guidance of his Shaikh. He must not give any thought to 
himself ; he must consider his wife and children, his servants and 
dependants, as lost to him, or as if they never existed. He must 
abandon all his sources of gain, and place his entire dependence 
and confidence in the Bestower of all gifts ; he will then be shorn 
of all worldly connexions, so that he will be registered, by God's 
command, on his pir ; he will be in a state of annihilation ; but 
this is a very difficult rule of conduct to pursue. Now, according 
to the hadls, al-kdsib habib-Ullah, or ' the gainer is the friend of 
God ', this condition is better than the former, and it is better 
to gain an honest livelihood by proper means, depending always 
upon Him for success in your endeavours. The ' Lover ' and 
' Faithful ', in thus using the means necessary for gaining an 
existence, do this, not simply with the idea of depending wholly 
upon God, but rather in obedience to the commands of the ' First 
Cause of all causes '. The servants of God in all things acknow- 
ledge their own poverty in the sight of God. Those who become 
faithful followers of the Prophet on whom be the Divine satis- 



VIII 



IDLE ASCETICS 



241 



faction were all, individually, occupied in the acquisition of an 
existence, and it is necessary that each person, in honour of God, 
should be thus engaged ; yet there are some idle persons who 
employ their time in no useful occupation, abandon even the 
name of Darvish, and call themselves zuhd, or ascetics. 1 These 
give themselves up to idleness and inactivity. God has covered 
His saints with a veil such as are worldly employments which 
conceals their real character from public gaze, so that those whose 
spiritualism has not been touched with kuhl (collyrium) of the 




MAULAVI DARVISH OF DAMASCUS CROSSING HIS ARMS BEFORE 
BEGINNING TO DANCE 

light of Muhammadanism, are unable to distinguish them, and to 
recognise in them the true saints of God. Thus it is only through 
the light of Muhammadanism that the saints recognise each other ; 
none other can distinguish them ; and for this reason the lovers 
of God ('ushshaq-Ullah) have abandoned all causes of hypocrisy. 

1 Zuhd, ' asceticism ' ; zuhMd, ' ascetics '. Perhaps a better rendering 
is ' renunciation ' ; zuM was the ' station ' of Noah (Nicholson, Kashf al- 
Mahjub, p. 371). 



CHAPTER IX 

REAL AND FALSE DARVISHES THE KHIRQA, OR MANTLE THE 
PALANK, OR STONE WORN IN THE GIRDLE THE POST, OR 

SEAT 

(TRANSLATED FROM A MS.) 

THERE is as much difference between the real and false Darvish 
as between heaven and earth. The right-minded man can 
recognise them, and draw the distinction. 

To the question, " What is true repentance shown by ? " the 
reply is, " Goodness of heart " ; and this is qualified by " the 
abandonment of all pride and pretension, and by following a line 
of straightforwardness in the Path of the Most High ". The 
number of the columns of the Path are six viz. 1. Repentance, 
2. Resignation, 3. Fidelity to the Order, 4. Increase of internal 
devotion, 5. Contentment with your lot, and 6. Devout retire- 
ment from the world. The Precepts of the Order are also six in 
number, viz. 1. Knowledge, 2. Generosity, 3. Nearness to God, 
4. Fidelity, 5. Meditation, and 6. Trust in God. The Rules of the 
Order are equally six : 1. Knowledge, 2. Meekness, 3. Patience, 
4. Submission to superiors, 5. Good breeding, and 6. Purity of 
heart. 

The Rules of the tanqat are six, viz. 1. Benevolence, 2. Calling 
upon God (the zikr), 3. Abandoning evil (the tark), 4. The abandon- 
ing of all worldly enjoyments, 5. Fear of God, and 6. Love of God. 

The ablution of the tanqat is a total abnegation of, all worldly 
goods, and contentment with the will of the Shaikh. The truthful 
ablution is ' to increase in love for God '. 

A question was once put to the Imam Ja'far as to the peculiar 
characteristics of a faqlr (Darvish), and he replied : " It is the 
characteristic of the Prophet, and of love ; for he has said in a 
hadis, ' Bear the characteristics of God ', the tree of which is 

9M9 



IX TOKENS OF ABANDONMENT 243 

straightforwardness, and its fruit is to know one's self. Its jewel 
is utter poverty, or a total disregard of self. Now one .who 
possesses these certainly knows himself, and can do anything he 
pleases, but abandons all for devotional retirement. The Caliph 
'AH has said, ' Whoever knows himself, knows his God '." 

The tark or abandoment required by the tariqat is thus ex- 
plained : To abandon the world, its comforts and dress, all 
things now and to come, conformably with the hadls of the 
Prophet, i.e. " The world is forbidden to those of the life to come ; 
the life to come is forbidden to those of this world ; and both are 
forbidden to the true servants of God ", which is thus explained : 
The true Darvish in heart not only willingly abandons all the 
joys and pleasures of the world, but he is willing also to give up 
all hope of the pleasures of Paradise, and to be satisfied with the 
enjoyment derived from a submissive and devout contemplation 
of the beauty of God, and the hope of attaining to that private 
Paradise, occupied only by the pious, the holy, and the prophets. 
Abandonment of the world is also to neglect to comb the hair, 
to regulate the eyebrows, to cleanse the beard and moustaches ; 
and whoever pays attention to these personal comforts has already 
determined to return to the world and given up the hope of seeing 
God hereafter. Not to shave the head in the presence of the 
murshid, shows that the murld knows himself. To suspend a 
charkha, 1 or circle, to the neck, means, " I have resigned myself 
entirely to the will of God, for blessing or for punishment " ; to 
suspend the mangosh, or ear-rings, to the ears, signifies, " I believe 
the language of the saints is that of the Most High, and that their 
words are my laws, or my mangosh, and is ever hung over my 
heart ". If ever any one is asked whose son and Darvish he is, 
he must reply, " I am the son of Muhammad 'All ", the proof 
of which is in the hadis, " I am of that people to which I belong ". 
The arkan, or columns of the Order, are based upon the follow- 
ing : When it is asked what Darvish means, the reply is, " One 
who asks nothing of any creature, and to be as submissive as the 
earth which is trodden upon by the feet, to serve others before 
yourself, to be contented with little, to do neither good nor evil, 
to abandon all desires, to divorce even his wife, to submit hourly 

1 Charkha, for charkJt, a wheel, a collar, or anything round, e.g. the 
circular dance of the Muhammadan darvishes (Johnson, p. 451). In Turkish, 
charkhah means a skirmish or whirlwind. 



244 CELIBACY ix 

to all occurrences of misfortune and accident, not to drink wine 
nor to lie, not to commit fornication, not to touch what does not 
belong to you, to know the true and the false, and to restrain 
the tongue and speak little ". 

The rules of the tarlq are thus explained : 1. To change the 
thing desired to whatever is wished for miraculously ; 2. to 
divorce his wife and live secluded, because to become a true 
murshid this must be done so as to enable the aspirant to that 
position to devote himself wholly to the love of Allah ; the 
disciple, though married, must become a benedict if he hopes to 
be a good murshid. (This is not now followed, for Shaikhs are 
favoured with visions, in which they receive permission to keep 
their wives, or to take one if they have none.) This is founded 
upon the principle contained in Quran, xxvi. 87, 88 : " Do not 
dishonour me in that day when all mankind will be resuscitated ; 
that day when all riches and offspring will be of no value ; it is 
only for him who comes to God with an upright heart that Paradise 
will be opened and approached by pious men". 

In reply to the question as to what is a taj (crown or cap) it 
should be said, " Honour and respect " ; to that as to their number, 
say, "There are two, the tdj-i-jahil and the tdj-i-kdmil" , viz. the 
' Crown of the Ignorant ' and the ' Crown of the Perfect ' in 
spiritual knowledge. The principle of khalwat and 'azlat 1 signifies 
retirement from the eyes of the world, and cessation from seeking 
the honour and respect of any one. The ' Crown of the Ignorant ' 
means to frequent the public streets and bazaars, and to possess 
the esteem and honour of every one, whilst that, of the Perfect 
signifies to have the esteem of no one. 

The form (turban) which is wrapped round a crown is 
called istiwa? Its centre, or qubba ; its border ; its diameter ; 
the letters which form its name, t, ft, j ; its upper surface, 

1 From same root as Mu'tazili, ' seceder '. It connotes an abrupt 
breaking away. 

2 Istiwa, lit. 'equality', 'a plane surface ', apparently from the same 
root as ayat, the literal meaning of which is ' sign ' or ' token '. But there 
is probably a play on the word istawa, which means ' He stood straight or 
erect ', or ' He set .himself upon (the throne) ' (see Palmer's Quran S.B.E. 
vi. p. Ixxix). On p. 245 infra, istiva (as Brown transliterates it) is rendered 
' parable ' ; but Redhouse does not give this meaning or that of ' turban '. 
His definitions include ' a being or becoming upright, steadfast, firm ', 
' a becoming perpendicular ' (TurL-Erig. Lex. p. 105). 



ix SYMBOLS 245 

qibla ; * its ablutions, its key, its religious duties, commanded 
by God ; its services, directed by the Prophet ; its soul, its 
interior, all have their respective significations. 

1. The istiwd, ' parable ', means to change evil deeds and 
actions to those of an exalted and pious nature. 

2. The qibla, ' The position facing you at prayer directing to 
Makka ', is the pir, or founder of the Order. 

3. The kandr, or ' border ', is the faculty of spiritual command 
in both worlds, viz. to pray with a devout heart to God for the 
release of any one in danger, for God accepts an intercession for 
the latter, and it relieves him from the danger. 

4. The langar, 2 or ' capacity ', means to point out (by the 
Shaikh) the true path to his disciples. 

5. The kalima, or ' letters of the word tdj ' (t, a, j), means to 
implore pardon from God according to the dyat, or verse of the 
Quran, " God is the rich, but we are the poor". 

6. The qubba, or ' summit of the cap ', means the point of 
truth, which signifies that the owner knows all things ; the 
' Summit of the Sphere of the Universe ' (God) allowing the 
observer to see and know all things. 

7. The ghusl, ' ablution ', means not to mingle with the public, 
and so remain pure. 

8. The qilid, 3 or ' key ', means to open the secret and difficult. 
The Shaikh interprets and explains by it all dreams and visions 
of his disciples. 

9. The farZ) or * obligation ', means the conversation and 
communication with the pirs and the brethren (arans). 

10. The sunnat, ' order of the Prophet ', means honour and 
respect, 

11. The jaw, 4 or 'soul', means to keep the commandments of 
the pir or Shaikh, and to abstain from hurting the feelings of 
any one, and to withdraw from the world. 

12. The muwdt, or 'dying', means to touch the living creature's 
hands, as on the initiation of a murid. 

13. The far', ' branch or decoration ', is to refrain from all 
females. 

1 Qibla, ' direction to which one turns (in prayer) '. 

2 Langar, an anchor, a house or monastery of the Qalandars or Muham- 
madan monks. It has come to mean ' refectory ' further East. 

3 Qilid for miqlad or iqtid. * Yan in original. 



246 THE MANTLE ix 

On the taj is written, " There is no God but Him, the Living 
and the Eternal". In the front .is written, "All things perish 
except the face of God ". In the middle, " I swear by the learned 
book (Quran)". 

There is another question as to the number of the t&js. These, 
as aforestated, are two, viz. that of the learned and that of the 
ignorant. The former means to strive to reach the secrets of 
Muhammad and 'All, for the blessed Prophet has said, " I and 
'AH are made of the same light ", and to see that they are made of 
one light, and the All-Just at the same time. Do not, therefore, 
understand like those who wear the crown of the ignorant. And 
yet God knows all with goodness. 

THE KHIBQA, OR MANTLE 

It is related that the Imam Ja'far 1 having been interrogated 
on this point of spirituality, and what is the true faith of this 
garment its qibla and ghusl, its ' existence ', ' prayers ', and 
' divine obligation ', its ' duty ', as prescribed by the Prophet 
(sunnat) ; its ' soul ', as well as the proper method of putting it 
on the body, its collar, and interior and exterior, he replied as 
follows : 

" Its point of faith is to regard it as a covering for the faults 
and weaknesses of others ; 

" Its qibla is the pir ; 

" Its ghusl the ablution from sins ; 

" Its prayers are manhood (among the Darvishes, I am 
informed, there are male and female characteristics, from which 
a man is called ' manly ', and also ' feminine ') ; 

" Its ' obligations ' are the forsaking of the sin of cupidity ; 

" Its ' duty ', to be easily contented and satisfied with one's 
lot in life ; 

1 The influence of the Imam Ja'far in Central Asia is still very great, 
especially in Khotan, and Sir M. A. Stein has described' his curious desert 
shrine at the end of the Niya River in his Ruins of Desert Cathay, i. pp. 266 ff. 
and in Ancient Khotan, i. p. 312. 

In Khotan is a shrine of Imam Musa Kasim, situate at Kosa, where it 
probahly occupies the site of the Virochana-Sangharama, once famous as 
one of the earliest sanctuaries of Buddhism in Khotan (Stein, Sand-buried 
Ruins of Khotan, p. 267). Near Somiya also is a shrine of Bowa-Kambar, 
the groom of 'AH (ibid., p. 267). This, too, probably lies on the site of an 
old Buddhist shrine. 



ix MEEKNESS 247 

" Its ' soul ', to give one's word, and keep it sacredly ; 

" Its ' key ', the takhir ; 

" Its * putting on, or tying ', an inducement to serve others ; 

" Its ' perfection ', uprightness and correctness of conduct ; 

" Its ' border ' is the condition of a Darvish ; 

" The ' edges of its sleeves ', the tariqat, or Order ; 

" Its ' collar ', submission to God's will ; 

" Its ' exterior ', light ; and 

" Its ' interior ', secrecy." 

On the collar is written Ya! 'Aziz, Ya! Latif, Ya! Hakim. 
On its border, Ya! Wahid, 1 Ya! Ford, Ya! Samad. On the 
edges of its sleeves, Ya! Qabul, Ya! Shukur, 2 Yd! Karim, 
Ya ! Murshid. Also the ' visible ' and the * invisible '. The 
former alludes to those who are visibly submerged in the goodness 
and mercy of God, and the latter seclusion. 

A real Darvish is he who desires for himself nothing, has no 
egotism, and is meek and lowly, and willing to accept all things 
as coming from God. The gains of a Darvish are seclusion and 
retirement, refraining from the utterance of all profane language, 
reflection, contentment, patience, silence, and resignation, and 
to watch and obey the will of Allah ; to keep the commands of 
the murshid ; to war with his own wild passions ; to change his 
evil feelings for those which are good, and to be faithful to his 
Order, according to Quran, xxix. 69 : " We lead in our paths all 
those who are zealous in propagating our faith, and God is with 
those who do good. We make the lesser war (of this world), and 
also the greater (upon our own wild passions), and this is true the 
word of God." 

The better conduct is that of the pious, and the worse that 
of the impious. The Man is he who serves (girds up his loins). 
To serve the pir, for the science of the Lord, is half of the path 
of a Darvish, according to the axiom, " The service of kings is 
one-half of the path". " To gird up the loins" is to serve the 
pir in such a manner as never to neglect his orders so long as he 
lives, so that both in this world and in the other he may protect 
and guard him. 

1 See pp. 130-4, Nos. 9, 31, 47, 68, 36, 43 : names of God. Wahid = 
Wahid (67) ; Fard- 1 One ' ; Qabul would be ' He who accepts '. 

2 Sic in original. Shalcr, ' gratitude ', can hardly be meant. Shakur, 
' generous ' : 'He who requites ', 



THE STONE AND THE PELT ix 



THE PALANK, OE STONE WORN IN THE GIRDLE 

This stone signifies contentment and resignation to hunger. 
A khirqa cut short means to have given up the world. To wear 
the tannur, or the full and wide skirts of the MaulavTs, means to 
have drawn his head out of the oven of misfortune. (The word 
tannur means an oven.) 1 

The numerical value of the eternal path (tarlq abadi) is ten. 

1. To grow old in the science of the pir. 

2. To sow seeds of knowledge. 

3. To tell the joys of the Darvish heart, of the pleasures of 
the path which has been pointed out to him. 

4. To reap in the field of abstinence. 

5. To be well bred, and to follow this rule in a meek and 
lowly manner. 

6. To pronounce the kalima tauhid to the murid until he 
becomes satiated. 

7. To reap with the sickle of humility. 

8. To beat out the grain in the barn of Divine acquiescence. 

9. To blow away the tares with the mind of alacrity. 

10. To measure with the bushel of love. 

11. To grind in the mill of godly fear. 

12. To knead with the water of reply (this refers to the replies 
made by the pir to the dreams of his disciples). 

13. To bake in the oven of Patience. 

14. To burn therein all evil feelings, and come out purified 
by the fire. 

THE POST, OR SEAT 

The post (or skin seat of the pir), with its head, feet, right and 
left side, has its condition, middle, soul, law, truth, etc. 
The head signifies submissiveness. 
The feet service. 

The right the right hand of fellowship, at initiations. 
The left, honour. 
The east, secrecy. 
The west, religion, 

1 But tannura= petticoat (see p. 197). There is a play on the words 
tannura and tannur or tandur, ' an oven '.. 



ix THE SOUL RELEASED 249 

The condition (obligatory) to bow the head before the arans. 

The middle is love. 

The mihrab l is to see the beauty of God. 

The soul is the takbir. 

The law is to be absorbed in Divine Love and adoration, so 
that the soul leaves the heart (body), and wanders away among 
the other spirits with whom it sympathises. 

The tariqat is to enter into that which has been established. 

The ma'rifat is the fear of the plr. 

The haqiqat is whatever the pir orders to be done, and is the 
indubitable duty of his disciples. 

1 Mihrab, from harb, f war '. The niche indicating the direction of the 
Qibla is the instrument of war. Jawidan, cited in Textes Hourouffs, Gibb 
Mem. S., ix. 63. 



CHAPTER X 

THE ORDER OF THE MAULAVlS 

THE founder of this eminent order of Darvishes is Maulana Jalal- 
ud-DIn Muhammad al-Balkhi ar-Rumi. 1 It is commonly called 
by foreigners, ' The Dancing or Whirling Darvishes ', from the 
peculiar nature of the devotions. 

He was, as his name designates, a native of the city of Balkh, 
and was born in the 6th day of the month of Rabf -ul-awal, 604 H. 
In the work aforequoted, called the Nafahdt-ul-Uns, by Maula 
Jami, it is stated that the spiritual powers of this celebrated Plr 
were developed at the early age of six years, and that those 
spiritual forms and hidden figures, viz. those angelic beings who 
inscribe the acts of mankind, and the pious jinns and illustrious 
men who are concealed beneath the domes of honour, became 
visible to his sight, and drew allegories before his eyes. Maulana 
Baha-ud-Dm Walad writes, as an example of the circumstance, 
that once on a Friday, Jalal-ud-DIn was at Balkh, on the roof of 
a house, in company with some other youngsters of his own age, 
when one of them asked him whether it would not be possible 
to jump from the place on which they stood to another house- 
top. Jalal-ud-DIn replied that such a movement would be more 
suitable to dogs and cats, and other similar animals, but woe to 
the human being who should attempt to assimilate himself to 
them. " If you feel yourselves competent to do it, let us jump 
upwards towards heaven ! " and then, setting the example, he 
sprang upwards, and was immediately lost from their sight. The 
youths all cried out as he disappeared, but in a moment more 
he returned, greatly altered in complexion and changed in figure 
and he informed them that whilst he was yet talking with them 
1 See Appendix D at end of this Chapter. 
250 



x THE MAULAVlS 251 

a legion of beings clothed in green mantles seized him from 
amongst them, and carried him in a circle upwards towards the 
skies ; " they showed me strange things of a celestial character, 
and on your cries reaching us they lowered me down again to 
the earth". 

It is also narrated that during this year he only partook of 
food once in three or four days. When he went to Makka he 
communed with the Shaikh Farid-ud-Dm 'Attar, then at Nishabur. 
This Shaikh gave him an Asrar-ndma, or ' Secret Epistle ', in the 
form of a book, which he always carried upon his person. 

The Hazrat-i-Maulavi, viz. Jalal-ud-Din, stated that he was 
not of the body which the 'ashiqs or devout ' lovers ' of God 
beheld ; " Perhaps I am that Joy and Delight which the munds 
experience when they cry out, ' Allah ! Allah ! ' therefore seek 
that delight and taste of that joy ; hold to it as to riches, and be 
thankful that it is me ". He once is said to have remarked that 
a bird which flies upward does not reach the skies, yet it rises 
far above the roof of the house, and so escapes. So it is with 
one who becomes a Darvish, and though he does not become a 
perfect Darvish, still he becomes far superior to common men, 
and far exalted above ordinary beings. He likewise becomes 
freed from worldly cares and anxieties, and is exhilarated above 
all ordinary human sensations. 

Each takia of every Order of Darvishes has a particular day 
or days in the week for the performance of the religious exercises 
of the brethren. As there are several takias of the same Order in 
Constantinople, the brethren of one are thus enabled to visit and 
take part in the ceremonies of the others. The brethren of other 
Orders frequently join in the services of the takias not their own, 
nothing forbidding it, except, as with the Maulavis, the want of 
practice and skill. 

A Qadiri who can perform the services of a Maulavl, on enter- 
ing a takia of the latter, goes to the hujra, or cell, of one of the 
brethren, and receives a cap called a sikka, or cap made in a 
' mould ', from which it takes this name. It is made of camel's 
hair, or otherwise wool ; he also receives a tannura, which is a 
long skirt like that of a lady's dress, without arms, and a dasta 
gul (literally a bouquet of roses), or a jacket with sleeves made 
of cloth or other material ; around his waist is fastened the alif- 
lam-and, or girdle of cloth some four fingers hi width, one and a 



252 MAULAVI RITUAL x 

half ar chins l in length, edged with a thread (chant 2 ), and a piece 
of the same at its ends serves to tie it round the body ; over the 
shoulders is thrown a khirqa or cloak (mantle), with long and 
large sleeves, and thus equipped he enters into the hall of the 
takia, called samd'"khana. 

With regard to their services, it may be said 1. that they all 
perform the usual Islam namaz', 2. that they offer up certain 
prayers, of the same character ; 3. the Shaikh proceeds to his 
seat, his book lying in the direction of the qibla (that of Makka) ; 
then standing upright, he raises his hands, and offers a prayer for 
the pir, asking his intercession with God and the Prophet in 
behalf of the Order. 

4. The Shaikh then leaves his postaki, or sheepskin seat, and 
bends his head in humility to the pir (the Boyun Kasmak 3 alluded 
to in the chapter on the Baqtashis), towards the side of the 
postaki, and then makes one step forward, and turning again 
towards the same seat on his right foot, bows to the same, as that 
of the pir, were he in existence. After this he continues round 
the hall, and the brethren, in turn, do the same, all going round 
three times. This ceremony is called the Sultan Walad Dauri, 
after the son of Hazrat-i-Mauldna, their founder or pir. 

5. The Shaikh next takes his position, standing in the postaki, 
his hands crossed before him, and one of the brethren in the 
mutrib* (upstairs) commences to chant a na*t-i-shanf, 5 or holy 
hymn, in praise of the Prophet. At its termination the little 
orchestra in the gallery commences performing on the flutes 
(called ndis), the kamdns 6 and qudurs 7 (the latter small drums). 

1 Archin, for Turk, arshun or arsUn, an ell, about 28 or 29 inches in 
length. - 

2 Charit, doubtless Turk, sharit, * a ribbon or strip '. In Arabic sharit 
means a rope made of palm bark fibre. 

3 Boyun kas-mak, from Turk, buyun, ' neck ', and kas-maJc, ' to lower, 
abase '. This rite must be the analogue of the Baqtash dar durmak of p. 195 
supra. 

4 Mutrib = ' minstrel ' or ' singer ', or who or what causes to 'dance and 
skip '. On p. 257 infra mutrib is translated ' place of excitement ', but 
the dictionaries give no noun of place from tariba, ' was excited ' (of. Johnson, 
p. 1202). The word should apparently be mutrib-khana, 'musicians' room' 
s (Evliya, i. p. 181). 

5 Na't, lit. ' laud ', : na't = ' encomium '. 

6 Kaman, in Turk. ' a, violin '. 

7 Qudiir, pi. of qidr, lit. ' a pot or kettle '. 



X A DANCE 253 

6. One of the brethren^ called the sama'-zan, goes to the 
Shaikh, who has proceeded to the edge of his seat, and bows to 
him, his right foot passing over the other kisses the hand of the 
Shaikh, recedes backwards from him, and standing hi the middle 
of the hall, acts as a director of the ceremonies about to commence. 

7. The other Darvishes now take off their khirqas, let fall 
their tannuns, go in single file to the Shaikh, kiss his hand, 
make an obeisance to the postaki, and commence turning round 
on the left foot, pushing themselves round with the right. If 
they happen to approach too near each other, the samff-zan 
stamps his foot on the floor as a signal. Gradually the arms of the 
performers are raised upward, and then extended outward, the 
left hand turned to the floor, and the right open, upward to 
heaven ; the head inclined over the right shoulder, and the eyes 
apparently closed. The Shaikh, in the meantime, stands still on 
his postaki. The brethren, whilst turning round, continually 
mutter the inaudible zikr, saying Allah ! Allah ! and the 
musicians play for some twenty minutes or half an hour, chant- 
ing a hymn called the 'ain-i-shanf. Often they perform only 
some ten minutes, when having reached a certain part of the 
chant, in which are the words Hai Ydr ! (0 Friend !), they cry it 
out loudly, and suddenly cease. The Darvishes below at the 
same time stop in their course, so that the tanntira wraps around 
their legs, so as to quite conceal their feet, and all inclining lowly, 
perform obeisance again to the Shaikh. The sama'-zan taking 
the lead, they all march slowly round the hall, bowing low to 
the Shaikh, turning completely round as they pass him. If any 
fall, overcome by the performance, this repose affords them an 
opportunity to withdraw, which some few do ; soon after this 
the music recommences, and the same performance is renewed 
until arrested as before. This is done three times, after which 
they all sit down, and the samtf-zan covers them with their 
mantles. 

8. Whilst' thus seated, one of the brethren in the gallery reads 
or recites a part of the Quran ; the samff-zan rises, and going 
into the middle of the circle, offers up a prayer for the Sultan, 
with a long series of titles, mentioning also a good number of his 
ancestors. At its conclusion the Shaikh rises from the pdstakl, 
and after all have saluted him, retires from the takia. 

It may be added that the Qadiris and Khalwatls have the 



254 THE NUMBER EIGHTEEN x 

same form of worship, without music ; that is to say, they all 
take each other's hands, or put their arms over each other's 
shoulders, and turn round their hall, performing the audible zikr. 
Foreigners who are not Mussulmans are admitted into many 
of the takias as spectators, either in a particular part of the gallery, 
or in a small apartment on a level with the hall. In the latter 
they are expected to stand upright during the performance, and 
to leave their overshoes or shoes outside the door in charge of a 
man stationed there for that purpose, and to whom a trifle is 
handed on departing. They, however, are admitted only after 
the conclusion of the Islam namaz. 

The apartment of the Shaikh is called the Shaikh hujra, and 
the large hall the sama'-khana, or the hall or house where brethren 
hear celestial sounds, and enter into a state of ecstatic devotion. 
The MaulavTs have also another apartment, called the ism-i- 
jalil hujra, where they perform their ordinary morning and even- 
ing namaz, or prayers ; also the ism-i-jalll (the beautiful name of 
Allah), or the zikr ; and this is not to be found in any other 
takia. The performance before described is always the third daily 
prayer, called in Turkish the ikindi, 1 and commences about ten 
[? two] o'clock p.m. 

A properly constructed Maulavi takia should have eighteen 
chambers, and the vows are also always eighteen. Each occupant 
of a chamber receives eighteen piastres per diem. The murid 
must serve in the kitchens of the convent 1001 days, and his room 
is then called the chilld 2 hujrasi, or 'cell of retirement', wherein 
the neophyte is supposed to be under probation, and much 
occupied in prayer and fasting. They have no other officer than 
the Shaikh, and perhaps his naib khalifa, or deputy, and one who 
superintends the expenses of the convent, called the khazinahddr. 
The office of Shaikh is hereditary, but in Turkey, as with all 
the other orders, it requires the confirmation of the Shaikh-ul- 
Islam, 3 or Supreme Head of the Islam religion. 

1 Ikindi, Turk. ' middle of the afternoon '. See too Redhouse, s.v. 
. z Chilla (or-a) means a fast of ' forty days' duration ' (Kashf, pp. 51, 
324). In Persian chihil=4:Q, and in Arabic jill is said to have the same 
meaning, though the usual word is arbi'un. 

3 The office of Shaikh-ul-Islam was first constituted at Constantinople 
by Muhammad L, the Conqueror, who bestowed the title on the mufti of 
that city, according to E.B.E. 8, p. 906. But Macdonald states that the 



x LEVITATION 255 

I have been unable to learn any creditable reason for their 
peculiar form of worship. The short biographical sketch of the 
founder, Maula Jalal-ud-DIn, shows the facility with which, 
through his extraordinary spiritual powers, he could become 
invisible to ordinary sight, and his proneness to rise upward. It 
is a tradition of the Order that, whenever he became greatly 
absorbed in pious and fervid love for Allah, he would rise from 
his seat and turn round, much as is the usage of his followers ; 
and that on more than one occasion he began to recede upward 
from the material world, and that it was only by the means of 
music that he could be prevented from entirely disappearing from 
amongst his devoted companions. His celebrated poem, called 
Masnavi Sharif, is that kind of poetry which is composed of 
distichs corresponding in measure, each consisting of a pair of 
rhymes, and each distich having distinct poetical terminations. 
It is written in the Persian language, and though it has been 
commented upon, it is too mystical to permit of a close transla- 
tion. It is, in fact, filled with the most mystical reflections 
mostly on the subject of Divine love, and breathes in every line 
the most ecstatic rapture. These raptures are supposed to be 
holy inspirations, which carry the creature aloft to the Creator, 
with whom he holds spiritual communion. The soft and gentle 
music of the ndi, or mystical flute of the Maulavis, is made from 
a cane or reed, this being the music of nature, and is used also for 
the purpose of exciting the senses. 

Sir William Jones gives the following translation of a few 
lines of the Mathnavi Sharif of this Order : 

" Hail, Heavenly Love ! true source of endless gains ! 
Thy balm restores me, and thy skill sustains. 
! more than Galen learned, than Plato wise ! 
My guide, my law, my joy supreme, arise ! 
Love warms this frigid clay with mystic fire, 
And dancing mountains leap with young desire. 



dignity was first created by Muhammad II. in A.D. 1453 (Muslim Theology, 
p. 113). On the other hand it seems to have been already known hi India 
in the thirteenth century (Raverty, Tabaqat-i-Nasm, Trans., ii. pp. 713, 622, 
707), though chronological difficulties arise regarding its devolution. It 
was also bestowed in India, but not officially, on the Suharwardi saint 
Baha-ud-Dm Zakaria of Multan on account of his miraculous powers. 



256 THE FLUTE x 



Blest is the soul that swims in seas of love, 

And longs for life sustained by food above. 

With forms imperfect can perfection dwell ? 

Here pause, my song, and thou, vain world, farewell." 

Regarding the tall felt kula or cap of the Maulavis, it is stated 
that before the world was created as an abode for man, another 
one existed, known as the 'filam-i-arwah, or spirit-world. A soul 
is supposed to be a nur, or light, without bodily substance, and 
consequently invisible to the mirror-like eyes of humanity. 
During the previous state, the soul of Muhammad is said to have 
existed, and that the Creator placed it in a vase also of light, of 
the form of the present cap of the Maulavis. 

The author of the work called the Shaqqaiq Nu'mania, already 
alluded to, says, in regard to this Order : " The Maulavis are 
those who join together as brethren, and by the love of Allah, 
worshipping Him in a house of love, to the melodious sound of 
the flute, which expresses the harmony of His creation, and 
revolve round like His empyreum, dancing for joy, and uttering 
the soft sound of affectionate sighs and lamentations, the result 
of their ardent desire to be united to Him. Revolving round and 
round the samff-khana of sinful abandonment and spiritual 
isolation, they free themselves from all unworthy passions, and 
are detached from all the subtile minutiae and associations of 
religion." 

The usual services of the Maulavis are as follows : 

1. The usual namaz. Before commencing it they make what 
is called the niyat, or vow,^to go through the appropriate prayers. 

2. The Allahu-akbar, the subhdn-naka, the auzu billahi, one 
bismilldh, one fdtiha, the zumr-sura 1 or any other sura (verse of the 
Quran), which may be selected. 

The Alldhu-akbar is made standing upright at first, and at the 
close is repeated kneeling, saying three times, subhdn Rabi-uV- 

1 Zamee in orig. The 39th chapter of the Quran is called zumar, or ' the 
troops '. But the root zamara means ' he played the flute ', and it is not 
unlikely that there is really an allusion to that meaning. In v. 24 the words 
rendered ' by iteration ' may be translatable as ' by rhyming couplets ' 
(RodwelTs Koran, p. 257, n. 1, and p. 116, n. 2). 

In ' or any other sura which may be selected ' one suspects an allusion 
to Sura 73, muzammil, 'the enfolded ', which begins : " Thou enfolded in 
thy mantle " (ibid. p. 24). 



x MAULAVI PRAYERS 257 



etc., "Blessed be Thou, O great Lord God", and adds, 
sami'd Allahu, etc., " Hear us, O Lord God, whilst we offer up to 
Thee our praises, for Thou art the greatest of all gods ! " and 
then prostrates himself upon the floor. 

After this performance, which composes the namaz, they 
recite the aurad. In the morning, before the sun has risen, they 
perform the sdbdh [' dawn '] namazi, and as it rises above the 
horizon, some ten minutes or so after it is up, perform two raWats 
(prostrations), called the ishrdqia, or the sun-rising, another 
called the wird ishraq. At noon they perform the usual namaz 
of all Mussulmans, generally of ten rak'ats, four of which are 
sunna, four farz, and two also sunna (the former ordered by the 
Prophet, the second a Divine ordinance, and the third also by 
the Prophet, with peculiar injunctions). At the Ikindi, or third 
prayer of the day, they perform eight rak'ats, four of which are 
sunna, those said to have been performed by the Prophet him- 
self, four more farz. The evening service is composed of five 
rak'ats, three being farz and two sunna. After this latter prayer 
they perform another called the ism-i-jalll, which consists of three 
tauhids, and as many ism-i-jalils as they who are present please 
to recite. 

Previous to the commencement of their sectarian devotions, 
the murids are all seated, piously engaged in meditating on their 
pir, which occupation is called the muraqaba and the tawajjuh, 
whilst those in the gallery, named the ndizan (musicians), chant 
a holy hymn. This gallery is called the mutnb (place of excite- 
ment), and those stationed there are attentive to the directions 
made by their Shaikh with his hands. 

As the whole principle of the Order is the 'ishq Vllah, or Love 
for God, their usual compliment is, for instance after drinking, 
'ishq ols'&n (may it be love). None are allowed to beg, but many 
are seen in the streets bestowing water on the thirsty, fi sabil 
and li >ishq Ullah (' in the path ' of God, and * for the love of 
God'). 

In a small treatise by a learned Shaikh of the Maulavl Order, 
lately deceased, there is a clear and distinct explanation of the 
' spiritual existence ' as believed by them. He explains and 
draws his proofs from the Quran, that all mankind were created 
in heaven, or in one of its celestial spheres, long before God created 
the present one, and perhaps any of the planets ; that in this 



258 



MAN'S PRE-EXISTENCE 



world they continue to exist in varied conditions before assuming 
that of humanity ; and that moreover they will continue here- 
after to exist in other forms before they finally return to their 
original ones in the sphere of blessedness, near to the Creator from 
whom they emanated. He shows from a verse of the Quran, wherein 
God says in reference to the Prophet, " Had it not been for you I 
would not have created the world ", that he pre-existed, and only 
became human in this world. Adam, he says, was created from 




A MAULAVI ORCHESTRA 

earth a mineral, and corporeally returned to it, though his spirit 
proceeded on its course of existence elsewhere. He, as well as all 
Mussulmans, maintain that Jesus Christ was of a Divine origin, 
that is to say, that He was the Ruh Allah, or the Spirit of God, 
though not God in any manner, as this would necessarily imply 
a plurality of Gods, which Muhammad constantly denied. He 
declares that the spirit of man has no knowledge in this life of its 
condition or existence in any previous one, nor can it foresee its 
future career, though it may often have vague impressions of past 
occurrences which it cannot define strongly resembling those 
happening around it. 



x JALAL-UD-DIN'S DESCENT AND TEACHING 259 

APPENDIX D 

JALAL-TJD-DIN'S DESCENT AND TEACHING 

The spiritual pedigree * of Jalal-ud-Dm is thus given by el-Eflaki in his 
Acts of the Adepts, pp. 135, 133 : 

'Ali 

II 
Imam Hasan of Basra (ob. A.D. 728). 

II 
Habib the Persian (ob, A.D. 724). 

II 
Da'ud at-Ta'i (ob. A.D. 781). 

II 
Ma'ruf Karkhi (ob. A.D. 815). 

II 
Sari Saqati (ob. A.D. 867). 

I! 

Junaid (ob. c. A.D. 909). 

II 
Ash-Shibli (ob. A.D. 945). 

II 
thus far following the usual sequence of Sufi descent. Then begins a 

divergence 

Abii-'Amr Muhammad, son of Ibrahim Zajjaj, ' the Glazier ', of Nlshapur 
|| (ob. 348n.=A.D. 959). 

Abu Bakr, son of 'Abdullah of Tus, the Weaver 

II 
Abu Ahmad (Muhammad), son of Muhammad al-Ghazzali (ob. 504 H,= 

|| A.D. 1110). 

Ahmad al-Khatlbi, great-grandfather of Jalal-ud-Din. 

Hu?ain Jalal-ud-Din. Imam as-Sarakhsi (ob. 571 H. =A.D. 1175). 

I II 

Muhammad, Baha-ud-Dln, the ' Sultan-ul-'ulma ', known as Baha-ud-Dln 

| Walad or Baha Walad (ob. A.D. 1231). 

MAULANA JALAL-UD-DIN RTJMI, surnamed KHTTDAVANDGAR (b. A.D. 1208, \ 
[ ob. 1273-74). \ 



'Ala-ud-Dln. Baha-ud-Dln Sultan Walad. HASAN HUSAM UL-HAQQI WA'D- 

DIN (b. A.D. 1225, ob. 1284). 

II 

Sultan Walad (b. A.D. 1226, ob. 
| 1312) 

Chelebi Amir 'Arif. Jalal-ud-Dm (ob. A.D. 1320). 

The last named was succeeded by 'Abid and another, his half-brothers, 
following the usual Turkish custom of succession, and then it reverted to 
Amir 'Alim ' Shahzada ', the eldest son of Amir 'Arif. 

1 The single rules ( I ) denotes natural, the double ones ( || ) spiritual, descent, 



260 JALAL-UD-DIN x 

It will be observed that the rale of natural descent eventually prevails, 
after a struggle, over the usage of purely spiritual adoption. Jalal-ud-Din's 
spiritual teacher was the Shaikh Saiyid Burhan-ud-Din, ' the Proof of the 
Faith ', surnamed Sirr-dan al-Muhaqqiq al-Husaim, ' the Knower of secrets, 
the Prober of truth, of the branch of Husain ', son of 'AH. Burhan-ud-Din 
is said to have been himself a pupil of Baha Walad, but according to other 
authorities this Baha-ud-Dm was named Muhammad ibn Husain al-Khatfbl 
al-Bakri and was a courtier, not a professed saint (E.R.E. 7, p. 474). 
Eedhouse, however, points out that the title of al-Khatibi, borne by Ahmad 
(as well as by Baha Walad) implies that its holder was a son, or descendant, or 
a client, of a public preacher, Ichatlb. Again, Jalal-ud-Din was succeeded by 
one of his disciples, and it was only on the death of Husam-ud-DIn that his 
son, 1 Sultan Walad, inherited the headship of the Order. Sultan Walad was 
the author of a mystical poem, the Rababnama or ' Book of the Kebeck ', and 
the procession or dance described on p. 252 supra is doubtless called after him. 

Baha-ud-Din also appears to have been eminent. Sultan Ala-ud-Din 
Saljuq invited him to settle at Qonia, and he obtained the title of Sultan 
ul-'ulma or ' sovereign of the learned ', a title also borne by Jalal-ud-Din 
(Garnett, Mysticism and Magic in Turkey, pp. 154-6, citing Eflaki in Red- 
house's translation, p. 10). 

Regarding some of the titles mentioned, Maulana, ' our lord ', is that 
usually given to Jalal-ud-Dui, and Hazrat-i-Maulana may be translated 
'His Highness our Lord'. That his son should be styled 'Walad' or 
' Son ' is natural enough, but it is not easy to see how this title came to be 
applied to his father. Possibly in his case the correct title is Walid, ' father ', 
just as Jalal-ud-Din's mother was styled Walida Sultan (v. p. 284 infra}. 
After his death Baha Walad received the title of Maulana Biizurg, ' the 
greater or elder master ' (Redhouse, op. cit., p. 7), but buzurg would more 
literally denote ' ancestor ', Lastly, it may be noted that Husam-ud-Dm 
also bore the title of Chelebi. 

Eflaki gives several indications that Jalal-ud-Din came under Indian 
influences. In memory of his murdered friend, Shams-ud-Dm of Tabriz, 
he instituted his peculiar order of darvishes, with their special dress, the 
Indian garb of mourning (Redhouse, p. xii). Jalal-ud-Din was a contem- 
porary of the Slave dynasty of Delhi (1206-90). It was the century of the 
great Mughal invasions, though the Mughals did not establish their power 
in India until much later. The poet Sana'I, of Ghazni in Afghanistan, was 
regarded by some as a non-Muslim, but Jalal-ud-Din and his followers 
revered him, and an oath on his Ilahl-nama was esteemed more binding than 
one on the Quran (ib. pp. 64-5). But the moving spirit of the new Order 
seems to have been Shams-ud-Dln, a native of Tabriz, the Sultan of Mendi- 
cants, the Mystery of God on earth, the Perfect in word and deed, the 
Parinda, or ' winged ', because he had wandered in many lands seeking 

1 And not by his elder son, 'Ala-ud-Dln, who had been slain in the riot at Quonia 
which resulted in Shams-ud-Dln's arrest and disappearance, during his father's lifetime 
(Eedhouse, Mesnewi, p. x). Indeed one suspects from Eflaki's story that 'Ala-ud-Dln 
attorned to Shams-ud-Din, who was opposed to Baha Walad. Yet on p. 284 infra, 
'Ala-ud-Dln is said to be prayed for by the Maulavls as his father's vicar (i.q. successor 
or khalifa ?} So tradition seems to contradict Eflaki. But Jalal-ud-Din's real relations 
with Shams-ud-Dln are obscure. . 



x AND HIS SUCCESSORS 261 

spiritual teachers (ib. pp. 99 and 24). Shams-ud-Dln forbade Jalal-ud-Din 
to study the writings of his father, Baha Walad (ib. p. 102). Eflaki's 
account says that Jalal never again used his father's writings during the 
lifetime of Shams-ud-Dln, but the Indian tradition is that the latter 
recovered the books, which had belonged to Baha Walad, from the tank 
into which he had flung them (Rose, Glossary of Punjab Tribes and Castes, 
i. p. 545). Much uncertainty prevails regarding Shams-ud-Dui's origin, but 
he is said to have been put to death in A.D. 1247, a date which accords with 
Eflaki's relation. On p. 94 supra Brown styles him Qalandari, but he is not 
claimed as its founder by that ' order ' (v. p. 299 infra). His namesake, a 
great saint of Multan in the Punjab, is said to be really Shams-ud-Din tap-rez, 
the ' heat-pouring ', because he brought the sun nearer to that spot than to any 
other on earth. Jalal's friend was very possibly an Indian. In any case the 
story of the nosegay of flowers from Ceylon points to Jalal's having come into 
contact with Indian, and probably Buddhist, ideas (Redhouse, op. cit. p. 27). 

Jalal-ud-Din appears to have regarded himself as especially destined to 
be a missionary to the Greeks, and to have cited a prayer of Abu Bakr, 
the first Caliph, in answer to which God made them a chief receptacle of 
his mercy. The Maulavl dances are also said to be devised to attract 
their mercurial temperament (Redhouse, Mesnewi, 27, 13). 

Eflaki does not describe very clearly the dress adopted by the Maulavis, 
He says Shams-ud-Dln wore black felt and a peculiar cap (ib. p. 23), and 
that Jalal adopted, as a sign of mourning for his loss, the drab hat and wide 
cloak since worn by the order (p. 25), but as noted above it wore the Indian 
garb of mourning. But he also describes its adoption of the turban called 
the sJiaJcar-awez. In the time of Sultan Walad the son of the guardian of 
the Prophet's tomb, himself a descendant of the Prophet, visited Qonia. 
He wore a singular head-dress, one end of his turban hanging down in front 
to below his navel, while the other end was formed into the shalcar-awez 
of the Maulavi darvishes. This fashion they had already, adopted in imita- 
tion of Jalal. The term .means lit. ' sugar -hanging ' (ib. pp. 79-80). The 
one end of the turban seems to be worn as a veil, while the other is folded 
to represent a mass of liquid sugar, as it would appear when falling from the 
sugar-mill. The term Aba-posh, or ' felt-clad ' , does not seem to be commonly 
applied to the Maulavis, but it was assumed by Bali, of the house of Germian 
(Gibb, Hist, of Ott. Poetry, i. p. 423 and p. 181 supra). 

M. Hartmann gives the following succession from Sultan Wald. It 
differs from the above version in calling his son Jalal-ud-Din Ulu. Set forth 
in tabular form it proceeds thus : 

(3) Sultan Wald. 



(4) Ulu 'Arif (6) Amir Shams-ud-Din 'Abid (6) Husam-ud-Din Amir 
(b. 660, d. 719 H.). (682-739). Wajid (689-742). 



(7) Amir 'Alimi Kabir (692-751). (8) Amir 'Adili Kabir (695-770). 
(9) Amir 'Alimi San! (' 2nd '), son of (5) (715-798). 



262 THEIR SUCCESSION DISTURBED x 

(10) Amir 'Arifi Sam (II), son of (8) (745-824). 

(11) Amir 'Adili Rabf (sic, lit. ' 4th '), son of (9) (781-865). 
*(12) Jamal-ud-Din Sam (II), son of 'Adili Khamis (841-915). 

(13) Khusrau ibn Qazi Muhammad Pasha (886-969). 

(14) Farah Muhammad (923-1010). 

(15) Bostani Awwal Mustafa (961-1040). 
*(16) Abu Bakri Awwal, son of (14) (965-1053). 

(17) Muhammad 'Arifi III. (Salis), son of the Wald Chelebi'i II. 

(Sani) (1006-1050). 

(18) Pir Husain, grandson of (14) (988-1074). 

(19) 'Abd-ul-Halim, grandson of (16) (1035-1090). 

(20) Hajji Bostani Sani (11) (1055-1117). 

(21) Muhammad Sadr-ud-Din (1080-1124). 

(22) Muhammad 'Arifi Rabi' (IV.) ibn 'Abd-ur-Rahmani Sani 

(II) (1090-1159). 

(23) Hajji Abu Bakr Sani (1133-1199). 

(24) Hajji Muhammad, great-grandson of (18) (1156-1230). 

(25) Muhammad Sa'id Hamdam (1222-1275, having succeeded at 

the age of 8). 

(26) Mahmud Sadr-ud-Din. 

The accession of the two marked * is not certain. As Hartmann says, 
the tendency to form a dynasty is unmistakable. But there is pretty strong 
internal evidence in the above dynastic list itself that the whole history of 
the headship has not come down to us. An 'Adil III. has been struck off 
the roll, for some reason not recorded. With (13) a new element seems to 
come in. With (17) the old line appears to regain its spiritual throne. But 
the four inierreges did not reign undisturbed, for we are told that Farrukh 
Chelebi, doubtless the Farah Muhammad (14) above, was deprived of the 
mystical throne at Qonia by an usurper (Hammer-Purgstall, GdOD. iii. 
p. 126). We may conjecture that this usurper was the Wald Chelebi'i II., 
or his father, v. (17) above. The title Chelebi'i seems to imply that he was 
the Wald by physical descent, though he was never actually installed or 
recognised. 

The fact that Abu Bakr I. (16) only held office for ten years and was 
the only postnisMn of all the Pir-i-Sajjadas who was not buried at Qonia 
indicates that he was deposed or ousted from the possession of the asitana. 
He lies in the Maulavi-khana of the New Top Qapusi, Stambul, (Hartmann, 
op. cit. iii. p. 193). 



GIRDING THE SULTAN 



APPENDIX E 
GIRDING THE SULTAN 

The origin of the ceremony of girding the Sultan of Turkey at the particu- 
larly sacred mosque of Abu 'Aiyub Ansari in Constantinople is discussed by 
Hasluck in Annual, B.S.A. xix. pp. 208-12 (of. KI. i. p. 871). The tradi- 
tions are not easy to reconcile with the historical facts, but the clue to the 
puzzle they present may lie in the weakness of the title of the Ottoman 
Sultans to the Caliphate. Bayazid I. was only recognised by the Caliph 
Mutawakkil as Sultan of Rum, just as in 1219 Ala-ud-Din I. had been 
recognised as the Caliph's representative in Rum. ^The Sultans of Turkey 
never acquired a clear title to the Caliphate, as they were not Arabs of the 
tribe of the Quraish, though the Abbassid Caliph surrendered the sacred 
relics of the Prophet to the Sultan. But the head of the Maulavi order ] 
appears to have had a claim to the powers of the Caliphate, and this may | 
explain why it is said that if he actually entered Constantinople he would l 
ipso facto become Sultan and Caliph. He has accordingly, from time to 
time, invested the de facto Sultan with the temporal power symbolised by the 
sword. When, however, the Sultan has leaned to the policy of emphasising 
his claim to the Caliphate he has naturally dispensed with the Maulavi's 
investiturej It may be doubted whether the Maulavi can be regarded 
rightly as the nearest approach to a Sunm Pope next to the Khalif (H. C. 
Lukach, City of Dancing Dervishes, p. 22). The Sunn! Caliph could not 
tolerate any rival in the religious headship of Islam. The Maulavi Chalabi 
appears to claim the supreme religious headship, without the title of Khalifa, 
since he has not entered Constantinople ; and he has never assumed the 
title of Caliph but only that of Amir Sultan, just as he assumed that of 
Khunkar (Hasluck, op. cit. p. 210). 

It must, however, be suggested that, like many Oriental rites, the cere- 
mony is commemorative rather than symbolical. Early in the eighteenth ' 
century the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah " created a new dignity, the 
1 Juliana ', or the dignity of crowning the Emperor, a privilege which became 
hereditary in her family " (the family of the lady Juliana Dias da Costa) 
(the Rev. H. Hosten in Jour. Punjab Hist. Soc., vii. p. 39). This ' dignity ' 
was instituted to commemorate that lady's services. The ceremony could 
have had no analogy to the non-Moslem rites of consecrating a king (v. " t)ber 
die Konigsweihe, den Rajasuya ", by A. Weber, in Abh. der K. Akademie, der 
Wissenschaften, 1893, pp. 701 ff.j. Pirzada Muhammad Husain states that 
a crown in the technical sense of the word was never worn by any Muham- 
madan sovereign, and that " Amir Timur was the first Mughal king to get 
himself seated on the throne by the Muhammadan clergy instead of by his 
near relations, but his descendants did not think the employment of the 
clergy necessary at all ", so they only attached importance to the reading of 
the khutba (J.R.H.S. i. pp. 141 and 148). It is at best doubtful whether 
the girding of the Sultan of Turkey with the sword was designed to transfer 



264 GIRDING THE SULTAN x 

to him any spiritual authority, and Hasluck's note on the mystical import- 
ance attaching to the girdle in Bektashi doctrine overlooks the fact that 
the Sultan was not invested with a girdle but with the sword * of 'Osman 
(Annual, B.S.A. xix. p. 213). /The basic idea was possibly that the gird- 
ing ratified the Sultan's claim to the Caliphate, or rather to its temporal 
powers, while it may well have originated in a ceremony commemorative of 
the aid rendered to the House of 'Os, man by the militant darvishA The 
whole question of the origin and descent of the title of Khalifa h"as now 
been exhaustively discussed in Sir Thomas Arnold's work, The Caliphate 
(Clarendon Press, 1924). 

1 Writing of the tombs of Aiyub, Evliya says : " Sh. Jalil 'All b. Khizr, celebrated 
by the name of Fazil 'All Beg; he was of the family of Edebali, the famous Shaikh of 
Sultan 'TJsman's time ; he girded S. Ahmad I. [1603-15] with the sword in the mosque 
of Sultan Aiyub, where he lies buried " (Travels, i. pt. 2, p. 36). Hasluck seems to have 
overlooked this reference. 



CHAPTER XI 

D'OHSSON ON THK RISE AND SPREAD OF DARVISH ORDERS 

MR. D'OHSSON, in his celebrated work on the Ottoman Empire, 
gives the following account of the rise and spread of the Darvish 
Orders : 

" The enthusiasm with which Muhammad was able to inspire 
his disciples, exalting their imagination by the picture of the 
voluptuous enjoyments which he promised them in the other 
world, and by the victories with which he sustained in this his 
pretended mission, gave rise among all the believers in the Quran to 
a host of coenobites whose austerity of life seemed to render them, 
in the eyes of a credulous people, entire strangers to the earth. 

" In the first year of the Hijra forty-five citizens of Makka 
joined themselves to as many others of Madina. They took an 
oath of fidelity to the doctrines of their Prophet, and formed a 
sect or fraternity, the object of which was to establish among 
themselves a community of property, and to perform every day 
certain religious practices, in a spirit of penitence and mortifica- 
tion. To distinguish themselves from other Muhammadans, they 
took the name of Sufis. This name, which later was attributed 
to the most zealous partizans of Islamism, is the same still in use 
to indicate any Mussulman who retires from the world to study, 
to lead a life of pious contemplation, and to follow the most 
painful exercises of an exaggerated devotion. The national 
writers do not agree as to the etymology. Whilst some derive it 
from the Greek word sophos (sage), others say it is from the 
Arabic word suf (coarse camel's wool or hair cloth), or stuff used 
for clothing by the humble penitents of the earlier days of Mussul- 
manism ; others from the Arabic word Safa, the name of one of 
the stations around the Ka'ba of Makka, where many of the 

265 



266 D'OHSSON QUOTED xi 

neophytes passed whole days and nights in fasting, and prayer, 
and macerations. To the name of Sufi they added also that of 
faqlr (poor), because their maxim was to renounce the goods of 
the earth, and to live in an entire abnegation of all worldly 
enjoyments, following thereby the words of the Prophet, al-faqr 
fakhri, or ' Poverty is my pride '. 

" Following their example, Abu-Bakr and 'All established, 
even during the lifetime of the Prophet, and under his own eyes, 
congregations over which each presided, with peculiar exercises 
established by them separately, and a vow taken by each of the 
voluntary disciples forming them. On his decease, Abu-Bakr 
made over his office of president to one Salman Farsi, and 'AH to 
Hasan Basri, and each of these charges were consecrated under 
the title khalifa, or successor. The two first successors followed 
the example of the caliphs, and transmitted it to their successors, 
and these in turn to others, the most aged and venerable of their 
fraternity. Some among them, led by the delirium of the imagina- 
tion, wandered away from the primitive rules of their society, and 
converted, from time to time, these fraternities into a multitude 
of monastic orders. 

" They were doubtlessly emboldened in this enterprise by that 
of a recluse who, in the thirty-seventh year of the Hijra (A.D. 657), 
formed the first order of anchorites of the greatest austerity, 
named Uwais Karanl, a native of Karn, in Yaman, who one day 
announced that the archangel Gabriel had appeared to him in a 
dream, and in the name of the Eternal commanded him to with- 
draw from the world, and to give himself up to a life of contempla- 
tion and penitence. This visionary pretended also to have 
received from that heavenly visitor the plan of his future conduct, 
and the rules of his institution. These consisted in a continual 
abstinence, in retirement from society, in an abandonment of the 
pleasures of innocent nature, and in the recital of an infinity of 
prayers day and night. Uwais even added to these practices. 
He went so far as to draw out his teeth, in honour, it is said, of 
the Prophet, who had lost two of his own in the celebrated battle 
of Uhud. He required his disciples to make the same sacrifice. 
He pretended that all those who would be especially favoured by 
heaven, and really called to the exercises of his Order, should lose 
their teeth in a supernatural manner ; that an angel should draw 
out their teeth whilst in the midst of a deep sleep ; and that on 



Xl THE EARLIER MYSTICS 267 

awakening they should find them by their bedside. The experi- 
ences of such a vocation was doubtless too severe to attract many 
proselytes to the Order ; it only enjoyed a certain degree of 
attraction for the eyes of fanatic and credulously ignorant people 
during the first days of Islamism. Since then it has remained in 
Yaman, where it originated, and where its partisans were always 
but few in number." 

Notwithstanding its discredit, this singular association con- 
tributed greatly to the institution of other Monastic Orders, all 
of which originated in the two great congregations of Abu-Bakr 
and 'AH, the founders of which were the most ardent and 
ambitious of their successors. Each gave his name to the Order 
which he thus instituted, taking the title of pir, synonymous to 
that of Shaikh, both words meaning ' Deacon ' or ' Elder '. Their 
disciples bore the name of darvish, a Persian word, the etymology 
of which signifies the ' sill of the door ', and metaphysically 
indicates the spirit of humility, of retirement, and perseverance, 
which should form the principal characteristic of these anchorites. 
Each century gave birth, in all Mussulman states, to some of these 
societies, nearly the whole of which still exist in the Ottoman 
empire, the most distinguished of which are some thirty-two in 
number. The following is the chronology, with the names of 
their founders, and the year of their decease : 

Shaikh 'Ilwan died at Jedda in 149 H. (A.D. 766) ; founded the 
'Ilwanis. 

Ibrahim [b.] Adham died at Damascus in 161 H. (A.D. 777) ; 
founded the Adhamis. I 

a 1 v 

Bayazid Bustami died at Jabal Bustam, in Syria, in 261 H. 
(A.D. 874) ; founded the Bustamis. 

Sari Saqati died at Baghdad in 295 H. (A.D. 907) ; founded the 
Saqatls. 

'Abd-ul-Qadir Gilani died at Baghdad in 561 H. (A.D. 1165) ; 
founded the Qadiris. He was the zdwiaddr or guardian of the 
tomb of the Imam A'zam Abu-Hamfa, the Islam jurisconsult, 
in Baghdad. 

Sa'id Ahmad Rifa'i died in the woods between Baghdad and 
Basra in 578 H. (A.D. 1182) ; founded the Rifa'Is (called by the 
public the ' Howling Darvishes '). 

Shahab-ud-Din Suharwardi died at Baghdad in 602 H. (A.D. 
1205) ; he founded the Order of the Suharwardis. 



268 LATER FOUNDERS xi 

Najim-ud-Din Qubra died at [in] Khwarazm in 617 H. (A.D. 
1220) ; founded the Qubrawls. 

'Abd-ul-Husain [Hasan b. 'Abd-ul-Jabbar] Shazill died at 
Makka in 656 H. (A.D. 1258) ; founded the Shazilis. 

Jalal-ud-DIn ar-Rumi Maulana, called the Mulla Khunkar, 
died at Qonia in 672 H. (A.D. 1273) ; founded the Maulavis, 
generally called the ' Turning ' or ' Dancing Darvishes '. 

'Abd-ul-Fatan l Ahmad Badawl died at Tanta, in Egypt, in 
675 H. (A.D. 1276) ; founded the Badawls. 

Pir Muhammad Naqshbandi died at Qasr-i-'Arifan, in Persia, 
in 719 H. (A.D. 1319) ; founded the Naqshbandis. 1 He was a 
contemporary of 'Usman I., founder of the Ottoman empire. [The 
correct date of his death is 791 H. (A.D. 1388), but the order may 
be older. 2 ] 

Sa'd-ud-Dm Jabrawi [ Jabani] died at Jaba, near Damascus, in 
736 H. (A.D. 1335) ; founded the Sa'dis. 

Haji Baqtash Khurasan!, called the wall or ' saint ', died at 
Kir-shahr, in Asia Minor, in 759 H. (A.D. 1357); founded the 
Baqtashis. He lived several years at the court of Orkhan I., and 
it was he who blessed the Janissaries on the day of their creation. 

'Umar KhalwatI died at Qaisaria in 800 H. (A.D. 1397) ; founded 
the Khalwatis. 

Zain-ud-DIn Abu-Bakr Khafl died at Kufa in 838 H. (A.D. 1438) ; 
founded the ZainTs. 3 

'Abd-ul-Gham Pir Babai died at Adrianople in 870 H. (A.D. 
1465) ; founded the Babais. 

1 Simply Ahmad al-Badawi in E.R.E. 10, p. 724. 

Ahmad al-Badawi (not-awi) Sidl was so called because he wore the 
face-veil like the African Bedouins. In Mecca he was called al-'Attah', 
1 the intrepid horseman ', and the same meaning may underlie his title of 
Abu'l-Fityan (not Abd-ul-Fatan) : for those and other titles v. E.I. i. p. 192. 
:His followers are called Ahmadla, but there are at least four branches or 
sub-orders (ib. p. 194). His disciples were called ashab-ul-saih or sutuhfya 
from their habit of living on the roof. The term Badawl (? for Badawl) in 
Brown's text appears to be still used in combination with Ahmadla (E.B.E. 
10, p. .724). Ahmad's teaching was in many respects remarkable. It 
inculcated compassion and the requital of good for evil. He wore a mantle 
(bisht) of red wool ; and a turban (imama) which was handed on to his 
khalifa or ' successor ' as the insignia of his succession (for its significance 
v. p. 59 supra). 

2 Jacob, Beitrage, p. 80. 

3 The Zainis became famous by their twelve saints, called 'ibad, ' servants.' 



xi LATER FOUNDERS 269 

Haji Bairam Anqirawi died at Angora 1 in 876 H. (A.D. 1471) ; 
founded the Bairamis. 

Sa'id 'Abdullah Ashraf Rumi died at Chin Iznlk in 899 H. 
(A.D. 1493) ; founded the Ashraf is. 

Pir Abu-Bakr Wafai 2 died at Aleppo in 902 H. (A.D. 1496); 
founded the Bakris. 

Sunbul Yusuf Bolawi died at Constantinople in 936 H. (A.D. 
1529) ; founded the Sunbulis. 3 

Ibrahim Gulshani died at Cairo in 940 H. (A.D. 1533) ; founded 
the Gulshanis. 4 This order is called the Rosham, from the name 
of Dada 'Umr Rosham, preceptor and consecrator of Ibrahim 
Gulshani. 5 

1 Angora, called Angira by the Arabs and Enguriya by the Turks. Its 
most notable building is the mosque of Hajl Bairam, dating from the time 
of Sultan Sulaiman (probably Sulaiman I., the Magnificent, 1520 to 1566) 
(E.I. i. p. 354). Bairam, according to other authorities, died in 833 H. 
=A.D. 1429-30 (ib. p. 595). 

2 D'Ohsson gives also a later date for the death of Pir Abu Bakr Wafa'I, 
viz. 909 H.=A.D. 1503-4 (E.L i. p. 608). The Bakris are apt to be 
confused with the Baqrla, the Khalwati sub-order, founded by Mustafa 
al-Baqrl, a Syrian Khalwati who died in A.D. 1709. He was a professor in 
the Azhar University at Cairo. He, too, is apt to be confused with another 
Khalwati named al-Bakrl. Mustafa b. Kamal-ud-Dln b. 'All ul-Siddiqi 
ul-Hanafl ul-Khalwatl Muhyi-ud-Dln who, born in 1688 at Damascus, lived 
till 1749 A.D. (E.I. i. p. 608). 

3 A popular saint, Simbilll (from zanbil, a ' basket '), AH Effendi died about 
the same time as Sumbul Yusuf, in the year 932 H. His shrine is at Stambul 
near the Zairak Jaml', and it is visited by the fever-stricken. He was so 
named because he carried his library on his back in a basket when he went 
as QazI to Baghdad (Schrader, Konstantinopel, p. 96). 

4 Evliya observes that there are many thousand ways and religious 
orders, and that after the Khalwatls and Naqshbandls rank the Bairaml, 
Wahidi, Zaini, Maulavi, Boshani, Gulsham, Baqtashi, M'amatullahi, 
Nurbakhshl, and 140 other orders of darvish. He derives all these from the 
Naqshbandis, except apparently the Khalwatls. Then he goes on to say 
the most famous orders are the Gulsham, Maulavl, Khalwati, JilwatI, 
Sinanl, and Baqtashi. According to Evliya the Khalwatls trace their origin 
to 'All, as the Wahidi trace theirs to 'Umr, and the Zaini to 'Uthman( Travel, 
ii. p. 29). For the Wahidi, see p. 57 supra. 

6 Shaikh Ibrahim Gulsham, a native of Azarbaijan, was a celebrated 
mystic of the Khalwati order. He left Tabriz for Cairo when Shah Isma'U 
proclaimed the Shi'a creed the state religion of Persia, and was subsequently 
invited to Constantinople by Sultan Sallm I. in 1528-29, dying there five 
years later. He wrote his great mystic poem, the M a'anaun, in answer to 
the Masnam of Jalal-ud-Dln Rumi (E.L ii, p. 183). The word gulshani 



270 MODERN FOUNDERS xi 

Shams-ud-Dm Ighith-bashi 1 died at Magnesia, in Asia Minor, 
in 951 H. (A.D. 1544) ; founded the Igith-bashis. 

means ' rose-garden ', Roshani ' Illuminated '. The Roshani Umr Dede 
must have died about 1500, so that he lived till within twenty-five years of 
the birth of the Afghan Bayazid Ansari, the Pir Roshan who thought that 
pirs are supreme manifestations of God (ib. i. p. 686). 

A sect of this name had some vogue in North- Western India at or about 
the same period. Of its origin little is known. At Jalandhar in the Panjab 
an ancient Islamic college is mentioned as existing in the twelfth century, 
and that town was also a famous school of saints, dating from the end of the 
thirteenth century. These were of Afghan or kindred stock, and from one 
of them was descended an Ansari Shaikh named Bayazid, but better known 
as the Pir-i-Roshan, or ' the Saint of Light '. Born in 1526, about a year 
before Babur overthrew the Afghan dynasty of Dehli, Bayazid's parents 
were forced by the rise of the Mughal power to seek a refuge in Waziristan. 
This story suggests that the family was, to some extent,' associated with the 
Afghan supremacy in India, and that Babur compelled it to flee to the 
Afghan bills, where, it may be surmised, it would find hereditary adherents. 
But Bayazid, destined to become the leader of a considerable revolt against 
the Mughal power, was himself a dissenter from his ancestral sect. His 
father had been a follower, it would seem, of Shaikh Baha-ud-Dln Zakarla, 
'. himself a disciple of Shaik Shihab-ud-Dln Suhrawardi, but Bayazid became 
an Ismaih'an of pronounced ultra-Shi' a tendencies. According to Amir AH 
these Roshanias were the exact counterpart of the Illuminati of Christendom, 
and Bayazid himself had acquired a taint of Manichseism from the Ismailians 
.who were then still to be found in the hills of Khurasan, but later on his 
teaching was that all existing objects are but forms of the Deity, that the 
pir represented Him, and that the ordinances of the law had a mystic 
meaning. He also taught that perfection being once attained through the 
pur's instructions and religious exercises, the exterior ordinances of the law 
cease to be binding (The Spirit of Islam, pp. 314-5). Politically Bayazid 
preached communism of all property, including, of course (according to his 
enemies) that in women, with some form of the metempsychosis. Whatever 
his real teaching was, he and two generations of his descendants headed a 
formidable resistance to the Mughal power, inflicting at least one grave 
defeat upon it, and probably succeeding in preventing the complete sub- 
jection of the Afghan hills by the Mughals, a historic fact of cardinal 
importance, as it was the failure of the Mughal dynasty to hold Afghanistan 
which contributed largely to its ultimate downfall (v. Rose, Glossary of 
Punjab Tribes and Castes, i. pp. 496 and 516, and iii. pp. 335-8). 

The Gulshani tenets which had been regarded as errors were brought 
from Egypt by the poet styled Usuli, who died in A.D. 1538. He also 
composed poems in the spirit of Nasimi and of the Jawidnama of Fazl- 
ullah the Persian poet," whereby he was also called the Second Nasimi and 
Fazl-ullah (Hammer-Purgstall, GdOD. ii. p. 221). 

1 Yagit-bashl, Yakit (pron. yiyit)-baahl= t chief of the young men ', and 
so a foreman (Redhouse, Turlc.-Eng. Lex. p. 2206). In the guild organisa- 



xi MODERN FOUNDERS 271 

Shaikh Umm-Sinan 1 died at Constantinople in 959 H. (A.D. 
1552) ; founded the Ummi-Sinans [-Sinanis]. 

Pir Uftada 2 Muhammad Jalwati died at Brusa in 988 H. (A.D. 
1580) ; founded the Jalwatls. 

Husain-ud-Din 'Ushhaqi died at Constantinople in 1001 H. 
(A.D. 1592) ; founded the 'Ushhaqis. 

Shams-ud-Din Siwasi died in the environs of Madma in 1010 H. 
(A.D. 1601) ; founded the Shamsis. 

'Alim Sinan Ummi died at Elmaly in 1079 H. (A.D. 1668) ; 
founded the Sinan-Ummis. 3 

Muhammad Niazi Misri died at Lemnos in 1106 H. (A.D. 
1694) ; founded the Niazls. . 

Murad Shami died at Constantinople in 1132 H. (A.D. 1719) ; 
founded the Muradias. 

Nur-ud-Dm Jarrahi died at Constantinople in 1146 H. (A.D. 
1733) ; founded the Nur-ud-DInis. 

Muhammad Jamal-ud-DIn Adirnawi died at Constantinople 
in 1164 H. (A.D. 1750) ; founded the Jamalis. 

Three of the Orders the Bustamis, the Naqshbandls, and the 
Bektashis descend from the congregation of Abu-Bakr (the first 
Caliph). The fourth Caliph, 'All, gave birth to all the others. 

tion the order of precedence was : Shaikh, naqib, pir, agha, Maya, yigit- 
bashi and chaush ; or Shaikh, naqib, chaush, and yigitbasM (Evliya, i. pt. 2, 
pp. 102 and 128). 

The title is reminiscent of the ephebarch, which occurs in the list of 
honours borne by a citizen of Colossai in the course of his career. It was 
merely a title, not an office, like princeps juventutis (W. M. Ramsay, Cities 
and Bishoprics of Phrygia, p. 212, n. 2, citing Th. Reinach, Rev. Et. dr., 
1893, p. 162). 

1 Sinan, lit. ' a steel spear-head ' in Ar. Used in Persian to translate 
the Egyptian name Joseph, the name is frequently bestowed on a Christian 
convert who was originally called Joseph, its full form being Sinan-ud-Ditn 
Yusuf, though the reason for this association is not clear (v. Babinger's note 
in Der Islam, xi. p. 20 ; and of. Hammer-Purgstall, GdOD. ii. p. 329). Red- 
house also gives sinan the meaning of ' a whetstone ' (Turlc.-Eng. Lex. 
p. 1080), and Evliya says sinan-khana (?) = { a room for religious exercises ', 
among the Maulavis (Travels, i. pt. ii. p. 30). 

2 "Uftada, Pers. lit. ' fallen ', may mean ' loving ', in which sense it is 
used in Turkish. It might also mean ' humble ', as in Pers. uftadagt means 
' humility '. 

3 The Sinan Ummis were founded the year after the shrine of Qanbur 
Dada at Hafsa was destroyed, so it must be supposed that they were at 
least tolerated by the Khoja of Van (von Hammer, GdOR. iii. p. 594). 



272 NAQSHBANDIS xi 

Their affiliation is seen in the tables drawn up by different 
Shaikhs. They are called the silsila-ul-Aulid-Ulldh, or the 'genea- 
logy of the saints of God'. The most recent and highest esteemed 
is that of 'Abd! Effendi, the Shaikh of the Jamalis, who died at 
Constantinople in A.D. 1783. We have drawn it up in a more 
methodical order, and present it to our readers as an object of 
curiosity. Some of the Shaikhs are omitted, who were not founders 
of Orders, because writers who have noticed their genealogies do 
not agree as to their real names. This, however, does not change 
at all the exactitude which reigns in the original, or the series and 
general organisation found in the list. 

In this multitude of Monastic Orders, the Naqshbandls must 
be distinguished. The successful establishment of the first of 
these Orders caused the insensible extinction, of the two frater- 
nities out of which they originated. But in the commencement 
of the eighth century of the Hijra, Pir Muhammad Naqshbandi 
made a merit of restoring it. With this view he instituted the 
Order which bears his name, and which is only a religious associa- 
tion. It is based upon the principles of the two ancient ones, 
and particularly upon that of the Caliph Abu-Bakr. Like them, 
this new congregation was composed only of men of the world. 
Devotion engaged citizens of all the Orders and men of the highest 
rank then, as it does even now, in all parts of the empire. The 
first duty of the members of this Order is to recite, daily, particular 
prayers, 1 called the khatam Khojagian ; once, at least, the istaghfdr ; 
seven times the saldmat ; seven times the fdtiha (1st chapter of 
the Quran) ; and nine times the [3rd] chapter (of the Quran) 
called the alam [A.L.M.] nashr'alaika ['He has sent down to 
thee '], and the Ikhlas-i-shanf [112th]. To these are added certain 
practices wholly voluntary, consisting of the recital of the common 
prayers, or rather, in the meeting together of a certain number 
of the brethren, once a week. Ordinarily, this is on Thursday, 
and after the fifth namaz of the day, so that it occurs after night- 
fall. In each city, each suburb, each quarter, the members of 
this new association, divided into different bodies, assemble at 
the house of their respective deacon or Shaikh, where, seated on 
the sofa, they perform this pious exercise with the most perfect 
gravity. The Shaikh, or any other brother in his stead, chants 
the prayers which constitute the association, and the assembly 
1 ? Salawat, pi. of saJM y ' prayer ' ; or salat-i-salam. 



xi SHAIKHS' ROBES 273 

respond in chorus ; Hu ! ' or ' Allah ! ' In some cities the Naqsh- 
bandis have especial halls, consecrated wholly to this purpose, 
and then the Shaikh only is distinguished from the other brethren 
by a turban, in form like that of the Shaikhs of the mosques. 

Each of the other Orders is established on different principles. 
Each founder gave to his Order a distinctive character, with 
rules, statutes, and peculiar practices. These characteristics 
extend even to the garments worn by their followers. Each 
Order has, in fact, a particular dress, and amongst the greater 




A BUSTAMI SHAIKH. 

part of them this is chosen so as to mark a difference in that of 
the Shaikh from that of the ordinary Darvishes. It is perceived 
principally in the turbans, the shape of the coat, the colours, and 
the nature of the stuff of which the dresses are made. The 
Shaikhs wear robes of green or white cloth ; and any of those 
who in winter line them with fur use that kind called petit gris, 
and zibaline [isabelline, ' greyish yellow '] martin. Few Darvishes 
use cloth for their dress. Black or white felt, called '6a, such as 
is made in some of the cities of Anatolia, are the most usual. 
Those who wear black felt are the Jalwatis and the Qadiris. The 
latter have adopted it for their boots and the muslin of their 

T 



274 SOLITARIES xi 

turbans. Some, such as the Maulavis and the Bakiris, wear tall 
caps called kulas, made also of felt ; and others, such as the 
Rifa'is, use short caps called takkia, 1 to which is added a coarse 
cloth. The head-dress of almost all the other Darvishes is called 
tdj, which signifies a crown. There are turbans of different forms, 
either from the manner in which the muslin is folded, or by the 
cut of the cloth which covers the top of the head, and is in several 
gores. Some are of four, as the Adhamis ; some of six, as the 
Qadiris and the Sa'dls ; the Gulshanis have eight ; the Bektashis 
twelve ; and others even eighteen, such as the Jalwatis. 

Generally, all the Darvishes allow their beards and mustachios 
to grow. Some of the Orders the Qadiris, Rifa'is, Sa'dls, 
Khalwatis, Gulshanis, Jalwatis, and the Nur-ud-Dmias still 
wear long hair, in memory of the usage oi the Prophet and 
several of his disciples. Some allow their hair io fall over their 
shoulders ; others tie it up in the form of a Hu, and put it up 
behind their turban. These cosnobites are distinguished under 
the name of sachlis? or the ' long-haired ', and they live separate, 
even in their convents. If private Mussulmans are in the habit 
of holding rosaries of beads as a pastime, the Darvishes do the 
same, only in a spirit of religion and piety. These must have 
thirty-three, sixty-six, or ninety-nine beads, which is the number 
of the attributes of the Divinity. Some have them always in 
their hands, others in their girdles ; and all are required to recite, 
several times during the day, the particular prayers of their Order. 

Whilst attending upon the fastidious details respecting the 
particular spirit of each one of these Orders, we will limit our- 
selves to an exposition of the principal rules and practices on 
which they are based. The statutes of nearly all require the 
Darvish to repeat often, during the daytime, the seven first 
attributes of the Divinity, called by them the asdmi 3 [names] 
Ilahi, consisting of the following words : 

1. Lo, iltiha iir Allah ! (There is no God but Allah), a con- 
fession of His unity. 

1 Taqi, Pers. ' a high-crowned cap or mitre ' ; but its derivation from 
tag, ' arch ', would suggest that Brown is right and that this cap is low and 
arched rather than high. In Turkish taqia means simply a cap or skull-cap 
of cloth. 

2 Sachlu ; cf . p. 227. 

3 PI. of ism, ' name '. 



xi VISIONS 275 

2. Ya Allah ! (O God), an exclamation referring to Him, the 
Almighty. 

3. Ya Hu ! (0 Him), He who is. An authentic acknowledg- 
ment of His eternal existence ; the Jehovah of the Hebrews. 

4. Ya Haqq ! (0 just God). 

5. Ya Hai I (O living God). 

6. Ya Qayyum ! (O existing God). 

7. Ya Qahhar ! (0 revenging God). 

These words allude to the seven heavens, called the satfa- 
sama, 1 and the seven Divine lights, called the anwar Ilahi, from 
which, they say, emanate the seven principal colours, viz. white, 
black, red, yellow, blue, deep green, and light green. 

It is by means of these mysteries that they proceed to the 
initiation of the Darvishes in the greater Orders. The individual 
who desires to enter an Order is received in an assembly of the 
fraternity presided over by the Shaikh, who touches his hand 
and breathes in his ear three times the words, La ilaha ilV Allah 
(' there is no God but Allah '), commanding him to repeat them 
101, 151, or 301 times each day. This ceremony is called the 
talqin. The recipient, faithful to the orders of his chief, obligates 
himself to spend his time in perfect retirement, and to report to 
the Shaikh the visions or dreams which he may have during the 
course of his novitiate. These dreams, besides characterising 
the sanctity of his vocation and his spiritual advancement in 
the Order, serve likewise as so many supernatural means to direct 
the Shaikh regarding the periods when he may again breathe in 
the ear of the neophyte the second words of the initiation, Ya 
Allah ! (O God), and successively all the others to the last, Ya 
Qahhar! (0 avengeful God). The full complement of this 
exercise, which they call chilla, requires six, eight, or ten months, 
sometimes even longer, according to the dispositions, more or less 
favourable, of the candidate. Arrived at the last grade of his 
novitiate, he is then supposed to have fully ended his career, 
called takmil suluk,* and acquired the degree of perfection for 
his solemn admission into the corps to which he has devoted 
himself. During all his novitiate the recipient bears the name 
of ktichak, and the Shaikh who directs him in this pretended 

1 Sama, pi. asmiyat, ' sky.' The word is not to be confused with ' sama', 
' audition.' 

Lit. ' completion of the path ' 



276 SERVITORS xi 

celestial career takes the title of murshid, which is equal to 
' spiritual guide '. 

The founder of the 'Ilwanis laid out the first rules of this 
novitiate ; they were subsequently perfected by the institution 
of the Qadirls, and more so by the Khalwatis. The Daryishes of 
these two last societies are distinguished from all others by the 
decoration of their turban, on the top of which are embroidered 
the words La ilaha iW Allah. 

The tests of the novice among the Maulavis seem to be still 
more severe, and the reception of these Darvishes is attended 
with ceremonies peculiar to their Order. The aspirant is required 
to labour in the convent or takia for 1001 successive days in the 
lowest grade of the kitchen, on which account he is called the 
kana kolak 1 ('jackal'). If he fails in this service only one day 
or is absent one night, he is obliged to recommence his novitiate. 
The chief of the kitchen, or ashjibdshi, 2 one of the most notable 
of the Darvishes, presents him to the Shaikh, who, seated in an 
angle of the sofa, receives him amid a general assembly of all the 
Darvishes of the convent. The candidate kisses the hand of the 
Shaikh, and takes a seat before him on a mat which covers the 
floor of the hall. The chief of the kitchen places (hlsjright hand 
on the neck and his left on the forehead of the novice, whilst 
the Shaikh takes off his cap and holds it over his head, recit- 
ing the Persian distich, the composition of the founder of the 
Order : 

"It is true greatness and felicity to close the heart to all 
human passions ; the abandonment of the vanities of this world 
is the happy effect of the victorious strength given by the grace 
of our holy Prophet." 

These verses are followed by the exordium of the takbir, after 
which the Shaikh covers the head of the new Darvish, who now 
rises and places himself with the ashjibashi in the middle of the 
hall, where they assume the most humble posture, their hands 
crossed upon the breast, the left foot over the right foot, and 

1 Karra Kolak must represent the Turkish words qarah qulaq, ' black 
ear ', and so mean jackal. In Persian, however, the siah-gosh, ' black ear ', 
is the lynx or panther. 

2 Ashji-bashi, the Baqtash also have an ' Ashdji ' Baba or abbot in 
charge of the kitchen (Hasluck in Annual, B.S.A., xxi. p. 87 ; cf. p. 188, n. 
supra). 



xi DARVISH PRACTICES 

the head inclined towards the left shoulder. Then the Shaikh 
addresses these words to the head of the kitchen : 

" May the services of the Darvish, thy brother, be agreeable 
to the throne of the Eternal, and in the eyes of our pir (the 
founder of the Order) ; may his satisfaction, his felicity, and his 
glory grow in this nest of the humble, in the cell of the poor ; 
let us exclaim ' Hu ! ' in honour of our Maulana." 

They answer ' Hu ! ' and the accepted novice, arising from 
his place, kisses the hand of the Shaikh, who at this moment 
addresses to him some paternal exhortations on the subject of 
the duties of his new condition, and closes by ordering all of the 
Darvishes of the meeting to recognise and embrace their new 
brother. 

Among the Baqtashis the novitiate is also required to be 1001 
days ; but the practices observed in the reception of the candidates 
are different. 

'Each institution imposes on its Darvishes the obligation to 
recite certain passages at different times of the day in private, 
as well as in common with others J Several have also practices 
which are peculiar to themselves, and which consist in dances, 
or rather religious circular movements. In each convent there is 
a hall, all of wood, consecrated to these exercises. FNothing is 
simpler than its construction ; it contains no ornaments of any 
nature ; the middle of the hall, turned towards Makka, contains 
a niche which serves as an altar ; in front of it is a small carpet, 
mostly made of the skin of a sheep, on which the Shaikh of the 
community reclines ; over the niche the name of the founder of 
the Order is written-jln some halls this inscription is sur- 
mounted by two others one containing the confession of faith, 
and the other the words ' Bismillah ', etc. (In the name of God, 
the Most Clement and Merciful). In others are seen on the wall 
to the right and the left of the niche tablets on which are written 
in large letters the name of God (Allah), that of Muhammad, and 
those of the four first caliphs. At others are seen the names of 
Hasan and Husain, grandsons of the Prophet, and some verses 
of the Quran, or others of a moral character. 

The exercises which are followed in these halls are of various 
kinds, according to the rules of each institution ; but in nearly 
all they commence by the recital by the Shaikh of the seven 
mysterious words of which we have spoken. He next chants 



278 ROTATION XI 

various passages of the Quran, and at each pause, the Darvishes, 
placed in a circle round the hall, respond in chorus by the word 
' Allah ! ' or ' Hu ! ' In some of the societies they sit on their 
heels, the elbows close to those of each other, and all making 
simultaneously light movements of the head and the body. In 
others the movement consists in balancing themselves slowly, 
from the right to the left, and from the left to the right, or in- 
clining the body methodically forward and aft. There are other 
societies in which these motions commence seated, in measured 
cadences, with a staid countenance, the eyes closed or fixed upon 
the ground, and are continued on foot. These singular exercises 
are consecrated under the name of muraqdbah (exaltation 1 of the 
Divine glory), and also under that of the' tauhid (celebration of the 
Divine unity), from which comes the name tauhid-khanah, given 
to the whole of the halls devoted to these religious exercises. 
' In some of these institutions such as the Qadiris, the Rifa'is, 
the Khalwatis, the Bairamis, the Gulshanis, and the 'Ushaqis 
the exercises are made each holding the other by the hand, putting 
forward always the right foot, and increasing at every step the 
strength of the movement of the body. This is called the daur, 
which may be translated the ' dance ' or ' rotation '. The dura- 
tion of these dances is arbitrary each one is free to leave when 
he pleases. Every one, however, makes it a point to remain as 
long as possible. The strongest and most robust of the number, 
and the most enthusiastic, strive to persevere longer than the 
others ; they uncover their heads, take off their turbans, form a ' 
second circle within the other, entwine their arms within those of 
their brethren, lean their shoulders against each other, gradually 
raise the voice, and without ceasing repeat ' Yd Allah / ' or ' Ya 
Hu!\ increasing each time the movement of the body, and not 
stopping until their entire strength is exhausted. 

Those of the Order of the Rifa'is excel in these exercises. They 
are, moreover, the only ones who use fire in their devotions. 
Their practices embrace nearly all those of the other Orders ; 
they are ordinarily divided into five different scenes, which last 
more than three hours, and which are preceded, accompanied, and 
followed by certain ceremonies peculiar to this Order. The first 
commences with praises which all the Darvishes offer to their 
Shaikhs, seated before the altar. Four of the more ancient come 
1 ' Vigilance ' ; cf. p. 144, n. 2. 



XI 



RIFA'I RITUAL 



279 



forward the first, and approach their superior, embrace each other 
as if to give the kiss of peace, and next place themselves two to 
his right, and two to his left. The remainder of the Darvishes, 
in a body, press forward in a procession, all having their arms 
crossed, and their heads inclined. Each one, at first, salutes by 
a profound bow the tablet on which the name of his founder is 
inscribed. Afterwards, putting his two hands over his face and 
his beard, he kneels before the Shaikh, kisses his hand respect- 
fully, and then they all go on with a grave step to take their places 
on the sheep-skins, which are spread in a half-circle around the 




7 



\ \ " -V;~^~_ -_.--". 



RIFA'l DARVISHES RECITING THE AURAD OR PRAYERS TO THE PROPHET 

interior of the hall. So soon as a circle is formed, the Darvishes 
together chant the takbir and the fatiha. Immediately after- 
wards the Shaikh pronounces the words Ld ildha ill' Allah, and 
repeats them incessantly ; to which the Darvishes repeat 'Allah ! ', 
balancing themselves from side to side, and putting their hands over 
their faces, on their breasts and their abdomen, and on their knees. 
The second scene is opened by the Hamdi 1 Muhammadi, a 
hymn in honour of the Prophet, chanted by one of the elders 
placed on the right of the Shaikh. During this chant the 
Darvishes continue to repeat the word ' Allah ! ' moving, how- 
ever, their bodies forward and aft. A quarter of an hour later 
they all rise up, approach each other, and press their elbows 
against each other, balancing from right to left, and afterwards 

1 Hamdi, from hamd, ' praise '. 



280 RIFA'I CANTIQUES xi 

in a reverse motion the right foot always firm, and the left 
in a periodical movement, the reverse of that of the body, all 
observing great precision of measure and cadence. In the midst 
of this exercise, they cry out the words ' Ya Allah ! ' followed by 
that of ' Yd Hit ! ' Some of the performers sigh, others sob, 
some shed tears, others perspire great drops, and all have their 
eyes closed, their faces pale, and the eyes languishing. 

A pause of some minutes, is followed by a third scene. It is 
performed in the, middle of an ilahi, chanted by the two elders 
on the right of the Shaikh. The ilahis, as has already been said, 
are spiritual cantiques, composed almost exclusively in Persian by 
Shaikhs deceased in the odour of sancity. The Darvishes then 
hasten their movements, and, to prevent any relaxation, one of 
the first among them puts himself in their centre, and excites 
them by his example. If in the assembly there be any strange 
Darvishes, which often happens, they give them, through polite- 
ness, this place of honour ; and all fill it successively, the one 
after the other, shaking themselves as aforesaid. The only 
exception made is in favour of the Maulavls ; these never per- 
form any other dance than that peculiar to their own Order, 
which consists in turning round on each heel in succession. 

After a new pause commences the fourth scene. Now all the 
Darvishes take off their turbans, form a circle, bear their arms 
and shoulders against each other, and thus make the circuit of 
the hall at a measured pace, striking their feet at intervals against 
the floor, and all springing up at once. This dance continues 
during the ilahis chanted alternately by the two elders to the left 
of the Shaikh. In the midst of this chant the cries of ' Ya Allah ! ' 
are increased doubly, as also those of ' Ya Hu ! ' with frightful 
howlings, shrieked by the Darvishes together in the dance. At 
the moment that they would seem to stop from sheer exhaustion, 
the Shaikh makes a point of exerting them to new efforts by 
walking through their midst, making also himself most violent 
movements. He is next replaced by the two elders, who double 
the quickness of the step and the agitation of the body ; they 
even straighten themselves up from time to time, and excite the 
envy or emulation of the others in their astonishing efforts to 
continue the dance until their strength is entirely exhausted. 

The fourth scene leads to the last, which is the most frightful 
of all, the wholly prostrated condition of the actors becoming 



XI 



RIFA'l FRENZY 281 



converted into a species of ecstasy which they call hdlat. It is 
in the midst of this abandonment of self, or rather of religious 
delirium, that they make use of red-hot irons. Several cutlasses 
and other instruments of sharp-pointed iron are suspended in the 
niches of the hall, and upon a part of the wall to the right of the 
Shaikh. Near the close of the fourth scene, two Darvishes take 
down eight or nine of these instruments, heat them red-hot, and 
present them to the Shaikh. He, after reciting some prayers over 
them, and invoking the founder of the Order, Ahmad-ur-Rifa'i, 
breathes over them, and raising them slightly to the mouth, gives 
them to the Darvishes, who ask for them with the greatest eager- 
ness. Then it is that these fanatics, transported by frenzy, seize 
upon these irons, gloat upon them tenderly, lick them, bite them, 
hold them between their teeth, and end by cooling them in their 
mouths ! Those who are unable to procure any seize upon the 
cutlasses hanging on the wall with fury, and stick them into their 
sides, arms, and legs. 

Thanks to the fury of their frenzy, and to the amazing bold- 
ness which they deem a merit in the eyes of the Divinity, all 
stoically bear up against the pain which they experience with 
apparent gaiety. If, however, some of them fall under their 
sufferings, they throw themselves into the arms of their confreres, 
but without a complaint or the least sign of pain. Some minutes 
after this the Shaikh walks round the hall, visits each one of the 
performers in turn, breathes upon their wounds, rubs them with 
saliva, recites prayers over them, and promises them speedy cures. 
It is said that twenty-four hours afterwards nothing is to be seen 
of their wounds. 

It is the common opinion among the Rifa'is that the origin 
of these bloody practices can be traced back to the founder of the 
Order. They pretend that one day, during the transport of his 
frenzy, Ahmad Rifa'i put his legs in a burning basin of coals, and 
was immediately cured by the breath and saliva and the prayers 
of 'Abd-ul-Qadir Gilani ; they believe that their founder received 
this same prerogative from heaven, and that at his death he 
transmitted it to all the Shaikhs his successors. It is for this 
reason that they give to these sharp instruments, and to these 
red-hot irons, and other objects employed by them in their 
mysterious frenzy, the name of gul, which signifies ' rose ', wishing 
to indicate thereby that the use made of them is as agreeable to 



282 SA'DlA MIRACLES xi 

the soul of the elect Darvishes as the odour of this flower may be 
to the voluptuary. 

These extraordinary exercises seem to have something pro- 
digious in them, which imposes on common people, but they have 
not the same effect on the minds of men of good sense and reason. 
The latter believe less in the sanctity of these pretended thauma- 
turges than in the virtue of certain secrets which they adroitly 
use to keep up the illusion and the credulity of the spectators, 
even among the Darvishes themselves. It is thus, perhaps, that 
some assemblies of these fanatics have given, in this age of light, 
and in the heart of the most enlightened nation, the ridiculous 
spectacle of those pious and barbarous buffooneries known by the 
name -of convulsions. At all times, and amongst every people 
of the earth, weakness and credulity, enthusiasm and charlatanry, 
have but too frequently profaned the most holy faith, and objects 
y the most worthy of our veneration. 

After the Rifa'is, the Sa'dis have also the reputation of per- 
forming miracles, pretty much of the same sort as the preceding. 
One reads in the institutes of this Order, that Sa'd-ud-Dm Jabawi, 
its founder, when cutting wood in the vicinity of Damascus, found 
three snakes of an enormous length, and that, after having recited 
some prayers and blown upon them, he caught them alive, and 
used them as a rope with which to bind his fagot. To this 
occurrence they ascribe the pretended virtue of the Shaikhs and 
the Darvishes of this society, to find out snakes, to handle them, 
to bite them, and even to eat them without any harm to them- 
selves. Their exercises consist, like those of -the Rifa'is and other 
Orders, at first in seating themselves, and afterwards in rising 
upright ; but in often changing the attitude, and in redoubling 
their agitation even until they become overcome with fatigue, 
when they fall upon the floor motionless and without knowledge. 
Then the Shaikh, aided by his vicars, employs no other means to 
draw them out of this state of unconsciousness than to rub their 
arms and legs, and to breathe into their ears the words, La ilaha 
ill' Allah. 

/-, The Maulavis are distinguished by the singularity of their 

./dance, which has nothing in common with that of the other 

.;" societies. They call it sama' in place of daur, and the halls 

consecrated to it are called sama'-khdnas. Their construction is 

also different. The apartment represents a kind of pavilion, 



xi THE MAULAVl DANCE 283 

sufficiently light, and sustained by eight columns of wood. These 
Darvishes have also prayers and practices peculiar to themselves. 
Among them the public exercises are not ordinarily made by more 
than nine, eleven, or thirteen individuals. They commence by 
forming a circle, seated on sheep-skins spread upon the floor at 
equal distances from each other ; they remain nearly a half-hour 
in this position, the arms folded, the eyes closed, the head inclined, 
and absorbed in profound meditation. 

The Shaikh, placed on the edge of his seat on a small carpet, 
breaks silence by a hymn in honour of the Divinity ; afterwards 
he invites the assembly to chant with him the first chapter of the 
Quran. " Let us chant the fatiha ", he says, " in glorifying the 
holy name of God, in honour of the blessed religion of the prophets ; 
but above all, of Muhammad Mustafa, the greatest, the most 
august, the most magnificent of all the celestial envoys, and in 
memory of the first four caliphs, of the sainted Fatima, of the 
chaste Khadija, of the Imams Hasan and Husain, of all the 
martyrs of the memorable day, of the ten evangelical disciples, 
the virtuous sponsors of our sainted Prophet, of all his zealous 
and faithful disciples, of all the Imams, mujtahids 1 (sacred 
interpreters), of all the doctors, of all the holy men and women 
of Mussulmanism.J Let us chant also in honour of [the] ' Hazrat-i- 
Maulana ', the founder of our Order, of [the] ' Hazrat-i-Sultan-ul- 
'Ulama ' (his father), of Saiyid Burhan-ud-DIn z (his teacher), of 
Shaikh Shams-ud-Din (his consecrator), of [the] Walida Sultan 

1 Mujtahid, lit. ' strenuous ', ' diligent ', from the same root as jihad, 
1 holy war '. The most ancient mujtahid was the renowned Shfa lawyer 
Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad b. Muhammad al-Nu'manl, the Shaikh Mufid 
or Ibn Mu'alh'm, who wrote the Irshad and many other legal works. His 
death in 413 or 416 H. (A.D. 1022 or 1025) was the occasion of rejoicing to 
the Sunnl jurisprudents (Beale, Or. Biogr. Diet., p. 16). Another leading 
mujtahid of the Imamla or Shi'a sect was Abu Ja'fer Muhammad b. Hasan 
al-Tusi, Shaikh, author of the Kutab Arba 1 or ' Four Books ' on the Shfa 
traditions. He also wrote a commentary on the Quran in 20 volumes, and 
other works (but of these two, the Mabsut and al-Muhit, are also assigned to 
Abu Bakr Muhammad al-Sarakhsi). The greater part of his works were 
publicly burnt in 1056, and he died in A.D. 1067 = 460 H. (ib. pp. 21 and 19). 
For the position of the mujtahids in Persia see E.R.E, 11, p. 457. 

2 Saiyid Burhan-ud-DIn had been a pupil of Baha-ud-Din during his 
residence at Balkh. Thence he went to Tirmw, and eventually to Qonia. 
He was styled Sirrdan, or ' knower of secrets ' (Garnett, op. cit. p. 158, 
citing EEaki, in Redhouse, pp. 14-15). 



284 



MAULAVl PRAYERS 



XI 



(his mother), of Muhammad 'Alai-ud-Dm Effendi (his son and 
vicar), 1 of all the Chalabis (his successors), of all the Shaikhs, of all 
the Darvishes, and all the protectors of our Order, to whom the 
Supreme Being deigns to give peace and mercy. Let us pray for 
the constant prosperity of our holy society, for the preservation 
of the very learned and venerable Chalabi Effendi (the general of 
the Order), our master and lord, for the preservation of the reign- 
ing Sultan, the very majestic and clement emperor of the Mussul- 
man faith, for the prosperity of the Grand Wazir, and of the 
Shaikh-ud-Islam, and that of all the Muhammadan militia, of all 




A MAULAVl DABVISH OF DAMASCUS. 

the pilgrims of the holy city of Makka. Let us pray for the repose 
of the soul of all the institutors, of all the Shaikhs, and of all the 
Darvishes of all other Orders ; for all good people, for all those 
who have been distinguished by their good works, their founda- 
tions, and their acts of beneficence. Let us pray also for all the 
Mussulmans of one and the other sex of the east and the west, 
for the maintenance of all prosperity, for preventing all adversity, 
for the accomplishment of all salutary vows, and for the success 
of all praiseworthy enterprises ; finally, let. us ask God to deign to 
preserve in us the gift of His grace, and the fire of holy love." 

After the fatiha, which the assembly chant in a body, the 
Shaikh recites the fatiha and the salawat, 2 to which the dance of 
the Darvishes succeeds. Leaving their places all at once, they 

1 V. note on p. 260. 2 PL O f salat. 



xi MAULAVI PRAYERS 285 

stand in a file to the left of the superior, and, approaching near 
him with slow steps, the arms folded, and the head bent to the 
floor, the first of the Darvishes, arrived nearly opposite the Shaikh, 
salutes, with a profound inclination, the tablet which is on his 
seat, on which is the name of Hazrat-i-Maulana, the founder of 
the Order. Advancing next by two springs forward, to the right 
side of the superior, he turns toward him, salutes him with 
reverence^ and commences the dance, which consists in turning t 
on the left heel, in advancing slowly, and almost insensibly making 
the turn of the hall, the eyes closed, and the arms open. He is 
followed by the second Darvish, he by the third, and so on with 
all the others, who end by filling up the whole of the hall, each 
repeating the same exercises separately, and all at a certain 
distance from each other. 

This dance lasts sometimes for a couple of hours ; it is only 
interrupted by two short pauses, during which the Shaikh recites 
different prayers. Towards the close of the exercises he takes a 
part in them himself by placing himself in the midst of the 
Darvishes ; then, returning to his seat, he recites some Persian 
verses expressive of good wishes for the prosperity of the religion, 
and the state. The general of the Order is again named, also the 
reigning Sultan, in the following terms : 

" The emperor of the Mussulmans, and the most august of 
monarchs of the house of 'Othman, Sultan, son of a sultan, 

grandson of a sultan, Sultan , son of Sultan , 

Khan ", etc. 

Here the poem mentions all the princes of blood, the Grand 
Wazir, the Mufti, all the Pashas of the empire, the 'ulamas, all the 
Shaikhs, benefactors of the Order, and of all the Mussulman pirs, 
invoking the benediction of heaven on the success of their arms 
against the enemies of the empire. 

" Finally, let us pray for all the Darvishes present and absent, 
for all the friends of our holy society, and generally for all the 
faithful, dead and living, in the east, and in the west." 

The ceremony terminates by chanting the fatiha, or first 
chapter of the Quran. 

All these different exercises, in each institution, ordinarily 
take place one or twice in a week. Among the Rifa'is it is on 
Thursday, the Maulavis Tuesday and Friday, others on Monday, 
etc. All meet at the same hour, viz. immediately after the second 



286 QADIRI MUSIC xi 

namdz, or noonday prayer. It is only the Naqshbandls who 
meet at night, at the close of the fifth (evening) namdz ; and the 
Bektashfs, who only perform during the night. These Bektashls 
follow the usage of celebrating their ceremonies, like the Persians, 
on the anniversary of Karbala, the 10th of Muharram, a day 
consecrated among them under the title of yaum-i-ashurd ('tenth 
day '). At the close of a solemn prayer all the Darvishes of the 
Order anathematise the race of the Mu'awiya as having been the 
implacable enemy of that of 'All, the fourth caliph, and the 
nephew and son-in-law of the ProphetJ 

It must not, however, be imagined that these dances are 
everywhere exercised in silence. In some of the Orders they 
are performed to the sound of soft music. Sa'd Shams-ud-Din, 1 
the immediate successor of 'Abd-ul-Qadir Gilam, founder of the 
Order of the Qadiri, was the first to give an example of this kind. 
In 1170 he allowed his Darvishes to use tambourines, only, how- 
ever, to mark the measure of their steps, and to sustain the 
vivacity of their movements. This practice, though repressed by 
Islanusm, was, nevertheless, at length adopted by the Rifa'is, the 
Maulavis, the Badawis, the Sa'dis, and the Ashrafis. The Mau- 
lavis have added the flute, which is open at either end, called by 
them the ndi ; the greater number of the Darvishes of this Order 
play on it exquisitely ; they are the only ones whose exercises are 
accompanied by various airs, all of a soft, tender, and pathetic 
expression. The convent of the general of this Order is dis- 
tinguished from all others by a band of music composed of six 
different instruments. Besides the ndi and the tambourines, the 
Darvishes of the house (convent) established at Qonia play on the 
psalterim, the sister of the bass-viol, and the drum of the Basque. 

As in each institution these public exercises are performed at 
different days, several Darvishes have the habit of visiting and 
assisting each other reciprocally in their religious dances. They, 
moreover, hold it as a duty to take part in them, so as to partici- 
pate, as much as possible, in the merit of the good deed. The 
Darvishes who are the musicians are almost always attentive to 
join their confreres with their instruments ; and those even which 
are the most scrupulous about the use of music are good enough 
to allow them to play during their services. This compliance is 

1 Sa'd, possibly Saiyid, Shams-ud-Din, was 4th in descent, not 1st: 
v. p. 102, n. 2. 



xi AUSTERITIES 287 

the more remarkable with reference to the Maulavls, who never 
visit any other Order without taking their flutes with them . They 
are, however, very strict in not allowing the brethren of any other 
Order to join in their dances ; and the Baqtashis are the only 
ones who hold their services with closed doors, whilst they, on the 
other hand, are free to assist in those of all the other Orders. 

Such is the spirit or general system of these different congrega- 
tions. If the prayers which are there recited are analogous to 
the principles of Islamism, and the high idea which the sectarians 
of the Quran possess of the Supreme Being, the practices which 
accompany them lead them, nevertheless, away from the maxims 
of their Prophet, and prove how much the human mind is sus- 
ceptible of being misled when it gives itself up, without rule and 
measure, to the illusions of an enthusiastic zeal and the prompt- 
ings of an exalted imagination. It is probable that these innova- 
tions had their origin, among Mussulmans, in the sacred dances 
of the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Romans of the lower 
empire. 

But these practices, common to and obligatory on the Darvishes 
of all the Orders, are not the only ones which their devotion 
exercises. The more zealous amongst them devote themselves 
voluntarily to the most austere acts ; some shut themselves up in 
their cells, so as to give themselves up, for whole hours, to prayer 
and meditation ; the others pass, very often, a whole night in 
pronouncing the words Hu and Allah, or rather the phrase, La 
ildha ilV Allah. The seven nights reputed as holy, as also those 
of Thursday and Friday, and of Sunday and Monday, sanctified 
among them by the conception and the nativity of the Prophet, 
are especially consecrated to these acts of penitence. So as to 
drive away sleep from their eyes, some of them stand for whole 
nights in very uncomfortable positions. They sit with their feet 
on the ground, the two hands resting upon their knees ; they 
fasten themselves in this attitude by a band of leather passed 
over their neck and legs. Others tie their hair with a cord to the 
ceiling, and call this usage chilla. 

There are some, also, who devote themselves to an absolute 
retirement from the world, and to the most rigid abstinence, 
living only on bread and water for twelve days successively, in 
honour of the twelve Imams of the race of 'All. This peculiar 
exercise is called khalwat. They pretend that the Shaikh 'Umar 



288 THE ORIGINAL ORDERS xi 

Khalwati was the first to follow it, and that he often practised it. 
They add that one day, having left his retirement, he heard a 
celestial voice saying, " O 'Umar Khalwati, why dost thou 
abandon us ? " and that, faithful to this oracle, he felt himself 
obliged to consecrate the rest of his days to works of penitence, 
and even to institute an Order under the name of Khalwatls, a 
name signifying 'retirement'. For this reason, Darvishes of 
this Order consider it their duty, more than any others, to live in 
solitude and abstinence. The more devoted among them observe 
sometimes a painful fast of forty days consecutively, called by 
them the arba'in (forty). Amongst them all their object is the 
expiation of their sins, the sanctification of their lives, and the 
glorification of Islamism ; the prosperity of the state, and the 
general salvation of the Muhammadan people. At each occasion 
they pray Heaven to preserve the nation from all public calamities, 
such as war, famine, pests, sins, earthquakes, etc. Some of them, 
especially the Maulavis, have it also as a maxim to distribute 
. water to the poor, and for this reason are called saqqds. 1 With 
a vessel of water on their backs, they walk about the streets 
crying out, fi sabil-illah, z which means, " In the path of God ", or 
rather in the view of pleasing God, and give water to all those 
who wish it, without asking for any payment. If they, however, 
receive anything, it is only for the poor, or, at least, to be partaken 
of with them. 

The most ancient and the greatest of the Orders, such as the 
'Ilwanis, the Adhamis, the Qadiris, the Rifa'is, the Naqshbandis, 
the Khalwatis, etc., are considered as the cardinals ; for which 
reason they call themselves the usiils, or ' originals '. They give 
to the others the names of the furu\ or ' branches ', signifying 
thereby secondary ones, to designate their filiation or emanation 
from the first. The Order of the Naqshbandis and Khalwatis 
hold, however, the first rank in the temporal line ; the one on 
account of the conformity of its statutes to the principles of the 

1 The Saqqa in general bears a semi-sacred character, and in Egypt his 
place is largely taken by the hamatt or carrier, who is a Rifa'i or Baiyumi 
darvesh. The hamalis there outnumber the saqqas (Lane, Modern Egyptians, 
p. 329). 

2 Fi sabil Allah, ' for the love of God, for sacred uses ' (Johnson, Pers.- 
Arab. Diet., p. 681). Sabil has also come to mean colloquially a public 
drinking-fountain, and in India the place for ablutions in a mosque. 



XI 



ENDOWMENTS 



289 



ten first confraternities, and to the lustre which causes the grandees 
and principal citizens of the empire to incorporate themselves in 
it ; and the other, because of its being the source of the mother 
society which gave birth to many others. In the spiritual line, ; 
the Order of the Qadiris, Maulavis, Baqtashis, Rifa'is, and the 
Sa'dis, are the most distinguished, especially the three first, on 
account of the eminent sanctity of their founders, of the multi- 
tude of the miracles attributed to them, and of the superabund- 
ance of the merit which is deemed especially attached to them. 

Generally, all these societies of anchorites are to be found 
spread over the different portions of the empire. They have, 
moreover, everywhere convents called takias, kh&naqas, and 




GHAZl HASAN BABA, AN ABDAL OR SANTON OF TRIPOLI, BARBARY 

zawias ; they are occupied each by twenty, thirty, or forty 
Darvishes, subordinate to a Shaikh, and nearly all are endowed 
by benefactions, and continual legacies left them by charitable 
persons. Each community only gives, however, to its Darvishes 
food and lodging. The former consists only of two dishes, rarely 
ever three. Each one takes his meal in his own cell, though they 
are nevertheless allowed to unite and dine together. Those who 
i are married have permission to have a private dwelling ; but they 
j are obliged to sleep in the convent once or twice a week, particu- 
larly the night preceding their dances or religious exercises. The 
monastery of the general of the Maulavis is the only one which 
[allows any deviation from this universal usage. It is not even 
[allowed to the married Darvishes to pass the night there. As to 
[the dress and other necessaries of life, they must provide them for 
[themselves ; and it is for this reason that many among, them 

U 



290 MENDICANCY xi 

follow a trade or profession. Those who have a fair handwriting 
copy books, or the more rechercht works. If any one among them 
has no resource whatever, he is sure to find aid from his relations, 
the generosity of the great, or in the liberality of his Shaikh. 
v Although all of them are considered as mendicant Orders, no 
)arvish is allowed to beg, especially in public. The only ex- 
:eptiori is among the Baqtashls, who deem it meritorious to live 
>y alms ; and many of these visit not only private houses, but 
;ven the streets, public squares, bureaux, and public-houses, for 
the purpose of recommending themselves to the charity of their 
V brethren. They only express their requests by the words shayid 
\ Ullah, a corruption from shaiyun-VIlldh, which means ' Something 
\ for the love of God '. Many of these make it a rule to live only 
1 by the labour of their hands, in imitation of Hajl Bektash their 
founder ; and, like him, they make spoons, ladles, graters, and 
other utensils of wood or marble. It is these also who fashion the 
pieces of marble, white or veined, which are used as collars or 
buckles for the belts of all the Darvishes of their Order, and the 

\ 

kashguls, or shell cups in which they are obliged to ask alms. 

^The wealthier convents are held to aid the poorer of the same 
Order. The MaulavTs are the best endowed of all. The monastery 
of the general possesses considerable lands, given him as waqfs, 
or pious legacies, by the ancient Seljukide Sultans, and confirmed 
by the house of 'Usman, or the Ottoman princes when they 
conquered Karamania. 1 Murad IV. added more liberalities to 
those of his ancestors. In 1044 H. (A.D. 1634), when marching 
against Persia, and passing through Qonia, 2 in Asia Minor, he 

1 From Qaraman, once the capital of a Turkish dynasty. Until after 
A.D. 1386 Karamania was a far more important amirate in Asia Minor than 
that of the Osmanlis. The Qaramanlis were the actual successors of the 
Saljuqs, and maintained themselves in Qonia. Karamania long main- 
tained power and refused to do homage to the Ottoman sovereigns during 
the first half of the fifteenth century (H. A. Gibbons, The Foundation of tk 
Ottoman Empire, pp. 289-90). 

2 Although Moslem tradition places Plato's tomb at Qonia and associates 
his name with a river in its neighbourhood, the folk-lore of the Qonia plain 
preserves little of his philosophy. It has rather converted him into a 
magician of the type of Michael Scott or an engineer who caused the sea to 
leave the plain of Qonia and formed the lake of Egerdir (see F. W. Hasluck, 
" Plato in the Folk-Lore of the Konia Plain," Journal of the British School at 
Athens, xviii. pp. 265 1). With considerable probability Hasluck traces the 
Moslem veneration for Plato at Qonia to Maulavl influence (ib. xix., p. 192). 



xi THE SHAIKH-UL-ISLAM 291 

bestowed many favours and distinctions upon the general of this 
Order, and gave to his community, as a perpetual waqf, the full 
amount of the poll-tax of the tributary subjects established in 
that city. Considerable as the resources of a convent may be, 
its superiors never allow for themselves any luxury or ostentation. 
The surplus of the revenues is distributed among the poor, or is 
employed in the establishment of private and charitable buildings. 
The Shaikhs and Darvishes are scrupulously attached to this 
inviolable principle of their Order. Habituated from their youth 
to all sorts of privations, they are all the more laithful in the 
observance of its statutes. 

Although in no wise bound by any oaths, all being free to 
change their community, and even to return to the world, and 
there to adopt any occupation which may please their fancy, it is 
rarely that any one makes use of this liberty. Each one regards 
it as a sacred duty to end his days in the dress of his Order. To 
this spirit of poverty and perseverance, in which they are so 
exemplary, must be added that of perfect submission to their 
superior. This latter is elevated by the deep humility which 
accompanies all their conduct, not only in the interior of the 
cloisters, but even in private life. One never meets them any- 
where but with the head bent and the most respectful countenance. 
They never salute any one, particularly the Maulavls and the 
Baqtashls, except by the names ' Ya Hu ! ' The words aiU Allah 
(thanks to God) frequently are used in their conversation ; and 
the more devout or enthusiastic speak only of dreams, visions, 
celestial spirits, supernatural objects, etc. 

They are seldom exposed to the trouble and vexations of 
ambition, because the most ancient Darvishes are those who may 
aspire to the grade of Shaikh, or superior of the convent. The 
Shaikhs are named by their respective generals, called the rals-ul- 
masha'ikh (chief of shaikhs). Those of the Maulavls have the dis- 
tinctive title of 'Chalabi Effendi'. All reside in the same cities 
which contain the ashes of the founders of their Orders, called by 
the name of asitdnia, signifying ' the court ' . They are subordinate 
to the Mufti of the capital, who exercises absolute jurisdiction 
over them. The superior head of the Mussulman religion, called 
the Shaikh-ul-Islam, has the right of investing all the generals of 
the various Orders, even those of the Qadiris, the Maulavls, and 
of the Baqtashis, although the dignity be hereditary in their 



292 NOMINATION xi 

r family, on account of their all three being sprung from the blood 
of the same founders of their Orders. The Mufti has likewise the 
right to confirm the Shaikhs who may be nominated by any of 
the generals of the Orders. 

To arrive at the grade of Shaikh, the rights of seniority must 
also be sustained by talents, virtues, and an exemplary life. The 
person must even be reputed as holy, and especially favoured by 
heaven. In nearly all the Orders the generals never name any 
one to the office of Shaikh except after having prayed, fasted, and 
asked light of the Most High. They then consider the choice 
made as being the effect of a supernatural inspiration, which they 
owe to the powerful intercession of the Prophet, as the founder of 
the Order, sometimes even of the venerable Shaikh 'Abd-ul-Qadir 
Gilanl. These considerations, strengthened by prejudices, are 
the motives which decide the Mufti (Shaikh-ul-lslam) to respect 
the choice made by the generals, and never to refuse to invest 
the persons proposed to him by them. 

On these grounds also the generals are at liberty to name 
Shaikhs without monasteries arid functions. These titular officers, 
who may be called in partibus,* go to the city, or the suburb, 
which, according to the visions of the general, are considered as 
predestined to possess a convent of such and such an Order, and 
there wait the period of its being established. Their hopes are 
never deceived ; a noble emulation leads its more wealthy and 
pious citizens to join in so meritorious a work. Some erect the 
building at their own expense ; others provide for its support by 
the donation of perpetual waqfs ; others, uniting their zeal to that 
of the Shaikh (in partibus), do all they can to strengthen the new 
institution. It is in this manner that formerly the greater part 
of these institutions were got up, and such even now is the case 
in various parts of the empire, 
f In former times the preference was given to those of the 
vOrders which sanctioned neither dances nor music. The others, 
tfar from being famed by such acts of benevolence, experienced, 
on the contrary, much ill-will from many of the citizens. They 
were even the objects of malice, and were openly accused of 
following practices forbidden by religion and law ; their exercises 
were regarded as profane acts, and their halls as so many temples 

* Not necessarily in partibus infidelium. It would be more correct to 
say ' called unbeneficed '. . 



xi POWER OF THE ORDERS 293 

devoted to the maledictions of heaven ; all were scrupulous about 
entering them ; such was even the effervescence of the public 
mind that under several reigns, particularly that of Muhammad IV., 
rigid Mussulmans proposed the abolition of all of these Orders, 
and the entire destruction of all of their convents and dancing 
halls. But those who were armed with the principles of religion 
so as to combat against these institutions, were, in turn, combated 
with other principles, drawn from the same source. The majority 
of the nation has always regarded^ these Shaikhs, ..the Darvishes, 
and, above all, their founders, as so many beloved sons of heaven, 
and in intimate relations with the spiritual powers, these opinions 
having for basis the belief (still in vogue at the present time) that 
the different Orders originated in the two congregations of Abu-' 
Bakr and 'All (the second and fourth Caliphs) ; the grace which 
these had received from the Prophet, both as his relatives and 
vicars, was transmitted, miraculously, down to the series of 
Shaikhs who from age to age have governed the monastic societies. 
It is also generally believed that the legion of 356 saints who, 
according to the Mussulmans, perpetually exist among mankind, 
and who form, in an invisible manner, that spiritual and celestial 
Order, sacred in the nation under the august name of the Ghaus-i- 
'aton, is principally composed of the members of these different 
fraternities, and so to abandon, condemn, and destroy them, as 
was the unanimous voice at the period of the crisis alluded to, 
would be but to call upon them and the whole empire the 
anathemas of all the holy saints who have lived, and still live, in 
pious retirement. The less enthusiastic, or the less favourable 
to the cause of the Darvishes, did not dare to declare themselves 
against them ; they held this mixture of religious practices and 
profane exercises to be a mystery which all Mussulmans should 
adore in silence. The superstitious ideas which the Darvishes 
themselves have the talent to perpetuate in their nation have 
always. served as their shield ; they have maintained their insti'-" 
tutions by drawing upon them the veneration and the generosity 
of credulous souls. 

It is for this reason, according to these opinions, that a host-j 
of citizens hasten to join the different Orders. If, in the begin- 1 
ning, they preferred those which have no dancing nor music, for \ 
some time past they have incorporated themselves indistinctively 1 
all of them. There are some who. not content with the \ 



294 MAULAVlS AND GRANDEES xi 

Advantages of belonging to one of them, cause themselves to be 

I admitted into several. Some believe that they can add to the 

I merit of their initiation by joining in the dances of the Darvishes ; 

i others go so far as to mix up with them, and take part in their 

1 exercises. Those whose zeal is restrained by their occupations, 

land the regard due to their position in life, are satisfied with the 

! recital, in their own houses, of a portion of the prayers used in 

| the society to which they belong ; and so as to purchase, in some 

manner, this involuntary absence from the convent, they wear 

two or three times a week, if only for a few minutes at a time, the 

cap of the order. 

The grandees seem to have a preference for the Maulavis, and 
those who are of that Order never fail to leave off their turban 
when alone, and to wear the great kula of these Darvishes. This 
practice goes back as far as the time of Sulaiman Pasha, son of 
Usman I. It has already been seen that this prince addressed 
himself to the general of the Maulavis, at Qonia, to ask the 
blessings of heaven in favour of the expedition which he was 
about to make against the Greeks of the lower empire ; that this 
prelate covered the head of the prince with one of his caps, reciting 
prayers, and assuring him that victory would accompany his 
steps ; that Sulaiman Pasha had this cap covered with embroidery 
of silver, and ordered turbans of nearly the same form for himself 
and all the officers of his army ; and finally, that this cap, which 
became the ceremonial turban of all of the grandees of the court, 
and also of the sultans, who wore theirs embroidered in gold, was 
abandoned by Muhammad, and given up to the officers of the 
staff of the Janissaries. The opinion which was entertained of 
the happy influences of this head-dress is still retained by all the 
grandees who protect the Maulavis. They consider it as a duty 
to associate with them, and to wear now and then this cap, in all 
its primitive simplicity. 

The militia, especially the Janissaries, have a particular 
devotion for the Order of the Baqtashis, on account of the circum- 
stance that, on the day of their creation, under Orkhan I., Haji" 
Bgkja&h, the founder of the Order, spread the border of 'his cloak 
over their heads, and showered his blessings on them. This is 
the cause of the veneration which the Janissaries have for that 
institution. On this account they are also called Bektashis, and 
the title of the colonel of the 95th oda, or ' chamber ' of that force, 



xi BEKTASH AND JANISSARIES 295 

called jama 1 at, 1 is borne by all of the generals of this order. ' From 
this also arose the custom of those troops of lodging and boarding 
eight Bektashi Darvishes in the barracks of Constantinople. 
These have no other duty than to pray, morning and evening, 
for the prosperity of the empire and the success of its arms, j In 
all the ceremonies of the Janissaries, and above all, during the 
days of the Dlwan of the Seraglio, they marched on foot before 
the horse of the Agha of the corps, all dressed in green cloth, their 
hands closely crossed over their stomachs. The elder of them I 
cried out incessantly with a loud voice the words, ' Karim i 
Allah ! ' ' God is merciful ! ' to which the others responded, Hu ! j 
and this gave rise to the distinctive name of Hu-kashans, or i 
4 Him scatterers ', borne by the Janissaries. I 

As to the rest of the citizens, though their feelings are pretty 
much the same with regard to all of the Orders, many, never- 
theless, appear to make a distinction in favour of the Khalwatis, 
the Qadiris, Rifa'fs, and the Sa'dis. The greater portion of those 
who do not care to incorporate themselves in these Orders are 
still attentive to assist occasionally at their dances. One sees 
among these simple spectators people of every condition of life, 
of both sexes. The custom is to take places in the corners of the 
halls, or in separate tribunes ; those to the right are for the men, 
and those to the left for the women. The first are exposed, whilst 
the latter are covered with blinds. Christians, who in other 
respects are not allowed to enter the mosques during the holy 
service, are admitted, without any difficulty, among these 
Darvishes, particularly strangers and people of distinction. 
One of the elders receives and shows them into the tribunes. As 
I have frequently assisted at these exercises in several convents 
of Constantinople, I can vouch for their urbanity. 

After these very general opinions as to the sanctity of these \ 
religious Orders, one must not be astonished if the greater portion 
of the people have so much veneration for the Shaikhs of the 
Darvishes. Whenever they appear they receive the most dis- 
tinguished tokens of welcome, and though, from principle, they 
never ask for anything, they nevertheless never scruple to accept 
the liberal donations of charitable individuals. There are some 
who reserve their alms for these pious recluses. Others, who hold 
it as a duty to seek for such as are the most recommendable in the 
1 Jama' at, v. n. on p. 9 supra. 



296 THE DARVISH IN WAR xi 



Orders, form acquaintances with them, see them often, and supply 
their wants. Many even lodge and board some in their own 
houses, in the hope of drawing upon themselves, their families, 
and fortunes, the blessings of heaven. In time of war this 
devotion becomes more general and more fervent. One sees 
Pashas, Beys, and officers, as well as high functionaries of the 
Court, engage one or more of these coenobites to follow them 
during the campaign. They pass whole days and nights in their 
tents, wholly occupied in offering up vows for the success of the 
Mussulman arms. 

Moreover, whenever a warlike expedition is to be got up, a 
host of Shaikhs and Darvishes of nearly all the Orders hasten to 
follow the army as volunteers. The Government encourages them, 
as by their presence, their example, and the mortifications to 
which they subject themselves, they animate the courage of the 
troops, and maintain a religious enthusiasm among them on the 
eve of an action : they spend the night in prayers and tears, go 
among the ranks, exhort the officers and soldiers to perform well 
their duty, or in calling to their minds the ineffable benefits 
r promised by the Prophet to all Mussulmans who fight for the 
defence of the faith, or who die in arms. Some cry out, " Ya 
Ghazi ! Ya Shahid ! " (" O ye victorious ! ye martyrs ! ") Others 
repeat the words, "Ya Allah!" or 'Ya Hu!" More than once, 
when they thought the sanjaq * sharif, or .' holy standard ' (made out 
of the garments of the Prophet), was in danger, they have been 
seen to press around this holy object, strengthen the lines of the 
Emirs and officers stationed as its guard, sustain their efforts, 
and even themselves perform prodigies of valour. 

Independent of these general considerations, which render the 
whole corps of the Orders so commendable to the nation, the 
miraculous virtues attributed to the greater part of their Shaikhs 
[/ inspire especial devotion to them. They claim the power of 
I interpreting dreams, and of healing, by means of spiritual remedies, 
I both mental and bodily diseases. These remedies consist in 
\exorcisings and prayers. Ordinarily, they put their hand on the 
head of the invalid, make mysterious breathings on his person, 
touch the suffering parts, and give the individual small rolls of 
paper, on which hymns have been written of their own com- 
position, or passages taken from the Quran generally from the 

* Sanjaq, or sanjuq, ' flag '. 



xi CHARMS . 297 

two chapters which refer to the work of malevolence, enchant- 
ments, witchcraft, etc. They order some to throw them into a^ 
cup of water, and to drink the liquid some minutes afterwards ; 
to others they recommend that they should carry them on their 
persons, in their pockets, or to hang 'them around their necks for 
fifteen, thirty, or sixty days, reciting, now and then, certain prayers. 

They believe that these exorcisms may be traced back to the 
time of the Prophet. Indeed, the historian Ahmad Effendi 
relates that, in the 10th year of the Hijra, 'All, the fourth Caliph, 
having to march against the province of Yaman, the army of 
which was superior to his own, expressed some anxiety as to the 
success of his expedition ; that Muhammad, to reanimate the 
courage of his son-in-law ('AH), covered his head with one of his 
own turbans, and then pressed his hands on his breast, adding 
these words : " O my God ! purify his tongue, strengthen his 
heart, and direct his mind ". Since then religious traditions have 
sanctified these words as a fruitful source from which all the 
exorcising Shaikhs draw the virtue and efficacy of their remedies. 
It is not only to the sick that they give these cabalistic writings ; 
they distribute them to persons in good health, as so many pre- 
servatives against physical evils and moral afflictions. Those 
who have recourse to these talismans flatter themselves that they 
have the virtue of curing the plague (smallpox), and generally all 
kinds of evils, even the wounds of an enemy. Some retain them 
on their person all their lives in small trinkets of gold and silver ; 
others festoon them on their arms, place them on the upper part 
of their caps, or on their turbans ; others again suspend them 
around their necks with a cord of gold or silk, and between the 
shirt and the vest.* 

All these rolls are called yaftas, 1 nuskhas, or hamtfilsf and 
possess virtue, so say the Shaikhs, only when given by their own 
hands. The- superstitious of all classes, men and women, zealously 
call upon them, and they never fail to bestow upon the former 
(the Shaikhs) marks of their generosity in the shape of silver, 

* Kara Mustafa, whose head is in the Museum of Armour at Vienna, 
wore a shirt covered with cabalistic Darvish writings, as a preservative. 

1 Yafta, an illuminated text: the word is Persian, and also means a 
diploma or privilege of immunity from taxes. 

2 Hama'il, a talisman, and in Turkey the same as the yafta or nuskha, 
according to the E.I. ii. p. 243, where a full account of them is given. 
They often contain magic squares, wifq, or figures. F. n. on p. 311 infra. 



298 ITINERANTS xi 

stuffs, or provisions of all kinds. Whatever may be the success 
of these remedies, nothing changes the faith of the meek-minded, 
because those who administer them require as the chief condition 
the strongest faith on the part of those who ask for them ; so 
that, by accusing them of failing in this point, they are always 
able to screen themselves from the reproaches which the recipients 
might feel disposed sometimes to utter against their efficacy. 

The public attribute to some of the Shaikhs the secret faculty 
of charming snakes, of discovering their nests in houses, of 
indicating thieves and pickpockets, of destroying the magical tie 
(bag) which, it is believed, prevents newly married husbands 
from consummating their marriage ; finally, of preventing the 
unhappy effects of every sort of malevolence by drawing with 
collyrium the letter alif (a) on the foreheads of women, and 
especially of children. 

If, on the one hand, these reveries, which are prescribed by 
Islamism, attract at the same time the devotion and money of 
the superstitious, on the other they only serve to discredit them 
in the minds of people of reason and good sense. What adds still 
more to this personal disfavour is the immorality of many of 
these same Shaikhs and Darvishes. It is observed that they 
unite together debauchery and the most severe acts of austerity, 
giving to the public the scandalous example of intemperance, 
dissoluteness, and the most shameful excesses. The least reserved 
of all are those travelling Darvishes, called saiydhs, or travellers, 
about whom something remains to be said. 

These recluses adopt the system of wandering over all Mussul- 
man countries in the three portions of the globe, and are divided 
into three classes. One, principally JBaqtashis and Rifa'is, travel 
for the purpose of making collections, and of recommending their 
Orders to the liberality of the pious and charitable. j The others 
are individuals expelled from their Order for misconduct, and 
who, retaining the garb of a Darvish, beg a subsistence from town 
to town. The third are foreign Darvishes, such as the 'Abdalis, 1 the 
'Ushshaqis, the Hindis, etc., for whom the Ottomans entertain but 
little devotion, on account of their not descending, like the others, 
from the original congregations during the lifetime of the Prophet. 

1 By Abdali may be meant Afghan, as the Abdali or Durrani tribe claim 
descent from Khwaja Abu Ahmad, an abdal or saint of the Chishti order 
(E.I. i. p. 67). 



xi QALANDARS 299 

To this latter class belong also the Uwaisls, the most ancient 
of all, and the Qalandaris, whose founder was Qalandar Yusuf 
Andalusi, a native of Andalusia, in Spain. He was for a long 
time a disciple of Haj! Baqtash, but, having been dismissed from 
his Order on account of his haughtyCand arrogant character, he 
made vain efforts to be admitted intothe Maulavis, and ended 
by establishing on his own authority an Order of Darvishes, with 
the obligation of perpetually travelling about, and of entertaining 
an eternal hatred against the Baqtashis and the Maulavis. 

The title of Qalandar, which he himself assumed, and after- 




A WANDERING DAKVISH OF THE QALANDARI ORDER 

wards gave to his disciples, signifies pure gold, in allusion to the 
purity of the heart, to the spirituality of the soul, and to the 
exemption from all worldly contamination which he required of 
his proselytes. The rules of his Order compelled them to live 
wholly upon alms, to travel about mostly without shoes, and to 
practise the severest acts of austerity, so as to merit the favour of 
Heaven, especially in a state of ecstasy, of light, of perfect sanctity, 
which makes, he declared, the portion of every coenobite, renders 
him truly worthy of his vocation, of the name of a Qalandar!, or 
that of a Maulavi. It is, therefore, given to all the Darvishes of 
the other Orders who are distinguished by their brethren for acts 



300 FANATICISM xi 

of supererogation, for revelations, and for supernatural grace. It 
is this class of enlightened beings of the various Orders which has 
produced so many fanatics in every age of Muhammadanism. 
From it came the assassin of Sultan Bayazid II., and of many 
ministers and grandees of the empire. Out of it came, under 
various reigns, so many false mahdis, who, under this name, have 
got up the most audacious enterprises, and desolated entire 
countries by misleading the minds of the public through their 
impositions, their revelations, and pretended prophecies. 

To secure the State and public from similar calamities, the 
light of the age in which we live should penetrate into this nation 
where vulgar prejudices have prevailed, as yet, even over the 
laws, and at the same time triumphed over all the projected 
reforms made from time to time by wise, enlightened men, though, 
it must be added, with feeble and tremulous hands. But if 
fanaticism has its schools, irreligion has also its precipices. If, 
then, it is in the destiny of the Ottomans to return at some future 
day to a better order of things, we entertain the hope (and it is 
only humanity which inspires us) that he who shall undertake 
this salutary reform will avoid, with prudence, extremes equally 
disastrous, by combining with his plan the principle of wise 
moderation. This is the only means whereby, in point of policy, 
abuses of religion and vices of government among any people 
may be corrected, and effect a concurrence of legal authority and 
doctrinal tenets, in favour of the prosperity of the State, the glory 
of its chiefs, and the happiness of all individuals. 



CHAPTER XII. being merely a selection of extracts 
from E. W. Lane's The Manners and Customs of the 
Modern Egyptians, a work first published in 1836 and 
frequently reprinted, is not reproduced here. Notes on the 
Orders dealt with by Lane and also connected with the 
present work will be found in their place. A handy edition 
of Modern Egyptians is that in the Everyman's Library 
to which the references have been made. 



r 



CHAPTER XIII 

MUSSULMAN SAINTS 

I AM somewhat deviating from the object of the present work, 
by devoting a chapter, however small, to the subject of Mussulman 
Saints. These, nevertheless, are so intimately connected with the 
spiritualism of the Darvishes, that I do not see how it can be 
properly avoided. The subject has already been alluded to in 
Chapter III., and I avail myself of the information given in Mr. 
Lane's Modern Egyptians for details which confirm what I there 
stated. 

" The Muslims of Egypt, in common with those of other 
countries, entertain very curious superstitions respecting the 
persons whom they call walls. I have often endeavoured to 
obtain information on the most mysterious of these superstitions, 
and have generally been answered, ' You are meddling with the 
matters of the tarika ' (tartqat], or the religious course of the 
Darwishes ; but I have been freely acquainted with general 
opinions on these subjects, and such are perhaps all that may be 
required to be stated in a work like the present ; I shall, however, 
also relate what I have been .told by learned persons, and by 
Darwishes, in elucidation of the popular belief (Ch. x. p. 235). 

" Th'e Egyptians pay a superstitious reverence not to imaginary 
beings alone ; they extend it to certain individuals of their species, 
and often to those who are justly the least entitled to such respect. 
An idiot or a fool is vulgarly regarded by them as a being whose 
mind is in heaven, while his grosser part mingles among ordinary 
mortals ; consequently he is considered an especial favourite of 
Heaven. Whatever enormities a reputed saint may commit (and 
there are many who are constantly infringing precepts of their 
religion), such acts do not affect his fame for sanctity ; for they 

301 



302 HOLY FOOLS xin 

are considered as the results of the abstraction of his mind from 
worldly things, his soul, or reasoning faculties, being wholly 
absorbed in devotion ; so that his passions are left without control. 
Lunatics who are dangerous to society are kept in confinement ; 
but those who are harmless are generally regarded saints. Most 
of the reputed saints of Egypt are either lunatics, or idiots, or 
impostors. Some of them go about perfectly naked, and are so 
highly venerated that the women, instead of avoiding them, 
sometimes suffer these wretches to take any liberty with them 
in a public street ; and, by the lower orders, are not considered 
as disgraced by such* actions, which, however, are of very rare 
occurrence. Others are seen clad in a cloak or long coat composed 
of patches of various coloured cloths, which is called a dalq, 
adorned with numerous strings of beads, wearing a ragged turban, 
and bearing a staff with shreds of cloth of various colours attached 
to the top. Some of them eat straw, or a mixture of chopped 
straw and broken grass, and attract observation by a variety of 
absurd actions. During my first visit to this country, I often 
met in the streets of Cairo a deformed man, almost naked, with 
long matted hair, and riding upon an ass led by another man. 
On these occasions he always stopped his beast directly before 
me, so as to intercept my way, reciting the fdtiha (or opening 
chapter of the Quran), and then held out his hand for alms. The 
first time that he thus crossed me, I endeavoured to avoid him ; 
but a person passing by remonstrated with me, observing that the 
jnan before me was a saint, and that I ought to respect him and 
comply with his demand, lest some mischief should befall me. 
Men of this class are supported by alms, which they often receive 
without asking for them. A reputed saint is commonly called 
shaikh, murabit, or wall. If affected with lunacy or idiotcy, or 
of weak intellect, he is also, and more properly, termed t majzub, 
or maslub. Wall is an appellation- correctly given to an eminent 
and very devout saint, and signifies a favourite of heaven ; but 
it is so commonly applied to real or pretended idiots, that some 
wit has given it a new interpretation, as equivalent to balid, which 
means a 'fool ', or ' simpleton ', remarking that these two terms 
are equivalent both in sense and in the numerical value of the 
letters composing them ; for wall is written with the letters wdw, 
lam, and ye, of which the numerical letters are 6, 30, and 10, 
or together, 46 ; and balid is written with be, lam, ye, and ddl, 



xin EGYPTIAN ORDERS 303 

which are 2, 30, 10, and 4, or, added together, 46. A simpleton 
is often called a wall (pp. 234-5). 

" In the first place, if a person were to express a doubt as to 
the existence of true walls, he would be branded with infidelity; 
and the following passage of the Quran would be adduced to 
condemn him : ' Verily, on the favourites of the God no fear shall 
come, nor shall they grieve'. This is considered as sufficient to 
prove that there is a class of persons distinguished above ordinary 
human beings. The question then suggests itself, ' Who, or of 
what description, are these persons ? ' and we are answered, ' They 
are persons wholly devoted to God, and possessed of extraordinary 
faith ; and according to their degree of faith, endowed with the 
power of performing miracles ' (p. 235). 

" The most holy of the walls is termed the Qutb ; or, accord- 
ing to some persons, there are ten who have this title ; and again, 
according to others, four. The term qutb signifies an axis ; and 
hence is applied to a wall who rules over others ; they depending 
upon him, and being subservient to him. For the same reason 
it is applied to temporal rulers, or any person of high authority. 
The opinion that there are four Qutbs, I am told, is a vulgar error, 
originating from the frequent mention of 'the four Qutbs', by 
which expression are meant the founders of the four most cele- 
brated Orders of Darwishes (the Rifa'ia, Qadiria, Ahmadla, and 
Barahima), each of whom is believed to have been the Qutb of 
his time. I have also generally been told that the opinion of 
there being two Qutbs is a vulgar error, founded upon two names, 
' Qutb al-Haqiqa ' (or the Qutb of truth), and ' Qutb al-Ghaus ' 
(or the Qutb of invocation for help), which properly belong to 
but one person. The term ' al-Qutb al-Mutawalll ' is applied, by 
those who believe in but one Qutb, to the one ruling at the present 
time ; and by those who believe in two, to the acting Qutb. The 
Qutb who exercises a superintendence over all other walls (whether 
or not there be another Qutb for if there be, he is inferior to 
the former) has under his authority walls of different ranks, to 
perform different offices, naqlbs, badlls, etc., who are known 
only to each other, and perhaps to the rest of the walls, as holding 
such offices (p. 236). 

" The Qutb, it is said, is often seen, but not known as such ; 
and the same is said of all who hold authority under him. He 
always has a humble demeanour and mean dress ; and mildly 



304 ELIAS xin 

reproves those whom he finds acting impiously, particularly those 
who have a false reputation for sanctity. Though he is unknown 
to the world, his favourite stations are well known ; yet at these 
places he is seldom visible. It is asserted that he is almost 
constantly seated at Makka, on the roof of the Kaaba ; and, 
though never seen there, is always heard at midnight to call twice, 
' O thou most merciful of those who show mercy ! ' which cry is 
then repeated from the mad'nehs of the temple by the muaddins : 
but a respectable pilgrim, whom I have just questioned upon this 
matter, has confessed to me that he himself has witnessed that 
this cry is made by a regular minister of the mosque, yet that few 
pilgrims know this : he believes, however, that the roof of the 
Kaaba is the chief markaz (or station) of the Qutb. Another 
favourite station of this revered and unknown person is the Gate 
of Cairo, called Bab Zuwaila, also called Bab Mutawalli. Though 
he has a number of favourite stations, he does not abide solely 
at these ; but wanders through the world, among persons of every 
religion, whose appearance, dress, and language he assumes ; and 
distributes to mankind, chiefly through the agency of the sub- 
ordinate Walls, evils and blessings, the awards of destiny. 
When a Qutb dies, he is immediately succeeded in his office by 
another (pp. 236-8). 

"Many of the Muslims say that Elijah, or Elias, whom the 
vulgar confound with al-Khidr, was the Qutb of his time, and that 
he invests the successive Qutbs ; for they acknowledge that he 
has never died, asserting him to have drank of the fountain of 
life. This particular in their superstitious notion respecting the 
Qutbs, combined with some others which I have before mentioned, 
is very curious when compared with what we are told in the Bible 
of Elijah, of his being transported from place to place by the 
Spirit of God ; of his investing Elisha with his miraculous powers 
and his offices, and of the subjection of other prophets to him and 
to his immediate successor." 1 Al-Khidr, according to the more 
approved opinion of the learned, was not a prophet, but a just 
man, or saint, the wazir and counsellor of the first Zu'l Qarnain, 
who was a universal conqueror, but an equally doubtful personage, 
contemporary with the patriarch Ibrahim, or Abraham. Al- 
Khidr is said to have drunk of the fountain of life, in consequence 
of which he lives till the day of judgment, and to appear frequently 

1 Pp. 237-8, 



xiii SAINTS' TOMBS 305 

to Muslims in perplexity. He is generally clad in green garments, 
whence, according to some, his name of Khidr. 

I may here add that in a work which I possess in MS., entitled 
Hadiqat al-JawamV, or ' Ah account of the mosques, takias, etc., 
of Constantinople ', it is stated in the description which it gives 
of the mosque of St. Sophia* that " in the centre of the holy 
mosque, under the Top Qandll, and between the Musla gate and 
the Minber, there is a picture of a door in the wall, marking the 
Maqam, or ; place ' of Khidr ; and that by the command of 
Hazrat-i-Khidr, the grandson of the celebrated pious Mussulman 
Divine Aq Shams-ud-Dm, named Hamdi Effendi, translated the 
tale of Yussuf and Zulaikha of Mulla Jam!, in the centre of the 
mosque." (See 1 Kings xviii. 12, and 2 Kings ii. 9-16.) 

Much veneration is shown in the East for the tombs of walls, 
Shaikhs, and other deceased pious persons. Throughout Con- 
stantinople one frequently meets with similar tombs, on which a 
lamp is kept suspended and lit at nightfall. Others are within 
turbas, or mausoleums, more or less splendid, covered with costly 
shawls or embroidered silks, and, either on the tombstone or on 
a framed inscription, the names and titles of the deceased are 
narrated at length. On the windows are seen pieces of rags, tied 
there by those who believe they may profit by the spiritual powers 
and holiness of the deceased. These petty native offerings are 
called nazr, or vows. On this subject Mr. Lane says (pp. 242-7) : 
" Over the graves of most of the more celebrated saints are 
erected large and handsome mosques ; over that of a saint of 
less note (one who by a life of sanctity or hypocrisy has acquired 
the reputation of being a wall or devout Shaikh) is constructed a 
small, square, whitewashed building, crowned with a cupola. 
There is generally directly over the vault in which the corpse is 
deposited an oblong monument of stone or brick (called tarkiba), 
or wood (in which case it is called tdbut), and this is usually 
covered with silk or linen, with some words from the Quran marked 
upon it, and surrounded by a railing or screen of wood or bronze, 
called ' maqstira V Most of the sanctuaries of saints in Egypt 
are tombs ; but there are several which only contain some in- 
considerable relic of the person to whom they are dedicated, and 
there are few which are mere cenotaphs. The Egyptians occa- 
sionally visit these and other sanctuaries of their saints, either 

1 Lit. ' an enclosed dwelling '. 

X 



306 VISITS TO TOMBS xin 

* 

merely with the view of paying honour to the deceased, and 
performing meritorious acts for the sake of these venerated persons, 
which they believe will call down a blessing on themselves, or for 
the purpose of urging some special petition, such as for the restora- 
tion of health, or for the gift of offspring, etc., in the persuasion 
that the merits of the deceased will insure a favourable reception 
of the prayers which they offer up in such consecrated places. 
The generality of the Muslims regard the deceased saints as 
intercessors with the Deity, and make votive offerings to them. 
The visitor, on arriving at the tomb, should greet the deceased 
with the salutation of peace, and should utter the same salutation 
on entering the burial ground. In the former case the visitor 
should front the face of the dead, and consequently turn his back 
to the Kibla. He walks round the maksura, or the monument, 
from left to right, and recites the fdtiha inaudibly, or in a very 
low voice, before its door, or before each of its four sides. Some- 
times a longer chapter of the Qurdn than the first (fatiha) is recited 
afterwards ; and sometimes a khatma (or recitation of the whole 
of the Quran) is performed on such an occasion. These acts of 
devotion are generally performed for the sake of the saint, though 
merit is likewise believed to reflect upon the visitor who makes 
such a recitation. He usually says at the close of this, ' Extol the 
perfection of thy Lord, the Lord of Might, exempting Him from 
that which they (the unbelievers) ascribe to Him ' (namely, the 
having a son or a partaker of his Godhead) ; and adds, ' And peace 
be on the Apostles, and praise be to God, the Lord of all creatures. 
O God ! I have transferred the merit of what I have recited from 
the excellent Quran to the person to whom this place is dedicated,' 
or ' to the soul of this wall '. Without such a declaration, or an 
intention to the same effect, the merit of the recital belongs solely 
to the person who performs it. After this recital the visitor, if 
it be his desire, offers up any prayer for temporal or spiritual 
blessings, generally using some such form as this ' O God ! I 
conjure Thee by the Prophet, and by him to whom this place is 
dedicated, to grant me such and such blessings ' ; or, ' My burdens 
be on God and on thee, thou to whom this place is dedicated '. 
In doing this, some persons face any side of the maqsura and the 
Kibla ; but I believe that the same rule should be observed in this 
case as in the salutation. During the prayer the hands are held 
(raised upwards and open) as in the private supplications after 



xin VOWS . 307 

the ordinary prayers of every day, and afterwards they are drawn 
down the face. Many of the visitors kiss the threshold of the 
building, and the walls, windows, maqsura, etc. This, however, 
they disapprove, asserting it to be an imitation of a custom of the 
Christians. The rich, and persons of easy circumstances, when 
they visit the tomb of a saint, distribute money or bread to the 
poor, and often give money to one or more water-carriers to 
distribute water to the poor and thirsty for the sake of the saint. 
On these occasions it is a common custom for the male visitors 
to take with them sprigs of myrtle : they place some of these on 
the monument, or on the floor within the maqsura, and take the 
remainder, which they distribute to their friends. At almost 
every village in Egypt is the tomb of some favourite or patron 
saint, which is generally visited on a particular day of the week by 
many of the inhabitants, chiefly women, some of whom bring 
thither bread, which they leave there for poor travellers, or any 
other persons. Some also place small pieces of money on these 
tombs. These gifts are offerings to the Shaikh, or given for his 
sake. Another custom common among the peasants is to make 
votive sacrifices at the tombs of their Shaikhs. For instance, a 
man makes a vow (nazr) that, if he recover from a sickness, or 
obtain a son, or any other specific object of desire, he will give 
to a certain Shaikh (deceased) a goat, or a lamb, or a sheep, etc. : 
if he obtain the object, he sacrifices the animal which he has vowed 
at the tomb of the Shaikh, and makes a feast with its meat for 
any persons who may happen to attend. Having given the animal 
to the saint, he thus gives to the latter the merit of feeding the 
poor. It is a custom among the Muslims, as it was among the 
Jews, to rebuild, whitewash, and decorate the tombs of their 
saints, and occasionally to put a new covering over the tarktba or 
tdbut ; and many of them do this from the pharisaic motives 
which actuated the Jews." 

Besides the care taken to keep up, and in good order, the 
tombs of deceased holy Shaikhs, Darvishes, etc., in the East, 
these are frequently watched over by a pious-living brother 
Darvish, who abandons the world and its attractions for this 
purpose. Himself of undoubted purity of conduct and character, 
his prayers are solicited by those in need of religious and spiritual 
consolation and aid often of a purely worldly nature such as 
the procuring of office, the favour of the Sultan, or other person 



308 THE STORY OF THE ASS'S GRAVE XIH 

high in office. These guardians of holy tombs may themselves be 
Shaikhs, and have with them one or more murlds, to whom they 
give ' spiritual ' instruction. They are of various tarlqs or ' paths ', 
Naqshbandi, Badawi, Khalwati, or Qadiri, etc. ; and considerable 
rivalry exists among them, which degenerates into calumny and 
ridicule. 

A humorous story has been told me regarding a Shaikh near 
one of the larger cities of Asia Minor, who for many years had 
watched over the tomb of a deceased Darvish saint, attended by 
a youth, or murid, to whom he was supposed to impart his spiritual 
knowledge. The Shaikh possessed an extensive reputation for 
piety, and even spiritual power and influence, and was conse- 
quently much frequented by the peasantry, and even the neigh- 
bouring gentry especially the female part of the community. 
The turba over the grave was a conspicuous object, and contained 
two or three small rooms, in which lodged the Shaikh and his 
disciple, and served as a dormitory for any wandering Darvish 
who, on his way to and from places of pilgrimage in various parts 
of Asia Minor, might claim his hospitality. A lamp hung sus- 
pended at the head of the grave, and this was always kept burning 
at night, and even on certain days such as, for instance, that of 
the birth of the deceased and on Fridays, when visitors were 
most apt to frequent the Shaikh for the purpose of presenting 
various gifts, of imploring his prayers and blessings, and of offering 
prayers over the sainted remains. The windows of the little 
mausoleum were literally covered with bits of rags tied there by 
the many persons who made vows or nazrs to the saint ; and 
the reverence shown for both the living and the dead saint, 
brought quite a revenue to the former and his humble murid or 
disciple. The Shaikh for many years had possessed a comely ass, 
on which he was wont to make visits to his friends in the vicinity, 
and a small amount of the veneration bestowed on its master was 
even vouchsafed to his humble animal. As to the murid, he 
became well versed in the routine of the affairs of the turba, and 
was supposed to exercise considerable influence with his principal. 
He wore the cap of the tariq, or Order of the Shaikh, though the 
rest of his costume was rather the worse for long years of wear ; 
but this by no means affected his reputation indeed, on the 
contrary, poverty is so well known an attribute of the ' poor 
Darvish ', and gives so much interest to his career, that it forms 



THE STORY OF THE ASS'S GRAVE 309 

the chief capital of the fraternity, and enables them to wander 
over the world free from all fear of robbery, or of a want of daily 
subsistence. It formed the ' pride ' of the blessed Prophet, and 
therefore might readily do as much for a humble Darvish, who, 
though generally sadly deficient in cash, never had occasion to 
complain of the want of food, as this flowed into the turba in 
abundance; especially on Fridays, through the benevolence and 
piety of the visitors. As to the Shaikh himself, he wore the full 
costume of his Order, and even added the green turban which 
designates descent from the family of the Prophet, through his 
only child and daughter Fatima, the wife of 'All, the nephew as 
well as son-in-law of the Prophet, and who finally succeeded him 
as the fourth of the direct Caliphs of Islamism. This turban 
constituted him a Saiyid amir or a shaHf of the family of 
Muhammad, and tended to add greatly to his claims to popular 
veneration. Whether he possessed the necessary sanad, or silsila- 
ndma (genealogical register), to support his assumed descent from 
so honoured a source might have been questioned ; but no one 
cared or perhaps dared to entertain, much less put in doubt, such 
a matter with regard to the honoured Shaikh who passed his days, 
and even much of his nights, in prayers over the sainted tomb of 
the Darvish, whose name and good character were fully described 
in the epitaph at its head. 

The disciple, whose name was 'All, had never been much 
remarked for any superior intelligence : but for piety, and 
acquaintance with the duties of his position, no fault could possibly 
be found with him. He had gradually assumed the sedate and 
calm exterior of a pious Darvish, and always possessed a dignity 
of demeanour which was quite impressive on the minds of the 
visitors of the turba. It was predicted that some day he would 
be sure to figure as an eminent Shaikh, and destiny seemed to 
press him strongly in thet direction already. Quite as little was 
known of his origin and parentage as of those of the Shaikh, his 
superior ; but these are of little use to a Darvish, who, it is well 
understood, has no claims to celebrity other than those acquired 
by his own spiritual powers and personal reputation. The Shaikh 
was his immediate spiritual director, or murshid, and all the know- 
ledge which he possessed was due to the oral instruction received 
from him. From him he had taken the bai'at, or initiation ; he 
had spent long nights in prayer and meditation, and the visions 



810 THE STORY OP THE ASS'S GRAVE xin 

of the latter had been duly reported to and interpreted by him, 
much to his own satisfaction and encouragement. The time had 
therefore fully arrived when, according to the rules of the Order, 
he must set out on his travels, for the purpose of performing 
pilgrimages to various holy tombs situated throughout Islam 
lands, or to extend his wanderings as far even as that of the 
blessed Prophet and the Ka'ba, or the shrines at Karbala, where 
are interred the remains of the grandsons of the Prophet, Hasan 
and Husain, and others of the victims of the cruel usurpers of the 
Caliphate, after the death of the fourth Caliph, 'AH. 

One Friday evening, after the visitors had all departed, and 
the Shaikh and his pupil remained quite alone in the turba, the 
former renewed a topic which had already been slightly touched 
upon on some previous occasions, viz. of the necessity which 
existed for the latter setting out upon his travels. This time a 
decision was come to, and it was mutually agreed upon that on 
the following Sunday the young neophyte should take his de- 
parture. " I have instructed you with much care, my son," said 
the Shaikh, " and taught you all that it is necessary for you to 
know, and your further continuance here is not only of no use to 
you, but even detrimental to your career. As you well know, 
I possess but little of the world's goods, but of what I have you 
shall receive a bountiful share. You have now grown up to 
manhood, and will be able to make your way in the world, and 
by your pious appeals to the benevolent and the wealthy, not fail 
to receive all the assistance of which you may stand in need. 
On the morning aforenamed I will be prepared to equip you for 
your long and tedious journey, and to bestow upon you my 
blessing." So much goodness deeply impressed the heart and 
mind of young 'Alf, and so overcame him, that, in place of any 
answer, he devoutly pressed his Shaikh's hand to his lips, and 
retired to meditate upon his future prospects, and cultivate 
whatever spiritual visions might be sent him by the pir of the 
Order, or even by the blessed Prophet himself. 

Early on Sunday morning 'AH arose, and awaited the con- 
clusion of the Shaikh's slumbers. The latter was not long behind 
him, and after the usual salutations and morning prayers, he gave 
his pupil some excellent advice, and then quite overcame him by 
the declaration that he had decided to offer him an evidence of the 
great friendship which he had always entertained for him, by the 



xiii THE STORY OF THE ASS'S GRAVE 3ll 

gift of his own long-treasured companion the ass, on which he had 
rode for so many years, with its pack-saddle, one of his own khirqas, 
or mantles, and a wallet of provisions sufficient for some days' 
use. Besides these, he presented him with a keshgul, or alms-cup, 
a mu'in, 1 or arm-rest, made of iron, in which was concealed a 
goodly dagger with which to defend himself against wild animals 
or in any other danger for it was not to be supposed that it 
could possibly ever be used as a means of offence in the hands of 
a pious Darvish like himself, travelling over the world only for 
the most peaceful and honest motives and a tiger's skin to throw 
over his shoulders, as some protection against the heat of the sun 
and the colds of winter. But the most precious of all his gifts 
was a nuskha or hama'il z (amulet), which the Shaikh had long 
worn suspended to his own neck in a small metal cylinder, which 
seemed to be of some precious metal, much resembling silver, 
greatly admired and revered by the visitors of the turba, in which 
so many of his days had been spent. As to the ass, it had peculiar 
claims to his consideration on account of its age and truly venerable 
appearance. They had long served together, and often suffered, 
especially during the winter season, from the same cause, viz. a 
want of food ; and even now its lean condition seemed to indicate 
that pasture was scarce, and a more nourishing diet decidedly on 
the decline. Whether this was the case, or rather that its teeth 
were imperfect, cannot be now stated with any degree of accuracy ; 
but there was one thing quite apparent to 'AH, and which he now 
remembered with reflections to which the coming future gave rise, 
that he and the ass were nearly about the same age, and therefore 
could readily sympathise with each other in whatever lot their 
lives might hereafter be cast during their united pilgrimage. 

The ass was soon got ready for the journey, and its load now 
consisted only of the wallet, the keshgul, and the mantle, for 'Al! 
decided to start on his wanderings on foot, like any ordinary 
Darvish, and so not accustom himself, at the outset, to the luxury 

1 Mu'in, a helper, especially God. This may be compared to the Indian 
arm-rest, which takes two forms, the crutch or bairagan and the T-shaped 
rest. 

2 Hamila (hamileh in orig.) and hamala both have the plural ham&il, 
which is used as a singular. Both denote a baldrick, a sword-knot, and the 
root simply means a carrier, anything to hold something to be carried, e.g. 
a Quran. Pace the Oxford Diet., p. 295, it is tempting to see in the word 
the origin of our ' amulet '. 



THE STORY OF THE ASS'S GRAVE xm 

of a conveyance. The Shaikh took a deep interest in all his 
preparations, and when these had been got ready for the departure, 
he accompanied his pupil some half a mile or so from the turba, 
and then, coming to a standstill, took his hand in his own and 
devoutly blessed him, reciting the fdtiha, or first chapter of the 
Quran, with a tone of peculiar benevolence. Then, bidding him 
farewell, he slowly returned to the turba, and 'AH bent his way, 
not to the town, but across the neighbouring valley, and towards 
the distant mountain range which bordered the horizon. 

For some days 'All journeyed onwards over the public route, 
without much regard to its possible termination, and with a very 
vague idea of the direction which he was taking. His provisions 
were becoming low, and his companion's strength was failing 
from the want of a better nourishment than that offered by the 
way -side. His nights had been spent in true Darvish style, 
under the cover of a hospitable tree, or beside a bountiful spring 
of water, and few had been the alms which he, thus far, had 
received from passers-by. Hunger, however, had not as yet 
rendered it necessary for him to appeal to the benevolent for 
assistance ; and as he was naturally of a timid disposition, he 
rather had avoided than sought companionship on his way. 
Indeed, it is so usual to meet with wandering Darvishes in the 
great routes of Asia Minor, that his appearance attracted no 
particular notice. But one day, towards nightfall, 'AH was much 
fatigued by the exertions which he had been compelled to make 
to induce his companion to proceed : and, indeed, the ass had 
several times actually lain down by the way-side from sheer 
exhaustion. The day had been extremely warm, and little shelter 
or pasture had been found for their relief. Finally, age and its 
infirmities overcame the animal, and falling down, it seemed to 
fail rapidly. A few minutes of heavy breathing, then a quivering 
of all its limbs, a gurgling in its throat, and a reversion of its 
eyeballs, and all was over. 'AH was left alone in the world by 
the side of a dead ass, with no one to sympathise with him in his 
loss, or from whom to seek consolation in his grief. Overcome 
by his feelings, he folded his arms across his breast, and gave vent 
to his sorrow in a copious flood of tears. The vast plain in the 
midst of which he stood now appeared to him peculiarly desolate, 
and his thoughts reverted to the distant turba in which so many 
years of his life had glided away, free from care or anxiety. To 



xin THE STORY OF THE ASS'S GRAVE 313 

this he could, however, no more return, and the dead ass served 
as the last link which connected him with his deserted home and 
venerated instructor, its pious Shaikh. It might be said that 
this was the first time he had ever experienced real grief, and his 
lonely condition added to its poignancy. 

Whilst the young Darvish was thus situated, he beheld on the 
distant horizon a small cloud of dust rise, which indicated the 
approach of visitors, and gave to him the reflection that, lest he 
should be held responsible for the decease of his late companion, 
he would do well to drag him away from the public road ; and, 
as well as he was able, under the circumstances, to conceal his 
remains beneath its sandy soil. It did not take him long to put 
this plan into effect, and so, in a short space of time, he had 
succeeded in digging a hole sufficiently deep to contain the thin 
body of the deceased animal. When this was done he sat down 
by the side of the newly made grave, and indulged in a fresh flow 
of tears. 

In the meantime, the small cloud of dust which 'AH had seen 
in the distance, and which had excited his apprehensions, gradually 
increased, and speedily approached him. Seated by the grave of 
his late companion, the ass, his mind became filled with reflections 
of a desolate and alarming nature ; friendless and alone in the 
wide and desert world that surrounded him, he watched the 
arrival of the coming interruption to his grief with no ordinary 
interest. Although not very near to the road, he was not so 
distant as to be able to hope to escape the notice of those who 
were approaching, and a vague feeling of danger greatly agitated 
him. He began to regret that he had buried the ass from view, 
and half determined to disinter it, so that there could be no 
misapprehension as to the truth that the deceased was only an 
ass, dead from sheer age and exhaustion, and not a human being, 
whose death might be attributed to violence. In case of suspicion, 
thought he, they can readily remove the thin cover of earth which 
conceals its remains, and so verify the fact of my assertion of 
innocence. With this reflection he had almost recovered his 
composure, and modified somewhat his grief, when, the dust rising 
higher and higher in the air, he could distinctly perceive emerge 
from it quite a numerous cavalcade of Mussulman travellers, 
none of whom, as yet, seemed conscious of his existence. In 
advance of the group was one who seemed to be the most promi- 



314 THE STORY OF THE ASS'S GRAVE xm 

nent of the company ; either from the unpleasantness of the heat 
and atmosphere, or from fatigue, the party hastily rode on in 
silence, and he hoped that it would pass him by unnoticed. From, 
however, an intuitive impulsion of respect, common to all the 
people of the East in the presence of even possible superiors, 
as it neared him he rose to his feet, and so, perhaps, attracted 
the attention of the whole company. Surprised by so sudden an 
apparition, their faces were all immediately directed towards 
'AH, some nods were exchanged amongst them, and the leader of 
the group, having suddenly come to a halt, he turned to one of his 
, attendants and directed him to ride up and see who the lonely 
individual was. 

Now the party in question was that of a wealthy Bey of the 
neighbourhood, returning from a distant visit to the governor of 
the province, attended by a numerous retinue of his own servants, 
and by several of the principal inhabitants of the little town in 
which he resided, not many miles off, among the hills, which, in 
a clearer atmosphere, were visible from the spot on which 'All 
stood. Though somewhat fatigued by the ride over the dusty 
plain, and overcome by the heat of the day, now almost spent, 
the Bey was not insensible to the wants of others, and thought 
that the individual in question might be some wayfaring traveller 
in need of assistance. Mussulman hospitality and generosity is 
never more prominent than on those occasions when it is asked 
for by silent respect ; and to have passed 'AH by unnoticed would 
have been a strange deviation from this noble characteristic of 
the Eastern gentleman. The attendant had only to approach 
'AH to discover, from his Darvish cap, his tiger skin, and the 
kashgul suspended at his side, that he belonged to one of the 
fraternities of the Islam Orders. So, turning back to the Bey, he 
informed him that the stranger was a poor Darvish. On hearing 
this, the whole company followed its leader to the spot where 
, 'All stood, trembling with apprehension, and his countenance still 
showing the grief which he had so recently felt for the loss he had 
sustained. 

After the exchange of the usual Mussulman salutation, the 
Bey was struck by the circumstance that the poor fellow was 
standing beside a newly made grave, undoubtedly that of a 
recently deceased brother Darvish ; and he was struck with the 
strange fate or providence that had led them to so desolate a spot, 



xiii THE STORY OF THE ASS'S GRAVE 315 

the one to die there, and the other to inter his remains, where 
neither water could be procured for the requisite ablutions of the 
dead prescribed by Islam holy law, nor an Imam to assist at so 
touching a ceremony. He made inquiry of 'All as to the time of 
the decease, and learned that it had even occurred during the 
present day ; and to the question as to how long they had been 
companions, 'All, with much emotion, added that, from his 
earliest youth, they had almost been inseparable. Deeply 
touched by so tender an attachment and devotedness between 
two brothers, the Bey deemed it unnecessary to make any more 
inquiry as to the history of the deceased. After a few words 
exchanged between him and one or two of the better-dressed 
companions of his journey, turning towards 'All, he stated to him 
that he regarded the whole circumstance as one of a particularly 
providential character, intended as a blessing to the whole neigh- 
bouring country, which had never possessed, he added, any of 
the advantages always derived from the protection and spiritual 
influence of the grave of a holy man ; and that one such was 
greatly needed by the community. We beg you, therefore, he 
continued, to consent to remain amongst us ; and if you do so, 
we will, without any loss of time, have a goodly turba constructed 
over the sainted remains of your deceased brother, which shall 
remain under your own especial care. Too much affected by the 
recent occurrence of the day to enter into any explanations of the 
real facts of the case, or perhaps fearful that an exposition of 
the truth might be so mortifying to the Bey as to result in an 
immediate and severe exhibition of arbitrary power upon his 
own person, for having conferred the honours of burial upon an 
ass, which are only due to a human being, 'All was unable to 
utter a word of remark. Perhaps, also, he was not dissatisfied 
with the favourable turn which had thus, unexpectedly, occurred 
to his fortunes, and found that silence neither committed him to 
a falsehood, nor betrayed imprudent truth. He, therefore, said 
nothing, and only by his countenance and a low salutation, 
consented to sacrifice any private desire he might entertain for 
the prolongation of his travels, and pilgrimages to holy tombs, for 
the spiritual benefit to the pious Mussulmans of the surrounding 
country. " Remain here, and watch over the remains of your 
deceased brother," said the Bey, " and we will have the turba 
commenced without delay. I will even, to-night, have some 



316 THE STOEY OF THE ASS'S GRAVE xm 

provisions and drink sent you from my own family, and you shall, 
henceforth, be in want of nothing necessary for your comfort." 

With these parting words, the Bey turned his horse again 
towards his route, followed by all of his company, and gradually 
receded from sight. In the course of an hour or two he reached 
his home, and the news of the decease of a pious Darvish on the 
plain, and of the intention of the Bey to erect a turba over his 
hallowed remains, soon became known over the little town or 
village in which he and his companions resided. 

As to 'AIT, he made a frugal meal from the now almost empty 
wallet bestowed upon him by his venerated Shaikh ; and as the 
sun was descending behind the hills of the distant horizon, 
devoutly spread his tiger skin (the hair of which, from long use, 
was quite worn off) upon the earth, beside the grave of his 
lamented companion, and performed the namdz appropriate to 
the fourth period of the day prescribed by the Islam Prophet. 
Having no water with which to perform the requisite ghusl, or 
ablutions, he, according to usage, made use of sand for that 
purpose, and so acquitted himself of his religious duties. These 
he had been instructed never to omit, and to perform them as 
strictly in a crowd as in a desert place in the turba, or by the 
way-side and thus leave no room to* doubt his piety and strict 
observance of all the injunctions of the ' Path ', or Order to which 
he belonged, and to religion in general. Then placing his kashgul 
under his head, and his mu'in by his side, as a means of defence 
in case he should be attacked by any wild animal during the 
night, his skin serving him for a bed, and his mantle for a cover, 
he sought relief and calmness in sleep from the sorrows and 
anxieties of the past day. Some time before midnight he was 
roused by the sound of a human voice and the noise of an animal's 
feet, and, jumping up, he was. addressed by a Mussulman peasant, 
sent by the Bey, with an abundant supply of food and water for 
his use. The bearer stayed but a short time, and on delivering 
the provisions, told 'All that he had also been directed to repeat 
to him the desire of the Bey, that he should continue to watch 
by the remains of his deceased brother, over which a turba was to 
be commenced as soon as possible. Then devoutly kissing 'All's 
hand, and pressing it to his forehead, in token of deep respect, 
he begged his blessing and prayers, and set off for the place from 
which he came. 



xin THE STORY OF THE ASS'S GRAVE 317 

On the following day 'All had occasion to review the labours 
of the previous one, and to place the remains of his late com- 
panion considerably deeper in the ground than he had primitively 
done, and also to raise the earth above them in such a manner 
as to give to the spot more the appearance of a properly con- 
structed grave. He also threw some water over the fresh earth, 
either as an oblation or to harden the surface. Whilst thus 
engaged, he was not surprised to perceive in the distance the 
approach of visitors, perhaps of travellers, perhaps of workmen, 
sent for the construction of the turba. With more calmness and 
composure than on the previous occasion, he quietly watched 
their approach, which was but slow ; and perceiving that the 
company was formed of waggons heavily laden, drawn by oxen 
and buffaloes, and the drivers pointing to himself, he became 
convinced that he was the object of their visit. Lest he should 
not have time to perform them, after their arrival, he now spread 
his skin beside the grave of his lost friend, and was busily engaged 
in the performance of his namaz when the waggons drew near, 
and out of respect for his evident piety, the drivers stood at some 
little distance from him, until their completion. It was readily 
seen how forcible was the impression which this simple act of 
piety made upon them, for, after saluting 'All, they each came 
forward and kissed his hand. A little group was soon formed 
around the newly made grave, and two pieces of plank were at 
once erected at its head and foot by one of the workmen. The 
loads were next discharged, the circumference of the building was 
laid out, and the construction of the turba at once commenced. 

We must now pass over a period of several years. The turba, 
or mausoleum, had long since been constructed, and 'All been 
constituted the turbadar, or keeper of the holy tomb of the 
deceased, whose venerated remains rested peacefully beneath its 
little dome. The structure seemed to be formed much after the 
model of the other one, in which he had spent so many days of 
comfort with his Shaikh ; and if he had really any part in shaping 
it, there is no doubt 'but that the resemblance was intentional. 
In place of two pieces of wood, an equal number made of marble 
now marked the grave of the deceased. Oh the one at its head 
was inscribed an epitaph, commencing as usual with " Him, the 
Creator and the Eternal ", and adding, " This is the tomb of the 
celebrated qutb, or axis, of eminent piety, the renowned Shaikh 



318 THE STORY OF THE ASS'S GRAVE xm 

'Abd-ul-Qadir, of the tariq, or Order, of the Qadiris. Say afdtiha 
(the opening chapter of the Quran) for his soul." As if so eminent 
a Santon could not possibly be equalled in stature by ordinary 
humanity, the length of the grave was considerably extended, and 
full ten feet of space showed the size of the great man whose 
bones were considered so great a blessing to the locality in which 
they reposed. 1 The tomb was surrounded by a wire network, 
.to keep it from the pollution of impure hands ; and not un- 
frequently a costly shawl or a rich silk article of apparel was 

1 This recalls the naugazas or ' 9-yard ' long shrines found in India. 
There these tombs actually vary in length from 10 to upwards of 50 ft., 
and they appear to ' grow ', perhaps because they are lengthened by the 
devout, like cairns. Sir Alexander Cunningham opined that every such 
tomb was described as that of a Grhazi and Shahid, ' Champion and Martyr ', 
but he also records that two graves at Ajudhia are ascribed to the prophets 
Sis and Aiyub (Seth and Job), and one at Lamghan, in Afghanistan, to 
Lamech, so they are clearly ascribed to ancient prophets as well as to more 
modern martyrs. He also says those two places are the extreme limit of 
their occurrence, but Doutte depicts and describes the tomb of a giant 
prophet in Morocco (En Tribu, p. 379). He also refers to his Merrakech, 
i. p. 293, and to Pettazoni, Religione primitive!, in Sardegna, pp. 4 f ., in support 
of the statement that Moslem ruins are often assigned to the idolaters of the 
times of ignorance, regarded as a race of giants (ib. p. 381). So to in India 
Cunningham suggested a Buddhist origin for such shrines (Archaeological 
Survey Rep., V. pp. 130-1, 106). 

In Moslem belief a dead person when put in his grave will be asked and 
if he replies that he bore witness that Muhammad was the servant of 
God and His Prophet, his tomb will be expanded 7000 yards in length and 
as many in breadth, and a light will be placed in it. Then he will be told 
to sleep. Hence it seems hardly necessary to postulate a Buddhist origin 
for such tombs. 

In the early years of the present century Chevalier describes a takia at 
the town of the Dardanelles as containing a cerceuil 40 feet in length and 
ascribed to a giant whose remains form the relics for which it appears to be 
revered (Voyage de la Propontide, p. 14, quoted by Hasluck in Annual, 
B.S.A. xxi. p. 95). Hasluck considered this tomb to be possibly identical 
with a ruined and deserted takia outside the village of Seraidjik, in the 
valley of the Rhodius, which was probably a BaqtashI centre before 1826. 
It bears the name of the saint interred in it, Indje or Indjir Baba. This 
name is not explained, but injir = ' fig '. Inje would, however, mean 
' slender ', but possibly the saint's correct name is Inji or Inju, ' pearl ', 
or ' the lily of the valley '. 

N. of Hayil . . . upon a height ... is the Kabr es-Sany, ' the smith's 
grave ', laid out to a length of three fathoms. " Of such stature was the 
man ; he lived in the time of the Beny Helal ; pursued by the enemies' 
horsemen, he ran before them with his little son upon his shoulder, and 
fell there " (Doughty, Wanderings in Arabia, i. p. 265. Abridgement, 1908). 



xm THE STORY OF THE ASS'S GRAVE 319 

spread over this, to remain there, however, only for some days, 
and receive for its future wearer the benefit of the spiritual powers 
of the revered and holy deceased. A lamp hung suspended within 
the enclosure, which at nightfall was carefully lighted, and a pious 
lady of the neighbouring town had, just before her decease, 
appropriated a sum of money as a wakf, or votive offering, from 
which to support the expense of keeping up this lamp. Other 
wakfs had also been left for the support of the turba generally, and 
to ensure the comfort of the pious individual who watched over 
the tomb. In the windows of the turba could be seen innumer- 
able pieces of cloth and cotton fabrics tied there in evidence of 
the nazrs, or vows of the visitors who had come to ask spiritual 
aid from the deceased ; many of them from young Mussulman 
maidens, who, not being able orally to make known their affection 
for the objects of their preferences, sought, through the spiritual 
powers of their renowned Shaikh, to reach their hearts in an 
indirect manner an usage unknown to or unpractised by the 
now Islam world ; or from married ladies, to secure the wavering 
affections of their husbands or- acquire the cares of maternity 
through his intercession. Few persons ever passed by the turba 
without stopping to offer a prayer at its tomb, and such visits 
were a source of no little emolument to 'AH, who now bore the 
full title of ' 'All the Shaikh '. It was not uncommon for persons 
highly placed in official as well as social position throughout the 
neighbouring country, to send him a present, and ask his inter- 
cession with the deceased saint in their behalf, and for the pro- 
motion of their worldly interests. The Shaikh 'AH, much to the 
dissatisfaction and mortification of sundry maidens and wealthy 
widows of the neighbourhood, had refused to join his lot in life 
with theirs, and change his solitary position for one more in 
harmony with their own desires and regard for his welfare. 
Following the example of the Shaikh by whom he had been 
educated, he preferred passing his life in a state of celibacy, his 
only, companion being a comely youth, then of some twelve or 
fourteen years of age, whom he had found destitute and an orphan, 
in one of the villages of the vicinity. 

Shaikh 'All's renown had spread far and wide over the 
surrounding country. His eminent piety, and the innumerable 
miraculous occurrences at the turba, all attributed to his prayers 
and the spiritual powers of the holy Santon over whose tomb he 



320 THE STORY OF THE ASS'S GRAVE xm 

presided, tended greatly to acquire for him and it an enviable 
celebrity. News of it had reached even as far as the turba in 
which he had been educated, and created no little surprise in the 
mind of its Shaikh. He had never heard of the presence nor of 
the decease of any eminent member of his own fraternity, much 
less of the existence of so pious a Shaikh as the one must be who 
presided at his tomb. Curiosity, as well perhaps as jealousy, 
deeply penetrated his heart, and finally decided him to make a 
pilgrimage in person to a tomb so renowned for its sanctity. One 
fine autumn day the now venerable old Shaikh closed his turba 
and set out on a journey which, at his time of life, was not free 
from much inconvenience and fatigue. The object in view, how- 
ever, was so important to his own interests, both temporal and 
spiritual, that he considered it quite providential, and worthy of 
his declining days. At least, so he gave out to the usual visitors 
at his own shrine ; and the painful effort which it required greatly 
enhanced his own already high reputation. He therefore set out, 
with the prayers and blessings of all his friends and admirers. 
Travelling by easy stages, the aged Shaikh finally reached the 
object of his little pilgrimage, and on Friday noon arrived at the 
turba by the way-side. 

There were many visitors present on the occasion in question. 
Ladies had come there in such wheeled conveyances as the country 
furnished ; others rode there on horseback, quite in the same 
fashion as the men ; not a few bestrode gentle donkeys, especially 
the more aged and infirm ; and men came, some on horseback, 
and some even on foot. A few trees, which had grown up under 
the care of Shaikh 'AH and the protection of the holy tomb, 
afforded these visitors some shade during the heat of the day, 
and copious draughts were imbibed from a well which had been 
sunk in close proximity to the tomb, the waters of which had 
become widely celebrated for their healing qualities. Mingling 
among the crowd, the old man attracted but little attention, and 
after the performance of the usual prayers at the holy tomb, he 
sat down in quiet beside it, his mind filled with pious meditations 
on the Prophet, the pir of his Order> and the holy deceased in 
general. As Shaikh 'AH passed frequently by him, he had 
abundant opportunity of seeing his features, now considerably 
changed by time, and a goodly beard which ornamented his 
features, and greatly added to the venerableness of his appearance, 



xiii THE STORY OF THE ASS'S GRAVE 321 

Although his head was covered by a green turban of considerable 
dimensions, showing his direct descent from the blessed Prophet, 
more than once it flashed across the mind and memory of the old 
man that he had seen him under other circumstances and in some 
other part of the world. Indeed, he at one moment almost 
thought that he had some resemblance to his former pupil, but 
as he had never heard from, or of him, since his departure, he 
concluded that it was only accidental, and that 'All must have 
long since joined the list of the deceased. Gradually the visitors 
departed, and towards nightfall the two eminent Shaikhs remained 
alone at the turba, attended only by the comely youth afore 
alluded to. It was only then that any communication took place 
between them, and very soon the old man became fully convinced 
that the younger Shaikh was none other than his former pupil. 
The former made no difficulty in admitting the fact, and an 
intimacy soon was renewed between them. The flourishing 
condition of his late tt&ve was a source of much satisfaction to 
the old man, and dispelled any feelings of envy which he might 
have previously entertained. Shaikh 'All, on his part, seemed 
to be extremely happy on receiving the visit of his former master, 
and treated him with much respect and consideration. They 
freely talked over the interests of their particular turbas, and the 
old man admitted that the growing celebrity of the newer one 
had considerably- affected that of the old. The old man, being 
now no longer able to restrain his curiosity, begged Shaikh 'All 
to be so good as to inform him who was the revered member of 
their Order whose remains were interred in the turba. But on 
this point his former pupil made some objection to enlighten him. 
Pressed, however, to inform him of what so deeply interested 
the character and welfare of their common Order, 'All, after 
exacting a most formal promise of secrecy, narrated to his late 
master the entire history of his journey thus far, on the pilgrimage 
on which he had originally set out, its sudden termination, with 
the untimely death of the aged ass which he had so generously 
bestowed upon him, and the manner in which its remains had 
been canonised by popular favour, he having only to offer no 
opposition to what he verily believed was brought about by a 
direct intervention of Providence for some wise purpose, the ass 
having perhaps been the receptacle of the soul of some re-embodied 
saint. To this frank avowal the old man did not make even a 

Y 



322 THE STORY OF THE ASS'S GRAVE xin 

show of surprise, and received the information with his usual calm 
and dignified demeanour. At this 'AH was somewhat astonished 
and alarmed, lest it might prove ominous to the continuance of 
his heretofore most peaceful and prosperous career as a Shaikh. 
With this reflection he thought he would venture to inquire, for 
the first time in his life, what holy man was interred at the turba 
of the old Shaikh, his former master, but found him equally 
uncommunicative on such a subject. As a matter of reciprocity 
and mutual confidence, he pressed him for information on so 
deeply interesting a subject ; and it was only after having given 
him a most solemn pledge of secrecy that he learned, with no 
little surprise, that the remains of the deceased saint over which 
the venerable Shaikh had presided for so many years, and to 
which so many of his own earlier prayers and supplications had 
been offered, were those of none other than the father of his 
own once so lamented companion, and now so highly venerated 
saint, the ass, which had been bestowed upon him by his master, 
with his blessing. 



CHAPTER XIV 

PEESIAN DARVISHES SPIRITUAL EXERCISES HASHISH THE 
OCCULT SCIENCES A LIST OF DARVISH CONVENTS AT 
CONSTANTINOPLE 

IT has been heretofore shown that the principles entertained by 
the more modern tartqs, or Orders of the Darvishes, first became 
prominent in Persia and Bukhara, though it is scarcely to be 
doubted that they originated in Arabia. From thence they 
travelled into Turkey, Syria, and Egypt, and even along the 
shores of the Mediterranean, as far as Morocco. 

In Malcolm's History of Persia are found some interesting 
details of the original Orders of the Sufis, taken from Persian 
manuscripts, which may be fully depended upon for their accuracy. 
It is therein stated that the original sects were two in number, viz. 
the Hulull, or the ' Inspired ', and the Ittihadi, or the ' Unionists ', 
out of which grew five branches . Of these, the first is the Wusiilia, 
or the ' United ' ; the second, the 'Ashiqia, or the ' Loving ' ; 
the third, the Talqima, or the ' Learned ' ; the fourth, the 
Zuriqia, or the ' Penetrating ' ; and the fifth, the Wahdatia, 
[Wahidia], much resembling the Ittihadia, the chief principle being 
the great primitive dogma of mankind, the Unity of the Deity. 1 

The first branch maintains that God has entered or descended 
into man t and that the Divine Spirit enters into all those who 
are of a devout and intelligent mind. 

The second believes that God is one with every enlightened 
mind, and that the immortal part forms its union with God, and 
becomes God. They say that the divine nature of Christ, who is 
called by all Mussulmans the Ruh Alldh, or ' Spirit of God ', was 
derived from the Spirit of the Deity having entered the womb of the 
Virgin Mary, The third and fourth have no very distinct dogma. 

1 Cf. p. 54 ff. . 
323 



324 DE GOBINEAU QUOTED xiv 

The fifth maintains that God is in everything, and that every- 
thing is in God. They admit that their principles are the same 
as those of the ancient Greek philosophers of Hellas, especially of 
Plato, who, they assert, maintains that God created all things 
with His own breath, and that everything is thus both the Creator 
and the created. This principle, in many of the modern writings 
of the Darvishes, is called the nafs, or ' breath of God ', and, as 
applied to man, is deemed to be the human part of animated 
nature, and distinct from the ruh, or ' soul ', the immortal 
part. 

There are many Darvish Orders in Bukhara, nearly all of the 
Sunni, or orthodox kind, more closely attached to the dogmas of 
the Quran and its Prophet than those of Persia, which are almost 
all Shfa, and advocates of the Caliph 'All. The people of these 
two countries are much divided by their religious sentiments, 
though with 'Othman those of Bukhara have a strong sympathy. 
I regret to be unable to give any account of the Darvish Orders 
of the latter country, and believe that they are particularly fanatic 
and hostile to all non-Mussulmans. 

M. le Cte. A. de Gobineau, formerly secretary of the French 
Embassy in Persia, in 1859 published a small work called Three 
Years in Asia, and on the subject of the religion of the people 
of Persia, gives some interesting accounts, from which I borrow 
the following summary : 

" The first sovereign of the dynasty of the Safawls, who 
mounted the throne in the sixteenth century, was not a Mussul- 
man. He was a Sufi. The partiality of the Persians for 'AH had 
already given birth to several sects, which extended as far even 
as Syria, the greater part of which were Shiites. The mullahs of 
Persia had always a tendency in that direction. The new dynasty, 
in accordance with them, made it the religion of the State, modified 
considerably the oral doctrine (of the hadis, or traditions), and 
broke off from the rest of Islamism. From this moment the 
interpretation given by the Persians to the law of Muhammad 
received a consecration. They became legitimists. The existence 
of an ecclesiastical body, the exaggerated cult of the Imams a 
theology as refined and exuberant in developments as the Quran 
is simple and the veneration of saints, out of whom they made 
demi-gods, was all formed into a doctrine, now not only tolerated 
and favoured, but even commanded. The mullahs, in fact, 



XIV 



THE MAHDI 325 



became the absolute masters of the empire. These, however, 
having assumed a despotic sway over the people, they became 
the object of satire and invectives, out of which grew a struggle ; 
and the sovereign having taken the part of the latter, these 
prevailed, and increased the civil power at the expense of the 
religious." 

The Eastern idea that the spirit or soul returns to this world 
and lives again in a new body, long after the decease and decay 
of its primitive corporeal form, is held as true by many of the 
modern Shaikhs of Persia. With them the belief in the re- 
existence of the Imam Mahdl is stronger than among any other 
Muhammadans. They are, as aforementioned, with few excep- 
tions, 'Aliides, and attach the greatest importance to all of the 
members of his family the twelve Imams. The transmigration 
of the soul from one body to another is fully developed in their 
estimation of the Mahdl. It is, perhaps, borrowed from a parallel 
in Christianity, or may even be traced to the Old Testament.* 
The Mahdi, according to them, still lives, and will again reappear 
in a new body. It forms the chief principle of the religion of the 
Druzes, who hold that the great apostle of their faith, Hakim 
bi Amr Allah, 1 possessed the soul of the 12th Imam. The 
Persians place but small faith in some of the dogmas of the Quran, 
and having superseded its founder by the person of 'All, are 
disposed even to doubt the authenticity of certain portions of it, 
or at least to interpret it after the manner of the Sunms. The 
Darvish orders of Persia are less good Mussulmans than the people 
at large, and carry the principle that the " spiritual part of man! 
emanated from God, and will return to Him ", 'and will as that} 
man, through a state of extreme piety and religious fervour, 
becomes re-united, or near to God, to an extreme degree. This 
same approach to the Divinity is supposed by them to give to 
the pious Darvishes great ; spiritual power ', so as to enable them 
to overcome the ordinary laws of nature, and therefore to perform 
superhuman, or otherwise ' miraculous ' acts. The most remark- 
able of these Darvishes, however, are not actually Persians, but 
come from India. M. de Gobineau describes one of these, who 
visited Teheran, from Kashmir, as " dressed in a cotton robe, 
much torn, his long and thin arms penetrating two sleeves, which 
scarcely held to the body ; he was barefooted ; his head covered 
* Elias. * See p. 121. 



326 THE NUSAIRIS xiv 

with a mass of black shaggy hair ; his eyes of a surprising 
brilliancy, and teeth of the greatest whiteness, offering a striking 
contrast to his dark Eastern complexion." He had travelled all 
over India, Turkistan, and the whole Eastern world ; and public 
report declared that he was possessed of the most extraordinary 
secrets. 

The Nusairis of Persia seem, from M. de Gobineau's account 
of them, to be those who entertain the most extreme principles 
of the 'Aliide Darvishes. They call their religion that of the 
ahl-i-haqq, or the ' people of truth '. The Arabs and Turks call 
them Nusairis, 1 the Persians 'AlMllahis. The former assimilate 

1 For a full account of the Nusairi see Histoire et religion des Nosairis, 
by Rene Dussaud, Paris, 1900. Their origin is obscure. Dussaud rejects 
the derivation of the name from nasrani, Christian, which would make it a 
diminutive, = ' little Christian '. He accepts the derivation from Muhammad 
ibn Nusair, a disciple of the llth Imam, Hasan-ul-'Askarl (p. 9). 

The Nusairl are found mainly in the mountainous country bounded on 
the E. and N. by the Orontes, and on the W. by the sea in Northern Syria. 
fThe Maronites and Greek Syrians tend to push them to the North. Often 
j called Ansaris, but quite incorrectly, they are not descended from the 
Ismailians, though in the very centre of the Jabal-an-Nusairia the remnants 
of that sect are to be found about Qudmus and Masiyad. Dussaud has 
ihown that de Gobineau's view that two-fifths of the population of Persia 
,re Nusairl was incorrect (pp. 1-5). > 

' The Nusairis make 'AH God, Muhammad his creation and with Salman 
1-FarsI the three form a trinity, which one of their sects, the Shamali, 
quates to the heaven, sun, and moon. The good Nusairi go to the stars, 
he bad suffer a long series of transmigrations, but even the good have to be 
ransformed seven times before they can reach heaven. Like the Isma'ili 
n general they divide the world-history into seven ages, in each appearing 
,n embodiment of deity. The Isma'ills further taught that in each of these 
)eriods there appeared a prophet or natiq (' utterer '), who was followed by 
t,n inferior (asas) who affirmed his law. But the Nusairis have postponed 
he natiqs to their chiefs, so that their bases are Abel, Seth, Joseph, Joshua, 
Lsaph, Peter (?), and 'Ali, and the natiqs, Adam, Noah, Jacob, Moses, 
lolomon, Christ, and Muhammad. The Nusairl sects are at least four in 
lumber. The first, the Shamali, are also called Shamsi from the sun-god. 
Another sect is the Ghaibi, for the present is the time of God's ' absence ', 
Hid the Absent is the true God, equated with the air or sky. A third sect, 
the Kalazi, holds that 'All dwells in the moon whence it is also called 
Qamari, from qamr, ' moon '. It denies that 'AH resides in the sun. One 
of its tenets is that by drinking wine one reaches a closer relation with the 
moon a possible parallel to the identification of the moon with the Vedic 
soma. The fourth and most advanced sect is the Haidari, which has accepted 
extraneous beliefs freely, however little it may preserve their ancient rites, 
while it admits that Muhammad is the sun and Salman the moon (p. 77). 



xiv THE 'ALI ILLAHlS 327 

them to the Christians of the East, whilst the latter suppose that 
they consider 'All as God, and so adore him. There are numbers 
of this sect in Constantinople, mostly from Persia, and the same 
exist in various parts of Asia Minor. He states that the 'Ali- 
Illahis (believers in the divinity of 'All) are different from the 
ahl-i-haqq, inasmuch as the former distinctly declare that the 
son-in-law of the Prophet was an incarnation of the Deity, and it 
is for this reason that they are considered by the more rigid 
Mussulmans as assimilated to the Christians, who attribute the 
same divine character to Jesus Christ, whilst the ahl-i-haqq 
consider that every one may, by superior piety and love of God, 
become joined to -him, or even become God. 

I make special mention of these two sects of Persia, whence 
came almost all of the Darvish orders now in the Ottoman empire 
and refer particularly to the principles entertained by the 
BaqtashTs~~b~ef6re described. They have but little respect for 
Islamism, though they hold themselves to be Muhammadans. 
The ahl-i-haqq carry the dogmas of the Baqtashis to anextreme f 
degree | they consider the Qufaishite TropHet^Jiiuhammad) as 
an impostor, and do not either frequent the mosques nor perform 
the prayers, except when it is absolutely necessary. They pretend 
to a purely spiritual religion, and are very tolerant to other 
religions. They differ from ordinary Mussulmans by not believing 
in any legal impurity, and so have no need of the ablutions pre-j 
scribed by the former. They divide themselves into the ahl-i-, 
sharfat, or those of ' religious legal law ' ; the ahl-i-ma'nfat, orj 
those of ' religious knowledge or wisdom ' ; the ahl-i-tariqat? or, 
those of the ' destructive orders ' ; and the ahl-i-haqfqat, or ahl-i- 
haqq, or those of the ' true faith ', or ' truth '. By their theory, j 
the first are those who follow the ordinances of the religious law, 
and among them are considered the Jews and Christians ; the 
second are those who still seek for higher and more extensive 
knowledge, among whom are the Sufis, whose beliefs are quite 
pantheistic ; and by considering each human soul as a Divine 

1 Tariltat in original. It is difficult to get the meaning ' destructive 
orders ' out of this form. Probably it is merely an error for the usual 
ahl-i'fanqat, ' people of the path '. But the possibility that the text is 
correct must not be overlooked. There may be an allusion to the 86th 
chapter of the Quran, the T&riq, or ' Night-comer '. But the whole passage 
is full of typographical mistakes, me'arifet, hakeekat, repeated. Just below 
the original has shee'at for shari'at. 



828 THE TRUTH xiv 



f emanation, expose themselves to much persecution by an assump- 
tion which would, in extensis, place them superior to ordinary 
humanity. As this incarnation of man originates in India, this 
doctrine may be considered semi-Hindu semi-Ghabr. The 
second (ahl-i-ma'rifat) are those who seek for divine knowledge 
, and, having obtained it, are superior to the ignorant ; whilst the 
\ third (ahl-i-tarigat) are those who have found and entered upon, 
\ the true path, which leads to divine inspiration. 
| Malcolm, in his History of Persia, on the subject of the Darvish 
I principles (Sufiism) also says : " So as to secure fidelity and 
secrecy, the murld or novice is required to place himself under 
the guidance of a Shaikh or Master of the Order, who is regarded 
as possessing a peculiarly holy character, and to place implicit 
confidence in his tuition, as well as to submit to his will, quite 
to use the Darvish expression ' like a dead body in the hands of 
an Imam'". 

Darvishes represent themselves as entirely devoted to Haqq, 
or ' the Truth ', and as being incessantly occupied in the adora- 
tion of Allah a union with whom they desire with all the ardour 
of a Divine love. The Creator is, according to their belief, 
diffused over all His creatures. He exists everywhere and in 
everything. They compare the emanations of His Divine Essence 
and Spirit to the rays of the sun, which they conceive to be 
continually darted forth and reabsorbed. It is for this reabsorp- 
tion into the Divine Essence to which their immortal parts 
belong that they continually aspire. This return to the Deity 
is fully carried out in a verse [151] of the Quran (2nd chap.), which 
1 says: "All mankind are of, and will return to, Him". This 
j[ verse is the basis of much of what is peculiar to the Darvish 
| doctrine. They believe that the soul of man, and the principle 
I of life, which exists throughout all nature, is not from God, but 
\of God. In their sophistry they use the term ' ' Alam-i-khidl 
!(' delusive world ') to signify that we are continuously in a state 
pf delusion with regard to the mada, or * matter ', of which the 
universe is formed ; that the ' Light of God ' is the animating 
principle which enables us to see the latter viz. the * matter ' 
jjiist as would be the case did not light shine upon all objects, 
ajnd so render them visible to the eyes ; and that God having 
pbured His Spirit over the universe, its light became diffused 
everywhere, and intelligence beamed upon the mind of man. This 



xiv THE PATHS 329 

/ 

is also called the Wahdat-ul-Wujud, or ' unity of being ' the 
One God being everywhere and in all things. 

Their doctrine teaches that there are four stages or degrees, 
called the four columns of the Order, through which living man 
must pass before he can attain to the highest grade that of 
' Divine Beatitude ' when his corporeal veil will be removed and 
his emancipated soul will rejoin the glorious Essence from which 
it had been separated) but not divided. The first of these stages 
is that of humanity, called the SharPat7'or that of ' holy law ', 
which supposes the murld or disciple to live in obedience to the 
written law, and to be an observer of all the established rites, 
customs, and precepts of the (Islam) religion, which are admitted 
to be useful in regulating the lives and restraining the vulgar mass 
within the proper bounds as souls cannot reach the heights of 
Divine contemplation, and might be corrupted and misled by 
that very liberty of faith which tends to enlighten and delight 
those of superior intellect and more fervent devotion. 

The second stage is called the tariqat, or ' paths ', which may 
be called that of the ' mystical rites ', in which the murld or 
disciple attains power or strength. He who arrives at this leaves 
that condition, in which he is only admitted to admire and follow 
a murshid, or ' spiritual teacher ', and enters the pale of the 
mystical Sufiism before-mentioned. He may now abandon all 
observance of strictly religious form and ceremonies, because he 
exchanges practical for spiritual worship. But this cannot be 
attained without great piety, virtue, and fortitude, as the mind 
cannot be trusted in the neglect of religious or legal usages and 
rites necessary to restrain it, whilst yet weak, until it has acquired 
strength from habits of mental devotion, grounded on a perfect 
knowledge of its own dignity, and of the divine nature of the 
Almighty. 

The third stage is that of the ma'rifat, or ' Knowledge ', and 
the disciple who arrives at, or is deemed to have attained to, 
supernatural knowledge or, in other words, to have become as 
one inspired is supposed when he reaches it to be on an equality 
with the angels in point of knowledge. 

" The fourth and last stage or degree is called the haqiqat, or 
that of the ' Truth ', at which the disciple is supposed to have 
arrived when he has become completely United to the Deity. 

In these four degrees the disciple must be under the guidance 



330 THE FOUR DEGREES xiv 

of a murshid, who on his part must be of great piety and virtue, 
and himself reached them, through the spiritual teachings of 
another. For this purpose he attaches himself to a learned Shaikh 
and seeks instructions from his wisdom, just as, in the times of 
the Greek philosophers, young men, anxious to learn the prin- 
ciples of a particular master, attached themselves to him and 
sought knowledge from his mouth or like St. Paul at the feet 
of the learned Jewish teacher Gamaliel. 

The murid must, mystically, always bear his murshid in mind, 
and become mentally absorbed in him, through a constant 
meditation and contemplation of him. The teacher must be his 
shield against all evil thoughts. The spirit of the teacher follows 
him in all his efforts, and accompanies him wherever he may be, 
quite as a guardian spirit. To such a degree is this carried that 
he sees the master in all men and in all things, just as a willing 
subject is under the influence of the magnetiser. This condition 
is called ' self-annihilation ' into the murshid or Shaikh. The 
latter finds, in his own visionary dreams, the degree at which the 
murid has reached, and whether or not his soul or spirit has 
become bound to his own. 

At this state of the disciple, the Shaikh passes him over to the 
spiritual influence of the pir, or original founder of the particular 
tariq or ' path ' to which they belong, long since deceased, and he 
sees the latter only by the spiritual aid of the former. This is 
called ' self-annihilation ' into the pir. He now becomes so much 
a part of the pir as to possess all of his spiritual powers, and may 
perform even all of his supernatural acts. 

The third grade also leads him, through the spiritual aid of 
the Shaikh, up to the Prophet himself, whom he now sees in all 
things. This state is called, like the preceding, ' self-annihilation ' 
into the Prophet. 

The fourth degree leads him even to God. He becomes a part 
of the Divinity, and sees Him in all things. Some, in this state 
of ecstacism, have gone so far, in Persia, as to declare themselves 
to be the Deity, and for this have forfeited their lives,-r-such as 
Mansur * and Nasim, 2 both celebrated mystical Darvishes. It is 
related that JunaidI of Baghdad, the pir of all the modern 'Aliide 

1 Mansur al-Hallaj is doubtless meant : see note on p. 84 supra. 

2 Nusimi, a Turkish Sufi poet, a fervent admirer of Hallaj, and a member 
. of the Hurufi sect (E.R.E., art. Sufis). 



xiv THE PROPHET A StM 331 

Orders, believed himself to be in this state, and allowed his 
disciples to cut at him with a sword. It is said that they could / 
not hurt him, but made, nevertheless, so many wounds on their / 
own persons. / 

The Shaikh, after this remarkable proof of spiritual teaching,/ 
next brings the murld back to his original state, like the physician 
who, after reducing the patient, by natural remedies restores him 
to health, and puts upon him the tdj, or cap of his Order, or 
confers upon him the grade of khalifa, which, in his case, is an 
honorary degree. He now again performs all of the rites of 
ordinary Islamism. Few ever reach the fourth degree, though 
many do the second. Although in all the various Orders there 
are differences of usages and forms of worship, still, in the chief 
principles they agree with each other, particularly in those 
which inculcate the necessity of an absolute obedience to inspired 
teachers, and the possibility, through fervent piety and enthu- 
siastic devotion, of attaining (for the soul, even when the body 
inhabits this world) to a state of celestial beatitude. Among the 
first acts required of the murid, or disciple, is that of spending 
much of his time with some forty days and nights in retire- 
ment and prayer, invoking the name of Allah, after which he will 
see visions, the spiritual interpretation of which he receives from 
the Shaikh of his takia. Among their points of belief are the 
following. Some maintain that God has entered or descended 
into the Devout, and that the Divine Spirit enters into all those 
who are of a truly pious and intelligent mind. 

Some believe that God is as one with every enlightened mind, 
and that the immortal part forms its union with God, and becomes 
God. They say, as before stated, that the Divine nature of 
Christ, who is called by all Mussulmans the Ruh Allah, or ' Spirit 
of God ', was derived from the Spirit of the Deity entering the 
womb of the Virgin Mary. Others, as before stated, hold that 
God is in all things, and that everything is God. They say that 
the Prophet was a Sufi, or believer in mystical religion, of a high 
order, and quote many of his hadisat, or ' traditional sayings ', 
to sustain the same. They declare that the Caliph 'AH was 
thoroughly acquainted with their doctrines, and deputed two of 
his sons, Hasan and Husain, and two other holy men of his time, 
named Kumail ibn-Zaid 1 and Hasan al-Basri, to teach and 

1 Kumail ibn Zaid, ? 'Abdullah al-Kamil (J.R.A.S., 1903, p. 158. Bufe 
see p. 156). 



332 THE SULTAN AS CALIPH xiv 

perpetuate them. From these, they maintain, many of the 
principal founders of tariqs or paths received their intuition, and 
their khirqas, or mantles, as symbols of their spiritual orders. 
This symbol reminds us of the mantle of Elijah which descended 
upon Elisha, and the cloak or garment of Christ. 

I may also add a fact of some significancy. As among the 
more recent Orders of Darvishes, the head of the takia is called 
the Shaikh, or murshid, and his successor the khalifa, or caliph, 
so is it with regard to the political head of the State who has 
received the mantle of the Prophet, and becomes his caliph, or 
' successor '. Sultan Sallm I. received the khirqa sharif, or holy 
mantle, from Muhammad, the last of the Abbassides, of the 
Prophet's lineage, when he conquered Egypt ; and this revered 
relic is carefully preserved in the old seraglio at the present time, 
under the charge, I am assured, of a descendant of the ashab, 1 
or friendly companions of the Prophet, named rais, on whom he 
bestowed it. 

To arrive at the second grade or degree of office in a takia, 
that of khalifa, it is, as before stated, necessary to spend much 
time in fasting and prayer, and in complete abstraction from all 
worldly pursuits. The man must die, so to say, before the saint 
can be born. To this degree of spiritual perfection, as well as to 
his supposed familiarity with all the mystical dogmas and tenets 
of the Order, he must possess the respect, reverence, and entire 
submission of all of the murids. By constant prayer, his breath, 
even his touch, must possess a sanctifying influence, and be 
believed to have the superhuman power of performing miracles. 
This is peculiarly the case with the Rifa'I, or ' Howling Darvishes '. 
If, in the course of his devotional probation, the murid who seeks 
advancement succeeds in seeing a vision, the pir of his Order, 
by whom its import is interpreted, may terminate his seclusion ; 
and though much reduced in bodily strength (but strengthened 
spiritually), his trial has not ended. He must wander from place 
to place ; visit holy tombs, at which to seek further inspiration, 
perform the pilgrimage to Makka and Madina, and even proceed 
to the revered tombs of Karbala, near to Baghdad. 

Among some of the Orders, the Shaikh is free to leave his 
mantle of succession, at his death, to whomever of his murids he 
deems most worthy of it. But in tne Ottoman empire, the office 

1 This seems to be a mistake for ashab-ul-ra'i (J.R.A.S., 1906, ,p. 325). 



xiv THE PROPHET'S RECITATION 333 

of Shaikh has generally become hereditary in the family of the 
murshid, though in default of a son and heir the members may 
elect a successor from among themselves ; or all the Shaikhs 
of the same Order meet and select one, subject, however, to 
confirmation by the Shaikh-ul-Islam, or head of the Islam 
Faith, who resides at Constantinople, and is appointed by the 
Sultan. 

The zikr, or repetition of God's Name by the Darvishes and 
Moslems generally, which has been explained elsewhere, may be 
traced to the habit of the Prophet himself, who frequently recited 
various portions of the Quran, with an audible voice, both in 
moments of prayer and in those of danger, to his followers. To 
the efficacy of this recitation he evidently attached great import- 
ance, and believed in their merit with the Creator. During several 
of his battles he observed this custom, either designing thereby 
to encourage his forces, or to obtain a Divine manifestation 
through the pious act. As he, doubtlessly, fully believed in his 
own inspiration, and that the verses which he recited had come 
to him from the Creator, through the medium of a celestial 
messenger, whom he called the Angel Gabriel during his periods 
of pious fervour and ecstasy, he also believed in their value near 
Him from whom they emanated. It is not, therefore, surprising 
that his followers should still entertain the same conviction. 
Such a belief finds some confirmation in the practice of pious 
Christians, when they call upon God and Christ in the language 
of the Old and New Testaments. In his last illness the Prophet 
often recited various surahs, or chapters, some of the longest of 
the Quran, especially in the quiet of the night, in praise of the 
Lord. It is related that he suffered greatly during his periods 
of mental excitement and agitation attending the reception of 
the revelations conveyed to him by the Angel, such as the 
chapters called the ' Hud ' [xi], the 4 Inevitable ' [Ivi], and the 
' Striking ' [ci], designated as the ' terrific ' surahs ; and he is 
said to have attributed his grey hairs to them. It is difficult to 
suppose that he composed these long chapters and committed 
them at the same time to memory, and yet such must have been 
the case. He pretended to no superhuman powers at such 
seasons, nor did he ever recite them in the view of imposing on 
his friends, disciples, or any others, differing widely from the 
Darvishes, 



334 CONTEMPLATION xiv 

I would refer the curious reader to the Life of Mahomet, by 
William Muir, Esq., of the Bengal Civil Service, for the most 
interesting and truthful biography ever written of this wonderful 
man. I regret not to have found in it any allusion to the origin 
of the tariqs, or ' paths ' of the Darvishes. 

Whenever the origin of these tariqs cannot be found in the 
practices of the Prophet, or in the interpretation of the verses of 
the Quran by their pirs or founders, it may be taken for granted 
that it is contained in the hadis, or traditions, collected in the 
first and second centuries of the Hijra. So far as I know, no 
collection of these has been translated into Turkish or any 
European language. They would, doubtlessly, well repay the 
labour of translation, especially could they be arranged chrono- 
logically, and with reference to the historical events which gave 
rise to them. 

SPIRITUAL EXERCISES 

The ordinary state or condition of pious contemplation and 
prayerfulness is called muraqaba. This is possessed in wakeful 
moments, when the soul and body are united, and the senses of 
the latter are enfeebled by superior powers of the soul. There is, 
however, another condition, called insild, when, it is held, the 
soul of man leaves the body, and wanders about without regard 
to time or space. It was in this latter that the Prophet is supposed 
to have ascended in the spirit to heaven, borne there on an 
imaginary celestial animal, called the Baraq. 1 
/ The celebrated Shaikh, Muhyi-ud-Din al-'Arabi, relates regard- 
ing the insila : " Once when I was in the vicinity of the holy 
and reverend Ka'ba (Caaba), it happened that, absorbed in mental 
reflections on the four great jurisconsults of Islamism, I beheld 
a person who continuously made the tawdf or circuit of that holy 
building. His height was quite as elevated as the Ka'ba itself. 
Two other individuals were engaged in the same occupation, and 
whenever these were near to each other, the power would pass 
between them, without, however, separating them. From this I 
concluded that the individual must belong to spiritual bodies only. 
As he continued his circuits, he recited the following : ' Truly, we 
have been, for many long years, engaged in walking round this 
holy house, but you only are doing it now ' (Quran, cxxiii). 

1 See note at p. 28. 



xiv FASCINATION 335 

" On hearing these words, I formed a desire to know who he 
was, and to what tribe he belonged. So I fixed him with my 
eyes, after the manner called habs-i-nazr, 1 and when he had ended 
his circuit, and desired to depart, he was unable to do so. Finally, 
he came to my side, and feeling that I was the cause of his deten- 
tion, begged me to allow him to depart. I answered him with 
the words, Bismillah ur-Rahman ur-Rahlm, ' In the name of God, 
the merciful and the clement ', and added, ' I will allow you to 
go only after you have let me know what kind of a being you 
are, and to what tribe or people you belong '. He replied, ' I am 
of mankind '. I next asked him how long it was since he left 
this world. He replied, ' It is now more than forty thousand 
years '. Surprised, I added, ' You say it is so long, whilst it is 
only six thousand years since Adam's time, and yet you state 
that you are of mankind '. He answered, ' The Adam you speak 
of was the father of the human race, and though since his time 
only six thousand years have elapsed, thirty other worlds pre- 
ceded him. In the Traditions of the Pride of all Beings (the 
Prophet), and the Sovereign ('AH), it is said, ' Certainly God 
created the Adam (Man) you know of, after the creation of an 
hundred thousand others, and I am one of these '. " 

The principles of this writer are peculiarly spiritual. He 
believes that the world was inhabited by many other species of 
human beings previous to the creation of Adam and Eve, all- 
differing from each other, and some of them also of various 
degrees of stature and spiritual faculties. The spirits of man- 
kind, separted by death from the body, continue to people the 
vast space which surrounds the world on which we dwell, but are 
wholly invisible to the ordinary organs of vision ; that some 
persons of a high spiritual power are, however, able to behold 
them, and that a superior spiritual faculty possesses an influence 
and power over an inferior one ; and that visions are not con- 
nected with the ordinary senses of the body, but are wholly 
spiritual, so that oftentimes during our corporeal slumbers, when 
the senses are lulled into repose, the soul leaves the body and 
wanders over the world, with a velocity which knows neither time 
nor space, and can see objects extremely distant ; whilst ordinary 
dreams are but an effect of the senses such, for instance, as 
memory when in a state of half repose, and are common to all 
1 Habs-i-nazar, lit, ' holding of the sight '. 



336 THE 'ISAWIA xiv 

animated nature, in which expression are understood those 
animals which do not possess immortal souls or spirits. 

In connexion with the preceding account of the principles of 
Muhyl-ud-Din, of arresting any one by a ' spell ', it may not be 
out of the way to add the following summary of a little work by 
Ibn-'tsai, as an explanation of what has only been given as a 
theory. 

Ibn-'Isai was born, so says the MS., at Ak-SIai, in Asia Minor, 
and emigrated thence to Tripoli of Barbary, where he founded the 
Order of the 'Isawis. 1 He was originally of the Order of the 
Bairamis. [Aq-Sarai must be meant.] 

An abridged account of his theory : 

Tdlib 2 signifies the Darvish. 

Matlub 3 is the person whom you wish to appear before you. 

Mulahaza is the action of thinking of the latter in such a manner 
as to make him appear. 

Tawajjuh is the producing of the person in question. 

Ahl-i-hal, those who have the power of making others appear. 

Ahl-i-tasarruf are the holy people who possess that power. 

Muraqaba is much the same as the tawajjuti. 

Hal is the state of ecstasy into which the person goes who 
makes the absent appear to him. 

1 The Isawia of Lane (Modern Egyptians, p. 466 1). Founded by Sidi 
Muhammad ibn-'Isa, the Isawia eat glass as well as fire. 

For their curious rites, reminiscent of those practised in India, by the 
Aghorls and others, see E.E.E., 10, p. 721. This account differs seriously 
from the one given by E. Montet, who says that Muhammad b. 'Isa was born 
of a Sharifian family in Mekinez (Morocco), where he also died in 1523-24, 
and became a member of the Shazili-Jazulia order. (Al-Jazuli, who died 
in c. 1465, was a native of Sus, the author of a famous work called the 
Dala'il al-Khairat, but his sub-order has almost ceased to exist as an 
organised community in Morocco.) The 'Isawia, on the other hand, became 
one of the most important in Africa. Mystical in doctrine, it has some 
remarkable ritual practices, which include the seated dance resulting in 
ecstasy so acute that the spirit of the founder of the Order is believed to 
have gained control over a disciple prostrated by it. -In this state the 
ecstatic is proof against the effects of broken glass, cactus leaves, etc., 
which they devour, and even against poison. The Bukhara (pi. of Bukhari), 
descendants of the famous Black Guard, instituted by the Sultans of 
Morocco, belong to this Order, now, at least, a negro aristocracy. The Order 
thus recalls the Baqtash relations with the Janissaries (v. E.R.E., 10, pp. 
719, and 8, p. 882). See also E.I. ii. p. 527. 

2 Lit. ' seeker '. - , 

3 Lit. the ' sought '. 



xiv WIFQ 337 

Kdl 1 is the condition of perfect submission of the person thus 
appearing to the power of the hal. 

Shughl 2 is the performance of this act of power. 

Wifq 3 is the science of mystical numbers. 

Istidraj 4 is the acquisition of certain illegal and diabolical 
powers, by the abandonment of the purifications and prayers 
required by religion. 

In the fourteenth chapter of his work he explains the spiritual 
powers of ' fascination ', viz. the producing of an effect upon an 
absent individual for a good or an evil purpose. He calls it that 
faculty of the soul of the t alib, or active agent, which by the power 
of the will, or profound contemplation (mulahaza), can produce 
the matlub, or passive object, before him. The method of exercis- 
ing this peculiar power, he says, can best be taught practically by 
a Mushaikh (Shaikh). One of the rules, however, is for the talib 
to place himself in operation (shughl) ; the name of the talib and 
the matlub must be drawn up according to the science of the wifq 
(or the mystical numerical value of the letters of their respective 
names) calculated and placed upon the left knee ; he must gaze 
'upon them with deep fixedness, and think constantly on the 
figure and form of the matlub ; he must blow, as it were, at the 
mouth of the matlub and recite his incantation, and so continue 
to bring the figure nearer and nearer to his vision. After this he 
must look at the wifq and recite the wird (an Islam prayer) ; 
now and then close his eyes, and blow at the mouth of the matlub ; 
then recite the fatiha (2nd 5 chapter of the Quran), without, 
however, for a moment allowing the figure to escape from his 
sight. To thus gaze upon the wifq is the same as to gaze upon 
the matlub ; to gaze upon the figure is an evidence of the hal, 
and to neglect to follow this rule is a proof that the talib is in a 

1 Kal, apparently qdl for iqalat, ' annulment ', or ' self-abandonment '. 

2 Shughl, fr. shaghala, ' was busied in ', ' engrossed in '. 

3 Wifq, apparently = harmony (cf. Salmone, Arab. Diet., p. 1222, where 
this form is not given). The form wafq means more especially ' a magic 
square ', but (if it is intended) it is very rightly given a much wider meaning 
in the text (v. W. Ahrens, "Studien fiber die magischen Quadrate der 
Araber ", in Der Islam, vii. p. 215). 

4 Istidraj, x. of daraja : lit. ' was beguiled '. The term may well be 
translated ' misdirection '. It ia found in As-Sulami's " Eisalat al- 
Malanaatia " (v. Der Islam, vii. p. 173). 

5 The 1st chapter. 



338 EVOCATION xiv 

state of istidrdj. When the figure is by this means brought near 
to the tdlib, he can describe it to any persons who may be present. 

It is related that Nimrud, who, Orientals say, was a great 
apostate, was once desirous of effecting an evil upon a king, and 
for this purpose had his portrait made and placed before him. 
By continuously gazing upon this figure, and by the exercise of 
his ' power of the will ', he so seriously affected the health of the 
king that he would certainly have died, had he not sent and begged 
him to cease, offering to submit entirely to his will. 

The tawajjuh is produced by the ahl-i-suluk x (the Darvish) 
fixing his gaze upon the heart of the matltib. If he looks upon 
the left breast, he will perceive the figure appear from out of the 
heart; then the act of the tdlib is completed. He must then look 
upon the left breast whilst in a dark and quiet apartment ; many 
erroneous thoughts will arise in his own mind, and after they have 
vanished, a rafat, or true state, 2 will come upon him ; the figure 
of the matlub will rise before him, and as it will be perfectly 
submissive to his will, he can readily effect whatever purpose he 
may have in view. 

Another mode of the tawajjuh is the following : This is not 
by looking at the heart, but by turning the thoughts to the 
Almighty. You must pray to Him, and give yourself up entirely 
'to Him. Whether the figure of the matlub appear or not, the 
tdlib must persist in his act of the shughl, and pray and weep with 
much warmth, until it does finally appear. The moment it begins 
to show itself, he must blow, as it were, in its mouth, recite the 
invocation, lament and beg, and excite his own feelings exces- 
sively. The tdlib, nevertheless, must be calm in mind, and not 
suffer his fervour to overcome him. Besides this, he must never 
have any doubt of the efficacy of his effort, but place entire faith 
in its certainty. 

Every ddira, or ' mystic circle ', has its tawajjuh ; that of the 
tdlib, who seeks the right path, is called ' of the heart '. When 
once attained, its possessor can perform spells over the feebler 
wills of others, especially of females. When he reaches the 
daira of the spirit, he can bewitch men and lovers ; on reaching 
that of the ' mind ', he can bewitch aged persons, the 'ulama 
(doctors of law), ihefuzld (pious), the zdhid (the devout). By the 

1 Lit. ' people of the way '. 
8 Apparently rufa't, ' elevation ', or rafat, ' high pitch '. 



xiv PERSONAL MAGNETISM 339 

secret circle he can enchant the learned, poets, and those who 
spend their lives in the pleasures of love. By it, also, he can 
ensorcillate Shaikhs, people in a state of ecstatic fervour, the 
tasawwuf, and even the ahl-i-suluk (Darvishes). In the circle of 
the Jalal (name of the Deity), these powers are used for purposes 
of revenge ; in that of the jamal (beauty), for purposes of kind- 
ness ; and all of these are known to the ahl-i-hal. As it some- 
times happens that through the power of the tdlib the figure of 
the third person is produced, this one is apt to suffer from it, and 
may even die ; it is, therefore, necessary that the operator be 
made thoroughly acquainted with the process, lest danger be 
incurred. Should the talib produce the figure of a fiend, or of his 
beloved, he must cease and recite the ikhlas (a Moslem prayer), 
and so preserve him or her from any injury. At other times the 
tdlib effects the tatvajjuh and the tasawwur (imagining), and when 
the figure of the matlub appears, he can arrest it by a spell, by 
simply crying out its name, blowing in its mouth, and, looking 
fixedly at its heart, reciting a prayer. 

The powers of the Shaikh ibn-'Isa were certainly thus most 
'extraordinary, for after reciting the wird, he would gaze fixedly 
upon the wifq, so as to produce, before his own vision, the figure 
of the person desired. He could so affect any person present, 
as to perfectly subdue him or her to his will, and then take any 
revenge on him or her that he pleased. No one could withstand 
the ardour of his gaze, and he could impress .any one so as to hold 
him completely under his control. 

Another tawajjuh is when the talib is desirous of bestowing 
something upon a matlub, and he can then so influence the latter 
by his powers as to impress him beneficially. This is generally 
done to the sdliks, or neophytes under his instruction* The 
Shaikh ibn-'Isa, during the course of his instructions, would 
bestow the benefit of the prayers of his circle upon his pupils, 
and so enable them to produce the same results on others. This 
he could do from a distance as well as near, and he could so 
influence them, that they assumed whatever condition he pleased, 
of joy or grief. 

The preceding is quite sufficient to show the nature of the 
' spiritual powers ' of this Shaikh, who is quite renowned in Tunis 
and Tripoli, where there are many adherents of his Order. They 
seem to be of a magnetic character, and resemble those of 



840 HEMP xiv 

Muhyi-ud-DIn al-'Arabi, mentioned in a preceding part of this 
chapter. 

^ 

HASHISH 

Heretofore I have endeavoured to explain how, among the 
Darvishes, the mental excitement and enthusiastic germ is 
ascribed by them entirely to divine inspiration, growing out of 
the zikr, or invocation of the Deity. Among some of them, 
however, material means are also resorted to for the purpose of 
exciting, if not the mental faculties, at least the brain, so as to 
produce visionary glimpses of what is considered by them 'at 
least a foretaste of future happiness and enjoyment, in that 
existence which the more sensible hold to be entirely of a 
' spiritual ' character. On this subject a writer in the Levant 
Herald, of Constantinople, makes the following observations : 

" The peculiar pleasures affecting especially the nerves, and 
produced by narcotics, tobacco, and opium, belong apparently 
to modern times that is to say, that it is only in modern times 
that we find them in general use. Amongst the ancients there is 
very little doubt of their existence, but they were the secrets of 
the priests, or of the initiated. We read, for instance, of certain 
temples in Cyprus or in Syria, to which the votaries thronged 
from all parts of the world, in expectation of having their wishes 
gratified. Those wishes generally were in such cases interviews 
with some beloved object, or visions of future happiness. The 
votary was bathed, dressed in splendid robes, given some peculiar 
food, after which he inhaled a delicious odour, and was then laid 
on a couch strewn with flowers. Upon this he probably went to 
sleep ; but in all events such an intoxication of the mind was 
produced that the next morning he rose satisfied that in the 
night all his desires had been realised. The worship of the 
Paphian Venus, of the ' Syrian goddess ', be she Astarte, or known 
by whatever other name, and of other mystical divinities, was full 
of these rites, in which the effects on the mind could only have 
been produced by narcotic stimulants." 

The first intention of hashish was evidently not as a stimu- 
lant. It was intended as a 'spiritual' soporific producing that 
quiescence of soul so dear to Orientals, and known throughout 
all the regions under Arabian influence by the name of kaif .* But 
3 ' Intoxication ', ' carouse ' : see note on p. 210 supra. 



XIV ITS EFFECTS 341 

this stolid annihilation of ideas was not sufficient for the more 
exalted natures ; these found a higher power in the drug that 
of raising the imagination until it attained to a beatified realisa- 
tion of the joys of a future world. This last effect could only 
be produced by mixing other noxious ingredients with hashish, 
already sufficiently noxious of itself, and the effect of the delirium 
was mentally worse than that of opium itself. The mind (brain), 
utterly prostrate after the effect had ceased, required still more 
imperatively than in the case of the opium-eater a fresh supply 
to the diseased imagination ; the dose was heightened as the 
craving for beatitude became stronger, and half-a-year's in- 
dulgence ended in a madness of the most moody and miserable 
kind all the more miserable that, unlike the opium-eater, the 
inhaler of hashish in this form preserves his corporeal strength and 
activity. The lovers of this vice present few of the hideous forms 
of humanity exhibited by a Chinese opium-house ; but, on the 
other hand, the mental effect is wilder, more terrible, and yet 
more difficult of cure. 

The use of hashish prevails in the Levant to an extent very 
'little suspected by the common observer, so carefully is it con- 
cealed, or veiled under the pretence of ordinary smoking. The 
word hashish is of Egyptian or Syrian origin (khashkhdsh in the 
Arabic language signifies simply the poppy). At Constantinople 
it is known by the name of asrar, 1 which word means a secret 
product or preparation ; the name of hashish in European Turkey 
being confined to the poppy from which the product is obtained. 
The cultivation of this plant is carried on with much activity in 
many parts of the Ottoman dominions ; it thrives best and in 
most abundance in the provinces of Asia Minor, and especially 
Nicomedia, Brussa, and in Mesopotamia, near Mosul. The dealers 
in asrdr repair to these countries towards the end of May, in the 
first place, to examine the state of the vegetation and to suggest 
improvements in its cultivation ; and in the second, to overlook 
the harvest, and themselves to collect the dust which forms the 
staple of this commodity. The merchant, as soon as he arrives 
at the spot, sends the company he brings with him into the fields 
to cut off the heads of the plants, in order that the leaves which 
contain the precious material may have more force, Fifteen days 

1 Especially a preparation of Indian hemp (Redhouse, T.-E. Lex., 
P. 109). But it is also used of opium (Massignon, Lexique technique, p. 86). 



342 



THE TRADE IN HEMP 



XIV 



after this operation the plants are gathered in, after care has been 
taken to ascertain that the leaves are large, and feel viscous to 
the touch. The plants are cut down, not rooted up, for fear of 
damaging the leaves ; they are then taken into a shed, where the 
leaves are carefully picked off, and spread out to dry upon a long 
coarse carpet, made of wool, and called kilim. 1 When the leaves 
are sufficiently dry, they are collected together upon one-half of 
the carpet, the other half being left free for the purpose of beating 
the leaves till they are reduced to dust. The first product is 
immediately collected, forming the choicer portion of the asrdr, 
and is called sighirmd. The fibres of the leaves are then, by means 
of a second and third pounding, reduced to dust. This dust, 




A BAQTASH DARVISH INHALING SA8HJSH. 

called honarda, is in less esteem ; so much so that, while the first 
dust sells at forty francs the kilogramme, the second is not worth 
more than ten, it being not only as the refuse, but lying under the 
suspicion of adulteration. It is sent to Constantinople in double 
sacks the outside one of hair, the inner one of skin ; the entire 
quantity is not there consumed, much of it being sent to Egypt 
and Syria. Before being brought into the market, the asrdr is 
differently prepared, according to the tastes of the different 
countries. In Egypt and Syria the extract is preferred in a fatty 
form, prepared with butter. At Constantinople the rancid and 
viscous flavour produced by this process is greatly disliked, and 
the asrdr is sold in the form of syrup, or in pastiles to be smoked 
with tombeM 2 (in the ndrghfli or water-pipe). The simple syrup 
still retains something of the fatty and viscous flavour, and for 

1 Kilim, gitim, ' a woollen frock ', Kashf-ul-Mahjub, p. 45. 
2 Vulg. for tanbaM, ' tobacco of Shiraz ' (Redhouse, p. 597). 



xiv INTOXICANTS 343 

that purpose some aromatic productions, as baharab, are intro- 
duced into the preparation. This last addition is of great im- 
portance, as by the nature of its excitement it impresses the mind 
of the imbiber, in addition to the ecstatic delirium of the pure 
hashish, with a series of visions of the joys of paradise and other 
scenes of future life, much prized on this account by the true 
believer. This last preparation is extremely expensive, and is 
therefore only in the reach of the rich ; it is chiefly used by the 
grandees of Asia Minor, who, being more devout than those of 
Europe, carefully abstain from fermented liquors, but consider 
hashish, which produces the same effects in a very aggravated 
form, to be in perfect accordance with the law of the Prophet. 

The inhabitants of the capital (Constantinople) are less 
impulsive, and for the purpose of producing that state of mind 
so desirable, and known in the East by the name of kaif, they add 
the effects of rdqi and other fermented liquors. The pastiles for 
smoking are thus prepared. A certain quantity of asrdr is put 
into an iron pot, and warmed slowly over a brazier. A peculiar 
acrid odour is then given forth, upon which the operator puts his 
hand, enclosing a portion of the dust, into a vase full of a strong 
infusion of coffee, with which he carefully moistens and kneads 
the dust. After having been thus mixed, the dust becomes a 
paste, having the smell and colour of coffee ; it is then taken 
from the fire and put upon a marble table, where it undergoes a 
long process of manipulation until it is made thoroughly homo- 
geneous ; it is then cut in pieces, and moulded into the form of 
small cylinders or rolls. Pastile cylinders, weighing four grammes, 
are sold for a piastre (or four cents), and one is more than enough 
to throw any person not habituated to the practice into the most 
complete delirium. This last form of hashish is the most common 
and the best appreciated in the country. The reason of the 
preference is partly the cheapness and partly its colour and form, 
which allow it to be carried about and used without discovery. 
The pastiles are commonly soaked for use in the narghili with the 
tombeki, or Persian tobacco, but those who require a more decided 
action prefer the mixture with common tobacco, for which reason 
the dealers in asrar sell cigars impregnated with this substance 
to those who are not used to it. According to precise returns, 
the quantity of asrar dust collected in the aforenamed localities 
commonly exceeds 25,000 kilogrammes. 



344 TALISMANS xiv 



THE OCCULT SCIENCES 

Education in the East is removing from the minds of Moslems 
many of the superstitious ideas which they attached to what 
may be called the ' hidden arts ', and to the value of amulets, 
talismans, charms, etc. I have found, however, that these are 
still cherished by most of the lower classes, and especially among 
the Darvishes. Mr. Lane, in his excellent work afore- quoted 
called the Modern Egyptians, gives a minute account of these, 
and I would recommend the curious and patient reader to refer 
to it for what I spare him in the present humbler book. 

So much sanctity is attached by Moslems generally, and 
especially by Darvishes, to particular verses of the Quran as to 
lead them to believe in certain ' spiritual powers ' possessed by 
each one of these, differing according to their application. On 
many of the more magnificent palaces and qundqs, or the dwelling- 
houses of the wealthy, it is usual to suspend a writing for the 
protection of the same. Sometimes a few words are written on 
an angle of the building, and in these cases the words are generally 
some of the names of the Deity, or a pious invocation, such as 
Yd ! Hafiz ! ' Oh ! protector ! ' ; at others the writing is com- 
posed of several words, or even of a full verse of the Quran. In 
addition to these it is not at all uncommon to see suspended 
from an angle of the same edifice even a royal one an old shoe 
or a bunch of garlic, the latter sometimes painted blue. Even an 
old horseshoe is supposed to possess certain vague powers of 
protection against fire and ill-luck ; and as it cannot be supposed 
that the intelligent owner of the qundq really believes in its 
efficacy, it must be attributed to a ' popular superstition ', against 
which he does not care to offend. The ' pious invocation ' arises 
from a higher motive, inasmuch as it is a part of that strong 
principle of Islamism which teaches its disciples a perfect sub- 
mission to the will and providence of God, and to look to Him 
only for protection and preservation under all the circumstances 
of life. The religious amulets or tilasms generally known as 
' talismans ' are stones of various kinds, such as agates and 
cornelians, or even those of a more precious character. On these 
are engraved various verses of the Quran, or even some of its 
shorter chapters, and vary according to the peculiar belief of the 
engraver or the wearer. These are suspended to the neck, 



xiv CABALISTIC SCIENCE 345 

attached to the arm, or worn as a ring. Sometimes they are also 
an invocation of the Caliph 'All, or of all of the four direct caliphs 
of even the Prophet ; and when the former are sectarian, they 
generally are of a Persian or Darvish character. Verses of the 
Quran are also written on parchment or paper, and are worn in 
the same manner and for the same purpose. These are called 
nuskhas, or amulets, and are worn by an immense number of 
Mussulmans of every position in life. 

There is, however, another class of talismans, which are 
entirely of a mystical or cabalistic character, drawn up according 
to what is called the 'Ilm Wifd, 1 or * Science of Calculation '. To 
these the public, and especially the Darvishes, still attach extra- 
ordinary powers. 

This is the science of drawing up figures in a mystical manner. 
All the letters of the Arabic alphabet have a numerical value, like 
in our own ; V is 5, X is 10, etc., and it is therefore easy to draw 
up an invocation or a prayer in figures ; chronograms are written 
in a similar manner, and in most public inscriptions the last line, 
though written and possessing a signification of a special 
character, if calculated, also gives the date of the writing. In 
this manner, if I am not mistaken, the inscription on the 
marble slab sent by the late Sultan 'Abd-ul-Majid to the 
Washington Monument explains the period of the contribution 
in the last line. It is only necessary to ascertain the 
numerical value of each letter, and these when added together 
form the date. The letters ' Baktash ' make the date of his 
Order 738 H. 

It is also believed that each letter of the alphabet has a servant l 
appointed by Allah to attend upon it. These, it is supposed, \ 
may be invoked in case of need. Particular writings are equally ^ 
attended by mysterious beings, who, though they may not 
actually appear when invoked, are nevertheless present, and are 
supposed to obey implicitly the commands of the invoker. Some 
of these writings in numerals are for evil as well as for good 
purposes. They must be drawn up on certain days and hours, 
at certain periods of the moon, or on certain positions of the stars, 
without which their powers are lost. They are also engraved 
upon stones taken from certain localities, such as in the vicinity 
of the holy cities of Makka and Madina, in Arabia, or near the 

1 ? wifo 



346 COUNTER-CHARMS xiv 

tombs of celebrated saints or founders of the Darvish Orders. 
Those from the neighbourhood of the grave of Haji Bektash are 
highly esteemed. Besides verses from the Quran, are often seen 
invocations to 'AH or the other caliphs, and to the Prophet ; and 
mystical numerical calculations inscribed in and on drinking : cups, 
so that they may arrest the eye of the drinker. In case a charm 
is drawn up for the purpose of inspiring some one with the divine 
passion (love), the servants, or, as they are called, the jinns, 
attendant upon the letters which compose it meet together and 
devise a series of influences which, though invisible, are believed 
to have the power of compelling the devoted person to obey them. 
The only means of protection to be used in such cases is to draw 
up a counter charm, the jinns attendant upon which either over- 
come the others or come to a compromise, and so relieve the 
afflicted object. 

Various calculations are made of an abstruse nature, involving 
a series of cubes and squares, subtractions and divisions, multipli- 
cations and additions, of a conventional character, to learn a 
result, either odd or even. If odd, the result is considered un- 
fortunate ; whilst if even, it is fortunate. 

The tasbih, a Mussulman rosary, composed of ninety-nine 
beads (some of those of the Darvishes are much greater), represent 
so many names of the Deity, which are invoked by the devout. 
Its use is taken from the 41st verse of the 33d chapter of the 
Quran, viz. : " O, believers [in the unity of Allah, and the 
mission of His Prophet], repeat the name of Allah, and count 
His names, night and morning ". 

Another peculiar belief has been thus explained to me by a 
Darvish friend, in connexion with the mystical character of 
Letters, based upon the principle that the faculties of reason 
and speech being peculiarly Divine gifts bestowed upon man, 
letters also were given to him as a means of expressing himself, 
and of perpetuating knowledge, and were practically used by 
God himself, in His communications to some of the prophets, as 
in the writing of the Ten Commandments. 

The four elements, viz. water (&), earth (turab), fire (ndr), 
and air (hawd), possess twenty-eight letters, as follows : 

A, 1 ; b, 2 ; j, 3 ; d, 4 ; h, 5 ; v, 6 ; z, 7 ; h, 8 ; t, 9 ; y, 10 ; 
k, 20 ; I, 70 ; m, 40 ; n, 50 ; s, 60 ; 'a, or 'am, 70 ; /, 80 ; z, or 
zad, 90 ; k, 100 ; r, 200 ; sh, or shin, 700 ; t, 400 ; th, or thay, 



xiv THE ELEMENTS 347 

500 ; h, or heh, 600 ; 2, or zeh, 700 ; dz, 800 ; 2*, 900 ; and gh, 
or ghain, 1000. 

These are divided into four classes, each of a different tempera- 
ment. Fire has seven letters, i.e. a, h', t, m, f, sh, and dz, all 
supposed to be of a hot temperament. Earth has seven letters, 
i.e. d, h, I, 'am, r, khah or k, 1 and gh or ghain, which are of a dry 
temperament. Air has seven letters, i.e. b, v, y, t, s, n, and dz, 
all of a cold temperament. Water also has seven letters, i.e. 
j, z, s, k, kaf, t, and th, all of moist temperaments. The letters of 
the element water are considered as being the principal ones, and 
all the others as their branches ; for God says, in the Quran, "All 
things have been made by us from water ". 

These are called the ' Anasir-i-arU a, or the four elements of 
Nature, and are much considered in many of the modem sciences, 
such even as medicine and chemistry, among not only the Darvish 
Orders, but even among the more educated classes of Mussulmans 

generally. 

A OrM? 



CHAPTER XV 

UBICINl'S " LETTERS ON TURKEY " * THE HINDI, OR THE 
WANDERING DARVISHES OF INDIA 

ONE of the most interesting and correct writers on the East, 
Mr. M. A. Ubicini, devotes a chapter in his book entitled Letters 
on Turkey, to the subject of the Darvishes. I should commit an 
act of injustice did I not mention the valuable statements it 
contains. This author says : 

" If the 'Ulma [of Turkey] in its actual condition represent 
on the one side the secular clergy, the Orders of the Darvishes 
may also be assimilated, on the other, to the regular clergy of our 
own ecclesiastical society. Spread, from the Atlantic to the 
Ganges, over a vast space, under the name of Darvishes, Santons, 
Sufis, and faqirs, /they are the religious members of Islamism, in 
the same manner as the 'wZma are its theologians, and form, with 
these latter although they be irreconcilable enemies to each 
other the opposing force in Turkey .J 

"It is necessary, however, not to carry this assimilation too 
far. The Darvishes are individuals who voluntarily deprive 
themselves of their worldly goods for the purpose of devoting 
them to the benefit of the poor. The word Danish, according to 
the Persian etymology, signifies a beggar (dar signifies door, and 
vish spread, or extended, meaning, in fact, the poor, who, having 
no asylum, stretch themselves at night 'upon the sills of doors to 
sleep), thus denoting the poverty of the profession, and also one 
who reduces himself to mendicity for the purpose of aiding others. 
i I" The Khalifa All was the first among Mussulmans who gave 
(the example of this voluntary renunciation of worldly store, not, 

1 Translated from the French by Lady Easthope. London : Murray, 
1856. 

348 



XV PRE-MOSLEM SUFlISM 349 

as might be supposed, as an act of penitence, but to accomplish 
literally the maxim of the Quran, which says, ' The best of men 
is he who is useful to mankind 'J His example led a large number 
of Mussulmans in the same path, who formed an association, of 
which he became the chief. These were called the Safa-sahibi, 
from the Arabic adjective safi, ' pure ', to express the poverty of 
their lives and conformity to the moral law of the Quran. Little 
by little, however, the Darvishes departed from their original 
design ; attracted by the charms of contemplative life and thi 
example of the solitary individuals of India and Greece to tb 
practice of acts of benevolence, they substituted the ravings o 
ecstasism, and began to withdraw from the rest of society. Soon 
afterwards they formed communities, which adopted practices, 
some of an austere, and some of a fantastical character ; and it 
was then that, under the double influence of rules and mysticism, 
there was developed amongst the Darvishes the character which 
assimilates them to our religious Orders. 

i " Two things must be distinguished among the Darvishes 
doctrine and institution. The first is nothing else than the 
Sufiism which existed in the East long previous to the coming of 
Muhammad. Perhaps, if we wish to trace it to its origin, we 
must go back even to the most remote theocracies of Egypt and 
India, through the secret schools of the Pythagoreans, and the 
Neo-Platonism of Alexandria.) It is easy to convince oneself, if 
attention be paid, that under the confusion of fantastical names, 
times, and often of doctrines, the Greek trace does not cease to be 
visible in the Arabian philosophy alongside of an Indian impres- 
sion. It is thus that we see, more than a century before Mu- 
hammad, the two great sects which divide it : the meschaiouns 1 

1 Meschai'ouns, mushayi, ' one who follows and overtakes ', ' who con- 
' forms to, or agrees with ', ' an adherent ', from the same root as Shi'a. The 
resemblance to the Peripatetics is not very obvious. Some points of contact 
may, however, be traced. 

As stated on the next page, the mushayi continued in the mutakallim, a 
term which may be partially translated ' disputants ' (Macdonald, Muslim 
Theology, p. 147). But the doctrine of Husain Mansur was a mazhab Icalaml ; 
he was regarded as one of the Mutakallimun, and a good account of his 
teaching will be found in L. Massignon's Kitab al-fawasm and in his La 
Passion d' al-Hosayn-ibn-Mansour al-Hallaj. 

The mutakallimun cannot, however, be regarded as distinct from the 
Sufis, or as a school which taught any one definite doctrine (Der Islam, vi. 
p. 37 ff.). 



350 RATIONALISM xv 

(the_ walkers), and the ischrachawuns 1 (contemplatives), re- 
minding us, by the similarity of the namesfoFaTceTtain point, 
and by the conformity of doctrines of the two great philosophical 
schools of Greece, represented by their illustrious chiefs (muallim 
awwal), s of the grand master Aristotle, and Aflatun ilahi (' the 
divine Plato ') ; nor is it less true, notwithstanding this title of 
Divine, which has been religiously preserved in the 6 0e?os nxdrwj/ 
of the Greeks, that Plato, seated amidst his disciples, and rising to 
the highest practical truths of morality and religion, was but a 
Plato doubled up by Diogenes, bent up in a tub, and causing 
virtue to consist in absolute inaction and the annihilation of all 
the faculties. TThe almost simultaneous apparition of the Quran, 
and the writings of the ancient philosophers, which as yet were 
only known through tradition, marks a new era in the history of 
Arabian philosophy. The religious element joined the rational 
element which had, until then, reigned without partition ; and, 
under the combined influence of these causes, the two primitive 
sects, becoming each transformed in the sense of its doctrine 
the meschawuns continued in the ^mtakallim, or metaphysicians, 
and the ischrachdiouns in the Sufis A What is the correct origin 
of the name of Sufis, on which so many dissertations have been 
written? Does it come, as well as the word given to the associa- 
tion of which All declared himself to be the head, from the Arabic 
adjective safi, or from sofa, one of the stations around the Kaaba, 
or from suf (wool, or that which is made from wool), in allusion to 
the woollen garment adopted by this new sect, either through 
humility, or so as to distinguish it from the other rival sects? Or 
rather must it be attributed, more naturally, to a corruption of 
the Greek word ffofal ? This question of etymology merits less 
our attention than the examination of Suflism itself." 

^The beginning of Suflism is nothing else than pantheism, as 
shown in the exclamation of Maulana Jalal-ud-dm, addressed to 
his spiritual master, " my master, you have completed my 
doctrine by teaching me that you are God, and that all things are 

1 Ischrachaiouns ; under this formidable term is concealed a simple 
enough word, meaning in effect illuminati, from the hikmat-ul-ishraq, a kind 
of neo -Platonic mysticism. Mushriqm is the philosophy of illumination on 
which Avicennes wrote his al-Hikma al-Mushriqia. It is noteworthy that 
the alchemists also called their science hilcma (E.L ii. p. 305). 

2 Muallim eyel in original. 



xv SENECA AND SPINOZA 351 

God". ( Whilst the philosophers of India and Greece limited 
themselves to teaching, under a diversity of myths and systems, 
the immortality of the soul, the emancipation of Divine intelli- 
gence, its fall, its terrestrial condition, and reunion to its source, 
the Sufis had reached only to the sight, in material forms, of the 
emanations of the Divine essence, resembling, they say, the rays 
of the sun, which are continuously darted forth and re-absorbed ; 
applying thus to the entire creation that which Seneca had said in 
magnificent terms regarding the soul, in which a particle of the 
Divinity, " Quemadmodum radii solis contingunt quidem terram, 
sed ibi sunt unde mittuntur : sic animus magnus et sacer . . . con- 
versatur quidem nobiscum, sed haeret origini suae". Sen. Epist. 
xl. Comparisons of this nature abound in the books of the 
' Spirituality of the Sufis '. I will cite a few of those which are 
the most familiar. 

" You say ' the sea and waves ', but in that remark you do 
not believe that you signify distinct objects, for the sea when it 
heaves produces waves, and the waves when they settle down 
again become sea ; in the same manner men are the waves of God, 
and after death return to His bosom. Or, you trace with ink 
upon paper the letters of the alphabet, a, b, c ; but these letters 
are not distinct from the ink which enabled you to write them : 
in the same manner the creation is the alphabet of God, and is lost 
in Him." 

The Shaikh Shubli, contemporaneous with Murad II., whose 
disciple Ahmad-ud-din was condemned by a sentence of the ulmd 
to be skinned alive, publicly taught that the human soul absorbed 
in God, mixed with Him, just as rain does with the water of the 
sea. 

Spinoza undertook at a later period to show in proper terms 
the identity of God with matter. From that comes the necessity 
of a perpetual adoration of the Creator in His works. The Sufis 
inculcat.fi the dnntrine, 'Adore God in His creatures '. It is said 
in a verse of the Quran which I have already cited : " It is not 
given to man that God should speak to him ; if He does so it is 
by inspiration, or through a veil". Thus all the efforts of man 
should tend to raise up the veil by the force of divine love and 
the annihilation of the individuality which separates him from the 
Divine essence ; and this expression, ' raise up the veil ', has 
remained in the language of the East as expressive of the greatest 



352 THE WAHHABIS xv 

intimacy. Must one say, however, that the Sufis, by leaning 
upon the passage of the Quran, and upon another where it is said 
that " God made the creation as an emanation, and will afterwards 
cause it to re-enter Himself " (Quran, v. 4), pretend to the consecra- 
tion of this dogma ? On the contrary, the dogma had perished 
in their hands. They did not deny the divine mission of the 
Prophet, but they reduced his precepts to an allegorical sense, the 
key of which alone could give the interpretation. In our times 
even the Wahhabites, whom Sultan Mahmud could not wholly 
destroy, and who are still spread over the Persian Gulf, admit no 
other authority than that of the Quran as interpreted by human 
individual reason, and without any submission to the prophets 
/or the Imams. 

Moreover, the Sufis regained in the beginning all that such a 
doctrine could possess of the dangerous by teaching the strictest 
morality. They incessantly preached union, sobriety, universal 
benevolence, and offered in themselves an example. They said 
that evil only came into the world through ignorance, and is the 
cause of error and disunion among men. Some of them cited on 
this subject the following tale : " Four travellers a Turk, an 
Arab, a Persian, and a Greek having met together, decided to 
take their meal in common, and as each one had but ten paras, 
they consulted together as to what should be purchased with the 
money. The first said uzum, the second ineb, the third decided 
in favour of inghur, and the fourth insisted upon stafilion. 1 On 
this a dispute arose between them, and they were about to come 
to blows, when a peasant passing by happened to know all four 
of their tongues, and brought them a basket of grapes. They 
now found out, greatly to their astonishment, that each one had 
what he desired." 

" I do not know," adds M. Ubicini, " for my part any more 
abominable doctrine than this deceptive idealism which tends to 
substitute the creation for the Creator, and arrives by an irre- 
sistible slope at the destruction of all faith and all morality ; all 
the more dangerous as it veils its corruption under the most 

1 A. ''uzum, lit. ' husks of grapes '. A. 'inab, a grape. P. angur, grape. 
Gr. (rTa</>tfAi, grape. 

There may be a subtle hit at the Turk in the reply attributed to him. 
The word 'uzum is pure Arabic, not Turki, and does not mean grape (see 
Salmone, Arab. Diet., p. 560). 



xv StMlSM INSTITUTED 353 

amiable exterior, and so it misleads, unknown to themselves, the 
best minds : ' eo pernidosior, quod abundans duldbus vitiis ', as 
Quintilian said of the diction of Seneca. The materialism in 
which it finally terminates, with the unheard-of niceties of 
sensuality, is a hundred times less to be feared, because it at once 
revolts the secret instincts of the human conscience, whilst 
mystical reveries so full of seductions are a snare laid for the 
inclinations of the most unsuspecting and the most noble of our 
nature. It is this point which gives so much authority to the 
words of Bossuet, combating, in the name of the immutability of 
dogma and the integrity of morality, the quietism of Fenelon. 
These fermentations of dissolution, which Sufiism had thrown into 
the bosom of Mussulman society, did not at once manifest them- 
selves, tempered, moreover, as I have just said, by the ardent, 
though sincere, enthusiasm, and the austerity of morals of its first 
adepts. But they gradually gained ground, and little by little 
entered the veins of the .social body. In fact this spirit of holy 
abstraction upon which Sufiism is based ; this ardent mysticism 
so marvellously adapted to the imaginations, at the same time 
wildly unsteady and sensual, of Orientals, and of which the Bible 
offers more than one trace, could not fail to gain for him many 
proselytes. Egypt, once the cradle of monastic life, after the folly 
of the desert had succeeded, among the first Christians, to th 
folly of the cross, was again filled with Thebaides. With the onl; 
substitution of the name of Allah for that of Jesus, it was the sam 
life, or rather the same absence of life, ' Vitae mori ac vivere morti 
the same austerities, the same exaggerations. Mount Olympus 
on the Asiatic coast, nearly opposite Mount Athos, where the: 
were erected innumerable Greek monasteries, held thousands o 
these solitarians, lost in the contemplation of themselves and of 
nature, and whose memory is still venerated as that of holy 
persons. From thence they passed over into Arabia, to Persia, as 
far as the extremity of India, wherever there was Muhammada: 
power. Always this enthusiasm, like that of the earlier times/of 
Christianity, spread towards the desert, fleeing from the worja in 
contempt of temporal things ; it neither strove to reverse authority 
nor to invade established powers. Sufiism did not take this 
character until when, from being a doctrine, it became an 
institution." 

It was in the second century of the Hijra, near 129, that a 

2A 



354 SUFI ACTION xv 

Sufi reputed for his virtue and knowledge, Shaikh 'Ilwan, founded 
the first religious Order, to which he gave his name. This innova- 
tion met with great opposition on the part of the legislators and 
the truly orthodox of Islamism, who recalled the formal declara- 
tion of Muhammad, ' No monkery in Islam '. Though this 
sentence, because in some sort proverbial, was received at the 
same time as an article of faith by all Mussulmans, the inclination 
of the Arabs for a solitary and contemplative life carried it against 
orthodoxy. Other Orders were soon founded in imitation of the 
first. The number grew rapidly from the second to the seventh 
century, and also in subsequent epochs. Hammer counts up 
thirty-six, which he enumerates according to D'Ohsson. Of this 
number twelve are subsequent to the Ottoman monarchy, the 
eighteen others arose from the commencement of the 14th to the 
middle of the 18th century. 

Sufiism modifies itself, like all systems, by passing from theory 
to action. There were, as has been always practised in the divers 
schools of Theosophists and Thaumaturgists, two doctrines the 
one public, which precedes the initiation ; and the other secret, 
f QT the adepts only. A strict observance of religion and of alTthe 
social virtues was required of the candidate for his initiation. 
Later, when by a long suite of proofs and mortifications, above all 
by the absolute annihilation of his individuality, he was supposed 
to have arrived at the desired degree in which to contemplate the 
truth face to face, and the veil, until then spread over his vision, 
suddenly fell, they taught him that the Prophet in his book had 
only presented, under the veil of allegory, maxims and political 
precepts ; that the Quran without the interpretation was only an 
assembly of words void of sense ; that once the habit of mental 
devotion contracted, he could reduce his worship to a purely 
spiritual one, and abandon all forms and external ceremonies. 

" When one is out of the Ka'ba (the Ka'ba in the allegorical 
language of the Darvishes is ' Divine Love '), it is good to direct, 
our regards towards it ; but for him who is in the Ka'ba, it 
imports little to what direction he turns." This is the language 
of Jalal-ud-DIn in his Mdsnavl Sharif. The whole passage is too 
remarkable not to be cited here entire. 

" Moses once met with a shepherd, who, in the fervour of his 
soul, addressing God, exclaimed, ' my Master ! my Lord 1 
where art Thou, that I may become Thy servant, that I sew 



xv MOSES AND THE SHEPHERD 355 

r 
Thy shoes, that I comb Thy hair, that I wash Thy robes, 

that I serve up to Thee the milk of my goats, to Thee whom I 
revere? Where art Thou, that I may kiss Thy beautiful hand, 
that I rub Thy beautiful feet, that I sweep out Thy chamber 
before Thou retirest to rest ? ' Thus spoke the simple shepherd. 
Moses, warmed by zeal for the religion which he had been sent to 
proclaim, reproached this man for blasphemy, telling him that 
God has no body, that He has no need of clothing, of nourishment, 
or of a chamber, and ended by declaring that he was an infidel. 
The shepherd, whose intelligence could not rise to the compre- 
hension of a Being who had not, like himself, a body subject to all 
the same wants, was stunned by the reproaches of the envoy of 
God, gave himself up to despair, and renounced all adoration. 
God .addressed Moses, and said, ' Thou hast driven My servant 
away from Me ; I had sent thee to draw others near tp_Me r and 
nojfto'ffiviaeThem. Each beinghas received a mode of existence, 
and a different means of expressing himself What thou findest 
blameable, is praiseworthy in another. What thou callest poison, 
is honey in his sight. Purity, impurity, slowness, precipitation. 
allthese distinctions are beneath Me. The Indian language alone 
is good for the Indian, the Zend for the Zend. Tfielrexpressions 
cannot stain Me ; they, on the contrary, are pm5ieo!~^y the 
sincerity of the homage which they offeTto MeTjWords are 
nothing to Me ; 1 regard the heart, and if jt is humble, wjbat do 
I care if the tongue~Eella the MMrary ? The^heart jsthe sub- 
stance of love words jtre oni^acMents,_^ Myl^ryanj^embraces 
the heart oj My love, and cares nothing for thought, nor for 
e^rgssjgns] TJjgjcoinpass only serves to direct^the^pjayers of 

ui one knows 
the use of it.' " 

M. Ubicini, in giving this beautiful extract of the Mosnavi 
Sharif of the founder of the Maulavi Order of Darvishes, which 
shows in a very clear manner the purity of its Spiritualism, adds 
the following note : " Saint Theresa, in her ecstatic rapture, 
cries out in the same manner : ' O my Friend ! my Lord ! my 
well-beloved ! O life of my life ! ' When she beholds Jesus Christ 
during her devotional exercises, that which strikes her above all 
others is the incomparable beauty of His hand, the whiteness of 
His feet, the penetrating softness of His voice, of His look, etc. 
The language of the mystical of all religions is the same." 



356 THE B^GUINS xv 

I may here add another somewhat similar quotation from the 
writings of Jalal-ud-Din ur-Rumi. 

" During the reign of an Eastern sovereign, he remarked that 
the learned and pious men of his times differed widely in their 
estimate and comprehension of the Deity, each ascribing to Him 
characteristics differing the one from the other. So that this 
prince had an elephant brought in secret to his capital, and 
encircled in a dark chamber ; then, inviting these learned men, 
he told them that he was in possession of an animal which none 
of them had ever seen. Descending with them to the dark abode 
of the elephant, he requested them to accompany him. On enter- 
ing it, he said the animal was before them, and asked them if they 
could see it. Being answered in the negative, he begged them to 
approach and feel it, which they did, each touching it in a different 
part. After returning to the light, he asked them if they believed 
the animal really existed, and what it was like. One declared it 
was a huge column ; another, that it was a rough hide ; a third, 
that it was of ivory ; a fourth, that it was huge flaps of some 
coarse substance, etc. ; but not one could correctly state what the 
animal was. Now, returning to the same chamber, to which the 
light of heaven fully .penetrated, these learned men beheld, for 
the first time, the object of their curiosity, and learned that, 
whilst each one was correct in what he had said, all differed widely 
from the truth. 

" Such, now, said the prince, is God ; men judge of Him accord- 
ing to their sensual capacities, differing from each other, but all 
equally true, when they feel and search for the truth, without 
doubting of His existence." 

Similar doctrines came to light in the fourteenth century, in 
Christendom, among the Beguins, condemned by the Council of 
Vienne, in Dauphine, and which taught, among other anti-social 
>rinciples, that the practice and the observance of the law is only 
'or the imperfect, and that the perfect are exempt from it. Like 
these latter, the Darvishes tend to the overthrow of all authority, 
>olitical or religious. " Men who conduct themselves according to 
;he laws of society form one class, those who consume the love 
)f God form another. The lovers of God are the people of no 
>ther than God." 

" The last fragment of the dogma had thus departed, at the 
same time that the foundation of all morality was destroyed. One 



XV ADORATION OF THE MASTER 357 

only principle remained, and marked the ruin of religious enthu- 
siasm and sacerdotal imposture. This was submission to their 
inspired institutor (the pir), which took the place amongst the 
Darvishes of the individual interpretation, which is the basis of 
Sufiism. I ha^e already j?ited the narration of the Founder of 
the Maulavis, regarded by all the Darvishes, indisfrnctively, as 
greatest maSl'ei's of Llm ijpirmiai liteT ^O myjmaster, 



you have completed my doctrine by teaching jne that you are 
God, alid that all istlod/ Already nearly four centuries previous, 
Bayazid of Dustam, the loimder of the Bustamis, had identified 
himself with the Divinity, when he cried out, in the presence of 
hisoiscipies, amiding to his own person, ' Glory to me ! I am 
above all things ! ' a formula which, in the language of Orientals, 
is^gpplied exclusively to "Gbd.___Thel adoration T ot^hejyiaster 
replaces also for the Darvishes theworship of the Divinity ; the 
end^of the being no longer dwelt in the intimate union of the soul 
with the Greator r but in an,absplutejeonformity to^thejthoughts 
of theShaikh. ' Whatever you may do. whatever you may think, 
havejlw^Yg your SSaikh^resent in your mind.' Such is the first 
obligation, the only one, so to speak, imposed on thej)arvish, and 
expressed by~this species^ of_jngn,t a il p ra yP T 'j na.i]f|fl_jvTfa?f/ ; i to 
which he is not less exact in the performance than the_ojdinary 
MiTsl3uTmairis to his ^namazT^ 

" The consequences of such a doctrine did not fail to be soon 
felt, and produced these sectarians, half religious, half political, 
who call themselves, according to the places, the reds, the whites, 
the masked (burqtfi*), the intimates (batini), the allegorists, or 
interpreters (muta-awwil}, Karmathites, Ismailites, etc., and of 
which traces in history, from the second to the seventh century 
of the Hijra, are marked with blood and ruins. The orthodox 
designate them by the generic name of Mulhad 3 (rascals), or of 

1 Rabuta, cf. Marabout : like it the word appears to be post-classical, 
but mint, ' monk ', and ribat, ' hospice ', are recognised Arabic words. 

2 Burqa'i, ' veiled ', a term borne by a sect in Transoxiana where the 
Veiled Prophet of Khurasan first spread his doctrines. That prophet was 
called al-Burqa'I (or al-Muqanna' because he wore a golden mask : von 
Hammer, Hist, of the Assassins, Eng. trans., London 1835, p. 26). For 
a sect called the Burqa-posh, see Rose, Glossary of Punjab Tribes and Castes, 
i. pp. 583-84. 

3 Mulhad, from s. mulhid, ' heretic ' : mulahidah is the most usual plural 
form. Mutaaurwil, cf. taml, ' interpretation '. 



358 GOD IN NATURE xv 

Sindiq l (strong minds). The most celebrated were the Ismailites, 
or assassins (derived from Hashashin, eaters of the hashish), who 
originated, as is well known, in Persia ; the remains of whom are 
still to be seen in the mountains above Tripoli (of Syria) and of 
Tortosia. In fact, Persia was the classic land of Darvishism, both 
from the decided inclination to mysticism, which always dis- 
tinguished its inhabitants, and from the effect of the Shi'ite 
dogma, where the belief in the hidden Imam (the Mahdi), and 
who is still expected, like the Messiah among the Jews, favours 
the ambition of the impostures of the sectarians. Add to this the 
idat of the names of Sa'di and Hafiz, and the great number of 
the celebrated poets of Persia, who were all either Darvishes or 
affiliated to their Orders, and whose works are placed in the 
highest rank of the books on Spirituality. They represented, 
moreover, in their writings, rather the philosophical than the 
political side of the doctrine. These are dreamers, inspired 
songsters, moralists sometimes of a singular character ; they are 
neither ambitious sectarians nor repining hypocrites. But one 
must read their ghazls (odes), each line of which is filled with 
ecstatic ravings, to comprehend how far mysticism may be carried 
in poetry, to surpass by the sensuality of expression and the 
crudity of images the material paintings of a most voluptuous 
nature. Nothing of this kind, not even the invocation to Venus 
by Lucretius, equals the passage of the Masnavi, where the poet 
shows us, in the soft Persian idiom, all Nature filled with that 
Divine love by which the humble plant even is excited to seek 
after the sublime object of its desires. The adoration of the 
creature, under that of God ; the terrestrial love taught as the 
bridge over which all must pass who seek for the beatitude of 
divine love ; the apotheosis of matter under the glorification of 
the mind : such are the familiar reveries of the Persian poets. 
These are Sufis rather than Darvishes. At the same time, they 
show themselves careful, for the most part, to preserve the purity 
and sincerity of the doctrine. The eighth chapter of the Gulistdn 
of Sa'di is full of instruction for Darvishes, and of reprimands 
1 Zandlq, in original Sindeeq, ' free-thinker ' : zaddiq is an Aramaic word 
meaning ' righteous ', and equivalent to the Ar. siddiq, which, however, 
means 'veracious'. In Persian zaddiq took the form zandiq. Originally 
applied to the Manichaeans, who had an elect class called zaddiq, it is used 
occasionally of the Buddhists (Nicholson, A Literary Hist, of the Arabs, 
. p. 375). 



xv FINAL ECSTASY 359 

for those who make of spiritual life an act of hypocrisy. These 
austerities and mortifications this dirty and neglected exterior 
this affected contempt of all ordinary decency, does not inspire 
him with any confidence. ' Have ', he says, ' the virtues of a 
true Darvish, and afterwards, in place of a cap of wool, take, if 
you choose, the felt of a Tartar,' for the Turks have a proverb 
which says, Darvishlik khirqd dan Mlli dagil dir, i.e. * The Darvish 
is not known by the mantle which he wears ' 'V 

He next seeks to describe and define the ecstasy which he 
regards, in the same manner as all of the Sufis, as the end of the 
being, and the last effort of our nature; " But how render, with 
the language of man, that which is beyond human powers? The 
words which we use cannot express other than what is common 
to our material and gross, ideas. He who enjoys ecstasy and 
returns again to his ordinary state, does not retain any idea of it, 
because he has again become man, whilst previously Divine love 
had consumed in him all that belonged to human nature. The 
poet comments thus upon his idea with the aid of an allegory. 
'A Darvish, interrogated with derision by one of his brethren, as 
to what marvellous gift he brought back with him from the garden 
of delights out of which he had come, replied : " I intended, on 
arriving at this rose-bush (the sight of God), to fill the skirt of 
my robe with roses, so as to offer them as a present to my brethren ; 
but when I was there, the odour of the rose-bush so intoxicated 
my senses that the border of my robe escaped from my hands." 
The tongue of that man is dulled who has known God.' 

" Such was the favour which the Darvishes enjoyed in Persia, 
that one of them, Shah Isma'il Safawi, who pretended to be 
descended from Musa, the seventh revealed Imam, reached the 
throne in the 10th century of the Hijra (A.D. 1501), and founded 
the dynasty of princes, known in Europe under the name of the 
Sopheqs. The Ottoman Sultans, and the Khalifs their prede- 
cessors, had only waited until then to act against the Darvish 
system ; and, justly alarmed at its progress, took it upon them- 
selves to do all in their power to suppress it. The 'ulmas, in turn, 
also excited, under the plea of defending Mussulman orthodoxy, 
but in reality to maintain its spiritual supremacy, became their 

1 Of. the saying of Jalal-ud-Din KumI quoted by Nicholson, A Literary 
Hist, of the Arabs, p. 298. Mard-i-Khuda shah buvad zer-i-dalq, " a man of 
God is a King 'neath darvish cloak ". 



860 ORDERS PERSECUTED xv 

auxiliaries in a struggle wherein the altar and the throne, the 
power of the sovereign and that of the mosque, were equally in 
danger. It even happened that the people, at certain moments, 
adopted the same, as the result of the deep antipathy which the 
Sunnis entertained against the Shi'as. This triple intervention of 
political power, of the 'Ulmas, and of popular instinct, presents 
the matter under three different aspects. 

" Political power acted directly, by brute force, as, for 
example, on the occasion of the attempt made, in 1656, under 
the Grand Vazirat of Muhammad Kupruli, to destroy entirely the 
Maulavi Darvishes, the Khalwatis, Jalwatis, and the Shamsls. 1 
But in general these attempts proved unsuccessful, and only 
served to show more and more the impotency of the Government 
and the growing credit of the religious Orders. One remarks that 
the first is afraid ; its acts of violence, even, accuse its pusil- 
lanimity, or at least embarrass its situation ; it fears revolts, 
defections ; it fears, above all, the Janissaries, who were united 
by a kind of fraternity, to the Darvishes, especially to the Bek- 
tashis. This fraternity dated back even to the origin of this 
militia. When the second Sultan of the Ottomans, Orkhan, 
created, in 1328, the Yenicharls (new troops) the name which 
Europeans have changed into ' Janissaries ' he wished, con- 
formably with the same political principles which 'led the Khalifs 
to have their ordinances sanctioned by the fatwa of the mufti, 
to impress a religious seal upon this military institution. Haji 
Bektash, a venerable Shaikh, and founder of the Bektash Dar- 
vishes, blessed the troops by putting on the heads of the principal 
officers the sleeve of his robe, which has since then figured in the 
head-dress of the Janissaries, as a piece of felt which hung down 
behind their cap; and since then, also, an indestructible solid 
feeling was established between the Darvishes and the Janissaries, 
who considered themselves as possessing a common origin ; and 
that, as a double expression of the same idea, they were, at the 
same time, both a religious and a military body. 

" The intervention of the 'ulmas was more pacific in its form, 
yet more 'hostile, more constant, and more systematic. There 
existed, in point of fact, not only a rivalry of interests, but also 
one of doctrines. Ambition, pride, fanaticism, amour pwpre> 

1 The Shamsi or Shamali are a sub -sect of the Nusairi, but the followers 
of Shams-ud-Dln Siwasi must be meaut. 



xv EARLY ASCETICISM 361 ' 

all the human passions were brought into play. " It was both a 
battle and a dispute. The 'ulmas being unable to attack the basis 
of the Darvishes, so long as it continued to remain secret, fought, 
in the name of the Quran and the sunna, the principles which 
served as a basis to the Institution, such as abstinence, vows, 
music and dances used in the takias, the gift of miracles and 
communication directly with God, claimed by the Shaikhs, as 
contrary to the letter and spirit of Islamism.J They recalled the 
example of the first disciples of the Prophet, of Othman, 'All, and 
'Abd-ur-Rahman, 1 who was the first to vow not to approach his 
wife Asmah, from one sunrise to another; the second, not to sleep 
until morning ; the third, not to take any food for twenty-four 
hours ; and the Prophet reprimanded them for it with a hadis> 
since become celebrated! Soon after this, as it happens, the 
Darvishes abating in the prudence and severity which form a rule 
of their Orders, as thjeir influence increased, let out the last word 
of their doctrine. 'This last word, the dominant idea of the 
Institution, was nothing less, one may say, than an attempt at a 
Christian priesthood and a divine church, clearly designated by 
the Living God, who figures among the seven attributes of the 
Darvish symbol, viz. 

1. There is no God, except God. 

2. The Omnipotent God. 

3. The Eternal God. 

4. The Judging God. 

5. The Living God (upon Earth). 

6. The Existing God (in Heaven). 

7. The All Omnipotent God ; Jj 

attributes figured in the seven firmaments, and the seven principal 
colours, i.e. white, black, red, yellow, blue, deep green, and light 
green. At the same time, it became known that it terminated 
with certain prayers anathematising the Ummayad Khallfs, and 
glorifying 'AIT. Then their adversaries could knowingly accuse 
them, not only of wishing to introduce a new dogma, but also of 
mixing up impious dogmas and abominable practices ; to give 
themselves up to orgies of every kind, in the takias ; to blaspheme 
the Quran ; to deny even the existence of God ; to preach dis- 
obedience to all established temporal powers, and to trample upon 

1 'Abd-ur-Rahman bin 'Auf, one of the Hawaii or apostles (E.I. ii. p. 293). 
He was one of the six chief companions (Sale's Al Koran, i. p. 59). 



362 DARVISHES RIDICULED xv 

all divine and human laws. The Middle Age has put upon record 
similar accusations, which public opinion proclaimed against the 
Templars before their condemnation. 

" Popular opposition held, as I have said, to the puritanism of 
Sunnite orthodoxy, and to the horror which zealous Mussulmans 
have professed at all times against the Shfites, whose doctrines 
they willingly confounded with those of the Darvishes ; but this 
was neither general nor regular ; its habitual mode of expressing 
it was by mockery. Turkish literature is full of tales and satires 
upon the Darvishes, in which they are little better treated than 
our monks were in the fables of the tenth and eleventh centuries. 
These consist in jocosity and drolleries, so to speak, in entire 
freedom of thought and language. One author says, in allusion 
to the Darvishes, 'An ill-dressed body, hands without a farthing, 
and an empty stomach, are the characteristics of those whom 
God honours with His intimate friendship'. * If you wish to 
know', says another, 'some of the qualities of a good Darvish, 
they are the following : he must have ten of those which are ' 
peculiar to the dog, viz. always hungry, homeless, sleepless 1 at 
night, no heirs after death, to bark at passers-by,' etc. Moreover, 
by a contrast which confirms the reconcilement which I have just 
pointed out, one does not see that these constant jokes at the 
expense of the Darvishes affect in any manner their credit with 
the people, and matters go on exactly in Turkey as they did in 
France and Italy during the Middle Ages, where the monks were 
never more powerful than when they were the object of public 
raillery. 

"It is thus that the Darvishes continued to exist, notwith- 
standing the odium and ridicule with which it was attempted to 
cover them, having, at the same time, the firmans of the Sultan, 
the fatwds of the muftis, the jeers and curses of the public, whilst 
daily they beheld their authority increase, in the face even of all 
the vain efforts of their enemies to destroy them. Sultan Mahmud 
was the first to strike them a severe blow, by the abolition of the 
Janissaries ; but this was only a prelude to a more precise and 
personal attack. Twenty-six days after, the 10th of July 1826, 
he took advantage of a revolt which occurred in consequence of 
the suppression of the Janissaries, and in which the Bektashis 
were accused of being mixed up, to finish with these fanatics. 
After having consulted with the mufti and the principal 'ulmas, 



XV AN EXECUTION 363 

the three chiefs of the congregation were publicly executed, the 
Order was abolished, the takias were reduced to ruins, the greater 
part of the Darvishes exiled, and those who were allowed to 
remain in Constantinople were made to leave off their distinctive 
costume. This bold step spread terror among the Darvishes. At 
one moment they thought that all of their Orders would be 
immediately dispersed, and they remained noiseless, waiting the 
advent of their last day, ' devoured with anguish, and their backs 
leaning against the wall of stupefication '. 

" Unfortunately Sultan Mahmud hesitated. ' He who had 
not feared ', so says the historian of the massacre of the Janis- 
saries, ' to open with the sword a road to public happiness, cutting 
away the thorny bushes which obstructed his way and tore his 
Imperial mantle,' stopped before the sole measure which could 
ensure success to the completion of his work. The opportunity 
once passed, could not be regained. The Darvishes renewed their 
audacity with their hopes, and silently recommenced to agitate 
the public. Even the Sultan came near falling a victim of the 
fanatic zeal of one of them. One day, in 1837, whilst he was 
crossing, surrounded by his guards, the bridge of Galata, a Darvish, 
known by the name of Shaikh Sachlu (the Hairy Shaikh), and 
whom the people venerated as a saint, sprang forward in front of 
his horse, and cried out in a fury, ' Ghiour Padishah ' (infidel 
sovereign), ' art thou not yet satisfied with abominations ? Thou 
wilt answer to Allah for all thy impieties ; thou destroyest the 
institutions of thy brethren ; thou revilest Islamism, and drawest 
the vengeance of the Prophet upon thyself, and upon us.' The 
Sultan, who feared the effect of such a scene upon the public, 
commanded one of his officers to rid the way of such a man, whom 
he declared was a fool. ' Fool ! ' screamed out the Darvish with 
indignation ; ' me a fool ? It is yourself and your unworthy 
councillors who have lost your senses. To the rescue, Mussul- 
mans ! The spirit of God which anoints me, and which I obey, 
compels me to declare the truth, 'and promises me a recompense 
given to the saints.' He was arrested and put to death, and the 
next day news spread over the whole city that a brilliant light 
had been visible during the whole night, over the tomb of the 
martyr.* 

* It is, however, well known that Sultan Mahmud was an affiliated 
member of the Maulavi Takia of Pera, and frequently visited it. He also 



364 PRETENDED MIRACLES xv 

"It is by the pretended miracles which are daily renewed 
under the eyes of the authority that the Darvishes keep alive in 
the public mind their ancient superstitions and the idea of their 
supernatural powers. An Ottoman filling an eminent position in 
the State once remarked to me, ' Our ministers labour in vain for 
that civilisation which will never .enter Turkey so long as the 
turbehs (holy tombs) are in existence'. We were at the time at 
Skutari, where we had assisted at a representation of the ' Howling 
Darvishes'. We had observed various individuals brought into 
the takia from without, sick and infirm, women, aged persons, 
and even children as young as two or three days, who were laid 
on their backs before the Shaikh for him to cure them, not by 
the imposition of his hands, but of his feet. When he had finished 
and left the inside 6f the takia, not only did the crowd prostrate 
themselves before him and kiss his robes, as they would have 
done to a saint, but the guards actually presented arms and beat 
their drums in honour of him. ' See,' said my companion, ' the 
government which hates the Darvishes, and only desires to get 
rid ofathem, not only tolerates them and keeps well with them, 
but even aids them to be powerful by causing military honours 
to be shown them. You can scarcely imagine, after what you 
have seen, the impudence of these rascals. Lately, a Darvish 
of Bukhara (you must know that these surpass all others in 
fanaticism) presented himself before Rashld Pasha, and there 
publicly, in the path itself, heaped upon him abuse and threats, 
calling him a dog, an infidel and disbeliever, and invoking upon 
his head the lightning of heayen and the dagger of every true 
Mussulman. The wazlr, so as to remove all pretext for a com- 
motion, which began to show itself, had to content himself with 
putting him out of his room by a khwas ; and that, too, politely, 
as he would have done to any poor fellow who had lost his senses. 
You are astonished? There is scarcely a month or a week that 
some of the ministers have to submit to the. remonstrances of any 
Darvish who is pleased to push himself forward at his audiences 
for the purpose of abusing and threatening him. It is the effect 
of this fanaticism, nourished by the Darvishes, and this freedom 

frequently visited a Naqshbandl takia at Fondukli, where he witnessed the 
ecstatic swoon of the Shaikh. The latter on one occasion revived, much to 
his amusement, on learning that the Sultan was about to leave, so as to 
secure a royal present. 



xv DARVISH CRIMES 365 

of language, which the people use in the presence of public 
authority, that creates the explosions during the month of 
Ramazan. Here this is nothing, where the Government has its 
eyes upon them ; but in certain provinces, at Baghdad, in Arabia, 
in Egypt, their daring and cynicism is carried beyond all limits. 
Will you believe that I saw at Cairo, in full daylight, one of these 
miserable creatures who run about the streets half-naked, stop a 
woman in the street and glut his brutality upon her, in the presence 
even of passers-by, who turned their faces away, some out of 
respect, others from disgust, without one calling upon the aid of 
the police. I do not know which carries the palm among these 
bandits, hypocrisy or fanaticism, two things which seem, however, 
to exclude each other. May God preserve you from ever meeting 
one of them in the public road, for these vagabond Darvishes who, 
under the name of sayydhs (travellers) infest most of the routes, 
where they live by begging and robbery. Many of the .most 
dangerous of them are strangers ; they travel by the order of their 
superiors to collect money, or have been dismissed from their 
convents for grave causes : these are Qalandars whose statutes 
do not allow them to have any fixed abodes in fact, they are no 
better than unknown individuals or criminals, who, under the 
cover of a Darvish cloak, escape punishments richly merited by 
their actions.' 

" My interlocutor added many things on the difficulties of 
the position of the case in general. I was struck with the con- 
sideration which he finally expressed : ' What we lose is the want 
of faith in our work ; some are discouraged into inertia, others 
hasten to arrive at a goal which has no stability. You say that 
God is patient because He is eternal ; but we are impatient 
because we fear that we have but a few hours to live, and we feel 
the future fly away from us.' 

" But let us return to the subject of the Darvishes by attempt- 
ing to resume the idea of this latter and the preceding one. The 
two bodies of which religious society in Turkey is composed 
the 'ulama and the Darvishes are the enemies of all reform. 
The danger, however, is not equal on both sides, neither for the 
government nor for society. The 'ulama speak in the name of 
the law, of which they pretend to be guardian and the depository; 
they say, ' Touch nothing which has been established, borrow 
nothing from the infidels, because the law forbids it ' . The Shaikh 



366 'ULAMA AND DARVISH xv 

i 
says, ' There is no law ', or rather, ' The law is I ; all is good that 

I commend, all is evil that I forbid. You must kill your mother, 
your sovereign, if I bid it, for my sentence is the sentence of God.' 
One thus sees the difference between the two doctrines. On the 
one hand, the Government may hope to have the 'ulama on its 
side ; many of them are not wanting either in acquired informa- 
tion or in natural light. The example of the Shaikh-ul-Islam 
and the principal chiefs of the magistracy in Turkey, who form a 
part of the Government, may do much with them. Old prejudices 
commence to lose ground, especially among the 'ulamas of Con- 
stantinople in contact with Europeans. One of them a most 
wonderful thing has actually allowed himself to be sent to Paris 
by the Dlwan, which desired to show him that civilisation which 
he and his brethren reject without possessing any knowledge of it. 
This new attempt on the part of Rashid Pasha will do more, if it 
succeeds, for the emancipation of Turkey than has been as yet 
done by the mission to Paris and London of many young Turks 
to study there ; and who, having left there without any direction 
or fixed rule of action, have badly answered in general to the hopes 
placed upon them. The 'ulamds may be thus brought to com- 
prehend that, even by sacrificing their privileges, there still 
remains to them a fair place in the State, and that their interests 
are actually the same as its own. But this cannot be said of the 
. Darvishes ; between them and it there is a mortal conflict." 



As it has been my object throughout the present little work 
to enable the curious and patient reader to judge of the Darvishes 
both by what they say of themselves and by what others say 
regarding them, I would not terminate my extracts without 
placing before their eyes the words of that eminent Orientalist, 
Sir William Jones than whom, perhaps, no greater has ever 
lived on the subject of the leading principles of the Darvishes, 
alias Sufiism. In his lecture " On the Philosophy of the Asiaticks " 
this wonderful Eastern linguist says : * 

" From all the properties of man and of nature, from all the 
various branches of science, from all the deductions of human 
reason, the general corollary admitted by Hindus, Arabs, and 
Tartars, by Persians, and by Chinese, is the supremacy of an all- 
creating and all-preserving Spirit, infinitely wise, good, and 
powerful, but infinitely removed from the comprehension of his 



xv SIR WILLIAM JONES 367 

most exalted creatures ; nor are there in any language (the ancient 
Hebrew always excepted) more pious and sublime addresses to 
the Being of beings, more splendid enumerations of His attributes, 
or more beautiful descriptions of His visible works than in Arabic, 
Persian, and Sanscrit, especially in the Quran, the introductions 
to the poems of Sa'di, Nizami, and Firdausi ; the four Vedas, and 
many parts of the numerous Purdnas ; but supplication and 
praise would not satisfy the boundless imagination of the Vedanta 
and Sufi theologists, who, blending uncertain metaphysics with 
undoubted principles of religion, have presumed to reason con- 
fidently on the very nature and essence of the Divine Spirit, and 
asserted in a very remote age what multitudes of Hindus and 
Mussulmans assert at this hour that all spirit is homogeneous, 
that the Spirit of God is in kind the same with that of man, 
though differing from it infinitely in degree, and that as material 
substance is mere illusion, there exists in this universe only one 
generic spiritual substance the sole primary cause, efficient, 
substantial, and formal of all secondary causes and of all appear- 
ances whatever, but endowed in its highest degree with a sublime 
providential wisdom, and proceeding by ways incomprehensible 
to the spirits which emanate from it ; an "opinion which Gautama 
never taught, and which we have no authority to believe ; but 
which, as it is grounded on the doctrine of an immaterial Creator 
supremely wise, and a constant Preserver supremely benevolent, 
differs as widely from the pantheism of Spinoza and Toland as 
the affirmation of a proposition differs from the negative of it; 
though the last-named professor of that insane philosophy had 
the baseness to conceal his meaning under the very words of 
St. Paul, which are cited for a purpose totally different by Newton, 
and has even used a phrase which occurs, indeed, in the Veda, 
but in a sense diametrically opposite to that which he would have 
given it. The passage to which I allude is in a speech of Varuna 
to his son, where he says, ' That Spirit from which these created 
beings proceed, through which having proceeded from it they 
live ; towards which they tend and in which they are ultimately 
absorbed ; that Spirit study to know ; that Spirit is the Great 
One'." 

In the " Sixth Discourse on the Persians " he says : 
" I will 'only detain you with a few remarks on that meta- 
physical theology which has been professed immemorially by a 



368 StM DETACHMENT xv 

numerous sect of Persians and Hindus, was carried in part into 
Greece, and prevails even now among the learned Mussulmans, 
who sometimes avow it without reserve. The modern philo- 
sophers of this persuasion are called Sufis, either from the Greek 
word for a sage, or from the woollen mantle which they used to 
wear in some provinces of Persia ; their fundamental tenets are, 
that nothing exists absolutely but God ; that the human soul is 
an emanation from His essence, and though divided for a time 
from its heavenly source, will be finally reunited with it ; that the 
highest possible happiness will arise from its reunion, and that the 
chief good of mankind in this transitory world consists in as perfect 
an union with the Eternal Spirit as the incumbrances of a mortal 
frame will allow ; that, for this purpose, they should break all 
connexion (or taalluk, 1 as they call it) with extrinsick objects, and 
pass through life without attachments, as a swimmer in the ocean 
strikes freely without the impediment of clothes ; that they 
should be straight and free as the cypress, whose fruit is hardly 
perceptible, and not sink under a load like fruit-trees attached 
to a trellis ; that, if mere earthly charms have power to influence 
the soul, the idea of celestial beauty must overwhelm it in ecstatick 
. delight ; that, for want of apt words to express the divine per- 
fections and the ardour of devotion, we .must borrow such expres- 
sions as approach the nearest to our ideas, and speak of beauty 
and love in a transcendant and mystical sense ; that, like a reed 
torn from its native brook, like wax separated from its delicious 
honey, the soul of man bewails its disunion with melancholy 
musick, and sheds burning tears like the lighted taper, waiting 
passionately for the moment of its extinction, as a disengagement 
from earthly trammels, and the means of returning to its only 
beloved. Such in part (for I omit the minuter and more subtil 
metaphysicks of the Sufis which are mentioned in the Dabistan) 
is the wild and enthusiastick religion of the modern Persian poets, 
especially of the sweet Hafiz and the great Maulavi (Mevlevee) ; 
j such is the system of the Vedanta philosophers and best lyrick 
' poets of India ; and, as it was a system of the highest antiquity 
of both nations, it may be added to the many other proofs of an 
immemorial affinity between them." 

" On the Philosophy of the Asiaticks," he says : 
" I have already had occasion to touch on the Indian meta- 

1 Ttfalluq. 



xv ATTRACTION AN ELEMENT 369 

physicks of natural bodies according to the most celebrated of the 
Asiatic schools, from which the Pythagoreans are supposed to 
have borrowed many of their opinions ; and as we learn from 
Cicero that the old sages of Europe had an idea of centripetal 
force and a principle of universal gravitation (which they never 
indeed attempted to demonstrate), so I can venture to affirm, 
without meaning to pluck a leaf from the never-fading laurels of 
our immortal Newton, that the whole of his theology and part 
of his philosophy may be found in the Vedas, and even in the 
works of the Sufis ; that most subtil spirit which he suspected to 
pervade natural bodies and lying concealed in them, to cause 
attraction and repulsion, the emission, reflection, and refraction 
of light, electricity, calefaction, sensation, and muscular motion, 
is described by the Hindus as a fifth element endowed with those 
very powers ; and the Vedas abound with allusions to a force 
universally attractive, which they chiefly ascribe to the sun, 
thence called Aditya, or the attractor, a name designed by the 
mythologists to mean the child of the goddess Aditi ; but the 
most wonderful passage in the theory of attraction occurs in the 
charming allegorical poem of Shirin and Farhad, or the Divine 
Spirit and a Human Soul disinterestedly pious, a work which from 
the first verse to the last is a blaze of religious and poetical fire. 
The whole passage appears to me so curious that I make no 
apology for giving you a faithful translation of it : 

" ' There is a strong propensity which dances through every 
atom, and attracts the minutest particle to some peculiar object ; 
search this universe from its base to its summit, from fire to air, 
from water to earth, from all below the moon to all above the 
celestial spheres, and thou wilt not find a corpuscle destitute of 
that natural attractibility ; the very point of the first thread in 
this apparently tangled skein is no other than such a principle 
of attraction, and all principles beside are void of a real basis ; 
from such a, propensity arises every motion perceived in heavenly 
or in terrestrial bodies ; it is a disposition to be attracted which 
taught hard steel to rush from its place and rivet itself on the 
magnet ; it is the same disposition which impels the light straw 
to attach itself firmly to amber ; it is this quality which gives 
every substance in nature a tendency toward another, and an 
inclination forcibly directed to a determinate point.' " 

2s 



370 THE FIRST ELEMENT xv 

From the preceding extracts of this learned scholar, and those 
of the first chapter of the present work, the intelligent reader will 
readily perceive the strong affinity which exists between the 
principles of the Vedas of India and the metaphysical and philo- 
sophical writings of the Sufis. The religion of Brahma has been 
carried into Persia and even Arabia, and been engrafted upon 
j that of Islamism by the Darvishes. It would be interesting to 
trace the connexion which existed between the ideas of the sages 
of Greece and those of India. Whilst with these the original 
oneness of the Deity became extended into an infinity of secondary 
gods, Islamism has retained the purity of the Mosaic principle of 
a One Supreme, Omniscient, and Omnipotent Creator, possessing 
a great number of attributes) which are not personified as with the 
Hindus and the Greeks. In the religion of the former it is im- 
possible not to perceive traces of the creation, of the history of man 
as revealed to Adam, handed down to his posterity, and chronicled 
by the earliest historian of the human race Moses. 

In support of this assertion I would add the following extract 
from Sir William Jones's lecture " On the Gods of Greece, Italy, 
and India": 

" That water was the primitive element and first work of the 
creative power is the uniform opinion of the Indian philosophers ; 
but as they give so particular an account of the general deluge 
and of the creation, it can never be admitted that their whole 
system arose from traditions concerning the flood only, and must 
appear indubitable that this doctrine is in part borrowed from 
the opening of Birasit, 1 or Genesis, than which a sublimer passage 
from the first word to the last never flowed, or will flow, from any 
human pen. 

" ' In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 
And the earth was void and waste, and darkness was upon the 
face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the 
waters. And God said, Let light be, and light was.' 

" The sublimity of this passage is considerably diminished by 
the Indian paraphrase of it, with which Manu, the son of Brahma, 
begins his address to the Sages, who consulted him on the formation 
of the universe. 

" ' This world,' says he, ' was all darkness, undiscernible, 

1 Hebrew Baresit, ' in the beginning ', the first word of Genesis, i. 1. 
The Book of Genesis is called Sifr-ut-takwn. 



xv ITINERANT FRIARS 371 

undistinguishable, altogether as in a profound sleep, till the self- 
existent, invisible God, making it manifest with five elements, 
and other glorious forms, perfectly dispelled the gloom. He, 
desiring to raise up various creations by an emanation from His 
own glory, first created the waters, and impressed them with a 
power of motion.' 

" To this curious description, with which the Manava astra 
begins, I cannot refrain from subjoining the four verses which 
are the text of the Bhagavat, and are believed to have been 
pronounced by the Supreme Being to Brahma. 

" ' Even I was, even at first, not any other thing (existed), 
that which exists unperceived, supreme ; afterwards, I am that 
which is ; and He, who must remain, am I. 

" ' Except the first cause, whatever may appear, and may not 
appear in the mind, know that to be the mind's mayd (or delusion) 
as light and darkness. 

" ' As the first elements are in various beings, entering, yet 
not entering (that is, pervading, not destroying), thus am I in 
them, yet not in them. 

" ' Even thus far may inquiry be made by him who seeks to 
know the principle of mind, in union and separation, which must 
be everywhere always.' 

" The Hindus believe that when a soul leaves its body, it 
immediately repairs to Yamapur, or the city of Yama, when it 
receives a just sentence from him, and either ascends to Swarga, 
or the first heaven, or is driven down to Narak, the region of 
serpents, or assumes on earth the form of some animal, unless its 
offences, had been such that it ought to be condemned to a 
vegetable, or even to a mineral poison." 

i' 

THE HINDI, OR THE WANDERING DARVISHES OF INDIA 

In the list of the various takias of Constantinople given pre- 
viously, mention is made of that called the Hindilar Takiasl. 
This is also a masjid, or chapel, situated near the Mosque of 
Murad Pasha Jami'si. It is the refuge of all those Cwandering 
Darvishes who, from the distant clime of Hindustan, visit Stambul. 

A Darvish friend informs me 'that the greater part of these 
belong to the Order of the Naqshbandis, Qadiris, Chishtls 
Kubrawis, Ni'amatullahis, and Qalandarls. 

These natives of India, after performing the bai'at, or initiation 



372 INDIAN PILGRIMS xv 

required by the Order of their profession, and receiving the bless- 
ing of its Shaikh, set out on their travels, depending upon the 
alms and charities of the public for a subsistence. But few make 
the journey by land, and mostly take passage from Bombay to 
Jidda, in the Red Sea, on their way to the holy cities of the 
Hijaz. They there perform the usual hdjj, or pilgrimage of all 
Mussulmans, and next proceed across the country by land to 
Baghdad. Some re-embark at Jidda for Basra, in the Persian 
Gulf. The object of this journey is to visit the holy graves of 
Hazrat-i-'Ali, Hazrat-i-Husain, Imam 'Abbas, and the other sons 
of the fourth Caliph 'All. At Baghdad they remain at the Takia 
and jdmi of Hazrat Shaikh 'Abd-ul-Qadir GilanT, the founder of 
the Qadiris. Some of them sit as night- watchers (bakjls *) in the 
bazaars of Baghdad, and do not beg. At other times their home 
is the great establishment of the Qadiris aforementioned. At the 
entrance to this is the grave of Hazrat-i-'Abd-ul-Jabbar, son of 
the founder, before which the newly-arrived Hindi spends three 
days, as a trial of his faith, and if he prove to be a majtisi* or 
' idolater ' in disguise, it is said that he cannot possibly support 
the ordeal of prayer and fasting. A superior spiritual influence 
is supposed to be exercised against him, and before the termina- 
tion of that period, he is self-condemned, and flies from exposure 
and ill-treatment. 

It is only after he has visited the other sacred tombs, and 
performed all the devotionary exercises required, that he really 
begins his career of mendicity. By some he is called afaqir (poor 
man), and it may be added that the greater number are not 
affiliated in any particular Order or tariq, but simply indigent 
Mussulmans, who have vowed to make a visit (ziyarat) to certain 
holy tombs in the distance, and difficulties in which he finds 
religious merit. To do this, these faqirs abandon father, mother, 
wife, children, and friends, and all they may possess. This 
abnegation of all the pleasures and comforts of life places them 
above the ordinary convenances of society, and they affect to 
respect no one, whatever may be his official position ; and their 
poverty and miserable appearance preserves them from punish- 
ment when their remarks are insolent. 

1 Bakji, T., ' sentinel ', ' guardian '. 'Abd-al-Jabbar, youngest son of 
'Abd-ul-Qadir Jilani, died in 575 H. (1179-80 A.D.) : E.I. i. p. 42. 

2 Magian, fire-worshipper. 



xv DARVISH SELF-DENIAL 373 

Among the anecdotes relating to Darvishes of this category, 
I add the following : 

" Once, when a king was passing near a Darvish, the latter, 
who was seated on the ground, neither arose to his feet nor 
otherwise offered any tokens of respect ; so that the king, being 
of an irascible temper, was offended by his want of regard, and 
exclaimed, ' These ragged individuals are no better in manners 
than so many wild beasts.' The wazir, or minister of the king, 
cried out to the Darvish, and asked him why he thus failed in 
respect to the king ? ' Tell your master,' replied the Darvish, 
' to look for respect from those who need his bounties, and that, 
as sovereigns are for the protection of the people, the latter are 
under no obligation to court their duties by external marks of 
respect.' On this reply, the king directed the wazir to ask the 
Darvish what he could do for him, and, in reply, the latter said 
that all he wished was to be let alone." 

" A Darvish, speaking to a king who entertained but little 
respect for persons of his condition, said : ' We have neither the 
strength, nor the power, which you possess (fnthis world ; but I 
am sure we are all the happier for it. After death, we are all 
equals ; and after the day of judgment, we are your superiors.' " 

" A thief once asked a faqir, if he was not ashamed to stretch 
out his hand and beg alms of passers-by ? The latter replied, 
that it was better to do that, than have his hand cut off for 
thieving." 

" A king had vowed that, if he should succeed in an affair 
which he was about to undertake, he would distribute a handsome 
sum of money among the poorer Darvishes of his capital. Having 
met with the desired success, he confided the distribution of the 
money to one of his officers. The latter, not being favourably 
impressed with the character of the Darvishes, kept the money 
until nightfall, and then returned it to the king, remarking that 
he had not been able to find any such in his capital. The king 
was much surprised, and said that there must be several hundreds ; 
but the officer replied, ' Darvishes do not accept money, and those 
who do are not Darvishes '." 

A Darvish, as above said, should possess ten of the character- 
istics of a dog, viz. : he should be always hungry ; he should 
have no home ; he should not sleep even at night ; he should 
leave no inheritance at his death ; he should never forsake his 



374 DARVISH HUMILITY xv 

master, even if the latter ill-treat him ; he should be satisfied with 
the lowest and most humble place ; he should give up his place 
to whoever wishes it, and take another ; return to whoever beats 
him, when he offers him a piece of bread ; he should remain at a 
distance when food is served up ; and he should never think of 
returning to the place he has left, when he is following his master. 
Conformably with the preceding, a Darvish, after having been 
frequently invited to a great man's house, was often driven away 
by his servants ; and when the master, to whom the fact became 
known, apologised for such ill-treatment, and expressed his admira- 
tion for the humility and patience which he had shown, the 
Darvish remarked that it was not a merit, but only one of the 
characteristics of a dog, which always returns, when driven away. 



CHAPTER XVI x 

ON THE TASAWWUF, OR SPIRITUAL LIFE OF THE SUFIS 
TRANSLATED FROM THE TURKISH OF MUHAMMAD MISRl 

THE word sflf signifies in Arabic ' wool ', and Mr. Lane, in his 
102nd note on the 10th chapter of The Arabian Nights, says that 
the so-called Sufis derive their title either from their wearing 
woollen garments, or from the Greek word <ro06s, because of their 
philosophical tenets. He adds, that " there is an Order of Muslim 
Darweshes called Sufis, ' who make profession of a more regular 
and more contemplative life than Darweshes in general ; and 
many of this class have written books of spirituality, of devotion, 
and of contemplation, which mostly bear the title of tasawwuf, 
that is, of spiritual life.' . . . The Sunni Sufis are in a great degree 
mystical and latitudinarian ; but not so much so as the Sufis of 
the Persian sect." 

In all the takias, or convents, of the various sects which I have 
visited the members sit on sheep-skins, called postakis. Many 
also wear white felt caps made of wool, and even their cloaks are 
of an uncoloured stuff of the same material. 

The Order of the Baqtashis, which was intimately connected 
with the Yanicharis, wear white felt caps, and believe in the 
tahasukh, a system of metempsychosis. 

TRANSLATION 

" A few remarks on the subject of the tasawwuf (lit., profession 
of Sufiism, or spiritual life), by the learned and pious Muhammad 
Misri may his precious grave be blessed ! 

" In the name of the Clement and Merciful God. 

1 This chapter originally appeared in the Journal of the American 
Oriental Society. 

375 



376 MISRI'S CATECHISM xvi 

" Praise be to the Lord of the Universe (lit., the present and 
future world). Prayers and Peace [from his people] be upon our 
Saiyid (Lord) Muhammad [the Prophet], and 'All [his cousin and 
son-in-law], and all other prophets, and the family and ashdbs , s 
(companions) of Muhammad. 

" [Question.] Should any person ask what is the beginning 
of the tasatvwuf, the answer is : 

" [Answer.] Faith, which has six columns, to wit : ' The 
existence of God ', ' His Unity ', ' the Angels ', 'the Prophets ', 
* the Day of Resurrection ', and ' Good and Evil through His 
Predestination ' all of which are to be spoken with the tongue, 
and acknowledged with the heart. 

" [Q.] What is the conclusion and end of the tasawwuf ? 

" [A.] It is the pronouncing with the tongue of faith the six 
preceding columns, and the confirming of them with the heart, 
as was said by JunaidI, in answer to an interrogation on the 
subject of the end of the tasawwuf. 

" [Q-1 What is the distinction between the suff a (lit., the 
clarified) and common people ? 

" [4.] The knowledge [which is the foundation] of the faith 
of the latter is only an imitation of 'these six columns, whilst the 
faith of the suffa 1 is the true, as is shown by the evidences of the 
'ulma-i-uzama 2 (doctors of the sects). 

" [Q-1 I* 1 what does this imitation consist ? 

" [A.] This imitation is what has been learned from their 
fathers, the imams (preachers) of the quarters in which they live, 
or from one of the 'ulmd, and so believed ; but they do not know 
why it has become a fundamental rule to believe in these columns 

1 Salmone, Arab. Diet., p. 452, gives no such form as suffa. Safi, pi. 
os/w=pure, chosen, elect, from safa, ' was pure '. There is a play on the 
roots safa and suf, from the latter of which is derived suf, ' wool '. 

Nicholson translates ahl-i-suffa by ' people of the verandah ', and explains 
the term suffa to mean ' bench ' ahl-i-suffa being the title given to poor 
Muslims who used to take shelter in the covered bench outside the mosque 
built by the Prophet at Medina. It seems to be equivalent to ashab-i- 
suffa (Kashf-ul-Mahjub, pp. 81 and 30, and E.R.E., art. Sufis). 

2 Uzama, not apparently pi. of zimma but of $imam. Zimam= bridle 
or reins. Hence = control or check. Zima/m (zal) = protection. In Spain 
the Katib uz-zimam was entrusted with the protection of the ahl-uz-zimma 
or zimmis. In 192 H. Mahdi established the diwan azzimah (d or z ?) or 
(?) azzimmah (Ameer Ali, A Short Hist, of the Saracens, p. 619). 



xvi PREDESTINATION AND FREEWILL 377 

of faith, nor how salvation is obtained thereby. It is not known 
that, whilst walking in the public streets, one has found a jewel 
which many sovereigns sought after unsuccessfully conquering 
the world from one end to the other, and finding everything else 
but it. He who has found it, has found a light brighter than the 
sun, when it obscures the lesser lustre of the moon, and found an 
alchemy which converts copper of a thousand years old into pure 
gold. The finder, however, knows not its real value, and con- 
siders it only as a false jewel, which its possessor, if thirsty, might 
give away for a drink of water. 

" [Q.] What is the proof of faith? 

" [A.] The proof consists in a search made for the origin of 
each of the six columns above named, and one's arrival at the 
truth (haqiqat). The 'ilm-i-tariqat (science of the sects) is the 
distinctive path existing between a taqlid village and a taqlid 1 
city [i.e. only leads from one authority to another] . Many persons 
follow on that path for ten, others for twenty, others thirty, others 
forty years, wandering away from the truth, and entering each 
upon a different road of error. Some become ahl-i-jabri 2 (persons 
who believe that God compels each action of man, and leaves no 
room for free will) ; some become ahl-i-qadri (persons who hold 
that man has power to do good and evil) ; others are alil-i- 
mu^tdmli ', some again become mujassamis] (anthropomorphists) ; 
and others, mushabbahis 3 (those who define the appearance of 

1 Taqlid, ' imitation ', ' mimicry ', ' authority '. The term means 
mechanical repetition of prayers or doctrine. For the Mu'tazilites see 
Macdonald, Muslim Theology, pp. 135 f. They denied that God pre-destined 
the actions of men. 

2 The more usual form is Jabariun or -la, who were extreme fatalists. 
Their strongest defender was Jahm b. Safwan Abu Muhriz al-Tirmizi (or 
al-Samarqandi), put to death in 128 H. (A.D. 745-46). As a theologian he 
occupied an independent position, as he accepted the Murjite teaching that 
belief is an affair of the heart, and the Mu'tazilite denial of all anthropo- 
morphic attributes to God. His followers, the Jahmia, eventually became 
Ash'arites (E.I. i. pp. 1001 and 985). The Ash'arites were moderate 
fatalists. The Qadarias (ahl-i-qadr) adopted a doctrine of free-will (Zwemer, 
p. 105, and Shedd, p. 77). 

3 Mushabbiha, from shabah,' form' or 'shape'. Mushabbih ' comparer', 
mujassim ' corporealizer ' (Macdonald, Muslim Theology, p. 191 ; cf. also 
Sale's Koran (Wherry's recension), i. pp. 257-58). About the Mushabbiha 
Shahrastam has much to say. From the first intervention of the devil 
arose the doctrines of the Hululias, Tanasukhias, or believers in transmigra- 
tion, Mushabbiha, and the Ghulat, or extremists, among the Shi'as, because 



378 THE SECT OF SALVATION xvi 

God by portraits or otherwise). There are, in all, seventy-three 
ways or sects ; each one following one of these wanders off, 
without ever arriving at the city of the true faith ; only one of 
these seventy-three parties is in the right, called the firqa-i-najia x 
(party of salvation), and it is those alone who follow this way 
that reach the proper goal. Through their perfect subjection to 
the directions of the blessed Prophet, these know the real value 
of the jewel found by them. Their faith is manifest ; and whilst 
proceeding, as it were, with a lamp, they have reached the sun. 
Though at first only imitators, they have finally found the truth. 
After finding the true faith, they turn their attention to the 
imitation (or semblance), and familiarise themselves with its 
interior. They find that the tarlqai (paths of the Darvishes) and 
the sharfat (laws of Islam) are coincident. They have as yet only 
received sufficient inspiration from God to enable them to see the 
truth, which is hidden from those who still wander in the path of 
imitation. Comparing the two with each other, they consider 
. them as being like the soul and the body, according to the words 
of the blessed Prophet : ' Whoever is deficient in one of his 



they ascribed divine attributes to the Imam. From Satan's second inter- 
ference came the tenets of the Qadarias, Jabarias and Mujassima, who 
attributed human qualities to God. Then he goes on to point out that 
these groups overlap, in that the Mu'tazilites are Mushabbiha in respect of 
God's dealings, while the Mushabbiha are Hululis in regard to His attributes 
(Haarbrucker, Religionspartheien, i. p. 12). He also classes them in some 
degree with the Shi'as (ib. p. 216). But Tahir-al-Isfaraini gives even more 
details. According to him the Mushabbiha were divided into two groups, 
one comparing God's Being with other beings, the second likening His Being 
to the attributes of other beings. The first extreme Mushabbiha were the 
Saba'fya (the name seems incorrectly written as Sababla) who revered 'All 
as God, and of whom a number were burnt by him. (In their defence they 
cited a text of the Quran applying the epithet 'AH to Allah ; they held 'All 
to be an incarnation of the divine, and believed that Muhammad would 
reappear (Margoliouth, Early Development of Islam, p. 209 and Index). 
Among other groups of the Mushabbiha was that of the Muqanna'ia, " the 
Mushabbiha of Mawarannahr (Trans- Oxiana) ", who looked upon the Veiled 
Prophet as God, while another group, a sect included in the once generic 
term of Hululla, worshipped every fair form, holding that God was manifest 
in it (ib.,'p. 403). 

1 Najla==wajatf, ' deliverance ' ; from the same root as najwi, p. 424. It 
is often said that Islam has 72 sects, and each sect asserts that all of them 
have gone astray and that the only true Order is the 73rd, itself, the firqa-i- 
najat -according to Muhammad's prophecy. 



xvi THE FOUR SCHOOLS OF LAW 379 

faculties, is deficient in one of his parts,' from which it is clear 
that whoever is deficient in the shari'at, cannot be perfect in the 
haqiqat. 

" [Q-l I* 1 matters of faith and forms of worship, to what sect 
are the suffa attached ? 

" [A.] Most of them are of the Muslim faith, and of the sect 
of the ahl-i-sunnat (those who observe the traditionary precepts 
of the blessed Prophet), and accept the jama'at (prescribed forms 
of public prayer), according to the mazhab (creed) of the celebrated 
Shaikh Abu Mansur Mataridi. 1 Most of the Arabs are of the 
creed of the Shaikh Abul-Hasan, al-Ash'arl, 2 and are ahl-i-sunnat, 
and accept the jama 1 at, as understood and practised in conformity 
with one or other of the four rites, adopted in the country to 
which they belong (i.e. either the Hanafi, Hanbali, Shafi'i, or 
Malik!). 8 For instance, those of the country of Rum are Hanafis, 
so called from Abu-Hanifa, who derived his articles of faith from 
the Quran and the hadisat (traditional sayings) of the blessed 
Prophet ; those in Arabia, Egypt and Aleppo, as well as in the 
two holy cities, are Shafi'is ; all the people of Tunis and Morocco, 
and as far as Andalusia, as well as some in Arabia, are Malikis ; 
most of the people of Baghdad, Iraq, and a part of Arabia, with 
some of the inhabitants of the holy cities, follow the Hanbali 
Imam. There are some differences between these, but only such 
as refer to forms of worship ; as regards dogmas, they all agree. 
The blessed Prophet designated those who observe the sunnat 

1 Abu Mansur Muhammad b. Mahmud al-Hanafi, entitled Imam al- 
Huda, ' the director ', was born in the Matrid quarter of Samarqand, in 
which city he died in 333 H. (A.D. 945). For a brief account of his doctrine 
see Macdonald, op. cit. p. 193. 

2 The teacher before whom the Mu'tazilite system went down (Macdonald, 
Muslim Theology, p. 187). Abu'l Hasan 'All, born at Basra in 260 H. 
(A.D. 873-74), was a Mu'tazilite till his fortieth year, but thenceforth 
championed the orthodox view against that sect. Yet " for the rest ", it is 
said, " he belonged to the mazhab of the Shafi'ites ", meaning apparently that 
" his method found acceptance with that sect especially ". Rightly described 
as the founder of orthodox scholasticism (kalam), it would seem that in his 
legal principles he was a Shafi'i and in other respects a Hanafi, since his 
contemporary al-Maturidi, who was preferred by the Hanafites, only differed 
from him on minor points. Among his followers were al- Qushairi, al-Juwaim 
(the Imam al-Haramain), and the famous al-Ghazali (E.I. i. p. 480). He 
died at Baghdad in 935. 

3 The geographical distribution of these schools of law is not quite as 
definite as the text suggests (v. note on p. 79 supra). 



380 TRANSMIGRATION xvi 

and jamtfat by the title of ahl-i-najat 1 (the saved), and these four 
are all of this kind. All the suffa belong to the alil-i-najat. It is 
a point of belief among the suffa that it is not for every one who 
is of the ahl-i-Allah, or a kardmat sdhibi (i.e. either a believer in 
the Divinity, or particularly gifted by the Divinity), to attain to 
the character of sanctity belonging to the four great doctors of 
the holy law, much less to that of one of the ahl-i-Kuzin (the 
Twelve Imams). The only means of arriving at their degrees 
of perfection would be to follow their creed until one surpassed 
it, and then to establish, by God's sanction, a new one superior 
to theirs which, as yet, no one has ever been able to do. 

" [Q'] When Bayazld al-Bustami was asked of what sect he 
was, he replied : ' I am of the sect of Allah.' What did he mean 
by this answer ? 

" [A.] All of the sects of Allah are those just mentioned. 
They are called (for example) the sects of [Abu Hanifa] the 
Greater Imam (Numan ibn Sabit al-Kufi) and of the Shafi'i Imam, 
but are in reality sects of Allah ; and so Bayazid spoke truly 
when he said he was of His sect. 

" [Q-1 Most of the Sufis, in their qasidas, use certain words 
which we hear and understand as v showing that they were of the 
ahl-i-tandsukh (Metempsychosians). They say : ' I am some- 
times Lot, 2 sometimes Rayu, sometimes a vegetable, sometimes 
an animal, at other times a man.' What does this mean ? 

" [A.] Brother ! the blessed Prophet has said : * My people, 
in the eternal life, will rise up in companies ' that is, some as 
monkeys, others as hogs, or in other forms as is written in a 
verse of the Quran (chap. Ixxviii. v. 18) which has been com- 
mented on by QazI Baizawi 3 (this commentator cites a tradition 
to the effect that at the resurrection men will rise up in the form 
of those animals whose chief characteristics resemble their own 
ruling passions of life : the greedy, avaricious man, as a hog ; 
the angry, passionate man, as a camel ; the tale-bearer, or mis- 
chief-maker, as a monkey) ; because, though these men, while in 
this life, bore the human form externally, they were, internally, 

1 Ahl-i-Najat, for ahl-ee Vejah in original. See note on page 378. 

2 Lot, apparently for laut, Ar., ' concealment '. Rayu possibly for ruya, 
1 revelation ', or ruya, ' vision '. The ruya is alluded to by Macdonald, 
Muslim Theology, pp. 310 and 314 (citing Quran vii. 139). 

3 Al-BaidhawL 



REPENTANCE 381 

nothing different from the animals whose characters are in common 
with their own. The resemblance is not manifest during one's 
life, but becomes so in the other existence, after the resurrection. 
Let us avoid such traits ; repentance before death will free any 
one from these evils. The blessed Prophet said with regard to 
this : ' Sleep is the brother of Death ' . The dying man sees himself 
in his true character, and so knows whether or not he is, by 
repentance, freed from his ruling passion of life. In like manner, 
he will see himself during his slumbers still following in the path 
of his passion. For instance, the money-calculator, in sleep, sees 
himself engaged in his all-absorbing occupation ; and this fact is 
a warning from God, not to allow himself to be absorbed in any 
animal passion or degrading occupation. It is only by prayerful 
repentance that any one can hope to see himself, in his sleep, 
delivered from his ruling carnal passion, and restored to his proper 
human, intellectual form. If in your slumbers you see a monkey, 
consider it as a warning to abandon or abstain from the passion 
of mischief ; if a hog, cease to seize upon the goods of others ; 
and so on. Go and give yourself up to an upright murshid 
(spiritual guide), who will, through his prayers, show you in your 
slumbers the evil parts of your character, until one by one they 
have passed away, and have been replaced by good ones all 
through the power of the name of God, whom he will instruct you 
to invoke : at length you will only see in your slumbers the forms 
of holy and pious men, in testimony of that degree of piety to 
which you will have attained. 

" This is what is meant by that expression of certain poets, 
referring to one's condition previous to the act of repentance, 
when the writer says : ' I am sometimes an animal, sometimes a 
vegetable, sometimes a man ' ; and the same may be said by the 
Soffees, in application to themselves, of any other part of creation, 
for man is called the akhir-i-maujudat (the climax of beings) : in 
him are comprised all the characteristics of creation. Many 
mystical books have been written on this subject, all showing that 
man is the nuha-i-kubra (the larger part), and the world, the 
nuha-i-sughra (the smaller part), of God's creation. The human 
frame is said to comprise all the other parts of creation ; and the 
heart * of man is supposed to be even more comprehensive than 

* Orientals consider the heart as the seat of mental capacity ; and the 
liver, of the affections. 



382 TRANSFORMATION xvi 

the rainbow, because, when the eyes are closed, the mental 
capacity can take in the whole of a vast city : though not seen 
by the eyes, it is seen by the capacious nature of the heart. Among 
such books is the Hauz-ul-Hayat (Well of Life), which says that, 
if a man closes his eyes, ears, and nostrils, he cannot take cold ; 
that the right nostril is called the sun, and the left the moon ; 
that from the former he breathes heat, and from the latter cold 
air. There is also a treatise entitled Nuskha-i-kubrfi, wholly on 
the subject of the superiority of man, which is one of the favourite 
works of the Sufis. 

" [Q-] Explain the distinctive opinions (mazhabs) of believers 
in the tandsukh, and of the Sufis. 

" [A.] We say that this system of metempsychosis .has 
nothing to do with the barzakh 1 (a name given to the intermediate 
period between death and the resurrection, mentioned in the 
23rd chapter of the Quran, 102nd verse, in which departed souls 
receive neither rewards nor punishments : here, however, it 
means only a state of total indifference to all future life, into which 
"some men fall in consequence of the vicious nature of their lives, 
or their spiritual demoralisation). It is believed to be operative 
in eternity, or in the future state ; it is declared that it does not 
exist in the present life. For example, it is said that some men 
take the character of certain animals, not their forms, and that, 
when they die, their souls enter the bodies of such animals as 
they already resembled in character, and so, by natural propaga- 
tion, they become the animals themselves, visible to the eye, and 
never again really die, or cease to exist in this world. In this 
manner, mankind leave the human form, and become, in turn, 
various animals, either through natural propagation, or by one 
animal devouring another, perpetually. Such is the belief of the 
Metempsychosians, and it is wholly inconsistent with the true 
faith. On this point 'Umar ibn-ul-Farid has said : ; He who 
believes in transformation and transmigration stands in need of 
God's healing keep thyself far removed from his belief ! ' 

" O brother, keep far from such a belief, and have no connexion 
with it. Of the seventy-two erring sects, before alluded to, this 
is the worst. God preserve us, in this life and the one to come, 
from participating with, or even beholding, such sectaries ! 

-] These persons regard certain things as legally proper, 
1 Lit. ' isthmus '. 



xvi SPIRITUAL DIRECTORSHIP 383 

which are forbidden. For instance, they command the use of 
wine, wine-shpps, the wine-cup, sweethearts ; they speak of the 
curls of their mistresses, the moles on their faces, cheeks, etc. ; 
and compare the furrows on their brows to verses of the Quran. 
What does this mean ? 

" [A.] Just as these Sufis leave the true faith for its semblance, 
so they also exchange the external features of all things for the 
internal (the corporeal for the spiritual), and give an imaginary 
signification to outward forms. They behold objects of a precious 
nature in their natural character, and for this reason the greater 
part of their words have a spiritual and visionary meaning. For 
instance, when, like Hafiz, they mention wine, they mean a 
knowledge of God, which, extensively considered, is the love of 
God. Wine, viewed extensively, is also love : love and affection 
are here the same thing. The wine-shop, with them, means the 
murshid-i-kamil 1 (spiritual director), for his heart is said to be the 
depository of the love of God ; the wine-cup is the talqln (the 
pronunciation of the name of God, in a declaration of faith, as : 
There is no God but Allah), or it signifies the words which flow 
from the murshicTs mouth respecting divine knowledge, and 
which, heard by the salik (the Darvish, or one who pursues the 
true path) intoxicates his soul, and divests his mind (of passions), 
giving him pure spiritual delight. The sweetheart means the 
excellent preceptor, because, when any one sees his beloved, he 
admires her perfect proportions, with a heart full of love : the 
Darvish beholds the secret knowledge of God which fills the heart 
of his spiritual preceptor (murshid), and through it receives a 
similar inspiration, and acquires a full perception of all that he 
possesses, just as the pupil learns from his master. As the lover 
delights in the presence of his sweetheart, so the Darvish rejoices 
in the company of his beloved preceptor. The sweetheart is the 
object of a worldly affection ; but the preceptor, of a spiritual 
attachment. The curls, or ringlets, of the beloved are the grateful 
praises of the preceptor, tending to bind the affections of the 
Darvish-pupil ; the moles on her face signify that when the pupil, 
at times, beholds the total absence of all worldly wants on the 
part of the preceptor, he also abandons all the desires of both 
worlds he perhaps even goes so far as to desire nothing else in 
life than his preceptor ; the furrows on the brow of the beloved 
' f 1 ' The perfect murshid '. 



384 THE SIGHT OF GOD xvi 

one, which they compare to [verses of] the Quran, mean the light 
of the heart of the murshid : they are compared to verses of the 
Quran, because the attributes of God, in accordance with the 
injunction of the Prophet : ' Be ye endued with divine qualities ', 
are possessed by the Shaikh (or murshid).* 

" [Q-] The murshid and other Darvishes say : ' We see God '. 
Is it possible for any other than the Prophet to see God ? 

" [A.] It is not possible. What they mean by this assertion 
is that they know God, that they see His power ; for it is for- 
bidden to mortal eyes to behold Him, as is declared in the Quran 
(ch. vi. v. 103) : ' No sight reaches Him : He reaches the sight 
[but he perceives men's sights 1 ] the Subtle, the Knowing'. 
The blessed Prophet commanded : ' Adore God, as thou wouldst 
didst thou see Him ; for, if thou dost not see Him, He sees thee '. 
This permission to adore Him is a divine favour, and they say 
that they are God's servants by divine favour. The blessed 'AH 
said : ' Should the veil fall from my eyes, how would God visit 
me in truth ' ! This saying confirms that no one really sees God, 
that even the sainted 'All never saw Him. 

" [Q-] Can it possibly be erroneous to say that, by seeing the 
traces of any one, he may be beheld ? 

" [A.] One may certainly be thus seen. When any person 
sees the brightness of the sun, he may safely say that he has seen 
the sun, though indeed he has not really seen it. There is another 
example, namely : should you hold a mirror in your hand, you 
see a figure in it, and you may therefore say that you see your 
own face, which is really an impossibility, for no one. has ever 
seen his own face, and you have asserted what is not strictly 
correct. 

" [Q'] Since every one sees the traces of God, as every one 
is able to do, how is it that the Darvishes declare that they only 
see Him ? 

" [A.] Those who make this statement do not know what 
they see, and have never really seen Him. A person who has 

* During the wars between AH and Muawia, the latter, on being once 
beaten, elevated the Quran on a lance, and begged for mercy. On this being 
reported to All, he declared that he himself was the living and the speaking 
Quran, whilst the one raised upon the lance of his enemy was only a painted, 
or imitated one. 

1 Palmer's Quran S.B.E. vi. p. 128. ^ 



xvi DARVISH INDIFFERENCE 385 

eaten of a sweet and savoury dish, given to him, but of which he 
knows not the name, seeks for it again with a longing desire after 
it, and thus wanders about in search of what has given him so 
much delight, ignorant of what it is. So are those who seek after 
God, without knowing Him, or what He is. 

" [Q] Some Darvishes declare : ' We are neither afraid of Hell, 
nor do we desire Heaven, a saying which must be blasphemous. 
How is this? 

" [A.] They do not really mean that they do not fear Hell, 
and that they do not wish for Heaven. If they really meant 
this, it would be blasphemous. Their meaning is not as they 
express themselves ; probably they wish to say : O Lord, Thou 
who createdst us, and madest us what we are, Thou hast not 
made us because we help Thy working : we are therefore in duty 
bound to serve Thee all the more devotedly, wholly in obedience 
to Thy holy will ; we have no bargaining with Thee, and we do 
not adore Thee with the view of gaining thereby either Heaven 
or Hell. ' God has bought the goods and persons of the Faithful, 
and given them Paradise in return ' (ch. ix. v. 112, of the Quran), 
which signifies that His bounty has no bounds, His mercy no end ; 
and thus it is that He benefits His faithful servants. They would 
say : Thou hast no bargaining with any one ; our devotion is 
from the purity of our hearts, and is for love of Thee only. Were 
there no Heaven, nor any Hell, it would still be our duty to 
adore Thee. To Thee belongs the perfect right to put us either 
in Heaven or in Hell, and may Thy commands be executed 
agreeably to Thy blessed will ! If Thou puttest us in Heaven, it 
is through Thine excellence, not on account of our devotion ; if 
Thou puttest us in Hell, it is from but of Thy great justice, and 
not from any arbitrary decision on Thy part; so be it for ever 
and for ever ! This is the true meaning of the Sufis, when they 
say as before stated. 

" 10-'] Thou saidst that there is no conflict between the 
sharped and the haqiqat, and nothing in the latter inconsistent 
with the former ; and yet these two are distinguished from one 
another by a something which the ahl-i-haqiqat (believers in the 
truth) conceal. Were there nothing conflicting, why should it be 
thus hidden? 

" [A.] If it be concealed, it is not because there is a con- 
trariety to the shartfat, but only because the thing is contrary 

2c 



386 



FAITH AND ISLAM 



XVI 



to the human mind : its definition is subtle, and not understood 
by every one, for which reason the blessed Prophet said : ' Speak 
to men according to their mental capacities ', for, if you speak 
all things to all men, some cannot understand you, and so fall 
into error. The Sufis therefore hide some things conformably 
with this precept. 

"[Q.] Should any one not know the science which is known 
to the Sufis, and still do what the sharVat plainly command, and 
be satisfied therewith, would his faith (imari) and isldm be less 
than that of the Sufis ? 

" [A.] No. He would not be inferior to the Sufis ; his faith 
and islam would be equal even to that of the prophets, because 




DARVISHES OF THE MAULAVI ORDER 

faith and isldm are a jewel which admits of no division or separa- 
tion into parts, and can neither be increased nor diminished, just 
as the portion of the sun enjoyed by a sovereign and by a faqir 
is the same, or as the limbs of the poor and the rich are equal in 
number : just as the members of the body of the sovereign and 
the subject are precisely alike, so is the faith of the ahl-i-Isldm 
the same in all and common to all, neither greater nor less in 
any case. 

" [Q-] Some men are prophets, saints, pure ones, and others 
fdsiqs (who know God, but perform none of His commands) ; 
what difference is there among them ? 

" [A.] The difference lies in their mcfrifat (knowledge of 
spiritual things), but in the matter of faith they are all equal : 
just as, in the case of the sovereign and the subject, their limbs 



xvi EQUALITY OF MAN 387 

are all equal, while they differ in their dress, power, and office. 
As to the humanity of men, that depends upon their dress of 
knowledge, and their spiritual power ; in these only are they men, 
and not simply animals. The character of the sovereign does not 
depend upon his humanity, which is the same as that of all other 
men, but upon his office and rank." 



CHAPTER XVII 

A BIOGRAPHY OF THE FOURTH CALIPH 5 ALI 

THE reader will have perceived the intimate connexion existing 
between the Darvish Orders and the Fourth (Direct) Caliph 'AH. 
Indeed, nearly all of these are 'Aliides, as if he had been the great 
originator of them, and the advocate and patron of their peculiar 
principles. Whether this was the case or not, much that is of a 
' spiritual ' character is attributed to him, and even in those 
Orders that are sunni, or orthodox, 'AH is held in high respect. 
I have therefore thought it necessary to devote a chapter 
especially to him, and for this purpose have translated a short 
biographical sketch of him from the work in the Turkish language, 
entitled The Chahdr Yar, or the " Four Friends ", by Shams-ud- 
Dln Siwasi 1 (of Siwas, in Asia Minor). From this sketch the 
reader will readily imagine why such honour is paid by a large 
portion of the Islam world, and by the Darvish Orders in parti- 
cular, so much so as to give him the sublime title of 'All al-Ilahi, 
or '"AH the Divine". 

" 'AH bin-Abu-Talib ibn-'Abd-al-Muttalib was of the same 
lineage as the Blessed Prophet, 2 being the son of the uncle of the 
latter, and therefore his cousin. 

" He was born in the revered city of Makka, in the thirtieth 
year of the era of the Arabs, known as the ' Year of the Elephant ', 
and the 910th of the Alexandrian era. Perwas 3 (the Sassanian 
king of Persia) had ceased to reign eight years. 

" His mother, Fatima binti-Asad bin-Hashim (so it is related), 
one night saw in a dream that her chamber was filled with light, 

1 Shams-ud-Din Siwasi's work is available in a lithographed abridge- 
ment: 1312 H. 

2 Muhammad himself was born in the ' Year of the Elephant ', as to which 
see Palmer's Quran S.B.E. vi. p. xviii. 

3 Khusru Parviz. 

388 



XVII 



'ALI'S BIRTH 389 



and that the mountains which surrounded the holy Ka'ba (Caaba) 
were worshipping it ; that she had held in her hands four swords, 
all of which having fallen out of them, lay scattered before her. 
One of these swords fell into water ; a second flew up into the 
air, and disappeared from her sight as it rose upwards towards 
heaven ; and a third, as it fell, attempted to do the same, but 
suddenly became converted into a lion, which fled away towards 
the mountains, alarming every one by its ferocity, so much so 
that no one ventured to approach it, except the Prophet of God, 
on whom be the Divine satisfaction ! who, going up to it, seized 
upon, and so subdued it, that it followed after him, licked his 
blessed face and feet, and voluntarily served his wishes. 

" Four months after this dream, the Prophet of God visited 
Fatima, and looking her in the face, exclaimed, ' O mother ! what 
ails thee, for I see a change in thy countenance ? ' She replied, 
'My son, I am pregnant; aid me to have a male child'. The 
Prophet replied, ' mother ! if you have a son, give him to me, 
and I will pray for you '. On hearing these words, Fatima vowed 
to Allah, that in case her child was a son, she would give him 
to the Prophet. Abu-Talib (her husband) confirmed the vow, 
by making one similar to it. 

" The Prophet therefore blessed her, and the fruit of her 
conception was 'AH al-Murtaza, or * 'All the Agreeable'. 

" On the occasion of 'All's birth, a light was distinctly visible, 
resembling a bright column, extending from the earth to the 
firmament. 

" Upon receiving news of his nativity, the Prophet immediately 
visited the dwelling of his parents. On seeing, for the first time, 
the little infant, he took some spittle from his own lips and 
rubbed it upon those of the child, and it immediately swallowed 
it. It is believed that from this 'AH derived all of his great 
knowledge and power, as well as miraculous capabilities. By it, 
he became victorious in all his battles, and a perfect sovereign for 
conquest and heroic deeds. He also was thus gifted with all of 
the most eminent qualities of manhood ; and the most noble and 
loveable traits of character were certainly united in him. 

" The Prophet also recited in his ears the takbir and the 
tahtil ['glorification'], at the same time giving him the name of 
'AIT (the sublime or exalted). His mother, in remembrance of 
her dream, also called him Haidar (lion), and the Prophet declared 



390 'ALI'S INFANCY xvit 

that he would become the 'Lion of God'. Taking off his own 
turban, he wrapped one end of it around the child, and rolled the 
other about his own head, so that it became a crown of glory to 
him. None of the Faithful have ever had so great a distinction 
bestowed upon them as this. 

" By some it has been related that when the mother of 'AH 
was about to be confined, she went into the ' Bait-i-sharif ', or 
the holy temple of Makka, for the purpose of there being delivered ; 
and that it being impossible to remove her, the child was actually 
born within its sainted precincts ; but for this, we have only 
their report. 

" Ayesha (the third wife of the Prophet, and daughter of Abu- 
Bakr, the first direct Caliph) on whom be the Divine satisfaction ! 
relates that one day when the ' Pride and Glory of the World ' 
(the Prophet) was seated, 'AH happened to pass by him. ' Calling 
my attention to him, he declared to me. that 'AH was the Saiyid 
(Cid) of the Arabs. But, I asked, are you not their Saiyid ? He 
answered, " I am the Saiyid of all, that is, of the Turks, the 
Tartars, the Hindis, 1 the Arabs, and the 'Ajamls ; 2 but 'AH is 
especially the Saiyid of the Arabs " '. This favoured lady also 
adds that the Prophet was fond of rocking the cradle of 'AH, and 
would often lift him out of it, and carry him about in his arms ; 
so that even when asleep, on hearing the approaching footsteps 
of the Prophet of God, he would awake, press his little arms out 
of their ties, and raise them up towards him. On such occasions 
the Prophet would hasten towards the child, take it from its 
cradle, and press it, with great tenderness and affection, to his 
breast. Its mother more than once chided him for it, and begged 
him to allow her to nurse and look after the child, as became her 
duty; but the Prophet would as often remind her that even 
before its birth she had given it to him, and that, consequently, 
he must, for the present and the future, consider him as his own. 
It is related that one day the ' Joy of the World ' (the Prophet) 
on whom be the blessings and salutations of the Most High ! 
was seated in the Holy Temple, holding the child 'AH on his 
knees. Many of the most valiant men of the day were assembled 
there, boasting of their deeds. Pointing to the child, he told 
them that it would become the most heroic man of his time, and 

1 Hinds in original. For Hindi or Hindu = Indian. 
2 'Ajems in original. For 'Ajami, people of 'Ajam, Persia. 



xvii 'ALl'S CHILDHOOD 391 

that no one would be his equal on the face of the globe. Surprised 
and irritated by these words, they expostulated with the Prophet ; 
' Muhammad al-Amin ! we always thought you were a wise and 
truthful man ; pray how can you speak thus of a little child, * 
about whose future career in life you can foresee nothing ? ' In 
reply, the Prophet only bade them remember his words, and that 
in a few years they would see them verified. 

"It is related that, at the age of three years, 'AH would 
perform the namdz (prayers) with the Prophet. On seeing this, 
Abu-Talib made no remark regarding the precocity of his child, 
but the mother was much pleased, and exclaimed, ' See ! our 
child worships the Ka'ba with Muhammad, and does not adore 
our idols'. Abu-Talib replied, 'O Fatima! we have given him 
up to Muhammad, whatever he does will be right in the sight 
of the All- Just ; he is still a child, and will be of whatever religion 
Muhammad is; let them be brothers, and inseparable'. One 
day, also, when the revered Prophet and 'AH were performing 
their prayers together, Abu-Talib approached them on horseback,, 
and remarked that 'AH was on his right side. Now Ja'far Taiyar x 
on whom be the Divine satisfaction ! was close behind his 
horse, and Abu-Talib, addressing him, bade him go and place 
himself to the left of the Prophet, and pray with them, ' for in 
this manner you will become an eminent person '. Ja'far immedi- 
ately left Abu-Talib and proceeded to the left side of the Prophet, 
and stood there, on seeing which the latter was much rejoiced, 
and after prayers, addressing Ja'far, said, ' Rejoice, O Ja'far, 
that the Most High has given you two wings, with which you may 
fly away to Paradise, and be the companion of the hur-i-ayms 
(houries), and be near to the Lord of the Universe '. 

" According to some narratives of holy note, it is stated that 

1 Ja'far Taiyar, fi'l- Jannat, ' the rapid flier, who flies into Paradise ', fell 
at the battle of Mu'ta. In spite of the loss of both his hands he held the 
standard until he was slain, pierced with fifty wounds. The Prophet said 
' he has two wings in Paradise ' whence his designation. He is also called 
Zu'1-Janahain, or ' he with two wings ', and in India has become a jinn who 
offered his assistance to Husain before he was killed and is invoked in magic. 
The book Al-Jafr is attributed to him (Mathews, Mishcat ul-Masabih, ii. 
p. 781 ; D. B. Macdonald in J.R.A.S., 1901, p. 203). The followers of Ms 
son 'Abdullah formed the sect of the Janahia, which believed in the doctrines 
of incarnation, metempsychosis, and allegorical exposition of the Quran 
(E.I. i. p. 1013). 



392 MlRAM'S PRAYER xvn 

'AH was bom thirty years after the era of the Elephant, on the 
13th day of the Moon of Rajab, which fell on Friday, and that it 
occurred within the holy Ka'ba ; that there was in Yaman a very 
aged and pious person, named Miram, whose heart was free from 
all worldly desires, and who spent the great life of 190 years 
in adoration and prayer. He cared nothing for worldly wealth, 
and his only pleasure consisted in pious occupations ; he never 
turned his eyes in any other direction than that of the minbar 
(the point of Makka). One day this person prayed to God that 
He would bless his country with some one from among the 
residents of the Holy Temple, and those who were eminent among 
the chiefs of the Ka'ba. His prayer was accepted, and by Divine 
direction, Abu-Talib, then one of the most prominent individuals 
of Makka, was led to travel, and visit his country. After learning 
who his visitor was, he thanked God for having accepted his 
prayer and sent him so distinguished an individual as Abu-Talib, 
son of 'Abd-ul-Muttalab, of the tribe of the Bam Hashim, and a 
native of the city of Makka. He then told him that from ancient 
times there was a tradition to the effect that 'Abd-ul-Muttalab 
would have two grandsons, one from the loins of 'Abdullah, and 
that he should be a prophet, and the other from those of Abu- 
Talib, who would render easy the enigmas of the walayat (spiritual 
holiness) ; and that when the Prophet would have reached his 
thirtieth year, the wall would come into the world,- and that a 
prophet like whom none other had ever yet appeared. To this 
Abu-Talib replied, ' Oh ! Shaikh, that Prophet has been born, 
and is now in his twenty-ninth year '. Miram responded, ' Oh ! 
Abu-Talib, when you return to Makka, and approach the place 
of prayer, take with you my salutations, and say that Miram has 
always borne testimony to the unity of the one universal Creator, 
who is without any equal, and that he is His prophet. Take also 
my salutations to the one who is born to you.' 

" Abu-Talib, seeing opposite him a dry pomegranate tree, as 
a temptation to the Shaikh, requested him to cause it to put 
forth leaves and fruit, as a proof of the truthfulness of his words. 
The Shaikh turned his face upwards in supplication to God, and 
prayed, that for the sake of the nabi (Prophet) and the wall 
('AH), about whom he had just declared words of sincerity, there 
might be a demonstration of Divine power over Nature. In a 
minute the tree became covered with leaves and fruit, from which 



xvii 'ALI BORN IN THE HARAM 393 

he presented his visitor with the fresh pomegranates. Of these 
the Shaikh gave one to Abu-Talib, which he broke open and ate 
two grains. It is related that the juice of these two grains became 
the source from which sprang the bodily existence of 'All al- 
Murtaza. 

" Abu-Talib, much rejoiced with what he had heard from the 
Shaikh, returned to Makka; and his wife, Fatima binti-Asad, 
soon proved to be pregnant. During her pregnancy (as she stated) 
1 1 was one day engaged in making the turn (called the tawaf) 
around the holy house, and had an attack of the spleen. The 
blessed Prophet saw and understood what ailed me, and addressing 
me, asked whether I had terminated my circuit (the tawdf). I 
replied that I had not. He then added, " Continue, and if you 
feel fatigued, enter into the Ka'ba" '. It is also narrated in the 
ibook entitled Siyar-al-Mustafd, that whilst Fatima binti-Asad 
was thus engaged in making the tawdf of the Haram-i-Ka'ba, 
Abbas ibn-al-Muttalab and all the Bam Hashim, following behind 
her, did the same ; she suddenly had an attack of the spleen, 
and, being unable to go out, prayed, ' Oh, Lord, give an easy 
confinement'. Suddenly the wall opened, and Fatima became 
lost from sight. In the view of learning something about her, 
I entered the Ka'ba, but was still unable to do so, because for 
three days she could not be found ; on the fourth day she came 
out, bearing in her arms 'AH bin-Abu-Talib, on whom be the 
Divine satisfaction ! 

" The Imam-ul-Haramain (' Imam of the two holy places ' *) 
states that before this case, never was any one blessed with such 
a favour ; for it has never been heard that any other one was 
born in the Haram. Fatima conveyed 'All to her dwelling, and 
bound him in a cradle. Abu-Talib was present, and, desiring to 

1 ' Imam of the ten holy places ' in the original. Abu'l Ma'ali 'Abd-ul- 
Malik al- Juwaini, who bore the title of Imam al-Haramain, ' Imam of the 
holy places of Makka and Madina ', was born in 419 H. (A.D. 1029) near 
Nisabur. He adopted the teaching of al-Ash'ari, and during the persecution 
to which the Rafizi were subjected in the Saljuq empire he left his native 
town and went to Baghdad, Mecca, and Madina, but eventually returned to 
Nisabur, where the Nizamia College was founded for him. He died in 478 H., 
A.D. 1085 (IS. I. i. p. 1067). He was also a jurist, and wrote a work on 
the differences between the Hanafite and Shafi'ite schools, called the Viae 
(al-Asalib), and left other books on law unfinished (Wiistenfeld, Der Imam 
d-Schafl'i, p. 21). 



394 THE NAMING OF 'ALI xvn 

see the child's face, attempted to raise up the veil which covered 
it, but 'All, with his own hand, prevented him, and-even scratched 
his face. His mother, on observing this, approached, and 
endeavoured to compel the child to submit, but it still refused, 
and even wounded her in the face also. Abu-Talib was much 
surprised at such conduct, and, asking Fatima what name they 
should give to their child, she replied, ' Oh, Abu-Talib, it has the 
strength of a lion's claws, and if we call it a lion, it will be very 
proper'. Abu-Talib answered, 'I wish to name it Zaid'. So 
soon, however, as the ' Pride of the Universe ' heard of the birth 
of the child he hurried to the house, and having inquired what 
name had been decided upon for it, and heard all that was said 
on the subject, remarked that it was his desire that he should 
be an honour to the ' elevated people ' ('AH signifies elevated). 
Fatima, on hearing this, exclaimed, ' I also heard a voice (hdtif 1 
is the unknown and mystical voice) saying the same name '. 

" Another report is that a dispute occurred between the 
parents regarding the name to be given to this child ; and in 
the view of asking Divine counsel on the subject, they both went 
to the Ka'ba, where Fatima prayed : ' O Lord ! for the child 
whom Thou givest me in the Haram-i-sharif, or Holy House, let 
me beg of Thee a name '. Just then a voice was heard as from 
the roof of the Ka'ba directing her to call it 'AH, which they did. 

" The blessed Prophet having desired to approach the cradle 
of the child, Fatima begged him not to do so, for it had all the 
ferocity of a lion, and might act uncivilly towards him ; but to 
this the blessed Prophet replied, ' O Fatima ! this child respects 
in me the regard due to the True Path'. 'All al-Murtaza having 
in the meantime fallen asleep, the Prophet gazed attentively at 
its face, on which was already impressed the light of Divine Truth. 
Afterwards he raised it up out of the cradle, and with his own 
hands washed it, thus performing the religious ablution called 
the ghusl ; and when Fatima, with surprise, inquired the cause, 
the Prophet replied, ' I have now performed this for 'AIT at his 
birth, and he will do the same for me at the end of my life '. It 
was thus that he acted towards the child, taking the deepest 
interest of an uncle in its future welfare. 

" When 'AH was five years old, a great drought occurred in 

1 From hatafa, ' cooed ' : for a full account of the term hatif see E.L 
i. p. 287. 



xvn 'ALl'S ADOPTION 395 

the Hijaz, from which the inhabitants suffered severely. Abu- 
Talib had many persons in his family. The Prophet one day 
remarked to 'Abbas, ' O ! uncle, you are a man of wealth, whilst 
Abu-Talib is poor and has a large family ; during the present 
distress we should each take charge of one of his sons and aid him 
with provisions '. Just then they fell in with Abu-Talib, and told 
him what they had designed doing. * Leave 'Uqail * with me, 
and you may do with the rest of my sons as you please ', was his 
reply ; so 'Abbas took Ja'far Taiyar, and the Prophet took 'All 
al-Murtaza, and he remained with him until the angel Gabriel 
(Jibrail) gave him permission (to leave this world). He became 
an acceptant of the iman (true faith) after Abu-Bakr. May God 
have mercy upon them both, and upon all of the Ashabs (friends) 
of the blessed Prophet ! " 

" The Prophetship was given to the Glory of the World 
(Muhammad) on the second day of the week (Monday), and on 
Tuesday the iman (true faith) was accepted of the Imam 'All. 
Abu Bakr thus preceded him, and before him no one had accepted 
it. 'All was, as just said, the second, and he was then ten years 
of age, though some pretend that he was only seven years old. 
At no time did he ever worship idols, and from this great sin the 
Almighty preserved him. 

"It is related that he once said : ' When I was still in my 
mother's womb, she went to a church (kamsa) for the purpose of 
worshipping an idol ; but, by special divine power, a pain 
suddenly came upon her, and she was compelled by it to forget 
her design, and seek relief from her suffering.' The Imam 'AH 
was brought up by the Prophet, and 'Abbas relates that no less 
than 300 dyats (verses of the Quran) descended from heaven in 
honour of him." 

" The Imam 'AH has several names. One of these is Abu'l- 
Hasan, 2 one Abu'l-Husain, one Haidar, one Karrar, one Amir-al- 

1 'Uqil was 'All's brother and father of Abu Muslim (v. note on p. 90 
supra). Abu-Talib surrendered 'All to be adopted by the Prophet, content- 
ing himself with 'Uqil. This is the arrangement hinted at, though adoption 
is not recognised by strict Muhammadan law. 

2 Abu'l-Hasan means ' Father of Hasan ', and Abu'l-Husain, ' Father of 
Husain ' (v. E.I. i. p. 73, s.v. Abu). Haidar and Karrar should be one title, 
Haidar-i-Kerrar, ' the impetuous lion ' (ib. p. 284). 



396 'ALPS TITLES xvn 

Nuhl, 1 one Abu'l-Rahanain, 2 one Asad-Ullah, 3 . and one Abu'l- 
Turab ; * but he always said that he liked none so well as the last 
(which signifies ' the Father of Dust '), because it was given him 
by the ' Glory of the World ' himself. The occasion on which 
he gave it was the following. It happened that one day Fatima 
al-Zahra 5 and the Imam 'All had an altercation, and on account 
of it the latter went to the masjid (chapel) and lay down on the 
dry earth. Much grieved with this, she forthwith went in search 
of the Prophet, and related to him what had happened, adding 
that the fault was her own. The Prophet immediately walked 
around the masjid, and observing 'All reposing on the ground, 
addressing him, exclaimed, 'Arise, 'All, arise!' 'Alii, on hearing 
the voice of the blessed Prophet, at once got up, and the latter 
seeing some earth on his face, with his own blessed hands wiped 
it off, and said, 'Abu-Turab (father of earth), arise ! ' But, in 
the Shawahid-al-Nabuwa 6 it is stated that one day the blessed 
Prophet went to the house of Fatima on whom be Divine satis- 
faction ! and, not finding 'AH there, inquired where he was ; 
Fatima replied that, having been troubled, he had gone out, 
perhaps to the masjid. On hearing which the Prophet forthwith 
went there, and seeing 'All lying on the bare ground, his mantle 
fallen off, and his body covered with dust, he bade him arise, 
calling him for that purpose Abu-Turab, and with his own hands 
wiped the dust off him." 

1 Amir al-Nuhl, ' Lord of the gift.' But in the Nusairl catechism Amir 
an-Nahl is rendered ' Prince of Bees ', and explained to mean that " the 
true believers are like bees, which seek the, best flowers. Therefore is he 
so called " (Rev. S. Lyde, The, Asian Mystery, p. 275). 

2 Abu'l Rahanain would mean ' father of pledges ', from rahan or rihan, 
but ruhanain, ' blessed spirits ' is probably meant, the dual alluding to 
Hasan and Husain. 

3 Asad-Ullah al-Ghalib means ' the lion of God, the Victorious ' (E.L 
i. p. 284). 

4 The title Abu Turab, ' father of dust ', said to have been bestowed on 
'AH by Muhammad, is regarded by the Shi'as as an honorific surname 
(15.1. i. p. 111). Turab, ' earth ', is one of the -four elements (v. note on 
p. 475 infra). 

5 Fatima al-Zuhra, ' the beauteous ', to distinguish her from Fatima 
the mother of 'AIT. Burton, however, gives a different explanation of the 
title, which he equates to al-Batul, ' the Virgin ' (Pilgrimage, ii. pp. 90-91). 
The account in the text is not noticed in the interesting art. in E.L ii. 
pp. 85-88. 

6 ' Evidences of Prophecy '. 



xvii 'ALI'S MARRIAGE 397 

" The marriage of 'AH with Fatima-al-Zahra (the fair), 
daughter of the Prophet, occurred as follows : 

" The blessed Prophet had six children born to him by Khadija 
al-Kubra (the great), two of which were boys and four were 
daughters ; and it was after the birth of Fatima that she left this 
perishable world for that of eternity. The blessed Prophet nursed 
this last child until she reached the age of puberty, and himself 
educated her (morally). One day, whilst she was engaged in 
serving her father, he remarked that she had reached an age when 
it was necessary to marry her, and he felt sad to think that he had 
not the mother, whom she greatly resembled, to attend to the 
matter for her. It may be added that Fatima had always been a 
pious and serious-minded girl, and was in consequence much 
beloved by her parent. Whilst this thought was still in his mind, 
the messenger of the Most High (the angel Gabriel) appeared 
before him, and saluting him on the part of the Almighty, said, 
' Be not troubled, O Muhammad ! I will prepare a dowry for 
Fatima out of the treasures of Paradise, and bestow her upon one 
who is a good and faithful servant to Me'. These words greatly 
affected the blessed Prophet, and so soon as he had offered up 
thanks and adoration to God for his great mercies, the angel dis- 
appeared from sight but for a moment, for he soon returned, 
bearing in his hand a golden vessel, covered over with a golden 
cloth. Behind him followed 1000 angelic cherubim (karubiyuri), 
with the angel Mikhail (Michael) in their rear, also bearing a 
similar vessel, covered over like the first ; after them came the 
same number of cherubim, followed by the angel 'Izra'il, similarly 
laden, and each laid their burthens as an offering before him. 

" On beholding this apparition the Prophet, addressing 
Gabrail, said, ' Oh ! Brother, tell me what are the commands of 
the Most High, and what I am to do with these vessels ! ' The 
angel replied, " O ! Prophet of God, He salutes thee, and com- 
mands that ' thy daughter of Paradise, Fatima al-Zahra, be given 
to 'All ; for from the great arch of the heavens I have married 
them together'. He has likewise commanded that you betroth 
her in the presence of the ashdbs ; let her be dressed in the 
garments contained in one of the vessels ; and make a feast for 
the guests (ashabs) from the food contained in the others." 

" The blessed Prophet, on hearing these divine commands, 
addressing the angel, exclaimed, ' O ! Brother Gabrail, pray 



398 THE ANGELS XVH 

inform me distinctly as to what I must do regarding the wedding '. 
The angelic messenger replied, ' He has commanded that the gates 
of Paradise be thrown open ; that Paradise be splendidly orna- 
mented ; that the doors of the criminals be closed ; that all of the > 
angels, muqanibin^ kartiJbiyin, 2 and ruhaMn 3 (those nearest to 
God, the cherubim, and the blessed spirits), in the seven spheres 
of heaven and earth, assemble together in the shade of the great 
arch, under the Tuba trees. He has also commanded that an 
odoriferous breeze shall blow over the angels, the sweetness of 
which is indescribable, and that when it blows it put in motion 
the leaves of the same trees, in such a manner as to create the 
most pleasant harmony, intoxicating the senses of those who hear 

1 Makribeen in original : for muqarrabun, ' those who are allowed to 
approach, especially to the divine presence of God, the Cherubim, the arch- 
angels, etc.' The -In is the oblique form used in Turkish as a nominative. 
The saints, muqarrabun, who have not to be judged, being justified in 
advance, are assessors to the Judge. They are enthroned with the salam 
or qaul, 'salutation', as special symbols (Massignon, Lexique technique, 
p. 88). 

According to Hasan Basri and others they are the mysterious ahl al- 
a'ro/ of the Quran (vii. 44-6). Hasan himself declared them to be the 
martyrs and ascetics : Tustari, more precise, specifies them as the mystic 
saints, the ahl-i-md'rif.at. The Sunni view is that they are the prophets 
and the khalifas: while the Imarnites make them the prophets and the 
twelve imams (Massignon, Al-Hallaj, ii. p. 688). 

Sufis often use the term muqarrab, lit. ' one who is brought near (to God) ' 
to describe the highest class of saints. The muqarrab prefers union to 
separation, whereas in perfect union there are no contraries. The term is 
borrowed from the Quran (Nicholson, Studies in Islamic Mysticism, p. 230). 
In the Nusairi system this earthly world contains seven degrees of 
believers : 

The muqarrabin, ' near ones ', numbering seventeen thousand. 
cherubims. 
ruhiyin, ' spiritual '. 
muqaddasln, ' sanctified '. 
saiyin, ' ascetics '. 
mustama'm, ' listeners '. 

Idhihin (? lahiqin), 'followers', each degree being one thousand 
more numerous than the one above it, so that the grand total amounts to 
119,000. This hierarchy is, of course, below the luminous, spiritual hier- 
archy "of the Abwab, etc. (Lyde, The Asian Mystery, pp. 111-12). 

2 ' Cherubs '. But the only cherubim known to orthodox Islam are the 
four, Gabriel, Michael, Rafael (Israffl), and Azrael as Christian guardians 
of the points of the compass (Evliya, i. Pt. 2, p. 18). 

3 For Ruhanmn, pi. of ruham, ' spiritual '. The name was bestowed on 
the first Sunni mystics (Massignon, Al-Hallaj, ii. p. 662). 



xvii FATIMA'S DOWER 399 

them ; and He also has commanded the birds of the gardens of 
Paradise to sing sweetly.' All of which was done accordingly. 

" The angel also said to the Prophet : ' O ! Friend of God, 
the Most High has likewise commanded me as follows : " O 1 
Gabrail, be thou the wakil (representative at the marriage cere- 
mony) of My lion 'AH, and I will be the wakil of My servant 
Fatima ; and these, My angels, be witnesses that I have freely 
bestowed My servant Fatima in marriage upon My lion 'AIL 
Thou, Gabrail, as his wakil, accept of the betrothal ". In this 
manner, these two are to be married from heaven ; and He (God) 
has commanded that you assemble here all of the ashabs on 
whom be the Divine satisfaction ! and proceed to the perform- 
ance of the nuptial ceremony.' The blessed Prophet again offered 
up adoration and thanks, and called together all of the ashdbs, 
and then addressing the angel, said, ' ! Brother Gabrail, my 
thoughts are much occupied with my daughter Fatima ; it is not 
proper that she should wear in this world the clothes of Paradise ; 
take them, therefore, back there'. 

" When the ashabs came together, they inquired who would 
be the wakils of the Prophet and 'All. Just then the Angel 
Gabriel descended, and addressing the Prophet of God, said, 
' Prophet of God ! He salutes thee, and commands that 'All 
performs the khuttia ' (the solemn prayer of noon, on Friday, and 
in Bairam). 1 'All thereupon recited this prayer, after which he 
was married to Fatima, for the dowry of four hundred aqchas 2 
(silver pieces). When Fatima received information of her 
marriage she was dissatisfied ; and the angelic messenger descend- 
ing again, said, ' Prophet of God ! He commands that in case 
my servant Fatima be not satisfied with the amount of four 
hundred aqchas, let it be four thousand'. This change being 
communicated to Fatima, she still expressed discontent ; and 
Gabriel, again returning, directed that the portion be made four 
thousand dltuns 3 (gold pieces). As she was still dissatisfied, 

1 Bairam. is an Osmanli-Turkish word which denotes the two great 
Musulman festivals, that on the breaking of the fast ('Z ul-fitr) of the lesser 
'Id, and the qurban bairam or ' feast of the sacrifice ' (E.I. i. p. 594). 

2 Aqeha, Turk. ' silver ' (cf. aq, ' white '). It is now used to denote a 
rouble, at least in W. Turkistan. But it is also used of copper coin (E.I. 
i. p. 229). 

8 Altun, Turk. ' gold ' ; also used of gold coins (E.I. i. p. 322, s.v. altin 
or alturi). 



400 FATIMA AS INTERCESSOR xvn 

Gabriel returned, and directed the Prophet to go in person to his 
daughter and ask her what she desired. On hearing this, the 
Prophet arose, and having gone to her, his daughter, asked her 
what she wished done on the occasion of her marriage ; she , 
replied, ' O Friend of God ! 1 wish that in the same manner that 
you are the intercessor for rebellious men, at the Day of Judg- 
ment, to render them faithful, so may I intercede for women, and 
place them in Paradise' (jannat). On this the Prophet with- 
drew, and made known to Gabriel what his daughter desired. 
The Angel departed, and conveyed to the presence of the All- 
Glorious her reply : he soon returned, and reported to the Prophet 
that her wishes had been acceptable to God ; and He had com- 
manded that, at the Day of Judgment, she might intercede for 
women. He added that there was a verse in the ancient books, 
and in the Great Quran, to that effect, serving as a hujjat or title 
in her behalf. The Prophet having inquired where the title was 
to which he alluded, the Angel begged leave to convey his question 
to the Most High, and receive His commands, which he did, and 
immediately returned, bearing in his hand a roll of white silk 3 
which he handed to the Prophet. The latter, on opening the 
roll, perceived in it a document, in which was written, ' By this 
Title, I appoint my servant Fatima to be the intercessor, in the 
Day of Judgment, in favour of the mumina (faithful females)'. 
The Prophet of God now took this roll and conveyed it to Fatima ; 
she accepted it, and declared that she was now satisfied with her 
marriage. It is, however, related that the Imam 'All did not put 
any faith in this title. At the Last Day, he may therefore be 
asked what became of it. It is also related that when the Prophet 
married Fatima to 'AH, he presented to her eighteen dqchas, 
together with a spotted robe, and that as he wept, she put it on, 
and inquired the cause of his tears, and he replied by asking her 
what account she would be able to give of her nuptial presents 
when she came to appear before the Almighty ? He likewise 
added that if the thoughts of such small presents gave him so 
much pain, what must be the reflections of those parents who 
expend hundreds, perhaps even thousands, upon the bridal 
suits of their daughters." 

" The Imam 'AH was somewhat smaller than the middle size, 
with broad shoulders and light-coloured eyes ; his blessed beard 



xvn HOLY WARS 401 

was of a sandy colour, and plentiful in quantity, and his breast 
was rather large. Whenever infidels beheld his countenance, 
their hearts failed them and caused them to tremble like autumn 
leaves. He not unfrequently remained without food from three 
to four, five, and even seven and eight days, and so remarkable 
was this peculiarity, that the blessed Prophet was once questioned 
as to the cause. He answered that 'AH possessed a holy strength, 
which preserved him from the cravings of hunger, so that during 
the Holy Wars, in which he took an active part, he seldom 
partook of any food, and occupied himself entirely with the pro- 
motion of the war, the subject of food never for a moment 
troubling his mind. No such war occurred without his taking 
part in it; and whenever a fortification held out, or the enemies 
proved to be strong, the Prophet would give him his own flag, 
and telling him that he had commended him to the Most High, 
bade him take the former and conquer it, which he never failed 
to accomplish." 

" There was a very numerous Christian tribe called the Bam 
Buhran, 1 which, notwithstanding the repeated advice of the 
blessed Prophet, continued dissatisfied and held out against him. 
Their pertinacity and rebellious conduct increasing, it was im- 
possible to strive against them. Finally, the illustrious dyat 
(verse) of the ibtihdl (obedience) descended from heaven, and they 
were thus divinely commanded to submit. 2 It is stated in the 
sura (chap. iii. of the Quran, 54th verse) called the al-'Imrdn : 
' To those who shall dispute with thee on this subject, since thou 
hast received perfect knowledge, reply : " Come, let us call our 
children and yours, our wives and yours, come, we and you, and 

* Muir describes the Beni-Bahra as ' a Christian or semi-Christian tribe 
near Tadmor ' (Annals of the Early Caliphate, p. 103 ; cf. The Life of Mahomet, 
p. 381). The lithograph reads ' Najran '. 

There may have been a Christian tribe so named, but the Banu Burhan 
or Barhan, as it is spelt on page 403, appear to be the Ethiopians. Abraha, 
the viceroy or ruler of Yaman, is the subject of chap. cv. of the Quran. 
Kings Abraha and Asbaha are still saints in the Ethiopia Calendar (Adrian 
Fortescue, The Lesser Eastern Churches, p. 295). 

The fortress of Bakhra', Bahra', or Bahr, on the frontier of Palmyra, may, 
however, be alluded to (cf. EJ. i. p. 600). 

2 Bahala, ' he left free, at large '. Bahalat is a curse or imprecation. 
Ibtihal, ' the humbling one's self in prayer '. 

2D 



402 THE VERSE OF OBEDIENCE xvn 

let us pray to the Lord, each one apart [then we will imprecate], 
and call down curses upon the liars " '- 1 

" This signifies that whosoever disputes with thee on the 
subject of Jesus, on whom be peace ! after the knowledge 
which has come to thee respecting Jesus, who is the servant and 
apostle of the Most High, know that the expression abndand, of 
this dyat, means Fatima, and anfusand means the blessed Prophet's 
pure breath, which is none other than 'AH himself ; because 
among the Arabs it is customary to call the son of an uncle nafsi 
(breath or person). God has said, Wa Id talmaizu anfusakum, 
meaning, 'And do not defame your uncles' sons', 'your 
brothers', in which is understood all those who are of the 
true religion ; and ibn-' Abbas, on whom be Divine satisfac- 
tion ! declares that summa nabtahil signifies, ' Let us pray 
and implore'. Gulebee 2 (an author) says this means 'to pray 
and war excessively,' whilst Kasai 3 and Abu 'Ubaida 4 say 
it means, ' Let it curse them together ', for ibtihdl signifies ' the 
curse ', and Fa-nafdl la'nat Alldhi 'aldVl-kdzibina means, ' Let 
us, we and you, all of us, call down God's curses upon the liars'. 

1 Palmer's Quran S.B.E. vi. p. 54. The sura is called the chapter of 
'Imran's family. 

The full verse is : " Faman hajjaka fihi mm ba'di ma jaaka min aVilmi 
faqul ta'al-wa nadu' abndand wa abndakum, wa nisdand wa nisdakum, wa 
anfusand wa anfusakum, summa nabtahil fanafal lla'nata Alldhi 'ala-i al- 
kdzibina " (The Qoran with the Commentary of al-Zamakhshari, by Nassau 
Lees, i. pp. 207-8). 

2 Gulebi, Muhammad b. Sa'ib al-Kalbl, the traditionist who transmitted 
traditions derived from Ibn 'Abbas and which were recorded by Ishaq b. 
Ibrahim b. Mansur b. Khalaf un-Nisaburi, author of the Qisas al-Anbia\ 
He died in 146 H.=A.D. 764 (Gat. of Turkish MSS. in B.M., p.'l43). But 
Abu Thaur, Ibrahim b. Khalid b. Abii'l Yaman al-Kalbi, mainly a follower 
of Shan 'I, who died in 240 H., may be meant (Wiistenfeld, pp. 53-55). 

According to the author of the Mawahib al-Ludunia Kalbf s traditions 
have been rejected as his veracity was suspect (Syed Ahmed Khan, Essays 
on the Life of Mohammed, Ess. on M. Traditions, p. 41). He does not seem 
to have derived all his lore direct from Ibn 'Abbas, but through inter- 
mediaries such as Abu Salih. 

3 'Ali b. Hamza Al-Kisa'i died in 189 H. (A.D. 805). He was an authority 
on the correct reading of the Quran and taught at Rufa (Wiistenfeld, Der 
Imam el-Schafi'i, p. 49). 

4 Abu 'Ubaida, a celebrated companion and one of the ten Asharah, 
who died in 639 H. Matthews gives his name as Amir b. 'Abdullah b. 
ul-Jarrah al-Kahadi-al-Qiirashl (Mishcat, ii. p. 310 ; of, E.I. ii. p. 293), 
where he is called Abu 'Ubaida bin al-Jarrah, one of the Hawari or apostles. 



xvn THE FIRST TRIBUTE 403 

" The Prophet of God read this verse ori the people of Bahran, 
and invited them not to curse his faith ; whilst on their part 
they replied, ' Let us return to our people, and take counsel 
together regarding our affairs, and to-morrow we will come'. 
So they assembled together, and finally the more sensible 
amongst them said, ' Do you not believe in the words of the 
Messiah ? ' To which the Prophet replied, ' Oh ! Nazarenes, 
you confirm the congregation (of the Messiah), and that 
Muhammad is the Prophet sent by the Most High, and yet 
call upon yourselves His curses. If you thus continue, you will 
all meet death ; so return to your Master, and remain in the 
belief of His words.' 

" On the following day they came with 'All before the blessed 
Prophet, whom they found holding Husain in his arms, and Hasan 
by his hand, whilst Fatima followed him. He bade these to 
exclaim, ' Amen ! ' whenever he prayed. Now when the Nazarene 
chiefs approached him, he, addressing them, said, ' Oh ! con- 
gregation of Nazarenes, I of a truth thus view the case : if you 
ask of God to remove a mountain, He will do so, in honour of 
Himself ; guard against maledictions, or you will meet destruction, 
and not a Nazarene will remain on the earth's surface from this 
to the end of time'. On hearing this, the chiefs begged Abu'l 
Qasim to advise them what to do, and added that they had 
decided not to curse Muhammad. ' We will leave you in your 
religion, and continue firm in our own.' 

" The Prophet of God commanded, ' Since you have decided 
to refrain from curses, become Mussulmans. You are in need of 
that which they possess, and you will then participate in the 
same.' This they refusing to do, he added, ' Prepare then to die, 
for we will certainly put you to death '. They now declared that 
they were unable to war with the Arabs, and preferred to make 
peace with them, and have their lives spared. ; Do not/, they 
said, ' frighten us, nor seek to cause us to abandon our religion, 
and we will yearly pay you 2000 suits, 1000 in the month of 
Safar, and 1000 in that of Rajab.' So the blessed Prophet con- 
sented to their proposal and made peace with them, and declared, 
' My person is in His hands. Punishment has been turned away 
from the people of Bahran. Had they cursed, they would have 
been turned into monkeys and pigs, and been consumed with 
flashes of fire ; in fact, God would have destroyed both Bahran 



404 'ALI'S ALMS xvn 

and its inhabitants ; and even the birds on the trees would not 
have survived one year.' " 

" Mir Husain Wa'iz l on whom be Divine mercy ! in his 
work in the Persian tongue, a commentary called Kasf, when 
commenting on the sura ' Baqr' (of the Quran, chap. ii. v. 275), 
* Those who give alms day and night, in secret and in public, will 
receive their reward from God ; a fear will not descend upon them, 
nor will they be afflicted,' says, in regard to the ' causes of descent ', 
that 'All al-Murtaza once had four dirhams ; one of these he 
publicly gave away in alms ; one he gave away secretly, one he 
bestowed during the darkness of night, and one he bestowed 
during the light of day. The Most High thereon caused that 
ayat to descend, and the blessed Prophet inquired of 'All what 
kind of alms he had been giving. He replied, ' I have not gone 
beyond these four paths in their bestowal ; I took them all upon 
myself, so that at least one of them may meet with acceptance '." 

" In the sura ' 'Alam Sijda ' 3 (' Adoration '), on the subject 
of the " Signs of descent " (ch. xxxii. v. 18), ' He who has believed, 
will he be like him who has given himself up to sin ? Will they 
both be equal ? ' The commentator, Muhyi al-Sunna 4 on 
whom be mercy ! says, ' This verse descended in favour of 'AH 

1 Mir Husain Wa'iz Kashifl, also author of the more famous Anwar-i- 
Suhaili, or ' Lights of Canopus '. Like Mir.Khwand, he was one of the 
brilliant group of writers and painters at the court of the great king of 
Khurasan, Husain Mirza 1469-1506 A.D. (E.L ii. p. 343). 

2 " Those who expend their wealth by night and day, secretly and openly, 
they shall have their hire with their Lord " (Palmer's Quran S.B.E., vi. p. 44). 

3 Ch. xxxii. is the surat us-sijda, and it is prefixed by the latters A.L.M. 
which could not possibly be read 'alam, ' sign '. 

Sijda lit. = ' prostration ', and from the same root come masjid, ' mosque ', 
and sajada, ' prayer-carpet '. 

4 Muhee el Seneh in original. Muhyi '1 Sunna, or ' the restorer of ortho- 
doxy ', was a title of al-Baghawi (Abu Muhammad al-Husain b. Ma'sud b. 
Muhammad al-Farra'), an Arab faqih (jurist) of the Shafi'ite school, who, in 
addition to the Musabih ul-Sunna, wro.te a commentary on the Quran called 
the Ma'alim ul-Tanzll. He was born in Khurasan and died in A.D. 1117 or 
1122, when upwards of eighty years of age (E.L i. p. 562 ; v. note on p. 409 and 
infra). Al-Baghawi also wrote the Sharh-us-Sunnat and Jam? bain-ul- 
Safyihain. He was styled al-Farra because he was a vendor of furs (Beale, 
Or, Biogr. Dy., p. 28). 



xvn TOKENS OF INSPIRATION 405 

bin-Abu-Talib, and Walid bin Abu Ma'it, 1 who, on his mother's 
side, was related to 'Othman (the third direct Caliph). A quarrel 
occurred between 'AH and Walid, on which occasion the latter 
made a remark to 'All, and directed the latter to be silent, saying, 
' You are but a youth ; I for the want of a tongue am silent, and 
in point of years am your senior ; my heart is more courageous 
than yours, and in war I am braver'. To this 'All replied, ' Be 
you silent, for you are certainly a wicked man. The Most High 
has sent down this verse, but said they in the plural, and not 
they in the dual, for He did speak of one faithful and one evil- 
minded, but alluded to all the faithful and to all the wicked.' " 

" On the same subject (the mdlam tanzil), 2 or the ' signs of 
the descent', the Imam Baghavl, regarding the ch. Ixxvi. v. 1, 
' Has much time passed over man without his being thought of ? ' 
and the eighth verse of the same chapter, ' Who, though them- 
selves sighing after the meal, give food to the poor, the orphan, 
and the captive ', says there has been much disputation regarding 
these verses, and the cause of their descent. Majahid 3 and 'Ata 
ibn-' Abbas 4 relate that they came down for 'AH, and in a succinct 

1 Walid bin Ukba, one of the companions and, according to Matthews 
(M ishcat ul-M asabih, ii. p. 366), a brother of the Caliph 'Othman, who made 
him governor of Kufa. 

. 2 Me'lem in original ; ma'lam, for ma'alim, pi. of 'alam, ' sign '. Tanzil 
lit. means ' descent ', but its meaning here is ' revelation ' or ' inspiration ', 
alluding to the Prophet's claim that his teaching was inspired. For this 
Imam Baghawi see note .on p. 404 supra. An Imam Baghawi has a tomb 
at Qonia with which certain stones are associated. These are two drums of 
an angle-pillar from a classical colonnade. The pillar . . . had its two 
antse worked as half-columns, so that the section of each drum is heart- 
shaped. With the angle uppermost the two present some resemblance to 
a saddle, from which circumstance they are supposed to represent the horses 
of the Imam turned to stone, and cures are wrought by contact with them 
in the posture thus suggested (Hasluck in Annual, B.S.A., xxi. p. 73). Who 
this Imam may be does not appear. In Turk, baghu ' a spell '. The title 
Baghawl was also borne by Abu Ja'far Ahmad b. Mani' b. 'Abd-ar-Rahman 
al-Baghawi, the deaf, and by his cousin Ish.aq b. Ibrahim b. 'Abd-ar-Rahman 
al-Baghawi ; the former settled at Baghdad and passed on traditions from 
al-Bukhari : d. 256 H. (J.R.A.8., 1901, p. 205). 

3 Majahid, v. note on p. 33. 

4 'Ata ibn-'Abbas, apparently an error for 'Ata b. Abi Rabah Aslam 
al-Makki al-Qurashi, who was celebrated for his learning and virtue as one 
of the tdbi'un, in spite of his physical deficiencies (Matthews, Mishcat, i. 



406 CHARITY xvn 

manner state the fact ; whilst in other commentaries it is narrated 

in detail. Hasan and Husain (sons of 'All) having fallen ill, the 

holy and revered Prophet and all of the ashabs went to see them, 

and 'AIT and Fatima were addressed by the Prophet, and requested 

to make a vow in favour of their beloved children ; this was also 

done by the maiden slaves of the parents, named Surur and 

Fazah, and they all together vowed that if God would restore 

them to health, they should fast for three days. After they had 

recovered they had nothing to eat, and 'All went to a Jew and 

purchased on credit three bushels of barley, which, in performance 

of the vow, he devoted to their fast. One of the three measures 

Fatima ground, so as to make five cakes. When their term of 

fasting had ended she gave one to 'All, one to Hasan, one to 

Husain, and another to the maid Fazah, whilst she kept one for 

herself. Just then a miserable beggar appeared, and exclaimed, 

' Oh ! family of the Prophet of God, I am a most miserable 

Mussulman ; give me of your food, and God will recompense you 

by bestowing on you the choicest meats of Paradise '. On hearing 

these words, they gave him the cake that was in their hands and 

contented themselves with a cup of water, and fasted till the 

day following. Fatima again ground another measure and made 

five more cakes. When they were about to partake of these, an 

orphan came along and asked for food, so they gave them to it, 

rejoicing its heart by the gift, and again contented themselves 

with a drink of water, and went to sleep, On the day following, 

she ground the third measure of barley and made five cakes, 

and just as they were about to eat them, a captive made his 

appearance and asked for food, saying, ' It is three days that I 

am without food, and have been kept tied without anything to 

eat ; pray, for God's sake, have pity on me '. So they all gave 

the starving man their cakes, and contented themselves with 

water. Some say that this captive was a believer in the Trinity, 

and the narrative goes to prove that to feed a suffering captive, 

even if he be a Trinitarian, is a good action, and must be so 

regarded. It is said that on the morning of the fourth day, 'All 

p. 350). According to the Mishcat he handed down a tradition connected 
with Ibn 'Abbas. He died in 114 H. (A.D. 732) (J.R.A.S., 1901, p. 203, n. 2). 
But according to Margoliouth, who ascribes to him the introduction of music 
into devotion, his death occurred in 710 A.D. (Early Development of Islam, 
p. 178). 



xvii A MIRACULOUS CURE 407 

took his two 1 sons in his hands, and went to the blessed Prophet, 
who remarked that hunger had reduced them so much that they 
trembled like young birds ; and he said to 'AH, ' Oh, 'AH, how 
deeply you have afflicted me ! ' Then, taking them with Mm, 
he went to Fatima, whom he saw in the mihrab (pulpit), 2 her 
stomach stuck to her back, and her eyes were sunken. His grief 
was thereby greatly increased. Just then the Angel Gabriel, 
descending, addressed the blessed Prophet, and said, ' Take this 
from the All- Just', handing him the chapter [Ixxvi] entitled 
Insan, or ' man'. 

" It is related that when the Prophet once visited Fatima, he 
said to her, ' My daughter, it is now four days since your father 
has partaken of any food '. He had, in fact, left Madina, and met 
with an Arab engaged in drawing water from a well ; and, address- 
ing him, asked whether he would employ him to draw up water 
for him, and, having consented, an agreement was made by which 
he was to receive two dates for each bucket of water, so that 
the most blessed Prophet of the Most High Almighty was actually 
employed, for a given stipend, to draw water from the well. 
After drawing as much water as was needed, by Divine providence 
the cord broke, and the bucket fell into the well : on seeing which 
the Arab struck his blessed face a blow, and paid him all of the 
dates which he liad earned. The Prophet now reached his hand 
down into the well and pulled out the bucket, and, after handing 
it to the Arab, departed to visit Fatima, to whom he now pre- 
sented the dates. Whilst eating them, she remarked traces of 
the blow upon her father's face, and asked the cause of it. The 
Prophet replied that it was nothing, and sought to conceal the 
fact from her knowledge. Now it happened that when the Arab 
struck the blessed Prophet, and saw him draw up the bucket 
from the well, he was greatly surprised, and reflected that if the 
individual was not God's Prophet he could certainly not have 
done this. ' The hand which has done such a dishonour to a 
Prophet must not be mine ' ; so he at once cut it off, and set out 
in search of the Prophet whom he had wronged. Knocking at 
the door, 'AH was surprised to see before him a man with one 
hand held in the other, and blood flowing from the arm from 
which it had been amputated. Having informed the Prophet of 
the circumstance, he smiled, and said that this was the Arab 
1 Ten in original. a Translated ' altar ' on p. 202, q.v. 



408 FlTIMA'S WISDOM xvn 

who had struck him so severely as to leave traces of the blow on 
his face. He also bade 'All permit the man to come in ; and on 
his entrance he was much pained by the sight, and asked the 
Arab why he had committed such an act? The Arab wept, and , 
implored forgiveness of his fault, and the blessed Prophet, putting 
the two ends of the arm and hand together, prayed over them, 
and so they became reunited. By God's providence, thus the 
Arab recovered the full use of his arm." 

" Fatima relates that once the blessed Prophet asked 'AH 
whether he loved God. 'AH replied that he did. The Prophet 
next asked him whether he loved him, and 'AH made the same 
answer. He next asked him whether he loved Fatima, and he 
replied again in the affirmative. He then inquired whether he 
loved Hasan and Husain, and he answered as before, 

" The Prophet now asked him how his heart could contain so 
much love, and he was unable to reply. Troubled by his want of 
ability, 'AH went to Fatima and explained the same to her. She 
remarked that he did not need to be troubled, for love for God 
came from the mind ; that for the Prophet from faith ; love for 
her came from human passion, and that for their sons from nature. 

" 'AH now returned forthwith to the Prophet, and having 
given him this answer, the latter exclaimed, ' This is not the fruit 
of faith, but of the prophetship ', thereby meaning that the answer 
did not proceed from himself, but from Fatima. In fact, her 
explanations were full of wisdom, merit, and deep reflection." 

" Fatima also relates that when 'AH al-Murtaza had captured 
the fortress of Khaibar, and with his Zul-fiqdr (a sword presented 
to him by the Prophet) had cut off the heads of the infidels; and 
returned sound, and with much booty, he told Fatima to remark 
that he owed the capture to that sword. She answered, ' Oh, 
'AH, I know the Zul-fiqdr far better than him '. 'AH went to the 
Prophet and repeated to him what had occurred and the words 
of Fatima ; and he arose, and going to see her, asked how it was 
she knew better the Zul-fiqdr than 'AH. Fatima replied, ' Oh, 
most excellent and respected parent, the night in which you went 
up to heaven and saw your Lord, you reposed under a tree of 
Paradise, from which you gathered two apples, one of which you 
gave to my mother, and the other you ate. I am the fruit of those 



xvn '-ALI'S LIEUTENANCY 409 

two apples. At the time the sword of Zul-fiqdr hung upon the 
tree.' 

" The Prophet was much gratified by her answer, and on 
leaving her, exclaimed that it was a blessing for any person to 
have such a daughter." 

" In the work entitled the Masabih Sharif* it is related as an 
anecdote, coming from Sa'd ibn-Abi Waqqas, 2 that the blessed 
Prophet once remarked to 'All, ' Thou art to me what Aaron was 
to Moses, and of a truth after me there is no prophet'. Thur 
Pishti 3 states that on the occasion of the war of Tabuq, 4 the 
Prophet appointed 'All as his khalifa (lieutenant) over the people, 
and directed that he should preside over their affairs. The 
hypocrites having learned this, declared that he had not appointed 
'AH as khalifa, and it was only to rid himself of worry that he so 
named him. When 'AH heard of this he put on his sword and 
went directly to the Prophet, then at a place called Jarf, and 
asked him whether what the hypocrites had said regarding his 
appointment, viz. that it was only to free himself from worry, 
was true ? The Prophet declared that they were all liars, and 
that he had named his khalifa in consequence of his intended 
absence from Madina ; that he should return, and act as such 
for him, even if his own wife (Khadija) and that of 'AH should 
refuse to accept of him. * For you are to me what Aaron was to 

1 Doubtless the Masabih-us-Sunna or ' Lamps of the Sunna ', a cele- 
brated collection of traditions of al-Baghawi (Huart, Textes Houroufis, 
p. 56). Baghawl's work has had the unusual honour of being translated 
into English in its recension by Wall-ud-Dln al-TibrizI called the Mishkat 
al-Masabih, ' The Niche of the Lamps ' (v. A. N. Matthews' Mishcat al- 
masabih, or a Collection of the most authentic Traditions regarding the Actions 
and Sayings of Muhammad, Calcutta, 1807-10). 

2 His name was Malik b. Wahib az-Zahari al-Karashi, and he was the 
seventh person to embrace Islam (Matthews, Mishcat, i. p. 144). Sale calls 
him one of the six principal ashab, ' companions ', of the Prophet (Koran, i. 
p. 200). 

3 Thur Pishti, possibly Sufyan ath-Thawri, one of the tabi'm, son of 
Sa'id, an inhabitant of Kufa. Born in 99 H. he became of high authority 
in tradition and died in 161 H. =A.D. 778 (Matthews, Mishcat, i, p. 452). 

4 Tabuq, a town half-way between Madina and Damascus. The ex- 
pedition took place in the 9th year of the Hijra under very unfavourable 
conditions (Sale's Koran in Wherry's recension, ii. pp. 374, 291 ff.). It 
ended in the submission of the Christian prince, John of Aylah. 



410 'ALI'S SUCCESSION IN DISPUTE xvn 

Moses, just as it is said in the holy ay at, " And Moses said to his 
brother, be my khalifa among the people".' All commentators 
and confirmers of this dyat held this to be a legal deed in favour 
of 'AH. Even the Rafizis * and the Shi' as hold to this, to show 
that the Caliphate belonged to 'All, and that he thus accepted it. 
At a later period, disagreements arose between them, and the 
Rafizis declared that the ashabs were guilty of blasphemy, and 
others again accused 'All of the same crime. According to their 
statement, 'All had a full right to the Caliphate ; and, if so, why 
did he not arise and demand it ? All of this (says the author) 
I must most surely condemn as entirely erroneous. 

" Qazi 2 states that ' there is no room to doubt of the blas- 
phemy of those who make such a declaration ; for any one who 
would thus injure his whole people, and debase the highest 
authorities, denies the holy law itself, and destroys Islamism'. 
The fact is that the dyat (before quoted) in no manner served as 
a deed to their declaration in favour of 'All ; it can only serve , 
at best, as a proof of his excellent character, but cannot be 
quoted to show that he was the best, or even equal to the other 
successors of the blessed Prophet. On the occasion of the war 
of Tabuq he was named khalifa only for the reasons assigned, 
just as Aaron acted for Moses for a particular period. It is well 
known that Aaron did not become khalifa after Moses, and there 
is good reason to believe that he died full forty years previous to 
Moses, and only was appointed to lead the prayers when the 
latter went to be with the Lord." 

" It is also related, as an anecdote in the Masdbih, that 'AH 
stated : ' Glory be to that Most High God, who causeth the grain 
to grow, and who created man, on account of the words which the 
blessed Prophet used in my behalf, " because he loved only the 

1 The term RafizI came to be applied to all schismatics who spoke against 
any of the companions of the Prophet, but historically it has a narrower 
application. The Rafizis were a sect of the Shi'as of Kufa who abandoned 
Zaid b. 'AIT, a descendant of 'All the 4th caliph, because he forbade them to 
speak against the first two caliphs (D. B. Macdonald in J.R.A.S., 1901, 
p. 237 n.). Shi'as : for Shey'ee (Shi'i) in original, but they may not be meant. 
Their collocation with the Bafizi, ' an extreme Kharijite sect ', and usually 
regarded as heretics, suggests that the Asha'rites or followers of al-Ash'ari 
are meant. Both sects were joined in the same anathema c. 450 H. 
(Macdonald, Muslim Theology, p. 212). 

2 Kazi, probably al-Kisa'I ; v. p. 402. 



xvii 'ALI'S STANDARD 411 

faithful, and despised the hypocritical " ' ; the correct significa- 
tion of which hadis is that the person who only regards 'All on 
account of his connexion with the Prophet, and for the love which 
the latter bore for him, and from the influence which the acts of 
'All had upon the conquests of Islamism, and loves him because 
of them, has in these so many evidences of the healthy faith of 
the believer. He who is happy on account of the coming of 
Islamism, and renders obedience to the things which the blessed 
God and His Prophet have exhibited, but who opposes 'AH on 
account of the same, entertains a feeling which is the reverse of 
what it should be, and is a gross hypocrite ; his mystical faith will 
be evil in the extreme, ^from all of which may God preserve us ! " 

" Tahil bin Sa'd l relates that on the occasion of the battle 
of Khaibar, the blessed Prophet said he would provide a standard 
for the day following, which, in the hands of one who, under 
God's blessing, would carry it to a victory, a man who is beloved 
of God and His Prophet, and who also loves them. 

" Now the morning of that day came, and the people ran in 
haste to the Prophet to ask and implore him for the promised 
flag. The Prophet asked for 'AH ; and being informed that his 
eyes pained him, he bade them call him. On his arrival, the 
blessed Prophet of God rubbed his eyes with his own fingers, and 
the pain at once left them, so that they suddenly became perfectly 
cured. He then handed him the flag. 'AH asked him whether 
he should destroy the infidels, after the usual mode of warfare : 
and the Prophet directed him to approach their country quietly 
and gently, and then to invite them to accept of Islamism, or 
prepare to meet the young lion who advances against them on 
the part of the Most High God ; for it is a good deed, he added, 
to be the medium of directing even one man in the true faith." 

" On the same subject of the qualities of 'All, it is related in 
the Masdbih, as coming from 'Amran bin Husain, 2 that the 

1 Tahil bin Sa'd, Sihl b. Sa'd, when almost the sole surviving companion 
of the Prophet, imbued Malik ibn Anas with his extreme veneration for the 
traditions. But how far he is to be regarded as responsible for the collection 
of traditions called the Muwatta does not appear (Beale, Oriental Biographical 
By., p. 238). 

2 'Imran bin Husain, Abu Nujaid, who embraced Islam in the year of 
the war of Khaibar (7 H.). He lived at Bara, and died in 52 H. at that 
place (Matthews, Mishcat, i. p. 116). 



412 'ALT AS IMAM xvn 

blessed Prophet once declared, ' Of a certainty 'All is from me, 
and I am from 'AH, and he is the wall of all the Faithful'. In the 
excellent commentators of these words, it is found stated by 
Qazi, ' The Shi'a people declare that 'AIT is the wall (possessor), 
and that the meaning of this hadis is that 'AH was worthy of 
possessing all the things that the Prophet possessed. The affairs 
of the Faithful appertained to these, and 'All was therefore their 
Imam.' To this we reply that he could not correctly bear the 
imamat over their concerns during the life of the Prophet, because 
he was the Imam, and, consequently, his waldyat was only one 
of love and affection. 

" The same work states, as coming from ibn-'Umr, 1 that the 
blessed Prophet declared the ashabs should all be as brethren to 
each other. 'AH on learning this, wept, and asked of the Prophet, 
why, as he had made them to be brethren, he had made him 
brother to no one ? To this the Prophet replied, ' You are my 
brother, both in this life and in the life to come'. The Imam 
TirmM a relates the same as a ' remarkable ' hadis (hadis gharib), 
or one not fully confirmed. 

" On the subject of this same hadis, Inis 3 relates that once 
the blessed Prophet had a roasted bird before him, of which he 
was about to partake, and exclaimed, ' God ! send to me him 

1 Ibn 'Umr, 'Abdullah, son of 'Umr ibn al-Khattab (Matthews, Mishcat, 
L p. 3). 

2 Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad b. 'All al-Tirmizi, .also called Muhammad 
Hakim, founder of the Hakmii, a Sufi sect, died in 285 H. (A.D. 898). It is 
said that the apostle Khizr used to visit him every Sunday. He studied 
jurisprudence with a friend of Abu Hanifa, and was the author of several 
works on Sufiism. His principal tenet was that a knowledge of servantship, 
'ubudiyat, is essential to a knowledge of the nature of lordship, rububiyat, 
explained to mean that self-knowledge must precede knowledge of God, and 
a recognition of the contamination of human qualities a recognition of the 
purity of divine attributes (Nicholson, Kashf al-Mahjub, p. 141). He also 
maintained the superiority of Jesus, as Khatim al-wilayah, over Muhammad 
as Khatim al-nubuwah, a doctrine in which he was followed by Mansur 
al-Hallaj, a text of whom represents the second coming of Jesus, charged to 
establish the supreme prayer, etc. The Sufis awaited the second advent 
as the triumph of the real Islam (L. Massignon, Kitab al-Tawasin, p. 161). 
But Abu 'Isa Muhammad b. 'Isa al-Tirmizi, the compiler of a great 
collection of traditions, may be meant. He died six years earlier, in 279 H. 
(Wiistenfeld, Der Imam el-Schafi'i, p. 85). 

3 Inis, called apparently Enis on p. 431 infra, is probably Anas bin 
Malik (v. note on p. 428 infra). But the name Anas is sometimes confused 



xvii TRADITIONS CHALLENGED 413 

whom Thou lovest most among Thy creatures, so that he may 
eat of this bird with me.' At that moment 'All came to the 
Prophet, and they ate the bird together. Tirmizi states that 
this is a remarkable and beautiful hadis ; and Thur Pishti, 1 on 
commenting on it after alluding to it with much eloquence and 
excellence, says, ' Innovators have wasted much breath on this 
hadis, and have blown the feathers quite off the wings of the bird, 
making a great deal of very little. Without wishing to cast any 
blame on the Caliphate of Abu Bakr, this hadis should, on the 
decease of the Prophet, have been the first principle on which to 
unite the Mussulman people together, for it would have con- 
solidated them, and sustained them.' 

" To this we reply that the hadis in question does not at all 
strengthen those which are of an obligatory character. As to 
the precedents, as well as all the good things that arose in the 
Caliphate of Abu Bakr, they condemn these holy hadises, not- 
withstanding the most exact information which we possess from 
the whole of the ashabs whose remarks on them still exist. It is, 
however, not proper to deny the hadis in question, and one of 
these persons, Inis, quotes the fact that it was actually uttered, 
and no one disputes it. The real sense and signification of it is, 
therefore, that God should send him one of His most beloved, 
for his personal excellence and superior intelligence. There is 
nothing in the holy law showing that 'AH was the most beloved 
of all of God's creatures, for among these was the blessed Prophet 
himself. We must then only accept what is comformable to the 
holy oracles of the Quran, and known to the community of the 
people, then with the Prophet. It must, therefore, be read as we 
have stated above, or as it was understood by the children of the 
Prophet's uncle (Abu Bakr), whom he loved very much; because 
he often spoke freely, but always attentively, and never with 
negligence. In the Masabih it is related in connexion with this 



with Unais, as in the case of 'Anas b. Abu Marthad Ghanawi ', one of the 
sahabah who was present at the conquest of Makka and the battle of Hunain 
(d. 20 H.) (Matthews, Mishcat, ii. p. 721). Another Anas, bin Nudr, uncle 
of Anas b. Malik and brother of Eabii, slain at Uhud, was one of the most 
illustrious of the sahabah (ib. p. 161). But neither of these appear to have 
left any traditions on record. 

1 Thur Pishti, v. note on p. 409 supra. 



414 'ALI AS METAPHYSICIAN xvn 

hadis, that 'AH himself stated : ' Whenever I asked any- 
thing of the blessed Prophet, he would answer me ; and if I 
remained silent, he would commence a conversation explaining 
his meaning'. 

" It is also related in the Masabih, as subsequent to the pre- 
ceding hadis, that the blessed Prophet once said with regard to 
AH, ' I am the house of Wisdom, and 'AH is the door'. Tirmizi 
states that this also is a hadis gharib ; x and Muhyi-'l-Sunna, who 
is the author of this book, declares that it was not known to any 
one of the companions of the Prophet. The Shi'as say that it 
was the intention of the Prophet that instruction in metaphysics 
(hikmat) should be peculiar to 'AH ; that no one else had this 
faculty, and that it could only be acquired by his medium. God, 
in His own firm words, has said, ' Piety does not consist in your 
entering your house through a door in its rear ; but, in the fear 
of God, enter therefore by its proper portals ' (chap. ii. v. 185). 
There is, in fact, no need of this at all, for Paradise is widely open 
to those acquainted with spiritual wisdom (hikmat}, and it has 
eight portals for their admission. In the Masdbih it is related 
as coming from Jabir, 2 that the blessed Prophet called 'AH, the 
day that he sent him to Ta'if, 3 and spake with him secretly. 
Though this conversation was a lengthy one, he said to his uncle's 
sons, ' I did not conclude with him, but God did'. Now the 
expression 'to conclude' signifies to 'converse secretly'. The 
commentator, Tayibi, 4 says that these words mean that ' God 
commanded the Prophet to converse secretly with 'AH ' ; and I 

1 For garbee in original. But this is not a recognised term in the science 
of the traditionists. GTianb, ' strange, rare, foreign ', on the other hand, is 
regularly used of such traditions as are ' isolated, do not date from one of the 
companions of the Prophet, but only from a later generation ' (TS.I. ii. p. 141, 
and cf. p. 192 ib.). Matthews defines it as resting on the testimony of a 
single narrator (Mishcat ul-Masabih, i. p. ii), and that is generally its mean- 
ing. See also note on p. 78 supra. 

It is difficult to think that it ever meant traditions ' whose narrators 
have related but very few hadeeses ', which is Syed Ahmed Khan's definition 
(Essays on the Life of Muhammad, Essays on Traditions, p. 10). 

2 Jabir, Abfi 'Abdullah Jabir b. 'Abdullah al-Ansari died in 74 H. =A.D. 
693-94 (Matthews, Mishcat, i. p. 13). 

3 Ta'if, 60 miles east of Makka, was Muhammad's place of refuge in the 
llth year of his mission. 

4 Tayibi, the Qazi Abu-'t-Tayyib at-Tabari, died in 450 H. = 1058 A.D. 
(? A.D. 834-923) (J.R.A.8., 1901, p. 200, n. 1). 



xvn THE PROPHET DEFENDS 'ALl 415 

truly believe that it was by Divine command that he spoke with 
him of secret things. The same work relates, on the part of 
Umm Atla, 1 on whom be the Divine satisfaction ! that the 
Prophet of God sent troops in a holy warfare, and that 'All 
was among them. On that occasion the blessed Prophet elevated 
his hand, and prayed, ' God, do not kill 'All, but send him 
back to me'. 

" On one occasion the ashabs inquired of the blessed Prophet 
the cause and reason of his great love for 'AH, so that, in eon- 
formance with it, they might also increase their affection for him. 
In reply, he bade them go and call 'AH to him, and learn the cause 
from himself. One of them went and called him ; and whilst 
he was gone, the Prophet said, ' my companions 1 should any 
one do good to you, what would you do in return to him ? ' They 
replied that they would do good to him. He then asked them 
what they would do if any one . did harm to them ; and they 
answered that they would still do him good. The Prophet 
repeated the latter question, and they bent down their heads, 
and made no reply. Just then 'All appeared, and the blessed 
Prophet asked him what he would do if any person should do 
him evil in return for his own goodness. 'AH replied, ' O Prophet 
of God, I would do him good.' c Should he again do you evil, 
what would you do ? ' added the Prophet ; and 'AH replied as 
before. This question was put for the seventh time by the most 
excellent of prophets, and 'AH always replied the same, and finally 
added, ' O Prophet of God, I swear by that Almighty One, and 
there is none other, that should such a person harm me, a thousand 
years, in return for my own kindness, I would always continue 
to do him good'. On hearing these words, the ashabs all agreed 
that the love of the Prophet was well founded, and they offered 
up a prayer for the object of his affection. 

" Beware from supposing that the question of the ashabs was 
caused by any feeling of jealousy, for it was only so as to know 
the cause of the particular affections the blessed Prophet bore for 
'AH. 

" Once, three persons visited the Prophet of God, one of the 
people of Ibrahim, one of Moses, and one of Jesus. The first 

1 Ami Atieh in original : was the lady who took charge of the sick and 
wounded during the Prophet's wars (Matthews, Mishcat, i. p. 314). 



416 THE PROPHET'S VISION xvn 

asked the Prophet, ' How shall we know that you are indeed 
what you declare yourself, i.e. the greatest and most excellent of 
prophets, and the most acceptable of God,* for God said to 
Ibrahim (Abraham), Thou art my friend (khalil) ? ' To this 
one the Prophet replied by saying, ' The Most High has said to 
me, Thou art my beloved friend (habib), 1 which therefore is the 
nearest to any one ; His friend (companion or associate), or His 
beloved ? ' The individual was amazed and unable to make any 
reply. Then looking upon the blessed face of the Prophet, he, 
from the bottom of his heart, pronounced the confession, ' I bear 
testimony that there is no God but Allah. He is unique, and 
without any associate, and that Muhammad is His servant and 
apostle.' 

" Next came the individual of the people of Moses, and asked, 
' Oh, Prophet of God, when you say that your place is the most 
exalted of all the prophets, and that you are their joy and sovereign, 
how shall it be known that this is really so ? I have heard that 
the All- Just said to Moses, You are my kalim z (interlocutor, or one 
who speaks with me), and that whenever He was up in Mount 
Sinai, he spoke with God.' To this the blessed Prophet replied, 
' When God called Moses his kalim, He called me His habib, and 
though he went up on Mount Sinai, He sent me the angel Jabrail 
(Gabriel) with Baraq, ornamented with caparisons of Paradise, 
and, seated on him, in a short space of time I visited the world, 
the heavens, the celestial vault, the throne, Paradise, and Hell, 
as well as the whole Universe and all Creation, from the Kab 
Kausar (cup of a stream of Paradise called Kausar) to the smallest 
object. The Most High spoke with me, and showed me the 
greatest kindness, so much so that there is no cause for modesty 
with Him on my part. Blessed be God for His great mercy in 
having chosen this humble and insignificant servant from among 
His people ! God also promised me that whoever should pray 
every day one hundred times to my pure spirit, and he should 
never abandon or neglect this habit, He will pardon and have 
mercy on him one thousand times, and give him an exalted place 
in Paradise. His sins will a thousand thousand times be more 
pardoned than if he had given as many alms to the poor.' 

1 Habib, ' beloved '. 

2 ' One who speaks ', ' a familiar ' : hence Moses' name of Kallm-ullah, 
'one who speaks to God '. 



xvii 'ALI AT JACOB'S TOMB 417 

" Abu Huraira l relates, on the part of [Anas] ibn Malik, that 
on hearing the preceding, the individual was quite overcome ; 
that he fell at the feet of the blessed Prophet, and then raising 
up his hands, recited with great joy the Confession of Faith. 

" Next came the individual who was of the people of Jesus, 
and asked, ' When you say, I am near God, and am beloved of 
Him, and am the Lord of the beginning and of the ending ; and 
that Jesus was the Spirit of God (Rah Allah), and that he resusci- 
tated the dead in God's name, how are we to know the truth of 
this ? ' To this the blessed Prophet and the Apostle of the 
oppressed answered, ' Go and call 'All.' On hearing this com- 
mand, one of the ashabs went and bade 'All come to the Prophet ; 
and on his arrival the latter directed the individual to point out 
to 'AH one of the very oldest cemeteries. This person replied 
that in such a place there was a grave one thousand years old. 
' Go,' said the blessed Prophet to 'AH ; ' go to that grave, and cry 
out three times, and wait patiently until you see what God will 
do.' 'Ali proceeded to the spot, and cried out once, * O Jacob ! ' 
The grave immediately opened ; he cried out the same once more, 
and the grave became completely open ; on calling the same once 
more, lo ! an aged man, with a bright countenance, came out of 
the grave, with hair so long that it reached from his head to his 
feet ; and standing upright, he cried out with a loud voice the 
Confession of Faith. He next accompanied 'AH to the presence 
of the Prophet of God, where, at the sight of so extraordinary a 
miracle, a large number of infidels accepted the true faith. As to 
the individual of the people of Jesus, he joined the people of the 
Prophet and became a Mussulman. 

" Regarding these traits or sketches of 'All's character, it will 
suffice to add that when the blessed Prophet was commanded 
by the Most High to emigrate (the Hijra) from Makka to Madina, 
He directed 'AH to occupy his bed, and that he should be his 
lieutenant in the holy Ka'ba ; to watch over his family, to 

1 Abu Huraira, one of the companions (ashab) of Muhammad : so called 
from a favourite kitten which he had. His name was 'Abd-ur-Rahman 
b. Sakhr : he died in A.D. 678 at the age of seventy-eight, and according to 
Evliya was buried at Jiza in Egypt (Travels, i. Pt. 2, p. 111). However 
this may be, he became the patron of the deliverers of tradition. No less 
than 3500 are attributed to him, and though the greater part of these may 
have foisted on him he transmitted a greater number of hadis than any 
other companion (E.I. i. p. 93). 

2E 



418 'ALI AND THE ARCHANGELS xvn 

distribute among their owners all the objects deposited in the 
keeping of the Prophet, and to take care of such ashdbs as should 
remain in the Ka'ba. That same night the miserable infidels 
attacked the dwelling of the blessed Prophet ; but God, in His 
infinite mercy, sent a sleep upon them. The Devil (Shaitan) 
on whom be maledictions was with them, and he also fell asleep. 
'AH, together with Abu Bakr, went out of the house, and walked 
about. The Most High commanded the angels Mikhail (Michael) 
and Israfil (on whom be the Divine salutation of peace) to hasten 
to His lion, 'All, because the infidels wished to commit a crime. 
In the wink of the eye these two exalted angels appeared 
Michael stood by 'All's head and Israffl at his feet, where they 
prayed. Soon afterwards the devil awoke, and cried out aloud, 
'Muhammad has escaped'. To the infidels this accursed one 
.having appeared in a human form, they, addressing him, asked, 
'How should we know it ? ' and he replied, 'It is now so many 
thousand years since I have had any rest that I slept to-night, 
and it is possible that Muhammad has bewitched me, and put 
me to sleep'. After this, all of the infidels having fled away, the 
people entered the house of the Prophet of God ; and 'All arose 
from his bed, and standing up they beheld that the Prophet of 
God was really gone, and that in his place was 'AH, who came 
suddenly out. On the following day he proceeded to the Ka'ba 
and took up the place in which the blessed Prophet was used to 
stand, and from thence cried out that whoever had any objects 
deposited with the Prophet of God they should come forward and 
receive them, which, on producing the tokens received for them 
they did, and took them away, so that not one remained. All 
of the ashabs in the holy Ka'ba sought protection of 'All, and not 
one had reason to complain of any wrong. As the Prophet's 
dwelling was inside the Ka'ba, 'All made it his abode. Some 
time after this the Prophet commanded that 'All should take his 
family and proceed to Madma, which he did ; and going to the 
congregation of the infidels of the Quraish, he told them of his 
intention to set out on the day following, and that if any one 
had anything to say let him speak. All lowered their heads, and 
not one had a word to answer. 

" After the departure of 'AH, Abu Jahal z (on whom be curses) 

* Abu Jahal, the enemy of the Prophet who attempted his life (Mar- 
goliouth, The Early Development of Islam, p. 252). He was, however, it is 



XVII 



'ALI'S VALOUR 419 



asked them, * O, ye great men of the Quraish ! why did you not 
speak out whilst the family of Muhammad was still here, for it 
can do us no harm ? ' They then assembled around Abu Jahal 
and discussed the matter, and finally proceeded to 'Abbas, and 
begged him to advise his brother's son ('AIT) not to remove the 
family of Muhammad, lest trouble should arise in consequence 
of its departure. 'Abbas found the Shah-i-marddn l (the king of 
men, 'All), and spoke with him on the subject ; but the latter 
answered that, ' Inshallah ! on the- morrow he would remove the 
family of the Prophet'. This he did, and was followed by four 
or five of the Quraish mounted on horses. Previous to 'All's 
departure, however, he declared that he would fight whoever 
attempted to prevent him carrying into effect the orders of the 
Prophet. On hearing this from 'Abbas the infidels were greatly 
troubled, and formed a compact among themselves not to permit 
'AH to leave the city. So that when they met 'All and ordered 
him to return, he refused, and having mounted his charger com- 
menced fighting them, and through Divine assistance was enabled 
to beat them all. He now continued on his way, and next met 
with Miqdad bin-Aswad, 2 who also commenced fighting him. 
But the Imam 'All, in the most fearless manner, withstood the 
attack, and soon dismounted him. Placing his foot upon this 
man's breast, he invited him to accept of the true faith, which 
he at once most cheerfully did, and became a Mussulman. This 
person's son became a martyr in the defence of the Imam Husain 
('All's son) at Karbala ; and beside being a most heroic man, 
subsequently became one of the most excellent of the oshabs. If 
any one wishes to know more about this story they will please 
refer to the work entitled the Siyar-iin-Nabi 3 (a biography of the 
Prophet), where it is given in a detailed manner. 



said, prevented from doing him bodily harm by miraculous visions, and 
was eventually killed at Badr by Muaz b. Amr b. al-Jamub. (.E.I. i. p. 83). 

1 Shah-i-mardan, ' king of heroes ' (Pers. mard, pi. mardari). Johnson 
has ' King of valour, 'All ', incorrectly (Diet., p. 734). 

2 Miqdad b. al-Aswad, one of the ahl-i-suffa (Nicholson, Kashf al-Mahjub, 
p. 81). 

3 Siyar un-NaM, ' The Virtues of the Prophet ', by Sa'id Shaikh K,azrum. 
Tarikh-i-RasMdi, p. 145. 

This may be the work referred to, rather than the Siyar un-Nabi of the 
Turkish poet Zati (Bakhshi or 'Iwaz, d. 1546). This title Gibb translates 



420 'ALI'S POVERTY 



xvn 



" The Imam 'All, in consequence of having heard the ' Friend 
of God ', in the Prophet, declared in a hadis, that ' Poverty was 
his pride ', became extremely poor. From that moment he took 
no interest in worldly concerns, so much so, that if he became < 
possessed of 1000 pieces of gold, he would, by the morrow, not 
have one of them, for all would be given away to the poor. The 
blessed Prophet therefore used to say of 'AH, that he was the 
' Sultan of the Liberal '. 'AH once said to the pure Fatima, 
* O best of women, and the daughter of the Prophet of God, have 
you nothing to give your husband to eat, for I am extremely 
hungry ? ' Fatima replied, ' father of Hasan, I declare to you 
by that Allah, beside whom there is none other, I have absolutely 
nothing ; but in the corner of that tomb you will find six aqchas 
(pieces of silver) : take them, go to the bazaar, and buy something 
for yourself to eat, and also some fruits for our sons Hasan and 
Husain'. 'All departed, and on his way met with two Mussul- 
mans, the one holding the other by the collar of his robe, rudely 
pulling him, and claiming the payment of a debt, and' declaring 
that he could wait no longer, and must have his money. Approach- 
ing them, 'All asked how much was the debt, and on hearing that 
it was just six aqchas, he thought to himself that he would free 
this Mussulman from his affliction, and yet was embarrassed as 
to what he would say to Fatima, who expected him to return 
with food. Nevertheless he paid over the sum, and so relieved 
the Mussulman. He reflected for a moment on the answer which 
he should give to Fatima, and was much troubled by his painful 
position. With the idea in his mind that she was the best of 
women, and the Prophet's daughter, he returned empty-handed, 
and had scarcely reached the door, when he saw their sons, Hasan 
and Husain, running towards him, in the full expectation that 
their father had brought them some fruit for food, and, on seeing 
that he had none, they both wept. He now explained to their 



' Acts of the Prophet ' (Hist, of Ottoman Poetry, iii. p. 50 ; of. Hammer - 
Purgstall, GdOD. ii. p. 240). Or again, the reference may be to the Dunat- 
ut-Taj fi 8iratl-8ahib-il-MVraj, 'the Pearl of the Crown concerning the 
Life of the Lord of the Ascension ', of the Turkish poet Uvais (Veyisi), who 
died in 1627-28. This work, generally known as the Siyar-i-Veysi, is still 
popular, although it has been condemned by the Modern School in Turkey 
(Gibb, op. cit. iii. p. 208). 



xv A JUST PRICE 421 

mother what use he had made of the money which she had given 
him, and how he had freed a Mussulman from a most painful 
predicament. ' You have done well,' she exclaimed, ' and I am 
delighted that you have done so good an action,' though, at the 
same time, she was pained at heart ; and in place of adding, 
' How great are our necessities ! and how strangely you have 
acted 1 ' she only said, ' The Most High and Noble Allah will 
provide for us'. 

" As to 'All, remarking that his wife was much afflicted, and 
that his two sons wept from pure hunger, his heart became 
troubled, and he left the house, in the design of proceeding to the 
blessed Prophet of God, to see what would follow ; for it was well 
known that, should any one be oppressed with ten thousand 
sorrows, the sight of the countenance of the blessed Prophet at 
once removed them all, and in their stead he became filled with 
innumerable joys. On his way he met with an Arab leading a 
fatted camel, who asked him whether he would not purchase it, 
and 'AH replied that he did not possess any ready money with 
which to pay for it. To this the Arab replied that he would 
credit him for the amount ; and as 'All requested to learn the price, 
he added that it was 100 dqchas. 'AH accepted the offer, and the 
Arab delivered him the animal. Taking its bridle in his hand, 
he proceeded on his way, and soon met with another Arab, who, 
addressing him by name, inquired whether he would not sell it. 
'All replied that he would, and the Arab asked him whether he 
would accept of 300 dqchas for it. Having consented, he handed 
over the camel to the purchaser, who forthwith counted him out 
the sum thus agreed upon. 

" 'AH, much delighted, proceeded at once to the bazaar, where 
he, purchased an abundance of food and fruit, and thence returned 
to his house. Opening the door, his children clung to him, 
delighted with the prospect of partaking of a bountiful meal. 
Their mother inquired of him how he became possessed of so 
much money, and 'AH related to her the preceding occurrence. 
After satisfying their hunger, they all returned thanks to that 
Sublime and Blessed Allah who thus provided for their pressing 
wants. 'AH then arose, and after telling his wife of his intention, 
proceeded to the residence of the Pride of the Universe, the most 
blessed Prophet of Allah. The latter having, however, just left 
his house, 'AH met him on the way to his own premises, where, he 



422 'ALl'S SPIRITUALITY xvn 

told the ashabs near him, he desired visiting his daughter and 
son-in-law. So soon as the Prophet beheld 'AH, he smiled, and 
exclaimed, ' O 'AIT, from whom did you buy the camel, and to 
whom did you sell it ? ' and 'AH replied, ' God and His Prophet 
know'. The Prophet now informed him that the seller was 
the angel Gabrail, and the purchaser the angel 'Israfil, and 
that it was one of the camels of jannat (Paradise) ; that 
the all-just Allah had bestowed upon him fifty favours for the 
one he had granted to that afflicted Mussulman ; and that 
those which were in store for him, in eternity, were only known 
to God. 

" During the Mfraj-i-sharif (or the Ascension) of the blessed 
Prophet, he beheld a lion in the seventh heaven, of so terrible 
an appearance, that it was perfectly indescribable. He inquired 
of the angel Gabrail what lion it was, and was informed that it 
was not a wild animal, but was the ' spirituality ' of the Imam 
'AH ; adding, ' O friend of Allah, remove your ring from off your 
finger, and cast it in its mouth ', which he having done, the lion, 
with great humility and many caresses, took and held the ring 
in its mouth. On the day following the Ascension, the Prophet 
gave an account of the same to the ashabs ; and whilst relating 
the frightful appearance of the lion, and the matter of the ring, 
'AH, who was also present, withdrew the latter from his own 
mouth and handed it to him, greatly to the surprise of all the 
spectators. From this remarkable occurrence they were enabled 
to understand the sublimity of his character, and their love and 
affection for him became greatly increased. 

" Of the dyats (verses of the Quran) sent in honour of 'AH, 
one refers to the following occurrence. Some of the learned 
'ulma state that the Amir al-Mtiminin, or ' Commander of the 
Faithful ' ('All), was once engaged praying in the masjid, or chapel, 
when a beggar approached him, and asked for something. 'AH, 
turning aside his face, withdrew a ring from off his finger and 
handed it to the man. This act of generosity having been 
agreeable to the Most High, the following ayat descended from 
heaven, chap. v. v. 60 : ' Your protectors are God and His Prophet, 
and those who believe, who perform the prayers exactly [who are 
steadfast in prayer], 1 who give alms, and who incline themselves 
before God'. 

1 Palmer's Quran S.B.E., vi. p. 105. 



xvn THE PROPHET'S REWARD 423 

" Another ayat was the subject of a dispute between 'Abbas 
and Talha. 1 The former said, ' I am of those excellent persons 
who supply the pilgrims with water ' ; and the latter declared, 
' I am of those excellent ones who have charge of the key of the 
holy house (Ka'ba), and, if I choose, I can spend the night therein ' 
To this 'All remarked, ' What do you say ? It is now more than 
ten months since I have turned my face towards this qibla (the 
Ka'ba), and you were not here even then'. It was on this 
occasion that the following ay at descended from heaven, chap. ix. 
w. 19-20 : ' Will you place those who bear water to the pilgrims 
and visit the holy oratory on the same footing with those who 
believe in God and in the Last Day, and fight [are strenuous in] 
in the path of God ? Now, they will not be equal before God ; 
God does not direct the wicked. Those who have left their own 
country, who fight in the path of God with their property and 
their persons, will fill a more elevated place before God ; they 
will be the happy.' 2 

" There is another ayat t commanded by God, relative to 'All 
bin-Abu Talib, Fatima, and Hasan and Husain, chap. xlii. v. 22 . 
' This is what God promises to His servahts who believe and do 
good. Tell them, All that I ask of you in return for my ministra- 
tions is some 3 for my relations. Whoever shall have performed a 
good deed, we will raise in value ; God is indulgent and thankful.' 
Qatada* on whom be the Divine satisfaction states that the 
mushriks, at a meeting, declared, ' Let us see whether Muhammad 
wishes for a recompense ? ' On these words, that ayat descended, 
as is stated by Sa'id ibn-Jabil. 5 Ibn-'Abbas 6 remarks that, 
in the expression ' relations ' are comprised 'All, Fatima, and 
Hasan and Husain ; and no one must ever feel an ill-will for 
them. 

" Another ayat is that in which the Most High shows the 
purity of the religious sentiments of 'All, chap. xv. v. 47 : ' We 
will remove all falsehood from out of their hearts ; living together 
as brothers, they will repose upon beds, viewing each other face 

1 Talha b. Ubaid-ullah, one of the Hawari or apostles (E.I. ii. p. 293). 

2 Palmer, op. cit., p. 175. The word translated ' fight ' means ' to be 
strenuous ', and does not inculcate the jihad or holy war. 

3 The word ' love ' should be supplied. Of. Eodwell's Koran, p. 272. 

4 Abu Qatada, 60-117 H. (A.D. 680-737), 

5 Sa'eed ibn Jebeel in original. 

6 Ibn 'Abbas, v. note on p. 426 infra. 



424 ALMS HJ&CHASE COUNSEL xvii 

to face'. Some of the learned have said that this ay at referred 
to 'All, Mu'awia, 1 Talna, 2 Zubir, 3 and the faithful 'Ayesha. 

" Another ayat of the Most High is chap. Iviii. v. 13 : ' O ye who 
believe : when you go in private to consult the Prophet, prior to 
your visit bestow an alms, for this will be better for you, and 
more suitable ; but, if you have not wherewith to do it, know that 
God is indulgent and merciful'. The champions of Islamism 
state that no one acted upon this ayat except 'AH, who, whenever 
he desired to consult the Prophet, conformably with this verse, 
always bestowed something previously in alms. 

" Ibn-'Umr * relates that 'AH possessed three things, of which, 
said he, ' had I only one, it would have made me much beloved '. 
One of these was the daughter (Fatima al-Zahra) of the Prophet, 
given to him in marriage ; the second, the gift which the Prophet 
made to him of the standard of victory, at the battle of Khaiber ; 
and the third, that he put in performance the holy ayat, called the 
najwi. 5 It is said of 'All, that he would take a dinar, divide it 
into ten dirhams, and so bestow it in alms on ten poor persons ; 
that he also once asked of the Prophet ten questions, confidentially, 
one of which was, ' How shall I pray ? ' and the Prophet replied, 

1 Mu'awia b. Abi Sufyan,~the Ominayad. 

2 Talha, v. note on p. 423. 

3 Possibly Zubair ibn al-Awwam, cousin - german of the Prophet and 
one of the ten Ashara Mubashshara to whom he gave certain assurance of 
Paradise; but his conduct is a difficulty, for having started the revolt 
against 'All he was persuaded by him to take a solemn oath that he would 
not war against the Caliph. His son, however, induced him. to free a slave 
by way of atonement and then break his pact (Matthews, Mishcat, i. p. 428, 
and Margoliouth, Early Development of Islam, p. 60). The ayat quoted 
hardly seems applicable to him. 

Another Zubair, ibn-Arabi, was one of the tabi'tin (Matthews, op. cit., 
p. 618). 

4 Ibn 'Umr, v. note on p. 412. 

6 Najm, ' secret ', from the same root as najia on p. 378, and najat, 
' salvation '. Najwa is ' secret conversation ' or ' the concealment of 
imperfections from the knowledge of other (than God) ' (Nicholson, Kashf 
al-Mahjub, pp. 352 and 385. But the term najwi (pron. najwa) was also 
applied to the voluntary contributions, peculiar to the Batinis or Isma'ilis, 
and abolished by Hakim bi-amr -Allah (de Sacy, Expose de la religion des 
Druzes, i. p. cccxliii, where his ChrestomatMe arabe, p. 132, vol. i., is referred to). 
The context indicates that the verse alluded to is v. 211 of sura ii. (Eodwell, 
p. 361), read especially with v. 13 of sura Iviii., which Eodwell renders : 
" ye who believe ! when ye go to confer in private with the Apostle, give 
alms before such conference. . . . " (p. 452). 



xvn THE PROPHET'S TEN REPLIES 425 

' With fidelity and purity ' ; the next, ' What shall I ask of God ? ' 
and the reply, ' Health in this world and in the other ' ; the next, 
' What do I need most ? ' and the answer was, ' To keep God's 
laws, -and the commands of His Prophet ' ; * What, Prophet of 
God, must I do to secure my own salvation ? ' and the former 
replied, 'Do no wrong to others, and speak the truth'. He next 
inquired, ' What is truth ? ' and the blessed Prophet answered, 
' Islam, the Quran, and to act correctly up to the close of your 
life'. He then asked him, 'What is joy?' and he replied, 
' Paradise ' ; ' What is comfort ? ' he added, and heard that it was 
' To behold God'. ' What is rebellion ? ' he next asked, and the 
blessed Prophet told him, ' To be a kdflr ' (or otherwise to be 
unfaithful to the Most High God) ; and he added the question, 
' What is fidelity ? ' to which he received the reply, ' To bear 
testimony that there is no God but Allah, and that Muhammad 
is the Prophet of Allah ' ; for He is that God who honours and 
degrades men ; and where His Prophet so admonished the people 
of Makka, they would turn their faces away, and declare other- 
wise ; for it is said in the Great Book (Quran), chap. xli. v. 25 : 
' The infidels say, Do not listen to the Quran, and speak loudly so 
as to drown the voice of those who read it '. In the end, God so 
elevated him, that He commanded, ' He is most dear to me, and 
you must hear and obey everything that he directs'. On this 
head the ay at says : ' When you visit the Prophet, before entering 
near him, bestow an alms, for your own welfare ' (chap. Iviii. v. 13). 
'Do not address him a word until he comes out of his room.' 
The ay at says also (chap. xlix. v. 4) : ' Those who call thee with a 
loud voice, whilst thou art still within thy apartments, are, mostly, 
people of no sense.' Also (chap. xlix. v. 4) : ' Do not raise your 
voice above that of the Prophet '. Also (chap, xxxiii. v. 9) : ' He 
was at the distance of ten arcs, or nearer ' . God placed him in so 
elevated a position, that the angel Gabrail and all the other 
angels, though they went round it, were unable to reach it. 
Those who falsely swear, who shout within the limits of the 
Haram-i-sharif, at Makka and Madina, or are deficient in their 
prayers and fasts, must bestow alms upon the poor, and thus 
acquire the satisfaction of the Most High. The holy verse says 
(chap. xlv. v. 20) : ' Those who do evil, think that we will treat 
them equally with those who believe, who do good ; and that 
for either, life and death is the same : they judge badly'. 



426 'ALI'S RESEMBLANCES TO CHRIST xvir 

" An ay at descended for 'All, whose faith was correct, and all 
his acts were good and praisable, without hypocrisy, and unheard- 
of for perfection. The Christians (mushriklar) 1 said to him : ' If 
what you declare (about God and His Prophet) be true, you will 
be greater than we in this world, and in the other' (chap, xxxiii. 
v. 33). ' Remain quiet in your houses ; adopt not the luxuries 
of the times of Ignorance ; observe the hours of prayer ; give 
alms ; obey God and His Prophet. God only wishes to free you 
from abominations, and give you perfect purity.' 

" Sa'id bin-Jabir 2 relates, on the part of 'Abdullah bin-' Abbas, 3 
as coming from Ibn-' Abbas, 4 that when the holy verse descended, 
' Thou givest fear, and to each people there is a director in the 
true path', the blessed Prophet stated, ' I am the one who gives 
the fear, and 'All is he who directs in the true path. O 'AH, those 
who are directed will be directed by thee.' 

" Rabiyat bin-Najd relates that 'AH once stated : ' The 
blessed Prophet read over me and said, You resemble Jesus, the 
Son of Mary, inasmuch as the Jews hated him, and calumniated 
his mother. The Nazarenes loved him so greatly as to declare 
that he had no post or grade among the prophets, but was really 
God.' To this 'AH responded : * ' Many persons destroy their 
souls for love of me ; some love me very much, and are inimical 
to the other ashabs ; I do not love these, and some who love the 
other ashabs hate me ; both of which are of the people of hell. 
I am not a prophet ; on me no inspiration descends, and yet, 
with all the strength given to me, I conform to God's book.' 

1 Turk. plur. of mushrik, ' polytheist ', or ' syntheist, one who attributes 
a partner or partners to God' (Redhouse, Turk.-Eng. Lex., p. 1867). 

2 Sa'id bin Jabir, mentioned on p. 32 supra. 

3 'Abdullah b. 'Abbas, one of the most learned of the Companions, was 
entitled Tarjuman ul-Quran or ' Interpreter of the Quran ', and Sultan 
ul-Mufassirin or ' Prince of Commentators '. He became governor of Basra, 
and was the ancestor of the Abbasside sovereigns. He is also celebrated as 
the Doctor (Eabbi) of the Community (Hibr al-Umma), and is called the 
'sea'. He died in 68-79 H. (A.D. 687-90). Estimates of his trustworthi- 
ness as a traditionalist vary, but he became the patron of the mufassirin or 
commentators on the Quran in the Turkish guild-system (Evliya, i. pt. 2, 
p. 111). For his life and titles v. E.I. i. p. 19, and Margoliouth, Early 
Development of Mohammedanism, p. 138. 

4 Ibn 'Abbas should, no doubt, be al-'Abbas b. 'Abd al-Muttalib, sur- 
named Abu'l Fazl, uncle of the Prophet and father of 'Abdullah b. al-'Abbas, 
surnamed Abu'l 'Abbas. 



xvii 'ALI NOT PROPHET 427 

The blessed Prophet now added : ' All that I order you to do 
is to conform to the will of the Most High, either through your 
own free will, or from misery and compulsion. If I should ever 
order you to do what is contrary to this, do not obey it ; for who 
obeys me, obeys Him.' 

" Another narrative is that of Qais bin-Harith. 1 An individual 
asked a question of Mu'awia bin-Sufyan, and for reply was 
directed to make the same interrogation of 'All ; ' for he knows 
better than myself. The individual, nevertheless, persisted in 
receiving an answer from him, ' for I shall love it more,' he added, 
' than any that 'AH can give me ' . The [Caliph] Mu'awia, however, 
declined, and said to the individual, * You speak falsely, and are 
a wicked man ; for you show an aversion for him who enjoys, to 
an eminent degree, the respect and regard of the Prophet of God, 
on account of his great knowledge of Him, respecting whom the 
Prophet has declared : " O 'AH, after me, you occupy the place 
of Aaron after Moses ; with the .difference that, after me, there 
will be no other prophet"'. I have also observed that 'Umr 
often took counsel with him ; and whenever any doubts arose, 
he would say, ' 'AH is present; let us ask him'. So Mu'awia 
on whom be the Divine satisfaction said to the individual, 
' Depart, and may the blessed Allah not give any strength to 
your steps ' ; and so he departed. 

" Another narrative is by Sa'd bin - Abi Waqqas. ' Once, 
Mu'awia came to me, on account of some personal need. He 
mentioned 'AH, and I told him that 'AH had three peculiar charac- 
teristics, of which, had I but one, I would be greatly beloved. 
These I heard stated by the blessed Prophet himself. 1. " 'AH 
is the wall (friend) of whomsoever I am the wali" 2. The 
Prophet declared, the day of the battle of Khaibar, " To-morrow 
I will give the standard to one who is beloved of God and His 
Prophet ", and gave it to 'All. 3. " You are to me what Aaron 
was to Moses." ' 

" Jabir bin-' Abdullah relates that the Prophet once stated : 
' The night during which I went up to heaven (al-mi'Taj), I passed 
by the porters, and heard a voice behind them say, " Muhammad, 
goodly is your father Ibrahim, and how goodly is your brother 
'AH bin-Abu-Talib ; leave him a testimony from you that he had 
done good"'. 

1 Kais b. Harith in original. 



428 *ALI IN BATTLE xvit 

" Hasan Bahri relates that Uns bin-Malik 1 heard it from the 
Prophet : ' There are three persons whom Paradise desires 
ardently to receive, viz. 'AH bin-Abu-Talib, 'Ammar bin-Yasir, 2 
and Salman Farsi'. 

"Sa'd bin-Abl Waqqas once said: ' Mu'awia 3 asked me, "Do 
you love 'AH ? " and I replied, " Why should I not love him ? 
Have I not heard the Prophet say to him, ' O 'AH, after me, you 
are what Aaron was to Moses '". At the battle of Badr he came 
out of the fight, and a voice came forth from his belly, declaring 
that God would ever be with him ; and he never ceased fighting, 
until he had coloured his sword with the blood of the infidels.' 

" 'Amir bin-Sherb!l al-Sha'bl 4 states : 'AH once remarked, 
Zaid ibn-Serha, 5 at the battle of Jamal, 6 was in the following 
condition. He had fallen down in his blood ; 'AH stood over his 
head, and exclaimed to him, ' O Zaid, may the Most High have 
mercy upon you ; I did not know you, except as one recom- 
mended to me ; I now know you for your good deeds, and as one 
to whom the Prophet has given the good news (of faith) and 
Paradise '. Zaid was still covered with blood, and raising up his 
hands, he exclaimed, ' O Amir of the Faithful, may thine also be 
good news ; for to thee has the Prophet of God given the same 
assurances. I swear by the truth of God, I have never had an 
occasion to fight with you in any battle, where I could destroy 

1 Abu Hamza bin Nasr al-Ansari, surnamed Anas bin Malik, ' the last 
of the Companions ' : (Matthews, Mishcat, i. p. 4). His death is variously 
ascribed to 91-3 H. (A.D. 709-11), but it is fairly certain that he died at 
Basra, at the age of 97 or even 107. He was one of the most prolific of the 
traditionists but not one of the most trustworthy, and Abu Hanifa is said 
to have denied his authority (E.I. i. p. 345). On the other hand, Beale 
says he was one of the six most approved for Muhammadan traditions, and 
that he 'died at the age of 103, in 91 H. (A.D. 710), leaving 100 children 
(Oriental Biographical Dy., p. 19, where his name is printed Aus). 

2 'Ammar bin-Yasir, one of the Companions ; for some details of his 
life see Matthews, Mishcat, i. p. 105. He was saved from torture by fire by 
the Prophet and slain under 'AH at Baffin in A.D. 657. Muhammad had 
prophesied that he would be killed by usurpers (Margoliouth, Early 
Development, p. 240). 

3 Mu'awia b. Abl Sufyan al-Umawi, the Ommayad. 

4 'Amir b. Sharahll ash-Sha'bi, v. note on p. 33. 

5 Zaid ibn-Serha, as in original. 

6 Lahi al- Jamal was a village between Makka and Madina (Matthews, 
Mishcat, i. p. 648), but the place where 'All encountered Ayisha is doubtless 
alluded to. 



xvii THE COLUMNS OF PARADISE 429 

the ranks of the enemy, on account of the hypocrisy and false- 
hoods of the public against you ; and yet I have heard it as said 
by the Prophet, 'All is a pathway ; he is the destroyer of wickedness 
and has conquered the person who has conquered him, and put 
to flight him who would not aid him. I am happy at last to have 
found myself in battle with you, and to fight with you as a friend.' 
As he terminated these words, his soul left his body. 

" 'Amru bin-al-Jamuh * states : ' I was once in the presence 
of the Prophet of God, when he exclaimed, " 'Amru " ; and I 
answered, " What are thy commands, O Prophet of God ? " 
He answered, "Do you wish me to show you the columns of 
Paradise ? " I replied that I did. Just then 'All passed by, and 
he, pointing to him, said, " The members of this person's family 
are the columns of Paradise". It is also reported by 'Abdullah 
ibn-'Abbas, 2 that the Prophet declared, " the chief of places was 
in his own body " '. 

" 'AH himself relates that the blessed Prophet declared : 
' The night of the mi'raj, the angel Gabrail held my hand, and 
led me to a splendidly ornamented position in Paradise, where 
he placed a quince before me. I took it up and smelt it, and 
whilst turning it round in my hand, it separated into two pieces, 
and from out of it came a hurl. Never in my life had I seen so 
beautiful a being as this. So addressing me, she said, " Peace 
be to thee, O Muhammad". In reply I asked her who she was, 
and she replied, " My name is Razia and Murzia 3 (consenting and 
consented, or satisfying), and the Most Glorious has created me 
out of three things : the upper part of me is made of ambergris, 
the middle camphor, and the lower musk ; I was joined together 
with the water of life, and thus was I created by the Sovereign 
Lord of the universe for your brother 'All bin-Abu-Talib " '. 

" Abu Zerr Ghifari 4 also relates, as coming from the Prophet 

1 'Amru b. al-Jamuh, Mu'az bin-Amar bin-Jamuh, one of the Ausars, 
who shared in the killing of Abu Jahal (E.I. i. p. 83). He died in the reign 
of 'Othman (Matthews, Mishcat, ii. p. 810). 

2 F. p_. 426. 

3 Razi, ' content ' or ' pleasing ' ; murzi, ' pleasant '. 

4 Abu Zar Ghaffarl (Zarr al-Ghifarl), one of the most esteemed of the 
Companions for his piety and veracity (Matthews, Mishcat, i. p. 12). His 
real name was Jundub b. Junada al-Rabazi, but there are different versions 
of this and of his descent. He died at al-Rabaza near Madina in 32 or 33 H. 
(A.D. 653) (E.I. p 82). After his death Abu Zurr's reputation increased 



430 'ALI'S QUALITIES xvn 

of God : ' Whoever is separated from me is separated from God, 
and whoever, O 'AIT, is separated from you is also separated from 
me'. Uns bin Malik states that 'The glory of all beings (the 
Prophet) mentioned 'AH bin-Abu-Talib adoringly'. Jabir bin- 
' Abdullah mentions from the same source : ' It is written over 
the door of Paradise, " There is no God but Allah ; Muhammad is 
His Prophet, and 'All is the aider of His Prophet" ; and that this 
was so written 2000 years before the erection of the heavens and 
the earth.' 

" 'Abdullah bin-Mas'ud ! relates : ' I was once in the company 
of the blessed Prophet, when he said of 'AH, " Wisdom is divided 
into ten parts, nine of which are given to 'AIT, and one to man- 
kind" '. 'Abdullah bin-' Abbas relates that the Prophet one day 
came out of his house, holding the hand of 'AH in his own blessed 
hand, and exclaimed, ' Beware that no one bear any hostile 
feelings for 'AH, for such an one is an enemy of God and His 
Prophet; whoever loves 'AH, loves also God and His Prophet'. 
The same person relates that the Prophet once remarked : ' Who- 
ever wishes to see the meekness of Abraham, the wisdom of Noah, 
the patience of Joseph, let him look upon 'AH bin-Abu-Talib'. 
Anas bin-Malik says : ' I was once seated in company with the 
Prophet, when suddenly 'AH appeared and seated himself behind 
him. The Prophet called to him to sit before him, and addressing 
him, said, " 'AH, God has honoured and distinguished you with 



and, like Miqdad al-Aswad and Salman, he was honoured by all the secret 
sects, especially by the Nusairls, who make him the ' left ' of prayer as 
Miqdad is the right. The Habitis, a professing sect of the Mata'zilis, 
declared that Abu Zurr had been more continent and pious than the Prophet 
himself. This sect had on the one hand Christian leanings, regarding Jesus 
as the created God, while on the other it held that animals and even insects 
had their prophets, a tenet clearly connected with their belief in trans- 
migration of souls (S. de Sacy, Expose de la religion des Druzes, i. p. xlii. ff. 
and Lyde, The Asian Mystery, pp. 152-3). 

Mu'awia regarded Abu Zarr as all but a communist, and he certainly 
protested against the luxury which the newly gotten wealth of the Arabs 
induced. His own habits were ascetic (Muir, The Life of Mahomet, pp. 
309, 310-11. 

1 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud, one of those to whom Muhammad gave assurance 
of Paradise (Matthews, Mishcat, i. p. 18). He is said to be the authority 
for 848 traditions, including one relied upon for a mild interpretation of the 
interdiction of wine. His death at Madma or Kufa is assigned to 32-3 H. 



xvii , GOD'S GIFT TO 'ALl 431 

the gift of four qualities above my own". 'All rose to his feet 
and exclaimed, " May my father and mother be devoted to you ; 
how can a servant be honoured above his Lord ? " The Prophet 
replied, " O 'AH, when the Most High and Blessed God desires to 
honour one of His servants, He bestows upon him those things 
which eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor which have ever 
come into the mind of man". Anas 1 says that he observed, on 
hearing this, " Prophet of Allah, explain this to us, so that we 
may understand it " ; and he continued, " God has given him 
such a wife as Fatima, and not to me ; He has given him two 
such sons as Hasan and Husain, and none to me ; and He has 
given to him such a father-in-law (the Prophet himself) as He 
has not given to me " '. 

" Sa'Id bin-Jablr relates that once the Prophet took the hand 
of 'Abdullah bin-'Abbas, and they together walked to the well of 
Zamzam, where a number of people were seated, indulging in 
improper remarks about 'AIT. He sent away ibn-'Abbas, and 
approaching them, stood still, and exclaimed, ' Who is it that 
dares to speak ill of God and the Prophet of God ? ' They replied, 
' None of us have spoken ill of God, nor of His Prophet '. ' Who,' 
then added he, ' speaks ill of 'AH bin-Abu-Talib ? ' and some one 
answered, 'Yes, such has been spoken'. 'I know it,' he added, 
' for I bear testimony that I heard it with my own ears, and 
whoever speaks ill of him speaks ill of me, and whoever speaks 
ill of me has spoken ill of the Most High, and He will cast him 
headlong into hell.' 

" Atiet al Avk! 2 relates : ' I once went to see Jabir bin- 
' Abdullah and found him much advanced in years, his eyebrows 
covering his eyes. I asked him a question about 'All, and on 
hearing his name, he raised up his head and smiled for joy and 
love of him, and exclaimed, " In the time of the blessed Prophet 
the only hypocrites we knew were those who were unfriendly to 
'AH, and we therefore considered them all as enemies " '. 

" Sha'bi says: ' Once Abu Bakr al-Siddlq, on seeing 'All, 
remarked that " Whoever was well thought of by him ('AH) and 
met with his favour, would be held in high consideration by the 

1 Enis in original. 

2 Atiet el Avkee in original. ? 'Atika, aunt of 'Abdulla bin al-'Abbas 
(E.L i. p. 20). 



432 'ALI IN THE TRADITIONS XVII 

blessed Prophet ; and whosoever 'AH deemed truly spiritual, 
would be regarded by the Prophet as being near to God (in a 
spiritual sense)"'. 

" 'Ayesha relates that she once asked the blessed Prophet, 
' Who, after him, was the best amongst the people, and he 
answered, Abu Bakr al-Siddlq ; after him, I inquired, and he 
added, 'Umr ; and next, I asked, and he said, 'Othman. Fatima, 
on hearing this, exclaimed, " O Prophet of God, have you nothing 
to say for 'All ? " and he replied, " I am 'All, and 'All is myself ; 
have you ever heard any one commend his own self ? " ' 

" Zaid-al-'Abidin bin-' AH Husain relates that he once heard 
'AH bin-Abu-Talib declare, ' The Prophet of God has taught me 
a thousand doors of knowledge, each one of which has opened to 
me a thousand others '. 

" 'Abdullah al-Kandi l relates, that Mu'awia bin-Abu Sufyan 
made the pilgrimage after the death of 'AH, and coming among 
the congregation there, seated himself in the presence of 'Abdullah 
bin-' Abbas and 'Abdullah bin-'Umr. Mu'awia placed his hand 
upon the knee of 'Abdullah bin-' Abbas, and said, ' My affair is 
better than that of your uncle's son'. 'Abdullah bin-' Abbas 
replied, ' Why did he say that about him who stated, " I am the 
nephew of the Prophet whom they unjustly put to death ? " 
that is to say, 'Othman bin-' Af fan, on whom be the Divine 
satisfaction'. 'Abdullah said, 'His presence is better than you 
for the Caliphate, for 'All's relationship is nearer than that of 
your nephew'. Mu'awia, on hearing this, became silent; then 
turning toward Sa'd bin-Abi-Waqqas, he said, ' O Sa'd ! do not 
separate the truth from the obsolete ; will you be with or against 
us ? ' To this Sa'd replied, ' When I witnessed the darkness of 
violence committed, I said to myself, I will be patient until the 
daylight again appears, and then I will depart from here '. Mu'awia 
on this, exclaimed, 'I swear by Allah that I have read the most 
glorious Quran, and found nothing of this in it ' ; and Sa'd added, 
' Do you not accept the words which I myself heard from the 
mouth of the blessed Prophet on the subject of 'AH bin-Abu- 
Talib? "Thou art with the truth, and the truth is with me"'. 
Mu'awia now bade him produce some person who had also heard 
these from the Prophet, or, added he, ' You will see what I shall 

1 Ya'qub b. Ishaq al-Kindi, styled 'the Philosopher of the Arabs' 
(Failasuf-ul-'Arab), flourished in the first half of the ninth century A.D. 



xvii 'ALT THE GATE OF KNOWLEDGE 433 

do to you.'- Sa'd said that Ami Salma x had likewise heard them, 
and so, going to him, Mu'awia asked, ' O Father of believers ! the 
public say many things which never were spoken by the blessed 
Prophet, one of which is a hadis brought forward by Sa'd '. ' What 
is it ? ' inquired Ami Salma. * What does he quote ? ' 'He 
states,' replied Mu'awia, ' that the blessed Prophet was heard to 
say to 'AH, " Thou art with the truth,, and the truth is with me " '. 
Ami Salma at once exclaimed, ' He quotes correctly, for I heard 
him use these same words myself "in my own house '. On hearing 
this, Mu'awia turned away his face, asked pardon of Sa'd and 
others of the ashabs of the blessed Prophet there present, and 
exclaimed, ' I swear by the Most High God, that had I known 
this I would have been the servant of 'All to the day of my death '. 

" Another statement is from the mouth of the blessed Prophet, 
given by 'Abdullah bin-' Abbas. He says that the former also 
declared, ' I am the scales of knowledge ; 'All is its weights, Hasan 
and Husain are its cords, Fatima is its suspension ; after me the 
Imams (Hasan and Husain) are the columns which sustain it, 
and by these scales do we weigh the deeds of our friends'. Uns 
bin-Malik states that the Prophet also declared, ' I am the city 
of knowledge ; 'AH is its gate, and Mu'awia is its ring or circle'. 

" Ma'az bin-Jabal 2 states that the Prophet likewise declared, 
' The Most High has made a people pure from sins, as the head of 
a bald man is neat, and 'AH is the first of that people'. Salman 
Farsi (an eminent founder of a Darvish tarlq) stated, ' 'AH is the 
possessor of my secret '. 

" 'AH relates that the Prophet of God once directed him, in 
case his head ever ached, to put his hands on his temples, and 
recite the dyat, ' We have caused this book (Quran) to descend 
from heaven ', from one end to the other, and the pain will cease. 
One day, when walking in the environs of Makka, the Prophet 
holding 'AH by the hand, they met with several fine gardens. 
'AH relates that, having expressed his admiration of them, the 
Prophet assured him that a finer one awaited him in Paradise. 
Soon after, the Prophet, looking him steadfastly in the face, burst 

1 Umml Salma, a slave of Safia bint 'Abd-ul-Mutallab, the Prophet's 
aunt and nurse to Fatima's children (Matthews, Mishcat, ii. p. 376). 

2 Mu'az bin-Jabal, Mu'adh ibn Jabal, a famous Companion, appointed 
judge of Yaman by Muhammad, and employed in Syria by 'Umr (Matthews, 
Mishcat, i. p. 10), 

2? 



434 'ALI AS ICONOCLAST xvn 

into tears, on seeing which 'All was much affected, and also wept ; 
and on inquiring the cause, the Prophet told him that he had a 
presentiment of his death, through the enmity of a certain tribe. 
' I asked him,' adds 'AH, ' whether the faith which I possessed 
would not secure me salvation in the life to come, and being 
assured that it would, I declared that I would then die contented '. 

" When the blessed Prophet captured Makka, there were 
1140 idols in it, which he designed to destroy ; 360 of these 
surrounded the Bait-i-sharif, and one large one was inside of it. 
It was made of stone, and was fastened to the wall with strong 
spikes and chains of iron. When the Prophet entered the Ka'ba, 
he recited a prayer, and commanded 'All to mount on his 
shoulders and pull out the spikes and chains, and so free that 
idol from its fastenings ; but he declined to profane the person 
of the Prophet of God by such an act, and it was only on the 
repeated remonstrances of the latter that he finally consented, 
and in this manner the great idol of the infidels was destroyed. 

" One day the blessed Prophet, calling to 'All, exclaimed, 
' Good news to thee ? 'All ! for God has commanded that at the 
Judgment Day the|keeper of the treasure of Paradise shall give 
a deed (tamassuk) of entrance there only to such persons as have 
met with your approval, and shall refuse admission to all others '. 
On account of this remark, it once happened that Abu Bakr as- 
Siddiq (the first Caliph) falling in with 'All, observed that he had 
learned the preceding, and asked him whether he would not favour 
him with a document by which he could enter Paradise. 'AH 
answered, ' Of a truth the blessed Prophet did make such a 
statement, but he even also said that I should not give any such 
deeds of admission without previous consultation with Abu Bakr. 
This, therefore, gives you a supervision over me in the matter, 
and you thus do not need to ask me for any permission.' These 
remarks were made in a kind and jocose manner, and they pro- 
ceeded on their way together, pleased with the arrangement 
entered into." 



APPENDIX I 



SOME PROBLEMS IN NAQSHBANDl HISTORY * 

THE history of the Naqshbandi Order would be of some interest 
if it could be recovered, not merely because it has played an 
important part in Muslim thought, but also because it has had 
no little influence on the political vicissitudes of India, Meso- 
potamia, and, to a less extent, Turkey. In order to unravel some 
pieces of the tangled skein it is essential to set forth the spiritual 
pedigree of the Order. 

1. As usual in such pedigrees its line is linked up with that 
of the great Muhammadan mystics, ending in this case with Abu'l 
Qasim Gurgani (quite incorrectly Karkiani). Thence the line 
continues to 

2. Abu 'All al-Fazl b. Muhammad al-Farmadhi : as to whom 
see Nicholson's Kashf-al-Mahjnb, p. 169. He died in 470 H. 
(A.D. 1078), and he must not be confused with another Farmadl 
who died in 537 H. (M. Hartmann, Der islamische Orient, vi.-x. 
p. 308). 

3. His khalifa (successor) Khwaja (or Shaikh Abu) Yusuf 
Hamadani (A.D. 1048-1140). In the Rashahat Yusuf Hamadani 
is assigned three khalifas: (1) Khwaja 'Abdulla Barqi, (2) Hasan 
Andaqi, and (3) Ahmad Yasawi, who died in A.D. 1166-67 or 
perhaps in 562 H. (A.D. 1169). Ahmad Yasawi was a saint of 
great importance. His disciple Luqman al-Khurasani taught 
Muhammad 'Ata bin Ibrahim, called Haji Bektash, subsequently 
the patron saint of the Janissaries. The date of his death is 
uncertain, but it occurred in the fourteenth century A.D. (M. 
Hartmann, Der islamische Orient, vi.-x. p. 309). 

4. Khwaja 'Abd-ul-Khaliq Ghujduwam (son of Imam 'Abd- 
ul-Jamil and one of the best-known Naqshbandis), born at 
Ghujduwan, six/arsafcfts from Bukhara, in the twelfth century A.D. 
He died in 575 H. (A.D. 1179-80). Except that he studied under 
Shaikh Abu Yusuf little is, however, really known of him, though 

1 Reprinted, with some additions, from The Indian Antiquary, vol. lii., 
1923, pp. 204-211. For the precursors of the Naqshbandi mystics see the 
first Appendix^to Chap. VI. (p. 156 supra). 

435 



436 THE NAQSHBANDIS APP. I 

MSS. of his works exist (E.I. i. p. 165). He laid down eight 
rules, which constitute the tariqa of the Khwajas, but three more 
were afterwards introduced. They include khilwat dar finjuman, 
safr dar watn, etc., which are explained in a mystic sense (J.R.A.S., 
1916, pp. 64-5). According to Hartmann, it was to 'Abd-ul- 
Khaliq that Khizr taught also the hobs an-nafas or ' restraining 
of the breath ' exercises of the Naqshbandls (Der Islam, vi. p. 67). 
This practice is naturally attributed to one of the forms of the 
Indian yoga, but it is not quite impossible that its origin is far 
older, both the Yogis and the Naqshbandls having revived a 
practice current among some forgotten sects of Central Asia. 
That Indian ideas did, however, influence the earliest Sufis seems 
to be unquestionable (ib. p. 51). 

5. 'Arif Rewgari, who took his title from Rewgar, a place six 
farsakhs from Bukhara. His death is assigned to 715 H., but, as 
Hartmann points out, this cannot be correct, as his pir died in 
575 H., and assuming that he received the gift of ' light ' from 
him at the early age of ten, he must have been 150 years old when 
he died ! (Hartmann, op. cit. vi.-x. p. 809). 

6. Muhammad Faghnawi, who appears in the Tarikh-i-Rashidi 
as Khwaja Mahmud 'Anjir Faghrawi. His correct name seems 
to have been (Khoja) Mahmud Anjir(i) Faghnawi, from his birth- 
place, Faghn, three farsakhs from Bukhara. But he lived in 
Wabkan, where his grave also is. There is much uncertainty as 
to the meaning of 'Anjir, and also about the date of the saint's 
death, which is assigned to 670 H. or to 715 H. (A.D. 1272 or 1316) 
(Hartmann, op. cit. vi.-x. p. 309). 

7. The Khoja Azizan Shaikh 'AH RamitanI, who died in 705 
or 721 H. (A.D. 1306 or 1321), and took his title from Ramitan 
(the name is variously spelt), near Bukhara (Hartmann, op. cit. 
p. 310). He was also styled Pm Nassaj. 

8. Khwaja Muhammad Baba-i-Samasi, of the Tarikh-i-Rashidl, 
p. 401 . The Khoja Muhammad Babaji Samasi was born in Samasi, 
a dependency of Ramitan lying three farsakhs from Bukhara, 
and died in 740 or 755 H. (A.D. 1340 or 1354) (Hartmann, op. cit. 
p. 310). 

9. Amir Saiyid Kalal (in the Rashahat (J.R.A.S., 1916, p. 62. 
Mir Kalal in the Tarlkh-i-Rashidi, p. 401). His true name was 
probably Saiyid Amir Kulal Sokhari, from Sokhar, two farsakhs 
from Bukhara, where he was born and buried. He worked as a 
potter (kulal), and is said to have been also styled Ibn Saiyid 
Hamza. He died in 772 H. (A.D. 1371) (op. cit. p. 310). 

10. The Khoja Baha-ud-DIn Naqshband was born in 718 H. 
(A.D. 1318) and died in 791 H. (A.D. 1389-90) at the age of 73 
(op. cit. p. 311). 

THE "NURBAKHSHIS 

From the Naqshbandls at a very early stage branched oft 
another Order, that of the Nurbakshis. So far as I have been 



APP. i THE NAQSHBANDIS 437 

able to trace, this Order is not now known outside Kashmir and 
the Hazara District of the Punjab. Unfortunately its history is 
very obscure. The Tdnkh-i-Rashicti 1 throws some light upon it. 
According to that work Saiyid 'AH Hamadani, 2 also called Amir 
KabTr 'All the Second, a refugee from Hamadan, appeared in 
Kashmir about A.D. 1380. He and his Order are said to have 
been expelled from Persia by Timur, and to him is attributed the 
conversion of Kashmir (although it had been at least begun by 
Sultan Shams-ud-DIn, who came there disguised as a Qalandar, 
about forty years earlier). However this may be, Saiyid 'All is 
stated to have died at Pakhl!, 3 the seat of a half-legendary Arab 
kingdom, about A.D. 1386. He became " a sort of patron saint 
of the Muhammadan section of the population", but the people 
were all Hanifi, we are told, until about A.D. 1550, one Shams, 
who came from Talish (? Gilan) in s Iraq, introduced a new form 
of religion, giving it the name of Nurbakhshi. Shams wrote a 
work called the Fikh-i-Ahwat, which does not conform to the 
teachings of any sect, Sunni or Shi'a, and his sectaries regarded 
him as the promised MahdI. That Saiyid 'AH Hamadani was a 
historical personage is confirmed by the Turkish authorities, but 
I have failed to connect him with Sh. Abu Yusuf Hamadani. 
His full name was Amir Saiyid 'All b.' ush-Shihab (Shihab-ud- 
Dm) b. Mir Saiyid Muhammad al-Husaim of Hamadan, " founder 
of an order of Sufis, especially known as the apostle of Kashmir " ; 
and he entered Kashmir in 781 H. (A.D. 1380) with 700 disciples, 
acquiring great influence over Sultan Qutb-ud-Din. Dying in 
786 H. (A.D. 1385) at the age of 73, he was buried at Khuttilan 
(not at Pakhli). He was the author of the Zakhlrat-ul-Muluk, 
a treatise on political ethics (Cat. of Persian MSS. in the British 
Museum, ii. p. 147). These fragments of history perhaps justify 
a conjecture that S. 'AH Hamadani played an important part in 
the resistance to Timur and his descendants. In the Punjab 
Shah Rukh, for instance, never seems to have been able to extend 
his sway much beyond the Salt Range, and his failure to penetrate 
Kashmir may have been largely due to the Naqshbandi opposition 
or resentment. 

Who ' Shams ' was it is not easy to say. But in all prob- 

1 Pp. 432-7 of Denison Ross's Trans. 

2 Of. p. supra 124, where lie appears as ' Sa'eed 'Alee Hemdanee '. 

3 Wherever Saiyid 'AH may actually have been interred, he certainly 
has still a shrine (ziarat) at Nankot in the Pakhli plain of Hazara, and to it 
women bring children suffering from parchMwan to be passed under an 
olive-tree. The saint also has some resting-places (nishast-gahs) in Kashmir 
(Rose, Glossary of Punjab Tribes and Castes, i. p. 594). The tradition that 
the saint was buried at Khuttilan may be explained ; Khutlan, as it is also 
spelt, was the seat of Khwaja Ishaq (see page 438). Unfortunately the 
Mirat at Muqasid, though mentioning the Nurbakhshis on p. 3, gives no 
account of them that I can trace. 



438 THE NAQSHBANDlS ATP. I 

ability he is to be identified with Saiyid Muhammad, son of 
Saiyid Muhammad of Qatif, a descendant, of course, of the Imam 
Musa Kazim. Born at Qa'in 795 H. (A.D. 1393) he was initiated 
by the Khwaja Ishaq Khutlani, who was a disciple of Saiyid 'All 
Hamadani, and from him received the title of Nurbakhsh. In 
826 H. (A.D. 1423) he proclaimed himself Khallf in Khutlan and 
was imprisoned by Shah Rukh at Herat in that year. 'He died 
at Rai in 869 H. (A.D. 1465). So far all is plain sailing, but when 
we come to his successors the facts are obscure. Saiyid 
Muhammad is said to have been followed as head of the Order 
by his son, Shah Qasim. Well treated by Shah Isma'il Safawl, 
he died in 927 H. (A.D. 1521). But it is also said that S. 
Muhammad's principal khalifa was Asiri (Shaikh Shams-ud-Dm) 
Muhammad b. Yahya of LahTjan in Gilan, and that he settled in 
Shiraz, where he built the Khanqah Nuria. A friend of Dawani, 
Shah Isma'il visited him, too, in 910 H. (A.D. 1505). Besides a 
Diwdn Asiri left a commentary on the Gulshan-i-Rdz. His son 
Fida'i died in 927 H. (A.D. 1531) (Cat. of Turkish MSS,.-. in the 
British Museum, p. 650). It is fairly obvious that the Nurbakshls 
continued to exercise some influence in Persia under the SafawTs, 
but that fact would not endear them to the Turkish authorities 
and amply explains why there is no allusion to Shah Qasim or 
Asiri and their protectors in such a work as Brown's Darvishes. 
Nevertheless, another disciple of S. Muhammad, one Shaikh 
Khalil-ullah Baqlani, is mentioned in the spiritual pedigree given 
in the Sabhat ul-Akhbar, a -work which was actually translated 
from the Persian into Turkish in 952 H. (A.D. 1545) (ib. p. 323). 



THE DISRUPTION OF THE NAQSHBANDIS 

We now come to a crisis in the history of the Naqshbandi 
Order, which so far has not been explained. According to the 
Rashahat its real founder was the saint Khwaja 'Ubaidullah, by 
name Nasir-ud-DIn, but commonly known as the Khwaja Ahrar 
or Hazrat Ishan. This work makes Baha-ud-Din Naqshband 
merely a learned expositor of the principles of the Order. Yet 
it ascribes Khwaja Ahrar's investiture to Ya'qub Charkhi, himself 
a disciple of Baha-ud-Din. Other authorities, however, ignore 
Ya'qub Charkhi * and make Khwaja Ahrar 5th, not 3rd in spiritual 
descent from Baha-ud-Din, thus : 

1 A minor problem concerning Ya'qub Charkhi is the place of his burial. 
From ' information received ' I stated in A Glossary of Punjab Tribes and 
Castes, iii. p. 548, that he was one of the four important disciples of Baha- 
ud-Din Naqshband and was interred at Malafko in the Hissar Dist. of that 
province.- But according to the Rashahat he lies buried at Hamalghatu 
(or -nu) in Hissar-Shadman, Transoxiana, and east-south-east of Samar- 
qand, though he was born in the Ghazni district of Afghanistan (J.R.A.S., 
1916, p. 61). This suggests that a Ya'qub (but not Charkhi) was buried at 



A*P. I THE NAQSHBANDIS 4B9 

Baha-ud-DIn Naqshband. 
Alai-ud-Dm al-Attar. 

Nizam-ud-Din Khamush. The Tdrikh-i-Eashidi speaks of a 
Maulana Nizam-ud-Din Khamush or -I (op. dt. p. 194). 
I have failed to trace any. other details of his personality, 
but the 'AK-ilahis still have eight sects, one of which is 
styled Khamushi (E J. i. p. 293). 

I 

Sultan-ud-Dm al-Kashghar! 1 (but his real name was almost 
certainly Sa'Id-ud-Din, and the Tdrikh-i-Rashidi calls him 
Sa'd-ud-Din 2 ). He is, however, sometimes described not as 
a disciple of Ni?am-ud-DIn Khamush, but of Saiyid Sharif 
'All b. Muhammad al-Jurjam, who died in 816 H. (A.D. 1414), 
and was the author of the Shark Muwdqif (Nassau Lees, 
Nafahat al-Uns, pp. 6, 2-3). | 



1-ulla 



'Ubaid-ullah Samarqandi (Khwaja Ahrar). 

Malafko. The doubtful passage in Babur's Memoirs makes mention of a 
Ya'qub as a son of Kh. Yahya. Whether he was Yahya's third son or not, 
this Ya'qiib may be the saint of Malafko. 

1 Here Le Chatelier, who actually cites the Rashahat as his authority, 
has fallen into a twofold error. On p. 150 of his Confreries musulmanes du 
Hedjaz, he gives an account of " Sultan-ud-Dm al-Kashghari and his 
resistance to Baber ". But the future conqueror of India was not opposed 
by the Naqshbandl Shaikh. The prince in question was Mirza Babur, and 
the Shaikh who opposed him was not Sultan-ud-DIn al-Kashghari but 
Khwaja Ahrar. So far from being hostile to the branch to which the great 
Babur belonged, the Khwaja Ahrar fended off Mirza Babur's attack in the 
interests of Abu Sa'id Mirza, grandfather of the future emperor (H. Beveridge 
in J.R.A.S., 1916, p. 69). And so far from being opposed to the great 
Babur at Samarqand, the latter asserts that Khwaja Ahrar appeared to 
him in a dream and foretold his second capture of the city (Memoirs, i. p. 139). 
Strangely enough, Brown (The Dervishes, p. 136) makes " our Lord Maulana 
Sa'id-ud-Din Kashghari " the opponent of Mirza Babur, and this, too, on 
the authority of the Rashahat, thus endorsing one of Le Chatelier's errors. 
It seems then possible that more than one recension of that work exists, but 
even if that be so, a consideration of the dates involved proves that it was 
Mirza Babur, and not the conqueror of India, who was thwarted at Samarqand 
by a Naqshbandl Shaikh. The great Babur made his first attempt on the 
city in A.D. 1498, and could not possibly have been opposed by the precursor 
of Khwaja Ahrar, who had died in A.D. 1490, at least eight years earlier. 

2 The, Tarikh-i-Rashidi adds that Sa'd-ud-Din had a disciple in the 
' Shaikh al-Islam ', Maulana 'Abd-ur-Rahman JamI (p. 194). This was, 
of course, the famous Persian poet Jamf (A.D. 1414-92) (E.L 7, 1, p. 1011). 
To the poet he is credited with having appeared in a vision. 



440 THE NAQSHBANDIS APP. i 

Le Chatelier again assigns riot only Alai-ud-DIn and Ya'qub 
Jarhi (Charkhl obviously) as disciples or rather successors to 
Baha-ud-DIn, but also gives him a third successor in Nasr-ud-DIn 
of Tashkand. Thus it seems clear that the Order began to show 
symptoms of disruption on the death of Baha-ud-DIn. Le 
Chatelier, however, says that it was under the pontificate of 
Nasr-ud-DIn Tashkandl (who is not at all generally recognised as 
a khalifa of Baha-ud-DIn) that the Order split up into two branches, 
that of the West under him as Grand Master, and the other of the 
East under another khalifa, Sultan-ud-Dln al-Kashgharl. But 
the Turkish versions of the pedigree seem to acknowledge only 
the last named. 

THE WESTERN NAQSHBANDIS 

Of the fate of the Western Naqshbandis little seems to be 
recorded in Turkish literature. From 'Ubaid-ullah al-Samar- 
qandi the ' descent ' passes to Sh. 'Abdullah Alahl (as he was 
known in poetry), Arif billah 'Abdullah, " the God-knowing 
servant of God", of Simaw. He followed the jurisprudent 'AH 
of Tus to Persia, quitting Constantinople ; and devoted himself 
to the secular sciences until he was impelled to destroy all his 
books. His teacher, however, induced him to see them all with 
the exception of one containing the dealings of the Saints, and 
give the proceeds in alms. From Kerman he went to Samarqand, 
where he attached himself to the great Shaikh Arif billah 'Ubaid- 
ullah (the ' little servant of God '), and at his behest he accepted 
the teaching of the Naqshbandis from their Shaikh Baha-ud-DIn. 
Later he went to Herat, and thence returned to Constantinople, 
but its disturbed condition on the death of Muhammad II drove 
him to Yenija Wardar, where he died in A.D. 1490. He left at 
least two works, the Najat al-Arwah min Hasan il-Ashbah, ' The 
Salvation of the Soul from the Snares of Doubt ', and the Zad 
al-Mushtaqin, ' The Victuals of the Zealous ', sometimes described 
as the Zad al-Talibin or the Maslik at-Talibin (' The Victuals of 
the Seekers', or Regulations for them) (Hammer-Purgstall, 
Geschichte der osmanischen Dichtkunst, i. p. 207). This sketch 
does not hint that Alahl was head of the Western Naqshbandis. 1 
But it suggests that the Order was not popular with the imperial 

1 Bycaut has a good account of an order which he styles the Ebrbuharee. 
Its founder, Emir Ebrbuhar, was a disciple of Naqshband, and taking with 
him 'Abdullah, Ilahi and Wafa, preachers and heads of other convents, he 
came out of Asia to propagate their doctrine in Europe. Here Ilahi may be 
the poet Alahi, but if so Bycaut reversed his relation to Amir Bukhari, for 
he brought that Shaikh to Constantinople. To him Sultan Bayazld (II. 
1481-J512, must be meant) in 911 E.<- built a mosque and convent at that 
city. Bycaut lays stress on the saint's abstinence and the morals of his 
sect, whose members fasted for the most part on Mondays and Thursdays 
(Present Stale, p. 141). 



APP.I THE NAQSHBANDlS 441 

authorities at Constantinople in his day, and that people who 
wrote about its history were obliged to omit facts of cardinal 
importance in it. 

From Alahl we are taken to Sh. Sa'id Ahmad al-Bukharl, as 
to whom I fail to find any record. Thence we come to Sh. 
Muhammad Chalabi (the Turkish cognomen is noteworthy), 
" nephew of Aziz ", and so to Sh. 'Abd-ul-Latif, 1 nephew of 
Muhammad Chalabi. Here it is patent that the pedigree is quite 
fragmentary. 

These data and omissions suggest that by Evlia's time the 
Naqshbandls had fallen under the disfavour of the imperial 
government, that the heads of the Western Naqshbandls were 
only recognised by it when they were harmless, and that, while 
that Government did not venture to abolish the convents of the 
Order in the capital or elsewhere, it suppressed any leading 
institution which was likely to recall memories of the great names 
in the Order or increase the influence of its independent heads 
for the time being. 

The connection with the Eastern Naqshbandls was similarly 
discouraged, if not entirely broken off. None of the great Naqsh- 
bandls of India are commemorated by foundations at Constan- 
tinople. There is, indeed, one Hindilar 2 (' Indians ') takia at 
Khorkhor near Aq Sarai in Stambul, just as there is an Usbek- 
lar takia there too. But most of the Naqshbandi convents bear 
names that are merely picturesque, 3 or only commemorate latter- 
day saints of the Order who were, frankly, nonentities. And so, 
when the author of the Turkish Mirat al-Muqftsid gives a list of 
the Naqshbandi saints of modern times, he has to omit all allusion 
to their chequered history in the West and fall back on the Indian 
silsila, which never had any real jurisdiction in Turkey and was 
certainly not recognised there by the imperial authorities. 

THE EASTERN NAQSHBANDIS 

To turn now to the Eastern Naqshbandls, we have first to deal 
with the Khwaja Ahrar. In his youth this saint had a vision of 

1 Was this the 'Ahd-ul-Latif Naqshbandi who died in 971 H. (A.D. 1564), 
according to the Mirat al-Ka'inat of Nishanji-zada Muhammad b. Ahmad b. 
Muhammad b. Ramazan, a Qazi of Adrianople who died in 1031 H.? (vide 
Gat. of Turkish MSS. in the British Museum, p. 30). If so, we have again the 
curious fact that his headship of the Order is suppressed. 

2 Evliya mentions two Indian convents, one of the Hindus, ' worshippers 
of fire', where bodies could be burnt, and the other, the convent of the 
Indian Qalandars, at the head of the bridge of Kaghidkhana (Travels, i. 
pt. 2 p. 87). 

3 E.g. the Agvan-lar Takia-si, near the Chlnili Mosque at Scutari, seems 
to be so named from the Pers. akawan, ' flower of the arghawan (red) Judas- 
tree' (Johnson, Pers.-Ar.-Eng. Diet. p. 144, and Redhouse, Turk.-Eng.-Lex. 
p. 69). Evliya's translator calls it the Syringa. 



442 THE NAQSHBANDIS APP. I 

Christ, which was interpreted to mean that he would become a 
physician, but he himself declared that it foretold that he would 
have a living heart. Later on he obtained great influence over 
Sultan Abu Sa'id Mirza, a great-grandson of Timur and ruler of 
Mawara-un-Nahr from A.D. 1451-68. This sovereign was then 
the most powerful of the TTmurids in Central Asia : and Herat 
his capital was famous for its institutions and its learning. 
The Khwaja acted as envoy to the rivals of this ruler who were 
also descendants of Timur. For the nonce he succeeded in making 
peace between them, but it was not permanent. The Khwaja 
died in A.D. 1490 or perhaps a year later. 1 
His descendants were : 

(Khwaja Ahrar, 'Ubaid-ullah.) 



Khwajaka Khwaja Yahya, whom Babur styles Kh. Kalan : his father's successor. 
Khwaja. | 

Zakarla. 'Abd-ul-Baqi. Muhammad Amln. ? Ya'qub. 

I ~0 

both, with Kh. Yahya, murdered by Uzbegs in A.D. 1500. 

Regarding the sons of Kh. Ahrar, Babur makes a significant 
statement. Between them enmity arose, and then the elder 
became the spiritual guide of the elder prince (Baisanqar Mirza) 
and the younger the guide of the younger (Sultan 'AH Mirza). 
Khwajahka Khwaja had stoutly refused to surrender Baisanqar 
when that prince had sought sanctuary in his house. Kh. Yahya, 
on the other hand, gave shelter to Sultan 'AH Mirza, his rival. 
It is further stated by Babur that his " teacher and spiritual 
guide " was a disciple of Kh. Ahrar, by name 'Abdullah, but 
better known as Khwaja Maulana Qazi. Now this adviser was 
murdered by Babur's enemies in 903 H. (A.D. 1498). Thus we 
see that there was a tendency for the sons and disciples of the 
religious chief each to attach himself to a member of the ruling 
house descended from Timur. Khwaja Maulana Qazi was 
apparently hanged for no better reason than that he had been 
active in defence of Babur, a fate from which his religious character 
did not save him. But the tendency mentioned was not the 
universal rule, for we read of yet another disciple of Kh. Ahrar, 
Hazrat Maulana Muhammad Qazi, author of the Silsilat al-Arifm, 
who was honoured by the " Hazrat Ishan " with the title of Ishan 
(though he does not appear to have been recognised as his spiritual 
successor) and died in A.D. 1516 without having attached himself 
to any prince. On the other hand Kh. Ahrar, it is said, also left 
a grandson, " Khwaja Nura " or Hazrat Makhdumi Nura, who 
was named Mahmud from his< father and Shahab-ud-Dln from his 
grandfather (sic), but received the title of Khwaja Khawand 
Mahmud. This s,aint followed Humayun to India, but found 

1 J.R.A.S., 1916, p. 66. 



AFP. I THE NAQSHBANDIS 443 

that he had been supplanted in favour by the sorcerer-saint 
Shaikh Bahlol. 1 To this refusal on Humayun's part to recognise 
Khwaja Nura's claims to his hereditary veneration, the author 
of the Tdrikh-i-Rashtdi hints that all that emperor's misfortunes 
were due (J.R.A.S., 1916, pp. 59 ff. and Tankh-i-Rashidi, pp. 
212 and 398-9). 

After the murder of Khwaja Maulana Qazi, Babur seems to have 
had no spiritual guide for a time. He declares that in 905 H. he was 
negotiating with Khwaja Yahya, but he admits that the Khwaja 
did not send him any message, though several times persons were 
sent to confer with him, i.e. in plain English, to attempt to seduce 
him from his allegiance to Sultan 'All Mirza. Whether the 
Khwaja was inclined to listen to such overtures must remain 
uncertain. At the worst, all that can be reasonably regarded as 
proved against him is that when Sultan 'All Mirza was betrayed 
by his mother and it became clear that Samarqand must fall 
either to Babur or to Shaibani Khan, the Khwaja deserted Sultan 
'AH and ostensibly went over to Shaibani. But his tardy sub- 
mission did not save him from the suspicion (possibly well-founded) 
that he was really favouring Babur's claims, which were far 
stronger than Shaibanfs, to the possession of Samarqand. In so 
doing he would in fact have only been renewing an hereditary 
tie, for, Babur informs us, his father had appointed Khwajahka 
Khwaja keeper of his seal. 2 

The slaughter of Khwaja Yahya with his two sons in A.D. 1500 
did. not, of course, bring the silsila or chain of spiritual descent- 
of the western Naqshbandls to an end, but how it continued is 
a mystery. The Rashahat states that Yahya had a third son, 
Muhammad Amm, who escaped death. On the other hand a 
tradition was current that Yahya had a third (or fourth) son, 
named Khwaja Ya'qub. This last is mentioned in Babur's 
Memoirs as once appearing to him in a dream, but Beveridge holds 
that the passage is spurious (J.R.A.S., 1916, p. 73). It is, however, 
possible that it is genuine, but that it was suppressed in the 
Persian translations in order to make it appear that Babur was 
not under the spiritual protection of the Naqshbandi Shaikhs. 
But this suggestion finds no confirmation, it must be admitted, 
iii the authorities known to me. These are two, the Panjab 
traditions, and the Turkish work, the Mirat al-Muqasid. Below, 
the spiritual pedigrees so preserved are set out in parallel columns : 

1 This saint, a brother of the better-known saint Muhammad Ghaus of 
Gwalior, was, it is interesting to note, put to death by Mirza Hindal, brother 
of Humayun, in 945 H. (A.D. 1538) (Beale, Or. Biog. Dy. p. 370. On p. 265 
Bahlol appears as Phul !). 

2 Babur describes him as a man of learning, a great linguist and excelling 
in falconry. He was also acquainted with magic, yadahgiri, i.e. the power 
of causing rain and snow by magic (Memoirs, i. p. 68). 



444 THE NAQSHBANBIS APP. i 

MIRAT AL-MuQASro THE PANJAB TRADITION 

1. Maulana Ya'qub Charhi Ya'qub Charkhi. 

Hissari. 

2. Khwaja (a gap) Nasir-ud- Nasir-ud-DIn 'Ubaid - ullah 

Dm 'Ubaidullah Tash- Ahrar. 
kandl Samarqandl. 

3. Muhammad Zahid. Muhammad Zahid. 

4. Maulana Darvlsh. Maulana Darvish Muhammad. 

5. Maulana Khwajagl Samar- Maulana KhwajglAmkinki (sic). 

qandi. 

6. Maulana Shaikh Muham- Khwaja Muhammad Baqi- 

mad Samaqi. billah Berang. 

7. Imam Rabbani Mujaddid Imam Rabbam Mujaddid Alif- 

Alif-sanl Sh. Ahmad sani Sh. Ahmad Faruql Sir- 
Faruqi b. 'Abd-ul- Wahid hindi. 
Faruqi Sirhindi, d. 1074H. 
(A.D. 1664). 

8. Sh. Muhammad Ma'sum Kh. Muhammad Ma' sum. 

'Urwali' - Wasqa, Sahib 
Maktubat : d. 1097 H. 
(A.D. 1688). 

9. Sh. Saif-ud-Dm 'Arif. Sh. Saif-ud-Dm. 

10. Sh. Saiyid Muhammad M. Ilaflz Muhammad Muhsin 

Nuri Budauni. Dihlawi. 

Saiyid Nur Muhammad 
Budauni. 

11. Sh. Shams-ud-Dln Khan Shams -ud- Dm Hablb- ullah 

Janan Mazhar. Mazhar Shahid. 

Mirza Janjanan. 

12. Sh. 'Abdullah Dihlawi. Mujaddid Miatusaliswal (?) 

Ashar Sayid. 

'Abdullah (Shah Ghulam 'All 
AhmadI). 

13. Hazrat Zia-ud-Din Zu-'l- Shah Abu Sa'id AhmadI. 

Jannahln Maulana KM- Shah Ahmad Sa'd AhmadI. 
lid, d: 1242 H. at the Haji Dost Muhammad Qand- 
age of 50 (A.D. 1827). hari. 

(Hence the Order is called Haji Muhammad 'Usman 
Khalidla.) whose shrine is at Kulachi 

in the Dera 'Isma'H Khan 
' Dist., Panjab. 

The Mirdt al-Muqasid, it will be observed, omits all mention 
of the silsila of the Western Naqshbandls, Alahi and his successors. 
Now the Naqshbandis hava always been numerous and important 
in Turkey. They have, or had when Brown wrote, 52 takias in 
Constantinople -alone. In other Turkish towns also they had 
many foundations, e.g. three at Brusa (Evliya, ii. p. 8). 

The takias at Constantinople include one named " Ahmad 



APP. i THE NAQSHBANDIS 445 

al-Bukhari TakiasJ ", which must commemorate Sh. Sa'id 'Ahmad 
al-Bukhari, Alahi's successor. It is in the Kaban Daqiq (Flour 
Weigh-House) at Stambul. 

They also include four called Amir Bukhara Takiasi. Who 
the ' Amir Bukhara ' was, it is hard to say with any certainty. 
A Shams-ud-Dm Bukhari (not to be confused with Shams-ud- 
Din Muhammad Bukhari, the ' Amir Sultan ' of Bayazld I.'s reign) 
was a Persian who came to Constantinople in the time of 
Muhammad II., and there rose to eminence as the Shaikh of the 
reign of Bayazid II. He lived as a Naqshbandi, and his cloister 
is one of the principal Naqshbandi foundations in the Turkish 
capital (Hammer-Purgstall, GdOD, i. p. 212). This must be the 
convent ' just outside the Adrianople Gate,' in which lies Shaikh 
Ahmad ' Bukhara ' (? al-Bukhari) in the mausoleum built for him 
by Murad III., near the Flower-Hall (Evliya, i. pt. 2 p. 21). If 
this Sh. Ahmad was the head of the Order, it is clear that it was 
favoured by Murad III., though Evliya, who is very chary of details 
where the Naqshbandis are concerned, does not say that Sh. 
Ahmad Bukhara belonged to that Order. But he adds : " Sh. 
Ahmad Sadiq, from Tashkendi in Bokhara, who made the journey 
on foot three times from Balkh to Constantinople (and back again) 
is buried at the convent of Amir Bokhara ". And further : " Sh. 
Khak Dada, the chief fountain of contemplation, born at Per- 
gamus, was most famous by the name of Na'lbenji (the farrier) " ; 
and at Rumeli Hissar is the takia of a farrier-saint, Na'lbar 
Mahmad Effendi, a Naqshbandi. 

In the religious teaching of the Naqshbandis there was not 
much that would explain all this. They taught that a life could 
be purchased by the sacrifice of another life ; and twice Khwaja 
Ahrar was saved from death by men devoting themselves (be- 
coming feda) in order to restore him to health (J.R.A.S., 1916, 
p. 75). 1 This example was clearly followed by Babur, when he 
resolved to offer up his own life to save that of Humayun (Memoirs, 
ii. p, 442). 

According to al-Nabulusi the Naqshbandis at the present day 
practice telepathy. " Whilst engaged in silent meditation they 
converse spiritually and understand each other though no word 
is uttered" (see Nicholson, Studies in Islamic Mysticism, p. 201). 

Babur, like his descendant Aurangzeb, was buried in a tomb 
open to the sky. Whether Jahangir's tomb at Lahore was also 
hypsethral is still a moot question (Journal of the Punjab Historical 
Society, iii. p. 144). But it is noteworthy that Jahangir rebuilt 
Babur's tomb in A.D. 1607-8 (Memoirs, ii. p. 426). This usage 
was certainly not confined to the Naqshbandis, though Khwaja 
Baql-billah has no building over his grave at Delhi (Rose, Gloss. 
Punjab T. and C. iii. p. 550). It appears rather to have become 

1 For a much earlier instance of the practice vide R. Hartmann, al- 
Qushairi's Darstdlung des Sufttums, Turk. Bibl, xviii. p. 46. 



446 THE NAQSHBANDIS APP. I 

a Chishti practice (ib. p. 530). (Qutb Shah forbade a building 
to be erected over his tomb at MihraulT near Dehli.) 

But the political predilections of the Naqshbandis may well 
have led to their persecution at the hands of the Sultans of Turkey. 
As we have seen, a Nurbakhshi wrote a treatise on political ethics. 
Khwaja Ahrar's dependents by their influence protected many 
poor defenceless persons from oppression in Samarqand, says 
Babur (Memoirs, i. p. 40). In truth the Naqshbandi Khwajas 
seem to have sought to give new life to the old idea, that beside 
the secular King should stand a divinely-guided adviser, the 
keeper of his seal and his conscience, and the interpreter of the 
spirit, not merely of the latter, of the formal laws. 

Early in the nineteenth century members of the Naqshbandi 
order penetrated into Daghestan and spread their doctrines there 
with great success ; about 1830 the leaders of the order started 
in the land of the Avars a movement which was directed against 
the ruling dynasty as well as against the rule of the Russians. 
The first leader of the rebels, Ghazi Muhammad, his successors 
Hamza Beg and the famous Shamil Effendi (Schamyl), all 
apparently belonged to the order and ruled the part of Daghestan 
held by them as Shaikhs, endeavouring to govern by the strict 
shari'at law and abrogating the customary law (E.I. i. p. 891). 

The saint most reverenced by the Kurds, Sh. Khalid of 
Sulaimania, was a Naqshbandi. His sayings are styled hadis 
(Garnett and Stuart-Glennie, Women of Turkey, ii. p. 141). 

The Naqshbandis were never a militant order, but, like the 
Zaims and Baqtash, either had a militant section or tended on 
occasion to become militant. Thus at the final' siege of Con- 
stantinople Aya Dada was posted with 300 Naqshbandi faqirs 
before the gate of Aya, where he fell a martyr, and was buried at 
" our old court of justice the takia of Sirkehji " (Evliya, Travels, 
i. p. 34). And the story of the order closes on this same note. 

It remains to record that a Naqshbandi, Muhammad Mamun 
ibn 'Abdul-Wahhab al-Madani, was endeavouring in 1924 to found 
at Pera a seminary for the ' moralisation ' of the Turkish takias, 
but his activities were cut short when the present Turkish govern- 
ment decreed the suppression of all the Orders in Turkey. 



APPENDIX II 

NOTES ON SOME OF THE ISLAMIC ORDERS LISTED IN CHAP. II., p. 
51 ; IN CHAP. III., pp. 81-2 ; AND IN CHAP. XI., PP. 267-71. 
THE Nos. PREFIXED REFER TO THE LIST IN CHAP. III. 

1. Uwais in original. The place assigned to the UwaisI or to 
Uwais is highly significant. The Uwaisi can hardly be regarded 
as a religious order or sect at all, though Uwais (Awls) bin 'Umar, 
al-Karani, adopted the contemplative life at the bidding of Gabriel 
as early as 37 H. He had all his teeth extracted in memory of the 
Prophet, who had lost two of his at the battle of Uhud, and the 
same sacrifice is imposed on his followers. They observe night- 
long vigils : Petit, Confreries musulmanes, p. 6. (A slightly 
different version of this sacrifice is given on p. 98 supra.) Al- 
Hujwirl makes no mention of it, but says Uwais was a solitary 
who never saw the Prophet. But 'Umar and 'AH sought him out 
after Muhammad's death in accordance with the Prophet's behest. 
They found him at prayer, and waiting until it was finished were 
shown the white marks, as large as a dirham, on his left side and 
the palm of his hand (Nicholson, Kashf al-Mahjub, p. 83). No 
other instance of such stigmata appears to be on record in Islam. 

Uwais was .pre-eminently the traditional patron of many of 
the patron-saints of the trade-guilds of Turkey. Indeed, Evliya 
states that he " tied on the girdle of no less than seventy indi- 
viduals, who shall all be mentioned in their places", a promise 
unfortunately not fulfilled by any means completely (Evliya, i. 
pt. 2 p. 140). 

It is, however, possible to detail some of the guilds which are 
under the patronage of Uwais. He is naturally patron of the 
barber tooth-drawers, as noted by Miss L. M. J. Garnett in her 
account of the esnaf or trade-guilds (Mysticism and Magic in 
Turkey, pp. 42-43). He is also patron of the bowmen and of the 
camel-drivers (Evliya, i. pt. 2 pp. 93 and 126). In India he 
re-appears as Omes Karim (probably an error for Ovais Karani), 
and is there said to be patron of the comb-makers. 

2. " The legend of Shaikh 'Ilwan, who is said to have founded 
the first order in 49 H. (A.D. 670), may be safely rejected" 
(Macdonald,-MwsKm Theology, p. 268). But the Aulad 'Ilwan, 

447 



448 THE SHAZILI, ETC. APP. II 

' sons of 'Ilwan or 'Ilwania', form a sect of the Rifa'i, and Lane 
describes their practices. They thrust iron spikes into their eyes 
and bodies, break stones on their chests, and eat live coals, glass, 
etc. They also used to carry a log of palm wood filled with 
lighted rags soaked in oil and tar in processions, the flames curling 
over their heads and bodies without causing any injury. They 
also passed needles through their cheeks (Modern Egyptians, p. 248). 
But see also No. 14 below. 

10. The Shadhiliyyah is an African order, or rather theo- 
logical school, founded by Abu'l Hasan b. 'Abd al-Jabbar al- 
Shadhill, born in Morocco or Tunis in 1197-98. He was a pupil 
of 'Abd al-Salam b. Hashish, a renowned Moroccan disciple of 
Shu'aib Abu Madian al-Andalusi of Seville. The school is also 
represented in the Hedjaz, Syria and Turkey. The university of 
al-Azhar drew its inspiration exclusively from his teaching (E.R.E., 
10, p. 724). Another account is that Abu Hasan All ash-Shazill, 
founder of this order, derived his title from Shazil (Shadal), a 
town near Tunis, where he went. His master was 'Abd-us- 
Salam, a disciple of Abu-Madian, a disciple of 'Abd-ul-Qadir 
Guam. He died in 656 11. (A.D. 1258) (Petit, Confrfries musul- 
manes, p. 12). For one of its thirteen sub-orders, the Isawi, 
see p. 336 supra. 

12. The Badawl are the Ahmadia of Lane. Also called the 
Badawiyyah-Ahmadiyyah, this order is allied both to the Rifa'i 
and Qadiri. It was founded by Ahmad al-Badawi, who died in 
Egypt in A.D. 1276. Legend assigned to him power to cure barren- 
ness in women (E.R.E. 10, p. 724). Lane describes, the order as 
numerous and respected. It affects red turbans and banners. 
It has three main offshoots the .Bayumia, founded by Saiyid 
'AH al-Bayumi, the Sha'rawia, founded by Shaikh ash-Sha'rawi, 
and the Shinnawia, founded by Saiyid 'AK ash-Shinnawi ; but it 
has many other sub-orders. The last-named train an ass to per- 
form a strange part on the last day of the mulid or birth-place 
celebrations, observed thrice a year, of al-Badawi at Tanta. The 
animal is taught to enter the mosque and advance to the saint's 
tomb, where it stands while its hair is plucked off as charms 
by the congregation. A militant apparently section of the 
Alhmadias are the Aulad Nuh 01? ' sons of Noah '. All young men, 
they wear tarturs or high caps, with a variegated tuft on top, and 
numerous strings of beads, and carry wooden swords and a thick 
twist of cords called firqilla, ' a whip ' (Modern Egyptians, pp. 
129 and 246). 

14. The Sa'dis are clearly the same as the Sa'adiya, an Asiatic 
order founded in the thirteenth or fourteenth century by Sa'ad 
al-Dm al-Jabam of Damascus, and now found in Asia and Africa. 
Its Egyptian branch has adherents in the Sudan. Another 
section, in Syria, seems less important, but its members are also 
found in the Hedjaz. Jt is an ecstatic order, allied to the Rifa'i 
(E.R.E. 10, p. 724). Lane describes the Sa'adiya, founded by 



APP. ii THE KHALWATIS 449 

Sa'd-ud Dm al-Jibawi, as a sect of the Rifa'is, more celebrated 
than the 'Ilwamya. They have green banners and turbans, or 
affect the sober colours of the Rifa'i. They handle venomous 
snakes and scorpions, and even partly devour them. Many Rifa'i 
and Sadi darvesh earn a livelihood by charming snakes away from 
houses. At the dosa ceremony the Sa'dia shaikh rides on horse- 
back over the prostrate bodies of his darvesh and others who 
throw themselves on the ground for the purpose (Modern Egyptians, 
pp. 248-49). The founder of the Sa'di order died at Jaba near 
Damascus in 736 H. (A.D. 1335). He is said to have used snakes 
as cords to tie up his faggots (Jacob, Beitrage zur Kenntniss des 
Derwisch-Ordens der Bektaschis, p. 47). Paul Kahle, however, 
states that the Rifa'is have no furru 1 or sub-orders, each with a 
Shaikh at its head, but only three buyut or ' corporations ' (from 
Mil, sing.), and he does not mention the Aulad 'Ilwan. Like the 
Aulad Nuh of the Ahmadla, the Aulad 'Ilwan seem to be an 
association within the order, who take their name from the more 
or less legendary Shaikh 'Ilwan. Their designation can hardly be 
referred to the Sh. 'Ilwan of Shiraz, a follower or, as some say, 
merely a friend of Haji Bairam, who translated the Gulshan-i-raz 
of Sh. Mahmud Tabriz! Shabistari, since Brown's list places the 
'Ilwanis immediately after the Uwaisis and before the Adhamis, 
making them much older than the Bairamis (vide Hammer- 
Purgstall, GdOD. i p. 64, and Der Islam, vi. p. 154). 

16. The Khalwatiya owes its name, at least, to 'Umar al- 
Khalwati, a Persian of the fourteenth century, but its doctrine 
goes back to al-Junaidi. Though an Asiatic order or rather 
school it soon took root in Egypt, where it threw out several 
sub-orders. It is one of the few Muhammadan orders which 
admit women (E.R.E. 10, p. 725). According to Petit, the 
founder, 'Umar-al-Khalwati, who died at Caesarea in Syria in 
800 H. (A.D. 1397), left the order without any hierarchic organisa- 
tion, and it is said to have split up, in Turkey and the neighbour- 
ing countries, into as many as fifteen groups. These include the 
Bakrla, founded in 909 H. (A.D. 1503) ; the Khafnawia, founded 
in 1163 H. (A.D. 1749) ; the Rahmania, 1208 H. (A.D. 1793) ; and 
the Dardiria, 1292 H. (A.D. 1875) (Confreries musulmanes, p. 19). 
Of these the Bakrla are clearly the followers of Pir Abii Bakr 
Wafal, and are apparently still to be found. Rinn is probably 
wrong in regarding the Bakrla as a Shazali sub-order (Marabouts 
et Khouans, p. 271). The much later sub-order called the Baqria 
(founded ca. 1700) is doubtless extinct, but it lived long enough 
to split up into three fresh. groups, the Khafnawia (above men- 
tioned), the Sharqawla, and the Sammania (according to Montet 
in E.R.E. 10, p. 725). 

This account does not, however, agree with that of Paul Kahle, 
who makes the Sammania a Shazili sub-order, omits the Shar- 
qawia, and gives the Khafma, Saba'ia, Sawla and Daifia as the 
four daughter-orders of the Khalwatis (Der Islam> vi. p. 155). 



450 THE KHALWATIS APP. 11 

In Turkey the process of disruption was still more marked, for 
a spiritual pedigree compiled by Shaikh Muhammad Salim Naqsh- 
bandi, of Constantinople, gives the following affiliation of the 
fifteen Khalwatia sub-orders for that empire and the neighbouring 
lands : 
No. in text, p. 82 above 

Name. 

Habib Faramania ' Chougaia ' (Shugaia). 
(23) Gulshama * Cizaia ' (Sizaia). 
(28) Shamsia ' Souasiya Rouchdiya ' (Siwasia Rushdia). 
(28) Siwas. 

Latifiya al-Bostan. 

'Abd-ul-Majadla Nuria Susia, 

Istambul. 
(? 34) Shabania Naswia SharkasTa Kash-Ataliwia. 

Karawia. 

Badaia. 

Rashidia. 

(22) Sunbulia Markasia (Markazia). 
(30) Niazia Masria. 
(32) Nur-ud-DIn Jarrahfa. 
(19) Bairamia Khoja Hinnatia (Himmatia). 

,, Ughlan Shaikhia. 

(A. Le Chatelier, Confrdries musulmanes du Hedjaz, p. 50.) In 
the above list there are several obvious misprints, and for ' Fara- 
mania ' Qaramania should also probably be read. Habib Qara- 
mani was the first Shaikh at Constantinople and was "buried at 
the convent of Ja'ferabad at Sulijeh, opposite Eyyub". He had 
70,000 disciples (Evliya, i. pt. 2 p. 29). Another (?) Habib 
Qaramani .was born at Ortakoi near Nikde and was buried at 
Karajelar near Erzerum. " He died a Shaikh of the Bairam! in 
the reign of Muhammad II." One of his disciples was Hamza 
Effendi, whose birthplace, Haj Hamza, amongst the mountains 
on the banks of the Kizil Irmak, was in ruins even in Evliya's 
time. At Karajalar he found the tomb of ' Sheat ' Baba Sultan, 
in a meadow outside the town, to which pilgrimages are made 
(ib. ii. p. 95). 

Down to Sh. Chelebi Khalifa Jamal-ud-DIn the Mirdt ul- 
Muqasid gives the same descent for the Sha'banTas as it does for 
the Sunbulis. Then it adds the name of Sh. Khair-ud-Din Toqadi, 
and gives the founder's name as Sha'ban Wall (of) Qastamuni, as 
usual. It omits the dates of his death, etc. 

For the ' Chabaniya ' of Le Chatelier should no doubt be read 
' Sha'bania ' (v. note on p. 51 supra). His ' Nassouiya ' (Naswia) 
may refer to Shaikh Nusuhl Effendi, whose takia is at Scutari. 
His 'Cherkasiya' (Sharkasla) may be identical with Brown's 
' Eshraki ', and if so that order is one of the Khalwati sub-orders. 
His ' Kach-Ataliouiya ' suggests a connection with Adalia (Ar. 
Antalia ? the ancient Attaleia), but on p. 466 infra we read of tlie 



APP.II THE KHALWATlS 451 

Khalwati takia of Kush ' Adali Ibrahim Effendi', and though 
the identity of the two names is evident, the spelling ' 'Adah" ' is 
against any derivation from Adalia. ' Karaouiya ' (Karawla) may 
be an error for ' Qaramania,' as the Khalwatis have an ' Ishaq 
Qaramani taMa-si' at Sudlija (p. 467 infra). 

For the Sunbull saint Markaz v. p. 481 infra. Niazi ' Misr! ' is 
discussed on p. 204 supra, where the Nur-ud-Dmis are also men- 
tioned. 

Le Chatelier gives a very full account of the Khalwati order, 
but it may have yet other sub-orders. E.g.) it has one called 
Hayati, whose patron is Hasan of Basra, possibly identical with 
the Hayetti of Rycaut's Hist, of the Present State of the Ottoman 
Empire, p. 67. A heretical sect with Christian leanings, though 
the Khalwati are orthodox, they penetrated into Southern Albania 
later than the Baqtash but certainly before the end of the 
eighteenth century (Hasluck in Annual, B.S.A. xxi. p. 116). 

Finally, Jacob suggests that the Khalwati may be a good deal 
older than 'Umr's time. Ibn Batuta describes the zawiyas of the 
Akhis or ' convents of the Brethren ' wherein he lodged, and the 
Shaikh AkhT Mirim Khalwati, who died at Kir-Shahr in 812 H. 
(A.D. 1409-10) is a possible link between them and the Khalwati 
order. On the other hand, it may owe its foundation as a regular 
order to Yahya-i-Shirwani, who is styled " pir of the Khalwatis ", 
and who died at Baku in 869 H. (A.D. 1464-65) (Beitrdge zur 
Kenntniss der Bektaschis, p. 80). Yahya-i-Shirwam was in a sense 
founder .of the Gulshani or RoshanI order also (v. note on p. 455 
infra). 

That the Khalwati are of some antiquity is also apparent from 
their connection with a Pir Ilias, a Shaikh buried at Amasia on 
an elevation called Sevadie near the town. One of the saints of 
Bayazid I., he went with Timur to Shirwan. His mausoleum was 
erected by Bayazid II. Pir Ilias had a son-in-law, Shaikh 'Abd- 
ur-Rahman b. Husam-ud-DIn, commonly called Gumishli-zada, 
who foretold to Muhammad II. his conquest of Constantinople. 
But his disciple was Zakaria Khalwati, who is buried near him. 
Evliya says he was his first disciple, and is buried near the saddlers' 
shops at Amasia. The son-in-law was also a Khalwati, arid Evliya 
styles him the Sultan of the faith, the Simurgh of truth ; he, too, 
tells how the saint signified his prevision that Muhammad would 
ascend the throne, and adds that he left many poems on divine 
love. His poetical name was Hossami, a name adopted by other 
later poets ; and the poetess Mihrmah Khatun was also descended 
from this family (Travels, ii. pp. 101-2 and 123). The last-named 
is the Ottoman Sappho, whose poetical title was Mihri (II.) 
(Hammer-Purgstall, GdOD. L p. 306). 

Brusa was a great Khalwati centre, containing seventeen Khal- 
wati convents, including that of Uftadi Effendi, in the inner castle, 
wherein was the chief of the small mosques (Evliya, ii. p. 8). 

The Khalwati cloister of Yuwashja Muhammad-Pasha near 



.152 THE ZAINIS APP. n 

:Shahr Ammi seems to have, disappeared. It was held by Sh. 
Nazim Effendi in the reign of Mustafa II., and then by Sh. 'Abd- 
ur-Rahman, the poet Rafia, murdered in 1720 (GdOD. iv. p. 135) 

The Khalwatis were irreverently styled takhta-depen-ler, or 
' floor-kickers ', by their detractors (Babinger in Der Islam, xi. 
p. 71). 

The Khalwati are described by Lane as in opposition to the 
Shazill, each community having its own Shaikh. The former 
derive their name from Mialwat, 'retreat', which they practise. 
In retreat they pray before daybreak the wird as-sahr, whereas 
the Shazili do so hasb ash-Shazili, " according to the Shazili (rite) ", 
after it. The Khalwati retreat may last forty days, spent fasting 
except at night in a solitary cell ; though if it is spent in a cell 
at the sepulchral mosque of Shaikh al-Damirdashi north of Cairo, 
three days appear to suffice, but ( only a little rice may be 
eaten. Certain secret prayers are ' in use, and the only reply 
vouchsafed to any one who speaks to them during the retreat is 
the kalima : " There is no god save God " (Modern Egyptians, 
p. 251). The Khalwatis in Egypt have no 'a?am, ' standard ', and 
the zai which is their distinguishing mark is the qa'uq, or head- 
dress, their only uniform (Der Islam, vi. p. 169). 

In the life of the Turkish court the proclamation of a Mialwat 
required all males to withdraw from the streets under pain of 
death, so that the ladies of the harem could pass through them 
unseen. Hence the term denotes a peculiarly sacred seclusion> 
just as halwd connotes the privilege of entertaining the Sultan 
(cf. von Hammer, GdOR. iv. p. 200). 

17. The Mirat ul-Muqasid gives the following as the line of 
ZainI descent : 

Junaid. 

. 

Shaikh Mimshad Dinwarl. 
Muhammad Dinwarl. 
Muhammad Bakri. 
WasIyy-ud-DIn al-QazI. 
'Umr Bakri. 
Abu'l Najlb 'Abd-ul-Qahir Zia-ud-DIn Muhammad i 

al-SuHARWARDI. ' I 

-ush-Shuyukh Shihab-ud-DIn 'Umr b. Muhammad 

Bakri al-Suharwardi. 

NajIb-ud-DIn 'All b. Yazghish Shlranl. 
Nur-ud-DIn 'Abd-ul-Samad b. 'All. 
Najm-ud-DIn Muhammad Isfahanl. 
Husain Hisam-ud-DIn. 
Jamal-ud-Dm Yusuf. 
Nur-ud-DIn 'Abd-ur-Rahman. 
ZAIN-UD-DIN Abu Bakr Khwafi (Hwafi in the 

lithograph). 
'Abd-ul-Latif Qudusi Rumi, 



ATP. ii THE ZAINlS 453 

Shaikh Wafa Mustafa b. Ahmad Wafa. 

'AH Dada Wafai. 
Daud Wafai Rumi. 
'Abd-ul-Latif Wafai Rumi. 

The Zainis were once an important Order. Evliya mentions 
as a divine of the time of Sultan Muhammad I. (1413-21) the 
Shaikh 'Abd-ul-Latif Mokadessi (Muqaddasi would mean * of 
Jerusalem,' .but Qudusi must be meant) bin 'Abd-ur-Rahman b. 
'All b. Ghanim (Travels, ii. p. 22). But five pages farther on he 
mentions a Sh. 'Abd-ul-Latif Mokadessi as the Imam of Ilderim 
Khan. Then adding the title al-Ansari to the divine's names he 
describes how he built the Zaim-lar convent at Brusa after he had 
visited the tomb of Sadr-ud-Dm at Qonia, where the dead saint 
stretched out his hand from his grave and bade the Shaikh read 
the sura Ya-sin. Under Muhammad II. (1451-81) the Zainis 
formed, like the Naqshbandis, a militant Order, and led by Jubbah 
'All, the spiritual guide of the Sultan of Egypt, three hundred of 
them, unfurling the standard of Zain-ud-Din Hafi, embarked on 
skins which floated on the sea, and attacked the enemy (ib. i. 
pt. i. p. 34). 

That the Order took its name from Zain-ud-Din is certain, 
but its founder's title is variously given as Khafi (cf . p. 268 infra} 
and Hal I, which latter term means ' barefoot ' (Beale, Or. Biog 
Diet., p. 147). Born in Khurasan in 757 H. (A.D. 1356) Zain-ud- 
Din taught at Aleppo, one of his would-be pupils being Aq Shams- 
ud-Din, who was, however, led by a vision to follow Hajl Bairam. 
Zain-ud-Dm died in 838 H. (A.D. 1435) (Gibb, Hist, of Ottoman 
Poetry, ii. p. 139). His biography is in the Shaqffiq. The Zain- 
ud-Din al-Khwafi, ' the Secret ', who wrote a Persian tract on 
Sufi ethics called the Addb-us-Stifiyyat and a work entitled the 
Mirat-u-Talibm, mentioned by Prof. E. G. Browne in his article 
on " The Literature of the Hurufis " in J.R.A.S., 1907, pp. 553 
and 576, would seem to be our Zain-ud-Dm. Zain-ud-DIn Hafi 
had a college at Brusa named after him, and that city was a great 
Zaini centre. 

The Zainis, however, claim to be much older than Zain-ud-Din. 
Evliya, indeed, describes them as "of the sect of Na'aman Beri 
Thabet", though elsewhere he says they trace their origin to 
Osman, and became famous by their twelve Shaikhs called 'Ibad 
(op. cit., i. pt. 2 p. 29, and ii. p. 8). His account of their ' sect ' 
gives point to his remark that the famous jurist Mulla Khusrau ibn 
Khizr, author of the Ghurar al-Ahkam and the commentary on 
it, the Durar al-Hnkkdm, wrote his ' famous book ' at the Masjid 
Zaini-lar in Brusa, and he doubtless meant that the Order was 
attached to the legal doctrines of Abu Hanifa (ib. pp. 27 and 28). 
Who the twelve 'ibad or ' servants ' l were does not appear, but 

1 This may indicate some affinity with the 'Ibadiyah, who were an off- 
shoot from the original seceders of the early days of Islam, and who held 



454 THE BAlRAMlS APP. n 

at Constantinople the Wafa Jam!' mosque on the Golden Horn 
was built for the Zaima Shaikh Mustafa Wafa by Bayazid II. in 
881 H. (1476-77), according to the E.I. i. p. 870., though as that 
Sultan's reign did not commence till 1481 there must be here an 
error in the date. Still, the erection of this mosque shows that 
the Zainis were an Order of some importance down to the end of 
the fifteenth century. 

19. Down to Sh. Abu'l Najib Suharwardi the Bairami descent 
is the same as that of the Zainis. Then come : 

Shaikh Qutb-ud-Din [Abu Zashd (sic) on p. 35] Abhari. 
Rukn-ud-Dm Muhammad al-Bukhar! [Nahasr on 

p. 35]. 

Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad TabrM. 
Jamal-ud-DIn Tabriz!. 1 

Ibrahim Zahid Gilam. | 

' Safi-ud-Dm Abu Ishaq Ardibili. 
Sadr-ud-DIn Musa Ardibili. ! 

Khwaja 'Al! Ardibili. I 

Ibrahim Ardibili. ' 

Hamid Wai! Aqsarai Shams-ud-Din Musa. I 

Haji Bairam, d. in 833 H. | 

A disciple of Haji Bairam, Muhammad, son of Salih, wrote the ? 
Mugharib uz-Zaman ft gharaib ilashiafil 'ain wal aian, " Rareties 
of the Age and Rare Things for Eye and Mind ". This his brother 
Yaziji-oghli translated into Turkish under the title Anwar ul- 
'Ashiqin, or " The Lights of the Loving ". The translator, who 
was known as Bijan, ' the lifeless ,' also wrote the Duni maqnun, 
' Hidden Pearls ' ; and Muhammad the Muhammadiat, ' Muham- 
madanism '. Both contain much of dogmatic and mystic interest, 
and Hammer-Purgstall compares the latter to the Divina Corn- 
media for the richness of its religious content (GdOD. i. pp. 127-28). 
These works were written before 853 H. (A.D. 1449), but Yaziji- 
oghli does not seem to have completed his Anwar till 855 H. 
(Cat. of Turkish MSS. in the B.M., p. 18). 

Muhammad b. Muhammad Alti-Parmaq, 'the six-fingered', 
author of a translation of the ' Stufen des Prophetenthums ' of 
the historical picture-gallery, was a Bairami. He died in Cairo in 
1033 H. (A.D. 1623) (Cat. Turk. MSS. in B.M., p. 26, and GdOR. 
ii. p. 842). 

21. The Wafalya were founded early in the eighth century (H.) 
or fourteenth century A.D. as an independent Shazil! order by 
Muhammad Wafa, head of a Sharif family in Egypt. Their 
principal form of worship is psalmody in unison (Petit, Confrlries 

that the watchword of the Islamic government should be ' efficiency ', and 
not descent from any particular tribe. They are recognised as a ' fifth 
rite ', alongside the four better-known schools, and are also called Yusuflyah, 
at least in Morocco (T. H, Weir, The Shaikhs of Morocco, pp. xlii. and 124). 



APP. H THE WAFAlS, ETC, 455 

musulmanes, p. 13). Montet describes the Wafaiyyah (Ufaiyyah) 
as still under the control of its founder's family (E.R.E. 10, p. 724). 
(Muhammad Wafa appears to be entirely distinct from Pir Abu 
Bakr Wafa'I, founder of the Bakria.) The order may, however, be 
referred to the Shaikh Wafa' or Wafa'zada, the 'son of fidelity', 
Sh. Muslih-ud-DIn Mustafa of Qonia, who died in 1493. At first 
a disciple of the famous saint of the tanners (apparently Husam- 
ud-DIn Dabbagh mentioned by Cl: Huart, Les Saints des Derviches 
tourneurs, pp. 334-35), which would connect him with the Maulavis, 
he became an adherent of the Shaikh 'Abd-ul-Latif al-Qudsi. 
His grave became a place of pilgrimage, and Bayazld L built there 
the mosque still known by his name (GdOD. i. p. 316). Whether 
he founded any regular order or not is by no means clear, but 
occasionally a darvish is described as having joined it, e.g. Shammii 
the poet, who died in 1529 (GdOD. ii. p. 15). 

22. Down to Sh. Pir Muhammad Arzinjani the Mirdt ul- 
Muqdsid gives the Sunbuli descent as virtually identical with that 
of the Niazis. Then it adds the name of Sh. Chelebi Muhammad 
Jamal-ud-DIn as his successor, and gives that of the founder of 
the order as Sunbul Sinan Yusuf al-Marzrfuni, not Bolawi as on 
p. 269 supra. Sunbul Yusuf died in 1529. The Sunbulis may be 
the Ardaballs of p. 85, since they hold the takia of Sinan Ardaball 
in Scutari see p. 480. Sunbul in Turkish 'hyacinth', and hi 
Arabic ' spikenard ' ; al-Sunbula is also a sign of the zodiac (E.I. 
i. p. 135). The Sunbulis also have a takia " at the Agha Chair 
near the Selivria Gate " (p. 481 infra), which may be the one 
alluded to in the text, and several others at Constantinople. 
They still hold one at Khoja Mustafa Pasha, in Stambul, but none 
apparently at Psamatia. 

Sunbuli (?) Muhammad Shaikh, son of the famous Shaikh of 
Balat of the reign of Sulaiman II., known in poetry as Wahyi (V). 
In 1688 he succeeded to the cloister inside the Balat Gate on his 
father's death, himself dying in 1717 (GdOD. iv. p. 100). 

23. Also called Rosham (see p. 269 supra and note). 

Down to Ibrahim Zahid Gilani the Mirdt ul-Muqdsid gives the 
same descent for the Gulshanls as for the Bairamis. Then come : 
Shaikh Akhf Muhammad b. Nur Khalwati . 

Pir 'Umr Khalwati. 

Fanl Akhl Khurram Khalwati. 

Fanl Akhl Miram Khalwati. 

Haji 'Izz-d-Dm Khaiawl. 

Sadr-ud-Dm Khaiawl. 

Sayyid Yahya Shirwanl. 

Dada 'Umr Rosham Tabriz!. 

The title Gulshani, " the one of the rose-field ", as Hammer- 
Purgstall translates it, was adopted by a Turkish poet before the 
time of Ibrahim Gulshani (GdOD. i. p. 286). In mysticism there 
may be an allusion to the poetic simile "As wounds are poetically 
compared to flowers, he whose breast is torn through the anguish 



466 THE JALWATIS, ETC. AW. tt 

of love has but to look thereon so to find a garden " (Gibb, Hist, 
of Ottoman Poetry, iii. p. 10). 

The poet Rind! (IV.), Shumlali-zada Ahmad Effendi, the 
Shaikh of the Gulshams, took the vows of the order at Cairo, and 
on his master's death settled at Brusa as Imam of the cloister of 
'All Mast. He died in 1678 (ib. iii. p. 516). 

The poet Ibrahim Gulshan! (III.), son of Samisji-Dada of 
Magnesia, who was an adviser of the Sultan Muhammad III., 
succeeded his father as Shaikh of the cloister at Adrianople, and 
at Ispahan enjoyed the society of Shaikh Baha-ud-Dm. He died 
in 1717 (ib. iv. p. 92). 

The poet Safa'i (IV.) whose name was Hasan, of Morea, devoted 
himself at Adrianople as disciple of the Shaikh La'ali Muhammad 
Effendi of the Gulsham order, and then became Shaikh of the 
cloister of Jab! Dada at Constantinople (ib. iv. p. 257). A 
chronogram composed by him fixes the date of the death of Sh. 
'Ushshaq! Sadiq Effendi in 1682, so he must have lived on after 
that year. 

The poet Kiami (VII.) was son of the Shaikh of Shaikhs 
Gulsham Ibrahim Effendi, and by name Muhammad Effendi, of 
Adrianople. Before his death in 1722 he wrote many works, 
including some on law. He does not appear to have joined the 
Gulsham order, and he certainly held no, Shaikhship in it (ib. 
iv. p. 114). 

26. According to the Mir at ul-M'uqasid the Jalwat! descent 
was : 

Shaikh Isma'il Haqqi of Brusa. 

Sayyid 'Usman Fazl-illah! At-Bazari. 
Zakir-zada 'Abdullah Effendi. 
i>izdar-zada Ahmad Effendi. 
Hazrat Mahmtid al-Hudai. 
Hazrat Muhammad Uftada. 
Khizr Dada al-Muq'ad. 

Isma'fl Haqqi, a prolific Jalwat! poet, bom in 1652, son of 
Mustafa and disciple of Sh. Fazli-Ilahi 'Usman of Aidos, died in 
1724 (GdOD. iv. p. 135). 

30. The Mir at ul-Muqasid also traces the descent of the Niazis 
(Misrias) to Sayyid Yahya Shirwan! ; after whom come : 

Shaikh Pir Muhammad Arzinjani. 
Taj-ud-Din Ibrahim Qaisari. 
Qabaqli Salah-ud-Dm 'Ushshaq!. 
Yiglt-bash! Shams-ud-Dm Ahmad. 
Talib Ummi. 
'Abd-ul-Wahhab Almali. 
Ahmad. 
Saza! Almali. 

31. The Muradis seem to be divided into three branches and 
to be themselves an offshoot of the Naqshbandis (Le Chatelier, 
Confrtries musulmanes du Hedjaz, pp. 50 and 155). On p, 271 



APP. ii THE NUR-tD-DINlS, ETC. 457 

supra their foundation is ascribed to Murad 'the Syrian', who died 
in A.D. 1719. They may, however, be an offshoot of the Baqtash 
founded by Abdal Murad, a saint of the sixteenth century, 
described as a companion of Haji Baqtash. Sultan Orkhan is 
said to have founded the takia of Abdal Murad at Brusa, but 
Hasluck regards his connection with the Baqtash as probably 
apocryphal (Annual, B.S.A. xxi. -p. 93). The poet Muradl, of 
Bustam, 'a darvish', a descendant of Sh. Bayazid Bustami, died 
in 968 H. (A.D. 1560) (GdOD. ii. p. 285). 

32. Down to Yigit-bashi Shams-ud-Bm Ahmad the Mirat ul- 
Muqasid gives the Nur-ud-DInis the same descent as the Niazis. 
After him come : 

Shaikh al-Haj Qaramani 'All 'Imad-ud-DIn. 
Qasim Effendi. 
Yahya Qara-Hissari. 
Ramzan Effendi. 
Mastji 'AH Rumi. 
Mastji-zada Ibrahim. 
Dabbagh Rumi. 
Fazil 'AH Rumi Lufajawl. 
'AIT Kustandill. 

33. Jamali. This order was founded by Jamal-ud-DIn, who 
is styled Muhammad Jamal-ud-Dm Adirnawi (' of Adrianople ') 
(see p. 271 supra). As he died in 1750 he cannot be the Jamal-ud- 
Din mentioned on p. 90 above. One of the principal saints of the 
Jamali order, 'Abdl Effendi, died in 1783 at Constantinople (see 
p. 272 above). An 'Abdi Bey Sultan, a Baqtash saint, is buried 
at Yatagan in the Smyrna wildyat, but the date of his death is 
not recorded (Hasluck in Annual, B.S.A. xxi. p. 93). 

34. Ashrakl (Eshrakee in original) would mean ' polytheist ', 
from ashrak, ' an asserting that the Deity subsists in more than 
one person' (Redhouse, Turk. Eng. Lex., p. 121); ishraq-'' a 
being illuminated ' (ib. p. 121). 

In his account of the new and modern sects among the Turks 
Rycaut describes the Ishraqi (Eschrakian) or ' illuminated ' as 
a purely Platonical sect, contemplative of the Divine Idea, and 
the number in God. They held the Unity, but did not deny the 
Trinity, a conception which they illustrated by three folds in a 
handkerchief. Some parts of the Quran they styled ' abrogated ' 
(in Turkish ' mensuca '). They also contemned all fancies and 
gross conceptions of Heaven. Yet of this were all the Shaikhs or 
able preachers that belonged to the royal mosques. Constant in 
their devotions, abstemious, yet cheerful and of taking behaviour, 
great lovers of music and of an indifferent strain in poetry, they 
procured their disciples as much as possible to be men of comely 
and pleasing countenances and majestic presence, educating them 
in all their rules of abstinence, gravity and other virtues of the 
sect. Rycaut contrasts them with the Haireti or ' amazed ', a 
sect of doubters who condemned the Ishraqi as dogmatical and 



458 THE NI'AMATULLAHIS, ETC. APP. ti 

obstinate, but were themselves so devoid of principle that when 
entrusted with the office of mufti they gave fatwas even on affairs 
of State so incautiously that they met with banishment or death 
a good deal oftener than their opponents (Present State, p. 135). 
Observe that he calls neither an Order. 

35. Shah Ni'amat-Ullah [Waif] is the title by which Saiyid 
[Shah (Saiyid was his poetical title)] Nur-ud-Dm Yazdi is best 
known. A descendant of the Imam Baqir, he was born at Aleppo 
in 730 H. (A.D. 1330) and travelled widely, spending eighty days 
in meditation on the summits of Dawawand in winter and an 
equal period on Mt. Alwand, the Orontes of the Greeks. At 
Karbala he lived on dust for forty days (the dust of Karbala is 
sacred). Thence he visited Najaf and stayed seven years at 
Makka. Joining Shaikh 'Abdullah Ja'far he travelled with him, 
possibly visiting India (or more probably Afghanistan). Timur 
sent him into an honourable interment at Mahun, in Karman, 
where his shrine is still a great place of pilgrimage. His death is 
assigned to A.D. 1430. One of his prophecies contributed largely 
to the Indian Mutiny (Major P. M. Sykes, Ten Thousand Miles 
in Persia, pp. 148-49). (Yazdi, ' of Yazd ', has no connection with 
Yazidi.) 

His followers are described on p. 371 infra as of importance in 
India. 

Beale describes him as a descendant of Imam Musa Kazim 
and a. disciple of Sh. 'Abdullah [b. 'Abd-ul-] Yafa'i, but a follower 
of the tenets of the Imam Shafi'i. He also assigns his death to 
827 H. (A.D. 1424) or to 1431, saying that he was only seventy-five 
at his demise. The date of his birth must have been later than 
1330. The Imam Yafa'i, 'Abdullah b. As'd, styled the Qutb of 
Makka and Yafa'i Nazal al-Haramain, born at Yafa' in Syria, 
died in 767 H.'(A.D. 1366) or possibly earlier, in 1354. The title 
of one of his works, the Khuldsat al-Mufakhir fl Mundqib ash- 
Shaikh ''Abd-ul-Qadir, indicates that he was a follower of 'Abd-ul- 
Qadir Gilanf, but he wrote much else (Or. Biogr. Dy., pp. 291 
and 418). 

Mir Khalil-ullah Hirwi was one of his descendants (ib. p. 212). 

36. Haidaria, founded by Qutb-ud-Dm Haidar, of Zaush near 
Nisabur in Khurasan, early in the thirteenth century. They are 
closely akin to the Rifa'i, and dance on fires. They also wear 
iron rings on the hands, neck, ears ; and even elsewhere in token 
of their vow of chastity (Petit, Confreries musulmanes, p. 15). 



APPENDIX III 

A LIST [REARRANGED. BY ORDERS] OF ALL THE DARVISH CONVENTS 
OR takias AT CONSTANTINOPLE, AND THE DAYS ON WHICH 
THEY PERFORM THEIR EXERCISES FOR THE GUIDANCE OF 
CURIOUS VISITORS. 

THE BADAWIS 

'Hasib Effendi Takia-si', near Top Tashi, Scutari. Mondays. 
' Shaikh Mustafa 1 Effendi Takia-si ', near Tatavala in tJzun Yol. 

Tuesdays. 

THE BAIRAMIS 

' Abdi Baba 2 Takia-si ', near Aiyub. Fridays. 

' MehmedAghaTakia-sf', in the mosque aforenamed (?). Saturdays. 
' Yanez 3 Takia-si ', at Salajik, Scutari. Sundays. 

' 'Abd-ul-Samad Effendi Takia-si ', at Khagid-khana [the Paper 
Factory]. Mondays. 

' Bezji-zada 4 Muhy! Effendi Takia-si ', at Diyunjili, 5 Scutari. 

Tuesdays. 
' Tavil 6 Mehmed Effendi Takia-si ', near the Alti Mermer. 

1 Mustafa Effendi, ? Fasihi, d. 1694 (QdOD. iv. pp. 3-4). 

8 'Abdi Baba, apparently the La'li Effendi-zada 'Abd-ul-Baqi of p. 232 
supra. He was originally a BairamL The poet 'Abdi, 'Abdullah, son of 
the great Shaikh Himmatzada, may, however, be intended. Claimed both 
by the Khalwatis and the Bairamis, he succeeded his father as Shaikh of the 
cloister in the New Garden in 1683, and died in 1708 (QdOD. iii. 570). An 
'Abdi Bairam Effendi, d. 1709, lies buried at the Mosque of the Sultan 
Walida (ib. iv. p. 38). 

3 Yanez, yaMz, vulg. for yagMz, ' brown ' or ' dark '. 

* Bazji, ' linen-draper '. 

5 Diyunjili = divijilar, v. p. 227 supra. 

6 Taveel in original, a term difficult to explain. Taunt means ' an 
explaining a word or expression by some slight but real analogy, so as to 
reconcile it with received doctrine ' (Redhouse, Turk.-Eng. Lex. p. 482). 
The Metawalees also followed the tawll or ' allegorical interpretation of the 
Quran '. Supposed by v. Hammer to be a sect of the Isma'ilia they are now 
found principally in and about Tyre and near the source of the Orontes. 
(Lyde, The Asian Mystery, p. 99). But it may be for tawatti, or more 
commonly tawalla, whereby the Baqtashis understand the devoted love of 

459 



460 CONVENTS AT CONSTANTINOPLE APP. m 

' Jasim l Latif Takia-si ', at Aq-Saral. Wednesdays. 

' Himmat-zada Takia-si ', near Naqqash Pasha. Thursdays. 

1 Hashml 'Usman Effendi Takia-sl ', at Qulaqsiz, in Qasim Pasha. 

THE GULSHANIS 

' Tatar Effendi Takia-si ', at Top Khana. Mondays. 

4 Kiorji 2 Shaikh 'AH Effendi Takia-si ', near Mulla 'Ashki. 3 

Tuesdays. 

' Halwi 4 Effendi Takia-si ', at Shahr Amlnl. 
' Said Effendi Takia-si ', in the Yashji 5 Mosque at Khassakl. - 

Wednesdays. 

THE JALWATIS 
Convent of Aziz Mahmud Effendi, 6 in Scutari. Fridays. 

God, opposed to the tabarra (-u), the avoidance of evil (Jacob, Die Bek- 
taschijje, p. 41). The conjunction of these two terms may explain the 
puzzle on p. 191 (n. 3) supra, where tabran and tulan may be mistakes for 
labarra and tawalla. Tawalli, ' the possessor of authority ', was a darvish poet 
who wrote some antique ilahiat or hymns entitled ' the jewels of knowledge '. 
Nothing is known of his life (Hammer-Purgstall, GdOD. ii. p. 391). It can 
hardly be for atavft, ' eminent ' ? 

1 Jasim, apparently Ar. jasim, ' bulky ', ' immense ', or ' important '. , 

2 Kiorji, apparently for Gyurju, ' Georgian '. Evliya says Kuruji = 
' forest guard ' (Travels, ii. p. 144). T. qurju would = a man in armour, a 
cuirassier of the guard of the Shah of Persia. But cf. Babinger in Der 
Islam, xi. p. 86, n. 1, where Qurchi is rendered Kurd and qurji ' guardsman '. 

3 'Ashki, probably for 'Ashiq ; but 'askq, usually pron. 'isJiq in- Turk, 
means a wandering monk or dervish (Babinger in Der Islam, xi. p. 69). 

4 Hulvi (-wl), ' sweet ' : haltt or hallu, ' ecstatic '. Halwi was the poetic 
title of the son of a confectioner, born in 1574, who after his father's death 
became Shaikh of the Gulshani convent at Old Mustafa-Pasha. In Egypt 
he visited the Shaikh of the Gulshanis, Najib-ud-Dxn Sa'Id Hasan ; and on 
a second visit he received the rules of the order from the Gulshani Shaikh, 
Ibrahim Effendi. A frequent preacher in the mosques of Constantinople, 
he also wrote a Lama 1 at, ' Effulgences ', a chronicle of the Gulshani Shaikhs, 
He is buried in his father's house, which he turned into a convent, at Con- 
stantinople, dying there in 1653 (Hammer-Purgstall, GdOD. iii. p. 410). 

5 Yashji, yash = juice : but Evliya does not seem to mention any guild 
of yash- vendors, though he describes the ighdajts or syrup-makers (Travels, i. 
pt. 2 p. 155). 

6 Ahmad Effendi, son of the Shaikh of the Jalwatis, Isma'il Effendi, was 
Shaikh of the Jalwati cloister at Little Aya Sofia. Known in poetry as 
Umidi, he wrote the Majlis al-Aulia and spiritual poems, dying in 1694 
(GdOD. iii. p. 569). This convent seems to have disappeared. 

A Shaikh Ibrahim Effendi followed the great Shaikh Mahmud into the 
cloister and so may have been a Jalwati, but eventually he became a Naqsh- 
bandi : he lived from 1591 to 1666 (GdOD. iii. p. 465). His name in poetry 
was Sidqi. 



APP. m CONVENTS AT CONSTANTINOPLE 461 

Convent of Aq Shams-ud-Dm, at Zairak. 1 

Convent of Ummi Sinan, at Shahr Ammi. 

Convent called ' takia ' at Topi Qapu. 

Convent called ' Bandarwali-zada ', at the place called Inadia in 

Scutari. 
'Diwam Mustafa Effendi 2 Takia-si', in the Shaikh Jam!' 

(cathedral mosque), Scutari. 

' Salami 'All Effendi Takia-si ', at AjiBadam, 3 in Scutari. Saturdays. 
' Salami 'AH Effendi Takia-si ', Beshik Tash. 4 Mondays. 

' Sir Tarik-zada 5 Takia-si ', at Kamerilll, in the vicinity of the 

Mosque of Muhammad II. Tuesdays. 

' BadjMar 6 Takia-si ', near 'Aziz Mahmiid Effendi, Scutari. 
' Ibrahim Effendi Takia-si ', in the Qizil [' Red '] Mosque, Bul- 

gharli. 7 Wednesdays. 

1 Aq Shams-ud-Dm, whose true name was Muhammad, son of Hamza, 
was born at Damascus : of the family of Abu Bakr, Hammer-Purgstall says 
his father traced his descent from the famous Shaikh Suharwardi, executed 
at Aleppo (GdOD. i. p. 151), he " conversed with the most renowned Shaikhs, 
Suhrwardi and Haji Bairam the saint, and foretold the day of the conquest 
of Constantinople " (Evliya, i. pt. 2 p. 2). How or why his convent came 
to be appropriated by the Jalwatis does not appear. He left seven sons, 
who nearly all attained distinction : Sh. Sa'd-ullah as a physician ; Sh. Fazl- 
ullah, who plunged deep into mystic science (A. 1500) ; Amr-ullah, who wrote 
many tracts, though he did not follow his father's sect ; Sh. Muhammad 
Nur-ul-Hada, the greatest saint among his brethren ; and Sh. Muhammad 
Hamd-ud-Din, famed as the poet Hamdl (I.). The son of the last named, 
Sh. Muhammad Zain-ud-DIn, was also a great divine and a caligraphist. 
Evliya says that Aq Shams-ud-Din's successors were his eldest son and 
Sh. 'Abd-ur-Rahim, author of a Wahdat-nama or book on God's Unity; 
also : " ' Abd-ur-Rahim the Egyptian, and Mosslah-ud-Dln Attar, who is 
buried in the town of Isklib, lived in retirement like Sh. Hamza, who obtained 
from their master, Aq Shams-ud-Din, permission to become his spiritual 
successor(s) ". Further, Sh. Ibrahim TenurT, the son of Sarraf Husain, was 
also one of those who trod in Aq Shams-ud-Din's footsteps. But none of 
these had any recorded connection with the Jalwatis. On the Golden Horn, 
the Zairak Jam!' is named after Zairak Mulla Muhammad, whose cell 
(zawiya) was near by. 

2 Diwa.ni Mustafa : a Shaikh, Mustafa Jalwati, was father of the poet 
Suburi, ' the patient ', Muhammad, born in 1638 at Philippopolis. In 1667 
he became Shaikh of the cloister of The Three Fountains (Uch Bunar) at 
Bulghurlu, but Qadri Effendi built him a cloister of his own with a mosque 
inside the Adrianople Gate, and after holding various other offices he was 
inducted to the convent of Mahmud Effendi in 1711. He died in 1717 
(GdOD. iv. p. 96). 

3 Ajl Badam, ' bitter almond '. 

4 Beshik Tash, a village on the Bosphorus. 

5 ? Sirr-tarik, ' diviner of secrets ', ' magician ' : hardly ' distraught '. 

6 Baji-lar, ' the sisters or nuns ', ' the nunnery '. 

7 Bulgharli, or Bulghurlu. ' 



462 CONVENTS AT CONSTANTINOPLE APP. in 

' Salami 'AH Effendi Takia-si ', at Chamlija. 1 
' JalwatI Takia-si ', at Top Khana, near Akarja. 
' Fana'i Takia-si ', at Alaja Minara, 2 in Scutari. 



THE KHALWATIS 

' Kallanji 3 Shaikh Amm Effendi Takia-si', at the Otakfilar, 4 in 
the Chayir-bashi meadow. Fridays. 

' Shaikh Nusuhi Effendi 5 Takia-si ', at the Toganjilar, 6 Scutari. 

1 Aidui-ughlu 7 Takia-si ', near the Sublime Porte, Stambul. 

Called the ' Khalwatia Takia-si ', inside the mosque of Kuchuk 
Aya Sofia (the lesser St. Sophia mosque), Stambul. 

' Faizi Effendi 8 Takia-si ', near Agach Kakan. 9 

' Sachli Husain Effendi Takis-sl ', near the Ahmadia meadow. 

1 Chamlija, from chamU, ' fir ' : Chamlija is a hill behind Scutari on the 
Asiatic side of the Bosphorus, celebrated for its view. 

2 Alaja, ' variegated '. 

3 Kallanji, ? from Icalan, ' chief '. Or possibly a mistake for qalaiji, 
' an artizan who tins copper vessels '. Evliya has ' Hallanjian penbe ', 
' cotton-beaters ', a guild with curious rites (i. pt. 2 p. 201). 

4 Otakfilar, in original, is clearly an error for Otaqjllar, ' the tent-makers, 
or the quarter where they work' (Redhouse, Turk.-Eng. Diet., p. 235. Cf. 
p. 479 infra). 

5 Muhammad Effendi, the poet styled Nasuhi (III.), was one of the 
followers of Qarabash Wall and a Sha'bania, until he founded a sub-order 
of his own, the Nasuhia, according to the O.M., p. 176. Other, authorities 
say that he served the Shaikh of the Khalwatls, Qarabash 'All Effendi, as 
disciple, and became Shaikh in the convent built for him by Hasanpasha at 
Scutari. In 1705 he was preacher at the mosque of Aiyub, but in 1714 he 
was banished to Qastamuni. Permitted to return two years later he died 
in 1717 and was buried in his cell (GdOD. iv. p. 99). 

6 For Toghanjilar, ' place of the falconers ', where his convent was built. 

7 Aidin-ughlu, may be the poet BoshanT, ' the light or bright ', a title 
which refers to his birthplace, Aidin, ' the land of light '. At the behest of 
Khizr he went to Persia and thence to Baku. In Shirwan he became a 
disciple of the Shaikh Yahya (GdOD. i. p. 235). 

8 3?aizl, ' the wielder of influence ', was a title borne by some twenty 
Turkish poets. One of the best known of them was Faizi Hasn Effendi 
Slmger-zada (silversmith's son), who does not seem to have really belonged 
to any definite order. Undoubtedly a follower of 'Abd-ul-Ahad Nuri, he de- 
voted himself to the spiritual life under Khalwati, NaqshbandT, and Maulavi 
guidance, finally, according to some writers, joining the first-named order. 
But others say that he affected Sh. Bashir and the Bairamla-Malamia tenets. 
He was, however, Shaikh of the Amir Bukhara takia in 1674, and there, not 
' near Agach Kakan ', he lies buried. He died in 1102 H. (A.D. 1690) (GdOD. 
iii. p. 555 and 0. M. p. 139). 

9 Agach Kakan, perhaps for Aghaj-qaqan, the ' green woodpecker ', 



AFP. in CONVENTS AT CONSTANTINOPLE 463 

' Ujilar * Takia-s! ', at the Silivria Gate, Stambul. 

' Cholaq a Hasan Effendi Takia-si ', at the Idris Kiosk (Kuski). 

' Chellak 3 Takia-si ', in the Menkeuch 4 meadow. 

' Sa'id Wilayat Hazrateri Takia-si', near the plain or meadow, 

called 'Ashiq Pasha Arza-si. Saturdays. 

' Urdu Shaikh! Hafiz Effendi 5 Takia-si ', near Hammam Chelebi 

Mehmed Agha. 
' Sa'dullah Chaush Takia-si ', at Ainali Baqqal, near the Silivria 

Gate [Silivri Qapu-si]. 
' BulbuljI-zada Effendi 6 Takia-si ', in the [New] Mosque of 

Nishanji Pasha Jadld. Sundays and Wednesdays. 

' Shaikh Faizullah Effendi Takia-si ', at Ahiriadia, Scutari. 
' Amlr-lar Takia-si ', near the Khassaki Mosque, Stambul. 
' Jamali-zada Takia-si ', outside the Egri Qapu [the ' Crooked ' 

Gate] near the Adrianople Gate. 
' Yildiz 7 Takia-si ', near the Baghcha Qapu-si, Stambul. 
' Shaikh Sulaiman Effendi Takia-si ', near the SufMar. 8 Sundays. 
' Ummi Sinan Takia-si ', near the Kurkji 9 Mosque, at Top Qapu. 

1 Ujl, ' a hunter ' or ' light infantryman ' : pron. avji. 

2 Cholaq, ' maimed or paralysed in one hand or arm '. 

3 Chellak, Pers. chalak, ' quick, clever '. 

4 Doubtless manqiish, ' ornamented with figures or designs '. 

5 Ordii, ' camp '. Shaikh!, a title borne by at least sixteen Turkish 
poets, of whom several were famous. It denotes eminence as well as devotion 
to the spiritual life. Of those who adopted it Shaikh! (V.) Siwasi was an 
acknowledged Khalwatl. Born in 1563 near Siwas, he was named Majid- 
ud-Dln after the Shaikh who died about that time, and succeeded his uncle 
Sh. Shamsi as head of the Khalwatis at Siwas. Summoned to the capital 
by Muhammad III., he became a great preacher, and was made principal 
of the convent of Sh. Yausi, near the mosque of Selim I. Dying in 
1639, he was buried at the Nishanji Mosque near Eyiib. The title was, 
however, also adopted by Auhad Shaikh! (v. p. 481 infra), and by other 
Shaikhs of convents not of the Khalwatl order (GdOD. iii. p. 286 ; cf. iv. 
pp. 132 and 264). 

6 Bulbulji-zada, ' son of the nightingale-seller '. The poet Fathi, ' the 
holder of victory ', Shaikh Bulbulji-zada 'Abd-ul-Kar!m, was a disciple of 
Shaikh 'Abd-ul-Ahad Nun. A son of al-Hajj 'Abd-ul-Latif of Qaraman, 
he was preacher at the New Mosque of Nishanjlpasha among other places, 
and died in 1106 H. (1694). He composed hymns and spiritual songs 
(GdOD. iii. p. 570). The 0. M. describes him as a disciple of 'Abd-ul-Latif 
(p. 140). 

7 Yildiz, ' star '. . 

8 Sufi-lar, apparently the Qula Sufilarl : the Sufl-lar were formerly a 
special class of servants in the Sultan's palace. 

9 Kurkji, apparently UurTcjl, ' fur-merchant ' (v. note on p. 475). But 
at Stenia, Sosthenion, Schrader notes a KurekjI-bashi, or ' boatswain's ' 
mosque, as well as one of the Dervish Ra'Is or ' Captain ' (Konstantinopel, 
p. 219). 



464 CONVENTS AT CONSTANTINOPLE APP. in 

' Hajl Kadin x Takia-si ', at Psamathia. 2 

' Khamza-zada 3 Takia-si ', near the [New] Mosque of NishanjI 

Pasha Jadid. 

' Hafiz Effendi 4 Takia-si ', Beicos. 

' Shaikh Hafiz Effendi Takia-si ', near Qaraja Ahmad, 5 Scutari. ' 
' KhalwatI Takia-si ', at Qasim Pasha, in the lot called Bab-i-Sail. 
' Oksizja Baba 6 Takia-si ', near the lot called Akarja. 
' Sir Tarik-zada 7 Takia-si ', at Aiyub, near the NishanjI-lar. 8 
' Kausara 9 Mustafa Baba Takia-si ', at the Chaush Dere [* valley'], 

Scutari. 

' Matehka Takia-si ', at Beshik Tash. Mondays. 

' Nur-ud-Dm Jarrahi 10 Takia-si ', near the Qara Guraruk 

[' Customs-house '], Stambul. 

1 Hajl Qadim would mean the ' returning pilgrim ', Qadm = ' lady '. 
a Psamatia, Gr. psamatha, from the sand thrown up on the beach. 

3 Khamza, a word not traceable in the dictionaries. Possibly for 
Hamza, less probably for Ar. khamasdn or khumsan, ' gaunt ' or ' slender '. 

4 Hafiz Effendi, possibly the poet Hafiz (V.), SutjI-zada (the milkman's 
son) 'Abd-ul-Latlf, who devoted himself to the Shaikh of the Khalwatls, 
Ummi Sinan-zada, and on his master's death made the pilgrimage to Makka, 
where he died in 1688 A.D. (GdOD. Hi. p. 543). 

5 Qaraja, 'dark', 'swarthy'. "It is Qaraja Ahmad, not Khoja 
Ahmad, who generally figures as the pupil of Hajl Baqtash in Baqtashl 
legend ". Tradition makes him a saintly prince of Persia, and besides his 
reputed tomb in the great burial-ground at Scutari he has three more in the 
district of Usha, and one in Rumeli near TJskub at Tekke Keui. Evliya 
styles him Qara Ahmad Sultan (Travels, i. pt. 2 p. 81), or Qaraja (p. 83). 
His shrine at or near Liyen in the Ushak district is a famous place of healing. 
He has from an early period been confused with Khoja Ahmad of Yasi. 
See Hasluck in Annual, B.S.A. xx. pp. 120 f. and 83, where numerous 
references are given. Evliya does not appear to mention his tomb at 
Scutari, but only his convent ' in the burial-ground '. 

6 Oksizja, uksizje, ' orphan-like '. Eedhouse (T.-E. Lex. p. 262) defines 
this adj. as a dim. of uksuz, 'orphan'. If this rendering is correct it 
recalls the aitam (pi. of yatlm) or ' orphans ' of the Nusairi. Yatim meant 
a disciple who had lost his master, but it also denoted a rare or choice spirit, 
and was 'the title of the second grade of the celestial hierarchy (Lyde, The 
Asian Mystery, p. 133). 

7 Sir-tarik, see note on p. 461 supra. 

8 NishanjI-lar, officers who affixed the Sultan's cypher to letters-patent. 

9 Kausarah, clearly from Kausar, ' abundance ', or the River, of Paradise. 
Qausara appears as an affix to the name of a qazl, Najm-ud-Dln, in the earlier 
history of the Maulavis (Huart, Les Saints des Dervishes tourneurs, ii. p. 281). 

10 Nur-ud-Dln Muhammad Jarrahi was a Ramazama KhalwatI before 
he founded a sub-order of his own. He owed his title to his birth in the 
Mahalla Jarrah Pasha at Constantinople. The date of his death is given 
as 1133 H., not 1146 as on p. 271 supra. His devotion to the principle of 
tauhid earned him the title of Qutb al-Wasilain (O.M. p. 178), 



APP. in CONVENTS AT CONSTANTINOPLE 465 

Thursdays. 

I Iplikji * Mehmed Effendi Takia-si ', near Otlagji 2 Yokushi. 

' Sukli 3 Mehmed Pasha Takia-si ', at the At Maidan, in Stambul. 

' Telloni * Takia-si ', near Inadia, Scutari. 

' Haqiqi 'Usman Effendi Takia-si ', near Egri Qapu. 

' Khalwati Takia-si ', near Arpa 5 Chashma-si, Aiyub. 

' Chamlvjali Mehmed 6 Effendi Takia-si', near Chaiish Dere, 

Scutari. 

' Run' Effendi 7 Takia-si ', at ToghanjMar, Scutari. 
' Safwati 8 Effendi Takia-sT ', at ToghanjI-lar, Scutari. 
'Qara-bash 'Al! Effendi 9 Takia-sT, in Eski Jamf Walida, at 

Scutari. 

1 Iplikji, ' yarn-merchant ' (Evliya, i. pt. 2 p. 203). 

2 Otlaq, ' pasture ' : hence Otlaqjl Yoqush must be ' Shepherds' Lane '. 

3 Sukli, probably Sokolli Muhammad, the greatest of the Grand Wazirs, 
assassinated in 1578. But he is not described as a Khalwati, though he 
erected many pious foundations, including a mosque, etc., a.t Burgas. He 
is buried at Aiyub (Von Hammer, GdOB. ii. p. 470). 

4 Telloni, ? from Ar. talawwun, ' a changing hue or appearance ' : talwn 
in the parlance of the mystics denotes a devotee's being filled with ecstasy 
by a glimpse of the divine favour (Redhouse, Turk.-Eng. Diet. p. 590). 
Villoison records Teloni (reXci^tof) as the name at Mykone of a water- 
sprite (Miss L. M. J. Garnett, The Women of the Turkey and their Folk-Lore, 

II Christian Women ", p. 128). But this spirit is only one of the numerous 
aepiK<i, l fratpia reAc/wo, or aerial customs-officers ', to appease whom reXw- 
a/cd or ' dues paid at the customs ' are distributed to the poor at a death 
(J. C. Lawson, Modern Greek Folklore and Ancient Greek Religion, pp. 283 f.). 

8 Arpa, ' barley '. 

6 Chamlrjali, ' of the pine-wood '. Mahmud Effendi's convent was the 
largest at Scutari, and there 300 Khalwatis night and day praised the Lord 
with cries, says Evliya (Travels, i. pt. 2 p. 80). He writes as if it no longer 
existed. 

7 Bufi, Rufi Sayyid Ahmad of Scutari, was a Shaikh of the Ramazania 
branch of the Khalwatis. A disciple of Kostandili 'Ali Effendi, he died in 
1171 H. (A.D. 1758) and was buried near the Toghanjflar in the precincts of 
the mosque of Sinan Pasha. He wrote hymns (O.M . p. 76). He must not 
be confused with 'Abd-ul-Ra'uf al-Munawi, who died in 1031 H. (A.D. 1622). 
He wrote a biographical work on Sufiism called Al-kawakib al-durriyya fi 
tarajim al-sadat al-Sufiyya. 

8 Safwati, from safwat, ' peace of mind '. In Turk, safvet, ' purity ' : 
Safwat-ullah is a title of Muhammad. This title was borne by the poet 

[ Mulla 'Arif Muhammad, son of 'Arif Muhammad, son of Asaad, (grand ?) son 

i of the great Seaad-ud-Dln, and he was buried at the tomb of the last-named 
near the mosque of Aiyub, on his death in 1664. A Safwati Effendi also 
gives his name to the Khalwati convent at the ToghanjSar in Scutari 

j (v. Hammer-Purgstall, GdOD. iii. p. 455). 

8 Qarah-bash, 'the French lavender', was a title borne by several 

j darvish, e.g. by Qarabash Baba, who has a turbah and mosque named after 

2H 



466 CONVENTS AT CONSTANTINOPLE APP. m 

' Sarmashik 1 Talda-si ', near the Adrianople Gate, Stambul. 
' Rush 'Adali Ibrahim Effendi 2 Takia-sT ', at the Sengli Baqqal. 3 

* Shaikh Sulaiman Effendi 4 Takia-si ', at Beicos. 

' Siwasi 6 Takia-si ', near Sultan Salmi's Mosque, in Stambul. 

* Qara-Bash Takia-si ', in the Ruineli Hissar. 
' Qara-Bash Takia-si ', at Top-khana. 

him in the Qara Gumruk quarter at the Adrianople Gate, and 'concerning 
whom F. Schrader records a folk-tale (Konstantinopel, pp. 95-96 and 225). 
Qarabash, too = ' a Christian bishop ' (from his black head-dress) (Redhouse, 
Turk. -Eng. Lex. p. 1 155). Qarabash 'All Effendi was Shaikh of the Khalwati. 
The poet Nasuhi (III.), who died in 1717, was his disciple, but in 1705 Hasan- 
pasha built him a new cloister at the Place of the Falconers (GdOD. iv. p. 99). 

1 Sarmashiq, ' any thickly twining plant, especially ivy ' (Redhouse, 
Turk'.-Eng. Lex. p. 1155). 

2 Kfish 'Adali, Qosh Ata-li, is described in the O.M. (p. 151) as one of 
the Shaikhs of the Sha'bania Khalwatis. He took his name from Qosh 
Ata, ' Bird Island '. The ' Kach-Ataliouiya ' of Le Chatelier's informant 
are clearly his followers (v. note on p. 450 supra). Brown's spelling (Kush 
'Adalee) almost suggests that folk-etymology has connected his title with 
Ar. ' id&l, a balancing, vacillation ' ; originally, perhaps, the 'poising ' of a 
hawk (qush). From the same root comes 'adl, ' justice ', etc. 

3 Sengli Baqqal : baqqal, formerly ' a greengrocer ', now ' a grocer '. 

4 Saiyid (Sa'id) Sulaiman of Alaiya was a Khalwati who entered the 
order at Brusa, and after being Shaikh of its cloister at Qasimpasha returned 
to Brusa as successor to Shaikh 'AH and was buried in his- cloister on his 
death in 1654 (GdOD. Hi. p. 411). But a Sh. Sulaiman Effendi from 
Diarbakr, who was immersed in the ocean of contemplation and dogmatic 
contest, seems to have been a Khalwati, and his tomb is at Constantinople 
(Evliya, i. pt. 2 p. 20). 

6 Siwasi may be the poet Shaikh! (V.). His name was 'Abd-ul-Majid 
and he was born near Siwas in 1563. He was named 'Abd-ul-Majid after 
the saint of that name recently deceased. He succeeded his uncle Sh. 
Shamsi as chief of the Khalwati at Siwas, but was invited to Constantinople 
by the Sultan Muhammad III., and after holding several important incum- 
bencies died in 1639, being buried in a special cupola at the Nishanji Mosque. 
He left many writings in prose and verse (GdOD. iii. p. 287). But the 
cloister probably takes its name from ' Shamsi ', Shaikh Shams-ud-Din Siwasi 
(Ahmad b. Muhammad), author of the Gulshanabad (in 996 H.) and of the 
Manazal ul-'Arifm. The former work was in praise of Abu Hanifa. Dying 
soon after 1005 H. Shamsi was succeeded by 'Abd-uI-Majid^who was called 
to the capital by the Mufti San'ullah (Oat. of Turkish MSS. in the B.M. 
pp. 181-89). But he was not a professed Khalwati it would seem. 

Nuri (V.) Sh. 'Abd-ul-Ahmad, son of Safa'i Mustafa, grandson (Enkel) 
of Isma'il, the mufti: of Siwas, the commentator on the Multika, and nephew 
of the Sh. Siwasi Eff., was born in 1594. In 1622 he became Shaikh of 
the cloister of Muhammad pasha at Constantinople, and dying in 1650 was 
buried near his uncle, the Sh. Siwasi. He composed a number of poems 
under the name of Nuri, which were mystical effusions (GdOD. iii. p. 400). 



APP. in CONVENTS AT CONTANSTINOPLE 467 

' Altunji-zada x Takia-si ', at Ekshi Kara Tut. 2 Mondays. 

' 'Ala-ud-Dm Takia-si ', near the Hammam Sufi-lar. 3 

' Buzurgian* Takia-si ', at Khoja Mustafa Pasha. 

' Hasan Effendi 5 Takia-si ', in the Mosque of Jahangir. 6 

' Ishaq Qaramam Takia-si ', at Sudlija. 

' Fazl-ullahi At-bazari 'Usman Effendi 7 Takia-si', at the At- 

bazar [' Horse-market '], Stambul. 
' Fana'i 8 Takia-si ', at Mulla Kiovam. 9 

1 Altunji, ? ' dealer in gold ' (not in Redhouse). 

2 AksU, ' sour ', qara, ' black ', tut, ' mulberry ' : ? blackberry. 

3 In the convent of the Bath of the Sufis is buried Sh. Kamal-ud-Dln 
Effendi, the disciple of Sulaiman Effendi, KhalwatI (Evliya, i. pt. 2 p. 20). 

4 Buzurgian, ' holy ones '. 

6 Hasan (IV.) Effendi, celebrated under the name of 'Ummi Sinanzada, 
was taught by 'Abd-ul-Ahad Effendi and principal of the cloister at Shahr 
Amini. - He composed the Ma/jalis-ali-Sinani or ' Collections of Sinani ', 
and died in 1677 (GdOD. iii. p. 509). This cloister was clearly a KhalwatI 
foundation, as Wahdati, the KhalwatI poet and astronomer, retired to it 
(i&. ii. p. 556). 

6 Mosque of Jahangir, probably the Shahzada mosque built by Sulaiman 
L, 1520-66, in memory of his son Muhammad. His son Jahangir was also 
buried there (Evliya, i. pt. 2 p. 9). 

7 Fazlillahee in original, the Shaikh of the Horse-Mart, known in poetry 
as Fazli (VI.) 'Usman Effendi, was born at Shumna and died in 1687. Though 
he held high posts as a preacher he taught the poor at the Kuljami' mosque 
in the Horse-Mart, and was twice banished for his outspokenness, dying in 
Cyprus on his second banishment and being buried at Famagusta. Besides 
commentaries on several juridical works, he left spiritual ilah/is (GdOD. 
iii. p. 541). In spite of a slight discrepancy in the date of his death this 
'Uman Effendi seems to be the person mentioned below. 

'Usman Effendi Shaikh died in 1684 and was buried beside 'Umr Effendi 
in the cloister of the Dolmaja Junis, the court-dolmaja of Sulaiman the 
Law-giver. At first a disciple of Sh. Abd-ul-Ahad an-Nuni, he became 
mulazim of Bostanzada Yahya Effendi at (?) Scutari (GdOD. iii. p. 532). 
The cloister of Yunis, the court interpreter (dulmach) of Sulaiman the 
Great, was at one time certainly a KhalwatI institution. Held once by 
'Usman Effendi Shaikh, who in 1634 attached himself to the Shaikh 'Abd- 
ul-Ahad an-Nuni and died in 1684, it was in 1683 under the Shaikhship of 
the poet Mahwl (IV.), Shaikh !sa Effendi, who died in 1715 (GdOD. iii. p. 532, 
and iv. p. 82). This cloister seems to have disappeared, unless it be that 
in Tunus (sic) Bagh, at Scutari, held by the Qadirls. 

8 Fana'i, ' the possessor of self-annihilation ', was a title borne by four 
Turkish poets. Of these Sh. Muhammad Jannat Effendi, son of Ishaq 
Effendi, whose elder brother was in the service of the great Sh. Mahmud 
Hudayl, and who himself affected that saint, is clearly here in question. 
He held the Shaikhship of a convent at Scutari and died there in 1665 
(GdOD. iii. p. 466). But possibly it is for finayl, from fina, ' court-yard '. 

9 Kiovam, ? for Koranl. 



468 CONVENTS AT CONSTANTINOPLE APP. in 

' Mu'bir Hasan Effendi Takia-sl ', near Eski [' Old '] 'AH Pasha. 
' Toghramaji x Takia-sT', behind the Zindan ['Prison'] of the 

Arsenal. 

' Isma'il Effendi Takia-sT ', at Yen! Kiui. Tuesdays. 

' Shavkl Mustafa Effendi 2 Takia-si ', near Mimar. 
' Mimar Sinan 3 Takia-si ', at 'Ashiq Pasha. 
' Khoja-zada al-Haji Ahmad Effendi Takia-si ', at Zairak. 

Wednesdays. 

' Umml Sinan Takia-si ', at Aiyub in the Dokmaj!-lar. 4 
' Aq Bayik 5 Takia-sT ', at Akhor Qapu-si. 
' Kashfi 6 Talda-si ', near Shahzada Bash!. 
' Turmish Dede 7 Takia-si ', at Rumeli Hissar. 
' Iskandar Baba Takia-si ', near Agha Hammam, in Scutari. 
' Ummi Ahmad Effendi Takia-si ', near the Chinill [' Faience '] 

Mosque, Scutari. 
' Idris Effendi 8 Takia-si ', in Chaush Dere. 

1 Toghramaji, ' joiner '. 

2 Shavkl, from shauq, ' yearning ', ' ardently yearning ' (for God). 
Four Turkish poets were so entitled, but none of them was called Mustafa. 

3 Mi'mar Sinan, 'the architect Sinan', the famous Turkish architect 
who flourished in the sixteenth century. 

4 Dokmajl-lar ' brass-founders.' But J. von Hammer has Knopfmacher, 
' button-makers '. 

6 Aq Bayik, Aq Biyiq Sultan, ' of the white moustache ', The convent 
at Brusa of this saint is assigned by Evliya to the Baqtash, and then again 
to the Bairamis. It will be noticed that at Constantinople the suffix 
' Sultan ' is dropped (v, Evliya, ii. pp. 8 and 26). 

6 Kashfl, from Icashf, ' revelation '. The poet Kashfi, who was a 
Khalwati, wrote a Maulud or 'Birth Song 1 . He is alluded to by Gibb, 
Hist, of Ott. Poetry, ii. p. 375, and appears to be the Kashfi II. of Hammer- 
.Purgstall, who died in 1538. Several other poets bore this title, e.g. Kashfi I. 
the censer-bearer who dispensed spiritual incense as well as material at the 
time when the mosque of Bayazid II. was built (QdOD. i. p. 284, and ii. 
p. 222). He was perhaps a Naqshbandi. 

7 Turmish, clearly Durmish, a sailors' saint who died in the reign of 
Ahmad I. and was buried on the point of R,umeli Hissar. His takia was 
originally held by the Baqtash (Hasluck in Annual, B.S.A. xxi. p. 100). 
Durmish was born at Akkerman, but carried off to Constantinople in his 
youth. He used to foretell the fortunes of those who went to sea (Evliya, 
i. pt. 2 p. 70). Durmish, as Tur-mish is pronounced, may mean 'he 
who has ceased from motion ' : cf. tur-maq, ' to remain quiet, at rest ' ; 
pron. durmaq (Redhouse, T.-E. Lex. p. 1254). The Durmish-lar are 
identified with the Torlaq-lar (v. note on p. 158' supra). It was a name in 
use in Khwarizm in the fourteenth century, for we read of 'Turmish, brother 
of Turkan ' (Tarikh-i-BasMdi, p. 44). 

8 Idris, Shaikh Pir 'AIT, called Idris as being the son of a poor tailor 
(Idris being patron-saint of tailors), was a Bairami, a follower of Hussam- 
ud-Din of Angora, and was strangled and buried at an elevated spot in 
Qasim Pasha behind the Arsenal. Worker of many miracles, he founded 



APP. in CONVENTS AT CONSTANTINOPLE 469 

'Yahya Kethoda 1 Takia-si', at Qasim Pasha, near the Juma' 

Bazar. 
' 'AH Effendi Takia-si', at Aji Chashma [' Bitter Fountain '], near 

the Adrianople Gate. 
' Sa'id Khalifa Takia-si ', at Fana'i. 

THE MAULAVIS 2 

or ' Turning Darvishes ', in Pera. 3 Fridays. 

' Maulavi-khana Takia-si '. Saturdays. 

' Qasim Pasha Maulavl-khana-si '.* Sundays. 

' Yam Qapu Maulavl-khana-si '. 5 Mondays. 

' Beshik-tash Maulavl-khana-si '. Wednesdays. 

; Yam Qapu Maulavi-khana-si '. Thursdays. 



a number of pious institutions, including the Idris Kiosk on the north side 
of Aiyub, but the building was levelled at Sultan Murad's death, leaving 
only the basin, fountain, and place of prayer (Evliya, i. pt. 1, p. 48). 

1 Kethoda, doubtless for ket-khuda, ' steward ', the ' warden of a guild '. 
The poet Yahya III., son of the Shaikh of the Khalwati, born in 1644, was 
himself Shaikh at the convent of Saad-Dm at Aiyb. He died in 1699 
(OdOD. iii. p. 580). 

2 The fact that there are only four Maulavi cloisters at Constantinople 
gives an inadequate idea of the importance of the order in the Turkish 
empire. It has or had fifty khanqas or zawiyas, including the asitania or 
' court ' at Qonia (M. Hartrnann, Der islamiscJie Orient, iii. p. 194). The 
Galata Maulavi-khana-sl, originally built in A.D. 1491-92, and finally rebuilt 
by Sallm III. in 1795-96, is the oldest settlement of this order in Constanti- 
nople. It contains the tomb of Isma'il Anqarawi (.E.I. i. p. 875). Sh. 
Isma'il Dede (Rusukh-ud-Dln Isma'il b. Ahmad) al-MaulavI al-Anqiraw! 
was the author of the Minha} us-Saliktn, and also of the FatiH-ul-Abyat, a 
commentary on the Mesnewi of Jalal-ud-Dln. Shaikh of the Maulawi- 
khana at Galata, he died in 1041 H. (A.D. 1632) (Gat. of Turkish MSS. in 
the B.M. p. 235, and Cat. of Persian MSS. ii. p. 790). 

3 A cloister called the Bab-i-Qula was erected in Galata (which included 
Pera), was built in 926 H. =A.D. 1520 (M. Hartmann, JDer islamische Orient. 
iii. p. 194). 

4 Evliya states that in the infidel time Qasim Pasha was a monastery 
called Aya Longa, but Muhammad II. converted it into a burial-ground. 
Koja Piala Pasha, however, recolonised it. The Maulavi-khana town was 
built by 'Abdi Dede, who himself worked at its building, temp. Murad IV. 
1023-40 (Travels, i. pt. 2 pp. 45-46). 

5 Built in 1597-98 (E.I. i. p. 872). It was built for Kama! Ahmad- 
Dada, who died in 1601. Born at Aqshahar, a son of the Maulavi Khasii- 
ud-Din-dada, he served the Shaikhs Khusrau and Farrukh-Chelebi as 
disciple until the last-named was deprived of the mystical throne at Qonia 
by an usurper, and then betook himself to Constantinople (GdOD. iii. pp. 12- 
16 ; v. p. 262). 



470 CONVENTS AT CONSTANTINOPLE APP. m 



THE NAQSHBANDIS 

* Amir Bukhara 51 Con vent, near the Mosque of Sultan Muhammad, 

the conqueror of Constantinople. Fridays. 

Convent of Kioshgiari 'Abdullah Effendi, 2 at Idris Kiosk. 
A Qalandar-khana, at Aiyub. 
Convent of the Shaikh-ul-Islam, at Aiyub. 
Convent called the ' Usman Effendi ', in Scutari. 
Convent called 'Hindilar 3 Takia-si', at Khorkhor, near Aq- 

Sarai, Stambul. 

' Bashir Agha 4 Takia-si ', near the Sublime Porte, in Stambul. 
' Usbak Takia-si ', 5 near Bulbul Dara-sl, Scutari. 
' Usbaklar Takia-si ', at the ascent of the Muhammad Pasha 

Yokushi, Stambul. 

' Izzat Mehmed Pasha Takia-si ', Aiyub. 
' Amir Bukhara 6 Takia-si ', just outside the Adrianople Gate, 

Stambul. 

1 Vide n. 6 infra. 

2 Kioshgiari, clearly for Kashgharl, ' of Kashghar '. 

3 Evliya mentions two Indian convents, one of " the Hindoos, worshippers 
of fire ", where bodies could be burnt, and the other, the convent of the 
Indian Qalandars, at the head of the bridge of Kaghid-Khana (Travels, i. 
pt. 2 p. 87). 

4 Beshlr, ' prophet ', ' a bringer of good tidings ', or ' pleasing in counten- 
ance '. Bashir Agha is mentioned on p. 235 supra. 

5 The TJsbeg must be the Naqshbandi Shaikh, the poet Haidar III., who 
settled in Scutari at the Nightingales' Hill and sang like one in Persian and 
Turkish. He died in 1700 (GdOD. iii. p. 596). 

M. Hartmann mentions this cloister, which also appears to be called the 
Bukhara cloister, as in the Hajja Hasna Khatun quarter in Scutari. In the 
beginning of the present century it was still visited by darvishes from 
Transoxiana. Its head was styled Uslcudarda Ka'fn Osbekler dergahZ post- 
nishvnH, suggesting that only the Shaikh sat upon a post (Der islamische 
Orient, i. pp. 125 and 127). Another cloister at the Nightingale Valley was 
built by Diwiji-zada Shaikh Muhammad Effendi, a disciple of the great 
Sh. Mahmud of Scutari, for his son. The founder, whose poetic name was 
Thalib (V.), died in 1679 (GdOD. iii. p. 553). 

6 It will be noticed that four cloisters of the Naqshbandis.bear this name, 
but it should apparently be Shaikh Bukhara or Sh. Bukhari. Shams-ud- 
Din Bukhari, who must not be confused with Shams-ud-Dln Muhammad 
Bukhari, the Amir Sultan of Bayazld I.'s reign, was a Persian who came to 
Constantinople in the time of Muhammad II. under Sh. Alawi, and there 
rose to eminence as the Shaikh of the reign of Bayazld II. He lived as a 
Naqshbandi, a contemporary of the Shaikh Baba Ni'amatullah, the com- 
mentator of the Gulshan-i-raz of Shabistari, and of Sh. Daud of Modreni. 
His cloister is one of the principal Naqshbandi foundations in Constantinople 
(GdOD. i. p. 212). 

The cloister ' outside the Adrianople Gate ' was under the poets FaizI 



. in CONVENTS AT CONSTANTINOPLE 471 

' Shaikh Murad Takia-si ', near the Ortakji-lar. 1 Sundays. 

'Murad Mulla Takia-si', in the Chaharshamba [Thursday] 

Market. 

'Amir Bukhara Takia-s! ', near the Egri Qapu. 
' Salami Effendi Takia-si ', in the place called Baba Haidar, near 

Aiyub. 

' Mustafa Pasha Takia-si ', outside the Adrianople Gate, Stambul. 
' Salim Baba 2 Takia-sI ', near Chinar [' the Plane ']. 
' Nun Effendi 3 Takia-si ', near the Top Qapu. 
' Van! Ahmad Effendi * Takia-si ', at Lalazar. 5 
' Raqm Effendi 6 Takia-si ', at Zinjirll Kiui, 7 in Stambul. 
' Ardak 8 Takia-si ', near Daud Pasha [Qapu-si ?, formerly the 

Gate of S. Aemilianus]. 
' Mybekler 9 Takia-si ', at Salamia, in Scutari. 
' Shaikh Sa'id Effendi Takia-si ', at Qandill [on the Asiatic shore 

of the Bosphorus] in the valley. 

and Shaikhi, father and son, in the seventeenth century. Faizi was the 
Shaikh Sinesh Hasan Effendi, a disciple of the great Shaikh 'Abd-ul-Ahad 
Nuri, and in turn a Khalwati, a Naqshbandi, and a Maulavl, who finally 
joined the first named of those orders. Dying in 1690, he was buried at the 
cloister of Amir Bukhara, of which he was Shaikh (GdOD. iii. p. 555). His 
son Muhammad ' Shaikhl ', born in 1666, succeeded him. Faizi wrote the 
' Lives of the Jurisprudents ', a work continued by his son and grandson 
(ib. iv. p. 264). Whether this cloister was originally a Khalwati founda- 
tioners or not does not appear, nor is it clear that Sinash Hasan Effendi is 
also still regarded as a Khalwati. 

1 So spelt by von Moltke on his map ; but ? Otaoj'Mar, ' tent-makers ' ; 
Ortaq (not ortaqjl) would = ' partner '. 

2 ? Salim Dada, 'All, known as the Qurghu darvish, the ' fantasy ' darvish, 
or as Qirq Darvish, ' the forty darvish ', who died in 1688 (GdOD. iii. p. 544). 

3 Nun Effendi, probably the Shaikh as-Said Hasan Effendi, born in 1619, 
who was placed at the head of the convent of Farrukh Kiaya at Constanti- 
nople in 1663, and died in 1688. He wrote spiritual and mystical poems 
(GdOD. iii. p. 550). 

* Van! Ahmad, Khoja Ahmad of Van, appears to be the poet Durri (VI.). 
Associated in some way with the cloister, etc., built by 'All Pasha at Brusa, 
and the cloister erected by Eidam 'All Pasha at Constantinople in 1714, on 
which he composed chronograms ; he also wrote a poem in defence of his 
orthodoxy which had been impugned (GdOD. iv. pp. 111-12). 

5 Lala-zar, ' abounding in tulips '. 

6 Rakam in original : raqm may allude to the raqm awwal or ' the halo 
of divine glory whence proceeded the spirit of Muhammad' (Redhouse, 
TurJc.-Eng. Lex. p. 983). Eaqim would = ' writer '. 

7 Zinjirll Kim, the prisoners' village. 8 Erdek in original. 

9 Maibaklar, Mybekler in original, apparently for mah-paikar, ' beautiful as 
the moon '. But much more probably the convent of the maqbar-bakji-lar, or 
' watchers of the shrine ' (maqbar) is intended (v. Der Islam, xi. p. 71, citing 
Zenker, ii. p. 870a, s.v. Maqbar). But the convent so named is at Stambul. 



CONVENTS AT CONSTANTINOPLE APP. m 

' Jan-Fida * Takia-s! ', at Qubba Tosh. 

' Dulger-zada 2 Talda-sl, at Beshik Tash. Mondays. 

' Naqshbandi Takia-sl ', in the mosque of Kurshundi Mahsen, 3 

Galata. 
' Naqshbandi Karilar 4 Takia-si ', at Idris Kuski. 

Tuesdays. 

' Kashfl Effendi 5 Takia-si ', in the Keffelle Mosque, 6 at Deragma. 
* Salih Effendi 7 Takia-si ', near Deragman. 
' Chakir Dede Takia-sl ', at Shahzadabashl. Wednesdays. 

Thursdays. 

' Yahya Effendi Hazrateri Takia-si ', outside the Maulavi-khana. 
' Ahmad al-Bukhari 8 Takia-si ', at the Kaban Daklk, 9 Stambul, 

1 Jan-Fida, ' soul-redeeming ' or ' life-ransoming '. Jan Fida (Seelen- 
opfer) was the Kiaya Haram or chief Lady of the Bedchamber of Murad III, 
She was styled Jan-fida Kadun. In 1595 her brother Ibrahim was executed, 
and she herself shared the fate of the rest of Murad's harem IGdOR. ii. 443, 
506, and 599). 

2 Dulgar-zada, 'house-carpenter and builder': apparently styled 
Dulgar-ughlu below. The Dulgerzada family possessed large estates near 
Uskub. To it belonged the poet Sidi or Sidi Chelebi (d. 1521), but he is not 
recorded as a Naqshbandi (GdOD. i; p. 187). A Dulgarzada, Sh. Dulgar- 
zada Muhammad Sidiq Effendi, initiated the poet Mekki into the Naqshbandi 
order, just as Mulla-ud-Din introduced him into that of the Ashrafias (ib. iv. 
p. 196). This appears to be the cloister called Sinsan's at Beshik Tash 
whereof Mustafa, the mystic poet Riza (II.), was Shaikh. His Diwan 
enjoys a great, though perhaps undeserved, reputation, but it is clearly 
notable as an exposition of the Naqshbandi tenets (ib. p. 157 ff.). 

3 For Qurshunlu Makhzan, the old Customs House at Galata. This 
mosque is also called Yer Alti Jami' or ' the Underground Mosque ', and it 
was discovered by a Naqshbandi Shaikh to whom its existence was revealed 
in a dream. But, as F. W. Hasluck showed, it was probably known before 
1640, a century earlier than the alleged revelation. Its claim to be a pre- 
Turkish mosque containing the tomb of ' Abu Suftan Van Arab warrior who 
took part in the first Arab siege of Constantinople, rests on imaginary 
grounds (Annual, B.S.A. xxii. pp. 164-65). 

4 Doubtless Qari-lar, ' professional readers of the Quran '. 
6 Kashfl Eff., v. n. on Kashfl Khalwati. 

6 Sinope had a Kefeli mosque (EvHya, ii. p. 38). Keffelee, apparently 
for Icaff 'AU, ' the hand of 'AH '. Kaffah-lu (Kefeli) would be ' of the town 
of Kaffa '. 

7 Salih Effendi may be the ' great Shaikh and poet Salih (Shahin-dada) ', 
author of the Gulshan-i-asrar. His grandfather Salih had by a Christian 
wife a son, Khudai-dada, who died in 1480. This Salih devoted himself to 
the service of Sh. Saiyid Kamal, sister's son of the great Sh. Amir Sultan. 
But no further details about the younger Salih are given (GdOD. i. p. 140). 

8 A Shaikh Ahmad Bukharl is associated in Turkish folk-lore with a 
Nalin Baba, but both are assigned to the Rifa'I order. The latter performed 
a miracle and then disappeared. Sultan Mahmud I. (1730-54) set out to 



ATP. m CONVENTS AT CONSTANTINOPLE 473 

' Beshikji-zada l Takia-si ', near the Mosque of Bikir Pasha. 

' Samani-zada 2 Takia-si ', at Otlaqji Yokushi. 

' Uluklu Bayir 3 Takia-si ', at Aiyub. 

' Amir Bukhara Takia-si ', at the Otag[q] ji-lar. 

' Sallmia Takia-si ', at Scutari. 

' Sadiq Effendi Takia-si ', at the Alaja Mi'mari, in Scutari. 

' Mudamali-zada 4 Takia-si ', near the Bab-i-humayun, in 

Stambul. 

' Tahir Agha Takia-si ', near Kas ab Bashi Chashma-si. 
' Agha Shaikh Takia-si ', near the Jebbeh Khana. 
' Sa'id Baba Takia-si ', near Khassaki. 
' Deruni B Takia-si ', near Bozdaghan Kemeri. 
' Na'lbar 6 Mehmed Effendi Takia-si ', at Rumeli Hissar. 
' Baba Haidar Takia-si ', near Aiyub. 7 
' Alta Effendi Takia-si ', in Anadoll Bazar. 
' Mehmed Alta Allah Effendi Takia-si ', at Kanlijik. 8 
4 Sa'id! Bey Takia-si ', near Yuksek Qaldirim. 
' Ya'qub-zada Takia-si ', near Baila. 
' Sallm Baba Takia-s! ', at Sultan Tepe-si, Scutari. 
' Dulger-ughlu Takia-si ', near the Khaffaf-khana. 
' Agvan-lar 9 Takia-si ', near the Chinili Mosque, at Scutari. 

look for him, and riding through all Stambul reached the neighbourhood of 
Aya Qapu where his horse jibbed and refused to go any farther. The 
Sultan had excavations made on the spot, and the body of Sh. Ahmad was 
found there with that of Nairn Baba ten fathoms below the surface. Sh. 
Ahmad's death is placed in 994 H. (A.D. 1586) (H. Schrader, Konstantinopel, 
pp. 83-84). 

9 Qaban Daqiq, the Flour Weigh-House. 

1 Besbikji, ' a maker or seller of cradles '. 

2 Samani, possibly for samanji, ' a dealer in straw ', or for semman, ' a 
maker or seller of clarified butter '. 

3 Uluqlu Bayir, ' channeled waste ' ? 

4 Mudaniali, ' of Modania ', the port of Brusa (Evliya, ii. p. 2). 

B Deruni, ' internal '. With the meaning ' esoteric ' the title was borne 
by three of the earlier poets (16th century) ; none of whom, however, are 
said to have been Naqshbandls (GdOD. ii. pp. 235, 282, and 417). 

6 Na'lbar, ' a maker of horseshoes '. 

7 A Naqshbandi cloister at Aiyub was built by the poet Bahir (IT..), 
Mustafapasha, who was thrice Grand Wazir in the eighteenth century, but 
was eventually beheaded, his head being buried in his convent (GdOD. iii. 
p. 215). 

8 Kanlijik, Qanlijiq ? 

9 Agvan, possibly for dkawan, Pers., 'flower of the arghawan (red) 
'Judas-tree' (Johnson, Pers.-Ar.-Eng. Diet. p. 144, and Redhouse, T.-E. 
Lex. p. 69). Evliya's translator calls it the syringa. It is abundant about 
Brusa, and the annual assembly of Amir Sultan is held when it is in per- 
fection (Travels, ii. p. 5). 



474 CONVENTS AT CONSTANTINOPLE APP. m 

THE QADIRIS 

Fridays. 

Yahya Effendi x Convent, at Beshik Tash. 
Convent called the ' Hakim-ughlu 'AH Pasha', 2 Stambul. 
Convent called ' Fauri ', 3 at Bulbul Dara-sT, near Aiyub. 
Convent called ' Piali Pasha 4 Takia-sT ', near the Oq Maidan 

(archery ground), 5 behind the Navy Yard. 
' Rasmi 6 Takia-sl ', near the Adrianople Gate, Stambul. 
' 'All Baba Takia-si ', near Piali Kosha. 

1 Yahya Effendi, apparently also affected by the Rifa'is, was by origin 
of Trebizond and a foster-brother of Sulaiman, the Sultan, who had his son 
Mustafa put to death, an act which Yahya Effendi sturdily condemned. 
Known in poetry as Mudarris, ' the professor ', he died in A.D., 1571 after 
he had beautified the walk above Beshiktash (Hammer-Purgstall, GdOD. 
ii. p. 343). Evliya records, in his description of Trebizond, that " Sulaiman 
(the Great) . . . was the apprentice of a Greek called Constantine, who was 
the foster-brother of Yahya Effendi, who is buried at Beshik-tash " (Travels, 
ii. p. 48). Like Selim I., Sulaiman the Magnificent learned the art of a 
goldsmith from the famous workers in that art at Trebizond. 

2 Hakim-ughli, ' the doctor's son ', was a poet (Hammer-Purgstall, 
GdQD. ii.'p. 409). 

3 The poet Paurl, 'the flowing', was originally -a Christian slave, who 
became. a Moslem with the name of Ahmad b. 'Abdullah, and devoted 
himself' to the spiritual life at the behest of Muhyi-ud-Dln al-Arabi, who 
appeared to him in a dream. He died in 1570 at Damascus (GdOD. ii. 499). 

4 Evliya informs us that this convent lay in a valley. It was sur- 
rounded by walls, and held, in its two storeys, 200 men. Handicraftsmen 
were there lavishly feasted (Travels, i. pt. 2 p. 46). This foundation would 
assign the great Koja Piala Pasha, the High Admiral who possessed 12,000 
slave-prisoners, to the Qadiris. However this may be, he continued Qasim 
Pasha's work and made his new suburb a Turkish Greenwich. 

5 At Oq Maidan Muhammad II. built the old convent for the guild of the 
bowmen ; it was renewed by Bayazid II. and by Mustafa Pasha under 
Murad IV. In a spacious valley the bowmen, disciples of Sa'd Wakkass, 
their saint, assembled for archery. This convent must be the half -ruined 
Kamankash Dargahi mentioned by Schrader (Konstantinopel, p. 30). In 
1818 its Shaikh was the Binyusji Hafiz Effendi, so entitled from his prowess. 

6 Rasmi, apparently distinct from the Shaikh Rasmi of the Qadiris 
(v. p. 476 infra). This title was borne by at least four Turkish poets, of 
whom Rasmi (IV.) Sa'd Muhammad, son of Akhi Mahmud, the Achiq-bash, 
or ' bare-headed ', was a NaqshbandT, and Rasmi (IV.) a Khalwati darvish 
(GdOD. iii. pp. 464 and 578). The former died in 1666, the latter in 1697. 
A KiridI Rasmi or ' Rasmi of Crete ' wrote a Turkish Huruf'i treatise called 
the 'Uyun al-Hidayat, but he seems to have been a Baqtash (J.R.A.S., 1907, 
p. 563). Jacob suggests that his title was taken from Retyno, or Rasmo, 
on the north coast of Crete (Abhandl. der K. Bayer. Alcademie der Wiss., 
1909, p. 9). 



m CONVENTS AT CONSTANTINOPLE 475 

Terabi Takia-si V near the Navy Yard. 

Kiurukjl 2 Takia-si ', at the Asmali Zokak, in the Lalazar meadow. 

Saturday. 

Pashmakjl 3 Takia-si ', at Kuchuk Piali Pasha [in Qasim Pasha]. 

Sundays and Wednesdays. 
Yarmaji Baba 4 Takia-si ', at Liman Pasha, Scutari. 
Shaikh Mehmed Khifaf 5 Takia-si', at Balji 6 Yokushi, in 

Kuchuk Hammam. 

Ghausi Effendi 7 Takia-si', near the convent called Mimar 
Arzasi. 

1 Qalandar Turabi of Qastamuni, teacher of the unfortunate prince Jam, 
who died in 1495, seems to be meant (Babinger, in Der Islam, xi. p. 16, 
citing Evliya, i. p. 385). Prince Jam was the brother of Bayazid II., and 
;hey were the sons of Muhammad II. by a French princess according to 
many (? Christian) monks and patriarchs whom Evliya met on his journey 
;o Vienna in 1663. The tale may have originated in the prince's captivity 
m France (Evliya, i. pt. 1 p. 40, and pt. 2 p. 23). 

Turabi the poet wrote his verses on the walls of convents and taverns, 
slept in graves and wandered in the wastes (Hammer-Purgstall, GdOD. 
i. p. 214). Evliya merely says he was famous for his religious hymns 
[Travels, i. pt. 2 p. 1). Hasluck describes him as a fifteenth-century darvesh 
noted for his liberal views to religions outside Islam. Near Larnaca is a 
small mosque called the Arab Mosque by the Moslems and by the Greeks 
Saint Arab. The saint is now worshipped by Muhammadans as Turabi 
and by Christians as S. Therapion (Annual, B.S.A. xxii. p. 170). This 
saint's real name has not come down to us. Turab denotes ' dry earth ', 
and Evliya's translator states that turba, ' a mound of earth ', is derived 
from it. But the precise significance of Turabi as a title is obscure. The 
people of Morocco trace the four temperaments of men to the elements, and 
thus a turabi is a " stiller, halter Mensch " (M. Quedenfeldt, Verhandlungen 
der Berliner Gesellschaft fur Anthropologie, 1886, p. 671). The term is 
derived from turab, ' earth '. For Abu Turab as one of the names of 'All 
v, note on p. 396. Turab-i-layyin = ' moist earth ', i.e. the existence of God, 
'wujud ' (Wilberforce Clarke, Hafiz, i. p. 11). 

2 Kiurukjl would mean a maker or seller of bellows, but Redhouse has 
no such word. It is probably a' mistake for kiurekji, ' a maker or seller of 
oars or shovels ', ' an oarsman or rower ' (Turlc.-Eng. Lex. p. 1587). Or it 
might be for kurkji, ' fur-merchant ' (of. Evliya, i. pt. 2 p. 204). The fur- 
merchants formed an important guild, and its members were dressed like 
pens and divs, or represented captive animals in the annual" procession of 
the guilds. 

3 Peshmaqji, Evliya translates ' makers of women's shoes ' : bashmaq 
or -aq is a ' shoe '. 

4 Yarmajl, ? yarimji, ' metayer ' tenant. 

5 Khifaf for khaffaf, ' shoe-merchants ' (Evliya, i. pt. ii. p. 210), 

6 Balji, ' a dealer in honey '. 

7 Ghausi, apparently Ghausi Ahmad-dada, who entered on a spiritual 
life at Brusa and became Shaikh of the convent at Galata in 1668. . He died 
in 1697 (QdOD. iii. p. 579). 



476 CONVENTS AT CONSTANTINOPLE APP. in 

' Hamdi Effendi x Takia-si ', at Sinan Pasha's. 

' Haidar Dada Takia-si ', near the Serach-(Saraj-) khana (saddlery 

mart). 

' Hilim 2 Gulem Takia-si ', Zinjirli Kiui, at Scutari. 
' Jadid Haji Dada Takia-si ', in Tunus Bagh, at Scutari. 
4 'Abd-ul-Salam Takia-si ', in Khwas Kiui. 
' Tashji 3 Takia-si ', in Qasim Pasha, in the lot called Bab-i-Sail. 
' Shaikh Khalil Effendi Takia-si ', near the Altl Mermer (' Six 

Marble Columns '). 

' NizamT-zada Takia-si ', near the Shahr Amini. Mondays. 

* Paik Dede 4 Takia-si ', at the Silivria Gate. 
' Chekeh-zada Takia-si ', near EskI 'AH Pasha. 
' Shaikh 'Umr Effendi Takia-si ', at Haji Ilyas, near the Egri 

Qapu-su, Stambul. 

' Tashji Takia-si ', near Daud Pasha Eskele-si. 
' Qadiri Takia-si ', near Chagala-zada Sarai. 

Tuesday. 
1 Isma'il Rumi Hazrateri 5 Takia-si ', Top Khana, called also 

Bakadir Khana. 
' Kartal Ahmad Effendi 6 Takia-s! ', at Bazarbashl, Scutari. 
4 Mahmud Effendi Takia-si ', at Aiyub, near the Dabag Khana. 7 

Wednesdays. 
1 Shaikh Rasmi Takia-si ', at the Qara Gumruk, in Stambul ; 

also called Qubba Kollak. 
' Ramli 8 Takia-si ', near Shahr Ammi. 
' Yannik 9 Takia-si ', at Ferhad Agha in Qasim Pasha. 
' Qadiria Takia-si ', at Top Khana. 

* 

1 Hamdi, ' the praised ', a title borne by some ten Turkish poets. Of 
these, only one, Muhammad Effendi, judge of Rumili, bore the latter title. 
He died in 1694, but appears to have had no bent towards mysticism. 
Hamdi I., a son of Aq Shams-ud-Dln, can hardly have been styled Effendi. 
Hamdi II., a descendant of Shaikh Sa'di, was precentor in the Mosque of 
Ay a Sofia. Hamdi VIII. had but a brief connexion with Sinan-Pasha's 
college at Beshik Tash (QdOD. iv. p. 42). 

a ? Halim, ' gentle '. 

3 Tashji, ' stone-worker '. 

4 Paik, ' a messenger ', ' a member of the Sultan's body-guard '. 
6 Hazrateri, apparently for Hazratlari, ' His Highness '. 

6 Qartal, ' the vulture's feather used to feather an arrow '. Qartal- 
dada was a dervish of Laranda, the son of a dervish and brought up as 
one, who took the poetic name of Deli-dada (the insane or ecstatic). 1 His 
poetry is much esteemed by the Maulavis (Hammer-Purgstall, QdOD. iii. 
p. 125). 

7 Dabag, dabbagh, ' tanner ' : -khana, ' tanyard '. 

8 Eamli, possibly the talcia of the Soothsayers, ' rammali ', Their 
patron is Imam 'Ali, whose divination is famous by the name of raml 
(Evliya, i. pt. 2 p. 114). 

9 Yaniq, ' burnt ' 



APP. in CONVENTS AT CONSTANTINOPLE 477 

' Nabati 1 Takia-si ', at Top Khana. 

' Mu'bir 2 Hasan Takia-si ', at Qasim Pasha. 

'Dibili 3 Kala Ahmad Effendi Takia-si', near the newMaulavi- 

khana. 

' Shaikh Tai Effendi Takia-si ', near Khassakl. Thursdays. 

' Haji Ilias Takia-si! ', near the Egri Qapu, at Batgan. 

THE RIFA'IS 

Fridays. 
Convent called Qubba (' the dome '), near Sultan Muhammad II.'s 

Mosque in Constantinople. 
' Alaja * Masjid Takia-si ', near the Lenkeh [Langa] Bey [Yen! 

Qapu] Gate at Marjamak. 
' Sherbetdar 5 Takia-si ', in the quarter called Fana'i, at the 

Kassaki meadow. 

' 'AIT Kuzi 6 Takia-si ', at Telurkluk in Qasim Pasha. Saturdays. 
' Shaikh Kamil Effendi Takia-si ', at Avret Bazar, Stambul. 
'Birbir-lar 7 Shaikh! 'Ottoman 8 Effendi Takia-si ', at Bayazid 

Agha Mahallasi Top Qapu. 

Sundays. 

' Sachl! Effendi Takia-si ', near the Chiraghj! [' candlestick- 
dealer's'] fountain, at Katchuk [? Kuch.uk, ' Lesser '], Mustafa 

Pasha. 
' Kukji-zada 9 Takia-si ', at the New (Yeni) Gate. It is the 

' Tarsus 10 Takia '. 
' Toigar Tepesi n Takia-si ', Scutari. Mondays. 

' Yahya Effendi Takia-si ', at Aiyiib : also known as the ' Hasib 

Effendi Takia-s! '. 

1 Nabati, ' Botanical '. An early poet with this title left mystical 
verses, but nothing seems known about his sect, but as he imitated the poems 
of Alahi he may have been a Naqshbandi. A descendant of the White 
Sheep dynasty, his death was a mystery (GdOD. i. p. 309). 

2 Mu'bir, mu'abbir, ' who explains, a soothsayer ' : a Mu'abbir Ibrahim 
is noted by Evliya as having a convent in Qasim Pasha (Travels, i. 2 p. 45). 

^ )a Dibili, ? deble, duble, ' abscess '. 
- * Alaja, ' striped '. 

5 Sherbetdar, " a servant specially charged to prepare sweet beverages " 
(Bedhouse, p. 1121). 

6 Kuzi, possibly from Pers. kuz, 'hunch-back' (cf. Qanbvir 'AH, 'All 
the hunch-back : Evliya, i. pt. 2 p. 109). But cf. qoz, { walnut ' and Qozli 
Baba, a follower of Abu 'Ishaq Kazeruni, so named because he wore a chaplet 
of walnuts ( Der Islam, ix. p. 224). Qozi, pron. qozu, = ' lamb '. 

7 Birbir-lar, from berber, ' barber ', who was also a bone-setter, a dentist, 
and cupper. 

8 'Ottoman ='Usman. 

9 Kukji, ' herbalist '. 

10 Tarsus, in Cilicia. 

11 Toighar, which is on rising ground (tepe) t 



478 CONVENTS AT CONSTANTINOPLE APP. m 

' Kara Sariklez * Takia-si ', near Mufti Hammam. 
' Jindi Harem 2 Takia-si ', at Altl Mermer, 

Wednesdays. 
' Shaikh Halwal 3 Takia-si ', at the Bozdaghan Keme'ri [Aqueduct 

of Valen]. 

' Shaikh Nun 4 Takia-si ', in the Dabagh-lar Maidan, Scutari. 
' Khoja-zada Takia-si ', near Top Khana, at Firuz Agha. 

Thursdays, 
' Al Yanak 'AH Effendi 5 Takia-si ', in the Mosque of Zehkerji, 6 

at Lalazar. 

' Mehmed Shamsi Effendi Takia-si ', near Yen! Baghcha. 
' Rifa'i Takia-si ', at the Eski Manzil-khana, at Scutari. 



THE SA'DIAS 

Fridays. 

' Convent of 'Qara Mustafa ', near Aq Sarai, Stambul. 
' Shaikh Ghan! 7 Takia-si ', near the Tabutji-lar, 8 Scutari. 
' Chakir Agha 9 Takia-si ', near the Salma Tomruk, 10 Stambul. 

1 Possibly for Qara-sariqlu, ' black -hatted ', i.e. the civil functionaries. 
' 2 Jindi, = ' an expert horseman ' in Turk. Harm, the sacred territory of 
Makka or Madina : harm ' pyramid '. 

3 Shaikh Halwal : 'Umr Halwal is patron-saint of the pastry cooks, 
ghurabia, and is buried at Basra ; while Halwal 'Umr, whose tomb is un- 
known, is patron-saint of the bakers of gulaj (in Bohemian, kolatsh) (Evliya, 
i. p. 2). 

* Shaikh Nuri. At least five Turkish poets bore the title of Nuri, 
' enlightened % and of these two earned that of Shaikh as well : (i) Shaikh 
'Abd-ul-Ahmad, son of the judge Safayi Mustafa, grandson of Isma'il the 
mufti of Siwas, and sister's son to the Shaikh Siwasi Effendi, was born in 
1594. In 1622 he succeeded to the Shaikhship of the convent of Muhammad- 
Pasha (in Scutari), and was also appointed preacher in various mosques. 
Dying in 1647, he was buried at Aya Sofia near the mausoleum of Sh. 
Siwasi (CfdOD. iii. p. 401). He must not be confused with the famous 
Shaikh 'Abd-ul-Ahad Nuri, or with Nuri Effendi, or with Nuri VIL, the 
darvish Ahmad. 

6 Al Yanak, ' red cheek ' (yanaq). 

6 Zehkerji, probably for zalcMreji, ' grain-merchant '. 

7 Sh. Ghani may be Muhammad 'Usman al-Amir Cham, born in 1793 
in the Hijaz, d. in 1853. He founded an order named after him, but also 
called by himself the Khatimia or ' the sealing '. Though not an off-shoot 
of the Sa'dias it may be under their protection at Constantinople (E.R.E. 
10, p. 726). It affects white emblems (Der Islam, vi. p. 154). 

8 Tabutjilar, ' coffiin-makers '. 

9 Chakir, probably for Chdqir, ' falcon ' (of. Shahbaz. Ghakir would 
mean ' servant'). 

10 Salma Tomriiq, ' house of detention ' or ' the stocks '. 



APP. in CONVENTS AT CONSTANTINOPLE 479 

' Kantarji x Takia-s! ', at Dolma Baghcha. 2 

Saturdays. 

' Balchik 3 Takia-sl ', at Daftardar Eskele-si [' landing-stage '], 
in Qasim Pasha. 

Sundays and Wednesdays. 

' Yagji-zada 4 Takia-sl ', at the wharf of Bulban, Scutari. 
' Kirpas-si Mustafa Effendi 5 Takia-sl ', at Aiyub. 

Sundays. 
' Shaikh 'AH Effendi Takia-si ', near the Otagji-lar 6 Badawi 7 

Takia-si, at Tatavala. 
' Sanjaqdar 8 Khair-ud-Dm 9 Takia-sl ', near the Chinar [' Plane'] 

Mosque. 
' Arab Hasan Effendi Takia-si ', near the ' Bab [' Gate '] Maulavi- 

khana '. 
' Saif-ud-DIn Effendi Takia-si ', in Chaush Dere, Scutari. 

Mondays. 
' 'Abd-ul-Salam 10 Takia-sl ', near Hasan Pasha Khan : also well 

known under the name of ' Koghaji Shaikh n Takia-s! '. 
' Finduk-zada 12 Takia-sT ', at Yuksik Kalderim. 13 
' Jigerim Dede u Takia-si ', near the Marine Barracks. 
' 'Abd-ul-Baqi Takia-si ', at Qad! KiuT. 
' Badr-ud-Dm-zada-lar 1B Takia-si ', at Psamathia. 

Tuesdays. 

1 Qantarji, ' maker or seller of steelyards ', ' a public weigh-master ' 
(Redhouse, p. 1476). 

2 Tolma Baghcha, ' the filled-in garden ', a suburb on the European side 
of the Bosphorus, the site of a former harbour for galleys. 

3 Balchiq, ' plaster '. 

4 Yaghji, ' a dealer in oil, butter, or the like '. 

5 ? Kirpasi, from kirpas or Jcirbas, ' linen cloth '. 

6 Otagji-lar, for Otaqji-lar. Tatavala is one of the ' bad places ' of 
Evliya (i. pt. 2 p. 109). 

7 Badawl, here again the sub-title suggests that the convent is really 
a Badawia-Ahmadia foundation, protected by the Sa'dia. 

8 Sanjaqdar, ' standard-bearer '. 

9 Hyred Deen in original. 

10 A Sidi 'Abd-us-Salam al-Asmar (' the dusky ') is mentioned by the 
author of a treatise on the doctrines of the Ahmadla (Der Islam, vi. 
p. 152). 

11 Qoghaji, ' a bucket-maker or seller '. 

12 Funduq, Turk. findiq= l nut ' and findiqji would mean ' nutseller '. 

13 Yuksek, ' high ' : Qaldirim, ' pavement '. The Yusik Qaldirim is a 
main thoroughfare leading up the hill from the suburb of Galata to Pera. 

14 Jigerim could only mean apparently ' my heart ' (lit. ' my liver '). 

15 A Badr-ud-Dln-zada, named Maulana Muhammad Amin, born in 
Shirwan, is buried near the convent of Qaraja Ahmad Sultan (Evliya, i. 
pt. 2 p. 83). But the Egyptian affinities of the Sa'dias suggest that the 
Badr-ud-Dln alluded to is possibly the one described on p. 157 supra. 



480 CONVENTS AT CONSTANTINOPLE APP. in 

'Mehmed Effendi 1 Takia-si', at Qara Gumruk; called also 

' Ejder 2 Effendi Takia-si ' . 
' Qapu Agha-sl Isma'il Agha Talda-si ', nea'r Agha Hammam, 

Scutari. 

' Shaikh Jauhar Takia-si ', at the Oq-Maidan. 
' Kullami Takia-sl ', in the Charsu, 3 and at the Yaila. 
' Shaikh Amin Effendi Takia-si ', in the Pashmaqji Chayir. 
' Haziri-zada Takia-si', at Sudluja. Wednesdays. 

' 'Abid Chelebi* Takia-si ', near Kazi Chashma. Thursdays. 

' Tashll Burun 5 Takia-sT ', near Aiyub. 
' At Yamez Takia-si ', near Psamatia, Stambul. 
' Khalfl Pasha Takia-sl ', near the wharf of Daud Pasha, Stambul. 
4 Sultan 'Usman Takia-si ', at Sira Servi-lar, 6 in the Otag jl-lar. 

THE SHAZILIS 

' Shazili Takia-si ', near 'AH Bey village. Mondays. 

' Shazili Takia-si ', at the Kaban Dakik, Stambul. Thursdays. 

THE SUNBULIS 

Fridays. 

Convent at Kioja ' Mustafa Pasha ', Stambul (cf. p. 85). 
Convent of ' Sinan Erdebeli ', near the Mosque of St. Sophia. 
' Balat Takia-si ', near the Balat Mosque, 7 Stambul. 
' Kashfi Ja'far Effendi 8 Takia-si ', at Fundukli. Saturday. 

1 A Mebmed Baba has a turba at Stambul. He was the Saqqa-bashi 
of Sultan Muhammad II., and accompanied his army as. water-carrier, 
having an inexhaustible cup of copper. He fell at the taking of Stambul, 
and was buried where he was slain. His shrine is visited by all in misfortune, 
and he is a revealer of fate. But his special function is to bring rain in 
times of drought in response to vows (F. Schrader, Konstantinopel, p. 98). 
This seems to account for his other name, ' the Dragon saint '. 

2 Ezhder, ' dragon '. 

3 Charshu, ' market-place '. Yaila, ' summer pasture '. 

4 Shaikh 'Abid Chelebi, a shaikh of the time of Sultan Bayazid II., 
and a descendant of Jalal-ud-Din Rumi (Evliya, i. pt. 2 p. 103). 

5 Tashll Burun, ' rocky point '. 

6 Sira Servi-lar, apparently for Sireh SelvMar, ' the row of cypresses ' ; 
selvi, Turk, (vulg.) for Pers. sarv, ' cypress '. But von Hammer gives Serai 
selwleri, ' the Cypresses of the Serai ', as one of the quarters of Eyub (GdOR. 
x. p. 648). 

7 Balat, ' palatium '. The Balat Qapu was so called after the palace oi 
the Blachernae, which was situated there (E.I. i. p. 873). 

s Kashfi, ' the holder of revealed truth ', a title borne by five Turkish 
poets, none of whom are recorded as mystics. But the first and last holders 
of the title claimed to have been the first to hold the censer at the building 
of Bayazid's mosque. Hence Kashfi I. deemed that he scattered spiritual 
incense as others did actual incense (GdOD. i. p. 284, and ii. p. 515). 



APP. in CONVENTS AT CONSTANTINOPLE 481 

Sundays and Wednesdays. 

' Bairam Pasha Takia-si ', near the Khassaki Mosque, Stambul. 
' Mir Akbar Takia-si ', near the Seven Towers. 'Sundays. 

' Safwati Takia-si ', at the Agha Chayir [* meadow '] near the 
Selivria Gate. 

. Mondays. 

' Haji Avhad l Takia-si', near the Yadl Kuli or ' Seven Towers '. 

Tuesdays. 
' Shah Sultan Takia-si', at Baharla, called also 'Nijati 8 Effendi 

Takia-si '. 

' Ibrahim Pasha Takia-si ', at Qum Qapu, in the Mosque Nishanji. 
' Koruk 3 Takia-si ', near Mulla Korani. 

' Isa-zada Takia-si ', near Deragman. Wednesdays. 

' Sirkaji * Talia-si ', at Jubbali [Jubba 'All], Yeni Qapu-su. 
' Mimar Takia-si ', at Mimar Charsu. 

Thursdays. 

' Merkez Effendi 5 Hazreteri Takia-si ', outside the Maulavi- 
khana. 

1 Avhad, ' unique ' ; Ar. awhad. Sa'id Husain, the poet Auhad Shaikh!, 
devoted himself to the service of Sa'id 'Abd-ul-Ahad, Shaikh of the Khal- 
watis at Constantinople, and was preacher in the convent of al-Haj Auhad 
near the Seven Towers in 1655. He died in 1693 (QdOD. iii. p. 563). The 
convent must thus be older. But the title al-Haj or Haji does not appear 
to have been borne by the eminent mystic poet of Persia, Auhad-ud-Din of 
Rinnan, who actually associated with Sh. Muhyi-ud-Dui ibn ul-'Arabl, and 
was doubtless influenced by him (E. G. Browne, Lit. Hist, of Persia, ii. p. 500). 
A pupil of Shihab-ud-Dln Suhrawardi, he died in 536 H. =A.D. 1141 (Huart, 
Saints des Dervishes tourneurs, i. pp. 345-46). 

2 Najati, ' the possessor of salvation ', a title borne by three Turkish poets, 
including the great Isa, of Amasia, who died in A.D. 1508. He retired to a 
cloister, or rather a dwelling, which he built for himself near the tomb of 
Shaikh Wafa (QdOD. i. pp. 162 and 166). Though his adherence to the 
Sunbulis is not there recorded, he may well have joined the order whose . 
founder died in 1529. 

3 Koruk, kyurek, ' oar '. 

4 Sirkaji, ' vinegar-merchant '. A Sirkeji talcia is one of the most ancient 
in Constantinople, founded when 'Aiyub besieged the city. It was afterwards 
turned into a nunnery, but made a convent again when Muhammad took it. 
Its first Shaikh was Uwais (Evliya, i. pt. 1 p. 173). 

6 Merkez = ' centre '. Le Chatelier mentions the Khalwatia Sunbulia 
'Merkasia' (Confreries Mus. du Hedjaz, p. 50). Shaikh Muslah-ud-Dui 
Effendi, disciple and son-in-law of Muslah-ud-Dln Merkez, head of the 
Khalwatis, is buried near his master outside the New Gate. For a tale 
concerning Merkez see Evliya, i. pt. 2 p. 20. Coffee made with water 
I from a well dug at his instance is a cure for fever. He said, " I am a spring 
of reddish water ..." and seems to have been a water-diviner. Markaz 
i Effendi was, however, more than a mere miracle-monger, as he busied 
| himself in the instruction of the poor (F. Schrader, Konstontinopel, p. 107), 



482 CONVENTS AT CONSTANTINOPLE APP. m 



THE 'USHSHAQIS 

* Mahmud Effendi Takia-sl ', at GechajMar. 1 Tuesdays. 

Thursdays. 
' Khussam-ud-Dm 2 'Ushshaqi Takia-sl ', at Qasim Pasha. 

To these must now be added the following Baqtash shrines, 
restored of recent years : 

1. The takia at Merdiven Keui, said to contain the grave of 
Shah Kulu Sultan, an ancient warrior-saint who is said to have 
fought against Constantine, whence it is called his dargahi. It 
also contains the grave of Azbi Chaush. The takia possesses a 
library. 

2. The Chamlija takia, of Haji Tahir Baba. 

The above are on the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus. On the 
European side are : 

3. The takia of Parushan Baba at Kazli Chashma, near Yedi 
Kula. Destroyed by Mahmud II. it was refounded by Parushan 
Baba, who died in 1273 H. (A.D. 1857). 

4. 'The takia near Takiaji Mahallasi outside the Top Qapu, 
refounded by 'Abdullah Baba after the Revolution of 1908. 

5. The takia of Hasib Baba in Kara Agach. 

6. The takia called Badamli Dargah, in Sudlija, founded by 
al-Hajj Ibrahim Munir Baba at the close of the nineteenth century. 

7. Ayub. 

8. Rumeli Hissar. 

Besides these eight takias there is the Iranlaryn takia-si at the 
Saiyid Ahmad deresi, in. the great cemetery, only used at the 
Muharram. 

NOTE. The above list is from R. Tschudi's App.Jto Jacob's Die Bektaschijje. 
It agrees in all essentials with that given by Hasluck in Annual, B.S.A. xxi. 
pp. 99-100, but omits the takia at Kariadin (above Eyoub), probably the 
takia, at Ayiib of Tschudi's list. Hasluek gives Shah Kulu's name as 



where a picturesque account of the shrine and the beliefs attached to it will 
be found. The Sunbuli monastery of Markaz (' centre ') Effendi, founded 
by Shaikh Muslih-ud-Dm Markaz Musa, who died in A.D. 1552, is one of the 
most important in the city (E.I. i. p. 872). 

1 Gechajl, ' a maker or seller of felt ', from keche, ' felt '. 

2 Khussam-ud-Din may be for Husam-ud-Dm, ' Sword of the faith ', 
or for Khussan-ud-Dln, ' Stars about the North Pole '. Khasm = ' antago- 
nist ' (Redhouse, T.-E. Lex. pp. 783, 846, and 850). In Evliya's day the 
convent of 'Ushshaqi Effendi, ' near the garden of Haji Haidar ', existed at 
Qasim Pasha (Travels, i. 2 p. 45). The roses of the vineyard of the Bosnians 
were " a blessing from Sh, Boshnak, a disciple of the order " (p. 46). 



APP. in CONVENTS AT CONSTANTINOPLE 483 

Shahkouli. He says that the takias at Yedi Koule and Top Qapu are for 
celibates, and that in that at Bumeli Hissar the shaikhs are hereditary and 
of Albanian descent. It seems that when the takias were destroyed the 
graves were generally spared. Even that of Ahmad Baba Shahld is shown 
at Scutari. He was post-nashm of the takia at Merdiven Keui, and was put 
to death when the Janissaries were suppressed. 



INDEX 



'Aba, cloak, 201, 211, 212, 273 ; -posh, 

181 n. 

Abbaji al-Haji 'Abdullah Agha, 228 
'Abbas, Imam, 372 
Abbassides, 332 
'Abd, 9 

Abdal, 92-3, 165, 203, 225 ; -I, 298 ; 
Kumral, 220 ; Musa, 167, 189, 215, 
219, 220 
Abdast, 177 

'Abdl Effendi, 27.2 ; Bey Sultan, 219 
'Abd-ul-Baqi, La'li Effendizada, 232 
'Abd-ul-Fatan Ahmad Badawl, 268 
'Abd-ul-Gham Plr Babal, 268 
'Abd-ul-Husain Shazili, 268 
'Abd-ul-Jabbar, 268, 372 
'Abd-ul-EMliq Ghajdawam, 141 
'Abd-ul-Latif, 142 

'Abdullah: al-Lahi, Shaikh, 142; 
Ansarl, 96 ; Mirza b. Ibrahim b. 
M. Shahrukh, 148-9 ; b. 'Umr al- 
Khaftab, 32, 412 ; v. Ibn 'Abbas 
'Abd-ul-Muttalib, 43 

' Abd-ul-Qadir, 51 n., 52, 53, 84 ; Sultan-al- 
Aulia, 89, 100, 102, 104, 105, 109-13, 
267, 281, 286, 292, 318, 372; 
Baqtash, 218 

'Abd-ur-Bahman, 361 ; Asfarani, 142 
Abel, Habil, 35 
'Abid, 222 

Abraham, 8, 22, 23 ff., 24, 44 
Abu 'All Muhammad b. al-Qasim al- 
Rudbari, 141, 156-7 ; b. al- 
Katib, 157 
Abu Bakr, Caliph, 49, 51, 58, 74-5, 78, 

168, 266, 269, 271, 413 ; Nassaj, 

157 ; ash-Shibll, 50, 84 ; 

Wafa'i, 269 
'Abudiyat, 9 

'Abu Hamfa, 79, 80, 84, 226, 267, 380 
Abu Hashim, 8 
Abu Huraira, 32, 417 
Abu Jahal, 418 

Abu'l Barakat, 157 ; Fath as-Sa'idl, 
157 ; Fazl, 157 ; Hasan All b. 
Ahmad al-Khurqani, 141/156, 167 ; 
al-Ash'arl, Sh., 379 ; al-Husrl, 157 
Abu'l Mubaiik Mukharriml, 51, 101 



Abu'l Najib Suharwardi, 142, 158, 159 

Abu'l Qasim, 403 ; al-Gurgani, 156, 

157 

Abu'l Rahanain, 396 
Abu'l Zahil, 32 
Abu Madyan, 157 
Abu Mansur Mataridl, 379 
Abu Muslim ibn 'Uqil, 90, 176 
Abu Qubais, Mt., 40 
Abu Sa'd, 157 
Abu Sa'Id Mirza, 149 
Abu Saud Mufti, 230 
Abu Talib, 388-95 

Abu 'Ubaida, 402 ; 'TJsman . . . al- 
Maghribl, 156, 557 ; Yazid (Bayazld) 
. . . al-Bistaml, 158 

Achik Hajim Sultan, 188-9 ; Kolu , 

219 

Adab-i-tariqat, 234 

Adam, 8, 16, 17, 18, 20, 38, 39 ; -ites, 11 
Adham, 183 

Adhami, 81, 183, 267 ; dress of, 274, 288 
al-'idil, 'idl, 132 
'Afuw, 134 

'Ahd, 110, 211 ; i-wafa, for wafa-i- 

'ahd, 192 
. Ahkam, 172 ; -i-sharl'at, 233, 234 

Ahl-i-'aba, 211-12; i- Allah, 380; 

i-'ashq, 239 ; i-hait, 211 ; 

-i-dard, 178; -i-fana, 236, 239; 

-i-fazl, 223 ; -i-hal, 336, 339 ; 

i-haqq, 326-7 ; i-haqiqat, 327, 

385; -i-Islam, 386; -i-jabrl, 

377 ; i-Kuz!n, 380 ; i-ma'rifat, 

225, 327 ; -i-mu'tazall, 377 ; -i- 
najat, 380 ; -i-qadrl, 377 ; -i- 
suluk, 213, 338-9 ; -i-sharl'at, 327 ; 

-i-sunnat, 379; -i-tanasukh, 
380; -i-tariqat, 327'; -i- 
tasarruf, 203, 336 ; -i-tauhid, 233 ; 

-i-tawakkul, 240 

Ahmad, 73 ; al-Badawl, 89 ; ud- 
dln(?),351; Ghazali, 157; Jur- 
qani, 142; -ur-Eifa'I, 89, 281; 

Yassawi, 149, 167, 170, 214 
Ahriman, 66 

'Ain-i-jama', 211-12 ; -i-sharlf, 253 
Ak . See Aq 



485 



486 



INDEX 



Akhlan, 165 

Akhiar, 203 

Akhir, al, 133 ; -at, 213 

Alal-ud-Daulat Samnani, 142; -ud- 
Dln, 284 ; -ud-Dln al-' Attar, 142 

'Alam-i-ajsam, 212 ; -i-arwah, 99, 
256; -i-khiyal, 47, 328; -i- 
misal, 47, 212; -i-malkut, 212; 
i-nasut, 212 

Alast, 202 

Al-baghl, 178, 180 

Alexander the Great, 176 

'AlJ, 8, 29, 32, 37, 49, 50, 52, 58, 63, 71, 
76, 77, 78, 89, 90, 97, 98, 112, 120, 121, 
131, 137, 140, 141, 168, 173, 176, 178, 
179, 180, 181. 184, 187, 190, 192, 199, 
200, 201, 202, 207, 208, 209, 211, 243, 
259, 266, 267, 271, 286, 287, 293, 297 ; 
a Darvish, 309 ff., 324, 325, 326, 327, 
335, 345, 346, 348, 384; biography, 
388-434; al-'Ala, 223; al- 
Damashkl, 110; Farmadhi, 141, 
167 ; ibn Musa ur-Riza, 193 ; 
KakM, 194; b. Sa'ld Lala, 142, 
160 ; Ramitam, 141 ; Riza, 141, 
193 ; al-Wahidl, 102 

Alif, 173, 207; 1, 181; -lam- 

and, 124, 126, 200, 251 

Allides, 53, 63, 76, 78, 325, 326 

'All-illahls, 223, 326, 327 

'Alim, 131 

'Alim Sinan Urnim, 271 

'Aliwia, 168, 194 

Allah, 49, 65, 68-9, 71 ; -u-akbar, 256 

Ami Atia, 415 

Amln, 91, 176 

Amir al-Nuhl, 395; Bukhara, 161; 
Effendl, 161 ; Sultan, 160-61 

Anadur, Khatun, 166, 217 

Inas bin Malik, 412, 428, 431 

'Anaslr, 47, 95 

Ansar, 76, 78 ; -!, 326 

Aq-biyiq. Sultan, 219 

Sqcha, 399 

'Aql, 223 

Aqtab, 225 

Aqwal, 233 . 

'Arajat, 41 

Aran, -ng, 199, 200, 202, 210-11 

'Araqia, 107, 113 

Arbab al-'utum, 225 

Arba'in, 288 

Archangels, 5 

Archin, 252 

Ardablll, 85 



'Arif, 9, 148, 222 ; Reogarl, 141 
Arkan, 172, 237, 243 ; i-Ain, 97, 98 ; 

-i-Aulia, 97-8 
Asadullah, 396 
Asami, 274 
Asbat, 172 

Asfara'inl, 'Abd-ur-Rahman, 142 
Ashab, 78, 137, 192, 205 ; -i-yaqin, 
_146; i-'ilm-i-zahir, 17 
'Ishiq, 100 ; Pashazada, 164 ; -la, 

56, 323 

AshjI-bashi, 276 
Ashrafl, 82, 99, 100, 102, 269, 286 ; 

zada, 102, 105 
Ashrakl, 82 
Ashrami, 100 
Asitania, 291 
Asma, 104, 147 
Asrar, 341-3 ; i-qaza, 235 
Assa, 214 
Astarte, 340 
Atmbodha, 44 

Atwar, 105 ; i-sabi'ah, 235 
Aulia, 7, 119 ff. 

Aurad, 107, 257 ; al-Bahiyat, 140 
Autad, 203 
Auzu billahi, 256 
al-Awwal, 133 
Aya Soflah, 232 
Ayisha, 76, 390 
Azar, 24-5 
Azbl Chaush, 203-5 
al-Azim, 132 
al-AzIz, 131, 106, 247 
'Azlat, 244 
'Azrail, 42 

Baba, 218, 219; Sultan, 219; 

-yl, 82, 268 
Bahur Mirza, 151-3 
Badawl, 51, 60, 82, 89, 209, 286, 455 
al-Badi, 134 
Badr-ud-Dln, us-Sabir, 91 ; of Siinaw, 

157-8 

Bagh, 192, 298 

Baghawl, Imam, 404, 405, 409 
Baharab, 343 
Baha-ud-Din, Muhammad, 140, 141 ; 

Wald, 160 
Bahim Sultan, 188 
Bai', bai'at, 107, 112, 115, 127, 233 
Baidhawl, Qazl, 380 
Bairam, Hajl, 269 ; -I, 61, 82, 227, 

228, 229, 232, 269, 278, 336 ; App. III. 
al-Ba'is, 133 



INDEX 



487 



Bait, al-, 234 ; -al-haram, 26 

Bajl, 165 

Bakjl, 372 

Bakri, 269 ; dress of, 274 

Bal-baghl, 178, 180 

Balim Sultan, 218, 219 

Band, 192 

BanuHasha,66 

Baptism, 7 

Baqa, 240 

al-Baqi, 134 

Baqra, chap. ii. of Quran, 123 

Baraq, 28-9, 416 

Barhan, 403 

al-Barl, 131 

Barq, 28 

al-Barr, 134 

Bartam, 173 

Barzakh, 382 

Bashlr igha, 234-5 

al-BasIr, 132 

al-Basit, 106, 131 

al-Batin, 133 

Bayazld, al-Bistami, 83, 140, 214, 380 ; 

.Sultan, 214 
Be"guins, 356 
Bektash, 43, 47, 53, 57, 62-3, 64, 78, 

115, 120, 162 ff. ; , Hajl, 214 ff. 
Bhagavat, 371 
Bhoharali, 232 
Bina, 172 

Birgahli Effendl, 215 
Bodha, 47 
Brahma, 45, 46, 47 
Buhran, Bam, 401 
Bukma-alif-taj, 167 
Bulaurs, 166 
Burhan-ud-Dm, 283 
Bustami, 81 ; picture of a, 273 
Bustan-al-Khiyal, 162 
Buyun kasmak, 206-7, 252 

Caussin de Perceval, 43-4 

Celibates, 218 

Chahdr Ydr, the, of Shams-ud-DIn, 388 

ChalabI, 217-18 ; Effendi, 291 ; 

Muhammad, 142 
Challik, 187, 197, 198, 201 
Charit, 252 
Charkha, 243 
Chekirka Sultan, 219 
Chilla, 254, 275, 287 
Chiragh, 197 (his), 200 
Chishtl, 94, 371 
Christ, 8 



Christian, 24 ; t>. Burhan 
Communion with God, 2 
Cravana, 46 
Creator, The, 2, 3, 6, 15, 16, 18, 19 

Dahband, 198 

Dalra, 91, 338 

Dalll, 197 

Bar, 195 ; -i-Mansiir, 195, 197 ; 

maidan-tash, 211 ; us-Sur, 91 

Bar durmak, 195 

Darkiah (dargah), 201 

Darvish, 10, 12, 18, 19, 22; derivation 

of, 49, 267 ; darvlshan, 181 

Dasta-gul, 251 
Dastar, 59 
Dasuqi, 51, 60, 61 
Da'ud Yamam, 173 
Daur, 282 
Dede Sultan, 219 
Deity, 12, 14, 18, 19 
Dil-baghi, 178, 180 
Doghll Baba, 220 
Dolaq, 184, 198 
Druze, 78, 121 
Duldul, 180 
Dumli Sultan, 219 
Durmish, 158 

Elements, 4, 47, 95 

Emanation, 7, 10 

Enoch, v. Idrls 

Er Sultan, 160 ; -li-zada, 227 

Esdras, 66 

Ettel tribe, 229 

Faiz-Illah, 218 

Faiz-Ullah, 11, 183 

Fana, 156; ahl-i- , 236, 239, 240; 

-I, 196, 199 
Faqir, pi. fuqira, 49, 105, 119, 164, 266, 

372-3 

Far', 245 ; pi. furu', q.v. 
Fard, 247 
Farld-ud-DIn 'Attar, 7 ., 48, 251 ; 

Shakarganj, B., 217 
Farkat, 149, 150 
Farq, 9 
Far/,, 245, 257 
Fasil Izzat Bey, 222 
Fasiq, 386 
Fatima, 184, 283, 388, 389, 391-7, 399, 

400 ; Baj! , 221 
al-Fattah, 131 
Fazah, 406 



INDEX 



Fazl, 223 

Firdaus, 42 ; -1, 160 
Mrcta-i-najia, 378 
Freemasons, 63, 64, 229 
Furu', 85, 106 
FMSMS al-Hikm, 15 
Fuzla, pi. of fazil, 338 

Gabriel, 5, 25, 28, 30, 31, 39, 40, 49, 395, 
397, 399, 400, 416, 422 

Geikli Baba Sultan, Sh., 219-20 

al-Ghaffar, 131 

al-Ghafur, 132 

Ghaibi, 326 

al-Gham, 134 

Ghaus-i-'alam, 293 

Ghazi, 165, 296 

Ghusul, 197, 245, 246, 394 

Gilim, v. kilim 

God, 2, 3, 10, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 

Gods, 2 

Guilds, 447 

Gul, 99, 100, 101, 102-3, 104-5, 113, 119, 
223, 281 ; al-ward, 105 ; -bank, 
116, 202; -i-gunah, 195; 
Baba, 94, 223 ; dasta , 251 

Gulebi, 402 

Gulshani, 82, 269, 270, 278, 460 ; dress 
of, 274 

Gunah, 195 

Hablb, 416 ; 'AjamI, 50, 156 ; al- 

Ra'1, 157 
Habfl, 35 

Hadayi Mahmud, Sh., 227 
Hadd-ul-Ard, 91 
al-Hadi, 134 
Hadls, 78,- 88, 238, 239, 242, 324, 361, 

411-14 ; gharlb, 412, 414 ; pi., 

-at, 235, 331 
al-Hafiz, 131, 132, 344 
Hagar, 26 ff. 
al-Hai, 47, 133, 106, 275 
Haidar, 389, 395 ; -I, 82, 326 ; 

-la (vest), 178 ; Shaikh , 222 ; 

-us-Sultan, 221-2 

Hajir, v. Hagar ; al-aswad, 40 n. 
Hajj, 39 

al-Hakim, Hakim, 132, 247 
Hakim, bi amr Allah, al-, 78, 121, 325 ; 

-1, 54 
Hakimi, 412 

Hal, 104, 146, 177, 336 ; -at, 281 
Halawi, 181, 182-3 
al-Halim, 132 



Hama'ii, 297, 311 
Hamdl, 278 ; Effendl, 305 
Hamdun, 226, 227 
al-Hamld, 133 

Hamza, Sh., 225 ; awl, 61, 88, 219, 

225 

Hanafi, 79, 379.; -ya, 24 
Hanbal, 80 ; -i, 379 
Hamfite sect, 24, 43-4 
Haqiqat, 104, 126, 144, 196, 329, 377, 

379 

Haqlr, 105 
Haaq, 235, 236, 237, 328 ; al- , 106, 

133, 275 
Haram-i- Ka'ba, 393; -i -Sharif, 

394 

Harid, 147 . 

Hasan, 212; -al-'Askari, 194; 

-al-Bahrl, 50, 428 ; al-Basri, 141, 

225, 266, 331 ; Khoja of Van, 142 ; 
Cholaq Khalwati, 463 ; Gurgani, 
141; Karkhi, 84 ; -1, 126, 179 
Hashim Effendl, Sachli, 228 
Hashish, 14, 340-43 ; Hashashin, 358 
al-Hasib, 132 
Hauz-ul-Hayat, 382 
Hay, 47, 104, 114 
Hazrat-i-asma, 147 
Hegira, 26 
Hell, 10 . 
Hijra, v. Hegira 

Hikm, 15; -at, 414; Hikmat-al- 
Ishrdq, 159 

Himmat Effendi, 228 ; zada, 228 

HindUar takiasl, 371 

Hisham, son of 'Ahd-ul-Malik, 193 

Honarda, 342 

Hosea, 174 

Houri, 391 

Hu, 106, 273, 274, 275, 277-8, 280, 291 ; 

Dost, 210 ; kashan, 295 

Huda, 87 ; -yl, 87 

Hujjat, 400 

Hujra, 251, 254 

Hii-kashan, 295 

Hukum, 172 

Hulalia, 54, 323 

Hurrit, 144 

Hurufl, 223-4 

Husain of Akhlat, 157 

Husain Agha, Haji, 20 ; Mansur, 84 ; 

-ud-DIn Makkai, 91 ; -ud-Din 
'Ushshaql, 271 ; -1, 126, 179 

Husam-ud-Din, 160 
Husha", v. Hosea 



INDEX 



489 



'Ibadat, 222 

Ibaha, 158 

Ibn 'Abbas, 'Abdullah 32, 402, 
402 n. 2, 406, 423, 426 

Ibn 'Isa, 336 

Ibn Malik, 417 

Ibn Maljam, 90 

Ibn 'Umar, 412 

Ibrahim, 23 ff., 207 ; v. Abraham, 
chap. xiv. of Quran, 70 ; -al- 
Ashraml (? -fi) al-Qadiri, 100; 
al-Murtaza, 214; al-Dasuqi, 89; 

b. Adham, 83, 267 ; Gulshanl, 
269 ; Mukarram, S., 214 

Idrls, 159, 174 ; Faqlh, 218 ; Khoja 

,221 

Idrlsl Mulitafl, 88 ; 'All Effendl, 178 
Igithbashi, 82, 270 
Ikhlas, 65, 272 
Ikindl, 254, 259 
Ilahi, ' hymn ', 280 
'Ilm, 47 ; i-batin, and i-zahir, 17 ; 

-i-ramal, 95 ; -i-tarlqat, 377 ; 
1-wujud, 177 

'Ilwan, Sh., 83, 267, 354; -1, 81, 267, 

276, 288, 447-8 
Imam, 78, 325, 412 ; the twelve s, 187, 

192 ff. ; -s, 376, 379-80; -ul- 

Haramain, 393 ; -a, 59, 268 ; -at, 176, 

412 ; Ja'far, 214 
Iman, 386, 395 
'Imran b. Husain, 411 ; Yunuz, 

219 
India, 7 

Insan al-Kamil, 15 n. 
Insila, 334 
Inspiration, 21 
Iqrar, 202, 208, 209 ; -i-mujarrad, 206 ; 

-nama, 208 
Irshad, 214 ; -i-kiswa, 97 
'Isa, 336 ; ,wl, 336 
Isaac, 23, 30, 31 
Ishaq, v. Isaac ; Jalaii, 142 ; S. 

as-Sakin, 214 ; Sh. , 216, 222 
Ishmael, v. Isma'll 

Ishq-Ullah, 10, 257 ; i-mangosh, 198 

Ishraq, wird, 257 ; -la, 159, 257 ; -Tun, 

350 
Ishti'aq, 10 

Islam, 43, 67, 70, 386 ; -lat , 35 
Isma, 130 

Isma'll, 23, 26, 28, 29, 31, 32 f., 41, 
202 ; Ma'shuki, 228 ; -ur-Ruml, 
104, 116; (?)=Isaac, 207; -I, 326; 
v. Ishmael 



Ism-i-Hai, i-Hu, 106 ; i-jalal, 60, 

134; -i-jaffl, 106, 254, 257; pi. 
asma, 235 ; isma-i-sharlf, 230 ; isina, 
q,v. 

Israel, 138 

Israfll, 202, 203, 226, 418, 422 

Istakhara, 95 

Istidraj, 337-8 

Istighfar, 107, 111, 112, 272 

Istiwa, 244-5 

IttihadTa, 55, 323 

Jabawi, 89 ; -brawl, 268 
al-Jabbar, 131 
Jabir, 414 

Jacob, 23, 30, 31, 417 
Ja'far, Imam, 214, 242 ; -us-Sadiq, 
37, 97, 246 ; ibn-Muhammad Sadiq, 
168 ; Taiyar, 391, 395 
Jahannam, 122 * 
Jahil, 9 

Jalal, 169-71, 339 ; ud-Dm, 10, 48 ; 

-1, 183, 250-51, 255, 259, 268, 350, 356- 
357 

al- Jalil, 132 

Jalwat, jilwa, 87 ; -I, 51, 61, 82, 271 ; 
dress of, 273; =HudayI, 87; 360, 
456, 460-62 

Jama', 9 ; -a'at, 295, 379-80 
Jamal, 428 
Jamal, 339 ; -ud-Dln, KufI, 90 ; -1, 

82, 271, 272 ; Sultan, 219 
al-Jamf, 134 
Jamjama, 198 
Jamrah, 36, 41 

Jan, 245 ; -nush, 169, 170, 182 
Janissaries, 163, 164, 167, 214-16, 295, 

360 
Jannat, 35, 38, 40, 122, 213, 400, 422 ; 

ul-asma, 104 

Jannosh, -nush, 169, 170, 182 
Jarham, 28 ; Bam , 27, 29 
Jarjls, 174 

Jazb, 9 ; -al, 232, 239 ; i-Bahman, 

232, 238 

Jibra'Il. See Gabriel 
Jihrl, 191, 234 
Jilband, 184 
Jinn, 250, 346 
Jnana, 47 
Jogi, 8 

John of Parma, 10 
JujI Sultan, 219 

Junaid, 50, 84, 141, 156, 157; -I, 183, 
330, 376 



490 



INDEX 



Kab, 416 

Ea'b al-Ahbar, 32 

Ka'ba, 26, 36, 37, 38, 100, 354, 393, 394, 

417-18 

al-Kablr, 132 
Eadizadeli, 215 
Kahl, 241 

Eaif, 340, 343 ; -lar, 210 
Eaigou-souz, 188, 219 
Eal, .337 
Ealamat, 73 
Ealazl, 326 
Ealim, 416 

Ealima, 245, 248 ; 'fit al-Tasawwaf, 159 
Eaman, 252 
Eamar, 115, 204 
Eambar,' 190, 199, 200 ; -la, 180, 187, 

196-7, 200 
Eanar, 245 
Eanlsa, 378 \ 

Kara Ahmad Sultan, 220; Daulat 

Jan Baba, 189 
Earama, 238 ; 
Earaml, 228 

KaranjI Baba Sultan, 219, 229 
al-Earlm, 132, 247 
Karra kolak, 276 
Earrar, 395 
Easal, 402 
Kasb, 240 
Kasf, 404 

Eashgul, 185, 197 (his), 201, 209 
Eatira, 28 

Eausar, 98 ; Eab , 416 
al-Ehablr, 132 
Ehadlja, 283 
Ehafl, 191, 234 
Khafl, Zain-ud-Dln, 268 
Khaibar, 411 

Ehair, 91 ; pi. akhiar, 203 
Ehallfa (Caliph), 97, 104, 114, 142, 143 
Ehalll, 25, 37, 39 ; Hindu, 152 
al-Ehaliq, 131 
Enalwat, 143, 144, 244, 287; -la, 51, 

53, 60, 82, 104, 227, 228, 229, 253, 

268, 274, 276, 278, 288, 360, 462-9 
Ehatam, 272 ; -ul-aulia, 91 
Ehazmadar, 254 
Ehirqa, 97, 105, 115, 178, 195, 246 f. ; 

sharlf, 332 
Ehizr, 100, 174-5,, 190, 304 ; Sh, Lala, 

218 

Khojaglan, 143, 272 
Khunkar, 201, 208 
Eillm, 342 



al-Eisai, 402, (Qazi) 410, 412 

Eisudar, 227 

Eizil Deli, 215 

Eolu, 219 

Eubra, Hazrat-i-, the Mahdl, 212; v. 

Qubra ; -wl, v. Qubrawl 
Euchak, 276 
Eudur, 252 
Kul, 207 

Eulah, 114, 115, 256 ; -i-saifl, 181 
Eull, 162 ; Achik, 188 
Eumail ibn Zaid, 231 
Euprull, Muhammad, 360 
Euyun, v. Qoyun 

La'li, Effendizada 'Abd-ul-Baql, 232 

Lam-alif, 173 

Langar, 245 

al-Latif, 132, 247 

Lawank, 198 

Lawazim-i-tarlqat, 233 

Liffar, 94 ; luffar, 191, 203 

Lot (Sodom), 30 ; ? for laut, 380 

Luffar, 191, 203. See Liffar. 

Luqman, 170, 214 

Lut, 30 

Ma'ana, batini, zahirl, 117 

Mada, 328 

Mahakk, 208 

Mahdl, 78, 121, 176, 300, 325, 358 ; Haz- 

rat-i-Eubra, 212 

Mahmud, Sultan, 362-3 ; Effendl, 227 
Maidan, 188; -'dar, 211; -jl, 197; 

-tash, 186, 207 
Majahid, . Mujahid 
Majid, 133 
al-Majld, 132 
Makka, 26, 33 
Malamat, 225, 226, 227 
Malamla, 173, 213 ; -lyun, 64, chap. viii. ; 

=HamzawI, 61, 88 

al-Malik, Malik, 130 ; -ul-Mulk, 134 
MalikI, 80, 379 
Malikl, 181 
Mamen, 150 
Man, 10 

Manahij-ut-Talibln, 37 
Manan, 4? 
Manana, 47 
Manasik, 41 
Manava Shcistra, 371 
Manes, 66 
Mangoshi, 126, 179, 197, 243 ; 'ishq-i- 

, 198 ; =mangusay, 126 



INDEX 



491 



al-Mam, 134 

Manaukhat, 75 

Mantiq-ut-Tair, 7, 48 

Mantish, 164 

Manzil, 177 

Maqam, 9, 177; -i-Ibrahim, 40; 

at, 140, 235 
Ma'rifat, 9, 103, 126, 177, 202, 249, 329, 

386 

Markaz, 302, 481 
Ma'ruf Karkhi, 50, 141, 226 
Marwa, Mt., 27 

Masablh Sharif, 409, 410, 413-14 
Mashaiun, 349 
Mashhad, 89 

Masnavi Sharif, 10, 48, 67, 354, 355 
Masruq, 32 
Matlub, 336-8 
Matrld, 154 
Mauldd, 101 
Maulana, 283, 285, 350 
Maulawl, 9, 10, 14, 46, 51, 58, 59, 60, 

82, 89, 94, 115, 124, 209, 248, chap. x. 

(250-64), 268, 274, 276, 280, 282, 285, 

286, 288, 289, 290, 291, 294, 299, 357, 

360, 363 ., 386, 469 
Maya, 47 n., 371 
Mazaman b.-'Amran, 28 
Mazhab, 349, 379, 382 
Menkeuch Meadow, 463 
Meschaiouns, 349 
Metempsychosis, 11 ; -ians, 380 
Michael, 5,. 397, 418 
Mihmandar, 190 
Mihrab, 202, 249, 407 
Mlmansa, 45 
Mina, 33 n. 5, 36 
Minbar, 202, 392 
Miqdad b. Aswad, 419 
Mir Husain Wa'iz, 404 
Miracles, 22 
Mi'raj, 28-9 n. ~ -i-sharif, 422, 427, 

429 

Miram, 392 
Misal, 177-8 
Mom-sondur, 229 

Moses, 6, 17, 20, 23, 354-5, 415, 416 
Mount Abu Eabls (Qubais), 40 ; 

Meroeh (Marwa), 27 ; Safa, 27 
al-Muakhir, 133 
Mu'awia, 77, 286, 384 
Mubaya', 110 
al-Mubdl, 133 
Mufti, 291, 292, 360, 362 
al-Mughanni, 134 



Muhabbat, 9 

al-Muhaimin, 106, 130 

Muhammad, 23 ff. ; Baba SamraasI, 
141 ; Baqir, 97, 193 ; bin 'AH, 
142 ; Chalabi, 142 ; Fagnawl v 
141 ; Hashim, 234 ; Jalwati, PIT 
Uftada, 271 ; Jamal-ud-Dm Adir- 
nawi, 271 ; Mu'amma, Maulana, 
153; Naqshbandl, Pir, 268; 
NiazI Misri, 271 ; Taqi, 194 

Muhibb, 222 

al-Muhsl, 133 

al-Muhyl, 133 

Muhy!-ud-D!n ibn al-'Arabi, 15, 84, 334, 
336, 340 ; al-Sunna, 409, 414 

al-Mu'ld, 133 

Mu'in, 311, 316 

al-Muizz, 131 

Mujahid, 33, 405 

Mujarrad, 190, 206, 218 

Mujassaml, 377 

al-MujIb, 132 

Mujtahid, 283 

Mukhlis, pi. -In, 239 

Mulahaza, 336 

Muliffa, 198 

Mullah, 324 

Multaqa, 79, cf. 182 n. 2 

al-Mumin, 130 

Mumina, 400 

al-Mumlt, 133 

Munajat, 222 

al-Muntaqim, 134 

al-Muqaddam, 133 

Muqallid, 98 

al-Muq.lt, 132 

al-Muqsit, 134 

al-Muqtadir, 133 

Murad Shami, 271 ; -I, 82, 271 

Muraqaba, 47, 144 n. 145, 231, 257, 278, 
334, 336 

Murld, 15, 97, 107, 109, 110, 111, 112, 
113, 114, 143, 308, 328, 330, 331, 332 

Murjiyya, 227 

Murshid, 15, 97, 247, 329, 330, 331, 332- 
333; -i-kamil, 383 

Mus, 99 

Musa, 180-1, v. Moses ; al-Qazam, 
193; al-EMm, 214 ; EbiSebha, 
214, S., 214 ; Nishaburl, , S., 214 

Musafaha, ' a shaking hands ', cf. mu- 
safih, one who takes another's hand in 
his own (Redhouse, 1875) 

Musaflr, 165 

al-Musawwir, 131 



INDEX 



Fazl, 223 

Firdaus, 42 ; -i, 160 
Firqa-i-najia, 378 
Freemasons, 63, 64, 229 
Furu', 85, 106 
Fusus al-Hikm, 15 
Fuzla, pi. of fazil, 338 

Gabriel, 5, 25, 28, 30, 81, 39, 40, 49, 395, 
397, 399, 400, 416, 422 

Geikll Baba Sultan, Sh., 219-20 

al-Ghaffar, 131 

al-Ghafur, 132 

Ghaibi, 326 

al-Ghanl, 134 

Ghaus-i-'alam, 293 

Ghazl, 165, 296 

Ghusul, 197, 245, 246, 394 

Gilim, v. kilim 

God, 2, 3, 10, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 

Gods, 2 

Guilds, 447 

Gul, 99, 100, 101, 102-3, 104-5, 113, 119, 
223, 281; al-ward, 105; -bank, 
116, 202; -i-gunah, 195; 
Baba, 94, 223 ; dasta , 251 

Gulebi, 402 

Gulshanl, 82, 269, 270, 278, 460 ; dress 
of, 274 

Gunah, 195 

Hablb, 416 ; 'Ajami, 50, 156 ; al- 

Ra'I, 157 
Habil, 35 

Hadayl Mahmud, Sh., 227 
Hadd-ul-Ard, 91 
al-Hadl, 134 
Hadis, 78,- 88, 238, 239, 242, 324, 361, 

411-14 ; gharib, 412, 414 ; pi., 

-at, 235, 331 
al-Haflz, 131, 132, 344 
Hagar, 26 ff. 
al-Hai, 47, 133, 106, 275 
Haidar, 389, 395; -!, 82, 326; 

-la (vest), 178 ; Shaikh , 222 ; 

us-Sultan, 221-2 

Hajir, v. Hagar ; al-aswad, 40 n. 
Hajj, 39 

al-Hakim, Hakim, 132, 247 
Hakim, bi amr Allah, al-, 78, 121, 325 ; 

-I, 54 
Hakim!, 412 

Hal, 104, 146, 177, 336 ; -at, 281 
Halawl, 181, 182-3 
al-Halim, 132 



Hama'ii, 297, 3li 

Hamdl, 278 ; Effendl, 305 

Hamdun, 226, 227 

al-Hamld, 133 

Hamza, Sh., 225 ; -awl, 61, 88, 219, 

225 

Hanafl, 79, 379 ; -ya, 24 
Hanbal, 80 ; -I, 379 
Hanifite sect, 24, 43-4 
Haqlqat, 104, 126, 144, 196, 329, 377, 

379 

Haqlr, 105 
Haqq, 235, 236, 237, 328; al- ,106, 

133, 275 
Haram-i-Ka'ba, 393; -i-sharlf, 

394 

Hand, 147 . 

Hasan, 212; -al-'Askari, 194; 

-al-Bahrl, 50, 428 ; al-Basn, 141, 

225, 266, 331 ; Khoja of Van, 142 ; 

Cholaq Khalwati, 463 ; GurganT, 

141; KarkM, 84 ; -I, 126, 179 
Hashim Effendl, Sachll, 228 
Hashish, 14, 340-43 ; Hashashin, 358 
al-Hasib, 132 
Hauz-ul-Hayat, 382 
Hay, 47, 104, 114 
Hazrat-i-asma, 147 
Hegira, 26 
Hell, 10 . 
Hijra, v. Hegira 
Hikm, 15 ; -at, 414 ; Hilcmat-al- 

Ishrdq, 159 

Himmat Effendl, 228 ; zada, 228 

Hindilar takiasl, 371 

Hisham, son of 'Ahcl-ul-Malik, 193 

Honarda, 342 

Hosea, 174 

Houri, 391 

Hu, 106, 273, 274, 275, 277-8, 280, 291 ; 

Dost, 210 ; -kashan, 295 
Huda, 87 ; -yl, 87 

Hujjat, 400 

Hujra, 251, 254 

Hu-kashan, 295 

Hukum, 172 

Hulalla, 54, 323 

Hurrlt, 144 

Hurufi, 223-4 

Husain of Akhlat, 157 

Husain Agha, Hajl, 20 ; Mansur, 84 ; 

-ud-DIn Makkal, 91 ; - -ud-Dln 
'Ushshaqi, 271 ; -I, 126, 179 

Husam-ud-DIn, 160 
Husha', v. Hosea 



INDEX 



489 



'Ibadat, 222 . 

Ibaha, 158 

Ibn 'Abbas, 'Abdullah 32, 402, 
402 w. 2, 406, 423, 426 

Ibn 'Isa, 336 

Ibn Malik, 417 

Ibn Maljam, 90 

Ibn 'Umar, 412 

Ibrahim, 23 ff., 207 ; v. Abraham, 
chap. xiv. of Quran, 70 ; -al- 
Ashraml (? -fi) al-Qadirl, 100; 
al-Murtaza, 214 ; al-Dasuql, 89 ; 

b. Adham, 83, 267 ; Gulsham, 
269 ; Mukarram, S., 214 

dris, 159, 174 ; Faqih, 218 ; Khoja 

,221 

:drlsl Muhtafl, 88 ; 'All Effendi, 178 
[githbashl, 82, 270 
[khlas, 65, 272 
:kindl, 254, 259 
[lahl, ' hymn ', 280 
Ilm, 47 ; -i-batin, and -i-zahir, 17 ; 

-i-ramal, 95 ; -i-tariqat, 377 ; 
1-wujud, 177 

Ilwan, Sh., 83, 267, 354; -I, 81, 267, 

276, 288, 447-8 
Imam, 78, 325, 412 ; the twelve s, 187, 

192 ff. ; -s, 376, 379-80; -ul- 

Haramain, 393 ; -a, 59, 268 ; -at, 176, 

412 ; Ja'far, 214 
Iman, 386, 395 

Imran b. Husain, 411 ; Yunuz, 
~ 219 
India, 7 

Insan al-Kamil, 15 n. 
Insila, 334 
Inspiration, 21 
Iqrar, 202, 208, 209 ; -i-mujarrad, 206 ; 

-nama, 208 
Irshad, 214 ; -i-kiswa, 97 
'Isa, 336 ; -wl, 336 
Isaac, 23, 30, 31 
Ishaq, v. Isaac ; Jalall, 142 ; S. 

as-Sakin, 214 ; Sh. 216, 222 
Ishmael, v. Isma'll 

Ishq-Ullah, 10, 257 ; i-mangosh, 198 

Ishraq, wird, 257 ; -la, 159, 257 ; -run, 

350 

Ishti'aq, 10 

Islam, 43, 67, 70, 386 ; -lat , 35 
Isma, 130 
Isma'll, 23, 26, 28, 29, 31, 32 f., 41, 

202 ; Ma'shukl, 228 ; ur-Mml, 

104, 116; (?)=Isaac, 207; -I, 326; 

v. Ishmael 



Ism-i-Hai, -i-Hu, 106 ; -i-jalal, 60, 
134; -i-jalll, 106, 254, 257; pi. 
asma, 235; isma-i-sharlf, 230; isma, 
g.v. 

Israel, 138 

Israffl, 202, 203, 226, 418, 422 

Istakhara, 95 

Istidraj, 337-8 

Istighfar, 107, 111, 112, 272 

Istiwa, 244-5 

Ittihadla, 55, 323 

Jabawi, 89 ; -brawl, 268 . 
al-Jabbar, 131 
Jabir, 414 

Jacob, 23, 30, 31, 417 
Ja'far, Imam, 214, 242; -us-Sadiq, 
37, 97, 246 ; ibn-Muhammad Sadiq, 
168; Taiyar, 391, 395 
Jahannam, 122 * 
Jahil, 9 

Jalal, 169-71, 339 ; -ud-Dln, 10, 48 ; 
-1, 183, 250-51, 255, 259, 268, 350, 356- 
357 

al-Ialil, 132 

Jalwat, jilwa, 87 ; -1, 51, 61, 82, 271 ; 
dress of, 273; =Hudayl, 87; 360, 
456, 460-62 

Jama', 9 ; -a'at, 295, 379-80 
Jamal, 428 
Jamal, 339 ; -ud-Dln, Kufi, 90 ; -I, 

82, 271, 272 ; Sultan, 219 
al-Jami', 134 
Jamjama, 198 
Jamrah, 36, 41 

Jan, 245 ; -nush, 169, 170, 182 
Janissaries, 163, 164, 167, 214-16, 295, 

360 
Jannat, 35, 38, 40, 122, 213, 400, 422 ; 

ul-asma, 104 

Jannosh, -nush, 169, 170, 182 

Jarham, 28 ; Ban! , 27, 29 

Jarjls, 174 

Jazb, 9 ; -al, 232, 239 ; -i-Bahman, 

232, 238 

Jibra'il. See Gabriel 
Jihrl, 191, 234 
Jilband, 184 
Jinn, 250, 346 
Jnana, 47 
Jogl, 8 

John of Parma, 10 
Jujl Sultan, 219 

Junaid, 50, 84, 141, 156, 157; -1, 183, 
330, 376 



490 



INDEX 



Eab, 416 

Ka'b al-Ahbar, 32 

Ea'ba, 26, 36, 37, 38, 100, 354, 393, 394, 

417-18 

al-Eabir, 132 
Eadizadeli, 215 
Eahl, 241 

Kaif, 340, 343 ; -lar, 210 
Eaigou-souz, 188, 219 
Eal, .337 
Ealamat, 73 
EalazI, 326 
Eallm, 416 

Ealima, 245, 248 ; -at al-Tasawwaf, 159 
Eaman, 252 
Kamar, 115, 204 
Kambar,' 190, 199, 200 ; -la, 180, 187, 

196-7, 200 
Eanar, 245 

Eanlsa, 3.78 fc . 

Kara Ahmad Sultan, 220; Daulat 

Jan Baba, 189 
Earama, 238 ; 
Karam!, 228 

EaranjI Baba Sultan, 219, 229 
al-Karim, 132, 247 
Karra kolak, 276 
Earrar, 395 
Easal, 402 
Easb, 240 
Kasf, 404 

Eashgul, 185/197 (his), 201, 209 
Eatira, 28 

Eausar, 98 ; Eab , 416 
al-Ehabtt, 132 
Ehadlja, 283 
Khafl, 191, 234 
Ehafi, Zain-ud-Dln, 268 
Ehaibar, 411 

Ehair, 91 ; pi. akhiar, 203 
Ehallfa (Caliph), 97, 104, 114, 142, 143 
Ehalfl, 25, 37, 39 ; Hindu, 152 
al-Ehaliq, 131 
Ehalwat, 143, 144/244, 287; -la, 51, 

~53, 60, 82, 104, 227, 228, 229, 253, 

268, 274, 276, 278, 288, 360, 462-9 

Khatam, 272 ; ul-aulia, 91 

Ehazlnadar, 254 

Ehirqa, 97, 105, 115, 178, 195, 246 f. ; 

sharif, 332 
Ehizr, 100, 174-5, 190, 304 ; Sh. Lala, 

218 

Ehojaglan, 143, 272 
Khunkar, 201, 208 
Eillm, 342 



al-Kisal, 402, (Qazi) 410, 412 

Elsfidar, 227 

Kizil Deli, 215 

Kolu, 219 

Eubra, Hazrat-i-, the MaMi, 212 ; v. 

Qubra ; -wl, v. Qubrawl 
Euehak, 276 
Kudur, 252 
Eizl, 207 

Eulah, 114, 115, 256 ; -i-saifl, 181 
Eiill, 162 ; Achik, 188 
Eumail ibn Zaid, 231 
Eupruli, Muhammad, 360 
Kuyun, v. Qoyun 

La'll, Eifendfzada 'Abd-ul-BaqI, 232 

Lam-alif, 173 

Langar, 245 

al-Lat!f, 132, 247 

Lawank, 198 

Lawazim-i-tariciat, 233 

Liffar, 94 ; luffar, 191, 203 

Lot (Sodom), 30 ; ? for laul, 380 

Luffar, 191, 203. See Liffar. 

Luqman, 170, 214 

Lut, 30 

Ma'ana, batim, zahiri, 117 

Mada, 328 

Mahakk, 208 

Mahdl, 78, 121, 176, 300, 325, 358 ; Haz- 

rat-i-Eubra, 212 

Mahmiid, Sultan, 362-3 ; Effendl, 227 
Maidan, 188; -dar, 211; -jl, 197; 

-tash, 186, 207 
Majahid, v. Mujahid 
Majid, 133 
al-MajId, 132 
Makka, 26, 33 
Malamat, 225, 226, 227 
Malamla, 173, 213 ; -lyun, 64, chap. viii. ; 

=HamzawI, 61, 88 

al-Malik, Malik, 130 ; -ul-Mulk, 134 
Malikl, 80, 379 
Malik!, 181 
Mamen, 150 
Man, 10 

Manahij-ut-Talibin, 87 
Manan, 47 
Manana, 47 
Manasik, 41 
Manava SMstra, 371 
Manes, 66 
Mangoshi, 126, 179, 197, 243 ; 'ishq-i- 

, 198 ; =mangusay, 126 



INDEX 



491 



al-Manl, 134 

Mansukhat, 75 

Mantiq-ut-Tair, 7, 48 

Mantish, 164 

Manzil, 177 

Maqam, 9, 177; -i-Ibrahim, 40; 

at, 140, 235 
[a'rifat, 9, 103, 126, 177, 202, 249, 329, 

386 

Markaz, 302, 481 
Ma'ruf Karkhl, 50, 141, 226 
Marwa, Mt., 27 

Masdblh Sharif, 409, 410, 413-14 
Mashaiun, 349 
Mashhad, 89 

Masnavl Sharif, 10, 48, 67, 354, 355 
Masruq, 32 
Matlub, 336-8 
Matfid, 154 
Manlad, 101 
Maulana, 283, 285, 350 
Maulawl, 9, 10, 14, 46, 51, 58, 59, 60, 

82, 89, 94, 115, 124, 209, 248, chap. x. 

(250-64), 268, 274, 276, 280, 282, 285, 

286, 288, 289, 290, 291, 294, 299, 357, 

360, 363 n., 386, 469 
Maya, 47 n., 371 
Mazaman b.-'Amran, 28 
Mazhab, 349, 379, 382 
Menkeuch Meadow, 463 
Meschai'ouns, 349 
Metempsychosis, 11 ; -ians, 380 
Michael, 5, 397, 418 
Mihmandar, 190 
Mihrab, 202, 249, 407 
Mimansa, 45 
Mina, 33 n. 5, 36 
Minbar, 202, 392 
Miqdad b. Aswad, 419 
Mir Husain Wa'iz, 404 
Miracles, 22 
Mi'raj, 28-9 n. ; -i-sharlf, 422, 427, 

429 
Miram, 392 
Misal, 177-8 
Mom-sondur, 229 

Moses, 6, 17, 20, 23, 354-5, 415, 416 
Mount Abu Kabls (Qubais), 40; 

Meroeh (Marwa), 27 ; Safa, 27 
al-Muakhir, 133 
Mu'awia, 77, 286, 384 
Mubaya', 110 
al-Mubdl, 133 
Mufti, 291, 292, 360, 362 
al-Mughanni, 134 



Muhabbat, 9 

al-Muhaimin, 106, 130 

Muhammad, 23 ff. ; Baba Sammasi, 
141 ; Baqir, 97, 193 ; bin 'AH, 
142 ; ChalabI, 142 ; Fagnawl,, 
141 ; Hashim, 234 ; JalwatI, Pir 
Uftada, 271 ; Jamal-ud-Dln Adir- 
nawi, 271 ; Mu'amma, Maulana, 
153; Naqshbandl, Pir, 268; 
Niazi Misri, 271 ; TaqI, 194 

Muhibb, 222 

al-Muhsi, 133 

al-Muhyi, 133 

Muhyl-ud-Din ibn al-'Arabi, 15, 84, 334, 
336, 340 ; al-Sunna, 409, 414 

al-Mu'Id, 133 

Mu'in, 311, 316 

al-Muizz, 131 

Mujahid, 33, 405 

Mujarrad, 190, 206, 218 

Mujassami, 377 

al-Mujib, 132 

Mujtahid, 283 

Mukhlis, pi. -in, 239 

Mulahaza, 336 

Muliffa, 198 

Mullah, 324 

Multaqa, 79, cf. 182 n. 2 

al-Mumin, 130 

Mumina, 400 

al-Mumit, 133 

Munajat, 222 

al-Mxintaqim, 134 

al-Muqaddam, 133 

Muqallid, 98 

al-Muq.it, 132 

al-Muqsit, 134 

al-Muqtadir, 133 

Murad Shami, 271 ; -1, 82, 271 

Muraqaba, 47, 144 n. 145, 231, 257, 278, 
334, 336 

Murid, 15, 97, 107, 109, 110, 111, 112, 
113, 114, 143, 308, 328, 330, 331, 332 

Murjiyya, 227 

Murshid, 15, 97, 247, 329, 330, 331, 332- 
333; -i-kamil, 383 

Mus, 99 

Musa, 180-1, v. Moses ; al-Qazam, 
193; al-Eazim, 214; EbiSebha, 
214, S., 214 ; Nishaburl, , S., 214 

Musafaha, ' a shaking hands ', cf. mu- 
safih, one who takes another's hand in 
his own (Redhouse, 1875) 

Musaflr, 165 

al-Musawwir, 131 



492 



INDEX 



Mushabbahl, 377 

Mushayl, 349 

Mushrik, pi. -In, 65 ; -lar, 426 

Music, 15 

Muslim itm 'Uqail (q.v.), 90, 176 

Mustafa, Burkluja, 158 

al-Muta'al, 134 

al-Mutakabbir, 131 

Mutakallim, 349, 350 

Mutasawwaf, 9 

Mutasufla, 213 

Mutawajjiin, 231 (? ' conteinplatives ', 

pi. of mutawajjih) 
Mu'tazill, 244, 377 
al-Mutln, 133 
Mutrlb, 252, 257 
al-Muzill, 132 
Muzzan, ' cap', 115 
Mythology, 18 

Nafs, 47, 223, 324 ; -I, 402 ; ughlu, 217 ; 

i-ammara, 223 

Nai, 252, 255 ; -zan, 257 

Naib, 92, 202 

al-Najr 1 , 134 

Najla, 378 

Najm-ud-Dm Qubra, 142, 160, 268 ; 

of Hal, 160 
Najwl, 424 
Namaz, 192, 254, 256, 257, 272, 286; 

-!, 257 

Namrud, 24 f. 

Na<i!b, 92, 203 ; -ul-ashraf, 195 
Naqshband, 140, 142 ; -I, 51, 53, 57, 60, 
62, 82, 94, 139-58, 161, 268, 272, 273, 
286, 288, 364 n., 371, 435-46; 470-73 ; 
Pir Muhammad , 272 

Narak, 371 

Naslml, 330 

Nasrarii, 24, 326 ; cf. Nazarene 

Na't, 252 

Natik, 326 

Nature, 7 . > 

Nazarene, 24, 403 

Nazr, 88, 211, 307, 308 

Neo-Platonism, 226 

Ni'amatullah;458 ; -I, 82, 371 

Ni'azl, 82, 204, 271 

Nididhyasa, 47 

Nimrod, 24 f . 

Nirvana, 11 

Nissa, chap. iv. of Quran, 73 

Niyat, 256 

Nizam-ud-DIn, 142 

Noah, 8 



al-Numan ibn Sabit al-Kufi, v. Abu 
Hanifa 

Nur, pi. anwar, 99, 104, 121 ; al 

134, 178, 256; -bakhshi, 82, 142, 
158-9, 160, 436-8 ; -ud-Dm, of 
Sivrl Hissar, 221; Jarrahi, 271; 
-dim, 271, dress of, 274 

Nusairl, 326 

Nuskha, 95, 104, 297, 311, 345 ; -i- 
kubra, 382 

Oda, 294 

Orkhan, Sultan, 163, 167, 294, 360 

Oromasdes, 66 

Osman, 'Othman, 75, 76, 78, 324 

Paighambar, 36, 121, 122 

Palahank, 214 

Palank, 176, 196, 200, 248 

Pantheism, 8 

Paradise. See Jannat 

Paramahansa, 48 

Parsa, 225 

Parwana, 210, 211 

Paths, 22 

Patuk Sultan, 219 

Paul, St., 10 n. 

Peripatetics, 349 

Pertoli, 215 

Pir, 58, 235, 249, 357 

Plato, 324 ; Aflatun , 350 

Post, -akl, 112, 114, 186, 189, 195, 199, 

200, 248, 252, 253, 375 
Poture, 166, 216 
Prana, 47 
Purgatory, 215 

al-Qabiz, 131 
'Qabiil, 247 
Qadarl, 227 
Qadirl, 51, 52 f., 60, 81, 88, 89, 94, 99, 

101-16, 209, 251, 263, 267 ; dress of, 

268, 274, 276 ; music, 286, 288, 291, 

295, 303, 371, 372, 474-7 
Qahhar, 131, 275 ; Qahhir, 106 
Qaighu-suz, Sultan, 219 
Qal, 177 
Qalandar, 94, 151, 169, 170, 183, 218. 

219, 299, 365, 371 
Qamarl, 326 
Qana'at-tash, 126, 179 
Qapu, 179 
Qaraja Ahmad, 221 
Qaraman, 216 
QarmatI, 223 



INDEX 



493 



Qassari, 226 
Qatada, 423 
al-Qawwi, 133 

Qayyum, 47 ; al , 133, 275 

QazI Beg Sultan, 219 

Qibla, 27, 245, 246, 252 

Qilid, 245 

Qitmlr, 105 

Qizzilbash, 221, 222 

Qonia, 216 

Qoyun, Baba, 214-15 

Qubba, 244, 245 

Qubrawl, 82, 268 

al-Quddus, 130 

Quraish, 43 

Qurban, 197, 202 

Qutb, 91, 203, 235, 303, 304; -i- 

Zaman, 232, 235 
Quwwat, 145 

Rabiat bin Najd, 426 
Rabuta, 357 
al-Rafl, 131 
Rafizi, 410 

al-Rahlm, Rahman, 130 

Rahpar, 191, 206, 207, 208, 210, 211 

Rai, 332 

Ra'Is-ul-masha'ikh, 291 

Raka'at, 107, 257 

Ramazan Baba, Sh. Sultan, 220 

Ramlat, 41 

Raql, 343 

al-Raqlb, 132 

RashaMti-'ain-i-hayat, 139, 142, 212 

Rashld Pasha, 364, 366 

al-Rashid, 134 

Rasul, 71 ; Baba. 219 

al-Ra'uf, 134 

Rauzat-iil-ahbab, 39 ; us-Safa, 30 

Rayu, ? ruya, 380 

al-Razzaq, 131 

Religion, 5 

Ria, 126 

Rifa'i, 46, 51, 59, 82, 84, 114, chap. vi. 

(123-39), 209, 267, 274, 278-82, 284, 

285, 286, 288, 332, 447-8 
Rijal-ul-ghaib, 91, 202 
Rosary, 107, 134, 136 
RoshanI, 269-70. See GulshanI 
Run, 324 ; Allah (Christ), 7, 258, 323, 

331, 417 ; -i-'alam, 235 

Sabah, 257 
Sabfl, 257 
al-Sabur, 134 



Sachli, 227, 274 ; Hashira Bff endi, 228 ; 

-tu, Shaikh, 363 ; Husain Eff., 

KhalwatI, 462 - 
Sacrifice, 32 ff., 43 
Sa'd, 32, 409 ; Shams-ud-Dm, 286 ; 

-ud-Dln al-Jabrawi, 89, or al- 
JabanI, 268, 282 

Sa'dl, 358, 359 

Sa'dia, 51, 60, 82, 114, 268, 274, 282, 
286, 289, 295, 478-80 

Sadr-ud-Dln, 84 

Saf, chap. Ixi. of Quran, 73 

Safa, 265 ; sahibl, 349 ; Mt. , 27 

Safawi, 324 

Sahib-i-tasawwuf, 89-90, 91; -i- 
Zaman, 235 

Sal, 41 

Sa'id 'Abdullah Ashraf Ruml, 269 ; 

Ahmad, 142 ; Rifa'i, 267 ; 

'All, 142 ; Hamadanl, 142 ; 'AH 
Balkhl, 188, 219 ; Gulan, 141 ; 

bin Jablr, 32 ; ibn Jabil, 423 ; 
ud-Dln, 147 ; Wilayat Hazrateri, 
KhalwatI, 463 

Saif-ud-Dln Bakharzi, 160 

Saifi, 181 

Saini, 82, v. ZainI 

St. Paul, 10 ; saints, modern system of, 

18 

Saiyah, 298, 365 
Saiyid, 390; 'Allwla, 194; -i- 

Jalal, 183j -at, 194 
Sajjada, 214 
Saklnat, 9 

Salam, 158, 272 ; al- , 130 
Salat-i-salam, 107, 112, 272 ; pi. salawat, 

284 

Salih, 120, 174-5 
Salik, 9 

Salim I., Sultan, 332 ; Salimi, 55 
Salman, 168, 173, 185, 266, 326 
Salsabll, 98 
Saltik, 160, 161 
Sama', 26. 47, 275, 282 ; khana, 60, 

252, 254, 256, 282 
al-Samad, 133, 247 ; -zan, 224, 253, 

282 

Samada bin-'lmir, 28 
al-'Saml, 132 
Sanad, 201, 309 
Sanaim, 65 
Sannyasl, 45 
Saqatl, 50, 83 
^Saqqa, 288 
Sara, Sarah, 25, 28 



494 



INDEX 



Sarguzashta, of 'Abd-ul-Baqi, 230 

Sarhld-khana, 59 . 

Sari 'Abdullah Effendl, 230 

Sari Isma'll, 188, 219 

Sariq, 59 

Sarsam 'All, 215 

Sarwar, 202 

Saum, 192 

Seneca, 351, 353 

Seth, 37, 138, 174 

Sha'banl, 51, 61 

Shad, 125 

Shaft'!, 79, 158, 159, 379, 380 

Shah, 34 

Shah-i-wilayat, 190 

Shahab-ud-Dln, Suharwardi, 267 

Shahbaz, 94, 170 ; -i-Qalandarl, 183 

Shahid, 91, 203, 218; al- , 133; 

Shahid ,296 
Shaikh, 15 ; -al-Mam, 254, 291, 292, 

301, 333; Convent of, at Aiyub, 

Waqshbandl, 470 
al-Shakur, 132 

Sham (Syria), 26, 27, 228 ; -I, Sh., 228 
Shamali, 326 
Shamla, 124 
Shams-ud-Dln, 142 ; Bukharl, 161 ; 

Sa'd , 286; Shaikh , 284; 

IgithbashI, 270 ; SiwasI, 388 ; 

TabrM, 94 

Shamsi, 82, 271, 326, 360 
Shappar, 212 

Shaqqa'iq al-Nu' mania, 140, 142, 256 
Shara', Shar'at, Sharl'at, 103, 126, 176, 

177, 202, 233, 329, 378, 379, 385, 386 
Sharif, 309 
Shauq, 9 

Shawahid-ul-Nubuwa, 396 
Shayl, 41 

Shazill, 82, 268, 480 ; Sultan, 189 
ShI'a, Shl'ite, 77, 78, 324, 358, 360, 362, 

412, 414 

Shihab-ud-Dln, 158, 159 
Shirkat, 239 
Shuaib, 174 
Shubll, Shaikh, 351 
Shughl, 337, 338 
Shuja-ud-DIn, 215 
Shukur, 247 
Shurhl, 181 
Siasat, 234 
Siddlqia, 168 
Sidi Bilal Sultan, 219 
Sidim Sultan, 219 
Sighiraa, 342 , 



Sikka, 251 

Silsila, 140, 272 

Sinai, 416 

Sinan-XJmml, 82, 271 

Siqti, v. Saqati 

Sirr, 223 

Siyar al-Mustafa, 393; -un-Nabl, 

419 

Somak, 53 
Soul, 1, 11, 19 
Spirit, 1, 3 ; of Allah, 7 ; of God, 

7 ; divine , 3 ; supreme, 3 
Spiritual guide, 15 ; powers, 6, 22 
Spiritualism, 5, 10, 19 
Stigmata, 447 
Subhan-naka, 256 
Submission, 36, 43 
Subul-i-masawl, 177 
Suffa, 376, 379 
Sufl, 8, 9, 10, 11, 63, 265, 266, 323, 324, 

331, 348, 350, 351, 352, 358, chap. xvi. 

(359-87) ; -ism, 44, 46, 328, 329, 349, 

350, 353, 354, 357, 375 
Suharwardi, 82, 94, 142, 158-61, 269 
Sulaiman, 199 ; Effendl, 101 ; Seal 

of, 104, 228 

Sultan, title of, 219, 220-21 
Sulub, 275 ; v. Salik ; ahl-i- , 338 
Sunbul Yusaf Bolawl, 269 ; -I, 82, 85, 

269, 480-81 

Sunna, -t, 41, 43, 245, 246, 257 
Sunni, 324, 360, 375 
Sultan, title, 219-21 ; girding the, 263- 

264 ; (Sa'id) -ud-Dln Kashgarl, 142, 

147 ; -ul-'ulama, 283 ; Walad 

Daurl, 252 
Surur, 406 
Swarga, 371 

Tabaqdt-i-Sharwali, 90 

Tabarl, 36 

Tabi'un, 32 

Tabr, 191, 198, 207, 211 ; -an, 191 

Tabuq, 409, 410 

Tabut, 305, 309 

Tafrlqa, 9 n. 

Tahil bin Sa'd, 411 

Tahir Igha, 473 

Taiband, 126, 166, 191 ; dah- , 178, 

180, 191, 198, 206 
Ta'if, 414 
Taifa, 142 
Taj, 99, 124, 179, 181, 195, 214, 246, 

274, 331 ; -i-jahil, -i-kamil, 244 
Takblr, 247, 249 



INDEX 



495 



Takia, 97, 106-7, 109 f., 113, 114, 180, 

195, 251 ; = ctargah, 201 
Talib, 9, 336, 337-8 ; sadiq, 237 
Talqln, 192, 209, 275, 383 ; -la, 56, 323 
Tanasukh, 375, 382 ; v. metempsychosis 
Tannura, 196, 200, 248, 251; -1 [sic], 

253 

Tanzll, 405 
Taqia, 274 
Taqlid, 377 
Tarhld-khana, 60 
Tarlq-at (the pi. in -at is not found in 

lexicons), 44, 69, 103, 105, 114, 117, 

126, 177, 202, 233, 242, 243, 244, 248, 

249, 329, 330, 377, 378 
Tarjuman, 180, 191, 196, 197; -i- 

dolaq, 198, 199-202, 206, 207, 208; 

=parwana, 211 
Tark, 57, 59, 60, 61, 62, 99, 104, 124, 

126, 128, 144, 176, 242, 243 
Tasarruf , 90, 145, 203, 336. See Tasawwuf 
Tasawwuf, 89, 90, 91, 145, 375-6 
Tasawwur, 339 

Tasblh, 107, 134 (rosary), 136, 346 
Tashji, 476 
Taskhlr, 153 
Taslim, 199 ; -tashl, 184, 196, 199, 

204 ; Sultan, 219 
Tatar Eff., 460 
Tatavala, 459, 479 
Tauhid, 239, 257, 278 ; -khana, 278 
Tawaf, 38, 39, 41, 393 
Tawajjuh, 47, 144, 257, 336, 338-9 
Tawakkul, 240 
Tawll, 459 
al-Tawwab, 134 
Tayibi, 414 
Theresa, St., 355 

Thiir Pishti, 409, 413 ; (? Sinai), 201 
Tilasm, 344 
TirmM, 413 
Tirtha, 48 
Togrul, 221 
Torlaq, 158 
Torud, 220 
Triangle, 228 
Trinity, 7 
Turabi, 475 
Turba, 308 ff. 

'Ubaidallah, 43-4; Samarqandi, 142- 

143 

'Ubudiyyat, 9 
TJftada, 271 
Ughlan Shaikh, 228 



Ujilar, 463 

'Ulma, 'ulama, 164 t 338, 348 ; ash- 

shar', 225 
Uluklu Bayir, 473 
'Umaima, 43 
Ummayad, 361 
Umml Sinan, 86, 271 ; -I, 82 
Ummla Bilal Habshi, 173 
'Umr, Omar, 75, 76, 78 ; igha al 
- Hajl, 228 ; b. Yazir, 159-60 ; 

Dolaqi, Baba, 184 ; ibn al-Farld, 

382; bin al-Khattab, 32; b. 

Yazir, 142; KhalwatI, 268; 

Roshani, Dada, 269 
Umudum, Sultan, 219 
Unity, 17 
Upadhi, 47 
'Uqail, 90, 395 
TJrmar, 229 

'Ushshaqi, 82, 87, 271, 278, 298, 482 
TJstad, 202, 231 
Usul, 288 
Uwais, 83, 99, 105, 199, 266, 447; -I, 

81, 299, 447 
'Uzair, 66 
Uzama, 376 
'Uzlat, 244 

VannI, Shaikh-ul-Islam, 204 
Vedanta, 8, 45 f., 226 
Vedas, 45 
Vigil, 447 

al-Wadud, 106, 132, 203 

Wafa'I, 82, 269 

Wahdat-al-wujud, 233, 329 

Wahdatia (Wahidia), 57, 323 

al-Wahhab, 131, 106 

Wahhabl, 352 

al- Wahid, 106, 133, 203 

Wajd, 9, 239 ; -ain, 239 

al-Wajid, 133 

Wakili 92, 399 ; al- , 133 

Walad, 250, 252 

Walaya, 91 

Walayat, 412 

Wall, 9, 412 ; al- , 133 

Wall, 9 ; al- , 134 

Walld b. Abu Ma'it, 405 

Walida Sultan, 283-4 

Waqf, 290, 292 

Ward. See Gul 

al-Waris, 134 

al-Was!', 132 

Wasulia (Wasilla), 56, 323 



496 



INDEX 



Wifq, 337, 339, 345 

Wilayat, 158, 235 

Wird, 257, 337 ; isliraq, 257 

Wool, 8 

Wujud, 239 

Yafta, 297 

Yagitbashi, 82, 270 ; cf . Igith-Mshi 
YahM, 24 
Yahya, 474 
Yama, -pur, 371 
Yanez, 459 
Yaniq, 476 

Ya'qub, 30, 31 ; -zada, 473 
Yarmajl Baba, 475 
Yazld, 179 
Yusha', 174 

Yusuf, Hamadam, 167 ; AndalusI, 
Qalandar, 299 

Zahid, 222, 338 
al-Zahir, 133 



Zahra, 212, 396 

Zahrl, 32 

Zaid, 394 

Zain-ul-'lbidln, 192 

Zain-ud-Dm Abu Bakr Khafi, 268 ; 

268 

Zairak, 468 . 
Zakat, 192 
Zami (? zumr), 256 
Zamzam, 26, 28 
Zarkula, 158 
Zawia, 289 ; -dar, 269 
Zia-ud-DIn, 159 
Zikr, 14, 46-7, 107, 112, 114, 118, 136, 

137, 143, 144, 155, 190, 234, 236, 237, 

238, 242, 333, 340 
Ziyarat, 372 
Zoroaster, 66 
Zuhd, 241 

Zu'1-fiqar, 146, 181, 190, 201, 211, 409 
al-Zu'l Julali, 134 
Zumr sura of Quran, 256 
Zuriqla (Zaqia), 57, 323 



THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO 
i LIBRARY 



BP 17? 



WU, J. P. 
The Darvishes or 
Oriental Spiritual- , 
ism, I 

8032)49 ! 



Date 



Issued to 



ORIENTAL INSTITUB 



I-