i

STUDIES IN ISLAM

BY

THE REV. CANON SELL,· D.D.

In the transliteration of Arabic names I have followed
the rules of the Royal Asiatic Society, namely :-
th for .., t for \,

l;> e ~ l>
" "
kh t C
" "
Qh
"
.l gh
" t
" <.f' q
" ...
<l " vb •
"

CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY

SALISBURY SQUARE. LONDON, E.C. 4
DIOCESAN PRESS, VEPERY, MADRAS

1928
 CONTENTS
I

CHAP. PAGE
1. MYSTICISM IN ISLAM 1
II. THE Sm' AHB 48
PRINTED AT THE III. THE FATIMID KHALIFATE ••• 79
DIOCESAN PRESS, VEPERY l 'MADRA.S,
1928-C>769 IV. BABIISM ... 107
V. THE DARWISHRS 156
VI. THE QUR'AN 198
INDEX 263
LIST OF VERSES CITED FROM THE QUR'AN 265
 CORRIGENDA

Palr e 11, above (1 insert ~

.. 2, line 17, for mazhab read ma!il:!ab
.. 15 .. 26 .. J;[8.f~ .. J;[ati~
. 54 " 1" has "have
.. " "23,, rak'llta " rak'ats
.. 255, last line, after I: insert I
 I
STUDIES IN ISLAM ,

I
MYSTICISM IN ISLAM
.• MYSTICISM means an immediate communion, real
or supposed, between the human soul and the soul
of the world, or the Divine Spirit. The hypothesis
on which it rests is that there is a real affinity
between the individual soul and the great immanent
spirit. ' I In the following pages I describe mysti~
cism as it exists among a certain class of Muslims.
Writers with mystical tendencies appeared in the
first century after the Hijra. Amongst the earliest
mystics was Rabi'a al.'Adawiyya, a .Palestinian
woman, and AbU Hisham, who died A.D. 777. He
was the first to whom the name of ~uff was given.
Rabi'a taughtthe excellency of divine love, but did not
enter into all the subtleties of later $uf! teaching. 2
The real founder of $uflism (tasawwuf) is said to
have been Abu Sa'ld bin Abi'l.Khayr, who was
born A.D. 967,3 He is said to have been the first

1 Dean lnge, Outspoken Essays, p. 234.

:IA story is told about some theologians who came to visit her in
her illness and sou~ht to reconcile her to her chastisement. She said,
I He is not sincere in his prayers, who does Dot, when he beholds the
Lord, become totally unconscious of the fact that he is being
cbastized. His thought is of Him, not of it.' She was asked if she
bated the Devil. She replied, ~My love for God lea"oes me no time to
hate the Devil.' .;; -
:II The various theories about the origin of ~ufiism are given in
Browne's A Literary History of Persia, vol. i, pp. 418-24, and in
RASJ, April 1906.
2 MYSTICISM IN ISLAM $UFIISM
master of theosophic verses. He once met Avicenna was repelled equally by traditional teaching and by
and said of him, 'What I see, he knows.' The intellectual reasoning.' It felt that the essence of
philosopher replied, 'What I know he sees.' His religion lay elsewhere: that the seat and organ of
disciples wore a woollen garme~t a,p~ f~om the word religion was in the heart.' I Again, the great poliL
Sill, which means_wool, they obtained the name tical movements and the tribal factions in the early_
Sufis. The phrase 'he donned wool' (labasa'~­ history of Islam gathered round divergent religious
~afa) is used of a person who enters upon a monastic dogmas, a fact plainly seen in the very distinct
or contemplative life. His enemies denounced theology of the Shf'ahs, the followers and the parti;
him to the KhaHfa, and, as he ,was dragged, sans of the KhaHfa 'Ali. $UHism lent itself readily
fettered, through the streets of Mecc;a, he said, to the cause of the 'Alids, to whom the notion Of
, This is one of the gifts of God; all He does is the infusion of divine attributes into' Ali and into
sweet.' The Khallfa, touched by his pi~ty, set the Imams, his successors, was a most welcome
him free. , idea. The allegorical explanation of religious
Another of the early founders of ~uffism was duties and principles, ceremonial and moral, some;
Dhu'n-Nun (d. A.D. 860). He was a pupil of times went so, far as to substitute for these duties
Imam 'Malik, the founder of the Maliki School absolute devotion to the Imam, and to the sacred
(mazhab) of law. He was the first to expound.,and cause of the Shl'ahs. The preachers of this new
explain ~uH doctrines. doctrine travelled far and wide and mixed with men'
In course of time two branches were founded, one of all sorts and conditions. In this way ideas
by BistaIUf (d. A.D. 874) and the other under gleaned from Zoroastrians, Hindus, and Gnostics
Junayd' (d. A.D. 909). The similarity of the views may have entered into ~u£iism and largely affected
propounded by the $U£1s .to t~os~ of the neo- it. The third century A.H. found the Zindiq and
Platonic philosophy, to which In lts later more the Mu'tazila controversies at their height. It was
philosophic form $uffism owes much, proved an earnest attempt to bring reason to bear on
attractive to the Shf'ahs, amongst whom there was a religious matters and resulted in a sy.tem of
strong Gnostic element. scholastiCism. But from all this the Persian mind
It was a reaction from the burden of a dry mono- revolted. Reason and logic were no' substitute for
theism, of a rigid law and a stiffened ritual. The revelling in the sense of the beautiful, or for medi-
orthodoxy of the Faithful did not meet the needs of tating on the love of God and the 'union of the soul
the more imaginative minds of some of the Eastern with the divine.
races and Suflism, supplying this want, found a The hard and fast system of Islam, with its clear-
hom; amongst them. 'From the earliest times th~re cut dogmas and its idea of finality in doctrine and
has been an element in the Muslim church which 1. Macdonald, ReZigi'ous Attitude and Life ilZ Islam, p~ 159.
 MYSTIClsM IN ISLAM :PAVOtJ'RAtlLE CONDITIONS IN ISLAM s
law would seem the most unlikely place in which that every verse of the Qur'an contained a meaning
to find a system such as $tiflism, and, indeed, its known only to the elect and the initiated, that is, to
strictly oithodox representatives look with sus~i~ion themselves.
on mysticism; but the Qur'an and the TradItions The wars and tumults in the early days of Islam,
contain its germs. 'At one time they represent the rationalistic tendencies of the' Abbasid period
Allah as having created the world once for all and and the stern dogmatism of orthodox Muslims were
as now removed to His seat in the 'arsh, or highest all conditions favourable to the growth and deve-
heaven, having left His creatures to work out their lopment of the mystical system of the Stiffs. With
own salvation or condemnation by their own free them the true object of life. was to bring it into
will according to the lights given them by the harmony with the divine will
of Allah, conceived of
pro~hets; at another time they represe?t Him. as as a transcendental personality; to attain this end
the" Subtile Being," immanent and ever wOJ;kmg love was a most potent factor, and ecstasy its out-
in His creatures, the sum of all existence, the fulness ward form.
of life, whereby all things move and exist, the The Arabian philosophers made known to their
omnipresent, not only predestinating, but originating readers the Neo-Platonic philosophy, which they had
all actions, dwelling in and communing with each learnt from Syrian Christians, and the ;;u£1s adapted
individual souL' I The $u£1s gathered up ideas Qur'anic terms to the new ideas they thus gained.
like these and taught that this closer communion : The world of phenomena and man, everything else
with God, this looking behind the veil, this culti- m fact but Allah, they identified with Not-being,
vation of the' inner eye,' 3 would enable them to absolute nonentity, which like a mirror reflects
see and understand much which was hidden from Being.' I According to their theory the Infinite
those who held that there was no real existence ex- includes all Being, evil as well as good; but as
cept that which was plain and evident to reason and this is not consistent with the goodness of the
sight. . Allah of the Qur'an, evil is said to proceed from
SUits rely on such verses as, 'Everything is Not-being. 2
pe;ishing (Mlik), except the face (reality) of Allah'
1 • Now a thing can only be known throngh its opposite-Light by
(Suratu'l-Qa~a~ xxviii. 88). 'Wheresoever ye Darkness. Good by Evil, Health by,Sickness, and so on hence Being
turn, there is the face of Allah' (Stiratu'l-Baqara could only reveal itself by Not-Being. and through the product of this
admixture (to. use a not v~ry accurate expression), namely, the
ii. 109). By adopting the Shi'ah principle of Phenomenal World. Thus Eternal Beauty manifests itself as it
were, by a. sort of se1f.negation, and what we call I I Evil " is a' neces~
allegorical interpretation (ta'wil) the $Uiis claimed sary c01?sequen.ce of this manifestation. l Browne, A Literary History
of Persza, vol. 1, p.440.
2: Introduction to Gtdskan-i·Raz, p. vii. SOlDe of the early Christian
'tIntroduction to Whintield's Gtdslzan·i-R4z) p. viii. Mystics held that f Evil has no substance.' 'There is nothing l says
• o=.o-S <sly. ,...~ /l$ ""~ ......~ J~ Th~ heart J:lath gotten an eye, Gregory of Nyassa, 'which falls outside of the DiviDe Nature 'except
always desirlng Thee. Diwan-t-Skams-.,,·TabrUz. moral evU alone. And this. we may say paradoxically, has its being
 THE BUSINESS OF THE SUFI 7
MYSTICISM: IN ISr:.AM:
Come into the valley of peace, for at once
As in man there is some ~park of real Being, he The bush will say to tbee, , Verily I am God.'
would seem to be above all law, but this difficulty is The saying' I am God' was lawful for the bush,
got over by saying that he is now i~ t~e ~tate of Why should it be unlawlul for a good man to
Contingent Being and so needs the dlsclphne and say so P
re.s.t:riction of law. The reason given for the creation of the world is
According to the $uHs, souls existed before that God desired to manifest the mode of His
bodies, in which they are now imprisoned and in existence in Himself, in accordance with the
which condition, being separated from the joy they Tradition, 'I was a hidden treasure and I desired
had in a pre-existent state, they look forward to the to be known, so I created the creation in order that
death of the body for their full manifestation, and I might be known.' It is the business of the SUfi
the ful1 fruition of all their aspirations. The $Ufis to find this treasure, to attain to the true knowle'dge
are fertile in reasons for eluding the authority of the of God and union with Him. This self-existence
text of the Qur'<in, as regards the resurrection of the God manifests by the mode of His existence outside
body, a dogma which conflicts with their view of. of Himself, just as the image of the sun is seen in
the return of the soul to Gdd. When a $ufi says water. Thus in the Gulsha1z-i.Raz we read ; -
that God and he are one, he does not mean that the Not-being is the mirror of absolute Being,
divine enters into the human by a kind of infusion The shining of the Truth is reflected in it.
(1)alul), nor does he say that two substances combine Not-being is the mirror, the world the reflection, and
man
to make one (iti1;ad), but that God and the soul are Is as the eye reflected of the hidden person. 2
one in the sense that all that exists is God and So long as this phenomenal illusive existence re-
nothing exists apart from Him. mains, absolute Being is hid and the a.nswer to
" I,' 'We,' '"Thou," He' are all one thing,
For in Unity is no duality.! , Show Thyself to me' is, , Thou :;halt not see me.'3
They argue that if it was lawful for the burning Thus this Not-being is the evidence of Being. 4 The
bush to call itself God in the presence of Moses," Not-being is the mirror which reflects the Being.
so man may surely do the same. God alone is al1, outside of Him is non-existence,

1
,
olll\ \;\
.
JI =,,<y ..,::.)', * .\!\; 0$ ~I
.
.:s"I,)" 'j)"
in notMbetDg. For the genesls of moral evil is simply the privation of
being. That which, properly speaking, exists is tb.e nature of the
good/ (loge. Christian Mysticism, p. 25.) So al~o In t~e. GUlshqn-
~ ..s:.,; ;1 I)) "p 1ft" * c.s"'")";1 .nl \;1 ,,_.e.t, I,)
i-Rae, we read' Being is purely good in whatever It be; 1f Ifcontams • ""'" u'-!\; ~ ."..., I.... , i * ~ .......... ~ o.:.J\ ~.l.O
evil it proceeds from othe-r.'
\ y!4' ~ "-,,W = ....,)" 0$ * ." ~
~ ~·."...,I ,\,,,, \,. , (:Y' (:)~ ........ <$))" ~~ "'" * (:)W\, ~ ,Jl<>z """, ~.l.O
Gulsha1z-i-Ra ,lines 134, 140.
Gulshan-i-R6z, line 449. ,... ' : , • Suratu'l~A'raf vii. 189.
2 • And when he came to it (the bush), he was called to, .. 0 M.oses.
Verily, I am thy Lord; th;Iefore J;ut 9fIthy shoes, for thou art In the .~... ""'" f ~ (:)'1 (:)'cl OJ Gulsha1l~£-Raz, line 273.
holy place bf Towa.'" Suratu 'fa Ha xx. 11-12.
 8 MYSTICISM IN ISLAM WORLD AS NOT·BEING 9

an illusion, just as one seems to see a circle when a whole of the life of a ~Uff. The truly spiritual man
light is twirled round. seeks by entering into some religious Order and
The who! e world is an imaginary thing, by placing himself under a Pfr, or spiritual director, I
Like a point whirleCi round in a circle. to travel this upward road and at last attain to union
The influence of the divine upon the human, with the~ divirie. But before we describe the
which brings about union, is called faic;l, or an Tarfqat, or spiritual path, there are a few other
emanation, an overflowing. This is caused either points to be noticed, as forming essential parts
by nida, or calling; by jadhb, or attraction. These of $uff theories. All phenomenal illusions must be
emanations flow down from God each moment, laid aside before there can be any hope of realizing
calling the soul and attracting it to Himself. Union, the Absolute Being. The whole world must be
then, means the receiving these emanations into one- looked upon as Not-being.
self, the being drawn more and more by the ardour One day, when expounding his views, ]alalu'd-
of the desire for them, by abandoning all else. The Dfn said, ' Thou seest nought, save that thou seest
idea of jailllb, or attraction, is given by Shams-i- God therein.' A darwish came forward and said
T abrfzi in this verse, that the use of the term • therein' indicated a
The motion of every atom is towards its origin, receptacle, and that it might be argued that God
A man comes to be the thing on which he. is bent, would thus be comprehended, whereas He is in-
The soul and the heart by the attraction of wish and
desire .
comprehensible. To this objection ]alalu'd-Dfn re-
Assume the qualities of the Beloved. 1 plied thus, 'He comprises all and in Him all things
We have seen that the words, 'I am a hidden have their being. He is then the receptacle also,
treasure and would fain be known,' lie at the basis and comprises all existep.ces, as the Qur'an says,
of the $u£f system, and that in creation God came .. He comprises all things. '" It is stated that the
.forth from internal to e.xternal manifestation. It darwish was silenced and became an obedient
thus becomes a manifestation of Him produced by disciple.
intelligence, which again is the only means by which All created beings, then, being included in the
man can reach his true ideal and final aim, the per- category of Not-being, the perfect man strives to
fect knowledge of God. But man sprang from that rise to the state of Contingent Being, where fo~ a
intelligence which originated the universe and so to
1. ~cording to Jalah1'd-Di'n Rumi, $tifis attach great importance
it he must return. This is the' nazul,' or descent to thIS office.
and the 'uruj, or the ascent which embrace the Having' chosen this Director be SUbmissive to him.

1 "r'- (;)~ ~ J..- "J! ""'f> * ......1 """,.. Jolj .j" f> ~
/, .
His hand ii none other than the grasp of Allah.

........,,; <Ill\ ....... fr ,\ ......" * r>-""""'Mail:!nawi,

" &'~ d"f (;)n-
"r'- ",I;\". ,;01" ............. * ";'1', J..- ~.;.". 51 J" , (;)\". 2
Book I, Tale x,
10 MYSTICISM IN ISLAM
TFIE!PiUMAL ELEMENT 11
time laws and creeds are needed for his guidance; to be used to gain the knOWledge of God, apart
but he does not remain there. He seeks to ascend
from whom there is no· real .existence. Before ex-
to real Being and so to be free from all outward
plaining further the use of this faculty, it is, however,
restraints, to be in no relation at all to right and necessary for us to give some idea of the Suff
wrong. cosmogony.
To the man of God right and wrong are alike,
The man of God has ridden away from Not-being.' Suffs divide the works' of God into two kinds-
I will be a lover of Not-being, not of existence, the perceived world and the conceived world. The
For the beloved of Not-being is more blessed." former is the material visible world, familiar to us
Sense and reason cannot transcend phenomena, all; the latter is the invisible, spiritual world, and
so they must be ignored in favour of the' inner also the world of command, so called from the
light.' This faculty is called tauT. 'In addition to words of the Qur'an used in creation, <:lis:; <:;;) Kun
reason man has a certain faculty by which he can fa ktin ' Be, and it was.'
understand hidden mysteries.' It is called by Shams- The first thing which issued forth w.as the P.,rimal
i-Tabrfzi the' eye of the heart,' which is constant Element, called by some the primary intellect.
in its desire for God and by Jalalu'd-Dfn the 'in- Thus in the Akhttiq-i-Jattili we read that. ' the first
ward sense.'3 A modern Persian poet, Halff of principle which at the mandate, " Be and it was,"
ll1fahan, writes, ' Open the eye of the heart, that thou issued by divine power from the chaotic ocean of in-
mayest behold the spirit; that thou mayest see that existence was a simple and luminous essence, termed
which is not to be seen.' 4 This idea is not pecu- the Primary Intellect, and also by the great teachers
liar to $uffs. It was held by other mystics. It is of mysticism and investigation, the Mul;ammadan
what Hugo of St. Victor calls' the eye of the soul,' Spirit.' It is said that the verse, ' And it was not
a separate faculty by means of which there is imme- the business of an hour, but even as the twinkling
diate intuition of deity. Thus do the pure in heart of an eye, or quicker still' (Suratu'n-Nahl xvi
see God. In such moments the soul is transported 79) refers to this creati~n of the Primal Element
beyond sense and reason, to a state similar to that -the Jauhar-i-awwal. It has many other names,
enjoyed by angelic natures. This faculty of taur is such as the Pen, the Spirit of Mul;ammad, the Con-
structive Spirit, the· Universal Reason ('aql.i.kull).
1 ~ )1},_ ~ 1~ ~r- * .,.,1J"" u... ~ '.> 1~ ~.r"
It is the perfection of wisdom, is ever near to God,
Diwan-i-SkamsMi-Tabrizi, Ode viii.
• -=- j d', r""" oJ~ o.<;~) * .......Alail!:nawi,
~fr.r" .ft ,....4 r""".ft
ll.l
Book V, Tale ii.
and is ever seeking Him. It is through the Primal
Element that God's commands issue forth. Thus,
:II For what is inspiration (~-') but the speakiI!.g of the inward sense as the Pen, it writes the commands of God. 'When
f:)"-i r.r-;' &J'S ~f. ~ ~,Matbnawi, Book I, Story vi.
the Qaf of His power breathed on the Pen, it cast
• ...,.,.., "" ~.... ~ u .."." * ..,.,.., ",I.,. ilS ~ )4 J~ ,...... thousands of pictures on the page of Not-being.' In
 12 MY'S'rICiSM: iN ISLAM A SACRED DEPOSIT
proof of this ~Ufls refer to the verse, ' N, by the 50 also Browning, who says ; -
Pen and what they write' (5uratu'I-Qalam xviii. Thus He dwells in all,
I). They say that 'N' represents the world of From life's JUinute beginnings, up at last
power, the 'Pen' the Primal Element and that To man-the consummation of this scheme
, what they write' refers to the simple n~tures. Of being, the completion of this sphere of life.
The final end and aim of all is man, who by a Man is complete when he has gained intelligence, -
process of evolution is at last arrived at. This but intelligence was the Primal Element; so it is
process is shown in the following verses :_ the beginning and the end, the first and the last,
I d~ed as inanimate matter and arose a plant. and thus the mystic circle is complete. If man
I dIed as a plant and rose again as an animal. would be perfect he must rise up to the Primal
I died as an animal and arose a man, Element and fulfil the words: 'From Him was the.
Why then should I fear to become less by dying ?
I shall die once again as a man
origin and to Him is the return.' It is this which
To rise an angel perfect from head to foot. is the aim and object of the traveller's journey.
~t me, then, become non-existent, for non-existence Thus Ja1;ilu'd-Din I says;-
SlOgS to me in loudest tones: 'To Him we shall From realms of formlessness, existence doth take
return.. 'l . form,
Thus the final end of all creation was man. And fades again therein. 'To Him we must return.'z
There is no other final cause beyond man ~uHsclaim for man the privilege of displaying
It is disclosed in man's own self. ' the divine attributes. This is a sacred deposit
That which was made last, consider to be first, committed to him. 'Verily we proposed a deposit
The last which was made was the soul of .Adam.z to the heavens and to the earth and to the moun-
tains between them, but they refused the burden
1 ~"'j r- "'r-"" ~~Y'" Wj, * ~"-t. <.S"'1l, r"';' <.5"'\-' jl and we entrusted it to man. ' 3
r"-" ~ "''''Y''' J d,-f ~ <.rl * r"-'" r"", d'r-=- J' r"'Y'" , Just as the universe is the mirror of God, so the
)1., JI; ~~J: r)'t- Ii * r-'-' J' rJ""'l~'" ~
heart of man is the mirror of the universe~ The
",,....1) ~~ Il~ ~"',,r * ",rJ'} "'~ r"" r"'; r"" ~
~Ufi who would know God or know the truth must
w~a!JJ:~atWi, Book II~) Tale xvii. The English version is from
f
Talln!!e'd s ~l1lnaw>. p. 159. See also a similar passage in Book IV
e IX an , IJ? the G1!'lshan-i.Riiz, lines 317-339. In the latte;
look into his own heart. In order to avoid sin and
~assage m~ll 5 Jo~rney IS described from. the lowest point. tbrou h
le vege~ative, aUlIn,a! ~nd human grades, up to the highest ointgof "i It is interesting to note that the great Sufi poets, SaDa'i,' Attar
obliteratlon of all co.nsclousness and perception of the extern~l phe- and Jalli.lu'd-Din were all Sunnis. The Suns were not separa.te sec"ts,
nomenal world and Immersion; in the sea of divine glory. but as devotees of mystical tendencies are found amongst both
'Sunn'is and Sh'i'ahs.
•t> \l, uZ-!'" ""l.it ......; ~ * t'-')... <.S"lJ, .,.k .t'-''';
• (:),....IJ o.JI i;~ ..... )4 * (:),)1 ...., ..!)y u l ;I =)'~
~ ..., ~ l""'l. ~ t'-~) ... * .<:tS <.S'" ~A~' "¥'t> Mat1Jnawi Book I, Tale v.
J

Gulslran-'-Riiz, lines 263. 261. 3 Suratu'l~Muminun xxili. 72.

14 MYSTiCISM iN iSLAM TARiQAT AND TALIB 15

error and to gain holiness and wisdom, he must (Maqamat) of which the traveller gains in each one
turn his eye inward, for an increasing knowledge of the mystical dogmas of
All the earth I wandered over seeking still the beacon $Uffism. Before setting out upon the journey he
bright, must be possessed of the spirit of humanity and
Never tarried in the (lay time, never songht r'epose at acquire capacity. These are referred to, according-
night, to $11£1s, in the verse, ' And when I had fashioned
Till I heard a reverend preacher all the mystery him and breathed my spirit into him.' I The
declare, words, 'when I had fashioned him,' refer to the
Then I looked within my own bosom, and 'twas shining
brightly there.
capacity bestowed for purifying one's self from all
We have already stated that the function of the qualities and dispositions. The words, 'breathed
Primal Element was to receive from God and to my spirit into him,' refer to the gift of the spirit of
convey what was so received to the world. Thus humanity. The moral ideal of the $11£1 is unselfish-
it includes both the saintly and the prophetic offices. ness, patience, humility trust in God and single-
Some hold, that each of these functions of the hearted obedience to His will. This is the real
Primal Element needs an exponent, that Mul;1ammad fruit of progression on the Tadqat, but it is gained
is the prophetic exponent and that AI-Mahdi, the only by spiritual meditation which prepares the
last of the Imams, will be the saintly one. Others Talib for the rich ecstatic experiences.
If the man who desires to gain truth is in real
say that the Primal Element and 'Muhammad are
identical, and that, therefore, both office~ are vested earnest and striving to control his desires, he is
in him. This idea throws light on expressions called a Talib, a seeker. If the Talili feels
which seem to consider prophets and Imams as drawn onward he is majdh11b, or attracted and
almost divine. becomes a Mudd, or disciple, and attaches himself to
As man, then, sprang' originally from the Primal some Pir, or spiritual director. He must now
Element, the $11£1 seeks to return to it. On the s'ubmit without a murmur to all that may await him
one side of the circle is naz111 or descent, which and yield implicit obedience. 2 In the words of
I:Ia£~ he must be absolutely submissive,
includes the whole process of development until
His hand I stay not, thongh his falchion slay me.
man becomes possessed of reasonable powers; on
So, too, Madame Guyon,
the other side, is 'ur11j or ascent, which includes Be not angry, I resign
each stage from the' first dawn of the reasoning Henceforth, all my will to Thine,
powers of man until he is finally absorbed in the
:I. Suratu'I-Hijr xv. 29.
Primal Element. This is the Origin and the 2 This is why he is called in the Ma!!1nawi (Book I, Story i) (the
son of the time present' (~.r' ~'), because he regards neither the
Return of man. The ascent is called the Tariqat, days past nor the days to come, btlt is a passive instrument moved by
or road, in passing progressively from stage to stage the divine impUlse of the moment.
16 MYSTICISM IN ISLAM THE MYSTICAL JOURNEY 17

I consent that thou depart, prosecution of this mystical journey.' This he must
Tho' thine absence breaks my heart, do until he completes the upward ascent of the
Go, then, and for ever too, circle and arrives at the perfect stage.
All is right that thou wilt do. An important condition of entering on the journey
This absolute submission gains its reward, which is to think OD the mercies of God and to ignore
she describes thus : - reason, which cannot discern the true light. It is
This was just what Love intended. only as man closes up all his intellectual appre-
He was noW no more offended.
Soon as I became a child,
hensions and ceases to strive to know, that he
Love returned to me and smiled. attains to the real knowledge of that which trans-
N ever strife shall more betide, cends the mind of man.
'Twixt the Bridegroom and the Bride. The stages 2 of the mystical journey are eight in
FitzGerald in a free translation has caught number, service, love, abstraction, knowledge,
the spirit of 'Drnar Khayy:im's verse which, under ecstasy, the truth, union, extinction." It is not
the metaphor of a chess board and chess men, easy to fix the words of ';;Uff poets and to say to
makes submission not even an effort of the will, which stages they refer; but the ideas relating to
but looks on human beings as. mere. automatons, all are there, though in no systematic order.
moved by fate and at last hurled :into non- Generally speaking, the second stage is the popular
existence. one with the poets, who delight in descriptions of
'Tis all a chequer-board of nights and days God and man as the Beloved and the Lower. The
Where destiny with men for pieces plays;
Hither and thither moves and mates and slays, ';;uff seeks for a type of heavenly love and finds it
And one by one back in the closet lays. in earthly love. Beauty' stands upon the threshold
Sinful desires, sorrow and pain lie at the root of of the mystical world' and so earthly love, idealized
Self, and self is an illusion; but the entire negation in the frenzy of Majnun for Layla and the passion of
of Self clears the way for the apprehension of the 1 In the LawU-'ih this advice is given,
truth that there is no existence save that of God, • 0 Salik in the way idle talk reject,
All roads save tbat to Unity reject.'
who is the only Reality j all else is illusion. Life Z They are not official grades, like those of the Isma'ilians and the
Druses, but just stages on the road to holiness and .true knowl~.c1ge.
and its pleasures veil the truth from the eye of man. 3 St. Augustine arrange::; the ascent of the SOUlID seven stages. The
These must be set aside before the vision of the last, unioD, which he calls' the visi.on and contemplation of Truth,'
is not a step but the goal of the jouroey. Of the blessec1ne-ss of this
One is seen. This is what is meant by passing state be says; , I entered and beheld w~th the mysterious eye of my
soul, the light that never cban~es, above the eye of my SOl11, above
from negation to affirmation, from ignorance to my intelligence. It was something altogether different from any
earthly illumination.' (lnge, Christian Mysticism, p. 131). In the
knowledge. The initial stage is now passed and the Mantiqu'!-Tayr, the poet 'AHar describes the seven stages as seven
man becomes a S:ilik, or traveller, whose whole valleys. They are respectively valh·ys of the Quest, of Love, of
Kn0:Vl~dge, of Detachment, of Unity, of Bewilderment and of
time and thought are given up to suiuk, and the AnnIhIlation.
3
18 MYSTICISM IN ISLAM l30NDAGE OF TAQLlD 19
Zulaykha for Yusuf, seems to him the nearest an allegorical signification were often used to veil
resemblance to the highest of all love, that of the what to the devout Muslim would otherwise have
soul for God. This is the key to rna'rifat, or spiri- been heresy, they often express just the mind of
tual knowledge, and so the basis of the highest life. a man of pleasure, fond of a Bohemian life.
'The eye brings with it only what it longs to see,' Anyhow, Bafi;t: has not :the credit of being a man
and. the man is blind to the deep things of the of ascetic life. He delighted' to float luxuriously
mystic life until the inner eye is made intelligent by between heaven and earth, and this world and the
love. Thus Hatif, a modem poet, says, 'By love next, on the wings of a poetical expression, that
many things will be made easy which in the sight might serve indifferently for either.' I
of Reason are very difficult.' I The ordinary theologian cannot enter on the
Jam! in the Lawa'ih speaks of love as a special mystic path, for he is still in the bondage of
grace of devout souls, a grace reason cannot find, dogmas and so wanders about in darkness. 2 He
and says:- cannot grasp the full meaning of the Unity. When
Oh, may it bring the dawn of certitude, it is fully realized it leads the Suff to annihilate
And put to flight the darksome hours of doubt. self in the absolute Truth, to become eternal in the
Huma~ love symbolizes the divine, the tavern is Absolute, to be made one with the One and to
an oratory, intoxication the confusion caused by the abstain from evil, or, as Bafi;t: says : -
sight of the Divine, the locks of the beloved are the :aii~,when preaching unity with unitarian pen,
visible attributes of God in nature 2 which like the Blot out and cancel every page that tells of spirits and
curls on the face partly hide and partly reveal it. of men.
In the Diwan-i-Qafi? we read, • I said to him, The urdinary theologian is in the bondage of
" Knowest thou what the claim of the curls of the taqIfd, that is, enslaved to dogmas and to creeds,
Beloved means? " He said, "B:if4 makes a believing blindly what has been believed by those
complaint of the long and dark night of separation," , who have preceded him. Now, the $u£1 gains his
that is, these chains bind the soul not yet worthy knowledge of divine things by direct intuition, and
of the full light. not through ordinary theological instruction, nor by
No doubt SUfis often press the language of the scholastic methods which deal with the attributes
poets too far, ·and show a faulty exegesis, for not all ]. FitzGerald, quoted in Leafls Versions from ijtifi7t. p. 17, where
their poems are mystical. Whilst words bearing the whole SUbject is discussed.
'."J.;; r""" jl "",~I)o ~)I:t* - i ..;,J o}"; f .s'~
1;1,1>00 u-l J""
2
"'*'" OJ!
oS * ~ <,5)\S ~ j (:)\...1 0'"
The varied pictures I have drawn on space,
Gulshan·i·Riiz, line 108.
So also in the RubiiCiyat we read
Behold what fair and goodly sights they seem! Some look for truth in creeds and forms and rules j
One glimpse I gave them of my glorious face. Some grope for doubt or dogmas in the schools;
The last line is literally, 'I showed them a hair's point of my But from behind the veil a voice proclaims
curl '-I""r' o~ -.Alj 51 <,5,-' r Your road lies neither here nor there, 0 fools.
20 MYSTICISM iN. iSLAM iNDIFFERENCE TO FORMS 21
of quantity, quality, and relation. He purifies his He who says everything is trne is a fool"
He who says all is false is a knave. 1
soul from sensible forms and images, so that from
So also l;lafi~ :-
all intellectual apprehensions and all operations of
Between the love of the cloister and that of the taveln
the mind he may there is no difference,
Dismiss cares and be clean of heart, For wherever love is, there is the face of the Beloved.
Like the face of a mirror on which there is no Wherever the pious works of the Muslim hermitage
reflection, <lisplay their beauty.
When it becomes clear of images, all images are There are the be11s of the Christian convent and the
contained in it.' name of the cross.
Even contemplation ofthe external works of nature Jalalu'd.Dfn Rumi says :-
will not give th~ light. $u£1s even go so far as to Cross and Christian, from end to end
set aside any external religious revelation. Indeed, I surveyed; He was not on the cross.
indifference to all forms of religion is a cardinal $ufl I went to the idol temple, to the ancient pagoda,
dogma. 2 No trace was visible there.
Thus Shams·i·Tabrizi;- I bent the reins of search to the Ka'ba,
While my loved phantom dwe11s in the pagoda's bound, He was not in that resort of old and young.
'Twere mortal sin, should I the Ka'ba compass round. But it was all of no avail, for the loved one came
. The Ka'ba is but a church, if there His trace be lost; not into view, until he could say;-
The church my only Ka'ba, while He there is found. 3 I gazed into my own heart;
So Jalalu'd·Dfn:- There I saw him, He was nowhere else.
Say not that a11 these creeds are false, In the whirl of its transport my spirit was tossed,
The false ones capture hearts by thc scent of truth. Till each atom of separate being I lost.'
Say not they are a11 erroneons thoughts, JaDf says:-
There is thought in the world void of reality. o Lord, nOne bn t thyself can fathom thee,
Yet every mosque and church doth harbour Thee.
1"'-"; )'& , ';:'4" "'-!\ <Sj) 0'" * ~w ,.. .,,\.. J", l:f \0» ~.>.I' In thus setting aside all external revelations and
......,)" ~ 4l> ~I>' .1.... ."L. "''''' in removing from the mind all impressions from
Diwan-Z"·Shams-i- Tahrizi, Ode xiii.
'ZIn tQ,e seventh tale of the second book of the MaMuawi it is said 1.....s" ~\,,' ~ <Sf. ft ",)\\,11 '" J.ill.4 Ya" 4 (:ll~ ~ <.M
that Moses heard a shepherd praying thUS, '0 God shew me where
Thou art that I may become Thy servant, clean Thy shoes, dress Thy JI.<- r-l"")" ....-.; ~ csl * J14, ~I.,.<. <l.4.,. r V'i
hair and fetch Thee milk.' Moses rebuked the man for his foolish ~,' Jb4 4 J.!y .",s:;\, * ,. .;.~,..- .... <l.4.,. ""!y.",s:;l
prayer. He was ashamed and ran away. God then rebuked Moses, Matllnawi, Book 11, Tale xi.
saying. ' To each race I have given different ways of praising me. It
is not the words I care forI but the spirit in which they are said. ",,-; ~ )'»1 ~"""" '" r-l r- ",I,,;\r", ~
Various are the ways of devotion but if genuine all are accepted.' "J'"' \"',.. ~) IF' ,)" * ~ ft'" ~) Nib. ~ ..
• 0.=-\.... \:l'O'" 5' ...,£ u\,l>!~) * \,. "'-;- JI".> \; .~)" ""'; \;ft",~ .w.. ",\)"* ..,...u, ",\;'" ~.......,.s ~'
o.=-\" !~ ..;:..s,\ JI..J <.5" '" * \,.;.,$ "}.>.I <S'" 5' iJ.4 f "'-'; f" ~"''' u"\o. ",')" * ~,... J" ).>.1\ ~"f as:>
Diwan-i·Skams-i- Tahrizi, p. 238. ""'; ,~ .;0 ~ 5' U* ~.w. (:;)';0=-, """'"'" "'~ ~
 MySTICISM IN ISLAM EFFECT OF LOVE 23
22
outward phenomena, all names and words are set and the inner light is seen, light and life are found,
aside , the heart reflects each. new created form, and certainty takes the place of doubt and love for ever
is illuminated with divine glory. This is set forth rules the man. Just as the motion of an atom is
in a striking allegory by Jahilu'd-Dln, the greatest towards its origin, a man becomes the thing on which _
of all the $6.f! poets. A Sultan held an audience he is bent.' Under the direction of the PIr, the
of Chinese and of Greek painters, who both claimed neophyte will be shown all this and be guided
superiority. The Sultan gave to the two parties aright.
houses on opposite sides of the street, in order that The traveller must know his origin, must pudfy
the skill of both might be seen at the same time. himself from all notions of self, and then he will
The Chinese painted their house with many colours pass from stage to stage and his journey will be one
and in a most gorgeous manner, while the Greeks long revelation, leading him on from the mazes of
used no paint but simply burnished and polished the Contingent Being to the Necessary Being and away
house allotted to them. When all was ready the from all darkness and defect. 2
Sultan went to inspect the work and much admired The effect of love at last reaches man, but only
the beauty of the house painted by the Chinese. those who have the spirit of humanity and the capa·
He then turned to the house of the Greeks, and city realize its full effect. Some gain philosophic
Just as the Greeks have put their curtain ·back, wisdom only; some become religious in the ordinary
Down glides a sunbeam through the rifted clouds, sense and follow the traditional systems; but some
And, 10, the colours of that rainbow house become intoxicated with divine love. 3 Such are
Shine, all reflected on those glassy walls, the true travellers, and in them the effect increases,·
That face them, rivalling: the sun hath painted,
With lovelier blending, on that stony mirror until they get freedom from all dogma and all ritual
The colours spread by man so artfully. and even from existence itself. The desire of such
Know, then, 0 friend! Such Greeks the Sufis are, an one so grows that it is said of him, 'The ocean·
Owning nor book nor master, and on earth hearted, mighty drinker, who at one draught drinks
Having one sole and simple task to make up existence and so obtains release from affirmations
Their hearts a stainless mirror for their God.
Is thy heart clear and argent as the Moon?
Then imaged there may rest, innumerous,
The forms and lines of heaven. 1
1~,.. (:il ..,-! J,.- ~J! "':- J" * ..:-1 ~~ J-04 ':is J" ~
Diwan-i-ShamsMi-Tabrid, p. 254.
The fact is that reason is considered helpless in z.' Behind the whole corporeal1.1niverse there lies all other universe,
an Ideal or spiritua! universe. This is the real unh?erse' that which
such a case ; if the heart is cleansed ' from the stain we see with our. physical eyes is, considered apart fr~m it, but a
~hadow or reflection, so it is the knowledge of the reality, and not tbe
of being' it is right with God. All is then well Im::ge, ~bat the soul needs, for her nature belongs essentially to that
WhICh IS real and deathless.' Bonner, The Nineteenth Century
Sepelmber 1927, p. 338. •
1 Matl1nawi, Book I, Tale xiv. 3 ~\.o o.u.5 ..,..IJ"" ~;\ ~ Gu!snan.;-Riiz.
24 MYSTICISM IN ISLAM MA'RIFAT 2S

and negations and becomes free from all need of What is mosque, what is syna2"ogue, what is fire
temple? 1
worship and ceremony, now seizes the skirt of the
Ancient of the wine-house.' I The' Ancient' is Theideaof ' I ' and' we ' is for this lower worldly
the Pir by whom the Mudd, or disciple, has been state, where praise and prayer ascend to God; but
th~ higher state is this : -
initiated, and under whose training he at length
Immersed in the Beloved we shall be,
arrives at this exalted state. The $11£1 values the When in one soul shall we be ' I ' and' thee.'·
Qur'an as a divine revelation, but in practice he Jam! in the poem called Sataman ~and Absal
substitutes the voice of the Pir, his spiritual says:-
director. Lcve is only
But all that takes time and he must commence Perfect when itself transcends
at the first stage, that of servitude. He becomes Itself, and, one with that it loves,
an 'Abid, a servant. At this stage the honour of In undivided Being blends.
man lies in his being under compulsion, not in his Having thus learnt to throw off forms, looking
possession of free will. forwards to the true union, the traveller can advance
The next stage is that of love, 'the Sovereign one stage more. He becomes a Zahid, or abstract-
Alchemy which transmutes the base metal of ed. Contemplation and silence are now his duty.
humanity into the Divine Gold: Jalalu'd-Dfn He must not respond to any earthly love, for the
says : - 'lover of God must be silent.'5 This entire
Love Him whom saints and prophets all have loved; abstraction is called tajrid, literally, a stripping off,
Through whom alone we aU have llved and moved.· and, in $Ufi language, a turning away from self and
But to realize this love perfectly, all notions of time all else, the mortification of all desires, sensual and
and space must be set aside. intellectual. It is only as this abstraction is
Straightway lift yourself above time and space, persevered in and made perfect that the light of
Quit the world and be yonrself a world to yourself. $ .divine" guidance shines upon the path, and the Salik'
The outward forms of religion and custom no longer rises to this high dignity.
bind the traveller. Distinction between the creeds ~ The light then comes and the next stage, that of
passes away. The authority of law is over the Ma'rifat, or knowledge, is entered upon. It is by
, I,' but
the light of the truth that truth is known. The
When' I ' and ' thou' remain uot in the midst,

::J. Gulshan~i.RazJ line 836. _1 &II.. ft~ ":- ~ "':- ~ ":- * /fJ1"..)~ oil\.oJ (;)~ 1 , ~
• \"S' , )~ ,\ 0-'"";\ .uti\, * (".,;\ ;s.4.,. .s r:)?y:., I;)~ 0-'"" - Gulshan-i-Rliz, lines 504-5.
MatlJ nawi, Book I, Tale i. , oil,..... I;)\;I". <31"'-- ..,..,.~ * oil,.. (:)1". ~ 4Ib ""'I, &"\i
',.. (;)\.;'> ~f> )~ ~,,>, }~ (;)4'> * (;)fjl " l' -I; ~
(;)\5.,., Matl!naW;.
Gulshan-i-Raz, line 299.
26 MYSTICISM IN ISLAM
tIAL 21
traveller has no real existence of his own, it is only
by the communicated knowledge of the existence divine power can be exercised without impugning
of God that he can know Him. 'Beside Him is divine goodness. The difficulty of the existence
no knower or known.' The true knowledge of God of evil, and the apparent contradiction of absolute
is now revealed to th~ traveller, who learns the sovereignty and free will face him, as it does all men,
reality of that for which he has so long been but through ma'rifat, or gnosis, he learns to under-
seeking.' stand it all and to reconcile the apparently
We have already seen that God created the worlds irreconcilable. '
in order to manifest forth H is glory. 'The first thing This high knowledge leads on to Hal or waJ"d , .,
created was 'Aql, or Reason; Logos, the unspoken which is a state of ecstasy. l;IaI is defined to be
Thought, then the spoken Word. From this' Aql, , a state which occurs to the heart spontaneously
or Logos, emanated the 'aql-i-kulI, or Universal and without effect, like grief or fear, or desire or
Soul, the sum of all the divine attributes, called the joy, and which ceases as soon as the natural disposi-
'ayan-i.thabita.' The light of these divine ideas tions of the soul manifest themselves.' Hal is a
then shone upon the darkness of Not-being and each state of feeling which God causes to pass ~ver the
atom of Not-being reflected one of them. Heaven heart; it comes and goes as God wills; it is
an.d the Angels, for instance, reflected the attributes often transient, but, if God wills, it may abide
of mercy and hell, and the devils the attributes of permanently.
terror. At last the soul of man, which reflects all Happy that time when we leave ourselves ,
When we shall be rich in deepest poverty.2
the attributes, merciful and terrible, was created.
The next stage is that of l;Iaqiqat, the Truth.
I Man is thus a microcosm, or recapitulation of the
This is called by some the stage of saintship, as
whole universe. On the one side he is luminous
being that at which saints and prophets arrive. It
with the light of the merciful attributes, but on the
has its. most perfect and complete example in
other he is black with the darkness of the terrible
Mu1;mmmad, who is the Saint and Prophet, par
ones, reflected in his essential Not-being.' He is
excellence.
thus created 'half to rise and half to fall' and has
power to refuse the evil and choose the good. It
is the object of the' Arif, or Gnostic, to penl"trate 1. , The'Arif, ,?r ~n.osticJ bad pa~sed tgrough many grades and a
~ng cours~ of dlscIplme un?er vanous PlIs, or spiritual directors, ere
into this divine scheme and to understand how e had attaIned. to the Gnosls, which viewed all exi",ting religious as
mo:e or less fatnt utterances of that great underlying Truth with
1. This mystic knowledge differs from ordinary knowledge ('Hm).
-jf:~Ch he had fi?allyen.tered into communion.'. (Browne, A Literary
It is the direct knowledge of God, gained not by human reaSOD, but 'lstory of Pers:a, vol. I, p. 421). Dhu'l-Nun, a Copt or Nubiam by
by revelation, or through apocalyptic visions. As a light from above :ce, was an early ex.ponent of this doctrine of Ma·rifat. He is said to
it flashes into the heart. It may be compared with the gnosis of the __ ave bee~ a student of Greek wisdom, but he was regarded byortho~
th~sophy of Hellenism. The $iif1who gains the knowledge is now do~ MUS!lms as ~ free-thinker (zindiq). See Encyclopadia of RetigiotJ
an I Arif-one who knows.
_anU. E tkics, vol. lX, p. 12. '.
2 Gulskan-i-Raz, line 690.
 2S MySTICIS:M IN ISLAM UNION" WiTH dOD 29
Individual saints are, as it were, his members, , I,' I we/ ' thou,' and' He ' are all one thing,
For he is the whole and they are the parts. ' For in unity there is no distinction of persons. 1
The next stage is that of Wa~l, or union with The verse of the Qur'an, 'Oh! thou soul which
'God. 'By the help of God's grace I am now art at rest, return to thy Lord, pleased and pleasing
become safe, because the unseen King says to, me, Him: enter thou among my servants, and enter
" Thou art the soul of the world.'" God is the thou my Paradise' (Suratu'I-Fajr Ixxxix. 27-30) is
world and the $uff at this stage becomes identical interpreted to mean that God and the blessings of
with the divine essence and can say with Man~ur His presence are to be found in the heart of the
I:Ialhij, ' I am God.'2 He now ignores all separate believer. Thus Jaliilu'd-Dfn says : -
existence, and nothing remains but real Being. The Prophet said, that God hath declared,
Thus JaIalu'd-Dfn:- I am not contained in aught above or below.
There is no ' two' unless you are a worshipper of form ; I am uot cO,ntained in earth, or sky, or even
Before Him who is without form all becomes one. In highest heaveu, know this for a surety, 0 beloved!
I am contained in the believer's heart!
Thus Ma'ard;-
Thy beauty is the mediciue of their care, If you seek me, searCh in such hearts. 2
Union with thee their hope that kills despair, He also said : -
Unless with loving hands thou lead them on, The heart is love's register,
Their souls will go the way their hearts have gone. The Book (Qur'an) is not better than it. 3
Sa'df says that the pinnacle of union cannot be In $uH language the heart is a non-material
reached until individual existence (selfhood) is essence, which like a mirror reflects the reality of all
, destroyed (Ode Ixii. IO), and that he who loses his things.
heart in the street of the Beloved will find it again This union with God is sometimes based on the
in the light of the Beloved's face: in other words, verse' He is the first and the last: the Seen and the
the Suff, who loses his (phenomenal) self in God, in Hidden I (literally, the exterior and the interior)
the iight of the Divine Reality will find his real
1......,,; di, l,. , <:Y' =F C)I)J * ......,,; d,J I; 0"" =J"'~ yu..
self. i.OI; <Il"'" ~W = ....,)J II! * i"':' ~ .......... ", i, l,., <:Y'
The following passage from the Gulshan·i·Raz GulsnanMiMRdz, lines 448-9.
describes this stage more fully : - • ~, 'I,)J <Il"'" ,.""& <:Y' * ......I ~J".". 0"" i!t ~ ~
The glory of the ',Truth' admits of no duality, }!Y; <.5' l:J'<"'! (:)!I ~ <:Y'
(:)IJ * y.; .,;of', (:)\.0-', 0"""j)"
In that glory is no 'I,' nor' we,' nor' thou.' ..,.Jb I.,lJ (:)I;J d,.. I,r" :f" j'>o"<.5' ~ 0'"'"
JJ )"
1 JJifr ~ (:)1.4\, ~ ,I i!t * JJ,.." 1'; IJ,I L,l,1 J,.., Matl!:nawi, Book I, Tal~ viii.
There is a tradition to the same effect.
t ~ Mau§iur E:!aIlaj was beheaded in A..B:. 309 for this saying.
\;\ ~
'which was looked upon as heresy. Before his execution he was J,lW <IllI J'of' ~rll y,u
subjectecI to the'most frightful tortures. For-an excellent account of The hearts of believers are the throne of God,
this remarkable man see Browne. A Lit~ary History of Pe1"sia, vol.
i, Pl" 426-36.
S ~ (:)!jl"l ",W' 1~ * ......
J" raJ
 , .. , .• J.. ANNIHILATION OF SELF 31.
MYSTICISM IN ISLAM

(Suratu'I-I;Iadfd lvii. 3). -?uffs explain the term Now 'man, the final product of this evolutionary
exterior (~ahir) to be everything that appears, so chain, returns to his original home.' It is annihil-
that all things are God; but the orthodox say that ation in God (Fana fi'llah). This' absorption in
the terms' exterior and interior' are only proofs of the Deity, the merging of the individ ual.soul of the
His existence not of His nature. Saint in the universal soul of God is the ultimate
Ja1<ilu'd-Dfn describes how the emancipated man aim of -?6.ffism.' I
is exalted above heaven and earth and rises to a Jalalu'd-Dfn says, ' Annihilate thyself before the
state past all description. It was : - One. If thou wouldest shine with splendour of day,
Ecstasy and words beyond all ecstatic words, burn up thy separate existence as black as night.' 2
Immersion in the glory of the Lord of glory, Bayazfd of Bfstam was the great exponent of this
Immersion from which escape was none doctrine.
Except as ocean, no one knew him more.' A story is told of how a gnat carne to Solomon
A favourite illustration is that of a number of '.. and complained about the enmity of the wind. The
candles, each of which gives light; but the full Kingsummoned both parties to his presence. The
light of all cannot be divided into separate parts. wind came and instantly the gnat flew away. This
One light and one only is diffused. is said to represent those who seek the presence of
He also says, 'If the highest and most glorious God and when He appears, they vanish. In other
unity, which is God Himself, is to be united on the words there must be annihilation of self, before
Soul, it must be through oneness.' At this stage the there can be union with God.
desire for heaven may be a hindrance to the perfect . Jalalu'd-Dfn relates that one day a lover knocked.
man. at the door of the Beloved, who said, 'Who is
What have we to do with desire for the highest heaven there?' 'It is 1,' said the lover. The answer
When our journey is to the rose-garden of unity.
. came, 'This house will not hold me and thou.'
(illazalf defines this absorption as a state when' a
The sad lover wandered in the wilderness for a short
man is so utterly absorbed that he perceives nothing
time and fasted and prayed, and, after a year had
of what is passing around, yet while absent, as it
passed, returned and knocked at the door once
were, from all things whatsoever, he is journeying to
more. Again the question was put, 'Who is
his Lord and then zn his Lord.'
there?' 'It is thou,' replied the lover. The door
The next and final stage is Fana, or extinction.
was immediately opened. The Beloved and the
, J~\ ,J JL..,>- )" /l::.....f;.$ ..;/' * JIi, J6. ..,;I;,.J' .J1i, J6.. ·lover met and became one.
,"","-~ <..r~ 4)" ~ 4 * ";:'.1.-004 cs"'lk ~ d ~/'
Matllnawi, Book I, Tale vii.
This is known as l).ulul by which in the present Hie. God ,e~ters into 1 Gibb, History of Ottoman Poetry, p. 63
the hnman soul. The idea is based on the old Persian bebef about :t Matb.nawi, Book I. Tale x.
reincarnation and to the Neo-Platonic theories on the SUbject.
32 MYSTICISM IN ISLAM THE MYSTIC CIRCLE 33
Reason is called upon to tread the way of annihil- when once these' have been supplied the water is
ation in order to get the larger life. '0 Reason, turned off and the mill stops. I A t this stage it is
to gain eternal life, live everlastingly the way of useless to enunciate the dogma of the Unity even.
death.' I So long as there is any sense -of individ- The true light is gained not by accepting a C:ogma,
uality -left, even prayer is not real. but by the annihilation of self in the darkness of
When your essence is free from all stain (of individ-
the night of non-existence. The seeker after all
uality),
Then it is that your prayers are a joy. his search, the traveller after all his wearisome
There remains then nO distinction, . journey, passes behind the veil and finds-nothing.
Knower and known are one and the same.' Sad ending to so much effort.
It is the mark of the perfect man that, after being The circle is now complete. In the downward
lost to self, he abides in God; he passes from descent law was obeyed and creeds were believed;
plurality to unity. This is the baqa after (ana. in the upward ascent 2 the hold on both was loosened'
So in Farfdu'd-Dfn 'Attar's delightful Allegory, the more and more, until at last the traveller became
Mantiqu'f-Tayr, the Simurg, who in $Uff poetry the azad, or the free; the be-shara', or one without
represents the Supreme Being, addresses the birds, law; the majdJlub-i-mutlaq, or the entirely devoted"
who represent the seekers of the divine way, the So 'his end is joined to his beginning,' and he
Tarfqat, thus: 'Annihilate yourselves now in me re-enters the normal element from which he origi-
joyfully nally sprung. This casting aside of all law is
.III me. , and gloriously so that you find yourselves
the logical result of Pantheism. If God be all
The object of the Salik is now to 'lose all cons- in all, and man's apparent individuality a delusion
ciousness of individual existence-to sink in the of the perceptive faculty, there exists no will which
ocean of Divine Life, as a breaking bubble into can act, no conscience which can reprove or
the stream on the surface of which it has for a applaud. 4
moment arisen.'
1 Matflnawi, Book If Tale ii.
All creeds, all law, are things of the past. They Z In this ascent ('UrUj) a man at first is a believer (Mu'min), then
a recluse (Z3:hid), then a knower ('Arlf) , then a ,saint (WaI1) and
had a temporary use, but are now no more. lastly a prophet (Nab!) and when his mission" is accomplished he
Jalalu'd-Dfn compares them to water flowing down is the seal (Khatm). Then Mul}.ammad is called ' The Seal of the
Prophets' (Khatmu'I-Anbiya').
a mill stream which provides for man's needs, but !J Ja9lJb or attraction is the act10f God draWIng a man towards
Himself. Man is entangled in the affairs of this world until the grace
of God attracts him from it. Many ~iifis remain at tbi::; stage and do
not pass from it. He who does go farther on the Path is called a
1 Diwa1:~i-S1zams~i.Taorizi, Ode iv. Maj@ub-j-Siilik .
• ~\ E,; <WI "'Of =}.,; * """" ....... 51 "''''I CS\ .,wI.; fr .. 'The Divine Immanences is a truth E'!ssential to religion . . . . The
Christian Apostle can claim as a belief common to himself and his
~ ~ ..........)~, ....,)"," "',-" * j."'; ~ 0;1"..;", ,,;W Greek audience, that U in God we live aDd move and have oor being,"
Gulshan·i-Raz, line 412~ and that U we also are His offspring." But the Divine Immanence
may be interpreted either consistently with, or antagonistically to,
5
 WIS:E SAYI~GS 35
34 MYSTICISM IN ISLAM
The man of God is drunken without wine,
At'this stage there is often some confusion of The man of God is a treasure in a ruin.
thought in Persian poetry, for th~ perfect devotee The man of God is made wise by the Truth,
is sometimes represented as obedient to law. The man of God is not learned from books.'
The Saint is obedient as to his essence, To the man of God right and wrong are alike. 2
He is -a devotee in the street of essence. The earlier Mu1.J.ammadan mystics~ sought to
However his work is finished at the time impart life to a rigid and formal ritual,3 and though
That his end is joined again to his beginning.' the seeds of pantheism were planted in their system
The explanation seems to be that, having rna.de from the first, they maintained that they were
the ascent to the divine, he now descends agam, orthodox. 'Our system of doctrine,' said AI-
not as at first, but in God, in order that he may Junayd, 'is firmly bound up with the dogmas of
make disciples of others still in darkness ax:d the Faith, the Qur'an, and the Traditions.' There
error. 2 Thus, for the sake of example only he IS was a moral earnestness about these men which
obedient. Those whom he gains then make the frequently restrained the arm of unrighteous despot-
ascent as he has done, and so all $Ufis come at last ism, and their sayings seem to show some
to the stage when 'Gracious is He to those who appreciation of the spiritual side of life. Thus,
· '3
return to H 1m. "As neither meat nor drink profit the deceased
In an ode of much beauty in the original, Shams- body, so no warning avails to touch the heart full
i-Tabrizi describes the perfect $ufi. A few lines of the love of the world.' , The work of the holy
are here given. 4 man doth not consist in this, that he eats grain and
~. ethical monotheism," such as was r~ached by H~brew Prophets,
an. e basis of Christian theology. If numanence IS understood as ,
d
:3:'de;;t;h
the universe and God are so absolu.tely one that.man has no y\;:S";1 o.,,;u ..".....; I "yo * ",I ..;...;\ ,J\1' I.... "yo
~e:don::. no responsibility, no sin and ~o guilt, a~d G~d 1S expresse~. yl,.., , u... "':- ~ 1 "yo
'0 the crimes and vices of human hIstOry as In t e progres~ 0
1 kind in truth, righteousness. grace: the,: :ve haye vanthelsz;o.. Diwanwi~Shams~i~ Tabrizi Ode viii. The translation of this. and of
J

ma; that is essent!ally opposed to the ChnstIan. faith. (GarvIe, several other quotations, is by R. A. Nicholson, whose edition of the
S~udies in the Imter Life of Jesus, p'. 5~). Th~ .seems to be the Diwiin is an excellent one.
f the Sunistic doctrine of absorphon m the DIVine. l. Mere learning from books will not make a theologian. The
r e It
suo" I'\; knowledge of God comes by ~ love, the spiritual faculty, intoition,
1 ~ <.Sf)" ..j, ",\1' "y, *
~ <.S,) j <.3"' {;l "y, illumination which is opposed to ~ , the intellectual faculty.
~~I j~ ",,} jill, ~ * ~w \, .,;.,IS :'-') ..s:>, .J, 2 The Sun
is above law. All he does, good or bad J is in harmony
• These obscure verses are explained by a ~erSlan commeDta~or ~o with the divine will•
mean that, thottgh the man is absorbe-d In. the Truth, h~ IS sti~l 3 Of them Professor Brown says, I We find their utterances reflecting

obedient as to bis essence, because by obedIence he obtamed hIS little more than a devout quietism, an earnest desire for something
deeper and more satisfying to ardent s.ouls than the formalism. gene 4

exaltation.
2 This is the mark of the Perfect
M
an, W h a J?-o t onI Y'.Journeys. t 0 rally prevalent in Isl3.m, and a paSSIonate Jove of God for HIS own
G d . sses from plurality ~o unity, but zn and wzth God, I.e. sake not for the sake of the rewards or punishments which He may
o t! l.t;:. ~an the nUI'tl've state he returns with God to the phenomenal best~w. . . , So 'Attar quotes the saying of a ~ufiJ I ' 0 God, Thou
con mumg 1 which he set 1 out and mamfests ··t " I I"t '
UUl y In P UTa 1 y. knowest that in mine eyes the Eight Paradises weigh no more than
,yorId , Irom It' 163 the Wing of a gnat compared with the: honour ",:hich Thou h~st shQw~
Nicholson, The MysHcs of ..sam, p. .
3 Suratu Bani Isra il, XVll. 27. me in giving me Thy love. JJ I A L'Zterary H'Zstory of Pers'Za, vol. 1,
p.424.
, yl;,,-)" "y, lfn.... "YO * Y\r60 """ "y, ....-- 1.... ..,yo
.36 MYSTICISM IN ISLAM: CHARACTER OF sUFirSM 37
clothes himself in Suf, or wool; but in the know- revelation, is inculcated, the author now and again
ledge of God a~d in submission to His will.' teaches sound and wise principles.
'Hide thy good deeds as closely as thou wouldst To trust in God, and yet put forth our utmost skill,
hide thy .ins.' 'He will never gain heaven, who The surest method is to work His holy will,
considers himself perfect.' 'Boast not brother; The friend of God must work.
Again he says : -
whatsoever thou hast done, God knows thy heart.'
The Prophet cried with a loud voice,
'The light of religion· alone can quench the fi~e Trust in God, yet tie the camel's leg.
of lust.' , 'INait content, God knows what IS Hear the adage, ' The worker is the frjend of God; ,
best.' Trust in Providence, but neglect not to use means. 1
Now and again men are warned that they wiII In Course of time pantheistic ideas were super-
reap as they sow, and in a striking passage JahiIu'd- ad?ed to the quietism of the earlier $uf!s, a step
Din describes how at the day of judgement every neIther long nor difficult. An extreme form of it is
thought which has passed through the mind in this found in Al-I;IalIaj,2 who in his ecstasies said, 'I
life wiII be embodied in a visible form, just as the am the Truth,' and claimed that the Deity had
ideas of the architect find an outward expression in become incarnate in him and that he was God. So
the completed building, or as a tree in the devel- the effect of the system has been bad and has
opment of the seed placed in the ground. I worked for evil in Islam. Pantheistic in creed and
In the wild days when Muslim chiefs went forth too often antinomian in practice, it possesses. no
to conquer or to die, when dynasty succeeded regenerative power. The divorce between the reli-
dynasty in bewildering rapidity, when might was gious and the worldly life has been disastrous.
right and autocratic power ruled, sometimes welI $Ufiism has discriminated between those who by
oftener iII, the $uff poets acted as men of heroic renouncing the world profess to know God, and
mould and gave to Sultans and to Shahs, fearless those whom it terms the ignorant herd. When it
of alI consequence, sound and good advice. Thus was believed that there was identity of essence
the poet Jami to a ruler could say:- between God and man, a distinct and separate
Thou art a shepherd, and thy flock the people existence could not be allotted to either. When
To help aud save, not ravage and destroy,
man's apparent individuality is looked upon as a
For which is for the other, flock or shepherd?
delusion of the perceptive faculty, there seems no
Even in a book like the great poem of Jahilu'd-
Din, in which $ufiism pure and simple, with alI its
disregard for the outward restraints of an objective
'""4' 7'-'" ill JSi 4 *...J, .>9, yo""" ",-;$

,... J'olS -;~ JS'i jI "

* "..... ol!J\......".,.. _~\ Y";
Z 'Matllnawi, Book 1: Tale v.
Foz: a good account of Al~1:IaIlal) see Browne, A Literary! Hist:;yy
J.

:I. }l1ail!nawi, Book v, 'rale viii. of Persta, vol. i. pp.42-836.

 MYSTIctSM. IN tSLAM SALAMAN AND ABSAL 39
room left for will or conscience. 'A movement which is unrivalled as an exposition of ~u£1ism. It
animated at its outset by a high and lofty purpose is the Salaman and A bsat by the great poet Jamf.
has degenerated into a fruitful source of iII. The The advantage of the form of .instruction he has
stream which might have been a fertilizing river adopted in it is that the tale is continuous and is
has b-ecome a vast swamp, exhaling vapours charged explained by the author himself. _
with disease and death.' Moral laws and cere- Jamf according to the usual custom of the poets,
monial observances have only an allegorical meaning. commences by an invocation of the eternal Spirit.
Creed's are but fetters cunningly devised to limit Then confused and lost in the contemplation of
the flight of the soul; all that is objective in religion self and of that 'other than self' he prays,
is a restraint to the reason of the ini tiated. The Do Thou my separate and derived self
mystic finds great joy in the movements of his soul, Make one with thy Essential! Leave me room
and is apt to treat more lightly of the necessary On that Divan which leaves no room for twain;
Lest, like the simple Arab in the tale,
contact of the mind with the things of sense, and to
I grow perplext, Oh God, 'twixt' Me ' and' Thee'
neglect essential duties. If I-this spirit that inspires me whence?
How it all deadens the sense of sin is seen in If Thou-then what this sensnal impotence?
'Umar Khayyam's verse, This gives the key-note to the whole story which
K!!ayyam! why weep you that your life is bad; is an account of the way in which the soul returns
What boots it thus to mourn? Rather be glad.
He that sins not can make no claim to mercy; to Him who made it. The Arab story referred to
Mercy was made for sinners-be not sad. is an amusing and excellent illustration of the
In a collection of short fragmentary pieces like manner in which matters of serious moment were
the Divan of I;Hfi?;, or in a longer poem like the lightly parodied.
Mathnawi of Jalalu'd-Dfn, the pearls of ~u£1istic A simple Arab of the desert came to the busy
lore, to use an eastern metaphor, are loosely strung city of Baghdad. The busy bustling crowd con-
together, and it is only very patient students who fused this child of the desert. He longed for rest
can find the esoteric meaning of the poet. I There .and sleep, but thought that, if he went to sleep, he
is, however, a small poem less widely known, but would not, on waking up, know himself, so he tied
a gourd round his ankle and went to sleep. A man,
1 Forbidden things are spoken of as if they were lawful; such as who had heard him express his doubts, quietly took
wine, taverns, curls of the mistress and sweethearts. The explanation
given is that ~ufis look at the internal features of things, exchange the gourd from the ankle of the sleeping man and
the corporeal for the spiritual, and thus to outward fonn give an
imaginary signification. By wine they mean the love of God, the
fastened it on his own, and then also laid down to
tavern is the excellent preceptor to whom a strong personal attach- sleep, but
ment is formed. The curls of the beloved are the praises of the
preceptor which bind the heart and affections of the disciple to him. By and by the Arab waking,
Similar mystical meanings are given to other terms of a mundane Looks directly for his signal,
character. Sees it On another's ankle,
40 MYSTICISM IN If:?LAM SALAMAN DA ABSAL 41

Cries aloud, ' Oh good-for-nothing she had cared for and tended. At length he falls a
Rascal to perplex me so ! victim to her blandishment. The Shah and the
That by yOI1 I am bewildered, .
Whether I be I or 110 !
Sage are sorely grieved. The father bids the boy
If I-the pumpkin why on you? ride, hunt, fight, do anything except submit 'to be
If you-then where am I and who ?' slain by the arrow eye of a gazefle.' The Sage next
After this serious and this comic introduction tried to reason with the lad. But to his entreaties
the story begins. A king had a wise counsellor and to those of his father Sahiman turned a deaf ear,
who guided him in all matters of state-craft with so and, being unable to meet the arguments' of the
much skill that the rule of the Shah extended to the Sage, he placed Absal on a fleet camel, and
Koh-i-kaf, .the limits of the then known world. Far mounted by her side stole away.. Six days and
and wide went the mandate of the Shah, and none nights they hurried on, till their further flight was
dared to disobey his behest, but notwithstanding arrested by a mighty sea. The lovers felt that
all this power and glory the heart of the Shah was safety was only to be secured on the other side, and
sad. He had no son and heir. He called for his to attain this end they constructed a skiff of scented
counsellor, known as the Sage, and confided tohim wood and launched upon the deep. At length,
his intense desire for a son; but the Sage pointed they reached an island, rich in flowers and fruit,
out that all the advantages of a son so eloquently and in birds of varied plumage and sweet of song.
described by the Shah relate to a good son, but, as Salaman now found rest. All thought of journeying
bad sons are not unknown, his advice is that the onward passed away and both gave themselves up
Shah should not trouble about it. to full enjoyment.
The Shah retained his desire, and lo! from dark- All this time the Shah had mourned for the flight
ness came a child to light, a child formed in no of his son. He changed his' royal robefor ashes,
carnal mould. His name was SaIaman. I As he and his throne for dust.' All search for the
had no earthly mother, a young and beautiful nurse, fugitives failed. Then from his secret art the Sage
Absal by name, tended him with loving care till he vizier made a magic mirror. The Shah looked
reached the age of fourteen. As a lad he excelled upon the mirror and saw in the far distant isle his
in all manly exercises, was skilful with the lyre, darling entranced by the charms of the beautiful
melodious in song, and played to perfection the Absal. Days passed by and still the Shah beheld
chess 2 of social intercourse. Meanwhile .Absal his son now in the woman lost, and the crown that
looks with desire upon the beauty of the lad whom should adorn his head trampled under by a base
desire.
1 A compound of Salamat (peace) and Asman (heaven), for he
brought the peace of Paradise to his father. The Shah now lost all patience, and brought all
2 Metaphors and similes dra.wn from the game of chess are
constantly used by Persian poets.
the power of his will to bear on the young prodigal.
6
 TH:~ FiRST IN'rELLIGENC~ 43
4Z MYSTICISM IN ISLAM
lord the Shah, and came to do obeisance to the son
Then Salaman in agony and despair turned and lost and found, the heir to the golden crown and
saw his father's arm ready to rescue him from his throne of gold.
fate. But the attractions of Absal were still too This is a bare outline of the tale, after the relation
strong. Again he leaves his home and flees with of which the poet proceeds to supply' the key to
the partner of his faults and follies. This time it is unlock the cabinet of meaning.' The Creator of the
not to an earthly paradise, but to the solitude of universe created ten Intelligences. Salaman is the
desolation-a wilderness of death. Sad and weary soul made of pure spirit, which, however, requires
they construct a funeral pile, apply a light and leap for its outward garb a body. This is Absal.
into the flame. These, in such a bond
But the Sage United, which God alone can divide,
In: secret all had order'd, and the flame As lovers in this tale are signified.
Directed by his self-fulfilliug will,
Devouring her to ashes, left untouched
The island is the' world of being,' in which the
Sahiman-all the baser metal burn'd, soul remains apart from God. Salaman in this
And to itself the authentic gold return'd. external world found no permanent joy. Then the
Salaman now stood alone in his individuality, but -Sage calls up a phantom Absal and shows to
that utter loneliness was maddening, his sighs rose Salaman that it is purer and better for him than the
up like smoke to heaven. Then the Sage, exer- companion of his existence in the world of sense.
cising his magic will, raised a phantom of Absal Then all mortal love, all desire for phenomenal
which appeared for a while and then passed into existence passes away, and Salam an reigns one
oblivion. The sight recalled Salaman to himself with the First Inte11igence.
and again the flame of love was kindled. The Sage The point of the allegory is that Salaman returns
saw this and described in glowing terms the not to the 'Incomparable Creator,' but to that
lovely Zuhrah (Venus), a very star of beauty, which He created, 'the First Intelligence.' I It
to whom Abs,H and all such worldly creatures is certainly to this, and not to the Creator to which
were but as the glimmer of a taper. Salaman Jam! makes Salaman return. The Muslim idea of
listened and, as he listened, Zuhrah in all God is that of a pitiless fate-a God afar elL
her glorious beauty stood beside him, and then $Uflism is an attempt of the human mind to bridge
for ever blotted Absal's image from his breast. over this gulf. This First Intelligence, or Primal
Thus he left that which was earthly, and let it go Element, is represented as a manifestation of God,
for the eternal love, which he at last. had found. a means by which other created beings are formed.
Great were now the rejoicings in the Court of the
'1 Ten Intelligences were created and Whinfield says, The (Gnostic)
Shah. Kings and Princes, Amfrs, and Nobles, all . j

....-Enos were probably the prototypes of the :;luff Ten Intelligences'

from far and near obeyed the call of their sovereign Lawa'ih, p. 65.
44 MYST!ctSM IN ISLAM UNITY IN CHRIST 45
The question then arises, whether all allusions in antidote for both isa faith in great historical facts,
the $Ufi poets to the absorption of the soul in a on which the religious convictions of all men alike
superior being mean re-union with God, or with can depend.
some manifestation of God. The Qur'an says The $uH, being a Muslim, was too proud to
plainly enough 'From Him was the origin <lnd to search into the true historical facts of the Christian
Him i"s the return.' I lami might reply that' Him' religion, or he would then have found just what
here means God as manifested in the First Intelli- would have met his case and satisfied his soul-God
gence, by which He, the Shah of the allegory, manifested, not in some intangible principle, but in
created the worlds and through which He executes a living person, in One who' is the image of the
His decrees. If lami's exposition of $uf! doctrine invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. For
is correct, it makes even the most spiritual aspect by Him were all things created that are in heaven,
of Islam dark and dreary, for it shows us how men, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether
apparently longing for a closer communion with they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or
God, fell short of the mark; how even to them He powers: all things were created by Him and for
is still' sterile in His inaccessible height,' satisfied Him, and He is before all things, and by Him all
to let them feel that they can never be more than things consist' (Colos. i. 15-17). Those in whom
slaves, that nearness to Him is impossible. They His spirit dwells are His spiritual body. Thus, do
felt the need of some intermediary, they found it in they even now become joined to Him, as the
a revival of the old Gnostic notions of the JEons, branches are in the vine. They are one in life, one
forms of manifestation of the Ineffable and In- in purpose; but, preserving now and evermore a
comprehensible. 'From this inc'omprehensible conscious eXistence, are prepared to enjoy through.
essence of God an immediate transition to finite out time and eternity communion with one who is
things is not conceivable. Self-limitation is the very God of very God. To such a conception the
first beginning of a communication of life on the Sufi never attained, for conscious union with God
part of God, the first passing of the hidden Deity to him seemed hopeless, and repudiating altogether
into manifestation, and from this proceeds all further the true meaning of the Incarnation of the Son of
self-developing manifestation ofthe divine essence.'2 God, his only aspiration was to become extinct in
All this, to which the $uf! would subscribe, shows' the Primal Intelligence, the goal of all his efforts.
how much $ufiism owes to Gnosticism. The true He failed to realize the higher truth which
inspires the Christian poet:-
:J. Suratu Yuuas x. 4. Plotinus. a mystic who lived in the third That each who seems a separate whole,
century A.D., said, • That man's duty was to return to the One. The Should move his rounds, and fusing all
motive for the rettlrn was the lo\·e of the divine spark in his soul for The skirts of self again, should fall
its souI:ce.' Lawa'ik, p. 67.
S Neander, Church History, vol. ii, p. 11. Remerging in the general soul,
 MYSTICiSM iN ISLAM
AL-GHAZALf's VIEW 47
Is faith as vague as all unsweet.
Eternal form shall still divide from Plotinus. Such a $6.f{lsm may be described
The eternal soul from all beside, as Muslim mystic theology purged of its Shi'ite
And I shall know him when we meet.' accretions. The admission of a modified ~uffism
There is much that is sublime in the idea of the into the orthodox church of Islam took place in
- search after life and truth; but $6.fiism ends in the sixth century A.H,' ' -
utter negation of all separate existence. Pantheistic
in creed, and too often antinomian in practice, it
possesses no regenerative power. When man's
apparent individuality is looked upon as a delusion,
1 O'Leary, Arabic Tlwugkl and Its Place in History, p. 204. On
there seems to remain no room for will or conscience. 2,haztlli's work, see De Boer, Philosoflky in Islam, pp. 155-68.
, The spiritualism of the $6.fis, though it seems the
contrary of materialism, is really identical with it;
but if their doctrine is not more reasonable, it is, at
least, more thoughtful.'2
'Though the ~6.fi saints may be our forerunners
on the way to God, it yet remains that only as
dominated by specially Christian convictions can
mysticism bring to us an inwardness, which carries
with it no peril of delusion, a spirituality, which
does not menace our ethical life, and an absorption
in the Divine, which does not destroy the sacred-
ness of our personality and the reality of our
freedom,"
The orthodox Sunni objections to $6.flism were
greatly removed by the teaching and writings of
AI-(ihazali (born A.H. 1051). In a modified form he
introduced it into Sunnl theology. 'At the same
time he reduced $6.fiism to a scientific form, and
gave, or rather supported, a terminology derived
1 TeDDyson, In Memoriam,
:IGarcin de Tassy, Palsie PkilosoPlltque et Religiousie chez les
Pwsans, p. 2.
:) Heman, The Meaning and Valt~e of Mysticism, p. 371.
 THEliliARIJITES 49
declared that no one equalled him in the knowledge
of the Sunna, the oral law of faith and practice
based on the traditional sayings and actions of the
II Prophet. In Suratu'n-Najm !iii. r it is said of
THE SHf'AHS' Muhammad that 'he erreth not, nor is he led
astr~y.' The Shf'ahs say that this shows that in his
'ALI, the cousin of the Prophet and by his marriage affection for and preference of'Ali he did not err,
with Fatima his son-in-law, was much beloved by but was divinely guided.
Muham~ad. He was one of the earliest converts 'Alf failed to punish the murderers of his prede-
to I~lam. His personal devotion to his master was cessor, the Khalffa 'Uthman, and so alienated a
great and only equalled by the courage which he large number of people. He also foolishly dis-
showed in the warlike contests during the Prophet's missed many of 'Uthman's officials, amongst whom
career at Madina. He was the last of the four was MU'awiyya, who held ahigh command in Syria,
Rightly-guided Khalffas, the Khulafa'u'r-Rashidun. to which he had been appointed by the Khallfa
He was much more successful as a follower than 'Umar. This action was not approved of by the
as a leader. His Khalffate 2 was a failure, for he friends of 'Alf, who feared that trouble would come
lacked the qualities essential in a ruler in those of it; but 'Ali was obstinate and, perhaps he re-
troublous times; but the Prophet's love for him membered that MU'awiyya was the son of AbU
stood him in good stead and, though his promotion Sufyan, a determined opponent of the Prophet.
to the office of Khalffa was delayed for a time, it Ibn 'Abbas warned 'Alf that his opposition to
came at last. Mu!).ammad used to say, ' I and' All MU'awiyya would lead people to consider that he
are of one stock; 'Ali is a part of me "nd I of had connived at the murder of 'Uthman, whose
him.' 'He whose friend I have been, 'Alf is also assassins he had failed to punish. The result of
his friend.' 'Thou art my brother in this world this weakness was that a civil war broke out and
and the next.' 'To look upon 'Alf is devotion.' 'Alf was defeated. After the battle of Siffin
'I am the city, 'All is the gate.' The Jarudiyya (A.D. 657), by avery clever trick on the part of the
sect say that the Prophet' designated 'Alf by his partisans of MU'awiyya, the respective claims were
characteristics, but not by his name.' 3 The Khalffa submitted to arbitration and the decree went against
'Umar valued his judicial opinions and 'Ayfsha 'Alf, who properly refused to accept the decision.
1. The word Shl'ab means a party or following of 'All, so the full
A division then arose amongst the partisans of 'Alf.
Dame would be Shi'ab Ablu'l-Bayt, or follow~rs of the House, that is, One party, the Kharijites, who now deserted the
of the family of the Prophet.
2 The correct term is Khilafat, but I use the ODe more commonly caj.lse of 'Alf, held to the theory that the Khallfate
known to the Engli:->h reader.
s 41-Farf bain al-Firtzq, p. 22 l
was not hereditary, but that the believers could
7
50 ,tTHE,SHj'.AHS: ! bltATH OE causAYN .$1

elect and! depose Khalffas; I, the other 'party :was according to the Shf'ah historians, he caused him
loyal to 'Ali and the ,hereditary' principle. ,This to be put to death by poison..
dynastic ,conception is a cardinal dogma amongst Yazfd the son of MU'awiyya became the next
the, Shf'ahs to the present day. MU'awiyya at Khallfa'; but the men of K(jfa were scandalized by
Damascus was saluted as, Khallfa. 'All and his his riotous living,' and so ,they turned to Busayn,.
friends declined to acknowledge him and so there another son of I All, then residing quietly at Mecca
were now two rival Khalffas, the one (Mu'awiyya) and urged him to take up arms against Yazfd. His:
cursed in all the mosques of 'Iraq: the other ('All) friends urged him not to place any confidence in the
in all the mosques of Syria. ,'All was assassinated promised support from the fickle people of Kufa. 1
in a mosque at Kufa' on :January ,,24, A.D. 661. These fears were justified; the K(jfans gave no aid
Thus passed, away olie of the, early converts to when war was declared, and the result was a
Islam, the beloved son-in-law of the' Prophet. The crushing defeat and the sad deatIJ. of Busayn. His
troubles, through, which he passed and his striking end was very tragic. The small band of faithful
personality have contributed to make his, name followers. was slain. Busayn sat down; his little
revered, , and ,hi~ memory', kept fresh' by many son was running around him. The ene!Uy, though
millions of 'faithful' Shf'ahs even to this day. His longing for his death, for a while were restrained
fame, however, does not rest on his statesmanship, by a superstitious awe; no one ventured to rush in
but arises from the fact that. the Shf'ah system is and slay the grandson of the Prophet. Then a
derivedi from him as its' head. A curious thing chance arrow pierced the., child's ear and he died.
about it is that one, 'so; predominately an Arab, Busaynplaced the corpse on theHground and said,
should in after years find his ,strongest supporters , We came from God and return to .him. 0 God,
amongst the Persians whose dislike of the Arabs give, me strength to bear these. ,misfortunes.'
was so great. "!" , :",' ,' , Another arrow then struck him, and:seeing this the
'All's eldest son, Basan,2 made a formal renun- enemy rushed. upan him and put him to. death. " .
ciation of the KhaIffate and took 'an oath of allegiance The action of Yazfd in causing I;Iusayn to. be
to MU'awiyya, who, however, did not feel safe so thus slain, 'was a great political bhinder. 2 It ;not
long as the eldest son' of. 'AIr: was alive. So,
l 1 This is contrary to the doctrine of ortho9,o; ~~14m'L ;'..:rhe di~ity ,11 They ;~ere remarkable for perfidy .and,sting~ness. A proverb
of the Ima:;m"et does not absoiut~ly demand that the 1~~ be Just. says, I More stingy' than a~ Kt1fite 'and more perfidious.' AJ-
virtuous or \ irreproachable, cir that. he be the mo~t e~lOent and the BaghdadI, Al-Farlf bajn al,F'inlq, p. 27. ,
most excellent of the human bemgs of th~ time. (lJ{ut~eka, a 2: There is a famous fatva given by Al~£Th.azali on the aeath of
TurkIsh Law Code, quoted by D',?hsson 1.,. p. J 271). . YICes or l:!usayn. He was asked whether a person who cursed Yazid was a
tyranny in an Imam do not demand hl~ depoSltlon , (Op. elt; p',288). reprobate? _Had Yazid the intention .of, slaying l:lus~yn-, or was it
'I'he- above extr.9.cts are taken from Lyber, The Ottoman itm(nre 'tn tke done in se~f-defence ? '. The answer, given at great length, was that it
tim'of Sul'eyman, p. 165. .,," '... , ': }Vas q.uite wrong to curse Y~id, who was p.ot personally responsible
~ Ml.1Ch "hiter OD. the descendants of. his son Mul;tamma.d became fof'the uelttll' o'f !:Iusayri.. The fstva, taken froon Ibn- K-ha.Uika,n's
Snari'fs of 14oto9CO. . i i -. ~ Biographical Dictionary (Stane's ed.), voL ii, pp. 230-2, is ptinted in
fun in Osborn's Islam under thc'Ara6s, pp. 127-8.
52 . VENERATION FOR gUSAYN 53
only alienated those who had a high regard for the· to have said about I;Iusayn 'He will die for the
family of the Prophet; but it also stirred up the sake of my people.' Just before going forth on his
enthusiasm of the followers of 'Ali, and evoked, last fatal journey, standing by the grave Of the
even in the hitherto lukewarm, deep emotion and Prophet, I;Iusayn said, 'How can I forget thy
frantic grief. The plain of Karbahi is now a place people, since I am going to offer myself for their
of sacred pilgrimage to pious Shi'ahs, and the sad sake?' The Shi'ahs believe that, even if at the
event which took place there is kept alive in their Judgement Day the intercession of the Prophet
memories by the annual celebration of the Mu!).arram. should fail, the intercession of l;Iusayn will be sUc-
, Who,' says Sir William Muir, I 'that has seen the cessful. Then the Prophet will say to him, 'Go
wild and passionate grief with which at each re- thou and deliver from the flames everyone, who has
curring anniversary the Muslims of every land spend in his lifetime shed but a single tear for thee;
the life long night, beating. their breasts. and everyone who has in any way helped thee; every
vociferating unweariedly the frantic cry I;Iasan, one who has performed a pilgrimage to thy shrine,
I;Iusayn! I;Iasan, I;I usayn ! in wailing cadence, can or has mourned for thee.' It is on such traditions
fail to recognize the fatal weapon, sharp and double- Shl'ah divines base the doctrine that the death of
edged, which the Umayyad dynasty allowed thus to I;Iusayn is an atonement (kaffara) for the sins of
fall into the hands of its enemies.' The schism was those who believe in his divine right to the KhaH-
now complete and the rent thus made in the Muslim fate. 'To the Persian Shi'a, therefore, I;Iusayn
world had never since been healed. occupies the same position that Jesus Christ does to
This tragic event led, if not to the inception of the devout Christian, notwithstanding the fact that
the idea, at least, to the development of the dogma the doctrine of the Atonement is utterly foreign to
of the divine Imamat, which from henceforth could the original spirit of I slam.' I
only be exercised by a member of 'Ali's family. This idealing of what, as a matter of soberfaet,
This doctrine now established was used with great was the result of a tribal feud seems to show that
effect for political purposes by the 'Abbasid the hard and fast system of orthodox Islam failed to
Khalifas, and the 'Alids in their opposition to the find a ready response in many minds. It has been
Umayyad Khalffas. It led to the establishment of well said that' the death of I;I usayn, as idealized in
the Fatmid Khalifate in Egypt and was the real after ages, fills up a want in Islam; it is the
basis of the' Cult of 'Ali,' which has had such far- womanly as against the masculine, the Christian as
reaching effects in the Eastern world. opposed to the Jewish element, that this story
Many Shl'ah traditions have been handed down supplies to the work of lVIu!).ammad.' Starting· off
about 'AH and his family. Mu!).ammad is reported
1 Muir, Caliphate, p. 324. :l. Browne, Persian Literature in Modern Times, p. 187.
 IMAM 'lA!L-B1\K:IR 55

with ,a ,wJitipaL quarrel, the I Shf.'ahs has, travelled historians, .often. eKaggerate the: :virtues pf ,their
i,nto a distant religious position of their own. The heroes and "idealize. them; but, allowing for this, it
£undamental tenet of the Shl'ah secUs the 'divine is, ev:ident. that :Zaynu~I·'Abidfn,.was a man of
right.pf 'Ali, the chosen and his descendants.'! studious attainments;: of simple life,: upright in
The; chief duty of religion. is devotion to the Imam, conduct, wise 'in, :counsel and :justlyheldin high
911 . rontiff, of the sect, from.. which position many veneration by h:ii5.followers. During his last illness,
curiops; dogmas issue. when suffering'from the effectso~poison, he prayed
Before,' however; considering these, we must give and thanked ,God who had.given him a ·heritage in
a ,brief account 'of the. Imams' who succeeded heaven; saying, 'How·good is His reward,tothm~e
I;Iusayn and 'All; making with them the company who do good deeds.', . With .these words of praise
known ,as the Jthna 'Ashariyya or Twelve his spirit passed away. At this time theShf'ahs
Imams•.. were. bitterly oppressed by the! Umayyad KhaJifas
Imam Zaynu'I·'Abidfn (ornament of the pious) and many were: put to death. .:" 11 T",,;
.,vas·, chosen to succeed I;Iusayn3 H is mother i i.Zaynti'I,'Abidfn's son, MUQammad, sUGceeded
was a d"ughter, of the king of Persia, and so the his fatlier. He was called AI·Bakir (the Ample),
Persiap. people had a great affection for him; they because .he collected an ample fund of knowledge,
alsoJ:~eld"strongly to the idea: of Divine Right, and or because he split open knowledge,' that :is, he
reje9te<;l the idea of, a popular. and democratic examined it minutely and probed it to its founda·
elep.tion, .na.tural to the Arabs. .He died in the year tions. Zayd, a grandson of I;Iusayn claimed the
A.:Q. 95 at the ageoffi£ty·seven.. It is said that he Imamat and tried to obtain the aid of the Khalffa
was poisoned. hy the order.of the .. Khalffa' .'Abdu'l. Hisham, 'but only.. gained permission to.: s,end
Malik. 3 He was looked upon as,. a. very· devout :AI·Bakir a saddle as 'a present; in which in s:o~e
man, for it. is said that. he made 1ooo:~ak'ata4 way he caused poison to be placed.· The' Imam
in the space <;>f,allay and night. He
had a..mosque 'went for a· ride and soon after died from' the effect
in pis own, h9uSe and at midnight used to arise and ofthe' poison (A.D. 143). A small compariy. of the
pray tJlUS; 'Q. thou Cherishel'. of the Pllor, anxiety Shf'ahs broke i away', and recognized Zayd as·'their
aboyt;rising an.d standing before Thee. did notallow head. They claimed that the Imamat was elective
me to. :sPread .the carpet of rest. or to sleep. ~._ Shf'ilh and not hereditary. They are known' as the
. 1 As a ma.tter of faet the Prophet did noti .nominate his t~:..u ccessor
Zaydites. They settled in Yemen. Zayd refused
Abu Bakr ang 'U~ar were elected by t4e peqple to. the office.of !Q:)alifa: to curse Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthman, saying
~ A few Shl'shs support the claim of MuJ;1ammad ibnu)!-Hanifiyya
the son of another wife o.f (Ali. .: ~he sect did not l~t long.· for thjs that they were Viziers of the Prophet. Some
son was not descended In the direct line from. the Prophet. ..
3 Sahifatu'l~l Abidif&, p. 85. .Clt ~tS f911~'!V~rs protested,. ag-ainst his conduct. in
.. A rak'at is the prostration made after a ntlmber of veriies have tnis respect; and. formed-a. treshand. very intolerant
b~en recitJ~d ip,~he.Na1Daz:. the stated prayers,. ., ....,
56 THE SHf'AHS IMAM JA'FAR 57
sect called the Rafi9fs, I a name sometimes applied were frequent. It is no wonder that they held aloof
to the Shf'ahs generally by their opponents. layd and that a great difference of doctrine, sentiment
is said to have been poisoned by the Khalffa and spirit arose as the natural consequence of the
Hisham. The laydiyya Imamat p~ssed on to political cleavage._ The two first Khalffas of the
Idrfs who founded a dynasty in Morocco which new KhaHfate bitterly persecuted the 'Alids and
ignored the authority of the Sunnf Khalffas. even attempted to kill AI-Ja'far. At length he was
.AI-Bakir's son, became the next Imam and is poisoned. Ja'far was a learned man and his com-
known as AI-Ja'far a~-$adiq. Through his mother ments on verses of the Qur'an have been highly
he was a descendant of the Khalffa Abu Bakr. The valued by Shi'ah theologians. His eldest son,
Umayyad KhaHfate was now coming to an end. A Isma'fl, predeceased his father, who then appointed
descendant of 'Abbas, an uncle of the Prophet, his next son Musa Kazim as his successor. Isma'f1
claimed the right to the KhaHfate. The Shf'ahs left a son named Mu\1ammad and so many
were won over by the representation that the Shi'ahs said that he was the rightful heir to the
Umayyads had persecuted them, and that the Khalf- Imamat.
fate rightly belonged to the family of Mu].1ammad The Imam now passed into concealment, I keeping
and the' men of the House.' This ambiguous term the teaching alive and preparing the way for the
included both 'Abbasids and 'Alids and deceived future return of the Imam to the visible world.
the latter, who naturally thought that the claims of This took place when the Isma'ilian 'Ubaydu'llah,
their Imams would be respected. In the battle of as the Mahdi, founded the Fatimid Khalffate.
the lab (A.D. 750) the Umayyads were beaten. The It is also said that Imam Ja'far, before the death
Khalffa Marwan fled to Egypt, but was there slain of Isma'iI, had set aside his nomination, because
by his enemies. The 'A.bbasids ~aving now ~ained he had heard that his son drank wine~ To this
the victory founded their Khahfate and paid no the Isma'ilians reply that, even if he did drink
further attention to the claims of the Shf'ah I mams. 2 wine, it was done to show that the wine forbidden
The 'Abbasids equally with the Umayyads treated by the Prophet was to be looked at in an allegorical
the Shi1ahs as a proscribed sect, for the speculations sense, and that it referred to spiritual pride. This
of the Shi'ahs led them to adopt views entirely was the germ of the system of allegorical interpreta-
opposed to those of the Sunnis, the orthodox ~ion, known as Ta'wil, a system which played an
Muslims. The treatment the Shf'ahs received no Important part, as we shall see later on, in the
doubt made them troublesome and insurrections propaganda carried on by the Isma'i1ians.
AJl this led to a great split in the Shf'ah com-
From r.,Pi) abandoning, leaving. , .
1
FQr further details see my (lmayyad and Abbastd KkatUates, Pl?
::r munity and from it the famous sect of the Isma'ilians
7-51, a.nd Zaydan's Umayyads a~d 'l1bbasids, p. 146. '1 A concealed lm~ql is ~allecl AI~MakhtUm.
8 .-
58 THE SHf'AHS iMAM AR-iubA 59
took its rise. The later 'Abbasid KhaHfas were restrains,' because he exercised great control over
friendly to the Shf'ahs and it was in the· reign his passions and desires. He does not appear to
of AI-Muti' (A.D. 946) that the society known as have taken any part in the political questions of the
the Ikhwanu'~·!?afa, Brethren of Purij:y, was formed. day, but the 'Abbasid KhaHfas persecuted him,
Thus arose the now famous sect of the Isma'flians, often cast him into prison and, at last, according to
the political influence of which in after years in the Shf'ah historians, caused to be placed before
Egypt became so strong that it was able to over- him one day some poisoned grapes from the eating
turn the Sunnf KhaHfate and to establish in its of which he died (A. D. 797). The story is a
place a Shf'ah one, known as the Fatimid Khalffate, doubtful one, for the great historians As-Syutf and
a dynasty so called from the descent of its rulers Mas'udf do not mention it, and the Khalffa Hamm
from 'All and Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet. was not a cruel man.
The Isma'Hians say that the prophets possessed At the end of the age Imam al-Mahdf will appear.
the gift of revelation; the Imams that of inter- There was now much controversy as to which Imam
pretation, so it must be to them that men should the dignity should be allotted and the different
look for guidance. They also say that now com- selections gave rise to many sects. Those who
menced what is called the succession of the looked upon Musa Kazim as AI-Mahdf are called
'concealed Imams,' that is, the concealment took the Musawiyya. I They said he was still alive,
place long before the time of the twelfth Imam, though concealed.
AI-Mahdf. They also believe that there never will Imam ar-Ri<;la succeeded his father. There was
.be a time when the world will be without an: Imam, much confusion in the land and AI-Fadl, the able
though he is not always visible. Sometimes he minister of the Khalffa Ma'mum advised' his master
manifests himself, but usually he lives in seclusion. to make peace between the Sunnfs and the Shf'ahs
It is then that the work of the missionaries (Da'fs) by appointing Ar-Ri<;la as his successor. 2 When
of the sect begins. This idea of the seclusion of the the nobles of Baghdad heard that the Khalffa had
Imam has given rise to a number of secret societies, received the Imam kindly they rose in rebellion and
and paved the way for a mystical religion, which threatened to depose Ma'mun. The KhaIifa, with
often lands its votaries in atheism. It has also given great inconsistency, got out of the difficult position,
opportunity for pretenders, such as the Mahdf of in which he had placed himself, by secretly poison-
the Sudan in recent times, to arise and claim the ing 'the Imam, and instigating the assassination of
office and authority of the Imam, now they say, 1 Those who said that the Imam Biikir will be Al-Mahdi are: called
the Bakiriyya.
no longer in sedusion. 2 Ma'muD. when inclined towards the Shi'ahs declared their marriages

Imam Musa Kazim, the son of Ja'far ~-!?adiq, to ,be lawful, b~t th;: j~i,sc?n~ult Y.~9ya reproved anp against his
r~l111gquoted Suratu,l-}.fu mmUl1 xxm.5-7. The Kbahfa rescinded
received this title oi Kazim, which means' one who hIS order. Ibn Khalhkao, vol. iv, p. 36.
60 IMAM'ASIuRf .61

AI-Fad!. Imam ar-Rida is described by Shl'ahs Khalffa could by force compel obedience, with
as a ki"ndly man, full of ;ympathy with his persecuted some misgivings he set forth and proceeded to
followers, generous to the poor and a strict Samarra. For two years life passed quietly along,
observer of all ritual religious observances. then the attitude of Mutawakkil changed. The
Imam Taqf is the title of Ar-Ric;la's son Mu1;J.am- Imam was removed to a mean house in a poor part
mad who now became Imam. He was called of the city and placed in charge of a government
Jawwad, the generous; the Taqf, the pious. The official and so practically became. a prisoner. The
Khalffa Ma'mun took a fancy to him and adinired ,Khalffa then began a bitter persecution of the
his learning and culture. He gave him his daughter, Shl'ahs, and prohibited the pilgrimage to KarbaJa.
Ummu'I-Fac;ll, in marriage, but the union was· not a Christians and Jews also suffered from his animosity.
happy one. His wife made frequent and unjust Naqf survived this tyrant, but was poisoned during
complaints against him to her father, who at first the reign of the Khalffa AI-lVIu'atazz bi'llah. Naqf
would not listen to her. At last she concocted a was a good-tempered man, who, under much
story about her husband's adultery which roused persecution from the jealous and suspicious Khalffa,
the wrath of Ma'mun who tried unsuccessfully to maintained his quiet dignity and showed remarkable
murder Taqf. Finally the usual result£ollowed and patience.
the Imam died of poison, the administration of Imam 'Askarf, the eleventh Imam, lived in Samarra
which had become a fine art in Baghdad. Thus all his days. His Imamat began in the days of
passed away, at the early age of twenty-four, another the Khalffa Mu'atazz bi'lIab, whom the people did
victim to the political jealousies of the age and the not trust and disorders arose. The power of the
timid fears of the Khalffa. Taqf was a modest man, 'A bbasids was now declining and the Khalf£a
for, though a son-in-law of the Kha1ffa, he gave arrested the Imam and brought him as a prisoner
himself no airs and never boasted of his position. to Baghdad. The story goes that he was cast into
He was friendly with all comers and lived a simple, a den of lions. The animals bowed down before
frugal life. hiJ;ll and the Imam, spreading out his prayer-carpet,
Imam Naqf was only six years old when his calmly said the namaz. He -came forth, but only
father Imam Taqf died. He became famous as a to be returned to his prison. He was finally
teacher and men came from far and ne;lr to profit released and lived on in his own home for five years.
by his instruction. He also performed the duties He also died of poison, put into some liquor sent
of his office as Imam to the satisfaction of all to him as a present by the Khalffa. I His death
concerned with it. The Khalffa Mutawakldl, being was deeply regretted by his followers. He was
prejudiced against him, invited him to pay a visit
:1 It may be Doted that, according to the Shi'ah historians, Dol ODe
to his court. Naqf did not wish to go, but, as the of the eleven Imams died a natural death.
 62 IMAM AL.:MAHDI 63

buried near his father's grave at Samarra. Glowe the Shf'ahs that they had to practise religious dis-
ing accounts are given of the high moral qualities, simulation (taqiyya) to escape persecution. Many
of the patience under persecution, of the learning fled to other lands.
and piety of Imam 'Askarf. _ The· Imam now suddenly disappeared in an under.
We now come to the last Imam, AI-Mahdf, ground passage in Samarra and is supposed to be
who was born A.D. 860. He was surnamed now living in the mysterious cities of Jabalka and
AI·Muntazir (the Expected) Hujjatu'llah (Proof Jabalsa, from whence he will return at the end of
of God); Imamu'z·Zaman (Imam of the Age); the age. After AI-Mahdl's sudden disappearance,
AI-Mahdi (the Guided). The last title .is the the Abwab remained. When the last of them was
one by which he was generally known. It implies about to die, the Shf'ahs, fearing that they would be
that he was able to guide others, being himself left without an Imam, begged him to nominate one.
guided by God. So many marvels attended his He refused saying that all communication with an
birth that he was believed to be the very promised Imam and his followers would cease until the full
Mahdf. It issaid that when he was born, the words, time of the Major Occultation was over. Then,
• Truth is come and falsehood is banished' (5dratu and not till, then, would AI-Mahdf re-appear. Then
Bani Isra'll xvii. 83) were found written on his arm. he and Jesus Christ, the two pure and immaculate
For his safety he was kept in strict seclusion, I and ones, will destroy Antichrist and all the world will
only a few trusted friends were allowed to see him, be brought into the fold of Islam. AI-Mahdi will
for it was feared that, if the KhaHfa heard of the then possess the rod of Moses and the seal of
marvels attending his birth, he might be alarmed Solomon, the one to rule with, the other with which
and cause trouble. This period of seclusion is to seal the hope of true believers. This idea of the
called the Minor Occultation (Ghaybatu's-$ughra). Abwab and the Major Occultation, was, as later on
It lasted for sixty years, and was then followed by we shall see, an important factor in the inception
the Major Occultation (illaybatu'I-Kubra), which of the great BaM movement.
commenced in A.D. 940. To the friends who visited The above is a very brief account I of the twelve
.him he made known his plans and wishes. They Imams. The Shf'ah historians record many mar-
are called the Abwab (doors) through whom he vellous incidents, but, whether historically correct
held communication with the outer world. Thus, or not, they show how sincere the affection for and
though in seclusion, he duly performed the duties how deep the devotion to the Imams were. A great
of his office. The Khalffa Mu'tamid imprisoned the rent was then made in the Muslim world, which time
Imam's mother for six months, and so intimidated
:l. A complete,accQuut: based on the histories compiled by Sbitah

1 According- to Ibn KllaHikan (ii. 581) he entered into a cistern jn his historians, is given in my lillna 'Asharirra. Their followers are
father's house and never came out again. known as th~ Twelvers.
64 THE SHf'AHS VARIOUS READINGS 65

has failed to close. I The story of the martyrs, as are the best nation that hath been raised up unto
told in the' AshUr Khanas in the annual celebration mankind; ye enjoin the just and forbid the evil
of Mu1)arram in many lands now calls forth th.e deep- (Suratu Ali 'Imnin iii. 106). They say that the
est emotion of Shf'ah Muslims. 2 These Imams are correct reading is !;n{mzs for nation, I and support it
regarded as God's Apostles, inspired with the divine by saying thafthe duties referred to belong more pro-
spirit, immaculate in life and conduct and honoured perly to the Imams as rulers than to a nation in its
as great religious leaders in their day, and saintly corporate capaci,ty. In Suratu'l-Furqan (xxv) verse
teachers for all time. 'The Imam of the Shf'ahs 74 for' make tis examples to those who fear thee'
is the divinely ordained successor of the Prophet, read' make for us Imams from those that fear thee.'
endowed wi th all perfections and spiritual gifts; In Suratu'l-Hud xi. 20 of those who rest upon
one whom all the faithful must follow, whose clear proofs from their Lord it is said, 'to whom
decree is absolute and final, whose wisdom is a witness for him reciteth the Qur'an, and who is
superhuman and whose words are authoritative." pr~ceded by the Book of Moses, a mercy and truth.'
We shall see in the chapter on the Qur'an the Here it is the Book of Moses which is the 'mercy
attitude of the Shf'ahs to the early recens:ons of and truth,' but there is another reading, 'to whom
that book. Meanwhile we may notice a few alleged a witness from him reciteth the Qur'an, a mercy
omissions of' words favourable to the claims of and truth, preceded by the Book of Moses.' It is
'All. I print them in italics. 'But God is Himself said that the witness is 'Ali, who comes from him
witness of what He hath sent down to thee con- (Mu!.J.ammad) and is the' mercy and truth.' The
cerning 'AI;' (Suratu'n-Nisa' iv. 164). '0 Apostle verse is not an easy one to explain, some say that the
proclaim all that hath been sent down to thee from witness is Gabriel, others that it is the Qur' an itself. 2
the Lord conce11lilzg 'Ali' (Suratu'l-Ma'ida v. 71). In Suratu Ya Sin xxxvi. II there is a curious
, But those who treat them, the family of JI;/u[zammad expression Imamin Mubinin ( elM ""L.l )literally , a
and their rights, unjustly shall know what a lot clear Imam.' The Sunn! commentators take
awaiteth them' (Suratu'sh-Shu'ara' xxvi. 228). The Imam here in the sense of a writing, a book, thus
Shf'ahs rely on a different reading of the verse' Ye , Every thing have we set down in the clear book of
our decrees.' It is generally applied to the writing
1. INo one has been able to effect an appeasement between these two
great divisions of lsHim, and a mort:\' tolerant attitude in the younger
on the. Preserved Table (~ul;lU'I-Ma1)£Ua:)in heaven,
generation of Perslans, so far as it exists, is due rather, 10 a growing on whIch the Qur'an was written. The Shf'ahs say
indifference-to Islam itse-If, than to a religious reconciliation' Browne,
Persian Literature in Modern Times, p. 420. it refers to 'Alf as the' clear Imam,' and quote the
2 See the F.,ilk of Islam (4th ed.), pp. 418-24.
:3 Episode of the B6b, p. 296. FOT a curious account of the qualitie.c;
following story (riwayat). When AbU Bakr, 'Umar
possessed by the Imams. see Journal Asiatique Quatrienne Sene,
Tome iii, p. 398 and for the connec~ion of th~ 1marq with a prophet, '...,,,\ for ....,
~e~ RASJ, July 1899, p. 633, . 2 See the Kh1Ita~atu't-Tafas1r,vol. ii, p. 383.
9
66 THE SHf'AHS POSITION OF THE IMAMS 6'1
and 'Uthman heard the words, they enquired The Imam occupies the position he holds .not by
whether -Imam here referred to the Taurat, the election, for each Imam should nominate his
Gospel or the Qur'an. The Prophet said it did successor, nor by virtue of any special capacities, but
not, but that 'All was the' clear Imam,' to whom . by divine right and his' office is altogether spiritual.
God had given the knowledge of all thm~s. 'His orders are divine.' I As mediums between
According to a tradition (I:tadfth) the Prophet saId, God and man the Imams' hold a far higher position
, Whatever knowledge God has given to me, I have than the prophets, for 'the grace of God, without
taught to 'Ali.' I But the greatest change of all is their intervention, reaches to no created being.'
the allecred omission of an entire Sura, the Suratu'n- The possession of an infallible book is not enough;
N urain~ the chapter of the two lights, that is, the infallible guide is needed. 'The earth is never
Muhammad and' All. without an Imam though concealed. He who dies
The mystic lore connected with the doctrine of without knowing the Imam, or who is not his
the Imamat has often sapped the foundation of disciple, dies ignorant.' 2 'The Imamat is a light
moral life and vigour. A system of religious (nur) which passes from one to the other and
reservation is also a fundamental part in the system becomes prophetship. Divinity is a ray (nur) in
in its mystical developments, whilst all Shf'ahs may prophetship, which again is a ray in Imamat and
lawfully practice taqiyya, or religious compromise, the world is never free from these signs and lights
in their daily lives. Pious frauds are legalized. 2 (anwar).' 3 'As the divinely successor of the
Taqiyya and the legality of Mut'a, or temporary Prophet, the Imam is endowed with all perfections
marriages, are two weak points in the whole Shl'ah and spiritual gifts.' 4 We thus learn from this
system. 3 doctrine of the Imamat that God not only makes
known 'His will and purposes through His messen-'
The Shi'ab Tardr of Maqpul A~mad, vol. ii, p. 703.
1 .
The validity of taqiyya is based on the v~rse, (Let not behevers
Z gers, the prophets; but also in some way, not easily
take infidels for their friends rather than belIevers; whoso shall do
this shall have nothing to hope fro;n .~od-unless! i'pd..ee~, ye fear a defined, He is actually' present in some favoured
fear from them' (Suratu Ali 'Imran 111. 27). Balqawl (1. 151) says persons, and especially in the Imams.
that the Qar! Ya'qub reads taqiyyatan (E..:la) for the word tuqatan
(X\.S) in the text, and that, therefore, the meaning is that Holding these views and remembering the high
alliance with unbelievers is forbidden, except in time of danger, when praise of 'Ali given by the Prophet, and touched by
an ostensible alliance is permitted. The Sunnl commentator I:Ius~yn
(ii 65) states that this authorized taqiyya in the early days of Islam,
but that
now it is ouly permissible,.in a Daru'l-:E:!arb .. tb.at is, a land v. 28), that is, above the law of marriage. The Sunnis do not accept
where Jihad is lawful. The Shl<ehs consider tba~ .1t IS allowable this interpretation and some say the verse is abrogated, but I cannot
everywhere an~ at all ~i,?es. . There is.a .Shi<ah tradItion: .' Conceal~ find any at1th0I!ty for such abroga.ti0n. For other points"of difference
ment of religIOUS 0plnI0nS IS my rehglon and the religIon. of my be~een the Shl'ah and the SUttnt systems see the FaUn of islam
fathers' (aI·taqiyatu dlni wa dinu abtl'i). Imam Ja'far ::?adlq said, (4th ad.), pp. 144-5. .
• He who denies taqiyya is without faith.' Sayyid Maqbul AItmad's 2 Shabristani, Milal wa'n-Nihal p. 132.
Tafsfr, vol. i, p. 83. . . • Ibid., p. 132. . ,
S Mutta is said to be authorized in the verse' It shall be no cnme 1D. 3 Ibid., p. 135.
you to make engagements over and above the law I (Suratu'n-Nisa' ~ Episode of tke Biio , p. 296.
68 'rRE SRi'AHS SOME SRi'AH SECTS 69
the misfortunes of 'Alf and his sons, and the Imams, The first dispute about the Imamat' originated
his successors, we can easily understand how the with men who deserted 'All after the battle of
doctrine of 'the divine right' of 'All and his Siffin (A.D. 657). They are called the Kharijites,
successors in the Imamat became a cardinal article the Seceders. r Many of them fled to Oman, and
of faith in the growing Shf'ah community; an in that province it was held that the succession
article held with the strongest tenacity to this day. I to the office was elective, and not hereditary.
This dogma has been far-reaching' in its effect 'Abdu'llah ibn 'Ibad was a vizorous preacher of
and has found expression in the formation of many thIS doctrine (A.D. 744) and his followers are known
great sects, as we shall show later on. A know- as the sect of the' Ibadiyya. They are looked upon
ledge of the doctrine of the Imamat is essential to all as orthodox Shf'ahs, who found consolation in the
who would strive to intelligently understand the great doctrine that it was God's will that the Imamat
religious movements in one large section of the should remain in the family of 'All. Al.Baghdadf
Muslim world. The Qur'anic authority for it is says that the 'Ibadiyya' split up into four sects,
found in the verse, 'When his Lord made trial of differing in many points, but all agreeing' that it is
Abraham by commands which he fulfilled, He said, right to ask anyone who differs from thee with regard
" I am about to make thee an Imam to mankind." to the text of the Qur'an or its interpretation to
He said, " of my offspring also? " " My covenant," return to their ('Ibadiyya) way of thinking. If such
said God, "embraceth not the evil doers'" an one does recant, it is well; if not, he must be
(Suratu'l-Baqara ii. 118). From this verse two killed.'2 Some say 'Alf is still alive and that
doctrines are deduced. First, that the Imam must "a part of God" 3 is in him,' that is, ' he existed
be appointed by God, for, if this is not the case, before the creation of the heavens and the earth,
why did Abraham say 'of. my offspring also.' that he is a shadow at the right hand of the throne,
Second, the Imam is free from sin, for God said, and men and angels make tasbf~ to him.'4
, My covenant embraceth not the evil doers.' A general idea is that long before the creation
The difference between a Nab! (prophet) and. an of the world, God took a ray of light from the
Imam is thus stated: 'The former hears and sees splendour of His own glory and united it to the
the Angel who brings the revelation; the latter does
not see the Angel, but only hears its voice.'2 1 Another section' of the Shl'ahs is that known as the !,ibuIat.
, They are such as hold extreme views (ghalaw) in respect to their
Imams. so that they raise them above the limits of created beings J and
]. One ele'luent in 'the qu~rrel betweell the Sunol and the Shi'ah is ascribe to them divine virtues. so that often they likened the ImaJ!ls
, the essentially antagonistic do.;trines of Democracy and the. Divine to God.' Shahristani, At-Mital wa'n·Nil)al, p. 132.
Right of 'Kings. The Arabs are, and always have been, in large • Al-Faraq bain al-Firaq, p. 109. . .
measure democratic in their ideas, while the Persians have ever been 3 The expre:ssiou ' residue of God' (baqiyat UUcih) is used in Bab!
disposed to see in their Kings divine or semi-divine beings.' Browne, literature and is based on the idea that God iu some way or other
Persian Literature in Modern Times, p. 18. ' allowed some fraction of Himself to be connected with the Imam.
Z Ailliir-i.Ja([ari'J!'Ya, P' 101. of Shahristanf3 Al-Mz"lal wa'1l,-N;"(14'z, p. 133. -
 70 . THE SHi'AHS THE SHf'AH CREED 71

body of Mu1).ammad. This light descended to 'All wiser than the most learned men of his age, holier
and from him passed on to the true Imams, who than the most pious. He is the noblest of the sons
alone "re the lawful successors of the Prophet. I A of men and is free from all sin. Hence he is called
tradition recorded by 'Alf refers to Mu1).ammad's ma'~um, the sinless one, 'The .Imamites believe
words to him thus, ' Thou art tne elect, the chosen, that the Imam, preserved from all sin, knows well
I will make the members of thy family the guides to what is in the pregnant womb and behind walls.'1
salvation. I will place in thee my light and the 'Alf said, , In me is the glory of every prophet that
treasures of my grace; for thy sake I make the has ever been.' This glory passes on to the Imams.
waters to flow, exalt the heavens, distribute rewards The bodies of the Imams are so pure and delicate
and punishments and create heaven and hell. I that they cast no shadow. They are the beginning
reveal to thy family the secrets of knowledge, and and the end of all things. To know the Imams is
to them shall there be no subtlety nor mystery. the very essence of the knowledge which man can
They will be the apostles of my power and unity.' gain of God. They are the mediums between
Such was to be the work of the Imams, the God and man, for without their. intervention, the·
successors of 'Alf in the Imamat. Rebellion grace of God does not reach to any created being.
. against them is sin, devotion to them the very The fourth article of the Shf'ah creed is 'To
essence of religion. It is said that the Imamat is consider' Alf the -Khalffa next in order after Muham-
--.
a light (nur) which passes from one Imam to the mad, and to believe 'Alf's descendants from I;Iasan
others and becomes prophetship, so the Imams are to Al-Mahdf, the twelfth Imam, to be his true suc-
considered to be divinely inspired prophets. Some cessors, and to consider all of them, in character,
commentators say that the word light, in the verse position and dignity, as raised far above all other
, Now hath a light and a clear book come to you Muslims.' This is the doctrine of the Imamat. z
from God' (Suratu'l-Ma'ida v. 18), means the The Shf'ahs in support of their opinion regarding
Nur-i-Mu1).ammadi, others that it refers to the the close union of 'All with the Prophet, adduce the
Qur'an. The whole idea of the nur seems, however, fact that in Suratu'I-A1).zabxxxiii.33the pronoun 'you'
to have: been borrowed from Zoroastrian sources, and in the words 'God only desireth to put filthiness from
to have been originally connected with Jamshid. 2 you as His household' is in the masculine gender
The Imam is the divinely-ordained successor of
;I, Jalalu'd-Diu Syiiti, History of the@alffs (ed. JarretFs. Calcutta
the Prophet, adorned with all his qualities. He is 1881), p. 473. The Hashimiyya, a small section of the Shi'abs in
order to exalt the Imams, held that Prophets c01.11d sin, but that Jtbe
ImaIllS were pure. See Shabristanf. At-Mzlal wa'n-N'iJ;al, p. 142.
:t It is said that the only difference between the light of Mul;Lammad 2 Ibn Kbaldum says, . It is an error of the Imamians to pretend that
and that of CAl! is that the former is prior in time. ~he ~mamat is one of the pillars of religion: it is really only an office
:c Tisdall, Sources of tke Qu,y'an, pp. 246-51. In the Pahlavi InstItuted for the general good. If it bad been a pillar of religion the
ltl£nukk£nd and the KhasUa a similar account is given of the light of Prophet would have delegated it to some one. J Protegomenes, i. p. 43,
Jamshid. The original text is given in Yaniib!fu'l·Zslam, p. 211. de Slane's translation.
72 THE SHf'AHS U,T:LJM.D
• •.•• I
7,q.
, \

and in the plural form, the household being, accord' t1A~ t~l1.d.Wop ~ha,t 'AJf in~ro?Hc~d, a ~!Z,h cal?, of.
ing to the Shf'ahs, Mu1:J.ammad, Fatima, 'Alf, J:Iasan cot\on,or wo~l dyed red.. Qizil l?a~R w~~ns. ',' R,e,~
and J:Iusayn. They also say that the word 'you' H~ad and IS a name gIven to th~ PerSIans by the
refers to the wives of the Prophet, and support this Turks. On the top of the cap were twelve k'~ots,
view by stating that the preceding pronouns and the each of a different {:olou~, torep~esent 'the t~M~e'
next finite verb 'recollect' are all in the feminine Imams. Shah Isma'fl on establishing this 'i~e~
gender.' State religion made it obligatory that every Persja~,
The Shf'ahs were soon divided into two sects,2 the w,hether in mosque or open market place' shohld
Imamfans and the Isma'flians. The former believe publicly curse the first three Sunnf Khalff;s. I 'A'i
in twelve Imams, Al-Mahdf being the last. They say that time Shf'ah theological Iiterat~re \Vas ~C'anty jib.
that Gabriel came one day with the tablet of decree fe~sia, but men set to work to supply it ~nd, i~'the
. in his hand, and lo! on it were the names of the hy,perbolical language of the period, we are told'th'~t
twelve Imams in their proper order of succession. , day by day the Sun of Truth of the Doctrine of the
A Jew once said to the Prophet, 'Who will be your Twelve (Imams) increased its altitude ~nd aJl'pa~t~
heirs and successors?' He replied, 'They agree in ,of. the world became illuminated by ~he daw l1 i;;g
number with the twelve tribes of Israel.' The latter effulgence of the Path of Verification." . "'"
sect say that the succession of the 'Concealed In the Supplementary Fundamental Laws issued
Imams' began after Ja'far ;iadiq, the sixth Imam. by Shah MUQ,ammad 'J1.lf in October, Igoi:it'is
The Shi'ahs had long been popular in Persia, but said, 'The official religion of Persia is Isl~m,
it was not until Shah Isma'fl founded the Safawi according to the orthodox Ja'far doctrine of the Ithna
dynasty in A.D. 1502 that the Shf'ah religion b~came 'Ashariyya (Church of the t~elve Imams);wh6s~
the State one in Persia, a position it retains to this faith the Shah of Persia must'profess and follo~.':Z'
day. Shah Isma'fl was, on his father's side, a The Sunnfs and the Shf'ahs disagree not only on
descendant of Musa Kazim, the seventh Imam. His the Imamat, but also on what is called Ijtihad. 3
early life was not happy, butin due course he gained This is a legal term denoting the' discovery and au-
a following and became the Shf'ah ruler of Persia. thoritative enunciation of fresh religious triJths,
He called himself Isma'fl Shaykh Ardebilf Qizil based on a comprehensive knowledge of the Scri'p-
Bash Ithna-' Ashariz, that is, Isma'fl, Restorer of ture and Tradition and arrived at by supreme effort
the cap of twelve colours. This is an allusion to and endeavour' (Browne). 'The word literally
~ See G. de Strange~ Don Juan of Persia, pp. 107-11.
For a full explanation see Baiq.awl's Tafsir. vol. ii, p. 128.
1.
:) Browne,. Tke Perszan Revolution, p. 372.
Both sects, the 'l'welvers (IUlna 'Asbariyya) and the Seveners
2:
I have gIven a full account of the doctrine of Ijtihad in my Fa£th of
(Sab'iyya), are agreed thatthe supreme spiritual authority must be lflatn (4th ed.), pp. 60-6; see also Sir IAbdu'r-Rahim's Muhammadan
exercised by an Imam, a descendant of < Ali. who is possessed of super- oJurzsprudence, pp. 168-71 and Browne's A Literary History of Persia
natural and even of divine attributes. The point of difference is the vol. iii, pp. 353-5. . '<. '
order of the succession of the' Concealed Imams.'
10
 TIlE sHf'AHS
75
74
the solution of which religious considerations enter
means striving, and exerting, and technically the ap-
(and they probably enter everywhere), to a Mujtahid
plication of all his faculties by a lawyer to the consid·
and to ask for a formal decision, or fatva, conformable
eration of the authorities on which he bases his jud-
to the principles of Shf'ah doctrine. In this respect
gement' (Sir' Abdu'r-Ra1).fmJ. Such a man is called
the ShI'ah doctrine must be credited with a greater
a: Mujtahid. The qualifications for this office ate very flexibility and adaptability than that of the Sunnfs
severe and in the opinion of the Sunnfs, there has
been no Mujtahid of the first class, since the time of though' in other respects narrower and more in~
tolerant' (Browne).
the four great founders of the Sunnf schools
In October 1907 the Shah issued certain funda-
(naQhhabs) of law, that is, since A.D. 825 when the
mental laws. I give a short extract; 'It is hereby
Babu'l-IjtiMd, or the 'Gate of Endeavour' was
declared that it is for the learned doctors of theology
closed. I The Shl'ahs hold that they still possess
to determine whether such laws as may be proposed
Mujtahids, and in Persia now they are still a very
~that is, in the National Assembly) are, or are not,
important body of men, though, probably, less
III accordance with the principles of Islam' to
influential than in the past. 2 They' concern them-
reject and repudiate; wholly or in part, any ~uch
selves with every department of human activity, from
proposal which is at variance with the Sacred Laws
the minutest details of personal purification to the
of Islam. In such matters the decision of the Ec-
largest issues of politics. Their authority is greater
clesiastical Committees shall be followed and obeyed
than that of the Sunnf 'Ulama', who in their deci-
and this article shall continue unchanged until th~
sions must follow one or other of the four orthodox
appea~ance ~f His Holiness, the Proof of the Age'
.interpretations (madhabs) of the Sharf'at. It is open
(that IS, Imam Mahdl). Browne in The Persian
to every Shl'ah Muslim to submit any problem, into
Revolution, pp. 262 ff. gives the Fundamental Law
in full. There is a sort of un written or customary
:1 lJ'evious to thi~ it was thought that, as the primary duty of the
Khalifa w~ to. see that the Sacred Law (Shari1at) was observed he law called 'Urf, which the secular ruler administers
w~ a MU1tahld wh.o could interpret it with authority. '
.~hey are the Interpreters of the Shan'at or sacred law and their through his own civil officers; but in any conflict
declSlons are accepted by the administrators of the 'Urf or customary between the 'Urf and the Sharl'at, the former has'
law. • ~h:, SI:ah acts as the Canonists bave recommended, unless the
vague dIstinction between the function of the canon law and the to give way. It is the province of the MUjtahids to
cust0IIl;ary law g:ives him an excuse for eJtercising bis personal
authonty l (Em;yc!olH:Edia of ReUgion and Ethics vol xi p 457) declare when such opposition arises.
~ong the modernists in Islam the old orthodox J view' of 'Ijti'had i; We have now seen how the doctrine of the Imamat
!oslng g.T(;>u.?d. ~ learned Indian Muslim c;ays, 'We find that the
Idea of I]tlhad, reinforced and broadened by modern philosophic ideas lends itself to the formation of many sects I and even
has l~ng b~en working in the :eligious and political thought of th;
~urklsh natIon. . . . yve, too, WIll have to re-evaluateourintellecttlal
tnh~tance. The claIm of t~e present generation of Moslem liberals
to relnterp!et the fundamental legal principles in the light of their ~ The principal o~es are, the Zaydiyya, the Isma':ilians. the Carma·
?,WD. exp~~ce and the altered condition of modern life is perfectly thlaD.S, ~he AssasSinS, the Fatimids, the Druse.<> and Nosaris and th-
Jt1stlfied. SIr Mu1}ammad Iqbal, quoted in Mott's The Mtlslem World Shayl>1llS. . ' -
cf Tc·day, PI" 102,103. _.
76 THE sH:l'ABS SHI'AHDOCTRINES 77

in our day is operative in this respect. "In future God's plenipotentiary servants is not God's act
chapters I shall describe these movements. Before,
. . ; I, '
but their act; wherefore they are the recipients of
however, closing this portion of the subject, we may rewards or punishment, by reason of the option
notice how this Shi'ah doci:r~neof the Imamat seems 'which they enjoy.' It is necessary to believe in
to show that there is in the h~man heart a natural 'God's sovereign power, that He does what He
desire for some mediator_'some Word 6f the Father, pleases~ It is wrong to worship an attribute or
who shall reveal Him to His children. At first sight Name of God apart from the Essence. This is
it would seem as if this dogma might some extentto called Unity of Worship (Taul;J.id·i- I badati). The
reconcile the thoughtful Shi'ah to 'the Christian special prophetic function of lVlul;J.ammad (Nabuw-
doctrine of the Incarnation and Mediation of JestIs wat-i-Kha~~a) is an article of faith. Also that the
CliH~t,as:the perfect revealer of God's will and as Qur'an is the last and greatest revelation, abro-
the 'g~ide in lIfe. 'But ids not so. The Shi'ah, gating all previous ones and is the miracle of
equally with the Sunrii, is self-satisfied and proud in MU{lammad, though not the product of his mind,
his c'onte'mpt for any' other religion than his own. for it was sent down on the Laylatu'l-Qadr from
Professor Browne gives a short account of modern ,the Preserved Tablet in heaven, and revealed by
Shf'ah'doctrines taken from the'work' of an atithor of Gabriel as occasion required in the succeeding
the iast ceritury. The following are the chief p6ints years. Belief in the Prophet's miracles is required.
in it.. . God created men in order thilt they should
~ " :
'Ali was the immediate successor of the Prophet
'w6rship 'Him, and has ma'de kilOwn His' ~iI1 and the first Imam. Eleven Imams succeeded him,
through' many prophets, 'of'whom' Muljammad is the of whom the last, Imam Mahdf, is still alive and
Iastan:d the greatest. : He 'left behind him for the will return in the' last days' to establish the Sh!'ah
guidance of mankind the Qur'an and his 'descend- faith. Concerning these Imams it is an article of
ants'and representatives. 'Belief in the Unity of faith that they, were all created from one pre-exist-
the Divine' Essence' (Taul;J.ld.i'Dhati) is necessary. ing Light; that all blessings and all knowledge of
He is invisible, but is known by His actions arid God comes through them; that through them the
'the signs of His power~ J Belief in the Unity of the universe lives and moves and has its being. They
Divine attributes (Tauljid·i-$ifati) is essential. God are superior to the Prophets and to angels. They
alone can create (Taul;J.id-i-Khalql),' 'though, as: He are sinless (ma'~um) and are endowed with every
uses means to'an end, He may employ the agency virtue, knowledge and power.
of' angels. 'The 'good or evil manifested through At death the spirit leaves the body, but returns
'1Aqii/idu l sk-SM'ale by 'Ali A§ghar ibn 'Ali Akbar. For a full to it in the tomb to undergo the questioning (Su'al-
accouat of this work, see Browne, Persz'a'lZ Literature in ,Modern i-Qabr), by the angels Munkar and Naklr, whose
Tz·mes, pp. 38]-401. This is a most valuable contribution to our
knowleds;e of the Shifah doctrines. aspect is terrible. If the deceased is a true
78
believer and his answers are satisfactory he is left
in peace. A passage from his tomb to Paradise is III
then made, so that the air of that blessed region
may sweeten the tomb. If he is an unbeliever, he THE FATIMID KHALfFATE'
will be severely beaten till he cries out in agony.' IN the early days of Islam the Khalffas saw that
On other eschatological subjects the creed 'does not the best of all ways to settle the tribal disputes and
differ materially from that of the Sunnfs. 2 the racial jealousies of the Arabs was to engage
them in foreign wars. 'Umar, the second Khalffa,
sent an expedition to Egypt, a country described to
him as wealthy and weak, unable to resist a vigor.
'See The Faith of IsM", (4th ed.), pp. 285-6.
ous attack. 'Amr binu'I-' A~ commanded the army
'2Tbere is a difference between the civil law of the Sbi'ahs and that which was sent to Egypt. The campaign was a
of the Suools. For a full statement about Sh'i'ah law, see Hughes,
Dictionary of 1sUm, pp. 575-8. - vigorous one and in A.D. 642 the Byzantine Power.
in Egypt came to an end. Then followed in after
years many successive expeditions, which eventually
led to the conquest of Northern Africa. The vari-
ous' Byzantine garrisons and the warlike Berber
tribes often made a stout resistance, and so in A.D.
695 a fifth expedition was sent under the command
of I;Iasan ibn Nu'man. He had with him 4°,000
men, and the promise of further aid was given to
him by the Khalffa. Carthage was captured and
the power of the Byzantines was broken in these
regions as it had been in Egypt some years before.
Northern Africa was divided into Afrikia, extending
from Egypt to what is now Algeria; Maghribu'l-
adM, the lower of middle part; Maghribu'l-adsa
which included the Morocco of the present day.
The most formidable opponents of the Arabs
were the warlike Berbers. They were divided into
many tribes, accustomed to constant tribal feuds,
:1 This is not a complete account of the history of ~?e Fatimig .Kha~l­
fate. I refer to it mainly to show the work of the Shl ah Isma'lhans 10.
thelestablishment of it and the influencE' of the doctrine of the
Imamat.
80 THE FATIMID KHALiFATE THE AGHLABITES 81

hardy and ready then, as always since, for ~ar at ~ny came into power, many Umayyads in order to
time, at any place and with any Power whIch tned escape persecution fled to Afrikia and aided the
to bring them into subjection. At last, ex~austed by Berbers in their opposition to the governors sent by
the conflicts, they sued for peace and Islam spread the Baghdad Khalffa.
amongst them. This change.offaith.did not chan~e The constant wars, with their alternate victories
their national character. They shU hated theIr and defeats, were a source of trouble to the central
Arab rulers and were ready to welcome any government at Baghdad and so the Khalifa Hamn'r-
allies. I In course of time they were joined by the Rashid, made an arrangement with Ibrahim bin
Kharijites,2 or Separatists, a sect which separated Aghlab, a soldier of fortune, by which the KhaHfa
from 'Ali after the battle of SHEn, and were also relinquished direct government over Afrikia and the
opposed to the U mmayyad Khal~fat~. They called Maghribs, and agreed that Ibrahim should have
themselves Shurat, Sellers of theIr hves. fqr heavenly full authority in those regions, on payment of an
rewards, like the man described in Suratu'l-Baqara annual tribute of 40,000 dinars. The Aghlabites
ii. 203 as 'selling his very self out of desire to please were military rulers; they erected forts, palaces and
God.' Their intense fanaticism, their undoubted mosques and, themselves of Persian extraction, in-
courage and their devotion to an ideal were repro- troduced the arts and sciences which the Persians had
duced in the Wahhabis of a later age. brought into Baghdad. They extended their power
The Berbers were delighted with them. Here far and wide and even Charlemagne sent ambassa-
were Muslims who hated the governors and viceroys dors to their court. AU this did not appeal to the
of the Ummayyad Khalffas, who were seeking to Berbers, who now founded separate States of their
conquer and control the native people of the land. own; but dissensions among them enabled the
'Simple and ignorant they (the Berbers) doubtless Aghlabite dynasty to remain in power for a time.
understood enough of their (the Kharijites) doctrines ·But a new enemy was about to appear. The
to assimilate their revolutionary and democratic advent of the· Isma'fIians led to the ruin of the
principles, to share the fanciful hopes of universal Aghlabite dynasty and to the rise of the Fatimid
levelling which their teachers aroused, and to be KhaHfate.
convinced that their oppressors were reprobates· After these few preliminary remarks, I we may
whose destiny was hell-fire.'" When the 'Abbasids pass on to the more immediate subject of this
chapter, the influence of the Sbf'ah sect of the
1 For an interesting statement showing ho.w ~ligbt the influence of
Islam over the Berber tribes has been and 8tl1115 1 see Toynbee, The
Islamic World, P' 126. . . _ 1 In my Muslim Conquests in North Africa, I have given more
Z Their view was that any free Arab was eligIble for the Khaltfate. detailc; than are required in this brief introdnction to a description of
and that a Khallfa, who ceased to give satisfaction, could be deposed the great, thongh temporary, change in the fortunes of the Shi'ahs.
by the believers. Osborn in IsUim under the Arabs, chapter ix, has given a graphic
3 Dozy, Spanish lsltim, p. 131. account of these wars in Africa.
n
 82 THE pk.nMID liliALfFATE THE DA;fs $3
Uma.'lIians and the way in which the Shl'ahs carne Professor Nicholson says, 'Filled with a til!r~e
it! fo1' a brief period of power and how the dogrna contempt of the Arabs, and with a free:-thjl}!l:~r' s
of the Imamat was still a living creed. contempt for Islam, 'Abdu'llah ibn Maynun cop-
The Isma'ilians claim that after Isma'II, whom ceived the idea of a vast secret society which s)J.oy),d
they say was the rightful sixth Imam (ante p. 57), be all thipgs to all men, and which, by playing op.
the succession of the concealed Imams commenced, the strongest passions and tempting the inmost
in contradistinction to the views of the Imamites weaknesses of human nature, should unite m;;tl-
(believers in twelve Imams) that this concealment contents of every description in a conspiro,cy to
began with AI-Mahdl. The sect for a long time overthrow the existing regime.' I To att;;tin this
was only a minor one. The man who brought it end, as we shall see, many devices were emploYlld,
into prominence was 'Abdu'llah ibn Maynun. The such as ' devoutness to the believer; liberty, not to
father was a prominent member of the extreme sec- say license, to the reckless; philosophy to the
tion of the Shl'ahs known as the Ghulat. His son strong-minded; mystical hopes to the fanatical, and
'Abdu'lIah, an occulist by profession and a Persian marvels to the common folk.'
by race, was one of the most remarkable man of the In order to propagate his views 'Abd ll 'l1:ihem-
age. He thought out a plan for making the sect to . played a large number of missionaries, caned
which he belonged a real power in the world. It Da'ls,2 whom at first he sent to the country aro.llnd
was 'to bind together in one association the con- KUfa and by their means gained some notable con-
quered and the conquerors; to combine in one verts. 'Abdll'llah bin Maynun died in A.P. 374.
secret society, wherein there should be several He had several successors, but his grandson S.a'id,
grades of initiation, the free-thinkers, who saw in who afterwards took the name of 'Ubaydu'llah, W<J.S
religion only a curb for the common people, and the one who reaped the fruits of the ambitious plans
the bigots of all sorts, to form for himself, in short, of his predecessors. One of the most useful of .his
a party, numerous, compact, and schooled to obe- condemn them. It must be recognized that many Isma~m precepts
dience, which, when the moment was come, would .~:ere oorrowed from the Mu'tazilites. . .. Not\Vitbs~andingttJ-js ta.ck
Of originality, it appears that the judgements pronounced by Western
give the throne, if not to himself, at least to his scholars are:: marked by an excessive severity. It is certainly wrong to
descendants . . • an idea which, grotesque and confound, as do the Musalman doctors, all these sects in one comII).o.n
,reprobation. Thus, the disappeare.nce of the Fatimids who brought
audacious though it was, he realized with astonishing ~about the triumph of the lsma'ili religion in Egypt, condq.d~ a,n 6I:2
of prosperity, splendour and toh:ration s~ch as the. East w111 ne,,:er
fad, incomparable skill, and a perfect knowledge of again enjoy.' (Quoted in Browne's A L:terary Hzstory of Persta,
vol. I, P 395.) Dussard probably takes too lenient a view of the .prin-
the human heart.' I ciples and activities of the lsma'ilians. Professor Browne conSIders
that Dozy hardly does justh.-e to the ls.ma<llians, whose missionaries
:I. Dozy, f/istoire des Musulmans de l' Espagne, vol. iii, pp. 8 if. Rene
amid a thoi.1Sand changes showed admirable sincerity and self~
Dussaud in his Histoire de Religion des Nosairis takes a more favour- llbnegation.
:1 Literary History of the Arabs, pp. 271-2.
a.ble view of this sect. He says, f certain excesses rendered these
2 The Arabic plural is Du'at.
doctrines hateful to orthodox Musalroans, and led them definitely to
114 . , DBAYDlJ'LLAH as
Da'rs was Abu 'Abdi'llah, often referred to as Abu AbU 'Abdi~llah was much grieved when he heard of
'Abdi'llah, the Shl'ah. He was a learned man, this calamity. As the ruler of Segelmessa would
clever in the formation of plans, bold and active in not listen to the request made by the Da'r for the
carrying them out. His personality was attractive, release of the prisoner, hostilities were commenced.
and his belief in the manifestation of the Imam, AbU ~Abdi'llah was victorious and 'Ubaydu'llah
descended from Isma'lI, was profound. At Mecca was released amid great demonstrations of joy.
he met pilgrims from North Africa, who invited .Thus 'Ubaydu'llah came into power, but one of his
him to visit their country. He did so and found first acts was, in true oriental fashion, to get rid of
the tribe of Kitima ready to receive his teaching, his powerful friend and subject, AbU' Abdi'lIah,
and to them he declared that he was the messenger who was arrested on a charge of treason and, with
of the Mahdr, who would soon come and work many several of the Kitama chiefs, was put to death.
wonders among them. He called the men of this The Berbers and the Da'r were disappointed when
tribe true believers. 'Abdi'lhih's pow"er rapidly they saw that the Mahdi could work no miracles.
grew and he became the leader of a large army. Abu 'Abdi'llah is reported as then saying to the
The time was now ripe for the advent of the Mahdr, Berbers, 'His actions are not like those of the
so word was sent to Sa'rd that the isma'flian Mahdi to whom I used to try to win you; I am
doctrines were generally accepted and men anxiously afraid I have been mistaken in him.' He further
looked for the coming of AI-Mahdr. Sa'rd was advised the Berbers to examine him. The
delighted to get the news. His father had once Shaykh of the Kitama then asked the Mahdr to
said to him, 'you are he who will be the Mahdr perform a miracle. The reply to this was the
after my death; you will flee to a distant country, immediate execution of the Shaykh. Meetings were
where you will undergo seven trials.' He declared then held and the Mahdi, fearing a revolution,
himself to be the great grandson of Mul;J.ammad proceeded to put it down by force. The Imam then
bin Isma'lI and took the name of AbU MUl;J.ammad breathed more freely, and, after many conflicts
'Ubaydu'llah and made arrangements to proceed at conducted with much cruelty, grew more and more
once to Africa. The KhaHfa of Baghdad got news powerful. Between the years A.D. 915-8 he built
of the intended departure of 'Ubaydu'l1<ih and sent the city of Mehdiyya, and when he saw it completed
throughout his empire descriptions of the fugitive said, ' I am now at ease regarding the fate of the
with strict orders that he was to be imprisoned. Fatimids.' After this he assumed the Khalffate in
'Ubaydu'llah disguised himself as a merchant and , Egypt. I He was thus the first of the Fatimid
after many narrow escapes, arrived in Egypt; but '1 I Among the Shi'ahs proper the Kballfa exists only as-the con-
cealed.. Im~m. and the vi::>ible ruler 0p earth is only hi~ viceroy, but the
he was arrested on suspicion by the ruler of a place Mahdl claImed to be not only Mahdl, but the'heir of the Imams and
called Segelmessa and cast into prison. The Da'i thus assumed the'Khal1fate as the legitimate heir of 'Ali.' O'Leary
The Flifimid KIlalifate, p. 73. '
86 THE FA-TIMID KH.I\.LlFATE INSTRUCTION' OF' PROSELYTES 87

Khalifas; a dynasty so called from the descent of their instructions could only be made known by the
these Imams from 'AU and Fatima. The succeed- Doi'ls, who had been initiated into all the secret lore
ing Khalifas had to struggle on against opposition, of the sect. This they made known to their neo-
but gradually they consolidated their power. In phytes in the following manner. When the Da'I
A.D. 960 the city of Cairo (AI-Kahira, the Victori- wished~ to make a proselyte he proceeded to ask
ous) was founded and the Fatimid rule was firmly questions on Obscure passages of the Qur'an and to
established. I These great changes, the formation point out that the intellect of man was powerless to
of a rival Shf'ah Kh alffate and the establishment of understand them or even the events of daily life.
the ShI'ah religion as the officiaJ State one in Egypt If the Da'i perceived that the person he addressed
had been well prepared for by the labours and was intelligent and accustomed to controversy he
teaching of the enthusiastic Isma'flian Da'Is, to accommodated himself to his opinions, showed him
whose teaching we may now give some attention. great respect and praised all he said. On the other
. The Isma'fliansare famous for their esoteric hand, if the person addressed was a simple-minded
views 2 and for the activity with which they propa- ignorant man, the Da'f would then affirm that reli-
gated them. One extreme section received the gion was a secret science known only to a few, and
name of Batinis, a word which means' inner,' and is that the great division amongst Muslims was owing
applied to them because they held that there was an to the fact that they did not recognize in the Imams
inner or esoteric meaning of the Qur'an, that this the special knoWledge God had given to them.
was of far more importance than positive law, and Gradually the pupil began to see that much in life
that the meaning was known only to the initiated. and in religion was an enigma to him, and that the
As the Imams of the Isma'flians were concealed, Da'i possessed knowledge which he did not; so
doubt imperceptibly crept into his mind and he
1 , Thus had the whirligig of time broU~l;Jt.back it.s revenge .a:o.d became more and more susceptible to the influence
the hunted Shi'ah seated himself as sovereIgn In the rIchest provlDce
of the Muha.mmadan empire. By reason of its influence on the of the DaII, who now took for the subject of dis-
destinies'"of Europe, this conquest of Egypt by the Fatimi~ ~haJifas
is perhaps. so far as the Wes~ is concer~ed •. the mo~t Important . cussion the literal and allegorical I meanings of
episode in the history of Islam. 'l'he Q.lsumted provinces of the passages in the Qur'an. The esoteric meaning of
Baghdad Kballfate were shortly to be welded together in the vast empire
of the Seljuks; when, but for the rising of tbis hostile power in these was known to the Imams and had been handed
Egypt J the entire weight of thE? Mu1;tamma.dan world would haye
descended upon the to~tering empIre of Byzantium and have crusbed It• down from them to approved teachers in each
. . . To the Fatimid Khalifas Europe owes that interval of precipus
time which enabled her to consolidate her nationalities and roll back generation. When the faith of the neophyte was
th~ tide of Mul;1ammadaD. invasion. 1 Osborn, islam under tke Arg.bs,
sufficiently shaken and his curiosity excited, the
p. 22~b.us lhey explain the J.:lajj as a pilgrimage away frpm siuLap.d the Dalf proceeded to put such questions as these,
ptltting 011 of the !:liiji's robe (igram) as the casting aside l\1l se!\$u~l
thoughts aud feelings 1 j1.1St 3.!i one 1 s ordinary. clotb~s are.pu~ off wbtm
the il;mlm is ,donned. This IS the true meamng of the pllgnlPage ana
its robe.
88 THE FA1'IMID KHALfFATE SECOND AND THIRD DEGREES 89

, What is the meaning of the casting of the pebbles these things. '1£ . you give your attention to the
and of the running between Mounts $afa and Mar- teacmng of the true Imam you will be delivered
wa?' Why is a woman, who has omitted the fast from error, and the most sublime truths will be
and the namaz, obliged to keep the fast some other made quite clear to you.'
time but not to supply the omission oHhe prayers? Having thus e:?Ccited the desire of the neophyte,
Why did God take seven days to create the world, the Da'f became as reticent as he had before been
when he could have done it in an hour? How can communicative. He said that all these matters
it be true that the skin of the damned will be were revealed to none but a few, and then only
changed into a new ~kin, or that the new skin which after a long and severe course of training. He
has not taken on the sins of the other shall be tor- quoted the verse, , Remember that We have entered
mented in fire? ' 2 into a covenant with prophets and with thee and.
Who are Gog and Magog, Harut and Marut? What with Noah, etc.," to show that no further steps
are the seven doors of hell and the eight gates of could be taken, unless a covenant were made and a
heaven? What is the meaning of the letters, Alif, promise of loyalty and devotion to the Imam were
Lam, Mfin, etc., at the beginnings of certain Suras? given. The enquirer had to swear not to divulge
Why were seven heavens created and why has the any secrets, not to assist the enemies of the Imam,
first chapter of the Qur'an seven verses? Why nor in any way whatever to swerve from an un-
did twelve'fountains gush forth when Moses struck questioning obedience to his spiritual directors, and
the rock; why are there twelve months in a not to require a reason for any instruction given to
year ?'3 him, or for any duty required of him.
The Da'f then led on the pupil through the mazes The oath once taken, the enquirer entered upon
of philosophic speculation; puzzled him with re- the second degree, in which he learned that true
condite questions with reference to the spiritual and knowledge came only through the Imams, and that
the natural worlds; and on the strength of the text, the calamities which had fallen on Islam were due
, On earth are signs for men of firm belief and also to the general neglect of this truth. Not until he
on your own selves, will ye not then behold them ?'. had thoroughly grasped this idea was he allowed to
.declared that it was incumbent on the believer to pass on to a higher stage.
make great efforts to get at the inner meaning of The object of the third degree was to teach him
that the reason why there were seven Imams and no
These are ceremonies connected with the Hajj See The Fai/ltol
:1
lsliim (4th ed.), p. 408. . . more was that there were seven planets, seven
'2: 'Those who disbelieve Our sig-ns, We will in the e,nd cast into the
fire: so .oft as their skins shall be well burnt, We will change them for
climates, seven heavens, and so on. The number
fresh SkIDS, that th~ may taste the torment.'-Suratu'n-Nisa' iv. 59.
3 Suratu't-Tauba ix. 36. :J. Suratu'l-A}J.zab xxxiii. 7. See also Suras xxxiii. 23; v. 1; xvi.
of- St5ratu)dh~Dharayat Ii. 20-1.
93--4 ; ii. 77.
12
 90 1'H~ F.A.TIMID },{HA,LfF.<\TE; FIFTH, SIXTH ANDSEVItNTH DEGREES 91
seven is a sacred one. He was also taught that the prophet posterior to Mu!;J.ammad, the founder of
Imamites in recognizing twelve Imams had departed Islam, and a revelation which superseded the Qur'an
from the true Faith, that only to those who recognized and all that had gone before. The great majority of
Mu!;J.ammad I:fabfb as the seventh and last Imam men stopped here, for the other five degrees were
would the mysteries of religion be revealed, and to confined to a select few.
such alone would be made known the exoteric and In the fifth degree the enquirer was taught many
esoteric doctrine of things. mysterious things with regard to the use of numbers
In the fourth degree he was taught matters of the and, above all, that moral commands and religious
utmost importance. He learned that the prophets ceremonies were to be explained allegorically. He
entrusted with the production of new religions were also learned that each Imam had twelve ministers,
seven in number-Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, each called the 1;Iujj at, or Proof, whose duty it was
Christ, Mul;tammad, and, last of all, Mu!;J.ammad to make known his teaching to men.
tIabib, the son of Isma'il, in whose person was I n the sixth degree the very foundation of religious
gathereq up and terminated all preceding knowledge belief was attacked. Hitherto the proselyte had
-.. 'U,luinu'I-AwwaHn-a term which may be said to beeil taught that though one religion superseded
deI:\ote the idea that the esoteric meaning of religion another, yet all came originally frol)1 God. Now he
. was perfectly known to him. As Mul;tammad 1;Iabib, learned that the opinions of philosophers were
then, alone had the key to all mysteries, as in him .superior to those of the prophets, that religious
the cycle of the old faiths with their positive precepts creeds were clever artifices to fetter reason. The
and inculcation of the letter terminated, and as with race had now outgrown the need of such a fiction as
him began the knowledge of that allegorical signifi- revealed religion. The Arka-uu'd·din, the obligatory
cance Iafent in all the preceding religions, all who practices of Islam, were all explained away alle-
would be on the right path should follow him, in gorically, and so it was no longer necessary to
other words sho1.!ld become Isma'ilians. Each observe them.
prophet had a special companion, called Sus. I In the seventh degree it was shown that, as,
Thus Adam had Seth; Noah, Shem; Abraham, according to the instruction given in the fourth
Isma'il; Moses, Aaron; Jesus, Simon $ufa,2 or degree, each great prophet had. an assistant, so
the pure one; Mu!;J.ammad, 'All. The proselyte who ·Isma·f1 had his son Mul;tammad 1;Iabfb. This led
passed through this degree ceased to be a Muslim, oil to the teaching 01 the prinCiple of dualism-·.
for he could only attain to it by acknowledging a something which gives and something which re-
ceives. It was explained that this principle was to
1 u-'r the Druses use the form (,,)"'l..' Asas. The word ~,... means
source or origin: u-'L' is a foundation.
be found in the Qur'<1n and in religion. Thus of
2: Called lA..J' the Pure: it is eVidently meant for Cephas. creation it is said, • When God createth a thing,
92 . THE FkrrMID JmALiFATE ISMA'iLIAN DUPLICITY il3

He only saith "Be" C,j) and it is.' I This is the When the various degrees had been passed
first and the greater of two powers; but the second through the initiation was complete, and after
is found in the words, ' All things have We created solemn oaths not to reveal anything, and to yield
after a fixed decree.'2 Thus will and necessity unquestioning and implicit obedience, further in-
form a dualism. The Jablet and the Pen give structions were given to the new member of the
another illustration. The Pen writes the Qur'an cOllfraternityas regards his conduct towards other-
the Tablet receives it. 3 All this pointed to the men. If he met with a Shf'ahhe was to express
existence. of a dualistic principle in the universe. his sorrow at the cruel treatment 'All and his sons
The object of it all was to destroy belief in Taubid, had received: if with a Sunnl he must speak with
or the Unity. respect of the KhaHfas AbU Bakr, 'Umar and
Then came the eighth degree in which dualism 'Uthman. To the Magian he should expatiate on
was carried a stage further, and it was said that the glory of the sun and moon, to the Jew he should
there were two Beings who rule the world, the one extol the merits of the Messiah whose advent they
pre-existent to the other and raised above it. The longed for, and should also before them speak evil
pupil had by this time becoII).e completely bewilder- of Christians. With Christians he would refer with
.ed and s.o was prepared for the final stage. disdain to the Jews and would express belief in
In the ninth degree the neophyte was led on to much of the Christian creeds, with the esoteric
nihilism. There was no God, no law, no religion. 4 meaning of which he would say that he was well
All who maintained the truth and existence of these acquainted. In short, he would so conduct himself
things were to be treated as enemies. The universe with all varieties of men that they might all· be
was eternal. brought to acknowledge Mubammad I;Iabfb, as the
Such were the methods by which the Isma'ilians, Seal of the Prophets, the last and final teacher
emancipated from the control of a moral law were of men. To the fully initiated, he was to admit
formed into a fanatical sect, spreading destruction that the Imam was dead, that he comes now in a
all around. 5 spiritual form and that those who have reached the
. highest stages have in spiritual methods intercourse
1 Suratu.Ali 'Imrau, iii. 42. with him. Sleight of hand, fascination of the eye,
2 Suratu'l.Q~mar liv. 49.
3 This is the La.u~u'l-Ma1}.fii~ on which the decrees of God are aptness .to mislead were all to be cultivated in
writteD. It is referred to in SdIq.tu'l Buruj lxxxv.21-2. 'It is a order that he might make a show of miraculous
glorious Qur'an written on the preserved table. I
• , Follow Reason and do what it deems good, for it gathers the power before the ignorant multitude.
honey of counsel. And accept not a commanclment from the Torah
for verily the Truth is hidden from it.) So the Ar~b poet Ma'ani. ' There are still a few Isma'flians in South Arabia
:II A very full account of these nine degrees will be found in
Silvestre de Sacy's Expose d~ la Rel£gion des Druses, vol. i, pp. and in Syria. A few of the Arabian ones recently
lxxv,-cxxxviii. (1923) complained to King I;l.usayn that the
 THE Fki'IMID KE:ALIFATE THE; FAl'IMID KHAI,fFAS 95

Wahhiibfs were troubling them; those in Syria do off the yoke of their recent masters, and gradually
not appear to have exercised any appreciable infhi- various semi-independent kingdoms w~reformed, the
elite in the recent political affairs of that region, history of which we need not pursue. MU'izz was
now a mandated territory under French control. a scholar and a careful administrator. He was one
The Arab Sunnf Government in Afrikia now came of the most tolerant of the Fatimid Khalffas. He -
to an end and that of the Shf'ah Khalffate rose into allowed religious freedom and even permitted open
and exercised power. There were fourteen Khaiffas religious discussions between Christians and Mus-
of this dynasty, of whom AI-Adfd (A.D. rr66-n7r) lims. He rebuilt a ruined Church at Fustat and
was the last. The dynasty was. brought to an end severely punished some Muslim fanatics who' s~ught
by the famous warrior statesman, $alahu'd-Dfn to hinder the work of restoration. On the whole,
(Honour of the Faith) better known as Saladin. with some exceptions when cruelty and violence
As we are not concerned with the general political raged, the rule of the Fatimids was, for the age and
history of this Khalffate, I I shall only make a few country in which they ruled, 'liberal, beneficent and
general remarks on it, going rather more into detaiis favourable to learning.' The earlier Khalffas were
about the notorious K!i.alffa I:fakim, in whose reign patrons of learned men and encouraged the erection Qf
some temarkable religious movemeilts took place, fine buildings. It is to them we owe amongst others
which call for notice. the mosque of AI-Azhar (A.D. 970). AI-'Azfz, who
The Mahdf died in A,D. 934. He had the auda- succeeded has father AI-Mu'izz, ruled successfully.
dfy to withstand the Sunnf Kli.alffa, the head of the Like his father he was a tolerant man as regards
ISiamic world, an audacity justified by its results, religion and race. His wife was a Christian, the
far he f6undecI a dynasty whkh played an imjJottant mother of the mad I:Iakim the next and worst of all
part in tM yeats to come. islam had now three· the Fatimid Khalffas. Under the .Khalffa AI-
chief rulers; one in Baghdad, one in Spain, one in Mustan§ir (A.D. 1035-95) the power and glory· of
Aftikiit, Tli.e 'Abbasid Khalffare waS drawing to a the Fatimid dynasty rose to its highest point.
elase. The unity 6f the· IslamiC empire waS gone, Though Morocco, Algiers and Tunis w~re lost, it
never to return. ruled over the rest of North Africa, Egypt, Sicily,
MU'izz, the fourth Khitlifa established his power Malta and parts of Asia Minor. For two years even
in EgyptilhCl Caito became (A.D. 973) the residence Baghdad acknowledged Mustan§ir as Khalffa, and
Of tli.e Fatimid Kha.llfas. 2 The Berbers now threw for a short while Mecca and Madfna were in his pos-
:1At: excellent account is given hi 6 i Le.3ry's, HiSEiJry -bi the session. After his long reign of sixty years the
FaJipti(llQ!01tfale, pp. 49-245: and in OsbornJs, Islam under the Arabs,
pp. 185-236. opponents said that they were descended from the Persian heterodox
: 2 It was n'ow thal a liferary duel cOm.menced between Egypt aDu tAbdu'IIah ibn Maynull. See O'Le-ary, History of the Fatimld
S§Lghdad, on th~ priority of ~Ubaydu'lIab's.des,cent from 'Ali and Kllal'ifate, pp. 116. 166; Browne, A Literary History of Persia-, vol.
Fatima, on which the Claim of the Fatiihid ggalifate rested. Their i, p. 398•.
96 'rHE FA'f1MlD KHALfFATE DEATH OF :aAK1M· 97

decadence of the dynasty set in, and the great empire sary in this lower world; also that this pure Reason
which MU'izz and his son had built up gradually fell should be incarnate in a person. It had been so In
into decay. lsma'll and hois descendants; it was so now in the
The reign of I;iakim (A.D. 996-1021) was one Fatimid Khalffas.' I
long history of cruel actions. I Christians and Jews The death of I;iakim came about in this wise. He-
all incurred his mad anger. Christian priests were issued many harsh edicts against the women of
flogged to death and churches were destroyed. Cairo, even forbidding them to leave their homes or
Christians had to wear, suspended from their necks, to appear in the streets. One day when passing by
a heavy cross. The Jews had to wear black gar- the baths, he heard the sound of women's merry
ments, and, when they walked abroad, a piece of voices within the bath-house. He ordered the doors
wood, carved like a calf's head, was placed on their to be bricked up and so left the bathers to die of
heads. This was to remind them of the apostasy at hunger. His sister remonstrated with him on his
Sinai. I;iakim's Muslim subjects fared little better. acts of cruelty. He accused her of immorality and
He abolished the namaz, or public prayers, and the threatened her with death. Some of the nobles of
khutba, or Friday sermon in the month of Rama<;lan. the Court took her part. A plan was made to way-
He stopped the pilgrimage to Mecca, and the annual lay I;iakim on one of his nightly excursions
sending of the Kiswah, or the covering for the Ka'ba. and to put an end to his life. This was success-
He set aside the decrees of the KhaHfas AbU Bakr, fully carried out and I;iakim disappeared and his
'Umar and 'Uthman, whose memory he denounced body was not found. Various accounts are given
and cursed. All this was very trying to good of the manner of his disappearance. 2
Muslims, but the F atimid KhaHfas, though nominally Hakim built in Cairo a college, called the Daru'l·
Muslims, denied the chief doctrines of Islam. I;iikmat, or Hall of Sciences, in which a large
Whilst the orthodox held that the Law given by number of Da'is were instructed and initiated into
Mul;1ammad was perfect and final, the Fatimid rulers, the various degrees to fit them for the work of ex-
on the contrary, held that they themselves were incar- pounding the tenets of the Isma'iIian sect. One
nations of the Divine Reason, and that they alone day l;Iasan i~n $abba\.1, afterwards, the Grand
were the interpreters of the inner meaning of the posi- Master of the Assassins, came to these meetings and
tiveprecepts of the Law. 'Every positive precept of listened to the instruction given. He then spent
the Law was an allegorical statement of some unseen three years in Syria. When the ninth KhaHfa Al-
verity; and as one pure and universal Reason pre- MustaIi (A.D. 1094-1101) ascended the throne his
sided over the spiritual world above, evil was neces- accession was disputed by his elder brother Nizar,

1 For a full account, see O'Leary, The Fa#mt'd lilJ.alifate, 1 Osborn, Islam under tke Arabs, p. 247.

pp. 143-7. • See O'Leary, History of the Ftilimid [{haIUate, PP' 184-7.
13
 TRAINING OF MISSIONARIES 99
98 THE FA'riMID IQ!ALfFATE
Under the' Mountain Chief' there were Grand
but the opposition was finally put down. The Priors (Da'f-i-Kabfr) to each .of whom the charge of
Assassins, I as the followers of Hasan
. ibn . '
Sabbah a separate district was allotted. Then came the
were called, were opposed to the claims of the initiated Da'fs•• Below them were the minor orders
reigning KhaHfa and now formed a strong and for- of Companions and adherents, and last of all the
midable sect, organized on the traditional lines of Fida'fs, or self-devoted ones. These last werecare-
the Isma'flians. They had the same stages of fully trained I to assume various disguises, a favour:
initiation and were equally agnostic in their views. ite one being the garb of a Sufi darwish or of a
The head of the Highest Grade was the Grand religious mendicant. This w;s to enable' them to
Master, the Da'f'l-Du'at ; also called the' Mountain
ent~ i~to any society of men in order to propagate
Chief' (Shaykhu'l-]abal) and in Crusading Chronicles
theIr VIews, or to do more deadly work. They were
'Le Vieux,' the Old One, and so he was widely
bound to a blind and unquestioning obedience and
known as ' The Old Man of the Mountain.' After to commit murder when bidden so to do. The sect,
wandering about and preaching his doctrines l;Iasan
t?US surro~nded with an atmosphere of secrecy,
ibn $abba!). by a clever ruse 2 in the year A.D. 1090 .
nghtly receIved the name of Assassins. To prepare
obtained possession of the strong mountain fortress the Fida'fs for their deadly work, .l;Iasan made a
of Alamut, known as the 'Eagle's Nest.' The lovely garden, in which were conduits of wine, milk
seizure of other fortresses followed and l;Iasan soon and honey, In it were beautiful damsels and all
obtained great political power, the means which he that could lead to sensual pleasure. A few Fida'is
used being the devotion of the Fida'is to his person at a time were drugged with hashash and when
and their use of the dagger. For thirty-five years, insensible carried into the garden in which on
l;Iasan lived in seclusion at Alamut. 'Pitiless and recovering their senses, they found thems.:lves
inscrutable as Destiny, he watched the troubled surrounded with all that was beautiful and attractive
world of Oriental politics, himself invisible, and
to human passions. In attendance upon them were
whenever he perceived a formidable foe, caused a beautiful damsels, like the l;Idr1s of Paradise, who
dagger to be driven into his heart. Warriors, charmed them with soft music and pleasant songs.
statesmen, merchants-he spared none.'3 The entranced Fida'fs believed themselves to be in
1 The etymology of tbis term has been disputed, and various deri~ Paradise. When the ' Old Man' wished to send. a
vatioos have been suggested. The most probable one is that it comes
from :ttashish, the Indian hemp, or bang. It is largely used now in Da'f on a perilous mission he caused one of those in
Eastern lands, but in E;!asan's day it was not so widely known. One the garden to be drugged and .brought forth. On
of his confeder~tes. I A~tash, was a physician and may have known
how to prepare It. ij.asan used it in the training of his Fida'ls. See
Browne, A Literary History of Persia, vol. ii, pp. 204-5.
2 The stratagem was this: he was allowed to take as much land as 1 On the training of a Fida/i see Osborn Islam Under the Ara6~
a bull's hide would cover, so be cut a hide into many thin strips and p ..266 j Marco ~olo's description quoted by BrowDe" in A Literary
su;raunded the site of the fortress with them. H"tory of Per"a, vol. i, pp. 207-8. .
Osborn, Isllfm Under the K/I4lifs of lfagluiad, p. 343.
100 THE FATIMID KHALfFATE PRESENT STATE OF ASSASSINS :tOl

commg to consciousness he found himself in a incarnates itself in successive generations of men, in

palace. Then he received instructions and was told other words' in the Imams. In them the universal
that the faithful performance of the Master's will Reason became incarnate successively in 'All, then
would ensure his entrance again to Paradise. 'Go,' in the Imams who succeeded him, and now it was
said the Master,-and 'slay so and so, and when thou incarnated in th€!' Fatimid Khallfa. I
returnest, my angels shall bear thee into Paradise.' , Such were the doctrines taught by I;Iasan the
He was assured that, even if he himself was killed, first Grand Master of the Assassins. Such was the
angels would carry him there, and so he would for belief cherished by his followers. This accounts
ever enjoy the pleasures of which he had already for the utter 'devotion with which they risked their
enjoyed a foretaste. lives in carrying out his orders. In the Fatimid
In common with the whole body of the Isma'Hians, Khalffas of Egypt they beheld an incarnate deity.
the leaders of this section of them taught that the To kill his enemies, in whichever way they best
universal Reason by which God created the world could, was an action, the merit of which could
was in reality God incarnate. The firstthing created not be disputed and the reward for which was
was the universal Soul the attribute of which is life, certain. '2
just as the attribute of Reason is knowledge. Alamut was finally destroyed and the power of
The. Universal Soul requires something in which the sect was broken by the Mongol leader, Hulagu
to manifest itself and rise to the level of. Universal Khan in A.D. r 256, and only a few minor groups of
Reason. So primary Matter was brought into the sect remained and led a secluded existence in
existence and man appeared and individual souls various parts of the world. At the present day a
came into existence. How are the two great powers few are said to be in Persia, and, under the name of
of. the upper world, universal Soul and universal Khojas, a quiet enterprising people, a few remain
Reason, to be made manifest in this lower one? in Bombay, Zanzibar, Syria and a few other places
The Active Intellect was formed to enter into the where 'they still enjoy a certain influence arid
individual soul. Then the Soul and the Reason of importance, though it requires. a. great effort of
the upper world can enter into human souls. But
some individual person has to be selected for this , Thus the ~ifa Mu'izzu'd-Diu (A.D. 953-75) is r~orted to
hllve used a prayer of which I give a fe:w extracts: 'My God! I am
special manifestation. in a human person. In the as thou art, great by reason of tlly supreme power.: ~ thy
power, thy Mljuifestation, thy will and thy word. My God! grant to
person so selected Divine Reason and the un~versal men that they may know me. My God! by me,tbou hast created all
creatures and from me thou hast drawn all thy messengers and all
Soul I incarnate themselves. Now the UnIversal thy prophets. I am one with thee in the ~~si0D: _of light. I am thy
Reason is immortal; man is not; so the Reason revealed power and through me thy strikIng SignS are manifest. I

Quoted in Osbom's Islam under 11ze Khalifs of Baghdad, p. SiO.

2 Osbom, Islam. under tke Klzalifs of Baghdad, p. MO. Chapter III
1 This Reason is tbe Natiq, one who speaks, that is, a prophet; the
incarnate Soul is one who interprets, or n;takes known and interprets of this book gives a full and graphic account of this remarkable sect
and investigates the Divine words and actlOns. and their murderous activities.
102 THE FATIMlD !lliALtFATE THE DRUSES 103
imagination to associate ;heir pres~nt pontiff, the him through the Imams to himself, the Imam of
genial and polished Agha Khan, with the redoubt- the present age.
able Grand Master of Alamut, and the Old man of After Darazl came another Da'l named Hamza,
the Mountain. ' I also a Persian whom the Druses claim as the
We have now seen into what strange ,,:ays, t~e founder of their·religion. He took the name of
Shl'ah doctrine of the Imamat developed Itself In Al-Hadi, the Guide. He claimed the power
the form of Isma'Hianism and its offshoots.. Another , to abrogate all preceding laws and to abolish the
development is found in the extreme sectIOn of the Tanzll, or literal interpretation of words employed
Isma'mans known as the Carmathians. They are so in the Qur'an, which seem to attribute to God a
called from the name of a Da'l nicknamed Qarmat, human form, and the Tawll, or allegorical system
on account of his short body and legs. He was the preached by 'All and the Imams. Under the
chief propagandist of the sect. For a time they patronage of l;Iakim the sect of the Darazls (now
caused great trouble in Arabia and elsewhere. ~n called Druses) grew in numbers and influence.
A.D. 925 they attacked the pilgrim carav~n and In The basis of the religion is that God is one, and
the following year entered Mecca and ca:ne~ o~ the that He alone is to be adored. He has often mani-
Sacred Black Stone (hajaru'l-aswad), which IS kissed fested Himself under human forms, and His last
by the pilgrims as an act of devotion. They kept and final manifestation is the Lord l;Iakim. By a
it for twenty years, thus shocking all orthodox true confession of His unity, rightly believed, men
Muslims. Sultan MaJ:rmud of Ghazna severely gain eternal life. There are two dangers to be
punished them: As a sect they passed away in time, avoided in the idea one forms of the Unity of God.
and we need not pursue their history further.. They are expressed by the words TasbllJ and Ta'tll.
. Perhaps the most remarkable movement In AI· The former signifies comparison and, in theological
Hakim's time is the rise of the sect of the Druses. language, comparison with something created; the
Now a leading Da'l, a Persian named Mulpmmad latter a stripping off, and, in its application to God,
ibn Isma'll Darazt,3 of the Batini section of the the denial in Him of any attributes as incompatible
Isma'llians encouraged the Khallfa in his pretensions with His Unity. In some respects the Druses are
to divinity. He led him to believe that he was an close followers of the Mu'taziIls, who held that the
incarnation of the Deity, and that the Divine Spirit, ' attributes of God were not eternal, and had not any
which God has breathed into Adam, had descended real existence in the Divine Essence. I
through a long line of prophets to 'Ali and from The hierarchy of the Druses is formed on the
model of the Batinis. There are five leaders, the
1.Browne) A Literary History of Persia, vol. ii, p.. 460.
2 'fhe plural form of Daraz.i is Duruz, from which the European
form Druses is derived. 1 See The Faith of Islam (4th ed.), p,240,
104 THE FkrIMID KHALiFATE THE DHIMMfs' 105

chief one being Universal Intelligence, I the name life amongst themselves. That a religion should
given to H amza, from whom all knowledge emanates. grow out of the caprices of a madman, and that
The Druses believe in the transmigration of souls. generation after generation should see in a blood_
Their reappeaplnce in different forms is connected thirsty despot the incarnation of the Divine shows
with the good or the evil deeds committed in a to what a? extent men may be deluded, when they
former life. After the death of I:Likim, the people close theIr eyes to the 'true light which lighteth
were told to look for his return, when with the aid every man that cometh into the world. ' I
of Hamza he would overcome all opposition and be . The cruelty of I;Iakim to his non-Muslim subjects
universally adored. Previous religions introduced shows how sad the lotof the Dhimmfs was in certain
by Natiqs (prophets), being exoteric beliefs, are lands, and llnder some !VI u1;Iammadan rulers. A few
known as Tanzil now; but each Natiq before his remarks on the subject may now be made. When
death nominated a special companion, called a Sus, Islam first arose no rules about the dress of Chris-
who will give the esoteric meaning (Tawil) of the tians were needed; they dressed like the Arabs'
religion founded by his master, I:Iakim declared but when the latter became more civilized and
that the only sound interpreter of religion was lux~ri?us in the time of the Umayyad Khalffas the
Hamza and quoted the verse, 'We have recorded ChrIstIans copied their dress and imitated their
everything in a clear writing. ' 2 The chief article customs.
.. .
Then the Khallfa 'Umar issued h's I
in the creed is to believe in the divinity of I;Iakim. mJunctIons concerning the dress and customs of the
They· believe that he voluntarily disappeared in Dhimmfs, or non-Muslim subjects of a Muslim
sorrow, leaving a world not worthy of him and that, government, who enjoyed security of person and
though now in concealment, he will return when ?r.oper:y, on payment of the jizya, or polI·tax. These
the world is ready for him. Such, in brief, is the injunctIons are contained in what is called' The
religion of the Druses, a curious offshoot of the cult covenant of 'Umar.' The canonical legists of Is:arn
of 'All and of the dogmaof the Imamat. It is a have elaborated the rules regarding the status of the
strange mixture of fanaticism and folly, not without ~i~mis, as regards dress, customs, marriage,
some redeeming features in the practical duties of inherItance and the like. At times these regulations
were very harsh and contemptuous. The 'Abbasid
1. According to the tradition . The first thing God created was
intelligence Ji"'ll .u\ 0""- \,. J,I . and the Fatimid Khalffas were very hard On the
2 Stiratu Ya Sin xxxvi. 11. The Arabic for clear writing is
(:)';~ r\....l (Imam MUbin). The Druses say that it is Hamza. and
:Qhimmis. The Muftis of the canonical schools
for its application to a liVing person they have Shr'ah authority. (rnadhabs) delivered fatvas, or legal decisions
Sayyid Maqbul A1;tmad in his Shi'ah commentary (vol. ii, p. 703) so
interprets it (ante p. 66). Naturally the Sunnl commentators take a against them. I give in an abbreviated form ~
different view) and say it refers to the writing on the Preserved Table
(Lau1J.u'l·Mal;1fu~), aD. which in heaven the Qur'an is said to hav~ : Fa: fuller. information about the Drtlses see my The D"'uses
been written ready for Gabriel to bring it down in separate portions (C.L.S.) and SIlvestre de Sacy. Expose (ie La Rel£g'ion des Ilruses.
from time to time.
14
106 . -
THE FkrrMID KHALIFATE

sample of one given by the Shaykh of the Maliki

Madhab.
QUESTION IV
What do the 'UJama' of Islam say as to the in- BABfISM
novaLons introduced by the infidels in Cairo? For
instance, they put themselves on an equality with the THE teaching of the modern sect of the Babis is
Amirs, the 'Ulama' and the Sharifs, they wear rich closely connected with mystical modes of thought in
garments, use the same kind of saddles as Muslim ~ufiism, and with the Shi'ah dogma of the Jmamat.
officials use, with servants running in front and in No sect in modern times has suffered so much
the rear. They purchase slaves, bUIld houses higher persecution and survived and grown. The move·
than our mosques, and increase their churches ment is one which illustrates the mystical tendency
and monasteries. The women walk out in public, of Persian thought, the fanaticism of the MulJas,
and the barbarity of the rulers; but all the efforts
wearing robes like those of Mu~lim wo~~n. ~t is
the duty of the 'Ulama' to publIsh the injunctions of the Muslim State and Church in Persia have
and to put down these disgraceful innovations. failed to suppress Babiism, or to lessen the venera·
tion in which the Bab is held by those who accept
ANSWER his teaching.
The Most High has sa:d, ' 0 believers! take not The Persians themselves belong to the Shi'ah
the Jews or Christians as friends. As for the infidels· sect, which is itself a revolt from orthodox Islam.
let them perish, and their works shall God bring to They are not naturally a narrow-minded people and
nought.' The 'Ulama' have said that the words in the past, as the Mu'tazila and the $ufi movements
, until they pay tribute out of hand and be humbled' show, have been more or less rationalistic and
mean that the Dhimmi must with great humility liberal in their views. It is difficult to see in what
pay the tax to the Amir, who will then strike the other Muslim country Babiism could have arisen.
Dhimmi on the back ofthe neck. The Dhimmis must We have already seen (ante p. 62) what the Shi'ahs
not ride on horses, nor frequent the public roads, nor believe about AI-Mahdf and how in his seclusion he
assemble in groups, nor have servants in attendance held communication with the outside world by
on them in the open thoroughfares and so on. means of selected persons whom he called the
Other fatvas prohibit their employment as State Abwab, or doors, or gates. The day came when
officials. In modern times these regulations cannot the last Gate, AbU'I.I:!usayn, reached the endof his
be enforced, but in I:Iakim's time these laws life and declined to appoint a successor as his
prevailed, and thus his conduct is explained, predecessors had done. He said that 'God hath a
though not justified by civilized custom. purpose which He will accomplish.' Intercours~
108 BABfISM THE SEA YJ(Hfs 109

with Al-Mahdf was now at an end. Babfism 'State officials, and of the chief among tlJ.e clergy;
professes to decide when the Gates woul~ re-appear all proud of his fame and enthusiastIc about his
and the intercourse be renewed. The Importance philosophy.'I The I::Iajf died in A.D. 1843 and left
attached to these men was very great, and accounts no successor. According to the Babf writers he ap-
for the high esteem in which one appeared who pointed no one, because he looken upon Shaykh
called himself the Bab, the Gate. A1).mad and himself as forerunners of one who
The ground was prepared for him by Shaykh should shortly appear, and be far more glorious than
Ahmad, the founder of the Shaykhf sect, who soon they had been. Professor Browne gives the foliow-
ga'thered together a large following: . The speci~l ing translation of a passage in a Babf history,"
point of his teaching was that' God IS Immanent m which bears on this point : -
the Universe, which proceeds from Him, and that , When I;!aj! Sayyid Ka~im had but recently departed this
all the elect of God, ali the Imams and all just life (A.D. 1843) I arrived at the supreme shrines (Karbala
persons are personifications of the divin~ attr~butes.' and N ejef) and heard from his disciples that the late Sayyid
had, during the last two or three years of his life, whoIly
Thus the twelve Imams were persOnIficatIOns of
restricted his discourse, both in lecture room and pulpit, to
twelve of the chief attributes of God, and conse- discussing the promised Proof, the signs of his appearance
quentiy they were eternal. Amon~st these I::n ams , and their explanation, and to enumerating the qualities of
'Ali holds the highest rank, bemg supenor to the Master of the dispensation, repeatedly declaring that he
angels, prophets and even to Mu1).ammad. I would be a youth, that he would not be versed in the
The successor of Shaykh A1).mad was I::Iajf Sayyid learning of men. Sometimes, too, he would say, "I see
him as the rising sun." One day an Arab suddenly entered
K~im. The Shaykhf doctrine now spread all
his presence and said, " I have seen a vision touching your
through Persia, and in 'Infq also there were more reverence." On receiving permission he repeated the
than a hundred thousand disciples. 'They did dream; whereupon Sayyid Ka~im appeared somewhat
nothing to call forth the opposition of the MuJIas, troubled and said, " The interpretation of this dream is this,
rior any political repression; on the contrary, among that my departure is nigh at hand and I must go hence."
the admirers of the Shaykh were a great number of His companions, who were present, were much distressed
and grieved at this intelligence; but he turned his face to
1Journal Asiatique, SixiCme Serie. tome vii, p. 458. . them and said, "The time of my sojourn in the world has
Mirza. l{2;im Beg adds the followiD~ note :-'The scholastIC. Musal·
maDS say that the attributes of God are equal and of one qual1ty; but come to an end, and this is my last journey. Why are ye
to the human comprehension some appear supenor to .ct.hers, for so grieved and troubled because of my death? Do ye not
example, mercy surpasses severity. Accordi~g to the. doct.Tme of the
SiHitians the attributes of God are t"ternal1y mberent 1n HIS eSS~Dce. then desire that I should go and that the true one should
The Ml/tazillS do Dot admit this and say, U There is oD.ly one appear?" ,
supreme existence and t~at is God;. ot.herwise we must admit a
multiplicity of eternal eXIstences. WhIch lS contrary to, the dogma ~f The Shaykhfs now began to consider what was
the divine unity. j' The doctrine of the ShaykhI school is tha;t tb;e
attributes of God proceed from the supreme existence, and by HTs
own will become personified in blending with the human soul and 1 Journal Asiatit}ue, Sixi~me Serie, tome vii, p. 463.
spirit which also emanate from God. ' • Episode of tke Bab, p. 239.
110 THE SHAYKHf CREED 111

to be done in the matter of a successor, a spiritual the great majority followed Mulla l;l usayn, and
director. They then went in different directions. Mirza 'AU Mugammad become their recognized
Mulla I:Iusayn proceeded to Shfraz and there leaner. He was then about twenty years of age.
met with Mfrza 'AU Mul;J.ammad, who produced As the connection between the Babis and the
before-him the signs of his call to his divine Shaykhfs is thus so close, we must now see what
mission. Then Mirza 'Alf gave marvellous ex- was the special dogma of the latter sect. The
positions and clear explanations of most abstruse orthodox Shf'ah creed consists of five articles. They
questions. For several days Mul1a I:Iusayn pon- are belief (I) in taugid, or the uni ty of God, (2)· in
dered over these matters, and at last became 'adl, or the justice of God, (3) in nabuwat, or pro-
convinced that he had found in the young and phetship, (4) in imamat, (5) in ma'ud, the re-
ardent enthusiast before him, the 'Proof,' the surrection. The Shaykhls set aside the arti cles
, True One,' the' Sun of Truth,' to whose advent two and five, for they said that there seemed no
I:Iajf Sayyid Kaa:im had pointed. He wrote to his . sufficient reason why justice alone of all the attributes
friends at Karbala that neither he himself nor any of God should be selected as an article of the creed,
other of them was worthy of the high dignity of and that there was just as much reason for inserting
Murshid, or leader, and that that' Illuminated One,' His wisdom, power, or any other attribute. They
to whom their late master had referred, was alone also objected tothe resurrection as a special article,
worthy. He had found him at Shfraz and he was on the ground that belief in the attribute of justice
worthy to be the Murshid. r It is for this reason, and in the resurrection is implied in the acceptance
and because he so heartily espoused the cause of his of prophetship. To take the place of the rejected
new master, that Mulla l;lusayn is named the Babu'l- articles and to bring the numberup to four they added
. .
Bab , or Gate of the Gate; the Harf-i-Awwal, or a new one, which they called the rukn-i-rabi', or the
First Letter, and the Awwal man amana, or the Fourth Support or Pillar. The meaning of this is
First to believe. But this decision was not accept- that there must always be amongst believers one
able to all the Shaykhfs. A party headed by l;lajf perfect man, a Shi'ah-i-kamil who can be the wasita-
Mul;J.ammad Karim Khan" of Kirman utterly refused
to receive the Bab and became his bitterest perse-
-
i-faiz , or the channel of grace between the absent
Imam and his people. Four pillars give stability to
cutors. The Shaykhfs thus became divided into anything, so no more are needed in a creed. The
two sects. One passed on to Babiism of which it . term 'Fourth Support' is primarily applied to the
was, in a way, the source. The other was, and dogma that the concealed Imam must always have
continued to be, in fierce conflict with it. However, on earth some one ·who possesses his entire confi-
'1journal Asiatique, Sixieme Serle, tome vii. p. 465. dence, to whom he gives special spiritual instruc.
2 The Babls,called him the' Very essence of Hell-fire.' Ef;isodeof
the Bar" 1" 2~2. tion, and who is thus qualified to convey to the
 TITLE OF BAB ASSUMED 113
112
believers the wishes and wisdom of their invisible love. Amongstothers is the sentence, ,0 residue of
head. The term has, however, come to be applied God, I I am wholly sacrificed to thee.'
to the person who fulfils this office. It is said that He also wrote a commentary on other parts of the
I;l<iji Mu1)ammad Karim Khan, the Shaykhi who Qur'an and composed some prayers. He believed
refused to accept Mirza' Ali Mu!:J.ammad as a leader, that his meditations were divinely inspired but the
considered himself to be the 'Fourth Support.' I inspiration was subjective.
This, too, was the position of the Bab; at all events Mirza 'Ali Mu1)ammad, now twenty-four years
at first , for he claimed to be this I Fourth Support,', old, more definitely formulated his views and an-
and thus to occupy the place held by the 'Gates, nounced himself as a duly authorized teacher and
who were the intermediaries between the Imam and guide. On May ?3, r844, he assumed the title of
his followers during the minor occultation. Thus it the Bib, or Gate, through whom communication
is that Babiism is connected with the very central could be held with Imam Mahdf. This Manifes-
doctrine of the Shi'ahs, though in many other ways tation took place just a thousand years I after
it has so far departed from accepted Mu1)ammadan Imam Mahdi succeeded to the Imamat. This was
ideas as to form a new sect allogether. This wiII the close of the Major Occultation (Ghaybatu'l-
appear as we record the life and work of the Kubra).2 He said' whosoever wishes to approach
the Lord his God, and to know the true way that
Bab.
Mirza 'Ali Muhammad was born at Shiraz on leads to Him ought to do it through me.' The
October 9, 1820. He was brought up by an uncle Bab's first adherents were divided into several
who was engaged in mercantile pursuits, but as his :L The exp~siont re.s.lrl?e (or remna.nt). of God-Baqfyat Ullah-is

mind was more inclined to religious meditation and a. !;ry peculIar one. It IS COD.uected Wlti1 a curious belief of the
~.h1 ans. namely ~ that God allowed some part or fraction of Himself
speculative thought, he proceeded to Karbala, ~n S0!De_~ay..orother. to be conn~ted with the lmim.. Assoo-n tbe~
as Ml~ All MuQ.ammad ?ias ratsed by bjs ioHonrers to tbe dignity of
where he attended the lectures of the Shaykhf leader the Bab, or as soon as the ~dea became present to his own mind he
I;faji Sayyid K~im. He was distinguished by could address. the Imam a~ the .Baqlyat UIIah, and set forth his
complete devo-hcD to him. HE followors then gave him the titles of
his zeal for learning and soon won the esteem of his the seryaut of Baqlyat Ulian. the mystery of Baqlyat Ullah. the friend
" of Baqlya.t UHiih. Gradually, as during his imprisoc.ment he became
teachers. He now composed a commentary on m.ore and more invisible to his followers, and when he became credited
wlph the power of working miracles and more or less a mvthica1
Suratu YUSUf' The Bibi historian 2 says of this ~g. he w~ no IOI:ger called the servant, or the mystery," or the
work that in it, 'He addressed himself to that meEd of BaqIyat U}lab, but himself 'Wa'S. est~emed to be the Baq:iyat
UUah-the true Imam so long looked for, MJrzti K&zim Beg says that
person unseen from whom he received help and • under the term.. H ,MYstery H they understood one who- shared the
s:crets ~ th! Imam~ Tbe name Sirr~Ull.ah, or Mystery of God, was
grace, sought for aid in the arranl?eme~ts of his pre- glv":D ~o Ali, as to one who knew the secrets of divine revelation' and
so, 1t1 rts new applicaH.on, the title Si:r-r-i-Baqiyat UIMb. now a ';'ame
liminaries, and craved the sacr,dice In the way of of the Bah, \,"ould ;nean the one who knew all that was in the mind of
1. See Ef;isode of the Bab~ pp. 243-4 for an expOSition of these two the concealed Imam, who himself was the remnant (or residue) of
~d~.t Journal Asiaiique, 1365, vol~ vm, p. 46S~
views.. • See Ante. p. 62.
• EPisode Df the Blio, p. 4.
IS
 114 BABfISM THE RAE A PRISONER 115

classes: ' (I) rigorous and pious Muslims who really followers) had believed and as he himself had
believed that the signs of AI- Mahdf were fulfilled thought, that is to say, the Gate of the knowledge
in him; (2) all who desn-ed reform in Persia and of truth; but that he was the Point, or the originator
thouO'ht
o that Bablism would contribute toward that of truth, a divine appearance, a powerful manifes-
end; (3) the mystics WJ;lO considered Babiism to be tation,' and so goes on to-show that the title Bab
similar to their OW!) pantheistic system; (4) those was set free and could henceforth reward the pious
who were attracted by the personal influence of the devotion of one of the Bab's followers. As a
Bab." There is some difference of opinion as to matt~r of fact, it was bestowed on MulIa 1;Iusayn,
what he really meant by the title of Bab which he who IS sometimes called His Excellency, the Gate
had now assumed. Mirza K~im Beg says, 'I do of the Gate, ]anab-i-Babu'l-Bab.
not know whether he was acquainted with the words The Bab made the pilgrimage to Mecca in
of Christ, "I am the door;" but he doubtless November 1844, where he stayed a short time and
knew that Muhammad had said, "I am the completed all the rites incumbent on pilgrims. He
city of knowledge and 'All is the gate of that returned early in the following year to Bushire.
city." '2 His personal charms and his attractive manners
However, he now gave out that, as 'All had been drew many people to him. The orthodox were
the Gate, by which men entered the city of the pleased with the apparent veneration he held for the
Prophet's knowledge, even so he was the Gate Prophet and the Imams, whilst his more ardent
through which men might attain to the know- companions rejoiced at the liberality of his views,
ledge of the twelfth Imam. His followers have The Mullas and others, however, became excited
now discarded that name, and he is known about him. They induced 1;fusayn Khan, the
amongst the Babis by several titles, such as Governor of Fars, to give orders that some of his
!;l~rat, or His Highness; J:faFat-i-nuqtah-i-bayan, followers sbould be beaten. A little later on in the
or His Highness the point of Revelation; J:fa~rat-i­ year the Bab was brought as a prisoner to Shfciz.
nuqtah-i-uJa, or His Highness the First point; The impression he produced then was very great
~ !;laFat-i-rabbi aJa'ala, or His Highness my Lord amongst the literary and religious classes. When-
the Supreme. More recently the Baha'is call him ever he appeared in the Mosque they listened to him
I:I<l¥at-i-mubashshir, or His Highness the Evange- in silence. In his public discourses he did not now
list. Count Gobineau, a good authority on the ~tta~k the foundations of Islam, but was unsparing
subject, says, 'Mirza Mul;ammad 'All said that he In hIS rebukes of the Mullis. His general theme
was not the Bab in the sense in which they (his_ was the sad and distressed state of men generally.
, RASJ, 1889, p, 504,
Obscure allusions in his speeches awakened an
• JOItr1f4l .1siaiit;ue, 1866, p,342, interest amongst the curious, and delighted those
 116 J3ABfrsM.· ATTITUDE OF THE M.ULLAS 117
who were in part initiated into his teaching. I The 'All that he too became a follower of the Bab. He
Mullas of Shfraz appointed their ablest men to urged all his disciples to become Bahls, and sent to
dispute with him, with the result that the enthusiasm the Bab a statement of his own adherence to his
regarding him greatly increased. Mirzi K~im Beg teaching. The Mullas complained to the Shah,
_ thus describes one of these famous disputations. and Mulla MuJ;1ammad. 'Ali was summoned to
The 'UJama' assembled. The Bab appeared in Tihran (Teheran); but he was able to meet success-
the midst of them and spoke with courage and fully all his opponents in debate and nothing came
enthusiasm. The Governor, ljusayn Khin, who of this action.
had assumed the character and position of a learner, The orthodox Mullas soon perceived that they
humbly suggested that the Bib should demon- must attack the Bab direct and so they urged the
strate that his doctrines were superior to those of Governor of Fars, I;fusayn Khan, to take more
Mul,Jammad. The Bab answered boldly, 'Take decisive adion, saying, 'If thou desirest the ex-
my Qur'in, compare it with that of your Prophet, tinction of this fire, or seekest a firm stopper for this
and you will be convinced that my religion is the rent and disruption, an immediate cure and decisive
preferable one.' On hearing these words, the remedy is to kill the Rib.' The Bab, in order to
Governor changed his attitude and called for the avoid persecution, went to Isfahan, and wrote a
executioner to whom he pointed out the prisoner. letter to the Mu'tamadu'd-Dawlah, the Governor
The Bab was then bound and beaten. of the province, asking for a suitable lodging.
A Bib! historian" gives fuller details. He says The Governor, Mimichihr Khan, afforded him
that the matter acquired such importance that the . protection and showed him hospitality there, and
reigning Shih sent one of the most learned Doctors invited the learned doctors of Islam to a public
of the age, Sayyid Yal,Jyi, to interview the Bab and discussion with the Bab. They refused to meet
to report the result. He held three long con- him and, instead of doing so, signed a declaration
ferences with him, but the result was that he was so to the effect that they were quite convinced of the
charmed with the Bib that he accepted him as a heretical character of his doctrines' and that he
leader and admitted all his claims. About this time, should be punished. This very much displeased
Mulla MuJ;1ammad 'All, a leading teacher, sent a Minuchihr Khan, the Governor, who seems to have
person to Shfniz to ascertain the facts of the case. been a firm friend to the Bab. After his death in
This messenger returned with some of the Bib's 1847, the Rib was removed to the castle of Makli ,
writings, which so impressed Mulla Mul;.ammad a fortress on the north-west frontier, though his
confinement was not at first a rigorous one. His
Count Gobineau, Le£ religi(Jf{.s et les PhilowjJhies dans L}Asie
"1.
Centrale, p. 148. ' - ~I ..,.,Ir ~ Gr" ~ Ifr\ ~\ c~ ~ (:.'l1 <Jl~ (j~ I
• Episode oft1Je Mo, p. 7. Maqiilak-i-Skawf SaiJ'ak.
 H8 BABIISM QURRATU'L-'AYN 119

foHowers were aHowed f~ee intercourse with him, and declared that so long as the public peace was
and continual correspondence went on between the not disturbed the Government would not further
Bab and his principal agents. The Bab at this time interfere with him.
wrote many religious books, and his influence The Bab's followers were now most active in
_seemed to be on the increase. After the insurrection spreading his doctrines throughout the land. His
of Mazandaran it was determined to place him in most famous convert was a woman called Qurratu'l-
stricter confinement, and so he was removed to the 'Ayn (Lustre of the eye). The course of the
citadel of Chirlk, near Urumiyye, of which place narrative may well be interrupted in order to give a
Yal;1ya Khan was the Governor. He treated the brief account of so great and distinguished a woman.
Bab, who prayed and worked without ceasing, with She was the daughter of I;Iajf Mulla Mul;1ammad
deference and respect. Even the soldiers who $alil;1, a learned resident of Kazvfn. She was an
guarded him, were influenced by his calm manner excellent Arabic scholar and was so intelligent that
and his attractive conversation. The Bab was she could follow the most subtle discussions. Her
confined at Chirfk about two and a half years, and, acquaintance with the commentaries on the Qur'an
it is· said, there declared himself to be the Qa'im, and with the Traditions was very extensive.! She
or the Imam Mahdi. was acquainted with I;fajf Sayyid K~im, Shaykhf
Soon after his arrival at Chirik he was brought leader, and his famous disciple Mulla I;Iusayn.
to Tabriz to undergo his first examination. The When the latter set out for Shfniz Qurratu'l-'Ayn
Muhammadan historians represent him as utterly corresponded with him and begged bim to let her
.fooUsh and ignorant. I The BaM account of it is' know when he had found the spiritual teacher he
that the Bab advanced the claim of Mahdf-hood, on was in search of. Mulla I;fusayn showed her letter
which a great tumult arose, and that, in general, his to the Bab, who was much interested in it. For a
defence was a success. He was severely beaten and while she lived at Karbala and gave addresses to
sent back to confinement in Chirik. Then we are the Shaykhfs. This displeased the governor of the
told that ' learned divines and esteemed lawyers place and she retired to Baghdad. Again she was
who were possessed of power and influence, girt up ordered to change her place of residence. She then
the loins of endeavour for the eradication and sup.' visited Kirmanshih and Hamadin, everywhere
pression of this sect.' They maintained that the preaching and making converts to the Babf faith.
Bab and his followers were not only in error, but Some of the Babls looked with disfavour on this
were also hurtful to Church and State. The King, preaching by a woman; but the Bab supported her,
Mul;1ammad Shah, however, declined to interfere, . applauded her zeal, and bestowed on her the title of
, A full account is givea ia the E/Jisod~ of the Biib, pp. 277-90: also 1 CO-unt Gobiueau f Les relitions et [es philosopkies dans LtAsif"
in the New History of the Bab, pp. 2ss-e1. Cf!J1t rak, p. 16$.
 BABIISM QURR1\TV'~f!\.YN 121
1z<l

Janab-i-Tahira, or Her Excellency the Pure. From prophesied his own downfall. Strange to say this
that time an acknowledged her position. Her came true, for a few years after Ma1;1mlld Khan was
father now brought her back to her home at Kazvfn, executed by the order of the Shah. This refusal
but she was not happy there, as her friends and to deny her faith in the Bab was strong in her, and
_ relatives were all bitterly opposed to the Shay.khls she did so refuse when confronted with her judges.
and the Babis. Her unde who showed much They could not save her: and so she was put to
hatred of the Babis, was now assassinated, and death in the massacre at Tihcln which followed on
Qurratu'I.·Ayn was unjustly charged with being the attempt to kin the Shah in 1852. Various
privy to the deed. This rendered her further stay accounts are given of the manner of her death.
in Kazvln impossible, and she left for a place called Gobineau says she was burned and then strangled:
Nux, where she remained until the suppression by others that she was strangled 1 and then cast into a
the Government of the Mazandaran insurrection. well. Her death was painful, and she was as brave
She was then made a prisoner and sent to Tihcln. in death as she had been in life. Qurratu'l-'Ayn
On her arrival she was taken before the Shah who was the most remarkable of the Bab's disciples. She
said, • I like her looks, leave her and let her be.' was a person of marve]Jous beauty, possessed of
She was then kept in prison, though her confine- high intellectual gifts, eloquent, devoted and fear-
ment does not appear to have been very rigorous, for less. She threw her whole soul into the cause she
she had occasional intercourse with different BahlS advocated, and her martyrdom sheds a halo of glory
and her life was in no danger until the attempt to round her short and active career.
assassinate the Shah was made, when the mere fact A Babl historian says, • Such fame did she acquire
of being a Bab! was sufficient to imperil life. Even that most people who were scholars or mystics
there her marvellous beauty, enthusiasm and elo- sought to hear her speak, and were eager to become
quence won for her the regard of her custodian, acquainted with her powers of speculation and
Mahmud Khan. He did all he could, consistent deduction. She wrested pre-eminence from stalwart
with his duty, to soften the rigours of captivity and men, and continued to strain the feet of steadfast-
held out hopes for the future. One morning ness, until she yielded up her life at the sentence of
Mahmud Khan returned from Court, saying that he the mighty doctors in Tihran.' Mfrza K~im Beg,
had· brought good newS. He told Qurratu'l-'Ayn a most sober writer, waxes eloquent over the charms
that she was to appear before her judges, and it was of Qurratu'I,·Ayn. Thus,' This woman had an
understood that, it she denied that she was a Babf, influence over her hearers, wholly spiritual. She
she would be left alone, on condition that she lived "1. ~ As she would not st:::ffer them to remove the veil from her face

quietly and ceased to teach. She indignantly re- (though they repeatedly sought to coso), they applied the bow-strwg
OVer her veil. and th\1S- compassed ber martyrdom. Then they cast
plied that she would do no such thing and her holy body into a well!ll the garden.' TiriM-i-Jad'd, p. 284.
16
122 BABIISM QURRATU'L-'AYN 123

knew how to inspire them with perfect confidence. to the Babi cause and the spirit of endurance to its
She was well educated and very beautiful. Every- followers.
thing retired before her. She raised the veiF which Thefollowing sonnet by Eleanor Sell on Qurratu'l-
covered her face, not to set at nought the laws of 'Ayn describes some characteristics of her in-
chastity and modesty, so deeply graven on the.tables fluence:-
of the orthodox law and in popular prejudice, but Qurratu'l-'Ayn! not famous far ooyond
much rather in order to give by her look more force Her native shore. Not many bards have sung
Her praisest who, her enemies among,
to the inspired words she spoke. Her speeches Wielding her beanty as a magic wand,
stigmatized that gross tyranny which for so many Strove for the cause of him who had proclaimed
centuries had imprisoned liberty. She preached For poor down-trodden womanhood the right
not, as some have said, to abolish the laws of Of freedom. Lifting high her beacon light
modesty, but to sustain the cause of liberty. The Of truth, she went unveiled and unashamed;
eloquent words which fell from her mouth capti- A womau, in the laud where women live
And weep and die secluded and unknown,
vated the <hearts of her hearers, who became
She brok.e the bonds of custom, and to give
enthusiastic in her praise.' The Bah her aid, she dared the world alone,
Some of her poems breathe the spirit of ;;uffism Only to fail; death closed the unequal strife
and show now deeply her mind was imbued with And Persia hiindly wrecked a noble life.
mystic lore. This is far more apparent in the In the year 1348 Na~iru'd-Dfn Shah was crowned
original than in any translation of them. The at Tihcin and the position of the RiMs became most
following lines are from a translation by Mr. critical. The Prime Minister, Mirza Taqi Khan
Browne:- persecuted them with much cruelty. A civil war
Though with sword in hand my Darling stand, with ensued, in which: the Bah himself took no part, and
intent to slay, though I sinless be, . on both sides much ferocity was shown. At length
If it pleases him, this tyrant's whim, I am well content
with his tyranny.
Mfrza Taqf Khan saw that the way in which his
The country of ' I ' and 'We ' forsake; thy home in purpose of crushing the Babf movement could be
annihilation make, successfully carried out was to get the Bab put out
Since fearing not this step to take, thou shalt gain' of the way, and so he sent an order to his brother
the highest felicity. to this effect: '0btain a formal and explicit
Her romantic career, her marvellous power and sentence from the learned doctors at Tabriz, who
her tragic end contributed to give for a time strength are the firm supporters of the Church of Imam
2. Some R-1:bissay she did not do this; but Count Gobineatt says
Ja'far, and the impregnable stronghold of the
~ el1e s'eleva non seulement centre la polygsmie, mais contre PU3a? Sm'ah faith. Summon the Christian regiment of
du voile. J Les Religions et les -philosophies dalJS L'As!e Centrau t
p.l68. Urnmaiyya, suspend the Bab before all the people
124 EXECUTION OF THE BAB liS
and give orders to them to fire a volley.' The fired simply severed the cords by which the prisoners
orders were given to the chief of the farrashes and were fastened to the post.. A second volley proved
the next day, the Bab and a youthful Bab! of good effectual. The crowd then dispersed in silence,
family, named Aka Mu\1ammad 'All, after_being but many men carried jn their hearts the germs of
condemned by the MulJas, were delivered up to the hostility towards the Government. The execution
Colonel of the regiment already named. On the of the Bab (A.D. r850) does not seem to have been
previous evening the Bab said to his friends, <To- justified on political grounds, for, as Gobineau says,
morrow they will martyr me with shame and , though the Babf chiefs had given trouble to the
dishonour. Let one of you arise and slay me, so State, the Bab himself had done nothing of the kind
that I may not have to suffer the dishonour and and no proof was brought forward that he had
humiliation from the adversaries.' All, with great encouraged his disciples in their line of conduct.'I
expressions of sorrow, began to excUse themselves The bodies were finally cast out of the city, near the
except Mirza MuJ.1ammad 'Ali, who seemed as if moat, to be devoured by dogs and jackals; but on
about to obey the command. His comrades, how- the second night were conveyed away by the Babfs
ever, prevented him, saying, <Such boldness and who by bribes, or the influence of powerful friends,
rashness is not the mark of true service.' For the obtained possession of them. <They were wrapped
following account of what really happened, 1 am in white silk, placed in one coffin, and sent to
indebted to Mirza K~m Beg. I Tihran, where by order of Mirza Ya1;lya ($ubl].-i-
The roads which led to the court of the barracks Ezel), they were deposited in a little shrine called
were crowded with people. At a military execution Imam-zade-i-lYla'sum. Here they remained for
in Persia, the condemned are tied together with seventeen or eighteen years, till the schism
their backs turned towards the firing party. Aka originated by Bahi'u'llah deprived his half-brother
MuI~ammad <Ali begged to be allowed to turn his Ezelof the supremacy in the Babf Church which he
face towards the people, and then, in a loud but had hitherto enjoyed, when they were removed by
calm voice, he began to say some prayers which the Baha'is, to whom alone is now known the last
had been composed by the master. The Bab kept resting place of the Martyrs of Tabrfz.'z
perfectly silent. His pale and beautiful face surround- Great pressure had been brought to bear on Aka
ed by a black beard, his white and delicate hands, lYlu\1ammad <Ali by his relatives to make him recant.
his figure and distinguished manner, everything He wrote a very touching letter in reply to an
in his person and in his dress aroused the sympathy affectionate appeal from his brother, urging him to
and compassion of the spectators. The first volley
:1 Co.unt Gobinea\~)
Les Religions et les philoSOPhies dam L' Asu
1Journal Asiaiique) Sixie-me Series, tome vii, p. J71. emirate, p. 262. .
TIM NEW History of the- Bfib also has a full account, PP. 297-312. ~ Browne, A Year(,mlof1.gsttk~ Penians , p. 64.
 126 BABfIsM ATTEMPT TO MURDER THE SHAH 127
give up the Bab, to save his life and to return to his movement a political turn which it had not previ-
family. Mr. Browne translates the letter thus : - ously possessed. Th.e Bab himself remained passive,
, He is the Compassionate.
but most of the chIef men amongst his disciples
o thou who art my Qtbla! My condition, thanks to God,
~ has no fault, and "to every difticulty succeedeth ease." accepted this new departure. Then after the death
You have written that this matter has no end. What of the Bab instead of becoming, as was expected by
matter, then, has any end? We, at least, have no discontent the Government, despondent and discouraged, they
in this matter; nay, rather, we are unable snfficiently to became exasperated and stern. The last restraints
express our thanks for this favour. The end of this matter were now removed and they did not hesitate to
is to be slain in the way of God, and 011 t what happiness is
this. The will of God will come to pass with regard to his count themselves enemies of the SMh and his
servants, neither can human plans avert the divine decree. government.
o thou who art my Qib1a, the end of the world is death. If The next historical event of importance is the
the appointed fate which God hath decreed overtake me, attempt on August IS, 1852, to assassinate Nasiru'd.
then God is the gnardian of my family, and thou art mine Dfn Shah. It does not appear to have been ~n act
executor; behave in such wise as is pleasing to God, and determined on by any large number of the .RiM
pardon whatever has proceeded from me which may seem
lacking in courtesy, or contrary to the respect due from leaders, but to have arisen from a spirit of revenge
juniors, and seek pardon for me from all those of my in a few devoted followers of the Bab. It such be
household and commit me to God. God is my patron and the case, the frightful persecutions which followed
how good is He as a Guardian 1 'J are utterly injustifiable, even from an oriental stand.
This letter is a remarkable witness to the power point. Some say that there were twelve conspira-
which the Bab had over his disciples, a power which tors, others say that there were seven. In any case
could lead this youth, with so promising a future only three actually took part in the attack on the
before him, to give up home and life, to face death Shah.. These were Mulla Fat1)n'l1ah of Knm, ~adiq
and its terrors rather than be separated from the of ZanJ<ln, and MfrzaMuJ;lammad of Nfrfz. When the
Master he loved so truly. Shah was out riding ope day they approached him,
The Bab wished to effect religious reform, not to under the pretence of having a petition to offer, and
deal with affairs of the State, or to injure the status t~en one of them fired three times, the last shot
of the reigning family. He was absorbed in slIghtly wounding the Shah. The escort then came
spiritual meditations and in mystical contemplatio~s up, and ~adiq, one of the assassins, was killed on
and was not a political fanatic. But when hIS the spot and the other two were arrested. The
followers found that the Government would not Shah was really in a very great fright, but the
help forward reforms and would not move from the Musalman historians give a different account. The
orthodox Shf'ah standpoint, they gave to the Babf following is a very good specimen of oriental hyper-
, This original letter Is give" itt the RASJ, October 1889, p. 992. bole and flattery: 'The dust of perturbation settled
128 PERSECUTION OF THE BABIS 129

not on the skirt of the patience and self-control of shoulder blades, leaving portions hanging down
the king, whose elemental material God the Crea- which were lighted, and in this condition the un-
tor had leavened with the liver of the lion, the heart happy wretches were led, as long as they could
of Ardashir, the ardour of Shapur, and the majesty walk, through the principal streets of the capital.
of Taimur. Neither did he urge his horse to-turn A furious proscription followed. No time was lost
aside, nor did he utter a word indicative of alarm or between apprehension and execution, death was the
consternation. He kept his place on the poplar- only punishment known, the headless bodies lay in
wood saddle like some mountain of massive rocks, the streets for days, the terrified relatives fearing to
and, notwithstanding that wound, turned not aside give them burial, and the dogs fought and growled
in any direction, and carried not his hand to his over the corpses in the deserted thoroughfares.'
hurt, so that those present in his escort knew not A most ingenious plan was adopted to avert from
that any hurt had befallen the king, or that he had the SMh and his Ministers, any special and definite
suffered any wound.' hatred of the Bahls and to make the subjects of a
At the examination before the Council of Minis- possible retaliation On their part as varied as possible.
ters, the two arrested Ribis, though most severely The prisoners were divided amongst the diffe~ent
tortured, declared that they had no accomplices, that classes of the community who were made responsible
they could not hesitate to obey the sacred orders of for the execution of the victims allotted to them. Z
their chiefs who were no longer in Persia. They Some of the classes thus made to take part in the
said, ' you can torture us till the day of judgment, we executions were the 'Ulama', the Princes, the
shall say no more.' The most stringent measures Employees of the foreign office, the Nobles, the
were at once taken against the RiMs. Baha'u'llah Mfr-i-Akhur, or Master of the Horse and his assis-
and Subl;1-i-Ezel escaped death, though the former tants; the Sar-kishlk, or the Captain of the Guard;
was arrested and a reward was offered for the cap- and the Yuz-Biish!s, or Centurions; the Artillery-
ture of the latter. Most of these who were arrest- men, the General and Officers, the Professors and
ed were condemned to death, whether any proof Students, the Merchants, the City people, and so on.
,could be given of their complicity in the plot or not. The details of the prosecution are sickening.
It was quite enough to be known as a BaM. A Ijaji Sulayman Khan and K<1?im of Niriz were first
great fear fell upon those in authority, and it was wounded in many parts of their bodies, and in these
determined to make now a terrible example. An wounds lighted candles were placed. They were
English traveller says, 1 'Tow steeped in oil was then paraded through the streets and bazaars,
inserted between their fingers and behind their l.This remIn&: us of what is said oi Queen Joan of Nap1es t who)
when. she strangled het' husband, caBed ont to her fellow-conspirators
"1 John Ussher, Diary of a Journey from London to Persepolis, ( Gentlemen you must all take hold o-f the rope.. t Quarterly .Re~)iew:
p.628. No. 353, p. 200.
17
 130 BAB1ISM BABi DOCTRiNES 131

accompanied by musicians, whilst the spectators then by a Russian military tribunal, has an assassin
threw dust and ashes on them. At last they were been punished.
sawn asunder. Sulaym~ bore these tortures most The day of the great persecution made more secret
heroically and during them testified to the JOY he followers of the Bab than his preaching had done,
- felt at suffering martyrdom for the cause of the -Bih. for the impression produced on the people hy the
He recited the following verses :-' calmness and patience of the martyrs was profound
I have returned! I have returned! I have come by and lasting. The persecution was a failure, for it
the way ot Sh1ciz 1 gave the movement increased vigour and vitality
I have come with winsome airs and graces! Such is and Babis were now to be found in every walk of
the lover's madness. 1
life, from nobles of the court to the meanest of the
• Why do yo~ not dance, ' said the executioner, people, and not least from the Musalman priesthood
• since you find death so pleasant?' The reply itself. The heroism and the devotion of the Babls
was:- was wonderful. It is said that there was only one
In one hand the wine enp, in one hand the tresses of
the beloved.
instance of a Ribf having recanted. He, however,
Such a dance in the midst of the market-place is my returned again to his faith and was afterwards put to
desire. death.
Renan speaks of the massacre thus: • The day of The BaM doctrines are to be found in the writings
the slaughter of the Babls in Tih~ was, perhaps, of the Bab, called the Bayan, a term he used as
a day unparalleled in the history of the world. '2 conveniently expressing the sphere in which his
Count Gobineau says: • Children and women with thoughts moved. It is a name sometimes apparently
Ji<Yhted
»
candles stuck into their wounds were driven applied to the collective writings, but more generaily
along by whips, and as they went along they sang, to a p'arUcular book. I Many of the dogmas are
"We carne from God., and unto Him we return." very mystical:" but the following is a brief summary.
When the children expired their corpses were thrown God is eternal and unapproachable. All things
at the feet of their fathers. Night ~11 on a mass of
:it Count Gobineau considers that the name applies to all he wrote
shapeless flesh, and the dogs came in troops to the Us Religions d les Phitosopltiesdans L' AsieCentraie, p.3Jl.
2 It is not always easy to understand the esoteric dogmas of t1:.ese
place. '3 Since then there have been occasional Persian sects for~ as Professor BroWLe says, • There 1S a profound
acts of violence,' and some Bahls have been put to diff'erence,Oetween the Persian idea of religion.and that which obtains
in the west. Here it is the ideas of faith and rIghteousness {in dii'furent
death with great cruelty. Only in one case, and proportions, it is trneL there it is knOWledge and mystery. Here
religion is regarded as a roe by which to live and a hope whereul to
dse J there as a. key to unlock the secr~ts 01 the- spiritual :and material
1-V-W\ <:J,r.. ,.... 1"""1 jl? or" ~*1"""15\r-'o 01) 51 1"""1 jl! 1"""1 j4 universe.- Here it is associated with work and charity ~ there with :rest
aDd wjsdom~ here a creed is admired for its simplicity ~ there for its
• Les Afmsfres, p. 378_
• Us Religions et Ics Pkifosopltus dans L'Asie CmtnM, p. 302. oompiexity~ ~ ~ ~ Thus it comes to pass that Persia:.Ds nave aa
.. Fer a nst of thee see TIte EncyckJ/Ja:dia of Religion anti Ethia, often died for belief in some ODscure mystical dogma as for .!Orne
yoll'U, p. 302. ' ethical principle or motive.' RASJ, January JS9Ii, p. 88. .
 132 BABi DOCTRINES 133
come from Him and exist by Him. Man cannot followers: 'BaM has come for the perfecting' of
approach Him except through some appointed the law of Christ, and his injunctions are in all
medium. So, distinct from God ther<~ is a' Primal respects similar.' < Christ returns to you as, Bah<i
Will, I or Masmyyat-i-Ula, who becomes incarnate with angels, with clouds, with the sound of trumpets.
in the prophets. This Primal Will which spoke in His angels are his messengers, the clouds are the
all the prophets of the past, spoke also in the Bab, doubts which prevent you recognizing him; the
who is the Nuqta-i-Bayan, or the point of Revelation sound of the trumpets is the sound of the proclama-
and it will speak in 'Him whom God shaH manifest. ' tion which you now hear, announcing that He has
This is apparent from the following texts of the come once more from heaven, even as he came
Sayan, 'The whole Bayan revolves round the before.' I
saying of 'i Him whom God shall manifest." , < A Each dispensation of the Primal Will, thus become
thousand perusals of the Bayan are not equal to the incarnate, supersedes a preceding one, and so Islam
perusal of one verse of what shall be revealed by has ceased to be the true religion for to-day.
H Him whom God~shall manifest.'" It must be Devotion to the Imam was a very prominent point
remembered that Bah<i'u'lhih claimed and is allowed in the teaching of the Bab. Then follow directions
by his followers this exalted position. The following how to approach the Imam with humility, and the
are some of the expressions used of BaM by his prayer to be said. He addresses the Imams as
"1. There is an evident connection between this dogma of the Rims
Effulgences of the Divine Glory, Manifestations of
and the ~U.fi system, in which the 'First Intelligencet ~ or < PrImal God, Intercessors with Him for sinful men. He
Elemellt I is represented as a manifestation of God. To t.he ~U.fi,
.as to the Bah! God is {sterile in His inaccessible height.' Men longs for communion with them. But this constant
can never be more than slaves, nearness to Him is impossible~
This intermediary is the Primal Wlli of the Bam and the Primal dwelling on the glory of the Imams, the dispensers
ElemeDt -of the ~U:fi, who also calls it by the names of the Pen, the of God's will and favour, gradually led to the for-
First Principle, the !Spirit of :Mu1;.tam.mad, Universal Reason or ~aql-i~
kull. God's voice is heard throt1gh it. hy it material things were mation of the idea that he had special communication
brought into existence. It works ill Prophets and Saints. The Imam
is closely connected with it. 1 am not able to find out whether the with them and was, in fact, the Bab. At this stage
Bah taught that the Primal Will was created or "ot. I" $dfi' the<;Jl.ogy the usual Mul;!ammadan customs were not set aside.
it ceItainlyisJ forb theAliQlaq-i-Jalanit is wrltte-Il: (It:is admitted,.
equally by the masters of pereeptibn and """""pHo", that the Firs'
Principle whicht at the mandate-f H Be and it iS H issl,led; by the
The month of Rama~an was observed as a fast;
f

.ineffable power and will, from the chaotic ocean of inexistence, was a but the 'Ulama' were bitterly reproached for
simple and luminous essellce which, in the language of philosophy, is
termed the P.rim.a.ry IntelUgenceJ and the g!'eat fatners of mysticism opposing .this new revelation. Thus the Bab says,
and investigation call it the MulJammadan Spirit~' 1 t I:; to this and < 0 people of the earth! give thanks to God, for
not to the inaccessi ble and incomprehensible God that the Imam seeks
to return. When hlS work in life is done" then ~ his eDd·is joined to- verily we have delivered you from the doctors of
hh; beginn.ing 1-Baagnk: zirdad baz anjam" it is a. curious phase of
human thought whic:h the :;;ufis evidently borrowed from: the Gnostics doubt. '
and the Babis from the ~ur1S~ This eal"nest longing {m c:>mmuu1.on
with a manifestation of God we can sympathize with, and only regret That which spoke ill all the prophets of the past
that$ in their ignoranc.e or the repudiation. of toe Christian doctrine of
the Il1earnation, Dota ~ufl and Bam ha.ve so sadly missed the mark.
 BABIISM BAaf DOCTRINES ISS
134
now speaks in the Bab and will speak through ~sence, and so 19 x 19 (= 36r) represents the
'Him whom God shall manifest.'" • That which manifested universe, or all things, expressed by the
spoke in Adam, Noah, Moses, David, Jesus and term 'kulJu shai,' the numerical value of which
Muhammad' was the one and !:he same Primal Will. words is 360, to which Alif, the' One,' IS added
In ;ach manifestation news has been given i)f the and we then get 36r. _ _
following one. Thus the Jews were told to expect In this world, God is represented hy Mlrzi 'All
a Messiah but they rejected him; the Christians to Mu!;lammad, the Bab, who is called the N uqta, or
expect Mul)ammad but, as a rule, they did not Point, and his eighteen disciples. 'These eighteen
accept him; so the Mu1)ammadans are taught to are called the 1)urufat-i'l:Jayy, or Letters oUhe Living
look out for Imam Mahdl. Yet now he has come because by them the Bab bestowed new life upo~
(that is, in the Bib) they persecute him.'z the world.' These again with their leader form the
The chapters of the Bal'an are arranged in groups number nineteen, and thus constitute a wihid . , or
of nineteen, a number which has a peculiar signifi- complete unity, and, as each disciple was to have
cance with the" Babls. Each letter of the Arabic nin~teen o!:hers under him, we again arrive at 36r,
alphabet has a numerical value, and SP dates can be WhICh represents the numerical value of • kuHu
given by words or sentences. Alif, the first letter, shai,' or the ' number of all things.' On this same
stands for God, and the word for one is wa!;lid. The grou~d the Bayftn has nineteen parts and each part
numerical value of the letters in this word is 19. has nmeteen chapters. The BaM year has nineteen
God is absolute Being, or wujud, the value of the months of nineteen days, each day nineteen hours,
letters of which also comes to 19. S The name of each hour nineteen minutes. The same principle
one of the attributes of God is l;Iayy, or the Living. was to regulate measures of distance and of weights.
The sum of the letters of this word is 18, to which, Law and cOmmerce were to come under its influence.
if we add the letter Alif-the 'One,' which pervades • Organize,' said !:he Bab, 'all things after the
all, we again get the sacred number 19. Nineteen, number of the Unity, that is to say by a division
then, represents the manifestation of the unknowable into nineteen parts.' I
Another point on which the Bayan lays much
,1 ThesearetheAnbiya~U1ti~l-~.A.z.1h of Istam. See The Faitk of < stress is that no revelation is final. This is entirely
Islam (4th ed.), p. 293.
• RASJ, V<l\. xxi, pp. 914, 925. opposed to the ordinary Mul;1ammadan view, which
:) This is in accord with the second canon of the CabbaHstic system is that, as Mul)ammad was Khitamu'l-Anbiyi', or
of Biblica] interpretation in the thirteenth century in GermanYl which
is called Gematria,) or f the use of the n:umerical values of the letters the seal of the Prophets, his revelation closed the
of a word fo.r purposes of comparison with other words which yield
thes.ame or similar combfnations of numbers..' lam not prepared to series. The Bab taught that, as the human race
say tha~ there ~ any histori,:a,I co~nect~on between, the Cabbalist and
the PerSla3l my~tic. The SllbJ~ct n.eeds luvestigation. For the Jewish
use of Gematria. see Oesterley and Box, The Literatun::of Rabbin.ical '1. Goblneau. us Religions dies Pkilos-oph-z'es dans L 1 Asie Centrale
«nit Il[~di=al Jutia;ism, pp". 253, 278, 28Z. p~~~ ,
136 BABIISM THE BAYAN 137

progresses<, the Primal Will, the teacher of men, prophetic dispensation from the next. there must be
speaks in each new revelation more fully and more in the world silent manifestations of the Spirit,
clearly. All these successive and progressive reve· intrinsically not less perfect than the speaking
lations and dispensations were not for the purpose manifestations whom we call prophets.' I
of abrogating preceding essential laws, ~ut to The Bayat; speaks with confidence of the success
complete them and especially to prepare the world of Babiism. The future Babi community is to form
for the fuller teaching of 'Him whom God shall a perfect Utopia and its governments are to be
tmmifest.' . tolerant. The kindly nature of the Bah is seen in
Professor Browne thus states the Bab! view of the fancy sketches he draws of the future. At the
successive dispensations: 'A new prophet is not Day of Judgment, 'He whom God sha1l manifest'
sent until the development of the human race wi11 preside.. All the good people will be praised
renders this necessary. A revelation is not abro- for their works, their piety, their obedience. Evil
gated till it no longer suffices for the needs of men will be annihilated. Thus the good will return
tmmkind. There is no disagreement between the to God and dwell in Him; the bad wi11 pass away
prophets: all teach the same truth, but in such and be no more.
measure as· men can receive it. As mankind The Mul;ammadan doctrines of the examination
advance and progress they need funer instruction. of the dead in the graves, the Resurrection, $icit.
The instruction given by Abraham was suitable Heaven, Hell, are all treated allegorically. The
and sufficient for the people of his day, but not for first is really a summons to the people to believe
those to whom Moses was sent, while this in turn in the next manifestation of the Primal Will,
had ceased to meet the needs of those to whom the Resurrection is the appearance of this manifes-
Christ was sent. Yet we must not say that their tation. $irat. or the Bridge, is the belief in the
religions were opposed to one another, but rather prophet of the age, a matter difficult to the self·
that each manifestation is more complete and more willed, but easy to the seeker after God. Hell is
perfectthan the last.' I ignorance and denial of the last manifestation of
The great point in the Babf theology is that the God through the Primal Will incarnated in the
teacher is one and the same, though he manifests Prophet, whilst Heaven is joy in it. The views of
himself according to the capacity and needs of those the Bab on a future life are not very clear."
to whom he is sent. The outward form changes
but the Universal Spirit remains." It then follows '], Browne, A Year amangst thi Persians. p 327.
'Z On the q UestiOD of the futnre life there is much difference of
that 'during the long intervals which separate one opin.ion amongst the Babls~ • All agree in denying the Res~rrection
of the body as held by the MulJammadans; but whilst certain passages
Browne, A }'ear amongst the Persians) p~ 303.
'1.
in the Persian Dayan- seem to indicate that the spirit of fue d~eased
~ 1.~he- religion of God is One, though the TheophaDies differ.
$-
1 continues to take an interest in his eart.nly affairs and while certain
N_ Hisfe17 of tke BiilJ, p. 336. sayings of the older Babls ,end C\llour \9 th~ _rtion of ~I ~
:/.8
 139
BABIISM
After the death of the Bab, the chief interest in
Speaking of Barzakh I he says, • What is in- the movement circles round Mirza Yal;1ya and
tended by Barzakh is merely the interval be~wee.n his half-brother, MIrza I;Iusayn 'All, known as
the two manifestations, and not that whIch IS BaM'u'llab, who became the respective leaders of
commonly known amongst men, for none knoweth
the two sects into which the Bahls are now divided
what shall be decreed unto them after death
-the Ezelfs and the BaM'is.
except God.' The hope of future r:eward was not There seems no doubt that the Bab nominated
placed be.fore his ~o]]?w:rs ~ an mducement to Mirza Yal;1ya, as his successor and surnamed him
accept him, and thIS IS m dIrect contrast to t~e SubtJ.-i-Ezel (morning of eternity). For a time he
conduct and teaching of Mu!,)ammad. In the BaJ'fl:.7t was the undisputed leader of the BaM community.
the Bab wrote the following words: • So worshIp His claim to the office is based on a document,
God that, if the recompense of the worship of Him said to have been written by the Bab. I It is
were to be the fire, no alteration in thy worship of addressed to Subl;1-i-Ezel thus:-
Him would be made; if you gaze on Paradise, and Unto him whose name is equivalent to the name of
if you worship in hope of that, you have made God's One' the remembrance of God =to the worlds,
creation a partner with Him.''' Say, 'verily all things originate from the point of
He now wrote a book called the lkam in which Revelation' (Nnqta-i-Bayan)
he seemed to admit the superior claim of Subl;1-i- o name of the One, keep what hath bee)? revealed in
the Sayan,
Ezel, but later on he called upon all the Ezells to And what hath been commanded, 'Verily thou art a
submit to his authority and said that God would mighty way of truth.'
aid him, and all who opposed his claim to the leader- At the end of 1852 Baha'u'llih was reJeasedfrom
ship would be bittedy cursed. The result of the prison. He and his brother, Sub:tJ.-i-Ezel, then
schism was that gradually the influence of SubtJ.-i- escaped to Baghdad, which for the next eleven
Ezel grew less and his followers became few. 'Of years or so became the headquarters of the sect.
Bablism as a living force, affecting both East and Cautiously and prudently the propaganda was
West, Akka has been the centre for the last forty carried on. Sub~i-Ezel, a man of quiet and
years, and seems likely so to remain.'3 retiring disposition, was still recognized as the
spiritual head of the sect, but his brother, a mote
that they inclined to the doctrine o-f Metempsychosis (Tanisukh-i-
Arwaq) ; other BahlS: unde~tood the i t Return. (Rijtat) t~ the 1if~
ofth1~ world n in a less m:atena! and ID?r: s:ymbohcsense,. w~lle some :1 The flew History (Jf the Bao, p.42£. A facsimile of the fran-
o!!:believe ill personal immortaJ.!ty. or hmrt rt to those ?oly beings who scl'ipt hy SUb1J.-i-Ez.e1 from the original letter written by the Bih is:
are endowed with a spirit of a higher grade t!Ianls vou~h~ed to aJso gi\.~en_
oro,bary mortals~· Brow.ne in Tite En.cydo/HZtfia of Rehg'lDn and Z The Arabic for One is W§.Qio, the numerical value of the letters
Ethics. voL ii, p.. 30-5~ of which is 18: the value of the letters in Ya4ya. is the same. Yal].ya
1 See Tfu Faitk of Ishim (4th ea.), pp. 285, 32!. was the name of SUb1).-i~Ezell and as it has the same numerical value
• RASJ October 1889, p. 93l. .as W.a:Qj.d t the One, it seems q-ulte- -clear that the.Bab refers to :mm~ '
• EncrcioptZdia of ReligiiJn and Elmes, vol. ii, p. 303.
 14(1 BAB1ISM: BANISHMENT OF BABI LEADERS 141
active man, took the lead in all practical matters. Arabic is 'Ali, that 'Ali was the name of the Bab,
The Persian Consul at Baghdad was hostile to the who was, therefore, the destined forerunner of
BabIs and the Turkish authorities were prevailed , Him whom God shall manifest.' I So the contest
upon to expel them from Baghdad. The two went on and often led to quarrels and blows. At
leaders were first sent to Constantinople and after length the TurJcish.. Government determined to
four months were banished to Adrianople, where separate the disputants. Baha'u'l1ah and his
they lived for four years. At Baghdad, Baha'u'llah, followers were sent to Akka 2 in Syria, and MIrza
a man of resolute will and ambitious character, Ya!).ya and his people were sent to Famagusta in
professedly acted under the instructions of his Cyprus in 1868. A few EzeHs were sent with
brother, but the idea gradually formed itself in his Baha'u'llah and a few Baha'is with Mirza Y~ya.
mind that he should become actually, as indeed he It was hoped that by this arrangement the minority,
was virtually, the head and leader of the Babis. in each case, would also act as spies and prevent
Thus the influence of Bahi'u'llah grew, and he any communications between the Babis in Persia
began to advance claims, which afterwards culmi- and either of the leaders. Since then the followers
nated in the assertion that he was the person to of Baha'u'llih have increased very much, >whilst
whom the Bab referred as,' Him whom God shall those of MIrza Ya!).yi have decreased. This is an
manifest.'t To this claim 2 the Ezelfs replied that, unlooked for development of the work of the Bah,
before the person of whose advent the Bib had for Baha'u'llah claims to be the messenger of a new
spoken could come, Babfism must obtain general dispensation altogether. 3 This claim caused much
currency, and its laws be accepted by most nations. consternation in the Babl world. A hopeless schism
It was not to be supposed that two manifestations-
destroy wiL'J ' the brightness of his coming.' For some other curious
that of the Bab and that of ' Him whom God shall interpretations of passages in. the Bible, see the tianslations of a BaM
manifest'-could take place with so short an inter- pamphletgivetlln. the CM.S.lntellig£'JJcer for August 1902~
:1 ~ Among the BabEs the effect of this announcement of Baha?u'lliih)s
val of time between them. To all this the Baha'is claim was great.•From Constantinople to Khurasan the commun.ities
of tile faithful were rent asnnder by a schism wbich every subseqt1eIlt
declared that the Bab had said that the new prophet year bas rendered wider and more perman.ent, and w1;rich nothing
short of the complete extinction of one of the two rival factions can
would come suddenly; that Malachi had foretold possibly heal. At AdrJanople itself tbe struggle Was short and tile
the advent of Baha'u'llah,3 that the name Elijah in victory of BahB.'u'll.Bl3 complete. J Ne:w History of the Biib, p~ xxi.
'2 Th3S is stUI the headquarters of the Baha l 1s..
.:!- Profes::s.or Browne smd to a Bahi1.. 'Why do you speak of MirZi.
~ Man y~.)-l1sh~ He 'Openly oe('1ared his divine mission in 1S£6.....7 > YaJfya. as thougb he were of .DO accottllt.' ~ Yes, ' replied Mirza
at Adrianople, from which date the schism commenced. l;.iasaD. I it is true that he was one of the early believers, and that at
Z It required great firmness to meet this daim: ana Professor Bro,vne first he w.as accounted the successor and vice-regent of the Bab j but
saYSf ~ SUM firmness Snb{i-i-Ezel f a peace-loving, contemplative. he was repeatedly warned not to withhold his allegiance from H Him
geDtle soui 1 wbolly oevoterl to his beloved master, caring litHe fol." whom God sh:ill manifest/' and threatened that, if he did 80 1 he
authority .and incapable -of se1f-assertiou 1 seems to have aItogetber would fall from the faith and become as -one rejected~ In spite of
lacked.) Introduction to the New History of th~ Bah" p. xxi. these clear warnbgs of his master, he refused to acknowledge the new
• The Baha'is apply 2 Thess. ii. 1-8 to the appearance of Snbj;-;· manifestatio!1 when it came; wherefore he is now regarded by us as
Ezell who is J the mao. of sin,' whom the Lord Baha'u'llah' will of no account., J A Year amongst the Persiam J p~ 336~
 BAHA'U'LLAH'S WRITINGS

was noW made. A struggle for leadership com- opposed him. He severely censured all who op-
m~nced, for Baha'u'llah's claim vi:tuallydepose~th~ posed him.
Bab from his position as the' Pomt of Re~elatlons The Bab( hierarchy consists of the Point and
and made him the mere forerunner of 'HIm whom eighteen 'Letters of the Living,' I making up the
God shall manifest.' Assuming that BalJ<l'u'llah mystic number nineteen. The 'Point' is the
had right on his side, it is stated that the chan~es manifestation of the essence of God: the others,
he made were in a practical direction and beneficial. the eighteen, are regarded as incarnations or mani-
His teaching was less mystical th-:n that o~ }h~ festations of the attributes or names of God.
Bab, and his laws, as laid down m the KttfdJ-t- According to Baha'u'lliih he himself was the' Point'
Aqdas are simpler than those framed by the Bib. and Sub~-i-Ezel one of the eighteen' Letters of the
He a~pealed to all men, not simply to Sbl'ah Living.' This throws light on a passage where
Muhammadans. His organization was good and Baha'u'lhlh calls himself Malik-i-$ifat, or the Lord
his .missionaries kept him well acquainted with of the attributes, that is, he is the divine essence
news from all parts. They had all the tact of made manifest. 2
Isma'llian Da'iS (ante p. 87), who accommodated A few extracts from some of Baha'u'llah's writings
the instruction given to the opinions of their will show to some extent what he taught his
hearers, and only gradually led on to the doctrines followers. 'As for those who commit Sill and cling
of the system. His attitude to the Shi'ah~ d to :m to the world they assuredly are not of the people of
the Persian Government was generally conCIliatory. Baha'u'llah. 0 worshippers of the Unity, make
To a very large number of Babis Baha'u'l1ah was firm the girdle of endeavour, that perchance reli-
during the latter part of his life l looked up to as a gious strife and conflict may be removed from
divinely appointed guide. BefOre he assume~ th~t amongst the people of the world .and be annulled.
position he wrote a book calle.d the lklin, which IS With perfect compassion and mercy have we guided
held in great esteem. In thIS book he seems to and directed the people of the world to that whereby'
acknowledge the then superior position of S~b1)-i­ their souls shall be profited. The heart must be
Ezel but writes bitterly of some who were hostile to
him:elf. Ten years after the Turks had banished him '1 In reality Subl;\~l-EzeI was the fourth letter~ The Bab was the
fi:rst~
then came Mul12. Mcl)ammad ~A11.Ba:rfu.rt1shj (Janab-i-qudd&);
to Adrianople, he boldly asserted his claim and then Muna .FJ'usayn of Bushraweyh (Janab-i-Babutl-Bab); then
called on all the EzeHs to submit to his directions. Mimi Yal,ya (Sub1)-i-Ezei}, who 011 the ~eath of the two above him
became second, and on the death of the Bab claimed to be the first.
He then wrote other treatises in which he declared 2. 'The BahiPls have taken We!" into their system the concept of
incarnation. and their attitude ou the question is that. whilst Jesus
that God would make him victorious over all who was- certainly the Incarnate Words God manifest in the flesh, yet, He
was a manifestation oulyfor His own day. Incarnation did not st.op
with Him and in our own day Ea.h1Pn'JMh was the Dh-ine Essence
,. He died in exile on :May 16~ 1893. manifested in human fOm,l.' J~er;ft The Moslem ff/"orld of T~ay~
~m .
·144 BABfrSM BABf CUSTOMS 145
sanctified from every form of selfishness and lust, when Baha'u'llih dies, or, as it is put in hyperbolic
for the weapons of the worshippers of the Unity and language, I when the sun of truth and exhortation
the saints were, and are, the fear of God. Every sets,' the Qibla is to be changed to 'that place
.one who desireth victory must first subdue the city which we have appointed you.'
of his own heart with the sword of spiritual truth The great festival is that of the Persian Naurm or
and of the word. No stranger must find his way New Year's Day. Instead of the Muhammadan fast
into the city of the heart, so that the Incomparable of Rama<;Ian of thirty days, a month of nineteen
Friend (God) may come unto His own place, that days, the last month of the Bibf year, is appointed.
is, the effulgence of His names and attributes, not Images and pictures are not allowed in places of
His essence, for that Peerless King hath been worship; but music and singing are lawful in such
and will be holy for everlasting above ascent or buildings for purposes of devotion. A belief in the
descent." e.:ncacy of talismans and charms is encouraged.
People often came to Bahi'u'l1ah for direction as Each man constantly carries on his person a charm
to their conduct and for instruction. This led him in the shape of a star, the rays of wllich are formed
to write the Laul}-i-aqdu, or the • Most Holy of lines containing the name of God; the women
Book,' in which many practical rules are laid down. wear one made in the form of a circle.' The traffic
It will be seen that they differ considerably from in slaves is forbidden, and there are laws about great
those which are current in Islam. Prayer is to be criminal offences and civil matters such as inherit.
said three times a day; the number of prostrations ance, endowments, and so on. Shaving the head
are much fewer than those held necessary amongst is not allowed, but the beard may be cut off. Legal
Muhammadans. The worshipper no longer turns impurity is abolished and intercourse with persons
to Mecca, but towards I the Most Holy Region, the of all religions is enjoined." Music is permitted,
Holy Place, whence issueth the command to whom- wine and opium are prohibited. The furniture of
soever is in the earths and the heavens.''' That houses should be renewed every nineteen years.
Akka (Acre) is meant is clear, because it is said that Noone must carry arms except in times of tumult
1 This is to gl1ard againsllhe idea. held by some that God comes
Or war. Circumcision is treated as a matter of in-
down into man or man rises unto God, and that thus both aTe difference. The Bab allowed a second wife to be
identified. The 'mystical v~ew i~ that man is annihilated in God~
Jami~ a $allt says:- . . taken, but prohibited concubinage. His reluctance,
So treat this path that duality m.ay dIsappear,
For if tbere be duality in this path t falsity will arise ; however, to polygamy was so manifest that his
Thou wilt not become He; but! if thou sm.vest,
Thou wilt reach a place where fltou-ness (n1 ttl'l) shall depart :1 For the use 01 amulets and charms by'Muslims see Zwemer
fromtbee. Tlu Influence of Animism fJn Isla1n1 chapter x. f •
£ Count Gobineau says that the Baa did not substitute any Qibla
2'.A missionary in Persrs writes: ~ 1 can again testify, as I did in
" for the ancient ones of Jerusalem ani!: Mecca which he set aside; but
declared that . ce sera Ie grand ReveJateur qui deciders.' Les
th.e pa¥e.s of tile C.M.,'S. IntdligCtUer ih-'e years ago, to the exceeding
fnend.hoess, and even brotlterliness, of these- 9-l?aT people~ 1 C.N.S.
Religions ef res PltiJ{lsophu. dans L'A#e Cenirale, 1" 332. lntelbgencer, 1898, p. 6J8~ > ,

19
146 BABfpSM

successorS consider it an evil thing: to accept the not :been great. 'in the cons.tituJionaI movement
tolerance which he showed as regards duality of in 1907 the Bilbls, though t.heir sympathieswe~~
wives. I All are to read the sacred books regularly, undoubtedly with the reformers, refraiI;l,~d from out-
to be kind and courteous in their conduct, to give wardly .identifying themselves with that party, to
alms, to approve for others what they would like whom support, by alienating the orthodo~ Muj tahi9s
themselves, and to forgive their enemies. Instead and MUllas, would have been fatal. This course of
of the usual Mulmmmada'n salutation, 'As-salama conduct led persons to l09k upOJ;l them as men who
'ahukum: 'alaikumu's-Salam, or 'peace be upon you' considered the claims of their sect as before that of
and' upon you be peace,' the Babis amongst them- their country: ,1
selves, on meeting one another, say, 'Allahu abha,' After the death of ~'u'lhih his elgest son,
• God is most bright,' to which the response is the 'Abbas Efendi, became his successor and was
same. .. l:Ie whom G~ hath
called,.,-man arada'l1;lliu-
Some .of the precepts to guide the conduct of desired. He was also n~med '.the servant of
Baha'is are on the following subjects : - J;laha' ('AWu'I-BaM) and the ~ost mighty B~nch
1. Abolition of religions warfare. (Ghu~-i-A'p,m). He is described as a stro~g, tall
2. Friendly intercourse with all sects and people.
i Promise of this 'Most Great Peace.''' man, with a broad forehead and ~een ey,e, indicating
4. Obedience to the ruler who protects them. a firm will.and st,rong intellect. Those w1;lo came
5. Submission to the laws of the coriritrt in which they into contact with him felt his influence and Soon
live. learnt to respect him. Some Ba'hi'ls consider that
6. Confession of sin to fellow-men is prohibited. he, like Baha'u'lIah, is a divine manifestation and
Confession must be to, and pardon sought from, God only.
~ot a ~ere man; others deny this and say that he
7. The study of such sciences as tend to the welfare
IS nothmg more than a servant of Baha'u'llah for
of mankind is encouraged. . - !
8. All must learn some trade or practise some Pro- ~ey hold that no further m;mifestation will take
fesiifciu. place until a thousand years shall have passed
!1. Visits to tombs and shrines are not obligatory. away. 'Abbas Efendflived at ACl\.e and maintained
The political influence of the Babis in Persia has correspondence with his followers in P~ia, and
was visited by some of the more devout of his
'Gobin""', i.es Rdigions et lcs PkilcwpMa dims L'Asic followers, who looked upon the journey from Persia
Centrale, p. 3!6. . . '. .
:r: An expreSsion used by Baha'u 'nah in conversation with \Q Akka (Acre) as a pilgrimage. In the year r898
Mr~ BrowD.e~ Babi)u'llah said~ t We desire ~ s sthat ail na.tions
should bec<>me one in faith and all men as brothers; that th" hond of he was much troubled by dissensions caused by tJie
.affection and unity between the sons of men should be strengthened ; rivalry of his younger brother, Mu1}ammad 'Ali,
tbat diversities- of religion should cease. and differences of race be
annulled-what harm is therein this? . . _. . Yet so itshaU be; t1:lese who said that BaM'u'Bah had appointed him to be
ftuitless strifes, _these ruinous. wars shall pass away ~ and the H Most
Great l'~,,~e" ~ha\l com~,' A Trav~ll<r's N(l1Tt!five, vol. ii, 1" 40, , E"cyclop,zaia Britannica (eleventh cd.), vol. ill, p. 93.
148 BABtrsM 1>l<opAGA1\bA l:N AMERICA 149

the spiritual head and his brother 'Abbas Efendi as and it is the several BaOf communities in America
the secular head of the community. which keep up communications with the headquar-
The claim of 'Abbas Efendi to the headship ters in Akka. Khayru'llah now took the side of
was disputed by his brother Mirza Mul.1ammad Mirza MuJ.1ammad 'Ali. Then 'Abbas Efendi to
'Ali,' named' The most great Branch,' who also counteract this attack upon his position sent mis-
received the support of his two younger brothers. sionaries' to America to support his claims. This
'Abbas Efendi appears to have claimed that the increased the public interest and a gentleman, named
revelation was not ended, but had passed on to him. Phelps, became an ardent advocate of Bahaism, and
His opponents said it was closed and quoted from claimed for it a spirit of liberality which it does not
BaM'u'llah's book, the Kitftb·i-Aqdas (the most holy really possess, though it is true that they profess to
book), the words 'Whosoever lays claim to any look forward to a period of universal brotherhood
authority before the completion of a "millenium is which shall include men of all religions.
assuredly a liar.''' On the one mnd, 'Abbas This is a popular theory for propaganda purposes
Efendl's claim had the support of his father's in other lands. Its enunciation is rather a matter of
written wish; on the other it seemed to be opposed policy than of principle. Those Who know them
to his father's teaching. 'As in the case of the best doubt the permanence of this idea of universal
previous schism between Baha'u'llah and Subl;t-i- tolerance. Thus Professor Browne says, 'I cannot
Ezel, so here the conflict was between those who wholly share his (Mr. Phelp's) confidence as to how
held that every day of Theophany must be succeed- the. Baha'is would treat either the Shf'ite Mu];lamma-
ed by a night of Occultation, and those who felt that dans, the ;:luffs, or the Ezelis (against all of whom
the Light by which they had walked could not be ex· they have, for different reasons, a special grudge), If
tinguished, but must rather increase in brightness: 3 they should one day, as it is within the range of
The £ollowers of 'Abbas Efendi remained supreme. possibility, become paramount in Persia.' Again
In Cairo a Syrian Jew,Ibcihim George Khayru'llah, he says, ' It is not certain that their triumph over
became a Bab! convert. He proceeded to America Islam in Persia would ultimately conduce to the
and commenced to lecture in Chicago on the reli- welfare of that distracted land, or that the tolerance
gion of BaM'u'llah. 4 A rich lady presented 'Abbas which they now advocate would stand the test of
Efendf with a large house at the foot of Mount success and supremacy.'2 The teaching of 'Abbas
Carmel. Public notice was thus called to Bahaism,
"1. One. named Mini (Abdu'l-Fa{ll, saia that he was the Ambassador
of ~Abbas Efelldi, the Perstall MessJah. To his visitors he said ~ As
'L In a Baha'i poem he 1S called a l breaker (naqiq} of the COVeD3Ilt. Jesus came- to scatter you, so Baha'u'llab came to gather- you: All
who believe in tbe Messiah nmv will have their names written in the
sE~fupadiaofReUgwnandEt~~vm.il,p>~-
Book of life. l He claimed that many intelligent American ladies were
3 lbid~J vol. ii, p. 304. deeply impressed by his teacbing:. -
• He is said to have taught the Baha'is in America how to utter- the 2 EnGyCwfuEdP.'lof Rdiffian and Ethics, vol. ii" p. 307.
most holy !lame of God.
 BABlrSM CHARACTER OF 'kBBAS EFENDf 151

Efendf, as his American admirer describes it,is 'Abbas Efendf was a man of considerable power,
'Very obscure. It leads to pantheism and is based and by an apparent breath of view captivated a
on the theory that in the persolf. Qf Baha'u'llahthe certain class of hearers. He was an idealist and
essence of God is main£ested and that he is the duly much that he taught was useful, though the result fell
appointed world-teacher of the age. The ultra- short of his aims: He visited London and Paris,
Sm'ah sects held peculiar views of incarnation, re- and it is said that he there received Christians,
incarnation and the like, and Professor Browne says Mu1;tammadans, Agnostics and Gnostics and answer- .
that 'these doctrines appear to be endemic in ed their questions in a simple and direct manner,
'Persia, and always ready to be epidemic under suit- and apparently to the satisfaction of some of his
able stimulus. In our day they appeared in the hearers, for it is said that to the Christian Bahaism
BaM movement of which in its earliest form (A.D. is Christianity, to a Buddhist Buddhism, to a ~tili
1844 to 1852) they contained the essential kernel, it speaks in his familiar mystical language, to the
though in a later time under the influence of Baha'u'- rationalist it is logical. This visit was interesting
lIah and now of his son, 'Abbas Efendf, they have as showing how curious many people are to hear
been relegated to a subordinate or at least a less something new and to patronize, for curiosity's sake,
conspicuous position: The teaching of Bahi'u'- a setter forth of strange doctrines. Like other
nah is said to contain the following: the gathering religious leaders in the history of the past both
of all people to the acceptance of himself as the Baha'u'llah and 'Abbas Efendf often spoke the
manifestation of God, as the divine guide to the true language of true devotion and gave good advice, but
religion, the spread of universal love and universal the claim to be the last divinely appointed messen-
peace, thus abolishing war and bloodshed, the gers of God, to set right a wotld all gone wrong,
,harmonizing of all national customs and characteris- is a weak basis on which to build up a system per-
tib in a great and harmonious brotherhood. This fect and complete, such a Bahaism claims to be.
constant setting forth of universal love and brother- He had been imprisoned by the Turks, but was set
hood is strange, when we see how the history of free by the Young Turks, in 1908. For good ser-
Babfism reveals just the contrary. Baha'u'llah vices rendered during the Great War, on the
superseded his brother Subl)-i-Ezel. 'Abbas Efendf· recommendation of Lord Allenby, he received the
was opposed to his brother Mirza Mul;1ammad 'AU, honour of Knighthood. He passed away in the
and so two rival sects arose. Thus in its highest early part of 1922, much regretted by his followers.
..domestic circles it has absolutely failed to ·bring From what has now been stated, it will be seen
peace and harmony into the family life of its leaders, that Bablism or, as we may now call it, Bahaism is not
who by their example preach the doctrines of discord a political movement, though in its early days it
and unbrotherly love. Was brou$ht into CQn!:lict with the civil power; bllt
152 BABfISM. THE AJ;IMADfYYA SECT 153

that it is a religious revolt against orthodox Islam. he received divine revelations. He also uttered
It raises women to a higher level, it profeSses to prophecies regarding the humiliation or the death
limit many of the social evils of Islam, it tends to of his opponents. Finally he had to be restrained
give liberty of thought and to develop a friendly by a Government· Order dated February 24, 1899,
spirit to others. I It does, ~ at least, betray a , from publishing any prediction involving the dis-
longing for a real, living, loving, personal guide, grace of any person.' He alleged that Jesus did not
the revealer of God to man, which can be best die upon the cross, but was taken down in a swoon
met by the acceptance of the Eternal Word. . In from which he recovered and afterwards travelled as
any case, if only liberty of conscience can be far as Cashmere, where he died and was buried.
secured, there seems to be a wide and open door He interpreted Matt. xvi. 28 1 to mean that Jesus
for the proclamation of' Him whom God has mani- was alive at the capture of Jerusalem in A.D. 70,
fested,' 'in Whom are hid all the treasures of and Matt. xv. 24 2 as meaningthatJesus went east to
wisdom and knowledge,' for it 'pleased the Father seek out the lost tribes of Israel. Like the Babls
that in Him should ali fulness dwell.' (Coloss. ii. he held that at certain periods God raised up special
3; i. 19.) leaders and that he was such an one-the AI-Mahdr
The latest development of Mahdfism is seen in of the Muslims and the Messiah of the Christians.
the modem Al;madiyya sect. It illustrates the far- He claimed to be an orthodox Muslim, accepting
reaching influence of the doctrine of the Imamat. fully the apostleship of Mul).ammad, and all the
Its founder Mirza Ghulam Al;mad Khan was born dogmas ofIslam. 3 He entirely opposed the views
in the year 1839 at Qadian, a village in the Punjab. of the modern liberal school of Muslims, founded
In 1888 he claimed to be the Messiah and AI- by Sir Sayyid Al;mad Khan and represented by the
Mahdr, and asserted that certain ancient prophecies l~te M~uIavi CheragTI 'Ali and others. Naturally
were fulfilled in his person and mission, and that hIS claIm to be AI-Mahdf and a prophet, his call to
:1 I am iudebted to a well-known Missionary wbo has spent along
obedience to himself and his formation of a new
time in Fenda fur the fonowing facts:- sect raised up great opposition; but he gathered
(1) The Bahi~!s admit that the Lord Jesus Christ was the incar·
nate Son; but clrom that Ba.M was the incarnate F2tber~ ano as each together a considerable number of persons, some of
incarnation is superior to a proceeding une, Bahli is greater than
Christ.
{2:} Some of the BahiPis now say, ' we are Christians;' others say, ").. (Verily I,say unto, YOU J there be some of them that stand here
'we are almost Christians;' others, ~ The only difference between us wr.u~h s~aH .In ?O WISe taste of death J tm they ~f;e the Sou of Man
is that we accepted Christ when he came to us fifty years ago (i.e. in comulg tIl hlS Kmgdom.'
'J: ~ He answered aud said~ I was not sent but unto the lost sbR'>'n of
Baha) and you rejected him. 1
(3) They constantly invite the Christian missionary to their houses, the nouse of Israel. ~ --~
and are most hospitable and kind. ~ 3- He held, howtv€.l"', that there were contradicHooiS in be Tra-muon:;
{4} The Bah,r>is admit that the New Testament is the uncorrupt- and tbat the trtle could not he separated from the false untIl th~
ed Word of God. appeara!1 ce of A1-Mahdi~ that is, himself, Who Would fulfil certain
(5} Many Jews in Persia have become :S;jbIs and: on tlte oth~r propb.e-Cles aIln so cOIlnrm the correctness of the Traditio.D:s whiclJ
qand~ some B~bfs hay~ be;ome Clnisti:m~. con tamed them.
20
154 BAB1ISM INFLUENCE OF THE IMAMAT 155

whom were able men, who supported his cJ;;ims in Mfrza claimed to have secured 500,000 fo11owers.
a monthly periodical, called the Review ofReligi(J1ls. Persons able to judge put the number down as
He died on May :26, I908. Hakim, Nuru'd-Din then probably 70,000. Whether the movement will grow
became the leader Of the movement under the Iitle and what form it may yet take is hard to say.'
of Khalifa'u'l-Mas~ (successor of the Messiah). We have now se.en the far-reaching influence of
He was &:>sisted by a council. tbe doctrine of the Imiimat. We have seen what
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad had commanded his strange developments have taken place, what divi-
followers to abstain fr~m any interference in political sions in Islam they have caused, and how new
matters. In I914 this order was disregarded, and religions, differing in many ways from the original
a new party, the Anjuman-i-Isha't-i-Isliim, was Shf'ah standpoint, have been formed on them. In
formed at Lahore. Thus, just as in the BaM many Eastern lands this passionate devotion to 'Ali
movement in Persia, so here, after the death of the' and the Imams meets messengers of the Christian
founder, divisions began and the unity of the sect Faith and calls for more earnest and more continued
was broken, effort on the part of the Christian Church.
On the death of Nuru'd-Din, a son of the Mirza,
named Bashfru'd-Dfn Maljmud A1.Imad became the
KhaJ!fa. The Lahore Anjuman was then repre- a. great exaggeration ..This person Manlavi Niamatu'H&n Kl:!lm was
condemned to death lO August 1924 by the Kabul Courts as an
sented in England by Khiijah KamaJu'd-Dfn, editor apostate. He was buried up to the waist and thea stoned to oeath
of a magazine published in England and an active the chief Maulavl of Kabul rhrowing the first stone. The martyr met
his death with calmness and courage. See account in the Madras
missionary of the AJ.1madfyya movement. He has M..rif. September 16J 1924.
-1. For a fun account of the movement, see Walter~ Tlu Alpnadiyya
also edited a new English translation of the Qur'an j}JotMm",t aDd the article Qiidilill in The Eucywpt1!dia or Religion
with a commentary, remarkable chiefly by its and Ethics) vol. x.

disregard of the opinions of approved Muslim

commentators, by its divergence from accepted
Muslim beliefs, by its ignorant dogmatism and by
its hatred of Christiani ty. I
The Alfmadfs, or Qadianfs, as they are also called,
are active propagandists of the views of the founder
of the sect. This propaganda is not confined to
India, but is extended to foreign countries. 2 The
]. See Criticism of a Q6d£6.ttt Commentary (C. L.R)
2 I In a petidon ~enl to the Amir of Afghan;,;5.tan asking for {-he
release of a Qadia~l priooner 1 it !s ~id that h,e was.& ~embe! of a
community uumbenng about a million people. Th,s IS probably
 SECRET SOCIETIES 151
Now the onward march of Islam has been arrested
in Central Africa by the establishment of the great
Christian Kingdom of Uganda and by the bringing
V in of pagan tribes under the control of Western
THE DARWISHES Powers in th_eir respective spheres of influence.
The development of commerce. and the wider in-
THB Darwishes look upon Isl:im as a vast theo- fluence of modern civilization and learning, its arts
cracy in which .their spiritual lead~rs are the true and sciences are all disturbing elements. To
.d They believe that MuslIms should be Muslims of the old orthodox school all this was
gUles. r"
governed by an Imam who is both a re 19lOUS an
d
most distressing. and it accounts for the growth of
political leader, who should so m:u:ifestly be a ruler the Darwish Orders in number, extent and power.
that the words of the sacred tradItIon may be fulfil- The existence of secret societies is not con-
led. 'He who dies without recognizing the auth<;>- genial to the spirit of Oriental despotism, fOl: the
rity of the Imam of the age is accouu:ed dead and IS power of the religious leader is apt to exceed that
an infidel.' It is the special fu?c~lon the great
Religious Orders to keep this pnnclple al:ve and ~o
0: of the temporal one, and so at various times attempts
have been made to cllrtail their influence. As far
teach people its vast importance. In Africa an,d:n back as the sixteenth century Sultan Mauli Isma'll
parts of Asia it has resulted in a great pan- lslan::lc tried to suppress the Darwish Orders then existing
movement having for its object not merely' reSIS- and failed. In the seventeenth century Mul;1ammad
tance to the advance of Christianity, b.u~ ~lso. opp?," Pasha, the able Vizier of Sultan Mu{iammad IV,
siuon to the progress of Western Clvlhz.atlon m tried to ruin the Maulawfyya, the Khilwatiyya and
MusI1m" lands.'l Under various pretexts, mnumer- the Shamsfyya Orders but did not succeed. In
d' .
able agents of these Orders went in all lrec~lons; 1826 Sultan Ma\1mud, alter suppressing the Janis-
sometimes as students, preachers, doctors, artIsans, saries, tried to break up the Order of the Bakhta:-
beggars and quacks. The people received them shiyya. I The head of the Order and his two chief
kindly and protected them when they £:11 ?nder ~e 1.ThE'Te was a close connection between the Janissaries and this
suspicion of the rulers ol. the countnes m whIch OI'd.e!'~ Wben Sul~ Orkl1all in 1328 created the Yenicbens (Janis-
sarles), or New Troops, he sought some religiOUS sanction for his
they carried on their propaganda. , act:i.Qn~ The Shaykh of the Ba.khtasmyya.<:; blessed the troops by
It was not until the nineteenth century that Islam putting the sleeve of his robe on the head of one of the soldiers, in
such a way that it hung down behmd his back, and sat.d J < The militia
suffered any great reverses. Whe.n the c~ange which you have just created shall he caned Y.aci.ch-eree, its figures
shaH befairand shining, its arm redoubtable, its sword sharp. It
began it very soon led to a great mcrease m the sbaH be victorious in all battJes and ever return. triumphant. l In
memory of this, the Janissaries wore a white felt caPt haVing a piece-
number and the strength of the Darwish OrderS'. orthesame material pendant OIl their bat:ks. These troops were
very closely attached to- this Order} and this may have excited the
animosity of SuI,an Mal;mud against it.
"1 Count Castries~ L' Islam. p~ 220~
 THE DARWISHES THE 'ULAMA' AND THE DARWISHES 159
158
officers were executed; many of its monasteries or Takyas (Monasteries) of the Darwishes, it was
were demolished, its members were not allow~d to found that it had no effect in destroying their
wear their distinctive dress; but the Order survived. influence with and power over the people. I
These men were not lacking in courage. One of The temporal power had some authority over
them stopped Sultan Mal;1mud -and, seizing the some of the -Orders. In Egypt the person who
bridle of his horse, said, 'Giaour Padishah, art th~u exercised that authority was called the Shaykhu'l-
not yet content with abominations? Thou Wilt Bakri and was always a descendant of the Khalffa
answer to God for all thy godlessness. Thou Abu Bakr. The Khalffa 'Umar has a representa-
revilest Islam and drawest the vengeance of tbe tive, who is the head of the Enaniyya Darwishes.
Prophet on thyself and us.' The Sultan calle~ The KhalIfa 'Uthman has none. The KhaHIa 'Ali
upon his guard to put this' fool' away. 'I afool, has one called Shaykhu'I·Sadat or Shaykh of the
said the Darwish, 'it is thou and thy worthless Sayyids. Each of these is known as the ' occupant
counsellors who have lost their senses. Muslims of the sajjilda,' or the prayer carpet of the founder.
to the rescue l' The bold Darwish was put to The sajjada is looked upon as a throne.
death and ever after was venerated as a saint. An The' Ulama' and the official clergy are not favour-
Arab poet addressed Harun'r-Rashid thus:- able to the Darwishes. The feeling is not unlike
, Religious gems can ne'er adorn that between the secular and the monastic clergy in
The flowing robe by pleasure worn; the Middle Ages. The mass of the Muslims, how-
Its feeble texture soon would tear ever, who care not for theological disputes are
And give these jewels to the alr. attracted to the side of the Darwishes and look upon
Thrice happy those, who seek the abode
Of peace and pleasure in their God;
them as the chosen of God, the favourites of heaven.
Who spurn the world, its joys despise, They are not shocked at the dancing and the music.
And grasp at bliss beyond the skies.', The ignorant man sees that, though destitute of the
In Algiers the work of the Dm:wishes h:;s ~e.n education required to become one of the 'Ulama',
manifest since 1830' The EmIr 'Abelu l-QadlT he may without it acquire in an Order a religious
owed much of his popularity and success to the status and power equal to that attained to by his
intrigues and support of the Qidirfyya Order. T~e more orthodox and more learned brother elsewhere.
insurrections in 1864, 1871 and 1881 were due In We may now proceed to consider in more detail
great part to the action of these Darwishes. It was the constitution of a Darwish Order. The head of
very difficult to counteract their influence with the an Order is the spiritual heir of the founder and is
masses, for whenever, after a local insurrection, the called the Shaykh. As a rule he is the husband of
French authorities had destroyed the Zawiyahs.
"1 Rmn., Maraoouts t.t K!louan$ p. .100.
1 Quoted in Gilman's 7'M Saracens, p.374.
160 THE DARWlSHES FOUNDERS OF THE ORDERS 161

one wife, and only takes a second if the first is one 'who habitually lives in a riM!, or a frontier
childless, and the succession to the headship of the guard-house. Such buildings were occupied by
Order is hereditary. Absolute and unquestioning troops, but pious individuals, wishing to join in a
obedience must be rendered to him by every mem- holy war (jihad) against unbelievers, joined them.
ber of the Order. Subordinateto the Shaykh are The word Murabi; has got now the exclusive religious
the Muqaddams (chiefs), who are placed in charge meaning of devotee or saint.' I Outside of these are
of the several Zawiyahs I or Monasteries. From what may be called the Associates, the lay members
amongst the Ikhwan, or brethren of the Order, of the Order. They do not live in the Zawiyahs.
certain persons are elected as assistants to the They are acquainted with the secretsigns and words,
Muqaddams. These are the WaHl, who has charge by the use of which they can always claim the pro-
of the property and funds of the Zawiyah, and the .tection of the members of the Order with which they
Raqqab, who is employed as a courier to carry des- are associated. They do not join in the Dhikr, but
patches. In the assembling of the members of the they use the rosary in the same way as the full
Order the Muqqadam is assisted by the Cha'ush or members do. Their allegiance to the Order is often
leader, the Muddah or precentor and the Qa\i\i:id or more political than religious.
chanter of the qa\ifdas or elegies. There are also The founders of these Orders were orthodox
the 'Allam or standard bearers, and the Suqqiih or Muslims, that is, they not only followed the injunc-
water carriers. All these offices are filled by mem- tions of the Qur'an, but also those of the Surma,
bers of the Order who look upon their several duties the record preserved in the Traditions (A1.Jadith) of
as a grave religious work. the Prophet's words and actions, as a divine rule of
The simple members of an Order are called faith and practice. The founders of the more
Ikhwan z or brothers; A\ih:ib 3 or companions, while modern Orders follow the special teaching of some
the generic name of Darwish covers all. A disciple famous theologian, who can show that his instruc-
is called a Murid. and his spiritual guide is known tion was based on that of men who Jived and taught
as a Pir. He who faithfully perform the religious in the earliest days of Islam. They maintain that
rites of the Order is known as a Munibi!. He is their object in founding an Order is the glory of
God, the extension of Isl<im, and the salvation of
LiteraUy~ a corner and so a secluded phce as a cell, a hermitageJ
1.
a convent
men. They claim to be able to lead their disciples
2- Tb:rs name is now givc:Hl to the fanatical fonowers of the Wahhahi on by successive stages to such a state that they
rll1er~ though they do uot form a Darwish Order. Anotber- [tam of
the- name 1:$ Khouan.
3: They are subdlvk1ed ~nto {.$~\ y~' A%gabu'l~Fatws, or ccm-

panions of the: decree; bL....'t.H. y~\ A~l}abt!·l-Bisi-t~ or companions 'Nicholson, A Likr"", His""" of tke Arabs, p. 460. ADother
at the carpet; ~~\ y~\ A~l]abu·l-Ashad. or companions of real; deriva.tion of the '\+ord is that it comes from rabata, be bound~ From
this- word comes the names of the Moroccan dynasty Murabittin, cor-
~'y~' A~abu'l-Yad) orcompanioDs of the hand. rupted by foreigners into Almoravides. Meakin, The Moor~, p~ S31~
21
162 THE DARWISHES RANKS IN AN ORDER 163
attain" or at least approximate to, spiritual perfec- Once or twice a year the Muqaddams meet in
tion. I conference. The state of each Zawiyah is gone into,
For the origin of many of the Orders a supernat- its financial condition is examined and all other
ural claim is made. AI-Khi<;lr (Elias) is said to matters of business are attended to. New mem-
have been the greatest saint of.. his age, an inter- bers are admjtted into the Order. When all is
mediary between God and man and the founder of over the Shaykh then issues pastoral letters to all '
a Religious Order. He is supposed to be still alive the brethren. Amulets and charms blessed by him
and active, able to give power to the devotee who are sold. I The highest rank in an Order is that
attains to the dignity of a Qutb. Owing to ,his of Ghauth, a man who, owing to the superabun-
being transported from place to place by the Spirit dance of his sanctity, is able to become the sino,
of God, to his investiture of Elisha with the prophet- bearer of the faithful without incurrino- any risk to
ic office and to his marvellous translation, it is said his own prospect of salvation. He is'"often called
that he still retains and exercises great influence of the Ghauthu'l-'Alam, or Defender of the World.
with the men who rise to a high order of saintship. The next rank is that of the Qutb, or Axis.
To them he unveils the future, confers the gift of This title implies that the saint to whom it is given
blessing (baraka) ,and gives mystical supernatural is a centre of influence round which all the great-
powers (ta~arruf). All the members of the Order ness and the real grandeur of the world revolve.
participate in this blessing and in the abundance of ' The one most prominent in his day is called the
spiritual good, transmitted from the founder of the Qutb-i-Waqt, the Axis of the Age. He is the
Order, who had entered into secret and direct recipient of the special favour of God, by whom all
communication with AI-Khig.r and with the Prophet. the affairs of the lower and higher worlds are
The Shaykh almost always nominates his suc- entrusted to him. All the Auliya', or saints, are
cessor. 2 , He informs the Muqaddans and Murfds su bject to him, It is alleged that the Qutb often
that he has chosen a man who will maintain the tradi- appears in the world though men do not k~ow him
tions of the founder of their Order and its purity. as such. He has certain favoured stations where
he appears, such as the roof of the Ka'ba in Mecca,
:1 There are four stages in this initiation. (1) the Shari:' at, or Holy
Law which the Murld mnst knew and ehey; (2) the'l'anqat, <Jr Path
in whkh 'he may a:oand-on the observance of fcnns and ceremoniel';, '1 Chatelier sa.r~ .that ' the Muslims in Western Afrrcu Use many of
and enter on the study of the mystical l~ching of the $Ull£; (S) ~he pagan S~perstitlOnsJ charms and b.cantatiOU t and that hYPDOtJSm
Ma'ritat. or Knowledge. He no~ atta~ns the supero.atun:J knowledge ;S ~o practised by the religious teachers.' L~Jslam dans L' Afrinue -
and is equal to angel~; (4) I;iaqlqat or Trut:h~ He has 'DOW '!e2.cbed Occu!ental.tt p. 313. '1

the stage of Divine Beatitude. and is united with Deity. Few pass For a f:oJ1 sccount of the Widespread nse of charms and other pa
beyond the second sta~el and to- attain even to- that the pupil mu& c-ust-oms m the pro~agation of islam, see Dr. Zwemt:r~~ receDt ~
atl'ach himself to 2 holy Sh3.ykh and be instructed by a Fir-. on Tk~ btflumu of Animi,m on Islam.
:. Some, "however, on the ground that the Prophet nominated no H~ says that the sale of amulets aDd .charms of every description is
successor, leave th~ election toO the Muqaddams. Rinn~ jJfarabouts ei earned on even' now in the vicinity of AI-Azhar in Cairo Op "'t .,
Po 192. • . , ••,
f.{/loua,., p. 6\l
 THE J)ARWISHES TH& GRAtffi MASTERS 165

one of the gates of old Cairo and other places. It to have the power of working miracles and pilgrim-
is believed that he can come and go, flit from place ages to their tombs are common. They are also
to place, as he pleases. said to receive illumination by the form of inspira-
The Autid is the name given to holy men of tion called ilMm, whilst the prophets possessed it
influence in a country, or, in a mystical sense, to by wal)i. I A WaH must submit to the general
men who know God. It has the same meaning as guidance of prophets. Vows made at the shrines
Arkan, or pillars in such terms as Arkan-i-daulat- of Walls must be strictly kept; to break them
pillars of the State. There are four others called would bring upon the offender, the wrath of the
the Anwar, or lights, who succeed to vacant places WaltZ
among the Autlid. The Shaykhs, or Grand Master of the Orders,
Then come the Khayyir, a word derived from are very skilful in dealing with new converts, and
khayr (good). It signifies excellent men. They show great discernment in adapting their instruction
are seven in number and are constantly travelling to the various classes of men with whom they have
about, spreading the light of Islam. to deal. All must absolutely obey the Shaykh,
Another class is that of the AbdaI, the change~ keep secret the affairs of the Order, and be loyal to
able. Owing to the purification of their nature, no it; but beyond that the teaching and the discipline
vice dwells in them and so their hearts are said to vary. A very religious-minded disciple is directed
be changed. For their sake God blesses the world.. to observe the most minute details of the ritual acts
When one dies God appoints another, but no one of worship; a superstitious one has talismans and
knows where they live. charms given to him. The mystic finds satisfuc-
The Shuhadi', or martyrs, forty in number, tion in the religious ecstasy to which his devotions
wander about the earth, completing the journey in lead; the learned and philosophical are charmed
a month. A person who happens to meet one can with the religious speculations <;,pened up to them;
seek and obtain from him spiritual blessings. On whilst the weak and oppressed flnd, as members of
the Day of Judgement they will all be recalled to an Order, the support of a powerful a'5Soda~ion.
God. The neophyte gains admission to and pro=uon
Wall, or friend of God, is a tittle given to a holy in an Order very slowly, and only after a 1000g
man after his death. These saints are highly vene- ascetic training. At first he is only a Talmfgh,
rated, and the reverence paid to them is based on a
1. Uham means- that the saint delivers the SUbject-matter out of his
verse of the Qur'an, 'Verily on thefavourites of God, own mind, and is not a'mere mac-hio'e to reproduce- the words- brOUght
to him by Gabriel~ Wall! mea.tJs that the words' uttezred are the very
no fear shall come, nor shall they be put to grief' words of God !:limself. Tbis is the inspiration of t!:le Qttr'an. See
{Suratu Yunas x. 63}'· The word for the favourites TM Faitk of lsl&m (4th ed.), pp.61-.8•
•" POl" a detailed a''''''",,1 of Ill" cull of IE""" saints, see TIi<! E,""el~.
is AuJiya', the plural of WaH. They are supposed. {J<Z4i4 of Retigiolsamt Etkia, vol. xi, !'l'. ~111.
 THE DARWISHES INITIATION OF A NOVICE 167

a disciple; then a Murfd, an aspirant; then a Faqfr. has to perform the humblest domestic duties in order
poor in the mystical sense. He now enters upon to test his obedience and to develop a spirit of humil"
the Tariq, or path, and sees visions and has super- ity. Absolute surrender of his will is necessary.
natural revelations. Thus he become's a Salik, a Thus, , Thou shalt be in the hands of the Shaykh as
traveller on the mystical road,~but many pass on to a corpse! ~in the hands of those who prepare it for
still higher stages of life and become MajdhUb, the burial. God speaks to thee through him. Thou
attracted, that is, they are powerfully drawn by God art his slave. Banish from thy heart any thoughtto
to Himself and are illuminated and inspired. The which God or thy Shaykh may object.'2
life of such an one is wholly spiritual and not mate- The Shaykh touches the head of the novice and
rial, and the outward rites of religion are no longer breathes into his ear the words La ilaha illa'lJah,
needed. He is so absQrbed in the contemplation of which he has to repeat IOI, lSI or 301 times. This
God that he passes on to the state of TauIJfd (unity), is called the Talqfn. The novice then retires into
and is identified with the Supreme and so loses all seclusion, meditates long and falls into a dreamy
sense of separate existence. Not all Darwishes stat~ This is called Khilwat. He repeats his
attain to these higher degrees; they are reserved for dreams to the Shaykh, who a second time breathes
the few alone. After some preliminary instruction, into his ear the words Ya Allah, 0 God! This
the novice is introduced by two of the brethren to goes on for forty days, after which the novice
the whole assembly of the Darwishes. In the pre- becomes a Murfd, or a Faqir.
sence of the Muqaddams, or of the Shaykh, he In addition to the duties involved in the renufl~
swears that he will be loyal to the Order and dation of the world, retreats, watchings and fasting
obedient to its Shaykh. After. a full profession of the Ikhwan must observe the Ziarat, the Hadia and
the creed of Islam, he is taught the Dhikr,! or the Dhikr. A Ziarat is a religious visitation for the
special form of prayer, used in the Order into which purpose of collecting funds. A regular assessment
he is now to be admitted.. The whole assembly then is made, which the Muqaddam collects through the
recites the Fatil]a the first Sura of the Qur'an. He agency of the Cha'ush. In Algiers this was such a
then gives to all and receives fro.rn all the kiss of heavy burden on the people that the French autho-
peace. In some Orders the novitiate extends over a rities have regulated it. The Hadia is an expiatory
thousand and one days, during which time the novice offering made by the Ikhwin for the infraction of
some rule or the neglect of some duty. It is a kind
,. A .Qhi:kr easy to remember isle-ami. An oath of obedience to- the
Shaykh, and to aU things for the benefit of the Order js made. t T.h.e '1 Ignatius Loyala, !Spe."i.king of obedience, saJSJ- ! In the bands of
novice is henceforth hound to loyalty to the Mast~r. who becomes IDS my St~per!or I ma-;.t te as soit wax . . ~ I must CQt!.S:der myself as. a
sole guide in things temporal aDd spir.ituaI~ his intercessor with God, -corpse which bas neither intelligence nOT will.' William James, Tne
the control ier of aU his affRirs~' Depoo.t et Coppolani, Les Confrmes Varidies cf Religi(Jfts E:.l PJ!r1£fU:C, p. 312.
Religicuses Musatmanes, p. 199. "2 RinD. MflrabtJ1it~ et /:{,Jcuan. p. 94~
168 'fB~ DMWISWS RELIGIOUS EXERCISES 169

of tribute which the· Muqaddam exacts from !:he side. All this is repeated hundreds of times. The
chiefs of the local tribes, and which few are bold Dhilrr-i·khafi is made by the Darwish closing
enough to refuse, lest sOme injury should happen to his eyes and with the tongue of his heart saying ; -
them. First, from his stomach, Allahu Samfum-God
By far the most important~uty in the life of a the heareq second, from his breast, Allahu Basfrun
Darwish is the Illiikr. J It is an attempt to secure -God the seer; third, from his head, Allahu
a mystical union with the Divine through an emo- 'Alfmun-God the knower. He keeps on going over
tional or sub-conscious bond; an effort carried on these names, not audibly but mentaIIy, saying them
under the personal direction of a Mushid. There to himself in an ascending and descending scale.
are various forms of it. It may be recited aloud, in Then in a very low tone of voice he says Allah;
which case it is called Dhikr-i-jali; or mentally, then he exhales breath and says, whilst so doing, La
or in a very low voice and then it is called ilaha, and then inhales breath saying, La illa'llah.
illikr-i-khafi. The Naqshbandfyya Darwishes This Dhikr is very often repeated hundreds of times,
adopt the former; the Chistfyya and the Qadirfyya and is always a most exhausting exercise. By long
Orders the latter form. A Dhikr.i-jali is as follows; practice a Darwish gains great control over his
the worshipper sits down in the usual way and shouts breathing. It is said of one man that he used to
out Allah; then sitting as if for prayers again in a say La ilaha exhaling his breath at the midday
louder voice says Allah; then folding his legs under prayer, and La i!Ia'lliih inhaling his breath at the
him says still louder Allah. Again placing himself afternoon prayer. He held his breath for three
in the correct attitude for prayer, he closes his eyes hours. Sometimes there is a meditation on certain
and shouts out the word La (no) ; drawing the sound verses of the Qur'an such as, ' He is the first and
from his navel, then he says iliha (god) as from his the last; the seen and the hidden; and He knoweth
head, and lastly illa'lhih (but God) from his left all things' (Suratu'l-I;Iadfd lvii. 3). 'Whichever
way ye turn, there is the face of God' (Suratu'l-
1Th-e O!'igin of this frequent act of worsbip is to be found iII Suratutl-
.A1)za.~ xxxm~ 40. '0 Believers! remember Gud with frequent Baqara ii. rag).
remembrance and praise him morning and evening. Similar exercises to the Dhikr are the Tasbfl;1,
1\,..1 , ~ .,:;., i F Y=J .!II I" "-JI \r-\ ~.\l\ \e ~ saying Sab!).anu'llah-holiness to God; the Tal].mfd,
The Commentator (AbdtPTIah biu 'Abbas says th~t l.."r:=Jl meaDS
Al~mdu'l1ah-praise be to God; then the Takbir,
I Rememher with tongue and heart, J and that ~~ i~ equivalent
to' l say the namaz-. l 'l'he Darwisues say that t~ frequent, AlJahu Akbar-God is great. Mu1).ammad is also
:means that the Dhikr is to be repeated often. T~ere is a curious reported to have said that he who repeats the
pa.rodY of the Dhikr in the ceremony used for- exorC1sms, called Zar~
see Zwemel' The Influetue of Anin,ism on i~lant, chapter xxL Tasbfl;1 one hundred times morning and evening
;Qhikr supplies the emotional ~lem(>nt in IsIaI? which th~ f~al
$a.lat does Dot· but Hk~ aU mamfes:tatlons of rehglOus emottoIllt has will bave all his sins forgiven. It is by the strict .
its dangers though to some pt'rrons it way be h:=Ipful and supply
a need.
performances of these religious exercises and by
22
170 THE DARWISHES UWAlSHiYVA AND OTHER ORDERS 171
retiring into privacy for devotional purposes (Khil- be the profound contemplation of the person and
wat); by turning his face towards God (Tawajjuh) ; virtues of the Prophet, who, it is said, .will appear
hy contemplating God with fear (Muraqabbah) ; and to a Darwish of this Order in all times of difficulty,
by mystical spiritualism (Ta$arruf) that the Danyish and in his_hours of ecstasy. .
is supported to gain the spiritual internal powers- The Uwaishfyya Order was founded by Uwaishu'l-
quwat-i-rul;U wa batimi-which enable him to sub- Kariini, who in the thirty-seventh year of the
due the will of others. The'mechanical repetition Hijra (659) announced that Gabriel had appeared
of the Dhikr naturally weakens the intellect and to him in a dream and revealed to him the constitu-
personal will of the Darwish. It produces a tion of an Order based on strictly ascetic principles.
morbid state of mind in which he is easily and Uwais carried his veneration for the Prophet so
blindly led by the stronger will of the Shaykh and far as to extract some of his teeth, because Mu1;lam-
the Muqaddams. The whole system is so develop- mad had lost two at the battle of Ul.llid. The Pro-
ed that individuality is crushed out and the Order phet is said to have had a great regard for Uwais
is exalted. The Shaykh is the one absolute will and gave him his own mantle. The mantles of all
and all not only venerate but implicitly obey him. the Darwishes are copies of this mantle, known as
There are said to be altogether eighty-eight Reli- the Khirka-icSharff. This Order has not spread
gious Orders. I The first came into existence in beyond Arabia.
the first year of the Hijra (622) and the last in 1876. The Alwanfyya Order founded by Shaykh Alwan
It is said that Abu Bah first called men to a sort in 766 was the first one with special rules and dis-
of common community life. 2 I now proceed to tinctive religious exercises. This Shaykh was the
give a short account of some of the most important first to make formal rules for the initiation o~ a
Orders. novice and to regulate the work of directors and
The $iddfqfyya Order takes its name from the duties of the Munds. The whole Darwish system
word $iddiq 3-the righteous-a name given to AbU in its present form probably dates from this period.
Bah. It is found in Yaman, in Egypt and in small The Bistlimfyya Order was founded by AbU
numbers in Algeria. Its chief principle is said to Bayazfd Bistami about the year 874. He is looked
up to as a saint by the Shaykhs of many other
:l The names of the- founders of these Orders with their dates are
given hy Rinn in Marabotds et Kf!.ouatt~ pp. 26-SL Orders. SUff doctrines are taught in it.
2 The Bistamiyya the Naqshb2ndiyya and the Ba~tasniyyaOrders The Q.idirfyya Order was founded by'Abdu'l-
.claim to have desce.uded from the $iddfqiyya community, fotmded by
AbU Bakr. The Uwaisiyya the Qad:hiyya and the Sa:rtisi'yya Orders Qadir Gillini of Baghdad in I 165. I It is one of
connected themselves with IUmar and also with 'All. to whom all
the other Orders look np to as their original head. Each Order has :1 It was introduced into India in 1482~ Shrines have been erected in
its silsilah 01" chain -of successiOD 1 up to one of these KhalIfas. honour of ~Abdi1'l-Qao.ir~ The anniversary of his death on the
3- An. Order is a!ways caned by the adjective formerl from the name seventh day of the month. Rabi'u'l-Akbir is kept as a feast. Vows
(If its foun.der. are made. especially by childless womeu.
172 THl!: DARWISHl!:S iNITIATION OF A NOVICli;

the largest and most important ones. The great then 121 times 'Glory be to God, Praise be to
religious revival at the beginning of the nineteenth God. There is no God but He. God is great; ,
century, probably due to the Wahhabi revival, then lOO times Sii.ratu Ya Sin xxxvi; 41 times
stirred up the members of this Order to great Suratu'l-Jinn lxxii; and other Sums many times.
activity. Throughout the Western Sudan they have The Shaykh then places his hand between the
made a great advance by th<eir pacific propaganda. I arms oi the novice and says, • In the name of God
This Order and a more modern and warlike one, most Merciful and the most Clement, I believe in
the Tijiniyya, have been the principal agents in the God, in His angels, in His book and in His
extraordinary advance of Islam in the Western and Prophet, in the Day of Judgement, in His decrees,
Central Sud;;ins. 'Abdu'I·Q;;idir is represented as His favours and punishments and in the re-
being a man of large heart and charitable feelings, surrection from the dead.' The novice replies, 'I
and his Order was founded 'not only to improve am a Muslim, I am confirmed in my worship and in
by its mystical teaching the corrupt morals of my faith. I purify myself by a sincere repentance.
Muslims, but also to relieve the miseries of men, to I repudiate all heresy. I take the oath of fidelity.
comfort the afflicted and to aid the poor by alms.' I will obey the divine laws and do all things as in
One of the Muqaddams said, • If God had not sent the sight of God, will accept whatever He may
Muhammad to be the seal of the prophets, He send me and thank Him for any trouble which may
wo~ld have sent 'Abdu'I·Qadir, for he, by his oppress me.' Other ceremonies follow. Questions
virtues and charity, most of all resembles Jesus are asked and, if the answers are satisfactory, the
Christ.' He is called the Saint of Saints, the novice is then admitted into the Order.
Qutbu'l·Qutub and the Ghauthu'l-A'zam, the The Rifa'iyya Order was founded by AlImad
Greatest Defender. No man equals him in the Ar-Rifi'j of Baghdad, who died in II83. The
alleged working of miracles, nor are such mar· Order is also known as that of the Howling
vellous stories told of any other Shaykh. The Darwishes. The banner and turbans are black.
Dhikr of this Order is a very long one. On These Darwishes make fires which they extinguish
admission the novice has to add to the usual namiz by rolling on the burning coals; they even eat live
the repetition l65 times of the creed, La iJahu coals I and glass and swallow serpents, or appear so
illa'll:ihu; he must also repeat l2l times the words, to do. • They sing the amorous poems of Ibnu'l·
a God, bless our Lord Mul)ammad and his family; MU'alJim (born I lO8) in order to work themselves
up into their mystic ecstasies.'2 In Mecca their
:l This is confirmed by a great French authority who says, 'that by
the instr-uctioll the fOUlldH gave to :his disciples, by the colonies
which he founded the number of tbe members of the Order multipli R
1 Lane describes such a scene which he witnessed in Cairo.
cd in the Sudans. f Chateliert L ~lstalll dates L'Afrique Occidentale, l'ilodern EgypfUms, vol. ii, p. 100.
p. 254. See also eN.S. ltdelligetlar, February 1003, p. 115. • Huart, Arabic Literature, p. lOr.
1'14 THE DARWISHES THE MAULAwfYVA ORDER 175

agents are active and they are hostile to Europeans. was, 'Obey your Shaykh before you obey your
The chief interest in this Order is that under the temporal sovereign.' Whilst the philosophic teach-
<

influence of 'Abu'I-l;Iauda, an intimate friend of ing was adapted to win over learned men, that for
Sultan Abdu'l-J:Iamfd, it took a very active part in the masses was to call attention to the founder as
propagating the pan-Islamic views of that Sultan_ an ecstatic saint rather than to his philosophical
'Under the powerful direction of 'AbU'I-l;Iauda learning.
the Rifa'fyya men sought to recover their spiritual The Maulawiyya Order, known as the Dancing
homogeneity and become at the same time sworn Darwishes, was founded by Maulana Jalilu'd-Din
enemies of progress and civilization, the unscrupu- Rlimf in 1273. It was, until recently suppressed,
lous executors of the designs of the Ottoman Porte.' I the most popular Order in Turkey. The members
The Chistfyya Order was founded by Mu'fnu'd-Dfn of the Order are famous for their mystical dance,
Chistf, who was born in 1142 and died at Ajmir in which consists chiefly of whirling round and round.
1226. His tomb is still a favourite place of pilgrimage. This is said to represent the revolution of the
The members of the Order are mostly 5hf'ah5- spheres and the circling movement of the soul
They are fond of music and perform the Dhikr-i-jali. caused by the vibrations of its love to God. They <

A friend of the founder, Khwajah Qutbu'd-Dfn, was say the Dhikr in silence, standing up and turning
buried in Delhi. The Qutb Minar is named after from east to west. It is a very wealthy Order, and
him. the recent confiscation of its property must have
The Shadhilfyya Order was founded in 1258. brought much material gain to ·the Angora
The name is taken from that of its third Shaykh, Government. The Shaykh must be a descendant
Sfdf I;Iasanu'sh-Shadhil, a man with a great repu- of the founder. The office is hereditary and so the
tation as a jurisconsult and theologian. It flourishes marriage of the Shaykh is obligatory.
in Egypt and in Algeria. It has given rise to many The Naqshbandiyya Order' was founded in 13 12
branches which now form separate Orders. The by Mul;1ammad Baha'u'd-Dfn Naqshbandi, a native
founder, Abu Madian, was a mystic, deeply versed of Persia. It is a very large and important Order.
in $Uflistic lore. To this advanced spiritualism he It attracts men of position and of learning. The
added great modesty of manner and a ready Dhikr-i-khafi is used, and in addition to it each
eloquence. The early chiefs of the Order, worthy member must say the prayer for pardon (Istighfar)
disciples of the great master, took little interest in once, the prayer for peace (Salamat) seven times,
worldly affairs, and were really the heads of a the Fatil;!a seven times, Suratu']-]nshiral;1 (xciv)
mystical philosophical school. A general order
1, Shaykh A1;mauu'! ~Faraugi {died 1625} brought th!s Order into

Depont et Coppolao.i, Les COttfrerits

:1. Religieus~s Musalmoncs. India, but it did not spread much. Its most famous shrine is that of
p.327. Shill> MusUn- at Aurnllgabad.
176 THE DARWISHES
THE J;1URJJFf SECT 177
nine times and Sdratu'l-Ikhl~ (cxii) once. The to its connection with the corps of Janissaries. The
dignity of its outward ceremonial and the high symbol of the Order is the mystic girdle which is
class of persons affiliated to it are amongst the put on and off seven times. In doing so the
causes which give this Order a very high place in Da!Wish says:-
the esteem and regard with which other Darwishes (1) I tie up greediness and unbind generosity;
look upon it. In 1925 the head of the Order was (2) I tie up avarice and unbind piety;
Shaykh Sa'fd of Pald. His head Takya, or monastery, (3) Itie up anger and unbind meekness;
was a place of pilgrimage and he had many friends (4) Itie·"p ignorance and unbind the fear of God;
amongst the Kurdish chiefs. He took a leading (5) tie up passion and unbind the love of God ;
I
(6) tie up hunger, and unbind (spiritual) contentment;
I
part in the Kurdish revolt against the Angora (7) I tie up the influence of Satan and unbind the in-
Government for its polley of Westernization and its fluence of the Divine.
abolition of the Qur'anic law. The insurgents Their esoteric doctrines are a curious mixture of
wished to proclaim Salim Efendi, a son of Sultan pantheism and materialism. This has been attri-
'Abdu'l-I;Iamfd, as Khalffa. The revolt was put buted to the influence oUhe I;furUff 'sect I amongst
down and Shaykh Sa'fd was taken prisoner, tried the Bakhtashiyya Darwishes. It is said that the
as a rebel and executed. All the Takyas of the Ijuruffs were antinomians who, believing them-
Order in the eastern vilayets were closed by order of selves to be idential with God, looked upon the
the Turkish Government. I moral laws as not binding upon them. Gibb says
The Order of the Qalandariyya, or Wandering 'S~ch beliefs lead to practical evils when pro-
Darwishes, was founded in I 32 3 by 'All Yusuf, c1aJmed openly to all cJasses of society, and when,
Qalandari, a native of Spain. Being dismissed in addition, the promised Paradise is declared to be
from the Chistfyya Order, he founded this new one. here in this present world, and the Ijuri-brides to
Its members are bound to live on charity, not to be none other than the beauties of earth, the flood
amass wealth for themselves and to be always on gates of social anarchy have been flung open.'
the move. They are practically ;;llfs. Their The more recent Orders are to be found in Tim-
Dhikr is the usual one. The Qalandar Darwish is buktu, Algeria and Morocco, and are, generally
a well-known character in Eastern tales. speaking, offshoots from the older ones, especially
The Bakhtashlyya Order was founded by I;Ia.ji the Shadhillyya one. I describe a few of the more
Bakhtish in 1357 and was famous in Turkey, owing important ones.
'See Toyno"", Turkey, p. 265; Survey of I"ternational Affairs, The Bakkayiyya Order was founded in 155 2 by
pp. 507-10. The Angora goven:unent has suppressed other Orde~.
From an orthodox Muslim standpOInt Islam io. Tu.rkey~ as repr~ted AJ;tmad Bakkay. I ts headquarters are in Timbuktu,
by its rulers, ~ms to be tending ~owards rationalisI? whilst ~I:e
trsditiona1 form IS kept up as an atd to the conservation of a SPU'l{ :t For a? account of this curious: sect~ see amcles by Professor
of national ism, Browue lU RASJ, January 1898, pp. 81-94; RASJ July 1007 pp
533-40; also Gibb, Ollom"" Poetry, va!. i, pp. 338~2; 3.53-5; 373, '
23 .
178 THE DARWISHES 'THE HANSALIYYA ORDER 179
but it has considerable influence in Morocco. It is .influence amongst the Berbers of the Atlas moun-
an offshoot of the Shadhiliyya Order. tains. In addition the Dhikr, the Ikhwan recite
The Karzanlyya Order was founded in 1607 by ? some portions of a famous poem on the ninety-
member of the Royal family of Morocco, who had nine names of God. I give a translation of a few
been a Muqaddam oUhe Shadhilfyya Order. He of the Arabic verses ; -
taught bis followers to reject reason as it ~as a 1. 0 pardoning God, I cry to Thee
Thy Pardon to implore;
guide to error, to place absolute confidence in the
Shaykh, and to be ever ready to fight in the
o Sovereign Lord, subdue wo' me
Who e'er subverts Thy law.
cause of God. The Order is widely spread in 2. The glory, Glorious Being, doth
Morocco. My feeble strength increase;
The TayblyyaOrder was founded in 1679. The o Thou, who humhlest in the dust,
first Ziwiyah was at Wazan. The second Shaykh Cause lying tongues to cease.
was Mulai Tayb, from whom the Order takes its 3. Knowledge and understanding give,
0, Giver of aU, to me;
name. He made many converts from amongst the Sustainer, for my sustenance
negroes, whom he then set free. It is essentially a I look for ease from Thee.
political Order, devoted to the interests of the 4c. The souls of all Thine enemies,
Moroccan empire. At the same time it has culti- o Seizer of spirits, seire ;
vated friendship with the French. Shaykh 'Abdu's- o Scatterer of gifts, increase desire
Salim married an English lady, and in 1876 vainly III beauty's devotees.
5. 0 Humbler, humble Thou the power
tried to become a French citizen. He did not Of all who Thee oppose;
oppose the entry of the French into Twat and their o Thou who raisest, raise me up
occupation of the surrounding country. Still, the In spite of l:1:tese my foes.
ties of the Order are so strong with Morocco that a The doctrines of the Order are similar to those
French writer says, 'We ought not to lose sight of . of the Shadhillyya, but Hansall introduced many
the possibility of enormous difficulties to our ascetic practices. The prestige of the Order is high
interest from the Tayblyya Order in Algiers, for saintliness, and perhaps this is the reason why
Senegal and Morocco, should the Shaykh become the amulets they prepare have a great reputation
hostile to our authority.' for preserving the wearers in safety in times of
The HansaHyya Order was founded in 1702 by accidents, and as a protection against the evil eye,
Sayyid Yusufu'l-Hansalf, a man born in Morocco. always a source of dread to the superstitious. I
He studied for a time in the AI-Azhar University
1. On the use of amulets and charms by Muslims, see Zwemer) The
in Cairo. He said that God had called him to his influence of Animism on lslfim, a most complete and valuable work
work in a direct revelation, The Order has llmch Oll the subject. See also Herklot's Islam in India, pp. 288-93.
 PROPA~ANDA IN THE sunANS 181

The Darqawiyya Order was founded by a Sharff Islam in Western Africa· than any other, and it
Morocco at the end of the eighteenth century. still has much influence, though the establishment
He advised his followers to abstain from worldly of French influence in the Senegal and the Niger
affairs, but they did not do so. The Order became regions in 1890 has weakened its political power
a political one, in great sympathy with the turbulent which has steadily decreased.
Berber tribes. Depont says, ' In all the rebellious The two Orders the Q:idirfyya and the Tijanfyya
movements in Algiers and Morocco, since the have played the chief part in the propagation of
formation of this fraternity, we have found the hand Islam in the Western Sudan. Under the Qadirfyya
of these frightful sectaries, these men in rags, these the propaganda was by peaceful methods; the
puritans of Islam, these frantic Darwis.hes.' I . •
Tijanfyya adopted opposite methods, and, so long
The Tijanfyya Order was founded m 187 by S11 as they had the power, won their way by force. I
Ahmad bin Mukhtir Tijanf, who studied in the The .Ral,lmaufyya Order was founded in 1793 by
M~slim University at Fez. He made the pilgrimage arrother native of Morocco, Muhammad bin 'Abdu'r-
to Mecca and astonished the theologians there by RaJ:rm:in. It has great influence in the Sudan and
his erudition and knowledge. He found that Fez in Algeria, where, owing to jealousy, the 'Ulama'
was a place too much given up to political and tried to convict the Shaykh of heterodoxy but failed
religious strife for the establishment of his Order to do so. This really increased his authority.
there, and so he moved further south for that The Darqawfyya Order was founded at the end
purpose. Earnest propaganda wor~ ~ th~ of the eighteenth century by a Shaykh of Morocco.
carried on and the Order spread rapIdly m Tums, It became political in its aim and full of sympathy
in the Sahara and the Western Sudan. The Order with the turbulent Berber tribes and its members
has be~n ~ militanP as well as a teaching one. One are said to have taken part' in many insurrections. Z
of its leaders, f;Iajf 'Umar went to the Hausa - The Madanfyya Order is as intolerant as the
country and there reproached the ordinary Muslims preceding one. It was founded about A.D. 1820.
with their ignorance. Even the Qadirfyya Darwishes The second Shaykh of the Order was a great
were too tolerant for him. In their ascetic zeal supporter of the pan-Islamic movement, and became
they resembled the Wahhabfs in Arabia. His a great favourite of Sultan I;Iamfd, who gave him
influence extended as far as the hinterland of Sierra one of the royal palaces in Constantinople. The
Leone. S This Order has done more to spread members of the Order travelled far and wide and

:1. De:pont et CoppoJani~ Les Contreries ReligintSl!s Musalmams, :% Chatfilierspeaks of the Tijamyya as" ardent aux guerres saintes ~ ~
of the Qadirlyya a.-; t pacifique et debol1Daire.' L 1 lsliim dans LJ AfritlUs
P':t~~an account of its WaISt see Chatelier, Ltlsllim dans Lt.l'lfricrue Occitfe,Jiale, p. 345.
2. Depon.t et Coppolani, us. ConIriries ReUgieuses iifusultnancs
Occi,u"f¢le, p. 167.
• IUd., p. 176. p.504. '
182 '1'HE DARWISIffis THE FULAHS 183

kept up a splrit of restlessness. In some few places Korduian. This work was afterwards carried on
the members of the Order have been already absorbed by the Khartum Mahdf and is sustained by the
in the still more dangerous one of the Sanuslyya Sanusls. These two currents, the one on the east,
Order. at one time more warlike and fanatical; the other
I have now given a brief description of some of on the west more commercial, advanced rapidly into
the older and of some of the more modem Orders, all the pagan regions. The penetration of those
which owe their existence to the great wave of parts by European Powers may have a deterring
religious revival which, stimulated by the Wahhabi effect, for trade will be no longer solely in the hands
movement in Arabia, passed on to the Muslim of Muslim merchants, who, to their credit be it said,
Confraternities in Africa and led to an active are active missionaries. One article of commerce,
propaganda effort. Islam as a theocratic system that of slaves, will cease to exist. The great Christian
does not recognize the limitations made by the Kingdom of Uganda blocks the way to Muslim
political influences between the various Muslim advance in those parts.
peoples, dividing them into different States, and so Amongst the earlier agents of this extensive
these Orders, which are common to all lands, can movement are the Fulahs. They are strict Muslims
at any time, and anywhere, exercise a very real and under the Shaykh Danfodio became, about a
influence in any direction which their leaders may hundred and thirty years ago, a warlike and aggres-
choose. sive kingdom. They won many of the pagan people
For many centuries Islam has advanced not only to Islam and in 1837 made Sokoto the capital of a
on the northern coast of Africa, but has progressed Mul;tammadan State. They then advanced into the
in the interior. Still the great advance is to be dated Yoruba country and built the large city of !lorin. I
from the end of the eighteenth century, or the begin- The energy of Shaykh Danfodio was great. 2 He
ning of the nineteenth, and has been mainly due to prophesied that his green flag would be the passport
the increased energy and devotion of the Darwish to victory for a hundred years. If this was really
Orders. Islam extended from two centres. From the said, his words have come true, for the decision that
west it went along the Atlantic coast to Senegal, the Fulani country should become part of the British
Timbuktu and the Hausa land; from the eastern Protectorate was made in 1903, in which year a
side the modern movement began when Si A\.1mad
'1 < The dowuward sweep of the F111aui invasion at the begizming of
bin Idns, the Shaykh of the Qadirfyya Order, sent the nineteenth century led many into Islam..' {C~lJ:LS. Otdlwk t
out missionaries during the early part of the September 1927.} In the pastorate of Nigeria thirty-nine per cent. of
the people are now Muslims. In the New Africa it is said that five
nineteenth century. They won over the Nubians hundred and sixty-ny-a tribes are wholly MUhammadan, and nine
hundred and sh::ty-th.ree are under Mul;tammadan influence~ Quo-ted
who joined this Order in large numbers, and their in The Expository Times, September 1927, p. 520.
:2 He made the pilgrimage to Mecca and returned fun of zeaL He-
missionary work began amongst the pagans of was-?u ardent advocate of WahMbl doctriues~
184 THE DARWISHES SHAYl{H SANUSf 185
few British Officers, with a small band of well- he stu~i~d Mu"{Iammadan law and theology under
trained native troops, overthrew the powerful Fulah an Idnsl MUlIa, famed for his learning. He also
ruler and his followers. Sokoto was captured and became acquainted with the philosophy and the
the last descendant of Shaykh Danfodio, who sat on my.stical tenets of the Shadhiliyya Order. He-
the throne of his fathers, perished. Fulah rule was made the pilgrimage to Mecca and was initiated into
so despotic and cruel that the country was largely some of the Darwish Orders. At Cairo he studied
depopulated; disorder, constant warfare and slave at the Al·Azhar, but the 'Ularna' there denounced
raiding were its marks. The consequent hatred of him as an innovator in religion and he had to leave the
the people to their rulers made the British conquest college. He gave a different reason for his depar-
possible. This rapid increase of Islam amongst pagan ture. He said that, when makino-
races is not to be looked upon as a permanent
'" the wadu'
. , or
ceremonial ablution before sayingthe namaz, a poor
gain to civilization. It elevates a pagan race to a and mean looking man appeared and said, ' I am the
certain level; it puts away some vices, such as Qutb of the age, go to Mecca: He went and there
cannibalism and infanticide; but it teaches the con- placed himself under the guidance of the Shaykh of
verts that slavery, polygamy and facility of divorce the Qidiriyya Darwishes, who for some cause or
are divine institutions, set forth in God's latest reve- other was soon after expelled from Mecca. His
lation and enforced by the command and example of pupil went with him, and on his master's death in
his latest prophet. The convert is taught that this I833 claimed to be his successor. The majority of
system is perfect and final, and he is thus fixed at a the members of the Order ,did not agree, and so
low level of moral life. Reform implies imper- Shaykh San US!, as we must now call him, winning
fection in Islam, and that no Darwish teacher to his side some of his fellow Darwishes, founded a
will admit to be the case. The very pride of it new Order. He called his teaching the Tarfqat-
which its converts feel when once they accept it i-Mu1;lammadf, or Path of Mul;1ammad, and said
keeps them stationary. Ishim under Fulah rule that his community was a branch of the SMdhil-
failed to make to the pagan people happy, peaceful fyya Order. He declared that the Prophet had
or prosperous, and its political power has justly come appeared to him and directed him to establish
to the end. his Zawiyahs in many lands. In Course of time
The most recent and the most powerful Order is they were so established in Arabia, Egypt, the
the Sanusfyya, which is a strong opponent to all Sudan, Tunis, Algiers, Sennegambia and the Eastern
Western civilization. It was founded in 1791 by Si Archipelago. With this marvellous extension the
MU{1ammad bin Si 'All bin Sanus], born in Algiers, power of the Order rapidly increased, with the result
where he spent the early years of his life. He that in the minds of other Muslims a spirit of jealousy
claimed descent throu~h Idrfs from 'Ali. At Fez was aroused. The 'Ulama' of Cairo, Constantinople
24
186 THE DARWrsHES DEATH OF SHAYKH sANOsf 187

and Mecca were all ranged in opposition to him, I and men to their own countries as preachers of Islam.
so in 1855 he withdrew altogether from their influence They were amongst his most faithful followers.
and made his headquarters in the oasis of JaghbUb, The transfer of the capital in 1894 to the Kufra
in the Libyan desert, midway between Egypt and oa:is had lessened the importance of Jaghbub,
Tripoli. z The Zawiyah-there occupied a command- whIch after that event, and until the I talians took-
ing position on one of the principle caravan routes. possession of it, was little more than the theological
It was a fortress, a monastery and a theological home of the Order in which hundreds of missionaries
school. It grew in importance after the conversion were trained as teachers and preachers and then
of the people of Wadai, of whom many came as sent forth for propaganda work into all parts of
students or as labourers. It was a place to which North Africa.
tributes of ivory, ostrich feathers and slaves were The Sam1sfyya Order is not only an organization
sent by many chiefs, and in which warlike materials to reform what its leaders consider lax in Islam; it
were stored. Pilgrims on the way to Mecca halted is a powerful proselytizing body. The isolation of
there to worship at the tomb of the founder of the the desert life at ]aghblib and the freedom thus
Sanuslyya Order and to receive a blessing. Work gained from the opposition of the 'Ulama', orthodox
now commenced amongst the negroes. He pur- Mu]]as and Maulavis gave Shaykh Sanuslthat peace
chased slaves from the nomad Arabs, brought them and tranquillity, which increased his spiritual and
to Jaghbub, placed them under religious instruction moral influence over his followers. I
and when they were fitted for it sent them as free Shaykh Sanusl died at JaghbUb in 1859 and was
buried there. His mausoleum in the great mosque
1. A Mufti of the Maliki school (madhab) ~cJ jurlspru~epce published there is a magnificent one and pilgrimages to it, in-
in Cairo a book containing fatvas denounCIng the SanuSl Shaykh, who
was cha...-ged with neglecting the- rites prescribed by the great ImzmsJ stead of to Mecca, are common amongst his fol-
the founders. of the four schools of law and with the non-acceptance
j

of tbe authorized c9mmentades on the Qur'&n and tile Sunna. The lowers. He was a very remarkable man. Without
fat\'aS may have had some iufluence in Mecca and in Cairo, but they shedding of blood or the calling in the aid of any
had none amongst the nomadic tribes- of Tripoli and the .S?"dan ~ The
principle fatva is given in full by Depont et Coppolam In Les Catt- temporal ruler, by the energy and force of his
{riries Religimses lklusalmatJ.CS. p~~ 446-5L >

% The Italians landed on the Ubyan coast m October 1911. The character, he raised up in the Ottoman Empire and
bantlsi Shaykh, who controlled the oas3S in the interior of L~b¥aJ
objected, and when Ita1y took part iu the q-reat W~r the S~2iykh ]om-
its adjacent lands a theocratic system which Was
ed the Turks and entered intI) It. For a tlme thell" combmed forces almost, if not quite, independent of any political
met wifh :a considerable measure o:fSt1ccess. After peace was declar-
ed acts of aggression still co~tiuued ~n.d the possession of Jagbbub Power. No obstacle checked him. He astonished
became a necessity to the ltahans ; SO? 1925 Egypt ~nsented t? the
inclnsion of Jaghbnb within the frontlet" of the ltahan possessIOns. the educated by his knowledge; he won the popu-
Pro-vision was made for the freedom of caravans to and fro from lace by the skilful adaptation of his doctrine to their
Jaggbnb from tszation, a:od for freedom ',?-f.. access to the- f?uD:de!~s:
tomb hy Muslim pilgrims. Thus the Sanus1 S~a~kh, by hE fo.olisb. needs and by the fervour of his methods. His great
in.tervention in the Great War~ lost a place so 10tlmately as50Cllated
with the rise of the famous Sarills'i Order of Darwishe$. "See Foreign Office Hana600k t Number 127 l Italian Libya) p~ 15~
 THE DARWISHES 'rllE MUQADDAMS 189

object was to restore the original Ishim, as he con- audience with the Shaykh was not easily obtained.
ceived it to have been. This led him to oppose This was one of the actions denounced in the fatva
modern innovations in Turkish rule and life. His already alluded to. It says, 'The pretensions that
desire was to raise an impassable barrier against this shutting of himself up, and of not receiving
Western civilization and the influence of the Chris- visitors, except at particular· hours and then only-
tian Powers in Muslim lands. after repeated requests, constitute the way (tarfqat)
He was succeeded by his son, 'All bin Sanusl, a of the $Uffs are simply lies.'
lad of thirteen years of age. Heis now known as the The Muqaddams have much influence over people
Shaykhu'l-Mahdi. This name distinguishes him who are not members of the Order. In many cases
from his father. He assumed the administrative they are mere vassals, holding their lands by a sort
oversight of the Order whilst his brother M~ammad of feudal tenure, liable to be caI1ed up for military
Sharif looked after the religious teaching. They service. In the large districts occupied by the
were both very young, but their father had wisely Sanusfs, the principal person was not the Turkish
appointed some of the ablest Muqaddams to be their Mutasarrif, but the Sanus! Shaykh.
leaders and guides. Mui)ammad Sharif died in 1895. In the annual Conference the temporal and spiri-
His brother, the Shaykhu'l-Mahdi is reported to tual affairs of the Order were discussed and plans
have died in Kanen in 1902. His son-in-law Sayyid for the future were made. In their propaganda
Al;!mad succeeded him. work they largely used education in schools which
The Grand Council of the Order met from time they established and thus spread their views. In
to time at JaghbUb. One councillor was in special 1880 they went to the oasis of Farfara in the Libyan
charge of the JaghbUb Zawiyah. In 1886 there desert and in a few years changed the character of
were no less than 121 different Ziwiyahs,aII subject the people and acquired valuable property. Another
to the mother house at Jaghbub, in which there were way of reaching a new tribe was to purchase slaves
about four hundred Darwishes, gathered from many from it and, after teaching Islam to them, to send
lands, ready to go wherever sent and to do what- them back as preachers to their own people. In
ever was ordered to be done. The inmates of the this way they gained much success in the Wadai
Zawiyah were armed and supplied with warlike country, the Sultan of which became an enthusiastic
stores and some artillery. The Order was rich in adherent of the Sanusl Shaykh. In 1876 he died
slaves, houses, sheep and camels. By a system of and the succession to the Sultanate was disputed.
couriers communication was kept up with the The Sanusfs stopped the internecine strife and
distant Zawiyahs and so the Shaykh was kept well secured the appointment of their nominee, who now
informed of all that was going on. Travellers were became a loyal subject and held his office as a tri-
received with suspicion and the privilege of an butary to the JaghbUb Zawiyah. The adjoining
 190 THE :bARWlsHES A POLITICAL DANGER 191

State of Ennedi became a vassal one and all its in- Africa the Order has spread with great rapidity'
habitants embraced Ishim. The intelligent young and possesses much influence and power. In Asia
men were sent to Jaghbub to be fully trained under there were some time ago twelve Zawiyahs one being
the personal direction of the Shaykh. The whole at Mecca. The Order was said to he popular in the
region round Lake Chad became more or less under ljijaz, but how it will fare under the present Wah- -
Sanusf influence. The large Zawiyah of AI-Istat habi ruler is doubtful.
in the Kufra oasis was second in importance to the A point of some importance is the apparent readi·
one at Jaghbub. It is situated in an almost un· ness with which the Sanusfyya Order assimilated
approachable region and so in r893 the Shaykh itself with other religious Confraternities, especially
moved his headquarters to it. From a strategical with the Shahdhillyya, the Tijinfyya and the
point of view the place is important. Tripoli Qidiriyya Orders. s A great French' writer has
is now in the possession of the Italians, but said that ( these tactics constituted a grave political
their power does not extend far into the interior, danger. '3 A man, without abandoning his own
the districts of which are in the hands of the Order, might become a Sanusf, provided he sub· .
Sanusfs. mitted to certain restrictions. The Sanusfs, in fact,
The hatred of the Sanlisfs to Muslims who submit claim the support of a very large number of the
to the political supremacy of the Christian Powers, other Orders, in whose Zawiyahs its secret. agents
or who would effect a compromise with Western were to be found, who report to their own Shaykh all
civilization, was so great that good Muslims were matters of importance. In the namaz, or public
exhorted to leave such countries as Turkey and prayers, they conformed to the usual ritual, but their
Egypt. The Sanusf Darwishes, in places where they special Dhikr is known to and used only by them-
are likely to meet opposition, assumed other names. selves. They affirmed that the glory of God was
In Turkey they appeared as members of the Qadirfy- their only aim, but they looked forward to a temporal
ya Order, but their success there was small. In the kingdom, which the Theocracy they hope to see
~a1,:lara they have been more successful. They will be; but for the present they worked for that
commenced work in Morocco in 1877 and established object in their own way, and that way was to avoid
Zawiyahs at Tangiers, Tetuan and Fez. There
J. In 1909 the Rev. E. F. Wilson reported that the Sanusis were at
they sheltered themselves under the name of Lokoja} a town in Upper Nigeria, and were giving much trouble
(C. M, S. R~part, 1900-1, p. (4) ; but the influence of the Sokol" Sui·
Darqawfyya Order, with whose political views and taus and the Rausa Chiefs has probably c(}uu~eracted the Sanu51 propa-
tendencies they are in accord. They have many ganda. I have 110 later information as to how matters are now going
on there.-
adherents among the Berber tribes. In r873 they :z 'An these Orders or Confraternities, formerly dhided seem f on
the contr.ary~ to-day to obey acommon impnlse~ the origin of which
had gone as far as Senegal and Timbuktu with a is as yet unknown.' Frisch, L~ lJ.1aroc, p. 186.
~ Duveyrier. La C{wfrme j}fusutmane, p, 8. See also Frisch t L~ -
view of winning the pagan people to Islam. In Maroc. p~ lOO.
192 THE DARWISHES SUNusfs AND THE GREAT WAR 193
any entanglements with worldly Powers. They S~nusfs, under Turkish leadership, strongly and
declined to help Turkey against the Russians; they WJth some success I opposed them.
refused to give any aid to Arabi Pasha's revolt or Nun Bey and ]a'far Pasha,2 a Turkish officer,
to the Mahdf in the Sudan. The Sanusf Shaykh supported by German influence won over the Sanus!
probably saw in the- Mahdf, a member of the Shaykh, to whom the Kaiser sent the following-
Qadirlyya Order, a possible rival, whose suppression letter:-
would materially strengthen his own position. Praise be to the most High God, The Emperor William,
With this policy of aloofness was combined the sou of Charlemagne, Allan's envoy, Islam's protector, to the
encouragement of emigration from other lands to illustlious chief of tlJe Sanusis. We pray God to lead our
lands where Western civilization had not yet pene- armies to victory. Our will is that the victorious warriors
shall expel infidels .from territory that belongs to true belie-
trated. In this way it was thought that the true
vers and their commanders. To this end we send thee
believers might be gathered together and freed from arms, money and tried chiefs. Our common enemy, whom
the influence of the Christian Powers, and the scarcely may God annihilate, shall flee before thee.'
less hated rule of the Sultan of Turkey and the The Sanusfs were finally defeated in I917 and
Khedive of Egypt, who had not been able to resist Shaykh Al;mad had to repent at leisure his folly in
the influence of modern civilization. The desert joining the Turks.
life, isolated from contaminating influence, was the A contest, however, continued with the Italians
ideal one. I The Sanusfs were thus enemies not after the conclusion of the Great War in I9IS. In
only of the Christians but of the Turks also. The I9 2 0 Sayyid Al;mad, the Sanus! Shaykh, received a
motto of the Order was, 'The Turks and the large sum of money, paid in gold, under certain con-
Christians are in the same category; we will destroy ditions. He took the gold, but did not fulfil the con-
them both with the same blow. '2 They were, how- ditions and again took up arms against the Italians.
ever, drawn into the Great War, and on the side of These attempts proved futile and the Shaykh fled
their old enemy the Turks." The landing of the to Constantinople, leaving Sayyid Idns as the head
Italians on the Libyan coast in I9II roused the , This was done although theirnillitary strength had been weakened
anger of the Sanusfs, and when in I9I5 the Italians when the French.in 1910 occupi.ed Wadai; it was still furthez- broken
by the British repulse of their attack io. Egypt in 1916. The Sanusfs
joined the Allies in the war against Turkey, the were able to bring at least 5~OOO wen~trained troops into the field part
of a much larger enemy force, ~
z Ja~far) a }desopotamiau. Arah~ was .soon taken prisoner. In an
1. 'The desert is the natural home for the CCti'templative re-llgio'Us me, attempt to escape from a prison in CaiTO he injured mmself. While in
aud in the oaseswi11 00 fou.nd masses of men~ adepts in f?tifi mysticism.' hospital he heard of the Arab Revolt and felt th.t he had been fight-
Cooksey, The Landofike Vanished Church, p, 66. ing on the wrong side. He was released and, as a Commanrler in
Z Eyo d ~ 'yo; d JSI Js;\..,;.ll; «If'll Fe-issJ's army. dld such excellent service that he Was ~:i:ven a C.M.G.
:J In 1910 the young Turks solicited their aid in a pan-Islamic
When this distinction was bestowed on him J the guard of hOIlour at
campaign. They held aloof for the claims af the Khal'ifa had llO the ceremony was the very troop of Dorset Yeomanry which two
charm for them. They enter~9- the war. when tA~ Italians came years before had taken him prise-ner. See Lawrence a";d the Arabs
pp. 146J $28. •
it*, it. • Tlte Times History of tlte War, part liZ, 1" 292,
25
 THE DARWISHES 195
194
of the Order. He had long been an aspirant t? ,that as that of the Sandsfyya is to be found in the need
has to be content with the spmtual felt by large bodies of Muslims for clear direction
office, b ut n 0 w • • I
and supervision, and for: something which would give
overslg . ht 0 f the Order, for an hope of terntona
ago-randizement has passed away. them spiritual solidarity. This the Sanusfyya Order
The oasis of JaghbUb contains the tomb ~f, the has sought to give by setting before itself as one of -
of the Order and, 'when the Sanuslyya its grand objects the federation of all the various
founder . 1 'd'd Orders in one great pan-Islamic movement; but
Fraternity entered the lists agamst Ita y, as It 1.
after the outbreak of the Great War of 19 14- 18, ,It fortunately many of the other Orders do not
became a matter of some importance for Italy to approve of this plausible attempt at absorption,
bring within the recognized fron~iers of her, N.ort~ The French in Algiers are perfectly aware of the
'can dominions a place, whIch, though mngm- danger in their midst. I A very large number of the
Af1"1 l' . f
ficant in itself, was one of the re !glOUS centres ? inhabitants are connected with different Orders. As
the Sanusl Power.' I Alter numerOUS delays. m a rule they are simple, credulous, people, obedient to
settling the frontiers between Egypt and the Itahan their Shaykhs. But of all the Orders the Sanusfyya
possessions, an agreement was reached in Decemb.er, is the most dangerous and the most powerful for evil.
19 2 5 'and JaghbUb w~s recognize.d b;
the Egyptian The most recent Muslim Confraternity is that of
the Ikhwan or Brothers, organized by the present
Goverrunent as an Itahan possessIon.
When the question of the appointment of a new (1927) ruler of Najd in Arabia, 'Abdu'l-'Azlz ibn
KhaHfa was first mooted at Mecca, the, SanUs! Sa'ud. It is not exactly a Darwish Order, but it is
Shaykh, Sayyid A~mad, hurried thither hopmg th~t a compact body of men, devoted to the propagation
the Khallfate mio-ht be bestewed upon hIm. HlS of Wahhabf principles and fanatical in their
chances of electi,;'n were fairly good, for he was now procedure. Its influence over the Bedouin tribes is
friendly with the Turks, his prestige as a fight;r, for very great. The early Khalffas placed bodies of
Ishun was high and there were se:eral Sanuslyya troops in places, such as Kufa and Ba~ra, where
zawiyahs in the Ijijaz; but he foohshly advocated there was a likelihood of disaffection; in like
pilgrimages to the tomb of the wives of the p~opbet. manner Ibn Sa'ud has placed colonies of the Ikhwan
This was too much for Ibn Sa'ud's iconoclaStiC ze:o-l in various parts of his dominions. 'The Ikhwan
and Sayyid A~mad waS forthwith sent about hIS movement, which is nothing but a Wahhfibl revival
business in disO"race and with hopes unfulfilled. in an intensified form, is the result not of accident,
The reason "'for the founding of new Orders, such ;I $ The SaD:uslyya Order is, the irrecoD.~la~le eDe~y and reaHy

daugerons to tbe French rule In North Afnca tn Aigerla Tunis and

Senegal.' Duveyrier, La Conirffie llfusulmn'ne, p. 14. Silva White
says, • Algeria is honeycombed with Sanus! rrrtrigues. So vast a
1. T bee, Surlier of InternaJWnaI Af[a£rs, PI:: )85--6. ~
"2 F~ full account of the war against the SaD.US1S! see the Fcre::C n com.~ination is fraught with danger to the peace of Africa." From
SPk",x to Orade, p. 125.
Qffif< E[andbook, Libya, pp. 18-3Q.
1S$ THE DARWiSHES CALl. To THE CHURCH 191
but of a weJl-considered design, contrived with no Islam. We may fairly accept the position that
less a purpose than that of remedying the short- Islam, in some respects, raises a pagan tribe to a
comings of the Arab race, and of checking before higher level of life and conduct and yet, in the
it is too late the insiduous processes of decay.'! interests of social, of moral life and of religious
In 1925 there was a Kurdish revolt in which belief,~and so in the best interests of mankind, we
members of the religious Orders were suspected of may view the conversion of such tribes to Islim
having taken part. In fact the Shaykh of the with much concern. No well-wisher of even the
Naqshbandfyya Order was the leader of the revolt. most degraded race can desire that it should be
He was defeated, captured and, with forty of his permanently fixed at what, after all, is a low level of
companions, nine of whom were Shaykhs, was exe- conduct, and that an almost impassable barrier
cuted. An order was also passed for the closing of. should be placed in the way of its rising to a higher
all the Darwish Ziwiyahs in the Eastern Vilayets. stage of life by the acceptance of a purer and more
The government now realized that the Darwishes. elevating faith. Never before has the crisis been so
were determined enemies to reforms. acute. The Muslim advance in Africa has been so
So in September 2,1925, the Angora Government constant and so rapid that the speedy evangelization
passed three administrative decrees. 'The first of the pagan races there is the most urgent work,
one closed all religious homes (Zawiyahs) and which the Church is now invited to enter upon. ·If
abolished the religious Orders in Turkey; pro- it is not done without delay many tribes will be
hibited individuals from living as members of almost irretrievably lost, for the teeming millions
Orders and from wearing the costumes or bearinK of Africa will have entered into the fold of Islam.
the titles connected therewith; closed all chapels The wonderful and inspiring history of the Uganda
(musjids) attached to religious houses and all mau- Mission shows how a once pagan nation, won for
soleums and abolished the office of custodians of Christ and forme d into an enlightened progressive
such establishments.':! In the Ottoman Empire the Christian State, provides an effectual barrier to
Darwishes no longer find any home. the progress of Islam in that region.
From this sketch of these important movements.
and of the part played by the great Darwish Orders
in the propagation of Islam, especially in Africa, it
will be seen how urgent is the caB to Mission work
in that great continent, lest before the Gospel can
reach the pagan races they should be converted to
'Toynbee, T!te SU¥1J<»of International Affairs, p. 271.
• Ibid., PP' 12-73.
 FIRST REVELATION 199
called the blessed night, the night when angels came
down by the permission of their Lord, the night
which brings peace and blessing until the rising
VI dawn. Mul;!ammad used to retire for solitary medi-
THE QUR'AN tatien to the cave of l;Iiri', I and there on this night ~
he heard a voice saying, ' Recite 2 thou, in the name
IT is said that God chose the sacred month of of thy Lord who created man from clots of blood'
Rama9-an in which to give all the revelations that in (Suratu'l-'Alaq xcvi). He was much alarmed and
the form of books have been given to mankind._ hastened to his wife Khadfja and stated his fears.
Thus on the first night of that month the books of She assured him that he was under God's protection
Abraham came down from heaven; on the sixth, and that no harm would come to him. When he
the books of Moses; on the thirteenth, the lnjil or calmed down and told her exactly what had hap-
Gospel; and on the twenty-seventh, the Qur'an. On pened, she bade him be of good cheer, for he would
that night, the Laylatu'l-Qadr, or' night of power,' certainly be the Prophet of the people. •Ayisha, a
the whole Qur'an is said to have descended to the later wife of the Prophet, is reported to have said
lowest of the seven heavens, from whence it was that Khadfja now took her husband to see Waraqa,
brought by the angel Gabriel to Mul;tammad as occa- a l;Ianff, who, according to Bukhirf, had been a
sion requiIed. 'Verily, we have caused it (the Nazarene in the days of ignorance, and bade him
Qur'an) to descend on the night of power' (S6ratu'l- listen to what had just occurred. Then Waraqa
Lail xcii. I). 'The Qur'an,' says Ibn Khaldun, said, • This is the Namus which God sent down
, was sent from heaven in the Arab tongue, and in a . upon Moses.' The tradition is recorded by BukM.rf,
style conformable to that in which the Arabs were and the commentators on it say that this Namtls,
wont to express their thoughts. It was revealed wIllch means the possessor of a secret, is • none
phrase by phrase, verse by verse, as it was needed, other than Gabriel.' 3 After the first revelation for
whether for manifesting the doctrine of the Unity of a time there was no further one. This period is
God, or for expounding the obligations to which called the Fatra and it lasted two or three years. It
men ought to submit in this world. In the one was a period of anxious suspense during which no
case we have the proclamation of the dogmas of inspiration (wal}f) came to him. At last, one day
faith; in the other the prescriptions which regulate Mul;ammad heard a voice from heaven and saw the
the actions of men.' 1 Sell, Life of Mu1;ammad, p 24.
:::1

The night on which the Qur'an descended is Z BaiQawi says the :redtal~s by the tongue of Gabriel and adds
an oroer to the Propbet 'recite it ana repeat it tiD it remains ill
thy memory, ~
'1. Us Prolegome.l1es dt'ibn Kkaldul1 (de SlaneJs translation, 00. .2 See the $aJftl;tr/i-Bull!bi on Sp-ratp:t~-~Alaq xcvi, vol.:Hi, no,
Paris 1863);. vol. ii, p~ 458. ~W.· .. ••
200 THE QUR'AN INSPIRATION OF THE QUR'AN 201

angel which had formerly appeared to him. Much clearly that the Qur'an is an objective revelation,
agitated, he rushed home and called upon Khadfja and that Mul)ammad was only a passive medium of
to cover him with a cloth. She did so and then communication. This is made quite clear by Ibn
God revealed the Suratu'l-Muddaththir lxxiv, which Khaldu.n, who says, I 'Of all the divine books, the
commences thus, '0 thou, enwrapped in thy mantle, Qur'an is-the only one of which the text, words and
arise and warn.' According to BukMrf the steady phrases have been communicated to a prophet by
and regular flow of the revelation of the Qur'an an audible voice. It is otherwise with the Penta-
then commenced, or, as he puts it, 'inspiration be- teuch, the Gospel and the other divine books; the
came warm' (fahamiya al-wal;li). I prophets received them in the form of ideas.' This
The following verses refer to the revelation of mechanical mode of inspiration is called watrf in
the Qur'an. 'We have sent down to thee an contradistinction to the mode of inspiration descri-
Arabic 2 Qur'an' (Suratu Ta Ha xx. I I 2). 'Verily bed as employed in the case of other prophets, which
from the Lord of the world hath this book come is called ilham. Ghazalf defines watrf thus: • The
down; the faithful spirit (Rul;m'l-Amfn) hath come recipient knows the medium by which he receives it,
down with it' (Suratu'sh-Shu'ara' xxvi. 193); also that it is an angel; ilham is defined as information re-
• The Qur'an is no other than a revelation revealed ceived in an unknown way, it is a breathing into the
to him, one terrible in power (Shadfdu'l-Qawa) heart (nafakha fi qalb).' On account of the peculiar
taught it to him' (Sliratu'n-Najm liii. 5).. 'The nature of its inspiration the Qur'an is esteemed as a
Holy Spirit (Rul,1u'I-Quds) hath brought It down miraculous revelation of divine eloquence, as to
with truth from the Lord' (Suratu'n-Nal,1l xvi. 104). form and substance and in its arrangement of
The terms mentioned in these verses are said to words. 2 By this alleged wonderful miracle of the
refer to Gabriel, and this view is confirmed by a Qur'an, called the' cream and compendium of all
verse in a late Madfna Sura which reads as follows: the heavenly books,' the Prophet felt sure of carry-
, Say, whoso is the enemy of Gabriel, for he it is ing conviction to a large number of persons.
who by God's leave hath caused the Qur'an to Early in his Meccan career the Prophet challenged
descend on thy heart' (Suratu'l-Baqara ii. 91). The anyone to produce a book equal in style to the
words in Suratu'l-Qiyamat lxxv. 18, 'when we Qur'an. • Will they say, "He hath forged it
have recited, then follow thou the recital,' show himself? " Nay, rather it is that they believed
1. SaMhuli-BttMtiri~ vol. i. p.6. .
not. Let them produce a discourse like it, if they
:! Yet Jalalu)d-Dlu As-Syuu ill the Mutawakkil mentlODs one speak the truth' (Suratu't-Tur Iii. 34-5). 'Were
hUIiidred and seven foreign words. AI-Kindi in ~is apology refers to
this fact as a. defect either in tlIe messenger, or In tile me~sage. I If men and; jinn associated to produce the like of
there be in the Arabic language no words to express the lde~s, the.n
the medium of commuDJcations, and therefore the messa~to ],tse1f, 15
~ PYolegl)m;Jn~s d'ifm XhaJduN. vo-l. li, ps 195.
imperfect; if otherwise, the messenger?' APology of Al-K:nd:, t.rans-
TakmUu'I-lsla-m. pp. 14, 21,
lated br Muir, p. 3().
'2

26
202 TH.E QUR'AN
THE WRITTEN QUR'AN iOS
the Qur'an, they could not produce its like' (Sliratu
of its miraculous origin, and so, quite apart trom
Bani Isra'fl xvii. 19). 'If they shall say, "The
questions as to its actual nature, the Qur';in is
Qur'an is his own device," say, " Then bring te~
looked upon as the standing miracle of Ishim.
Suraslike it of your devising'" (Suratu HUd Xl·
10) , If ye be in doubt as-to that which we have In S~ratu'l-'Abasa lxxx. [3-15 the Qur'an is de-
sen~ down to our servant, then produce a Sura like scribed as 'written on honoured pages, exalted,
purified, by the hands of scribes, honoured and
it' (Suratu'J-Baqara ii. 2 I).
righteous.' The old interpretation of this verse was
Muslims now say that no Arab could produce any
that the Qur'an was written in Paradise, at God's
thinu like the Qur'an. If this refers to the subject
matt~r of the book, obviously the Quraysh could not dictation, by the 'hand of Angels.' The commen-
tator I;1usayn says that· Angels copied it from the
do so for they did not betieve in its dogmas; then,
as n~ one could reproduce the individuality of
Preserved Table.' A Qadianf commentator says the
scribes were Abu Bah, 'Uthman and 'Ali Who
Muhammad, stamped upon his book, he could
made copies of what the Prophet said. But such
safeiy challenge anyone to produce its like. If .the copies of the Qur'an are not known to have existed,
superiority claimed lies in the form and expresSIOn,
and had there been any such copies the two re-
then, if we examine the Qur'an by the ruJes of
censions would not have been necessary. r Bell says
rhetoric and criticism accepted by Muslim scholars,
that it is more natural to suppose that it refers to
we shall see that the Qur'an is a perfect model, for the CUlTent Bible so carefully preserved by ]ews
the principles of rhetoric are drawn from it. 1 It is and Christians. r
looked upon as the perfect standar~. and une In Suratu'z-Zukhruf xliii. 3 the Qur'an is de-
approachable, so obviously no compOSItion. could scribed as • a transcript of the archetyphal Book
surpass or even equal it in the eyes of sU:h. Judges. kept by us' (that is, God). Literally the words are
There is not, however, a consensus of opwlOn as to
'Mother of the Book' (Ummu'l-Kitab). In the
wherein the superiority consists. Some authorities Tafs;r-z~Qusa'Yni this term is said to mean this, • the
say it lies in its eloquence, or in its subject maUer, original of all the heavenly books is kept free from
or in the harmony of its parts. Anyhow, its alleged
change in the Preserved Table ' (Lau~u'1-Ma{Jfu*).2
superiority over all other books is held to be a proof
Baigawi also calls it the 'original of the heavenly
:1 ~Al-Mukaffa, AI-Mutanabbi and a few oth~. w1?~ did .1Jot hola books.''' A Qadiani commentator says, 'It signifies
very orthodox opinions, as...%l.yed in some of thelt wntmgs t~ surpass the original source from which the Qur'an comes,
the style of the Qur'an. but th~ir attempt ~as- naturally conSIdered ~o
be a failure. Were we to examme the Qur an by the rules of Ihe-tone and its meaning is that the Qur'an cannot be
and cd deism as they are taught In MusHm sc.h0ols, we should he
obliged to acknowledge that it is the pe~fectlOn. of t~.ou&:ht,and
exposition; an'inevltable result as the Mushms,drew therr pnn?ples ;l The Origin of I sl~'im in its Christian Ettvir01mtcnt~ p. S4..
f rhetoric from that very bOOK~) De S~an: In the Introduction to"
Ibn Kha1Jikan'~ Biographical Dict£onm1'~ YoL 1, p. 17. . .;# ;\ ~\ .s 1~\ t"y;" ~,I..-l\ ~\ rJ> J<-\
3 ~,4-.J\ ~\ J<-\
 THE QUR'Al'l ETERNAl. NATURE OF THE QUR'AN 205

destroyed because it exists in Divine knowledge I freedom of a son. The fundamental conception 6f
(Holy Qur'an, p. 943)' This comment ignores the man's relation to God which the Qur'an sets forth
fact of the term being used for the origin of other as infallible truth is· expressed in the following
books besides the Qur'an, and so the impossibility words, 'Verily there is none in the Heavens and in
of their destr:uction. Weare- not told in which the Earth-but shall approach the God of mercy as a
language the U mmu'l-Kitab was written, but if, as servant ('abd) , (Silratu Maryan xix. 94). In this
I;Iusayn and Bai<;hiwi say, it is the original of all the respect it falls below even Judaism. 'Man, the
heavenly books, it could scarcely have been in servant of the· Highest, is the keynote of Islam;
Arabic. Again, if, as coming from it, the Qur'an man, the friend, the son of God is the keynote of
cannot be destroyed, so all the other heavenly books the Law (Taurat).'
which proceed from the same source must be 'safe The question of the eternal nature of the Qur'an
from change,' and the Taurat and the Injf1 must also has been the subject of much controversy amongst
, exist in the Divine knowledge and remain for ever Muslim theologians of the past. It is intimately
as authoritative revelations.' connected with the various theories about the nature
The Qur'an is often praised for the emphasis it of God's attributes ($iliU). We need only consider
lays on the doctrine of the Unity of God, but it has that portion of the controversy which deals with the
been well said that, 'there is no charm in the question as to whether the attributes are eternal or
abstract doctrine of the unity of God to elevate not.' It is said that the Qur'an pre-existed in the
mankind. The· essential point is the character thought of God as did everything. else, for' every-
attributed to the One God. In Islam the know- thing have we set down in the cleat book of our
ledge of God is a fixed quantity revealed in a book, decrees' (Suratu Ya Sin xxxvi. II). To this the
the mind of man has no capacity to understand it." reply is that only the substance of the Qur'an had its
Speaking of the attributes of God as stated in the existence in the divine essence in a different way
Qur'an, Professor Gwatkin says, 'They tell us to that by which the actions of men are foreknown;
nothing of the character behind them; so far as so it existed as a divine attribute. But the Qur'an is
these (first) four go they might be an almighty evil.'2 not simply a record of general statements concern-
There are ninety-nine names of God, called' the ing divine attributes; the greater part of it is taken
most excellent names' (AI-asma'u'I-I;Iusna), but up with stories of the prophets, political affairs and
amongst them the name of Father is not found. the domestic concerns of the Prophet. ]f all these
Man must ever be to God in the relation of a slave; comparatively trivial matters pre-existed in the mind
m Islim he can never attain to the dignity and of God, then what superiority has the Qur'an over
3: OSOOrn~lsl&m.under tlte Arabs, p. 7. '1 For a full acc.ount o-f the general question in. dispute, see Tile
t; The Knvwli!dge of Cod, vol. Ht P" 120. Faith of .Isliim (4th eli.), pp. 217-43.
 THE QUR'AN MEANING OF KALAM 207

other events which God foreknew. To make finite Moses and to Mul)ammad on the night of the ascen-
historical matters part of the eternal, living attri- sion to heaven (Mi'raj). He speaks to others by the
butes of God is to associate the finite with the instrumentality of Gabriel and this is the usual way
essence of the infinite God. And so the controversy in which He communicates His will to the pro-
went on. r phets. It-fol1ows from this that the Qur'an is the
The $ifatlans, according to Shahristani, 'taught word (Kalam) of God and is eternal and uncreat-
that the attributes of God are eternally inherent in ed. ' I Thus Kalam mean not mere speech, but
His essence, without separation or change. Each revelation and every other mode of communi-
attribute is conjoined with Him as life with know- cating intelligence. Al-GhazaJi makes an impor-
ledge, or knowledge with power. '2 The Asha'rians tant statement on the orthodox side. 'He doth
somewhat modified that view. They said that the speak, command, forbid, promise 'and threaten
attributes of God are distinct from His essence, yet by an eternal ancient word, subsisting in His
in such a way as to forbid any comparison being essence.'
made between God and His creatures. They say 'The Qur'an, the Law, the Gospel and the Psalter
that the attributes are neither 'ain nor ghair, that is, are sent down by Him to His apostles, and the
not of His essence nor distinct from it. The Qur'an, indeed, is read with tongues, written in
Mu'taziHs took.a different view altogether. They books and is kept in hearts yet, as subsisting in the
say that 'God IS eternal, and that eternity is the essence of God, it doth not become liable to
peculiar property of His essence; but they deny the separation and division whilst it is transferred into
existence of imy eternal attributes (as distinct from the hearts and on to paper. '2 An-Nasafi (died A.H.
His nature). Knowledge, power, life are part of .53) says, 'He whose majesty is majestic speaks
His essence; otherwise, if they are to be looked with a word (Kalam). This word is a quality from
upon as ete~a: ~ttributes of the Deity, it will give ';t Garim de Tassy LJ lsltimismc ti!apns ie CarMI} p. l54. Al-Asha'n J

the great oppon.ent of the Mu'tazilis, said~ ~ The Word of God exists
nse to a multiplICIty of eternal entities.' 3 ~n the mind of God and iS r therefore. eterual and l111created. The
QUT'an in the manifestatioi1 of that Word; but the vocal sounds
We shall now see how this dispute, this differ- through which the Word was made known to the Prophet are created. ~
enceofopinion, is connected with the Qur'an. The The Mu f taziHs hold that the Qur'an was created (see Tke Faitlt of IsUlm~
pp. 259-67). The commentator Zatuakhsf1ilr1 itl his introduction to
seventh attribute of Kalam, or speech, is thus the KasMf wrote, ~ Praise be to God who hath created the Qur'an.'
He was told that, 00. seeing th:!s. people would not read his commen~
defined: 'God speaks, but not with a tongue as tary. so he substituted for the word created the- word establisked-..
which to the Mu<tazHis means the same thing, SeeJbn Knamka!J~
men do. He speaks to some of His servants with- vol~ Hj~ p~ 323~ The Ibadiyya iu Oman -use Zamakhsharl's
out the intervention of another, even as He spoke to commentary.
'Z The orthodox believe the K.alam. to be of God's natnre (Qa1:im ill

::1 See an interesting discussion on this question in Gairdnerts .Q1fatihi, as; other- attribntes are, without reference to letters and
InsPiration, pp. 30-3. It is published by the C L S sonnds {Baz~1t~1-'JUl'a.ni, p. 14)~ Others say "it has two meanings {Ii the
J: lffilal wa'tl-Nilp:tl p. 67. . ... eternal Word inherent in Go,F's essence, -and (1) the spoken wQrd
1
• IUd., p. 30. <;:rei\ted by God, .
 208 THE .QUR'AN MODERN MU'TAZILfs

all eternity. The Qur'an is the uncreated word prisoner at the battle of Badr. Ransom was refnsed
of God.' Thus these divines looked upon the and he was put to death. Naturally no one else
Qur'an as the eternal Word inherent in God's attempted to undertake so perilous a work.
essence. The Mu'tazilis by asserting the subjective nature
Now against all this_ the Mu'tazilis bring the of inspiration brought the Qur'an within reach of
following objections: I (1) The Qur'an is written criticism. They recognized both the divine and the
in Arabic, it descended, is read, is heard and is human side of the book. As a sect the Mu'taziHs
written. It is divided into parts and some verses passed away, I but in recent times there has been
are abrogated by others. (2) Events are describ- a slight revival of their views. Syed 'Amlr 'Ali
ed in the past tense, but, if the Qur'an had been has openly declared that he belongs to this school
eternal, the future tense would have been used. of thought,2 and the late learned Maulavi Cheragh
(3) The Qur'an contains commands and prohibitions' 'Ali ranged himself on the same side. He said,
if it is eternal who were commanded and who we~ , A prophet feels that his mind is illumined by God,
admonished. (4) If it existed from eternity, it and the thoughts which are expressed by him,. or
must exist to eternity, and so even in the last Day spoken, or written under that influence are to be
~nd in the nex: world men will be under the obligar regarded as the words of God. This illumination
tion of performmg the same religious duties as they differs in the prophet, according to the capacity
do now, and of keeping all the outward precepts of of the recipient, or according to the circum-
the Law. (5) If the Qur'an is eternal, then there stances-religious and moral-in which he is
are t\vo eternals. (6) Men can produce its like in placed.'3
eloquence and arrangement. A man, named Nadir We may now pass on. to consider briefly the
ibn I;Iaritha, was bold enough toaccept the challenge, sources of the Qur'an. 4 It does not appear that
and arranged some stories of the Persian kings in Mul).ammad had any acquaintance with the contents
chapters and Suras and recited them. He is evi- of the canonical books' of the Old and New
dently alluded to in Suratu Luqman xxxi. 5 in the Testaments. The Bible was not translated into
following words, ' A man 2 there is who brings an idle Arabic until long after his time. S So he gained
tale, that in his lack of knowledge he may mislead
1. For the story of the conflIct betl;Veeu the orthm1..o':'i. party and the
others from the way of God and tum it to scorn. Mu<tazilis, and of the persecutions QU both sides, see The Faith of
For such is prepared a shameful punishment.' Isli1m (4th ell.), pp. 243 If.
Z Personal Law Qf the fifafJotnnreda-ns, p. xi.
This proved to be the case. Nag!r was taken • Critical exposition of Jihad, p. lxix.
-s'For fuller details see TisdalPs Sotwces of the Quy l(fJl. 1 and his
p.1.8S~or funer details, see Takmitu'l~fsl£m1p. 60 and ~ AfjiPid..£..,Jlim;} Relig;"" of the Cnscent (S.P.C.IL); Blair's TM Sources of Islam
(C.L~R); Geiger's Judaism and fsliim (Diocesan Press, Madras} ;
YanaM<u~I-IJlam (Religions Book Society, Lahore).
2" Bai~Wl1 Tafsfr. vol. ii. p. 119, and Husayn Tafsir vol i p 1$3
identify this mao as Na<JIr; " 1 ~ $' ~ $ See Rodwell's (Juran, p. 11. The Old Testament was translated
io A.D. 900 and the- New Testament in A.D~ 1171.
27
 2lQ THE QUR'AN SOURCES OF' THE QtrR'AN 211
his information from the Talmudic Literature, I not know how to bury it. A raven was there and
made known to him by the Jews, his friends at by its side was a dead raven. The live bird made
Mecca, and to the Apocryphal Gospels. The a hole in the ground and buried the dead one.
following are some examples of information thus Adam saw this and said, ' I will do as the raven has
gained. done,' and so Abel was buried. This legend is
There is a great similarity between the importance incorporated in Suratu'l-Ma'ida v. 35, an early
given in orthodox Judaism to the Oral Law, believed Madfna suk. Mul.ummad slightly altered it by
to have been handed down by tradition from Moses, saying that the raven showed Cain, not Adam, how
and the importance attached to the Sunna, the Oral to bury the body.
Law of Islam, based on the traditional accounts of In the Pirke Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Zadok is re-
the Prophet's words and deeds. In both com- ported as saying that from the union of the sons of
munities, the Oral Law is held to be divinely God with the daughters of men (Gen. vi. 2) spring
inspired, and to be authoritative in matters of faith a race of giants. It is also said that two angels,
and practice. 'Hence, too, sprung the idea, so Shambazi and Azazel were now allowed to descend
deeply rooted among Muslims, that obedience to upon the earth. One of them tried to seduce the
the latter, which they held to be God's law, will maiden Ishtahar. She said that he must first teach
atone for sin.' 2 her the explicit name of God, so that by its aid she
Rabbi Jehudah relates how, after the Fall, the might rise up to heaven. The angel taught it to
Angels said, 'Sovereign of the world, what is man her, and at once she soared up to the heavens and·
that thou takest knowledge of him. He is alto- was placed by God as a star in the Pleiades to be
gether vanity.' The LORD replied that he too seen for ever. In Suratu'l-Baqara ii. 96 we have a
uttered praise and called on them to name the similar story of the angels H:irut and M:irUt to
animals. They could not, then Adam stood up and whom sorcery had been revealed. In the Muslim
did so. In Suratu'l-Baqara ii. 28-32 this event is story, the beautiful woman Zuhra is introduced.
related in almost the same words, to which, however, She leads the angels astray and is changed into a
is added the command to the angels to bow shooting star and so disappeared. '
down and worship Adam which all did except A Rabbinical legend states that at the time of
Ib11s. the Flood, men mocked and said that, if the waters
In the Midrashim the burial of Abel is thus re- rose up from the depths, they would stop up tbe
lated. His dog guarded the corpse and Adam did
• For a full account see The Faith of IsMm 14th ed.), pp. 281-4.
:l,The Babylonian Gemam was finished about the year A.~D. S30 ; These angels seem to have been worshipped in ancient tin..e-s and in
the Jerosalem Ge:nara in A.D. 539 aDd tbe Mishnah about A~D~ 200; so the Az:esta are caIled Haurvat and Ameretat. See Tisdall's Sources
all these would be wen known to the Jews in Arabia . of 1M Quriin, p. 99; Etuydoptetit<> of Religwn and Ethics, voL lv,
• Tisdall, TIre Religion of the Crescent, p. 161. p.61&•

•
 212 213
holes with their feet. Then the Holy One so used by Abraham for a similar purpose. I This
heated the waters that their feet were burnt. In shows that the account given is taken from
Suratu'l-Mu'minun xxiii. 28 it is said in connection Rabbinical legends.
with these men who mocked Noah that 'The In Sotah, xii. 2, it is said of the infant Moses that
earth's surface boiled up' and in -Suratu Hud xi. he refused the- breast of alI the Egyptian women,
42 it is said that' until the sentence came to pass, for the Holy One, blessed be He, had said, • Shall
and the earth's surface boiled up.' It was a Rabbi- the mouth that is to speak with me suck an unclean
, nical notion that the generation of the Deluge was thing?' In the Qur'anic account of the finding of
punished by hot water; the Qur'an adopted the Moses it is said, 'We caus~d him to refuse the
Rabbinical view. nurses, ,until his sister came and said, "Shall I point
Abraham is said to have been brought out of Ur out to you the family of a house that will rear him."
of the Chaldees (Gen. xv. 7). Now Ur also means So we restored him to his mother.' Suratu'I'Qa~a~
fire, and is so translated in Isa. xliv. r6. The xxviii. 2-12.
legend is that he was cast into a fiery furnace.' The In Suratu'l-A'raE vii. 105. Mu1)ammad says that,
Qur'an gives the legend in a slightly differentform, in the presence of Pharaoh, Moses as a sign' drew
,but accepts it, and, after describing Abraham's forth his hand, and lo! it was white (leprous) to
trial, represents his judges as saying to the fire, the beholders.' This is not a Biblical statement,
, burn him,' and describes God as saying, '0 fire! but one borrowed from Rabbi Eliezer's Midrash in
be thou cold and to Abraham a safety!' Siiratu'I· which it is said, ' He placed his hand in his bosom,
Anbiya' xxi. 68-9. and drew it forth white as snow with leprosy.'
In the Midrash of Rabbi EUmer an account of Rabbi Akiba describes the hesitation of the
the command to sacrifice Isaac is given and many Egyptians to follow the Israelites through the Red
curious details are added to the simple Scripture Sea. Then the Holy One appeared before them
account. A ram' came running by and Abraham riding on a mare and went forward. Pharaoh's
offered up the ram instead of. Isaac. In the Book horse pursued the mare. Pharaoh could not restrain
of Jubilees xvii a similar account is given. The it and so had to enter the spot which the Israelites
incident is referred in the Qur'an in Suratu's-Saffat and just passed over. His men followed him. The
xxxvii. 1<J0--9. It is there said that Isaac was waters then returned and all were drowned. In the
'ransomed with a costly victim.' The Tafszr·i- Qi{a{u'l-Anbiy/i' (p. 2W) this legend is reproduced
Qusajllti says that this refers to the ra.m which Abel almost verbatim, and published as a traditional
'had offered in sacrifice, and that it was now again saying of the Prophet. Muslim theologians never
:l Forlegends about this ram see my Talmud, Mishnah and Midrash, '1 For fuller details -of the Muslim view of the legend, see Qisa~tI/I-
p.38. AnUyii"j, p~ 87~ ...
214 THE QUR'AN SOURCES OF THE QUR'AN 215
acknowledge their borrowings from Rabbinical though revealed in time, had previously been written
Judaism. in hea~e~. by G~d, and engraven on 'heavenly
In Chaffif[ah xvi. I, we read that' the demons tablets (m. 31 ; VI. 17; xxx. 20; xlix. 8) and kept
learn by listening behind the veil what is revealed safely guarded by angels from the beginning. So
in heaven to the angels.' In Be7echoth vi. I a long an angel brought from heaven seven tablets to
account is given of the activities of the demons and Ja~ob (xxxii. zr). This idea of the pre-mundane
how they worry and annoy the Rabbis. Now this eXIstence of the Torah and of its inscription on
idea of the listening by angels and demons has tablets was well known to the Jews at Madfna, and,
found a place in Muslim theology. A tradition therefore, proba15ly known to Muliarnmad. Any-
(J.1adith), recorded on the authority of 'Ayisha, states how it is a curious coincidence that we read in
that evil angels listen and hear the orders given to Suratu'l-Buruj lxxxv. 21-2, the words' yet it is a
the good angels, and then give the information glorious Qur'an, written on the Preserved Table
gathered to the magicians. The tradition is (LauJ.1u'I-M~fl4).' At Mecca the opponents of the
apparently based on the Qur'in, which again is Prophet called his statements, 'Fables of the
based on Rabbinical statements. Thus in Suratu'l- ancients that he hath put in writing and they were
l;Iijr xv. 26-8 we read, 'We have set the signs dictated to him morning and evening' (Suratu'l-
of the Zodiac in the heavens . • . and we guard Furqan xxv. 6); and 'A certain person I teacheth
them from every stoned Satan, save such as steal a him' (Suratu'n-N~l xvi.- 103); but these are the
hearing, and him doth a visible flame pursue,' and words of his enemies and so too much stress must
also 'We have adorned the lower heavens with the not be laid on them.
adornment of the stars, they also serve as a guard In the Book of Enoch xlvii. 3 concerning !:he
against every rebellious Satan that they overhear Judgement Day 'we read, 'In those days I saw the
not what passeth in the assembly on high.' Suratu'~­ Head of Days, when He seated himself upon the
Saffit xxxvii. 6-9. I The signs of the Zodiac keep throne of His glory, and the books of the living
~way the prying demons, the Talmudic story about were opened before Him.' And in the Book of
whom was evidently well known to the Prophet. Jubilus xxx. 22 we read, 'If they transgress and
The idea of a 'stoned Satan' is kept alive in the work uncleanness in every way, they will be re-
ceremony of the l;Iajj, known as the Ramy'l-jamr, corded in the heavenly tablets as adversaries and
the casting of stones at three pillars, representing they will be destroyed out of the book of life, and
three great devils. they will be recorded in the book of those who will
In the Book of Jubilees it is said that the Law, be destroyed.' In Baruch xxiv. I we read, ' For

, See Tlte Faitk of Islam (4th ed.). p. 403.

3i Baiqawl says that this was Sa.Im.an the Persian.
Z]6 THE QUR'AN APOCRYPHAL LEGENDS 217
behold I the days come and the hooks shall be :e~r Ma~, nor with them when they disputed about
opened on which are written the sins of those who It. ThIS agrees with a fable then well known. In
have sinned, and again also the treasuries in which the Prolevangd£um Jacobi Minor£S (second century
the righteousness of all those who have been A.D.) we read, ' He (the priest) gave to each one his
righteous in creation is gathered.' The Apocalyptic rod, and a dove~ came forth from the rod and flew
books were known to the Jews at Madfna and so upon Joseph's head, and the priest said to him
this idea may have been passed on. We find the same "Thou hast obtained by lot to receive the Virgi;
idea in the Qur'an. The deeds of men are said to be of the Lord." 'I
entered in books which will be produced at the In Suratu Maryam xix. 23, 25 it is said, • The
Last Day. Then' He into whose right hand his throes.came upon her by the trunk of a palm ••. and
book shall be given, shall be reckoned with an easy one cned to her, " ~hake the trunk of the palm-tree
reckonin& and he whose book shall be given behind towa~~, thee: It will.drop fr~h ripe dates upon
his back (that is, into his left hand) shall invoke thee:. The legend IS found in the "History of the
destruction' Suratu'l-Inshiqaq lxxxiv. 3-n. !Vativtty of Mary (fifth or ~ixth century A.D.) and
In Tke TestamMt of Abraham mention is made of In the InfttltCY of tiM Saviour. 2
two recording angels; so in the Qur',fu we read of The legend about Christ speaking in the cradle
two fierce angels. Munkarand Nakfr, who visit every ~d of his making birds of clay and breathing life
man in his grave and examine him with regard to mto them (Suratu'l-Ma'ida v. 109-10) is taken from
his faith in God and in Mulummad. I Muslims the ApocrYPhal GosPel of Thomas the Israel£te. S
look forward with great dread to this ordeal. The . In Suratu'n-Nisi' iv. 156 it is said, 'They slew
poet Ma'arn contrasts with it the happy state of the hIm (Jesus) not, and they crucified him not but
Hindus thus : - only his likeness.' 4 This is the view of the G~ostic
The Hindus who cremate their dead and never visit heretic Basilides and of Manes or ManL 5
them again, '- C!lreslomalkiaBai¢awq,ni,z) pp. 28) 159. For the original Greek
Wiu peace from straitness of the grave, and ordeals see YanaMtuJI-Isliim~ p. 133. I

'Z YMUiM/utl~lslam) p. 123.

from the angels twain." , Ibid., p. 140•
The Apocryphal Gospels are made much use of .. Bell in the Oritghi~()f !~l~ in its Clrristian Envlron1Jt£1xt , p. J55 has
some remark~s on IS SlluJect and points out that Muhammad belie ed
in narrating the history of the Virgin Mary, who is that prophets ~w~re alw!lYs d:1iver~ frofl the catastropbe, andvhe
confused with Miriam, the sister of AaJ:on. In kn~ that ~nstlans heliev.e'l III a hvmg Christ. ~ In that, J think, we
h~l,ie sUf!icIent to gene:ate lD ~ul;tammad'smind the account which be
Suratu Ali 'Irnrnn iii. 39 we read, 'To thee (Mu{1am- gIves, ~thout attnOtrtI?g to !rim any intimate knowledge o-f Christian
speculatIOn, or supPOSJng hIm to have been influenced by obscur
mad) do we reveal it, for thou wast not with them sects. Mul).ammad belie"\"e"d in the human nature of Christ and cUd
not acc;-pt t.he norene> view of His person~ though he accepted the
when they cast lots with reeds which of them should concluSlon ~the:re heretICS drew from their principles in denying His
actual ~nt-elfi:X1on.J
1. Su:ratu MuQ.ammad x.lvii. ZB is said to refer to these angels. .$ See Rodwell's Koran, -p. 427 and note- and YanaM<u.tl~lsMm -:Pl"
2 Nkholoou, Studies in Islamic Poetry, p. 13K 149-50 for the exact words of BasiUdes, On the subject of bQn'~wm8
ZS
218 THE QUR'AN ZOROAS1'RIAN SOURCES 219

For an account of the immaculate conception of from Jews, from Christians, from heretics, from
Jesus, see Siiratu'I.Anbiya' xxi. 91; Suratu Ali the Talmud, from Apocryphal Gospels, and from
'Imran iii. 52. I fleeting traditions which he had gathered and stored
The material gained from Jewish Apocalyptic as he went aJ:?out the East on the good Khadija's
literature may have come partly through Christian service. Tales are set down just as he picked them
channels, for after the Fall of Jemsalem in A.D. 70 up and thoughts came into his mind: I
the Jews paid less attention to the Apocalypses, Z The material derived from Zoroastrian sources are
the books of which were preserved by the Christian the night journey (Mi'cij) of the Ilrophet to heaven ;
Church, and it was in popular rather than in official the Muslim Paradise with its !;iUrlS; the light of
Christianity that Apocalyptic was really alive.. So MuJ]ammad (Nfu--i-MuJ;lammadi) and A~-~irat, or
it was easy for Mu.!)ammad to gather some notlOus the Bridge. The night journey is thus described:
of it from Christians in Arabia, with whom at first, , Praise be to Him who carried His servant by night
at least, he was friendly. from the second temple to the temple that is more
In addition to the material collected from Rab- remote, whose precincts we have blessed that we
binical sources, we also find credence given to might show him our signs' (Suratu Bani Isra'll
legends in no way connected with the previous xvii. I). The orthodox view is that 'it was an actual
Scriptures. The fable of the Seven Sleepers and journey, but some hold that it was only a vision and
the story of the meeting of Moses with AI-Khigr, quote in support of their view verse 62 of the same
who is supposed to have lived in the time of Abraham, Sura, 'We ordained the vision that we showed
are given in Suratu'l-Kahf xviii. 8-27, 64-81. All thee.' But whether a vision or an actual migration
the principal Muslim commentators say that, though of the body, the idea of such a journey is ancient.
his name is not mentioned in the Qur'an, AI-Khigr Such an ascension is described in the Aria Vimf,2
is the servant referred to in v. 64. These were in terms very like those of Mu~mmad's ascension.
popular stories in the East, and are now reproduced The Apocryphal Book of Eltoch (xviii-xix) contains
as part of a divine revelation. an account of a wonderful journey away from the
'The biblical lore of the Prophet is a truly earth. These stories were well known in Arabia.
marvellous farrago. It is very difficult to discern In the Meccan Suras the description given. of
with any certainty where he got it; probably he Paradise and the !;iurfs is very realistic. Muslims
hardly knew himself, a bit here, and a bit there; of the Modernist school say that the description
given is purely allegorical, and that the teaching
Christian legends f see article The Muljat!:madan Agrapha in The about them is derived from Zoroastrian sources.
Expository Times for JanuaTY and February,!" 1928~ . .
3. For the views of Muslim commentators confinmng thedoctrine t
see The Historical DeZ!doj)mentoitk {JwY',fn (4thed.),p.40. , Tk British Q«arterl1', April 1877, p. 350.
• See my Tk Apocall'pses, p. 152, nole 2. :2-Quoted in the YanIiM/u~t-lslam,pp. 192-4.
 THE QUR'AN A$-SIRAT 221
Sayyid Amfr 'All says, 'The I;Iurfs are creatures put out their eyes; yet even then would they speed
of Zoroastrian origin, so is paradise, whilst hell in on with rivalry in their path (or ;;iirat)' (Suratu
the severity of its punishment i.s Talmudi.c:! Ya Sin xxxvi. 60). 'Gather together those who
Maulavi Mul;tammad 'All, a Oadiani commentator, have acted unjustly and their consorts and the gods
in a note on Suratu'~-Tur Iii. 20 says that' damsels whom they have-adored beside God and guide them
with large dark eyes' (I;I urfn 'Ainin) means 'pure to the road (~irat) for hell ' (Suratu'~.;;iaffat xxxvii.
beautiful ones,' and that they are plurals of words 28). AI-GhazaIi says that ;;iirat 'is a bridge
which apply also to men, to qualities and good stretched over the back of hell, sharper than a
deeds; that they refer to the' heavenly blessings, sword, finer than a hair. The feet of the un·
which righteous women shall enjoy with righteous believers slip upon it by the decree of God, and fall
men: 'Womenhood stands for a symbol of purity with them into the fire; but the feet of believers
and beauty,' and so as ' purity of character and the stand firm upon it by the grace of God, and they
beautiful deeds of the righteous' are here referred pass into the abiding abode: I This idea of ;;iirat is
to, these \ blessings are described in words which entirely Zoroastrian. It is referred to in the D£wf<art,
apply to women: z It is a clever apology but not where the speaker prays that he may be saved
orthodox nor convincing. from hell and pass over Chinvat (the bridge) and
The notion of the Light of Mul;tammad, the Nux-i· enter the blessed above. The Zoroastrians believe
Mul;tammadi, is important in connection with that after the final judgement, comes 'the awful
Shf'ah claims (ante p. 70). It is not clear whether cT?ssing of the Chinvat Bridge which reaches over
the words' Fain would they put out God's light Hell. It is broad and easy for the soul of the
with their mouths' (Suratu't-Tauba ix. 32) refer righteous man, but when it is crossed by the soul
to the Nur.i-MutJammadi. In the Kltul54atu't· of the sinner it grows narrow and narrower, until
Tafasir it is said that this is a proof that the light at last he totters and falls into the depth of the
of Mul)ammad and the religion of Al;1mad are gulf.'2
permanent. The traditions refer to it. The idea Rabbi Geiger in his famous Essay Was hat
is clearly Zoroastrian. In the Pahlavi Minukltind Jlt!aJwmet aus dem }udentltum aufgenommen 3 shows
and the KhashUa a similar description is given of in various ways to what extent Islam has borrowed
the light of }amshed. 3 from Judaism. He makes it clear how the Prophet,
A~.;;iirat, or the bridge, is referred to in the by the way in which he speaks of various personages
following verses, 'If we pleased we would surely and by the confused order in which he places them,
11!Jya 'ulumu'd-d£n. p. 306~
'1 Spirit of Islam> p~ 394. ~ H'Oart. Ancient Persia (tfu! lra:Jlian Civilizafwn, p. 176.
"Z MauJavi Multammad l Ali. Holy Quran. p~ 1009. ~ An English translation nnderthe title of .Judaism and lsUim. has
3 For the origina~ text see Yana[;f'u' l~bla.m. p. 211. been published by the Diocesan Press, Madras..
222 THE QUR'AN THE SABI'fN 223

had no direct acquaintance with Jewish History.I believers in the true God. They are by some
Some prophets and apostles he ignored altogether authorities supposed to be a remnant of the Jewish
and to meet any charge of lack of knowledge a sect of the Elkasaites, founded by Elkasai about
revelation came. 'We sent down apostles before A.D. 200. He professed to have received direct
you: there are some of them that we have mentioned from heaven a series of revelations which he after-
to you, and there are others whom we have not ward incorporated into one hook, just as MutJ-ammad
mentioned to you' (Suratu'l-Mu'min xl. 78). Under did with the Qur'an. His watchword was' I am a
the terms of Tabut (Ark), Taurat, Janmitu 'Adn, witness over you on the day of judgement,' a position
Jahannam, Abhar, Darasa, Taghtit (error), Furqan,1 MulJ.ammad also took. It would be rash to say that
Ma'un and Malakat, all derived from Rabbinical Mu1;tammad knew of and borrowed ideas from
Hebrew, Rabbi Geiger shows how all the concep- Alkasai, but the coincidence is curious. r
tions associated with these words have passed from In Suratu'l-Muddaththir lxxiv. 5, we read 'The
Judaism into Islam. His demonstration of the abomination-flee it.' The word rujz, whi<;:h Rodwell
great debt Islam owes to Rabbinical Judaism is translates as 'abomination,' the Qamani commen-
complete and convincing. In Suratu'l-Furqan xxv. tato.r translates as 'unclean' and J;:I usayn as' all
6 'we read, ' The Infidels say: "The Qur'an is a sins.' The word is only used once in the Qur'an;
mere fraud of his own devising, and others have but a similar word rijz is used in the sense of
helped him with it.'" Baigawi on this verse says punishment, which confirms J;:Iusayn's rendering of
that by 'others' the Jews are meant. rujz as 'conduct leading to calamity.' Rujz was an
In three places (Suras ~i. 59; v. 73; xxii. 17) the Aramaic Christian word meaning wrath. In the
~abi'in are associated with Jews and Christians as Syriac version of Matt. iii. 7 it occurs in the phrase
:1. The Qur'a.n is named Qur~anu Sharif. noble Qur'an; Qur'anu , the wrath to come.' MutJ-ammad evidently knew
Majid~ glorious Qur'an ; MU~hafJ the Book; the Fnrqan. The latter
term occurs most fl"eq uently in the Madina sUms in the general sense
this use of rujz and used it as meaning' flee from
of illumlnation~ a re'ftclatiou. Some commentators argue from this the wrath to come.'
that the eadier sacred books were to- be interpreted by tbe- Qur'aD,
which being a Furqau, could .explain or .iBuminate them. Such a view There is no evidence that Mu~ammad ever had
ig!lOl'e5the fact that in S-urarn l l-Baqara ii. 50 and in SUratu'I·Anblya'
xxi. 49 the name Furqan is given to the Law of Moses. Rabbi Geiger the Bible before him. The Old Testament traditions·
hi'S shQwn (in Judaism and Islam, p. 41) that the ideaof illumination, recorded in the Qur'an resemble more the em-
or interpretation is not the primary meaning of Furqan, w~ch is
rnther that of redemption or deliveTance~ In Suratu>l-AuMl vlii. 42 bellished Haggadic tales than they do the original
the day of the battle of Badr is: caned l the day of the FurqaD l ' that
is, the- day o-f separation~ or decision. NHtieke considers that the- history, whilst the New Testament ones are quite
Arabic toot furq (""yi) to separate) influenced the meaning of
Furqan. It is derived from the Hebrew word faraq in the sense of
legendary and are similar to the reports of the
deliverance (Ps. c:xxxvi. 24). A similar Syriac word is purgana. or Apocryphal Gospels. The only text from the Old
salvati-on. The Propllet evidently borrowed the word and adapted it
to his own purpose as indicating that in his opinion the Qur',an W"as a
deliverance, redemption, sah'atio-n ., or separation of truth from error.
See Tke Historical Development of tIre QUY' an: p. 114. • See Tke Encyewpmlla of Religion mulEtldes, vol.v, pp. 2tl2-9.
 224 THE QUR'AN ALTERATION OF SCRIPTURE NAMES 225
Testament quoted in the Qur'an is' Since the Law It is -difficult to know why Mu\1ammad altered
was given, have we written in the Psalms that my many Scripture names, unless he used some now
servants, " the righteous, shall inherit the earth" 'I forgotten traditions, such as Azar for Terah,
(Sliratu'l-'Anbiya' xxi. IOS). _ . Abraham's father. In this case in Jewish circles
In Suratu'I-A'raf vii. 156, IS8 Mu1)ammad IS Terah was sometimes called Athar. But why we
called the Nabi'I-Umml, which Muslims generally have JaIut for Goliath; Karlin for Korah; Tal6t
translate as the • Unlettered Prophet' and say that for Saul; Idns for Enoch ; Dhu'l-Khifl for Ez~kiel,
he could not read or write. From this the con- I do not know. He certainly did not get them from
clusion is drawn that, as he could not have written the Old Testament. The confusion of names is
- such an eloquent book as the Qur'an, it must be reffiarkable. Miriam, the sister of Aaron, is con-
the words of God and not his statements; a divine founded with the Virgin Mary ($uratu Maryam
and not a human composition. xi". 28) and Haman is named as a servant of
The Arabic phrase Nabf'1-Ummi 2 bears on this Pharaoh instead of Ahasuerus (Stiratu'l-Q~{l
question. In Suratu'l-Baqara ii. 73 we read 'and xxviii. 38). There is ignorance of the condition of
amono-st them (Jews) are illiterates (ummiyyiin), other lands. The fertility of Egypt is made to
who ~e unacquainted with the Book, but with lies depend on rain, which is seldom seen, and not on
only;' that is, they did not know the Scriptures. the innundations of the Nile (Suratu Yiisufxii.49).
The term Ummi applied to the Prophet would thus S1,lch mistakes are a blot on a book declared to be
mean that he had no previous knowledge of the perfect and to have come down from heaven, and
Bible. It does not mean that, in the general sense they cannot be condoned by the following words,
of the term, he was an ignorant man. In a comment 'We (Alhih) relate unto thee a most excellent
on Suratu'l-'AnkabUt xxix. 47 a Qadiani commen- history, by revealing unto thee the Qur'an, whereas
tator says that •Mu1)ammad had never read the before thou wast one of the negligent' (Suratu
Scriptures of any religion' and 'had not read even Yiisuf xii. 3). ' I (Mu1)ammad) had no knowledge
a single book,' and goes on to argue that in this of the exalted princes when they disputed about the
respect he was superior to all other prophets and creation of man; it is revealed unto me only as a
teachers, and that the source from which 'the proof that I am a public preacher' (S6ratu's-~ad
teaching was drawn was far above the knowledge xxxviii. 67-70).
possessed by any human being.' (Holy Qur'[m, p. Among the Prophet's early converts" were two
784.) It may be admitted that it makes him different Jews, named Jabr and Yasar, from whom doubtless
to other great teachers, but how ignorance can make he gained some iuformation. Hurgronje says;
him superior is extremely difficult to understand. 'Mll1)ammad's account of the past contains more
1 Ps. XX%vii. 29. • u"':>\ ~\ elements of Jewish than of Christian origins, and
29
 eZ6 THE QUR'AN GRAMMATICAL STUDIES 227

he ignores the principal dogmas of the Christian Soon after the death of the Prophet a voluminous
. Church. . • . Yet the influence of Christianity upon literature on the Qur'an was produced. The object
Mu1)ammad's vocation was very great; without the of the philological literature was to construct an
Christian idea of the final scene of human history, Arabic grammar, by seeking in the pre-Islamic
of the Resurrection of the dead and the Last poetry for forms, words, phrases and idioms which
Judgement, Mu1)ammad's mission would have had would throw light on the sacred text; the object of
no meaning.' I the other, which we may call the traditional, was to
The number of foreign words is very great. gather together in the form of commentaries the
They are borrowed from many languages. In the opinions of the Companions of the Prophet.
Mutawakkitby Jalalu'd-Dfn as-Syuti one hundred The influx of foreign converts to Islam rendered
and seven foreign words are enumerated and com- it necessary to compose grammars and to compile
mented on. This valuable book has been translated dictionaries of the Arabic language. The earliest
by W. Y. Bell, Yale University. The Arabic text grammarian was Abu'I-Aswab, an inhabitant of
is also given.'" It incidentally shows how many Ba!?ra and a follower of 'All. One day he found
ideas have been borrowed. 'Alf in deep thought over the faults of language
Tisdall in The Religion oJthe CresCfmt (p. 174), has which he had heard in Ba~ra. 'All directed him to
an interesting note on the word dfn (0''') meaning prepare a grammar. He made some notes, though
religion as coming from the word daena in the he did not publish them till later on, when the
Avesta, where it means law, doctrine, religion. In governor of Ba~ra requested him to do so. The
the phrase 'day of judgement' (Suratu'I-Fati1)a subject received much attention in the reign of the
I. 3) the word dill comes from a Semitic root Khalffa !;Iarun. Al-Kisa'f and AI-Farra, both of
meaning to judge. The Hebrew fo~m also is dill Persian origin, were famous grammarians. The
in Ps. lxxvi. 9. Bell in The Origin OJ Istam itt its former was entrusted with the education of the
Christian E1wironment gives much useful infor- Khalffa's two sons. Al-Ma'mun when he became
mation on this subject. He says of Mu1)ammad Khalffa supplied AI- Farra with a number of copyists
that 'He had rather a liking for introducing and encouraged him in every possible way to prose-
unfamiliar words some of which he explains, others cute his work. Some of the more orthodox Muslims
of which he leaves unexplained, a certain obscurity doubted the lawfulness of these grammatical
being appropriate to a divine revelation' (p. 51). studies as applied to the Qur'an. They looked
He also shows how ~Aramaic and Abyssinian upon it as an undue exercise of private judgement.
words used by Christians have been borrowed. One of Al-Farra's •
pupils, when about to •
dieJ
expressed to a friend doubts as to the proprIety of
1. Moluzmmedanism, p~ 33. his work as a grammarian. His friend had a vision
'2: It is printed by the Nile Mjssl0D Pressf Cairo.
 l!211 Pl.AIN AND Fl(}uRA'1'lVE VERSES

in which he saw the Prophet, who said, • Give my hath sent down to thee the Book. Some of its
greeting to TMlab and say to him, "Thou art verses are perspicuous {mul)kam); these are the
master of the superior science.'" This settled the basis (mother) of the book, and others are figurative
matter and henceforth the study of grammar became (mutashabih). I But those whose hearts are, given
a most praiseworthy occupation. We have already to err, follow its figures, craving discord, craving
dealt with some of its details and so may pass an interpretation; yet none knoweth its inter-
on to consider the second class of literature the pretation but God. And the stable in knowledge
eJ!egetical. say, u We believe in it; it is all from our Lord."
The Companions of the Prophet were believed to But none, will bear this in mind, save men endued
be perfectly acquainted with the interpretation of with understanding.' This is one of the most
the Qur'an. I This knowledge they passed on important verses in the Qur'an; it affords all
orally to their successors, the Tabi'un, who passed excellent illustration of the importance of correct
itto the next generation the Taha'u't-Tihi'lln. The punctuation.
duty of a commentator was to reproduce this in- Here it is clearly stated (r) that no one except
forma\ion, taking care that the isnid, or chain of God can understand the mutasMbih (figurative)
authorities for a given statement, was sound. verses and (2) that wise men, though they know not
According to the commentators the dogmatic the interpretation of such verses, yet believe them
theology of, Islam falls under two heads, u~ul and all. Many learned men, however; say that the full
farn', that is, roots and branches. The former in- stop should not be placed after the word God, but
cludes the doctrine about God; the latter consists after knowledge. The difference will be seen
of truths which result from the acceptance of the thus:-
former. Reason has only to do with the farn'. First Reading Suomi RelZliing
The verses of the Qur'an are divided into two None knoweth its interpre- None knoweth its inter-
classes-the perspicuous, and the figurative. The tation but God. And the pretation but God, and the
authority for this division is found in Sfuatu Ali stahle in knowledge Say, ' We stable in knowledge. They
'Imran iii. 5, which reads thus: 'He it is who believe in it.' say, ' We believe in it.'
, 'i Of these the most famous were (1) Abu ibn 1{a{D f called ~ The On this slight change in punctuation, which shows
Master of the Quz:-tan Readers/ (2) Ibn Mas1ud 1 a combatant at Ba.dr~
He had charge :()~ the shqes~d too~hpick of the Prophet. He learllt that the stable in knowledge can interpret the
the correct way of reciting the Q urI an from the Prophet h1mself. (3) mustashabih verses, opposite schools of theology
AbU: MUsa'u~l-Ash'arl also received and wrote down the Qur'all from
Mul;1a:mmad' :s dictation, His voice was so sweet arid musical that have arisen in Islam. The second reading opens
MuJ;ammad compared it to the soft stmins of the harp of David. (4)
AbiP}-Durda. caned t Tbe Wise arnoDg the Readers.' He became a.
jndge in Damascus and each morning collected a large number of '1 Baiqawi says that this is (in order that the excellence of the
people-in the M03que and taught them the,correc-t way of reciting the- learned may be disp]ayed over them 1 and so their zeal for 16.tlting
gurJin. ' be -encouraged.. J
 ·'1'liE QUR~AN DOCTRINE OFTANZIH 231

the way to a fearless investigation of subjects ;Vhich majority of ,commentators, though there are others
all the early Muslim.avoided as beyond theIr pr~­ who take the opposite view. The scholastic theolo~
vince. Inquiries into the nature of God and ~JS gians· (Mutakallimun) generally adopt the second
attributes were not lawful. The Prophet sald, reading which places the full stop after the word
, Think of God's gifts, not of His nature ;~you have , knowledge: I They- argued thus: How could
no power for that.' I Men should mistr~st ~eir men believe what they did not know? To this their
own perceptive powersand'should obey the InSPIred opponents answered, that the act of belief in the
legislator, Mu1;lammad, who had revealed all that unknown is the very thing here praised by God.
was sufficient for them to know and to do. In the The scholastics then enquired why, sincethe Qur'an
early days of Islam it was held that all parts of the was sent to be a guide and direction to men, were
Qur'an, except the mui;1kam verses and the purely not all its verses mui).kam or perspicuous? The
narrative portions, were mUbshabih, a term which answer was that the Arabs acknowledged two kinds
includes all verses which referred to the attributes of eloquence, one kind was to arrange words and
of God, to the existence of ange Is and genii, to the ideas in a plain and simple style, so that the meaning
appearance of Antichrist, to the period and signs of might be at once apparent; the other was to speak
the Judgement Day, and generally to all matters in figurative language. Now, if the Qur'an had not
beyond the daily experience of mankind. It was contained both these styles of composition, it could
strongly felt that not only must there be no dis- not have claimed the position it does as a book
cussion on them, but no attempt should be made absolutely perfect in form as well in matter.
to understand or to act on them. Ibn 'Abbas, a It is now thatthe doctrine oftanzih (transcendence)
Companion, said, • One must believe the muta~ is brought in. That doctrine is defined to be •a
sMbih verses, but not take them for a rule of declaration of the exemption of God in His absolute
conduct.' 'Ayisha said, 'Avoid those persons who unity from all things.' The logical conclusion is
dispute about the meaning of the Qur'an, for they that it places Him outside the world of things 2 and
are those whom God has referred to in the words, 1. Baiqaw1 says. t Some consider that the letter waw (and) after the
. t 0 err. " , word Goo 15 a copulative c02JjnnctiOD t or waw'I-<atf~ and that conse-
.. Whose hearts are glven quently there is IlO ft1.ll stop after the 'Wore GDd : otbers, nowever, say
The first reading which puts the full stop after that the waw is wawll~i:sti:tnBi and that it must be preceded by a fl1B
stop .and so commence a new sentence. Baiqawi aceepts the second
God is the one accepted by the A~hib, the Tabi'- reading which puts the full stop after knowledge~ Zamakhshari also
accepts this view~ He interprets the verse thus, 'None are directed to
un and the Taba'u't-Tabh:in (the Companions, the Tight interpretation thereof; that interpretaUoD which should be
their successors and their followers) and the great pla.ced upon it, ex'Cept God and those of Hisservants whose knowledge
is profound. ~ The opinion of these famous commentators is of great
value, and in this respect p]a~es the Mu~tazi.1isin tlle right.
zS-o amongst the ninety·nine names of God the Asma'u'l·J:1usna l
'1. This is the Jewish view. (The Rabbis do not incu1ca!e meta- we do not find the name of father. (That the- creature should ever be
physical notions or dogmatic teachings concerning the Qffine Ilatqre.} lifted up to a filial relationship with God the creator seems to con-
Lazarus, 1M Etmu ofJuda;ism, vol. i, p. 114. tradict the idea. of God~ Even when God is called t:pe ,Creator the
 THEQUR'AN CHRONOWGICAL ARRANGEMENT OF sURAS -233

world of thought also, and so leads to agnosticism. which contain the theology of Islam, belong to the
The orthodox theologians saw the difficulty made Meccan period of the Prophet's career, and the
by this dogma, and so they ~a>: that all ~~thropo­ larger ones, relating chiefly to social duties, to the
morphic expressions, such as sItting_and nsmg, fa~e organization of !s-Jam as a civil polity, belong to the
and hands and so on are mutashabih and that theIr time when he was consolidating his power at Madfua.
meaning is known only to God. They cannot even The plan adopted was to place the longer chapters,
bediscussed for, according to a tradition, ' argument generally late ones, first and the shorterones last with-
about the nature of God is blasphemy.'l The out the least reference to their historical setting.
doctrine of tanzfh has been so exagger:ted that .the We have the authority of Jalalu'd-Din As-Syuti for
Muslim idea of the immanence of God IS defectIve, the attempt to place the Suras in chronological
though $Ufiism is a revolt against the orth~ox order. Rodwell has also successfully done this, and
view. Islal)l thus gives no clear and adequate VIew now we can trace the gradual development of the
of the nature of God as both transcendent and purpose Mu1)ammad had in view in establishing the
immanent. theocratic system of Islam. We can now see the
The prevalent explanation of ~al:tammad'.s teaclr. workings of the mind of one who, whatever view we
ing on the Qur'an is that Gabnel brought It down may take of his claims and position, was undoubt-
from heaven and taught the Prophet the exact words edly a very great man, a skilful administrator
ant which he then made known to the Companions, according to an Eastern fashion; one who by the
his 'immediate followers. According to this view, fervour of his appeals and his use of spiritual weap-
accepted by the orthodox in all ages, neither the ons, as well as more earthly ones, attracted and
words nor the doctrine are MUl,lammad's, and so the captivated his hearers. It is impossible to gain an
book is above all criticism. intelligent knowledge of the Qur'an unless we read
The Arabic arrangement of the contents of the it in -its chronological order so far as that can be
Qur'an in its one hundred and fourteen Suras 2 or ascertained. r
chapters, is so confused that it conveys no idea There is a very marked difference in the style of
whatever of the growth of any plan in the mind of the Meccan and the Madfua Suras. The language
the Prophet. As a general rule the shorter Suras, of the latter is more prosaic and the poetic fire so
prominent in the Meccan ones has died out, though
Maker the Fashioner t commentators explain tbat no nearness, of tbe
c~to- the creature is implied in these names. ~ HoImes~ EfJtsfle to there are occasional passages of great beauty. (Ci.
the Hebrews, p.140.
:1 Al~bahath lan dhiittu'll-lih kufr~
., fI.-'-
See also The. .f.at.ta 0 ~am
Suratu'l-Baqara ii. 256; Suratu'l-Hadid lvii. 2-3.)
(4th ed~) • .pp. 238-9 and notes for the opinion o'!- Mushm theologwls.
:1 For this purpose N01deke~s G-escliidtfe des Qprans and SelFs
e Tbe- word is generally suppc*ed to be deTl,:ed fron:: th~ H~brew
Shura. a row. or arrangement. Another pOSSIble d~vatlOn lS the Historical Development of the Qur'lin should be read. The latter
Aramak Surata, which is nsed in the sense of a wntmg, and for a uses the works of Arabic J Pessian and Urdu commentators and is up
to date.
portion of Scripture.
30
 THE QUR'AN PI~CEMEAt. MB'THOD of REVE!.ATION235
Still the later Sums, on the whole, ar( tedious. It. 'The infidels say, "Unless the Qur'an be sentdown to
has been well said that, 'if it were not for the thee all'at once."-But in this way would we stablish
exquisite flexibility of the Arabic language itself, thy heart by it; in parcels have we parcelled it out to
which, however, is to be attributed more to the age thee' (Suratu'l-Furqan xxv. 34). Again we read,
in which the author lived than to his-individuality, 'We have parcelled out the Qur'an into sections that
it would be scarcely bearable to read the second thou mightest recite it unto men by slow degrees, and
pomon of the Qur'an a second time. • •. But, we have sent it down piecemeal' I (Suratu Bani
for the rich eloquence of the old Arabic tongue, Isci'fj xvii. 107). 'The best of recitals hath God sent
which gives charm even to inextricable sentences down, a book in unison with itself, and teaching by
and dull stories, the Qur'in at this period would be iteration' (Suratu'z-Zumar xxxix. 24). The term
unreadable." , iteration' (mathani) has caused much perplexity.
The divisions of the Qur'an, the nature and According to Rabbi Geiger it is derived from the
number of its verses and of its words, and the Hebrew mishnah, to repeat. z The theory of the
variety of its sentences form too technical a subject piecemeal mode ofrevelation proved very convenient,
to deal with here. z Maulavi Mu1)ammad 'Alf, a when previous statements had to be modified, or
Qadiani commentator, asserts that the whole Qur'an abrogated. The Muslims won a great victory over
was committed to writing in the Prophet's lifetime, the Meccans at Badr and this is attributed to God's
and that the present arrangements of chapters and favour. Soon after they suffered a severe defeat at
verses was made under the Prophet's own superin- U:\lud, and the Jews declared that no true claimant
tendence. 3 If this be so, it is difficult to under- of the prophetic dignity had ever been beaten. So
stand why the recensions of Abu Baler and of some excuse had to be given. Suratu Ali 'lmran
iUthman were necessary. It is impossible to con- was then revealed, and it explained that these alter-
ceive that so capable a person as Mul;tammad would nate days of successes and reverses amongst men
have left his book in so unintelligible a form. We were in order that God might know those who
prefer to accept the view of the great theologian believed and, after other reasons given, the Muslims
]alalu'd-Dfn As-Syuti that the book does need re- were assured that their Lord knew all about it and
arranging and that its contents should be placed in they were not to be faint-hearted. 3
proper historical order. In the early Madina verses, when there was a
The Prophet was reproached for not possessing a friendly relationship with the Jews we have, 'Let
complete revelation and answered the reproach thus:
1. The Arabic textIu..y..i' 5Wyl Baiqawl interprets as:~.Jt~t~~
], Stanley Lane-Poole~ Selections fyom the Konm. pp. cv. cvL or ' according to circumstances. J
• On this technical SUbject see Tlu Faith of Islii", (4th .d.), pp. 1l For the critical views of Muslim theologians see The Hist01'icd
84-00. Development of tke Qur'an (4th ea.), p. SO.
3 ?4aulavi Mu~ammad ~ Al1r Hol,· qur'tin, pp. xn-xlit , Ct. verses 134-5 ; 13&--9; 140 ; 145-6; 149; 154; 1QO; 163-5.
 236 THE QUR'AN ON ABROGATION 237
there be no compulsion in religion ' I (Suratu'l- in their stead, or the like thereof' (Suratu'l-Baqara
Baqara ii. 257). 'Verily, those who believe (Mus- it l00).! The Qadianf co=entator denies the
lims) and they who follow the Jewish religion, and doctrine of abrogation, which is accepted by all the
Christians, and the $abians-whosoever of them great Muslim commentaries, including that of the
believeth in God and the Last Dafand doeth that Shf'ah Imam Ja'far Sadiq,2 whose reputation as a
which is right will have their reward with their Qur'auic scholar was high. Professor Macdonald
Lord'2 (Silratu'l-Baqara ii. 59). Later on, when says that 'he has been unable to find in the extant
circumstances changed, we are told that' whoso works of any author one who denies that one part of
desireth any other religion than Islam it shall not be the Qur'an has been abrogated by another and that
accepted of him and in the next world he shall be of such has been the consistent agreement (Ijnia')
those who perish' (Suratu Ali 'Jmran iii. 79). from the first.''' In the Holy Qur'!in (the Qadiani
This is said to abrogate all verses which enjoin Tafsir) p. 54, it is said that the word Ayat here
attention to previous Scriptures. Again,' 0 ye translated verse really means a message or com-
who believe take not the Jews and Christians munication, and so not a verse of the Qur'an, 'but
as your friends' (Suratu'J-Mi'ida v. 56). Another the message of the law given to the Jews ••• now
instance of a change of. action, requiring a second abrogated to give place to one better.'
revelation, ' according to the circumstances,' is the Now, as the Prophet had never learnt the law of
change of the Qibla from Jerusalem to Mecca. Moses, he cannot be said to have forgotten it;
The doctrine of abrogation is founded on the whereas he might easily forget a verse of the
verses 'When we change one verse for another, Qur'an. This commentator airily dismisses the
and God knoweth the best which He revealeth ' opinions of the greatest Muslim theologians of the
. (Suratu'n-Nal)l xvi. 103) and' Whatever verses we past, as ' based on mere conjecture.'4
cancel or cause thee to forget, we give thee better In Suratu'l-Baqara ii. 234 it is said that a widow
must be supported for four months and ten days,
:1 According to Muslim commentators this does not lay down a
general principle of toleration. It is said to- refer to two lads who were after which responsibility for her support ceases;
led astray by 8 Syrian Ere-.worshippe.r. Their father wished to
restrain them. but Mu:Qammad would not allow him to interfere. As but in v. 241 the obligation lasts for one year.
regards Jews1 $abiins and Christians there is to be no interference so Imam Ja'far $adiq says that the earlier verse
long as they pay the jjzya~ or po-ll·tax ; as regards the Arabs, the com-
mentator I:Iusayn says that the verse 1S abrogated by the ~ verse of the abrogates the latter one. 5 A tradition related by
, km~ngr I whi<:h reads thus, ~ KHl them wherever ye find them I
{St1rntutl~Baqara ii. 181}. Baiq£wl says the verse ~ 0 Prophet, contend
against the infidels and hypocrites and be ngorc'Us with them ' :l On the whole question of abrogation see The. Faith. of isltim-
(SUratu't-Tauba ix. 74) abrogates the milder ve-rse~ For the original (4th ed.), "".101-9.
authorities for the above, see The Historical Development of the ~ Sayyid Maqbul AJ).mad's Tafsir, voL 1, p. 21 note.
Qttr'ifn, pp. 175-6. 3 The Moslem World, October 1917, p.420.
:r; For MusHm views, see Op. tiL {4th -ed.), pp. 77-8. Bro98.Wl says • See C7itici'mof" Qlidi{i"i Comme"t"7Y, pp. 3-5 (C.L.S.)
that the words' doetb what is rigM r mean ( enter Islam with sincere S Sayyio MaqMl AQmad's Tafs;r. p. 61. For a notable case of
entrance. 1 abrogation, seemy Life 0-[ Muljammad, p. 204.
 1'HS QUR'AN NEED FOR A RECENSION 239

Ja'bir states that M~ammad said,' My words do for adultery is one hundred stripes, r but as a matter
not abrogate the words of God, but the words of of fact stoning is the Mul;tammadan legal punish-
God abrogate mine, and some of the words of God ment for adultery and no other qasis for it is known
abrogate others.' r except this verse which 'Vmar withdrew. This
The various portions which now-form the Qur'an seems to show that he had good authority for his
were recited by the Prophet during a period of statement. Anyhow its omission shows the care
twenty-three years, but were not collected into a taken with this recension.
book during his life-time. Individual hearers wrote It seems to be an open question whether the
down passages on palm leaves or on other materials. Prophet intended to make a book. He seems to
The great store-house of the Qur'an was also the have been satisfied with reciting portions from time
marvellous memory of the Arab people. I t was an to time, and then leaving their permanence to the
act of great reverence to recite portions at each act memory of his hearers. This theory receives some
of worship and its committal to memory was an act support from Zayd ibn Thabit's reply to Abu
of great merit. A collection was then made. Bakr's request that he should collect the portions
Zayd was assisted by Anas bin Malik and others recited by the Prophet. He said, 'What right
and the work whilst in progress was superintended have I to gather in the form of a book what the
by 'V mar, who, it is said, accepted nothing as part Prophet had never intended to transmit to posterity
01 the Qur'an which had not been written down and by this channel? And since the Prophet never
which was not testified to by two persons. A case designed to give his message in this way, is it a
in point is the stoning verse, • The married man and lawful work that I am commanded to do? '
the married woman when they commit adultery then But something had to be done, for shortly after
stone them without doubt: 'Vmar said he could the death of the Prophet, at the battle of Yemana,
not vouch for this, but that he would luve inserted many of the Qur'an reciters were slain, which
it had he not feared that he might be charged with caused 'Umar, afterwards the second Khallfa, to
having added something to the Qur'an. He himself fear lest the true text should be lost. With some
knew the verse, but could not nnd corroborative difficulty he persuaded the KhaHfa Abu Bakrtoorder
testimony.2 The punishment decreed in the Qur'an a proper collection to be made. 2 In order to do
'1. Mis~ktitu}l-IJlu~aM.I.t, Book 1~ A llst of the abrogated and the
abrogattog verses 15 glVetl. by Hughes in his Dicti'otUlry of Islam that one of the matters concealed was the r-J ~1-~ the verse of
~-
z- See N61deke. Gesckichie des Qorans, p. 194. Marg-onm.ltb sta.tes'
stoning '-which was in the Pentateuch. Tafsir-i-Q1Isayni} vol it p~
14a~ Baiq.awt vol. i. p. 257.
that. 'Ayisha said that this verse: .in which stoning was enjoined as a :1 The verses are in SUTatu n-Nur xxiv. 1-4.
1
These and the suc-
pumshment for adu1tery$ was on .a slip (of parchment) deposited ceeding fOt1T verses are said to have abrogated the verse of ston~ng
under hex bed a:,d was afterwards lost. MoJ;ammad. p. 219. which ~Umarhesitatedto put permanently in tbe QUI'an.
In commentatmg on S-Gratu'1-Mii 1 joa v. 13, in which the Jews are :l According to Mir Khoud (Ran(jalu)t-$afa. Part II, vol. m. p. 4I}
charged with concealing their SCriptUT~. I:iusayn and BahJawr say , When" bli Ballr he;mJ 9£ the disaster of the battle he feared lest too
 THE QUR'AN DESTRUCTION OF QUR'ANS 2'!1

this, Zayd ibn Thabit, an intelligent young man, was Mas'ud, I thepeople,of Ba~ra by those of AM Musa,
requested to do the work, which after some hesi- so great confusion arose. This led the Khalffa
tation he did. When it was completed one copy 'Uthman to order a new recension to be made, He
came into the possession of l;Iafa~a, a daughter borrowed fro~ l;Iafa~a the copy in her possession
of 'Vmar and a widow of the Prophet. This and had copies made of it for the use of the revisers.
recension was the accepted copy for ten years, when The learned men from amongst the Quraysh of
it was superseded by 'Uthman's recension. Still, Mecca set to work and took Abu Bah's compilation
though no copies are now extant, it was of great as the basis of their work. When the work was finish-
importance, as it formed the basis of the revised ed 'Uthmandestroyed all the existing copies,2 except
edition. Zayd apparently from day to day heard the one in the possession of l;Iafa?a. This, however,
verses recited, and received, on the testimony was secured and destroyed later on by Marwan, the
of two witnesses, some verses which had been governor of Mecca, lest it should cause doubts in the
written down by those who heard the Prophet minds of the people. 3 Zayd, the convenor, when
deliver them. One day it would be an inhabitant there was a difference of opinion, had to give way
of Mecca, another day a man of Madina. All these to the views of the Quraysh members, or finally to
verses were mixed up together, regardless of the decision of the Khalffa. 4 Thus the Qur'an was
chronological order. Zayd, though lacking in histo- :1 0r:e of the Prophet's sayings is thus recorded:. ~ Whoever wishes
to r,:clte tbe QU!'a~ correctly and with elegance} let him follow the
rical insight, seems in his task to have exercised readmg of Ibn Mas·ud. ~ When a new recension was undertaken Ibn
Mas';td refnsed ~ give up his copy to the revision committee~ )The
care, but he put the various passages together Khalifa CRused lum to be so- severely be2iten that he diecL-Journal
without much regard to their sense, or to their Asiatique Decembre, 1&1$, p. 385.
3. Sir 'Abdu~r-Ra3)1msays that' 'Ufuman caused all tlle remainmg
historical order; still, if his intellectual faculty was editions to he destroyed, and it is due to this fact that at the present
day only. one authoritative and un.ifcrm text is in use throughout
slight, his honesty of purpose may be admitted. the Musili;' woold.' (MulJammadtm Jurisprudence, p. 2IJ)
!U~ll ~J ! I am accused of having burnt Qurans J but by
The people, however, went on reciting the thus proceedIng I aimed at the extinction of differences among the
Qur'an as they had been accustomed to do and paid people with regard to the word of Gait' (.Randatt"'$~Safa, Part ii
vol. iii) p. 166.) . . ,
little attention to Zayd's arrangement. Then at The Shl(ahs say that this burning of the Qur'an was a great crime.
H;qqu'l-Y.a!llu J quot€~ i.n Journal Asiaiique, Decemhre, 1848, p. 384-.
the battle of Kadesia (A.D. 637) a great many 'l~e entre may falr-1y ask why, :if the first recension of Zayd
~oDtalned the actual words of Mul}ammad, he did not re-establish
Qur'an reciters (Qurd') were slain, amongst whom It <;tnd why a ue,: recension. was needed~ If the memory of the
. were the best reciters. So various discrepancies reCIters wt:o contributed to tbe :first !'ecension was defective, what
guarantee ~s there that the memory of the reciters listened to in the
arose even amongst the most intelligent reciters. preparation of the serond recension was more accurate.
~ Zayd wished to write Sf-G with S, the Khalifa said !do it with ~,J
The inhabitants of Hims stood by the readings of as ~~\;, in order to agree with the Quraysh dialect~ This is rather an
AI-Miqdad, the men of Kufa by those of Ibn unfortunate illustration. as "Io::.>J?~ 2S not .an Arabic w-ord. for Mu1;Iammad
bor;owed it from Rabbil?:kal' Hebrew. See Ge-igeT. Judaism and
words of the Lord Most High should he hlotted out from the minds of Isliim, p. 31. On the difrerences amongst the revisers see 1M
the people and so ordered the Qur'au to be collected,' AjJoiogy of at-Kindi, edited by Sir William Muir, pp, 26-&
31
242 THE QUR'AN THE SEVEN D1ALECTS 243
preserved in the Meccan dialect. The Khalffa the Mosque one day Abu ibn ]{a'b, heard men
collected all the revelations he could procure and reciting the Qur'an in different ways and spoke to
apparently took great pains. Ibn Zubayr says that Muhammad about it. The Prophet said, '0 AbU ibn
he read to •V thman the verse •such of you as shall Ka'b, intelligence was sent to me to read the Qur'an
die and leave wives shall bequeath their wives in seven dialects, and I was attentive to the Court
a year's maintenance' (Suratu'l-Baqara ii. 241), of heaven and said, " Make easy the reading Ot the
and then pointed out to him that the time limit Qur'an to my sects.'" The instruction came:
had been abrogated by verse 234 which prescribed 'Read it in seven dialects: 'Vmar said that he
only 'four months and ten days,' so why had complained to the Prophet about a man who recited
he written it. The Khalffa said, '0 nephew, in a manner from that which he adopted. The man
leave it, I will not change anything from its was beaten by 'Vmar's orders, but he declared that
place:' he recited just as he had heard the Prophet do..
Muslims believe that the Qur'an is perfect and When MuJ;iammad heard of the dispute he said,
complete-' A book whose verses are established 'In truth the Qur'an is revealed in seven dialects,
in wisdom and then set forth with clearness ' read it in as many ways as you can." A tradition
(Silratu Hud xi. r); but the fact that 'Uthman and recorded by Muslim states that the Prophet said,
his company of revisers had to consider a variety of 'This Qur'an was sent down in seven dialects.
readings, to weigh their authority and, if necessary, Recite in whichever of them is easy for you: This
discard them in favour of the Meccan readings removed all difficulty and the foresight displayed
caused much scandal. But a way was found out
of the difficulty. Abu ibn Ka'b, one of the 1- Journal- Asiat£que, Decembre. 1S43, p~ 378. This tI'adition con-
cerning the 'seven readings.' is Teferred to in wen-known books
companions (A~l;1ab) of the Prophet was very thus ; -
famous as a Qur'an reciter. 2 The Prophet had <oJ;' .·t- ~ 01jiE\ j}l-< The Qur'an was revealed in seven:
said, 'Read the Qur'an under Abu ibn Ka'b: In readings ~ (words) .-Miskk5tu'l-Mastibi4. .
=~ C-- & 0Y!\ Jj,-, The Qur'an was revealed III seven
'A Q£diani commentator. (Haly Qur~", p. HZ) .ratl:ler 3>- diaiecls" }-MaftfU'Cu'l-0iftra'ib~ _ ....c. __
conclusivelyarg-Jes.that there~s no abrogatI;m. T~e Sh.3'ah Imam _ ~

Ja~far ~adi.q (Sayyld Maqb111 Alfmad's !aJszr, vol. 1, p. Zl) says Ibn uw. <oJ\.S y.s <oJ)'>' ' - ~ (:)\j!\ Jj-' The Qnr'an des-
Zubayr was right as regards the abrogatwQ.
2 Otber reciters who were considered by the Prophet to be good cended mth seven read.in~, an perfect anrl sacred/-J!;Ialmt1{l~'I­
were ~Abdtl'llah ibn Mas'{!:n~ Salim bin Ma:Qal' Mu~aL bin JabaL RiMr.
Their knowledge of the PropheCs words was so correct that he said, It is said that the seven dialects were those of the Quraysh~
~ Leam the Qur'au from them.' Zayd outlive? them all. Syu}1. HawaQbin, 'rai, Hazil, .f:Iimyar, Shaqif and Yarnan. Others say that
(It'1iin, L 88) says that of the companions (A~~ah) of the Prophet t:te- I seven readings' represent seven differe.ot copjes, of which two
seven we-re celebrated as Reciters, namely, ·Uthman. tAli, Ubay, were in use in Madfna, o.oe in Mecca, one in Ktifa, one in Rafra, one
Zayd 1 Ibn M..as~udl: Abu Dard:ay, Abu Musat~ll_Ash~art From in Syria, and one caned the ~ common eclition l which is: the one now
them the knowled~e- descend-ed to their sue~f known as the in 'USe. .M"nza ~m Beg points cut that tills last e-:o:planatlon is
fQ-llo-wers t untenable, as the- seven different copies did not come into existence
until after. the death of the Prophet.
244 THE QUR'AN OMISSIONS ANb ALTERATIONS

by the Prophet in thus obtaining a divine sanction seven famous QaTis. It is an extraordinary feat of
for the various ways of reciting the ~Qur'an was memory.
looked upon as a proof of his inspiration. Thus Probably 'Uthman made the best recension
arose the Haft qira'at, or' seven readings' of the possible, but there are traditions about omissions
Qur'an which are now recognized. They are called and alterations in it. Ubai ibn Ka'b is said to have
after the seven men most famous as Qur'an reciters. r brought Suras cv and cvi together and to have added
Each one is called a Qarf, a reader, and each one two new ones, called Suratu'l-Khala and Suratu'j·
had two disciples, caned Rawls, or narrators. Hafd. These are: '0 God, we pray thee for help
'Uthman's Qur'an had no vowel points and great and forgiveness; we praise Thee and are not un-
differences in pronunciation arose. In course of thankful towards thee, and we let go and forsake
time public opinion settled down on two of the every one who trespasses against thee.' '0 God,
styles as most appropriate. The reading style of we serve thee and to thee do we pray, and thee do
I;faf~, a Rawi, or disciple of Imam 'A?im, is we worship; we hasten to thee; we strive after thee ;
followed in India, and that of Imam Nan in Africa we hope for thy pity, and we fear thy punishment:
and Arabia. ]alaIu'd-Din in his commentary The oldest book in which N61deke found these
follows the qira'at of the Qm Imam AbU 'Umar. verses is one written in the fifth century of the Hijra.
Those who belong to the legal school (maMab) of One objection raised against them is that in them
Ash-Shafi'i also prefer the same qiri'at. 2 In many man addresses God and not God man, but Suratu'l-
cases the meaning is not affected, though sometimes Fiti];la (i) is similar in style, and in any case the word
there are disputes about them. The vowel points , say' may be understood as preceding the petitiQn.
(Y\J"\) were invented by Khalil ibn Al;Jmad of Ibn Mas'ud's copy omitted Suras i, cxiii and
Ba{;ra, who was born A.D. 718. He is said to have cxiv. 'Ali's copy is said to have been arranged
been the inventor of the hamza, a semi-guttural chronologically SUra xcvi being put first, but as it
consonant in frequent use. A good I;fafi~ must be is not extant, it is impossible to say whether the
conversant with an the different readings of the statement is correct. Ibn Mas'ud, a Companion,
1. These are 1min;'. ibn Kawr; Imam "~; Imam Abu IUrnar;
refused to give up his copy to the Revision
Imare Hamza; Imam Nan; Imam K:fua.'i; Imam ibn ~ Amir. Sy6!lt Committee. The Khalifa was angry and publicly
Itq6n, i. 92.
2- These variants are divided into severa! classes, ac-eordiDg to the chastised him, an act which was strongly dis-
authority on which they rest and the value they consequently possess.
They.,-e:- approved of. The Shl'ah objections to the recension
(I} Qirat. when it JS based OD: the direct authority of one of the were strong. 'Ali said that he received from the
seven Imams..
(2) Riwayat t when some one giVe1>: H; quotingihe authority of Prophet a copy. He refused to lend it to 'Umar,
t)ue.lmam..
is) Tariq1 when mentioued by some learned man. saying that it was accurate and could not be
(4) Wajab~ when the reader may choose between the various
readings~ See Byutt, liqt$n, i. 93-7. changed. It would be kept until the coming of
 SURATU'N-NURAIN 247
· THE: QU~.' AN
punishments of the Last Day. These two lights (proceed)
Imam Mahdf. I If this is so, the question naturally the one from the other.' Truly, I am the Hearer, the
arises why 'AJf couJd not get it sanctioned as the Knower. .
authoritative one. His rivals were in the majority, For those who obey the orders of God and of His
and he could not circulate his copy, or have gotten Prophet, for them, according to these verses, there is a
it accepted, unless he could have caJ.led in 'Uthman's Paradise of delights; but those who disbelieve after they
copy, a thing impossible to do. After the troubles have believed, and who break their promise and that which
the Prophet had stipulated for them, shall be cast into
which arose over the assassinations of 'All and
Hell.
his sons, the Shf'ahs accepted 'Uthman'srecension. They wha have injured their own souls and have been
and defend their position by saying that the disobedient to the executor of the Prophet" (i.e., 'All), they
complete copy will be revealed when Imam Mahdi shall drink of the scaldmg water.
comes. Some, however, claim that certain alleged Truly, God is He who gives light to the heavens and to
verses now omitted are still authoritative, and the earth, and who chooses the angels, the prophets, and
who makes believers; they are His creation, He creates
charge 'Umar and 'Uthman with having suppressed
what He wills; there is no god but He, the Merciful and
or altered them. Z I have given a list of these on Gracious.
pages 64-5- But the most serious charge in the Truly, those who were hefore them have deceived their
complete omission of a whole Sura, the Suratu'n- prophets. I have punished them for their deceit, and my
Nlirain, or the chapter of the Two Lights, that is, pnnishment is severe and strong.
MU1;lammad and'Ali. It is as follows;- Truly, God has destroyed 'Ad and Samud 3 ou account of
what they did and has made them as a memorial to you, bnt
SURATU'N-NuRAIN
ye did not believe. And He did the same with regard to
In the name of God, the Mercifnl, the Compassionate.
o ye who believe, believe in the two lights we have
sent :L A :reference to- the Shf"ah interpretation of Snratu Had xl. 20,

down, who have recited our signs imd warned you of the according to which' Ali proceeds from Mul}ammad.
;l Journal Asiatique, Decembre, 1843, p.387. Shilabs say that the 2'
L\ Jr-) ~,-executor
'All..IS called au $
of the Prophet of God.
ori¢nal Qur' an. is in the keeping of the Hidden Imam 1 and has
U!1dergolle ?O chau~ or co.rrupti:~:m: 'Aq{i 1idn'sk-SM<a, quoted in ~ The tnee of 'M dwelt to the north of Me'tca and that of Samna
Brown!~s Ltterary H'1StOY"/ of Pers1.a 'Ln Modern Times, p~ 38L near by. The prophet Hud was rejected by the !Adites and the
'ZSm\ihssay that Mul:lammad 1 s SecretaIy.t 'Abdu'lliih. bin Sa'd prophet $&111.> hy the $amudites. These men were probably JewIsh
eorrnpted the text and refer to S1ratu, 11-Au l am vi. 53.. There seems teachers or Christian evangelists. The destruction of the tribes is
some truth in this, as hewas one of the ten persons proscribed at the referred to in SU:ratu'l~A'cif vH. 71-7, and the Suratu~l-Fajr
t;aking of Mecca. See Rodwell's g",.,&" page 325, and the T<Z1!r'if- lxxxix.5-13. MuJ;ammad attributad tbe disappearance of these tribes
to supernatural caUS€S1 but a very simple explanation of the fact cau
t-Qrw'"an f p. n5~ Chapter ill of this boOK statesf but .in terms to
general to be .of m~cl1 usef the ShFah con!entio.o. that cba:oges-. be giveD-. The Roman mercbants, by opening up direct communi-
adverse to theIr c:Iaims t were made. Bu~n and .Muslim record a -cation between the Indian Ocean and Suez. destroyed to a great
Tradition that io. his last illness Muhammad wished to write and extent the caravan trade of Arabia. Syria and Northern Arabia also
said l f Come here that I may write for you a writing that after me became the arena of conflict between Persia and Byzantium~ The
you may ~ot go astray~t fUmar would not bring the writing materials whole country feU into disorder, cities wer~ ruined and the people
and nothmg was done. Sunms say that he simply wished to write in large numbers returned to- a wandering life and some tribes
somecommauds and prohibitions; Shi<ahs say that he wished to re- disappeared altogether-~ Mu1):ammad made skilfulu5e of a perfectly
affirm the snccessi.on of t-All aDd that !Uma:r prevented it. I Cannot natural event to show how divine veogeance followed a pe.ople who
vouch for the genU11leII.eSS of the ']:'raditio-n. tout I give it for what it is rejected a prophet. Assuming; that this sUra is genUine, it is a warn-
worth~ ing to people who might be tempted to reject him~
248 THE QUR'AN SURAT'UN.NURAIN 249

Pharaoh for his opposition to Moses and his brother Aaron. till the day of resurrection. Be patient, they will be pun-
He drowned him and all who followed him as a sign to you, ished. We have sent thee an order, as we did to precedin~
yet most of you are perverse. Truly, God will gather them prophets. We have appointed to thee a successor from
together in the day of resurrection, and they will not be able among them: perhaps they will return. He who t~
to answer when questioned; for them is the Hell, for God from my order, from him I will turn, they get but llttle
is Knowing and Wise. benefit from their unbelief. Do not ask about those who
D Prophet [ publish my warnings, perhaps they will break the law.
follow them. In truth, they who turned from my signs o Prophet! We have made for thee a compact on the
and my orders have perished. As to those who keep thy neck of those who believe; possess it and be of the number
covenant, I reward them with the Paradise of delights. of those who are thankful.
Truly, God is the pardoner and the great rewarder. Truly, 'Ali is constant in prayer at night making the
Truly, 'Ali is one of the pious men, and we will restore prescribed prostrations, and he fears the Last Day and
his rights to him at the Day of Judgement. We are not hopes for mercy from his God.
ignorant of the injustice done to HOO. We have exalted Say,' How can those be compared who.make tyranny, and
hOO above all thy family, and he and his posterity are those who know my troubles.' They wlll place charms on
patient aud his enemies are the chief of sinners. their necks and they win repent of their works.
Say to those who have disbelieved after they had be- We gave good news to thee of pions descendants: and
lieved, ' You have sought the glory of worldly life and have they will not be disobedient; my peace and my mercy lS.0n
hastened to galn it, and have forgotten what God and His them, Hving or dead, and on the day when they shall rise
prophet promised )TOU, and yon broke the promises after a again. My anger is on those who after thee transgress
strict order about them.' We have given you examples, amongst them. Truly, they are a bad people and will
perhaps, you may be guided. wander from the right way; but those who go on in the
D Prophet! We have sent thee manifest signs; in them way, on them is my mercy and they will be safe in the lofty
are shown who will believe on him ('Ali) and who after room s (of Paradise).
thee will turn away from him {' Ali). Praise be to the Lord of both worlds. Amen.
Turn from them; certainly they tnrn aside and certainly The following is the Arabic text of this Sura.
we will summon them on the Day (of Judgement), when J
nothing shall avail them and no one shall pity them. Truly,
there is a place for them in Hell and they shall not return.
C 'iZ

~}I ~}I ~J
,
, C IS!-

r-:
'
c

Praise the name of thy Lord and be of those who worship

Him.
~1;~; ~"i ;<~r;: ~I~ c...o. 03;, ';'j;n\4 ~I 1;'::1 ~rl\ ~,~
Truly, we sent Moses and Aaron with what was needed ~lh ~\O' ~J;;
- - U\:' ~ ~ l~~~;, ~1;; Oll';:.:C e';. ";')l;
;;..:.r
and they rebelled against Aaron, Patience is good, so we ~ ::.

changed them to monkeys and pigs'! and have cursed them

~ 1;<2., ~~I; 0" ;,.: .;,~ ~''':~\ ~ ;:J;.:); ~I ~ ~,J;'
Su.ratu'l-Baqara ii. 62; Snrntu 11-M8: 1ida. v. 65; Su:ratu'l-A~:raf
Ol'; ~\~ ;,r~ ~J;}\~.>AG.\"-">~~ ;~.WI \;:';\c.~
1
vii. 166.
III t:1le first aDd third of these references. the punishment is awarded
on. account of Sabbath breaking, in the second for the rejection of Aaron. The o:rthoo-ox leaders,. therefo!e, hold this 1?.assage to be
the Scrlptures. It is .oct in any way connected wHb Moses and spurious and so the whole Sura to be \'010 of any 3utll-onty.
32
250 THE QUR'AN SURATU'N-NURAm '251

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Ji 0' ~;.;J\ ;~l ~;.; ';1; 0<); ;,~Q ~J; ifi; 0" 0:;:i M. Garcin de Tassy, in a foot-note to MhZ<!
K~im Beg's article, expresses the great joy he feels
~: ~~t:.::~r 3 d:'>.l\ 1; ;.J\ ~. ;~\, > 1':;1 C. ~ \.( -:,.• J,
.,." ta_,..--,--
-.' , - - -}'" ' ,yo- ""::-: at the discovery of this unknown Sura, I and he
evidently considers that it is not to be lightly set
;J:>14~ ~ ; "io>:,_:7'1 ~ ~ :.,-;iq,;;;;-; i; 61"":'; ; ~I ~; Co aside. He thinks that there is nothing improbable
~ ~ =G; =~l .iJ1 8;1 ~
- '1& - '"
J, ';1\ ~1 ~ 0 i:;,~ ~ JS;!I in the idea that it was recited by Mul;tammad and
{", .. e.- _ "_"J' _ e..- s:> .. ~___ c" .. that it formed part of 'All's copy; but he does not
","< <:I"
"I~ ;;<_ (,.. 0;. _ _ '" .0$-...-_ (,_

,.~I l; rO"" <"p!"IJ 0;1; <:1,)04 .,,)~ 0: .;)j""! <:1", .. "':"'" consider himself bound to uphold its authenticity,
o 0;':''); ~§; :~ ;;.;. ~~ rft ~ ~ ~;:;;,; ~ ti\ 0$ 0i,F·
G
%. Je suis. eharme d'avoir appe-le attention des orientalfstes sur le
efta-pitre au Coran inco1l-fUt jusqu'a 1tepoque on je Ie publiai~ Pan
~; ~ ~~ ~~ -, 0 6 0,i~i ~ >c.\i~ ;-.,. d_~ ~l pas.-;;e, pour Ia premiere f!iis~-Journal Aslafique, Decembre, l843,
p.427.
252 THE QUR'AN CRITICISM ESSENTIAL 253

while on the other hand he declines to say that it is needs to be very much modified; but they do not
a forgery. prove that the present copies are not authentic. We
On the whole, the weight of evidence seems to be , may accept these recensions as the work of men who
against the Shi'ah claim. 'Ali and his followers dealt faithfully with the material before them, and,
were a powerful body during the Khalffate of jf there are omissions, we may believe that they
'Utl!n'illn; they must have known very well what- were unintentional. The real drawback to the
ever the Prophet had said about 'Ali; and it is not inestimable value of the Qur'an, as a contemporary
easy to believe that, powerful,as they were, they record of the Prophet's actions, is its bad arrange:
would have allowed 'Uthmin to suppress all such ment, which makes it very difficult to follow the
passages. Then when 'All became KhaJita he development ofthe Prophet's mind. Nothing is lost,
could, if he had so willed, have produced his copy but much is to be gained, by a reverent criticism of
of the Qur'an. The passions raised by civil war the Qur'an. A book, which commands the reverence
were already so strong, that it is not likely that such of so many millions of the human race is worthy of
an action as that would have so increased them as to the closest critical study, for, 'at the present day
lead to still further danger to the Khalffate. The every literary product of a past age is subjected to
fact is that the cult of 'All, a most curious and a minute and searching examination before it can be
interesting phase of religious thought, is of very assigned to its proper place in history; and before
much later growth; and when it developed it needed the contribution it makes to history and to the
all the support that these supposed revelations could development of life can be properly appreciated.' I
give it. The Qur'an is the great bond of union between
The Qadiani commentator dismisses the Shl'ah aU the sects of Islam. Men may differ on the
claim in his usual contemptuous manner by calling expression of some difficult passages; in the details
their views absurd and says of Jalalu'd-Din Syuti, of its exegesis there is some variety; but all rever-
author of the Itqml, that he is 'looked upon as the ence the letter, though they may not imbibe its
last person on whom any reliance can be placed.' spir'it. It has given rise to a vast and varied litera-
He also says concerning the Shi'ah statement about ture. Its decision is final in all controversies of
omissions in the Qur'an that it 'is largely the faith. Side by side with it has grown up a vast
ignorant masses' that think so. I body of tradition, on which the Sunna-a most im_
The way in which the various recensions were portant factor in the religion of IsJam--is based;
made and the need for them shows that the Qur'anj but the most interesting of ali studies to the young
like other ancient books, is open to criticism, and Muslim is still the Qur'an, its grammar and its com-
that the orthodox mechanical view of inspiration mentaries. Every Muslim must learn some portion
:I. C011tcniw Veritas~ p. 22.
254 THE QUR'AN JUZ, RUKU' AND RAK'AT 255
by heart, and to learn the whole is an act of great were invented. The Waqf-i-Ghufrin, the pause of
merit. This feat, however, will be of little use pardon, is one of great merit. It is observed in
unless the I;Iafi?, when reciting it, observes all the nine places r and he who does so, according to a
rules and regulations framed for such an act. This tradition, will enter into paradise. There are many
reciL.l is called tiliiwat, -but before anyone can mOJ:e -symbols, which we need not mention as they
recite correctly he must have some acquaintance do not affect the sense.
with what is called'Ilmu't-Tajwfd. This includes Muslims, when quoting from t4e Qur'an, if they
a knowledge of the punctuation and pecuJiarspelling wish to indicate the position of the verse quoted,
(Rasmu'l-KhaH) of the Qur'an. The subject is too name the juz and the rubl', not the Sura and verse,
technical to enter fully upon here, so I only give a so the juz must be marked in the margin. A juz is
brief outline of the subject. r one-thirtieth part of the whole book. Each juz has
The object of the special punctuation is to show a distinct name, the first word of each portion
the reciter where proper pauses are to be made. serves for this purpose.
These pauses are elaborated in great detail. Each The term ruku' literally means a prostration.
has its appropriate symbol, which is written (or The recital of verses from the Qur'an, ascriptions of
printed) in the text of the Qur'an. Thus a neces· praise to God, and various ritual acts connected
sary pause is called Waqf-i.liizim (rj ) '-';}} and its with these constitute one> act of worship called a
sign is j' In Suratu'l-Baqara ii. 7' yet are they rak'at. After reciting some verses in a rak'at, the
not believers j' Pain would they deceive God. ' if worshipper makes a ruku' or prostration. The
there were no waqf after believers it would seem as portion recited is then called a ruku'. Practically
if believers would deceive God. Waqf-i-Mutlaq it isa division of about ten verses. It is compara-
(Jho -.oj}} is used where its absence would affect tively easy to verify a quotation if the juz and the
the sense. Thus,' King of the day of reckoning thee ruku' are named, but few Muslim authors give such
only do we worship' (Stiratu'l-Patil;ta i. 3-4). The directions. Every theologian is supposed to know
sigJ;l of this waqf is b and so we read' King of the the Qur'an by heart, and so it is considered quite
day of reckoning 10 thee only do we worship.' The superfluous to give chapter and verse, or juz and
reason is that between the expression of God's ruku', in connection with the quotation. ln the
attributes and man's need, a pause must be made. Qm-'an the number of the ruku' is noted in the
margin. 2
Some pauses are optional, the signs of which are 'lr
and ). These are a]] ancient; in later days others 1.Sums v. 56; vi. 36 ; xxx-zit 18; xxxvi. 11~ 29,52, 6J, 81 ; !xvii. 19.
'1The s1gn of a ruKU{ is e. written in the margin. Frequently it
l'
J: A full accouut will be found in my book, <llmu't-Tai'U.lid, publish- -occurs witb us mauy :'IS three .figures, thns C~ The r {3) on the
ed by the C. L. S. A
 A RARE MAl.'roSCRIPT 251
256 THE QUR'AN
Qur'an were found written beneath the more recent
The various QaTis state the number of verses Syrian script. These are written on vellum, and
differently, owing to placing the full stop, the sign are believed to be words spoken by the Prophet and
of which is 0, in different positions. According to then written down by Zayd ibn Thabit. When
the qira'at of the Qari_'A~im there are 6,239 verses, 'Uthman, after his recension, ordered all copies to be-
the Ba~ra QaTis make out 6,204, the Qms of Sham destroyed, this copy of a part of the Qur'an appa-
(Syria) 6,225. . rently escaped. Vellum could not easily be des-
All copies should now follow the recenSIOn of the troyed, and, as it was scare and dear, probablY the
KhaHfa 'Uthman. Anyone who alters a p'ause,. or owner, after erasing as far as possible tlle Arabic
a letter, even if the sense is not affected, 1S guIlty script, sold it. Then it was used for' a Syrian
of a very grave offence. To make a correct co~y script. The recovered Arabic verses have now
is difficult, because the spelling of many words III been published 1 and Professor Mingana has annota-
the Qur'an follows special or peculiar rules, to ted the book and has prefaced it by a valuable intro.
which again there are many exceptions. This ~s duction, describing the two great recensions.
known as the Rasmu'l-Khatt {~) r;)' ~h1s We have now seen that the orthodox Sunni view
copying is a technical art and so we need not go mto is that the Qur'an is the uncreated word of God,
its minute details; but it shows the great care taken which existed from all eternity as one of the attri-
to make all copies. coincide with the authorized butes of God, and that the whole book, as it stood
recension. 1 in heaven, was gradually revealed word by word to
After all, leaving these minute details, it is more the Prophet. This is assumed to be the form of
important to discover ?y
histOl:icaJ criticism :~e a perfect and final revelation. The great difficulty
order in which the vanous portions of the Qur an which scholars find in accepting this theory arises
were delivered, ~nd this, by applying to it the from the fact that parts of its contents were drawn,
general principles of the Higher Criticism, I have as we have seen, from pre-existing materials; that
tried to show in my Historical Development of the Mu1)ammad left no written copy; that we only know
Qur'la1t.,2 its contents from what people, doubtless in good
. In 1895 Dr. Agnes Smith Lewis in Suez secured faith, say that he said; that there were differences
a palimpsest manuscript of rare value. After a of opinion regarding the correctness of some of
re-agent had been applied, some passages of the these reports; that not one only but two recensions
top shows tllat this is the thhd ru.ku.{ from the com:nencement of the had to be made and that one large section of Muslims
SUra in which it occurs; the '\ (9) 1n the centre glVeS- thenumhe.r of
-verses in this ruku~; the A (8) at the bottom snows that this ']$ the
alleged that important passages had been omitted.
eiahth !'uk11~ in the juz. . ". Clearly intelligent Muslim scholars must change
, For a complete account see my :1111l1l/f-TaJwUl, p-p. 22-37..
~ S~mn"kin> Marshal, Kent, Hamilton & -Co., London; DIocesan
Press. }riadras. 33
258 THE QUR'AN
NEEJ);OJ1' CRITICAL STuDy ass
their views on the old orthodox mechanical idea of
inspiration. It is not easy to credit Gabriel or any room for a more liberal system of interpretation and
other angel with bringing some portions of the for an exegesis based on sound historical criticism.
revelation. 'But there is a wide range of experience Whether any considerable body of Muslims will
in which a man of prophetic power, of divine visions escape lrom the bondage of taqlid, which may
and communings, might often lose himself, and be defined as· blind submission to ecclesiastical
mistake memories, fragments of forgotten know- authority I and precedent, and follow these great
ledge, germinating imaginations and aspirations leaders is yet to be seen. z There are indications
for words of God.' r The Modernist school in in some parts of such a change. If an intelligent
Islam is moving in the right direction. Sayyid Amir Muslim really believes in all that his orthodox
'Ali attributes the present stagnation of Islam to leaders teach him about the inviolability of the
the fact that the right of private judgement ceased Qur'an, he ought not to fear the application of the
with the early legists of Islam and that its exercise laws of the Higher Criticism to its origin, structure
in modern times is sinful. Z Maulavi Checigh 'All and teaching. They must cease to look upon
says, ' It is only from some oversight on the part of criticism of their sacred book as an act of dis-
compilers of the Common Law that, in the first respect. Whatever view Oriental scholars may
place, the civil precepts of a transitory nature were take of it, they will admit that it is a great book 3
taken as final.'" and worthy of the honour of the most searching
I have already referred to the views of this criticism. In these days all ancient Scriptures are
learned Maulavi on inspiration, but I may conve- without hesitation subject to critical investigation.
niently repeat them here. He says, 'A prophet This is a mark of honour paid to them and a great
feels that his mind is illumined by God and the appreciation of their value, and this honour is paid
thoughts which are expressed by him, and spoken to the Qur'an when it is critically examined. Nawah
or written under His influence, are to be regarded MuJ.1sinu'l-Mulk, a former Financial Secretary in
as the words of God. This illumination of the mind, Hyderabad, pleaded fervently for a more liberal
or effect of the divine influence, differs in the attitude amongst Muslims and thus, perhaps in too
prophet, according to the capacity of the recipient,
or according to the circumstances in which he is "1 Maulad Chen!gQ J All says, J No regard is to be paid to the
opinions and theories of the MuqaIlids. J Reforms under Muslfm
placedo'- This effectively disposes of the orthodox Rulct p. vii.
:2 A Turkish patriot said, J Since, for ~the confusion of Islam, the
mechanical idea of inspiration. All this leaves prohibition of free criticism and exegesis has become a fuudamentaI
dogma of Islamic orthodoxy, it is hardly possible to conceive any
British Quarterly, Apri11877, p~ 346.
2.. modifications which~ IsIamically speaking, would uot be he~es.~
2 p. 287.
Spirit qf IsUim, FortnightlY Review, May, 1897, p. 649. Quite recently the bonk of 3
3 Critical Exj;osit:on of Jihad, p. xcii. learned majtahid, who advocated free Iuterconrse with Christians and
~ Ibid., p. xix. Jews "ViaS confiscated In {Iraq. BAS], January 1928, p. 202.
3 See Rodwell's QJJ;Y'UJz. (p~ 15) for an appreciation of what 1S good
in U.
200 THE QUR'AN :LETTER AND SPIRIT 261
pessimistic a tone, concluded his appeal in these So, while the world rolls on from change to change,
words, 'Unless a miracle of reform takes place, we And realms of thought expand,
The letter stands without expanse or range,
M*mmadans are doomed to extinction, and shall
Stiff as a dead man's hand. '
have deserved our fate.' r _
The following statement by an able scholar in our While, as the life-blood fills the growing form,
The spirit Christ has shed
own day, who has made a profound study of the Flows through the ripening ages fresh and warm,
Islamic system, is worthy of dose attention. He More felt than heard, or read,
says, 'Christianity escaped from its scholastic shell
And, therefore, though ancestral sympathies,
at the Reformation. Islam still awaits that deliv- And cl osest ties of race,
erance and new birth. The West has outstripped May guard Mul].ammad's precept and decrees
the East in science and culture, and is busy just Through many a tract of space,
now in paying back the debt it owed to Islam since Yet in the end the tight-drawn line must break,
the revival of learning in the twelfth, thirteenth and The sapless tree must fall,
fourteenth centuries. What will be the effect upon Nor let the form one time did well to take
Islam of the infusion of the Western spirit into the Be tyrant over all.
East it is impossible to say. At present Islam is The tide of things rolls forward, surge on surge,
doing what it did before, falling back upon tradition. Bringing the blessed hour,
It will learn from the West in everything but When in Himself the God of Love shall merge
The God of Will and Power.
religion. But when new life begins to stir no reli-
gion can permanently rest upon tradition. Sooner Loya Houghton.
or later the new spirit must affect it. There are Possessed of a highly dogmatic system, the
indications that it is already beginning to do so, dogmas of which are sharp and well defined; accept-
especially in India and Egypt. At any rate the ing a law supposed to be divine, complete and final;
scholastic system of Mul;1ammadan theology is looking back to a history which records many former
bound to be loosened and Islam will begin to adapt successful worldly conquests, with occasioned
itself to the modern spirit.'2 gleams of borrowed splendour-the Muslim stands
The teaching of Christ rests upon His sacred and erect, proud to be such, and too often scornful of
holy life ; that of M~ammad is bound up with the other men and other creeds. Has the Church ever
letter of a book.
:1 'Slavish adherence to the letter, and the taking not the least
notice of the spirit o-f the Qar-'an is th7 sad characteristic of the
~Causes of tlt.e Decline of the lfIll{J.ammadan Naiioft, p. SO. Qur'amc interpreters and of the dedU'~'~lo-ns of the Mu.l;1aI?madan
BeB The Origin of islam in its Christian En'vironme-nt, p. 216.
2" doctors. . . , A social system for barbansm: ought rlOt to lJe nnposed
This is ~ val uable wOl"k which all students of Islam should carefully on a peopte already posses.~it1g higheI' ~?rms of civilization, 1 Che-rngh
st1~ay. f Ali. Reforms: under Muslzm Rule, p. ll.
 'rHE QUR'AN

realized the greatness of the forces thus ap-anged

against her, or estimated aright the difficulties to be
overcome? Century after century passed by and INDEX
the Church was silent. Wheg, then, we remember
our past neglect, the points of contact in some AL-AZHAR, SS, 178, 185 Dhimnus~ 105-6
matters of belief between us and Muslims, the con- 'Abbas Elendi, 147-8, 151 Druses, loa
Abu I Abdi'lliih, 84-
scious groping for light some of them have shown, AbU BdT, 239
FA-RU',228
the repudiation of much that is narrow, superstitious Ab&il,I&1
Falimids, 79
Fida~s, S9
and immoral by a few imbued with a modern spirit Abrogation, 2S7
Fulabs, 183
Ag1!labites,81
and with a wider outlook, whose ideas will doubt- Al;madlyya Sect, 154-5 GRAU'tH, 163
less more and more affect the thinking classes-- t Alids, 5, 56 Gh,yollt-I-Kllhra, 62
when we remember all these things, are we not lAn, 48 Ghayol1!-i-Sl1g)lta,62
Alwan;yyaOrder,l71 Grammarians, 227
distinctly caned upon to try and understand this - 'Aslrnrf (Imam), 61
,great Islamic system, and then to seek to win Assassins, sect o-f, 97-102 I;iAFASA, 240
Attributes of God, 200 I;iakim (Khalila), 95-7
the Muslim for his rightful Lord and Master, and to Al1tad,l&1 I;ial, 21
set before him with earnest love and patient I-Ayisha, 230 ij:asan ihn 'All, 50-
I;iasan ion :;;abMl}, 97-101
sympathy the grace, the glory, and the power of Hansal!yya Order, 178
BA:B~ 112-8; execution of, 124-5
Him, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life? Biibl doctrines, 131-8, 152 Ijaqiqat, 27
Mots, 107, 129 l:I ur6ff Sect, 177
Baha'u'llan. t 128, 139, 144, 145-6 Husayn ibn 'Ail. 51. 53
Bakkayiyya Order, 177 'IE-ADIYYA SECT~ 69
Bitkir (Imam} 1 55 Idris,56
Batinls} 86 ljtihad, 73
Bayan, 181-2, 134-5, 137 H:hwin,l95
Berbers, 80 lmam J 671 71
Bis!im;yya Order, 171
Imamat,66, 68, 69, 76.; infiuence~
CHrNvA.T" BRIDGE, 221
of, 153
Chistiyya Order, 174 IrnamIans, 72
Initiation. 89-93
DA'IS, 83, 81-9 Isma~mans, 58, 72 ~ 82, 86--93
Darqawlyya Order, 181 lllina 'Askanyya, 54, 73
Darwishes, 156
JA'FARAS-GADIQ (bUM), 56
Darwish Orders, names of, 170-
181; constitution of, 159-161; KAr.AM,206
founder- of. 161 ; origin of1 :162; KMrijites, 49, 69 J 00
Grand Masters of, 165 Khayyir, 1&1
Wlllir, 167-{l Al-KJ;igr, 162
 INDEX

A.r.-MAHDI~ 62-3 Shadhil1yya Order, 174

Mauliimyya Order, 181 Shaykhis, 108-12
Mfrza IAU MUQammad t 112 t 113 Shayj;Qs, 165
Mu1awiyya, 49, 50 Shl'ahsl 48
Mu1:]:kam verses> 229 Sh1~ah doctrines, 76
LIST OF VERSES CITED FROM THE QUR'AN
Mujtahid, 74 Sidmqiyya Order, 170
Muqaddam, 160, 163 $ifati-'1!lS. 206: Verse Page Verre Page
Murabit, 161 Stages on mystical journey> 17-33
Mtisii Kazim (Imilm), 58, n Suratu'l-Fati!}a i Sriratu'J-!.!ijr xv
SUhl:H-E""I,l28, 139, 141
MutasMhih verses, 229 i;iurusm, 1-16 26-28 214
1-3
Mu~tazila controversy. 208-9 Suratu>n~Narain, 246
SUratu'I-Baqara 11 Suratu'n Naml xvi
NABI,58 19 11
TABI'UN, 230 21 2Q2
Nabi~u"l-Ummi. 224 103 215
Taba'u'i-Tibic]'D, 230 28-32 210
Naqsnband,yya Order, 175, 196
Naql (Imam), 60 T~id,169 59 222 Suratu Bani Isra'fl xvii
Niir-i-M$mmdi.70 Talib,15 73 224 1 n9
TanzIa,231 91 200
QADIRIY'YA ORDER, 172, 181 211
19 ro2
Tasbi!}, 169 96 107 2S5
QaIaIldariyya Order, 176 Taqi (1 mam), 6Q 100 4,169
Qurl an 1 199; revelation of.. 200-4; Taql1d, 19 118 69 Stiratu'l-Kahf xviii
nature ofl 2OS~ 208; sources of, Ta}wll,Sl 241 242 8-22, 64-81 218
200-23 ; cha.nge of names, 225 j Taybiyya Order, 178
arraugeruentof,232-3;divisions Tiianlyya Ol'der, 180
Suratn Ali 'Imran Hi Sfuatll Maryam xIx
of, 234; piecemeal revelation.. 52 218 28 211
235; abrogation, 237; ~sioDs ~UBAYD-U'Lr..AH.84 106 64 2S 2Z5
of, 239; destruction of. 241; 94 2Q5
'Umer (Khalifa), 239
seven dialects of. 243; omissions
and alterations, 2"45;punctuation
of, 254 ; old manuscript of~ 257
~Um.ar Khayyam. 16, 38
UuJettered Prophet, 224 l56
Snratn'n-Nisa' iv
217 Suratu 'fa Ha = 2()(j
U~UJ, m 164 64 112
Qtlnii', 240
'U!.hmsu (Kballfa), 49 Suratu'l-Mii'ida v Suratn'I-Anbiya' xxi
Qurratu'1-'AYD,119-123
Uwaishlyya Order, 171 91 218
Qutb,l63 18 ro 105 22~
35 211
R..urMA....~A ORDER, 181 Suratn'I-!.!ajj XX1;
11 64
Ar-Ri<~a llmam), 59
100-10 217 17 222
Rif.i~lyya Order, 173
Suratn'l-A'raf vii Suratn'l-Fnrqiin xxv
SA'ID.84 6 215
Sam,,16 ZAYDITES,55
71-7 247
35 235
SauUs1yya Order, 183-195 105 213
Zayuu'I-'Abidin {Imam),53 74 65
156-l56 224
Suratn's!1-Shn'ara' xxvi
Suratn't-Tanha ix
193 200
32 22Q
228 64
Snratu Hud xl Suratn'l-Q"'ia~ xxvlil
1 241 35 225
10 2Q2 88 ~

34
266 LIST OF VERSES CITED FROM THE QUR'AN BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR
Verse P~ge The Faith of Islam (Fourth Edition)
Verse
Sllratu'l-' Ankabut xxix
Page
I34-5 120
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.
47 224 Suratu'l-Qamar liv , A scholarly exposition and epitome of the various tenets
49 iJ2 embraced by Islam. Nothing hut praise can be said of the
Snratu Lukman xxxi
whole undertaking. '-Royal Asiatic'Sociefy's Jtmnzal.
'5 Suratu'I-J;Iadid lvii
, Mr. Sell's learned and satisfactory work is likely, in its
Suratu'l-Al)zab xxxiii 3 30
revised form, to retain its place for a long time to come as
7
as
71 S:iratu'l-Muddathtbir lxxiv our highest authority on the faith and practice of Islam. , -
33
1 200 The Critical Review, January 18.'~7.
SUratu Ya Sin xxxvi 223 , The importance of a book of this kind is very great. It
5
65
11 stands to the Koran as one of Dr. Tristram's orations before
Suratu'tr$affat xxxvii SUffitu'I-'Abasa lxxx
. the Judicial Committee of the Privy Councll does to the New
13-15 202
214 TestamenL'-Stanley Lane Poole in the Academy.
6-9
212 Suratu'l-Burui l",,,,xv , This volume gives us more valuable information about
100-9
Suratu' ~·sad xxxviii 21-2 215 the doctrines and polity of Islam than any book of moderate
67-70 225 size that we are acquainted 'with in the English language;'
Suratu']-Fajr lxxxix
Suratu'z-Zumar xxxi", 5-13 247 -SPectator.
24 235 , In the work before us the practical and speculative ideas
Suratu'l-Lail xcii of Mu1).ammadanism are so faIrly and clearly discussed,
S6ratu'z-Zukhruf xliii
1 and every detail of observance and doctrine so plainly set
,3
Suratu'j-'Alaq xcvi forth, that a diligent study of it will place the reader quite
Suratu't-'fUr Iii 199 au courant with the ideas of Moslem theologians.'-
1
Saturday ReYiew.
The Historical Development of the Qur'an
(Fourth Edition)
, Those who wish to know something of the Quran, and
to judge for themselves what the appeal of Islam really is,
will find this book a most useful guide. '-11fad,.as Diace;aa
Magazine.
The rig hi of translation is reserved. The Ufe of Muhammad.
The Talmud, Mishnah and Midrasb.
The Apocalypses.
Muslim Conquests in Spain.
The Mamlnks in Egypt.
Outlines ~of Islam.
The Ummayad and the Abbasid Khalltates.
The Kbnlafa ar.Rasbidun.
Old Testament Commentaries.