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MYSTICISM AND 
 MAGIC IN TURKEY 
 
By the Same Author . 
 
 Turkey of the Ottomans. — 
 In imperial 16mo, cloth gilt, 
 gilt top, with about 30 full 
 page plate illustrations. 
 6s. net. 
 
 " There could hardly be a 
 better handbook for the news- 
 paper reader who wants to 
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 • 1912 
 
 MYSTICISM AND 
 MAGIC IN TURKEY 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE RELIGIOUS DOCTRINES, 
 MONASTIC ORGANISATION. AND ECSTATIC 
 POWERS OF THE DERVISH ORDERS 
 
 BY 
 
 ■I 
 
 LUCY M. J. GARNETT 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 THE TURKISH PEOPLE," "TURKEY OF THE OTTOMANS," ETC. 
 TRANSLATOR OF "GREEK FOLK-POESY " 
 
 ILLUSTRATED FROM PHOTOGRAPHS 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
 
 153-157 Fifth Avenue 
 1912 
 
PREFACE 
 
 My aim in this volume has been to give a thoroughly- 
 impartial account of the Dervishes of Turkey, so 
 far as my knowledge of their principles and practices 
 will allow, neither unduly concealing their lower, 
 nor unduly exalting their higher aspects. And 
 I would fain hope that this brief study of the 
 Mystics of Islam may be found to have not only a 
 speculative and religious, but also a practical and 
 political interest. In controversies with respect to 
 Islam and Civilisation, no account is usually taken 
 of the Mystical side of this Creed as a native element 
 of antagonism to the most essential doctrines of 
 Islam. Widespread as is this unorthodox mysti- 
 cism, it has been, and still is compelled to keep itself 
 to a certain extent hidden. Events may, however, 
 possibly, sooner or later, bring it to the surface, 
 and endow it with practical significance. For 
 as in the Christian West there has ever been a 
 continuous protest both on the intellectual side by 
 philosophers, and on the rehgious side by mystics, 
 against the more distinctively Semitic doctrines of 
 Christianity, so it has also been in the Moslem East 
 in the Schools of the Dervishes, both among the 
 Persians and the Ottomans. And as this speculative 
 
VI PREFACE 
 
 protest by the Monks of Islam has not been without 
 practical results in Persia, so may it likewise be 
 expected to have corresponding results in Turkey. 
 From the Siifism of the Dervish Orders sprang the 
 movement of Babism, the initiation of which was 
 contemporary with the European revolutionary 
 uprising of '48. This movement, which was sup- 
 pressed with the most barbarous atrocities, gave 
 greater promise than any other event connected 
 with the East of that only possible kind of regenera- 
 tion — regeneration from within. And should a 
 movement similar to that of Babism, and, like it, 
 derived from the Sufism of the Dervishes, break 
 out in Turkey, its importance will, it is to be hoped, 
 be better understood in Europe than was that of 
 Persian Babism. 
 
 L. M. J. G. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 I. THE DERVISH ORDERS AND THEIR TENETS 
 
 II. THE SPIRITUAL HIERARCHY . 
 
 III. THE METAPHORS OF THE POETS 
 
 IV. MONASTERIES AND SHRINES 
 V. MONASTIC RULE AND DISCIPLINE 
 
 VI. THE STAGES OF INITIATION 
 
 VII. THE COSTUMES, MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, AND 
 SYMBOLIC OBJECTS OF THE DERVISHES 
 
 VIII. THE VARIOUS RELIGIOUS EXERCISES . 
 
 IX. SURVIVALS OF PAGANISM . 
 
 X. THE ACTS OF THE ADEPTS . 
 
 XI. WOMEN MYSTICS .... 
 
 XII. STATUS AND INFLUENCE OF THE ORDERS 
 
 PAGE 
 1 
 
 22 
 44 
 64 
 78 
 95 
 
 107 
 122 
 136 
 146 
 170 
 178 
 
 vn 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 A MEVLEVI TEKKEH, SALONICA 
 
 A RUFAI, OR " HOWLING " DERVISH 
 
 A WANDERING DERVISH 
 
 THE ADRIANOPLE GATE, STAMBOUL 
 
 BEGGING DERVISH AND NIGHT-WATCHMAN 
 
 AN ELDER OF THE MEVLEVI ORDER 
 
 MEVLEVI NEOPHYTE LEARNING THE DEVR 
 
 A MEVLEVI PLAYER ON THE NEY, OR REED-FLUTE 
 
 THE DEVR OF THE MEVLEVI ORDER 
 
 A WANDERING DERVISH .... 
 
 CITY GATE CALLED THE MSVLEVI-HANE STAMBOUL 
 
 DERVISH WITH LEANING CRUTCH . . . . 
 
 Frontispiece 
 
 facing 
 page 
 
 10 
 
 30 
 
 48 
 
 68 
 
 80 
 
 98 
 
 118 
 
 130 
 
 142 
 
 152 
 
 176 
 
 ix 
 
MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 IN TURKEY 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE DERVISH ORDERS AND THEIR TENETS 
 
 " Under an alien name 
 I shadow One upon whose Head the crown 
 Was, and yet Is, and Shall be ; whose Decree 
 The Kingdoms Seven of this world, and the Seas, 
 And the Seven Heavens alike are subject to. 
 All joy to him who, under other name, 
 Instructed us that Glory to disguise 
 To which the initiate scarce dare lift his eyes ! " 
 
 J AM I, Salaman and Ahsal. 
 
 Although the second century of the Mohammedan 
 era has been assigned by various students of the 
 Siifi Philosophy as the date of its origin, societies 
 of mystics would appear to have existed in Islam 
 from its very foundation.^ For it is recorded that, 
 in the first year of that era, a number of the follow- 
 ers of the Prophet formed themselves into a Brother- 
 hood for the ostensible practice of certain religious 
 exercises of penitence and physical mortification. 
 The word " Dervish " is, in Persian, synonymous 
 with " beggar," and denotes also a person who 
 voluntarily impoverishes himself for the benefit 
 of others. The Khahfs Ali and Abu Bekr, actuated 
 
 1 
 
2 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 by the desire to fulfil literally that precept of the 
 Koran which says that " He is the best of men who 
 is most useful to his fellow-men," gave up their 
 worldly goods to the common use, and entered upon 
 a career of service to others, calling themselves 
 Safa bashis'^ to indicate the purity of their lives. 
 The members of these Fraternities took, however, 
 a vow of fidelity to the Prophet and his doctrines, 
 and continued to perform their duties as citizens, 
 meeting occasionally for the performance of the 
 religious exercises peculiar to each congregation. 
 The leaders appointed their successors in office 
 under the title of Khalifeh ; and these in their turn 
 transmitted the rule of the Fraternity to the most 
 venerable, or the most spiritually gifted, among 
 its members. 
 
 Apart from the attraction of the Siifi doctrines, 
 a life passed in retirement from the world for the 
 purpose of contemplation and devotion appears to 
 have always been congenial to the Oriental mind ; 
 and this natural tendency proved stronger than the 
 injunction of the Prophet prohibiting monasticism 
 among his followers. For, even during Mohammed's 
 lifetime, many of the followers of Abu Bekr and All 
 abandoned the rules of the primitive fraternities 
 and formed monastic societies, the first Order of 
 Austere Anchorites being founded in the thirty- 
 seventh year of the Hegira (a.d. 659) by Sheikh 
 Uwais of Yemen, who gave out that the Angel 
 
 1 Silvestre de Sacy, Journal des Savants, 1821, p. 724, 
 and D'Ohsson, Tableau General de la Turquie. 
 
THE DERVISH ORDERS 3 
 
 Gabriel had commanded him, in a vision, to with- 
 draw from the world and consecrate himself to a 
 hfe of seclusion and penitence. The celestial 
 visitant at the same time communicated to this 
 ascetic the rules of the Order he was to found, which 
 included abstinence from food, and even the most 
 innocent pleasures, seclusion, and the recital of a 
 great number of prayers by day and night. To 
 these mortifications he voluntarily added the loss 
 of his teeth, requiring the same sacrifice from his 
 disciples, an ordeal which naturally prevented his 
 making proselytes of any but the most fanatical, 
 notwithstanding the Sheikh's high reputation for 
 learning and piety; and the sect never spread 
 beyond Yemen, where it originated. It, however, 
 greatly contributed to the institution of other 
 monastic orders by the more earnestly minded of 
 the followers of Abu Bekr and Ali. 
 
 The second century of the Hegira was the era of 
 a great religious movement. On one side was 
 developed a scepticism and unbeHef that shook 
 Islam to its foundations, while, on the other hand, 
 mysticism acquired increasing power. This century 
 gave birth to a multitude of sects, and has accord- 
 ingly been fixed upon, as before mentioned, as the 
 commencement of the system of religion and 
 philosophy professed by the Siifis. Their recog- 
 nised founder was Abu Said Abulkhair, who hved 
 at the end of that and the beginning of the next 
 century, and founded a monastic institution into 
 which he gathered those whose mode of thinking 
 
4 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 resembled his own, and laid down rules for their 
 guidance. There is, however, much disparity of 
 opinion as to whether Sufism, as it now exists, was, 
 as asserted by the Sufis themselves, instituted by 
 him. In any case it is probable that the sect did 
 not long remain within the limits of orthodox piety. 
 This was, indeed, impossible. For the Sufi philoso- 
 phy, as must be admitted, was entirely out of keeping 
 with the creed of Mohammed. And the mysticism 
 of the early Moslems, so tender and full of sentiment, 
 became gradually transformed into Pantheism, an 
 equally natural consequence of its inherent tendencies 
 and of the action upon Islam of older rehgious 
 systems. 
 
 In the ninth century of our era, the partisans of 
 this doctrine were divided into two branches, the 
 chief of the one being Abu Yezid, or Bayazid 
 Bestemi, who is revered as the Pir, or founder of 
 the Bestemi Order, and of the other, Djouneid. 
 Bayazid Bestemi openly preached a Pantheism 
 irreconcilable with revealed rehgion, and proclaimed 
 more explicitly than any other Siifi teacher had 
 done the divine nature of man. Among the 
 expressions he made use of are the following : — 
 
 "I am an ocean without bottom and without 
 shore, without beginning and without end." 
 
 " When men imagine that they are adoring Allah, 
 it is Allah who adores Himself." 
 
 " The seed of Siifism was sown in the days of 
 Adam ; it sprang up in those of Noah ; blossomed 
 under Abraham ; and, at the time of Moses the 
 
THE DERVISH ORDERS 5 
 
 grapes began to be formed. They came to maturity 
 in the days of Jesus, and in those of Mohammed 
 was the wine pressed from them. Those of the Siifis 
 who have loved this Wine have drunk of it until 
 self-consciousness was drowned ; and they have then 
 cried, * Glory to me ! Is there anything greater than 
 I ?' or ' I am the truth, there is no God beside 
 me!'"i 
 
 Djouneid and his followers, on the other hand, 
 while holding practically identical opinions, ex- 
 pressed themselves more prudently, and succeeded 
 in uniting in an extraordinary manner the dogmas 
 of the Koran v^dth a system of philosophy which 
 tended to destroy all rehgious practices, and reduce 
 to nothing the merits of faith and works. To arrive 
 at this result they had recourse to an expedient 
 known as the Ketmafiy which has indeed rendered 
 eminent service in all times and in all rehgions, but 
 has been practised with greater success by the Sufis 
 than by any other sect. The terms of the dogmas 
 of Islam were retained, but a totally different 
 signification was given to them by the Sufi teachers. 
 Irreproachable Moslems in outward appearance, 
 these mystics have ever excelled in the art of 
 evading dangerous investigations, and, as M. Dozy 
 remarks, ^ it *' is rare that an adept, even when in 
 
 1 Garcin de Tassy, M antic Uttair, 4th ed., p. 5 ; and 
 Sprenger, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. Ill, 
 p. 134. Compare also the expressions of St. Augustine, 
 of Duns Scotus Erigena, and of Eckhart, the Christian 
 Mystic (1268-1327). See Vaughan, Hours with the Mystics. 
 
 2 Essai Sur I'Histoire de I'Islamisme, p. 323. 
 
 2 — (2II9) 
 
6 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 an ecstatic state, compromises himself by pro- 
 claiming in public what is every SM's private 
 behef — ' / am God.' " By means of the Ketman 
 and aUied methods of propaganda, SMsm has 
 succeeded in permeating every class of Moslem 
 society, has had for centuries past its Chiefs, its 
 Councils, its Monks and its Missionaries, and presents 
 phases varied enough to suit every class of thought. 
 Hosain Ibn Mansur, also called Mansur Halladj, 
 who suffered martyrdom in 922, is revered by the 
 Siifis as one of their greatest saints. He was a 
 disciple of Djouneid, a Persian by birth, and grand- 
 son of a Zoroastrian or Magian. According to the 
 moderate Shias, his doctrine was that by practising 
 abstinence, avoiding all worldly pursuits and 
 pleasures, and mortifying the flesh, it is possible for 
 man to elevate himself through successive stages 
 until he becomes the equal of the Elect, and even 
 of the Angels. If he perseveres in this path until 
 nothing remains of his earthly nature, he receives 
 " the Spirit of God " as Jesus is held by Moslems 
 to have received it, and everything that he subse- 
 quently does is a divine action. The Shias also 
 maintain that he was put to death on account of 
 the extraordinary influence he exercised among the 
 upper classes, the Princes and their surroundings, 
 which aroused the jealous hostihty of the orthodox 
 clergy. Halladj has not, indeed, been unfavourably 
 judged by the more liberal-minded among orthodox 
 v/riters. Gazzah, for instance, who, while he pro- 
 fessedly regarded the Sufi philosophy with aversion, 
 
THE DERVISH ORDERS 7 
 
 expressed his preference for a religion which had 
 its seat in the heart as compared with the dry- 
 orthodoxy expounded by the majority of the Ulema ; 
 and he attributed even such assertions of Halladj 
 as *' I am the Truth, there is nothing in Paradise 
 save Allah," etc., to his excessive adoration of the 
 Deity. For the majority of orthodox writers of the 
 period, however, this mystic was a blaspheming infidel 
 and sorcerer. On his return to Bagdad after perform- 
 ing the customary pilgrimage to Mekka, strange 
 stories of his miraculous powers were circulated in the 
 city. He was credited with having raised the dead 
 to life ; the Djins, it was said, were subject to him, 
 and fulfilled his every command. Fearing his 
 influence with the populace, and incited also, no 
 doubt, by the legists, the Vizier Hamid induced the 
 Khalif Moktadir to place Halladj and his followers 
 at his disposal ; and notwithstanding the protection 
 of the Lord Chamberlain, the mystic and his 
 disciples were arrested. 
 
 When questioned, the disciples admitted that 
 they looked upon their master as divine, seeing that 
 he had raised the dead to life. But when Halladj 
 himself was interrogated his reply was, " God forbid 
 that I should lay claim to divinity or even to the 
 dignity of Prophet. I am a man who adores the 
 most high God." 
 
 The Vizier then summoned the Kadis and 
 principal theologians, and demanded of them a 
 sentence against Halladj. They replied that it 
 was illegal to condemn the accused man without 
 
8 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 proofs of his alleged crime, as he had not 
 confessed. 
 
 Foiled in his design, the Vizier had the mystic 
 brought before him from time to time, and attempted 
 in vain to draw from him some heretical admission. 
 He found at length in his writings a statement to 
 the effect that if a Moslem were prevented making 
 the prescribed pilgrimage to Mekka, he might dis- 
 pense with it by preparing a chamber in his own 
 house in which to perform the rites connected with 
 that duty ; these rites accomplished, he must further 
 take to him thirty orphans, feed them on choice 
 food, clothe them and bestow upon each one seven 
 drachmas ; and the fulfilment of these duties would 
 gain for him the merit of having performed the 
 pilgrimage. On this being shown by the Vizier to 
 the Kadi Abou Amr, he was scandalised, and asked, 
 " Where hast thou found such an idea ? " Halladj 
 mentioned a work by Hassan of Bassora. "It is 
 a lie ! O infidel, whose blood it is lawful to spill," 
 cried the Kadi. *' The book thou namest was 
 explained to us at Mekka by one of the Doctors ; 
 but what thou hast written was not contained in 
 it!" 
 
 The Vizier seized eagerly upon the epithet 
 " Infidel," used by the Kadi, and demanded a sentence 
 of death from him. The Kadi at first demurred, 
 saying that such was not his meaning ; but the 
 Vizier insisted, and finally obtained a warrant for 
 the execution of Halladj, signed by the Kadi and 
 the other legists. In vain Halladj sought to prove 
 
THE DERVISH ORDERS 9 
 
 his condemnation unjust. " You have not the 
 right," he exclaimed, " to shed my blood. My 
 faith is that of Islam ; I believe in the Hadis 
 (traditions) on which I have written works that may 
 be found at all the booksellers. I have always 
 acknowledged the Four Imams, and' the Four 
 Khalifs. I call God to my aid, that my life may be 
 spared ! " His protests were unavaiUng. The 
 Vizier hastened to bring the fetvas of the legists 
 before the KhaUf, who ordered that Halladj should 
 die by scourging. He received a thousand strokes, 
 after which his hands and feet were cut off, and 
 subsequently his head, and his body committed to 
 the flames. The disciples of Halladj, however, 
 refused to believe that their revered master was 
 dead. They maintained that a person resembling 
 him had suffered in his place, and that he would 
 show himself again after forty days. Some declared 
 that they had seen him on the road to Nahrawan, 
 mounted on an ass, and that he had said to them, 
 " Be not hke those foohsh men who believe that I 
 have been scourged and put to death.'* 
 
 Let us now turn to the Sufi version of the story : — 
 " The name of Halladj was in everyone's mouth ; 
 they saw the miracles that he did, and an immense 
 multitude followed him. And how should it have 
 been otherwise ? Returning from a pilgrimage, he 
 happened to be crossing the desert with four hundred 
 Siifis. His companions said to him one day, * We 
 have nothing to eat, and we are hungry ; we would 
 like a roast lamb.' 
 
10 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 (( ( 
 
 Sit down,' said the Saint. 
 
 " When they were seated, he placed his hand 
 behind his back and gave to each one a roast lamb 
 and two small hot loaves. They ate, and then 
 asked for dates. 
 
 '* * Shake me,' said the Saint. 
 
 " They did so, and there fell from him fresh dates 
 in such quantities that they sufficed for all the 
 company. 
 
 " But there were those who were envious of the 
 wonderful gifts of Halladj. These slandered him 
 before the Khahf , and the Doctors of Bagdad con- 
 demned him to death because he had said ' I am 
 the Truth.' They desired him to say ' It is 
 He who is God,' and he rephed, ' Yea, He is all 
 things.' 
 
 "He was cast into prison. A multitude of people 
 flocked to him for instruction, until, after the lapse 
 of a year, it was forbidden to visit him. The first 
 night of his imprisonment, he was not to be seen 
 in his cell ; on the second, neither prisoner nor cell 
 were to be seen. * Where hast thou been ? ' 
 demanded the jailer of him. ' The first night,' he 
 rephed, ' I was with the Glorious Being, for that 
 reason thou sawest me not ; on the second, the 
 Glorious Being was with me, so thou sawest neither 
 me nor the cell. To-day I am sent here to satisfy 
 the law ; come and do to me what thou art 
 commanded.' " 
 
 It is also related that when he arrived at the prison 
 six hundred persons were confined there. " I will 
 
A RUFAI, OR HOWLING DERVISH 
 
THE DERVISH ORDERS 11 
 
 deliver you," he said. "Why dehverest thou not 
 thyself ? " they asked. " I am in the chains of God, 
 and I have a companion, a faithful guardian. I 
 have only to desire it, and at a sign my fetters will 
 fall from me." He made a sign and the fetters of 
 all the prisoners fell. " But the door is closed," 
 they said. " How shall we depart ? " Halladj 
 having made another signal, the doors opened, every- 
 one went out, and he was left alone. " Why 
 departest thou not also ? " he was asked. " I have 
 a secret," he replied, " which I must impart only to 
 him who is able to guard a secret." 
 
 On the following day the Khahf, learning what 
 had happened, exclaimed, " He will do mischief ; 
 let him be hanged ! " 
 
 They asked Halladj " Where are the prisoners ? " 
 
 " I have set them free." 
 
 " Why hast thou too not departed ? " 
 
 " Because Allah is offended with me." 
 
 The Khahf then gave the order to scourge him. 
 He received six hundred strokes, and at each stroke 
 a voice was heard crying, " Fear nothing, Halladj ! " 
 A hundred thousand persons had assembled on the 
 road by which he was to pass to the scaffold. His 
 eyes wandered over them, and he cried, " God I 
 God ! God ! I am God I " 
 
 " What is true love ? " a Dervish asked of him. 
 
 " That shalt thou learn to-day, to-morrow, and the 
 day after," was the reply. 
 
 ** Give me a remembrance of thee," begged a 
 youth. 
 
12 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 
 The men of this world," replied the martyr, 
 aspire after good works. Do thou aspire after a 
 thing of which an indivisible atom is worth more 
 than the collective good works of angels and men — 
 the knowledge of true science.'*^ 
 
 While speaking, Halladj danced and waved his 
 hands. *' What manner of walking is this ? '* he 
 was asked. " Am I not going to the place of my 
 sacrifice ? *' was his reply, and he broke out into the 
 following mystical song : — 
 
 Say not, my Friend is heedless of my pain ; 
 
 The Cup He gives to me He too doth taste. * 
 
 Like host that with his guest the wine doth drain. 
 
 Yet, while the Cup goes round, the block and sword appear. 
 
 Such fate is his who with the Dragon ^ drinks. 
 
 While ardent shines the summer sun [above the plain]. 
 
 When he placed his foot upon the first step of 
 the scaffold, Halladj exclaimed, " Behold man's 
 ladder to Heaven I " He adjusted his girdle, 
 removed his taiksan — the drapery covering his head 
 and shoulders — turned his face towards Mekka, and 
 with uplifted hands uttered an inaudible prayer. 
 He then mounted the ladder. The people threw 
 stones at him, but he uttered no word of complaint 
 or reproach. When, however, the Siifi Chibli, also 
 a disciple of Djouneid, threw mud at him, he heaved 
 a sigh. " Thou dost not sigh when thou art struck 
 with stones, why sighest thou when they throw but 
 
 ^ Evidently signifying that God, being present in the 
 individual, sacrifices Himself. 
 
 ^ The Dragon, a sign of the Zodaic, here represents the 
 Deity. 
 
THE DERVISH ORDERS 13 
 
 mud at thee ? " he was asked. " They who take 
 up stones," repUed the martyr, " know not what 
 they do, so that does not afflict me ; but ChibU 
 knows that he sins, when he throws but mud." 
 When his hand was cut off, he smiled and said, " It 
 is not difficult to cut off the hand of him who is in 
 chains; it would require greater dexterity to 
 deprive him of the quahties which raise him to the 
 highest heaven." His feet were cut off. He still 
 smiled, saying, " I have still two other feet to carry 
 me to the Two Worlds, cut them off if you can ! " 
 When deprived of his hands, he rubbed his cheeks 
 and arms with his bloody wrists ; and when ques- 
 tioned as to the meaning of this action, he rephed, 
 " I have already lost much blood, and my cheeks 
 will soon become pale. I am unwilhng you should 
 imagine that they are blanched by terror, and I wish 
 to leave you with rosy cheeks. Dark red is the 
 colour of men." " But why," they persisted, " dost 
 thou besmear thy arms with thy blood ? " "I do 
 but perform the ablest i—the ablutions of love should 
 be made with blood." 
 
 When he had been deprived of his eyes, and his 
 executioners were preparing to cut out his tongue, 
 he desired to speak once more ; and while the mob 
 continued to assail him with stones, he cried, 
 " Great God I Reject them not because they afflict 
 me thus. Praise to Thee, because, for my love of 
 Thee, they have cut off my hands and my feet. 
 
 1 The Moslem ablution which precedes the prayers 
 repeated five times daily by all good Moslems. 
 
14 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 When my head is severed from my body, grant that 
 I may see Thy face." His last words were, " The 
 only thing required by the Only One, is, that men 
 declare Him to be the Only One."^ 
 
 Such is the version given by the Sufis of the 
 martyrdom of Halladj. They look upon him as 
 one of the most eminent representatives of their 
 doctrines, having shown that death, and above all, 
 the most cruel death, is the happiest thing that can 
 befall a Sufi ; for by it his soul is delivered from its 
 prison, the body, and *' the Lover " attains that 
 " eternal union " with the " Beloved " which he has 
 so long and so ardently desired. 
 
 Another legend says that an inspired Siifi asked 
 the Almighty why He permitted Mansiir Halladj 
 to suffer. The reply was, "It is the punishment 
 for the revealer of secrets." It is also related that 
 when the Saint was about to be impaled in addition 
 to his other tortures, the executioners could not 
 perform their duty. In vain they endeavoured to 
 seize him ; his body always eluded their grasp, and 
 appeared seated in a composed posture in the air 
 at some distance from the stake. While this was 
 occurring on earth, his soul sought the regions of 
 Paradise. He was accosted by the Prophet, who 
 admitted that he had arrived at the highest stage, 
 that of Wisdl, or " Union," and that his declaration 
 that he was God was true. Mohammed, however, 
 entreated him, for the sake of practical religion, 
 which was necessary for unenlightened mortals, to 
 
 1 Dozy, Essai sur I'Histoire de Vlslamisme, p. 234 et seq. 
 
THE DERVISH ORDERS 15 
 
 allow himself to be impaled. The soul of the holy 
 man accordingly, convinced by the words of the 
 Prophet, returned to earth to reanimate his body, 
 and suffer the death to which he had been sentenced 
 by his earthly judges. ^ 
 
 Similar conceptions of Oneness with the Deity 
 are expressed in a modern work by a Turkish 
 mystic, of which the following paragraph may serve 
 as an example : — 
 
 " And he [Jewad] laid his head on the pillow of 
 the quest of inspiration. Straightway he opened 
 his eyes, and found himself lying on a shore near a 
 vast city. He rose, and wondering, said to himself, 
 ' My life ! Surely I was in my room . . . and this 
 city that is before me resembles not ours. There is 
 no strength nor power save in Allah, "^ Am I in a 
 vision ? ' In a single moment poor Jewad forgot 
 all that he had known — those spiritual sciences and 
 strange arts that he had learned and practised for 
 so long, all his wisdom and attainments, his manifest 
 gifts, his initiation into the Arcana ; nay, even what 
 he had learned and comprehended by means of his 
 five outer and inner senses ; and he stood as though 
 new born from his mother, gazing around him in 
 confusion." [Jewad then meets an aged man, who 
 conducts him into the city and shows him all its 
 beauties, and finally introduces him into the palace 
 of the King.] " The happy Jewad had left him no 
 
 1 Malcolm, History of Persia, Vol. II, p. 281. 
 * A customary Moslem formula when surprised or 
 startled. 
 
16 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 eye to see, or understanding to observe, or compre- 
 hension to know, or tongue to speak. When he 
 entered the Royal Presence and raised his eyes to 
 look upon the beauty of the King, he saw that he who 
 sat upon the indescribable Throne was — Himself.*'^ 
 
 The twelfth century of the Christian era gave 
 birth to two very important Orders — the Kadiri, 
 and the Riifa'i. The founder of the former, Abdul 
 Kadr of Ghilan, besides being an eminent mystic, 
 was a man of great learning, and numbered among 
 his disciples his nephew Seyyid Achmet Rufa, who 
 subsequently founded the- Riifa'i— better known to 
 Europeans as the " HowHng Dervishes " — on whom 
 he is said to have conferred the faculty of miracu- 
 lously heahng the wounds which the devotees of 
 this Order inflict upon themselves during their 
 extraordinary religious frenzies. 
 
 In the following century the gifted mystic poet 
 Jelalu-'d-Din, surnamed " Er Rumi,"^ estabhshed 
 at Konieh, the capital of the Seljoukian Sultans, 
 the Order of the Mevlevi — the so-called " Dancing 
 Dervishes," in connection with the Royal College 
 of which he was the Principal. After the incorpora- 
 tion of that city in the Ottoman Empire this Society 
 became exceedingly flourishing. Endowed and 
 honoured by the Ottoman as it had previously been 
 by the Seljoukian Sultans, and constituting as it 
 did the University of the Empire, state dignitaries 
 
 1 The Story of Jewdd, translated by E. W. Gibb. 
 
 2 " The Roman," from his place of residence in Rom, 
 the Eastern Empire, which retained that name for centuries 
 after the Turkish Conquest. 
 
THE DERVISH ORDERS 17 
 
 were proud to call themselves its graduates, and 
 lay members of the Mevlevi Order of Dervishes. 
 Even Grand Viziers did not disdain to don the 
 kulah and vestments of the Brethren of Love, and 
 take part in their mystical gyrations. 
 
 Although, as above remarked, the Sufi principles 
 enunciated by Bayazid Bestemi and Djouneid are 
 professed generally by the higher grades among the 
 Dervishes, some of the Orders hold doctrines more 
 purely mystical, and others more purely pantheistic 
 than the rest. Of the more purely mystical, the 
 Nakshibendi and Khalveti Orders are the chief 
 representatives. Abu Bekr, the first Khahf, is 
 looked upon as the Pir, or founder of the former 
 Order, and AH, the third Khahf, of the latter. 
 The successful estabHshment of other communities 
 having caused the extinction of the two original 
 Fraternities, they had remained unrepresented, the 
 former until the thirteenth, and the latter until the 
 fourteenth century, when Mohammed of Nakshibend 
 and Omer Khalvet respectively founded Orders 
 which assumed their names. The rule observed by 
 the Nakshibendi Dervishes is held to be in strict 
 accordance with that instituted by Abu Bekr, and 
 the members of this Order five in their own homes 
 and pursue their ordinary avocations, meeting only 
 at stated times for the performance of rehgious 
 exercises. And though devotion does not in Turkey 
 at the present day, as formerly, engage the atten- 
 tion of men of all ranks, this Order has remained one 
 of the most numerous and popular in the Empire. 
 
18 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 The Order of the Khalvetis, although professing 
 to be a revival of the primitive congregation of the 
 Khalif Ali, practise a much more rigid austerity 
 than was compatible with the rule originally observed 
 of remaining in the world and fulfilhng the ordinary 
 duties of citizens. Its members undertake to live 
 much in retirement, and to devote a great part of 
 their time to solitary contemplation. A legend of 
 this Order relates that, as its Pit was on one occasion 
 leaving his cell after a prolonged period of mystical 
 meditation, he heard a celestial voice behind him 
 saying, " O Omer Khalvet ! Why dost thou leave 
 us ? " and, accepting this as a divine injunction, he 
 resolved to consecrate the rest of his days to such 
 contemplation, and to institute an Order bearing 
 his name, which signifies " Retirement." ^ 
 
 The Order of the Bektashis which, in addition to 
 its numerous adherents among the Osmanlis, is 
 said to include in its ranks some 80,000 Albanian 
 Moslems, was instituted about the same period by 
 Hadji Bektash — " Bektash the Pilgrim " — one of 
 the many learned men whom the munificence of the 
 early Ottoman Princes attracted to Asia Minor from 
 Khorassan. Orchan, who is said to have attributed 
 many of his victories to the presence in his army of 
 this holy man, built for him at Sivas a monastery 
 and college, and sought his approval and blessing on 
 every undertaking. And when the Emir^ had 
 
 ^ J. B. Brown, The Dervishes. 
 
 2 The title of " Sultan " was not assumed by the earlier 
 Ottoman rulers, who styled themselves simply " Princes." 
 
THE DERVISH ORDERS 19 
 
 enrolled that first fair young band of Christian boys 
 which was destined to develop into " the strongest 
 and fiercest instrument of imperial ambition ever 
 devised upon earth," ^ he led them to the abode of 
 the saintly Sheikh, and begged of him to bestow 
 upon them his blessing. With his arm, draped in 
 the wide sleeve of his mantle, stretched over the 
 head of a youth in the front rank, Hadji Bektash 
 thus addressed the Emir : — 
 
 " The troop which thou hast now formed shall be 
 called Yeni Sheri ('New Troop '). Their faces shall 
 be white and shining, their right arms strong, their 
 sabres keen, and their arrows sharp. They shall be 
 fortunate in battle, and never leave the field save 
 as \dctors." ^ 
 
 The Yeni Sheri, or Janisseries, in consequence of 
 this benediction, remained, until the destruction of 
 their corps in 1826, closely incorporated with the 
 Order founded by this famous Sheikh. ^ 
 
 The various Dervish Orders were not, it would 
 seem, originally designated, as now, by the names 
 of their respective founders, but by the principles 
 they severally professed ; but as each community grew 
 in course of time more distinct from the rest, the 
 name of the Pir was adopted to distinguish its 
 members. The twelve communities which existed 
 at the time of the foundation of the Ottoman Empire 
 
 * Creasy, History of the Ottoman Turks, pp. 14-15. 
 2 Von Hammer, Histoire de I'Empire Ottomane, Vol. II, 
 p. 71. 
 
 ^ See below, p. 187. 
 
20 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 have now increased to thirty-six, with as many 
 subordinate branches. 
 
 The Kalenderi Dervishes, or " Kalenders," as they 
 are often called by translators, are not, strictly 
 speaking, an Order, as they are not descended from 
 either of the original congregations. Their founder, 
 Kalender Yussuf-Andalusi, was a native of Anda- 
 lusia, and for long a disciple of Sheikh Hadji Bektash, 
 from whose brotherhood he was finally expelled on 
 account of his overbearing temper, and arrogant 
 behaviour. He then made unsuccessful attempts 
 to gain admittance to the Mevlevi Order, and ended 
 by estabhshing on his own authority a Brother- 
 hood the rules of which included the obligation of 
 perpetual wandering, and of entertaining an 
 eternal hatred against the Orders from which he had 
 been excluded. The title of Kalender , which he 
 assumed and bestowed on his followers, signifies 
 " pure," implying the purity of heart, spirituality 
 of soul, and exemption from worldly contamination 
 which Yussuf required in his disciples — qualities 
 somewhat at variance, one might suppose, with the 
 above-mentioned obligation. This same title of 
 Kalender y it may be remarked, is also given to 
 Dervishes of all Orders who are distinguished among 
 their brethren for superior spirituality. It is this 
 class of " enhghtened " beings which has pro- 
 duced so many dangerous fanatics in every age of 
 Mohammedanism. From it have come the assassins 
 of Sultans, Viziers, and Grandees of the Empire, and 
 all the unconscious imposters who, under the title 
 
THE DERVISH ORDERS 21 
 
 of Mahdi, have misled thousands and desolated 
 whole countries by their supposed prophecies and 
 divine revelations. 
 
 The attainment of a high degree of sanctity being 
 thus the aim of every true Dervish, he seeks, in 
 order to attain this, to lead a hfe of sinless retirement 
 from the world, and spends his days and nights in 
 prayer and meditation. Fully impressed with the 
 possibility of ultimately attaining intimate divine 
 communion, the aspirant after it looks upon every 
 mundane interest as unworthy of consideration ; 
 his mind becomes more and more completely absorbed 
 in mystic contemplation ; and as the result of 
 his constant invocation of the name of the Deity, 
 he hears, even when in the midst of a noisy crowd, 
 no other sound but Allah ! Allah ! unless, indeed, 
 it be some divine command addressed to him in 
 return. The more destitute a Dervish is of worldly 
 goods, the fewer are his ties to earth ; the more 
 emaciated his body with privation and fasting, the 
 greater his advance in spirituality ; the ills of 
 existence affect him not, and death has for him no 
 terrors. His solitude is cheered by the presence of 
 angelic visitors who impart to him wondrous things 
 hidden from the ken of ordinary mortals. Or they 
 are the bearers of direct messages from the Deity, 
 who thus makes known to his servants His holy Will 
 concerning men ; and when commanded to do so, 
 the Dervish fearlessly denounces, in the name of 
 Allah, the great ones of the earth who, by their 
 misdeeds, have incurred the divine displeasure. 
 
 3— (2 1 19) 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 THE SPIRITUAL HIERARCHY 
 
 " A Saint is aware of every thought of the King's heart, 
 and of every secret on earth or in heaven." — Saying of 
 Jelalu-'d-Din. 
 
 It is noteworthy that Mohammed, in proclaiming 
 himself to be the Messenger of Allah, connected 
 himself with the past as the Last of the Prophets. 
 The Moslem hierarchy of inspired Seers begins with 
 Adam, and includes the patriarchs Noah and 
 Abraham as well as the greater Jewish Prophets and 
 Christ, each successive one being esteemed greater 
 than his predecessor. But in addition to this 
 historical hierarchy of Prophets there exists, in 
 Moslem belief, another of an entirely mythical 
 character — a succession of saintly beings unto whom 
 the Will of Allah has been revealed, and through 
 whose instrumentality the destinies of mankind are 
 governed. Supreme among these Saints of the Mos- 
 lem Calendar is Khizr, or Khidhr-Elias, a mythical 
 personage who from time immemorial has in various 
 forms and under different names, filled a prominent 
 place in the religions of the world. This protean 
 Saint, or Demi-god, appears to be identifiable 
 with the Prophet Elijah, or Elias, as well as with the 
 Christian St. George, who, in his turn, has been 
 identified with Horus. ^ Khidhr is held to have 
 
 ^ Comp. Lenormant, Origines ii, p. 12 ; Clermont- 
 Ganneau, Rev. Arch, xxx, pp. 388-397 ; Guyard, Rev. de 
 VHistoire des Religions, 1880, p. 344 ; Gaston Paris, 
 Acad, des Inscriptions, etc., 1880, pp. 91-116. 
 
 22 
 
THE SPIRITUAL HIERARCHY 23 
 
 had his original abode in the terrestrial Paradise 
 which contained a tree of Life and a Fountain of 
 Life ; and having eaten of the fruit of the one and 
 drunk of the water of the other he became immortal. ^ 
 As the wisest of created beings, he was consulted 
 by Moses, who, accompanied by Joshua, journeyed 
 to a place where two rivers met, or, according to 
 other writers, to an " Isle of the Isles of the sea," 
 where they found the Sage from whom Moses 
 received the secret of the " True Path." ^ Another 
 legend gives the following account of this journey :— 
 
 " The prophet of Israel, in one of his interviews 
 with Allah on Mount Sinai, prayed for wisdom to 
 comprehend the hidden mysteries. ' That is too 
 hard a matter for thee,' replied the Almighty. But 
 on the Prophet's insisting, He relented and said, 
 * Make then for thyself iron shoes and get ready a 
 cooked fish. Then set out. Thou wilt walk until 
 the shoes are worn out and the fish has returned 
 to hfe, and then wilt thou find the man who shall 
 instruct thee in the knowledge of mysteries.' 
 
 " Moses did as the Lord bade him, and, accom- 
 panied by St. John the Baptist, he set out. In the 
 evening Moses and John ate some of the fish, yet the 
 next day they found it again whole. After a long 
 
 1 This " Water," " Fountain," " Stream," or " River of 
 Life," said to exist in a Land of Darkness in the extreme 
 East, is an Oriental myth alluded to in Revelations xxii. 1, 
 and often made use of by Ottoman and Persian poets. 
 It frequently occurs also in the folk-tales of South-Eastern 
 Europe. 
 
 2 See p. 104. 
 
24 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 journey they arrived at a spot where two seas met. 
 Moses lay down to sleep, and John was watching 
 over him, when suddenly a drop of spray fell on the 
 fish, which immediately came to life again and 
 plunged into the sea. When Moses awoke he set 
 out again with John, who had told him nothing of 
 the resuscitated fish. Towards evening they stopped 
 to eat, but the fish was not there. St. John then 
 revealed what he had seen, and Moses returned to 
 the place where the fish had leapt into the sea. 
 There they found a man l3nng on the ground. Moses 
 saluted him respectfully, and the prostrate man 
 returned his salute, sa3dng, ' Health to thee, Moses, 
 my father.' 
 
 " ' Who told thee that I am Moses ? ' 
 
 " ' Allah, who has sent me to thee.' 
 
 *' This man was Khidhr. ' What wilt thou with 
 me ? ' he asked. 
 
 " ' I will that thou instruct me in the knowledge 
 of mysteries. I will follow thee wherever thou 
 goest.' 
 
 " ' Thou canst not follow me,' said Khidhr, ' nor 
 art thou able to acquire the knowledge of mysteries.' 
 
 " ' I will follow thee, and I will strive to learn of 
 thee.' 
 
 " ' Thou mayest follow me on one condition only 
 — that thou meddle not in my business.' 
 
 " Moses accepted the condition. Then, sending 
 back John the Baptist to his own country, Moses 
 and Khidhr asked for passage on board a ship which 
 was about to set sail. The two men had no money, 
 
THE SPIRITUAL HIERARCHY 25 
 
 and their clothes were ragged. The captain at first 
 refused to take them on board, but finally yielded 
 to their soHcitations, and allowed them to sail with 
 him. 
 
 " After a long voyage they arrived in a port ; but 
 before going ashore Khidhr made a great hole in 
 the vessel in which he had had a free passage. 
 
 " ' What injustice ! what wickedness ! ' thought 
 Moses to himself. 
 
 *' Khidhr, who reads the hearts of men, remarked 
 to him, ' Said I not to thee that the knowledge of 
 mysteries is difficult to acquire, and hast thou not 
 promised to meddle not in my affairs ? ' 
 
 " Moses held his peace. 
 
 " As they passed through a town, Khidhr perceived 
 in a lonely spot a beautiful child asleep, and cut off 
 its head. The soul of Moses revolted against this 
 crime, but he said nothing. They left the town, 
 and came to the country. Seeing a wall about to 
 fall in ruins, Khidhr straightened it, and, with the 
 help of Moses, left it in good repair. 
 
 " 'What folly,' thought Moses to himself, ' Khidhr 
 kills an innocent child, and then repairs an old 
 ruined wall in the fields ! * 
 
 " Khidhr was aware of the reflections of Moses. 
 ' You find unjust,' he said, ' the deeds I have done 
 in your company; you are blaming me. I will 
 explain to thee the motives of my conduct : Listen ! 
 I scuttled the vessel in which we had a free passage. 
 It belongs to five persons of whom three are orphans 
 under age whose sole Uvehhood is the profit they 
 
26 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 derive from it. In the city where we landed is a 
 tyrant who seizes upon every sound vessel which 
 enters the port. The vessel which brought us, 
 being unsound, he has let go on her way. 
 
 ** ' I cut off the head of the sleeping child because, 
 had he grown up, he would have been the cause of 
 great misfortunes to his country and to its religion. 
 
 " ' We mended the ruined wall, and that seemed to 
 thee labour thrown away. This wall belongs to 
 some young children, and conceals a hidden treasure. 
 Had it fallen down, the first passer-by would have 
 found this treasure ; it will now stand firm till the 
 children are grown up, and they will enjoy their 
 own. 
 
 " ' I told thee that thou wert not able to follow me, 
 or to acquire the knowledge of mysteries. Said I 
 not truly? Go thou on thy way.' 
 
 " And Khidhr disappeared." 
 
 Khidhr is also credited in Moslem behef with 
 having led the Israelites out of Egypt and guided 
 them through the Red Sea and the Desert, taking 
 the place of the " pillars of cloud and of fire " in 
 the Biblical account of this incident. Moslems also 
 hold that Khidhr-EHas, as he is often termed, though 
 really one single individual, has a dual personality. 
 He is regarded as the special protector of travellers, 
 being invoked under the former name by those 
 journejdng on the sea, and under the latter by those 
 journeying on land. Both parts of this dual person- 
 age are believed to be perpetually wandering over 
 the world, Khidhr on the sea, and Elias on the 
 
THE SPIRITUAL HIERARCHY 27 
 
 land, and to meet once a year at Mina, near Mekka, 
 on the day of the " Station of the Pilgrims." He 
 is thus connected with St. Nicholas, who performs 
 the same good offices for the Greeks, and is the 
 special patron of sailors.^ St. Nicholas is also 
 further confounded with^HXto?, with Ah, the nephew 
 of the Prophet, and with Phineas, the immortal 
 hero of Talmudic legend who is credited with the per- 
 formance of twelve miracles, and, according to that 
 authority, destined, hke Ehas, to play an important 
 part at the end of the world. This behef would 
 appear to be illustrated in the question addressed 
 to Jesus by his disciples : ** Why say the Scribes 
 that Ehas must first come ? " and in His answer 
 that " Ehas is come already and they knew him 
 not," 2 as also in the popular Eastern behef in the 
 periodic incarnation of this mythical being. 
 
 Numerous instances are recorded in Moslem 
 literature and legend of the sudden appearances and 
 disappearances of Khidhr-Elias. By many he is 
 held to be always visibly present somewhere on the 
 earth, and like his prototype the Tishbite, is often 
 " carried by the Spirit of the Lord " from place to 
 place. Could he be recognised, a knowledge of the 
 secret of immortality might be demanded of him ; 
 but it is only a saintly man who can distinguish 
 Khidhr from another. A Moslem desirous of an 
 
 1 A Greek couplet says of this Saint : — 
 
 He to our aid comes on the sea, 
 And on the land works wondrously. 
 
 2 Matt. xvii. 10, 12. 
 
28 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 interview with this mysterious being, must, accord- 
 ing to Turkish popular behef, perform his devotions 
 during forty consecutive days under the central 
 dome of the mosque of St. Sofia at Constantinople, 
 and on the fortieth day he is certain to be rewarded 
 with a sight of Khidhr-Ehas. Evliya Effendi, 
 " The Traveller," himself a member of a distin- 
 guished Dervish family, declares in his Narrative ^ 
 that " thousands of holy men have here enjoyed 
 the happiness of converse with that great Prophet." 
 And many are the quaint and fantastic legends 
 current in the Turkish capital concerning interviews 
 with this ** Master of Secrets." 2 
 
 One of these legends relates that a pious Turk 
 who had undertaken the quest of Khidhr, met, on 
 the fortieth day, in the vicinity of the mosque, a 
 stranger, who said to him, " The mosque is not yet 
 open ; Why comest thou to disturb the sleep of its 
 guardians ? " 
 
 " I come to seek Khidhr," he rephed. 
 
 " Dost thou know him ? " 
 
 " I know him not." 
 
 " Then follow me, and I will show him to thee." 
 
 Khidhr — for it was indeed he whom the True 
 Behever had met— went on before him, and the 
 pious man observed that his feet left an imprint on 
 the stones over which he walked. 
 
 ^ Narrative of Travels, p. 60. 
 
 2 One of these, more marvellous even than the following, 
 is given by Evliya Effendi, who concludes it with the 
 remark — " The proof rests with the relater." Part I, 
 pp. 60-63. 
 
THE SPIRITUAL HIERARCHY 29 
 
 " Dost thou know what Khidhr can do ? " asked 
 the stranger. 
 
 '* No," repHed the pious man. 
 
 ** Khidhr can thrust his finger into stone even as 
 I do." 
 
 His finger entered the stone as he spoke, and the 
 stone " perspired " abundantly. ^ 
 
 " When thou seest a man who does wonders such 
 as these, say to thyself, ' This is Khidhr ! ' and hold 
 him fast." 
 
 " I will not fail," he repHed, and his companion 
 disappeared. 
 
 The pious man entered the mosque and related 
 his adventure to its guardians. 
 
 " 'Twas Khidhr himself ! " they cried. " If thou 
 see him again, fail not to hold him fast, and let him 
 go only when he has fulfilled thy desire." 
 
 The man performed his devotions in the mosque 
 for another forty days, and on the morning of the 
 fortieth he met a stranger who accosted him as the 
 other had done. 
 
 ** I would see Khidhr," he again rephed. 
 
 " What seekest thou from him ? " asked the 
 stranger. 
 
 Then the pious man concluded that this was 
 indeed Khidhr, and he seized and held him fast. 
 
 " I am not Khidhr," said the stranger. 
 
 1 Stones into which Khidhr is beheved to have thrust 
 his finger are held to cure those afflicted with profuse 
 perspiration. The sufferer inserts his finger into the cavity, 
 strokes with it his forehead and eyehds, and, it is confidently 
 asserted, " goes away cured." 
 
30 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 " Yea, thou art he ! " 
 
 " I am not. Suffer me to go on my way, and I 
 will show thee Khidhr." 
 
 " Yea, thou art indeed Khidhr," insisted the pious 
 man. " Fulfil my desire, or I will proclaim aloud 
 who thou art and others will then hkewise seize and 
 hold thee." 
 
 '* I tell thee again I am not he whom thou seekest. 
 Thou wilt see Khidhr on Friday in the mosque at 
 the hour of the noontide namaz. He who shall 
 place himself on thy right hand at the moment the 
 pubHc prayers begin will be Khidhr ; hold him fast." 
 So saying, the stranger disappeared. 
 
 Friday came, and the True Believer repaired to 
 the mosque of St. Sofia for the noontide prayer. Just 
 as the service was beginning, a man, dressed as an 
 Usher of the Subhme Porte, placed himself on his 
 right. As they came out of the mosque the pious 
 man seized the Usher, sa5ang, 
 
 " Thou art Khidhr ! I will not let thee go ! " 
 
 The Usher stoutly denied that he was other than 
 his dress betokened him, and did his best to get 
 away from the pious man. A long struggle ensued. 
 The two men wrestled, fell, and rose again, until 
 they came to the cemetery outside the Adrianople 
 gate of the city. The window of a turhe ^ stood open, 
 and the usher chmbed through it, closely followed 
 by the pious man, who still held on to his clothing, 
 and after various turns, they came into a splendid 
 
 ^ The mausoleum erected over the tomb of a reputed 
 saint. Many famous Dervishes are buried in this cemetery. 
 
■Ia|. 
 
 A WANDERING DERVISH 
 
THE SPIRITUAL HIERARCHY 31 
 
 subterranean hall. Round it were ranged forty 
 sheepskin mats, thirty-eight of which were occupied 
 by venerable-looking men. The stranger was the 
 chief of the Forty, one of whom had just died, and 
 the pious man was allowed to take his place. 
 
 " Thou mayst seat thee on any mat thou wilt 
 save that which is reserved to me, said the Usher, 
 who was the Sheikh of the Forty, as he and his 
 companions prepared to go out on the morrow. 
 
 The pious man obeyed, and remained in the 
 underground dwelhng for eight days, during which 
 he was left alone from morning until sunset. But 
 on the eighth day the True BeUever, moved by 
 curiosity, seated himself on the sheepskin of the 
 Chief. Suddenly he saw as in one glance the whole 
 world with everything in and upon it, even to the 
 innermost thoughts of men, and was filled with 
 wonder and dehght. As the hour for the return 
 of the thirty-nine approached, he took another seat, 
 where they found him. 
 
 " What hast thou done ? " they demanded in 
 voices of thunder. 
 
 " I have done naught." 
 
 " Yea, thou didst sit in the forbidden seat." 
 
 " Nay, I did not," mendaciously rephed the pious 
 man. 
 
 But scarcely had he said the words than the hall 
 became dark, and he found himself again in the 
 cemetery outside the Adrianople gate. 
 
 An anecdote recorded by Eflaki ^ as a proof of the 
 
 1 Acts of the Adepts, Redhouse's Mesnevi, p. 78. 
 
32 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 exceptional spiritual gifts of Jelalii-'d-Din also 
 illustrates the same belief regarding Khidhr, When 
 this great Dervish poet was still quite young, he 
 was one day preaching on the subject of Moses and 
 EHas. ^ During the discourse one of his disciples 
 noticed a stranger seated in a comer pa5dng great 
 attention, and every now and then exclaiming, 
 " Good ! " " Quite true ! " " Quite correct ! " " He 
 might have been the Third with Us Two ! " etc. 
 It occurred to the disciple that this might be Khidhr- 
 Ehas. He therefore grasped his garment, and begged 
 for his spiritual aid. 
 
 " Oh ! " said the stranger, " seek aid rather from 
 your master, as we all do. Every mystic saint of 
 Allah is the loving and admiring friend of Jelal." 
 
 So saying, he disengaged his robe from the 
 disciple's grasp, and instantly vanished. 
 
 The Murtd then went to pay his respects to his 
 master, who at once addressed him with the words, 
 " Ehas and Moses and the Prophets are all friends 
 of mine.'* The Dervish understood the allusion, 
 and became thereafter a still more ardent follower 
 of his Sheikh. 
 
 According to the mystical canon, there are always 
 on earth a certain number of holy men who are 
 admitted to intimate communion with the Deity. 
 The one who occupies the highest position among 
 his contemporaries is called the " Axis " (Qutb) or 
 " Pole " of his time. As EUas was in his day an 
 " Axis," and indeed as such held a higher spiritual 
 
 1 Koran, Chap, xviii. 59-81. 
 
THE SPIRITUAL HIERARCHY 33 
 
 rank than all other Qutbs, it is his privilege to appoint 
 his successors in office. This prevalent behef accords 
 curiously with the bibhcal story of his investiture 
 of Ehsha with his own miraculous powers and offices, 
 and of the subjection of all contemporary Prophets 
 to both in turn, and forms a strong hnk in the chain 
 with which the Dervishes connect their doctrines 
 and powers with those of the Prophets, Seers, and 
 Patriarchs of old. These " Poles " are quite 
 unrecognisable as such, save by other holy men, and 
 may belong to any rank in hfe, as is illustrated 
 in the following story told by Evhya Effendi. 
 
 When the terrible conqueror, Timour the Tartar, 
 was marching against Broussa, the alarmed inhabi- 
 tants asked the eminent Dervish, Emir Sultan, ^ 
 who resided there, what would be the fate of their 
 city. The Sheikh rephed that, as Broussa was 
 under the special protection of Khidhr and of 
 Eskedji Hodja,^ these holy men must be informed 
 of the approach of the enemy. He accordingly sent 
 a letter by the hand of one of his Dervishes to 
 Eskedji Hodja, who was found in the Tartar camp. 
 When the Saint, who was busy mending a torn 
 garment, had read the missive, he stuck his needle 
 into his turban, exclaiming, " Emir Sultan shall be 
 obeyed ! " and before he had finished putting his 
 work into his bag, the camp was, at his unuttered 
 
 1 Complimentary titles of " Pasha," "Emir," or " Sultan " 
 were frequently bestowed on learned men in the palmy days 
 of the Ottoman Empire. See pp. 61 and 167. 
 
 2 Literally " The Patching-tailor Parson." 
 
34 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 command, broken up. " For,'* adds the narrator, 
 " this old tailor was a Qutbj a * Pole of Poles,* and 
 a Chief among Saints." 
 
 Subordinate to the Qtltb are two holy beings who 
 bear the title of '* The Faithful Ones," and are 
 assigned places on his right and left respectively. 
 Below these is a quartette of " Intermediate Ones " 
 {Evtdd) ; and on successively lower planes are five 
 " Lights " (Envdr), and seven " Very Good " 
 (Akhydr). The next rank is filled by forty *' Absent 
 Ones " (Rijal-i-ghaib), also termed *' Martyrs " 
 (Shuheda). When an " Axis " quits this earthly 
 existence, he is succeeded by the " Faithful One " 
 who has occupied the place at his right hand, and 
 the vacancies thus caused are filled up from the 
 successive ranks. 
 
 " The Absent Ones " are said to have a circular 
 plan, or map, of the world, having for its centre 
 the holy city of Mekka. It is divided into thirty 
 sections corresponding with the days of the Moham- 
 medan month, and on it are also denoted the points 
 of the compass. The Forty set out from Mekka 
 every morning in the direction indicated by their 
 map for that day, returning before the end of 
 twenty-four hours to make their report to the 
 " Axis." Any one possessing a copy of their map 
 can, by consulting it, ascertain where the " Absent 
 Ones " may be found at a given time, and by placing 
 himself in their path may obtain from them what- 
 ever spiritual boon he may desire. For to these holy 
 men, who also bear the collective titles of " Lords 
 
THE SPIRITUAL HIERARCHY 35 
 
 of Souls," and " Directors, ^ is committed a spiritual 
 supremacy over mankind far exceeding the temporal 
 authority of earthly rulers. The transactions and 
 designs of every individual are believed to be under 
 their control, and must receive their approval, or 
 at least permission, before they can be carried into 
 effect . For they are the Deputies of the Prophets and 
 Saints who have left the world, and to them is 
 divulged the will of Allah with regard to the actions 
 of men. 
 
 According to Mr. Lane's ^ account of these mystical 
 beings the ** Axis'* is, Hke Khidhr, " often seen, but 
 not recognised as such ; and the same is said of all 
 who hold authority under him. He always has a 
 humble demeanour and mean dress, and mildly 
 reproves those whom he finds acting impiously, 
 particularly those who have a false reputation for 
 sanctity. Though he is unknown to the world, his 
 favourite stations are well known, yet at these places 
 he is seldom visible. It is asserted that he is almost 
 constantly seated on the roof of the Ka'abah ; and 
 though never seen there, is always heard at mid- 
 night to cry twice, ' O Thou most merciful of those 
 
 ^ Sadi thus refers in his Gulistan to these mystical beings. 
 (I quote from Mr. Davis's translation.) 
 
 A group of Directors, in lonely retreat, 
 
 With their breath full of fire, although earthly their feet — 
 
 They root up a hill from its site, with a cry ; 
 
 And a kingdom demolish at once, with a sigh. 
 
 Like the wind they're unseen, and of hurricane speed ; 
 
 Like stones they are silent, and rosaries read. 
 
 ^ The Modern Egyptians, 
 
36 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 who show mercy ! ' which cry is then repeated by 
 the Moeddins from the minarets of the temple ; but 
 a respectable pilgrim, whom I have just questioned 
 upon this matter, has confessed to me that he 
 himself has witnessed that this cry is made by a 
 regular minister of the mosque, yet that few pilgrims 
 know this : he believes, however, that the roof of 
 the Ka'abah is the chief station of the 'Axis.' 
 Another favourite resort of this revered and 
 unknown person is the gate of Cairo. Though he has 
 a number of favourite stations, he does not abide 
 solely at these, but, hke Khidhr, wanders through 
 the world, among persons of every rehgion, whose 
 appearance, dress, and language he assumes ; and 
 distributes to mankind, chiefly through the agency 
 of the subordinate Welees, the evils and blessings 
 apportioned to each by his Kismet.^^ 
 
 Mr. J. P. Brown also describes an encounter 
 which a Dervish friend of his had with one of 
 these " Lords of Souls," or, as he terms them, 
 " Spiritual Owners," while on a pilgrimage to the 
 tomb of the Khahf Ah. His name was Jemel-ed- 
 Din of Kufa, and the Dervish described him as a 
 person of middle stature, perfectly naked, with 
 scanty hair and beard, of feeble frame, and 
 apparently some forty to fifty years of age. When 
 the Dervish came up with him in the desert and 
 ahghted from his horse for the purpose of offering 
 his homage, the saint turned round suddenly, and 
 cried in a loud voice, " Go to Allah 1 " The pilgrim 
 was too startled and frightened to kiss the hand of 
 
THE SPIRITUAL HIERARCHY 37 
 
 the holy man as he had intended, and returned 
 to Kufa, which place he had passed on his way. 
 On enquiring at the mosque there for the abode of 
 this Saint, he was shown a spot near the tomb of 
 the Khahf Ah's nephew, where he was said to sleep 
 on a mat of date-palm leaves, with a stem for his 
 pillow. The Dervish asked how he was supported, 
 and in what way he passed his time ; but could 
 obtain no further information about him, save that 
 he came there every night to sleep, and left again 
 in the morning for the desert. This person, it 
 appears, died in 1882 (A.H. 1260,) and has been 
 succeeded in his saintly rank by an individual of 
 the name of Beder ed Din, who will Hve till 1902 
 (A.H. 1280) when the " Last of the Saints " will 
 take his place. ^ 
 
 Below the " Absent Ones " is another class of 
 saints called Abddls, from among whom the higher 
 ranks are recruited as vacancies occur. These 
 persons would, I fear, in more highly civihsed 
 countries be termed idiots or lunatics. Orientals, 
 however, treat with reverence what they cannot 
 explain ; and, according to the popular behef, the 
 Abddls are beings so holy that their souls have 
 already found their way to heaven, and their bodies 
 are consequently left on earth without the guidance 
 of ordinary reason. As none but Allah knows who 
 has in reahty been promoted to fill the place of a 
 defunct " Absent One," any Abddl may be credited 
 with that honour. The result of this reputation 
 
 1 The Dervishes. 
 
 4- (2119) 
 
38 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 for sanctity enjoyed by Ahddls is that they are 
 allowed to wander at large over the country, some- 
 times half clad, sometimes completely naked, 
 following the bent of their errant fancies ; and the 
 wilder and more extraordinary their vagaries, the 
 greater is their renown for virtue and hohness. 
 They are no respecters of persons, but denounce 
 with impunity high and low, pasha or peasant, who 
 may chance to incur their anger or dislike ; and 
 though the more enhghtened portion of the pubhc 
 may estimate these maniacs at their just value, 
 they will at the same time avoid any coUision 
 with them, as their abusive threats when excited 
 are attributed by the ignorant to divine 
 inspiration. 
 
 Many of those, however, who are termed Ahddls, 
 or Perishdns, are in full enjoyment of all their 
 faculties, but, possessed by an aversion for their 
 fellow-men, shun their abodes, and, like the hermits 
 of Christendom, retire to mountains and deserts 
 where, fed perhaps on '' locusts and wild honey " 
 — though the popular behef credits them with the 
 faculty of being able to dispense altogether with 
 food — they live in harmony with wild animals 
 whose fierceness or timidity they overcome by means 
 of their wonderful spiritual powers. 
 
 A succession of famous Ahddls has existed in 
 Turkey extending from the time of the conquest to 
 the present day, and the renown of many has been 
 so great that we find their sayings and doings 
 chronicled by the historians and writers of their 
 
THE SPIRITUAL HIERARCHY 39 
 
 times. During the reign of Sultan Orchan, the most 
 famous were Abddl Mousa and Abddl Murad, who 
 were with the army at the conquest of Broussa, 
 and whose tombs in that city are still visited by 
 devout pilgrims. The " Sultan of all Saint-fools," 
 commonly called Sabah-Sabah, was, according to 
 Evhya Effendi,^ the son of a sergeant of the Jani- 
 series, and hved in the reign of Mohammed IV. 
 Having foretold his father's death on the day before 
 it took place, the word Sabah (to-morrow) was 
 retained by him as his nickname. During the Grand 
 Vizierate of Kara Mustapha, he one day made a 
 great disturbance at the Divan by clamouring for 
 the hberation of his mother, who had been impris- 
 oned for smoking tobacco, a practice, it would 
 appear, not then permitted to women. " Release," 
 he cried, " the women, and imprison the men if 
 you will, for I have no father." " Thus," adds the 
 narrator, *' he got his mother released." 
 
 Among the many Saints and other Dervishes who 
 accompanied the army of Mohammed III in his 
 campaign into Hungary, was an individual who 
 held a Colonel's commission. When the war was 
 over he was speechless for seven years, and then 
 was only heard to repeat the words Yetmish grush 
 (seventy piastres), by which name he was thereafter 
 called. He, however, subsequently prophesied to 
 Sultan Murad IV that he would take Erivan and 
 lose it again within seven days. This Sultan was 
 known to assert that, though "Yetmish grush'* 
 
 * Narrative of Travel. 
 
40 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 had remained behind in Constantinople, he per- 
 petually heard in the camp the prophetic words of 
 the Ahddl. This saintly personage affected the 
 dress of a soldier of the Bosnian frontier, and 
 possessed the strange faculty of walking about the 
 muddy streets of the capital without soiling even 
 the soles of his babouches — a miraculous feat, indeed, 
 if the state of the streets in wet weather was then 
 anything like what it is at the present day. 
 
 Another famous Abddl of those times, Durmich 
 D6d6h, frequented the Castle of Rumili, at the 
 entrance of the Bosphorus, and sailors were in 
 the habit of propitiating him on their arrival in port 
 with an oka (about 2|- lbs.) of meat. He advised 
 ship captains concerning the voyages they were 
 about to make. If they followed his counsel, it 
 turned to their advantage ; but if they disregarded 
 it, ill luck was sure to accompany them. Those 
 who passed him on their way to the Divan were also 
 forewarned, by his behaviour towards them, whether 
 they were or were not likely to prosper that day 
 in their suits at law. ^ 
 
 That this canonisation of persons of weak intellect 
 still continues, will be seen from the following story, 
 as related to Lady Blunt and myself by Sheikh Ah, 
 a Bektashi of Salonica. I give, as nearly as possible, 
 a literal translation of his own words : — 
 
 ** My younger brother had been, from his child- 
 hood, of an erratic and unmanageable disposition. 
 It was impossible to teach him anything, and he 
 
 ^ Narrative of Travel. 
 
THE SPIRITUAL HIERARCHY 41 
 
 spent the greater part of his time in roaming from 
 village to village, fed by the charitable, but housed 
 I know not how, and occasionally returning home 
 to me for a few days. As he grew older, he became 
 confirmed in these wandering habits, and was seldom 
 at home. He returned one day from a prolonged 
 excursion complaining that he felt unwell, and 
 asked to be allowed to he down in my room. He 
 was very thirsty and feverish, and ere long smallpox 
 declared itself. The elders of the Tekkeh, at my 
 request, came in and prayed over him. When they 
 had finished, he smiled, thanked them, and requested 
 that they would come again in four days* time, at 
 the same hour, for on that day, at noon, he would 
 die. The Dervishes, deeply affected, promised to 
 do as he wished, and withdrew. For the next three 
 days he was unconscious, his sight failed, and I saw 
 that his case was hopeless. On the fourth day, at 
 the hour he had mentioned, he came to himself, and 
 asked me to send for the Brethren. I did so, and 
 they again prayed over him. Then, turning to me, 
 he said, ' My brother, I have been a sore burden to 
 you all my hfe. I pray you, make me heldl^ (free 
 gift) of all the bread I have eaten at your hands, so 
 that I may depart in peace.' I made the heldl, 
 holding the poor saint's head on my knees. He 
 then said, ' I am content,' and breathed his last 
 
 1 One of the ceremonies at a Moslem funeral is the giving 
 of heldl by the friends and relatives of the defunct. It 
 conveys pardon for any offence committed towards them, 
 and is the Moslem equivalent for the Christian requiescat in 
 pace. 
 
42 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 just as the clock struck the hour of noon. My 
 community pronounced him an evliya'^ (saint) and 
 he was buried with the honour due to one who had 
 held communion with Allah." 
 
 Patron saints also hold no unimportant place in 
 this mystical hierarchy. They include, besides 
 defunct Dervishes of peculiar holiness, all the more 
 famous bibhcal characters ; and their protection is 
 perhaps specially claimed by the numerous eswa/s 
 or trade guilds. Thus the Bakers, who, according 
 to Evliya Effendi, have precedence over all other 
 guilds of handicraftsmen, and enjoy the honourable 
 title of " Columns of Faith," have for their patron 
 Adeim, who, say the Moslems, was forbidden to eat 
 of the corn-tree in Paradise, but having transgressed 
 the divine command, he was exiled to earth, where 
 Gabriel brought again to him the corn, which he 
 boiled and converted into soup. Hence the form 
 of invitation usual now in the East : " Come, let 
 us eat the Father's soup (ash haha) together ! " 
 Gabriel then taught Adam to grind the corn and 
 make it into bread. 
 
 The mythical Jemshid,* who is reputed to have 
 lived a thousand years and to have invented three 
 hundred arts, protects, among others, the Firework- 
 makers. The patron saint of the Coffee-makers is 
 
 1 This plural form of the Arabic word is popularly used 
 as a singular noun, 
 
 2 Jemshid was the fourth king of the first Persian dynasty 
 mentioned in the Shah Nameh, where he is described as 
 having been eminent in learning and wisdom. When he 
 
THE SPIRITUAL HIERARCHY 43 
 
 Ebul Hassan Schaseli, who discovered the virtues 
 of the Mocha berry ; that of the Gardeners is Baba 
 Reten, a recluse of Mount Olympus, learned in 
 botany ; and that of the Dentists, or rather barber 
 tooth-drawers, Sheikh Uwais, mentioned in the 
 preceding chapter. 
 
 had reached the summit of his power and glory, he was 
 able to compel the very demons to labour for him in 
 building a glorious palace. 
 
 He taught the unholy demon train to knead 
 Water and clay, with which, formed into bricks, 
 The walls were built, and then high turrets, towers, 
 And balconies, and roofs to keep out rain 
 And cold and sunshine. Every art was known 
 To Jemshid, without rival in the world. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 THE METAPHORS OF THE POETS 
 
 " The Mystic Word, clad in poetic dress, 
 The shadow is of that proclaimed by Prophet tongue ; 
 Majestic strideth Prophecy in foremost rank, 
 While follows humbly in its footsteps Poesy. " 
 
 One of the chief peculiarities of Persian and Ottoman 
 poetical writings is that they almost always contain, 
 concealed beneath their literal meaning, an esoteric 
 and spiritual signification. A certain number of 
 famous poems, such as, for instance, the Turkish 
 ''Diwdn of Ashik Pasha," and the Persian " Mesnevi 
 of Jelalii'-d-Din, may, indeed, be read for the most 
 part for what they appear on the surface to be — 
 religious or moral works. But nearly all the long 
 Persian romances in verse called Mesnevi, the 
 charming love-stories of Leyla and Mejnoun, of 
 Khusruf and Shir in, of Yusuf and Zulaikha, 
 the Mantic Uttair, and many others, are allegorical 
 representations of the yearning of the soul of man 
 for union with the Deity, or its love of and quest for 
 the highest type of spiritual beauty and goodness — 
 an object attained only when the heart has been 
 purified by the severest and most painful trials. 
 
 The Ghazels, or odes, present the same character- 
 istic as the longer poems. Though on the surface 
 either mere bacchanalian verses or voluptuous love 
 songs, they are, to those who possess the key to 
 their symbohc imagery, the fervent outpourings of 
 hearts ecstasied, or, as they express it, intoxicated 
 
 44 
 
THE METAPHORS OF THE POETS 45 
 
 with spiritual love. For every word in these effusions 
 has its mystical signification. It has indeed been 
 asserted that " every word of Sadi possesses seventy- 
 two different meanings *' ; and the symbolism of 
 his verse he himself thus explains : — 
 
 Think not, O Khjzr, thou favoured of Fortune, 
 
 When I of " Wine " sing, the juice of the grape I am 
 
 praising. 
 " Wine " is to me that which *bove self exalteth ; 
 None other ever doth gladden my banquet. 
 Know that my "Cupbeajrer " is but of vow the fulfilment ; 
 " Draught " from the " Tavern " ecstatic oblivion. 
 Heaven is my witness that long as on earth I have 
 
 sojourned. 
 Ne'er hath the tip of my lips with the red wine been 
 
 stainM. 
 
 The " Fair One " for whom in these ghazels Man, 
 the " Lover/* sighs, is the Deity ; as is also the 
 " Loved One '* whom he entreats to throw off the 
 veil that conceals His perfect beauty from view. 
 The " Ruby Lip " signifies the unspoken, but heard 
 and understood, words of God ; " nestling in the 
 Fair One's tresses " denotes comprehension of the 
 hidden attributes of the Divinity ; the " Embrace " 
 is the revelation to man of the divine mysteries ; 
 " Separation " or " Absence " from the " Loved 
 One " is the non-attainment of oneness with the 
 Deity. " Wine " is the Divine Love ; the " Cup- 
 bearer " the spiritual instructor, the " giver of the 
 goblet of celestial aspiration " ; the " Libertine " 
 the Saint who has become careless of human conven- 
 tionalities ; the " Tavern," a place where one mor- 
 tifies sensuality, and relinquishes his name and 
 
46 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 worldly fame. The " Zephyr " is the breathmg of 
 the Divine Spirit ; the " Taper," the heavenly light 
 kindling the " Torch," which is the heart of the 
 Lover, Man ; and so on through every detail. These 
 ghazels breathe, indeed, in every line a spirit of 
 ravishment and ecstasy, '* picturing the whole 
 creation as filled with the Divine Love by which 
 even the most humble plant is excited to seek the 
 subhme object of its desires."^ 
 
 One of the earhest and most famous of the Dervish 
 poets was Mohammed ben Ibrahim of Nischapiir, 
 on whom was conferred the honorific title of Farid- 
 'd-Din (" Pearl of the Faith "), and who was also 
 known by the soubriquet of " Attar " from his trade 
 as a perfumer. He was born in 1119, and at the 
 advanced age of a hundred and ten was massacred 
 by the Mongols under Yenghiz Khan. One day, 
 when he was in his shop, a passing Dervish stopped 
 before him, cast a glance over his wares, and heaved 
 a deep sigh. Attar, surprised, begged him to go on 
 his way. " Thou art right," rephed the stranger, 
 " the road to eternity is easy for me ; I have no 
 encumbrances, for all I possess in the world is my 
 mantle. Unfortunately it is not so with thee, who 
 possessest so much valuable merchandise. But take 
 heed that thou also prepare thyself for that journey.'" 
 This advice, according to the biographers, made a 
 great impression on Attar's mind, and finally caused 
 him to give up his business and the world in order 
 to consecrate himself exclusively to the service of 
 1 Ubicini, Letters, p. 101. 
 
THE METAPHORS OF THE POETS 47 
 
 God. For several years he abandoned himself to 
 physical mortifications and rehgious practices, and 
 subsequently made the pilgrimage to Mekka. He 
 also frequented the society of men famed for eminent 
 piety, and by this means collected the vast store of 
 anecdotes with which he embelHshed and illustrated 
 his writings, these anecdotes being considered 
 valuable fragments of Moslem biography. In his 
 old age Attar received at Nischapiir the visit of 
 Jelalii-'d-Din, to whom he presented a copy of his 
 work, the " Asrdr Ndmd,'^ or " Book of Secrets," the 
 perusal of which was said to have greatly influenced 
 the younger poet. The most famous of Attar's 
 works is, however, the '^Mantic Uttair,'' or "Lan- 
 guage of the Birds," a long poem which represents in 
 allegorical form the Soul's Quest for the Divine Love. 
 The Birds had hitherto lived as a Republic, but they 
 felt the necessity of having a King, and took counsel 
 of the Hoopoe who, as she had, according to Moslem 
 legend, accompanied Solomon on his journey to 
 Sheba, was supposed to be the best judge of the 
 quahties requisite in a King. The Hoopoe proposed 
 to them as sovereign the Slmorg, a wonderful bird 
 whose abode was in the Caucasus, and whose 
 excellent qualities she set forth. The birds accept 
 Simorg as their King ; but many are dismayed by 
 the dangers of the way and the length of the journey 
 to his abode. A company of Birds finally set out, 
 but the greater number perish by the way of 
 hunger, thirst, or fatigue. At length, after passing 
 through many trials and dangers, thirty survivors 
 
48 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 only reach the goal of their journey, when they find 
 
 in themselves the object of their quest — the Sintorg, 
 
 a word which, in Persian, signifies '* thirty birds." 
 
 This consummation is thus described by the poet. 
 
 When the birds have been introduced by the 
 
 Chamberlain into the presence of the Simorg : — 
 
 They on the Throne of Nearness take their seat 
 
 In glory and in majesty's high place, 
 
 The Sun of Nearness on them shed His rays, 
 
 And, mirrored in each face, these Birds of Earth 
 
 Saw the Simorg, the Bird of Heaven ; 
 
 And when on Him they gazed, but Thirty Birds beheld, 
 
 Strange wonderment then fell upon their minds. 
 
 Were they still Thirty Birds ? Or were they now Simorg ? 
 
 They asked themselves, and yet it seemed 
 
 That they Simorg were now, and He the Thirty Birds. 
 
 Then mutely craved the meaning to be shown 
 Of this Plurality and Unity combined ; 
 And, without words, this did Simorg reply : 
 ''The Sun that from my majesty rays forth 
 A mirror is. Whoso approacheth near, 
 Therein reflected may himself behold, 
 His body and his soul, himself complete. 
 Since you as Thirty Birds are hither come, 
 You in this mirror but those Birds behold. 
 Thus in my radiance be still lost, absorbed, 
 That you yourselves may ever find in me." 
 The Birds were in Simorg thenceforward lost. 
 As are the sunrays lost within the sun. 
 
 The following passage from the same work pre- 
 sents another aspect of the Siifi doctrines, the 
 pantheistic conception of Creation. It is addressed 
 by the spiritually mmded Hoopoe to the other 
 
 Birds : — 
 
 Come ! of this King admire the handiwork. 
 Though less than naught it in His eyes appears. 
 
/ 
 
 THE ADRIANOPLE GATE, STAMBOUL, LEADING TO THE 
 
 DERVISH CEMETERY 
 
THE METAPHORS OF THE POETS 49 
 
 And, as His Essence all the world pervades, 
 
 Naught in Creation is, save this alone. 
 
 Upon the waters has He fixed His Throne, 
 
 This earth suspended in the starry space, 
 
 Yet what are seas and what is air ? for all 
 
 Is God, and but a talisman are heaven and earth 
 
 To veil Divinity. For Heaven and earth, 
 
 Did He not permeate them, were but names. 
 
 Know then, that both this visible world, and that 
 
 Which unseen is, alike are God Himself. 
 
 Naught is, save God ; and all that is, is God. 
 
 And yet, alas I by how few is He seen. 
 
 Blind are men's eyes, though all resplendent shines 
 
 The world by Deity's own light illumed. 
 
 O Thou whom man perceiveth not, although 
 
 To him Thou deignest to make known Thyself ; 
 
 Thou all Creation art, all we behold, but Thou. 
 
 The soul within the body lies concealed, 
 
 And Thou dost hide Thyself within the soul. 
 
 O soul in soul ! Myst'ry in myst'ry hid ! 
 
 Before all wert Thou, and art more than all ! ^ 
 
 Sadi was a fellow-disciple with Bah§--'d-Din ^ 
 (father of the great poet of Konieh) of the famous 
 Sheikh Sa'ed-*d-Din of Kashgar,^ who instructed 
 him in theology and in the principles of Siifi phil- 
 osophy ; and in the company of this teacher he 
 made the first of his fourteen pilgrimages to Mekka. 
 Sadi was a great traveller. Besides his Eastern 
 journeys in Armenia, Arabia, and India, he also 
 visited Europe, Egypt, and Barbary. On one 
 occasion he was captured by the Crusaders and 
 made to work in the ditch at Tripoli. From this 
 slavery he was rescued by a merchant of Aleppo, 
 
 ^ See Garcin de Tassy, Mantic Uttair. 
 2 Mentioned on p. 148 
 8 Ibid. 
 
50 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 who recognised the poet, paid his ransom, and 
 
 subsequently gave him his daughter in marriage. 
 
 The last thirty years of Sadi's long and adventurous 
 
 life — he lived to the great age of a hundred and 
 
 sixteen — were spent at Shiraz, a town situated 
 
 among charming natural scenery, and blessed with 
 
 a deHcious chmate. Here he wrote the two works 
 
 on which his fame chiefly rests, the Gulistdn, 
 
 or " Rosary,'* and the Bostdn, or " Garden." The 
 
 first consists of prose anecdotes interspersed with 
 
 couplets, verses, and moral apologues ; while the 
 
 second is entirely a poetical work. The writings of 
 
 Sadi are replete with wise proverbial sayings, pious 
 
 reflections, and moral precepts, but Siifi mysticism 
 
 also finds a large place in them. In Oriental fashion 
 
 he thus addresses himself : — 
 
 Sadi, move thou to Resignation's shrine. 
 
 O man of God, the path of God be thine ! 
 
 Hapless is he who from this Haven turns. 
 
 All doors shall spurn him who this Portal spurns. 
 
 The tolerance and goodwill to all mankind, irre- 
 spective of race or creed, so often met with among 
 the more enlightened Siifis, formed an admirable 
 part of Sadi's character, and found expression as 
 
 follows : — 
 
 All Adam's race are members of one frame, 
 Since all, at first, from the same essence came. 
 When, by hard fortune is one limb opprest, 
 The other members lose their wonted rest, 
 If thou feel not for others' misery, 
 A son of Adam is no name for thee. 
 
 The Mesnevi of Jelalu-'d-Din surpasses, in 
 
 Oriental estimation, all other works of the kind by 
 
THE METAPHORS OF THE POETS 51 
 
 Moslem writers. The word Mesnevi signifies at once 
 the verse-form — a rhymed distich of not less than 
 twelve couplets — in which romance or epic poetry- 
 is written, and the poem itself ; and the work of 
 the poet of Konieh is by common consent termed 
 simply The Mesnevi, or " Poem of Poems.'* Like 
 all the early Dervish hterature, it is in Persian, and 
 consists of a number of pieces written in the form of 
 apologues, with digressions on Sufi doctrines. The 
 work is divided into six Books or Parts, and contains 
 twenty-six thousand six hundred and sixty couplets. ^ 
 Like his forerunner, Sadi, the great founder of the 
 Mevlevi Order preaches tolerance and large-minded- 
 ness, as in the following charming parable which I 
 give in Mr. Whinfield's prose translation : — 
 
 " Moses once heard a shepherd praying as follows : 
 ' O God, show me where Thou art that I may become 
 Thy servant. I will clean Thy shoes, and comb Thy 
 hair, and sew Thy clothes, and fetch Thee milk.* 
 When Moses heard him praying in this senseless 
 manner, he rebuked him. saying, ' O fooHsh one, 
 
 ^ Portions only of the Mesnevi have, so far as my%now- 
 ledge goes, as yet been translated into any European 
 language. The late Sir James Redhouse published in 
 Trubner's Oriental Series a volume containing translations 
 of a number of pieces from the First Book of that work. 
 The renderings of the late Orientalist are, however, often 
 grotesque in their exceeding baldness ; while comparison 
 with Mr. Whinfield's literal prose translations of the same 
 passages makes it evident that, in order to meet the exi- 
 gencies of rhyme and metre, many words and phrases have 
 been added which completely obscure the sense of the 
 original lines. 
 
52 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 though your father was a Moslem, you have become 
 an infidel ! God is a spirit, and needs not such gross 
 ministrations as in your ignorance you suppose.' 
 The shepherd was abashed at the Prophet's rebuke ; 
 he tore his clothes and fled away into the desert. 
 Then a voice from heaven was heard, saying, * O 
 Moses, wherefore hast thou driven away My servant ? 
 Thine office it is to reconcile my people with Me, not 
 to drive them away from Me. I have given to 
 men different usages and forms of praising and of 
 adoring Me. I have no need of their praises, being 
 exalted high above all such needs. I regard not 
 the words which are spoken, but the heart that 
 offers them.' " 
 
 The following poem, which forms a kind of Pro- 
 logue to the Mesneviy was translated a century 
 ago by the celebrated Orientahst, Sir WiUiam 
 Jones :— ^ 
 
 SONG OF THE REED-FLUTE 2 
 
 Hear how yon reed, in sadly pleasing tales, 
 Departed bliss and present woe bewails : 
 "With me, from native banks untimely torn, 
 Love-warbling youths and soft-eyed virgins mourn. 
 
 ! let the heart by fatal absence rent, 
 
 Feel what I sing, and bleed when I lament : 
 Who roams in exile from his parent bower. 
 Pants to return, and chides each lingering hour. 
 My notes in circles of the grave and gay, 
 Have hailed the rising, cheered the closing day. 
 Each in my fond affections claimed a part, 
 But none discerned the secret of my heart. 
 
 1 The Works, Vol. I. 
 
 a See p. 110. The Mystic Reed-flute. 
 
THE METAPHORS OF THE POETS 53 
 
 What though my strains and sorrows slow combined, 
 Yet ears are dull, and carnal eyes are blind. 
 Free through each mortal form the spirits roll, 
 But sighs avail not. Can we see the soul ? " 
 
 Such notes breathed gently from yon vocal frame. 
 
 Breathed, said I ? No ! 'Twas all enlivening flame. 
 
 'Tis love that fills the reed with warmth divine ; 
 
 'Tis love that sparkles in the rosy wine. 
 
 The plaintive wand'rer from my peerless maid, 
 
 The reed has fired, and all my soul betrayed. 
 
 He gives the bane and he with balsam cures ; 
 
 Afflicts, yet soothes, impassions, yet allures. 
 
 Hail, heavenly Love ! true source of endless gains ! 
 
 Thy balm restores me, and thy skill sustains. 
 
 O more than Galen learned, than Plato wise, 
 
 My guide, my law, my joy supreme, arise ! 
 
 Love warms this frigid clay with mystic fire, 
 
 And dancing mountains leap with young desire. 
 
 Blest is the soul that swims in seas of love, 
 
 And long the life sustained by food above. 
 
 With forms imperfect can perfection dwell ? 
 
 Here pause, my song ; and thou, vain world, farewell ! 
 
 The following charming little parable, so 
 essentially Sufi in spirit, is already a favourite 
 with Europeans. It is from " The Lion's Hunt " : — 
 
 A Dervish once to his Friend's door drew nigh, and knocked. 
 "Who art thou. Faithful One?" was asked, ere 'twas 
 
 unlocked. 
 " 'Tis I," the Dervish cried. " Then in thou mayst not 
 
 come ; 
 For at my well-dressed feast there is for raw no room," 
 Replied the Friend. " But separation's fiery smart 
 Can purify the crude, and cleanse from guile his heart. 
 Since from the bonds of self thou art not yet set free, 
 By fiery flame alone canst thou refined be." 
 The Dervish went away. For one whole weary year 
 Did wander, grief -consumed, his Friend no longer near. 
 
 5— U119) 
 
54 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 Then, cleansed at length by fire till self became as naught, 
 He turned him back again ; his Friend's abode he sought, 
 And at His door he knocked, with trembling hand and 
 
 meek, 
 Fearing some careless word his foolish lips might speak. 
 Again then asked the Friend : " Who at my door knocks 
 
 low ? " 
 He answered only, " O Belov'd, Belov'd, 'tis thou ! " 
 " Since 'tis Myself that knocks, the door stands open wide — 
 But could two I's beneath one roof in peace abide ? " ^ 
 
 The following passage, also from the Mesnevi, 
 refers to the Dervish Pit, Bayazid Bestemi, men- 
 tioned in the first chapter, and interestingly illus- 
 trates the Siifi doctrine of union with the Deity. 
 When on his pilgrimage to Mekka, Bayazid visited 
 all the " Pillars of Insight " who had their abodes 
 in the various towns through which he had to pass. 
 One day he had the happiness to discover the 
 " Axis," 2 or greatest saint of the time, in the 
 person of a venerable Dervish with whom he held 
 the following conversation : — 
 
 " Say now, O Bayazid, to what town art thou bound, 
 
 Where will thy weary caravan its rest have found ? " 
 
 " At dawn I to the holy Ka'aba ^ take my way." 
 
 " But how wilt thou the cost of that long journey pay ? " 
 
 " Two hundred silver dirhems do I bear with me, 
 
 Sewn in the corner of my cloak for safety, see ! 
 
 " Walk sev'n times round me, Bayazid," the Sage then said. 
 
 " Greater thy gain than hadst the Ka'aba's circuit made ! 
 
 As for thy dirhems, liberal one, give them to me. 
 
 For now thy journey's o'er, thou thy deshe dost see. 
 
 Thy Pilgrimage is made, Eternal Life hast gained, 
 
 Heav'n's purity in one brief moment hast attained. 
 
 1 Versified from Mr. Whinfield's prose translation. 
 
 2 See p. 32. 
 
 3 The Sanctuary at Mekka. 
 
THE METAPHORS OF THE POETS 55 
 
 That which thy soul in me doth see is truly God, 
 
 For He hath chosen me to make me His abode. 
 
 Unto the Ka'aba He His Grace and Favour shows, 
 
 But to my body He His Secret doth disclose. 
 
 Hath He, since He that house built, e'en to enter deigned ? 
 
 But, save th' Eternal One, none entrance here hath gained. 
 
 When Thou hast me beheld, then Allah hast thou seen. 
 
 And round about the holy Ka'aba thou hast been. 
 
 Thou servest me, and Allah worshipped is, and praised ; 
 
 For think not He so high above all men is raised. 
 
 Thy mind's eye open wide, and fix thou it on me 
 
 That, in a mortal, Thou the Light of God mayst see. 
 
 Once only the Belov'd ' My House ' the Ka'aba named, 
 
 But me He seventy times has as ' His Servant ' ^ claimed. 
 
 O happy Bayazid, thou hast the Ka'aba found. 
 
 And now art with a thousand precious blessings crowned ! " 
 
 Jelalu-'d-Din also left behind him a large collec- 
 tion of ghazels, or odes. This is a verse-form which 
 may contain from three to twenty-five distichs, the 
 two first lines rhyming with the second line of each 
 succeeding couplet. This pecuharity of rhyme has, 
 however, been disregarded in the following ghazelsy 
 translated by Professor Falconer, but may be 
 remarked in Mr. Gibb's renderings of ghazels by 
 Ottoman poets : — 
 
 All earthly forms, where beauty dwells enshrined, 
 That beauty borrow from the Infinite mind, 
 Why grieve we when the faint icflections fade ? — 
 Their source and prototype are undecayed. 
 
 The form whose beauty woos the raptured eye. 
 The strain that steeps the soul in ecstasy. 
 When that hath vanished, and this ceased to flow. 
 Why weep and call it death, which seems but so ? 
 
 1 Alluding to a passage in the Hadis or Traditions, 
 which says, " Heaven and earth cannot contain me, but the 
 heart of my faithful Servant containeth me ! " 
 
56 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 Long as the gushing fount its circle fills, 
 
 Can it forget to feed its thousand rills ? 
 
 Thy soul a fount is — thoughts, shapes, sounds of earth 
 
 Flow thence, as rivers from their source have birth. 
 
 See, to what precious metal is refined 
 
 Ignoble dust, when linked to godlike mind ; 
 
 Nor doubt when thou hast filled thy part as man, 
 
 Angel awaits thee in the mighty plan. 
 
 With starry heaven thy home — a bright abode, 
 
 Far from the spot thy mortal footsteps trode. 
 
 Nor yet at Angel shall thy being's motion 
 
 Be stayed, but onward press to Being's ocean. 
 
 There shall thy atom -drop become a sea, 
 
 Vast as a hundred deeps, wide, weltering, boundless, free, 
 
 Then boldly, son, proclaim in faith and truth. 
 
 This creed : Though forms decay, souls own a deathless youth. 
 
 Passing on to the fifteenth century, we come to 
 J ami, who was born in the year 1414 at the town 
 of Jam in Khorassan, from which he took his pen- 
 name. To his real name of Abdul-rahman was 
 added that of Nur-'d-DIn (" Light of the Faith "), 
 and in later years his fame for learning and sanctity 
 gained also for him that of Mevlana (" Om" Lord " 
 or " Master "). J ami left behind him at least fifty 
 volumes of poetry, grammar, and theology, which 
 are still read and admired in the Eastern world. 
 Seven of his best mystical poems are called The 
 Seven Thrones, but the most famous of all is his 
 Yusuf and Zulaikha, considered by European 
 authorities to be one of the finest compositions in 
 the Persian language.^ Of the follo\^dng passages 
 the first and second are taken from the introductory, 
 
 1 See Preface to Rozenzweig's translation of Yusuf and 
 Zulaikha, also his Analysis and Specimens of the Joseph and 
 Zulaikha, 1872. Griffith, Yusuf and Zulaikha, 1882. 
 
THE METAPHORS OF THE POETS 57 
 
 and the third from one of the concluding cantos of 
 this poem. In this touching story of the loves of 
 Joseph and " Potiphar's Wife " is symboHsed the 
 yearning of the human soul for the highest moral 
 beauty and perfection : — 
 
 (I) 
 In solitude, where Being signless dwelt. 
 And all the Universe still dormant lay 
 Concealed in selfishness, One Being was 
 Exempt from " I-" or " Thou "-ness, and apart 
 From all duality ; Beauty Supreme, 
 Unmanifest, except unto itself 
 By its own light, yet fraught with power to charm 
 The souls of all ; concealed in the Unseen, 
 An essence pure, unstained by aught of ill. 
 No mirror to reflect Its loveliness, 
 Nor comb to touch Its locks ; the morning breeze 
 Ne'er stirred Its tresses ; no collyrium 
 Lent lustre to Its eyes ; no rosy cheeks 
 O'ershadowed by dark curls like hyacinth. 
 Nor peach-like down were there ; no dusky mole 
 Adorned Its face ; no eye had yet beheld 
 Its image. To Itself it sang of love 
 In wordless measures. By Itself it cast 
 The die of love. 
 
 But Beauty cannot brook 
 Concealment and the veil, nor patient rest 
 Unseen and unadmired : 'twill burst all bonds, 
 And from Its prison casement to the world 
 Reveal Itself. See where the tulip grows 
 In upland meadows, how in balmy spring 
 It decks itself ; and how amidst its thorns. 
 The wild rose rends its garment, and reveals 
 Its loveliness. Thou, too, when some rare thought 
 Or beauteous image, or deep mystery 
 Flashes across thy soul, canst not endure 
 To let it pass, but hold'st it, that perchance 
 In speech or writing thou may'st send it forth 
 To charm the world. 
 
58 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 Wherever Beauty dwells 
 Such is its nature, and its heritage 
 From Everlasting Beauty, which emerged 
 From realms of purity to shine upon 
 The worlds, and all the souls that dwell therein. 
 One gleam fell from It on the Universe 
 And on the angels, and this single ray 
 Dazzled the angels till their senses whirled 
 Like the revolving sky. In divers forms 
 Each mirror showed It forth, and everywhere 
 Its praise was chanted in new harmonies. 
 * * * * * 
 
 Each speck of matter did He constitute 
 
 A mirror, causing each one to reflect 
 
 The beauty of His visage. From the rose 
 
 Flashed forth His beauty, and the nightingale, 
 
 Beholding it, loved madly. From that Light 
 
 The candle drew the lustre which beguiles 
 
 The moth to immolation. On the sun 
 
 His Beauty shone, and straightway from the wave 
 
 The lotus reared its head. Each shining lock 
 
 Of Leyia's hair attracted Mejuun's heart 
 
 Because some ray divine reflected shone 
 
 In her fair face. 'Twas He to Shirin's Ups 
 
 Who lent that sweetness which had power to steal 
 
 The heart from Par viz, and from Ferhad life. 
 
 His Beauty everywhere doth show itself, 
 And through the forms of earthly beauties shines 
 Obscured, as through a veil. He did reveal 
 His face through Joseph's coat, and so destroyed 
 Zuleykha's peace. Where'er thou seest a veil, 
 Beneath that veil He hides. Whatever heart 
 Doth yield to love, He charms it. In His love 
 The heart hath life. Longing for Him, the soul 
 Hath victory. That heart which feigns to love 
 The fair ones of this world, loves Him alone. 
 Beware ! say not " He is All-Beautiful, 
 And we His lovers." Thou art but the glass, 
 And He the Face^ confronting it, which casts 
 
 ^ " All things shall perish save His Face." Koran 
 xxviii. 88. 
 
THE METAPHORS OF THE POETS 59 
 
 Its image on the mirror. He alone 
 
 Is manifest, and thou in truth art hid. 
 
 Pure Love, hke Beauty, coming but from Him 
 
 Reveals itself in Thee. If steadfastly 
 
 Thou canst regard, thou wilt at length perceive 
 
 He is the mirror also — He alike 
 
 The Treasure and the Casket. " I " and " Thou " 
 
 Have here no place, and are but phantasies 
 
 Vain and unreal. Silence ! for this tale 
 
 Is endless, and no eloquence hath power 
 
 To speak of Him. 'Tis best for us to love 
 
 And suffer silently, being as naught. ^ 
 
 (II) 
 
 No heart is that which Love ne'er wounded ; they 
 Who know not lover's pangs are soulless clay. 
 Turn from the world, O turn thy wandering feet ; 
 Come to the World of Love and find it sweet ! 
 Heaven's giddy round from craze of love was caught, 
 From Love's disputes the world with strife is fraught. 
 Love's slave be thou if thou would fain be free : 
 Welcome love's pangs, and happy shalt thou be. 
 
 Love's sweet, soft memories youth itself restore ; 
 The tale of love gives fame for evermore. 
 If Majuun ne'er the cup of love had drained, 
 High fame in heaven and earth he ne'er had gained. 
 A thousand sages, deep in wisdom's lore, 
 Untaught of Love, died, and are known no more : 
 Without a name or trace in death they sank, 
 And in the book of time their name is blank. ^ 
 
 The following dialogue occurs between Yusuf and 
 Zulaikha on meeting after a long separation, during 
 which her husband, the Wazir of Egypt, has 
 died, and she has become poor and bhnd. This 
 
 1 Translated by Mr. R. T. H. Browne in A Year Among 
 the Persians, pp. 125-7. 
 
 2 Griffith, Yusuf and Zulaikha, p. 23. 
 
60 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 *' separation " of course symbolises the estrange- 
 ment of the human heart from the Divine 
 Love : — 
 
 •' Where are thy youth, and thy beauty, and pride ? " 
 
 " Gone, since I parted from thee," she repUed. 
 
 " Where is the Ught of thine eyes ? " said he. 
 
 " Drowned in blood-tears for the loss of thee." 
 
 "Why is that cypress-tree^ bowed and bent ? " 
 
 " By absence from thee and my long lament." 
 
 " Where are thy pearls and thy silver and gold ? 
 
 And the diadem bright on thy head of old ? " 
 
 *' They who spoke of my loved one," she answered, " shed, 
 
 In the praise of his beauty, rare pearls on my head. 
 
 In return for those jewels, a recompense meet, 
 
 I scattered my jewels and gold at their feet. 
 
 My crown of pure gold on their foreheads I set. 
 
 And the dust that they trod made my coronet. 
 
 I gave till the stream of my treasure ran dry, 
 
 My heart is Love's storehouse, and I am I." ^ 
 
 Not in the Persian language alone, however, has 
 poetical utterance been given to the mystical 
 doctrines of the Dervishes. From the first half of 
 the fourteenth century onward this language began 
 to be abandoned for hterary purposes by Ottomans 
 in favour of their native Turkish. Though both 
 the prose and verse productions in that language, 
 previous to the end of the following century, are 
 adjudged by critics to be for the most part somewhat 
 rude and uncouth, one of the earhest of these 
 Turkish writers was of such eminence that he is to 
 this day styled the " Father of Ottoman Literature." 
 
 1 The human form is often likened to a cypress by 
 Oriental poets, and also by the Greek popular muse. 
 
 2 Griffith, Yusuf and Zulaikha, pp. 293-4. 
 
THE METAPHORS OF THE POETS 61 
 
 Oriental writers have always affected anonymity, 
 and this author wrote under the takhullus, or pen- 
 name of A'ashik (" The Loving ") to which name, 
 according to the custom of those times, was added 
 the title of " Pasha " to denote his high rank among 
 men of letters. Among A'ashik's numerous pro- 
 ductions is an '* Ode to Culture " ; but he was 
 chiefly eminent as a mystic, having been a member 
 of the Mevlevi Order, and his principal work is a 
 long mystical poem known as the ''A'ashik Pasha 
 Diwdniy It consists of rhymed couplets, the 
 following translated hues from which may give 
 some idea of the character and sentiment of the 
 Turkish poetry of that period : — 
 
 All the Universe, one mighty sign, is shown ; 
 God hath myriads of creative acts unknown : 
 None hath seen them, of the races djin ^ and men, 
 None hath news brought from that realm far off from ken. 
 Never shall thy mind in reason reach that strand, 
 Nor can tongue the King's name utter of that land. 
 Since 'tis His each nothingness with life to invest, 
 Trouble is there ne'er at His behest. 
 Eighteen thousand worlds from end to end 
 Do not with Him one atom's worth transcend. ^ 
 
 Khiyah lived in the first half of the sixteenth 
 century. He began hfe as a Kalender of the School 
 of Ah Baba, but on coming to the capital he found 
 a patron in the Grand Vizier, who introduced him 
 to the notice of the Sultan. 
 
 1 The race of beings created, according to Moslem 
 tradition, before Adam. 
 
 2 Translated by Mr. Gibb in his Ottoman Poems. 
 
62 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 GHAZEL 
 
 One with Realms Eternal this my soul to make — what 
 
 wouldest say ? 
 All Creation's empire's fancies to forsake — what wouldest 
 
 say ? 
 Wearing to a hair my frame with bitter sighs and moans, 
 
 in love, 
 Nestling in The Fair One's tresses, to rest take — what 
 
 wouldest say ? 
 Yonder goldfaced birds within the quicksilver resplendent 
 
 deep : 
 Launching forth the hawk, my striving, these to take — 
 
 what wouldest say ? 
 Yonder Nine Smaragdine Bowls of Heaven to quaff at 
 
 one deep draught, 
 Yet from all ebriety's fumes free to break — ^what wouldest 
 
 say ? 
 To an autumn leaf the Sphere hath turned Khiyali's 
 
 countenance, 
 To the Spring of Beauty, that a gift to make — what 
 
 wouldest say ? ^ 
 
 Many more examples might be given, did space 
 
 allow, from the mystic poetry of Sheykhi, LamI, 
 
 Yahya Bey, and other later writers. This chapter 
 
 must, however, conclude with a ghazel of Sidqi, the 
 
 famous Ottoman poetess of the seventeenth century, 
 
 a prolific writer, whose works are full of Sufi 
 
 mysticism : — ^ 
 
 He who union with the Lord gains, more desireth not ; 
 He who looks on charms of Fair One, other sight desireth 
 
 not ; 
 Pang of love is lover's solace, eagerly he seeks therefor, 
 Joys he in it ; balm or salve for yonder blight desireth 
 
 not. 
 
 ^ Gibb, Ottoman Poems. 
 
 ^ See my Women of Turkey, Vol. II, Chap. xxiv. 
 " Poetesses of the Rise, Decline, and Fall of the Ottoman 
 Empire." 
 
THE METAPHORS OF THE POETS 63 
 
 Paradise he longs'not after, nor doth aught beside regard, 
 Bower, or garden, mead, or youth or Hilri bright desireth 
 
 not. 
 From the hand of Power Unbounded, draweth he the 
 
 wine of Ufe ; 
 Aye inebriate with knowledge, learning's light desireth 
 
 not. 
 He who Allah loveth. Lord is of an empire, such that he — 
 King of inward mysteries — Suleyman's might desireth 
 
 not : 
 Thou art Sultan of my heart, ay, soul of my soul e'en 
 
 art Thou ; 
 Thou art soul enow, and Sidql other plight desireth not. ^ 
 
 ^ Gibb, Ottoman Poems. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 MONASTERIES AND SHRINES 
 
 " If your hearts be oppressed with sorrow, go seek con- 
 solation at the graves of the holy dead." — Traditional 
 saying of Mohammed. 
 
 The monastic establishments of the Dervish Orders, 
 called by the various names of Tekkehs, KhdnakdhSy 
 and Zanriyehs, but more commonly by the first, 
 and the Turhehs, or Shrines of their Saints, are, at 
 the present day, as numerous in European as in 
 Asiatic Turkey. In Constantinople and its environs 
 many of the Orders possess several establishments ; 
 and every town contains the monastery and shrine 
 of one or more of their communities. The Tekkehs 
 occupy for the most part picturesque and command- 
 ing situations, sometimes in the middle of towns or 
 cities, but more frequently in their suburbs. Those 
 of the Mevlevi and Rufai are perhaps the most 
 remarkable. The central edifice of the former is 
 the Sem 'a Khaneh (" The Hall of Celestial Sounds "), 
 where the Brotherhood meet for the performance 
 of their religious exercises and pubhc worship. This 
 is usually a square building of whitewashed masonry, 
 with a domed and red-tiled roof. The interior 
 arrangements vary somewhat, but are always 
 marked by the utmost simphcity. A circular space 
 in the centre is smoothly planked and reserved for 
 the performances of the Dervishes. It is divided 
 
 64 
 
MONASTERIES AND SHRINES 65 
 
 by a low wooden railing from the rest of the floor, 
 which is covered with matting and occupied during 
 the public services by the male spectators. A 
 gallery, supported on wooden pillars, runs round 
 three sides of the Tekkeh ; one side of it is occupied 
 by the Mutrib, or orchestra, and the other two by 
 the women and children, who are concealed from 
 view by carved lattices. In some Tekkehs, where 
 the gallery is only large enough to accommodate the 
 orchestra, a corner of the ground floor is partitioned 
 off for the women. The only attempts at decoration 
 are tablets on the walls inscribed with texts from 
 the Koran, and with the names of Allah, Mohammed, 
 Ah, and Hasan and Husein, the grandsons of the 
 Prophet. As in the pubhc mosques, the direction 
 of Mekka is indicated by a niche in the wall, sur- 
 mounted by the name of the Pir, or Founder of the 
 Order, and sometimes also by the Moslem profession 
 of faith — La ilaha il Allah ve Mohammed resoul 
 Allah (" There is no god but Allah and Mohammed 
 is the Prophet of Allah "), or the word Bismillah 
 ("In the Name of Allah "). In a corner of many 
 Tekkehs is the shrine of a departed saintly sheikh, 
 covered with costly carpets and rich draperies, the 
 pious offerings of those who have there sought and 
 found healing benefit, or other boon. 
 
 The Tekkehs of the Mevlevi Order contain another 
 apartment called the Ismi Jeleeh Hujreh, where the 
 Brethren perform their daily namdz and the obhga- 
 tory zikr, or calhng upon the name of Allah, which 
 takes place at the hour of the third namdz. The 
 
66 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 courtyard surrounding the Tekkeh gives access to 
 the cells of the monastic Dervishes and their Sheikh. 
 These are, in a fully-equipped monastery, eighteen 
 in number, and form a quadrangle of low buildings, 
 with a roof sloping to the front, and covering a 
 broad verandah into which all the doors and windows 
 open. Beyond are flower and fruit gardens, shaded 
 by cypress, mulberry, and plane trees, the haunts 
 of storks and pigeons ; and, enclosed by the arched 
 gateway and tile-topped walls, are cisterns and 
 fountains of sparkhng water furnished with iron 
 ladles for the use of the thirsty. Sometimes, as 
 within the precincts of the Tekkeh outside the 
 Vardar gate of Salonica, there are also cool, shady 
 cloisters and raised terraces and kiosks, commanding 
 magnificent views of mountain, plain, and sea. 
 And here, when the evening shadows are lengthening, 
 the mystics, in their picturesque and symbolic 
 attire, may be seen pacing tranquilly to and fro ; 
 or, seated on the broad wooden benches, medita- 
 tively passing through their fingers the brown beads 
 of their long teshehs, or rosaries, on their faces 
 that expression of perfect repose which indifference 
 to the world and its doings alone can give. 
 
 Though all the Dervish Orders, in accordance 
 with their principle of Poverty, are considered 
 mendicant, few are so in reality, for most Tekkehs 
 possess vakouf, or landed property bequeathed to 
 them by pious persons. The revenues from these 
 endowments are applied chiefly to the support of 
 the monastic Dervishes, though the wants of a 
 
MONASTERIES AND SHRINES 67 
 
 needy lay brother may occasionally be relieved 
 from them. The Tekkehs vary greatly in point of 
 wealth, and the more prosperous are expected to 
 assist others less largely endowed. The Mevlevi 
 Order is the most popular, one might even say the 
 most fashionable, of all, and has, ever since its 
 foundation, included among its members men of 
 high rank. The late Sultan Abdul Aziz was, for 
 instance, a lay Brother, and occasionally, it is said, 
 took part in the rehgious exercises at one of the 
 Mevlevi Tekkehs in Constantinople. This Order is, 
 consequently, very prosperous, and its monasteries 
 and shrines surpass those of all other Orders. 
 The Monastery of its General, at Konieh (Iconium), 
 in Asia Minor, possesses considerable lands 
 bequeathed as vakouf by the old Seljukian Sultans, 
 these bequests being ratified by subsequent princes. 
 Murad IV, too, when marching against Persia in 
 1634, bestowed many favours and distinctions upon 
 the " Sheikh of Sheikhs," as their Grand Master is 
 termed, and endowed his community as a perpetual 
 vakouf with the proceeds of the kharatch, the poll- 
 tax imposed on the non-Moslem inhabitants of the 
 city in lieu of mihtary service, now aboHshed. 
 
 Notwithstanding, however, these substantial en- 
 dowments, the Dervishes have never, hke the 
 monastic Orders of Christendom, departed from 
 the original principles of their founders. Their 
 manner of Hving is still as frugal as was that 
 of the original Twelve Orders, and the architec- 
 ture of their Tekkehs is marked by extreme simplicity 
 
68 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 both of form and material, any ornamental articles 
 they may contain being the gifts of the pious ; while 
 their surplus revenues are either given directly to 
 the poor in the shape of alms, or employed in the 
 foundation of charitable institutions such as 
 almshouses, schools, or baths. 
 
 When it happens that a Dervish has been raised 
 to the rank of Sheikh by the General of his Order, 
 without being appointed to the rule of a special 
 Tekkeh, he is directed to take up his abode in some 
 town which has been indicated to his Chief, by 
 means of a dream or vision, as specially marked out 
 for the establishment of a new community. Here 
 he remains until the citizens, incited by a pious 
 emulation, erect a Tekkeh and provide for its sup- 
 port. Most of the existing monasteries have sprung 
 up in this way ; and the practice, to some extent, 
 still continues. 
 
 It is not unusual to find Mevlevi Sheikhs engaged 
 in commercial pursuits, necessitated by the nature 
 of the source from which their revenues are derived. 
 For instance, if the vakouf consists of arable land, 
 and is cultivated on the metayer system, the sale 
 of the produce devolves on the Sheikh, who generally 
 proves himself well able to fulfil the temporal, as 
 well as the spiritual, duties of his office. I hap- 
 pened one day, after witnessing a performance of 
 the Mevlevi Dervishes at Salonica, to make a 
 remark to the Inspector of Customs on the pre- 
 possessing appearance and reverend bearing of the 
 Sheikh, a handsome man in the prime of life. " Oh,** 
 
BEGGING DERVISH AND NIGHT-WATCHMAN 
 
MONASTERIES AND SHRINES 69 
 
 he replied, laughing, '* Ne vous fiez pas a sa bonne 
 physionomie ; il n'y a personne qui me donne plus 
 d'embarras dans les affaires." But even St. 
 Theresa, it appears, was a very good business 
 woman. ^ 
 
 The great founder of this Order, to judge from the 
 following anecdote, also knew how to turn his 
 position to account for the advantage of his 
 community : — 
 
 " Whenever the grandees of Konieh entertained 
 a desire to have an audience of the Sheikh Shemsu 
 'd-Din of Tebriz, they would request Husam ( Jelal's 
 secretary) to procure it for them through the 
 influence of his master with the Sheikh. Jelal and 
 Hu^am used to tax those nobles for this favour 
 according to their means and circumstances. On 
 one occasion the Grand Vizier solicited an audience, 
 and was taxed at forty thousand pieces of silver ; 
 which sum, after much chaffering, was reduced to 
 thirty thousand. At his audience with Shems, the 
 Vizier was so charmed with the mysteries revealed to 
 him that, on his return therefrom, he voluntarily 
 sent to HusSm the ten thousand pieces of silver 
 which had been abated from the sum originally 
 fixed. These moneys were always expended by 
 Husam as he saw fit, in relieving the necessities of 
 the holy community, and the families of Jelal, the 
 gold-beater (Husam),and their various dependents." ^ 
 
 ^ See Mrs. Cunningham Graham's Life of St. Theresa, 
 1894. 
 
 2 The Acts of the Adepts. Sir W. Redhouse's Translation. 
 6 — (3119) 
 
70 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 The Tekkehs of the Bektashis are unostentatious 
 groups of buildings, consisting of cells for the 
 brethren and a plain square hall for their common 
 devotions. In the centre of the floor is a large 
 dodecangular stone called the Maidan Tdsh, on 
 which, during all their ceremonies except that of 
 initiation, stands a lighted candle. Around this 
 are twelve postakis, or sheepskin mats, significative 
 of the twelve Imams ; the one nearest to a niche in 
 the wall which denotes the Kibleh, or direction of 
 Mekka, being the seat of the Sheikh, and the others 
 those of the eleven elders. The apartment reserved 
 for the Sheikh is called the " cell of the master." 
 He, however, unless under a vow of celibacy, seldom 
 occupies it permanently, but resides with his family ; 
 and the rule of the convent in his absence devolves 
 upon a deputy Sheikh, the senior of the celibates. 
 Those of the Orders who for various reasons 
 are, Hke the Hamzavis, under the ban of the ruhng 
 powers, assemble in buildings undistinguishable 
 externally from ordinary dwelling-houses. 
 
 The tombs of the Evliya, as Moslem saints are 
 called, are held in religious veneration in all Moham- 
 medan countries, and are honoured by the erection 
 over them of Turbihs, or mausoleums. A Turbeh 
 is usually a square edifice with a domed roof built 
 over a sarcophagus of stone or brickwork, higher at 
 the head than at the foot and rising in the centre 
 to a ridge. To some Turbehs are attached apart- 
 ments in which reside the Dervishes who have 
 charge of them. The walls of these shrines have 
 
MONASTERIES AND SHRINES 71 
 
 grated openings through which can be seen the 
 tomb, often covered with rich shawls and carpets, 
 the pious offerings of recipients of benefits beheved 
 to have been bestowed through the mediation 
 of the Saint buried there. On the gratings flutter 
 innumerable httle coloured rags, portions of the 
 clothing of rich persons who hope by this means 
 to transfer their diseases to the Saint, or who leave 
 them as votive tabellcB to remind him of the blessings 
 hoped for through his mediation with Allah. In a 
 niche in the masonry of the sarcophagus a small lamp, 
 fed with sweet oil, is kept continually burning. 
 These lamps symbohse the nur, or holy hght, which, 
 it is said, is frequently seen to hover over the grave 
 of a Saint, and has made known the resting-place 
 of many holy Dervishes who have died while on 
 journeys or pilgrimages. 
 
 Among the famous Sheikhs who held the post 
 of guardian of a shrine was the Pir, Abdul Kadr 
 Ghilani, the founder of the Kadiri Order. ^ He had 
 charge of the tomb of the celebrated Imam, Abu 
 Khanife, at Bagdad, where he also was buried. 
 And round the Turbeh of Abdul Kadr ("The Rose 
 of Bagdad") are grouped in such numbers the 
 domes that cover the mortal remains of the most 
 renowned mystics of the East that the locahty is 
 known to the present day as " The Grove of the 
 Saints." 
 
 The Turbih at Broussa of the famous Dervish, 
 Emir Sultan, ^ is thus described by Evhya Eifendi, 
 
 1 See p. 18. 2 See p. 33. 
 
72 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 who visited it towards the end of the seventeenth 
 century. ^ • • 
 
 " He is buried without Broussa to the east, 
 beneath a lofty dome. The gates of the Turbeh 
 are inlaid with silver, as also is the entrance, at 
 which the visitor descends six steps. The walls 
 are covered with variegated porcelain tiles. Four 
 of the windows look westwards towards the plain 
 of Broussa, and four towards the Kibleh (Mekka) 
 into the yard of the Turbeh. The great number of 
 suspended ornaments which adorn the interior of 
 the mausoleum are equalled only in the Turbehs of 
 Medina ; the silken carpets are richer than are found 
 anywhere else. The sarcophagus is surrounded by 
 gold and silver lamps, candlesticks, and vases for 
 holding perfumes and rosewater ; on the richly- 
 embroidered silken draperies which cover it lie 
 Korans writ by the hands of famous scribes ; ^ and 
 at the head a large turban stands majestically. 
 Those who enter are struck with such awe that 
 many do not dare to attempt it, but only look into 
 it by a window at the head, and recite a Fatiha.^* ^ 
 
 1 Narrative of Travels. 
 
 2 Though printing was introduced into Turkey more 
 than a century and a half ago, a beautiful manuscript is 
 at the present day preferred to a printed book, and many 
 beautifully written and illuminated copies of the Koran 
 are to be found in the country, as a prejudice still exists 
 against printing the Sacred Book. 
 
 3 The first chapter of the Koran, the Moslem Paternoster. 
 " Mohammedans look upon the Fatiha as the quintessence 
 of the whole Koran, and often repeat it in their devotions 
 both public and private." Sale, Al Koran, p. 1, note. 
 
MONASTERIES AND SHRINES 73 
 
 A village called BektSshkeui, near Angora, 
 contains the tomb of Hadji Bektash, the founder of 
 the Bektashi Order. It stands in a commanding 
 position overlooking the city, under the dome of 
 a Turbeh, and close by is a Tekkeh occupied by a 
 small community of Bektashi Dervishes. This 
 shrine is naturally much venerated, and visited by 
 pilgrims from all parts of the Empire. The front 
 of the Tekkeh is embellished with a portico or 
 verandah, supported on pillars of marble, and on 
 the side of a well in the court visitors are shown 
 indentations said to have been made by the teeth 
 of the Saint, and in the doorway the impression of 
 his hand. In the vicinity are salt mines which, 
 tradition says, were miraculously created by 
 Hadji Bektash, who, when passing through the 
 village, had found the inhabitants suffering from 
 a scarcity of that commodity. This village 
 now bears the name of Touzkeui, the " Salt 
 Village." 
 
 At Merdevenkeui, a village not far from the 
 Asiatic suburb of Kadikeui, is the Turbeh of an 
 eminent Bektashi saint, once a Chaoush, or messenger 
 in the service of Sultan Achmet, which is much 
 frequented by pious Moslems. Close by is a large 
 stone said to possess the power of granting the wish 
 of any person standing upon it. A Turkish lady of 
 my acquaintance, the late Besmi Sultana, attributed 
 her elevation to the high and exceptional position 
 of legal wife of Sultan Abdul Med j id to the wish 
 she mentally expressed when standing on this 
 
74 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 stone, after, of course, depositing her devotional 
 offering on the neighbouring shrine of the 
 Evliyd, 
 
 Many Turbehs, however, consist merely of four 
 roofless walls, pierced with grated openings, built 
 round the sarcophagus. Some are to be found in 
 the crowded thoroughfares of towns and cities, 
 some by country roadsides, while others occupy 
 corners of the pubhc burial grounds. At Salonica, 
 one is situated at the entrance to the bazaar, and 
 another curiously located in the cellar basement of 
 a Jewish merchant's warehouse, the tomb being 
 visible from the street through a grated opening 
 close to the ground. The cost of the hghts always 
 kept burning in these humbler shrines is defrayed 
 either by some pious bequest, or by the offerings of 
 the passers-by. 
 
 It is customary for a visitor, or pilgrim, on arriving 
 at a turbeh, to greet its saintly occupant as he would 
 a hving person with the beautiful Oriental saluta- 
 tion, " Peace be with you " (Salaam aleikum). He 
 then recites a Fatiha^ before the entrance, and, 
 walking round the grave from left to right, repeats 
 it at each of the four sides. Sometimes a longer 
 sura of the Koran is used, or, perhaps, as in the case 
 of a devout Dervish on his pilgrimage, the whole of 
 the Sacred Book. The recitation concludes with 
 this collect, apparently addressed to the Saint : 
 " Extol the perfection of thy Lord, the Lord of 
 might, exempting Him from that which they 
 
 1 See above, p. 72. 
 
MONASTERIES AND SHRINES 75 
 
 [Christians] ascribe to Him " [i.e. having a partaker 
 of his Godhead]. 
 
 These arts of devotion are generally performed 
 for the sake of the Saint, though the merit of them 
 is also beheved to reflect at the same time upon 
 the pilgrim who makes the recitation, and adds the 
 words " Peace be upon the Apostles and praise be 
 to Allah, the Lord of all creatures. Allah I I have 
 transferred the merit of what I have recited from 
 the excellent Koran to the soul of this Saint," When 
 prayers are offered for some special blessing — which 
 usually, if not for health or dehverance from some 
 impending calamity, is of a purely worldly nature, 
 such as the furtherance of some ambitious project, 
 or the favour of the Sultan, or some other dignitary 
 whose influence is required— the following, or some 
 similar formula, is used : " Allah ! I conjure Thee 
 by the Prophet, and by him to whom this place is 
 dedicated, to grant me," etc. The hands of the 
 suppliant are held upwards and open during the 
 prayer, and, at its conclusion, passed over the 
 face. Some fervent pilgrims, hke Evhya Effendi, 
 kiss the threshold, others the walls, windows, and 
 grave-coverings of the holy shrines. 
 
 The prayers of the guardians of Turbehs are also 
 often soUcited by those in need of spiritual consolation 
 and assistance. These watchers of the holy dead 
 are often Sheikhs who have abandoned the world 
 for this purpose, and whose hves of undoubted purity 
 exalt them to the position of intermediaries between 
 the Saint and ordinary sinful men. They have 
 
76 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 often one or more disciples to assist them in their 
 pious duties, who in due time succeed their 
 spiritual guide in his office. The revenues are 
 derived chiefly from the offerings of pilgrims, but 
 in some cases iurbehSy like tekkehSy are endowed with 
 landed property. 
 
 The tombs of Christian saints, strange to say, 
 come in for their share of the general hagiolatry, 
 though, as the Christians also patronise Moslem 
 saints, this is but a quid pro quo. The beautiful 
 basilica of St. Dimitri at Salonica, built in the fifth 
 century over the miracle-working tomb of that 
 Saint, was, in 1180, for the second time, converted 
 into a mosque. On the removal of the 'Ayia Tpdire^a 
 — the Holy Table of the Greek Church — the relics 
 which had had their resting-place beneath it were 
 reverently removed to a cell at the north-west corner 
 of the narthex. The Greeks and other Christians are 
 now allowed to visit this shrine freely ; and the old 
 Mevlevi Dervish, who acts as caretaker of the mosque, 
 appears to have no less faith in the miraculous 
 powers of St. Dimitri than have the numerous 
 members of the Orthodox Church who make pilgrim- 
 ages to his shrine. One of my visits to this ancient 
 Metropolitan Church was paid in company with a 
 Greek matron who, having been educated in Ger- 
 many and France, was a thorough sceptic in such 
 matters. Seeing that we were strangers, the 
 Dervish enumerated in his broken Greek the virtues 
 and antiquity of the Saint. He then fumbled 
 under the tombstone and produced a handful of 
 
MONASTERIES AND SHRINES 77 
 
 earth and what looked like a long mesh of cotton 
 candlewick. Having ascertained from my friend 
 her name, and the names of her husband, father- 
 in-law, and children, the old man slowly repeated 
 them, tying at each name a knot in the cotton 
 over the flame of the candle burning on the tomb, 
 and then presented her with this girdle with the 
 assurance that, if worn on the person it would 
 relieve her or them of any of the ills to which the 
 flesh is heir. I was also the fortunate recipient of 
 a small quantity of greasy earth, from which I was 
 promised similar benefits.^ 
 
 1 An odoriferous unguent (fivpov) is said to exude 
 from the bones of certain saints who from this circumstance 
 are called iJ.vpoB\vTai. St. Nicholas is one of these 
 myroblites. Sir John Maunderville, speaking of the relics 
 of St. Catharine, on Mount Sinai, says, " The prelate of the 
 Monkes schewethe the Relykes to the Pilgrymes. And 
 with an Instrument of Sylver, he frotethe the Bones : and 
 thanne ther gothe out a lytylle Oyle, as thoughe it were in 
 a maner swetynge, that is nouther like to Oyle ne to 
 Bawme ; but it is fulle swete of smelle." (Quoted by 
 Mr. Athelstan Riley in Mount Athos, p. 127 n.) 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 MONASTIC RULE AND DISCIPLINE 
 
 " Who Poverty's low door to enter e'er has sought, 
 Aye to his death beneath its roof remains, 
 
 Lays greed aside, and, as a monarch reigns ; 
 
 For proud the station is of him who needeth naught." 
 
 A Dervish Tekkeh, or convent, usually contains 
 from fifteen to thirty disciples, ruled over by a 
 Sheikh. The Sheikh has unlimited power and 
 authority in the Tekkeh. If it is endowed with 
 vakouf property, he sells the produce of the farms, 
 regulates the expenditure of the Tekkeh, and dis- 
 tributes its alms. If his convent is unendowed, he 
 looks for its support to the pious and charitable — 
 the " Friends of Allah." For, occupied as he is 
 supposed continually to be with spiritual matters, 
 a Sheikh cannot, like his disciples, follow a worldly 
 avocation, but must live — according to the Dervish 
 expression — " on the Doorstep of Allah." The dis- 
 ciples are also expected to contribute to his support 
 and to the other expenses of the Tekkeh : and it is 
 usual for them to bring some small present every 
 time they visit him. As every detail of convent 
 life is symbolical, this custom is said to commemo- 
 rate the offerings brought by Gabriel to Adam, after 
 his expulsion from Paradise, and which, the legend 
 says, consisted of a kind of small loaves and corn, 
 
 78 
 
MONASTIC RULE AND DISCIPLINE 79 
 
 with parrots and turtle doves for his entertainment, 
 and swallows and hens for that of Eve.^ 
 
 Each Order has its Chief Sheikh, or General, who 
 resides in the city or town which contains the 
 tomb of its founder (Pir), and is considered the 
 guardian of the sacred relics. Bagdad, as mentioned 
 in the preceding chapter, is the burial place of 
 Abdul Kadr Ghilani, the founder of the Kadiri 
 Order, and his eminence in the Dervish world 
 caused many succeeding Pirs to choose their place of 
 sepulture in the neighbourhood of his tomb. This 
 city is, consequently, a great centre of Dervish 
 Generals. Konieh (Iconium), in Asia Minor, is the 
 seat of the Mevlevi General, the successor and lineal 
 descendant of the talented Jelalu-'d-Din. For the 
 dignity of Sheikh is hereditary in the Mevlevi, 
 Bektashi, and Kadiri Orders. If the son be a minor 
 at the death of his father, one of the elders is elected 
 to act as his deputy (Naih Khalifeh) until he reaches 
 the age of twenty. In the other Orders a council of 
 Sheikhs, presided over by the General, choose 
 a new Prior from among the disciples of the deceased 
 Murshid, who do not appear to have any voice 
 in the matter. Their choice falls, as a rule, on 
 the elder who has so distinguished himself by his 
 
 1 The Mohammedan legend says that the swallows were 
 the means of reconciliation between Adam and Eve after 
 their expulsion from Paradise when they had gone different 
 ways. They found out Adam in Ceylon, and brought a 
 hair of his beard to Eve who was at Jedda, returning with 
 one of her hairs to Adam ; and the pair met on Mount 
 Arafat, near Mekka. 
 
80 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 spiritual advancement as to have previously held 
 the post of Deputy Sheikh ; or, if such a functionary 
 is not to be found in the convent, on one of the 
 elders, generally the senior. The nomination is 
 then notified to the Sheikh-ul-Islam, or Grand Mufti, 
 from whose hands a new Prior must receive his 
 investiture, even when he succeeds to the rule of 
 a convent by right of heredity. This is, however, 
 merely a matter of form, being a nominal acknow- 
 ledgment of the Sheikh-ul-Islam as the spiritual 
 head (under the Sultan) of the Mohammedan 
 world ; for custom and prejudice have rendered 
 it almost impossible for that dignitary to refuse 
 to invest a Sheikh chosen by the Dervish primates. 
 According to the rules of a few Orders, a Prior 
 is free to leave his mantle of succession at his death 
 to the disciple whom he may deem most worthy of 
 it ; and in those Orders in which the office is 
 hereditary in the family of its founder, if the Sheikh 
 leave no son or immediate heir, the heads of several 
 convents of the same Order meet and choose a 
 successor ; or the members of his community elect 
 one of their own number, generally the senior, to 
 the vacant office. Such a choice is not, however, 
 made without much dehberation, fasting, and prayer 
 for divine guidance ; and, consequently, there is no 
 unseemly rivalry among the brethren, for the result 
 of their prayers and deliberations is looked upon as 
 the revelation of the will of Allah, and their choice, 
 made with such solemnity, is consequently ratified 
 by the Grand Mufti without demur. 
 
AN ELDER OF THE MEVLEVI ORDER 
 
MONASTIC RULE AND DISCIPLINE 81 
 
 Many of the Dervish Sheikhs are Seyyids, or 
 Hneal descendants of the family of the Prophet, 
 through the grandsons of his nephew and son-in-law, 
 the Khahf AU, who escaped the massacre in which 
 their fathers, Hasan and Husam — " The Martyrs " — 
 lost their Hves. Seyyids are distinguished by 
 their green turbans, and enjoy pecuHar privi- 
 leges. They are not under the same jurisdiction as 
 ordinary Mussulmans, but are ruled by a func- 
 tionary called the Nakeb-el-Eshref, who resides 
 at Constantinople. Everyone claiming to be a 
 descendant of the Prophet is required to possess a 
 document estabhshing his genealogy. 
 
 If a Sheikh is a cehbate, he resides in the convent, 
 where a special apartment called the " cell of the 
 Master " is reserved for his use. Many of the heads 
 of convents, however, are married, though it is 
 considered necessary for them to receive, in a vision, 
 a]spiritual dispensation before taking to themselves 
 wives ; and such Priors appoint deputies to rule 
 over the monastic brethren in the convents during 
 their absence. Like most Ottomans of the present 
 day they are, as a rule, monogamists, but not always, 
 nor are their wives always saintly women. 
 Some years ago I paid a visit to the harem of the 
 Mevlevi Prior of Magnesia (ad Sipylum), in 
 Asia Minor, who ranks next in the Order to the 
 General at Konieh. He had two wives. The Bash 
 Kadin, or first wife, to whom he had been married 
 some years, but who was childless, was dark-haired 
 and handsome, but with a rather haughty and 
 
82 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 ill-tempered expression, increased, perhaps, by the 
 thick eyebrows painted to meet over the nose. 
 The second wife, not long a bride, was of the fair 
 Circassian type, brown-haired and blue-eyed, and 
 evidently a little in awe of her imperious-looking 
 companion. We were also courteously received 
 in the selamlik by the Sheikh, a handsome man in 
 the prime of life whose dignified presence was 
 enhanced by his flowing mantle of hght fawn- 
 coloured cloth and his tall Dervish hat. One of 
 his neophytes, a fine youth of seventeen or there- 
 abouts, was, as we took our leave, commissioned by 
 his Murshid to show us some of the sights of the 
 town. Magnesia being built on the lower slopes 
 of Mount Sipylus, its upper streets are so steep that 
 they are terraced into staircases. As we toiled 
 upwards, the young Dervish, who was kindly carry- 
 ing a little girl belonging to our party, was asked 
 by a group of children whom we passed, " Are you 
 not ashamed to be going about with Giaours ? " 
 The neophyte made no reply, but turned again with 
 an apologetic smile to continue his conversation 
 with the mother of the little girl. Had this mere 
 boy already learned the main precept of his Order, 
 which may be summed up in the one word — 
 Love ? 
 
 The domestic peace of another married Sheikh 
 at Adrianople was much disturbed by the unruly 
 temper of his wife. The garden of his house adjoined 
 that of an English lady, who, though she main- 
 tained friendly relations with the holy man, was 
 
MONASTIC RULE AND DISCIPLINE 83 
 
 very often disturbed by the cries of his passionate 
 and ill-tempered spouse. Nor could the good 
 man make use of his privilege of divorce to rid 
 himself of his uncongenial helpmeet, as he was 
 not in a position to pay the sum promised in the 
 marriage contract (nekyah) in case of such a 
 contingency. 
 
 Early one morning my friend was disturbed by 
 cries of " Fire " (Yangen var f) proceeding from- the 
 Sheikh's abode. Snatching up a can of water, she 
 hastened downstairs, and, followed by her servants 
 with pails, entered her neighbour's premises through 
 a gate in the garden wall. No indications of a 
 conflagration were, however, visible. But in front 
 of the house stood the Dervish with his ebony arm- 
 rest in his hand, while on the ground sat his wife, 
 sobbing hysterically ; and it was only too evident 
 that the holy man's patience had been at last tried 
 beyond further endurance, and that he had 
 administered the correction that had been only too 
 long deserved. 
 
 To arrive at the degree of spirituality required 
 in those who fill the office of Deputy Prior, a 
 Dervish must have spent much time in prayer, 
 fasting, and complete abstraction from all worldly 
 pursuits. Besides being far advanced on the 
 spiritual path, and familiar with all the mystical 
 dogmas and tenets of the Order, he must possess 
 the respect, reverence, and entire submission of the 
 rest of the community. By constant prayer and the 
 continued performance of the Zikr, his breath, and 
 
84 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 even his touch, should have acquired a sanctifying and 
 heahng influence, and he must also be believed to 
 possess the power of working miracles. He will 
 be favoured with visions, and by their import his 
 superior is able to judge when his spiritual training 
 may be considered complete, when he terminates 
 the period of his seclusion. He will then 
 commence his pilgrimage to the holy cities and 
 the tombs of the saints, and, perhaps, may proceed 
 as far as Bagdad, if the founder of his Order be 
 among the many saints buried there, when it will 
 also be his duty to visit the burial place of the 
 grandsons of the Prophet at Kerbeleh, in the vicinity 
 of that city. 
 
 Each of the twelve members of a Bektashi fra- 
 ternity has some special office attached to his postaki 
 (sheepskin seat). Some of these would appear to 
 entail a certain amount of manual labour, while 
 others have merely nominal, or at most only 
 occasional, duties. They are as follows : — 
 
 1. The Sheikh. 8. The Bagbearer. 
 
 2. The Cook. 9. The Sacrificer. 
 
 3. The Baker. 10. The attendant of the 
 
 4. The Deputy Shekh. Tekkeh. 
 
 5. The Superintendent. 11. The Groom. ^ 
 
 6. The Steward. 12, The attendant on the 
 
 7. The Coffee-maker. guests. 
 
 1 Commemorative of Kamber, the groom of the Khalif 
 Ali. 
 
MONASTIC RULE AND DISCIPLINE 85 
 
 The other Orders appear to have officers more or 
 less similar to these attached to the service of the 
 convent. 
 
 Though all Dervishes are free to leave the Order 
 into which they have originally entered and join 
 another, or even to return to the world, it is very 
 rare that any use is made of the hberty. Each 
 member seems to regard it as a sacred duty to remain 
 faithful for life to the Order that first received him, 
 and in its dress to end his days. To this spirit of 
 devotion they add that of perfect submission to 
 the will of their Prior. " Consider your guide 
 (Murshid) as the greatest of all guides," and " What- 
 ever you do or think, let your Sheikh be always 
 present to your mind," are two primary obhgations 
 expressed by a formula called the rabouta, which is 
 repeated by them as scrupulously as is the namdz by 
 the orthodox Mohammedans. HumiHty of spirit 
 and demeanour are required from all ; they are 
 taught not to consider themselves superior to others, 
 but to rank themselves as the poorest, lowest, and 
 most humble of mankind. Hence, not only in the 
 cloister, but in all their deahngs with the outer 
 world, these mystics are distinguished by the deep 
 humihty of their manner. Their heads are ever 
 bent, their gaze absorbed ; and the words Ay V 
 Allah (Thanks to God) are ever upon their lips. They 
 must not divulge the secrets of the Order to their 
 wives or relatives, nor to anyone who is not, like 
 them, a " seeker after the Truth." 
 
 Special forms of salutation are used by the 
 
 7— (2119) 
 
86 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 Dervishes. As the Love of God is the principal of 
 the Mevlevis, their salutation is " Let it be Love ! " 
 (Eshk olsoun) ; but that in general use among the 
 Orders is " Ya Hoo / " (O Him). After the reception 
 of a Dervish into an Order the only salutation 
 required of him on entering the Tekkeh is to incline 
 his head gently towards the Sheikh, and lay the 
 right hand across the breast near the neck, in token 
 of perfect submission to him. It is said that 
 brethren not in costume recognise each other in 
 public by placing the right hand, as if accidentally, 
 on the chin. It is also customary for Dervishes 
 when entering the Tekkeh or on meeting each other, 
 to place the right hand on the heart, and, gently 
 inchning the body, to exclaim " Yd Hoo, Evens I " 
 (O Him, Brethren), the reply to which is ''Ay Vallah, 
 Shahim (Good, by Allah, my Shah). On making an 
 enquiry concerning the health, they say, " Health, 
 my Joys ! " and the reply is " Good, by Allah, my 
 brother." Their other salutations on meeting and 
 taking leave are Hoo, dost Erenler (Him, dear friend), 
 and Aye Vallah Hoo dost. Towards those who are 
 not Dervishes they, however, use the ordinary 
 beautiful Mohammedan greeting. Salaam aleikoum 
 (Peace be to thee). 
 
 There are special prayers and formulas for every 
 event and detail of convent life. Those of the 
 Bektashis are seventy-six in number, and are called 
 by the symbolical name of " Interpreters." On 
 crossing the doorsill of the Tekkeh, they say : — 
 
 " I have placed my head and my heart on the 
 
MONASTIC RULE AND DISCIPLINE 87 
 
 sill of the door of repentance, so that my body may 
 be pure as gold. Deign, O Sheikh, to turn your 
 eyes for an instant on this poor man (faqir).^^ 
 
 On presenting an offering to his superior, the 
 disciple says : — 
 
 " The ant brought as an offering to Solomon the 
 thigh of a grasshopper. Thou, O Sheikh, art 
 Solomon, and I am thy ant ; accept my humble 
 offering." 
 
 On asking for hospitahty at a Tekkeh, or Turbeh, 
 the traveller says : — 
 
 " Allah is our Friend ! Peace to the dwellers in 
 this Tekkeh. Love to those who are joyful, and to 
 all the poor men (fouqara) now present ; to the Pirs 
 and to the Sheikhs ; to the dwellers in this house of 
 the Shah (AH)." 
 
 The grace before meals of the Bektashis differs 
 from that used by the Kadiris and the generality of 
 the Orders. It runs thus : — 
 
 " O Allah ! Allah ! By the horn of the arch- 
 angel Israfeel ! by the symbolism of Kamber ! by 
 the hght of the Prophet ! by the altar and the pulpit ! 
 by our sovereign Pir, Hadji Bektash Vali ! by our 
 General ! by the breath {nefs) of the Three, the Five, 
 the Seven, and the Forty True Saints, we thank 
 Thee. Hoo ! " 
 
 The following is the grace used by the Kadiris. 
 That of the other Orders differs from it only in the 
 name of the founder : — 
 
 " Praise be to Allah ! May He increase His 
 bounties. By the blessings of Abraham ! By the 
 
88 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 Light of the Prophet ! By the grace of Ah ! By the 
 war cry of Mohammed ! By the secret of Abdul 
 Kadr Ghilani, we beseech Thee to be gracious to 
 our Lord (the P/r)." It is a rule of the Order of 
 the Hamzavis, obligatory on all members, to retain 
 in their minds during their meals, both when with 
 others as well as when alone, a continual remem- 
 brance of God ; and after they have eaten, to offer 
 devout thanks. 
 
 Notwithstanding that all the Orders are nominally 
 mendicant, and dependent for subsistence on the 
 offerings of the pious, begging is strictly forbidden, 
 save among the Bektashis and wandering Dervishes. 
 These, who deem it meritorious to live upon alms, 
 frequent the bazaars and pubUc streets for the 
 purpose of recommending themselves to the charity 
 of passers-by. Their formula of request is generally 
 " Something, for the love of Allah." Many Bek- 
 tashis, however, make it a rule to support themselves 
 by handicraft trades, and particularly by making, 
 in imitation of their Pir, Hadji Bektash, small 
 articles of wood, such as spoons, ladles, bowls, and 
 graters. They also carve out of pieces of marble the 
 fastenings used by Dervishes of that order for their 
 belts and for the collars of their garments, and fash- 
 ion the two-beaked bowls (keshgool) used by the men- 
 dicants when soliciting alms. The monastic brethren 
 belonging to the other and endowed Orders are 
 suppHed only with food and lodging at the expense 
 of the Tekkeh. Their meals, which are very simple, 
 and consist, as a rule, of two dishes only, are usually 
 
MONASTIC RULE AND DISCIPLINE 89 
 
 eaten in the solitude of the cells ; but on certain 
 occasions the brethren dine together in the common 
 room. Each Dervish is required to provide himself 
 with dress and other necessaries, and, though hving 
 in the convent, follows some trade or profession. 
 Those who are good calligraphists find employment 
 in copying the Koran and other rehgious books. 
 If any are without resources, they seldom fail to 
 receive contributions either from their relations, 
 an allowance from the Prior, or a pension from 
 some wealthy individual. For although, as above 
 remarked, the members of the majority of the Order 
 are forbidden to ask for alms, they are allowed to 
 accept gifts when offered by charitable persons " for 
 the love of Allah." The rule against begging appears 
 also to be relaxed in the case of Dervishes on their 
 pilgrimage, as they are then usually without their 
 ordinary means of support. Many Mohammedans 
 reserve their alms exclusively for the Dervishes, and 
 make it their duty to seek out those of high reputation 
 for sanctity, visit them frequently, and supply 
 their wants. Others, again, even lodge and board 
 holy men in their houses, in the hope of thus drawing 
 upon themselves, their families, and their fortunes 
 the blessings of heaven. 
 
 All married Dervishes reside with their famihes, 
 but sleep in the convent once or twice a week on the 
 nights preceding their religious exercises. No 
 married Dervish is, however, allowed to pass the 
 night in the Tekkeh of the Mevlevi General at Konieh. 
 The lay brethren, after passing their novitiate in 
 
90 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 the Tekkeh, return to their ordinary avocations ; 
 withdrawing, however, as much as possible from all 
 intercourse with the world, and endeavouring to 
 lead spiritual and holy hves. 
 
 Various forms of punishment and penance are 
 imposed on erring Dervishes by their Sheikh accord- 
 ing to the gravity of the offence. Evhya Effendi 
 says that when a disciple has committed any fault 
 or breach of discipline, he is judged by a council 
 composed of the Prior and the elders, and sentenced 
 to a term of imprisonment not exceeding three days, 
 as a longer period of incarceration might be detri- 
 mental to his family and worldly affairs. The 
 council are, however, careful to examine well into 
 any accusation, and not to punish the defaulter too 
 severely. In former times the bastinado was 
 inflicted by the Sheikh on his erring disciples. He 
 was, however, required, when striking, never to lift 
 the stick higher than his ear, to do which was 
 reckoned " mere injustice and passionate behaviour." 
 Another punishment was that of carrying a heavy 
 stone suspended round the neck, a custom which is 
 said to have originated with Moses. ^ It is a sin for 
 a Dervish to speak a word which is contrary to the 
 four " gates," or principles of Justice, Truth, Order, 
 and Knowledge. One who speaks useless or pur- 
 poseless words is said to have strayed from the 
 Path (Tariq). This general habit of reticence is 
 variously illustrated in Dervish writings. " A 
 Dervish, when asked by one of his brethren what 
 
 1 See p, 115. 
 
MONASTIC RULE AND DISCIPLINE 91 
 
 marvellous gift he had brought back with him 
 from the garden of delights he had visited in his 
 ecstatic trance, rephed : * I intended, on arriving 
 at the Rosebush (the presence of Allah) to fill the 
 skirt of my robe with roses, in order to offer them 
 to my brethren on my return. But when I arrived 
 at the Rosebush, its odour so intoxicated my senses 
 that the hem of my robe escaped from my grasp.' 
 Silent is the tongue of the man who has known Allah.^^ ^ 
 
 It is also related of Jelalu-'d-Dm that when one 
 day on a visit to a fellow Sheikh of great repute, he 
 was asked by a Dervish who happened to be present, 
 " What is Poverty ? '* Jelal returned no answer, 
 and the question was thrice repeated. When the 
 poet left, the Sheikh, after accompanying him to 
 the door, returned to the Dervish and severely 
 reprimanded him for his insolent intrusion on his 
 distinguished guest, which, he said, " was the more 
 inexcusable as he (Jelal) fully answered thy question 
 the first time thou didst put it." The Dervish, 
 surprised, asked what the answer had been. " A 
 poor man (faqir)'' rephed the Prior, " is one who, 
 having known Allah, hath his tongue tied."^ 
 
 Many Dervishes voluntarily practise a most rigid 
 abstinence. Those of the Khalveti Order occasion- 
 ally perform a painful fast of forty days' duration, 
 living during that period on bread and water alone. 
 As mentioned in a preceding chapter, the word 
 Khalvet signifies " retirement," and the Sheikh of 
 that name who founded this Order practised it to 
 
 1 The Mesnevi. ^ Ibid. 
 
92 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 a great extent.^ Devout Dervishes in all the 
 Orders condemn themselves to the performance of 
 acts of the utmost austerity, and remain for a long 
 time shut up in their cells for the purposes of prayer 
 and meditation. Certain nights being considered 
 pecuharly holy as anniversaries of some event 
 in the life of the Prophet, ^ these are specially 
 consecrated to penitence and prayer. In order to 
 drive away sleep, some will stand for whole nights 
 in constrained attitudes ; others, in order to maintain 
 themselves in a sitting posture, tie their hair to a 
 cord hanging from the ceiling, a practice called 
 chilleh ; others again fasten their limbs together 
 with a leather strap passed round their necks and 
 holding the knees up to the chin. 
 
 If a Dervish, when on his pilgrimage to the holy 
 places, neglects or fails to perform any of the pre- 
 scribed rites and ceremonies attached to that 
 sacred duty, he atones for it by a sacrifice. On the 
 same principle, a Dervish who finds himself guilty 
 under other circumstances of a sin of omission or 
 commission, brands himself with a hot iron in order 
 to avoid the punishment of purgatorial fires in the 
 next world. According to Evhya Effendi, " those 
 
 1 See above, p. 18. 
 
 2 For instance, the anniversary of the Prophet's birth ; 
 the 27th night of Ramazan, called the " Night of Power," 
 at one moment of which, according to popular belief, all 
 inanimate things — trees, plants and mountains — bow them- 
 selves in adoration of Allah, and all waters taste sweet ; 
 and the " Excellent Night," the 10th of the month of 
 Shaban when the Recording Angels deliver up their books 
 to the Almighty, and commence new ones. 
 
MONASTIC RULE AND DISCIPLINE 93 
 
 who have a hundred and one scars on their heads 
 proclaim that they have tried a hundred and one 
 spiritual paths, and have abandoned everything 
 connected with the world ; those who wear on their 
 foreheads the ' scar of resignation ' signify by it 
 that they cherish in their hearts no desire but 
 Allah ; those who brand their ears, that they have 
 renounced their own wills and Hve only to fulfil 
 that of Allah." 
 
 Every convent, and every shrine at which a 
 Dervish resides, has one or more guest-chambers 
 which are at the disposal of traveUing Dervishes of 
 any Order, and in which, especially if no other place 
 of refuge is at hand, other Mussulmans on their 
 pilgrimage are made welcome. It is the special duty 
 of one of the brethren to attend upon the guests, 
 bring them food from the common kitchen, and per- 
 form the other Httle rites of Oriental hospitaHty, 
 such as making their coffee and preparing their 
 chibouks for smoking. If the guest be a Sheikh, 
 he is received in the apartment of the Superior of 
 the convent, and otherwise treated with special 
 consideration. 
 
 The funeral of a Dervish Sheikh of high repute 
 is a most impressive and interesting ceremony. 
 Besides his own congregation, the members of other 
 Orders in the neighbourhood, together with a large 
 concourse of the male population, assemble at the 
 Tekkeh to follow the departed to his last resting- 
 place. After the usual burial service, called the 
 mihit namdz, has been performed in the monastery, 
 
94 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 four or more of the disciples of the deceased Sheikh 
 take up on their shoulders the rude coffin, which is 
 covered with shawls, and bears at the head his turban. 
 The bereaved fraternity proceed slowly towards the 
 cemetery, uttering at intervals the exclamation, 
 "AUah! Allah!" Behind follows the long and 
 irregular procession, winding along the narrow 
 streets. In the Turkish quarter the women peep 
 through their latticed bhnds with reverent curiosity, 
 and in the Christian mahallahs lean out of their 
 open windows to watch its progress. There are 
 Mevlevi Dervishes in tall hats and flowing mantles ; 
 Bektashis in close round caps and black robes ; 
 orthodox Imams in their ample white turbans ; and 
 townspeople of every creed in multicoloured gar- 
 ments, with here and there a soldier or official in 
 tasselled fez, all pacing with bowed heads and 
 sedate looks. If a mosque or Tekkeh is passed 
 on the route, the coffin is deposited in front of the 
 gateway and a service chanted, the whole assembly 
 solemnly joining in the refrain of Amin ! Amin ! 
 A fresh relay of bearers then raises the coffin, and 
 the solemn procession moves on. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE STAGES OF INITIATION 
 
 " And he who hopes to scale the heights 
 Without enduring pain, 
 And toil, and strife, but wastes his life 
 In idle quest and vain." 
 
 The founder of one of the earliest Orders of 
 Dervishes, Sheikh Olwan, laid down certain rules to 
 be observed in the admission of new members into 
 his Brotherhood ; and these rules, though subse- 
 quently elaborated by certain of the Orders, are 
 still substantially the same in their leading features, 
 differing only in the severity of the disciphne 
 imposed upon a candidate, in the length of his 
 period of probation, and in certain minor details. 
 
 As a general rule, a neophyte is required during his 
 novitiate to hve in complete retirement from the 
 world, to perform the menial offices of the Tekkeh, 
 and to repeat daily 101, 151, or 301 times one of 
 the attributes of the Deity. These are ninety-seven 
 in number, and are called the Isdmi Ilahi, or " Beau- 
 tiful Names of Allah." Seven only of these are used 
 by a Murid ; they are La ilaha il Allah (" There is 
 no God but Allah ") ; Ya Allah (" O God ") ; Ya 
 Hoo (" O Him ") ; Yd Hakk (" O Truth ") ; Yd 
 Hay (" O Ever Living ") ; Yd Kayyoum (" O Self- 
 existent ") ; and Yd Kahhar (" O Almighty "). 
 In the first stage of his probation the neophyte 
 repeats only the first attribute, and his advancement 
 
 95 
 
96 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 through the seven successive stages depends upon 
 the proofs he is able to give of the reahty of his 
 vocation for a Dervish hfe. These proofs are found 
 in the frequency and vividness of the dreams and 
 visions vouchsafed to him, which he is bound to 
 communicate to his Superior. 
 
 Admission into the Mevlevi Order is only obtained 
 by the performance of an uninterrupted novitiate of 
 a thousand and one consecutive days. Should the 
 Murid fail in a single day's duties, or be absent from 
 the Tekkeh for one whole night, his probation must 
 be re-commenced ; and, whatever his worldly rank, 
 he must consider himself the subordinate of every 
 member of the Tekkeh. He is instructed in his 
 duties by the Ashjihashi, or Chief of the Kitchen, 
 spends much of his time in prayer and fasting, and 
 in committing to memory the prayers and passages 
 of the Koran more especially used by his Order. 
 He must also become proficient in the mystic dance, 
 and take part in the pubhc services of the Brother- 
 hood. The novice, having passed through his 
 period of probation to the satisfaction of the Chief 
 of the Kitchen, that functionary — who acts as his 
 sponsor — reports him to the Sheikh as worthy of 
 admission to the initiatory grade of the Order, and 
 a meeting of all the Brotherhood is convened in the 
 Ismi Jelih Hufreh, the private assembly room of 
 the Tekkeh. When all are assembled, the Murid is 
 led by the Ashjihashi to the Prior, who occupies 
 the seat of honour in the angle of the divan ; he 
 kisses the extended hand of his Superior, and seats 
 
THE STAGES OF INITIATION 97 
 
 himself on the floor before him. His sponsor then 
 places his right hand on the neck, and his left on 
 the forehead of the neophyte, the Sheikh takes off 
 the kulah which, with the rest of the Mevlevi costume 
 he has worn during his novitiate, and proceeds to 
 chant a Persian distich composed by the founder 
 of the Order. He then delivers an exhortation to 
 the young disciple, at the termination of which he 
 replaces the kulah on his head. The Murid and his 
 sponsor now place themselves in the middle of the 
 room, where they assume a posture of profound 
 humihty, standing with folded arms, crossed toes, 
 and bowed heads. The Ashjihashi is then addressed 
 as follows by the Sheikh : — 
 
 " May the services of the Murid, thy brother, be 
 agreeable to the Throne of the Eternal, and in the 
 eyes of our Pir ; may His satisfaction, His felicity, 
 and His glory grow in the nest of the humble, in the 
 cell of the poor. Let us exclaim Hoo (Him) in 
 honour of our Mevlana.^^ ^ The Murid and his 
 sponsor answer " Hoo ! " and the former then kisses 
 the hand of the Sheikh, who addresses to him some 
 paternal remarks on his new position, and concludes 
 by asking all the members of the congregation to 
 embrace and welcome their new brother. 
 
 A novice of the Bektashi Order is also required 
 to perform a novitiate of a thousand and one days, 
 during which he frequents the services of the 
 Tekkeh. But the formalities observed by this Order 
 in the reception of candidates differ from those of 
 
 1 The founder of the Order, Mevlana Jelalu-'d-Din. 
 
98 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 the Mevlevi Brethren, and are even more elaborate. 
 A candidate is recommended to the Sheikh by two 
 members of the community who are called his " Inter- 
 preters." 1 He must also have already given during 
 his novitiate proofs of spiritual knowledge and 
 acquirements, and have faithfully kept certain 
 pretended secrets of the Order imparted to him as 
 tests of his powers of reticence. His reception into 
 the Brotherhood is also determined by the revela- 
 tions concerning him received, in dreams or visions, 
 by the Sheikh from the Pir or from Ali. What 
 is thus revealed is not communicated to the 
 neophyte. 
 
 On the evening appointed for the ceremony of 
 initiation — for the services of the Bektashi Order 
 are always held by night — the neophyte takes with 
 him to the convent a sheep and a small sum of 
 money. The sheep is sacrificed on the threshold of 
 the Tekkeh, part of its wool is twisted into a rope, 
 the rest being preserved to be made later on into a 
 girdle for his use. If the candidate desires to take 
 the vow of cehbacy, he is stripped naked ; but if 
 he proposes, as in the generahty of cases, to take 
 only the ordinary, or secular vow of this wide- 
 spread and numerous Order, his breast only is 
 bared. With the rope round his neck he is led by 
 his " Interpreters," one of whom carries the symbol 
 termed the tebber, a kind of battle-axe, into the hall 
 of the Tekkeh. Here he stands with his arms folded 
 
 1 Terjumdn. This term also signifies the secret pass- 
 word or phrase of the Bektashi Order. 
 
MEVLEVI NEOPHYTE LEARNING THE DEVR 
 
THE STAGES OF INITIATION 99 
 
 across his breast, his hands on his shoulders, his 
 toes crossed, and his body incHned towards the 
 Sheikh — a posture signifying abject humihty 
 and designated buyun kesmek. The Prior and 
 the Twelve Elders are seated around the hall on 
 their sheepskins, a lighted candle being placed 
 in front of each. One of the ** Interpreters " 
 announces to the Prior that he has brought to him 
 a slave, and requests his acceptance of the gift. 
 He acquiesces, and the neophyte, addressing him, 
 repeats this prayer : — 
 
 " I have erred ; pardon my fault, O Shah ! For 
 the sake of the Accepted One (Ah) of the Exalted 
 Place ; for the sake of the Martyr (Hussein). I have 
 done wrong to myself, and to our Lord, and I implore 
 pardon of Him." 
 
 His " fault " is supposed to consist in having so 
 long delayed to join the Order. The Sheikh then 
 recites a sort of Litany, to which the Murid makes 
 the responses. 
 
 " In the Name of Allah, the Merciful and the 
 Clement : — 
 
 " I beseech Allah's forgiveness (thrice repeated) ; 
 I have come to implore pardon ; I have come in 
 search of the Truth ; I ask it for the sake- of the 
 Just. Truth is the path which leads to Allah, the 
 All True, whom I know. What you term Evil, I 
 also know to be Evil, and I will avoid taking with 
 my hands what is another's. . . . Repent of your 
 sins unto Allah, a repentance that knows not 
 return unto sin." 
 
100 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 Then follows an exhortation by the Superior : — 
 
 " Eat nothing forbidden ; speak no falsehood ; 
 quarrel with none ; be kind to your inferiors ; over- 
 look the faults of others, and conceal them. If you 
 cannot do this with your hand, do it with your 
 skirts, your tongue, and your heart." 
 
 The novice then kisses the hand of the Sheikh, who 
 continues : — 
 
 " If thou now accept me as thy father, I accept 
 thee as my son. Be hereafter the pledge of Allah 
 breathed in thy right ear." 
 
 He then repeats after his Superior the words : 
 " Mohammed is my leader, and Ah is my guide." 
 The Sheikh asks, " Dost thou accept me as thy Guide 
 (meaning as the representative of Ah) ? " to which 
 he responds, " I accept thee as my Guide " ; and 
 the Sheikh adds, '* Then I accept thee as my 
 
 son." 
 
 The postulant is now led by his " Interpreters 
 to the Sheikh, before whom he first bows low and 
 then prostrates himself, touching the floor with his 
 forehead. Kneehng opposite to him so closely that 
 their knees touch, the Superior takes the postulant's 
 right hand in his, and the thumbs are raised to 
 represent the Arabic letter Alif. The latter places 
 his ear to the mouth of the Sheikh who imparts to 
 him in a whisper the Ikrdndmeh, or secret Vows of 
 the Order. As the tenets of the Bektashis are 
 beheved by many to be purely pantheistic, it is 
 asserted that the words whispered by the Sheikh to 
 the Murid convey a doctrine to which he must 
 
THE STAGES OF INITIATION 101 
 
 assent on pain of death, and admit the unity of 
 God and Nature. But this assertion is positively 
 denied by others ; and it would, indeed, be difficult 
 to prove it, as the secrets of the Order are never 
 committed to writing, and are known only to its 
 members, who, it is believed, are deterred by 
 the most frightful penalties from divulging 
 them. 
 
 When the disciple is presented with the girdle 
 and the stone worn in it, the Prior, as he binds it 
 round his waist says to him : "I now bind up thy 
 waist in the path of Allah — O Holy Name, possessed 
 of all knowledge ! Whoever knows this Name will 
 become the successor of his Sheikh (Naib).^^ Certain 
 principles of the Order are then imparted to the 
 novice, who is also instructed in various mystic 
 tenets concerning the universe and the Koran. The 
 Sheikh then sums up by saying, " There is but one 
 Light, and the Truth is (as) the Moon. He who has 
 found the science of his own body (called the Hum 
 i Vurgood, his spiritual counterpart^) knows his 
 Lord ; for the holy Prophet has said, * To know 
 thyself is to know thy Lord.' In this is comprised 
 a knowledge of thine own secret, and that of thy 
 Creator." 
 
 When a Bektashi takes the vow of celibacy, he 
 is asked by the Sheikh whether, if he break it, he is 
 willing to come under the sword of Ali, to which 
 he replies in the affirmative. The inner signification 
 of this phrase is said to contain one of the secret 
 
 1 See above, p. 36. 
 
 8— (21 19) 
 
102 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 vows of the Order. On putting on for the first 
 time the sash or Alif-lam,'^ he says, " I abandon all 
 matrimony, and bind myself by this sash so to do." 
 The Murid then recites chapter cxii of the Koran ; 
 after which the Sheikh declares to him that " Allah 
 doth not engender or bring forth, and so may men 
 tell of thee, and no one is equal to Him." 
 
 Twelve being the Bektashi mystical number, a 
 member having broken a vow, incurs twelve punish- 
 ments. One of their secret signs is said to consist 
 of the words Tehran and Toolan — " far " and " near " 
 — signifj/ing " near in affection and far in conceit." 
 
 The ceremonies of affihation of the other Orders 
 bear a great resemblance to the foregoing, with the 
 exception of those of the Kddiri, the RufaH, the 
 Sd^di. 
 
 A novice of the RufaH receives from the Sheikh 
 a small cup of water from the Zemzem — the Sacred 
 Well of Mekka — which, after reciting a prayer over, 
 he drinks. 
 
 At the initiation of a Sddi Dervish, a number 
 of dates are placed before the Superior. He selects 
 one, extracts the stone, breathes upon the fruit and 
 puts it into the mouth of the neophyte who is seated 
 on the floor before him. Two members of the Order 
 seat themselves to the right and left of him, and 
 proceed to sway him from side to side, reciting at 
 the same time: "There is no God but Allah," the 
 Sheikh doing the same, until he has swallowed the 
 date. All then rise, and the Murid, after kissing 
 
 1 The first and last letters of the Arabic alphabet. 
 
THE STAGES OF INITIATION 103 
 
 the hand of the superior, is acknowledged as a 
 brother by the rest of the congregation. 
 
 A person wishing to join the Kddiri Order inti- 
 mates his desire to one of its members. The Dervish 
 enjoins him to frequent the Tekkeh and its services, 
 and also to wait upon the brethren and their guests. 
 These menial duties are required from every neo- 
 phyte, whatever his worldly rank may be . The period 
 of probation lasts for many months, during which 
 time the Murid becomes greatly attached to his 
 Superior. When he has been deemed worthy to enter 
 the ranks of the Dervishes, he is directed to procure 
 a cap of plain white felt, which is carried 
 by his sponsor to the Sheikh. A gul, or piece of 
 cloth stamped into the shape of a rose of eighteen 
 petals, and having in the centre the " Solomon's 
 Seal " — two interlaced triangles — is then attached 
 to it. When the brethren assemble in the Tekkeh 
 for the performance of the Zikr, or invocation of 
 Allah, the Sheikh takes his place on his sheepskin 
 and the neophyte, led by his sponsor, kneels before 
 him and kisses his hand. The Sheikh takes off the 
 novice's ordinary cap, and replaces it by that 
 bearing the " Rose," which he has carried in his 
 bosom, and says, three times, " Allahu Ekber " 
 (God is Great). 
 
 A disciple does not, however, even after this 
 formal reception into it, become at once a full 
 member of the Order. This grade is only reached 
 after, it may be, years of further probation, and its 
 attainment depends upon the proofs he is able to 
 
104 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 give of his progress in spirituality. His final 
 admission to full brotherhood is usually determined 
 by a revelation from the Pir, or from Ah, received 
 simultaneously by himself and his Sheikh. While 
 passing through these intermediate stages, the 
 aspirant is under the guidance of the Superior or of 
 an initiate who has himself reached the highest 
 degree. During the first stage, which is termed 
 Sheridt, or " the Law," the disciple observes all the 
 usual rites of Moslem worship, obeys all the com- 
 mands and precepts of the Koran like any other 
 True Behever, and is treated by the Brethren of 
 the community as an uninitiated outsider. He is 
 taught at the same time to concentrate his thoughts 
 so completely on his " Guide " as to become mentally 
 absorbed in him as a spiritual link with the supreme 
 object of all devotion. This Guide must be the 
 neophyte's shield against all worldly thoughts and 
 desires ; his spirit must aid him in all his efforts, 
 accompany him wherever he may be, and be ever 
 present to his mental vision. Such a frame of mind 
 is termed " annihilation into the Murshid,^^ and 
 the Guide discovers, by means of his own visions, 
 the degree of spirituality to which his disciple has 
 attained, and to what extent his soul has become 
 absorbed into his own. 
 
 The Murid now enters upon what, in Dervish 
 phraseology, is called " the Path." During this 
 period, which forms in reality the transition from 
 outward to hidden things, the disciple is familiar- 
 ised with those philosophical writings of the great 
 
THE STAGES OF INITIATION 105 
 
 Sufi masters which form the chief subject of the 
 lectures and studies of the Order. He is taught to 
 substitute spiritual for ritual worship, and led by 
 degrees to abandon the dogmas and formulas of 
 Islam as necessary only for the unenlightened 
 masses. This method is, however, pursued with 
 great tact and caution, for a disciple is not released 
 from the usual observances of religion until he has 
 given proof of sincere piety, virtue, exceptional 
 spirituality, and extreme asceticism ; and a Dervish 
 at this stage of his novitiate passes most of his time 
 in solitary contemplation, endeavouring to detach 
 his mind from all visible objects in order to attain 
 the desired union with the Deity. His Guide, mean- 
 while, imparts to him his own mystical philosophy 
 as he finds him capable of receiving it. If the 
 disciple's religious feelings appear to be shocked by 
 any maxim to which he has given utterance, the 
 already mentioned Jesuitical expedient known as the 
 Ketman supplies the Master with a double sense which 
 enables him at once to convince his disciple of the 
 groundlessness of his objections. If, on the contrary, 
 the Murshid finds his pupil's theological digestion 
 robust, his advance on the path will be correspond- 
 ingly rapid. He is now supposed to come under the 
 spiritual influence of the Pir, or founder of the Order, 
 in whom he in turn becomes mentally absorbed to 
 such a degree as to be virtually one with him, 
 acquiring his attributes and power of performing 
 supernatural acts. 
 
 The next stage of the mystic life is that termed 
 
106 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 by the Dervishes " Spiritual Knowledge," and the 
 disciple who believes himself, and is beheved by his 
 Sheikh to have attained to such knowledge or, in 
 other words, to have become inspired, is held to be 
 on an equahty with the Angels. He now enters 
 into spiritual communion with the Prophet himself, 
 into whose soul his own has become absorbed. 
 
 The fourth degree is usually attained during the 
 forty days of fasting and seclusion, observed by 
 every Dervish during his novitiate. In his ecstatic 
 state he beheves himself to have become a part of 
 the Divinity, and sees Him in all things. The 
 Sheikh, after witnessing this remarkable proof of 
 the success of his teachings, gently awakens the 
 disciple from his ecstasy, and having restored him 
 to his normal condition, bestows upon him the rank 
 of khalifeh (" successor "). The mystic now resumes 
 his outward observance of the rites of Islam, and 
 prepares for his pilgrimage to the Holy Cities. 
 
 Not every Dervish, however, attains even to the 
 third grade ; and the highest is attained only by 
 the few. Those less spiritually gifted, or less 
 mystically minded, still continue to recognise the 
 personal and anthropomorphic Allah of the Koran, 
 and look forward at death only to a closer intimacy 
 with Him than that which will be enjoyed by those 
 who have not entered on *' the Path." 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE COSTUMES, MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, AND 
 SYMBOLIC OBJECTS OF THE DERVISHES 
 
 " flutes 
 
 In Dervish hands at mystic dance, 
 
 Whose hopes or fears, loves, joys, or cares, 
 
 Are whispered in ecstatic trance." 
 
 IzzET MoLLA, The Reedpen's Reply. 
 
 " Stone about its waist begirdled, and with iron 
 staff in hand, 
 TrembUngly the compass-needle seeketh for the 
 Loved One's Land." 
 
 Jam!. 
 
 The Dervishes of the various Orders may be easily 
 distinguished from their fellow-men, and also, 
 generally, from each other, by their costumes, and, 
 more particularly, by the shape of their head- 
 dresses ; and to the latter, as well as to every other 
 article of their clothing, some symbolic meaning, 
 and, in many cases, some legend is attached. 
 
 The out-of-door costume of the Mevlevi Order is 
 said to have been adopted by their talented founder 
 Mevlana (Our Lord) Jelalii-'d-Din, as a sign of 
 mourning for his friend and spiritual master, 
 Shemsii-'d-Din (" Sun of the Faith "). It consists 
 of a tall hat called a kulah, of undyed camel's hair 
 felt, in shape like an inverted plantpot. Their 
 Sheikhs, who all claim descent from the family of 
 the Prophet, are, on this account, entitled to wear 
 round their kulah a green turban. The legend 
 
 107 
 
108 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 attached to this head-dress says that the soul of 
 Mohammed had a previous existence in the Alemi 
 Ervah, or Spirit World, where Allah placed it in a 
 vase of hght of that shape. The lay members of 
 the Order, who do not wear the Dervish dress except 
 when taking part in its ceremonies, often, when in 
 private, lay aside their ordinary fez, or turban, and 
 don the kulah, in order to enjoy the happy influence 
 it is believed to exert on the wearer. When the 
 son of Othman I, Solyman Pasha, asked the blessing 
 of the Mevlevi Grand Master at Konieh on the 
 expedition he was undertaking against the Byzantine 
 Greeks, that dignitary placed on his head a kulah, 
 and prophesied that " victory should go with him." 
 The prince showed his reverence for the gift by 
 having it covered with silver. So high was the 
 favour which this Order enjoyed under the early 
 Sultans, that their kulah became the state head- 
 dress at the Ottoman Court. It was worn, orna- 
 mented with gold embroidery, by successive " Com- 
 manders of the Faithful," and also, variously deco- 
 rated, by civil and miUtary dignitaries until the 
 beginning of the present century, when " the 
 Reforming Sultan," Mahmoud II, relegated its use 
 to the officers of the Janissary Corps. 
 
 The khirkha of the Mevlevi Order is a long, loose, 
 wide-sleeved robe of fawn-coloured cloth for ordinary 
 wear, and of black stuff when used to cover the 
 costume in which they dance. Like the mantles 
 of the Dervishes generally, it is more or less a copy 
 of that beUeved to have been worn by the Prophet. 
 
THE COSTUMES, ETC. 109 
 
 The tennuri, or skirt, is worn only by Mevlevi 
 Dervishes when performing their rehgious exercises. 
 It may be red, yellow, or brown ; is made very wide 
 and without gores, and reaches to the feet. The 
 rapid motion of the wearers when spinning round 
 in their mystic dance extends these skirts to their 
 full width, exposing to view the drawers of white 
 linen worn beneath. The upper part of the body is 
 clad in a short jacket of coloured material with 
 tight-fitting sleeves, and round the waist is bound 
 the taybend, a girdle containing in its folds the 
 " Stone of Contentment." This is commemorative 
 of the stones formerly carried by begging Dervishes, 
 who bound them close to their stomachs in order to 
 suppress the pangs of hunger. Three were usually 
 carried, though their wearers confidently believed 
 that Allah would not fail to send relief before the 
 necessity arose for using the full number. 
 
 The use of vocal and instrumental music by this 
 Order is said to have been adopted by its founder 
 in order to rouse the lethargic natures of the inhabi- 
 tants of Riim to a devotional love of Allah through 
 the allurement of sweet sounds addressed to their 
 outward senses. The orchestra of their chief Tekkeh 
 at Konieh is composed of six different instruments, 
 among which are the reedfiute and zither, the 
 rebeck, a kind of violoncello, drums, and tambourines. 
 In the generality of their Tekkehs, however, only 
 zithers, reedflutes, and small hemispherical drums 
 are used. The music of these flutes appears to have 
 a singularly entrancing effect on the Dervishes 
 
110 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 whose exercises it accompanies. They are lulled and 
 soothed by it to a forgetfulness of the visible world 
 as if they indeed heard in its strains the mystic 
 voices of the spiritual world. In the " Song of 
 the Reed-flute " above quoted, ^ the Dervish poet 
 symbohses under the figure of a Lover sighing for 
 his absent Mistress, the Soul of Man languishing for 
 reunion with the Divine Love. In the Mesnevi of 
 Jelalu-'d-Dm is given the following charmingly 
 poetical account of the origin of the reed-flute's 
 mystic music which recalls the beautiful myth of 
 Orpheus and his lute. 
 
 " One day the Prophet privately imparted to Ali 
 the Secrets and Mysteries of the ' Brethren of Sin- 
 cerity ' — evidently the original Brotherhood — with 
 the injunction not to reveal them to anyone. For 
 forty days Ali kept these secrets locked in his 
 breast, but feeling no longer able to contain them, 
 he fled into the desert. Coming upon a well, he 
 stooped as far as possible down its mouth, and to 
 the earth and water divulged, one by one, these 
 mysteries. Some days afterwards a shepherd youth, 
 whose heart had been miraculously enhghtened, 
 perceived a single reed growing up out of the well. 
 He cut it down, drilled holes in it, and, while pas- 
 turing his sheep in the neighbourhood, breathed 
 through the flute he had made melodies hke those 
 performed by the Dervish Lovers of Allah. Soon 
 the various Arab tribes heard of the youth's wonder- 
 ful flute-playing, and came to listen to it, accompanied 
 
 1 See p. 52. 
 
THE COSTUMES, ETC. Ill 
 
 by their sheep and camels, which forgot to graze 
 while hearkening. The nomad shepherds wept for 
 joy and delight, and broke forth into transports and 
 ecstasies. The fame of this music at length reached 
 the Prophet, who sent for the youthful musician. 
 When he began to play before them, all the holy 
 disciples of Allah's Messenger were moved to tears ; 
 they burst forth into shouts and exclamations of 
 pure bliss, and lost all earthly consciousness. When 
 he had ceased, the Prophet declared that the notes 
 of the shepherd's pipe were the interpretation of 
 the Holy Mysteries which he had confided to the 
 keeping of Ali. 
 
 " Thus it is," adds the author, " that, until a man 
 acquires the sincere devotion of the linnet-voiced 
 reedflute, he cannot hear in its dulcet tones the 
 Mysteries of the Brethren of Sincerity, nor reahse 
 the dehghts thereof ; for faith is altogether a 
 yearning of the heart and a gratification of the 
 spiritual sense. 
 
 "The pangs my love for thee excites, can I to mortal breathe ? 
 Ah no ! Like All's, some pure fount my sighs, too, must 
 
 receive. 
 Perchance some reeds may thence upspring its brink to 
 
 overgrow, 
 And plaintive flutes those reeds become to murmur forth 
 
 my woe." 
 
 The cap, mantle, and girdle of the BektSshi Order 
 are called by their wearers " The Three Principles," 
 or " Points," and have the following legendary 
 origin. The Angel Gabriel on the occasion of one 
 of his visits to the Prophet, cut his hair, shaved his 
 
112 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 beard, and then invested him with a cap, mantle, 
 and girdle. This act of service the Angel had pre- 
 viously performed only for Adam and Abraham. 
 Mohammed then proceeded to do for Ali what 
 Gabriel had done for him, and Ah in his turn 
 performed this oihce for the Twelve Imams. 
 
 Much symboUc significance is also attached to 
 the Bektashi cap. It is called a Taj, or *' crown," 
 and is of white felt, shaped like a dome, and divided 
 into four parts by grooves, called " Doors," which 
 allude to the four great stages of the spiritual life. 
 These " Doors " are subdivided by other three 
 grooves into twelve parts, in remembrance of the 
 twelve Imams, and signify also the abandonment of 
 twelve sins. The green or black turban worn round 
 the cap is called the " parable " (Istlva). It signifies 
 the abandonment of the world for the pursuit of 
 high and holy things. As a general rule, the Sheikhs 
 alone wear turbans. They, however, frequently 
 appoint deputies who, as they bear the same 
 honorary title, are also entitled to wear this 
 distinctive head-dress. The cap has, besides, 
 thirteen mystical significations attached to its 
 several parts, among which are its border, circum- 
 ference, " key," or apex, and decoration. This cap 
 is, spiritually speaking, of two kinds : the " Crown 
 of the Ignorant " (Taj i Jahil), the wearers of which 
 are often to be seen in the bazaars and public 
 streets ; and the " Crown of the Perfect " {Taj i 
 Kiamil), worn by those who shun, rather than seek, 
 intercourse with the world. 
 
THE COSTUMES, ETC. 113 
 
 There are also other forms of the Bektashi Ta;, 
 for, according to their saying : "As all the letters 
 of the alphabet grew out of the first one, Alif, so 
 the caps of the various Orders were derived from 
 the Alifer, or original cap." It is sometimes also 
 called " the Founder " (Pir), and was in earher 
 times inscribed with the text : " All things will 
 perish, save His face, and to Him will all things 
 return." On putting it on, the Dervish recites this 
 invocation : — 
 
 " Sign of the glorious [name of the Pit of his 
 Order] ; of Kamber, [the groom of Ah] ; of those 
 who are dead ; of the great family of the Imam 
 Riza ; ^ permit me to put on this Crown, for I fully 
 believe in its virtues. Great is Allah." 
 
 The mantle of the Bektashi Order, though similar 
 in shape, differs from that of the Mevlevi Dervishes 
 in being decorated with twelve lines, or stripes, 
 symbohcal, hke the grooves in their " Crowns," of 
 the Twelve Imams, and is edged with green. Among 
 its mystical attributes are the following, with their 
 meanings as given by the fourth Imam, Jafer-es-Sadik. 
 
 Its " True Faith " = to use it as a covering for 
 the faults and folhes of others. 
 
 Its Kihleh (point to which the attention is turned, 
 or Mekka) = the Pir. 
 
 Its " Ablution " = the cleansing from sin. 
 
 Its " Obhgation " = the forsaking of cupidity. 
 
 Its " Duty " = Contentment. 
 
 Its " Soul " = the keeping of vows. 
 
 * The eighth Imam. 
 
114 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 The different parts of this garment have also their 
 several significations. Its border is symbolical of 
 the condition of a Dervish ; its collar, of submission ; 
 its exterior signifies " spiritual light," and its interior 
 " secrecy." The collar and edges are embroidered 
 with Arabic words signifying " Friend ! " " O 
 Healer ! " " O Great One ! " etc. 
 
 The short tight-sleeved vest worn under the mantle 
 is also decorated with twelve stripes of a colour 
 different from the material, likewise symbolising the 
 twelve Imams. 
 
 The girdle worn folded round the waist under the 
 mantle is made from the wool of the sheep sacrificed 
 at the initiation of its owner, and is characterised 
 by several symbohcal names. The Bektashi 
 Dervishes relate that its prototype was worn by 
 Adam, and subsequently by a succession of sixteen 
 Prophets, beginning with Seth, and including Elias, 
 Jesus, and Mohammed. Their legend also says 
 that the one presented to the Prophet by the Angel 
 Gabriel bore the inscription : " There is no God but 
 Allah, Mohammed is His Prophet, and Ali is His 
 Friend." The kamherieh is the rope placed round the 
 neck of the Dervish at his initiation, and subsequently 
 worn by him round his waist. Three knots are tied 
 in it, called respectively the hand-tie, the tongue-tie, 
 and the rein-tie, to remind the wearer of his vows 
 of truth, honesty, and chastity. It is also com- 
 memorative of the cord with which Kamber, the 
 groom of the Khalif Ali, was in the habit of tethering 
 his master's horse, " Diildiil," and serves to 
 
THE COSTUMES, ETC. 115 
 
 support a septagonal crystal, or stone, called the 
 Palenky symbolising " the seven heavens and seven 
 earths, seven seas and seven planets," which, 
 according to the Koran, obey Allah's command and 
 worship him by revolving round His holy seat. 
 Another stone, called the " Stone of Submission " 
 (teshem task) is worn suspended round the neck, 
 and attached to it is the following curious 
 legend : — 
 
 " Moses, the Servant of God, was in the habit of 
 bathing in the Nile at a spot remote from that used 
 by his fellows for that purpose, in order that they 
 might not observe the radiance that emanated from 
 his body. The evil-minded took advantage of this 
 custom of the Seer to circulate a report that he was 
 leprous, or afflicted with elephantiasis, and for that 
 reason was ashamed to wash with them. ' But 
 Allah cleared him from the scandal which they had 
 spoken concerning him.'^ One day when Moses 
 was bathing, he laid his clothes on a stone by the 
 riverside. The stone immediately set off at a 
 rapid pace towards Misr (Cairo), followed by the 
 Seer, who, eager in the chase after his garments, 
 found himself amid the Israehtes before he was 
 aware. When he came up with the stone, in his 
 wrath he perforated it with his stick in twelve 
 places. The stone then spake and said, * O Moses, 
 I walked by the command of the Lord, and was the 
 cause that thy purity has been witnessed by the 
 people.' Moses, being sorry for his unjust behaviour, 
 
 1 Koran, Chap, xxxiii.. 
 
116 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 said, ' I have perforated thee in twelve places, 
 for which I ask thy forgiveness — A Dervish is 
 forgiven by Dervishes.' ^ ' Well, Moses,' rephed the 
 stone, * I am satisfied with thy excuses ; but now 
 take a cord, and pass it through one of the holes, 
 and keep me till thou requires t a collar of penitence.' 
 Moses did as the stone commanded, and suspended 
 it round his neck." " And this," says the Dervish 
 Evhya, " is the origin of the stones generally worn by 
 Dervishes, and also of that put on by penitents, 
 both of which are called sigil tashi.^' According to 
 the same author, this is the stone that spake to 
 Moses at the rock of Horeb : " O Moses, put me on 
 the ground, and give me twelve blows," upon which 
 twelve streams gushed out of the holes. 
 
 Another legend says that the " Stone of Submis- 
 sion " had its origin with Abii Bekr, who, having 
 one day used language which gave offence to the 
 Prophet, repented of his fault, and, to guard against 
 its repetition, hung round his neck a pebble, 
 which he placed in his mouth on entering the 
 mosque. 
 
 When putting on for the first time the " Stone of 
 Submission," the Dervish utters this prayer : — 
 
 " O Allah, the rites of the Brethren have become 
 my faith ; no doubt now exists in my heart. As I 
 hang round my neck the teshem tdsh, I give myself 
 to Thee. In the name of Allah, the Merciful, and 
 the Clement." Then follows the recitation of the 
 
 1 This reputed saying of Moses has remained a current 
 expression in the mouth of Dervishes. 
 
THE COSTUMES, ETC. 117 
 
 chapter of the Koran relative to the striking of the 
 rock by Moses. 
 
 A stone of a crescent shape called the mengoosh 
 tdsh is also worn as an earring. It is supposed to 
 represent the shoe of Ah's horse " Diildiil." A 
 Dervish who wears it in only one ear is called a 
 Hassani ; one who wears it in both, a Hussaini — 
 these terms referring to the two sons of AH. The 
 wearing of these earrings signifies that the Dervish 
 accepts the words of his spiritual Guide as those 
 of Allah, and that they are the laws that he 
 hangs perpetually over his heart. When he inserts 
 them, he prays : " End of all increase ; Ring about 
 the neck of all prosperity ; Token of those who are 
 in Paradise ; Gift of the Martyr Shah (Hussein) ! 
 Cursed be Yezld ! " (his murderer). 
 
 The post or postaki, the sheepskin mat on which 
 the Dervish sits, has also its attributes. Its head 
 signifies " Submission " ; its feet, " Service " ; the 
 right side, the " Hand " given to a brother at his 
 initiation ; the left, " Honour " ; the east, " Secrecy" ; 
 the west " Rehgion " ; the middle, " Love." It 
 has also, among other symbols, its Law, which means 
 absorption into the Divine Love, when the soul is 
 freed from the body, and wanders away to join 
 other sympathetic spirits. 
 
 A curved stick called the chellek is kept in the 
 Bektashi Tekkehs for the chastisement of erring 
 Dervishes. It is commemorative of that used by 
 the Khahf to chastise his groom, Kamber, who 
 thenceforth humbly carried it in his girdle. 
 
 9— (2 1 19) 
 
118 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 A curiously shaped instrument called the tehher has 
 been mentioned as used by the Bektashis at their 
 ceremonies of initiation, when it is carried by one of 
 the ** Interpreters," or sponsors. The members of 
 this Order carry also a horn in shape like that of a 
 wild goat, and a two-beaked almsbowl. The former 
 is sounded in the Tekkehs to call the Brethren to 
 their meals and devotions, and is used generally as a 
 signal from one Dervish to another. It appears to be 
 an imitation of that said to be carried by the Angel 
 Gabriel, and is also called by one of the attributes 
 of the Deity — "O Loving" — and a Bektashi 
 carrying it makes use of that exclamation. 
 
 The cap of the Riifa'i, or, as they are commonly 
 termed by Europeans, the " Howling " Dervishes, 
 is very similar in form and material to that worn 
 by the Bektashi Order, and is also called a " Crown." 
 It is of undyed felt, but divided into eight, instead 
 of twelve grooves, each signifying the renunciation 
 of a sin — or what they conceive to be such. The 
 " Crowns " of their Sheikhs are, however, divided 
 into twelve grooves which have the same sym- 
 bolism as those of the Bektashis, and their turbans 
 are black. 
 
 The mantles of the Riifa'i Order may be of any 
 colour, but are always bordered with green. The 
 reason for this is given in the following some- 
 what vapid little legend : " The Prophet once, on 
 receiving some good tidings from the Angel Gabriel, 
 started up and turned round so suddenly that his 
 green mantle fell off his shoulders. His disciples 
 
A MEVLEVI PLAYER ON THE NEY, OR REED-FLUTE 
 
THE COSTUMES, ETC. 119 
 
 (with his consent, presumably) took possession of 
 the mantle, tore it into shreds, and sewed them 
 round the edges of their own garments. As the 
 Prophet frequently wore a black khirka, the Sheikhs 
 of this Order often follow his example." ^ 
 
 The knives, red-hot irons and coals, and other 
 instruments used by the Riifa'i Order in their 
 extraordinary religious exercises, are called by the 
 symbolic name of *' Roses." ^ This is evidently 
 connected with the rose-symbolism of the Kadiri 
 Order, whose Pir or founder, Abdul KSdr Ghilani, 
 was, as above mentioned, the uncle and spiritual 
 teacher of the Pir of the Riifa'i Dervishes. 
 
 The Kadiri Rose, embroidered on the " Crowns " 
 of the Brethren of that Order, is to them full of 
 mystic meaning. Tradition says that the Prophet 
 bestowed the name of his " Two Roses " on his 
 grandsons, Hasan and Hussain ; and the Sheikhs of 
 
 1 Tradition relates that the Prophet, at his death, 
 bequeathed his mantle to the Dervish Sheikh Uwais, referred 
 to on p. 2. It is said to be a long robe of woollen material 
 made with a collar, and wide sleeves reaching to the knee. 
 The charge of this sacred garment has ever since remained 
 in the family of Uwais. Some years ago when the here- 
 ditary guardian of this sacred relic happened to be a minor, 
 a Vakil, or deputy, was appointed by the Sultan to discharge 
 this duty. The mantle is enshrined in one of the buildings 
 comprised within the Old Serai at Stamboul, where it is 
 " venerated " by the Sultan and his Court on the occasion 
 of the annual festival of the Khirka Shereef, and also on the 
 occasion of important national events. 
 
 2 To speak of wounds as ** flowers " is a common figure 
 of speech with Eastern poets. Compare, for instance, 
 Gibb, Ottoman Poetry, p. 240. 
 
120 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 the Order, who all claim descent from the family of 
 Mohammed, are credited with the possession of 
 peculiar powers in connection with this flower.^ 
 
 According to a legend of this Order, its Pir was 
 directed by Khidhr ^ to proceed to Bagdad and there 
 take up his abode. On arriving at that city Abdul 
 Kadr received from the resident Sheikh a cup filled 
 to the brim with water, which signified that the 
 place was already full of holy men, and that there 
 was consequently no room for him. Replying in 
 the same symbohc language, the Saint miraculously 
 created a rose — it was mid-winter — and placed it in 
 the cup, which did not even then overflow. When 
 this was carried back to the resident Sheikh, he and 
 those with him read the message : " There is yet 
 room in Bagdad for the Kadiri Rose." MarvelUng 
 at the miracle, they exclaimed, '' The Sheikh Abdul 
 Kadr is our Rose ! " and going out to meet their 
 saintly guest, they conducted him into the city 
 with every mark of respect. 
 
 The conventional rose of the Kadiri has eighteen 
 petals arranged in three rings of five, six, and seven 
 respectively, and its colours are yellow, red, white 
 and black. The five petals are symbohcal of the 
 " five virtues " attributed by the Pir of the Order 
 
 1 Sulieman Effendi's work on the Mevlad, or Birth of the 
 Prophet, contains the following couplet in reference to 
 Abdul Kadr :— 
 
 Whenever he perspired, each drop became a rose. 
 Each drop, as down it rolled, was gathered as a 
 treasure. 
 8 See above, p. 22. 
 
THE COSTUMES, ETC. 121 
 
 to the followers of Islam ; the six are symbohcal 
 of the six characteristics of faith ; and the seven 
 refer to the seven verses of the Fatiha, the first 
 chapter of the Koran, which is also denominated, 
 among other honourable titles, the " Holy Crown," 
 and the ** Mother of the Koran." 
 
 The Hamzavi Order appear to have no distinctive 
 costume, neither do they make use of any mystical 
 symbols in their worship. On their tombstones, 
 however, are sculptured peculiar signs consisting of 
 single and double triangles, with dots above and 
 below the angles, and the " Solomon's Seal " of six 
 points, without the dots. 
 
 The Dervish tesbeh, or Rosary, consists of ninety- 
 nine beads, the number of the '' Beautiful names of 
 Allah " ; and as a Dervish invokes each one of these 
 in his Zikr, he records it upon his beads. The 
 rosary is also divided into three equal parts, each 
 of which signifies a formula of worship. 
 
 The foregoing are, so far as it is possible to ascer- 
 tain, the chief among the emblematical meanings 
 connected with the costumes worn and the objects 
 used by the various Orders. They, however, by 
 no means exhaust the list. For, to quote again 
 from Evhya Effendi, " a Dervish's dress is covered 
 without and within with a thousand and one symbols 
 which give occasion for a thousand and one ques- 
 tions. He who is capable of answering them all is 
 a Master of the Science of Mysticism, a true Ascetic, 
 and an Ocean of Knowledge." 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE VARIOUS RELIGIOUS EXERCISES 
 
 " Each Saint and Seer a sacred rite has all his own ; 
 Yet, as each rite to Allah leads, their rites are one." 
 
 Jelalu-'d-Din. The Mesnevi. 
 
 " Mystical dance, which yonder starry sphere 
 Of planets, and of fixed, in all her wheels 
 Resembles nearest." 
 
 Milton. Paradise Lost, v, 620-2. 
 
 The religious exercises of the Dervishes may be 
 said to be, speaking generally, of but two varieties, 
 the Vocative and the Contemplative. The Orders 
 which follow the Vocative form claim descent from 
 the original congregation of the Khalif Ali ; and 
 their authority for this mode of worship they profess 
 to find in the Prophet's injunction : " Call loudly 
 and without ceasing on the name of Allah ! " given, 
 tradition says, in reply to his nephew's enquiry as 
 to what he ought to do in order to obtain Divine 
 assistance. The Contemplative Orders, who claim 
 descent from the Brotherhood of Abii Bekr, the 
 Prophet's uncle, quote, on the other hand, Moham- 
 med's injunction to him when they were concealed 
 together in a cave during the Fhght, to recite 
 mentally the Zikr, or invocation of the Divine Name. 
 The exercises of many of the leading Orders, how- 
 ever, and especially of those who follow the vocative 
 form of worship, present other, and even more 
 
 122 
 
VARIOUS RELIGIOUS EXERCISES 123 
 
 marked dissimilarities. The services of the Mevlevi, 
 Rijfai, and a few of the other Orders are pubhc, and 
 even foreigners, who are rarely admitted into the 
 mosques at the hours of prayer, are courteously 
 welcomed in the Tekkehs of such Orders. The 
 devotions of the rest are performed strictly in 
 private, and do not, indeed, appear to be of a 
 character attractive to outsiders. 
 
 The Mevlevi Order is distinguished by its pecuhar 
 dance, which differs entirely from the rehgious 
 exercises of the rest of the Dervishes. The accom- 
 paniment to this sacred dance of instrumental and 
 vocal music is said to have been introduced by the 
 founder of the Order, Jelalu-'d-Din ; but dancing, 
 or twirling, by Dervishes had evidently a much 
 more ancient origin, as mention of it occurs in the 
 " Thousand Nights and a Night." The number of 
 brethren taking part in the ceremony is usually from 
 fifteen to thirty, including the musicians. When 
 the latter, wearing their tall hats and long cloaks, 
 have taken their places in the gallery, the rest of the 
 fraternity, similarly dressed, their dancing skirts 
 being tucked up and covered by their mantles, enter 
 the Tekkeh barefooted, and seat themselves to the 
 left of the doorway on the strip of carpet that 
 borders the octagonal, or circular central space. The 
 Sheikh, who wears in addition a green turban round 
 his kulah, advances to a small prayer-mat opposite 
 his disciples, and the service begins at once with the 
 Namaz — the devotions performed five times daily 
 by all good Moslems. The Sheikh then invites the 
 
124 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 brethren to join him in reciting the Fatiha in these 
 words : " Let us chant the Fatiha, glorifying the 
 holy name of Allah, in honour of the blessed religion 
 of the Prophets, but, above all, of Mohammed 
 Mustapha, the greatest, the most august, the most 
 magnificent of all the celestial envoys, and in 
 memory also, of the first four Khalifs (then follows 
 a list of names of the family of the Prophet, the Pir, 
 and other holy men). Let us pray for the constant 
 prosperity of our holy society, for the preservation 
 of the very learned and venerable Chelebi Effendi, ^ 
 our Master and Lord ; for the preservation of the 
 Sultan, the very majestic and clement Emperor of the 
 faith of Islam ; for the prosperity of the Grand Vizier, 
 and the Sheikh-ul-Islam, and that of all Moham- 
 medan armies, and of all pilgrims to the holy city 
 of Mekka. Let us pray for the repose of the souls 
 of all the Pits and of all the Dervishes of all other 
 Orders ; for all good people, for all those who have 
 been distinguished for their good works, their 
 foundations [of charitable estabhshments], and 
 their acts of beneficence. Let us also pray for the 
 Moslems of both sexes in the East and the West, 
 for the maintenance of all prosperity, for the pre- 
 vention of all adversity, for the accomplishment of 
 all salutary vows, and for the success of all praise- 
 worthy enterprises. Let us finally beseech Allah 
 to deign to preserve us in the gift of His grace, 
 and in the fire of Holy Love." 
 
 The Dervishes then chant the Fatiha : " Praise 
 
 1 The General of the Order. 
 
VARIOUS RELIGIOUS EXERCISES 125 
 
 be to Allah, the Lord of all creatures, the Most 
 Merciful, the King of the Day of Judgment. 
 Thee do we worship, and of Thee do we beg 
 assistance. Direct us in the right way, in the 
 way of those to whom Thou hast been gracious, 
 and not of those against whom Thou art incensed, 
 nor of those who go astray." This is followed 
 by a prayer to the Pir asking for his intercession 
 with Allah and the Prophet. The Sheikh then 
 steps off his prayer-mat, and, standing to the right 
 of it, bows low in reverence to the Pir, by whom 
 it is believed to be now occupied. Taking a step 
 forward, he twists himself round, and, standing to 
 the left of the mat, he bows again. He then resumes 
 his former place, and one of the brethren in the 
 orchestra chants a hymn in praise of the Prophet 
 which is followed by a performance by the 
 orchestra. 
 
 An elder, called the Sema Z^n — who, Hke the 
 Sheikh, retains his cloak all through the ceremony 
 and does not join in the devr, or turning — now leaves 
 his place among the Dervishes and approaches his 
 Superior. Standing with his right great toe crossed 
 over the left, and his arms crossed on his breast, he 
 bows first to the right then to the left of the Sheikh, 
 kisses his hand, and then takes up his position in the 
 centre of the hall. The rest of the brethren, who 
 have in the meantime risen to their feet, taken off 
 their cloaks and let fall their skirts, now advance in 
 single file. Follpwing the example of the Sema Zan, 
 they bow to the right and left of the Sheikh's prayer 
 
126 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 mat, with crossed toes, arms folded, and hands 
 grasping their shoulders, and then kiss the hand of 
 their Master, who in return bestows a kiss on their 
 kulaks. This done, they immediately begin to turn, 
 balancing themselves on the left foot while main- 
 taining a rotatory motion with the right. The 
 Sheikh meanwhile remains standing with devout 
 mien and downcast eyes. Gradually the arms of 
 the dancers are extended ; the right hand is raised 
 with the palm uppermost, and the left lowered with 
 the palm turned downwards. The eyes are closed, 
 and the head inchned on the left shoulder. Mentally 
 reciting the Zikr they whirl round the " Hall of 
 Celestial Sounds." The faces of even the youngest 
 members wear an expression of deep serenity as 
 they revolve to the sound of the flutes and drums, 
 a music which appears to have an entrancing effect 
 on those who understand its mystic language. For 
 the Dervish " Lovers of Allah " it expresses the 
 harmony of His creation in which they circle like 
 the stars of the empyrean, isolated from the world 
 in a rapture of spiritual love and communion with 
 Him. 
 
 Some of the younger Der\'ishes spin very rapidly. 
 At the Mevleh Khaneh at Salonica I used to remark 
 particularly two neophytes, evidently under eighteen 
 years of age, who were extraordinarily proficient in 
 this exercise ; but some of the older brethren 
 turned very slowly and feebly. None, however, 
 showed any signs of fatigue or giddiness. When 
 the devr has continued for some ten or fifteen 
 
VARIOUS RELIGIOUS EXERCISES 127 
 
 minutes, the Semd Zdn gives the signal for its dis- 
 continuance by stamping with one thinly-shod foot 
 on the floor. The Dervishes, as a rule, all stop at 
 the same instant hke the wheels of a machine, and, 
 very curiously, all in a circle with their faces turned 
 towards the Sheikh, though sometimes one or two, 
 more absorbed than the rest in their mystic ecstasy, 
 fail to hear the signal, which has sometimes to be 
 repeated more than once. Crossing their arms on 
 their breasts, and grasping their shoulders, they 
 bow low to their superior, and then, faUing into 
 single file, pass before him with the same reverences 
 as before, and re-commence their gyrations. This 
 exercise is usually repeated a third time, after which 
 the Dervishes resume their seats on the floor, and 
 cover themselves with their mantles. The service 
 concludes with recitations from the Koran, and the 
 customary prayer for the Sultan. 
 
 Each Tekkeh has a particular day, or days, in 
 the week for the pubhc performances of the brethren, 
 and, in places like Constantinople, where there are 
 several communities belonging to the same Order, 
 the Dervishes visit and take part in each other's 
 ceremonies. Nothing, however, forbids a Dervish 
 to take part in the rehgious exercises of another 
 Order, save want of the necessary practice and skill. 
 If a Kadiri, for instance, can perform the devr of 
 the Mevlevi Order, he has only to apply to the 
 superintendent of the Tekkeh for a costume and is 
 welcome to enter the hall with the brethren. 
 
 Among the Riifai, Kadiri, Khalveti, Bairami, 
 
128 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 Gulshani, Ushaki and some other Orders, the devr 
 consists in the Dervishes holding each other by the 
 hand, or pressing closely together, and increasing 
 the movements of their bodies at every step they 
 take in making the round of the hall. A performer 
 may disengage himself from the circle and desist 
 from the devr at any moment he pleases ; but those 
 gifted with greater powers of endurance and more 
 enthusiastic temperaments strive by their exertions 
 to excite the rest. These take off their " crowns " — 
 which they hand to the Sheikh — form an inner circle, 
 entwine their arms and press their shoulders 
 together, repeating incessantly Yd Allah ! or 
 Yd Hoo ! until compelled by sheer exhaustion to 
 desist. 
 
 The Rufai Order not only exceed the others in the 
 violence of their exercises, but use also in their 
 frenzy knives, fire, and hot irons. The opening 
 ritual is the same as that of the generahty of the 
 Orders, but the services last longer, and are divided 
 into five distinct ceremonies, some of which are 
 pecuHar to this Order. The Sheikh is seated on a 
 sheepskin mat in front of the kibleh — the niche in 
 the wall which indicates the direction of Mekka — 
 and the service opens with acts of homage performed 
 before him. Four of the elders first approach, 
 embrace each other, and seat themselves two on 
 either side of their superior. The other Dervishes 
 then come forward one by one, with crossed arms 
 and bowed heads. They first salute the name of 
 the Founder engraved on a tablet of stone over the 
 
VARIOUS RELIGIOUS EXERCISES 129 
 
 kibleh, pass both their hands over their faces and 
 beards, and, kneehng in turn before the Superior, kiss 
 his hand, and then proceed to their places on the 
 sheepskin mats spread in a horse-shoe design in 
 front of him. All now chant the Tekbir and the 
 Fatiha. This concluded, the Sheikh pronounces the 
 first attribute of the Deity, repeating it incessantly 
 while the disciples respond Allah ! Allah ! swaying 
 themselves from side to side and placing their hands 
 in turn on various parts of their bodies. One of 
 the elders then commences the second half of the 
 service by chanting a hymn in praise of the Prophet, 
 the Dervishes meanwhile continuing their repetition 
 of the Zikr ; now, however, moving their bodies 
 backwards and forwards. After a while they spring 
 to their feet, and stand close together, swaying by 
 a movement of the whole body from side to side, 
 and then again backwards and forwards, all observ- 
 ing an exact rhythm in their exercise, and con- 
 tinuing the ejaculation of Allah ! Allah ! varied 
 occasionally by that of Ya Hoo ! (" O Him ! "). 
 They now appear violently agitated, sigh and sob, 
 shed tears, and perspire profusely ; their eyes are 
 closed, their faces pale, and their expression and 
 demeanour languid in the extreme. 
 
 The third scene commences to the sound of an 
 Ildhi, or mystical song composed by one of the many 
 canonised Sheikhs of this Order. While it is being 
 sung by two of the elders, the most enthusiastic 
 of the brethren places himself in the midst of his 
 fellows, and by his example excites them to a higher 
 
130 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 pitch of religious fervour. Should a Dervish belong- 
 ing to another community happen to be present, 
 it is considered an act of courtesy to offer him this 
 office, and should there be several visitors, they 
 perform it in succession. A Mevlevi, however, is 
 not expected to perform any but his own Devr. 
 
 In the fourth scene all the Dervishes lay aside 
 their turbans, form a circle with arms and shoulders 
 pressed against each other, and make the circuit of 
 the hall, alternately striking the floor with their 
 feet in unison, and springing up in a body. The 
 two elders continue their chanting, interrupted from 
 time to time by cries of Yd Allah ! and Yd Hoo ! 
 which increase, when shouted all together, to the 
 extraordinary sound which has gained for them the 
 name of the " Howhng Dervishes.'* If at any 
 moment they appear about to stop from sheer 
 exhaustion, the Sheikh exhorts them to fresh exer- 
 tions by placing himself in their midst. The elders 
 follow suit and outdo the rest in physical agitation, 
 exciting their emulation by every means in their 
 power. Two Dervishes now take down from niches 
 in the wall several sharp-pointed iron instruments, 
 and, having heated them red hot in a brazier, present 
 them to the Sheikh. And now commences the final 
 scene. 
 
 The Sheikh recites prayers over the instruments, 
 invokes the name of the Pir, breathes upon them, 
 raises them to his hps, and then presents them to 
 his disciples. These devotees, excited by their 
 previous exercises, are now in the state of rehgious 
 
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 G 
 
 O 
 
 I— ( 
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 w 
 h-l 
 > 
 
 w 
 
 H 
 
 c 
 
 > 
 
 w 
 
 Q 
 H 
 
VARIOUS RELIGIOUS EXERCISES 131 
 
 delirium called hal. Some eagerly seize the hot 
 irons, regard them fondly, plunge them into their 
 flesh, lick them, or hold them in their mouths ; and 
 all without evincing any sign of pain, but rather 
 as if intoxicated by the perfume of the " Rose of 
 Bagdad," of which they are said to be mystically 
 symbolical. ^ Others seize daggers from their resting- 
 places on the walls, or hot coals from the brazier, with 
 which they cut or burn their flesh. Some fall, over- 
 come by their excitement, into the arms of their 
 brethren ; and all finally sink, exhausted and 
 unconscious, on the floor. The Sheikh presently 
 walks among them, whispers in their ears a mystical 
 word that recalls them to consciousness, breathes 
 upon them, and anoints their wounds with his 
 saliva. It is said, and indeed commonly believed 
 by the Mohammedan spectators, that all traces of 
 their hurts disappear within twenty-four hours. A 
 Riifai legend says that their founder, Ahmed Said 
 Rufai, having on one occasion put his legs in a pan 
 of live coals, his burns were immediately healed by 
 the nefs (breath) and saliva of his uncle, Abdul 
 Kadr Ghilani, who at the same time endowed with 
 his healing power the Riifai Pir. 
 
 The DevY of the Sadi Order is similar to that 
 just described, but leads to no self-mutilations. It 
 consists chiefly of violent changes of attitude and 
 physical agitation, continued until the devotees 
 finally fall exhausted and unconscious. 
 
 The Kadiris, after reciting the Fatiha already 
 
 1 See above, p. 119. 
 
132 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 described, take each other by the shoulders and 
 turn in a circle round the hall of their Tekkeh. This 
 variety of the devr was not originated by the 
 founder of the Order, but was adopted at the 
 instance of one of its most eminent Sheikhs. 
 
 Among the " contemplative " Dervishes the 
 Bektashis are the most numerous. Their devotions, 
 after the customary recitations, are conducted in 
 silence, a form of worship known as the Hiffl. 
 
 The service of the Nakshibendi Order consists of 
 one prayer called the Iklah, repeated a thousand and 
 one times. This number of pebbles is distributed 
 among the brethren who are seated in a circle 
 on the floor ; and, as each one completes the mental 
 recitation of an Iklah, he lays down before him a 
 pebble until the whole number are deposited 
 within the circle. 
 
 The Hamzavis, or as they are also called, Melami- 
 youns, appear to have in former centuries main- 
 tained great secrecy with regard to their rehgious 
 rites — a fact that not unnaturally gave rise to 
 suspicions of their orthodoxy. They were accused 
 of belonging to the Order of Freemasons, ^ and, as 
 related in a subsequent chapter, ^ were subjected to 
 active persecution. To judge, however, from their 
 Litany, they appear to be a singularly pious sect, 
 and they enjoy the reputation of being most con- 
 scientious in all their dealings, hving only for 
 
 )) 
 
 1 The term Fermason = " Freemason," is, among 
 orthodox Moslems, synonymous with " infidel.' 
 
 2 Below, p. 186. 
 
VARIOUS RELIGIOUS EXERCISES 133 
 
 their doctrines, regardless of the things of this 
 world. 
 
 The following account of their rites and principles 
 from the writings of Abdul Baki, a Dervish of 
 the Order, is quoted from Mr. Brown's The 
 Dervishes ^ : — 
 
 " Whenever those who follow in this path, and 
 who love the unique God, to the number of two or 
 three, or more, are about to meet together and join 
 in the tevheed and the zikYy and their hearts are 
 occupied with their worldly affairs, they should, on 
 their way to the place of meeting, employ their 
 minds with thoughts of God, in all sincerity and 
 purity, and also beg their Pir to lend them his 
 spiritual aid, so that when they reach the place of 
 meeting they may all, small and great, with humihty 
 and contrition, embrace the hand of each other, and 
 devoutly join in the contemplation of the Deity, 
 and turn their faces towards the Grace of the All- 
 Just, the ever rising Love of Allah, without har- 
 bouring in the tongue, in the mind, or otherwise, 
 any thoughts respecting worldly concerns, but, 
 with perfect hearts and active spirits, take part in 
 these pious ceremonies. 
 
 " They must next offer up those prayers which are 
 conformable with the rules of the Order, seat them- 
 selves, and, if there be among them anyone possess- 
 ing a pleasing voice, let him read aloud ten verses 
 of the great Koran, and interest the congregation 
 with some account of the Prophets and Saints, or 
 
 1 P. 182. 
 
 10— (3119) 
 
134 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 even of the Deity. No one must feel concern about 
 his worldly affairs, but the remarks of all must relate 
 to the Love of Allah, or tend to pious fervour. No 
 one not belonging to the Order must be admitted, 
 for, should any such be present, the pecuhar gift of 
 God (Faiz Ullah) will not be vouchsafed." 
 
 The aim of the Nakshibendi Order, in the per- 
 formance of their zikr, is to detach the senses com- 
 pletely from worldly surroundings. The Sheikh 
 and his disciples sit facing each other, the former 
 mentally reciting the invocation, while each of the 
 brethren endeavours to keep his attention fixed by 
 placing his heart in imagination in view of that of 
 his Master, closes his eyes and hps, presses his 
 tongue against the roof of his mouth, and so regu- 
 lates his breathing that between each respiration he 
 can mentally repeat three times the zikr. 
 
 As already mentioned, ^ the Order of the Nakshi- 
 bendi was a revival of the original fraternity of 
 Abu Bekr which, by the successful estabhshment of 
 other Orders, had become extinct. The Brother- 
 hood meet once a week, generally on a Thursday 
 at sunset, the hour of the fifth Namdz or daily prayer. 
 In each city, suburb, or quarter (mahalldh) the 
 members of this religious society assemble at the 
 houses of their respective Sheikhs, where, seated 
 round the room on the divan, they perform their 
 devotions. The Superior, or one of the fraternity, 
 chants the prayers, and the assembly responds 
 Hoof or Allah! In some cities, how^ever, this 
 
 1 Above, p. 17. 
 
VARIOUS RELIGIOUS EXERCISES 135 
 
 Order possesses special Tekkehs in which their 
 services are held ; and in these cases their Sheikh is 
 distinguished from his congregation by a turban 
 similar to that worn by the Imams who officiate in 
 the mosques. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 SURVIVALS OF PAGANISM 
 
 " The talisman of magic might, 
 Hid in some ruin's lonely site, 
 Emerges from its ancient night 
 At the mild glance of Dervishes." 
 
 Hafiz. 
 
 Considering that the existence of magic and 
 witchcraft, and the power of the " Evil Eye " are 
 stated as absolute facts in the Koran, it is not 
 surprising that in Mohammedan countries super- 
 stitious behefs and practices play so great a part 
 in the social life of the people. For to deny the 
 existence of magicians and enchantments would 
 be tantamount to denying the authenticity of the 
 Holy Book ; and a devout Moslem, even if suffi- 
 ciently enhghtened to discredit the popular super- 
 stitions that meet him at every turn, is constrained 
 to admit that magic was practised on the very person 
 of the Prophet. The words made use of as counter- 
 spells, and exorcisms are, indeed, taken chiefly from 
 the two chapters of the Koran relating to magic 
 and malevolence, and beginning : — 
 
 " Say, I fly for refuge unto the Lord of the Day- 
 break, that he may deliver me from the mischief 
 of those things which He hath created, and from 
 the mischief of the night when it cometh on, and 
 from the mischief of women blowing on knots, 
 
 1S6 
 
SURVIVALS OF PAGANISM 137 
 
 and from the mischief of the envious when he 
 envieth," etc.^ 
 
 Commentators on the Koran relate that the 
 reason for the revelation of these chapters was that 
 a Jew named Lobeid, had, with the assistance of 
 his daughters, bewitched Mohammed by tying 
 eleven knots in a cord which they hid in a well. 
 The Prophet falhng ill in consequence, this chapter 
 and that following it were revealed ; and the 
 Angel Gabriel acquainted him with the use he was 
 to make of them, and told him where the cord was 
 hidden. The Khalif Ali fetched the cord, and the 
 Prophet repeated over it these two chapters ; at 
 every verse a knot was loosed, till, on finishing the 
 last words, he was entirely freed from the charm. ^ 
 
 In the chapter on Convents and Shrines I have 
 described a somewhat similar operation performed 
 by a Mevlevi Dervish at the tomb of St. Dimitri. 
 In this case, however, the knots were evidently 
 made with the object of " t3^ng up " sickness and 
 other ills. 
 
 The ignorant among the Moslems of Turkey, in 
 
 ^ Koran, Surah cxiii, 
 
 2 In a note to this chapter in his translation Mr. Sale says 
 that the words " blowing on knots " refer to " witches who 
 used to tie knots and to blow upon them, uttering at the 
 same time certain magical words over them in order to 
 work on or debilitate the person they had a mind to injure." 
 In the same note it is stated that " this was a common 
 practice in former days — what they call in France nouev 
 Veguillette — and the knots which the wizards in the northern 
 parts tie when they sell mariners a wind are relics of the 
 same superstition." 
 
138 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 common, it must be admitted, with the native 
 Christians and Jews, attribute the majority of the 
 ills the flesh is heir to, and also misfortunes gener- 
 ally, to the influence of magic ; and, consequently, 
 have recourse to the same mysterious agency for 
 their cure. By the populace the Dervishes are held 
 to be experts in the magic of the old Paganism, 
 belief in which is thus sanctioned by their Holy 
 Book. They are, indeed, credited with the faculty 
 not only of heahng mental and bodily diseases, but 
 also of counteracting the effects of witchcraft and 
 sorcery, of interpreting dreams, recovering lost or 
 stolen property, and even of restoring to wives the 
 waning affection of their husbands. When anyone 
 falls ill, the women of the family — for it need hardly 
 be said that the firmest behevers in this mode of 
 spiritual cure are of the female sex — send for some 
 saintly Sheikh to remove the spell which has caused 
 the ailment, or, at least, to counteract its influence. 
 This holy man, whose breath, sanctified by the 
 constant repetition of the Divine Name (Zikr), has 
 acquired a supernaturally heahng power, breathes 
 on the head and afflicted parts of the patient, laying 
 at the same time his hands upon him. This con- 
 cluded, he produces a tiny scroll of paper inscribed 
 with some sacred words, or a passage from the Koran, 
 which he orders to be either swallowed by the sufferer, 
 soaked in water and the hquid drunk, or worn on 
 the person for a stated number of days. It is 
 recorded in the Mesnevi that Jelalu-'d-Din made 
 use of this remedy to cure a disciple suffering from 
 
SURVIVALS OF PAGANISM 139 
 
 intermittent fever. The potion was accompanied 
 by the following supplication in which the malady 
 is personahsed and addressed by a propitiatory 
 title :— 
 
 " O Mother of the Sleek One ! If thou hast beUeved 
 in Allah, the Most High, make not the head to 
 ache, pollute not the throat, devour not the flesh, 
 
 drink not the blood, and depart thou out of , 
 
 betaking thyself to one who attributes to Allah 
 partners of other false gods. And I testify that 
 there is no god but God, and that Mohammed is 
 His Servant and Apostle." ^ 
 
 Among other exorcisms, the use of which is said 
 to have originated at the time of Mohammed, 
 it is related by the historian, Ahmet Effendi, that, 
 in the tenth year of the Hegira, the Khahf Ah being 
 about to march against the province of Yemen, the 
 army of which far outnumbered his own, expressed 
 some anxiety as to the success of the expedition. 
 To reanimate the courage of his nephew, the Prophet 
 put his own turban on the head of Ali, and pressed 
 his hands on his breast, saying, *' O Allah, purify 
 his tongue, strengthen his heart, and direct his 
 mind ! " Religious tradition has exaggerated the 
 importance of these words until they have come to 
 be considered the source from which the exorcising 
 
 1 The smallpox is similarly designated by the Greeks 
 " the Blessing," and by the Dyaks of Borneo " the Chief." 
 The Greeks have many similar exorcisms. See Polites, 
 
 At 'Ac^eVetat Kara rods /xvOovs tov 'E\\r]ViKOv AaoC, in the AeXrlou 
 rrjs 'IffTopiKris Kal 'E6vo\oyiKfjs 'Eraipias Vol. I. One of these has 
 
 been given in my Greek Folk-poesy, Vol. II. 
 
140 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 Sheikhs derive the virtue and efficacy of their spiritual 
 remedies. 
 
 Cabahstic talismans prepared by Dervishes 
 are also in great request as preventives against, as 
 well as cures for, real and imaginary calamities, and 
 are constantly worn attached to the head-dress, or 
 hung round the neck. The efficacy of the scrolls 
 just described, which are called by the various 
 names of nushka, yafta, and hammdil, can only be 
 rehed upon, according to the Sheikhs who prescribe 
 them, when administered by their own hands. But 
 whatever the success of these remedies may be in 
 individual cases, nothing can shake popular belief 
 in their general efficacy. If the patient is not bene- 
 fited by them, the fault naturally Hes in his want 
 of faith, or in the neglect of some other condition. 
 The holy man, in any case, receives an honorarium 
 for his services, either in coin or in kind ; but if a 
 speedy cure is the result of his ministrations, his 
 reward will be large in proportion. 
 
 The Dervishes, in common with all Orientals, 
 attach great sacredness to the thirty-four letters of 
 the Arabic Alphabet, and assign to each a numerical 
 value. Of this mode of thinking we have a familiar 
 illustration in the Apocalyptic puzzle of the name 
 of the seven -headed beast which *' is the number 
 of a man ; and his number is six hundred and three 
 score and six," ^ a puzzle of which the true solution 
 has been shown to be ^ipwv Kalaap, the value of 
 which letters, transcribed in Hebrew, is ^iQ. Most 
 
 ^ Rev/xiii, 18. 
 
SURVIVALS OF PAGANISM 141 
 
 persistent, too, have been the superstitious notions 
 with regard to numbers. We find that in 1666, the 
 Jews, not only in the East, but in many parts of 
 Europe, were so confident of the appearance of the 
 Messiah that the Jewish imposter, Shabathai Shevi, 
 found himself surrounded by disciples in every town 
 in which he announced his Messiahship. And that, 
 even in England at the present day, belief in the 
 " magic of figures *' is not extinct is evident from a 
 paragraph which appeared in a London newspaper 
 at the beginning of 1888, recording the eventful 
 character to this country of former years whose three 
 final figures were ahke, and suggesting that the 
 same being the fact in 1888 " is itself portentous.'*^ 
 The numerical values of the Arabic alphabet are 
 made use of to draw up a class of tahsmans of a 
 mystical and cabalistic character by means of what 
 the Dervishes call the " Science of Calculation." 
 Chronograms are written according to the same 
 system, and in many of the inscriptions on public 
 edifices, the last line, though written in the same 
 character as the rest, and expressing in connection 
 with them some poetical idea, will be found, on 
 calculation, to give also the date of its composition. 
 Eminent Dervishes were often commanded by the 
 early Sultans to compose such inscriptions as 
 " talismans " for the gateways of conquered towns, or 
 newly-erected public buildings. Hadji Bektash is 
 said to have composed many of these inscriptions, 
 and, very curiously, the letters forming his name 
 1 Pall Mall Gazette, Jan. 5, 1888. 
 
142 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 give at the same time the date of the foundation of 
 his Order. 
 
 Tahsmanic charms are also often composed, 
 among other methods, of cabaHstic calculations 
 based on the numerical value of the letters com- 
 posing the name of the person interested. In a 
 divination for the purpose of fortune-telling, these 
 values are multipHed and divided, and their cubes 
 and squares added and subtracted according to 
 some conventional formula, to obtain a result, odd 
 or even. If even, it is considered lucky ; if odd, the 
 reverse. 
 
 The idea of the sacred and mysterious character 
 of letters has also given rise to a belief that each 
 one has its special attendant Djin appointed by 
 Allah to wait upon it, and that these Djins may be 
 invoked either severally or collectively. In order 
 to secure the invisible presence of these " Slaves of 
 the Letter,'' the calculations must be drawn up on 
 certain days and hours, and at certain pei;iods of 
 the moon and positions of the stars. Such caba- 
 listic figures are also frequently engraved on stones 
 brought from the holy cities of Mekka, Medina, or 
 Damascus, or from the neighbourhood of the tombs 
 of holy men such as Hadji Bektash, or Hadji Bairam. 
 Sometimes, however, these amulets are inscribed 
 with a verse from the Koran, or an invocation 
 addressed to the Prophet or the Khahf Ah. When 
 a charm is concocted for the purpose of inspiring 
 someone with the tender passion, the Djins invoked 
 by it are believed to meet in council in order to 
 
A WANDERING DERVISH 
 
SURVIVALS OF PAGANISM 143 
 
 devise a series of influences which will compel the 
 person aimed at to obey them. The only antidote 
 against such a charm is to draw up one that will 
 ensure another assembly of Djtns who will either 
 overcome the first, or compel them to agree to a 
 compromise, and so release the victim from their 
 influence. Some of the talismans purchased from 
 these Dervish magicians are credited with the power 
 of procuring the visits of beneficent Djins who cure 
 the suffering in body, ease the troubled in mmd, and 
 grant the desires of the person invoking their aid. 
 Other charms are beheved to influence dreams 
 when placed under the pillow of one asleep. 
 
 The four elements are also credited with the 
 possession of twenty-eight letters having numerical 
 values ranging from one to a thousand. They are 
 divided into four classes of seven each, and to each 
 class is attributed a " temperament " according to 
 the nature of the element its letters represent. To 
 the letters representing water is given the predomi- 
 nance over all the others, as, in accordance with the 
 Mohammedan account of the creation, water was 
 the original element, and from it the other three 
 were created.^ Calculations are made to discover 
 which of the four elements exists in too large a 
 proportion in the system of a suffering person ; and 
 when this has been discovered, a charm (nushka) 
 is drawn up, which, swallowed or worn next to 
 the skin, will enable the patient to get rid of the 
 superabundant element. 
 
 1 Sales' Koran. Chap, xli, p. 356, n. 
 
144 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 The Dervishes are also often had recourse to for 
 the recovery of lost or stolen property. Sheikh AH, 
 the head of the Bektashi fraternity at Salonica 
 before mentioned,^ enjoyed a great reputation for 
 success in this particular line of his profession. His 
 mode of procedure was to ascertain the names of 
 all the persons who had visited a house where any 
 such loss had been sustained and visit each in turn. 
 While gossiping about the event he would let drop 
 a hint that the guilty person would be made the 
 object of some magical charm if he did not at once 
 restore the property to its owner ; and, superstitious 
 fear getting the better of cupidity, the lost article 
 would usually be recovered as mysteriously as it 
 had disappeared. The skill of this Dervish as an 
 interpreter of dreams was also said to rival that of 
 a famous Turkish witch in the city. I happened on 
 the occasion of one of his visits to have had my sleep 
 disturbed on the previous night by a dream of 
 green snakes, and took the opportunity of asking 
 for his explanation of it. Divining, no doubt, that 
 I was not of a credulous or superstitious turn of 
 mind, he merely replied, with a shrug of the shoulders 
 and a graceful gesture of the hands, " Eyei olsoun! " 
 (May it be good). 
 
 Dervishes figure not infrequently in Oriental 
 folk-tales, both Moslem and Christian. Everyone is 
 acquainted with the " One-eyed Kalender " of the 
 Thousand Nights and a Night, though few, perhaps, 
 recognise in the bearer of that appellation a wandering 
 
 ^ Above, p. 40. 
 
SURVIVALS OF PAGANISM 145 
 
 Dervish. In Greek folk -tale, Dervishes are often 
 credited with the possession of magical objects such 
 as cups that are instantly filled with whatever the 
 owner may desire ; knives that slay man or beast 
 at his command ; reed-flutes, the sound of which 
 brings the dead to life ; turbans of invisibility, etc., 
 etc.^ Stories are also current of secret hoards of 
 wealth wrested by Dervish Sheikhs, deeply versed in 
 magic, from the guardianship of Djins who had 
 possessed them from time immemorial in their 
 subterranean palaces. 
 
 * Compare, for instance, Greek Folk-poesy, " The Story 
 of the Soothsayer," Vol. II, p. 230. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 THE ACTS OF THE ADEPTS 
 
 " A Saint is aware of every thought of the King's heart, 
 and of every secret on earth or in heaven." — Saying of 
 Jelalu-'d-D!n. 
 
 As mentioned in previous chapters, the mental and 
 physical condition necessary for the manifestation 
 of their abnormal powers is termed by the Dervishes 
 Hal, a word simply signifying '' state." There 
 appear, however, to be two distinct descriptions 
 of Hal, induced by methods of a totally opposite 
 character, and resulting in powers which differ in 
 a corresponding degree. 
 
 The first appears to be of a merely temporary 
 nature, and is found only among certain Orders 
 such as the Rufa'i {" Howling Dervishes ") during 
 their religious exercises performed collectively in 
 the hall of their Tekkeh. As has been seen in the 
 chapter on the '* Religious Exercises,*' the devotees, 
 by a contagious emulation, work themselves and 
 each other into an abnormal state of agitation, both 
 mental and physical, during which they inflict upon 
 themselves injuries which, under ordinary condi- 
 tions, would be dangerous, if not fatal, but which, 
 when inflicted while they are in this strange state 
 of excitement, are, in many cases, not even followed 
 by the loss of a drop of blood, and are mysteriously 
 and speedily healed by the breath and spittle of 
 
 146 
 
THE ACTS OF THE ADEPTS 147 
 
 the Sheikh. That mental states are contagious we 
 have, I think, abundant evidence in cases of panic, 
 when persons, without having the faintest idea of 
 the cause, will excitedly join in the general rush ; 
 and also in so-called Christian " Revivals "—instances 
 of which are, perhaps, more common in America 
 than elsewhere, and especially among the excit- 
 able negro population, when, during an enthusiastic 
 ** camp meeting," many persons become perfectly 
 frenzied with religious excitement. ^ 
 
 The dance {Devr) of the Mevlevi Dervishes also 
 produces a species of Hal. It would indeed be 
 difficult to account otherwise for the ability of 
 some twenty men and youths to spin round with 
 closed eyes and outstretched arms within a limited 
 circle for the space of from ten to fifteen minutes 
 without either coming into coUision with each other, 
 or showing any signs of giddiness — a scarcely 
 possible feat under ordinary conditions. 
 
 The second description of Hal, which appears to 
 be permanent, or, at least, assumable at will, is 
 attained only by those Dervishes who, through long 
 and fervent contemplation of the Deity, have 
 arrived at the Fourth, or highest degree, that of 
 " Union with Allah." Sheikhs and Dervishes of 
 superior grade, belonging to all Orders, whether 
 
 ^ A curious illustration of this occurred a few years ago 
 in Ottawa, where a series of revivalist services resulted, 
 according to the Montreal Star, in the " conversion " of 
 the Premier of the Dominion and his lady, though his 
 name " has so long been the synonym of iniquity in many 
 worthy minds." 
 
148 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 Vocative or Contemplative, are equally credited 
 with ability to acquire this degree of sanctity ; and 
 on attaining it they become endowed with various 
 spiritual and superhuman powers. Among these 
 may be named what is termed the " Power of the 
 Will," thought-reading, the gift of prophecy, 
 knowledge of what is happening afar off, and power 
 to influence the event, as also ability to appear in 
 person at great distances for the help of friends or the 
 confusion of enemies, and miracle-working generally. 
 These wonderful gifts can, it is beheved, be trans- 
 mitted by a Sheikh, with his mantle of office, to the 
 disciple who shall prove himself by his rapid advance 
 on the Mystic Path to be a worthy recipient of them, 
 even as Elijah bestowed his mantle on Elisha and 
 endowed him with his own miraculous powers. 
 Instances of the exercise of the Power of the Will are 
 to be found in the biography of every Dervish of 
 renown. In some cases the subject is conscious of 
 the influence under which he is acting, in others he 
 is quite unaware of it, as in the following incident 
 related by the learned Siifi, Mohammed Baha-'d-Din, 
 of his spiritual Master : — 
 
 " In my youth I was ever with Our Lord (Mevlana) 
 Sa'ed ed Din of Kashgar at Hereed. It happened 
 one day, as we were walking out together, that we 
 came upon a number of the people of the place 
 who were engaged in the exercise of wrestling. We 
 agreed together to aid one of the wrestlers so that 
 he might throw his opponent, and afterwards to 
 change our design in favour of the discomfited one. 
 
THE ACTS OF THE ADEPTS 149 
 
 So we stopped as if to look on, and as we looked, 
 gave the full influence of our united wills to one 
 individual, and he was immediately able to vanquish 
 the other. Each person we chose in turn vanquished 
 his opponent, and the power of our wills was thus 
 clearly manifested." ^ 
 
 This Sheikh also took an active part in the wars 
 of his time between the Sultans of Bokhara and 
 Samarcand ; and by means of his wonderful powers 
 is held to have greatly influenced their history. 
 The monarch who took the precaution of securing 
 his goodwill was invariably victorious ; while those 
 who disdained his assistance met with loss and 
 disaster ; and many persons who had wronged the 
 Sheikh or his friends in the troubled times in which 
 he lived felt the weight of his spiritual displeasure. 
 Some even fell sick and died, or recovered only after 
 making full confession and restitution, and obtaining 
 his pardon and intercession with Allah on their 
 behalf. It was said that he could hold converse 
 \vith his disciples and friends at a great distance, 
 and their appeals to him were always heard and 
 answered. 
 
 Over the minds of his followers Sheikh Sa'ed-'d- 
 Din is said to have exercised a peculiar power. He 
 could influence them in such a way as to throw 
 them at will into a species of trance during which 
 they could remember no single event of their past 
 lives, nor anything they had previously learnt ; and 
 in this state they would remain until their Master 
 
 1 J. P. Brown, The Dervishes. 
 II — (2119) 
 
150 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 chose to restore to them the possession of their 
 ordinary faculties. This Power of the Will would 
 appear to be but a kind of mesmeric influence, 
 intensified, perhaps, by the complete mental sub- 
 ordination of a disciple to his spiritual guide. "Let 
 your Murshid be always present to your mind, what- 
 ever you are doing or saying," is a primary obliga- 
 tion. And when we consider that, in addition 
 to this state of constant mental subjection, the 
 body of the Murid is enfeebled by fasting and his 
 mind fatigued by long vigils and protracted devo- 
 tions, while his imagination is at the same time 
 fully impressed with the belief that his Superior is 
 really in possession of such powers, it is not difficult 
 to understand that a remarkable ascendancy can 
 be obtained by a Sheikh over his disciples. Nothing 
 indeed could be better adapted to induce suscepti- 
 bility to hypnotic influences than the discipline to 
 which a Dervish is subjected during his novitiate. 
 And having felt in his own person the potency of 
 the spell of his Murshid, he will easily be led to 
 credit him with the faculty of similarly influencing 
 others. 
 
 Not individuals only, however, but crowds have 
 been known to be affected in this way by eminent 
 Dervishes ; and according to Moslem legend, even 
 opposing armies have been caused to desist from 
 hostilities, completely subdued by the pacificatory 
 spell thrown over them by some " Man of Peace," 
 who has also compelled their leaders to sign treaties 
 drawn up by himself. The writings of the Sufis 
 
THE ACTS OF THE ADEPTS 151 
 
 teem with traditions and anecdotes recording the 
 marvellous spiritual attainments of those Higher 
 Mystics, and of the resulting abnormal powers 
 exercised by them. Some of these biographies have 
 been translated into European languages, but of 
 others fragments only are available. 
 
 Many strange stories are related of Abdul Kadr 
 of Ghilan, already mentioned as the founder of 
 the Kadiri Order. The poet Sadi records in his 
 " Gulistdn " that when visiting the sanctuary of 
 the Ka'aba, the great Sheikh laid his face on the 
 pebbled pavement and prayed : " O Lord ! pardon 
 me ; but if I am deserving of punishment, raise 
 me up at the resurrection blind, that I may not be 
 ashamed in the sight of the righteous." And 
 Sir John Malcolm gives the following legend, 
 translated by him from a Persian MS., concerning 
 this famous Sheikh: *'His mother declared that 
 when he was at the breast, he never tasted milk 
 (? from sunrise to sunset) during the holy month 
 of Ramazan ; and in one of his works he gives this 
 account of himself : ' The day before the feast of 
 Araf, I went out into the fields and laid hold of the 
 tail of a cow, which turned round and exclaimed, 
 " Abdul Kadr, am I not that which thou hast 
 created me ? " I returned home and mounted to 
 the terrace of my house : I saw all the pilgrims 
 standing at the mountain of Araf (it at Mekka. I 
 went and told my mother that I must dedicate 
 myself to God : I wished to proceed to Bagdad to 
 obtain knowledge. I informed her of what I had 
 
152 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 seen, and she wept. Then, taking out eighty deenars, 
 she told me that, as I had a brother, half of that 
 was all my inheritance. She made me swear when 
 she gave it to me, never to tell a lie ; and then 
 bade me farewell, exclaiming, " Go, my son, I give 
 thee to God. We shall not meet again until the 
 Day of Judgment ! " I went on well till I came to 
 Hamadan, when our Kaffilah (caravan) was plundered 
 by forty horsemen. One fellow asked me what I had 
 got. '' Forty deenars/' I said, " are sewed under my 
 garment." The fellow laughed, thinking, no doubt, 
 I was joking him. ''What have you got?'* asked 
 another. I gave him the same answer. When 
 they were dividing the spoil, I was called to an 
 eminence where their chief stood. " What property 
 have you, my Httle fellow ? " said he. ''I have 
 told two of your people already," I rephed, ** that 
 I have forty deenars sewed up carefully in my 
 clothes." He desired them to be ripped open, and 
 found my money. " And how came you," he asked 
 with surprise, '' to declare so openly what has been 
 so carefully hidden ? " *' Because," I replied, " I will 
 not be false to my mother whom I have promised 
 that I will never tell a lie." '' Child," said the 
 robber, " hast thou such a sense of thy duty to thy 
 mother at thy years ; and am I insensible, at my 
 age, of the duty I owe my God ? Give me thy hand, 
 innocent boy," he continued, '* that I may swear 
 repentance on it." He did so. His followers were 
 all alike touched with the scene. '' Thou hast been 
 our leader in guilt," said they to the chief, " be the 
 
CITY GATE CALLED THE MEVLEVI-HANE, STAMBOUL 
 
THE ACTS OF THE ADEPTS 153 
 
 same in the path of virtue," and instantly at his 
 order they made restitution of their spoil, and vowed 
 repentance on my hand.*" ^ 
 
 Abdul Kadr arrived in Bagdad about 1085, and, 
 consequently, when this event happened, he must 
 have been about seventeen years of age. He does 
 not, however, appear to have begun his public 
 lectures until he had reached his fiftieth year. Not 
 only Sufi writers, but eminent Sunni, or orthodox 
 Moslem authorities, record many of his miracles. 
 God granted all his requests, and the Divine venge- 
 ance fell on all those who wronged him. He himself 
 gives the following account of the fast he underwent 
 during his probation : — 
 
 ** I was eleven years in a tower, and when there 
 I vowed to God that I would neither eat nor drink 
 until some one compelled me to do so. I maintained 
 my fast for forty days, after which a person brought 
 me a little meat, put it before me, and went away. 
 My life was nearly springing out of me at the sight 
 of the victuals, but I refrained ; and I heard a 
 voice from within me call out, ' I am hungry, I am 
 hungry ! ' At that moment Sheikh Abu Seyyid 
 Mukzoomi (a celebrated Siifi) passed, and, hearing 
 the voice, exclaimed, ' What is that ? ' ' It is my 
 mortal part,' I replied, * but the soul is yet firm, 
 and awaits the result.' ' Come to my house,' he 
 said, and went away. I resolved, however, to fulfil 
 my vow, and remained where I was ; but Ehas ^ 
 
 1 Hist, of Persia. Vol. II, p. 286, n. 
 * See above, p. 22. 
 
154 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 came and told me to follow the Seyyid, whom I 
 found at his door awaiting me. ' You would not 
 comply with my wish,' said he, * until it was enforced 
 by Elias.' After this he gave me meat and drink 
 in plenty, and then invested me with a khirka 
 (mantle) and I became his confirmed friend and 
 companion."^ 
 
 Many and wonderful are the legends which have 
 gathered round the name of the great mystic poet, 
 Jelalu-'d-Din. The Acts of the Adepts, compiled 
 by Efiaki in the fourteenth century, contains 
 some hundreds of anecdotes concerning Jelal, his 
 family, friends, and followers, most of which are 
 narratives of supernatural actions performed by 
 living or dead Dervishes, male or female, or of some 
 remarkable event connected with them. 
 
 Baha-'d-Din Veled, the father of Jelalu-'d-Din, 
 was hardly less famous among the Mystics of the 
 thirteenth century than was his illustrious son ; and 
 besides being closely related to the reigning dynasty 
 of Khorassan, was able to trace his descent to Abii 
 Bekr, the ** Commander of the Faithful," and uncle 
 of the Prophet. In virtue of his learning and mystic 
 piety, Baha-'d-Din was held in such high estimation 
 by the inhabitants of the capital, Balkh, as to 
 excite the jealous animosity of the Sultan's courtiers, 
 who accused him of aspiring to the throne. He 
 accordingly quitted the city with a following of 
 about forty souls, after delivering in the great 
 mosque a public address in which he foretold the 
 
 1 Malcolm, Hist, of Persia, Vol. II, p. 286, n. 
 
THE ACTS OF THE ADEPTS 155 
 
 advent of the Moguls and the subversion of the 
 country. Arrived at Bagdad, he was received with 
 great honour by the Khahf, but refused the costly 
 gifts he would have bestowed upon him. Preaching 
 in the mosque, he dared to reprove the monarch to 
 his face for his evil course of life, and foretold that 
 he would be slain by the Moguls under circumstances 
 of great ignominy and cruelty. During Baha-'d- 
 Din's sojourn at Bagdad news came of the conquest 
 of Balkh ; he again set out on his travels, and, after 
 various wanderings, was finally invited to Konieh 
 by the Seljuk Sultan, Ala-'d-Din, who had made 
 that city his capital. Here Baha-'d-Din was warmly 
 welcomed and liberally entertained by this prince, 
 under whose auspices he established a college, and 
 from whom he received the honourable title of 
 " Sultan of Learned Men " (Sultan 'l-Ulemd). 
 
 Numerous stories are related of the wonderful 
 spiritual gifts possessed by this illustrious Teacher, 
 and of the great influence he exercised over others, 
 not only during his lifetime, but also after death. 
 One of these relates that when Sultan Ala'u-'d-Din 
 had fortified Konieh, he invited Baha Veled to 
 mount to the terraced roof of the palace, thence to 
 survey the walls and towers. After this inspection 
 Baha remarked to the Sultan, " Against torrents, 
 and against the horsemen of the enemy, thou hast 
 raised a goodly defence. But what protection hast 
 thou built against those unseen arrows, the sighs 
 and moans of the oppressed, which overleap a 
 thousand walls and sweep whole worlds to 
 
156 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 destruction ? Go to, now ! strive to acquire the 
 blessings of thy subjects. These are a stronghold 
 compared to which the walls and turrets of the 
 strongest castles are as nothing." ^ 
 
 Another anecdote says that shortly after the 
 death of Baha-'d-Din, the Sultan of Kharism, 
 Jelalii-'d-Din Shah, arrived on the borders of Asia 
 Minor with a great army. On hearing this alarming 
 news, the Sultan of Konieh went to pray at the 
 tomb of the deceased Sheikh, and then prepared to 
 meet the enemy who were encamped in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Erzeriim. Disguising himself, he set 
 out with a few followers to reconnoitre, and actually 
 entered the enemy's camp. At midnight the sainted 
 Sheikh appeared to him in a dream and warned him 
 to fly. The Sultan awoke, but attaching no import- 
 ance to the warning, went to sleep again. The 
 Saint now appeared a second time. Ala-'d-Din saw 
 himself seated on his throne, and the Saint 
 approaching him smote him on the breast with his 
 staff, saying angrily, " Why sleepest thou ? Arise ! " 
 So the Sultan arose, got together his people and 
 horses, and stole from the camp. Not long after- 
 wards the two armies engaged ; the Sultan of 
 Konieh came off victorious ; and in all subsequent 
 difhculties had recourse to the powerful aid of 
 the Saint whom he had in life honoured and 
 befriended. 
 
 Jelalii-'d-Din, who had studied under the most 
 eminent teachers of Aleppo and Damascus, succeeded 
 
 ^ Acts of the Adepts, Redhouse's translation, p. 10. 
 
THE ACTS OF THE ADEPTS 157 
 
 his father as Director of the College at Konieh, and 
 also in the title of *' Sultan of Learned Men." The 
 high reputation for piety and learning that the 
 young scholar had already acquired gained for him 
 the devotion of his father's disciples ; and in addition 
 to these he soon gathered around him four hundred 
 enthusiastic students by whom he was designated 
 Mevldna (Our Lord), a title from which, as above 
 mentioned, the Order founded by him took its name. 
 Eflaki relates the following incident as illustrative 
 of the close friendship and devotion to each other 
 of these Siifi Saints. An emdnent Sheikh, the Seyyid 
 Burha-nu-'d Din^ had been a pupil of BSha-'d-Din 
 during his residence at Balkh. On his master's 
 departure from that city, the Seyyid went to Termiz, 
 and, after living some time there as a recluse, he 
 began to lecture publicly. During one of his dis- 
 courses he suddenly stopped and cried out in a 
 tone of anguish, accompanied by floods of tears : 
 ** Alas ! my Master has passed away from this 
 Tabernacle of Dust to the Abode of Sincerity 1 " 
 His words and the time of their utterance were 
 noted down, and were subsequently found to 
 correspond exactly with the moment of Baha 
 Veled's death. When the disciples at Termiz had 
 mourned forty days for the great Teacher, the Seyyid 
 said to them, '* The son of my master, Jelalu-'d-Din 
 Mohammed, is left alone and is wishing to see me. 
 
 1 This Saint, says Eflaki, was popularly known as 
 Sirr-Dan, " The Confidant," a title signifying " one 
 acquainted with secrets or mysteries." 
 
158 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 I must go to the land of Rum, and deliver over to 
 him the trust which my Teacher confided to my 
 safe keeping/' 
 
 On arriving at Konieh, the Seyyid was so much 
 delighted with the discourse of Jelal, that he kissed 
 the soles of his feet, exclaiming, '' A hundred fold 
 hast thou surpassed thy father in all knowledge of 
 the Humanities ; but he was versed also in that 
 spiritual knowledge which is attained only through 
 silent contemplation and through ecstasy. From 
 this day forward my aim shall be to instruct thee in 
 that knowledge — the knowledge possessed by the 
 Prophets and Saints and which we term The Science 
 of Divine Intuition. This is the science spoken of 
 by Allah : * We have taught him a science from 
 within Us.' ^ This knowledge did I acquire from 
 my Teacher ; do thou receive it from me, and thus 
 become the heir of thy father in things spiritual as 
 well as in things temporal." JelSl took the Seyyid 
 to his College, and for nine years was his pupil in 
 mystic lore. ^ 
 
 The following story is told of Jelal's student 
 days. While he was pursuing his studies at Aleppo, 
 the superior treatment he received from the pro- 
 fessor roused the jealousy of some of his fellow 
 students, who complained to the governor that 
 Jelal was immoral, as he was in the habit of quitting 
 his cell at midnight for some unknown purpose. 
 The governor resolved to see and judge for himself ; 
 
 * Koran xviii, 64. 
 
 2 Acts of the Adepts, pp. 14-15. 
 
THE ACTS OF THE ADEPTS 159 
 
 he therefore hid himself in the college porter's 
 lodge. 
 
 At midnight JelSl came forth, and went straight 
 to the locked gate of the college, watched by the 
 governor. The gate flew open ; and Jelal, followed 
 at a distance by the governor, went through the 
 streets to the locked city gate. This, too, opened 
 of itself ; and again both passed through. They 
 went on, and came to the tomb of Abraham 
 (at Hebron, about 350 miles distant). There a 
 domed edifice was seen, filled with a large company 
 of forms in green raiment, who came forth to meet 
 Jelal, and conducted him into the building. The 
 governor hereupon lost his senses through fright, 
 and did not recover until after the sun had risen. 
 He could now see neither edifice nor human being. 
 He wandered about on a trackless waste for three 
 days and nights, and at length sank under his 
 sufferings. 
 
 Meanwhile the porter of the college had given 
 intelligence of the governor's pursuit after Jelal. 
 When his officers found that he did not return, they 
 sent a company of soldiers to seek him. These, on 
 the second day, were met by Jelal, who told them 
 where they would find their master. Late on the 
 next day they came up with the governor, found 
 him nearly dead, and brought him home. This 
 dignitary was so impressed by the event that he 
 became a sincere admirer and devoted disciple of 
 Jelal. 1 
 
 J Acts of ths Adepts, p. 21. 
 
160 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 The two following anecdotes also illustrate the 
 faculty ascribed to the higher Mystics of trans- 
 porting themselves at will to great distances. 
 
 A certain rich merchant of Konieh, a disciple, as 
 was also his wife, of Jelal, went to Mekka one year 
 for the pilgrimage. On the day when the victims 
 are slaughtered, ^ the lady had a dish of sweetmeat 
 prepared, and sent some of it in a china bowl to 
 Jelal, to be eaten at dinner. ^ She made the request 
 that, when he partook of the food, he would favour 
 her absent husband with his remembrance, his 
 prayers, and his blessing. Jelal invited his disciples 
 to the feast, and all ate of the lady's sweetmeat to 
 repletion. But the bowl still remained full. Jelal 
 then said, " Oh, he, too, must partake of it." He 
 took the bowl, ascended to the terraced roof of the 
 college with it, returning immediately empty handed. 
 His friends asked him what he had done with the 
 bowl and the food. ** I have handed them," said 
 Jelal, *' to the lady's husband, whose property they 
 are." The company were puzzled by his words 
 and conduct. In due course of time, when the 
 pilgrims returned to Konieh, out of the baggage of 
 the merchant the china bowl was produced, and 
 sent in to the astonished lady, who enquired of her 
 husband how he had become possessed of that 
 identical dish. He replied, " Ah ! I am also at a 
 loss to know how it happened. But on the eve of 
 
 1 The Qurban Bairam, or annual sacrifice, which takes 
 place while the pilgrims are at Mekka. 
 
 2 This is a common custom in the East. 
 
THE ACTS OF THE ADEPTS 161 
 
 the slaughter of the victims, I was seated in my 
 tent, at Arafat, with a company of other pilgrims, 
 when an arm was projected into the tent, and placed 
 this dish before me, filled with sweetmeat. I sent 
 out servants to see who had brought it to me, but 
 no one was found." ^ 
 
 A company of pilgrims arrived one year at 
 Konieh on the return journey from Mekka, and after 
 visiting all the famous men of the city they were 
 conducted to Jelal's College. On seeing him seated 
 there, they all exclaimed and fainted away. When 
 they were recovered, Jelal began to offer excuses, 
 saying to them, " I fear you have been deceived, 
 either by an imposter, or by some person resembhng 
 me in feature." The pilgrims, however, one and 
 all objected. " Why talks he thus ? " they said to 
 one another. " Why strive to make us doubt our 
 eyes ? By the God of heaven and earth, he was 
 with us in person, habited in the very dress he now 
 wears, when we assumed the pilgrim garb at Mekka. 
 He perfoimed with us all the ceremonies of the 
 pilgrimage there, and at Arafat. He visited with 
 us the tomb of the Prophet at Medina, though he 
 never once ate or drank with us." ^ 
 
 For further examples of the marvellous acts of 
 Jelalu-'d-Din as recorded by Efiaki, I must refer 
 the curious reader to the work itself. 
 
 Perhaps the most famous among the Saints of 
 the Turkish Conquest was Hadji Bektash — " Bek- 
 tash the Pilgrim " — before mentioned. He was a man 
 
 1 Acts of the Adepts, p. 62. 2 j^^^^^ p^ go. 
 
162 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 of noble birth and great learning, his father having 
 been the Seyyid Ibrahim Mokerrem of Khorassan. 
 While yet a boy, he is said to have been distinguished 
 for his devotion, never mixing with companions of 
 his own age ; and evinced in early youth an aver- 
 sion to all worldly pursuits. His education was 
 entrusted to the Sage, Lokman, one of the disciples 
 of Achmet Youssouf, the Chief of the Sheikhs of 
 Turkestan, and by him Hadji Bektash was " in- 
 structed in all the exoteric and esoteric sciences.'* 
 Lokman bestowed on this favourite pupil the 
 mantle of the Imam Jafer, which he had himself 
 received from Achmet Youssouf. According to his 
 biographers, Hadji Bektash declined all the digni- 
 ties of ered him by his father, " who died a prince 
 in Khorassan," and devoted himself to a life of 
 seclusion. Forty years were passed by this saintly 
 man in study, fasting, and prayer, until he at length 
 arrived at such a degree of perfection that his soul 
 during sleep, left his body and entered the World 
 of Spirits, and he became *' filled with Mystic 
 Science and Divine Knowledge." In obedience to 
 the spiritually received command of Achmet 
 Youssouf he went with Mohammed Bokhara and 
 seven hundred Dervishes and other pious men and 
 saints into Asia Minor in the train of the conquering 
 Orchan. 
 
 It appears to be a point of honour with a Dervish 
 to maintain that the Order of which he is a member 
 is the most important of all the religious sects of 
 Islam, and that its Founder is the greatest and 
 
THE ACTS OF THE ADEPTS 163 
 
 holiest of all Pirs. The legends related of Hadji 
 Bektash by his followers, however, go far to establish 
 his supremacy over all rival Saints. Of these the 
 following may serve as a specimen. 
 
 Hadji Bektash was one day sitting with some of 
 his followers on a wall, when they saw a rival 
 Dervish advancing towards them, mounted on a 
 roaring lion, and holding in his hand as a whip, a 
 writhing serpent with which he chastised his steed. 
 The disciples, who had never before beheld such a 
 sight, marvelled greatly ; but their Sheikh calmly 
 observed, *' My brethren, there is little merit in 
 being able to ride upon a lion ; I will show you a 
 more wonderful thing. This wall on which we are 
 sitting shall advance and bar the further progress 
 of yon wild beast and his rider." The Dervishes 
 immediately found that they were being carried 
 forward by the wall towards the lion, whose rider 
 was compelled to acknowledge the superior spiritual 
 rank of Hadji Bekt^h. Evliya Effendi relates in 
 his *' Travels" that this wall, which was still in his 
 day of large proportions, and even the identical 
 spot on which the Saint was seated when he per- 
 formed the miracle, was pointed out to him at 
 Sari-beg in Asia Minor. 
 
 Michelet has remarked, with reference to the 
 legends which have collected round the Saints of 
 the Christian Calendar, that " the monks wrote 
 them, but the people were their authors."^ And 
 
 ^ " Les Moines les ecrivjrent, mais le peuple les faisait." 
 La Sorciere, p. 15. 
 
164 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 the same may be said of most of the extravagant 
 stories related of Dervish Saints. In the following 
 story, for instance, the Moslem Saint, Mohammed 
 Bokhara, is made the hero of adventures evidently 
 borrowed from a widespread Eastern folktale. 
 
 This Mohammed Bokhara, also called Sari Saltik 
 and Kilgra Sultan, was one of the fighting saints 
 of the Ottoman conquest, and a favourite disciple 
 of Hadji Bektash. After the conquest of Broussa 
 by Sultan Orchan (1326), the Master bestowed on 
 his disciple the insignia of the Order — a wooden 
 sword, a sheepskin mat, a banner, drum, and horn — 
 and despatched him on a mission to the Unbelievers. 
 The Saint and his seventy followers spread their 
 sheepskins on the sea and sailed away, " with drums 
 beating and banners flying, from Roumelia to the 
 Crimea, from Muscovy to Poland." At Dantzic, 
 Sari Saltik had an interview with Saint Nikola the 
 Patriarch, whom he slew. Then, adopting his name 
 and dress, he, as the Patriarch, travelled about 
 Europe for some years, during which time he con- 
 verted many thousands to the faith of Islam. The 
 King of the Dobrudja, after listening to the preaching 
 of the Saint, desired of him a miracle in confirma- 
 tion of his mission. There happened to be then 
 in the Dobrudja a terrible seven-headed Dragon, 
 and the King's two daughters were doomed to be 
 devoured by him. Sari Saltik agreed to slay the 
 monster and deliver the princesses on condition that 
 they became Moslems. 
 
 Accompanied by his seventy Dervishes, beating 
 
THE ACTS OF THE ADEPTS 165 
 
 their drums and waving their banners, he proceeded 
 to the column to which the doomed maidens were 
 bound, drew his wooden sword, and waited. The 
 Dragon soon appeared, and the Saint, addressing 
 him with the passage from the Koran beginning 
 " Greetings to Noah in Both Worlds," cut off three 
 of his heads so that he fled away with the remaining 
 four. The Dervish pursued him to his den, at the 
 entrance to which he cut off the remaining heads, 
 and then followed the monster into the cave, where 
 a frightful struggle took place. The Dragon pressed 
 the Saint so hard against the rock that the impres- 
 sion of his hands and feet remained visible. At 
 last Sari Saltik slew the monster, and, with his 
 bloody breast and bloody sword, he led the maidens 
 back to their father, the king. 
 
 In the meantime, however, a " cursed (Christian) 
 monk " who had shown Saltik the way to the 
 column, had picked up the three tongues and the 
 ears of the three heads first cut off and carried them 
 to the king, boasting that he had killed the Dragon. 
 The princesses bore out the testimony of the Saint ; 
 but the monk persisting in his statement. Sari Saltik 
 proposed as a test that they should be both broiled 
 together in a cauldron. The monk did not approve 
 of this trial by ordeal ; but, by command of the 
 King, he was obUged to undergo it. Sari Saltik 
 was tied up by his Dervishes, and the monk by 
 his companions, and both were put into a large 
 cauldron heated by an immense fire. It was at 
 this hour that Hadji Bektash, who was then at 
 
 12 — (21 19) 
 
166 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 Kir Shehir in Asia Minor, swept with a handkerchief 
 a dripping rock, exclaiming, " My Saltik Mohammed 
 is now in great distress, may Allah assist him ! " 
 Ever since that day, salt, instead of, as before, 
 fresh water, has dripped from that rock, and from 
 it the kind of salt called " Hadji Bektash " is pro- 
 duced. The cauldron being opened, Sari Saltik was 
 found perspiring and ejaculating " O All Vivifying ! 
 (Yi Hayl)]^ but of the monk nothing was left 
 but blackened cinders and burnt bones. The King 
 of the Dobrudja, moved by this miracle, instantly, 
 together v/ith seven thousand of his subjects, em- 
 braced the faith of Islam. He also sent ambas- 
 sadors to Sultan Orchan, who bestowed upon him 
 the title of Kadi, a horse-tail standard, a banner, and 
 the Moslem name of AU Mukhtar. 
 
 In the same year Sari Saltik made his will, wherein 
 he commanded seven cofhns to be made, because 
 seven Kings were to contend for his body after 
 death. And so it fell out. After his corpse had 
 been washed and laid in one of the coffins, seven 
 kings demanded the privilege of burying it. A 
 cofhn was given to all the seven, who were " the 
 Kings of Muscovy, Poland, Bohemia, Sweden, 
 Adrianople, Moldavia, and the Dobrudja." The 
 last buried the coffin that fell to him in the Cave of 
 the Dragon at Kilgra on the Black Sea, and built 
 a Tekkeh close by, where the Saint's wooden sword, 
 drum, and banner were treasured as rehcs.^ 
 
 1 One of the attributes of the Deity 
 
 2 Narrative of Travels. 
 
THE ACTS OF THE ADEPTS 167 
 
 Of the many Dervish saints whose turbes or 
 mausoleums are to be found in that picturesque 
 old capital of the Ottoman Sultans, Broussa, one 
 of the most famous was Shemsii-'d-Dm Mohammed 
 Ben Ali, a Seyyid, or descendant of the Prophet, 
 who also bore the honourable title of Emir Sultan, ^ 
 bestowed on him on account of his learning. When 
 performing his pilgrimage to the holy cities, the 
 Sherifs, his fellow descendants, refused him the 
 portion to which he was entitled by his descent. 
 The Saint accordingly decided to refer the matter 
 to the decision of the Prophet himself, and, going 
 to his tomb accompanied by the other Seyyids, 
 they heard a voice from within cry " Health to 
 thee, my son Mohammed Ben Ah ! go to Riim^ 
 with the lamp ! " Upon hearing this, the Sherifs 
 threw themselves at Shemsii-'d-Din's feet, and 
 acknowledged their fault. He shortly afterwards 
 set out for Anatolia, whereupon a lamp suspended 
 from heaven became his guide on the way, and 
 disappeared only when he entered the gates of 
 Broussa. Emir Sultan accepted this as a sign that 
 he was to take up his abode in this city, where he 
 found awaiting him four hundred thousand dis- 
 ciples.^ For the inhabitants had seen the lamp 
 hanging from heaven for three days, and knew by 
 that wonder that they might expect the advent of a 
 
 1 Referred to on p. 33. ^ gee note, p. 16. 
 
 3 This is evidently one of the characteristically Oriental 
 exaggerations with which Evhya Effendi is frequently 
 taxed by his translator. 
 
168 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 Saint. Under his direction they all became Der- 
 vishes. Sultan Bayazid not only walked on foot 
 by his stirrup, but gave him his daughter Nutiifer 
 Hannm in marriage. When this Sultan had com- 
 pleted the building of the Oulou Jami,i qj- « Great 
 Mosque," he asked Emir Sultan if it were not 
 a perfect mosque. " Yes,'* replied the Saint, " it 
 is a very elegant mosque, but some cups of wine 
 for the refreshment of the pious are wanting in the 
 middle." The Sultan exclaimed with surprise, 
 " How would it be possible to stain the house of 
 Allah with the liquor forbidden by the law ? " 
 " Well," repHed the Saint, " thou hast built a 
 mosque, Bayazid, and findest it strange to put z 
 cup of wine therein ; but thy body, which is a 
 house of Allah more excellent than a talisman 
 composed of the Divine Names, or the throne of 
 Allah Himself — how is it that thou dost not fear 
 to stain the purity of this godhke house with wine, 
 day and night ? " From that moment, adds the 
 narrator, " Bayazid repented, and left off drinking 
 
 wine." 
 
 Among the number of holy men who favoured 
 Evliya Effendi with their friendship, was the Sheikh 
 Abdi [Dedeh, who built the Mevlevi Monastery at 
 Kassim Pasha, on the outskirts of the capital. 
 
 1 Three Sultans took part in the building of this magnifi- 
 cent mosque, Murad I, Bayazid I, and Mohammed I. The 
 interior is divided by pillars into twenty-five halls, each 
 roofed with a separate dome. It is, however, not this 
 " Great Mosque," but another that bears the name of 
 " Bayazid Ilderim." 
 
THE ACTS OF THE ADEPTS 169 
 
 According to this author, Sheikh Abdi was "in 
 mystic lore, a second Jelalij-'d-Din. He knew by 
 their names all those who came to the convent, 
 though he had never seen them before. When he 
 sang, " he intoxicated all Dervishes." Evliya 
 Effendi also narrates that, as Sultan Murad was 
 on one occasion returning from Broussa to Con- 
 stantinople by sea, he was in danger of being drowned 
 near Cape Bozbournou, when he " saw at the ship's 
 head the Sheikh, who calmed the waves." 
 
 Of the Saints canonized in our own days I may 
 mention a Sheikh of Cavalla, whose gift of prophecy 
 had enabled him to predict the day and hour of 
 his departure from the world. This holy man 
 caused his tomb to be prepared in the hall of the 
 Tekkeh ; and, though apparently in his usual 
 health, he, on the eve of the appointed day, an- 
 nounced to his wife and his disciples that he must 
 now take leave of them, as that day would be his last. 
 These farewells taken, he calmly proceeded alone 
 to the hall and lay down in the tomb that was to 
 be his last resting-place. When, on the following 
 morning, the disciples arrived at the Tekkeh, they 
 found that their revered master had indeed, accord- 
 ing to his prediction, breathed his last. The fame of 
 his holy Hfe and the circumstances of his death 
 soon became widely known in the neighbourhood ; 
 the devout watchers did not fail to see supernatural 
 lights hovering over his grave ; and before long 
 miracles of heahng were reported to have been 
 performed at the shrine of the Sheikh of Cavalla. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 WOMEN MYSTICS 
 
 '* Her Woman's sex dims not the Sun's effulgent ray ; 
 Though MascuUne the Moon, he lighteth not the day." ^ 
 
 From the Arabic. 
 
 It is characteristic of the high estimation in which 
 
 women have always been held by the Siifis that the 
 
 place of honour among the early mystics is by them 
 
 assigned to a woman. This distinguished person was 
 
 Rabia al Adawia, also called Umm al Khair ('' The 
 
 Mother of Good,") a native of Bissora, who lived 
 
 in the eighth century, and whose reputed grave on 
 
 Mount Tor, to the east of Jerusalem, became, like 
 
 those of the generality of Moslem saints, a place of 
 
 pilgrimage. The words and actions of this Queen 
 
 of Mystics have been recorded by many Oriental 
 
 writers, ^ and contain a germ of Sufism, or kind of 
 
 sentimental pantheism, which often found poetical 
 
 or rhythmic expression. An eminent Siifi writer 
 
 of the twelfth century, Ibn Khamis Al Juhani, 
 
 relates in his works many anecdotes of Rabia 's 
 
 sanctity and piety, some of which are quoted by 
 
 Ibn Khallikan in his Biographical Dictionary. The 
 
 following verse is attributed to her : — 
 
 My heart I keep for Thy communion, Lord ! 
 And those who seek me but my body find. 
 My guests may with my body converse hold, 
 But my Belov'd alone holds converse with my heart. 
 
 1 In Arabic, as in German, the Moon is masculine and the 
 Sun feminine. 
 
 2 M. Dozy, however, attaches no historical value to the 
 legends concerning Rabia. Essai, etc., p. 318-19. 
 
 170 
 
WOMEN MYSTICS 171 
 
 It is related that on one occasion the celebrated 
 Moslem theologians, Hassan of Bassora and Shakik 
 of Balk, came to visit this pious lady when she was 
 ill. The former greeted her in mystic fashion with 
 the following couplet : — 
 
 He in his faith cannot be all sincere. 
 
 Who mourns the chastening of his Master dear. 
 
 Shakik added, correcting his friend: — 
 
 He in his faith cannot be all sincere, 
 
 Who joys not, chastened by his Master dear. 
 
 Rabia's enthusiasm, however, went beyond that of 
 her eminent and reverend guests, and she replied : — 
 
 He in his faith cannot be all sincere. 
 
 Who feels a smart when draws his Master near I 
 
 Another eminent contemporary theologian, 
 Sofyan ath Thauri, exclaimed one day in her 
 presence, " O what anguish is mine ! " Rabia 
 reproved him, saying, " Speak not a lie, but rather 
 say, ' O how little anguish is mine ! * If thou wert 
 really in affliction thou couldst not sigh." One 
 of the Siifi brethren relates that in his prayers he 
 was accustomed to invoke Rabia, who appeared to 
 him in a vision, and said : *' Thy offerings were 
 presented to us on trays of light, and covered with 
 napkins of light." She often said, " If my good 
 works appear to the world, I count them as 
 nought," and one of her counsels was : " Hide thy 
 good deeds as thou wouldst hide thy sins." One of 
 her biographers gives a story as related by Abda, a 
 handmaid of this pious lady : " Rabia used to pass 
 the whole night in prayer, and at morning dawn 
 
172 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 she took a short sleep in her oratory till daylight ; 
 and I have heard her exclaim, springing from her 
 couch as if in dread : * my soul ! how long wilt 
 thou sleep ? When wilt thou awake ? Soon thou 
 shalt sleep to rise no more till the call shall summon 
 thee on the Day of Resurrection ! ' This was her 
 constant custom till the day of her death. On its 
 approach, she called me and said, * O Abda ! in- 
 form none of my death, and shroud me in this 
 gown.' This was a gown of hair-cloth which she 
 wore when praying at the time when the eyes of 
 others were closed in sleep. I shrouded her in that 
 gown and in a woollen veil which she used to wear ; 
 and about a year afterwards I saw her in a dream, 
 clothed in a gown and veil of green silk, the like of 
 which for beauty I never beheld. And I said, * O 
 Rabia ! what has become of the gown in which I 
 shrouded thee, and of the woollen veil ? ' To which 
 she answered, ' By Allah ! it was taken off me, and 
 I received in exchange what thou seest on me ; my 
 shroud was folded up, a seal was put upon it, and 
 it was taken up to the highest heaven, that by it 
 my reward might be complete on the day of resur- 
 rection.' * It was for this,' I observed, ' that 
 thou didst work when in the world.' ' And 
 what is this,' she rejoined, * compared with what 
 I have seen of Allah's bounty to his Saints ? ' I 
 asked her in what state was Obaida (a holy woman 
 who had predeceased her), and she replied, * It 
 cannot be described. By Allah ! She has surpassed 
 us all, and reached the highest place in Paradise.' 
 
WOMEN MYSTICS 173 
 
 * And how is that,' said I, * when all men con- 
 sidered thee far, far above her ? ' ' Because,* she 
 rephed, ' when in the world she took no thought 
 for the morrow, nor even for the coming night.' '* 
 
 In the Acts of the Adepts, and elsewhere, we also 
 find records of many holy women, some of whom 
 were honoured with the friendship of the poet- 
 saint Jelalu-'d-Din ; and not least eminent among 
 them were his wife, Kira Khatun, and his daughter- 
 in-law, Fatima. The latter had been taught to 
 read and write by Jelal, who bestowed upon her 
 the comphmentary title of his '' Right Eye " ; her 
 sister he called his " Left Eye " ; and their mother, 
 Latifa Khatiin, " the Personification of God's grace." 
 "Fatima," says the story, "was a Saint, and 
 continually worked miracles. She fasted by day, 
 and watched by night, tasting food only once in 
 three days. She was very charitable to the poor, 
 the orphans, and the widows, distributing to them 
 food and raiment." 
 
 Kira Khatun was also a most saintly woman. 
 She was Jelalii-'d-Din's second wife, and survived 
 him. When she, too, departed this hfe, and was 
 about to be buried by the side of her husband, a 
 strange incident occurred. As her corpse was being 
 borne towards its last resting-place, the procession 
 passed through one of the gates of the town 
 (Konieh). Here the bearers found themselves 
 arrested by some unseen power, so that they could 
 not move hand or foot. This singular effect lasted 
 for about half an hour. Her stepson, Sultan Veled, 
 
174 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 struck up a hymn and commenced a holy dance, 
 after which the bearers recovered the use of their 
 limbs and the interment was completed. That 
 same night a holy man of the fraternity saw 
 Kira Khatun in heaven by the side of her husband, 
 and enquired of her the reason of the arrestation of 
 the funeral. She informed him thus : — 
 
 " On the previous day a man and a woman had 
 on that spot, been stoned to death for adultery. I 
 took compassion on them, interceded for their for- 
 giveness, and obtained for them admission to 
 Paradise. My preoccupation on their behalf was 
 the reason of the delay met with by the funeral 
 procession." ^ 
 
 According to EflSki, there hved at Konieh in 
 the days of JelSlii-'d-Din, a saintly lady named 
 Fakhrii-'n-Nisa (" The Glory of Women "), who 
 enjoyed the acquaintance of the holy men of the time, 
 
 "^ The Mesnevi, p. 119. This curious legend appears to 
 illustrate the Moslem notion that the soul remains with the 
 body until after burial, and that it is only then — except, 
 perhaps, in the case of such saintly persons as Kira Khatun 
 — that its ultimate destiny is decided. After the last rites 
 have been performed by the relatives, the Imam is left 
 alone by the grave in order, it is said, to prompt the 
 deceased in his replies to the ** Questioners." These are 
 the two Angels, Mounkir and Nekir, who, according to 
 Moslem belief, enter the grave with the dead in order to 
 interrogate them concerning their faith. If the dead has 
 been a devout Moslem, his reply will be " My God is Allah ; 
 my Prophet, Mohammed ; my religion, Islam ; and my 
 Kibla, the Ka'aba." If, however, he has been but an 
 indifferent follower of the Prophet, he will not be able to 
 remember this formula. 
 
WOMEN MYSTICS 175 
 
 all of whom were aware of her sanctity. Miracles were 
 wrought by her in countless numbers. She con- 
 stantly attended the meetings at Jelal's house and 
 received occasionally visits from him. Her friends 
 suggested that she ought to go and perform the 
 pilgrimage to Mekka ; but she wordd not decide 
 upon so serious an undertaking without first con- 
 sulting Jelal. Accordingly, she went to see him. 
 As she entered his presence, before she spoke, he 
 called out to her : " Oh most happy idea ! May 
 thy journey be prosperous! God willing, we shall 
 be together." She bowed, but said nothing. The 
 disciples present were puzzled. "That night she 
 remained a guest at Jelal's house, conversing with 
 him till past midnight, when, according to his 
 custom, he went to perform his devotions on the 
 housetop. Presently he called to her to come up 
 also, and when she did so, she saw the holy Ka'aba 
 of Mekka revolving in the air above the head of 
 Jelal. So overcome was Fakhrii-'n-Nisa by this 
 wondrous sight, that she sank down in a swoon. On 
 recovering she came to the conclusion that it was 
 not necessary for her to undertake the difficult 
 and dangerous journey to the Holy City, as its 
 chief attraction had been thus marvellously revealed 
 to her." 
 
 In later centuries also it would appear that 
 Societies of pious women have been from time to 
 time afhhated with the Dervish Orders. These 
 holy women are frequently mentioned in the 
 biographies of Dervish Saints, either individually, 
 
176 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 or collectively by some such name as " The Sisters 
 of Riim," alluded to in the writings of Hadji Bektash. 
 Nor is such mystical devotion entirely unknown 
 among Osmanh women at the present day. The 
 widow of the Ca valla Sheikh above referred to, a 
 woman of great intelhgence, presided, after her 
 husband's death, over a society of female devotees 
 who held their meetings at her residence. A British 
 subject who had had business relations with the 
 Sheikh in connection with the tobacco-growing 
 industry of Cavalla and the neighbourhood, from 
 which the revenues of the Tekkeh were derived, 
 obtained from this lady many curious details con- 
 cerning her Sisterhood, and was even allowed by 
 her to be a hidden spectator of their devotions. 
 During the first years of my residence at Salonica I 
 chanced to come into contact with a Turkish lady 
 who was always referred to as " the Dervish Hanum,'* 
 and enjoyed the reputation of being no mean 
 poetess. Though sufficiently liberal minded to admit 
 European ladies to her acquaintance and visit them 
 in their own houses, she, however, always skilfully 
 parried any attempt to ehcit information with 
 respect to the Sisterhood of Mystics of which report 
 proclaimed her to be a distinguished member. 
 
 In the earher times of Islam much greater freedom 
 of manners appears to have existed than has been 
 the case in later centuries. Indeed the records of 
 the Prophet's commands on the subject of the 
 seclusion of women, and the glimpses we have in 
 the Koran and in the writings of the Commentators 
 
DERVISH WITH LEANING CRUTCH 
 
WOMEN MYSTICS 177 
 
 of the social life of his time, do not point to any 
 greater " subjection of women " than that enjoined 
 by the Apostle Paul ; and the women of the Prophet's 
 household evidently held a much higher position, 
 and were treated with far more respect than are the 
 women of a provincial Armenian family at the pre- 
 sent day. The Turkish harem system, though less 
 rigid than is generally believed in Europe, naturally 
 offers great obstacles to the formation of sister- 
 hoods. And the natural result of denying to women 
 any social intercourse with the other sex has been 
 to stifle any desire for even that moderate amount 
 of education necessary to enable them to read and 
 appreciate the spiritual writings by which their 
 husbands and brothers are influenced. For though 
 it is naturally the more ignorant among Moslem 
 women who believe most implicitly in the wonder- 
 working powers of Dervish Sheikhs, it is on the 
 other hand only women who have received a good 
 Turkish education who " enter on the Mystic Path,'* 
 and are distinguished by the title of Sufi Hanuni, 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 STATUS AND INFLUENCE OF THE ORDERS 
 
 "Not at Strife's door sits he; when thwarted ne'er 
 Starts up to contest ; all unmoved his soul, 
 He is no Saint who from the Path would stir 
 Though a huge rock should from a mountain roll." 
 
 After the establishment of the twelve original 
 Orders, the numbers of the Dervishes greatly in- 
 creased in all the Asiatic countries which had come 
 under the influence of Islam. In the train of Ala- 
 'd-Din, Sultan of Iconium, and his successor Orchan, 
 they spread themselves over Asia Minor ; and, 
 after the conquest of Broussa by the latter prince, 
 the munificence of the victors, who attributed the 
 success of their armies to the presence of these holy 
 men, enabled the Dervish Sheikhs to found monas- 
 teries and colleges in all parts of the Empire. For 
 the Founders, at least, of these early Orders were, as 
 has been seen, men of great learning and wide 
 culture, as well as of saintly life. 
 
 The slopes of the Bithynian Olympus rising 
 steeply behind the ancient Ottoman capital of 
 Broussa, which had for centuries previously been 
 the resort of Christian hermits and cenobites, were 
 now taken possession of by Moslem recluses who here 
 established themselves among the flocks of the 
 Turcoman nomads ; and the coolness and quiet of 
 the retreats which had favoured the holy idleness of 
 
 178 
 
STATUS AND INFLUENCE 179 
 
 Christian monks, now charmed the reveries of 
 Dervish poets and the meditations of Siifi philo- 
 sophers. Their honoured tombs may still be seen at 
 the foot of the mountain where they passed their 
 lives, or in the vicinity of the Schools of Philosophy 
 in which they taught. Amid these beautiful and 
 romantic surroundings, after having themselves drunk 
 deeply of the wells of science, they spread their senti- 
 ments, their ideas, and their knowledge in works which 
 will live as long as the Ottoman language and nation 
 endure. Sultan Orchan, who acknowledged that he 
 had conquered Broussa by their spiritual aid, placed 
 the most distinguished among the Sheikhs at the 
 head of the Schools he founded, endowed them 
 with liberal salaries, and honoured them with 
 complimentary titles. 
 
 The influence exercised by the Dervishes over the 
 minds of the people generally, though often, as we 
 have seen, made use of by the Sultans and their 
 Ministers for State purposes, has occasionally caused 
 alarm, and the Orders have in consequence not 
 only been at such times regarded with suspicion, but 
 subjected to active persecution. The earliest, and 
 in fact, the general, accusation brought against these 
 mystics was that their practices were contrary to the 
 spirit of Islam and the express commands of the Pro- 
 phet ; and from the time of their first formation, 
 under the Khalifs, attempts were made to stop the 
 progress of this enthusiasm for a monastic life. In 
 these attempts the civil power had the entire concur- 
 rence of the Ulema or Legists who, as students and 
 
180 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 expounders of the Koranic Law, found their own 
 spiritual supremacy menaced, and were naturally 
 jealous of the growing influence and importance of 
 this rival sect. Under the pretence of defending 
 Moslem orthodoxy, but in reahty to maintain their 
 own power and prestige, they became the formidable 
 auxiharies of the government in a struggle which 
 menaced at one time the throne itself. ^ But the 
 active opposition to the Dervishes appears always 
 to have been rather spasmodic and intermittent 
 than regular and systematic ; and what ground 
 they lost at one period and under one sovereign 
 they often more than regained under his successor. 
 In the nineteenth century, as in the days of 
 Orchan, their influence has been made use of by 
 Sultans and Generals to excite the zeal and courage 
 of their troops in battle. Whenever a mihtary 
 campaign had been organised, a number of Der- 
 vishes from nearly all the Orders hasten to join 
 the army. Commanding officers gladly engage 
 their services and treat them with every respect 
 and consideration, as their presence in the camp, 
 where they spend whole days and nights fasting in 
 their tents, while offering supphcations and making 
 vows for the success of the arms of the True Be- 
 lievers, maintains a most desirable religious enthu- 
 siasm among the troops. On the eve of an action 
 the Dervishes roam excitedly through the camp, 
 rehearsing the benefits promised by the Prophet to 
 all who fight for the Faith of Islam, or who die in 
 
 ^ Ubicini, Lettres sur la Turqiiie, Vol, I, p. 166, 
 
STATUS AND INFLUENCE 181 
 
 arms, and seek to rouse the zeal and animate the 
 courage of the soldiers by every means in their 
 power. During a battle their excitement increases, 
 and their voices may be heard above the din of 
 war, shouting, '' O Victors!" (Yd Ghazi) \ "O 
 Martyrs!" {Yd Shahid) \ ''Yd Allah \'' or Yd 
 Hoo ! " (0 Him). If they fancy the Holy Standard, 
 the mantle of the Prophet, to be in danger, they 
 crowd round the sacred reUc to strengthen the 
 hues of the officers stationed as its guard, and not 
 only sustain their efforts, but themselves perform 
 prodigies of valour. A Dervish of high renown in 
 his day, Ak Shemsu-'d'Din by name, is said to have 
 foretold to Mohammed "the Conqueror" the day 
 and hour of the fall of Constantinople. Together 
 with seventy-seven other " distinguished and holy 
 men beloved of Allah," he accompanied the Sultan 
 to that memorable siege ; and the Sultan made a 
 covenant with them that one half of the city should 
 belong to them and the other half to the Moslem 
 conquerors. " And I wiU," said he, " build for each 
 of you a monastery, an almshouse, a college, and a 
 School of Sacred Traditions [Dar-l-Hadis)" The 
 deeds of valour achieved by these enthusiasts at the 
 taking of Constantinople, and the miracles performed 
 in answer to their prayers are recorded— and, it 
 need hardly be said, exaggerated— by Moslem 
 historians ; and the tombs of many are to this day 
 places of pilgrimage for the Faithful. 
 
 Nor were the Dervishes held in less honour by 
 succeeding Sultans. After the capture of the 
 
 13— (aiig) 
 
182 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 Byzantine capital and the consolidation of the Empire, 
 their poets and writers remained in high favour at 
 Court, and there were few Padishahs who were not en- 
 rolled as members of one or more of the Orders. The 
 long reign of Bayazid II (1481-1521) also bears traces 
 of the influence of Mystic philosophy on the Court. 
 The most renowned Dervish of that time, the 
 Sheikh Jasi, had, when about to start on a pilgrimage 
 to Mekka, foretold to Bayazid, then governor of 
 Amasia, that on his return from the Holy City he 
 would find the Prince on the throne, and it fell out 
 as he had predicted. This eminent man received 
 the titles of " Sheikh of Sultans," and " Sultan of 
 Sheikhs," and his cell was the meeting-place of all 
 the dignitaries of the Empire. The Turkish writers 
 Seadeddin and Ali narrate the biographies of thirty 
 eminent Dervishes who flourished in the reign of this 
 Sultan, called by many Ottoman historians " Bajazid 
 the Siifi." The influence of the Dervish society by 
 which this Sultan surrounded himself may also be 
 seen in his poetry, which breathes a spirit of mysti- 
 cism and philosophy markedly absent from the 
 writings of his talented but unhappy brother, 
 Prince Djem, and his son, Selim I. 
 
 Notwithstanding the secular hostility of the 
 Ulema, it does not appear that, previous to the 
 16th century, the Dervish Orders were interfered 
 with by the Government. For so long as the sub- 
 stance of the doctrines held by the higher grades of 
 these mystics was kept secret, the denunciations by 
 the Legists of their ascetic practices, their vows, the 
 
STATUS AND INFLUENCE 183 
 
 dancing and other peculiar exercises performed in 
 their Tekkehs, their pretensions to miraculous gifts, 
 and claims to direct communion with the Deity, 
 had but httle effect. But as the influence and pres- 
 tige of the Dervishes increased, many of the Orders 
 relaxed by degrees the prudence and severity of their 
 original rules, and allowed much of their doctrine to 
 become pubhcly known. Their enemies were now 
 enabled to make definite and serious charges against 
 them. They were accused of attempting to make 
 innovations on the dogmas of Islam ; of following 
 practices forbidden by the Koran ; of denying the 
 very existence of a personal Allah ; of teaching dis- 
 respect for all estabhshed institutions ; and of 
 setting at nought all law, both human and 
 divine. Their religious exercises were denounced 
 as profane acts ; and it was asserted that all kinds 
 of abominable practices were indulged in by them 
 in the seclusion of their monasteries. The general 
 tendency of the Dervish institutions appeared to 
 the Ulema to threaten also the introduction into 
 Islam of something analogous to the " Holy Priest- 
 hood " and " Apostolic Succession " of the Romish 
 Church— ideas utterly at variance with the spirit 
 of the Koran. An alleged discovery that gave 
 a still greater shock to the orthodox mind was 
 that the Dervishes concluded some of their prayers 
 by anathematising the Ommiade Khahfs and glori- 
 fying the Khahf Ali ; and, consequently, that, 
 though nominally Silnnis, they virtually belonged 
 to the heterodox sect of the Skids. 
 
184 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 There seems, however, Uttle reason to doubt that 
 whenever overt hostihty has been manifested against 
 the Dervish Orders by a Sultan and his Ministers 
 it has invariably been prompted by pohtical, rather 
 than religious motives. For notwithstanding the 
 odium cast upon these Mystics by the Legists, no 
 active measures, as above remarked, appear to have 
 been taken against them by the Government until 
 the beginning of the sixteenth century, when 
 political events caused them to be looked upon as 
 a possible source of danger to the State. 
 
 A new dynasty had been founded in Persia at 
 this period on the basis of rehgion. The Sufi 
 Philosophy had always been popular in that country ; 
 and Persia was at the same time the stronghold 
 of the Shia heresy and of the Dervish Fraternities. 
 A Dervish Sheikh, named Eidar, who traced his 
 descent from the Khahf Ah, having gained a great 
 reputation for sanctity and a numerous following 
 of disciples and adherents, assumed the title of 
 " Sufi" par excellence, and declared himself to have 
 been commissioned by Allah to work a religious 
 reformation. Sheikh Eidar perished in the attempt ; 
 but his young son, Ismail, was protected by his 
 faithful disciples, who took refuge with him in 
 GhilSn, and carefully trained him in his father's 
 principles. In 1501, at the head of a numerous 
 body of partisans, Ismail revived the claims of 
 Sheikh Eidar ; and, gradually overcoming all oppo- 
 sition, he at length became the founder of the 
 Sufi Dynasty, and the ruler of an extensive Empire. 
 
STATUS AND INFLUENCE 185 
 
 His doctrines gained also many adherents in the 
 Asiatic provinces of the Ottoman Empire, where 
 Sehm I took early and vigorous measures to suppress 
 this new heretical sect. For, as Church and State 
 are, in Islam, identical, a blow aimed at the one 
 menaces equally the other ; and the great schism 
 of the Sunnis and Shids is not a mere diversity of 
 opinion purely religious and theoretic, but also a 
 practical political dispute concerning the succession 
 to the Khalifate, the headship of the Moslem Faith. 
 Sultan Selim, whose inquisitorial talents are cele- 
 brated by Ottoman historians, organised a system of 
 secret police by means of which he caused to be 
 made out a list of all his subjects belonging to the 
 Sufi sect. Their number amounted to seventy 
 thousand, forty thousand of whom were massacred, 
 the rest being imprisoned for life. In Damascus 
 a few hours sufficed for the extermination of the 
 whole community of schismatic Mahommedans. 
 The Persian monarch shortly afterwards declared 
 war against the destroyer of his co-religionists, and 
 a sanguinary campaign ensued. The Ottoman 
 Dervishes in European Turkey, whose Shid tenden- 
 cies were more than suspected, were, very naturally, 
 looked upon with disfavour during the course of 
 these events, the Ulema making the most of this 
 favourable opportunity by exciting the minds of 
 the populace as well as of the authorities against 
 their rivals. 
 
 A new sect, created about the beginning of the 
 sixteenth century by Sheikh Hamza and called 
 
186 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 after him the Hamzavis, appears to have been, 
 from its very foundation, in bad repute with the 
 orthodox ; and Sheikh Hamza was arrested and 
 subsequently executed by order of the Sheikh-ul- 
 Islam, the ostensible charge against him being that 
 he omitted to repeat at his devotions the obhgatory 
 number of the Isma i Sherif, or " Praises of the 
 Prophet." By the rest of the Dervishes he was 
 naturally regarded as a martyr, and his reputation 
 for piety and extraordinary powers still survives 
 in the capital. Another Sheikh of the same Order 
 was also put to death shortly afterwards on an 
 accusation of heterodoxy, together with forty of 
 his disciples, who appear to have voluntarily 
 given themselves up to the authorities. And so 
 great was the effervescence of the orthodox under 
 several succeeding reigns, and particularly in that 
 of Mohammed IV, that the Ulema and other rigid 
 Mohammedans even ventured to propose the 
 extermination of all the Orders, the confiscation of 
 their revenues, and the destruction of their monas- 
 teries. An attempt was, indeed, made by the 
 Grand Vizier of that Sultan, Achmet Kiupruh, to 
 suppress the Bektashi, Khalvetti, Djelvetti, and 
 Shemshi Orders. Like all former and subsequent 
 attempts, however, it succeeded but partially, as 
 the Government was overawed by the Janisseries, 
 whose intimate connection with the Bektashi Order 
 made them the aUies of the Dervishes generally, 
 and the Porte feared to do anything that might 
 arouse the resentment of this formidable force. 
 
STATUS AND INFLUENCE 187 
 
 The action of the Sultans, too, seems to have been 
 but half-hearted ; for it is recorded that even Sehm I, — 
 whom Mouradja D'Ohsson describes as " poet, 
 parricide and fratricide, mystic, tyrant, and con- 
 queror," ^ — made pilgrimages to the tombs of 
 deceased, and to the cells of living Sheikhs of repute ; 
 and that he raised at Damascus a mosque over 
 the grave of the eminent saint, Muhajjin el Arabi. 
 Suleyman I also built at Konieh, in honour of 
 Jelalii-'d-Din, a mosque, a Tekkeh, and public 
 alms-kitchen. At Sidi Ghazi he erected a great 
 estabUshment with a Tekkeh and college for the 
 Bektashis, and he also repaired the Tekkeh covering 
 the tomb of Abdul Kadr Ghilani, the sainted 
 founder of the Kadiri Order, thus drawing upon 
 himself the benedictions of three influential Orders. 
 
 After this stormy period the Orders appear to 
 have enjoyed a long interval of freedom from perse- 
 cution. For Evliya Effendi, writing towards the 
 end of the seventeenth century, makes no mention 
 of the existence of any popular ill-feeling towards 
 the Dervishes with whom he was closely connected 
 during the whole of his long and adventurous life. 
 The massacre of the Janisseries by Mahmoud II, 
 the " Reformer," in the beginning of last century, 
 was, however, followed by persecution of the 
 Bektashi Order, who were suspected of having been 
 concerned in the revolts that ensued. Its members 
 were accused of treason against the State, and the 
 chief Legists agreed with the Sultan that a severe 
 
 ^ Histoire de VEmpire Ottomane, Part I, p. 377. 
 
188 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 sentence should be passed upon the Brotherhood. 
 Its three principal Sheikhs were consequently pub- 
 licly executed ; the Order was declared abohshed, 
 many of its Tekkehs were destroyed, and its mem- 
 bers generally were banished from the capital, 
 those who remained being compelled to abandon 
 their distinctive dress. ^ 
 
 This determined action on the part of the Govern- 
 ment spread consternation throughout the Dervish 
 Orders in the Empire, whose members feared for the 
 moment that they, Hke the Bektashis, were all 
 doomed to destruction or dispersion ; and, to use 
 the expressive Oriental phrase, " They remained 
 motionless, expecting their last day, devoured by 
 anguish, and with their backs resting against the 
 wall of stupefaction." But here Sultan Mahmoud 
 paused in his work of destruction. " Though " — to 
 use the metaphors of the historian of the massacre 
 of the Janisseries — " he had not feared to open 
 with the sword a road for pubhc happiness by 
 cutting down the thorny bushes that obstructed 
 his progress and tore his imperial mantle," he 
 hesitated to decree the entire destruction of institu- 
 tions which had enjoyed the respect and devotion 
 of his predecessors and of Moslems generally for 
 upwards of a thousand years.* This " hesitation," 
 is, however, not so surprising when we learn the 
 
 1 Ubicini, Leitres sur la Turquie, Vol. I, p. 107. 
 
 2 Ubicini, who stigmatises the doctrines of the Sufis as 
 "abominable," appears to regret that the Dervishes were 
 not then destroyed root and branch. See his Lettres, etc.. 
 Vol. I, pp. 101 and 114-115. 
 
STATUS AND INFLUENCE 189 
 
 fact, of which Ubicini appears to have been ignorant, 
 that Sultan Mahmoud was an affiUated member of 
 the Mevlevi Tekkeh at Pera, and frequently visited 
 it ; and that he also honoured with his presence the 
 meetings of a Nakshibendi fraternity estabhshed in 
 the suburb of Foundouldi. ^ 
 
 The Dervishes, however, on finding that the blow 
 dealt at the BektSshis was not followed by the 
 suppression or even persecution of the other Orders, 
 soon recovered from their consternation ; and the 
 more fanatical among them set on foot a secret 
 agitation with the object of inciting the populace 
 against a Sultan who had dared to raise his hand 
 against '* the chosen of Allah." In 1837 Mahmoud 
 narrowly escaped falhng a victim to the frenzied 
 zeal of one of these ascetics. As he was crossing 
 the Bridge of Galata, surrounded by his escort, a 
 long-haired cenobite, commonly known in the 
 capital as " The Hairy Sheikh," darted from among 
 the bystanders, and, seizing the bridle of the Sultan's 
 horse, exclaimed, " Giaour Padishah ! (Infidel 
 Sultan !) Art thou not yet satiated with abomina- 
 tions ? Thou Shalt answer to Allah for thy impieties. 
 Thou destroyest the institutions of thy Brethren ; 
 thou ruinest Islam, and drawest down the wrath of 
 Allah on thyself and on the nation ! " The Sultan, 
 fearing that popular feehng might be roused against 
 himself by the ascetic's denunciations, commanded 
 his guards to remove the madman from his 
 path. " Madman ! " echoed the infuriated Dervish. 
 
 * John Brown, The Dervishes, p. 346-347 n. 
 
190 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 "Sayest thou that I am mad ? The spirit of Allah, 
 which inspires me, and which I must obey, has com- 
 manded me to declare His truth, and promised me 
 the reward of the Faithful ! " The fanatic was, 
 however, seized and put to death without delay. 
 His body was given up to his brethren, who buried 
 it with the honours due to a martyr ; and on the 
 following day a report was circulated that the 
 watchers had seen a Nur, or supernatural hght, 
 hovering over the grave of the Sheikh — a convincing 
 proof of the favour with which Allah had regarded 
 his action. 
 
 It needed, however, a bold reformer to put 
 a noisy fanatic to death, and the majority of Sultans 
 and statesmen have contented themselves with 
 exihng to some remote part of the Empire a Dervish 
 whose influence on the populace they had cause to 
 fear. 
 
 Generally speaking, whenever public hostihty has 
 been excited against the Dervish Orders it has had 
 its foundation in the horror with which the orthodox 
 Sunni Mohammedans regard the Shid heresy, and 
 this hostility seems never to have been very general 
 or of long continuance. For those whose religious 
 principles and devotion to the purity of the creed 
 of Islam incited them to combat the growing power 
 of the Dervishes, have invariably been, in their 
 turn, combated by other principles drawn from 
 the same source; the majority of the Turkish 
 nation having always regarded the Dervishes, their 
 Sheikhs, and, above all, the Founders of the Orders, 
 
STATUS AND INFLUENCE 191 
 
 as the beloved Sons of Heaven, and in intimate 
 relations with spiritual powers. These opinions 
 have for basis the tradition that the different 
 Orders originated, as above mentioned, in the two 
 congregations of Abu Bekr and AH, and that the 
 grace bestowed upon them by the Prophet, both 
 as his relations and Vicars, had been miraculously 
 transmitted through the series of Sheikhs who, from 
 age to age, have governed the monastic societies. 
 It is also popularly beheved that the legion of Saints, 
 constituting the Mohammedan spiritual hierarchy 
 alluded to in a previous chapter as perpetually 
 existing among mankind, are to be found among 
 the members of the Dervish fraternities. Conse- 
 quently, to condemn, persecute, and destroy them, 
 as was the unanimous cry of the Legists, would have 
 been to draw upon the whole nation the wrath of all 
 the holy Saints. Even the less enthusiastic did not 
 dare openly to declare themselves hostile to the 
 Dervishes. Moslems generally respect what is 
 beyond their comprehension, and hold this mixture 
 of rehgious practices and profane exercises to be a 
 mystery which the True BeHever should treat with 
 silent and unquestioning reverence. And the super- 
 stitious ideas which these ascetics have the talent 
 to perpetuate in their nation have always served as 
 their shield. So persistent, too, is the influence of, 
 and veneration for, the spiritual character of the 
 more eminent among the Sheikhs, that even those 
 Ottomans whose education and intercourse with 
 Europeans might be supposed to have freed them 
 
192 MYSTICISM AND xMAGIC 
 
 from national superstition, are often found to be 
 still under the influence of the ideas inculcated in 
 youth. This is forcibly illustrated by an incident 
 which was related to me during my sojourn at 
 Salonica. 
 
 A Pasha, who had represented his Government at 
 Paris, and whose sprightly wit, liberal ideas, and 
 pleasant manners had, in his younger days, rendered 
 him a great favourite in European circles, was 
 appointed in after years to the governorship of the 
 Vilayet of Broussa. During his residence in Europe 
 he had collected a fine library, which he rightly 
 considered the greatest ornament of his konak. 
 But these reputed " infidel " writings gave umbrage 
 to a fanatical old Dervish Sheikh of that city, who 
 had great influence with the Pasha, and he resolved 
 upon their destruction. With persuasive eloquence 
 and prophetic promises, he so worked upon the 
 mind of the Governor-General, that this dignitary 
 was finally prevailed upon to consent to the destruc- 
 tion of his hterary treasures, and, hke those of 
 Don Quixote, they were committed to the flames. 
 The promised reward of this sacrifice was the much- 
 desired and long-coveted post of Grand Vizier. 
 Strange to say, the Pasha was actually called upon 
 to occupy that high ofiice, though he retained it 
 only for the brief period of three days. 
 
 From the earliest times to the present, the most 
 general, though at the same time the most harmless, 
 weapon used against the Dervishes has been that 
 of ridicule. Turkish and Persian literature teems 
 
STATUS AND INFLUENCE 193 
 
 with satires,in proverb and story, on their peculiarities 
 
 of dress and practice. Even the mystic Sadi does 
 
 not spare them in his epigrams, though his satire 
 
 is chiefly directed against those who are Dervishes 
 
 in outward appearance only, as for instance : — 
 
 Of what avail is frock or rosary, 
 Or clouted garment ? Keep thyself but free 
 From evil deeds, it will not need for thee 
 To wear the " Crown " of felt, a Dervish be 
 In heart, and wear the cap of Tartary. 
 
 A humorous story is current in the capital of a 
 Dervish whose ass, a present from his Sheikh, died 
 soon after he had set out on his pilgrimage. He 
 buried the animal by the roadside, and giving out 
 that a deceased companion was the occupant of 
 the newly-made grave, soon obtained from the 
 charitable passers-by sufficient funds to erect a 
 turbeh over it, of which he constituted himself the 
 guardian. Years passed. The turbeh became a 
 great place of pilgrimage ; miracles were performed 
 at it, and the fame of the rival shrine reached the 
 ears of the old Sheikh, who had heard no news of his 
 pupil since his departure, and lamented him as 
 dead. One day, accordingly, he locked up his 
 turbeh in order to pay a visit to his brother Sheikh. 
 He was hospitably received, and recognised the 
 rival turbedji as his former disciple. When evening 
 came, and the last of the pilgrims visiting the shrine 
 had departed, the old Sheikh asked, with much 
 curiosity,, who was the saint buried below, as he 
 knew of none formerly residing in that part of the 
 country. After some hesitation. Sheikh Ali confessed 
 
194 MYSTICISM AND MAGIC 
 
 that his dead ass was the only occupant of the tomb. 
 x\s his superior did not seem much disturbed by 
 the announcement, the younger Dervish ventured 
 to enquire who was the Saint buried under his 
 master's turbeh, and learnt at length that it was 
 no other than the parent of his own sainted donkey 1 
 The most wildly fanatical are found among the 
 wandering Dervishes, who, by their prophecies and 
 adjurations, often excite the Moslem population 
 against their Christian neighbours. Shortly before 
 the outbreak of the troubles in Bulgaria in 1876, 
 one of these zealots completely terrorised the 
 Christian inhabitants of Adrianople. He knocked 
 at one door after another in the Christian quarter, 
 forced his way in when they were opened, and 
 declared to the startled inmates that Allah had 
 revealed to Him his desire that the infidels of the 
 town should be destroyed within three days after 
 Easter. He finally reached the house of the Bishop, 
 to whom he repeated his menacing prophecy. The 
 reverend gentleman, apprehensive of the possible 
 consequences to his flock of these " revelations,'* 
 went at once to inform the Governor-General of 
 the incident. The Dervish was sent for, asked if 
 he had said what was reported of him, and what he 
 meant by it. The wily ascetic, however, merely 
 shrugged his shoulders and replied carelessly that, 
 as he was in his Hal when he made the alleged 
 declaration, he was not responsible for anything he 
 might have said. The Governor-General deemed it 
 prudent to send him out of the city under escort 
 
STATUS x\ND INFLUENCE 195 
 
 with orders for his conveyance to Broussa ; but 
 the Dervish managed to elude the vigilance of his 
 guards — possibly with their connivance — and con- 
 tinued his fanatical mission in other parts of the 
 province. 
 
WORKS REFERRED TO IN THE 
 FOREGOING PAGES 
 
 Ali Aziz Effendi, of Crete. The Story of Jewad, translated by 
 
 E. J. W. GiBB. 16 
 Brown, J. B. The Dervishes. 18, 37, 149, 187 
 Browne, E. G. A Year Among the Persians, 57-59 
 Clermokt-Ganneau. Revu6 Archeologique, 22n, 
 Creasy, Sir E. S. History of the Ottoman Turks. 19 
 Cunningham-Graham, Mrs. Life of St. Theresa, 69n. 
 D'Ohsson. Tableau GSnSrale de la Turquie, 2n., 187 
 Dozy. Essai sur I'Islamisme, 5n., 14 
 Evliya Effendi, Narrative of Travels (Oriental Translation 
 
 Fund), 28, 33, 39, 40, 72, 166, 187 
 Falconer, Prof. The Mesnevi, translation of, 55 
 Garcin de Tassy. M antic Uttair, translation of the, 5n., 49 
 Gaston Paris. Acad, des Inscriptions. 22n 
 GiBB, E. J. W. Ottoman Poems. 61-3, 119n. 
 Griffith. Translation of Jami's Yusuf and Zulaihha, 56n., 59, 
 
 60 
 GuYARD. RevuS de VHistoire des Religions, 22n. 
 J AMI. Yusuf and Zulaikha : Salaman and Absal. 1, 56-60 
 jELALtJ-'D-DiN. The Mesnevi or Masnavi, 50-55; 110 
 Jones, Sir Wm. The Works, vol. i, p. 52 
 Lane. The Modern Egyptians. 35 
 Malcolm. History of Persia, 15, 153-4 
 MicHELET. La Sorcidre, 163 
 Redhouse, Sir J. The Mesnevi; The Acts of the Adepts, 
 
 translations of, 31n., 51n., 69, 91, 156, 158, 161, 174 
 Riley, Athelstan. Mount Athos. lln. 
 Rozenzweig. Yusuf und Zulaikha, 56n. 
 Sadi. The Gulistan, 35n. 
 Sale. A I Koran, 72, 136 8, 143, 158 
 Silvestre de Sacy. Journal des Savants. 2n. 
 Sprenger. Journal of the Asiatic Society, 5n. 
 Ubicini. Lettres sur la Turquie, 46, 180, 188 
 Vaughan. Hours with the Mystics, 5n. 
 
 197 
 
 14— (3II9) 
 
INDEX 
 
 A'ashik Pasha, mystical 
 poetry of, 60 
 
 Abddls, or Perishans, popular 
 veneration for, 37 ; canon- 
 isation of, 40 ; stories of 
 famous, 39 
 
 Abdul Kadr Ghilani, 16; 
 " Rose" of, 119; prayer 
 of, 151 ; legends concerning, 
 120, 151 ; his forty days' 
 fast, 153 ; tomb of, restored 
 by Suleiman I, 187. 
 
 " Absent Ones," the, 34 
 
 Abu Bekr, the first Khalif, a 
 Mystic, 1, 17 ; legend con- 
 cerning, 116; Prophet's 
 injunction to, 122 ; original 
 fraternity revived, 134 
 
 Adam, Patron of the Baker's 
 Guild, 42 
 
 Adepts, Acts of the, 146, etc. 
 
 Ak Shemsu-'d-Din, 181 
 
 Ali, the third Khalif, a Mystic, 
 1, 17 
 
 Allah, the " Beautiful Names " 
 of, 121 
 
 Alphabetical Magic> 142 
 
 Apocalyptic Puzzle, the, 140 
 
 Augustine, St., reference to, 
 5n 
 
 Baha-'d-Din Veled, fellow- 
 student of Sadi 49 ; legends 
 concerning, 154, etc., 157 
 
 Bayazid Bestemi, his panthe- 
 istic doctrines, 4 ; mystical 
 legend concerning, 54 
 
 Begging Dervishes, 88 
 
 Bektashi Order, its foundation 
 18; costume of 111, 112 
 its symbolisms, 113, 118 
 persecution of the, 187 
 
 Bithynian Olympus, her- 
 mitages of the, 178 
 
 Celibacy, vow of, 101 
 
 Corn brought to Adam by 
 
 Gabriel, 42 
 Corn-tree of Paradise, Adam 
 
 forbidden to eat of, 42 
 
 Dervish Orders, 2 ; saints, 
 6, 22 et seq., 64, 71 et seq.. 
 146 et seq., 170 et seq. ; 
 Mahdis, 20-1 ; poets, 46 et 
 seq. ; endowments, 66-7 ; 
 salutations, 85 ; obligation 
 of silence, 90 ; penances, 90- 
 92 ; hospitahty, 93 ; fune- 
 rals, 93 ; costumes, 107 et 
 seq., Ill et seq., 118 ; sym- 
 bolic objects of the, 114 
 et seq. ; Sisterhoods, 175-6 
 
 Dervishes, hostility of Legists 
 towards, 179; in Ottoman 
 warfare, 180 ; in folk-tale, 
 144 ; married, 87 ; magical 
 practices of the, 138 et seq. ; 
 ecstatic powers of, 146 et 
 seq. ; satires on, 192 ; 
 rosary used by, 121 ; 
 vocative and contem- 
 plative varieties of, 122 
 
 Dimitri, St., tomb of, at 
 Salonica, 76 
 
 Djins, 61n, 142, 145 
 
 199 
 
200 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Djouneid, mystical doctrines 
 of, 5 
 
 ECKHART, Christian Mystic. 
 
 5n 
 Elias, see Khidhr 
 Elemental Charms, 143 
 Endowments, 66, 67 
 Evil Eye, power attributed 
 
 to the. 136 
 
 FakhrO-'n-Nisa, " The Glory 
 
 of Women." 174-5 
 Fatiha, 72n, 74. 121, 124 
 Fatima. daughter-in-law of 
 
 Jelala-'d-Din er Rumi. 173 
 Freemason, synonymous with 
 
 " infidel," 132 
 Gabriel, the Angel. Ill, 114 
 
 Hadji Bektash, honoured by 
 Sultan Orchan, 18 ; blesses 
 the Janissaries, 19 ; his 
 parentage and education, 
 162 ; legend concerning, 163 
 
 Hamzavi Order, 70, 121 ; prin- 
 ciples of the, 133 ; per- 
 secution of, 185-6 
 
 Hassan and Hussein, sons of 
 the Khahf Ah, 117, 119 
 
 Imams, the Twelve, 113; 
 the Imam Riza, 113; the 
 Imam Jafer, 113 
 
 Initiation, preliminaries to, 
 95 ; ceremonies of, 96 ; of a 
 Mevlevi, 96 ; of a Bektdshi, 
 97 ; of a Sddi, 102 ; of a 
 i?M/rt't, 102; ofaA'at^iVi, 103 
 
 Jam!, his mystical poems, 
 56 et seq, 
 
 Janisseries, the, blessed by 
 Hadji Bektash, 19; de- 
 stroyed by Mahmoud II, 
 187 
 
 Jelalu - 'd - Din, er Rumi, 
 founder of Mevlevi Order, 
 16, author of the Mesnevi, 
 50 ; legends concerning, 154 
 et seq. ; his scholastic career, 
 156-8; his marvellous 
 powers, 160 ; his wife and 
 daughter-in-law, 173 
 
 Jemshid, 42n 
 
 Jewad, " The Story of," 
 quotation from, 15 
 
 Ka'abah, the, 54 ; station of 
 tlrc Quth, 35 
 
 Kadiri Order, its foundation, 
 16 ; mystic Rose of, the, 
 120, 131 
 
 Kalenderi Dervishes, their 
 origin and obligations, 20 
 
 Kamber, groom of the Khalif 
 Ah, 113, 114, 117 
 
 Ketman, the, 5, 6, 105 
 
 Khalveti Order, its doctrines, 
 17-18; legend of its Piv, 18 
 
 Khidhr-Elias, or Khizr, his 
 identification with Elijah, 
 St. George, and Horus, 22 ; 
 legends respecting, 23 et 
 seq. ; dual personality of, 
 26 ; protector of travellers, 
 26 ; connected with St. 
 Nicholas, 27 ; his periodic 
 reincarnations, 27 ; quests 
 of Khidhr-Elias, 28 ; mi- 
 raculous powers of, 29 ; visits 
 Jelalu-'d-Din er Rumi, 32 
 
 Khiyah, his mystic poetry, 62 
 
 Kira Khatiin, wife of Jelalu- 
 'd-Din er Rumi, 173 
 
 Legends, Dervish, popular 
 origin of, 163 
 
 Legists, hostility of to Der- 
 vishes, 173. 183 
 
 Magic and Witchcraft, alluded 
 to in Koran, 136, 138 
 
INDEX 
 
 201 
 
 Mansiir Halladj, his doctrines 
 6 ; persecution of, 8 
 martyrdom of, 9-12 
 miracles of, 10 
 
 Mesnevi, the, of Jelalu-'d- 
 Din, 50 et seq. ; 110 
 
 Mevlevi Order, foundation of, 
 16 ; its Grand Master, 67 ; 
 its music, 108 ; legend of the 
 Reed-flute, 110; devr or 
 "dance" of the, 123; 
 prayers, 124 
 
 Mohammed Bokhara, disciple 
 of Hadji Bektash, 164 
 
 Mohammed of Nischapur, or 
 " Attar," his conversion, 
 46 ; his poetical works, 47 
 
 Mohammed the Prophet, 
 Sheikhs of Mevlevi Order 
 claim descent from, 107 ; 
 receives tidings from Gabriel, 
 118; bequeathed mantle to 
 Sheikh Uwais, 119; be- 
 spelled by a Jew, 137 
 
 Mohammedanism, opposition 
 to of Sufism, 5 
 
 Monasteries and Shrines, 
 Mevlevi, 65 ; frugal life in, 
 67 
 
 Monastic organisation, 79 et 
 seq. 
 
 Moses.and Khidhr-Elias, legend 
 of, 23 ; and the Shepherd, 
 Mesnevi parable of, 53 ; 
 and the Stone, 115 
 
 Nakshibendi Order, founda- 
 tion of, 17 
 Nicholas, St. a myrobltfe, 77n 
 " Night of Power," the, 92n 
 
 Omer Khalvet, legend of, 18 
 Original Fraternities, 1 
 
 Pantheism, 4, 48 
 Patron Saints, 42 
 
 Pilgrimage, 106 
 Poetry, Persian and Ottoman, 
 peculiarities of, 44 ; mys- 
 tical significations of, 45 ; 
 specimens of, 48 et seq. 
 Poverty, principle of, 66 
 " Power of the Will," 148, 150 
 Prophet's Mantle, Feast of the, 
 119n 
 
 " Questioners," the, 174n 
 Qmban Bairam, Feast of, 160n 
 Outb,— " Pole "or " Axis," 
 " 32, 54 
 
 Reed-flute, song of the, 52 ; 
 legend of the, 110 
 
 Religious Exercises of the 
 Mevlevi Order, 123 ; of the 
 RUfa'i, 128; of the Sddi, 
 
 131 ; of the Nakshibendi, 
 
 132 ; of the Hamzavi, 132 
 Rum, the Eastern Empire, 16 
 Rosaries used by Dervishes, 
 
 66, 121 
 Riifai Order, its foundation, 
 16; costume, 118; its 
 mystical Rose, 120 
 
 Sadi, disciple of Sa'ed-'d-Din 
 of Kashgar, 49 ; his poetical 
 works, 50 
 
 Sa'ed-'d-Din of Kashgar, his 
 wonderful powers, 148-9 
 
 Saints, Dervish, 22, 148 ; can- 
 onised in recent times, 169 ; 
 women-saints, 170-4 
 
 Seyyid Emir Sultan, legend 
 concerning, 167 ; marries 
 Sultan's daughter, 168 ; 
 reproves Sultan Bayazid I, 
 ib. 
 
 Sheikhs, Dervish, temporal 
 duties of, 68 ; powers of, 
 78 ; celibate and married, 
 81; a polygamous sheikh, 82 
 
202 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Shemsu-'d-Din of Konieh, 
 
 107 
 Sidqi, Ottoman poetess, 62 
 '' Solomon's Seal," a Dervish 
 
 symbol, 121 
 Spells and Counterspells, 138-9 
 Spiritual Hierarchy, the, 32 
 
 et seq. 
 " Stone of Contentment," the, 
 
 108; of " Submission," 115 
 Sufi Dynasty, the, 184 ; Phil- 
 osophy, 1-3, 8, 17 ; massacre 
 
 of by Selim I, 185 
 Sunnis and Shias, 183, 185, 
 
 190 
 Symbohsms in dress, 121 
 
 Talismans, 140 ; of Hadji 
 
 Bektash, 141 
 Thought-reading, 148 
 
 " Thou9and Nights and a 
 
 Night," Dervish dances 
 
 referred to in, 123 
 Timour the Tartar, his camp 
 
 broken up by a Dervish, 
 
 33 
 
 UwAis, Sheikh, 2 ; 
 barber-dentists, 
 pient of the 
 mantle, 119n 
 
 " Water of Life,' 
 myth of the, 23 
 
 patron of 
 
 43 ; reci- 
 
 Prophet's 
 
 ' Oriental 
 
 " YusuF and Zulaikha," 
 romantic poem of, 56-60 
 
 Zemzem, Sacred well of, 102 
 Zikr, or Invocation, 121-2, 
 126, 129 
 
 THE END 
 
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