/'^ Sell sbury, Edward E, -
Translation of two unpublished Arabic
Docunients,
1849 .

MbtSQ
IT.

YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

1934

ARTICLE XII.

TRANSLATION" OF
TWO UNPUBLISHED. ARABIC DOCUMENTS,
RELATING TO THE DOCTRINES
OF THE
ISMA'ILIS AND OTHER BATINIAN SECTS,
-WITH AN
INTRODUCTION*AND NOTES.
BT
EDWAED E. SALISBURY.
(Read October 25, 1849.)

33

INTRODUCTION.

Some time ago, I received from Dr. Henry W. De Forest,
missionary in Syria, an Arabic manuscript of fifty-seven
leaves, consisting of three documents which throw new light
upon the opinions held by the Isma'dis, and other sects of
Allegorists, or Mystics, of Muslim origin. Two of these
documents bear marks of being authoritative with the sects
themselves whose views they profess to represent; while
the other, though controversial in its design and charac
ter, is "Valuable for comparison with them. The history of
the Isma'ilis and their branches, of which the Druzes con
stitute one of the most important, is, at least in its outlines,
sufficiently well known. But excepting the Druzes, whose
books have now for some time been in the hands of the
learned, the opinions of none of them have been definitely
ascertained.''^ Of the Nusairian and Isma'ilian documents
announced within the last three years, in France and Ger
many, as recently discovered, only outlines with brief
extracts, or mere tables of contents, have as yet been
pubhshed. f
Under these circumstances, though "with some diffidence,
I pubhsh the following translation of two of the documents
* See Memoires de V Academic Royale des Inscriptions, Tome xvii. pp. 127,
£F. ; Notices et JSxtraits des Manuscrits, Tome ix. pp. 143, ff. ; C Niebuhr's
JReisebeschreibung, Bd. ii. ss. 439, iff.; Memoires deV Institut Hoyal^ Classe
dUist. et de Litter, Anc, Tome iv. pp. 1, ff. ; Die Geschickte der Assassinen, d.
Joseph von Hammer ; Memoires sur les trois plus fameuses Sectes du Musul-
manisme, par M. R. pp. 51, fif. ; Travels in Syria and the Holy Land, by John
Le-wis Burkhardt, pp. 150-6 ; Journal Asiatiqiie, Tome v. pp. 129, ff. ; Hxpose
de la Religion des Druzes, par M. le Baron Silvestre De Sacy, 2 Tomes ; Die
Drusen and ihre Vorlaufer, von Dr. PhiUpp Wolff, Einleitung ; Geschichte der
Chalifen, von Dr. Gustav 'W'ei], Bd. ii. ss. 493, ff. ; Journal Asiatique, S^rie iv.
Tome xiii. pp. 26, ff.
•)¦ See Journal Asiatique, S^rie iv. Tome xi. pp. 149, ff. ; Idem, Tome xii.
pp. 72,'ff. 485, ff.; Zeitschrift d. Deutsch. Morgenldnd. Qesellschaft, Bd. ii. sa.
388, ff. ; Idem, Bd. iii. ss. 302, ff

260
sent to me by Dr. De Forest, setting one of them aside, for
the present, for fear that I may not have yet ftdly mastered
the system contained in it. The document set aside consists
of two fi-agments of what purports to be a conversation
between Muhammedlbn 'Aly El-Baku- and Khalid Ibn Zeid
El-Ju'fy, related by the latter in the form of a jOLvp, i. e.
Missive, for the purpose of directing certain persons sup
posed to have " deviated from the path of rectitude. The
former of the two interlocutors here introduced can be no
other, as the conversation itself shows, than the fifth Imam
of the Isma'ilis, commonly known as El-Baktr, a great-
grandson of the Khalifeh 'Aly ; the other, who appears as
an inquirer, is not so easily identified, but may be conjec
tured to be a descendant of 'Aly, whose father was a brother
of El-Bakir.''^ But, inasmuch as Esh-Shakrastany informs
us that the Shi'ite sects, after the time of El-B^ir, were
much disposed "to pass ofl!'" their opinions "upon his fol
lowers," and " to refer their origin to him, and to fix them
on him," the question naturally arises, whether we have, in
this Missive, the genuine doctrine of El-Bakir, or that of
some party availing itself of his name to give currency to
views in reality not his. To judge by what Esh-Shahra-
stSny tells us of the opinions of El-Bakir, the Missive in
question might be taken as an authentic expression of his
mind, for he here denies, either explicitly, or by impHdation,
each of certain doctrines which are particularly mentioned
by Esh-Shahrastany as not actually held by him, and which
therefore appear to have been, those oftenest ascribed to him
falsely. It is possible, however, that some party with which
he was not so generally confounded, or perhaps kindred to
his own, may have here used his name without authority.
At all events, this Missive sets forth doctrines different from
those maintained by either of the sects referred to, or rep
resented, in the other two documents.
The first portion of the following translation is made fi-om
the controversial document. The original of this is entitled
^iacvLJf (j>A*5f^ ».^\^s\^J)i^ »3Ai\^ JiJooiJf »»ii«Jf
&li/of JiJf ^_^ i. e. The Attach of the Partizan of Justice^
* See Weil's Geschichte der Clialifen, Bd. i. ss. 625-7 ; Id. Bd. ii. a 204
f The orthodox author so designates himself as one holding to the justice of
God in respect to predestination. •'

261
upon the party of ihe Ismd'iliyeh, and ihe Angry Eye upon the
party of ihe Kardmateh, and is an extract from a larger work
entitled A-'/^f ^^W^ Cj* fWo^f /^^^'O oVa£=s
i. e. The Book of the Open Ways of Approach [to God,] touch
ing the Gladdenings of [Divine] Lenity. It seems to have been
written on the appearance of some followers of Karmat in
the Wady Hamah, probably near to HamSh in Syria, "be
tween Homs and Kinnesrin," as Abulfeda says, who adds
that those who threw off the faith of Islam, had free range
there.* There is no precise indication of the date of its
composition, nor is the name of the author given. He only
calls himself Esh-Shafi'y, or the Shafi'ite. This document
consists of three parts. The author begins with eight hun
dred and thirty-two lines of rimmed measure, in which he
portrays the hated party against which he writes, in concise
and pointed terms. These rhymings I have passed over in
translating, as the fuller statements in prose which follow
them, though less piquant as a specimen of controversy,
may be more safely rehed upon for information. Next is
introduced a piece in prose by another author. This author
calls himself El-Amidy, and it may be suggested as quite
probable that he is the Seif ed-din El-Amidy whom Ibn
Khallikan speaks of as having taken up his residence at
HamSh^, and there composed works " on the principles of
religion, and jurisprudence, and logic, and philosophy, and
disputation," and whose death, as the same authority in
forms us, took place A. H. 631, i. e. A. D. 1233^.t It is
worthy of notice, ia this connection, that a portion of this
piece strikingly resembles what Von Hammer pubhshed
many years ago, on the Isma'ilis, as in substance contained
in a work by El-Jorjany,J who, according to D'Herbelot,
died A. H. 816, i. e. A. D. 1413-14.§ The third part of
this document is a statement of inquiries respecting the
Nusairis, presented to Takky ed-din Ibn Yatmiyeh, "with
his answer. This person was a distinguished doctor of Mus
lim law, who died, accorduag to D'Herbelot, A. H. 768, or,
as some say, A. H. 748, i. e. A.D. 1366-7, or A. D. 1347-8.||
* See Geographic d^Abmdfida, ed. Reinaud et De Slane, pp. 262-3.
!See Ibn Khallihdn's Dictionnaire Biographique, ed. De Slane, pp. 456-7.
See Journal Asiatique, Tome vi. pp. 332-5.
S See D'Herbelot's Sibliothkgue Orientale, p. 373.
See Idem, p. 444.

262
It foUows fi'om the lunitation of date thus given to the con
cluding part of this document, that it must have been com
piled as late as the middle of the fourteenth century ot our
era. This document was obtained by Eev. Dr. Eh bmitn,
missionary in Syria, from Mikhail Meshaka of Damascus.
The second portion of the following translation is made
firom a document without title, but of which the nature ot
the contents is sufficiently evident. It consists oi tour
pieces. The first piece presents a system of cosmogony ;
the second, a formula of religious belief; -the third, a mys
tical allegorizing of the doctrines set forth in that formula ;
and the fourth, a statement of the doctrine of the Inaam.
All these pieces are in form declarative, not argumentative ;
and in reading them attentively one cannot resist the im
pression, that they are specimens of the so-caUed sermons
which the Da'is, or missionaries, of the Isma'ilis are said -to
have been in the habit of delivering, at stated seasons, iu
general assemblies of the sect, to those whom they woidd
initiate into their system.-* That they express Isma'dian
doctrine is put beyond doubt by allusions contained in
them. But, what is more, one may even refer some of
them, with considerable confidence, to particular grades of
initiation which are described by oriental "writers as recog
nized by this sect, and are briefly alluded to in our first docu
ment. For the fourth piece evidently belongs to that stage
of instruction of which the object was to impress with the
sense of dependence upon the Imam ; and the third, to that
which was designed to initiate the proselyte into a pre
tended mystic sense of the doctrines and precepts of Islam ;
while the second might very appropriately have been deliv
ered to less advanced scholars, by way of "pretension of
agreement with them on the part of the great in religious
and worldly affairs," that is, the leading religious and ci-vd
authorities of the day, or those of the Mushms, which our
controversial document charges upon them as one of their
practices. The date of these pecuhar missionary-sermons
cannot be exactly determined. But there seems to be an
intimate connection between them all, so that whatever date
belongs to one is probably to be affixed to all. This docu
ment, so important for its contents, was obtained through
* See MSmoires de VInstitut, Tome iv. pp. 4-5.

263
the courtesy of Mr. Von Wildenbruch, late Prussian Consul
General for Syria, whose dragoman, Mr. Catafago, found it
near Aleppo.
As a farther introduction to the following translation, are
here added translations of several passages firom Esh-Shah-
rastany's celebrated Booh of Creeds and Sects, relative to the
parties to be brought before the reader. The passage above
referred to, in which this author gives an account of El-
Bakir, is also appended. It seemed the more desirable to
make these extracts, as no Enghsh translation of this high
authority on such subjects is known to have been pub
hshed; and the German translation by Haarbriicker, oi
which the first volume has recently appeared, although a
good one, does not supply the place of one in our own lan
guage.''^ The first of these extracts relates to the Isma,'ilis,
under the more general name ofthe BMnis, which inclades
also the followers of Karmat and the Nusairis.f The second
is on the Ghalis, the Extravagant Shi'is, in general.:]: The
third is on that particular portion of this party denomina
ted the Nusairis and Isha,kis.§ The fourth relates to El-
Bakir. Exactness has been my aim in translating ; and to this
every thing else has been sacrificed, so far as was consistent
•with preserving the English idiom. The foot-notes are
intended mainly to facihtate the understanding of the text.
A discussion of the many interesting topics suggested by it,
would probably have been premature, if indeed it could
have been entered upon.
" The Bdtimyeh.' -This appellation is afixed to them
only because they give out that every thing outward has an
inward ; and every letter of revelation, an allegorical sense.
And they have many appellations beside this, according to

* Abu-'l-Fath Muhammed asch-Schahrastdni's Religions-Partheien undPhi-
losophen-Schulen, zum ersten Male vollstandig aus d. Arab, iibersetzt von Dr.
Theodor Haarbriicker. Erster Theii. HaUe: 1850.
f See Book of ReUgious and Philosophical Sects, by Muhammad Al-Shah-
rast^ni, ed. Rev. W. Cureton, pp. 147, ff.
1 Idem, p. 132.
8 Idem, pp. 143, ff.
j Idem, pp. 124, ff.
"If i. e. Party of the hidden sense.

264
the language of one and another people. For m 'Irak, they
are named the Batiniyeh, and the Karamateh, andthe Maz-
dakiyeh;* and iuKhorasan, the Ta'limiyeh,t and the Mul-
hideh.:t And they say, 'We are Isma'iliyeh,§ tor we are
distinguished ft-om the parties of the Shi'ah, by this name
and this impersonation. ¦ i i, ¦
"Now the ancient Batiniyeh have mingled "wath their sys
tem something of the system of the sect of Phdosophers,|
and composed their books after that way. Say they respect
ing the Creator,— let him be exalted! 'As for us, we say
not that he is existent, nor that he is non-existent ; neither
that he is one who knows, nor that he is ignorant ; neither
that he is one possessed of power, nor that he is impotent ;
and in like manner, with regard to all the attributes. For
veritable affirmation requires the association of him with
other existences in that respect in which we speak of
him absolutely, and that is anthropomorphism; so that
he does not admit of judgment by absolute afiirmation and
absolute denial ; on the contrary, he is the Deity of those
who stand opposed to one another, and the Creator of
disputers, and the arbiter between those who differ.' And
respecting this, they also tell of Muhammed Ibn 'Aly El-
Bakir, that he said, 'Because he bestows knowledge on
the knowing, it is said that he is one who knows; and
because he bestows power on the powerfid, it is said that
he is one possessed of power. So then, he is one who
knows, one possessed of power, in the sense that he bestows
knowledge and power, not in the sense that knowledge
subsists in him, and power, or that he is quahfied -with
* i. e. Party of Mazdak. Mazdak -was the author of a modification of Ma-
gism, -who -was patronized by Kobad, one of the Sas&nide kings, and put to
death by Nushir-wSn. For his opinions, see Tlw Dabistdn, transl. by Shea
and Troyer, "^ol. i. pp. 372, ff. ; Esh-Shahrastdny's Book of Relig. and Philos.
Sects, pp. 192, ff. What particular ground there may have been for the appU
cation of this name to the Ism^'iUs, we do not kno-w. But there is reason to
believe that they may have derived some of their peculiar doctrines from a
Persian source.
f i. e. Party of instruction. The ground of this appellation appears from
some of Hasan Ibn Sabbah's " articles," stated farther on by Esh-ShahrastSny.
X i. e. Heretics.
§ i. e. Party of Isma'H, son of Ja'far Es-Sadik, the seventh and last Im^
of the Isma'Uis.
II Those of the Muslim leamed men -who -were influenced in their religious
opinions by the study of Greek philosophy, introduced among them especiaUy
under the Khalifeh Mamdn, -were called by this name.

265
knowledge and power.' But it is said respecting them that
they are deniers of the attributes, who despoil the divine
essence of the attributes.
" Say they, ' And in like manner we say, with regard to
eternity, that he is not eternal, nor originated ; on the con
trary, the Eternal is his Amr and his Word,* and that
which is originated is his creation and his workmanship.
He produced, by the Amr, the prime Intelligence, which is
perfect in action ; and by the intervention of that, he pro
duced the secondary Soul, which is not perfect. And the
relation of the Soul to the Intelligence is either the relation
of the genital seed to the perfection of created form, and of
the egg to the bird, or the relation of the child to the
father, and of the offspring to her who brings forth, or the
relation of the female to the male, and of consort to con
sort.' Say they, ' And because the Soul yearns after the
completion of the Intelligence, it requires motion from in
completeness to completion, and motion requires the means
of motion. And so the celestial spheres originate, and move
¦with a circular movement, as governed by the Soul. And
after' them, the simple natural properties originate, and
move with the movement of directness, also as governed by
the Soul. And so are compounded the composites, namely,
minerals, and plants, and animals, and man ; and particular
souls enter into bodies. And the species of man is distin
guished from other existences, by peculiar preparedness for
the effusion of those Lights ; and his world stands opposed
to the whole world. And an Intelligence and a Soul which
is universal, in the higher world, makes necessary that there
should be in this world an impersonated Intelligence which
is a whole, and of which the bearing is the bearing of a
complete, mature impersonation,' which they name the
Natik,f and which is the Prophet, ' and an impersonated
Soul which is also a whole, and of which the bearing is the
bearing of an infant who is incomplete, tending to comple
tion, or the bearing of the genital seed tending to perfec-
* It -will be evident, farther on, that the Isma'ilian Word, or Amr, is a
Srime emanation from the Deity, ha-dng divine names and attributes, but
istinct from the Deity itself.
f Watik, i. e. Utterer, is the name -which the Isma'ilis give to every Prophet
of a period, -who declares the divine -wiU for that time.
VOL. n. 34

266
tion, or the bearing of the female consorted with the male,'
which they name the Asas,* and which is the Legatee.
" Say they, ' And as the celestial spheres move as moved
by the Soul and the InteUigence, and the natural properties
too, in like manner souls and persons move in accordance
with laws, as moved by the Prophet and the Legatee, m
every age, in a circle of successive sevens, -untd the final
period is reached, and the age of resurrection is entered, and
obhgations are taken off, and rules and laws are unloosed.
And these movements of the celestial spheres, and the rules
enjoined by law, are only ia order to the Soul'sattainingto
the state of its completion ; and its completion is^ its attain
ing to the degree of the Intelligence, and its being united
to that, and its reaching the rank of that, as an actuality.
And as for that, it is the greater resurrection, upon which
the compoundings of the celestial spheres and the elements,
and the composites, are unloosed; and the heavens are
rent; and the stars are dispersed; and the earth is ex
changed for the absence of earth; and the heavens are
rolled up like the rolling up of the scroll for the Book,
written upon within ; and creatures are reckoned with ; and
the good one is separated from the bad one, and the obedi
ent one, from the disobedient one ; and the constituents of
truth are joined to the whole Soul, and the constituents of
falsehood to the false Sheitan.-j- And so, from the time of
motion up to rest is the beginning ; and from the time of
rest up to that which has no end is the completion.'
" Moreover they say, ' There is no statute, nor rule, nor
sentence of the sentences of law, concerning barter, or
patronage, or giving, or marriage, or divorce, or wound
ing, or revenge, or the price of blood, without its counter
part pertaining to the world, by number against num
ber, and bearing against bearing ; for the laws are worlds
spiritual, of the Amr, and worlds are the laws embodied,
belonging to created things. And in like manner, the
compou.ndings which respect the letters and the words [of
the Kuran,] are in the way of counter-part to the com-
* As^s, i. e. Foundation, is the name given in the Isma'ihan system to the
first of seven supposed successors of every Natik, that is, the first of seven
Imams of each period, -whose office it is to confirm his teaching by the dis
closure of its allegorical sense.
f See Rev. vi. 12-17 ; Id. xx. 5.

267
poundings of forms and bodies ; and as for the single let
ters, their relation to the composites, of the words, is as
bare simples to composites, of bodies. And every letter
has a counter-part in the world, and a natural property with
which it belongs, and an impress, so far as that property is
in souls. And so, in consequence of this, sciences deriving
virtue from the words of instruction, become an aliment
to souls, like as aliments deriving virtue from the natural
properties belonging to created things, become an aliment
to bodies. And God has indeed ordained that something of
that out of which it was created should be the aliment of
every existence.'
"And on the ground of this equivalence, they go to tell
ing the numbers of the words and verses [of the Kuran,]
and that the calling upon the divine name* is a composite
of seven and of twelve; and that the extolling God is a
composite of four words in one of the formulas of testi
mony, and of three words in the second formula of testi
mony ; and that there are seven segments in the first, and
six in the second ; and that there are twelve letters in the
second ;f and in like manner, with regard to every verse
which admits of their calculating its number ; — all which
he who is intelligent exercises not his thought upon, without
coming short of it, through fear of his meeting his match !
" These counter-balancings constituted the way of their
men of early times; who composed books respecting. them,
and called men to an Imam, in every age, who knows the
equivalences of these sciences, and directs to the paths of
these positions and definitions.
"Afterwards, the men of the new call departed from this
way, when El-Hasan Ibn Es-Sabbah proclaimed his call,
and was unequal to the exigencies of his word, and asked
* i^A^J) (j,+^J) J^J) f^MA^ i.e. In the name of God, the Mer
ciful, the Compassionate, of -which the first part. In the name of God, consists
in the original of seven letters, and the remainder, of t-welve.
t The t-wo" formulas" here referred to are jdjf 01 JSjf S i.e. There
is no Deity but God, and 2S.)Jf ^Jc^^JT '-^'^'^ ^ ®- -Sfo^'a»»»««<^ " */««
Prophet of God. By " segments," are meant separate syUables ; to make
these of the numbers mentioned, final vo-wels mi^st be thro-wn off, and the
Prophet's name must be pronounced Muhmed.

268

help of men, and fortified himself in castles, ^nd the com-
meLement of his gomg up to the castle of/l^* ^^^^^
Sha'ban in the year 483. And that was after he had made a
Wney o the country of his Imam,* and had got from him
how to^ call the men of his age; upon which he. returned
and called men with the first of a call to the doctrine of the
appearance of a rightful Imam taking li^s stand m every
age, and of the distinction of the party which obtain deliv
erance from the other parties in this pomt; which is to say,
that they have an Imam, and that the others bave not any
Imam. And the refined gold of his system, after the rejec
tion of that which was said respecting it, amounts, ulti
mately, in the Arabic language and iu the Persian language
to this particular. And as for us, we shall translate that
which he wrote in the Persian language, into the Arabic ;
and there is no fauft resting upon the translator ; and the
prospered is whosoever follows the truth, and turns aside
from falsehood; and God is the Prosperer, and the Helper.
" So then we begin with the four Articles with which he
began the call, and which he wrote in the Persian, and so I
have put into the Arabic. Says he, ' He who gives an answer
respecting the knowledge of the Creator,— let him be exalt
ed ! has one of two things to say, either to say, " I know the
Creator by mere intellect and speculation, without need of
the teaching of a teacher," or to say, " There is no way
to knowledge, with intellect and speculation, except by the
teaching of a rightful teacher.' Says he, ' And whoever
answers with the former, denies not another's intellect and
speculation. For, as for him, if ever he so denies, he teaches ;
and the denial is a teaching, and a proof, that that which is
denied has need of something other than itself Says he,
' And the two parts are both necessary consequences. For
as for man, whenever he gives decisions, or makes a decla
ration, he speaks on his own part, or on the part of another ;
and in like manner, whenever he is bound with an obliga
tion, he is bound with it on his own part, or on the part
* The Fatimite Khalifeh Mustanser-biUah, -who reigned in Egypt -when
Hasan began his career, is undoubtedly here intended. Before Hasan estab
lished an independent dynasty, he -went about in the character of an Isma'Uian
Da'i, advocating the le^timacy of the Fatiraites, as descendants of 'Aly,
against, the 'Abbasides. See Mem. de VInst., 'Tome iv. p. 8 ; Notices et Extraita
des Manuscrits, Tome iv. p. 687 ; Id. Tome ix. p. 152, ff.

269
of another.' This is the first Article ; which is a rupture
with the Men of opinion and intellect.*
" And he states in the second Article, as follows : ' Since
the need of a teacher is established, is then absolutely every
teacher suitable, or must there of necessity be a rightful
teacher ?' Says he, ' And whoever says that every teacher
is suitable, is not allowed to deny a teacher adverse to him
self, forasmuch as, when he so denies, he yields the point that
there must of necessity be a reliable, rightful teacher.' So
nauch for this. And this is a rupture with the Alen of tra-
dition.f " And he states in the third Article, as follows : ' Since the
need of a rightful teacher is established, must there not of
necessity be knowledge of the teacher, first of all, and pos
session of him, and afterwards instruction by him ? or may
there be instruction by every teacher, without his person
being fixed upon, and his right being made clear ? And
the latter is a coming back to the former,:}: forasmuch as, if
one can not walk the way, except with one going before,
and a companion, let there be the companion, and after
wards let the way be trod,' — which is a rupture with the
Shi'ah. ^
" And he states, in the fourth Article, that ' men constitute
two parties, namely, a party who say, " There is need, with
respect to knowledge of the Creator, — let him be exalted !
of a rightful teacher ; and the fixing upon him, and the
recognition of him, is necessary, first of all, and afterwards
instruction by him;" and a party who take up from a
teacher, and from one who is not a teacher, in every science.
* The amount of this article seems to be, that religious instruction is neces
sary, contrary to the doctrine of those who hold that God is known by mere
intellect and speculation ; because -whoever affirms the latter, if he would estab
lish any definite criterion, must confine it to hmiself, and in so doing contra
dict his principle, by making circumstances personal to himself, independent of
the possession of mere intellect and speculative faculty, requisite to the end.
f Exaggerators of ancient authority are here referred to. Esh-Shahra-
stajiy elsewhere says that they were called Men of tradition, " because their
aim is to get. traditions, and to hand down accounts, and to base sentences on
authorities, arid they do not go back to analogy, manifest or hidden, so long as
they find an account, or a memorial." See Esh-Shahrastan/s Book of Relig.
and Philos, Sects, ed. Cureton, p. 160. That such a party were wanting in
discrimination, as Hasan affirras, may easily be credited.
X That is to say, the very stateraent of the latter alternative involves the
affirmation of the former.

270
' And it is clear, by the preceding premises, that the truth
is with the former party ; so that, as for their head, he must
needs be the head of those who hold to the truth. And
since it is clear that falsehood is with the latter party, then:
heads, consequently, must needs be the heads of those who
hold to falsehood.' Says he, ' And this way is that which
causes us to know the place of truth by the truth, with gen
eral knowledge. Then, after that, we know the truth by
the place of truth, with special knowledge ; so that the rota
tion of questions is not requisite.' And by ' the truth' he
here means only the having need ;* and by ' the place of
truth,' him who is needed. And says he, ' By the having
need we know the Imam, and by the Imam we know the
measures of the having need; just as by potentiality we
know necessity, that is, the iSTecessarily Existing, and by
this know the measures of potentiality in things potential.'
Says he, ' And the way to the profession of unity is, by the
measuring of feather by feather, in like manner. 'f
" Moreover, he states certain Articles which have respect
to the confirmation ofhis doctrine, either by way of accommo
dation to, or by way of rupture with, received doctrines ;
and most of them are some rupture or other, and an insist
ing upon, and a demonstration of, diversity on the ground
of falsehood, and agreement on the ground of truth. One
of them is the ' Article of truth and falsehood, and the httle
and the great.' He states that ' in the world there is a truth
and a falsehood ;' after which he states that, ' as for the mark
of truth, it is unity, and as for the mark of falsehood, it is
multiplicity ; and unity accompanies instruction, and multi
plicity, opinion; and instruction accompanies the forming
one party, and the forming one party, the Imam ; and opin
ion accompanies diverse parties, which accompany their
heads.' And he lays down truth and falsehood, and the
similarity between them, on the one hand, and the difference
between them, on the other hand, the mutual confronting
in the two extremes, and the ranking in one of the two
extremes, as a balance by which he weighs every thing
about which he disputes. Says he, ' And I have derived
-* The need of a teacher.
t The meaning is, that one coraes to the profession of the divine unity with
a fuU understandmg of it, through the Imam, precisely as it is through him
that one attains to a complete conviction of his need of instruction.

271
this balance only from the word of testimony, and its being
compounded of denial and affirmation, or denial and excep
tion;' says he, 'so that not that which merits denial, is
falsehood; andnot thatwhich merits affirmation, is truth.
And by that is weighed the good and the bad, and the true
and the false, and the other opposites.'* And his main
point is to come back, as respects every declaration and
word [of the Kuran,] to the affirmation of a teacher ; and
that, as for the profession of unity, it is the profession of
unity together with the doctrine of a Prophet, while it is
the profession of unity ; and that, as for the doctrine of a
Prophet, it is the doctrine of a Prophet together with the
doctrine of an Imam, while it is the doctrine of a Prophet, f
" This is the end of his system. He prohibited common
people, however, from meddling with a matter of science ;
and in like manner, people of note, from examining the
ancient Books ;:J: except those who knew the state of the
case respecting every Book, and the degree attained by
men in every science. And in respect to points relating to
the Deity, he went not "with his followers beyond his say
ing, ' Our Deity is the Deity of Muhammed.' Says he, ' I
and you say, that our Deity is the Deity of intellects, that is,
that that which directs to him is the intellect of every intelli
gent being.' But if it is said to one of them, ' What sayest
thou respecting the Creator, — ^let him be exalted ! as for
him, is he ? and as for him, is he one, or multiple, pos
sessed of knowledge, powerful, or not ?' this definition
alone is given for answer, ' My Deity is the Deity of Mu
hammed ; and he it is who sent his Envoy with the direc
tion ; and as for the Envoy, he is the director to him.'
* This " balance," or principle of judgment as to the true and the false, the
good and the bad, and all opposites, was derived from the fundamental confes
sion of faith among the Muslims, There is no Deity but God, which expresses
the truth of the divine unity only as the propositions included in it, namely,
There is no Deity, and God is a Deity, each of which, by itself, may stand either
for truth or for falsehood, are taken together as mutually complementary. The
general principle may be stated as follows : that what may be affirmed abso
lutely, as between any opposites, consists in the complementary relation to
each other of those opposites.
f This means, that the declaration Tiiere is no Deity but God, impUes the
doctrine of a Prophet to reveal the truth thus expressed, and that the doc
trine of a Prophet, expressed in the declaration Muhammed is his Prophet,
implies that of an Imam to carry on the Prophet's work.
J The Scriptures of former periods, or previous Divme Revelations.

272
" And often as I have entered into discussion with the
people, on the ground of the premises stated, they have not
taken a step beyond their saying, ' Have we then need of
thee?' or 'Shall we hear this from thee?' or 'Shall we be
instructed by thee?' And often as I have been concil
iating towards the people, respecting the having need, and
have said, 'Where is he who is needed? and how deter
mines he for me the points relating to the Deity ? and what
is it which he prescribes in respect to things which are ob
jects of the intellect? inasmuch as "the teacher" has no
meaning intrinsically, and only has meaning because he
teaches ; and ye, indeed, shut up the gate of science, and
open the gate of submission to dictation, and the following
of authority ; and an intelligent being is not content to
believe a doctrine, without any evidence to rest upon, or to
walk in a way, without any proof that he should do so,' —
the beginnings of the system have been authorizings to
judge, and submissions to authority. ' But not, by thy
Lord, not believe will they, until they make thee the judge
respecting that which is in controversy between them ; after
which, they will not find, in their souls, any fault pertain
ing to that which thou determinest ; and they will submit
themselves, with submission.' "*
" The Ghdltyeh.'f — These are they who are extravagant in
respect to the reality of their Imams, to such a degree that
they put them out of the hmits of the creature-state, and
pronounce bearings of the state of Deity to be in them.
For often they Idcen one of their Imams to God ; and often
they liken God to the creature ; and they hold to the two
extremes of extravagance and curtailment.:}: And their
assimilations have only grown out of the doctrines of the
Incarnationists and the Transmigrationists, and the doc
trines of the Jews and the Christians ; inasmuch as the Jews
liken the Creator to the creature, and the Christians liken
the creature to the Creator; and so these assimilations
passed into the minds of the Extravagant Shi'ah, to such a
* Kuran, Sur. iv. v. 68. It is the edition of Fliigel which is refen-ed to in
these notes, in aU cases.
f i. e. Party of the Extravagants.
i The writer means that they not only exalt the creature to the rank of the
Deity, but also bring down the Deity to the level of the creature.

273
degree that they pronounce bearings of the state of Deity
to be in. the reality of some of their ImSms. And anthropo
morphism was, as a principle, and fundamentally, among the
Shi'ah ; and only went over to some of the People of the
Sunneh, after that. And the system of the Mu'tazileh pre
vailed among the latter, after they saw that it was nearer to
that which is objective to the intellect, and farther 'from
anthropomorphism and incarnation;
" And the heresies of the Extravagants are comprehended
in four things, namely, anthropomorphism, and the com
ing forth, and the return, and transmigration. And there
are appellations belonging to them; and in every coun
try, they have an appellation. They are called in Isfa
han the Khurramlyeh,* and the Kiidiyeh ;f and in Eei,
the Mazdakiyeh, and the SinbMiyeh ;:} and in AdherbijSn,
the DhukiiliLyeh ;§ and in a certain place, the Muhammari-
yeh;|| and in MS-warM-nahr, the Mubeiyedhiyeh.'
" The Nusairiyeh and the Ishdldyeh.** — They are among
the Extravagants of the Shi'ah. And there is a set of
them who defend their doctrine, and act the part of leaders
in respect to their declarations. And there is a disagree
ment among them respecting the way to generalize the name
appropriate to the state of Deity, so as to include the Imams
of the people of the Family. Say they, ' The appearance

-* i. e. Party of the Voluptuous.
f L e. Party of the Self-willed, probably. In this sense, the word seems to
be originally Persian, as is Khurramlyeh.
% i. e. Party of the FoUowers of Sinbad. Sinbad was a leader of the Ex
travagant Shi'is, in Khorasfln, in the reign of the Khalifeh Maraun. See Weil's
Geschichte der Chalifen, Bd. ii. s. 236.
§ I can make no sense of this word, however pronounced, either as Arabic,
or Persian. But if we read Dukflliyeh, it is an Arabic word, meaning Self-
hiders. Now from one of our new documents it appears, that certain Isma'Uian
followers of Babek, whose standard of rebellion was first raised in Ajerbijan,
took from him the fashion of going abroad in mantles of Yemen, an article
of dress covering the whole person, from the top of the head down ; and the
class of people there caUed, from that circumstance, Babekiyeh, may have
beeh the same as those here named. See p. 281.
L e. Party of the Reddened, because they wore red there.
i. e. Party of the Whitened, because they wore white in that country.
f- The origin of this name I do not know. The name Nusairiyeh, signify
ing Little Christians, was probably given in derision. See Zeitschrift d. Deutsch.
MorgenlMd. Gesellschfift, voL iu. p. 308.

274
of the spiritual in a material body is a thing which no intel
ligent being denies ; whether on the side of good, like the
appearance of Jebrtl,— let peace be to him ! by some imper
sonation, and the being fashioned in the form of one of the
Arab race, and the being likened to the form of mankind ;
or on the side of evil, hke the appearance of Esh-Sheitan
in the form of man, so that he may work evd in his form,
and the appearance of the Jinns in the form of mankind, so
that they may dispute with its tongue. And so, on account
of that, we say that God, — ^let him be exalted! appears in
the form of impersonations. And because there is not,
after the Envoy of God, — let the divine benediction and
peace be to him ! any impersonation more excellent than
'Aly, — ^let benediction and peace be to him ! and after him,
his appropriated descendants,* who are the best of creatures,
therefore, the true God appears in their form, and speaks
with their tongue, and holds with their hands. So then, by
virtue of this we generalize the name appropriate to the
state of Deity so as to include them. And we affirm this
being appropriated of 'Aly, preferably of any one else,
only because he had given to him specially an aiding from
God, — let him be exalted 1 which is something that connects
itself with the hidden sense of mysteries. Said the Prophet,
' — let the divine benediction and peace be to him ! " I judge
by the outward, and God has charge of secrets."f And by-
virtue of this, it was the lot of the Prophet, — ^let the divine
benediction and peace be to him ! to fight -with polytheists,
and the lot of 'Aly to fight with,, hypocrites. And by vir
tue of this, he likened him to 'Isa Ibn Maryam, and said,
"And if men may not ^ have said respecting thee that which
they say respecting 'Isa Ibn Maryam, have not I, indeed,
declared respecting thee with a declaration ?" ':]:
"And often they affirm of him a participation in the en-
voyship, inasmuch as he said, ' Among you is one who fights
on the ground of its allegorical sense, as I fight on the ground
of its letter ; is he not, indeed, the sewer of the sandal ?'§ and
so, that the knowledge of the allegorical sense, and the fight
ing with hypocrites, and the disputing with the Jinns, and
* Appropriated as dweUing-places of the Deity.
•I- A traditionary saying. | A traditionary sayine
§ Meaning, does he not complete whatlbegin! This also is one ofthe
traditionary sayings of the Prophet.

275
the renioving of the gate of Khaibar, not by corporeal
po-wer,* are the most convincing proof that in him was a
divine part, and a sovereign power from the Lord, or that it
is he in whose form God appeared, and with whose hand he
created, and with whose tongue he commanded. And by
virtue of this, they say, ' He was in existence before the
creation of the heavens and the earth ; says he, " We were
shadows on the right hand of the throne ; and so we gave
glory, and then the angels gave glory with our giving
glory," — and as for those shadows, and those forms not
casting shade, they are real, and shine -with shining, by the
light of the Lord ; which is not cut off from them, whether
they are in this world or in that world. And by virtue of
this, 'Aly said, "I am of Ahmed as hght of light," — mean
ing that there is no distinction between the two lights,
except that one of them precedes, and the second, a corre
late to it, comes on after it. And this proves a sort of
association.' "But the Nusairiyeh are more inclined to maintain the
di"vine part ; and the IsMkiyeh are more inclined to main
tain the association in the prophetic office. And they have
other disagreements which we shall not mention."
" The Bdkiriyeh, and the constant Jafarvyeh. — They are
the followers of Abii Ja'far Muhammed Ibn 'Aly El-BSkir,
and his son Ja'far Es-Saddt. They declare the imamship
of both of them, and the imamship of their parent Zein el-
'Abidin ; except that among them are some who are con
stant to one of the two, and forward not the imamship to
their descendants, and some who do forward, f And we
distinguish this party over and above the sects professing to
be Shi'ah which we shall mention, only because those of
the Shi'ah who are constant to El-BSkir, and declare his
return, are in. constancy like those [of the Shi'ah] who
declare the imamship of Abii 'Abdallah Ja'far Ibn Muham
med Es-SMik.

-* This must refer to some tradition connected with the taking of Khaibar
by Muhammed.
•j- The meaning' is, that some regard one or the other of the two as the last
Imam, to -whom the imamship still belongs, although he is for a season with
drawn from human view ; while others consider the imamship as the inherit
ance of successive generations in the line of bis posterity.

276
" And he was a possessor of rare science in religion, and
perfect culture in phdosophy, and consummate self-restraint
in respect to this world, and complete abstinence from appe
tites. And he had dwelt in Medineh a length of time,
doing much service to the Shi'ah who sided with him, and
committing to those friendly to him the secrets of the
sciences ; when he entered 'Irak, and dwelt there a length
of time. He never assumed tlie imamship, nor contended
with any one respecting the khalifship ; and whoever
plunges into the sea of knowledge, is not eager for a shore ;
and whoever is elevated to the summit of verity, fears not
a letting down ; and there is a saying, ' Whoever has con
verse with God, is empty of men, and whoever cultivates
familiarity with others than God, the Tempter makes a prey
of him.'* And he was related, on the father's side, to the
stock of prophecy ; and on the mother's side, he was related
to Abu Bekr,- — ^let God be gracious to him! And he
cleared himself of that which any one of the Extravagants
had to do "vs^ith, and cleared himself of him, and cursed them ;
and he was clear of the peculiarities of the doctrines of the
Reifidheh,! and their fooleries, namely, the declaring of the
disappearance and the return,:}: and the coming forth, § and
transmigration, and incarnation, and anthropomorphism.
" But the Shi'ah were divided, after his day, and every
one of them professed a doctrine, and desired to pass it off
upon his followers, and referred its origin to him, and fixed
it on him ; while the master was clear of that, and of the
system of the Mu'tazileh, | and also of the doctrine of the
Kadariyeh.^ This is his saying respecting volition, namely,
'God, — let him be exalted! wills by us something, and
* This is probably a traditionary saying of Muhammed.
f i. e. Party of the Deserters, the name given to a party whose doctrinal
belief Esh-Shahrastany characterizes by saying that " they are extravagant in
respect to the prophetic office and imamship, to such a degree that they come
to the doctrine of incarnation [of the Deity.]" See Esh-Shahrastany's Book
of Relig. and Philos. Sects, p. 9.
X The disappearance and return of the Imam.
8 The manifestation of the Deity by emanation.
[ This was essentially, as Esh-Shahrastany expresses it, such an " extrava-
gatace in the way of thinking about the divine unity, as amounted to making
God a vacuity by the denial of attributes." See Esh-Shahrastiny's Book of
Relig. and Philos. Sects, p. 9.
^ i. e. Maintainers of power [in man,] in opposition to the doctrine of ab
solute divine decrees.

2T7
wills from us something ; and so, that which he wills by
us he hides from us, and that which he wills from us he
manifests to us. So then, what have we to do, to meddle
with that which he wills by us, to the neglect of that which
he wills from us ?' And this is his saying respecting pre
destination, namely, ' It is a thing between two things, not
absolutism, and not indifferentism.' And he was wont to
say, in prayer, ' 0 God, to thee belongs the praise, if I
obey thee ; and to thee it belongs to convict, if I disobey
thee. There pertains not to me, nor to any one else, any
efficiency in the case of a doing well ; and there is no con-
-victing on my part, or on the part of any one else, in the
case of a doing ill.'
" Now then, we will mention the sects which differed from
each other respecting him, and after his day, not on the
ground of their being divisions of his partizans, — on the
contrary, on the ground of their having to do with the root
of his stock, and the branches of his descendants."*
* Meaning, as holding in common that the imamship is perpetuated in his
family, while distinguished by particular attachment to one or another of his
descendants.

279

TRANSLATION.

The Ismd'iliyeh. — These are called by seven appellations.
[1.] The Btitiniyeh, on account of their profession of the in
ward sense of the Book, beside its outward sense. For they
say, that the KurSn has an outward and an inward sense ;
and as for its meaning, that its outward sense appertains to
the sciences of language, and that the relation of the inward
sense to the outward is like the relation of the pith to the
bark. And they say that the laying hold of its outward sense
punishes with fatigue in assiduous action,* and that its in
ward sense is an aid to the leaving off of action by its outward
sense. And as respects this, they lay hold of his saying, —
let him be exalted! "And so there is established between
them a wall, having a gate the inward part of which, within
it, is mercy, and the outward part, before it, is punishment."-}-
[2.] The Karamateh, because their leader, he who levelled
the high-way for their doctrine, was a man named Hamdan of
Karmat,:}; which is the only place of its name, namely, Kar
mat of Wasit. [3.] The Haramiyeh,§ on account of their
desecration of sacred things, and allowing of things forbid
den. [4.] The Sab'iyeh,! because they think that the
Natiks of the revealed laws, that is, the Envoys, are seven,
-* Meaning that it obliges to go through laborious outward observances.
f See Kuran, Sur. Ivii. v. 13. The " waU" spoken of in this passage, is prop
erly a waU separating " behevers" from " hypocrites" in a future state.
X This person, commonly called Karmat, was the leader of a faction among
the Isma'ilis, which separated itself A. H. 277, i. e. A. D. 890-1, and afterwards
became fearfuUy celebrated under the name of the Karraatis, or the Hashishis.
See De Sacy's Mxposi de la Relig. des Druzes, Tome i. Introd. pp. 166, ff.
wasit, -within the territory of which Hamdan is said by our author to have
originated, was on the Tigris, at about the same distance, fifty parasangs, firom
Basrah, Krlfeh, Ahwaz and Baghdad. See Reinaud and De Slane's Qkographie
ttAb(mlfeda, p. 307.
§ L e. Party of the iUegaL || i. e. Party of the number seven.

280
namely, Adam, and Niih, and Ibrahim, and Musa, and 'Isa,
and Muhammed, — ^let the divine benediction and peace be
to him! "and Muhammed the Mehdy,* the seventh of the
Natiks ; and that between each two of the Natilss there are
seven Imams, who rely upon the law of the Natik ; and that
there must of necessity be in every age seven who are imi
tated, and by whom direction is given, in respect to religion,
who differ from one another in rank, namely, an Imam,
who aids the rehgion of God, who is the acme of arguments
in proof of the religion of God; and a Hujjeh,t who relieves
the ImEim, sustaining his science, and thereby authenticating
him; and a Dh-u-1-massah,:): who imbibes science fi-om the
Hujjeh, that is, receives it from him ;¦ — ^these three, and also
certain Babs, who are the Da'is, § namely, an Akbar, that is
a Da'i Akbar;! who is the fourth among them, who elevates
the degrees of believers ; and a Da'i Madhiin,!" who receives
the engagements binding inquirers from among the People
of the outward sense, and causes them to enter into client-
ship with the Imam, and opens to them the gate of science
and knowledge; and he isthe fifth; and a Mukellib,**
whose degree in religion is indeed elevated, but who is not
licensed in respect to the office of Da'i, whose license on
the contrary respects argumentation with men, and who
accordingly argues, and renders eager for the Da'i, hke the
hunter's dog, until, when he has argued with one of the
People of the outward sense, and has drawn him off from
his doctrine, so that he is averse to it, and inquires after
the truth, he, the Mukellib, conducts him to the Da'i, who

* i. e. Way of direction. 'The Muhammed so designated was a sou of
Isma'U Ibn Ja'far Es-Sadik. Being the Natik of the seventh aud last period
of the Isma'iUs, this personage is to be considered as the originator of their
party. Their fii;st existence as a separate sect may therefore be placed in the
tatter part of the second century of the Hijrah, that is, tlie latter part of the
eight, or the beginning of the ninth, century of our era. See De Sacy's Eacposi
de la Relig. des Druzes, Tome i. Introd. pp. 65-7.
¦I- i. e. Argument, literally.
1 i. e. irhbiber.
§ The Isma'iUan missionaries are called Babs, i. c. Gates, with reference to
their being a' medium of access to the Imam.
II i. e. Greater Da'i, or Head Missionary. The Isma'Uis, in carrying on their
proselytism, formed dioceses, over each of which some one Da'i presided.
^ i e. Licensed Da'i.
** i. e. Dog-trainer. The ground of this appeUation appears in what im
mediately follows.

281
is licensed to receive the engagements binding him ; (says
El-Amidy, they call such a person a Mukellib only because
he is like the ravenous beast, who draws off the hunter's
dog from the game, according to what he says agreeing
there-with, and ye know not of ravenous beasts any which
train dogs ;) and he is the sixth ; and a Mumin,* who fol
lows after him, that is, pants for the Da'i, from whom are re
ceived the engagements binding him, and who believes, and
is thoroughly acquainted with the engagement, and enters
into chentshap with the Imam, and acts according to him ;
and he is the seventh. These, they say, are like the heav
ens, and the earths, and the seas, and the days of the week,
and the planets which govern with a command. [5.] The
Babekiyeh,-}- inasmuch as a party among them follow Babek
El-Khursany in respect to going out clad in the mantle of
Yemen, and in red, because they wore red in the days of
Babek, or because- they were hke those who differed from
them of the Muslims, in respect to the mantle. [6.] The
Isma'iliyeh, an account of their affirming the imamship as
the right of Isma'il Ibn Ja'far Es-Sadil?:, who was the eldest
of Ja'far's sons ; or, as some say, on account of the deriva
tion of their heterodoxy from Muhammed Ibn Isma'il.:}:
And the root from which their preaching of the abro
gation of the laws grew up, was the KobMiyeh, a sect of
the Magians, who, being goaded by Islam, aimed to alle
gorize the laws in certain ways coming back to the prin
ciples of their forefathers ;§ that is to say, they assembled,
and reminded one another of the position of undivided
rule which their forefathers held, and said, "There is no
way for us to eject the Muslims by the sword, on account
* i. e. BeUever.
f i. e. Party of the FoUowers of Babek. These were, originaUy at least, of
that subdivision of the Isma'iUs caUed the Extravagant Shi's. See WeU's
Geschichte der Chalifen, Bd. ii. s. 235-6. The appeUation El-Khursany, here
given to Babek, should undoubtedly be El-Khursany, y-AAw-Sr f, as a rela
tive adjective, in an abridged form, from yVjuuf A,, Khorasan, the country
where Babek mustered his foUowers, in the reign of the Khalifeh Mamun.
X See note * p. 280.
§ From this it would appear that the Magian party estabUshed by Mazdak,
whom the SasSnide king Kobad patronized, survived the death of its founder,
and existed, bearing a name derived from its royal patron, at the time of the
inroads of Islam into Persia. See note * p. 264.
vol. II. 86

282
of their superiority, and their possession of the seats of
empire ; but let us use stratagem, by allegorizing their laws,
with a view to a coming back to our principles, leading on
by degrees the weak among them ; and so that will neces
sitate their being at variance "with one another, and the
shaking of their system." And their head, m respect to
that,* was Hamdan of Karmat, or, as some say, 'Abdallah
Ibn Meimiin El-Kaddah.-}-
And in calling and leading on men, they have degrees
of finesse; which comprehends [1.] the judging by the
countenance of the state of the person called, whether he is
favorable to the call, or not; and the saying, "Thou wdt
make excuse for the putting of the germ into the trunk,"J
that is, for the call of one not favorable, is in accordance
with that; and they reftise to dispute "in a house where
there is a lamp," that is, in a place where there is a doctor
of the law, or a metaphysician ; and then [2.] the famihar-
izing oneself with the inclination of every one of those
called, with that which he inclines to, as respects his desire,
and his native bent, pertaining to withdra-wment from the
world, and free living ; and so, if he inchnes to withdraw-
ment from the world, it is set off in fair colors before him,
and its opposite is depreciated ; and if he inclines to free
living, that is set off in fair colors before him, and its oppo
site is depreciated, until the man is thereby gained ; and
then [3.] the causing to doubt in respect to the- corner-stones
of the law, and the abbreviations ofthe surahs, § in that one
says, "What is the meaning of the isolated letters in the
beginnings of the surahs? and of the statute requiring a
woman in her menses to fast, without a statute requiring
her to pray, that is, why is one needfiil, and not the other ?
and of the necessity of ablution on account of the seminal
discharge, and not of the urine ? and of the number of the
* That is, the leader of the Isma'iUs in respect to the imitation of the Ko-
badiyeh, in annulUng the laws of Islam by aUegorical interpretation.
f De Sacy supposes that this person lived about the middle of the third
century of the Hijrah, that is, about A. D. 864. See Expose de la Relig. des
Druzes, Tome i. latrod. p. 165.
X A saying, apparently, of the Isma'iUs, meaning that to impart instruction
to one not fit to receive it is not allowed. According to "Von Hammer, quot
ing El-Jorjany, the saymg was that seed should not be thro-wn into a saline
soil. See Journal Asiatique, Tome vi. p. 333.
§ i. e. The chapters of the Kuran.

283
prostrations in prayer, that is, why are they in some cases
four, and in some, three, and in some, two?"-^and so on to
things remote from these ; and the reason why they thus
render them doubtful, and cause to inquire the answer in
regard to these things, is that they may be inquired of, on
their return, respecting them ; and then [4.] the confirma
tion, which includes two things, namely, first, the receiving
of the engagement from the candidate, in that they say that
God's Sunneh has had currency by the receiving of engage
ments and pledges, and alledge, in proof of that, his saying,
• — ^let him be exalted! "And when we received from the
Prophets their engagements,"* and then receive, with receiv
ing, his engagement, made in accordance with a firm belief,
on his part, that no secret thing is hidden from them ; and
second, the obligating him, in behalf of the Imam, with re
spect to the clearing up of that which he is confused about,
of the things which one presents to him ; because it is he
who knows them, and the candidate has no command of
them until he elevates himself to something of the degree
which pertains to him, and comes to the Imam ; and then [5.]
the imposition, which is the pretension of agreement with
them on the part of the great in religious and worldly
affairs,! so that the candidate may be more in favor of that
to which one calls him ; and then [6.] the putting upon a
foundation, which is the arranging of premises to which he
who is called is favorable, and which he grants, which point
him to that false doctrine to which one calls him ; and then
[7.] the divestiture, which is the causing to rest in the
neglect of corporeal actions ; and then [8.] the despoiling
of the firm beliefs of religion.
And when an affair of calling has gone so far, they set
about to abrogate prohibitions, and to incite to indulgence
in pleasures, and to allegorize the laws, agreeably to their
saying that the partial washing signifies friendship to the
ImSm ; and as for the entire washing, that it is the receiv
ing by hearsay from the Madlmn, when the Imam is hidden,
what prayer is; and that prayer signifies the Natik, who
is the Envoy, as is proved by his saying, — let him be
exalted! "Verily, prayer restrains from depravity and
crime;":}: and that the having nocturnal pollution signifies
» Kuran, Sur. xxxiii. v. 7. f See p. 262. X Kiu-an Sur. xxix. v. 44.

284
the divulging of one of their secrets to one who is not of
the people to whom it belongs, -without any object in so
doing; and the ablution of the whole body, the renewal of
the pledge ; and alms-giving, the purification ofthe soul by
knowledge of the religion which they profess; and the
Ka'beh, the Prophet, and the gate [of the Ka'beh,] 'Aly ;
and Es-Safa, 'Aly, and El-Marweh,* the Prophet ; and the
place of rendezvous of pilgrims,f the familiarizing ;:}; and
the bending, § the responding to the call ; and the circhng of
the House seven times, friendship to the seven Imfims ; and
the Garden, the repose of bodies from duty ; and the Fire,
the severity of toil in duty ; — and so on to other of their
ra"nngs. And their doctrine is, that God is not existent, nor non
existent ; neither knowing, nor ignorant ; neither powerful,
nor weak ; — and so on, as to all the attributes ; and that be
cause veritable affirmation requires the association of him
with things existent, which is an anthropomorphism ; whde
absolute denial requires the association of him "with things
non-existent, which is a making void. But that, on the con
trary, he is necessarily possessed of these attributes, and the
Lord of contraries.! And often they blend their system
with the system of the Philosophers, and accordingly say that
he, — let him be exalted ! produced by his Amr the perfect
Intelligence, and that by means of that was the production
of the Soul, which is not perfect ; and so, that the Soul
yearns after the perfect Intelligence, seeking to be quickened
by it ; and consequently, that there is a requiring of motion
from incompleteness to completion ; and that motion is per
fected only through its [the Soul's] restlessness; and so,
that the bodies of the celestial spheres originate, and move
with a circular movement, as governed by the Soul ; and
so, that by means of them originate the simple elementary
* 'This and Es-Safa are the two hills, near Mekkeh, between which the
MusUm pUgrim performs a seven times repeated ceremonial walk, on coming
to the holy city. See Travels in Arabia, by John Le-wis Burekhardt vol I
pp. 174-6. '
f That is, after the ceremonies on first coming to Mekkeh. See Burckhardt's
Travels in Arabia, vol. i. pp. 179-80.
X Meaning the associating oneself with the Isma'iUs.
§ Meaning the performance of reka'h^, or prostrations, before the seven tunes
repeated waU:_ around the Ka'beh. See Burckhardt's Travels in Arabia voL
L p. 1'72. II See page 264. '

285
natural properties ; and that by means of the simples origin
ate the composites, namely, minerals, and plants, and the
species of animals ; and that the most excellent of them is
man, on account of his preparedness for the effusion upon
him of the Lights of the Holy One, and his connection with
the higher world ; and that, as the higher world contains a
perfect Universal Intelligence, and an imperfect Universal
Soul, which is the source of beings, so there is in the lower
world a perfect Intelligence, which is a means of deliver
ance, by likeness in it to the relation of the primitive Soul
to the primitive Intelligence, in what relates to the causing
of beings to exist ; and that that is the Imam, who is a Natik-
Legatee ; and that, as the celestial spheres move as moved
by the Intelligence and the Soul, in like manner li"ving souls
move to deliverance, as moved by the Na-tik and the Lega
tee,' — -that it is so in every age and period.
Says El-Amidy, Such were the opinions of some sense
less person; and when El-Hasan Ibn Muhammed Es-SabbSh
appeared,* he exerted himself, and the call assumed that he
was the Hujjeh, who relieves the Imam, whom no period
may be "without. And the sum of his system was that which
took the precedence, respecting the need of the teacher.
Moreover, he prohibited common people from meddling
with the sciences, and people of note from looking into the
ancient Books, lest their disgraces should be exposed. And
afterwards they became Philosophers, and ceased not to
make sport of the canons of religious ordinances and legal
commands; and they entrenched themselves in fortresses,
and their power increased, and any kings whose vezirs were
of their party, feared calamity, for they made a show of
neglecting duties, and openly desecrated sacred things, and
became like brute beasts, without any rehgious control, or
legal restraint.
Says he [the author] respecting the Tdtdrhhdniyeh,\ And
in the year 577, the doctors of the law of Samarkand were
* See^page 267, ff.
f El-Amidy now proceeds to state opinions which had been recently deUv
ered by the fa,kths of Samarkand, relative to the Karraatis. The appeUation
of the Tatarkhaniyeh which he here gives them, without any explanation, is
deser-ving of attention. It must certainly be inferred from it, that the foUow
ers of Karmat had, in process of time, become so associated with some people
among the Northem hordes, which in the thirteenth century of our era were
pressing in upon the old empire of the KhaUfehs, that a name significant of
such an association would be generaUy understood as appUcable to them.

286
asked,— -respecting a man who makes a show of Islam, and
prays, and fasts, and makes a show of the profession of
unity, and belief in Muhammed,— let peace be to him! for
many years, and afterwards confesses, saying, " As for me,
I have been, during these past years, a firm believer accord
ing to the doctrine of the Karamateh, and I have been a
Da'i to men; and now I am a convert, and return to Islam,"
and makes now a show of that which he before made a
show of, pertaining to the religion of Islam, only that he is
suspected to hold the doctrine of the Karamateh, as if he
were among them, — what the sentence is as to his blood,
and his property, and his effects, whde the occasion of his
exposing himself, and his confession, is that he has been
found out, and it were idle, until he confesses his doctrine,
to put him to death.
'Abd-El-Karim Ibn Muhammed said, "The putting to
death of the Karamateh, universally, is a necessary thing,
and their being treated without discrimination, a statute, he-
cause they are veritably apostate unbelievers, and their in
fluence to corrupt the religion of Islam is greater than any
other, and the injury which they do, the greatest of injuries."
Abii-1-Hasan Muhammed Sa'id said, " It may be said of
this man of whom mention is made, as Abu Hanifeh, — let
God be merciful to him ! is related to have said respecting
a Kadary* who said, in the presence of Abii Hanfieh, ' I
am a convert ;' Abii Hanifeh, namely, — let God be mercifol
to him ! said, ' Conversion on thy part is that thou returnest
to all whom thou hast led astray, and callest them to the
truth, and sayest, " As for me, I have been holding false
hood." '
And Abii-1-Kasim 'Abd-El-Eahman Ibn El-Husein Es-
Saffar said, " With regard to the like of these, namely, the
Karamateh, whenever we cause them to be found out, the
obhgation rests upon the Sultan, in the first instance, and
upon the doctors of the law of the Muslims, in the second
instance, to set it do-wn to their account to put them to
death, and to eradicate them, not admitting, on their part,
either conversion, or apology."
And Abii Muhammed 'Abd-El-Karim Ibn Muhammed
said, "As for all who act openly, of the KarSmateh,— let
-* See note ^ p. 276.

287
God abandon them! as firm believers according to their
doctrine, and become Da'is of men to it, they are not, after
that, sincere in their pretension of conversion, and return to
IsMm ; because they are not truly converted, and make a
show, on thefr part, of that which they make a show of, only
after the manner of piety, for the safety of themselves, and
their property, and their families, and their chddren, or
something thereof; for a certain one said, 'Methinks that
to pray, which profits not, is advantageous among Imams,'
and he was one of the Party of the Impious ; to which his
pupil said, ' 0 my preceptor, what avails this assiduity, while
we acknowledge the faith?'* whereupon he said, 'Itis on
account of the custom of the country, and for the protection
of family and children.' So then, if we were to admit, on
thefr part, that which they pretend of conversion, they
would make that turn out to the overthrow of Islam and
the laws ; and the injury to the Muslims would be greater
than that which happens to them of injury from those with
whom they are at war. And accordingly, one of our men
tells us that the doctors of the law in Balkh have decided
in favor of shedding the blood of the Karamateh, and burn
ing up their houses, after they have declared themselves of
their opinion ; and so some of them were beaten with thongs,
and afterwards put to death."
And Abti Selimeh Muhammed Ibn Dawiid Esh-Shafi'y,
said, "Whoever bruits this vile doctrine, and makes a show,
on his part, of the call to it, let not any conversion be ad
mitted on his part, but on the contrary let him be put to
death. And Abu Se'id El-Istakhry, one of our men, was
of this opinion, and said, ' Some of our men have distin
guished that which marks the apostate in the follower of
Karmat, "with respect to conversion. And, if the follower of
Karmat is an apostate, he lets go the manifest senses of words,
and calls up their hidden senses ; and so, when he with his
tongue makes a show of conversion on his part, it may be
that, together with that, he declares something hidden, which
' he pretends, as his tongue happens to express it, after the
manner of piety ; and he gives out that he is already con
verted, so that his being a Muslim may not be judged of.
-* Meaning the principles involving the abrogation of aU outward ob
servances.

288
And as for the apostate other than the follower of Karmat,
because he calls not up the hidden senses of words, as the
follower of Karmat does, and he was a Muslim originally,
whenever he professes Islam, he returns, and we know
that he is converted. Verdy he, — let him be exalted ! says,
"So then, what shall be the portion of those who fight
against God and his Envoy, and exert thenaselves to cor
rupt the earth? etc.,"* — which is directed against those who
exert themselves to corrupt the earth ; but religion is wor
thier and prior, because that which religion enjoins is of
more moment, to be cared for, than -the earth, in every
respect, and prior to it." '
The above is in brief what was said.
And an inquiry was proposed to the Sheikh el-IsMm, the
Seal of profound investigators, of the party of Hanbal,
Takky ed-din Ibn Yatmiyeh, the form of which was as fol
lows :•}- "What say the learned seignors, the ImSms of re
ligion, — ^let God be gracious to them all, and aid them to
manifest the plain truth, and to cover the fafr show of er-
rorists ! respecting the Nusafriyeh, who declare the la-wfid-
ness of wine, and the transmigration of spfrits, and the
eternity of the world ; and profess to deny the awakening,^
and the gathering, and the resurrection, and the Garden and
the Fire, in another than the life which is of this world ; and
declare that the five prayers signify five names, which are
'Aly, and El-Hasan, and El-Husein, and Muhsin, and Fati-
men, so that the mentioning of these five suffices them, in
place of the ablution of the whole body, on account of sexual
intercourse, and the partial washing, and the other condi
tions of prayer, and its essentials ; and that fasting, in their
opinion, signifies three men, and is the name of three women,
all of whom they enumerate in their books, to mention
whom particularly there is no room here ; and that thefr
Deity, who created the heavens and earth, is 'Aly Ibn Abii
Talib, — ^let God be gracious to him! so that he, in thefr
* Kuran, Sur. v. v. 37. But there is a sUght variation from the common
reading in this quotation. The passage properly reads, " The portion of those
etc. is only that etc."
f Here begins the third part of this document. See p. 261.
X By this is intended, I suppose, the awakenmg of the dead, in their graves,
to be examined by the angels Munkir and Nakir, and to receive from them a
foretaste of their final allotments.

289
.opinion, is the Deity in the heavens, and the Imam on the
earth ; and the philosophy which maintains the manifestation
of the Deity in this humanity, is based upon thefr view that
he enters into familiarity with his creatures in order that he
may teach them how they may know him, and serve him ;
-—and that the Nusafry becomes not, in their opinion, a be-
lie-sdng Nusairy, whona they will sit with, and in company
with whom they will drink, and whom they -wdl let into their
secrets, and to whom they will give in marriage of their wo
men, untd his teacher addresses him ; and the substance of
the address, in their opinion, is that they make him swear to
the concealment of his religion, and the knowledge of his
elders and the great ones among the people of his doctrine,
and that he wdl consult no Muslim, nor any others, except
ing those who are bf the people of his religion, and that he
acknowledges his Imam, and his Lord, as manifested in his
revolutions' and his periods, and so acknowledges the trans
mission of the Ism and the Ma'na* in every epoch and age.
And the Ism, in their opinion, among the first of men, was
Adam, andthe Ma'na, Shait;f and the Ism, Ya'kHb, and the
Ma'na, Yusuf ; and they use to prove this representation, as
they think, that which is in the Kuran, namely, a story
about Ya'kiib and Yusuf, — ^let peace be to them both ! and
accordingly say, "Whatwas Ya'kiib? as for him, he was
the Ism, for what power exceeds its station ?:} and he says,
' Presently, I will ask pardon for you of my Lord ; verily,
he is the Pardoner, the Compassionate ;'§ and as for Yiisuf,
he was the Ma'na who is asked, and so he says, ' There is
no reprimanding of you this day, God pardons you,' || and
brings not in the authority of another, because he knows
that he is the absolute Deity." And they lay it down that
Musa was the Ism, and YTishu'a, the Ma'na, and say, "As
for Yushii'a, the s^n yielded to him, after he had com
manded it, and obeyed his command ; and does the sun
yield to any one except its Lord ?^" And they lay it down
that Suleiman was the Ism, and. Asaf, the Ma'na, and say,
" Suleiman was impotent to cause to be present the throne
of BeMs, and Asaf had power to do it, because Suleiman
* The Nusairis are here represented as holding that the Deity in name, the
Ism, and theDeily in reality, the Ma'na, appear in every age.
SSeth. X Its original.
See Kuran, Sur. xii. v. 99. , j Ibid, v. 92.
VOL. II. 37

290
was the Ism, and Asaf was the Ma'na, the Potent, the Pow
erful."* And they enumerate the Prophets and the Messen
gers, one by one, after the manner of this talk, up to the
time of the Envoy of God, — ^let the divine benediction and
peace be to him ! and so they say that Muhammed was the
Ism, and 'Aly, the Ma'na ; and they carry on the enumera
tion, in this order, through every age, up to our time. So
much for this.
But it is a part of the substance of religion, and of the
address,' in their opinion, that instruction be given that 'Aly
is the Lord ; and Muhammed, the Veil ; and Selman, the
Gate ; and that these, in this order, have not ceased, and
will not cease to be. And to the rhyming which is famous
among them, of some of their extravagances, belongs the
saying of one, the accursed, the disbehever in God, — ^let him
be exalted! "I testify that thereis no Deity, except the
Lion with bald temples and big belly ;•(- and no Ved to
him, except Muhammed the Just, the Faithful ; and no Way
to him, except Selman the Possessor of po-wer, the Stedfest."
And in like manner, there are the five Sohtaries,:}: and the
twelve Nakibs,§ whose names are made known, according
to them, in their detestable books ; for they cease not to pro
claim the Lord, the Veil, and the Gate, in every revolution
and period, forever, without end. Also, that the Iblis of
Iblises was 'Omar Ibn El-Khattab, — ^let God be gracious to
him ! and that the next in the rank of Iblises was Abii Bekr,
and then 'Othm£ln,^et God be gracious to them, and clear
them, and elevate thefr rank above the sayings of the Her
etics, and the profession of the self-devoting Extravagants !
and they cease not, at any time, to exist, according to what
they tell.
And there are ramifications and subdivisions to their doc-
trities, which coine back to these fundamental principles
mentioned.

* See Kuran, Sur. xxvu. w. 38-40. Asaf is not named in the Kuran, but
El-Beidhawy aUows the interpretation which attributes to him the miracle
here referred to. See Beidawii Commentarius in Coranum, ed. H. 0. Fleischer.
vol. iL p. 69.
+ A well-known sobriquet of 'Aly, among the Muslims, is the Lion of God.
X Meaning, probably, Hujjahs without manifested ImSms. The document,
referred to in the Introduction, which I have set aside for the present, teaches
that the number of the Imams is seven, while that of the Hujjahs is twelve,
•without, however, admitting the doctrine of the disappearance of the Imam. '
§ i. e. Administrators, a name given to tlie Hujjahs of the Imams.

291
And this accursed sect has possessed itself of a great part.
of the country of Syria, so that they are known, noted, and
declare themselves, as holding this doctrine ; and all who
have had intercourse with them, of the government-agents
of the Muslims, and their learned men, and of the common
people, also, up to the present time, have verified the state
of the case in respect to them. For, during the time that
the heretic Franks held possession of the country, it was
unknown to many, how it stood with them ; but after the
days of Islam came,* the state of the case in respect to them
was discovered, and thefr departure from the right way was
manifested, and the proof of them was very abundant.
So then, is it allowed to the Muslim to take a wife from
among them, and is the eating of their sacrifices permitted,
while the state of the case is such? And what is the sen
tence in respect to the cheese made from the curdled milk
of one of their animals offered in sacrifice ? And what is
the sentence in respect to their vessels, and their garments,
also? And is the burying of them among the Muslims
allowed, or not ? And is it allowed to employ any of them
on the frontiers of the Muslims, and to entrust them to
them? or, on the other hand, is it obligatory upon the pre
fect of commandf to displace them, and to employ other
men, of the trusty Muslims ? And does he do wrong, when
he commands to turn these off, and to employ others than
them ? or, on the other hand, is it allowed to him to grant
delay, in case this is determined upon? And when he
employs them, and afterwards displaces them, or does not
displace them, is it allowed to him to invest the monies of
the Public Treasury on their responsibility ? And is the
shedding of the blood of the said Nusafriyeh lawful? And
is their property "a thing decided upon as free to be taken,
or not? And when- the prefect of command makes war
upon them, does God, — let him be exalted ! aid him in the
extinction of thefr false doctrine, and in the ejection of
them from the fortresses of the Muslims, and in the warn
ing of the people of IslSm against intermarrying with them,
and eating their sacrifices, and in the commanding of them
-* This refers to the victories of Saiah ed-din over the Christians, in the lat
ter part of the twelfth century of our era. See Vita et Res Gestae Saladini,
ed. Albertus Schultens, pp. 34, ff.
\ Meaning the provincial governor.

292
to fast, and pray, and in the preventing of them from mak
ing a show of their false religion ? And is he who wars with
the said Nusairiyeh counted as one who mounts a cavalier?
and is his recompense lilte the recompense of him who
mounts a cavalier on the frontiers, on the shore of the Sea,*
through fear of an invasion of the Franks? or has this one
a greater recompense ? And is it obhgatory upon any one
who knows the said persons, and their doctrines, to di-mlge
what they are, and to help to do away with their false doc
trine, and the proclaiming of the Im^m on thefr part, so
that God, — ^let him be exalted ! may perhaps regard thefr
offspring and their chddren as Muslims ? or, on the other
hand, is it allowed to him to be ninconcerned, and to let
things take their course ? And what is the recompense of
him who laborS assiduously for that, and is zealous for it,
and intent upon it ?
Have they spoken exphcitly respecting these things, as
assisted, and aided, and recompensed, if God, — ^let hun be
exalted! wills?"
The answer respecting this, in the hand--writing of the
Sheikh Taklcy ed-din Ibn Yatmiyeh, — may God, — ^let him
be exalted! be merciful tohim! was as follows: "As for
these people, denominated the Nusairiyeh, they and the
other classes of the mystical Karamateh, f are more unbe
lieving than the Jews and the Christians ; nay, more unbe
lieving than many idolaters ; and the injury which they do
to the community of Muhammed, — ^let the di-vine benedic
tion and peace be to him ! is greater than the injury done
by warring infidels, such as the infidels of the Turks and
Franks, and others. For these meet the warring of the
Muslims by affecting to be Shi'ah, while, in reahty, they
believe not in God, nor in his Envoy, nor in his Book, nor
in any command, nor in any prohibition, nor in any reward,
nor in any penalty, nor in any Garden, nor in any Ffre,
nor in any one of the Messengers preceding our Prophet
Muhammed, — ^let the di"nne benediction and peace be to
him ! nor in any of the former religions ; nay, they take
up the word of God and his Envoy, acknowledged among
* The Mediterranean.
f It seems to have been understood, when Ibn Yatmiyeh gave the foUow
ing opinion, that the Xfusairis were a class of the Karmatis.

293
the_ Muslims, to allegorize it agreeably to certain things
which they are full of, pretending that" they constitute the
science of the hidden sense, such as those mentioned by the
inquirer, and others not of this sort. For, as for them, they
have no set limit as to that which they pretend of heresy
respecting the names of the Creator, and his signs,* and of
perversion of the word of God,— let him be exalted ! and
the word of his Envoy, to the doing away of its positions,
inasmuch as their intention is to deny the faith and the
laws of Islam, altogether; whde at the same time they hold
out that these things have their realities, known to them,
which are such sort of things as the inquirer has mentioned,
and such as their saying that the five prayers are the
knowledge of thefr secrets ; and the prescribed fasting, the
concealment of their secrets ; and the pdgrimage to the
Ancient House,-)- the visiting of their sheikhs ; and that
the two hands of Abu Lahab:} were Abii Bekr and 'Omar,
— ^let God be gracious to them both ! and that the Great
Prophet, and the Evident Imam, was 'Aly Ibn Abii Talib, —
let God be gracious to him !
And they are the authors of some well-known charges,
and some books composed, in hostility to IsMm and its
people. And so, whenever it is in their power, they shed
the blood of the Muslims, as they put to ' death, once upon
a time, the pilgrims to Mekkeh, and cast them into Zem
zem, and, once upon a time, took off the Black Stone,
which rem'ained with them a long while, and put to death
a multitude which only God, — ^let him be exalted! can
compute, of the learned men of the Muslims, and their
elders, and thefr princes, and their troops. §
And it is said that they have composed many books,
and that what the inquirer mentions is in them, and other
things. And the learned men of the Muslims have com
posed books disclosing their secrets, and have therein made
e-vident the infidelity, and the Zendikism,| and the heresy,
which they profess, inasmuch as they are herein more
* Meaning the verses of the Kuran. ¦)¦ The Ka'beh.
X Abii Lahab, an uncle of Muhammed, was one of his most implacable
eneraies. § This refers to the taking of Mekkeh by the followers of Karmat, under
Abfl "Tahir, A. H. 317, i e. A. D. 929-30. See Mknoires de VInstitut, Tome
iv. p. 6. 1 Or, Magism.

294
unbelieving than the Je^s, or than the Christians, or than
those who worship idols.
And as for that which the inquirer has mentioned by
way of describing them, it is a little out of the much of
that which is known to learned men, as descriptive ofthem.
And it is, among other things, known among them, that
the Christians possessed themselves of the sea-coasts of
Syria only by means of them, who are always in league
with every enemy to the Muslims, and so were leagued
with the Christians against the Muslims. And one of th6
greatest of calamities, in their opinion, was the Mushms
coming off superior over the TatSrs ;* and one of the
greatest of their rejoicings was when the Christians,' —
and reverse is God's appointment, — ^possessed themselves of
the frontiers of the Muslims, which ceased not to be under
the power of the Muslims, as far as the island of Cyprus,
(conquered by the Muslims in the khalifate of the Prince
of the believers 'Othman Ibn 'AffiSn, — let God be gracious
to him ! which Mu'Swiyeh, the son of Abii Sufyan, — ^let
God be gracious to them both! conquered, •}•) up to the
middle of the fourth century; when these combattants
against God and his Envoy multiplied on the sea-coasts,
and elsewhere, and so the Christians possessed themselves
of the sea-board ; and afterwards, o-wing to " them, posses
sed themselves of the Holy City, and other places. For the
circumstances of the case as respects them were among the
most potent occasions thereof; after which, when God had
raised up kings of the Mushms who warred in the way of
God, such as Niir ed-din the martyr, and SalSh ed-din, and
their successors, and they had conquered the sea-coasts from
the Christians, and those who were in league with them,
and had also conquered the land of Egypt, they held pos
session of them about two hundred years, and were at
peace with them and the Christians, for, until they had
conquered the country, the Muslims made war upon them;
* Alluding, probably, to the discomfiture and repulse which the Mongols
received, when they at length invaded Syria, in the beginning of the four
teenth century of our era. See Ahdfedae Annates Mualmici, ed. J. J. Reiske,
Tome V. pp. 172, fi'.
f Abulfeda assigns this conquest of Cyprus by Mu'dwiyeh to the year of
the Hijrah 28, i. e. A. D. 648-9. See Aiiafedae Annates Muslemiei, Tome i.
p. 282.

295
and within that period, the call of IsMm was pubhshed in
the country of Egypt, and in that of Syria.*
And they have certain appellations affixed to them
among the Mushms. Sometimes, they are called the Mella-
heh;-)-^ and sometimes they are called the Karamateh; and
sometimes they are called the Nashiyeh ;:]: and sometimes
they are called the Nusairiyeh; and sometimes they are
called the Haramiyeh ;§ and sometimes they are called the
Muhammareh.il And as for these names, some of them
belong to them in common, and some are peculiar to some
of their classes, just as the name formed from the fourth
conjugation of salama,*!^ and that formed from the fourth
conjugation of amana,** belongs to the Muslims in common,
while some of them have names peculiar to them, either by
parentage, or by country, or on account of something else."
And he [Ibn Yatmiyeh] comments upon their purposes,
at some length, as follows : "So then, they consist of those
who are outwardly E^fidheh,-)-)- and inwardly pure infidels.
And the truth of the matter in respect to them is, that
they believe not in any one of the Prophets and the Messen
gers, ^ neither in Niih, nor in Ibrahim, nor in Musa, nor
in 'Isa, nor in Muhammed,— let the divine benediction and
peace be to him ! nor in any of the Books of God, seiit
down from above, neither in the Law, nor in the Gospel,
nor in the Psalms, nor in the Distinguisher. And they do
not maintain that the world had a Creator who created it,
nor that there is any religion of his which he commands, nor
that he is provided with any state of being in which he re
compenses men for their actions, other than the present state.
And sometimes, they base their profession of belief in
accordance with the doctrines of the Philosophers, natural
istic, or deistic, upon that of the Mutakashshifeh,:}:}: and
* This statement of the relations existing between the Nusairis and the
Christians in Syria, from the middle of the tenth century of our era do-wn
into the fourteenth century, the period when Ibn Yatmiyeh himself Uved,
can not faU to be regarded with interest, as it is beUeved to be quite new.
f i. e. Party of the SeUers of salt, probably. I think it has been said by
-some one, that, at the present day, the Ifusairis come to Beirdt to seU salt.
X i. e. Party of the Inebriates. § See note § p. 279.
II See note || p. 273.
<% Meaning the name El-Muslim(in.
*-* Meaning the name El-Mumkiun. -I"!- See note f p. 276.
XX i. e. Party of the Squalid. The Brahman Hermits, or Buddhist Mendi
cants, are probably referred to here.

296
that of the M~agians who worship fire ; and to that add a
mingling of Kafidhism, and falsify, reporting, for instance,
as a tradition handed down from the Prophet,. — ^let the
divine benediction and peace be to him!. that he said,
"The first thing -that God created was the Intelligence,
and he said to it, ' Approach,' and it approached, and he sai,d
to it, ' Eetire,' and it retired ;"_ and perverting the Prophet's
expressions to such a degree that one of them writes,
"The name of God, — ^let him be exalted! is on the lower
part of his legs."* And they deny what the Prophetshave
communicated. And the learned men of the Muslims are already agreed
that, as for such as these, intermarriage "vnth them is not
aUowed, so that a man may not use one of them as his con
cubine, nor take one of them as his "wife ; and that thefr
sacrifices are not to be partaken of. And, as for cheese
made from their curdled milk, learned men say two things
which are well known, respecting it, as in respect to other
curdled milk of a dead, animal, and the curdled milk
of the Magians, and the curdled milk of the Franks, of
whom it is said that they do not slay victims for sacrifice.
The doctrine, then, of Abii Hanifeh, — let God be gracious
to him !• — and I give praise in making one of the two cita
tions, — ^is that this cheese is allowed, because the curdled
mUk becomes not dead with the death of the beast, and the
impure receptacle in the belly affects it not with a pollu
tion. And the doctrine of Malik and of, Esh-Shafi'y,— and I
give praise in making the other citation, — ^is that this cheese
is impure, because, in their opinion, the curdled milk is
impure, for the milk of a dead animal and its curdled milk
are, in their opinion, impure ; and of whomsoever the sac
rifice' may not be partaken of, his sacrifice is like a dead
animal. And as for their vessels, and their garments, they
are like the vessels of the Magians, and the garments ofthe
Magians, according to what is known of the doctrines of
the Imams ; ahd The SaMh,^ on that point, says that "thefr
vessels should not be used, except after they have been
¦* May not the saying here attributed to the Nusairis, be an imitation of
what is said of the " Word of God" in Rev. xix. 16, " And he hath on his
vesture and on his thigh a name -written. King of kings and Lord of lords f
f Probably Tlie Saliih of El-BukhAiy, which is the most esteemed of the
collections of authentic traditions bearing tliis name.

297
washed; for their sacrifices are dead animals; and so, of
necessity, if any part of what they cook of their sacrifices
reaches those of their vessels which are made use of, they are
thereby polluted." But as for the vessels which one is not
obliged to regard as rendered impure, they may be used
without anv washing, such as vessels for milk, in which they
leave not tiieir bouillons, and which they wash before put
ting milk into them. And 'Omar, — let God be gracious to
him! indeed, performed his ablutions with the jar of a
Christian woman, respecting the impurity of which he
doubted; so that he did not judge it to be impure, by
doubting. And it is not allowed to bury them in the
burial-places of the Mushms ; nor to pronounce the bene
diction upon any of them who die. For God, — let him be
exalted ! forbade his Prophet, — ^let the divine benediction
and peace be to him ! to pronounce the benediction upon
hypocrites, such as 'Abdallah Ibn Ubeiy, and those about
him, who made a show of praying, and alms-giving, and
fasting, and warring on the side of the Muslims, not
making openly any declaration which was at variance with
the religion of the Muslims, but keeping such difference
secret. Says God, — ^let him be exalted! "And thou may
est not pronounce the benediction upon any one of them
who dies, ever, and thou mayest not preside over his burial ;
verily, they disbelieve in God and his Envoy, and die as
wicked persons."* How shall it be, then, with these, who,
together "with Zendikism and hypocrisy, make a show of
infidelity and heresy ? And as for the employing of such
as these on the frontiers of the Muslims, and in thefr for
tresses, or among their troops, that is a great error, equal to
one's employing wolves to pasture sheep. For they are the
most treacherous of men toward the Muslims, and the pre
fects of thefr commands, and the most eager of men for the
* Kuran, Sur. ix. v. 85. In El-Beidhawys commentary on this verse we
read, " It is reported by tradition that 'AbdaUah Ibn IJbeiy caUed for the
Prophet of God, during his iUness ; and after he had entered where he was,
he asked him to forgive him, and that he would -wrap him for burial in the
covering which was next his body, and would pronounce the benediction over
him. So, after he was dead, he [the Prophet] sent his tunic that he might be
wrapt in it for burial, aud went out to pronounce the benediction over him ;
whereupon the verse came do-wn, etc." See Beidhawii Comm. in Coram.,
vol. i. p. 396 ; and compare Mohammed der Prophet, von Dr. Gustav Weil,
8.283. VOL. n. 38

298
corruption of the religion of Islam and the empire of
Muhammed. And they are worse than the lurker about
in the army ; for, as for him who lurks about, he has an
aim which concerns either the commander of the army,
or the enemy ; while their aims concern our religion, and
its Prophet, and its rites, and its kings, and its learned
men, and its common people, and its people of note. And
they are the most eager of men to entrust the fortresses
to the enemies of the Muslims, and to alienate the troops
from the prefect of command, and to withdraw them from
obedience to him. So then, it is obhgatory upon the
prefects of commands to displace them from the rolls of
fighting men, whether in a fortress, or elsewhere than in a
fortress, while the harm they do in a fortress is most seri
ous ; and that they employ, instead of them, belie-nng men,
who hold to the religion of IsMm, and the admonition of
God, and his Envoy, and the Imams of the Muslims. And
when they make a show of conversion, respecting that
there is a dispute among learned men. So then, those who
admit their conversion, bind "them to the observance of
the law of IsMm, and impose upon them tribute of thefr
effects ; and those who admit it not, reject their ranking as
of their class, so that whatever is theirs reverts to the Pub
lic Treasury. But, as for these, whenever they are taken
up, they make a show of conversion, inasmuch as one ac
commodates his doctrine to piety and the hiding of what
is the case with them ; and there are those among them who
are acquainted with their rehgion, and those who are not so.
So that the way, respecting that, is to look out for what
is the case with them ; and that they be not suffered to
congregate ; and that they be not empowered to bear arms,
¦ — ^not even if they make a part of the fighting men; and
that they be bound to the observance of the laws of Islam,
namely, the five prayers, and the reading of the Kuran;
and that some one stay among them, who may teach them
the_ rehgion of IsMm, and interpose between them and
their teachers. And let them be prohibited from making a
part of the cavalry, and of the bearers of arms, and pf
those clad in the coats of mail which the fighting men wear;
and they may not stay among the troops, just as neither a
Jew nor a Christian may stay among the troops. And let
them be bound to the observance of the laws of Islam.

299
And it is not allowed to any one to leave them at the
extremity of the frontiers.
This is according to that which God, — ^let him be exalted !
says,^ namely, "Do ye regard the giving of water to the
pilgrim to Mekkeh, and the visiting of the Mosque, as ye
regard one's believing in God and the day whieh is to
come, and warring on the side of God? They are not alike
in God's estimation, and God directs not wicked people.
Those who beheve, and leave their homes, and war on the
sideof God, staking their effects and their hves, are high
est in degree in God's esteem ; and as for those, they are
those who are saved. Thefr Lord announces to them the
gladness of mercy from him, and grace ; and there are gar
dens for them, in which is enduring pleasure, where they
shall abide forever. With God is great recompense."* And
God, — glory be to him ! is the Knowing One.
n.
, In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
Praise be to God, who confirms evesy thing by his unity ;
to the glory of whose reverence every thing bows ; who
embraces by science the thing in every thing ;f who is, and
before whom was not any thing ; and who created out of
nothing things created ; and the glory of whose dominion
nothing resembles, so that not any thing is too much for
him, if he wills it; and who is the cause of every thing;
and who dispenses with every thing, and whom nothing
dispenses with ; • whom all things need, and from whom
and with whom are all things; from whom every thing
emanates, and who emanates not from any thing ; . and who
is not the general of any thing special, and who comes not
under any thing ; and by reason of whom, nothing subsists,
and to the detriment of whom nothing changes ; and to the
degree of whose essence there is no reaching for any per
ception, or any conjecture ; who is the Hidden of the hid
den, and the Mystery of mystery ; from whose unity eman
ated a sole Amr. And to it was given for a covering the

-* Kuran, Sur. ix. vv. 19-22.
f Meamng, who knows the essence of every thing.

300
-0/"and the Ndn,* comprehending that which was, and tha,t
which is, and that which is to be. So then, that is his Word,
and his effusion, and his out-pouring, and his science, and
the cause of that which is produced by him, and his per
fection, and the medium of his producing, and the means
of his creating, and the manifester of his declaring,-)- and
the exhibiter of his superior power, and a hiyiily:}: to his
eotamand, and a form to his volition, hke as the Iradeh is
a hiyiily to his Amr, and a form to his Meshiyeh;§ and as
will is a hiyiily to volition, and a form to the intellect.
And so emanates from his sole Amr the first producer,
the Sabik,! the most perfect receiver, the simjjle substancBj
the apprehender, the comprehender, the suited to the appro
priation of perfection, the creator by no reinforcement,^
and the correspondent of the Eternal One, and the Noble
Boot, the Primitive Light, and the Universal Intelligence,
the improver of things existing, the shedder forth of things
created, the producer of things produced, the preceder of
things' made, the divine in essence, the conjoined with
fehcities, the abiding, the constant, the medium between
the Creator and his reinforcement pertaining to things
caused, the made one with the Word, the sharer in the
divine majesty, the prior by essence and rank, the ex
empt from finiteness and defect, the place of the act of
creation, and the seat of the act of production, the shedder
forth upon the Taly** as to that which it receives of the
out-pouring of the Highest, the lofty, the form of forms, the
originator of creatures, the governor of ranks, the per
former of wonders, and the manifester of extraordinaries,
the complete as to excellencies, the finisher of the first

¦-^ By the Kdfsmd the Niin is meant the creative mandate i) ', be thou.
f Meaning the declaration of his mind and -wUl by revelation.
X The Greek vXt;, matter without form. Of course, both this word and
" form" are here used metaphorically.
§ By the Iradeh, or the WUl, and the Meshiyeh, or the VoUtion, seem here
to be intended the Sabik and the Taly, presently to be mentioned, of which
the former emanates directly from the Amr, while the latter emanates from it.
The same appUcation of names is found in the books of the Druzes. See
De Sacy's Exposi de la Religion des Druzes, Tome ii. pp. 21-2.
II i. e. Preceder:
^ Meaning, without any aiding from a higher power.
** i. e. EoUower. See belo-w.

301
five,* the uniter of things allied, the separater of things
which differ. So then, it is the first of substances, and
the second of manifesters, the necessary by its Cause, the
competent by its divinity, the living, the emulous in sci
ence, the potent, the ruler, the prohibiter, the commander,
the shedder forth, the receiver, the made, the maker, the
perfected, the perfecter, the lover, the beloved for its essence,
the exerciser of justice, the joyous with its delights, the
qualified with the most perfect of attributes, the designa
ted by the most excellent of epithets, which is set forth in
the attributes and the names, f and which is named Fate.
So then, it is the fortune of fortunes, and the pen of that
which is written, and the hiyiily of every hiyuly, and the
place of science, and the supreme and primitive nature,
which receives effusion from its Cause, and is let out, and
so becomes the shedder forth of the lights of his Word,
and takes its stand with his taking his stand, and abides with
his abiding, by -virtue of a continual effusion of reinforce
ments,:} from eternity to eternity, endless, without measure,
and incomputable. And its receiving that which is not an
end§ postulates that it is a receiver in order to spreading, in
order that the acted upon may be converted into an actor,
and that the Intelligence, and that which is objective to the
Intelligence, may become an intelligent being, and that the
height of its potency may be manifested, and the light of
its wisdom.
And so emanates, in accordance with its volition, in
order to the continuance of the perfection of its felicity,
through the fairness of its forming, an active substance,
congruous with its substance, which is named the Universal
Soul, and the Veritable Spirit, which is raised up by it
as a receiver of its effusion and its impresses, improving by
the succession of its benefits and its lights, prepared for the
reception of impress, naked of forms. So then, it is the
* Meaning the first five emanations, namely, the Amr, the Sabik, the Taly,
the Primitive Hiyuly, and the Circumambient. See below.
f Nainely, those appUed to God by the Muslims.
X Meaning reinforcements from the Amr, received by the Sabik, and trans
mitted to the Prophets of every period, and to the seven ImSms of each, as
their representatives, by virtue of which the Deity himself is conceived of
as taking his stand, and abiding, in them.
g Namely, the reinforcement from the Amr.

302
verity of verities, and the quintessence of things recondite,
which is designated as the Taly to that Sabik, the essence of
which is a tablet for the inscribing of the letters of the pen of
the Intelligence, a root to that which is beside it of branches,
and a branch to that root, a place of beginning to the let-
tings out of things, and a cause ofthe measurements of things
which have parts, and a medium between the first and the
last, and the inward and the outward, the place of coming
out of that which is potential to the open field of actuality,
the sojourning-place of lights, the excellencies of science
and justice,* a power able to manifest sciences in that which
is caused, a receiver of the impress of its Cause, ah actor,
making its impresses upon that which is caused, pervading
through all existence, reinforcing, by effusion and aiding,
the rest of the Enclosures, f which manifests things subtde,
and. forms things gross, and disperses through the world
its forces, and manifests its ideas in every genus and species
and person.
And so emanates therefrom the. Primitive Hiyuly, the
receiver, essentially, of the forms of things created, upon
which the Soul pours out that which it receives of the im
press of its Cause, and through the medium of which it
perpetuates the perfection of its excellence, and which, by
the force of receptivity, and the perfection of preparation
for forms, it causes to become the distant three.:}: For, per
vading nature and coursing forms are manifested in things
whole and things of parts, and things high and things low ;
and the Hiyiily thereby becomes an absolute body, and the
force of the Soul is attached to it with attachment, and so
are parted off from it the higher envelopes, and made out
of it the lower bodies ; while attractive, propensive force
manifests motion of volition.§
* Meaning that the divine attributes of knowledge and justice are taber
nacled in it.
\ Enclosures of the Deity. This name seems to include, in the Isma'Uian
system, all created existences. See p. 306.
X By which is meant the three classes of existence farthest removed from
the Deity, namely, Minerals, Plants, and Animals. See below.
§ The name of " the higher envelopes" includes the SteUar Sphere, and
the seven Palaces, presently to be mentioned; while the four Globes, of
Ether, Air, Water, and gross Earth, together with Minerals, Plants, and Ani
mals, which are also presently to be mentioned, constitute what are called
" the lower bodies." It is evidently the Universal Soul of which aU these are

303
And so the Circumambient is fashioned in the most excel
lent of fashions, and ordered in the most perfect of states.
So then, it is the cause of sensible motions, and the mani-
¦fester of the forces of the Soul, and the reconditeness of
the ideas of the Holy One, the limiter of regions, the uniter
of things simple and things composite, a cause of place, an
actualizer of time, which is enthroned in the evenness of
the Merciful, and the place of the loftiness of the envelopes,
the basis of the regulator of the day, the compriser of every
cause and every effect.*
Afterwards, is let out the Stellar Sphere, f with the fixed
stars, the seat of power, which compasses -the earth and the
heavens, which is the standing-place of forms, and the lunar
mansions, and the zodiacal signs, which is denominated the
heaven of the degrees of the zodiacal signs, the actualizer
of the great periods, the mover of that which is beside it of
envelopes. Afterwards, rises to view the Elevated Palace, the capa
cious structure, the vestibule, the hall of Keiwan, who is
the superior over beings, the master of abstinence and chief
tainship, the educator of people of thought and ingenuity.

conceived to be incorporations, dififering only in grade ; for they are said to
come into existence in consequence of the union of the Soul with " absolute
body." But by the inclination of the Soul to absolute body is first developed,
according to this system, motion of voUtioh. It foUows from this, that aU the
emanations previously mentioned are to be considered as involuntary:
* From this description it is evident that the Circumambient is Finite
Space. 'jf This is the outer concave of the ancient Ptolemaic system of astronomy,
as appears from what foUows in our text, taljen in connection -with the foUow
ing passage from an astronomical -work of El-Farghany, an Arabic astron
omer probably of the ninth century of our era : " So then, we say that the
number of the spheres which compass aU the motions of the stars, is eight ;
of which seven belong to the seven planets, and the eighth is the highest,
belonging to the fixed stars, which is the sphere of the zodiacal signs. And
the figure of these spheres is Uke the figure of globes one within another.
And so the sraallest of them is that which is the nearest of them to the earth,
which is the globe of the Moon, and the second belongs to 'Utarid, [Mercury,]
and the third, to Ez-Zaharah, [Venus,] and the fourth, to the Sun, and the
fifth, to El-Mirrikh, [Mars,] and the sixth, to El-Mushtary, [Jupiter,] and the
seventh, to Zuhal, [Saturn,] and the eighth, to the fixed stars. And so, as
for the sphere of the fixed stars, which is the sphere of the zodiacal signsj
on the one hand, its centre is the centre of the earth ; and as for the centres
of the seven globes which belong to the planets, they deviate from the cen
tre of the earth, variously." See Ferganensis Elementa Astronomica, ed.
J. GoUus, pp. 45-6.

304
the presider over cultivated spots and -sown fields, the
sheikh of the overflowing, and the lords of groups of houses,
the letter out of ages by his rotation, the master of handi
crafts, the black as to his colors.
Afterwards, the Second Palace, the solid as to founda
tions, of which the defenses hide Birjls, who is the manifest
by science and research, the aider of the masters of the
luminous and the enlightening, namely the Lights, the
shedder forth, whose beauty gives light, the powerful in the
house of the King of the invisible realm of heaven, the
ordainer of kings and rulers, the manifester of nights and
days, the cause of articles* by his movements, and the reg
ulator of fundamentals by his reposings, who puts in motion
the great enlightener, the most potent master of revolution.
Afterwards, the Fifth Palace, the palanquin of the fafr
Nahaid, and the sitting-place of the bright Zaharah, who is
the star of the people of gaiety and ordered song -with
music, the sweetheart of the sparkling orbs, the adorner of
women and gfrls, the belle of the celestial spheres, the
tempter of the king who presides over love and mfrth-
fulness, as for accidents ; and as for colors, the white.
Afterwards, the Sixth Palace, the shop of the devices of
'Utarid, who is involved in every thing emanating, and
every thing coming into existence, the sage, the geometri
cian, and the sanctified ascetic, the master of paintings and
writings, who takes care of the niceties of the arts, the
compiler of diwans, the educator of artificers and artizans,
the mingled, the colored, the refined, the varied.
Afterwards, the Seventh Palace, the hippodrome of Jau-
Mn, who is the second enhghtener, the hastener in journey
ings, without delay, the master of the fashionings of light,
the star of the camel-train and couriers, the colorer of things,
who has command of striping and reddening, who makes
months and years to be, the agent of properties and powers,
the befriender as to supplies, the clother, who takes in hand
the concerns of common men.
And after the seven homogeneous Palaces, f come other
seven heterogeneous, which are the four Corner-stones, and
their intermediates, the cfrcumscribing three.
* Meaning articles of belief.
¦j- The spheres, or concaves, of the seven planets are referred to under this
general name. We have proof of this, and a most important help to the un
derstanding of the descriptions above given of these several Palaces, as well

305
The first, then, of the Corner-stones is the Globe of
Ether, which is the heaven of the shooting stars, and the
station of the possessors of tails and flowing manes, the
highest of the elements, and the agent of heats in sub
stances. Next, the second, is the Globe of Air, with clouds and
rains, the place of convolution for the convolution of vapor,
the agent of thunder-clouds, and thunder-bolts, and mists,
as a clear indication of the som-ce from which the ideas here expressed were
derived, in Esh-Shahrastany's account of the Sabians. This author, after char
acterizing Sabusm as a system inculcating assiduity in action, rather than a
religious disposition, goes on to speak of its foUowers as those who hold to
" Spiritual Existences, pure and holy, in substance, act, and state," which are
necessary mediators between man and the glorious Creator, in respect to aU
benefits received from him ; so that man must cultivate intercourse with them,
by, " assiduity in action, austerity, and withdra-wment from the mundanities
of passions." He also teUs us that the Sabians hold these Spiritual Exis
tences to be " the mediating occasions, in respect to production, and causing to
exist, and alteration from onei state to another, and the causing of created
thin,53 to tend from a beginning to a perfection." After this he adds : " Some
of them are the regents of the seven planets in their spheres, which are their
Palaces ; and to every Sphitual there is a Palace, and to every Palace, a
sphere. And the relation of a Spiritual to that Palace wliich is> appropriate
to it, is the relation of the soul to the body ; so that it is its lord, and its re
gent, and its intendant. And they name the Palaces lords ; and often they narae
thera fathers, and the elements mothers ; and so the action of the Spirituals is to
cause them to move, by a pecuUar power, in order that from their motions ac-
tualitie.s may arise within natural properties and the elements, and therefrom
compoundings, and temperaments in composites, upon which foUow corporeal
forces, and to which are superadded spiritual souls, Uke the species of plants
and the species of animals." He also distinguishes the Spirituals of the Sa-
bian system as " universal" in their " impressions," to which are to be referred
the distinctions of species, and " particular," to which are to be referred the
distinctions of one individual of a species from another ; and as exerting their
influences either in the upper air, in the heavens, in the lower atmosphere, and
on the earth, or every where, in aU existences, alike. See Esh-Shahrastany's
Book of Reiig. and Philos. Sects, pp. 203-5. This statement by Esh-Shah
rastany makes it quite evident what is intended by the Palaces and the beings
occupying them, described in our text ; and also throws light upon the union
of these Palaces with the four Corner-stones, or elements, presently to be
mentioned as the immediate occasion of the generation of Minerals, Plants
and Animals. As to the portraitures of the several regents of the planets,
given in our text, however, I am unable to show that they have their analogies
in any other systera, although I do not doubt that such wiU be found to be the
case. Sorae of the naraes which these regents bear in the text may be seen,
by reference to our extract from El-Farghany's astronomical work, to be those
which are ordinarUy given to some of the planets in Arab astronomy. But
others differ. It is deserving of notice, also, that, although seven Palaces ai-e
spoken of in our text, the third and fourth, in the order of thefr being " let out,"
namely that of the Sun and that of Mars, are omitted in the description.
vol.. u. 39

306
and distant thunderings, the uniter of colds in freezing cold,
and the life of every thing animate which possesses form.
And the third is the Globe of Water, the giver of mois
ture to things, the image of science, the all-embracing, by
means of which every thing living is constituted,, the mani
fest by the ocean, the filled with substance, the pourer, the
profuse. The fourth is the Globe of gross Earth, the centre of
every subtile circumambient,* the guardian of dryness in
com,posites, the binder of separating parts.
The first two are light, and the last two, hea"vy ; and as
for each two of them, an intermediate determines them,
that they may not exceed their bounds.
And after the fathers and the mothers have moved with
the three motions, and natural properties incline towards
being awakened, and the three generators appear, and the
males are filled with the females, the first of things genera
ted is Minerals, which are compounded of the Corner-stones,
of which the lowest is sand, and the highest, small pearls ;
and as for the second, it is Plants, of which the lowest is
the hvLshHtj^ and the highest, the tall palm; and the third
is Animals, of which the lowest is the intestinal worm, and
the highest, man.
So then, these are conjoined substances, and a material
not dissevered,:} spreading itself from the apogee of the
Holy One to the perigee of genus, coursing through the
worlds, appearing in things which rise to view, and hiding
itself in things obscured. In twenty-eight places of mani
festation is the Perfect in number, which are three groups
of seven, § successive as to effusion, and the reinforcements
* See note -f p. 303.
f Cuscuta epithymum, a parasitic climbing plant, without roots, and -with
out leaves, but bearing small seeds at its extremities. See Ebn Baithar'sEeil-
und Nahrung's-mittel, ubersetzt von Dr. Joseph v. Sontheimer, Bd. ii. s. 380.
X Meaning, not dissevered from the Deity. See p. 299.
§ These three groups are as foUows : 1. the Deity, the Amr. the Sabik, the
Taiy, the Primitive Hiyiily, the Circumambient, and the SteUar Sphere ; 2. the
seven Palaces ; and 3. the Four Corner-stones, and the three classes of gene
rated existences. Minerals, Plants, and Animals. Consequently, " the Perfect.
in number" denotes sorae absolute nuraerical principle pervading aU tilings.
It can be nothing else than Unity of number. The JV Ofxii rtdvrav of the
Pythagoreans may be referred to as a parallel, provided only that simiiltane-
ousness of existence is ascribed to this principle of Unity and the Deity, for it
is said of the Deity, above, that he " is, and before him was not any thing."
See p. 299.

307
in which the light of the Divine Word spreads itself, of
which the form is perfectness, and the ideas are consum
mate.* And so it appears, in every place of manifesta
tion, in the most elevated of impersonations ; and them it
causes to acknowledge the way of return and deliverance,
and instructs in the ideas of mystery and witness,! and
commands to obey and worship, and forbids to pass limits.
Blessed, then, be that which separates and unites, and which
is conversant with that which is made ! And let gratitude be
to our friends, and praise to our superiors, for the bestowal
of acquirements of knowledge, >and gifts of things subtile,
and the knowledge of quality, and that which is qualified,
and the qualifier. And in him who knows, who is assured,-
there is that which apprehends every idea.
These things, O my seignors and my brethren, are the
verity of my knowledge, and the philosophy of my essence
and my quality,:): and my circuit of my Ka'beh, and my
stopping on my 'Arafeh,§ and the hidden sense of my pil
grimage, and the idea of my visitation of the sacred spots,
and the finishing of my endeavor for the SaM ofmy Choice,
and the Marweh of my Fortitude,! and my prostration to
the Muhammedan Kibleh and the Kureishite Ka'beh, and
the 'Aly-presence, and the Hashimite Corner-stones, and
the Fatimite Domes, and the Isma'ilian Imams, and the
Suns of the West and East, — from them and to them let
there be the best of peace-giving, and the moSt perfect of
salutation !
"And thy Lord said by inspiration to the bee, 'Take
thou of the mountains for homes, and of the trees, and of
what they rear for shelter, and afterwards eat thou of every
fruit ; so pursue thou the ways of thy Lord.' That makes
* See note j: p. 301.
f Meaning the knowledge of God as he is, or, aUegoricaUy, acquaintance
with the rank and power of the Imara. See p. 318.
X Meaning what is essence and quaUty to me.
§ Stopping on the hill 'Arafeh, a short distance from Mekkeh, is one of the
ceremonies of pilgrimage to the holy city.
II There is a play on words, here, which cannot be rendered in English. The
arduous cereraony of the walk to and fro between Safa and Marweh is alluded
to ; but the idea of the person speaking is, that what he has said is in the
way of sincere endeavor to be the object of the friendship of the Imam, and
to be bold in his service.

308

to come out from within her a drink varied in its colors, m
which there is healing for men. Verily, therein is a sign
to people who consider."*

The Memorial of the acquirements of knowledge by the
friend of God Ibrahim,t of whose spirit was Isma'il,— let
peace from both of them be to us ! The Blessed Belief
Praise be to God who has directed us to his rehgion,
the right, and brought us to his way, the straight, and
elected us to the creed of our father Ibrahim, and freely
bestowed it upon us ! for it is the ancient doctrine which
is the doctrine of Isma'il the noble. And let the bene
dictions of God, and his peace, and his salutations, and
his honoring, be to the Possessors of pure elements, and
pervading envelopes, and angelic souls, and holy intelh-
gences !:} I believe as they who profess the unity", believe,
and hold to that which they who know, hold to, and I
declare as they who believe, declare, that the world with all
its parts, from the roof to the ground, is originated, poten
tial ; and that that which is originated is that which is
potential, needing an originator who exercises preference ;
and that he is God, the Eternal, the Necessary, the essen
tially Eich, the Self-subsistent, whom things potential ta,ke
the place of, and are necessary to, whom "we qualify "with
the qualifyings of hallowing and exalting, and acquit our
selves of the profession of vacuity, § as well as of anthropo
morphism. And I believe that the Prophets of God are so of right,
and veritably Natiks, whose testimony is confirmed by intel
lectual proofs, and decisive arguments ; and thai; the Leaves
of the Prophets, and thefr Books, sent down to them, are
the word of God, — ^let him be magnified and glorified ! and
* Km-an, Sur. xvi. vv. 70-1. This passage seems to be used m an allegori
cal sense, as a recommendation of diUgent seeking after liidden knowledge.,
•j- This piece and the two following are caUed " Memorials" of Abraham,
Moses, and Jesus, under the pretense that they contain that which is kindred
to the teachings of these earlier Prophets.
X A description of the Imams, as made up of the four elements in their
purity, pervaded by influences of the celestial spheres, with special aidings
from the Amr, through the Sabik and the Taly.
§ See note || p. 276.

309
as for the letter of his revelation, that there is no vague
ness in it, and no uncertainty, and no defect, and no fault ;
and that the angels are they who are the favorite servants
of God, who are the Kariibis and the Spirituals ;* and that
the religions to which the Natiks call, during the periods,
and the laws which they establish for the people of the ages,
are correct as to terms, truthful as to ideas, obligatory as to
the following of them, obvious for their utility, the denier
of which, during their time, is an infidel, and the opposer
of which, during their season, is an obdurate wretch ; and
as for the law of our period, that it is the Muhammedan
law, and that the rehgion of this our time is the religion of
Ahmed. And I believe that the punishment of the sepulchre and
its comfort are a reality ; and that Munkir and Nakir are a
reality ; and the gathering, and the blast,f and the resurrec
tion, a reality ; and the Garden and the Fire, a reality ; and
the Book, and the reckoning, and the Sirat,:}: and the Bal
ance, a reality ; and the coming to an end, and the return
ing to God, a reality ; and the seeing of him, a reality ; and
the allowed and the forbidden, a reality ; and that the com
manding of acts -.of obedience and services, is a fhing admit
ted ; § and the prohibition of acts of disobedience and
offences, a thing objective to the intellect ; and that prayer,
and alms, and fasting, and pilgrimage, and holy warfare,
and justice, and beneficence, and the giving to a relative,
are obligatory on the believers ; . and that the commission of
adultery, and the practice of usury, and obscenity, and
depravity, and the killing without right, and games, and
things intoxicating, are forbidden to the Muslims.
And I beheve that the Jinns are existent, and the Shei-
tdns not unreal ; and that Iblis and his troop, the cursed,
are the friends of infidels and hypocrites.
And I believe that there is no perfection except by the
knowledge of oneself; and no elevation except by mak
ing sure the sciences of religion ; and no deliverance except
by sincerity as to the articles of faith ; and no rest except
* See note f p. 304. The Kariibis are Cherubim.
f Meaning the blast of the trumpet to rouse the dead to final judgment.
X The bridge over HeU.
§ Meaning a thing which the reason aUows.

310
in the renunciation of conveniences, and the taking to utili
ties ; and no knowledge except by the profession of unity ;
and no clean purification, and no attaining, except by per
severance ; and no coming up except by the Imam ; and no
obedience except by the friends ; and no disobedience ex
cept by following the adversaries ; and no direction, and no
being a Muslim, except by submission to the rightful
Imams ; and no faith except by love to the pure people of
the Family;* and no religion except the religion of the
Lords of disclosure and allegory ; and no belief except the
belief of the Masters of wisdom and the letter of revela
tion ; and no doctrine except the doctrine of the Da'is of
Isma'il. These things are the cream of my doctrine, and my belief
on my setting out and my return ; and the refined gold of
my faith, and the credence of my heart. And therewithal
I submit to God in my inmost soul, and my open doing,
and hope for the end of the attainment of things desired.
And I am fixed in what my tongue has uttered in the
presence, of my chiefs and my brethren. And Ave read,
" Upon tho^^ who believe, arid who perform good actions,
there rests' no guilt in respect to that whieh they eat, pro
vided they stand in awe, and believe, and perform good
actions, and after that stand in awe, and believe, and after
that stand in awe, and do virtuously ; and God loves . those
who do virtuously, "f

The Memorial of the talker with God Musa,— let peace
from both of them be to us ! The Allegorical Sense of the
Blessed Belief "He it is who has sent down to thee- the
Boole, of which some verses are explicit, which are the
mother of the Book, and others not precise. So then, as
for them in whose hearts is wandering, they follo-w that
which is not precise, pertaining to it, from desire to seduce,
and from desire to allegorize it ; while no one knows its
allegorical sense, except God and those who are firmly
established in science, who say, ' We beheve in it ; all is

-* The famUy of Muhammed.
f Kuran, Sur. v. v. 94.

311
from our Lord;' and only the possessors of hearts reflect."*
I hold fast to the Possessor of majesty and omnipotence, and
I fortify myself in the King of the visible realm and the
invisible, and I entrust myself to the Living One, who dies
not, our Deity, and the Deity of those who discover to us,'
and our Lord, and the Lord of our superiors, and our
Friend, and. the Friend of our friends. And I acknowledge
that there is no outward without its inward ; and no form
without its perfect idea ; and no rind without its core ; and
no Light without its Veil;f and no Knowing One without
his Gate ; and no law without its way ; and no way without ,
its verity ; and no verity without its letter of revelation ;
and no letter of revelation without its allegorical sense ; and
no allegorical sense except to the firmly established in
science ; and no being firmly established in science except
to the allegorizers.
So then, as for our saying God, its allegorical sense is the
Word. And the allegorical sense of the world is a place
for manifesting the divine greatness. And as for the com
ing into existence, it is the posteriority of the caused to the
cause, and the latter's precedin'g the former, agreeably to
convincing proofs, a priori and a posteriori, with reference to
order, by argument from order of time, not order of place.
And as for potentiality, it is the essence of the being in
need, and the ordaining of the realization of the relation of
cause to effect. And " the essentially Necessary" implies
the absurdity of defining by that which is devoid of quality.
And as for the Ma'na's:} being established as pre-existent
and eternal, and the hallowing of the self-existently Neces
sary, and the exempting of him from his qualities, it is that
we abstract from him every thing which occurs to our
minds, and is fixed in our perceptions ; and we know that
-* Kuran, Sur. in. v. 5. El-Beidhawy explains the expression " mother of the
Book," in this passage, to mean " its root, that to which the rest of it amounts."
This orthodox coraraentator is obliged to admit that an allegorical sense per
taining to some verses of the Kuran, is here recognized ; but he claims that
there are points left indefinite because God reserves to himself the knowledge
of them, and that man has no concem with the aUegorical sense, except where
it becomes necessary to lean upon it with reference to faith or practice.- See
Beidhawii Comm. in Coranum, vol. i. pp. 145-6.
X The VeU of the Isma'ilian system seems to be the human person of the
Imam, whUe the so caUed Light is the veritable Imam hunself.
Xi. e. The Idea, the absolute Deity.

812
he is above the reach of the choicest of our perceptions and
our conjectures; and his unreached qualities take us out of,
the ditch of sentimentalizing and the profession of vacuity,
whde they save us from the fetter of anthropomorphism
and assimilation.
And as for prophecy and communication by message,
they are the manifestation of the Word in the Ved, and the,
setting up of the Guide, and the Conductor, and the Gate,
to the open way of truth and the path of 'rectitude. And
as for the Prophet, he is the informer with regard to funda
mentals, calling to that to which the Envoy* calls. And
as for the Envoy, he is the Natik, calling to the two Eoots,
the Sabik and the Taly, and the three Branches, the Jedd
and the Fath and the Khiya],t which mak_e the higher five,
comprising perfection. The Natik is an outward, of which
the inward is the Taly, to which latter it pertains to train
and manage, while the opposite is the case in regard to
composing and putting together. And as for the confirma
tion of communication by message, by means of proof and
analogy, it is the allegorical sense of the AsSs, J and the
manifestation to the intelligent among men of ideas com
posed by the Natik. And as for the sending down of the
Leaf and the Book, and Jebril's bringing the Address, it is
the coming of aid to the Natik from the Sabik, and its
directing with reference to composing, and its assisting in
the' writing out. The embodiment of form objective to the
intellect is necessary ; and the Address is the verification of
things determined by the intellect. And as for the .favorite
angels, they are the kno-wing, active forces in, the upper
and lower worlds. And as for their glorifying night and.
day, and their ascribing of dominion.for people of the faith,
with asking of forgiveness, it is the continuing of those
fgrces to order the succession of the Amrs, and the mani
festation of the properties thereof, in their known place,
without intermission. § And the Kariibis are the forces
-* Muhammed.
f The Jedd, or the Primogenitor, the Fath, or the Opening, and the Khiy'fil, or
the- Image, are here, evidently, used as names of the Primitive Hiyflly, the
Circumambient, and the SteUar Sphere. :|: See note * p. 266.
§ What is here allegorized wiU be best understood by another quotation from
Esh-Shahrastany's statement of the beUef of the Sabians in regard to the so
caUed Spirituals. He says, " And they create in hallowing and glorifying,
not disobeying God as to that which he commands, and doing that wliich they

313
which support the Mtiks in composing the letter of revela
tion. And the Spirituals are the forces which belong to
the Asases m the disclosure of the allegorical sense. And as
tor rehgions and laws, they are the institutions of divine
intelligences for the good estate of earthly bodies, in order
to the perfecting of the sciences of human souls ; which
are six, whde seven is the number of the days ofthe week.*
And as for the sepulchre, it is corporeal form and the
enveloping Palaces. And as for the punishment of the
sepulchre, it is the impression made upon the soul by the
shackle of that which comes to it of Hiyiily-forms, opposed
to its natural properties ; which is in the way of fettering.
And the comfort of the sepulchre is the loss of the impres
sion made upon it thereby, and its taking refuge in the veri
fication of the apprehensions pertaining to its Palacedike
instruments ;t which is by the power of abstraction. And
as for the fixing by Munkir and Nakir, it is the mastery of
the forces of passionate desire and anger. And as for the
gathering, it is the hastening of souls in pursuing the route
of their impediments, and their decamping to the rear-guard
of their instruments,:}: and the conclusion from premises of
creatures, in respect to their days, and the verity of the
idea of a day which calls all men to their Imam. And as
for the awakening, it is the manifestation of souls in world
after world, in accordance with their acquirements of wrong
and crime. And as for the allegorical sense of the resur
rection, the resurrection of individual souls is separation
from the apprehensions of sense, and corporeal instruments ;
and the resurrection of laws and religions is the appear-
are comraanded  And we depend upon them as our administrators, so that
they are our lords, and our divinities, and our askers, and our intercessors be
fore God ; while he is the Lord of lords, and the God of gods." See Esh-
Shahrastany's Book of Relig. and Philos. Sects, p. 203. The next sentences
show that by " the Amrs" are here intended the reinforceraents which the Arar
transmits to the Ifatilis and Asases, or Prophets and Legatees, of the seven
periods. * This seems to indicate that the Prophet of the seventh period was not
considered as having established the new order of things, when this sermon
was composed.
•j- By which are intended the senses.
X This and the " pursuing the route of their impediments" are expressions
borrowed frora the operations of an army in the field, to signify a victory
gained by souls over all the obstacles of corporeal form.
VOL. n. 40

814
ance of the Kaim* of the time ; and the resurrection of the
period in the LTniversal Soul's showing itself in the well
doings of individual souls ; and the resurrection of resur
rections is the perfection of deliverance and salvation, and
the rehef of all souls from being made to emanate, and
their reaching the world of the Holy One, and the place of
Lights, and the ending of the prolongation of the hours of
the Great Day, and the coming together of the planets, after
their separation, at the point of the first equipoise in revo
lution ; and the resurrection of the whole is the consumma
tion of the two awakenings,-}- and the closing together of
the two zones,:): and the reversion of science and power to
the Universal Soul, in the two worlds, and the coming to
nothing of articles, and the failure of difference in funda
mentals, and the Hiyuly's putting off the clothing of form,
and the Soul's dispensing with the efficiencies of necessity,§
and the Knowing One's becoming alone as to his sort and
his principle,! and the verification of his saying, "And to
him shall all command revert."^
And as for the Book, it is the tablet of secret thought,
and the place of that by which the soul is determined in
respect to holding to be true and imagining. And as for
the reading of it, it is the soul's eyeing and regarding its
objects of knowledge akin to itself And if they are proved
sciences and decisive verities, the soul takes hold of them
by the right hand, because they pertain to the higher alter
native of direction and certain knowledge ; and if they are
the imaginings of conjecture, and the accreditings of sup
position, and the doubtings of syllogism, and the beliefs of
-the following of authority, the soul takes hold of them by
* i. e. The Taker of his stand, meaning the manifestation of the Amr in
each new Prophet. See note | p. 301.
¦f Probably, tho awakening by Munkir and Nakir, (see note X P- 288,) and
the awakening for final judgment.
X Meaning the twn zones called, in the astronomy of the Arabs, "the zone
of primary motion," a circle intersecting the earlh near the north and south
poles, which regulates the motion of all the heavenly bodies together, from
ejist to west, around the earth, every twenty-four hours; and "the zone of
secondary motion," a circle, intersecting the earth at other than the polar
points, wliich regulates the revolutions of the sun and stars from west to east,
around the earth, in varymg periods. See Ferganensis Elementa Astronomica,
pp. 15-16,46.
§ See p. 302. \ See note § p. 306.
«|[Kuran, Sur. xl V. 123.

815
the left hand,* because they pertain to the lower alternative
of conjecturing and error. And as for the reckonin<j, it is
that the superior Universal Soul stands by inferior individ
ual souls, in respect to that which emanates from thera of
sayings and doings, and sciences and operations, whilst they
use the instruments of form, and outward shapes, with the
four corapound forces, out of which are made up the forces
of man, which are the angelic, and the brutal, and the bes
tial, and the Satanic. And so, if the angelic increases, and
the force of certain knowledge predominates, they merit
the good of compensation, and are safe from the evil of
penalty, and are elevated, as devotees, to the inner court of
the invisible realm of the celestial spheres, to have com
mand of worlds beneath which the Regal Powers-}- have
sway, and are raised by degrees to their spiritual mansion,
and their world of light ; and if one of the three [other]
forces predominates, and hinders them from experiencing
resurrection, they merit the torment of penalty, and return
into the defile of the place of return, and are brought back
to the long zig-zag, and to base, hideous form, and are dis
missed to a shade in three parts,:} and are imprisoned in the
caverns of abjectness and weariness. And as for the Bal
ance, it is the medium which the intellect makes use of in
order to apprehension, and discernment, and preference
between the incoherencies of falsehood and the accordances
of that which is precious. And as for that which is
weighed, it is views and firmly established beliefs, as respects
sayings and doings, and sciences and operations. And as
for the weigher, it is the intellect, the apprehender, the com
prehender, the discerner between the composite and the
simple. And as for the Sirat,§ it is the intermediate between
progression and attainment, shared in common, and the
soul's way of transit to the upper world, from the lower
* The taking hold by the right hand, or by the left, in this passage signifies
good, or evil augury. The language is borrowed from the scene of the judg
ment-day, as anticipated by the MusUm, when the good man will have his
book of accounts put mto his right hand, and the bad man wiU be made to
take it by the left hand. See Tableau General de I' Empire Othoman par M.
De M. D'bhsson, Tome i. p. 47.
•j- Meaning the Regents of the planets.
X Meaning that they become embodied in minerals, plants, or animals.
See p. 317.
§ See note X P- 309.

816
opposed thereto, between that which is corporeal and that
which is spiritual, a place of twisting for minerals, a place
of bending for plants, a place of stooping for animals, a
place of erect standing for spiritual men and deities.*
And as for the idea of the Garden, it is the eight worlds,
of which the first is the Garden of the Balance, which is
the station of man ; and the second, the Garden of 'Adan,
which is the station of angels ; and the third, the Garden of
eternal life, which consists of the worlds of the celestial
spheres ; and the fourth, the Superior Garden, which con
sists of the worlds of spirit abstracted from the enveloping
worlds; and the fifth, the Garden of Firdaus, which con
sists ofthe worlds ofthe Soul-like; and the sixth, the Gar
den of comfort, which is the world of science ; and the
seventh, the Garden of RidhwSn, which is the world of the
Intelligence ; and the eighth, the Garden of the place of
aid, which is the world of the Divine Amr, from which the
worlds come forth, and to which is their return.-}- And as
for the gradations of the Garden, they are the degrees of
sciences, and the measures of perceptions, in every known
Place.:]: And as for the delights, and the enclosures, they
are the whirling about of souls in the inner court of their
acquirements of knowledge, and their gaiety on reaching
their places of witness, § and their stopping-places. And as
for the couches, and the shades, and the cushions, and the
mantles, they are the places of manifestation of souls in
rival forms, and their putting off disagreeing forms, and
clothing themselves in suitable impersonations. And as
for the water-pitchers, and the goblets, and the butler, and
the wine-chalice, and the wine, they are instruments of the
apprehensive faculties, and helps to the comprehension of
the sciences of the invisible realm and the angels. And
the butler is the Imam of the circling period ; and the wine-
chalice is that which the Natik composes of the outward ;
•* Here is aUegorized that sort of interraediate state represented in the
MusUra creed by the bridge over HeU, which the good pass with the speed of
lightning, while the bad are precipitated from it into the flames below. It
is explained to mean the scene of the progress of souls through this world,
in its various stages of mineral, vegetable, and aniraal embodiment.
f All this may be understood by reference to the system of cosmogony,
detailed in the first piece contained in tliis document.
X Place of the reinforcements of the Amr. See p. 301.
§ See note \ p. 307.

817
and the pure wine is the allegorical sense of the letter of
revelation, and the disclosure of the hidden
And as for the Fire, it is the seven worlds, namely, the
three things generated and the four Corner-stones ; of which
the first IS Leza, which is the Globe of Ether; after which
IS El-Jehim, the centre of Air and Freezing Cold; after
which IS Es-Sair, the mansion of Water; after which is
Bl-Hawiyeh, the place of sepulture ; after which is Jehen-
nam, the world of animals other than man ; after which is
Sakar, the station of plants ; after which is Sejjil, the place
of dead minerals. And its descents are the forms of fts
hideous impersonations, and its gross, heavy envelopes.
And its people are the individual souls which profess false
rehgions and depraved beliefs. And as for the punishment
and the penalty, it is that which one experiences of suffer
ings and pains and diseases, and separation from things
habituated to, by the inroad of misfortunes and calamities.
And as for the Zubaniyeh,* the helps of El-Jehim, they
are the forms of doubts and ignorances, and the impersona
tions of errors and phantasms, and the manifesters of false
views and ladures. And Malikf is the impersonation of
composite ignorance. And as for the being qualified with
badness, that is the being collared with the serpent and the
scorpion, and the change of skins, and the being folded to
breaking, and the being brought back to the lowest of two
low states,:}: and the being conducted into the zig-zag of
Es-Sa'ir, and the tree ZakkTim,§ and the becoming akin to
the Adversaries,! and the gathering of the fruits of infi
delity and repugnance, and the feeding on the dharV'l^ and
putrefaction. And the belief of that which fits not the
intellect, and religion, and the following of authority, are
the People of uncertainties and conjecturing,** and the
drink of hot water, and the sentences adverse to the certain
truth. * Demons of the Muslim Hell.
¦j- A note to the original manuscript, in Arabic, interprets this to be the
name of "the barbed and feathered arrow of the porter of Hell."
:j: Meaning, to El-Jehim. See above.
§ The Tree of Hell.
I A name given to the Spirits of HelL
% The dhari' is said to be a plant of heating quaUties, found on the shore
of the Dead Sea. See Ibn Beitar's Heil- und Nahrungs-mitlel, Bd. u. p. 145.
** A name given to the Spirits of HelL

318
And as for the coming to an end, and the return to God,
— ^let him be exalted! it is the terminating of all the rela
tions and connections which are between things simple and
things composite, of the spiritual and corporeal worlds, and
things subtile and things gross, in the four Upholding Roots,*
the traces of the Word, in the order indicated, by means of
of the letters of God conjoined with the Amr;f which is
the idea of the return of things composite, having relation
to number, to Unity ; which is anterior to Ether, which is
the principle of number, and its origin, and which is the
principle of the perfect, the deficient, and the redundant.^
And as for the seeing of him, — let him be exalted ! it is
the knowledge of the rank of the Imam, and the witnessing
of his lights, comprehending that which is special and that
which is general, ancl the regarding of his traces, embracing
ideas and corporeities.
And as for the allowed, it is that which is necessary to be
manifested and laid open. And as for the forbidden, it is
that which is necessary to be concealed and hidden. And
obedience is the entering into covenant with the Kaim of
the tirae. And disobedience is the inclining to the Imams
of error and hostility. And as for prayer, it is the connec
tion of the Da'i with the House of peace, through paternal
connection, in respect to religiousness, with the Imam.§
And alms is tlie coming of wisdom to him .who is worthy,
and the guiding of the inquirer to the open way of truth.
And -fasting is the abstaining from disclosure of the verities
of legal enactments, in the presence of others than those to
whom they are suited, during the period of disclosure. And
as for the going into retirement,! it is the Imam's hiding him
self by means of his Veds,^ and his concealing himself by
means of some of his Da'is and his Hujjahs, that is, night,
which is the Imam's veiling himself by his Veds from sight.
* The four elements. | See note * p. 300.
X See note § p. 306 ; and it is worthy of notice in that connection, that
the relations of number as even, and odd, in the two opposite respects of
too little and too much, are referred to in the last clause of this sentence.
§ On the relation of the Da'i to the Imam, see p. 280.
II This is one of the duties obligatory upon the Muslim. It is defined to
consist " in reraaining several days and nights in the mterior of a mosque,
there to fast, pray, and meditate, in an unbroken and complete collectedness of
mind." See D'Ohsson's Tableau General de I'Empire Othoman, Tome u. p. 7.
«|f See note f p. 3U.

819
And day is that which proves the period of disclosure, that
is, the breaking of fast, which is the manifestation of the
ImSm behind a Ved, and his causing souls to know without
a Gate. _ And as for the breaking of fast, it is the coming
out to view of the divine ideas, and the knowledge of the
verity of the circumstances of the Place of return ;* which
is its nianifestation without a Veil with which it veds itself,
and without a Gate by which entrance is made to it ; and
the manifestation of guarded secrets and reserved sciences.
And as for pilgrimage, it is correct motive in respect to love
of the Seignors, the Imams, and constancy in friendship for
the people of the Family, the Family of science and wisdom.
And the setting out is the cutting off of speculation, to the
neglect of that which is beside them. And the provision
for the way, and the pack-camel, is the asking to be rein
forced with their idea.f And the entering upon the sacred
territory is departure from the doctrines of the Adversaries,
and the acquiring of receptivity and preparation. And as
for the stopping on 'Arafeh and Muzdelifeh,:} it is the being
intent upon the canons of wisdom and knowledge. And as
for the idea of the slaying and the shearing,! it is the putting
an end to falsehood by the manifestation of the truth. And
the casting of stones at intervals of three thousand paces||
is the rejection of doubting and supposing and conjecturing,
as respects sciences and operations. And the kissing ofthe
Black StoneT is acceptance of the call from the aided Natik.
And the going around the corners** is the knowledge of the
groups of seven pertaining to the relation of cause to effect.
* A name applied to the Imam, as one who brings back the Amr to the
world, by virtue of those reinforcements from the Amr which are the essential
part of his being.
\ Meaning to have the true idea of the Imam formed in the mind.
X A locality near Mekkeh, one of the sacred stations of the Muslim pilgrim,
where he spends the night after visiting 'Arafeh. See D'Ohsson's Tableau
Gineral de I'Empire Othomau, Tome ii. p. 29.
§ Meaning, of animals for the sacrifice offered in connection with pilgrimage
to Mekkeh.
II A ceremony several times repeated by the Muslim pilgrim, in memory of
Abraham's putting demons to flight, by throwing stones at them, who tempted
him to disobey God. See D'Ohsson's Tabl. Gen. de I'Empire Othoman, Tome ii.
pp. 29, ff. .
•[T The black stone on one comer of the Ka'beh which is kissed by the pil
grim in making the tour of the Ancient House. See Burckhardt's Travels m
Arabia, vol. i. p. 249.
** Of the Ka'beh.

320
And the Makam and Zemzem* are the call to that which
is inward and the call as to that which is outward. And
the running between Marweh and Sa^ is the performance
of the covenant with faithfulness. And the finishing of
pilgrimage by the complete visitation of the sacred spots, is
the responding to the Madhiins with respect to the general
call. And the going against an enemy and holy warfare
are the scrutinizing of the arguments of those who are re
pugnant, and the bringing to nought their sayings by intel
lectual proofs and decisive arguments. And as for the
commission of adultery, it is the responder's being brought
into connectionf without a witness, and the laying open of
things before the choosing to enter into covenant. And the
practice of usury is the passionate desfre for enrichment,
and the seeking of things perishable by the divulging of
secrets. And obscenity is the mentioning of commendable
actions as pertaining to the obstinate disobedients, and the
reference of fair deeds to the hostile transgressors. And
depravity is the exchange of the Knowing One for the Ig
norant. And transgression is the preferring of that which
is excelled above that which excels. And justice is the
abandoning of that which is deficient, when the perfect
exists. And fair doing is the science of the comprehensive
ness of the Imam, and his sovereignty over that which is
inward and that which is outward, or which appears and
which hides itself And the giving to a relative is love of the
Family of the Envoy, and friendship for the posterity of the
Immaculate,:]: and the extolling of the Hashimites, and the
declaration of the imamship of the Fatimite Imams. And in
justice is the making others than the people ofthe Family the
depositories of the imamship, and the falling away from the
Knowing One, the Living One, and the imitating of the Ig
norant, the Lifeless. And as for the killing without right and
evidence, it is the contending for victory without science, and
the striving to put to rout without proof. And games are
the sciences of the Party of the Outcasts, and the things be
lieved by the Party of the Externahsts, which prevent souls
* The Makam, or Makam Ibrahim, i. e. The station of Abraham, supposed
to mark the spot where the patriarch stood to buUd tlie original Ka'beh, is a
small building which the Muslim pilgrira passes immediately before reaching
that inner shrine of the Mosque. The well Zemzem is situated near by, but
farther from the Ka'beh. See Burckhardt's Travels in Arabia, vol. i. pp. 266-7.
f Meaning his being admitted to the fraternity.
X A name appUed to Patimeh.

321
from inquiring into verities, and from contemplating things
which are recondite, and interdict the following of the rules
of the ignorants, and the institutions of the Adversaries and
the repudiating zealots. And the forbidden intoxicating
draught is that which diverts the intellect from direction
toward the knowledge connected with inquiry concerning
the Imam, aud the witnessing of his hghts, comprehending
the special and the general, and the regarding of his traces,
embracing ideas and corporeities.
And as for the Jinns, they are the Hiders of themselves
from the eyes of the aliens, but the Attendants upon the
perfect, the good, who expand wings of mercy over the in
habitants of the metropolises. And as for the 'Ifrits and the
Ghuls, they are the accursed, obstinate Adversaries, of the
species of the gainsayers and the repugnant, — let the curse
of God and of the angels be on them all ! And as for Iblis
he is the undertaker of hostility to the manifest Imam of
the age, through envy and hatred.
This is the allegorical sense of my belief with respect to
religion, and the refined ore of my holding with respect to
the summing up of the substance of certain knowledge ;
which is the religion of the Noble Envoy, and the creed of
our father Ibrahim, and the doctrine of the great Annunci
ation, and the belief of the people of the Noble Family.
" So then, whoever changes it, after that he has heard it, the
fault thereof rests only upon those who change it. Verily,
God is one who hears, one who knows."*
As for the pious, verily they are beheld taking comfort
upon couches ; in their faces is discerned the brightness of
comfort ; they have given them to drink pure wine sealed,
of which the seal is a perfume of musk. And let those be
eager, then, for that, who are eager for gladness, and joy,
and happiness, and resurrection.

The Memorial of the Spirit of God 'Isa and his Legatee
Shemiin, — ^let peace from both of them" be to us! The
Knowledge of the rank of the Imam, — ^let the most distin
guished peace, and the most perfect salutation, be to his
memory ! which is the hidden sense of alms.  ^

* Km-an, Sur. U. v. 177.
41

322
It is a saying of his, — ^let him be exalted ! " And we have
indeed ennobled the sons of Adam, and borne them upon
the land and upon the sea, and bestowed on them good
things, and distinguished them above many of those whom
we have created, with distinction. On a certain day, we
shall call all men to their Imam ; and so, whoever have their
books given to them in their right hands, those will read
their books, and will not be wronged a mite ; and whoever is
blind in this world, he wdl be blind in the world to come,
and more out of the way."* Praise be to God who has
taught us, and informed us, and ennobled us, and made us
to see, in that he has directed us to the way of the profession
of unity, and has put us, by causing to follow the Imams of
truth, among the most distinguished of his servants ! And
benediction, and peace, and salutation, and honoring, be to
the memory of our Friend, the Imam ofthe time, the point
of the circle of religions, the Kibleh of the people of the
faith, and the plain way to the Gardens, the affirmed as to
his existence by argument and proof, the verity of verities,
and the end of ways, and the acme of the intention of cre
ated things, and the cause of the existence of the Taly and
the Sabik,f the firm bond of alliance with God, and his
clear light, and his certain truth, and his preceptive Book,
and his prolonged shadow, and the watering-reservoir of
him, and his blessed Place of standing,:): and his knotted
standard, and his Amr by which existence appears, and his
Word from which the worlds come forth, and to which they
return, the proposed end, the perfection of the knowledge
of whom has to do with the ordaining of laws and creeds,
the showing of whose rank is that which is intended by the
manifestation of occasions and causes, for whose sakes in
tellects and souls are made fast,§ and on whose account is
the manifestation of that which is objective to the intellect
and that which is objective to sense, around whom is the
circling of the celestial spheres and the envelopes, and from
whom proceeds the sustenance of spirits and bodies, and
through whom is the remaining of the Corner-stones and
the things generated, and to whom pertains the consolida
tion of causes and things caused, of whose familiarity the
* Kuran, Sur. xvii. vv. 72-4.
f Meaning the Amr, or Word, but in a secondary sense. See below, and
pp. 301—2. X See note X p. 301. § Meaning, embodied.

323
'w-orlds* are the manifesters, and of whose sanctity they are
the place,f and of the lights of whose divinity they are the
place of appearing, and ofthe mysteries of whose humanity
they are the hiding-places,:]: and of the suns of whose glory
they are the rising-places, and of the moons of whose perfec
tion they are the setting-places, § by the following of whom
elevation is attained, and through the love of whom abiding
is perpetual, and by the knowledge of whom there is salva
tion from the obscurities of El-Hawiyeh, and arrival at high
degrees, and deliverance from the snare of polytheism and
disobedience, and rectitude in the open way of direction and
faith, to whom the Prophets and the Envoys point, and in
whom the courses and the paths come to an end. So then,
he is the idea of the Book, and the import of the Address,!
and the way of right judgment, and the hidden sense ofthe
Veil, and the Gate of Gates. And he is the divine effusion,
and the other consummate out-pouring.^ And to him be
longs light, and darkness, and the causing to exist, and an
nihilation. By obedience to him is perfection, and the reach
ing to the most exalted of states ; and by disobedience to
him is irreclaimableness, and falling into the pit of ruin.
No companion is without him, and no place dispenses with
him; and his effusion is not severed from things produced;
and from his science escapes not the weight of a mite, either
in the earth or in the heavens ; and he exempts not from
his sovereignty either things which move or things which are
at rest, or things outward or things inward. So then, let
worthiness to be glorified, and worthiness to be hallowed,
be ascribed to his noble presence ! And let there be a hal
lowing and an exalting of his eternal majesty, and a mag
nifying and a praising of his great throne !
And to his side we betake ourselves, and with knowledge
of him we wake to attention, and to gratitude to him we
-* The eight higher worlds and the seven lower, mentioned above.
•f The embodiment.
X Meaning, whose manifested divinity they show, and whose concealed di
vinity they hide. But let it be carefuUy observed, that the divinity here as
cribed to the Imam is only a derived divinity.
§ Meaning, whose rising, sun-like glory they exhibit, and whose setting,
moon-like light they shroud. There is aUusion, in this and the preceding
clause, to the distinction betweeu the Imam making himself known, and the
Imam withdrawing into seclusion, which is clearly expressed in the preceding
sermon. See pp. 318-19.
The revelation by Gabriel. See p. 312.
[ Meaning the effusion of God, and that of the Amr.

324
give utterance, and to his mercy we render thanks, and
in the profession of his unity we believe, and to his Enclo
sures we yield obedience, and to his Natiks* we give credit.
And their Asases we acknowledge, and their Imams we
know for certain. And with their direction we have con
tracted, and upon their gladdening with intimacy and secret
converse we rely, and in the open way of their couosel we
stand fast, and in the hght of thefr lights we see, and fri the
love of them, and friendship to them, we die and live, and
in obedience to them we go on journeys. And if they had
not benignantly bestowed upon us their long-suffering, cer
tainly we should not have perceived the enactments of the
time, and the Mediators of the Merciful, and the -Gate of
God, the Knowing One, the Omniscient.
And know thou that every Imam of the time is according
to the time ; who is the first and the last, the outward and
the inward ; who is knowing to every thing.
This, then, is a part of the hidden things of the sciences
of religion, and the mystery of certain knowledge, and the
faith of the believers, and the light of the Rightful, and the
tenets of those who profess unity, and the crown of those
who have knowledge, and the end of the patient, and the
mark of every one who has an aim, and the watering-place
of every one who goes to water. So hold thou on to it
with the holding" on of him who hopes to have it on the
day of return ;f and provision thyself with it, for it is the
best of provisions for the way. And it is that which is
most important of the sciences, and that which is the highest
of them. And thou shalt not communicate it except to
-those to whom it is suited.
And praise be to God who has directed us hereto ! and
we should not have been to be directed, if God had not di
rected us. And do thou, 0 God, bless our chief Muhammed,
and his Family, the good, the pure, -with a benediction
abiding to the day of doom ! And God is our sufficiency.
And well is he the Guardian ! Aud well is he the Friend !
And well is he the Defender ! And let peace be to the Mes
sengers ! And praise be to God, the Lord of worlds !
* As the representative of the Amr, the ImAm is here said to have his Natiks;
whUe immediately afterwards is recognized his relation of successor to the
Natik, in the Isma'ilian hierarchy.
f 'The day of final account.

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