Re: Essays on the Religion and Philosophy of the Hindus
Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 3:50 am
XIII. On the Origin and Peculiar Tenets of Certain Muhammedan Sects. [From the Asiatic Researches, vol. vii. p. 338-344. Calcutta 1801. 4to.]
The Bohrahs, numerous in the provinces of the Indian peninsula, but found also in most of the great cities of Hindustan, are conspicuous by their peculiar customs; such for example, as that of wearing at their orisons an appropriate dress, which they daily wash with their own hands. Their disposition for trade to the exclusion of every other mode of livelihood, and to the government of their tribe by a hierarchy, are further peculiarities, which have rendered them an object of inquiry, as a singular sect.
Researches made by myself, among others, were long unsuccessful. My informers confounded this tribe with the Ismailiyahs, with the Ali-ilahiyahs, and even with the unchaste sect of Cheragh-cush. Concerning their origin the information received was equally erroneous with that regarding their tenets. But at length a learned Sayyad referred me to the Mejatisu'lmuminim composed by Nurullah of Shuster, a zealous Shiah, who suffered for his religious opinions in the reign of Jehangir. In the passage, which will be forthwith cited from that work, the Bohrahs are described by the author as natives of Gujrat, converted to the Muhammedan religion about three hundred years before his time, or five centuries ago.
To that passage I shall subjoin extracts from the same work, containing an account of similar tribes, with some of which the Bohrahs may perhaps have been sometimes confounded. Concerning the Ismailiyahs, for whom they have been actually mistaken, it must be remembered, that these form a sect of Shiahs, who take their distinctive appellation from Ismail, eldest son and nominated successor of Iman Jafer, surnamed Sadik. They consider Ismail as the true heir of the Imamet, and do not acknowledge the legal succession of his brother Musa and of the five last Imams. This sect flourished under the Egyptian dynasty of Khalifs founded by MUHAMMED Mahadi, who claimed descent from the Imam Ismail himself. It was also conspicuous under a dynasty of princes of this sect, the first of whom, Hasan Sabah founded a principality in Irak. [See the Dabistan of Mulla Mohsen Fani; and D'herbelot's Bibliotheque orientale. If the industrious Bohrahs and the remorseless "assassins" had really arisen out of the same sect, it would be a new fact in the history of the human mind.] The sect may still exist in Syria; but it does not seem to be at present known in the Indian portions of Asia.
The Ali-ilahiyahs on the contrary, are become numerous in India. This sect is mentioned by the author of the Dabistan, as prevalent in his time, only at Uzbit, or Azbat, in the mountainous tract near Khata. It now prevails, according to information which I have received in a part of the dominions of Nawab-Nizamu'l-Mulc. The singular tenets of this heretical sect are thus stated by Mohsen Fani. "The Ali-ilahiyahs hold, that celestial spirits, which cannot otherwise be known to mankind, have frequently appeared in palpable shapes. God himself has been manifested in the human form, but especially in the person of Ali Murteza, whose image, being that of ALI ULLAH, or ALI God, these sectaries deem it lawful to worship. They believe in the metempsychosis; and, like others who maintain that doctrine, abstain from fleshmeat. They imagine that ALI MURTEZA, when he quitted this earth, returned to the sun, which is the same with himself; and hence they call the sun Ali Ullah. This sect does not admit the authenticity of the Koran as it is now extant: some pretending that it is a forgery of Abubecr's, Omar's and Othman's, others condemning it, simply because it was edited by the last mentioned Khalif. The members of this sect appear to vary in regard to some points of doctrine; but the leading and universal tenet of this sect is, that, in every age of the world, God is manifested in the persons of prophets and of saints; for instance, he was Adam, and afterwards Ahmed and Ali: and in like manner these sectaries believe in the transmigration of God into the persons of the Imams. Some of them affirm, that the manifestation of the divine being, in this age of the world, was Ali Ullah; and after him, his glorious posterity: and they consider Muhammed as a prophet sent by Ali Ullah. When God, say they, perceived Muhammed's insufficiency, he himself assumed the human form for the purpose of assisting the prophet." [See the Dabistan, from which this account is abstracted.]
It does not appear from any satisfactory information, that the Bohrahs agree with either of these sects, in deifying Ali, or in contesting the legal succession of the six last Imams. On the contrary, the tribe is acknowledged to consist of orthodox Sunnis, and of true Shiahs; but mostly of the last mentioned sect. These and other known circumstances corroborate the following account of that tribe, as given by Nurullah of Shuster, in the work before mentioned.
"The Bohrahs are a tribe of the faithful which is settled chiefly at Ahmedabad and its environs. Their salvation in the bosom of religion took place about three hundred years ago, at the call of a virtuous and learned man, whose name was Mulla Ali, and whose tomb is still seen at the city of Cambayat.
"The conversion of this people was thus conducted by him: As the inhabitants of Gujrat were pagans, and were guided by an aged priest, a recreant, in whom they had a great confidence, and whose disciples they were, the missionary judged it expedient, first to offer himself as a pupil to the priest, and after convincing him by irrefragable proofs, and making him participate in the declaration of faith, then to undertake the conversion of others. He accordingly passed some years in attendance on that priest, learnt his language, studied his sciences, and became conversant with his books. By degrees he opened the articles of the faith to the enlightened priest, and persuaded him to become Musleman. Some of his people changed their religion in concert with their old instructor. The circumstance of the priest's conversion being made known to the principal minister of the king of that country, he visited the priest, adopted habits of obedience towards him, and became a Muslem. But for a long time, the minister, the priest, and the rest of the converts, dissembled their faith, and sought to keep it concealed, through dread of the king.
"At length the intelligence of the minister's conversion reached the monarch. One day he repaired to his house, and finding him in the humble posture of prayer, was incensed against him. The minister knew the motive of the king's visit, and perceived that his anger arose from the suspicion that he was reciting prayers and performing adoration. With presence of mind, inspired by divine providence, he immediately pretended that his prostrations were occasioned by the sight of a serpent, which appeared in the corner of the room, and against which he was employing incantations. The king cast his eyes towards the corner of the apartment, and it so happened that there he saw a serpent; the minister's excuse appeared credible, and the king's suspicions were lulled.
"After a time, the king himself secretly became a convert to the Musleman faith; but dissembled the state of his mind, for reasons of state. Yet, at the point of death, he ordered, by his will, that his corpse should not be burnt, according to the customs of the pagans.
"Subsequently to his decease, when Sultan Zefer, one of the trusty nobles of Sultan Firuz Shah, sovereign of Delhi, conquered the province of Gujrat; some learned men, who accompanied him, used arguments to make the people embrace the faith, according to the doctrines of such as revere the traditions. [The Sunnis, or orthodox sect.] Hence it happened, that some of the tribe of Bohrahs became members of the sect of the Sunnet.
"The party which retains the Imamiyeh tenets, comprehends nearly two thousand families. They always have a pious learned man amongst them, who expounds cases of law according to the doctrines of the Imamiyehs. Most of them subsist by commerce and mechanical trades; as is indicated by the name of Bohrah, which signifies merchant, in the dialect of Gujrat. They transmit the fifth part of their gains to the Sayyads of Medineh; and pay their regular eleemosynary contributions to the chief of their learned, who distributes the alms among the poor of the sect. These people, great and small, are honest, pious, and temperate. They always suffer much persecution (for the crime of bearing affection towards the holy family) from the wicked murderers, [The orthodox.] who are invested with public authority; and they are ever involved in the difficulties of concealment.
"The Sadikiyahs are a tribe of the faithful Hindustan; pious men, and disciples of Sayyad Cabiru'ddin, who derived his descent from ISMAIL, son of Imam Jafer. This tribe is denominated Sadikiyahs, by reason of the sincere [Sadik] call of that Sayyad. Although that appellation have, according to received notions, a seeming relation to ABUBECR, whose partisans gave him this title, yet it is probable that the sect assumed that appellation for the sake of concealment. However, no advantage ever accrues to them from it. On the contrary, the arrogant inhabitants of Hind, who are Hindus, being retainers of the son of the impious Hind, [Meaning Hinda, the mother of Moaviyyeh.] have discovered their attachment to the sect of Shiahs, and have revived against them the calumnies which five hundred years ago they broached against the Ismailiyahs. They maliciously charge them with impiety; such, indeed, is their ancient practice. They violate justice, and labour to extirpate this harmless tribe. In short, they cast the stone of calumny on the roof of the name and reputation of this wretched people, and have no fear of God, nor awe of his Prophet. [The author proceeds in a strain of invective against the Sunnis; especially against Mulla ABDULLAH of Lahor, who bore the title of the Makhdu-Mu'l-Mulc. This, being superfluous, is here omitted.]
"In short, nearly thirty thousand persons of this sect are settled in provinces of Hindustan, such as Multan, Lahor, Dehli, and Gujrat. Most of them subsist by commerce. They pay the fifth part of their gains to the descendants of Sayyad Cabir, who are their priests; and both preceptor and pupil, priests and laymen, all are zealous Shiahs. God avert evil from them, and make the wiles of their foes recoil!
"The Hazarehs of Cabul are an innumerable tribe, who reside in Cabul, Ghaznin, and Kandahar. Many of them are Shiahs, and adherents of the holy family. At present, among the chief of the Shiahs, is Mirza Shadman, with whom the faithful are well pleased, and of whose incursions the Kharejis [The word is here used as a term of reproach; for its origin, as the appellation of a sect, see D'herbelot's Bibliotheque orientale.] of Cabul and Ghaznin bitterly complain.
"The Baloch of Sind; many of these are devoted Shiahs. They call themselves, and are called by all the faithful, Ali's friends. Sayyad Raju of Bokhara exerted himself in the guidance of this tribe; his descendants remain among them, and are occupied with the concerns of the sect."
The Bohrahs, numerous in the provinces of the Indian peninsula, but found also in most of the great cities of Hindustan, are conspicuous by their peculiar customs; such for example, as that of wearing at their orisons an appropriate dress, which they daily wash with their own hands. Their disposition for trade to the exclusion of every other mode of livelihood, and to the government of their tribe by a hierarchy, are further peculiarities, which have rendered them an object of inquiry, as a singular sect.
Researches made by myself, among others, were long unsuccessful. My informers confounded this tribe with the Ismailiyahs, with the Ali-ilahiyahs, and even with the unchaste sect of Cheragh-cush. Concerning their origin the information received was equally erroneous with that regarding their tenets. But at length a learned Sayyad referred me to the Mejatisu'lmuminim composed by Nurullah of Shuster, a zealous Shiah, who suffered for his religious opinions in the reign of Jehangir. In the passage, which will be forthwith cited from that work, the Bohrahs are described by the author as natives of Gujrat, converted to the Muhammedan religion about three hundred years before his time, or five centuries ago.
To that passage I shall subjoin extracts from the same work, containing an account of similar tribes, with some of which the Bohrahs may perhaps have been sometimes confounded. Concerning the Ismailiyahs, for whom they have been actually mistaken, it must be remembered, that these form a sect of Shiahs, who take their distinctive appellation from Ismail, eldest son and nominated successor of Iman Jafer, surnamed Sadik. They consider Ismail as the true heir of the Imamet, and do not acknowledge the legal succession of his brother Musa and of the five last Imams. This sect flourished under the Egyptian dynasty of Khalifs founded by MUHAMMED Mahadi, who claimed descent from the Imam Ismail himself. It was also conspicuous under a dynasty of princes of this sect, the first of whom, Hasan Sabah founded a principality in Irak. [See the Dabistan of Mulla Mohsen Fani; and D'herbelot's Bibliotheque orientale. If the industrious Bohrahs and the remorseless "assassins" had really arisen out of the same sect, it would be a new fact in the history of the human mind.] The sect may still exist in Syria; but it does not seem to be at present known in the Indian portions of Asia.
The Ali-ilahiyahs on the contrary, are become numerous in India. This sect is mentioned by the author of the Dabistan, as prevalent in his time, only at Uzbit, or Azbat, in the mountainous tract near Khata. It now prevails, according to information which I have received in a part of the dominions of Nawab-Nizamu'l-Mulc. The singular tenets of this heretical sect are thus stated by Mohsen Fani. "The Ali-ilahiyahs hold, that celestial spirits, which cannot otherwise be known to mankind, have frequently appeared in palpable shapes. God himself has been manifested in the human form, but especially in the person of Ali Murteza, whose image, being that of ALI ULLAH, or ALI God, these sectaries deem it lawful to worship. They believe in the metempsychosis; and, like others who maintain that doctrine, abstain from fleshmeat. They imagine that ALI MURTEZA, when he quitted this earth, returned to the sun, which is the same with himself; and hence they call the sun Ali Ullah. This sect does not admit the authenticity of the Koran as it is now extant: some pretending that it is a forgery of Abubecr's, Omar's and Othman's, others condemning it, simply because it was edited by the last mentioned Khalif. The members of this sect appear to vary in regard to some points of doctrine; but the leading and universal tenet of this sect is, that, in every age of the world, God is manifested in the persons of prophets and of saints; for instance, he was Adam, and afterwards Ahmed and Ali: and in like manner these sectaries believe in the transmigration of God into the persons of the Imams. Some of them affirm, that the manifestation of the divine being, in this age of the world, was Ali Ullah; and after him, his glorious posterity: and they consider Muhammed as a prophet sent by Ali Ullah. When God, say they, perceived Muhammed's insufficiency, he himself assumed the human form for the purpose of assisting the prophet." [See the Dabistan, from which this account is abstracted.]
It does not appear from any satisfactory information, that the Bohrahs agree with either of these sects, in deifying Ali, or in contesting the legal succession of the six last Imams. On the contrary, the tribe is acknowledged to consist of orthodox Sunnis, and of true Shiahs; but mostly of the last mentioned sect. These and other known circumstances corroborate the following account of that tribe, as given by Nurullah of Shuster, in the work before mentioned.
"The Bohrahs are a tribe of the faithful which is settled chiefly at Ahmedabad and its environs. Their salvation in the bosom of religion took place about three hundred years ago, at the call of a virtuous and learned man, whose name was Mulla Ali, and whose tomb is still seen at the city of Cambayat.
"The conversion of this people was thus conducted by him: As the inhabitants of Gujrat were pagans, and were guided by an aged priest, a recreant, in whom they had a great confidence, and whose disciples they were, the missionary judged it expedient, first to offer himself as a pupil to the priest, and after convincing him by irrefragable proofs, and making him participate in the declaration of faith, then to undertake the conversion of others. He accordingly passed some years in attendance on that priest, learnt his language, studied his sciences, and became conversant with his books. By degrees he opened the articles of the faith to the enlightened priest, and persuaded him to become Musleman. Some of his people changed their religion in concert with their old instructor. The circumstance of the priest's conversion being made known to the principal minister of the king of that country, he visited the priest, adopted habits of obedience towards him, and became a Muslem. But for a long time, the minister, the priest, and the rest of the converts, dissembled their faith, and sought to keep it concealed, through dread of the king.
"At length the intelligence of the minister's conversion reached the monarch. One day he repaired to his house, and finding him in the humble posture of prayer, was incensed against him. The minister knew the motive of the king's visit, and perceived that his anger arose from the suspicion that he was reciting prayers and performing adoration. With presence of mind, inspired by divine providence, he immediately pretended that his prostrations were occasioned by the sight of a serpent, which appeared in the corner of the room, and against which he was employing incantations. The king cast his eyes towards the corner of the apartment, and it so happened that there he saw a serpent; the minister's excuse appeared credible, and the king's suspicions were lulled.
"After a time, the king himself secretly became a convert to the Musleman faith; but dissembled the state of his mind, for reasons of state. Yet, at the point of death, he ordered, by his will, that his corpse should not be burnt, according to the customs of the pagans.
"Subsequently to his decease, when Sultan Zefer, one of the trusty nobles of Sultan Firuz Shah, sovereign of Delhi, conquered the province of Gujrat; some learned men, who accompanied him, used arguments to make the people embrace the faith, according to the doctrines of such as revere the traditions. [The Sunnis, or orthodox sect.] Hence it happened, that some of the tribe of Bohrahs became members of the sect of the Sunnet.
"The party which retains the Imamiyeh tenets, comprehends nearly two thousand families. They always have a pious learned man amongst them, who expounds cases of law according to the doctrines of the Imamiyehs. Most of them subsist by commerce and mechanical trades; as is indicated by the name of Bohrah, which signifies merchant, in the dialect of Gujrat. They transmit the fifth part of their gains to the Sayyads of Medineh; and pay their regular eleemosynary contributions to the chief of their learned, who distributes the alms among the poor of the sect. These people, great and small, are honest, pious, and temperate. They always suffer much persecution (for the crime of bearing affection towards the holy family) from the wicked murderers, [The orthodox.] who are invested with public authority; and they are ever involved in the difficulties of concealment.
"The Sadikiyahs are a tribe of the faithful Hindustan; pious men, and disciples of Sayyad Cabiru'ddin, who derived his descent from ISMAIL, son of Imam Jafer. This tribe is denominated Sadikiyahs, by reason of the sincere [Sadik] call of that Sayyad. Although that appellation have, according to received notions, a seeming relation to ABUBECR, whose partisans gave him this title, yet it is probable that the sect assumed that appellation for the sake of concealment. However, no advantage ever accrues to them from it. On the contrary, the arrogant inhabitants of Hind, who are Hindus, being retainers of the son of the impious Hind, [Meaning Hinda, the mother of Moaviyyeh.] have discovered their attachment to the sect of Shiahs, and have revived against them the calumnies which five hundred years ago they broached against the Ismailiyahs. They maliciously charge them with impiety; such, indeed, is their ancient practice. They violate justice, and labour to extirpate this harmless tribe. In short, they cast the stone of calumny on the roof of the name and reputation of this wretched people, and have no fear of God, nor awe of his Prophet. [The author proceeds in a strain of invective against the Sunnis; especially against Mulla ABDULLAH of Lahor, who bore the title of the Makhdu-Mu'l-Mulc. This, being superfluous, is here omitted.]
"In short, nearly thirty thousand persons of this sect are settled in provinces of Hindustan, such as Multan, Lahor, Dehli, and Gujrat. Most of them subsist by commerce. They pay the fifth part of their gains to the descendants of Sayyad Cabir, who are their priests; and both preceptor and pupil, priests and laymen, all are zealous Shiahs. God avert evil from them, and make the wiles of their foes recoil!
"The Hazarehs of Cabul are an innumerable tribe, who reside in Cabul, Ghaznin, and Kandahar. Many of them are Shiahs, and adherents of the holy family. At present, among the chief of the Shiahs, is Mirza Shadman, with whom the faithful are well pleased, and of whose incursions the Kharejis [The word is here used as a term of reproach; for its origin, as the appellation of a sect, see D'herbelot's Bibliotheque orientale.] of Cabul and Ghaznin bitterly complain.
"The Baloch of Sind; many of these are devoted Shiahs. They call themselves, and are called by all the faithful, Ali's friends. Sayyad Raju of Bokhara exerted himself in the guidance of this tribe; his descendants remain among them, and are occupied with the concerns of the sect."