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FAIʾ (فى‎). Booty obtained from infidels. According to Muḥammad ibn T̤āhir, faiʾ is booty taken from a country which submits to Islām without resistance, as distinguished from g͟hanīmah, or plunder. The K͟halīfah ʿUmar said it was the special privilege of the Prophet to take booty as well as plunder, a privilege not permitted to any other prophet.

ʿAuf ibn Mālik says the Prophet used to divide booty on the same day he took it, and would give two shares to a man with a wife, and only one share to a man without one. (Mishkāt, book xvii. c. xii.)

FAITH. [IMAN.]

FAIẒ-I-AQDAS (فيض اقدس‎, Persian). Communications of divine grace made to angels and prophets and other superior intelligences.

AL-FAJR (الفجر‎), “The Daybreak.” The title of the LXXXIXth Sūrah of the Qurʾān, in the first verse of which the word occurs.

FAʾL (فال‎). A good omen, as distinguished from t̤iyārah, “a bad omen.”

Muḥammad is related to have said, “Do not put faith in a bad omen, but rather take a good one.” The people asked, “What is a good omen?” And he replied, “Any good word which any of you may hear.”

Ibn ʿAbbās says, “The Prophet used to take good omens by men’s names, but he would not take bad omens.”

Qat̤ʿān ibn Qabīṣah says, “The Prophet forbade taking omens from the running of animals, the flight of birds, and from throwing pebbles, which were done by the idolators of Arabia.” (Mishkāt, book xxi. c. ii.)

It is, however, very commonly practised amongst the Muḥammadans of India. For example, if a person start out on an important journey, and he meet a woman first, he will take it as a bad omen, and if he meet a man he will regard it as a good one.

AL-FALAQ (الفلق‎), “The Daybreak.” The title of the CXIIIth Sūrah of the Qurʾān. The word signifies cleaving, and denotes the breaking forth of the light from the darkness.

FALL, The (of Adam). Is known amongst Muslim writers as zallatu Ādam, “the fall,” or slip of Adam. The term zallah, “a slip” or “error,” being applied to prophets, but not ẕamb, “a sin,” which they say Prophets do not commit.

The following is the account of Adam’s “slip,” as given in the Qurʾān, Sūrah ii. 33:—

“And we said, ‘O Adam! dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden, and eat ye plentifully therefrom wherever ye list; but to this tree come not nigh, lest ye become of the transgressors.’

“But Satan made them slip (azallahumā) from it, and caused their banishment from the place in which they were. And we said, ‘Get ye down, the one of you an enemy to the other: and there shall be for you in the earth a dwelling-place, and a provision for a time.’”

Sūrah vii. 18–24:—

“‘And, O Adam! dwell thou and thy wife in Paradise, and eat ye whence ye will, but to this tree approach not, lest ye become of the unjust doers.’

“Then Satan whispered them to show them their nakedness, which had been hidden from them both. And he said, ‘This tree hath your Lord forbidden you, only lest ye should become angels, or lest ye should become immortals.’

“And he sware to them both, ‘Verily I am unto you one who counselleth aright.’

“So he beguiled them by deceits: and when they had tasted of the tree, their nakedness appeared to them, and they began to sew together upon themselves the leaves of the garden. And their Lord called to them, ‘Did I not forbid you this tree, and did I not say to you, “Verily, Satan is your declared enemy”?’

“They said, ‘O our Lord! With ourselves have we dealt unjustly: if thou forgive us not and have pity on us, we shall surely be of those who perish.’

“He said, ‘Get ye down, the one of you an enemy to the other; and on earth shall be your dwelling, and your provision for a season.’

“He said, ‘On it shall ye live, and on it shall ye die, and from it shall ye be taken forth.’”

Sūrah xx. 114–120:—

“And of old We made a covenant with Adam; but he forgat it; and we found no firmness of purpose in him.

“And when We said to the angels, ‘Fall down and worship Adam,’ they worshipped all, save Eblis, who refused: and We said, ‘O Adam! this truly is a foe to thee and to thy wife. Let him not therefore drive you out of the garden, and ye become wretched;

“‘For to thee is it granted that thou shalt not hunger therein, neither shalt thou be naked;

“‘And that thou shalt not thirst therein, neither shalt thou parch with heat’;

“But Satan whispered him: said he, ‘O Adam! shall I shew thee the tree of Eternity, and the Kingdom that faileth not?’

“And they both ate thereof, and their nakedness appeared to them, and they began to sew of the leaves of the Garden to cover them, and Adam disobeyed his Lord and went astray.

“Afterwards his Lord chose him for himself, and was turned towards him, and guided him.”

The Muslim Commentators are much perplexed as to the scene of the fall of Adam. From the text of the Qurʾān it would appear that the Paradise spoken of was in heaven and not on earth; and the tradition, that when Adam was cast forth he fell on the island of Ceylon, would support this view. But al-Baiẓāwī says some say the Garden of Eden was situated either in the country of the Philistines or in Fāris, and that Adam was cast out of it and sent in the direction of Hindustān. But this view he rejects, and maintains that the Garden of Eden was in the heavens, and that the fall occurred before Adam and Eve inhabited this earth of ours. [EDEN.]

The Muḥammadan commentators are silent as to the effects of Adam’s fall upon the human race.

FALSE WITNESS. The Imām Abū Ḥanīfah is of opinion that a false witness must be publicly stigmatised, but not chastised with blows; but the Imāms ash-Shāfiʿī, Yūsuf, and Muḥammad are of opinion that he should be scourged and imprisoned.

In the Law of Moses, a false witness was punished with the punishment of the offence it sought to establish. Deut. xx. 19: “Thou shalt do unto him as he had thought to do unto his brother.” [EVIDENCE.]

FANĀʾ (فناء‎). Extinction. The last stage in the Ṣūfīistic journey. [SUFIISM.]

FAQĪH (فقيه‎). A Muḥammadan lawyer or theologian. The term is still retained in Spanish as alfaqui. [FIQH.]

FAQĪR (فقير‎). Persian darwesh. The Arabic word faqīr signifies “poor”; but it is used in the sense of being in need of mercy, and poor in the sight of God, rather than in need of worldly assistance. Darwesh is a Persian word, derived from dar, “a door,” i.e. those who beg from door to door. The terms are generally used for those who lead a religious life. Religious faqīrs are divided into two great classes, the ba sharʿ (with the law), or those who govern their conduct according to the principles of Islām; and the be sharʿ (without the law), or those who do not rule their lives according to the principles of any religious creed, although they call themselves Musulmāns. The former are called sālik, or travellers on the pathway (t̤arīqah) to heaven; and the latter are either āzād (free), or majẕūb (abstracted). The sālik embrace the various religious orders who perform the ẕikrs, described in the article ZIKR.

The Majẕūb faqīrs are totally absorbed in religious reverie. The Āzād shave their beards, whiskers, moustachios, eye-brows, and eye-lashes, and lead lives of celibacy.

The Āzād and Majẕūb faqīrs can scarcely be said to be Muḥammadans, as they do not say the regular prayers or observe the ordinances of Islām, so that a description of their various sects does not fall within the limits of this work. The Sālik faqīrs are divided into very numerous orders; but their chief difference consists in their silsilah, or chain of succession, from their great teachers, the K͟halīfahs Abū Bakr and ʿAlī, who are said to have been the founders of the religious order of faqīrs.

It is impossible to become acquainted with all the rules and ceremonies of the numerous orders of faqīrs; for, like those of the Freemasons and other secret societies, they are not divulged to the uninitiated.

The doctrines of the darwesh orders are those of the Ṣūfī mystics, and their religious ceremonies consist of exercises called ẕikrs, or “recitals.” [ZIKR, SUFIISM.]

M. D’Ohsson, in his celebrated work on the Ottoman Empire, traces the origin of the order of faqīrs to the time of Muḥammad himself:—

“In the first year of the Hijrah, forty-five citizens of Makkah joined themselves to as many others of al-Madīnah. They took an oath of fidelity to the doctrines of their Prophet, and formed a sect or fraternity, the object of which was to establish among themselves a community of property, and to perform every day certain religious practices in a spirit of penitence and mortification. To distinguish themselves from other Muḥammadans, they took the name of Sūfīs. [SUFIISM.] This name, which later was attributed to the most zealous partizans of Islām, is the same still in use to indicate any Musulmān who retires from the world to study, to lead a life of pious contemplation, and to follow the most painful exercises of an exaggerated devotion. To the name of Sūfī they added also that of faqīr, because their maxim was to renounce the goods of the earth, and to live in an entire abnegation of all worldly enjoyments, following thereby the words of the Prophet, al-faqru fak͟hrī, or ‘Poverty is my pride.’ Following their example, Abū Bakr and ʿAlī established, even during the life-time of the Prophet and under his own eyes, religious orders, over which each presided, with Ẕikrs or peculiar religious exercises, established by them separately, and a vow taken by each of the voluntary disciples forming them. On his decease, Abū Bakr made over his office of president to one Salmānu ʾl-Fārisī, and ʿAlī to al-Ḥasanu ʾl-Baṣrī, and each of these charges were consecrated under the title K͟halīfah, or successor. The two first successors followed the example of the K͟halīfahs of Islām, and transmitted it to their successors, and these in turn to others, the most aged and venerable of their fraternity. Some among them, led by the delirium of the imagination, wandered away from the primitive rules of their society, and converted, from time to time, these fraternities into a multitude of religious orders.

“They were doubtlessly emboldened in this enterprise by that of a recluse who, in the thirty-seventh year of the Hijrah (A.D. 657) formed the first order of anchorets of the greatest austerity, named Uwais al-Karānī, a native of Kārū, in Yaman, who one day announced that the archangel Gabriel had appeared to him in a dream, and in the name of the Eternal God commanded him to withdraw from the world, and to give himself up to a life of contemplation and penitence. This visionary pretended also to have received from that heavenly visitor the plan of his future conduct, and the rules of his institution. These consisted in a continual abstinence, in retirement from society, in an abandonment of the pleasures of innocent nature, and in the recital of an infinity of prayers day and night (Ẕikrs). Uwais even added to these practices. He went so far as to draw out his teeth, in honour, it is said, of the Prophet, who had lost two of his own in the celebrated battle of Uḥud. He required his disciples to make the same sacrifice. He pretended that all those who would be especially favoured by heaven, and really called to the exercises of his Order, should lose their teeth in a supernatural manner; that an angel should draw out their teeth whilst in the midst of a deep sleep; and that on awakening they should find them by their bedside. The experiences of such a vocation were doubtless too severe to attract many proselytes to the order; it only enjoyed a certain degree of attraction for fanatics and credulously ignorant people during the first days of Islām. Since then it has remained in Yaman, where it originated, and where its partisans were always but few in number.”

It was about A.H. 49 (A.D. 766), that the Shaik͟h Alwān, a mystic renowned for his religious fervour, founded the first regular order of faqīrs, now known as the Alwanīyah, with its special rules and religious exercises, although similar associations of men without strict rules had existed from the days of Abū Bakr, the first K͟halīfah. And although there is the formal declaration of Muḥammad, “Let there be no monasticism in Islām,” still the inclinations of Eastern races to a solitary and a contemplative life, carried it even against the positive opposition of orthodox Islām, and now there is scarcely a maulawī or learned man of reputation in Islām who is not a member of some religious order.

Each century gave birth to new orders, named after their respective founders, but in the present day there is no means of ascertaining the actual number of these associations of mystic Muslims. M. D’Ohsson, in the work already quoted, gives a list of thirty-two orders, but it is by no means comprehensive.

No.	Name of the Order.	Founder.	Place of the Founder’s Shrine.	Date.	Date.
A.H.	A.D.
1	Alwaniyah	Shaik͟h Alwan	Jeddah	149	766
2	Adhamiyah	Ibrahim ibn Adham	Damascus	161	777
3	Bastamiyah	Bayazid Bastami	Jabal Bastam	261	874
4	Saqatiyah	Sirri Saqati	Bag͟hdād	295	907
5	Qadiriyah	Abdu ʾl-Qadir Jilani	Bag͟hdād	561	1165
6	Rufaiyah	Saiyid Ahmad Rufai	Bag͟hdād	576	1182
7	Suhrwardiyah	Shihabu ʾd-Din	Bag͟hdād	602	1205
8	Kabrawiyah	Najmu ʾd-Din	Khawazim	617	1220
9	Shaziliyah	Abu ʾl-Hasan	Makkah	656	1258
10	Maulawiyah	Jalalu ʾd-Din Rumi	Conyah	672	1273
11	Badawiyah	Abu ʾl-Fitan Ahmad	Tanta, Egypt	675	1276
12	Naqshbandiyah	Pir Muhammad	Qasri Arifan	719	1319
13	Sadiyah	Sadu ʾd-Din	Damascus	736	1335
14	Bakhtashiyah	Haji Bakhtash	Kīr Sher	736	1357
15	Khalwatiyah	Umar Khalwati	Cæsarea	800	1397
16	Zainiyah	Zainu ʾd-Din	Kufah	838	1438
17	Babaiyah	Abdu ʾl-Ghani	Adrianople	870	1465
18	Bahramiyah	Haji Bahrami	Angora	876	1471
19	Ashrafiyah	Ashraf Rumi	Chīn Iznic	899	1493
20	Bakriyah	Abu Bakr Wafai	Aleppo	902	1496
21	Sunbuliyah	Sunbul Yusuf Bulawi	Constantinople	936	1529
22	Gulshaniyah	Ibrahim Gulshani	Cairo	940	1533
23	Ighit Bashiyah	Shamsu ʾd-Din	Magnesia	951	1544
24	Umm Sunaniyah	Shaik͟h Umm Sunan	Constantinople	959	1552
25	Jalwatiyah	Pir Uftadi	Broosa	988	1580
26	Ashaqiyah	Hasanu ʾd-Din	Constantinople	1001	1592
27	Shamsiyah	Shamsu ʾd-Din	Madīnah	1010	1601
28	Sunan Ummiyah	Alim Sunan Ummi	Alwali	1079	1668
29	Niyaziyah	Muhammad Niyaz	Lemnos	1100	1694
30	Muradiyah	Murad Shami	Constantinople	1132	1719
31	Nuruddiniyah	Nuru ʾd-Din	Constantinople	1146	1733
32	Jamaliyah	Jamalu ʾd-Din	Constantinople	1164	1750

A BASTAMI SHAIKH. (Brown.)

Three of these orders, the Bast̤āmīyah, the Naqshbandīyah, and the Bak͟htāshīyah, descend from the original order established by the first K͟halīfah, Abū Bakr. The fourth K͟halīfah, ʿAlī, gave birth to all the others. Each order has its silsilah, or chain of succession, from one of these two great founders.

The Naqshbandīyah, who are the followers of K͟hwajah Pīr Muḥammad Naqshband, are a very numerous order. They usually perform the Ẕikr-i-K͟hafī, or silent devotions, described in the account of ZIKR.

The first duty of the members of this Order is to recite, daily, particular prayers, called the k͟hātim k͟hāwjagān; once, at least, the Istīg͟hfār (Prayer for Forgiveness); seven times the salāmāt; seven times the Fātiḥah (first chapter of the Qurʾān); nine times the chapter of the Qurʾān called Inshirāh (Chapter xciv.); lastly, the Ik͟hlāṣ (Chapter cxii.). To these are added the ceremonies called Ẕikr. [ZIKR.]

For these recitals they meet together once a week. Ordinarily, this is on Thursday, and after the fifth prayer of the day, so that it occurs after night-fall. In each city, suburb, or quarter, the members of this association, divided into different bodies, assemble at the house of their respective pīr or shaik͟h, where, seated, they perform their pious exercises with the most perfect gravity. The shaik͟h, or any other brother in his stead, chants the prayers which constitute the association, and the assembly respond in chorus, “Hū (He),” or “Allāh!” In some cities, the Naqshbandīyah have especial halls, consecrated wholly to this purpose, and then the shaik͟h only is distinguished from the other brethren by a special turban.

The Bak͟htāshīyah was founded by a native of Buk͟hārā, and is celebrated as being the order which eventually gave birth to the fanatical order of Janissaries. The symbol of their order is the mystic girdle, which they put off and on seven times, saying:—

1. “I tie up greediness, and unbind generosity.”

2. “I tie up anger, and unbind meekness.”

3. “I tie up avarice, and unbind piety.”

4. “I tie up ignorance, and unbind the fear of God.”

5. “I tie up passion, and unbind the love of God.”

6. “I tie up hunger, and unbind (spiritual) contentment.”

7. “I tie up Satanism and unbind Divineness.”

The Maulawīyah are the most popular religious order of faqīrs in the Turkish empire. They are called by Europeans, who witness their ẕikrs and various religious performances at Constantinople and Cairo, the “dancing,” or “whirling” darweshes. They were founded by the Maulawī Jalālu ʾd-dīn ar-Rūmī, the renowned author of the Mas̤nawī, a book much read in Persia, and, indeed, in all parts of Islām.

THE MAULAWI OR DANCING DARWESH.

They have service at their takyah, or “convent,” every Wednesday and Sunday at two o’clock. There are about twenty performers, with high round felt caps and brown mantles. At a given signal they all fall flat on their faces, and rise and walk slowly round and round with their arms folded, bowing and turning slowly several times. They then cast off their mantles and appear in long bell-shaped petticoats and jackets, and then begin to spin, revolving, dancing and turning with extraordinary velocity. [ZIKR.]

THE MAULAWI OR DANCING DARWESH.

THE MAULAWI OR DANCING DARWESH.

The Qādirīyah sprang from the celebrated Saiyid ʿAbdu ʾl-Qādir, surnamed Pīr-i-Dastagīr, whose shrine is at Bagdad. They practise both the Ẕikr-i-Jalī and the Ẕikr-i-K͟hafī. Most of the Sunnī Maulawīs on the north-west frontier of India are members of this order. In Egypt it is most popular among fishermen.

The Chishtīyah are followers of Muʿīnu ʾd-dīn Banda Nawāz, surnamed the Gīsū darāz, or the “long-ringletted.” His shrine is at Calburgah.

The Shīʿahs generally become faqīrs of this order. They are partial to vocal music, for the founder of the order remarked that singing was the food and support of the soul. They perform the Ẕikr-i-Jalī, described in the article on ZIKR.

The Jalālīyah were founded by Saiyid Jalālu ʾd-dīn, of Buk͟hārā. They are met with in Central Asia. Religious mendicants are often of this order.

The Suhrwardīyah are a popular order in Afg͟hānistān, and comprise a number of learned men. They are the followers of Shihābu ʾd-dīn of Suhrward of al-ʿIrāq. These are the most noted orders of ba sharʿ faqīrs.

The be sharʿ faqīrs are very numerous.

The most popular order in India is that of the Murdārīyah, founded by Zinda Shāh Murdār, of Syria, whose shrine is at Makanpur, in Oudh. From these have sprung the Malang faqīrs, who crowd the bazaars of India. They wear their hair matted and tied in a knot. The Rufāʿīyah order is also a numerous one in some parts of India. They practise the most severe discipline, and mortify themselves by beating their bodies. They are known in Turkey and Egypt as the “Howling Darweshes.”

Another well-known order of darweshes is the Qalandarīyah, or “Wandering Darweshes,” founded by Qalandar Yūsuf al-Andalusī, a native of Spain. He was for a time a member of the Bak͟htāshīs; but having been dismissed from the order, he established one of his own, with the obligation of perpetual travelling. The Qalandar faqīr is a prominent character in Eastern romance.

A QALANDAR. (Brown.)

A RUFAʿI IN ECSTATICS. (Brown.)

THE SHAIKH OF THE DANCING DARWESHES AT CAIRO. (From a Photograph.)

Each order is established on different principles, and has its rules and statutes and peculiar devotions. These characteristics extend even to the garments worn by their followers. Each order has, in fact, a particular dress, and amongst the greater part of them this is chosen so as to mark a difference in that of the shaik͟h from that of the ordinary members. It is perceived principally in the turbans, the shape of the coat, the colours, and the nature of the stuff of which the dresses are made. The shaik͟hs wear robes of green or white cloth; and any of those who in winter line them with fur, use that kind called petit gris and zibaline martin. Few darweshes use cloth for their dress. Black or white felt dresses called ʿabāʾ, such as are made in some of the cities of Anatolia, are the most usual. Those who wear black felt are the Jalwatīs and the Qādirīs. The latter have adopted it for their boots, and muslin for their turbans. Some, such as the Maulawīs and the Bakrīs, wear tall caps called kulāhs, made also of felt; and others, such as the Rufāʿīs, use short caps called T̤āqīyah, to which is added a coarse cloth. The head-dress of almost all the darweshes is called tāj, which signifies a “crown.” These turbans are of different forms, either from the manner in which the muslin is folded, or by the cut of the cloth which covers the top of the head. The cloth is in several gores. Some have four, as the Adhamīs; some six, as the Qādirīs and the Saʿdīs; the Gulshanīs have eight; the Bak͟htāshīs twelve; and the Jalwatīs eighteen.

AN EGYPTIAN FAKIR. (From a Photograph.)

AN EGYPTIAN FAKIR. (From a Photograph.)

The darweshes carry about with them one or other of the following articles: a small crooked stick or iron, which the devotee places under his arm-pit or forehead, to lean upon when he meditates, or an iron or brass bar on which there is a little artificial hand wherewith to scratch his unwashed body, a bag made of lamb-skin, a kashkūl or beggar’s wallet.

Generally, all the darweshes allow their beards and mustachios to grow. Some of the orders—the Qādirīs, Rufāʿīs, K͟halwatīs, Gulshanīs, Jalwatīs, and the Nūru ʾd-dīnīs—still wear long hair, in memory of the usage of the Prophet and several of his disciples. Some allow their hair to fall over their shoulders; others tie it up and put it under their turban.

Whilst private Musulmāns are in the habit of holding rosaries of beads as a pastime, the darweshes do the same, only in a spirit of religion and piety. These rosaries have thirty-three, sixty-six, or ninety-nine beads, which is the number of the attributes of the Divinity [GOD]. Some have them always in their hands, others in their girdles; and all are required to recite, several times during the day, the particular prayers of their order. [TASBIH.]

The individual who desires to enter an order is received in an assembly of the fraternity, presided over by the shaik͟h, who touches his hand and breathes in his ear three times the words, “Lā ilāha illa ʾllāh” (“There is no god but God”), commanding him to repeat them 101, 151, or 301 times each day. This ceremony is called the Talqīn. The recipient, faithful to the orders of his chief, obligates himself to spend his time in perfect retirement, and to report to the shaik͟h the visions or dreams which he may have during the course of his novitiate. These dreams, besides characterising the sanctity of his vocation, and his spiritual advancement in the order, serve likewise as so many supernatural means to direct the shaik͟h regarding the periods when he may again breathe in the ear of the neophyte the second words of the initiation, “Yā Allāh!” (“O God!”), and successively all the others to the last, “Yā Qahhār!” (“O avengeful God!”). The full complement of this exercise is called Chilleh, or “forty days,” a period sometimes even longer, according to the dispositions, more or less favourable, of the candidate. Arrived at the last grade of his novitiate, he is then supposed to have fully ended his career, called Takmīlu ʾs-Sulūk, and acquired the degree of perfection for his solemn admission into the corps to which he has devoted himself. During all his novitiate, the recipient bears the name of Murīd, or “Disciple,” and the shaik͟h who directs him in this pretended celestial career takes the title of Murshid, or “Spiritual Guide.”

The founder of the Alwānīs laid out the first rules of this novitiate; they were subsequently perfected by the institution of the Qādirīs, and more so by the K͟halwatīs. The darweshes of these two last societies are distinguished in some countries by the decoration of their turban, on the top of which are embroidered the words “Lā ilāha illā ʾllāh” (There is no god but God).

The tests of the novice among the Maulawīs seem to be still more severe, and the reception of these dervishes is attended with ceremonies peculiar to their order. The aspirant is required to labour in the convent or takyah 1,001 successive days in the lowest grade, on which account he is called the kārrā kolak (jackal). If he fails in this service only one day, or is absent one night, he is obliged to recommence his novitiate. The chief of the kitchen, or ashjibāshī, one of the most notable of the darweshes, presents him to the shaik͟h, who, seated in an angle of the sofā, receives him amid a general assembly of all the darweshes of the convent. The candidate kisses the hand of the shaik͟h, and takes a seat before him on a mat, which covers the floor of the hall. The chief of the kitchen places his right hand on the neck, and his left hand on the forehead of the novice, whilst the shaik͟h takes off his cap and holds it over his head, reciting the following Persian distich, the composition of the founder of the order:—

“It is true greatness and felicity to close the heart to all human passions; the abandonment of the vanities of this world is the happy effect of the victorious strength given by the grace of our Holy Prophet.”

These verses are followed by the exordium of the Takbīr, “Allāhu akbar—God is great,” after which the shaik͟h covers the head of the new darwesh, who now rises and places himself with the Ashjibāshī in the middle of the hall, where they assume the most humble posture, their hands crossed upon the breast, the left foot over the right foot, and the head inclined towards the left shoulder. The shaik͟h addresses these words to the head of the kitchen:—

“May the services of this darwesh, thy brother, be agreeable to the throne of the Eternal, and in the eyes of our Pīr (the founder of the order); may his satisfaction, his felicity, and his glory grow in this nest of the humble, in the cell of the poor; let us exclaim ‘Hū!’ in honour of our Maulawī.”

They answer “Hū!” and the accepted novice, arising from his place, kisses the hand of the shaik͟h, who at this moment addresses to him some paternal exhortations on the subject of the duties of his new condition, and closes by ordering all the darweshes of the meeting to recognise and embrace their new brother.

The following is said to be the usual method of admitting a Muḥammadan to the order of a ba sharʿ faqīr in India. Having first performed the legal ablutions, the murīd (disciple) seats himself before the murshid (spiritual guide). The murshid then takes the murīd’s right hand, and requires of him a confession of sin according to the following form:—

“I ask forgiveness of the great God than Whom there is no other deity, the Eternal, the Everlasting, the Living One: I turn to Him for repentance, and beg His grace and forgiveness.”

This, or a similar form of repentance, is repeated several times. The murīd then repeats after the murshid:—

“I beg for the favour of God and of the Prophet, and I take for my guide to God such a one (here naming the murshid) not to change or to separate from him. God is our witness. By the great God. There is no deity but God. Amen.”

The murshid and the murīd then recite the first chapter of the Qurʾān, and the murīd concludes the ceremony by kissing the murshid’s hand.

After the initiatory rite, the murīd undergoes a series of instructions, including the ẕikrs, which he is required to repeat daily. The murīd frequently visits his murshid, and sometimes the murshids proceed on a circuit of visitation to their disciples. The place where these “holy men” sit down to instruct the people is ever afterwards held sacred, a small flag is hoisted on a tree, and it is fenced in. Such places are called “takyah,” and are protected and kept free from pollution by some faqīr engaged for the purpose.

Another account of the admission of a murīd, or “disciple,” into the order of Qādirīyah faqīrs, is given by Tawakkul Beg in the Journal Asiatique:—

“Having been introduced by Ak͟hūnd Mullā Muḥammad to Shaik͟h Mulla Shāh, my heart, through frequent intercourse with him, was filled with such a burning desire to arrive at a true knowledge of the mystical science, that I found no sleep by night, nor rest by day. When the initiation commenced, I passed the whole night without sleep, and repeated innumerable times the Sūratu ʾl-Ik͟hlāṣ:—

‘Say: He is God alone;

God the eternal:

He begetteth not, and He is not begotten:

And there is none like unto Him.’

(Sūrah cxii.)

“Whosoever repeats this Sūrah one hundred times can accomplish all his vows. I desired that the shaik͟h should bestow on me his love. No sooner had I finished my task, than the heart of the shaik͟h became full of sympathy for me. On the following night I was conducted to his presence. During the whole of that night he concentrated his thoughts on me, whilst I gave myself up to inward meditation. Three nights passed in this way. On the fourth night the shaik͟h said:—‘Let Mullā Sang͟him and Ṣāliḥ Beg, who are very susceptible to ecstatic emotions, apply their spiritual energies to Tawakkul Beg.’

“They did so, whilst I passed the whole night in meditation, with my face turned toward Makkah. As the morning drew near, a little light came into my mind, but I could not distinguish form or colour. After the morning prayers, I was taken to the shaik͟h who bade me inform him of my mental state. I replied that I had seen a light with my inward eye. On hearing this, the shaik͟h became animated and said: ‘Thy heart is dark, but the time is come when I will show myself clearly to thee.’ He then ordered me to sit down in front of him, and to impress his features on my mind. Then having blindfolded me, he ordered me to concentrate all my thoughts upon him. I did so, and in an instant, by the spiritual help of the shaik͟h, my heart opened. He asked me what I saw. I said that I saw another Tawakkul Beg and another Mullā Shāh. The bandage was then removed, and I saw the shaik͟h in front of me. Again they covered my face, and again I saw him with my inward eye. Astonished, I cried: ‘O master! whether I look with my bodily eye, or with my spiritual sight, it is always you I see.’ I then saw a dazzling figure approach me. The shaik͟h told me to say to the apparition, ‘What is your name?’ In my spirit I put the question, and the figure answered to my heart: ‘I am ʿAbdu ʾl-Qādir al-Jilānī, I have already aided thee, thy heart is opened.’ Much affected, I vowed that in honour of the saint, I would repeat the whole Qurʾān every Friday night.

“Mullā Shāh then said: ‘The spiritual world has been shown to thee in all its beauty.’ I then rendered perfect obedience to the shaik͟h. The following day I saw the Prophet, the chief Companions, and legions of saints and angels. After three months I entered the cheerless region in which the figures appeared no more. During the whole of this time the shaik͟h continued to explain to me the mystery of the doctrine of the Unity and of the knowledge of God; but as yet he did not show me the absolute reality. It was not until a year had passed that I arrived at the true conception of unity. Then in words such as these I told the shaik͟h of my inspiration. ‘I look upon the body as only dust and water, I regard neither my heart nor my soul, alas! that in separation from Thee (God) so much of my life has passed. Thou wert I and I knew it not.’ The shaik͟h was delighted, and said that the truth of the union with God was now clearly revealed to me. Then addressing those who were present, he said:—

“‘Tawakkul Beg learnt from me the doctrine of the Unity, his inward eye has been opened, the spheres of colours and of images have been shown to him. At length, he entered the colourless region. He has now attained to the Unity; doubt and scepticism henceforth have no power over him. No one sees the Unity with the outward eye, till the inward eye gains strength and power.’”

Each institution imposes on its darweshes the obligation to recite certain passages at different times of the day in private, as well as in common with others. Several have also practices which are peculiar to themselves, and which consist in dances, or rather religious circular movements. In each convent there is a room consecrated to these exercises. Nothing is simpler than its construction; it contains no ornaments of any nature; the middle of the room, turned towards Makkah, contains a niche or miḥrāb, in front of which is a small carpet, mostly made of the skin of a sheep, on which the shaik͟h of the community reclines; over the niche the name of the founder of the order is written. In some halls this inscription is surmounted by two others—one containing the Confession of Faith, and the other the words “Bismillāh,” &c. (“In the name of God, the most Clement and Merciful.”) In others are seen on the wall to the right and the left of the niche tablets, on which are written in large letters the name of God (Allāh), that of Muḥammad, and those of the four first K͟halīfahs. At others are seen the names of al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusain, grandsons of the Prophet, and some verses of the Qurʾān, or others of a moral character.

The exercises which are followed in these halls are of various kinds, a description of which is given in the account of ZIKR.

The more zealous faqīrs devote themselves to the most austere acts, and shut themselves up in their cells, so as to give themselves up for whole hours to prayer and meditation; the others pass very often a whole night in pronouncing the words Hū and Allāh, or rather the phrase, Lā ilāha illā ʾllāh. So as to drive away sleep from their eyes, some of them stand for whole nights in very uncomfortable positions. They sit with their feet on the ground, the two hands resting upon their knees: they fasten themselves in this attitude by a band of leather passed over their neck and legs. Others tie their hair with a cord to the ceiling, and call this usage Chilleh. There are some, also, who devote themselves to an absolute retirement from the world, and to the most rigid abstinence, living only on bread and water for twelve days successively, in honour of the twelve Imāms of the race of ʿAlī. This retirement is called K͟halwah. They pretend that the shaik͟h ʿAmr K͟halwatī was the first to follow it, and that he often practised it. They add that one day, having left his retirement, he heard a celestial voice saying, “O ʿAmr K͟halwatī, why dost thou abandon us?” and that, faithful to this oracle, he felt himself obliged to consecrate the rest of his days to works of penitence, and even to institute an order under the name of K͟halwatīs, a name signifying “living in retirement.” For this reason, darweshes of this order consider it their duty, more than any others, to live in solitude and abstinence. The more devoted among them observe sometimes a painful fast of forty days consecutively, called by them al-arbaʿūn (forty). Amongst them all their object is the expiation of their sins, the sanctification of their lives, and the glorification of Islām; the prosperity of the state, and the general salvation of the Muḥammadan people. The most ancient and the greatest of the orders, such as the Alwānīs, the Adhamīs, the Qādirīs, the Rufaʿīs, the Naqshbandīs, the K͟halwatīs, &c., are considered as the cardinal orders; for which reason they call themselves the Uṣūls, or “Originals.” They give to the others the names of the Furūʿ, or “Branches,” signifying thereby secondary ones, to designate their filiation or emanation from the first. The order of the Naqshbandīs and K͟halwatīs hold, however, the first rank in the temporal line; the one on account of the conformity of its statutes to the principles of the ten first confraternities, and to the lustre which causes the grandees and principal citizens of the empire to incorporate themselves in it; and the other, because of its being the source of the mother society which gave birth to many others. In the spiritual line, the order of the Qādirīs, Maulawīs, Bak͟htāshīs, Rufaʿīs, and the Sāʿdīs, are the most distinguished, especially the three first, on account of the eminent sanctity of their founders, of the multitude of the miracles attributed to them, and of the superabundance of the merit which is deemed especially attached to them.

Although all of them are considered as mendicant orders, no darwesh is allowed to beg, especially in public. The only exception is among the Bak͟htāshīs, who deem it meritorious to live by alms; and many of these visit not only private houses, but even the streets, public squares, bureaux, and public houses, for the purpose of recommending themselves to the charity of their brethren.

They only express their requests by the words “Shayid Ullāh,” a corruption from “Shayun li-ʾllāh,” which means, “Something for the love of God.” Many of these make it a rule to live only by the labour of their hands, in imitation of Ḥājī Bak͟htāsh, their founder; and, like him, they make spoons, ladles, graters, and other utensils, of wood or marble. It is these, also, who fashion the pieces of marble, white or veined, which are used as collars or buckles for the belts of all the darweshes of their order, and the kashkūls, or shell cups, in which they are obliged to ask alms.

Although in no wise bound by any oaths, all being free to change their community, and even to return to the world, and there to adopt any occupation which may please their fancy, it is rarely that anyone makes use of this liberty. Each one regards it as a sacred duty to end his days in the dress of his order. To this spirit of poverty and perseverance, in which they are so exemplary, must be added that of perfect submission to their superior. This latter is elevated by the deep humility which accompanies all their conduct, not only in the interior of the cloisters, but even in private life. One never meets them anywhere but with head bent and the most respectful countenance. They never salute anyone, particularly the Maulawīs, and the Bak͟htāshīs, except by the exclamation, “Yā Hū!” The words Ai bi-ʾllāh, “thanks to God,” frequently are used in their conversation; and the more devout or enthusiastic speak only of dreams, visions, celestial spirits, supernatural objects, &c.

They are seldom exposed to the trouble and vexations of ambition, because the most ancient darweshes are those who may aspire to the grade of shaik͟h, or superior of the convent. The shaik͟hs are named by their respective generals, called the Raisu ʾl-Mashāʾik͟h (chief of shaik͟hs). Those of the Maulawīs have the distinctive title of Cheleby Efendi. All reside in the same cities which contain the ashes of the founders of their orders, called by the name of Āstāneh signifying “the court.” They are subordinate to the Muftī of the capital, who exercises absolute jurisdiction over them. In the Turkish Empire the Shaik͟hu ʾl-Islām has the right of removing all the generals of the various orders, even those of the Qādirīs, the Maulawīs, and of the Bak͟htāshīs, although the dignity be hereditary in their family, on account of their all three being sprung from the blood of the same founders of their orders. The Muftī has likewise the right to confirm the shaik͟hs who may be nominated by any of the generals of the orders.

(See The Dervishes or Oriental Spiritualism, by John P. Brown; Malcolm’s Persia; Lane’s Modern Egyptians; D’Ohsson’s Ottoman Empire; Ubicini’s Letters on Turkey; Herklots’ Musalmans; Taẕkiratu ʾl-Auliyā, by Shaik͟h Farīdu ʾd-Dīn al-ʿAt̤t̤ār.)