5 Books – Summarised “Removal of all unnecessary chapters” Table of Contents for all books still remain but only relevant Chapters are available Journal of the American Oriental Society – Volume 8 – “The Book of Sulaimans First Ripe Fruit Disclosing the Mysteries of the Nursairian Religion” STARTS PAGE 6 to 87 1864 By Edward E Salisbury Secret Sects of Syria and the Lebanon A consideration of the Origin, creed and religious ceremonies, and their connection with and influence upon modern freemasonry Chapter 1 “The Root Principles of All Freemasonry” Page 95 Chapter 16 “The Religious System of the Nusairis” STARTS PAGE 101 TO 140 1922 By Bernard H Springett Asian Mysteries “The Ansaireeh or Nursairis of Syria” STARTS PAGE 145 TO 443 1860 By Rev, Samuel Lyde “Kitabu’l-Mecmu’u’nun Tercumesi” STARTS PAGE 447-457 Professor Dr Ahmet Turan
Extremist Shiites: the ghulat sects 1998 STARTS PAGE 458 - 682 Matti Moosa
JOURNAL OF THK
AMERICAS ORIENTAL SOCIETY,
EIGHTH VOLUME.
NEW HAVEN: FOR THE AMERICAN ORIENTAL SOCIETY, PRINTED BT E. HAYES, PRINTER TO YALE COLLEGE.
MDCCCLXVI. SOLD BY THE SOCIETY'S AGENTS
NEW YORK:
B.
WESTERMANN &
:
CO., 440
BROADWAY;
LONDON: TRUBNER & CO., AND WILLIAMS & NORGATE; PARIS: BENJ. DUPRAT; LEIPZIG: F. A. BROCKHAUS.
2.
AS
COMMITTEE OF PUBLICATION
AMERICAN ORIENTAL SOCIETY, FOR THE YEARS
EDWARD
1864-66.
New
E. SALISBURY,
Haven.
WILLIAM D. WHITNEY, JAMES HADLEY, EZRA ABBOT,
Cambridge.
ARNOLD GUYOT,
Princeton.
Entered according to Act of Congress,
in
the year 1866, by the
AMERICAN ORIENTAL SOCIETY, in the Clerk's Office of the District
Court of Connecticut.
CONTENTS EIGHTH VOLUME. Page.
ART.
I.
ON THE VIEWS OF
TIONS OF THE
BIOT AND
HINDU AND CHINESE SYSTEMS OF ASTERISMS with ;
an addition, on
By
Professor of Sanskrit in Tale College,
-
American Embassy
95
at Constantinople,
MATERIALS FOR THE HISTORY OF THE MUHAMMADAN DOCTRINE
III.
OF PREDESTINATION AND FREE WILL sources.
ART.
By EDWARD
:
compiled from original 105
E. SALISBURY,
THE REVELATION OF THE BLESSED APOSTLE PAUL.
IV.
Translated
from an Ancient Syriac manuscript, by Rev. JUSTIN PERKINS, D.D.,
\
Missionary of the A. B. C. F. M. at Orumiah,
ART.
183
BRIEF NOTICE OF THE KEMI LANGUAGE, spoken by a
V.
Arrakan, Farther India.
^
sionary of the
,
ART.
1
ON THE TESAVUF, OR SPIRITUAL LIFE OF THE SOFFEES. Translated from the Turkish of Mohemmed Missiree, by JOHN P. BROWN,
II.
Esq., of the
ART.
views respecting the same subject.
Miiller's
WILLIAM D. WHITNEY, ART.
WEBER RESPECTING THE RELA-
Rev.
LYMAN
STILSON, formerly Mis-
Bapt. Miss. Union,
213
I)
fcj.r*^ xibtXJf
VI.
By
tribe in
,\^ ^Jt^^
j K-oU-JLJ!
8^ LSI ujLf
THE BOOK OF SULAIMAN'S FIRST RIPE FRUIT, disclosing the Mysteries of the Nusairian Religion,
by Sulaiman
EDWARD
'Effendi
of 'Adhanah;
DIVISION OF THE ZODIAC REP-
RESENTED IN THE NAKSHATRA SYSTEM OF THE HINDUS.
EBENEZER BURGESS, ART. VIII.
ON
from
By 227
ON THE ORIGIN OF THE LUNAR
ART. VII.
with copious extracts.
E. SALISBURY,
LEPSIUS'S
late
By Rev.
Missionary of the A. B. C. F. M. in India,
STANDARD ALPHABET
Prof. LEPSIUS, with Notes
:
309
a Letter of Explanations
by W. D. WHITNEY,
-
-
335
11
MISCELLANIES
:
Page. I.
II.
On
the
Armeno- Turkish Alphabet.
By
Rev.
ANDREW
T.
PRATT, M.D.,
Brahmanical Inscriptions in Buddhistic Temples in Siam.
377
TIAN, M.D., III.
On
the Assyro-Pseudo-Sesostris.
IV. Reply
374
By A. BAS-
to the Strictures
By HYDE CLARKE,
Esq., of Smyrna,
-
380
of Prof. Weber upon an Essay respecting the Asteris-
mat System of the Hindus, Arabs, and
By Prof. W.
Chinese.
D.
WHITNEY,
382
APPENDIX: AMEKicAisr OKIENTAL SOCIETY
:
Proceedings at Boston and Cambridge,
Proceedings at
New Haven,
Oct.
llth
May
and
Proceedings at Bostoi and Cambridge,
Additions
List of Members, t
May,
New
.
Additions
to the
Proceedings at
i
2lst, 1863,
xvi
May,
1864,
-
-
-
....
1864,
and Cambridge,
May
Oct. llth
and
1
lix
llth, 1865,
Library and Cabinet, May, 186
New Haven,
xxv
xxxv xliii
1864,
York, Oct. 26th and 27th, 1864,
at Boston
Proceed'
and
May 18th and 19th,
Abrary and Cabinet, Nov. 1863
to th>
Proceeding
2Qth
15th, 1863,
May,
12th, 1865,
....
1865,
-
Ixx ixxxi
ARTICLE
VI.
NOTICE OF *j
i^aJf
wli
oJt^-J ^4^x/
^i^f
^cJJ^f
.
THE BOOK OF SULAIMAFS FIRST RIPE FRUIT, DISCLOSING THE
MYSTERIES OF THE NUSAIRIAN RELIGION, BY SULAIMAN 'EFFENDI OF 'ADHANAH;
WITH COPIOUS EXTRACTS. BY
EDWARD
Presented to the Society
E.
May
SALISBURY. 18th and Oct. 27th, 1864.
IN the year 1848, several original documents relative to the Nnsairis were made known in the Journals of the Asiatic Society of Paris and the German Oriental Society, by extracts and translations, in which the festivals of the sect were enumerated, the origin of some of them was explained, a few Nusairian forms of prayer, or consecration, were given, and certain points of doctrine held by the sect were brought out in the form of a But from that time to the present nothing additional catechism. has been contributed to the elucidation of the subject. take pleasure, therefore, in introducing to our fellow-orientalists the work whose title heads this paper, which appeared at Beirut the present year, though without any imprint of place or date, and will be found to be of the highest interest and importance with reference to Nusairian rites, doctrines, and history. It was written by a former member of the sect, according to the following statement made by our associate Dr. Van Dyck, missionary at Beirut, to whose courtesy we are indebted for copies of the work. 30 VOL. VIII.
We
228
E. E, Salisbury,
"This tract was written," says Dr. Yan Dyck, in transmitting some of the sheets in advance of publication, "by a Nuseiry, who first doubted his own religion and became a Jew, then a Moslem, then a Greek, then a Protestant. He was taken as a conscript, and sent from Adana to Damascus, where he was released. He came to Beirut and wrote this tract. He then went to Ladikia, and remained some months with Rev. R. J. Dodds, missionary of the Assoc. Reformed Church and then returned ;
own
expense. I have left it pretty much as he wrote it, without attempting to reduce it to the rules of the language; nor have I had time to read the Some parts have been omitted for the sake of decency. proofs. Beirut, Sept. 26, 1863." Of the author we know nothing more than this, excepting by the tract itself, which seems to us, however, to bear internal marks of credibility sufficient to justify reliance upon its auto
have his
tract printed at his
thority.
We propose, now, to exhibit the substance of this tract, following the author closely, for fear of losing something important of what he communicates. As to forms of expression, however, while freely using those of the author, we shall not be trammeled by them, only carefully preserving the phraseology where original formularies seem to have been drawn upon. For the fuller satisfaction of orientalists, we shall introduce the text of all portions of the tract which appear to be taken from manuals of the sect, as well as of all leading terms and titles of office, and of all single passages in our author's explanations which seem to be of special importance. The work before us is divided into sections of which the first describes the author's initiation as a Nusairi, and embraces what purports to be a complete Nusairian prayer-book, with important explanations and historical notes; the second is chiefly an enumeration of some of the principal festivals of the sect; the third gives a detailed report of the ceremonies observed, and the litursome statistics gical forms used, on those occasions, and includes of the sect; the fourth treats of the important Nusairian doctrine of a fall from virtue and happiness in a pre-existent state; the fifth consists entirely of specimens of Nusairian poetry the sixth is a statement, by the author, of certain fundamental principles of the sect; the seventh is a narrative of the circumstances under which the author discovered its deeper mysteries, of his own conversion, first to Judaism and then to Christianity, 'and itself
:
;
of the treatment which he met with, in consequence, from his former eo religionists and the eighth, which is the last, is wholly controversial, being an argument against the doctrines and rites of the Nusairis. The author begins by informing us that he was born at An;
Salaimdn on
the
229
Nasairian Religion.
A.H. 1250, or A.D. 1834-5, and lived there to the age when ho was taken to 'Adhanah and that his 3* ears, initiation took place when he was eighteen years old, the aptioch in
of seven
;
The
pointed time being from the age of eighteen to twenty.
initiating ceremonies were as follows. On a certain day there was a general gathering of high and low of the Nusairis of 'Adhanah, belonging, as we shall sec, to
that division of the sect which bears the name of Northerners, before whom he was summoned, and had presented to him a
cup of wine. Then the Pursuivant (v-^xiiJ!) took a place at his side, and said to him "Say thou 'By the mystery of thy beneficence, O my uncle and lord, thou crown of my head, I am, thy pupil, and let thy sandal be upon my head'" :
:
(
^
1
when he had drunk
5
and,
Imam
turned towards him, u Wouldst thou take up the sandals of those here pressaying: ent upon thy head, to do honor to thy Lord?" ur^y off the wine, the
^
;
to
^
which he
^
^^\> Jo replied: "Nay, but only the sandal of my lord" J^a? ^^X-M*; whereupon the company laughed at his want of Then the Minister being so directed by the docility. (jOL^i),
assembly, brought to them the sandal of the Pursuivant; and, when they had uncovered the candidate's head, they laid it thereon, and put over it a white rag; after which the Pursuivant began to pray over him, that he might receive the mystery. When this prayer was ended, the sandal was taken from his head, he was enjoined secresy, and all dispersed. This is what is called the Betokening Adoption ( ; j.^i K-ou-^i). After forty days, another assembly was convened, another cup of wine was drunk by the candidate, and he was directed to say: "Jn the faith of the mystery of 'Ain-Mim-Sin" ^ :**, which our author explains by informing us that 'Ain stands for 'All, or the Arche-
^
,.
typal Deity (^iall), Mitn for Muhammad, or the Expressed Deity or the Intermediary (v^ty, and Sin for Salman 'al-Farsi, (f**^), or the Communicator (v^*) and was charged by the Im,am to
pronounce the cabalistic word composed of those three letters, namely, 'AMS, five hundred times a day. As before, secresy was enjoined, and the so-called King's Adoption (^SsxUi xxx*>) was now accomplished. Another interval of probation, lasting seven months (which with common people is extended to nine), having passed away, our author was called before another assembly, in whose presence he stood at a respectful distance; when a Deputy (J^^) rose amid the assembly, having the Pursuivant
& E. Salisbury,
230
his right, and the Dignitary (v*~^) on his left, each with a cup of wine in his hand; and all, turning towards the Imam, chanted the Third Melody by 'al-Husain Bin Hamdan 'al-Khuafter which, facing the Second Preceptor saibi (see below) the whole assembly chanted to him the following: (J,lift kXi.lt),*
on
;
"I inquire after the traits of nobleness where dwell they? to thee have certain men pointed me. By the reality of Muhammad and his Thou art my race, compassionate one who comos to kiss thy hands. account us to-day as degoal, let not my thought of thee prove vain pending upon thee" ;
and having put
their
\JL=>
^
his
head
hands upon
r;
KU
sat
^fi
v^JU
down.
Then he
stood up, took the Deputy's cup from his hand, bowed his head in worship, and read the Chapter of Bowing of the Head (see below). Having recited this litany, he raised his head, and read Then he drank off the the Chapter of the 'Ain (see below). wine received from the Deputy, and read the Chapter of SaluAfter this, he stood with his face towards tation (see below). the Imam, and said: "Haii, hail, hail, my lord Imam!" plo^t
^AA**
L |*ju
fju
j*ju
to
;
which the
Imam
"May
replied:
be well with thee and those around thee! Thou hast done that which these here assembled have not done; for thou hast taken in thy hand the cup, hast drunk, hast bowed the head,
it
and hast saluted and to God is humble worship due. what is thy desire, and what wouldst thou?" ^r ,
Lj
J
But
Lo
_
this the Dignitary answered: "I would have an evening of an(^ the countenance of my Master" ^>j^ ^^^ \^*^ O^ to came back and towards looked the he heavens, then, retiring, the assembly, and said: "Hail, hail, hail, my lord!" to which the Imam replied as before: "What is thy desire, and what " I have a desire, and wouldst thou ?" Then said the Dignitary
To
^A
:
would
it
might be sanctioned"
UPL^i
Oo; &>U> i; i
the Imam.
\j*\ v-^&M. The Dignitary to, I sanction it" replied: then -stepped aside from the assembly, and approached the candihands and feet which date, to give him an opportunity to kiss his " lord said and he Hail, hail, hail, returned, being done,
"Go
;
:
*
i.
e.,
the Dignitary.
my
Sulaimdn on
the
Nusairian Religion.
Imam." Then the Irnam said to him, again and what wouldst them ?" to which he gave
" :
for
231
What
is
answer
thy wish, "
:
A
per-
son has presented himself to me in the way" (jo^=ui J, ^GL\J> *Ji vjujolli. Again the Imam spoke: "Hast thou not heard what
was
said
by our
elect lord
of might can take ,
it
'
:
As
for the night-mare duty, JJ'
xU
^^
patiently'?" " I have a stout heart, no fear for
and he replied
no man
JJJI J.UJI ^.xXJ!
:
me"
and then, after eyeing the candidate, turned towards the assembly, and said " This person, named so and so, has come to be initiated in your presence" ^^^uiJ! KAP ,
:
then inquired: "
Who directed him to us?"
LuAe *b
"The
replied: Deity, and
'AMS" 0-** KkJ Said the
^,
to
which the Dignitary
eternal Archetypal Deity, the august Expressed the honored Communicator signified by the word
^*.& v^!* r*^
Imam: "Bring
him, that
we may
r^ &*U
(*""% see him"
*j vyut
whereupon the Preceptor (Xfijll) took him by the right hand, and led him towards the Imam. On his approach, the Imam stretched out his feet, which the candidate kissed, and " What is thy desire, and what also his hands, and said to him
s^
;
:
young man?"
wouldst thou,
cXjJ' jbL*ji Ljjf
\S^ i^x>b>
u.
Thereupon the Pursuivant rose, and stationing himself at the candidate's side instructed him to say: "I ask for the mystery of your
faith,
O
multitudes of believers"
LJ
^
f*
him with a stern look, the Imam. ^JUjIt yiLjw. Then, eyeing said "What impels thee to seek from us this mystery, crowned with pearls large and small, which only a familiar angel, x)r a commissioned prophet, can support? Know, O my child, that there are many angels, but that only the Familiars can support and that the prophets are numerous, but that only this mystery the Commissioned can support this mystery and that there are many believers, but that only the Approved can support this mystery. Wilt thou suffer the cutting off of thy head, hands, and feet, and not disclose this august mystery ?" :
;
;
i
lJI !J\p
& E. Salisbury,
232
u*the reply was to furnish a
" :
Yes"
p*i.
hundred sponsors"
"The
those
ff
Thereupon he added
3
to *'
" I wish thee
:
J^a*" 5uu ii$U/> cXj ; our lord rule! \
present interposed: and he said: ^oU^I bju*- I*
Q>^,
;
O
"In deference
at
which
Imam"
to you, let
Then there be twelve sponsors" ^U^ .*. Lot ^*J ^-O UL*!. the Second Preceptor stood up, and kissed the hands of the. twelve sponsors, and the candidate kissed their hands. Then " the sponsors rose and said Hail, hail, hail, my lord Imam," and the Imam said: "What is your desire, ye nobles?" U :
*l$JiJt
to
"
which
We
have
they having replied jjCx>L>, l&l cornc to be sponsors for so and so" Jv&&J U*j, the Imam case he discloses this "In mystery, will ye bring him inquired: to me, that we rnay cut him to pieces, and drink his blood?" Lfcit
:
# ~* 131 they anhe added: "I am not Satisfied with your p*S sponsorship alone nay, but I would have two persons of conJafii sideration to be responsible for you" ^jCJlLC ^&3\ c^*J of the So one sponsors ran, with ^<3blft^j ^^AJM ^AJLi'l cX-j^ Jo. the candidate after him, and kissed the hands of the two required Then they sponsors, whose hands the candidate also kissed. two stood up, with their hands on their breasts; and the Imam turned toward them, and said: "God give you a good evening, sponsors respected and pure, men of mark and no suck;
swered
:
"Yes"
;
But what would ye?" c ,tiLal \* ,-*&k U**~*J. *1N XxIi nnd the}^ replied: u~Jt^ u&;^ J^> ^jPLLil? ;< ^Jo-j " We have come to be sponsors for the twelve sponsors, and also lings!
^
ijl;
^a^iJi C\^ ^x&^-ixc ,/jrtt JA5JJ U>j1 whereupon he said: "In case, then, he runs off
for this Icojj
;
;
person"
wXs Loi
before
having fully learnt our forms of prayer, or discloses this myshim to me, that we rnay take his life?" tery, will ye two bring
"Yes" p*3 and the Imam spoke and sponsors for sponsors are perishable, Sponsors again abide not I would have from him something that will last" and they replied
:
;
u
:
i*ju ^
i
^^
JL ;
I
li^
then gave way, and the "
^aj
^Latfl
Imam
^^U^
^aj
^blaJj!
said to the candidate
^ Q^
" :
Q
t.
They
Come
near
u so he approached him, and to me, young man p^lc at the same moment the Imam adjured him, by all the heavenly ;
Sulaimdn on
233
the Nusair'ian Religion.
and afterwards bodies, that he would not disclose this mystery of the his Book into hand the Summary V^), gave right ;
(Q+>&
while the Pursuivant, stationed at his side, instructed him to my lord Imam, to this say: "Be thou extolled! swear me, august mystery, and thou shall be clear of any failure in me"
Then
the Imam. took the book from him, and said:
"Omy
child, I swear thee not in respect to money, or suretyship nay, but in respect only to the mystery of God, as our chiefs and lords
have sworn us"
*-
J-^
J*J ; 1^>
^ Jl* J^
I*
U^.liwo Ual> L>/ Jaiis *Ut. This action and these words he repeated three times after which the candidate placed his hand upon the Summary three times, making oath thereby to the Imam, that he would not disclose this mystery so long as he should live. The common people, as our author tells us, are made to swear more times, especially among the Nusairis of
LobL^
;
Ladikiyah.
Our author's account of the ceremonies of his initiation concludes as follows: "Then the Imam said: 'Know, O my child, that the earth will not suffer thee to be buried in it, shouldst thou disclose this mystery,; and thy return will not be to enter into human vestments nay, but, when thou diest, thou wilt enter into vestments of degrading transformation, from which
^^5
there will be no deliverance for thee, forever'
I*
Then they seated me among them, and, uncovering my head, put a veil over it; and the sponsors placed their hands upon my head, and began to pray: first, they read the Chapters of Victory, Bowing the llead, and the 'Ain (see below) and, after drinking some wine, read also the Chapter or* Saluta;
tion (see below),
and raised
their
hands from
whereupon the introducing uncle* (jj3xXJI
^)
off
my
head
;
took hold of me,
and made me salute my First Preceptor (Jr^Ji ^LX^XI), and then, taking a cup of wine in his hand, gave me drink, and instructed me to say: 'In God's name, by the help of God, and in the faith of the mystery of lord 'Abu 'Abdallah, possessor of divine knowledge, in the faith of the mystery of his blessed memorial, in the faith of his mystery God give him happiness!' & *
i. e.,
the Dignitary.
E. E. Salislury,
234
The assembly then dispersed, the Dignitary taking our young votary to his house, where he taught him the Formula of Disburdening (see below), and also made him acquainted with the various forms of prayer, to the number of sixteen, in which the N.usairis pay divine honors to 'Ali. We arc thus brought to the second part of our author's first section, which sets before us the inmost principles of Nusairian Each religion with a fullness and distinctness entirely new. form of prayer is called a chapter, with a particular name indicative of its contents; and in several cases the so-called prayer lias little or none of the tone of supplication, being, for the most or wholly, a recital, and that without any special propriety part, in reference to devotion, which we can discover. The whole collection, to which the general title of Dustur (jLjA**xJI, i. e. the Canon) is given in one of our author's later sections, here follows, translated and in the original text, together with all important notes by our author. As for explanations of our own, they may be generally dispensed with, both here and elsewhere, our aim having been to make such translations as should be of the self-explanatory, so far as possible, to the careful reader whole series. print the text of the Nusairian Dustur, as well as of other formulas which we meet with in this tract, without correction of errors in syntax and prosody, as our author, for the sake of not impairing their authenticity, however slightly, appears to have left them after collating the "
We
Dustur and the Formula of Disburdening, as he expressly informs us, with authoritative copies. But where there seems to be no such reason for punctiliousness, or where the printer alone appears to have been at fault, we have taken the liberty to correct all errors in the original text of our author's The name of 'Ali, tract, without calling attention to them. and disconwhich we find printed both connectedly, with
^
nectedly, with ^^, we leave everywhere as we find it, though the connected reading would seem most consistent with the Nusairian denial of the human origin of 'Ali. " First Chapter, called the Commencement. " Sure is he to prosper who obtains the friendship of him with the bald forehead My beginning is to acknowledge myself a humble creaI commence with the commencement of yielding my love to the ture. holiness of the archetypal divinity of the Prince of Bees, 'Ali 'Ibn 'Abu !
'Abu Turab in reliance upon whom I whom I accomplish, through the remembrance of am secured, in whom I am saved, to whom I betake myself, in am blessed, of whom I ask help, in whom I begin and in whom
Talib, denominated Haidarah
undertake and by
whom whom
I I
Sulaimdn on
Nusairian Religion.
the
235
orthodoxy in religion and faithfulness to the indubitable Muhammad Bin Nusair to Yahya Bin Ma'yan 'as-Samiri Yahya., whenever that which brings life befalls thee, or when death-bringing fate takes hold on thee, utter an invocation I end, with
truth.
Said lord 'Abu Shifaib '
:
elevated, sincere, purified, reverent, choice, splendid, sublime, holy, sancluminous, for thy deliverance from these human vestments
tified, radiant,
of flesh and blood, and that thou mayest attain to the palaces of light, and say In thee arn I blessed, O thou who makest demonstration by thy loving advances, who art manifest by thy power, who art hidden by thy wisdom, correlate to thyself by thyself, who to thine Expression *
:
O
eternal, givest names of thine attributes, who art he, who art all, cause of causes, thou, existing from eternity, who wilt not cease to be, thou stiller of the movements of revolving cycles, goal of goals, thou who bringest ends to an end, thou who knowest the mysteries of secret
things,
O
present one,
O
self-existent,
manifest,
O
limit of all aims,
thou who art hidden yet unclothed, thou whose lights arise out of thee and set in thee, from thee come forth and to thee return, thou who givest to every light a manifestation, to every manifestation a qualitative expression, to every qualitative expression a substratum, to every
substratum a fixed embodiment, and to every embodiment an access, whereby the Communicator directs to thee, and introduces to thee.'" It is them, Prince of Bees, 'All Bin 'Abu Talib, who art the point of all demonstration, and the all it is thou who art he. thou who art he, thou who art he, and of whom no one knows what thou art, ;
save thyself, I entreat thee, locked like woven threads, by the Preceptor of Preceptors, that thou wouldst unite our
by the Questions of Sin,* closely interthat which petitioners ask for of thee, by and by 'All Zain 'ad-Din wa 'al-'Abidin, hearts, and the hearts of our believing brothers, in dutifulness, the fear of God, rectitude, knowledge, and reliWe call to mind thy pure presence, thine excelling gious worship. power, thine all-embracing compassion, avid the indispensable requirement and incumbent duty, which are mysteries and a memorial, and a majesty, glory, might and dominion; and thy brilliant appearance, thy glorious tabernacles, and the Tabernacle of Sublimity and Crown of Direction ;f and the right religion, the straight path, of which whosoever knows both the hidden and the outward sense is secured and saved, which our lord Salsal Salman has acquainted us with, which we recite, to which we have been pointed and directed by our chief and lord, the crown of our heads, the exemplar of our religion, the refreshment of our eyes, lord 'Abu 'Abdallah 'al-Hnsain Bin Hamelan 'al-Khusaibi, whose spirit was sanctified by the Highest, that his embodiment might be an embodiment of purity, and his substratum a substratum of truth and integrity. In the name of God, by the help of God, and in the faith of the mystery of lord 'Abu 'Abdallah, possessor of divine
knowledge,
in the faith of the
faith of his
mystery
*
i.
e.,
mystery of his blessed memorial,
may God
VIII.
him happiness!"
by the doctrines embodied
t 'al-Khusaibi, respecting
VOL.
give
whom
3J
in the Nusairian catechism. see below.
in the
236
E. E. Salisbury,
jib*
u
^xjo
,.*A
bLJj> L v^
L ^.Oo b j^' b^P b &JLKAOJ \4^l UuL^ b x>1Ju bl^JI ^^A b obLijI xU b J^jJ! ol( J > LfNAX) b JJLJI 9
jj!
b
b Odil* b
Pli?
b.y> b.y> u>Ji
JJflj
LLbLi
b ^>>A
LJ
tob>
b
L
x ^
J^3.'-*^:
^L*^ j^
3
^^
_^ b
^J
U.
>-U]!
iJJ!
Sulaimdn on
the
237
Nusairian Religion.
SAM
In explanation of this chapter, our author observes that, according to Nusairian doctrine, God is visible and yet not wholly definable (&AA&J b3 *Ii Q^), limit of all aims, thou whence the expression: "0 manifest, who art hidden yet unclothed, whose lights arise out of thee and set in thee, from thee come forth and to thee return" (see He also here, first, alludes to a separation of the Nup. 235). sairis into four parties: 1. those who pay homage to the heav-
whom he calls Northerners (Qj-Jl*iJ!) 2. adorers of the moon, whom he elsewhere names Kalazians (QJJ^JJ|) ;* 3. worshippers of the twilight; and 4. worshippers of the air. By
ens,
the first of these parties, the passage just quoted is understood to point to the heavens, " out of which," say they, " the stars arise and in which they set; and which are visible, yet undefinable, as to their
prime configuration, except by the Expressed
Deity
But the second party, in support of their adoration of j**/^)." u the moon, allege that other expression of this chapter: thy brilliant appearance," saying "that the moon is manifest to sight, while, as for the dark part of it, that represents the being of 'Ali Bin 'Abu Talib, which is veiled from our eyes, which we now see as a dark object, though, when we are purified from these bodily vestments, and exalted among the stars, through our
faith,
we shall behold pj
it
in sapphire-splendor
(te ao!
v^
Loii
The worshippers of the " whose twilight argue, in their own favor, from the expression thee arise out of that all the of heaven etc.," saying lights lights make their appearance from, out of the East, and revolve, and set in the West; and they may be seen to pray with their faces turned towards the sun as it is rising or setting, in the belief that :
^
the twilight-reddening of the sky creates the sun ('^5J>3 .**&>l& ,j~4^ vJL L>_^> ; V^), according to the words of Shaikh 'All f
the Magian, in the so-called Legacy *
(KtfjjJt)
left to
Probably so named from Shaikh Muhamipad Bin KalazQ,
them by him
who
is
:
quoted below.
E. E. Salisbury,
238
full moon, whose lights from her sun come forth; and her sun, production of the morning-beam "*
"By[?]the by
[?]
The worshippers of
the air have also their
own argument from
"0
them who art he, this chapter, appealing to the expression : thou who art he," which, by a slight change of reading, they make to mean " thou who art the air." " Second Chapter, called the Canonization of 'Ibn 'al-Wali. "How beanteous a vision has the sleeper in his place of slumber,
who
hears with the ear, but sees not the person, and calls out and says O Prince of Bees, 'All 'Ibn 'Abu Talib.' 'Here am I, here am I, desire of every desirer, eternal by divinity, mine of empire, thou who art our God, as hidden, and our Imam, as manifest, thou who art mani:
where hidden, and hidden where manifest, who appearest in hiding, and hidest thyself in appearing, who dost display the quality of divine being, who art exalted with supremacy, who art veiled in Muhammadis of thyself to thyself, by thyself, quality, and who dost call that which Prince of Bees, O 'All thou, may thy light arise, thy shining break fest
thy radiance be diffused, thy benefits be magnified, thy praise be do thou save me, I pray, from the evil of thy degrading transformations for ourselves and all our believing brothers I entreat deliverance from the evil of deterioration, annulment of faculty, degradation, This is for thee to defilement, stagnation, wilting, and the waste-heap. bestow. In the faith of the mystery of the saint 'Ibn 'al-Wali, to wit, 'Abu-1-Husain Muhammad Bin 'All 'aj-Jali peace be to us from the remembrance of him in the faith of his mystery may God give him
forth,
glorious
!
:
!
happiness
!"
* In this case, and three others which it is scarcely necessary to specify, we have put the original words of a poetical quotation into verse-form, although, in our The measure is, in every instance, rajaz. tract, printed as prose.
tSulaimdn on
Q-
the
239
Nusairian Religion.
J,:>
j>/-0j
.3
u^a-% ^N^J^
^*wO N*j
The sleeper referred to in this chapter, says our author, was one of the ministers of Muhammad 'al-Bakir Bin 'All Zain 'al'Abidin, who, as is believed by the Nusairis, was sleeping in his" house, on a certain day, when a voice called upon him, saying: "Arise and go to such a place;" upon which he awoke in a maze from his dream, and saw no one, only the lights of heaven, Prince of Bees, 'All Bin. and said: "Here am I, here am I, 'Abu Talib" -all which is plainly stated in the Book of the Summary. The blessing sought
for in this prayer is deliverance from seven sorts of degrading transformation, together with their subdivisions, embracing all kinds of cattle and wild beasts, and other varieties of life
i
g
believed
that these seven sorts of transformation are the seven floors of Hell mentioned in the Kuran " and it lias seven entrances, with a part divided off to each;"* and so the sinner, in this petition, :
with humble heart, and
'Abu
spirit
submissive to his lord 'All 'Ion
Talib, intercedes for salvation therefrom. "
Third Chapter, called the Canonization of 'Abu Scfid.
O
possessor of dominion, Prince of Bees, O 'All, from eternity, thon inciter of the gracious, Communicator I implore thee, by the Elect Five, the Revealing Six, the Seven Twinkling Stars, the Eight Strong Bearers of the Throne, the Nine Gifted with Muhammad-quality, the Ten Chanticleers of Holiness, the Eleven Ascension-points of Communicator-quality, and by the Twelve Strings of Imamship, by the reality of all in thee, O goal of universal being, Prince of Bees, thou lord of vicissitude, thou who art the
"I entreat
thee,
bounteous, thou
who
O
art
Sole,
whose Expression
itself,
thou
is the One, whose Communicator is singleness didst appear in the seven tabernacles of divine quality I implore thee that thou wouldst make our hearts and our limbs firm in
who
the profession of the holy knowledge of thyself; and do thou disencumber us from these habitations of human nature, and clothe us with vestments of light, amid the stars of heaven. call to mind the presence of our chief and lord, the most illustrious, the most valiant, the lusty, the God-fearing, 'Abu Sa'id, 'Abu Sa'id 'al-Maimun 'Ibn Kasim ; at-Ta-
We
*
Kur.,xv. 44.
& & Salisbury,
240
baiani, possessor of divine knowledge, abstinent from the forbidden, who avenged himself with his own hand on the head of 'Abu Dnhaibah
may
the curse of
mercy upon 'Abu
God
rest
upon 'Abu Duhaibah, and peace and God's
In the faith of the mystery of 'Abu Sa'id the lusty, the God-fearing, the pious, 'al Maimun 'Ibn Kasim 'at-Tabarani, in Sa'id
!
may God
the faith of his mystery
LJ
vtjj
LJ
\\
LJ
8iAP
him happiness!"
\J
-xw
xXi
)
give
c>oi
LJ
-
xIOJ! v^>Lo
b
^
XijL^^J!
u
The "Elect Five"
,
are the times of prayer prescribed to the that of Muhammad, at mid-day that of of 'All of 'Ibn the son 'Abu in afternoon Hasan, Fatimah, Taiib, at sunset; of Husain, brother of Hasan, at evening; and of Muhsin, Mystery of Obscurity, at day-break. Whoever is not conversant with the names of these five persons, and with the times of prayer called after them, prays in vain. The "Revealing Six" are the six beings, namely, Salman and the Five Incomparables, mentioned in the Chapter of Victory (see below), or the six days of creation, or the manifestations of God to Abraham, Moses, and other of the prophets. The "Seven Twinkling Stars" are the seven planets, namely, Saturn, Mars, and the rest. The "Eight Strong Bearers of the Throne" are the eight cab-
Nusairis
:
namely,
;
;
alistic
words, that
and Talib,
'Akil,
is,
and
the
names of the Five Incomparables,
Ja'far 'at-Taiyar.
Sulaimdn on
The
"
the
Nine Gifted with Muhammad-quality
tain of the Strings of Imamship, from lab to Muhammad 'aj-Jawad.
The "Ten
241
Nusairian Religion. "
are
names of cer-
Muhammad
'Ibn 'Abdal-
Chanticleers of Holiness" are the Five Incomparwith Naufal, 'Abu-1-Harith, Muhammad 'Ibn 'al-
ables, together
Hanafiyah, 'Abu Barzah, and 'Abdallah Bin Nadhlah, whom the Nusairis believe to be the largest of the stars, each having rule over a number of other stars (^*5ljX1 ^c\ o5 Aa^*j.,
^L
^^
As 'al-Khusaibi *x^s i^Jle fX^r. p&A J(j)the are castles of stars the all in his heavens, mysDiwan, says the Chanticleers, whose tically, except the ten just mentioned, cock is Salman 'al-Farsi (US' iLJb
\^S]^\
(j-.
In the secret books of the Northerners,
(^^ V^)
such as the Book of the Greeks cock is said to be Muhammad Bin 'Abdallah.
and
others, the
The "Eleven Ascension-points of Communicator-quality" are Ruzbah 'Ibn 'al-Marzaban, 'Abu-l-'Ala Rashid 'al-Hajari, Kankar 'Ibn 'Abu Khali d 'al-Kabuli, Yahya Bin Mu'ammar, Jabir Bin Yazid 'aj-Ju'fi, Muhammad 'Ibn 'Abu Zainab 'al-Kahili, 'alMufadhdhal Bin 'Umar, 'Umar Bin 'al-Mufadhdhal, Muhammad Bin Nusair 'al-Bakri 'an-Numairi, Dihyah Bin Khalifah 'alKalbi, and
'Umm
Salamah.
Imamship" are Muhammad 'al-Mus'al-Hasan '^al-Mujtabi, 'al-Husain the martyr of Karbala,
The "Twelve tafi,
Strings of
'al-'Abidin, Muhammad 'al-Bakir, Ja'far 'as-Sadik, 'al-Kazim, 'Alt 'ar-Ridha, Muhammad 'nj-Jawad, 'Ali 'alHadi, 'al-Hasan 'al-'Askari, and Muhammad Bin 'al-Hasan 'al-
'Ali Zain
Musa
Hujjah. " Fourth Chapter, called the Pedigree. "
How
well
way should
my
chief,
my
God should provide for me how well that my how well that I should hear and hearken to my preceptor, who graciously bestows upon me, as
that
is it
lead to lord,
God
!
!
God hath
graciously bestowed upon him, the knowledge of 'Ain-MimSin, which is by virtue of the testimony that there is no God but 'All 'Ibn ; Abu Talib, with the bald forehead and temples, the adorable ; and
no Intermediary but lord Muhammad, worthy to be praised and no Communicator but lord Salman 'al-Farsi, the pattern. This is what I have heard from my chief and lord, my goal, my stay, my guide to the ;
way
of salvation,
my means
of access to the fountain of
life,
the liber-
neck from the bondage of servile existence (through knowledge of the Supreme Sanctuary of Divine Being), the eminent lord, the
ator of
my
great mountain-barrier, my uncle, my chief, my lord, the crown of my He communicated this august head, my veritable father, 'Ahmad. mystery to me in the year so and so, in the month so and so, and on the day thereof so and so ; and 'Ahmad heard it from 'Ibrahim ; 'Ibrahim
& E.
242
Salisbury,
Kasim from 'Ali 'All from 'Ahmad 'Ahmad from Kha; Khadhir irom Salman; Salman from Sabbah; Sabbah from Yiisuf Yusuf from Jibra'il; Jibra'il from Mu'alla;' Mu'alla from Yasin; Yasin from 'tsa 'Isa from Muhammad Muhammad from Hada Muhammad Hada Muhammad from Ridha 'Ahmad Ridha 'Ahmad from Sifandl;. Sifandi from Baladhur-i-'Asad ;* Baladhur-i-'Asad from Hassan 'ar-Rashikt Hassan 'ar-Rashiki from Muhammad Muhammad from Murhif-iMisr; Murhif-i-Misr from 'Akd Jibra'il; 'Akd Jibra'il from 'Abdallah from Kasim
;
;
dhir;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
'aj-Jughuli
'Abdallah 'aj-Jughuli from 'Isma'il 'al-Luffaf
;f
;
'Isma'il 'al-
Luffaf from Ja'far 'al-Warrak ; Ja'far 'al-Warrak from 'Ahmad 'at-Tarraz 'Ahmad 'at-Tarraz from 'Abu-1-Husain Muhammad Bin 'All 'aj-Jali ; 'Abu-1-Husain Muhammad Bin 'All 'aj-Jali from lord 'Abu 'Abdallah 'alHusain Bin Hamdan 'al-Khusaibi lord 'Abu 'Abdallah from his chief and lord 'Abu Muhammad 'Abdallah Bin Muhammad 'aj-Jannan 'aj-Junbulan, the recluse devotee, who came from Persia; 'Abdallah 'aj-Jannan ;
;
'aj-Junbnlan from lord 'Abu Shu'aib
Muhammad 'Ibn Jindab Muhammad 'Ibn Jinclab from Muhammad Bin Nusair 'al-'Abdi 'al-Bakri 'an-Numairi, ;
who was Communicator
to Hasan 'al-'Akhir 'al-'AskariJ; peace be to us from him, and greetings be his Through Muhammad Bin Nusair did the family and the religion take a stand exalted be our master 'alHasan 'al-'Askari far above the babblings of errorists and the talk of In the faith of the mystery of religion, in the faith of the calumniators mystery of our brothers, who give out light wheresoever one of them I has power, by their mystery may God give happiness to them all also testify that 'al-Hasan 'al-'Akhir 'al-'Askari was the First and the Last, the Hidden and the Manifest, and omnipotent" !
!
!
\
(J-.
* The
original text has
\ Died in A.D. 873-4.
juX. ^
f
The
original text has
Sulaimdn on
the
243
Nusairian Religion.
cr
L**
Cf.3
cr
,.J & Ls
odb
*-*A3
.^.J
iJ^
Be
it
known, says our author,
inated with
Muhammad
^xv.*J
.->
that the Nusairian religion orig-
Bin Nusair (xj^ojJt xJLo ^ijOj^
an ^ that he was followed ^ 1^4-^ crj^)| 'Ibn Jindab whom succeeded 'Abdallah
yjAoJ
^
^c!
by Muhammad
to 'aj-Jannan 'aj-Junbulan of Persia; and that after him came 'al-Husain Bin Hamdan 'al-Khusaibt, whom the Nusairis esteem superior to all his successors, who perfected their prayers, and taught far and wide ;
^ ^>^ ^
^
JJ! y^ jou '^ cr ^K cr In a certain poem of his, 'al-Khusaibi chides the Syrians for rejecting him, as follows :
,
VOL.
viii.
32
E. E. Salisbury,
244:
"I of
all
am
loth to abide in the land of Syria
creatures rest
upon them
may
the curses of the Lord
!"
After a while, he directed the course of his journeyings to Baghdad, and began to teach publicly, so that the governor heard of him, arrested him, and threw him into prison. But, when there was an opportunity, he escaped, and declared among his followers that the Messiah had delivered him by night, that the Messiah was Muhammad, and that the sons of Muhammad's daughter were the eleven disciples, in conformity with what he says in the
Diwan bearing
his
name:
"
Said to me, in a dream, a pitying father Thou art noble, of ancient O son of Khusaib by help of the Intermediaries, the family " of 'Ahmad, thou art free for thy life, by their love provided for :
lineage,
;
~
_-Xfc
-j
*
He
also taught that the Messiah was Adam, and Enos, and Kainan, and Mahalalil, and Yared, and Enoch, and Methuselah, and Larnech, and Noah, and Shem, and Arphaxad, and Ya'rab, and Hud, and Salih, and Lukman, and Lot, and Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the Prince, that is, Pharaoh, who lived in the days of Joseph, also Moses, and Aaron, and
Caleb, and Ezekiel, and Samuel, and David, and Solomon, and Job, and 'al-Khadhir, and Alexander, and Saul, and Daniel, and Muhammad; and, in general, that each prophet who has appeared in the world was an incarnation of the Messiah he
same
is
true
^L>
of certain heathen sages (^xxXS^Ji u^*j), such as Plato, Galen, Socrates, Nero; also, of certain wise men among the Persians,
and the Arabs before
Muhammad (V;^ u^^ *L>
Q^
such as Ardeshir, Sapor, Luwai, Murrah, Kilab, HaMoreover, he taught that the shim, 'Abd Manaf, and others. mothers of the prophets of past times, and their wives, were incarnations of Salman 'al-Farsi, excepting the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot and that Salman was incarnate, also, in xJlPLit),
;
Sulaimdn on
the
245
Nusairian Religion.
the Eleven named in the notes on the Third Chapter, and in the queen of Sheba, and the wife of Potiphar arid has appeared in some inanimate objects, as well as in certain wild animals, such as the wolf supposed to have eaten Joseph, and in winged creaBetures, such as the hoopoe, the crow, the bee, and others. sides all this, he taught that 'All 'Ibn 'Abu T^lib was Abel, ;
Seth, Joseph, Joshua, Asaph, Simon Peter, Aristotle, and Hermes; and has been incarnate in certain wild animals, such as the dog of the Companions of 'al-Kahf, the camel of Salih, and the cow which Moses commanded to be sacrificed.* His disciples
numbered
fifty-one,
whom
of
five
were men of
note,
namely,
Muhammad Bin
'All 'aj-Jali, 'All Bin 'Isa, 'aj-Jasri, 'al-'Iraki, and 'al-Katani; and whoever derives his instruction by a line of descent from either of these is regarded by the Nusairis as 'al-Khusaibi's brother.
To
Hamdan succeeded Maimun Bin Kasim 'ata of Muhammad Bin 'All 'aj-Jali, and author Tabarani, disciple of many Nusairian books, among which is the Summary of Fes'al-Husain Bin
tivals (^LAC^!
>^), noted
for its revilings of
'Abu Bakr,
'Urnar,
and 'Uthman, whom it calls the three Adversaries, they being considered by the Nusairis as incarnations of Satan. The same person also composed the Book of Proofs of Divine Knowledge pertaining to the Questions (Jo.mi ioyv. Jo.^xM vU5"), in which it is said that the wolf supposed to have eaten Joseph was 'Abd y ar-Rahman Bin Muljam 'al-Muradi, not Salman 'al-Farsi, as other Nusairis believe and the Book of the Compend on the Duties of Pupils (L\AX>bliSl olo*^ &
book, against the religion of 'Ali Bin Karmat and 'All Bin
Kushkah
;
and many "
"
others.
Fifth Chapter, called the Victory.
Whenever God's help comes, and
victory, and thou seest men domesticating themselves in the religion of God, by crowds, then glorify with praise to thy Lord, and ask his forgiveness ; he is verily gracious. I testify that my sovereign is the Prince of Bees, 'Ali, who produced lord Muhammad out of the light of his essence, and called him his Ex-
pression, his self, his throne, and his seat, and named him with his own attributes; who is connected with him, not separate from him, nor yet
veritably connected, while not widely separate being connected with him by virtue of light, separate from him by manifested presence, so that Muhammad is of him like as the soul's feeling is of the soul, or as rays of the sun are of the sun's disk, or as the gurgling of water is of
water, or as rending
comes of binding,! or
as the lightning flash
is
of
* See Kur.
xviii. 8, ff; vii. 71, ff; ii. 63, ff. f Apparently, an allusion to the fructification of the fearth comp. Kur. xxi. 31, as quoted in the Perfume-string, below.
by showers of
raiu:
246
E. E. Salisbury, 1
lightning, or as sight is of the seer, or as motion comes of rest; and, if 'Ali 'Ibn 'Abu Talib wills to be manifested, he manifests him ; or, if he wills to be hidden, he hides him under the effusions of his light. I also that lord Muhammad created lord Salman out of light of testify
his light, and appointed him to be his Communicator, and the bearer of his revelation ; so that he is Salsal and Salsabil,* Jabir and Jibra'il, the representative of order and indubitable truth, truly the Lord of all I testify, likewise, that lord Salman created the noble Five worlds.
Incomparables, of
whom
the
first is
the greater incomparable, the odor-
iferous musk, the red jacinth, the green emerald, 'al-Mikdad Bin 'Aswad 'al-Kindi, and the others are 'Abu-dh-Dharr 'al-Ghifari, 'Abdallah Bin
Rawahah 'al-'Ansari, 'Uthman Bin Madh'un 'an-Najashi, and Kanbar Bin Kadan 'ad-Dausi who were servants of our master the Prince of this Believers glory and honor to his memory and the creators of ;
!
world, from the lands of the orient to those of the Occident, and of all the southern regions and the northern, the dry land and the ocean, and of every plain and every mountain, spanned by the blue vault of heaven, and embraced within the dusty earth, from Jabilka to Jabirsa, includ-
ing the lurking-places of sand-drifts, even to mount Kaf, and whatever is arched by the dome of the circling celestial sphere, even to 'as-Samirah, the city of lord Muhammad, where are gathered the believers who, also, were of one mind in holding the doctrine of lord 'Abu 'Abdallah, without either scepticism or idolatry, or betrayal of the mys;
'Abu
or rending any veil of his, or seeking a Communicator may he give to believers safety, tranquillity, strength, superiority over their enemies and ours, and vindication and may he make us to be believers tery of 'Ali 'Ibn
converse with
Talib,
him otherwise than through !
superior over our enemies and theirs, and vindicated the By mystery of victory, and of him whose is victory, whose right hand secures the victory by the mystery of our lord Muhammad, and of Fatir (that is, says our author, of Fatimah), 'alHasan, 'al-Husain, and Muhsin in the faith of the Mystery of Obof the scurity, of the representatives of prayer,f and of the multitude possessors of divine knowledge peace be to us from the remembrance of them, and may God's benediction rest upon them all !"
with them,
safe, tranquil, secure, !
;
;
&*Xsu\
* See
Zeitschrift d. D.
f See
first
M.
Gesellschaft,
note to the Third Chapter.
ii.
393.
Sulaimdn on
the Nicsairian Religion.
247
&UXo aJJi
The leaders among the Nusairis understand this chapter to signify that Muhammad is connected with 'All by night, and separate from him by day, taking the sun to be Muhammad they believe that Muhamcreated lord Salman and these three are their Most Holy Trinity, 'Ali being the Father, Muhammad the Son, and Salman 'al-Farsi the Holy Ghost (j?cU* joe' vi^UN J?
mad
;
^J^\
248
E. E. Salisbury, >)
;
and they
also
declare that lord Salman created the Five Incomparables, and that the Five Incomparables created this whole world, as it now exists, and that all the government of the heavens and the earth 'al-Mikdad preis in the hands of these Five Incomparables
siding over thunder-bolts, lightning-flashes, and earthquakes 'Abu-dh-Dharr superintending the gyration of the stars and 'Abdallah Bin Kawahah being charged with the constellations winds, and with the arrest of human spirits whom they believe to be the same as 'Azra'il 'Uthman having charge of stomachs, the heat of the body, and human diseases and Kanbar being the ;
;
;
introducer of spirits into bodies
Chapter, called the "
Omnipotent
God
is
God
!
omnipotent
Bowing of
is
God
!
the
Head.
omnipotent
is
God
!
To
there be bowing of the head, to the Supreme Lord with the bald temples, to the adorable my lord, Muhammad, thou creator, thou conqueror, thou light of the august Archetypal Deity, and his noble Intermediary, of thee I implore aid. I am afflicted in this my abode ; to thee I betake myself. Deliver me from the punishment of Hell, mighty, O potent, O victorious, thou creator of glorious one, the night and the day. Towards God, the light of the heavens and the let
!
O
O
Supreme, we set our faces to him we point let him To the Communicator I address myself, and magnified to the Expressed Deity I bow the head, to the Archetypal Deity I render adoration and worship. My perishing, dying face prostrates itself earth, the Great
be
;
!
glorified
O
before the face of 'Ali, the living, the enduring, the everlasting. 'Ali, thou great one, 'Ali, thou great one, 'Ali, thou great one, O thou who art greater than all the great, thou producer of the morning-sun, and creator of the luminous full moon, O 'Ali, to thee pertains glory, to thee unity ; 'Ali, greatness is thine ; 'Ali, thine is the kingdom ;
O
O
it is 'Ali, to thee is obedience due things point. 'Ali, thou hast creative 'Ali, who art to be interceded with thou, 'Ali, wert the dignity of the 'Ali, thine is destiny; thou, power; cow.* Save us, O 'Ali, save us, 'Ali, from thy wrath and chastisement, from the loss of thy complacence! I believe in thine incommensurateness, ajid thine unequalled working thon, O Prince of Bees, I believe in, and acknowart exalted above the possibility of weakness. thine outledge, thy hidden being, and thine outward manifestation
'Ali, to
thee
all
;
;
O
;
:
ward manifestation
is
mine Imam and an ordained * See
p.
245.
rule,
thy hidden
Sulaimdn on
249
Nusairian Religion.
the
being is archetypal and divine. O thou who art he, thou who art he, thou who honorest them who honor and remember thee, and confess thee sole O thou who art he, thou who art he, thou who dost cause those to stumble who undermine thine authority, who disown and deny thee self-existent, mysterious, O incomprehensible, present one, O Prince of Bees, O 'All, thou august one" ;
;
>
L ij;c
lj
^LJf
v
o^UJI
^
^L^J^ JJJi oiJL>
dJI
L.
^1^5
L
Lj
LJ
5J
^
LJ.
sJaaJI
^^1 5J
^U
^ u5oU! LJ
^^
50
LJ
*J
^U
LJ
LJ
^.Jlc
LJ
c^li^j iiS^Oj
^-^l
c^/a! y5oly^ L\*J
o
Jb
,..1
LJ_J>
The word
u
y5yG!^ i*5^i Q^ 3^o -dai: LJ
Bees," in the expression
Lc LJ
"
^UJi j!
LJ
j^>
LJ
Prince of Bees,"
LJ
,v
sig-
nifies the angels.
The Northerners
pride themselves in this chapter as adverse
which the Kalazians render to the moon, arguing from the expression " thou producer of the morning-sun, and creator of the luminous full moon," that the moon is a created thing to which the Kalazians reply that Ali created the moon in order to inhabit it, as a man builds a house to dwell in, or to the worship
'
;
makes a
seat to sit
upon XXJ
&}
AJ
^vJi
:
for the lat-
E. E. Salisbury,
250
hold that the dark part of the moon represents the Adorable, who, they also believe, has hands, feet, a body, and a head, and on his head a crown, and in his hand a sword, which is the notched blade of Muhammad
ter
" Seventh Chapter, called the Salutation. " I bow the head, and salute, and present myself to, the creator of the heavens and the earth, in devout homage and submission ; and am no idolater. The beginning of salutation was by the eternal Archetypal Deity to the august Expressed Deity and the august Expressed Deity saluted the noble Communicator ; and the noble Communicator saluted the Five Incomparables, the pillars of the world and of religion. ;
salutation to the Incomparables Salutation to the Communicators salutation to the Dignitaries salutation salutation to the Pursuivants salutation to the Purified salutation to the Approved to the Familiars salutation to the Cherubs salutation to the salutation to the Offerers salutation to the Sanctified salutation to the Ramblers Spirituals who together salutation to the Listeners salutation to the Attendants make up the orders of angelic being may the world of all the pure Salutation to those who follow the directing rule, and be sanctified are guided, who stand in fear of the various ends of the wicked, obey the Supreme Sovereign, the Most High, and believe in the lordship of Salutation to the hundred thousand prophets, Muhammad, the elect and to the four and twenty thousand prophets, of whom the first was a !
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
Communicator, and the
O
last was an Attendant Salutation to you, virtuous servants of God may God gather our dispersed, and yours, in the garden of Delight, amid the stars of heaven !" !
!
or
Sulaimdn on
the
fy>^ vt p$y xLil
This chapter gives
251
Nusairian Religion.
XJU-
(*i
v~ftM
LJUi
*Ui
rise to dispute
o^/^ *->
**i>^> LAOJ! *IN
between the Northerners
"and believe in the lordship of Muhammad, the elect," the Kalazians say: " in the lordship of 'All, the gracious," and accuse their opponents of the error of ascribing lordship both to Muhammad and the Kalazians;
and
for while the
former say:
The Northerners
reply to this charge 'All are allied, not alien, to one another; that, while the First Cause is 'Alt, Muhammad, also, is a creator; and that the Kalazians cannot consistently charge them with error in ascribing lordship to the latter, inasmuch as they themselves maintain the same doctrine of a to 'All, indifferently.
Trinity which
J^
.
Muhammad and
that
by saying
is
^
A long
held by the Northerners (jib ;j^J! jytf xJl-Jt Q^ xpUftj xJuliJI ^-o
dispute
is
thus carried on, of which
we give
only the outline.
The "orders" mentioned in this chapter are fourteen in number: the first seven including all from the Communicators to the Approved, numbering five thousand angels, who constitute what the Nusairis call the great light-world (j^ ^L*^), ;
them
j^ j&fti
be referred to in the Kuran as the "seven heavens,"* and who are supposed to have existed before the creation of the world, and to be stars outside of the rnilky way
believing
jjj>)
;
to
and the other seven including
all
from the Offerers
to the Attendants, numbering one hundred and nineteen thousand. who constitute the so-called little spirit-world ( ^l*^
o^5
/r
^L^jjJOj supposed to be what is intended by the "seven earths" in the Kuran, f and whom the Nusairis believe to be the stars of the milky way, or spirits purified from the flesh through their acknowledgment of 'AMS, and of every manifestation of the Deity from Abel to 'All 'Ibn 'Abu Talib ( L$3l * Kur, xxiii. VOL. viu.
88.
f Kur., Ixv.
32*
1
2
252
E. E. Salisbury,
cr ^of their lord
^
agreeably to these words in the Shaikh 'All 'as-Suwahi: ^Jt),
Diwan
"
Why dost thou not apprehend the parable of light ? Lo, God proposes to us a plain parable God is the light of the upper world, the Leavens, and of the earthly world" :
LL>
LJ
dJI
to
&
is to be found in the Kuran, where we read : the light of the heavens and the earth; his light is as in a little window etc."*
which parable
"God
is
a lamp
"Eighth Chapter, "
and
Glory be to a
God
difficulties give
to
way
!
whom
called the Betokening. all
necks bow, to whom all obstaclesstandard and token of the elect
I elevate the
Muhammad, on the clay of the festival of 'at Ghadir greatly praised be he who stands high before God in nobleness and dignity I, a servant to them who point to thee, O Prince of Bees, O 'All, thou august one, by the confession of unity, abasement of self, acquittal of all evil, and recognition of thine absolute being, 'All, thou august one, thou who art from everlasting, eternal, O creator and judge I entreat thee, by the reality of the call wherewith lord Muhammad called upon thee, as he went out of the gate of Makkah, riding the white camel, and lord
1
A combat 1 a combat a fight a fight in the cause of which words are my token to thee, O light of light, thou render *
cried, saying
God
!'
:
!
!
I entreat of rocks, thou compeller of seas, thou disposer of all things thee that thou wouldst give to believers a home in thy sublime garden, the felicity of a humble creature having hope kept by Ridhwan But lo, from the face of the height, on the right side of the thereof! mount, from amid the blessed tree y the bounteous one calls out, and O my friend, worthy to be praised, what humble creature haa says ever invoked me with this invocation, in sincerity of heart, and simple confidence, either on Thursday the loth of the month Nisan, or the evening of Friday, or on the night of the 15th of Sha'ban, or on five nights of the month Ramadhan, or on the Day of the Mass, or on the Birth-night, or on the day of the festival of 'al-Ghadir, and I have not counted him as one of my people, and given him a home in my garden, causing him to drink of the cup of my mercy, and placing him among the believers, for whom there is no fear, and who know no sadness?' I have uplifted my token. By the mystery of the 'Ain of 'Ali, by the mystery of the Mim of Muhammad, by the mystery of the Sin of Salsa f by the mystery of 'AMS. Our beginning of invocation is that we betoken our Archetypal Deity, and say In the name of God, the merand our ending of invocation is that we render ciful, the compassionate thanks to him who has guided us, and say Duty and praise be to God, the Lord of all worlds !" '
:
:
;
:
*
Kur., xxiv. 35.
Sulaimdn on
the
253
Nusairian Religion.
The combating spoken of in this chapter is two-fold: 1. to 'Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, and the rest, and all sects which maintain that 'All 'Ibn 'Abu Talib, or the prophets, either
revile
for ate, drank, had sexual intercourse, or were born of women the Nusairis believe that these descended from heaven without bodies, and that the bodies which they inhabited were but sem ;
Q^^ ^L^wJi ^ jjjj ^ V^A-M^A]^ ^U
blances (xoU*>t ^oLvvO>i iCiLJblLl
sLx^-i
to hide one's religion from those who are not Nusairis, it being a principle with this sect not to disclose their opinions or usages, even to save their lives. 2.
By this chapter are to be distinguished the four parties among the Nusairis; for those who adore the heavens and the twilight,
E. E. Salisbury,
254;
when they recite it, place the right hand upon the breast, applying the inner part of the thumb to the middle finger; while among the worshippers of the moon some spread out the hand, with the thumb erect, so that it has the shape of the new moon, and others place both hands upon the breast, opening them. wide, with the fingers of one over those of the other, and the two thumbs erect, so as, in this way, to represent the shape of the new moon and the worshippers of the air place one hand upon the breast, lifting up the fore-finger, and applying the inner part of the end of the thumb to the inside of the middle finger. All Nusairis, on finishing the recitation of this chapter, kiss the inner part of the ends of their fingers three times, and raise ;
them
to their heads. "
Ninth Chapter, called the 'Am of 'Alt. the mystery of the 'Ain, pertaining to 'Ali, divine, manifested, of him with the bald temples; by the mystery of the Mim, pertaining to Muhammad, Hashimian, imperial, intermediary, of the sun's disk, light of light; by the mystery of the Sin, pertaining to Salsal, represented in Gabriel, of Salman, communicatory, Bakrian, Numairian, " Nusairian. By the mystery of 'Ain-Mim-Sin
"By
-
(j*
,
c.
Sometimes abridged
r
.>*o
in the recitation.
" Tenth Chapter, called the Covenant. "I testify that God is true; that his word is true; that 'the plain truth' is 'Ali'Ibn 'Abu Talib with the bald temples, the mysterious; that Hell is the abode of unbelievers; that the Garden is a pleasureground for believers, where water meanders beneath the throne, and upon the throne is seated the Lord of all worlds, and the bearers of the
throne are the noble Eight, who present to him the oblation of my exercises, in this my state of discipline, and of the exercises of all be" In the faith of the mystery of the covenant of 'Ain-Mim-Sin lievers.
XJLr '
e
axILj|
Sulaimdn on
the
255
Nusairian Religion.
" Eleventh Chapter, called the Testimony,
or,
by the
common
people, the
Mountain.
"God certifies, the angels, too, and all imbued with knowledge, bear witness, that there is no God beside him, the doer of justice ; that there is no God beside him, the mighty, the wise. Verily, religion in our Lord, save us by thy revelation, cause us God's sight is Islam. to follow the Messenger, and so record us among those who firmly Bear me witness, to 'Ain-Mim-Sin. august Intermediary ; noble Communicator; bear me witness, my lord bear me witness,
O
testify
O
bear me witness, my lord 'Abu-dh-Dharr right hand bear witness to me, 'Abdallah; bear witness to me, O Kanbar Bin Kaclan bear witness to 'Uthman bear witness to me, me, Pursuivant; bear witness to me, Dignitary; bear witness to me, O Familiar bear witness to me, thou Purified bear witness to me, thou Approved bear witness to me, O Offerer, and thou Cherub,
Mikdad on the
on the
;
left; ;
;
;
;
;
Spiritual, and thou Sanctified, and thou Rambler, and thou and thou Attendant bear witness to me, ye dwellers in the watch -towers, and O world of all the pure. I testify that there is no God but 'Ali 'Ibn 'Abu Talib with the bald forehead, the adorable and no Intermediary but lord Muhammad, worthy to be praised and no Communicator but lord Salman 'al-Farsi, the pattern and that the greatest of angels are the Five Incomparables; and that there is no counsel save that of our chief and lord 'al-Husain Bin Hamdan 'al-Khusaibi,
and thou Listener,
;
;
;
;
who made known our rites in all lands. I testify that the man-like form, manifested among men, was the summit of all existence, and that it made manifest the essential light, beside which there is no God, which is 'Ali 'Ibn 'Abu Talib and that he is immeasurable, illimitable, incomprehensible, inscrutable. I testify that I am a Nusairi in religion, a Jandabi in counsel, a Junbulani in habitude, a Khusaibi in doctrine, a Jali as to maxims, a Maimuni in legal science ; and I stand fast in expectation of the splendid recurrence, the brilliant return, the withdrawal of the veil, the lighting up of the thick cloud, the manifestation of that which is unseen, the showing forth of the hidden, and the appearance of 'Ali 'Ibn 'Abu Talib from amid the sun, arresting every soul, with the lion beneath him, the Dhu-1-Fakar in his hand, the angels behind him, and lord Salman before him, while water wells up from between his feet, and lord Muhammad cries out, saying: 'Behold your Sovereign, 'Ali 'Ibn 'Abu Talib acknowledge him, glorify him, magnify him, exalt him. Behold your creator and provider! disown him not.' ;
!
Bear me witness, O my lords, that this is my religion and my faith, whereto I commit myself, whereby I live, wherein I shall die. 'All 'Ibn 'Abu Talib lives, and will not die; in his hand is destiny, and abin his gift are solute dominion hearing, seeing, and understanding. Peace be to us from the remembrance of them !" ;
256
E.
& Salisbury, e
V
'
j.
ie
b J^
b
cXg^il
tslli
^JLfi uX^^i!
^U^)
b
LX>fi
vuJ^
c L\i!
b
Jkc
kj
^5^
.
LXgj&l
(al^ b
jUxcJ! .Jo!
O^.^\ Q^'iy
^j
_^jl
.>As
ots?
Ic cXvii!
^lAjyww
b
Jk
b
b
LJ_J
Lo
The Kalazians claim that expression " and the appearance of Ali 'Ibn 'Abu Taiib from amid the sun," in this chapter, as evidence of the correctness of their doctrine, remarking that The worthe moon comes forth to view out of the sunset-sky. on account of this expression, fancy the of twilight, shippers that the twilight comes forth from the midst of the sun, while, 1
Sulaimdn on
the
Nusairian Religion.
257
same time, maintaining that the twilight-reddening of the sky creates the sun. The Northerners say that "the sun" is, here, a metonymy for Fatirnah the daughter of 'Asad, whose child was 'Alf'Ibn 'Abu falib; for it is the belief of the Nusairis, universally, that both she and Fatimah the daughter of Muhammad were the Expressed Deity, that is, Muhammad, who,
at the
as they hold, "
is
represented in the sun.
Twelfth Chapter^ called the Imam-chapter.
"Bear me
witness, ye brilliant constellations, ye luminous stars, ye circling spheres, that this man-like form, beheld and beholding, which was 'Ali 'Ibn 'Abu Talib, represented the eternal, the alone, the sole, there is no distinction of parts, the infinite, the un compounded, in
whom
whom
no number comprises. He, then, is my God, and yours your God, and mine my Imam, and yours your Imam, and mine; the Imam of Imams, the light of darkness, Haidarah 'Abu Tu-
the indivisible, ;
;
;
rab, the manifested with the bald forehead, the hidden with the bald temples, the appearer from amid the sun, the arrester of every soul, to-
whom, to the grandeur of the glory of whose awfulness, and to the to whom greatness of the splendor of the lightning of whose divinity all necks bow, and all difficulties In the faith of the mystery give way. of a Deity in the heavens, being an Imam on earth in the faith of the mystery of the Imam of every Imatn in the faith of the mystery ;
;
'Abu Talib, the everlasting; in the faith of the mystery of his Intermediary, lord Muhammad, and of his Communicator, lord Salman, gate to the directing rule and to the faith pleasure and peace be to us from the remembrance of them !" of 'Ali 'Ibn
This chapter implies that the Nusairis adore a seen, present, not an incommunicative, Deity and that this Deity is 'Ali 'Ibn ;
K E. Salisbury,
258 'Abu. Talib
wJLb
(p*
^^), whom
^j&
d^\ i^XP3 (J lieve to be presented to view in the Kalazians suppose to be the
^\
\
the Northerners be-
whole heavens, and the
mooneach
interpreting the chapter to suit
its
own
party, views.
accordingly,
" Thirteenth Chapter, called the Journey ing-chapter.
and whatsoever
is on the earth, the return of morning do we give glory, with the return of morning doth God's whole realm give In the name of God, by the help of God, and in the faith of glory. the mystery of lord 'Abu, 'Abdallah, in the faith of the mystery of the chief and his peculiar children, drinkers from the sea of 'Ain-MimSin, fifty-one in number (of whom seventeen were of 'Irak, seventeen of Syria, and seventeen unknown), stationed at the gate of the city of
"Let whatsoever
is
in the heavens,
the wise glorify God, the mighty,
!
With
Harran, receiving justly and rendering justly, whose religion whosoever conforms to, and whose worship whosoever adopts, God brings him to the knowledge of himself; and whose religion whosoever does not conform to, and whose worship whosoever does not adopt, has God's curse upon him. By the mystery of the chief and his peculiar children by ;
their
mystery
may God
give happiness to
them
all !"
-*v
When
the Nusairis find mention made, in their secret books, they interpret it figuratively, as signifying the heavand suppose its inhabitants to be stars, agreeably to what ens, laid down in the Egyptian Missive, and other books is
of any
city,
explicitly
U
LgjJxj
XJLbLJi
^+%*tf
&
and so
xLs*Xo
it is
y3
^^^
KjJj**^ o^
with "the city of Harran"
he spoken of in this chapter. As for the chief here mentioned, is their lord 'al-Khusaibi, and the fifty-one are his disciples (some of whom were of 'Irak, some of Syria, some of Persia,
Sulaimdn on
and some of foreign stars of the order of
"
the
birth),
the
259
Nusairian Religion.
whom
the Nusairis believe" to be
little spirit- world."
The
signification
attached to the receiving and rendering justly, attributed to these fifty-one, is that, whosoever takes refuge with them, and offers sacrifices to their Expressed Deity, him they will meet, and purify, and receive into their midst; and that they will avenge themselves upon all who distrust them, and will cast their spirits into mansions of degrading transformation
^.^
" Fourteenth Chapter, called the Reverenced House.
"By the mount, by a book written on an unsealed roll, by the reverenced house, by the lofty roof, by the full sea, by the mystery of Talib, and Ja'far 'at-Taiyar, brothers of 'All 'Ibn 'Abu Talib, who is the of light, the substance of substance; by 'All 'Ibn 'Abu Talib, remote from brothers, sisters, fathers, and mothers, alone, infinite, selfexistent, hidden yet unclothed ; in the faith of the mystery of the 'Akil,
light
house, the roof of the house, the ground of the house, and the four under-pinnings of the house the house being lord Muliammad, the roof 'Abu Talib, the ground Fatimah the daughter of 'Asad, and the in the four under-pinnings Muliammad, Fatir, 'al-Hasan, and 'al-Husain faith of the mystery of the obscure and secret nook in the midst of the in the faith of the house, which is Muhsin, Mystery of Obscurity mystery of the exalted, illustrious, Hashimian master of the house, who crushes horns of power, and breaks idols in pieces pleasure and peace be to us from the remembrance of him !" ;
;
cr
v-^JLL
VOL. vin.
34
260
E. E. Salisbury,
This chapter originated with the primitive Nusairis, and was in the way of accommodation to the performance of pilgrimage, that is to say, in view of the house which the Kuran commands to visit, and its under-pinnings, roof, and enclosures, as signifying, metaphorically, an acquaintance with per-
made up
sons represented thereby, agreeably to what is said by Shaikh 'Ibrahim 'at-Tusi, in his Poern of the Letter 'Am :
"
O
the change of God's house which is his Intermediary ; of 'asof Marvvah which is 'al-Mikdad, tamer of the Adversary Safa whereof Abu-dh-Dharr is the memorable personation of the ceremowhich are Salsal, submissive to the Deity its ennies of the house closing steps, how changed do they present themselves! the door-ring of the house is Ja'far, star in the ascendant !" !
!
!
;
;
!
;
'as-Safa, signifies the Lord Intermediary, the Mim the two steps, 'al-Hasan and 'al-Husain the doorring, acquaintance with Ja'far 'as-Sadik; 'al-Marwah, acquaintance with 'Abu-dh-Dharr; and the sacred place of ceremony,
The house
'al-Mikdad
;
;
;
acquaintance with Salman 'al-Farsi (Ifo,
A* b^^Ji
*J\>
o
\
^
J
.ax> tinctlv presented in
xsjtx)
^
v-jLJ!
i
Such interpretations are disof the Nusairis; and an books very many
named stands, with them, acquaintance with the several persons for the completion of pilgrimage. Moreover, that acquaintance is understood by the Nusairis to be obtainable by sight, in conthat the sun is formity with what is their belief, universally, with their as to disagreement respect to the Muhammad; while, Archetypal Deity and the Communicator, the leaders among the Kalazians hold the moon to be the Archetypal Deity, which, as the Northerners maintain, represents Salman 'al-Farsi, and, on the other hand, the leaders among the Northerners believe the Archetypal Deity to be presented to view in the whole heavens, which the Kalazians hold to represent the Communicator
Salman
'al-Farsi
;
and so every one who becomes
initiated
Sulaimdn on
the
261
Nusairian Religion.
into the sect assigns to the Archetypal Deity and the Commumaintained by respectively, their representatives, as
nicator,
whichever party he joins
(O'LOXC^
xJlj Q>
^ ^5*
The zeal of the Muslims in visiting Makkah seems to the Nusairis idle and blameworthy and one of their chiefs has expressed himself to this effect in the following words ;
:
" Cursed be all who forbid the drinking of wine, and and the pilgrims !"
that
is
to say
for the
:
all
the Syrians,
knowledge of 'Ain-Mim-Sin
!
and
Muhammad Bin Nusair 'al-'Abdi 'al-Bakri
'an-Namairi censures pilgrimage in the first of his Three Numairinri Visitations, which we find in the Book of the Summary of Festivals,*
their lord
as follows: assigned to thee a grave, and suppose thee to be buried thee; but in truth they practise deceit"
"They have in
it,
and
visit
Book of Confirmation, by Shaikh quoting from the Book of Light Handling^ which the Nusairis believe to have been composed by Ja'far 'as-Sadik, the words of Ja'far, when he was inquired of by 'al-Mufadhdhal with reference to the edifice which the Muslims are so zealous in visiting, imagining it to be God's house:
and, again,
it
Muhammad
is
said in the
'al-Kalazi,
" Such visitation is the sum and substance of unbelief; that edifice a prop of idols, even as it is of stone, like idols; and people are well nigh dolts in visiting it, and short of understanding ;" is
to
which 'al-Kalazi adds * See Journ.
Asiat., iv
:
Serie,
xi.
153.
f In the original text, this title here reads in
conformity with the reading
The meaning of
in
&*-$ v'-*^' which we have
another passage where
the latter form, however,
is
doubtful.
it
occurs, to \^
altered,
& E. Salisbury,
262
"So I give them for answer, as to this matter, that the practice should be abandoned and besides, there are places of pilgrimage, and so trees, innumerable, which they may visit, nearer than the Ka'bah idle a proceeding verifies in them the words of the poet, who says 'Thou boastest, O my brother, of strange things: of a jaundiced is always physician administering to his fellow-men of a weaver who naked of clothing; and of an oculist prescribing collyrium, who is himself blind ;' ;
:
:
;
and those of another:
'The physician
own
pain-stricken
sets
himself to administer to others, and forgets his
hearty
"Fifteenth Chapter,, called the Chapter of the Intermediary. faith of the mystery of the august Intermediary; in the faith of the mystery of the rnoble Communicator; in the faith of the mystery of rny lord 'al-Mikdad, on the right hand in the faith of the mystery of my lord 'Abu-dh-Dharr, on the left hand in the faith of the mystery of the two noble, pure, potentates, 'al-Hasan and 'al-Husain in the faith of the mystery of the two saints, Naufal Bin Harithah and 'Abu Burclah,; in the faith of the mystery of 'as-Safa and the world of in the faith of the purity mystery of every star in the heavens; in ,the faith of the mystery of the sublime holiness, and of those who dwell .therein pleasure and peace be to us from the remembrance of them !"
"In the
;
;
;
;
,
Sulaimdn on
the
263
Nusairian Religion.
cr "
Sixteenth Chapter, called the Chapter of Pursuivants.
is there* rove about far and wide any place of refuge for Let us remember the names of the Pursuivant-lords, whom lord Muhammad chose from among the seventy men, on the night of 'al-'Akabah, in the valley of Mina, as follows: 'Abu-1-Haitham Malik 'Ibn 'at-Taihan 'al-'Ushhuli, 'al-Bara 'Ibn Ma'rur 'al-'Ansart, 'al-Mundhir Bin Luclan Bin Kannas 'as-Sa'idi, Ran' Bin Malik 'al-'Ajlani, 'al-'Asad
"They
them
?
Bin Husain 'al-'Ushhuli, ''al-'Abbas Bin 'Ubadah 'al-'Ansari, 'Ubadah Bin Samit 'an-Naufali, 'Abdallah Bin 'Umar 'Ibn Hazzam 'al-'Ansari, Saliin Bin 'Urnair 'al-Khazraji, 'Ubai 'Ibn Ka'b, Rafi' Bin Warakah, Bilal Bin Raiyah 'ash-Shanawi. In the faith of the mystery of the Pursuivant of Pursuivants, and the Dignitary of Dignitaries, our lord Muhammad Bin Sinan 'az-Zahiri pleasure and peace be to us from the
remembrance of them
!"
These forms of devotion are used by all classes among the Nusairis, and by all the four parties into which the sect is divided, eacb party, however, interpreting them, after the manner which has been illustrated, agreeably to its own peculiar views. But the Nusairi-women ore not taught any of these forms, being restricted to the so-called Chapter for the
Removal
of Sexual Uncleanness (xjU^! a form of worship ^ *jj**), which is also used by the other sex. This chapter brings to view no new point in the Nusairian system of belief, and is, indeed, as might be expected, quite vague in its doctrinal allusions, while its whole significance is more impure than puriFor these reasons, we shall not dwell upon it longer fying. than to extract, for the sake of not altogether omitting anything
R E.
264 characteristic, so
printed
much
Salisbury,
of the text as has been allowed to be
:
L\P ^.^c
jt$J
"We come now
^
to the second section of our tract,
The author remarks relating to the festivals of the Nusairis. that these annual celebrations had an ancient origin, and are carefully perpetuated; that the necessary expenses are borne the wealthier men of tne sect, every rich Nusairi binding himself to defray the cost of one, two, or three of the celebrations, according to the measure of his zeal; and that, in towns, they are held at evening, for the sake of secresy, but that this precaution is not observed in villages. It is also stated that the Nusairi-villagers give themselves up to special festivity on their New-year's day, the 1st of Second Kanun, or January, and show less regard for certain seasons observed with special ceremonies among the Muslims as well as themselves; while the inhabitants of towns avoid such discrimination, lest the Muslims should
by
them out. The following
find
of Nusairian festivals, drawn up apparently is given by our author, with the -distinct understanding of its not including all: on the 18th of Dhu-1-Hajjah. 1. Festival of al-Ghadir list
in the order of their estimation, 7
,
2.
"
'al-'Udhhiyah
"
(%^i
10th ****-) of 'Isma'il 'Ibn Hajir.
"
A memorial O L>^U C\A), on"the 1 6th of First Tishrin.
3.
'al-Maharjan
4.
'al-Barbarah
5.
after an interval of a
(
(^LJi
L^AC)
4th of Second Tishrin.
week from the
last.
p 7.
the
Birth-time of lord
Messiah
on the 15th of First Kanun.
&.
g^w.1^), the Baptism
Kauun.
( (J
*,UaiIi
>A^), on the 6th of Second
Sulaimdn on Festival of 17th of " 1st " 11. 4th 9.
10.
12.
13.
"
15th
"
9th
the
'Adhar
( ;
LM
& *&A jjLJl
Nlsan " ( (2
First Rabi', called the
night of the 15th of Sha'ban
14.
265
Nusairian Religion.
(
Second Ghadlr
O U*
ouaj *LJ
In connection with this list, certain other festivals are enumerated, without specification of the times when they are celebrated, namely, the Festival of John the Baptist and of John \*>&} ^iX^i! \^>jl ***), the Festival of Chrysostom (wAXJ! l
^
Palms and of the Element (syaUJ^ ^olx^Ji ^j^), and the Fesc ). The following Mary Magdalene (xu^(X:>\ll ^l
^
tival of
seasons of special observance are also mentioned the first night of Ramndhan, and the seventeenth, nineteenth, twenty-first, and twenty-third nights of the same month. The whole enumeration by our author accords, for the most part, with Catafago's list, published in the Journal Asiatique for 1848;* though each authority names some celebrations not noticed by the other. :
The
subject of the third section of this tract
is
rather imper-
fectly indicated, in its title, by the words "on the Office of the Chiefs of the Kusairis, and the Prayers used at their Festivals," After remarking that ^>U^ o^loj xj^xAojJt #o.Um
**) ^.
there are three orders of chiefs, namely, Imams, Pursuivants, and Dignitaries, the author proceeds to illustrate their respective duties, mutual relations, and relations to the congregation of believers, by a description of the ceremonies observed on festivaloccasions," into which he introduces various liturgical forms not hitherto spoken of. When the day comes, the men assemble at the house of the
master of the festival (^xJ! v_*j>Lo), that is, of the person at whose expense it is celebrated; and the Imam takes a seat among them. Then there is placed before him a piece of white cloth, on which are laid mahlab-berries, camphor, candles, and myrtle or olive leaves; a vessel filled with wine of pressed grapes, or and two Pursuivants seat themselves on figs, is brought forward either side of the Imam. Then the master of the festival designates another Pursuivant to act as the minister of the occasion, and coming forward kisses the Imam's hand, and the hand of each of the Pursuivants seated by his side, as well as that of the Pursuivant selected to perform the service. The latter then ;
* Journ.
Asiat., ive S6rie, xi.
149-55.
E. E. Salisbury,
266
and places his two hands upon his breast, saying: "May grant you a good evening, my lords, and a pleasant and happy morning! is it your pleasure that I minister for you at this blessed festival (or, blessed time), over the cup of so and so,
rises,
God
the master of ceremonies?
God
which those present reply
to
bless
" :
him
Yes
;"
F'
y
whereupon the Purby kissing the and distributes
suivant, making his obeisance to the assembly ground, takes in his hands some myrtle leaves,
them, reciting, meanwhile, the following, called the Myrtle-string
"God have
hath said
rest,
:
'If he
thy benediction
let
is
one of those promoted to honor, he
shall
O
God, puffs of air, and a garden of delight.'* rest upon the names of the myrtle-personations, Suhan, Zaid Bin Suhan 'al-'Abdl, the most excel-
and gentle
namely: Sa'sa'h Bin lent and meritorious 'Amrnar Bin Yasir, Muhammad 'Ibn 'Abu Bakr, and Muhammad 'Ibn 'Abu. Hudhaifah may divine benedictions rest
upon them
all !"
These words are likewise recited by
all present,
who rub
in
hands, meanwhile, the myrtle leaves, and smell them. Afterwards, the Pursuivant takes a basin of water, puts into it some mahlab-berries and camphor, and reads a mass,f as follows : their
"
The Perfume-mass. have regard to this your Demigod, in whose presence ye believers, ye are assembled, and put away hatred from your hearts, and doubt and malice from your breasts, that your worship may be perfected by ac"
quaintance with your Indicator, that your invocation may be accepted, and that our Lord, and yours, may honor your hospitality. Know ye that 'All Ibn 'Abu Talib abides with you, is present among you, hearing and seeing, and that he knows whatsoever is above the seven heavens, as well as whatsoever is beneath the ground, and is acquainted with 7
secret thoughts, the
* Kur..
Ivi.
mighty one, the forgiving.
Beware, beware,
O
87, 88.
three of the four masses which we here publish have already appeared in the Zeitschr. d. D. M. Gesellschaft, ii. 389-91 ; but one has only to compare the two texts to see that, in many passages, the one formerly published is corrupt and \
The
first
unreliable.
Sulaimdn on
the
Nusairian Religion.
267
in prayer-time, as do the invalidates ceremonies, brings on catastroBut hearken to and phes, and impairs what is virtuous in conduct. hear the commands of the Lord Imam for he stands among you, as
brothers, of being merry fools; for such behavior
and laughing loud,
;
were, in the majesty of the infinite, the supreme, the omniscient One. We, being thus minded, have mingled for you this perfume, as the heavens are blended with the seven signs of imamship, on the peerless necklace of souls existing in substance, disencumbered of With those seven regale ye your fleshly, human, bald-templed form. Therewith doth the Mim chaste souls, pure from all wicked deeds. endow the Sin in every age, and at all times I affirm it on oathj on oath so that he is 'All, a God, to whom sincere worship is due, beside whom all beings invoked by men are a lie (seeing that to worship the it
let him be exalted, and let his state creature is an idle fancy), for he be magnified is, in the height of his dignity, the all-informed, the omniscient, the august Supreme" !
He then pours upon the Imam's hand a spoonful of the perfumed water, and gives the basin to the Dignitary, that he may do the same upon the hand of each person present. While the Dignitary is thus going the round, he reads the following, called the Perfume-string (wZ^ VOL. vin.
35
E. E. Salisbury,
268
" God hath said The unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were each a solid mass, and that we have ruptured them, and, by means will they not, then, believe ?'* of water, produced every living thing Glory be to him who vivifies the lifeless, in a land of freezing cold. *
:
the power of our Lord, the almighty
By
omnipotent
is
God
Supreme
omnipotent
is
God
!
!"
All present likewise recite this formula, laving their faces the Then the Pursuivant takes a censer, and stands up, and reads the second mass while.
:
"
The Incense-mass.
"The mass
of incense, and of exhaled odors, circling about in the reverenced house, in the dwelling of our God, a dwelling of joy and Some one says that our chief and lord, Muhammad Bin gladness. Sinan 'az-Zahiri peace be to us from him was accustomed to stand for the Friday-prayer, every day and night, once or twice, taking in !
up
hand a ruby,
according to another Fatimah, and incensing cups, with perfection of cheer, incensing the servant of light, Know ye, O believers, therewith, amid festive decoration and glitter. Incense your cups, that the light is Muhammad, and the night Salman. and light your lamp, and say, all of you Praise be to God, praise be
his
or, as is also said,
report, a chrysolite,
a sapphire,
or,
which was consecrated to the
brilliant
:
whose favor unsurpassed, and whose mystery defying penetrabountiful, noble, exalted, august is tion, has been bestowed upon us Believe and be assured, O believers, that the person of the servant he of light is free to you, among yourselves, and forbidden to you in the to God, !
company
of others"
3l
-,
O
1
3
LJ * Kur.,
xxi. 31.
The common
text begins with a question
:
*J^I.
jb'
Sulaimdn on
the
269
Nusairian Religion.
In a note to this formula, our author says that what is meant here by "the servant of light" is wine; that is, wine is here presented as an image of 'All. After this the Pursuivant incenses the Imam, as well as the two seated by his side, and gives the censer to the Dignitary, that he may incense the rest of the assembly. While going his round, this official recites the following, called the Incense-string
"O
God, give benediction and peace to our lord Muhammad, the names the sons of Muham(after whom, says our author, he mad's daughter, mentioned in the notes on the Third Chapter (see p. 240) and adds:) may the divine benediction rest upon them all" elect
.
.
.
*SlJ!
The receivers of the incense likewise recite this formula. Afterwards, the Pursuivant takes a cup in his hand, and standing up reads the third mass :
"Mass of "
is
Omnipotent
nipotent
is
God
God I set
!
!
the Call to Prayer.
omnipotent is God omnipotent is God omface toward lord Muhammad, worthy to be !
!
my
praised, inquiring after his pattern -mystery, his loving self, confessing the knowledge of God, the divine revelations, the [embodied] attributes
of Deity, and sanctifying myself. By Divine Being is meant the divine, [in manifested form] bald-templed, essence of 'All, itself, to wit, the Archetypal Deity, the sublime 'All and as to the glorious Fatir, the perfect 'al-Hasan, the beneficent Muhsin, Mystery of Obscurity, I humbelievers, to that which lord Salman held to, when there bly hold, was a summons, and a call to prayer. The crier, in his tower, called to prayer, and was heard by the people, as he called, saying Omnipotent is God I testify that there is no God but 'All omnipotent is God the Prince of Bees, with the bald forehead, the adorable; and no Intermediary but lord Muhammad, the surpassing, the all-glorious, the august, the worthy to be praised; and no Communicator but lord Salman 'aland that lord Muhammad is the Deity's allied InterFarsi, the pattern mediary, his commissioned prophet, his book of revelation, his august ;
*
:
!
!
;
throne, and his firm seat; and that lord noble Communicator, his established way, God, the ark of salvation, the fountain of multitude of believers, that ye pray,
Salman Salsal Salsabil is his whereby alone one comes to
To prayer! to prayer! enter the Garden set before you. To gladness to gladness and ye shall be made glad, O believers, being delivered from bodily grossnesses, and corporeal darkness, rcposlife.
may
!
!
K E. Salisbury,
270
ing amid houris and home-born servants, and beholding your glorious Lord, the Prince of Bees, the great Supreme omnipotent is God omyour Lord, the Prince of Bees, 'Ali, greater than all nipotent is God the great, more august than all exalted ones, sublime beyond all reach, !
!
mighty beyond all injury, continuing beyond all extinction of being Forever obligatory is prayer omnipotent is God omnipotent is God on those to whom it is given to pray; forever is its evidence to be !'
!
by those who are taught it. I entreat thee, O Prince of 'Abu Talib, that thou wouldst establish the same, and perpetuate it, so long as the heavens and the earth endure and do thou make lord Muhammad to be its suspension of action, ceasing from food, and invocation of blessing; lord Salman to be its asking for and peace, and its holy collectedness 'al-Mikdad, its turn to the right, point of regard 'Abu-dh-Dharr, its turn to the left, and completion and believers, its indication of faith* forever. all worlds, its pathway reiterated
Bees,
'All 'Ibn
;
;
;
;
;
Amen"
L,
* The various parts of the ceremony of prayer, as practised by the Muslims, are metaphors which virtually abolish it comp. the
.here alluded to under the cover of Fourteenth Chapter and notes.
:
Sulaimdn on
the
271
Nusairian Religion.
He then presents the cup to the Imam, and, filling another, gives it to the person seated on the Imam's right, and hands a third to the one seated on his left each of whom recites what follows ;
:
"
I testify 7 Abft
Talib,
Lord, and thine, is the Prince of Bees, 'All 'Ibn unconditioned, imperishable, unchangeable and I
that
my
who
is
testify that his
;
Intermediary
is
Muhammad, and
lord
his
Communicator
Salman and the Communicator proceeds not from between the Archetypal Deity and the Expressed Deity"
lord
;
which the presenter of the cup says to each " Take, O my brother, this cup in thy right hand, and ask help of thy Lord, b 'Ali 'Ibn 'Abu Talib, thy ruler and helper" *XP after
:
^1
w ;
to
which each communicant replies: "Grive, my brother, that which is in thy right hand, and ask help of thy Lord and Creator, thy ruler and helper in matters of thy religion may God make it to flourish with his affluence, by the suretyship of Mu-
hammad and
his race!"
^
Afterwards, the Pursuivant rises, and placing hands upon his breast says " May God grant you a good brothers, and a pleasant morning, O people of the evening, faith.! Forgive us any errors, or negligences; for man is so called only because he lapses into error, and absolute perfection pertains only to our Lord, the glorious 'All, who is omniscient" his
:
J>!
L
toJu
J^aj
~>\ LJ
E. E. Salisbury,
272
^JU
^ Jju
4>) J^Lit
^^
\ftjl
JLM, and then
t\
kisses
the ground, and sits down. Then the Imam, facing the assembly, says: "May God grant peoyou a good evening, O brothers, and a pleasant morning, Is it your pleasure that I should minister for ple of the faith you, on this blessed day, over the cup of the master of ceremo!
G
nies?
alii
d bless him!"
t^Li J^xJi s_*:>Lo,
and
kisses the ground,
sembly also do, striking two octaves with the Ift&guw; accept thee as our chief and lord"
LLU&
which the aswords: "We
The
ULj.
a tradition, on the authority of our Imam lord Ja'far 'as-Sadik, the reticent and declarer, the render and binder,* that he said: 'At prayer-time, it is forbidden either to take, to give, to sell, to buy, to report the news, to whisper, to be noisy, to be restless, or to tell stories, over the myrtle but let there be silence, listening attention, and saying of "Amen." Know ye, brothers, that if any one wears upon his head a iblack turban, or carries on his finger a kishtban, or at his waist ;a two-edged knife, his prayer is hindered; and the greatest of sins is to fail in duty over the myrtle; for what is binding upon
then says: "It
is
;
a messenger,
if
not manifest vigilance?
3-
"
ing:
This .homage to
7
Then he
God and
to you,
','
1$
kisses the ground, sayxclJoJ! u\P brothers !"
lj after which all who are present prostrate themjjfj *U; elves, kiss the ground, raise their hands to their heads, and say ;
O 5y>! "
be thy homage paid, O our chief *W i^J^Lb. bvXM"3 Lc^u^i Imam the the reads Formula of Disburdening Afterwards, *^ as
To God
let
him be exalted
"
!
u ^1*3
lord!"
God, the august Supreme, forgive all grievous sins, and all misand slips, in our observance of prayer Let us pray, if God will let him be exalted (so and so, naming, says our author, some time of prayer, according to the enumeration given in the notes on the
May
takes, mishaps,
!
!
* See note
f on p. 245.
Sulaimdn on
the
273
Nusairian Religion.
'AH 'Ibn 'Abu. Third Chapter). I entreat thee, O Prince of Bees, Talib, that thou wouldst make it for us an hour of favorable response, an hour of forgiveness, and an hour of complacence and that thou wouldst most graciously accept it. By the reality of the lord Messenger, of the immaculate Fatimah, of Muhsin, Mystery of Obscurity, and of the tranquil, unveiled, night, do thou accept it from us, as thou hast accepted it from thy blameless saints, thy commissioned prophets, and all ;
It is a tradition, thine obedient servants, of .primitive and later times. on the authority of 'Abu Shu'aib Muhammad Bin Nusair 'al-'Abdi 'alBakri 'an-Numairi, that he said * Whosoever desires salvation from " O the glow of infernal fires, let him say God, curse thou a gang who and transgression, the nine companies of lay foundations of iniquity :
:
cornipters,
who work
corruption, and
behave themselves not aright whither tend their erring
religion, whose way leads to Hell-fire, steps : to wit, that company, first of all,
in
the cursed,
'Umar
composed of 'Abu Bakr, and 'Uth-
'Ibn 'al-Khattab, the iniquitous Adversary,
man Bin
'Affan, the calumniating Satan together with the companies of Talhah, Sa'd, Sa'id, Klialid 7 Ibn 'al-Walid, handler of the cutting blade, Mu'awiyah and his son Yazid, 'al-Hajjaj Bin Yusuf 'ath;
Thakafi, the inexorable, 'Abd-'al-Malik Bin Marwan, the stupid, and Harun 'ar-Rashid may the curse abide upon them, even to the threatened day! that day when Hell-fire will be inquired of: 'Art thou satisfied?' to
'All 'Ibn
which it will answer: 'Have I been supplied?' and thou, O 'Abu Talib, wilt, then, do what thou wilt, and pass sentence
thou pleasest. I entreat thee, also, that thou wouldst let thy wrath and chastisement descend upon 'Ishak 'al-'Ahmar, the broken-backed, and 'Isma'il Bin Khallad, the fool and do thou curse Shaikh 'Ahmad 'al-Badawi, Shaikh 'Ahmad 'ar-Rifa !, Shaikh 'Ibrahim 'adh-Dhu'suki, Shaikh Muhammad 'al-Maghrabi, 'ash-Shibl 'al-Marjan, and Shaikh 'Abd-'al-Kadir 'al-Ghilanl, together with every Jew and Christian and do thou curse the Hanifite, Shafiite, Malikite, and Hanbalite sects; and let thy wrath and chastisement, O Prince of Bees, 'All 'Ibn 'Abu Talib, descend upon the wretch 'Ibn Karkar, 'Ishak 'al-'Ahmar, the camel-chafer Kaidar, and Hubaiyib 'al-'Attar; and cause them to enter Hell-fire how shall one be informed what Hell-fire is, which Cursed be all the spares not, nor reserves, a changer of men's color nineteen Also, curse thou those who play with apes, and catch hold of black serpents, together with all Christians and Jews, and every one who believes that 'Ali 'Ibn 'Abu Talib ate, or drank, or was born, or had sexual intercourse may God curse them! may God curse them! Moreover, lay thou the curse upon John Marun the Patriarch,* the execrable, and upon all those who feed on thy bounties, while they worship not thee and do thou rid us of them utterly, as flesh is cleared from a bone, by the suretyship of 'Ali, Muhammad," and Salman, and by the favor of 'Ain-Mim-Sin'" as
;
1
;
!
!
;
ibUtj Llioi!
^
* The first patriarch of the Maronites, who held manni Bibl. Orient., i. 496.
office
about A.D- 700
:
s.
Asse-
K E. Salisbury,
274
io
!
JI
y^JLLl
^-*:5
' 1
Acyl
L
pJ UJL^
jj!
^
XJCo^ ^AAXJ! v-^^J.
^
Lj
iUatff
^
^xU uX.13-
J^ ^0
r
Ju^JI
Juj* u, JJ> Jyi^ vXj^j U:
guySJt
&' ^j cr r
j
jSulaimdn on the Nusairian Religion.
275
Then he wipes "
ent
We
:
his hand upon his breast, saying to those presdisburden ourselves of these vile Satans, the heretics,
on the favor of 'Ain-Mim-Sin" J^ns ^Jlc ^3; Lit *U>J.i ^.j^bU^i, which the people asf sembled repeat, kissing one another's hands to the right and left; after which the Imam reads the Chapter of the Opening to(iv^UJi), and the Chapter of the Two Deficiencies (oVJ_>*^)> in dependence
Ow
up to the Chapter of the Sun fy^ U~*^i), and the Chapter of Broad Sunshine (iPL^j),* and also gether with
all
that follows,
the throne-verse his pleasure.
*^),t an ^ other verses of the Kuran, at (^^ to the assemhe has done he
When
reading, says brothers, that there are many such proofpassages, and verses like these, which inform with knowledge of the great Supreme. I entreat thee, Prince of Bees, 'All,
bly
:
"Know
ye,
thou august one, by the security of these evidencing verses, and these chapters, and of miracles and powers, and by the suretyship of lord Muhammad, who from the light of thy being was parted, that thou wouldst compensate and bless the confessors of this bounty, this benefit, this primitive faith may your place of abode be inviolate, your branch flourishing, your enemies be destroyed may your Lord, the all-controlling Supreme, the animator of forms, bless you God, let benediction and peace be to our lord 'al-Khadhir 'al-'Akhdhar, to the prophet of God Alexander, to Malik Ja'far 'at-Taiyar, to Sultan Habib 'an-NajMoreover, may the jar, and to my lord Mitham 'ath-Thimar. spirit of my lord Shaikh Hasan 'al-'Asmar be sanctified, and hail with wishes of mercy! also, that of Shaikh 'Ibrahim Bin Kashmir, that of Shaikh Khalil-i-Matwar, and that of Shaikh 'Ali-fi-s-Sanaubar and may God make it an evening and a night fraught with blessing to us, and to you, brothers, all ye who are present By the suretyship of the all-controlling Soveu Prince of Bees, reign, 'Ali, thou august one!" !
!
!
!
* Kur.
i.,
and
Ixxxiii-xciii.
the variation in the
which have (jva&LI! is only verbal. HJJJW, f Perhaps Kur., ii. 256. VOL. vni. 36
ies,
title
of ch. Ixxxiii from our cop-
K K Salisbury,
276
After this prayer, the Imam begins with certain other forms, glorifying and adoring 'All, and recites many masses, of which our author gives only the last: "
Mass of Betokening. "Praise be to God, to 'All the consummate, to 'Alt the light of men, to 'Alt the lord of glory, to 'All the seed-burster, to 'Alt the creator of the breath of life, to 'Alt the fountain of wisdom, to 'Alt the key of
mercy, to 'Alt the lamp in darkness, to 'Alt the potentate of potentates, to 'Alt the extirpator of imperial princes, to 'Alt the lord of the stately tabernacles, to 'Alt the Imam of the apsis, to 'Alt the remover of the to 'Ali the dissipator of sorrows, to 'Alt the worker of miracles, gate, to 'Alt the
opener of the ground, to 'Alt whose love is unfailing, to 'All the delight of the grey-haired, to 'Alt the knower of that which is inexplicable, to 'Alt the king of this lower world, to 'Alt lord of the last and first of time, to 'Alt the render of rocks, to 'Alt the light of the dawn, to 'Alt the river of wine, to 'Alt the father of 'al-Hasan, to 'All the river of milk, to 'All the cause of causes, to 'Alt the stiller of the movements of revolving cycles, to 'Alt the river of honey, to 'All the river of water, to 'Alt the elevator of the heavens, to 'Alt the originator of time, to 'Alt the exalted in state, to 'Alt abounding in wonders, to 'Alt lord of the climes of the rising and the setting sun, to 'Alt who is Haidarah with the bald forehead, to 'Alt the bald-templed, mysterious one, to 'Alt the lord of the fish, to 'Alt the veiled mystery, to 'Alt the olive tree, to 'Alt the knower of secret thoughts, to 'Alt the full sea, to 'Alt the lord of destiny, to 'Alt the render of rocks, to Alt the dignity of the cow, to 'Ali the horseman of horsemen, to 'Alt the vivifier of crumbled bones, to 'Alt the revealer of the book, to 'Alt the disperser of clouds, to 'Alt the opposer of the sun, to 'Alt arrester general of souls, to 'Alt the omnipotent sovereign, to 'Alt the overpowering disposer, to 'Alt the smiter with Dhu-1-Fakar, to 'Alt who was Haidarah persistent in onset, to Alt the autocrat of the earth, to 'Alt the rightful claimant of all free-will service and enjoined obedience, to Alt alone
who was Abel, to Alt who was Seth, to Alt who was who was Joshua, to 'Alt who was Asaph, to All who was Simon Peter. To this Archetypal Deity we give glory, reverence, and
sole
;
to 'Alt
Joseph, to 'All
to that landings, magnifyings, extollings, and ascriptions of greatness being whom primitive believers betokened, and the eternity of whose
archetypal divinity has been shown by prophets and messengers; and betoken that which was betokened by our chief and lord 'al-Husain
\ve
Bin Harndan 'al-Khusaibi, and which was betokened by
his progenitor
Sulaimdn on
the
Nusairian Religion.
277
Muhammad
Bin Nnsair 'al-'Abdt 'al Bakri 'an-Numairi, and which was betokened by Salman the Communicator that being whose archetypal divinity was shown by lord Muhammad the Intermediary, in the seven tabernacles, from Abel the well-pleasing, to Haidarah 'Abu Turab.
Know ye, O my brothers, that your God is the eternal archetype of archetypes, the alone, the sole, the sublime, through fellowship with whom we shall be promoted to gardens of pleasure, and partnership with the lights of heaven. Know ye that this is our prayer, our pil-
grimage, and our alms; and the betokening and the adoration of our inmost souls, in simple confidence, of 'All 'Ibn 'Abu Talib, the mysterious, bald-templed one, the uncompounded, in whom there is no dis-
tinction of parts, the indivisible, whom no number comprises, who is neither conditioned nor finite, to whom periods and ages bring no char.gp, the so denominated Haidarah 'Abu Turab, to whom, to the magnificence of the glory of whose awfulness, and the greatness of the splendor of the lightning of whose divinity to whom all necks bow, and all obstacles and difficulties give way"
K E. Salisbury,
278
JhV"^ *A^ OjLfct
^J ~A**>
rr^ cX+JS?
^X*J! JA^ AJ_jJsJt/9
Jlfi
Ju
U**j
(3^
V ^^ 1
xJ!
wX>
Lo
,Uil
*jJi
,jUJ^w &A^
lo
,Ui!
L>
Lvii
& cr vk'^ LSI
Jw^l
j|
\
Jlr:
.^ji
*&\
o^^>\
^\
^\
U
M
l
b
LiJLxftj
All then raise their hands to their breasts, and recite the Chapter of Betokening (see p. 252), each party performing the action of raising hands in its own way, as explained in the notes
on that chapter. When this recitation is over, the Imam takes in his hand a cup of wine, and reads a tradition authorized by 'al-Husain Bin Hamdan 'al-Khusaibi, in which 'All is set forth as the one true Grod; and afterwards directs the assembly to bow the head, which they do by reciting the Sixth Chapter (see and after that he takes the cup which is in the hand p. 248) of him who sits on his right, and mingles its wine with his own, saying, as he mingles.: "Seest thou yonder? seest thou? ;
delightsomeness.!
O
great magnificence! they are arrayed in
gauze and brocade, and adorned with armlets of silgreen ver; and their Lord gives them pure wine to drink. Verily, this is your portion; your zeal will surely be recompensed" silk
Then he sain "
Bin
Hamdan
reads' the following
'al-Khusaibi
melody by 'al-Hu-
.:
who is servant to Privileges with which your brother endows you, a servant of Twelve Full Moons, your disciple of Junbulan, scion of Khusaib, drawing them from the .abundance .of the overflowing sea
Sulaimdn on
the
279
Nusairian Religion.
from the fountains of 'at-Tasnim, which yield pure wine, wine of ;the choicest wine, with mixed aroma"
Salsal,
Next he recites the Ninth Chapter (see p. 254), the assembly repeating after him, and then drinks a little from one of the two cups, and presents it to him who sits on his right, and, taking the third cup from him who sits on his left, drinks a little of that, and gives it back to him, and presents the cup which he still retains to the ministering Pursuivant; and so the cups pass around among them, from one to another; and, as they are offered, each offerer kisses the hand of the receiver, saying to him: "Be thou extolled! drink, my brother and lord,
'Ain-Mim-Sin" b s-y^ J^^AJ whereupon he takes the cup, and drinks,
in the faith of the mystery of (j*
f
JM ^iXwwj ^>\
;
saying to the offerer: "May God give thee to drink, my brother aifd lord" ^A**^ ^s>\ b JJI uS'la**, to which the lat" ter replies May God cheer thee through thy fellowship of the and cup, thy draught, and cause thee to attain to thy goal, and :
^
that which thou seekest after!"
a)J!
ti&j"H? iij!yi When the offering of the cup is over, ti5o^XLw^ !^o^x2Ji/a i;ixLjt). " Amen the assembly pronounce an ;" and thereupon the Imam reads some verses from the Kuran, as follows " T-S-M those Perchance thou wearest thyself are marks of the Plain Book. out with grief, because they are not believers if we please, we will reveal to them a sign from heaven to which their necks :
:
^
fcrfJI "To God, believers, bend !" has the b. direction been recitathis obeyed by ^.^J^j^ tion of the Sixth Chapter, as before, he reads the Eight-hand
will
bow,"* adding:
When
Invocation <>r*^ *L> u
I entreat thee, reality of this prayer,
of the limits
and
Hud
as follows:
Prince of Bees,
'Ali,
thou august one, by the
and of all bowing of the head, and visitations, and of space, and of thunderings and lightnings by Noah ;
Law
of Moses, the Gospel of Jesus, the Kuran of Muhammad, and the Psalter of David ; by the reality of thy form, thy man-like form of existence, whether at day-break, or in the twilight-dawn, or in the hours of advancing day ; by the reality of thine Incomparable, 'al-Mikdad 'Ibn 'al-'Aswad 'al-Kindi, through whom ;
by the
reality of the
thou didst parcel off the world of purity, parcels by parcels by the light emitted from the midst of the day-beam (that is, says our author., ;
*
Kur., xxvi. 1-3.
K E.
280
Salisbury,
I entreat thee the reddening about the sun, at its rising and setting) that thou wouldst compensate and bless the confessors of this bounty, tin's benefit, this sumptuous charity may the good thereof be made effective to us and to you, evil be put away far from us and you, and the malice of rabble-crowds and Adversaries be brought to nought, not and may they who are buried beneath the ground injuring us or you wish mercy to us and you ! God, let benediction and peace be to my lord 'al-Khadhir 'al-'Akhdhar, to Malik Ja'far 'at Taiyar, to Sultan Habib 'Ibra'an-Najjar, who hewed blockhead after blockhead,* and to Sultan him, together with his son Mahmud. Moreover, may the spirit of my !
and teacher Shaikh Hasan, the straight-forward, be sanctified, and mercy also, that of Shaikh Hasan 'al-'Ajrad, that of Shaikh 'All 'as-Sawairi, that of Shaikh 'All Bin Mamdud, that of Shaikh Sa'cl, as well as that of his brother Shaikh Mas'iid, and that of Shaikh Da'ud, in the city of the celestial sphere! and may the spirits of all believers within the four corners of this lower world, and the limits of Peace be to us space, be sanctified, and hail with wishes of mercy Render salutaand to you from 'Ali, the bald-templed, the adorable " tions, and ye shall be preserved from all affliction and straits lord
hail with wishes of
!
!
!
*
A
play of words upon the
name
'an-Najjar.
Salaimdn on
the
Nusairian Religion.
281
"When the Chapter of Salutation
Imam
(see p. 250) is finished, the reads the Left-hand Invocation (Jl-iJI *'-c^), as follows:
"I begin, and intercede with thee, Prince of Bees, O 'All, tliou ancient of days, lord of day and night, and of time, by august one, the reality of the fourteen saluted orders, of which seven are counted for the great world, and other seven for the little world by the reality of the glorifying, the magnifying, the extolling, the hallowing, and the calling to mind, with cries of 'Glory to him!' *0 glorified one!' 'O glorious one,' amid those orders; by Alexander and 'Ardcshir; by the well and bucket; by Zulaikhah by the corn-measure and the ass;* by the Companions of the people of 'al-Kahf, and their dog Kitrnir; by the cave, the high edifice, and the shrouded youth on his pallet ;f by the reality of those who went forth on a foray, and assaulted and battled with the Devil in the pit-hollow by four churches of our Lord, the great Supreme, namely, the church of Dar 'al-Khaizuran, the church of 'Urnm Salmah, the church of Ridhwan, under the tree, and the church of Honor to the Day of the Festival of 'al-Ghadir that thou wouldst compensate and bless the confessors of this sumptuous charity, benefit, and bounty. May our condition, and yours, be most graciously ordered may whatsoever ye take in hand be favored, and succeed and may wheat, barley, millet, sesamum, cotton, and silk, be secured to Moreover, may the spirit of my lord Muhammad 'al-Kabir be you sanctified, and hail with wishes of mercy also, that of Shaikh Haidar 'al-Kabir, that of Shaikh 'Ibrahim Badishah-'amir,]; and that of Shaikh Yusuf 'al-Kasir! and may the spirits of all believers, in four quarters, be sanctified !" ;
;
;
;
;
!
!
^oJ^
*
JaJLSJ|j bVjLxIL
^.xJ
Alluding, in these last three appeal?, to the story of Joseph, as told in the xii. 10, 19, and 72, and Weil's Bibl.
Kuran, or current among Muslims: see Kur., Leg. d. Muselm., 100, ff.
f Allusions to the story in Kur., xviii. 8, ff. The original text has ***to UM**33?* which seems evidently a corruption.
J
E. E. Salisbury,
282
He next reads the Incense-string (see p. 269), and then concludes his prayer with three melodies by 'al-Husain Bin Hamdan 'al-Kliusaibi, the assembly repeating them after him, as follows: " First Melody. "
manifest one, not absent from us, thou hidden one, who ceasest not to be alone, whose creative qualities suffice for me, whose Salsallike Communicator claims our praise, respond to thy suppliants, and pardon us, and be merciful to all the past, from beginning to end. Justly do we render all praise to God, and I end my prayer with the 'Am alone"
>
b
Melody. "
From
thee proceeded the revealer of the divine qualities, and all from thee. O thou One, of whom neither qualities nor comes good essence can be comprehended, thy face is my Kiblah, towards which, from every quarter, I direct my prayer, O thou all of all, and who art " my all, O 'All and I end my prayer in thee !
|3
L
" Little matters
it
what fortune
befalls
me,
I
am
safe.
O
Ja'far,
God
Creator, my King; thou art the and the gracious friend ; thou, above the heavens, possessor' of majesty,
of
all
creatures, thou. art
my
Lord,
my
Sulaimdn on art exalted
on the throne
'al-Husain and Moses
and
;
the
283
Nusairian Religion.
thou on the earth art present by the Word ; were Expressions of thee; and thou art
'All
the reviver of bones"
M>-
j
After this he reads the following intercession " I entreat Prince of Bees, thou exalted, thou august one, by thee, the security of this conclusion of the Diwan, by Adam, Enos, and Kai-
nan, by the security of the festival of 'adh-Dhnha, and of 'al-Maharjan, by the festival of Thursday the 15th of the month Nisan, by the night of the 15th of Sha'ban, by the five nights of the month Ramadhan by that which is the reality of all with thee 'All, thou eternal, thou whom nothing engrosses, thou father of the two fair ones, thou sympathizer, thou benignant, thou recompenser, thou sovereign ruler, by the reality of thine Intermediary, lord Muhammad, and of thy Communicator, lord Salman, by thy lodging under the mantle of the sage and that thou wouldst compensate and bless the confesthe regal purple sors of this bounty, sumptuous charity, and benefit, and give them confidence for solicitude. May he make it an evening and night fraught with blessing, and a blessed day, to you, brothers, defend you against
every enemy and maligner, and preserve to you your young men, by the suretyship of the House of Wisdom, and of the Eternal O Prince of Bees, thou exalted, thou august one !" !
& y* JLJ
b OU
jj^+dsjj
f
c
o Ui
i^Uixio ^
o*
^
cr
L
oUjJ!
Lo L
VOL.
viii.
37
v^aAo
^.LXS Llo
xAj^
j* cr
Q**
u
u
U> L
x
284
R Salisbury,
E.
*LJ.)
LJ
Ulc
LJ
"
brothers, Forgive us, Then, facing the assembly, he says for all men errors or negligences, any addition or omission are prone to negligence and forgetful ness, and absolute perfection thou exalted! to the glorious pertains only to your Master This homage to God is whose one, knowledge all-surpassing. :
any
and
;
to you,
bUM
believers"
brothers,
o ^^
Q*
LJ
LJ Q^>^ LJ JJ 5 and kisses the ground, which the assemto him: "To God be thy homage bly, likewise, do, responding our chief and lord" IkXx*^ LL
;
on the right and left, and near by and, at the same moment, the candles are extinguished, when it is day, and the master of the festival gives alms, that is, dirhams, to the Imam other,
;
and the ministering Pursuivant,
as well as to all
who have
joined in the recitations.
Then
the
Imam
takes in his
hand the Summary, and reads a which they do
to the assembly, and bids them bend, as before; and, after that, directs him who sits
little
of
it
on his right to
read the Right-hand Invocation (see p. 279), and then directs all to recite the Chapter of Salutation (see p. 250), and, when this is done with, bids him who sits on his left to read the Left-hand " This homage Invocation (see p. 281), and, at the close, says :
to
God and
to you,
brothers,
all
ye who are present"
^Oj
aii XcLIoll LJ LJ vi=^> stXPj kissing the ground, ^_^>\ ^y> while the assembly do likewise, and also kiss the hands of one another, on the right and left; whereupon the Imam stands up, and uncovers his head, the assembly doing the same, -and directs to recite the Chapter of the Opening, saying: "The Chapter of the Opening, O brothers, has to do with the subversion of the dynasty of 'Uthman, and the succor of the people of 'al-Khu*-oUUtt *V\Jt '*>W ^ '&&W saibt, the Nusairis"
^ o^
*AA.yai! Kftj.mi jlgbx*^. Frequently, to this ceremony is added a petition to their Lord for the overthrow of all Muslim In conclusion, the Ministers rise and place food before rulers. the assembly, presenting most of it to the Imam, who distributes Xj^ukfljJ!
a
little
to those near
him
;
after
which they
all
eat
and
disperse.
Sulaimdn on
the
Nasairian Religion.
285
Having thus recounted the ceremonies usually observed at the festivals of the Nusairis, our author also specifies some customs which are peculiar to certain occasions. At the festivals in the month of Nisan, of the 17th of 'Adhar, and of the 16th of First Tishrin, when they begin their prayers, there is placed before the Imam a large basin of water, with twigs of olive, myrtle, or willow, in it; and, as soon as prayers are over, all uncover their heads, and the Dignitary stands up and sprinkles over them some of the water, and distributes a few of the twigs, which they set into their beehives, to obtain good luck. Whenever they recite the Chapter of the Bowing of the Head (see p. 248), they bend to the ground, excepting on the day of 'al-Ghadir, when, in reading it, they raise their heads heavenward. The author next gives some statistics respecting the number of people belonging to this sect, the names of the towns and villages where they live, and the number and names of their chiefs, or shaikhs, at the present time, distinguishing between the Northerners and Kalazians in each group of localities of which he speaks. But it is unnecessary for us to follow him, here, farther than to state, that the Nusairis reside in and around
'Adhanah, Tarsus, and Antioch, chiefly, it would seem, in the first of these localities, where about five thousand of them are said to have their habitations, who are mostly, it appears, of the Northerner-party; that, in the other two localities, also, the Kalazians seem to be in the minority that the Northerners are outwardly distinguished by their not shaving at all, and by their abstaining from certain articles of food and drink, which the Kalazians make free use of; and that, among the Imams of the Kalazians, conjugal communism is said to be a law of hospitality, supported, in part, by a figurative interpretation of Kur. xxxiii. 49, and partly by inference from one of ten rules of life ;
attributed to Ja'far 'as-Sadik, enjoining " upon every believer to gratify his fellow-believers as he would gratify himself"
which the Northerners understand to require only a readiness to impart of one's knowledge and property to a fellow-believer. It is also worthy of notice, that
the common people among the Nusairis are said to regard their Imams as infallible, and as having bodies not subject to the or-
dinary necessities of flesh and blood.
The
fourth section of this tract
to a so-called Fall. it,
is
expressly doctrinal, relating translation of the whole of
We shall give a
together with the text:
K E. Salisbury,
286
" Fourth Section, on the Fall. " All parties among the Nusairis believe that, in the beginning, before the world was, they existed as moving lights, and luminous stars, conscious of the distinction between obedience and disobedience, and neither eating, drinking, nor excreting, but beholding 'AH 'Ibn 'Abu Talib and that they remained in this condition seven in sapphire splendor thousand and seventy-seven years, and seven hours but that, then, they boasted of themselves, saying Surely, he has created no nobler creaSo tures than we are,' which was the beginning of their going astray. 'All created for them an Intermediary, who held them under restraint for seven thousand years ; after which 'All 'Ibn 'Abu Talib appeared to CerI not your Lord ?' to which they replied them, and said After a while, he manifested to them the all-disposing tainly thou art.' power of the Supreme, and they fancied themselves apprehending him fully, supposing him to be one like themselves, which was a second step in their wandering. So he made the Intermediary visible to them, around whom they revolved for seven thousand and seventy-seven years, and seven hours after which he appeared to them in the form of an aged chief, with hoary head and beard (by which form were tried the people of light, of the high light-world), and they imagined him to be such as was that form in which he appeared to them, and he said to ;
;
'
:
'
:
Am
'
:
;
them: 'Who am I?' and they replied: 'We know not.' Afterwards, he appeared in the form of a young man, with curled moustache, riding upon an angry-looking lion, and again in the form of a small child, and calling to them said Am I not your Lord ?' the same question These three appearances of being repeated on each manifestation. 'Ali, in o'ld age, youth, and childhood, are explained by the Kalazians with reference to the moon, 'All's appearance as a child being made the first, or the new moon, that as a youth the next, or the full moon, and that as an old man the last, or the waning moon. He was accompanied by his Expressed Deity, and his Communicator, together '
:
with the people of the orders of his holiness, namely, the first seven and, when he called to constituting the great light-world them, they imagined him to be one like themselves, and were in a So he created for them one who maze, and knew not what to an-swer. should put a stop to their doubting and wondering; and called to I have created for you a lower sphere, and intend to them, saying cast you dow.n into it; and I shall create for you fleshly habitations, and appear to you in an Intermediary akin to yourselves and whosoever of you acknowledges me, and acknowledges my Communicator, orders,
;
'
:
;
my Intermediary, him will I bring back hither; and whosoever rebels against,me, out of his perverseness will I make an Adversary to and whosoever denies me, him will I shut up in vest-confront him ments of degrading transformation. To this they replied Lord, suffer us to be here, magnifying theewith praise, and worshipping thee, ' Ye have and cast us not down into the lower sphere.' Then said he " our Lord, we know nothing rebelled against me yet, had ye said save what thou teachest us thou art the inscrutable, omniscient One," I would have forgiven you.' Whereupon he made out of their perand
;
'
:
:
;
:
verseness devils .and .Satans, and out of the sins
>of
those devils
made
Sulaimdn on
the
287
Nusairian Religion.
for which reason the Nusairis do not teach their forms of prayer to their women, as is explained in the Book of Light HandAfterwards, ling, the Book of Proofs, and the Book of Confirmation. he appeared to them in the seven tabernacles, to wit the first, called 'al-Hinn, wherein the name of the Archetypal Deity was Fakat, the Expressed Deity was Seth, the Communicator Jaddah, and the Adversary Rauba'; after which he appeared to them in the tabernacle 'alBiun, wherein the name of the Archetypal Deity was Harmas 'al-Haramasah, that of the Expressed Deity Mashhur, the Communicator 'Adhari, and the Adversary 'Ashka'; and in the third tabernacle, called
women;
:
;
;
;
Third Chapter.
"The Shaikh 4
At
Fall here
spoken of
the theme of the following lines
is
Muhammad Bin Kalazu
by
:
the remembrance of a time which I had before
my
fall,
my
tears
overflow, and I sigh deeply, and cry out with a longing never satisfied, and a yearning ; my heart is made sick with pain, and with my burn-
* These so-called tabernacles are pre Adamite gradations of human existence, from inferior to higher, corresponding, as appears, in reverse order, to the seven forms of degrading transformation, mentioned in the Second Chapter (see p. 238), which the Nusairis suppose themselves liable to fall into, for their delinquencies. Accordingly, the tabernacle of 'al-Yunan, i. e., the Greek race, represents the highest point which human existence reached, before the special manifestations of 'Ali in " \, deterioration.
Of the other
corresponds to
annulment of faculty
fesNtfjJi,
tabernacles, that of 'aj-Jinn, ;
that of 'aj-Jann,
i.
i.
e.,
e.,
the
the Genii,
Demon,
to
degradation; that of 'ar-Rimm, i.e., the Litter, to &*M^\, defilement; ^-Mfelt, that of 'at-Timm, i. e., the Scum, to ^xw J|, stagnation that of 'al-Binn, i. e., the
o
;
-*
Eetid Place, to .and that of 'al-Hinn, J&fiJt, wilting,; the waste-heap.
i.
e.,.the Sprites,
288
E. E. Salisbury,
ing passion, because of the felicity of days whose glory is exchang-ed for humiliation, and security for fearfulness. were in a sphere of glory, at the zenith of sublimity, coursing
'We
with angels in each green meadow, and from rivers quaffing choice water, pure honey, and milk, together with wine; while heaven and earth obeyed our bidding, by the permission of a Deity who made all things created, and even the Sovereign Deity glory to his majesty ! gave consent to our imploring petitions. 'At length it pleased God, whose decree is final, to say: "I shall cast you down to the mundane sphere, and manifest my being in an
Intermediary of your kin, causing you to see sees vapor
on the
Intermediaries as one
my
plain, which the thirsty man supposes to be water, So then, whosoever acit, finds to be nothing real.
and, on reaching knowledges me, when I appear among you in an Intermediary, and distinguishes me from human kind, him will I secure from fear and trouble, and save from all that is alarming and afflictive he shall be restored, speedily, to his pristine state, and I will give him rest in the shade, on ;
the green meadows of my garden." 'We acquiesced in the Merciful's words to us, and, falling to the sphere of humiliation, after being exalted, have trod, as prisoners, within narrow bounds, therein abiding while ages have revolved. 'Thee, O Habak, I supplicate, by a divinity which thon hast manifested, that we might find it as a kind among creatures, and which we have been empowered to behold and know, for assurance, by sight, of Creator of the created, the production of the manifestation thou, art above humanity in majesty, yet hast thou, as of human kind, been conversable, and shown mercy, and hast been angry with, and hast punished, all anthropomorphists, with an anger and a punishment ever going its rounds through the regions of transmigration by an Expressed Deity, deriving origin and power from thee, without disjuncby a mandate wherewith thou didst tion, separation, or distinction charge, on his appearance, Salsal, and also the Five In corn parables by Pursuivants and Dignitaries, by Familiars next, by their associates the Ramak, I intercede with thee by those Approved as to Purified, whatsoever thou hast tried them with by seven lower orders next to them lift me up from contrariety, and trial of misery, to a highland ;
;
;
;
abode, amid gladness and gratification, where cup-bearing boys attend, and tiniest maids. Muhammad Kalazi, making invocation becomingly, cherishes hope ; and I stand fast by the ancient covenant, abiding in the confession of the day of shadowing clouds'" '
PJUflJ! s
Sulaimdn on
the
;
Lo.
.>Jli
+^3' jJLs
t
289
Nusairian Religion.
li
_l^4JCxxaf: jlfts
U^
5
.^
XjC
1^?^^
XxJ^U^J!
.Wl !
8vAP_,
aj
^
Juux c5
xlail
jj*=>\ L^xs (^vjtLi ^vwl Q!/
J! j
v
.Jl
^^P
^5
Uxjlfi L ^i LJ
290
K E. Salisbury,
,
CT
UJ
-
Jf
Jo*
_^J
jjf
Sulaimdn on
the
LotIL
Nusairian Religion.
L3>1 cr xJv* Lo
^Xo-
^J
ol/to^
LJ
*jfe Lo
*^ Jou :5>
j
(3
^^>^
oi^P
^F
L
5Uj
i!i
l^Jc>-^J
L/JLu liUc L^JLa LUJv^j
j^
VOL. vni.
38
291
292
E.
K Salisbury, +h iU J
In the word
m*
U
v^ol^Q
X.XAIVO
(Habak) here occurring, the hd' stands for
new moon (j^), the Id' for fall moon (;<-M, and the kdf for moon (f*'i). The word Oi.^ (Ramak) is an inversion of ^3 (Kamar). The "regions" spoken of in this poem are the seven states of existence
notes
upon
Our
it.
mentioned in the Second Chapter, and in the
Such are the comments of our author.
^AJ! *J!fA*a*Jt ^Ix&l
sists entirely
(v^), Zainab (v^y), 'Alya (^Ldc), Labna' and Laila d^-^), to the seven so-called tabernacles of divine quality, from Abel to 'All 'Ibn 'Abu Talib that they compose verses in their praise, and pay homage to them, as women and that such verses are called Brides of the Diwan 'ar-Rabab
;
jFrom among the specimens of this sort of poetry published by our author we select the first for translation, together with a note upon
it,
and give
also its text.*
"Verses by Shaikh 'Ibrahim 'at-Tusi, in praise of Mistress Zainab. " Let rne take a draught, my friends, and gladden myself, in the
beauty of archetypal qualities ;f for my morning-cup let take a draught of choice wine, colored to ancient purple in its jars. " My ecstasy with love of her runs wild, my fellow I am lost in
air of Zainab,
me
;
wonder u
in describing her,
Daughter by the
and
my
first birth,
tongue
is tied.
ten and four the
number
of her age,
* Following the express design of our author, we print alt poetical texts of the Nusairis without correction of errors in syntax and prosody. unites all that is attractive in the qualities of the Archetypal )' That is, who Deity.
Sulaimdn on her light surpasses
all
lights
;
the
293
Nusairian Religion.
her hair
falls
in a veil of brightness,
and
we are sheltered beneath the circlet of her imperial crown the broad, rimmed basin of her eye-brows is one brilliant light, the side-wise look ;
of her eye is a fascination which deeply moves me her face, with amber on both cheeks for foil, is like the new moon rising in light whenever she smiles, a sweet perfume is exhaled, and there appears the flash of a softly lightening cloud of Yemen her breast is smooth, like silk to the touch ; therein is a red pomegranate, the rounding moon to a favored one. " So I No liking have we sought intercourse with her, and she said for the whore-monger ;' I replied Away with the pander in thy air, away with him who would breed a harlot-progeny I am of the family of 'Ahmad, allied to Husain, connected with Junbulan, a Jindab, akin to ;
;
;
'
:
'
:
;
Numairl'"*
cr
po
L Ifc
Lp-lj J
13
o-tfw.^J
La
CT
"
The expression ten and four the number of her age" alludes to the entrance of the moon upon its fourteenth The day. drinking of Zainab signifies the consummation of knowledge of her. Passing over, now, several other pieces of poetry of which the moon, or Mistress Zainab, is the subject, and one in praise * The writer thus declares himself of the true faith, and so entitled to claim the favor of the Deity represented in the person of this object of his admiration. Whoredom is here put for alienation from the one true God.
294
E. E. Salisbury,
of the Deity, under no specific name, we come to some verses which express the peculiar views of the party of the Northerners, to whom, as before stated, the whole heavens represent 'Ali, while the Kalazians hold the moon to be the special token of his presence with mankind. Of these the following specimen
may
suffice
:
" Verses by Shaikh Tusuf 'Abu Tarkhdn, in praise of the Heavens. " Rise, my fellow, with us let us course on yellow and white thoroughbreds, to reach the monastery of Mar Yuhana, by a night's late ;
where are monks and servitors, and sundry devotees, under the power of a bride's hot blasts, the daughter of a presbyter.* "Large at the hips, supple, of comely form is she, the beloved of Mar she wears a loose veil, in color like the horizon, unruffled ; and Jurjis a yellow veil, and a great white veil unspotted also a clear red veil, of high import, seen from far. The while her effluence descends upon created things, a world is exalted with sanctity; but, were her veils
travelling
;
;
;
withdrawn, existence would become awry. Let her have assumed her stately mein, and thou wilt see prostrate monks, and lions, for fear of her, and for her majesty, glorifying and hallowing. " She was a fire for Abel, disowned by the Adversary 'Iblis it was she who bore up the True God's prophet Enoch; she was a saving water to Noah, after that the devils were drowned therein a fire to Abram she, a True Deity and the fire of the prophet Moses was she she was the Spirit who produced my lord Jesus of her 'Ahmad spoke ;
;
;
;
;
in eulogy, and afterwards Mar Kais.f " Hidden is she in that wherein fellow-mortal. she appears to us, All hail to her, the limitless, incomparable goal of my eyes Not turning away from her, by her shall I be guarded Yusuf is a servant to " the True God's people my calling wholly changed
O
!
;
or
v^ .
-*3 ...
" * The the bride of heaven," must be here referred to though Virgin Mary, as the description \vhich follows refers only to phenomena of the heavens, an identi" she fication with the mother of our Lord is plainly expressed in the after-clause was the Spirit who produced my lord Jesus;" and there would seem to be an allusion to the Roman Catholic doctrine of "semper virgo" in the words "but, were her veils withdrawn, etc." :
f In the original,
j^t
(
A which seemed
r
t
to call for
some emendation.
Sulaimdn on
the
^^AvJo U.X4uic,
tXAJu,
295
Nusairian Religion.
LplAj^ ,b
t
LS
^La
\j
LJ
fi
Lzu
U
O^s
^>j
U:
Such
are the poetic effusions contained in this section, evidently designed, as our author intimates, for impression on the popular mind; in some of which, indeed, a sensuous veil of
imagery almost hides from view the dogmas which are intended to be set forth.
The sixth section, x^xAoll! u\j.L5c u^su ^s, on certain fundamental principles of the Nusairis, reads as follows " All the Nusairis believe that the spirits of the chiefs of the Mus:
lims, firmly grounded in the science of their religion, assume, at death, the bodily form of asses that Christian doctors enter into swine-bodies that Jewish rabbis take the form of male apes and, as for the wicked of their own sect, that their spirits enter into quadrupeds used for food, sceptics of note excepted, who, after death, are changed into male apes; while persons of mixed character, partly good and partly bad, become invested with human bodies in other sects. When a professor of some other belief apostatizes, and is united with them, they hold that, in past ;
;
;
296
E.
R Salisbury,
generations, he was one of themselves, and that his birth within the pale of that faith which he abandons was consequent upon some crime
which he committed. "
No member
of any alien sect is admitted into their fraternity, as be a Persian, the Persians being believers 'Abu Talib like themselves ; and, without
for the first time, unless he in the divinity of 'All 'Ibn
doubt, their progenitors were of Persia and 'Irak.
In Jewish history,
however, they are said to have originated in Palestine and this statement is not groundless, inasmuch as they hold many principles in common with people of that country, such as the worship of the sun and moon. But, unquestionably, Magians are found among them, so that their worship may be of Magian origin, and they may be practising, at the present time, rites which are none other than Magian. "As for one of their faith by birth, who apostatizes, their judgment respecting the separatist is that his mother was an adulteress among them, being of that sect whose creed he adopts. "They simulate all sects, and, on meeting with Muslims, swear to ;
them
that they, likewise, fast and pray.
But
their fasting is after
a worthless manner; and, if they enter a mosque in company with Muslims, they recite no prayer, but, lowering and raising their voices in imitation of their companions, curse 'Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, and other persons. The simulation of sects is set forth by them allegoriWe, say they, are the body, and all other sects are cally, as follows clothings but, whatever sort of clothing a man may put on, it injures him not and whosoever does not thus simulate is a fool, for no reasonI will specify, however, able person will go naked in the market-place. a token by which the dissembler may be recognized when a Nusairi disavows the worship of 'All 'Ibn 'Abu. Talib, it may be known that he sets light by his belief, since he could not so express himself without having abandoned his religion or, when a Nusairi reveals his form of 'alprayer, it is certain that he has apostatized, for thus says their lord Whosoever discloses our testimony is forbidden our garKhusaibi den and, if any one says to you " Disclose and be guiltless," haste :
;
;
:
;
'
:
:
;
ye away.' " A token by which members of the sect recognize one another is as I follows if a stranger comes among his fellow-believers, he inquires What is have a relative* do ye know him ?' to which they reply his name?' and he says: 'His name is 'al-Husain,' when they rejoin: 'al-Khusaibi ;' a second token consists 'Ibn Hamdan,' and he adds '
:
:
'
:
*
*
:
for how in their saying to the stranger: 'Thy uncle was unsettled * if he replies : Sixteen,' they receive him ; a many periods ?'f to which ' If thy uncle should thirst, whence wouldst thou third is the question :
give
him
to drink
?'
to
which the answer
is
'
:
From
the fountain of
* See pp. 245, 278, 293.
" indubitable truth," allusion to ages of doubt prior to the revelation of to those successive stages of divine manifestation, sixteen in number, probably from the aged chief down to the human 'Ali, -which are mentioned in the fourth " " section of this tract (see p. 286). Thy uncle was unsettled means, in the lan-
f
An
guage of the Nusairis, who use "uncle" there was no certain teaching.
for
"preceptor"
(see, e. g., p. 233), that
Sulaimdn on
the
297
Nusairian Religion. *
Should thy uncle's feet sink in 'All-quality ;' a fourth is this inquiry the sand, whither wouldst thou direct him?' the answer to which is: * To the Serpent of Mu'awiyah ;'* a fifth is the following question 'Should thy uncle annoy, where wouldst thou meet him?' to which one answers In the Pedigree-chapter ;'f a sixth consists of the following Four, two fours, three and two, and as many more twice over, dialogue in thy religion In the Journeyingwhat place have they ?' answer Portion them out to me wilt thou ?' answer chapter ;' J question Seventeen of them of 'Irak, seventeen of Syria, and seventeen unAt the known ;' question ' Where are they to be found ?' answer What is their employment ?' gate of the city of Harran ;' question answer They receive justly, and render justly.' "The binding adjuration among the Nusairis, universally, is to place one's hand in that of another, saying I adjure thee by thy faith, in the faith of the covenant of 'All the Prince of Believers, and by the covenant of 'Ain-Mim-Sin ;' this makes it obligatory to speak the truth. Another form is to moisten a finger with one's spittle, and place it on the other's neck, saying I am absolved of my sins, and lay them on thy neck and I adjure thee, by the foundation of thy religion, by the mystery of the covenant of 'Ain-Mim-Sin, that thou tell me the whole truth touching such or such a matter ;' which also debars from falsehood. The latter form of adjuration is more established with the Northerners than among the Nusairis of other parties whoever takes it falsely, supposes himself to assume all the sins of the adjurer. " All the Nusairis imagine the eminent chiefs of their sect to have no sexual intercourse with their wives but that they make passes over :
:
l
:
*
:
'
:
*
:
:
'
'
:
:
*
:
'
:
'
:
'
:
;
;
;
them, by which they conceive. ** If any one who has abjured their faith passes by when they are at prayer, that prayer is spoiled, and they repeat it over again. They must not pray at all on the same day that they hear a story told" f-]j*i
Q|J
Lot,
OOc ioio
^Ust
Afi+aXj
cJ!
-!
Lo!
au&Xo
* Meaning, of course, 'Ali, the biter of the heel, as it were, of Mu'awiyah, nevertheless brought to an end his temporal dominion. f See p. 241. \ See p. 258.
who
K E. Salisbury,
298
oyC; o
t
Jo
Jo Lui
1
.
HjJUaJI ^x>
4 QjJbo ^U ^xjLwI!
>
L\,:
U
cr
,--
_L Q^
L>
OJ-*.A^US
iU^UJI
xjbw
xi^aj J^i ^oyi
'* .
^ Jybj
W
^^i^Uc
.
.
.
.
j%^SL*u SC^j
-bLc
t
X
cL
Sulaim&n on
Ju
^ u&Xj A<.
bis
u
Nusairian Religion.
5 Xstf
t
299
Nya
,v
cr
The seventh
the
o.
section of this tract
is
a narrative of the author's
^J^
^
discovery of the deeper mysteries of the Nusairis, iuolil iyjAxaJJi j, ^^l It concerns us chiefly for certain doctrinal statements contained in it. The author had been for three years a novitiate, and was suspected of heretical opinions, when, at length, he bribed one of the chiefs of the party of the Northerners to tell him " the hidden mystery," and received the following communication
:
ray son, that the heavens are the impersonation of 'Alt 'Ibn 'Abu Talib, namely, that hidden garden, beneath the Place of Rest, which the Knran speaks of in the words: 'beneath which flow rivers 1 of which rivers the first is a river of wine, in color red, whereby is determined the seeing of the heavens as red by our lord the Expressed Deity, that is, Muhammad; the second, a river of milk, in color white, which is what is seen by the Communicator, that is, by Salman 'alFarsi, for he beholds the heavens as white; the third, a river of honey, in color yellow, which determines the seeing of the heavens as yellow by the angels, that is, the stars; the fourth, a river of water, which is what we see, for to us the heavens appear like water. " When, however, we are purified from these human grossnesses, our spirits will be elevated amid the clustered stars which form the milky way, and we shall be clothed with spiritual habitations, and shall then
"Know,
VOL. viu.
39
300
E.
K Salisbury,
behold the heavens as yellow.* But if, during this present transient life, we doubt respecting the heavens [as the manifestation of 'All], our 'will enter into bodies of degrading transformation, and there will spirits never be any deliverance for us. As for people of other sects, who disbelieve in this our doctrine, they will become sheep and wild beasts, or assume other forms of degradation, and will never be purified. "Know thou, also, that the sun is lord Muhammad, who himself has been one with every prophet who has appeared in the world, from the tabernacle of 'al-Hinn to Adam, and down to Muhammad, even as our chief and lord 'Abu 'Abdallah 'al-Husain Bin Hamdan 'al-Khusaibi has informed us, in these words of his Diwan " 'If their number were a hundred thousand, the whole would always :
amount
to one.'
"Know
thou, furthermore, that the moon is Salman 'al-Farsi, and that these starsf are the angels who existed before the world was, conthe eldest of them stituting seven orders, one above another, namely lord 'al-Mikdacl, identical with the star Saturn, which also bears all,J the name of Mikhail and the star Jupiter, which is 'Abu-dh-Dharr, :
;
and 'Abdallah 'Ibn Rawahah 'alof 'Asrafil the star Mars, identical with the angel 'Izra'il, who arrests spirits existing in the world the proof of which is that this star disappears from its place when any human soul is departing; and 'Uthman Bin Madh'un 'an-Najashi, who is the star Venus, and, as one of the angels, bears the name of Dardiya'il and the star Mercury, which is Kanbar Bin Kadan 'ad-Diisi, and, as an angel, also bears the name of Saldiya/il ( the offices of each of whom, says our author, are specified in the notes on the Fifth Chapter ||). The other seven orders form the milky way, and are the spirits of those who have been translated from humanity, for their acknowledgment of 'AMS, as well as of every one of the manifestations, from the tabernacle of 'al-Hinn Of these two groups of sevens (both of which, to 'All 'Ibn 'Abu Talib. adds our author, have been spoken of in the notes on the Seventh Chapter ^[), the first forms the seven heavens, and the second the seven earths, mentioned in the Kuran. and
name
also bears the
'Ansari,
who
;
is
;
* It should be observed, that the preceding allegorical interpretation of the clause quoted from the Kuran expresses a graduated difference of aspect in which the Supreme Deity is supposed to present himself to the various orders of created existence: comp. our author's note on the First Chapter (p. 237), and the colors of the bride's veils described on p. 294. " " in the Third Chapter f That is, the planets, called the Seven Twinkling Stars (p. 239).
\ Lit, "their Kabir,"
The
original text has
,^-oljLXLo, supposing this
J-oLuoLo, which we have ventured to change to name to signify "Receptacle of the Deity," ^5^ being
^o
the sign of the genitive, and Zabbala Denudata, i. 1, p. 604.
Denud.,
man 1
ibid., p.
259.
'All on p. 242. See p. 248.
Comp.
having its cabbalistic import, as explained in the Dardiya/il may be similarly interpreted: see Kab. the epithet xJl*Ji o^<3J! 'ijS applied to the hu-
^
See pp. 251-2.
Sulaimdn on
the
301
Nusairian Religion.
" Also, know thou that one and the same Archetypal Deity is in each of the four stages of light, namely the first, called the stage of surmise, made by the first glimmering of day amid dark clouds, which is lord Salman, whose appearance unveiled would cause the earth to vanish with all that is upon it, not a man surviving; the second, called the stage of effulgence, made by the day-beam ; the third, called the mornto which three those words of the ing-stage, made by the arching sun Right-hand Invocation allude: 'thy form, thy man-like form of existence, whether at day-break, or in the twilight-dawn, or in the hours of advancing day ;'* and the fourth, called the zenith-stage, made by the :
[illuminated] heavens: all of which stages we hold to be substantially one. The voice of the thunder-bolt, too, is the voice of the Archetypal Deity 'Ali Bin 'Abu Talib, calling out in these words ye my crea:
acknowledge me, doubt not of me, and recognize my Expression. and my Communicator, and the inhabitants of the orders of my holitures,
o
\
jpj
^.^
*JjJ Js^otJ!
jp eJUJ!
.
,
Lp
LJ
* See
U^J5 xc
p. 279.
302
E. E. Salisbunj,
i^Jol
.Av
w
.,
jj^
jAM
jtf
u-s
JijJI
UL* juuJI y> ^JJI
Here
,\ve
pass over
author, which led
to
r
o
\
jjlc^
iouUJI
U*JI
some sceptical objections suggested by our no farther explanations, and take up the
continuation of his narrative as follows:
"Then the chief undertook to present to me proofs of the divinity of Whithersothe heavens, instancing the Prophet's words in the Kuran God is omnipresent, omniscient,'* ever ye turn, there is God's presence Know thou that in the name of 'Ali there are three to which he. added the twilight, the glimmering of letters, and that the words for heavens, '
:
*
:
* Kur.,
ii.
109.
Sulaimdn on
the
303
Nusairian Religion.
which is a plain proof day, and the arching sun, all have three letters of the correctness of our doctrine. Or hast thou not read the Chapter of Testimony in the Dustur, which says: 'he is immeasurable, illimitable, incomprehensible, inscrutable T\ and know thou, my son, that sight cannot reach to the limit of the heavens, nor can any one behold them in their prime configuration, that is, their red aspect, save only the Expressed Deity. "Know thou, also," continued the chief, "that the dog of the Companions of 'al-Kahf was an impersonation of 'All 'Ibn 'Abu Talib ; that he appeared to the seven youths who had fled from the emperor Decian, in the form of a clog, in order to prove them, and to try their faith and that so, inasmuch as they believed in him, they Avere elevated to the heavens, and became stars. Previously, he appeared to the children of Israel in the form of a cow, when they had grievously sinned, and the earth had well nigh swallowed them up ; and so they who believed were delivered, while the doubting were engulfed in the earth, such as Korah and his company. In the Kuran, this cow is said to have been sacriHe apficed, by which is meant that she was perfectly recognized. peared also to the people of Salih, in the form of a camel, which they mutilated, that mutilation signifying a rejection, on account of which they perished, and their city was turned upside down. Many other of " his manifestations we leave unnoticed ;
_ja,xj ,
JoJ!
^ jrJI
ti.ij
xJ
u-JLb ui
t^b^t LJ Bjb
LJLs
b
.-
be X3UJI
See
p. 255.
bVj^AaJ
gJ
Lo
K & Salisbury,
304
After this, our author was still more troubled with doubts, and became an avowed apostate from the Nusairian faith. But we are not concerned to dwell upon the details of his personal Suffice it, that, the experience. party of the Northerners having failed to afford him satisfaction, the Kalazians were called in to reclaim him from heresy; that to their importunities he seemed, at length, to yield; that thus, after a while, he secretly possessed himself of a certain Book of the Hidden Sense
(v^
which was
Nusairian belief, according to Kalazian interpretation, but only to find even more of inanity than in the statements of the Northerners; that he sought, however, to satisfy his doubts by continued intercourse with the Kalazians, and became a pupil to one of their Preceptors, but obtained no different views, except that the moon represents the Archetypal Deity, for his teacher said j-ybLK),
in
set forth the
:
"Know
thou, that the dark part of the moon is a person, bearing resemblance to humanity, who has two hands, two feet, a body, and a head, and upon his head a crown, and in his hand a sword, which is the notched blade of Muhammad"
XAW
. ,
'al-Farsi
;
vj
li'
of which
all
j
and that the heavens represent Salman
is
contrary to the belief of the Northern-
ers, as before stated.
the Preceptor endeavored to convince him of the proof worshipping the moon, and first alleged, in favor of it, priety " each day, he is about the following passage from the Kuran some business :"*
Then
:
" " Which," said he, applies well to the moon, inasmuch as it every day appears in some special phase, growing gradually larger, day by day, to the full, and then turning about, and growing smaller and smaller, until it ends with being a new moon, yet without any change. To us, indeed," added the Preceptor, " he appears veiled, on account of sins which we formerly committed, in the beginning, when he tried us, I intend to cast you down while we were among the angels, and said our Suffer us to be here, to the mundane sphere,' and we replied for which cause he cast Lord, and we will magnify thee with praise' us down from amid the angels into this world, and our vision of him became veiled nor shall be behold him otherwise than under a veil, so :
'
:
;
long as
we abide
in these bodies"
Jr
ou
* Kur.,
Iv. 29.
.*
Sulaimdn on LL
the
^JcJ^
305
Nusairian Religion.
LoJo o*^
lLo JuJlvJt
aJLc.
V; UxO
\j&>
Lo
M sJ^Uo ^
*Xj*
"
this passage
Preceptor also
ac U>^j.
;
God
is
li
The
the light of the
brought up heavens and the earth, "* interpreting "the heavens" to signify the seven orders of the great world, and "the earth" the seven. orders of the little world, already spoken of in the notes on the Chapter of Salutation and then he quoted from the Kuran, again, as follows: "and hath set the moon therein for a light,"f :
;
saying that the truth of the text before cited etc.
depends upon
^
j-yio Lplj (j>;^ o^vvJ! tion to this confusion of the literal
j*j\
^\
God
is
the light"
AS ^xj\ x$! ^*&>
moon
reference to the
its
"
:
(
*JJ!
} L^LS.
aJj.3
In opposi-
and the metaphorical, our author here put in that other passage of the Kuran which says " and hath made the sun and the moon and the stars to serve :
you ;"J whereupon the Preceptor pronounced a curse upon all suns, moons, and stars, spoken of in the Kuran as subordinate, declaring them to be figurative expressions for 'Abu Bakr, in proof of which he appealed to a tradi'Urnar, and 'Uthman ;
tion reported on the authority of the Prophet
he once greeted 'Abu Bakr with the words sun of the habitable world, and its moon" Moreover, the Preceptor said
Know
thou,
my
'Abu Talib"
:
Muhammad, that Welcome to the
"
:
son, that the
moon
^^^
is
the impersonation of 'All
^1
^JLIo o!3^> ^jJ^ U o 'and to those words of Dustur the the according appearance of the Archetypal Deity from amid the snn,' together with that passage in the Imam-chapter, the Twelfth, where 'Ali 'Ibn 'Abu Talib is called 'the 'Ibn
\
^1
:
and, when to this our author objected that, in light of darkness';" one of 'al-Khusaibi's melodies, the Deity is addressed as the " manifest ||
one, not absent from us,"*[[ whereas the moon does absent itself, the Preceptor replied that visible lights are never wholly wanting to the Deity ; that, when the moon withdraws, he appears in the sun ; and,
when sun and moon withdraw,
which he that he appears in the stars claimed to be proved by the fact that the several words for moon, sun, and stars are tri-literal, like the name of 'All 1 x3t ^^3^1 ^r j^.
* Kur., xxiv. 35. See p. 255.
f Kur., Ixxi. 15. (See p. 257. ||
% Kur., xvi., 12. See p. 282.
^
E. E. Salisbury,
306
^U
^
j^-l
^a
^JLL
g* "and
j!
^
ffcS
j^ o
j>J xa
"thau wouldst pray when neither sun nor moon nor stars are discoverable amid the clouds, thou must take in hand a silver dirham, and, when thou hast read the Sixth Chapter, thou must regard the rim of the coin and whosoever, after having been inLj-s>i
xi'bii'
;
said
if,"
lie,
;
is
structed,
without his white coin,
Shaikh Hasan Bin Makzuz "
'
falls
short in duty; for says our lord
'as-Sinjari, in his
Kasldah
:
And have
stamp
paid their debt, glorying, with a dinar on Nl of thy name'"
which
is
the
LftJ
.
.
"Know
thou, moreover," continued the Preceptor, "that the cow in the Kuran was 'Ali 7 Ibn 'Abu Talib, who was, likewise, the camel of Salih; in which two forms he appeared in order to prove the people of the time and as for the dog of the Companions of 'al-
mentioned
:
Kahf and 'ar-Rakim, "
that was
Salman
'al-Farsi.
the true doctrine, which thou must hold in order to be Thou hast also to fulfill the indispensable requirement and in-
Such
saved.
is
cumbent duty
"
Jf
The
closing injunction of the Kalazian Preceptor had referappears, to the usage of conjugal communism, already noticed as peculiar to the Kalazian party and our author alleges the testimony of a ISTusairian chief, in the presence of several Greeks and Armenians, to the fact of the general prevalence of this usage among the Kalazians. These statements respecting the Kalazian interpretation of Nusairianism could not persuade our author to return to his old faith; yet, on condition of his outwardly conforming to Nusairian rites, he was still tolerated among the Northerners of his ence,
it
;
But a misunderstanding soon arose, and be native district. began openly to controvert the Nusairian faith, both on the ground of its inconsistency with the Kuran and by arguments of reason.
From
this part of his narrative
we
extract the fol-
Sulawidn on
the
307
Nusairian Religion.
lowing passage, as an additional
illustration of the Nusairian.
manner of dealing with the precepts of the Kuran, seeming to recognize their obligation, and yet virtually abrogating them by allegorical interpretation.
"Moreover," said our author, "the Kuran enjoins the fast of the whereas ye, not to say that ye are at variance with that authority, pronounce a curse upon every one who abstains from food. Your doctors, meanwhile, are not agreed as to what that fast
month Ramadhan
;
for some say that the month Ramadhan stands for Muhammad, and that fasting in that month is concealment of one's knowledge of him; some, that it stands for prayer, and that fasting therein is the making a secret of one's prayers some, that the fast of the month Ramadhan is simply abstinence from indecency and iniquity from which one may infer that indecency and iniquity are allowable in other months some, that the fast in question signifies a man's keeping himself from his wife during the month Ramadhan, which is contrary to those words of the Kuran: 'ye are permitted to go in on the night of signifies
;
;
;
the fast etc/*"
*
j
f
uW^^P O^
j'o Q<*
i**
The remainder of this section relates to the author's becoming a Jew, and then a Christian, and to the treatment he met with, in consequence, from the Nusairis. There is nothing in it which claims our notice, unless it be a passing intimation that the Nusairis offer sacrifices in honor of their departed chiefs, whose intercession
is
supposed to be thereby secured
j*~>
The concluding section of this tract is wholly jj^ vSJt ^52, being an argument against
*4j&**R
and
rites
of the Nusairis, and
is
controversial, the doctrines
of no importance to
us.
It was our intention, after thus carefully following the steps of our author, to bring together the substance of what he com-
* Kur., ii. 183. VOL. vin.
f Comp.
40
p. 280.
308
K E. Salisbury.
municates, as to each important historical or doctrinal point, in the form of a review, and to compare the belief of the Nusairis, as here, for the first time, unfolded with any sort of completeness, with those other religious systems, Christian, Jewish, Sabian, and Muhammadan, and those speculations of Greek philosophy, to which it is related, either in the way of agreement or of contrast. But such a review and comparison may be more hopefully undertaken, perhaps, on another occasion. We, therefore, content ourselves, for the present, with having
made known these very important original documents; nor shall we be sorry if some one more deeply versed in the history of religious opinion than we pretend to be, shall anticipate us in reducing to a scientific shape the materials here presented. They deserve to be handled by one who could do for the Nusairis what the illustrious DeSacy did so thoroughly for the Druses.
SECRET SECTS OF SYRIA
AND THE LEBANON
SECRET SECTS OF SYRIA
AND THE LEBANON
A
CONSIDERATION OF THEIR ORIGIN, CREEDS AND RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES, AND THEIR CONNECTION WITH AND INFLUENCE UPON MODERN FREEMASONRY By
BERNARD H. SPRINGETT,
P.M., P.Z.
LONDON: GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN LTDRUSKIN HOUSE, 40 MUSEUM STREET,
First published in ig22
(All rights reserved)
Printed in Great Britain by BROTHERS* LIMITED, THB GRESHAM PRESS^ LONDON AND WOKINO
CONTENTS PAGE
CHAPTER
INTRODUCTION I.
II.
5
THE ROOT PRINCIPLES OF ALL FREEMASONRY
.
.
THE ANCIENT MYSTERIES THE ANTIQUITY OF THE PEOPLE OF THE LEBANON
IV.
THE SABEANS, WORSHIPPERS OF THE POLE STAR
VI.
VII. VIII.
IX.
X. XI. XII.
15 21
III.
V.
.
.
.
34
.
43
....
52
OTHER GNOSTIC SECTS: THE OPHITES, BASILIDEANS, AND FOLLOWERS OF SIMON MAGUS
6l
SUFEISM AND THE DERVISH ORDERS
68
...
75
THE GNOSTICS AND THE MANICHEANS
THE SCHIITE SECTS INITIATION RITES
:
AMONG THE DERVISHES
OTHER SCHIITE SECTS
:
THE METAWILEH
....
THE SECT OF THE ESSENES AND THEIR TENETS
.
.
PYTHAGORAS AND HIS SYSTEM
THE ASSASSINS
XIV.
THE MOHAMMEDAN CREED
89
98
THE ISMAELI AND THEIR VARIOUS BRANCHES OF THE ASSASSINS
XIII.
83
:
ORIGIN IOJ
Il6 ;
FROM AN ORIGINAL ARABIC
CONFESSION OF FAITH
123
THE FIRST FOUR CALIPHS AND THE TWELVE IMAUMS
.
133
XVI.
THE RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF THE NUSA1RIS
.
140
XVII.
THE RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF THE NUSAIRIS
.
154
XV.
XVIII.
XIX.
RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS OF THE NUSAIRIS
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
.
.
.
Continued .
.
.165
AND DEEPER MYSTERIES OF
THE NUSAIRI RELIGION XX.
"
175
"
THE HOUSE OF WISDOM AT CAIRO, AND THE FOUNDING OF THE DRUSE SECT BY EL DORAZI AND HAMZEH .
11
l8o
12
SECRET SECTS OF SYRIA
CHAPTER XXI. THE RELIGION OF THE DRUSES XXII.
RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES OF THE DRUSES
PAGE 1
....
XXIII.
RELIGIOUS CREED OF THE DRUSES
XXIV.
RESEMBLANCE OF THE DRUSE RELIGION TO THIBETAN
XXVI. XXVII. XXVIII.
XXIX.
ig8
2O8
LAMAISM XXV.
88
234
THE RELATION OF THE DRUSES TO FREEMASONRY THE YEZIDIS, OR DEVIL-WORSHIPPERS
.
....
MODERN ARABIAN FREEMASONRY
248
259 270
SYRIAN INFLUENCES ON MODERN FREEMASONRY
.
.
275
SYRIAN INFLUENCES ON THE ORDER OF KNIGHTS TEMPLAR AND THE ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED SCOTTISH RITE
288
BIBLIOGRAPHY
297
.
APPENDIXNEW
YEAR'S EVE CEREMONY AMONG THE MANDATTES
303
THE NUSAIRI FESTIVAL OF CHRISTMAS, OR MEELAD
308
THE NUSAIRI FESTIVAL OF NUROOZ
310
.
MOHAMMEDAN FESTIVAL OF MOHURRAM
.
.
.
.
.
3IO
LAMENTATIONS FOR ADONIS
311
DISCUSSION OF IIASKE1T SMITH'S PATER ON THE
DRUSES
312
FAITH HEALING AMONG THE DRUSES
.
.
.
.
.
.
THE TWO PILLARS OF NIMROD
TWO
313
314
PILLARS IN THE CASTLE OF HARAN
315
THE TWO PILLARS OF SETH
315
JACHIN AND BOAZ
316
LEGENDS OF ENOCH MOSES'
KNOWLEDGE OF ASTRONOMY
317 .
DISPUTE BETWEEN ADAM AND MOSES
318
.
.
.
,
.
.318
MOSES DID NOT TEACH THE DOCTRINE OF IMMORTALITY 319
CONTENTS
18 PAGE
APPENDIX
(continued)
FOUNDER OF THE ESSENES
ELIAS THE
.
.
.
THE ANCIENT BOOK OF JASHER CLASSIFICATION OF THE TEMPLE
JEWISH FREEMASONRY
IN
GNOSTIC EMPHASIS ON
319 319
WORKMEN
.320
.
THE BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY
32!
RIGHT " AND " LEFT "
32!
"
.
THE SPIRIT OF GNOSTICISM
322
PORPHYRY
322
MANES MEANS COMFORTER
323
GEBA1L, THE ANCIENT BYBLUS
323
ANTIQUITY OF SIDON
333
RUINS NEAR MARAH, WITH MASONS' MARKS
ANCIENT OLIVE GROVES OF SYRIA
.
.
324
.
.
.
.324
AQUEDUCT OF SEMIRAMIS
324
THE MYTH OF THE PHCENIX
325
WORSHIP OF THE PEACOCK THE TRIQUETRA AND PENTALPHA
....
326 327
THE SANCTITY OF THE TREFOIL
328
EASTERN IDEAS OF PARADISE
328
NAMES AND FUNCTIONS OF THE SEVEN ARCHANGELS
329
ORIGIN OF THE KORAN
330
CREATION OF THE KORAN
330
ORIGIN OF THE SWASTIKA
33!
CIRCUMAMBULATING THE LODGE
.
.
331
.
CIRCUIT WITH THE SUN, FROM LEFT TO RIGHT
.
332
THE THREE STEPS OF VISHNU
332
ORIENTATION OF LODGES
333
MASONIC TRACING-BOARDS AND ANCIENT CHRISTIAN
CHURCHES RELIGIOUS
WORK OF THE ANCIENT FREEMASONS
333 .
335
14
SECRET SECTS OF SYRIA PAGE
APPENDIX
(continued)
PATRIARCHAL SOURCE OF FREEMASONRY
.
.
.
336
TRANSITION FROM ANCIENT TO MODERN INITIATIONS
336
KHONX-OM-PAX
337
THREE STARS OF ORION'S BELT
337
SYRIAN USE OF TOBACCO
337
FAMA FRATERNITATIS
I
THE FOUNDING OF
THE
ROSICRUCIAN ORDER
338
KABALISM
340
THE TEMPLE AND THE CHURCH
340
MASONIC MEETING IN A MOSQUE
....
341
PRINCIPAL AUTHORS QUOTED
343
INDEX
345
SECRET SECTS OF SYRIA CHAPTER
I
THE ROOT PRINCIPLES OF ALL FREEMASONRY "
FROM
commencement of the world/' says William we may trace the foundation of Masonry. Ever since symmetry began, and harmony displayed her charms, our Pieston, 1
the "
Order has had a being. During many ages, and in many No art, no science, different countries, it has flourished. preceded it. In the dark periods of antiquity, when literature in a low state, and the rude manners of our forefathers withheld from them that knowledge we now so amply share, Masonry diffused its influence. This science unveiled, arts arose, civilization took place, and the pi ogress of knowledge and philosophy gradually dispelled the gloom of ignorance and barbarism. Government being settled, authority was given to law s, and the assemblies of the fraternity acquired the patronage of the great and the good, while the tenets of the profession diffused unbounded utility. " Masonry is a science confined to no particular country, but ifextends over the whole terrestrial globe. Wherever
was
r
arts flourish, there it flourishes too, violable signs, carefully preserved
and by
secret
and
in-
the fraternity, it becomes a universal language. The distant Chinese, the wild Arab, and the American savage will embrace a brother Briton. The universal principles of the art unite in
among
one indissoluble bond of affection men of the most opposite of the most distant countries, and of the most so that in every nation a Mason contradictory opinions will find a friend, and in every climate a home/
tenets,
;
1
*
Illustrations of
Masonry, p. 15
6.
London, 1801.
SECRET SECTS OF SYRIA
16
No
matter what degree of Masonry we are concerned
with, or in whatever country Masonic rites are practised, the groundwork is ever the same, the Immortality of the Soul, symbolized more or less dramatically by the death of a victim, and the methods to be adopted to restore that
victim to life, of another kind. In tracing, therefore, the antecedents of our present ritual we must endeavour to find the earliest mention of this doctrine of the Resurrection.
The story
of the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, and the Ascension would appear to have been clearly foreshadowed,
represented, some two hundred thousand our before The combined discoveries Christian era years of geologists and Oriental scholars and decipherers of cuneiform inscriptions leave no room for doubt on this important
and
pictorially
!
A
1 reproduced by Dr. Churchward, taken from some ruins in Central America, which he reckons " to be over two hundred thousand years old, represents the Crucifixion during the period of the Stellar Cult, and shows a victim crucified on the two Poles, North and South. The hieroglyphics state that this is the GOD of the North and the South, the Great One of the Seven Glorious Ones (attributes). A Crown of Thorns is depicted on his head. His side is pierced with a spear, from whence blood and water is falling He on his spiritual name, which, in Egyptian, is Amsu.
point.
pictograph
supported by his four brothers, Amsta, Hapi, Taumutf, and Kabhsenuf, four Living Creatures represented elsewhere in primeval drawings by a Lion, a Calf, a Man, and seen by St. an Eagle, symbols of the Four Evangelists in vision and also down to handed his John Apocalyptic of of ritual in the as Banners the four the the us, Royal Arch, armies of the Israelites. This Crucified Deity was known Horus, by different names in different countries, namely
is
'
'
:
:
:
of the Stellar Cult of the
Egyptians ; Huitzilopochtli, of of the ; Zipe, Zapotics ; Hacaxipectli, of GuatePtah-Seker-Ausar, of the Egyptians, in their Solar Tien-hwang Ta-Tici, of the Chinese ; Merodach,
the Astecs
mala Cult
;
;
of the Babylonians ; lu, or Ea, of the Chaldeans, Assyrians of Britain ; Uiracocha, of the Peruvians, and
and Druids
many
other names in various parts of the world 1
Arcana of Freemasonry,
p. 41.
;
yet
all
ROOT PRINCIPLES OF AIX* FREEMASONRY
17
one and the same, as proved by the same signs and symbols always associated with him, in whatever part of the world found." I From these ancient pictures, from hieroglyphics in Egypt and Central and South Ameiica, above all from the deciphering of the Book of the Dead, with its complete Ritual of the Ancient Mysteries, we know for certain that, ages before the Flood, our primeval brethfcrn were assembling in the forerunners of Masonic Lodges, using signs, symbols, and secret words, many of which are still in use in our own that they had three^ principal degrees, and thirtyLodges three in all that their temples were built in the form of a double cube and that there were always two pillars at the entrance to these temples. But to deal with Masonry at this early period of the world's history is not within the scope of the present work. Those who need convincing proof of the extreme antiquity of the Masonic ritual should study Dr. Churchward's two books 2 closely, and also the Book of the Dead, of which an admirable translation has been prepared by Dr. Wallis Budge. :
:
:
According to this Book of the Dead,* the builders of who were the first originals of our Brotherhood, and who were initiated into the Lesser Mysteries, were called Craftsmen and Companions. At the time of the Stellar Cult a body of these Craftsmen, it is recorded, left Egypt temples,
and travelled into the Land became merged in the Solar
The Stellar Cult The Sun and Moon in addition to the Seven Stars became part and parcel of the Then followed the Great Deluge, religion of the country. which appears to have
left
of Chaldea. Cult.
Syria the centre of the habitable
earth, to carry Masonry back again into Egypt through the agency of the Shepherd Kings. With the introduction of the Sun as an object of worship, as symbolical of the Grand
Architect of the Universe, and representing to His human creatures the magnificence of His Glory and Power, came a change of name of that All-powerful Deity from Horus, GOD of the North Pole-Star, to El-Shaddai, GOD of the South Pole-Star. Here we find the origin of Operative, as distinct 1
3
Churchward's Arcana of Freemasonry, p. 42. Arcana of Freemasonry and Signs and Symbols Book of the Deaa, chap. Ixxx.
2
of Primordial
Man.
SECRET SECTS OF SYRIA
18
from Speculative, Freemasonry, as we have it at the present day. iAey~us the same name for the Deity they salute the rising sun with the seven-fold salute which was originally Stellar, but continued as an early Solar custom they have a circular altar in the centre exactly under the plumb-line which comes down fiom the God of the Pole Star North. El-Shaddai was the Phoenician name for Sut, to whom the Egyptians erected the Second Pyramid, the First being dedicated to Horus, the North Polar Star, called by the " Chaldeans "Jtao/' probably from lu," one of the Egyptian names for Horus. Both lao and El-Shaddai were divine :
:
names
in use
Name
of lao, as well as its
amongst the Phoenicians. Whilst the Sacred Egyptian origin, lu, developed Hebrews into and its extension, Jahovah the Jah, amongst as handed down in the ritual of the Royal Arch Degree, the Druids in Britain worshipped the Deity under the names of lau and Hu. Here, then, would seem to be convincing proof, sufficient one would think for the most sceptical of English Masons, that it is to the Phoenicians, journeying from the East to the Western Isles, that we owe knowledge of signs, symbols, and words, unchanged in most respects, certainly in the more important aspects, from those used by our extremely ancient brethren, in pre-historic ages. If further proof is wanted of the Eastern source of our rituals let us again turn to the Royal Arch Degree which, while commemorating Masonry as practised by the Jews in their Babylonian captivity, makes use of certain words long anterior to that epoch. Probably few Egyptian scholars will attempt to refute the fact that the Chaldee words made use of in Royal Arch Masonry were in use, of a certainty, in this country, at least a hundred years before the discovery of the Rosetta Stone enabled the ancient Chaldee language to be read, by deciphering Babylonian and Assyrian tablets. Obviously, therefore, such words as were used in our rituals must have been transmitted orally. And if transmitted orally, it very naturally follows, equally plainly one would think, that they have been transmitted from the age when they were in use as the Babylonian and Chaldee language, that is, before the conquest by the Persians, and their introduction of their own language. I am a member of two
ROOT PRINCIPLES OF ALL FREEMASONRY
19
Orders of extreme antiquity, both closely allied to Masonry, though probably unknown to the large majority of English Freemasons, too many of whom seem to imagine that the three Craft Degrees constitute the sum total of Masonry. In both of these the Sacred Name lao is employed in speaking of the Almighty Father of the Universe, in one accompanied by the ancient Chaldean words Khonx-Om-Pax, 1 following the Egyptian words Khabs-Am-Pekht, a very significant proof of the antiquity of the source from which this particular The other Order to which I refer claims ritual is derived. to have preserved its ritual from the inhabitants of the submerged Atlantis. And however remote may seem this origin, of the
of
it is
a peculiar fact that the symbolical representation in this Order, the arrangement
Sun and the Moon the Temple, and much with
synchronize
of the ritual,
the
would appear to
earliest
solely very hieroglyphic descriptions of both Stellar and Solar worship. The universality of the science, to which attention is
called in our Masonic ritual,
is evidenced by the unexpected Masonic signs and secrets are suddenly While the Solar ritual alluded to just above is in many respects similar to one in use amongst the Aborigines of Australia, the three steps of our First Degree will admit one, it is said on good authority, to the innermost and most sacred shrines of certain Hindu temples. Later on in this work will be found an instance of the Five Points of Fellowship being hailed with delight by the Nusairi, as showing that their visitor was indeed a Brother Mason.
quarters in which found available.
My own
sponsor in Masonry, when prospecting in Mexico,
was received into blood-brotherhood by the chief of an Indian tribe far remote from civilization, with signs, unknown to him then, but afterwards entrusted to him when being made a Knight of Malta. Scotch Masons may be interested to learn that in some extremely ancient remains of a Druidic temple at Glammis, the Five Points of Fellowship are very clearly defined on a stone known locally as the Gravestone of Malcolm II, but certainly of much earlier date than his reign, which ended, in 1302.
Here
this world-wide sign of 1 See Appendix.
Masonic brotherhood
20 is
SECRET SECTS OF SYRIA surmounted by a square
vessel, into
which two forms
are disappearing, only their legs showing, a solstitial symbol of the commencing of a fresh year which we may presume it
was thus hoped would be distinguished for an especial display And on surrounding stones are to be be found emblems showing a very close connection with the symbolical religions of the Hindus and other Asiatic peoples of brotherly love.
of the earliest pre-historic origin.
CHAPTER XVI
THE RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF THE NUSAIRIS THE who
Nusairis believe in one GOD, self-existent and eternal,
manifested himself seven times in the world in human form, from Abel to Ali-Ibn-Abu-Talib, which last manifestato this the others tion, they say, was the most perfect the of the this divine in and appearances pointed, mystery ;
found their chief -end and completion. 1 At each of these manifestations the Deity made use of the first created out of the light of two other Persons His essence, and by Himself the second created by the first. These, with the Deity, form an inseparable Trinity, called Maana-Ism-Bab. :
;
The
first,
tion of the all
the
Maana,
"
meaning,"
Deity as the meaning,
things.
The second, the Ism
"
name/'
is
is
sense,
the or
designa-
reality
of
also called the Hedjah,
or veil, because under it the Maana conceals its glory, while by it, it reveals itself to men. The third, the Bab, " door/' is so called because through it is the entrance to the knowledge of the two
former.
In the time of Adam, when Abel was the Maana, Adam was the Ism, and Gabriel the Bab. In the time of Mohammed,
was the Maana, Mohammed the Prophet Was the Ism, and Salman-il-Farisee, or the Persian, a coni|MQKi0n of Mohammed, was the Bab. The following are the seven appearances of the Maana, the Ism, and the Bab
when
Ali
:
This account of the religion of the Nusairis Asian Mystery, pp. no ff. 1
140
is
condensed from Lyde's
THE RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF THE NUSAIRIS
141
BAB (door)
Gabriel.
Yayeel-Ibn-Fatin.
Ham-Ibn-Koosh. Dan-Ibn-Usbaoot. Abdullah-Ibn-Simaan. Rozabah-Ibn-il-Merzaban. Salman-il-Farisee.
After All, the Deity manifested Himself in the Imaums, His posterity, AH himself being the first Imaum, or Imaum To Him all divine attributes of Imaums as he is styled. are ascribed, and to Him all prayers are made. The secret of the Trinity described above is represented by a sign, token, or mark to the true believers, namely,
the three letters Ain
t
Mim,
Sin, the three initial letters of
AH, Mohammed, and Salman. two, the Among the many worlds known to GOD are " the Light Great Luminous World, which is the Heaven, of Light/' and the little earthly world, the residence of men. A Nusairi has to believe in the existence in the Luminous, Spiritual World of seven hierarchies, each with seven degrees, which have their representatives in the earthly world. They are: (i) Abwah, or doors, 400 in number; (2) Aytam,
orphans or disciples, 500 in number ; (3) Nukaba, princes or chiefs, (the companions of Moses, and properly so called) 600 ; (4) Nudjaba, or excellent, 700 ; (5) Mokhtassen, or 800 or pure in faith, 900 (6) Mukhliseen, Mwntaheenen, or tried, who are 1,100 in number, the
peculiars, (7)
;
;
total being thus 5,000. In this world they
have their representatives in twelve Nukaba, twenty-eight Nudjaba, who, besides theiir earthly names, have names in the world of light,
and
also
najn&lyt those of the twenty-eight mansions, or stations of the moon. They have also their counterparts in apostles and prophets, who are moreover representatives of the Deity, as being inhabited by a partial emanation from Him.
This earthly world in like manner contains seven degrees (i) Mukarrabeen, near ones, 14,000 in number ;
of believers
;
SECRET SECTS OF SYRIA
142 (2)
Qherubims,
(4)
Mukaddaseen,
18,000
;
(6)
15,000
;
Mustameen
followers, 20,000.
Rooheyeen, spiritual, 16,000 ; 17,000 ; (5) Saiyeen, ascetics, listeners, 19,000 ; (7) Lahiheen,
(3)
sanctified,
In
all,
119,000.
The mystery of the faith of the Unitarians, the mystery of mysteries, and chief article of the faith of the true believers, the veiling of the Deity in light, that is, in the eye of the Sun, and his manifestation in his servant Abd-in-Noor. Light is described as the eternal Maana, or meaning, which is concealed in light the Deity thus concealed in light " servant of light," manifests himself in Abd-in-Noor, the this wine being consecrated and drunk which is wine by the true believers, the initiated, in the Kuddas, or Sacrament, the great mystery of the Nusairis. The Nusairis believe that all souls were created from the essence which inhabits all beings, and that, after a is
;
;
certain
number
of transmigrations, those of true believers
become
stars in the great world of light. When a Nusairi attains the age of manhood
he
is
initiated
into the mysteries of his religion, and becomes a participator in its rites, and acquainted with its secret prayers, signs,
and watch-words, by all of which the initiated are bound up into a Freemasonic body of Ukhwan, or brethren. The ritual of this initiation ceremony is given in a later chapter. A proof of the influence of Zoroaster and the Magians on the religion of the Nusairis may be traced in the attribution of light as the symbol of the Deity. Ali is usually alluded to and addressed as our Lord, Ameer-ilrMoomeneen, Prince of the True Believers, but
another favourite term of address
is
Ameer-in-Nahal, Prince
of Bees, that is the angels, or true believers, who are styled bees because they choose out the best flowers, that is, follow the best instruction.
Next to the seven great manifestations of the Deity, and twelve lesser manifestations in the Imaums, a conspicuous part of the Nusairi religious system is the Aytam, or orphans, signifying the disciples who have lost their These are the second of the seven spiritual hierarchies which the Doors are the first and they are generally connected with the Door, though the series sometimes master.
of
THE RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF THE NUSAIRIS
148
"
His Name, His commences with the names of All, thus Door, His Aytam, and the people of His Holy Hierarchies. As a Nusairi is required to believe in the chain of divine appearances from Abel to Ali, and in the chain of Imaums, from the first Hassan to the last, so he is required to believe :
that there have always existed five Aytam, five being the number in this case. The five orphans in the time of Adam, when Gabriel was the Door, were the five
consecrated
Azrael, Malik and Rudwan, Michael, Israfeel, and these are the types of the successive appearances of " the Aytam. Thus it is said There are no angels but angels,
:
the five angels, the orphans." The Nusairis believe that there were five worlds, that is ages, before that of man, and that during them the world
was successively inhabited by five kinds of beings, worshippers of Ali, called the Djann, the Bann, the Tumm, the Ramm, and the Djahn. The Nusairis, as mentioned first,
before, have,
been believers in the transmigration of
from the very
souls, in
with others of the secret sects of the East.
common
Hamza, the
apostle of the Druses, directs his anathemas against them, because they carry the doctrine to such an extent as to say " that the souls of the enemies of Ali will pass into dogs,
and other unclean brutes, till they enter fire, to be burnt, and beaten under the hammer." After refuting this doctrine " of transmigration into animals, he concludes, and whoever believes in metempsychosis, like the Ansaireeh, the followers Maana, in the person of Ali son of Abu-Talib, and who
of the
stands next."
up
for
it,
suffers the loss
both of this world and the
is called by Mussulman Metempsychosis, Nusairis is the called Taknees, Tanasukh, by " or Tadjaiyul, that is the coming in successive djeels,"
which
authorities
The Jesuit missionaries say on this point The Ansaireeh further admit the metempsychosis, and say that the same soul passes from one body into another, or generations. "
:
as seventy times; but with this difference, that the soul of a good man enters into a body more perfect than his own, and the soul of a vicious man passes into the
as
many
body
A
an unclean animal." Nusairi believes that after he has become purified,
of
SECRET SECTS OF SYRIA
144
passing through different incarnations, he becomes a in heaven, the first centre of humanity. For this reason they pray that Ali will clothe the brethren in envelopes in
star
of light.
The religious literature of the Nusairis includes a Manual of Instructions, and a Catechism, both of which are largely quoted by Lyde and Taylor, quoting, in their turn, from
Von Hammer and
Lyde had obtained possession Manual, which apparently corresponds to referred to by Sulaiman, from which copious extracts, with regard to the Initiation ceremonies, will be found in the next chapter. The Nusairis also acknowledge the Tawrah, the Old Testament or Law the Andjeel or the Zuboor, or Psalms and the Koran. But they Gospel speak in all of 114 books, among which they include those attributed to Seth, Enoch, Noah and Abraham, in the 1 Various MSS. that have fallen into the hands of Syriac. Europeans show that there are books among the 'Nusairis, and that these moreover agree in all main points. The Catechism, which in many points is identical with the Manual, was sent with a French version, by M. Catafago, Dragoman of the Prussian Consul-General at Beyrout, to the King of Prussia, and a translation of the Catechism, MS. copy the Manual
of a
Catafago.
of this
;
;
;
'
Wolff, was issued in the Journal of the German Oriental Society for 1845-6, from which Lyde has translated the more important portions.* The original MS. is in thirty" The Book of Ineight leaves, large octavo, and is called struction in the Ansaireeh Religion." The introduction contains an invocation of the Eternal " for the communication of His GOD, and a thanksgiving
by Dr.
divine secret, and the truth of the holy religion," which
His great Name, and of His the Door, person of the Abd-in-Noor, which holy through he has assumed for the sake of His saints, who know Him also a thanksgiving for all the benefits received from GOD. Then follow two portions of the Catechism one theoretical, consists in the perception of
;
:
Some extracts from The Booh of Enoch and The Apocalypse of Abraham are given in the Appendix, from the very excellent edition of these Apocryphal books prepared for the S.P.C.K, by Canons Box and Charles. *
Asian Mystery, pp. 271
ff.
THE RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF THE NUSAIRIS
145
which speaks of instruction, and the other practical, which speaks of customs and ceremonies. The theoretical part declares, in the form of question and answer, a belief in the divinity of Ali-Ibn-Abu-Talib, through his own testimony, and from a discourse by Mohammed himself, which ends thus He (AH) is my Lord and yours." Ali is declared to have concealed himself in Mohammed in the period of his change of shapes, that is in the seventh manifestation previously referred to, when he took Mohammed as his " Veil." Then follow declarations as to the Maana, the Ism, and the Bab, and the sixty-three names of the Ism, which spiritually taken, denote the Maana, and personally the Ism those of which the Godhead has made use to manifest Himself in the persons of the prophets and apostles, the first three being Adam, Enoch, and Kanaan. The Bab is also said to be the perfect soul, the Holy Ghost, the angel Gabriel, etc. It is also stated that while the name of Ali is given to the Deity by the Arabs, He himself has taken the name of Aristotle, and in the Christian Gospel is called Elias, while the Indians know Him as Kankara. Then are recited the names of the seven hierarchies, and their degrees, as given above. Then come some questions and answers referring to doctrines of the Eucharistic :
and Masses, which I give in not been previously alluded to. celebrations
full,
as they
have
LXXV. Is it true that the Messiah was crucified, as the Christians assert ? Ans. No the Jews were deceived by a resemblance. (Koran iii. 163.) LXXVI. What is the Mass? Ans. The consecration of the wine, which is drunk to the health of the Nakeeb or ;
Nadjeeb.
LXXVIL What is the Offering (Korban ') ? Ans. The consecration of the bread, which the true believers take in their hand for the souls of their brethren, and on that account the Mass is read. LXXVIII. Who reads the Mass, and brings the offering
?
Ans. Your great Imauras and preachers. is the great secret (mystery) of
LXXIX. -What
*
Cf.
Mark
10
vii.
u.
God
?
SECRET SECTS OF SYRIA
146
Ans. The flesh and the blood, of which Jesus has said " This is my flesh and my blood eat and drink thereof,
:
;
for
it
is
eternal
11
life.
LXXX. Where do the souls of your brethren, the true believers, go when they leave their graves ? Ans. Into the great world of light. LXXXI. ists ?
What
Ans. They
happen to the godless and polythehave all torments to suffer in all ages.
will
will
LXXXIL What
the mystery of the faith of the the mystery of mysteries and chief article of faith of the true believers ? Ans. It is the veiling of our Lord in light, that is, in the eye of the sun, and
Unitarians
?
What
is
is
his manifestation in his servant, Abd-in-Noor.
LXXXIIL What
will
happen to those who doubt
this
mystery, after they have once acknowledged it ? Ans. They will be reprobated. LXXXIV. What are the stipulations which the believer must enter on, if he will receive the secret of secrets ? Ans. He must, before all things, assist his brethren with all his means ; he must give them the fifth part of his fulfil his goods ; he must pray at the appointed hours obligations give to all their dues obey his Lord, invoke Him, thank Him, often pronounce His name, in all points submit himself to His will, and keep himself from everything that may displease Him. LXXXV. What must the believer keep himself from ? Ans. From affronting or injuring his brethren. Is the believer allowed to make known to VI. anyone the secret of secrets ? Ans. Only to those of his religion, else he will lose the favour of God. LXXXVIL What is the first mass ? Ans. It is that which is spoken of before the prayer of Nurooz. LXXXVIIL What is the prayer of Nurooz 1Ans. The words of consecration of the wine in the chalice. 1 LXXXIX. Say that prayer. Ans, Among other " Drink of this pure wine, for one day things it is said its lights will be covered with thick clouds." XC. What is the consecrated wine called which the Ans. Abd-in-Noor. believers drink ? ;
;
;
LXXX
:
See Appendix,
"
The Feast
of Nurooz."
THE RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF THE NUSAIRIS XCI.
Wherefore so
?
Ans. Because
GOD
has
147 mani-
fested Himself in the same.
XCII. What is the concealed secret of GOD, which stands between the and N ? Ans. Light, according " to His word Let there be light, and there was light." x XCIII. What is light ? Ans. The eternal Maana, which
K
:
concealed in light. XCIV. If our Lord is concealed in light where does he manifest himself ? Ans. In the wine, as it is said in the Nurooz. XCV. Why does the believer direct his face, when he Ans. Know that the sun is the prays, towards the sun ? is
light of lights.
XCVI. do we say that our Lord makes turnings Ans. He does so, and (transmigrations) and revolutions ? manifests Himself periodically in all revolutions and periods, from Adam to the son of Abu-Talib. (It will be realized
Why
this is
no answer at
all.)
XCVII. What do the outer and inner word denote ? the outer, his Ans. The inner, the Godhead of our Lord " manhood. Outwardly we say that He is spoken of as Our " Lord Ali, son of Abu-Talib and this denotes inwardly the Maana, the Ism, and the Bab one gracious and compassionate GOD. The practical portion of the Catechism gives a general formula for prayer, a formula for mass, and the ritual of ;
:
;
reception into the sect.
Some very interesting and important details with regard to the religious rites, doctrines, and history of the Nusairis are given in a work published at Beirut in 1863, the author being a former
member
of the sect.
The Book of Sulaiman's
First Ripe Fruit, in which are disclosed of the Nusairian religion, was written
many
of the mysteries
by Sulaiman Effendi, of Adhanah, and edited for him by Dr. Van Dyck, a missionary at Beirut. An exhaustive review, with copious extracts from the original Arabic, was prepared for the American " " in Arabic, and since be The letters K and N represent the word word was used in the creation of light, light is called the secret of God, which is concealed between the K and the N. J
this
SECRET SECTS OF SYRIA
148
Oriental Society by Mr. Edward E. Salisbury, who had previously contributed some interesting papers on the Syrian sects, and was published in the Society's Journal for 1864. " " This tract was written,'* says Dr. Van Dyck, by a Nusairi, who first doubted his own religion and became a Jew, then
a Moslem, then a Greek, then a Protestant. He was taken as a conscript, and sent from Adhanah to Damascus, where he was released. He came to Beirut, and wrote this tract.
He
then went to Ladikia, and remained some months with Rev. J. R. Dodds, Missionary of the Associated Reformed and then returned to have his tract printed at Church :
own expense."
In this, and the following chapter, are given the most interesting portions of Mr. Salisbury's review. The work is divided into sections, of which the first describes the author's initiation as a Nusairi, and embraces his
what purports important
to be a complete Nusairian prayer-book, with the second explanations, and historical notes :
chiefly an enumeration of some of the principal the third gives a detailed report of festivals of the sect the ceremonies observed, and the liturgical forms used on those occasions, and includes some statistics of the sect
section
is
:
:
the fourth treats of the important Nusairian doctrines of a fall from virtue and happiness in a pre-existent state the fifth consists entirely of specimens of Nusairian poetry the sixth is a statement, by the author, of certain fundamental the seventh is a narrative of the principles of the sect circumstances under which the author discovered its deeper :
:
:
mysteries, of his own conversion, first to Judaism and then to Christianity, and of the treatment which he met with in and the eighth, and consequence from his co-religionists :
last,
is
wholly controversial, being an argument against
the doctrines and rites of the Nusairis. The author begins by informing us that he was born in Antioch in A.H. 1250, or A.D. 1834-5, and lived there to the and age of seven years, when he was taken to Adhanah ;
that his initiation took place when he was eighteen years old, the appointed time being from the age of eighteen to twenty. The initiation ceremonies are thus described. On a
THE RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF THE NUSAIRIS day there was a general gathering
certain
of high
149
and low
of the Nusairis of Adhanah, belonging to that division of the sect known as Northerners, 1 before whom he was summoned,
One whom he glass of wine. the Pursuivant, or Director of Ceremonies, " took a place at his side, and said to him Say thou By the mystery of thy beneficence, O my Uncle and lord, thou crown of my head, I am thy pupil, and let thy sandal be upon my head/' When he had drunk the wine, the " when he was presented with a
describes
as
:
:
Imaum turned towards him, and asked Wouldst thou take up the sandals of those here present, to do honour to " " to which he replied, thy Lord ? Nay, but only the " sandal of my lord whereupon the company laughed at his want of docility. Then the Minister (Deacon), being so directed by the assembly, brought to them the sandal of the Pursuivant and when they had uncovered the Candidate's head, they laid it thereon, and put over it a white rag after which the Pursuivant began to pray over him that he might receive the mystery. When this prayer was ended, the sandal was taken from his head, he was enjoined This is what is called the Betokensecrecy, and all dispersed. :
;
:
:
ing Adoption. After forty days, another assembly was convened, another cup of wine was drunk by the Candidate, and he was directed to say "In the faith of the mystery of Ain-Mim-Sin," which Sulaiman thus explains Ain stands for Ali, or the Mim for or the Expressed Mohammed, Archetypal Deity or Sin or for the Salman-al-Farsi, Deity, Intermediary the Communicator. The Candidate was charged by the :
:
:
:
Imaum
word composed of these hundred times a day. As before, secrecy was enjoined, and the so-called King's Adoption was now accomplished. Another interval of probation, lasting seven months (often extended to nine) having passed away, the Candidate was called before another assembly, in whose presence he stood at a respectful distance. Then a Deputy rose in the assembly, having the Pursuivant on his right, and another official on his left, each with a cup of wine in his to pronounce the cabalistic
three letters, namely
1
One
AMS,
five
of the four divisions of the Nusairis, see p. 154.
SECRET SECTS OF SYRIA
150
hand
all, turning to the Imaum, chanted the third Melody. After this, the whole assembly, facing the Second Preceptor on the Deputy's left, known as the Dignitary, "I inquire after the traits chanted to him the following of nobleness where dwell they ? To thee have certain men pointed me. By the reality of Mohammed and his race, compassionate one who comes to kiss thy hands. Thou art my goal, let not my thought of thee prove vain account us to-day as depending upon thee/' After this, they placed their hands on the Preceptor's and sat down. Then the Preceptor stood up, took the ;
:
:
Deputy's cup from his hand, bowed his head in worship, " " and read the Chapter of Bowing of the Head (see p. 159). Having recited this litany, he raised his head, and read the " " Ain After this, he stood Chapter of the (see p. 161). " with his face towards the Imaum, and said Hail, hail, :
hail,
"
O my
lord
Imaum
"
!
To this the Imaum and those around thee
replied,
Thou be well with thee, hast done that which these here assembled have not done for thou hast taken in thy hand the cup, hast drunk, hast bowed the head, and saluted and to God is humble worship " due. But what is thy desire, and what wouldst them ? " To this the Dignitary answered I would have an " then retiring, evening of the countenance of my Master he looked towards the heavens, and came back to the
May
it
!
;
;
:
:
"
Hail, hail, hail, O my lord," to assembly, and said " which the Imaum replied as before What is thy desire, "I have a and what wouldst thou ? The Dignitary said The Imaum desire, and would it might be sanctioned." " Go to, I sanction it." The Dignitary then replied aside from the assembly, and approached the stepped :
:
:
:
Candidate, to give him an opportunity to kiss his hands and " which being done, he returned, and said Hail, hail, Then the Imaum said to him hail, O my lord Imaum." feet
:
:
"
" thy wish, and what wouldst thou ? To this he answered "A person has presented himself " to me in the way." Again the Imaum spoke Hast thou not heard what was said by our elect lord As for " the nightmare duty, no man of might can take it patiently? " I have a stout heart, no fear for The Dignitary replied again
:
What
is
:
;
'
:
'
:
THE RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF THE NUSAIRIS me
151
"
then after regarding the Candidate, he turned towards " This person, named so-and-so, the assembly, and said has come to be initiated in your presence." The Imaum then inquired: "Who directed him to us?" To this the " The Eternal Archetypal Deity, the august Dignitary replied Expressed Deity, and the honoured Communicator, signified The Imaum said " Bring him, that by the word AMS." " we may see him whereupon the Preceptor took him by :
:
;
the right hand, and led him towards the Imaum. On his approach, the Imaum stretched out his feet, which the Candidate kissed, and also his hands, and said " What is thy desire, and what wouldst thou, O to him " Thereupon the Pursuivant arose, and stationyoung man ? ing himself at the Candidate's side, instructed him to say " I ask for the mystery of your faith, O multitudes of :
:
Then, eyeing him with a stern look, the Imaum impels thee to seek from us this mystery, crowned with pearls large and small, which only a familiar Know, angel, or a commissioned prophet, can support ? O my child, that there are many angels, but that only the Familiars can support this mystery and that the prophets are numerous, but that only the Commissioned can support and that there are many believers, but that this mystery can support this mystery. Wilt thou the Approved only suffer the cutting off of thy head, hands and feet, and not " To this the Candidate replied disclose this august mystery ? " " Yes." the Imaum said I wish thee to furnish Thereupon a hundred sponsors," at which those present interposed " " and he said, " In deference The rule, O our lord Imaum to you, let there be twelve sponsors." Then the Second hands and kissed the stood of the twelve up, Preceptor kissed and the Candidate their hands. Then sponsors, believers."
said
"
:
What
;
:
:
:
:
"
the sponsors rose, and said Hail, hail, hail, O my lord " What is your desire, ye Imaum," and the Imaum said, " " We have come to be To this they replied nobles ? Then for this Candidate." the Imaum inquired sponsors " In case he discloses this mystery, will ye bring him to " me, that we may cut him in pieces and drink his blood ? " " I am not satisfied Yes," and he added They answered with your sponsorship alone nay, but I would have two :
:
:
:
:
SECRET SECTS OF SYRIA
162
persons of consideration to be responsible for you." So one of the sponsors ran, with the Candidate after him, and kissed the hands of the two required sponsors, whose hands the Candidate also kissed. After this the two selected sponsors stood up, with their and the Imaum turned towards hands on their breasts ;
"
God give you a good evening, O sponsors, But respected and pure, men of mark, and no sucklings " " We have come to be what would ye ? They replied them, and said
:
!
:
sponsors for the twelve sponsors, and also for this person." "In case, then, he runs off before The Imaum replied having fully learned our forms of prayer, or discloses this mystery, will ye two bring him to me, that we may take his " " life ? Yes," and the Imaum spoke again They replied " Sponsors are perishable, and sponsors for sponsors abide not I would have from him something that will last." then gave way, and the Imaum said to the Candidate They " Come near to me, O young man " so he approached him, and at the same time the Imaum adjured him, by all the heavenly bodies, that he would not disclose this mystery and afterwards gave into his right hand the Book of the stationed at his side, Summary, while the Pursuivant, " him to say Be thou extolled Swear me, O instructed :
:
:
:
;
:
:
my
lord
Imaum, any failure
!
to this august mystery,
and thou
shalt
me." " O, my Taking the book from him, the Imaum said child, I swear thee, not in respect to money, or suretyship nay, but in respect only to the mystery of GOD, as our This action and these chiefs and lords have sworn us." after which the Candidate words he repeated three times be clear of
in
1
:
;
placed his hand upon the Summary three times, making oath thereby to the Imaum, that he would not disclose this mystery so long as he should live. " After this the Imaum said Know, O my child, that the earth will not suffer thee to be buried in it, shouldst thou disclose this mystery ; and thy return will not be to enter into human vestments nay, but, when thou diest, thou wilt enter into vestments of degrading transformation, from which there will be no deliverance for thee, for ever." Then they seated the Candidate among them, and uncovering :
THE RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF THE NUSAIRIS his head,
put a
veil
over
upon his head, and Chapters of Victory,
it
;
158
the sponsors placed their hands first, they read the
began to pray
:
Bowing the Head, and the Ain then, after drinking some wine, they read also the Chapter of Next Salutation, and raised their hands from off his head. :
the Introducing Dignitary took hold of him, and made salute the First Preceptor and then, taking a cup of wine in his hand, gave him drink, and instructed him to " In GOD'S name, by the help of GOD, and in the say
him
:
mystery of Lord Abu Abdallah, possessor of divine knowledge, in the faith of the mystery of his blessed memorial, in the faith of his mystery-God give him happifaith of the
ness."
After this the assembly then dispersed.
CHAPTER XVII
THE RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF THE NUSAIRIS
:
CONTINUED THE
Dignitary then took the young votary to his own house, " " where he taught him the Formula of Disburdening (see p. 171), and also made him acquainted with the various forms of prayer, to the number of sixteen, in which the Nusairis pay divine honours to Ali. Each of these forms of prayer is called a chapter, with a particular name, indicative of its contents and in several cases the so-called prayer has little or none of the tone of supplication, being for the most part, or wholly, a recital, and that without any special The whole propriety, apparently, in reference to devotion. collection, to which the general title of Dustur, i.e. "The Canon," is given, provides a good insight into the Nusairi ;
beliefs.
The
first
chapter,
called
"
The Commencement/
1
is
thus explained by Sulaiman. He observes that, according to Nusairian doctrines, GOD is visible, and yet not wholly definable, whence the expression, which occurs in this
" O manifest, O limit of all aims, Thou who art chapter, hidden,* yet unclothed, whose lights arise out of Thee and He set in Thee, from Thee come forth, and to Thee return." also here alludes to a separation of the Nusairis into four i, those who pay homage to the Heavens, whom Northerners 2, adorers of the Moon, whom he calls and elsewhere Kalazians 1 3, worshippers of the twilight the of these first the parties 4, worshippers of the air. By to the to is understood heavens, point passage just quoted Probably so named after Sheikh Mohammed Bin Kalazu, who is quoted
divisions
he
calls
:
;
:
1
later.
:
THE RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF THE NUSAIRIS
155
"
" out of which," said they, the stars arise, and in which they set ; and which are visible, yet undefmable, as to their prime configuration, except by the Expressed Deity." But the second party, in support of their adoration of the " moon, allege that other expression of this chapter Thy " that the moon is manifest brilliant appearance/ saying to sight, while as for the dark part of it, that represents the :
1
being of Ali-Ibn-Abu-Talib, which is veiled from our eyes, which we now see as a dark object, though, when we are purified from these bodily vestments, and exalted among the stars, through our faith, we shall behold it in sapphire splendour/' The worshippers of the twilight argue, in " their own favour, from the expression whose lights arise out of thee," etc., saying that all the lights of heaven make their appearance from out of the East, and revolve and set in the West and they may be seen to pray with their faces turned towards the sun as it is rising or setting, in the belief that the twilight-reddening of the sky creates the sun, according to the words of Sheikh Ali the Magian, " " in the so-called Legacy left to them by him "By the full and by her moon, whose lights from her sun come forth ;
:
;
sun, production of the morning beam/' The worshippers of the air have also their own argument from this chapter, " O Thou who art He," which appealing to the expression " by a slight change of reading, they make to mean O Thou :
who
art the air."
The
"
The Canonization of a prayer for deliverance from seven kinds of degrading transformation, together with their subdivisions, embracing all kinds of cattle and wild beasts, and other forms of living creatures and it is believed that these seven degrees of transformation are the seven floors of Hell " mentioned in the Koran * And it has seven entrances, with a part divided off to each." Thus the sinner, in this petition, with humble heart, and spirit submissive to his second
Ibn-al-Wali,"
called
chapter,
is
;
:
lord Ali-Ibn-Abu-Talib, intercedes for salvation therefrom. The third chapter is called " The Canonization of Abu
Said," and
a prayer to the Prince of Bees, Ali the Bounteous, the aid of the Elect Five, the Revealing Six, imploring is
1
Koran xv.
44.
SECRET SECTS OF SYRJA
156
the Seven Twinkling Stars, the Eight Strong Bearers of the Throne, the Nine gifted with Mohammed-quality, the Ten Chanticleers of Holiness, the Eleven Ascension-points of Communicator-quality, and the Twelve Strings of Imaumship.
The "
Elect Five
"
are the times of prayer prescribed to These are that of Mohammed, at mid-day of Fatimah, in the afternoon of Hassan, son of Ali-Ibnof Hussain, brother of Hassan, in Abu-Talib, at sunset the evening and of Muhsin, Mystery of Obscurity, at daybreak. Whoever is not conversant with the names of these five persons, and with the times of prayer called after
the Nusairis.
;
;
;
;
them, prays in vain. " The " Revealing Six are the six beings, namely, Salman and the Five Incomparables, mentioned in the Chapter of Victory (the 6th), or the six days of creation, or the manifestations of the prophets. "
The
the
GOD
to
Abraham, Moses, and other
Seven Twinkling Stars
"
are Saturn, Mars,
of
and
rest.
" are the Strong Bearers of the Throne of the that the Kabalistic names Five words, is, eight and and Talib, Akil, Jafa at-Taiyar. Incomparables The " Nine Gifted with Mohammed-quality " are names of certain of the Strings of Imaumship, from Mohammed Ibn Abdallah to Mohammed aj-Jawad. The " Ten Chanticleers of Holiness " are the Five Incomparables, together with Naufal, Abu-1-Harith, Mohammed Ibn al-Hana-fiyah, Abu Barzah, and Abdallah Bin Madhlah, whom the Nusairis believe to be the largest of the stars, each having rule over a number of other stars. As al-Khusaibi " Diwan," all the stars are castles of the heavens, says in his mystically, except the ten just mentioned, the Chanticleers, whose cock is Salman al-Farsi. In the secret books of the " " Book of the Greeks and others, Northerners, such as the the cock is said to be Mohammed Bin Abdallah. The " Eleven Ascension-points of Communicator" are Ruzbah Ibn al-Marzaban, Abu-1-Ala Rashid quality al-Hajari; Kankar Ibn Abu Khalid al-Kabuli, Yahya
The
"
Eight
Bin Mu'amraar, Jabir Bin Yazid
aj-Jufi,
Mohammed
Ibn
THE RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF THE NUSAIRIS
157
al-Kahili, al-Mufadhdhal Bin Umar, Umar Bin al-Mufadhdhal, Mohammed Bin Nusair al-Bakri anNumarri, Dihyah Bin Khalfiah al-Kalbi, and Umm Salamah. " are Mohammed The " Twelve Strings of Imaumship
Abu Zainab
al-Mustafi, al-Hassan al-Mujtabi, al-Hussain the martyr of Karbala, Ali Zain al-Abidin, Mohammed al-Bakir, Ja' far as-Sadik, Musa al Kazim, Ali ai-Ridha, Mohammed al-
Jawad, Ali al-Hadi, al-Hassan al-Askari, and Bin al-Hassan al-Hujjah.
Mohammed
The fourth chapter is called "The Pedigree." The Nusairian religion originated with Mohammed Bin Nusair ; he was followed by Mohammed Ibn Jindab, to whom succeeded Abdallah al-Jannan al Junbulan, of Persia. Then came al-Hussain Bin Hamdan al-Khusaibi, whom the Nusairis esteem superior to all his successors, who taught far and wide, and perfected their prayers. He taught that the Messiah was Adam, and Enos, and Kainan, and Mahalalil, and Yared, and Enoch, and Methuselah,
and Lamech, and Noah, and Shem, and Arphaxad, and
Ya'rab, and Hud, and Salih, and Lukman, and Lot, and Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the Prince that is Pharaoh, who lived in the days of Joseph also Moses, and Aaron, and Caleb, and Ezekiel, and Samuel, ;
and David, and Solomon, and Job, and al-Khadir, and Alexander, and Saul, and Daniel, and Mohammed. His general teaching seems to have been that each prophet who has appeared in the world was an incarnation of the Messiah and that the same is true of certain heathen sages, such as Plato, Galen, Socrates, and Nero also of certain wise men amongst the Persians, and the Arabs before ;
;
Mohammed, such as Ardeshir, Sapor, Luwai, Murrah, Kilab, Hashim, Abd Manaf, and others. Moreover, he taught that the mothers of the prophets of past times, and their wives were incarnations of Salman al-Farsi, excepting the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot and that Salman was ;
incarnate, also, in the eleven named in the third chapter, and in the Queen of Sheba, and the wife of Potiphar ; ani
has appeared in some inanimate objects, as well as in certain wild animals, such as the wolf supposed to have eaten Joseph, and in winged creatures, such as the hoopoe, the
SECRET SECTS OF SYRIA
158
crow, the bee and others. Besides all this, he taught that Ali-Ibu-Abn-Talib was Abel, Seth, Joseph, Joshua, Asaph, Simon Peter, Aristotle, and Hermes and has been incarnated in certain wild animals, such as the dog of the Companions of al-Kahf, the camel of Salih, and the cow which Moses commanded to be sacrificed. 1 His disciples numbered ;
whom five were men of note, namely, Mohammed Bin Ali aj-Jali, Ali Bin Isa, aj-Jasri, al-Iraki, and al-Katani and whoever derives his instruction by a line of descent from either of these is regarded by the Nusairis as alfifty-one, of
;
Khusaibi's brother. To al-Husain Bin
Hamdan
Bin Kasmin at-Tabarani, a aj-Jali,
and author
of
the "
many
al-Khusaibi succeeded
Maimun
Mohammed Bin
disciple of
Ali
among which
Nusairian books,
is
Summary of Festivals," noted for its revilings of AbuBekr, Omar, and Othman, whom it calls the three Adversaries, they being considered by the Nusairis as incarnations of
" Book of Satan. The same author also composed the Proofs of Divine Knowledge pertaining to the Questions/' in which it is said that the wolf supposed to have eaten Joseph was Abd ar-Rahman Bin Muljam al-Muradi, not Salman al-Farisi as other Nusairis believe and the "Book " and another of the Compound on the Duties of Pupils ; book, against the religion of Ali Bin Karmat, and Ali Bin ;
and many others. Kushkah " The fifth chapter, called The Victory/ is understood by the leaders among the Nusairis to signify that Mohammed is connected with Ali by night, and separated from him by and they believe day, taking the Sun to be Mohammed ;
1
;
Mohammed
These three are Most Holy Trinity, Ali being the Father, Mohammed the Son, and Salman al-Farisi the Holy Ghost. They also declare that lord Salman created the Five Incomparables, and that the Five Incomparables created this whole world as it now exists, and that all the government of the heavens and the earth is in the hands of these Five Incomparables al-Mikdad presiding over thunder-bolts, lightning-flashes and earthquakes Abu-dh-Dharr superintending the gyration of the stars and constellations Abdallah Bin Rawahah, that
created
Salman.
lord
their
;
;
x
Koran
xviii.
8
ff. ;
vii.
71
ff.
;
ii.
63
ff.
THE RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF THE NUSAIRIS
159
whom
they believe to be the same as Azrael, being charged with the winds, and with the arrest of human spirits Othman having charge of human diseases, the heat of the body and stomachs and Khanbar who is the introducer of spirits ;
;
into bodies.
The and
is
" The Bowing of the Head," sixth chapter is called relied on by the Northerners as containing doctrines
adverse to the worship which the Kalazians render to the " Thou Moon, arguing from an expression in this chapter producer of the morning sun and creator of the luminous " full moon that the moon is a created thing. To this the Kalazians reply that All created the moon in order to inhabit it, as a man builds a house to dwell in, or makes a seat to sit upon for they hold that the dark part of the moon represents the Adorable One, who, they also believe, has hands, feet, a body, and a head, and on his head a crown, and in his hand a sword, which is the notched blade of Mohammed. ;
"
The Salutation/' and causes the Northerners and the Kalazians ; between dispute while the former conclude the long string of salutations
The seventh chapter is called
much for
enjoined
by the phrase
"
I
believe in the lordship of " in the lordship of Ali, opponents of ascribing
Mohammed," the Kalazians say, the Gracious, and accuse their lordship
to
Mohammed
and
Ali,
The
indifferently.
Northerners reply to this charge by saying that Mohammed that while and Ali are allied, not alien, to one another the First Cause is Ali, Mohammed is also a Creator and that the Kalazians cannot consistently charge them with error in ascribing lordship to the latter, inasmuch as they themselves maintain the doctrine of a Trinity which is held by the Northerners. A long dispute is thus carried on, of which the above is only an outline. " " Fourteen Orders are mentioned in this seventh chapter. The first seven include the Communicators, the Incomparables, the Pursuivants, the Familiars, the Dignitaries, the Purified, and the Approved, numbering five thousand angels, who constitute what the Nusairis call the great They believe them to be referred to in the light-world. " Koran as the Seven Heavens "* and to have existed before ;
:
1
Koran
xxiii. 88.
SECRET SECTS OF SYRIA
160
the creation of the world, and to be stars outside of the Milky The other seven include the Offerers, Cherubs, Spirituals, Sanctified, Ramblers, Listeners, and Attendants, numbering one hundred and nineteen thousand, who consti" tute the so-called little spirit- world, supposed to be intended " by the Seven Earths" in the Koran. 1 These the Nusairis believe to be the stars of the Milky Way, or spirits purified from the flesh through their acknowledgment of AMS, and of every manifestation of the Deity, from Abel to AliIbn-Abu-Talib, agreeably to these words in the Diwan of their lord Sheik Ali as-Suwairi " Why dost thou not apprehend the parable of light ? Lo, GOD proposes to us a plain parable GOD is the Light of the upper world, the heavens, and of the earthly world." This parable is to be found in the Koran, where we read " GOD is the Light of the heavens and the earth His * light is as a lamp in a little window," etc.
Way.
:
:
:
;
The eighth chapter is called " The Betokening." It is a confession of unity, and points out how to combat those who revile Abu Bekr, Omar, Othman, and the rest, and all which maintain that Ali-Ibn-Abu-Talib, or the prophets, ate, drank, had sexual intercourse, or were born of women for the Nusairis believe that these descended from heaven without bodies, and that the bodies which Also how to hide they inhabited were but semblances. one's religion from those who are not Nusairis, it being a principle with this sect not to disclose their opinions or usages, even to save their lives. By this chapter are to be distinguished the four parties among the Nusairis for those who adore the heavens and sects
either
;
:
the twilight, when they recite it, place the right hand upon the breast, applying the inner part of the thumb to the middle finger; the worshippers of the moon either spread out the hand, with the thumb erect, so that it has the shape of the new moon, or else place both hands upon the breast, opening them wide, with the fingers of one upon the other, and the two thumbs erect, so as in this way to represent the shape of the new moon ; while the worshippers of the air place one hand upon the breast, lifting up the forefingers, >
Koran Ixv
12,
Koran
xxiv, 35.
THE RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF THE NUSAIRIS and applying the inner part
of the
161
end of the thumb to the
inside of the middle finger. All Nusairis, on finishing the recitation of this chapter, kiss the inner parts of the ends of their fingers three times,
and raise them to their heads. " The ninth chapter is called The Ain of Ali," and treats of the mystery of the Ain. " The Covenant." " I The tenth chapter is called that His word is true that the testify that GOD is true Abu with Ali Talib the is Ibn bald truth temples, plain that Hell is the abode of unbelievers the mysterious that the garden is a pleasure ground for believers, where water meanders beneath the throne, and upon the throne is seated the Lord of all worlds, and the bearers of the throne are the Noble Eight, who present to him the oblation of my exercises, in this my state of discipline, and of the In the faith of the mystery of exercises of all believers. ;
;
:
;
covenant of Ain-Mim-Sin."
The eleventh chapter is called " The Testimony " or, " " GOD certifies, by the common people, The Mountain." the angels, also, and all imbued with knowledge bear :
witness, that there is no GOD besides Him, the doer of justice ; that there is no GOD besides Him, the mighty, the wise* O our Lord save Verily, religion in GOD'S sight is Islam. us by Thy revelation, cause us to follow the Messenger, and so record us among those who firmly testify to Ain-
Mim-Sin. " I testify that I
am a Nusairi in religion, a Jandabi in counsel, a Junbulani in habitude, a Khusaibi in doctrine, a Jali as to maxims, a Maimuni in legal science ; and I stand fast in expectation of the splendid recurrence, the brilliant return, the withdrawal of the veil, the lighting up of the thick cloud, the manifestation of that which is unseen, the showing forth of the hidden, and the appearance of Ali-Ibn-Abu-Talib from amid the sun, arresting every soul, with the lion beneath him, the Dhu-1-Fakar in his hand, the angels behind him, and lord Salman before him, while water his feet, and lord Mohammed cries Behold your Sovereign, Ali-Ibn-Abu-Talib Acknowledge him, glorify him, magnify him, exalt him,
wells
up from between '
out, saying
!
:
11
SECRET SECTS OF SYRIA Behold your creator and provider
me
witness,
O my lords,
that this
is
!
Disown him not Bear and my faith, !
my religion
commit myself, whereby I live, wherein I shall ^Ali-Ibn-Abu-Talib lives, and will not die in his hand is in his gift are hearing, destiny, and absolute dominion Peace be to us from the seeing, and understanding. " remembrance of them/ The Kalazians claim that expression " and the appearance of Ali-Ibn-Abu-Talib from amid the sun," in this chapter, whereto
I
die.
;
;
as evidence of the correctness of their doctrine, remarking that the moon comes forth to view out of the sunset-sky. The worshippers of the twilight, on account of this expression, fancy that the twilight comes forth from the midst of the sun, while, at the same time, maintaining that the twilightreddening of the sun creates the sun. The Northerners say " " the sun that is, here, a metonymy for Fatimah, the whose child was Ali-Ibn-Abu-Talib of Asad, daughter ;
the belief of the Northerners, universally, that both she and Fatimah the daughter of Mohammed were the Expressed Deity, that is, Mohammed, who, as they hold, is represented in the sun. for
it is
chapter, called "The Imaum Chapter/' that Nusairis adore a seen, present, not an the implies and that this Deity is Ali-Ibnincommunicative Deity
The twelfth
;
Abu-Talib, whom the Northerners believe to be presented to view in the whole heavens, and the Kalazians suppose to be the moon, each party, accordingly, interpreting the
chapter to suit
its
own
views.
" The Journeying chapter is called is the in Let whatsoever and whatheavens, Chapter." soever is on the earth, glorify GOD, the Mighty, the Wise With the return of morning doth GOD'S whole realm give In the name of GOD, by the help of GOD, and in glory. the faith of the mystery of lord Abu Abdallah, whose religion whosoever conforms to, and whose worship whosoever adopts, GOD brings him to the knowledge of Himself ; and whose religion whosoever does not conform to, and whose religion whosoever does not adopt, has GOD'S curse upon him. By the mystery of the Chief, and his peculiar children,
The
thirteenth "
!
may GOD
give happiness to
them
all."
THE RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF THE NUSAIRIS When
163
the Nusairis find mention made, in their secret
books, of any city, they interpret it figuratively as signifying the heavens, and suppose its inhabitants to be stars, agreeably to what is explicitly laid down in the Egyptian Missive, and other books. " The fourteenth chapter is called The Reverenced House," and originated with the primitive Nusairis, who used to the performance of it as a method of introduction pilgrimage. That is to say, it refers to the house which f
the Koran
commands should be
pinnings, roof,
and
visited,
and
its
under-
enclosures, as signifying, metaphorically,
an acquaintance with persons represented thereby, agreeably " what is said by Sheikh Ibrahim-at-Tusi, in his Poem of " " which is the Letter Ain O, the change of GOD'S house of as-Safa, which is al-Mikdad, tamer His Intermediary of Marwah, whereof Abu-dh-Dharr is of the Adversary of the ceremonies of the the memorable personation its house, which are Salsal, submissive to the Deity do they present themenclosing steps, how changed to
!
;
;
;
;
The door-ring of the house is Ja'far, star in the ascendant." The house signifies the Lord Intermediary, the Mim ; the two steps, al-Hassan and al-Hussain ; as-Safa, al-Mikdad the door-ring, acquaintance with Ja'far as-Sadik al-Marwah, and the sacred place of acquaintance with Abu dh-Dharr selves
!
;
;
;
ceremony, acquaintance with Salman
al-Farisi.
Such
inter-
pretations are distinctly presented in very many books of the Nusairis ; and an acquaintance with the several persons
named
stands, with them, for the completion of pilgrimage. Moreover, that acquaintance is understood by the Nusairis to be obtainable by sight, in conformity with what is their belief, universally, that the sun is Mohammed. The zeal of the Moslems in visiting Mecca seems to and one of their chiefs the Nusairis idle and blameworthy has expressed himself to this effect in the following words " Cursed be all who forbid the drinking of wine, and all the Syrians, and the pilgrims." In the Book of Summary of Festivals we find the following " They have assigned to thee a grave, and passage :* ;
:
1
Journale Asiatique, IVe, Serie
xi, 153.
SECRET SECTS OF SYRIA
164
suppose thee to be buried in
it
but in truth they practise
;
deceit."
"
Book of Confirmation," by Sheikh " Book of Light quoting from the believe the Nusairis to have been composed which Handling," of the words was inquired when he as-Sasik, Jafar, by Jafar of by af-Mufadhdhal with reference to the edifice which the Moslems are so zealous in visiting, imagining it to be " Such visitation is the sum and substance GOD'S house of unbelief that edifice is a prop of idols, even as it is of Again,
it is
Mohammed
said in the
al-Kalazi,
:
;
stone, like idols, and people are well nigh dolts in visiting it, and short of understanding." " So I give them for answer, To this al-Kalazi adds :
as to this matter, that the practice should be abandoned ; and besides, there are places of pilgrimage, and trees, innumerable, which they may visit, nearer than the Kaabah ;
so idle a proceeding verifies in them the words of the poet^ Thou boast est, O my brother, of strange things who says '
:
:
of a jaundiced physician administering to his fellow men and of an of a weaver who is always naked of clothing :
:
who
oculist prescribing collyrium, The those of another poet '
:
administer to others,
is
himself blind
f
;
physician sets himself
and forgets
his
own
and to
pain-stricken
heart/" " The Chapter of the chapter is called " The Intermediary." The sixteenth chapter is called Chapter of Pursuivants." It recites the names of certain Pursuivant-lords, whom Mohammed chose as disciples,
The
which
fifteenth
it is
unnecessary to give here.
CHAPTER
XVIII
RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS OF THE NUSAIRIS IN the second and third sections of his book Sulaiman gives us information as to the festivals of the Nusairis the prayers used at them the various offices of the three Orders ;
;
of
chiefs,
and
namely Imaums, Pursuivants and Dignitaries, mutual relations with the
their respective duties and congregations of the believers.
In his description of the ceremonies observed on festival occasions he introduces various liturgical forms not usually known. Sulaiman remarks that these annual celebrations had an ancient origin, and are carefully perpetuated the are borne the wealthier members necessary expenses by of the sect, every rich Nusairi binding himself to defray the cost of one, two or three of the celebrations, according to the measure of his zeal. In towns they are held in the of evening, for the sake secrecy, but this precaution is not always observed in the country villages. He also states that the Nusairi villagers give themselves up to special festivity on their New Year's Day, the ist of Second Kanum, or January, and show less regard for certain seasons observed with special ceremonies among the Moslems as well as themselves, while the inhabitants of towns avoid such discrimination, lest the Moslems should find them out. The following list of Nusairian festivals, drawn up, apparently, in the order of their estimation, is given by the ;
author, with the distinct understanding of
it
not including
all.
1.
2.
Festival of al-Ghadir, on the i8th of Dhu-1-Hajjah. of al-Udhhiyah, on the loth of Dhu-1-Haj jah. (This
is
a memorial of Ismail Ibn Hajir.)
SECRET SECTS OF SYRIA
166 3. 4.
Festival of al-Maharjan, on the i6th of First Tishrin. of Al-Barbarah, on the I4th of Second Tishrin.
an interval of a week from the last. an interval of a week from the last. of the Birth-time of lord Messiah, on the
5.
,,
after
6.
,,
after
7.
,,
8.
,,
I5th of First
Kanum.
of the Baptism, on the 6th of of I7th Adhar.
9.
Second Kanum.
of ist Nisan.
10. ,,
of 4th Nisan.
13.
,,
of I5th Nisan. of gth of First Rabi, called the
14.
,,
on the night
11.
ii.
2nd Ghadir.
of the I5th of Sha'ban.
In connection with this list certain other festivals are enumerated, without specification of the times when they are celebrated, namely, the Festival of John the Baptist,
and
John Chrysostom, the Festival of Palms and of the Element, and the Festival of Mary Magdalene. The following seasons of special observance are also mentioned the of
:
Ramadhan, and the seventeenth, nineteenth, twenty-first and twenty-third nights of that month. The whole enumeration by Sulaiman agrees, for the most part, first
night of
with Catafago's
list,
published in the Journal Asiatique for names some celebrations not
* though each author 1848, noticed by the other.
When a festival-day arrives, the men assemble at the house of the master of the festival, that is, the person at and the Imaum takes a whose expense it is celebrated Then there is placed before him a piece seat among them. of white cloth, on which are laid mahlab berries, camphor, ;
candles, and myrtle or olive leaves. vessel filled with wine of pressed grapes, or figs, is brought forward, and two Pursuivants seat themselves on
A
the Imaum. Then the Master of the Festival another Pursuivant to act as the minister of designates the occasion, and coming forward kisses the Imaum's hand, and the hand of each of the Pursuivants seated by his side, eitjier side of
1
Journal Asiatique, IVe, Serie
xi,
149-55.
RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS OF THE NUSAIRIS
167
as well as that of the Pursuivant selected to perform the
The
service.
upon Is it
breast,
my
evening,
then
latter
rises,
"
his
saying
:
and places
May God
his
two hands
grant you a good
and a pleasant and happy morning I minister for you at this blessed blessed time), over the cup of so-and-so, the lords,
!
your pleasure that
festival
(or,
God bless him." To this the Ceremonies ? " " those present reply Yes whereupon the Pursuivant, making his obeisance to the assembly, by kissing the ground, takes in his hand some myrtle leaves, and distributes them, " reciting, meanwhile, the following, called the Myrtle " " God hath said If he is one of those promoted String Master
of
:
'
:
:
to honour, he shall have rest, and gentle puffs of air, and a I O God, let thy benediction rest upon garden of delight the names of the myrtle personations, namely, Sa'sa'h Bin Sahan, Zaid Bin Suhan al-Abdi, the most excellent and meritorious Ammar Bin Yasir, Mohammed Ibn-Abu-Bekr, and Mohammed Ibn - Abu - Hudhaifah may divine bene'
;
dictions rest
upon them
all/'
These words are likewise recited by all present, who rub in their hands, meanwhile, the myrtle leaves, and smell them. Afterwards, the Pursuivant takes a basin of water, puts into it some mahlab berries and camphor, and reads a mass, as follows :
"
THE PERFUME MASS
"
"
O, ye believers, have regard to this, your Demigod, whose presence ye are assembled, and put away hatred from your hearts, and doubt and malice from your breasts, that your worship may be perfected by acquaintance with your Indicator, that your invocation may be accepted, and that our Lord, and yours, may honour your hospitality. in
Know
ye that Ali-Ibn-Abu-Talib abides with you, is present among you, hearing and seeing, and that he knows whatsoever is above the seven heavens, as well as whatsoever is beneath the ground, and is acquainted with secret thoughts, the mighty one, the forgiving. Beware, beware, brothers, of being the fools
merry and laughing aloud, ;
in prayer-time, as
do
for such behaviour invalidates ceremonies, brings '
Koran
Ivi, 87,
88.
SECRET SECTS OF SYRIA
168
on catastrophes, and impairs what is virtuous in conduct. But hearken to and hear the commands of the lord Imaum
;
for he stands
you, as it were, in the majesty of the We, being thus infinite, the supreme, the omniscient One. minded, have mingled for you this perfume, as the heavens are blended with the seven signs of Imaumship, on the peerless necklace of souls existing in substance, disencumbered of fleshly, human, bald-templed form. With those seven regale ye your chaste souls, pure from all wicked deeds. Therewith doth the Mim endow the Sin in every age, and at all times I affirm it on oath so that he is Ali, a God, to whom sincere worship is due, beside whom all beings invoked by men are a lie (seeing that to worship the creature
among
an idle fancy), for he let him be exalted, and let his state be magnified is, in the height of his dignity, the all-informed, the omniscient, the august Supreme." He then pours upon the Imaum's hand a spoonful of is
!
the perfumed water, and gives the basin to the Dignitary, that he may do the same upon the hand of each person While the Dignitary is thus going the round, present. he reads the following, called
THE PERFUME STRING "
God hath
'
The unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were each a solid mass, and that we have ruptured them, and, by means of water, produced every living
thing
him who
said
:
1 Glory be to they not then believe P' the lifeless, in a land of freezing cold. By
will
vivifies
the power of our Lord, the almighty Supreme " is
God
!
omnipotent
is
God
omnipotent
!
All present likewise recite this formula, laving their the while. Then the Pursuivant takes a censer,
faces
and stands up, and reads the second mass
:
THE INCENSE MASS "
The mass of incense, and of exhaled odours, circling about in the reverenced house, in the dwelling of our God, a dwelling of joy and gladness. Someone says that our chief and lord, Mohammed Bin Sinan az-Zahiri peace be Koran, xxi, 31.
RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS OF THE NUSAIRIS
169
from him
prayer, every
was accustomed to stand up for the Friday day and night, once or twice, taking in his
hand a ruby,
or, as is also said,
to us
to another report, a chrysolite,
a sapphire,
according
or,
which was consecrated to
the brilliant Fatimah, and incensing cups, with perfection of cheer, incensing the servant of light, therewith, amid festive decoration and glitter. Know ye, O believers, that the light is Mohammed, and the night Salman. Incense Praise your cups, and light your lamps, and say all of you :
be to God, praise be to God, for favour unsurpassed, and whose mystery defying penetration has been bestowed Believe upon us bountiful, noble, exalted, august is he and be assured, O believers, that the person of the servant !
of light is free to you, among yourselves, to you in the company of others."
and forbidden
In a note to this formula, the author says that what is " " is wine the servant of light that is, wine is here presented as an image of Ali. After this the Pursuivant incenses the Imaum, as well as the two seated by his side, and gives the censer to the 1 Dignitary, so that he may incense the rest of the Assembly.
meant here by
While going
;
his round,
this official recites
what
called
is
THE INCENSE STRING "
O
GOD, give benediction and peace to our Lord Mohammed, the elect, and his sons. May the divine benediction rest upon them all." The receivers of the incense also recite this formula. Afterwards the Pursuivant takes a cup in his hand, and, " Call to Prayer." the standing up, reads the third mass This, though a very beautiful recital of adoration, is a " Perfume Mass/' and need not be repetition of most of the given here. He then presents the cup to the Imaum, and, filling another, gives it to the person seated on the Imaum's each right, and hands a third to the one seated on his left ;
;
of
whom
and
:
"I
thine, is the Prince of Bees,
testify that
my
Ali-Ibn-Abu-Talib,
Lord,
who
An account of these ceremonies, in most points corroborating Sulaiman's, given in Lyde's Asian Mystery, as given to the author by a young Nusairi 1
is
recites the following
Initiate.
SECRET SECTS OF SYRIA
170
unconditioned, imperishable, unchangeable ; and I testify that his Intermediary is lord Mohammed, and his Communicator lord Salman and the Communicator proceeds not from between the Archetypal Deity and the Expressed Deity." After this the presenter of the cup says to each " Take, O my brother, this cup in thy right hand, and ask help of thy Lord, Ali-Ibn-Abu-Talib, thy ruler and helper." " To this each communicant replies Give, O my brother, that which is in thy right hand, and ask help of thy Lord is
;
:
:
and Creator, thy
and helper
ruler
in matters of
may GOD make it to flourish with His suretyship of Mohammed and his race."
thy religion
affluence,
by the
Afterwards, the Pursuivant rises, and placing his hands upon his breast " May GOD grant you a good evening, O brothers, says and a pleasant morning, O people of the faith Forgive us any errors or negligences for man is so called only :
!
;
because he lapses into error, and absolute perfection pertains only to our Lord, the glorious Ali, who is omniscient." He then kisses the ground, and sits down. Then the Imaum, facing the assembly, says " May GOD grant you a good evening, O brothers, and a pleasant morning, O people of the faith. Is it your pleasure that I should minister for you, on this blessed day, over the cup of the Master of Ceremonies GOD bless him ? " He kisses the ground, which the assembly also do, striking two octaves " with the words We accept thee as our chief and lord." " It is a tradition on the authority The Imaum then says of our lord Ja'far as-Sadik, the reticent and declarer, the At prayer- time it is render and binder, 1 that he said forbidden either to take, to give, to sell, to buy, to report the news, to whisper, to be noisy, to be restless, or to tell but let there be silence, listening stories, over the myrtle :
!
:
:
'
:
:
attention, and saying of Amen/ Know ye, O brothers, that if anyone wears upon his head a black turban, or carries on his finger a kishtban, or at his waist a two-edged knife, and the greatest of sins is to fail his prayer is hindered in duty over the myrtle for what is binding upon a messenger " if not manifest vigilance ? Then he kisses the ground, " " This homage to GOD, and to you, O brothers saying :
;
:
!
1
Another reference to the
fructification of the earth.
RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS OF THE NUSAIRIS
171
which all who are present prostrate themselves, kiss "To the ground, raise their hands to their heads, and say GOD let him be exalted -be thy homage paid, O our " chief and lord " Formula of DisAfterwards the Imaum reads the
after
:
!
burdening." After a long string of terrible curses against individuals, which it is unnecessary to give here, the Formula goes on " Do thou curse the Hanifite, Shafiite, Malikite, and Hanbalite sects, and those who play with apes, and catch hold of black serpents, together with all Christians and Jews, and everyone who believes that Ali-Ibn-Abu-Talib ate, or drank, or was born, or had sexual intercourse may GOD curse them. Moreover, lay thou the curse upon John Marun the Patriarch, 1 the execrable, and upon all those who feed on thy bounties, while they worship not thee and do thou rid us of them utterly, as flesh is cleared from a bone, by the suretyship of Ali, Mohammed and Salman, and by the favour of Ain-Mim-Sin." Then he wipes his hand upon his breast, saying to those " We disburden ourselves of these vile Satans, present the heretics, in dependence on the favour of Ain-Mirn-Sin," which those assembled repeat, kissing one another's hands to the right and left after which the Imaum reads the the of Chapter Opening, and the Chapter of the Two Deficiencies, together with all that follows, up to the :
;
:
:
2 Chapter of the Sun and the Chapter of Broad Sunshine, and also the throne- verSe, 3 and other verses of the Koran, When he has done reading, after reciting at his pleasure. a prayer, the Imaum goes on with certain other forms,
and adoring Ali, and recites many masses. All then raise their hands to their breasts, and recite the Chapter of Betokening (see p. 160), each party performing the action of raising hands in his own way, as explained in the notes on that chapter. When this recitation is over, the Imaum takes in his hands a cup of wine, and reads a tradition authorized by al-Hussain Bin Hamdan al-Khusaibi, in which
glorifying
* The first patriarch of the Maronites, see Assemanni Bibl. Orient., i. 496.
*
Koran
i.
and
Ixxxiii-xciii.
who
held office about A,D. 700 s
Ibid.
ii.
256.
;
SECRET SECTS OF SYRIA
172
All is set forth as the one true GOD afterwards he directs the assembly to bow the head, which they do while reciting the Sixth Chapter (see p. 159) then he takes the cup which is in the hand of him who sits on his right, and mingles " Seest thou its wine with his own, saying, as he mingles :
;
;
yonder
O great delightsomcness silk and in are gauze arrayed green They their Lord gives them pure wine to drink. thou
Seest
?
magnificence brocade, and Verily this
!
is
?
your portion
!
your zeal
;
will surely
be
re-
compensed." Next he recites the Ninth Chapter (see p. 161), the assembly repeating after him, and then drinks a little from one of the two cups, and presents it to him who sits on his right. Then he takes the third cup l from him who sits on his left, drinks a little of that, and gives it back to him, and presents the cup which he still retains to the ministering Pursuivant and so the cups pass round among them, from one to another and as they are offered, each offerer "Be thou kisses the hand of the receiver, saying to him O in the faith of extolled and lord, drink, my brother " the mystery of Ain-Mim-Sin he takes the whereupon " cup, and drinks, saying to the offerer May God give thee to drink, O my brother and lord." To this the offerer :
;
:
!
;
:
"
replies of the cup, :
May GOD
cheer thee through thy fellowship
and thy draught, and cause thee to attain to " When the thy goal, and that which thou seekest after offering of the cup is over, the assembly pronounce an 14 Amen " then the Imaum reads some verses from the " Koran as follows TSM those are marks of the Plain Book. Perchance thou wearest thyself out with "grief, !
;
:
if we please, we will reveal because they are not believers them a sign from heaven to which their necks will bow,"* " To GOD, O believers, bend." adding When this direction has been obeyed by the recitation of the Sixth Chapter, as before, the Chapter of Salutation (see p. 159) is read by the Imaum, and repeated by the :
to
:
1 The various libations mentioned in the course of this ceremony might well be the source of the introduction of similar repeated libations in the ritual of Knights Templar. * Koran xxvi. 1-3.
RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS OF THE NUSAIRIS
178
assembly, after which the Imaum reads the Second Mass " of The Incense String/' (see p. 169) and then concludes his prayer with three Melodies by al-Hussain Bin Hamdan al-Khusaibi, the assembly repeating them after him. " Then, facing the assembly, he says Forgive us, O brothers, any errors or negligences, and addition or omission :
;
for all
men
are prone to negligence
and
forgetfulness,
and
perfection pertains only to your Master the to the Glorious One, whose knowledge is all surpassing. This homage to GOD and to you, O brothers,
absolute
Exalted
O
"
He
then kisses the ground, and the assembly "To GOD be thy homage responding to him After Lord." and Chief O our this, all standing up, paid the right and left, of on one hands kiss the another, they and near by and, at the same moment, the candles are extinguished, as it is day, and the Master of the Festival gives alms to the Imaum and the ministering Pursuivant, which are called dirhams, as well as to all who have joined in the believers
also kiss
!
:
it,
recitations.
Then the Imaum takes reads a
of it to the
little
hand the Summary, and assembly and bids them bend, and after that directs the one
in his
which they do as before sits on his right to read the Right-hand Invocation and then directs all to recite the Chapter of Salutation (see p. 159), and when this is finished, bids him who sits on his left to read the Left-hand Invocation, and " This homage to GOD, and to you, at the close says O brothers, all ye who are present/' He again kisses the ground, while the assembly do likewise, and also kiss the hands of one another, on the right and left whereupon the assembly the Imaum stands up, and uncovers his head he directs them to recite the Chapter of do the same " 1 The Chapter of the Opening, O The Opening, saying with the subversion of the dynasty of brothers, has to do Othman, and the succour of the people of al-Khusaibi, the Nusairis." Frequently, to this petition is added a petition to Ali for the overthrow of all Moslem rulers, ;
who
:
;
;
;
In conclusion, the Ministers rise and place food before the assembly, presenting most of it to the Imaum, who Koran
i.
SECRET SECTS OF SYRIA
174
him after which they all and disperse. Having thus recounted the ceremonies usually observed
distributes a little to those near
;
eat,
at
the festivals of the Nusairis,
Sulaiman also
specifies
some customs which are peculiar to certain occasions. At the festivals in the month of Nisan, of the ijth of Adhar, and of the i6th of First Tishrin, when they begin their prayers, is placed before the Imaum a large basin of water, with twigs of olive, myrtle, or willow in it and as soon as prayers are over, all uncover their heads, and the Dignitary stands up and sprinkles over them some of the water, and distributes a few of the twigs, which they place in their bee-hives to obtain good luck. Whenever they recite the Chapter of the Bowing of the Head (see p. 159), they bend to the ground, excepting on the day of al-Ghadir, when in reading it, they raise their heads heavenwards.
there
;
CHAPTER XIX
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES AND DEEPER MYSTERIES OF THE NUSAIRI RELIGION ALL
the Nusairis believe, says Sulaiman, that the spirits of the chiefs of the Moslems, firmly grounded in the science of their religion, assume, at death, the bodily forms of asses that Christian ministers enter into the bodies of swine that Jewish rabbis take the form of male apes and as for the wicked of their own sect, that their spirits enter into the bodies of quadrupeds used for food, sceptics of note excepted who, after death, are changed into male Persons of mixed character, partly good and partly apes. bad, become invested with human bodies in other sects. When a professor of some other belief apostatizes, and is united with them, they hold that in past incarnations he was one of themselves, and that his birth within the pale of that faith which he abandons was consequent upon some crime which he had committed. ; :
;
No member
of
any
alien
sect
is
admitted into their
fraternity, for the first time, unless he be a Persian, the Persians being believers in the divinity of Ali-Ibn-Abu-
Talib like themselves. There is little doubt the progenitors " were from Persia and Irak. In Jewish history they are said to have originated in Palestine," goes on this author, " and this statement is not groundless, inasmuch as they hold many principles in common with people of that country, such as the worship of the sun and the moon. But, unquestionably, Magians are found among ttyem, so that their worship may be of Magian origin, and they may be practising in the present time rites which are none other
than Magian. 176
SECRET SECTS OF SYRIA
176 "
for one of their faith by birth, who apostatizes, judgment respecting the separatist is that his mother was an adulteress among them, being of that sect whose creed he adopts. They simulate all sects, and, on meeting with Moslems, swear to them that they likewise fast and and, pray. But their fasting is after a worthless manner
As
their
:
they enter a mosque in company with Moslems, they recite no prayer, but lowering and raising their voices in imitation of their companions, curse Abu Bekr, Omar, if
Othman, and other persons. The simulation of sects is We, say they, by them, allegorically, as follows but are the body, and all other sects are the clothings '
set forth
:
;
whatever sort of clothing a man may put on, it injures him not and whosoever does not thus simulate is a fool, for no reasonable person will go naked in the market-place/ I will specify, however, a token by which the dissembler may be recognized when a Nusairi disavows the worship of Ali-Ibn-Abu-Talib it may be known that he sets light by his belief, since he could not so express himself without or, when a Nusairi reveals having abandoned his religion his form of prayer, it is certain that he has apostatized, ;
:
;
Whoever discloses thus says their lord al-Khusaibi our testimony is forbidden our garden and if anyone to and be hasten Disclose, guiltless, away.' says you " A token by which members of the sect recognize one If a stranger comes among his fellowanother is as follows I have a relative he do you know believers, inquires '
for
:
;
'
:
'
:
:
'
He name ? they reply then says His name is al-Hussain/ when they rejoin Ibn Hamdan/ and he adds al-Khusaibi/ 1 " A second token consists in their saying to the stranger
him
'
'
To
?
this
:
What
is
his
'
:
'
'
:
'
Thy
uncle was unsettled
for
how many
'
periods
?
To
Sixteen/ they receive him. 2 A third is the question If thy uncle should thirst, whence wouldst thou give, him to drink ? From To this the answer is the fountain of Ali-quality/ A fourth token is this inquiry
which
if
he replies
'
'
:
'
'
:
:
1 Here we have, in all probability, the source of the Masonic custom " " of passwords in perambulating the Lodge during lettering or halving certain ceremonies. An allusion to the successive stages of divine manifestation down to All, sixteen in number.
MYSTERIES OF THE NUSAIRI RELIGION
177
'
Should thine uncle's feet sink in the sand, whither wouldst 'To the The answer to this is thou direct him ? 1 A is Should of fifth question Serpent Mu'awiyah/ The thine uncle annoy where wouldst thou meet him ? answer being: 'In the Pedigree Chapter' (see p. 157). Then comes the following dialogue Four, two fours, three and two, and as many more, twice over, in thy religion, The answer to this is 'In what place have they ? out Portion them the Journeying Chapter (see p. 162). Seventeen of them of Irak, sevento me, wilt thou ? Where are they teen of Syria, and seventeen unknown/ 'At the gate of the city of Harran/ to be found ? What is their employment ? They receive justly, and '
:
,
'
:
'
'
:
'
:
'
'
'
'
'
'
'
'
'
The binding adjuration among the justly/ Nusairis, universally, is to place one's hand in that of another, ' I adjure thee by thy faith, in the faith of the saying
render
:
covenant of Ali the Prince of Believers and by the covenant this makes it obligatory to speak the of Ain-Mim-Sin Another form is to moisten a finger with one's truth. I am spittle, and place it on the other's neck, saying and I absolved of my sins, and lay them on thy neck adjure thee, by the foundation of thy religion, by the mystery of the covenant of Ain-Mim-Sin, that thou tell me the whole truth touching such and such a matter/ which also debars from falsehood. The latter form of adjuration is more established with the Northerners than whoever takes it falsely, with the Nusairis of other parties supposes himself to assume all the sins of the adjurer. " All the Nusairis imagine the eminent chiefs of their sect to have no sexual intercourse with their wives but they make passes over them, by which they conceive. But '
;
'
:
;
;
:
among
the
Imaums
of the Kalazians conjugal
communism
said to be a law of hospitality, supported in part by a figurative interpretation of Koran xxxiii, 49, and partly by inference from one of ten rules of life attributed to Ja'far
is
as-Sadik, enjoining upon every believer to gratify his fellowbelievers as he would gratify himself, which the Northerners
understand to require only a readiness to impart of one's *
who
Meaning, of course, Ali, the biter of the heel, as it were, of nevertheless brought to an end his temporal dominion.
12
Mu^wiyah, ''
SECRET SECTS OF SYRIA
178
knowledge and property to a fellow-believer. It is also worthy of notice that the common people among the Nusairis regard their Imaums as infallible, and as having bodies not subject to the ordinary necessities of flesh and blood. "
If anyone who has abjured their faith passes by when they are at prayer, that prayer is spoiled, and they repeat it over again. They must not pray at all on the same day that they hear a story told." After Sulaiman had been three years an Initiate he bribed one of the chiefs of the party of Northerners to disclose to him the hidden mystery, his advance in the sect being hindered by a suspicion of his holding even then
heretical opinions. The chief undertook to present to Sulaiman proofs of the divinity of the heavens, instancing the Prophet's words " in the Koran Whithersoever ye turn, there is GOD'S 1 presence GOD is omnipresent, omniscient," to which he :
added
"
:
Know
thou that in the name of Ali there are
three letters, and that the words for the heavens, the twilight, the glimmering day, and the arching sun all have three letters which is a plain proof of the correctness of our
Hast thou not read the Chapter of Testimony in
doctrine.
He is immeasurable, illimitable, the Dustur, which says 2 ? And know thou, O my inscrutable incomprehensible, son, that sight cannot reach to the limit of the heavens, '
:
'
nor can anyone behold them in their prime configuration, that is, their real aspect, save only the Expressed Deity. " Know thou also/ continued the chief, that the dog of the Companions of al-Kahf was an impersonation of Ali-Ibn-Abu-Talib ; that he appeared to the seven youths who had fled from the Emperor Decian in the form of a '
'
and dog, in order to try their faith and to prove them that, inasmuch as they believed in hin, they were elevated to the heavens, and became stars. Previously, he appeared to the Children of Israel in the form of a cow, when they :
had grievously them up, and
sinned, and the earth had wellnigh swallowed so they who believed were delivered, while
the doubting were engulfed in the earth, such as Korah and his company. In the Koran, this cow is said to have *
Koran
ii.
109.
*
See the Chapter of Testimony, p. 161.
MYSTERIES OF THE NUSAIRI RELIGION
179
been sacrificed, by which is meant that she was perfectly He appeared also to the people of Salih, in recognized. the form of a camel, which they mutilated, that mutilation signifying a rejection, on account of which they perished, and their city was turned upside down. Many other of his manifestations we leave unnoticed." Shortly after this interview, his doubts as to the truth of
the
Nusairian
Sulaiman renounced and became a Jew, and subsequently
tenets
his faith altogether, a Christian.
increasing,
D00095s8y1996.pdf 19.01.2010 16:13:54 Page 4 (1, 2)
r KİTABU'L. MECMU'U'NUN TERCüMESİ Prof. Dr. Ahmet TURAN
ÖNSÖZ
Türkçe'ye tercümseni
yaptıgımız
bu kitap,
Hatay'ın Samandağı
ilçesi ile tskendenın'un güney batısında Samandağa. doğru uzanan kısmında ve Antakya'ya bağlı Harbiye kasabası ile Antakya'nın Annutlu mahallesinde oturan ve bu bölgenin hemen güneyinden itibaren devam eden; Suriye'nin Lazkiye şehri merkez olmak ÜZere Lübnan'a kadar uzanan bölgede yaşayan Alevilerin- Fellah1ann, diğer adlan ile Nusayrtlerin kutsal kitabıdır. Bu kitap Nuseyı'ilere göre adeta mÜSIÜDlaolann"K:.ur'an-ı Kerim'i gibidir!. . _ Bilindigi gibi Nusayôlik. Nusayı:ilerln inandıgı ve Blitıniliktenkay-
bir Şii fırkasıdır. Bu fırka. Bağdat ı;.evresinde yaşayan ve İmamiyye'nin X. imamı Ali en- Naki'nin zamanında onıi.ıi tarafından gönderilen bir peygamber olduğu söyleyen; onuri hakkında aşın görüşler ileri sürerek onun ilah. olduğunu söyleyen ve haramlan heıaı'şay~ bir' dM olanı; Başka bir rivayete göre de İm8.miyye'nin XI. imamı", ~asan ~ Askeri (ö. 260/873)'nin "bab"ı oldugunu iddia eden, daha sonr.a da onun tarafından gönderilen bir peygamber' oldu~u iddia ederek felç hastalıgına yakalanıp (260/873) yılında Samma'da ölen Muhamme! b. Nusayr en- Nemlri tarafından kıirulmuş bir fırkadır3 . Bu fı.rlc:anın görüŞleı:i.nl, Mııbamıİıet b. Nusayr'den sonra.Kfife ile Halep arasında Cunbula'da yetişeDı aslen İran'lı olan, 957 veya 968'de Halep'de ölen ve Şeyh Yaprak adı ile şöbret bulan Hamdan el- Hasıöt (873- 957) düzene koymuştur. Böylece Nusayrtliğin ikinci kurucusu olarak tamnmış ve Nusayıiler hakkında' birçoK. eser yazmışt:ıı4. Burada tercilmesini :yaptı~, onalti sureden meydana' geleri bu kitabın,
naklanan
aşın
!
I,
i
18unlardan bit kısmı da Adana ve Mersin'de oturmakta olup bunlar gUnUmUZde yö~delci mUsIUman1arla birlikte yaşadıkJanndan inançlanm unutmuş görü.Drnek.tedirler. 2 en- Nevbabtl, Fıriku'ü • Şia, Beyrut trs., s. 93. 3 Turan(A), Les Nusayris de Turquie dans la Region de Halay (Anti.och), Paris, 1973, s. 3(parls- sorbon Üniversitesinde yapılan doktora tezi.) 4 Yazdığı eserIer haklanda bakuuz: Massignon(L), Esquisse d'une bibliograpl:ıie nusayne. Melanges Syriens de Dussaud, Paris, 1939, s. 916.
5
-_.-
>-
...
..
D00095s8y1996.pdf 19.01.2010 16:13:54 Page 5 (1, 1)
s. "Kjtabu'I·Mecmu'u"nun da yazandır
olan kitap, Ali b. Eb! TMib'in . inançlanm ve esaslannı içine almak.sözlerini ve emirlerini, Nusayrilerin erin Nusayıil için dini e~ti.m ve ibadet kitabıdır. tadır. Bu Iq.tap Nusayıller demektedirler. Bütün NuOnaltı
,, \..
i
sweden meydana
gelmiş
bizzat kendileri bu kitaba "elinin esas sayıi" inancını:
girenlere bilgiiniz
taşı" dır
asiminde, mezhebe içine aldıgmdan. Nusayıilige giriş mer yazıldıgı hakkında Bu kitabın ne zaman Ali' in em ir ve sözlerini içeren bu
tekrarlattınlmaktadır.
yokttır.
milslilman1ara vahy etmeksizin
kitabı Mu ham met . uğuna, onun Nusayıilere bagışlamış old
geceleyin Me kke oniki Nak ib'e ve yirmi dör t Necib'e ıImaktad Vlidisinde. Akabe'de ver digi ne inan
yakınlannda
Mina
ır.
isimler İsmam şahsiyetleri Bu kitapta .geçen bütün özel u~ daha yazı1anndan meydana gelmiş old oldU~dan. bu kitabın İsmaın Nus ayd bilg inle ri Ali' nin güc ünü ilk bakışta anlaşılmaktadır. Bur ada lene n "Ayn, şlerdir. Din i ayin lerd e söy All ah ile ayniliğe kad ar götünnti r. bir rol oynadıgını onlara borçludurla Mim, Sin" sembollerinin büyük ok birç rden de görünüşte zıt olan eski metinle BAtıni yoruin1aına1ar sayesin n kul · erdir. Nusayri bilginlerini parçalar bize kadar muhafaza edilmişl alarak başka şekilde yazıldığı an-ı esas landıkları tsmaill metinler, Kur' madığı, başka il§h olmadıgı, doğ görülmektedir. -Bunlar: Ali'den vb. gibi u olus ı ir OluŞu, esirgeyici ve baj;!ıslayıc do!hınnadı!!:ı; her seye klid r. ekti ülec gör ak ğunda bu hususlar açık olar hususlardır. Kitap okundu ndi, Efe an eym Sül ı ayri Şeyhi olan Adanal ~u kitap ilk. defa bir Nus aY· Nus en t ane fi Keşfı Esr liH Diy "Kitab el- Bil iira es - Süleyı:n3.niyye bir disi Ken r. ıştı arasında yayınlam riyye: Beyrut, 1863, 7·3 4 sayfalan ayn Nus uş, olm an işfumiş, Hristiy Nusayri Şeyhi iken sonradan din deg koyan yukanda adını verdiğimiz ya orta ni Mezhebinin bütün yönleri eği ile kitap Lübnan'da Katoliklerin dest kitabını yazmış ve . bu yayınlanmıştır.
i
i r
i
kitabını İngiliz müsteşIild E. Bundan sonra Süleyman Efendi'nin bu e'ye tercümesini yaparak, İngilizc Edward Salisbwy, arapçası ile birlikte , C. vm , No, 2,1864, s. 227 iety Soc ntaı Orie an Jo~ of the Americ ao's first Ripe Fro il Discolising the 308· arasmda "The book of Suleym By Sul eym w Efendi of Adhanah, Mysteries of the Nusayrian Religion, ıştır. with copious Extrocts" adı ile yayınlam eoloji araştırmalan yapbğı suada Ark de iye' Sur e önc .1900 yılından duyan dan dolayı da Nusayıiliğe ilgi Nusayrlleri işçi olarak çalıştıran bw;ı ında: saud Fransaya dönünce Nusayri1er hakk Fransız Müsteşriki Rene Dus is 1900" adlı kitabını yazmıştır. Bu "Histoire et Religion des Nosairis, Par 5 ve aynı yazar; İslim nız; Tuıan (A), a.g.e., s. 17-6 5 Nusayrilerin tarihi bakionda bakı s. 149-150. Mezhepl~ri Tarihi, Samsun,
6
""
't
> --
D00095s8y1996.pdf 19.01.2010 16:13:54 Page 5 (1, 2)
sefer de Rene J)USSaud kitabının sonunda "Kitabu'l . Mecmu'U"YU arab17 caS! (5.181-198) ile. bir\ilCle (,.161- 9)
Fransızca'ya
teıcumesini
de SÜıeyman Efendi.. E. Edward SalisbuİY ve .1:~.en~ Dussaud'~ yayUJ1~ karşı1~t,ırarak "Kltabu'l ~ Mecmu'u"yu bu alaı;ı.da
yapmııtır. Biz. ." burada
Çalııanım faydalı olmak ilmidiyle Tiiıkçe'ye teıcumesini yaptık-
-..
.,
7
--_-=...:.-=..:..._-==._~._--
,.
D00095s8y1996.pdf 19.01.2010 16:13:54 Page 6 (1, 1)
KİTABIN TERCÜMESİ
i r
i
Birinci Sure : İsmi "Başlangıç' ii. Boynuzu olmayan hayvanın işini üzerine alana ne mutlu2! Birisi benden a'çık1amamı istedi. Ben de Ali b. Ebi Talib, Eminı'n - NaW'3'ın manevi yüceliğinin sevgisinde ilk cevabıma başlamak istiyorum. O'nun künyesi Haydar b. Ebi Turab4'dır.. O'ndan yardım istiyorum. O'ndan isteğimi' yerine getirmesini istiyorum. O'nu anmakla başanya Uıa-şınm. Kurtuluş O'ndadır. O'na siğımyonıın. O'nda yüceldim. Yardımı O'ndan is-
tiyorum. O'nda neşet ettim. O, gerçeğin
ispatı.
elinin seıametidir.
Seyyit Ebu Şuayb Muhammet b. Nusayr Slimin"5 Yahya b. Main'e: Ey Yahya! Hayatla birlikte sana bir hastalık geldiğinde veya ölümle birlilete bir felakete uğradığında; aşın taassup için olan bu beşeri gömleklerden sıyn1arak, nurani ışıklar yaparak, temiz, temizlenmiş, yüce, bembeyaz koku ile, saf ve tertemiz kılan bu ulvi bir davetle çağır. Buna nurani heykelleri tabii kıl ve ey deıareti ile yol gösteren, kudreti ile zlihi.r, hikmeti ile batın, kendisi ile varlığı gerekli, sıfatlan ile, ismi ile konuşan! Ey O, ey herş~yi olan, evveli ve sonu olmayan ezeli! SebebIerin sebebi, gayelerin gayesi, sonlann sonu! Ey gizli sırlan bilen, ey hazır, ey mevcOd, ey zahir ve ey malesOd olan, ey gizlenmeksizin gizli olan. ey nUrundan nfuuna parlayan ve nunı kendinde sönen! nOr senden başladı, sana dönüyor. Ey her nOru ortaya çıkaran, meydana çıkan! Her nOra "isim", her isme mekan, her mekana makam, her makama "bab" kılan! O, O'ndan O'na yönelen "bab" 'ı irşl1d ediyor. Ve yine O'nda O'na giden "Mb" 'a giriyor. Sen ey Emını' n- NaW, ey kendine yönelene yol gösteren Ali b. Eb! Tl1lib! Her şey sensin, hO, ya, hO, ya hO! Ey her şeyi kendisinden başka kimsenin bilmediği! "Stn" ile ilgili meseleleri "selekOn, sulOken, selikiin, sl1likı1n, selikin" bunlarla ilgili sorunlann sorduklanşeyi senden istiyorum. Mürşiderin mÜfşidi, dinin ve akidelerin süsü Ali ile, kalplerimize ve inanan kardeşlerimizin kalplerine iyilik, takva, doğruluk, ilim ve din üzere yumaşaklık ver. Senin temiz huzurunu, göz kamaştıran kudretini,
°
1 Adanalı Si1leyman Efendi, Kİıab el- Bakılre es- SUleymaniyye fi Keşfı Esrar-ı Diyanet en- nusayriyye, Beynıt, 1863, s.7-10; Salisbury (E. Edward), The bookof Suleym1in's fırst Ripe Fruit. Discolising the mysteries of the Nusayrian Religion. By Si1leyman Efendi of Adhanah, With Copious Extrocts. Journal of the American Orientel Society., C. VIII. No. 2, 1864 s.236-238; Dussaud (Rene), Histoire et Religion des Nosairis. Paris. 1900, Fransızcası s. 161-163. Arapçası, s. 181-183. 2 Ali'nin aslanlı mukayese edilmesidir. 3 Nalıl, bal ansı ve bağıŞ demektir. Burada manası, bağışta bulunanlarm emiri anlamına gelmektedir. Haydari mezhebi tarafından kabul edi1rrı4 bir lakaplır. 4 Haydariler tarafından kabul edilen Ali'nin lakabıdn'. 5 Nusayri mezhebinin kurucusudur. Önsöze bakınız.
8
D00095s8y1996.pdf 19.01.2010 16:13:54 Page 6 (1, 2)
herkesi kaplayan: rahmetini hatırladık. Gerekli olan farz ve yerine getirilmesi gerekli olan hak vardır. Bunlar: Sırlar, ögütler, azamet, ögünlDek, üstünlük ve galip gemektir. O'nun parlak1Jgı sende dogdu. Ve 0, bidiiyetin tacı, kuvvetli din ve dosdogru yold~. Din O'nun zalıiıini ve batıwnı tanıdıysa başanya ul
°
Üçüncü Sure: İsmi "Ebu Said'i yüceltmektirS". ınülk:üo sahibi! Ey Emiru'n- Nahl! Ey Ali! Ey çok bagışlayan! Ey ezem Ey tövbeleri kabul eden! Ey "bab9" 'ı sevkeden, senden istiya-
Ey
6 Kuı'an 'dan alınmış ayet. 7 Süleymm, c1- Biktlra. s. lO - ll; Salisbııry, a. g. e., s. 238-239; Dussaud. a.g. c.• s. 163- 164 ve 183 - 184. 8 SUleymiiD, al - B§kOra., s. 11-14; Salisbııry. a.g.e.. s. 239-241; Dussaud, ag.e., s. 164165 184- 185. 9 Yani Selmlin e1- Firisfyi pl>pOğandaya!eŞvik ctmektedir.
ve
9
i
...._-------_ .. - - - -
ı
'i
.. ~
D00095s8y1996.pdf 19.01.2010 16:13:54 Page 7 (1, 1)
rum.
Beş seçilmişIO·Ue. altı vahiyll ile. yedi parlak yıldız ile, sekiz kürsü
taşıyıeısı ile.
dokuz Muhammedııer
ileıı,
on saf horazlar1a 13 , Bab'ın onbir
dönmesil4 ile, oniki imaml5 ile, sendeki anlann
rum.
, \.
imanı
ile senden istiyo-
Ey bütün gayeni n sahibi! Onların senin yanındaki hakJ,an ile. ey Emiru' n - Nahl! Ey yüce devletin sahibi! Ey sen, bir olan! Senin ismin birdir ve sen bidigin başısın. Ey O'nun zaomn yedi keskin kılıcında .zahir olan! KalpleriInizi ve azalan mm O'nun engin bilgisi üzerine sabİt kıl. O'nun bu büyük unutulmuşluğundan bizleri koru. O'nun seması run yıldızlan arasında, O'nun nunınu n göm1eklerini bize giydir. Yüce Şeyhimiz! En yüce, en büyük! Gençliğinde Allah'tan korkan efendimizi ananz. Abu Said eL - Meym un İbni Kasım et- Tabera l6 m Allah'ın bilgisini bilen, umumi yard.una mazha r alandır . O. gücü ile ald.ıgı hakkından mahrum edildi. Ebu Deh!be ve Ebu Dehibe 'oin aJ.i onu izledi. Allah lanet etsin. Ebu Said'in ailesine gelince, Allah'ın rahmeti ve selanu üzerine olsun. Ebu Saı"d eş- Şabb et- Takl el- Hurr el- Meym un İbn Kasım ,et- Taberr ani'in sım ile...O' nun sım Allah'ın O'na inayeticiir. Dördü ncü Sure : İsmi" Kaynağı nerede n geldiği, Nisbet il1". Başanını Allah ile güzel ettin, yolurnu Allah için iyi bilelin. işitme duyumu, dinleme özelliğimi, ŞeyhimiS, efend.im ve müışidimden daha güzel yapun. Allah "ayn, mım, sin" bilgisi ile O'nu nlınetlendirdi gi gibi beni de nimet1endirir. O (ayn, m'im, s'in), kendisine ibadet olunan önden ve alnının iki tarafından dazlak olan "Ali b. Ei Ta.ıibl 9 'den baska illih 10 Muhamm et, Fatıma, Hasan, HUseyin ve Mubsin. ı ı Yukand a verilen isimlere Selm.in el Flirisı,.i de kaıınaktı r. . ıı Mubamm et, Hasan, Hüseyin , Zeyne1- Abidin, Muhham et el- Bllkır, Cafer es· S§dık, Musa el- KizlOl, Ali er- Rız.a ve Muh. el- Cevad. 13 10. notla isimleri verilen beş kişiye Navral, Ebu'l· Haris, Muhamm et b. el- HUanetiyye, Ebu Berzah ve Abdulla h b. Nadiah'ın katılması ile elde edilen sayı. 14 Bunlar: RGzbab Lbn el- Morzab in, ebu el Ali Raşid el- Hadjari, Kanbar İbn Ebi Halid el_ Kibllli, Yahya ıbn Muamm er, cibir İbn Yezid el~ JIlfi, Muhamm et İbn ebi Zeynep el_ K1hili, el- MuIadd.a1 ıbn Ömer, Ömer İbn el- Mutaddaı, Muhamm et ıbn Nusayr elBekrt co- Nwneyr f, Dahyah İbn Halife el- Kelbi ve OmmU Seleroe. 15 Bunlar lmamiyy e'nin oniki imamıdır. 16 X .• XI. yüzyılda yıqamış, HamdAn el- Hasibrd en sonra gelen Nusayıi.lerin en büyük dini lideri olup Muhamm et ıbn el- Jilli'nin mUrididir. Nusayıüer h.akia.nd a birçok kitap yazmıştır. ·Bu kitapların en önemlis i lGlibu Mccınua el_· Ayad (Nusayıi Bayram . larından bahseden kitaptdır. Bu kitap Şam'da Zlhiriyy e KUtUphanesi S numarad a ve Almanya'da Berlin Kütüpha nesi, Arapca yazmala r bölümü 4292 numarad a kayıtlı bu· lunmaktadır.
i7 Süleyma n, el- Bi1clra, s. 14-18; Salisbw y. a.g.e., s.241-24 5; Dussaud . a.g.e., 5.166-167 ve 185·187 . 18 Nuayıi mezhebi ne girişle b~kaıılı.k. yapaıı kimse. 19 Ali'nin her zaman mukaye se edildiği aslana ima.
10
D00095s8y1996.pdf 19.01.2010 16:13:54 Page 7 (1, 2)
olmadığına şehadet ederimzo". Övillmüş Seyyid Muhammet'ten başka perde (hitap) yoktur. Kendisine yönelinen es- Seyyid Selınan el, Fllrisi'den başka kapı (bab) yoktur2l . Ben bunu yücü zatın hakikat bilgisi ile kulluk köleliğinden boynumu azat eden, bolluğun, verimliliğin kayıüiğına beni çıkaran, kurtuluş yoluna beni sevkeden, itimadını, gayem, efendim ve şeyhimden dinledim. Faziletli efendi, yüce bir dağ, amcam22 _ şeyhim, efendim, başımın tacı, hakiki babanı23 , Ahmet, bu büyük sım; şu şu senede, şu şu ayda, şu günde O'ndan bana iletti. Ahmet İbrahim'den, İbrahim Kasım'dan, Kasım Ali'den, Ali Ahmet'ten, Ahmet Hıdu'dan, Hıdır Selm5n'dan, Selmfuı Subuh'tan, Subuh Yusuftan, Yusuf Cebrail'den, Cebrail Mualla'dan, Mualla Yasin'den, Yasın İsa'dan, İsa Muhammet'ten, Muhanunet Hüda Muhammet'ten, Hüda Muhammet Rıza Ahmet'ten, Rıza Ahmet Safendi'den, Safendi Belazı1ri Efendi'den, Belazüıi Esed Hasan er-.Reşiki'den, Hasan er • Reşild Muhammerten, Muhammet Memef MIsu'dan, Memef Mısu Akdi Cebrlill'den, Akdi Cebrail Abdullah el- Cualiy'den; Abdullah el Cualiy İsmail el~ Luffafdan, İsm.8.il el- Luffaf Cafer e1- Verrek'tan, Cafer elVerrak ahmet et- Tarraz'dan, Ahmet et- Tarraz Ebu'l - Hilieyin Muhammet İbn Ali el- Celi'den, Ebu'} - Hilieyin Muhammet İbn Ali el- Celi es- Seyyid Ebu Abdullah el- Hüseyin İbn Hamdan el- Hasibıden, es - Seyyid Ebu Abdil1ah elHilieyin İbn Hamdan .el· Hasibi İran diyanndaki zlihid, abidlerden olan efepdisi ve şeyhi Ebu Muhammet Abdillalı ibn Muhammet el- ceıınfuı el- Cınıbulan'dan, Alxlullah el· cennfuı el- Ombulfuı Muhammet b. Cündeb 24'den, Muhammet b. Cündeb es - Seyyid Ebi Şuayyib Muharıuned b. Nusayr el- Abdi el- Beri en- Numeyıfden ki o son kişi HaSan el- Askerfnin bab'ıdu. Selam O'na, iteat O'nadu. Dini ve nesebi düzenleyen Muhammet b. Nusayr ile efendimiz Hasan el- Askeô, dinin ve şam yüce kardeşlerimizin sım ile sapıkların ve zillimlerin söylediği sözlerden yüce ve büyüktürler. Onlann her yerde ve herkesten şaoı yiiced.ir. Onların ve onlann hepsine Allah'ın inayetinin sım ile şehadet ederim ki, Hasan el- Asken evvel~, ill:ıirdir, batındu, zllhirdir. O, her şeyekadirdir,
Beşinci Sure : İsmi "Gillibiyyet25 ".
"Allah'm yardımı ve fethi geldiği ve insanlann dalga dalga Allah'ın ilinine girdiğini gördüğün zaman, Rabbini överek tesbih et, O'ndan mağfiret dile. Çünkü O, tövbeleri kabul edemfuz6". Şehadet ederim ki,
i·
20 Bu cUmle Nusayrilerin kelime-i şehadetleridir. 21 "Ayn, mim, sin", Ali, Muhammet, Selmlio demek olup Nusayrilerin mUkemmelliği ile şekillenmiş bir semboldUr. 22 Nusayrl mezhebine ait ilk bilgiyi veren rolürtu oynayan ~ahsiyetin lakabıdu. 23 Mezhebe giri~ merasimini yapan akrabalık bağı. 24 Bunlar nusayi bilim adamlandu. Bkz. Turan(A), ag.e., (doktora tezi), s. 22-27. 25 Silleyman, el- Bakllra, s.18-20; Salisbury, a,g.e., s.245-248: Dussaud, a.g.e., s. 167- 170 ve l87-189. 26 Bu KW"'lin'ın Nasr suresi, ayet 1·3'den ibarettir. II
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D00095s8y1996.pdf 19.01.2010 16:13:54 Page 8 (1, 1)
MevHim Emiru'n· NaW Ali, zatının Durundan es· Seyyid Muhammed'i yarattı. İsmini, nefsini, arşını. kürsüsünU, sıfatını O isim1en!fudi. Hakilcatte birleşmediği halde ondan hiç aynımaz, bir şekilde birleşti. Aynlıp uzaklaşması gerekıiginde O'ndan hiç aynJmadı. Nunı ile O'nunla birleşti.
,
t.
Gerçeği müşabOOe ile O'ndan ayn1dl. Muhammet Ali'den hissin ruhtan gelmesi. güneş ışınlannın güneşten geldiği, suyun güriiltüsünün sudan
geleliği, bideşik
durumun
aynıdığı, şirIıjekten şi~eğin çıktığı, bakanın
oazar değmesi, sükOnun harekete geçmesi gibi ÇıkmıŞtır. Eğer Ali b. Ebi Ta.Lib zahir olmayı dilerse O'nun nunınun güvenliği O'nda ğaib olur. Şehadet ederim ke seyyid Muhammel O'un nurunun Durundan Seyyid Selman'ı yarattı. O'nu "bab" 'ı kıldı. Kitabını O'na verdi. 0, SaIsaJ ve Salsabrı'dir. 0, Cabir ve Cebraildir. O, Hüda'dır ve yakindır. O; Alemlerin Rabbı'mn hakikatıdır. Yine şehadet ederim ki, es- Seyyid Selmiln bes şerefli retimi yarattı. Onlann birincisi en büyük yetimdir. Ay gezegeni-
dir. Kokusu yayılan misktir. Siyah yakuttur. Yeşil zümıiittüı. Bunlar: elMıkdat b. el- Esved el- Kindi. Ebu Zerri'l - Gitar'l. Abdullah b. Revaha elEnsfu1, Osman b. Maz'fin en- Neçası ve Kanber b. Kadarı ed· Devsfdirler. Bunlar, cellli ve tazim sahibi müminlerin emirini zikretmek için onun kuludurlar. Bu lliemi; ~in doğuşundan batışma, güneyinden kUzeyine, ıciı.rasına, denizine. ovasma. göğü taşıyan dağına, yeryüzünü Cabalka'dan Cabar.;a27'ya, elAbkaf18 rasathanelerine, Kaf da~l29'na, deveran eden gökkubl:ıenin kuşatmış alduğu her şeye vano::aya kadar, mtiminlerin topıaoo.ıgı yer alan es- Seyyid Mulıanunet es- Sanıiıfnin şebriııe varıncaya kadar her şeyi oolar yarattı. Orada es· Seyyid Ebu AMuIlah el· Hasibrnin görüşü üzerine ittifak. ettiler. ~u konuda şüphe etmediler. Onak da koşmadllar. Ali b. Ebı T3.lib'in sımnda açı~a çıkmazlar. O'na ait olan haya perdesini yırtmazIar. O'oun huzuruna ancak. bir "bab" 'tan girebilirler. İnananlan, emin kılınanIan. huzur içinde bulunanlan,
doğrulan, düşmanlanna ve düşmanlanmıza karşı yardımcılar'JaI. Ve ,yine inananlan huzur içinde, onlan fakirlere ilIsanda .bulunaqlan mtiminler cümlesinden kıl ve düşmanlanınıza ve düşmanlanna karşı yardımcılar kıl. Sağ
eli ile (gücü kuvveti ile) fetheden, fethi fetheden
klıiı..Senin fet-
hinin sını ile... Efendimiz Muhammeı, Rur, Hasan, Hüseyin, gizli sım olan Muhsin, a~zı dualı insanlano ve ariflerin sayısının sım ile ... SeUim onlan ananlann üzerine, Allah'ın rahmeti onların hepsinin üzerine oısun. Altıncı Sure : İsmi" Secde etme, SücüdJ9".
Allah'u Ekber, Allah'u Ekber, Allah'u Ekber. Secde; ibadet olunan, 27 Birincisi uzak doğuda, ikincisi ise uzak batıda bir yer adıdır. Bkz. Yakut, Mu·cem..., C.2,s.2. 28 Bkz. el~ Ahkif, KUx'An, XLVI/20'de ı.ikredilmiştir. 29 Bkz. Ka[ dağı, Kur'an, XLII/20'de zikredilmiştir. 30Sll1eymfu1, el- BIDdlıa, s.1O-21; Salisbuıy, ag.e., s248-25O; Dussaud, ag.e., s.l70-171 ve 189·190. ıı
L~·=~-
D00095s8y1996.pdf 19.01.2010 16:13:54 Page 8 (1, 2)
ahunın
iki yanı dazlak yüce rab içindir. Ey Efendim, ey Muhammet, ey ey k!hır, ey büyük mananın nunı ve yüce "hidp", seninle yardım is· tiyonım. Bu dünya yurdunda beni koru, seni vilil tutuyorum. Beni ateşin azabından31 koru. Allah yerin ve göklerin nunıdur32 . O, yücedir, büyüktür. O'na yöneliyor ve işaret ediyoruz. Üstün ve yüce "bab" için O'na yöneldim. İsmi için secde ettim. "Mana" için ibadet ve secde ettim. Fani ytlzünı; diri, daim ve ebed1 olan Ali'nin yüzü için ibadet ve secde ettillı. Fani yüzüm; diri, daim ve ebedi olan Ali'Din yüzü için, secde etti. ey Ali, ey büyük! Ey Ali, ey büyük! Ey Ali, ey büyük! Ey Ali, ey en büyük! Ey bütün büyüklerden daha büyük! Ey kuşluk. vaktinin güneşini yaratan! I§ık. saçan ayı yaratan! Ey Ali, üstünlük sana aittir. Ey Ali birlik sana aittir. Ey Ali mülk senindir. Ey Ali büyüklük sana aittir. Ey Ali, işaret sana aittir. Ey Ali, iteat sana aittir. Ey Ali, sen şefeat edensin. Ey Ali, yaratma gücü sana aittir. Ey Ali, sen her şeye kadirsin. Ey Ali, sen "Bakara Suresi" sİD. Eman senden ya Ali! Razı olduktan sonra azabından ve gazabından sana sığımnm. Mucize gösteren ve aciz bırakanla sana iman ettim. Ey Emiru'n- Nabl, acizlikten sen yücesin. Kalpten inanıyorum ki sen gizli ve görüDensin. Dış görünüş bakımından sen imam, batıni olarak tannsm. Ey O, ey OL Ey seni üstün kılma, anma ve bir olarak kabul etme hususlannda dilediğini üstOn kılan! Ey O,. ey O! Ey senin büyüklüğünü itiraf etmeyen, inkar eden, aşağılayan kimseleri zeW kılan! Ey haur, ey varolan! Ey ulaşılamıy~gaibJ Ey Emiru'n, Nabl, ey Ali, ey büyük! Fiilır,
Yedinci Sure: İsmi "Sehim33 ", Secde ettim, selam verdim, süzümü yer ve göklerin yaraucısına hanif ve müslüman olarak çevirdim ve ben müşrik.lerden değilim34 . Kadlm olan manadan selamın başlangıcı ismi azim üzerinedir. İsmi azim bab'ı kerim'e selam verdi. Selam bab'lann üzerine olsun. Selam eytfun'ın (yetimlerin) üzerine olsun. Selam naklb'lerin üzerine olsun. Selam necib'lerin üzerine olsun. Selam seçilmişlerin üzerine olsun. Selam kurtancılann üzerine oıSun. Selam imtihan edenlerin üzerine olsun. Selam mukarrebin'in üzerine oısun. Selam kenibiyyP5'in üzerine olsun. Selam ruhaoiler'in üzerine olsun. Selam pak ve temiz olanlmn üzerine olsun. Selam ibadet edenlerin üzerine olsun. Selam dinleyenlerin üzerine olsun. Selam ulaşanlann üzerine olsun. Selam dinleyenlerin üzerine olsun. Selam ulaşanlann üzerine olsun ki onlar mertebe ehli kimselerdir. Bütün 3 ı Yani cebennemden. Kw'in wı20 den alınmııtır. 32 Kuı'ln XXVf35 den alınmıştır. 33 SUleymin, el- BaıctIra, 5.21-23; sailsbury, a.g.e.• 5.250-252; Dussaud, a.g.e., 5.171-172 ve 190-191. 34 Kur'in. VJn9.
35 Meleklerden büyük olanlar: Cebdil. İstifil, Azriil, MikAiL.
13
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.
D00095s8y1996.pdf 19.01.2010 16:13:54 Page 9 (1, 1)
safa alemi onlan taktis eder. Selam doğru yola tabi olan, hidayete ulaşan, cehaletin sonuçlanndan sakınan, yüceleıin yücesi olan melike iteat eden ve Muhammet'in yüz yirmi dön bin peygamberin-ki omana ilki bab, sonuncusu ulaşandır- efendisi oldugunu war edenlerin üzerine olsun. Selam sizlerin üzerine olsun ey Allah'ın salih kullan! Allah sizleri ve bizleri naim ceonetinde gökteki yıldızlann arasında bir araya getiIsin. Sekizinci Sure : İsmi "İşaret36" Bütün boyunlann kendisi için eğildiği, en zor ve güç işlerin oda kolay geldi~i ilah bütün noksanlık.lardan mÜDezzehtir. Kendisini Allah katında büyük bir makamın faziletli ve şerefli kıldığı "Gadirhum" bay· rarnı gününde Hz. Muhammet Mustafa'dan niyet ve işaret bellımiştir. Ben sana işaret edenlerden bir kulum ey dinler emlri.! Ey Ali! Tevmd, takrtd37, tanzüı ve tecıid ile büyüklük senin içindir. Ey yüce olan. ey ezeli, ey ebedi, ey yaratıcı, ey hakfm! Hz. Muhammet'in haydin Allah yolunda barbe, haydin Allah yolunda cihada diye söyleyerek: beyaz bineği.ne binmiş ve Mekk'nin kapısından çılmuş olduğu halde sana ~aret iç.in senden isterim. ey nurun nunı, ey büyük kayalan yanp çatlatan! Ey büyük okyanuslan sevk ve idare eden, ey işleri evirip çeviren! Müminleri, bekçisi ndvfuı olan yüksek. cennetlerinde yerleştiımen için bu benim. sana işaretimclir. Bu cennetlerl·isteyen ey başanh kul! Çok yüceden, nuu'l- eymen yönünden mübarek ağaçtan bir mda şöyle der: Ey habibim, ey Muhammet! Her kim bana msanın o.rtası.ndaki perşembe günü öğleyin veya şabaru.n yansının gecesi veya cuması.nın gecesi veya ramazan ayıru.n son beş gecesi veya kuddas38 günü veya milad gecesi veya Gadlmum bayramı günü samimi kalp ve halis niyetle bu dua ile dua ederse onu ümmetim yapar, cennetime sokar. Ona rahmetimin kadehinden içmr ve onu üzülmeyecek ve kendileri için korku' olmayacak 'olan mUminlerle beraber kı1anm39 . Aleviyye'nin "ayın"ının, MlIhammediyye'nin "mim"inin, Silsiliyye'nin "sin"inin sım "A M S" sım ile bu işaretimi verdim Duamızın başlangıcı ile manamıza işaret ederiz ve ralnnan ve rahim olan Allah'ın adiyle söyleriz. Duaouzın sonunda bizi hidayete ulaştırnİıa şükrederiz ve hakkı söyleriz. Hamd Alemlerio Rabbı olan Allah'adır.
36 Slileman, el- B1kQra, s. 23-25; Salisbury, a.g.e., s. 252-254; Dussaud, a.g.e.• s.l72-173 ve 191-192. Buradaki i§aıet Hz. Muhammet'in Gadirhum'da Ali'yi yerine halife olar\lk belirttiğini gösteren parmak işareti. 37 Boyun eğmek iteat etmek. 38 Hristiyaıılann ekmek ve şarap Uzerine okudukları dua.. 39 Krş. Kur'in W36. 40 SUleym§.n, el- BiIdlra. s. 25; Salisbury, n.g.e.• s. 254; Dussaud. a.ı.e., $.174 ve 192-
193. 14
D00095s8y1996.pdf 19.01.2010 16:13:54 Page 9 (1, 2)
Dokuzuncu Sure: İsmi "el- Aynu'l - Aleviyye, Alevi ayın'140". Apaçık, zlih.iri, zati Aleviyye'nin "aym"ımn, Haşimi, melekOti, nurarn, kurası, Muhammediyye'nin "mim"inin, Nusayn, Nemin, Bekri, babi, Selmani, Cebraili, silsilenin "sin"inin sım "A M S" sım ile başlanın.
Onuneu Sure: İsmi "el- Akd, Akid41". Şehadet ederim ki allah haktır. O'nun sözü haktır. Örtüsüz gizli olan Ali b. Ebi Til.lib hakkı mübtndir. Şehadet ederim ki cehennem kiifulerin varaca~ı yer, cennet miiminlerin varaca~ı yerdiJ4 2. Su arşın altından akar, 3qın üstünde ise Rabbü'l- Alemin vardır. Arşın; taşıyıcdan O'na yakın olan sekiz mtikerremdir. Benim ve bütün üminlerin hazırlı~ı "A M S" akdinin sım ile benim gücüm ve kuvvetimdedir. Onbirinci Sure : İsmi "Halkın Dag diye isimlendirdiği Şehadet4311 , Allah, kendisinden başka tann olmad.ı~ma şahittir. Melekler ve ilim sahipleri adaletle şahittir ki O'ndan başka tann yoktur. O azizdir, hakim'dir«. Allah kaunda din isıam'd.ıı:"5. Rabbimiz, senin indirdlıine inandık ve elçiye uyduk, bizi şahidede beraber yaz4 6 . nA M S" şehadetiyle bana şehadet et ey büyük "hieap"! Bana şehadet eL ey kenm olan "bab"! Bana şehadet et ey Mikdal el· Yemin! Bana şehadeı et ey efendim Ebu Zer eş- şirnaı! Bana şehadet et ey Abdullah! Bana şehadet et ey Osman! bana şehadet et ey Kanber b. Kadan! Bana şehadet et ey Naklb! Bana şehadeı et ey Necib! Bana şehadet et ey Seçilmiş! bana şehadet et ey kurtaneı! Bana şehadet et ey imtihan eden! Ey yaklaşmış olan, ey büyük, ey bÜyOk, ey ruhanı, ey ziyadesiyle pak olan, ey ibadete koşan, ey dinleyen, ey ulaşan! Bana şehadette bulun ey mertebeler ehli ve bütün sefa aıemi! Sehadet ederim ki önden ve yandan saclan dökülmüs (dazlak) olan mabud Hz. Ali b. Ebi Talib'den başka "ilah". seyyid Muhammet Mahmut'dan baska "hicab". Hz. Selrnan el- rarisiden baska "bab" yoktur. Meleklerin en büyü~ beş eytam (yetimIee)'ctir. Diger beldelerde inançlanmızı ortaya koyan şeyhimiz ve efendimiz Hüseyin b. Hamd~asibrnin görüşünden başka görüş yoktur. BeşeriyeUe zuhur
,
41 Süleymi.ıı. el- Bikilta, s. 25- 26; Salisbury. a.g.e.• s. 254; Dussaud. a.g.e.• s. 174 ve 193. 42 Kur'in'dan alınmıştır, bkz. SurcXLVII/12. 43 Süleyına, el- Bildlra, s. 26--28; Salisbury, a.g.c., s. 255-257; Dussaud, a.g.c., s. 174-176 ve 193·195.
44 Bkz.. Kur'inID/18. 45 Kurh IT1119. 46 Kur'in 0053.
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D00095s8y1996.pdf 19.01.2010 16:13:54 Page 10 (1, 1)
eden mer'i suretin kUlU gaye oldu~una, O'nun no.raoı zuhtiruna şehadet ederim. O'ndan başka ilah yoktur. O, Ali b. Ebi TMib'ti.r. O, ihata edilemez, kuşaulamaz, idare edilemez, görülemez". Ben Nusam dininden, Cündubi görüşÜDden. CÜDbulani tarikaundan. Hasibi mezhebinden, Cilli inancından. Meymuru fıkhından olduihıma şebadet ederim47". Şiddetli geri dönüşe, parlayan saldıny3., perdenin ka1kaca~ına, körlü~ açılacağına, saklı olanın açığa çıkacagına, gizli olanın açıklanacağına, Ali b. Ebi Talib'in güneşin kaynağından zuhWlllla, bütün nefisleri kabzedeceğine yakinen inanınm. Şöyle ki altında aslan, elinde zülfikar, aıkasında melekler, önünde Seyyid Selman. su iki ayağının arasından fışkıTIyor, Hz. Muhammed nida ediyor ve diyor ki: Bu sİzin efendiniz Ali b. Ebi Taıib'dir, O'nu tanıyınız. O'nu tesbih ediniz, tazirn ediniz, O'nu yüceltiniz. Bu sizin yaraueımzdır. Rızk.ınızı verendir. O'nu inkar etmeyiniz. Ey evlatlanm, O'na şebadet ediniz. Bu benim elinin ve- inancınıdır ve itimadım O'nadu. Ben O'nun için yaşar, O'nun ugnına öıürüm. Ali b. Ebi Ta.Lib diri_· dir, ölmez. Kudret ve kuvvet O'nun elindedir. Kulak göz kalp, bütün bunlann hepsi O'ndan sorumludurlar4 8. Bize onlara selam vermek gerekir. Onikinci Sure: İsmi "İmamiyye49 ". Ey parlayan ve aydınlanan yıldızlar, deveran halinde olan gökler! Bana şahitlik ediniz ki apaçık bir şekilde bilinen ve tanınan saret.-i mer'iyye Ali b. Ebi Taıib'dir. O. ezelidir. birdir. tektir. sameddir, parçalanamaz. bölünemez, laksim edilemez. sayılamaz. O, benim ve sizin ilalunızdır. Sizin ilahınız ve benim ilahtmdır. Benim imamın ve sizİn irnamınızdır. imamlann imamıdır. Karanlıklan aydınlatan, başının dazlak.1ığı zlilıir olan Ebu TUrab, Haydardu. Örtüsüz bir şekilde gizli olan, güneşin kaynağından zoom eden, bütün nefısleri kapıedendlı. O'nun ve beybetinin celilinin büyüklügü, ilahı ş~eğin ışığının yticeliği için boywılar O'na eğilim. zor işlmer O'na kolayolur. O. gökyüzündeki gizli ilah. ayıu zamanda da yeryüzünde imamdu. Bütün imam1ann imamıdu. Ali b. Ebi ia1ib'in sım kadim - i zamandır. Bütün imam1ann· imamıdu.· Ali b. Ebi Talib'm stm kadim-İ zamandu. Hicab'm sım Seyyid Muhammet'ttir. O'nun bab'ı hidayet ve iman bab'ı olan Seyyid Selmlin'du. Dolan nza ve selam ile anmak bizim görevimizdir. 47 Bu cümle Nusayri1erin kelime.i
şehadetleridir.
Makaledeki not 20 ile
kaqilaştınnız. 48 Kur'iiıı XVIII36.
49 Süleymlin, el- Blildlra, s. 28-29; Salisbury, a.g.e., s.227-228; Dussaud, a.g.e., s. 176177 ve 195-196.
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ünüçüncü Sııre: İsmi "Müsaferet, YolculukSo. Yerlerde ve göklerde olanların hepsi Allah'ı tesbın eder. 0, Aziz ve Hakim'wr5 l . Biz Allah için olduk ve O'nu tesbih ·ederiz. Bütün mülk Allah içindir ve Allah'! tesbih eder. allah'ın ismiyle, O'nunla, Seyyid Ebi AbdiIlah'ın sımyla. şeyhin -.:e O'nun" A M S" denizinden içen seçilntiş çocukIanmn sımyla ki onlar elli bir tanedir. Onlardan 17 tanesi Iraklı. 17 tanesi Şamlı. 17 tanesi de gizlidir. Onlar Hamın şehrinin kapısında durmuş hakla alıyor ve hakla veriyorlar. Kim onlann dinine uyar ve anlann ibadelleri iJe ibadette bulunursa, Allah o kimseyi kendini tanımaya muaffak. kılar. Kim de.onlann dinine uymaz ve onlann ibadetleri ile ibadet etinezse Şeyhin ve Seçilmiş evlatlannın sırriyla A1lah'ın Ianeti onun üzerine olur. Allah onlann hepsini mutlu etsin. Ondördüncü Sure : İsmi "el· Beytü'l • Mamur, İmar Edilmiş, Bakırnh Ev S2"
Andalsun Tür'a, satır satır yazılmış kitaba. yayılmış ince deri üzerine, mamure ve yükseltilmiş tavana, kaynatılmış denizeS3 ve Taıib'in, AkiI'in ve Cafer-i Tayyar'ın sımyla ki onlar kardeştirler54 . Ali b. Ebi Taıib nurun DUru. eevherin eevheridir. Ali b. Ebi Ta.lib, erkek ve klZkar-deşlerden, baba ve annelerden münezzehtir. Tek ve ebedi olarak mevcuttur. Örtüsü olmayan gizlidir. Evin sım; evin tavanı, evin tabanı ve evin dört köşesidir. Ev Mubanunet'tir. Evin tavaru Ebu Tilib'dir. Evin tabanı Fatıma Binti Esed'dir. Evin dön köşesi Muhammet, Fatır. Hasan Hüseyin'dir ki O evin ortasındaki kapalı ve gizli olan zaviy~sımdır. Bu z3viye gizli sırrın güzelleştirieisidir. Alevi Haşimi Şerif ev sahibinin sımdır ki O kılıçlan kınp. putlan parçalamıştır. Ondan nza ve selam ile söz etmemiz gerekir. Onbeşinci Sure: İsmi "el· HicibiyyeSS
Hieabü'l - Az.im sırnna, Babü'l - Kerim sırnna. efendim Mikdat el • Yemin'in sımna, efendim Ebi Zer eş- Şimarın sımna, temiz ve kerim iki melek olan Hasan ve Hüseyin'in sımna. iki veli olan Nevfel b. Harise ve Ebu Berze sımna. temizlik ve temizlik alemi sımna. gökyüzündeki her 50 SUleyman, el· BakGra, s. 29·30; Salisbury, a.g.e., s. 258·2S9; Dussaud. a.g.e., s. 177178 ve 196. 51 Kur'lin LVlIIl. S2 SUleyınan, el- BSkUra. s. 30-32; Salisbury, •.g.e., s. 259-262; Dııssaud, •.g.e., s. 178 ve 179.
S3
Kur'i.ıı.
LD( 1-6.
54 Nusayriler aynı zamaoda Ali'nin babası, annesi ve kardeşlerinin olmadığwa da inanmaktadırlar . SS SUleymlin, el- Bildlra, s. 32; Salisbury, •.g.e., s. 262-263; Dussaud, •.g. e., s. 178·179 ve 197-198.
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bir yıldızın sımna, yüce Kudüs ve orada oturanların sırrına andolsun. On· lardan nza ve selam ile söz etmemiz gerekir.
,, i
qnaltıncl'Sure: İsmi "en_ NakibiyyeS6. Ulkelerde gezip dolaşmışlardı. Ama bir kurtuluş buldular mıS7 ? Mina vadisİnde akabe gecesinde 70 adamın içerisinden Muhammet'in seçtigi nakiblerin isimlerini zikrederiz. Qnlann ilki Ebu'l • Haysem Malik b. et· Teybin el· l"§hili, Bem b. Marür el- Ensan, Münzir b. Levz3.n b. Kennas es . Saidi, Raft b. Miilik el- Acliini, Esed b. Hüseyin ei· İşhi1i, Abbas b. Ubiide el- ensari, Ubade b. Samit en· Nevfeli, Abdullah b. AInr b. Hiziim el- Ensari, Slllim b. Umeyr eL- hazreci, Ubey b. Kab, Rafi b. Va· raka, Bil&1 b. Riyah eş- Şenevi,' Nakiblerin nakibi, Neciblerin necibi se}'· yidimiz Muhammet b. Sinan ez- Zahir58'dir.· Onlardan nza ve selam ile sözetmerniz gerekir. '.
56 SUleym5n, el198. 57 Kur'in [J36.
saıcııra,
s. 32-34; Salisbury, a.g.e., s. 263; Dussaud, a.g.e., s. 179 Ve
58 Suriyeli m~bur İsmaili şeymdir. XII. Il$U"da yaşanıış olup 1192 yılında Suriye'de ölmüştür. Dkı. Guyard (S), Un gnı.od maitre des assassıns au temps de Saladin, Paris. 1877, s. 51 vd.
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