CHAPTER IX.
Of the religion of the Roshenian: in three Sections.
Sect. I.—Of the appearance of Miyan Bayezid, and some of his sayings.
Sect. II.—Some account of his proceedings.
Sect. III.—Account of his sons.
Section I.—Of the appearance of the lord Míyán Báyezid.
In the Hálnámeh, a true work from Báyezid’s pen, it is stated that the lord Míyán Báyezíd Ansári was the son of Shaikh Abdullah, who descended in the seventh generation from Shaikh Siráj-eddin Ansári, and that, in the latter time of the dominion of the Afghans, he was born in the town of Jalendher in the Panjab.[21] A year after this event, the blessed lord Zahír-eddin Báber Pádsháh, having obtained a victory over the Afghans, conquered Hind. In the history of the Moghúls it is recorded that, in the year of the Hejira 932 (A. D. 1525)[22] the blessed lord Báber Pádshah defeated Ibráhím Khán Afghán. In the before-said Hálnámeh is to be found that the mother of Míyán Báyezíd was called Bánin, and that the father of Banín and the grandfather of Abd ullah were brothers, and had their residence in the town of Jalendher. Míyán Báyezíd was born in this place. The father of Abdullah asked Banin, the daughter of Mohammed Amin, in marriage for his son Abd ullah. The father of Báyezíd Abd ullah resided at Kánígaram, which is situated in Kóhistan (the hilly country) of the Afghans.[23] When the conquests of the Moghúls began to extend, Banín also came with Báyezid to Kánígaram. Abd ullah had no liking for Banin, on which account he repudiated her; and Míyán Báyezíd experienced many sufferings from the enmity of another wife of Abd ullah, and from the son of the wife of Yâkub, besides the carelessness of his father.
It was the custom of Míyán Bayezíd that, whenever he went to tend his own field, he took care also of the fields of others, and guarded them. From his infancy he felt a disposition towards the first cause, so as to investigate—“the heavens and the earth are here; but where is God?” When Khájah Ismâîl was blessed in a dream by a revelation, he devoted himself to austere practices of piety, and many persons who partook in his exercises, derived benefit from them. Báyezíd wished to become his disciple; but Abd ullah forbade it, saying: “It is a disgrace to me that thou shouldst be the disciple of the meanest of our relations; go to the sons of Shaikh Bahá-eddín Zakaríá.”[24] Báyezíd replied: “The character of a Shaikh is no inheritance.” Finally, Báyezíd was called by a mysterious influence to sanctity, and passed through the gradations of sheríât, “external law;” hakíket, “reality;” mârifet, “true knowledge;” kurbet, “proximity;” vâsalet, “union;” and sekúnat, “dwelling in God.” Many men joined him, at which the envious were vexed, and he invited to him the crowd which had not attained the same degree. With Báyezíd lineage obtained no respect, but only knowledge and virtue were valued, as
“Paradise belongs to the servants of God, let them
Be habshís, ‘negroes,’ and hell is for the depraved,
Let them be sáids of Koresh extraction.”
He saw God manifest:
“Peradventure you may see your God made manifest.”
And the order was given to Báyezíd to say:
“I have seen thee by thee; I have heard thee from thee.”
God said to him further:
“The disgrace of this world is lighter than the disgrace
Of thy future world; haste towards what is good; be slow
Towards what is bad.”
And the Lord God announced to him:
“I have established as duties the exterior and the interior worship: the exterior worship as a duty for acquiring knowledge, and the interior worship as a perpetual duty.”
Báyezíd was perplexed: “If I offer prayers I am an idolator, and if I neglect them I am an infidel; for it is said:
“‘The offering of prayers is idolatry, and the neglect of them infidelity.’”
Then the command arrived: “Perform the prayers of the prophet;” he asked: “What prayers are these?” The Almighty God said: “The praise of the Divinity.” Afterwards he chose this prayer, as it is said:
“The worship of those who are attached to the unity of God is, before men, like the worship of worshippers; but before God, it participates in the object of worship itself.”
Báyezíd devoted himself so much more to secret practices of piety, about which the prophet has said:
“The best remembrance of God is secret remembrance, and the best food is that which is sufficient.”
And again:
“Remember your God morning and evening; and be not one of the negligent.”
His friends saw in a night dream, and he himself heard the voice, that Báyezíd should be called Míyán Róshen, and he obtained eternal life, according to the words of God:
“Say not of him who is slain in the way of the Lord, that he is dead, but that he is alive; but you cannot distinguish the deaf, the dumb, and the blind; nor can they reply to you; for they are deaf in hearing the truth, dumb in speaking the truth, and blind in seeing the truth.”
He made himself free of the crowd of such description; and frequently divine inspiration came upon him. Now, according to the prophetic saying:
“Inspiration is a light which descends into the heart, and displays the real nature of the things according as they are.”
And Jabríl also descended to him; we read in the Korán:
“I send down angels and the spirit, at my pleasure, on whomsoever I please among my servants.”
God Almighty elected him also for an apostle, and conferred upon him the gift of prophecy:
“I have sent none before thee, excepting those persons who have received revelation.”
The lord Míyan Róshen, that is, Báyezíd, was extremely righteous in his conduct, as it is said:
“When God intends the good of one of his creatures, he gives him an admonisher in his spirit, and a restrainer in his heart; so that, of his own accord, he admonishes and restrains himself.”
Míyán Róshen, that is, Báyezíd, said to the learned: “What says the confession of the faith?” The reply was: “We bear testimony that there is no god but God;” that is: we testify that there is no god worthy to be worshipped but God Almighty. Míyán Báyezíd said: “If one is not acquainted with Lord Almighty, and says: ‘I am acquainted with him,’ he is a liar; as it is said:
“He who sees not God, knows not God.”
Móuláná Zakaríá said to Míyán Báyazíd: “Thou sayest that thou art acquainted with the heart, and thou proclaimest thyself the master of opening the hearts; give me information of my heart, and if this proves to be true, I shall then place my confidence in thee.” Míyán Róshen Báyazíd replied: “I am the master of opening the hearts; but there is no heart in thee; if thou hadst possessed a heart, I should have given thee information about it.” Then Móulána Zikeríá declared (to those about him): “Kill me first; if a heart comes forth from my body, then put Báyazíd to death, and if none appear, then let him be safe.” Míyán Báyazid said: “The heart which thou mentionest will come forth if a calf, a kid, or a dog be killed; but that lump of flesh is not the heart. The Arabian prophet says:
“The heart of the faithful is more elevated than the ninth or empyrean heaven; and more spacious than the extent of the ninth heaven (the throne of God).”
“And again:
“Hearts bear witness of hearts.”
Móulána Zakaríá said to him: “Thou takest thyself for a master of opening the tombs; let us go together to a burying ground, that the dead may converse with thee.” Míyán Báyezíd replied: “If thou didst listen to the voice of the dead, I should not call thee an infidel.” The author of this work observed to Míyan, who was attached to the Roshinian persuasion: “If, instead of these words, the lord Míyan had said: When I hear your voice, it is the voice of the dead, and proceeds from the tomb of the corporeal members, it would have been better.” Being pleased with this observation, the Míyán wrote down upon the margin of the Hálnámeh, that this also is the speech of the lord Míyán. The Mobed says:
“Between our friends we saw and we gave
To the searchers of the road a mark without a mark.”
Then the learned said to Míyán Báyezíd: “By what word or deed of thine shall men believe in thee?” Míyán Róshen Báyazíd replied: “Let there be one of your number, the best and ablest, who applies to science and practises devotion; let him join me, and according to my direction perform exercises of worship and piety; if he find a superior advantage, then believe in me.”
A person named Malik Mirzá said: “O Báyezíd, beware of arrogant speech, and call not men detestable; whoever likes, may follow thy path, but if he does not like it, let him remain away from it.” Míyán Róshen Báyezíd answered: “I will propose a simile: if in a house which should have but one door, a great number of persons had fallen asleep, and in that house fire had broken out; if by accident one person should be awake, ought he to awake the others, or not?” His adversaries said: “O Báyezíd, since God Almighty has charged thee with his orders, declare, ‘Jabriyil descended to me, and I am the Mahdi;’ but call not the people infidels and detestable.”
Míyán Róshen Bayazíd did not think it right to eat of the flesh of an animal killed by a person whom he did not know, and who did not adhere to the rule of the unity of God. Báyezíd knew that:
“A worldly wise man, before man, is living, but before God, dead; his form is like the form of a man, but his qualities like the qualities of beasts; whilst a man, knowing God, is living before God; his form is like the form of a man, and his qualities are like the qualities of the merciful God.”
Báyezíd said to his father Abd ullah: “The Arabian prophet has declared:
“Sheríát, ‘the law,’ is like night; Taríkat, ‘religious rule,’ is like the stars; Hakiket, ‘the truth,’ is like the moon; and Mârifet, ‘the true knowledge,’ like the sun; and nothing is superior to the sun.”
Míyán Báyezíd Róshen said: “The matter of the law rests upon the five fundamental principles of the Muselmans.[25]
Pronouncing the words of the faith, and joining to the words the belief in their truth; these are the actions of the law. The tasbíh, “rosary;” the tahlíl, “praise of God;” the being constantly employed in the verbal commemoration of the attributes of God; the guarding of the heart from temptation: this is the business of taríkat, “religious rule.”
To keep the fast of the month Ramazan, and to abstain from eating, drinking, and sexual intercourse; this is the business of sheríât, “the law.” Fasting beyond the demands of duty; not filling the belly, but training it to a scanty diet; and restraining the body from what is bad: this is the business of taríkat.
The Zacat, “stated alms,” and the giving of the tithe, is the business of sheríât; but the distribution of food and raiment to the fakírs and performers of fasts, and the taking by the hand the distressed, is the business of taríkat.
To perform the circuit around the house of the friend of God,[26] and to be free from wickedness, and crime, and warring, is the business of the sheríât; but to perform the circuit of the house of the friend of God, to wit the heart,[27] to combat bodily propensities, and to worship the angels, is the business of taríkat.
To meditate constantly on the Almighty God, to place confidence in the instructions received, to discard from the heart the exterior veil, and to fix the view on the perfection of the celestial object of our affection: this is the business of hakíkat, “truth.”
To view the nature of God with the eye of the heart, and to see him face to face in every mansion and on every side, with the light of the intellect, and to cause no injury to the creatures of the All-Just: this is the business of mârifat, “true knowledge.”
To know the All-Just, and to perceive and comprehend the sound of the tasbíh, “rosary:” this is the business of kurbet, “proximity to God.”
To choose self-abnegation, to perform every thing in the essence of the All-Nourisher, to practise renunciation of all superfluities, and to carry in one’s self the proof of the true sense of the divine union: this is váśalet, “union with God.”
To annihilate one’s self before Deity absolute, and in God to be eternal and absolute; to become one with the unity, and to beware of evil: this is the business of touhíd, “coalescence with God.”[28]
To become an inmate and resident, to assume the attributes of God absolute, to divorce from one’s own attributes: this is the business of sacúnat, “in-dwelling in God,” and there is no superior station beyond sacúnat.
The terms kurbat, váśalet, vahed, and sacúnat are peculiar to the style of the lord Miyán Róshen Báyezíd, who places them higher than sheríât, térikat, and mârifat.
At that time it was the custom, when friends had been separated and met again, on meeting, their first inquiries were about the health, wealth, and children of each other. But the friends of Miyán Róshen Báyezid first inquired about each other’s faith, religious thoughts, zeal, love, and knowledge of the All-Just, and afterwards about their health and welfare. When they made inquiry about any other person, it was in the following manner: “How is he with respect to religion and faith? does he keep the affection of the friends of God?” and in these things they rejoiced. The words of the prophet are:
“Verily, God does not regard your forms nor your wealth,
But he regards your hearts and your actions.”
Miyán Báyezíd, in his early years, used to conform to the five fundamental principles of the Muselman faith, such as the confession of faith, to say prayers five times a-day, and to keep the fasts; but as he was not possessor of a sufficient estate, it was not necessary for him to give the stated alms. He was desirous to perform the pilgrimage, but he was then too young for it, so it was postponed until he attained the truth of his religion. The words of God Almighty are:
“Verily, I am near to mankind, nearer than their own necks; there is no separation between me and mankind; and I am one with mankind; but mankind know it not: nor can a man attain the knowledge of me, unless by the means of the assiduous perusal of the sacred volume, and not by much travel of the feet; but he may attain the knowledge of me by ardent meditation, and, by obedience, a man becomes perfect.”
Thus far from the Hál-námeh of Miyán Báyazid.
[21] Anśar signifies “protectors, defenders,” and is a word particularly applied to the citizens of Madína who assisted Muhammed when he was obliged to fly from Mecca. Herbelot mentions as one of the most illustrious who bore this surname Abul Abbas Ahmed ben Abdallah, without the date of his birth or death, a Spaniard who wrote a Commentary upon the Moâllakat, or poems suspended in the temple of Mecca; another who wrote upon physiognomy; and a third who composed a treatise upon coffee. The last was, according to Silvestre de Sacy (see Chrestom. ar., t. I. p. 441), originally from Madina, a native of Jejireh, and wrote in the year of the Hejira 966 or 996 (A. D. 1558 or 1587). The family and native place of the above-mentioned Anśari, were in the Panjab, although his ancestors might have come from Arabia.
[22] This was in 1526.—See vol. II. p. 249.)
[23] The district of Kanigaram is on the borders of Kandahar.
[24] This Shaikh was born A. D. 1169, in Kot-Karor, a town in Multan. After having travelled, and acquired celebrity as a saint, he returned to Multan, where he made a great number of disciples. His posterity preserved the fame of their ancestor to the times of Bayazid.—(See Mémoire sur la Religion muselmane dans l’Inde, par M. Garcin de Tassy, p. 98.)
[25] These are: 1. the profession of the faith; 2. the stated prayers; 3. religious fasting; 4. Haj, “the pilgrimage;” 5. Zacat, “the stated alms.”
[26] Abraham, the supposed builder of the Kâbah.
[27] We find in the fifth sermon of Sádi: “He who travels to the Kâbah on foot makes the circuit of the Kâbah; but he who makes the pilgrimage of the Kábah, in his heart, is encircled by the Kâbáh.—(Transact. of Lit. Soc. of Bombay, vol. I. p. 151.)
[28] We see here the fundamental ideas of that mysticism which was formed into a particular system by the Sufis, of whom hereafter.
Section II.: an account of the history of the lord Míýan Róshen Báyazíd.
Báyazid felt himself a prophet, and invited mankind to religious austerity; he caused them to say prayers, but indicated them no determined quarter to which they ought to turn, as the sacred text says:
“Wherever you turn, you turn towards God.”
He said, religious bathing in water is not necessary; for, as soon as the wind blows upon us, the body is purified; inasmuch as the four elements are equally pure. He said, whoever knows not himself and God, is not a man; and if he be hurtful, he may be accounted to have the nature of a wolf, tiger, serpent, or scorpion. The Arabian prophet has said:
“Kill a harmful creature before it causes harm.”
If such a person is well-behaved, and says prayers, he has the disposition of an ox, or sheep, and to kill him is lawful. On that account he ordered his self-conceited adversaries to be killed, as they were to be regarded as brute beasts; thus it is stated in the Koran:
“They are like brute beasts, nay worse.”
He said: whoever does not know himself, and has no notion of eternal life, and everlasting existence, is dead, and the property of a dead man, whose heirs are also as the dead, reverts to the living. On that account he ordered also the killing of the ignorant. When he found a Hindu knowing himself, he valued him higher than a Muselman. He and his sons practised for some time highway robbery. Of the wealth which he took from the Muselmans and others, he deposited the fifth part in a store-house, and when it was wanted, he distributed it among the most deserving people. He and his sons kept themselves all remote from adultery, lewdness, and unbecoming actions, as well as from despoiling the unitarians of their property, and refrained from using violence towards those who saw but one God.
He composed a great number of works in the Arabic, Persian, Hindi, and Afgháni,[29] languages. The Makśúd al Múmenín, “the desire of the right “believers,” is in Arabic. They say, that the All-just God conversed with him without the intervention of Jabril.[30] He composed also a book entitled Kháir-al-bíán, “the good news, or the gospel,” and this in four languages: the first in Arabic, the second in Persian, the third in Hindi, and the fourth in Pashtú, that is, the Afgháni language: the same purport is conveyed in the four languages. The address is from the All-just All-mighty God to the lord Báyezíd, and this they believe a work of divine inspiration. He is also the author of the Hálnámeh, in which he has given an account of himself.
The most astonishing circumstance therein is, that he was an illiterate man, and yet expounded the Koran, and uttered speeches full of truth, so that learned men were astonished at them.
It is said that Báyezid received the divine command for the destruction of those who know no God. Three times the all-just God had given him the order, and he put not his hand to the sword; but when it was repeated, unable to resist, he girt himself for the war against the infidels.
Báyezid was contemporary with the lord Mirzá Muhammed Hakim, the son of the lord Humáyún Pádshah. The author of this book has heard from Mirza sháh Muhammed, surnamed Ghazni Khán, the following account: “It was in the year of the Hejira 949 (A. D. 1542-3), that Miyàn Róshen gained strength and established his sect. My father, Sháh Baighkán Arghún, surnamed Khán-Dourán, said, he saw Míyán Báyezíd before his rising in rebellion, when he was brought to the court of Mirzá Muhammed Hakím, and the learned were confounded in the dispute with him, wherefore they let him take his departure on equitable terms.”[31] In the beginning of the year of the Hejira 994 (A. D. 1585-6) the intelligence of the death of the lord Mirzá Muhammed Hakim reached from Kabul, the ear of the Lord, dwelling in the ninth heaven. The sepulchre of Báyezid is at Bhatakpùr, in the hilly country of the Afghans.
[29] Bayezid Ansari is said to have been the first author who wrote in the Pashtu, or Afghan language.
[30] بی میانجی جبریل It is by mistake, it appears, that we find in Doctor Leyden’s translation: “The All-just addressed him through “Miyanji Jabrayil:” and the note referring to this passage is not applicable to it.
[31] Bayezid, after having obtained the adherence of several tribes of the Afghans, established himself in Hashtanagar, “eight townships,” in the middle of Pokhtanga, or Afghanistan, perhaps the country of the ancient Aspagani, mentioned by Pliny, and took his residence at Kaleder, in the district of Omazei, where he founded a city. From thence, under the title of Pír roshán, “master of light,” he issued proclamations to increase the number of his followers. Having become formidable to the government of the Moghuls, Mahsan khan ghazí, a chief of great merit, by a sudden irruption into Hashtanagar, seized the person of Bayezid, and carried him to Kabul, where, although at first subject to insult, he owed his release to the intercession of some influential persons, favorably disposed towards him. He then retired to the mountains of Totee, and further to those of Tirah, perhaps the district of the ancient Thiræi, mentioned by Arrian. Such was soon the new increase of his forces, that he dared proclaim his project to overthrow the power of the emperor Akbar. He descended into the plains of Ningarhar, sacked and burnt the country, but was overtaken by Mahsan Khan, and his army routed; he himself escaped with great difficulty, and died soon after, from the fatigues of his flight: he was buried at Hashtanagar.—(See on the Rosheniah sect and its founder, Asiat. Res., vol. XI. p. 387 et seq., by J. Leyden, M.D.)
Section III.: upon the transactions of the sons of the lord Míýan Bayezíd.
Omár Shaikh Kamál eddin, Nur eddin and Jelál eddin were the sons of Báyezid,[32] and he had a daughter, Kamál Khátún. After the lord Miyán Jelál eddin succeeded to his father’s dignity, and acquired a very great power; he never deviated from the precepts of the lord Miyán; he was just, and an adherer to rule, and girt with energy and activity. In the year of the Hejira 989 (A. D. 1581-2), when the standards of majesty of the lord (now an inhabitant of the ninth heaven), that is, of Acbar Pádsháh, returned from Kabul to the firm seat of government (Delhi), he (Jelal-eddin) came to his presence, but after some days he took to flight. In the year of the Hejira 1000 (A. D. 1591-2), Jâfer Baig Kazvíní Bakhshí, who was honored with the title of Aśfakháni, was deputed for the destruction of Jelál eddin Róshni, whom the blessed Jelál eddin Muhammed Akbar called Jelálah, and in the same year the emperor’s chieftains, having taken prisoners the whole family of Jelál eddin by the agency of a person called Vahdit Ali, brought them to the foot of the throne, the seat of the deputy of God. In the year of the Hejira 1007 (A. D. 1598-9), during the reign of the lord, now inhabiting heaven, Jelál eddin Acbar Pádshah, Miyan Jelál eddin took Ghizni, and cruelly ravaged this province, but could not maintain himself in that position. Meanwhile, at the coming up of the Hazárah[33] and the Afghans upon Miyan, a great conflict took place, in which Miyàn Jelál eddin was wounded by the hand of Shádmán Hazárah, and fled to the mountains of Rabáth, where Merad Baikh and some of the followers of Sherif Khan Atcah attacked him and made an end of his affairs.
After him, Míyán Ahdad, the son of Omar Shaikh, the son of Báyezíd, who is known among the illustrious persons by the name of Ahdád, sat on the throne of authority. He was just, and an adherer to rule; he kept himself thoroughly firm in the precepts of his august predecessor; he never intended to amass wealth, but gave every one the due reward of his labor; the fifth part of the wealth which was collected from the wars against the infidels he deposited in the public storehouse, and it served to reward the meritorious warriors. In the year of the Hejira 1035 (A. D. 1625-6), under the reign of the lord, now an inhabitant of heaven, Nur-eddin Jehán-gír Pádshah, he was reduced to great straits by Ahsan Ulla, surnamed Zafer Khan, the son of Khájah Abu-’l Hassan Tabrízí, and by the chieftains of the Pádshah, and besieged in the fort Navágher, where, hit by a musket shot during an attack on the fortress, he reached the term of his life. It is said that, before the day of his death, which these sectaries call “the day of union,” Miyán Ahdád opened the book Kháir al Bíán, and, having read in it, said to his friends: “To-morrow is my day of union:” and it happened as he had said. The author of this book saw a pious person from Cabul, who told him: “On the day of Ahdad’s death I rejoiced, and spoke of him in bad terms; at night I saw in a dream my master, who forbade me to do so, and said the sacred text: ‘declare that God is one,’ applies to Ahdád.” And his disciples name him Ahdád, “the one.”
It is reported that after the “uníon” of Ahdád, the Afghans, having taken up Abd ul Khader, the son of Ahdád, betook themselves to the mountains; and the Padshah’s army, who had not expected to obtain possession of the fort, entered it. The daughter of Ahdad, who had not found an opportunity of escaping, was wandering about the fortress; one of the soldiers attempted to seize her; the maiden, having thrown her veil over her eyes, precipitated herself from the wall of the fort, and met her death: every one was astonished at the deed.
After Miyan Ahdad, his son, Abd-ul Kader, sat upon the throne of religious supremacy. Having found a favorable opportunity, he attacked Zafer Khán, who fled with the greatest precipitation; all his baggage, with the women of his secret apartments, fell into the hands of the Afghans; but the wife of Zafer khan, named Buzerg Khánam, alone was preserved from violence by the efforts of the chieftains, such as Navab Sâid Khan, the son of Ahmed Baig Khan Tarkhan. The author of this work himself heard Perí Sultan, a person from nature possessed of vigor and worth, who has now received the title of Zú-’l Fakár khán, say: “When, by order of Sâid Khan, I went to invite Abd-ul Khader to submit, I brought with me a great variety of victuals and liquors, that he might be seduced by their effect. One day, an aged Afghan, after having tasted some sweetmeats, rose on his legs and said: ‘O Abd-ul Khader, from the time of thy honored ancestors to this day, never the foot of a Moghúl reached this place; he who is now come intends to deceive thee, with garments red and yellow, and with victuals pleasing and sweet, which are coveted by those who are slaves of their belly, but which are abhorrent to the rule of durvishes: the best measure therefore is to put him to death, as an example to terrify others from coming hither.’ But Abd-ul Khader and his mother, Bíbí Aláí, the daughter of Míyan Jelal eddin, would not agree to it. On the day when Abd-ul Khader visited the camp of Sâíd Khán, his horse was frightened at the noise of the kettle-drums and horns, and dashed from amid the crowd to one side; an Afghan observed: ‘The horse executes what the lord Miyan Róshen has ordered, but you do not; be sure you shall suffer from the after-sickness of this debauch.’ Abd-ul Khader asked: ‘What has Miyan ordered?’ The Afghan replied: ‘To keep at a distance, and to beware of the Moghuls.’” When Abd-ul Khader presented himself at the court of the lord Abúl Mazafer Shaháb-eddin Muhammed, Sáheb-i-Kerán sání Amír al Múmenín shah Jehan Pádshah, gházy, “the victorious,” he was elevated to a high rank. In the year of the Hejira 1043 (A. D. 1633-4) he reached his last day, and was buried at Paishaver.
Mirza, the son of Núr-eddín, lived in the reign of the lord Amír al Múmenín Shah Jehán, and was killed in the battle of Dóulet-abad. Kerimdad, the son of Jelal eddin, was delivered up by the tribe of the Jelalian to Muhammed Yakub Kashmírí, the Vakíl, “agent,” of Sâíd Khán Terkhán, and he was put to death in the year of the Hejira 1048 (A. D. 1638-9). Alhedád Khán, the son of Jelal-eddin, having been honored with the title of Rashíd Khán, was appointed to a command of four thousand in the Dekan, and ended the term of this life in the year of the Hejira 1058 (A. D. 1648-9).[34]
[32] According to Akhun Derwazch (of whom hereafter) Bayazid had five sons. Khair eddin is placed between the last mentioned above.
[33] Jelál-eddin, although supported by many, was strongly opposed by some of the Afghan tribes; other mixed tribes never adopted the Rosheniah creed. Among the last were the Házárahs, distinct from the Afghans and Moghuls; their original seat is supposed to have been between Herat and Balkh; but they possessed themselves of a considerable part between Ghazni and Kandahar, in one direction, and between Máidan and Balkh, in the other. We find in the before quoted Memoir of H. T. Colebrooke (As. Res., vol. VII. p. 343): “The Házárahs of Kábul are an innumerable tribe, who reside in Kábul, Ghazni, and Khandahar. Many of them are Shíahs, and adherents of the holy family. At present, among the chiefs of the Shiâhs is Mirza Shádmán, with whom the faithful are well pleased, and of whose incursions the Khárejis of Kabul and Ghuzni bitterly complain.”
[34] We find in the Asiatic Researches (vol. XI. from p. 363 to 418), a translation of this chapter, with a Memoir on the Rosheniah sect by the late Doctor John Leyden, whose early death in Java will ever be regretted as a great loss to Oriental literature. In his researches relative to the language and literature of the Afghans, he met with a work in the Afghan or Pashtu languge, entitled Makhan Afhganí, a miscellaneous compilation on the ritual and moral practice of Islam, composed by Akhun (Mulla) Derwezeh, a character celebrated in Afghanistan chiefly for his sanctity, and belonging to the tribe of Tajek. This word in general signifies “peasant, or cultivator of ground;” but is in particular applied to those who are not Arabs, and by the Moghuls to the natives of Iran, who are neither of Arab nor Moghul extraction, probably of a mixed origin. They extend from the mountains of Chetár, in Kashgar, as far as Balkh and Kandahar, and live either under their own chiefs, or subject and tributary to the Afghans, Turkmans, or Usbek Tartars, among whom they reside. The Tajiks always showed themselves adverse to the Rosheniahs, and Akhun Derwezeh in the said work contradicts and blames the tenets and opinions of Bayazid, whom he calls the “master of darkness.” In the extract given by Leyden, of Derwezeh’s account, we see that the doctrine of the Rosheniahs coincided in several points with that of the Ismaîlahs: Bayazid, in like manner as the latter, established eight degrees of perfection, through which his sectaries were to pass, and which led to an entire dereliction of all positive religion, and an unrestrained licentiousness in manners and practices. The account given by the author of the Dabistan is far from provoking so severe a blame. As to the history of Bayazid’s life and that of his son—highway robbery, devastation, and bloodshed are evidently practised by them, in the recital of both authors. The Memoir of the learned Leyden abounds with curious and important information respecting the Afghan tribes, to which the present events in Western India can but lend a higher interest. Some reputed followers of Bayazid are still to be found both in Paishavir and Kabul, most numerous among the wild tribes of the Yusefzei.