The founder of the Alwānīs laid out the first rules of this novitiate; they were subsequently perfected by the institution of the Qādirīs, and more so by the K͟halwatīs. The darweshes of these two last societies are distinguished in some countries by the decoration of their turban, on the top of which are embroidered the words “Lā ilāha illā ʾllāh” (There is no god but God).
The tests of the novice among the Maulawīs seem to be still more severe, and the reception of these dervishes is attended with ceremonies peculiar to their order. The aspirant is required to labour in the convent or takyah 1,001 successive days in the lowest grade, on which account he is called the kārrā kolak (jackal). If he fails in this service only one day, or is absent one night, he is obliged to recommence his novitiate. The chief of the kitchen, or ashjibāshī, one of the most notable of the darweshes, presents him to the shaik͟h, who, seated in an angle of the sofā, receives him amid a general assembly of all the darweshes of the convent. The candidate kisses the hand of the shaik͟h, and takes a seat before him on a mat, which covers the floor of the hall. The chief of the kitchen places his right hand on the neck, and his left hand on the forehead of the novice, whilst the shaik͟h takes off his cap and holds it over his head, reciting the following Persian distich, the composition of the founder of the order:—
“It is true greatness and felicity to close the heart to all human passions; the abandonment of the vanities of this world is the happy effect of the victorious strength given by the grace of our Holy Prophet.”
These verses are followed by the exordium of the Takbīr, “Allāhu akbar—God is great,” after which the shaik͟h covers the head of the new darwesh, who now rises and places himself with the Ashjibāshī in the middle of the hall, where they assume the most humble posture, their hands crossed upon the breast, the left foot over the right foot, and the head inclined towards the left shoulder. The shaik͟h addresses these words to the head of the kitchen:—
“May the services of this darwesh, thy brother, be agreeable to the throne of the Eternal, and in the eyes of our Pīr (the founder of the order); may his satisfaction, his felicity, and his glory grow in this nest of the humble, in the cell of the poor; let us exclaim ‘Hū!’ in honour of our Maulawī.”
They answer “Hū!” and the accepted novice, arising from his place, kisses the hand of the shaik͟h, who at this moment addresses to him some paternal exhortations on the subject of the duties of his new condition, and closes by ordering all the darweshes of the meeting to recognise and embrace their new brother.
The following is said to be the usual method of admitting a Muḥammadan to the order of a ba sharʿ faqīr in India. Having first performed the legal ablutions, the murīd (disciple) seats himself before the murshid (spiritual guide). The murshid then takes the murīd’s right hand, and requires of him a confession of sin according to the following form:—
“I ask forgiveness of the great God than Whom there is no other deity, the Eternal, the Everlasting, the Living One: I turn to Him for repentance, and beg His grace and forgiveness.”
This, or a similar form of repentance, is repeated several times. The murīd then repeats after the murshid:—
“I beg for the favour of God and of the Prophet, and I take for my guide to God such a one (here naming the murshid) not to change or to separate from him. God is our witness. By the great God. There is no deity but God. Amen.”