‘GAZETTEER OF PERSIA VOL. I Comprising the Provinces of ASTARÁBÁD, SHÁHRUD-BÚSTAN, KHÚRÁSÁN, AND SÍSTÁN’ [‎243v] (493/722)

440
of the Prophet of Arabia have relaxed from the primitive principles of
their religion, and have granted a species of adoration, not only to him
and his & immediate descendants, but to a number of learned or pious
men who have been canonized as saints. The feeling of gratitude
and ^ veneration, which ‘their conduct of individuals first created, has
cn-own by excessive indulgence and by the ardour of passions excited by
contrary opinions, into sacred reverence and devotion. Their very garments
have become relics of inestimable value ; and in the course of time the same
properties have been assigned to them as are supposed to have belonged
to their possessors. From'this common progress of superstition hardly one
of the numerous sects into which the Muhammadan religion is divided can
be deemed exempt. The Shiahs not only pay this species of devotion at
the principal shrines that have been mentioned, but have an immense num
ber of inferior saints and martyrs, at whose tombs they offer up their pray
ers Every village in Persia can boast of some Shaikh, or holy person,
whose character has obtained him a local reputation that has rendered his
shrine sacred among the few acquainted with his name.
The Shiahs observe the same feasts as the Sunnis ; but the former
have set aside the ten first days of the month of Muharram to mourn over the
cruel fate of Husain and Hasan, the sons of All. On the last days of this
feast they beat their breasts with violence, and, calling on the names of the two
martyrs, they pour curses on the heads of their enemies. It is during this
ceremony that the lower order of the Shiahs give offence to the Sunnis, by
publicly cursing the three first khalifahs, and particularly Umar. The
Shiahs also observe a feast on the day upon which, according to their tradi
tions, Muhammad named All his successor—an occurrence which the Sunnis
uGR V.
It has been before stated that the Persians refuse their assent to many
of the traditions admitted by the Sunnis; and the latter also reject many
which their opponents deemed authentic, as these traditions not only lelate
to the faith, but the form of prayer, and to the usages and laws of those
who believe in them. There are several points of practice, both in religious
worship and civil usages, on which these sects differ widely from each
other. * They neither agree in the manner of performing their ablutions,
nor in the mode of holding their hands when at prayer. They also differ
in the law of divorce ; and the Persians admit a legal concubinage, by which
the parties are united for a limited period—a practice that is deemed by
the Sunnis a great profanation of the divine law. It would, however, be
endless to describe the minute differences which exist between the two sects.
All those that are essential have been noticed, and more is not necessary to
convey a full idea of their opposite and irreconcileable nature.
It has already been observed that the establishment pf the Shiah _ faith
as the national religion of Persia gave to a country in which patriotism
was unknown a principle of union of equal, if not greater force. The
Persians, however, are not so violent at present as they once were in their
religious prejudices. They deem their Sunni neighbours as lost in error; but
they do not term them infidels. “They are believers/' they say, “because
they recognise the holy mission of Muhammad, and worship God; but they
have forfeited their claim/' they add, “ to be denominated Faithful, by
their adoption of those who refused allegiance and acted with cruelty
towards the nephew, the daughter, and the lineal descendants of the holy
Prophet. The Sunni are not so charitable in their sentiments of the