‘GAZETTEER OF PERSIA VOL. I Comprising the Provinces of ASTARÁBÁD, SHÁHRUD-BÚSTAN, KHÚRÁSÁN, AND SÍSTÁN’ [‎248v] (503/722)

450
who can read a few sentences of Arabic, which entitles him to perform the
ceremonies at a marriage or funeral, to make out common deeds, and to
decide on plain and obvious cases. When subjects of intricacy occur, this
officer refers to the kazi of the neig‘hbourino , town, by whom the cause
is often carried before the court of the shaikh-ul-Islam, or supreme judo-e
of the provincial capital.
There is also in Persian courts an officer who bears the name of f mufti ’
but who has none of those great powers which are associated with that
title in Turkey. His duty is more to prepare an exposition of the case
before the court, and to aid with his advice, than to decide; but as this
office requires a man of learning, his opinion often influences the judgment
of his superiors.
The lower ranks of the priesthood in Persia are seldom entitled to a share
of that praise which has been bestowed upon some of the superior branches
of this order. They neither enjoy nor can expect popular fame, as their
situations are not permanent; and they seldom rise by gradation to the
higher ranks of their profession. They are exposed to great temptations
and receive with their office but a very limited income. We can, there
fore, believe that there is truth in those accusations, which represent them
as being in general as ignorant as they are corrupt and bigoted.
The art and venality of the kazis and mu]las of Persia are often
noticed by the writers of that kingdom; and the character of this class
has almost always been drawn in the harshest colours by European travel
lers. One eminent Christian merchant, who resided many years in Persia,
and who enlightened Europe by his observations on that country, states
that “ nothing but the establishment of the ‘ urf/ or customary law, which
is administered by the secular magistrates, could enable a person, not of
the Muhammadan faith, to carry on any commercial transactions in Persia,
as the bigotry of the priests, and the strict letter of the only law which
they administer, that of the Kuran and the traditions, would operate to
deprive him of every hope of justice/' This writer The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping. asserts, that “ when an
application was made to the courts of ‘ shara ' against a bankrupt, he was
so sheltered under its forms and prescriptive laws, that even his goods
could not be seized for the payment of his debts. But if the suit," he adds,
“ was transferred before the lay-magistrate, who decided by the customary
law, it was only necessary to authenticate the demands against him to obtain
an order for the seizure and sale of his property to satisfy them."
The ‘urf/ or customary law, which is administered by the king, his lieu
tenants, the rulers of provinces, governors of cities, lay-magistrates of towns,
managers and collectors of districts, and heads of villages, aided by all the
different subordinate officers who act under their authority, bears some
resemblance in its cognizance of petty offences to that kind of authoidty
which, in better ordered communities, is vested in magistrates of police.
But the magistrates in Persia always exercise the chief local authority, and
consequently are above the law, instead of being checked by it. Their
decrees are instantly enforced by the strong hand of power. They are
prompt and arbitrary in their decisions ; and as they seldom bestow much
time in the consideration of evidence, they are continually liable to commit
in justice, even if their intentions are pure. The principal check upon them
is the. dread of superiors, to whom the injured may always appeal. But it
is easier to explain the duties than to describe the conduct of men who
regulate their actions by the varying disposition of the despot of the day,