Chapter VIII: 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_.

CHAPTER X.

OF THE RELIGION OF THE ILAHÍAH: IN FOUR SECTIONS.

SECTION I.――On the appearance of the Khalifet of God, and some of
the miracles, called _Burhan_.

SECTION II.――On the dispute of the professors of different religions
and creeds in the service of the lord, the Khalifet of God, and the
Burahin of the Khalifet of God.

SECTION III.――On the virtues of the stars.

SECTION IV.――On the ordinances of conduct.