THE TRIAL OF MULLA ‘ALI BASTAMI: A COMBINED SUNNI-SHI‘I FATWA AGAINST THE BAB By Moojan Momen® The history of the BabT movement in nineteenth-century Iran has been but little studied in recent years, and most of what has appeared has concentrated on the last three years of the Bab’s mission (1848-50), during which Iran was convulsed by a series of upheavals caused by the new movement. The first year of the Bab’s mission (1844-5) is, however, also of great interest, and the episode which forms the subject of this article, the trial of Mulla “Ali Bastami, was one of the most important episodes of that year. As well as being the first occasion on which the new movement encountered the opposition of the ulama, it was a crucial turning point in the development of the Babi movement, and is not without interest to students of Islam in that I do not know of any other occasion, at least in modern times, when Sunni and Shi" ulama have combined to give a fatwa." This is also said to have been the first occasion on which the Ottoman authorities officially recognized the Sh sect.? Accordingly, I give a brief account of the life of Mulla Alt and some of the events leading up to his wal in Baghdad; then the text of the fatwa, together with a translation and commentary; and finally, some conclusions relating to the claims of the Bab that may be drawn from this episode and the fatwa document. Mull ‘Alt: his early life and the Shaikh period Mulla ‘Ali was a native of one of the villages in the vicinity of Bastém in Khurasan. He obtained his early education in his hometown and, under pressure from his parents and relatives, married and started a family. He proceeded to Mashhad, where he received instruction from the eminent ulama there. He was noted for his sincerity and zeal for seeking out and investigating religious matters, and it was this trait that led him to one of the Shaikhi ulama; soon he accepted the Shaikhi doctrines and entered into communication with Sayyid Kazim Rashtt (1212-59/1797-1844) the Shaikht leader, who wwas resident in Karbala. He became so captivated by the Shaikht teaching that he left his home and family and set out for Karbala, where he attended the lectures of Sayyid Kazim for seven years. At the ‘end of this time, his parents and family, distressed by his prolonged absence from his home and family, came to Karbala and obtained Sayyid Kazim’s approval for the eager scholar’s return to his home-town. However, Mulli “Ali found it impossible to live at home, and before long had returned to his master at Karbala.” Events in Karbala after the death of Sayyid Kazim Mulla Ali was present in Karbala when Sayyid Kazim died in January 1844. This event caused a crisis in the Shaikhi community, since Sayyid Kazim had steadfastly refused to nominate a successor to the leadership of the movement. Shaikhism, since the talfir pronounced against its founder Shaikh Abmad al-Ahsa’i by Mulli Muhammad-Taqi Baraghant in about 1822, had become a suspect move- ‘ment in the eyes of orthodox Shiis. Even at its headquarters in Karbal it had a powerful enemy in the person of Sayyid Ibrahim Qazvini. Thus the Shaikhis no doubt felt under considerable pressure to tunite under a leader and thereby to counter opposition more effectively. There was also a degree of doctrinal pressure upon the Shaikhis to find a new leader. One of the major differences between the Shaikhis and the Orthodox Shi‘is was the doctrine of the Fourth Support. According to this, the This is a slightly modified form of a paper that was presented at the fourth Baba’T Studies Seminar at the University of Lancaster, April 1990, Ie covers some of the same ground, although from 2 different point of view, as Denis MacEoin’s “unpublished paper, "The Shaykhi Reaction to Bébism inthe Early Period." The present author is grateful o Dr. MacEoin for ‘drawing his attention to this very interesting area of stady, He is also very grateful to Dr. Martin Hinds forthe considerable fssistance that he gave with the translation ofthe fatua document, 11314 JOURNAL OF PERSIAN STUDIES Fourth Principle (qs) of the religion of Islam was that there should always exist upon the earth a Perfect Shi (al-Shit al-amil) whom it was the duty of all believers to find and to follow in all matters, By implication, this Perfect Shi had been the founder of the Shaikhi school, Shaikh Ahmad al-Absa’T, and his chosen successor, Sayyid Kazim Rashii. Now with the death of the latter, the Shaikhis were under doctrinal pressure to find a new leader. Sayyid Kazim had given few clues as to what the Shaikhis should do after his death, although according to several accounts, he had predicted by several months his own demise. Nowhere in his writings is there any firm statement on this matter and, as may be expected, oral accounts of his final instructions to his pupils are highly partisan, according to whether the narrator later became a BabT or remained a Shaikhi. According to al-Qail ibn al-Karbala’t, presumably the pseudonym of a Shaikht of Karbala who later became a Babi, Sayyid Kazim had said shortly before his death, “Are you not happy that I should die and that the cause of your Imam be made manifest?” According to Muhammad Karim Khan Kirmani, one of the contenders for the Shaikhi leadership and an opponent of the Bab, “When someone asked him [i.e. Sayyid Kazim] concerning his successor, he said, ‘God has an affair, which he will bring to fruition.’ ”* ‘Thus there was considerable perplexity and confusion among the Shaikhi community in Karbala in January 1844 following Sayyid Kazim’s death. There were a number of prominent Shaikhis who ‘were possible contenders for the leadership: Mirza Mubit Kirmani and Mirza Hasan Gawhar in Karbala itself; Muhammad Karim Khan Kirmani in Kirman; and Mirza Shafi, Thigat al-Islam, in Tabriz. Also, Sayyid Ahmad, Sayyid Kazim’s son, was a possible contender.* However, there was no consensus among the Shaikhis as to which of these should become the leader. Moreover, many con- sidered that, had Sayyid Kazim intended one of these to succeed, it would have been simple enough to appoint him, whereas he had only made cryptic references to his successor, together with (according to some accounts) admonitions to his followers to go out and search for his successor. The following is an account of the confusion by the above-mentioned al-Qatil ibn al-Karbala’t A group of the fullab of Sayyid Kazim who could distinguish water from wine were perplexed as to where they should go and to whom they should cleave. So they came to Mulla Hasan Gavhar, who claimed trusteeship (wisdya), and Mirza Mubtg, who claimed superintendency (nzzara), and asked them, “You appeared to be the closest people to the Bab lie. Sayyid Kazim] and nearest to His Honour. Did you not hear anything from His Honour concerning the successorship alter him2". The former said, “I did not hear anything,” while the latter said, “I have something, but I will not say it now, and itis vital that you do not leave Karbala.” There became current among the people, by way of a rumour from another source, thatthe Sayyid al-Bab had said, “The affair will be made manifest one year after me.” On account of this, the scekers were hopeful and those who had decided to travel were hesitating for about four months, thinking that pethaps Mubit was being truthful in his summons—for even a liar sometimes speaks the truth. Until, when they despaired of it and there appeared from the two of them actions at which the heart is disgusted and of which itis loath to write, they scattered in all direc tions (ayddi al-saba) to the deserts, co the wastelands, .o the wilderness and o the open country, and they took refuge in shrines, cemeteries, mosques and minbars.” The Bab What seems to have then occurred was a polarization of the Shaikhi community into a group headed by the older, established leaders such as Mirza Muhit and Mirza Hasan Gawhar, who decided to remain in Karbala and consolidate their position there, and a group of the younger Shaikhis, who decided to leave Karbala in search of a new leader. As was traditional, this younger group retired for a period of forty days’ fasting and prayer (ida), seeking guidance in their quest. The most prominent among this group was Mulli Husain Bushra’r, who had recently returned from a highly successful mission, obtaining the approval of the renowned Mulla Muhammad-Bagir Shaftt and Mirza ‘Askari for the Shaikhi position. Also among this group was Mulla ‘Ali Bastami who, according to Nabil, “was ‘endowed with such vast learning, and was so deeply conversant with the teachings of Shaikh Ahmad, that many regarded him as even superior to Mulla Husain.”"* Mulla, Husain, having been the first to begin itikdf, was also the first to leave, having completed his forty days. He left with his brother and cousin and shortly after, on 25 Rabi 11/14 May, Mulla Ali with a group of Shaikhis also left. The intention of these young Shaikhis as they left Kifa appears to‘THE TRIAL OF MULLA SALT BASTAMT: 4 COMBINED SUN HITFATWA AGAINST THE BAB 115 have been to travel to Kirman in order to consult with Muhammad Karim Khan and to investigate the possibility that he might be the one intended by Sayyid Kazim to lead them. That this was their intention is indicated in several sources, including the following which purports to be a statement of Mulla Husain himself, made on the way from Karbala: It has not been determined where 1 am to go; but I believe that I may go to Kirman and see H Mulyammad Karim Khan, ast may be that the Sayyid mean hat should enter the service ofthe Imam through However, on the route between Karbala and Kirman lay Shiraz, which Mull Husain entered on 22 May 1844. It was here that he encountered Sayyid ‘Ali Muhammad Shirazi, who, at their first meeting wrote the first stra of the Qayyiim al-asma” (Commentary on the Qur'anic Sara of Yasuf) and put forward his claim. The exact nature of this claim will be discussed below; suffice it to say here that Sayyid Ali Muhammad took for himself the title of Bab and that he put forward a claim which Mulla Husain accepted." Some time in late June, Mulla ‘AIT and his party arrived in Shiraz." Mulla “AIT also accepted the Bab’s claims,” being given the title Thanf man dmana, “the second who believed” (Mulla Husain having of course been the first). Following Mulla ‘Ali's acceptance of the Bab, others of his party, as well as. Mulla Husain’s companions, accepted the Bab’s claim. Together with Fatima Bigumn Baraghant (better known by her titles of Qurrat al-CAin and Tahira), who was not physically present in Shiraz but was accepted into this group by virtue of a letter that she had written, and Mulla Muhammad ‘Ali Barfurtishi (who was given the title Quddiis and was to become the Bab’s leading disciple), the last to arrive, this initial nucleus of the Bab’s followers numbered eighteen and were called Hurif-1 hayy—"the Letters of the Living” (hayy equalling eighteen in Abjad notation). There followed a short period of time during which there was no attempt to enroll any further disciples. The Bab must have met frequently with the “Letters of the Living”, but we have virtually no information as to what occured at these meetings. Also, during this time the Bab completed the writing of the Qayyiim al-asma’and some other works. Mulla “AUS mission to frag The approach of the season of the Hajj marked the termination of this period of contact between, the Bab and the “Letters of the Living”. The Bab intended to go to Mecca on the Hajj in order to announce his claim to the Sharif of Mecca, the Custodian of the Ka‘ba. He therefore planned to disperse the “Letters of the Living” in order that they might propagate his claim. There is no state~ ‘ment of the Bab’s specific instructions to the “Letters of the Living” to be found in any of the sources, but from statements made in various places we may surmize that the following were included among them (1) that the “Letters of the Living” were to travel to specific destinations, often their own home- towns, in Iran, Iraq and India; (2) at each place on the way and at their final destination, they were to announce the Bab’s claim. and the imminent advent of the Hidden Imam; (3) they were not to reveal the Bab’s specific identity until such time as the Bab returned from the Hajy, having completed his announcement there; (A) they were to record the names of those who accepted the message in groups of 19 and 361 (equivalent to wakid and kullu shay’ respectively); (5) they were to instruct those who accepted the message to proceed to Karbala where the Hidden Imam would emerge; (6) it would appear that on these initial journeys, the “Letters of the Living” contacted primarily the Shaikhis in each town, It is not however apparent whether this was on the instructions of the Bab or whether it was a natural result of the fact that the “Lewers of the Living” were themselves former pupils of Sayyid Kazim. In dispersing his disciples, the Bab sent Mulla Husain to Tehran, and thence to Khurasan, Quddtis was chosen to accompany the Bab on his pilgrimage, while to Mulla “AIT was given the impor-16 JOURNAL OF PERSIAN STUDIES tant task of delivering the message to the region of the Holy Shrines at Karbala and Najaf, the head- ‘quarters of the Shaikhi movement and the heartland of orthodox Shifism. Mulla AIT arrived in Iraq in early August 1844. He went first to Najaf where his most important task was to deliver a message from the Bab to Shaikh Muhammad Hasan Najaft (ca 1202-66/1788-1850) the foremost Shi‘ myjtahid of the day.” The Iraqi historian ‘Alf al-Wardi seems to follow the Baha’ historian Nabil-i A°am in describing Mulla “Ali's interview with him: ‘Then he i.e. Mulla‘Ali] came to Najaf when Shaikh Muhammad Hasan, author of the Jawahir, held religious leadership there. He entered the assembly of the Shaikh and fearlessly announced that the Promised One whom they were awaiting had appeared in Shiraz. He began to bring forward proofs to them of the cruth ofthe claim of the Bab, saying, in describing him, “‘His proof is his verses, his miracle is the same miracle by which Islam is recognized as being the truth. From the pen of this Hashimite youth, who has never entered madrasas, there have streamed, within the space of forty-eight hours, verses and prayers which equal the size of the Qur'an, which came down from Muhammad, the Apostle of God, in the course of twenty-three years.” These words were like a cannon-ball exploding in that assembly and all those present rose up against Basti In Karbala, Mulla AIT informed the leading Shaikhis of the claims of the Bab. Sayyid Jawad Karbala’t has recorded the following concerning Mulla “Ali's arrival in Karbala: ‘When in the year 1260 (18441, the late Mulla ‘All Bastami returned from Shiraz to Karbala and announced his and his companions’ success in recognizing the Bab, a mighty commotion and upheaval appeared among the people of learning. And, on account ofthe piety, virtue and position of the late Basti, mention of the appear- ance of the Bab spread and gained prevalence. But Mulla ‘lt confined himself to mentioning the title of that personage only and refused t0 mention his name. He would say, ““The Bab has appeared and we have attained his presence, but he has forbidden us to mention his name or from what family he is. However, soon his cal shall ‘be raised and his name and family shall be known to all.” In any case, a strange tumult arose in Iraq and in every gathering there was mention of the appearance of the Bab. Everyone would say something and each would speculate on who the Bab was. But the one person that no one considered was the Primal Point (ie. Sayyid‘Alt Muhammad Shirazi} on account of his youthfulness and his occupation as a merchant. For all thought and all ‘were certain that the Gate (Bab) of Divine Knowledge would be from one of the learned families and not from the merchant class. And most ofthe Shaikhts considered that he must of course be one of the eminent disciples of Sayyid | Kazim) Rashi? As a result of this commotion and of the anger of Shaikh Muhammad Hasan, Mulla AIT was arrested and handed over to the government authorities. He was brought to Baghdad and put in prison there by Najib Pasha, the Walt of Baghdad. Mirzd Mustafa Baghdadi, whose father was a leading Shaikht of Baghdad at this time, describes what ensued ‘And when the messenger (ie. Mulld‘Alf| came to Baghdad, the governor imprisoned him and placed the books and leuer in the council chamber (al-majs). My father Shaikh Muhammad used to visit the messenger in prison every day and heard the Word of God from him for three months. He used to teach what he heard to the seckers and, in this brief time, many ofthese people became believers; for example... (Mirzi Mustaft here gives a list of names). And when government saw that the aflar was gaining ground day by day, the aforementioned Wall, Najfb Pasha, ordered the ulama from all parts to present themselves in Baghdad." The commotion caused by Mulla ‘Alf did not escape the notice of Major Rawlinson, the British Consul in Baghdad. On 8 January 1845 he wrote I have the honor to report for Your Excellency's information the following circumstances which are at present causing much excitement at this place, and which threaten in their consequences to give rise to renewed misunderstanding between the Persian and Turkish Governments. ‘About three months ago, an inferior priest of Shiraz appeared in Kerbela, bearing a copy of the Koran, ‘which he stated to have been delivered to him by the fore-runner of the Imam Mehdi, to be exhibited in token of his approaching advent. The book proved on examination to have been altered and interpolated in many essential passages, the object being, to prepare the Mohammedan world for the immediate manifestation of the Imam, and to identify the individual to whom the emendations of the text were declared to have been revealed, as his inspired & true precursor. It was in consequence pronounced by a part of the Sheeah divines at Nejef and Kerbela, to be a blasphemous production, and the priest of Shiraz was warned by them of the danger, which he incurred in giving currency to its contents—but a considerable section nevertheless of the Sheeahs of Nejef, who‘THE TRIAL OF MULLA SALT BASTAME: A COMBINED SUNNI-SHT T FATWA AGAINST THE BAB 117 under the name of Usilé, or “Transcendentalists”, have lately risen into notice as the disciples of the High Priest Sheikh Kazem, and who are in avowed expectation of the speedy advent of the Imam, adopted the proposed readings, and declared themselves ready to join the Precursor, as soon as he should appear amongst them— ‘These parties owing to local dissensions, were shortly afterwards denounced to the Govt. by the orthodox Sheeas as heretics, and attention being thus drawn to the perverted copy of the Koran, upon which they rested their belief, the volume was seized & its bearer being brought to Baghdad, was cast into prison, as a blasphemer against Islam and a disturber of the publie peace.” ‘Then Najib Pasha gathered an impressive assembly of Sunni and Shr ulama drawn from the most eminent divines of Baghdad, Najaf, Karbala and Kazimain. Major Rawlinson with perspicacity wrote The Soonee Priesthood have taken up the case in a rancorous spirit of bigotry, and their inveteracy has enlisted the sympathies of the entire Sheeah sect, in favor of the imprisoned Persian; instead in fact of a mere dispute between two rival schools in the town of Nejef, the question has now become one of virulent contest, between the Soonee & Sheeah sects, or which is the same thing in this part of the Ottoman Empire, between the Turkish & Persian population Nejib Pasha at the same time, to give all due formality to his proceedings, and to divest the affair of the appearance of mere sectarian persecution, has brought in the chief Priests from Nejef and Kerbela, to hold a solemn Court of Inquisition in conjunction with the heads of the Soonee religion in Baghdad, but I do not anticipate much benefit from this compulsory and most unwilling attendance of the former parties. They will probably make an effort to save the life of their unfortunate countryman, proposing the banishment of the messenger and of the heads of the Ustif sec, as the simplest method of suppressing the heresy, but they will be intimidated and overruled, and I greatly fear that sentence of death will be recorded against the Shirazce by a ‘of the members of the court, and against all who promulgate and adopt the readings of his spurious Accounts of the trial itself are somewhat confused and contradictory. There seem to be three basically different accounts of what occurred. The reports of the British consul and accounts given in hifi histories concur in the fact that there was a fundamental disagreement between the Sunni and ‘Shi ulama over the guilt of Mulla ‘Ali. Rawlinson reported: ‘The court of Inquisition convened for the trial of the Persian priest, was held on Monday last, H. E. Nejib Pasha presiding, and Moola Abdool Azeez [sc the Iranian Consul] being also present, to afford his countenance to the accused. The perverted copy of the Koran being produced in Court, was unanimously condemned as a blasphemous production, and parties avowing a belief in the readings which it contained, were declared to be liable to the punishment of death. It was then argued whether or not the Shirazee had thus avowed his belief ina blasphemous production—he himself distinctly repudiated the charge, and although witnesses were brought forward, who stated that he had in their presence declared his adoption of the spurious text, of which he was the bearer, yet as there was reason to suspect the fidelity oftheir evidence, the Sheeah divines were disposed to give him the benefit of his present disavowal. Afier much discussion the Soonee law-offcers adjudged the culprit to be convicted of blasphemy & passed sentence of death on him accordingly, while the Sheeahs returned a verdict, that he was only guilty ofthe dissemination of blasphemy & liable in consequence to no heavier punishment than imprisonment or banishment. The criminality of other parties implicated in the affair was then argued, and the same difference of opinion was found to prevail between the Sheeah & Soonee divines—the former admitted the importance of adopting measures for the suppression of the Usilf heresy, and recommended that parties openly avowing a belief in the expected immediate advent of the Imam, should be removed from Kerbila and Nejef, while the Soonees unanimously declared that all such parties were guilty of blasphemy & subject to the punish: ‘ment of death. The different opinions have been duly recorded & attested, and a reference on the subject will be immediately made to Constantinople by H. E. Nejib Pasha, the Persian priest remaining in confinement, pending the receipt of instructions, as to his ultimate disposal. understand that considerabie uneasiness is beginning to display itself at Kerbela & Nejef, in regard to the expected manifestation of the Imam, and 1 am apprehensive that the measures now in progress will rather increase than allay the excitement.” Agha Buzurg Tihrant in his biography of Shaikh Hasan ibn Shaikh Jafar, Kashifal-Ghita’, writes: ‘And when the gathering of the Wali was assembled in the presence of the mufit of Baghdad, the mut decreed the death of the man i.e. Mull ¢Alil, not accepting his repentance. {Shaikh Hasan] opposed this, and instructed that he be called on to repent, and said, “Ihe repens his repentance should be accepted according to18 JOURNAL OF PERSIAN STUDIES the Shar*” The wo disputed for a long time until [Shaikh Hasan] proved his case according to the Hanafi school of law, and demonstrated it through their books. And he had victory over the mufti in that assembly.” The second conilicting version of the events comes from the BabI and Baha’T sources, which make ‘no mention of the Shi“-Sunni disagreement but deny that Mulli “Ali recanted his belief. The following, is the account of the trial in Mirza Mustafa al-Baghdadi’s autobiographical sketch [And the messenger ie. Mulla ‘All| was summoned to that awesome meeting, and they asked him con- ceming the author of the cause and he answered, “The awaited Spirit of Truth has appeared, and he is the one promised in the writings (suhu/) of God and His books.” He recited to them some of the verses and prayers and summoned them to believe. So the cause became of great importance to them, and they arose 1o denounce it and remonstrated with arrogance. They concurred in pronouncing his unbelief, and decreed the death and annihila- tion of the messenger." Thirdly, there is the conflicting evidence of Najib Pasha’s own report and the fatwa document itself (translated below). In Najib Pasha’s account to the Sublime Porte of the trial, itis reported that Mulla “Ali refused to impart the name of the author of the book and denied knowledge of its contents This report confirms that it was because of the fact that the book was continuing to be circulated, despite Mulla ‘Al's imprisonment, that Najib Pasha called the meeting of the ulama. In this report and in the fatwa document there is no trace of any disagreement between the Sunni and Shi ulama, although it may be noted that the Shi ulama have carefully worded their fatwds to exclude any mention of putting Mulla ‘Ali to death, while the death sentence is emphatically pronounced in the {fatwas of Sayyid Mahmad, the mufti and most of the other Sunni ulama. What then happened to Shaikh Hasan’s much-vaunted victory over Sayyid Mahmad? Could it be that, afier all the ulama’s wrangling over what should be their attitude should Mulla CAIT repent, he refused to do so when summoned to the court? The Fatwa The fatwa is a document measuring 79.5 cm by 28.5 cm. The top of 27 cm of the page is the sual and the rest of the page is the jawab. The su’al section consists of the basic question asked of the assembled ulama, which occupies some four lines of the text followed by numerous quotations from the text of the Qayyiim al-asma’ in support of the charges. The jawab consists of the individual, signed and sealed fatwas of twenty Sunni and ten Shri ulama, The Sunnis are placed first, with the pro- nouncement of Sayyid Mahmad al-Alasf, the famous mufti of Baghdad, being by far the longest and placed in the top left hand corner. The Shi fatwéds are placed below, with that of Shaikh Hasan ibn Shaikh Ja‘lar being the longest and placed in the top left hand corner of the Shit portion. T have broken up the sw’él portion into sections and numbered them for easier reference. Line numbers are indicated in brackets. The fatwas are numbered from left to right along the lines. I have compared the text of the quotations from the Quyyiim al-asma’ with a copy of this book transcribed by Muhammad Mahdi ibn Karbala’t on the instructions of Mulla Husain Bushra'T for the Amir of Qa’inat in 1261/1845 (hereinafier referred to as the Qa’inat ms.) and a copy in the Cambridge Uni- versity Library (ms. F 11 of the Browne collection), transcribed by Mirai Aga Khan Kirmant on the instructions of Shaikh Ahmad Rai at Istanbul in 1309/1891-2 (hereinafter referred to as F 11). Some parts of these passages are also contained in Muntakhibat-i ayat az athar-i Hadrat-i Nugta-yi Ula published by the Baha’ls of Iran* (hereinafter referred to as Muntakhibdt). None of these sources has the number of the individual verses indicated. However, since the whole of the Qayyiim al-asma’ is written in. saj° (rhyming prose), I have indicated in the translation an approximate verse number. The names of the sdras are provided in the Qa’inat ms.* CA US NP ell tLe alll po geen! Lake Uo pl ey a tt ia HL eS de I aes CM ype a RN LI yl Eb Gym Ge LAS Cl,‘THE TRIAL OF MULLA SALT BASTAMI: A COMBINED SUNNI-SHIT FATWA AGAINST THE BAB 119 PA, Ib le Gees 1 EE ell gs tees pS! eee Ny MS wk el at got, psthell » dela be Les et OD tl ty elo! toby & GIL Lb eI jLe Oy Ot! oe le a yy De Gy Tei) she ey La wtlls UE SUL a et pe By Yul le Oy ee ny Sy ello ON ge Ja Ny emeel ae TT ey eee ll all le US gp bres thee AS dey Vp USS bee AS LG Yost y cape bed 1 YG) etl boy wy, yd gh wk Ny etl et Fp pl What do the ulama of the Muslims, may God Almighty give victory to the religion through them, say con- ‘cerning a llegally| responsible man who has composed a book and arranged it in siras and made each stra consist ofa set number of verses and given ita title? And he has opened many of them with disconnected letters different from those with which some of the siras of the Noble Qur'an begin. And in these stiras he has made use ‘of Quranic verses and has taken the liberty of adding and subtracting from them. And he has introduced in one Iversel the ending of another verse and he has claimed that this was revealed to him and [that] he was inspired with it, And in it are passages that are provocative; and in it are [positive] commands and prohibitions and a proscription against the ulama teaching anything other than it; and in itis exaggeration concerning what is due {o some of the [Holy] Family, may God Almighty be pleased with them: and in it are innumerable other shame~ ful things. And in it he has sometimes called himself the Remembrance (al-Dhikr) and other times the Gate (al: Bab). And he has produced what shows Ithat he is] making a mockery of religion and making light ofthe Shara of Muhammad) the Prince of Messengers, may God Almighty bless him and his family and all of his com- panions. And so is he an unbeliever by virtue of all that we have mentioned or not? And is the one who has believed in him and has lent him credence in this matter and has assisted him in spreading and propagating it and has preached it to the people an unbeliever or not? Give us a fatwa, may you be rewarded, and tighten the belt of resolve (good judgement) for the sake of the victory of the religion. Commentary: These first five lines of the document represent the basic sual part of the fatwa. The rest of the first half of the document consists of quotations extracted from the copy of the Qayyim al-asma ‘which Mulla Ali had brought with him, which are cited in support of the above charges. ‘Thus the specific charges brought against the Bab may be summarized: (1) That he had produced a book that resembled the Qur'an in its format, with stiras, verses, dis- connected letters, etc (2) That he had taken liberties with the text of the Qur'an, by adding, subtracting and interpolating, (3) That he has claimed this was Divine Revelation (4) That he has exaggerated concerning some of the Holy Family (5) That he has tended to make light of Islam and the Sharia, while exaggerating the importance of his ‘own writings and commands. ‘The fatwa asks for two separate decisions, one on the Ayfr (unbelief) of the author of the work and the second on the question of his followers. The text is somewhat surprising for a document addressed to the ulama of both the Sunni and Shi‘ communities in that in two places, it tends to show a definite Sunnt bias: firstly, in that it brings in the question of “exaggeration concerning what is due (0 some of the [Holy] Family", a question which120 JOURNAL OF PERSIAN STUDIES one would have thought it would have been diplomatic to have omitted in the presence of Shitis; secondly, the honorific towards the end of the passage pointedly refers to “all” of the companions of the prophet, whereas the Shifis do not accept the Sunni sanctification of all of the companions.”* Perhaps this Sunni orientation of the wording merely reflects the fact that the Shi ulama were at a dis advantage in Baghdad, away from their own home ground in Najaf, Karbala and Kazimain and assembled at the bidding of a governor in a Sunni empire; whereas the Sunnt ulama were all very much at home in this environment. The formula aftina ma jrin appears on other fatwé of this period in Iraq.* It is perhaps worth pointing out that there is no mention among the charges of the incorrectness of the Bab’s Arabic grammar and syntax, points which were to form a prominent part of later attacks on the Bab. (2) of MS we dred Sh gk Je be 1) et ch el ob ayy om Slay S diay laps tl Swe Yy ng Mea By I ee ee ad be LY GS I eb Lee! pl Bk he es GL Ges Ny Lk LG TT bl Vee Sa IL Sy Nees WL Sy ape ESM, Ll LH abil poe al Sp GUL CLT UM tle 8 tee SU ape ell oy SS Se Lae BW gly aU gaye ew coil Jee WBN Le preted Vy Vomne etl Gal Ga yk Sl Gal If you wish to hear something providing evidence of what he has mentioned, we would cite what he has writen in the sra Kaf HA Nin (Svat al-Hwsain, LX1, 22): We have inspired you as We inspired Muhammad and those messengers who were before him with clear signs in order that mankind may have no argument against God after the Gates, and truly God has spoken sublime words in the mountain of the beginning. [v.23] And verily wwe bear witness against you in the matter of the verses that God has revealed to you and the angels also bear witness, and God is sufficient as a witness, and the Gates are sufficiently informed of the truth. (v, 24] And those ‘who curse the Remembrance after the Book has brought them the truth, verily God will not forgive them nor will He guide them in the paths of safety but rather in the path of Taghat, away from God. And verily, God has placed the Judgement of all things easiy into the hands of the Remembrance with a wondrous permission. Commentary: These verses are cited in support of charges (1), (2) and (8). In this and most of the following examples, by naming the stiras by their opening disconnected letters or by their names, and occasionally referring to the number of verses in them, the compilers of the su’al seek to substantiate the first charge. With respect to the second charge, there is a striking parallel between this passage and Qur'an, IV, 166-7: “Messengers bringing good tidings and warnings, so that mankind may have no argument against God after [the coming of] the messengers; God is mightly and wise. But God bears witness of what He has revealed to you—He has sent it down with knowledge of Himself, and the angels also bear witness. God is sufficient as a witness!” Support for the third charge is also to be found in this passage where the Bab is clearly claiming Divine Revelation. Words such as awha and anzala‘alé are inextricably bound up with the Muslim view of Divine Revelation, No member of the ulama class could read such a passage without coming to the conclusion that its author was claiming Divine Revelation. ‘The “Gates” in this passage is a reference either to the traditional four Babs of Shi‘T Islam or to Shaikh Ahmad al-Ahsd’i and Sayyid Kazim Rashti, the Shaikhi leaders who were also known as Babs among the Shaikhis and the Babis.”‘THE TRIAL OF MULLA SALT BASTAME: A COMBINED SUNNI-SHITFATWA AGAINST THE BAB 121 GB) Shr Saat GM gaye tS 19] Rebie gL ey ee ES WM @ GN aI LI, po Wat Y otal ego I UN pe oe Ee Ta eal oe Lappe glut NL ok KI Lae be UO! Nae [110] UI LI al oy! J oe aL Wee Jhb UT Gets bed Stl Gall col eles ey ally Wd! o by bid poop! eet tt Buk oS 8 dy [1-11] obo bars For example, there is what he has mentioned in the stira Ta Ha Sad (Surat al-Dhikr, LX, 11): Say: the truth is revealed to me—your God is one God, and there is no God but He. And verily, 1 am the servant of God ‘who was seen in the midst of the Burning Bush (ire). (v. 12] O servants of God! Listen to the cal of the Proof, coming] from the Bab. Verily my Lord God has revealed to me, We have sent down this book to Our servant in order that he may truly be a bearer of both glad tidings and a warning to the worlds. v. 14) God has sent down the book to you with the truth in order that you may judge among the believers with justice concerning that which God has shown you of His signs, and in order that you may turn away from the people of Sijin and its [?His signs’) opponents; and, verily, your Lord watches over all things. Commentary: With regard to the second charge, that of corrupting Qur'anic passages, there are several examples of parallels with the Qur'an in this quotation. V. 11 parallels XXT, 109: “Say, Itis revealed to me that your God is One God”. V. 12 approximates to XXV, 2: “Blessed be He who has sent down the Furqan to His servant that he may be a warner to the worlds”. Whilst v. 14 has parallels to IV, 106: he pylndegd We have sent down the book to you with the truth inorder that you may judge berween the people”. With regard to the terms used in this passage, it should be noted that al-Hujja is one of the titles, of the Hidden Twelfth Imam and thus v. 12 may be translated, “Listen to the call of the Hidden Iman [coming] from the Bab.” () Goh LS LW yb byl os tt hy vSibe, ee ay Lol cal gd aly JB! yl Ipbie phil Se AV ENB oh ecb od ASI Na Jee Wolol Gt bets [1.12] ere Another example is what he has mentioned inthe sara Alf Lam Mim ‘Ayn Strat al-Wahda, XLII, 2]: We have revealed tothe pious ones this book of ours which is written and recorded in verses 'As far as where he says |v. 5]: By your Lord! Were the people of the earth, of the east and of the west, to band together to produce the like ofthis book, they would not be able to do it, even were they to be helped in the matter. Commentary: V. 5 is of course the same statement that is made in the Qur’an, XVII, 89: “Say, If indeed men and jinn come together and agree to produce the like of this Qur'an, they will not produce the like of it, even though one group were helpers to the other."122 JOURNAL OF PERSIAN STUDIES (6) ID ge Mee Sil Se Wy LIL Sie Fd ws ait yea B Gall alll LY GL Wee [1.613] Sorby SoS det WDB GT gh bey Meta Lal gk Gaul sles LU ue» cS eb oly Lents gk cael seme abel Get be Gh ant g Wo IW INI GLEL allot, Le til Gp [1.14] fe RS OBA Le btlss bib BOS pbs [1-15] Ske Wt pl eee ol UE Nie, Saline oe SW LL Stl yb CEG GI Gs Ls bells Ved pl ob pls Y tly Another example isin the stra Kaf Ha Ya Lam (Strat al-Ulya, LX, 121: O people of the Earth! The Remem- brance has come to you after a break lin the succession) of messengers in order that he may purge and purify you from uncleanliness for the days of the one true God. And so strive for bounty from him, for we have set him asa witness and asa source of wisdom for the peoples ofthe earth. {As far as where he says: (v.21 O Solace of the Eye! Convey what has been sent dowen to you out of God’s grace o yous for if you do not , the people shall never know our mystery. And verily God only created the world in order that it may know Him, And verily God has knowledge of all things and is independent of the worlds {w. 22] Say: O People of the Furgan! You are as nothing unless you follow the Remembrance and this book. If you follow the cause of God, we will forgive you your sins, and if you turn aside from our decree, verily in the book we will sentence your souls to the most great fire. Verily we do not deal unjustly with the people even to the extent ofa speck on a date stone. Commentary: This is another passage intended primarily to prove the second charge. The phrase ‘ala fatrat al-rusul occurs in the Qur'an, V, 20. A part of v. 21 is paralleled in V, 68: “O messenger, convey what has been sent down to you from your Lord; and if you do not do it, you have not delivered His message”. The phrase naghfiru lakum khati'atikum occurs in VII, 162. ‘The third charge—that the Bab claimed Divine Revelation—is also borne out by the statement in v. 12 that the Bab is in the “succession of messengers,” and once again by the use of anzala ilé in v. 21 \V. 22 was probably considered by the ulama to be particularly provocative in its statement con- cerning the consequences of rejecting the Babs claim. The fatwa document has inna la nazlimu with a small Allah written over this phrase, which probably represents an incorrect transcription with an attempt by someone to make sense of it. I have used in the text the reading given in the QWinat ms, and F 11 (6) ja [1.26 J ipl pad GUL LI Nha elk Ws Bas bl Thay Geo bay PMI Nn oe Eel Nyame VAD yal Last oe tt SL Sal yoy St Le Ne BW yey et SI SUL prarsbry spemeciterdl ee A Nae ly alll gt Ws gS aU [1.27 I, Jb ol lst So Foe AD pe Lary bk Lame cold gall alll te om‘THE TRIAL OF MULLA SALT BASTAMT: A COMBINED SUNN T-SHI TFATWA AGAINSTTHE BAB 123 pee bt Wet [1.18 JIB ON Gl Nya ale Be UL & ld ce al ae ye LM CULE Goll St ae, SUL tel ox dpb! BN ey FS de a SH al yl Sool Ml ya, Sul WSN ke Gadd aU GL oe Lg pull yy oat, [1.19] Lal beats ae gy LL, UW db Sallloly Lea bill Deb eet UO ale oe quel YW ob [1.20} 5M eho aW {And another example is what he has mentioned in the stira Ta Sin [Strat al-Raha, LX, 1]: We have sent down this book to you that the people may know the truth of the Remembrance, and He is God who has been witness co all things. Iv. 2] As forthe believers, whenever they hear a verse of this book, their eyes overflow with tears and their hearts become enraptured on account of the most great Remembrance of God, the all-praised. ‘And He is God the all-knowing, the eternal. AAs far as where he says: |v. 19] And when I say to those who have joined partners with God; Come to God and to this book which has been sent down from the one true God, they say: Sufficient for us isthe knowledge of the book which we have discovered in the past. And yet, by God, you only know a letter of the knowledge of the book and that toa limited extent ‘As far as where he says: |v. 27] Fear God, O assemblage of kings! Lest ye remain distant from the Remem- brance, alter the truth has come to you, with a book and signs from God, in a wondrous manner, from the tongue of the Remembrance. ‘As far as where he says: \v. 38] O Spirit of God [i-. Jesus]. Remember my bounty to you when I spoke to you in the midst of the sanctuary ie. Jerusalem] and assisted you with the Holy Spirit in order that you might speak out, as the wondrous Mouthpiece of God among the people, that which God has decreed within the secret chambers ofthe soul in a wondrous manner. And verily God has taught you the book and wisdom in your child- hood, and has bestowed His favour upon the people of the world through your Great Name. For truly the people have not the slightest knowledge of the book. Commentary: These verses quoted from the Sarat al-Rahma of the Qayyiim al-Asma’ are full of parallels with the Qur'an, V. 2 parallels Qur'an, V. 84: “When they hear what has been sent down t0 the messenger, you see their eyes overflowing with tears”. But in the Qur'an this verse is being applied to the Jews and Christians, whereas in the Qayyim al- ‘asma’ the tables are, by implication, turned and the verse is being applied to the Muslims—which must have particularly galled the ulama. V. 19 parallels V, 105: “When itis said to them, ‘Come to what God has sent down and to the messenger’, they reply, ‘What we found our forefathers practising is sufficient for us’. What indeed! Even though their forefathers were totally without knowledge, and were not guided aright? V. 88 parallels V, 111; [Recall] when God said, ‘O Jesus son of Mary, remember my bounty to you and to your mother, when I assisted you with the Holy Spirit in speaking to the people in the cradle and as an adult. And (recall) when I taught you the book and the wisdom’ * Also implicit in these quotations is a claim co Divine Revelation, especially in wv. 1, 19 and 27. There is considerable variation in the texts over the word waldkat. F 11 has takhsha “u, while Muntakhibat has talinu. Also in V. 27, F 11 has a further 29 words after min “ind Allah to the end of the verse, whereas Muntakhibat agrees with the present document. The Qa’inat ms. agrees with the fatwa document on both points. C2) pe WAY GaN ALA ye abl oe Wet FN iy Gey cole, VL daa [121d yee eS oy Qa deel Ye WEEN oe gw124 JOURNAL OF PERSIAN STUDIES And another example is what isin the stra Alf Lam Mim Qaf {Stra l-Chaib, LXV, 2) Follow what is revealed to you from your Lord: | am God, besides whom there is no other God, and I have chosen you for myself and have decreed that compassion should characterize your soul. But the people have not the slightest knowledge of the book. Commentary: The first part of this verse parallels Qur'an, VI, 107: “Follow what has been revealed to you from your Lord, there is no god but He”. (8) Nhe bag geal Jel obey GAS oO Laila GSS bl ws SW AW $5 cys oe ay 11022] el Wooly abe Gol Ist Bh FS gay LM S5 te pre ote! She an LOI Nae Sea Weg! ytd of Val GMa Ul ee ey! eb Syd ge Wt Yul Sy [1,23] al Witt Sk Sy Ql Ml wy doe ‘And another example is what he has mentioned in the Strat al-Fad! (LIL, 19]: And if you are in doubt con: ‘cerning what God has sent down to this servant of ours, then produce the like of some of its substance, and call fon those whom you have claimed to be among your scholars (ulama), who are shut out from the Remembrance of God. Do you have confidence in any of them who are deprived of the Remembrance of God, the All-High, when it is he who is (set up as) a witness in the Mother Book? lv. 22] O People of the Earth! If you are not able to produce a book like this, then believe in your Lord God, besides whom there is no other God. By your Lord! You shall not be able to produce the like of even some of its substances without (the assistance of] God, the All- High. And God has power over all things. Commentary: These two verses have strong Qur’anic overtones. Cf. I, 24: “And ifyou are in doubt concerning what We have sent down to Our servant, then produce a sira like it, and call upon your ‘witness apart from God, if you speak the truth”. ‘And X, 88: “Or do they say, "He has invented it!” Say, ‘Then produce a sara like it, and call upon whomsoever you are able apart from God, if you speak the truth’ ". It is noticeable that the Bab is legitimating his own claim by making the same reply that Muhammad made to his challengers, thereby turning the tables on the ulama (9) es a5 at 2.29 aay gel yoy! LAD pad ES tyge gh 89 Lest ony Vly Sol ed ge Sk oS wo Wye, Galas LE hil DS tlle Bob! AW Gb Leyte bl FL ce Sy gu ols Gull geal [1.25] yh Wea blk GUL ed tt Sik Gl oS Gals alle ‘And another example is what he has mentioned in the stra Ka Ha’ Mim [Strat al-Sabr, LIIL, 8]: And so listen to what has been revealed to you from your Lord. Verily, you were the Interlocutor on behalf of the one true God on the mountain lic. Sinai). And He is God who has power overall things. ‘As far as where he says v. 281: And if the people come to you asking the same questions that past nations have asked of their prophets, say: To God belongs the conclusive argument. 1 am only the first of the wor- shippers of the One True God. And verily my Lord and your Lord is God, and verily He has power over all things.‘THE TRIAL OF MULLA SALT BASTAMT: A COMBINED SUNNI-SHIT FATWA AGAINST THE BAB 125 Commentary: In v. 28, the Bab is openly identifying hiniself with the prophets of the past. The phrase qu fa-lllah al-hujja al-baligha is Quranic (V1, 150), (10) Wey Vere WISE ye GILL Sgr ll FSi Gale any ety Was bage gail gy Las! [1.26 bly EU CU Se yi Le bb OW, LL! me aN ge pds Wh 101.27] UU ee cy LS ye alll Gey ee Bow Uy Wooly Wake ALGAE i A IS OH 11628) tes teey ete ee WI Bate Sl dyes gull yb Wy! Nogane WY tbe J 8 0S5 Gal ape Se ceapll wold And another example i his words inthe sla Kaf Ha’ ‘Ayn Ghain Strat al-Run, LV, 2): Verily we have sent you as a bringer of good tidings and as a warner to all the peoples. [v. 7] And verily we have taken from the believers our covenant: You shall worship none other than Him, and deal kindly with your parents, and be openly submissive to the Gates. (v. 8] Do you disbelieve in some part of the book that has been previously sent down to Muhammad, the Apostle of God, and disbelieve some part of this book? Do you not fear from God the day on which the decree ofthe One True God has, in truth, come to pass? ‘As far as where he says [v.21]: And verily, we ave sent down upon your heart the Spirit lie. Jesus) and Gabriel, by the leave of God, confirming what was before you, as a merey and glad tidings to the faithful servants. He who has the covenant of God in His Remembrance, is he who was given a covenant in the heart of the [Sinaiticl Fire. Commentary: There are several Quranic parallels here. V. 2 parallels XXXIV, 29: you except inclusively to the people as a bearer of good tidings and as a warner” V. 7 parallels II, 84: “And when We made a covenant with the Children of Israel, “You shall worship none except God, and deal kindly with parents’ " V. 21 parallels II, 98: “Indeed, he has brought it down upon your heart by God's permission, confirming what was before it, and as a guidance and glad tidings to the believers” Here again, the Bab is, by implication, identifying himself with Mukammad. “We did not send (11) ASI a ol ppl F WL ye at Ub, Tay 9 SSL Uso, VAS By lege SLU GL ppgiter 9[ 1.29] aele bal elit ALI a st wl JB GT Gh ISL USF Gels Gk Ly ahh oS by My cle (2,30) plane abl! beled Gall gk alls Uae Sle Gk WL WIS Le albu ‘And another example is what he has mentioned in the sara Alf Lam Mim [Sarat al- cAbdiya, XXXV, 15) God has said: They have disbelieved in God in their souls, [saying] that this book is a lie which its author has fabricated and the party of Satan has lent them credence in their evil lie and through this action, they have ‘wrongly disbelieved in God and in His signs, and are in the wrong concerning this Gate (Bab). ‘As far as where he says |v. 20]: Verily God has caused this book to be revealed in order that you may know that God knows the secret of the heavens and of the earth and verily, he is independent of the worlds. lv. 21] And out of pride, the people have erred and disbelieved in God,126 JOURNAL OF PERSIAN STUDIES Commentary: For v. 15, the Qainat mas. and FH read: Wk gS oe UI JO Evidence that this is the Correct reading is provided by the Quranic parallel, XXV, 5: “Those who have disbelieved have said, ‘This is nothing but a lie which he has fabricated’. A further Qur'anic parallel is between v. 20 above and V, 98: “That isin order that you may know that God knows what in the heavens and the earth, and that God is knowledgeable about everything”. There is further support for the third charge—that of claiming Divine Revelation—in the word ‘anzalain v. 20, C12) ge KI oe gk yt Ga aD a! TG ye Se US cpanel Gate a aU Net gL EL tlt! [1.32] Be Uy Uy CL a @ CU Gk Lee bel pig! CLL SSANL GW oe WL I[132] UH ie Sb LL by! Lele yell 6b aU oly CU Le And another example is his words inthe stra Qf ‘Ayn Six [Sura al-Tat bir, XXXVIL, 2]: Praise be to God who has sent down the book to His servant in order that it may be a witness forall the worlds through it lofty word. [v. 3] God has given the glad-tidings to those believers who have performed righteous deeds that they have 4 good and plenteous reward with the Gate (Bab) from the Gate. [v. 4] And we have revealed to you this book irom our tongue inorder that you may truly judge among the people in the case ofthe Bab, And verily God i informed of the worlds. peo Commentary: V. 2 is quoted here in support of the third charge, that of claiming Divine Revelation, especially as it strongly resembles a verse of the Qur'an which refers to the Qur'an itself, XVIII, 2: “Praise be to God, who has sent down the Book to His servant, and has not set in it any crookedness”. (13) eS G TAN Ming peck | ab ZS te 9 of5 bb Ui ws IP aN eb WS ow a gk etl! al dL AMI [1.3Jlie bby Lede ae gk BW Ney ober Ja oy JBol yl kgs Thu! Be ge Wah ay tee ale ce WW dae ody [1-34] ay abl S ad pee bey Ll SS AN ie Gm ow Bar S ceil oly bpm CU Sah coll pad bp labll set BBL (1.35) poe ds pe Ys peel POW ppb Woke CLI Nie Fes Vol Sle abot, Nyas Uae Lane ceil ye we wo all Lb ‘And another example is what he has mentioned in the sia Kaf Ha"‘Ayn Sad [Sarat al-Kitab, XL, 3]: Read as much as you find easy of this ‘Qur'an, morning and evening. |v. 4] And chant this book, by the leave of the eternal God, with the melody of dat bird which sings in the spheres of the unseen. ‘As far as where he says [v. 8]: And whoever changes (even) a letter of the Furgan and this book to another letter, he shall have disbelieved in God his Lord, and God shall not accept any of his works, and his habitatation shall be hell-fire, according to the decree ordained in the book. [v. 9] And they who conceal part of the leters of‘THE TRIAL OF MULLA ‘ALT BASTAMI: A COMBINED SUNNI-SHIT FATWA AGAINST THE BAB 127 this book shall eat hellfire, and we shall not look at them nor speak to them and, on the day of resurrection, God shall have justly prepared lor them a severe chastisement in the depths of the sarcophagus. lv. 10] And verily God has enjoined upon you not to touch this most mighty book except with the greatest purty. For God has forbidden ito any ofthe unbelievers Commentary: These verses are here quoted mainly to support the charge that the Bab has intro- duced various commands and prohibitions. CR) PME peg Ut SIL at et aye GofSb [1.36 Jay SUN oe bes NS ll AY BU! Gebel yk God alll ob Gall oS WpeSUs pmebses pl oly deal ay V lt Nae SW WL LI Wot, [1.37] rt ce LN Sg ta et et ol gk I bill 9 I Voges Gt Gl gk oS BUN US J all & Ob Gets [1.38] PSNR yale ane Fury AT LEN Pde tay Sie ppm oo aly! MLL pte eae MS ob So ee SI LU [1.39] oe beets WH Veet ophas bey oS alll And another example is what he was mentioned in the Sat al-Anudr, beginning with Alf Lim Mem Qay IXXVIT, 13]: 0 believers! Fear God in his word of truth, for God has enjoined upon the Muslims the ransmit- Ling of [this] cause to all countries. So issue forth from your homelands and sumion the people by this most great book to the holy land. And if you are not able to do this, write the text on white sheets of paper with ink of pure red gold to every country from the east ofthe earth to the west thereof. And the decree of God in this matter is indeed severe. |v. 14] O Concourse of Ulama! Verily God has forbidden after (the coming of] this book the teaching of anything other than it. Teach the people the laws of the book and turn them away from error, the baseless books among you. For the book of God isthe truth and He is God who watches over what you do, Commentary: These verses are also quoted here to support the accusation that the Bab has intro- duced sundry commands and prohibitions and, in particular, the prohibition to the ulama of teaching anything other than the Bab’s book. F 11 omits the first part of v. 18 and begins iblighital-amr la ‘The Qa’inat ms. agrees with the fatwa document. The injunction: “Summon the people. .. o the holy land,” may be an allusion to the Bab’s call for his followers to assemble at Karbala (see following section, The Bab’s Change of Plan) (5) ently oe SM WEY gsi bel Lb GES toe GF SSL US wy Lae WM bee ls Vly MIL gy Urs [1.40] ob PT, SUN cp gd Spel bad Y cpl Led bball capes tele FW Wy ald Leads [1.41] DY ook ol gi am tll spine Gals 8 AL pSol AF LA Gol pS II ye AU) ae te IS JS ht vel! Dono cl att the Remembrance om being his hase, for tha asin nthe Book of God and you only know some isolated matters from the knowledge of the Book. |v. 7] O believers! Do not raise your voices above the voice of the Remembrance and, in walking with him, do not approach until he permits you and128 JOURNAL OF PERSIAN STUDIES do not proceed in front of him and do not speak secretly when he is present, For all of this is sin in the eyes of God, your true Lord, according to what is preserved in His true Book, Commentary: A further example of the commands and prohibitions of the Bab in the Qayytim al- asma’. F 11 omits. 6. (16) gS) AOI hae gh 2161.42) creel ues oleae J 85 be MS wy Pot ke GY by ll pl, Bl as oe! Up lle sey of 143] oS ee I ie alot ye SG to Vy SUL ae ge CUI ae bag ge ys Qa bt Upbeat by alll ue wy UN Ligh pla by elds yb lie ad OLY Lee, Tl yb aU Jak, QS 6 cb al Sal WE gealdstI[1.4d] be ole Le UI Se ‘And another example is what he has mentioned in the Strat al-indn, and it has forty verses. (II, 71: Were this book to have been revealed by any but God, they would find ini contradictions. 8] And praised be to our Lord God, nothing is hidden from Him in earth or in heaven, and everything which we have thought concealed in this book was indeed recorded with God. |v. 10] We have in truth revealed to our servant this book from God, land we have placed in it verses that are clear and unambiguous. And no one knows its explanation except God and those of our pure servants whom we wish. So question the Remembrance concerning its explanation for he is, by God's bounty and through the decree of the book, informed of (or, knowledgable about) its verses, Commentary: This passage has been inserted to support the charge that the Bab has claimed Divine Revelation. In the Qa’inat ms. and F 11, this sara begins:[ I Jose! 9 Gael ue yobedl yy C97) nah GT cptel ty Heal te GF SSL MS wy ali ey tame, GS GS De NeW cw Ll 45] coy Hell del ble py ley Gf Maye Se sy a EL pt lee Gee oe Wa Y 61.46] wal Wl RAI AS ot WS atl Gall al SS SAW gy al del be SY Ws SS Ls ye Va Yd ea Sole ob YG LON Many USS ayings Yd Sagd pine (See he a Neb el pe FI Ll cg ce (147 I by at Wane tee Se oe Ya tee TS by SF ns US Wes Goll gk GUL SIAN (1-48) are YUL eee pS a if tam ln Te fa 1 © Pane of he Gayo Medina an hoe around a he ab! Wat he ‘matter with you? Why did you unjustly disbelieve publicly in Muhammad after his death? (v. 16] Did God and. His prophet not indeed offen enter into a covenant with you concerning the successorship of his guardian‘THE TRIAL OF FATWAAGAINSTTHE BAB 129 LA ALT BASTAMT: A COMBINED SUNNT-SHT throughout the countries of the world? [v. 17] Ifyou believe in God besides Whom there is no other God, then how did you come to a decision which is different from what God has truly revealed in His book which has been preserved from before? For by your Lord! If you do not believe in our Remembrance and this book then be certain that your habitation shall be hell-fre, in which you shall remain forever. (v. 20] And you have none apart from God the All-High as a supporter on the day of judgement (or, of separation) (v. 21] And in the past, some from among you died as unbelievers, and you and those around you disbelieved in Muhammad after his ascent, for lo! you did not believe in his successor. What is the matter with you that you have not pondered upon the ‘Qur'an, which has in ruth been sent down? Commentary: These verses are, of course, strong expressions of a Shit point of view. Objection- able as they may have been to the Sunni ulama, it is somewhat surprisingly for them to be quoted here when a fatwa was being asked for from both Sunni and Shit ulama. Indeed, itis probable that it was the deliberate provocation of the Shi‘is by the inclusion of this aspect of the Bab’s writings in the fatwa that caused the Shiis to dissent in the formulation of their answer. (18) gt Ba Tb a ope oll gay Bae YF SSL Woes Ye YE INI49] ee hy bet oI GW USS yb ob! Sal ge bee yoke & gee tel 6 al oly Jb ul Lae Be eel oe ce gel Gee Waly ety LI Ql Ve ht pe 9 11650] 0 be tk AS ppl Lael thigts Gee! ye eas plo alll ol, Nake tb ce JB Gilyey Lene gall yb gl ce Wa tp Gall gk eed gs oy 11052) ed Wy ptt ge ye gk gd ad 8 by Gall gk ee [1652 Jee ita all Gt gee pte Y sl obdplls WS ab ll tk Chall 21 sll pany ole ab Sy DLW wl ey lt de Sl bell @ 2S 2 Ua Sy ‘And another example is what he has mentioned in the Strat al-Ziyara which has forty-two verses (VII, 1-8); Ta Sin. God has caused the Furgan to be sent down upon our Remembrance in order that it may be glad tidings to the worlds and a warning upon the straight path, As far as where he says |v. 6|: And God has chosen Husain from among his servants and has truly made him an Iman and martyr, and when he outstripped his brothers, he was a veiled letter of the knowledge of the All- Merciful and was concealed within the hidden row of the innermost secret. And verily God has completed His bounty upon Husain and his successors by making their superiority over the worlds to be like His own. And He (i.e. God) itis who has accepted the one who visits him (i.e. at Husain’s shrine) as having visited the one true God Himsell, and has called his (i.e. Husain’s) battlefield in truth His (i. God’s) throne. And there is no God but He, ‘who is truly without imitation, and God has not decreed an explanation for a single letter of His secret. And so forth of this rubbish which does not emanate from one whose bosom God Almighty has laid open to [the acceptance of] Islam, and on whose heart He has written faith. It is hoped that each servant will provide a reply in writing. Thereby shall there be for you a plenteous reward from our great Lord, glorified is His Cause and magnified His sovereignty.130 JOURNAL OF PERSIAN STUDIES Commentary: The statements made regarding Husain in this quotation are extreme even by Shi standards, but are in conformity with the extreme veneration for the Imams that was a feature of the Shaikhi movement. The enemies of the Shaikhis accused them of believing in tafwid (the delegation of God’s attributes to other than God) and, in particular, of holding the Imams to be co-creators of the world with God." (19) a Gin! lly cl all yey Chel ces cet SE LS abl gb St Cee EM ny peyll cetyl alll rele pathy ces ets Qn ye ee GA aU a teal Pe belly Ceeall AS ipe ce pe pail Some OL cr path bb yk BL! Yee aprgllclaic gb Split ye gil ily LEW Le eee Loe ge Wdt grill gdstalalrels gyal yy Le Yat tlh ge Yeah Wet Wey NI ty al op Np Giall pe e Gell peel Sha ll py Ley Wty GY cay ob ASE Gell Ho oe BSNS, oes be Sy oll play LES choy! aw Ly Dhol capella Se BN Ge Gp gl Wy Set Y dey el woh dee et teeth pe eb Ge pet Le Ge de Ll WI WLS aml Say op bald gad SW os Le eal pY Nae GL petty de GI cleall NIST tole cards — ttl YUEN ee gl BLL onl gas ge oll SLs shall gy CN asl st! aS lee tes levling ll gle g Lt pay D9 LA gb JL gid BNA aye bes SM Hla Joy Lali gk Leds ile seem ge cee Dt al ape sell ake je oy ol dill sell Sy pecsll Gell ae lie The Answer, and itis God, praised and exalted is He, [who isthe Giver of Guidance as to what is right In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate! Who can be more evil than the one who has fabricated a lie against God oF has said: He (ie. God) has revealed to me, when nothing has been revealed to him, Praise be to God who has protected the siras of Prophecy from the assault of liars and has rendered those skilled in every kind of eloquence—in spite of their abilites—unable to bring the like of [even) the shortest ofthe sdras of His clear Book. And blessings and peace be upon our Lord, Mubammad, the Seal ofthe Prophets and the light shining from the dawning-places of bounty over the pages of existence where there is neither angel nor _jnn nor mankind nor earth nor heaven, and upon his pure family and his true companions who dyed their white Swords and their blue spears with the blood of al-Aswad al-‘Anst and Musailima the Liar. How often they were‘THE TRIAL OF MULLA SALT BASTAMT: A COMBINED SUNNI-SHTT FATWA AGAINST THE BAB 181 ‘summoned in the past for the assistance ofthe religion and they complied, being neither weak nor impotent and ‘how well they did, performing the greatest wonders! ‘And to proceed, there can be no disagreement (literally, no two rams should butt each other nor any to persons dispute) over the disbelief of this evil man nor likewise over the disbelief of those who have believed in him and given him credence regarding these words. He has brought kinds of disbelief against which the believer is angered literally, breaks the sockets of arrows). Indeed, the sensibility of anyone who has in his head so much as the head of a grain of wheat or a hair of sense shrinks back from them. And I consider that the matter, on account of its simpleness, has no need of argumentation; nor does it need, on account of its extreme ‘obviousness—even if the one who heard it were to be stupid—a prolongation of discussion. And there is some- thing amiss among the notables when the morning has need of proof. The prudent thing {to dol is to join this unbeliever to his two brothers, [Musailimal the Liar and |al-Aswadl the Lord of the Ass, and make an example of ‘whoever has assisted in the spreading of his cause by word or deed, so that the perceptive may take cognizance, ‘And I consider ita sedition, the evil of which will grow in the easts of the earth and the wests thereof. And many of the weak-minded will apostasize on account of it, were it to be given a free rein (literally, were its rope to be lefc on its withers). And we ask God Almighty for protection from that which we would regret! ‘And the servant who is in need of his Lord, glorified is His affair, Sayyid Mahmdd, Mufit in Baghdad ‘may his Lord, the Informed, the Kind One, forgive him, has written [this] Commentary: Abu'l-Thana, Sayyid Mabmad Shihab al-Din ibn Sayyid Abd Allah al-Alast (1802-54) was the most prominent of the nineteenth-century Sunni Iraqi ulama. He remains famous as a traditionist and as the author of a Tafsir. He was mudarns at the Madrasa al-Azamiyya for forty years, and Mufii of Baghdad from 1248/1832-8 to 1262/1845-6.9 (20) gist Nae Sp LY bal gy Gill Oke CL id CU Le Gl Pe AN Cb Nhe all oy Cli, JI asd Ge ye OI oat cas ae Geyally hb pb oS, Th By the One who has, in ruth, revealed the Book, His Honour the Mufi was correct in his reply and there i, not doubt about the unbelief of this lying innovator. He is worthy of the severest exemplary punishment and torture. May God Almighty smite him with the arrow of reuibution in this world and inthe world to come! “The servant ofthe ulama and the mudarsin, Abd al-Rahman al-Mudarrs, has written ths. Commentary: Probably ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Rizbihant, eminent mudarris of Baghdad at the Madrasa Jami al-Ahsa’t (better known as the Khalidiyya) for forty years; died Muharram 1270/ October 1858 (21) ee Soll & ele IS, gel Gl Nin 6 pe Fill ee ee ee ie al SH Gall cael ple tye YG Jal) Le tay Yes, this accursed wretch has disbelieved, and similarly those heretics who have believed in him. They are all ‘worthy of death according to the Law (Shara) of the Seal of the Prophets and of the Apostles. The one who is needy of Him, glorified is His affair, Muhammad Said, formerly Mufti of Baghdad (has written this) Commentary: Sayyid Muhammad Sa‘id ibn Muhammad Amin al-Tabagjali, a member of one of the prominent families of ulama in Baghdad. He was Muftt in 1246/1830, and died on 13 Shawwal 1278/26 June 1857132 JOURNAL OF PERSIAN STUDIES (22) ee ee ey EE Ly SLs yb OS Ge pall cle sO re pe ee RM sia GA ae ale je all a pling ale dle al Yes, he is an unbelievr, (the spilling of] whose blood is lawful, since he had lied against God Almighty and denied the station of His Apostle, Muhammad, as seal [of the prophets The one who is needy of Him (God), glorified is His aflair, (Abd al-Ghani, former Mufti of Baghdad thas written this). Commentary: Sayyid “Abd al-Ghani al-Jamil, born in Dhu’l-Qa‘da / 1194 November 1780. An ‘aim, poet, calligraphist and former Mufit (1247/1831) of Baghdad, and from one of the prominent families of Baghdad; he died on 9 Dhu'l-Hijja 1279/28 May 1863. (23) Le ea i gh ER yi a cried pe pw fen! Slay SL ie alll inne Yes, he and those believe in him are unbelievers and deserving of death, ‘The one who is needy of Him (God), glorified is His affair, Sibghat Allah, Mufet of the Shai’ the protected, {has written this) Commentary: Sayyid Sibghat Allah al-Haydari, one of a prominent family of Baghdad ulama, who provided several Hanafi and Shafi muftis over the years. Sibghat Allah was Shafi Mufti, and many of the famous ulama of Baghdad studied under him, including Da’ad Pasha. He died on 16 Rabi al- Awwal 1279/11 September 1862, and was buried in the Qadiriyya shrine. in Baghdad, (24) ag WW pho Lyd ode Gey yapll CNN Nein Sg ye Y itl dal ail a Sy ‘There is no doubt as to the disbelief of this abominable liar. For these fabrications, he deserves to enter eternal hel-fre, The needy one, Isma°tl al-Barzanji, has written this Commentary: sma“ al-Barzanji, a Naqshbandi shaikh, died on 5 Shawwal 1279/15 April 1863. (25) wig tele NLU pat ie SS ce LE aM py ame UH alt Y oS) tea SN Lew Yo Wl ale Cli Jal pL aL BAS ey tL pte (F) deed enya pol ‘There is no God but God. Muhammad is the Apostle of God, the Seal of the Prophets. This lying claimant has disbelicved and has committed the same crime as Musailima and the rest of the denizens of Hell. May God atl. him in this world and the next with the greatest punishment! The servant of the mudarrisin, As'ad (2), smudaris atthe Madrasa al-Asafiyya, has written this, Commentary: The mudarris at al-Asafiyya from the time of its inception in 1242/1826-7 until his, death in 1272/1855-6 was Sayyid As‘ad al-Mawsili.‘THE TRIAL OF MULLA SALT BASTAMI: A COMBINED SUNNI-SHIT FATWA AGAINST THE BAB 138 (26) a il aye eke JBI Got BO yd ayill odie ILE alll Ub Gaal PAN EAL Ny Gee oe VE lay, GE Gi gb ae ol Whoso fabricates against God such a fehood isan unbelever, without doubt worthy of death. [Written by) The one who is needy of Him, glorified is His Affair, Sayyid ‘AIL, at present Nag al-Ashrfof Baghdad, on behalf of the mudarrsin of the lofty seat of sovereignty. Commentary: Sayyid AN al-Kilant, descendant of “Abd al-Qadir al-Kilant, became Nagib al-Ashraf in 1257/1841 and was guardian of all the wagf properties of the Kilaniyya mosque; he died on 24 Rabr* al-Awwal 1289/1 June 1872. (27) UG ey Cal de ae dL Sy CS pa le Sw eee ge Ae chs et ape wile all pall ws ‘This lying claimant and all who have followed such doctrines have disbelieved and there is no error in making permissible (the spilling off his blood. [Written byl the one who is needy of Him, glorified is His affai Sayyid Abmad, Khatb al-A‘zamiyya, on behalf ofthe mudarrsin Commentary: Sayyid Ahmad ibn Sayyid Salman, known as Qanbar. He was known as Khatib al- A%zamiyya because he gave the oration at the Kildniyya Mosque (Shaikh Abd al-Qadir al-Kilant is known as al-Imam al-A‘zam), (28) cane Le 5 all pst nll plea ald doy geal ae {USI is Y FL ey hy tll slay! Do not hesitate about the unbelief of this accursed man. Killing him is permissible according to the consensus (ia") of the Muslims. The one who is needy of Him, glorified is His affair, Muhammad al-Zahawi, ‘mudarris at the Madrasa al- Siyya, (has writen this) Commentary: Probably Muhammad Faidi ibn Ahmad ibn Hasan Baik al-Zahawt mudarris at al- “Aliyya; he was from one of the eminent families of Baghdad, related to the powerful Baban family and claiming descent from Saif Allah Khalid ibn Walid (born in 1212/1797). He taught for a while in Sulaimdniyya and Kirkik, and then came to Baghdad in 1257/1841, He was later to become the fore- most ‘dlim of Baghdad, and was mufti for 38 years until his death at an advanced age on 8 Jumadi al- Ula 1808/15 December 1890, (29) wee a a le a AS i ey CLL UO Sade pte Oh Gleb eee I LY ak Sut by ply arngall Whoever has said this with his tongue, believing it with his heart, has disbelieved in Muhammad (may God bless him and his family and his companions and give them peace) and what was revealed to him. am the lowly Muhammad Tabagjali-zida, mudarrs in Baghdad. Commentary: Sayyid Muhammad at-Tabagjall, mudarris at al-Aliyya; he founded the Madrasa al- ‘Tabaqjali and donated to it a valuable collection of manuscripts. He died in 1265/1849.134 JOURNAL OF PERSIAN STUDIES (30) eNobe Gb ginny Gli oll W Sa be Why cb Vie Sg He glt Ball, poly WU LL! pil, yell Goss CEN Spl AU oyige Leabdy ayy t ce all boll es! oan Praised and exalted be He from what they join as partners to Him! The Sea of Truths and Mine of Details, the balance of the Shar® and the Master of llegall principles and matters of application, the Teacher of all and of mankind, and the Eleventh Intellect (ie. Sayyid Mahmad) is right concerning the unbelief of this evil man. May God give us refuge from his wickedness and free us from his deception! 1 am the needy Aba Bakr al-Nagshbandl al-Majdawi. Commentary: Not identified, but presumably a Nagshbandi shaikh. BD ll ae ay Le MS JU y ely Lu piles & ot bol pball obally SLE Je eB Ly ES GLI Geel Ly AL Uy I oe eros eel getll el ab By the Mighty Que'an! That which this accursed man has brought is heresy in the (rue) religion, and abrogation of what the Lord of the Messengers has brought tothe effect that he isthe Messenger of God and the Seal of the Prophets. And so belief in him is Aufr (unbelief, and there is no doubt about this. The one who is needy of Him, magnified is His affair, Taha ibn Shaikh Abmad, the madars, (has written ths) Commentary: Taha ibn Shaikh Abmad ibn Shaikh Muhammad Qasim as-Sanandaji as-Sanawi, later gadf of Mosul; died 1300/1882-8. BA) eg ae aU le a HE ak coll ds ole Sp OY pty GLEAN LL ete BG ty Vy ples ares al We hey gol edtins ch Sh WIL apd pnd peal! yall er yall eel Gall lL all itll aS oS ‘There is no doubt about the unbelief of him who claims the descent of Divine Revelation upon him after [Muhammad] the Seal of the Prophets, may God bless him and his family and his companions and give them peace, and there is no doubt about the unbelief of one who embarks upon adding to and subtracting from and ‘changing the verses of the mighty Qur'an. And so we bear witness, by God Almighty, that he and the one who believes in him and the one who helps him and the one who assists him in what he says are wicked unbelievers. ‘The one who is needy of (God) Almighty, Shaikh Ahmad as-Sanandajf, the mudarrs, has written this. Commentary: Shaikh Ahmad as-Sanandajt, father of the previous signatory, born 1191/1777, died 1274/1857-8. (33) Fy Se ie eal SU ie Gk Qe yl Hap eh EL ys aN ye Gael ane eal whee all ill Sy a tee‘THE TRIAL OF MULLA ‘ALT BASTAMI: A COMBINED SUNNI-SHTT FATWA AGAINST THE BAB 135 God forbid! He [God] has not sent down the trusted [Holy] Spirit upon this accursed unbeliever. And so there is no doubt about the permissibility of killing him and whoever has believed in him. The one who is needy of Him, glorified is His affair, Sayyid Muhammad Amin, mudarrs of al-Hadrat al- Qadiriyya, has written this. Commentary: Sayyid Muhammad Amin ibn Sayyid Muhammad al-Adhami known as al-Wa‘iz. He ‘was born in 1223/1808 of an eminent Baghdadi family. He became a mudarris at al-Qadiriyya in 1246/1830-1. He died in Ramadan 1273/April-May 1857. GAYS gel plate Sty Sosy Sth dey del ob el ppl HE AL Lb ge int bee Cpa ely Gor w Gaealll Gat wal, Goal Lal bel ab ales LS tee ee SE peel I ts pee i Gis all eeaally 2 AR go ce SIO pl yh obi Gi S eSy whe 9 cers cell ole D pled Law cals Shalt kyo i! Spell ole cw Sly AE Ltd ays ge bb ys alll Level cos anil! BN ey be tl ie LT, Cle ole § SLY Lat, Praise be to Him who has sent His messenger with Right Guidance and the True Religion and decreed for him all that is precise and exact in the statutes of religious law, and has sent down to him an Arabic Qur'an, in which there is no erookedness, the exposition of which is clear, expressive of the clearest of utterances and the ‘most brilliant of proofs! And the investigative scholar and the meticulous grammarian, the well-recognized sage and the courageous genius (ie. Sayyid Mahmad) is correct in pronouncing the unbelief of an ignorant man who has challenged words which are beyond the ability of the skilled ones of Qahtan {to imitatel, and which will thwart every brilliant poet among those skilled in oration, although they be greater in number than the stones of the valley and more numerous than the sands of Yamama and al-‘Ans and the desert. Therefore, he has ‘wandered in the place of perdition and been thrown down into the abyss of falsehood. And whoever does not make God his light, has no light. May God shelter us and you from the paths of passions, and guide us and you in the darkness of error! And I am the lowly Ynis, mudarris at the Madrasa al-Hasaniyya. Commentary: Unidentified BB) AN tlh eye eke JER Gone LS ge EA oom LS OL ole Bas! hati EL oye ame asl je ‘Whoever has fabricated this lie against God Almighty is an unbeliever and, without doubt, deserving of death. The one who is needy of Him, glorified is His affair. Muhammad Amin al-Na‘ib (al-Shar“T of Baghdad Uhas written this) Commentary: Sayyid Muhammad Amin ibn Ahmad al-Na’ Qadi (Na’ib Shar‘) of Baghdad, died in 1275/1858-9. (36) ele all ai Ly Leal, yy oie pole S yar Y gil Feel ioe ye GUL ya tl pene136 JOURNAL OF PERSIAN STUDIES 1 say that there is no doubt about the unbelief of the one who has made this claim and believed it. 1 am the fone who is needy of Him, glorified is His affair, Mabmad al-Naqshbandi al-Khalidi, mudarns at al-Ladra al- Acamiyya, Commentary: Mahmid al-Nagshbandi brother of the famous Shaikh Khalid al-NaqshbandI. But according to al-Darabi,"" Mahmid would have been residing in Damascus at this time. (37) et ye IS, BE eal Nae yl Goll ets Gallen deol sills ead ail Lal jgall sey Wy JA Gore Sy Grey 2 DA Eyl yall pall alt unbet and nny tc eben hen sel given nl cede: ey areal ory of death and of Hellfire and of the wrath of God, the Almighty, the All-Subduing. The one who is needy of Him, slorified is His affair, Ibrahim, mudarris at the Madrasa al-Qiblaniyya {has written this). The end. Commentary: This was probably Sayyid Ibrahim al-Barzanjl, one of the eminent mudarrisiin of Baghdad, although al-Dardb?” states that this man was mudarris at al-Kilaniyya. He died in 1270/1853. ( 38) Ja Ginny phe dytl yallede ose he gol ee Sy diy onl le de SB ee SG Gl YL gel abt, Sr US ty Ge Se Fo OLLI, fo Bt yt GLA SI ne cll! GUT 65 lt all LI, There is no doubt about the unbelief of one who has laid claim to what is writen on this noble fatwa, nor about his deserving death, and the one who kills him should be rewarded. Indeed, there should be no hesitation in [declaring] the unbelief of anyone who wavers in [declaring] the unbelief of such as accursed person as this and his deserving an eternity in Sijiin (Hel). 1 have written this with my right hand, and upon it is my oath and asseveration, and I am the one who 1s needy ofthe Lord of Grace, al-Hajj ‘Abd al-Razziq al-Shawwat, formerly smudarns at al-“Aliyya. The end. Commentary: A member of the eminent Shawwaf family of the Karkh quarter; his son Shaikh Taha was for a long time Mufi and Qadt of Basra. Shaikh Abd al-Razzaq died in 1268/1851 (39) Wy Y seryall yy stm gl all yoy WW nell ala Lal deny Weer yk OB! ely toy Wl ands ded LW Et agiy pol cal Maal ay pS gal Utley abby cal bey Soe ol BS red i bby Bro tty pty bees de sie She golly ANN SH gladly Wulees abel or erg Spat CL, Be Ge ode dhe yt spit ELITTHE TRIAL OF MULLA SALI BASTAMT: A COMBINED SUNNI-SHT TFATWA AGAINST THE BAB 137 te Bob es cetler Gey FO UybM, sl SI oie ee ae BE NG oi, tall CV od, EU QL el Bocce fae ell pall oe oe ty st lal! In the name of God! Praise be to God, and may God bless Muhammad and his family and his com- panions! There is no doubt that God has ordained Islam and made its Skar®a easy for those who would enter it ‘And He has rendered its pillars mighty against those who would contend with it, and made ita place of safety for ‘whoever has adhered to it and a refuge for whoever has entered it, and power for whoever has professed it and a witness to whoever has argued by it, and understanding for whoever has intelligence, and enlightenment for whoever has pondered, and an assurance for those who trust, and a repose for those who commit themselves. This, on account of its obviousness, has no need of exposition or the bringing forth of proofs and evidences Everyone who opposes this Share and claims such falsehoods or such concocted phrases and corrupted words oF such perverted books and worthless sayings is outside the religion and the path of [Muhammad], the Lord of the Messengers, And so the author of these words and the one who believes in these tenets are outright unbelievers. Signed by the one who hopes forthe forgiveness of his Lord, Hasan son of the late Shaikh Jafar. Commentary: Shaikh Hasan ibn Shaikh Ja‘far, Kashif al-Ghita’, al-Najaft was born in Najaf in 1201/1786-17. His father was one of the foremost ulama of his age and author of the Kashf al-Ghita.’ Shaikh Hasan lived at Hilla until the death of his brother Shaikh ‘Alt in 1258/1837, when he returned to Najaf where he was a rival for the leadership of the ulama with Shaikh Muhammad Hasan. The ‘most famous of his pupils was Shaikh Murtada al-Ansari. He died during a cholera epidemic on 28 Shawwal 1262/19 October 1846." (40) ee ek aU py leet is Kl lle wy ay Vy wy Ye Btu! lie WS oll cele eal wile ILS all ill ye uy ately hee In the name of God, the best of names! The unbelief of this speaker is something about which there is no doubt and no uncertainty. Whoever has followed his path has followed Satan, and is worthy of the anger of the All-Merciful. The one who is needy of Him, glorified is His affair, Sayyid Ibrahim ibn Bagir al-Masawi, may [God] forgive them both, has written this, Commentary: Sayyid Ibrahim ibn Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Mdsawi al-Qazwini, born in 1214/1799-1800, was the leading mujtakid of Karbala and author of al-Dawabit. He had been the great enemy of the Shaikhi leader Sayyid Kazim Rashti until the latter's death, and was almost certainly not unaware of the connection between the Bab and the Shaikhis. He died in the cholera epidemic of 1262/1846. C41 Vy EY teal by eee bk al gly Want, a NGL ok aly FO Rt CN i ol SY oe eee oe gh ee ty ot ll ne wbLsI ub heathen138 JOURNAL OF PERSIAN STUDIES In the name of God, and praise be to God, and may God bless Muhammad and his family and his com- panions! There is no doubt or uncertainty about the unbelief of the one who has put forward a claim through these corrupt and worthless writings and has believed in these erroneous and useless beliefs. The one who is hopeful of the forgiveness of his Lord, the needy Mubammad ‘Alf, son of ... may God forgive the sins of them both, has written this Commentary: The identity of this man is uncertain. C42) ele Sd tee LEY cereal gy ee ule alll Gly a perl n deme ay ge tll ge clot vi, Sool, CVI i, ae lca ge gk Gill In the name of God, and may God bless Muhammad and his family and his companions! There is no doubt ‘or uncertainty about the unbelief ofthe one who has put forward a claim through these writings and has believed in these tenets. The one who is hopeful of the forgiveness of his Lord, Muhammad the son of the late Shaikh Ali, may God forgive him, has written this. Commentary: Muhammad ibn Shaikh “AIK, Al Kashif al-Ghita’, al-Najaft, was the nephew of Shaikh Hasan (see above). Ata later date he became one of the leading mujtahids in Najaf and mari al-taglid. He died in 1268/1851-2. (43) ply ay aane gall gly alll pny CL spe geal SLI LLU ge ad pall wl call cell cw aD Goal Gael al Bell eae ye Clot, CV vie Jha, 1 ge gl lhe tell pel UT! In the name of God and may God bless Muhammad and his family and give them peace! Manifestly clear to the common people, let alone to the eminent ulama, isthe unbelief of one who puts forward such claims and presents such writings and tenets, Abu'l-Hasan, mudarris in al-Najaf al-Ashraf, the son of the late Sayyid Salih al- ‘Shémf, may [God] forgive him, has written this with his ephemeral hand. Commentary: Abu 'l-Hasan ibn Shaikh Salih al-Masaw! al-CAmilf, Sharaf al-Din, was one of the prominent mujtahids of Najaf, very wealthy and married into the Kashif al-Ghia’ family. He died in 1275/1858-9. ( 44) see amyl tle alll pay Se TA LOL, FL wt oi ole oly Vy eke Y NL ody fal gh cee ey apy WE col we Ge eee ery ‘The text of this fatwa is very badly faded, and only a few words can be distinguished. Its author cannot be determined. As far as can be seen, it says the following: In the name of God, the All-High, the Merciful ... There is no question and no doubt that he who has bieved in these corrupt tenets and worthless falsehoods had disbelieved‘THE TRIAL OF MULLA ‘ALT BASTAMI: A COMBINED SUNNI-SHTT FATWA AGAINST THE BAB 139 (45) wile all pe Ba LEU ode Je yk ney FLW! clotel vin aol 2 ee ee cee GA A yl ail ym apa a od In the name of God All-High. Whoever has believed these perverse tenets and relied on such worthless crvors is an accursed unbeliever. The one who is needy of God, who is independent ofall, Mahdi ibn Shaikh “Alt, may [Goal forgive him, has written th Commentary: Mahdi ibn Shaikh Ali, Al Kashif al-Ghita’, al-Najafi, was a younger brother of Shaikh Muhammad (see above). Ata later date, after the death of Shaikh Murtada al-Ansari, Shaikh Mahdi became the leading “alim of the Shi world and mari al-tagltd for the Caucasus and for much of Iran and Iraq. He died on 24 Safar 1289/3 May 1872. C46) tote ap ee, CV oie Bt SE YY te ww or ee ee gl In the name of God, All-High. There is no doubt about the unbelief of the author of these writings and of ‘one who believes in these tenets. The sinful Muhammad ibn Shaikh Musa [has written this) Commentary: There are a number of possible persons who might have been the author of this fatwa: Shaikh Muhammad ibn Shaikh Musa Shabal al-cAfkawi, Shaikh Muhammad ibn Shaikh Masa ‘al-Khamayisi, or Shaikh Muhammad ibn Shaikh Masé al-Khudari. (42) a ea Uy les gam gli oy ge gal Sponge IS pV! In the name of God; praise be to God! The matter is as itis written. The one who is hopeful of the forgive- ness of his Lord, the Beneficent, Hasan al-Kharsan, has written [this Commentary: Hasan ibn Sayyid AIT al-Musawi al-Najafi al-Kharsan was an eminent mujtakid of Najaf who went to Baghdad and resided at Kazimain at the request of the Shi fujér or merchants of, Baghdad. He died in Rajab 1265/June 1849. (48) tls aN pe dey Gey ell ytd Whe Se Lat ode ol gp dey Wy St, Md a OU ty cele ae oS ee bon me SWS In the name of God All-High! There is no doubs that these perverse sentences are unbelief, opposed to the constraints of religion and a contravention of the Sharf¢a of the Lord of the Messengers. The one who believes in them is an unbeliever, may the curse of God and of all the angels and people be upon him, The insignificant Hasan ibn “All, known as Kawhar, has written (this)140 JOURNAL OF PERSIAN STUDIES Commentary: Hasan ibn Alt al-Qaracha-Daghi, known as Gawhar, is in many ways the most interesting signatory of this document. The reason for this is that he was a Shaikhi “alim of Karbala Indeed, alter the death of Sayyid Kazim Rashti, he was one of the major contenders for leadership of this movement. MacEoin has shown how Muhammad Karim Khan Kirmani, the major contender for the Shaikht leadership, used attacks on Babism as a means of advancing his claims and also as a means of establishing the orthodoxy of the Shaikht school in the face of the ‘affir that had been pronounced against it by many of the leading ulama. Here we see a similar phenomenon in the fatwd of Mirza Hasan Gawhar against the Bab. The Fate of Mulla Alt Before going on to consider the implications of this document and this episode, itis necessary to complete the biography of Mulla “Ali. ‘After the trial, Najfb Pasha decided to refer the matter to the Sublime Porte. At this time, Turko. Iranian relations were only just beginning to recover from the shock of Najib Pasha’s sack of Karbala 1843, and Britain and Russia had agreed to act as joint convenors of a conference at Erzerum to sort out these differences, The arrest and trial of Mulla AI, an Iranian subject, threatened to cause a setback to these proceedings. Mubibb ‘All Khan, Governor of Kirmanshah, had already written to Najib Pasha through Rawlinson, demanding that Mulla ‘Ali be handed over to be dealt with by the Iranian authorities. In March, a letter arrived from the Iranian Prime Minister, Hajji Mirza Aqast, demanding the extradition of Mulla AIT. Najfb Pasha stated to the Iranian consul that the matter had been referred to Istanbul and was now out of his hands."* From documents in the Turkish State Archives, it is clear that the proposal was initially to take Mulla ‘AIT to Bolu, a sufficient distance removed from the Iranian frontier. The Governor of Bolu seems to have thought it betier that Mulla “Alf be sent to one of the islands (or possibly Algeria). The Sublime Porte eventually decided to bring Mulla “Alito Istanbul and to sentence him to hard labour in the naval dockyards. It must for the present be assumed that Mulla “AIT died there.” The Bab’s Change of Plan In concluding this essay, we may perhaps look at two important questions that are connected with the trial of Mull ‘Alt Bastimi. The first of these concerns the fact that the Bab did not proceed to Karbala after his pilgrimage to Mecca as he had originally intended. The second concerns the nature of the early claims of the Bab upon which the fatwa document sheds much light. It seems clear that the original intention of the Bab was to go on the pilgrimage to Mecca and then on to Karbala, where he would make an open proclamation of his claim to be the Imam Mah Perhaps one of the most important and critical turning points in his career was his decision then not to go to Karbala and, indeed, to put off the proclamation of his claim for four years. This change of plan, ‘moreover, precipitated a severe crisis among his followers. Concerning this, Nabtl writes: The receipt of this unexpected intelligence created a considerable stir among those who had been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Bab at Karbald. It agitated their minds and tested their loyalty. "What of his promise to us?” whispered a few of the discontented among them. “Does He regard the breaking of His pledge as the interposition of the will of God?” The others, unlike those waverers, became more steadfast in their faith and clung with added determination to the Cause.” Neither in the Bab’s writings nor in the Babi and Baha'i literature is there much to indicate the cause of this change of plan. Al-Qauil ibn al-Karbala’T implies that it was because of the ill-treatment meted out to the messengers of the Bab (at Shiraz and Kirman as well as in Iraq): God was angry with them and cursed them and took away His providence from them, and forbore for five years, in order that they might increase in sin and that His announcement to them might be complete and the Book might be read to them and the messengers might be chosen for them.* ‘Atany rate, the Bab’s full proclamation of his mission did not occur for another four years. The Claims ofthe Bab ‘One of the controversial points in Babi history is the exact nature of the claim put forward in the first few years of the Bab’s mission. All are agreed that after four years, the Bab openly proclaimed that‘THE TRIAL OF MULLA SALT BASTAMT: A COMBINED SUN HE TFATWA AGAINSTTHE BAB 141 he was the Hidden Twelfih Imam, the Imam Mahdi, made manifest after one thousand years of ‘occultation, and that he was a prophet of God, the inaugurator of a new dispensation abrogating the Islamic one. However, Nabil, the Baha’T historian who wrote an account of these events some thirty years later, seems to indicate that the Bab put forward these claims from the very start, a view which subsequent Baha’r historians have tended to follow. MacEoin has stated: ““Baha’t sources from a relatively early date have tended to attribute the Bab’s later, developed claims retrospectively to the earliest period, resulting in a serious distortion of the pattern in which the Bab’s thought developed.” As long as eighty years ago, Edward G. Browne noted that the claims put forward in the Bab's writings evolved during the Bab’s ministry: ‘The Bab's original claim was... that he was the “'Gate"” whereby men could communicate with the Ké’im, Imaim-Mahdi, or Twelth Imm. At a later period of his mission, however, he declared himself to be none other than the Imam himself, and ... it was this claim that he boldly advanced before his inquisitors at Tabriz.” Browne is here following the explicit claim made in the Qayyiim al-asma’, which is that of being the special representative (naib Ahdss) or the Gate (Bab) of the Hidden Imam. Thus for example in the opening stira of the Qayyim al-asma’, it is stated that this book has been sent down from the Imam Mahdi “to his servant that it may be the proof of God revealed from His Remembrance unto all mankind," and in the Sarat al-Sirr: “Listen! By the Lord of Heaven and Earth, I am the servant of God before you who has brought the clear proof from the Remnant of God (Bagiyat Aula), the expected one.” This seems to have been how most of the people perceived the Babs claim for the first four years of his mission, whether they believed in him or not. This is how the European diplomats reported his claims when they first began to make mention of the Bab in their reports.” It should be noted, of course, that this claim was easily identified in the minds of most Shaikhis with the Bearer of the Fourth Support. However, those of the ulama who were familiar with the Bab’s writings came to view his claims differently. We have seen that in the fatwa document described above, the ulama have perceived through the Bab’s use of words such as awha and anzala and certain other phrases and injunctions that he was in fact claiming for himself Divine Revelation and a station equal to that of Muhammad. Descent (nuzii) of Divine Revelation (wafy) is not even claimed for the Twelve Imams in orthodox Shift Islam.** This implicit claim in the Bab’s first book, the Qayyiim al-asmd’, was clearly perceived by the Sunni and Shi“ ulama writing the fatwd against Mulla “AIT in Baghdad and formed the basis of their charge of heresy. ‘Completely independently and at about the same time as the trial of Mulla ‘All, Muhammad Karim Khan Kirmant, who was about to emerge as the leader of a group of Shaikhiis, came to much the same conclusion. In his zhdq al-bati! (completed in July 1845), Karim Khan examines the contents of the manuscript of the Qayyim al-asma’ brought to him by Mulla $adiq Khurasant, Interestingly, he picks out for criticism in this book some of the same passages as the compiler of the su’al portion of the ‘fatwa described in this paper.** After quoting several verses from the Sitratal-Dhifr (including v. 12, see ‘passage 3 and translation abovel, Karim Khan writes: Ponder on these statements of unbelief and these nonsenses which only an obdurate unbeliever, disdainful of his glorious Lord and scornful of the praiseworthy Prophet, would utter. And how is it that he has asserted that ... God has revealed to him this book in which there is no truth and that what is in itis from the Remem- brance of God and his Apostle? Either itis just an expression and by it he did not intend Him, or itis not the God of creation and His Apostle [that is intended, for it is according to his assertion and not according to the assertion of the Muslims, and God has said: “Say: O unbelievers! I worship not that which you worship and neither do you worship that which I worship."** And so our God is not his God, nor our Apostle his Apostle, nor ‘our Imam his Imém. Would you not say that our God is the Creator of the Word and would not make a mistake in His Word? For the God who has sent down this word, which the least ofthe fullab—not even the lowliest Arab —would utter, is not our God, and similarly, the Apostle of this God is not our Apostle, and similarly, the Caliph of this Apostle who has chosen such a gate (Bab) is not our Imam. And so all that is in itis error and worthless according to the application of the Law of Islam. Ponder on it, and you will find it incontestable that there is not an attribute of God which he has not claimed for himself nor a station of the prophets which he has not arrogated nor a virtue of the Imams with which he has not attired himself.”142 JOURNAL OF PERSIAN STUDIES ‘And after a few further quotations from the Qayyiim al-asma’, Karim Khan writes ‘And so this man has sought leadership and has desired to rule and has committed what he has committed through his foolishness. And therefore, why is it that people who profess to have intelligence are hesitating about the unbelief of this man and about his expulsion from Islam? And if taking on the station of prophet and guardian, and arrogation of their virtues and dignities, and giving the lie to the Qur'an and the statement that a new book has been sent down to him, are not disbelief in the essential elements of Islam, then what else besides these are the essential elements” If Sunni, Shi and ShaikhT ulama in Baghdad and Kirman realized the implicit claim in the Bab’s writings, it is unreasonable to suppose that the Bab’s closest disciples, the Letters of the Living, and others of his leading disciples who were also themselves all of the ulama, failed to perceive this implicit claim, if indeed it was not conveyed to them orally during the several months that they were together with the Bab in Shiraz in 1844. ‘Thus it would seem that there were at least two levels of understanding of the Bab’s claim at this carly period. On one level, the generality of the people, and probably of the Babls, thought of the Bab as an intermediary between the Hidden Imam and the world (the nd‘th Aha), or for the Shaikhis, the Bearer of the Fourth Support (Admil-i rukn-i rab. On the other hand, those of the ulama who were familiar with the Bab’s writings, as well as the leading Babis, were aware of the greater claims of the Bab: that of being the bearer of a new divine revelation abrogating Islam. During this time, the Bab was insisting that his disciples follow the sharia of Islam. Thus in an. early letter to Tahira, the Bab writes: Be thou assured that al the externals of the shana are to continue. Whoever neglect any of them, it shall be asifhe has neglected al of them. There is, moreover, an open acknowledgement and an explanation by the Bab of the changing nature of his claim in the Dalai Sal¥a, one of his later works: Consider the grace of the Promised One in so extending his mercy to the people of Islam that he might bring them salvation, how he whose station is that ofthe first of all created things and the manifestation of the verse: “Verily, lam God,” revealed himself as the Bab of the Q4’im of the family of Muhammad, and in his first book commanded observance of the laws of the Qur'an so that men might not be disturbed by a new Book and a This situation lasted until the summer of 1848. Then almost simultaneously, the Bab at his trial in Tabriz and some of his leading disciples at the conference of Badasht openly proclaimed the Bab’s claim to be the Hidden Imam Mahdi, the Qa’im of the House of Muhammad. This pronouncement was clearly a startling revelation for the Babis and many, both at the conference of Badasht and in various parts of the country, repudiated the Bab at this time.” It was shortly before this time that the Bab wrote the Persian Bayan and other works in which he, for the first time, alluded to his station and gave out religious laws and ordinances which abrogated those of Islam, thereby realizing the preroga- tive which was implicit in his claim to be of equal station to Muhammad and the preceding apostles (rasilan). ‘The mission of the Bab may therefore be considered to have consisted of three stages: the first stage lasted several months in 1844, when the Bab collected around himself in Shiraz a small band of disciples, without however making a public proclamation; the second stage was initiated in December 1844 by the open proclamation of the Bab’s claim, although his followers continued to follow the sharia of Islam; the third stage began in the summer of 1848 with the promulgation of the new sharia, abrogating the Ishmaic sharia and thus making clear the nature of the Bab’s claim. The trial of Mulla “AII which forms the subject of this article marked the opening of the second phase. It was the first major confrontation between the new religious movement and the most eminent figures in the hierarchy of both Sunni and Shr‘ orthodoxy. The fatwd emanating from this trial was to set the pattern for subsequent declamations of the BabI and Baha’! movement. The text of this fatwa provides us with significant clues as to how the early claims of the Bab were perceived.THE TRIAL OF MULLA ‘ALT BASTAM "tn mediaeval times, the ‘Abbasids broughs together a numberof leading ‘Aids together with prominent Sunt and Shi lama in ‘order fo produces rebuttal ofthe Ftimidcaim to ‘Ali ancestry. “The fs time that this ocurred was in the reign of the Caliph al: (Qadir in 402/1011 and the second was in he reign ofthe Caliph a1-Q¥'im in 444/1052, Se ton al-Atiea- Kami ah, Beir, 1386/1966, TX, pp. 286, $91; Ibn aja, a-Afantazam, Caio, 1858/1988, VIL, pp. 255-6; thm Khaldon, The Magaddmah(-F Rosenthal, London 1958, 1, pP-45-6, 2 The Iraqi historian ‘AI al-Wara writes: "This wal of Mulls ‘AIT was the hist gathering of ts kind in the Ottoman era. For wat ‘ot customary in tha perio forthe ula ofthe wo sect Sunt and Sh to come wether in one gathering in order to wy an Sccwed person. And thi meant thatthe government was giving fhe Sh Sect official recognition." Lamab dpa min hl “Tapa Aadth, Baghdad, 1969, 1, pp 138-3 » Summaried from Fadil Mazandarde, ‘Tehran, ad. pp. 105-6 alain dp. 508 5 teh abt Kean, 1892/1972 «See MacEoin, "shaykhi Reaction, Bur a-hagg, 1, ‘asain Fil, Zubr a: Ag, IM, p30 Nobis Nara, The Daunbreakes ed. and e. Shoghi Efendi, Wile, 1982, p50 * han Bahadur Agha Mirza Muhammad, "Some New Notes on Babiism,”JRAS uly 1927), p. 4482 % One account of Mulls Hssin's encounter with the Bab may be found n Nab’ Nara, pp. 52-65. ' Aczording to one account, Mulla ‘Alt was accompanied by welve persons (Nab Nara, p66); according to anxher, ix bn a Karbala, in Fail Zar al oy, la) "an account of his conversion may be found in Nab’ Narrative, poe 2 He was the author ofthe faut Ali, a work tha i regarded as authoritative inthe bed of Jurisprudence to the presen day Shaikh Mohammad Hasan’s pre-eminence was not, however undisputed. Muhammad. Hat al-Din, ia "his biographical icionary, sates of Shaikh Muhammad Hlasan’s principal rival, ‘Shaikh Hasan ibn Shaikh Jafar, chat he was a leader who was ‘obeyed despite the existence of the author of the Jew in Najaf, Spd that questions came to him from all pars of the Muslim ‘world Ma'an/a-ra.Najt 1883/1966, p 210-10, Opa tls ps 18 Quoted in Abu “Fag! Gulpaygant, Kaif alpha’ Tshqsbsd, dp. ° Rusia amr, Cairo, 1898/1919-20, pp. 106-7. © Rawlinson to Lord Canning, No.1 B January 1845, £0. 195287 Rawlinson has ofcourse called the Shakhs bythe name of thie opponents, the Us, and is also mistaken in stating that they sree prominent Najaf rather than Karbal. For details of al of avlinson's dispatches on this subject, see M. Momen, Th Bab nd. Baha Redgans(1844-1944)" Some Contenporay Wesere ‘Accous, Oxford, 1981, pp. 88-90. ta 2 Rawlinson 0 Lt Col. Shel, No.2, 16 January 1845, FO 248 116 ™ Tabi Ali a Sa, 1, Najaf 187471984, pp. 818-19. Subsant ally similar accounts are gen in Hlizr aD, op. at, 1, pp. 21516, al-Wardh, op. ait. Ml, pp. 188-40, and. Muhammad, “Tunubabun, Qiu al lamd, Team, 4, pp 195-4 1 Opeetp. 17 = This document, together with the accompanying reports of Najib Pasha, were found among miscellaneous fils from Baghdad in the Ovtoman Archiver in Istanbul by the Tate Mr,” Sami DDokcorogl The author would like 1o expres his gratitude to Mr Doktorogiu for sharing. this imporamt discovery, and his profound sorrow athe news of his death COMBINED SUNNT-SHTT FATWA AGAINSTTHE BAB 143, aa a Sefer a A Berd oma ee or ee Reo ag era an Pt ari chaip orc rarer Saint a ts ed ae, od saa meg p asornc 2 a ee eh ae rent roy Soper te agent it peat gee eater int ton Onan Cnn oe ff Ped nrergtemml tenement tive wana a 5 Mate 1 omy ee Siete eee ean Teeth ey Sy Sicts aera cme ut 2s permet me i re a ee eh koe, pring ed ae eee See ee ee epi Hon moo ee remain eee cient = Sonne eae So eee ee Tin ee Hate i ‘epee rl Me mec rt Se cieaeeae once taeasceiet real ede ee ct ed fea 2 Saher ar sree asa a a er ou ie 969,