First I trust myself to Allâhu ta’âlâ. Be it known that Shâh Ismâ’îl Safawî appeared in the year 906
[A.D. 1500]. He gathered some ignorant people around himself. In order to
obtain this base world and attain his sensuous desires, he instigated faction
and mischief among the people. He invented the practice of swearing at the
Shaikhayn, (which was later turned into a sect called) Shiah. Thus he sowed
very grave discord among Muslims. He caused the flags of hypocrisy and
aggression to fly. So much so that, while disbelievers are leading a life in
comfort free from anxieties, Muslims are molesting one another. They are
destroying one another’s blood and chastity. It is for this reason that when
all of you, from the oldest to the youngest ones, wanted
to make me the Shâh in the meeting held at the Megan Square, you
stated you would cease from all the wrong beliefs and inane words that had
settled in Iran since the time of Shâh Ismâ’îl if I accepted this request of
yours. You promised you would believe and express with your tongues that the
four Khalîfas are rightful and true, which was the Madhhab of your virtuous
grandfathers and which has therefore been our blessed tradition, and that you
would stop censuring and speaking ill of them and love all the four. And now,
in order to emphasize this auspicious performance, I have studied the matter by
asking distinguished scholars and highly devout persons. As all of them have
unanimously stated, since the day our Prophet
‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wa alâ âlihi wa as-hâbihi ajma’în’ called (people) to the
way of Haqq, each of the four Khalîfas ‘radiy-Allâhu anhum’, who were the
Sahâba-i-râshidîn, sacrificed their lives and property, left their wives,
children, and uncles, and tolerated all sorts of abusive terms, vilifications,
and arrows for the promulgation of the Dîn-i-mubîn (Islam). On account of this,
they were honoured with the special sohbat[1] of our master, hadrat Rasûlullah ‘sall- Allâhu alaihi wa sallam’. It was on account of this,
again, that they attained the praise and laud expressed in the âyat-i-kerîma purporting, “The eminent ones of the Muhâjirs and
Ansârs...”. After the
master of the good passed away, Abû Bekr as-Siddîq ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ anh’, his companion in the cave, was appointed the first Khalîfa
by a unanimous vote of the notables of the As-hâb-i-kirâm, who were the
managers of the matters among the Muslims. After him, appointed by the Khalîfa
and approved by the As-hâb-i-kirâm, hadrat ’Umar Fârûq ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’
became the Khalîfa; and after him ’Uthmân bin Affân, the Zinnûrayn,
‘radiy-Allâhu anh’, out of the six candidates (nominated by hadrat ’Umar), was
voted into the office of caliphate unanimously; and after him the Emîr
ul-mu’minîn Alî ibni Ebî Tâlib ‘kerrem-Allâhu wajhah’, the lion of Allah, the
aim of those who seek someone (to guide them), the treasure of bewildering
values, became the Khalîfa. During their caliphates, all these four Khalîfas
were in harmony with one another and
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[1] The lexical meaning of (sohbat) is (being together). When this togetherness is with someone loved by Allâhu ta’âlâ, it causes great spiritual use and elevation. Since our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wa sallam’ is the creature Allâhu ta’âlâ loves best, it goes without saying how uselful, how progressive spiritually it should have been to attain his sohbat.
were beyond the blemish of any sort of disagreement among themselves. They were in brotherly terms and in unity with one another. Every one of them protected the Islamic countries against polytheism and the malice of polytheists. After these four Khalîfas, Muslims preserved their unity in matters concerning belief. As times and situations changed, the Islamic scholars had some differing inferences in matters pertaining to fast, hajj, zakât and the other types of worships; yet no fault or deficiency or decay or slackness took place in the principles of belief or in loving Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wa sallam’ and his As-hâb or in regarding them all as true Muslims. All the Islamic countries retained this pure and clean quality until the emergence of Shâh Ismâ’îl. Fortunately, owing to your common sense and the guidance of your pure hearts, you have ceased from such practices as swearing at the As-hâb-i-kirâm and being Shiites, which were invented afterwards. You have embellished your hearts with love of the four Khalîfas, who are the four main pillars of the Islamic palace. I therefore promise to report these five covenants of ours to the Islamic Pâdishâh, who is as high as heavens, the Sultan of lands and seas, the servant of the haramayn-i- sherîfayn (the two blessed cities, Mekka and Medina), the earth’s second Zulqarnayn,[1] our brother, and the Sultan of Byzantine Greek lands. Let us accomplish this concern in a manner concordant with our wishes. May what we have written here, with the help of Allâhu ta’âlâ, be realized very soon! Now, in order to reinforce this auspicious endeavour, the Allâma-
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[1] Alexander the Great. This name has nothing to do with Alexander, the son of Philip and the king of Macedonia, or Alexander, the king of the ancient Yemen. This Alexander, whose name is given as Zulqarnayn in Qur’ân al-kerîm because he went to Western as well as to Eastern countries, was either a Prophet or a Walî. He lived long before the other two Alexanders. He was of Japhetic descent. Hidir ‘alaihis-salâm’ was one of the commanders in his army and was the son of his maternal aunt. He saw and talked to hadrat Ibrâhîm, who asked a blessing on him. He dominated the European and Asian continents. Upon the request of the Mu’min (Believer) Turks living in the Northeastern part of Asia, he built a great wall in order to protect them against Ye’jûj and Me’jûj (Gog and Magog). Built between two mountains, the wall, which has nothing to do with the famous Wall of China, was six kilometres long, twenty-five metres wide, and one hundred metres tall. Gog and Magog were left behind the wall, and the Turks were thus saved. History books mostly mistake these three Alexanders with one another.
i-’Ulâmâ (Molla Alî Ekber), the head Molla, and our other scholars
have written a memorial. They have thus torn apart all the curtains of doubt.
It has been realized that all these slanders, heresies and discordances were
born from the fitna (mischief, instigation) invented by Shâh Ismâ’îl. Before
him, Muslims of all times, especially those in the early days of Islam, held
one common belief, one way of thought. Therefore, with the help of Allâhu ta’âlâ and the inspiration He has endowed our hearts with, we have come
to this noble and exalted decision. From the arising of Islam till he emergence
of Shâh Ismâ’îl, all Muslims regarded the Khulâfa-i-râshidîn (the four
rightly-guided Khalîfas) as rightful and true Khalîfas. They knew that they became
Khalîfas rightfully. They avoided reviling and speaking ill of them. Orators
and great preachers would tell about the goodnesses, merits, superiorities of
these Khalîfas in their speeches and discourses. Whenever they were to pronounce or write
their blessed names, they would add the expression ‘radiy-Allâhu anhum’. I have
ordered hadrat Mirzâ Muhammad Alî, a profound scholar and the essence of the
superior, to promulgate the Fermân-i-humâyûn of ours in all the cities of Iran,
so that my people will hear it and accept it! Disobeying or opposing it shall
incur the torment of Allâhu ta’âlâ
and the wrath of the
Shâh-an-shâh. Be it known so.
After this firman was read and understood, I was
admitted to the Shâh’s presence, where I attained most sincere compliments.
Nâdir Shâh was very pleased about this achievement of mine, and expressed his
gratitude very earnestly. He ordered that the Friday prayer should be performed
acceptably in Kûfa Mosque. I said to the I’timâd-ud-dawla (the Grand Vizier)
that that prayer would not be acceptable, for three individuals from the
towns-folk would have to attend the prayer according to Hanafî Madh-hab, and
this compulsory number would be forty (at least) according to Shaîfi’î
Madh-hab. The Grand Vizier said they (people) would be invited only to listen
to the khutba. I went to the mosque. There were some five thousand scholars and
officials. Alî Meded, the Shâh’s imâm, was on the menber. Meanwhile, the head
Molla and the scholars of Kerbelâ talked among themselves, and Alî Meded was
dismounted from the menber. One of the scholars of Kerbelâ took his place and
mounted the menber. (Menber is a raised enclosed platform from which the
preacher in the mosque delivers discourse or the khutba, that is, the special
discourse delivered before Friday prayer). After saying the prayers of
Hamd[1] and Salawât,[2] he cited the names of the four Khalîfas,
saying, ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’, after each name. Yet when the turn came to hadrat
’Umar, he uttered the name ’Umar in munsarif (declined) case, though he knew
Arabic well (enough not to do it by mistake). (That is, he said ’Umari’ instead
of ’Umara’). Thus he severed (the qualities of) adl (justice) and ma’rifat
(occult spiritual knowledge), which makes the name ghayr-i-munsarif (not declined),
from hadrat ’Umar. It was obvious that there was some trick in this. With the
Shâh’s order, benedictions were pronounced, first over the welfare and majesty
of hadrat Mahmûd Khân bin Mustafa Khân, who was the Khalîfa-i-Muslimîn, and
then over the welfare and majesty of Nâdir Shâh. The Jum’a (Friday) sûra was
recited in the first rak’at (of the Friday namâz). After the namâz, I asked for
Nâdir Shâh’s permission and returned to Baghdâd. I related all the events to
Ahmad Pashâ. I submitted a copy of the covenant made between the two parties
and a copy of the Fermân-i-Shâhî, which Nâdir Shâh proclaimed to the Persian
people. These, and an account of the event was sent to Istanbul and presented
to the Khalîfa. This incapable person (hadrat Abdullah Suwaydî means himself)
was honoured with so many favours and gifts by His Highness the Khalîfa, that I
should confess I would fall short of paying the debt of gratitude were I to
pronounce benedictions over His Highness till my death.
[Sultan Mahmûd I ‘rahimahullâhu ta’âlâ’ was born in
1108, and passed away in 1168 [A.D. 1754]. He became Khalîfa in 1143 [A.D.
1730]. He is in the graveyard called Vâlide (Mother) Turhan Sultan, beside the
Yeni Câmi’ (New Mosque), at Eminönü, Istanbul. This graveyard contains (the graves
of) Turhan Sultan and her son, Mehmed IV, Mustafa II, Ahmad III, Osmân
(’Uthmân) III, and Murad V ‘rahimahumullâhu ta’âlâ’].
The Arabic original of the book Hujaj-i-Qat’iyya
was reproduced by offset process
in Istanbul in 1400 [A.D. 1980].
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[1] Praising, lauding, and thanking Allâhu ta’âlâ.
[2] Special prayer for asking a blessing on our Prophet’s soul, e.g. ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ alaihi wa sallam.’