Iranian Influence on Moslem Literature Part 15

(PAGE 112, VOL. 1, EGYPTIAN ED.)

As regards the Magians they believed in the prophetship of Zaradasht....

And as regards Zaradasht it is said that the majority of Moslems believed in his prophetship....

[Sidenote: "Majority of Moslems believed in the Prophetship of Zoroaster."]

And the Book of the Magians and their religious Law were for a long time during their sovereignty in the possession of the _mobeds and_ 23 _herbeds_. Each of the herbeds had a volume which was individual and separate. In it was a.s.sociated none of the other herbeds and no outsider had any concern with it. Subsequently there was a break on account of Alexander setting fire to their books at the time when he invaded Dara, son of Dara, and they admit with unanimity that a portion of their scriptures to the extent of a third has perished. This has been mentioned by Bashir and Nasik and others of their men of learning....

[Sidenote: History of Zoroastrian Sacred literature.]

And Magians compiled all the scriptures (ayat) regarding the miracles of Zoroaster such as that of the bra.s.s which was spread over and melted on his chest and which did not injure him, and the feet of the horse which had penetrated his belly and which were drawn out by him, etc.

[Sidenote: Zoroastrians are _Kitabis_.]

And among those who a.s.sert that the Magians are _Ahal Kitab_ are Ali Ibn Talib and Khuzayfa, may G.o.d be pleased on these two, and Said Bin Al Musib and Karadah and Abu Thaur and the whole of the sect of the Zahurites. And we have set out the arguments of the validity of this statement in our book ent.i.tled the _Isal_ in the chapters on Jehad, Ceremonial Slaughter, and Nikah. And therein is sufficiently proved the validity of the acceptance of Jaziya by the prophet of G.o.d from them.

For in the clear statement of the Qoran in the last verses of the chapter of _Burat_, G.o.d has declared unlawful the acceptance of the Jaziya from _non-Kitabis_....

Now as regards the Magians they admit that the books of theirs in which is incorporated their religion were destroyed by fire by Alexander when he slew Dara son of Dara,--that more than two-thirds of them have perished the remnants being less than a third,--that their religious law was comprised in what has disappeared. Now since this is the condition of their religion, then their claims are void altogether became of the disappearance of the majority of their books; since G.o.d does not held responsible any person with reference to anything that has not been entrusted to him.

[Sidenote: Zoroastrians extant scriptures are corrupt.]

And among their books there is one ent.i.tled the _Khudhay_ to which they pay great reverence, in which it is related that king a.n.u.shirwan prohibited the teaching of their religion in any one of the cities except Ardeshir Khurrah and the religion spread from Datjird. Before this time it was not taught anywhere except Istakhar and it was not proper for anyone to engage in its study except a special cla.s.s of people. And of the books which remained after the conflagration by Alexander there were 23 volumes and there were appointed 23 _herbeds_, one _herbed_ for each volume. And no herbed transgressed upon the volume of another. And the MOBED MOBEDAN was the superintendent of the whole of those scriptures. Now whatever is in this condition has its contents altered and modified and each of the transcripts is in this state. Hence they are corrupt and do not deserve to be regarded as authentic. Thus whatever is in their books cannot be held to be authentic except by reason of faith alone since there are evident falsehoods in them like the statement that their king mounted on Iblis and rode on him wherever he willed, that man in the beginning originated from a vegetable like gra.s.s called Sharaliya, and the birth of Bayarawan Siyawush son of Kay Kawash who built a city called Kangdez between the earth and the heaven and settled therein 80,000 men belonging to the _people of family_, that they are there to this day, and that when Behram Hamawand manifests himself on his bull to restore to them their sovereignty that city will descend to earth and will help him to restore their religion and Empire.

Says Abu Muhammed, may G.o.d be pleased with him. And every book in which is incorporated a falsehood is invalid and fict.i.tious. It does not come from G.o.d. Thus there is corruption in the religion of the Magians just as there is in the religion of the Jews and the Christians to an equal degree.

IBN HAUKAL.

Ibn Haukal has been edited in the _Bibliotheca Geogra phorum Arabicorum_ by De Goege, but as the text is not available the following excerpts from a translation of it made over a century ago by Sir William Ouseley will indicate its importance. He flourished in the middle of the 11th century.

[Sidenote: Fire Temples.]

"There is not any district nor any town of Fars without a fire temple.

These are held in high veneration. We shall hereafter minutely describe them. Also throughout Fars there are castles one stronger than another.

[Sidenote: Nirang.]

"There is not any district of this province nor any without a fire temple. One near Shapur they call Kunbud Kaush.... And in the religion of the Guebres it is ordained that 'Omnis Foemina quae tempore gravid it at is aut tempore menstruorum, fornicationem seu adultarium fecerit, pura non erit, donec ad Pyraeum (seu templum Ignicolarum) accesserit (et) coram Heirbed (sacerdote) nuda ferit et urina vaccae se laverit.'

"In the province of Fars, they have three languages--the PARSI, which they use in speaking one to another, though there may be some variations of dialects in different districts yet it is in fact all the same and they all understand the languages of each other and none of their expressions or words are unintelligible; the Pahlavi language which was formerly used in writings; this language now requires a commentary or explanatory treatise; and the Arabic language which at present is used in the Divans or royal courts of justice and revenue, etc.

[Sidenote: Maritime commerce.]

"As to the manners of the people in Fars those who are the chief men and occupy the higher offices in the service of the sovereign are polite and courteous. They have fine palaces and are very hospitable. The people in general, are kind and civil in their manners. The merchants are remarkably covetous and desirous of wealth. I have heard that there was a certain man of Siraj who had forty years at sea never leaving his ship during this time. Whenever he came to a port he sent some of his people on sh.o.r.e to transact his commercial affairs, and when the business was finished he sailed on to some other place. The inhabitants of Siraj devoted their whole time to commerce and merchandise. I myself saw at this place several persons who possessed 4,000 thousand dinars and there were some who had still more and their clothes were those of labourers.

[Sidenote: Parsis in Fars.]

"In Fars there are fire worshippers, Guebres, and Christians and some Jews. And the practices of the Guebres, their fire temples, and their customs and ceremonies and Guebreism or Magism, still continue among the people of Fars and there are not in, any country of Islam so many Guebres as in the land of Fars. It has been their capital or residence."

[Like all other Arab authors Ibn Haukal mentions the celebrated men belonging to each of the provinces he describes. Among the celebrities of Fars are reckoned Hormuz, "Guebre", who in the time of Omar was taken by Abdulla Ibn Omar and put to death; and Salman Farsi who was one of the ill.u.s.trious men. His piety is celebrated throughout the world. He sought the truth of religion in all quarters only to find it at Medina with the Prophet. In consequence of this Selman became a true believer.

Abdulla Ibn Mukaffa also belonged to Fars. In the territory of Istakhar is a great building with statuettes carved in stone and there also are inscriptions and paintings.]

APPENDIX VIII

IBN KHALLIKAN

BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY

TRANSLATED BY DE SLANE, VOL, I.

_Dehkan_ is a Persian word signifying both a farmer and a historian. It is generally used to designate a person of ancient Persian family possessing hereditary landed property. (P. 77).

_Ispeh Salar._ This word signifies commander of the troops. (P. 228).

KATIBS or writers were the persons employed in public offices: the directors, clerks and secretaries in government service were all called katib.

[Sidenote: Nauruz in Baghdad.]

_Khalifs' Nauruz._--This another name for Nauruz Khasa "New Year's day proper," in which it was customary to offer presents to the sovereign.

This festival was held on the sixth day of the month of Ferwardin (end of Marob). The old Persian custom of celebrating Nauruz existed at Baghdad under the Abbaside Khalifs. (See P. 203 of this work, see also an anecdote of Ahmed Ibn Yusuf al Khatif in his life of Al Mubarad.) (P.

340).

"In the year 499 Ak Sunkur was directed by the sultan Muhamed to lay siege to Tikrit which was then in the possession of Kaikobad Ibn Hazarasb (about 1125)." (P. 227.)

[Sidenote: Ibn Mukaffa.]

Ibn Khallikan has devoted seven pages to the life of Ibn Mukaffa who is called _the Katib_ and was renowned for the elegance of his style. He was the author of admirable epistles. He was a native of Fars and a Magian. But he was led to the profession of Islam by the uncle of the two first Abbaside Al Safar and Al Mansur. He then became a secretary and was admitted into intimacy. It was related that Mukaffa went to Isa Ibn Ali and said that he was persuaded of the truth of Islam and wished to make a profession of that faith. Isa answered, "Let it be done in the presence of the leaders and chiefs of the people who come here to-morrow." On the evening of that very day he went to dine with Isa, and having sat down he began to eat and to mutter according to the custom of the Magian, "How" said Isa, "he mutters like the Magian although resolved to embrace Islam?" To this Makaffa replied: "I do not wish to pa.s.s a single night without some religion." The next morning he made to Isa his solemn profession of Islam. Notwithstanding the eminent merit of Mukaffa he was suspected of infidelity and Al Jahiz states that his religious sincerity was doubted (P. 431). Ibn Kallikan says, "It was Mukaffa who composed the book ent.i.tled _Kalileh Wa-Dimneh_. But some state that he is not the author of the work which they say was in Pahlavi, and he translated it into Arabic, and put it in an elegant style. But the discourse at the beginning of the work is by him."

VOLUME II.

Ahmed Ibn Yusuf addressed to Al-Mamun a verse with a present of an embroidered robe on the day of Nauruz. (P. 32).

Al-Marzubani received his surname of Al-Marzubani because one of his ancestors bore the name of Al-Marzuban, a designation applied by Persians to great and powerful men only. This word signifies guardian of the frontier, as we learn from Ibn al Jawaliki's work called Al-muarrab.

(P. 68).

A reference to the game of chess which originated in India, and the game of Nerd as invented by the Persian king Ardeshir.

We often come across names like Dhia-ad-Din Abu Said Bahrain Ibn al-Khidr, just as we have Paul Pakiam indicating the bearer of the name was originally Hindu but had adopted subsequently Christianity. (P.

296).

[Sidenote: Nominal converts.]

Abl-Hasan Mihyar Ibn Mirzawaih, a native of Dadam and secretary for Persian language was a Fire-worshipper, but afterwards adopted the Moslem faith. It is said that he made his profession to Sharif ar-Rida who was his professor and under whom he made his poetical studies. It seems, however, the conversion of Mihyar was only nominal. Ibn al-Athir al-Jazari says in his Annals that one Ibn Burhan said to him. "Mihyar, by becoming a Musalman you have merely pa.s.sed from one corner of h.e.l.l to another." "How so?" said Mihyar. Ibn Burhan replied: "Because you were formerly a fire-worshipper and now you revile the companions of our blessed Prophet in your verses." (P. 517.)