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  • The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine
  • Sept. 19, 1863
  • Page 6
  • THE MYSTICAL PRINCIPLES OF ISLAMISM; OR, A LECTURE ON THE DERVICHES.
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The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine, Sept. 19, 1863: Page 6

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The Mystical Principles Of Islamism; Or, A Lecture On The Derviches.

as I have been able to learn them , what are the general principles of the Derviehes , and what the mysteries of their Orders . There are , doubtless , many excellent and pious Mussulmans Avho , though they belong to one or more of the Orders , make a wide distinction between ordinary piety and the princiles of those who indulge in a raptured love of the

p Divinity , and the harmony of His creation ; and cultivate the conversation of the Sheiks , who are also often very pious and learned men ,- such , for example , as those of the Mevlevees , or " Dancing Derviehes , " —and repel all communion with those wild devotees who give themselves up to all the errors of a heated

imagination , and conceive that they approach God by departing from all that is deemed rational among men . Some of the Ottoman Sultans have become members of a Dervich Order . Mohammed II ., the " Conqueror , " was a Khtilvettee , as also was Sultan Soliman ; Byazid was aKaderee Sultan ; Mahmoudll .

aMevlevee ; and , at the present time , some of the highest functionaries of the Sublime Porte are Derviehes , and either visit Ihe Sheiks at their Tekkehs , or receive their visits in their own palaces . These functionaries also believe in the efficacy of their prayers ; ancl I am informed that , when they have had the misfortune to lose their offices , they spend considerable sums to induce the " holy Sheiks" to pray them into them again .

I will now terminate my remarks , which I fear have severely tried the patience of the reader , with an account of the mystical initiation of a Murid , or disciple of the Bektash Order . Hadji Bektash , the Peer or founder of this Order , came originally into Asia Minor from Persia , or the

city of Balk , and already Avas a celebrated Sheik in the reign of Sultan Orkhau , by whom , some historians assert , though others deny it , he Avas invited to give a name and his blessing to his new troops , known as the Janissaries . On doing tliis , he is said to have covered the head of one of them with his own cap ,

and the sleeve oi his mantle hung over his shoulders whilst he blessed and promised them many future conquests . Ever afterwards , these formed a part of the costume of that celebrated soldiery , aud a large number of them always embraced his Order . Hadji Bektash received his mantle from the great Sheik Ahmed Yessavee , of Bokhara , who traced his own

descent to the Caliph Abu Bekr , father-in-law of the Prophet , ancl one of the original founders of the Siddikkee ( Sooffee ) sects . His principles are , hoAVever , now strictly those of the Aalyides , or followers of Aali , the fourth and'last of the elective Caliphs , and consequently they are Sheea , or " heterodox" in

their nature . They are eminently mystical , and embrace all the chief points of the Sooffees aforedetailed . Some of them take vows of celibacy , called the Mujared Ikrar , but the majority do not . Their distinct acceptance of their Pantheistic doctrine , of God in all animated nature , and au extensive belief

in the metempsychosis , forbids their killing any animal for food . They freely admit the Avords of Christ , when he said "I and my Father are one ;" and much of Christ ' s prayer to His Father is in unison with what they believe to have been the existence of all mankind in the Deity , and their final return to it after the death of the body . Their white felt cap contains four or twelve gores or scallops , —

the first in reference to the four columns of Suffeeism , and the latter to the twelve Imaams . * The Sheiks , like all those of the other Orders , distinctively wear a white turban wound round his cap . Their white Khirka , or mautle , has a figure on each shoulder , denoting the Zulfikiar , or sword of Aali ; their belt ,

called Teebeud , made on the occasion of the disciple ' s initiation , has a certain number of knots ( three ) r allusive to the cord Avith which the Prophet ' s groom , Kamber , used to tether his master ' s horse ; and thewhite agate , or alabaster stone , generally from Kerbelay , worn in the centre of the belt , is called the

Kanaat Tash , or " stone of contentment , " in remembrance of the stone which the Prophet , on a remarkable occasion , —and since then imitated by wandering-Fakeers , —placed in his belt to appease the cravings of hunger . Some of them wear ear-rings called Hassanee and Hassainee , in memory of the two' sons of

the Caliph Aali . Some carry a horn , called Niften , with which they cry out , " Ya , Vidood ! " ( 0 , God of love ! " ) to attract the attention of the benevolent , or assemble the fraternity . Like all the other Orders ,, they say a prayer of thanks at their meals , called the-Gulbend , or " rose-tie of fraternal love . "

I have taken the following initiation from two manuscripts on the subject of the Order of Bektash , one AA'ritten by an individual named Tehaoush Asbee , whose grave at Merdiven Kieuy , iu the valley beyond Cady Kieuy , on the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus , is much revered and visited by pious Mussulmans ; and the other by Ilashim Baba , an eminent writer on tho Ritual of the Order .

To be enabled to join the Order of the Bektashees ,. it is necessary to be recommended by two . members , then called Rehpers , or " guides , " AA'ho act as the securities of the applicant , and prepare him for the initiation . A year , or more , is required for his probation , during which false secrets are confided to him

to test his powers of secrecy and fidelity . At the termination of this period he is taken to the Tekkeh by his proposers ; he takes with him a sum of money as an offering , according to his means , Avhich is delivered to one of its officers for distribution among the membersaccording to its rulesand a sheep to

, , be sacrificed at the sill of its portal . From the wool of the sheep a rope is made , called the Rishtay-i-Teslim , and put round his neck , and the remainder is reserved for a belt , called Teebend , to be worn always ; by him after his acceptance . He is divested of all his clothingretaining at the most only a girdle for

, his loins ; and , when he is to take the vow of celibacy , every object of a metal or mineral nature is removed from his person . At the outside of the Tekkeh one of the brethren is placed as a guard . The two Rehpers AVIIO accompany him into the Tekkeh are each armed with a sword of a peculiar form and

shape , called Zulfikiar , or the SAvord of Aali , or by its own proper name of Tebber , ancl more resembles a battle-axe than a sword . This weapon is often seen in the streets , in the hands of Derviehes and Fakeers . Three of the members , called Pervannehs , act as ser-

“The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine: 1863-09-19, Page 6” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 10 July 2025, django:8000/periodicals/mmr/issues/mmr_19091863/page/6/.
  • List
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Title Category Page
THE RIGHTS OF VISITORS AND MASONIC TRIALS. Article 1
"LE MONDE MACONNIQUE" AND "THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE." Article 3
THE MYSTICAL PRINCIPLES OF ISLAMISM; OR, A LECTURE ON THE DERVICHES. Article 4
MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES. Article 7
CORRESPONDENCE. Article 12
COLONIAL BOARDS OF GENERAL PURPOSES. Article 12
THE BOYS' SCHOOL. Article 12
MASONIC CHARITY. Article 12
THE MASONIC MIRROR. Article 13
METROPOLITAN. Article 13
PROVINCIAL. Article 13
INDIA. Article 16
PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS. Article 17
THE WEEK. Article 18
TO CORRESPONDENTS. Article 20
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

The Mystical Principles Of Islamism; Or, A Lecture On The Derviches.

as I have been able to learn them , what are the general principles of the Derviehes , and what the mysteries of their Orders . There are , doubtless , many excellent and pious Mussulmans Avho , though they belong to one or more of the Orders , make a wide distinction between ordinary piety and the princiles of those who indulge in a raptured love of the

p Divinity , and the harmony of His creation ; and cultivate the conversation of the Sheiks , who are also often very pious and learned men ,- such , for example , as those of the Mevlevees , or " Dancing Derviehes , " —and repel all communion with those wild devotees who give themselves up to all the errors of a heated

imagination , and conceive that they approach God by departing from all that is deemed rational among men . Some of the Ottoman Sultans have become members of a Dervich Order . Mohammed II ., the " Conqueror , " was a Khtilvettee , as also was Sultan Soliman ; Byazid was aKaderee Sultan ; Mahmoudll .

aMevlevee ; and , at the present time , some of the highest functionaries of the Sublime Porte are Derviehes , and either visit Ihe Sheiks at their Tekkehs , or receive their visits in their own palaces . These functionaries also believe in the efficacy of their prayers ; ancl I am informed that , when they have had the misfortune to lose their offices , they spend considerable sums to induce the " holy Sheiks" to pray them into them again .

I will now terminate my remarks , which I fear have severely tried the patience of the reader , with an account of the mystical initiation of a Murid , or disciple of the Bektash Order . Hadji Bektash , the Peer or founder of this Order , came originally into Asia Minor from Persia , or the

city of Balk , and already Avas a celebrated Sheik in the reign of Sultan Orkhau , by whom , some historians assert , though others deny it , he Avas invited to give a name and his blessing to his new troops , known as the Janissaries . On doing tliis , he is said to have covered the head of one of them with his own cap ,

and the sleeve oi his mantle hung over his shoulders whilst he blessed and promised them many future conquests . Ever afterwards , these formed a part of the costume of that celebrated soldiery , aud a large number of them always embraced his Order . Hadji Bektash received his mantle from the great Sheik Ahmed Yessavee , of Bokhara , who traced his own

descent to the Caliph Abu Bekr , father-in-law of the Prophet , ancl one of the original founders of the Siddikkee ( Sooffee ) sects . His principles are , hoAVever , now strictly those of the Aalyides , or followers of Aali , the fourth and'last of the elective Caliphs , and consequently they are Sheea , or " heterodox" in

their nature . They are eminently mystical , and embrace all the chief points of the Sooffees aforedetailed . Some of them take vows of celibacy , called the Mujared Ikrar , but the majority do not . Their distinct acceptance of their Pantheistic doctrine , of God in all animated nature , and au extensive belief

in the metempsychosis , forbids their killing any animal for food . They freely admit the Avords of Christ , when he said "I and my Father are one ;" and much of Christ ' s prayer to His Father is in unison with what they believe to have been the existence of all mankind in the Deity , and their final return to it after the death of the body . Their white felt cap contains four or twelve gores or scallops , —

the first in reference to the four columns of Suffeeism , and the latter to the twelve Imaams . * The Sheiks , like all those of the other Orders , distinctively wear a white turban wound round his cap . Their white Khirka , or mautle , has a figure on each shoulder , denoting the Zulfikiar , or sword of Aali ; their belt ,

called Teebeud , made on the occasion of the disciple ' s initiation , has a certain number of knots ( three ) r allusive to the cord Avith which the Prophet ' s groom , Kamber , used to tether his master ' s horse ; and thewhite agate , or alabaster stone , generally from Kerbelay , worn in the centre of the belt , is called the

Kanaat Tash , or " stone of contentment , " in remembrance of the stone which the Prophet , on a remarkable occasion , —and since then imitated by wandering-Fakeers , —placed in his belt to appease the cravings of hunger . Some of them wear ear-rings called Hassanee and Hassainee , in memory of the two' sons of

the Caliph Aali . Some carry a horn , called Niften , with which they cry out , " Ya , Vidood ! " ( 0 , God of love ! " ) to attract the attention of the benevolent , or assemble the fraternity . Like all the other Orders ,, they say a prayer of thanks at their meals , called the-Gulbend , or " rose-tie of fraternal love . "

I have taken the following initiation from two manuscripts on the subject of the Order of Bektash , one AA'ritten by an individual named Tehaoush Asbee , whose grave at Merdiven Kieuy , iu the valley beyond Cady Kieuy , on the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus , is much revered and visited by pious Mussulmans ; and the other by Ilashim Baba , an eminent writer on tho Ritual of the Order .

To be enabled to join the Order of the Bektashees ,. it is necessary to be recommended by two . members , then called Rehpers , or " guides , " AA'ho act as the securities of the applicant , and prepare him for the initiation . A year , or more , is required for his probation , during which false secrets are confided to him

to test his powers of secrecy and fidelity . At the termination of this period he is taken to the Tekkeh by his proposers ; he takes with him a sum of money as an offering , according to his means , Avhich is delivered to one of its officers for distribution among the membersaccording to its rulesand a sheep to

, , be sacrificed at the sill of its portal . From the wool of the sheep a rope is made , called the Rishtay-i-Teslim , and put round his neck , and the remainder is reserved for a belt , called Teebend , to be worn always ; by him after his acceptance . He is divested of all his clothingretaining at the most only a girdle for

, his loins ; and , when he is to take the vow of celibacy , every object of a metal or mineral nature is removed from his person . At the outside of the Tekkeh one of the brethren is placed as a guard . The two Rehpers AVIIO accompany him into the Tekkeh are each armed with a sword of a peculiar form and

shape , called Zulfikiar , or the SAvord of Aali , or by its own proper name of Tebber , ancl more resembles a battle-axe than a sword . This weapon is often seen in the streets , in the hands of Derviehes and Fakeers . Three of the members , called Pervannehs , act as ser-

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