Shaitan

“ Then he began blowing his evil breath or spirit into the body. Upon this Cham Pas hurried to the spot, chased away Shaitan, and ordered the dog always to carry about his dirty hair. To remedy the mischief wrought by Shaitan he turned the body inside out, but the diseases caused by the spittle remained all the same. Then he blew his own good breath into the man and left him. For this reason man remained inclined to both good and evil. When man had thus been created, Shaitan said to Cham Pas, pointing to the man :
"My breath is in him to a half and thine to a half. Let us divide all mankind ”

“ The supernatural being the people dread most, and to whom they put down much that happens which cannot be satisfactorily explained, is the shaitan. Shaitans are demons who take many forms according to the fear or gift of exaggeration of the individual who thinks he has seen one. These beings they imagine may be behind any bush or boulder after sundown, and they also believe them capable of coming into the sleeping-room at night to frighten them into fits by their very ugliness, if nothing worse befalls, so the people sleep with head as well as body covered with blanket or rezai. ”

“ The Arabs also had a similar clan named Bani Shaitán, a clan of the Hinzala tribe, the descendants of Tamim, through Zeid Monat of the Moaddite stock. The Bani Shaitán (the children of Satan) dwelt near Kúfa.—Vide Qalqashandi's Dictionary of Arab Tribes.
[41] Sura XLVI, verses 28, 29. These people were from Nisibin and Nineveh in Mesopotamia. They were Chaldeans, soothsayers, and cabalists. In the book of Daniel the Chaldeans are classed with magicians and astronomers, and evidently form a sort of the priest class who have a peculiar "tongue" and "learning" (Dan. I. 4) . ”

“ Among the prisoners was a young Jinns, named Iblees, whose name means Despair; and when Adam was created, God commanded the angels and the Jinns to do him reverence, and they all obeyed but Iblees, who was then turned into a Shaitan, or devil, and became the father of all the Shaitan tribe, the mortal enemies of mankind. Since their dispersion the Jinns are not immortal; they are to live longer than man, but they must die before the general resurrection. ”

“ As the tale runs, the patient got quite well very shortly after this, and the Hakīm was advanced to high honour and position in the dominions of the Nawab.
EXPLANATORY NOTES. “Shāitān.”—From the Hebrew word “Shuttun,” to be hostile; hence the Arabic “Shāitān,” opposition. According to Mahomedan tradition, he has four lieutenants, viz., Muleeqa, Hamoos, Nabloot, and Yoosoof.
By some he is known as “Iblis” from the Arabic word “despair,” and the wife of a “Shāitān” would be termed “Bhutnī” in Sanscrit. In Persian the leader of evil is called “Ahurmun,” (Burhān-i-kāti) , or the evil principle. ”

“ As soon would they let loose in the world Shaitan and all the Jins. Do you suppose your Western magic to be more powerful than that of the East? Do you imagine that you are capable of combating all the evil that fell on every man who ever touched the dreaded thing? ”

“ For Satan is to man an avowed enemy.
P: Tell My bondmen to speak that which is kindlier. Lo! the devil soweth discord among them. Lo! the devil is for man an open foe.
S: And say to My servants (that) they speak that which is best; surely the Shaitan sows dissensions among them; surely the Shaitan is an open enemy to man.
017.054 Y: It is your Lord that knoweth you best: If He please, He granteth you mercy, or if He please, punishment: We have not sent thee to be a disposer of their affairs for them.
P: Your Lord is Best Aware of you. ”

“ Shiva Shív The Hindoo God of Destruction, husband of Kali, and the third member of the Hindoo Triad or Trimurti. Shesas or Sheeites Shíah One of the great Mohammedan sects; followers of Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet, and esteeming the three Caliphs, Abubeker, Omar, and Oman, as usurpers. To this sect belong the Persians generally, the royal family of Oude, and most of the lower orders of Mussulmans in India. Shroff Sharráf A native banker or money-changer. Shytan Shaitán The devil, Satan. Sheikh Shaikh A disciple, follower, scholar; the name of the religionists in the Punjab. ”

“ They remain, in fact, pagan at heart, loyal to their ancient gods, though with these they are willing to give Saint Nicholas some qualified homage. They recognize a good and an evil principle, both to be equally revered. An offspring and mingling of the two is Keremet, who, with his progeny of Keremets, is more mischievous than malevolent, and to whom, far in the depths of the forests, offerings and sacrifices are made. The evil principle is Shaïtan, philologically allied with the Arabic Shatana, and the still older Hebrew Sâtân. ”

“ Thus not the Deity, but His ministers, or a Principle and Power of Evil, were deemed the authors of vice and sin and suffering: and thus the Genii or angels differed in character like men, some being good and some evil; some Celestial Gods, Archangels, Angels, and some Infernal Gods, Demons and fallen Angels.
At the head of the latter was their Chief, Typhon, Ahriman, or Shaitan, the Evil Principle; who, having wrought disorder in nature, brought troubles on men by land and sea, and caused the greatest ills, is at last punished for his crimes. ”

“ Of late years the Yezidees have seen the uselessness of rebelling against their fate, and, acknowledging their defeat, are patiently bearing their misfortunes.
These so-called devil-worshippers recognise one Supreme Being, but apparently do not offer any prayers directly to Him. The name of God is often on their lips in the form of oaths, but that of the evil spirit is never to be heard. So far do they carry this superstition, that not only will they not use the word Shaitan (Satan) , but any word beginning with “sh” is also shunned by them. ”

“ Do they not then reflect on the Quran? Nay, on the hearts there are locks.
047.025 Y: Those who turn back as apostates after Guidance was clearly shown to them,- the Evil One has instigated them and busied them up with false hopes.
P: Lo! those who turn back after the guidance hath been manifested unto them, Satan hath seduced them, and He giveth them the rein.
S: Surely (as for) those who return on their backs after that guidance has become manifest to them, the Shaitan has made it a light matter to them; and He gives them respite. ”

“ The creation of Adam occurred on Friday, the tenth of the month Mohurrun, at the eleventh hour, at the rising of the first degree of Aries, Saturn being in the same constellation, and Mars in Capricorn. God then asked the Angels to kneel before Adam, and all obeyed except Iblis, who thus became Shaitan, the Devil, the Fallen Angel. Then God created Eve. But Iblis, seeing that for one crime he had forfeited all the merit of his former obedience, determined to do Adam any injury in his power. Now Adam was in Paradise, where Iblis could not enter. ”

“ He dwells in the sky, but how no one exactly knows. He rules the earth, and all creation takes its origin from him, even the good and evil spirits. Though he is the creator and protector of the universe, he arranges everything by means of ministerial gods and goddesses. Cham Pas loves what he has made, and from him all good issues. But, that men should not forget him, he allowed Shaitan to create evil beings, and placed them in morasses and deep waters. If a man does anything against Cham Pas he allows him to be tormented by an evil spirit ”

“ S: Whoever does good whether male or female and he is a believer, We will most certainly make him live a happy life, and We will most certainly give them their reward for the best of what they did.
016.098 Y: When thou dost read the Qur'an, seek Allah's protection from Satan the rejected one.
P: And when thou recitest the Qur'an, seek refuge in Allah from Satan the outcast.
S: So when you recite the Quran, seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Shaitan,
016.099 Y: No authority has he over those who believe and put their trust in their Lord. ”

“ Shiahism.—The Shiah Church traces its foundation to the Caliph Ali and the immediate descendants of the Prophet, regarded as the rightful expounders of his teachings. Some twenty millions of Indian Mussulmans are Shiahs; Shiahism is also the State religion of Persia. There are large numbers of Shiahs in the Hijaz, in Egypt and other [76] parts of the world, but always in a minority. The question of the title to the spiritual and temporal headship of Islâm forms the chief point of difference between the two churches. The Sunnis are the advocates of the principle of election ”

“ HALIL THE PEDLAR.
CHAPTER I. THE PEDLAR.
Time out of mind, for hundreds and hundreds of years, the struggle between the Shiites and the Sunnites has divided the Moslem World.
Persia and India are the lands of the Shiites; Turkey, Arabia, Egypt, and the realm of Barbary follow the tenets of the Sunna.
Much blood, much money, many anathemas, and many apostasies have marked the progress of this quarrel, and still it has not even yet been made quite clear whether the Shiites or the Sunnites are the true believers. ”

“ Mohammed, Abu Bahkr, Omar, Usman, and Ali, as divinely-appointed Khalifahs or teachers; the Arabs, Turks, Afghans, and the Rohillas of India more or less belong to the Sunni sect. These undertake long pilgrimages to Mekka, and are very tenacious on points of doctrine, often putting to death the heterodox of their own religion. The Shiahs, another very powerful sect of Mohammedans, wholly reject the "Sunnahs," or traditions, and with them the four successors of the Prophet. They perform pilgrimages, not to Mecca or Medinah, but to the tomb of Husain at Kaibelah. The Koran is their only guide. ”

“ Their prelates and dignitaries soon became a very important part of the Christian organisation, and it is interesting to note the sympathy of the Persian Sasanian kings for this new religion, and the success Christian effort met among the Persians. This ancient and highly civilised people, whose character contains a great deal of the speculative, has always been ready to consider the claims of new Deistic theories, and has, in Muhammadan times, found an outlet for its speculative tendency in the adoption of Shiism, which it has made a purely Persian section of Islam. ”

“ The incorruptibility of the Persian’s outlook on spiritual truth has been vindicated in the blood of countless martyrs, and out of his susceptibility to be inspired by the heroism of the mighty dead, or, to put the proposition more particularly, out of his unfeigned devotion to the memory of the family of the Tent, has sprung the Shiah Passion-drama, as from the depth of a whole Empire’s sorrow. Were it not so, the growth of the Miracle-play, that passionate outcry of the Aryan spirit in the Persian Muslim, would be a miracle indeed. ”

“ The bitter experience of ages has taught all Shiahs that, once helplessly at the mercy of the Sunnis, there must be absolute submission on all points. This conviction has buried itself deep in the minds of the Persian people, and they now and then are painfully reminded of the savage readiness of their Sunni neighbours to emphasize the fact. ”

“ These words made such an impression on Shamaun that he made a profession of the faith of Islam, dying soon afterwards. On the night of his death, Hasan in a dream saw Shamaun wearing a crown of gold, clothed in raiment of resplendent beauty, and walking in Paradise. "My God," he cried when he awoke, "Thou hast had mercy on him who spent seventy years in infidelity; is it strange that Thou shouldest show mercy to the faithful?" ”

“ The spread hand designates the Sheah sect. There are times when holding up the spread hand declares the Sheah, whilst the Soonie is distinguished by his holding up three fingers only. In villages, the spread hand is marked on the walls where Sheahs reside during Mahurrum. [Author.]
[The five spread fingers are regarded as emblematical of the Prophet, Fâtimah, 'Ali, Hasan, and Husain. The Sunnis prefer three fingers, signifying the first three Caliphs. In its ultimate origin, the spread hand is a charm against demons and evil spirits.] ”

“ The sahib will be accused of being a Persian, and will be insulted accordingly, for none loves a Persian in this land, Islam having two chief sects, of which the Persians chose to adopt the Shia faith, which is not in favor with the Sunni, who are most numerous and most fanatic. The less the Sunni knows of his religion the more he despises a Shia; and when these people despise they steal, strike, abuse, and act otherwise unseemly. ”

“ This dualism of the ancient Persians has exerted a powerful influence upon the development of Christian theology. The very idea of an archfiend Satan, which Christianity received from Judaism, seems either to have been suggested by the Persian Ahriman, or at least to have derived its principal characteristics from that source. There is no evidence that the Jews, previous to the Babylonish captivity, possessed the conception of a Devil as the author of all evil. ”

“ The question to be decided is this: which of the four successors of the Prophet, Ali, Abu Bekr, Osmar, and Osman, was the true Caliph. The Shiites maintain that Ali alone was the true Caliph. The Sunnites, on the other hand, affirm that all four were true Caliphs and equally holy. And certainly the [Pg 12] Shiites must be great blockheads to allow themselves to be cut into mince-meat by thousands, rather than admit that God would enrich the calendar with three saints distasteful to them personally. ”

“ The Sunni majority reject the premise that men can be divine, including Muhammad, Ali, or Jesus, and did not accept any of the Imams who followed Ali. Sunnis remain more committed to traditions and less inclined to accept Shia mysticism. Today, about 15% of the world's one billion Muslims are Shia and 85% are orthodox Sunni. ”