Mufti

“ Superior to them are the mufti, or bishops, and the Sheik-ul-Islam, or patriarch, the spiritual head of the Mohammedan Church, who often is known as the Great Mufti.
Nearly all of the Moslems in Constantinople are employed either by the church or the state, or are ordinary common working men. They are ignorant and fanatical, dangerous when excited by the priests or the softas, who make the mischief, and are as devout as any people in the world. It is the universal testimony that Mussulmans are more loyal to their religion and more faithful to its teachings than the members of any other church. ”

“ When my party had said a Fattah for me and another for my family, we retired to another kubbeh, where there was no tomb, and where we found the Mufti, and sat there all the evening over coffee and pipes and talk. I was questioned about English administration of justice, and made to describe the process of trial by jury. The Mufti is a very dignified gentlemanly man, and extremely kind and civil. The Kadee pressed me to stay next day and dine with him and the Mufti, but I said I had a lantern for Luxor, and I wanted to arrive before the moolid was over, and only three days remained. ”

“ But in the meetings that led up to the riots it is the more Moslem part of the mixed crowds that I chiefly remember; which touches the same truth that the Christians are the more potentially tolerant. But many of the Moslem leaders are as dignified and human as many of the Zionist leaders; the Grand Mufti is a man I cannot imagine as either insulting anybody, or being conceivably the object of insult. ”

“ The title Muftī has been long obsolete within the limits of British administration, and one might safely say that it is practically unknown to any surviving member of the Indian Civil Service, and never was heard in India as a living title by any Englishman now surviving. ”

“ The Sheikh-ul-Islám Effendí, the high priest of the religion of Mohammed, felt his displeasure, as well he might have anticipated, after having expressed himself in the manner he did. Khoja Zádeh Mohammed Effendí was created mufti in the room of Siná-allah Effendí. Bostán Zádeh Effendí and Shemish Effendí were succeeded by Abdulhelím Effendí and by Isaád Effendí. ”

“ Some of the most faithful servants around his majesty’s person he supplanted by creatures of his own stamp. His being at enmity with the reverend mufti, Mohammed Effendí, led him to manifest contempt for the whole body of the ulemá, and caused him to make himself friends of worthless and ignorant men. In every assembly he and his vile associates showed the most marked disrespect for that august and venerable dignitary of the mosque; and every person, whoever he was, if he only suspected him of having any share in the emperor’s favour, was sure to meet with reproach and persecution. ”

“ Quitting therefore his country-house at Boudjaréah, he repaired to Aldgezaire, where in the garden of the grand mosque dwelt usually a sage mufti, a grave and reverend man. Seating himself by his side beneath the shade of some flowering pomegranate trees, he thus accosted him:
"Mehemet, I have come to visit thee in order to [Pg 191] open my whole heart to thee and take counsel of thy wisdom. I am suddenly become very rich, as thou knowest, and I have no son to inherit my wealth; is it not too great for a single solitary man? ”

“ This caused the gravest discontent among the Janissaries still in garrison at Constantinople, to the reactionary party in the Divan, and to the ulemas. The Janissaries broke out in mutiny at the end of May 1807. They put this question to the Mufti: “What punishment is deserved by one who has established the new military force?” The Mufti replied: “Death, and that according to the Koran, since the Divan had introduced among Mussulmans the manners of infidels and manifested an intention to suppress the Janissaries, who were the true defenders of the law and the prophets.” ”

“ In Persia, the Mufti enjoys respect rather than authority: the Sheik-ul-Islam, the Cadi, the ministers, and the king himself, defer to his decisions. The annexed plate exhibits a faithful representation of the Persian or doctor of divinity. ”

“ Moreover in "these degenerate times"—which have existed for about ten centuries—the acceptance of an appointment to the function of qâdhî is not regarded as a duty, while a competent scholar may only refuse to give a fatwa under exceptional circumstances. Still, an unusually strong character is needed by the muftî, if he is not to fall into the snares of the world. ”

“ Scrupulous Musulmaus apply in preference to the Cadi, in consideration of the antiquity of that dignity, which has existed ever since the time of the-first caliphs, whereas, that of Sheik is of modern creation.
The Mufti seems to be rather a lawyer than a magistrate, as is implied by his name, which is an Arabic participle, signifying “one who gives decisions founded on the Koran.” He seems, in fact, to combine the characters of doctor of divinity and doctor of laws ”

“ These laws are very short: they consist only of the Koran, and of the commentaries on the Koran drawn up by ancient pundits. The members of this corporation bear the title of ulemas, or effendis. They unite judicial to religious authority; they are at the same time the interpreters of religion, and the judges in all civil and criminal matters.
The mufti is the supreme head of the ulema. He is the head of the church. He represents the sultan’s vicar, as caliph or successor to Mahomet. ”

“ One person is appointed to have the dignity of Grand Mufti conferred upon him, which means that, whatever ridiculous action he may choose to perform, that is preceded by the words, "Thus says the Grand Mufti," every one else must follow his example. ”

“ And all this process is required by the mufti, and performed by every good Mussulman five times a day! A rigid adherence to it is almost universal among the Turks. In what an odour of sanctity would a Christian live, who should make himself thus “familiar with heaven!”
As the muezzin from the minaret was shouting his last “mash-allah!” with a voice like a man calling out from the clouds, we left the court of the majestic mosque, with Byron’s reflection:—
“Alas! ”

“ so that even if the Mufti of Constantinople were to send a missionary to preach Mohammedanism to us, he would find a pulpit at his service. ”

“ A smart young man, wearing a fez, was seated upon his left hand, and a mollah with a white turban and dark robes upon his right. The first was his secretary; and the second—a thin-featured, little man, who never moved a muscle during the whole interview—was no less a dignitary than the Mufti of Mush. On either side of this central group were serried the other notables, members of the Mejlis.
Even the Mutesarrif himself appeared afraid to utter a word. No topic of conversation would unloose their tongues. Why had we come? ”

“ Mufties are the men who alone have authority to apply Mohametan law to the practical transactions of daily life. They have the privilege to consult with the former books and extract their legal decrees from them. The following examples will illustrate their mode of administering the law:
A camel driver was once so angry with his camel that he swore to sell her for one mite by the first opportunity in the nearest city. ”

“ If one set says white, the other cries black; and they throw more words away in settling a common question than would suffice one of our muftis during a whole reign. In short, nothing can be settled in the state, be it only whether a rebellious aga is to have his head cut off and his property confiscated, or some such trifle, until these people have wrangled. Then what are we to believe? Allah, the Almighty and All wise, to some nations giveth wisdom, and to others folly! ”

“ Hanafis usually follow the Prophet�s example in nighting at Muzdalifah; in the evening after prayers they attend at the Mosque, listen to the discourse, and shed plentiful tears. Most Shafe�is spend only a few hours at Muzdalifah. [FN#9] We failed to buy meat at Arafat, after noon, although the bazar was large and well stocked; it is usual to eat flesh there, consequently it is greedily bought up at an exorbitant price. [FN#10] Some sects consider the prayer at Muzdalifah a matter of vital importance. ”

“ These last regard Ali as the first rightful Imam, for they prefer this title (found in Sura ii., verse 118, of the Koran) to that of Khalif. The Turks and Arabs are Sunnis: the Persians, and most of the Muhammadans of India, Shias.
This division into two sects, who hate each other cordially, has done more to weaken the power of the Muhammadan religion as a power than anything else. ”

“ They are attentive to their religious duties, both men and women knowing the Korān. They are careful to say their prayers, to observe Muharram as a season of mourning and to go on pilgrimage to Mecca and Kerbala. They strictly abstain from music and dancing and from using or dealing in intoxicating drinks or drugs. Though fierce sectarians, keenly hating and hated by the regular Sunnis and other Muhammadans than those of their own sect, their reverence for Ali and for their high priest seems to be further removed from adoration than among the Khojahs. ”

“ For the most part the Mu'tazilites took the lax view that these would be favourably treated as against the rigorist opinion which reserved eternal salvation to good Muslims, an opinion which appeared amongst the stricter believers during the 'Umayyad period. The two first named of an-Nazzam's pupils, however, introduced a new theory entirely repugnant to orthodox Islam, though familiar to the extremer Shi'ite sects, that those neither decisively good nor absolutely bad, pass by transmigration into other bodies until they finally deserve either salvation or damnation. ”

“ He and Ben Faka are charged with the especial care of the Sultan’s person. The Commander of the troops is called Milud-ben-Arrach: he is always grave and solemn, and never smiles. His105 Lieutenant is an Arab called Muftar, who has especial command over the horse. During the peace Muftar frequently came to Oran, where he saw the manœuvres of the French cavalry, and he has been trying ever since to discipline his Arabs in the same manner but totally without success, as the Arabs can never understand the possibility of keeping the line while charging at full speed. ”

“ This last would be an adventure; for Mût, goddess of matter, the Mother goddess, has apparently not taken kindly to Moslem rule. Any disagreeable trick she, and her attendant black statues of passion, fierce Sekhet, can play on a devout Mohammedan, are meat and drink to her: but she can work her spells only after dusk, therefore none save the bravest Arab will venture his head inside her domain, past sunset. I was sure we could get no dragoman to go with us, and equally sure that the adventure would be more popular for its spice of horror. ”

“ The point to be noted is that the saying is always about Ali, not about Mohammed. Shiahs invoke the Imams Ali and Husain very much more frequently than they invoke Mohammed; and though the inscription over a Persian mosque should be, “Yā Ali, Yā Muhammad,” that is, “O Ali! O Mohammed!” the “Yā Muhammad” is often omitted and the “Yā Ali” left to stand alone. The excuse is sometimes brought forward that Mohammed is too great for constant invocation. ”

“ The older Mu'tazilite tradition came to an end in the time of al-Ash'ari: men who felt the force of philosophical questions either adopted the orthodox scholasticism of al-Ash'ari and those who came after him, or followed the course of the philosophers and drift away from the traditional beliefs of Islam altogether. In the third place we have the Sufi movement, in which we find neo-Platonic elements mingled with others from the east, from India and Persia. ”

“ The highest authority of all is vested in the mujtahid who resides at Kerbela, or Nejef, near Bagdad, and is considered by many Shiʽites as the vicegerent of the Prophet and representative of the imam. The shah and the government have no voice whatever in the matter of appointing mullahs or mujtahids, but frequently appoint sheikhs-ul-islam and cadis, and occasionally chief priests of mosques that receive important subsidies out of government funds. ”

“ They live by the naivedya or cooked food offering which they receive from the temple, and various other emoluments. It may be noted that one of the causes of their degradation was the partaking of this food, which Brāhmans took care not to do. The Mūttatus are generally well-read in Sanskrit, and study astrology, medicine, and sorcery. The social government of the Mūttatus rests wholly with the Nambūtiris, who enforce the smartavicharam or enquiry into a suspected case of adultery, as in the case of a Nambūtiri woman. ”

“ They were almost alone. Here and there some few tribes, under loyal, or it might be temporising Chiefs, maintained the semblance of obedience; but they were hardly discernible amidst the seething mass of rebellion. 'Amr, hurrying back from 'Oman (whither he had been sent as an Ambassador by Mohammad at the Farewell Pilgrimage) saw, as he passed, the whole of Central Arabia either in open apostasy or ready to break away on the first demand of tithe; and his report filled the Citizens of Medina with dismay. In truth Islam had never taken firm hold of the distant provinces ”

“ The unchangeable character of the Arabic language is chiefly to be attributed to the Koran, which has, from its promulgation to the present time, been regarded by all Muhammadans as the standard of religion and of literary composition. Strictly speaking, not only the history, but also the literature of the Arabs begins with Muhammad. Excepting the Mua'llakat, and other pre-Islamitic poems collected in the Hamasas of Abu Tammam and Al-Bohtori, in Ibn Kutaiba and in the Mofaddhaliat, no literary monuments that preceded his time are in existence. ”