book* And meditate on thy Lord in thine own mind, with humility and fear, and without loud speaking, morning and evening; and be not one of the negligent.' That is to say, at the times of prayer it is not permitted to any one to have in his breast any matter which has not reference to God; but all the members must be employed only in the remembrance of God (may he be praised and exalted!). Make then your intentions pure, till the intention shall be but as one intention. And know, O brethren, that you have put me forward to pray for you, who am the meanest and most despicable, and poorest and least among you; and I have no power to be your imâm, but, as a slave and the least of servants, I serve you in lowliness and meanness, without lordship or self-exaltation; for our Lord Abu-Saeed, in the book called 'That which comprises the knowledge of Fetwas † [or the decisions of religious doctors], has said: It is not permitted to any one to take precedence in an assembly, if he knows that at the sitting there is one better instructed than himself, except with his pleasure and permission; and I testify with respect to myself, that I am the least of you as to knowledge and good deeds, and the most full of faults and iniquity, and errors and mistakes. But I hope from God, and from the sea of your universal benevolence, that you will forgive me, and help me with your prayers. It may be God will accept our and your prayers. My head touches the dust on which your feet have trodden, and here, as before God, I kiss your feet; may God forgive him who forgives! Here ends the Khabr. May my Lord be exalted! We all of us say, Amen!"

* Koran, vii. 204.

"Kitab-il-Hawi Ala Ulm-il-Fetawi."

CHAP. X.

EXTRACTS FROM PUBLISHED ANSAIREE DOCUMENTS.

In this chapter I shall give translations of the most important of the published documents concerning the Ansairee religion; and first of the Ansairee catechism, as the most complete and interesting. This was sent, with a French version, to the King of Prussia, by M. Catafago, dragoman of the Prussian Consul-General at Beyrout. As I have had no opportunity of seeing the original MS., my translation is made from copious extracts published in the Journal of the German Oriental Society.† These are in the German language, and made by Dr. Wolff from a copy of the catechism lent to him by M. Catafago during his stay at Beyrout. I have added some notes where I have thought them desirable. It will be seen, on comparing this catechism with the sketch I have given of my MS., the "Manual of Sheikhs," that the arrangement and contents are in the main the same. Even single expressions are nearly identical, and would probably be found to be exactly so could the two Arabic texts be compared. The catechism has the air of being genuine, and, in any case, most certainly contains the Ansairee doctrines and formularies found in their various books. The title only, the "Book of Instruction in the Ansairee Religion," seems open to suspicion. Perhaps it does not belong to the MS. as it once stood. Dr. Wolff proceeds as follows:

* Jahresbericht der Deutschen Morgenländ. Gesell. 1845-6, p. 130. † Vol. iii. p. 302.

THE book is in thirty-eight leaves, large octavo, and is called the Book of Instruction in the Ansairee Religion.

The introduction contains an invocation of the eternal God, and a thanksgiving "for the communication of his divine secret, and the truth of the holy religion;" which consists in the perception of his great Name, and of his holy Door, through the person of the Abd-in-Noor, which he has assumed for the sake of his saints, who know him; also a thanksgiving for all the benefits received from God. Hereupon follows the two portions of the catechism; called, the one theoretical, which speaks of instruction, and the other practical, which speaks of customs and ceremonies. The first, or theoretical part, contains the following questions and answers: —

I. Who created us?—Ans. Ali son of Abu-Taleb.

II. Whence do we know that Ali is God?-Ans. Through his own testimony, given in a public discourse held from the pulpit.

(In the discourse which is now given, it is said among other things, "I am the Lord of lords, who commands life and death, who begat Jesus in the womb of his mother Mary, who sent the apostles," &c.)

III. Who has called us to the perception of our Lord? Ans. Mohammed, as he himself said in his discourse which ends thus, "He (Ali) is my Lord and yours."

IV. If Ali is God, how did he take man's nature? Ans. He did not take it, but he concealed himself in Mohammed in the period of his change of shapes, and took the name of Ali.

V. How often has our Lord changed his form, and shown himself in the likeness of man? Ans. Seven times.

a. He took the name of Abel, and took Adam as his Veil.

f.

1

Peter

Jesus

VI. How could he so conceal and manifest himself? -Ans. That is the mystery of the transformation, which God alone knows, as he himself says.

(Then follow passages cited from the Koran and Bible.) VII. Will he yet once more manifest himself ?—Ans. Yes, as he is, without any transformation, in pomp and glory.

.

VIII. What is the divine appearance ?-Ans. It is the appearance of the Creator by means of the veiling himself in human form, and the best of sheaths within a sheath.

IX. Explain it more exactly. -Ans. As the Maana entered into the Door, it concealed itself under the name, and took it for itself, as our Lord Djaafar-is-Sadik has said. X. What are the Maana, the Ism, and the Bab? — Ans. They are an inseparable Trinity, as one says, "In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful." The word God signifies the Maana; the words compassionate and merciful denote the Name and the Door.

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XI. How did the Maana create the Ism; and how did the latter create the Bab? Ans. The substance of substances produced the Name out of the light of his unity. XII. Are the Maana and the Bab separable from the Ism? Ans. No: they are with it- they cannot be separated from it.

XIII. What names have the Maana, the Ism, and the Bab; and how are they distinguished ?-Ans. These names are threefold. 1. Figurative; 2. Essential; 3. Attributive. The figurative belong to the Maana; the attributive are those of which the Ism has made use, but which belong peculiarly to the Maana. As when we say, the Gracious One, the Compassionate One, the Creator.

XIV. What are the sixty-three names of the Ism, which, spiritually taken, denote the Maana, and personally the Ism, those of which the Godhead has made use to manifest himself in the persons of the prophets and apostles?-Ans. Among the first of these sixty-three names are Adam, Enoch, Kenan; then Edrees, Noah, Herd,

Solomon, Lot, Abraham.

The last of all is "the Imâm

Mohammed son of Hassan, the demonstration."

XV. What are the attributive names of the Ism, which peculiarly belong to the Godhead ? Ans. God, the Gracious One, Light, the Lofty One, &c.; in all forty

names.

XVI. What are the mysterious names of the Ism? 1. (Here follow the enigmatical letters at the commencement of some chapters of the Koran; as A. L. M. of the second, K. H. Y. A. S. of the nineteenth, &c.)

2. In the Pentateuch, Mad al Mad (Gen. xvii. 2).
3. In Gospels, Paraclet.
4. In Psalms, Redeemer.
5. In Koran, Mohammed.

XVII. What are the personal names of the Ism? Ans. Adam, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Solomon, Jesus, Mo hammed Abdullah the apostle of God, and Mohammed ibn-Hassan.

XVIII. What are the abstract names of the Ism? Ans. The will, the perception, the might, &c.

XIX. What are the appellations of the Ism in the period of Abraham ?

XX. What in the period of Moses?

XXI. What in the period of Mohammed? Here pretty well the same names are given as in the Druse books.

[NOTE. They have been given above, Chap. V.]

XXII. What are the names of the great and holy Door (Bab) of God? (Again the same names as in the Druse books.)

XXIII. What are the names of the personifications of the Bab in the books of the Unitarians? (By which the Ismaeleeh, or also the Druses, are to be understood.) (Here follow fifty-five names, such as throne, water, door, &c. &c.)

XXIV. What are the names of the six spiritual sta

T