Who would have thought that such a scene of pleasure and delight would have been followed at once by religious distur­bances? Sheh-abdollah, a divine of note, from M8ltan, having come to the capital on some particular business, took his abode near the cathedral, where he often preached to crowded audiences, with whom he soon acquired so much celebrity, that the very passages to that mosque were always thronged. Once he went to pay a visit to Qhoadja-djaafer, that religious nobleman, of whom we have already spoken; and on observing that some of the latter’s followers and disciples always saluted him with a prosternation, in which they kissed the ground, and also that the comedians and singers, who frequented that holy retreat, made it a practice to sing verses in honour of the Messenger’s Immaculate Spirit, and that of his sacred offspring, he was scandalized; and he remarked: “That prosternation was appropriated to God Almighty alone, and, of course, unlawful and indecent for any other. That to listen to songs and verses in matters of religion, was reprobated and forbidden. And that to content oneself with a few praises in honour of the Crown of created things, in order to launch out in the praises of his descendants, without saying a word of his venerable four successors, was repugnant to the principles of Mussulmanism.” Qhoadja-djafer answered that, as religious persons as well as their fol­lowers acknowledge the omnipresence of no being existing, but that of God Almighty, it was impossible that they should pay a prosternation to any other being, and, of course, impossible that their Directors should connive at such a practice. But that, at any rate, men, who, transported by the extacies of their zeal, fancied everywhere present the object of their adoration and love, and therefore prostrated themselves on that ground, and kissed it devoutly, would not be likely to give over their practice upon any one’s representations; and if that were the case, how could he prevent it, and where was his fault in not putting a stop to it. He ended by these verses:—

“The traveller, the friend at your side, and your neighbour, are all His;

Whether in the beggar’s rags, or under the gold-cloth of kings, they are all His;

Whether divided by distance, or assembled under one roof,

They are all His; indeed they are all His.”

“As to the singing of the comedians, and the verses of pub­lic singers, these people sing nothing but what they have learned from their masters; nor do I choose to interfere in their sing­ing, it being no business of mine. As to your own part, if you know of any verses in praise of the four Lords,* do impart them to these people, that they may sing them; and that it may become a practice for them at all times, and in all places.

This answer could not satisfy Sheh-abdollah, who strongly suspecting that it could not have come out but from a man inclined to the Shyah sect, went away discontented; and on his next sermon day he reflected on Qhoadja-djafer’s words, as favouring of Shyism, and condemned them openly. He added some invidious assertions: “For instance, that Aaly-morteza, son of Aab8-taalub, was not within the cloak.* That it was, improper to call him a Sëid; and that the expression of five pure bodies* was contrary to the principles of Sunnism; for, whoever should admit the same would thereby give an implied exclusion to the three other Lords, as not being equally pure.” He added several words and expressions, all tending to depreci­ate the Imamite sect; and he seemed to aim at casting reflections and strictures upon its tenets and practices. Qhoadja-djafer, on hearing of that sermon, sent him word, that to drop such expres­sions from the pulpit was dissonant from the current belief, and repugnant to the custom and usages of the Sunni sect, and might possibly give offence, and excite dissensions. That should he choose to come to his humble cottage, or to any other place, where a number of learned persons might be assembled, he flattered himself that the trouble he would be put to would not be without its advantage, as he might thereby find an opportunity of having his doubts tried by the rules of reasoning, and the authority of tradition. For, in that case, they would be referred to the most approved writings of the Sunni sect, and to the six holy collections.

This message was received with expressions of peevishness and resentment; and a few days after, a multitude of young thoughtless men, of an Iranian extraction,* having assembled at the cathedral in sermon time, placed themselves full in the preacher’s face, with their beads and amulets of Kerbella clay before them,* using at the same time some threatening expressions and gestures. This was resented by two or three thousands of his followers, all of the Sunni sect, who suspecting this scene to have been concerted by Qhoadja-djafer, and the whole intended against their preacher’s safety, took fire at once, and falling upon the young men with reproaches of impiety and blasphemy, they drove them out of the mosque. And this affair was likely to end there. But an ill-fated Hindoo, who was a military man of some character, and had come to hear the ser­mon, having chanced to go out immediately after them,* was remarked by some people, and in particular by one of the ser­vants of the mosque, who taking him to be one of those that had just given so much offence, ran after him with an intention to stop or kill him; but the man having turned round and killed his pursuer, he was soon overtaken by some others, who hacked him to pieces; nor would the multitude for three days together suffer his body to be taken up, being in expectation to get some further lights from such as might come to do him that office. After this unhappy affair, some of the most zealous of the preacher’s fol­lowers having found access to some principal courtiers, and by them to the throne, went in a body to the Emperor, and com­plained that Qhoadja-djafer wanted to excite a schism in the Sunni sect, similar to that which had excited commotions in the reign of Bahadyr-shah, when that Prince attempted to introduce the words Aaly is Heir to God’s Elect into the Mussulman pro­fession of faith. And they added that as something still more serious seemed to be in agitation, it was better that the offender should be commanded to quit the capital.

One would hardly believe that so small a commotion should have excited such heats in that immense city. For whereas it was heretofore common enough to see professed singers and others go singing about the streets the praises of the pure and holy off­spring; and numbers of even learned men used often to stop and to take a pleasure in hearing their verses and music; now matters became so much altered, that such singers were sure of being hooted, and accused of impiety and blasphemy. The Emperor on hearing of this new disturbance, consulted the Cazy Sheriat-ollah-khan, on the subject, as the most eminent divine that attended the Court. The theologian answered that “what Sheh-abdollah had said would not stand the test of a confronta­tion with the best treatises on the Sunni tenets, and that therefore, it would prove difficult to convict Qhoadja-djafer of heterodoxy. But as on the other hand, it would be proper to put an end to this ferment, he gave it as his private opinion, that the Qhoadja should be requested to change his abode, by retiring to the suburb, the more so, as there would be neither harm nor trouble in that. This decision was no sooner rumoured about, than Qhando8ran, one of the principal Lords of the Court, and a Minister of state, having sent for the preacher, inquired of him what might be the subject of his wishes in com­ing so far to the capital, and whether he had any commands for him; and the preacher having answered accordingly, Qhando8ran dispatched his business in a few days, and wished him a pros­perous journey to M8ltan, his native country. At the same time he paid a respectful visit to His Holiness, Qhoadja-djafer, and in the course of a conversation on that subject, he supplicated in humble terms the Holy man’s condescension, giving it as his private opinion, that if he would change his abode for a time, so far as to take his residence at the monument of Saint Nizam-med-din, in the suburbs, such a concession would effectually shut up the mouths of his opponents. In this manner the commotion, which bore a threatening aspect, subsided at once. It was high time; for very serious troubles were rising in the northern parts of the Empire.

In the year one thousand one hundred and twenty-eight of the Hedjra, that is, in the fifth year of Feroh-syur’s, a bloody action happened in the plains of the Pendjab, between the Sycs and the Imperialists, in which the latter commanded by Abdol-semed-khan, a famous Viceroy of that province, gave those inhuman freebooters a great defeat in which their General, Benda, fell into the victor’s hands. This barbarian, whom nature had formed for a butcher, trusting to the numbers and repeated successes of those other butchers he commanded, had exercised upon the Some account of the Sycs, and especially of Benda, their actual leader; and of Nanec-shah, their patriarch people of God cruelties that exceeded all belief, laying waste the whole province of Lahor. Flushed with victories, he had even aspired to a crown; and we shall say something of his history and person. He was a Syc by profession, that is, one of those men attached to the tenets of G8r8-govind,* and who from their birth or from the moment of their admission, never cut or shave either their beard or whiskers, or any hair whatever of their body. They form a particular society as well as sect, which distinguishes itself by wearing almost always blue clothes,* and going armed at all times. These, when once admitted into that frater­nity, never make any difficulty of mixing or communicating with one another, of whatever tribe or clan or race they may have been hitherto; nor do they ever betray any thing of those scruples, precautions, and antipathies and customs,* so deeply rooted in the Gentoo mind, whatever diversity or opposition there may have hitherto been in their tenets, principles, or common way of life. This sect or fraternity, which spread itself far and near about the latter part of Aoreng-zib’s reign, reckons for its institutor, a G8r8-govind, one of the successors of Nanec-shah, the patriarch of the sect; and here is what we know of this Nanec-shah. He was son to a grain-merchant of the Catri tribe; and in his youth he had been as remarkable for a good conduct and a laudable character, as well as for the beauty of his face, and the sensibleness of his repartees.* Nor was he destitute of money. There was then in those parts a fakir or religious of note, called Sëid-hassen, a man of eloquence as well as wealth, who having no children of his own, and being smitten with the beauty of young Nanec, upon whom he chanced to cast his eyes, conceived an affection for him, and charged himself with his edu­cation. As the young man was early introduced to the knowledge of the most esteemed writings of the Mussulmen, and early initiated in the principles of their most approved sophies* and contemplatives, he improved so much in learning, and became so fond of his books, that he made it a practice in his lei­sure hours, to translate literally or virtually, as his mind prompted him, such of those maxims, as made the deepest impression upon his heart. This was in the idiom of Pendjab,* his maternal language. Little by little he strung together these loose sentences, reduced them into some order, and put them in verses, and by this time he had so far shaken off those prejudices of Gentilism which he had imbibed with his milk, that he was become quite another man. His collection becoming numerous, it took the form of a book, which was entitled Grent, and became so famous in the times of Sultan Babr, as to give celebrity to its author, who from that day was followed by multitudes of specta­tors or well-wishers. This book is to this day held in so much veneration and esteem amongst the Sycs, that they never touch or read it, without putting on a respectful air and posture. And in reality, as it is a compound of what he had found most valu­able in those books which he had been perusing, and it is written with warmth and eloquence, it has necessarily all the merits and attractions peculiar to truth and sound sense.