Читать книгу A Short History of the Fatimid Khalifate онлайн

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Sixth Grade. The missionary did not admit the postulant to this grade until he was perfectly assured as to his discretion and secrecy. In it the teaching that the ritual precepts of Islam as generally understood, were abrogated, was carried to its logical conclusion, and the convert was instructed to abandon the observance of prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, and all the other external practices of religion; or at least to observe them only in so far as they served as a bond of social usage or as expedient as a concession to their uninstructed companions. At the same time the teacher professed the utmost veneration for the men who had established these practices, and for the wisdom which had led them to do so. The daʿi then described to his pupil the doctrines of Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras, and other philosophers, and exhorted them not to follow the traditions of religion which have been passed down as mere hear-say, but to test them by the methods of philosophy and to accept only those things which are endorsed by reason. Changing his former attitude, he then began to criticize the Imams unfavourably, and to contrast them with the philosophers to their disadvantage.