Читать книгу A Dictionary of Islam. Being a cyclopedia of the doctrines, rites, ceremonies, and customs, together with the technical and theological terms, of the Muhammadan religion онлайн

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The founder of the Alwānīs laid out the first rules of this novitiate; they were subsequently perfected by the institution of the Qādirīs, and more so by the K͟halwatīs. The darweshes of these two last societies are distinguished in some countries by the decoration of their turban, on the top of which are embroidered the words “Lā ilāha illā ʾllāh” (There is no god but God).

The tests of the novice among the Maulawīs seem to be still more severe, and the reception of these dervishes is attended with ceremonies peculiar to their order. The aspirant is required to labour in the convent or takyah 1,001 successive days in the lowest grade, on which account he is called the kārrā kolak (jackal). If he fails in this service only one day, or is absent one night, he is obliged to recommence his novitiate. The chief of the kitchen, or ashjibāshī, one of the most notable of the darweshes, presents him to the shaik͟h, who, seated in an angle of the sofā, receives him amid a general assembly of all the darweshes of the convent. The candidate kisses the hand of the shaik͟h, and takes a seat before him on a mat, which covers the floor of the hall. The chief of the kitchen places his right hand on the neck, and his left hand on the forehead of the novice, whilst the shaik͟h takes off his cap and holds it over his head, reciting the following Persian distich, the composition of the founder of the order:—