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I.

Pattáns.

of Irán, Túran, and Sceithia, or Transaxonia too are called LECTURE Mughals, as well as the Tartars and Georgian Christians.* As respects the Afgháns, it is stated in the history entitled Afgháns or the Makhzan-i Afghání, that there was a person named Afghanah or Afghán who was the son of Armiyah, the grandson of Taloot (Sarool); that when Nebuchardezzar, king of Babylon, came with all his army against Jerusalem, and pitched against it and built forts against it round about, the city being broken up, all the men of war fled,† then the descendants of Afghán came and settled between the mountains of Cabul, Candahar, and Ghiznee, and have been thence called Afgháns after the name of their ancestor. They are also called Pattáns,' the origin of which, as stated in the Mukhzan-i Afghání, is, that Kayis, one of the Afghán chiefs, went to the Prophet, Muhammad, and the latter gave him the title of "Battán," which in Persian is written and pronounced as Pattán,' the Arabic letter 'B' being usually changed into 'P' in Persian; or the word Pattán' may be considered a corruption of Battán in Arabic. The Sayyids, Mughals, and Pattáns may, however, be called tribes in the same manner as persons belonging to some other races are called tribes after the names of their primitive stocks or the founders of their families, such as Banú A'dí (the descendants of Ádí), Banú Tamím (the descendants of Tamím), Banú Háshim (the descendants of Háshim), and Banú Abbás (the descendants of Abbás) are respectively called so, as well as of the Adaví, Tamímí, Háshimí and Abbásí tribes. The so-called different tribes, however, are not different castes in the sense in which the

* Vide Richardson's Arabic and Persian Dictionary.

† See the Old Testament, Jeremiah, Chapter lii, verses 4 and 7.

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LECTURE term is used by Hindús. There is no legal prohibition against persons of these different tribes intermarrying or taking food from each other's hands. Each of such tribes, as above, does not also form a particular sect, but several of them belong to one or any of the sects already mentioned, and are governed by the particular doctrines of such sect or sects.

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Now every one of the sects, above-mentioned, claims to be the one which the Prophet said is not Nárí,' but ' Nájí,' or saved.†

The number of works on the sciences of law and religion,‡ which have been written by the doctors of almost all the sects, already mentioned (more especially by those of the Shíah and Sunní sects), according to their respective doctrines, is almost incredibly great-so much so, that the bare enumeration of their titles would fill up an ordinary volume. A reference to Biographical Dictionaries (a) will show how numerous are the works written on those subjects.

ANNOTATION.

(a). The Biographical Dictionaries, or works which give descriptions of the law books with their respective authors, are also numerous. There are also many Biographical collections especially devoted to the lives of celebrated Doctors of law, under the title "Tabkát-ulFukahá."

See the Note at page 11.

† See ante, page 13. Note.

The sciences of religion and law are seven among the Muhammadans:1-'Ilm-ul-Karát,' the science of reading the Kurán; 2- Ilm- ut-Tafsir,' the science of interpreting or expounding the Kurán; 3-'Ilm-ul-Hadís,' the science of the traditions; 4-Ilm-ud-Drayat-ul-Hadís,' the science of critical discrimination in matters of tradition; 5-Ilmu usûl-ud-dín,' the science of scholastic theology; 6-'Ilmu usúl-ul-Fikah,' the science of the elements or principles of law; 7-'Ilm-ul-Fikah,' the science of practical jurisprudence.

I.

No definite general body of law can be extracted from LECTURE the works on the above subjects written by the doctors of different sects, inasmuch as these works differ from one another in many of their interpretations and expositions of the Kurán (though the Kurán itself is the universal and paramount authority with them all), often lay down conflict

ANNOTATIONS.

The most celebrated of the Biographical treatises of the Sunni sect are the 'Tahzíb-ul-Ásmá,' and 'Kashf-uz-Zunún An Asámí-ul-Kutabi wal Fánún.' Of these the former is a Biographical Dictionary of illustrious men it was composed by Abú Zakariyah Yahiyá An-Navaví, and was edited by Dr. Wüstenfield, (8vo. Göttingen, printed for the Society for the publication of Oriental texts, 1842-1847); and the latter is written by Hájí Khalífah and translated into Latin by Professor Fluegel, and is printed in five volumes (4to. London, for the Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland), in 1835—50.

The Book entitled the "Wafiyát-ul-Ayán" or the lives of celebrated persons by Ibnu Khallikán is a general Biography, which treats of the lives of the authors of the law books with the works written by them, as well as of the other celebrated persons. This work is translated by Baron M. Guckin de Slane, 3 vols. 4to. See Morley's Digest, Introd., p. ccxxvii, note.

The most celebrated of the Tabkát-ul-Fukahá was composed by Abú Ishák ash-Shírází, who died in A. H. 476 (A. C. 1083). A modern history of jurisprudence, or rather of jurists, has been compiled in Hindusthání from the works of Ibnu Khallikán and As-Sayútí by Moulaví Subhán Buksh and was published in Delhi in the year 1848.

There are also special Biographical treatises recording the histories of learned Doctors of each particular sect. Among the Sunnís, the most remarkable works which give an account of the Hanífí lawyers are the Jawahir-ul-Muziyah fí Tabakát-il-Hanafiyah by Shaikh Muhí-udDín Abd-ul-Kádir Bin Abú-ul-Wafá al-Misrí, who died in A. H. 775 (A. C. 1373), and the Tabakát as-Suníyah fí Tarájim-ul-Hanafiyah, by Moula Takí-ud-Din Tamimi who died in A. H. 1005 (A. C. 1596); in both of which works the lives are arranged in alphabetical order.

The chief Biographer of the Málikí lawyers was Burhan-ud-Dín Ibrahim Bin Ali Bin Fárhún who died in A. H. 799 (A. C. 1396): his work is entitled the Dibáj-ul-Mazáhib.

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LECTURE ing principles of law and religion (usúl), do not often agree with one another in the reception and rejection of traditions, and draw different and discrepant conclusions of law.

Traditional

Collections.

Employed, however, as I am, to lecture on the laws of the Sunní sect (to which most of the Muhammadans of this country belong), I shall here notice only the traditional compilations and the books of law written by Sunnís.*

The traditional collections which are made in writing before the six Sahíhs (to be presently spoken of), and which are said to be still extant, are the works entitled the Muatta by Málik, the Masnad and Sunnan by Sháfií, and Masnad by Hanbal. The chief authorities in the

ANNOTATIONS.

There are numerous biographical collections treating of the lives of the principal followers of Sháfií, several of which are entitled Tabakát ash-Sháfiíyah; the one most noted is by Kází Táj-ud-Dín Abd-ulWahhab Bin as-Subki, who died in A. H. 771 (A. C. 1369).

The Tabakát-ul-Hambaliyah comprises the lives of the most famous Doctors of the sect of Ibnu-Hanbal. It was commenced by Kází Abúal-Husain Bin Abú Yualú al-Farrá who wrote the lives of great men up to A. H. 513. This work was subsequently continued by Shaikh Zain-ud-Din, Abd-ur-Rahmán Bin Ahmad, commonly called Ibnu Rajab, who added to the above, the biography of the personages up to the year 750. Afterwards Yusuf Bin Hasan al-Mukaddasi added to the above, the lives of illustrious persons up to the year 871, and lastly the work was continued by Takí-ud-Dín. The first, second, and third writers died respectively in A. H. 526, 795, and 871 (A. C. 1131, 1192, and 1266). See Kashf-uz-Zunún, p. 135.

The Sunnís or ahli Sunnat (people of the Sunnat) are the Musalmáns who assume to themselves the distinction of orthodox, and are such as maintain the obligatory force of the traditions, in opposition to the innovations of the sectaries: whence they are termed Sunnís or traditionists.Hidayah, Prel. Disc., p. xxii.

Sahís.

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matters of tradition among the Sunnís are, however, the LECTURE books which are known by the name "Siháhi Settah" or six Sahíhs, which signify six collections of correct or au- The six thentic traditions. The first of these is the "Jámi us-Sahíh," or, as it is also called, the Sahíh-ul-Bukhárí, from the surname of its author, Abú Abd-ullah Muhammad Bin Ismáíl al-Bunkhárí.* The second is the Masnad-us-Sahíh most generally called the "Sahíh-ul-Muslim," compiled by Abu-ul-Husain Muslim Bin al-Hujáj, Bin Muslim al-Kuréshí, surnamed An-Níshápúrí."† These two treatises, which pass together by the name of Sahíhain (i. e., the two Sahís or authentic collections of traditions), are the most celebrated of the whole number, and although the first more generally takes precedence of the second, yet the second is preferred to the first by some, especially by the African Doctors. Both of them, however, are cited as paramount authorities.

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The third of the six Sahís is Jámi-ul-Ilál, by Abú Ísá Muhammad Bin Ísá at-Tirmízí. This work is more generally known by the name of the "Jámi at-Tirmízí, and is also called the "Sunan at-Tirmízí " after the name of its author at-Tirmíz, who was a pupil of al-Bukhárí, and died in A. H. 279 (A. C. 892). The fourth of the

* Al Bukhárí, the chief Imám in the science of traditions, was born in A. H. 194 (A. C. 809), at Bukhárá, from which city he took his surname 'Al-Bukhárí' and died at the village of Khartank, in the district of Samarkand, in A. H. 256 (A. C. 869). He was principally a pupil of Imám Ibnu-Hanbal. His compilation is stated to comprise upwards of seven thousand traditions which he himself affirmed he had selected from a mass of six hundred thousand after a labour of sixteen years.-Morl. Dig., Introd., p. ccliii.

This author too was a pupil of Ibun Hanbal. He is considered as almost an equal authority with Bukhárí; and, indeed, by some, especially by the African Doctors, his treatise is preferred to the former. Muslim is said to have composed his work from three hundred thousand traditions. He died at Níshápúr in A. H. 261 (A. C. 874), aged 55 years.-Ibid, p. ccliv.

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