The Sheah doctrines were first adopted as the establish ed religion of the country by Ismail, the founder of the Suffavean dynasty, in 1499. Nadir Shah, when at the Summit of his endeavoured to recall his subjects to the orthodox faith, and to abolish, by severe penalties, the Sheah worship; but his attempt failed, and the attach ment of the Persians to their faith continues as decided as ever. The tenets of the contending sects differ also with respect to the priesthood. By the Sheahs, the sacred title of Imaum is bestowed only on the descendants of the prophet. The last of these, Imaum Mehdy, the twelfth in succession, is supposed to be concealed, hut still in ex istence ; and they conceive that the title, which belongs to him, cannot be conferred upon another. The Sonnites, however, maintain that there must always be a visible Imaum or " Father of the church." and this title is given to the four learned doctors who were the founders of their faith. It was long one of their tenets that the Imaum must be descended from the Arabian tribe of Koreish; but the Emperors of Constantinople, who are of Tartar descent, have assumed the sacred name, and are now ac knowledged the spiritual heads of all orthodox Musselmen. After the disappearance of Imaum Mehdy, his authority was exercised in Persia by the Sudder-ul-Suddoor, or chief pontiff. To this spiritual head, who resided at court, be longed the nomination, with the approbation of the sove reign, of the principal judges of the kingdom, and the management of the immense revenues of the church. So great power vested in one individual induced Abbas the Great to attempt the abolition of the office, and, upon the decease of the then pontiff, no successor was nominated. During the succeeding reign, however, the office was re stored, but its influence was diminished by dividing its power, and two pontiffs were elected, who were distin guished by the names of the Sudder-ul-Suddoor-e-Khas, which signifies the king's chief pontiff, and the Sudder-ul Suddoor-e-Aum, or the chief pontiff of the people. But Nadir Shah not only abolished the office altogether, but seized upon the lands that were appropriated for the sup port of ecclesiastical establishments, for the payment, of his troops. A small pension was granted to the person then holding the situation of pontiff, which his descendants still retain, with the title of Nawab, or lieutenant of the holy Imaum. The Nawab is still treated with great re spect, and receives the seat of honour from the first nobles and ministers of the empire.
The Mooshtaheds arc now at the head of the hierarchy of Persia. They are holy men, raised by popular suffrage to this dignity, but this honour is seldom shared by more than three or four priests at one time, and though they re ceive no appointment, and have no specific duties, yet they are treated with such submission and respect by the people, that the proudest kings are led to join the popular voice, and to pretend, if they do not feel, a veneration for the man who has attained this sacred rank. It is narrated of Shah Abbas, that a person having complained to Moollah Ahmed, the 2,Iooshtahed of Ardebil, that the king had taken his sister by force in the harem, received from the holy man a note to the following effect: " Brother Abbas, restore to the bearer his sister." The woman was instantly given up, and the king, showing the note to his courtiers, said aloud, " Let this be put into my shroud, for on the day of judgment, having been called Brother by Moollah Ahmed, will avail me more than all the actions of my life." The lower orders of the priesthood, how
ever, neither receive, nor are they entitled to much re spect. They are, for the most part, remarkable for their low cunning and impudence. They beg, or rather demand alms, on the ground of their holy character, and may be said to live upon the charity of the other classes of the community, by whom they are in general feared and de spised. They assume the appellation, either of Syud, which marks their descent from the Arabian prophet, or of Hajee, which denotes a pilgrim to Mecca; or of 1lloollah, a learned man. They have great pretensions and little knowledge, and endeavour to obtain an import ance with the people by a display of their bigotry and in tolerance. They are often accused by their countrymen of indulging in the gratification of the worst passions of the mind ; and to say, that a man hates like a Moollah, is to assert that he cherishes towards another sentiments of the most inveterate hostility.
Next to the Sheahs are the Sooffees, or philosophical deists, a class of devotees, which have of late made very rapid progress in Persia. As far as regards their Ma homedan tenets, they agree with the Sheahs in upholding the rights of Aly and his family to the dignity of Imaum; but their peculiar doctrines are involved in great mystery. They represent themselves as entirely devoted to the search of truth, and as incessantly occupied in the adora tion of the Almighty—an union with whom they desire with all the ardour of divine love. But this union can be enjoyed only by those who have passed through the four stages of probation, and then " their corporeal veil will be removed, and their emancipated souls will mix again with the glorious essence from which they have been separated, but not divided." The first stage is that of humanity, which supposes the disciple to live in an obedience to the holy law, and an observance of all the rites, customs, and precepts of the established religion : the second is that of power, when he is relieved from the directions of a teacher, and from the observance of religious forms and ceremonies. He now enters the pale of Sooffeeism, ex changes practical for spiritual worship, and attains the dignity of khalifa, or teacher, and a title to the sacred mantle.* The third is that of knowledge, when he is deemed to be inspired, and to be equal to the angels; and the last is that which denotes his arrival at truth and com plete union with the Deity. The Sooffees are divided into numerous sects, which it would be vain to attempt to describe; but though differing in name, and in some minor usages, they are all agreed in the principal tenets, and particularly in those which inculcate the absolute necessity of a blind submission to inspire teachers, and the possi bility, through fervent piety and enthusiastic devotion, of attaining for the soul, even when the body inhabits the earth, a state of celestial beatitude. This sect has been from the first violently opposed by the Sheahs, and have often been exposed to cruel persecution. Their numbers, notwithstanding, are still upon the increase, and have been calculated at between two and three hundred thousand perso ns.