Documents of the Right Word

voted hadrat Alî to caliphate. When these four people lived
together, no disagreement, no quarrel ever occurred among them.
They always loved, praised and lauded one another. In fact, when
hadrat Alî was asked about the Shaikhayn he said, “These two
noble persons are the imâms elected justly and rightfully.” Also,
when hadrat Abû Bekr as-Siddîq became the Khalîfa, he said,
“Have you voted for me, with Alî among you?”
O Persians! Superiority and fitness for caliphate among the
four Khalîfas follows this succession. If any person swears at
them, censures them, or speaks ill of them, his household and
blood will be halâl for the Shah. May such people be accursed in
the opinion of Allah, as well as in the opinions of Angels, Holy
Books, and Prophets! When you made me the Shah at the Megan
Square in the year eleven forty-eight (1148), I made some
stipulations. Now I add this stipulation: I forbid you to swear at
the Shaikhayn. You must certainly desist from it! If anyone gets
involved in this abominable practice of swearing (at the
Shaikhayn), his household shall be taken prisoner, and his
property shall be confiscated, and he shall be killed. Formerly this
ignoble practice of swearing at the Shaikhayn did not exist in the
Iranian country. This atrocious deed was invented by Shâh Ismâ’îl
Safawî and his children, who followed his way. It held on for some
three hundred years.
This agreement was undersigned and sealed by all the scholars.
Then the (Fermân-i-âlî), the firman issued by Nâdir Shâh in order
to address the whole nation, was read aloud. The following is its
Turkish (English) version.
FERMÂN-I-SHÂHÎ
First I trust myself to Allâhu ta’âlâ. Be it known that Shâh
Ismâ’îl Safawî appeared in the year 906 [A.D. 1500]. He gathered
some ignorant people around himself. In order to obtain this base
world and attain his sensuous desires, he instigated faction and
mischief among the people. He invented the practice of swearing
at the Shaikhayn, (which was later turned into a sect called)
Shiah. Thus he sowed very grave discord among Muslims. He
caused the flags of hypocrisy and aggression to fly. So much so
that, while disbelievers are leading a life in comfort free from
anxieties, Muslims are molesting one another. They are
destroying one another’s blood and chastity. It is for this reason
that when all of you, from the oldest to the youngest ones, wanted
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