totally absorbed in religious reverie. The A′zád shave their beards, whiskers, moustachios, eyebrows and eyelashes, and lead lives of celibacy.
The A′zád and Majzúb Faqírs can scarcely be said to be Muhammadans, so that a description of their various sects do not fall within the limits of these notes. The Sálik Faqírs are also divided into very numerous orders; but their chief difference consists in their Silsilah, or chain of succession, from their great teachers the Khalífas ʾAli, and Abu Bakr, who are said to have been the founders of the religious order of Faqírs. European writers have distinguished the various orders by their dress and their religious performances; but we have not been able to find that these are the distinguishing features of difference amongst them.
The following are the chief orders which are met with in North India:—
1. The Naqshbandía are followers of Khwájah Pír Muhammad Naqshband, and are a very numerous sect; they usually perform the Zikr-i-Khafí, or the silent religious devotion described in the next chapter.
