THE SOOFEES. 
207 
representation of these celebrated structures. The life 
of every Mohammedan saint is so mixed up with ex- 
travagant fable., that it is difficult to come at the 
true character of these worthies, of whom Nizam-ud- 
Deen Oulea was one of sufficient repute to render him 
still an object of veneration among pious Mussul- 
mauns. As a specimen of the monstrous fables by 
which the Mohammedan historians attempt to elevate 
the characters of their Imams and other holy men, 
I need only quote the following from Sir John Mal- 
colm’s History of Persia.* “ The principal fables of 
the Soofees relate to those of their sect who have suf- 
fered martyrdom. Of these one of the most cele- 
brated is Shems Tubreezee, who was sentenced to be 
flayed alive on account of his having raised a dead 
person to life. We are told that, after the law had 
been put in force, he wandered about carrying his 
own skin, and solicited some food to appease his 
hunger; but he had been excommunicated as well as 
flayed, and no one would give him the slightest help. 
After four days he found a dead ox, but could not 
obtain fire to dress it. Wearied out with the un- 
kindness of men, he desired the sun to broil his meat. 
It descended to perform the office, and the world was 
on the point of being consumed, when the holy sheikh 
commanded the flaming orb to resume its station in 
the heavens.” 
“The Soofees,” says Sir John Malcolm, t “are 
stated by one of their most violent and able enemies to 
deny the doctrine of reward and punishment ; which 
* Vol. ii. p. 282. 
t History of Persia, vol. ii. pp. 283, 4. 
