The Rashīdī History 226.1

226.1

The people were [formerly] all Hanifi, but in the reign of Fath Shah, the father of this Sultan Nádir, a man of the name of Shams came from Tálish in Irak, who gave himself out as a Nurbakhshi. He introduced a corrupt form of religion, giving it the name of Nurbakhshi and practised many heresies. He wrote a book for these cowardly people called Fikh-i-Ahwat, which does not conform to the teachings of any of the sects, whether Sunni or Shia. [These sectaries] revile the companions of the Prophet and Aisha, as do the Shias, but contrary to the teaching of these latter, they look upon Amir Sayyid Muhammad Nur Bakhshi as the Lord of the Age and the promised Mahdi.