"The reverend divines, who with their pupils, had come to take part in the holy war, were scarce able to sleep at night for fear (though their quarters were in a place distant two farsangs from the castle), and continually in their conversation would they roundly abuse the prince and Abbas-Quli Khan and curse the Sa'idu'l-'Ulama'; `for,' said they, `these have, without sufficient reason, taken us away from our studies, our discussions, and the earning of our livelihood, besides bringing us into dire peril; since to fight with men like these, who have renounced the world and carry their lives in their hands, is to incur great risk.' So the holy verse, `Cast not yourselves into peril with your own hands,' became their daily utterance. One said: `Certain circumstances exonerate me from the duty of taking part in this war at present.' Another (adducing thirty different pretexts) said: I am lawfully excused and am compelled to turn back.' A third said: `I have little children dependant on me; what can I do?' A fourth said: `I have made no provision for my wife, so I must go, but, should it be necessary, I will return again.' A fifth said: `My accounts with certain persons are not yet settled; should I fall a martyr my wealth will be wasted and an injustice will be done to my wife and children; and both waste and injustice are condemned as repugnant to our holy religion and displeasing to God.' A sixth said: `I owe money to certain persons and have none to acquit me of my debt. Should I fall my debt will not allow me to cross the Bridge of Sirat.' A seventh said: `I came away without the knowledge of my mother, and she had said to me: "Shouldst thou go I will make the milk wherewith I nourished thee unlawful to thee." I fear, therefore, that I may be cast off aa undutiful by my mother.' An eighth wept, saying: `I have made a vow to visit Karbila this year; one circumambulation of the holy sepulchre of the Chief of Martyrs is equivalent in merit to a hundred thousand martyrdoms or a thousand pilgrimages to Mecca. I fear to fail in the fulfilment of my vow and to be disappointed of this great blessing.' Others said: `We for our part, have neither seen in these people, nor heard of them aught that showeth them to be unbelievers, for they also say: "There is no god but God, Muhammad is the Apostle of God and Ali is the Friend of God." At most, they maintain that the advent of the Imam Mihdi has taken place. Let them be; for at all events they are no worse than the sunnis who reject the twelve Imams and the fourteen immaculate saints recognise such an one as Umar as caliph, prefer Uthman to Ali-ibn-i-Abi-Talib, and accept Abu-Bakr as the successor of our holy Prophet. Why should our divines leave those alone and fight with these about matter whereof the rights and wrongs have not been properly determined?' In short throughout the camp, murmurs arose from every tongue, and complaints from every mouth; each one sang a different tune and devised a different pretext; and all awaited but some plausible excuse to betake themselves to flight. So when Abbas-Quli Khan perceived this to be the case, he, fearing lest the contagion of their terror might spread to his soldiers, was forced to accept the excuses of these reverend divines and their disciples and followers, who forthwith departed, rejoicing greatly, and uttering prayers for the Sartip's success." (The "Tarikh-i-Jadid," pp. 74-6.)