Mohammed Hakim Ispahani

(Haft), a Parsee doctor, was born at Ispahan about 1790. He was the mollah of a religious sect known as the Rasmians, or old orthodox Parsees. His writings reveal interesting facts concerning what is left at Bombay of the Par-sees, or fire-worshippers. For the good of his sect, Mohammed wrote, in Persian and in English, Kathib fi bilan Asbat al-Kabisek, or "Selections of Mohammed from History, forming a perfect Illustration of the present Theological Discussions of the Parsecs" (Bombay, fol. 1827), in which he aims to prove that the old Persian intercalary aera is of the remotest antiquity, and, in fact, originated in the days of Zoroaster. The believers of other Parsee sects, however, such as the Chahinchahmians, Kodmians. and Churigarians, would have it date only from Yezdegerd III, the last of the Sassanide kings. In answer to certain books written by his opponents on religious matters, Mohammed wrote Dafakh al-IIazl, being a refutation of mollah Firuz's work, entitled Ressana Moussumal badallah, etc. (Bombay, 1832, 4to). Mohammed Hakim Ispahani died at Bombay about 1846. See Zenker, Bibl. Orient. u. v.; Spiegel, Chrestomathia Persica. — Hoefer, Nouc. Biog. Generale, 35, 759.