Jahriyah Sect is a
Menhuan (saintly lineage) that
was the most influential during a long period in history. It was founded by Ma
Mingxin, a native of Gansu Province, in the mid 18th century. Jahriyah means public and loud in Arabic.
They advocate that people should read Zikr aloud and thus they are called
Loud-Reading Sect. There are four branches within this sect and the believers
are scattered in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Gansu Province, the Xinjiang
Uygur Autonomous Region, Jilin Province, Hebei Province, Jiangsu Province and
Yunnan Province.
This sect maintains that both Shari'ah and Tariqah
are important and that Shari'ah is the basis and precondition for
Tariqah. When practicing
Tariqah, they usually read aloud
Zikr and other scriptures, and at the same time, they should rest on both knees
and make some motions. However, the practice of Tariqah is limited to successors only and
ordinary believers only practice common prayers.
Most of Murshids of the sect were slain by
the Qing government. Therefore, the believers especially worship Murshids and
apotheosize them. Myths and miracles about them are popular among the believers
and their spirit of sacrificing themselves to their belief is extolled. As for
the structure of religious power, there are three levels, which are Daotang (places where the Taoist rites are
performed), parishes and mosques. Daotang is the place where the sheikh conducts various activities and it is
also the place where the believers go on a pilgrimage. A parish is an
administrative region consisting of some mosques. An agent of the sheikh is in
charge of religious affairs in the region and presides over significant
religious activities. An Akhund is responsible for the religious affairs in a
mosque and leads the believers in their religious lives. On religious
ceremonies, a male believer usually wears a black or white hexagonal hat with
his beard shaved, while a female believer doesn't wear a
kerchief.