Sarria

## **Lore**

-The One created the heavens and the earth, space and time. He created angels, chief of whom, Mudamir, revolted against him. After the One created the first men, Mudamir inspired them to do evil and turn against him. After 1,300 years passed since the creation, the Elandites came across the Garden and joined in a covenant with the One. Many prophets and good people lived in the Kingdom of Elandia, but far more turned against the One, causing the One to destroy Elandia several times. It is thought that he sent the Calradics to destroy Elandia, after they angered him. Maor came, who was actually preaching Sarria, but his disciples corrupted his teachings when they wrote the Old Book. Instead of being crucified, the One had someone else be crucified in Maor's place, deceiving everyone and taking him directly to Jannah.

The Prophet was born in 890 AD in what most agree to be Quyaz as the son to a family of high priests and was raised to be as such. According to the Kitab, he was visited by an angel and the Prophet destroyed all of the idols in his temple, running away from the city afterwards. He ran up to a hill and cried out to the One who revealed to him the Kitab and Sarria. He became a perfect man to guide mankind. He spread Sarria and amassed an army and captured Quyaz. He ended up capturing most of Aserai and southern Sarrania, before dying from stress in 927 AD. The First Caliphate collapsed with him. Sarria was very weak after this and endured many troubles and wars, but eventually was reunited under the Second Caliphate which expanded the borders to Shariz, up to the walls of Zeonica. Infighting and tribal feuds plagued this caliphate. Succession disputes arose while Sarria was halted by the Makerists. It eventually collapsed. On 343, The Third Caliphate was formed by Kamaal el-Rahim, who is known as the man who permanently unified Sarrania and who strengthened Sarria.

## Information

-The Sarrians believe in one god, the One. He created all that exists and gave a destiny to every one of his creations. The One is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-good. The One has already written down the lives and deaths of people in the Tablets. Adhering to and believing in Sarria is obedience to the One, while to sin and disbelief is to disobey him. On Year 1 (In the Sarrian Calendar), the Prophet had his first revelation and began to preach Sarria.

-Mudamir - Satan. He corrupts the One's creation and tries to take souls down to Jahannam with him, so he can torture them forever.

-Jahannam - Hell. Jannah - Heaven. In order to go to Jannah, one should be Sarrian and truly believe/follow the religion. There are several layers to Jahannam and while it will be eternal for infidels, all Sarrians in Jahannam will eventually go to Jannah. Sarrians generally don't believe that there is salvation outside of Sarria.

-There are two sections of Sarrian scripture, the Sunnahs which are the direct words of the Prophet, make up the actual Kitab. Hadiths are accounts written after the Prophet which lay out Sarrian law and customs.

-The Prophet is his chief messenger who preached for all mankind. Maor in this instance was only a man, he was a prophet whose mission was to preach to the Elandites. Sarrians believe Maor was born with divine help, that Ada remained a virgin, and that Maor had no father. However, they do think Maor will return and fight Mudamir. Jonah is still a prophet.

-Sarria is heavily fatalistic, believing in divine destiny and that the One has already written everything that will happen on a tablet. They still believe that people have free will, although most think the One has already decided the span of every life and the fortunes behind it. Some heretics believe that people have complete control over their lives, others believe they are complete minions of the One. The doctrine of Sahih Sarria is one of predestination and "limited free-will." Critics consider this belief to be contradictory.

-Kamaal is seen as a lesser prophet by the Sahih Sarrians (Or those who live in the Caliphate). This means that while he is highly respected, and even venerated, he is fallible. Maor and Yunus (Jonah) are greater prophets, while the Prophet is greatest of all. The Prophet is completely perfect and infallible.

-The Sahih Sarrians are generally seen as the "Orthodoxy" of Sarria. Their doctrine is enforced by the Caliph. Many Sahih Sarrians believe that the Third Caliphate is the final caliphate and that it will bring in the end-times, when Sarria will come to dominate the entire world.

-The Sadah Sarrians reject the Bariyyen Caliphate, seeing it as demonic and evil. Some even see Kamaal as the incarnation of Mudamir. They see themselves as the original, unaltered form of Sarria. However, unlike Sahih Sarrians, they do not have any central dogma or religious authority, and are divided between several schools of thought. Durquba is mostly Sadah Sarrian, Charas also has a sizable minority of them. As they are seen as heretics within the Caliphate, any Sadah Sarrians would be put to death.

-There were several reforms which were done to (Sahih) Sarria under Caliph Kamaal the Great. This includes the practices of animal sacrifice and self-flagellation being completely forbidden due to their "barbarity" and "cruelty." The Sadah Sarrians continue these practices, although self-flagellation is controversial. The lighter interpretations of Sarrian Law (under al-Hamid) are also found under the Caliphate, with amputations almost entirely being replaced by flogging or forced servitude.

Nuqism (Literally Pure Sarria) is the most extreme school of Sarria, enforcing a homogeneous Sarrian society and the most strict form of Sarrian law. Women must entirely cover themselves, except for their eyes, dogs are forbidden, infidel wives are forbidden (infidel sex slaves are not), and the consumption of wine is punished severely. This was followed by Sultan Abdullah of Durquba and was previously an important school of thought in Sarria; however, it has remained obscure and unpopular for decades. Most Durquban Sarrians believe in traditional schools of thought between the most extreme interpretations.

Hamidism (Founded by al-Hamid) is the most lenient school of Sarria and forms the basis of Bariyyen belief, while it was a sultanate and also once it became a caliphate. Wine is permitted when it does not intoxicate, there are no rules against dogs, women must "Cover themselves respectfully," but what qualifies as respectful is unclear, interfaith marriage is permissible (except for infidel men marrying Sarrian women). Sarrian law is far more lenient, punishments such as amputation or crucifixion are almost never advised. Kamaal followed this school of thought, while Sulayman does not. Nonetheless, the majority of Bariyyens subscribe to this mentality.

**Notable Religious Figures**

-The Prophet, the infallible messenger of the One who preached Sarria.

**Scriptures**

-The Kitab, supposedly written by the Prophet (Equivalent of the Qur'an)

**Miscellaneous**

-The Sarrians believe that the entire world will become Sarria. Some believe that the current caliphate will usher in the end times. Some believe that the world will be ruled under one nation.

-It is considered blasphemous to speak and write the Prophet's name.

-Although the Prophet was celibate, he never forbade his followers from proliferating and had no qualms with polygamy.

-The Prophet owned many slaves.

-Sarria does not have anything like celibacy or monasticism, unlike Makerism.

-Sarria does not have as strict or complex of a clerical system as Makerism does (they have the works of scholars). The scholars who wrote the hadiths are the closest equivalent Sarria has to the Church Fathers.

-Like all the other Charisian faiths, Sarrians believe the world was created 3,000 years before Maor's birth.

-Though most Sarria followers pray three times a day, others are known to pray five times a day, both of which are acceptable.

- Quyaz is the holiest city for the Sarrians, as it is accepted as being the Prophet's birthplace. Shariz (Called Charas by the Makerists), is also a holy site for the Sarrians, due to the previous prophets (Including Maor) and the prophecies surrounding it.

-All Sarrians are ideally supposed to preform a pilgrimage to Quyaz at least once in their lifetime. In the Caliphate, this is no problem. In the case of the Sadah Sarrians outside of the Caliphate, they can preform a pilgrimage to Durquba or Shariz (the scholars are conflicted about which one).

-The Prophet was only 37 when he died. Although he described himself as "having a normal appearance", many of the hadiths describe him as handsome and brawny.

## Excerpts from the Kitab

"And the Prophet said "Verily I say unto you, everyone shall be brought under Sarria, through the sword and through persuasion. Fight those who reject the One until they are converted or humbly submit themselves." - 4:28

"A Sarrian is obliged to obey his ruler whether he wishes to or not, unless he is commanded to commit an act of disobedience against the One. If one is commanded to commit a sin, then he shall neither listen or obey." - 7:45

"And the Prophet besieged the fortress of Banu Gazad for twenty days, for the infidels within would not submit themselves to the One. Thus, for twenty days the Prophet and his army waited out in the sun, cutting off the fortress from all food and water. On the twentieth day the Makerists came out and met with the Prophet.

"Have you chosen to submit to Sarria?" The Prophet asked the infidels, who responded with "No, we shall not. But we shall submit ourselves to your rule." The Prophet said unto the infidels, "If you shall not convert, then you will from now on give me half of what you produce, and if you dissent then all of you shall be slain." At this the infidels cried out and said, "You are most merciful."

"Do you not know that whoever harms the Prophet shall surely face the upmost wrath of the One? You shall not oppose the will of the Prophet, neither should you argue with him or annoy him."

"Indeed, the One orders justice and good conduct and forbids bad conduct and oppression. He causes you to suffer, so that you might be reminded [to do righteousness.] And if the One had willed, he could have made you of one religion, but he caused to stray whom he wills and guides whom he wills. And surely you will be questioned about what you used to do. Do not take oaths as [means of] deceit between you, lest you become evil and divert from the way of the One, for this [would mean] a great punishment. Do not exchange your covenant with the One for anything, for do you not know that everything on the world will end, but the One will last forever? So when you recite the Kitab, seek refuge in the One from Mudamir. Whoever does righteousness, while being a believer, will surely have their reward [in Jannah]."

"The Prophet reportedly said unto his companions the following, "Every day of my life I spend in constant pain. For all that I can remember, I have been plagued with a crushing pain in my skull, which has only gotten more severe these last several months. But I do not complain to the One about them, for he wishes for me to suffer here, so that I will be brought closer to him and so that the pleasure I experience in the afterlife will be all the more liberating. I know that many of my followers have been killed or maimed in these wars, but I must remind you all that such hardship will only bring us closer to the One. I wish for all of you to entirely surrender yourself to the One, willingly enslave yourself to him, and you will experience his benevolence. You no longer have anything to fear, but the One, who is most great and merciful." - Sahih Abdullah 1:05

“And the Prophet said, “If I do die, leave nothing to remember me by except for my lessons and scripture. Do not even remember me by my name, for it is forfeit, but instead remember me by my title as you address me.”

"For his celibacy, the Prophet was mocked and made fun of. A man asked the Prophet, "Do you abstain from intercourse because you are impotent? For who could resist the pleasure of a virgin slave girl?" The Prophet responded, "I am most virile, I simply do not have any desire for it [intercourse]." Thus the man was sent on his way and he departed." - 2:02

"In the same way you would cut off a rotten limb, kill those who abandon me [the Apostates] and those who corrupt my word [the Heretics]. Those who are sympathetic to my enemies will incur the wrath of the One!" - 5:58

"Hear me brethren, for there will come many who preach false words. Ignore these false prophets, for they are surely bound for Jahannam along with all who they deceive!" - 3:66

"Do you not know that the left hand is impure? For the One is not impure, he then has two right hands."

"Indeed, it is true that in Jannah, you will be able to take whatever form as you will. For you will not be constrained to your body, but your soul may take the form of any appearance which it desires. None of your desires will be sinful, for it is impossible to do anything that is wrong in Jannah."