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SUKRIT

Encyclopaedia of Ismailism by Mumtaz Ali Tajddin

The Sanskrit word kar means hand, and krit means deeds of hand. Thus, the word sukrat or sukrit means the good deeds conducted by hand. Sukrit is however physically a soft-dish, and its little bit is served during the rites of Ab-i Shafa to the adherents in the Jamatkhana, but it contains rich symbolic meaning for the believers.

Abdullah bin Salam narrates: Once the Prophet saw Uthman pulling a she-camel laden with flour, ghee and honey. The Prophet asked for a stone-cooker, and after putting ghee, honey and flour in it, he asked it to be put on fire till it was thoroughly cooked. He then tasted it and asked other to take little by little from it, saying, "This is what is called khabis by the Persians" (Mishkat, p. 36). The Prophet recommended eating hays in the morning. It is a mixture of pitted dates, clarified butter and dried curd, vigorously kneaded together into a paste and shaped into mouth-sixed portions. The sukrit also resembles with the khabis and hays.

The sukrit is prepared with five following five items:-

khir : milk

khand : sugar

girat : clarified butter

amrit : nectar

bhojan : flour

When these five items are thoroughly cooked, its colour is changed, slightly brownish, smelling like freshly cooked biscuits, which is physically called the sukrit.

These five items exhort symbolic meanings. The milk (khir) advocates sign of purity, and thus it requires that the heart of the believer should be pure like milk. The sugar (khand) has a quality of sweetness, and that the tongue of the believer should be sweet like sugar. The ghee (girat) or clarified butter melts before the fire, and thus the believer should be polite like ghee when some one is angry, the believer's temper should be melted. While cooking the sukrit, the water is simply mixed in it, because the Ab-i Shafa is not ready at that time. When the Ab-i Shafa becomes available, the distributor pour drops of Ab-i Shafa in the plate of sukrit before service, so that the water used in its cooking may also turned into Ab-i Shafa. Thus, the nectar (ab-i shafa) in the sukrit imparts the true believer to join the company of others, and make them true like himself. Lastly, the wheat which is a principal item of food (bhojan) or flour is kneaded and baked on stove for making a bread. The believer should similarly suffer hardship for the benefit of others.

In sum, the above five items in the sukrit reveal that the believer should keep in mind that he should have pure heart, sweet eloquence, humane, piercing personality and pain-taker.


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