Batal Hajji Belkhoroev

Batal Hajji Belkhoroev (Белхарой Батал-Хьажа; c. 1824–1914) was an Ingush sheikh of the Qadiri Sufi order (tariqa) who founded his own independent Sufi suborder (wird).

At early age both of his parents died, after which, he moved to Chechnya. There Batal Hajji met Kunta-Haji, a Chechen Sufi sheikh who became his mentor. He was an outlaw (abrek) and supporter of Imam Shamil during the Caucasian War. Batal Hajji founded his own independent wird upon the arrest and exile of Kunta-Haji in 1864 or upon Kunta-Haji's death in 1867. Today it continues to exists amongst Ingush, and partly, amongst the Chechens and Kumyks. In 1911, after being accused of harbouring the Chechen outlaw Zelimkhan he was exiled to Kozelsk, later dying there in 1914.

Background
Batal Hajji was born in 1824 in Ingushetia, either in Surkhakhi or in Somyokh. He was an ethnic Ingush of the Belkharoi clan (teip). The Belkharoi, according to a legend, trace their lineage to a legendary figure called Borga. Batal Hajji's father was Anarbek, while his mother was named Rayzet (Zabiya).

At the age of seven, Batal's mother died and soon his father died as well. He was taken under the care of his mother's relatives, who at that time lived in Chechnya. During his 10 years of living there, he met Kunta-Haji, a Chechen Sufi sheikh, with whom he discussed matters of spirituality that sparked his interest. It is unknown if he received any religious education during his lifetime. During the Caucasian War, he was a supporter of Imam Shamil and led units of outlaws (abreks). He himself was an outlaw.

Return to Ingushetia and Hajj
At the time of Batal Hajji's return to Ingushetia, there was a process of Islamisation and Christianization of the Ingush people. The Ingush had to go lengths to visit Chechnya to meet there Kunta-Haji as they didn't have their own spiritual mentor. Accordingly, one time Ingush again went on to met Kunta-Haji to consult with him. He said to them that Batal Hajji is their new mentor who they should now approach instead of him: "Truly this is a ustaz, a sheikh from Surkhakhi Batal, from now on you can turn to him for advice and take toba."

In 1859, Batal Hajj completed a three-year Islamic pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca as well as a pilgrimage to Medina, as indicated by the title 'Hajji' in his name. According to tradition, Batal Hajji had a vision from Muhammad while he was in Mecca, who offered him a choice between this life and the afterlife. Batal Hajji chose this life expecting he could gain a place in the afterlife with his good works.

Foundation
Batal Hajji founded the wird, either, after the arrest and exile of Kunta-Haji in 1864, or after his death in 1867. The first followers of the wird were the inhabitants of Surkhakhi, Nazran, Nasyr-Kort, Plievo and Upper-Achaluki, but later followers came from other places. The size of the wird was estimated by John F. Baddeley, a British traveler known for his works on the Caucasus region, to be 100 families in 1901.

Characteristics
The distinct features of the members of the wird of Batal Hajji were the cut beard and usage of long daggers (kinjals), berdan rifles and pistols, spiritual power and mutual assistance as well as helping each other in difficult situations. The Soviets accused the Batal Hajjis of being connected to "(...) grave crimes against social order and Soviet law", and that the leadership of the wird "(...) used religion for its own selfish aims and personal profit."

The wird of Batal Hajji has some differences in Islamic practices that can be compared with the wirds of Kunta-Haji and Denni-Arsanov. For example, during the burial, the underside in the grave is done on the left side, as Muhammad was buried, while the Kunta-Haji wird does the underside in the grave on the right side as they see that as a way to pay respect to Muhammad. Unlike the wird of Kunta-Haji, loud dhikr is carried out in the wird of Batal-Haji, while standing in a circle and rhythmically whirling in place to place, clapping their hands and repeating with "la ilaha illa-l-lahi" ("There is no God but Allah") or other religious hymns (nazms). Unlike the wird of Chimmirza, women don't participate in the whirling in the wird of Batal Hajji. While in the wird of Batal Hajji and Kunta Hajji The sacrificial animal is slaughtered, in the wird of Bamat-Girey-Hajji it is not.

Intermarriages within the wird are encouraged. Although women are forbidden to marry men of other wirds, men are allowed to marry women of other wirds. At the same time, the couples are warned that on the Day of Judgment, they will be close only to their personal sheikh, so the mixed couples will disperse. Weddings are not accompanied by music and dancing and being merry during the wedding are not acceptable. Members of the wird are forbidden to share their meal with someone who is not part of the wird.

Batal Hajji's Teachings
Batal Hajji loved Quran and he taught people to read it. He also noted that "faith makes people right and pure in earthly and future life, and knowledge elevates a person". Batal Hajji actively fought Ingush paganism which had remained alive in some traditions.

Later years


In 1892, Batal Hajji was arrested "for harmful religious propaganda" and sent to exile in Kozelsk, but by the amnesty in honor of the coronation of Emperor Nicholas II, he was allowed to return to Ingushetia in 1896. John F. Baddeley met with Batal Hajji on 8 October 1901. According to him, Batal was the successor of Kunta-Haji and he described him as follows: "He as was an old man, rather stout, with a good face and a very courteous manner."

Death
In 1911, Tsarist authorities of Russian Empire were fearing of an uprising under the influence of calls from clerics. Prominent religious figures, among which was Batal Hajji, were accused of harboring the Chechen outlaw Zelimkhan and exiled. The accused religious figures included the Chechen sheikhs (Bammat Girey Hajji, Suhayp Mulla, Dokku Sheikh, Mulla Mahoma, Kana Hajji, Chimmirza), as well as the future emir of North Caucasian Emirate, Avar Sheikh Uzun-Hajji. Batal Hajji was exiled to Kozelsk, Kaluga Governorate, where in 1914, he died.

Because of Pavel Gaidukov's request, permission was granted to transport Batal Hajji's body back to Ingushetia on a special wagon. He was buried on October 25, 1914, in Surkhakhi, where his Ziyarat is located today. The funeral was accompanied by a loud dhikr of the Kunta and Batal Hajjis for many hours. The funeral was attended by residents from all over the North Caucasus. After Batal Hajji's death, his eldest son Magomed succeeded him in becoming the head of the wird.

Family
Batal Hajji had a wife, who according to John F. Baddeley, has been respected more than any other Ingush women. She had already died by the time Baddeley had met Batal Hajji in 1901. Batal Hajji had seven sons, most of whom were executed by the Soviets as they bitterly resisted the Bolsheviks. His son Muhammed, for example, was supporter of the Anti-Soviet Imam Nazhmudin Gotsinskii and was executed while trying to flee to Turkey in 1920 or 1921. His other son, Qureysh, led a guerilla movement in Chechen-Ingush ASSR and North-Ossetian ASSR, but was caught in 1947 and arrested. In 1957, he was released and returned to his homeland, leading the wird up to his death in 1964. Batal Hajji also had his only daughter, named Zaleikha. She was nicknamed 'hama hovsh yolu sag' (хьама ховш йолу саг, 'person knowing something') and 'daqha danna sag' (дакъа данна саг, 'person who received a blessing') for her abilities to communicate with the jinns, her particular healing abilities, as well as for the amulets and talismans she created.

The grandsons of Batal Hajji were also kept under surveillance by the Soviet Regime, and some of them, like Jabra'il, Ahmet, Mustafa, Maksharip, Huseyn and Sultan, died in exchanges of gunfire between the Soviet police (militsia).

Legacy
Today, Batal Hajji's wird is a large Sufi suborder, the most exclusive and cohesive in the Caucasus region out of all the other Sufi wirds, playing an important role in the socio-economic and political life of Ingushetia. Batal Hajji's wird continues to exist amongst Ingush, and partly amongst the Chechens and Kumyks. The percentage of the Batal Hajjis amongst the Ingush is estimated by the Muftiate of Ingushetia to be 4.5%. In 1968, the wird had 400 murids. In Batal Hajji's honor, a cemetery (ziyarat) and a mosque was built in the village of Surkhakhi and the mosque.