Ancient Legends of Kazakhstan.

"Adayev people, listen to my words:
Throw away bad thoughts from your memory,
Come to me with a pure heart.
Throw away bad thoughts from your memory

First you killed Rukina and Bai-Mukhammed;
Deceived them, - you will answer in the next world.
Barely ten days passed, - your troubles began.
Throw away bad thoughts from your memory!

Indignant, what could, you robbed;
Then - indignant, all hope for your mercy;
As you became a Russian wolf, you turned into a ram.
Throw away bad thoughts from your memory!"

You said, let's migrate, let's leave Mangyshlak!
You liked this pernicious thought,
And you did a bad deed
Throw out of your mind the bad thoughts!

Muhammad-Safa's appeal to Adayevites in 1870,

Legendary and Historical Personalities of Land of Mangistau.

Hakim ata's wife Anbar (Anuar) gave birth to three sons: Muhammed khoja, Asker khoja and Khubbi, called Sultan epe by the Kazakhs. The first two studied at a school located 15 days' journey from Bakyrgan, and the last son was raised at home. Hakim ata had another student in his house, named Sheikh Said, who had achieved complete perfection in the knowledge of the tariqa.
One day Hakim ata and his wife Anbar were talking in an open field, far from the city, and they began to talk about which of Hakim ata's students had improved more in knowledge, the son of Sultan epe or Sheikh Said. In order to resolve the dispute, Hakim ata called both of them by name.
An answer was heard:
- "What do you order?" and Sheikh Said appeared, but Sultan epe did not appear even at the second and third calls, but came only a few hours later and brought two deer.
- "He didn't come soon...", Hakim ata said angrily and did not want to accept the deer from him.
- "On the big sea (Caspian Sea) two ships were wrecked, the people on them were shouting:
- "Oh Sultan epe, help! I came there, saved them and at that very moment I heard your call, but since the distance was very great, I was late," answered Sultan epe.
- "I don't believe it! I know very well how far it is from here to the big sea," said Hakim ata.
- "If you don't believe me, look at my wet clothes and the marks of the rope I used to pull out the boats on my back."
Hakim Ata looked at his son's back and saw a stripe on it, caused by the friction of the rope.
- "The people I saved promised to bring ten thousand tenge as a tribute in five months, and they will bring it," said Sultan Epe.
Hakim Ata did not respond to this. Exactly five months later, the rescued people brought ten thousand tenge. Soon this incident became widely known, and everyone began to revere Sultan Epe as a man gifted by God with the ability to perform miracles.
Hakim Ata performed the morning prayer in the city mosque, and the obligatory one in Mecca, at the Kaaba. One day, Sultan Epe asked Hakim Ata:
- "Father, where do you perform the obligatory morning prayer?" - “I fly to Kaaba and pray there,” answered Hakim Ata.
- “This is disturbing for you, can’t you make it so that Kaaba comes here?” asked Sultan Epe.
- "No, I am not able to do this, but if you can, then do it.
- We'll see," said Hakim ata.
The next morning, Hakim ata entered the mosque and saw the Kaaba and many people praying near it, and there he performed the morning prayer. The residents of Bakirgan, having seen such a miracle, all became murids. One day, on the holiday of Eid al-Adha, the murids of Hakim ata gathered together, slaughtered nine bulls and ate all the meat, without a trace.
Sultan epe was not there. He came only the next day and, having learned that not a single piece of meat was left for him, asked his father:
- Why did they forget about him?
- "Whoever did the deed received his share, and since you were not there, you are not entitled to anything," answered Hakim ata.
Then Sultan Epe asked his father's murids to bring him the skins taken from the bulls they had slaughtered and their bones. When they had done this, he turned to his father and said:
- "Order these skins and bones to get up and go to the pasture."
- "I am not able to do this," said Hakim Ata.
- "Then let me do it."
Having received his father's consent, Sultan Epe exclaimed:
- "Bissimillah," gathered the skins and bones with his asa tayak (stick) in one place, and lightly struck the pile, saying:
- "By the will of God, get up!"
The bulls came to life, got up and went to the pasture. After this miracle, Sultan Epe, having said goodbye to his father and mother, became invisible. Hakim Ata searched for his missing son for a long time and everywhere, but could not find him anywhere.
When Khoja Akhmet Yassawi learned about everything that had happened, he severely reprimanded Hakim ata for his rude treatment of his son and said:
- "Let the water flow over your grave for forty years."
When Hakim ata died, he was buried near the city. Soon after, the Urgench River (Amu Darya) changed its course, destroyed the city of Bakyrgan and flowed over this place for exactly forty years. After this time, the water receded and Hakim ata's grave opened.
Hakim ata's eldest sons, Mukhamed Khoja and Asker Khoja, having learned about the disappearance of their brother, searched for him everywhere. For this, they came to Mangistau and both died there. They were also saints and worked miracles. Their graves are located near the Meret spring.
About a hundred years after the disappearance of Sutan Epe, when the Nogais were wandering in Mangistau, many kibitkas gathered in the upper part of the plain. Among the wanderers there was one molda who taught children. Among his students was a boy named Kheyrulla, weak and lame.
Every day he was beaten, at school by the molda, and at home by his parents. His comrades laughed at him and constantly offended him. In a word, his life was the hardest. One day Kheyrulla went far into the steppe, deciding to take his own life.
Tired from walking, he leaned against a large stone and, turning to God with a fervent prayer, cried a lot, beat himself on the chest, and finally fell asleep. At noon the next day, when he was still sleeping, some unknown person appeared to him in a dream and said:
- "My son! Do not cry, open your mouth."
Kheyrulla did this. The stranger put something sweet and pleasant in his mouth, which immediately brought out wisdom and knowledge in the boy. Then the stranger said to him:
- "Get up, go across the steppe and build a mosque in the place where you see the eagle sitting."
To this Khairullah replied:
- "I am a weak boy and cannot lift even a small stone."
Then the stranger said:
- "I, Sultan epe, when you lift stones, say: "O, Sultan epe! and the stones will rise with divine power and you will easily place them where needed."
After this, Sultan Epe disappeared. Kheyrulla woke up, walked across the steppe and soon saw a sitting eagle. When he came close to it, the eagle said loudly:
- "Sultan Epe!", flew up and disappeared.
Having clearly noticed where the eagle was sitting, Kheyrulla returned to his teacher. Molda, having beaten him for not appearing for so long, gave him a book and ordered him to read. Kheyrulla read without difficulty. Then Molda gave him seven more pages of a new lesson - he read them once and answered like a scholar.
Thus, the received wisdom was revealed and all the people were amazed at such a miracle. After this, Kheyrulla went into the steppe and, having come to the designated place, touched the large stones with his hands, exclaiming:
- "Oh, Sultan Epe!".
Each stone touched by the boy easily rose and fell to the place where it was needed. Thus, Khairullah built a mosque very quickly. After this miracle, Khairullah received the nickname "Sufi".

Authority:
"Collection of information about Caucasian highlanders". Legends of Adaevites about saints of  Hanafi sect who lived and died in Mangyshlak". Proposed stories are written from words of Kafar Karadzhigitov, Bik-Bulat Yesekenov and Mullah Khodja-Berdy. Issue VII. Tiflis. 1873.

Photos by:
Alexander Petrov.