fa'kurz or fa keerz', (poor men), fanatics, met with chiefly in India and the neighboring countries, who retire from the world and give themselves up to contemplation. They are properly of the Mohammedan religion, but the term is often used for a mendicant of any faith. They are found living both in communities and in solitude. The wandering fakirs gain the veneration of the lower classes by absurd penances and self-mutilations.