The Alawi Religion: An Anthology (Bibliotheque De L'ecole Des Hautes Etudes, Sciences Religieuses, 190) 9782503597812, 2503597815

Table of contents :
Front Matter
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1. THE MYSTERY OF THE DIVINITY
CHAPTER 2. REINCARNATION
CHAPTER 3. ANTINOMIANISM, RITUALS AND FESTIVALS
CHAPTER 4. INITIATION
CHAPTER 5. IDENTITY AND SELF-DEFINITION
EPILOGUE. THE ODE FOR THE GHADĪR KHUMM FESTIVAL
Back Matter

Citation preview

THE ʿALAWĪ RELIGION AN ANTHOLOGY

BIBLIOTHÈQUE DE L’ÉCOLE DES HAUTES ÉTUDES

SCIENCES RELIGIEUSES

VOLUME

190

Illustration de couverture : Calligraphie de Muhammad Aziz Rufaï (1919), variations sur le nom de l’Imam Ali avec prières et poèmes en son éloge.

THE ʿALAWĪ RELIGION AN ANTHOLOGY

Translated from the Arabic, with introduction and notes by Meir M. Bar-Asher Aryeh Kofsky

H

F

La Bibliothèque de l’École des Hautes Études, Sciences religieuses La collection Bibliothèque de l’École des Hautes Études, Sciences religieuses, fondée en 1889 et riche de plus de cent quatre-vingts volumes, reflète la diversité des enseignements et des recherches menés au sein de la Section des sciences religieuses de l’École Pratique des Hautes Études (Paris, Sorbonne). Dans l’esprit de la section qui met en œuvre une étude scientifique, laïque et pluraliste des faits religieux, on retrouve dans cette collection tant la diversité des religions et aires culturelles étudiées que la pluralité des disciplines pratiquées : philologie, archéologie, histoire, philosophie, anthropologie, sociologie, droit. Avec le haut niveau de spécialisation et d’érudition qui caractérise les études menées à l’EPHE, la collection Bibliothèque de l’École des Hautes Études, Sciences religieuses aborde aussi bien les religions anciennes disparues que les religions contemporaines, s’intéresse aussi bien à l’originalité historique, philosophique et théologique des trois grands monothéismes – judaïsme, christianisme, islam – qu’à la diversité religieuse en Inde, au Tibet, en Chine, au Japon, en Afrique et en Amérique, dans la Mésopotamie et l’Égypte anciennes, dans la Grèce et la Rome antiques. Cette collection n’oublie pas non plus l’étude des marges religieuses et des formes de dissidences, l’analyse des modalités mêmes de sortie de la religion. Les ouvrages sont signés par les meilleurs spécialistes français et étrangers dans le domaine des sciences religieuses (chercheurs enseignants à l’EPHE, anciens élèves de l’École, chercheurs invités…). Directeurs de la collection : Mohammad Ali Amir-moezzi, Ivan Guermeur Secrétaires d’édition : Cécile GuivArch, Anna WAide, Morgan GuirAud Comité de rédaction : Andrea Acri, Marianne BujArd, Constance Arminjon, Samra AzArnouche, Marie-Odile Boulnois, Laurent coulon, Gilbert dAhAn, Vincent GoossAert, Andrea-Luz Gutierrez-choquevilcA, Christian jAmBet, Vassa KontoumA, Séverine mAthieu, Gabriella Pironti, François de PoliGnAc, Ioanna r APti, Jean-Noël roBert, Arnaud sérAndour, Judith törszöK, Valentine zuBer.

© 2021, Brepols Publishers n.v., Turnhout, Belgium. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. D/2021/0095/315 ISBN 978-2-503-59781-2 e-ISBN 978-2-503-59782-9 DOI 10.1484/M.BEHE-EB.5.126666 Printed in the EU on acid-free paper.

To Etan Kohlberg and Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi

Through allusion I have told the hidden mysteries My words by contrast are clear, spelling out esoteric meanings I have not spared comments to the wise Through my poems, through tradition I have blinded The slothful, their eyes always blind to seeing the truth They fell silent when the crier called to pledge allegiance If my advice and allusions suffice – so much the better And if not – remember what I have said, for I have resolved To reveal what I have hidden, lest curse and damnation strike me. (Al-Khaṣībī, Dīwān al-Khaṣībī, p. 104)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

11

Introduction

13

Chapter 1: The Mystery of the Divinity 1. The trinity ʿAlī-Muḥammad-Salmān and its emanations 2. God’s incarnation in human figures: incarnation and docetism 3. Cyclical revelation of the deity

47 47 77 88

Chapter 2: Reincarnation 1. Introduction 2. On the knowledge of the garments of light and the garments of darkness 3. Reincarnation as retribution for the believer’s sins 4. The punishment of twenty-four groups of Israelites reincarnated in animals 5. The story of a Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī believer reincarnated in a wolf

97 97

105 108

Chapter 3: Antinomianism, Rituals and Festivals 1. Introduction 2. Antinomianism 3. Rituals and Festivals

109 109 112 114

Chapter 4: Initiation 1. Introduction 2. Taʿlīq – the spiritual marriage and the bond between master and disciple 3. Samāʿ – The spiritual pregnancy and birth 4. The rules of the taʿlīq 5. The initiation of Sulaymān al-Adhanī 6. Fulfilment of “the obligatory commandment and the mandatory duty”

149 149

99 100

152 155 160 161 166

9

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology Chapter 5: Identity and Self-Definition  1. Introduction 2. Muḥammad ibn Nuṣayr – creator of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī identity 3. The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī identity in the pre-cosmic world and in this world 4. The attitude towards the first two caliphs and to Sunnī Islam 5. The figure of ʿAlī vis-à-vis that of ʿUmar 6. Curses against opponents and enemies of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion 7. Mujīb al-Murshid in the eyes of his followers 8. Selected sayings of Sājī al-Murshid

177 178 179

Epilogue: The Ode for the Ghadīr Khumm Festival  1. Introduction 2. Ode

185 185 186

Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources

193 193 196

Index

203

10

169 169 173 174 175 176

PREFACE

W

hile it is widely known that the ʿAlawī minority has been in power in Syria for many years, this familiarity relates primarily to the group’s political history. Less known is the fact that the ʿAlawīs, who like the Druzes seceded from Shīʿī Islam more than a millennium ago, have a religion of their own. The atrocious civil war in Syria in the last decade has raised awareness of the ʿAlawī religion, some of whose followers have ruled Syria ruthlessly for the past fifty years, and there is evidence of a growing curiosity about the esoteric religion. The name “ʿAlawīs” is relatively recent, having been adopted by the ʿAlawī community about a century ago. For the preceding millennium they had been known as “Nuṣayrīs”, after the religion’s eponymous founder, Muḥammad ibn Nuṣayr. Scholars, on the other hand, opted for the academic term “Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs”. For this book we chose the title The ʿAlawi Religion, which acknowledges the self-definition of contemporary ʿAlawīs and also the general familiarity of the name. In the text, however, we have opted for the term “Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs”, which better reflects the two phases in the historical development of their religion, though the shorter form “Nuṣayrīs” is occasionally used for the earlier phase. This anthology grew out of our long-standing interest in the ʿAlawī religion. Our previous studies dealt with central chapters in the religion’s history, its beliefs and rituals. For many years, however, we have also felt the need to present readers with a selection from the distinctive literature of this mysterious religion. Although there have been sporadic translations of several texts into various languages, there is as yet no anthology that offers a range of sources evincing the principal tenets and characteristics of the ʿAlawī religion.

11

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology An introductory description sets the background for the themes covered in the anthology: the mystery of the divinity, which is the core of Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī theology; the reincarnation of souls as part of the religion’s doctrine of retribution; antinomianism, rituals and festivals, which together give the clearest evidence of the religion’s syncretistic character and its negative attitude to the injunctions of Islam; initiation into the divine mysteries and the esoteric inner circle; and finally, the identity and self-definition of the religion’s followers visà-vis Islam and other religions. Dates, transliteration and Qurʾan citation The date according to the Muslim (hijrī) calendar is given first, followed by the date according to the Common Era e.g. ʿAlī al-Hādī (d. 254/868). Historical events and decease dates from the 17th century on are noted only according to the Common Era. Arabic names and terms are transliterated in accordance with the rules followed in scholarly publications. For quotations from the Qurʾan, the number of the Sura is given first, followed by the verse number, e.g. Q. 2:255. Translated quotations from the Qurʾan are taken from Alan Jones’ translation, The Qurʾān (Exeter 2007), with occasional modifications. Thanks We wish to express our gratitude to all who helped us with this book: to Tariq Rajab, for sharing with us his Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī manuscripts and permitting us to use his translation of al-Jillī’s Risalāt al-tawḥīd (Epistle of unification); to Dmitri Sevruk, for sharing manuscripts and books over the years. A special debt of gratitude is owed to Jennie Feldman for her rigorous editing of the English style, and for offering innumerable suggestions for improving the text. The book is dedicated to Etan Kohlberg and Mohammad Ali AmirMoezzi, for many years of inspiring friendship and good advice.

12

INTRODUCTION

Historical outline of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion

t

Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion is a syncretistic religion with a strong affinity to Shīʿī Islam. 1 From its beginning and up to the 20th century, believers were known as Nuṣayrīs. 2 Today the majority live in Syria and south-central Turkey, especially in the regions of Hatai and its capital Antakya (ancient Antioch), and Adhana. In Syria the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs constitute the largest minority in the state, numbering about two and a half million, around twelve percent of the total population. They reside mainly along the Syrian coast, in the mountainous area of the Latakia district, known as Jabal al-ʿAlawiyyīn (Mountain of the ʿAlawīs), or Jabal Anṣāriyya (Mountain of the Nuṣayrīs). In this region they comprise around two-thirds of the population. he

1.

2.

On the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion’s strong affinity to the Shīʿa, see M. M. BarAsher, “Le rapport de la religion nuṣayrite-ʿalawite au shiʿisme imamite,” in M. A. Amir-Moezzi, M. M. Bar-Asher and S. Hopkins, eds., Le shiʿisme imāmite quarante ans après: Hommage à Etan Kohlberg, Paris – Turnhout 2009, p. 71–90. On religious syncretism, see C. Colpe, “The Phenomenon of Syncretism and the Impact on Islam,” in K. Kehl-Bodrogi, B. Kellner-Heinkele and A. Otter-Beaujean, eds., Syncretistic Religious Communities in the Middle East: Collected Papers of Symposium, Berlin 1995, Leiden – New York – Köln 1997, p. 35-48. With the establishment of the French Mandate in Syria at the beginning of the 20th century the name ʿAlawīs was adopted. In order to simplify matters and avoid using two different names to discuss the same religion, we opted for the double name Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs, which is standard in scholarship. The other names for the religion, as well as the circumstances of the shift from the name Nuṣayrīs to the appellation ʿAlawīs, will be discussed in due course.

13

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology The beginnings of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion are shrouded in obscurity. René Dussaud, one of the pioneering scholars of this faith, suggested that it started with pagans adopting certain ideas from the monotheistic religions that appeared in their region, first from Christianity and then from Islam. 3 This approach sought inter alia to identify the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs with a number of religious groups in antiquity, relying upon certain similarities in name or creed; according to one speculation, its believers were followers of the Nazarenes, who were mentioned by the Roman historian, Pliny the Elder. 4 Be that as it may, the prevailing view among modern scholars is that the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion originated in a heterodox Shīʿī subsect that appeared in Iraq in the middle of the 3rd/9th century. 5 The meaning of the religion’s ancient name, Nuṣayriyya, is similarly debated. Some scholars thought it derived from a diminutive form of the word naṣārā (Christians) and reflected a desire to emphasize an affinity between the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī doctrine and Christianity. According to a different view, the followers of the religion regarded its name as a derivation of anṣār (“supporters” or “helpers”, an appellation for the followers of the prophet Muḥammad in Medina, who supported him after his migration from Mecca). 6 Today, however, these suppositions have been categorically refuted, on both historical and etymological grounds. The accepted explanation, attested by the writings of its followers and also by external sources, is that the religion derived its name from Muḥammad b. Nuṣayr al-Namīrī (or al-Numayrī). According to the Shīʿī sage Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥasan b. Mūsā al-Nawbakhtī (d.c. 300/912), in his work on the Shīʿī sects, Ibn al-Hādī – a follower of ʿAlī al-Hādī (d. 254/868), the tenth Imam of the Imāmī Shīʿa – excommunicated Ibn Nuṣayr for his heterodox views on, for example, the transmigration of souls (tanāsukh) and the abrogation of prohibitions (ibāḥa li-l-maḥārim). In Muslim tradition such views were regarded as ghuluww (exaggeration) and their advocates were called ghulāt (exaggerators). 7

3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

14

See R. Dussaud, Histoire et religion des Noṣairîs, Paris 1900, p. 17ff. Dussaud speculates that the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion may be rooted in Phoenician paganism. Ibid., p. 14-17. See H. Halm, Die islamische Gnosis, die extreme Schia und die ʿAlawiten, Zurich – Munich 1982, p. 282-283. R. Dussaud, Histoire et religion des Noṣairîs, p. 13. See al-Nawbakhtī, Firaq al-shīʿa, ed. H. Ritter, Istanbul 1991, p. 78. For the

Introduction In Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religious writings Ibn Nuṣayr is portrayed as a devotee of the eleventh Imam, al-Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī (d. 260/873-4), who appointed him as the prophet of a new faith, the nucleus of the future Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion. In the course of its history, the new religion acquired additional names, the oldest of which is al-Namīriyya (or al-Numayriyya), derived from al-Namirī/al-Numayrī, the tribal name (nisba) of Ibn Nuṣayr. The religion’s followers, however, preferred other names and appellations, such as muwaḥḥida or ahl al-tawḥīd (Unitarians, or “the people of unification”), as the followers of the Druze religion are called, or the appellation al-Khaṣībiyya, after Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn b. Ḥamdān al-Khaṣībī (d. 345/957-8 or 358/969), the most prominent sage of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion. It was only in 1920s, in the early days of the French Mandate in Syria, that the Nuṣayrīs adopted the name ʿAlawīs, in an attempt to emphasize their affinity to ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭātlib, the fourth caliph, Muḥammad’s cousin and son-in-law, and the common ancestor of all the Shīʿī subgroups. 8 In their choice of a new name, the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs were also keen to play down their affinity to Ibn Nuṣayr, who was notorious for his heterodox views and thus a cause for defamation and harassment by those hostile to the religion. It may also be that the similarity between their name and naṣārā (Christians) further contributed to a disavowal of the name Nuṣayrīs. It remained popular, however, among their rivals, who preferred to stress precisely those traits that the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs wished to tone down – their affinity to Ibn Nuṣayr, and the Christian beliefs and rituals that were an integral part of their religion. Despite the important role played by Ibn Nuṣayr in the formative period of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion, the actual consolidator of the doctrine was Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn Ḥamdān al-Khaṣībī. Al-Khaṣībī was active first in Iraq, where he initially belonged to the Imāmī Shīʿa. It was there that he adopted the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion. Apparently in

8.

ambivalence of the concept of ghuluw, see M. A. Amir-Moezzi, “Les Imams et les Ghulāt: Nouvelles réflexions sur les relations entre imamisme ‘modéré’ et shiʿisme ‘extrémiste’,” Shii Studies Review 4 (2020), p. 5-38. It is noteworthy that in Turkey there exists a large minority called Alevis, a heterodox sect that also promotes the figure of ʿAlī but whose beliefs and religious practice differ significantly from those of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs. Moreover, as far as we know there is no historical connection between these two groups. The rulers of the royal Moroccan dynasty are also called ʿAlawīs, due to their putative descent from ʿAlī through his son al-Ḥasan, but this is a Sunnī dynasty without any relation to the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs.

15

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology order to distance himself from the centre of power, he moved to Syria and settled with many of his followers in Aleppo, where he formed a close relationship with Sayf al-Dawla (ruled 333/945–356/967), the Ḥamdānite ruler of the city. It was to him that al-Khaṣībī dedicated his book al-Hidāya al-kubrā (The great guidance), comprising biographies of Muḥammad, his daughter Fāṭima, wife of ʿAlī, and the twelve Imams. In this work al-Khaṣībī adheres to the Imāmī Shīʿī doctrine; the radical traits that would be characteristic of his later writings are not yet discernible. 9 Apart from this work and his book of esoteric poetry, few of al-Khaṣībī’s writings have reached us. In the last two decades, however, several of his tractates have been published, notably his canonical work, al-Risāla al-rastbāshiyya, an epistle dedicated to the Buwayhī ruler of Bagdad, ʿIzz al-Dawla Bakhtiyār (ruled 357/967 – 367/978), known as Rast bāsh (or Rās bāsh) al-Daylamī, hence the title of the work. In it, al-Khaṣībī presents the fundamentals of early Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī doctrine in the form of two epistles. He gives the first the title al-Risāla fi siyāqat al-maʿnā wa-l-ism wa-l-bāb (The epistle on the emanation of the maʿnā, the Ism and the bāb), shortened to al-Risāla al-rastbāshiyya, or just al-Risāla. The second epistle is called Fiqh al-risāla. It is noteworthy that fiqh in this case does not refer to religious law, the common meaning of this term, but rather indicates that this is an interpretation of the main epistle (a meaning close to the original sense of the word fiqh). The formative period of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion, from the 4th/10th to 5th/11th centuries, was characterized by intense activity on the part of several scholars from al-Khaṣībī’s school. Prominent among his disciples, in the second half of the 4th/10th century, were Abū Muḥammad ʿAlī b. ʿIsā al-Jisrī 10 and Abū al-Ḥusayn Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-Jillī, on whom we cannot elaborate here. The ideas put forward by these disciples and others can be found in the studies of several modern scholars. 11 Among the sages of the following generation Abū ‘Abd Allāh al-Ḥusayn b. Ḥamdān al-Khaṣībī, Al-Hidāya al-kubrā, Beirut 1406/1986. This book is similar in its structure and content to the work of al-Shaykh al-Mufīd (d. 413/1022), one of the most prominent Imāmī Shīʿī scholars of the Buwayhid period. 10. See M. M. Bar-Asher, “Al-Jisrī (ʿAlī b. ʿĪsā),” Encyclopaedia of Islam3 (online). 11. See especially the works of H. Halm, Die islamische Gnosis; M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion: An Enquiry into Its Theology and Liturgy, Leiden 2002; Y. Friedman, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs: An Introduction to the Religion, History and Identity of the Leading Minority in Syria, Leiden 2010; M. M. Bar-Asher and S. Mervin, “ʿAlawīs,” Encyclopaedia of Islam3 (online); 9.

16

Introduction – that of the disciples of al-Khaṣībī’s followers – Abū Saʿīd Maymūn b. al-Qāsim al-Ṭabarānī (d. 426/1034-5) is of especial note. This scholar of the Galilean city of Tiberias played a central role in the migration of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī community from Aleppo to the coastal area of north-west Syria, which has since become the physical homeland and religious centre of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs in that country. Al-Ṭabarānī’s most celebrated work is Majmūʿ al-aʿyād (Compendium of festivals), in which he offers a radical, esoteric commentary on many of the holidays in the unique calendar of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion. 12 These holidays and their rituals mirror the syncretistic nature of the religion, and will be considered in detail below. 13 Our knowledge of the history of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs over the next eight hundred years, that is, from the time of al-Ṭabarānī to the mid-19th century, remains somewhat fragmentary. In his introductory book on the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs (2010), Yaron Friedman made an important contribution to our knowledge of the religion in the late Middle Ages. 14 This was followed by Bruno Pauli’s significant study, which greatly supplemented the incomplete historical picture. 15 Pauli’s study is based on a monograph entitled Kitāb khayr al-ṣanīʿa (Book of the best [acts] of benevolence) by the 20th-century NuṣayrīʿAlawī scholar, Ḥusayn Mayhūb Ḥarfūsh. More recently, research by Stefan Winter has added valuable details to the social-historical depiction of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs in this period, though the focus is not on their religious history. 16 We shall now briefly survey key developments in the history of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs from the 5th/11th century to their renewed “discovery”

12. 13.

14. 15. 16.

and B. Pauli, “La Diffusion de la doctrine nuṣayrite au ive/xe siècle d’après le Kitāb Khayr al-ṣanī‛a du Cheikh Ḥusayn Mayhūb Ḥarfūš,” Arabica 58 (2011), p. 19-52. For a detailed analysis of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī calendar, see M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 111-151. Another important work by al-Ṭabarānī is Kitāb al-maʿārif (Book of Knowledge), ed. M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, Leuven 2012. See M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion. For other works by al-Ṭabarānī, see Ibid. p. 1-4. See Y. Friedman, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs. See B. Pauli, “La Diffusion de la doctrine nuṣayrite au ive/xe siècle”. See S. Winter, “The ʿAlawis in the Ottoman Period,” in M. Kerr and C. Larkin, eds., The ʿAlawis of Syria: War, Faith and Politics in the Levant, London 2015, p. 49-62.

17

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology in the 19th century. In the 6th/12th century the Crusaders conquered much of the mountainous area in the region of Latakia. Following the capture of the region by Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Ayyūbī towards the end of the century, it was annexed to the Ayyubid Sultanate. During the Mameluk period (1250-1517) several attempts were made to convert the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs to Sunnī Islam. 17 The Mameluks prohibited the initiation of new believers into the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion, and the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs were compelled to build mosques in their settlements, contrary to their custom. The situation of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs continued to deteriorate in the Ottoman period (1517-1918). However, contrary to the prevailing view among scholars that this decline was a consequence of persecution and harassment by the Ottoman authorities, it now appears that it was due primarily to the community’s overall social and economic backwardness. Winter’s above-mentioned study, based on Ottoman archival documentation, indicates that although the authorities were well aware of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion being heterodox, they mostly ignored its beliefs and practices and instead adopted a pragmatic attitude. Its followers were subject to the same taxation policy as other minorities in the empire, and even though the Ottomans knew that Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs worked in wine production and marketing – activities strictly prohibited to Muslims – they did not forbid such work but simply levied the tax prescribed by law. An improvement in their economic and social status is evident only from the mid-19th century, when the Ottoman reforms (tanẓīmāt) provided for the establishment of schools and mosques in regions inhabited by Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs. This measure was undoubtedly aimed at Islamising the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī population. 18 Western interest in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs increased in the 19th century, when European and Levantine travellers, diplomats and missionaries began to arrive in their areas, establishing contact with them and even acquiring manuscripts of their religious writings that until then had been hidden from curious eyes both outside and inside the community. Notable among the new arrivals was Joseph Catafago, a Syrian Christian who served in the 1840s as secretary and dragoman in the Prussian embassy in Syria, located in Beirut. Catafago was among the pioneering 17. Y. Friedman, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs, p. 56-61. 18. See S. Winter, “The ʿAlawis in the Ottoman Period,” p. 49-62; Id., A History of the Alawis, From Medieval Aleppo to the Turkish Republic, Princeton – Oxford 2016, p. 74-160.

18

Introduction writers on the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion. He published a few 19 short, liturgical compositions, and began a French translation of Taʿlīm diyānat al-nuṣayriyya (Teaching the Nuṣayrī religion), a concise summary of the creed in the question-and-answer form of a catechism. It is difficult to determine precisely when the Arabic original of this work was written. Whatever the case, Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī catechisms were undoubtedly influenced by Christianity; among other sects that broke away from Islam, catechisms are not commonly found before the mid-18th century, when Christian missionary activity had intensified throughout the Middle East and North Africa. 20 A critical edition of Catafago’s text with an English translation appeared only about a hundred and fifty years later. 21 In the same period that Catafago was active in Syria, the British missionary Samuel Lyde resided among the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs, subsequently publishing the first monograph on their religion. 22 Around the time that Lyde’s work came out, there appeared another book, al-Bākūra al-sulaymāniyya fī kashf asrār al-diyāna al-nuṣayriyya (The first fruits of Sulaymān regarding the exposition of the secrets of the Nuṣayrī religion), 23 by Sulaymān al-Adhanī, from the town of Adhana in south-central Turkey. Al-Adhanī was an adherent of 19. See J. Catafago, “Die drei Messen der Nussairier,” Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft. 2 (1848), p. 388-394. 20. Catechisms (from the Greek katechesis, teaching) are manuals, often a booklet, for teaching the creed of a religion. Catechisms in the form of questions and answers concisely present the creed and rites of the religion and include passages of prayer and ritual. Such compositions existed already in early Christianity, but became more common in the 16th century, especially after the development of printing. Christian catechisms were translated into many languages, including Arabic. It appears that under their influence religious groups such as the NuṣayrīʿAlawīs and the Druzes began composing catechisms such as the one translated by Catafago. On the writing of such catechisms – among them, a Druze catechism – inspired by Christian missionaries, see M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 163-166. The manuscript of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī catechism in the original Arabic, with Catafago’s French translation, is in the French National Library in Paris (fonds arabe 6182, fol. 1a-20b). The translator did not live to complete his work. 21. M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 163-221. 22. See S. Lyde, The Asian Mystery Illustrated in the History, Religion, and Present State of the Ansaireeh or Nusairis of Syria, London 1860. 23. To date, the book has been published in two editions. The first, by al-Adhanī (Sulayman al-Adhanī, al-Bākūra al-sulaymāniyya fī kashf asrār al-diyāna al-nuṣayriyya, first edition, n.d. and n.p. [henceforth al-Bākūra1]). R. Dussaud (Histoire et religion des Noṣairîs, Introduction, p. xiii) states that the book

19

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion who, after being initiated into its esoteric circle, converted to Christianity. Written following his conversion, the work consists of a detailed account of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion, its creed, rituals and various ceremonies, as well as a selection of its theological and liturgical poetry. Al-Adhanī also included an edition of the text Kitāb al-majmūʿ (Book of collection), 24 which until then had apparently been known only to initiates among the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs. Al-Adhanī also accompanied this text with important comments. The last part of his book constitutes a polemic against the NuṣayrīʿAlawī religion. 25 Al-Adhanī paid with his life for having turned his back on his religion and publicly exposed its secrets. 26 These works by Al-Adhanī and Lyde would become cornerstones of future scholarly research, headed by Dussaud’s groundbreaking monograph.

The theology of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion is founded on the belief in a trinitarian divinity revealed in history. This doctrine is already attested in 4th/10th-century writings. According to Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī doctrine, the deity has three persons, or hypostases. 27 The first person constitutes the supreme and sublime aspect of the godhead, the maʿnā (internal

24.

25. 26. 27.

20

appeared in Beirut in 1863, but it is difficult to verify these details. A second edition (henceforth al-Bākūra2) was published in Cairo in 1410/1990. Kitāb al-majmūʿ is a sacred book comprising sixteen chapters that are called suras, as in the Qurʾan. This text, accompanied by a short commentary, was first published by al-Adhanī (see al-Adhanī, al-Bākūra1, p. 7-33; al-Bākūra2, p. 18-43). The Arabic text and al-Adhanī’s commentarys, as well as other liturgical texts included in his book, were translated into English by Salisbury (E. Salisbury, “The Book of Sulaiman’s First Ripe Fruit Disclosing the Mysteries of the Nusairian Religion by Sulaiman Effendi of Adhanah,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 8 [1864], p. 236-285). The Arabic original together with a French translation was published by R. Dussaud, Histoire et religion des Noṣairîs, p. 181-198 (Arabic); p. 161-179 (French). See al-Adhanī, al-Bākūra1, p. 105-119; al-Bākūra2, p. 119-132. A detailed account of al-Adhanī’s tumultuous life and his execution is given by H. H. Jessup, “Soleyman Effendi the Adanite, and the Nusairiyeh,” in Id., Fifty-Three Years in Syria, New York 1910, vol. 1, p. 255-264. The Arabic term denoting the hypostases or persons of the trinity is uqnūm (pl. aqānīm). This term, borrowed from the Syriac qnoma, commonly denotes the

Introduction meaning), commonly identified with God; from the maʿnā emanates the ism (name), the second person or aspect of the deity, also called ḥijāb (veil), concealing the mystery of the divinity from the unworthy; and the third person or aspect is the bāb (gate), which emanates from the second aspect, the ism, and through whom the believer is given the possibility of initiation into the divine mystery. According to the prevailing concept in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī writings, this trinity was revealed across history in seven cycles. 28 In each historical cycle (qubba), 29 the trinity was manifested in prominent figures in biblical, Christian, Iranian, Greek and, lastly, Muslim history. There is for the most part a general consensus regarding the identity of the first and second figures in these historical cycles, while the identity of the third figure differs between the various Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī sources. According to some, the paired figures in whom the maʿnā and ism were incarnated in the first six cycles were Abel and Adam, Seth and Noah, Joseph and Jacob, Joshua and Moses, Asaph 30 and Solomon, Peter and Jesus. 31 The reason for this particular order of appearance, in which a son precedes his father and a disciple precedes his master, becomes clear in the context of the seventh and last triad. This triad, ushering in the age of Islam – or the “Muḥammadan Cycle” (al-qubba al-muḥammadiyya), as it is called in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī sources – is identified with

28. 29.

30. 31.

persons of the trinity in Christian Arabic theological tracts, which seem to be the source of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī term. There is also an alternative concept with a greater number of cycles. Such a view is attested, for example, in al-Khaṣībī’s cardinal theological work, al-Risāla al-rastbāshiyya, ed. Rawwaʾ Jamal ʿAli, in Silsilat al-ʿaqīda al-nuṣayriyya, n.p., 2014. The literal meaning of qubba (pl. qubab or qibāb) is “tent” or “cupola”. In geography and astronomy, the term qubbat al-arḍ or qubbat al-ʿālam denotes the centre of the world. See Ch. Pellat, “al-Ḳubba,” Encyclopaedia of Islam2, vol. 5, p. 295. It may be that this particular use of the term in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī texts, to denote an historical era or cycle in which the deity is revealed, derived from the geographical-astronomical term. The historical cycles are also referred to as dawr (pl.. adwār), the more common term in Ismāʿīlī and Druze writings. Asaph is sometimes mentioned by his full name, Asaph son of Berechia, known from rabbinic literature. He is identified as one of David and Solomon’s men. A somewhat different list of figures in whom the maʿnā was incarnated is set out by al-Ṭabarānī (Kitāb sabīl rāḥat al-arwāḥ wa-dalīl al-surūr wa-l-afrāḥ ilā fāliq al-aṣbāḥ al-maʿrūf bi-majmūʿ al-aʿyād, ed. R. Strothmann, Der Islam 27 [1946] [henceforth Kitāb majmūʿ al-aʿyād). Appearing in this list are Seth, Idris (Enoch), Aaron, Joshua son of Nun, Asaph, Simon-Peter and ʿAlī (called al-amīn al-maʾmūn). See al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb majmūʿ al-aʿyād, p. 78.

21

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology three major figures in the first generation of Islam: ʿAlī, the maʿnā; Muḥammad, the ism; and Salmān the Persian, 32 the bāb. It appears that this positioning of ʿAlī above Muḥammad – characteristic of several heterodox Shīʿī sects that broke away from the Shīʿa – dictated the reversal, in the earlier cycles, of the order of appearance of the historical figures in whom the maʿnā and ism were incarnated. The bābs in the first six cycles are: Gabriel, Yāʾil ibn Fātin, 33 Ham son of Kush, Dan son of Sabbaot, 34 ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sinān, 35 and Ruzbeh ibn Marzban. 36 As noted above, however, there are also other series of bābs. Dussaud has already remarked that, unlike the Christian trinity, the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī trinity is characterized by a hierarchic relation between its three persons or aspects. 37 In al-Ṭabarānī’s compilation Majmūʿ al-aʿyād, there is a chapter presenting the Nuṣayrī commentary on the holiday of Ghadīr Khumm (the pool of the Khumm oasis); it describes the relationship between the persons of the trinity: [The day of Ghadīr Khumm is the day] when the maʿnā was manifested in his essence, while his ism, Muḥammad, was revealed next to him; and his bāb, Salmān, was revealed next to him, calling him and directing [the people of] the world towards him, testifying for and against them; and the great world, the five thousand creatures of light, are present and revealed with the revelation of the maʿnā, the ism and the bāb. 38

32. Salmān was one of Muḥammad’s early devotees and an admired figure in both Sunnī and Shīʿī Islam. 33. The name Yaʾil ibn Fātin is unfamiliar to us. It seems to be an invented name connected to Ham son of Kush, presented in biblical genealogy as the ancestor of the African peoples. 34. Our teacher Shaul Shaked proposed viewing “Dan son of Sabbaot” as a fusion of the name Dan and the biblical appellation Adonai Ṣebaʾot (the Lord Sabbaot). The name Adonai Ṣebaʾot is also common in Gnostic sources. 35. ʿAbd Allāh b. Sinān was one of the close disciples of the Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq, and among the most authoritative of them. 36. This is the Persian name of Salmān the Persian. 37. See R. Dussaud, Histoire et religion des Noṣairîs, p. 67. A hierarchic trinitarian concept was common in early Christianity as well. See J. N. D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines, New York 1978, p. 83-137. See also A. Kofsky and S. Ruzer, Early Christian Beliefs: Challenges, Transformations, Polemics, TelAviv 2018 (in Hebrew). 38. See al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb majmūʿ al-aʿyād, p. 54-55.

22

Introduction Several elements of Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī theology emerge in this passage. The godhead appears as a hierarchic trinity: its lower aspect – the bāb – directs and points to the ism above him, and the ism points to the maʿnā, the sublime aspect of the deity. The three aspects of the trinity are mutually intertwined, and the relation between them is described as “an envelope within an envelope” (ghilāf fi jawf ghilāf). 39 With the appearance of the trinity, there emanated from it three additional divine powers. These emanations, indicated here by the mythical idiom “creatures of light” (nūrāniyyūn), are portrayed in great detail in other Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī texts. The first entities that emanated from the trinity are al-aytām al-khamsa (the five incomparable ones), who were also identified with human figures. In the last appearance of the trinity, the aytām were identified with five of Muḥammad’s devotees, known also as ʿAlī’s followers: Al-Miqdād ibn al-Aswad al-Kindī (considered the most prominent among them and hence called “the greatest Yatim”), Abū Dharr al-Ghifārī, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Rawāḥa al-Anṣārī, ʿUthmān b. Maẓʿūn al-Najāshī and Qanbar b. Kādān al-Dawsī. 40 According to Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī theology, the task of the aytām is to create the world with all its reality. There is a clear expression of the trinitarian hierarchy in the following declaration of faith, formulated in Kitāb al-majmūʿ: I testify that my lord […] ʿAlī created the master Muḥammad out of his essential light 41 and called him his ism and his soul and His throne and his stool and his attributes […] And I testify that the master Muḥammad created the master Salmān from the light of his light and made him his bāb. 42

39. See the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī catechism, question 8, in M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 202 (Arabic text), p. 172 (English translation). 40. See the chapter on the five aytām in M. Moosa, Extremist Shiʿites: The Ghulat Sects, New York 1988, p. 357-361. On the figures in whom the aytām were incarnated in the cosmic cycles prior to Islam, see the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī catechism, questions 13-42, in M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 203-209 (Arabic text), p. 173-183 (English translation). 41. The light, or more precisely “light of essence” (nūr al-dhāt), is an intermediary entity through which the maʿnā creates or emanates the ism. On the frequency of this term in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī tracts, see M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion (according to the index). 42. See Kitāb al-majmūʿ, in al-Adhanī, al-Bākūra1, p. 18; al-Bākūra2, p. 28; E. Salisbury, “The Book of Sulaiman’s First Ripe Fruits,” p. 245; R. Dussaud, Histoire et religion des Noṣairîs, p. 168.

23

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology The hierarchic dependence between the persons of the trinity is explained here, as in other sources, by the image of a creator-created relationship, especially regarding the maʿnā and the ism. Yet it is emphasized that this is neither creation ex nihilo, nor a creation out of matter, but rather an emanation of spiritual entities – the ism, out of the maʿnā’s light of essence, and the bāb, out of the ism’s light. The hierarchy in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī trinity is also expressed in other ways. One of these emphasizes the relationship between the persons of the trinity, attributing to each an internal and an external aspect. Thus, for instance, the external aspect of the maʿnā constitutes the internal aspect of the ism, and the external aspect of the ism is similarly the internal aspect of the bāb. 43 In a 4th/10th-century Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī tract by Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn b. Hārūn al-Ṣāigh, a disciple of al-Khaṣībī and al-Jisrī, this idea is developed further: the divinity is presented as dynamic, that is, in each person of the trinity, as well as in the powers that emanate from them, there exists the potential for elevation to the rank above, thus a transformation from yatīm to bāb, from bāb to ism, and from ism to maʿnā. 44 In opposition to the divine luminary emanations of the ism, the bāb, the five aytām and the two walīs, a parallel demonic emanation was formed in the divine world of shadows (ʿālam al-aẓilla). The source of this emanation is not altogether clear, but it may be that the devil was conceived of as a negative emanation paralleling the ism. According to one version, Satan captured some of the powers of light in the world of shadows, transforming them into demonic powers through their forgetting God. These powers are also active in this world, opposing the powers of light and conspiring against the souls of the elect. They are sometimes identified with the traditional enemies of the Shīʿa, such as the first three caliphs, Abū Bakr, ʿUmar and ʿUthmān, and ʿĀʾisha, 43. This stance is adopted in the polemical work by the 7th/13th-century Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī sage, Yūsuf ibn al-ʿAjūz al-Nashshābī al-Ḥalabi. See e.g., Yūsuf Ibn al-ʿAjūz al-Nashshābī al-Ḥalabī, Munāẓara, in ms. Paris, BnF, arabe 1450, folios 67b-130a, esp. 86b-87a, 99b-100a. On this work and its place in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī history, see M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 7-41. The work is a rich source for Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī internal theological polemics, particularly regarding the tension between ʿAlī’s divine and human natures. 44. See the treatise On the duty to know the mystery of divinity by Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn b. Hārūn al-Ṣāʾigh, in M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The NuṣayrīʿAlawī Religion, p. 89-97. An English translation of this epistle is included in the present volume, p. 52-56.

24

Introduction Muḥammad’s wife and the daughter of caliph Abū Bakr. However, unlike the “positive” divine world which is discussed in detail in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī literature known to us, the elements of this demonology are mentioned only sparingly, with little elaboration. 45

Belief in reincarnation The belief in reincarnation, which characterizes the radical Shīʿī sects known as ghulāt, is a fundamental tenet of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion. Small wonder, then, that almost every Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī work has something to say about reincarnation, albeit in a mostly fragmentary and unsystematic way. 46 As in other Nuṣayrī works, such as Kitāb al-usūs (Book of foundations), a pseudo-epigraphic composition of the 4th/10th century, the issue of reincarnation is discussed in the framework of theodicy and presented in connection with the myth of the descent or fall of believers’ souls to the world of matter, in the era before Creation: All humans since the era of [God’s] calling to them in [the world of] shadows (fī-l aẓilla) receive their reward according to their ranks in responding [to God’s calling…]; and whoever responded there [to God’s calling] responds also here [in this world]; and whoever denied it there, denies it also here. 47

These lines are a good starting point for discussing some of the main components of the doctrine of reincarnation; they reflect the Gnostic mythical concept, familiar from other Nuṣayrī sources, that the roots of the Nuṣayrīs are in the pre-cosmic world. The beginning of this passage alludes to the famous “verse of covenant” (āyat al-mīthāq): “And when your Lord took from the Children of Adam, from their loins, their seed, and made them testify concerning themselves, ‘Am I not your Lord?’ They said: ‘Yes, we testify’” (Q. 7:172). 48 This verse serves as 45. See M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 35, 61, 71, 78, 125, 140. 46. On the belief in reincarnation in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion, see e.g., M. M. BarAsher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 62-67, and especially the references on p. 62, note 117. 47. See al-Khaṣībī, al-Risāla al-rastbāshiyya, p. 224. 48. Ibid, p. 60. See also R. Gramlich, “Der Urvertrag in der Koransauslegung (zu

25

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology a platform for the idea, common to all Shīʿī factions, that the souls of the Shīʿīs existed prior to Creation. 49 The Nuṣayrī variant of this myth emphasizes the aspect of the sin into which the Nuṣayrī souls lapsed in the pre-cosmic realm. When they faced God as shadows in that world, God asked them the Qurʾanic question: ‘Am I not your Lord?’ They did in fact answer positively, but their negligence, or – according to some texts – their arrogance in responding to God’s address to them, caused their descent or fall to the world of matter. Moreover, al-Khaṣībī stresses that this descent is not in principle a single act but rather a process that might be repeated indefinitely unless the believer – called ʿārif (knower, gnostic) – completes the amending of his soul, becoming “lucid and luminous” (yaṣfū wa-yuḍīʾu). 50 When this process of purification is complete, “the transference of the Gnostic from human existence to luminosity takes place” (taqaʿu al-naqla min al-nāsūtiyya ilā al-nūrāniyya). 51 Existence as transparent and pure entities in the divine realm of lights: such is the longed-for ideal, which was the state of believers’ souls before the fall. They have to focus with all their might on returning to this primordial spiritual paradise. 52 In Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī literature, as in early heterodox Muslim writings, various degrees of reincarnation are denoted by a series of rhyming terms: naskh, maskh, waskh, faskh and raskh 53 – each indicating a different kind of transformation. Naskh (or tanāsūkh, the general term

49.

50. 51. 52.

53.

26

Sura 7, 172-173),” Der Islam 60 (1983), p. 205-230, which discusses this verse and its exegesis. The idea of the preexistence of the Shīʿa in primordial worlds prior to creation has been widely discussed in scholarship. See, for example, E. Kohlberg, “Some Shīʿī Views of the Antediluvian World,” Studia Islamica 52 (1980), p. 41-66 (repr. in Id., In Praise of the Few: Studies in Shiʿi Thought and History, ed. A. Ehteshami, Leiden – Boston 2020, p. 327-348); M. A. Amir-Moezzi, The Divine Guide in Early Shiʿism: The Sources of Esotericism in Islam, trans. D. Streight, New York 1994, p. 29-59. See al-Khaṣībī, al-Risāla al-rastbāshiyya, p. 227. Ibid. Detailed descriptions of the myth of the descent or fall of the souls and their return to the world of divine lights following the process of amending are found in various works, such as the proto-Nuṣayrī Kitāb al-haft wa-l aẓilla, attributed to al-Mufaḍḍal b. ʿUmar al-Juʿfī, ed. ʿArif Tamir, Beirut 1969, p. 33-37; al-Adhanī, al-Bākūra1, p. 59-61; al-Bākūra2, p. 69-72. Although al-Adhanī’s book was written in the mid-19th century, it is mostly comprised of early Nuṣayrī traditions. These terms are familiar from other sources as well. See e.g., al-Adhanī, al-Bākūra1, p. 11; al-Bākūra2, p. 21.

Introduction for reincarnation) is the simple and common form of reincarnation, whereby a sinner’s soul passes to an embryo at the moment of its formation in the mother’s womb. This is considered the best form of transmigration. Transference from one human body to another indicates that that person’s sins are not overly grave and can be easily amended from the moment his soul is granted new life in another body. More severe is the degree of maskh, when the sinner’s soul is reincarnated in an animal. It should be noted that the root mskh serves in the Qurʾan to describe the transformation of Jews into monkeys (Q. 2:65; 7:166), or in reference to ahl al-kitāb (people of the Book, a term that includes Christians) being transformed into monkeys and pigs (Q. 60:5). The faskh is an exceptional form of reincarnation through the mutual exchange of souls between two living people. A particularly degraded form of reincarnation is the waskh, whereby a person’s soul passes to reptiles and small marine and terrestrial creatures. Finally, raskh is the transmigration of the soul to inanimate matter, such as metals and minerals. The belief in reincarnation plays an important role throughout the history of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion. Among its followers, as among Druze believers, there are plenty of stories about people whose lives and conduct betray the fact that their bodies are inhabited by a different person’s soul. Examples of such accounts are presented below in the section on reincarnation.

Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī syncretism mirrored in the calendar Christian elements in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion were not limited to theology. They were also incorporated into the liturgical calendar, replete with Christian holidays, constituting a significant component in the syncretistic calendar of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion, as has been noted by several scholars. Alongside Christian holidays, Persian and Muslim (Sunnī and Shīʿī) holidays have been also preserved. From Persian tradition came the Mihrajān (celebrated on the autumn equinox) and the Nawrūz, the Persian New Year (celebrated on the spring equinox). 54 From Islam there survived ʿīd al-fiṭr (cele-

54. The equinoxes are the two days in the calendar on which day and night are of equal length; one falls in autumn (22/23 September), the other in spring (21 March). The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī sources have alternative dates for these holidays: Nawrūz on

27

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology brating the end of the fast of Ramadan) but without the injunction to fast during that month or on any other occasion, and ʿīd al-aḍḥā (the feast of sacrifice), celebrated following the pilgrimage to Mecca, but without acknowledging the duty of pilgrimage. From Shīʿī Islam were adopted the two main Shīʿī holidays: ʿīd al-ghadīr – which in Shīʿī tradition commemorates the appointment of ʿAlī as Prophet Muḥammad’s successor at Ghadīr Khumm 55 – in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī tradition is the day on which Muḥammad declared the divinity of ʿAlī; “Āshūrā”, commemorating the massacre at Karbalāʾ in 61/680, when the Imam al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī was murdered together with many of his supporters, is celebrated in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī tradition as marking God’s revelation in the figure of al-Ḥusayn Finally, with regard to the Christian holidays we should distinguish between early and late adoptions into the religion. Christmas is the principal holiday, familiar from early Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī literature. It receives a detailed description, testifying to its prominence in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī calendar and to the integration of Christian traditions into the religion already in the early, formative stages of its distinct identity. A salient expression of this can be observed in the Christmas Eve prayer, which is scattered with Christian elements and the names of apostles and saints. 56 As the religion continued to develop, a number of holidays were added, including Saint Barbara’s Day, the Feast of the Epiphany or the Baptism (ghiṭās), John Chrysostom’s Day (after the 4th-century Church Father), Palm Sunday (ʿīd al-shaʿānīn), Pentecost (ʿīd al-ʿanṣara), and Mary Magdalene’s Day. 57 However, apart from

16 April (according to al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb majmūʿ al-aʿyād, p. 188) or on 1 April (according to al-Adhanī, al-Bākūra1, p. 35; al-Bākūra2, p. 45, where the holiday is called ʿīd awwal nīsān [the holiday of 1 April]); Mihrajān, a holiday mentioned by al-Ṭabarānī, though he does not note the date. According to al-Adhanī (al-Bākūra1, p. 34; al-Bākūra2, p. 45), it falls on 16 October. 55. A pool or swamp in a place called Khumm, on the route between Mecca and Medina. Its precise location remains unknown. See M. A. Amir-Moezzi, “Ghadir Khumm,” Encyclopaedia of Islam3 (online). 56. A translation of this prayer is given below, p. 142-146. 57. On the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī holidays, see al-Adhanī, al-Bākūra1, p. 34-36; al-Bākūra2, p. 44-46. For a detailed discussion of Persian elements in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion, see M. M. Bar-Asher, “The Iranian component of the Nuṣayrī religion,” Iran 41 (2003), p. 217–227.

28

Introduction Christmas, which is amply described by al-Ṭabarānī in his Majmūʿ al-aʿyād, we have no further knowledge as yet concerning the content of these holidays. 58 Overall, the various holidays in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī calendar are celebrated according to the three different calendars from which they derive: Muslim – both Sunnī and Shīʿī – holidays are celebrated according to the Muslim calendar, though with the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs this calendar begins with the month of Ramadan, not with the month of Muḥarram; 59 Christian holidays are celebrated according to the Julian calendar, and Persian holidays according to the Persian calendar. Yet the dates of these holidays are not entirely identical to those celebrated by the parent religions, and fall on different days of the month. This has particular significance, since a distinct calendar is a clear expression of a new religious identity. 60 While the diversity of Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī holidays reflects the adaptive nature of the religion, whose believers dwelt throughout its history as a persecuted minority, the holidays were in fact divested of their original content: Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī adherents no longer celebrate them according to the traditions of the religions and cultures from which they were adopted, but with a markedly different content and form as well as novel interpretations, designed to conform to the peculiar needs of the absorbing religion.

The ritual of the bread and wine The mystery of the trinity, known by the abbreviated reference “the mystery of ‘ams’” (sir ʿayn mīm sīn) – namely the mystery of ʿAlī, Muḥammad and Salmān – lies at the heart of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī liturgy, in which only initiated men take part. This ritual is called quddās – as is the Eucharist ceremony in Arabic-speaking Churches – its core

58. The holidays of Passover (al-fiṣḥ) and Palm Sunday (ʿīd al-shaʿānīn) are mentioned once in al-Ṭabarānī’s work, in a Christmas prayer, but without further comment; see al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb majmūʿ al-aʿyād, p. 178, 179. 59. For other such ceremonies, described in al-Adhanī’s al-Bākūra, see below, Chapter Three. 60. For further details, see M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 111.

29

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology being the sanctification of the bread and wine. 61 Wine constitutes an important component in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī rituals, such as the ceremony of initiation into the religion 62 and the festive celebration of ghadīr khumm, in which believers have to drink from the sacred wine, referred to as ʿabd al-nūr (servant of light). 63 Having performed this duty, the participants fill a large chalice of wine, stretch their arms upwards and chant a prayer that essentially signifies the deification of ʿAlī. There seems to be an affinity between the drinking of wine and the figure of ʿAlī to whom the prayer is directed, but the nature of this affinity and its Christian context become clearer only in later Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī sources, such as al-Adhanī’s al-Bākūra al-Sulaymāniyya, and notably in the only Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī catechism that is known to us. A series of questions and answers in the catechism (76-79 and 91-92) is devoted to the quddās. These clearly reflect the affinity between the Christian celebration of the Eucharist and the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī ritual. Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, the catechism is the first source in which the sacred bread is also mentioned. 64 The bread, called “sacrifice” (qurbān), is offered by the faithful in memory of the souls of their brothers in faith. 65 The two components of the ritual are presented in direct affinity to their Christian counterparts: the mystery of the bread and wine, called “the mystery of the great God” (sirr allāh akbar) is the mystery of the flesh and blood, on which the messiah, peace be upon him, said to his disciples: “This is my body and blood. Eat and drink of it, because this is the eternal life” (cf. Matt. 26:26-29). 66 Nevertheless, it seems that here the anonymous author of the catechism avoided spelling out a connection between Jesus – who in

61. See M. Moosa, Extremist Shiʿites, p. 372-381. 62. A number of the texts include short tracts dealing with initiation into the NuṣayrīʿAlawī religion; see below, p. 150-151. See also R. Dussaud, Histoire et religion des Noṣairîs, p. 104-119; M. Moosa, Extremist Shiʿites, p. 372-381. 63. An early source for references to the sacred wine as ʿabd al-nūr, is al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb majmūʿ al-aʿyād, p. 64, 66. As for the meaning of the term, the NuṣayrīʿAlawī catechism gives a laconic answer: “[The wine is thus called] because God was revealed in it.” See question 92 in M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 219 (Arabic text); p. 196 (English translation). 64. Cf. H. Lammens, “Les Noṣairîs furent-ils chrétiens? À propos d’un livre récent,” Revue de l’Orient Chrétien 6 (1901), p. 43. 65. See question 77 in A Catechism of the Nuṣayrī Religion, p. 216 (Arabic text); p. 191 (English translation). 66. Ibid., question 79, p. 216-217 (Arabic text); p. 192 (English translation).

30

Introduction Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī sources is commonly identified with the prophet Muḥammad– and ʿAlī. In other words, the explanation of the NuṣayrīʿAlawī quddās is achieved indirectly, by referring to Jesus’ words at the Last Supper, though such words are not attributed to ʿAlī. The final question in the series devoted to the quddās highlights the idea that the wine is the incarnation of a divine being, and stresses that not everyone is permitted to drink it. It is intended only for the elect, “to your beloved who know you, but it is absolutely proscribed to the heretics who deny you”. 67 The avoidance of any explicit correlation between Jesus and ʿAlī in the context of the quddās ritual, and the fact that only in the catechism – so far as is known – is there evidence of the ritual bread, seem to reflect a tendency towards caution on the part of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī sages: it was sometimes prudent to blur the connection between their religion and Christianity. 68

The secrecy of the religion and its antinomian character The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion, like that of the Druze, is an esoteric religion whose mysteries are reserved solely for initiates, the khāṣṣa (elect, special ones), and sealed off from the mass of the faithful, the ʿāmma. In principle, however, every male believer who has come of age 69 is eligible to join the circle of initiates and accept the duty of safeguarding the creed’s secrecy. The obligation to safeguard the mysteries of the religion (kitmān) is founded on the principle of taqiyya, caution, which requires the concealment of beliefs in a hostile environment – an imperative common to the Shīʿa at large. The principle of taqiyya is characterized by its flexibility: in time of danger, the believer should hide his private beliefs and expose to the enemy only

67. Ibid., question 92, p. 219 (Arabic text); p. 196 (English translation). 68. For a detailed discussion of Christian elements in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion and their possible origins, see H. Lammens, “Les Noṣairîs furent-ils chrétiens?”; M. M. Bar-Asher, “Sur les éléments chrétiens de la religion nuṣayrite-ʿalawite,” Journal asiatique 289 (2001), p. 185-216. 69. Al-Adhanī (al-Bākūra1, p. 2; al-Bākūra2, p. 13) notes that he was initiated into the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion at the age of eighteen.

31

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology those aspects common to both. When the time is ripe, however, he may demonstrate his particularity, albeit always maintaining due prudence and vigilance. 70 The obedience to the commandments of Islam that underlies the life of the Muslim believer plays hardly any part in the life of NuṣayrīʿAlawī devotees, whether or not they belong to the esoteric circle of initiates. These commandments, first and foremost the Five Pillars of Islam (arkān al-islām), are often mentioned in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religious writings, but they are interpreted in an allegorical-symbolic way that divests them of their literal meaning and eliminates the obligation to follow the fundamental rituals of Islam. The duties of the common believer, outside the esoteric circle of initiates, are on the whole limited to obedience to general ethical precepts, such as the proscription of murder, theft and perjury, and allegiance to the religious leaders and members of the community of believers. In addition, believers also perform certain rites such as visits to saints’ tombs (ziyārāt). 71 As in the cult of saints in Islam in general, and in the Druze religion, the figure of al-Khaḍir occupies an important place in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion. 72 The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion’s qualified approach to Islamic religious commandments is reflected in its attitude to the Qurʾan. The presence of the Qurʾan is well attested in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī literature throughout its history, especially in its early phases. However, although verses from the Qurʾan are abundantly cited in these writings and serve as a platform for the discussion of ideas and beliefs, this is often on the basis of radical interpretations that divest the verses of their literal meaning in the Qurʾan and thus distance them considerably from their intended significance. Quotations from the Qurʾan

70. On the doctrine of taqiyya in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion, see M. Moosa, Extremist Shiʿites, p. 410-414; on this doctrine in the Shīʿa generally, see E. Kohlberg, “Taqiyya in Shiʿi Theology and Religion,” in H. G. Kippenberg and G. G. Stroumsa, eds., Secrecy and Concealment: Studies in the History of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Religions, Leiden 1995, p. 345-380. 71. On pilgrimage to Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī holy sites, see G. Procházka-Eisl and S. Procházka, The Plain of Saints and Prophets: The Nusayri-ʿAlawi Community of Cilicia (Southern Turkey) and its Sacred Places, Wiesbaden 2010. 72. On the cult of al-Khaḍir in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion, see R. Dussaud, Histoire et religion des Noṣairîs, p. 128-135; G. Procházka-Eisl and S. Procházka, The Plain of Saints and Prophets, p. 128-130. See also I. Friedlaender, Die Chadhirlegende und der Alexanderroman: Eine sagengeschichtliche und literarhistorische Untersuchung, Leipzig – Berlin 1913.

32

Introduction are usually introduced in a factual, straightforward manner, with no reverence accorded to the word of God or His prophet. For instance, qawluhu (the word [of God]) is not accompanied by the glorifying attributes familiar from Muslim literature, and references to the Qurʾan employ the sectarian, somewhat condescending phrase, “the Arabic Muḥammadan book said” (qāla fī-l kitāb al-ʿarabī al-muḥammadī). 73 Such features reflect the ambivalent attitude of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion towards the prophet of Islam and his message. Moreover, there has been a steady decline in the knowledge and study of the Qurʾan among the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs. Familiarity with the Qurʾan, and with Muslim literature generally, was – as among the Druzes – characteristic of the early generations. This can be seen especially in the writings of al-Khaṣībī and his followers, who were noted for their extensive religious learning. Among most Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religious leaders, however – and certainly among the mass of believers (ʿāmma) – acquaintance with the Qurʾan is partial at best and shows no particular reverence for the Muslim sacred text.

Entangled identities – between kinship to Islam, and disavowal Notwithstanding the clear affinity between the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion and Shīʿī Islam, significant Shīʿī elements were radically transformed in the formative process of Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī syncretism. The growing rift between Islam and the sectarian religions was squarely confronted by the Ḥanbalī theologian Taqī al-Dīn ibn Taymiyya (d. 728/1328) in a well-known legal decree (fatwa) regarding the NuṣayrīʿAlawī religion, which received much scholarly attention. In response to a question as to whether Muslims are permitted to marry Nuṣayrīs, eat the meat of livestock slaughtered by them, use their utensils and bury them in Muslim cemeteries, Ibn Taymiyya answered decisively: These people called Nuṣayrīs, and the Qarmaṭians [Ismaʿīlīs] advocating esoteric teachings (al-bāṭiniyya), 74 are greater heretics than Jews and Christians. Moreover, they are greater heretics than even most

73. See below p. 84. 74. The term bāṭiniyya refers to Ismāʿīlī groups perceived by some Sunnī writers as interpreting the Qurʾan esoterically and therefore regarding its commandments as symbolic and devoid of legal validity. This allegation of opposition to Islam’s

33

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology polytheists (mushrikūn), and the harm they cause Muḥammad’s community is worse than that of the heretics in war against Islam, such as the heretics among the Mongols, the Franks and others. This is because they are presenting themselves to Muslim ignoramuses as Shīʿīs and loyal to the family of the prophet [Muḥammad], although in truth they believe neither in God nor in His messenger nor in His Book (the Qurʾan), nor in [God’s] commandments nor in His proscriptions, nor in retribution and punishment, nor in paradise and hell, nor in any messenger preceding Muḥammad, nor in any religion prior to [Islam]. They interpret the words of God and His messenger, [whose true meaning] is known to the sages of Islam, with interpretations adapted to the lies they fabricate in their hearts, and claim them to constitute esoteric knowledge […]. There is no end to their heretical arguments [concerning] the names of God and His signs, and no measure to their distortions of the words of God and His messenger, their purpose being the denial of Islam’s faith and commandments in every way, pretending that their words concern esoteric truths known to them […]. For example, that the five prayers [of Islam] mean in fact the knowledge of their mysteries; that the commandment of the fast means the guarding of their secrets; that the pilgrimage to the venerated house (i.e. the Kaʿba in Mecca) in fact concerns the visits to their religious leaders. 75

Ibn Taymiyya’s description of the Nuṣayrīs’ beliefs, a generally accurate account indicating a solid acquaintance with their religion, forms the basis of his decree that Nuṣayrīs were to be regarded as heretics, that one had to avoid all contact with them, marriage to them and sharing their food, and they were not to be given burial in Muslim cemeteries. With the rise of the colonial powers’ influence in the Levant, especially after World War I, there came a turning-point in the attitude of Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs to their religion. They were increasingly inclined to distance themselves, at least outwardly, from heterodox beliefs and rituals, while also making claims to belong to Shīʿī Islam. While this

commandments (antinomianism) is only partly justified. However, the claim that the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs themselves have esoteric and antinomian inclinations is undoubtedly correct. 75. Ibn Taymiyya’s fatwa was published in various places. See e.g., S. Guyard, “Le Fetwa d’Ibn Taymiyyah sur les Noṣairis,” Journal Asiatique 8 (1871), p. 162178, with French translation (ibid., p. 178-198). For a discussion of the text, see Y. Friedman, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs, p. 188-192.

34

Introduction new development helped them to emerge from centuries of religious and social isolation, and brought them to political prominence, it also incurred the hostility of the Muslim majority in Syria. Sunnī and Shīʿī Muslims alike began repeating the age-old accusation that the NuṣayrīʿAlawīs were apostates from Islam, as the many heterodox elements of their religion indicated. Nuṣayrīs consequently embarked on successive attempts to be recognized as legitimate Muslims. Symbolic of these efforts vis-à-vis the Muslim majority was their move to shed the millennium-old name “Nuṣayrīs” and replace it with “Alawīs”. As noted, the appellation “Nuṣayrīs” drew attention to their connection with Muḥammad ibn Nuṣayr and hence with heterodox Shīʿī circles at large. The preferred name “ʿAlawīs”, on the other hand, was intended to stress the kinship with ʿAlī and with the Shīʿa in general. As well as renaming their community, the Nuṣayrīs sought to change the name by which their region had been known since the 5th/11th century: jabal anṣāriyya (Mountain of the Nuṣayrīs) would become jabal al-ʿalawiyyīn (Mountain of the ʿAlawīs). Scholars have noted that the first instance of the religion’s new name appears in Muḥammad Amīn Ghālib al-Ṭawīl’s work, Taʾrīkh al-ʿalawiyyīn (History of the ʿAlawīs). Originally written in Turkish, the book appeared in Arabic in 1924. It is essentially an apologetic work, designed to portray the religion as an integral part of Shīʿī Islam. Al-Ṭawīl claims that the designation “Alawīs”, for Nuṣayrīs, first appeared in 1920, apparently in connection with the decision of the French Mandate in Syria to rename the historical Nuṣayrī region. In 1920 the French designated it the Territory of the Alawites (Territoire des Alaouites), and two years later they called the autonomous state they had created there, the Alawite State (État des Alaouites). 76 In the same year the ʿAlawīs were recognized as belonging to the Imāmī Shīʿī school of law, known in Syria and Lebanon as al-madhhab al-jaʿfarī (the Jaʿfarī school), after Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (d. 148/765), the sixth Imam of the Imāmī Shīʿa.

76. See M. Amīn Ghālib al-Ṭawīl, Taʾrīkh al-ʿalawiyyīn, Beirut, n.d., p. 449-450; H. Halm, “Nuṣayriyya,” Encyclopaedia of Islam2, vol. 8, p. 148; G. Yaffe, “Between Separatism and Union: The Autonomy of the ʿAlawi Region in Syria, 1920-1936,” PhD dissertation, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv 1992 (in Hebrew), p. ,10. For a discussion of the text, see Y. Friedman, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs, p. 188192; al-Fīl, al-Nuṣayriyyūn, in Silsilat baʿḍ al-tayyārāt al-fikriyya al-muʿāṣira wa-mawqif al-islām minhā, Cairo 1410/1990, p. 21.

35

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology The political and religious independence of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs aroused the anger and opposition of nationalist circles in Syria that were striving to establish a united Syrian state and rejected appeals for cooperation with the French Mandate. The French were portrayed, somewhat justifiably, as favouring minority groups such as the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs, the Druze and the Maronite Christians, under a “divide and rule” policy. 77 It was against this background that various Sunnī circles attempted to denigrate the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs and charge them with secretly adhering to their heterodox beliefs despite their change of name. 78 Anti-Nuṣayrī writings are widespread in modern Syria, whether in published polemics or on the web. It should be stressed, however, that the polemical motifs of this literature are not new, consisting largely of reiterations from an old stock of accusations familiar from early polemical writings, such as those found in the aforementioned fatwa of Ibn Taymiyya. The main objections are: (a) the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī belief in the divinity of ʿAlī and his descendants, the Imams; (b) their connection to Muḥammad ibn Nuṣayr; (c) their being an antinomian sect abrogating Muslim religious law and contesting the authority of its fundamental sources, namely the Qurʾan and the Ḥadīth. There is also, however, a considerable literature written by NuṣayrīʿAlawīs and their sympathizers that presents them as Muslims, or at least as Imāmī Shīʿīs. Of particular note is the book by Munīr al-Sharīf, a Syrian Sunnī Muslim, entitled al-ʿAlawiyyūn al-nuṣayriyyūn man hum wa-ayna hum (The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs – Who are they and where are they?). It was published in 1954, and again in 1994 in a revised edition with significant additions, 79 notably that of the fatwa of Ayatollah Shīrāzī, which declares the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs to be Imāmī Shīʿīs. Another important work in this regard is al-ʿAlawiyyūn bayna al-usṭūra wa-l ḥaqīqa (The ʿAlawīs between Myth and Reality), by Hāshim ʿUthmān, published in 1980. 80 Al-Sharif’s account of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion, which is based on close acquaintance with members of the community in Syria, is in fact an apologetic work. He accepts the juridical authority of the Jerusalemite Mufti Ḥajj Amīn al-Ḥusaynī, who on 31 July 1936 published 77. 78. 79. 80.

36

See M. Moosa, Extremist Shiʿites, p. 292-310; al-Fīl, al-Nuṣayriyyūn, p. 129. Al-Fīl, al-Nuṣayriyyūn, p. 47. This is the edition used for this book. See H. ʿUthmān, al-ʿAlawiyyūn bayna al-usṭūra wa-l-ḥaqīqa, Beirut 1405/1985.

Introduction a fatwa sympathetic to the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs, recognizing them as true Muslims. This fatwa had an important influence in certain Muslim circles, persuading them to acknowledge the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs as part of the Muslim nation. But unlike the fatwa of Ibn Taymiyya, which was based on a solid knowledge of the Nuṣayrī religion, al-Ḥusaynī’s decree was motivated primarily by political considerations. He was a proponent of pan-Islamism, and his support of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs and other minorities derived from an aspiration to see them as part of a great and powerful Islamic front, battling Western colonialism. Following al-Ḥusaynī’s decree, the supreme ʿAlawī council published a declaration with two main points: (a) every Alawi who believes in the two parts of the Muslim creed (al-shahādatān), namely the faith in one God and His prophet Muḥammad, and observes the five fundamental commandments of Islam, is a Muslim; (b) every Alawi who rejects the Qurʾan as his sacred book and Muḥammad as his prophet, is not a true ʿAlawī. 81 Upon the publication of this declaration and others similar, several measures were undertaken in Syria, while it was still under French rule, to consolidate the legitimization of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī community. This trend gathered momentum after the establishment of modern Syria. Muḥsin al-Ḥakīm (d. 1970), an important Iraqi Shīʿī scholar, dispatched the Lebanese scholar Ḥabib Āl Ibrāhīm (d. 1965) to the ʿAlawī region to spread Imāmī Shīʿism and assist the ʿAlawīs with building mosques and forming a religious organization – al-jamʿiyya al-khayriyya al-islāmiyya al-jaʿfariyya (the Jaʿfarī Islamic charity association) 82 – to which the ʿAlawī scholar ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Khayr was appointed secretary. Over time he became a major ideologue of the nascent ʿAlawī movement and a prolific author, writing a series of works on the ʿAlawī religion. The recruitment of ʿAlawīs by the French colonial army in Syria no doubt paved the way to their later integration and ascendance in the independent Syrian armed forces. The ʿAlawīs, for their part, regarded their military careers as a route to improving their social and economic status. From the 1950s onward, many of them joined the Baʿath party, which emphasized secular national values. Among the military 81. M. Al-Sharīf, al-ʿAlawiyyūn Nuṣayriyyūn man hum wa-ayna hum, first edition, Damascus 1946; second edition, Damascus 1994, p. 111. 82. The name of the association, al-jamʿiyya al-khayriyya, may also allude to its head, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Khayr.

37

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology officers who rose to key positions in the party are figures such as Ṣalaḥ Jadid, Hafez al-Asad, Ibrahim Makhus and ʿAli Duba. The advancement of ʿAlawīs to the higher echelons of the regime was facilitated by the Baʿath Party’s military coup in March 1963. The final and crucial stage in their rapid ascension came after another military coup on 2 February 1966, led by a group of ʿAlawī officers headed by Ṣalaḥ Jadid and Hafez al-Asad. But between these two sons of rival ʿAlawī tribes there was not much brotherly love. In 1970 al-Asad seized control, overthrowing Jadid and his supporters. He ruled high-handedly until his death in 2000, when his son Bashar al-Asad took over. In 1974, under the order of Hafez al-Asad, a fatwa was issued by Musa al-Ṣadr, a Lebanese Imāmī Shīʿī scholar and native of Iran, in which he declared that the ʿAlawīs were members of the Imāmī Shīʿism. Similar religious decrees were soon posted by other scholars, most prominent of whom was Ayatollah Ḥasan Shīrāzī. 83 Yet one should bear in mind Martin Kramer’s significant remark about the lightweight status of the Shīʿī scholars who acknowledged the ʿAlawīs as Shīʿī Muslims. According to Kramer, the two aforementioned scholars, al-Ṣadr and Shīrāzī, were not considered first-class authorities on religious law. They acted, moreover, out of political motives, and Shīrāzī’s connections with the ʿAlawī regime under Hafez al-Asad were well known. The prominent religious Shīʿī authorities at the time, first and foremost Ayatollah Abū l-Qāsim al-Khūʾī, in Najaf, and Ayatollah Kāẓim Sharīʿatmadārī, in Qom, did not concur with the decree recognizing the ʿAlawīs as Shīʿīs. This shared opposition could not have been mere coincidence; it undoubtedly indicated reservations on their part regarding their colleagues’ views. 84 Sabrina Mervin, a scholar of modern Shīʿism who devoted field research to the Syrian ʿAlawī community in the 1990s, concluded that two trends could be discerned among contemporary ʿAlawīs. The first – traditional, conservative and secluding – is found mostly in the community’s traditional region, the Mountain of the ʿAlawīs, where followers largely preserve the old beliefs and customs while outwardly appearing to be Shīʿī Muslims. The second trend – towards

83. See M. Kramer, “Syria’s ʿAlawis and Shiʿism,” in Id., Shiʿism, Renaissance and Revolution, London 1987, p. 237-254; K. M. Firro, “The ʿAlawis in Modern Syria,” Der Islam 82 (2005), p. 1-31; M. M. Bar-Asher, “Le rapport de la religion nuṣayrite-ʿalawite au shiʿisme imamite,” p. 90-92. 84. See M. Kramer, “Syria’s ʿAlawis and Shiʿism,” p. 250.

38

Introduction assimilation – sees a gradual process of integration with Imāmī Shīʿism, regarded as the parent religion. The adherents of this ʿAlawīShīʿī trend apparently hold beliefs similar to those of Imāmī Shīʿīs in general. 85

The Murshidiyya movement After World War I, there appeared among the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs a messianic movement known as al-murshidiyya, after its leader Salmān (or Sulaymān) 86 al-Murshid. The movement later split away from the main body of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion and developed as an independent community. We have no reliable information as to its size, but it is estimated to have roughly three hundred thousand members, living mainly in the western regions of Syria and certain suburbs of Damascus. 87 The movement’s beginnings and its rapid growth were apparently in reaction to the new political and social reality in Syria following the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the establishment of the French Mandate. This turbulence seems to have encouraged traditional messianic tendencies in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī society. The messianic movement was initially supported by ʿAlawī religious and political leaders, who set at its head, as a symbolic figure, a youth named Salmān al-Murshid. His frequent epileptic seizures were perceived as sign of divine revelation. By virtue of his charismatic persona and superb organizational skills, however, al-Murshid soon became the true leader of the movement as early as 1923. 88 He unified his followers, who belonged to various ʿAlawī tribes, and created a new religious group which he

85. See S. Mervin, “Quelques jalons pour une histoire du rapprochement (taqrīb) des alaouites vers le chiisme,” in R. Brunner, M. Grooke and U. Rebstock, eds., Islamstudien ohne Ende: Festschrift für Werner Ende zum 65 Gebursatg, Würzburg 2002, p. 288. 86. His name appears in the sources in both forms. 87. See D. Sevruk, “The Murshidis of Syria: A Short Overview of Their History and Beliefs,” The Muslim World 103 (2013), p. 80-93; Id., Die Muršidiyya: Entstehung und innere Entwicklung einer religiösen Sondergemeinschaft in Syrien von den 1920er Jahren bis heute, Bamberg 2013. 88. See G. Yaffe, “Suleiman al-Murshid: Beginnings of an ʿAlawi Leader,” Middle Eastern Studies 29 (1993), p. 624-640; P. Franke, Göttliche Karierre eines

39

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology named al-Ghasāsina (the Ghassānids) after the Arab vassal border kingdom that in the 6th century controlled the vast wilderness between the Syrian desert and northern Ḥijāz, under the auspices of the late Roman Empire. This choice of name may have been intended to dignify the group by suggesting ancient ancestry. Al-Murshid set about simplifying the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī esoteric theology, thus curtailing the influence of the traditional religious leadership. He objected, for example, to the common Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī doctrine that held the historical appearance of ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib and his descendants, the Imams, to be incarnations of divine entities. These figures were now declared to be only human. In addition, non-Muslim holidays in the Nuṣayrī religious calendar, and the practice of bringing offerings to sacred sites, were declared obsolete; it also seems that in some places even the use of sacred wine in religious ceremonies was prohibited. Outside the new movement, however, these holidays and the liturgical use of wine continued to be widespread. The 1930s and 40s saw the peak of al-Murshid’s religious and political power. To this day it is claimed, by opponents of the Murshidiyya, that he regarded himself as the incarnation of the deity, despite outright denials of this by members of the community. Yet Richard Belgrave, a British officer who met al-Murshid in 1945, says that “some 50,000 people regard him as the incarnation of the divine and can be said to worship him in the sense that he is their absolute master.” 89 When the French Mandate in Syria ended, al-Murshid was arrested on apparently false charges of violence, sentenced to death and executed in Damascus in 1946. Three years later many of his devotees still believed him to be alive. In keeping with established Shīʿī tradition regarding perished messianic figures, the Murshidīs deny Salmān’s death, believing instead in his disappearance (ghayba) and future return (rajʿa). 90 The development of the movement and its transformation into a new religious group is bound up with the names of two of Salmān

syrischen Hirten: Sulaiman Murshid (1907–1946) und die Anfänge der Murshidiyya, Berlin 1994. 89. R. Belgrave, “A Visit to Sheikh Sulaiman Murshid, the Alawite ‘Lord’,” Journal of the Royal Central Asian Society 33 (1946), p. 85. 90. R. Strothmann, “Die Nuṣairī im heutigen Syrien,” Nachrichten der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Göttingen aus dem Jahre 1950, Phil.-histor. Klasse, vol. 1, 1950, p. 35.

40

Introduction al-Murshid’s sons: Mujīb (1930-1952) and Sājī (1932-1998). Mujib is today the most revered figure in the movement. He is called “the promised Messiah” or “the Messiah of Resurrection” (al-qāʾim al-mawʿūd) and considered the founder of “the new message” (al-daʿwa al-jadīda). According to some sources, he proclaimed that the spirit of his father was incarnated in him. 91 Mujīb was assassinated in 1952 and subsequently became a martyr, a counterpart to Jesus and al-Ḥusayn (ʿAlī’s son); his death is referred to as “disappearance”, and according to one tradition his body disappeared during his funeral. 92 Mujīb’s brother Sājī proved to be a talented organizer and succeeded in regrouping the movement under a new religious doctrine that led to its separation from the other ʿAlawīs, not only on a tribal basis, but in the domain of faith as well. All the non-Muslim holidays celebrated by Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs were abolished and are no longer observed among the Murshidīs. Sājī steered the movement onto a more liberal and even somewhat secular course, diminishing the importance of the religious commandments and emphasizing their moral aspect. This attitude paved the way to integrating the Murshidīs into the secular Syrian state. Sājī nevertheless proclaimed himself Imam, or the “Imam of the Age” (imām al-ʿaṣr). In the 1980s Sājī began to teach his doctrine of “new knowledge” (al-marʿifa al-jadīda). This emphasizes the principle of an independent understanding of religious knowledge, comparable to Martin Luther’s revolutionary approach to scripture. The possibility of independent access to the sources of religion, and an individual understanding of the divine realm, stands in total opposition to the rigorous initiation tradition of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion and the selective admission of believers to its esoteric circle. Moreover, Sājī went further than his predecessors and defined the Murshidiyya movement as a religion (dīn). After his death, his younger brother, Nūr al-Muḍīʾ, composed a Murshidiyya catechism of sorts. Sājī’s death in 1998, like that of his father and two brothers before him, was regarded as a “disappearance”; since then, the Murshidīs have had no new religious leader. 93 Notwithstanding the quasi-Protestant traits of the modern Murshidiyya, the influence of the traditional Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī faith is still substantial. In the spirit of current ʿAlawī apologetics, the Murshidī 91. P. Franke, Göttliche Karierre eines syrischen Hirten, p. 133. 92. D. Sevruk‚“The Murshidis of Syria,” p. 86. 93. D. Sevruk, Die Muršhidiyya, p. 136-219.

41

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology faith also presents itself as a branch of Islam, although its interpretation of the term “Islam” is broad and universal. In fact it embraces all religions professing the knowledge of God (marʿifat allāh) and submission to Him. The main difference, then, between the Murshidiyya and the traditional Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion is the possibility of independent access to religious knowledge. In addition, the Murshidīs have no esoteric lore; they are not permitted to dissimulate their faith, which today essentially conveys moral imperatives. The belief in reincarnation, however, remains an important pillar of the Murshidiyya faith, although the emphasis is no longer on the mechanism of reward and punishment, as in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion and other groups subscribing to this belief. On the contrary, the rebirth and reincarnation of the believer’s soul is now perceived rather as divine grace and a way of enabling a person to be released from his earthly garment and continue his heavenly ascension to the world of spirits (ʿālam al-arwāḥ). Traces of Christian influence can still be discerned in the Murshidiyya faith: one of the titles used in referring to Mujīb al-Murshid is “the Redeemer” (al-mukhalliṣ), an appellation that in Arabic-speaking communities is usually reserved for Jesus. Moreover, it seems that Jesus plays a more significant role in the Murshidiyya faith than in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion. The sacred wine, which is important in various Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī rituals, is also found in the Murshidīs’ religious practice. In a poem by Sājī al-Murshid, replete with Sufi terminology and symbolism, the holy wine (al-khamr al-qudsī) – also called “the divine wine” (al-khamra al-ilāhiyya) – is likened to divine knowledge, and inebriation to the state of someone who has achieved the knowledge of God: Your wine does not blur the senses and there is no sin [in drinking it] / the spirit and grace are present in your wine, And the lucidity of the spirit and its inebriation / a constant purity and prudence. 94 The image of the wine that does not blur the senses (lā ghawla bi-khamrika) alludes to the Muslim paradise portrayed in the Qurʾan (e.g. Q. 37:47). And indeed, knowledge of the Qurʾan and references to it also characterize the Murshidiyya faith. Yet despite being viewed

94. See Nūr al-Muḍīʾ al-Murshid, Lamaḥāt ḥawla al-murshidiyya, Beirut 2007, p. 393; see also D. Sevruk, “The Murshidis of Syria,” p. 92.

42

Introduction positively, this knowledge, and the Murshidī scholars’ acquaintance with the Bible, do not indicate these scriptures’ sanctity in the eyes of Murshidī believers.

**** During the years 2011-2019 Syria underwent a bloody civil war between the ruling ʿAlawī minority and internal and external forces opposed to the regime. It is impossible to foresee the implications of this disastrous violence for the survival of the ʿAlawī regime. In the context of internal ʿAlawī resistance to the regime, there has been a new development. As reported by the BBC, in 2016 an unprecedented eight-page document bearing the title “iʿlān wathīqat islāḥ huwiyatī” (Declaration of Identity Reform) was drawn up by a group of ʿAlawī Syrian leaders. It states their disavowal of Bashar al-Asad’s regime, and claims that the ʿAlawī religion is “a third model of and within Islam”, distinct from both Sunna and Shīʿa. The document further states that the plurality of beliefs and doctrines in the ʿAlawī religion does not indicate apostasy from Islam, but rather the plenitude and universality of that religion. 95

**** The texts brought together in this anthology offer a window on the mysteries of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion. They are taken from works of different periods, beginning with writers in its early, formative phase – primarily al-Khaṣībī, his disciple al-Jillī, and al-Ṭabarānī, al-Jillī’s disciple – and concluding with works from the 19th and 20th centuries, when significant changes took place in the religious sphere. While we have opted mostly for short passages, some longer texts have also been included, such as the Risālat al-tawḥīd (Epistle of Unification) ascribed to al-Jisrī, another prominent disciple of al-Khaṣībī, and two of al-Ṣāʾigh’s treatises. These exceptions are to enable the reader to sample works across a wide range of themes and thus appreciate the complexity and diversity of Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī writings.

95. See the following links: http://www.bbc.com/arabic/midleeast/2016/04/160403_ syria_alawite_assad_declaration; http://www.]bbc.com/news/world-middle-east35941679

43

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology The selection presented here is divided into five themes that reflect key aspects of Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī literature. Chapter One discusses the mystery of the divinity – the core of the religious doctrine. Given the wealth of material on this theme and its offshoots, we have divided the chapter into three sections. The first deals with the doctrine of the trinity, identified with the divine figures of ʿAlī, Muḥammad and Salmān: the relationship between the persons of the trinity, the divine powers emanating from it, and the duty of the believer to be versed in this mystery, known in the literature as sirr ʿayn mīm sīn (the mystery of ʿAlī, Muḥammad and Salmān). This section also discusses the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī myth of the Fall. The myth has a distinctly Gnostic character, describing the fall of believers’ souls from the divine realm, where they resided with God, to the earthly material world, whence they can be redeemed and returned to the divine realm only following a process of reform, whose essence is the study, in humility, of the mystery of the divinity and an acknowledgement of the limits of the believers’ power with respect to God. The second section considers God’s incarnation in a human figure, and the third deals with God’s cyclical revelation, an idea that the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion shares with other heterodox groups that seceded from the Shīʿa. Chapter Two discusses the belief in reincarnation, which is also common to heterodox Shīʿī groups. The texts here demonstrate the intricacy of the doctrine, which constitutes an alternative to the Sunnī and Shīʿī creed of retribution, as well as the manifold nature of reincarnation – for example, as an animal, a plant or an inanimate object – whereby sinners are punished according to the gravity of their sins. Whereas the first two texts in this chapter present the theoretical background from the classical sages al-Khaṣībī and al-Ṭabarānī, the last two indicate the important role of this belief among Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī communities in recent generations. Chapter Three, on antinomianism, ritual and festivals, is dedicated to religious practice. It illustrates the antinomian character of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion, which totally rejects the value of actual submission to Islam’s commandments and instead promotes allegorical and symbolical interpretations that annul the commandments’ literal sense and the need to observe them. The chapter includes a selection of texts used in various ceremonies, especially from the liturgical book known as Kitāb al-majmūʿ, as well as various types of quddās (sanctification) that are recited in these ceremonies. It is worth noting that quddās, which in Christian Arab communities denotes a Mass, is 44

Introduction the term for the drinking of wine customary in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī ceremonies, attesting to Christian influence. The chapter closes with texts relating to different festivals in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī calendar. These texts, taken primarily from al-Ṭabarānī’s work Majmūʾ al-aʿyād (Compendium of Festivals), demonstrate the religion’s syncretistic nature, one of the distinctive traits of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī faith. The texts in Chapter Four describe the ceremonies that constitute the process of initiation into the religion. The first stage, called taʿlīq (lit. bonding), is conceived as the disciple’s spiritual marriage and impregnation by his guide, who gradually teaches him the mysteries of the religion; the second stage, the samāʿ, is viewed as spiritual birth. The texts include a theoretical account of the two stages as well as the personal testimony of his initiation by Sulaymān al-Adhanī, author of al-Bākūra al-Sulaymāniyya, the best-known book on the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion. Chapter Five, “Identity and Self Definition”, is twofold in its delineation of the religion. The texts convey both the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs’ self-perception – their affinity to Muḥammad ibn Nuṣayr, considered the founder of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion, and their efforts to conceal this affinity from foreigners – and also an identity built upon the rejection of the other – their hostile attitude towards Islam, mainly Sunnī Islam, finding expression in, for example, the defamation of central figures in its history, primarily the first caliphs. In addition, this chapter also includes texts of the Murshidiyya movement, whose followers distanced themselves from the traditional Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī faith, and regarded its founder, Salmān al-Murshid, as God incarnate. Each chapter opens with a short introduction giving the background for the texts in that chapter. The book closes with an annotated translation of al-qaṣīda al-ghadīriyya, an ode by al-Khaṣībī dedicated to the festival of ghadīr khumm, which serves as an appropriately poetic coda for the anthology.

45

CHAPTER 1 THE MYSTERY OF THE DIVINITY

1. The trinity ʿAlī-Muḥammad-Salmān and its emanations

A

ccordinG to Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī doctrine, the deity is revealed in history as a trinity. The first person in the trinity, the supreme aspect of the deity, is the maʿnā ([internal] meaning) – commonly identified with God, but sometimes posited below God. From the maʿnā emanated the ism (name), the second person of the deity, also called the ḥijāb (veil), because it veils the supreme aspect of the godhead from those unworthy of knowing it. And from the ism-ḥijāb emanated the bāb (gate), thus called because it is the gate through which the possibility is granted to the believer to enter the divine realm and learn its mysteries. In the last cyclical manifestation of the deity, “the Muḥammadan Cycle” (al-qubba al-muḥammadiyya), which ushered in the age of Islam, the trinity was incarnated in three central figures of the first generation of Islam: the maʿnā was revealed in the figure of ʿAlī; the ism, in Muḥammad; and the bāb, in Salmān al-Fārisī, one of Muḥammad’s close circle and a venerated figure in Islam at large. Dussaud has noted that, unlike the Christian trinity – in which the divine essence of the three persons is identical, blurring the hierarchic relation between them – in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī trinity there is a distinctive hierarchy. The hierarchic dependence between the persons of the trinity is expounded in early Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī sources – such as the two works by Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn Hārūn al-Ṣāʾigh, translated below – through the image of a creator-creature relationship, especially with regard to the maʿnā and the ism. It is noted, however, that this creation is neither ex nihilo nor from matter, but rather an

47

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology emanation from a spiritual entity through a mediating power called “light of essence” (nūr al-dhāt): the ism emanates from the maʿnā’s light of essence, and the bāb from the ism’s light. Similarly, there emanate from the bāb and the entities below it, the powers below them. Luminary entities are a salient element in the symbolism of early Shīʿism, and Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī mythic and mystical literature, being part of that world, is replete with them. The trinitarian hierarchy in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion is depicted in other ways as well, as in the concept of the relationship between the persons of the trinity. Each person has an internal and an external aspect: for example, the external aspect of the maʿnā constitutes the internal aspect of the ism, and the external aspect of the ism is similarly the internal aspect of the bāb. Al-Ṣāʾigh develops further the idea of the hierarchic godhead. According to his understanding, it is a dynamic hierarchic system, in which each of the emanated powers has the potential to rise to the degree above it and be transformed from yatīm to bāb, from bāb to ism and so forth. The first entities that emanated from the trinity were al-aytām al-khamsa (the five yatīms). These were regarded as special and were also identified with various mythical and historical figures. In the last appearance of the trinity they were identified with five of Muḥammad’s followers, also known as ʿAlī’s confidants. 1 According to Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī theology, the task of the aytām was to create the world and everything within it. The acquaintance of Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī theologians with medieval Muslim and Christian philosophy, both of which were grounded primarily in Greek philosophy, is evident in their writings. In their efforts to familiarize believers with the trinitarian idea, they employed philosophical concepts and terminology. For example, God is defined in various texts – such as the work of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī theologian Yūsuf ibn al-ʿAjūz al-Nashshābī al-Ḥalabī, excerpted below – as “bound reality” (absolutely necessary), a term coined by the philosopher Ibn Sina to distinguish between God who is alone “bound reality” and the rest of reality, which is in the category of “possible reality”. 2 The dialectical tension between unity and plurality in the trinity is presented inter alia by the well-known Aristotelian definition of God as

1. 2.

48

See above, p. 23 with note 40. See below, p. 51.

The Mystery of the Divinity an “intellect, intelligizing and intelligized.” In other words, the deity is, in fact, one essence and its manifestation as a trinity does not impair its unity. Only an observer too shortsighted to properly perceive the divine mystery is liable to see in this concept a plurality in the divinity, and hence charge the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion with polytheism. Together with the philosophical aspect of Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī theology, one should also note the mythical dimension, expressed notably in the myth of the Fall and the belief in reincarnation. This dimension is depicted below in text j, which gives a classical account of the original sin of believers’ souls and their fall from the divine realm. The myth, which appears in sources from the formative period of the religion’s history, is taken from al-Adhanī’s al-Bākrūa al-Sulaymāniyya. The believer’s journey as he seeks to know the mystery of the divinity is evoked by various symbols and images in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī literature. Outstanding among them is Muḥammad’s night journey, which Muslim tradition anchors in the verse: “Glory be to Him, who carried His servant by night from the Holy Mosque to the Further Mosque, the precincts of which We have blessed…” (Q. 17:1). Muḥammad’s journey is interpreted by al-Ṣāʾigh (text d, below) as one of ascension on the ladder of learning the mystery of the divinity, which takes place in the dynamic reality of the divine realm. Participating in this journey are the ism Muḥammad, the bāb Salmān, the five yatīms and the two walīs. The journey begins with al-Miqdād, called the “Great Yatim”, who sheds his yatīm form and rises to the degree of bāb; the other yatīms follow suit. In ascending they are also transformed, and at each stage they ascend to a degree higher than the previous one. As each divine power ascends the ladder of consciousness, it divests itself of its exterior, which becomes the interior of the lower power, and it attaches to the exterior of the power above, which in turn becomes its interior. It is a journey of internal ascension accompanied by continuous transformation in the divine world, where not only does the cognition of the divine entities rise from one degree to another, but their very essence is thoroughly transformed as well. The two mosques mentioned in the Qurʾanic verse – “the Holy Mosque” (al-masjid al-ḥarām) and “the Further Mosque” (al-masjid al-aqṣā) – are interpreted by al-Ṣāʾigh as the departure and destination stations of the divine journey. In addition to short passages that illustrate various details of the doctrine of trinity and emanation in the divine world, this section also presents two works by al-Khaṣībī’s disciples. One (text e), again by al-Ṣāʾigh and translated here in its entirety, discusses 49

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology the relationship between the maʿnā and the ism; the other (text j), cited here almost in full, is Risālat al-tawḥīd (the Epistle of Unification) ascribed to Abū l-Ḥasan al-Jisrī. This work is a quasi-concise summa of classical Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī theology from the school of al-Khaṣībī.

***** a) The trinity and its emanations The Christians believe in four degrees [of emanation]: The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit 3 [are] one God; the Father is at the degree of the maʿnā, and the Son and the Holy Spirit refer to the light, the illumination, and the shadow. The “Holy” is therefore the [letter] mīm, 4 and the Spirit is the [letter] sīn. 5 And the Son is the [letter] alif of [the name] al-Miqdād. 6 But the Christians convert the four degrees to three, and in their order they include the maʿnā among them […]. Each of the three degrees has middle and two ends, namely, exterior and interior aspects; and its interior is the core of the ism, which is the light of essence. The exterior of the maʿnā is the ism and the exterior of the ism is the light of the light, which is the illumination, constituting the realness of the bāb’s interior. And the mīm is that which is the middle and the two ends, namely, the external and the internal. Hence it is called the mīm. And the internal aspect of the sīn is the external aspect of the ism and the light of light called “the illumination”, whose exterior is the interior of the alif (of al-Miqdād). And the sīn is that which knows the alif. 7 And it is the middle and the two ends, being the external and internal aspects; and the internal aspect of the alif is the external aspect of the sīn. And the realness of the shadow is the light of illumination and the external side of the body from which the pure worlds were created and the creatures were formed. And these nine things are interconnected lights which

3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

50

Here the author separates the term “Holy Spirit” into two degrees, as will be seen. The letter mīm is the initial of the name Muḥammad, the second degree of the trinity, commonly called ism or ḥijāb. The letter sīn is the initial of the name Salmān, the third degree of the trinity, called bāb. Al-Miqdād is the first among five emanations below the trinity, called al-aytām al-khamsa (the five yatīms); see the introduction. In the original: sīn. Our correction is necessitated by the context.

The Mystery of the Divinity have nine persons, being the ism, the bāb, the five yatīms and the two walīs. 8 Each of these nine has a special opponent and rival, and they are the nine corrupting the earth. 9 And the Creator, may He be exalted, has no opponent, nor rival, nor partner, but He is one in all aspects, and has one name and one attribute. (Al-Nashshābī, Munāẓara, folios 86b– 87a) b) The trinitarian doctrine in philosophical terms The philosophers hold a view similar to ours. They say that the Creator is of bound reality and is One in every aspect. He has no numerical plurality and cannot be described in time. From Him an intellect emanates, and this intellect intelligized itself and its Creator. And it is said that it is of possible reality, and called an intellect, intelligizing and intelligized. 10 Thus the unity of the three and the trinity of the one is confirmed, without a difference and a barrier between them; because they are one thing, enumerated in plurality; and they are a separate world, and they are lights; and below them are celestial bodies. And there is nothing among the celestial bodies that is not illuminated by the [divine] intellects and souls. And nothing is impossible for the Omnipotent. (Al-Nashshābī, Munāẓara, folio 86a)

The two walīs are powers in the Nuṣayrī divine realm that together with the five yatīms belong to the superior emanations below the trinity. The original meaning of the term walī is “[God’s] friend” or beloved. 9. These are demonic entities, in Arabic termed aḍdād or andād (opposites). These emanations are opposed to the divine realm of emanations and are essentially similar to the Kabbalah’s concept of siṭra aḥara (Aramaic: “the other side”) in the Zohar, the classic of Jewish mysticism. 10. Here and elsewhere in the polemical work al-Munāẓara, by Yūsuf ibn al-ʿAjūz al-Nashshābī al-Ḥalabī, the author employs contemporary philosophical terminology. In this passage the terms “of necessary reality” (wājib al-wujūd) and “of possible reality” (mumkin al-wujūd) were coined by Ibn Sina in developing Aristotelian metaphysics. See S. Harvey, Anthology of the Writings of Avicenna, Tel-Aviv 2009 (in Hebrew), p. 188-191; 192-203. The author also uses here the Aristotelian definition of God as an “intellect, intelligizing and intelligized” (ʿaql, ʿāqil wa-maʿqūl), adopted in the Middle Ages by various philosophers including Maimonides (Moses Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed, trans. Sh. Pines, Chicago 1963, part 1, chap. 68). 8.

51

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology c) ʿAlī’s divinity It was transmitted from (the Imam Jaʿfar) al-Ṣādiq: The greatness of the prince of the believers’ divinity is such that he knows what exists in the superior heavens, what lies between and above them and under the earth. He has the knowledge of the “hour”, 11 the time of rains and what is in the womb. 12 He is the source of the prophets and messengers, He is the Creator of human beings, and to Him they will gather on the day of resurrection. He is the eternal ruler. God’s curse on whoever apostatizes from His way. The believer’s knowledge and acknowledgement of Him is Paradise, and he who knows God enters paradise. (Al-Mufaḍḍal b. ʿUmar al-Juʿfī, Kitāb ithnāʿashara ḥarf, folio 132a) 13 d) The duty to know the mystery of the divinity: a Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī interpretation of the night journey In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn b. Hārūn al-Ṣāʾigh said: I was with my master Abū Muḥammad ʿAlī b. ʿĪsā al-Jisrī, in the month of Ramadan, in the year 340 (of the Hijra/February 952), when he set forth for us several questions, and the discussion evolved to the point where he said: “Whoever truly worships the ism indeed worships the maʿnā.” I was gladdened by his response to the question I had put to him. Then Abū-l Ḥasan (al-Jisrī) said to me: O Abū ʿAbd Allāh, God, may His name be glorified, only accepts an act of devotion from a worshipper after [he has already achieved] knowledge of the ism and the maʿnā. I asked him: What did we hear about it from our master [al-Khaṣībī]? [Abū-l Ḥasan] replied: I asked him about it, and he told me: This issue and similar questions were already raised, and [Yaḥyā] b. Maʿīn 14 has explained to all the believers its interior [meaning], when

11. In Arabic: al-sāʿa, a common word in the Qurʾan for expressing the hour of the Judgment Day. 12. The author specifies here three of five things that, according to the Qurʾan, only God knows (Q. 30:34). 13. Al-Mufaḍḍal b. ʿUmar al-Juʿfī, Kitāb ithnāʿashara ḥarf, in ms. Paris, BnF, arabe 1450, folios 130b-155a. 14. Yaḥyā b. Maʿīn was a disciple of the Imam al-Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī and apparently a

52

The Mystery of the Divinity he was asking our master Abū Shuʿayb, 15 peace be from him, 16 about the night journey, which is the straight path (al-ṣirāṭ al-mustaqīm). 17 He [Abū Shuʿayb] said: Know that God, may He be exalted, said in His book (Q. 17:1): “Glory be to Him, who carried His servant by night from the Holy Mosque to the Further Mosque, the precincts of which We have blessed, that We might show him some of our signs. He is the All-knowing, the All-seeing.” 18 Our master Abū Shuʿayb said: O Yaḥyā [b. Maʿīn], know that the person taken in the night journey is the yatīm al-Miqdād, and the meaning of the night journey is ascension from one degree to another. And al-Miqdād is thus the yatīmiyya rank in its fullness. 19 When his patron 20 led him to his interior, not leaving between them any buffer, he [al-Miqdād] ascended to the place of the bābiyya, which is the Holy Mosque. He thus became worthy of the rank’s name and attribute, and hence he is now God’s bāb, yatīm and ḥijāb. And if you like, he is the bāb and the yatīm. He [al-Miqdād] ascended from the Holy Mosque to the Further Mosque, and this is the rank of the ḥijāb, which is the furthest end of letters and their root. 21 And he became fellow disciple of Muḥammad ibn Nuṣayr. 15. Abū Shuʿayb is a common appellation of Muḥammad ibn Nuṣayr, the eponym of the Nuṣayrī religion. 16. In Arabic: minhu al-salām, an expression typical of Nuṣayrī texts, and a variant of the common blessing ʿalayhi al-salām (peace be on him), which is quite rare in these texts. 17. Here the author interprets the common Qurʾanic term al-ṣirāt al-mustaqīm – meaning the straight path (to religion and morality) – as referring to the NuṣayrīʿAlawī way to the knowledge of God. The author identifies this way as Muḥammad’s night journey and ascension, interpreted as a journey of spiritual ascension in the divine world. 18. The citation adheres to the canonical text of the Qurʾan except for one deviation: instead of al-samīʿ (all-hearing) the text has al-ʿalīm (omniscient). Such deviations are not rare in Nuṣayrī works, testifying to the Nuṣayrīs’ devaluation of the Qurʾan. 19. The formation of abstract nouns derived from names of divine emanations is typical of Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī literature. 20. The master here is apparently Salmān the Persian, the bāb. 21. The author seems to hint at the symbolism of the letters, representing various degrees in the divine realm. The precise details of this symbolism, however, are not sufficiently clear. Further on, the author applies the symbolism to the letters of the name Muḥammad. A similar symbolic usage is found in other Nuṣayrī sources (see M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 92) and is also familiar from Ismāʿīlī literature. See M. M. Bar-Asher, “Outlines of

53

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology worthy of the ḥijāb’s name and attributes as well as of the degree of prophecy. God therefore said to him (Q. 93:6): “Did He not find you an orphan (yatīm) and shelter you?” These words 22 are the speech of the essence to its attribute and branch of [the letters]. And he entrusted him [al-Miqdād] with the attributes of the maʿnā, with the names of the bāb and with the ranks of the yatīm. Thus Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allāh (i.e. the Prophet) was the person carried on the night journey according to the masses, but according to the people of truth this person was the revealed al-Miqdād, 23 since he [al-Miqdād] inherited Muḥammad’s place, which is the second letter mīm and the letter ḥāʾ [of his name]. 24 When [Ibn Maʿīn], the person who asked [this question], apprehended this knowledge, he asked Abū Shuʿayb for more, and Abū Shuʿayb said to him: Salmān is the person carried on the night journey from the rank of the ḥijāb, which is the Holy Mosque, to the Further Mosque (al-masjid al-aqṣā), which is the place of the mawlā (patron). 25 Thus the place of the night journey is the rank of bābiyya and its names and attributes. And when they [Salmān and Muḥammad] reached its interior and its names and attributes, Salmān achieved the two degrees in their fullness. 26 And this similarly applies to the nāṭiq [who speaks] through them. 27 [The nāṭiq] ascended to the further mosque which is the place of the mawlā, the everlasting maʿnā. He became worthy of the place of the degree and its attributes and attained the three degrees: the maʿnā, the ism and the bāb. The revealed ʿAlī is the maʿnā and the revealed Salmān is the last, namely the attribute of the mīmiyya. 28 “I

22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28.

54

early Ismaili-Fatimid Qurʾan Exegesis,” Journal asiatique 296 (2008), p. 257296. See a revised edition in A. Keeler and S. Rizvi, eds., The Spirit and the Letter: Approaches to the Esoteric Interpretation of the Qurʾan, London 2016, p. 179-216. I.e., the verse quoted from the Qurʾan. Arabic: Al-Miqdād al-ẓāhir, referring to the appearance in history of the man named al-Miqdād. On the appearance of divine figures in human history, see M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 28-30. This refers to the second mīm and the ḥāʾ in the name Muḥammad. Apparently referring to Muḥammad. Namely, the degrees of bābiyya and ismiyya. Here the appellation nāṭiq probably refers to Muḥammad the ism. This term, common in Ismaʿīlī texts, is rather rare in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī works. Mīmiyya, derived from the first mīm of the name Muḥammad, is a synonymous term for ismiyya.

The Mystery of the Divinity am the city of knowledge and ʿAlī is its gate [the bābiyya].” 29 The city is the form and the gate is the place of the mawlā. 30 Since Salmān is the walī the sanctification of the letter ḥāʾ occurred according to the masses of the Shīʿa and their sages. 31 Muḥammad is the ism and the maʿnā eliminates its ism and reveals itself in the ism’s likeness. And the ism is al-Miqdād and the maʿnā is Salmān. When the bāb [Salmān] became walī, al-Miqdād became bāb. And the walī is God. And when the bāb revealed himself in him [in the walī], the maʿnā became internal, and he [the maʿnā] is the “faithful spirit” (Q. 26:193) in God’s place. The ism became external because the maʿnā spoke through him. The soul is thus the eternal maʿnā. The lordship, the heart and the soul are the ism of the maʿnā, since Salmān is maʿnā and bāb and al-Miqdād is bāb and yatīm. The letter jīm – the jīm [in the expression] jalla al-jalāl (may God be exalted), not the jīm of the alphabet – is Qanbar. Whoever has attained and perceived this teaching is rewarded, holds his book in his right hand and crosses the ṣirāṭ [bridge]. 32 I rejoiced in the explanation he gave me. Then I perceived the maʿnā and the ism and their interior as well as the bāb and the yatīm and their exterior. We assembled in company that day at our master’s [al-Khaṣībī’s], peace be upon him. When we entered and saluted him he ordered us to sit down and asked me: What happened between you and Abū-l Ḥasan, O Abū ʿAbd Allāh? I said: You already know it, O my master. The master said: I will teach you more so you will remember it. The maʿnā is Salmān, the ism is al-Miqdād and the bāb is Abū Dharr. When the maʿnā which is Salmān concealed himself, al-Miqdād ascended to Salmān’s degree; ʿAbd Allāh (b. Rawāḥa al-Anṣārī, the third yatīm)

29. On this ḥadīth, see the Imāmī Shīʿī Hadith collection of the Imāmī Shīʿī scholar Abū Jaʿfar al-Kulīnī, al-Uṣūl min al-kāfī, Tehran 1377-1381 H, vol. 2, p. 238239; M. Moosa, Extremist Shiʿites, p. 462. 30. A notable exchange of positions between Muḥammad and ʿAlī. Whereas in the ḥadīth the position of Muḥammad is superior, in this text the situation is reversed. 31. The meaning in the Arabic text is not clear. 32. The first of these eschatological motifs (holding the book in the last judgment) is Qurʾanic (see e.g., Q. 7:84, Q. 19:69) while the second (the bridge, ṣirāṭ) is a common motif in post-Qurʾanic literature.

55

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology became the bāb; Abū Dharr became the ism and al-Miqdād became the maʿnā. Because when Salmān was revealed as maʿnā, his ism transferred to Abū Dharr. Every bāb is indeed always a place. And ʿUthmān (b. Maẓʿūn, the fourth yatīm) is the ism and Qanbar is the bāb and he is also Riḍwān 33 and al-Ḥasan, 34 and he is the bāb of revelation. I have taught you now and you have perceived how the bāb arranged itself according to degrees in order to express this being. Understand it thoroughly and know it and you will be blessed. Abū-l Ḥasan spoke only of us and about us. 35 And Qanbar (the last bāb in the above-mentioned hierarchy) is the bāb of existence [facing] us. O Abū ʿAbd Allāh, you are great among us, and I have already answered the question you asked us – namely, that he who truly worships the ism indeed worships the maʿnā. 36 This is so since a person’s ism is an ism to itself and a maʿnā to itself without a buffer between the maʿnā and its ism. 37 Whoever knows this principle worships the ism according to the truth of the maʿnā. For the maʿnā is the interior of its ism and is above the ism, indeed the maʿnā is the bāb al-Salsalī. 38 Its [the maʿnā’s, Salmān’s] ism is the yatīm al-Miqdād and its bāb is Abū Dharr al-Jundabī. But Allāh is not named and the maʿnā is neither comprehensible nor perceptible. The heretics have denied Allāh and have committed a manifest error. He then bowed down. Abū-l Ḥasan smiled and said: Our master has drawn you near to him. Know this, O Abū ʿAbd Allāh. We left him rewarded. Praise to God, the Lord of all Being. (Al-Ṣāʾigh, The Mystery of Divinity, p. 95-97)

33. Riḍwān is one of the angels guarding paradise. In Nuṣayrī doctrine his place is under the five yatīms. See R. Dussaud, Histoire et religion des Noṣairîs, p. 126, 173. 34. This al-Ḥasan is apparently the firstborn son of ʿAlī. 35. This refers to the human capacity to perceive the lower emanations of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī divine realm. 36. This repeats the opening words of the teacher at the beginning of the treatise. 37. The author’s intention here is not clear. He seems to relate the semantic meaning of the word ism (“name”) to its significance in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī theology, where it denotes the second aspect of the trinity. 38. The term bāb al-Salsalī refers to Salmān in his role as bāb. The issue here is the image of Salmān as maʿnā in relation to the two emanations below him. This is another example of the dynamic in the divine realm. On the use of Salsal and Salsalī as appellations for Salmān, see Kitāb al-majmūʿ, in R. Dussaud, Histoire et religion des Noṣairîs, p. 188, line 3; E. Salisbury, “The Book of Sulaiman’s First Ripe Fruits,” p. 246.

56

The Mystery of the Divinity e) On the relationship between the maʿnā and the ism In the name of God the merciful, the compassionate. We write down the questions of Abū ʿAbd Allāh b. Hārūn al-Ṣāʾigh, to his master Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn b. Ḥamdān al-Khaṣībī. Ibn Hārūn said: I came to my master, who bestows on me the light of God, Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn b. Ḥamdān al-Khaṣībī, may God honour and exalt him. As I was entering, the [al-Rastbāshiyya] epistle was being read to the people present at his session. I said to him: O my master, I wish to ask you concerning something in your epistle that troubled me. And he said: Ask, O Ibn Hārūn, for questioning is the key to discourse. I said: O my master, I ask you about those words of yours which troubled me and about what you described in your epistle. And I beseech God to bless His glorious ism by which we address Him. O my master, should the maʿnā be addressed by the ism which is the ḥijāb and the “place”? 39 Al-Khaṣībī said: O Ibn Hārūn, did the ism originate from something other than the maʿnā? I said: No, my master. Had it begun from something other than the maʿnā, the other [thing] would have been preexistent. He said: O Ibn Hārūn, if the ism does not originate from something other than the maʿnā why do you deny that it is the maʿnā’s ism? If indeed something comes out of another, then it is its ism and there is neither buffer nor mediator between them, for every essence implies [the existence of] an ism and an attribute. Moreover, even if the ism originated from the light of the maʿnā, the relation between them [the ism and the maʿnā] is that of connection and not of separation. And the ism is one, it is from the maʿnā’s light, and it is revealed from the maʿnā’s light. O Ibn Hārūn, don’t you see that we apply the name “sun” for both its light and its disc, although in speech the difference between light and disc is clear-cut even though they bear the single name “sun.” This similarly applies to the ism and the maʿnā. And when you say ism

39. The term ḥijāb, as noted in the introduction to this section, is a common appellation of the ism; the term makān or alternatively maqām (place) denotes here an external aspect of the maʿnā.

57

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology and maʿnā you in fact say that “allāh” is one name for the maʿnā [and its] maqām. For the maqām is the one (al-wāḥid) which began from the monad (al-aḥad). 40 It is the light from the illuminator, the revealed from the revealer, the power from the omnipotent, the created from the creator, the name from the giver of names and the messenger from the sender. It begins from the maʿnā and returns to it. And he read: “When he reached the setting of the sun, he found it setting in a muddy spring” (Q. 18:86). Then he said: O Ibn Hārūn, when the bāb arrived at the occultation of the ism and its setting, the bāb found the ism setting into the light of the maʿnā. And the maʿnā indeed conceals the ism in the occultation 41 of its source, and it sets in it. [This occultation] is its root and origin, its lord and its master. Al-Ṣāʾigh asked: O my master, if the light is a single light, why did he [the maʿnā] kindle in the revelation two separate lights with two isms and two attributes? Al-Khaṣībī answered: O Ibn Hārūn, so that the maʿnā may address himself from himself through himself. I asked: O my master, do you mean that he addresses his essence from his essence through his essence? He answered: O Ibn Hārūn, the maʿnā addresses his essence from his light through his light. Indeed, the place aimed at and the existent One is the admonishing soul and the supervising eye. I asked: O my master, does the full revelation occur in sublime absolute justice and we behold the eternal maʿnā revealed in the ism through which he is addressed and in the attribute by which he is known? Moreover, if we behold his light which is his ḥijāb manifesting himself in the ism and in the attribute by which the light is known – which of them should we address and to which should we direct ourselves? He answered: “Call upon God or call upon the Merciful; whichsoever you call upon, to Him belong the names most beautiful” (Q. 17:110).

40. The author wishes to distinguish here between the two attributes of God, aḥad and wāḥid, which in Arabic have the same meaning. 41. In Shīʿī tradition the Arabic term ghayba commonly denotes the occultation of the Imam. Here, however, it appears to describe the relationship between the persons of the trinity.

58

The Mystery of the Divinity Then he said: O Ibn Hārūn, know that the ism is revealed through a thousand names and attributes. All these names and attributes by which the ism is revealed belong to the maʿnā, since the maʿnā is the one who is revealed through them and is named by them. I asked: O my master, to whom belong the will and the true worship of God? He answered: O Ibn Hārūn, if you separate them they are separated and if you link them together they are united. Have you not heard the clear, renowned, and truly transmitted tradition? I asked: What is it, O my master? He answered: [It is the tradition] that we transmitted from our venerable patron 42 who said: “He who worships the ism without the maʿnā has apostatized; he who worships the ism with the maʿnā is a polytheist; he who worships the maʿnā through the truth of the ism is indeed a unitarian.” I asked: O my master, what is the proof that the worship of the ism is linked to the maʿnā? He answered: O Ibn Hārūn, do you not agree with me that the ism originated from the light of the maʿnā? I answered: Surely, my master. He said: O Ibn Hārūn, if you were commanded to worship the water even in the form of snow, would you obey this commandment? I answered: Certainly, my master. He asked: Why so? I answered: Because snow came about from water and eventually returns to water. He said: In the same way the ism originated from the maʿnā and returns to him. The beginning of the ism from the maʿnā is separation and his return is rejoining. Even though the maʿnā revealed the illumination of separation, nevertheless in truth its [the separation’s] meaning is that of rejoining. Their relation is like the relation of the rays of [the sun] to the disc. And al-Khaṣībī added: [It is also], like the [relation] of the flame to the fire, movement to rest, speech to speaker, and vision to the observer – they are connected by light and separated by their external appearances that are beheld. 42. This distinguished patron is apparently the Imam Ja‛far al-Ṣādiq.

59

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology I asked: O my master, is it permissible to say that the light is a single light? He answered: O Ibn Hārūn, it is not permissible to call a servant master nor the ism – maʿnā, and it is not permissible to equate servant with master nor the ism with his maʿnā. I said: O my master, how is it so? You say that the light is a single light and that the ism is a single ism while you claim that it is not permissible to call the ism – maʿnā. He answered: O Ibn Hārūn, know and understand that the ism, although he originated from the light of the maʿnā, and he is a light brought into being – and everything brought into being belongs to the sphere of creation – nevertheless the ism is [also] a creator like the preexistent one [the maʿnā]. I said: O my master, if the ism is formed, then he is created. He answered: O Ibn Hārūn, the light of the maʿnā should not be defined as created. I said: O my master, what then is the meaning of “brought into being”? He answered: “Brought into being” means that his maʿnā encompasses him, and everything encompassed falls under the category of coming into being. I said: O my master, [from here on] I will say “brought into being” and not “created.” He said: O Ibn Hārūn, why did the master, the mīm, 43 ask about it? Al-Khaṣībī said: I do not say that he is created, but that God the maʿnā is above him. O Ibn Hārūn, the eternal preexistent one is forever above the created, and the encompassing one and creator is above the place (i.e. the ism). I said: O my master, if we aim at the preexistent and everlasting one, at the creator rather than the place, how should we address Him so that we attain our target and do not miss it, and so that we arrive at it rapidly and without delay?

43. The letter mīm often denotes Muḥammad, who is identified with the ism, but it is not clear whether it refers here to a specific saying ascribed to Muḥammad.

60

The Mystery of the Divinity He answered: Call Him and say: “O monad (aḥad)”, and when you address the ism you should say: “O one (wāḥid).” 44 I said: O my master, you have just said that the ism is one ism and now you claim that there are maʿnā and ism! He answered: The knowledge of these two names is given to people of erudition, so that they may distinguish between eternity and the eternal, preexistent and creator, name and giver of names, messenger and sender, sages and omnipotent. Now you say that the ism is the ism of the maʿnā – that is, his names and ḥijāb when the maʿnā brought the ism into being. He said: If you say “Allāh” thereby intending the maʿnā, you have hit the target, since it is a name 45 bestowed with the grace of the greatest name and the most illuminating light – namely, it is a name of the maʿnā and his ḥijāb. Understand it, and know it for this is the wisdom of religion and the way and salvation of the Gnostics. Praise be to God, the Lord of all being. (Al-Ṣāʾigh, Theological Questions, p. 106-109) 46 f) The emanation of the ism from the maʿnā’s light of essence The beginning of the mīm (i.e. the ism) is in the light of essence, and it is his (the mīm-ism’s) source and origin before his appearance […]. This is so, because the maʿnā, may his remembrance be exalted, was – even before the existence of place and time and ism, ḥijāb and bāb, and a model-image (mithāl) – one in his essence, eternal and primordial, with nothing besides him. When he wished to reveal his wisdom and manifest his power, he emanated the master Muḥammad from the light of his essence and his source, as we explained earlier, since his [Muḥammad’s] source is the light of essence, which moves him, being first at rest, and revealed him, being first in concealment, and urged him to speak, being first in silence. From the light of essence, he appeared without losing anything of his (the ism’s) wholeness after

44. See above, p. 52-56. 45. It seems that al-Khaṣībī is using the word ism in both its senses: “name”, and the term used in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī theology. 46. Abū ‘Abd Allāh b. Hārūn al-Ṣā’igh, Theological Questions, in M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-‘Alawī Religion, p. 99-109.

61

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology coming out [from the light of essence], and without anything being impaired after the appearance [of the ism]. And the two of them [the ism and the light of essence] are neither identical nor equal to one another, [but the ism] is a partial light [emanating] from a total light […]. From the prince of the believers, peace from him: “The distinction between the connection and separation, and the distinction between the ism and the essence, constitute the unification of the perfect God.” (Al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb al-dalāʾil, folios 171b – 172a, question 100) g) The bāb – the gate to the mystery of the divinity There is no entrance [to the ism] other than through the bāb, and there is no knowledge other than through him; and the [visible] form is thus distinctive to the bāb. It is the bāb who created the worlds and formed the entities, and from him were the lights made manifest. He is the goal for every wise person and the aim of every knowing person, and he is the witness, and the testimony is upon him, and he is God’s expanding shadow. And he is the pond towards which all proceed 47 and the path leading and guiding to the ism. The bāb is the form of the visible reality of the interiority and the end of the quest of the seeker of knowledge and the entirety of the rank of reality; and he is the divine body and the tree of happiness (shajarat ṭūbā) and the Lotus (sidrat al-muntahā) and the garden of refuge (jannat al-maʾwā). 48 To him people return and arrive, and life and death are in his hands. And God be exalted said: “Then remind them! You are only a reminder; you are not charged to oversee them. But he who turns his back, and disbelieves, God shall chastise him with the greatest chastisement. Truly, to Us is their return; then upon Us shall rest their reckoning.” (Q. 88: 21-26). (Al-Ḥarrānī, Kitāb al-uṣayfir, folio 15b) 49

47. The pond (ḥawḍ) is a pool in paradise, often mentioned in eschatological traditions and Qurʾan exegesis as the gathering place of the believers at the end of days. 48. These are three eschatological symbols mentioned in the Qurʾan either explicitly or implicitly: “the [tree] of happiness” (ṭūbā, Q. 13:29), the “Lotus tree” (sidrat al-muntahā, Q. 52:14) and the “garden of refuge” (jannat al-maʾwā, Q. 52:15). 49. Muḥammad b. Shu‘ba al-Ḥarrānī, Kitāb al-uṣayfir, in ms. Paris, BnF, arabe 1450, folios 2a-37b.

62

The Mystery of the Divinity h) The emanation of the bāb from the light of the ism’s light Question: Who created the bāb in charge of the great house? The mawlā (‛Alī) instructed the mīm (Muḥammad) to create the sīn (Salmān) without buffer and mediation, and he created him from the light of the mawlā’s light, not from the light of His essence, and taught him and educated him and made him the way leading towards him and pointing to him. The ḥijāb then concealed himself from the bāb, and the strings tying [him to the ḥijāb] drew far from him, and he became confused and bewildered. The ism then came to his rescue, stabilized him and straitened his steps, bestowed his grace upon him and directed him to the truth, according to the will of the eternal [maʿnā] and the cause of causes. Then the ḥijāb appeared to him – the bāb beholding his glorious beauty and immense perfection – and ordered him to prostrate himself, and the bāb imagined that the ḥijāb is eternal and should be worshipped, and said: “I testify that there is no God but” and was about to complete [the testimony] with the words “but you”, but his eternal lord [the maʿnā] cut him short, and the ism directed him to his place, namely, to aim his sight towards knowledge, contemplating the deity and the glorious power. And behold, the mīm was below, with all his powerful being and immense glory. It was thus impossible [for the bāb] to complete his testimony to the mīm, deifying him, as if the mīm were the greatest; and he completed it, correcting “but you” to “but Allāh” (the maʿnāʾ). Thus the testimony of the faith of unity to the Eternal, Who should be worshipped, was completed. And the master mīm bestowed upon his bāb, the sin, the power of creation, will, and the names he was given by his Lord. (Al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb al-dalāʾil, folios 171b-172a, question 100) i) Hierarchic vision of God in the realm of the trinity and the emanation Question: [How does] the word of God [Q. 6:103]: “The eyes attain Him not, but He attains the eyes; He is the All-subtle, the Allaware”, conform to [the concept] that the form [of God] is perceived and visible? Answer: People’s attainment of God is not an attainment of containment, but they attain Him by an attainment of limited vision. Nothing escapes Him, and His words “but He attains the eyes” mean 63

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology that nothing people see escapes Him, and that their being is not foreign to Him, since He creates them and their being and the place of being. Their vision, however, does not attain Him, but is limited to the vision of which they are worthy. There are no two persons who are equal in their capacity to see Him. The ism sees in the maʿnā what the bāb does not see, because he is below him in the rank of the Kingdom [of heaven]. And the bāb sees what the great yatīm, al-Miqdād does not see. And al-Miqdād sees what Abū Dharr does not see, because he is below him. And Abū Dharr sees what ʿAbd Allāh (b. Rawāḥa) does not see. And what ʿAbd Allāh sees ʿUthmān (b. Maẓ‛ūn) does not see. And what ʿUthmān sees Qanbar does not see. And the same is true for the rest of the persons of the luminous degrees. Each of them sees according to the capacity of vision of which he is worthy. (Al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb al-dalāʾil, folios 161b-162a, question 82) j) The myth of the fall All the groups of the Nuṣayrīs believe that in the beginning, before the creation of the world, they were shining lights and luminary stars, distinguishing between obedience and defiance. They did not eat nor drink nor relieve themselves, and were contemplating ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib with a glowing gaze. They continued in this state for seven thousand and seventy-seven years and seven hours, thinking between themselves that no creature worthier than them had been created. This was the first sin which the Nuṣayrīs committed. ʿAlī then created a barrier to block them for seven thousand years. Thereafter ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib revealed himself to them again and said: “Am I not your Lord? They said: Yes, we testify” (Q. 7:172). 50 And after he showed them his power, they were mistaken to think that they see him in his totality, imagining that he is like them, thereby committing their second sin. [ʿAlī] then reset the barrier before them and they circled it seven thousand and seventy-seven years and seven hours. He afterwards appeared to them as an old man with white hair of head and beard, 51 as the same figure in which he tested the people of the supreme luminary

50. This is “the covenant verse” (āyat al-mīthāq) that validates the common Shīʿī mythic notion of the preexistence of the Shīʿīs as luminary creatures or particles (dharr). 51. The image of God as an old man is common in several religious traditions,

64

The Mystery of the Divinity world, and they imagined that he was present in the same figure in which he was manifested to them [earlier]. He asked them: “Who am I”? And they answered: “We do not know.” He then appeared [to them] also in the figure of a youth with a twisted moustache and angry face, riding a lion. 52 Afterwards he appeared to them in the figure of a little boy and repeated his call: “Am I not your Lord”? He repeated his question in each of his appearances, accompanied by the ism, the bāb and his people of sacred ranks, which are the first seven ranks of the great world of light. 53 [The Kalāziyya group 54 regards these three appearances as manifestations of the moon: the boy is the beginning of its appearance as a crescent, the youth is the full moon and the old man is the waning moon. And when (ʿAlī) called them they were mistaken to think that he is a creature like them, were perplexed and did not know what to answer.] 55 Due to their hesitancy he created for them doubt and bewilderment and said to them: “I have created for you a lower world and I wish to relegate you to it and create for you bodies of flesh and blood and appear to you in a raiment like yours. Whoever among you recognizes me, my bāb and my ḥijāb, I will return him to here; and whoever defies me I will create out of his defiance an enemy who will fight him; and whoever denies me I will subdue him with the garments of reincarnation.” They answered him: “O God, leave us here to praise You and worship You, and please do not lower us to the inferior world.” He said to them: “You have defied me. Had you said: ‘Our lord, we have no knowledge but what You have taught us, because You know all mysteries’ (Q. 2:32), I would have forgiven you.” He then created for them out of their disobedience demons and devils, and out

52.

53. 54. 55.

e.g., the “Ancient of Days” in Daniel’s vision (7:9). See M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 53 and note 55. The lion is a prevalent image for ʿAlī in Shīʿī literature, symbolizing his heroism; various synonyms for lion are used in referring to him. A calligraphic drawing of ʿAlī in the form of a lion is widespread in Shīʿī art, and a lion features on Iran’s former flag. See below, p. 114, note 14; p. 122, note 50. “The people of rank” (in Arabic: ahl al-marātib) are the emanations below the trinity. This is one of the subgroups within the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion. See R. Dussaud, Histoire et religion des Noṣairîs, p. 77-103; M. Moosa, Extremist Shiʿites, p. 337-341. The words in brackets are al-Adhanī’s explanatory note.

65

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology of the demons’ sins he created women [and hence (the Nuṣayrīs) do not teach their women prayer, and this matter is mentioned in Kitāb al-haft and in Kitāb al-dalāʾil and in the Kitāb al-taʾyīd]. 56 (Al-Adhanī, al-Bākūra1, p. 59-61; al-Bākūra2, p. 69-71 57) k) ʿAlī b. ʿĪsa al-Jisrī’s Risālat al-tawḥīd 58 In the name of Allāh the merciful, the compassionate we begin with the blessing of God, may He be exalted, to copy the Epistle of Unification that my teacher and master Abū Muḥammad ʿAlī b. ʿĪsa al-Jisrī – may God sanctify his soul with the saints and glorify his place in the supreme [Garden of Eden] – has transmitted. And he said [thus]: I asked our teacher, the guide to our master Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn b. Ḥamdān al-Khaṣībī – may God exalt his place in the kingdom [of heaven], and may God join him to His wisdom and to His realm – about the manifestations of the maʿnā, may his power be exalted, his grace abound and his names be sanctified in every cycle and religion in all ages. Our teacher and master, may God sanctify his soul, said: O Abū l-Ḥasan, hear from me and understand the things I will teach you, and remember [them] with God’s help […]. If you adhere to them, you

56. Here too the bracketed words are al-Adhanī’s explanatory additions. The three sources mentioned here are known works: Kitāb al-haft is a proto-Nuṣayrī book ascribed to al-Mufaḍḍal b. ʿUmar al-Juʿfī; kitāb al-dalāʾil is one of al-Ṭabarānī’s major works. Several excerpts from the latter are included in this anthology; and the third work is kitāb al-taʾyīd fī khāṣṣ al-tawḥīd by Muḥammad b. Yūnus Kalāzū, the eponym of the Kalāziyya sub-sect. This work comprises 88 questions pertaining to the Nuṣayri trinity. 57. For another English translation of this passage, see E. Salisbury, “The Book of Sulaiman’s First Ripe Fruits,” p. 286-287; for a French translation, see R. Dussaud, Histoire et religion des Noṣairîs, p. 70-73. 58. The translation of this extract from the Epistle of Unification is based on the Arabic text edited by Tariq Rajab as part of his M.A. Thesis, “The Unity of God in Early Nuṣayrī Doctrine: A Critical Edition, Hebrew Translation and Analysis of ‘The Epistle of the Unification (Risālat al-tawḥīd) by al-Ḥusayn b. Ḥamdān al-Khaṣībī (d. 346/957 or 358/969)’,” The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2002, p. 29-37 (the Arabic text). The ascription of the Epistle to al-Khaṣībī is Rajab’s. In the Epistle itself, however, it is attributed to Abū l-Ḥasan al-Jisrī, a prominent disciple of al-Khaṣībī.

66

The Mystery of the Divinity will be saved by your knowledge of the maʿnā in this world and in the hereafter, and ascend to the degree of submission in the Garden of Eden, in the kingdom of God, may He be exalted. I said: Grant me your grace, O my master. The teacher said: Indeed our Lord is exalted, concealed in His eternity and mysterious in His knowledge; and He did not manifest Himself save as exalted and concealed in every cycle and age; and He is the self-manifestation, and all the manifestations [of the maʿnā] are ontological, eternal and everlasting, without limit or attribute. I said: O my master, [it is written] in the Epistle [i.e. the Rastbāshiyya] 59 that our Lord [is] the maʿnā […] and that he manifested himself in His form. The teacher said: O Abū l-Ḥasan, know that our Lord (the maʿnā), may his power be exalted – had He manifested himself to the world in luminosity, those who know him and his angels would not have been able to see him, recognize Him and unify him, let alone those inferior to them. Since he knows that they are incapable of seeing him, save according to the measure of knowledge and ability that he granted them, he appeared to them in an exalted luminous [figure], so that the people of ranks saw him according to their ranks, and the people of status, according to their status. 60 The ism [of the maʿnā] was revealed to them and called on them to acknowledge him and not to deny him. Then the believers acknowledged him and the deniers denied him, whereas he, may his power be glorified, is exalted and concealed, and does not manifest himself except through essence, and it is impossible to attach to him any description or attribute. No human description or attribute is capable of describing him, because He is exalted and above any description. And all that you have recounted in worshipping God

59. “The Epistle” (al-Risāla), without specification, refers to al-Khaṣībī’s al-Risāla al-Rastbāshiyya, which became quasi-canonic in the Nuṣayrī religion. On this epistle, see M. M. Bar-Asher, “Al-Risāla al-Rāstbāshiyya dʼAbū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn b. Ḥamdān al-Khaṣībī, élaborateur de la religion nuṣayrite,” in Shii Studies Review 2 (2018), p. 228-254. 60. The people of rank and status are the various entities that emanated from the trinity in the divine realm of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion, discussed above.

67

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology concerns the ism, and every true knowledge that hearts have discovered and pointed to [refers] to the maʿnā, who is exalted above the description of the heretics. I said: O my master, but God said: “Creator of everything and giving life to everything and He is omnipotent” (Q. 57:2). The teacher, may God sanctify his soul, said: Indeed, it has already been said in the Epistle [Rastbāshiyya] that Allāh is the ism of the maʿnā [that] was manifested to the world that they should know the maʿnā through him, and call the believers through him. The maʿnā is included in him, not separate from him, inasmuch as the ism is not separate from the maʿnā; and the ism is the creator of everything. I said: O my master, what is the first thing that he [the ism] created? He answered: He created the bāb, and it is the first thing that creates the things and forms them; he is the first among created creatures; it is he who created the degree, made, shaped and formed it. 61 I said: O my master, [do you mean] the manifestation that he mentioned [in the phrase] “looseness and fusion” (ifrāj wa-mizāj)? 62 The teacher, may God sanctify his soul, said: O Abū l-Ḥasan, know that the revelation among humans is of two kinds: a revelation of looseness and a revelation of fusion. I said: O my master, explain that to me. The teacher, may God sanctify his soul, said: Know that the maʿnā, may His power be exalted, does not fuse with a creature and is not manifested through it. And the manifestation called “looseness” is a manifestation in the “Imāma line” (saṭr al-imāma); 63 and all the mani-

61. In describing the process by which the divine realm came into being, Nuṣayrī writers tend to use several different verbs – in this case, aḥdatha, anshaʾa, kawwana, and ṣawaara – without any clear theological distinction between them. 62. These terms, somewhat uncommon in Nuṣayrī literature, denote two kinds of manifestation. The first, ẓuhūr ifrāj, signifies looseness or separation of the maʿnā from the historical figure in which he is incarnated. Thus the maʿnā preserves his concealed essence and the creatures cannot identify him, but can merely imagine that they have seen him. The other kind, ẓuhūr mizāj, denotes a manifestation in which the ism appears fused with his bāb in such a way that he can be identified. In both types of manifestation God does not fuse with His creatures nor unite with them. 63. This term refers to the institute of the Imāma in Twelver Shīʿism, namely the religious and communal – and also, to a certain extent, political – leadership of the

68

The Mystery of the Divinity festations of the maʿnā in the “Imāma line” are exalted and ontological; and a manifestation of “fusion” is in the eyes of people a manifestation of the ism through his bāb. Moreover, it has already been proclaimed: “The creator does not fuse with a creature, but the eyes see what they were intended to see, and this is sufficient for the wise”. Beware, then, of saying, regarding the “Imāma line”: “father, or son, or brother, or husband, or mother”, but say: “light revealed from light”, as God, may His power be exalted, said [in the “light verse”] in His book: “Light upon Light; God guides to His Light whom He will” (Q. 24:35), and people saw Him, each according to his capacity and knowledge. And then the teacher, may God sanctify his soul, said, as in matters pertaining to the other emanations (maqāmāt): “Muḥammad, Fāṭir, 64 al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn, until Muḥammad al-Ḥujja, 65 who was concealed from all eyes in the city [Sāmarāʾ], and the maʿnā manifested his exalted Self”. I said: O my master, in whom was the ism manifested in the Muḥammadan cycle? 66 The teacher, may God sanctify his soul, answered: The first time that he was manifested in the Muḥammadan cycle was in the figures of ʿAbd Allāh (Muḥammad’s father) and Muḥammad, and in the “Imāma line”, and it was impossible for the eyes to see him in the city

imams. The term wilāyya (or walāya) is used together with imāma, with a similar meaning. 64. Fāṭir is the appellation of Fāṭima, daughter of Muḥammad. The word’s literal meaning is “creator” and “maker”, and it often appears in this sense in the Qurʾan, as in Sura 35, which bears this name. The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī use of this masculine form, and of the alternative form, Fāṭim, is apparently intended, especially in a theological context, to emphasize the masculine dimension of the godhead. See M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 37 n. 144 and elsewhere, according to the index entries “Fāṭim” and “Fāṭir”. 65. Literally: the “Proof”, a common attribute of the Imams, though here it refers to the twelfth Imam, Muḥammad son of al-Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī, who according to Twelver Shīʿism remains in a “Great Occultation” (al-ghayba al-kubrā) that began in 941 and is destined to last till the end of days. His partial or “Minor Occultation” (al-ghayba al-ṣughrā) in 874, in the city of Sāmarāʾ, preceded the “Great Occultation”. 66. This refers to the manifestation of the ism in the figure of Muḥammad in the historical cycle of early Islam, called al-qubba al-muḥammadiyya (the Muḥammadan cycle), when the trinity was revealed in the figures of ʿAlī, Muḥammad and Salmān.

69

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology [Sāmarāʾ] in the time of Muḥammad al-Ḥujja. [At that time] the maʿnā was al-Ḥasan al-ʿAskari, 67 and Muḥammad [al-Ḥujja, his son] was the ism, and the bāb [was] Abū Shuʿayb. 68 And the people of purity 69 saw the maʿnā [when] the light of Abū Ṭālib 70 shone in [an] exalted and mysterious [form], and all the manifestations of the maʿnā in the “Imāma line” are in an exalted and essential form. It was [therefore] impossible for the eyes to see him when he was manifested in the form of al-Ḥasan [al-ʿAskarī], and he did not cease and will not cease [to manifest himself], and he is not separate from degree to degree in his manifestation [in the figure] of the first al-Ḥasan [son of ʿAlī], and he is the Ḥasanī form, without limit or attribute. And that is what He said in his prayer: “Whosoever performs a good deed shall have ten the like of it” (Q. 6:160). His meaning is that his servants would recognize him in his sublimity from his manifestation [in the figure of] the first al-Ḥasan [up to that, in the figure of] al-Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī, and would divest all descriptions and attributes from him, and acknowledge that He is exalted and concealed, the maʿnā of [all] the maʿnās (maʿnā al-maʿānī) 71 and the end of all ends; he has no partner in his manifestation, not even in things that confused people; he is much above the descriptions of the deniers. 72 Know that the ism is primordial in the light and manifest to the people of rank, so that they may know through him the God whom they worship.

67. Namely, the eleventh imam, al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī al-Hādī, called al-ʿAskarī. 68. Abū Shuayb is the appellation of Muḥammad b. Nuṣayr, the eponym of the Nuṣayrī religion. 69. People of purity – in Arabic: ahl al-ṣafāʾ, as opposed to ahl al-kadar (people of murkiness) – is a term denoting a group of people with inner knowledge, who have achieved a degree of lucidity that enables them to see the maʿnā in all his manifestations, and to unify him. Alternatively, it may refer here to the emanations of the realm of light prior to creation, which are also incarnated in various figures in the historical cycles. 70. Namely, ʿAlī’s father. 71. Maʿnā al-maʿānī is an appellation of ʿAlī which appears in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī catechism as well; see M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 211 (Arabic text), p. 186 (English translation). 72. This apparently refers to those denying most of God’s attributes, save the ontological ones (sifāt al-dhāt), such as “living”, “able”, and “wishing”. The issue of God’s attributes and their taxonomy lay at the heart of mediaeval Muslim theology.

70

The Mystery of the Divinity I said: O my master, I shall ask you about God’s most beautiful names. 73 He, may God sanctify his soul, said: They are indeed the five [names] that He first mentioned in the Abrahamic 74 and Muḥammadan cycles, which the believer includes in his prayer, saying: allāhumma (O God), 75 thus including in fact the five in one word: Muḥammad, Fāṭir [Fāṭima], al-Ḥasan, al-Ḥusayn, and Muḥsin. 76 I asked: How should I say [that]? He answered: Say: allāhumma (O God), I beseech You [through] Your most beautiful names, You who are their maʿnā, known through them. The maʿnā is the monad [al-aḥad] that cannot be circumscribed, and the ism is the One [al-wāḥid] that cannot be enumerated, and there is neither difference nor buffer between them. Beware of saying: God’s most beautiful names are the maʿnā, the ism and the bāb; this is the saying of the devil and his host. Beware [also] of the sayings of the [advocates] of dualism, those who differentiate between the ism and the maʿnā, and say they are two gods, but God is only one God, may He be exalted above having a son. And the pure unification is when you pronounce [the name] “Allāh”. You are thereby calling His ism without difference or buffer. The status of the ism in relation to his maʿnā is like the status of the soul in relation to wisdom; it is primordial in the knowledge of the maʿnā; [the ism] was manifested to the creatures so that they should know the maʿnā. Know that the eyes see the maʿnā according to their capacity and power of knowledge, and whoever says that the maqām is created, 77 indeed he is a heretic. And know that the maqām, which is the bāb, is created, and the maqām [of the ism] is the one who created him; and people had difficulties with

73. The traditional Muslim concept that God’s most beautiful names (al-asmāʾ al-ḥusnā) are an integral part of the divine essence is well known in Nuṣayrī literature; see e.g., al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb majmūʿ al-aʿyād, p. 50-51, 74. 74. This refers to the manifestation of the divine trinity in the era of Abraham. 75. The address allāhumma (O God) is prevalent in Muslim prayer formulas. 76. The author’s meaning here is that the five Arabic letters forming the word “allāhumma” – namely, a-l-l-h-m – indicate the five names of the holy family (known in Shīʿī tradition by various appellations such as ahl al-kisāʾ or ahl al-ridāʾ [the people of the coat]), namely Muḥammad, Fāṭima, Muḥammad’s daughter and ʿAlī’s wife, and their three sons. 77. The term maqām refers here to the ism. For a discussion of this term, see above, p. 57, note 39.

71

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology that because they were confused. And the “laudable maqām” (mentioned in the Qurʾan [17:79]) is the ism who created the bāb and all that was created beside him. I said: O my master, what about the saying of the mawlā Jaʿfar [al-Ṣādiq]: “We are the external aspect of God; and we are only His concealed aspect, and there is no end beyond us”? The sheikh (al-Khaṣībī), may God sanctify his soul, said: And regarding Jaʿfar [al-Ṣādiq]’s saying “We are the external aspect of God”, [its meaning is] that the eyes see the maʿnā and his form is like our form. He is exalted and concealed, a maʿnā that cannot be circumscribed or described, and all [people] of rank see him only according to their ranks in relation to the creatures; and this is the [meaning] of his words: “We are His internal aspect.” By that he meant that the eyes cannot see the maʿnā, and if the maʿnā wished, He would be manifested in his interiority. Whoever claims to describe the ism while it is impossible for him, is in fact arguing something impossible. For how can a creature describe the creating maʿnā? It is therefore your duty, my brother, to know [the figures] in whom the maʿnā is incarnated, and thus you may reach perfect knowledge. Since the attribute is applicable only to the creature, and it is clear that the attribute applies to the bāb when he says: “Let my servants achieve perfect knowledge”, which is the veracity of the maʿnā. I said: O my master, and what do you say about the visible form and the one who says: “I am I” 78? He answered: He is the omnipotent maʿnā whom the eyes cannot see, and he is the form, that is, [the eyes] saw his forms; indeed the eyes somehow see the face [of the form], and it was said: “Its face but no more than that”. It is similar to a mirror and a sword, and their like. And this is true also for the form of flesh and blood, that is, the eyes see [it] as they were intended [to see it]. And the people of ranks saw him [the maʿnā], each according to his virtue; and whoever separates between the ism and the maʿnā is denying God. No one reaches the degree of the ism in relation to the maʿnā, and the creature [can] only describe [something] created.

78. This is an utterance of the maʿnā, emphasizing His ontological identity as the supreme aspect of the deity. Sometimes an alternative, third-person form is used: huwa huwa (He is He).

72

The Mystery of the Divinity I said: O my master, what about the words of the ism “I am from ʿAlī and ʿAlī is from me”? The sheikh answered: God spoke the truth. “I am from ʿAlī” [means that he is] His name, spirit, soul and speech, 79 and ʿAlī is my maʿnā and my external and visible appearance to the creatures. Know that the maʿnā is monad (aḥad), and the ism is One (wāḥid), and the bāb is oneness (waḥdāniyya); and even though the attributes and the names change, [the] maʿnā, ism and bāb are One (wāḥid). And if you were to say: Some say that there is an end beyond the maʿnā, it is indeed an endless thing. And some say that the ism was created in time or made like other creatures. And some say that the maʿnā is manifested through his bāb or fuses with his creatures. These words suffice for whoever listens, understands and hearkens to the right way. I have indeed advised you as I did, and taught you as I have taught, and composed this epistle for you to illuminate and steady you. Do not pay attention to dubious things, and do not have sympathy for doubt. And may God direct and guide you to a straight way of life, defeat your enemies and strengthen you in His knowledge; and He is the great and the supreme. 80 Know, O my master, that the unitarians of God 81 are divided in their beliefs, and there is no unanimity among them, and each one turns to something else. 82 I have already advised you in my epistle, which is a genuine omniscient figure, who embodies the most esoteric knowledge. Conduct yourself according to it, and know it, for I have advised you as I have. Know, O my master, that all the manifestations of the maʿnā in every era, age, cycle and religion, are purely essential [manifestations], without any murkiness, and with neither division nor blemish. Some say that the maʿnā withdrew the ism and was manifested in his form – interiority in need of interiority – since the maʿnā is not detached from his essence, even though he was seemingly

79. In Arabic: kalimatuhu. Here the term kalima denotes God’s speech or wisdom, perhaps echoing the term logos, familiar from Greek philosophy and Christian theology. It appears that the use of the term here is inspired by the Qurʾan (Q. 3:45 and Q. 4:171). 80. The closing sentence of this paragraph may allude to the original ending of the epistle; the remainder of the text may have been a subsequent addition, written in a similar style. 81. Literally: people of unification (ahl al-tawḥīd), i.e., the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs. 82. The author is alluding to internal Nuṣayrī theological polemics.

73

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology manifested; and the difference between them (the maʿnā and the ism) is due to [human] murky visions; and all the maʿnā’s manifestations, may he be exalted, are in a sublime and mysterious form. He is the certain and clear truth, and through him [the initiated] saw the visible purity and the refined fidelity, those whose hearts and sight did not change and their thoughts did not deny; 83 they are the people of fusion, who knew to distinguish between righteousness and the vicissitudes of aberration; their sight turned about and their thoughts changed and they said that the maʿnā was manifested in the form of his ḥijāb, and that the ḥijāb was manifested in the form of its bāb, but he, may he be exalted, does not change and is not transitory, and he is above the sayings of the heretics and deniers, and those who imagine the creature as creator. And know, O my master – may you persist doing good and destroying evil – that your eternal Lord, the Cause of all causes, was manifested only in His essence, and one must not ascribe to Him novel descriptions and attributes, and that all description applying [to the maʿnā] and the common attributes [are] all Muḥammad; and whenever you pray to God, calling Him by name, you in fact address yourself to the lord Muḥammad, and in him you trust; and such are his words: “[T]he all-hearing, omniscient, beneficent [to His believers], the knower of mysteries; and the other essential names of God are indeed with Him and His alone: First, Eternal, Cause of causes, maʿnā of all the maʿnās, Compassionate, King, Judge, Living, Immortal.” Know, O my master – may God make you successful and strengthen you for good deeds – that the mīm ( =Muḥammad) is the will, the nature of creation, the knowledge and ability, and he is the power, and he is God, and he is the beginning of movements and the provider. And Salmān created the whole world – and you should not nourish any doubt about it – by order of his master and the power of his maʿnā, and it can further be said that Salmān was manifested simultaneously with God, and this is the manifestation of the ḥijāb. 84 83. An allusion to the Qurʾanic verse: “We shall turn about their hearts and their eyes, even as they believed not in the first time” (Q. 6:110). The Nuṣayrī interpretation of this verse was intended, as often elsewhere, to enhance the idea of God’s manifestation in the figure of the Imam and the inability of some people to identify Him, and possibly also to explain the occultation of the last Imam. 84. This apparently refers to a simultaneous manifestation of the maʿnā through the ḥijāb, and of the ḥijāb via the bāb.

74

The Mystery of the Divinity And know that the revelations are two: a revelation of “looseness” and a revelation of “fusion.” Regarding the revelation of looseness, when the maʿnā, may he be exalted, conceals his ism, He is manifested before the people of fusion in the image [in which he revealed himself] to the people of truth. And we have [already] stated that God (mawlā) is not manifested in the form of servant, does not change and is not converted [from one thing to another]; and all His manifestations are in the form of the exalted and mysterious. And he [further] said: He is manifested in the image of the ḥijāb out of respect to the ḥijāb, without moving or passing [from him], and [God] does not grant this revelation to any other of His creatures. And regarding the revelation of fusion, indeed it is a manifestation of the ism through the bāb; and it occasionally occurs that the lights [of the maʿnā and the ism] fuse together. Beware those who say: Muḥammad was created together with the rest of the creatures and was worthiest among them of this rank, because it is absolute heresy. Moreover, Muḥammad created the creator of creatures (the bāb), whereas the bāb, Salsal [ =Salmān] created the rest of the world. And beware those who say: The maʿnā is manifested through the bāb. This is indeed heresy and aberration. Do not hearken to those whose words, views and belief are as such. You do not have any common base or ground among you nor brotherhood [ukhuwwa] that binds you. And beware of saying that above the supreme [God] exists the infinite being. 85 I command you, O my master, to be devoted to your brothers, and to reward your ancestors, and thus you may excel in advising your brothers. And know that the ceremony of your initiation, 86 thanks be to God, is the best and most honourable, and you should thus say: “So and so, son of so and so, transmitted to me, from Abū ʿAbd Allāh 85. It seems that the author is countering the view that beyond the maʿnā there exists some infinite supreme being – a view described, for instance, in the Munāẓara of Yūsuf Ibn al-ʿAjūz al-Nashshābī al-Ḥalabī (see e.g., the citation from this work in M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 33-34). This resembles the Kabbalist concept of ein-sof (infinity), according to which there exists, beyond Keter (Crown) – the supreme emanation (sefira) – an infinite divine being. 86. In Arabic: samāʿ, a term denoting the second stage in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī process of initiation. On the samāʿ, see al-Adhanī, al-Bākūra1, p. 1-5; al-Bākūra2, p. 13-17, and below, p. 157-160. There is a similar term in Sufi literature, although there it denotes listening to music intended to transform the cognitive state of believers.

75

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology al-Ḥusayn b. Ḥamdān [al-Khaṣībī], from Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Jannān al-Junbulānī, 87 known as ‘the Ascetic’ (al-zāhid), who was among those who saw the mawālī, 88 and even Mūsā, ʿAlī and Muḥammad, and ʿAlī and al-Ḥasan al-Ḥujja, 89 and transmitted from them without intermediary until the ‘Master of Time’, 90 and from them Yaḥyā b. Maʿin, 91 Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl al-Ḥasanī and ʿAskar b. Muḥammad al-Fārisī, [and] the sons of our teacher and his paternal cousins, and Abū l-Ḥusayn b. Ḥamdān.” 92 Whoever treats you with respect, treat him with respect, and whoever negotiates with you in the affairs of religion, negotiate with him too. And whoever reconciles with you, reconcile with him, and whoever discloses to you [secrets], disclose to him too, since the truth was revealed. I have given you wholesome advice, and summarized sufficiently in this epistle and in a way not requiring assistance beyond the epistle of our master 93 and treasure of knowledge, that which I have given you regarding divine matters. And thank God for what I have given you, and do not argue over it with ignoramuses. Do not disclose it to the people of aberration and beware of them, and do not conceal from your brothers what you know, and do not spare your brothers what you understand. Beware the thieves [of knowledge] and those who have no father. Propitiate God by belonging to [my religion] and be diligent standing before Him together with your brothers in the knowledge of the mysteries of [religion], and ask mercy on me, as customary regarding transmitters of traditions, and turn to the hidden mystery whereby God protects [your faith] – and may [God] distance you and your friends from [heresy] – as well

87. Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh al-Jannān al-Junbulānī (d. 287/900) was al-Khaṣībī’s teacher. 88. Al-mawālī is a term denoting the circle of scholars around the Imam and his confidants. 89. The reference is to the Imams of Twelver Shīʿism: The first four are the seventh to tenth Imams: Mūsā al-Kāẓim, ʿAlī al-Riḍā, Muḥammad al-Jawād and ʿAlī al-Hādī. The fifth name seems distorted, conflating the names of the last two Imams: al-Ḥusayn (apparently a distortion of al-Ḥasan [al-ʿAskarī]) and al-Ḥujja, an appellation of the hidden Imam. 90. An appellation of the hidden Imam as the Master of the eschatological era. 91. Yaḥyā b. Maʿīn was a disciple of Muḥammad ibn Nuṣayr. 92. The reference is apparently not to al-Ḥusayn b. Ḥamdān al-Khaṣībī, but rather to one of his disciples, Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn b. Ḥamdān b. Hārūn al-Baghdādi, most likely one of al-Jisrī’s teachers. 93. The author is apparently referring to the al-Risāla rastbāshiyya.

76

The Mystery of the Divinity as to the knowledge I have bequeathed to you, that you have heard and transmitted from me. Keep [the faith] for the sake of God and conceal it for His sake, love for His sake and alienate for His sake, trust Him as He should be trusted and know God as He should be known, and unify Him as He should be unified, and submit obediently to Whom you were ordered to obey; [may He] bestow His blessings upon the heads of the deceased brothers, firm [in faith], unblemished in their fatherhood, and brotherhood. May God strengthen us and you and all our brothers in faith to unify Him, know Him and obey Him well, for He is exalted and magnificent. (Al-Jisrī, Risālat al-tawḥīd, folios 42a-48b)

2. God’s incarnation in human figures: incarnation and  docetism 94 The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī doctrine regarding the manifestation of the deity in human figures soon gave rise to critical theological questions that were further elaborated as early generations consolidated the faith. Given their keen awareness of Christian beliefs, the questions essentially have much in common with the Christological discourse regarding the incarnation of the son-logos in Jesus Christ in early Christianity. In the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion, however, unlike Christianity, the divine revelation is primarily that of the maʿnā, namely the supreme aspect of the deity. The appearance of the divinity in human figures entails the paradox of combining the exalted divine reality with the lowly material world. It is a paradox that bestows the psychological advantage of an unmediated union between God and humanity. In the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion, as in early Christianity, there was an inherent tension between two distinct positions: the first, called “docetic” (from Greek dokein, to seem), maintained that God was manifested in human form only

94. For a more detailed discussion of this topic, see M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 28-32, 55-57; Kitāb al-maʿārif, Introduction, p. 5-10.

77

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology seemingly, while the second upheld the idea of essential incarnation, according to which God was not only seen as human, but was in fact incarnated in a human being. The texts in this section represent these two fundamental positions in early Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī theological discourse and convey the tension between them and the acrimonious internal polemic surrounding them. The first four passages reflect the cognitive need for revelation in flesh and blood form. In Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī sources the human form in which God manifests Himself is often called “the visible form” (al-ṣūra al-marʾiyya) or a “shape” (hayʾa). Hence “it is inevitable that God would create a shape in the image of the creatures through which He would address them” (text a), though the essence of the deity does not change with His incarnation in a concrete shape or form. Thus, for example, God may change His form to that of an angel, a prophet, a messenger or an Imam (texts h, i and j). Moreover, God’s incarnation is not restricted to these figures but may also occur in prominent persons from the history of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion up to recent generations, such as Sulaymān al-Murshid, the founder of the Murshidiyya subsect noted in the Introduction, and his descendants. In one treatise the Jews are presented as an example of those who deny the incarnation of the godhead in prophets and Imams (text l). 95 Moreover, al-Khaṣībī has made the visual form a precondition for the cognition of the deity: “Unless [the maʿnā] appeared in a visible form, His existence would not have been proven, and it would have been impossible to see Him or know Him with certainty”. Furthermore, “the visible form is He”, namely, it is God’s self, though “not entirely” (texts c, l). Al-Ṭabarānī goes one step further, emphasizing the cognitive-didactic value of the doctrine of incarnation and formulating the principle that, due to uncertainty, “one should not worship anything other than the existing and seen.” Not only does God appear among people in their image, but He actually walks with them (text a). Yet al-Khaṣībī, and al-Ṭabarānī after him, are well aware of the inherent tension in the idea of God’s incarnation in a creature. They resolve this tension through the notion that the specific human form in which the maʿnā

95. On the incarnation of the deity in the Imams, see also S. Lyde, The Asian Mystery Illustrated in the History, p. 132-133; M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 30-33.

78

The Mystery of the Divinity is incarnated is not created, since it is paradoxically also the form of God Himself, albeit of a different essence from that of humans, and it is represented in the divine-human form of ʿAlī (texts c, l). To illustrate the rationale of ʿAlī’s incarnation, the anonymous author of Kitāb al-usūs puts forward (text g) an analogy between the figures of Jesus and ʿAlī 96 – a concept that the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs share with other heterodox Shīʿī groups. He does this through an interpretation of the “covenant verse” (Q. 7:172), cited below (text f), which describes a covenant between God and the souls of humans before creation. But in Kitāb al-usūs God is revealed through the figure of ʿAlī, in an allusion to the Qurʾanic verse (Q. 66:12) on the Virgin Mary’s miraculous conception: “Then came ʿAlī […] and concealed himself in the essence of Mary”. The docetic concept is expressed clearly in text e. Here the NuṣayrīʿAlawī author argues against the doctrine of incarnation that prevailed in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī circles, claiming that the idea of God being “a body expressing both divinity and humanity” is a heresy, akin to the Christian view of Christ. His polemic centres on the well-known Qurʾanic verse that uses a docetic argument to deny the crucifixion and death of Jesus (Q. 4:157): “They did not slay him, neither did they crucify him, only a likeness of that was shown to them”. Even bolder is a Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī version of the opening verse of Sura 112, in which the name “Allāh” is replaced by the title amīr al-muʾminīn (“prince of the believers”), one of ʿAlī’s common appellations. According to this reading, rather extraordinary even in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī literature, the Qurʾanic verses 112:1-3 should be read: “Say: He is the prince of the believers [ =ʿAlī] […] who has not begotten, and has not been begotten”. The author claims that these verses prove the NuṣayrīʿAlawī docetic concept that the mʿanā-ʿAlī neither resides nor is incarnated in a flesh and blood creature (text e). In the pseudo-epigraphic work Kitāb al-ithnā ashara ḥarf (text m), ascribed to al-Mufaḍḍal b. ʿUmar al-Juʾfī, a disciple of the Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq, the author harshly attacks the doctrine of incarnation, saying: “Whoever says that the maʿnā dwells in a human flesh and blood figure, and speaks through it, is leading himself to perdition […]

96. On the affinity between Jesus and ʿAlī in Shīʿī writings, see M. A. Amir-Moezzi, ʿAlī, le secret bien gardé: Figures du premier Maître en spiritualité shiʿite, Paris 2020, p. 90-96.

79

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology and he is a heretic and blasphemer.” The author further attributes this concept to the mukhammisa, the radical Shīʿī sister-sect of the early Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion. 97 a) God’s incarnation in flesh and blood The inquirer asked: O knower, please return to the proof of belief in the unity of God. 98 The knower replied: It is inevitable that [God] would create a form (hayʾa) in the image of the creatures to speak to them [through it] and they would understand His commandments and proscriptions. The inquirer asked: Does He appear, then, as if He is the creation, and does he hide in the creation that He creates and speak through it? The knower replied: He is not of those whose shape can change, but He creates a creation in which He hides and through which He speaks. The inquirer asked: Who is that person (shakhṣ)? Is He a single form or multiple forms? The knower replied: God creates from His word a form, from His spirit a form, from His light a form, from His will a form, from His power a form, and from His decree a form; and all these forms are similar to the human form. Moreover, God created with His hand twelve forms and spoke to His creatures through them. 99 The inquirer said: It appears, then, that God speaks with His creatures while He is in the image of their shape and they are in the image of His shape. And they understand Him and know that their form is created and that He is the Creator, and He does whatever He wishes. (Kitāb al-usūs, folios 35a-35b; ed. Dandashi, p. 109-110) 97. See W. Madelung, “Mukhammisa,” Encyclopaedia of Islam2, vol. 7, p. 517-518. 98. The titles “the enquirer” (al-sāʾil) and “the knower” (al-ʿālim) appear throughout the Nuṣayrī pseudo-epigraphic work Kitāb al-usūs, ascribed to King Solomon, from which the present passage is excerpted. In the work, structured as a dialogue between teacher and disciple, the disciple-enquirer is Idrīs (=Enoch), while the teacher-knower, representing the figure of the salient sage, is Seth son of Adam. Pseudo-epigraphic works attributed to Seth were common in Gnostic literature. On traditions ascribing Nuṣayrī religious writings to Seth and Idrīs, see S. Lyde, The Asian Mystery Illustrated in the History, p. 144. 99. These twelve forms apparently refer to the twelve Imams of Imāmī Shīʿism, and play an important role in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion.

80

The Mystery of the Divinity b) Incarnation as a means of knowing God Al-Mufaḍḍal b. ʿUmar: Al-Ṣādiq said: It is a virtue of the sage not to worship anything but the visibly existing. Since something that is concealed and invisible raises doubt concerning its existence altogether. When the almighty God created His creatures, He called on them to believe in His unity and divinity. Then He appeared among them, going with them where they went. And whoever knew Him there (in the pre-cosmic spiritual world) knows Him here; and whoever denied Him there, denies Him here, “Gehenna suffices for a blaze!” (Q. 4:55). (Al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb al-maʿārif, p. 55-56) c) The maʿnā’s visible form (a) If someone asks: What is the proof for the appearance of the maʿnā in a visible form? We shall answer: Had the maʿnā not appeared in a visible form, his existence would not have been proven, and it would not have been possible to see him or know him with certainty. If he says: [But] every form [is] created – how then does [the maʿnā 100] appear within a created being although [it is known] that he does not appear except in His essence? And [indeed] you and we think that the Creator is not the created; and that the form is not the Maker […]. We shall say: That visible form in which he appears is not created, and had we said that it is created and that the maʿnā is beneath it, then we and other people would have been alike in this stance, since no one can say that this form did not [exist] in the world and was not created, and that this form was just as other forms and people. If he says: And if we were to answer you, saying that this form (i.e. a person described with the following traits): One who is bald,

100. In other words, how does the maʿnā appear within a created form, when the assumption is that he is not created.

81

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology big-bellied, of average height, of bald forehead, whose gap between the eyebrows is great, dark-eyed, wide-palmed, large-armed, robust and short-shinned 101 – is this His form and is it He or someone else? We shall answer him: If we were to say that [this form] is created, we would be as all the people from among the enemies of the Shīʿa (aḍdād) and the khawārij, 102 who curse him [ʿAlī] and reject him; and as the Sunnīs 103 who prefer someone else over him and do not doubt that he is created like them. But we think that this visible form is he, being a thing that can be proven, that he exists, that he can be seen with the eyes and in a definite way. He is not [the form] entirely, nor comprehensively, nor in the sense of containing or circumscribing it. (al-Khaṣībī, al-Risāla al-rastbāshiyya, p. 144-146) d) The maʿnā’s visible form (b) The visible form in which the eternal maʿnā appeared, is not created. And had we said that it is created and that the maʿnā is beneath it, we and all creatures and the creatures of the realm of darkness (aḍdād) would be equal in this respect. Because no one is allowed to say that this form did not exist in the world, and that it is like all other forms. This is sheer heresy. But we say that this form – the bald, with the belly, of average height, of bald forehead, whose gap between the eyebrows is great, the dark-eyed, the large-armed, the robust and

101. Instead of naming ʿAlī directly, which would not necessarily emphasize his human dimension, al-Khaṣībī prefers a detailed physical portrayal of ʿAlī’s body, apparently in order to underline the idea that God’s incarnation in the figure of ʿAlī should be understood regarding the man ʿAlī, with all that that implies. This description, accentuating the tension between the divine and human dimensions of the figure, is common in Shīʿī and Nuṣayrī literature. A similar description can be seen in the text from Kitāb al-dalāʾil by al-Ṭabarānī, below, which is an adaptation of this text by al-Khaṣībī. 102. This reference to the khawārij is by way of one of their well-known appellations, al-shurāt (= the sellers; sing. shār[in]), inspired by the Qurʾanic verse 2:207: “Other men there are that sell themselves desiring God’s good pleasure” (man yashrī nafsahu ibtighāʾa marḍāti allāh). 103. Here Sunnīs are referred to as al-nāṣiba, a derogatory term employed by the Shīʿa, especially for those Sunnīs known for their animosity towards the Shīʿa. The term derives from the verb naṣaba (set) and refers to “the hostility they set (naṣabu)” against ʿAlī and his household.

82

The Mystery of the Divinity short-shinned – it is he, in a proven way and as can be readily seen, truly and clearly. He [the maʿnā] is not the form in his totality and containment. [God] the glorious is highly exalted above what the evil ones say. (Al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb al-dalāʾil, folios 161a-161b) e) The docetic view contra the concept of incarnation He who believes that ʿAlī is a human name (ism nāsūt) and that Allāh is a divine name (ism lāhūt) has thus admitted that Allāh is a body (jism) representing both divinity and humanity – indeed he has become an infidel and polytheist (kafara wa-ashraka), and reverted to what the Christians believe concerning Christ. They say that he (i.e. Christ) represents both divinity and humanity; that his execution and crucifixion affected his humanity, and that his divinity ascended to heaven, returning to its source. God, however, denounced them as liars in His words (Q. 4:157): “They did not slay him, nor did they crucify him, only a likeness of that was shown to them”, as well as in His words (Q. 112: 3-4): “The prince of the believers 104 [ =ʿAlī] has not begotten and has not been begotten”; and He denied them in His words: “I am a tongue, neither flesh nor blood”. 105 And He denounced them as liars as he denounced the Christians. It is proven by these words that he [i.e. ʿAlī] is one, single, rational in his essence and does not reside in a created human form, nor does he speak through such a human form. And the speaker potentially and in practice working wonders in all the pulpits is the maʿnā, prince of the believers, who is an entity, existing unto itself. (Al-Mufaḍḍal b. ʿUmar al-Juʿfī, Kitāb ithnāʿashara ḥarf, folios 136a136b)

104. Here the author has made a notable change, boldly interpolating the words “prince of the believers” – a common Shīʿī title for ʿAlī – where the canonical text of the Qurʾan has “Allāh”. 105. This apocryphal saying, attributed to God the maʿnā, here identified with ʿAlī, is not familiar to us from any other source. It may, however, allude to Matthew 16:17.

83

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology f) The concept of incarnation validated by an interpretation of the “covenant verse” (Q. 7:172) The Muḥammadan Arabic book says: 106 “When your Lord took from the Children of Adam, from their loins, their seed, and made them testify concerning themselves [saying]: ‘Am I not your Lord?’ they said: ‘Of course. We testify’” (Q. 7:172) when they saw the signs and knowledge that He promised to reveal to them and bring as evidence against them. […] On the day of resurrection, they will say: “We have overlooked the revelation of the form of the eternal Lord in the forms and states (of people), and He showed them His signs and knowledge and struck a covenant with them. His meaning here is that He would come to them in a human form and ask them to believe. And they would then say: ‘What is your sign for this?’ And He would answer: ‘My demonstration of my power and knowledge in which I have appeared on this day.’ And when He installed them in bodies and created shapes for them, and sent them prophets to reprove them and show them God’s wonders and His knowledge, the wise acknowledged it, whereas the ignorant were perplexed, the sceptics refrained from expressing their minds, and the heretics denied it.” (Kitāb al-usūs, folios 68a– 68b; ed. Dandashi, p. 145) g) ʿAlī’s incarnation illustrated by the incarnation of Jesus [The prophets] prophesied […] that God would appear and reveal Himself. Then came ʿAlī ( as His incarnation) and revealed His spirit in the form [of a man] born of a virgin (Q. 66:12) “who guarded her virginity”, so We breathed into her of Our spirit, and she confirmed the Words of her Lord the “ayn” 107 ( =ʿAlī) and His Books, and became one of the obedient through knowledge of God; and he [ʿAlī] concealed himself in the essence of Mary (maryamiyya). 108 (Kitāb al-usūs, folios 68b– 69a; ed. Dandashi, p. 146)

106. This term for the Qurʾan seems to imply a certain reservation, as compared to the venerated status of the Qurʾan in Islam. On the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī attitude to the Qurʾan, see the Introduction. 107. The author of Kitāb al-usūs weaves into the Qurʾanic verse the title al-ʿayn, namely ʿAlī – an attribute of God (rabbihā = her Lord) – mentioned in the verse. 108. Here maryamiyya, derived from her name in Arabic, Maryam, denotes the

84

The Mystery of the Divinity h) God’s incarnation in angels, prophets and messengers When God dwells in [a prophet] or wishes to be manifested in a prophet or a messenger whom He has sent to the believer, He transforms His form to another form. And then, if He wishes, He changes His form to another shape [of an angel], so that he [the prophet] recognizes that the angel is the house of God where God’s power resides and that He has transferred it from His shape to another shape, so that the prophet or messenger may desire God to distinguish him with what He has distinguished that angel in whom He resided. (Kitāb al-usūs, folios 23a–b; ed. Dandashi, p. 96) i) God’s incarnation in the Imams (a) [The imam] Abū Jaʿfar [Muḥammad al-Bāqir] said: God is revealed but not visible, near but not sensed. [Ibn ʿUqba] said: I say: Praise be to God, Who is not concealed from us. [Al-Bāqir] answered: Do you know [for certain] that He is not concealed from you? I answered: Yes, my master. He then asked: Who is He? I answered: You are He. (Al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb al-maʿārif, p. 55) j) God’s incarnation in the Imams (b) [The Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq said]: Whoever claims that he believes in an invisible God has no God; and whoever claims that he believes in an unfathomable God is from the camp of the devil of devils (iblīs al-abālisa).

interior essence of Mary. On the common practice, in Nuṣayrī texts, of creating abstract nouns to denote spiritual qualities, the names of emanations, etc., see the Introduction, p. 53, note 19 and p. 115, note 18.

85

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology [Al-Ṣādiq] further said: Whoever seeks God Who is present among His creatures, and Who has neither rival nor opponent – indeed I am He. (Al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb al-maʿārif, p. 54-55) k) God’s incarnation in the Imams (c) [A rival Nuṣayrī group] says: This person is God and that person is God. By that they mean a created and limited person [in his form] when power is manifested in him; and they believe that God is the source of his power. They claim that this power is the Imam’s speech to his audience. He [the Imam] is their God and they have no path leading to the concealment. 109 They advocate the view that He has a human form because they assume that God can speak only through a human form. They believe, then, in words that pass from one Imam to another whereas the form vanishes. (Al-Nashshābī Munāẓara, folio 150a-b) l) A moderate concept of incarnation Al-Khaṣībī, may God bless his soul, said concerning the form that it is not the totality of the Creator, nor is the Creator something other than the form. By this he both affirmed and denied it [i.e. the form]. Thus the affirmation is a proof of the existence [of God] while the denial is the abstraction of the Creator from being circumscribed by form. By this he demonstrated that the maʿnā, the One, the Eternal, named Himself concealment (al-ghayb) and all the other divine names. He abstracted Himself from the human form when the divine knowledge and power were manifested by Him. This is [the God] I worship and [this is] what I hold. (Al-Mufaḍḍal b. ʿUmar al-Juʿfī, Kitāb ithnāʿashara ḥarf, folios 143a-b)

109. That is, their faith in an incarnated God prevents – according to the author – the recognition of the transcendental God.

86

The Mystery of the Divinity m) A polemic against hierarchic theology and incarnation Our teacher (al-Khaṣībī), may God illuminate his face, said: “The giver of names is called by seven names”. In this statement, the possibility that ʿAlī is a name expressing the human aspect is negated. And because he is the one who gives names to all things that he has defined as the roots of knowledge; and it is he who knows each thing by its name, origin and essence, and this [knowledge] is the language of things and the roots of the alphabet letters and the divine aspect of God – when you say “God”, it is indeed the maʿnā; and when you say “Ilāh” (‫ = اله‬God), if you mean the maʿnā, then you are right; and if you mean the ism, then you are [also] right. And [the name] Ilāh [comprises] three [Arabic letters], and [the name] ʿAlī comprises three [letters], and He is the maʿnā. And if one of the unitarians says that ʿAlī is a power among the powers of Allāh the Creator, and that the maʿnā is other than Him, 110 then he is a polytheist and heretic, and belongs to the party of Abū Dhuhayba, 111 may God curse him. Likewise, whoever says that the maʿnā abides in a human form, flesh and blood, and speaks through it, is leading himself to perdition and dwells in the realm of denial and destruction of life. And the unassailable answer to this group, the mukhammisa, 112 who renewed this renegade view, is found in all the books of the unitarians. And none of them should be considered as a believer or unifier of God, since only one who unifies the prince of the believers (ʿAlī), the bald with big belly, the revealed, the hidden and the mysterious, may be called a unifier of God. Whoever denies and doubts him, pointing to a created form expressed in speech, hearing or sight, or by a soul, a hand or a foot, or by up or down, front or behind, or in any part of the body, and

110. This reflects the more infrequent Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī position regarding the existence of a supreme God above the trinity. See the introduction to the theological section, p. 21-22 and 47. 111. This is the title of Ismāʿīl b. Khallād al-Baʿlbakkī, a disciple of Isḥāq b. Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī al-Aḥmar, founder of the Isḥāqiyya, a rival sister-sect of the Nuṣayriyya. According to the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī author Muḥammad Amīn Ghālib al-Ṭawīl (Taʾrīkh al-ʿalawiyyīn, p. 262-264), the centre of the Isḥāqiyya sect, under the leadership of Abū Dhuhayba, transferred from Aleppo to the Nuṣayrī mountain and from there to the coastal region of Latakia. For further details, see M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 17, n. 61. 112. See the introduction to this section, above, p. 80, note 97.

87

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology whoever imagines the maʿnā, may he be exalted and glorified speaking to him through all these – he is indeed a heretic and a blasphemer, may God curse him and anyone holding his view. (Al-Mufaḍḍal b. ʿUmar al-Juʿfī, Kitāb ithnāʿashara ḥarf, folios 131a-b) n) Incarnation and the Jews “And for the evildoing on the part of the Jews, We have forbidden them certain good things that were permitted to them, and for their barring [many from God’s way, and for their practising usury, which they were prohibited from, and consuming the wealth of the people in vain; and We have prepared for the unbelievers among them a painful chastisement”.] (Q. 4:160-161). 113 Thus, their denial of the deity’s incarnation in prophets and heirs [awṣiyāʾ], 114 “and the prohibition on [their entering] the holy mosque and on their practising usury […]” (Q. 8:34) is [the reason] for their punishment through reincarnation and condemnation. And the “holy mosque” is to prevent the Jews from recognizing the man [in whom God is incarnate]. They distort His words and break His covenant for their own good, not for the good of others, and do not find atonement for their souls. This is the difference between the Creator and the creature, between the servant and the worshipped, and between the reward for good and the warning of punishment. (Kitāb al-usūs, folios 46a; ed. Dandashi, p. 123)

3. Cyclical revelation of the deity According to the belief prevalent in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī writings, the divinity was revealed through human history in seven cycles, although there is also an alternative concept – found, for example, in al-Khaṣībī’s al-Risāla al-rastbāshiyya – in which the number of cycles exceeds seven. In every historical cycle the trinitarian deity was incarnated in figures prominent in biblical, Christian, Iranian, Greek and, 113. The author introduces here the words of the Qurʾan, presenting God’s commandments to the Jews as punishment for their sins, and expands on their sins to include the gravest sin of their denying the incarnation. 114. This refers to the Imams, descendants of ʿAlī and Fāṭima.

88

The Mystery of the Divinity finally, Muslim history. There is a general consensus regarding the identity of the first two figures of each trinitarian appearance, while the identity of the third figure varies in the sources. According to several writings, the pairs in whom the maʿnā and the ism were incarnated in the first six cycles were Abel and Adam, Seth and Noah, Joseph and Jacob, Joshua and Moses, Asaph and Solomon, and Peter and Jesus. A somewhat different list of the figures in whom the maʿnā was incarnated is given by al-Ṭabarānī in Majmūʿ al-aʿyād: Seth, Idris (namely, Enoch), Aaron, Joshua, Asaph, Simon-Peter and ʿAlī (named as al-amīn al-maʾmūn). 115 The reason for this order of appearance, with a son preceding his father and a disciple his teacher, becomes apparent in relation to the seventh and last appearance of the trinity in the figures of ʿAlī, Muḥammad and Salmān. It was the placing of ʿAlī above Muḥammad – a feature common to several heterodox Shīʿī sects – that apparently determined, in previous cycles as well, the reversed order of appearance of the figures in whom the maʿnā and ism were manifested. The bābs in the first six cycles were Gabriel, Yāʾil ibn Fātin, Ḥam son of Kūsh, Dan son of Sabaot, ʿAbd Allāh b. Sinan and Ruzbih ibn Marzban, 116 though as already noted there are also variant series of bābs. In addition to the principal manifestation of the trinity in every cycle, the trinity also appears in minor revelations in the different generations of each cycle. Very detailed descriptions of the revelations in the secondary figures (al-ẓhuhūrāt al-muthuliyya) are set forth in al-Risāla al-rastbāshiyya. 117 An important aspect of the cyclical appearance of the deity, well illustrated in al-Risāla al-rastbāshiyya – as well as in the text c below from Majmūʿ al-aʿyād – is the dynamic of transformation in the figures of the trinity in the transition from one period to another. This, in fact, applies the concept of the dynamic principle in the realm of divine emanations, noted above in the works of al-Ṣāʾigh, to the notion of cyclical incarnation. The idea of the maʿnā’s revelation in historical cycles was also adapted to a distinct docetic concept, according to which each cycle sees the maʿnā manifested in the figure of a nāṭiq (speaker) 118 – a

115. See al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb majmūʿ al-aʿyād, p. 78. 116. On this series of names, see the notes in the Introduction, p. 22. 117. See al-Khaṣībī, al-Risāla al-rastbāshiyya, p. 201-207. 118. The term nāṭiq is common in Ismāʿīlī doctrine and in the Druze religion that broke away from it, but infrequent in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī literature. According to Ismāʿīlī

89

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology historical personality who represents Him, usually a prophet, a figure of flesh and blood. This is a voluntary act of the maʿnā. When the maʿnā wishes to conceal himself, he causes the death of the nāṭiq, yet the imprint of the nāṭiq, in whom the maʿnā was manifested, remains engraved on people’s consciousness. This semi-docetic idea does not entirely tally with the docetic conviction that the the maʿnā is not revealed in any form capable of containing him; it seems to reflect an attempt to reconcile a docetic view of incarnation with the notion of cyclical revelation. In other words, the maʿnā is indeed revealed to his believers for a short term in a human figure, and after his disappearance they continue to see the historical figure in whom He appeared for a while. This figure now persists solely in their consciousness, as representing the deity, whereas in truth the maʿnā has returned to the state of concealment (ghayba). The maʿnā, however, is not necessarily revealed in his totality, but only in his visible aspect, that is, through the persons that emanated from him, namely his ism and bāb. 119 a) ʿAlī’s manifestation in the historical cycles Abū l-Ḥusayn Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-Jillī, in the name of al-Ḥusayn b. Ḥamdān al-Khaṣībī, in the name of Salmān the Persian, who said: “I was in the presence of the prince of the believers (ʿAlī), and with him were al-Ḥasan, al-Ḥusayn, ʿAmmār b. Yāsir, Abū Dharr Jundab b. Janāda and a group of his followers”. One of those present said: “O our master, God’s messenger said: ‘The cursed woman is bound to fight you and treat you maliciously’”. 120

doctrine, human history is divided into seven historical epochs, also called cycles (adwār or akwār), each inaugurated by a “speaking” prophet (nāṭiq) in charge of the revelation of a new religion which abrogates its predecessor. In addition to each of the speaking prophets there was a “silent” prophet (ṣāmit) who was in charge of the religion’s esoteric aspect. On this concept, see F. Daftary, A Short History of the Ismailis, Edinburgh 1988, p. 53-54 and 56. 119. On the general concept of the deity’s appearance in historical cycles, see M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 28-30 and elsewhere (according to the index); Y. Friedman, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs, p. 112-115. 120. Noteworthy here is the radical nature of the phrase “the cursed woman” (al-laʿīna), ascribed to Muḥammad in reference to his beloved wife (ʿĀʾisha). The event in question is the Battle of the Camel (waqʿat al-jamal) in 656.

90

The Mystery of the Divinity Our master (ʿAlī) then said: “Indeed, this is ʿĀʾisha, who fought me yesterday, riding a giraffe and looking yellow, and I am Joshua son of Nun; and she will fight me tomorrow, she is Red ʿĀʾisha, riding a camel, and I am ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib.” One of those present asked: “O our master, have you been in the days of Moses?” [Ali] answered: “Where have I not been?! I hid in the figure of Adam in his age and cycle, and was called Abel. I hid in the figure of Noah in his age and cycle, and was called Seth. I hid in Jacob in his age and cycle, and was called Joseph. I hid in the figure of Moses, and was called Joshua. I hid in the figure of Solomon in his age and cycle, and was called Asaph. I hid in the figure of Jesus in his age and cycle, and was called Simon [Peter]. I hid in the figure of Muḥammad in his age and cycle, and was called ʿAlī. I am the creator of cycles and the maker of ages (mukawwir al-akwār wa-mudawwir al-adwār). I am the lord of eras and times. I am the striker of springs and the maker of clouds, and I am the eloquent. I am the giver of signs and the [holy] book.” 121 (Al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb al-maʿārif, p. 165-166) b) The manifestation of the maʿnā and the ism as persons in seven cycles Question: How many times did our master veil himself and appear in human form? Answer: He veiled himself seven times. The first time, he veiled himself in [the figure of] Adam in his cycle and age, and was named Abel; the second time – in Noah, and was named Seth; the third time – in Jacob, and was named Joseph; the fourth time – in Moses, and was named Joshua; the fifth time – in Solomon, and was named Asaph; the sixth time – in Jesus, and was named Simon [Peter]; and the seventh and last time – in Muḥammad, and was named ʿAlī. (A Catechism of the Nuṣayrī Religion, p. 201 [Arabic]; p. 171 [English translation])

121. Some of the qualities from the rich stock of depictions – also familiar from early Imāmī Shīʿī literature – emphasizing ʿAlī’s superhuman nature.

91

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology c) The revelation of the deity to the Persians and its transition to the Arabs The mawlā ( = God incarnated in the figure of ʿAlī) revealed Himself in [the figures of] the kings of Persia, and manifested in them his names (isms), his gates (bābs) and the ranks of his holiness – namely, the great luminous world. Our master al-Khaṣībī – may God sanctify his spirit – clarified this in his epistle 122 and his treatise “on the sequence [of divine manifestations]” (fī-l-siyāqa), 123 saying: Adam, having concealed himself, revealed himself in [the figure of] Enosh; Seth, who was then the maʿnā, removed him and revealed himself in a form similar to his [Adam’s =Enosh’s]. Adam then revealed himself in [the figure of] Alexander, “the two-horned”; 124 Daniel, who was then the maʿnā, removed him and revealed himself in a form similar to his [Adam’s =Alexander’s]. Adam then revealed himself during the Persian era in [the figure of] Ardashīr, son of Pāpaq the Persian, 125 the first of the Persian kings of the Sassanid dynasty; 126 [Alexander] “the twohorned”, who was then the maʿnā, removed him and revealed himself in a form similar to his [Adam’s =Ardashīr’s]. Adam then revealed himself in [the figure of] Shāpūr, son of Ardashīr. 127 Ardashīr, who was then the maʿnā, removed him and revealed himself in a form similar to his [Adam’s =Shāpūr’s]. Adam then revealed himself in the House of the Arabs – in [the figure of] Luʾay son of Ghālib. Luʾay was given this name because he turned (alwā) the [divine] lights from the land of Persia to the land of the Ḥijāz 128 – for [the persons of the trinity, i.e.] the maʿnā, the ism and the bāb manifested themselves there. [God], however, left the representatives (maqāmāt) of His wisdom 129 122. A reference to the epistle known as al-Risāla al-rastbāshiyya. 123. This work is the first part of al-Risāla al-rastbāshiyya. For further details, see the Introduction, p. 16. 124. This epithet for Alexander, which is found in the Qurʾan (18:83), reflects the myth that God endowed him with two horns with which he was destined to attack and subdue his enemies. 125. Ardashīr I (ruled 224-241), conqueror of Iran and the first Sassanid king. 126. The Sassanid kings are known in Arabic by the name Akāsira (sing. Kisrā). 127. Shāpūr I, son of Ardashīr I (ruled 241-272). 128. A play on words: according to the author, the mythic ancestor of the Arabs, Luʾay, derives his name from the root l.w.y in the sense of “turned”, and in his day, the revelation was “turned” from the Persians to the Arabs. 129. In Arabic: maqāmāt ḥikmatihi, divine entities or powers that emanated from the supreme trinity.

92

The Mystery of the Divinity so that it (the wisdom) would pass among their kings. [Moreover], He established an image of [the trinity] of the maʿnā, the ism and the bāb [in the figures of the kings] Shirvīn, Khirvīn and Khosrow up to Khosrow Aparwez, son of Anushirvān. 130 [Khosrow] later “changed and falsified [the true Nuṣayrī religion], was arrogant and opposed the master Muḥammad. Kingship was cut off from the Persians, because of Khosrow’s disobedience.” (Al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb majmūʿ al-aʿyād, p. 188-189) d) A mythic-historical account of the deity’s manifestations Know, God have mercy on you, that Adam is the master Muḥammad, and Eve is Khadīja, and the beginning of the maʿnā’s appearance among humans (fī-l bashariyya) is in the [figure of Abel]; and Cain, God curse him, was the cursed enemy (ḍidd). 131 And when Abel appeared, Adam ordered Cain to obey him, worship him and submit to his authority. But Cain boasted and rebelled, and said: “I will not do it, since what you order me to do is not what God had commanded, but it is rather your choice to favour my brother Abel over me, although he is younger than me in age”. Abel said to him: “Woe to you, my brother, do you reject your father’s words? Let us agree on something between us, 132 and then you will see that I speak the truth whereas you deny it; and I am the one with authority (ṣāḥib al-amr) and you have no share in it”. (Cain) asked: “What is it that you order me to do?” Abel replied: “I shall sacrifice and you will sacrifice; I shall pray and you will pray. For whomever God brings down fire from heaven that consumes his sacrifice, he is the one whose words were heard, his prayer answered and his sacrifice accepted”. Cain said: “By God, your father did not do such a thing [in his disputation] with Satan. Where then did you get this [idea]”? 133

130. Khosrow II (ruled 590-628). 131. ḍidd (lit. opposite, against) is a name for the demonic powers of the negative emanation, parallel to the luminous emanations in the divine realm. 132. Abel’s words are a paraphrase of the words in the Qurʾan addressed to the People of the Book (ahl al-kitāb, Q. 3:64). 133. A reference to the dispute between Adam and Satan (see e.g., Q. 2:34-36;

93

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology Abel said: “Come, I shall sacrifice and you will sacrifice”. Then each sacrificed his sacrifice. Abel prayed and a fire descended from heaven, burned and consumed the sacrifice completely without leaving a shred upon the earth. Cain said: “Teach me the prayer to your God so I may also pray [this prayer]”. Abel said to him: “[I will teach you if] you acknowledge that I am the one with authority and right [to rule]”. [Cain] said: Had I acknowledged that, I would have obeyed you. Then Cain prayed but no fire descended from heaven, his prayer was not answered and his sacrifice was not received. He said to his brother: “You are a sorcerer, you bewitched the fire until it consumed your sacrifice, and did not go over my sacrifice”. And he begrudged him and killed him […]. God then sent two angels, Gabriel and Michael, in the figure of two ravens. 134 Gabriel here is Salsal 135 and Michael is al-Miqdād […]. Adam was manifested in [the figure of] ʿAbd Allāh, 136 from whom came Muḥammad. The ism then [comprised] two personalities: ʿAbd Allāh and Muḥammad. ʿAbd Allāh was concealed and the ism Muḥammad remained [alone]. Then ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib 137 was concealed and [again] the ism Muḥammad remained, from whom his five persons were manifested. The maʿnā appeared in the figure of the prince of bees (amīr al-naḥl = ʿAlī), 138 son of Abū Ṭālib. The mīm ( =Muḥammad) [comprised] five persons: Muḥammad, Fāṭir ( =Fāṭima), al-Ḥasan, al-Ḥusayn and Muḥsin, just as the ism appeared in the figure of five persons in the days of Lot: Ibrāhīm, Ismāʿīl,

7:11-12). 134. The raven motif is also Qurʾanic, but its context here is different. The Qurʾan mentions a raven sent to teach Cain how to bury his brother Abel, an idea that also appears in the Midrash Pirkei Rabbi Eliʿezer (Chapters of Rabbi Eliezer) 21, apparently an 8th-century work. See A. Geiger, Judaism and Islam, trans. F. M. Young, Madras 1898, p. 80-81. 135. One of the names of Salmān al-Fārisī, the bāb. 136. This ʿAbd Allāh is Muḥammad’s father. 137. ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib is Muḥammad’s paternal grandfather. 138. “The prince of bees” (amīr al-naḥl) is one of ʿAlī’s reputed names. The bees are an image for Shīʿī believers. Alī is also called yaʿsūb al-muʾminīm (“king of bees”, i.e. the believers).

94

The Mystery of the Divinity Isḥāq, Elias ( =Elijah) and Quṣay. 139 The maʿnā then appeared in his essence, not through one of his creatures. The mīm was concealed and Adam (who is) the fāʾ and the [three] ḥāʾs remained, 140 namely, Fāṭir, al-Ḥasan, al-Ḥusayn and Muḥsin. Muḥsin then disappeared, being the concealed ism to whom people pray saying: “O God, I address You [through] Your concealed ism, who was not manifested from you but to you”, since the eyes of the deniers have not seen him. And the mīm remained, being the fāʾ and the two ḥāʾs, al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn. Then the fāʾ was concealed, so that the mīm remained only as the two ḥāʾs. It was then that the maʿnā wished to be manifested in his essential, invisible, abstract and exalted form. 141 (Al-Khaṣībī, al-Risāla al-rastbāshiyya, p. 189-191, 207-208)

139. Quṣay is the ancestor of the Quraysh, Muḥammad’s tribe. 140. Namely, the three persons whose names contain the letter ḥāʾ: al-Ḥasan, al-Ḥusayn and Muḥsin. 141. This description of the divinity’s revelation in the last cycle, in the figures of the holy family, is followed by an account of its manifestation in the Imams of the Twelver Shīʿa, descendants of ʿAlī and Fāṭima.

95

CHAPTER 2 REINCARNATION

1. Introduction

t

belief in reincarnation in its various forms is fundamental to the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion and is recorded, as noted in the introduction, in early Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī writings from the initial stages of the religion’s history. 1 As in the Druze religion and in various heterodox Muslim groups, the idea of reincarnation in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion offers a different solution to the question of retribution from the one common to both Sunnī and Shīʿī Islam. In Muslim doctrine, founded on the Qurʾan and Hadith literature, the retribution for a person’s acts is given on the Day of Judgment, when his fate is decided between punishment and mercy, paradise or hell. The notion of reincarnation introduces an alternative concept of retribution: believers who have sinned are destined to be reincarnated in fauna, flora and inanimate matter, each according to the gravity of his sins. The first text cited below is from Kitāb al-ṣirāt, ascribed to al-Mufaḍḍal b. ʿUmar al-Juʿfī. 2 Entitled “a chapter regarding the garments of light and the garments of darkness,” it offers a succinct description of the doctrine of reincarnation, a central subject of the treatise. In the second text translated below from al-Risāla al-rastbāshiyya, al-Khaṣībī presents a detailed account of the way in which a believer’s soul is reincarnated in another body. The author’s description, given he

1. 2.

See above, p. 25-27. Al-Mufaḍḍal b. ʿUmar al-Juʿfī, Kitāb al-ṣirāt, in ms. Paris, BnF, arabe 1449, folios 86a-182a; ed. L. Capezzone, Rivista degli Studi Orientali 69 (1996), p. 295-416.

97

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology in the name of Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq and drawing on the Qurʾan, mentions the rhyming terms for the five degrees – naskh, maskh, waskh, faskh and raskh 3 – representing the different kinds of reincarnation that a person’s soul undergoes. He defines in detail each degree. The description is integrated into a comprehensive system of retribution, in which the amending of the believer’s soul begins from the moment it passes into the embryo in its mother’s womb, and the process of rectification continues throughout the life of the believer. The naskh is the preferred form of reincarnation, since the transference of a soul from one person’s body to another indicates that his sins are not overly severe and may be easily amended once his soul is granted the opportunity of new life in another human body. Al-Khaṣībī goes on to describe the other four degrees. The maskh is a degree whose essence is the transfer of the sinful soul into an animal. Regarding this form of reincarnation, al-Khaṣībī adduces the Qurʾanic verses recounting the punishment of Jews and Christians, through his use of the root m-skh, which in the Qurʾan denotes their transformation into monkeys and pigs. 4 Exceptional among the forms of reincarnation and transformation is the faskh, the mutual exchange of souls between two living persons. When a person experiences such a transformation “his form is impaired and transformed [to the extent] that his family and friends do not recognize him, swearing that he is not the same person they know”. 5 The waskh is an especially degraded form of reincarnation, by which the human soul passes into reptiles and tiny marine and terrestrial creatures. The raskh is a reincarnation into inanimate matter, such as metals and minerals of various kinds. In the third text, from Kitāb al-maʿārif by al-Ṭabarānī, the author introduces a Hadith from his teacher Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Jillī, also attributed to the great master al-Khaṣībī, which conveys mythical and magical aspects of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion that are also well known from Imāmī Shīʿism. 6 This tradition, based on the above-noted

3. 4. 5. 6.

98

These terms are also familiar from other sources. See, e.g., al-Adhanī, al-Bākūra1, p. 11; al-Bākūra2, p. 21. In Q.2:65 and 7:166, where only the Jews are mentioned; and in Q.5:60, which speaks of the transformation of ahl al-kitāb – a term that includes Christians – into monkeys and pigs. See al-Khaṣībī, al-Risāla al-rastbāshiyya, p. 235. See M. M. Bar-Asher, Scripture and Exegesis in Early Imāmī Shiism, Leiden – Jerusalem 1999, p. 200-201.

Reincarnation Qurʾan verses describing the punishment of the Israelites through reincarnation (maskh) as monkeys, mentions twenty-four groups among the sons of Israel, who were reincarnated in various marine and terrestrial animals. Here there is evidence – as in Imāmī literature, where similar descriptions appear – of ʿAlī’s magical power and the supernatural qualities it endows. He is portrayed strolling along the shores of seas and rivers, meeting animals and conversing with them. When he enquires about their identity, they tell him that they are a group of the Israelites whom God has punished by transforming them to animals. Whereas in the Qurʾan their sin is the desecration of the Sabbath, in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī tradition evinced here, and in Shīʿī tradition generally, it is their refusal to pledge allegiance to ʿAlī and his descendants. 7 The fourth text, edited by Rudolf Strothmann, illustrates the place of this belief among Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs in recent generations. 8

2. On the knowledge of the garments of light and the garments of  darkness Know, Mufaḍḍal, that there are ranks and degrees [as regards knowing the mysteries of the divinity], and two persons are never equal in their rank of knowledge. Each person has degree, rank and status in knowledge. [Different] too, then, are the bodies into which they transmigrate (yunqalūna), into garments other than those they take off. Thus, Mufaḍḍal, a person does not cease to abide in this [new rank] which is his garment and body. And when he ascends to a superior rank to the one he is in, he is attired in a more exquisite, purer and better garment than the one he took off, according to the rank to

7. 8.

Ibid. See R. Strothmann, “Die Nuṣairī. Nach Ms. arab. Berlin 4291,” in Documenta islamica inedita. Festschrift für Richard Hartmann, Berlin 1952, p. 176-177. For other contemporary accounts, see S. Procházka, “Von der Wiedergeburt bei den alawiten von Adana,” in W. Arnold and H. Bobzin (ed.), ‘Sprich doch mit deinen Knechten aramäich, wir verstehen es!’: 60 Beiträge zur Semitistik: Festschrift für Otto Jastrow zum 60. Geburtstag, Wiesbaden 2002, p. 560-561 (Arabic text), p. 562-564 (German translation); L. Prager, “The Miracle of Rebirth Stigmata, Transmigration, and the Remembrance of Former Lives in Alawi Religion,” in S. Kurz, C. Preckel and S. Reichmuth (eds.), Muslim Bodies, Body, Sexuality and Medicine in Muslim Societies, Münster – Berlin 2016, p. 281-310.

99

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology which he has ascended. If he is a person who has transgressed, sinned, doubted, suspected, erred and become perplexed – it is imperative that he should be demoted [from his rank] and be divested of his garment, and be dressed in a murky, dark garment inferior to the one he has taken off. (Kitāb al-ṣirāt, folio 152b; ed. L. Capezzone, p. 378)

3. Reincarnation as retribution for the believer’s sins (Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq) was asked about the gnostic [al-ʿārif]: 9 when does he become pure and luminous; and about the denier: when does he become murky and heretic. He answered: Regarding the gnostic, when he has fulfilled all duties towards God, and there remains no lie that he has not refuted. And concerning the heretic, he will not be harmed, that is, he will not be incarnated in [any of these reincarnation categories] – naskh, maskh, waskh, faskh, and raskh – unless he disavows all his duties towards God, may He be exalted, denies them and adopts all forms of deceit, advocates them and follows them. Then the transition of the gnostic from humanity to luminosity will take place and the denying heretic will be reincarnated in the [various] degrees of reincarnation. [The disciple] said: This is a clear explanation and a manifest truth. What then are the five degrees of reincarnation (tanāsukh) in which the denying heretic is reincarnated? We said: These are the five degrees that we noted and explained. And regarding the naskh, it refers to whoever transmigrates from one human body to another. [The disciple] asked: How does he reincarnate from one body to another? We answered him: When he completes his share of years on earth, a drop of him is created, passing to a womb and abiding there until it becomes a new creature.

9.

100

“The gnostic” (al-ʿārif) is a common description of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī believer, who should always strive for knowledge (maʿrifa) of the divine mysteries.

Reincarnation [The disciple] said: I raise this question before you: What is the process that the drop abiding in the womb undergoes in order to become a new creature? We said to him: The knower ( =Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq) 10 said: It becomes a white drop for twenty days, then a drop of coagulated blood for twenty days, then it becomes flesh-crusted blood for twenty days, then it turns into bone for twenty days, then it becomes a lump of flesh for twenty days, then it consolidates, takes shape, being created as a new creature for twenty days, and thus its creation, formation and shape are completed and it remains static, without a soul to move it, as in the words of God [in the Qurʾan]: “We created man from an extraction of clay, then We set him, a drop, in a secure receptacle, then We created from the drop a clot, then We created tissue from the clot, then We created bones from the tissue, then We clothed the bones in flesh; thereafter We produced him as another creature. So blessed be God, the fairest of creators!” (Q. 23:12-14). [The disciple] said: How wonderful is this testimony on the course of the drop! But how does the soul work her way to the person? We said to him: A dead person’s soul, upon completing his days, passes to that embryo in his mother’s womb and finds its way to him. Then he makes a miniscule movement such as the motion of the eyelashes when the eye blinks. This is so, due to the soul’s weakness resulting from the strenuous entering [of the body]. And if he is a gnostic, his knowledge and faith grow and his soul passes into that embryo with stamina, ease and pleasantness. When the soul enters him, he stirs with a powerful motion and settles comfortably in his mother’s womb, contemplating his deeds and remembering his reply to [God’s] calling on the Day of Shadows (yawm al-aẓilla), 11 and his deeds in every body into which he made his way and was reincarnated, until he does not forget anything. Then he is nourished with the best food that his mother eats, and he drinks the tastiest drinks that she drinks, and he is pleased and does not feel the darkness in her womb, and he is happy with the growing knowledge of God and anything else that he

10. “The knower” (al-ʿālim) is a frequent appellation of the Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq, one of the prominent Imams of Twelver Shīʿism and an important figure in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī tradition as well. 11. This is the day on which God made a covenant with souls in the pre-cosmic world of shadows (see Introduction, p. 24-26).

101

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology gained from the Day of Shadows until this day. Then he feels bliss and trusts his master to purify him and join him to the elite of the people of knowledge. He is content and abides in confidence and joy until the completion of seven months from the entrance of the drop until that time. And if God allows him to be born, he is born at the end of the seventh month; and if God delays his birth, he is born at the end of nine full months, and then his birth occurs gently, softly, with ease and health until he comes out [into the world]. When he sees the world, he bursts out crying for having abandoned the pleasantness and security in his mother’s womb, and when he undergoes all the acts of birth, he recalls all his deeds in his mother’s womb and all he has experienced from the Day of Shadows until that day. He sees and knows and remembers [all these things] and does not forget them for twentyfour months which are the number of suckling months. When his speech becomes eloquent and his mind strengthened, his knowledge of [past] things diminishes, and he forgets them until they vanish entirely and he no longer talks about them nor remembers them, and he is afraid of entering the world of sin and punishment. He acts according to his spirit until his knowledge and purity attain perfection, and he returns to the luminosity that we mentioned above, and to what God prepares for him. And the heretic, upon completing his share of life, his soul is taken and passes strenuously and painfully into the embryo in his mother’s womb as we have noted. Then he falls into stress, suffering, misery and darkness, as if passing through the eye of a needle; 12 his grief is prolonged and, in his reincarnation, he recalls and sees all the acts of heresy he has accumulated and his denial from the Day of Shadows until now. Then his suffering and self-pity are prolonged [so much] that he wishes the earth would open its mouth and he would turn into dust. His food is of the greatest stench in his mother’s womb, and his drink is from her urine, and he is in constant nightmares, sickness and torments, until he becomes worthy of coming out from [the womb] after seven or nine months. When he bursts into the world and sees it, he screams out of fear of falling from bad to worse. His fate is the difficulty of the contractions and birth and the miring in excrement,

12. The phrase “the eye of a needle” comes from the Qurʾan, apparently adopted from the New Testament (“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God,” Mark 10:25, Luke 18:25).

102

Reincarnation and all he wishes is to be forgotten in the realm of oblivion. He sees his bad deeds, recalls and laments them for the twenty-four months of suckling. Then he forgets what he did and accumulated and does not remember, and he reaches [the world] unwillingly and resumes his abundant heresy and viciousness. And because he commits evil acts he deserves in this state of perfect heresy the sufferings that God noted in His book: “And We shall surely let them taste the nearer chastisement, before the greater; haply so they will return” (Q. 32:21). “The nearer chastisement” is his reincarnation and transition (maskhuhu wa-naqluhu) into animals from among the livestock with its eight kinds, 13 and into the bodies of animals such as mules and donkeys, and into wild animals and fowl, insects and reptiles. He then reincarnates also into silver and gold refined in the furnace, and then into iron and copper, and thereafter into lead; in all of these he is reincarnated, beginning with the elephant and the camel down to thin or tiny creatures so he may be able to pass through the eye of a needle. This is what God, may He be exalted, noted in his words: “nor shall they enter Paradise until the camel passes through the eye of a needle” (Q. 7:40). The greatest punishment will take place in “the white return, the shining comeback and the uncovering of the veil” (al-rajʿa al-bayḍʾā wa-l-karra al-zahrāʾ wa-kashf al-ḥijāb). 14 And this is “a day whereof the measure is fifty thousand years” (Q. 70:4). And it is the person (shakhṣ) 15of Salmān, and it is the day of trouble and the day of resurrection and the day when all people will assemble and the day that will be seen, the day of falling in the trap, the day of avarice and the day God 16 cautioned the people, saying: “And fear a day on which you shall be returned to God, and every soul shall be paid in full what it has earned; and they shall not be wronged” (Q. 2:281). [The disciple] said: All this is true, and the testimony to it from the book is true. Explain to us, then, the meaning of the five degrees of reincarnation and transition. We said to him: The naskh is the passage of a soul from body to body. The maskh is the passage of a soul with its body, as in God’s

13. An allusion to Q. 39:6. 14. These are common expressions in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī literature to denote the eschatological age. 15. On the term shakhṣ, see below, p. 135, note 121. 16. The author lists various Qurʾanic names for the Day of Judgment.

103

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology words, may He be exalted: “We said to them: ‘Be you apes, miserably slinking’!” (Q. 2:65) and they became apes in their bodies, according to His words: “and made some of them apes and swine, and worshippers of idols” (Q. 5:60), and they became as God commanded them. This is then the maskh, namely, [the reincarnation into] idol worshippers and swine whose meat, skin and fur are prohibited [for eating] and touching, as well as into the bodies of [those animals] whose meat, milk, fur, hair and wool are permitted. And when the human soul who passed into it leaves it, then its meat and other organs are permitted [for eating]. And regarding the waskh, it is a reincarnation into the smallest animals such as bats, lizards, beetles, and whatever lives in weeds and excrement, and rats, jerboas, agamas, worms and maggots and the like. And the faskh is [a reincarnation of] a person whose soul departs from him, leaving his body when he is not dead and absent [from our world], passing to another person’s body. This happens in a state of disease or inflammation of the pleura, or malfunction [of the body] or distraction, or sleep, and the other person’s soul enters into him and consequently his nature and temper weaken and alter. Then his family and friends disavow him and his relatives and acquaintances swear that he is not the person they know. And the raskh is the passage of a soul reincarnated into silver, gold, iron, stones, dry wood and sculpting materials, and every soul that is worse than a soul used to a life of comfort and luxury is reincarnated into these tormenting things, as well as into fires and the dirt and excrement found in lavatories, and into carcasses’ intestines. [The disciple] said: You have spoken the truth and explained well the ways of reincarnation and passage [of souls of] the pure and the murky; what then is the proof from God’s book, may He be exalted? We said: His words “Say: Let you be stones, or iron, or some creation yet more monstrous in your mind…” (Q. 17:50) refer to gold and silver. “They will say: Who will bring us back? Say: He who created you the first time. Then they will shake their heads at you, and they will say: When will it be? Say: It is possible that it may be near, on the day when He will call you, and you will answer praising him, and you will think you have but tarried a little” (Q. 17:51). And also, His words, may He be exalted: “God takes the souls at the time of their

104

Reincarnation death, and that which has not died, in its sleep; He withholds that against which He has decreed death, but releases the other till a stated term” (Q. 39:42). [The disciple] said: How beautiful is this proof and how clear the interpretation of the naskh and the passage (naql). How many verses are there [about it] in God’s book? We said: Very many verses, a thousand and nineteen verses. (Al-Khaṣībī, al-risāla al-rastbāshiyya, p. 227-237)

4. The punishment of twenty-four groups of Israelites  reincarnated in animals My erudite teacher Abū al-Ḥusayn Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-Jillī recounted this to me in the name of our master Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn Ḥamdān al-Khaṣībī in the name of [al-Aṣbagh] b. Nubāta, who said: The prince of the believers [ʿAlī] passed by a swamp with croaking frogs. The prince of the believers said to them in Nabataean: “man ajda yatkha hakha?” They answered: “You.” Meaning: “Who put you here?” They answered: “You did”. 17 Our teacher Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn Ḥamdān al-Khaṣībī recounted it in the name of Jaʿfar b. Muḥammad al-Qazwinī […] from al-Aṣbagh b. Nubāta, who said: A group of people came to the prince of the believers [ʿAlī], peace from him, and told him that [the Abbasid caliph] al Muʿtamid 18 says that you claim that this silurid fish is a reincarnation. [ʿAlī] said: Stay in your place until I come out to you. [ʿAlī] took his clothes and came out to them and continued until he reached the bank of the Euphrates in Kūfa, and shouted: O silurid! [The fish] replied: At your command, at your command. The prince of the believers asked him: “Who am I?” [The fish] answered: “You are the prince

17. In the Nabataean i.e. Aramaic version, which is quite distorted, the verb ajdā is used, which we could not find in dictionaries. In the juxtaposed Arabic translation, it is rendered by the verb ṭ-r-ḥ, which means “to put”. The story conveys both ʿAlī’s command of various languages and his ability to converse with animals, a common motif in ancient Oriental literatures, including Shīʿī texts, in which it serves to describe the supernatural powers of the Imams. 18. The ʿAbbaside caliph al-Muʿtamid (870-892).

105

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology of the believers.” [ʿAlī] then asked him: “Who are you?” [The fish] answered: “I am from among those of whom allegiance to you was demanded, and I rejected it and did not accept it. Then I was reincarnated into fish. And some of those who are with you now will be reincarnated in fish as well.” The prince of the believers said to him: “Describe yourself, who were you and who were reincarnated with you?” [The fish] said: “Yes, prince of the believers. We were twenty-four groups of Israelites. We committed acts of abomination and heresy, and we boasted and left the cities and no longer resided in them. We acted arrogantly and dwelled in deserts, wishing to be away from water sources and rivers. Then someone came to us – and you, prince of the believers, and God know better than us who he is – as we were in the house yard, shouted and gathered us all in one place, whereas before we were scattered in those deserts and the wilderness, and he said to us: ‘What is with you? Why did you escape the cities and river and water sources to dwell in these deserts?’ We wanted to answer out of pride and arrogance that we are above the world.” He said to us: “I know what is in your hearts. Are you boastful and arrogant towards God?” We said: “No”. He said: “Did He not make you swear belief in Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allāh of Mecca?” We answered: “Indeed”. He said: “And has he also sworn you to loyalty to his successor ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib?” We remained silent and did not answer with our mouths, and our hearts and intentions were proud and we disbelieved. He asked us: “Why do you not say it with your mouths and hearts?” And then we said it with our mouths and hearts, while our intentions did not accept it. He shouted at us and said: “Reincarnate at God’s command, each group of you in [its] type of reincarnation. O desert, be transformed by God’s command to rivers wherein these people of reincarnation will dwell, and connect to the seas of the world, so there will not be water where you are not to be found”. And so we reincarnated, and we are twenty-four groups of twenty-four types. Twelve groups from among them shout and say: “O powerful from God’s power, save us from the water and set us on earth as you please”. 106

Reincarnation He said: “I am doing that”. The prince of the believers, peace from him, said: “O fish, explain which are the brands of reincarnation in the sea and on earth”. He said: As for the marine creatures, they are us, the fish and tortoises and worms and eels (marmāhī) and waders and crabs and dolphins and frogs, gharmān and swordfish and crocodiles. 19 The prince of the believers said: “And what about the terrestrial creatures?” The fish said: “Lizards, bats, dogs, bears, apes, pigs, agamas and chameleons, monitor lizards, beetles, rabbits and hyenas”. The prince of the believers asked: “Who among you is of human nature?” The fish answered: “Our mouths [only], and God’s wrath on every form and creature, and we all haemorrhage as women do in their menstruation”. The prince of the believers, peace on him, said: “You have said the truth, fish, and remembered well what has been”. The fish said: “O prince of the believers, is there a possibility of atonement after all that?” The prince of the believers, peace be from him, said: “The set date is the day of resurrection, which is the known date, and God is the best of guards, and He is the most merciful among the merciful”. Al-Aṣbagh b. Nubāta said: “We heard, by God, what that fish said and considered it, we wrote it down and presented it to the prince of the believers, and he confirmed it. Some of the people who were present there were reincarnated, and this is a wonder of the marvels of the prince of the believers, his peace be upon us.” (Al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb al-maʿārif, p. 123-126; R. Strothmann, “Seelenwanderung bei den Nuṣairī,” p. 109-111)

19. Some of the marine creatures listed here are unknown to us; see also R. Strothmann, “Seelenwanderung bei den Nuṣairī,” Oriens 12 (1959), p. 99, and note 1. Marmāhī is the Persian word for eel, which is proscribed for eating and considered particularly revulsive according to Muslim legal sources.

107

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology 5. The story of a Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī believer reincarnated in a wolf The Nuṣayrīs uphold the belief in reincarnation in [various] forms. A miserable soul enters [the body] of a pig, dog or wolf, and so forth. A pure soul [of a believer who] gives bread to the hungry and is hospitable, reincarnates in human bodies. One of them recounted that a certain Nuṣayrī had a vineyard where he used to work with his father for many days, until his father’s death. At the time of [picking] the grapes a wolf took over the vineyard, and whenever that [Nuṣayrī] man entered the vineyard he found [the wolf] eating from the grapes, and chased him away. This went on until the vineyard’s owner had enough of it and decided to kill the wolf. But when he wanted to shoot the wolf with his weapon the [wolf] said to him: “O you, would you kill your father for taking a few grapes [from the vineyard] where he spent his entire life working?” The man was startled to see the wolf speaking and asked: “Who is my father?” [The wolf] answered: “I am, and my soul reincarnated into this form, and this is my vineyard that you used to plough together with me”. The man then recalled that his father had hidden a sickle in the vineyard when he last left it, and that it was lost after his father’s death, and he did not know where he had put it. He said to the wolf: “If you speak the truth, tell me where is the sickle with which we used to cut the branches of the vineyard!” [The wolf] said: “Follow me”, and he followed him to the place where his father had put it. Then [the wolf] said: “Here it is!” The man took it and thereafter he let the wolf walk [in the vineyard] as he wished. And the Nuṣayrīs have many stories like this that we have not presented here for the sake of brevity. Every Nuṣayrī is obliged to open an aperture above his house’s door, a sign [of their belief] in reincarnation, so that when a person is born and another dies at the same time, it would not become crowded [at the entrance] at the time of coming and leaving [of the souls]. They are forbidden to eat the [meat] of camel, pig, porcupine and eel and other animals. They are also forbidden to eat a blind, amputated or wild [makhlūʿ] animal. And some of them do not eat the meat of a barren animal [ḥāʾila]. (R. Strothmann, “Die Nuṣairī nach ms. arab. Berlin 4291”, p. 176-177)

108

CHAPTER 3 ANTINOMIANISM, RITUALS AND FESTIVALS

1. Introduction

A

preoccupation with the commandments of Islam and with Muslim festivals and their rituals is amply evident in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī writings, notably in two works by al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb majmūʿ al-aʿyād (Compendium of Festivals) and Kitāb al-maʿārif (Book of Knowledge). Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religious rites are rooted for the most part in Islam, attesting to its deep affinity to the parent religion. However, the emphasis on precepts and rituals is not intended to inculcate an obedience to Muslim rules; on the contrary, it is to infuse the rules with a new content that abrogates their literal sense and invests them with an antinomian dimension. Al-Ṭabarānī’s two works, for example, are essentially an introduction to a new interpretation of Islam’s commandments – above all, of the five “Pillars of Islam” (arkān al-islām) and its holidays. This is amply evident in the texts on the annual festivals, cited in subsection e, below. These deal with the Festival of Sacrifice (ʿīd al-aḍḥā) and the two Shīʿī holidays, the Day of Ghadīr Khumm and the Day of “Āshūrā”. Moreover, Al-Ṭabarānī extends the antinomian interpretation to his discussion of Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī holidays that originate in non-Muslim traditions, such as Christmas and the Persian Day of Nawrūz (the Persian New Year). The discussion of antinomianism in early Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī writings is characterized by two major concerns: anchoring the doctrine in the Gnostic theology of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs’ religion, and conducting an acrimonious polemic against the simplistic, exoteric understanding of religious commandments that – in their view – typified both Sunnī and Shīʿī Islam. In the Gnostic sphere, the Nuṣayrī believer is described as one who must constantly strive to return to Adam’s prelapsarian state, 109

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology before original sin and the expulsion from paradise. Adam’s expulsion, however, is not a decree of destiny that cannot be reversed. God Who expelled him from the Garden may restore him with His grace (bi-l-minna), if he is found worthy upon achieving full knowledge of the divine mystery. 1 This view is illustrated in text 2, an excerpt from the pseudo-epigraphic work Kitāb al-usūs. In reply to the anonymous questions: “How is the believer permitted to live without observing commandments and duties? And how is it possible to demand anything of him? And how can he persist in the rank of the free without anything prohibited to him?”, the anonymous teacher states that knowledge of the mystery of the divinity with all its emanations is the key to the believer’s redemption and release from the yoke of the commandments and his bonds, “and everything that was prohibited to him is now permitted”. The author of Kitāb al-usūs adds that the idea of antinomianism, in both the theological and practical spheres, was a later development in the religion, inspired by Jesus. The Christian Messiah succeeded in elevating Judaism from a sterile adherence to its precepts, to a pure spirituality in which the practical observance of the commandments is rendered superfluous. “When the Messiah the Son arrived […] he dwelled in Mary and changed the Law of Moses”. “Don’t you see”, asks the author, “that God freed them from much that Moses had commanded them, and alleviated from them much of the burden and chains [that shackled them].” And [the Messiah] answered: “God does not need your deeds. From the moment you comprehend the sweetness of freedom, if you are willing, do! And if you are unwilling, do not do!” This view – oddly ascribed by the author of Kitāb al-usūs to Jesus and not to Paul – is ideally represented, according to him, by Christian monks. Presenting Jesus’ antinomian stance as opposed and superior to Moses’ Law was a widespread motif in early Christianity, and the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī author takes advantage of this to defend antinomianism in a Muslim context. 2 The second aspect of antinomianism in early Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī writings is the polemic against Sunnī and Shīʿī Islam, which do not relate to the occult essence of the religious commandments, adhering only to their literal observance. The commandments of Islam are discussed in detail in al-Ṭabarānī’s Kitāb al-maʿārif. He divests them of 1. 2.

110

See Kitāb al-Usūs, in ms. Paris, Bnf, arabe 1449, folio 61a; ed. Jaʿfar al-Kanj al-Dandashi, Irbid 2000, p. 139, and also M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 66. For further details, see Ibid., p. 66-67.

Antinomianism, Rituals and Festivals their literal sense, emphatically denying any value to their practical observance. Prayer, for instance, does not include any of the Muslim liturgical texts or the physical movements that accompany Muslim prayer. Moreover, the fast is not an abstention from food and drink, and the duty of pilgrimage to Mecca does not have to be carried out in a literal sense. Instead of performing concrete acts, the NuṣayrīʿAlawī believer should direct his thoughts and consciousness to entities or “persons” (ashkhāṣ) in the divine realm, who are considered patrons, as it were, of the commandments. This interpretation of the religious commandments also applies to Muslim festivals and holidays. Thus, for example, the Festival of Breaking the Fast (ʿīd al-fiṭr) is counted among the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī holidays, even though not preceded by the duty to fast during Ramadan; the fast is in fact interpreted as an abstention from speech. The Feast of the Sacrifice (ʿīd al-aḍḥā), although celebrated – as it is by all Muslims following the pilgrimage to Mecca – is interpreted spiritually or allegorically and does not include the duty of pilgrimage. In addition, two holidays originating in Twelver Shīʿism were adopted by the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion through a radical transformation of both their meaning and the way in which they were observed: the festival of Ghadīr Khumm, which in Shīʿī tradition celebrates the nomination of ʿAlī as the heir of the prophet Muḥammad, in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī tradition symbolizes Muḥammad’s declaration of ʿAlī’s divinity; and “Āshūrā”, commemorating the revolt in Karbalāʾ in 680, in which Imam al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī lost his life, in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī tradition denotes the day of God’s appearance in the figure of al-Ḥusayn. Moreover, since Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī tradition denies al-Ḥusayn’s death, it regards mourning him as a sin, which is committed only by Sunnīs and Shīʿīs on account of their inability to grasp the inner significance of this day. Also included in this chapter are prayers for various occasions, for the most part taken from Sulaymān al-Adhanī’s work, al-Bākūra al-sulaymāniyya. Although the book was published in the mid-19th century, it has a plethora of ideas and terms familiar from early Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī literature. Yet one should not rule out the possibility that some of these texts might be from a later date. This applies inter alia to several quddās (sanctification) ceremonies, apparently reflecting a relatively late Christian influence on the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion. The chapter ends with a text from the treatise Īḍāḥ al-miṣbāḥ al-dāll ʿalā sabīl al-najāt (The illumination of the lamp leading to the path of

111

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology redemption) by ʿAbd Allāh al-Jannān al-Junbulānī, the teacher of al-Khaṣībī, in which the distinction between ordinary wine (khamr) and sacred wine (ʿabd al-nūr, servant of light) is discussed. 3

2. Antinomianism a) Antinomianism and taqiyya (“caution”) with regard to Islam’s fundamental commandments It is related in the name of al-Mufaḍḍal b. ʿUmar: I came to my master Jaʿfar [al-Ṣādiq], peace from him, and he said to me: “O Mudaḍḍal, beware of that which leads to perdition (dhāt al-radā)”. [Al-Mufaḍḍal] said: “May I be your ransom, what is it that leads to perdition?” [Al-Ṣādiq] answered: “[I mean] the contrary commandments (ḍudūd)”. 4 I asked: “And what are these contrary commandments?” He answered: “Fasting, prayer, pilgrimage and Jihad. Whoever adheres to them piously is joining a god to Allāh”. 5 And he added: “Whoever adheres to them secretly (among members of the community) is like one who abandons them publicly (among non-Nuṣayrīs). And whoever abandons them publicly (among members of his Nuṣayrī community) is like one who adheres to them (among ordinary Muslims)”. 6 (Al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb al-maʿārif, p. 158) 3. 4.

5. 6.

112

Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh al-Jannān al-Junbulānī, Īḍāḥ al-miṣbāḥ al-dāll ʿalā sabīl al-najāḥ, in Abū Mūsā and al-Shaykh Mūsā, ed. and intro., Silsilat al-turāth al-‘alawī: Rasā’il al-ḥikma al-‘alawiyya, Lebanon 2006, vol. 1, p. 235-299. The term “opposite commandments” refers to central commandments in Islam that the author associates with the realm of negative emanations in NuṣayrīʿAlawī theology; here they are called ḍudūd, an unusual term synonymous with the more common aḍdād. These commandments are usually interpreted in a symbolic-antinomian way, as can be seen in some of the texts translated below. This text, however, reflects a more radical stance, linking the pillars of Islam to Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī demonology. The sin of polytheism derives here from attributing the commandments to Satan. The meaning here is that the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī believer should adhere to the commandments of Islam only out of caution (taqiyya) when he is among Muslims, but must disregard them among his fellow believers.

Antinomianism, Rituals and Festivals b) Christian asceticism as an antinomian ideal The inquirer asked: How is the believer permitted to live without observing commandments and duties? And how is it possible to demand anything of him? And how can he persist in the rank of the free without anything prohibited to him? The knower said: When the believer has reached perfection and achieved knowledge and he knows his Lord [and all the ranks that emanated from Him]: veils (ḥujub), stations (maqāmāt), bābs, yatīms, naqībs, najībs, the special ones (mukhtaṣṣūn), the loyal ones (mukhliṣūn), the proven ones (mumtaḥanūn) and believers 7 – he leaves slavery and attains the rank of the free, his chains are released and everything that was prohibited to him is [now] permitted. Moses was a house of God’s houses 8 where He dwells and whence He comes out. God spoke to him and [Moses] received from Him the Law (Torah) and was filled with fear and trembling. God ordered him to be purified after urinating and forbade him to eat the meat of silurid, rabbit and pig and the like of them, and also commanded him to bathe following impurity. And when the Messiah the Son arrived – this is in fact the Father in the form of the Son 9 – He dwelled in Mary and changed the Law of Moses. [God] pitied them and said: Eat as you please, and taste of anything which benefits your souls. And He exempted them from the duty of bathing and the purification of impurity. Don’t you see, O inquirer, that God freed them from much of what Moses had commanded them, and alleviated from them much of the burden and

7. 8.

9.

The order of divine emanations is detailed here, beginning with the trinity and ending with the entities below the realm of the trinity. This refers to houses in a spiritual sense, and more specifically to persons wherein the divinity dwells. This understanding of the term “houses” is familiar from Ismāʿīlī interpretation too, and anchors it in the Qurʾan, verse 24:36, which refers to “houses which God has allowed to be raised up, and His name to be commemorated therein […], men whom neither commerce nor trafficking diverts from the remembrance of God.” See also M. M. Bar-Asher, “Outlines of early Ismaili-Fatimid Qurʾan Exegesis,” Journal Asiatique 196 (2008), p. 257-296. See a revised edition in A. Keeler and S. Rizvi, ed., The Spirit and the Letter: Approaches to the Esoteric Interpretation of the Qurʾan, London 2016, p. 179-216.. Here the author of Kitāb al-usūs ascribes to Christians a doctrine of incarnation according to which the Father is the one incarnated in the figure of the Son. This doctrine, referred to in early Christianity as “monarchic”, emphasizes the maximal unity between the persons of the Father and the Son.

113

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology chains. And [the Messiah] said: God does not need your deeds. From the moment you comprehend the sweetness of freedom, if you are willing, do, and if you are unwilling, do not do. And he [the Messiah] informed them of what God had commanded them. It was before they had known it. But when their knowledge had attained perfection and they recognized him through his manifestation of his divinity, and became his prophets, he eased for them the knowledge [of the precepts that] they had previously reached through God, out of love and not out of avarice. They are no longer in fear because they have achieved the rank of freedom. Don’t you know that priests and monks from the moment they attained perfection became solitaries and wanderers, and abstained from the world and its pleasures? Then God bestowed His grace upon them and raised their rank until they recognized the Messiah with utmost recognition and reached the rank of the apostles, who secluded themselves in monasteries and houses of prayer. They reached the a degree of asceticism that no nation has achieved. And this out of gratitude to God and His love, and not out of fear or avarice. (Kitāb al-usūs, p. 55b-56b; ed. Dandashi, p. 134)

3. Rituals and Festivals a) Selection of prayers from Kitāb al-majmūʿ 10 • From Sura 1: “The First” 11

May [God] benefit the way of him who adheres faithfully to the bald one! 12 I will begin by saying: “I am a servant”, adding that I yield to the call to love the holy maʿnā, the prince of bees, 13 ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, who is called the Lion Abū Turāb. 14 With him I begin and

10. On the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī sacred text Kitāb al-majmūʿ, see Introduction, p. 20 and note 24. 11. The name “The First” refers here to the supreme divine entity, the maʿnā, identified with ʿAlī, who is “the First” or “the Beginning”. 12. “The bald” (ajlaḥ or aṣlaʿ) is one of ʿAlī’s common appellations in Shīʿī literature. See above p. 81-82 and 87. 13. On this appellation of ʿAlī, see above, p. 94, note 138. 14. In Arabic: ḥaydarat abī turāb. The word ḥaydara, more common in the masculine

114

Antinomianism, Rituals and Festivals him I beseech for success, and remembering him I will benefit and in him I shall be saved. He is my refuge. In him I shall find refuge and be blessed, and from him I shall ask help; in him I shall begin and in him I shall end, by the power of the true religion and the certain proof. (Al-Adhanī, al-Bākūra1, p. 7-8; al-Bākūra2, p. 18-19) • Sura 2: “The Sanctification of the Son of the walī” 15 The most beautiful vision of the sleeper in his dream 16 [occurs] when he hears a voice, but does not see a figure; and he calls out saying: “Here I am, Here I am”, 17 O prince of bees, ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, desire of every desirer, eternal in His divinity, source of kingship. You are our God in your occultation, our Imam in your manifestation. You are he, who appeared in your hiding, and hid in your revelation. You appeared in concealment and were concealed in revelation; you appeared in essence and were exalted in supremacy; you were veiled in the divine Muḥammadan quality (muḥammadiyya) 18 and called from yourself to yourself, by yourself. You, O prince of bees, ʿAlī – your light has shone, your beams radiated, your splendour glowed, your favours have magnified and your praise was glorified! Save me from the evil of your reincarnations, and rescue us and all our believing brothers from the evil [of all the different sorts of reincarnations]: faskh, naskh, maskh, waskh, raskh, qashsh and qushāsh. 19 You are the

15. 16.

17. 18. 19.

ḥaydar, denotes a lion and conveys ʿAlī’s courage (see above, p. 65, note 52 and below, p. 122, note 50). Abū Turāb (“man of dust”) denotes the asceticism of ʿAlī, who sprawls in the dust. On this appellation, see E. Kohlberg, “Abū Turāb,” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 41 (1978), p. 347-353 (repr. in Id., Belief and Law in Imāmī Shīʿism, Variorum, Aldershot 1991, chap. 6). As becomes clear from the concluding sentence of this Sura, the appellation “Son of the walī” refers to al-Jillī, al-Khaṣībī’s famous disciple.. According to a tradition cited by al-Adhanī in his commentary on this Sura (al-Bākūra1, p. 11; al-Bākūra2, p. 21), the sleeper is a servant of the fifth Imam, Muḥammad al-Bāqir, who hears a voice calling him and upon waking is astonished by a luminous vision of ʿAlī. In Arabic: labbayka labbayka. This is the opening of the formula called talbiya (a call of compliance and submission to God), which here underlines the divine status of ʿAlī, the addressee. For more on the talbiya, see p. 122-123, text b, below. Muḥammadiyya is the divine quality of Muḥammad as the ism. On the practice of forming abstract nouns denoting the qualities of emanations in the divine realm, see p. 53, note 19, above. The first five types of reincarnation are well known from Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī

115

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology one capable of doing so. The mystery of the walī, son of the walī, Abū l-Ḥusayn Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-Jillī, peace be on his memory, may God help him. (Al-Adhanī, al-Bākūra1, p. 10-11; al-Bākūra2, p. 21-22) • From Sura 4: “The Lineage” 20 May God make me successful that I may listen and hearken to my teacher, my master and my guide, that God will bestow upon me, as He has bestowed upon him, the knowledge of the [mystery of] ʿayn mīm sīn, 21 namely the testimony that there is no God but ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, the one with the bald forehead and temples, the adored; and there is no ḥijāb but lord Muḥammad, worthy of glory; and there is no bāb but lord Salmān the Persian, 22 to whom [we] address ourselves […]. 23 With Muḥammad ibn Nuṣayr the family lineage and the religion begin. Our master al-Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī is highly exalted above the talk of the aberrant and the chatter of the evildoers! By the mystery of religion, by the mystery of our honourable brothers, wherever they may be, by their mystery God will bestow happiness on all! I also testify that the last al-Ḥasan, al-ʿAskarī, is the First and the Last, and he is the hidden and the manifest, and he is the omnipotent. 24 (Al-Adhanī, al-Bākūra1, p. 14; al-Bākūra2, p. 24-25)

20. 21. 22. 23. 24.

116

literature (see above, p. 26-27 and 98-104), but the two additional kinds – qashsh and qushāsh – are less familiar and may have been added to bring the number to seven. According to al-Adhanī, the seven reincarnations parallel the seven gates of hell mentioned in the Qurʾan (15:44). See al-Bākūra1, p. 11; al-Bākūra2, p. 22). The name of the Sura, “The Lineage”, refers to the lineage of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion, beginning with Muḥammad ibn Nuṣayr. I.e. ʿAlī, Muḥammad and Salmān, the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī trinity. This is one of the common radical formulations of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī creed (the shahāda). Omitted here are the details of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī chain of transmission in its formative period (9th-11th centuries). Al-Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī, the eleventh Imam of Imāmī Shīʿism, is presented here as the last incarnation of the deity. Muḥammad ibn Nuṣayr, known from doxographic Shīʿī sources as one of al-ʿAskarī’s devotees, is regarded in Nuṣayrī tradition as the bāb of this Imam.

Antinomianism, Rituals and Festivals • From Sura 5: “The Victory” 25 “When God’s help and victory comes, and you see men entering God’s religion in throngs, glorify your Lord by praising Him and seek His forgiveness, for He is always ready to relent” (Q. 110 [al-naṣr]). I testify that my Lord, prince of bees, 26 ʿAlī, created lord Muḥammad from the light of his essence, and called him his ism, his soul, his throne, his seat, and his attributes. He is linked to him, not separate from him; he is not veritably linked to him, but not wholly separate; he is linked to him by light, seemingly separate from him, so that [Muḥammad] emanates from [ʿAlī] as the sensation [emanates] from the soul, as the sun’s rays from the sun’s disc, as the gurgling of water from water, as the striking of a cleavage (fatq) [between sky and earth that were] one lump (ratq), 27 as the flash of lightning from the lightning, as sight from the seer and motion from rest. And if ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib wishes to be manifested, he manifests the ism, and if he wishes to hide, he hides him under the effusions of his light. I also testify that lord Muḥammad created lord Salmān from the light of his light, and made him his bāb and the bearer of his Book; 28 and he is Salsal and Salsabīl, Jābir and Jibrāʾīl; 29 and he is the true way, and truly the lord of all worlds. And I testify that lord Salmān created the five noble yatīms, of whom the first is the greater yatīm, the bright star, the odiferous musk, the red jacinth, 25. The name of this Sura in Kitāb al-majmūʿ, “the Victory” (al-fatḥ), derives from Sura 110 (al-naṣr = the Help) in the Qurʾan. 26. On this appellation for ʿAlī, see above, p. 94, note 138. 27. The two terms ratq and fatq appear in the Qurʾan (21:30): “Have not the unbelievers then beheld that the heavens and the earth were a mass all sewn up (ratqan), and then We unstitched them (fa-fataqnahumā)”. Dussaud notes that these terms are common in Ismāʿīlī and Sufi literature. Ratq refers to the state of the deity before its manifestation through emanation, while fatq describes the deity after its manifestation (R. Dussaud, Histoire et religion des Noṣairîs, p. 168, note 1). These terms are the subject of an epistle by al-Jilli entitled Risalat al-fatq wa-l-ratq, in Silsilat al-turāth al-ʿAlawī: Rasāʾil al-ḥikma al-ʿalawiyya, vol. 2, p. 309-319. 28. This apparently refers to the divine book known as Umm al-Kitāb, the source of the Qurʾan and other books of revelation, including the Old and New Testaments. 29. These four names are appellations for Salmān the Persian; for the name Salsal, see p. 56, note 38, above; Salsabīl is a spring in paradise mentioned in the Qurʾan (76:18); the identity of Jābir is not clear to us. R. Dussaud (Histoire et religion des Noṣairîs, p. 168, note 2) suggests that it may refer to Jābir b. ʿAbd Allāh, one of Muḥammad’s early followers; Jibrāʾīl is the angel Gabriel, who according to the Qurʾan is in charge of revealing God’s word to Muḥammad.

117

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology the green emerald, al-Miqdād ibn Aswad al-Kindī. And [the others are] Abū Dharr al-Ghifārī, ʿAbd Allāh b. Rawāḥa al-Anṣārī, ʿUthmān b. Maẓʿūn al-Najāshī and Qanbar b. Kādān al-Dawsī, servants of our master, prince of the believers – glory and honour to his memory! They created this world, from east to west, from north to south, in land and sea, in valley and mountain. (Al-Adhanī, al-Bākūra1, p. 18-19; al-Bākūra2, p. 28-29) • From Sura 6: “The Prostration” God most great! God most great! God most great! The prostration is to the supreme [al-ʿAlī], the bald, the adored! O my lord, O Muḥammad, O creator, O victorious, O light of the august maʿnā and his noble ḥijāb. From you I implore aid. Help me in this world. In you I find shelter. Deliver me from the sufferings of the fire of [Hell]. O mighty [One], hero, omnipotent, victorious, creator of night and day. “Allāh, light of heaven and earth, the Great” (Q. 24:35) the Supreme! He is our goal and to Him we aspire, may He be glorified and magnified! To the bāb I address myself, to the ism I prostrate myself, and the maʿnā I serve and him I worship. My perishing, dying face, worship the face of ʿAlī, the living, the enduring, the everlasting. O ʿAlī the Great, O ʿAlī the Great, O ʿAlī the Great, greater than all the great, creator of the morning sun, and inventor of the luminous moon. O ʿAlī, yours is the might; O ʿAlī, yours is the unification; O ʿAlī, yours is the kingdom; O ʿAlī, yours is the greatness. O ʿAlī, to you we should address ourselves; O ʿAlī, to you is obedience due; O ʿAlī, to you is intercession [addressed].

118

Antinomianism, Rituals and Festivals O ʿAlī, yours is the creation; O ʿAlī, yours is the power; O ʿAlī, you are the shape of the cow (ṣūrat [!] al-baqara). 30 Guard us, O ʿAlī, save us from your wrath and chastisement, for I have propitiated you! I believe in your seeming impotence. You are the prince of bees, exalted above all shortcomings. I believe in your hidden being and in your outward manifestation and acknowledge them. Your outward manifestation is my Imam and his heir [by divine order], 31 and your hidden interiority is maʿnawī 32 and divine. O he, O he, O he, O he who honours the one who honours, remembers and believes in you alone. O he, O he, O he, who causes those to stumble who undermine your authority, who deny and disown you. O omnipresent, O self-existent, O mysterious and incomprehensible, O prince of bees, O ʿAlī, O magnificent! (Al-Adhanī, al-Bākūra1, p. 20-21; al-Bākūra2, p. 30-31) • Sura 10: “The Covenant” 33 I testify that God is true, that His word is true, and that the plain truth is ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, the bald, with the belly; that the fire of [hell] is the abode of heretics; that the garden of Eden is a pleasure-garden for the believers, where water meanders beneath the throne, and upon the throne is the Lord of all worlds, and the bearers of the throne are

30. The title ṣūrat al-baqara (the shape of the cow) is unclear and it may be a corrupt form of sūrat al-baqara (the Sura of the Cow). As Dussaud remarks, following al-Adhanī, the mention of the cow, like that of other animals, may be symbolic, referring to entities in the realm of emanation. In this context al-Adhanī lists other animals that appear in the Qurʾan, such as the cow in the Sura of the Cow, the wolf, which according to Joseph’s brothers devoured him (Q. 12:17), the hoopoe (hudhud) sent to the Queen of Sheba (Q. 27:20-27), and the dog of the cavemen (Q. 18:18) (al-Bākūra1, p. 17-18; al-Bākūra2, p. 27-28). 31. This may refer to the appearance of the divinity in the figure of the Imams and their heirs (awṣiyāʾ). On the divine nature of ʿAlī in Shīʿism, see M. A. AmirMoezzi, ʿAlī, le secret bien gardé, p. 148-161. 32. That is, interiority is an essential trait of the maʿnā. 33. The covenant (al-ʿaqd) in question is the covenant of faith between believers, united by the mystery of ʿayn mīm sīn.

119

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology the noble eight who are close to Him, 34 and they are my succour in my troubles and support for all believers, the mystery of the covenant of ʿayn mīm sīn (ʿAlī, Muḥammad and Salmān). (Al-Adhanī, al-Bākūra1, p. 25-26; al-Bākūra2, p. 36) • Sura 11: “The Testimony” (which the multitude calls “The Mountain”) 35 God testifies that there is no God but He, and the angels and the Gnostics hold the truth. There is no God but He, the powerful and strong. “The true religion with God is Islam” (Q. 3:19). “Lord, we believe in what You have sent down, and we follow the Messenger. Inscribe us therefore with those who bear witness” (Q. 3:53) to the mystery of ʿayn mīm sīn. I testify on myself, O magnificent ḥijāb; I testify on myself, O honourable bāb; I testify on myself, O my lord al-Miqdād on the right; I testify on myself, O my lord Abū Dharr on the left; 36 I testify on myself, O ʿAbd Allāh (b. Rawāḥa); I testify on myself, O ʿUthmān (b. Maẓʿūn al-Najāshī); I testify on myself, O Qanbar b. Kādān. 37 I testify on myself, O naqīb (president); I testify on myself, O najīb (chancellor); 38 I testify on myself, O mukhtaṣṣ (elect); I testify on myself, O mukhalliṣ (saviour); I testify on myself, O examined, O

34. The eight bearers of the throne are also mentioned in Sura 3 of Kitāb al-majmūʿ. According to al-Adhanī they are the five yatīms and the three brothers of ʿAlī: Ṭālib, ʿAqīl and Jaʿfar. See al-Bākūra1, p. 13; al-Bākūra2, p. 23; R. Dussaud, Histoire et religion des Noṣairîs, p. 164, note 8. 35. This is the only Sura known by two names. The principal title, “the Testimony” (shahāda), refers to the expanded creed included in the Sura; the explanation for the other title, “the Mountain” (al-jabal), is not known to us. 36. It may be that the terms “right” and “left” for the two yatīms, al-Miqdād and Abū Dharr, relate to a structural image of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī divine realm, and possibly to the opposing demonic powers as well. Such a structure is familiar from Druze theology, in which the last two (of five) divine emanations are called “the Right Wing” (al-janāḥ al-ayman) and “the Left Wing” (al-janāḥ al-aysar). A similar doctrine can also be seen in Kabbalist theosophy. 37. The names listed are those of the five yatīms that emanated from the bāb. 38. The terms naqīb and najīb are also used in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī liturgy to indicate office holders.

120

Antinomianism, Rituals and Festivals close one (muqarrab), O cherubic (karūbī), 39 O spiritual (rūḥānī), O sanctified (muqaddas), O wanderer (sāʾiḥ), O listener (mustamiʿ), O follower (lāḥiq 40). 41 Bear me witness, O people of ranks, O realm of purity, all of you, that I testify that there is no God but ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, the bald, the adored; and no ḥijāb but lord Muḥammad, the praiseworthy; and no bāb but Salmān the Persian, to whom [we] aspire; and that the greatest of angels are the five yatīms; and that there is no [true] knowledge save that of our master and lord al-Ḥusayn b. Ḥamdān al-Khaṣībī, who established our rites in all lands. I testify that the visible form, 42 manifested among men, is the purpose of all, and that it is revealed in luminosity, and there is no God except it, and it is ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib; He is immeasurable and illimitable; incomprehensible and invisible. I testify that I am a Nuṣayrī in my religion, 43 a Jundabī 44 in my mind, a Junbulānī in my (Sufi) brotherhood, 45 [a follower of] al-Khaṣībī in my

39. The adjective karūbī (cherubic) derives from the biblical “cherub” and refers to entities in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī divine sphere. 40. The term lāḥiq, translated here as “follower”, is also known from the doctrine of emanation in Ismāʿīlī Shīʿism, and from the Druze religion that seceded from it. 41. These dignitaries, the “people of ranks” (ahl al-marātib) – a term common in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī literature – in the following sentence, are emanations from the yatīms. Their status and functions in the divine realm are not specified, but they illustrate the plurality of entities in the divine system of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion. 42. For the term “the visible form” (al-ṣūra al-marʾiyya), namely, God’s incarnate appearance in various human figures, see the texts cited above, p. 81-83. 43. I.e., one of the followers of Muḥammad ibn Nuṣayr. Other adjectives deriving from the five names of leading figures in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī golden tradition, from Ibn Nuṣayr to al-Ṭabarānī, appear later in the text. The religious identity of Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī believers is defined according to their affinity to these religious leaders; see details in the following notes. 44. A follower of Muḥammad Jundab – a disciple of Ibn Nuṣayr – known in Nuṣayrī sources as “the yatīm of the Age” (yatīm al-waqt) or ”the yatīm of God’s religion” (yatīm dīn allāh); see al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb al-maʿārif, p. 119. 45. This is Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh al-Jannān al-Junbulānī (or Junbulāʾī, d. 287/900), al-Khaṣībī’s teacher, known also as al-zāhid (“the ascetic”), and considered as the founder of his own brotherhood (ṭarīqa). He came from Junbulāʾ, a small village in southern Iraq between Wāsiṭ and Kūfa.

121

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology doctrine, an [adept of] al-Jillī 46 in my positions, and a Maymūni 47 in my religious law. I advocate the white return, the shining comeback and the uncovering of the veil (al-rajʿa al-bayḍāʾ wa-l-karra al-zahrāʾ wa-kashf al-ḥijāb 48), the removal of blindness, the manifestation of the hidden, the exposure of the concealed, and the appearance of ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib from the sun. 49 [ʿAlī, who is] stunning every soul, riding a lion, 50 the sword Dhū al-Faqār 51 in his hand, the angels behind him, lord Salmān before him, water wells up from between his feet, and lord Muḥammad cries out, saying: “Behold your Sovereign, ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib! Acknowledge him, glorify him, magnify him and exalt him. This is your creator and provider! Disown him not”. Bear me witness, O my lords, that this is my religion and my faith, he is my sustenance, whereby I live, wherein I shall die. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib lives, and will not die; in his hand are the power and dominion; the hearing, the seeing, and the understanding are all from him. 52 From them [account] will be demanded. May peace come upon us thanks to our commemoration of them! (Al-Adhanī, al-Bākūra1, p. 26-28; al-Bākūra2, p. 36-38) b) A call for compliance and submission to God (talbiya) 53 The authoritative teacher Abū al-Ḥusayn Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-Jillī addressed us, saying: I was informed by Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn b. Ḥamdān al-Khaṣībī in the name of Dāwud ibn Ḥamdān, 54 who said:

46. A follower of Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-Jillī, one of al-Khaṣībī’s outstanding disciples and al-Ṭabarānī’s teacher. 47. A follower of Abū Saʿīd Maymūn b. al-Qāsim al-Ṭabarānī. 48. These are common images in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī literature, referring to the eschatological age. See also above, p. 103. 49. The identification of ʿAlī with the sun, the moon and other celestial bodies is a common Shīʿī motif, not exclusively Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī. See e.g., M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 16 with note 54 (ʿAlī’s appearance in the clouds); p. 53 with note 59 (ʿAlī’s identification with the moon); p. 193 with note 142 (ʿAlī’s identification with the sun). 50. More common is the image of ʿAlī himself as a lion. See above, p. 65 with note 52; p. 114, note 14. 51. According to tradition, ʿAlī’s sword, which is credited with supernatural powers, was received from Muḥammad. 52. Cf. Q. 17:36. 53. For an explanation of this term, see above, p. 115, note 117. 54. The identity of this person is unknown to us.

122

Antinomianism, Rituals and Festivals I visited our lord the prince of the believers accompanied by fifteen young men. And I had with me ten thousand dirhams to distribute to the poor believers. During the visit a man suddenly appeared dressed in a woollen gown on which it was written: “not for sale, nor for purchase”, and he called: “Here am I, O divinity! Here am I, O source of kingship! Here am I, O he who is manifest in concealment, and concealed in manifestation, apparent in his occultation and concealed in his appearance, and who called from himself to himself by himself! You are the prince of bees, your light has shone, your luminary has glimmered, your vessels 55 were magnified and your names were revealed, and there is no God but you! O God, O prince of bees, protect me from [all kinds of] reincarnations: maskh, naskh, faskh, waskh, and raskh. 56 Yours is the power to do so in your compassion; O Lord, O ʿAlī, O Magnificent!” and he repeated [these words] three times. I then said [to one of my young men]: “Young man, present this man to me!” The man stood in front of me, pulled his head out of his robe, and behold, he was a lad more handsome than the sun and prettier than the moon. He then asked me: “What is it, Dāwud?” And I said: “Can you write me down, sir, this talbiya?” Then he said to me: “Would you give me some of your money in return?” I told [one of the youngsters]: “Give him three hundred dirhams!” [And the mysterious man] then said: “Why wouldn’t you give me ten thousand dirhams?” I answered: “Brother, the money is scarce, and the brothers in faith are many”. Then he said to me: “If you fulfil your duty towards me, it would be as if you have fulfilled it towards all my brothers in faith; O Dāwud, God indeed has servants, and had they pointed to the stones of the earth, these [i.e. the stones] would have turned into pearls, sapphires, gold and silver”. Then Dāwud said: “It indeed seemed to me that the whole earth is pearls, sapphires, gold and silver”. [The mysterious man] kicked the ground and said: “We want you as a sign and signal, and not because we need you”. He then wrote me down this talbiya and disappeared, and I never saw him [again]. (Al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb al-maʿārif, p. 176-177)

55. The vessels (ālāʾ) are the emanations through which the divinity operates. 56. On reincarnation and its different types, see above, p. 25-27, 97-108.

123

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology c) Sanctification ceremonies • The Sanctification of the Perfumes (quddās al-ṭīb)

O believers, behold the place where you assemble 57 and remove hatred from your hearts, doubt and malice from your breasts, that your religion may be perfected by acquaintance with your Helper, that your prayer may be accepted, and that our Lord and yours may honour your abode. Know that ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib stands with you and is present among you, hearing, seeing and knowing whatsoever is above the seven heavens as well as whatsoever is beneath the earth. He is acquainted with the secrets of the heart. He is the mighty one and the forgiving. Beware, brothers, of being merry and laughing with ignoramuses during prayer; for this is bad behaviour bringing on catastrophe and impairing the virtues of good conduct. Hearken to and hear the words of the lord Imam; for he is present among you as the presence of the Eternal, Supreme and Omniscient One. We thus blend for you this perfume as the [seven] heavens are blended with the seven Imams in a pure covenant of chaste souls exalting the visible and abstract human form. 58 Perfume with it your chaste souls pure from all depraved deeds, for therewith Iliyāʾ Iliyāʾ unified with the mīm and the Sin in every age and era 59 and he is ʿAlī, a god to whom belongs the pure religion, and any god beside him to whom prayer is addressed is false; and worshipping creatures is an idle faith; for he, may he be exalted and lofty in the height of his abode, is the all-hearing and omniscient, the magnificent and the supreme. Then a spoonful of perfume is poured into the Imam’s palms and he passes the bowl to the najīb, so he may pour a spoonful of perfume into the hands of all present. 60 As he makes the round pouring the perfume he

57. In the absence of prayer houses, Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs would assemble for worship in the homes of religious leaders and other initiated believers. Not until the 20th century did they begin to build mosques, as part of their effort to integrate into Muslim society. 58. On the term “the visible form” (al-ṣūra al-marʾiyya), see above, p. 81-83, 121. 59. For the appellation “Iliyā” (Elijah) referring to the maʿnā, see Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī catechism, question 43, in M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 210 (Arabic text), p. 184 (English translation). 60. The Imam, leader of the community, is the senior participant in this ceremony as in other Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī rituals. Two other religious dignitaries serve with him, the najīb and the naqīb.

124

Antinomianism, Rituals and Festivals chants the verse (Q. 21:30) called [by them] “the perfume verse”: “Have those who do not believe seen that the heavens and the earth were closed up together, and We split them apart, and We made every living thing of water?” And all those present repeat the verse as they wash their faces. The naqīb then takes a dish of incense, rises to his feet and reads the second quddās, called “the Sanctification of the Incense”. (Al-Adhanī, al-Bākūra1, p. 38-39; al-Bākūra2, p. 48-49) • The Sanctification of the Incense (quddās al-bukhūr) The sanctification of the incense and the pleasant fragrances circling about in the “inhabited House”, 61 the dwelling of joy, happiness and delight. It is recounted that our lord and teacher Muḥammad b. Sinān al-Zāhirī 62 was accustomed to rising for the congregation’s prayer once or twice every day and night, holding in his hand a red gem – and some say yellow or green – consecrated to the radiant Fāṭima, 63 and perfuming the cups with incense, with great joy. He would also perume the cup of the holy wine (ʿabd al-nūr) 64 amid the glittering beauty and splendour. Know, O believers, that the light is Muḥammad, 65 and the night is Salmān. Perfume your cups with incense and light your lamp, and say all of you together: “Praise be to God, praise be to God, who bestowed on us His bountiful grace and inscrutable mystery. He is generous and merciful, exalted and magnificent. Believe and rest assured, O believers, that the person of the holy wine (ʿabd al-nūr) is permitted to you among yourselves, but forbidden to you in the company of others”. The Imam then spreads the incense while the congregation sits on his right and left. Then the najīb takes the platter in his hands so that

61. In Arabic: al bayt al-maʿmūr. A common term for the Kaʿba (Q. 4:52), here it appears to denote symbolically the believers’ place of worship. 62. Ibn Sinān was a disciple of the Imam ʿAlī al-Riḍā (d. 202/818) and was known to hold heterodox views. 63. “The radiant” is a translation of al-zahrāʾ, a common appellation of Fāṭima. On Fāṭima’s place in the divine realm, see above, p. 69-70. 64. On the role of holy wine (ʿabd al-nūr) in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion, see above, p. 30 with note 63. 65. Muḥammad is the light that emanated from the light of essence (nūr al-dhāt); here the light is associated with the appellation ʿabd al-nūr (“servant of light”).

125

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology the whole congregation receives the incense, and as he circles among them he pronounces the following formula, 66 called “the incense verse” (saṭr al-bukhūr): “O God, pray for our lord Muḥammad the elect and bless him;” (he then cites the names of the eleven descendants of his daughter, noted in the commentary to the third Sura [of Kitāb al-majmūʿ]). 67 The najīb then takes a cup of wine 68 in his hands, stands and reads the sanctification of the adhān (the Call to Prayer). (Al-Adhanī, al-Bākūra1, p. 39-40; al-Bākūra2, p. 49-50) • The Sanctification of the Call to Prayer (quddās al-adhān) “God is most great, God is most great, God is most great!” 69 I set my face towards lord Muḥammad the praiseworthy, asking for his yearned-for mystery and his longed-for eye. 70 I believe in the knowledge of [God’s mystery], in the revelations and attributes, and extol the maʿnā in his essence. [The maʿnā] is the eye of supremacy, essence and abstraction. He is the sublime maʿnā, while Fāṭir is the glorious, al-Ḥasan is the perfect, and Muḥsin is a concealed and exalted mystery. 71 I am a servant, O believers, who confesses to what

66. Erroneously called, in the original, a “Sura”, a term reserved for the chapters of kitāb al-majmūʿ. 67. The explanation in parentheses is apparently al-Adhanī’s addition. 68. Here the ordinary word for wine (khamr) is used, rather than the usual theological term for ritual wine, ʿabd al-nūr. 69. Although this version of the call to prayer differs substantially from both Sunnī and Shīʿī Muslim versions, it is structurally similar and has the same components: the takbīr (declaration that God is most great), the shahāda (declaration of faith), and the invitation to believers to pray and prosper – including the iqamat al-ṣalāt (performance of prayer) formula, which is pronounced near the beginning of the second call to prayer, and after it. 70. The expression seems to be ambivalent, referring both to God’s all-seeing eye, the “eye of supremacy” as it is called in the lines that follow, and to God-ʿAlī, signified by the letter ʿayn (=eye), the first letter of his name and its common abbreviation. 71. Three members of the holy family, named as divine emanations: Fāṭir (the masculine appellation of Fāṭima) and her two sons, al-Ḥasan and Muḥsin. Her second son, al-Ḥusayn, is conspicuously absent. Al-Muḥsin’s attribute, “a concealed mystery”, (sirr khafī) is explained in the commentary to the third Sura of Kitāb al-majmūʿ: “His appellation ‘the concealed mystery’ refers to his abortive birth, and because he was not known among the people he was given this appellation”. See al-Bākūra1, p. 12, al-Bākūra2, p. 23).

126

Antinomianism, Rituals and Festivals lord Salmān had confessed, upon [hearing] the call to prayer, when the crier (muʾadhdhin) called from the minaret: God is most great, God is most great! 72 “I testify that there is no God” but ʿAlī, the prince of bees, the bald, the adored, and there is no ḥijāb but lord Muḥammad the glorious, the exalted, the magnificent and praiseworthy; and there is no bāb but lord Salmān the Persian to whom one aspires, and that lord Muḥammad is the ḥijāb linked to Him, and His prophet and His Book sent down [from heaven], and God’s magnificent seat and firm throne. Lord Salmān, [called] Salsal and Salsabīl, 73 is his noble bāb and his righteous way, whereby alone one comes to him, and [he is] the ark of salvation and fountain of life. 74 “Come to prayer, come to prayer!” Pray, O congregation of believers, and you shall enter the promised paradise. “Come to success, come to success” and you shall succeed, O believers, and you shall be delivered from the cumbersome bodies and darkness of the flesh, and shall abide amidst the maidens and youths of paradise. 75 And you shall behold with your very eyes your exalted Lord, the prince of bees, the great and supreme; God is most great, God is most great. Your lord, the prince of bees, is greater and more exalted than all the great, and more august than every boaster. He is eternal beyond all grasp, mighty beyond all surrender, [the living] and existing One Who does not sleep. God is most great, God is most great! “The prayer begins now” 76 and it is obligatory for the congregation of believers. I entreat you, prince of bees, ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, to establish and maintain it forever, as heaven and earth were established; and make lord Muḥammad the seal and the fast (i.e. break) of the prayer, and lord Salmān its peace and charity; and al-Miqdād its

72. This is an apparent reference to the original call to prayer when the first mosque was inaugurated, in Medina. 73. On these appellations for Salmān, see above, p. 56, note 38; and p. 117, note 29. 74. This paragraph is an expanded version of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī declaration of faith. 75. In Arabic: al-ḥūr (abbreviation of ḥūr ʿīn [maidens with beautiful eyes]). Originating in the Qurʾan (e.g. Q. 44:55, 52:20), the phrase is interpreted as referring to virgin maidens available to the righteous in paradise. The “youths” in paradise are denoted differently in the Qurʾan: ghilmān (youths) (Q. 24:52) or wildān mukhalladūn (immortal youths) (Q. 56:17, 76:19). 76. In Arabic: qad qāmat al-ṣalāt; this is the formula of the iqāma. See above, note 69.

127

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology right hand and fountain, and Abū Dharr its left hand and perfection. 77 And the Gnostics are its pathway, and the believers are the guides of the way to eternity, Amen. 78 The Imam then takes the chalice, fills from it a cup and gives it to the person seated on his right to drink; and then hands it to the one seated on his left; as the cup is passed they recite the following: “I testify that my lord and yours, the prince of bees, ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, is immutable and imperishable. I further testify that his ḥijāb is lord Muḥammad, and his bāb is lord Salmān, and there is no separation between the maʿnā, the ism and the bāb”. The [Imam] then says to them: “Take this cup, my brother, in your right hand and ask help from your lord ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, that he should lead and assist you”. And they reply: “Give, my brother, the [cup] which is in your right hand, and ask help from your Lord and Creator, that He should lead and assist you in all matters of your religion. May God grant you of His abundance by the sanctity of Muḥammad and his kin”. They then kiss each other’s hands, and the naqīb rises, places his hands upon his breast, and says: “May God grant you a good evening, brothers, and a pleasant morning, O people of faith! Forgive us any errors and negligence; for man is so called only because he lapses into error; and perfection belongs only to our lord ʿAlī the glorious, who is the omniscient”. 79 The [naqīb] then kisses the ground and sits down. Then the Imam opens his mouth, saying: “My brothers, believers, may God grant you a good evening, and a pleasant morning. Do you wish me as your servant on this blessed day, to minister for you over [the cup of wine] through the generosity of the master of the ceremony, may God bless

77. Prayer is presented here as including the injunction, conceived allegorically, to fast and give alms. Also evinced is the concept of prayer ascending through the “persons of prayer” (ashkhāṣ al-ṣalāt), the emanations represented here by Salmān and the two first yatīms that emanated from him, al-Miqdād and Abū Dharr. Here these two also represent the spatial conception of the realm of emanation; see above, note 36. 78. There follows a description of the actual ritual of sanctification, subsequent to the words of sanctification, translated above. 79. Here, as he frequently does elsewhere, the author applies to ʿAlī divine attributes – “the glorious” (dhū al-jalāl), “the omniscient” (bi-kulli shayʾin alīm) – from the Qurʾan.

128

Antinomianism, Rituals and Festivals him?” 80 The naqīb kisses the ground again and the congregation does likewise, saying: “We kiss you, our teacher and master”. The Imam then says: “It is a tradition from our lord Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq, the silent and speaker, 81 the render [of heaven] and its binder [to earth], 82 who said: ‘During prayer it is forbidden to negotiate, to buy and sell, to cause noise and nuisance, or to gossip and chatter over the [waving] of the myrtles; 83 but [let there be] silence, attention and the saying of Amen. Know, brothers, that anyone who [wears] a black turban on his head, or carries a thimble (kushtubān) on his finger, or a two-edged knife at his waist 84 – his prayer is forbidden. And the greatest of sins is the one committed during the [waving of] the myrtles, ‘It is only for the messenger to deliver a message manifest’. 85 Then he kisses the ground again, saying: ‘This, then, is obedience to God and to you, brothers’”. All [who are] present then prostrate themselves, kiss the ground, raise their hands to their heads, and say: “Our teacher and master, your obedience is to God, may He be exalted”. Afterwards the Imam reads before them this supplication of disassociation (from the enemies of the Nuṣayriyya): “I beseech pardon from the supreme God, the magnificent, for every grievous sin and for all transgressions, trials and errors. We pray intently by the will of God, may He be exalted!” ([The supplicant] then utters one of the names of the prayers listed in the commentary to the third Sura [of Kitāb al-majmūʿ]). 86 “I entreat you, prince 80. The master of the ceremony, here called sāḥib al-ʿamal (lit. “man of the deed”), is apparently the naqīb, in charge of this part of the ceremony. 81. In Arabic: ṣāmit (silent) and nāṭiq (speaker); on this pair of terms, see above p. 90, note 118. 82. In Arabic: fātiq and rātiq, referring to the terms fatq (rending of heaven) and ratq (binding heaven and earth), discussed above, p. 117, note 27. These attributes emphasize al-Ṣādiq’s divine status as a key actor in creation, a role usually reserved for the yatīms. The alternative version in al-Bākūra2 – fāʾiq and rāʾiq – seems to be a hypercorrection. 83. Myrtle (rayḥān) often plays a part in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religious rituals, as do adharyūn flowers, mentioned below, p. 147, note 163. 84. These symbols are not familiar to us from other sources, except for the black turban that apparently indicated the ʿAbbasids, whose army, bitterly hated by the Shīʿīs, was famous for its black banners. It seems, however, that the common denominator of these symbols is their representation of bloodshed and violence. 85. The author cites a recurring Qurʾanic verse (e.g. Q. 5:92) teaching the duty to warn and admonish people. 86. The bracketed addition is al-Adhanī’s explanatory note. The names of the prayer hours refer to the persons of the holy family also mentioned elsewhere in this text.

129

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology of bees, ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, that this may be an hour of compliance, an hour of forgiveness, an hour of good will, and that you might accept it gracefully, by the merit of the lord messenger [Muḥammad] and the virgin Fāṭima, 87 and Muḥsin, the concealed mystery 88 and descending night, 89 and that you will accept it as you have accepted it from your righteous saints, and your messenger-prophets, and all the people who obey you, first and last”. It is recounted by Abū Shuʿayb Muḥammad b. Nuṣayr al-ʿAbdī al-Bakrī al-Numayrī, that he said: “Whoever wishes to be saved from the fire of [hell], should say: ‘O God, curse the gang who established iniquity and disobedience, the nine corrupt men, 90 who corrupted their way and misbehaved in their religion; those who go to hell and enter it. The first is Abū Bakr the cursed and ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, the enemy and the criminal, and ʿUthmān b. ʿAffān the damned Satan, and Ṭalḥa, Sʿad, Saʿīd and Khālid b. al-Walīd with the iron pole, and Muʿāwiya and his son Yazīd, and al-Hajjāj b. Yūsuf of the miserable Thaqīf clan, and ʿAbd al-Malik b. Marwān the fool, and Ḥārūn al-Rashīd, may God’s curse abide upon them forever, until the day of reckoning. 91 A day when it will be asked of hell: 'Are you filled?' And it will answer: 'Is there any more to come?'’ (Q. 50:30). And then you, ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, will do as you wish and will rule over whomever you please. I entreat you to send your wrath and

87. In Arabic: Fāṭima al-batūl, an appellation for Fāṭima, deriving from her identification with Mary, mother of Jesus. Tariq Rajab has drawn our attention to its appearance also in general Muslim sources where it is explained primarily by her ascetic inclinations. 88. For this appellation for Muḥsin, see above, p. 126 with note 71. 89. In Arabic: al-layl al-sājī. This is a paraphrase of the Qurʾanic verse (93:2): “by the brooding night” (wa-l-layli idhā sajā). Swearing by the times of change between night and day is a common motif in Suras from early Meccan period. 90. In fact, twelve of the Shīʿa’s principal enemies are listed here. 91. This list of the Shīʿa’s foes includes the three first caliphs (Abū Bakr, ʿUmar and ʿUthmān), four military leaders (Ṭalḥa, Saʿd [ibn Abī Waqqāṣ], Saʿīd [b. Zayd], Khālid b. al-Walīd), three Umayyad caliphs (Muʿāwiya, Yazīd and ʿAbd al-Malik) and, in addition, al-Ḥajjāj, the Umayyad governor of Iraq, famous for his iron fist. The ʿAbbasids are represented here by the famous caliph Hārūn al-Rashīd. The reference to the general Khālid ibn al-Walīd as “the one with the iron pole” is unfamiliar to us and may be a variation on his well-known appellation “God’s drawn sword” (sayf allāh al-maslūl).

130

Antinomianism, Rituals and Festivals chastisement upon Isḥāq al-Aḥmar, 92 the despicable, and Ismāʿīl b. Khallād 93 the ignorant. Curse Shaykh Aḥmad al-Badawī, Shaykh Aḥmad al-Rifāʿī, Shaykh Ibrāhīm al-Dusūqī, Shayk Muḥammad al-Maghribī, Shibl al-Marjān and Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī, and every Jew and Christian; and curse the [four jurisprudence] schools: the Ḥanafī, the Shāfiʿī, the Mālikī and the Ḥanbalī; 94 and send, O prince of bees, ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, your wrath and chastisement upon al-Jaland b. Karkar, 95 Isḥāq al-Aḥmar, and Qaddār, the sterilizer of the she-camel 96 and Ḥabib al-ʿAṭṭār. 97 And put them into the fire of hell (saqar), ‘and what will teach you about the fire of hell? It spares not, neither does it leave off scorching the flesh; curse be upon 98 the nineteen in charge of it’. (Q.74:27-30). And curse the tamers of apes and black serpents, 99 and all Christians and Jews, and all who believe that ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib eats, drinks, was born and sires [as any man]. 100 May God curse them! May God curse them! Lay your curse upon John Maron the damned Patriarch, 101 and upon all those who feed on your bounties while worshipping another. Rid us of them utterly as

92. Isḥāq b. Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī al-Aḥmar, the eponym of the Isḥāqiyya, a rival faction of the Nuṣayriyya in its early phase; see M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 17-19. 93. Ismāʿīl b. Khallād al-Baʿlbakkī, known as Abū Dhuhayba. He was the disciple and successor of Isḥāq al-Aḥmar; see Ibid. 94. Listed with the enemies of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion are some of the eponyms of the great Sufi orders, as well as of the four Sunnī schools of jurisprudence. 95. Also known as al-Jalandī b. Karkar, a tyrant identified with the tyrannical king mentioned in the Qurʾan, in the story of Moses and God’s mysterious servant who accompanies him.(Q. 18:79). 96. Qaddār b. Sālif, traditionally regarded as the one who sterilized and butchered the she-camel of the prophet Sāliḥ, an episode mentioned several times in the Qurʾan (e.g. Q. 7:73-77). 97. One of Isḥāq al-Aḥmar’s followers; see al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb majmūʿ al-aʿyād, p. 205. 98. The words “curse be upon” are not part of the Qurʾanic verse. 99. We do not know to whom this refers. 100. This reflects the concept of the incarnated deity, which denies any physical or human aspects of the divinity in its manifestation in the human figure of ʿAlī. This was a contentious issue in internal Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī polemics as well as between Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs and rival radical Shīʿī sects. 101. An apparent reference to John Maron, the first Maronite Patriarch (8th century), generally regarded as the quasi-founder of the official Maronite Church.

131

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology the removal of meat from the bone, by the mystery of sanctity of ʿAlī, Muḥammad and Salmān, and by the power of the virtue of ʿayn mīm sīn”. Then they all kiss one another’s hands to the right and left, and the Imam reads the Opening Sura (sūrat al-fātiḥa) and [the two last Suras of the Qurʾan known as] al-muʿawwidhatān, 102 and what follows, 103 up to the Sura of the Sun (sūrat al-shams). 104 Then he reads the “throne verse” [āyat al-kursī] 105 and other Qurʾanic verses at his will, and when he finishes the Qurʾanic verses he says to the congregation: “Know, brothers, that there are many verses and testimonies such as these, proving the knowledge of the great exalted [al-ʿAlī]. 106 I entreat you, prince of bees, O ʿAlī, O magnificent, by the sanctity of these testimonies, Suras, wonders and predestined events, and by the sanctity of the lord Muḥammad, who emanated from the light of your essence, to bless these people of goodness and kindness, and grant that God may uphold your abode, make flourish your gardens and destroy your enemies. May your supreme omnipotent Lord bless you, the blower of the trumpet [of the Day of Judgment]. 107 O God, pray for our lord the green al-Khaḍr, 108 for

102. The last two Suras of the Qurʾan – al-falaq (the Daybreak) and al-nās (the Men) – are called al-muʿawwidhatān (the two suras of refuge) because they begin with the formula aʿūdhu bi-rabb (“I take refuge with the Lord…”). They include formulas for chants and are thus commonly used as prophylactic prayers against demons, as well as on amulets. 103. The phrase “what follows” seem to be misplaced, as the aforementioned Suras conclude the Qurʾan and there is nothing after them. This statement is yet another indication of Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs’ typically meager acquaintance with the Qurʾan in recent centuries. 104. Sura 91 in the Qurʾan. 105. Verse 255 of Sura 2 (The Cow [al-baqara]). 106. The choice of this adjective, not infrequent in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī writings, encapsulates both ʿAlī’s name and his divine quality, referring simultaneously to God and to himself, or more accurately, to God as identified with him. 107. The trumpet blast ushering in the Day of Judgment is often mentioned in the Qurʾan (e.g. Q. 27:87, Q. 36:51). The blower of the trumpet is the angel Isrāfīl, who is not mentioned in the Qurʾan but appears in Ḥadīth literature and in Qurʾanic exegesis. 108. In Arabic: al-khaḍr al-akhḍar. These are the personal name and epithet of the mysterious servant of God, whom Moses accompanied on the wondrous journey recounted in the Sura of the Cave (sūrat al-kahf) (Q. 18:62-80).

132

Antinomianism, Rituals and Festivals God’s prophet King Alexander, 109 for Jaʿfar al-Ṭayyār, 110 for the Sulṭān Ḥabīb al-Najjār, 111 and for my lord Maytham al-Tammār. 112 […] May God make this evening and night blessed to us and to you, O brothers, O you who are present, by the sanctity of the powerful and omnipotent, O prince of bees, O ʿAlī, O magnificent!” (Al-Adhanī, al-Bākūra1, p. 40-46; al-Bākūra2, p. 51-56) d) Ordinary Wine and Sacred Wine (ʿabd al-nūr) It was said, regarding the drinking of wine: [Wine], including ordinary wine, 113 is the key to every good thing, for it is the key to earning bread, because people from among the Muslims espouse its drinking and it is even permitted among them, although it is contrary to their inward and outward religious law. In the words of [God], may He be exalted: “Say: Truly my Lord has only forbidden immoral acts, both open and secret, and unjust sin and oppression, and your associating with God that for which no authority has been sent down, and your saying concerning God that which you do not know (Q. 7:33)”. God forbade immoral acts, both open and secret, namely the three enemies [aḍdād], 114 including wine, which is their knowledge, that they have adorned, forged, transformed and substituted, and then regarded as evil – may God curse them – and they are the three. These then are the words concerning the secret and open immoral acts. 115

109. The story of Alexander the Great, “the man with two horns” (dhū al-qarnayn) as he is called in the Qurʾan, follows that of Moses and the mysterious servant of God (Q. 18:82-98), mentioned in the previous note. 110. ʿAlī’s brother; see p. 120, note 34. 111. This legendary figure is thought to be the king of Antioch, the town that tradition identifies – on the basis of a seeming allusion in the Qurʾan (36:13-32) – as the place to which two of Jesus’ apostles were sent. 112. Maytham b. Yaḥyā al-Tammār from Kūfa (d. 60/679) was a close devotee of ʿAlī. 113. In Arabic: al-khamr al-ẓāhir (the seen wine), i.e. the wine a person drinks for pleasure, as distinct from ʿabd al-nūr (the servant of light), mentioned later, which is the sacred wine used in the various rituals of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion. 114. Literally: “opponents”, a term for the enemies of the Shīʿa, headed by the first three caliphs – Abū Bakr, ʿUmar and ʿUthmān – who are called by a plethora of abusive names. See M. M. Bar-Asher, Scripture and Exegesis, p. 113-120. 115. I.e., the secret and the open immoral acts mentioned in the verse above.

133

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology God’s messenger said: “Wine itself is forbidden, for its drinking inebriates”. And he further said: “Whatever intoxicates when one drinks it excessively in the company of enemies, or modestly in the company of believers, is prohibited. Beware of drinking it with our rivals, for they would only add to your stupidity and reticence [from truth]”. He further said about this [ordinary wine] that it inebriates and hence God created it as comfort for believers and relief for the body, 116 and whoever says that this [wine] is ʿabd al-nūr is a heretic. The prince of the believers [ʿAlī] said: “The [sacred] wine is ʿabd al-nūr: the light (nūr) is Muḥammad and the servant (ʿabd) is Salmān and the wine is the great world. 117 And nothing of the darkness is diffused in the light, as nothing of the light is diffused in the darkness. This inebriating wine is destined to cause destruction and torments to the souls of heretics, whereas the souls of believers will feel relief”. [The prince of the believers ʿAlī] further said: “Strike the wine drinkers with eighty lashes. And the knowledge of the Umayyads 118 is proscribed inwardly and outwardly. This wine that they drink with enemies is sheer inebriation, 119 and whoever does it, there is no bond of allegiance between us”. And the prince of the believers further said: “[This wine] is permitted to you among yourselves, but is forbidden to you in the company of others. And whoever says that this [ordinary] wine that they drink with enemies is ʿabd al-nūr, is a heretic, since the wine drunk with them is darkness, and because it is darkness therefore ʿabd al-nūr is not its patron. We have thus revealed to you, O inquirer, great knowledge. I will take refuge with God the all-hearing and omniscient, from the cursed Satan”. (Al-Junbulānī, Īḍāḥ al-miṣbāḥ, p. 271-272)

116. I.e., as a kind of remedy. 117. Usually called “the great world of light” (al-ʿālam al-nurānī al-kabīr). This is the pre-cosmic world of light, in which the souls of believers dwelt before their fall to the material world; see above, p. 65. 118. Because of the animosity of the Umayyad caliphs towards the early Shīʿa, and especially their responsibility for the massacre of Karbalā’ (61/680), they were considered by the Shīʿa to be the epitome of evil and malice. See M. M. BarAsher, Scripture and Exegesis, p. 205-216. 119. Instead of sukr (inebriation), the printed version has here the from sakad, an abusive demonic appellation for ʿUmar (See R. Strothmann’s note to Majmūʿ al-aʿyād, p. 47).

134

Antinomianism, Rituals and Festivals e) Festivals and Holy Days • The Festival of Sacrifice (ʿīd al-aḍḥā)

God, may He be exalted, said in His book: “We have indeed given you abundance. So pray to your Lord and sacrifice. Surely, the one who hates you, he is the one cut off” (Q. 108). And also the words of God, may He be exalted and glorified, regarding the sacrifice: “[The camels — We have appointed them for you among the waymarks of God. In them there is good for you. So mention God’s Name over them, standing in rows]; and when their flanks fall, eat from them and feed the beggar and the suppliant. Thus We have subjected them to you, so that you may be thankful. Their flesh and their blood will not reach God, but the piety from you reach Him” (Q. 22:36-37). The multitude [of the Sunnīs] and the Shīʿīs of outward understanding 120 are accustomed to sacrifice on that day offerings and sacrifices, and to approach God, may He be exalted, by spilling their blood. But among the people of inward understanding, the person (shakhṣ) 121 of the Festival of Sacrifice is the redeemer (qāʾim), peace be from him. He will appear sword in hand and will spill the blood of every enemy, rival and opponent. His approaching God, may He be glorified, would be by spilling their blood, and no enemy and opponent of God will remain on the face of the earth. This is the day of the white return and the shining comeback and the uncovering of the veil. 122 This is the day that the multitudes of the Sunnīs call the day of resurrection. It is the day on which God, may He be exalted, said: “Then We restored to you the turn to prevail over them, and We succoured you with wealth and children, and We made you a greater host” (Q. 17:6). And He also said: “It is He who has sent his Messenger with the guidance and the religion of truth, that He may lift it above every religion, though the unbelievers be averse” (Q. 9:33 = Q. 61:9). This last verse alludes to the master Muḥammad who is the redeemer. This is the day on which God, may He be exalted, said: “The day that every soul shall come disputing on its own behalf” (Q. 16:111). [This day is also] the hour [i.e. judgment day]: “Say: ‘Perhaps it is near’” (Q. 17:51). And on this day [God]

120. Namely, all Shīʿī groups except for the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs, who are named here “the people of esoteric understanding”. 121. This refers to a figure in the divine realm represented in the terrestrial world by the commandment of sacrifice. 122. For these eschatological images see above, p. 103 and 122.

135

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology honours the festival of sacrifice according to the amount of sacrificial blood that has been spilled, “until even if a heretic hides behind a wall, it will lean and fall on him and kill him; and then [the wall] will shout: ‘O believer, here is a heretic hiding behind me, come and kill him!’123 And the whole religion will remain for the supreme and magnificent God.” (Al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb majmūʿ al-aʿyād, p. 25-26) • The Day of Ghadīr Khumm, the festival of the declaration of ʿAlī’s divinity 124 God, may He be exalted, stated it in His book, saying: “O Messenger, proclaim what has been sent down to you from your Lord. If you do not do that, you are not delivering His Message. God will protect you from the people” 125 (Q. 5:67). The (author) said: The messenger of God, may God’s prayer be upon him and his home, then approached the wooden beams, when he was in Ghadīr Khumm, gathered them and climbed upon the beams, and spoke to the people, holding the prince of the believers (ʿAlī), mercy be from him, and raising him until the white of the armpits of God’s messenger – God’s prayer and blessing upon him – was seen. The prophet then said: “Whosoever’s master I am, ʿAlī is his 123. A reference to the familiar tradition, quoted by several Ḥadīth compilations, according to which on Judgment Day Jews would hide behind rocks and trees, and these would call out to the Muslims and disclose the Jews’ hiding places. All rocks and trees would take part in this cosmic combat against the Jews except for the gharqad tree, considered “the tree of the Jews”. The gharqad is traditionally identified as the salt tree (Latin: nitraria). Here al-Ṭabarānī cites a version that refers to heretics in general. For a discussion of this hadith, see A. M. Oliver and P. F. Steinberg, The Road to Martyrs’ Square: A Journey into the World of the Suicide Bomber, Oxford 2006, p. 19-24. 124. In Shīʿī tradition the festival of Ghadīr Khumm marks the day of ʿAlī’s nomination as Muḥammad’s successor, which took place in this location. 125. It goes without saying that the verse does not even hint at ʿAlī, but Shīʿī exegesis regarded it as a warrant for the Ghadīr Khumm event and further anchored it in an alternative version of the Qurʾanic verse, known in Shīʿī tradition by the term āyat al-tablīgh (the verse of annunciation [of ʿAlī’s nomination]). According to the Shīʿī version, the verse says explicitly: “O messenger, proclaim what descended to you from heaven regarding ʿAlī!” (See M. M. Bar-Asher, “Variant Readings and additions of the Imāmī-Šīʿa to the Qurʾān,” Israel Oriental Studies 13 (1993), p. 57). As this passage goes on to make clear, Nuṣayrī tradition glorified the status of this holiday, which now celebrates the proclamation of ʿAlī’s divinity.

136

Antinomianism, Rituals and Festivals master; O God, be loyal to whomever is loyal to him, and an enemy to whomever is his enemy, and support whomever supports him, and humiliate whomever humiliates him”. This is the version of the multitude of the Shīʿa, of limited understanding, but the version of the unitarians (i.e. the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs), which is well certified [says]: “Whosoever’s master I am, ʿAlī is his maʿnā”. Thus [the prophet] interpreted and clarified that our lord [ʿAlī] the prince of the believers, peace be from him, is the maʿnā. This day is a day of appearance and revelation, and it is a day of calling in the historical cycle of Muḥammad. This is so, since [in this cycle] the maʿnā was revealed in his essence, when his Ism, the master Muḥammad, appeared in front of him and indicated him, and his bāb, Salmān, called to him and guided the people of the world to him, testifying for and against them; and the great world, the five thousand luminary creatures, were present, appearing together with the appearance of the maʿnā, the Ism and the bāb […]. The outward Shīʿīs say that this is a glorious day whose importance is great, since on this day God singled out the role of Imam for the prince of the believers. And He singled it out with the verse that descended on that day. 126 He (Muḥammad) fasted on that day as a thanksgiving to God for the grace He bestowed upon the prince of the believers in choosing him as Imam. But the unitarians (i.e. the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs) believe what we have already said earlier. Moreover, this is a day of revelation and appearance, and therefore it is customary to eat and drink on that day, to be merry and shake hands, to pray to God and thank Him for the grace He has granted. (Al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb majmūʿ al-aʿyād, p. 54-55) • The Day of “Āshūrā”– the festival of al-Ḥusayn’s docetic death in Karbalāʾ The Day of “Āshūrā” falls on the 10th of the month of Muḥarram, the first month of the Arabic year. 127 This is the day recounted by the multitudes of [the Sunnīs] 128 and the Shīʿīs of outward understan-

126. I.e., the verse mentioned at the beginning of this text (Q. 5:67). 127. To be distinguished from the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī year, which begins in the month of Ramadan. See Introduction, p. 29. 128. In Arabic: ʿāmma (the multitude), a term that in Shīʿī literature refers to Sunnī Muslims; see E. Kohlberg, “ʿĀmma,” Encyclopaedia Iranica 1, p. 976-977.

137

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology ding, 129 who claimed that it is the day when our master al-Ḥusayn, peace be from him, was killed. Far be from God the things that sinners fabricate from their hearts and that heretics think. They say that after the arrival of our master al-Ḥusayn in Kūfa, from Medina, Yazīd b. Muʿāwiya, 130 God curse him, ordered Shamir b. Marjāna b. Dhī Jawshān al-Ḍabābī, God curse him, to confront him at the head of an army. 131 The battle took place in Karbalāʾ on the bank of the al-ʿAlqamī brook [and ended] with killing and captivity, and the bringing of the [decapitated] head [of al-Ḥusayn] to Yazīd b. Muʿāwiya, may God the exalted curse him. Then our master al-Ḥusayn’s occultation took place and God cast his image on Ḥanẓala b. Asʿad al-Shibāmī. 132 The course of al-Ḥusayn’s life, his death and crucifixion was similar to that of our master the Messiah (Jesus), may his memory be in peace. The Christians believe that [Jesus]’s death and crucifixion and the entire course of his life are true. 133 And similarly the multitudes of Muslims and outward Shīʿīs believe that al-Ḥusayn’s death is true, and thus they are similar in their stance to the Christians. God sowed in their heart confusion and doubt, and proclaimed in His book: “Had We made him an angel, We would have made him a man and have confused for

129. In Arabic: ẓāhiriyat al-Shīʿa, a term denoting all Shīʿī groups apart from the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs, who are defined as “the true Shīʿa” (Shīʿat al-ḥaqq). On derogatory titles employed by the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs for the Sunnīs and Shīʿīs, and on the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs’s self-definition, see below, p. 170. 130. The third Umayyad caliph (680-683), under whose rule the Shīʿī revolt in Karbalāʾ took place. 131. This refers to al-Ḥusayn’s journey in 61/680 from the Arab peninsula to Iraq in an attempted revolt against the Umayyad caliphate, with a view to restoring the rule of the House of ʿAlī over the Muslim community. The confrontation took place near Karbalāʾ in southern Iraq and was rapidly won by the Umayyad army. Al-Ḥusayn and many of his men fell in the battle and their deaths became a symbol of heroism and a source of inspiration for Shīʿī martyrdom. 132. Ḥanẓala, a devoted follower of al-Ḥusayn, fell with him in battle. According to al-Ṭabarānī, it was not al-Ḥusayn who died but Ḥanẓala, who appeared in his image. The idea of the death of a double derives from Jesus’ docetic death and resurrection recounted in the Qurʾan; it is further developed by al-Ṭabarānī, following al-Khaṣībī, part of whose poem is cited below. On al-Ḥusayn’s martyrdom, see D. K. Crow, “The Death of al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī and Early Shīʿī Views of the Imamate,” Al-Serāt 12 (1986), p. 71-116 (reprinted in E. Kohlberg, ed., Shī‘ism: The formation of Classical Islamic World, Aldershot 2003, chap. 3, p. 42-86). 133. As opposed to the Muslim denial of Jesus’ death on the Cross, reflected in the Qurʾanic verse cited below.

138

Antinomianism, Rituals and Festivals them what they are confusing” (Q. 6:9). And God, may He be exalted, further said [about Jesus], rejecting them and their masses: “They did not slay him, nor crucify him, only a likeness of that was shown to them” (Q. 4:157). Indeed, our master al-Ḥusayn, peace be from him, is the Messiah (Jesus), and the Messiah is al-Ḥusayn. And the names of the prophets, the apostles and the Imams, from Adam to the redeemer (qāʾim), are the persons (ashkāṣ) of the master Muḥammad, peace from him and his names. Thus he was revealed in the Muḥammadan cycle in five names: Muḥammad, Fāṭir (Fāṭima), al-Ḥasan, al-Ḥusayn and Muḥsin. And these five are (in fact) Muḥammad, and al-Ḥusayn is one of the persons of the master Muḥammad. The master Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Khaṣībī, may God honour his stature, said in his epistle (al-Rastbāshiyya): “When the maʿnā wished to be revealed without the visible form (al-ṣūra al-marʾiyya), 134 which is the bald [one] with the belly, 135 He removed al-Ḥasan and appeared in the image of his [al-Ḥasan’s] form, and the mīm ( =Muḥammad, the Ism) in that era was the master al-Ḥusayn, peace be from him”. 136 Afterwards al-Khaṣībī said: “And al-Ḥasan, who is the maʿnā, removed al-Ḥusayn and appeared in the image of his form, and the mīm was then ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn, peace be from him”. 137 And the master al-Ḥusayn, as I previously said, is the Messiah and he is included in the names which are the Ism. And our master al-Khaṣībī set forth at the beginning of a poem his words supporting what we have said: Peace upon the land of al-Ḥusayn and his honour / peace upon the spirits of the lights of his creation And he concluded with these verses: Peace upon him whose person God covered with a veil / and revealed to his enemies a double in his image. [He is] as Jesus, and he is indeed Jesus, no difference between them / no doubt that he [al-Ḥusayn] is from the essence [of Jesus]. 138

134. The visible form refers here to the appearance of the maʿnā in the figure of ʿAlī. On this term, see above, p. 81-83. 135. These are two of the features commonly attributed to ʿAlī. See above, p. 81-82, 87. 136. On this dynamic of God’s appearance in the divine realm and in historical figures, see above, p. 24, 48-49 and 89. 137. He is the fourth Imam, known by his title ʿAlī Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn (d. 95/714). 138. To these three verses from Kitāb majmūʿ al-aʿyād (p. 108) cited again later in

139

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology The people of doubt and confusion think / that they have seen him really appear And they said: “We have killed him”, but they have not / and they have not crucified him but have seen another in his image 139 Thus they also imagined al-Ḥusayn in Karbalāʾ / as they perceived his life as the life of Jesus Far be it from al-Ḥusayn, son of Muḥammad’s daughter, / from a supreme light whose light is splendour Far be it from him that a sword would pursue and seize him / and that he would be called dead who is mourned and lamented How would sword and javelin overtake his body / which illuminates a straight path for his creatures How would death and killing overcome the soul of him / in whose power and mercy souls live By God this is the supreme trial / in which the creatures are purified after his vanishing Peace be upon the immense sacrifice by which / the light redeemed Ishmael on the day of his redemption 140 […] Al-Khaṣībī said in the Fiqh al-risāla 141 about the master al-Ḥusayn, that he is the maʿnā, and that he [the maʿnā] revealed [to all] al-Ḥusayn’s killing by ʿUmar ibn Saʿd and what happened to him (al-Ḥusayn) in Karbalāʾ: al-Ḥusayn is the maʿnā and on that day he set Ḥanẓala b. Asʿad al-Shibāmī as his double […] and redeemed him through “the second (i.e. ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb), may God curse him” [….] And it is said that Ḥanẓala was redeemed by a redeemed one (i.e. al-Ḥusayn). 142 Our master (Jaʿfar) al-Ṣādiq said about Ḥanẓala,

al-Ṭabarānī’s discussion (ibid. p. 111), we have added nine consecutive verses in which al-Khaṣībī elaborates on al-Ḥusayn’s docetic death. 139. A paraphrase of the Qurʾanic verse cited above, regarding the denial of Jesus’ death on the Cross. 140. This verse associates al-Ḥusayn’s docetic death with the story of Ishmael’s sacrifice, in which al-Ḥusayn’s divine figure saves Ishmael from being sacrificed. This is interpreted in detail in the explanation by al-Khaṣībī that follows, which al-Ṭabarānī cites from al-Khaṣībī’s al-Risāla al-rastbāshiyya. 141. This is the second part of al-Risāla al-rastbāshiyya, which includes al-Khaṣībī’s commentary on complex theological issues in his work. 142. Al-Ḥusayn was redeemed in the battle of Karbalāʾ, and as maʿnā he redeems Ḥanẓala from death.

140

Antinomianism, Rituals and Festivals that he is redeemed like his ism (al-Ḥusayn), because he (Ḥanẓala) had redeemed our master al-Ḥusayn by himself, and his master (al-Ḥusayn) redeemed him through [his] enemy (ḍidd). 143 The killing and the [spilled] blood relate to the enemy, may God curse him; the doubt and the confusion are the portion of the deniers, who think that the killing relates to our master al-Ḥusayn of good memory. Our master al-Khaṣībī mentions it in his Fiqh al-risāla, in the story of Abraham, God’s friend, peace be upon him, referring to the vision of Abraham: “My son, I have seen in a dream that I shall sacrifice you” (Q. 37:101) [….] The multitudes (both Sunnīs and Shīʿīs) say that the great sacrifice is a horned ram, handsome with beautiful eyes, that descended from paradise. But the ram described by the masses is not better than Ishmael. And [al-Khaṣībī goes on and adduces the] tradition of the Imāmī Shīʿa and the Mufawwiḍa, 144 according to which the great sacrifice is al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī, because he [already] knew in the world of shadows 145 that Ishmael was destined to be sacrificed according to Abraham’s vision. Looking at his descendants and at the best among them, Abraham said to his son Ishmael: “Who among you is willing to bear this sacrifice?” All his descendants fell silent, except al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī, who said: “Yes, I will relieve you of the burden of this sacrifice”. And it is he [al-Ḥusayn] who was in Karbalāʾ. [The Imāmī Shīʿa and the Mufawwiḍa] said that the word of God: “We ransomed him with a mighty sacrifice” (Q. 37:107) refers to al-Ḥusayn, because he is a ransom mightier than Ishmael and of greater virtue. And this thing is groundless [….]. The truth regarding the knowledge of the day of Karbalāʾ is what the unitarians (i.e. the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs) recount – that this is a day of concealment and revelation, when our master al-Ḥusayn concealed himself and removed [his son], our master ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn, and

143. A reference to ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, mentioned above, who is considered a demonic emanation. See above, p. 24 and 133. 144. The Mufawwiḍa are those who believe in tafwīḍ, namely, the delegation of authority. They maintain that following the creation of the world, God bestowed on the Imams the authority to continue the act of creation. This view, espoused by heterodox Shīʿī circles, is discussed extensively in H. Modarressi, Crisis and Consolidation in the Formative Period of Shi‛ite Islam, Princeton 1993, p. 21-29, 38-49. 145. On the world of shadows (ʿālam al-aẓilla), see Introduction, p. 24-26.

141

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology revealed himself in the image of his form; and it is therefore said “concealment and revelation” [….]. The opponents (i.e. the outward Shīʿīs) have the custom, on this day, of mourning, weeping, wearing black and openly expressing their grief and agony, [whereas] the unitarians are merry and joyful, praising and glorifying God the magnificent, imploring Him and acknowledging His unity, in stark contrast to the heretics. Our master al-Khaṣībī composed a poem on this: He who weeps and mourns his lord / I have no part and parcel in his camp, praise be to God He who weeps for the dead in Karbalāʾ / the Merciful should not relieve his grief. Peace be upon him who visits him testifying / that he lives in his paradise And in a handshake of peace / hearkens mercifully to their prayers when beseeched He will bestow forgiveness on them and mercifully pardon / them their sins when they respond to his call (Al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb majmūʿ al-aʿyād, p. 107-112 [with omissions]) • Christmas Eve and its veneration Christmas Eve falls on the 24th of December and, according to a [different] tradition, on the 25th [of the month] which is the end of the Roman year […]. The Lord the Messiah revealed himself in the birth that night through the lady, the Virgin Mary daughter of ʿImrān (Amram), the pure and chaste. 146 God, may He be exalted, spoke of her and recounted her virtues in His honourable Book, saying: “And Mary, ʿImrān’s daughter, who guarded her private parts, so We breathed therein of Our Spirit, and she confirmed the words of her Lord and His Books, and was one of the obedient” (Q. 66:12). [This Mary] in the Muḥammadan Cycle is Āmina daughter of Wahb, mother of the master Muḥammad. Some in our community

146. According to the Qurʾan, Mary the daughter of ʿImrān (the biblical Amram), sister of Aaron and Moses, is identical with Mary the mother of Jesus (see, e.g. Q. 3:35-37 and Q. 19:18 [where she is called “sister of Aaron”]). The identity between the two figures from historically separate eras has preoccupied Qurʾan exegesis throughout the ages, as well as modern scholarship; see e.g., G. Parrinder, Jesus in the Qurʾan, London 1965, p. 60-66.

142

Antinomianism, Rituals and Festivals said that she is Fāṭir (Fāṭima), 147 peace be upon her memory, for the master Muḥammad told her as she approached him: “Enter, O mother of her father!” Others say that he told her: “Welcome, O mother of her father!” 148 The messenger (Muḥammad) addressed her in these words because she is the mother of the three ḥās (namely) al-Ḥasan, al-Ḥusayn and Muḥsin. In fact, the mother of the master Muḥammad was none other than Āmina daughter of Wahb, who was Mary in the cycle of [Jesus] the Messiah. 149 The master the Messiah revealed himself from within her, as the master Muḥammad revealed himself from within his mother, who is Āmina daughter of Wahb. And proof of this is what my master and teacher told me: I came to my venerable master and teacher Abū l-Ḥusayn Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-Jillī, may God please him, and asked him a few questions about Mary daughter of ʿImrān. And he answered me: [Mary] is in the Muḥammadan cycle Āmina daughter of Wahb, mother of the master Muḥammad, whom God, may He be exalted, speaks of in the revelatory words (in the Qurʾan): ‘Speak of Mary in the Book when she withdrew from her people to a place in the east, and she put between them and herself a barrier. Then We sent to her Our Spirit, who appeared to her as a perfect man. She said, “I seek refuge from you with the Merciful, if you fear God”. He said: “I am only the messenger of your Lord to give you a pure son”. She said: “How can I have a son when no man has touched me, and I have not been unchaste?” He said, “[It will be] so. Your Lord has said: “It is easy for Me; and that We may make him a sign for men and a mercy from Us; it is a thing decreed”. So she conceived him, and withdrew with him to a distant place. The birth-pangs drove her to the trunk of a palm-tree. She said, “Would that I had died before this, and become someone totally forgotten!” But the one that was below her called to her, “Do not grieve. Your Lord has placed a stream beneath you. Shake the palm-trunk towards you, and you will cause 147. On Fāṭima’s appellation Fāṭir, see above, p. 69 and note 64. 148. In Arabic: ummu abīhā. See e.g. Maqātil al-Ṭalibiyyīn, ed. Aḥmad Ṣaqar, Beirut n.d., p. 46. 149. This reflects a familiar view in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī theology regarding the appearance of divine emanations in historical figures of different eras. Here, for example, the emanation of Āmina, daughter of Wahb and mother of the prophet Muḥammad, is revealed in different figures who are in fact but one – in Mary, mother of Jesus in the Christian cycle (who is also identified as Mary, daughter of Amram), and in Āmina, mother of the prophet in the Muslim cycle – and also, according to another view given by the author, in Fāṭima, Muḥammad’s daughter.

143

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology fresh, ripe dates to drop down to you. [Eat, drink and be consoled. And if you meet any mortal, say, “I have vowed a fast to the Merciful, I shall not speak to any person today.]” Then she brought him to her own folk, carrying him. They said, “O Mary, you have done an unbelievable thing! O sister of Aaron, your father was not a wicked man, nor was your mother unchaste”. She pointed to him. They said, “How can we speak to one who is a child in the cradle?” He (the child) said, “I am the servant of God. He has given me the Book, and made me a Prophet” (Q. 19:16-36). [On this], our master al-Khaṣībī said in the opening verses of one of his odes […]: The daughter of Amram, Mary, was expelled / from her folk because of their defamations When she arrived with our master the Messiah / when he was manifestly presented [God] made him speak in his swaddling clothes, and he told them / I am God’s servant and He will save me His Spirit is exalted and it is He Who made me / by His will might He take my life, and by His will resurrect me God, may He be exalted, said in another place in His book: “And We made the son of Mary and his mother a sign and lodged them on a height, where there was security and a spring” (Q. 23:50) […]. He revealed himself in his birth from her in a speech and a manifest sign, as God, may He be exalted, informed us in His book: “He shall speak to the people in the cradle and in maturity, and [he is] one of the righteous” (Q. 3:46). And the master the Messiah revealed on that night the [power of] speech, and in his revelation the virtue [of that night] was exalted and glorified. Hence the duty to venerate the status [of the night] and fulfil the [customary] duties, and to be blessed on it [ =the night] by prayer to God, may He be glorified. (Al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb majmūʿ al-aʿyād, p. 175-177 [with omissions]) • A Prayer for Christmas Eve God, I beseech You, through the power of Your light, 150 shimmering from the glory of Your reverence, and through language, speaking from the depth of Your wisdom, to elucidate the truths in the 150. This refers to the divine light mediating between the maʿnā and his emanations, often called “the light of essence” (nūr al-dhāt). From here to the end of the

144

Antinomianism, Rituals and Festivals mouths of your saints, through him who speaks wonders in his crib 151 and resurrects the dead from their tombs, the trustworthy who unties and binds, rewards and punishes, whom only wisdom comprehends and the senses perceive, who is confirmed through divine signs, from whom emanates the divine realm from the foundations of being, and the spiritual soul revealed through Jesus, 152 who ascends and vanishes in heaven. The source [of the light] is in the divine foundations, and its revelation in bodies of flesh and blood through the visible form 153 and heroic signs, a light that was separated from and returns to its source. His appearance was Roman and his speech Jacobite […]. 154 O God, my Lord, I beseech You by the power of Easter and by the power of the ascension to heaven, and by the power of the Prohibition 155 and the illumination, by the luminous spirit putting on form from the luminous Mary, the pure and immaculate, nourished from the palm and purified by the water of salsabīl, 156 distinguished in grace, whose memory is enshrined in heaven and whose son walks in ascending light, appears in a human figure and is concealed in a divine figure […]. I beseech you, O God, my Lord, prince of bees, by the power of baptism of the body, by the inner power of Christmas Eve, by the power of sanctity that You have bestowed and through which You have paragraph the description deals with the incarnation of the maʿnā through the light of essence in the figure of Jesus on Christmas Eve. 151. The one “who speaks wonders in his crib” is Jesus, as specified in the Qurʾan verse cited in this text. 152. Unusually, the name for Jesus here is Yasūʿ, prevalent in Christian-Arabic sources, and not ʿIsā, which appears in the Qurʾan and in post-Qurʾanic literature. It seems that this irregular usage is not accidental but rather in line with the abundant Christian terminology and names in this passage. 153. On this term, see the translated texts above, p. 81-83. 154. A reference to the appearance of the ism in the figure of Jesus in the Roman era, and to the Aramaic language spoken by him, implied by the adjective “Jacobite”. This term apparently alludes to the Aramaic-Syriac tongue, the language of the West Syrian Church, called “Jacobite” after one of its founders, Jacob Baradaeus. 155. On the term “Prohibition”, (taḥrīm) Strothmann notes that it refers to the first Sunday of Lent, known in the Arabic-speaking Orthodox Church by the term aḥad al-ḥurūm (Prohibitions Sunday); see al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb majmūʿ al-aʿyād, p. 178, note 5. 156. A spring in paradise, mentioned in the Qurʾan (Q. 76:18); in other contexts in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī literature, the name salsabīl serves as one of Salmān al-Fārisī’s appellations.

145

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology purified the hearts of Your saints, by the power of the Gospel and that which follows it, and by the power of the crucifixion and that which is above it, 157 and by the power of [Jesus’] death and the redeemer [of the crucified], 158 and by the power of the Ascension to heaven […], by the power of the magnificent Cross, by the power of holy Mary, and by the power of what was said in the church, and by the power of the exalted words of the hymns [of the holiday] of the palms (i.e. Palm Sunday), by the power of signs, by the power of saint Simon (Peter) […], by the power of the maʿnā who dwelled in Peter […], by the power of Saint George, by the power of “He who in heaven is God and in earth is God” (Q. 43:84). There is no God but Him, our Lord the prince of bees, ʿAlī, who appears in [the figures] of John (the apostle) and Simon Peter, and there is no ḥijāb but the master Muḥammad, who is revealed in [the figures] of Jesus, Moses and Saint George, 159 and there is no bāb but Salmān, who is revealed in [the figures] of Luke, Matthew and Mark. I beseech You, my God, my Lord, through you (i.e. ʿAlī) – since there is nothing above you – that you bring us to perfection of your knowledge, in every cycle and age, and that you lead us to your rightful path and set us to follow in your ways. Open for us the treasures of your grace and knowledge, and give us our livelihood in abundance, so that we may share it with our brothers in faith and our friends, and do not diminish it or keep it from us. Give us shelter from evils and disasters, O holder of the keys of heaven and earth; O generous and merciful, exalted and magnificent! (Al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb majmūʿ al-aʿyād, p. 178-179) 160

157. A reference to the Cross and the crucified Jesus. 158. A reference to Simon of Cyrene, who according to the New Testament relieved Jesus in bearing the Cross (Mark 15:21) and, according to an early Gnostic tradition, was the person crucified in Jesus’ image. This motif inspired the NuṣayrīʿAlawī tradition regarding the docetic death of al-Ḥusayn in Karbalāʾ (see above, p. 137-142). 159. The inclusion of Saint George in this list of saints can be explained by his identification with the mysterious al-Khaḍir, an important figure in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion and in Islam in general. 160. In Strothmann’s edition of Kitāb majmūʿ al-aʿyād this part of the text is deficient. We have supplemented it with the relevant passage from the edition of Silsilat al-turāth al-ʿAlawī: Rasāʾil al-ḥikma al-ʿalawiyya, vol. 3, p. 365-366.

146

Antinomianism, Rituals and Festivals • The Day of Nawrūz – the revelation of the divinity to the Persians and its transfer to the Arabs [The Nawrūz] is forever the fourth day of the month of April. It is the first day of the Persian year, in the month called Farwardīn Māh. It is a glorious day of great importance and supreme honour in the eyes of God and the mawālī, 161 to whom it is mandatory to submit. On this day great praises of this day were uttered in their name. I will recount, sir, what I have heard and what was transmitted to me with the help of God, may He be exalted, and His blessing. Know – God assist you in His worship – that the Sasanian kings of Persia 162 used to [celebrate this day] and mark its importance, and wear crowns [made of branches] of myrtle and adharyūn. 163 They would also sprinkle water on themselves and therefore it is called “Nawrūz.” 164 They would congratulate each other, give presents, including plants of myrtle, adharyūn and olive leaves, and wish each other the best of blessings. (Al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb majmūʿ al-aʿyād, p. 188) • A Prayer for the Day of Nawrūz Question 89: What is the Nawrūz? Answer: It is the sanctification of the wine in the chalice. Question 90: Recite to me [the prayer of] the Nawrūz. Answer: Know that [the prayer of] the Nawrūz is as follows: 165

161. These are the Imams or the persons in whom God was incarnated in various historical eras. 162. In Arabic: Akāsira (sing. Kisrā, the Arabic form of the name Khosrow) is an appellation for the kings of Persia prior to the Muslim conquest. 163. A Persian word for plants with red flowers, such as anemones, buttercups and poppies. See J. Hell, “Ād̲h̲ argūn,” Encyclopaedia of Islam2, vol. 1, p. 191-192. 164. Nawrūz: lit. “a new day” (Persian). The meaning of the sentence is not entirely clear to us. The author may be referring to the daily ablution that opens a “new day”. On the holiness of the Nawrūz, see J. Walbridge, “A Persian Gulf in the Sea of Lights: The Chapter on the Naw-Rūz in Biḥār al-Anwār,” Iran 35 (1997), p. 83-92. 165. The verses cited here are from a poem by al-Khaṣībī; they are also quoted by al-Ṭabarānī in a chapter devoted to the Nawrūz in his Kitāb majmūʿ al-aʿyād, p. 208-209.

147

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology Nawrūz is a beneficial and successful truth / realized in the loyalty of the most noble [sons] of Hashim 166 to God. [It is] a day on which God was manifested / in the Persian cycles, before [His manifestation] in the Arabic cycle. He raised them towards heaven, 167 and they beheld / the swings 168 with clear vision. Then Salsal was revealed in his lordship / following our Ancient of Days. 169 Drink pure wine, for this is / the day on which His light was manifested in the clouds, The Day of Ghadīr on which Muḥammad pointed / to God, Lord of the world. 170 (A Catechism of the Nuṣayrī Religion, p. 218-219 [Arabic]; p. 195 [English translation revised])

166. The House of Hāshim is Muḥammad’s clan of the Quraysh tribe. 167. This refers to figures from early Iranian history, primarily to kings and their dynasties. See M. M. Bar-Asher, “The Iranian component of the Nuṣayrī religion”. 168. The swings (marājīḥ) may allude to the swinging scales of justice that have an important role in the Nawrūz ceremony. See al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb majmūʿ al-aʿyād, p. 197. 169. On the idea of God (ʿAlī) as the “Ancient of Days”, and its background, see above, p. 64 with note 51. 170. Here Al-Khaṣībī identifies the day of Ghadīr Khumm in the Arabic cycle with the day of Nawrūz in the Persian cycle, both being days on which the deity was manifested. For a detailed discussion of this issue, see M. M. Bar-Asher, “The Iranian Component of the Nuṣayrī religion,” p. 217-227.

148

CHAPTER 4 INITIATION

1. Introduction

A

with other esoteric religions, such as that of the Druze, the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion gives particular importance to the process of initiation undergone by the believer seeking to join the inner circle. Esoteric religions are characterized by a dichotomy between a small group of initiates and the wider following who are ignorant of the religious mysteries. For Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs, the process of initiation begins only when the candidate has reached maturity. There is no specification in the texts regarding age, apart from Sulaymān al-Adhanī’s testimony, cited below, in which he notes that he began his initiation at the age of eighteen. Only a male believer, both of whose parents are members of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī faith, can be initiated. Unlike the Druze practice, women are totally barred from the mysteries of the religion. When the candidate has shown an interest in joining the esoteric circle – whether of his own accord or at the initiative of religious leaders who perceive an aptitude for that way of life – his parents turn to a mentor, whom the sources call a “sheikh,” asking him to take upon himself the initiation of their son. The beginning and end of this process are marked by two special ceremonies: the first, called taʿlīq (lit. “attachment” [to the guide]), involves the bonding of the disciple to the instructor, who teaches him the tenets of the religion and gradually reveals its mysteries. The term taʿlīq also denotes the whole period of discipleship, known also as nikāḥ al-samāʿ (lit. “marriage of obedience” [or “hearing”]); it is a kind of spiritual marriage between the mentor and the disciple, which is likened to marriage between the disciple and the guide’s daughter, or another woman from s

149

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology the community. This was part of a wider custom, followed in several Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī circles, of sharing their womenfolk; it is called “the obligatory commandment and the mandatory duty” (al-farḍ al-lāzim wa-l-ḥaqq al-wājib). Sometimes the marriage was interpreted concretely, as indicated in texts 6a and 6b below. 1 The initiation process, regarded as the disciple’s spiritual pregnancy, ends with his spiritual birth, celebrated at the second, closing ceremony, the samā‘. We have five sources for descriptions of the initiation process and ceremonies: – Kitāb al-ḥāwī fī ʿilm al-fatāwī (The Comprehensive Book on Jurisprudence) ascribed to al-Ṭabarānī, included in Rasāʾil al-ḥikma al-ʿalawiyya (Silsilat al-turāth al-ʿalawī), vol. 3, p. 45-61. From this work we cite a short account of the taʿlīq ceremony, which accords in part with the more familiar description given in text 2. – A short two-part treatise: the bāb fī maʿrifat al-taʿlīq (“a chapter concerning the attachment [to the guide]”) and bāb ma yajibu fī maʿrifat al-samāʿ (“a chapter concerning what is obligatory to know concerning obedience [lit.‘hearing’]”). This treatise, apparently composed during the consolidating period of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion (11th-14th centuries), survived in a collection of Nuṣayrī manuscripts kept in the National Library in Paris (Arabe 1450); we have translated parts of the treatise for this anthology. The collection is unfortunately rife with errors and lacunas resulting either from scribal ignorance or a deliberate effort to obscure the text, lest later copyists and readers misguidedly divulge sensitive secrets. The fragmentary and somewhat incoherent character of the collection is especially conspicuous in this short initiation treatise, hence the various omissions in our translation. – The description by Sulaymān al-Adhanī at the beginning of his work, al-Bākūra al-Sulaymāniyya. This is a coherent account, cited here in its entirety (text 5). – Risālat dukhūl al-talāmīdh (“‘the epistle of the disciples’ initiation”) – the short version. This is a brief epistle from an anonymous Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī manuscript preserved in a collective manuscript (majmūʿa) in the possession of our friend, Tariq Rajab. This manuscript contains Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī works together with Shīʿī compositions. We have no clear information regarding its date, apart from the 1.

150

For details, see M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 157; B. Tendler, “Concealment and Revelation: A Study of Secrecy and Initiation among the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs of Syria,” PhD dissertation, Princeton University, 2012, p. 111-122, and the texts in the appendix, p. 223-227.

Initiation fact that it was copied in recent decades from a manuscript copied in 1914. The epistle is found in folios 171-176 of the collective manuscript, its title announcing that it was intended to prepare the disciples of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion “according to the way of the master ʿAbd Allāh b. Ḥusayn al-Khaṣībī”. – Risālat dukhūl al-talāmīdh (“‘the epistle of the disciples’ initiation”) – the long version. This appears in the same manuscript as the short version, in folios 188-217, and contains a detailed description of the initiation process and the various prayers chanted during its ceremonies. There are many points of similarity between these five accounts. The translated texts below have been excerpted from the first three works mentioned above – (a) Kitāb al-ḥāwī fī ʿilm al-fatāwī ascribed to al-Ṭabarānī, (b) bāb fī maʿrifat al-taʿlīq (in its two parts) and (c) al-Adhanī’s account; the latter two are more familiar to modern scholars of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion. Following its first appearance, al-Adhanī’s description received considerable attention in several publications. Suffice it to mention a few: a full translation of al-Adhanī’s book was published by Edward Salisbury; 2 René Dussaud, in his work on the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion, devoted a detailed chapter to initiation based on the first and second texts in the above list; 3 quotations from the same two works are interspersed in a fine descriptive chapter on Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī initiation by Matti Moosa; 4 and an annotated Hebrew translation of bāb fī maʿrifat al-taʿlīq, with introduction and analysis, appears in an MA thesis by Iris Bar. 5 Differences between the two accounts of the initiation ceremonies, in bāb fī maʿrifat al-taʿlīq and in al-Adhanī’s text, respectively, may derive, as Dussaud and Moosa presumed, from the fact that they represent two different Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī subgroups. The account in bāb fī maʿrifat al-taʿlīq represents the Qamariyya/Kalāziyya subgroup, whereas al-Adhanī’s later work reflects the Shimāliyya/Shamsiyya subgroup to which his family belonged. 6

2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

See E. Salisbury, “The Book of Sulaiman’s First Ripe Fruits,” p. 227-234. See R. Dussaud, Histoire et religion des Noṣairîs, Paris 1900, p. 104-119. M. Moosa, Extremist Shiʿites, p. 372-381, See I. Bar, “The Initiation Ceremony in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion: A Critical Edition and Analysis of the Work bāb fī maʿrifat al-taʿlīq,” MA Thesis, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem 2001. On the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī subgroups, see R. Dussaud, Histoire et religion des

151

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology 2. Taʿlīq – the spiritual marriage and the bond between master  and disciple [The ceremony of attachment between master and disciple begins with a] sermon. 7 Then the naqīb 8 stands, the disciple on his right with his head uncovered. The naqīb orders him to lay his master’s shoe upon his head, and to distinguish the Imam’s shoe from all the shoes of the participants. [The naqīb] then orders him to ask the participants [to gather], and to say: O participants, I ask you in the way you ask God, which is the way of perfection, to ask my teacher and master, so-and-so […] to accept me as his son and property, to cleanse me from the contamination of polytheism and dualism, 9 to rescue me from the darkness of aberration and to guide me to the path of righteousness. May God favour your way and make you worthy of every good. The participants then stand up and say to the master: This disciple asked us to implore you to want him and accept him. If the naqīb concurs, he removes the [shoe] from the [disciple’s] head and sits him in front of the Imam. The people present gather around him to testify in his favour. The Imam then says: Know, may God favour your way, “your comrade has not gone astray, nor has he erred, nor does he speak out of caprice. This is simply a revelation that is being revealed, taught to him by one who is great in power” (Q. 53:3-5). 10 The prophet, God’s prayer be upon him and His blessing for peace, said: “Unite in the covenant of marriage, be fruitful and multiply and I will be proud of you before all nations until the resurrection and the

Noṣairîs, p. 77-103 and M. Moosa, Extremist Shiʿites, p. 337-341. In the Arabic: baʿda īrād al-khuṭba. It is not clear whether khuṭba relates to khiṭba (betrothal), thus indicating the symbolic bond of marriage between the master and the disciple, discussed afterwards, or to khuṭba (sermon), the address that opens the ceremony. One cannot rule out the possibility that the ambivalence was deliberate on the author’s part, so as to encompass both meanings. 8. The naqīb is the person who conducts the taʿlīq ceremony. 9. In Arabic: thanawiyya, written here erroneously as shanabūya, a derogatory name for the caliph Abū Bakr. Given the frequency of the appellation in NuṣayrīʿAlawī texts, it may be a copyist’s error. 10. According to traditional Muslim exegesis, these Qurʾanic verses describe the prophetic revelation to Muḥammad. 7.

152

Initiation [Day] of Judgment. [And] the angels and the wise act justly.” 11 [The prophet] did not mean [by his words] conjugal relations, but the relationship between master and disciple. 12 Know that this group has assembled only for the sake of your marriage. The prophet, God’s prayer be upon him and His blessing for peace, said: “He who knows what he asks for, deems it easy to struggle, and he who sacrifices a soul, acquires a soul”. We have nothing more valuable than the sanctity of knowledge, and there is no soul more valuable than your soul and your person. And if you sacrifice [your soul], I shall marry you to the wife of this my master, I mean my guide. 13 And it is permitted to you to decline. If the disciple declines [the Imam’s] offer, the Imam should order the wealthy among the congregants to raise for him and restore to him the sum of his expenditure. But if he accedes, [the Imam] takes his right hand saying: “I hereby marry you, by God’s command, by His will and according to the custom of His messenger, to the daughter of my master so-and-so, who is the deposit that God entrusted to him for your sake. It is a deposit given by God’s order […] to its owner. God indeed set in you something undeniable, namely the light of knowledge and the true faith. This light does not cease to grow and increase in [the disciple’s] soul, and thus his holiness and yearning to achieve what he is worthy of are invigorated, and his soul is thirsty for his master, 14 and he becomes ready [to receive] his words. This means the penetration of a drop [of sperm into the womb] and the development of the embryo, according to [God’s] word, may He be exalted: ‘His mother bore him painfully, and painfully she gave birth to him’ (Q. 46:15). [The penetration of the sperm] is the light of the sanctity of

11. The closing words of this ḥadīth are a paraphrase of Q. 3:18. For this ḥadīth, see e.g. Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-Bāqī al-Zurqānī, al-Maqāṣid al-ḥasana fī bayān kathīr min al-aḥadīth al-muntashara ʿalā āl al-sunna, ed. Muḥammad ʿUthmān al-Khusht, n.p., 1405/1985, p. 268-269 (ḥadīth 350). 12. The physical union serves as metaphor for the spiritual bond between master and disciple. Thus the term nikāḥ al-jimā‘ (physical union) is substituted by the term nikāḥ al-samā‘ (a union of listening, studying). 13. In addition, it is said that the marriage is with the master’s daughter. From al-Adhanī’s description it appears that in certain Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī circles this notion of marriage was also interpreted literally. See M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 157. 14. In the text: “for his disciple [….]”, which appears to be a scribal error.

153

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology knowledge coming to [the disciple], which is the development of his soul, which is his intimate confidant. And it is the beginning of light which God, may he be exalted, set in you that you may achieve perfection in a span of time limited to at least six months, its intermediate [range] is nine months, and its furthest [range] is four years. And it is preferable that it should be in the intermediate range […]”. [The Imam then asks the disciple:] “Do you agree to this matrimonial bond and are you content with it?” If he answers positively, [the Imam] kisses him between his two eyes, saying: “God bless you, and bless what you have, and what you wish for, and may He open your heart to accept it”. [The Imam] then reads [him the verse]: “God has bought from the believers their persons and their possessions for the price of the Garden [of Eden]; [they will fight in the way of God; they will kill and be killed; a promise binding upon God in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qurʾan. Who fulfils His covenant more fully than God? Rejoice in the bargain you have made with Him. That is the mighty triumph”] (Q. 9:111). The naqīb then presents him before his master, and [the disciple] kisses his hand and foot and the ground in front of him, and as he does so the master says to him: “Rise, may God favour your path”. And [his master] further orders him to drink the [wine] of the Imam’s mystery. 15 He [the disciple] then withdraws and stands at the edge of the assembly, drinking the [wine] of the Imam’s mystery, the [wine] of his master’s mystery, the [wine] of the audience’s mystery and the [wine] of his mystery. [The disciple then says]: “May God favour your end and sweeten [the wine] of mystery of your religion and your faith. I am your servant [subject] to your authority”. After drinking, he kisses their hands and feet. He first submits to the Imam, and then to the

15. The Arabic has the word sar, which in the form saʾr means “remainder,” i.e. “the remainder [of the wine]”, and as sārr (as the active participle form of the verb sarra) means “making happy”. In addition to these two distinct references for sar, there is the word sirr (mystery). The author alternates between these words to convey the gamut of meanings represented by the sacred wine and its mystery. This wine appears in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī texts as ʿabd al-nūr. A similar account of the disciple’s words on this occasion is found in the anonymous text, The Epistle of Initiation [to religion] (risālat al-dukhūl), mentioned in the introduction to this chapter. The first part of this work, beginning in folio 189, is called “Regarding the Drinking of the Mystery [wine] by the Disciples” (fī shurb al-sar li-l-talāmīdh). This version of the disciple’s words (Ibid., folio 190) also has “sar”.

154

Initiation congregants. Then they all drink the [wine] of the mystery of his master’s consent, saying: “May He sweeten the [wine] of your mystery, O so-and-so. May He sweeten the [wine] of your mystery and the mystery of your consent, disciple. You are blessed for coming [to us]”. They then sit down and perfumes and incense are brought forth. 16 Then the naqīb writes down the date, that is, the day and the month, lest there arise a dispute regarding the time span and the number of months [passed] until the night of the samāʿ. And if certain people are present [there] who did not attend [the taʿlīq], there is no blame in imitating those present and confirming [the date] in their testimony; and if the disciple does not wish it, then “there is no compulsion in religion” (Q. 2:256). And this is the meaning of the taʿlīq. The end. (Bāb fī maʿrifat al-taʿlīq, folios 158a-160a)

3. Samā‘ – The spiritual pregnancy and birth a) The spiritual pregnancy The period from the taʿlīq to the [spiritual] birth is the stage of [spiritual] pregnancy between the taʿlīq and samā‘ ceremonies. 17 The beginning of a person’s natural life is calculated according to the time of his birth, emerging from the womb, and his real age is calculated according to the time of his [spiritual] birth in the ceremony of the samā‘, from absence to reality; and the period of suckling is two years, according to both outward and inward [meaning] […]. The taʿlīq is like intercourse with a woman […]. 18 The people of literal understanding [interpret it] as indicating those who copulate with their spouses without producing a child. The period of pregnancy

16. On the significance of perfumes and their use in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī liturgy, see the texts on the “Sanctification of the Perfumes” (quddās al-ṭīb) and the “Sanctification of the Incense” (quddās al-bukhūr), translated above, p. 125-126. 17. The Arabic text (Bāb fī-l taʿlīq, folio 160a, lines 8-9) appears to be flawed. 18. Applying the image of an erotic union to the relationship between the spiritual guide and the disciple is unique to Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī texts, although the use of erotic images to express a mystical craving for union with the divinity is rather common in Sufism and mystical literature at large. From the context, it appears that the defective passage, omitted here, discussed the possibility that the initiation might fail.

155

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology may take place after a long while, and may not occur at all, as you have noted in your literal understanding […]. There are many who are bound to their masters in the bond of taʿlīq, without [achieving] the samāʿ. Yet the problem is not that, but rather the producing of a pregnancy. And once the master’s initiation of the youth is complete, there remains only the samāʿ […]. Literally, [pregnancy is] the penetration of the drop [of sperm] into the womb and the development of the embryo therein. This can happen on the first night when [the man] comes to the woman, but it may also take place after a while. And this is also the way of the light [of knowledge], which can illuminate the youth instantly upon his bond [with the mentor], or it may occur after a period of thirty months, between the taʿlīq and the samā‘. The period of suckling is thirty months, according to His words, may He be exalted: “We have charged man, that he be kind to his parents; his mother bore him painfully, and painfully she gave birth to him; thirty months [are his bearing and his weaning]” (Q. 46:15). Concerning the condition of miscarriage, indeed [it is similar] to the master teaching the mystery of God, which he possesses, to someone who does not receive it, while the death of the youth is the denial [of God’s mystery] after knowing it, which was the reason for his life […]. Pregnancy and birth from a mother are more appropriate, 19 and the master is content with the youth more than the youth with himself […]. And according to the literal understanding, it is said that the youth (i.e. the disciple) bore his soul, gave birth and suckled it. We have [an example], according to the literal understanding, of someone born without father and mother, namely Adam and Eve, [and an example of] a mother who gave birth without a father, namely Mary who begot Jesus. And everything existing in the visible [world] similarly exists in the esoteric (bāṭin) world. 20 And if the youth in relation to

19. The author is referring to two unnatural instances of human procreation: the birth of Adam and Eve without father and mother, and the birth of Jesus without a father. 20. The idea of parallelism between the visible and hidden worlds is a central one, forming the basis of allegorical and symbolical interpretation in Shīʿī Islam and Sufism. See M. Ebstein, Mysticism and Philosophy in al-Andalus: Ibn Masarra, Ibn al-‘Arabi and the Ismā‘īlī Tradition, Leiden 2014, p. 188-229.

156

Initiation his master is in the position of a woman, then the pregnancy is more appropriate for a woman, because birth, suckling and weaning are more appropriate to mothers than to fathers. When the youth rose in the assembly and drank from the [wine] of his master’s mystery, saying: “O God, pray to Muḥammad”, he meant the father who is the little Muḥammad, who is Salmān. 21 Since the [disciple’s] position in relation to him [i.e. to Muḥammad] is like the position of the lord Salmān. Since he is the messenger to them, their guide, their redeemer from error to the way of righteousness, granting them life and knowledge. (Bāb fī maʿrifat al-taʿlīq, folio 160a-162b) b) The ceremony of samā‘ – spiritual birth Regarding the samāʿ, it should be deferred until the time of dawn, as the ancients and the distinguished masters among the believers used to do. The naqīb rises [from his sleep] and wakes whoever sleeps. The Imam and the gathered people sit down, and the naqīb introduces the young disciple to the Imam, places his [the disciple’s] hand in the hand of the Imam, and reads the words of God, may He be exalted: “Those who swear allegiance to you are swearing allegiance to God. The hand of God is above their hands. Whoever breaks his oath breaks it against himself; but whoever fulfils the covenant he has made with God, He will give him a mighty reward” (Q. 48:10). Know, 22 may God favour your way, that you have prepared your soul to ask for an immense thing and something great that only a favourite angel, a messenger prophet, or a believer whose heart God has tested in knowledge and faith, take upon themselves. 23 Tell me then what has been established in your mind and imagined in your soul and understanding, and what 21. An allusion to the idea of a dynamic divinity, expounded in other Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī texts. According to this concept, the powers in the divine realm are not static but in constant motion. See above, p. 24, 48-49, 56 and 89. 22. What follows are the Imam’s words to the disciple. 23. The distinction between a favorite angel (malāk muqarrab) and an ordinary angel, and between a messenger prophet (nabī mursal) and an ordinary prophet, is common in the Qurʾan and is abundantly discussed in Qurʾan exegesis; the favorite angels are the senior ones, and include Gabriel, Michael and Isrāfīl; the idiom “a believer whose heart God has tested in faith” is a paraphrase of the Qurʾanic verse 49:3.

157

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology you ask from this person. And this after the naqīb has explained to the youth what he should answer the Imam when interrogated by him. And when the Imam asks him, and the [youth] answers him, the Imam reads to him the words of God, may He be exalted: “We shall cast upon you a weighty word” (Q. 73:5). [….] And if you agree to what I have told you and to what you have heard from me, I shall order your master to accept your request [to join the religious savants] and restore to you the [deposit?]. 24 After he accepts the commitment and the covenant, tell him: “You have taken upon yourself the commitment of God, His covenant, His tutelage and the tutelage of God’s messenger, God’s prayer be upon him and His blessing for peace”. (The disciple’s oath): “I swear by God thrice. The eternal God vouches that my hand is solely in the hand of the everlasting God; and if I do not [uphold my pledge], I shall have no part in God, His greatness, His power, His prophets, His angels, His [holy] books and His messengers […]. And when this matter has reached me and I have considered it worthy, I [resolved] to memorize, cherish and diligently keep it secret. I swear by God, and God vouches [for that]; [I swear] by God and by the pledge and covenant He made with the prophets”. (The Imam’s words): You will keep secret everything you have heard, known and studied, namely, the words of your guide and the words of the Imam of your time, 25 who brought you out of absence to existence, and from bad fortune to good fortune, gave you faith [and taught you the] faith of the believers in Him in their pledge to Him. [He also taught you the] matters of his brothers in faith [….]. May God benefit the way of the honourable and fortunate teacher […]. [I swear] by God that you are entrusted with this contract, on the condition that you do not break it and divulge it openly or clandestinely according to the circumstances of the time. To this contract and

24. From here the text specifies further what the Imam should tell the disciple. 25. In the Twelver Shīʿa the term “Imam of the time” (imām al-zamān) refers to the historical Imams, each in charge of his own period. The final Imam, the concealed, is called “master of the time” (ṣāḥib al-zamān), namely, the one in charge of the whole era from the time of his disappearance until his eschatological return. Here the term “the Imam of your time” (imām zamānika) appears to refer to the Imam heading the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī community; he is the senior figure present at the initiation ceremony.

158

Initiation this commitment, you have pledged allegiance, therefore say: “Yes” [to confirm] that you will not divulge anything of this covenant, not in our lifetime, nor after our death; not out of rancour, nor out of vanity; not out of opposition, nor out of fear; not voluntarily, nor in time of stress; not out of avarice, nor in case of destitution. [Then the disciple says]: “Even if it does not suit me, I hereby [swear] by God that I will not divulge [the secret] to anyone, not by word of mouth nor in writing; I will not pass it by hand [in writing to anyone] nor defame this community, and will not expose what you have commanded me regarding it, and asked me to keep secret from everyone”. [The Imam says]: If you disobey what we have ordered regarding this matter, when your circumstances are such that you mentioned before, then you are outcast from God, the Creator of heaven and earth, Who created you, shaped your body, and benefitted you in spiritual and earthly affairs. You are then outcast from God, His messenger and favourite angels, outcast from the Torah, the Gospel, the Book of Psalms and the Qurʾan, and from the magnificent Reminder of God […]. 26 Say: “May God guard me, lest I recant what I heard from you, O so-and-so. I swear by God, Who has graced you in spiritual and earthly matters”, say: “My oath is an oath, and my purpose is as the purpose of him who appointed me heir”. Thereafter say: “May God favour your way, for you have carried out what [was assigned] to you, and understand therefore, what the duty of your master is towards you. […]”. The naqīb then sets him before his master, saying: “God commands you to pay back to their owners things entrusted to you” (Q. 4:58), and then he reads [the verse]: “And when God took the covenant of those who were given the Book: ‘You shall make it clear to the people, and not conceal it’. But they flung it behind their backs and bought a small gain with it – [evil is what they purchase!]” (Q. 3:187). His master then opens his heart […]. Then the disciple kisses the ground before his master, and kisses the Imam’s head and hand, and the ground before him, and his master does likewise. The master then stands up until the Imam bids him sit, and he sits down.

26. Listed here are the writings regarded as revealed scriptures. It may be noted that in the Qurʾan the Book of Psalms (al-zabūr) is considered as a scripture in its own right, which was revealed to David. The expression “the Reminder” (al-dhikr) usually refers to the Qurʾan, but here it is listed as a distinct holy scripture.

159

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology The Imam then bids the youth to proceed towards his master and kiss his hand, his head and the ground in front of him. He should remain standing at the edge of the audience, until the Imam orders the naqīb to give him a cup [from which] he drinks the [wine] of the Imam’s mystery. 27 [The disciple] then kisses the ground before him and returns to his [previous] place at the edge of the audience. The naqīb hands him another cup, and he drinks the [wine] of his master’s mystery and kisses his head, his hands and the ground before him. He then returns to his previous place. The naqīb gives him a third cup, and [the disciple] drinks the [wine] of the audience’s mystery and kisses their hands and the ground at their feet, out of willing obedience. While he is doing so, each of the attendants stands and drinks the [wine] of the mystery of initiation, kisses the Imam’s hand, and returns to his place until the meeting is over. The Imam then orders the youth to withdraw from the attendants so they may be with themselves and return to their places and initial state of prayer. Praise is solely to God, Who has no partner. (Bāb mā yajibu fī maʿrifat al-samāʿ, folios 162b-167b)

4. The rules of the taʿlīq [The taʿlīq] is a union with a woman, as the two consorts have agreed between them to be in a state of bonding [taʿlīq] to [the mystery] of ʿayn mīm sīn, which is the entry of the drop [of sperm] into the womb. The shortest time for conducting the taʿlīq [ceremony] is sixth months for an old man […]; the medium interval is nine months for an adult and the longest interval is two years for a youth. Concerning each of these three [states] there is evidence from the [sacred] books, but this is not the place to discuss them. A youth and even an old man who have reached maturity [ḥilm] may then join [the religion]. For Jesus was granted a revelation as an infant, whereas Moses was granted a revelation as an old man. After the taʿlīq [ceremony] there is no carrying the shoe, and the disciple should maintain a regular contact and intimate relationship with his master throughout the period of the taʿlīq and this is worthy,

27. On this repeated drinking of the mystery wine, see above, p. 154, note 15.

160

Initiation recommended, beautiful and good for the guide regarding his disciple, and it is a sign for a healthy pregnancy. If the guide discerns that the disciple is ready and finds him keen, he should encourage him to reveal the deposit. If indeed the disciple is such, the samāʿ [ceremony] should be held on the seventh [month]; whereas if [the guide] realizes that there is a reason to postpone [the ceremony], and during the eighth month he discerns the [disciple’s] maturity, then the samā‘ should be held on the ninth [month]. And if in the eighth month he does not yet discern his maturity, the samā‘ should take place on the ninth month. And if the guide is not content with the disciple and moreover discerns in him a certain weakness, it is not his own fault, but a sign that the disciple is not pregnant at all, and he should reject him, for not every woman becomes pregnant on the first night of union. [The guide] knows the mystery of the disciple and his secret, and it may happen that a disciple is found sterile and infertile, as occurs with women. This is common, and we have already seen [a disciple] who was attached to a teacher for a period of twenty years and more, to no avail. (Al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb al-ḥāwī, p. 54-55)

5. The initiation of Sulaymān al-Adhanī I was born in the town of Antakya (Antioch) 28 in the year 1250 H ( =1834-5 CE). I lived there for seven years and then moved to Adhana. 29 When I was eighteen years old my community members began revealing to me their mysteries [of religion], which they disclose only to one who has reached this age or the age of twenty. One day there was a gathering of a group [of initiates] from among the elect [al-khāṣṣa] and the commoners [al-ʿāmma]. 30 They invited me to come to them and gave me a cup of wine to drink. Then the naqīb

28. The town is located in southern Turkey, near the border with Syria, in a region with a large Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī population. 29. Adhana is located north-west of Antioch. 30. This division may indicate two classes in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī community from which the esoteric circle is composed: the first includes veteran families, from which the initiates are traditionally recruited; the second consists of the rest of the community, whose members may also be initiated into the esoteric circle.

161

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology stood by my side and said to me: “Please say: ‘I swear by the mystery of your beneficence, my uncle and master 31 and crown of my head. [From now] I am your disciple and your shoe is on my head’.” After I drank the cup [of wine] the Imam turned towards me, saying: “Are you ready to take up the shoes of those present here and put them on your head out of respect to your master?” I replied: “Not at all! [I am ready to put on my head] only the shoe of my master.” The audience burst into laughter at my refusal to accept the rule [of the ceremony]. Then they ordered a servant to bring the shoe of the master mentioned; they uncovered my head and laid it thereon, and put a white cloth over it. The naqīb then began to pray that I might receive upon myself the mystery, and when he ended his prayer they took the shoe off my head, ordered me to keep secrecy, and dispersed. This [first] gathering is called “the Council” (al-mashūra). After forty days another gathering convened and its participants invited me to come. The guide stood by my side with a cup of wine in his hand. He gave me the cup to drink and ordered me to say: “The mystery of ʿayn mīm sīn.” The ʿayn is ʿAlī whom they call maʿnā; the mīm is Muḥammad whom they call ism and ḥijāb, and the sīn is Salmān the Persian whom they call bāb. The Imam then said to me: “You must pronounce this utterance – the mystery of ʿayn mīm sīn – five hundred times a day.” They again ordered me to secrecy and dispersed. This [second] gathering is called “the Gathering of the King” (al-malik). 32 After seven months passed (which may be nine months for commoners) another gathering convened and its participants were invited to come according to their custom and stood me at a distance from them. Then a representative (wakīl) rose with the naqīb on his right and the najīb on his left, each with a cup of wine in his hand. They turned their faces towards the Imam and chanted the third hymn, by Ḥamdān al-Khaṣībī, which I shall set down after the holiday prayers. Then they faced the second guide, 33 chanting this hymn:

31. A reference to the mentoring guide. 32. It is not clear from the context why this gathering is called malik (king), which was regarded as one of “God’s most beautiful names” (al-asmāʾ al-ḥusnā) and appears in the Qurʾan (Q. 54:55). 33. The presence of a second guide appears to reflect a particular custom in al-Adhanī’s community, and is not familiar to us from other texts.

162

Initiation I enquired after the virtues where they dwell / certain men referred me to you I swear by Muḥammad and his household / have mercy on him who kisses your hands You are my goal. Let not my hope prove vain / we are now under your tutelage They then put their hands upon his head and sat down, and he stood up, took the cup from the representative’s hands, bowed down and genuflected and read the sura of “the Genuflection,” which is the sixth chapter [of Kitāb al-majmūʿ]. 34 He then raised his head and read the “sura of the ʿayn”, which is the ninth chapter. 35 Then he drank the cup [of wine] and read the “sura of Salutation” (al-salām), which is the seventh chapter. 36 These suras will be mentioned in their place. He then stood up, faced the Imam and said: “Yes, yes, yes, my lord Imam.” The Imam said to him: “May God bestow His grace upon you and upon those around you. You have done something that none of this gathering has done, for you have taken this cup in your hands, drunk, genuflected and saluted with the blessing of peace. 37 And it is worthy to worship God. But what do you now require and what is your desire?” [The second guide] said: “I wish to dedicate an evening [of study and prayer] in honour of God”. He then went outside, looked towards heaven, and returned to them saying: “Yes, yes, yes, my lord”. The Imam repeated and asked him as before: “What do you require and what is your desire?” And he replied: “There is something that I have to do”. [The Imam] answered: “Go do it” He turned away from them and approached me so I could kiss his hands and feet. I kissed them and returned to them and said: “Yes, yes, yes, my lord Imam”. The Imam then asked him: “What is your wish?” He (the second guide) replied: “A man appeared to me on the way and said to me: ‘Have you not heard what our master al-Muntajab al-Dīn al-ʿĀnī has said: 'Every brave man fears the night'?’” 38 He (the second guide) answered: “I Passages from this sura are translated above. See R. Dussaud, Histoire et religion des Noṣairîs, p. 192-193. See Ibid., p. 190-191; al-Bākūra1, p. 21-22; al-Bākūra2, p. 32. The blessing of peace (taslīm) is the pronouncement of the formula al-salāmu ʿalaykum wa-raḥmatu llāh (peace be upon you and God’s mercies), which ends each of the obligatory prayers in Islam and is uttered once facing to the right and a second time facing to the left. 38. See Al-Muntajab al-‘Ānī, Diwān al-Muntajab, ed. Hāshim ʿUthmān, Beirut

34. 35. 36. 37.

163

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology have a brave heart and am not afraid”. He then looked at me as well, turned to them and said: “The name of this man 39 is so-and-so and he came to be initiated by you”.The Imam then enquired: “Who directed him to us?” He replied: “The eternal maʿnā, the august ism and the honourable bābʾ and this is the utterance ʿayn mīm sīn”. The Imam said: “Bring him that we may see him”. The guide took my right hand and led me towards the Imam, and as I neared him he stretched his feet towards me and I kissed them. Then he stretched his hands to me and I kissed them as well. He asked me: “What do you require and what do you wish, young man?” Then the naqīb rose, stood next to me and instructed me to say: “I swear by the mystery ceremony that you hold, O community of believers”. [The Imam] then eyed me with a stern look and said: “What impelled you to beseech us to [share with you] this mystery crowned with pearls and gems, which only favourite angels and messenger prophets possess? Know, son, that there are many angels, but only the favourites among them possess [this] mystery; and there are many prophets, but only the messengers among them possess this mystery; and there are many believers as well, but only the proven ones (al-mumtaḥanūn) possess this mystery. Do you take upon yourself not to divulge this mystery even at the price of cutting off your head, hands and feet?” I answered: “Yes”. He then said: “I want you to furnish a hundred guarantors for that”. Those present then said: “The rule, our lord Imam!” And [the Imam] said: “Out of respect for you, I ask that there should be twelve guarantors”. Then the second guide stood up and kissed the hands of the twelve guarantors and I too kissed their hands. Then the guarantors rose and said: “Yes, yes, yes, our lord Imam”. The Imam then asked: “What do you want, nobles?” They replied: “We have come to vouch for so-and-so”. He said: “And if he divulges this mystery – will you bring him to me that we may cut his body and drink his blood?” They answered: “Yes”. He then asked: “I am not content with your guarantee and I ask for two prominent persons to vouch for your guarantee”. One of the guarantors then approached with me following him, and kissed

1423/2002, p. 23 (poem 23). Al-Muntajab al-Dīn al-ʿĀnī (d. 400/1009) was one of the great poets of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion. His poetry, which is suffused with theological ideas, was recently studied by T. Rajab in his PhD dissertation, “Theological Aspects of the Nuṣayrī-‘Alawī Religious Poetry”, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2020. 39. Namely, al-Adhanī, whom the second guide introduces thus to those present.

164

Initiation the two prominent guarantors whom the Imam asked for, and I kissed their hands as well. The two guarantors then rose and stood with their hands on their breast. The Imam turned to them saying: “God bless your evening with goodness, distinguished, pure and elect 40 guarantors, what is your wish?” They replied: “We have come to vouch for the twelve guarantors and for this man”. He then asked: “And what if he escapes before having fully learnt the prayer, or divulges this mystery – will you bring him to me to take his life?” They answered: “Yes”. The Imam then said: “The end of the guarantors is to die, and that is also the end of the guarantors of those guarantors, and I want something imperishable”. They said to him: “Do as you please!” He then turned to me saying: “Come to me, young man!” I approached him and he adjured me by all the heavenly bodies that I would not disclose this mystery, and put in my right hand the Kitāb al-majmūʿ, and the naqīb instructed me to say: “My lord Imam, please swear me into this magnificent mystery and you are clear of my sins”. He then took the book from me and said: “My son, I swear you [into it] not with respect to money or tutelage, but only for the sake of [guarding] God’s mystery, as our teachers and masters have sworn us”. These words and acts were repeated three times. I then placed my hands upon the Kitāb al-majmū‘ three times, swearing by it to him, that I would not disclose the mystery as long as I live. [Disciples from among] the commoners 41 are sworn more times than that, especially the Nuṣayrīs of the Latakia region. The Imam then added: “Know, my son, that the earth will not receive you to be buried in it if you disclose this mystery and you will never be reincarnated in a vestment of flesh and blood, but after your death you will be reincarnated in animals and inanimate objects and will never be delivered from [the punishment of] transmigration. Then they seated me among them, uncovered my head and put a veil over it. The guarantors then began to pray, reading ‘the sura of the Victory’ (al-fatḥ), 42 ‘the sura of Worship’ (al-sujūd) 43 and the

40. “Elect” is the translation suggested here for the enigmatic term ahl al-barsh wa-l karsh, whose meaning is difficult to clarify and which we have not found in any other source. It would seem from the context, however, to signify something close to our suggestion. 41. For the division between commoners (ʿāmma) and the elect (khāṣṣa), see above, p. 137, note 128. 42. The fifth sura in Kitāb al-majmūʿ, part of which is translated above. 43. The sixth sura in Kitāb al-majmūʿ, part of which is translated above.

165

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology ‘sura of the ʿayn’. 44 Then they drank wine and read the ‘sura of Salutation’ (al-salām). 45 They took their hands off my head and the person in charge of my initiation (ʿamm al-dukhūl) took me and passed me to my first guide. He then took a cup of wine in his hand, gave me to drink and instructed me to say: ‘I swear in God’s name, by God and by the mystery of my lord Abū ʿAbd Allāh 46 who knows the knowledge of God [and] the mystery of His good remembrance’. The gathering then dispersed and the guide took me with him to his home.” (Al-Adhanī, al-Bākūra1, p. 2-7; al-Bākūra2, p. 13-18)

6. Fulfilment of “the obligatory commandment and the  mandatory duty” a) Sulaymān al-Adhanī’s testimony on fulfilling “the obligatory commandment and the mandatory duty” After a few days I travelled to a village named Wadi al-Jarb (in Turkish: Vedicereb or Koyunoğlu) near the town of Antakya and encountered a (Nuṣayrī) sheikh from the esoteric elite, and he hosted me with him. When night fell they made a bed for me in an empty room. It was close to two o’clock after midnight when suddenly I heard a knock on the door. I opened it and lo a woman [stood] in front of me. She entered, locked the door behind her and lay down beside me. As I was embarrassed and wondered about her intention, after a little while she began talking to me and asked: “Do you not accept ‘the obligatory commandment and the mandatory duty’ (al-farḍ al-lāzim wa-lḥaqq al-wājib)?” Then the words of the Imam and guide came to my mind and I realized that “the obligatory commandment and the mandatory duty” is the offering of their (i.e. the Nuṣayrīs’) women to each other. On the second day I thought to myself and said: “Indeed I am engaged to the daughter of their Imam, and whenever one of their 44. See R. Dussaud, Histoire et religion des Noṣairîs, p. 192-193; al-Bākūra1, p. 25; al-Bākūra2, p. 35. 45. See R. Dussaud, Histoire et religion des Noṣairîs, p. 190-191; al-Bākūra1, p. 21-22; al-Bākūra2, p. 32. 46. This is a reference to al-Khaṣībī.

166

Initiation sheikhs comes to me I am obliged to give her to him according to ‘the obligatory commandment and the mandatory duty’, and this is an extremely difficult task for me which I cannot endure”. (Al-Adhanī, al-Bākūra1, p. 93-94; al-Bākūra2, p. 108) b) More on “the obligatory commandment and the mandatory duty” When your Nuṣayrī brother in religion comes to you, give him food and drink, treat him with respect and do not prefer yourself over him in anything. If he is one of the sheikhs, naqībs or najībs, then offer of your own accord to observe “the obligatory commandment and the mandatory duty”, and take care not to withhold it from him, for if you do, you will have fallen short in the religion and it will be as if you are one of the heretics who secede from our holy community. Offer him your wife, or your sister, or your mother, or your daughter, so that he may enjoy her for as long as he is with you. For the gains of this worldly life are shared among the Nuṣayrīs [….] [Performing] this deed for the sake of fulfilling “the obligatory commandment and the mandatory duty” is not prostitution […], as long as the woman gives herself for the sake of God […]. One of the uninitiated Nuṣayrīs had a very beautiful wife whom he loved very much. When one of the initiates visited him, he honoured him as he should and did not withhold from him anything except his wife. He thus acted as the heretics, for he prevented her from performing “the obligatory commandment and the mandatory duty”. Our master [the guest] was then quick to curse him, and he and his wife turned into two pigs, male and female. One of the Christian heretics bought them and they suffered several years in this reincarnation. Finally, they became two stones on the doorstep of one of the Muslims. (Al-Majmūʿ fi ʿaqāʾid al-nuṣayriyya, folios. 17-19; B. Tendler, “Concealment and Revelation”, p. 235-237)

167

CHAPTER 5 IDENTITY AND SELF-DEFINITION

1. Introduction

t

sectarian self-definition of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion took shape during the first two centuries of its existence, that is, between the end of the 9th century and the middle of the 11th century. The religion’s identity, as well as its name, is tied to Muḥammad ibn Nuṣayr al-Namīrī, who was probably a devotee of ʿAlī al-Hādī (d. 254/868), the tenth Imam of Twelver Shīʿism. It appears that Ibn Nuṣayr’s heterodox views caused the Shīʿī Imam to dissociate from him, and a radical group began to form around him, sowing the seeds of separation from Shīʿī Islam. 1 In Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī tradition, however, Ibn Nuṣayr is portrayed as the confidant of al-Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī (d. 260/873-4) – the eleventh Imam – and the founder of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion and identity. Text 2, below, from al-Ṭabarānī’s Kitāb al-maʿārif, evokes the central role of the eleventh Imam in the early stages of the religion’s formation, and the mythical figure of its founder. Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī believers later adopted other names as well, such as muwaḥḥida or ahl al-tawḥīd (“unitarians” or “people of unification”), alluding to the central place of theology – a unifying, monotheistic theology – in the consciousness of Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī believers. Another name for the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī faithful is al-Khaṣībiyya, acknowledging the role played by al-Khaṣībī, their most prominent religious sage, in the formation and self-definition of the religion. Indeed, it seems that he

1.

See Abu Muḥammad al-Ḥasan b. ‘Īsā l-Nawbakhtī, Firaq al-shī‘a, ed. H. Ritter, Istanbul 1931, p. 78.

169

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology a distinctive religious identity finally took shape only in the wake of the major undertakings by al-Khaṣībī and al-Ṭabarānī. Salient traits of the esoteric faith, such as the belief in reincarnation and the codes of social identification designed to protect the religious mysteries and conceal the specific creed in a hostile environment – a duty known by the terms taqiyya and kitmān (caution and dissimulation) – are attested in text 3, below. In common with other offshoot groups, the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion defines itself to a large extent in relation to its reference groups, these being both Sunnī Islam and the Shīʿa. As with other religions, a major factor in the formation of the new Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religious identity was the creation of a separate calendar and the infusion of new content into the old holidays, in the spirit of the new religious views. We see this phenomenon in Chapter 3, which deals inter alia with the religious liturgy. However, certain points of similarity can be noted between the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion and the Shīʿa’s major groups, especially as regards the attitude towards their common enemies – Sunnī Islam in general, and more specifically the generation of the prophet’s companions, headed by the first three caliphs, as well as the rulers of the Umayyad and ʿAbbasid dynasties. The roots of this similarity lie in the earlier coexistence of the various Shīʿī groups, primarily in Iraq at the end of the ninth century, when they held shared beliefs and ideas. Yet despite the clear affinity between the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion and Shīʿī Islam, fundamental Shīʿī elements were radically altered in the formative process of Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī syncretism. Moreover, the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs regarded themselves, in a sense, as “the true Shīʿa” (shīʿat al-ḥaqq) 2 and “the well-guided Shīʿa” (shīʿat al-hudā), 3 substantially distinct from all other Shīʿī groups, to which they applied such derogatory terms as “the outward Shīʿa” (ẓāhiriyat al-shīʿa), 4 “the Shīʿa who fall short in understanding” (al-shīʿa al-muqaṣṣira) 5 and “opponents and enemies” (aḍdād wa-andād). 6 This bears some similarity to Paul’s definition of early Christians as the “true Israel” vis-à-vis the old Jewish religion.

2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

170

See al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb majmūʿ al-aʿyād, p. 113. Ibid., p. 112. Ibid., p. 25, 55, 107 and 157. Ibid., p. 54. See e.g., Ibid., p. 110.

Identity and Self-Definition The hostile attitude of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion towards Sunnī Islam can be seen inter alia in its interpretations of the Qurʾan, which has a considerable presence in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī writings. Qurʾanic verses that express a negative judgement are now interpreted as referring to the enemies of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion, and verses indicating approbation are taken to refer to prominent figures in its history. 7 Thus, for example, the alleged inferiority of Abū Bakr and ʿUmar, the first two caliphs, vis-à-vis ʿAlī. This is demonstrated in texts 4 and 5, taken from al-Khaṣībī’s al-Risāla al-rastbāshiyya and al-Ḥalabi’s Munāẓāra, respectively. 8 Abū Bakr and ʿUmar are portrayed as capable of understanding only the exoteric dimension of religion, whereas ʿAlī is described as possessing supernatural powers, including the knowledge of concealed mysteries. A more comprehensive denunciation of a wide range of opponents and enemies of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion is set out in text 5. This includes companions of the prophet Muḥammad, great conquerors and warriors of early Islam, Umayyad and ʿAbbasid caliphs, the four schools of Sunnī jurisprudence and the founders of prominent Sufi brotherhoods. The list ends with Jews and Christians. The text is from “the sanctification of the call to prayer” (quddās al-adhān) in al-Adhanī’s al-Bākūra al-Sulaymāniyya, in light of its relevance to this chapter. These texts, like many passages in al-Risāla al-rastbāshiyya and in al-Khaṣībī’s book of poetry, contain sharp criticism of the prophet’s companions. The first caliphs, and other figures who play a negative role in the campaign against ʿAlī and his descendants, are said to be the aḍdād, namely God’s enemies populating the realm of demonic emanations. Thus the struggle between ʿAlī and his opponents takes place not only on the actual, historical scene, but at the heart of the divine realm as well. It is a formidable dualistic battle between good and evil. The good is represented, in both the historical and metaphysical dimensions, by ʿAlī in his divine essence, while evil is represented by his enemies, headed by the first three caliphs: Abū Bakr, ʿUmar and ʿUthmān. For Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs, these conspicuous enemies of the Shīʿa symbolise, on the historical level, the iniquitous oppression by Sunnī Islam, and, on the metaphysical level, the realm 7. 8.

See I. Goldziher, Schools of Koranic Commentators, ed. and trans. W. H. Behn, Wiesbaden 2006, p. 167-196; E. Kohlberg, In Praise of the Few, p. 51-84. For the hostility towards Sunnī Islam, see also above, p. 175-178.

171

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology of negative emanations. The growing rift between the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion and Islam, both Sunnī and Shīʿī, is sharply outlined in the decisive ruling on the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion by the Ḥanbalī theologian and jurisprudent, Takī al-Dīn ibn Taymiyya (d. 728/1328), in which he determined that it should be regarded as heresy. 9 Not until the second half of the 19th century, and more particularly in the 1920s during the French Mandate in Syria, did new attitudes begin to stir among Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs, leading them to promote their affinity to ʿAlī and the Shīʿa in general. As noted in the Introduction, this new tendency was symbolically expressed by the adoption of the term ʿAlawīs (from the name ʿAlī) as a way of blurring their affinity to Ibn Nuṣayr and disavowing the historical name “Nuṣayrīs” by which they had been known for a millennium. The period was marked by a tendency for the faithful – ostensibly, at least – to turn away from their heterodox beliefs and rituals; there were even some who began claiming to be an integral part of Shīʿī Islam. However, this development provoked hostility from the Muslim majority in Syria. At the same time, a wide range of writings by both Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs and their Muslim supporters sought to present them as Muslims, or at least as Twelver Shīʿīs. Today it is possible to distinguish two trends among contemporary Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs: the first, conservative and separatist, is found mainly in the community’s traditional strongholds in the Mountain of the ʿAlawīs; the second tends towards assimilation, an ongoing process of joining Twelver Shīʿism and regarding it as the parent religion. The Murshidiyya movement can be regarded as part of this trend. Texts 7 and 8 illustrate their religious identity and self-definition. Text 7 describes the Murshidīs’ belief in the divinity of Mujīb al-Murshid, and text 8 collates a selection of Sājī al-Murshid’s sayings that exemplify various aspects of the Murshidī doctrine – primarily, its universal stance and essentially tolerant, though not uncritical attitude towards other religions.

9.

172

See above, p. 33-34.

Identity and Self-Definition 2. Muḥammad ibn Nuṣayr – creator of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī  identity From ʿAlī b. al-Ḥassān, 10 who was an indisputable authority among the unitarians: I asked my master (al-Ḥasan) al-ʿAskarī: “From whom should I learn the guideposts of my religion, for opinions are many?” Al-ʿAskarī answered: “From him whom the enemies of the Shīʿa (nāṣiba 11) accuse of Shīʿism (rafḍ 12); from him whom ‘those who fell short’ (muqaṣṣira 13) accuse of heterodoxy (ghuluww); from him whom ‘those who exceedingly exalt [the Imams]’ (murtafiʿa 14) envy, denouncing him as heretic – seek him and you shall find in him the guideposts of your religion”. And I did not find any man fitting this description save Muḥammad ibn Nuṣayr, and I followed him and found with him all I had wished for. I approached our master (the Imam al-Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī) and informed him that I had not found anyone fitting this description except Muḥammad ibn Nuṣayr. He said: “You have succeeded, and your success is solely from God”. Then he added: “Muḥammad ibn Nuṣayr is my light and my bāb and my sign (ḥujja) for my creatures on earth. Everything that he and his yatīms 15 say in my name is true”. From ʿAlī b. ʿAbd al-Ghaffār al-Karkhī: When the dispute over Muḥammad ibn Nuṣayr grew heated, I wrote to our master al-Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī, peace be from him, the following: “O our master,

10. An apparent reference to ʿAlī b. Ḥassān al-Hāshimī. In contrast to his authoritative position in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī tradition, in Imāmī Shīʿism he is considered an unreliable source. See Abū ‘Amr Muḥammad b. ‘Umar al-Kishshī, Kitāb al-rijāl, Najaf, n.d., p. 383. 11. On the term nāṣiba as a derogatory appellation commonly employed by the Shīʿa to denote Sunnī Islam, see above, p. 82, note 103. Its meaning is “dissenters”, i.e. those who are violently hostile to ʿAlī and his descendants. 12. For the term rafḍ and the name rāfiḍa or rawāfiḍ (rejecters), one of the names by which the Shīʿīs (especially the Imāmī Shīʿīs) were known throughout their history, see E. Kohlberg, “The Term ‘Rāfiḍa’ in Imami Shiʿi Usage,” in Id., In Praise of the Few, p. 160-165. 13. For the term muqaṣṣira, see H. Modarressi, Crisis and Consolidation, p. 29, 35-37. 14. See Ibid., p. 23. 15. This description appears to indicate the divine status of the eleventh Imam al-Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī, of his aide Muḥammad ibn Nuṣayr, and of some of the latter’s devotees, here called yatīms.

173

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology Muḥammad ibn Nuṣayr teaches far-reaching things about you, claiming that you are a God and that he is your bāb. Enlighten me and I shall act accordingly”. Then I received an answer from Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥasan (al-ʿAskarī) : “We are well aware of what they say. You are not a tyrant over them” (Q. 50:45). I have stopped mentioning him ever since. From ʿAlī b. al-Ḥassān: We have received a sealed letter from (the tenth Imam) Abū al-Ḥasan (ʿAlī al-Hādī): “The best mediator between God and His servants the believers is Muḥammad ibn Nuṣayr. Believe him, therefore, accept his words, do as he does and imitate his manners. These should suffice for you as worthy guidance and a decent way of life. His yatīms follow him truly, and they are my signs on earth and my lights”. Muḥammad ibn Jundab 16 left his master (al-ʿAskarī) holding in his hand a sealed letter addressed to all his supporters [in which it was written]: “Muḥammad ibn Nuṣayr is the sign of God, His ḥijāb, His light, a precious and beloved gem among the ḥijābs and the perfect messengers. Whoever doubts or opposes him, may God’s curse be upon him. His yatīms who follow him are the lights and guides of the believers”. (Al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb al-maʿārif, p. 134-135)

3. The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī identity in the pre-cosmic world and in  this world The Nuṣayrīs believe in the reincarnation of souls from humans into animals and insects, and one’s soul may pass into metals such as iron, and his punishment is to burn in fire and be struck by a hammer on an anvil. His soul then returns time and again into a human body until it is cleansed and purified, becoming a bright star in heaven. The stars are in fact the souls of the departed righteous among them […]. The means by which [the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs] identify a stranger is to ask this person some questions so as to witness his answer and learn if he is indeed an outsider. They ask him, for example: “How many 16. Muḥammad ibn Jundab was a close disciple of the Imam al-Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī and is an important figure in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī tradition.

174

Identity and Self-Definition circles are there in your bonnet?” If he answers “Twelve” they recognize that he is one of them, and if not, then he is a stranger. Then, for verification, they ask him: “From which fountain have you drunk?” If he responds: “From ʿAlī’s fountain”, no doubt remains concerning him. 17 And they may have further questions. (Strothmann, “The Nuṣayrīs,” ms. Berlin, arabe 4291, p. 176, 179)

4. The attitude towards the first two caliphs and to Sunnī Islam When on that day [ʿAlī] prayed the dawn prayer with God’s messenger, he went to al-Baqī‘ 18 and with him al-jibt and al-ṭāghūt 19 [ =Abū Bakr and ʿUmar], who hid among the rocks of the place. When the sun rose, they heard the prince of the believers [ʿAlī] roaring a roar that startled the rocks. [ʿAlī] then addressed the sun: “Peace upon you, first among God’s new creatures”. [The sun] answered him in eloquent Arabic: “Peace upon you, the first and the last, the revealed and the hidden, the omniscient”. Al-jibt and al-ṭāghūt fell silent and left the place shivering. Their faces became [black] as a dark night, as they said: “Muḥammad led us astray regarding ʿAlī”. They approached God’s messenger and asked him: “O God’s messenger – ʿAlī is the powerful ruler, while you are saying that he is a man like us?” The messenger of God then told them: “What have you heard the sun saying?” They answered: “We heard the sun addressing ʿAlī in the words with which God described Himself. He told the sun: ‘Peace upon you, the first among God’s new creatures’. And the sun answered him: ‘O First and Last, the Revealed and Hidden, the Omniscient’.” [Muḥammad] then told them, calming them and the people of outward understanding [ahl al-ẓāhir]: “Woe unto you! Do you know what

17. The proposed answers to the two questions put to the foreigner indicate the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs’ close familiarity with Twelver Shīʿism; they do not refer to any specific Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī content. 18. This is the old cemetery of the town of al-Madīna, near the mosque of the Prophet, where dignitaries of Muslim history have been buried from early times. 19. An obscure Qurʾanic appellation (Q. 4:51). An approximate rendering might be “idols and abominations”. In Shīʿī exegesis it is commonly interpreted as referring to Abū Bakr and ʿUmar; see M. M. Bar-Asher, Scripture and Exegesis, p. 114.

175

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology the sun said? ‘O first’ – and rightly so – because he is the first who believed in God and his messenger, and he is the ‘last’ among the heirs (awṣiyyāʾ) of the last prophet and the seal of the prophets; and he is ‘revealed’ since he exceeded my knowledge, and ‘hidden’, because he kept my secret and concealed what my Lord had taught me”. (Al-Khaṣībī, al-Risāla al-rastbāshiyya, p. 158-160)

5. The figure of ʿAlī vis-à-vis that of ʿUmar Jābir (b. Yazīd al-Juʿfī?) recounted: One of the sages of Persia, and some say of India, travelled with a group of his devotees, and the story took place in the days of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb’s caliphate. Approaching his destination, he asked to be brought to the prince of the believers [ʿUmar], and was brought to ʿUmar. He entered, observed him and left without saluting him. His followers then asked him: “Why did you not salute the prince of the believers?” And he told them: “Woe unto you! This is the man who led astray generations upon generations. He is darkness without light, the source of all darkness, deceiver of every nation and corrupter of every religion. Do not depend on him lest fire consume you”. He then asked about the prince of the believers, ʿAlī, peace and mercy be from him, and was brought to him. Upon seeing and observing him, he began muttering words [whose meaning] we did not know, and the prince of the believers was also saying to him things we did not comprehend. When he came out from [meeting] him, his followers asked him: “How do you assess this man?” He answered them: “This is the source of all light, he is the leader of everything, the eternal source and the noble lord, the glorious supreme, to whom all proofs lead”. Look, my master, at this Persian sage, who saw ʿUmar only now for the first time and [already] realized that he distorts and substitutes the religions and speaks falsehood […]. (Al-Nashshābī, Munāẓara, folios 74a–74b)

176

Identity and Self-Definition 6. Curses against opponents and enemies of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī  religion It is recounted by Abū Shuʿayb Muḥammad b. Nuṣayr al-ʿAbdī al-Bakrī al-Numayrī, that he said: “Whoever wishes to be saved from the fire of [hell], should say: ‘O God, curse the gang who established iniquity and disobedience, the nine corrupt men, 20 who corrupted their way and misbehaved in their religion; those who go to hell and enter it. The first is Abū Bakr the cursed and ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, the enemy and the criminal, and ʿUthmān b. ʿAffān the damned Satan, and Ṭalḥa, Sʿad, Saʿīd and Khālid b. al-Walīd with the iron pole, and Muʿāwiya and his son Yazīd, and al-Hajjāj b. Yūsuf of the miserable Thaqīf clan, and ʿAbd al-Malik b. Marwān the fool, and Ḥārūn al-Rashīd, may God’s curse abide upon them forever, until the day of reckoning. 21 A day when it will be asked of hell: Are you filled? And it will answer: Are there any more to come?’” (Q. 50:30). And then you, ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib will do as you wish and will rule over whomever you please. I entreat you to send your wrath and chastisement upon Isḥāq al-Aḥmar, 22 the despicable, and Ismāʿīl b. Khallād 23 the ignorant. Curse Shaykh Aḥmad al-Badawī, Shaykh Aḥmad al-Rifāʿī, Shaykh Ibrāhīm al-Dusūqī, Shayk Muḥammad al-Maghribī, Shibl al-Marjān and Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī, and every Jew and Christian; and curse the [four jurisprudence] schools: the Ḥanafī, the Shāfiʿī, the Mālikī and the Ḥanbalī; 24 and send, O prince of the bees, ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, your

20. In fact, twelve of the Shīʿa’s principal enemies are listed here. 21. This list of the Shīʿa’s foes includes the three first caliphs (Abū Bakr, ʿUmar and ʿUthmān), four military leaders (Ṭalḥa, Saʿd [ibn Abī Waqqāṣ], Saʿīd [b. Zayd], Khālid b. al-Walīd), three Umayyad caliphs (Muʿāwiya, Yazīd and ʿAbd al-Malik) and, in addition, al-Ḥajjāj, the Umayyad governor of Iraq, famous for his iron fist. The ʿAbbasids are represented here by the famous caliph Hārūn al-Rashīd. The reference to the general Khālid ibn al-Walīd as “the one with the iron pole” is unfamiliar to us and may be a variation on his well-known appellation “God’s drawn sword” (sayf allāh al-maslūl). 22. Isḥāq b. Muḥammad al-Nakhaʿī al-Aḥmar, the eponym of the Isḥāqiyya, a rival faction of the Nuṣayriyya in its early phase; see M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 17-19. 23. Ismāʿīl b. Khallād al-Baʿlbakkī, known as Abū Dhuhayba. He was the disciple and successor of Isḥāq al-Aḥmar; see M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, Ibid. 24. Listed with the enemies of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion are some of the eponyms of the great Sufi orders, as well as of the four Sunnī schools of jurisprudence.

177

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology wrath and chastisement upon al-Jaland b. Karkar, 25 Isḥāq al-Aḥmar, and Qaddār, the sterilizer of the she-camel 26 and Ḥabib al-ʿAṭṭār. 27 And enter them into the fire of hell (saqar), “and what will teach you about the fire of hell? It spares not, neither does it leave off scorching the flesh; curse be upon 28 the nineteen in charge of it”. (Q.74:27-30). And curse the tamers of apes and black serpents, 29 and all Christians and Jews, and all who believe that ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib eats, drinks, was born and sires [as any man]. 30 May God curse them! May God curse them! Lay your curse upon John Maron the damned Patriarch, 31 and upon all those who feed on your bounties while worshipping another. Rid us of them utterly as the removal of meat from the bone, by the mystery of sanctity of ʿAlī, Muḥammad and Salmān, and by the power of the virtue of ʿayn mīm sīn. (Al-Adhanī, al-Bākūra1, p. 44-45; al-Bākūra2, p. 54-55)

7. Mujīb al-Murshid in the eyes of his followers Praises to our lord Mujīb b. Salmān al-Murshid, the magnificent lord: Our lord, yours is the power, the splendour, the praise and the glory. Praise to you, our lord, from your devotees who extol and exalt you. You are exalted above [being in] a figure of flesh and blood. Before you ascended to heaven and sat on your magnificent throne you promised us – and you are the best of guarantors – that you would cast anger and

25. Also known as al-Jalandī b. Karkar, a tyrant identified with the tyrannical king mentioned in the Qurʾan, in the story of Moses and God’s mysterious servant who accompanies him (Q. 18:79). 26. Qaddār b. Sālif, traditionally regarded as the one who sterilized and butchered the she-camel of the prophet Sāliḥ, an episode mentioned several times in the Qurʾan (e.g. Q. 7:73-77). 27. One of Isḥāq al-Aḥmar’s followers; see al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb majmūʿ al-aʿyād, p. 205. 28. The words “curse be upon” are not part of the Qurʾanic verse. 29. We do not know to whom this refers. 30. This reflects the concept of the incarnated deity, which denies any physical or human aspect of the divinity in its manifestation in the human figure of ʿAlī. This was a contentious issue in internal Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī polemics, as well as between NuṣayrīʿAlawīs and rival radical Shīʿī sects. For further details, see above, p. 77-81 31. An apparent reference to John Maron, the first Maronite Patriarch (8th century), generally regarded as the quasi-founder of the official Maronite Church.

178

Identity and Self-Definition fury on the malicious rulers and their henchmen and rescue us from evil [people]. You have further said: “I shall provide a helper and supporter for each of my men from among strangers to your religion and homeland, and they will succour you until the great day of reckoning”. We adhere to our unfailing faith in the truth of this religion and do not doubt your truthful promises. You are noble and merciful, O our lord, Mujīb al-Murshid. Praise be to you! You are the great lord! Have mercy [and save] us from wicked rulers and send us the [helpers] you promised to protect us from sinful rulers and evil men. You have the power to do so. The sun of your existence appeared in the West as your sunset was there. Our lord, send us your armies and your assistants to save us from the oppressors who prevent us from worshipping you and chanting praises to your household. You have the power to do so. We shall end our prayer with these words of [praise]: “Yours is the glory, you are the magnificent lord.” We deliver these praises to the honourable congregation of believers, that they should always remember their lord. (Al-Shakʿa, Islām bi-lā madhāhib, p. 298-299)

8. Selected sayings of Sājī al-Murshid a) Sājī al-Murshid on other religions 1) Do not hate anyone’s religion and do not deride anyone’s religion and religious life even if you do not like them, for even if the religions differ from each other in the degree of their knowledge of God, or one is more perfect than another regarding their charity, there is no religion lacking truth and divine light. But a person’s religious life is God’s affair alone, to accept or reject. There is no lord but God. Be devout and wise and beware of ascribing to yourself God’s attributes. And denounce whoever claims this right and declares one thing as heresy and another as lawful, according to his heart’s [erroneous] inclinations, without having surety from God or clear proof. 2) Respect the religious sentiments of the people and do not hurt them.

179

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology 3) Transcend [and refrain from] swearing and profanities towards those who deserve them, whether people of ancient generations or our contemporaries. 32 The evil ones and heretics among the ancients have passed away to give an account before their Lord, and the sinners and heretics of this generation will [also] report [to their Ccreator] to receive their retribution. 4) Condemn the evil deed and its perpetrator. Say of it: It is evil, and yet lift yourself beyond profanities. I do not say to you: Do not curse [only] because cursing is forbidden, but rather I ask you to transcend [it] and remember Mujīb’s advice: 33 “Do not sin with your tongue by cursing a person. On the contrary, pray [for him] and the reward is from God”. 5) If a person seeks to argue with you about your faith and you do not wish it, say to him: “We say that all religions put their faith in God, and they are not a girdle that straps you or a supporting hand. The important thing is that we agree between us to put our faith in God’s mercy. I wish that God may pity all his creatures, strengthen the heart of whoever holds to truth and lead the perplexed to [the path] of repentance that guides towards the truth. If your view of things and your hope are like mine, then we are of one mind, but if it is not so, then our dispute is in vain, for religion is the Creator’s act of grace towards his creatures, and it is certainty and wisdom, and not a philosophical outlook.” (Nūr al-Mūḍīʾ p. 496-497)

al-Murshid,

Lamaḥāt

ḥawla

al-Murshidiyya,

b) Sājī al-Murshid’s sayings on religion 1) The goal of religion is to serve man as a source of inspiration to do truthful deeds, good and purity, and not as a means and cause in the service of worldly interests.

32. Sājī al-Murshid is criticizing the custom – shared by various Shīʿī groups and the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion – of denigrating important persons in Sunnī Islam, primarily the prophet’s companions. See above, p. 175-178. 33. I.e., Mujīb al-Murshid, Sājī’s elder brother; see the Introduction, p. 41-42.

180

Identity and Self-Definition 2) Religion is meant to awaken the will for life and shape a creative person, and not to paralyze the will and bind the soul with chains of dependence, justifying its helplessness by basing all its major and minor acts on heavenly powers that intervene in man’s world. 3) The weakness of every nation causes it to regard God [mistakenly] as belonging solely to it. [Sājī] further said: God is not the exclusive patrimony of a specific religion, but religion is His. Whoever enjoys the splendour of [God’s] light is enhanced; and whoever does not do so, whatever his religion may be, God’s grace eludes him. 4) Faith and consciousness – the problem of any religion’s believers is that they are not aware of what they believe; and were they to be aware of it, they would not dispute with one another and would not declare each other to be heretics. 34 5) God is not limited to any religion and there is no religion possessing all knowledge. 6) Many are the religions and groups who wished that God set them over humanity! 35 7) The weakness of souls and the lack of understanding religion make it a cause for sectarianism. 8) Two fundamentals constitute the spirit of every religion: God and man. God – for hope, and man – for labour. For what then are you divided, O people of religions?! 9) The aim of religion is to expand souls and not to narrow them, to develop their natures and refine them, to exercise them in modesty and chastity and straighten their path, and not to increase their brutality and encourage their bad temper. Moreover, religion came so that thoughts would be perfumed by the winds of divine wisdom and benefit from it, and not to fossilize thoughts and debase them. Furthermore, its aim is to provide them with points of departure for proper thought and a sober outlook, and to guide them on the right path. This is to enhance

34. A reference to the common tendency in Islam to denounce rival groups as heretical. This is known by the term takfīr – declaring the rival “other” to be kāfir (heretical). From there it is a short step to delegitimizing him and declaring Jihad. 35. A criticism of the generally accepted Qurʾanic view that Islam was destined to rule over all religions by virtue of its being the exclusive religion of truth, as expressed, for example, in the verse “[It is] He who sent His Messenger with the guidance and the religion of truth to cause it to prevail over all [other] religions, even though the polytheists dislike that” (Q. 9:33 and cf. Q. 48:28).

181

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology and encourage the mysteries of the heart in faith and truth, and not to block their movement and void them. [Religion] was meant to hand you a soft green branch with which to shepherd your soul and guide it to justice and honesty, and not [to be] a lethal sword with which to dominate others through oppression and tyranny. (Nūr al-Mūḍīʾ p. 497-499)

al-Murshid,

Lamaḥāt

ḥawla

al-Murshidiyya,

c) Sājī al-Murshid’s sayings on the Murshidiyya and the world 1) The master said: We should carry the wand of good and not the sword of evil. We should be helpful and not harmful, open and welcoming to the open [person]. 2) I wish your existence to be good for people, even if they do not grasp the goodness in your existence. 3) The honour of the Murshidiyya is not measured by the posts occupied by its members. Our real honour is in a broad spiritual culture and an enlightened and elevated mind. 4) We as Murshidīs are not interested in ruling nor in power and do not aspire to it. 5) Ruling people does not honour us, and dominating them does not glorify us. What we wish is for people to be as good as we are. 6) Reveal yourself in public, and do not deny your identity as a Murshidī. On the contrary, be proud of it before kin and stranger and aspire to perfection, if your exposure in public is moral and not merely ostentatious. (Nūr al-Mūḍīʾ al-Murshid, Lamaḥāt ḥawla al-Murshidiyya, p. 499) d) From Sājī al-Murshid’s legacy to his followers 1) When one of the brothers is about to occupy a post in a certain field – politics, commerce, industry, [public] office – he should resolve to do it morally on the basis of his moral principles, his conscience and integrity. But if he tells me that the interests of the position oblige him to exceed his moral principles, I would say to him: It is better that you should give up the position, not your conscience and integrity.

182

Identity and Self-Definition 2) Let the power of your reason overcome the power of your arm, and see that your opinion is accepted through rational arguments and not by physical force, for imposing a view by force is not only an act of tyranny but contempt for reason itself. 3) I have no desire that you sanctify me. I wish that you should understand me and listen to me, and then act out of inner conviction. 4) We are not a political party nor a social organization. We are a religious group, but without religious scholars and priests. We do not disseminate the religion. The only duty that is left for every Murshidī is to be a role model in our piety and a help to every person among us who needs our assistance. (Nūr al-Mūḍiʾ p. 499-500)

al-Murshid,

Lamaḥāt

ḥawla

al-Murshidiyya,

183

EPILOGUE THE ODE FOR THE GHADĪR KHUMM FESTIVAL

1. Introduction

t

he “Ode for the Ghadīr Khumm Festival” (al-qaṣīda al-ghadīriyya) belongs to the genre of poetry dedicated to describing the event of Ghadīr Khumm. According to Shīʿī belief, this was the occasion on which Muḥammad proclaimed ʿAlī his heir. In Nuṣayrī tradition, however, it was when Muḥammad proclaimed the divinity of ʿAlī – as conveyed in this poem (verses 5-12) and in the prose passages that precede it in al-Ṭabarānī’s Majmūʿ al-aʿyād. Yet the present ode is not limited to references to the event of Ghadīr Khumm. Interwoven with affirmations of ʿAlī’s supernatural traits, and the praises offered to him as God, are some of the fundamental tenets of the Nuṣayrī religion: the cyclical appearance of ʿAlī in incarnation, and the description of his death – like that of Jesus – as docetic; the denunciation of ʿAlī’s enemies in his earthly life – in particular, Abū Bakr and ʿUmar, evoked by the derogatory appellations of Shīʿī tradition; their punishment through transmigration into living creatures, plants and inanimate nature. The ode evokes the noble origin and exalted spiritual position of al-Khaṣībī, author of the ode, as a prominent mystic of noble lineage, who was privileged to experience the divine realm. It also presents an encomium of al-Khaṣībī as a spiritual guide who leads his devotees to the “true religion”, that is, the Nuṣayriyya, and distances them from the religions of aberration, including Shīʿī Islam, which adheres to traditional beliefs instead of the inner essence of the faith.

185

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology The translation below is from the text in the edition by ʿAbd al-Laṭīf Ibrahim Murhij; that version is broadly similar to al-Ṭabarānī’s in his Majmū‘ al-aʿyād, though there are some minor differences between them. 1 Overall, the ode constitutes a poetic mirror reflecting the particularity of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion – hence our choice to let it serve as an epilogue for this anthology.

2. Ode The day of Ghadīr is a day of joy / when God explained the virtue of the Ghadīr God bestowed on Khumm glory and honour / and a gift of happiness Virtues and grace in plenty / and unequalled luxury It is the day when Muḥammad proclaimed among all / the people in eloquent words Saying to them, standing on a pile of wood /gathered at His command as preordained 2 This is your God, know Him / this is the Creator of creation 3 This is your Maker, know Him / Him you should worship in all ages 4 This is your Lord, unify Him / He is exalted above all similar and identical This is the overlord, eternal and One / this is the Creator of being from its beginning

1.

2.

3. 4.

186

The version in S. Ḥabib’s edition of al-Khaṣībī’s Dīwān seems to us somewhat less accurate. For an extended discussion of the Diwan’s various versions, see T. Rajab, “Theological Aspects of the Nuṣayrī-‘Alawī Religious Poetry,” p. 40-45 and the appendix on p. 315-338. The pile of wood, and saddles, appear in descriptions of the Ghadīr Kumm event as materials for constructing a makeshift stage (minbar) for Muḥammad’s proclamation of ʿAlī’s divinity. See also the text above, p. 136-137, from Majmū‘ al-aʿyād, in which al-Ṭabarānī recounts this event in prose. From this (sixth) line to the sixteenth, Muḥammad presents ʿAlī as the supreme god, possessing attributes reserved for God in Muslim tradition, Sunnī and Shīʿī alike. The ages are the historical cycles in which the trinity and the realm of divine emanation are revealed in various figures. The author uses the word al-duhūr to denote these ages; they are also indicated by other terms, such as akwār, adwār and qubab, though these are not always entirely identical. This is a major aspect of Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī theology, and finds expression in this ode.

The Ode for the Ghadīr Khumm Festival He is the first and the primordial and He is the last / mysterious and unrevealed He is the manifested who is not at all concealed / from the gnostic, the knower and the wise He is the reviver and destroyer and He resurrects / [He is] the heir and the cause of reincarnations 5 He is the merciful, the giver of eternal life in the gardens of Eden / Who casts His enemies to hell And I am his servant, the messenger 6 to you / with a written book from heaven [God] said: Tell My servants about Me, that / I am their lord and best protector 7 I fear lest you wander / and be lost in the abyss of confusion And say: He is not God / indeed he is like us without difference Therefore I was given the “Announcement Verse” as a shield / and it is this: Announce in a clear voice And if you do not announce, then you have not / announced my revelation and are thus not [giving] warning 8 And for you (Muḥammad) there is security and protection from people / and you are immune to all sin 9

5.

6.

7.

8. 9.

In Arabic: mukirru al-kurūr. This refers to God Who reincarnates the souls of sinners, a subject considered in detail later in the Ode, with various kinds of transmigration specified for different categories. Transmigration is a key concept in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion, and the subject of much discussion. For more details, see above, p. 25-27 and 97-108. The prophet Muḥammad is presented as the servant and messenger of ʿAlī as God. Muḥammad’s inferiority to ʿAlī is a prevailing belief not only in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī religion but also among various heterodox Shīʿī groups that are familiar to us from Muslim doxography. The announcement which Muḥammad is ordered to proclaim refers to the verse: “O Messenger, deliver that which has been sent down to you from your Lord; for if you do not, you will not have delivered His Message. God will protect you from men” (Q. 5:67). This verse, which Imāmī Shīʿī tradition interprets as referring to the event of Ghadīr Khumm, is known as the “verse of announcement” (āyat al-tablīgh), and Imāmī Shīʿī tradition claims that it originally included the words fī ʿAlī (concerning ʿAlī) after the phrase “from your Lord”. See M. M. Bar-Asher, “Variant Readings and additions of the Imāmī-Šīʿa to the Qurʾān,” p. 57-58. See also E. Kohlberg and M. A. Amir-Moezzi, Revelation and Falsification: The Kitāb al-qirā’āt of Aḥmad b. Muḥammad al-Sayyārī, Leiden 2009, p. 45, tradition 165 (Arabic section); p. 115-116 (English section). I.e., you are not fulfilling one of the prophet’s salient duties according to the Qurʾan: to admonish and warn. Immunity from sin and error (ʿiṣma) is an important doctrine in Islam. In Sunnī

187

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology You removed the veil (from ʿAlī) in compliance with the religious commandments / revealing the essence of His concealed self He (ʿAlī) was revealed to you to show you / the power of the omnipotent, the exalted and the magnificent You heard the truth I spoke about him / and you recoiled in aversion You left him and did not hearken / and became exposed to falsehood and deceit 10 Then you said that he (Muḥammad) had proclaimed: Whoever has me as patron / he is his patron, and there is no denying it But what I said is that he is God indeed / yet you in your heresy have forgotten my admonition 11 You have therefore remained in your transmigrations into living creatures, plants and inanimate nature / wandering in aberration and going round about Forever, until you see our shining comeback 12 / coming in great delight It will be the time of punishment and trial / who for damnation and who for mercy Angels will then err in their way 13 / and abide in the depths of aberration and confusion [God] tested them in the loss of direction, in fall and in fury / turning them into frogs in ponds Cast into turbulent air / in downpouring rain clouds They descend daily / in drizzle and in downpour

10.

11.

12. 13.

188

Islam such immunity is considered a privilege bestowed upon prophets alone, whereas in Imāmī Shīʿism it is believed to be a privilege likewise granted to Fāṭima, ʿAlī and their descendants, the Imams. See M. M. Bar-Asher, Scripture and Exegesis, p. 162-180. In Arabic: ifk wa-zūr. In his commentary on the ode (al-Khaṣībī, Sharḥ dīwān al-Khaṣībī, ed. ʿAbd al-Laṭīf Murhij, Beirut 1426/2005 [thereafter The Annotated Dīwān, p. 53-54) Murhij proposes, following Shīʿī tradition, that these names refer to “so-and-so” (fulān wa-fulān), namely, to Abū Bakr and ʿUmar, who are evoked later in the ode by some of the notorious, derogatory appellations applied to them in Shīʿī tradition. Al-Ṭabarānī, interpreting this saying of Muḥammad, notes another version of Muḥammad’s proclamation at Ghadīr Khumm: “Whoever has me as patron (mawlā), he [ʿAlī] is his maʿnā”. For further discussion of this alternative version, see above, p. 137. In Arabic: rajʿatanā al-zahrāʾ, an image of the eschatological era. See above, p. 103, 122 and 135. According to Murhij (al-Khaṣībī, The Annotated Dīwān, p. 55-56), the verse does not refer literally to heretic angels but rather to the prominent enemies of the Shīʿa.

The Ode for the Ghadīr Khumm Festival They croak over the lands of / God, in their habit of praising and glorifying Him All this due to their denial of [God-ʿAlī], who dissembled impotence / being in fact omnipotent Over the bastard and zufar 14 the impure, who staggers behind him / and the whole affair of dragging (ʿAlī) By a rope of black hair together with / the dog (ʿUthmān?), assistant to the weakling and coward (Abū Bakr?) and him who was a porcupine 15 on the day of burning / (Fāṭima’s) house together with the denier of God’s grace (ʿUmar) And the aborting and whipping and removing / the earring from Fāṭima’s ear by order of the sinner (Abū Bakr) 16 All this did not happen because God was vanquished / nor due to the weakness of [God] the protector But according to the providence of the omnipotent / He showed you a double of this eminent lady 17 (Fāṭima) As with Moses, God’s interlocutor, in the story of Pharaoh’s wizardry / where the visible wonders were nothing but deception Their trickery was a lie recounted / by God (in the Qurʾan), and He spoke to him as clearly as the blast of the trumpet 18

14. “The bastard” (zanīm) is an appellation of Abū Bakr; zufar, that of ʿUmar. On the various abusive appellations used by the Shīʿa for its enemies, most of whom are prominent figures in Muslim history, see I. Goldziher, “Spottnamen der ersten Kalifen bei den Schiʿiten,” Gesammelte Schriften 4, ed. J. Desomogyi, Hildesheim 1970, p. 295-308; E. Kohlberg, “Some Imāmī Shīʿī Views on the Companions,” in Id., In Praise of the Few: Studies in Shīʿī Thought and History, ed. A. Ehteshami, Leiden – Boston 2020, p. 69-76. 15. Murhij (al-Khaṣībī, The Annotated Dīwān, p. 58-59) suggests that it refers to Abū Bakr’s protégé (mawlā), who took part in burning Fāṭima’s house on his master’s orders. 16. Abū Bakr and ʿUmar’s harassment of Fāṭima, and their physical assault that caused her to miscarry Muḥsin, is a recurring motif in Shīʿī literature. See e.g., p. 126, note 71. 17. In Arabic: li-dhāka al-bahīr (lit. “of that dignitary”), a phrase in the masculine form! From the context, however, it apparently refers to Fāṭima, who is evoked a few lines earlier. The use here of the masculine form could be attributed to poetic license, but may derive from the use of the masculine name Fāṭim in the earlier three lines. On references to Fāṭima in the masculine form in Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī theology, see above, p. 69, note 64. 18. Al-Khaṣībī compares stories about Fāṭima with tales of the wonders performed by Egyptian magicians in front of Moses, as recounted in the Qurʾan (see e.g., Q. 20:56-76), following the biblical account. All these events, he claims, were likewise no more than acts of deception.

189

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology Thus He said about the Messiah: They said / We have killed him brutally with swords And nailed him openly to the Cross / this is in the eyes of the beholder, but far be it from a crucifixion! And the revealed word came from God / that Jesus appeared to them as a momentous double [God] showed them a deceptive double to teach them / that the double is not the herald (Jesus) He taught them that the killing and the crucifixion / applied to the subdued killer To demonstrate that helplessness is in fact power / in a converse sense 19 Observe my words, O man of wisdom / and listen, and in you shall be revealed the secrets of my heart Seek and search and ponder my poem / to see the pearls in the giant necklace And you shall see the light hidden in existing beings / fused ingeniously as pearls scattered In gardens of silver and gold / forged in an artist’s hands All this is knowledge, wisdom and acumen / and traditions from a wise conveyor The conveyor of truth, zealous for his God / damning [God’s] enemies, the people of perdition Sanctified Salsalī, Bahmanī / Nuṣayrī, lover of the tiger of tigers 20 Your Junbulāʾī, 21 descendant of Khaṣīb / servant of servants of the twelve moons 22 His father nourished him from the interior / of interiority, from the interpretations of the Master of exegesis 23 19. For the docetic interpretation of Jesus’ crucifixion, as reflected in the last six lines, see above, p. 83 and 138. 20. Three well-known Nuṣayrī appellations: “Salsalī” derives from the name Salsal, one of Salmān the Persian’s common appellations (see above, p. 56 with note 38); “Bahmanī” derives from the name Bahman, the Pehlevi form (adopted also in Arabic) of the Avestic term Vohu Manah (the good [divine] thought), and seems to refer also to Salmān, alluding to his Persian origin; “tiger of tigers” (nimr al-numūr) is a pun on the name al-Numayrī, one of Muḥammad ibn Nuṣayr’s lineage appellations (nisba). 21. On Junbulāʾī (or al-Junbulānī), al-Khaṣībī’s teacher, see above, p. 121, note 45. 22. A reference to the twelve Imams of Twelver Shīʿīsm. 23. “Master of the exegesis” (ṣāḥib al-tafsīr or ṣāḥib al-taʾwīl) is one of ʿAlī’s common appellations, anchored in a familiar tradition according to which Muḥammad declares his authority over the revealed word (tanzīl), and ʿAlī’s over its esoteric understanding: “There is among you one who will fight for the

190

The Ode for the Ghadīr Khumm Festival And he ascended to the ḥijāb, God’s ḥijāb / until he anchored in the sea of hearts He sought to draw from Salsal’s wine / the master of truth 24 gave him a pure and limpid drink He swore to give those of short / understanding, the acute deadly potion And everything he sees, he sees verily / present, visible, boundless Praiseworthy he stands, the descendant of Khaṣīb/ at the height of sanctity, the chosen place He says to those who wandered and apostatized / from the way of Shabar’s father ( =ʿAlī) and from the light of Shubayr 25 This is a great kingdom with God / and what is your kingdom but a skin of a date-stone? 26 Then they would say: We have lost our life, our hope is shattered / because of ʿatīq and arrogant ḥabtar 27

24. 25.

26. 27.

interpretation of the Qurʾan, just as I fought for its revelation”. See M. A. AmirMoezzi, “‘The Warrior of Taʾwīl’: A Poem about ʿAlī by Mollā Ṣadrā” in Id., The Spirituality of Shī‘ī Islam, London 2011, p. 307-337; M. M. Bar-Asher, “Outlines of early Ismaili-Fatimid Qurʾan Exegesis,” reprinted in A. Keeler and S. Rizvi, ed., The Spirit and the Letter: Approaches to the Esoteric Interpretation of the Qur’an, London 2016, p. 192, with note 56 (on p. 213). I.e., ʿAlī as God. The names Shabar and Shubayr, deriving from the Hebrew-Aramaic root sh.p.r. – parallel to the Arabic root ḥ.s.n. – serve as common appellations of al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn. According to early traditions, before being given their Arabic names they were called by these Hebrew-Aramaic names, after two of Aaron’s sons. See M. J. Kister, “Ḥaddithū ʿan banī isrāʾīla wa-lā ḥaraja,” Israel Oriental Studies 2 (1972), p. 223; and S. M. Wasserstrom (“‘The Shīʿīs are the Jews of our Community’: An Interreligious Comparison within Sunni Thought,” Israel Oriental Studies 14 [1994], p. 299-300), who mentions a third son of Aaron, Mushbir, after whom ʿAlī’s third son, Muḥsin, who was stillborn, was named. On this equivalence and on the frequent comparison between ʿAlī and Aaron, see also M. M. Bar-Asher, “La place du judaïsme et des Juifs dans le shiʿisme duodécimain,” in M. A. Amir-Moezzi, ed., Islam: identité et altérité. Hommage au Père Guy Monnot, Paris 2013, p. 73 with note 63. This line alludes to Q. 35:13: “This is God, your Lord. To Him belongs the Kingdom; and those you invoke, apart from Him, do not possess even the skin of a date-stone”. ʿAtīq and ḥabtar are the distinctive appellations of Abū Bakr; ʿatīq (freedman) is especially common in Sunnī sources; ḥabtar (fox) is one of his common derogatory names, an allusion to the cunning and fraud attributed to him. It appears from the context that the latter appellation is used here for ʿUmar.

191

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology Our Lord, punish them with recurring transmigrations / torment and torture them with changing garments 28 For indeed they have erred and deceived many / on the day they denied [the right] of a man worthy of praise and gratitude Master of the horizons, 29 light of Abī / Ṭālib, he whose love leads to the hidden [light] This is truly the Lord of lords and there is no Lord / but Him, not in the beginning nor at the end (Al-Khaṣībī, The Annotated Dīwān, p. 64-70; al-Ṭabarānī, Majmū‘ al-aʿyād, p. 56-59)

28. I.e., with various forms of reincarnation. 29. In Arabic: sāḥib al-fanjawayn, a phrase found in Ḥabib’s edition as well. The word al-fanjawayn, whose meaning is unknown to us, does not appear in Majmūʾal-aʿyād’s version. Our proposed translation takes account of Murhij’s commentary (al-Khaṣībī, The Annotated Dīwān, p. 69-70).

192

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary Sources Al-Adhanī, al-Bākūra al-sulaymāniyya Sulaymān al-Adhanī, al-Bākūra al-sulaymāniyya fī kashf asrār al-diyāna al-nuṣayriyya, first edition, n.d. and n.p. (al-Bākūra1); second edition, Cairo 1410/1990 (al-Bākūra2). Bāb fī ma‘rifat al-ta‘līq Bāb fī maʿrifat al-taʿlīq (anon.), in ms. Paris, BnF, arabe 1450, folios 158a-167a. Bāb mā yajibu fī ma‘rifat al-samā‘ Bāb ma yajibu fī maʿrifat al-samāʿ (anon.), in ms. Paris, BnF, arabe 1450, folios 162b-167b. Dīwān al-Muntajab Al-Muntajab al-ʿĀnī, Dīwān al-Muntajab, ed. Hāshim ʿUthmān, Beirut 1423/2002. Al-Ḥarrānī, Kitāb al-uṣayfir Muḥammad b. Shuʿba al-Ḥarrānī, Kitāb al-uṣayfir, in ms. Paris, BnF, arabe 1450, folios 2a-37b. Al-Iṣfahānī, Maqātil al-Ṭalibiyyīn Al-Iṣfahānī, Abū-l-Faraj, Maqātil al-Ṭalibiyyīn, ed. Aḥmad Ṣaqar, Beirut n.d. al-Jillī, Risalat al-fatq wa-l-ratq Abū l-Ḥusayn Muḥammad al-Jillī, Risalat al-fatq wa-l-ratq, in Abū Mūsā and al-Shaykh Mūsā, ed. and intro., Silsilat al-turāth al-ʿAlawī: Rasāʾil al-ḥikma al-ʿalawiyya, Lebanon 2006, vol. 2, p. 309-319. Al-Jisrī, Risālat al-tawḥīd Abū Muḥammad ʿAlī b. ʿĪsa al-Jisrī, Risālat al-tawḥīd, in ms. Paris, BnF, arabe 1450, folios 42a-48b. 193

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology Al-Ju‘fī (attr.), Kitāb al-haft wa-l aẓilla Al-Mufaḍḍal b. ʿUmar al-Juʿfī (attr.), Kitāb al-haft wa-l aẓilla, ed. ʿArif Tamir, Beirut 1969. Al-Ju‘fī, Kitāb ithnā‘ashara ḥarf Al-Mufaḍḍal b. ʿUmar al-Juʿfī, Kitāb ithnāʿashara ḥarf, in ms. Paris, BnF, arabe 1450, folios 130b-155a. Al-Ju‘fī, Kitāb sl-ṣirāt Al-Mufaḍḍal b. ʿUmar al-Juʿfī, Kitāb al-ṣirāt, in ms. Paris, BnF, arabe 1449, folios 86a-182a; ed. L. Capezzone, Rivista degli Studi Orientali 69 (1996), p. 295-416. Al-Junbulānī, Īḍāḥ al-miṣbāḥ Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh al-Jannān al-Junbulānī, Īḍāḥ al-miṣbāḥ al-dāll ʿalā sabīl al-najāḥ, in Abū Mūsā and al-Shaykh Mūsā, ed. and intro., Silsilat al-turāth al-ʿalawī: Rasā’il al-ḥikma al-ʿalawiyya, Lebanon 2006, vol. 1, p. 235-299. Al-Khaṣībī, The Annotated Dīwān Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn b. Ḥamdān al-Khaṣībī, Sharḥ dīwān al-Khaṣībī, ed. ʿAbd al-Laṭīf Murhij, Beirut 1426/2005. Al-Khaṣībī, Dīwān Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn b. Ḥamdān al-Khaṣībī, Dīwān al-Khaṣībī, ed. S. Ḥabib, Beirut 1406/1986. Al-Khaṣībī, al-Hidāya al-kubrā Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn b. Ḥamdān al-Khaṣībī, Al-Hidāya al-kubrā, Beirut 1406/1986. Al-Khaṣībī, al-Risāla al-rastbāshiyya Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn b. Ḥamdān al-Khaṣībī, al-Risāla al-rastbāshiyya, ed. Rawwa’ Jamal ʿAli, in Silsilat al-ʿaqīda al-nuṣayriyya, n.p., 2014. Al-Kishshī, Kitāb al-rijāl Abū ʿAmr Muḥammad b. ʿUmar al-Kishshī, Kitāb al-rijāl, Najaf, n.d. Kitāb al-majmū‘ Kitāb al-majmūʿ, in Sulaymān al-Adhanī, al-Bākūra al-sulaymāniyya fī kashf asrār al-diyāna al-nuṣayriyya, first edition, n.d. and n.p. (al-Bākūra1); second edition, Cairo 1410/1990 (al-Bākūra2). Kitāb al-usūs Kitāb al-usūs, in ms. Paris, Bnf, arabe 1449, folios 1a-79b; ed. Jaʿfar al-Kanj al-Dandashi, Irbid 2000. Al-Kulīnī, al-Kāfī Abū Jaʿfar al-Kulīnī, al-Uṣūl min al-kāfī, Tehran 1377-1381 H. 194

Bibliography Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed Moses Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed, trans. Sh. Pines, Chicago 1963 Al-Majmūʿ fī ʿaqā’id al-nuṣayriyya Al-Majmūʿ fī ʿaqā’id al-nuṣayriyya, in ms. ʿAqā’id Taymur 564, Dār al-kutub al-miṣriyya, folios 17-65 (printed as an appendix in B. Tendler, “Concealment and Revelation: A Study of Secrecy and Initiation among the NuṣayrīʿAlawīs of Syria,” PhD dissertation, Princeton University, 2012, p. 246-259). Al-Nashshābī, Munāẓara Yūsuf Ibn al-ʿAjūz al-Nashshābī al-Ḥalabī, Munāẓara, in ms. Paris, BnF, arabe 1450, folios 67b-130a. Al-Nawbakhtī, Firaq al-shī‘a Abu Muḥammad al-Ḥasan b. ʿĪsā al-Nawbakhtī, Firaq al-shīʿa, ed. H. Ritter, Istanbul 1931. Nūr al-Muḍī’, Lamaḥāt ḥawla al-murshidiyya Nūr al-Muḍī’ al-Murshid, Lamaḥāt ḥawla al-murshidiyya, Beirut 2007. Nuṣayrī Catechism A Catechism of the Nuṣayrī Religion, in M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 163-221. Risālat dukhūl al-talāmīdh – the short version Risālat dukhūl al-talāmīdh – short version, in an anonymous Nuṣayrī ms., private collection of T. Rajab, p. 171-176. Risālat dukhūl al-talāmīdh – the long version Risālat dukhūl al-talāmīdh – long version, in an anonymous Nuṣayrī ms., private collection of T. Rajab, p. 188-217. Al-Ṣā’igh, The Mystery of Divinity Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn b. Hārūn al-Ṣā’igh, On the Duty to know the Mystery of Divinity, in M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 89-97. Al-Ṣā’igh, Theological Questions Abū ʿAbd Allāh b. Hārūn al-Ṣā’igh, Theological Questions, in M. M. BarAsher and A. Kofsky, The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion, p. 99-109. Silsilat al-turāth al-ʿalawī Abū Mūsā and al-Shaykh Mūsā, ed. and intro., Silsilat al-turāth al-ʿalawī: Rasā’il al-ḥikma al-ʿalawiyya, Lebanon 2006. Al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb al-dalā’il Abū Saʿīd Maymūn b. al-Qāsim al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb al-dalāʾil fī maʿrifat al-masāʾil, in ms. Hamburg, Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek – Carl von Ossietzky, Or. 304, folios 141a-207b. 195

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology Al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb al-ḥāwī Abū Saʿīd Maymūn b. al-Qāsim al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb al-ḥāwī fī ʿilm al-fatāwī, in Abū Mūsā and al-Shaykh Mūsā, ed. and intro., Silsilat al-turāth al-ʿAlawī: Rasāʾil al-ḥikma al-ʿalawiyya, Lebanon 2006, vol. 3, p. 45-61. Al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb al-maʿārif Abū Saʿīd Maymūn b. al-Qāsim al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb al-maʿārif, ed. M. M. Bar-Asher and A. Kofsky, Leuven 2012. Al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb majmū‘ al-a‘yād Abū Saʿīd Maymūn b. al-Qāsim al-Ṭabarānī, Kitāb sabīl rāḥat al-arwāḥ wa-dalīl al-surūr wa-l-afrāḥ ilā fāliq al-aṣbāḥ al-maʿrūf bi-majmūʿ al-aʿyād, ed. R. Strothmann, Der Islam 27 (1946).

Secondary Sources Amir-Moezzi, M. A., The Divine Guide in Early Shiʿism: The Sources of Esotericism in Islam, trans. D. Streight, New York 1994. Amir-Moezzi, M. A., “Ghadīr Khumm,” Encyclopaedia of Islam3 (online). Amir-Moezzi, M. A., “Les Imams et les Ghulāt: Nouvelles réflexions sur les relations entre imamisme ‘modéré’ et shiʿisme ‘extrémiste’,” Shii Studies Review 4 (2020), p. 5-38. Amir-Moezzi, M. A., ʿAlī, le secret bien gardé: Figures du premier Maître en spiritualité shiʿite, Paris 2020. Amir-Moezzi, M. A., “‘The Warrior of Taʾwīl’: A Poem about ʿAlī by Mollā Ṣadrā,” in Id., The Spirituality of Shīʿī Islam, London 2011, p. 307-337. Bar, I., “The Initiation Ceremony in the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion: A Critical Edition and Analysis of the Work bāb fī maʿrifat al-taʿlīq,” MA Thesis, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem 2001 (in Hebrew). Bar-Asher, M. M., “Al-Jisrī (ʿAlī b. ʿĪsā),” Encyclopaedia of Islam3 (online). Bar-Asher, M. M., “Le rapport de la religion nuṣayrite-ʿalawite au shiʿisme imamite,” in M. A. Amir-Moezzi, M. M. Bar-Asher and S. Hopkins, eds., Le shiʿisme imāmite quarante ans après: Hommage à Etan Kohlberg, Paris – Turnhout 2009, p. 71–90. Bar-Asher, M. M., Scripture and Exegesis in Early Imāmī Shiism, Leiden – Jerusalem 1999. Bar-Asher, M. M., “Sur les éléments chrétiens de la religion nuṣayrite-ʿalawite,” Journal asiatique 289 (2001), p. 185-216.

196

Bibliography Bar-Asher, M. M., “Variant Readings and additions of the Imāmī-Šīʿa to the Qur’ān,” Israel Oriental Studies 13 (1993), p. 39-74; reprinted in G. Giorgione, ed., Which Koran? Variants, Manuscripts, Lingusitics, New York 2011, p. 575-612. Bar-Asher, M. M., “The Iranian component of the Nuṣayrī religion,” Iran 41 (2003), p. 217–227. Bar-Asher, M. M., “La place du judaïsme et des Juifs dans le shiʿisme duodécimain,” in M. A. Amir-Moezzi, ed., Islam: identité et altérité. Hommage au Père Guy Monnot, Paris 2013, p. 57-82. Bar-Asher, M. M., “Outlines of early Ismaili-Fatimid Qur’an Exegesis,” Journal asiatique 296 (2008), p. 257-296. A revised edition of this article is reprinted in A. Keeler and S. Rizvi, ed., The Spirit and the Letter: Approaches to the Esoteric Interpretation of the Qur’an, London 2016, p. 179-216. Bar-Asher, M. M., “Al-Risāla al-Rāstbāshiyya dʼAbū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn b. Ḥamdān al-Khaṣībī, élaborateur de la religion nuṣayrite,” in Shii Studies Review 2 (2018), p. 228-254. Bar-Asher, M. M. and Hatina, M., eds., Islam: History, Religion, Culture, Jerusalem 2018 (in Hebrew). Bar-Asher, M. M. and Kofsky, A., The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religion: An Enquiry into Its Theology and Liturgy, Leiden 2002. Bar-Asher, M. M. and Mervin, S., “Alawīs,” Encyclopaedia of Islam3 (online). Belgrave, R., “A Visit to Sheikh Sulaiman Murshid, the Alawite ‘Lord’,” Journal of the Royal Central Asian Society 33 (1946), p. 155–160. Catafago, J., “Die drei Messen der Nussairier,” Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 2 (1848), p. 388-394. Colpe, C., “The Phenomenon of Syncretism and the Impact on Islam,” in K. Kehl-Bodrogi, B. Kellner-Heinkele and A. Otter-Beaujean, eds., Syncretistic Religious Communities in the Middle East: Collected Papers of Symposium, Berlin 1995, Leiden – New York – Köln 1997, p. 35-48. Crow, D. K., “The Death of al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī and Early Shīʿī Views of the Imamate,” Al-Serāt 12 (1986), p. 71-116 (reprinted in E. Kohlberg, ed., Shīʿism: The formation of Classical Islamic World, Aldershot 2003, chap. 3, p. 42-86). Daftary, F., A Short History of the Ismailis, Edinburgh 1988. Dussaud, R., Histoire et religion des Noṣairîs, Paris 1900. Ebstein, M., Mysticism and Philosophy in al-Andalus: Ibn Masarra, Ibn al-ʿArabi and the Ismāʿīlī Tradition, Leiden 2014. Al-Fīl, al-Nuṣayriyyūn, in Silsilat baʿḍ al-tayyārāt al-fikriyya al-muʿāṣira wa-mawqif al-islām minhā, Cairo 1410/1990. 197

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology Firro, K. M., “The ʿAlawis in Modern Syria,” Der Islam 82 (2005), p. 1-31. Franke, P., Göttliche Karierre eines syrischen Hirten: Sulaiman Murshid (1907–1946) und die Anfänge der Murshidiyya, Berlin 1994. Friedlaender, I., Die Chadhirlegende und der Alexanderroman: Eine sagengeschichtliche und literarhistorische Untersuchung, Leipzig – Berlin 1913. Friedman, Y., The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs: An Introduction to the Religion, History and Identity of the Leading Minority in Syria, Leiden 2010. Geiger, A., Judaism and Islam, trans. F. M. Young, Madras 1898. Goldziher, I., Schools of Koranic Commentators, ed. and trans. W. H. Behn, Wiesbaden 2006. Goldziher, I., “Spottnamen der ersten Kalifen bei den Schiʿiten,” in J. Desomogyi, ed., Gesammelte Schriften, vol. 4, Hildesheim 1970, p. 295-308. Gramlich, R., “Der Urvertrag in der Koransauslegung (zu Sura 7, 172173),” Der Islam 60 (1983), p. 205-230. Guyard, S., “Le Fetwa d’Ibn Taymiyyah sur les Noṣairis,” Journal Asiatique 8 (1871), p. 162–198. Halm, H., Die islamische Gnosis, die extreme Schia und die ʿAlawiten, Zurich – Munich 1982. Halm, H., “Nuṣayriyya,” Encyclopaedia of Islam2, vol. 8, p. 145-149. Harvey, S., Anthology of the Writings of Avicenna, Tel-Aviv 2009 (in Hebrew). Hell, J., “Ād̲h̲argūn,” Encyclopaedia of Islam2, vol. 1, 1986, p. 191-192. Jessup, H. H., “Soleyman Effendi the Adanite, and the Nusairiyeh,” in Id., Fifty-Three Years in Syria, New York 1910, vol. 1, p. 255-264. Kelly, J. N. D., Early Christian Doctrines, New York 1978. Kister, M. J., “Ḥaddithū ʿan banī isrāʾīla wa-lā ḥaraja,” Israel Oriental Studies 2 (1972), p. 215-239. Kofsky, A. and Ruzer, S., Early Christian Beliefs: Challenges, Transformations, Polemics, Tel-Aviv 2018 (in Hebrew). Kohlberg, E., “Abū Turāb,” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 41 (1978), p. 347-353 (repr. in Id., Belief and Law in Imāmī Shīʿism, Variorum, Aldershot 1991, chap. 6). Kohlberg, E., “‘Āmma,” Encyclopaedia Iranica 1, p. 976-977. Kohlberg, E., “Some Shīʿī Views of the Antediluvian World,” Studia Islamica 52 (1980), p. 41-66 (repr. in Id., In Praise of the Few: Studies in Shiʿi Thought and History, ed. A. Ehteshami, Leiden – Boston 2020, p. 327-348. 198

Bibliography Kohlberg, E., In Praise of the Few: Studies in Shiʿi Thought and History, ed. A. Ehteshami, Leiden – Boston 2020. Kohlberg, E., “Some Imāmī Shīʿī Views on the Ṣaḥāba,” Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam 5 (1984), p. 143-175 (republished as “Some Imāmī Shīʿī Views on the Companions,” in Id., In Praise of the Few: Studies in Shīʿī Thought and History, p. 51-84). Kohlberg, E., “Taqiyya in Shiʿi Theology and Religion,” in H. G. Kippenberg and G. G. Stroumsa, eds., Secrecy and Concealment: Studies in the History of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Religions, Leiden 1995, p. 345-380. Kohlberg, E., “The Term ‘Rāfiḍa’ in Imami Shiʿi Usage,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 99 (1979), p. 677-679 (reprinted in Id., In Praise of the Few: Studies in Shiʿi Thought and History, p. 160-165). Kohlberg , E. and Amir-Moezzi, M. A., Revelation and Falsification: The Kitāb al-qirā’āt of Aḥmad b. Muḥammad al-Sayyārī, Leiden 2009. Kramer, M., “Syria’s ʿAlawis and Shiʿism,” in Id., Shiʿism, Renaissance and Revolution, London 1987, p. 237-254. Lammens, H., “Les Noṣairîs furent-ils chrétiens? À propos d’un livre récent,” Revue de l’Orient Chrétien 6 (1901), p. 33-50. Lyde, S., The Asian Mystery Illustrated in the History, Religion, and Present State of the Ansaireeh or Nusairis of Syria, London 1860. Madelung, W., “Mukhammisa,” Encyclopaedia of Islam2, vol. 7, p. 517-518. Mervin, S., “Quelques jalons pour une histoire du rapprochement (taqrīb) des alaouites vers le chiisme,” in R. Brunner, M. Grooke and U. Rebstock, eds., Islamstudien ohne Ende: Festschrift für Werner Ende zum 65 Gebursatg, Würzburg 2002, p. 281-288. Modarressi, H., Crisis and Consolidation in the Formative Period of Shi‛ite Islam, Princeton 1993. Moosa, M., Extremist Shiʿites: The Ghulat Sects, New York 1988. Oliver, A. M. and Steinberg, P. F., The Road to Martyrs’ Square: A Journey into the World of the Suicide Bomber, Oxford 2006. Parrinder, G., Jesus in the Qur’an, London 1965. Pauli, B., “La Diffusion de la doctrine nuṣayrite au ive/xe siècle d’après le Kitāb khayr al-ṣanī‛a du Cheikh Ḥusayn Mayhūb Ḥarfūš,” Arabica 58 (2011), p. 19-52. Pellat, Ch., “al-Ḳubba,” Encyclopaedia of Islam2, vol. 5, p. 295. Prager, L., “The Miracle of Rebirth Stigmata, Transmigration, and the Remembrance of Former Lives in Alawi Religion,” in S. Kurz, C. Preckel and S. Reichmuth (eds.), Muslim Bodies, Body, Sexuality and Medicine in Muslim Societies, Münster – Berlin 2016, p. 281-310. 199

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology Procházka-Eisl, G. and Procházka S., The Plain of Saints and Prophets: The Nusayri-ʿAlawi Community of Cilicia (Southern Turkey) and its Sacred Places, Wiesbaden 2010. Procházka, S., “Von der Wiedergeburt bei den alawiten von Adana,” in W. Arnold and H. Bobzin, eds., “Sprich doch mit deinen Knechten aramäich, wir verstehen es!”: 60 Beiträge zur Semitistik: Festschrift für Otto Jastrow zum 60. Geburtstag, Wiesbaden 2002, p. 557-568. Rajab, T., “Theological Aspects of the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawī Religious Poetry,” PhD dissertation, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 2020. Rajab, T., “The Unity of God in Early Nuṣayrī Doctrine: A Critical Edition, Hebrew Translation and Analysis of ‘The Epistle of the Unification (Risālat al-tawḥīd) by al-Ḥusayn b. Ḥamdān al-Khaṣībī (d. 346/957 or 358/969)’,” The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2002. Salisbury, E., “The Book of Sulaiman’s First Ripe Fruit Disclosing the Mysteries of the Nusairian Religion by Sulaiman Effendi of Adhanah,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 8 [1864], p. 227–308. Sevruk, D., Die Muršidiyya: Entstehung und innere Entwicklung einer religiösen Sondergemeinschaft in Syrien von den 1920er Jahren bis heute, Bamberg 2013. Sevruk, D., “The Murshidis of Syria: A Short Overview of Their History and Beliefs,” The Muslim World 103 (2013), p. 80-93. Al-Shakʿa, M. M., Islām bi-lā madhāhib, Cairo 1976. Al-Sharīf, M., al-ʿAlawiyyūn Nuṣayriyyūn man hum wa-ayna hum, first edition, Damascus 1946; second edition, Damascus 1994. Strothmann, R., “Die Nuṣairī im heutigen Syrien,” Nachrichten der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Göttingen aus dem Jahre 1950, Phil.-histor. Klasse, vol. 1, 1950, p. 29-64. Strothmann, R., “Die Nuṣairī. Nach Ms. arab. Berlin 4291,” in Documenta islamica inedita. Festschrift für Richard Hartmann, Berlin 1952 , p. 173-187. Strothmann, R., “Seelenwanderung bei den Nuṣairī,” Oriens 12 (1959), p. 89-114. Al-Ṭawīl, Amīn Ghālib, Ta’rīkh al-ʿalawiyyīn, Beirut, n.d. Tendler, B., “Concealment and Revelation: A Study of Secrecy and Initiation among the Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs of Syria,” PhD dissertation, Princeton University, 2012. ʿUthmān, H., al-ʿAlawiyyūn bayna al-usṭūra wa-l-ḥaqīqa, Beirut 1405/1985. Walbridge, J., “A Persian Gulf in the Sea of Lights: The Chapter on the Naw-Rūz in Biḥār al-Anwār,” Iran 35 (1997), p. 83-92. 200

Bibliography Wasserstrom, S. M., “‘The Shīʿīs are the Jews of our Community’: An Interreligious Comparison within Sunni Thought,” Israel Oriental Studies 14 (1994), p. 297-324. Winter, S., “The Alawis in the Ottoman Period,” in M. Kerr and C. Larkin, eds., The ʿAlawis of Syria: War, Faith and Politics in the Levant, London 2015, p. 49-62. Winter, S., A History of the ʿAlawis: From Medieval Aleppo to the Turkish Republic, Princeton – Oxford 2016, p. 74-160. Yaffe, G., “Between Separatism and Union: The Autonomy of the ʿAlawi Region in Syria, 1920-1936,” PhD dissertation, Tel-Aviv University, TelAviv 1992 (in Hebrew). Yaffe, G., “Suleiman al-Murshid: Beginnings of an ‘Alawi Leader’,” Middle Eastern Studies 29 (1993), p. 624-640.

201

INDEX

The index, arranged alphabetically, disregards the article in both Arabic and English. For example, al-Khaṣībī appears under ‘k’ (not under ‘a’), and ‘The Redeemer’ under ‘r’ (not under ‘t’). Aaron

21, 89, 142, 144, 191

‘Abbasid dynasty

129, 130, 170

‘Abd Allāh (Muḥammad’s father)

69, 94

‘Abd Allāh ibn Rawāḥa al-Anṣārī

23, 55, 64, 118, 120

‘Abd al-Malik b. Marwān

30, 177

‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib (Muḥammad’s grandfather)

94

‘abd al-nūr (sacred wine)

30, 112, 125, 126, 133, 134, 154

Abel

21, 89, 91-94

Abū Bakr

24, 25, 130, 133, 152, 171, 175, 177, 185, 188, 189, 191

Abū Dharr al-Ghifārī

23, 55, 56, 64, 118, 120, 128

Abū Dharr (Jundab b. Janāda)

90

Abū Dhuhayba (Ismā‘īl b. Khallād al-Ba‘labakkī)

87, 131, 177

Abū Shu‘ayb. See ibn Nuṣayr. Abū Ṭālib

70, 94

Abū Turāb

114, 115

Adam

21, 89, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 139, 156

aḍdād or andād (opposites, demonic emanations, God’s enemies)

51, 82, 112, 133, 170, 171

Adhana (town and district in Turkey)

13, 19, 161

al-Adhanī, Sulaymān

45, 49, 66, 115, 116, 119, 120, 126, 129, 149, 150, 151, 153, 161, 162, 164

203

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology

Adharyūn (plants with red flowers)

129, 147

ahl al-kitāb (people of the Book)

27, 93, 98

ahl al-tawḥīd (see ‘unitarians’, ‘people of unification’)

15, 73, 169

‘Ā’isha

24, 90, 91

‘ālam al-arwāḥ (World of spirits)

42

‘ālam al-aẓilla (World of shadows).

24, 101, 141

Aleppo

16, 17, 87

Alevis

15

Alexander

92, 133

‘Alī b. Abī Ṭālib

15, 16, 21-23, 28-31, 36, 40, 44, 47, 54-56, 64-65, 69, 70, 73, 76, 79, 80, 83, 84, 87, 88, 89-92, 94, 95, 99, 105-106, 111, 114, 124, 126, 128, 130, 134, 136, 139, 141, 146, 148, 162, 171, 173, 175-178, 185-189, 191

‘Alī b. Ḥassān al-Hāshimī

173, 174

‘Alī b. al-Ḥusayn

139, 141

‘Alī al-Hādī

12, 14, 70, 76, 174

‘Alī al-Riḍā

76, 125

‘Alī Zayn al-‘Ābidīn

139

‘Alī’s brothers – Ṭālib, ‘Aqīl and Ja‘far

120

Allāh

15, 30, 42, 56, 58, 61, 63, 66, 71, 79, 82, 83, 87, 112, 118, 121, 130, 177

Allegory

32, 111, 128, 156

al-‘Alqamī brook (near Karbalā’)

138

Āmina daughter of Wahb (Muḥammad’s mother)

142-143

al-‘āmma. See ‘The multitude of believers’.

31, 33, 137, 161, 165

‘Ammār b. Yāsir

90

Angel(s)

78, 85, 117, 138, 157

anṣār (Muḥammad’s followers)

14

Antakya (Antioch)

13, 133, 161, 166, 208

Antinomianism

12, 34, 44, 109, 112-114

Apostles

28,114, 133, 139

204

Index

‘Aqīl (‘Alī’s brother)

120

Aramaic

51, 105, 145, 191

Ardashīr son of Pāpaq

92

Aristotle, Aristotelian

48, 51

arkān al-islām. See ’Five Pillars of Islam’

32, 109

al-Asad, Bashar

38, 43

al-Asad, Hafez

38

Asaph

21, 89, 91

al-Aṣbagh b. Nubāata

105, 107

Ascension (of Jesus)

145, 146

Ascension (of Muḥammad)

42, 49-53

Asceticism (Christian)

113-114

‘Āshūrā’

28, 109, 111, 137-142

‘atīq ( =Abū Bakr)

191

aytām

23-24, 48, 50

Ayyubids (dynasty)

18

Ba‘ath party

37-38

bāb (Salmān the Persian)

16, 21-24, 47-51, 53-56, 58, 6165, 68-75, 90, 92-94, 116-118, 120-121, 127-128, 137, 146, 150-151, 162, 164, 173-174.

al-Badawī, Aḥmad

131, 177

Bagdad

16

al-Baghdādī, Abū ‘Abd Allāh al-Ḥusayn b. Ḥamdān b. Hārūn

76

Bahman/Bahmanī

190

Baptism (Christian)

28, 145

al-Baqī‛ (the cemetery in al-Madīna)

175

Battle of the Camel (waq‘at al-jamal)

90

Beirut

18, 20

Belgrave, Richard

40

Bible

43

Birth (spiritual)

45, 150, 155-159

Blessing of peace

163

Bread (holy)

29-31

Buwayhī (dynasty)

16

205

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology

Cain

93-94

Calendar (Julian)

29

Calendar (Muslim, hijrī)

12, 29

Calendar (Nuṣayrī-‘Alawī)

17, 27-39, 40, 45, 170

Calendar (Persian)

29

Catechism

19, 30-31, 41

Cemeteries

33-34

Charity

37, 137, 179

Christianity

14-15, 18-22, 27-31, 33, 36, 42, 44-45, 47-48, 50, 73, 77, 79, 83, 88, 98, 110-111, 113-114, 131,138, 143, 145, 167,170-171, 177-178

Christmas

28-29, 109, 142-146

Christology

77

Codes of social identification

170, 174-175

Colonialism

34, 37

Commandments of Islam

32-34, 37, 41, 44, 80, 88, 109113, 188

Commandments of Judaism

110, 113

‘Opposite commandments’ (ḍudūd)

112

Creation

24-26, 47, 60, 63-64, 70, 74, 79-80, 101, 104, 119, 129, 139, 141, 170, 186

Creation ex nihilo

24, 47

Creed (Nuṣayrī-‘Alawī shahāda)

14, 19-20, 116, 120, 170,

Crusaders

18

Curses (against opponents of the Nuṣayrī‘Alawīs)

52, 87-88, 90, 93, 130-132, 138, 140-141, 167, 174, 177-178

Cycle (historical)

21-23, 47, 66-67, 69-71, 73, 8891, 95, 137, 139, 142-143, 146, 148, 186

Abrahamic cycle

71

Jesus cycle

91, 143, 145

Muḥammad cycle (al-qubba al-muḥammadiyya)

21, 47, 69, 71, 139, 142-143

Persian cycle

148

Damascus

206

37, 39-40

Index

Dan son of Sabaot

89

Daniel

65, 92

David (the king)

21, 159

Day of Judgment

97, 103, 132, 153

Day of Shadows (yawm al-aẓilla)

101-102

Demonology

24-25, 51, 65-66, 93, 112, 120, 132, 134, 141, 171

dhū al-faqār (the sword of ‘Alī)

122

Docetism

77, 79, 83, 89-90, 137-138, 140, 146, 185, 190

Druze

11, 15, 19, 21, 27, 31-33, 36, 89, 97, 120-121, 149

Dualism

71, 152, 171

Duba, ‘Ali

38

al-Dusūqī, Ibrāhīm

131, 177

Easter

145

Elias ( =Elijah)

95

Elijah

95, 124

Emanation(s)

16, 23-24, 47-77, 85, 89, 93, 110, 112-113, 115, 117, 119121, 123, 126, 128, 141, 143144, 171-172, 186

Emanations (demonic)

24, 141, 171

Enosh

92

Epiphany holiday/Baptism holiday (ghiṭās)

28

Eros (spiritual)

155

Eschatology

55, 62, 76, 103, 122, 135, 158, 188

Euphrates

105

Eve

93, 156

Fall, the myth

25-26, 29, 44, 49, 64-66, 134

al-Fārisī, ‘Askar b. Muḥammad

76

faskh (a form of reincarnation)

26-27, 98, 100, 104, 115, 123

Fast of Ramadan

28, 34, 111, 127-128

The Father (in the trinity)

50, 113

Fāṭim (Fāṭima)

69, 189

207

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology

Fāṭima

16, 69, 71, 88, 94-95, 125-126, 130, 139, 143, 188-189

Fāṭir (Fāṭima)

69, 71, 94-95, 126, 139, 143

al-fatq wa-l-ratq

117

fiqh

16, 140-141

al-fiṣḥ. See Easter.

29

Five Pillars of Islam (arkān al-islām)

32

Five yatīms (incomparable ones), al-aytām al-khamsa

48-51, 56, 120-121

Forbidden foods

108

Franks

34

French Mandate

13, 15, 35-36, 39-40, 172

Frog(s)

105, 107, 188

Gabriel (Jibrā’īl)

22, 89, 94, 117, 157

Garden of Eden

66-67, 119

Garden of refuge (jannat al-ma’wā)

62

George (saint)

146

ghadīr khumm (place)

22, 28, 136, 185-192

ghadīr khumm holiday

22, 30, 45, 109, 111, 136-137, 148, 185-192

gharqad (Salt tree)

136

al-Ghasāsina (the Ghassānids)

40

ghayba. See ‘Occultation’.

40, 58, 69, 74, 90, 115, 123, 138

ghiṭās. See ‘Epiphany holiday/Baptism holiday’.

28

ghulāt (exaggerators, heterodox)

14-15, 18, 22, 25-26, 34-36, 44, 79, 89, 97, 125, 141, 169, 172, 187

Gnosis (knowledge of the mystery of divinity), Gnostic

22, 25-26, 44, 80, 100-101, 109, 146, 187

God’s attributes

23, 33, 54, 58-59, 70, 73-74, 117, 126, 128-129, 179, 186

Greece

19, 21, 48, 73, 77, 88

Ḥabīb al-‘Aṭṭār

131, 178

Ḥabīb al-Najjār (a legendary king of Antioch)

133

ḥabtar (derogatory appellation of Abū Bakr)

191

Ḥājj Amīn al-Ḥusaynī

36

208

Index

al-Ḥajjāj b. Yūsuf

130, 177

al-Ḥakīm, Muḥsin

37

Ḥam son of Kūsh

22, 89

Ḥamdānis (dynasty)

16

Ḥanẓala b. As‘ad al-Shibāmī

138, 140-141

Ḥarfūsh, Ḥusayn Mayhūb

17

Hārūn al-Rashīd

130, 177

al-Ḥasan (b. ‘Alī)

15, 56, 69-71, 90, 94-95, 126, 139, 143, 191

al-Ḥasan al-‘Askarī

15, 52, 69-70, 76, 116, 169, 173-174

al-Ḥasanī, Muḥammad b. Ismā‘īl

76

Hāshim (Muḥammad’s clan)

148

Hatai (district in Turkey)

13

ḥaydar (appellation and symbol of ‘Alī)

114, 115

Hell

34, 97, 116, 118-119, 130-131, 177-178, 187

ḥijāb (ism)

21, 47, 50, 53-54, 57-58, 61, 63, 65, 74-75, 118, 120-121, 127128, 146, 162, 174, 191

Ḥijāz

40, 92

Holidays

17, 22, 27-29, 40-41, 45, 109148, 162, 170, 185-192

Holidays (Persian)

29

Holy family (Muḥammad, Fāṭima, and her three sons)

71, 95, 126, 129

Holy Spirit

50

al-Ḥusayn b. ‘Alī

28, 41, 69, 71, 76, 90, 94-95, 111, 126, 137-141, 143, 146, 191

Ibn Ḥamdān, Dāwud

122

Ibn Jundab, Muḥammad

174

Ibn Ma‘īn, Yaḥyā

52-53, 76

Ibn Nuṣayr, Muḥammad

11, 14-15, 35-36, 45, 53, 76, 116, 121, 169, 172-174

Ibn Sina

48, 51

Ibn Sinān, ‘Abd Allāh

22, 125

209

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology

Ibn Taymiyya, Taqī al-Dīn

33, 36-37, 172

Ibn ‘Uqba

85

Ibrāhīm (Abraham)

71, 94, 141

Ibrāhīm, Ḥabib Āl

37

‘īd al-aḍḥā (Festival of Sacrifice)

28, 109, 111, 135-136

‘īd al-fiṭr (Festival of the end of the fast)

27, 111

‘īd al-ghadīr

28

Identity (Nuṣayrī-‘Alawī)

12, 28-29, 43, 45, 121, 169-183

Idris (Enoch)

21, 80, 89

Imam of the Age/time (imām al-‘aṣr)

41, 158

Imams/imamate in Twelver Shī‘a

16, 36, 40, 68-69, 76, 78, 80, 85-86, 88, 95, 101, 119, 124, 139, 141, 147, 158, 173, 188, 190

Immunity from sin and error. See ‘iṣma. ‘Imrān

142-143

Incarnation

31, 40, 44, 77-88, 89-90, 113, 116, 145, 185

Incense

125-126, 155

India

176

Infinity (in the divine realm)

75

Initiates, al-khāṣṣa (elect, religious sages)

20, 31-32, 149, 161, 167

Initiation

12, 18, 21, 30, 41, 45, 75, 149167

Iran (see also Persia)

21, 38, 88, 92, 148

Iraq

14-15, 121, 130, 138, 170, 177

Isḥāq (Isaac)

95

Isḥāq b. Muḥammad al-Nakha‘ī al-Aḥmar

87, 131, 177-178

Isḥāqiyya (a radical Shī‘ī group)

87, 131, 177

Ism. See also ḥijāb, Muḥammad.

16, 21-24, 47-52, 54-65, 67-75, 83, 87, 89-95, 117-118, 128, 137, 139, 141, 145, 162, 164

‘iṣma.

187-188

Ismā‘īl (Ishmael)

140-141

Ismā‘īlī(s)

54, 191

al-isrā’ (Muḥammad’s night journey)

49, 52-54

Israelites

99, 105-106

210

Index

Isrāfīl (angel)

132, 157

‘Izz al-Dawla Bakhtiyār

16

Jabal al-‘Alawiyyīn. See ‘Mountain of the ‘Alawīs’.

13, 35, 38, 172

Jabal al-Anṣāriyya. See ‘Mountain of the Nuṣayrīs’.

13, 35

Jābir (b. ‘Abd Allāh ?)

117

Jābir (b. Yazīd al-Ju‘fī ?)

176

Jacob

21, 89, 91

Jacob bar Addai

145

Jadid, Ṣalaḥ

38

Ja‘far al-Ṣādiq

22, 35, 52, 59, 72, 79, 81, 85-86, 98, 100-101, 112, 129, 140

Ja‘far al-Ṭayyār (‘Alī’s brother)

133

al-Jaland b. Karkar

131, 178

al-jam‘iyya al-khayriyya al-islāmiyya al-ja‘fariyya (the Ja‘farī Islamic charity association)

37

Jesus. See also Messiah.

21, 30-31, 41-42, 77, 79, 84, 91, 110, 130, 133, 138-140, 142-143, 145-146, 156, 160, 185, 190

Jews

27, 33, 78, 88, 98, 131, 136, 171, 178, 191

al-jibt and al-ṭāghūt (derogatory appellations of Abū Bakr and ‘Umar)

175

jihād

112, 181

al-Jīlānī, ‘Abd al-Qādir

131, 177

al-Jillī

12, 16, 43, 90, 98, 105, 115-117, 122, 143

al-Jisrī, Abū Muḥammad ‘Alī b ‘Īsa

16, 24, 43, 50, 52, 66, 76

John (apostle)

146

John Maron

131, 178

Joseph

21, 89, 91

Joshua

21, 89, 91

al-Ju‘fī, al-Mufaḍḍal b. ‘Umar

26, 66, 79, 81, 97, 112

al-Junbulānī/Junbulā’ī , Abū ‘Abd Allāh al-Jannān

76, 112, 121, 190

211

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology

The Ka‘ba

34, 125

Kalāziyya/Qamariyya (a Nuṣayrī-‘Alawī group)

65-66, 151

Karbalā’

28, 111, 134, 137-138, 140-142, 146

al-Karkhī, ‘Alī b. ‘Abd al-Ghaffār

173

Khadīja

93

al-Khaḍir

32, 146

Khālid b. al-Walīd

130, 177

Khaṣīb

190-191

al-Khaṣībī, Abū ‘Abd Allāh al-Ḥusayn b. Ḥamdān

15-17, 21, 24, 26, 33, 43-45, 4950, 52, 55, 57-61, 66-67, 72, 76, 78, 82, 86-90, 92, 97-98, 105, 112, 115, 121-122, 138-142, 144, 147-148, 151, 162, 166, 169-171, 185-186, 189-190

al-Khaṣībiyya

15, 169

al-khāṣṣa (the initiates)

31, 161, 165

al-Khayr, ‘Abd al-Raḥmān

37

Khawārij

82

Khirvīn

93

Khosrow the II

93, 147

Khosrow Aparwez, son of Anushirvān

93

al-Khū’ī, Ayatollah Abū l-Qāsim

38

kitmān

31, 170

Kūfa

105, 121, 133, 138

al-Kulīnī, Abū J‘afar

55

Latakia (district)

13, 18, 87, 165

Lebanon

35

Lent

145

Letters (of the Alphabeth)

53, 54, 71, 87

Light of essence (nūr al-dhāt)

23, 24, 48, 50, 61, 62, 125, 144, 145

Lion (appellation and symbol of ‘Alī). See ḥaydar. Liturgy

29, 120, 155, 170

Logos

73, 77

212

Index

Lot

94

Lotus. See sidrat al-muntahā. Lu’ay son of Ghālib

92

Luke

102, 146

Luther, Martin

41

Lyde, Samuel

19, 20

al-madhhab al-ja‘farī (the Ja‘farī [Twelver] school of jurisprudence)

35

al-Madīna. See also Medina.

175

al-Maghribī, Muḥammad

133, 177

Magicians (Egyptian)

189

Maimonides

51

Makhus, Ibrahim

38

Mameluks

18

Ma‘nā

16, 20-24, 47-48, 50, 52, 54-61, 63-64, 66-75, 78-79, 81-83, 8690, 92-95, 114, 118-119, 124, 126, 128, 137, 139, 140, 146, 162, 164, 188

maqām, place (within the divine realm)

57, 58, 71, 72

Mark (evangelist)

146

Maronite Christians

36, 131, 178

Marriage of hearing/learning (nikāḥ alsamā‘), spiritual marriage

49, 153-160

Mary (Jesus’ mother)

79, 84-85, 110, 113, 142-146, 156

Mary Magdalene holiday

28

maskh (a form of reincarnation)

26, 27, 98-100, 104, 115, 123

Mass (Christian)

44

Matthew (evangelist)

146

Maytham al-Tammār

133

Mawālī

76, 147

mawlā

54, 55, 63, 72, 75, 92, 188, 189

Mecca

14, 28, 34, 106, 111

Medina. See also al-Madīna

14, 55, 127, 138

Messengers (in Islam)

52, 85, 158, 164, 174

213

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology

Messiah (Jesus)

30, 110, 113, 114, 138-139, 142144, 190

Michael

94, 157

Mihrajān

27-28

al-Miqdād ibn Aswad al-Kindī

23, 49-50, 53-56, 64, 94, 118, 120, 127, 128

Mission (Christian)

18-19

Monasteries

114

Mongols

34

Monk(s) (Christian)

110, 114

Moon

65, 118, 122, 123

Morality (moral)

41, 42, 182

Morocco

15

Moses

21, 89, 91, 110, 113, 131, 132, 133, 142, 146, 160, 178, 189

Mosque(s)

49, 53, 54, 88, 127, 175

The Prophet’s Mosque (al-Madīna)

127, 175

The Holy Mosque (al-masjid al-ḥarām)

49, 53, 54, 88

The Further Mosque (al-masjid al-aqṣā)

49, 53, 54

Mountain of the ‘Alawīs

13, 35, 38

Mountain of the Nuṣayrīs

13, 35

Mu‘āwiya

130, 138, 177

al-Mufaḍḍal b. ‘Umar al-Ju‘fī

26, 79, 81, 97, 99, 112

Mufawwiḍa

141

Muḥammad, the Prophet

14, 16, 22-23, 28-29, 31, 34, 37, 44, 47, 49-50, 53-55, 60-61, 63, 69, 71, 74-76, 89, 90, 91, 93-94, 106, 115, 122, 125-128, 132, 134, 135, 137, 139, 142-143, 146, 148, 157, 162-163, 171, 175, 178, 185-188, 190

Muḥammad al-Bāqir

85, 115

Muḥammad al-Ḥujja

69, 70

Muḥammad al-Jawād

76

Muḥsin

71, 94-95, 126, 130, 139, 143, 189, 191

mukhammisa

80, 87

214

Index

al-Muntajab al-Dīn al-‘Ānī

163-164

al-Murshid, Mujīb

41-42, 172, 178-180

al-Murshid, Nūr al-Mūḍi’

41-42

al-Murshid, Sājī

41-42, 172, 179-183

al-Murshid, Salmān (or Sulaymān)

39, 45, 78

al-Murshidiyya movement

39-43, 45, 78, 172-183

Mūsā al-Kāẓim

76

al-Mu‘tamid (Caliph)

105

muwaḥḥida. See ‘unitarians’ or ‘people of unification’.

15, 169

Myrtle

129, 147

Mystery of the divinity

47-95, 110, 116, 119-120, 125126, 130, 156-157, 160, 162, 165, 178

Mystery of the trinity, the mystery of ‘ams (sirr ‘ayn, mīm, sīn)

29-31, 44, 116, 119-120, 132, 140, 162, 164, 178

Najīb (a rank of emanation and a position in the community)

120, 124, 125, 126, 162

Names of God

34, 74

al-Namīriyya (or al-Numayriyya)

15

Naqīb (a rank of emanation and a position in the community)

120, 124, 125, 128-129, 152, 154-155, 157-162, 164-165

al-Nashshābī, Yūsuf ibn al-‘Ajūz al-Ḥalabī,

43, 48, 51, 85

al-nāṣiba (Sunnīs)

82, 173

naskh (a form of reincarnation)

26, 98, 100, 103, 105, 115, 123

nāṭiq (speaker, a prophet or Imam)

54, 89, 90, 129

Nature (divine and human of ‘Alī)

91, 107, 119, 185, 188

al-Nawbakhtī, Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥasan b. ‘Īsā

14

Nawrūz

27, 109, 147-149

Nazarenes

14

New Testament

102, 146

Night Journey of Muḥammad. See al-isrā’. Noah

21, 89, 91

nūr al-dhāt. See ‘light of essence’. Nuṣayriyya

14, 19, 87, 129, 131, 167, 177, 185

215

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology

Occultation (ghayba)

58, 60, 69, 74, 123, 138

Olive (leaves)

147

Original sin

49, 110

Ottomans

18

Pagans

14

Palm Sunday (‘īd al-sha‘ānīn)

28, 29, 146

Pan-Islamism

37

Paul

110

Pentecost (‘īd al-‘anṣara)

28

People of murkiness (ahl al-kadar)

70, 73

People of purity (ahl al-ṣafāʾ)

70

People of ranks (ahl al-marātib)

67, 72, 121

People of unification, ‘unitarians’ (ahl altawḥīd)

15, 73, 87, 137, 141, 142, 169, 173

Perfumes (used in liturgy)

124, 155

Persia (see also Iran)

92, 147, 176

Person(s) (hypostasis, of the trinity; in Arabic uqnūm, pl. aqānīm)

20-24, 44, 47-48, 58, 64, 90, 91-95, 99, 113, 147

Peter (Simon-Peter)

21, 89, 91, 146

Pharaoh

189

Philosophy

48, 49, 51, 73

Christian Philosophy

48

Greek Philosophy

48, 73

Phoenicia

14

Pilgrimage

28, 32, 34, 111, 112

Pliny the Elder

14

Poetry

16, 20, 164, 171, 185

Polytheism

49, 112, 152

Prayer

19, 28, 29, 30, 70, 71, 93-94, 111-112, 114, 124-129, 136, 144, 147, 152, 160, 162, 163, 165, 171, 175, 179

Pre-cosmic world (world of light, world of shadows)

25-26, 81, 101, 134, 174

Pregnancy (spiritual)

150, 155-157, 161

Priests

114, 183

216

Index

Prince of bees (amīr al-naḥl = ‘Alī)

94, 114, 115, 117, 119, 123, 127, 128, 131, 132, 133, 145, 146

Prince of the believers (amīr al-mu’minīn = ‘Alī)

52, 62, 79, 83, 87, 90, 105, 106, 107, 118, 123, 134, 136, 137, 175, 176

Prophecy

54

Prophet(s)

14, 15, 28, 31, 33, 34, 37, 54, 78, 85, 90, 111, 127, 131, 133, 136, 137, 143, 144, 152, 153, 157, 171, 176, 178, 187

Protecting the religious mysteries (kitmān)

31, 170

Psalms

159

Qaddār b. Sālif

131, 178

al-qā’im

135, 139

Qanbar b. Kādān al-Dawsī

23, 55, 56, 64, 118, 120

Qarmaṭians

33

qashsh and qushāsh (forms of reincarnation)

115, 116

al-Qazwīnī, Ja‘far b. Muḥammad

105

quddās (sanctification ceremony)

29-31, 44, 111, 124-126, 155, 171

quddās al-adhān (Sanctification of the Call to Prayer)

126-133, 171

quddās al-bukhūr (Sanctification of the Incense)

125-126, 155

quddās al-ṭīb (Sanctification of the Perfumes)

124-125, 155

Qur’ān (general)

20, 26, 27, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37, 42, 53, 62, 69, 83, 97, 98, 132, 133, 136, 138, 140, 142, 143, 145, 152, 154, 159, 171, 175, 178, 181, 189

Quraysh (Muḥammad’s tribe)

95, 148

Quṣay

95

rāfiḍa/rawāfiḍ ( = Shī‘īs)

173

raskh (a form of reincarnation)

26, 27, 98, 100, 104, 115, 123

Reincarnation

12, 25-27, 42, 44, 49, 65, 88, 97-108, 115-116. 123. 167, 170, 174, 187, 192

217

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology

Resurrection

41, 52, 84, 103, 107, 135, 138, 152

Retribution doctrine

12, 34, 44, 97-98, 100-105, 180

Revelation (types of revelation)

22, 28, 39, 56, 58, 68, 75, 7778, 84, 115, 117, 137, 141-142, 144-145, 147, 150, 152, 160, 167, 187, 191

Cyclical revelation of the deity

44, 88-95

Riḍwān (angel)

56

al-Rifā‘ī, Aḥmad

131, 171

Ritual

11-12, 15, 17, 19-20, 29-32, 34, 42, 44, 109, 114-148, 172

Ritual of bread and wine

29-31

Ruzbih ibn Marzbān

89

Sacred site

32, 40

Sacrifice

28, 30, 93-94, 109, 111, 135136, 141, 153

Sacrifice (of Ishmael)

140-141

Sa‘d ibn Abī Waqqāṣ

130, 177

al-Ṣadr, Mūsā

38

Sa‘īd b. Zayd

130, 137

al-Ṣā’igh, Abū ‘Abd Allāh al-Ḥusayn b. Hārūn

24, 47, 52, 57-61

Saint Barbara’s Day

28

Saints (Christian)

28, 146

Saints, tombs of

32, 145

Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Ayyūbī

18

Ṣāliḥ (prophet)

131, 178

Salmān al-Fārisī, Salmān the Persian

22-23, 29, 44, 47-95, 103, 116117, 120-122, 125, 127-128, 132, 134, 137, 145-146, 157, 162, 178, 190

Salsabīl (a spring in paradise)

117, 145

Salsal/Salsalī/Salsabīl (appellations of Salmān al-Fārisī)

56, 75, 94, 117, 127, 145, 148, 190

samā‘

45, 75, 149-150, 153, 155-161

Sāmarrā’

69-70

ṣāmit (silent, a prophet or Imam)

90, 129

218

Index

Sasanians

147

Satan (iblīs)

24, 71, 85, 93, 112, 130, 134, 177

Sayf al-Dawla

16

Scales of justice

148

Schools of jurisprudence (Ḥanafīs, Shāfi‘īs, Mālikīs, Ḥanbalīs)

131, 177

Secrecy of the religion

31-33

Seth

21, 80, 89, 91-92

Shabar, Shubayr, Mushbir

191

Shamir b. Marjāna

138

Shāpūr son of Ardashīr

92

Sharī‘atmadārī, Ayatollah Kāẓim

38

Shirvīn

93

al-Shaykh al-Mufīd

16

Shī‘a (Shī‘ī Islam)

11, 13, 22, 26-29, 31-35, 38, 43-44, 55, 58, 64-65, 71, 79, 82, 82-83, 94, 97, 99, 105, 109-111, 119, 122, 126, 129-130, 133, 138, 141, 142, 156, 169, 172173, 180, 185-186, 189

Imāmī (Twelver) Shī‘a

14-16, 22, 24, 35-40, 55, 68-69, 76, 80, 91, 95, 98, 101, 111, 116, 141, 158, 169, 173, 175, 187-188, 190

Heterodox Shī‘a

14, 22, 35, 44, 79, 89, 141, 187

‘The outward Shī‘a’. See ẓāhiriyat alshī‘a.

137-138, 142, 170

‘The true Shī‘a’. See shī‘at al-ḥaqq

138, 170

shī‘at al-ḥaqq

138, 170

Shibl al-Marjān

131, 177

Shīrāzī, Ayatollah Ḥasan

36, 38

shakhṣ, pl. ashkhāṣ (persons in the divine realm)

80, 103, 111, 128, 135

sidrat al-muntahā

62

Simon of Cyrene

146

The ṣirāṭ bridge

55

Solomon (the King)

21, 80, 89, 91

219

The ʿAlawī Religion. An Anthology

Soul

23, 26-27, 42, 55, 58, 71, 73, 87, 97-108, 117, 135, 140, 145, 153-154, 156-157, 174, 181-182

Spirit

41-42, 45, 50, 55, 73, 80, 84, 102, 139, 142-145

Sufi(s)

42, 75, 117, 121, 131, 155-156, 171, 177

Sunna (Sunnī Islam)

15, 18, 22, 27, 29, 33, 35-36, 43-45, 97, 109-110, 126, 131, 137, 170-173, 175-178, 180, 186-187, 191

al-ṣūra al-mar’iyya (‘the visible form’)

78, 121, 124, 139

Symbolism

42, 48, 53

Syncretism

13, 27-29, 33, 170

Syria

11, 13, 15, 16-19, 35-40, 43, 161, 172

al-Ṭabarānī, Abū Sa‘īd Maymūn b. al-Qāsim

17, 21-22, 28-30, 43-45, 66, 78, 89, 98, 109-110, 121-122, 136, 138, 140, 147, 150, 170, 186, 188

takbīr

126

Ṭalḥa

130, 177

Ṭālib

120

ta‘līq

45, 149-156, 160-161

taqiyya

31-32, 112, 170

Theodicy

25

Theology (Christian)

27, 73

Theology (Nuṣayrī-‘Alawī)

12, 20-25, 40, 47-95, 109, 112, 143, 169, 186, 189

Tiberias

17

Torah (Law) of Moses

110, 113, 154, 159

Tree of happiness (shajarat ṭūbā)

62

Trinity (Christian)

21

Trinity (Nuṣayrī-‘Alawī)

20-24, 29, 44, 47-67, 69, 71, 87, 89, 92-93, 113, 116, 186

Turkey

13, 15, 19, 161

‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb

130, 140-141, 176-177

‘Umar ibn Sa‘d

140

220

Index

Umayyads

130, 134, 138, 170-171, 177

‘Uthmān b. ‘Affān

130, 177

‘Uthmān b. Maẓ‘ūn al-Najāshī

23, 118

Verse of covenant (āyat al-mīthāq)

25, 64

Verse of the throne (āyat al-kursī)

132

The visible form. See al-ṣūra al-mar’iyya.

62, 72, 78, 81-83, 121, 124, 139, 145

Wadi al-Jarb (Turkey)

166

walī

24, 49, 51, 55, 115-116

Wāsiṭ (Iraq)

121

waskh (a form of reincarnation)

26-27, 98, 100, 104, 115, 123

Wine

112, 126, 133-144

Wine (sacred). See ‘abd al-nūr.

29-31, 40, 42, 45, 112, 125-126, 128, 133-134, 147-148, 154155, 157, 160-163, 166, 191

Women

66, 107, 149, 161, 166

World of light

65, 134

World of matter

25-26

World of shadows. See ‘ālam al-aẓilla.

24-25, 141

World of spirits. See ‘ālam al-arwāḥ.

42

World War I

34, 39

Yā’il ibn Fātin

22, 89

yatīm. See also aytām.

23-24, 48-51, 53-56, 64, 113, 117, 120-121, 128-129, 173-174

yawm al-aẓilla. See ‘Day of Shadows’.

101

Yazīd b. Mu‘āwiya

138

al-Zāhirī, Muḥammad b. Sinān

125

ẓāhiriyyat al-shī‘a (‘The outward Shī‘a’)

138, 170

zanīm (derogatory appellation of Abū Bakr)

189

zufar (derogatory appellation of ‘Umar)

189

221

BIBLIOTHÈQUE DE L’ÉCOLE DES HAUTES ÉTUDES, SCIENCES RELIGIEUSES

vol. 130 (Série “Histoire et prosopographie” no 3) L. Bansat-Boudon, R. Lardinois (dir.) Sylvain Lévi. Études indiennes, histoire sociale ii + 536 p., 9 ill. n&b, 2007, ISBN 978-2-503-52447-4 vol. 131 (Série “Histoire et prosopographie” no 4) F. Laplanche, I. Biagioli, C. Langlois (dir.) Autour d’un petit livre. Alfred Loisy cent ans après 351 p., 2007, ISBN 978-2-503-52342-2 vol. 132 L. Oreskovic Le diocèse de Senj en Croatie habsbourgeoise, de la Contre-Réforme aux Lumières vii + 592 p., 6 ill. n&b, 2008, ISBN 978-2-503-52448-1 vol. 133 T. Volpe Science et théologie dans les débats savants du xviie siècle : la Genèse dans les Philosophical Transactions et le Journal des savants (1665-1710) 472 p., 10 ill. n&b, 2008, ISBN 978-2-503-52584-6 vol. 134 O. Journet-Diallo Les créances de la terre. Chroniques du pays Jamaat (Jóola de Guinée-Bissau) 368 p., 6 ill. n&b, 2007, ISBN 978-2-503-52666-9 vol. 135 C. Henry La force des anges. Rites, hiérarchie et divinisation dans le Christianisme Céleste (Bénin) 276 p., 2009, ISBN 978-2-503-52889-2 vol. 136 D. Puccio-Den Les théâtres de “Maures et Chrétiens”. Conflits politiques et dispositifs de reconciliation (Espagne, Sicile, xvie-xxie siècle) 240 p., 2009, PB vol. 137 M. A. Amir-Moezzi, M. M. Bar-Asher, S. Hopkins (dir.) Le shīʿisme imāmite quarante ans après. Hommage à Etan Kohlberg 445 p., 2008, ISBN 978-2-503-53114-4

vol. 138 M. Cartry, J.-L. Durand, R. Koch Piettre (dir.) Architecturer l’invisible. Autels, ligatures, écritures 430 p., 2009, 978-2-503-53172-4 vol. 139 M. Yahia Šāfiʿī et les deux sources de la loi islamique 552 p., 2009, PB vol. 140 A. A. Nagy Qui a peur du cannibale ? Récits antiques d’anthropophages aux frontières de l’humanité 306 p., 2009, ISBN 978-2-503-53173-1 vol. 141 (Série “Sources et documents” no 1) C. Langlois, C. Sorrel (dir.) Le temps des congrès catholiques. Bibliographie raisonnée des actes de congrès tenus en France de 1870 à nos jours. 448 p., 2010, ISBN 978-2-503-53183-0 vol. 142 (Série “Histoire et prosopographie” no 5) M. A. Amir-Moezzi, J.-D. Dubois, C. Jullien et F. Jullien (éd.) Pensée grecque et sagesse d’orient. Hommage à Michel Tardieu 752 p., 2009, ISBN 978-2-503-52995-0 vol. 143. B. Heyberger (éd.) Orientalisme, science et controverse : Abraham Ecchellensis (1605-1664) 240 p., 2010, ISBN 978-2-503-53567-8 vol. 144. F. Laplanche (éd.) Alfred Loisy. La crise de la foi dans le temps présent (Essais d’histoire et de philosophie religieuses) 735 p., 2010, ISBN 978-2-503-53182-3 vol. 145 J. Ducor, H. Loveday Le sūtra des contemplations du buddha Vie-Infinie. Essai d’interprétation textuelle et iconographique 474 p., 2011, ISBN 978-2-503-54116-7 vol. 146 N. Ragot, S. Peperstraete, G. Olivier (dir.) La quête du Serpent à Plumes. Arts et religions de l’Amérique précolombienne. Hommage à Michel Graulich 491 p., 2011, ISBN 978-2-503-54141-9 vol. 147 C. Borghero Les cartésiens face à Newton. Philosophie, science et religion dans la première moitié du xviiie siècle 164 p., 2012, ISBN 978-2-503-54177-8

vol. 148 (Série “Histoire et prosopographie” no 6) F. Jullien, M. J. Pierre (dir.) Monachismes d’Orient. Images, échanges, influences. Hommage à Antoine Guillaumont 348 p., 2012, ISBN 978-2-503-54144-0 vol. 149 P. Gisel, S. Margel (dir) Le croire au cœur des sociétés et des cultures. Différences et déplacements. 244 p., 2012, ISBN 978-2-503-54217-1 vol. 150 J.-R. Armogathe Histoire des idées religieuses et scientifiques dans l’Europe moderne. Quarante ans d’enseignement à l’École pratique des hautes études. 227 p., 2012, ISBN 978-2-503-54488-5 vol. 151 C. Bernat, H. Bost (dir.) Énoncer/Dénoncer l’autre. Discours et représentations du différend confessionnel à l’époque moderne. 451 p., 2012, ISBN 978-2-503-54489-2 vol. 152 N. Sihlé Rituels bouddhiques de pouvoir et de violence. La figure du tantrisme tibétain. 374 p., 2012, ISBN 978-2-503-54470-0 vol. 153 J.-P. Rothschild, J. Grondeux (dir.) Adolphe Franck. Philosophe juif, spiritualiste et libéral dans la France du xixe siècle. 234 p., 2012, ISBN 978-2-503-54471-7 vol. 154 (Série “Histoire et prosopographie” no 7) S. d’Intino, C. Guenzi (dir.) Aux abords de la clairière. Études indiennes et comparées en l’honneur de Charles Malamoud. 295 p., 2012, ISBN 978-2-503-54472-4 vol. 155 B. Bakhouche, I. Fabre, V. Fortier (dir.) Dynamiques de conversion : modèles et résistances. Approches interdisciplinaires. 205 p., 2012, ISBN 978-2-503-54473-1 vol. 156 (Série “Histoire et prosopographie” no 8) C. Zivie-Coche, I. Guermeur (dir.) Hommages à Jean Yoyotte 2 tomes, 1190 p., 2012, ISBN 978-2-503-54474-8 vol. 157 E. Marienberg (éd. et trad.) La Baraïta de-Niddah. Un texte juif pseudo-talmudique sur les lois religieuses relatives à la menstruation 235 p., 2012, ISBN 978-2-503-54437-0

vol. 158 Gérard Colas Penser l’icone en Inde ancienne 221 p., 2012, ISBN 978-2-503-54538-7 vol. 159 A. Noblesse-Rocher (éd.) Études d’exégèse médiévale offertes à Gilbert Dahan par ses élèves 294 p., 2013, ISBN 978-2-503-54802-9 vol. 160 A. Nagy, F. Prescendi (éd.) Sacrifices humains… 274 p., 2013, ISBN 978-2-503-54809-8 vol. 161 (Série “Histoire et prosopographie” no 9) O. Boulnois (éd.) avec la collaboration de J.-R. Armogathe Paul Vignaux, citoyen et philosophe (1904-1987) suivi de Paul Vignaux, La Philosophie franciscaine et autres documents inédits 452 p., 2013, ISBN 978-2-503-54810-4 vol. 162 M. Tardieu, A. van den Kerchove, M. Zago (éd.) Noms barbares I. Formes et contextes d’une pratique magique 426 p., 2013, ISBN 978-2-503-54945-3 vol. 163 (Série “Histoire et prosopographie” no 10) R. Gerald Hobbs, A. Noblesse-Rocher (éd.) Bible, histoire et société. Mélanges offerts à Bernard Roussel 403 p., 2013, ISBN 978-2-503-55118-0 vol. 164 P. Bourdeau, Ph. Hoffmann, Nguyen Hong Duong (éd.) Pluralisme religieux : une comparaison franco-vietnamienne. Actes du colloque organisé à Hanoi les 5-7 octobre 2007 299 p., 2013, ISBN 978-2-503-55047-3 vol. 165 (Série “Histoire et prosopographie” no 11) M. A. Amir-Moezzi (éd.) Islam : identité et altérité. Hommage à Guy Monnot, O.P. 420 p., 2013, ISBN 978-2-503-55026-8 vol. 166 S. Bogevska Les églises rupestres de la région des lacs d’Ohrid et de Prespa, milieu du xiiie-milieu du xvie siècle 831 p., 2015, ISBN 978-2-503-54647-6 vol. 167 B. Bakhouche (éd.) Science et exégèse. Les interprétations antiques et médiévales du récit biblique de la création des éléments (Genèse 1, 1-8) 387 p., 2016, ISBN 978-2-503-56703-7

vol. 168 K. Berthelot, R. Naiweld, D. Stökl Ben Ezra (éd.) L’identité à travers l’éthique. Nouvelles perspectives sur la formation des identités collectives dans le monde gréco-romain 216 p., 2016, ISBN 978-2-503-55042-8 vol. 169 A. Guellati La notion d’adab chez Ibn Qutayba : étude générique et éclairage comparatiste 264 p., 2015, ISBN 978-2-503-56648-1 vol. 170 H. Seng Un livre sacré de l’Antiquité tardive : les Oracles chaldaïques 149 p., 2016, ISBN: 978-2-503-56518-7 vol. 171 Cl. Zamagni L’extrait des Questions et réponses d’Eusèbe de Césarée : un commentaire 358 p., 2016, ISBN 978-2-503-55830-1 vol. 172 C. Ando Religion et gouvernement dans l’Empire romain 320 p., 156 x 234, 2016, ISBN 978-2-503-56753-2 vol. 173 Ph. Bobichon Controverse judéo-chrétienne en Ashkenaz (xiiie siècle) Florilèges polémiques : hébreu, latin, ancien français (Paris, BnF Hébreu 712, fol. 56v-57v et 66v-68v) 305 p., 156 x 234, 2016, ISBN 978-2-503-56747-1 vol. 174 (Série “Histoire et prosopographie” no 12) V. Zuber, P. Cabanel, R. Liogier (éd.) Croire, s’engager, chercher. Autour de Jean Baubérot, du protestantisme à la laïcité 475 p., 156 x 234, 2016, ISBN 978-2-503-56749-5 vol. 175 N. Belayche, C. Bonnet, M. Albert Llorca, A. Avdeef, F. Massa, I. Slobodzianek (éd.) Puissances divines à l’épreuve du comparatisme : constructions, variations et réseaux relationnels 500 p., 156 x 234, 2016, ISBN 978-2-503-56944-4 vol. 176 (Série “Histoire et prosopographie” no 13) L. Soares Santoprete, A. Van den Kerchove (éd.) Gnose et manichéisme. Entre les oasis d’Égypte et la Route de la Soie. Hommage à Jean-Daniel Dubois 970 p., 156 x 234, 2016, ISBN 978-2-503-56763-1

vol. 177 M. A. Amir Moezzi (éd.), L’ésotérisme shi’ite : ses racines et ses prolongements / Shi‛i Esotericism: Its Roots and Developments vi + 870 p., 156 x 234, 2016, ISBN 978-2-503-56874-4 vol. 178 G. Toloni Jéroboam et la division du royaume Étude historico-philologique de 1 Rois 11, 26 - 12, 33 222 p., 156 x 234, 2016, ISBN 978-2-503-57365-6 vol. 179 S. Marjanović-Dušanić L’écriture et la sainteté dans la Serbie médiévale. Étude hagiographique 298 p., 156 x 234, 2017, ISBN 978-2-503-56978-9 vol. 180 G. Nahon Épigraphie et sotériologie. L’épitaphier des « Portugais » de Bordeaux (1728-1768) 430 p., 156 x 234, 2018, ISBN 978-2-503-51195-5 vol. 181 G. Dahan, A. Noblesse-Rocher (éd.) La Bible de 1500 à 1535 366 p., 156 x 234, 2018, ISBN 978-2-503-57998-6 vol. 182 T. Visi, T. Bibring, D. Soukup (éd.) Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Naqdan’s Works and their Reception L’oeuvre de Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Naqdan et sa réception 254 p., 156 x 234, 2019, ISBN 978-2-503-58365-5 vol. 183 J.-D. Dubois (éd.) Cinq parcours de recherche en sciences religieuses 132 p., 156 x 234, 2019, ISBN 978-2-503-58445-4 vol. 184 C. Bernat, F. Gabriel (éd.) Émotions de Dieu. Attributions et appropriations chrétiennes (xvie-xviiie siècles) 416 p., 156 x 234, 2019, ISBN 978-2-503-58367-9 vol. 185 Ph. Hoffmann, A. Timotin (éd.) Théories et pratiques de la prière à la fin de l’Antiquité 398 p., 156 x 234, 2020, ISBN 978-2-503-58903-9 vol. 186 G. Dahan, A. Noblesse-Rocher (éd.) La Vulgate au xvie siècle. Les travaux sur la traduction latine de la Bible 292 p., 156 x 234, 2020, ISBN 978-2-503-59279-4

vol. 187 N. Belayche, F. Massa, Ph. Hoffmann (éd.) Les « mystères » au iie siècle de notre ère : un « tournant » ? 350 p., 156 x 234, 2021, ISBN 978-2-503-59459-0 vol. 188 (Série “Histoire et prosopographie” no 14) M. A. Amir Moezzi (éd.) Raison et quête de la sagesse. Hommage à Christian Jambet 585 p., 156 x 234, 2020, ISBN 978-2-503-59353-1 vol. 189 J. Vijgen, P. Roszak Reading the Church Fathers with St. Thomas Aquinas 520 p., 156 x 234, 2021, ISBN 978-2-503-59320-3

Réalisation : Cécile Guivarch École pratique des hautes études