Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Mufaḍḍal ibn ʿUmar al-Juʿfī ( ar, أبو عبد الله المفضل بن عمر الجعفي), died before 799, was an early Shi'i leader and contemporary of the Imams
Ja'far al-Sadiq
Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Ṣādiq ( ar, جعفر بن محمد الصادق; 702 – 765 CE), commonly known as Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (), was an 8th-century Shia Muslim scholar, jurist, and theologian.. He was the founder of th ...
(–765) and
Musa al-Kazim
Musa ibn Ja'far al-Kazim ( ar, مُوسَىٰ ٱبْن جَعْفَر ٱلْكَاظِم, Mūsā ibn Jaʿfar al-Kāẓim), also known as Abū al-Ḥasan, Abū ʿAbd Allāh or Abū Ibrāhīm, was the seventh Imam in Twelver Shia Islam, after hi ...
(745–799). He belonged to those circles in
Kufa
Kufa ( ar, الْكُوفَة ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Currently, Kufa and Najaf ...
whom later
Twelver Shi'i
Twelver Shīʿīsm ( ar, ٱثْنَا عَشَرِيَّة; '), also known as Imāmīyyah ( ar, إِمَامِيَّة), is the largest branch of Shīʿa Islam, comprising about 85 percent of all Shīʿa Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers t ...
authors would call ('exaggerators') for their 'exaggerated' veneration of the
Imams
Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, serve ...
.
[; . On the more generally, see further ; . On their cosmology and theology, see .]
As a money-changer (), al-Mufaddal wielded considerable financial and political power. He was likely also responsible for managing the financial affairs of the Imams in
Medina
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
.
[ For a time he was a follower of the famous leader ]Abu al-Khattab Abū l-Khaṭṭāb Muḥammad ibn Abī Zaynab Miqlāṣ al-Asadī (Arabic: اَبُوالخَطّاب مُحَمَّد بن أبی زَینَب المِقلاص الأَسَدی) nicknamed ''al-Barrād al-Ajda'' (Arabic: البَرّاد الأَج ...
(died 755–6), who had claimed that the Imams were divine.[ Different interpretations exist: whereas early Imami ]heresiographer
In theology or the history of religion, heresiology is the study of heresy, and heresiographies are writings about the topic. Heresiographical works were common in both medieval Christianity and Islam.
Heresiology developed as a part of the emergi ...
s and Nusayri
The Alawis, Alawites ( ar, علوية ''Alawīyah''), or pejoratively Nusayris ( ar, نصيرية ''Nuṣayrīyah'') are an ethnoreligious group that lives primarily in Levant and follows Alawism, a sect of Islam that originated from Shia Isla ...
sources regard al-Mufaddal as a staunch supporter of Abu al-Khattab's ideas who later spawned his own movement (the ), Twelver Shi'i sources instead report that after Ja'far al-Sadiq's repudiated Abu al-Khattab in 748, al-Mufaddal broke with Abu al-Khattab and tried to bring his followers back on the right path.[
A number of writings—collectively known as the Mufaddal Tradition—have been attributed to al-Mufaddal, most of which are still extant. They were likely falsely attributed to al-Mufaddal by later 9th–11th-century authors. As one of the closest confidants of Ja'far al-Sadiq, al-Mufaddal was an attractive figure for authors of various Shi'i persuasions: by attributing their own ideas to him they could invest these ideas with the authority of the Imam. The writings attributed to al-Mufaddal are very different in nature and scope, but Ja'far al-Sadiq is the main speaker in most of them.
A major part of the extant writings attributed to al-Mufaddal originated among the , an early branch of Shi'i Islam that was widespread in the 8th/9th century but is now nearly extinct.][ A recurring theme in these texts is the myth of the world's creation through the fall from grace of pre-existent 'shadows'. These 'shadows' are human souls whom God punished for their disobedience by concealing himself from them and by casting them down into the seven heavens created for this purpose. In the ('Book of the Seven and the Shadows', 8th to 11th centuries),][ seven primordial ]Adam
Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
s rule over the seven heavens and initiate the seven historical world cycles ().[ The ('Book of the Path', written –941) describes a 'path' () leading believers back through the seven heavens on a heavenly ascent towards God.][ Only those who attain a certain degree of religious knowledge may climb upwards on the ]chain of being
The great chain of being is a hierarchical structure of all matter and life, thought by medieval Christianity to have been decreed by God. The chain begins with God and descends through angels, humans, animals and plants to minerals.
The great c ...
: others are reborn into human bodies ( or metempsychosis
Metempsychosis ( grc-gre, μετεμψύχωσις), in philosophy, is the transmigration of the soul, especially its reincarnation after death. The term is derived from ancient Greek philosophy, and has been recontextualised by modern philoso ...
), while unbelievers travel downwards and reincarnate into animal (), vegetable, or mineral bodies ().[ Those who reach the seventh heaven, corresponding to the seventh and highest degree of spiritual perfection (that of or 'Gate'), enjoy a beatific vision of God and share with God the power to manifest () themselves to ordinary beings in the world of matter.
Among the extant non- texts attributed to al-Mufaddal, most of which were preserved in the Twelver Shi'i tradition, two treatises stand out for their philosophical content. These are the ('al-Mufaddal's ') and the ('Book of the ]Myrobalan The common name myrobalan can refer to several unrelated fruit-bearing plant species:
* Myrobalan plum (''Prunus cerasifera''), also called cherry plum and myrobalan plum
* Emblic myrobalan (''Phyllanthus emblica''), also called Amla and Amalaki
In ...
Fruit'), both of which feature Ja'far al-Sadiq presenting al-Mufaddal with a proof for the existence of God.[ The ]teleological argument
The teleological argument (from ; also known as physico-theological argument, argument from design, or intelligent design argument) is an argument for the existence of God or, more generally, that complex functionality in the natural world wh ...
used in the is inspired by Syriac Christian
Syriac Christianity ( syr, ܡܫܝܚܝܘܬܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܬܐ / ''Mšiḥoyuṯo Suryoyto'' or ''Mšiḥāyūṯā Suryāytā'') is a distinctive branch of Eastern Christianity, whose formative theological writings and traditional liturgies are expr ...
literature (especially commentaries on the Hexameron
The term Hexameron (Greek: Ἡ Ἑξαήμερος Δημιουργία ''Hē Hexaēmeros Dēmiourgia'') refers either to the genre of theological treatise that describes God's work on the six days of creation or to the six days of creation thems ...
), and ultimately goes back on Hellenistic
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
models such as pseudo-Aristotle Pseudo-Aristotle is a general cognomen for authors of philosophical or medical treatises who attributed their work to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, or whose work was later attributed to him by others. Such falsely attributed works are known as ps ...
's (3rd/2nd century BCE) and Stoic theology
Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century BCE. It is a philosophy of personal virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world, asserting that th ...
as recorded in Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...
's (106–43 BCE) . The dialectical
Dialectic ( grc-gre, διαλεκτική, ''dialektikḗ''; related to dialogue; german: Dialektik), also known as the dialectical method, is a discourse between two or more people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to ...
style of the is more typical of early Muslim speculative theology (), and the work may originally have been authored by the 8th-century scribe Muhammad ibn Layth.[ Both works may be regarded as part of an attempt to rehabilitate al-Mufaddal among Twelver Shi'is, to whom al-Mufaddal was important as a narrator of numerous ]hadith
Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...
s from the Imams Ja'far al-Sadiq and his son Musa al-Kazim.[
]
Life
Al-Mufaddal was a non-Arab ('client') of the Ju'fa, a tribe belonging to the South-Arabian Madhhij
Madhḥij ( ar, مَذْحِج) is a large Qahtanite Arab tribal confederation. It is located in south and central Arabia. This confederation participated in the early Muslim conquests and was a major factor in the conquest of the Persian empire ...
confederation.[.] Apart from the fact that he was a money-changer based in Kufa
Kufa ( ar, الْكُوفَة ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Currently, Kufa and Najaf ...
(Iraq), very little is known about his life. He probably managed the financial affairs of the Shi'ite Imams Ja'far al-Sadiq
Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Ṣādiq ( ar, جعفر بن محمد الصادق; 702 – 765 CE), commonly known as Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (), was an 8th-century Shia Muslim scholar, jurist, and theologian.. He was the founder of th ...
(–765) and Musa al-Kazim
Musa ibn Ja'far al-Kazim ( ar, مُوسَىٰ ٱبْن جَعْفَر ٱلْكَاظِم, Mūsā ibn Jaʿfar al-Kāẓim), also known as Abū al-Ḥasan, Abū ʿAbd Allāh or Abū Ibrāhīm, was the seventh Imam in Twelver Shia Islam, after hi ...
(745–799), who resided in Medina
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
(Arabia). Using his professional network, he actively raised funds for the Imams in Medina, thus also playing an important role as an intermediary between the Imams and the Shi'ite community.[. The rise of money-changers as central figures who wielded considerable financial and political power coincided with the Imamate of Ja'far al-Sadiq; see . On this subject, see further .] His date of death is unknown, but he died before Musa al-Kazim, who died in 799.[.]
At some point during his life, al-Mufaddal's relations with Ja'far al-Sadiq soured because of his adherence to the teachings of the Kufan leader Abu al-Khattab Abū l-Khaṭṭāb Muḥammad ibn Abī Zaynab Miqlāṣ al-Asadī (Arabic: اَبُوالخَطّاب مُحَمَّد بن أبی زَینَب المِقلاص الأَسَدی) nicknamed ''al-Barrād al-Ajda'' (Arabic: البَرّاد الأَج ...
(died 755–6).[ Abu al-Khattab had been a designated spokesman of Ja'far, but in he was excommunicated by the Imam for his 'extremist' or 'exaggerated' () ideas, particularly for having declared Ja'far to be divine.][.] However, al-Mufaddal later recanted and cut of all contact with the (the followers of Abu al-Khattab), leading to a reconciliation with Ja'far.[
This episode was understood in widely different ways by later Shi'i authors. On the one hand, early ]Imami
Twelver Shīʿīsm ( ar, ٱثْنَا عَشَرِيَّة; '), also known as Imāmīyyah ( ar, إِمَامِيَّة), is the largest branch of Shīʿa Islam, comprising about 85 percent of all Shīʿa Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers t ...
(i.e., proto-Twelver Shi'i) heresiographer
In theology or the history of religion, heresiology is the study of heresy, and heresiographies are writings about the topic. Heresiographical works were common in both medieval Christianity and Islam.
Heresiology developed as a part of the emergi ...
s report the existence of a sect named after him, the , who would have declared Ja'far to be God and al-Mufaddal his prophet or Imam. It is not certain whether the really ever existed, and if they did, whether they really held the doctrines attributed to them by the heresiographers.[ Nevertheless, al-Mufaddal was also highly regarded by the members of other sects such as the , and several of the writings attributed to him contain ideas.][ He was even accused in some ]hadith
Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...
reports of having tried to contaminate Ja'far's eldest son Isma'il
Ismail ( ar, إِسْمَاعِيْل, ʾIsmāʿīl) is regarded as a prophet and messenger and the ancestor to the Ishmaelites in Islam. He is the son of Ibrahim (Abraham), born to Hajar (Hagar). Ismail is also associated with Mecca and the ...
with the ideas of Abu al-Khattab.[ In addition, most works attributed to al-Mufaddal were preserved by the ]Nusayri
The Alawis, Alawites ( ar, علوية ''Alawīyah''), or pejoratively Nusayris ( ar, نصيرية ''Nuṣayrīyah'') are an ethnoreligious group that lives primarily in Levant and follows Alawism, a sect of Islam that originated from Shia Isla ...
s,[ a sect that survives to this day and that sometimes regarded al-Mufaddal as a (an official deputy of the Imam and a 'gateway' to his secret knowledge).
On the other hand, later Twelver Shi'i sources often insist that al-Mufaddal never gave in to heresy, but on the contrary was ordered by Ja'far to lead the back to the right path. Some of the works attributed to al-Mufaddal, like the and the , explicitly refute those who would deny the exclusive oneness () of God. These works may have been written in order to rehabilitate al-Mufaddal within the Twelver tradition and to prove his reliability as a hadith transmitter.][. , in contrast, suggests that they may have been written before al-Mufaddal gained the reputation of being an unreliable among some 10th/11th-century Twelver authors. Turner's argument is that false attributions are made to lend authority to a work, and that it would not make sense to attribute a work to someone reputed to be unreliable. Gleave, on the other hand, assumes that attributing 'orthodox' doctrine to someone can enhance that person's reputation for reliability.] But even among Twelver scholars there was dissension. For example, while al-Shaykh al-Mufid
Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Nu'man al-'Ukbari al-Baghdadi, known as al-Shaykh al-Mufid () and Ibn al-Mu'allim (c.9481022 CE), was a prominent Twelver Shia theologian. His father was a teacher (''mu'allim''), hence the name Ibn ...
(–1022) praised al-Mufaddal as a learned person and a trustworthy companion of the Imams, al-Najashi () and Ibn al-Ghada'iri () denounced him as an unbelieving heretic.
works
(Book of the Seven and the Shadows)
![Kitab al-Haft al-sharif (al-Mufaddal) - photograph of manuscript as shown in ed](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Kitab_al-Haft_al-sharif_%28al-Mufaddal%29_-_photograph_of_manuscript_as_shown_in_ed._Mustafa_Ghalib_1964_%28cropped%29.png)
Content
The ('Book of the Seven and the Shadows'), also known as ('Noble Book of the Seven') or simply as (Book of the Seven'), 8th–11th centuries, is perhaps the most important work attributed to al-Mufaddal. It sets out in great detail the myth of the pre-existent 'shadows' (Arabic: ) whose fall from grace led to the creation of the material world. This theme of pre-existent shadows seems to have been typical of the 8th-century Kufan : also appearing in other early works such as the , it may ultimately go back to Abd Allah ibn Harb (, eponym of the ).
Great emphasis is placed throughout the work on the need to keep the knowledge received from Ja'far al-Sadiq
Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Ṣādiq ( ar, جعفر بن محمد الصادق; 702 – 765 CE), commonly known as Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (), was an 8th-century Shia Muslim scholar, jurist, and theologian.. He was the founder of th ...
, who is referred to as ('our lord'), from falling into the wrong hands. This secret knowledge is entrusted by Ja'far to al-Mufaddal, but is reserved only for true believers ().[.] It involves notions such as the transmigration of souls ( or metempsychosis
Metempsychosis ( grc-gre, μετεμψύχωσις), in philosophy, is the transmigration of the soul, especially its reincarnation after death. The term is derived from ancient Greek philosophy, and has been recontextualised by modern philoso ...
) and the idea that seven Adam
Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
s exist in the seven heavens, each one of them presiding over one of the seven historical world cycles ().[. On , see further . On the seven Adams and world cycles (), see . On world cycles in general, see .] This latter idea may reflect an influence from Isma'ilism
Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sa ...
,[ where the appearance of each new ]prophet
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...
(Adam, Noah
Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...
, Abraham
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...
, Moses
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
, Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
, Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
, Muhammad ibn Isma'il
Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl (), also known in his own time as al-Maymūn and hence sometimes incorrectly identified as Maymūn al-Qaddāḥ, was the son of Isma'il ibn Ja'far; he was an Ismāʿīlī Imam. The majority of Ismā ...
) is likewise thought to initiate a new world cycle.
A central element of the is the creation myth involving pre-existent 'shadows', which also occurs in many other works with slightly different details. According to this myth, the first created beings were human souls who initially dwelt in the presence of God in the form of 'shadows'. When the shadows disobeyed God, he created a veil () in which he concealed himself as a punishment. Then God created the seven heavens as a dwelling place for the disobedient souls, according to their sin. In each of the heavens God also created bodies from his own light for the souls who arrived there, and from the souls' disobedience he created the Devil
A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...
. Finally, from the offspring of the Devil God created the bodies of animals and various other sublunary entities ().
Composition and legacy
The consists of at least eleven different textual layers which were added over time, each of them containing slightly different versions of concepts and ideas.[. Each of the eleven layers is analyzed in detail by . still only counted seven layers.] The earliest layers were written in 8th/9th-century Kufa
Kufa ( ar, الْكُوفَة ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Currently, Kufa and Najaf ...
, perhaps partly by al-Mufaddal himself, or by his close associates Yunus ibn Zabyan and Muhammad ibn Sinan
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monothe ...
(died 835). A possible indication for this is the fact that Muhammad ibn Sinan also wrote two works dealing with the theme of pre-existent 'shadows': the ('Book of the Shadows') and the ('Book of the Lights and the Veils'). Shi'i bibliographical sources also list several other 8th/9th-century Kufan authors who wrote a or 'Book of the Shadows'. In total, at least three works closely related to al-Mufaddal's are extant, all likely dating to the 8th or 9th century:
#Muhammad ibn Sinan's ('Book of the Lights and the Veils')
#an anonymous work called the ('Book of the Apparitions and the Shadows')
#another anonymous work also called the ('Book of the Shadows').
Though originating in the milieus of the early Kufan , the was considerably expanded by members of a later sect called the Nusayri
The Alawis, Alawites ( ar, علوية ''Alawīyah''), or pejoratively Nusayris ( ar, نصيرية ''Nuṣayrīyah'') are an ethnoreligious group that lives primarily in Levant and follows Alawism, a sect of Islam that originated from Shia Isla ...
s, who were active in 10th-century Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
. The Nusayris were probably also responsible for the work's final 11th-century form.[ However, the was not preserved by the Nusayris, but by the Syrian Nizari Isma'ilis.][ Like the , another work that was transmitted by the Nizari Isma'ilis of ]Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
, it contains ideas which –despite being largely unrelated to Isma'ili doctrine– influenced various later Isma'ili authors starting from the 10th century.
(Book of the Path)
The ('Book of the Path') is another purported dialogue between al-Mufaddal and Ja'far al-Sadiq, likely composed in the period between the Minor
Minor may refer to:
* Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities.
** A person who has not reached the age of majority
* Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education
Music theory
*Minor chord
** Barb ...
and the Major Occultation
In Twelver Shia Islam, the Major Occultation ( ar, ٱلْغَيْبَة ٱلْكُبْرَىٰ, ', 329 AH-present, 941 CE-present) is the second occultation of the Hidden Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, which is expected to continue until his rise in ...
(874–941).[ This work deals with the concept of an ]initiatory
Washing and anointing (also called the initiatory) is a temple ordinance practiced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and Mormon fundamentalists as part of the faith's endowment ceremony. It is a sacred ordinance fo ...
'path' (Arabic: ) leading the adept on a heavenly ascent towards God, with each of the seven heavens corresponding to one of seven degrees of spiritual perfection. It also contains references to typical ideas like (the manifestation of God in human form), (metempsychosis
Metempsychosis ( grc-gre, μετεμψύχωσις), in philosophy, is the transmigration of the soul, especially its reincarnation after death. The term is derived from ancient Greek philosophy, and has been recontextualised by modern philoso ...
or transmigration of the soul), / (metamorphosis or reincarnation into non-human forms), and the concept of creation through the fall from grace of pre-existent beings (as in the , see above).
The philosophical background of the work is given by the late antique
Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English has ...
concept of a great chain of being
The great chain of being is a hierarchical structure of all matter and life, thought by medieval Christianity to have been decreed by God. The chain begins with God and descends through angels, humans, animals and plants to minerals.
The great c ...
linking all things together in one great cosmic hierarchy. This hierarchical system extends from the upper world of spirit and light (populated by angels and other pure souls) to the lower world of matter and darkness (populated by humans, and below them animals, plants and minerals). Humanity is perceived as taking a middle position in this hierarchy, being located at the top of the world of darkness and at the bottom of the world of light.[.] Those human beings who lack the proper religious knowledge and belief are reborn into other human bodies, which are likened to 'shirts' (, sing. ) that a soul can put on and off again. This is called or . But grave sinners are reborn instead into animal bodies (), and the worst offenders are reborn into the bodies of plants or minerals ().[. Some other forms, like and , are described in the context of Nusayri works by .] On the other hand, those believers who perform good works and advance in knowledge also travel upwards on the ladder, putting on ever more pure and luminous 'shirts' or bodies, ultimately reaching the realm of the divine. This upwards path is represented as consisting of seven stages above that of humanity, each located in one of the seven heavens:
#: the Tested, first heaven
#: the Devout, second heaven
#: the Elect, third heaven
#: the Noble, fourth heaven
#: the Chief, fifth heaven
#: the Unique, sixth heaven
#: the Gate, seventh heaven
At every degree the initiate receives the chance to gain a new level of 'hidden' or 'occult' () knowledge. If the initiate succeeds at internalizing this knowledge, they may ascend to the next degree. If, however, they lose interest or start to doubt the knowledge already acquired, they may lose their pure and luminous 'shirt', receiving instead a heavier and darker one, and descend down the scale of being again. Those who reach the seventh degree (that of or 'Gate') are granted wondrous powers such as making themselves invisible, or seeing and hearing all things –including a beatific vision of God– without having to look or listen. Most notably, they are able to manifest themselves to ordinary beings in the world of matter (), by taking on the form of a human and appearing to anyone at will. This ability to manifest in human form the 'Gates' in the seventh heaven share with God.[
The theme of a heavenly ascent through seven degrees of spiritual perfection is also explored in other works, including the anonymous ('Book of Degrees and Stages'), as well as various works attributed to Muhammad ibn Sinan (died 835), ]Ibn Nusayr
Abū Shuʿayb Muḥammad ibn Nuṣayr al-Numayri ( ar, أبو شعيب محمد بن نصير النميري), died after 868, was considered by his followers as the representative () of the tenth Twelver Imam, Ali al‐Hadi and of the elevent ...
(died after 868), and others. In the 9th/10th-century works attributed to the Shi'i alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan
Abū Mūsā Jābir ibn Ḥayyān (Arabic: , variously called al-Ṣūfī, al-Azdī, al-Kūfī, or al-Ṭūsī), died 806−816, is the purported author of an enormous number and variety of works in Arabic, often called the Jabirian corpus. The ...
, the seven degrees corresponding to the seven heavens (themselves related to the seven planets
7 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
7 or seven may also refer to:
* AD 7, the seventh year of the AD era
* 7 BC, the seventh year before the AD era
* The month of
July
Music Artists
* Seven (Swiss singer) (born 1978), a Swiss recording artist
...
) are replaced with fifthy-five degrees carrying similar names (including , , , , ). These fifthy-five degrees correspond to the fifthy-five celestial spheres
The celestial spheres, or celestial orbs, were the fundamental entities of the cosmology, cosmological models developed by Plato, Eudoxus of Cnidus, Eudoxus, Aristotle, Ptolemy, Copernicus, and others. In these celestial models, the diurnal m ...
alluded to by Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
in his ''Timaeus'' and mentioned by Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
in his ''Metaphysics''.
Other works
* ('Mufaddali Epistle') is a brief dialogue between al-Mufaddal and Ja'far al-Sadiq of unclear date and origin. It strongly resembles the and the in doctrine and terminology.[ Its main subject is the classical theological question of the relationship between the one transcendent God (, ) on the one hand, and his many attributes () and names () on the other.
* ('What Will Happen at the Appearance of the Mahdi') is a lengthy apocalyptic text about the state of the world during the end times, just before the return () of the ]Mahdi
The Mahdi ( ar, ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, al-Mahdī, lit=the Guided) is a Messianism, messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the Eschatology, end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a de ...
. Its earliest known version is preserved in a work by the Nusayri
The Alawis, Alawites ( ar, علوية ''Alawīyah''), or pejoratively Nusayris ( ar, نصيرية ''Nuṣayrīyah'') are an ethnoreligious group that lives primarily in Levant and follows Alawism, a sect of Islam that originated from Shia Isla ...
author al-Khasibi
Abu ʿAbd-Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn Ḥamdān al-Jonbalānī al-Khaṣībī. ( ar, الحسين بن حمدان الخصيبي), died 969,; . The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' cites 957 or 968 as two possible dates for his death. was originally from ...
(died 969), but the text likely goes back to the 9th century and perhaps even to al-Mufaddal himself. Though mainly dealing with the actions that the Mahdi will undertake to render justice to the oppressed, the work also contains references to mainstream Shi'i ideas such as temporary marriage contracts (), as well as to the idea of world cycles (). It has been argued that the conceptualization of in this and similar 8th/9th-century texts has influenced the 10th-century development of the Twelver Shi'i
Twelver Shīʿīsm ( ar, ٱثْنَا عَشَرِيَّة; '), also known as Imāmīyyah ( ar, إِمَامِيَّة), is the largest branch of Shīʿa Islam, comprising about 85 percent of all Shīʿa Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers t ...
doctrine on the return of the twelfth and ' hidden' Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi
Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Mahdī ( ar, محمد بن الحسن المهدي) is believed by the Twelver Shia to be the last of the Twelve Imams and the eschatological Mahdi, who will emerge in the end of time to establish peace and justic ...
.
* ('Book on the Faith that God has Imposed on the Bodily Members'), also known as the ('Book of Faith and Submission') and perhaps identical to the ('Epistle of the Swagger') mentioned by the Twelver Shi'i bibliographer al-Najashi (–1058), presents itself as a long letter from Ja'far al-Sadiq to al-Mufaddal. It was preserved by the Imami (i.e., proto-Twelver) scholar al-Saffar al-Qummi (died 903). Likely written as a reaction to the negative portrayals of the by Imami heresiographers, it refutes the typical accusation of the 's purported licentiousness and sexual promiscuity. It also contains a reference to the obscure idea, likewise found in the but attributed here to Abu al-Khattab Abū l-Khaṭṭāb Muḥammad ibn Abī Zaynab Miqlāṣ al-Asadī (Arabic: اَبُوالخَطّاب مُحَمَّد بن أبی زَینَب المِقلاص الأَسَدی) nicknamed ''al-Barrād al-Ajda'' (Arabic: البَرّاد الأَج ...
(died 755–6), that religious commandments and restrictions are 'men' (), and that to know these 'men' is to know religion.[
]
Mu'tazili-influenced works
Two of the treatises attributed to al-Mufaddal, the and the , differ from other treatises by the absence of any content that is specifically Shi'i in nature. Though both preserved by the 17th-century Shi'i scholar Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi
Mohammad Baqer Majlesi (b. 1037/1628-29 – d. 1110/1699) ( fa, علامه مجلسی ''Allameh Majlesi''; also Romanized as: Majlessi, Majlisi, Madjlessi), known as Allamah Majlesi or Majlesi Al-Thani (Majlesi the Second), was a renowned and ver ...
(died 1699), the only element connecting them to Shi'ism more generally is their ascription to Ja'far al-Sadiq
Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Ṣādiq ( ar, جعفر بن محمد الصادق; 702 – 765 CE), commonly known as Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (), was an 8th-century Shia Muslim scholar, jurist, and theologian.. He was the founder of th ...
and al-Mufaddal. Rather than by Shi'i doctrine, their content appears to be influenced by Mu'tazilism
Muʿtazila ( ar, المعتزلة ', English: "Those Who Withdraw, or Stand Apart", and who called themselves ''Ahl al-ʿAdl wa al-Tawḥīd'', English: "Party of ivineJustice and Oneness f God
F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''.
Hist ...
); was an Islamic group that appeared in early ...
, a rationalistic school of Islamic speculative theology ().[ Often transmitted together in the manuscript tradition, they may be regarded as part of an attempt to rehabilitate al-Mufaddal among Twelver Shi'is, to whom al-Mufaddal was important as a narrator of numerous ]hadith
Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...
s from the Imams Ja'far al-Sadiq and his son Musa al-Kazim
Musa ibn Ja'far al-Kazim ( ar, مُوسَىٰ ٱبْن جَعْفَر ٱلْكَاظِم, Mūsā ibn Jaʿfar al-Kāẓim), also known as Abū al-Ḥasan, Abū ʿAbd Allāh or Abū Ibrāhīm, was the seventh Imam in Twelver Shia Islam, after hi ...
.[ Both works were also known to other Twelver scholars such as al-Najashi (–1058), ]Ibn Shahrashub Zayn al-Dīn Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn Shahrāshūb ibn Abī Naṣr ibn Abī al-Jaysh, more commonly known simply as Ibn Shahrāshūb, died 1192, was a literate Shia commentator, traditionist and jurist. He was an early eminent schola ...
(died 1192), and Ibn Tawus
Sayyed Radhi ud-Deen Ali ibn Musa ibn Tawus al Hasani wal Husaini (1193-1266 AD) commonly called Sayyed Ibn Tawus () was a Shiite jurist, theologian, historian and astrologer. He was a descendant of Hasan ibn Ali through his father and a descendan ...
(1193–1266).
(al-Mufaddal's )
The (), probably identical with the ('Book on the Beginning of Creation and the Incitement to Contemplation') mentioned by the Twelver Shi'i bibliographer al-Najashi (–1058), sets out to prove the existence of God based on the argument from design (also called the teleological argument
The teleological argument (from ; also known as physico-theological argument, argument from design, or intelligent design argument) is an argument for the existence of God or, more generally, that complex functionality in the natural world wh ...
). The work consists of a series of lectures about the existence and oneness () of God presented to al-Mufaddal by Ja'far al-Sadiq, who is answering a challenge made to him by the self-declared atheist Ibn Abi al-Awja'. In four 'sessions' (), Ja'far argues that the cosmic order and harmony which can be detected throughout nature necessitates the existence of a wise and providential creator. Al-Najashi also refers to the work as the (), a reference to the fact that Ja'far often begins his exhortations with the word (think!).[.]
The is not an original work. Instead, it is a revised version of a work also attributed to the famous Mu'tazili litterateur al-Jahiz
Abū ʿUthman ʿAmr ibn Baḥr al-Kinānī al-Baṣrī ( ar, أبو عثمان عمرو بن بحر الكناني البصري), commonly known as al-Jāḥiẓ ( ar, links=no, الجاحظ, ''The Bug Eyed'', born 776 – died December 868/Jan ...
(died 868) under the title ('Book on the Proofs and Contemplation of Creation and Administration'). The attribution of this work to al-Jahiz is probably spurious as well, although the original was likely written in the 9th century. Compared to pseudo
The prefix pseudo- (from Greek ψευδής, ''pseudes'', "false") is used to mark something that superficially appears to be (or behaves like) one thing, but is something else. Subject to context, ''pseudo'' may connote coincidence, imitation, ...
-Jahiz's , the adds an introduction that sets up a frame story
A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent.
Frame and FRAME may also refer to:
Physical objects
In building construction
*Framing (con ...
involving al-Mufaddal, Ibn Abi al-Awja', and Ja'far al-Sadiq, as well rhymed praises of God at the beginning of each chapter, and a brief concluding passage.
Scholars have espoused various views on the ultimate origins of this work. According to Melhem Chokr, the versions attributed to al-Mufaddal and to al-Jahiz are both based on an unknown earlier work, with the version attributed to al-Mufaddal being more faithful to the original. In Chokr's view, at some point the work must have been translated by a Syriac Syriac may refer to:
*Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic
*Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region
* Syriac alphabet
** Syriac (Unicode block)
** Syriac Supplement
* Neo-Aramaic languages a ...
author into the Arabic from a Greek original, perhaps from an unknown Hermetic
Hermetic or related forms may refer to:
* of or related to the ancient Greek Olympian god Hermes
* of or related to Hermes Trismegistus, a legendary Hellenistic figure based on the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth
** , the ancient and m ...
work.[ However, both Hans Daiber and ]Josef van Ess Josef may refer to
*Josef (given name)
*Josef (surname)
* ''Josef'' (film), a 2011 Croatian war film
*Musik Josef
Musik Josef is a Japanese manufacturer of musical instruments. It was founded by Yukio Nakamura, and is the only company in Japan spe ...
identify the original work on which pseudo-Jahiz's was based as the ('Book of Thought and Contemplation'), written by the 9th-century Nestorian Christian
Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian N ...
Jibril ibn Nuh ibn Abi Nuh al-Nasrani al-Anbari. However this may be, Jibril ibn Nuh's , the and pseudo-Jahiz's are only the three earliest among many extant versions of the work: adaptations were also made by the Nestorian Christian bishop Elijah of Nisibis
, native_name_lang = Syriac
, church = Church of the East
, archdiocese = Nisibis
, province = Metropolitanate of Nisibis
, metropolis =
, diocese =
, see =
, appointed = 26 Dece ...
(died 1056), by the Sunni mystic al-Ghazali
Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111; ), full name (), and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali (Persian: امام محمد غزالی) or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Persian polymat ...
(died 1111), and by the Andalusian
Andalusia is a region in Spain.
Andalusian may also refer to:
Animals
*Andalusian chicken, a type of chicken
*Andalusian donkey, breed of donkey
*Andalusian hemipode, a buttonquail, one of a small family of birds
*Andalusian horse, a breed of ho ...
Jewish philosopher Bahya ibn Paquda
Bahya ben Joseph ibn Paquda (also: Pakuda, Bakuda, Hebrew: , ar, بهية بن فاقودا), c. 1050–1120, was a Jewish philosopher and rabbi who lived at Zaragoza, Al-Andalus (now Spain). He was one of two people now known as Rabbeinu Behay ...
(died first half of 12th century).
The / contains many parallels with Syriac Christian
Syriac Christianity ( syr, ܡܫܝܚܝܘܬܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܬܐ / ''Mšiḥoyuṯo Suryoyto'' or ''Mšiḥāyūṯā Suryāytā'') is a distinctive branch of Eastern Christianity, whose formative theological writings and traditional liturgies are expr ...
literature, especially with the commentaries on the Hexameron
The term Hexameron (Greek: Ἡ Ἑξαήμερος Δημιουργία ''Hē Hexaēmeros Dēmiourgia'') refers either to the genre of theological treatise that describes God's work on the six days of creation or to the six days of creation thems ...
(the six days of creation as described in Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
) written by Jacob of Edessa
Jacob of Edessa (or James of Edessa) ( syr, ܝܥܩܘܒ ܐܘܪܗܝܐ, Yaʿqub Urhoyo) (c. 640 – 5 June 708) was Bishop of Edessa and prominent Syriac Christian writer in Classical Syriac language, also known as one of earliest Syriac grammaria ...
(–708) and Moses bar Kepha Moses bar Kepha or Moses bar Cephas (Syriac language, Syriac ''Mushe bar Kipho''; born in Balad, Iraq, Balad in Nineveh, now in Iraq, about the year 813; died at the age of ninety, in 903) was a writer and one of the most celebrated bishops of the ...
(–903), as well as with Job of Edessa Job of EdessaSyriac: ''Iyob'' or ''Ayyub Urhāyā''; Arabic: ''Ayyūb al-Ruhāwī'' (see and 2011). (? – ?), called the Spotted ( ar, al-Abrash, italics=yes), was a Christian natural philosopher and physician active in Baghdad and Khurāsān u ...
's encyclopedic work on natural philosophy called the ''Book of Treasures'' (). Its teleological proof of the existence of God—based upon a discussion of the four elements
Classical elements typically refer to earth, water, air, fire, and (later) aether which were proposed to explain the nature and complexity of all matter in terms of simpler substances. Ancient cultures in Greece, Tibet, and India had simi ...
, minerals, plants, animals, meteorology
Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...
, and the human being—was likely inspired by pseudo-Aristotle Pseudo-Aristotle is a general cognomen for authors of philosophical or medical treatises who attributed their work to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, or whose work was later attributed to him by others. Such falsely attributed works are known as ps ...
's ('On the Universe
''On the Universe'' ( el, Περὶ Κόσμου; la, De Mundo) is a theological and scientific treatise included in the Corpus Aristotelicum but usually regarded as spurious. It was likely published between and the . The work discusses cosmolo ...
', 3rd/2nd century BCE), a work also used by the Syriac authors mentioned above. In particular, the / contains the same emphasis on the idea that God, who already in pseudo-Aristotle's is called "one", can only be known through the wisdom permeating his creative works, while his own essence () remains hidden for all.
The idea that contemplating the works of nature leads to a knowledge of God is also found in the Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
.[.] However, in the case of the /, the idea is set in a philosophical framework that clearly goes back on Hellenistic
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
models. Apart from pseudo-Aristotle's (3rd/2nd century BCE), there are also many parallels with Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...
's (106–43 BCE) , especially with the Stoic
Stoic may refer to:
* An adherent of Stoicism; one whose moral quality is associated with that school of philosophy
*STOIC, a programming language
* ''Stoic'' (film), a 2009 film by Uwe Boll
* ''Stoic'' (mixtape), a 2012 mixtape by rapper T-Pain
*' ...
views on teleology
Teleology (from and )Partridge, Eric. 1977''Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English'' London: Routledge, p. 4187. or finalityDubray, Charles. 2020 912Teleology" In ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'' 14. New York: Robert Appleton ...
and divine providence
In theology, Divine Providence, or simply Providence, is God's intervention in the Universe. The term ''Divine Providence'' (usually capitalized) is also used as a title of God. A distinction is usually made between "general providence", which ...
outlined in Cicero's work. Some of the enemies cited in the work are Diagoras (5th century BCE) and Epicurus
Epicurus (; grc-gre, Ἐπίκουρος ; 341–270 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher and sage who founded Epicureanism, a highly influential school of philosophy. He was born on the Greek island of Samos to Athenian parents. Influenced ...
(341–270 BCE), both reviled since late antiquity
Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English ha ...
for their alleged atheism
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...
, as well as Mani
Mani may refer to:
Geography
* Maní, Casanare, a town and municipality in Casanare Department, Colombia
* Mani, Chad, a town and sub-prefecture in Chad
* Mani, Evros, a village in northeastern Greece
* Mani, Karnataka, a village in Dakshi ...
(–274 or 277 CE, the founding prophet of Manichaeism
Manichaeism (;
in New Persian ; ) is a former major religionR. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 founded in the 3rd century AD by the Parthian Empire, Parthian ...
), a certain Dūsī, and all those who would deny the providence and purposefulness (Arabic: ) of God.[
]
(Book of the Myrobalan Fruit)
The ('Book of the Myrobalan Fruit') is another work in which al-Mufaddal asks Ja'far al-Sadiq to present a proof of the existence and oneness of God in response to those who openly profess atheism. In comparison with the , the frame story here is less well integrated into the main text, which despite being written in the form of an epistle
An epistle (; el, ἐπιστολή, ''epistolē,'' "letter") is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as par ...
does not directly address al-Mufaddal's concerns about the appearance of people who would publicly deny the existence of God. In the epistle itself, the author (presumed to be Ja'far al-Sadiq) recounts his meeting with an Indian physician, who contended that the world is eternal and therefore does not need a creator.[.] Taking the myrobalan fruit (perhaps the black myrobalan or '' Terminalia reticulata'', a plant used in Ayurveda
Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population repo ...
) that the Indian physician was grinding as a starting point for contemplation, the author of the epistle succeeds in convincing the physician of the existence of God. The dialectical
Dialectic ( grc-gre, διαλεκτική, ''dialektikḗ''; related to dialogue; german: Dialektik), also known as the dialectical method, is a discourse between two or more people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to ...
style of the debate is typical of early Muslim speculative theology (). Sciences like astrology
Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of Celestial o ...
and medicine are presented as originating from divine revelation.[ Melhem Chokr has proposed the 8th-century scribe () and speculative theologian () Muhammad ibn Layth as the original author of the , based on similarities with other works attributed to Ibn Layth, and on the attribution to him by ]Ibn al-Nadim
Abū al-Faraj Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq al-Nadīm ( ar, ابو الفرج محمد بن إسحاق النديم), also ibn Abī Ya'qūb Isḥāq ibn Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq al-Warrāq, and commonly known by the ''nasab'' (patronymic) Ibn al-Nadīm ...
() in his of a work called (Book of the Myrobalan Fruit on Contemplation').[. On Muhammad ibn al-Layth, see Chokr 1993, première partie, chapitre III, ''Les accusés de zandaqa sous al-Rašīd (de 170/786 à 193/809)'', 4 ]
Muḥmmad b. al-Layṯ
'.
Other works
Some other works attributed to or transmitted by al-Mufaddal are still extant:
*The ('Testament of al-Mufaddal') is a short text purporting to be al-Mufaddal's testament to the Shi'is of Kufa. The testament itself only contains a rather generic exhortation to piety and proper religious conduct, but it is followed by a paragraph in which Ja'far al-Sadiq reproaches the Kufan Shi'is for their hostility towards al-Mufaddal, exonerating his disciple from all blame. The text may very well be authentic, though it may also have been attributed to al-Mufaddal by later authors seeking to rehabilitate him.[
*The , also called the , is a prayer () attributed to Ja'far al-Sadiq, supposedly transmitted from Ja'far by al-Mufaddal and later by Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Amri (died 917 or 918), the second deputy of the Hidden Imam ]Muhammad al-Mahdi
Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Mahdī ( ar, محمد بن الحسن المهدي) is believed by the Twelver Shia to be the last of the Twelve Imams and the eschatological Mahdi, who will emerge in the end of time to establish peace and justic ...
during the Minor Occultation
The Minor Occultation ( ar, ٱلْغَيْبَة ٱلصُّغْرَىٰ, '), also known as the First Occultation ( ar, ٱلْغَيْبَة ٱلْأُولَىٰ, '), refers in Twelver Shia Islam to a period of nearly seventy years (874–941 CE, ...
(874–941). It is a revised version of an originally Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
ic invocation that was used by Jews to cast off robbers and thieves. It was apparently in use among Muslims during the time of Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Amri, who approved of this practice but claimed to possess a 'fuller' version handed down from the Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq. This version is nearly identical to the version preserved in the Talmud, only adding the names of the prophet Muhammad and some of his family members.
*The is treatise attributed to al-Mufaddal on the virtue of rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima
''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...
.[
* ('Ja'farian Aphorisms') is a collection of moral ]aphorism
An aphorism (from Greek ἀφορισμός: ''aphorismos'', denoting 'delimitation', 'distinction', and 'definition') is a concise, terse, laconic, or memorable expression of a general truth or principle. Aphorisms are often handed down by tra ...
s () attributed to Ja'far al-Sadiq and transmitted by al-Mufaddal.
There are also some works attributed to or transmitted by al-Mufaddal that are mentioned in other sources but are now lost:
* ('Book of the Causes of Religious Laws')
* ('Book of Day and Night')
* ('Book'), a notebook containing hadiths purportedly recorded by al-Mufaddal[; .]
Notes
References
Bibliography
Tertiary sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Secondary sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* (reprinted in )
*
Primary sources
* (pp. 196–198 contain a critical edition of chapter 59)
*
*
* (edition based on a different ms. compared to )
*
*
Other
*
* ( in vol. 3, pp. 57–151; in vol. 3, pp. 152–198; in vol. 53, pp. 1–38)
*
{{Ghulat, state=expanded
Ghulat leaders
8th-century Islamic religious leaders
People from Kufa
Year of birth unknown
Year of death unknown
8th-century Shia Muslims