The () is a syncretic
Shi'i
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most n ...
work originating in the milieus of 8th-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 ...
(Iraq). It was later transplanted to Syria by the 10th-century
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, whose final redaction of the work was preserved in a
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
translation produced 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 ...
.
[.] The work only survives in Persian. It contains no notable elements of
Isma'ili
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 ...
doctrine, but given the fact that Isma'ili authors starting from the 10th century were influenced by early ideas such as those found in the , and especially given the influence of these ideas on later
Tayyibi Isma'ilism
Tayyibi Isma'ilism is the only surviving sect of the Musta'li branch of Isma'ilism, the other being the extinct Hafizi branch. Followers of Tayyibi Isma'ilism are found in various Bohra communities: Dawoodi, Sulaymani, and Alavi.
The Tayyibi ...
, some Isma'ilis do regard the work as one of the most important works in their tradition.
[
The work presents itself as a revelation of secret knowledge by the Shi'i Imam ]Muhammad al-Baqir
Muḥammad al-Bāqir ( ar, مُحَمَّد ٱلْبَاقِر), with the full name Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, also known as Abū Jaʿfar or simply al-Bāqir () was the fifth Imam in Shia Islam, succee ...
(677–732) to his disciple Jabir ibn Yazid al-Ju'fi
Jābir ibn Yazīd al-Juʿfī ( ar, جابر بن یزید الجُعفی), died –750, was a Kufan transmitter of hadith and a companion of the Shi'a Imams Muhammad al-Baqir (677–732) and Ja'far al-Sadiq (–765).. His reputation among later Mus ...
(died –750).[.] Its doctrinal contents correspond to a large degree to what 9th/10th-century heresiographers ascribed to various sects,[ with a particular resemblance to the ideas of the .][ It contains a lengthy exposition of the typical myth of the pre-existent shadows (Arabic: ) who created the world by their fall from grace, as is also found in the attributed to ]al-Mufaddal ibn Umar al-Ju'fi
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 (–765) and Musa al-Kazim (745 ...
(died before 799).[
The work must have been multicultural in language, since it includes Arabic, Persian and ]Aramaic
The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...
terms. Orthodox and heterodox Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, Zoroastrian
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic on ...
, Manichaean
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 ...
and Mandaean
Mandaeans ( ar, المندائيون ), also known as Mandaean Sabians ( ) or simply as Sabians ( ), are an ethnoreligious group who are followers of Mandaeism. They believe that John the Baptist was the final and most important prophet. They ...
motifs appear. The tone and style of the work hint that the authors of the work were probably of middle class origin, with some distance to other Muslim groups, like the politically active Shiites
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most n ...
and those advocating asceticism
Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...
.
The treatise offers an esoteric hermeneutics
Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. Hermeneutics is more than interpretative principles or methods used when immediate c ...
concerning cosmology, the nature of man, and worship within a Qur'anic
The Quran (, ; Standard 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 from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing.: ...
context.
The book may be an attempt to reconcile dualistic cosmologies, as found among the pre-Islamic Persians, with Islamic monotheism. Several principles of evil, such as the Persian figure Ahriman
Angra Mainyu (; Avestan: 𐬀𐬢𐬭𐬀⸱𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬥𐬌𐬌𐬎 ''Aŋra Mainiiu'') is the Avestan-language name of Zoroastrianism's hypostasis of the "destructive/evil spirit" and the main adversary in Zoroastrianism either of th ...
, are said to be merely a later incarnation of the fallen angel Azazil
In many Islamic and Islam-related traditions, Azazil (Arabic: عزازيل ''ʿAzāzīl'', also known as Arabic: حارث ''Ḥārith'') is the legendary prototype of the devil in Islamic culture. Azazil was considered to be among the nearest t ...
, who in turn owes his existence to God.[.]
See also
* Gnosticism
Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people ...
* 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 ...
* Secret Book of John
The ''Apocryphon of John'', also called the ''Secret Book of John'' or the ''Secret Revelation of John'', is a 2nd-century Sethian Gnostic Christian pseudographical text attributed to John the Apostle. It is one of the texts addressed by ...
References
Bibliography
Tertiary sources
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Secondary sources
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* (situates the in its Mesopotamian context)
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Primary sources
* (Italian translation)
* (German translations of parts of the text on pp. 36 ff.)
* (German translations of parts of the text on pp. 113 ff.)
* (edition of the Persian text)
* (partial German translation)
Gnosticism
8th-century books
Ghulat literature
Ismaili literature
Iranian books
8th-century Arabic books
{{Shia-stub