Jacob Qirqisani
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Jacob Qirqisani (c. 890 – c. 960) ( ar, ابو یوسف یعقوب القرقسانی ''ʾAbū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb al-Qirqisānī'', he, יעקב בן יצחק הקרקסאני ''Yaʿqov ben Yiṣḥaq haṢerqesi'') was a Karaite
dogma Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam ...
tist and
exegete Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretations ...
who flourished in the first half of the tenth century. His origins are unknown. His patronym "Isaac" is the addition of a later copyist, and may reflect no more than the genealogy of the biblical patriarchs, while his surname has been taken as referring to either ancient Circesium ( al-Busayra) in eastern Syria or Karkasān, near Baghdad. He seems to have traveled throughout the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
, visiting the centers of Islamic learning, in which he was well-versed. In 937 Qirqisani wrote an Arabic work on the Jewish precepts—under the title ''Kitāb al-Anwār wal-Marāqib'' (, known in Hebrew as ''Sefer ha-Me'orot,'' or ''Sefer ha-Ma'or''), with the subtitle ''Kitab al-Shara'i'' (''Sefer Mitzvot Gadol'')—and a commentary entitled ''al-Riyad wal-Hada'iq'' (''Sefer ha-Gannim we-Pardesim,'' or ''Sefer ha-Nitztzanim''), on those portions of the
Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
which do not deal with the laws.


''Kitab al-Anwar''

The first volume of Qirqisani's ''
magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...
'' is the most important, which not only provides valuable information concerning the development of
Karaism Karaite Judaism () or Karaism (, sometimes spelt Karaitism (; ''Yahadut Qara'it''); also spelt Qaraite Judaism, Qaraism or Qaraitism) is a Jewish religious movement characterized by the recognition of the written Torah alone as its supreme au ...
, but throws light also on many questions in
Rabbinic Judaism Rabbinic Judaism ( he, יהדות רבנית, Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonian ...
. It comprises thirteen treatises, each divided into chapters, and the first four treatises form an introduction to the whole work. In the first treatise, of eighteen chapters, Qirqisani gives a comprehensive survey of the development of
Jewish religious movements Jewish religious movements, sometimes called "religious denomination, denominations", include different groups within Judaism which have developed among Jews from ancient times. Today, the most prominent divisions are between traditionalist Ortho ...
, the material for which he drew not only from the works of his predecessors, as
David ibn Merwan al-Mukkamas David (abu Sulaiman) ibn Merwan al-Mukkamas al-Rakki ( ar, داود إبن مروان المقمص translit.: ''Dawud ibn Marwan al-Muqamis''; died c. 937) was a philosopher and controversialist, the author of the earliest known Jewish philosoph ...
, whom he mentions, but also from his personal experiences in the learned circles in which he moved. The enumeration of the sects is given in chronological order, beginning with the
Samaritans Samaritans (; ; he, שומרונים, translit=Šōmrōnīm, lit=; ar, السامريون, translit=as-Sāmiriyyūn) are an ethnoreligious group who originate from the ancient Israelites. They are native to the Levant and adhere to Samarit ...
, and concluding with the sect founded by Daniel al-Kumisi. Qirqisani declares the Rabbinites to be a Jewish sect founded by
Jeroboam Jeroboam I (; Hebrew: ''Yārŏḇə‘ām''; el, Ἱεροβοάμ, Hieroboám) was the first king of the northern Kingdom of Israel. The Hebrew Bible describes the reign of Jeroboam to have commenced following a revolt of the ten northern ...
, although it did not make its appearance until the time of the
Second Temple The Second Temple (, , ), later known as Herod's Temple, was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem between and 70 CE. It replaced Solomon's Temple, which had been built at the same location in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited ...
. In opposition to them,
Zadok Zadok (or Zadok HaKohen, also spelled Ṣadok, Ṣadoc, Zadoq, Tzadok, or Tsadoq; he, צָדוֹק הַכֹּהֵן, meaning "Righteous, Justified") was a Kohen (priest), biblically recorded to be a descendant from Eleazar the son of Aaron (). H ...
, a disciple of
Antigonus of Sokho Antigonus of Sokho ( he, אנטיגנוס איש סוכו) was the first scholar of whom Pharisee tradition has preserved not only the name but also an important theological doctrine. He flourished about the first half of the third century BCE. ...
and founder of his own sect (either the
Sadducees The Sadducees (; he, צְדוּקִים, Ṣədūqīm) were a socio-religious sect of Jewish people who were active in Judea during the Second Temple period, from the second century BCE through the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. Th ...
or
Zadokites The Sons of Zadok ( he, בְּנֵי צָדוֹק ''bǝnê Ṣādōq'') are a family of priests, kohens, descended from Zadok, the first high priest in Solomon's Temple. The sons of Zadok are mentioned three times in the Hebrew Bible, as part of t ...
) revealed part of the truth on religious subjects, while Anan ben David disclosed the whole. However, in spite of Qirqisani's admiration for Anan, he often disagrees with him in the explanation of the precepts.


View of Christianity

Qirqisani includes Christianity among the Jewish sects. In the third treatise (ch. xvi.) he says that "the religion of the Christians, as practised at present, has nothing in common with the teachings of
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 ...
." According to Qirqisani, the Christianity of his day originated with
Paul the Apostle Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
, who ascribed
divinity Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine
to Jesus and
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 ...
ic inspiration to himself. It was Paul that denied the necessity of carrying out the
613 commandments The Jewish tradition that there are 613 commandments ( he, תרי״ג מצוות, taryag mitzvot) or mitzvot in the Torah (also known as the Law of Moses) is first recorded in the 3rd century AD, when Rabbi Simlai mentioned it in a sermon that i ...
and taught that religion consisted in humility; and the
First Council of Nicaea The First Council of Nicaea (; grc, Νίκαια ) was a council of Christian bishops convened in the Bithynian city of Nicaea (now İznik, Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325. This ecumenical council was the first effort ...
adopted precepts which do not occur in the
Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
,
Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
s, or
Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its messag ...
.


Philosophy and Theology

Qirqisani devotes a great portion of the first treatise to attacks upon the
Rabbanites Rabbinic Judaism ( he, יהדות רבנית, Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonian ...
, in which he does not show himself impartial; but he is not blind to the faults of the Karaites. In the last chapter he draws a sad picture of the spiritual condition of Karaism in his time. "You can scarcely find two Karaites of one and the same opinion on all matters; upon almost any point each has an opinion different from those of all the rest." He deplores the neglect by the Karaites of the study of rabbinical literature, which, according to him, would furnish them with weapons for their controversies with the Rabbanites. Here Qirqisani is referring to the discrepancies frequent in
haggadic Aggadah ( he, ''ʾAggāḏā'' or ''Haggāḏā''; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אַגָּדְתָא ''ʾAggāḏəṯāʾ''; "tales, fairytale, lore") is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, ...
and mystic literature, such as the
Shi'ur Qomah Shi’ur Qomah ( he, שיעור קומה, lit. Dimensions of the Body) is a midrashic text that is part of the Hekhalot literature. It purports to record, in anthropomorphic terms, the secret names and precise measurements of God's corporeal limbs ...
, which, indeed, he often uses in his attacks against the Rabbanites. The second treatise, of twenty-eight chapters, discusses the duty of applying critical methods to the study of religious matters. Qirqisani is the first Karaite known to have been a firm believer in the study of the sciences, and he criticizes those who, although accepting the fundamental principle of independent inquiry and research, are against the demonstrative sciences of
dialectic 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 ...
s and philosophy. Reason is the foundation upon which every article of faith is based, and from which all knowledge flows. The third treatise, of twenty-three chapters, is a critical review of adverse religious sects and Christianity. In the seventeenth and eighteenth chapters Qirqisani refutes the doctrine of
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 ...
, though among its exponents was Anan, who wrote a work on the subject. For Qirqisani, the solution of the question, much debated by the Muʿtazili ''
kalam ''ʿIlm al-Kalām'' ( ar, عِلْم الكَلام, literally "science of discourse"), usually foreshortened to ''Kalām'' and sometimes called "Islamic scholastic theology" or "speculative theology", is the philosophical study of Islamic doc ...
'', concerning the punishments inflicted upon children is not to be found in the doctrine of
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 ...
, but in the belief that compensation will be given to children in the future world for their sufferings in this. In the fourth treatise Qirqisani expounds, in sixty-eight chapters, the fundamental principles leading to the comprehension of the particular religious prescriptions. The remaining treatises are devoted to the precepts themselves, which are arranged in systematic order. Qirqisani quotes the views of the earliest Karaite authorities (as Anan,
Benjamin Nahawandi Benjamin Nahawandi or Benjamin ben Moses Nahawendi ( fa, بنیامین نهاوندی ''Nahāwandī''; he, בנימין אלנהאונדי) was a prominent Persian Jewish scholar of Karaite Judaism. He was claimed to be one of the greatest of th ...
, Daniel al-Qumisi, etc.), which he often refutes. Belonging to the Ba'ale haRikkub, the " Karaite expounders of the Law", he is particularly severe in his views on the laws of incest, and he combats the opinion of his contemporary Rabbanite Jacob ben Ephraim al-Shami, who permitted marriage to the daughter of one's brother or sister.


Extant manuscripts

Most of the ''Kitab al-Anwar'' and the beginning of the ''Al-Riyad wal-Hada'iq'' are still extant in manuscript, in the
Abraham Firkovich Abraham (Avraham) ben Samuel Firkovich (Hebrew אברהם בן שמואל - ''Avraham ben Shmuel''; Karayce: Аврагъам Фиркович - ''Avragham Firkovich'') (Sept. 27, 1786–June 7, 1874) was a famous Karaite writer and archaeologi ...
collection in the Imperial Library of
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
(Nos. 1142-1444). The first treatise of the ''Kitab al-Anwar'', dealing with the Jewish sects, was published by
Abraham Harkavy Abraham (Albert) Harkavy (, russian: Авраа́м Я́ковлевич Гарка́ви, translit=Avraám Yákovlevich Garkávi; 17 October 1835 – 15 March 1919) was a Russian historian and orientalist. Biography Harkavy was born in 1835 ...
in the memoirs of the Oriental section of the Archeological Society (viii. 1849). Various fragments of seven treatises (ii.-vi., viii., ix.-xii.) are found in the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
(Oriental MSS. Nos. 2,524, 2,526, 2,578-2,582). They were analyzed by
Samuel Abraham Poznański Samuel Abraham Poznański or Shemuel Avraham Poznanski ( he, שמואל אברהם פוזננסקי, Lubraniec, 3 September 1864–1921) was a Polish-Jewish scholar, known for his studies of Karaism and the Hebrew calendar. Arabist, Hebrew bibli ...
, who published the text of chapters xvii. and xviii. of the third treatise, dealing with the doctrine of metempsychosis, and chapter xxxv. of the fifth treatise, in which Qirqisani discusses the question whether it is permitted to read on
Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...
books written in other than the
Hebrew alphabet The Hebrew alphabet ( he, wikt:אלפבית, אָלֶף־בֵּית עִבְרִי, ), known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is an abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew languag ...
(Kohut Memorial Volume, pp. 435–462; ''Steinschneider Festschrift'', pp. 195 et seq.). The text of the sixteenth chapter of the third treatise, dealing with the criticism of Christianity, was published by Hartwig Hirschfeld in his chrestomathy (Arabic Chrestomathy in Hebrew Characters (1892)). A dissertation on the
Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...
by Qirqisani, and which Steinschneider supposes to be the first chapter of the sixth treatise, beginning with proofs of the existence of God, is found in the Bibliothèque Nationale (No. 755). Both the ''Kitab al-Anwar'' and the ''Al-Riyad wal-Hada'iq'' were abridged, the former by a certain Moses ben Solomon ha-Levi. Harkavy deduces from quotations that Qirqisani translated the Bible into Arabic, wrote commentaries on the
Book of Job The Book of Job (; hbo, אִיּוֹב, ʾIyyōḇ), or simply Job, is a book found in the Ketuvim ("Writings") section of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), and is the first of the Poetic Books in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. Scholars ar ...
and on
Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes (; hbo, קֹהֶלֶת, Qōheleṯ, grc, Ἐκκλησιαστής, Ekklēsiastēs) is one of the Ketuvim ("Writings") of the Hebrew Bible and part of the Wisdom literature of the Christian Old Testament. The title commonly use ...
, and wrote a work on the unity of God(''Kitab al-
Tawhid Tawhid ( ar, , ', meaning "unification of God in Islam ( Allāh)"; also romanized as ''Tawheed'', ''Tawhid'', ''Tauheed'' or ''Tevhid'') is the indivisible oneness concept of monotheism in Islam. Tawhid is the religion's central and single ...
'').


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qirqisani, Jacob Karaite rabbis 10th-century rabbis Circassians