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Abu Abd Allah al-Husayn ibn Hamdan al-Junbalani al-Khasibi (died 957 or 968), commonly known simply as al-Khasibi, was an
Alawite Alawites () are an Arabs, Arab ethnoreligious group who live primarily in the Levant region in West Asia and follow Alawism, a sect of Islam that splintered from early Shia as a ''ghulat'' branch during the ninth century. Alawites venerate A ...
religious leader and missionary. He originally from a village called ''Jonbalā'', between
Kufa Kufa ( ), 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, Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Along with Samarra, Karbala, Kadhimiya ...
and Wasit in
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
, which was the center of the
Qarmatians The Qarmatians (; ) were a militant Isma'ili Shia movement centred in Al-Ahsa in Eastern Arabia, where they established a religious state in 899 CE. Its members were part of a movement that adhered to a syncretic branch of Sevener Ismaili ...
. He was a member of a well-educated family with close ties to eleventh
Twelver Twelver Shi'ism (), also known as Imamism () or Ithna Ashari, is the Islamic schools and branches, largest branch of Shia Islam, Shi'a Islam, comprising about 90% of all Shi'a Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers to its adherents' belief in twel ...
Imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...
Hasan al-Askari and a scholar of the Alawites, also known as Nusayris, which is now present in
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
, southern
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
and northern
Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
..; . The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' cites 957 or 968 as two possible dates for his death. For a time, al-Khaṣībī was imprisoned in Baghdad, due to accusations of being a Qarmatian. According to the Alawites, after settling in
Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...
, under the rule of the Shia
Hamdanid dynasty The Hamdanid dynasty () was a Shia Muslim Arab dynasty that ruled modern day Northern Mesopotamia and Syria (890–1004). They descended from the ancient Banu Taghlib tribe of Mesopotamia and Arabia. History Origin The Hamdanids hailed ...
, he gained the support and aid of its ruler,
Sayf al-Dawla ʿAlī ibn ʾAbū'l-Hayjāʾ ʿAbdallāh ibn Ḥamdān ibn Ḥamdūn ibn al-Ḥārith al-Taghlibī (, 22 June 916 – 8 February 967), more commonly known simply by his honorific of Sayf al-Dawla (, ), was the founder of the Emirate of Aleppo, ...
, in spreading his teachings. He later dedicated his book ''Kitab al-Hidaya al-Kubra'' to his patron. He died in Aleppo and his tomb, which became a shrine, is inscribed with the name Shaykh Yabraq. He taught several unique beliefs (especially in Risalah Ristpashiyah), including that
Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
was every one of the prophets from
Adam Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam ...
to
Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
as well as other figures such as
Socrates Socrates (; ; – 399 BC) was a Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher from Classical Athens, Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and as among the first moral philosophers of the Ethics, ethical tradition ...
,
Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born  BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...
and some ancestors of Muhammad, and that other historical figures were the incarnations of Ali and Salman al-Farisi. He and his works were praised by the Iranian Shiʿite scholar Muhammad Baqir Majlisi.


Exposure to Nusayri doctrine

Al-Khasibi's first exposure to the teachings of Ibn Nusayr was through ʿAbdallāh al-Jannān, who was a student of Muḥammad ibn Jundab, who was a student of Nusayr himself. Having been initiated into the doctrine through al-Jannān, Khasibi was now al-Jannān's "spiritual son". With the death of al-Jannān, however, al-Khasibi had no means of continuing practice and study of the doctrine. This period of dryness ended later when he encountered an ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad, who claimed to be a direct disciple of Nusayr. In this manner, al-Khasibi received transmission from both al-Jannān and ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad, thus continuing transmission of the Nusayri doctrine. Khasibi did not necessarily believe he was representative of a splinter, rebel group of the Shias, but rather believed he held the true doctrine of the Shias. During his reign, the founder of the Alawite sect, al-Khasibi, benefited from
Sayf al-Dawla ʿAlī ibn ʾAbū'l-Hayjāʾ ʿAbdallāh ibn Ḥamdān ibn Ḥamdūn ibn al-Ḥārith al-Taghlibī (, 22 June 916 – 8 February 967), more commonly known simply by his honorific of Sayf al-Dawla (, ), was the founder of the Emirate of Aleppo, ...
's patronage. Al-Khasibi turned
Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...
into the stable centre of his new sect, and sent preachers from there as far as Persia and Egypt with his teachings. His main theological work, Kitab al-Hidaya al-Kubra, was dedicated to his
Hamdanid The Hamdanid dynasty () was a Shia Muslim Arab dynasty that ruled modern day Northern Mesopotamia and Syria (890–1004). They descended from the ancient Banu Taghlib tribe of Mesopotamia and Arabia. History Origin The Hamdanids hailed ...
patron.
Sayf al-Dawla ʿAlī ibn ʾAbū'l-Hayjāʾ ʿAbdallāh ibn Ḥamdān ibn Ḥamdūn ibn al-Ḥārith al-Taghlibī (, 22 June 916 – 8 February 967), more commonly known simply by his honorific of Sayf al-Dawla (, ), was the founder of the Emirate of Aleppo, ...
's active promotion of Shi'ism began a process whereby
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
came to host a large Shia population by the 12th century.


Notes


References


Further reading

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Al-Khasibi History of the Alawites 10th-century deaths 10th-century scholars Year of birth unknown 10th century in the Abbasid Caliphate People from the Hamdanid emirate of Aleppo 10th-century Arabic-language writers Sayf al-Dawla Ghulat leaders