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Ghulat

The ghulāt (Arabic: غُلَاة, 'exaggerators', 'extremists', 'transgressors', singular ghālin)[a] were a branch of early Shi'i Muslims. The term mainly refers to a wide variety of now extinct Shi'i sects who were active in 8th/9th-century Kufa (southern Iraq), and who despite their sometimes significant differences shared a number of common ideas.[1] These common ideas included the attribution of a divine nature to the Imams, the belief that souls can migrate between different human and non-human bodies (tanāsukh or metempsychosis), a particular creation myth involving pre-existent 'shadows' (aẓilla) whose fall from grace produced the material world, and an emphasis on secrecy and dissociation from outsiders.[2] They were named ghulāt by other Shi'i and Sunni Muslims for their purportedly "exaggerated" veneration of the prophet Muhammad (c. 570–632) and his family, most notably Ali ibn Abi Talib (c. 600–661) and his descendants, the Shi'i Imams.[3]

The ideas of the ghulāt have at times been compared to those of the late antique gnostics,[4] but the extent of this similarity has also been questioned.[5] Some ghulāt ideas, such as the notion of the occultation (ghayba) and return (rajʿa) of the Imam, have been influential in the development of Twelver Shi'ism.[6] Later Isma'ili Shi'i authors such as Ja'far ibn Mansur al-Yaman (died c. 957) and Abu Ya'qub al-Sijistani (died after 971) also adapted ghulāt ideas to reformulate their own doctrines.[7] The only ghulāt sect still in existence today are the Alawites, historically known as 'Nusayris' after their founder Ibn Nusayr (died after 868).[8]

A relatively large number of ghulāt writings have survived to this day. Previously, only some works that were preserved in the Isma'ili tradition were available to scholars, such the Mother of the Book published in 1936 (Umm al-kitāb, 8th–11th centuries),[9] the Book of the Seven and the Shadows published in 1960 (Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla, 8th–11th centuries),[10] and the Book of the Path published in 1995 (Kitāb al-Ṣirāṭ, c. 874–941).[11] However, between 2006 and 2013 numerous ghulāt texts that have been preserved in the Nusayri-Alawi tradition were published in the Alawite Heritage Series.[12]

History

Origins (680–700)

Like Shi'i Islam itself, the origins of the ghulāt lie in the pro-Alid movements of the late 7th century, who fought against the Umayyads (r. 661–750) in order to bring one of Ali ibn Abi Talib's descendants to power. The earliest attested use of the term ghulāt is found in a number of reports about the followers of al-Mukhtar, the leader of a revolt against the Umayyads on behalf of Ali's son Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya (part of the Second Fitna, 680–692). According to these reports, some of al-Mukhtar's followers organized regular meetings in the houses of various Kufan women in order to listen to soothsayers prophesying about future events.[13] The followers who attended these meetings were denounced as ghulāt by other followers of al-Mukhtar.[14] The Arabic verb ghalā, 'to exaggerate', 'to transgress the proper bounds', was in broader use at the time to denounce perceived 'un-Islamic' activities,[15] which may include soothsaying (kahāna). But the use of the term here could hardly have been in reference this, since al-Mukhtar himself often practiced soothsaying, and was respected for this by all of his followers.[16] Rather, the reason for the use of the term ghulāt for this subgroup of al-Mukhtar's followers may be more specifically related to the Quranic use of the word ghalā ('exaggerate').[17] It occurs in the Quran twice, in 4:171 and in 5:77, as follows (occurrence of the word ghalā underlined):

4:171. O People of the Book! Do not exaggerate in your religion, nor utter anything concerning God save the truth. Verily the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a messenger of God, and His Word, which He committed to Mary, and a Spirit from Him. So believe in God and His messengers, and say not “Three.” Refrain! It is better for you. God is only one God; Glory be to Him that He should have a child. Unto Him belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on the earth, and God suffices as a Guardian.[18]

5:72. They certainly disbelieve, those who say, “Truly God is the Messiah, son of Mary.” [...] 73. They certainly disbelieve, those who say, “Truly God is the third of three,” while there is no god save the one God. [...] 5:75. The Messiah, son of Mary, was naught but a messenger—messengers have passed away before him. And his mother was truthful. Both of them ate food. [...] 76. Say, “Do you worship, apart from God, that which has no power to benefit or harm you, when it is God Who is the Hearing, the Knowing?” 77. Say, “O People of the Book! Do not exaggerate in your religion beyond the truth, and follow not the caprices of a people who went astray before, and led many astray, and strayed from the right way.”[19]

The 'People of the Book' here refers to the Christians, who are castigated for ascribing a divine status to their prophet Jesus Christ. He was not a "child" of God, but "only a messenger" who like all normal human beings "ate food".[20] The Christian claim that "God is the Messiah, son of Mary" is characterized in 5:72 and in other verses as 'disbelief', as is the claim that "God is the third of three" (a reference to the Trinity, in which Jesus is believed to be consubstantial with the Godhead).[21] The Quranic concept of 'exaggeration' in both cases refers to 'exaggerating' the status of a prophet as being more-than-human.[22]

It seems probable that the followers of al-Mukhtar who gathered in the Kufan houses were likewise denounced by their colleagues for having exaggerated the status, not of Jesus, but of Ali.[23] There had been an earlier movement in Kufa called the Sabāʾiyya, named after the South Arabian Jewish convert Abd Allah ibn Saba', who according to some reports had insisted that Ali was not dead, and that he would return (rajʿa) so seek revenge upon those that opposed him.[24] Since remnants of the Sabāʾiyya still existed in the time of al-Mukhtar, and since one of the Kufan women at whose house the group denounced as ghulāt gathered belonged to the Sabāʾiyya, it may well be that this group also belonged to the Sabāʾiyya.[25] After al-Mukhtar's death in 687, his own movement sometimes came to be referred to as the Sabāʾiyya, and when Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya (the Alid Imam whom al-Mukhtar's movement had supported) also died in 700, his followers (called the Kaysāniyya) claimed that Ibn al-Hanafiyya had gone into hiding (ghayba), and that he would return before the Day of Judgment as the Mahdi to establish a state of righteousness and justice.[26]

It thus appears that in its earliest usage, the term ghulāt referred to those Shi'is who taught the dual doctrine of the occultation (ghayba) and return (rajʿa) of the Imam, which other Muslims perceived as an 'exaggerated' view of the Imam's status.[27] Later sources would also attribute to these earliest ghulāt some of the ideas for which the later ghulāt would become known, most notably the outright divinization of Ali, but there is no good evidence that this was the case.[28] Rather, the 8th-/9th-century need to attribute these ideas to the earliest ghulāt probably arose from the fact that, while groups like the Sabāʾiyya had traditionally been known as ghulāt, their actual core ideas of occultation and return had become standard tenets of Imami (Twelver) Shi'ism and Isma'ili Shi'ism, and so other ideas needed to be ascribed to them to justify the ghulāt label.[29] Nevertheless, the later ghulāt did probably originate from these early groups,[30] and some glimpses of later ideas may sometimes be found, as for example the belief in the transmigration of souls which was attributed to early 7th-century ghulāt leaders such as Hind bint al-Mutakallifa or Layla bint Qumama al-Muzaniyya. One important difference with the later groups is the prominent role played by women, who organized the early ghulāt meetings in their houses and who often acted as teachers, upholding a circle of disciples.[31] This stands in stark contrast to the ideas of the later ghulāt, who ranked women between the status of animals and men in their spiritual hierarchy.[32]

Uprisings and development of doctrine (700–750)

Bayan ibn Sam'an al-Tamimi

Bayan ibn Sam'an (died 737) was the leader of a ghulāt sect called the Bayāniyya.[33]

al-Mughira ibn Sa'id

Al-Mughira ibn Sa'id (died 737), leader of a ghulāt sect called the Mughīriyya, was an adept of the fifth Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (677–732).[34]

Abu Mansur al-Ijli

Abu Mansur al-Ijli (died c. 738–744) was the leader of a ghulāt sect called the Manṣūriyya who was killed by the Umayyad governor Yusuf ibn Umar al-Thaqafi.[35]

Abd Allah ibn Harb

Abd Allah ibn Harb (died 748–9) was the leader of a ghulāt sect called the Janāḥiyya who was killed by the Abbasid activist Abu Muslim al-Khurasani.[36]

Political quietism and diffusion of sects (750–)

Abu al-Khattab

Abu al-Khattab al-Asadi (died 755) was the leader of a ghulāt sect called the Khaṭṭābiyya who was killed by the Abbasid governor Isa ibn Musa. For a time, he was the designated spokesman of the sixth Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (c. 700–765), but Ja'far repudiated him in c. 748.[37]

al-Mufaddal ibn Umar al-Ju'fi

Al-Mufaddal ibn Umar al-Ju'fi (died before 799) was a close confidant of Ja'far al-Sadiq and his son Musa al-Kazim (died 799) who for some time was a follower of Abu al-Khattab. Imami heresiographers regarded him as the leader of a ghulāt sect called the Mufaḍḍaliyya, but it not certain whether this sect ever existed. A number of important ghulāt writings were attributed to him by later authors (see below).[38]

Ishaq al-Ahmar al-Nakha'i

Ishaq al-Ahmar al-Nakha'i (died 899) was the leader of a ghulāt sect called the Isḥāqiyya. Some writings were also attributed to him.[39]

Ibn Nusayr and al-Khasibi

Ibn Nusayr (died after 868) and al-Khasibi (died 969) were the two most important figures in the founding of Nusayrism (called Alawism in the contemporary context), the only ghulāt sect that still exists today.[40]

Ghulāt writings

Mother of the Book (Umm al-kitāb)

The Umm al-kitāb (Arabic: أمّ الکتاب, lit.'Mother of the Book') is a syncretic Shi'i work originating in the ghulāt milieus of 8th-century Kufa. It was later transplanted to Syria by the 10th-century Nusayris, whose final redaction of the work was preserved in a Persian translation produced by the Nizari Isma'ilis of Central Asia.[41] The work only survives in Persian.[42] It contains no notable elements of Isma'ili doctrine,[43] but given the fact that Isma'ili authors starting from the 10th century were influenced by early ghulāt ideas such as those found in the Umm al-kitāb,[44] and especially given the influence of these ideas on later Tayyibi Isma'ilism,[45] some Isma'ilis do regard the work as one of the most important works in their tradition.[41]

The work presents itself as a revelation of secret knowledge by the Shi'i Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (677–732) to his disciple Jabir ibn Yazid al-Ju'fi (died c. 745–750).[46] Its doctrinal contents correspond to a large degree to what 9th/10th-century heresiographers ascribed to various ghulāt sects,[46] with a particular resemblance to the ideas of the Mukhammisa.[41][b] It contains a lengthy exposition of the typical ghulāt myth of the pre-existent shadows (Arabic: aẓilla) who created the world by their fall from grace, as is also found in the Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla attributed to al-Mufaddal ibn Umar al-Ju'fi (died before 799).[46]

Book of the Seven and the Shadows (Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla)

 
The last paragraph of the Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla, from a manuscript of unknown provenance:[47]
"Thus is finished the concealed book called the Book of the Seven, which was a gift of grace from our lord Ja'far al-Sadiq, peace be upon us from him. It is called the Noble Book of the Seven because it reports about the beginning of creation and its origin, about its ending and conclusion, and about the translocation of souls from state to state in accordance with divine guidance and limitation. Peace, the end."

The Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla ('Book of the Seven and the Shadows'), also known as Kitāb al-Haft al-sharīf ('Book of the Noble Seven'/'Noble Book of the Seven) or simply as Kitāb al-Haft (Book of the Seven'),[c] 8th–11th century, is an important ghulāt text that was falsely attributed to al-Mufaddal ibn Umar al-Ju'fi (died before 799). It sets out in great detail the ghulāt myth of pre-existent 'shadows' (Arabic: aẓilla) who created the world by their fall from grace, and who were imprisoned in material human bodies as punishment for their hubris.[46] This theme of pre-existent shadows,[d] which also appears in other important ghulāt works such as the Umm al-kitāb, seems to have been typical of the early Kufan ghulāt.[46]

Great emphasis is placed upon the need to keep the knowledge received from Ja'far al-Sadiq, who is referred to in the work as mawlānā ('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 (muʾminūn).[48] It involves such notions as the transmigration of souls (tanāsukh or metempsychosis) and the idea that seven Adams exist in the seven heavens, each one of them presiding over one of the seven historical world cycles (adwār).[49] This latter idea may reflect an influence from Isma'ilism,[48] where the appearance of each new prophet (Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, Muhammad ibn Isma'il) is likewise thought to initiate a new world cycle.[50]

The work consists of at least eleven different textual layers which were added over time, each of them containing slightly different versions of ghulāt concepts and ideas.[51] The earliest layers were written in 8th/9th-century Kufa, perhaps partly by al-Mufaddal himself, or by his close associates Yunus ibn Zabyan and Muhammad ibn Sinan (died 835).[52] A possible indication for this is the fact that Muhammad ibn Sinan also wrote two works dealing with the theme of pre-existent, world-creating 'shadows': the Kitāb al-Aẓilla ('Book of the Shadows') and the Kitāb al-Anwār wa-ḥujub ('Book of the Lights and the Veils').[53] Biographical sources also list several other 8th/9th-century Kufan authors who wrote a Kitāb al-Aẓilla or 'Book of the Shadows'.[54] In total, at least three works closely related to al-Mufaddal's Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla are extant, all likely dating to the 8th or 9th century:[55]

  1. Muhammad ibn Sinan's Kitāb al-Anwār wa-ḥujub
  2. an anonymous work called the Kitāb al-Ashbāh wa-l-aẓilla ('Book of the Apparitions and the Shadows')[e]
  3. another anonymous work also called the Kitāb al-Aẓilla ('Book of the Shadows').[f]

Though originating in the milieus of the early Kufan ghulāt, the Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla was considerably expanded by members of a later ghulāt sect called the Nusayris, who were active in 10th-century Syria.[56] The Nusayris were probably also responsible for the work's final 11th-century form.[57] Unlike most other ghulāt works, however, the Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla was not preserved by the Nusayris, but by the Syrian Nizari Isma'ilis.[57] Like the Umm al-kitāb, which was transmitted by the Nizari Isma'ilis of Central Asia, it contains ideas that are largely unrelated to Isma'ili doctrine,[58] but that did nevertheless influence various later Isma'ili authors starting from the 10th century.[59]

Book of the Path (Kitāb al-Ṣirāṭ)

The Kitāb al-Ṣirāṭ ('Book of the Path') is another purported dialogue between al-Mufaddal ibn Umar al-Ju'fi and Ja'far al-Sadiq, likely composed in the period between the Minor and the Major Occultation (874–941).[57][g] This work deals with the concept of an initiatory 'path' (Arabic: ṣirāṭ) 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 such typically ghulāt ideas as tajallin (the manifestation of God in human form), tanāsukh (metempsychosis or transmigration of the soul), maskh/raskh (metamorphosis or reincarnation into non-human forms), and the concept of creation through the fall of pre-existent beings (as in the Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla, see above).[57]

The philosophical background of the work is given by the late antique concept of a great chain of being 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 of 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.[60] Those human beings who lack the proper religious knowledge and belief are reborn into other human bodies, which are likened to 'shirts' (qumṣān, sing. qamīṣ) that a soul can put on and off again. This is called tanāsukh or naskh. But grave sinners are reborn instead into animal bodies (maskh), and the worst offenders are reborn into the bodies of plants or minerals (raskh).[61][h] 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.[62] This upwards path is represented as consisting of seven stages above that of humanity, each located in one of the seven heavens:[63]

  1. al-Mumtaḥā: the Tested, first heaven
  2. al-Mukhliṣ: the Devout, second heaven
  3. al-Mukhtaṣṣ: the Elect, third heaven
  4. al-Najīb: the Noble, fourth heaven
  5. al-Naqīb: the Chief, fifth heaven
  6. al-Yatīm: the Unique, sixth heaven
  7. al-Bāb: the Gate, seventh heaven

At every degree the initiate receives the chance to gain a new level of 'hidden' or 'occult' (bāṭin) 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 Bāb or 'Gate')[i] 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.[64] This ability to manifest in human form the 'Gates' in the seventh heaven share with God.[60]

The theme of a heavenly ascent through seven degrees of spiritual perfection is also explored in other ghulāt works, including the anonymous Kitāb al-Marātib wa-l-daraj ('Book of Degrees and Stages'), as well as various works attributed to Muhammad ibn Sinan (died 835), Ibn Nusayr (died after 868), and others.[65]

Notes

  1. ^ Although the singular of the Arabic word is ghālin (غَالٍ), often the term ghālī is used instead (Anthony 2018; Asatryan 2017, p. 2).
  2. ^ On the Mukhammisa, see Asatryan 2000–2013.
  3. ^ Edition of the Arabic text in Tāmir & Khalifé 1960, Ghālib 1964, and Tāmir 2007; critical edition of chapter 59 in Asatryan 2020, pp. 296–298; discussion of the various editions in Asatryan 2017, pp. 18–19. On this text, see also Halm 1978b; Halm 1981 (continuation of Halm 1978); Capezzone 1999; Asatryan 2017, 13–42 et passim. According to Madelung 1963, p. 181, followed by Halm 1978b, p. 220 and Asatryan 2012, p. 145, the word haft is a Persian loanword meaning 'seven' (Madelung refers to the use of al-haft and al-haftiyya to designate sevenfold things like the seven Adams or the seven heavens, in Tāmir & Khalifé 1960, pp. 125, 128, 130; cf. Ghālib 1964, pp. 163, 167, 171; Tāmir 2007, pp. 173, 176, 179).
  4. ^ On this theme in general, see also Capezzone 2017.
  5. ^ On the anonymous Kitāb al-Ashbāh wa-l-aẓilla, see Asatryan 2015.
  6. ^ On the anonymous Kitāb al-Aẓilla (found in another work called the Kitāb al-Kursī), see Asatryan 2016, pp. 131–135.
  7. ^ Edition of the Arabic text in Capezzone 1995 and Ibn ʿAbd al-Jalīl 2005. On this text, see also Capezzone 1993. It is not to be confused with the similarly named Kitāb al-Ṣirāṭ by the 9th-century ghulāt author Ishaq al-Ahmar al-Nakha'i (died 899, see Asatryan 2000–2012a; Asatryan 2017, p. 200, s.v. Isḥāq Aḥmar al-Nakhaʿī).
  8. ^ This is also a common theme in other ghulāt texts. The Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla goes a little bit further than the Kitāb al-Ṣirāṭ, also describing other forms of hierarchy within one class: among humans, female bodies rank below male ones, and among animals inedible species rank below edible ones; see Asatryan 2017, pp. 152–153.
  9. ^ On the concept of Bāb in Shi'ism, see MacEoin 1988–2011.

References

  1. ^ Asatryan 2017, p. 11.
  2. ^ Halm 2001–2012. On secrecy and dissociation, see Asatryan 2017, pp. 163–178.
  3. ^ On the ghulāt in general, see Halm 2001–2012; Hodgson 1960–2007b; Anthony 2018. On their cosmology and theology, see Asatryan 2017, pp. 137–161.
  4. ^ See, e.g., Tijdens 1977; Halm 1982.
  5. ^ See, e.g., Bayhom-Daou 2003; Asatryan & Burns 2016.
  6. ^ Turner 2006.
  7. ^ De Smet 2020, pp. 303–304, 307–308. The ghulāt influences on Ja'far ibn Mansur al-Yaman's Kitāb al-Kashf are discussed by Asatryan 2020. The influence of these ideas was pervasive in Tayyibi Isma'ilism (see De Smet 2020, pp. 320–321).
  8. ^ Halm 2001–2012. On Ibn Nusayr, see Friedman 2000–2010; Steigerwald 2010. On Alawism-Nusayrism in general, see Bar-Asher 2003; Bar-Asher & Kofsky 2002; Friedman 2010.
  9. ^ Ivanow 1936. Full Italian translation in Filippani-Ronconi 1966, partial German translations in Tijdens 1977, Halm 1981, Halm 1982.
  10. ^ Tāmir & Khalifé 1960. New editions of the full text were published by Ghālib 1964 and Tāmir 2007, and a critical edition of chapter 59 by Asatryan 2020, pp. 196–198.
  11. ^ Capezzone 1995. New edition by Ibn ʿAbd al-Jalīl 2005.
  12. ^ Anthony 2018. For the texts, see Abū Mūsā & al-Shaykh Mūsā 2006–2013. The first major study to take the newly available texts into account is Asatryan 2017.
  13. ^ al-Qāḍī 1976, pp. 295–297; Anthony 2018.
  14. ^ al-Qāḍī 1976, p. 297.
  15. ^ Anthony 2018.
  16. ^ al-Qāḍī 1976, p. 297.
  17. ^ al-Qāḍī 1976, pp. 297–299.
  18. ^ Nasr, Seyyed Hossein; Dagli, Caner K.; Dakake, Maria Massi; Lumbard, Joseph E. B.; Rustom, Mohammed, eds. (2015). The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary. New York: HarperOne. ISBN 978-0-06-112586-7. Pp. 266–268 (verse 4:171).
  19. ^ Nasr et al. 2015, pp. 315–318 (verses 5:72–77).
  20. ^ Nasr et al. 2015, pp. 266–267, 317 (commentaries on 4:171 and 5:75).
  21. ^ Nasr et al. 2015, p. 315 (commentary on 5:72).
  22. ^ Nasr et al. 2015, p. 317 (commentary on 5:77).
  23. ^ al-Qāḍī 1976, pp. 298–299.
  24. ^ al-Qāḍī 1976, p. 300; Anthony 2018. On Abd Allah ibn Saba', see the dedicated study by Anthony 2012.
  25. ^ al-Qāḍī 1976, p. 300; Anthony 2018.
  26. ^ al-Qāḍī 1976, pp. 300–301.
  27. ^ al-Qāḍī 1976, pp. 305, 315.
  28. ^ al-Qāḍī 1976, p. 300. Anthony 2012, p. 316 describes the earliest ghulāt's (the Sabāʾiyya's) view of Ali as a type of messianism that was certainly tendentious from a religious point of view, but that stopped short of regarding him as divine.
  29. ^ al-Qāḍī 1976, pp. 305–306, 315–316.
  30. ^ Anthony 2018.
  31. ^ Anthony 2018.
  32. ^ Anthony 2018. E.g., Asatryan 2017, p. 26–27.
  33. ^ See Halm 2001–2012; Hodgson 1960–2007a; Walker 2011. See further Tucker, William F. "Bayān ibn Sam‵ān and the Bayāniyya" in Tucker 2008, pp. 34–51.
  34. ^ See Halm 2001–2012; Madelung 1960–2007; Wasserstrom 1985. See further Tucker, William F. "al-Mughīra ibn Sa‵īd and the Mughīriyya" in Tucker 2008, pp. 52–70.
  35. ^ Anthony 2018. See further Tucker, William F. "Abū Mansūr al-‵Ijlī and the Mansūriyya" in Tucker 2008, pp. 71–87.
  36. ^ Halm 2001–2012. See further Tucker, William F. "‵Abd Allāh ibn Mu‵āwiya and the Janāhiyya" in Tucker 2008, pp. 88–108.
  37. ^ Halm 2001–2012; Sachedina 1983–2012; Amir-Moezzi 2013.
  38. ^ Asatryan 2000–2012b.
  39. ^ Asatryan 2000–2012a; Asatryan 2017, p. 200, s.v. Isḥāq Aḥmar al-Nakhaʿī.
  40. ^ On Ibn Nusayr, see Friedman 2000–2010; Steigerwald 2010. On al-Khasibi, see Friedman 2008–2012; Friedman 2016. On Nusayrism in general, see Bar-Asher 2003; Bar-Asher & Kofsky 2002; Friedman 2010.
  41. ^ a b c Daftary 2015.
  42. ^ Persian text edited by Ivanow 1936. Full Italian translation by Filippani-Ronconi 1966. Partial German translation by Tijdens 1977. German translation of some parts of the text in Halm 1981, pp. 36 ff. and Halm 1982, pp. 113 ff.
  43. ^ Daftary 2015; De Smet 2020, p. 303.
  44. ^ Early Isma'ili authors who adapted ghulāt ideas include Ja'far ibn Mansur al-Yaman (died c. 957; see De Smet 2020, pp. 303, 308) and Abu Ya'qub al-Sijistani (died after 971; see De Smet 2020, pp. 304, 307–308).
  45. ^ De Smet 2020, pp. 320–321 et passim.
  46. ^ a b c d e Halm 2001–2012.
  47. ^ Photographic reproduction by Ghālib 1964, p. 202 (edited text on p. 198).
  48. ^ a b Gleave 2008–2012.
  49. ^ Gleave 2008–2012. On tanāsukh, see further Asatryan 2017, pp. 150–154. On the seven Adams, see Asatryan 2017, pp. 38, 140–143, et passim. On world cycles, see Daftary 1994–2011.
  50. ^ Gleave 2008–2012. In the Isma'ili version of the doctrine of world cycles, Muhammad is the initiator of the current, penultimate cycle, while Ja'far al-Sadiq's grandson Muhammad ibn Isma'il the concealed and awaited initiator of the last cycle; see Daftary 1994–2011.
  51. ^ Asatryan 2017, p. 16. Each layer is analyzed in detail by Asatryan 2017, pp. 17–42. Asatryan 2000–2012b still only counted seven layers.
  52. ^ Asatryan 2017, p. 61. Muhammad ibn Sinan's date is given by Halm 2001–2012.
  53. ^ Asatryan 2017, p. 63. Halm 1981, p. 67 proposed Muhammad ibn Sinan, who was a disciple of al-Mufaddal, as the author of the entire Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla (repeated in Halm 2001–2012), but this was rejected by Asatryan 2017, pp. 64–65.
  54. ^ Asatryan 2017, p. 64.
  55. ^ Asatryan 2017, pp. 63–65. These three works are compared on pp. 65–71 and tentatively dated to the 8th or 9th century on pp. 72–78.
  56. ^ Asatryan 2017, p. 123.
  57. ^ a b c d Asatryan 2000–2012b.
  58. ^ Halm 2001–2012. On the fact that the Umm al-kitāb originally also was unrelated to Isma'ilism, see De Smet 2020, p. 303.
  59. ^ Early Isma'ili authors who adapted ghulāt ideas include Ja'far ibn Mansur al-Yaman (died c. 957; see De Smet 2020, pp. 303, 308; the ghulāt influences on Ja'far ibn Mansur al-Yaman's Kitāb al-Kashf are discussed by Asatryan 2020) and Abu Ya'qub al-Sijistani (died after 971; see De Smet 2020, pp. 304, 307–308). The influence of these ideas was pervasive in Tayyibi Isma'ilism (see De Smet 2020, pp. 320–321 et passim).
  60. ^ a b Asatryan 2017, p. 145.
  61. ^ Asatryan 2017, pp. 150–151. Some other forms, like waskh and faskh, are described in the context of Nusayri works by Friedman 2010, p. 106.
  62. ^ Asatryan 2017, pp. 145–147.
  63. ^ Asatryan 2017, p. 146.
  64. ^ Asatryan 2017, p. 147.
  65. ^ Asatryan 2017, pp. 145–149. On Ibn Nusayr, see Friedman 2000–2010; Steigerwald 2010.

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Other

Further reading

ghulat, ghulāt, arabic, اة, exaggerators, extremists, transgressors, singular, ghālin, were, branch, early, muslims, term, mainly, refers, wide, variety, extinct, sects, were, active, century, kufa, southern, iraq, despite, their, sometimes, significant, diffe. The ghulat Arabic غ ل اة exaggerators extremists transgressors singular ghalin a were a branch of early Shi i Muslims The term mainly refers to a wide variety of now extinct Shi i sects who were active in 8th 9th century Kufa southern Iraq and who despite their sometimes significant differences shared a number of common ideas 1 These common ideas included the attribution of a divine nature to the Imams the belief that souls can migrate between different human and non human bodies tanasukh or metempsychosis a particular creation myth involving pre existent shadows aẓilla whose fall from grace produced the material world and an emphasis on secrecy and dissociation from outsiders 2 They were named ghulat by other Shi i and Sunni Muslims for their purportedly exaggerated veneration of the prophet Muhammad c 570 632 and his family most notably Ali ibn Abi Talib c 600 661 and his descendants the Shi i Imams 3 The ideas of the ghulat have at times been compared to those of the late antique gnostics 4 but the extent of this similarity has also been questioned 5 Some ghulat ideas such as the notion of the occultation ghayba and return rajʿa of the Imam have been influential in the development of Twelver Shi ism 6 Later Isma ili Shi i authors such as Ja far ibn Mansur al Yaman died c 957 and Abu Ya qub al Sijistani died after 971 also adapted ghulat ideas to reformulate their own doctrines 7 The only ghulat sect still in existence today are the Alawites historically known as Nusayris after their founder Ibn Nusayr died after 868 8 A relatively large number of ghulat writings have survived to this day Previously only some works that were preserved in the Isma ili tradition were available to scholars such the Mother of the Book published in 1936 Umm al kitab 8th 11th centuries 9 the Book of the Seven and the Shadows published in 1960 Kitab al Haft wa l aẓilla 8th 11th centuries 10 and the Book of the Path published in 1995 Kitab al Ṣiraṭ c 874 941 11 However between 2006 and 2013 numerous ghulat texts that have been preserved in the Nusayri Alawi tradition were published in the Alawite Heritage Series 12 Contents 1 History 1 1 Origins 680 700 1 2 Uprisings and development of doctrine 700 750 1 2 1 Bayan ibn Sam an al Tamimi 1 2 2 al Mughira ibn Sa id 1 2 3 Abu Mansur al Ijli 1 2 4 Abd Allah ibn Harb 1 3 Political quietism and diffusion of sects 750 1 3 1 Abu al Khattab 1 3 2 al Mufaddal ibn Umar al Ju fi 1 3 3 Ishaq al Ahmar al Nakha i 1 3 4 Ibn Nusayr and al Khasibi 2 Ghulat writings 2 1 Mother of the Book Umm al kitab 2 2 Book of the Seven and the Shadows Kitab al Haft wa l aẓilla 2 3 Book of the Path Kitab al Ṣiraṭ 3 Notes 4 References 5 Bibliography 5 1 Tertiary sources 5 2 Secondary sources 5 3 Primary sources 6 Further readingHistory EditOrigins 680 700 Edit Like Shi i Islam itself the origins of the ghulat lie in the pro Alid movements of the late 7th century who fought against the Umayyads r 661 750 in order to bring one of Ali ibn Abi Talib s descendants to power The earliest attested use of the term ghulat is found in a number of reports about the followers of al Mukhtar the leader of a revolt against the Umayyads on behalf of Ali s son Muhammad ibn al Hanafiyya part of the Second Fitna 680 692 According to these reports some of al Mukhtar s followers organized regular meetings in the houses of various Kufan women in order to listen to soothsayers prophesying about future events 13 The followers who attended these meetings were denounced as ghulat by other followers of al Mukhtar 14 The Arabic verb ghala to exaggerate to transgress the proper bounds was in broader use at the time to denounce perceived un Islamic activities 15 which may include soothsaying kahana But the use of the term here could hardly have been in reference this since al Mukhtar himself often practiced soothsaying and was respected for this by all of his followers 16 Rather the reason for the use of the term ghulat for this subgroup of al Mukhtar s followers may be more specifically related to the Quranic use of the word ghala exaggerate 17 It occurs in the Quran twice in 4 171 and in 5 77 as follows occurrence of the word ghala underlined 4 171 O People of the Book Do not exaggerate in your religion nor utter anything concerning God save the truth Verily the Messiah Jesus son of Mary was only a messenger of God and His Word which He committed to Mary and a Spirit from Him So believe in God and His messengers and say not Three Refrain It is better for you God is only one God Glory be to Him that He should have a child Unto Him belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on the earth and God suffices as a Guardian 18 5 72 They certainly disbelieve those who say Truly God is the Messiah son of Mary 73 They certainly disbelieve those who say Truly God is the third of three while there is no god save the one God 5 75 The Messiah son of Mary was naught but a messenger messengers have passed away before him And his mother was truthful Both of them ate food 76 Say Do you worship apart from God that which has no power to benefit or harm you when it is God Who is the Hearing the Knowing 77 Say O People of the Book Do not exaggerate in your religion beyond the truth and follow not the caprices of a people who went astray before and led many astray and strayed from the right way 19 The People of the Book here refers to the Christians who are castigated for ascribing a divine status to their prophet Jesus Christ He was not a child of God but only a messenger who like all normal human beings ate food 20 The Christian claim that God is the Messiah son of Mary is characterized in 5 72 and in other verses as disbelief as is the claim that God is the third of three a reference to the Trinity in which Jesus is believed to be consubstantial with the Godhead 21 The Quranic concept of exaggeration in both cases refers to exaggerating the status of a prophet as being more than human 22 It seems probable that the followers of al Mukhtar who gathered in the Kufan houses were likewise denounced by their colleagues for having exaggerated the status not of Jesus but of Ali 23 There had been an earlier movement in Kufa called the Sabaʾiyya named after the South Arabian Jewish convert Abd Allah ibn Saba who according to some reports had insisted that Ali was not dead and that he would return rajʿa so seek revenge upon those that opposed him 24 Since remnants of the Sabaʾiyya still existed in the time of al Mukhtar and since one of the Kufan women at whose house the group denounced as ghulat gathered belonged to the Sabaʾiyya it may well be that this group also belonged to the Sabaʾiyya 25 After al Mukhtar s death in 687 his own movement sometimes came to be referred to as the Sabaʾiyya and when Muhammad ibn al Hanafiyya the Alid Imam whom al Mukhtar s movement had supported also died in 700 his followers called the Kaysaniyya claimed that Ibn al Hanafiyya had gone into hiding ghayba and that he would return before the Day of Judgment as the Mahdi to establish a state of righteousness and justice 26 It thus appears that in its earliest usage the term ghulat referred to those Shi is who taught the dual doctrine of the occultation ghayba and return rajʿa of the Imam which other Muslims perceived as an exaggerated view of the Imam s status 27 Later sources would also attribute to these earliest ghulat some of the ideas for which the later ghulat would become known most notably the outright divinization of Ali but there is no good evidence that this was the case 28 Rather the 8th 9th century need to attribute these ideas to the earliest ghulat probably arose from the fact that while groups like the Sabaʾiyya had traditionally been known as ghulat their actual core ideas of occultation and return had become standard tenets of Imami Twelver Shi ism and Isma ili Shi ism and so other ideas needed to be ascribed to them to justify the ghulat label 29 Nevertheless the later ghulat did probably originate from these early groups 30 and some glimpses of later ideas may sometimes be found as for example the belief in the transmigration of souls which was attributed to early 7th century ghulat leaders such as Hind bint al Mutakallifa or Layla bint Qumama al Muzaniyya One important difference with the later groups is the prominent role played by women who organized the early ghulat meetings in their houses and who often acted as teachers upholding a circle of disciples 31 This stands in stark contrast to the ideas of the later ghulat who ranked women between the status of animals and men in their spiritual hierarchy 32 Uprisings and development of doctrine 700 750 Edit This section needs expansion You can help by adding to it September 2022 Bayan ibn Sam an al Tamimi Edit Bayan ibn Sam an died 737 was the leader of a ghulat sect called the Bayaniyya 33 al Mughira ibn Sa id Edit Al Mughira ibn Sa id died 737 leader of a ghulat sect called the Mughiriyya was an adept of the fifth Imam Muhammad al Baqir 677 732 34 Abu Mansur al Ijli Edit Abu Mansur al Ijli died c 738 744 was the leader of a ghulat sect called the Manṣuriyya who was killed by the Umayyad governor Yusuf ibn Umar al Thaqafi 35 Abd Allah ibn Harb Edit Abd Allah ibn Harb died 748 9 was the leader of a ghulat sect called the Janaḥiyya who was killed by the Abbasid activist Abu Muslim al Khurasani 36 Political quietism and diffusion of sects 750 Edit This section needs expansion You can help by adding to it September 2022 Abu al Khattab Edit Abu al Khattab al Asadi died 755 was the leader of a ghulat sect called the Khaṭṭabiyya who was killed by the Abbasid governor Isa ibn Musa For a time he was the designated spokesman of the sixth Imam Ja far al Sadiq c 700 765 but Ja far repudiated him in c 748 37 al Mufaddal ibn Umar al Ju fi Edit Main article al Mufaddal ibn Umar al Ju fi Al Mufaddal ibn Umar al Ju fi died before 799 was a close confidant of Ja far al Sadiq and his son Musa al Kazim died 799 who for some time was a follower of Abu al Khattab Imami heresiographers regarded him as the leader of a ghulat sect called the Mufaḍḍaliyya but it not certain whether this sect ever existed A number of important ghulat writings were attributed to him by later authors see below 38 Ishaq al Ahmar al Nakha i Edit Ishaq al Ahmar al Nakha i died 899 was the leader of a ghulat sect called the Isḥaqiyya Some writings were also attributed to him 39 Ibn Nusayr and al Khasibi Edit Main articles Ibn Nusayr al Khasibi and Alawites Ibn Nusayr died after 868 and al Khasibi died 969 were the two most important figures in the founding of Nusayrism called Alawism in the contemporary context the only ghulat sect that still exists today 40 Ghulat writings EditMother of the Book Umm al kitab Edit Main article Umm al kitab Shi i book The Umm al kitab Arabic أم الکتاب lit Mother of the Book is a syncretic Shi i work originating in the ghulat milieus of 8th century Kufa It was later transplanted to Syria by the 10th century Nusayris whose final redaction of the work was preserved in a Persian translation produced by the Nizari Isma ilis of Central Asia 41 The work only survives in Persian 42 It contains no notable elements of Isma ili doctrine 43 but given the fact that Isma ili authors starting from the 10th century were influenced by early ghulat ideas such as those found in the Umm al kitab 44 and especially given the influence of these ideas on later Tayyibi Isma ilism 45 some Isma ilis do regard the work as one of the most important works in their tradition 41 The work presents itself as a revelation of secret knowledge by the Shi i Imam Muhammad al Baqir 677 732 to his disciple Jabir ibn Yazid al Ju fi died c 745 750 46 Its doctrinal contents correspond to a large degree to what 9th 10th century heresiographers ascribed to various ghulat sects 46 with a particular resemblance to the ideas of the Mukhammisa 41 b It contains a lengthy exposition of the typical ghulat myth of the pre existent shadows Arabic aẓilla who created the world by their fall from grace as is also found in the Kitab al Haft wa l aẓilla attributed to al Mufaddal ibn Umar al Ju fi died before 799 46 Book of the Seven and the Shadows Kitab al Haft wa l aẓilla Edit The last paragraph of the Kitab al Haft wa l aẓilla from a manuscript of unknown provenance 47 Thus is finished the concealed book called the Book of the Seven which was a gift of grace from our lord Ja far al Sadiq peace be upon us from him It is called the Noble Book of the Seven because it reports about the beginning of creation and its origin about its ending and conclusion and about the translocation of souls from state to state in accordance with divine guidance and limitation Peace the end The Kitab al Haft wa l aẓilla Book of the Seven and the Shadows also known as Kitab al Haft al sharif Book of the Noble Seven Noble Book of the Seven or simply as Kitab al Haft Book of the Seven c 8th 11th century is an important ghulat text that was falsely attributed to al Mufaddal ibn Umar al Ju fi died before 799 It sets out in great detail the ghulat myth of pre existent shadows Arabic aẓilla who created the world by their fall from grace and who were imprisoned in material human bodies as punishment for their hubris 46 This theme of pre existent shadows d which also appears in other important ghulat works such as the Umm al kitab seems to have been typical of the early Kufan ghulat 46 Great emphasis is placed upon the need to keep the knowledge received from Ja far al Sadiq who is referred to in the work as mawlana 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 muʾminun 48 It involves such notions as the transmigration of souls tanasukh or metempsychosis and the idea that seven Adams exist in the seven heavens each one of them presiding over one of the seven historical world cycles adwar 49 This latter idea may reflect an influence from Isma ilism 48 where the appearance of each new prophet Adam Noah Abraham Moses Jesus Muhammad Muhammad ibn Isma il is likewise thought to initiate a new world cycle 50 The work consists of at least eleven different textual layers which were added over time each of them containing slightly different versions of ghulat concepts and ideas 51 The earliest layers were written in 8th 9th century Kufa perhaps partly by al Mufaddal himself or by his close associates Yunus ibn Zabyan and Muhammad ibn Sinan died 835 52 A possible indication for this is the fact that Muhammad ibn Sinan also wrote two works dealing with the theme of pre existent world creating shadows the Kitab al Aẓilla Book of the Shadows and the Kitab al Anwar wa ḥujub Book of the Lights and the Veils 53 Biographical sources also list several other 8th 9th century Kufan authors who wrote a Kitab al Aẓilla or Book of the Shadows 54 In total at least three works closely related to al Mufaddal s Kitab al Haft wa l aẓilla are extant all likely dating to the 8th or 9th century 55 Muhammad ibn Sinan s Kitab al Anwar wa ḥujub an anonymous work called the Kitab al Ashbah wa l aẓilla Book of the Apparitions and the Shadows e another anonymous work also called the Kitab al Aẓilla Book of the Shadows f Though originating in the milieus of the early Kufan ghulat the Kitab al Haft wa l aẓilla was considerably expanded by members of a later ghulat sect called the Nusayris who were active in 10th century Syria 56 The Nusayris were probably also responsible for the work s final 11th century form 57 Unlike most other ghulat works however the Kitab al Haft wa l aẓilla was not preserved by the Nusayris but by the Syrian Nizari Isma ilis 57 Like the Umm al kitab which was transmitted by the Nizari Isma ilis of Central Asia it contains ideas that are largely unrelated to Isma ili doctrine 58 but that did nevertheless influence various later Isma ili authors starting from the 10th century 59 Book of the Path Kitab al Ṣiraṭ Edit The Kitab al Ṣiraṭ Book of the Path is another purported dialogue between al Mufaddal ibn Umar al Ju fi and Ja far al Sadiq likely composed in the period between the Minor and the Major Occultation 874 941 57 g This work deals with the concept of an initiatory path Arabic ṣiraṭ 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 such typically ghulat ideas as tajallin the manifestation of God in human form tanasukh metempsychosis or transmigration of the soul maskh raskh metamorphosis or reincarnation into non human forms and the concept of creation through the fall of pre existent beings as in the Kitab al Haft wa l aẓilla see above 57 The philosophical background of the work is given by the late antique concept of a great chain of being 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 of 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 60 Those human beings who lack the proper religious knowledge and belief are reborn into other human bodies which are likened to shirts qumṣan sing qamiṣ that a soul can put on and off again This is called tanasukh or naskh But grave sinners are reborn instead into animal bodies maskh and the worst offenders are reborn into the bodies of plants or minerals raskh 61 h 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 62 This upwards path is represented as consisting of seven stages above that of humanity each located in one of the seven heavens 63 al Mumtaḥa the Tested first heaven al Mukhliṣ the Devout second heaven al Mukhtaṣṣ the Elect third heaven al Najib the Noble fourth heaven al Naqib the Chief fifth heaven al Yatim the Unique sixth heaven al Bab the Gate seventh heavenAt every degree the initiate receives the chance to gain a new level of hidden or occult baṭin 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 Bab or Gate i 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 64 This ability to manifest in human form the Gates in the seventh heaven share with God 60 The theme of a heavenly ascent through seven degrees of spiritual perfection is also explored in other ghulat works including the anonymous Kitab al Maratib wa l daraj Book of Degrees and Stages as well as various works attributed to Muhammad ibn Sinan died 835 Ibn Nusayr died after 868 and others 65 Notes Edit Although the singular of the Arabic word is ghalin غ ال often the term ghali is used instead Anthony 2018 Asatryan 2017 p 2 On the Mukhammisa see Asatryan 2000 2013 Edition of the Arabic text in Tamir amp Khalife 1960 Ghalib 1964 and Tamir 2007 critical edition of chapter 59 in Asatryan 2020 pp 296 298 discussion of the various editions in Asatryan 2017 pp 18 19 On this text see also Halm 1978b Halm 1981 continuation of Halm 1978 Capezzone 1999 Asatryan 2017 13 42 et passim According to Madelung 1963 p 181 followed by Halm 1978b p 220 and Asatryan 2012 p 145 the word haft is a Persian loanword meaning seven Madelung refers to the use of al haft and al haftiyya to designate sevenfold things like the seven Adams or the seven heavens in Tamir amp Khalife 1960 pp 125 128 130 cf Ghalib 1964 pp 163 167 171 Tamir 2007 pp 173 176 179 On this theme in general see also Capezzone 2017 On the anonymous Kitab al Ashbah wa l aẓilla see Asatryan 2015 On the anonymous Kitab al Aẓilla found in another work called the Kitab al Kursi see Asatryan 2016 pp 131 135 Edition of the Arabic text in Capezzone 1995 and Ibn ʿAbd al Jalil 2005 On this text see also Capezzone 1993 It is not to be confused with the similarly named Kitab al Ṣiraṭ by the 9th century ghulat author Ishaq al Ahmar al Nakha i died 899 see Asatryan 2000 2012a Asatryan 2017 p 200 s v Isḥaq Aḥmar al Nakhaʿi This is also a common theme in other ghulat texts The Kitab al Haft wa l aẓilla goes a little bit further than the Kitab al Ṣiraṭ also describing other forms of hierarchy within one class among humans female bodies rank below male ones and among animals inedible species rank below edible ones see Asatryan 2017 pp 152 153 On the concept of Bab in Shi ism see MacEoin 1988 2011 References Edit Asatryan 2017 p 11 Halm 2001 2012 On secrecy and dissociation see Asatryan 2017 pp 163 178 On the ghulat in general see Halm 2001 2012 Hodgson 1960 2007b Anthony 2018 On their cosmology and theology see Asatryan 2017 pp 137 161 See e g Tijdens 1977 Halm 1982 See e g Bayhom Daou 2003 Asatryan amp Burns 2016 Turner 2006 De Smet 2020 pp 303 304 307 308 The ghulat influences on Ja far ibn Mansur al Yaman s Kitab al Kashf are discussed by Asatryan 2020 The influence of these ideas was pervasive in Tayyibi Isma ilism see De Smet 2020 pp 320 321 Halm 2001 2012 On Ibn Nusayr see Friedman 2000 2010 Steigerwald 2010 On Alawism Nusayrism in general see Bar Asher 2003 Bar Asher amp Kofsky 2002 Friedman 2010 Ivanow 1936 Full Italian translation in Filippani Ronconi 1966 partial German translations in Tijdens 1977 Halm 1981 Halm 1982 Tamir amp Khalife 1960 New editions of the full text were published by Ghalib 1964 and Tamir 2007 and a critical edition of chapter 59 by Asatryan 2020 pp 196 198 Capezzone 1995 New edition by Ibn ʿAbd al Jalil 2005 Anthony 2018 For the texts see Abu Musa amp al Shaykh Musa 2006 2013 The first major study to take the newly available texts into account is Asatryan 2017 al Qaḍi 1976 pp 295 297 Anthony 2018 al Qaḍi 1976 p 297 Anthony 2018 al Qaḍi 1976 p 297 al Qaḍi 1976 pp 297 299 Nasr Seyyed Hossein Dagli Caner K Dakake Maria Massi Lumbard Joseph E B Rustom Mohammed eds 2015 The Study Quran A New Translation and Commentary New York HarperOne ISBN 978 0 06 112586 7 Pp 266 268 verse 4 171 Nasr et al 2015 pp 315 318 verses 5 72 77 Nasr et al 2015 pp 266 267 317 commentaries on 4 171 and 5 75 Nasr et al 2015 p 315 commentary on 5 72 Nasr et al 2015 p 317 commentary on 5 77 al Qaḍi 1976 pp 298 299 al Qaḍi 1976 p 300 Anthony 2018 On Abd Allah ibn Saba see the dedicated study by Anthony 2012 al Qaḍi 1976 p 300 Anthony 2018 al Qaḍi 1976 pp 300 301 al Qaḍi 1976 pp 305 315 al Qaḍi 1976 p 300 Anthony 2012 p 316 describes the earliest ghulat s the Sabaʾiyya s view of Ali as a type of messianism that was certainly tendentious from a religious point of view but that stopped short of regarding him as divine al Qaḍi 1976 pp 305 306 315 316 Anthony 2018 Anthony 2018 Anthony 2018 E g Asatryan 2017 p 26 27 See Halm 2001 2012 Hodgson 1960 2007a Walker 2011 See further Tucker William F Bayan ibn Sam an and the Bayaniyya in Tucker 2008 pp 34 51 See Halm 2001 2012 Madelung 1960 2007 Wasserstrom 1985 See further Tucker William F al Mughira ibn Sa id and the Mughiriyya in Tucker 2008 pp 52 70 Anthony 2018 See further Tucker William F Abu Mansur al Ijli and the Mansuriyya in Tucker 2008 pp 71 87 Halm 2001 2012 See further Tucker William F Abd Allah ibn Mu awiya and the Janahiyya in Tucker 2008 pp 88 108 Halm 2001 2012 Sachedina 1983 2012 Amir Moezzi 2013 Asatryan 2000 2012b Asatryan 2000 2012a Asatryan 2017 p 200 s v Isḥaq Aḥmar al Nakhaʿi On Ibn Nusayr see Friedman 2000 2010 Steigerwald 2010 On al Khasibi see Friedman 2008 2012 Friedman 2016 On Nusayrism in general see Bar Asher 2003 Bar Asher amp Kofsky 2002 Friedman 2010 a b c Daftary 2015 Persian text edited by Ivanow 1936 Full Italian translation by Filippani Ronconi 1966 Partial German translation by Tijdens 1977 German translation of some parts of the text in Halm 1981 pp 36 ff and Halm 1982 pp 113 ff Daftary 2015 De Smet 2020 p 303 Early Isma ili authors who adapted ghulat ideas include Ja far ibn Mansur al Yaman died c 957 see De Smet 2020 pp 303 308 and Abu Ya qub al Sijistani died after 971 see De Smet 2020 pp 304 307 308 De Smet 2020 pp 320 321 et passim a b c d e Halm 2001 2012 Photographic reproduction by Ghalib 1964 p 202 edited text on p 198 a b Gleave 2008 2012 Gleave 2008 2012 On tanasukh see further Asatryan 2017 pp 150 154 On the seven Adams see Asatryan 2017 pp 38 140 143 et passim On world cycles see Daftary 1994 2011 Gleave 2008 2012 In the Isma ili version of the doctrine of world cycles Muhammad is the initiator of the current penultimate cycle while Ja far al Sadiq s grandson Muhammad ibn Isma il the concealed and awaited initiator of the last cycle see Daftary 1994 2011 Asatryan 2017 p 16 Each layer is analyzed in detail by Asatryan 2017 pp 17 42 Asatryan 2000 2012b still only counted seven layers Asatryan 2017 p 61 Muhammad ibn Sinan s date is given by Halm 2001 2012 Asatryan 2017 p 63 Halm 1981 p 67 proposed Muhammad ibn Sinan who was a disciple of al Mufaddal as the author of the entire Kitab al Haft wa l aẓilla repeated in Halm 2001 2012 but this was rejected by Asatryan 2017 pp 64 65 Asatryan 2017 p 64 Asatryan 2017 pp 63 65 These three works are compared on pp 65 71 and tentatively dated to the 8th or 9th century on pp 72 78 Asatryan 2017 p 123 a b c d Asatryan 2000 2012b Halm 2001 2012 On the fact that the Umm al kitab originally also was unrelated to Isma ilism see De Smet 2020 p 303 Early Isma ili authors who adapted ghulat ideas include Ja far ibn Mansur al Yaman died c 957 see De Smet 2020 pp 303 308 the ghulat influences on Ja far ibn Mansur al Yaman s Kitab al Kashf are discussed by Asatryan 2020 and Abu Ya qub al Sijistani died after 971 see De Smet 2020 pp 304 307 308 The influence of these ideas was pervasive in Tayyibi Isma ilism see De Smet 2020 pp 320 321 et passim a b Asatryan 2017 p 145 Asatryan 2017 pp 150 151 Some other forms like waskh and faskh are described in the context of Nusayri works by Friedman 2010 p 106 Asatryan 2017 pp 145 147 Asatryan 2017 p 146 Asatryan 2017 p 147 Asatryan 2017 pp 145 149 On Ibn Nusayr see Friedman 2000 2010 Steigerwald 2010 Bibliography EditTertiary sources Edit Amir Moezzi Mohammad Ali 2013 Ḵaṭṭabiya In Yarshater Ehsan ed Encyclopaedia Iranica Anthony Sean W 2018 Ghulat extremist Shiʿis In Fleet Kate Kramer Gudrun Matringe Denis Nawas John Rowson Everett eds Encyclopaedia of Islam Three doi 10 1163 1573 3912 ei3 COM 27473 Asatryan Mushegh 2000 2012a Esḥaq Aḥmar Naḵaʿi In Yarshater Ehsan ed Encyclopaedia Iranica Asatryan Mushegh 2000 2012b Mofazzal al Joʿfi In Yarshater Ehsan ed Encyclopaedia Iranica Asatryan Mushegh 2000 2013 Moḵammesa In Yarshater Ehsan ed Encyclopaedia Iranica Bar Asher Meir M 2003 Noṣayris In Yarshater Ehsan ed Encyclopaedia Iranica Daftary Farhad 1994 2011 Dawr 1 In Yarshater Ehsan ed Encyclopaedia Iranica Daftary Farhad 2015 Omm al ketab In Yarshater Ehsan ed Encyclopaedia Iranica Friedman Yaron 2000 2010 Moḥammad b Noṣayr In Yarshater Ehsan ed Encyclopaedia Iranica Friedman Yaron 2008 2012 Ḵaṣibi In Yarshater Ehsan ed Encyclopaedia Iranica Friedman Yaron 2016 al Khaṣibi Abu ʿAbdallah In Fleet Kate Kramer Gudrun Matringe Denis Nawas John Rowson Everett eds Encyclopaedia of Islam Three doi 10 1163 1573 3912 ei3 COM 30574 Gleave Robert 2008 2012 Jaʿfar al Ṣadeq ii Teachings In Yarshater Ehsan ed Encyclopaedia Iranica Halm Heinz 1960 2007 Nuṣayriyya In Bearman P Bianquis Th Bosworth C E van Donzel E Heinrichs W P eds Encyclopaedia of Islam Second Edition doi 10 1163 1573 3912 islam COM 0876 Halm Heinz 2001 2012 Ḡolat In Yarshater Ehsan ed Encyclopaedia Iranica Hodgson Marshall G S 1960 2007a Bayan b Samʿan al Tamimi In Bearman P Bianquis Th Bosworth C E van Donzel E Heinrichs W P eds Encyclopaedia of Islam Second Edition doi 10 1163 1573 3912 islam SIM 1299 Hodgson Marshall G S 1960 2007b Ghulat In Bearman P Bianquis Th Bosworth C E van Donzel E Heinrichs W P eds Encyclopaedia of Islam Second Edition doi 10 1163 1573 3912 islam SIM 2517 Madelung Wilferd 1960 2007 al Mughiriyya In Bearman P Bianquis Th Bosworth C E van Donzel E Heinrichs W P eds Encyclopaedia of Islam Second Edition doi 10 1163 1573 3912 islam SIM 5322 MacEoin Denis M 1988 2011 Bab 1 In Yarshater Ehsan ed Encyclopaedia Iranica Sachedina Abdulaziz 1983 2012 Abu l Ḵaṭṭab Asadi In Yarshater Ehsan ed Encyclopaedia Iranica Steigerwald Diana 2010 Ibn Nuṣayr In Fleet Kate Kramer Gudrun Matringe Denis Nawas John Rowson Everett eds Encyclopaedia of Islam Three doi 10 1163 1573 3912 ei3 COM 23483 Walker Paul E 2011 Bayan b Samʿan In Fleet Kate Kramer Gudrun Matringe Denis Nawas John Rowson Everett eds Encyclopaedia of Islam Three doi 10 1163 1573 3912 ei3 COM 23708 S2CID 186185243 Secondary sources Edit al Qaḍi Wadad 1974 al Kaysaniyya fi l tarikh wa l adab Beirut Dar al ṯaqafa al Qaḍi Wadad 1976 The Development of the Term Ghulat in Muslim Literature with Special Reference to the Kaysaniyya In Dietrich Albert ed Akten des VII Kongresses fur Arabistik und Islamwissenschaft Abhandlungen der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Gottingen Philologisch historische Klasse Dritte Folge Nr 98 Gottingen Vandenhoeck amp Ruprecht pp 295 319 ISBN 9780860787105 OCLC 48256257 reprint in Kohlberg Etan ed 2003 Shi ism The Formation of the Classical Islamic World Vol 33 Burlington Ashgate pp 169 193 Amir Moezzi Mohammad Ali 2020 Les Imams et les Ghulat Nouvelles reflexions sur les relations entre imamisme modere et shiʿisme extremiste Shii Studies Review 4 1 2 5 38 doi 10 1163 24682470 12340053 S2CID 225742760 Adem Rodrigo 2021 Early Ismailism and the Gates of Religious Authority Genealogizing the Theophanic Secret of Early Esoteric Shiʿism Reason Esotericism and Authority in Shiʿi Islam 2 24 72 doi 10 1163 9789004465503 003 ISBN 9789004465503 S2CID 243417276 Anthony Sean W 2011 The Legend of ʿAbdallah ibn Sabaʾ and the Date of Umm al Kitab Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 21 1 1 30 JSTOR 23011519 Anthony Sean W 2012 The Caliph and the Heretic Ibn Sabaʾ and the Origins of Shiʿism Islamic History and Civilization Vol 91 Leiden Brill doi 10 1163 9789004216068 ISBN 978 90 04 20930 5 Asatryan Mushegh 2012 Heresy and Rationalism in Early Islam The Origins and Evolution of the Mufaḍḍal Tradition PhD diss Yale University Asatryan Mushegh 2015 An Early Shiʿi Cosmology Kitab al ashbaḥ wa l aẓilla and its Milieu Studia Islamica 110 1 80 doi 10 1163 19585705 12341311 Asatryan Mushegh 2016 Shiite Underground Literature Between Iraq and Syria The Book of Shadows and the History of the Early Ghulat In Langermann Y Tzvi Robinson Robert G eds Texts in Transit in the Medieval Mediterranean University Park Pennsylvania State University Press pp 128 161 ISBN 9780271071091 Asatryan Mushegh 2017 Controversies in Formative Shiʿi Islam The Ghulat Muslims and Their Beliefs London I B Tauris ISBN 9781784538958 Asatryan Mushegh 2019 An agenda for the study of early Shiʿi cosmologies In Trompf G Johnston J Mikkelsen G eds The Gnostic World Routledge Worlds Series New York Routledge pp 321 327 ISBN 9780367733124 Asatryan Mushegh 2020 Early Ismailis and Other Muslims Polemics and Borrowing in Kitab al Kashf In Mir Kasimov Orkhan ed Intellectual Interactions in the Islamic World The Ismaili Thread London I B Tauris pp 273 298 ISBN 978 1 83860 485 1 Asatryan Mushegh Burns Dylan M 2016 Is Ghulat Religion Islamic Gnosticism Religious Transmissions in Late Antiquity In Amir Moezzi Mohammad Ali De Cillis Maria De Smet Daniel Mir Kasimov Orkhan eds L Esoterisme shi ite ses racines et ses prolongements Shi i Esotericism Its Roots and Developments Bibliotheque de l Ecole des Hautes Etudes Sciences Religieuses Vol 177 Turnhout Brepols pp 55 86 doi 10 1484 M BEHE EB 4 01162 ISBN 978 2 503 56874 4 Bar Asher Meir M Kofsky Aryeh 2002 The Nusayri ʿAlawi Religion An Enquiry into its Theology and Liturgy Leiden Brill doi 10 1163 9789004453500 ISBN 978 90 04 12552 0 Bayhom Daou Tamima 2003 The Second Century Siʿite Ġulat Were They Really Gnostic Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies 5 13 61 doi 10 5617 jais 4571 Beinhauer Kohler Barbel 2004 Die Engelsturzmotive des Umm al Kitab Untersuchungen zur Tragerschaft eines synkretistischen Werkes der haretischen Schia In Auffarth Christoph Stuckenbruck Loren eds The Fall of the Angels Themes in Biblical Narrative Vol 6 Leiden Brill pp 161 175 doi 10 1163 9789047404330 010 ISBN 978 90 04 12668 8 S2CID 245788384 Buckley R P 1997 The Early Shiite Ghulah Journal of Semitic Studies 42 2 301 325 doi 10 1093 jss 42 2 301 Capezzone Leonardo 1993 Una nuova fonte per lo studio dell eterodossia islamica Il Kitab al ṣiraṭ attribuito a Mufaḍḍal b ʿUmar al Guʿfi Rivista degli studi orientali 67 3 4 265 273 JSTOR 41922961 Capezzone Leonardo 1999 Un aspetto della critica imamita alle tradizioni eterodosse il Kitab al haft wa l azilla e le molteplici redazioni di un Kitab al azilla Annali di Ca Foscari 38 3 171 193 Capezzone Leonardo 2002 La questione dell eterodossia di Mufaḍḍal ibn ʿUmar al Guʿfi nel Tanqiḥ al Maqal di al Mamaqani Oriente Moderno 21 1 147 157 doi 10 1163 22138617 08201010 JSTOR 25817817 Capezzone Leonardo 2017 Pre existence and Shadows A Gnostic Motif or a Literary One In Hassan Iyas Hassan ed La litterature aux marges du ʾadab Regards croises sur la prose arabe classique Beirut Marseille Diacritiques Editions Institut francais du Proche Orient pp 336 361 ISBN 979 10 97093 00 6 Capezzone Leonardo 2018 The Host of Maʿlathaya A contribution to the study of the Imami Shiite construction of orthodoxy Journal Asiatique 306 2 187 99 doi 10 2143 JA 306 2 3285611 Capezzone Leonardo 2020 The Solitude of the Orphan Ǧabir b Ḥayyan and the Shiite Heterodox Milieu of the Third Ninth Fourth Tenth Centuries Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 83 1 51 73 doi 10 1017 S0041977X20000014 S2CID 214044897 De Smet Daniel 2007 Scarabees scorpions cloportes et corps camphres Metamorphose reincarnation et generation spontanee dans l heterodoxie chiite In Vrolijk A Hogendijk J P eds O ye Gentlemen Arabic Studies on Science and Literary Culture in Honour of Remke Kruk Leiden Brill pp 39 54 doi 10 1163 ej 9789004157941 i 536 8 ISBN 978 90 04 15794 1 De Smet Daniel 2016 Les racines docetistes de l imamologie shi ite In Amir Moezzi Mohammad Ali De Cillis Maria De Smet Daniel Mir Kasimov Orkhan eds L Esoterisme shi ite ses racines et ses prolongements Shi i Esotericism Its Roots and Developments Bibliotheque de l Ecole des Hautes Etudes Sciences Religieuses Vol 177 Turnhout Brepols pp 87 112 doi 10 1484 M BEHE EB 4 01163 ISBN 978 2 503 56874 4 De Smet Daniel 2018 Le mythe des preadamites en islam chiite Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 6 3 252 280 doi 10 1163 2212943X 00603002 S2CID 243877005 De Smet Daniel 2020 The Intellectual Interactions of Yemeni Ṭayyibism with the Early Shiʿi Tradition In Mir Kasimov Orkhan ed Intellectual Interactions in the Islamic World The Ismaili Thread London I B Tauris pp 299 321 ISBN 978 1 83860 485 1 De Smet Daniel 2021 Le mal ne s enracine pas dans l instauration La question du mal dans le shi isme ismaelien Oriens 49 3 4 181 215 De Smet Daniel 2022 The city of Kufa the birthplace of Shiʿism and a center of debates about the delegation of divine powers tafwiḍ Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam 51 149 188 Filippani Ronconi Pio 1964 Note sulla soteriologia e sul simbolismo cosmico dell Ummu l kitab AION 14 1 111 134 Friedman Yaron 2010 The Nuṣayri ʿAlawis An Introduction to the Religion History and Identity of the Leading Minority in Syria Islamic History and Civilization Vol 77 Leiden Brill doi 10 1163 ej 9789004178922 i 328 ISBN 978 90 04 17892 2 Freitag Rainer 1985 Seelenwanderung in der islamischen Haresie Berlin Klaus Schwarz Verlag ISBN 9783922968443 Halm Heinz 1978a Kosmologie und Heilslehre der fruhen Isma iliya Eine Studie zur islamischen Gnosis Abhandlungen fur die Kunde des Morgenlandes Vol XLIV Wiesbaden Franz Steiner Halm Heinz 1978b Das Buch der Schatten Die Mufaḍḍal Tradition der Ġulat und die Ursprunge des Nuṣairiertums I Die Uberlieferer der haretischen Mufaḍḍal Tradition Der Islam 55 2 219 266 doi 10 1515 islm 1978 55 2 219 S2CID 160481806 Halm Heinz 1981 Das Buch der Schatten Die Mufaḍḍal Tradition der Ġulat und die Ursprunge des Nuṣairiertums II Die Stoffe Der Islam 58 1 15 86 doi 10 1515 islm 1981 58 1 15 S2CID 162219074 Halm Heinz 1982 Die islamische Gnosis Die extreme Schia und die ʿAlawiten Zurich and Munchen Artemis Verlag ISBN 978 3 7608 4530 2 Halm Heinz 2016 Le Livre des Ombres et le mythe de la creation In Amir Moezzi Mohammad Ali De Cillis Maria De Smet Daniel Mir Kasimov Orkhan eds L Esoterisme shi ite ses racines et ses prolongements Shi i Esotericism Its Roots and Developments Bibliotheque de l Ecole des Hautes Etudes Sciences Religieuses Vol 177 Turnhout Brepols pp 387 393 doi 10 1484 M BEHE EB 4 01177 ISBN 978 2 503 56874 4 Hameen Anttila Jaakko 2001 Ascent and Descent in Islamic Myth In Whiting Robert M ed Mythology and Mythologies Methodological Approaches to Intercultural Influences Proceedings of the Second Annual Symposium of the Assyrian and Babylonian Intellectual Heritage Project Held in Paris France October 4 7 1999 Helsinki Neo Assyrian Text Corpus Project pp 47 67 ISBN 9789514590498 OCLC 912739664 situates the Umm al kitab in its Mesopotamian context Hodgson M G S 1955 How Did the Early Shi a Become Sectarian Journal of the American Oriental Society 75 1 1 13 doi 10 2307 595031 JSTOR 595031 reprint in Kohlberg 2003 pp 3 15 Ivanow Wladimir 1932 Notes sur l Ummu l kitab des Ismaeliens de l Asie Centrale Revue des Etudes Islamiques 6 419 481 Madelung Wilferd 1963 Kitab al haft wa l aẓilla book review Der Islam 38 180 182 Modaressi Hossein 1993 Crisis and Consolidation in the Formative Period of Shiʿite Islam Princeton Darwin Press ISBN 9780878500956 Modaressi Hossein 2003 Tradition and Survival A Bibliographical Survey of Early Shiʿite Literature Oxford Oneworld ISBN 1 85168 331 3 Musa Matti 1987 Extremist Shiites The Ghulat Sects New York Syracuse University Press ISBN 978 0815637691 Radtke Bernd 1990 Iranian and Gnostic Elements in Early Taṣawwuf Observations concerning the Umm al Kitab In Gnoli Gherardo Panaino Antonio eds Proceedings of the first European Conference of Iranian Studies held in Turin September 7th 11th 1987 by the Societas Iranologica Europaea Volume 2 Middle and New Iranian Studies Rome Istituto italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente pp 519 529 ISBN 9788863230765 OCLC 956121455 Tendler Krieger Bella 2016 Abd Allah b Saba and the Role of the Nuṣayri Bab Rehabilitating the Heresiarchs of the Islamic Tradition In Amir Moezzi Mohammad Ali De Cillis Maria De Smet Daniel Mir Kasimov Orkhan eds L Esoterisme shi ite ses racines et ses prolongements Shi i Esotericism Its Roots and Developments Bibliotheque de l Ecole des Hautes Etudes Sciences Religieuses Vol 177 Turnhout Brepols pp 441 472 doi 10 1484 M BEHE EB 4 01181 ISBN 978 2 503 56874 4 Tucker William F 2008 Mahdis and Millenarians Shi ite Extremists in Early Muslim Iraq Cambridge Cambridge University Press doi 10 1017 CBO9780511512094 ISBN 9780511512094 reprint of four earlier papers published between 1975 and 1980 Turner Colin P 2006 The Tradition of Mufaḍḍal and the Doctrine of the Rajʿa Evidence of Ghuluww in the Eschatology of Twelver Shiʿism Iran 44 175 195 doi 10 1080 05786967 2006 11834685 JSTOR 4300708 S2CID 170603436 Wasserstrom Steve 1985 The Moving Finger Writes Mughira b Saʿid s Islamic Gnosis and the Myths of Its Rejection History of Religions 25 1 1 29 doi 10 1086 463019 S2CID 161366534 Wasserstrom Steve 1993 Sefer Yesira and Early Islam A Reappraisal Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy 3 1 1 30 doi 10 1163 105369994790231138 Wasserstrom Steve 1995 Between Muslim and Jew The Problem of Symbiosis under Early Islam Princeton Princeton University Press ISBN 0 691 03455 9 Primary sources Edit Alawite Heritage Series Abu Musa al Shaykh Musa eds 2006 2013 Silsilat al turath al ʿalawi Diyar ʿAql Lebanon Dar li Ajl al Maʿrifa OCLC 652937966 12 vols collection of early ghulat texts and texts from the medieval Nusayri Alawi tradition al Mufaddal Kitab al Haft wa l aẓilla Asatryan Mushegh 2020 Early Ismailis and Other Muslims Polemics and Borrowing in Kitab al Kashf In Mir Kasimov Orkhan ed Intellectual Interactions in the Islamic World The Ismaili Thread London I B Tauris pp 273 298 ISBN 978 1 83860 485 1 pp 196 198 contain a critical edition of chapter 59 Ghalib Muṣṭafa 1964 al Haft al Sharif Beirut Dar al Andalus OCLC 977409505 Tamir ʿArif Khalife Ignace Abdo 1960 Kitab al Haft wa l Aẓillat attribue a al Mufaḍḍal ibn ʻUmar al Ǧaʻfi rapportant les paroles de l Imam Ǧaʻfar ibn M aṣ Ṣadiq Beirut Impr Catholique OCLC 459827793 Tamir ʿArif 2007 1981 Kitab al haft wa l aẓilla Beirut Dar wa Maktabat al Hilal ISBN 978 9953 75 266 2 edition based on a different ms compared to Tamir amp Khalife 1960 al Mufaddal Kitab al Ṣiraṭ Capezzone Leonardo 1995 Il Kitab al Ṣiraṭ attribuito a Mufaḍḍal ibn ʿUmar al Guʿfi Edizione del ms unico Paris Bibliotheque Nationale Ar 1449 3 e studio introduttivo Rivista degli studi orientali 69 3 4 295 416 JSTOR 41880880 Ibn ʿAbd al Jalil al Munṣif 2005 Kitab al Ṣiraṭ Beirut Dar al Madar al Islami ISBN 9789959292636 OCLC 812186733 Anonymous Kitab al Ashbah wa l aẓilla Asatryan Mushegh 2015 An Early Shiʿi Cosmology Kitab al ashbaḥ wa l aẓilla and its Milieu Studia Islamica 110 1 80 doi 10 1163 19585705 12341311 Anonymous Kitab al usus Dandasi al Kanj Kitab al usus in Madkhal ila al maḏhab al ʿalawi al nuṣayri Irbil pp 73 156 Umm al kitab Filippani Ronconi Pio 1966 Ummu l kitab Introduzione traduzione e note di Pio Filippani Ronconi Napoli Istituto Universitario Orientale di Napoli ISBN 978 88 97278 43 6 OCLC 635942972 Italian translation Halm Heinz 1981 Das Buch der Schatten Die Mufaḍḍal Tradition der Ġulat und die Ursprunge des Nuṣairiertums II Die Stoffe Der Islam 58 1 15 86 doi 10 1515 islm 1981 58 1 15 S2CID 162219074 German translations of parts of the text on pp 36 ff Halm Heinz 1982 Die islamische Gnosis Die Schia und die ʿAlawiten Zurich and Munchen Artemis Verlag ISBN 978 3 7608 4530 2 German translations of parts of the text on pp 113 ff Ivanow Wladimir 1936 Ummu l kitab Der Islam 23 1 2 1 132 doi 10 1515 islm 1936 23 1 2 1 S2CID 211485267 edition of the Persian text Tijdens E F 1977 Der mythologisch gnostische Hintergrund des Umm al kitab Acta Iranica VII 241 526 OCLC 470066089 partial German translation Other al Majlisi Muhammad Baqir 1983 Biḥar al anwar al jamiʿa li durar akhbar al aʾimma al aṭhar Beirut Dar Iḥyaʾ al Turath al ʿArabi al Mufaddal s Ma yakun ʿinda ẓuhur al Mahdi in vol 53 pp 1 38 amp ḥadith al maʿrifa bi l nuraniyya in vol 26 Tamir ʿArif 1957 al Ḥikam al Jaʿfariyya li l Imam al Ṣadiq Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad Beirut al Maṭbaʿa al Kathulikiyya OCLC 23505958 transmitted by al Mufaddal Further reading EditAsatryan Mushegh 2017 Controversies in Formative Shiʿi Islam The Ghulat Muslims and Their Beliefs London I B Tauris ISBN 9781784538958 Halm Heinz 1982 Die islamische Gnosis Die extreme Schia und die ʿAlawiten Zurich and Munchen Artemis Verlag ISBN 978 3 7608 4530 2 Halm Heinz 2001 2012 Ḡolat In Yarshater Ehsan ed Encyclopaedia Iranica Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ghulat amp 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