Ghulat

The (Template:Langx)Template:Efn were a branch of early Shi'a Islam. The term mainly refers to a wide variety of extinct Shi'i sects active in 8th- and 9th-century Kufa in Lower Mesopotamia, and who, despite their sometimes significant differences, shared several common ideas. These common ideas included the attribution of a divine nature to the Imams, metempsychosis (the belief that souls can migrate between different human and non-human bodies), a particular gnostic creation myth involving pre-existent 'shadows' (azilla) whose fall from grace produced the material world, and an emphasis on secrecy and dissociation from outsiders. They were named ghulat by other Shi'i and Sunni Muslims for their purportedly "exaggerated" veneration of Muhammad (c. 570–632) and his family, most notably Ali (c. 600–661) and his descendants, the Imams.

The ideas of the ghulat have at times been compared to those of the late antique gnostics, but the extent of this similarity has also been questioned. Some ghulat ideas, such as the notion of the Occultation () and return (raj'a) of the Imam, have been influential in the development of Twelver Shi'ism. 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. The only ghulat sect still in existence today are the Alawites, historically known as Nusayris after their founder Ibn Nusayr (died after 868).

A relatively large number of ghulat writings have survived to this day. Previously, only some works preserved in Isma'ilism were available to scholars such as the Umm al-Kitab (Mother of the Book, 8th–11th centuries), which was published in 1936, the Kitab al-Haft wa-l-azilla (Book of the Seven and the Shadows, 8th–11th centuries) published in 1960, and the Kitab al-Siraṭ (Book of the Path, c. 874–941) published in 1995. However, between 2006 and 2013 numerous ghulat texts that have been preserved in the Alawite tradition were published in the Alawite Heritage Series.

History

Origins (680–700)

File:Qur'an manuscript Surat al-Nisa'. (2).tif

A bilingual fragment of surah al-Nisa, which discusses diviners.

Like Shi'i Islam itself, the origins of the ghulat lie in the pro-Alid movements of the late 7th century that fought against the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750) to bring one of Ali's descendants to power. The earliest use of the term ghulat is found in several reports about the followers of Mukhtar al-Thaqafi, leader of a revolt against the Umayyads on behalf of Ali's son Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, which was part of the Second Fitna, 680–692. According to these reports, some of al-Thaqafi's followers organized regular meetings in the houses of various Kufan women to listen to diviners prophesying about future events.

The followers who attended these meetings were denounced as ghulat by other followers of al-Thaqafi. The Arabic verb ghala 'to exaggerate; to transgress the proper bounds', was in broader use at the time to denounce perceived 'un-Islamic' activities, which may include soothsaying (kahana). But the use of the term here could hardly have been in reference to this, since al-Thaqafi himself often practiced soothsaying, and was respected for this by all of his followers.

Rather, the reason for the use of the term ghulat for this subgroup of al-Thaqafi's followers may be more specifically related to the Quranic use of the word ghala ('exaggerate'). It occurs in the Quran twice, in the surahs an-Nisa (4:171) and al-Ma'idah (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.

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.”

The "People of the Book" mentioned here refers to Christians, who are castigated for ascribing a divine status to the prophet Jesus. He was not a "child" of God, but "only a messenger" who like all normal human beings "ate food". The Christian claim that "God is the Messiah, son of Mary" is characterized in 5:72 and 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. The Quranic concept of 'exaggeration' in both cases refers to 'exaggerating' the status of a prophet as being more-than-human.

It seems probable that the followers of al-Thaqafi who gathered in the Kufan houses were likewise denounced by their colleagues for having exaggerated the status not of Jesus, but of Ali. There had been an earlier movement in Kufa called the Saba'iyya, named after the South Arabian Jewish convert Abd Allah ibn Saba', who according to some reports had insisted that Ali was not dead and would return (raj'a) to seek revenge upon those that opposed him.

Since remnants of the Saba'iyya still existed in the time of al-Thaqafi, and since one of the Kufan women at whose house the group denounced as ghulat gathered belonged to the Saba'iyya, it may well be that this group also belonged to the Saba'iyya. After Mukhtar al-Thaqafi died in 687, his movement sometimes came to be referred to as the Saba'iyya, and when Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, the Alid whom al-Thaqafi's movement had supported, also died in 700, his followers, the Kaysaniyya, claimed that ibn al-Hanafiyya had gone into hiding (), and that he would return before the Day of Judgment as the Mahdi to establish a state of righteousness and justice.

It appears that in its earliest usage, the term ghulat referred to those Shi'a who taught the dual doctrine of the Occultation () and return (raj'a) of the Imam, which other Muslims perceived as an 'exaggerated' view of the Imam's status. Later sources attributed 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. Rather, the 8th-/9th-century need to attribute these ideas to the earliest ghulat probably arose from the fact that, while groups like the Saba'iyya had traditionally been known as , their actual core ideas of occultation and return had become standard tenets of Twelver and Isma'ili Shi'ism, and so other ideas needed to be ascribed to them to justify the ghulat label.

Nevertheless, the later ghulat did probably originate from these early groups, and some glimpses of later ideas may sometimes be found, for example the belief in metempsychosis, which was attributed to early 7th-century ghulat leaders such as the women 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. 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.

Uprisings and development of doctrine (700–750)

Bayan ibn Sam'an al-Tamimi

Bayan ibn Sam'an (died 737) was the leader of a ghulat sect called the Bayaniyya.

al-Mughira ibn Sa'id

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).

Abu Mansur al-Ijli

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

Abd Allah ibn Harb

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

Political quietism and diffusion of sects (750–)

Abu al-Khattab

Abu al-Khattab al-Asadi (died 755) was the leader of a ghulat sect called the Khattabiyya 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.

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 Mufaddaliyya, but it not certain whether this sect ever existed. A number of important ghulat writings were attributed to him by later authors (see below).

Ishaq al-Ahmar al-Nakha'i

Ishaq al-Ahmar al-Nakha'i (died 899) was the leader of a ghulat sect called the Ishaqiyya. Some writings were also attributed to him.

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 ghulat sect that still exists today.

writings

Mother of the Book (Umm al-kitab)

The Umm al-kitab (Template:Langx) 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. The work survives only in Persian. It contains no notable elements of Isma'ili doctrine, 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, and especially given the influence of these ideas on later Tayyibi Isma'ilism, some Isma'ilis do regard the work as one of the most important works in their tradition.

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

Book of the Seven and the Shadows (Kitab al-Haft wa-l-azilla)

File:Kitab al-Haft al-sharif (al-Mufaddal) - photograph of manuscript as shown in ed. Mustafa Ghalib 1964 (cropped).png

The last paragraph of the Kitab al-Haft wa-l-azilla, from a manuscript of unknown provenance:Template:Pb"Thus is finished the concealed book called the Book of the Seven, which was a gift of grace from our master 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-azilla (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),Template:Efn written in the 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' (azilla) who created the world by their fall from grace, and who were imprisoned in material human bodies as punishment for their hubris. This theme of pre-existent shadows,Template:Efn which also appears in other important ghulat works such as the Umm al-kitab, seems to have been typical of the early Kufan ghulat.

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 master', from falling into the wrong hands. This secret knowledge is entrusted by Ja'far to al-Mufaddal but is reserved only for true believers (mu'minun).

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). This latter idea may reflect an influence from Isma'ilism, 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.

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. 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).

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-Azilla ('Book of the Shadows') and the Kitab al-Anwar wa-hujub (Book of the Lights and the Veils). Biographical sources also list several other 8th-/9th-century Kufan authors who wrote a Kitab al-Azilla. In total, at least three works closely related to al-Mufaddal's Kitab al-Haft wa-l-azilla are extant, all likely dating to the 8th or 9th century:

1. Muhammad ibn Sinan's Kitab al-Anwar wa-hujub
2. an anonymous work called the Kitab al-Ashbah wa-l-azilla (Book of the Apparitions and the Shadows)Template:Efn
3. another anonymous work also called the Kitab al-Azilla ('Book of the Shadows').Template:Efn

Though originating in the milieus of the early Kufan ghulat, the Kitab al-Haft wa-l-azilla was considerably expanded by members of a later ghulat sect called the Nusayris, who were active in 10th-century Syria. The Nusayris were probably also responsible for the work's final 11th-century form. Unlike most other ghulat works, the Kitab al-Haft wa-l-azilla was not preserved by the Nusayris, but by the Syrian Nizari Isma'ilis. 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, but influenced various later Isma'ili authors starting from the 10th century.

Book of the Path (Kitab al-Sirat)

The Kitab al-Sirat (Book of the Path) is another purported dialogue between al-Mufaddal ibn Umar al-Ju'fi and Ja'far al-Sadiq, likely composed during the Minor Occultation (874–941).Template:Efn This work deals with the concept of an initiatory 'path' (sirat) 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 (the manifestation of God in human form), tanasukh (metempsychosis or transmigration of the soul), / (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-azilla, see above).

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.

Those human beings who lack the proper religious knowledge and belief are reborn into other human bodies, which are likened to 'shirts' (qumsan, sing. qamis) that a soul can put on and off again. This is called tanasukh or naskh. Grave sinners are reborn instead into animal bodies (), and the worst offenders are reborn into the bodies of plants or minerals ().Template:Efn

Believers who perform good works and advance in knowledge travel upwards on the ladder, putting on ever more pure and luminous 'shirts' or bodies, ultimately reaching the realm of the divine. This upwards path is represented as consisting of seven stages above that of humanity, each located in one of the seven heavens:

1. : the Tested, first heaven
2. : the Devout, second heaven
3. : the Elect, third heaven
4. : the Noble, fourth heaven
5. : the Chief, fifth heaven
6. : the Unique, sixth heaven
7. : the Gate, seventh heaven

At every degree the initiate receives the chance to gain a new level of 'hidden' or 'occult' (batin) knowledge. If the initiate succeeds at internalizing this knowledge, they may ascend to the next degree. If 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')Template:Efn are granted wondrous powers such as making themselves invisible, or seeing and hearing all things –including a beatific vision of God– without having to look or listen. Most notably, they are able to manifest themselves to ordinary beings in the world of matter, by taking on the form of a human and appearing to anyone at will. This ability to manifest in human form the 'Gates' in the seventh heaven share with God.

The theme of a heavenly ascent through seven degrees of spiritual perfection is also explored in other 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.

Bibliography

Secondary sources

• (reprint in )
• Template:Cite thesis
• (situates the in its Mesopotamian context)
• (reprint in )
• (reprint of four earlier papers published between 1975 and 1980)

Primary sources

Alawite Heritage Series

• (12 vols., collection of early texts and texts from the medieval Nusayri-Alawi tradition)

al-Mufaddal,

• (pp. 196–198 contain a critical edition of chapter 59)
• (edition based on a different ms. compared to )

al-Mufaddal,

Anonymous,

Anonymous,

• (Italian translation)
• (German translations of parts of the text on pp. 36 ff.)
• (German translations of parts of the text on pp. 113 ff.)
• (edition of the Persian text)
• (contains a partial German translation)

Other

• (al-Mufaddal's in vol. 53, pp. 1–38 & in vol. 26)
• (transmitted by al-Mufaddal)

Further reading

• Template:Encyclopædia Iranica Online