Epistles of Wisdom

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The Epistles of Wisdom
رَسَائِل ٱلْحِكْمَة
Rasāʾil al-Ḥikma
ISBN
978-90-429-1943-3

The Epistles of Wisdom (

Arabic: رَسَائِل ٱلْحِكْمَة, romanizedRasāʾil al-Ḥikma) is a corpus of sacred texts and pastoral letters by teachers of the Druze faith native to the Levant, which has currently close to a million practitioners.[1] The text revolves around the acknowledgement and worship of al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah as the last and definite incarnation of the One God, a belief which Druze define as 'Monotheism' (Arabic: Tawhid).[2][3][4][5]

The Druze canon

The full Druze canon or Druze scripture includes the

philosophers.[6] The Druze claim that an understanding of these is necessary, but that their al-ʻUqqāl (عقال), ("the Knowledgeable Initiates") have access to writings of their own that supersede these.[7][8]

The Epistles of Wisdom are also referred to as the Kitab al-Hikma (Book of Wisdom) and al-Hikma al-Sharifa. Other ancient Druze writings include the Rasa'il al-Hind (Epistles of India) and the previously lost (or hidden) manuscripts such as al-Munfarid bi-Dhatihi and al-Sharia al-Ruhaniyya as well as others including

Druze manuscripts are generally written in a

in much of the writings.

The Druze religious establishment's interpretation of

esoteric
nature of the faith led to the restriction of access, inquiry and investigation from even their own uninitiated Druze known as al-Juhhāl (جهال) ("the Ignorant") or jismaniyeen ("the Material Ones"). Such restrictions aimed to prevent possible damage to the individual and community if the writings were interpreted incorrectly, since the study of the Epistles of Wisdom is better accompanied by commentary texts and guidance from the higher ranking Druze Uqqal ("Knowledgeable Ones").

Description

The Epistles of Wisdom were written in the

Contents

The epistles contain philosophical discourses about

Nusayri" epistle and the fifth volume of the Epistles. Most of the Epistles are written in a post-classical language, often showing similarities to Arab Christian authors.[12][13]

The texts provide insight into Druze beliefs about the incorporation of the

Translations

A

Antoine Isaac, Baron Silvestre de Sacy in Expose de la religion des Druzes.[15][16]

Another edition of the Rasa'il al-hikma was published by

pseudonymous writers in Lebanon in 1986 as part of the highly controversial "The Hard Truth" series which included several anti-Druze, anti-Alawite and anti-Islamic books and was banned by the authorities for containing misleading information and hate speech, also an unpublished dissertation by David Bryer was prepared on the first two volumes.[7] A French translation and critical examination of these first two volumes (epistles one to forty) from the Epistles of Wisdom was published in 2007 by Daniel de Smet who has provided a doctrinal introduction, notes, a description and inventory of the manuscripts and studies of their contents and characteristics.[2]

Quotes

On the concept of God, Hamza ibn Ali wrote

If human minds would be given the knowledge of God without any familiarization and gradation, those human minds would swoon and fall down.[17]

...the originator of the perfect Aql. He virtually bound within it all the created beings, so that nothing might be outside of it.[18]

On the concept of reincarnation and the universal soul,

Baha'uddin wrote

O you who are distracted, how can he who is devoid of his corporeal means obtain knowledge?
O you who are heedless, how can he who abandoned his sensual faculty reach ignorance?
And O you who are perplexed, how can the souls exist by themselves?
And how can they settle in their origin, and yet have a life and procure their pleasures?
[19]

On the concept of

Baha'uddin argued

Believing in the non-existence negates existence as such. It is a way that leads to unbelief, atheism, and denial.[20]

Regarding the secrecy of the epistles of wisdom, Hamza ibn Ali wrote

Protect divine knowledge from those who do not deserve it and do not withhold it from those who are deserving.
He who withholds divine knowledge from those who are worthy of it, will indeed desecrate what he has been entrusted with and will commit sacrilege against his religion;
and the conviction of him who divulges it to those who are not deserving will be diverted from following the truth.
Scripture must therefore be protected from those who do not deserve it.
[21]

However he did remark

Protect yourselves from ignorance with the help of the knowledge of the unity of our Lord...[22]

With regards the unity of God and how to remain in a state of peace of mind and contentment (rida (Arabic: رضا)) and find knowledge of true love, Hamza ibn Ali left the message

I enjoin you to safeguard your fellow men. In safeguarding them your faith reaches perfection.[23]

References

External links