al-Mufaddal ibn Umar al-Ju'fi

Al-Mufaddal was a non-Arab mawlā ("client") of the Ju'fa, a tribe belonging to the South-Arabian Madhhij confederation. Apart from the fact that he was a money-changer based in Kufa (Iraq), very little is known about his life. He probably managed the financial affairs of the Shi'ite Imams Ja'far al-Sadiq (c. 700–765) and Musa al-Kazim (745–799), who resided in Medina (Arabia). Using his professional network, he actively raised funds for the Imams in Medina, thus also playing an important role as an intermediary between the Imams and the Shi'ite community. His date of death is unknown, but he died before Musa al-Kazim, who died in 799.

At some point during his life, al-Mufaddal's relations with Ja'far al-Sadiq soured because of his adherence to the teachings of the Kufan ghulāt leader Abu al-Khattab (died 755–6). Abu al-Khattab had been a designated spokesman of Ja'far, but in c. 748 he was excommunicated by the Imam for his 'extremist' or 'exaggerated' (ghulāt) ideas, particularly for having declared Ja'far to be divine. However, al-Mufaddal later recanted and cut of all contact with the Khaṭṭabiyya (the followers of Abu al-Khattab), leading to a reconciliation with Ja'far.

This episode was understood in widely different ways by later Shi'i authors. On the one hand, early Imami (i.e., proto-Twelver Shi'i) heresiographers report the existence of a ghulāt sect named after him, the Mufaḍḍaliyya, who would have declared Ja'far to be God and al-Mufaddal his prophet or Imam. It is not certain whether the Mufaḍḍaliyya really ever existed, and if they did, whether they really held the doctrines attributed to them by the heresiographers. Nevertheless, al-Mufaddal was also highly regarded by the members of other ghulāt sects such as the Mukhammisa, and several of the writings attributed to him contain ghulāt ideas. He was even accused in some hadith reports of having tried to contaminate Ja'far's eldest son Isma'il with the ideas of Abu al-Khattab. In addition, most works attributed to al-Mufaddal were preserved by the Nusayris, a ghulāt sect that survives to this day and that sometimes regarded al-Mufaddal as a Bāb (an official deputy of the Imam and a "gateway" to his secret knowledge).

On the other hand, later Twelver Shi'i sources often insist that al-Mufaddal never gave in to heresy, and they often emphasize that it was al-Mufaddal who was appointed by Ja'far to lead the Khaṭṭabiyya back to the right path. Some of the works attributed to al-Mufaddal, like the Kitab al-Ihlīlaja and the Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal, explicitly refute those who would deny the exclusive oneness (tawḥīd) of God. These works may have been written in order to rehabilitate al-Mufaddal within the Twelver tradition and to prove his reliability as a hadith transmitter. But even among Twelver scholars there was dissension. For example, while al-Shaykh al-Mufid (c. 948–1022) praised al-Mufaddal as a learned person and a trustworthy companion of the Imams, al-Najashi (c. 982–1058) and Ibn al-Ghada'iri (fl. first half of the 11th century) denounced him as an unbelieving heretic.

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

Content

The Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla (Book of the Seven and the Shadows), also known as Kitāb al-Haft al-sharīf (Noble Book of the Seven) or simply as Kitāb al-Haft (Book of the Seven), 8th–11th centuries, is perhaps the most important work attributed to al-Mufaddal. It sets out in great detail the ghulāt myth of the pre-existent "shadows" (Arabic: aẓilla) whose fall from grace led to the creation of the material world. This theme of pre-existent shadows seems to have been typical of the 8th-century Kufan ghulāt: also appearing in other early ghulāt works such as the Umm al-kitāb, it may ultimately go back to Abd Allah ibn Harb (d. after 748).

Great emphasis is placed throughout the work on the need to keep the knowledge received from Ja'far al-Sadiq, who is referred to 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). It involves notions such 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. 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.

A central element of the Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla is the creation myth involving pre-existent "shadows", which also occurs in many other ghulāt works with slightly different details. According to this myth, the first created beings were human souls who initially dwelt in the presence of God in the form of shadows. When the shadows disobeyed God, he created a veil (ḥijāb) in which he concealed himself as a punishment. Then God created the seven heavens as a dwelling place for the disobedient souls, according to their sin. In each of the heavens God also created bodies from his own light for the souls who arrived there, and from the souls' disobedience he created the Devil. Finally, from the offspring of the Devil God created the bodies of animals and various other sublunary entities (masūkhiyya).

Composition and legacy

The Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla 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. 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 shadows: the Kitāb al-Aẓilla (Book of the Shadows) and the Kitāb al-Anwār wa-ḥujub (Book of the Lights and the Veils). Shi'i bibliographical sources also list several other 8th/9th-century Kufan authors who wrote a Kitāb al-Aẓilla or Book of the Shadows. 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:

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

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 (now called the Alawites), who were active in 10th-century Syria. The Nusayris were probably also responsible for the work's final 11th-century form. However, the Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla was not preserved by the Nusayris, but by the Syrian Nizari Isma'ilis. Like the Umm al-kitāb, another ghulāt work that was transmitted by the Nizari Isma'ilis of Central Asia, it contains ideas which –despite being largely unrelated to Isma'ili doctrine– influenced various later Isma'ili authors starting from the 10th century.

Kitāb al-Ṣirāṭ (Book of the Path)

The Kitāb al-Ṣirāṭ (Book of the Path) is another purported dialogue between al-Mufaddal and Ja'far al-Sadiq, likely composed in the period between the Minor and the Major Occultation (874–941). 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 typical ghulāt ideas like 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 from grace of pre-existent beings (as in the Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla, 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 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' (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). 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. This upwards path is represented as consisting of seven stages above that of humanity, each located in one of the seven heavens:

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") 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 (tajallin), by taking on the form of a human and appearing to anyone at will. This ability is shared between the "Gates" in the seventh heaven and God, who also manifests himself to the world by taking on a human form.

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. In the 9th/10th-century works attributed to the Shi'i alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan, the seven degrees corresponding to the seven heavens (themselves related to the seven planets) are replaced with fifthy-five degrees carrying similar names (including al-Muʾmin al-Mumtaḥā, al-Najīb, al-Naqīb, al-Yatīm, al-Bāb). These fifthy-five degrees correspond to the fifthy-five celestial spheres alluded to by Plato in his Timaeus and mentioned by Aristotle in his Metaphysics.

Other ghulāt works

• al-Risāla al-Mufaḍḍaliyya (Mufaddali Epistle) is a brief dialogue between al-Mufaddal and Ja'far al-Sadiq of unclear date and origin. It strongly resembles the Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla and the Kitāb al-Ṣirāṭ in doctrine and terminology. Its main subject is the classical theological question of the relationship between the one transcendent God (al-maʿnā, lit. 'the meaning') on the one hand, and his many attributes (ṣiffāt) and names (asmāʾ) on the other.
• Mā yakūn ʿinda ẓuhūr al-Mahdī (What Will Happen at the Appearance of the Mahdi) is a lengthy apocalyptic text about the state of the world during the end times, just before the return (rajʿa) of the Mahdi. Its earliest known version is preserved in a work by the Nusayri author al-Khasibi (died 969), but the text likely goes back to the 9th century and perhaps even to al-Mufaddal himself. Though mainly dealing with the actions that the Mahdi will undertake to render justice to the oppressed, the work also contains references to mainstream Shi'i ideas such as temporary marriage contracts (mutʿa), as well as to the ghulāt idea of world cycles. It has been argued that the conceptualization of rajʿa in this and similar 8th/9th-century ghulāt texts has influenced the 10th-century development of the Twelver Shi'i doctrine on the return of the twelfth and 'hidden' Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi.
• Kitāb Mā iftaraḍa Allāh ʿalā al-jawāriḥ min al-īmān (Book on the Faith that God has Imposed on the Bodily Members), also known as the Kitāb al-Īmān wa-l-islām (Book of Faith and Submission) and perhaps identical to the Risālat al-Mayyāḥ (Epistle of the Swagger) mentioned by the Twelver Shi'i bibliographer al-Najashi (c. 982–1058), presents itself as a long letter from Ja'far al-Sadiq to al-Mufaddal. It was preserved by the Imami (i.e., proto-Twelver) scholar al-Saffar al-Qummi (died 903). Likely written as a reaction to the negative portrayals of the ghulāt by Imami heresiographers, it refutes the typical accusation of the ghulāt's purported licentiousness and sexual promiscuity. It also contains a reference to the obscure idea, likewise found in the Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla but attributed here to Abu al-Khattab (died 755–6), that religious commandments and restrictions are 'men' (rijāl), and that to know these 'men' is to know religion.

Two of the treatises attributed to al-Mufaddal, the Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal and the Kitāb al-Ihlīlaja, differ from other treatises attributed to al-Mufaddal by the absence of any content that is specifically Shi'i in nature. Though both were preserved by the 17th-century Shi'i scholar Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi (died 1699), the only element connecting them to Shi'ism is their ascription to Ja'far al-Sadiq and al-Mufaddal. Their content appears to be influenced by Mu'tazilism, a rationalistic school of Islamic speculative theology (kalām). Often transmitted together in the manuscript tradition, they may be regarded as part of an attempt to rehabilitate al-Mufaddal among Twelver Shi'is, to whom al-Mufaddal was important as a narrator of numerous hadiths from the Imams Ja'far al-Sadiq and his son Musa al-Kazim. Both works were also known to other Twelver scholars such as al-Najashi (c. 982–1058), Ibn Shahrashub (died 1192), and Ibn Tawus (1193–1266).

Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal (al-Mufaddal's Tawhid)

The Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal (lit. 'Declaration by al-Mufaddal of the Oneness of God') sets out to prove the existence of God based on the argument from design (also called the teleological argument). The work consists of a series of lectures about the existence and oneness (tawḥīd) of God presented to al-Mufaddal by Ja'far al-Sadiq, who is answering a challenge made to him by the self-declared atheist Ibn Abi al-Awja'. In four "sessions" (majālis), Ja'far argues that the cosmic order and harmony which can be detected throughout nature necessitates the existence of a wise and providential creator. The Twelver Shi'i bibliographer al-Najashi (c. 982–1058) also refers to the work as the Kitāb Fakkir (lit. 'Book of Think'), a reference to the fact that Ja'far often begins his exhortations with the word fakkir (think!).

The Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal is not an original work. Instead, it is a revised version of a work also attributed to the famous Mu'tazili litterateur al-Jahiz (died 868) under the title Kitāb al-Dalāʾil wa-l-iʿtibār ʿalā al-khalq wa-l-tadbīr (Book on the Proofs and Contemplation of Creation and Administration). The attribution of this work to al-Jahiz is probably spurious as well, although the original was likely written in the 9th century. Compared to pseudo-Jahiz's Kitāb al-Dalāʾil, the Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal adds an introduction that sets up a frame story involving al-Mufaddal, Ibn Abi al-Awja', and Ja'far al-Sadiq, as well rhymed praises of God at the beginning of each chapter, and a brief concluding passage.

Scholars have espoused various views on the ultimate origins of this work. According to Melhem Chokr, the versions attributed to al-Mufaddal and to al-Jahiz are both based on an unknown earlier work, with the version attributed to al-Mufaddal being more faithful to the original. In Chokr's view, at some point the work must have been translated by a Syriac author into the Arabic from a Greek original, perhaps from an unknown Hermetic work. However, both Hans Daiber and Josef van Ess identify the original work on which pseudo-Jahiz's Kitāb al-Dalāʾil was based as the Kitāb al-Fikr wa-l-iʿtibār (Book of Thought and Contemplation), written by the 9th-century Nestorian Christian Jibril ibn Nuh ibn Abi Nuh al-Nasrani al-Anbari. However this may be, Jibril ibn Nuh's Kitāb al-Fikr wa-l-iʿtibār, the Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal and pseudo-Jahiz's Kitāb al-Dalāʾil are only the three earliest among many extant versions of the work: adaptations were also made by the Nestorian Christian bishop Elijah of Nisibis (died 1056), by the Sunni mystic al-Ghazali (died 1111), and by the Andalusian Jewish philosopher Bahya ibn Paquda (died first half of 12th century).

The Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal/Kitāb al-Dalāʾil contains many parallels with Syriac Christian literature, especially with the commentaries on the Hexameron (the six days of creation as described in Genesis) written by Jacob of Edessa (c. 640–708) and Moses bar Kepha (c. 813–903), as well as with Job of Edessa's encyclopedic work on natural philosophy called the Book of Treasures (c. 817). Its teleological proof of the existence of God—based upon a discussion of the four elements, minerals, plants, animals, meteorology, and the human being—was likely inspired by pseudo-Aristotle's De mundo (On the Universe, 3rd/2nd century BCE), a work also used by the Syriac authors mentioned above. In particular, the Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal/Kitāb al-Dalāʾil contains the same emphasis on the idea that God, who already in pseudo-Aristotle's De mundo is called "one", can only be known through the wisdom permeating his creative works, while his own essence (kunh) remains hidden for all.

The idea that contemplating the works of nature leads to a knowledge of God is also found in the Quran. However, in the case of the Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal/Kitāb al-Dalāʾil, the idea is set in a philosophical framework that clearly goes back on Hellenistic models. Apart from pseudo-Aristotle's De mundo (3rd/2nd century BCE), there are also many parallels with Cicero's (106–43 BCE) De natura deorum, especially with the Stoic views on teleology and divine providence outlined in Cicero's work. Some of the enemies cited in the work are Diagoras (5th century BCE) and Epicurus (341–270 BCE), both reviled since late antiquity for their alleged atheism, as well as Mani (c. 216–274 or 277 CE, the founding prophet of Manichaeism), a certain Dūsī, and all those who would deny the providence and purposefulness (ʿamd) of God.

Kitāb al-Ihlīlaja (Book of the Myrobalan Fruit)

The Kitāb al-Ihlīlaja (Book of the Myrobalan Fruit) is another work in which al-Mufaddal asks Ja'far al-Sadiq to present a proof of the existence and oneness of God in response to those who openly profess atheism. In comparison with the Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal, the frame story here is less well integrated into the main text, which despite being written in the form of an epistle does not directly address al-Mufaddal's concerns about the appearance of people who would publicly deny the existence of God. In the epistle itself, the author (presumed to be Ja'far al-Sadiq) recounts his meeting with an Indian physician, who contended that the world is eternal and therefore does not need a creator. Taking the myrobalan fruit (perhaps the black myrobalan or Terminalia reticulata, a plant used in Ayurveda) that the Indian physician was grinding as a starting point for contemplation, the author of the epistle succeeds in convincing the physician of the existence of God. The dialectical style of the debate is typical of early Muslim speculative theology (kalām). Sciences like astrology and medicine are presented as originating from divine revelation. Melhem Chokr has proposed the 8th-century scribe (kātib) and speculative theologian Muhammad ibn Layth as the original author of the Kitāb al-Ihlīlaja, based on similarities with other works attributed to Ibn Layth, and on the attribution to him in Ibn al-Nadim's (c. 932 – c. 995 or 998) Fihrist of a work called Kitāb al-Ihlīlaja fī al-iʿtibār (Book of the Myrobalan Fruit on Contemplation).

Some other works attributed to, or transmitted by, al-Mufaddal are still extant:

• The Waṣiyyat al-Mufaḍḍal (Testament of al-Mufaddal) is a short text purporting to be al-Mufaddal's testament to the Shi'is of Kufa. The testament itself only contains a rather generic exhortation to piety and proper religious conduct, but it is followed by a paragraph in which Ja'far al-Sadiq reproaches the Kufan Shi'is for their hostility towards al-Mufaddal, exonerating his disciple from all blame. The text may very well be authentic, though it may also have been attributed to al-Mufaddal by later authors seeking to rehabilitate him.
• The Duʿāʾ samāt, also called the Duʿāʾ Shabbūr, is a prayer (duʿāʾ) attributed to Ja'far al-Sadiq, supposedly transmitted from Ja'far by al-Mufaddal and later by Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Amri (died 917 or 918), the second deputy of the Hidden Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi during the Minor Occultation (874–941). It is a revised version of an originally Talmudic invocation that was used by Jews to cast off robbers and thieves. It was apparently in use among Muslims during the time of Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Amri, who approved of this practice but said that he had a "fuller" version handed down from the Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq. This version is nearly identical to the version preserved in the Talmud, only adding the names of the prophet Muhammad and some of his family members.
• The Riwāyat al-ruzz wa-mā fīhi min al-faḍl is treatise attributed to al-Mufaddal on the virtue of rice.
• al-Ḥikam al-Jaʿfariyya (Ja'farian Aphorisms) is a collection of moral aphorisms (ḥikam) attributed to Ja'far al-Sadiq and transmitted by al-Mufaddal.

There are also some works attributed to, or transmitted by, al-Mufaddal that are mentioned in other sources but are now lost:

• Kitāb ʿIlal al-Sharāʾiʿ (Book of the Causes of Religious Laws)
• Kitāb Yawm wa-layla (Book of Day and Night)
• Kitāb (Book), a notebook containing hadiths purportedly recorded by al-Mufaddal

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Primary sources

Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla

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• Ghālib, Muṣṭafā (1964). al-Haft al-Sharīf. Beirut: Dār al-Andalus. OCLC 977409505.
• Tāmir, ʿĀrif; Khalifé, Ignace Abdo (1960). Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-'Aẓillat, attribué à al-Mufaḍḍal ibn ʻUmar al-Ǧaʻfī, rapportant les paroles de l'Imām Ǧaʻfar ibn M. aṣ-Ṣādiq. Beirut: Impr. Catholique. OCLC 459827793.
• Tāmir, ʿĀrif (2007) [1981]. Kitāb al-haft wa-l-aẓilla. Beirut: Dār wa-Maktabat al-Hilāl. ISBN 978-9953-75-266-2. (edition based on a different ms. compared to Tāmir & Khalifé 1960)

Kitāb al-Ṣirāṭ

• Capezzone, Leonardo (1995). "Il Kitāb al-Ṣirāṭ attribuito a Mufaḍḍal ibn ʿUmar al-Ğuʿfī: Edizione del ms. unico (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale Ar. 1449/3) e studio introduttivo". Rivista degli studi orientali. 69 (3–4): 295–416. JSTOR 41880880.
• Ibn ʿAbd al-Jalīl, al-Munṣif (2005). Kitāb al-Ṣirāṭ. Beirut: Dār al-Madār al-Islāmī. ISBN 9789959292636. OCLC 812186733.

Other

• Abū Mūsā; al-Shaykh Mūsā, eds. (2006). Silsilat al-turath al-ʿalawī. Vol. 6: al-Majmūʿa al-Mufaḍḍaliyya. Diyār ʿAql (Lebanon): Dār li-Ajl al-Maʿrifa. OCLC 652937966.
• al-Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir (1983). Biḥār al-anwār al-jāmiʿa li-durar akhbār al-aʾimma al-aṭhār. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī. (Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal in vol. 3, pp. 57–151; Kitāb al-Ihlīlaja in vol. 3, pp. 152–198; Mā yakūn ʿinda ẓuhūr al-Mahdī in vol. 53, pp. 1–38)
• Tāmir, ʿĀrif (1957). al-Ḥikam al-Jaʿfariyya, li-l-Imām al-Ṣādiq Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad. Beirut: al-Maṭbaʿa al-Kāthūlīkiyya. OCLC 23505958.