Al-Risāla al-Rāstbāshiyya d’Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn b. Ḥamdān al-Khaṣībī, élaborateur de la religion nuṣayrite

Abstract

Abstract Al-Risāla al-Rāsbāshiyya by Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn b. Ḥamdān al-Khaṣībī (d. 345/957 or 358/969) is believed by Nuṣayrīs to be the most significant doctrinal composition of the Nuṣayrī religion, and its author is regarded as perhaps the most eminent figure in the formative period of this religion. In this work, dedicated to the Buwayhid ruler ʿIzz al-Dawla Bakhtiyār, nicknamed rāstbāsh (ruled between 357/967 and 367/978), al-Khaṣībī discusses major tenets of Nuṣayrī doctrine such as the secret of divinity; the plethora of entities emanating from it; the cyclical manifestation of the deity incarnated in human figures throughout history; the tension between the divine nature of ʿAlī, as the ultimate manifestation of God, and its human nature; the attitude towards ʿAlī’s opponents from among the companions of the Prophet MuÎammad; and the doctrine of transmigration of the soul in its variegated forms. Although mentioned in a number of Nuṣayrī texts, al-Risāla al-Rāstbāshiyya was known to us only partially. It is only with the recent publication of this work that awareness of it has begun to grow. This article is a preliminary step towards exploring its importance for the study of early Nuṣayrī doctrine.