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The city of Kūfa and the debates about the delegation of divine powers (tafwīḍ)
The city of Kūfa, which can be considered as the birthplace of Shīʿism, was in the first centuries of Islam the center of debates about tafwīḍ, the delegation by God of His powers to His first creature — the Prophet, the Imam or Christ, all preexistent to the creation of the world — or, in a more restricted form limited to human actions, to the whole mankind. These debates went beyond the doctrina...
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The city of Kūfa, which can be considered as the birthplace of Shīʿism, was in the first centuries of Islam the center of debates about tafwīḍ, the delegation by God of His powers to His first creature — the Prophet, the Imam or Christ, all preexistent to the creation of the world — or, in a more restricted form limited to human actions, to the whole mankind. These debates went beyond the doctrinal borders between sects and movements, as they were fixed by heresiographers and the different Islamic orthodoxies that were
progressively established. Our enquiry deals with Shīʿīs of all convictions — Imāmīs, Zaydīs, Ismāʿīlīs, ghulāt such as Nuṣayrīs and other related groups — Khārijīs, Muʿtazilīs and Sunnīs, but also Karaite Jews, all sharing similar doctrines of delegation, in what seems to be an attempt to overcome the pitfalls of Qurʾānic monotheism (God’s omnipotence versus human liberty and responsibility; divine transcendence versus anthropomorphism).
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2021
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The demon in potentiality and the devil in actuality
The Kitāb al-Kašf and the Kitāb al-Šaǧara, two 4th/10th century Ismaili works, share a dualistic vision of the world, marked by a continuous struggle between good and evil, light and darkness. Evil is identified with the exoteric religion deprived of its esoteric dimension. It is caused by a satanic pair, typified by Abū Bakr and ʿUmar b. al-Ḫaṭṭāb, the archetypes of the antagonists (aḍda...
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The Kitāb al-Kašf and the Kitāb al-Šaǧara, two 4th/10th century Ismaili works, share a dualistic vision of the world, marked by a continuous struggle between good and evil, light and darkness. Evil is identified with the exoteric religion deprived of its esoteric dimension. It is caused by a satanic pair, typified by Abū Bakr and ʿUmar b. al-Ḫaṭṭāb, the archetypes of the antagonists (aḍdād) opposing the Prophets and their Imams, from Adam to the advent of the Resurrector (al-Qāʾim). Through a personalized reading of selected verses from the Qurʾān, the authors of both works interpret the rejection of ʿAlī’s legacy by the first two caliphs as the paradigm of all opposition against the Imām’s esoteric knowledge leading to salvation. When ʿUmar represents the principle of evil in se, Abū Bakr stands for the weakness of the largest part of mankind, eager to be induced into error. By introducing into this doctrine the Aristotelian distinction between potentiality and actuality, the Kitāb al-Šaǧara develops an encompassing theory about the dynamics of evil.
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2022
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29
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Ismāʿīlī theology
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2016
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32
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"Le mal ne s’enracine pas dans l’instauration"
As is the case with other Shiʿi traditions, Ismailism developed a dualistic worldview ruled by the opposition between good and evil, light and darkness. However, it is a rather moderate form of dualism, as the principle of evil is not coexistent with the Creator or has not been created by Him. Evil only appears at a lower level of the cosmic hierarchy. This doctrine has been elaborated in four dif...
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As is the case with other Shiʿi traditions, Ismailism developed a dualistic worldview ruled by the opposition between good and evil, light and darkness. However, it is a rather moderate form of dualism, as the principle of evil is not coexistent with the Creator or has not been created by Him. Evil only appears at a lower level of the cosmic hierarchy. This doctrine has been elaborated in four different ways in the history of Ismailism. We first meet a gnostic thesis where evil is the result of a rebellion in the intelligible world; second, there is a Neoplatonic thesis where evil and imperfection are caused by the process of emanation itself; and third, we distinguish a philosophical thesis where the generation of evil by “second intention” belongs to the rule of divine providence. Finally, Ṭayyibī authors in the 12th century made a synthesis of the three positions.
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2021
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Le mythe des préadamites en islam chiite
In apparent contradiction with the story of Adam as told in the Bible and the Qurʾān, Shiite tradition accepts the existence of several Adams (usually seven) prior to « our Adam », the father of mankind. Each Adam opened an era during which the earth was inhabited by « pre-Adamites », rational creatures preceding the appearance of the human species. In this paper we study the evolution of this myt...
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In apparent contradiction with the story of Adam as told in the Bible and the Qurʾān, Shiite tradition accepts the existence of several Adams (usually seven) prior to « our Adam », the father of mankind. Each Adam opened an era during which the earth was inhabited by « pre-Adamites », rational creatures preceding the appearance of the human species. In this paper we study the evolution of this myth of the pre-Adamites, starting from traditions attributed to the first Imams and their use in writings stemming from the Shiite milieu in Kūfa ; then we move to pre-Fatimid and Fatimid Ismailism, Druze and Nuṣayrī literature, before ending with the Ṭayyibī Ismailis. Although there are many differences in details, all these movements share a common myth, which was elaborated with a remarkable continuity from the first centuries of Islam until today. This myth is rooted in the sources of Shīʿism, which seem close to Manichaeism.
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2015
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La Providence divine (al-ʿināya l-ilāhiyya) comme instrument de la rédemption universelle (ḫalāṣ) dans l’ismaélisme fatimide et ṭayyibite
Le concept de ʿināya ilāhiyya (“providence divine”) a été introduit dans l’ ismaélisme par le philosophe fatimide Ḥamīd al-Dīn al-Kirmānī, qui l’ a probablement emprunté à al-Fārābī tout en lui donnant un sens spécifiquement ismaélien. Ainsi, dans le Kitāb Rāḥat al-ʿaql, al-Kirmānī présente la providence comme le principe qui régit le monde sensible dans le but d’ actualiser l’ intellect en puissa...
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Le concept de ʿināya ilāhiyya (“providence divine”) a été introduit dans l’ ismaélisme par le philosophe fatimide Ḥamīd al-Dīn al-Kirmānī, qui l’ a probablement emprunté à al-Fārābī tout en lui donnant un sens spécifiquement ismaélien. Ainsi, dans le Kitāb Rāḥat al-ʿaql, al-Kirmānī présente la providence comme le principe qui régit le monde sensible dans le but d’ actualiser l’ intellect en puissance ou hayūlā, le deuxième émané procédant de l’ auto-intellection de l’ Intellect universel. La providence veille à la rédemption universelle, une notion qui sera pleinement développée dans le Kanz al-walad d’ al-Ḥāmidī, le texte fondateur de l’ ismaélisme ṭayyibite. Proche du manichéisme, al-Ḥāmidī conçoit l’ univers sensible comme une gigantesque machine pilotée par la providence afin de nettoyer les parcelles de lumière souillées au contact avec les ténèbres de la matière, et d’ effacer ainsi les séquelles d’ un drame cosmique primordial.
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2018
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48
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La taqiyya et le jeûne du Ramadan
This article explores the concepts of taqiyya and kitmān as they were developed by Ismāʿili authors of the 10th and 11th centuries. In the present «cycle of occultation» «true knowledge» is veiled under the wordings of revealed texts and laws. Only the imams and their disciples have access to this knowledge, but they are supposed to keep it secret. This obligation of secrecy is part of the oath of...
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This article explores the concepts of taqiyya and kitmān as they were developed by Ismāʿili authors of the 10th and 11th centuries. In the present «cycle of occultation» «true knowledge» is veiled under the wordings of revealed texts and laws. Only the imams and their disciples have access to this knowledge, but they are supposed to keep it secret. This obligation of secrecy is part of the oath of allegiance that every Ismāʿili has to take prior to his initiation. But even the imams were forced to act with care and in secret. At certain moments, they had to go into occultation (satr, istitār), hiding their true identity and their abode. The practice of taqiyya and kitmān is presented as the hidden sense of the Qurāʾnic prescriptions about fasting during Ramadan.
Breaking the fast illegally means transgressing the rules of taqiyya, whereas ʿĪd al-fiṭr symbolizes the final abolition of taqiyya. Fāṭimid authors interpret the rise of ʿAbd Allah al- Mahdi and the foundation of the Fatimid state in Ifrīqiya as a sign announcing ʿĪd al-fiṭr, which will occur with the advent of the Qāʾim on the day of the Great Resurrection. By opening a new «cycle of manifestation» he will abrogate all exoteric religions and laws.
Knowledge will be directly accessible, without ẓāhir nor bāṭin. Hence, there will be no longer a need to observe taqiyya or kitmān. As Ismāʿilism is a messianic movement with strong political aims, it makes no sense to distinguish prudential and esoteric aspects of secrecy in its theory of taqiyya.
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2013
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