Z A N D A Q
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زندقه
The Pillar of Light, a Manichean concept in Ismaili theology?
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The Column of Light According to Early Imamism Ancient Imami sources transmit a series of traditions according to which the Imam is connected to God by a pillar of light. This pillar seems to have two distinct but complementary functions. First, it appears in the context of the miraculous birth of the Imams, described by numerous traditions. At the moment of an Imam's birth, a pillar of light is erected, directly connecting God or His Throne to the newborn. A kind of umbilical cord that will remain in place throughout his life, this pillar of light—invisible to the eyes of the uninitiated—infuses the Imam's soul with knowledge of all things. Ga'far al-Sadiq is reported to have said in this regard: "When he [the Imam] appears on earth, [God] raises up a pillar of light for him through which he sees the actions of men." The light transmitted by the pillar thus confers upon the Imam his supernatural knowledge However, this pillar is not the sole prerogative of Shiite imams. A pillar of light also appeared at the birth of Seth (the imam of Adam) and the Prophet Abraham. According to a tradition narrated by Pseudo-Mas'udi, when God wished to bring forth the Prophet Muhammad, He drew a drop of water from beneath His Throne, brought it down, and placed it upon one of the fruits of the earth. The Prophet's father ate this fruit before uniting with his wife Amina, who became pregnant. After forty days, a sound was heard in her womb; at the end of four months, the Quranic verse was written on the fetus's shoulder: "The word of your Lord has been fulfilled in truth and justice. None can alter His words. He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing" (6:115). At the moment of his birth, a column of light was erected for him, through which he saw all the actions of men. Moreover, and this is its second main function, the column of light serves as a channel for the transmission of the "Muhammadian light" (nür muhammadī) in an unbroken lineage of prophets and imams. Ancient Imamism, in fact, conveys a whole set of traditions that speak of the pre-existence of the Prophet Muhammad and the "people of his house" (ahl al-bayt): 'Ali, Fatima, al-Hasan, and al-Husayn. Even before the creation of the world, God is said to have created them as luminous appearances (ašbāh) whose light infused, cycle after cycle, into the human bodies of the prophets and imams. Thus, Muhammad is said to have declared one day: We were silhouettes of light, until God wished to create our forms; He transformed us into a pillar of light and cast us into the loins of Adam; then, He made us pass through the loins of fathers and the wombs of mothers without us being touched by the defilement of associating partners with Him or by any adultery due to infidelity; and when He made us reach the loins of 'Abd al-Muttalib [common grandfather of the Prophet and 'Alī], He divided the light in two and placed one half in the loins of 'Abd Allah [the father of the Prophet] and the other half in those of Abū Tālib [the uncle of the Prophet and the father of 'Alī]; Āmina [the mother of the Prophet] received in her womb the half that was due to me and gave birth to me; Similarly, Fatima, daughter of Asad [the mother of 'Ali], received within her the half that belonged to 'Ali and gave birth to him. God then returned the pillar [of light] to me, and I conceived Fatima; likewise, He returned it to 'Ali, and he conceived al-Hasan and al-Husayn [...] Thus this light will be transmitted from imam to imam until the Day of Resurrection. These traditions concerning the pillar of light, although included in later collections, did not lead to any theoretical development within Twelver Shi'ism. Likely suspected of "exaggeration" (ġuluww) and therefore heresy by Twelver scholars, whose theology was closer to Sunnism and Mu'tazilism, they were not explored by them. The idea that divine light is infused through this pillar into the body and mind of the prophets and imams, who thus become "divine guides," could only offend the sensibilities of a Shi'ism that sought to conform to the generally accepted norms of Islam. Moreover, Ismaili authors of the Karmath and Fatimid persuasions, who are usually much further removed from these norms than their Twelver colleagues, also seem to ignore the pillar of light. Several reasons could explain this silence. Although the majority of traditions relating to the pillar of light are attributed to the early Shiite imams (the 5th, Muhammad al-Baqir and especially the 6th, Ja'far al-Sadiq), also recognized by the Ismailis, the earliest authors who report them (al-Shafar al-Qummi and al-Kulayni) are transmitted only by the Twelvers and do not belong to the Ismaili tradition.10 However, a deeper and more decisive reason seems to me to be doctrinal in nature. As we have seen, the pillar of light directly links God to the prophet or the imam. Now, such a closeness is incompatible with the radical apophaticism of Ismailism Since the Ismaili God is completely inaccessible to his creatures, he established the Universal Intellect, which becomes the ultimate source not only of the emanation of the universe, but also of inspiration (ta'yīd) and influx. (mādda) which are infused into the prophets and imams.¹¹ In other words, the “divine” principle of which they are the bearers does not emanate from God, but from his first creation: the Intellect. Therefore, the Fatimid author Hamid al-Din al-Kirmānī (d. c. 411/1021) calls any doctrine which maintains that the light or spirit of God was infused into the body of Muhammad, 'Alī, or any other imam unbelief (kufr).12  The Pillar of Light in Tayyibite Ismailism The pillar of light appears in Ismailism with the Kitāb Kanz al-walad of Ibrāhīm b al-Husayn al-Hamidi (d. 557/1162), who, in the current state of our documentation, appears to be the founder of the Tayyib system, upon which all subsequent authors depend. Active in Yemen as the dā'ī mutlaq of a hidden imam, successor to al-Tayyib – the presumed son of the Fatimid caliph-imam al-Amir (d. 524/1130) – al-Hamidī adopted the cosmo-logical model elaborated by al-Kirmānī in his Rahat al-'Aql: the transcendent, ineffable, and unknowable God established the Intellect, from which simultaneously emanate an Intellect in actuality and an Intellect in potentiality; from the Intellect in actuality proceed seven other Intellects in actuality, forming a set of ten Intellects corresponding to the celestial spheres. In this system, which al-Kirmānī had borrowed from al-Fārābī¹³, al-Hamidī introduces the theme of a fault (hati'a) committed by one of the hypostases of the intelligible world, which caused its fall (hubut), engendered darkness, and brought about the condensation of the particles of light, emanating from its essence, into a compact matter. Clearly, al-Hamidī drew inspiration on this point from the Risāla al-Ğāmi'a, generally attributed to the Ihwān al-Şafa' and which he quotes extensively, attributing it to the "eminent person" (al-šahs al-fādil), one of the "hidden imams" prior to the advent of the Fatimids.¹⁴ By weaving this theme of primordial error and fall into al-Kirmānī's cosmology, al-Hamidī arrives at the following schema. Although the first Intellect is incapable of comprehending its Creator and possesses all the characteristics of the Quranic God, it professes the oneness (tawhid) of the unknown Founder (mubdi) and denies its own divinity. The second Intellect follows it down this path, but the third, blinded by pride, refuses to acknowledge the precedence of the second and professes the tawhid of the first, thus confusing it with the Creator. This error causes its fall: it is surpassed by seven other Intellects in actuality and finds itself in the tenth and final rank of the intelligible world. Prefiguring through his fall the fate of earthly Adam, as recounted in the Bible and the Quran, the tenth Intellect assumes the role of the “spiritual Adam” (al-Adam al-rūhānī). Awakened from his torpor, he repents and asks God for forgiveness. But, in the meantime, the damage has been done. During his fall, particles of light emanating from his luminous essence were so darkened that they left the intelligible world to coagulate into solid matter. Aided by the other Intellects, the spiritual Adam becomes the demiurge (mudabbir) of the sensible world: from the matter generated by his fall, he produces the celestial bodies, minerals, plants, animals, and humankind, solely for the purpose of liberating light from its material prison. To accelerate this process of redemption, he sends celestial messengers: the prophets and the imams.<sup>15</sup> In this vast system, the column of light plays a decisive and central role. In order to define its function precisely, I analyzed the following works, whose authors do not hesitate to copy, sometimes verbatim, their predecessors: Ibrahim ibn al-Husayn al-Hamidī, Kitāb Kanz al-Walad 16; Muhammad ibn Tahir al-Hāritī (d. 584/1188), Kitāb al-Anwār al-latīfa; 'Alīb. Muhammad ibn al-Walid (d. 612/1215), Risalat al-Idah wa-l-tabyīn 18; Idem, Kitāb al-dahīra fi l-haqiqa 19; 'Ali b. Hanzala (d. 626/1229), Diyā' al-hulum of misbah al-'ulum 20; al-Husayn ibn 'Alīb. Muhammad ibn al-Walid (d. 667/1268), Risalat al-Mabda' wa-l-ma'ad 21; Idris 'Imad al-Din (m. 872/1468), Kitāb Zahr al-ma'ānī22; Anonymous (19th century?), Masā'il mağmu'a min al-haqā'iq al-'aliyya23. It emerges from these works that the column of light, "imperceptible to the eyes and whose magnitude and sublimity thoughts cannot comprehend24," functions as a kind of "elevator" which, on the one hand, brings the saving light down to earth and, on the other, raises the liberated particles of light back up to their celestial abode. The Descent of Divine Light Although I found no mention in these Tayyibite works of the Imami traditions examined in the first part of this article, the descending movement of the "elevator" fulfills the two functions we noted therein: the column of light infuses divine light into the body of the Imam and other religious dignitaries; together, it confers upon them the saving knowledge by which they can liberate other souls. According to al-Hamidī, a column of light stands between God and the Imam: That which is diffused (al-sārī) is the column said to be between the Imam and his Creator, a column of light that brings forth revelation (wahy) throughout the cycles, during the Imam's day and night, during his waking and sleeping [...] What is diffused is also the rope (habl), one end of which is said to be in the hand of God and the other in the hands of His servants. This is the meaning (ma'nā) of the union of this light which diffuses in every place (maqām) 26, without interruption even for the blink of an eye, and by which one perceives what is in the upper world and in the lower world [...]. It is the spirit of holiness (rūh al-quds) which proceeds from the first limit, which is the command (amr), the cause of causes, the first being [i.e., the first Intellect]. This is what is diffused into all beings; each receives it, according to its capacity for reception and the portion allotted to it. By it is moved that which is in motion, and it is this that beings desire [...]. This light unites in particular with each one who deserves the rank of manifestation, which is the second limit 27. This dense text clearly reveals that the pillar of light continuously provides prophets, imams, and members of the da'wa (Islamic mission) with revelation—namely, knowledge of the realities of the intelligible and sensible world (any interruption being inconceivable in Ismaili doctrine). It is the "spirit of holiness" that infuses the souls of the divine messengers and enables them to fulfill their soteriological function: helping the faithful reach "the rank of manifestation," the "second limit," the "second birth," or "second perfection"—that is, a spiritual regeneration that will allow purified souls to be definitively freed from their bodily attachments. However, compared to the Imami traditions, the function of the pillar of light is considerably expanded, in that it also transmits the influx (madda) that guarantees the sustenance of the sensible world and prevents it from descending into chaos. The pillar thus becomes the instrument of divine providence (al-'ināya al-ilāhiyya) 28, from which all beings on earth benefit at different levels, according to their merits and hierarchical rank The pillar of light is the rope by which God restrains His creatures to prevent their annihilation. Since Ismailism is radically opposed to any form of anthropomorphism, it is clear that al-Hamidī uses the expression "a rope in God's hands" metaphorically. Nevertheless, the question arises as to whether the pillar of light originates from God or from the First Intellect. Although our author's statements are not always unambiguous on this point, he seems to favor the second option, closely following al-Kirmānī's doctrine: revelation and the influx "proceed from the first limit, which is the command, the cause of causes, the first being," terms borrowed from the Rāhat al-'aql where they designate the First Intellect.29 Indeed, in another passage of the Kanz al-walad, al-Hamidī identifies the column of light with: [...] the knowledge ('ilm) that the first Intellect knows, by which it is active. It is the essence and form of the Intellect and the secondary perfection. Thus, the hudud [the dignitaries of the da'wa] report that knowledge is the spirit of holiness, that it is the command of God Most High which represents the secondary perfection for the one who unites with it.30 In other words, the pillar of light transmits the science of the First Intellect, which is perfect science, to the prophets and imams, who transmit it to the believers, enabling them in turn to access the Second Perfection.³¹ But an unbridgeable abyss separates God from the First Intellect. Barely a generation after al-Hamidī, Muḥammad b. Tahir al-Hāritī bridges this abyss by having the pillar of light emanate directly from God. He writes, in fact: The pillar of light [...] is the science that unites from God Most High to the First Intellect; then, from this one, it unites to the Second Intellect that follows it; then, it unites from [the second] to the Third. Then, it spreads to the other Intellects until the Tenth, the demiurge of the natural world [...] From this tenth Intellect, this column unites with the eminent person who is made up of the body of the establishment (al-ğutta al-ibdā'iyya)32; then, from this person, it extends to all his dignitaries, according to the succession of their ranks, and then to all the Responders (mustağīb) [i.e., the lowest rank in the Ismaili hierarchy, that of the neophyte]. This column is what unites with each maqām during the nights and days. It is said to unfold towards each imam. It is the knowledge that flows from God Most High to all of his dignitaries and the Responders of his da'wa [...]. It is said to be divine providence and divine power [...]. It is said that this is science spreading, light bursting forth, spirit (rūh) and speech (kalima), as well as the entirety of the forms of spiritual and corporeal dignitaries (hudud), and those who follow them, from the First Intellect to the Responder: all are united with it. 33. While copying this passage from al-Haritī, al-Husayn b. al-Walīd says even more explicitly that the source (asl) of inspiration (ta'yīd) and influx (mādda), emanating from the column of light to the First Intellect and so on, is "He Whom the boldness of thoughts cannot reach" (man la tağāsara nahwahu l-hawatir): the unknowable Founder. 34. 'Alī b. al-Walīd expresses himself in the same sense: This column proceeds from the Supreme Hidden (ġayb al-ġuyūb) to its establishment (ibdā) and its noble veil (hiğāb) [i.e., the first Intellect or first being established]; then, it passes from the establishment to that which follows it [i.e., the second Intellect or first being emanated]; then, from the emanation (inbi'at), it extends to that which follows it. It is thus connected to every inferior being by that which is superior to it and proceeds from every eminent being to that which follows it in nobility and eminence, until it is united with the Imam of the time.<sup>35</sup> We are faced with a complete reversal from Fatimid Ismailism, according to which emanation, inspiration, and influx flow exclusively from the First Intellect, the latter being the ultimate principle of providence.36 Through the pillar of light, the Tayyibites strengthen the bonds between God and his creatures, but at the same time they develop an Imamology that moderate Shiites would call Guluww: the light borne by the divine messengers ultimately comes from God and not from his first creature, the First Intellect. Visibly troubled by this perspective, an anonymous disciple questions his master about the pillar of light: he had understood that it stands as an intermediate hypostasis between the Hidden and the First Intellect. The master denies this in terms that leave no room for ambiguity: There is nothing between the first established and his Most High Establisher, whether it be light or anything else What you have heard concerning this is that the First Being (al-sābiq) [i.e., the first Intellect], when he preceded the members of his species in professing the unity and oneness (tawhid) of his Founder, received from his Founder a divine influx (mādda ilāhiyya), through which he attained knowledge of what has been and what will be. This influx permeates the essence of the Founder and carries it, so that there is no difference between it [the influx] and it [the essence]. Rather, he is it and it is him (huwa hiya wa hiya huwa). The same is true of knowledge, which unites with each one who learns it: when it reaches his soul and the soul carries it, there is no longer any difference between the knowledge and the soul that carries it. This divine influx spreads from the First Instaor to the Intellects of the world of Instauration that are inferior to it and to the Intellects of the world of Nature. It is the column of light that spreads into what lies between the Intellects and the First Instaor, except that between the Hidden Most High and its Instaor there is nothing. 37 This descent of the influx through the column of light and its infusion into the souls of the divine messengers makes possible the process of redemption by which the particles of light imprisoned in the darkness of matter will be progressively freed  The Ascending Path and the Magnetism of the Column of Light According to Tayyibism, the sensible world was generated by the demiurge (the tenth Intellect or spiritual Adam) in order to separate particles of light (souls) from the darkness of matter (bodies) and allow their ascent to the intelligible world. This purification of souls is accomplished through the influx and knowledge transmitted by the column of light to the prophets and imams of the various cycles, and then to the dignitaries of their respective da'wa, who in turn infuse it into the souls of their disciples. The souls liberated by their teaching (ta'lim) are drawn up by the column of light, which gradually ascends them to the intelligible world. However, this ascent occurs in different stages, according to a highly complex process We have seen that the column of light connects, like an unbroken chain, the ten Intellects of the intelligible world to the dignitaries (hudud) of the religious hierarchy: prophets, imams, and the various degrees of da'wa, ultimately culminating in the Responder (mustağīb), the Ismaili initiate who has answered the imam's call. Each higher dignitary bestows the benefits of spiritual influence and knowledge upon the dignitary immediately below him: he is then called al-mufid, "the one who bestows benefits." Conversely, the lower dignitary who receives them is called al-mustafid If the "benefits" descend in the column of light and are transmitted from the mufid to the mustafid, the particles of light released thanks to these "benefits" ascend back up following the reverse path, from the mustafid to the mufid, drawn up by the divine magnetism (al-maġnātīs al-ilāhī). [The column of light] is the cord that extends between God and His creatures, the light that joins with each maqam, that diffuses and unites with the hudud [= the descending path]. It draws the forms of the mustafids towards the form of the mufid; its magnetism attracts these forms, as a magnet draws iron and attracts what joins with it [...]. Thus, the column of light, which is the Spirit of holiness, draws the forms and attracts them in all spheres of religion, both the forms of the mufids and those of the mustafids, until they are perfected in the horizon (ufq) of the Threshold (bāb) [of the imam] which unites them. 38 In another passage of the Kanz al-walad, al-Hamidī adds that the soul, “fallen, deprived of light and united with darkness as a result of its error,” once purified and appeased, rises, drawn by the column of light, “from the lower form to the higher form.” This aspiration is compared to “the breeze (nasīm) that gives life to the animals,” the “spiritual breeze” (al-nasīm al-rūhānī) that draws the forms of all the dignitaries toward the higher world. All souls Gathered in the column of light, they become one single essence. They remain there, awaiting their final destination. For this reason, the column is called "the elixir of permanence" (iksir al-baqā')39. Later Tayyibite works elaborate on the doctrine outlined by al-Hamidī. Thus, al-Hariţi compares the column of light, whose magnetism draws the form of the mustafid towards that of the mufid, to a: [...] extended column, covered in honey: when flies come to it, they can no longer leave. Similarly, the forms do not leave this column, since it carries them, draws them in, and raises them during their ascent.40 Al-Hāritī is, to my knowledge, the first author who describes with some clarity how this ascent takes place At the moment when the initiate takes the oath of allegiance to the imam before the missionary (dā'ī) responsible for his instruction—a necessary condition for initiation—"a point of light (muqta min nur) joins his soul and unites with the column of light emanating from the imam of that time." In other words, once the pact is concluded, the neophyte's soul is connected to the column of light. As he progresses in acquiring knowledge and practicing a virtuous life devoted to loyalty to the imam (knowledge and virtue always being inseparable), this point increases in light and radiance. The author identifies the point of light with the form that shapes the person in question and with the rational soul (al-nafs al-nātiqa). On the one hand, this point is nourished by the light of the column that extends from God to the ten Intellects of the intelligible world, and then, from the tenth Intellect, connects the ranks of the religious hierarchy: the Speaker (nātiq) [= the prophet], the Foundation (asās) [= the first imam of a cycle], the imam, the Threshold (bāb), the Proof (huğğa), the Missionary (dā'ī), and the Licentiate (ma dūn), culminating in the believers (the initiates) and the Responders. To this light, which the soul of the Responder receives from its immediate hierarchical superior (the Licentiate responsible for its instruction), are added the fragments of light that it has been able to release itself through its progress in knowledge and virtue When the moment of the "transfer" (naqla)—that is, the physical death that entails the separation of the soul and the body—of a believer (mu'min) arrives, the tenth Intellect or demiurge of the sensible world sets the column of light in motion. This movement reaches the imam of the time, who transmits it to the lower hierarchical ranks. Thus, the "vacuum cleaner" is set in motion: the column draws in the luminous soul of the deceased believer. The soul, thus drawn from its body, joins the form (or soul) of the dignitary immediately superior to it (the Licentiate) and unites with it. At the same time, the column acts like the sun shining on a mirror: thanks to its brilliant light, the believer's soul perceives, at the moment of uniting with that of its master, the noble sciences and pious deeds it has acquired.5 This process is repeated at every level of the da'wa hierarchy: the soul of a dignitary, having recovered the light released by his subordinates during their earthly lives, transmits this light, augmented by the light he himself has sublimated, to his hierarchical superior at his death, and so on. This column moves and draws in. The whole (ğumla) [of light] is drawn in by its aspiration; it draws in this form, separates it from its body, and unites it with the whole [of light contained in the soul of the higher dignitary], so that they become one essence and one whole. This whole is then transferred to a higher form [...] until they are all reunited in the lower meeting place (mağma), which is the missionary (dā'ī) of their district (ğazīra). They are mingled with his form and joined to his soul, until the moment of his transfer When it is transferred into obedience to the one in whose horizon it finds itself, they become one form and one essence, transferred according to this transfer, raised from rank to rank, until they are united in the supreme meeting place which is the Threshold (bāb) of the Imam, which all forms from all districts reach.46 In other words, all the light released by the believers joins at their death the soul of the Licentiate upon whom they depend. The Licentiate transmits at the moment of his death the light thus recovered to the missionary in charge of one of the twelve districts into which the Ismaili da'wa is theoretically divided. The missionary gathers the sublimated light from the members of his district and transmits it at his death to the Proof (huğğa), a high dignitary who directs the missionaries of the twelve districts. The Proof transmits the light to the Threshold (Bāb) which, according to Tayyibism, is the "veil" of the imam, the latter living in a state of occultation47. The ascent of light on the “ladder of salvation,” propelled by the magnetism of the column of light, thus culminates at the Threshold of the Imam. From grade to grade, a luminous Temple (haykal nūrānī) is built from the light wrested from the darkness of matter. When the moment of the “transfer” of the Threshold arrives, this Temple is drawn in by the “supreme magnetism” (al-maġnātīs al-a'zam), which is that of the Imam. Thanks to the influx emanating from the Imam, this Temple is completed, taking the form of a Man of Light, possessing a heart and limbs. This Man of Light, about whom our authors remain very discreet (it is clearly a doctrine considered ultra-secret), is identified with the divinity (lāhīt) of the Imam.49 At this point, the Tayyibite system becomes even more complex. In order to receive this Temple of Light and enhance its perfection, a suitable vessel is required: a body, which represents the humanity (nāsīt) of the Imam. However, this body cannot be that of an ordinary man, whose impurity would risk defiling the Temple of Light it is to house. Therefore, the Imam requires a specific body in whose generation the column of light intervenes once again. This brings us back to the Imami traditions concerning the miraculous conception of the Imam, mentioned in the first part of this article Upon the death of a chosen one, from the ordinary believer to the Threshold of the Imam, his soul, detached from the body, ascends to the higher hierarchical level, as we have seen. However, since the salvation of the soul involves a virtuous life, the chosen one also purified his body during his earthly existence. While composed of opaque matter, this body contains a luminous element: the "soul of effusion" (al-nafs al-rihiyya). Three days after the death of the chosen one, the column of light draws this soul of effusion and raises it first towards the moon and then towards the sun, in order to subject it to a process of purification. Divine providence then brings down, through the column of light, this sublimated substance and deposits it upon exquisite fruits and absolutely pure water, which will serve as food and drink for the parents of the future Imam. Grace To this celestial substance that enters their seed, they generate a child who will be born supernaturally with an ethereal body the whiteness of camphor (ğism kāfūrī)50. Sensing his approaching death, the imam transfers his divinity to his son thus generated: his Temple of Light, constituted by the lights released during his imamate and that of his predecessors. The new imam will complete this Temple to transmit it to his successor, and so on until the closing of a cycle. The last imam of this cycle transfers the Temple to the Resurrector (Qā'im). The latter completes the Man of Light from the luminous limbs gathered by all the imams of his cycle Upon the death of the Qā'im, the Temple thus formed is drawn by the column of light towards the tenth Intellect, which thereby recovers some of the light lost during its fall, allowing it to ascend one notch in the cosmic hierarchy. Other cycles must follow before the fallen Intellect regains its initial place, in the third rank after the first two Intellects.¹¹ Only with the closing of this great cycle (al-kawr al-a'zam) – estimated by some authors at 360,000 years, corresponding to the Platonic "great year" – will the aftereffects of the original sin be erased and a maximum of light be extracted from its mixture with matter. However, even at the end of this long process, it proves impossible to release all the light that has fallen here below. For there will always be souls that persist in ignorance and evil, refusing the repeated calls addressed to them throughout the countless cycles. Even for the elect—with the exception of the prophets and imams, who are infallible—the risk remains of falling into error and being subjugated by bodily passions. At the moment of their death, their soul is not drawn into the column of light: Only the souls of the elect are attracted by this magnetism; the souls of adversaries, apostates, and hypocrites are not attracted to it, just as sand and clay are not attracted to a magnet. 53 Instead of ascending the column, the sinner's soul falls, and the column directs it toward its punishment: reincarnation in a less noble human body or, in more serious cases, in an animal, vegetable, or mineral body.<sup>55</sup> At any moment, the soul has the possibility of repenting and ascending the ladder. But recalcitrant souls that, at the close of all cycles, have resisted every call, will be compressed and imprisoned in the residues of unsublimated matter, forever deprived of a return to the world of light: this is the hell of Siğğin, a rock located at the center of the earth.<sup>56</sup> The Tayyibite column of light and the Manichean column of glory In 1937, when Tayyibiti literature was unknown and inaccessible in the West, the Ismaili scholar Husayn al-Hamdani noted a similarity between the system expounded by Idris 'Imad al-Din in his Zahr al-ma'ānī and the doctrine of Mani, to the point of concluding: When one takes into consideration the great importance that Manichaeism had in the development of younger Islamic creeds, there is reason to believe that there ought to exist some sort of literary, if not directly historical, connec-tion with the school of Mani 57. This observation was taken up by Henry Corbin, who considers the Tayyibiti column of light as "an explicit resurgence of the Manichaean motif of the column of light or column of glory." However, to support his thesis, Corbin does not refer directly to the Arabic sources relating to the doctrine of Mani. In the following pages, I will focus primarily on what Arab authors tell us about this Manichaean column, while also noting passing through the similarities, but also the differences, with the Tayyi-bite conceptions. On both sides, the function of the column can only be understood in the light of a complex system, encompassing cosmogony, prophetology, and eschatology. In all these areas, Tayyi-bite Ismailism presents striking similarities with Manichaeism. However, it is not possible here to undertake a comprehensive comparison, which would require an entire book. I will therefore limit myself to a few points that seem essential to me. One of the most complete and extensive expositions that Arabic literature has transmitted to us on Manichaeism is found in the famous Fihrist of Ibn al-Nadīm, completed in 377/987-986. It describes at length a cosmogonic myth explicitly attributed to Mani (qāla Mānī, “Mani said”). Here is a brief summary Originally, the realm of light, ruled by the King of the Gardens of Light (malik ğinān al-nūr), was strictly separate from the realm of darkness. Each realm possessed five “limbs” (adā’), so that the limbs of light were exactly opposite to those of darkness.61 From his evil attributes, the King of Darkness begot the primordial Satan (Iblis al-qadīm), who, upon appearing, coveted the world of light and began to attack it, causing an initial mixture of light and darkness. To counter this attack, the King of Light begot Primordial Man (al-insan al-qadim) and endowed him with five noble principles, which served as his weapons in combating Satan. Satan did likewise, taking as his weapons the five opposing principles. After a long battle, the Primordial Man was surrounded by the forces of darkness, and the five members of light merged with the five members of darkness. The King of Light then sent The Spirit of Life (ruh al-hayāt) was used to strengthen Primordial Man, so that he could descend to the very depths of the abyss of darkness and sever the roots of evil, thus preventing their growth. Freed from his imprisonment in the realm of darkness, Primordial Man ascended to the world of light. He commanded his angels to extract from the realm of darkness the mixture of light and darkness produced by all these struggles and to raise it as close as possible to the realm of light. This mixture would serve as the substrate for the creation of the sensible world.<sup>62</sup> This entire first part of the Manichean cosmogonic myth presents only distant similarities with the Tayyibite doctrine. The eternal coexistence of two antagonistic principles is not only incompatible with Muslim monotheism (anti-Manichean polemics in Islam primarily attack dualism), it is even more so with Ismaili tawhid, which advocates one God, one and unique. "There is no root of evil in the establishment" (lā asl li l-šarr fi l-ibdā), writes al-Hamidī, borrowing this maxim from the Risāla al-Ga-mi'a Since there is no evil in the intelligible world, the error committed by the Third Intellect is solely due to temporary blindness, negligence (sahw), or inadvertence (gafla).64 The mixture of light and darkness is not caused by an external attack from the forces of evil, but by the fall of the Third Intellect, or "spiritual Adam," to the lower reaches of the intelligible world. Far from being eternal principles, darkness and matter are the consequences of this fall. The darkest parts of the fallen Intellect are driven "outside" the intelligible world and coagulated there into a compact matter, a mixture of light and darkness. Now, a serious problem arises at this point. The Tayyibite authors, to my knowledge, give us no details about this "outside" of the intelligible world. Did a parallel world to the world of the ten separate Intellects exist before the creation of the sensible universe? Was this world created (and by whom?) or is it eternal? Clearly, we are dealing with an Islamic rewriting of an earlier, Manichean-type doctrine, a reworking that seeks to avoid dualism at all costs. The Manichean motif of the five members of the realm of light, absent from Tayyibism, which adopted al-Kirmānī's decadic system, nevertheless appears in Ismaili texts of the 10th and 11th centuries, where the intelligible world unfolds in a pentad of hypostases. Furthermore, the primordial Man who descends into darkness to ascend again represents the mixture of light and darkness as close as possible to the world of light, before returning to it himself, is reminiscent of the role the Tayyibites attribute to the spiritual Adam or tenth Intellect. Without having himself left the intelligible world, he becomes the demiurge of the sensible world and uses the matter generated by his fall as building material: with the least defiled parts, he produces the stars and celestial bodies, while the most darkened parts serve to constitute a rock at the center of the earth. With the other parts, he generates minerals, plants, animals, and, finally, man. 66 Let us continue the account of Ibn al-Nadīm: Mani said: The King of the world of light ordered one of his angels to create this world and to build it from these mixed parts, in order to liberate (tahallus) the luminous parts from the dark parts Thus were ten heavens and eight earths constructed. He placed a trench (handaq) around this world to contain the darkness from which the light had been purified, and he erected a wall behind this dam so that none of this darkness, from which the light had been purified, could escape. Mani said: Then he created the sun and the moon to purify the light that is in this world. The sun purifies the light mixed with the demons of heat, and the moon purifies the light mixed with the demons of cold. [This purified light] rises in the pillar of glory ('amud al-sabh) with what rises of glorifications (tasābīh), sanctifications (taqādīs), exquisite words, and virtuous deeds. He said: [This light] is driven towards the sun; then the sun drives it towards the light that is above it in the world of glorification ('ālam al-tasbih); Then, from this world, it departs toward the supreme and pure light. This action continues until nothing remains of the united light [with darkness] except what the sun and moon have failed to purify.67 As soon as a maximum of light has thus been released, the sensible world is annihilated. In his Kitāb al-Milal wa-l-nihal, al-Šahrastānī (d. 548/1153) gives a similar account, while explicitly mentioning his source: the famous zindīq Abū 'Īsā al-Warrāq (d. 247/861), on whom Ibn al-Nadīm also seems to depend.65 Nevertheless, although more succinct than Ibn al-Nadīm's, al-Šahrastānī's version contains some variants, particularly in the following passage: Among the things that aid the liberation (tahlīs), separation (tamyīz), and elevation (raf) of the particles of light are glorification, sanctification, exquisite words, and virtuous actions. With these, the particles of light ascend in the column of dawn ('amud al-subh) [or column of glory, 'amud al-sabh, according to the manuscripts] to the sphere of the moon, which continuously receives them from the beginning until the middle of the month, when it is full and becomes a full moon. Then, it transmits them to the sun until the end of the month. The sun propels them toward a light above itself [...]70. The resemblance to the Tayyibite doctrine is striking. The creation of the sensible world by the demiurge has no other purpose than to liberate the particles of light mixed with the darkness of matter. The liberated particles are drawn up by the column of light. This elevation, Ibn al-Nadim and al-Sahrastani tell us, is achieved through glorification, sanctification, good words, and virtuous actions—undoubtedly those of the elect. Now, for the Tayyibite authors, the essential condition for the soul to be freed from its bodily attachments is that it correctly professes tawhid, glorifies, and sanctifies its Creator in the appropriate manner. This is only possible after acquiring salvific knowledge, which also implies the practice of virtue during earthly life We have seen that for the Tayyibites, the saved souls ascend in the column of light through the various dignitaries of the da'wa, to finally join, via the imam, the tenth Intellect. Although the Arabic sources relating to Mani's doctrine do not explicitly mention it, it is well known that Manichaeism grants the elect and the different ranks of the Manichaean church a central role in the process of sublimation of light. Through their ascetic lifestyle and a very strict diet, they avoid as much as possible any defilement that could compromise the purity of the light they have managed to free from matter. 71 In his treatise on Manichaeism, Ibn al-Nadīm addresses the pillar of glory a second time, in a paragraph entitled: “The Manichaean Doctrine of Return.” When an elect (sadīg, literally a “truthful one”) dies, the Primordial Man sends him a deity of light, accompanied by three other deities and a virgin resembling the soul of the elect. Their appearance drives away the demons who were trying to seize this soul [These deities] ascend with him [the chosen one] in the column of glory to the sphere of the moon, then to Primordial Man, then to al-Bahīğa, the mother of the living, and finally to [the place] where he was in the beginning, in the gardens of light. As for this body that remains abandoned, the sun, the moon, and the luminous deities draw out of it the powers that are water, fire, and breeze (nasīm), so that they are raised to the sun and become deities. On the other hand, the rest of his body, which is entirely darkness, is cast into hell. If we accept the identification of the Manichean Primordial Man with the spiritual Adam or Tayyibite Tenth Intellect, the proximity of the two systems is again striking. At the death of a believer, the Tenth Intellect moves the column of light, so that the saved soul is drawn into it At the end of its ascent through the column, it will rejoin the spiritual Adam. Three days after the believer's death, the column draws up the "spiritual soul" that remained within it and raises it towards the sun and the moon to purify it. According to Ibn al-Nadīm's account, among the powers drawn out of the chosen one's body is the "breeze" (nasim), one of the five members of light, which he also calls "the life of the world" (hayat al-'ālam)4. Al-Hamidī, for his part, describes the column's aspiration of light as the "spiritual breeze" (al-nasīm al-rūhānī)75. The fate of the Manichean “fighter” (al-insan al-muhārib), who has embraced religion (dīn), practiced virtue, and protected the elect, is quite different. At his death, his soul is protected by the same deities from the onslaught of demons, but it must remain in this world and endure all kinds of torments, “until his light and his soul are purified and he is joined to that of the elect.” As for the vile man, his soul is devoured by demons, and he must constantly return to this world, plunged into distress, until the day of punishment when he will be cast into hell.<sup>76</sup> Although Ibn al-Nadīm's account does not explicitly state this, it is clear that only the souls of the chosen ascend the column to the world of light, while all others must be reincarnated in new bodies. Indeed, the Ash'ari theologian al-Bagdādī (d. 429/1037) writes it explicitly: Mani says in some of his books that the souls that separate from their bodies are of two kinds: the souls of the chosen and those of the wanderers. The souls of the chosen, when they separate from their bodies, ascend in the pillar of dawn ('amud al-subh) to the light that is above the sphere to remain in this world for all eternity. The souls of the wanderers, when they separate from their bodies and wish to join the supreme light, return, inverted downwards, to transmigrate into animal bodies until they are purified of the defilements of darkness. Then, they unite with the supreme light. 78 While some Ismaili authors of the Qarmatian and Fatimid tradition accepted the transmigration of souls within the human species with great circumspection, as it is a taboo subject in Islam, the Tayyibites openly profess the transmigration of the unliberated soul into human, animal, vegetable, and even mineral bodies, depending on the sins committed. But, regularly during the cycles, these souls receive “calls” allowing them to repent and gradually ascend the ladder of salvation.<sup>79</sup> When the purification process is complete and our world no longer has any reason to exist, Ibn al-Nadīm continues, the forces of evil will retreat into a tomb, covered by a rock as large as the earth, from which they will no longer be able to escape. This Manichean Bôlos (“ball” or “mass”) is the exact equivalent of the Tayyibite hell: al-Siğğin, the rock at the center of the earth in which the recalcitrant souls who could not be saved will be forever imprisoned. The chapter on Mani's doctrine in the Fihrist, which probably depends on Abū 'Īsā al-Warrāq, takes up a series of elements already found in Hegemonius's Acta Archelai, an anti-Manichean treatise from the 4th century Thus, we find there the pillar of glory which serves to ascend liberated souls, passing through the moon and the sun, to the world of light. However, the author adds that this pillar is "the Perfect Man (vir per-fectus). This Man is a pillar of light since the purified souls reside there." The identification of the pillar of glory with the Perfect Man is corroborated by Manichaean texts, primarily by the Kephalaia. It is tempting to connect this Perfect Man, constituted by the particles of light purified and gathered in the pillar, with the Man of Light spoken of by the Tayyibite authors: this luminous Man whose limbs are formed by the liberated souls and who represents the divinity of the Imam. The exposition on Mani's doctrine in the Acta Archelai evokes the moment when the process of the separation of the light will come to an end; the Third Messenger (Tertius Legatus), identified with Jesus the Splendor (Jesus Splenditenens), will appear; the Omophoros, the deity who carries the earth on his shoulders, will release his burden; the earth will be ablaze; the damned souls will be definitively imprisoned in the Bolos, while the last "statue" will ascend. This enigmatic "statue" is somewhat illuminated by the Manichaean texts. At the end of time, the light, still freed at the last moment, will be reunited in the "last statue," which will ascend the column of glory, toward the reign of the light, thus completing the process of redemption.6 Would it be rash to connect this statue (andreias) with the Tayyibite Temple of Light (haykal nūrānī), which culminates in the column of glory at the advent of the Resurrector? After all, the expression haykal nūrānī, which has been translated since Corbin as "temple of light," could also be rendered as "statue of light," the word haykal having both meanings in Arabic. Moreover, Tayyibite authors identify this "temple" with the Man of Light, who would thus become a "statue of light." Therefore, the figure of the Ismaili Resurrector, whose Temple or Statue gathers all the purified light through a number of prophetic cycles and who rises in the column towards the 10th Intellect, would correspond to that of Jesus the Splendor, the savior saved by all the light he was able to recover. It follows from all the above that the column of light, in its function of drawing in the particles of light freed from their material prison, is a Manichean concept integrated by the Tayyibites into a system which, as a whole, presents an undeniable kinship with Manichaeism. The similarities (and I could cite many others) are too numerous and too precise to be due to chance What then of the descending function of the "elevator" that we recognized in the Tayyibite column of light, the channel through which divine light infuses the prophets, imams, and other dignitaries of the da'wa, thus providing them with the knowledge to liberate souls trapped in matter? As far as I can see, the column of glory does not play this role in Manichaeism. The problem is further complicated by the fact that this function of the column of light is not unique to the Tayyibite system, but is already found in the ancient Imami traditions attributed to the first Shiite imams. This then raises the whole question of the sources of the Imamology that emerges from this type of tradition: the pre-existence, in the form of a radiant light, of the prophets and imams, generated by the light of God long before the creation of the sensible world; the infusion of this light into the bodies of the various messengers and its uninterrupted transmission throughout the prophetic cycles; the perpetual struggle of the prophets and imams against their antagonists (addad) in the service of Satan, etc. These themes are certainly found, in one form or another, in Manichaean sources, but Arab authors are very discreet about them. Although they like to repeat that Mani's doctrine is a mixture of Christianity and Zoroastrianism, the image they give of it has been 90 Purified of most pagan and, above all, Christian elements 88. Consequently, it is not possible to extract a coherent prophetology from it that would bear any resemblance to our Shiite texts. On the other hand, if we turn to other sources relating to Manichaeism, it is clear that the pre-existence of the figure of Jesus is omnipresent. Thus, Jesus the Splendor emanated from the Father of Greatness and is given the function of establishing and governing the cosmic machine used to release the light 89. Jesus takes on a human form—"although he is not a man"—in order to rescue the soul of the first man, Adam, and to show him the way out of matter. Identified with the Nous of light, he is incorporated into the various prophets (Seth, Zoroaster, Buddha, etc.) and finally into Mani, the "seal of the prophets." He was imbued with divine light, so that when he was presented to the Persian king Shapur, "there were as if two lamps of light upon his shoulders." At his death, his soul left his body, settled in a vessel of light, and, clothed in a divine robe and a diadem of light, ascended the column of glory to join the God Ohrmazd. A portion of his light was transmitted, within the Manichaean church, to his successors, whom Ibn al-Nadim curiously calls "imams." Other parallels between Manichaeism and Shiite Imamology, or more broadly, the prophetology conveyed by the Quran, have been suggested. 96 However, we do not find there the theme of the pillar of light used to bring down the prophetic principle to earth so that it may manifest itself in the bodies of the divine messengers. The origin of this concept therefore remains to be established. Conclusion: Tayyibism, a Resurgence of Manichaeism in Yemen? The Tayyibite doctrine has been described as a "resurgence of Manichaeism." However, this description seems inadequate to me in many respects. Despite obvious similarities, considerable differences separate the two systems. Besides the absence of a fundamental dualism, incompatible with Islam in general and with Ismailism in particular, Tayyibism does not share the "dark" vision of the sublunar world and human nature. The human species was not generated by malevolent archons, following abject monstrosities whose sole purpose was to bind souls to matter. On the contrary, the first humans were born by spontaneous generation in the caves of the island of Sarandīb, and they were of immaculate purity, thanks to the subtle alchemy that the demiurge had implemented to allow their formation The Manichaean church, with its various ranks, certainly bears similarities to the organization of the Ismaili da'wa, but its members are simply expected to respect the precepts of Islamic law, without having to submit to extreme abstinences, which are, moreover, unanimously condemned by Muslim authors. No trace remains in the Tayyibite texts of the numerous deities that populate Manichaean myths; Christian elements, while not entirely absent, have been erased in favor of Islamic references, particularly Shiite ones. Furthermore, we are beginning to better understand the sources of the Tayyibite system. These can be classified into three categories: (1) Fatimid Ismaili literature, particularly the works of Hamid al-Din al-Kirmānī and al-Mu'ayyad fi al-Din al-Šīrāzī; (2) the Rasā'il Ihwān al-Safa' and especially the Risāla al-Ğāmi, which is traditionally attributed to them; (3) a set of doctrines and notions borrowed from what is commonly called "extremist Shi'ism" (ġuluww). This last category is the most problematic: Tayyibite authors speak, for example, of the divinity (lāhīt) of the imams, which manifests itself in simulacrum bodies (gilāf) and which transmigrates from an imam to the other. These notions, condemned by Fatimid Ismailism as ġuluww, but attested at that time in dissident currents such as Druzeism and Nusayrism, are sometimes associated with the name of al-Mufaddal al-Ġu'fi, a famous ġlī in the entourage of the 5th and 6th Shiite Imams, some of whose traditions are included in the oldest Imami collections. We currently do not know by what route this material reached the Tayyibites. They intertwined the elements of these three types of sources to extract a more or less coherent system. Therefore, it is hardly surprising that the Tayyibite authors integrated and systematized the theme of the pillar of light as it appears in the ancient Imami traditions (what we have called "the descending path") However, regarding the "ascending path," which bears an undeniable resemblance to the Manichaean pillar of glory, the lack of sources makes it impossible to determine whether this motif originates from the tradition of the ġulāt or early Imamism, or whether, on the contrary, the Tayyibites found it in Manichaean texts. What holds true for the pillar of light also holds true for most of the themes, concepts, and terms closely reminiscent of Manichaeism: did they already exist in the Shi'ism of the early centuries of Islam, or even in the original message of Muhammad, or did the Tayyibites adopt them from a Manichaean source? In the latter case, we would need to add a fourth category to our list: Manichaean sources. Having no idea of the identity of this source or these sources, nor how the Tayyibites might have become aware of them in Yemen from the 11th century onwards, I am currently inclined to favor the first possibility. In any case, the substantial Tayyibite dossier only further complicates the question of the sources of Shiite Islam and Islam in general. Bibliography: 1. While the word 'amud is not attested in the Quran, its plural 'amad appears three times: S. 13:2: "God is the One Who raised the heavens without visible pillars. Then He sat down in majesty upon the Throne. He subdued the sun and the moon [...]"; S. 31:10 (repeats the beginning of 13:2); S. 104:6-9: "That is the Fire of God kindled, which consumes even the entrails. It will close over them in long columns" (all translations of Quranic verses are by Denise Masson). We will find the combination of God - Throne - invisible column - sun - moon - fire of hell in the Shiite texts relating to the pillar of light that we will examine. Therefore, given the conclusions I will draw from my research, we could possibly include these verses among the Manichean reminiscences with which the Quran is peppered. 2. By "ancient Imamism" I mean the precursor of Twelver Shiism, which was only established after the final occultation of the 12th Imam in 329/941. 3. These traditions (about fifty) have been identified and discussed by M. A. AMIR-MOEZZI, *Le Guide divin dans le shî'isme originel. Aux sources de l'ésotérisme en islam*, Lagrasse 1992, p. 42, p. 103 and pp. 151-153. The oldest works that transmit them predate the occultation of the 12th Imam. These include, in particular, the *Başā'ir al-darağāt* by al-Şaffār al-Qummi (d. 290/903) and the *Uşül min al-kāfi* by al-Kulaynī (d. 329/940). 4. On the miraculous birth of the imams according to Imamism, see M. A. AMIR-MOEZZI, Le Guide divin, p. 145-154; for the Ismaili dossier, see D. DE SMET, "La naissance mira-culeuse de l'imam ismaélien nourritures célestes et corps camphré", Acta Orientalia Belgica 28 (2015), p. 323-333 5. Al-Masūdī, Itbāt al-waşiyya, Najaf 1955, p. 176 (this work has been falsely attributed to the famous author of The Meadows of Gold). For other similar traditions, see M. A. AMIR-MOEZZI, The Divine Guide, p. 42, pp. 151–152; U. RUBIN, “Pre-existence and light. Aspects of the concept of Nur Muhammad,” Israel Oriental Studies 5 (1975), p. 66 6. Al-Mas'udi, Itbat, p. 91, p. 93; cf. U. RUBIN, <<Pre-existence,” p. 93–94. 7. Al-Mas'ūdī, Itbāt, pp. 109-110; cf. U. RUBIN, “Pre-existence,” p. 111. As we shall see later, the theme of celestial water sprinkling the food and drink of an imam's father will take on considerable importance in Tayyibite doctrine. 8. Ibn Bābūya, 'Ilal al-šarā'i'wa-l-ahkām, Najaf 1966, pp. 208-209, trans. A. M. AMIR-MOEZZI, Le Guide divin, p. 103; ID., La Religion discrète. Beliefs and Spiritual Practices in Shi'ite Islam, Paris 2006, p. 127; U. RUBIN, “Pre-existence,” p. 110. Note that the Traditions are not unanimous regarding the mode of transmission of this light: sometimes it occurs through biological ties (as in the tradition I just cited), sometimes through "spiritual" kinship, at the time of the designation (nass) of a prophet or imam by his predecessor, who is not necessarily his biological father. Rubin's article is mainly devoted to this fundamental distinction, which, however, has no direct bearing on the subject that concerns us now. 9. On the other hand, we find the theme of the pre-existence of Muhammad and the transmission of his light through the pillar of light in Sunni Sufism, notably in the mystical commentary on the Qur'an by Sahl al-Tustarī (d. 283/896); see L. MASSIGNON, La Passion de Hallaj, Paris 1975: vol. I, pp. 110-111 and vol. III, p. 301 10. This does not preclude the possibility that traditions attributed to the early Imams were transmitted jointly by Twelver and Ismaili authors. The comparative study of Hadith in the two major branches of Shi'ism is still in its infancy; see F. GILLON, "An Ismaili Reinterpretation of Imami Hadiths: New Perspectives on Treatise II of the Kitab al-Kashf Attributed to the Da'i Gha'far ibn Mansur al-Yaman," Arabica 59/5 (2012), pp. 484–509 11. On the uncompromising apophaticism of the Ismailis and its consequences for the status of the Universal Intellect, see D. DE SMET, *La Philosophie ismaélienne. Un ésotérisme shiate entre néoplatonisme et gnose*, Paris 2012, pp. 55–64. 12. See D. DE SMET, << Kufr et takfir dans l'ismaélisme fatimide. Le Kitāb Tanbih al-hādī de Hamīd al-Din al-Kirmānī », in C. ADANG-H. ANSARI-M. FIERRO - S. SCHMIDTKE (dir.), Accusations of Unbelief in Islam. A Diachronic Perspective on Takfir, Leyde-Boston 2016, p. 92-97. 13. D. DE SMET, << Al-Fārābī's Influence on Hamīd al-Din al-Kirmānī's Theory of Intellect and Soul >», in P. ADAMSON (dir.), In the Age of al-Fārābī: Arabic Philosophy in the Fourth /Tenth Century, Londres-Turin 2008, p. 131-150. 14. D. DE SMET, “The Risāla al-Ğāmi attributed to the Ihwān al-Şafa’: a precursor of Tayyibite Ismaëlism?” forthcoming in the volume of tributes to Carmela Baffioni. The sources of this Risāla al-Ğāmi’a, which differs in many respects from the Rasā’il Ihwān al-Safa’, have not yet been satisfactorily studied 15. For a more detailed presentation of the Tayyibite system, see D. DE SMET, La Philosophie ismaélienne, pp. 82-111 and pp. 151-168. 16. Ed. M. GALIB, Die ismailitische Theologie des Ibrāhīm ibn al-Husain al-Hamidī, Wiesbaden 1971. 17. Unpublished; I refer to Arabic Manuscript 671 of the Institute of Ismaili Studies, London. 18. Ed. R. STROTHMANN, Gnosis-Texte der Ismailiten, Göttingen 1943, pp. 137-158. 19. Ed. M. AL-AʻZAMĪ, Beirut 1971 20. Éd. M. ĠALIB, Arba'a kutub haqqāniyya, Beyrouth 1987, p. 77-111. 21. Ed. and French trans. H. CORBIN, Ismaili Trilogy, Tehran-Paris 1961, pp. 99-130 (Arabic text), pp. 129-200 (trans.). The French translation was reprinted in ID., Ismaili Trilogy, Lagrasse 1994, pp. 165-253 22. Ed. M. ĠALIB, Beirut 1991. 23. Ed. R. STROTHMANN, Gnosis Texts, pp. 4-136. 24. Al-Husayn b. al-Walīd, Mabda', § 43, p. 117 Arabic text. 25. In Ismaili jargon, the day and the eve of the imam refer to a period during which the imamate is apparent, while the night and sleep refer to its temporary concealment (satr) for security reasons. 26. Tayyibite authors use the term magām to designate both a prophet, an imam, and the various ranks of the da'wa (the organization of the Ismaili mission) into which divine light is infused 27. Al-Hamidī, Kanz, p. 173. 28. Al-Hamidī, Kanz, p. 183; cf. 'Alī b. al-Walīd, al-Dahīra, p. 69. 29. D. DE SMET, The Quietude of Intellect. Neoplatonism and Ismaili gnosis in the work of Hamid al-Din al-Kirmānī, Louvain 1995, p. 187-193. 30. Al-Hamidī, Kanz, p. 177. 31. For the distinction between first and second perfection, see D. DE SMET, La Philosophie ismaélienne, pp. 92-99. 32. This refers to the body of the Imam composed of celestial substances; cf. below, pp. 362-363 33. Al-Hāritī, Anwār, fol. 51r°-52r°. Nevertheless, an ambiguity remains in al-Hāritī, due to the legacy of al-Kirmānī, particularly in the following passage: “The noble Book [the Qur'an] refers symbolically (ramaza) to this column, in the words of the Most High: ‘The Spirit which is from His command, He sends upon whom He wills of His servants’ (S. 40:15). This is also the true essence of revelation (wahy).” The author continues with a quotation from al-Kirmānī on wahy (Anwār, fol. 53v°-55r°). However, the latter explicitly identifies the command or the word, the source of revelation, with the First Intellect 34. Al-Husayn b. al-Walīd, Mabda', § 40, p. 116 Arabic text. 35. 'Ali b. al-Walīd, al-Dahīra, p. 68-69; cf. Ibid., p. 27 and p. 144. 36. D. DE SMET, The Quietude, p. 120-124, p. 343-350. 37. Anonymous, Masā'il, p. 59. 38. Al-Ḥāmidī, Kanz, p. 177-178 ; sur le Bāb de l’imam, voir infra, p. 361-362. 39. Al-Ḥāmidī, Kanz, p. 182-183. 40. Al-Ḥāriṯī, Anwār, fol. 51v°-52r°. 41. Voir H. halm, « The Isma‘ili oath of allegiance (‘ahd) and the “sessions of wisdom” (majālis al-ḥikma) in Fatimid times », dans F. DaFtary (éd.), Medieval Isma‘ili History and Thought, Cambridge 1996, p. 91-98. 42. En cet endroit, al-Ḥāriṯī introduit dans son exposé une curieuse digression : ‘Alī b. Abī Ṭālib enseigne à un disciple le sens des différentes facultés de l’âme humaine, en adoptant un aristotélisme néoplatonisant ; voir D. De smet, « La perfection de l’intellect et de l’âme selon le Kitāb al-Anwār al-laṭīfa de Muḥammad b. Ṭāhir al-Ḥāriṯī (m. 1188). Recherches de noétique ismaélienne », dans A. musco – r. GamBino – l. pepi et al. (dir.), Universalité de la Raison. Pluralité des Philosophies au Moyen-Âge, t. III, Comunicazioni orientalia Palerme 2012, p. 42-47. 43. Comme la plupart des auteurs ismaéliens, al-Ḥāriṯī distingue les croyants (mu’minūn) des musulmans (muslimūn), ces derniers n’étant considérés que comme des exotéristes (ahl al-ẓāhir) ignorants qui ne tireront aucun profit de leur religion. 44. Al-Ḥāriṯī, Anwār, fol. 73r°-76r°, 135r° ; ‘Alī b. al-Walīd, Ḏaḫīra, p. 143. 45. ‘Alī b. al-Walīd, Ḏaḫīra, p. 143-144. 46. Al-Ḥāriṯī, Anwār, fol. 76v°-77r°, 190r°. 47. Ce schéma est repris par les auteurs postérieurs, qui copient parfois littéralement al-Ḥāriṯī ; voir ‘Alī b. al-Walīd, Īḍāḥ, p. 153-154 ; iD., Ḏaḫīra, p. 68-73 ; al-Ḥusayn b. al-Walīd, Mabda’, § 40-45, p. 116-118 du texte arabe ; ‘Alī b. Ḥanẓala, Ḍiyā’, p. 93 ; Idrīs, Zahr, p. 274-275. Notons toutefois que le nombre et les titres des dignitaires inférieurs au Bāb présentent des différences d’un auteur à l’autre. 48. ‘Alī b. al-Walīd, Īḍāḥ, p. 154. 49. Al-Ḥāriṯī, Anwār, fol. 166r° ; ‘Alī b. al-Walīd, Ḏaḫīra, p. 79-80 ; al-Ḥusayn b. al-Walīd, Mabda’, § 45-46, p. 117-118 ; ‘Alī b. Ḥanẓala, Ḍiyā’, p. 93 ; Idrīs, Zahr, p. 275, p. 277-278. 50. Al-Ḥāmidī, Kanz, p. 191-194 ; ‘Alī b. al-Walīd, Ḏaḫīra, p. 82-83, p. 86 ; al-Ḥusayn b. al-Walīd, Mabda’, § 47-65, p. 118-125 du texte arabe ; ‘Alī b. Ḥanẓala, Ḍiyā’, p. 93-96 ; Idrīs, Zahr, p. 276-277 ; voir en outre D. De smet, « La naissance miraculeuse », p. 326-328. 51. Al-Ḥāmidī, Kanz, p. 173, p. 192-193 ; al-Ḥāriṯī, Anwār, fol. 166v°-167r° ; ‘Alī b. al-Walīd, Ḏaḫīra, p. 87-89, p. 92, p. 140 ; Idrīs, Zahr, p. 278-279, p. 298, p. 307. 52. Voir D. De smet, La Philosophie ismaélienne, p. 166-168. 53. ‘Alī b. al-Walīd, Ḏaḫīra, p. 80. 54. Al-Ḥāmidī, Kanz, p. 182-183 ; al-Ḥāriṯī, Anwār, fol. 51v°-52r° ; ‘Alī b. al-Walīd, Ḏaḫīra, p. 145-146 ; al-Ḥusayn b. al-Walīd, Mabda’, § 44, p. 117 du texte arabe ; Idrīs, Zahr, p. 274. 55. Sur la transmigration et la métamorphose (masḫ) dans le Ṭayyibisme, voir D. De smet, La Philosophie ismaélienne, p. 144-149. 56. Voir D. De smet, « ‘Illiyyūn et Sijjīn », dans M. A. amir-moezzi (dir.), Dictionnaire du Coran, Paris 2007, p. 413-415. 57. H. al-hamDani, « A Compendium of Ismā‘īlī Esoterics », Islamic Culture 11 (1937), p. 212. 58. H. corBin, « De la gnose antique à la gnose ismaélienne », dans Oriente ed Occidente nel Medio Evo. Convegno di scienze morali, storiche e filologiche, Rome 1957, p. 132 ; voir également iD., « Épiphanie divine et naissance spirituelle dans la gnose ismaélienne », Eranos Jahrbuch 23 (1954), p. 201-207 ; iD., Trilogie (Lagrasse 1994), p. 180-181. 59. Pour ce qui concerne la colonne de lumière, Corbin se réfère à la traduction allemande de la première partie des Kephalaia (éd. et trad. H. J. polotsKy – A. BöhliG, Kephalaia I, Hälfte 1, Lfg. 1/10, Stuttgart 1940) et surtout à la littérature secondaire, en particulier E. WalDschmiDt – W. lentz, Die Stellung Jesu im Manichäismus, Berlin 1926 ; iD., Manichäische Dogmatik aus chinesischen und iranischen Texten, Berlin 1933 ; G. WiDenGren, The Great Vohu Manah and the Apostle of God, Uppsala 1945 et H.-C. puech, Le Manichéisme, son fondateur, sa doctrine, Paris 1949. 60. Ibn al-Nadīm, Kitāb al-Fihrist, éd. R. taǧaddud, Beyrouth 1988, p. 391-402 ; trad. anglaise (pas toujours fiable) de B. DoDGe, The Fihrist of al-Nadīm, t. I, New York-Londres 1970, p. 773-805. Une partie des sources arabes et persanes relatives au manichéisme a été réunie par Ḥ. taqīzādeh – A. ŠīRāzī, Mānī o dīn-e o, Téhéran 1956. Il faut y ajouter, entre autres, le Kitāb al-Tawḥīd d’al-Māturīdī (cf. G. VaJDa, « Le témoignage d’al-Māturīdī sur la doctrine des Manichéens, des Daysanites et des Marcionites », Arabica 13 [1966], p. 1-38) et le Muġnī du Qāḍī ‘Abd al-Ǧabbār (cf. G. monnot, Penseurs musulmans et religions iraniennes. ‘Abd al-Jabbār et ses devanciers, Paris 1974, en particulier p. 119-128, p. 152- 164). Malgré l’importance de ces deux ouvrages, qui dépendent largement de la même source qu’Ibn al-Nadīm, ils intéressent moins notre propos, puisque la colonne de gloire n’y est pas mentionnée. 61. L’exposé d’Ibn al-Nadīm (Fihrist, p. 392-393) est assez confus à ce sujet. Il attribue au règne de la lumière cinq membres : la perspicacité (ḥilm), la science (‘ilm), l’intellect (‘aql), le caché (ġayb) et la sagacité ( fiṭna) ; puis, il mentionne une autre série de cinq membres « spirituels » (rūḥāniyya) : l’amour (ḥubb), la foi (īmān), la fidélité (wafā’), l’amitié (mawadda) et la sagesse (ḥikma). À ces qualités éternelles s’ajoutent deux êtres éternels, le ciel et la terre, qui ont à leur tour chacun cinq membres. Les membres du ciel sont les mêmes que la première série attribuée au règne de la lumière ; les membres de la terre sont la brise (nasīm), le vent, la lumière, l’eau et le feu. Les cinq membres des ténèbres sont le brouillard (ḍabāb), l’embrasement (ḥarīq), le vent pestilentiel (samūm), le poison (samm) et l’obscurité (ẓulma). 62. Ibn al-Nadīm, Fihrist, p. 392-394. 63. Al-Ḥāmidī, Kanz, p. 100 ; cf. Iḫwān al-Ṣafā’, al-Risāla al-Ǧāmi‘a, éd. M. Ġālib, Beyrouth 1984, p. 49. 64. Al-Ḥāmidī, Kanz, p. 66-68, p. 295-297. 65. Voir H. halm, Kosmologie und Heilslehre der frühen Ismā‘īlīya, Wiesbaden 1978, p. 67-74. 66. Cette cosmogénèse est résumée, à base d’al-Ḥāriṯī, par al-Ḥusayn b. al-Walīd, Mabda’, § 4-27, p. 102-110 (texte arabe), p. 149-158 (trad. française). 67. Ibn al-Nadīm, Fihrist, p. 394. 68. L’ouvrage perdu d’Abū ‘Īsā al-Warrāq sur le manichéisme a également été employé par ‘Abd al-Ǧabbār et par al-Māturidī. Il peut dès lors être considéré comme une source majeure pour la connaissance du manichéisme en islam médiéval ; voir G. monnot, Penseurs musulmans, p. 60-61, p. 104 ; C. colpe, « Anpassung der Manichäismus an den Islam (Abū ‘Īsā al-Warrāq) », Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 109 (1959), p. 82-91. 69. Il est fréquent qu’en des passages mentionnant la colonne manichéenne, chez al-Šahrastānī, Ibn al-Nadīm et bien d’autres auteurs, les manuscrits donnent tantôt ‘amūd al-sabḥ, tantôt ‘amūd al-ṣubḥ, le sīn pouvant facilement être confondu avec le ṣād dans la graphie arabe ; voir les remarques de D. Gimaret – G. monnot, Shahrastani. Livre des religions et des sectes, t. I, Louvain-Paris 1986, p. 660, n. 29 ; G. monnot, Penseurs musulmans, p. 136 ; H. corBin, Trilogie (Lagrasse 1994), p. 186, n. 21. 70. Al-Šahrastānī, Kitāb al-Milal wa-l-niḥal, éd. M. Kīlānī, t. I, Beyrouth, s.d., p. 247- 248 ; trad. fr. D. Gimaret – G. monnot, Shahrastani, t. I, p. 659-660. Les versions d’Ibn al-Nadīm et d’al-Šahrastānī ont été copiées par plusieurs auteurs postérieurs, principalement des chiites duodécimains ; voir les textes réunis par Ḥ. taqīzādeh – A. ŠīRāzī, Mānī, p. 253-254 (un commentaire du Ḥikmat al-išrāq d’al-Suhrawardī), p. 267-268 (Ibn Abi l-Ḥadīd, Šarḥ Nahǧ al-balāġa) ; p. 300-301 (Ibn al-Murtaḍā, Kitāb al-Munya wa-l-amal fī šarḥ al-milal wa-l-niḥal), p. 322-324 (al-Maǧlisī, Bihār al-anwār). Ces trois derniers auteurs ne mentionnent pas la colonne. 71. Voir H.-C. puech, Le Manichéisme, p. 85-91 et notes afférentes ; A. BöhliG, Die Gnosis. Dritter Band. Der Manichäismus, Zurich-Munich 1980, p. 43 ; M. tarDieu, Le Manichéisme, Paris 19972 (19811), p. 109-111 ; J. ries, L’Église gnostique de Mani, Turnhout 2011, p. 117-119. 72. Selon Dodge, la lecture al-Nahnaha, retenue dans l’édition de Flügel et reprise par Taǧaddud, serait erronée ; al-Bahīǧa serait la mère de l’Homme primordial ; voir B. DoDGe, The Fihrist, t. I, p. 780, n. 172 et p. 795, n. 253. 73. Ibn al-Nadīm, Fihrist, p. 398. 74. Ibn al-Nadīm, Fihrist, p. 396 ; cf. al-Šahrastānī, Milal, p. 246 : « la brise est l’esprit de la lumière » (al-nasīm huwa rūḥ al-nūr) ; p. 247 : « La brise sur terre ne cesse de s’élever, car il appartient à sa nature de s’élever vers son monde. De même, toutes les parcelles de lumière montent et s’élèvent perpétuellement, tandis que les parcelles de ténèbres ne font que descendre et s’abaisser. » 75. Voir supra, p. 359. 76. Ibn al-Nadīm, Fihrist, p. 398-399. 77. Voir supra, n. 69. 78. al-Baġdādī, al-Farq bayna l-firaq, Beyrouth 1987, p. 254. Ce passage a été copié par Abu l-Muẓaffar al-Isfarā’īnī (m. 471/1078-9) en son Tabṣīr fi l-dīn ; voir le texte dans Ḥ. taqīzādeh – A. ŠīRāzī, Mānī, p. 452. 79. D. De smet, « La transmigration des âmes. Une notion problématique dans l’ismaélisme d’époque fatimide », dans O. mir-KasimoV (dir.), Unity in Diversity. Mysticism, Messianism and the Construction of Religious Authority in Islam, Leyde-Boston 2014, p. 77-110 ; pour la réincarnation en des corps animaux, végétaux et minéraux selon le Ṭayyibisme, voir D. De smet, « Scarabées, scorpions, cloportes et corps camphrés. Métamorphose, réincarnation et génération spontanée dans l’hétérodoxie chiite », dans A. VroliJK – J. P. hoGenDiJK (dir.), O ye Gentlemen. Arabic Studies on Science and Literary Culture in Honour of Remke Kruk, Leyde-Boston 2007, p. 48-49 ; R. FreitaG, Seelenwanderung in der islamischen Häresie, Berlin 1985, p. 170-182. 80. Ibn al-Nadīm, Fihrist, p. 394. 81. H.-C. puech, Le Manichéisme, p. 84-85, p. 178, n. 354. 82. Hegémonius, Acta Archelai. Translated by M. Vermes, with introduction and commentary by S. N. C. Lieu, Louvain 2001, VIII, p. 51. 83. Kephalaia, II, p. 20 et LXXII, p. 177. Par ailleurs, un hymne manichéen en parthe est dédié à « la colonne de lumière, l’homme parfait » ; voir A. BöhliG, Der Manichäismus, p. 246 ; sur l’Homme parfait manichéen qui réunit la lumière épurée et est identifié au Noûs de lumière, voir H. corBin, « Épiphanie divine », p. 294 ; M. tarDieu, Le Manichéisme, p. 105 et p. 108. 84. Voir supra, p. 362. 85. Acta Archelai, XIII, p. 57. 86. Kephalaia, XXXIX, p. 102 et LXVII, p. 165 ; même thème dans un psaume manichéen en copte, voir A. BöhliG, Der Manichäismus, p. 120 ; cf. J. ries, L’Église gnostique, p. 253- 254 ; G. WiDenGren, Mani und der Manichäismus, Stuttgart 1961, p. 71. 87. Voir H.-C. puech, Le Manichéisme, p. 81-85 ; J. ries, L’Église gnostique, p. 26-29. 88. Cette démythologisation et déchristianisation ont été bien relevées par C. colpe, « Anpassung », p. 90-91. Pour s’en convaincre, il suffit de comparer le récit d’Ibn al-Nadīm aux résumés du mythe manichéen donnés, à partir de sources non arabes, par H.-C. puech, Le Manichéisme, p. 74-85 ; A. BöhliG, Der Manichäismus, p. 27-36 ; M. tarDieu, Le Manichéisme, p. 92-111. 89. Selon les Acta Archelai, VIII, p. 50-51, c’est Jésus, en tant que démiurge, qui construit la noria céleste pour libérer les âmes, avec le soleil, la lune et la colonne de gloire. 90. Ibid., p. 49-50 ; cf. Ibn al-Nadīm, Fihrist, p. 394. 91. Kephalaia, I, p. 12-14 et II, p. 20 ; cf. H.-C. puech, Le Manichéisme, p. 72 ; J. ries, L’Église gnostique, p. 56-57. 92. Ibn al-Nadīm, Fihrist, p. 392. 93. Voir le texte manichéen en moyen-persan traduit dans A. BöhliG, Der Manichäismus, p. 100. 94. Kephalaion, CII, p. 255-257 : le Noûs de lumière habite dans les élus. 95. Ibn al-Nadīm, Fihrist, p. 397-398. 96. Voir J. M. F. Van reeth, « Les prophéties oraculaires dans le Coran et leurs antécédents : Montan et Mani », dans D. De smet – M. A. amir-moezzi (éd.), Controverses sur les écritures canoniques de l’islam, Paris 2014, p. 77-145, en particulier p. 126-136. 97. H. corBin, « Épiphanie divine », p. 202-203 et Trilogie (Lagrasse 1994), p. 180 compare la fonction « descendante » de la colonne de lumière ṭayyibite au motif manichéen de la Croix de lumière. Outre le fait que cette notion n’apparaît pas dans les textes ismaéliens, j’avoue ne voir qu’un rapport lointain avec le concept du Jesus patibilis, le « Jésus cosmique et intemporel crucifié sur la Matière où son âme lumineuse est mêlée » (H.-C. puech, Le Manichéisme, p. 82). Certes, on pourrait voir dans le dixième Intellect du Ṭayyibisme une sorte de « sauveur sauvé » : par l’influx qu’il transmet aux imams par l’intermédiaire de la colonne de lumière, il récupère des parcelles de lumière, aspirées par cette même colonne, qu’il a perdues au cours de sa chute. Mais il n’est dit nulle part que l’Intellect « souffre » dans la matière, ni qu’il est crucifié sur elle. Quoi qu’en dise Corbin, il y a encore moins de rapport avec la symbolique des quatre branches de la croix expliquée par Abū Ya‘qūb al-Siǧistānī dans son Kitāb al-Yanābī‘ (éd. H. corBin, Trilogie, § 143-146, p. 73-74 du texte arabe). 98. Sur cette question, voir D. De smet, « Éléments chrétiens dans l’ismaélisme yéménite sous les derniers Fatimides. Le problème de la gnose ṭayyibite », dans M. BarrucanD (dir.), L’Égypte fatimide, son art et son histoire, Paris 1999, p. 45-53. 99. Voir D. De smet, « L’île de Ceylan et la génération spontanée : les Ikhwān al-Ṣafā’, Ibn Ṭufayl et les Ṭayyibites », Acta Orientalia Belgica 26 (2013), p. 117-122, à comparer avec le mythe manichéen de la génération d’Adam et d’Ève décrit par A. BöhliG, Der Manichäismus, p. 33-34. |
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