Umm al-kitāb (Islamic Gnostic Work)
The Umm al-kitāb ( Arabic : أمّ الکتاب, translit. Umm al-kitāb, lit. 'mother of books') is an Islamic - Gnostic work from the 8th century , originally written in Arabic . It offers an esoteric hermeneutics regarding man, cosmogony and epistemology in the Qur'anic context. The content also shows similarities with many pre-Islamic faiths, such as Manichaeism and Valentinianism .
content
The work is about a discourse between Muhammad al-Bāqir and some of his students about the role of humans in the cosmos. One of the central motifs deals with the case of the angel Asazel , who proclaimed himself a god next to Allah and is then banished to ever deeper spheres with his followers and who loses a color of his soul every time. The material world is then created from the bodies of Asazel's followers. After the person succumbs to the sexual seductions of demons, he finds himself again in that material world. Another central figure is Salman , probably based on Salmān al-Fārisī , who is considered to be the first Persian follower of Muhammad . He takes on the role of God's representative and represents Asazel's opponent.
See also
literature
- SH Nasr, Mehdi Aminrazavi Anthology of Philosophy in Persia: Ismaili Thought in the Classical Age IBTauris 2008 ISBN 978-0-857-71042-0
- Willis Barnstone, Marvin Meyer The Gnostic Bible: Revised and Expanded Edition Shambhala Publications 2009 ISBN 978-0-834-82414-0