The Nusayri Religious System

Role of the Aytam and Spiritual Hierarchies

As explained in chapter 26, the Nusayris believe that the deity manifested himself seven times in seven human forms, beginning with Adam and ending with Ali ibn Abi Talib. Each manifestation as a Mana was accompanied by corresponding manifestation of an Ism, a creation through five Aytam (incomparables) who, as their name indicates, are unique. In cosmological essence, they are principles of the universe and the cause of all that exists, visible and invisible. The Aytam appeared in new incarnations in each of the seven cycles. But the Nusayri believe that in the seventh and last cycle, when the Mana was Ali, the Ism, Muhammad, and the Bab, Salman, the five Ayatams were created by Salman. We read in Kitab al Majmu’ that the Lord Salman created the five noble Incomparables, al Miqdad ibn Aswad al Kindi, Abu Dharr al Ghifari, Abdullah ibn Rawahah al Ansari, Uthman ibn Madhun al Najashi, and Qanbar ibn Kadan al Dawsi, as servants of Ali.

The Aytam are creators of this world: the dry land and the oceans; every plain and every mountain; the Southern regions and the northern; the Orient and the occident; everything spanned by the blue vault of heaven.[1]

Not only did the Aytam create this whole world as it now exists, however; they also hold the government of the heavens and earth in their hands. Al Miqdad controls thunder, lightning, and earthquakes; Abu Dharr al Ghifari supervises the gyrations of the stars and constellations; Abdullah ibn Rawahah directs the winds and is in charge of the arrest of human spirits (in Islamic tradition, he is the Angel of Death); Uthman ibn Madh’un controls stomachs, the heat of the body, and human diseases; and Qanbar ibn Kadan al Dawsi is responsible for the introduction of spirits into the body.[2]

Like the Bab, the Incomparables form a part of the Nusayri hierarchy. But why should these five men be given such sublime positions in the Nusayri system? Like Salman, they were pioneer converts who saw in Islam a spiritual force that would change the carnal life of the pagan Arabs. Pious Mystics (zuhhad), they totally surrendered their souls to God, condemning the worldliness and extravagance of the Quraysh as sinful. These men saw in Ali ibn Abi Talib an exemplary Muslim, possessed of sublime spirituals ideals. They considered him to be the only one to succeed the Rasul salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam in leading the Muslim community. They became, therefore, the first supporters (Shia) of Ali’s right to this leadership (the Imamah), and through this support, they came to be connected with Salman al Farisi, who was greatly venerated by the Rasul, and who supported Ali as the Rasul’s successor. This is why the Aytam are frequently referred to as the “five luminous bodies,” and occupy the second rank in the world of light in the Nusayris’ religious hierarchy.

The Nusayris primal belief in the seven manifestations of God and the threefold divinity is closely associated with their system of spiritual hierarchies. According to the Nusayris, there are countless worlds known by God. Chief among them are great luminous world (al Alam al Kabir al Nurani) and the little earthly world (al Alam al Saghir al Turabi). The first is heaven, the “light of light,” and the second is the residence of men. The great luminous world contains seven hierarchical orders, each having its representatives on earth. Chief among these ranks are the Babs (doors), who number 400 and the Aytam, who number 500. Below them in the hierarchy are the Naqibs, or princes, numbering 600; the Najibs, or excellent ones, numbering 700; Mukhtassun, or peculiars, numbering 800; the Mukhlisun, or pure in faith, numbering 900; the Mumtahanun, or the tried, number 1,100; in all these orders number 5,000 strong.[3]

These heavenly ranks appeared in the little earthly world together with the manifestation of God in human form and were personified in the Nusayri dignitaries. These ranks are represented the twelve Naqibs and twenty eight Najibs, who possess complete knowledge of the functions of the ranks beneath them, and the knowledge of God Ali, His Name, and His Bab. They have other counterparts in apostles and Ambiya’ who are also representative of the deity because they have partially emanated from Him.[4]

These ranks seem to represent natural phenomena. The five Aytam who form the second order represent the East, the West, the moon, the new moon, the stars, thunder, and lightning. The seven degrees of the third order, Naqibs, are prayer, zakat (alms), pilgrimage, fasting, hijrah (immigration), jihad (holy war), and dua’ (supplication). The seven degrees of the fourth order, the Najibs, are mountains, rain clouds, seas, rivers, winds, clouds, and thunderbolts. The seven degrees of the fifth order, the Mukhatassun are at night, day, lunch, supper, the morrow, sunset, and torrential streams. The seven degrees of the sixth order, the Mukhlisun, are cattle, riding beasts, camels, bees, fowl, monks’ cells, and churches. And lastly, the seven degrees of the seventh order, the Mumtahnun, are home, places of worship, palm trees, berries, pomegranates, olives, and figs.[5]

The Earthly World contains seven degrees of believers. There are 14,000 Muqarrabun (near ones), 15,000 Cherubim, 16,000 Ruhiyyun (spiritual or sanctified), 17,000 Muqaddasun, 18,000 Sayhun (wandering ascetics), 19,000 Mustami’un (listeners), and 20,000 Lahiqun (followers). In all, they number 119, 000.[6]

These hierarchies are held in great reverence that the Nusayris believe their mere invocation is a means of gaining the remission of sin. According to one (of their) tradition, the Rasul < said, “When a congregation of true believers assembled in the east, west, north, or south of the earth, and made mention of the Most High, his Name, his Door, his Aytam, his Naqibs, his Najibs, Mukhatasun, Mukhlisun, Mumtahanun and all the people of his hierarchies, then a crier from above would proclaim, ‘Rise with your sins forgiven, and your bad deeds changed into good ones.’”[7]

In addition to the hierarchies, the Nusayris are required to honour a host of apostles and Ambiya’ who, together with the hierarchies, number 124,000. These include 28 Najibs, or excellent ones, the greatest of whom is Abdullah ibn Saba’, believed to have been the first to assert the divinity of Ali during his lifetime.[8]

Other illustrious characters honoured by the Nusayris include Jafar al Tayyar, brother of Ali, and the legendary figure al Khidr, more correctly called al Khadir (the ever-verdant), so named because of his eternal youth and because he caused a rod to break forth in blossom. The Nusayris also honour Christian’s saints and apostles, including Matthew, Paul, Peter, and Saint John Chrysostom, who are believed to be the Aytam (incomparables) of Rawzabah, the Bab in time of Jesus ‘alayh al-Salam, when Peter (Simon Cephas) was the Mana.[9]

Advancement within these hierarchies from the earthly world, to the great luminous world (heaven) is possible through instructions and training; the gnostic, who is well-versed in the science of religion, prepares the seeker, or neophyte. A neophyte desiring to attain the world of light must first become a mumtahan (one who is tried). From this stage the neophyte advances to the following rank of mukhlis (faithful one). When he attains all the knowledge of the mukhlis and of the mumtahan, then his spiritual guide advances him to the rank of mukhtass (peculiar). When he has absorbed the knowledge of the mukhtass, , his instructor advances him to the rank of najib, or excellent. If he absorbs the knowledge of the najib and without doubting, he moves up the rank of naqib (prince), and if he proves himself steadfast in the knowledge of the naqib, he is advanced to the rank of Yatim (singular of Aytam), or incomparable.

Upon attaining the rank of naqib, the seeker is given into the hands of the Bab, who will then entrust him to the Hijab (veil), or intermediary, Muhammad, who will then lead him to the Mana (Ali). The seeker, who has by now gone through a very rigorous examination of his faith, will be considered a mu’min (believer) and will be presented to the Mana. The Mana talks with him and examines him further, hoping to find that his good deeds outweigh his bad ones; even if they do, however, the Mana then reveals to him only those mysteries which he deems fit to disclose to him.

Now the believer is given the opportunity to intercede on behalf of a brother or another relative, that he may likewise attain the knowledge of Ali as a Mana by going through these stages and appearing before the Mana. The Mana will then respond to the believer’s appeal, purifying his relative and raising him unto himself.[10]

Finally, the believer ask his Lord and God (Ali) to remove the veil from his eyes, so that he may behold the upper and lower worlds, the heaven and the earth, and all things therein. Then God will disclose Himself to the believer and empower him with His spirit, so that the believer becomes, like the angels, not subject to human necessities like eating or drinking. The believer is then emancipated from human nature and transformed into an immortal being, a shinning celestial star, having his own will. He becomes able to ascend to the heavens or descend to the earth, and can traverse the world from east to west at will.[11]

In Kitab al Haft al Sharif, the Imam Jafar al Sadiq states that the believers may advance from one hierarchical rank to another and from one virtue to another until they become like angels of heaven, free from human limitations and the needs of human nature. Al Sadiq asked his interlocutor, al Mufaddal al Ju’fi, whether he had seen one of these believers in the spiritual state. Al Ju’fi replied he had not. But Muhammad ibn al Walid, who was in the presence of al Sadiq, told him that he had seen a man in this form. Al Walid said that while he was sitting in the mosque praising God, he saw a stranger in travel-stained clothes guiding a female camel. He invited the stranger to his home and gave him a supper of meat and bread. When supper was over and a servant came to remove the dishes, al Walid was astounded to see that the food on his guest’s plate was untouched. The servant asked the reason for this. He became even more startled when he looked at his guest and found him to be someone else, not the man he had invited to dine with him. His guest now had a long moustache. Al Walid was disturbed, but his guest told him not to be frightened because of his changed appearance. He explained that when a believer has passed through all the degrees of spiritual growth and reached the end, he became a spiritual being like the angels, no longer subject to the limitations of human nature. The guest declared that he had just experienced such transformation.

Al Sadiq turned to al Walid and al Ju’fi and said, “This same man came to see me three times this week while you were sitting here with me, but you neither saw nor heard him.”[12] Belief in such spiritual transformation and transcendentalism is an integral part of the Nusayris’ belief that, in the beginning, before the world was created, the Nusayris existed as shining lights and luminous stars beholding Ali in sapphire splendour, conscious of the distinction between obedience and disobedience, yet not drinking, eating or excreting. They lost this spiritual existence because of their disobedience,[13] but the stages of spiritual advancement which the Nusayri neophyte must undergo are seen as a means of regaining it, the same by the grace of their God, Ali.[14] Thus a Nusayri neophyte, who passes successfully through these spiritual stages finally becomes transformed into a celestial being emancipated from human nature, exactly like the Abdal and others discussed in chapter 10 of this book. In other words, the believer can gain immortality without experiencing death by passing through the stages of the Nusayri hierarchy. Al Walid’s transformed guest tells him, “I am only a believer like you, but I have been able to achieve this final stage [of spiritual transformation].”[15] There is no evidence that the guest passed through death before he attained the supernatural change from a human to a celestial form.

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[1] Kitab al Majmu’, Surah 5, in al Adani, Kitab al Bakhurah, 19. Cf. Umm al Kitab, 172.

[2] Al Adani, Kitab al Bakhurah, 19-20.

[3] Kitab al Sirah, Arab MS. 1449 fols. 93b-98a, Bibliothèque Nationale; Risalat al Bayan, Arab MS. 1450, fols. 55a-60b, Bibliothèque Nationale; Kitab Ta’lim al Diyanah al Nusyariyyah, question 55, and 59-68, Arab MS. 6182, Bibliothèque Nationale; Lyde, The Asian Mystery, 111-12; and al Hariri, al Alawiyyun al Nusayriyyun, 103-8.

[4] Kitab al Sirah, Arab MS. 1449 fols. 93b-98a, Bibliothèque Nationale; and Lyde, The Asian Mystery, 112.

[5] Kitab Ta’lim al Diyanah al Nusayriyyah, questions 58, 59, 61, 62, 63. Cf, al Hariri, al Alawiyyun al Nusayriyyun, 105-6.

[6] Kitab Ta’lim al Diyanah al Nusayriyyah, questions 55 and 65, Arab MS. 6182, Bibliothèque Nationale; and Risalat al Bayan, Arab MS. 1450, fols. 58a-60b. Cf. al Hariri, al Alawiyyun al Nusayriyyun, 107-8.

[7] Kitab al Mashyakhah, in Lyde, The Asian Mystery, 135.

[8] Ibid., 136.

[9] Ibid., 136; and Kitab Ta’lim al Diyanah al Nusayriyyah, question 29, Arab NS. 6182, Bibliothèque Nationale.

[10] See Risalat al Bayan, Arab MS. 1450, fols. 58b-60a, Bibliothèque Nationale and al Hariri, al Alawiyyun al Nusayriyyun, 109-10.

[11] Risalat al Bayan, Arab MS. 1450, fols. 58b-60a, Bibliothèque Nationale.

[12] Kitab al Haft al Sharif, 74-78.

[13] Al Adani, Kitab al Bakhurah, 59-60.

[14] Kitab al Mashyakhah, in Lyde, The Asian Mystery, 142.

[15] Kitab al Haft al Sharif, 77.

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