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Kitab al-Jafr

{{short description|Islamic work of literature}}

{{About|| other uses|al-Jafr (disambiguation)}}

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Kitab al-Jafr}}

{{Shia Islam}}

{{Transliteration|ar|Kitab al-Jafr}} ({{langx|ar|كِتاب ٱلْجَفْر|Kitāb al-Jafr}}) is a mystical book which, in the Shia belief, contains esoteric teachings of the Islamic prophet Muhammad for his cousin and son-in-law Ali, who is recognized as the fourth Rashidun caliph ({{Reign|656|661}}) and the first Shia Imam. In the Twelver Shia belief, the book was handed down through their line of Twelve Imams, and remains now in the possession of their Hidden Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, who would reappear at the end of time to eradicate injustice and evil. In the Sunni lore, the book is instead known as {{Transliteration|ar|Kitab al-mughaybat}} ({{Lit|the book of hidden things}}).

About the book

The word {{Transliteration|ar|jafr}} ({{langx|ar|جَفْر |lit=}}) means an animal skin, prepared as parchment for writing.{{sfn|Burton|2013}} In the Shia belief, {{Transliteration|ar|Kitab al-Jafr}} is a mystical book with esoteric teachings of Muhammad for Ali.{{sfn|Esposito|2003|pp=175{{ndash}}176}}{{sfn|Modarressi|2003|p=5}} In support of its existence, Ali was once seen transcribing in the presence of Muhammad, as reported by the Shia scholar Ali ibn Babawayh ({{Died in|939}}) and the Sunni scholars Ibn al-Sam'ani ({{Died in|1166}}) and Siraj al-Din al-Bulqini ({{Died in|1403}}).{{Sfn|Modarressi|2003|p=4}} Yet in a hadith by the Sunni traditionist Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani ({{Died in|1038}}), Ali denies having received anything from Muhammad except for a folio as tiny as a finger with three short sentences. The Sunni scholars Abd al-Razzaq al-San'ani ({{Died in|827}}) and al-Bayhaqi ({{Died in|1066}}) stripped Ali of this folio and transferred its ownership to the second caliph, Umar ({{Reign|632|634}}).{{Sfn|Modarressi|2003|p=|pp=6{{ndash}}7}} In the Sunni lore, {{Transliteration|ar|Kitab al-Jafr}} is known instead as {{Transliteration|ar|Kitab al-mughaybat}} ({{Lit|the book of hidden things}}).{{sfn|Esposito|2003|pp=175{{ndash}}176}}

{{Transliteration|ar|Kitab al-Jafr}} is often mentioned together with {{Transliteration|ar|Kitab Ali}}, {{Transliteration|ar|al-Jami'a}}, and {{Transliteration|ar|Mushaf Fatima}}, which are all said to have been inherited by the Ahl al-Bayt, that is, the House of Muhammad, as part of the esoteric knowledge available to them.{{sfn|Modarressi|2003|p=|pp=4{{ndash}}5}}{{Sfn|Momen|1985|p=150}} More specifically, the Twelver Shia believe that these books were handed down through their line of Twelve Imams,{{sfn|Modarressi|2003|p=|pp=4{{ndash}}5}} and that {{Transliteration|ar|al-Jafr}} is now in the possession of their Hidden Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi,{{sfn|Burton|2013}} who would reappear at the end of time to eradicate injustice and evil.{{Sfn|Amir-Moezzi|1998}} Often described in similar terms in Shia sources, all these books are thought to contain esoteric teachings, apocalyptic prophesies,{{Sfn|Modarressi|2003|p=5}}{{sfn|Burton|2013}} and legal injunctions.{{Sfn|Modarressi|2003|p=8}} In particular, {{Transliteration|ar|al-Jafr}} is thought to have addressed all matters of religion, including a detailed penal code that accounted even for bruises.{{sfn|Modarressi|2003|pp=18{{ndash}}19}} The first mention of {{Transliteration|ar|al-Jafr}} is often associated with Ja'far al-Sadiq ({{Died in|765}}), the sixth of the Twelve Imams.{{Sfn|Modarressi|2003|p=7}}{{sfn|Esposito|2003|pp=175{{ndash}}176}} In popular culture, the book is mentioned in the storyline of One Thousand and One Nights, and a description of it is offered by the linguist Richard F. Burton ({{Died in|1890}}) in his supplement to the book.{{sfn|Burton|2013}}

See also

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Footnotes

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References

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  • {{cite encyclopedia |year=1998 |title=Eschatology iii. Imami Shiʿism |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/eschatology-iii |author-link=Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi |volume=VIII/6 |pages=575–581 |author-first=Mohammad Ali |author-last=Amir-Moezzi}}
  • {{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/oxforddictionary00bada/mode/2up|title=The Oxford Dictionary of Islam|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2003|isbn=9780195125597|editor-last=Esposito|editor-first=John L.|editor-link=John Esposito|url-access=registration}}
  • {{Cite book|last=Modarressi|first=Hossein|title=Tradition and Survival: A Bibliographical Survey of Early Shi'ite Literature|publisher=Oneworld|year=2003|isbn=9781851683314|volume=1|pages=|author-link=Hossein Modarressi}}
  • {{Cite encyclopedia|last1=Shah-Kazemi|first1=Reza|url=https://archive.org/details/muhammadinhistor0000unse_h4s1/page/20/mode/2up|encyclopedia=Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopaedia of the Prophet of God|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2014|isbn=9781610691772|editor-last=Fitzpatrick|editor-first=Coeli|pages=20{{ndash}}24|title='Ali ibn Abi Talib (599-661)|editor-last2=Walker|editor-first2=Adam Hani|author-link=Reza Shah-Kazemi|url-access=registration}}
  • {{Cite book|last=Burton|first=Richard Francis|url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Tale_of_Attaf|title=Supplemental Tales to the Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night|publisher=HardPress|year=2013|isbn=9781314466164|volume=6|author-link=Richard Francis Burton}}
  • {{Cite book |last=Momen |first=Moojan |title=An Introduction to Shi'i Islam |publisher=Yale University Press |year=1985 |isbn=9780853982005 |author-link=Moojan Momen}}

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Category:Shia literature

Category:Shia Islam