al-Mufaddal ibn Umar al-Ju'fi

Al-Mufaddal was a non-Arab {{transliteration|ar|mawlā}} ("client") of the Ju'fa, a tribe belonging to the South-Arabian Madhhij confederation.{{harvnb|Asatryan|2000–2012b}}. Apart from the fact that he was a money-changer based in Kufa (Iraq), very little is known about his life. He probably managed the financial affairs of the Shi'ite Imams Ja'far al-Sadiq ({{circa|700}}–765) and Musa al-Kazim (745–799), who resided in Medina (Arabia). Using his professional network, he actively raised funds for the Imams in Medina, thus also playing an important role as an intermediary between the Imams and the Shi'ite community.{{harvnb|Asatryan|2000–2012b}}. The rise of money-changers as central figures who wielded considerable financial and political power coincided with the Imamate of Ja'far al-Sadiq; see {{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|p=58}}. On this subject, see further {{harvnb|Asatryan|2014}}. His date of death is unknown, but he died before Musa al-Kazim, who died in 799.{{harvnb|Modaressi|2003|p=333}}.{{efn|A detailed review of the biographical information on al-Mufaddal may be found in {{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|pp=46–61}}.}}

At some point during his life, al-Mufaddal's relations with Ja'far al-Sadiq soured because of his adherence to the teachings of the Kufan {{transliteration|ar|ghulāt}} leader Abu al-Khattab (died 755–6). Abu al-Khattab had been a designated spokesman of Ja'far, but in {{circa|748}} he was excommunicated by the Imam for his 'extremist' or 'exaggerated' ({{transliteration|ar|ghulāt}}) ideas, particularly for having declared Ja'far to be divine.{{harvnb|Amir-Moezzi|2013}}. However, al-Mufaddal later recanted and cut of all contact with the {{transliteration|ar|Khaṭṭabiyya}} (the followers of Abu al-Khattab), leading to a reconciliation with Ja'far.

This episode was understood in widely different ways by later Shi'i authors. On the one hand, early Imami (i.e., proto-Twelver Shi'i){{efn|name=Imami|Although the term 'Imami' is synonymous with 'Twelver' when speaking about the period from {{circa|941}} onward, it is also used by scholars to refer to that branch of early Shi'ism which would eventually develop into Twelver Shi'ism, before the number of Imams was fixed at twelve. The notion of twelve Imams is not yet found in the works of al-Barqi (died in 887 or 893), but a few hadiths mentioning that there would be twelve Imams were recorded by al-Saffar al-Qummi (died 903). The earliest text to unambiguously list the twelve Imams as we now know them is Ali ibn Ibrahim al-Qummi's (died 919) {{transliteration|ar|Tafsīr al-Qummī}}. Nevertheless, definitively fixing the number of Imams at twelve only became common from the time of al-Kulayni (died 941), and the doctrine that ultimately distinguished Twelver Shi'ism from earlier forms of Imami Shi'ism is the belief in the Major Occultation of the twelfth Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi, which occurred in 941 (the twelfth Imam was thought to have disappeared as a young boy in 874, initiating what is known as the Minor Occultation). See {{harvnb|Amir-Moezzi|2007–2012}}; {{harvnb|Kohlberg|1976|p=521}}.}} heresiographers report the existence of a {{transliteration|ar|ghulāt}} sect named after him, the {{transliteration|ar|Mufaḍḍaliyya}}, who would have declared Ja'far to be God and al-Mufaddal his prophet or Imam. It is not certain whether the {{transliteration|ar|Mufaḍḍaliyya}} really ever existed, and if they did, whether they really held the doctrines attributed to them by the heresiographers. Nevertheless, al-Mufaddal was also highly regarded by the members of other {{transliteration|ar|ghulāt}} sects such as the {{transliteration|ar|Mukhammisa}},{{efn|On the {{transliteration|ar|Mukhammisa}}, see {{harvnb|Asatryan|2000–2013}}.}} and several of the writings attributed to him contain {{transliteration|ar|ghulāt}} ideas. He was even accused in some hadith reports of having tried to contaminate Ja'far's eldest son Isma'il with the ideas of Abu al-Khattab. In addition, most works attributed to al-Mufaddal were preserved by the Nusayris, a {{transliteration|ar|ghulāt}} sect that survives to this day and that sometimes regarded al-Mufaddal as a {{transliteration|ar|Bāb}} (an official deputy of the Imam and a "gateway" to his secret knowledge).{{harvnb|Asatryan|2000–2012b}}. On the concept of {{transliteration|ar|Bāb}} in Shi'ism, see {{harvnb|MacEoin|1988–2011}}.{{efn|{{harvnb|Modaressi|2003|p=333}} also describes al-Mufaddal as a "leader of the {{transliteration|ar|Mufawwiḍa}} school of Shı̄‘ite Extremism". The heresiographers described the {{transliteration|ar|Mufawwiḍa}} as a {{transliteration|ar|ghulāt}} sect who believed that the Imams were delegated (Arabic: {{transliteration|ar|tafwīḍ}}) by God to perform divine tasks such as creating and sustaining the universe. However, {{harvnb|Asatryan|2000–2012b}} notes that the hadith reports in which al-Mufaddal is credited with {{transliteration|ar|Mufawwiḍa}} views always end with a refutation of those views by the Imam. According to {{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|pp=98–111}}, {{transliteration|ar|tafwīḍ}}-like ideas often go hand in hand with the divinization of prophets and Imams as practiced by the {{transliteration|ar|ghulāt}}, and the concept of a separate group called the {{transliteration|ar|Mufawwiḍa}} is likely a mere construct of the heresiographers.}}

On the other hand, later Twelver Shi'i sources often insist that al-Mufaddal never gave in to heresy, and they often emphasize that it was al-Mufaddal who was appointed by Ja'far to lead the {{transliteration|ar|Khaṭṭabiyya}} back to the right path.{{harvnb|Amir-Moezzi|2013}}; {{harvnb|Gleave|2008–2012}}. The proto-Twelver scholar al-Kashshi ({{floruit|first}} half of the 10th century) did cite some reports alleging that al-Mufaddal had briefly fallen into heresy during his time with Abu al-Khattab, and that Ja'far had reluctantly repudiated al-Mufaddal as an infidel (see {{harvnb|Turner|2006|pp=182–183}}). Some of the works attributed to al-Mufaddal, like the {{transliteration|ar|Kitab al-Ihlīlaja}} and the {{transliteration|ar|Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal}}, explicitly refute those who would deny the exclusive oneness ({{transliteration|ar|tawḥīd}}) of God. These works may have been written in order to rehabilitate al-Mufaddal within the Twelver tradition and to prove his reliability as a hadith transmitter.{{harvnb|Gleave|2008–2012}}. {{harvnb|Turner|2006|p=184}}, in contrast, suggests that they may have been written before al-Mufaddal gained the reputation of being an unreliable {{transliteration|ar|ghālin}} among some 10th/11th-century Twelver authors. Turner's argument is that false attributions are made to lend authority to a work, and that it would not make sense to attribute a work to someone reputed to be unreliable. Gleave, on the other hand, assumes that attributing 'orthodox' doctrine to someone can enhance that person's reputation for reliability. But even among Twelver scholars there was dissension. For example, while al-Shaykh al-Mufid ({{circa|948}}–1022) praised al-Mufaddal as a learned person and a trustworthy companion of the Imams, al-Najashi ({{circa|982–1058}}) and Ibn al-Ghada'iri ({{fl.|first}} half of the 11th century)On Ibn al-Ghada'iri, see {{harvnb|Kohlberg|2000}}. denounced him as an unbelieving heretic.{{harvnb|Asatryan|2000–2012b}}. See further {{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|p=46}}.

File:Kitab al-Haft al-sharif (al-Mufaddal) - photograph of manuscript as shown in ed. Mustafa Ghalib 1964 (cropped).png

The {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla}} (Book of the Seven and the Shadows), also known as {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Haft al-sharīf}} (Noble Book of the Seven) or simply as {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Haft}} (Book of the Seven),{{efn|Edition of the Arabic text in {{harvnb|Tāmir|Khalifé|1960}}, {{harvnb|Ghālib|1964}}, and {{harvnb|Tāmir|2007}}; critical edition of chapter 59 in {{harvnb|Asatryan|2020|pp=296–298}}; discussion of the various editions in {{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|pp=18–19}}. On this text, see also {{harvnb|Halm|1978}}; {{harvnb|Halm|1981}} (continuation of Halm 1978); {{harvnb|Capezzone|1999}}; {{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|loc=13–42 et passim}}. According to {{harvnb|Madelung|1963|p=181}}, followed by {{harvnb|Halm|1978|p=220}} and {{harvnb|Asatryan|2012|p=145}}, the word {{transliteration|ar|haft}} is a Persian loanword meaning 'seven' (Madelung refers to the use of {{transliteration|ar|al-haft}} and {{transliteration|ar|al-haftiyya}} to designate sevenfold things like the seven Adams or the seven heavens, in {{harvnb|Tāmir|Khalifé|1960|pp=125, 128, 130}}; cf. {{harvnb|Ghālib|1964|pp=163, 167, 171}}; {{harvnb|Tāmir|2007|pp=173, 176, 179}}).}} 8th–11th centuries,{{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|p=16}}. The various titles are discussed by Asatryan 2017, pp. 18–19. is perhaps the most important work attributed to al-Mufaddal.{{harvnb|Gleave|2008–2012}}; {{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|p=16}}. It sets out in great detail the {{transliteration|ar|ghulāt}} myth of the pre-existent "shadows" (Arabic: {{transliteration|ar|aẓilla}}) whose fall from grace led to the creation of the material world. This theme of pre-existent shadows seems to have been typical of the 8th-century Kufan {{transliteration|ar|ghulāt}}: also appearing in other early {{transliteration|ar|ghulāt}} works such as the Umm al-kitab (Shi'i book), it may ultimately go back to Abd Allah ibn Harb ({{died-in|after 748}}).{{harvnb|Halm|2001–2012}}. On Abd Allah ibn Harb, see {{harvnb|Anthony|2012a|pp=309–310}}. Various versions of the myth are summarized by {{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|pp=138–145}}. On the theme of pre-existent shadows in general, see also {{harvnb|Capezzone|2017}}.

Great emphasis is placed throughout the work on the need to keep the knowledge received from Ja'far al-Sadiq, who is referred to as {{transliteration|ar|mawlānā}} ("our lord"), from falling into the wrong hands. This secret knowledge is entrusted by Ja'far to al-Mufaddal, but is reserved only for true believers ({{transliteration|ar|muʾminūn}}).{{harvnb|Gleave|2008–2012}}. It involves notions such as the transmigration of souls ({{transliteration|ar|tanāsukh}} or metempsychosis) and the idea that seven Adams exist in the seven heavens, each one of them presiding over one of the seven historical world cycles.{{harvnb|Gleave|2008–2012}}. On {{transliteration|ar|tanāsukh}}, see further {{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|pp=150–154}}. On the seven Adams and world cycles ({{transliteration|ar|adwār}}), see {{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|loc=pp. 38, 140–143, 196 s.v. seven Adams}}. On world cycles in general, see {{harvnb|Daftary|1994–2011}}. This latter idea may reflect an influence from Isma'ilism, where the appearance of each new prophet (Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, Muhammad ibn Isma'il) is likewise thought to initiate a new world cycle.{{harvnb|Daftary|1994–2011}}. In the Isma'ili version of the doctrine of world cycles, Muhammad is the initiator of the current, penultimate cycle, while Ja'far al-Sadiq's grandson Muhammad ibn Isma'il is the concealed and awaited initiator of the last cycle.

A central element of the {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla}} is the creation myth involving pre-existent "shadows", which also occurs in many other {{transliteration|ar|ghulāt}} works with slightly different details.{{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|p=138}}. According to this myth, the first created beings were human souls who initially dwelt in the presence of God in the form of shadows. When the shadows disobeyed God, he created a veil ({{transliteration|ar|ḥijāb}}) in which he concealed himself as a punishment.{{efn|In the {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Ṣirāṭ}}'s (see below) version of the myth, after God concealed himself, some of the pre-existent beings (who in this work are not called shadows) denied that the figure in which God appeared to them was really divine, insisting that he was merely human (see {{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|p=139}}).}} Then God created the seven heavens as a dwelling place for the disobedient souls, according to their sin. In each of the heavens God also created bodies from his own light for the souls who arrived there, and from the souls' disobedience he created the Devil. Finally, from the offspring of the Devil God created the bodies of animals and various other sublunary entities ({{transliteration|ar|masūkhiyya}}).{{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|pp=140–141}}.

The {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla}} consists of at least eleven different textual layers which were added over time, each of them containing slightly different versions of {{transliteration|ar|ghulāt}} concepts and ideas.{{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|p=16}}. Each of the eleven layers is analyzed in detail by {{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|pp=17–42}}. {{harvnb|Asatryan|2000–2012b}} still only counted seven layers. The earliest layers were written in 8th/9th-century Kufa, perhaps partly by al-Mufaddal himself, or by his close associates Yunus ibn Zabyan and Muhammad ibn Sinan (died 835).{{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|p=61}}. Muhammad ibn Sinan's date is given by {{harvnb|Halm|2001–2012}}. A possible indication for this is the fact that Muhammad ibn Sinan also wrote two works dealing with the theme of pre-existent shadows: the {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Aẓilla}} (Book of the Shadows) and the {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Anwār wa-ḥujub}} (Book of the Lights and the Veils).{{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|p=63}}. {{harvnb|Halm|1981|p=67}} proposed Muhammad ibn Sinan, who was a disciple of al-Mufaddal, as the author of the entire {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla}} (repeated in {{harvnb|Halm|2001–2012}}), but this was rejected by {{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|pp=64–65}}. Shi'i bibliographical sources also list several other 8th/9th-century Kufan authors who wrote a {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Aẓilla}} or Book of the Shadows.These are Abu Salih Muhammad Abu al-Hasan Buzurj (a contemporary of Ja'far al-Sadiq), Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Kathir al-Hashimi (died 802), and Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Isa (a contemporary of Muhammad al-Jawad, died 835, and Ali al-Hadi, died 868); see {{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|p=74}}. In total, at least three works closely related to al-Mufaddal's {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla}} are extant, all likely dating to the 8th or 9th century:{{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|pp=63–65}}. These three works are compared on pp. 65–71 and tentatively dated to the 8th or 9th century on pp. 72–78.

1. Muhammad ibn Sinan's {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Anwār wa-ḥujub}} (Book of the Lights and the Veils)
2. an anonymous work called the {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Ashbāh wa-l-aẓilla}} (Book of the Apparitions and the Shadows){{efn|On the anonymous {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Ashbāh wa-l-aẓilla}}, see {{harvnb|Asatryan|2015}}.}}
3. another anonymous work also called the {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Aẓilla}} (Book of the Shadows).{{efn|On the anonymous {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Aẓilla}} (found in another work called the {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Kursī}}), see {{harvnb|Asatryan|2016|pp=131–135}}.}}

Though originating in the milieus of the early Kufan {{transliteration|ar|ghulāt}}, the {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla}} was considerably expanded by members of a later {{transliteration|ar|ghulāt}} sect called the Nusayris (now called the Alawites), who were active in 10th-century Syria.{{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|p=123}}. The Nusayris were probably also responsible for the work's final 11th-century form. However, the {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla}} was not preserved by the Nusayris, but by the Syrian Nizari Isma'ilis. Like the {{transliteration|ar|Umm al-kitāb}}, another {{transliteration|ar|ghulāt}} work that was transmitted by the Nizari Isma'ilis of Central Asia, it contains ideas which –despite being largely unrelated to Isma'ili doctrine–{{harvnb|Halm|2001–2012}}. On the fact that the {{transliteration|ar|Umm al-kitāb}} originally also was unrelated to Isma'ilism, see {{harvnb|De Smet|2020|p=303}}. influenced various later Isma'ili authors starting from the 10th century.{{efn|Early Isma'ili authors who adapted {{transliteration|ar|ghulāt}} ideas include Ja'far ibn Mansur al-Yaman (died {{circa|957}}; see {{harvnb|De Smet|2020|pp=303, 308}}; the {{transliteration|ar|ghulāt}} influences on Ja'far ibn Mansur al-Yaman's {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Kashf}} are discussed by {{harvnb|Asatryan|2020}}) and Abu Ya'qub al-Sijistani (died after 971; see De Smet 2020, pp. 304, 307–308). The influence of these ideas was pervasive in Tayyibi Isma'ilism (see De Smet 2020, pp. 320–321 et passim).}}

The {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Ṣirāṭ}} (Book of the Path) is another purported dialogue between al-Mufaddal and Ja'far al-Sadiq, likely composed in the period between the Minor and the Major Occultation (874–941).{{efn|Edition of the Arabic text in {{harvnb|Capezzone|1995}} and {{harvnb|Ibn ʿAbd al-Jalīl|2005}}. On this text, see also {{harvnb|Capezzone|1993}}. It is not to be confused with the similarly named {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Ṣirāṭ}} by the 9th-century {{transliteration|ar|ghulāt}} author Ishaq al-Ahmar al-Nakha'i (died 899, see {{harvnb|Asatryan|2000–2012a}}; {{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|loc=p. 200 s.v. Isḥāq Aḥmar al-Nakhaʿī}}).}} This work deals with the concept of an initiatory "path" (Arabic: {{transliteration|ar|ṣirāṭ}}) leading the adept on a heavenly ascent towards God, with each of the seven heavens corresponding to one of seven degrees of spiritual perfection. It also contains references to typical {{transliteration|ar|ghulāt}} ideas like {{transliteration|ar|tajallin}} (the manifestation of God in human form), {{transliteration|ar|tanāsukh}} (metempsychosis or transmigration of the soul), {{transliteration|ar|maskh}}/{{transliteration|ar|raskh}} (metamorphosis or reincarnation into non-human forms), and the concept of creation through the fall from grace of pre-existent beings (as in the {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla}}, see above).{{harvnb|Asatryan|2000–2012b}}. On the heavenly ascent through the seven heavens corresponding to seven degrees of spiritual perfection, see {{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|pp=145–147}} (summarized below). The {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Ṣirāṭ}}'s version of the myth of creation and fall is discussed in Asatryan 2017, p. 139 and compared with other versions of the myth on pp. 139–145.

The philosophical background of the work is given by the late antique concept of a great chain of being linking all things together in one great cosmic hierarchy. This hierarchical system extends from the upper world of spirit and light (populated by angels and other pure souls) to the lower world of matter and darkness (populated by humans, and below them animals, plants and minerals). Humanity is perceived as taking a middle position in this hierarchy, being located at the top of the world of darkness and at the bottom of the world of light.{{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|p=145}}. Those human beings who lack the proper religious knowledge and belief are reborn into other human bodies, which are likened to 'shirts' ({{transliteration|ar|qumṣān}}, sing. {{transliteration|ar|qamīṣ}}) that a soul can put on and off again. This is called {{transliteration|ar|tanāsukh}} or {{transliteration|ar|naskh}}. But grave sinners are reborn instead into animal bodies ({{transliteration|ar|maskh}}), and the worst offenders are reborn into the bodies of plants or minerals ({{transliteration|ar|raskh}}).{{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|pp=150–151}}.{{efn|name=maskh/raskh-commontheme|The concept of reincarnation into human ({{transliteration|ar|naskh}}), animal ({{transliteration|ar|maskh}}), or plant and mineral ({{transliteration|ar|raskh}}) bodies is also a common theme in other {{transliteration|ar|ghulāt}} texts. The {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla}} goes a little bit further than the {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Ṣirāṭ}}, also describing other forms of hierarchy within one class: among humans, female bodies rank below male ones, and among animals inedible species rank below edible ones; see {{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|pp=152–153}}. Some other forms, like {{transliteration|ar|waskh}} and {{transliteration|ar|faskh}}, are described in the context of Nusayri works by {{harvnb|Friedman|2010|p=106}}.}} On the other hand, those believers who perform good works and advance in knowledge also travel upwards on the ladder, putting on ever more pure and luminous 'shirts' or bodies, ultimately reaching the realm of the divine. This upwards path is represented as consisting of seven stages above that of humanity, each located in one of the seven heavens:{{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|p=146}}.

1. {{transliteration|ar|al-Mumtaḥā|italics=no}}: the Tested, first heaven
2. {{transliteration|ar|al-Mukhliṣ|italics=no}}: the Devout, second heaven
3. {{transliteration|ar|al-Mukhtaṣṣ|italics=no}}: the Elect, third heaven
4. {{transliteration|ar|al-Najīb|italics=no}}: the Noble, fourth heaven
5. {{transliteration|ar|al-Naqīb|italics=no}}: the Chief, fifth heaven
6. {{transliteration|ar|al-Yatīm|italics=no}}: the Unique, sixth heaven
7. {{transliteration|ar|al-Bāb|italics=no}}: the Gate, seventh heaven

At every degree the initiate receives the chance to gain a new level of 'hidden' or 'occult' ({{transliteration|ar|bāṭin}}) knowledge. If the initiate succeeds at internalizing this knowledge, they may ascend to the next degree. If, however, they lose interest or start to doubt the knowledge already acquired, they may lose their pure and luminous "shirt", receiving instead a heavier and darker one, and descend down the scale of being again. Those who reach the seventh degree (that of {{transliteration|ar|Bāb}} or "Gate"){{efn|name=bab|On the concept of {{transliteration|ar|Bāb}} in Shi'ism, see {{harvnb|MacEoin|1988–2011}}.}} are granted wondrous powers such as making themselves invisible, or seeing and hearing all things –including a beatific vision of God– without having to look or listen. Most notably, they are able to manifest themselves to ordinary beings in the world of matter ({{transliteration|ar|tajallin}}), by taking on the form of a human and appearing to anyone at will.{{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|p=147}}. This ability is shared between the "Gates" in the seventh heaven and God, who also manifests himself to the world by taking on a human form.

The theme of a heavenly ascent through seven degrees of spiritual perfection is also explored in other {{transliteration|ar|ghulāt}} works, including the anonymous {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Marātib wa-l-daraj}} (Book of Degrees and Stages), as well as various works attributed to Muhammad ibn Sinan (died 835), Ibn Nusayr (died after 868), and others.{{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|pp=145–149}}. On Ibn Nusayr, see {{harvnb|Friedman|2000–2010}}; {{harvnb|Steigerwald|2010}}. In the 9th/10th-century works attributed to the Shi'i alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan, the seven degrees corresponding to the seven heavens (themselves related to the seven planets) are replaced with fifty-five degrees carrying similar names (including {{transliteration|ar|al-Muʾmin al-Mumtaḥā}}, {{transliteration|ar|al-Najīb}}, {{transliteration|ar|al-Naqīb}}, {{transliteration|ar|al-Yatīm}}, {{transliteration|ar|al-Bāb}}). These fifty-five degrees correspond to the fifty-five celestial spheres alluded to by Plato in his Timaeus and mentioned by Aristotle in his Metaphysics.{{harvnb|Kraus|1942|pp=84, 91–92, 95–97}}. On the relationship between the works attributed to Jabir and the {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Ṣirāṭ}} (as well as other {{transliteration|ar|ghulāt}} works), see further {{harvnb|Capezzone|2020|loc=p. 57 et passim}}.

• {{transliteration|ar|al-Risāla al-Mufaḍḍaliyya}} (Mufaddali Epistle){{efn|Edition of the Arabic text in {{harvnb|Abū Mūsā|al-Shaykh Mūsā|2006|pp=9–18}}.}} is a brief dialogue between al-Mufaddal and Ja'far al-Sadiq of unclear date and origin. It strongly resembles the {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla}} and the {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Ṣirāṭ}} in doctrine and terminology. Its main subject is the classical theological question of the relationship between the one transcendent God ({{transliteration|ar|al-maʿnā}}, {{lit|the meaning}}) on the one hand, and his many attributes ({{transliteration|ar|ṣiffāt}}) and names ({{transliteration|ar|asmāʾ}}) on the other.{{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|p=60}}.
• {{transliteration|ar|Mā yakūn ʿinda ẓuhūr al-Mahdī}} (What Will Happen at the Appearance of the Mahdi){{efn|{{harvnb|Modaressi|2003|p=335}} notes that the full Arabic text was preserved by al-Khasibi (died 969) in his {{transliteration|ar|al-Hidāya al-kubrā}} (ed. Beirut 1986, pp. 392–437), with slightly different versions preserved by Hasan ibn Sulayman al-Hilli ({{fl.|{{c.|1399}}}}) in his {{transliteration|ar|Mukhtaṣar Baṣāʾir al-darajāt}} (ed. Najaf 1950, pp. 178–192) and by Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi (died 1699) in his {{transliteration|ar|Biḥār al-anwār}} ({{harvnb|al-Majlisi|1983|loc=vol. 53, pp. 1–35}}). Strongly abridged translation of al-Majlisi's version by {{harvnb|Turner|2006|pp=177–180}}. On this text, see also {{harvnb|Anthony|2012b}}.}} is a lengthy apocalyptic text about the state of the world during the end times, just before the return ({{transliteration|ar|rajʿa}}) of the Mahdi.{{efn|On the concept of the Mahdi in Shi'i Islam, see {{harvnb|Amir-Moezzi|2007–2012}}.}} Its earliest known version is preserved in a work by the Nusayri author al-Khasibi (died 969),{{harvnb|Modaressi|2003|p=335}}; for the various works in which this text was preserved, see also the explanatory footnote above. but the text likely goes back to the 9th century and perhaps even to al-Mufaddal himself.{{harvnb|Turner|2006|p=192}} does not exclude the possibility that the attribution of this text to al-Mufaddal is authentic. Though mainly dealing with the actions that the Mahdi will undertake to render justice to the oppressed, the work also contains references to mainstream Shi'i ideas such as temporary marriage contracts ({{transliteration|ar|mutʿa}}), as well as to the {{transliteration|ar|ghulāt}} idea of world cycles.{{harvnb|Modaressi|2003|p=335}}; {{harvnb|Asatryan|2000–2012b}}. On world cycles ({{transliteration|ar|adwār}}, sing. {{transliteration|ar|dawr}}), see {{harvnb|Daftary|1994–2011}}. It has been argued that the conceptualization of {{transliteration|ar|rajʿa}} in this and similar 8th/9th-century {{transliteration|ar|ghulāt}} texts has influenced the 10th-century development of the Twelver Shi'i doctrine on the return of the twelfth and 'hidden' Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi.{{harvnb|Turner|2006|pp=175, 192}}.
• {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb Mā iftaraḍa Allāh ʿalā al-jawāriḥ min al-īmān}} (Book on the Faith that God has Imposed on the Bodily Members), also known as the {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Īmān wa-l-islām}} (Book of Faith and Submission) and perhaps identical to the {{transliteration|ar|Risālat al-Mayyāḥ}} (Epistle of the Swagger) mentioned by the Twelver Shi'i bibliographer al-Najashi ({{circa|982}}–1058),{{efn|{{harvnb|Modaressi|2003|pp=335–336}} notes that the text is quoted by al-Saffar al-Qummi (died 903) in his {{transliteration|ar|Baṣāʾir al-darajāt}} (ed. M. Kūchabāghı̄, Tabriz, pp. 526–536) and that a short fragment of it also occurs in Ibn Babawayh's (died 991) {{transliteration|ar|ʿIlal al-sharāʾiʿ}} (ed. F.T. al-Yazdı̄, Qum, vol. 1, pp. 238–239). Modaressi's identification of this work with the {{transliteration|ar|Risālat al-Mayyāḥ}} mentioned by al-Najashi is based on the identical chain of transmission.}} presents itself as a long letter from Ja'far al-Sadiq to al-Mufaddal.{{harvnb|Modaressi|2003|pp=335–336}}. It was preserved by the Imami (i.e., proto-Twelver){{efn|name=Imami}} scholar al-Saffar al-Qummi (died 903).{{harvnb|Modaressi|2003|p=335}}. Likely written as a reaction to the negative portrayals of the {{transliteration|ar|ghulāt}} by Imami heresiographers, it refutes the typical accusation of the {{transliteration|ar|ghulāt}}'s purported licentiousness and sexual promiscuity. It also contains a reference to the obscure idea, likewise found in the {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla}} but attributed here to Abu al-Khattab (died 755–6), that religious commandments and restrictions are 'men' ({{transliteration|ar|rijāl}}), and that to know these 'men' is to know religion.

Two of the treatises attributed to al-Mufaddal, the {{transliteration|ar|Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal}} and the {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Ihlīlaja}}, differ from other treatises attributed to al-Mufaddal by the absence of any content that is specifically Shi'i in nature. Though both were preserved by the 17th-century Shi'i scholar Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi (died 1699), the only element connecting them to Shi'ism is their ascription to Ja'far al-Sadiq and al-Mufaddal. Their content appears to be influenced by Mu'tazilism, a rationalistic school of Islamic speculative theology ({{transliteration|ar|kalām}}). Often transmitted together in the manuscript tradition,They occur together both in {{harvnb|al-Majlisi|1983|loc=vol. 3, pp. 57–198}} and in a {{transliteration|ar|majmūʿa}} kept at Princeton University Library (ms. Princeton New Series 1307), the latter of which also contains another work ({{transliteration|ar|Kitāb Miṣbāḥ al-sharīʿa}}) attributed to Ja'far al-Sadiq: see {{harvnb|Kohlberg|1992|p=187}}. {{harvnb|Sezgin|1967|p=530}} refers to a {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Tawḥīd wa-l-ihlīlaja}}, according to Kohlberg perhaps a conflation of both works. they may be regarded as part of an attempt to rehabilitate al-Mufaddal among Twelver Shi'is, to whom al-Mufaddal was important as a narrator of numerous hadiths from the Imams Ja'far al-Sadiq and his son Musa al-Kazim. Both works were also known to other Twelver scholars such as al-Najashi ({{circa|982}}–1058), Ibn Shahrashub (died 1192), and Ibn Tawus (1193–1266).{{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|pp=59–60}}. On Ibn Tawus's use of these works, see {{harvnb|Kohlberg|1992|pp=187, 226}}.

{{main|Tawhid al-Mufaddal{{!}}Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal}}

The {{transliteration|ar|Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal}} ({{lit|Declaration by al-Mufaddal of the Oneness of God}}){{efn|Arabic text in {{harvnb|al-Majlisi|1983|loc=vol. 3, pp. 57–151}} (referred to by {{harvnb|Modaressi|2003|p=334}}; {{harvnb|Asatryan|2000–2012b}}; {{harvnb|Turner|2006|pp=184, 194, note 42}}). The work is probably identical with the {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb fī badʾ al-khalq wa-l-ḥathth ʿalā al-iʿtibār}} (Book on the Beginning of Creation and the Incitement to Contemplation) mentioned by al-Najashi, who also referred to the work as the {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb Fakkir}} ({{lit|Book of Think}}); see {{harvnb|Chokr|1993|loc=deuxième partie, chapitre I, 3 Deux ouvrages attribués à Ǧa‘far al-Ṣādiq, 10}}; Modaressi 2003, p. 334. According to Chokr 1993, the true title as given in the work itself is {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Adilla ʿalā al-khalq wa-l-tadbīr wa-l-radd ʿalā al-qāʾilīn bi-l-ihmāl wa-munkirī al-ʿamd}} (The Book on the Proofs of Creation and Administration and on the Refutation of the Supporters of Negligence and the Deniers of Purposefulness).}} sets out to prove the existence of God based on the argument from design (also called the teleological argument). The work consists of a series of lectures about the existence and oneness ({{transliteration|ar|tawḥīd}}) of God presented to al-Mufaddal by Ja'far al-Sadiq, who is answering a challenge made to him by the self-declared atheist Ibn Abi al-Awja'.{{harvnb|Turner|2006|p=184}}; {{harvnb|Modaressi|2003|p=334}}; {{harvnb|Chokr|1993|loc=deuxième partie, chapitre I, 3 Deux ouvrages attribués à Ǧa‘far al-Ṣādiq, 17}}. The setting is given in {{harvnb|al-Majlisi|1983|loc=vol. 3, pp. 57–58}}. On Ibn Abī al-ʿAwjāʾ, see further Chokr 1993, deuxième partie, chapitre VII, [https://books.openedition.org/ifpo/5369 ‘Abd al-Karīm b. Abī l-‘Awğā’ et son groupe]. In four "sessions" ({{transliteration|ar|majālis}}), Ja'far argues that the cosmic order and harmony which can be detected throughout nature necessitates the existence of a wise and providential creator.{{harvnb|Turner|2006|p=184}}; {{harvnb|Chokr|1993|loc=deuxième partie, chapitre I, 3 Deux ouvrages attribués à Ǧa‘far al-Ṣādiq, 13–14}}. Another discussion of the contents of this work but as attributed to al-Jahiz rather than to al-Mufaddal may be found in {{harvnb|Daiber|2014|pp=171–178}}. The Twelver Shi'i bibliographer al-Najashi ({{circa|982}}–1058) also refers to the work as the {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb Fakkir}} ({{lit|Book of Think}}), a reference to the fact that Ja'far often begins his exhortations with the word {{transliteration|ar|fakkir}} (think!).{{harvnb|Modaressi|2003|p=334}}.

The {{transliteration|ar|Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal}} is not an original work. Instead, it is a revised version of a work also attributed to the famous Mu'tazili litterateur al-Jahiz (died 868) under the title {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Dalāʾil wa-l-iʿtibār ʿalā al-khalq wa-l-tadbīr}} (Book on the Proofs and Contemplation of Creation and Administration).{{harvnb|Asatryan|2000–2012b}}, referring to {{harvnb|Chokr|1993|pp=85–87, 100–102}}. The attribution of this work to al-Jahiz is probably spurious as well, although the original was likely written in the 9th century.{{harvnb|Chokr|1993|loc=deuxième partie, chapitre I, 3 Deux ouvrages attribués à Ǧa‘far al-Ṣādiq, 14}}; {{harvnb|Asatryan|2000–2012b}}; {{harvnb|Daiber|2014|p=172}}. Compared to pseudo-Jahiz's {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Dalāʾil}}, the {{transliteration|ar|Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal}} adds an introduction that sets up a frame story involving al-Mufaddal, Ibn Abi al-Awja', and Ja'far al-Sadiq, as well rhymed praises of God at the beginning of each chapter, and a brief concluding passage.{{harvnb|Chokr|1993|loc=deuxième partie, chapitre I, 3 Deux ouvrages attribués à Ǧa‘far al-Ṣādiq, 15}}. According to Chokr, some of these rhymed praises contain traces of {{transliteration|ar|ghulāt}} doctrine.

Scholars have espoused various views on the ultimate origins of this work. According to Melhem Chokr, the versions attributed to al-Mufaddal and to al-Jahiz are both based on an unknown earlier work, with the version attributed to al-Mufaddal being more faithful to the original.{{harvnb|Chokr|1993|loc=deuxième partie, chapitre I, 3 Deux ouvrages attribués à Ǧa‘far al-Ṣādiq, 12}}. In Chokr's view, at some point the work must have been translated by a Syriac author into the Arabic from a Greek original, perhaps from an unknown Hermetic work. However, both Hans Daiber and Josef van Ess identify the original work on which pseudo-Jahiz's {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Dalāʾil}} was based as the {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Fikr wa-l-iʿtibār}} (Book of Thought and Contemplation), written by the 9th-century Nestorian Christian Jibril ibn Nuh ibn Abi Nuh al-Nasrani al-Anbari.{{harvnb|Daiber|2014|p=172}}, referring to {{harvnb|Daiber|1975|loc=159f.}}; {{harvnb|Van Ess|1980|pp=65, 79, note 7}}. Daiber and van Ess speak only about pseudo-Jahiz's {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Dalāʾil}} and its later adaptations, ignoring the {{transliteration|ar|Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal}}. However this may be, Jibril ibn Nuh's {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Fikr wa-l-iʿtibār}}, the {{transliteration|ar|Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal}} and pseudo-Jahiz's {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Dalāʾil}} are only the three earliest among many extant versions of the work: adaptations were also made by the Nestorian Christian bishop Elijah of Nisibis (died 1056),In his {{transliteration|ar|Risāla fī ḥudūth al-ʿālam wa-waḥdāniyyat al-khāliq wa-tathlīth al-aqānīm}}; see {{harvnb|Chokr|1993|loc=deuxième partie, chapitre I, 3 Deux ouvrages attribués à Ǧa‘far al-Ṣādiq, 11}}. by the Sunni mystic al-Ghazali (died 1111),In his {{transliteration|ar|al-Ḥikma fī makhlūqāt Allāh}}; see {{harvnb|Chokr|1993|loc=deuxième partie, chapitre I, 3 Deux ouvrages attribués à Ǧa‘far al-Ṣādiq, 11}}; {{harvnb|Daiber|2014|p=180}}. and by the Andalusian Jewish philosopher Bahya ibn Paquda (died first half of 12th century).In his {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Hidāya ilā farāʾiḍ al-qulūb}}; see {{harvnb|Chokr|1993|loc=deuxième partie, chapitre I, 3 Deux ouvrages attribués à Ǧa‘far al-Ṣādiq, 11}}; {{harvnb|Daiber|2014|p=180}}.

The {{transliteration|ar|Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal}}/{{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Dalāʾil}} contains many parallels with Syriac Christian literature, especially with the commentaries on the Hexameron (the six days of creation as described in Genesis) written by Jacob of Edessa ({{circa|640}}–708) and Moses bar Kepha ({{circa|813}}–903), as well as with Job of Edessa's encyclopedic work on natural philosophy called the Book of Treasures ({{circa|817}}).{{harvnb|Daiber|2014|p=173}}. Its teleological proof of the existence of God—based upon a discussion of the four elements, minerals, plants, animals, meteorology, and the human being—was likely inspired by pseudo-Aristotle's {{lang|la|De mundo}} (On the Universe, 3rd/2nd century BCE), a work also used by the Syriac authors mentioned above.{{harvnb|Daiber|2014|pp=171–175}}. In particular, the {{transliteration|ar|Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal}}/{{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Dalāʾil}} contains the same emphasis on the idea that God, who already in pseudo-Aristotle's {{lang|la|De mundo}} is called "one", can only be known through the wisdom permeating his creative works, while his own essence ({{transliteration|ar|kunh}}) remains hidden for all.{{harvnb|Daiber|2014|pp=175–178}}.

The idea that contemplating the works of nature leads to a knowledge of God is also found in the Quran.{{harvnb|Chokr|1993|loc=deuxième partie, chapitre I, 3 Deux ouvrages attribués à Ǧa‘far al-Ṣādiq, 14}}. However, in the case of the {{transliteration|ar|Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal}}/{{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Dalāʾil}}, the idea is set in a philosophical framework that clearly goes back on Hellenistic models. Apart from pseudo-Aristotle's {{lang|la|De mundo}} (3rd/2nd century BCE), there are also many parallels with Cicero's (106–43 BCE) {{lang|la|De natura deorum}}, especially with the Stoic views on teleology and divine providence outlined in Cicero's work.{{harvnb|Chokr|1993|loc=deuxième partie, chapitre I, 3 Deux ouvrages attribués à Ǧa‘far al-Ṣādiq, 14}}. On the role of providence in the {{transliteration|ar|Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal}}, see also {{lang|la|idem}}, 13. According to {{harvnb|Furley|1989|p=202}}, "god's providence is his most prominent characteristic in Stoicism, especially as presented by Balbus in {{lang|la|De natura deorum}} 2." Some of the enemies cited in the work are Diagoras (5th century BCE) and Epicurus (341–270 BCE),{{harvnb|Chokr|1993|loc=deuxième partie, chapitre I, 3 Deux ouvrages attribués à Ǧa‘far al-Ṣādiq, 14}}; {{harvnb|Daiber|2014|p=173}}; cf. briefly {{harvnb|Winiarczyk|2016|pp=40–41}}. both reviled since late antiquity for their alleged atheism,On Diagoras' reputation for atheism, see the summary by {{harvnb|Winiarczyk|2016|pp=128–129}}. On Epicurus' reputation for atheism, see {{harvnb|Obbink|1989|p=202}}. On the question of Epicurus' atheism more generally, see the references cited by {{harvnb|Winiarczyk|2016|loc=p. 24, note 84 and p. 71, note 49}}. as well as Mani ({{circa|216}}–274 or 277 CE, the founding prophet of Manichaeism), a certain Dūsī, and all those who would deny the providence and purposefulness ({{transliteration|ar|ʿamd}}) of God.

The {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Ihlīlaja}} (Book of the Myrobalan Fruit){{efn|Arabic text in {{harvnb|al-Majlisi|1983|loc=vol. 3, pp. 152–198}} (referred to by {{harvnb|Modaressi|2003|p=334}}; {{harvnb|Asatryan|2000–2012b}}; {{harvnb|Turner|2006|pp=184, 194, note 43}}).}} is another work in which al-Mufaddal asks Ja'far al-Sadiq to present a proof of the existence and oneness of God in response to those who openly profess atheism.{{harvnb|Chokr|1993|loc=deuxième partie, chapitre I, 3 Deux ouvrages attribués à Ǧa‘far al-Ṣādiq, 19}}; {{harvnb|Gleave|2008–2012}}; {{harvnb|Modaressi|2003|p=334}}. In comparison with the {{transliteration|ar|Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal}}, the frame story here is less well integrated into the main text, which despite being written in the form of an epistle does not directly address al-Mufaddal's concerns about the appearance of people who would publicly deny the existence of God.{{harvnb|Chokr|1993|loc=deuxième partie, chapitre I, 3 Deux ouvrages attribués à Ǧa‘far al-Ṣādiq, 19}}. In the epistle itself, the author (presumed to be Ja'far al-Sadiq) recounts his meeting with an Indian physician, who contended that the world is eternal and therefore does not need a creator.{{harvnb|Turner|2006|p=184}}. Taking the myrobalan fruit (perhaps the black myrobalan or Terminalia reticulata, a plant used in Ayurveda){{harvnb|Turner|2006|p=194, note 43}}. According to Wehr's dictionary, the Arabic term {{transliteration|ar|ihlīlaj}} rather refers to the emblic myrobalan (Phyllanthus emblica). that the Indian physician was grinding as a starting point for contemplation, the author of the epistle succeeds in convincing the physician of the existence of God.{{harvnb|Chokr|1993|loc=deuxième partie, chapitre I, 3 Deux ouvrages attribués à Ǧa‘far al-Ṣādiq, 22}}; {{harvnb|Kohlberg|1992|p=187}}. The dialectical style of the debate is typical of early Muslim speculative theology ({{transliteration|ar|kalām}}). Sciences like astrology and medicine are presented as originating from divine revelation. Melhem Chokr has proposed the 8th-century scribe ({{transliteration|ar|kātib}}) and speculative theologian Muhammad ibn Layth as the original author of the {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Ihlīlaja}}, based on similarities with other works attributed to Ibn Layth, and on the attribution to him in Ibn al-Nadim's ({{circa|932|995 or 998}}) {{transliteration|ar|Fihrist}} of a work called {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Ihlīlaja fī al-iʿtibār}} (Book of the Myrobalan Fruit on Contemplation).{{harvnb|Chokr|1993|loc=deuxième partie, chapitre I, 3 Deux ouvrages attribués à Ǧa‘far al-Ṣādiq, 22}}. On Muhammad ibn al-Layth, see Chokr 1993, première partie, chapitre III, Les accusés de zandaqa sous al-Rašīd (de 170/786 à 193/809), 4 [https://books.openedition.org/ifpo/5361#bodyftn137 Muḥmmad b. al-Layṯ].

Some other works attributed to, or transmitted by, al-Mufaddal are still extant:

• The {{transliteration|ar|Waṣiyyat al-Mufaḍḍal}} (Testament of al-Mufaddal){{efn|Arabic text in Hasan ibn Shu'ba al-Harrani's {{transliteration|ar|Tuḥaf al-ʿuqūl}}, ed. al-Ghaffārī Tehran, pp. 513–515 (referred to by {{harvnb|Modaressi|2003|p=334}}), ed. Beirut 1996, pp. 382–384 (referred to by {{harvnb|Asatryan|2017|p=60, note 71}}).}} is a short text purporting to be al-Mufaddal's testament to the Shi'is of Kufa. The testament itself only contains a rather generic exhortation to piety and proper religious conduct, but it is followed by a paragraph in which Ja'far al-Sadiq reproaches the Kufan Shi'is for their hostility towards al-Mufaddal, exonerating his disciple from all blame.{{harvnb|Modaressi|2003|p=334}}; {{harvnb|Asatryan|2000–2012b}}. The text may very well be authentic, though it may also have been attributed to al-Mufaddal by later authors seeking to rehabilitate him.
• The {{transliteration|ar|Duʿāʾ samāt}}, also called the {{transliteration|ar|Duʿāʾ Shabbūr}},{{efn|Arabic text in {{harvnb|al-Majlisi|1983|loc=vol. 90, pp. 96–101}}; original Talmudic text in Talmud, Mo’ed Katan, 17a–17b (referred to by {{harvnb|Modaressi|2003|p=336}}). For other versions of the Arabic text, and for the meaning of the word {{transliteration|ar|samāt}}, see also Modaressi 2003, p. 336.}} is a prayer ({{transliteration|ar|duʿāʾ}}) attributed to Ja'far al-Sadiq, supposedly transmitted from Ja'far by al-Mufaddal and later by Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Amri (died 917 or 918), the second deputy of the Hidden Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi during the Minor Occultation (874–941). It is a revised version of an originally Talmudic invocation that was used by Jews to cast off robbers and thieves. It was apparently in use among Muslims during the time of Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Amri, who approved of this practice but said that he had a "fuller" version handed down from the Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq. This version is nearly identical to the version preserved in the Talmud, only adding the names of the prophet Muhammad and some of his family members.{{harvnb|Modaressi|2003|p=336}}. See also more briefly {{harvnb|Asatryan|2000–2012b}}.
• The {{transliteration|ar|Riwāyat al-ruzz wa-mā fīhi min al-faḍl}} is treatise attributed to al-Mufaddal on the virtue of rice.
• {{transliteration|ar|al-Ḥikam al-Jaʿfariyya}} (Ja'farian Aphorisms) is a collection of moral aphorisms ({{transliteration|ar|ḥikam}}) attributed to Ja'far al-Sadiq and transmitted by al-Mufaddal.{{harvnb|Gleave|2008–2012}}. Edition of the Arabic text in {{harvnb|Tāmir|1957}}.

There are also some works attributed to, or transmitted by, al-Mufaddal that are mentioned in other sources but are now lost:

• {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb ʿIlal al-Sharāʾiʿ}} (Book of the Causes of Religious Laws){{harvnb|Modaressi|2003|p=335}}; {{harvnb|Asatryan|2000–2012b}}.
• {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb Yawm wa-layla}} (Book of Day and Night){{harvnb|Modaressi|2003|p=336}}; {{harvnb|Asatryan|2000–2012b}}.
• {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb}} (Book), a notebook containing hadiths purportedly recorded by al-Mufaddal{{harvnb|Modaressi|2003|p=337}}; {{harvnb|Asatryan|2000–2012b}}.

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

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• {{cite encyclopedia|last1=Amir-Moezzi|first1=Mohammad Ali|author1-link=Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi|date=2013|title=Ḵaṭṭābiya|editor1-last=Yarshater|editor1-first=Ehsan|editor1-link=Ehsan Yarshater|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/kattabiya}}
• {{cite encyclopedia|last1=Anthony|first1=Sean W.|year=2018|title=Ghulāt (extremist Shīʿīs)|editor1-last=Fleet|editor1-first=Kate|editor2-last=Krämer|editor2-first=Gudrun|editor2-link=Gudrun Krämer|editor3-last=Matringe|editor3-first=Denis|editor4-last=Nawas|editor4-first=John|editor5-last=Rowson|editor5-first=Everett|editor5-link=Everett K. Rowson|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Three|doi=10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_27473}}
• {{cite encyclopedia|last1=Asatryan|first=Mushegh|date=2000–2012a|title=Esḥāq Aḥmar Naḵaʿi|editor1-last=Yarshater|editor1-first=Ehsan|editor1-link=Ehsan Yarshater|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/eshaq-ahmar}}
• {{cite encyclopedia|last1=Asatryan|first=Mushegh|date=2000–2012b|title=Mofażżal al-Joʿfi|editor1-last=Yarshater|editor1-first=Ehsan|editor1-link=Ehsan Yarshater|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/mofazzal-al-jofi}}
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• {{cite encyclopedia|last1=Gleave|first1=Robert|date=2008–2012|title=Jaʿfar al-Ṣādeq ii. Teachings|editor1-last=Yarshater|editor1-first=Ehsan|editor1-link=Ehsan Yarshater|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/jafar-al-sadeq-ii-teachings}}
• {{cite encyclopedia|last1=Halm|first=Heinz|author1-link=Heinz Halm|date=2001–2012|title=Ḡolāt|editor1-last=Yarshater|editor1-first=Ehsan|editor1-link=Ehsan Yarshater|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/golat}}
• {{cite encyclopedia|last1=Hodgson|first1=M.G.S.|author1-link=Marshall Hodgson|date=1960–2007|title=Ghulāt|editor1-last=Bearman|editor1-first=P.|editor1-link=Peri Bearman|editor2-last=Bianquis|editor2-first=Th.|editor2-link=Thierry Bianquis|editor3-last=Bosworth|editor3-first=C.E.|editor3-link=Clifford Edmund Bosworth|editor4-last=van Donzel|editor4-first=E.|editor4-link=Emeri Johannes van Donzel|editor5-last=Heinrichs|editor5-first=W.P.|editor5-link=Wolfhart Heinrichs|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition|doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_2517}}
• {{cite encyclopedia|last1=Kohlberg|first1=Etan|author1-link=Etan Kohlberg|date=2000|title=Ḡażāʾerī|editor1-last=Yarshater|editor1-first=Ehsan|editor1-link=Ehsan Yarshater|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/gazaeri-}}
• {{cite encyclopedia|last1=MacEoin|first1=Denis M.|author1-link=Denis MacEoin|date=1988–2011|title=Bāb (1)|editor1-last=Yarshater|editor1-first=Ehsan|editor1-link=Ehsan Yarshater|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/bab-door-gate-entrance}}
• {{cite encyclopedia|last1=Steigerwald|first1=Diana|year=2010|title=Ibn Nuṣayr|editor1-last=Fleet|editor1-first=Kate|editor2-last=Krämer|editor2-first=Gudrun|editor2-link=Gudrun Krämer|editor3-last=Matringe|editor3-first=Denis|editor4-last=Nawas|editor4-first=John|editor5-last=Rowson|editor5-first=Everett|editor5-link=Everett K. Rowson|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Three|doi=10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_23483}}

• {{cite book|last1=Anthony|first1=Sean W.|date=2012a|title=The Caliph and the Heretic: Ibn Sabaʾ and the Origins of Shīʿism|series=Islamic History and Civilization|volume=91|location=Leiden|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-20930-5|doi=10.1163/9789004216068}}
• {{cite journal|last1=Anthony|first1=Sean W.|date=2012b|title=The Mahdī and the Treasures of al-Ṭālaqān|journal=Arabica|volume=59|issue=5|pages=459–483|doi=10.1163/157005812X618907}}
• {{cite thesis|last1=Asatryan|first=Mushegh|date=2012|title=Heresy and Rationalism in Early Islam: The Origins and Evolution of the Mufaḍḍal-Tradition|type=PhD diss.|location=Yale University}}
• {{cite journal|last1=Asatryan|first=Mushegh|date=2014|title=Bankers and Politics: The Network of Shi'i Moneychangers in Eighth-Ninth Century Kufa and their Role in the Shi'i Community|journal=Journal of Persianate Studies|volume=7|issue=1|pages=1–21|doi=10.1163/18747167-12341262}}
• {{cite journal|last1=Asatryan|first=Mushegh|date=2015|title=An Early Shīʿi Cosmology: Kitāb al-ashbāḥ wa l-aẓilla and its Milieu|journal=Studia Islamica|volume=110|pages=1–80|url=https://archive.org/details/AsatryanMAnEarlyShiICosmologyKitabAlAshbahWaLAzillaAndItsMilieu2015|doi=10.1163/19585705-12341311}}
• {{cite book|last1=Asatryan|first1=Mushegh|date=2016|chapter=Shiite Underground Literature Between Iraq and Syria: “The Book of Shadows” and the History of the Early Ghulat|editor1-last=Langermann|editor1-first=Y. Tzvi|editor2-last=Robinson|editor2-first=Robert G.|title=Texts in Transit in the Medieval Mediterranean|location=University Park|publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press|pages=128–161|isbn=9780271071091}}
• {{cite book|last1=Asatryan|first=Mushegh|date=2017|title=Controversies in Formative Shiʿi Islam: The Ghulat Muslims and Their Beliefs|location=London|publisher=I.B. Tauris|isbn=9781784538958}}
• {{cite book|last1=Asatryan|first=Mushegh|date=2020|chapter=Early Ismailis and Other Muslims: Polemics and Borrowing in Kitāb al-Kashf|editor1-last=Mir-Kasimov|editor1-first=Orkhan|title=Intellectual Interactions in the Islamic World: The Ismaili Thread|location=London|publisher=I.B. Tauris|pages=273–298|isbn=978-1-83860-485-1}}
• {{cite journal|last1=Capezzone|first1=Leonardo|date=1993|title=Una nuova fonte per lo studio dell'eterodossia islamica: Il Kitāb al-ṣirāṭ attribuito a Mufaḍḍal b. ʿUmar al-Ğuʿfī|journal=Rivista degli studi orientali|volume=67|issue=3/4|pages=265–273|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41922961|jstor=41922961}}
• {{cite journal|last1=Capezzone|first1=Leonardo|date=1999|title=Un aspetto della critica imamita alle tradizioni eterodosse: il Kitāb al-haft wa'l-azilla e le molteplici redazioni di un Kitāb al-azilla|journal=Annali di Ca' Foscari|volume=38|issue=3|pages=171–193}}
• {{cite journal|last1=Capezzone|first1=Leonardo|date=2002|title=La questione dell'eterodossia di Mufaḍḍal ibn ʿUmar al-Ğuʿfī nel Tanqīḥ al-Maqāl di al-Māmaqānī|journal=Oriente Moderno|volume=21|issue=1|pages=147–157|doi=10.1163/22138617-08201010 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25817817|jstor=25817817|url-access=subscription}}
• {{cite book|last1=Capezzone|first1=Leonardo|date=2017|chapter=Pre-existence and Shadows. A Gnostic Motif or a Literary One?|editor1-last=Hassan|editor1-first=Iyas Hassan|title=La littérature aux marges du ʾadab. Regards croisés sur la prose arabe classique|location=Beirut/Marseille|publisher=Diacritiques Éditions/Institut français du Proche-Orient|pages=336–361|isbn=979-10-97093-00-6}}
• {{cite journal|last1=Capezzone|first1=Leonardo|year=2020|title=The Solitude of the Orphan: Ǧābir b. Ḥayyān and the Shiite Heterodox Milieu of the Third/Ninth–Fourth/Tenth Centuries|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies|volume=83|issue=1|pages=51–73|doi=10.1017/S0041977X20000014|s2cid=214044897|doi-access=free|hdl=11573/1362553|hdl-access=free}}
• {{cite book|last1=Chokr|first1=Melhem|date=1993|title=Zandaqa et zindīqs en islam au second siècle de l'Hégire|location=Damascus|publisher=Institut français de Damas|isbn=9782901315025|doi=10.4000/books.ifpo.5349|oclc=910729151|url=https://books.openedition.org/ifpo/5354}}
• {{cite book|last1=Daiber|first1=Hans|author1-link=Hans Daiber|date=1975|title=Das theologisch-philosophische System des Mu'ammar ibn 'Abbād as-Sulamī (gest. 830 n. Chr.)|series=Beiruter Texte und Studien|volume=19|location=Beirut/Wiesbaden|publisher=Orient-Institut der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft|isbn=3515018409|oclc=963435324}}
• {{cite book|last1=Daiber|first1=Hans|author1-link=Hans Daiber|date=2014|chapter=Possible Echoes of De mundo in the Arabic-Islamic World: Christian, Islamic and Jewish Thinkers|editor1-last=Thom|editor1-first=Johan C.|title=Cosmic Order and Divine Power: Pseudo-Aristotle, On the Cosmos|location=Tübingen|publisher=Mohr Siebeck|pages=169–180|isbn=978-3-16-152809-5|doi=10.1628/978-3-16-156432-1}}
• {{cite book|last1=De Smet|first1=Daniel|date=2020|chapter=The Intellectual Interactions of Yemeni Ṭayyibism with the Early Shiʿi Tradition|editor1-last=Mir-Kasimov|editor1-first=Orkhan|title=Intellectual Interactions in the Islamic World: The Ismaili Thread|location=London|publisher=I.B. Tauris|pages=299–321|isbn=978-1-83860-485-1}}
• {{cite book|last1=Friedman|first1=Yaron|date=2010|title=The Nuṣayrī-ʿAlawīs: An Introduction to the Religion, History and Identity of the Leading Minority in Syria|series=Islamic History and Civilization|volume=77|location=Leiden|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-17892-2|doi=10.1163/ej.9789004178922.i-328}}
• {{cite book|last1=Furley|first1=David J.|date=1989|chapter=Aristotelian material in Cicero's De natura deorum|editor1-last=Fortenbaugh|editor1-first=William W.|editor2-last=Steinmetz|editor2-first=Peter|title=Cicero's Knowledge of the Peripatos|series=Rutgers University Studies in Classical Humanities|volume=IV|location=New Brunswick|publisher=Transaction Publishers|pages=201–219|doi=10.4324/9780429336461|isbn=9780429336461 |s2cid=169943525 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1mCEi_gG26MC&pg=PA202}}
• {{cite journal|last1=Halm|first=Heinz|author1-link=Heinz Halm|date=1978|title=Das "Buch der Schatten". Die Mufaḍḍal-Tradition der Ġulāt und die Ursprünge des Nuṣairiertums. I. Die Überlieferer der häretischen Mufaḍḍal-Tradition|journal=Der Islam|volume=55|issue=2|pages=219–266|doi=10.1515/islm.1978.55.2.219|s2cid=160481806 }}
• {{cite journal|last1=Halm|first=Heinz|author1-link=Heinz Halm|date=1981|title=Das "Buch der Schatten". Die Mufaḍḍal-Tradition der Ġulāt und die Ursprünge des Nuṣairiertums. II. Die Stoffe|journal=Der Islam|volume=58|issue=1|pages=15–86|doi=10.1515/islm.1981.58.1.15|s2cid=162219074 }}
• {{cite journal|last1=Kohlberg|first1=Etan|author1-link=Etan Kohlberg|date=1976|title=From Imāmiyya to Ithnā-ʿAshariyya|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies|volume=39|issue=3|pages=521–534|doi=10.1017/S0041977X00050989 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/614712|jstor=614712|s2cid=155070530 |url-access=subscription}}
• {{cite book|last1=Kohlberg|first1=Etan|author1-link=Etan Kohlberg|date=1992|title=A Medieval Muslim Scholar at Work: Ibn Ṭāwūs and his Library|location=Leiden|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-09549-6|doi=10.1163/9789004451162}}
• {{cite journal|last1=Kraus|first1=Paul|author-link=Paul Kraus (Arabist)|year=1942|title=Les dignitaires de la hiérarchie religieuse selon Ǧābir ibn Ḥayyān|journal=Bulletin de l'institut français d'archéologie orientale|volume=41|issue=|pages=83–97|url=https://www.ifao.egnet.net/bifao/41/8/}}
• {{cite journal|last1=Madelung|first1=Wilferd|author1-link=Wilferd Madelung|date=1963|title=Kitab-al-haft wa'l-azilla (book review)|journal=Der Islam|volume=38|pages=180–182}}
• {{cite book|last1=Modaressi|first1=Hossein|author1-link=Hossein Modarressi|date=2003|title=Tradition and Survival: A Bibliographical Survey of Early Shīʿite Literature|location=Oxford|publisher=Oneworld|isbn=1-85168-331-3}}
• {{cite journal|last1=Obbink|first1=Dirk|author1-link=Dirk Obbink|date=1989|title=The Atheism of Epicurus|journal=Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies|volume=30|issue=2|pages=187–223|url=https://grbs.library.duke.edu/issue/view/971}}
• {{cite book|last1=Sezgin|first1=Fuat|author-link=Fuat Sezgin|year=1967|title=Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums, Band I: Qur'ānwissenschaften, Ḥadīṯ, Geschichte, Fiqh, Dogmatik, Mystik. Bis ca. 430 H.|location=Leiden|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-02007-8}}
• {{cite journal|last1=Turner|first1=Colin P.|date=2006|title=The "Tradition of Mufaḍḍal" and the Doctrine of the Rajʿa: Evidence of Ghuluww in the Eschatology of Twelver Shiʿism?|journal=Iran|volume=44|pages=175–195|doi=10.1080/05786967.2006.11834685 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4300708|jstor=4300708|s2cid=170603436|url-access=subscription}}
• {{cite book|last1=Van Ess|first1=Josef|author1-link=Josef van Ess|date=1980|chapter=Early Islamic Theologians on the Existence of God|editor1-last=Semaan|editor1-first=Khalil I.|title=Islam and the Medieval West: Aspects of Intercultural Relations. Papers Presented at the Ninth Annual Conference of the Center for Medieval and Early Renaissance Studies, State University of New York at Binghamton|location=Albany|publisher=State University of New York Press|pages=64–81|isbn=0-87395-409-2}} (reprinted in {{cite book|last1=Van Ess|first1=Josef|author1-link=Josef van Ess|date=2018|title=Kleine Schriften|location=Leiden|publisher=Brill|pages=1431–1445|isbn=978-90-04-31224-1|doi=10.1163/9789004336483_099}})
• {{cite book|last1=Winiarczyk|first1=Marek|date=2016|title=Diagoras of Melos: A Contribution to the History of Ancient Atheism|translator-last=Zbirohowski-Kościa|translator-first=Witold|series=Beiträge zur Altertumskunde|volume=350|location=Berlin and Boston|publisher=De Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-044377-6|doi=10.1515/9783110448047|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NryvDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA40}}

{{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-aẓilla}}

• {{cite book|last1=Asatryan|first=Mushegh|date=2020|chapter=Early Ismailis and Other Muslims: Polemics and Borrowing in Kitāb al-Kashf|editor1-last=Mir-Kasimov|editor1-first=Orkhan|title=Intellectual Interactions in the Islamic World: The Ismaili Thread|location=London|publisher=I.B. Tauris|pages=273–298|isbn=978-1-83860-485-1|ref=no}} (pp. 196–198 contain a critical edition of chapter 59)
• {{cite book|last1=Ghālib|first1=Muṣṭafā|date=1964|title=al-Haft al-Sharīf|location=Beirut|publisher=Dār al-Andalus|oclc=977409505}}
• {{cite book|last1=Tāmir|first1=ʿĀrif|last2=Khalifé|first2=Ignace Abdo|date=1960|title=Kitāb al-Haft wa-l-'Aẓillat, attribué à al-Mufaḍḍal ibn ʻUmar al-Ǧaʻfī, rapportant les paroles de l'Imām Ǧaʻfar ibn M. aṣ-Ṣādiq|location=Beirut|publisher=Impr. Catholique|oclc=459827793}}
• {{cite book|last1=Tāmir|first1=ʿĀrif|date=2007|orig-date=1981|title=Kitāb al-haft wa-l-aẓilla|location=Beirut|publisher=Dār wa-Maktabat al-Hilāl|isbn=978-9953-75-266-2}} (edition based on a different ms. compared to {{harvnb|Tāmir|Khalifé|1960}})

{{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Ṣirāṭ}}

• {{cite journal|last1=Capezzone|first1=Leonardo|date=1995|title=Il Kitāb al-Ṣirāṭ attribuito a Mufaḍḍal ibn ʿUmar al-Ğuʿfī: Edizione del ms. unico (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale Ar. 1449/3) e studio introduttivo|journal=Rivista degli studi orientali|volume=69|issue=3–4|pages=295–416|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41880880|jstor=41880880}}
• {{cite book|last1=Ibn ʿAbd al-Jalīl|first1=al-Munṣif|date=2005|title=Kitāb al-Ṣirāṭ|location=Beirut|publisher=Dār al-Madār al-Islāmī|oclc=812186733|isbn=9789959292636}}

Other

• {{cite book|editor1=Abū Mūsā|editor2=al-Shaykh Mūsā|date=2006|title=Silsilat al-turath al-ʿalawī. Vol. 6: al-Majmūʿa al-Mufaḍḍaliyya|location=Diyār ʿAql (Lebanon)|publisher=Dār li-Ajl al-Maʿrifa|oclc=652937966}}
• {{cite book|last1=al-Majlisi|first1=Muhammad Baqir|author1-link=Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi|date=1983|title=Biḥār al-anwār al-jāmiʿa li-durar akhbār al-aʾimma al-aṭhār|location=Beirut|publisher=Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī}} ({{transliteration|ar|Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal}} in vol. 3, pp. 57–151; {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Ihlīlaja}} in vol. 3, pp. 152–198; {{transliteration|ar|Mā yakūn ʿinda ẓuhūr al-Mahdī}} in vol. 53, pp. 1–38)
• {{cite book|last1=Tāmir|first1=ʿĀrif|date=1957|title=al-Ḥikam al-Jaʿfariyya, li-l-Imām al-Ṣādiq Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad|location=Beirut|publisher=al-Maṭbaʿa al-Kāthūlīkiyya|oclc=23505958}}

{{Ghulat|state=expanded}}

Category:Ghulat leaders

Category:8th-century Islamic religious leaders

Category:People from Kufa

Category:Year of birth unknown

Category:Year of death unknown

Category:8th-century Shia Muslims