Rasa'il al-hikmah
The Druze Faith
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| Author |
Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, Hamza ibn-'Ali ibn-Ahmad, Isma'il ibn Muhammad al-Tamimi, Baha'uddin Ali ibn Ahmad as-Samuqi |
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| Original title | Rasa'il al-Hikma, Al-Hikma al-Sharifa, Kitab al-Hikma |
| Translator |
Antoine Isaac, Baron Silvestre de Sacy, Daniel De Smet |
| Country | Middle East |
| Language | Arabic |
| Genre | Religious book |
| Publisher | 'Abd-Allah Al-Tanukhi in c. 1479 |
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Publication date
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from c. 1009 till c. 1043 |
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Published in English
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N/A |
| Media type | Book |
| Pages | N/A |
| ISBN | |
The Epistles of Wisdom or Rasa'il al-Hikma (Arabic: رسـائـل الـحـكـمـة) is a corpus of sacred texts and pastoral letters by teachers of the Druze Faith, which has currently close to a million faithful, mainly in Lebanon, Syria, Israel and Jordan.
The full Druze canon or Druze scripture includes the Old Testament, the Qur'an and philosophical works by Plato and those influenced by Socrates among works from other religions and philosophers. The Druze claim that an understanding of these is necessary, but that their al-ʻUqqāl (عقال), ("the Knowledgeable Initiates") have access to writings of their own that supersede these. The Epistles of Wisdom are also referred to as the Kitab al-Hikma (Book of Wisdom) and Al-Hikma al-Sharifa. Other ancient Druze writings include the Rasa'il al-Hind (Epistles of India) and the previously lost (or hidden) manuscripts such as al-Munfarid bi-Dhatihi and al-Sharia al-Ruhaniyya as well as others including didactic and polemic treatises.
The Epistles of Wisdom were revealed in the Arabic language and contain one hundred and eleven epistles in total. They are organised into six books first compiled by one of the greatest Druze sages 'Abd-Allah Al-Tanukhi in 1479 AD. According to oral traditions there were originally twenty-four books. Eighteen are reasonably assumed to have been lost, hidden or destroyed. Epistle number six is dated earliest and was written in July 1017 AD by Hamza ibn-'Ali ibn-Ahmad and he is specifically mentioned as the author of thirty more epistles in the first two books. Epistles 109 and 110 are dated latest, written by Al-Muqtana Baha'uddin in 1042 AD. Epistles 36 to 40 are attributed to Isma'il al-Tamimi ibn Muhammad. The first epistle opens with the goodbye message from Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, the original teacher of the Druze. He details his efforts to assist his people's welfare and peace and urges them to remain upright.
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