() is a mystical book which, in the

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

belief, contains esoteric teachings of the

Islamic prophet Prophets in Islam () are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets are categorized as messengers (; sing. , ), those who transmit divine revelation, mos ...

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

for his cousin and son-in-law

Ali Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib an ...

, who is recognized as the fourth

Rashidun caliph The Rashidun Caliphate () is a title given for the reigns of first caliphs (lit. "successors") — Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali collectively — believed to represent the perfect Islam and governance who led the Muslim community and po ...

() and the first

Shia Imam In Shia Islam, the Imamah () is a doctrine which asserts that certain individuals from the lineage of the Islamic prophet Muhammad are to be accepted as leaders and guides of the ummah after the death of Muhammad. Imamah further says that Imam ...

. In the

Twelver Shia Twelver Shi'ism (), also known as Imamism () or Ithna Ashari, is the largest branch of Shi'a Islam, comprising about 90% of all Shi'a Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers to its adherents' belief in twelve divinely ordained leaders, known as th ...

belief, the book was handed down through their line of

Twelve Imams The Twelve Imams (, '; , ') are the spiritual and political successors to the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Twelver branch of Shia Islam, including that of the Alawite and Alevi. According to Twelver theology, the Twelve Imams are exemp ...

, and remains now in the possession of their Hidden Imam,

Muhammad al-Mahdi Muhammad al-Mahdi () is believed by the Twelver Shia to be the last of the Twelve Imams and the eschatological Mahdi, who will emerge in the end of time to establish peace and justice and redeem Islam. Hasan al-Askari, the eleventh Imam ...

, who would reappear at the end of time to eradicate injustice and evil. In the

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

lore, the book is instead known as ().

About the book

The word () means an animal skin, prepared as parchment for writing. In the

belief, is a mystical book with esoteric teachings of

for

. In support of its existence, Ali was once seen transcribing in the presence of Muhammad, as reported by the Shia scholar Ali ibn Babawayh () and the

scholars

Ibn al-Sam'ani Ibn al-Samʿānī (, 1113–1166), full name Abū Saʿd ʿAbd al-Karīm ibn Abī Bakr Muḥammad ibn Abi ʾl-Muẓaffar Manṣūr al-Tamīmī al-Marwazī al-Shafiʿī al-Samʿānī, nicknamed ''Tāj al-Islām'' (Crown of Islam) and ''Qiwām al-D ...

() and Siraj al-Din al-Bulqini (). Yet in a

hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

by the Sunni traditionist

Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani Abu Nuʿaym al-Isfahani (; full name: ''Ahmad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ahmad ibn Ishāq ibn Mūsā ibn Mahrān al-Mihrānī al-Asbahānī'' (or ''al-Asfahānī'') ''al-Ahwal al-Ash`arī al-Shāfi`ī'', died 1038 CE / AH 430) was a medieval Persian S ...

(), 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 Abd al-Razzaq ibn Hammam ibn Nafi' al-San'ani (, 744 – January 827 CE, 126–211 AH), a Yemeni hadith scholar who compiled a hadith collection known as the ''Musannaf'' of Abd al-Razzaq. Biography Abd al-Razzaq was born in 126 AH/744 CE to ...

() and

al-Bayhaqi Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Mūsā al-Khusrawjirdī al-Bayhaqī (, 994–1066), also known as Imām al-Bayhaqī, was a Sunni scholar widely known for being the foremost leading hadith master in his age, leading authority in th ...

() stripped Ali of this folio and transferred its ownership to the second caliph,

Umar Umar ibn al-Khattab (; ), also spelled Omar, was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () and is regarded as a senior companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Mu ...

(). In the

lore, is known instead as (). is often mentioned together with , , and , which are all said to have been inherited by the

Ahl al-Bayt () refers to the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In Sunni Islam, the term has also been extended to all descendants of the Banu Hashim (Muhammad's clan) and even to all Muslims. In Shia Islam, the term is limited to Muhammad, his daugh ...

, that is, the House of Muhammad, as part of the esoteric knowledge available to them. More specifically, the

believe that these books were handed down through their line of

, and that is now in the possession of their Hidden Imam,

, who would reappear at the end of time to eradicate injustice and evil. Often described in similar terms in Shia sources, all these books are thought to contain esoteric teachings, apocalyptic prophesies, and legal injunctions. In particular, is thought to have addressed all matters of religion, including a detailed penal code that accounted even for bruises. The first mention of is often associated with

Ja'far al-Sadiq Ja'far al-Sadiq (; –765) was a Muslim hadith transmitter and the last agreed-upon Shia Imam between the Twelvers and Isma'ilis. Known by the title al-Sadiq ("The Truthful"), Ja'far was the eponymous founder of the Ja'fari school of Isla ...

(), the sixth of the Twelve Imams. In popular culture, the book is mentioned in the storyline of ''

One Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' (, ), is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights'', from the first English-language edition ( ...

'', and a description of it is offered by the linguist Richard F. Burton () in his supplement to the book.

Footnotes

References

* * * * * * {{refend Shia literature Shia Islam

About the book

See also

Footnotes

References