Kitab al-Majmu‘ ( Arabic: كتاب المجموع "The Book of the Collection") is a book which is claimed by some Sunni Muslims and former Alawites to be the main source of teaching of the ‘Alawi sect of Islam. [1] They claim the book is not openly published and instead is passed down from initiated Master to Apprentice; however, the book has been published by Western scholars, and both the original Arabic and French translation are available on the Internet Archive. [2] The Alawis, however, reject this book as baseless and state that their main source of teaching is Nahj al-Balagha. [3] According to Matti Moosa: [4]
An English translation by Edward E. Salisbury was published in Journal of the American Oriental Society in 1866. [5]
The man who revealed the alleged book was Sulayman al-Adani, an Alawite convert to Christianity. [6]
It is also known as al-Dustoor, and has been attributed to an 11th-century Alawite missionary, al-Maymoun al-Tabarani; [7] however, Yaron Friedman says that the Dustur and Kitab al-Majmu are different texts and their identification is a mistake. [8]
Yaron Friedman suggests that Kitab al-Majmu was influenced by Jewish esoteric traditions found in the Sefer Yetzirah; Friedman in particular points to the similarity of the texts in their letter mysticism, comparing Sefer Yetzirah's "great secret" (sod gadol) of aleph-mem-shīn to Kitab al-Majmu's secret (sirr) of ʿayn-mīm-sīn. [9]
Contemporary Alawis insist that the Kitab al-Majmu is fabricated, some even suggesting that it is a forgery created by 19th century Christian missionaries. [10]
Kitab al-Majmu‘ ( Arabic: كتاب المجموع "The Book of the Collection") is a book which is claimed by some Sunni Muslims and former Alawites to be the main source of teaching of the ‘Alawi sect of Islam. [1] They claim the book is not openly published and instead is passed down from initiated Master to Apprentice; however, the book has been published by Western scholars, and both the original Arabic and French translation are available on the Internet Archive. [2] The Alawis, however, reject this book as baseless and state that their main source of teaching is Nahj al-Balagha. [3] According to Matti Moosa: [4]
An English translation by Edward E. Salisbury was published in Journal of the American Oriental Society in 1866. [5]
The man who revealed the alleged book was Sulayman al-Adani, an Alawite convert to Christianity. [6]
It is also known as al-Dustoor, and has been attributed to an 11th-century Alawite missionary, al-Maymoun al-Tabarani; [7] however, Yaron Friedman says that the Dustur and Kitab al-Majmu are different texts and their identification is a mistake. [8]
Yaron Friedman suggests that Kitab al-Majmu was influenced by Jewish esoteric traditions found in the Sefer Yetzirah; Friedman in particular points to the similarity of the texts in their letter mysticism, comparing Sefer Yetzirah's "great secret" (sod gadol) of aleph-mem-shīn to Kitab al-Majmu's secret (sirr) of ʿayn-mīm-sīn. [9]
Contemporary Alawis insist that the Kitab al-Majmu is fabricated, some even suggesting that it is a forgery created by 19th century Christian missionaries. [10]