The Epistles of Wisdom () is a corpus of sacred texts and pastoral letters by teachers of the Druze faith native to the Levant, which has currently close to a million practitioners. The text revolves around the acknowledgement and worship of al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah as the last and definite incarnation of the One God, a belief which Druze define as 'Monotheism' (Arabic: Tawhid).
The full Druze canon or Druze scripture includes the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible), the New Testament, the Quran 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-ûUqqÃÂl (), "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.
Druze manuscripts are generally written in a language, grammar, and diction that to the uninitiated is hard to understand and includes ambiguous words and highly obscure and phrases, in addition to the extensive usage of symbology and numerology in much of the writings.
The Druze religious establishment's interpretation of taqiyya () and the esoteric nature of the faith led to the restriction of access, inquiry and investigation from even their own uninitiated Druze known as al-JuhhÃÂl () ("the Ignorant") or jismaniyeen ("the Material Ones"). Such restrictions aimed to prevent possible damage to the individual and community if the writings were interpreted incorrectly, since the study of the Epistles of Wisdom is better accompanied by commentary texts and guidance from the higher ranking Druze Uqqal ("Knowledgeable Ones").
The Epistles of Wisdom were written in the Arabic language and contain 111 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 24 books. Eighteen of them are reasonably assumed to have been lost, hidden or destroyed. Epistle 6 is dated earliest and was written in July 1017 AD by Hamza ibn-'Ali ibn-Ahmad. He is specifically mentioned as the author of 30 more epistles in the first two books, namely epistles 5âÂÂ35. 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 a goodbye message from al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, the embodied deity in the Druze faith. He details his efforts to assist his people's welfare and peace and urges them to remain upright. It is believed by the Druze from interpretation of the epistles that al-Hakim did not die but merely withdrew into occultation; he will return one day and reveal the Druze wisdom to the world in order to inaugurate a golden age.
The epistles contain philosophical discourses about Neoplatonic and Gnostic subjects, Ptolemaic cosmology, Arabic paraphrases of the philosophies of Farabi, Plotinus and Proclus, and writings on the Universal Soul. There are also several polemic epistles concerning other faiths and philosophies that were present during that time, and towards individuals who were considered renegades or those who tried to distort and tarnish the reputation of the faith and its teachings, such as the "Answering the Nusayri" epistle and the fifth volume of the Epistles. Most of the Epistles are written in a post-classical language, often showing similarities to Arab Christian authors.
The texts provide insight into Druze beliefs about the incorporation of the Universal Intellect and the soul of the world in 11th century Egypt, when the deity showed itself to men through Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim and his doctrines. These display a notable form of Arabic Neoplatonism blended with Ismailism and adopted Christian elements of great interest for the philosophy and history of religions.
The first 40 epistles, from Volumes 1 and 2, are listed below. Epistles 1âÂÂ14 make up Volume 1, while epistles 15âÂÂ40 make up Volume 2. The English titles (translated from the French titles in De Smet's 2007 French translation) and Arabic transliterations are provided for each of the epistles.
A Syrian physician gave one of the first Druze manuscripts to Louis XIV in 1700, which is now kept in the Bibliothèque Nationale. Various conflicts, such as the invasion of Ibrahim Pasha between 1831 and 1838, along with the 1860 Lebanon conflict, caused some of these texts to fall into the hands of academics. Other original manuscripts are held in the Robert Garrett collection at Princeton University. The first French translation was published in 1838 by linguist and orientalist Antoine Isaac, Baron Silvestre de Sacy in Exposé de la religion des Druzes.
In 1986, a transcription of all 111 epistles was published by Father Joseph Azzi in Lebanon. Together, they make up 5âÂÂ6 volumes. However, this edition of the Rasa'il al-hikma, which was published at the time by pseudonymous writers in Lebanon as part of the highly controversial "The Hard Truth" series. The series included several anti-Druze, anti-Alawite, and anti-Islamic books. It was banned by the authorities for containing misleading information and hate speech. Additionally, an unpublished dissertation by David Bryer was prepared for the first two volumes.
In 2007, a French translation and critical examination of these first two volumes (epistles 1âÂÂ40) from the Epistles of Wisdom was published by CNRS researcher Daniel De Smet. De Smet has provided a doctrinal introduction, notes, a description and inventory of the manuscripts, and studies of their contents and characteristics.