Ghulat

The ideas of the ghulat have at times been compared to those of the late antique gnostics, but the extent of this similarity has also been questioned. Some ghulat ideas, such as the notion of the occultation (ghayba) and return (raj'a) of the Imam, have been influential in the development of Twelver Shi'ism. Later Isma'ili Shi'i authors such as Ja'far ibn Mansur al-Yaman (died c. 957) and Abu Ya'qub al-Sijistani (died after 971) also adapted ghulat ideas to reformulate their own doctrines. The only ghulat sect still in existence today are the Alawites, historically known as Nusayris after their founder Ibn Nusayr (died after 868).

A relatively large number of ghulat writings have survived to this day. Previously, only some works preserved in Isma'ilism were available to scholars such as the Umm al-Kitab (Mother of the Book, 8th–11th centuries), which was published in 1936, the Kitab al-Haft wa-l-azilla (Book of the Seven and the Shadows, 8th–11th centuries) published in 1960, and the Kitab al-Siraṭ (Book of the Path, c. 874–941) published in 1995. However, between 2006 and 2013 numerous ghulat texts that have been preserved in the Alawite tradition were published in the Alawite Heritage Series.

History

Origins (680–700)

Like Shi'i Islam itself, the origins of the ghulat lie in the pro-Alid movements of the late 7th century that fought against the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750) to bring one of Ali's descendants to power. The earliest use of the term ghulat is found in several reports about the followers of Mukhtar al-Thaqafi, leader of a revolt against the Umayyads on behalf of Ali's son Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, which was part of the Second Fitna, 680–692. According to these reports, some of al-Thaqafi's followers organized regular meetings in the houses of various Kufan women to listen to diviners prophesying about future events.

The followers who attended these meetings were denounced as ghulat by other followers of al-Thaqafi. The Arabic verb ghala 'to exaggerate; to transgress the proper bounds', was in broader use at the time to denounce perceived 'un-Islamic' activities, which may include soothsaying (kahana). But the use of the term here could hardly have been in reference to this, since al-Thaqafi himself often practiced soothsaying, and was respected for this by all of his followers.

Rather, the reason for the use of the term ghulat for this subgroup of al-Thaqafi's followers may be more specifically related to the Quranic use of the word ghala ('exaggerate'). It occurs in the Quran twice, in the surahs an-Nisa (4:171) and al-Ma'idah (5:77), as follows (occurrence of the word ghala underlined):

4:171. O People of the Book! Do not exaggerate in your religion, nor utter anything concerning God save the truth. Verily the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a messenger of God, and His Word, which He committed to Mary, and a Spirit from Him. So believe in God and His messengers, and say not “Three.” Refrain! It is better for you. God is only one God; Glory be to Him that He should have a child. Unto Him belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on the earth, and God suffices as a Guardian.

5:72. They certainly disbelieve, those who say, “Truly God is the Messiah, son of Mary.” [...] 73. They certainly disbelieve, those who say, “Truly God is the third of three,” while there is no god save the one God. [...] 5:75. The Messiah, son of Mary, was naught but a messenger—messengers have passed away before him. And his mother was truthful. Both of them ate food. [...] 76. Say, “Do you worship, apart from God, that which has no power to benefit or harm you, when it is God Who is the Hearing, the Knowing?” 77. Say, “O People of the Book! Do not exaggerate in your religion beyond the truth, and follow not the caprices of a people who went astray before, and led many astray, and strayed from the right way.”

The "People of the Book" mentioned here refers to Christians, who are castigated for ascribing a divine status to the prophet Jesus. He was not a "child" of God, but "only a messenger" who like all normal human beings "ate food". The Christian claim that "God is the Messiah, son of Mary" is characterized in 5:72 and other verses as 'disbelief', as is the claim that "God is the third of three", a reference to the Trinity, in which Jesus is believed to be consubstantial with the Godhead. The Quranic concept of 'exaggeration' in both cases refers to 'exaggerating' the status of a prophet as being more-than-human.

It seems probable that the followers of al-Thaqafi who gathered in the Kufan houses were likewise denounced by their colleagues for having exaggerated the status not of Jesus, but of Ali. There had been an earlier movement in Kufa called the Saba'iyya, named after the South Arabian Jewish convert Abd Allah ibn Saba', who according to some reports had insisted that Ali was not dead and would return (raj'a) to seek revenge upon those that opposed him.

Since remnants of the Saba'iyya still existed in the time of al-Thaqafi, and since one of the Kufan women at whose house the group denounced as ghulat gathered belonged to the Saba'iyya, it may well be that this group also belonged to the Saba'iyya. After Mukhtar al-Thaqafi died in 687, his movement sometimes came to be referred to as the Saba'iyya, and when Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, the Alid whom al-Thaqafi's movement had supported, also died in 700, his followers, the Kaysaniyya, claimed that ibn al-Hanafiyya had gone into hiding (ghayba), and that he would return before the Day of Judgment as the Mahdi to establish a state of righteousness and justice.

It appears that in its earliest usage, the term ghulat referred to those Shi'a who taught the dual doctrine of the Occultation (ghayba) and return (raj'a) of the Imam, which other Muslims perceived as an 'exaggerated' view of the Imam's status. Later sources attributed to these earliest ghulat some of the ideas for which the later ghulat would become known, most notably the outright divinization of Ali, but there is no good evidence that this was the case. Rather, the 8th-/9th-century need to attribute these ideas to the earliest ghulat probably arose from the fact that, while groups like the Saba'iyya had traditionally been known as ghulāt, their actual core ideas of occultation and return had become standard tenets of Twelver and Isma'ili Shi'ism, and so other ideas needed to be ascribed to them to justify the ghulat label.

Nevertheless, the later ghulat did probably originate from these early groups, and some glimpses of later ideas may sometimes be found, for example the belief in metempsychosis, which was attributed to early 7th-century ghulat leaders such as the women Hind bint al-Mutakallifa or Layla bint Qumama al-Muzaniyya.

One important difference with the later groups is the prominent role played by women, who organized the early ghulat meetings in their houses and who often acted as teachers, upholding a circle of disciples. This stands in stark contrast to the ideas of the later ghulat, who ranked women between the status of animals and men in their spiritual hierarchy.

Uprisings and development of doctrine (700–750)

Bayan ibn Sam'an al-Tamimi

Bayan ibn Sam'an (died 737) was the leader of a ghulat sect called the Bayaniyya.

al-Mughira ibn Sa'id

Al-Mughira ibn Sa'id (died 737), leader of a ghulat sect called the Mughiriyya, was an adept of the fifth Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (677–732).

Abu Mansur al-Ijli

Abu Mansur al-Ijli (died c. 738–744) was the leader of a ghulat sect called the Mansuriyya who was killed by the Umayyad governor Yusuf ibn Umar al-Thaqafi.

Abd Allah ibn Harb

Abd Allah ibn Harb (died 748–9) was the leader of a ghulat sect called the Janahiyya who was killed by the Abbasid activist Abu Muslim al-Khurasani.

Political quietism and diffusion of sects (750–)

Abu al-Khattab

Abu al-Khattab al-Asadi (died 755) was the leader of a ghulat sect called the Khattabiyya who was killed by the Abbasid governor Isa ibn Musa. For a time, he was the designated spokesman of the sixth Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (c. 700–765), but Ja'far repudiated him in c. 748.

al-Mufaddal ibn Umar al-Ju'fi

Al-Mufaddal ibn Umar al-Ju'fi (died before 799) was a close confidant of Ja'far al-Sadiq and his son Musa al-Kazim (died 799) who for some time was a follower of Abu al-Khattab. Imami heresiographers regarded him as the leader of a ghulat sect called the Mufaddaliyya, but it not certain whether this sect ever existed. A number of important ghulat writings were attributed to him by later authors (see below).

Ishaq al-Ahmar al-Nakha'i

Ishaq al-Ahmar al-Nakha'i (died 899) was the leader of a ghulat sect called the Ishaqiyya. Some writings were also attributed to him.

Ibn Nusayr and al-Khasibi

Ibn Nusayr (died after 868) and al-Khasibi (died 969) were the two most important figures in the founding of Nusayrism (called Alawism in the contemporary context), the only ghulat sect that still exists today.