Epistles of Wisdom

The Epistles of Wisdom or Rasa'il al-Hikmah (Arabic: رَسَائِل ٱلْحِكْمَة) is a group of sacred texts and pastoral letters by teachers of the Druze Faith.

The Epistles of Wisdom
رَسَائِل ٱلْحِكْمَة
Rasa'il al-Hikmah

The Druze Faith
Author	Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad, Isma'il ibn Muhammad al-Tamimi, Baha al-Din al-Muqtana
Original title	Rasa'il al-Hikmah, Al-Hikmah al-Sharifah, Kitab al-Hikmah
Translator	Antoine Isaac, Baron Silvestre de Sacy, Daniel De Smet
Country	Middle East
Language	Arabic
Genre	Religious book
Publisher	Al-Sayyid al-Tanukhi in c. 1479
Publication date	from c. 1017 till c. 1043
Published in English	N/A
Media type	Book
Pages	N/A
ISBN	978-90-429-1943-3

Description

The Epistles of Wisdom were written in the Arabic language. They contain one hundred and eleven epistles in total. They are organised into six books first collected by one of the greatest Druze sages 'Abd-Allah Al-Tanukhi in 1479 AD.^[1] 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. He is specifically said 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 righteous.^[2]

References

1. Torki (1995). Studia islamica. Maisonneuve & Larose. pp. 164–. ISBN 978-2-7068-1187-6. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
2. Nejla M. Abu Izzeddin (1993). The Druzes: a new study of their history, faith, and society. BRILL. pp. 108–. ISBN 978-90-04-09705-6. Retrieved 17 March 2011.

Other websites

• The Druze Heritage Foundation
• The American Druze Society