Al-Jafr (book)

Al-Jafr is a mystical Shia holy book[1][2] compiled, according to Shia belief, by Ali and inherited by him from Muhammad.[1][2][3] Al-Jafr is composed of two skin boxes in which were kept various books of the past Prophets and the books inherited from Muhammad, Ali and Fatimah to the Ahl al-Bayt, with each new Imam receiving them from his dying predecessor Imam, as well as the armour and weapons of Muhammad.[4][5]

Al-Jafr was one of the sources and origins of knowledge acquired by the 12 Imams and Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq took pride in having possession of al-Jafr, that comprised the hidden knowledge of Muhammad. The later Imams were accustomed to refer at times to the sacred and secret book of al-Jafr, which was left in their keeping by Ali and belief in the existence of al-Jafr with the Imams was firm, according to the Shia.[4][5][6][7][8][9]

The Imams also learned the science of Huruf (letters of the alphabet) from al-Jafr and used this science to derive facts and rulings from al-Jafr.[8][10]

Al-Jafr was handed down among the Imams and the Shia believe it is currently in the possession of the "hidden" Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi.[2][4][11][12]

Etymology

The material of al-Jafr is parchment for writing made from animals' skin[2][13] for which the word "Jafr" can variously mean; numerical symbolism, science of numbers, numerical symbolism of letters, numerology, science of letters, alphabetical symbolism or divination. The prefix "al" means "the".

Contents

The contents of al-Jafr include:

Evidence of al-Jafr’s existence

The following are hadith evidences of the existence of al-Jafr:

Popular culture

Al-Jafr is mentioned in the storyline of One Thousand and One Nights and an accurate explanation of al-Jafr is offered by Richard Francis Burton in The Supplemental Nights to the Thousand Nights and a Night (six volumes 1886 – 1888).[24][25]

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Oxford Islamic Studies Online: Kitab al-Jafr
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Babylon: Islamic Dictionary
  3. Al-Islam.org: 'Aalim Network QR
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Imamreza.net: The Origins of the Knowledge of Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.), Source: Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.) in the Holy Qur'an and Hadith, By Ayatullah Muhammadi Rayshahri
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Imamreza.net: Collection of the Hadith by the Sh'ia
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Imamalinet.net: Ali the Magnificent, Compiled by Yousef N. Lalljee
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Imamreza.net: Imam Ali's Distinguished Place in Literary History
  8. 8.0 8.1 Imamreza.net: Recognition of the Holy Imams (A.S.) in the Light of Traditions: Imam Ali Ibn Musa Al-Riza (a.s), By Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad Reza Mudarrisi Yazdi
  9. 9.0 9.1 Imamreza.net: Recordation of Hadith during the Imamate of Imam Baqir (A.S.) and Imam Sadiq (A.S.), By Sayyid Ali Al-Shahristani
  10. Henry Corbin, Trilogie ismaelienne, Paris: Maisonneuve, 1961, p. 30. The quotation is from Paul Kraus (Arabist), Jabir ibn Hayyan, v.2, Cairo, 1942, p.263. Reference may also be made to Corbin, "Le Livre du Glorieux de Jabir ibn Hayyan,” Eranos-Jahrbuch, v. 18 (1950), pp.75-87. See also Rajab Bursi, Mashariq Anwar al-Yaqin fi Asrar Amir al-Mu'minin (n.p, 1979), esp. pp. 18-38 (on this work see now Corbin, Rajab Borsi, and B.Todd Lawson, "The Dawning of the Lights of Certainty in the Divine Secrets Connected with the Commander of the Faithful by Rajab Bursi (d. 1411)," in Leonard Lewisohn, ed., The Legacy of Medieval Persian Sufism (London: Khaniqahi Nimatullahi Publications, 1992), pp. 261-276. In addition see Futuhat, v. 1, pp. 231-361: "al-bab al-thani fi ma`rifa maratib al-huru”' ; and the well-known manual on magic by Ahmad al-Buni (d.1225), Shams al-ma`arif al-kubra.
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 Al-huda.al-khoei.org: Al-Huda News: OTHER COLLECTIONS
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 Al-islam.org: 'Aalim Network QR
  13. Imamreza.net: Who Was Imam Jafar al-Sadiq(A.S.)? Chapter 2
  14. 14.0 14.1 Shia-crescent.com: Defending the Imam of our time
  15. 15.0 15.1 CHAPTER NINETEEN: ON AL-REZA'S WORDS ON THE SIGN OF THE IMAM
  16. Imamreza.net: Recognition of the Holy Imams (A.S.) in the Light of Traditions: Imam Ali Ibn Musa Al-Riza (a.s): ‘Ithbat Al-Hudat, Vol. 6, p. 8: By Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad Reza Mudarrisi Yazdi
  17. Kitab al-Kafi: Vol. 1, Hadith 635, Ch. 40, h1
  18. Kitab al-Kafi: Hadith 637 Ch. 40, h 3
  19. Kitab al-Kafi Hadith number 637 Ch.40, h 5
  20. Kitab al-Kafi: Hadith 641, Ch. 40, h 7
  21. Kitab al-Kafi, H 638, Chapter 40: Statements about al-Jafr, al-Jami‘ and the Book of Fatima (a.s.), h 4
  22. Kitab al-Kafi, H 637, Chapter 40: Statements about al-Jafr, al-Jami‘ and the Book of Fatima (a.s.), h 3
  23. Kitab al-Kafi, H 641, Chapter 40: Statements about al-Jafr, al-Jami‘ and the Book of Fatima (a.s.), h 7
  24. Supplemental Nights To The Book Of The Thousand And One Nights With Notes Anthropological And Explanatory, Volume 6, by Richard F. Burton, Part 8 out of 9
  25. Wikisource: The Tale of Attaf

External links