The () were a branch of early Shi'a Islam. The term mainly refers to a wide variety of extinct Shi'i sects active in 8th- and 9th-century Kufa in Lower Mesopotamia, and who, despite their sometimes significant differences, shared a few common ideas.. These common ideas included the attribution of a divine nature to the Imams, metempsychosis (the belief that souls can migrate between different human and non-human bodies), a particular gnostic creation myth involving pre-existent 'shadows' (azilla) whose fall from grace produced the material world, and an emphasis on secrecy and dissociation from outsiders.. On secrecy and dissociation, see . They were named ghulat by other Shi'i and Sunni Muslims for their purportedly "exaggerated" veneration of Muhammad (–632) and his family, most notably Ali (–661) and his descendants, the Imams.On the in general, see ; ; . On their cosmology and theology, see .
The ideas of the ghulat have at times been compared to those of the late antique gnostics,See, e.g., ; . but the extent of this similarity has also been questioned.See, e.g., ; . Some ghulat ideas, such as the notion of the occultation () 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 ) and Abu Ya'qub al-Sijistani (died after 971) also adapted ghulat ideas to reformulate their own doctrines.. The influences on Ja'far ibn Mansur al-Yaman's are discussed by . The influence of these ideas was pervasive in Tayyibi Isma'ilism (see De Smet 2020, pp. 320–321). The only ghulat sect still in existence today are the Alawites, historically known as Nusayris after their founder Ibn Nusayr (died after 868).. On Ibn Nusayr, see ; . On Alawism-Nusayrism in general, see ; ; .
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,. Full Italian translation in , partial German translations in , , . the Kitab al-Haft wa-l-azilla (Book of the Seven and the Shadows, 8th–11th centuries) published in 1960,. New editions of the full text were published by and , and a critical edition of chapter 59 by . and the Kitab al-Siraṭ (Book of the Path, –941) published in 1995.. New edition by . However, between 2006 and 2013 numerous ghulat texts that have been preserved in the Alawite tradition were published in the Alawite Heritage Series.. For the texts, see . The first major study to take the newly available texts into account is .
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):
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". (commentaries on 4:171 and 5:75). 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. (commentary on 5:72). The Quranic concept of 'exaggeration' in both cases refers to 'exaggerating' the status of a prophet as being more-than-human. (commentary on 5:77).
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.; . On Abd Allah ibn Saba', see the dedicated study by .
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 (), 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 () 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.. describes the earliest 's (the 's) view of Ali as a type of messianism that was certainly tendentious from a religious point of view, but that stopped short of regarding him as divine. 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 , 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.. E.g., .
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.See ; ; . See further Tucker, William F. "Bayān ibn Sam‵ān and the Bayāniyya" in .
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).See ; ; . See further Tucker, William F. "al-Mughīra ibn Sa‵īd and the Mughīriyya" in .
Abu Mansur al-Ijli Abu Mansur al-Ijli (died –744) was the leader of a ghulat sect called the Mansuriyya who was killed by the Umayyad governor Yusuf ibn Umar al-Thaqafi.. See further Tucker, William F. "Abū Mansūr al-‵Ijlī and the Mansūriyya" in .
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.. See further Tucker, William F. "‵Abd Allāh ibn Mu‵āwiya and the Janāhiyya" in .
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 (–765), but Ja'far repudiated him in .; ; .
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.On Ibn Nusayr, see ; . On al-Khasibi, see ; . On Nusayrism in general, see ; ; .
writings
Mother of the Book (Umm al-kitab)
The Umm al-kitab () is a syncretic Shi'i work originating in the ghulat milieus of 8th-century Kufa. It was later transplanted to Syria by the 10th-century Nusayris, whose final redaction of the work was preserved in a Persian translation produced by the Nizari Isma'ilis of Central Asia.. The work survives only in Persian.Persian text edited by . Full Italian translation by . Partial German translation by . German translation of some parts of the text in and It contains no notable elements of Isma'ili doctrine,; . but given the fact that Isma'ili authors starting from the 10th century were influenced by early ghulat ideas such as those found in the Umm al-kitab,Early Isma'ili authors who adapted ideas include Ja'far ibn Mansur al-Yaman (died ; see ) and Abu Ya'qub al-Sijistani (died after 971; see De Smet 2020, pp. 304, 307–308). and especially given the influence of these ideas on later Tayyibi Isma'ilism,. some Isma'ilis do regard the work as one of the most important works in their tradition.
The work presents itself as a revelation of secret knowledge by the Shi'i Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (677–732) to his disciple Jabir ibn Yazid al-Ju'fi (died –750).. Its doctrinal contents correspond to a large degree to what 9th/10th-century heresiographers ascribed to various ghulat sects, with a particular resemblance to the ideas of the . It contains a lengthy exposition of the typical ghulat myth of the pre-existent shadows (Arabic: azilla) who created the world by their fall from grace, as is also found in the Kitab al-Haft wa-l-azilla attributed to al-Mufaddal ibn Umar al-Ju'fi (died before 799).
Book of the Seven and the Shadows (Kitab al-Haft wa-l-azilla)
The Kitab al-Haft wa-l-azilla (Book of the Seven and the Shadows), also known as Kitab al-Haft al-Sharif (Book of the Noble Seven/Noble Book of the Seven) or simply as Kitab al-Haft (Book of the Seven), written in the 8th–11th century, is an important ghulat text that was falsely attributed to al-Mufaddal ibn Umar al-Ju'fi (died before 799).